Daily Current Affairs : 28th and 29th January 2022

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Monetary Policy Stances of RBI
2. M Nagraj and Jarnail Singh Cases
3. Adenovirus based vaccine
4. Budget Formulation
5. Central Asia meet
6. Suspension of Legislators
7. Facts for Prelims

1 . Monetary Policy Stance

Context : Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra on Friday said the central bank’s decision to continue with an accommodative policy stance, despite criticism, had served the country well and that time would tell whether the approach had been ‘correct’.

Policy Stances of RBI

Accommodative Stance

• Accommodative stance means the central bank is telling the market to expect a rate cut anytime
• Usually, this policy is adopted when there is slowdown in the economy.

Neutral stance

• Neutral stance doesn’t have any particular meaning. This means anything can happen anytime means the RBI would have the flexibility to either increase or decrease the policy rates

Tight and Calibrated Tightening stance

• Tight – It indicates an impending rate hike
• Calibrated Tightening – RBI would either keep the rates constant or increase the rates.

2 . M Nagaraj case & Jarnail Singh case

Context : The Supreme Court on Friday refused to lay down the “yardstick” for determining the inadequacy of representation for granting reservation in promotions for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates in government jobs. It held ‘cadre’, and not class or group or the entire service, as the unit for the purpose of collection of quantifiable data for giving promotion quotas. The court stuck firm by the decisions of its Constitution Benches in the Jarnail Singh and M. Nagaraj cases that the question of adequate representation of SC/ST communities ought to be left to the respective States to determine.

Timeline of the issue

• The Indra Sawhney verdict had held there would be reservation only in initial appointments and not promotions. 
• The Centre introduced Article 16(4A) through the Constitution (Seventy­seventh Amendment) Act to overcome the effect of this judgment and continue with its policy of extending quotas for SCs and STs in promotions, reasoning that their representation in States’ services has not reached the required level.
• Article 16(4B)was also introduced in the Constitution to carry forward unfilled vacancies in subsequent years and not apply the 50% cap on reservation to these vacancies. 
• Article 335 of the Constitution was amended in 2001 to allow relaxations in qualifying marks and lowering of standards in favour of SCs/STs. 
• The amendments were challenged in the Supreme Court and referred to a five judge Bench in the M. Nagaraj case.

M. Nagaraj case

• In 2006,the five­ judge Bench, in Nagaraj, laid down three conditions for promotion of SCs and STs in public employment. 
• The court held that the government cannot introduce quota in promotion for its SC/ST employees unless it proves that…
  • the particular community was backward,
  • inadequately represented
  • providing reservation in promotion would not affect the overall efficiency of public administration. 
• The opinion of the government should be based on quantifiable data.
• The judgment in Nagaraj also held that the creamy layer was applicable to SCs and STs in government promotions.

What happened in the ‘Jarnail Singh’ judgment(2018)?

• In Jarnail Singh, another five­ judge Bench upheld the 2006 verdict’s reasoning that the creamy layer principle was based on the right to equality. 
• The court held that quota benefits should go to the weakest of the weak and not be snatched away by members of the same class who were in the “top creamy layer”. 
• Justice Rohinton F. Nariman,in the Jarnail Singh case, said the creamy layer concept ensured that only the genuinely deserving members of an SC/ST community get reservation benefi ts.
• The judgment said that when the court applied creamy layer to SCs and STs in the Nagaraj case, it did not tinker with the Presidential List under Articles 341 or 342 of the Constitution. The caste, group or sub­group named in the List had remained intact.

3 . Adenovirus based vaccine

Context : The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech approval for conducting Phase 3 clinical trials of an intranasal booster dose for those who have received both doses of Covaxin.

About the News

• The chimpanzee adenovirus vectored COVID-19 vaccine (BBV154) will be administered through an intranasal route, and each single dose is 0.5 ml.
• Only the batches certified by the Central Drugs Laboratory, Kasauli, shall be used in the clinical trials, which will be conducted at nine sites, including the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and Patna. Other trial sites include institutes in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
• The DCGI has stated that this permission is subject to the conditions prescribed in Part A of Chapter V of the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
• “Merely granting permission to conduct clinical trials with the vaccine does not convey or imply that, based on the clinical trial data generated with the vaccine, permission to market this vaccine in the country will automatically be granted to you,” the DCGI said.

About Adenovirus based vaccine

• Adenoviruses are non-enveloped, double-stranded DNA viruses (genome size: 34-43 kb; virion size: 70-90 nm), first discovered in the human adenoid tissue in 1953 by Rowe and his colleagues.
• In humans, adenoviruses generally cause mild respiratory and gastrointestinal tract infections; however, adenovirus-induced infections can be life-threatening in immunocompromised people, or people with pre-existing respiratory or cardiac disorders.
• These viruses are isolated from a wide variety of mammalian species, ranging from simians to chimpanzees to human beings. In humans, more than 50 adenovirus serotypes (no cross-neutralization by antibodies) have been identified, which are divided into 7 subgroups (A – G) based on red blood cell agglutination properties and sequence homology.
• Adenoviruses express two types of genes: early genes and late genes. Early genes (E1A, E1B, E2, E3, and E4) are necessary for supporting viral replication inside host cells; whereas, late genes are required for host cell lysis, viral assembly, and virion release. Recombinant adenoviruses that are generated in the laboratory as vectors can be either replication-deficient or replication-competent.
• Because the E1 gene is essential for viral replication, experimental depletion of the E1 gene generates adenoviruses that are capable of infecting the host cells but cannot grow in numbers because of defective replication. However, some specialized cells, such as HEK 293, can facilitate the replication of E1-deficient adenoviruses by providing E1 functions in trans.
• Adenovirus-based vaccines are prepared by inserting a transgene cassette into the adenoviral backbone through direct cloning or homologous recombination. The transgene cassette expresses the target antigen under the control of a strong promoter that is capable of maintaining robust and sustained expression of the transgene.     

