Daily Current Affairs 18th and 19th September

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. MGNREGA
2. Govt Funded NGO’s under RTI
3. Dedicated Freight Corridors
4. National Recruitment Agency (NRA)
5. FCRA Rules for NGO
6. International Migrant Stock 2019
7. Child & Adolescent Health by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative. 
8. Issues in debate around setting an age limit for IVF
9. Facts for Prelims : Rustom 2, Teaser Loans

1 . MGNREGA

Context : Staring at a slump in rural demand and a slowdown in the rural economy, the Centre plans to inject more money into the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme by linking wages under the Act to an updated inflation index, which will be revised annually. It hopes this will increase wages, thus increasing purchasing power and reviving rural demand.

About the News

• The national average wage of an MGNREGA worker is ₹178.44 per day, less than half of the ₹375 per day minimum wage recommended by a Labour Ministry panel earlier this year.
• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and the Labour Bureau had begun work to update the consumer price indices for rural areas (CPI-R) and agricultural labourers (CPI-AL) respectively.
• The consumption basket of CPI-AL [which determines MGNREGA wage revisions] has not been updated for more than three decades, and rural consumption patterns have changed drastically in that time
• Food items make up more than two-thirds of the CPI-AL consumption basket, but rural workers today spend a much smaller percentage of their money on subsidised food, and an increasingly larger amount on health, education and transport costs.
• It is now agreed to update the indices annually. MGNREGA wages will be linked to whichever index is higher in a particular State, estimating that the increased wages based on updated inflation indices may result in 10% higher government expenditure on the scheme.

About MGNREGA

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), also known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) is Indian legislation enacted on August 25, 2005. The MGNREGA provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage. The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Govt of India is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments
• This act was introduced with an aim of improving the purchasing power of the rural people, primarily semi or un-skilled work to people living below poverty line in rural India. It attempts to bridge the gap between the rich and poor in the country. Roughly one-third of the stipulated work force must be women.
• Adult members of rural households submit their name, age and address with photo to the Gram Panchayat. The Gram Panchayat registers households after making enquiry and issues a job card. The job card contains the details of adult member enrolled and his /her photo. Registered person can submit an application for work in writing (for at least fourteen days of continuous work) either to Panchayat or to Programme Officer.
• The Panchayat/Programme officer will accept the valid application and issue dated receipt of application, letter providing work will be sent to the applicant and also displayed at Panchayat office. The employment will be provided within a radius of 5 km: if it is above 5 km extra wage will be paid.

Key facts

• MGNREGA guarantees hundred days of wage employment in a financial year, to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• Individual beneficiary oriented works can be taken up on the cards of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, small or marginal farmers or beneficiaries of land reforms or beneficiaries under the Indira Awaas Yojana of the Government of India.
• Within 15 days of submitting the application or from the day work is demanded, wage employment will be provided to the applicant.
• Right to get unemployment allowance in case employment is not provided within fifteen days of submitting the application or from the date when work is sought.
• Receipt of wages within fifteen days of work done.
• Variety of permissible works which can be taken up by the Gram Panchayaths.
• MGNREGA focuses on the economic and social empowerment of women.
• MGNREGA provides “Green” and “Decent” work.
• Social Audit of MGNREGA works is mandatory, which lends to accountability and transparency.
• MGNREGA works address the climate change vulnerability and protect the farmers from such risks and conserve natural resources.
• The Gram Sabha is the principal forum for wage seekers to raise their voices and make demands. It is the Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat which approves the shelf of works under MGNREGA and fix their priority.

