Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Provisional National Income Data
- Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2004
- CITIIS Programme
- Facts for Prelims
1 . Provisional National Income data
Context: India’s GDP growth accelerated to 6.1% in the January to March 2023 quarter, lifting the economy’s expansion in 2022-23 to 7.2% from 7% estimated earlier, according to the provisional national income data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO)
About Provisional National Income data
- The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) releases the Provisional Estimates (PE) of National Income for
- Provisional National Income data are compiled using the benchmark indicator method i.e. the estimates available for the previous year referred to as the benchmark year (2021-22 in this case) are extrapolated using the relevant indicators reflecting the performance of sectors.
What are the key findings of the report?
- The Gross Value Added (GVA) in the economy is reckoned to have risen 7% in 2022-23, compared with 8.8% in 2021-22.
- The farm and services sectors buoyed economic outcomes as just three of eight broad economic activity segments recorded higher GVA growth than in 2021-22.
- The financial, real estate and professional services sectors GVA grow 7.1%, compared with 4.7% in 2021-22.
- The GVA of the trade, hotels, transport, and communication sectors, as well as services related to broadcasting grew 14%, marginally faster than in the previous year.
- The NSO also revised GDP and GVA numbers lower for the first half of last year but bumped up the third quarter figures slightly. The first quarter’s GDP growth in 2022-23 is pegged at 13.1%, followed by a 6.2% rise in the second quarter and 4.5% growth in the third, higher than the 4.4% estimated in February.
- In GVA terms, the final three months of 2022-23 recorded a three-quarter high of 6.5%.
What are the basic concepts of National Income?
- Basic concepts of national income- The following are some of the concepts used in measuring national income.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)-
- GDP is the total market value of final goods and services produced within the country during a year. This is calculated at market prices and is known as GDP at market prices.
- GDP by expenditure method at market prices = C + I + G + (X – M) Where C – consumption goods; I – Investment goods; G – Government purchases; X – Exports; M – Imports (X – M) is net export which can be positive or negative.
- Net Domestic Product (NDP)- NDP is the value of net output of the economy during the year. Some of the country’s capital equipment wears out or becomes outdated each year during the production process. Thus Net Domestic Product = GDP – Depreciation.
Gross National Product (GNP)-
- GNP is the total measure of the flow of final goods and services at market value resulting from current production in a country during a year, including net income from abroad. GNP includes five types of final goods and services :
- value of final consumer goods and services produced in a year to satisfy the immediate wants of the people which is referred to as consumption (C);
- gross private domestic investment in capital goods consisting of fixed capital formation, residential construction and inventories of finished and unfinished goods which is called as gross investment (I)
- Goods and services produced or purchased by the government which is denoted by (G) ; and
- Net exports of goods and services, i.e., the difference between value of exports and imports of goods and services, known as (X-M) ; Net factor incomes from abroad which refers to the difference between factor incomes (wage, interest, profits ) received from abroad by normal residents of India and factor incomes paid to the foreign residents for factor services rendered by them in the domestic territory in India (R-P);
- GNP at market prices means the gross value of final goods and services produced annually in a country plus net factor income from abroad (C + I + G + (X-M) + (R-P)).
- GNP at Market Prices = GDP at Market Prices + Net Factor income from Abroad.
Net National Product (NNP) (at Market price)
- Net National Product refers to the value of the net output of the economy during the year. NNP is obtained by deducting the value of depreciation, or replacement allowance of the capital assets from the GNP. It is expressed as,
- NNP = GNP – depreciation allowance. (depreciation is also called as Capital Consumption Allowance)
NNP at Factor cost
- NNP refers to the market value of output. Whereas NNP at factor cost is the total of income payment made to factors of production. Thus, from the money value of NNP at market price, we deduct the amount of indirect taxes and add subsidies to arrive at the net national income at factor cost.
- NNP at factor cost = NNP at Market prices – Indirect taxes + Subsidies.
Personal Income
- Personal income is the total income received by the individuals of a country from all sources before payment of direct taxes in a year. Personal income is never equal to the national income, because the former includes the transfer payments whereas they are not included in national income. Personal income is derived from national income by deducting undistributed corporate profit, and employees’ contributions to social security schemes and adding transfer payment.
- Personal Income = National Income – (Social Security Contribution and undistributed corporate profits) + Transfer payments
Disposable Income
- Disposable Income is also known as Disposable personal income. It is the individuals income after the payment of income tax. This is the amount available for households for consumption.
- Disposable Income = Personal income – Direct Tax. As the entire disposable income is not spent on consumption, Disposal income = consumption + saving.