Activities covered under MGNREGA

• Union Rural Development Ministry has notified works under MGNREGA, majority of which are related to agricultural and allied activities, besides the works that will facilitate rural sanitation projects in a major way.
• The works have been divided into 10 broad categories like Watershed, Irrigation and Flood management works, Agricultural and Livestock related works, Fisheries and works in coastal areas and the Rural Drinking water and Sanitation related works.
• Briefing the MGNREGA 2.0 (the second generation reforms for the rural job scheme) the priority of the works will be decided by the Gram Panchayats in meetings of the Gram Sabhas and the Ward Sabhas.
• The Rural development also informed that the 30 new works being added in the Schedule 1 will also help the
• Rural sanitation projects, as for the first time toilet building, soak pits and solid and liquid waste management have been included under MGNREGA. Though the overall 60:40 ratio of labour and material component will be maintained at the Gram Panchayat level but there will be some flexibility in the ratio for certain works based on the practical requirements.
• Construction of AWC building has been included as an approved activity under the MGNREG Act. ‘Guidelines for construction of Anganwadi Centres’ under MGNREGS have been issued jointly by Secretary, WCD and Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, on 13th August, 2015. Under MGNREGS, expenditure up to Rs.5 lakh per AWC building for construction will be allowed. Expenditure beyond Rs. 5 lakh per AWC including finishing, flooring, painting, plumbing, electrification, wood work, etc. will be met from the ICDS fund

2 . Govt Funded NGO’s under RTI

Context : Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) “substantially” financed by the government fall within the ambit of the Right to Information Act, the Supreme Court held in a judgment

About the Judgement

• According to the Judgement NGOs which receive considerable finances from the government or are essentially dependent on the government fall under the category of “public authority” defined in Section 2(h) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005.
• This means that they have to disclose vital information, ranging from finances to hierarchy to decisions to functioning, to citizens who apply under RTI
• NGO may also include societies which are neither owned or controlled by the government, but if they are significantly funded by the government, directly or indirectly, they come under the RTI Act.
• The court defined “substantial” as a “large portion.” Substantial financing can be both direct or indirect. For Example :-
  • It does not necessarily have to mean a major portion or more than 50%. No hard and fast rule can be laid down in this regard.
  • If government gives land in a city free of cost or on heavy discount to hospitals, educational institutions or any such body, this in itself could also be substantial financing, the judgment explained.

3 . Dedicated Freight Corridors

Context : The Railways is working on three more dedicated freight corridors at an estimated cost of about ₹2.6 lakh crore over the next 10 years which will help the national transporter to free up the current tracks to run enough passenger trains so that no traveller gets wait-listed.

Benefits of the New Corridor

• Train travellers could expect to be free of waiting list within the four years on the two busiest routes of Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes, where dedicated freight corridors (DFC) construction is under works and is expected to be completed by 2021

What are dedicated freight corridors?

• These are freight-only railway lines to move goods between industrial heartlands in the North and ports on the Eastern and Western coasts.

What is the need of Dedicated Freight corridors?

• The two above-mentioned routes are highly saturated, with line capacity utilisation reaching as high as 150 per cent. Considering increased transport demands, overtly congested routes and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with road transport, the government had proposed this initiative.
• These freight corridors will help reduce the cost and allow faster transportation. Along with that, Indian Railways will open new avenues for investment, as this will lead to the construction of industrial corridors and logistic parks along these routes.

Who is constructing?

• To construct the special freight corridors, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCC) was set up under Indian Railways in 2006. It was registered as a special-purpose vehicle under the Companies’ Act 1957.
• The DFCC is one of the largest ever infrastructure projects being undertaken by railways since 1947.

What is the capacity of freight trains?

• Freight corridor will permit the trains to carry higher loads, in a more reliable manner. These lines are also being built to maximise speeds to 100 km an hour, up from the current average freight speed of 20 km an hour.
• Freight corridor envisages long-haul operations with trailing loads to increase from 5,000 to 15,000 tonnes and container capacity will go up to 400 per train.
• The DFCs will allow much shorter transit times from freight source to destination which means it will reduce the time by up to 50 per cent in some cases.

4 . National Recruitment Agency (NRA)

Context : The Finance Ministry has approved a proposal to streamline recruitment of Group-B (non-gazetted), Group-C (non-technical) and clerical posts in the government along with various equivalent recruitment in public sector banks, it is learnt.

About National Recruitment Agency

• A new National Recruitment Agency (NRA) will be set up to conduct the Common Eligibility Test (CET) for all these competitive examinations, in which an estimated 2.5 crore candidates appear annually.
• Proposed NRA will conduct preliminary examinations for all these recruitment, which are at present conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS). As per the proposal, the NRA will subsequently forward the list of qualifying candidates to the respective recruiting agencies to conduct the mains examinations
• The proposal for a new agency is meant to streamline recruitment process on subordinate-rank posts in the government. The proposed NRA is expected to reduce the burden of SSC and the IBPS, among others, from holding preliminary recruitment exams, which is an extensive exercise. Once up and running, NRA will work as a preliminary single-window agency to shortlist qualifying candidates from bulk of applicants and forward the list to SSC, IBPS, etc, to hold the mains.

5 . FCRA Rules for NGO

Context : Office-bearers, key functionaries and members of NGOs, receiving foreign funds, will have to declare before the government that they were not prosecuted or convicted for converting anyone from one faith to another, a Home Ministry notification said on Monday.

About the New Regulation

• It has been made mandatory for NGO “office-bearers and key functionaries and members” to certify that they have not been “prosecuted or convicted” for “conversion” from one faith to another and for creating “communal tension and disharmony”, according to the notification. Earlier, as per the FCRA 2010, only the applicants such as directors who were seeking permission to receive foreign contributions were required to make such a declaration.
• In addition, every member of an NGO must also now, under oath, through an affidavit, certify that they have never been involved in “diverting” foreign funds or propagating “sedition” or “advocating violent means.”

Acceptance of foreign funds for NGO’s

• The Act permits only NGOs having a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme to accept foreign contribution, that too after such NGOs either obtain a certificate of registration or prior permission under the Act. 

Registration Requirement for NGO’s

• In order to be registered under the FCRA, an NGO must be in existence for at least three years and must have undertaken reasonable activity in its field for which the foreign contribution is proposed to be utilised. Further, it must have spent at least INR 1,000,000 over three years preceding the date of its application on its activities. The registration certificate is valid for a period of five years and must be thereafter renewed in the prescribed manner.
• NGOs not eligible for registration can seek prior approval from FCRA for receiving foreign funding. This permission is granted only for a specific amount of foreign funding from a specified foreign source for a specific purpose. It remains valid till receipt and full utilisation of such amount. 
• Further, it must have a separate bank account exclusively for the deposit of foreign contribution. No other fund can be credited to this account.

Use of Foreign Funding

• All funds received by a NGO must be used only for the purpose for which they were received. 
• Such funds must not used in speculative activities identified under the Act.
• Except with the prior approval of the Authority, such funds must not be given or transferred to any entity not registered under the Act or having prior approval under the Act.
• Every asset purchased with such fund must be in the name of the NGO and not its office bearers or members.                                                      

Reporting requirement 

• Every NGO registered or having prior approval under the Act must file an annual report with the Authority in the prescribed form. This report must be accompanied by an income and expenditure statement, receipt and payment account, and balance sheet for the relevant financial year. For financial years where no foreign contribution is received, a ‘NIL’ report must be furnished with the Authority. 

6 . International Migrant Stock 2019

Context : India has emerged as the leading country of origin for immigrants across the world, with 17.5 million international migrants in 2019 coming from India, up from 15.9 million in 2015, according to a dataset released by the Union Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in New York

About the Report

• The International Migrant Stock 2019 was released by the UN DESA’s Population Division

Key Findings of the Report

• The number of international migrants in the world had reached an estimated 272 million 2019 — 51 million more than in 2010.
• The percentage of international migrants of the total global population has increased to 3.5% from 2.8% in 2000.
• India remained as the top source of international migrants, the number of migrants living in India saw a slight decline from 5.24 million in 2015 to an estimated 5.15 million in 2019 – both 0.4% of the total population of the country.
• Bangladesh was the leading country of origin for migrants in India, the report stated.
• one-third of all international migrants originated from 10 countries — after India, Mexico ranked second as the country of origin for 12 million migrants, followed by China (11 million), Russia (10 million) and Syria (8 million).
• The European region hosted the highest number of the immigrants at 82 million in 2019, followed by North America (59 million) and Northern Africa and Western Asia (49 million). Among countries, the U.S. hosts the highest number of international migrants (51 million), about 19% of the global population.
• The statement also said that around two-fifths of all international migrants had gone from one developing country to another.
• The statement added that further, forced displacements continue to rise, with the number of refugees and asylum seekers increased by about 13 million from 2010 to 2017,

7 . Malnutrition

Context : The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative says that the overall under-five death rate and the death rate due to malnutrition has decreased substantially from 1990 to 2017, but malnutrition is still the leading risk factor for death in children under five years, and is also the leading risk factor for disease burden for all ages considered together in most States.