Per Capita Income
- The average income of a person of a country in a particular year is called Per Capita Income. Per capita income is obtained by dividing national income by population.
2 . Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2004
Context: It is mandatory for over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms to display anti-tobacco warnings as seen in movies screened in theatres and TV, as per a Union Health Ministry notification amending the rules under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2004.
About the Notification
- As per the notification released on World No Tobacco Day, publishers of online curated content displaying tobacco products, or their use will be required to display anti-tobacco health spots at the beginning and middle of the programme.
- The anti-tobacco health warning message as specified in clause(b) of sub-rule (1) shall be legible and readable, with font in black colour on white background and with the warnings ‘Tobacco causes cancer’ or ‘Tobacco kills’.
- Besides warning messages, health spots and audio-visual disclaimers will have to be in the same language as used in the show.
- If the publisher of online curated content fails to comply with the provisions, an inter-ministerial committee shall issue notice giving reasonable opportunity to explain such failure and make appropriate modification in the content.
About the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2004.
- The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 or COTPA, 2003 is an act of Parliament of India enacted in 2003 to prohibit advertisement of, and to provide for the regulation of trade and commerce in, and production, supply and distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products in India.
- The Act was enacted by the Parliament to give effect to the Resolution passed by the 39th World Health Assembly, urging the member states to implement measures to provide non-smokers protection from involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke.
Provisions of the Act
- The Act prohibits smoking of tobacco in public places, except in special smoking zones in hotels, restaurants and airports and open spaces
- Advertisement of tobacco products including cigarettes is prohibited. No person shall participate in advertisement of tobacco product or allow a medium of publication to be used for advertisement of tobacco products. However, restricted advertisement is allowed on packages of tobacco products, entrances of places where tobacco products are sold. Surrogate advertisement is prohibited as well under the Act.
- Tobacco products cannot be sold to person below the age of 18 years, and in places within 100 yards radius from the outer boundary of an institution of education, which includes school colleges and institutions of higher learning established or recognized by an appropriate authority.
- Tobacco products must be sold, supplied or distributed in a package which shall contain an appropriate pictorial warning, its nicotine and tar contents
- The Act also gives power to any police officer, not below the rank of a sub-inspector or any officer of State Food or Drug Administration or any other officer, holding the equivalent rank being not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police for search and seizure of premises where tobacco products are produced, stored or sold, if he suspects that the provision of the Act has been violated.
- Penalties and Imprisonment- A person who manufactures tobacco products and fails to adhere to the norm related to warnings on packages on first conviction shall be punished with up to 2 years in imprisonment or with fine which can extend to Rs. 5000, in case of subsequent conviction shall be punished with up to 5 years in imprisonment or with fine which can extend to Rs. 10000.
- A fine up to Rs. 200 can be imposed for smoking in public place, selling tobacco products to minors, or selling tobacco products within a radius of 100 metres from any educational institution.
- A person who advertises tobacco products shall on first conviction shall be punished with up to 2 years in imprisonment or with fine which can extend to Rs. 1000, in case of subsequent conviction shall be punished with up to 5 years in imprisonment or with fine which can extend to Rs. 5000.
- The Act repealed The Cigarettes (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1975
- The owner/manager/in-charge of a public place must display a board containing the warning “No Smoking Area – Smoking here is an offence ” in appropriate manner at the entrance and inside the premises.
Tobacco
- The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year, including around 1.2 million deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke
- All forms of tobacco are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Other tobacco products include waterpipe tobacco, various smokeless tobacco products, cigars, cigarillos, roll-your-own tobacco, pipe tobacco, bidis and kreteks
- Over 80% of the 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest. Tobacco use contributes to poverty by diverting household spending from basic needs such as food and shelter to tobacco
Key measures to reduce the demand for tobacco
Second-hand smoke
- Second-hand tobacco smoke is the smoke emitted from the burning end of a cigarette or from other smoked tobacco products (such as bidis and water-pipes) and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. Based on the scientific evidence, the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has concluded that 100% smoke-free environments are the only proven way to adequately protect the health of people from the harmful effects of second-hand tobacco smoke. Smoke-free laws protect the health of non-smokers and are popular, as they do not harm business and they encourage smokers to quit.
Pictorial health warnings
- Large pictorial or graphic health warnings, including plain packaging, with hard hitting messages can persuade smokers to protect the health of non-smokers by not smoking inside the home, increase compliance with smoke-free laws and encourage more people to quit tobacco use.