About the Initiative

• The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative is a joint initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India, and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare along with experts and stakeholders associated with over 100 Indian institutions, involving many leading health scientists and policy makers from India.

Key Findings of the Report

• Two-thirds of the 1.04 million deaths in children under five years in India are still attributable to malnutrition, according to the first comprehensive estimate of disease burden due to child and maternal malnutrition and the trends of its indicators in every State from 1990.
• The death rate attributable to malnutrition in under-5 children in India has dropped by two-thirds from 1990 to 2017. Malnutrition is, however, still the underlying risk factor for 68% of the deaths in under-five children in India.
• The report states that the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rate attributable to malnutrition in children varies 7-fold among the States and is highest in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Nagaland and Tripura.
• The proportion of under-5 deaths attributable to malnutrition, which is 68.2% across India, ranges between a high of 72.7% in Bihar and a low of 50.8% in Kerala. Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh are states with a high such proportion, while Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and Goa have the lowest proportions of such deaths.
• Among the malnutrition indicators, low birth weight is the largest contributor to child deaths in India, followed by child growth failure which includes stunting, underweight, and wasting.

8 . Issues in debate around setting an age limit for IVF

Context : A 74-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh was recently recorded as the oldest in the world to give birth to twins through in-vitro fertilisation or IVF. While her doctor has said both babies and mother are stable, the medical community has expressed ethical and medical concerns over conception at such an advanced age.

Why this is a concern

• The average life expectancy of an Indian woman is 70 and of a man 69, and the medical community has expressed concerns over future of children born to such an elderly couple. The very day after the delivery, the twins’ father, 80, suffered a stroke.
• Medical technology has reached a stage where we can get even a 90-year-old pregnant. But there are complications that can risk human life
• Pregnancy in old age poses multiple risks — hypertension, diabetes, convulsions, bleeding, and cardiac complications to name a few.
• Womb of an older woman has to be prepared by injecting hormones for the foetus to grow for nine months. Also, a woman of that age cannot breastfeed.

Regulations

• Several experts have demanded punitive action but with no law in place — a Bill is pending — the assisted reproductive technology (ART) industry continues to operate in a grey zone.
• In 2005, when ICMR drafted guidelines for ART, it had not set an age limit keeping in mind that reproductive rights were a fundamental right for a woman.
• The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2010, states that in the Indian social context, children are “old-age insurance”. The Bill proposes the upper age limit at 45 for women and 50 for men to undergo the IVF procedure. As of now, several centres rely on ICMR’s 2017 guidelines that recommend the same age limits. Even for adoption, the total age of the couple must not exceed 110 years.
• With increasing life expectancy, doctors are in talks with the government to increase the IVF age limit to 50-52 years for women. 

Counter View

• Societal pressure to have children, the fear of living without support in old age, and the loss of an only child often encourage couples.
• Some doctors argue that childbirth is a personal decision and each individual has the right to make that choice after counselling.
• Still, a doctor has to conduct tests for the heart, bone structure, diabetes, blood pressure to judge the feasibility of pregnancy.

International examples

• Most countries that have a law range the upper limit for IVF between 40 and 50 years. In the US, the upper limit for IVF is 50, and for ovum donation, 45.
• In Australia, guidelines prohibit IVF beyond menopause (52 years). In the UK, 42 is the age limit for women to seek free insurance under National Health Service. In Canada, the age limit is 43.

9 . Facts for Prelims

Rustom 2

• Rustom-II MALE UAV is a part of the Rustom series of Unmanned Arial Vehicles, which also include Rustom-I, Rustom-H and Rustom-C.
• It is intended for use by the Indian Armed Forces including army, navy and air force in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) tasks.
• The unmanned aerial vehicle is designed to carry a variety of state-of-the-art payloads weighing up to 350kg to provide multi-mission capabilities in both day and night lighting conditions.
• The payloads include electromagnetic intelligence (ELINT), communication intelligence (COMINT), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), maritime patrol radar (MPR), radio altimeter, transmitting and receiving antennae, and situational awareness payloads.

Teaser Loans

• Loan with fixed-cum-floating home loan rates are known as teaser loans 
• Teaser loans are those which charge comparatively lower rates of interest in the first few years after which the rates are increased.