Tobacco advertising
- Comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship can reduce tobacco consumption. A comprehensive ban covers both direct and indirect varieties of promotion:
- Direct forms include advertising on television, radio, print publications, billboards and social media platforms.
- Indirect forms include brand sharing, brand stretching, free distribution, price discounts, point of sale product displays, sponsorships and promotional activities masquerading as corporate social responsibility programmes.
Taxes
- Tobacco taxes are the most cost-effective way to reduce tobacco use and health care costs, especially among youth and low-income people, while increasing revenue in many countries.
Quitting tobacco
- When tobacco users become aware of the dangers of tobacco, most want to quit. However, nicotine contained on tobacco products is highly addictive and without cessation support only 4% of users who attempt to quit tobacco use will succeed. Professional support and proven cessation medications can more than double a tobacco user’s chance of successful quitting.
3 . City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) project
Context: The government approved the second phase of the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) project, a programme under the ambit of the Smart Cities Mission, which aims to promote integrated waste management and climate-oriented reform actions.’’
What is CITIIS?
- CITIIS, or the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain, is a sub-component of the Government of India’s Smart Cities Mission.
- It is a joint program of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), the European Union (EU), and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)
How does it work?
- CITIIS provides financial and technical assistance to the selected cities.
- This assistance focuses on strengthening institutions by committing resources to systematic planning (maturation phase) before implementation, by developing results-based monitoring frameworks and by adopting technology for program monitoring.
- The first phase of CITIIS had a total outlay of Rs 933 crore. It was launched in July 2018 with projects in 12 cities namely Agartala, Amaravati, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Dehradun, Hubbali-Dharwad, Kochi, Puducherry, Surat, Ujjain and Visakhapatnam.
What are the aims of the programme?
- This program aims to support competitively selected projects promoting circular economy with a focus on integrated waste management at the city level, climate-oriented reform actions at the state level, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the national level.
Implementation
- It would span over a period of four years from 2023-2027 and has been conceived and would be implemented in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union (EU), and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
- The funding for CITIIS 2.0 would include a loan of Rs 1760 crore from AFD and KfW, split equally, and a technical assistance grant of Rs 106 crore from the European Union.
What are the components of the programme?
- The CITIIS 2.0 has three major components which are financial and technical support for developing projects focused on building climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation in up to 18 smart cities, support to all states and Union Territories on a demand basis and interventions at all centre, state and city levels to further climate governance in urban India through institutional strengthening, knowledge dissemination and capacity building.
4 . Facts for Prelims
Semicon India Programme
- The Union Cabinet had approved the comprehensive Semicon India programme with a financial outlay of INR 76,000 crore for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in 2021.
- Semicon India Program aims to provide attractive incentive support to companies / consortia that are engaged in Silicon Semiconductor Fabs, Display Fabs, Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs, Semiconductor Packaging (ATMP / OSAT) and Semiconductor Design.
- The program will give an impetus to semiconductor and display manufacturing by facilitating capital support and technological collaborations.
- India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)- India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) has been setup as an Independent Business Division within Digital India Corporation having administrative and financial autonomy to formulate and drive India’s long-term strategies for developing semiconductors and display manufacturing facilities and semiconductor design ecosystem.
- Envisioned to be led by global experts in the Semiconductor and Display industry, ISM is serving as the nodal agency for efficient, coherent and smooth implementation of the programme for development of semiconductor and manufacturing ecosystem in India.
Centralised Laboratory Network (CLN)
- India has joined the Centralized Laboratory Network (CLN) which currently has 15 partner facilities in 13 countries that works to test vaccines which can be used during pandemic, epidemic disease outbreak.
- CLN is a part of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Network is the largest global group which has standardised methods and materials for testing.
- Aim – CEPI-funded network aims to identify the most promising vaccine candidates rapidly and accurately against emerging infectious diseases and the expanded network is working at supporting sustainable regional outbreak preparedness infrastructure also.
- The new members of the CLN now are Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) (Senegal), KAVI Institute of Clinical Research (KAVI ICR) & University of Nairobi Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (UNITID) (Kenya), Synexa Life Sciences (South Africa) and Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) (Uganda).
CEPI
- The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is a foundation that takes donations from public, private, philanthropic, and civil society organisations, to finance research projects which are not longer independent to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases (EID).
- CEPI is focused on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “blueprint priority diseases”, which include: the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the Nipah virus, the Lassa fever virus, and the Rift Valley fever virus, as well as the Chikungunya virus and the hypothetical, unknown pathogen “Disease X”