What are the advantages of adenovirus-based vaccines?

• Because of the relatively large-sized and well-characterized genome, adenoviruses are easy to manipulate genetically. Because adenoviruses cause mild infections in humans and their viral replication can be inhibited by genetic modifications, adenovirus-based vaccines are mostly safe and come with very few side-effects.
• These viruses are capable of infecting a wide range of dividing and nondividing cells because of broad tissue tropism.
• Other factors that make adenovirus-based vaccines more advantageous include higher thermostability, ability to grow to high titers, and easy application through systemic or respiratory mucosal routes.
• Unlike other viral vectors, such as lentivirus and retrovirus, the risk of insertion mutagenesis is much less in the case of adenoviruses as they do not integrate the viral genome with the host genome.  
• Another major advantage of adenovirus-based vaccines is their ability to induce strong and sustained innate and adaptive immune responses. In particular, adenoviruses can induce both CD4⁺ T cell- and CD8⁺ T cell-mediated immune responses, which make them appropriate candidate vectors for developing vaccines against pathogens that are primarily eliminated by the cell-based immune system.
• Neutralizing antibodies produced by adenoviral infections or adenovirus-based vaccines primarily target the viral capsid protein hexon; however, antibodies generated against the pentose base or fiber (other two capsid proteins) can also neutralize adenoviruses.
• Moreover, adenoviruses express pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) to induce the innate immune system. The binding of PAMPs with the host cell’s pathogen recognition receptor leads to the production of proinflammatory cytokines and maturation of antigen-presenting cells.

Examples of adenovirus-based vaccines?

• To date, several adenovirus-based vaccines are in clinical and pre-clinical trials. Vaccines developed against HIV, Ebola virus, influenza virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Plasmodium falciparum are currently under human clinical trials. There are also vaccines under preclinical trials developed against rabies virus, dengue virus, and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Meanwhile, adenovirus-based vaccines for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been authorized for emergency use amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.    

4 . Central Asia Summit

Context : Overcoming the lack of land connectivity between India and Central Asia’s landlocked countries was one of the “main issues of discussion” during the first India-Central Asia Summit hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, officials.

India and Central Asian region

• After the breakup of the Soviet Union and the formation of the independent republics in Central Asia, India reset its ties with the strategically critical region. India provided financial aid to the region and established diplomatic relations.
• New Delhi signed the Strategic Partnership Agreements (SPA) with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to stimulate defence cooperation and deepen trade relations.
• In 2012, New Delhi’s ‘Connect Central Asia’ policy aimed at furthering India’s political, economic, historical and cultural connections with the region.
• However, India’s efforts were stonewalled by Pakistan’s lack of willingness to allow India passage through its territory.
• China took advantage of the situation and unveiled the much-hyped BRI in Kazakhstan.
• The growing geostrategic and security concerns regarding the BRI’s China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its violation of India’s sovereignty forced New Delhi to fix its lethargic strategy.
• In 2014 after assuming office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited all the Central Asian countries in July 2015. Eventually, Central Asia became the link that placed Eurasia in New Delhi’s zone of interest.
• India signed MoUs with Iran in 2015 to develop the Chabahar port in the Sistan-Baluchistan province that was in the doldrums from 2003.
• Most of the Central Asian leaders view India’s Chabahar port as an opportunity to diversify their export markets and control China’s ambitions.
• China’s assertive approach led to rising social discontent on the ill-treatment of their ethnic brethren in neighbouring Xinjiang.
• Ashgabat Agreement allowed access to connectivity networks to facilitate trade and commercial interactions with both Central Asia and Eurasia, and also access the natural resources of the region for India
• Current Summit will be the first India – Central Asia summit. It coincided with the 30^th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Central Asian countries.

Key decisions of the Summit

• Summit was attended by Presidents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan and was hosted by Indian Prime Minister.
• During the Summit, Prime Minister Modi and the Central Asian Leaders discussed the next steps in taking India-Central Asia relations to new heights.
• Leaders agreed to institutionalize the Summit mechanism by deciding to hold it every 2 years. They also agreed on regular meetings of Foreign Ministers, Trade Ministers, Culture Ministers and Secretaries of the Security Council to prepare the groundwork for the Summit meetings. An India-Central Asia Secretariat in New Delhi would be set up to support the new mechanism.
•   The Leaders discussed far-reaching proposals to further cooperation in areas of trade and connectivity, development cooperation, defence and security and, in particular, on cultural and people to people contacts. These included a Round-Table on Energy and Connectivity; Joint Working Groups at senior official level on Afghanistan and use of Chabahar Port; showcasing of Buddhist exhibitions in Central Asian countries and commissioning of an India-Central Asia dictionary of common words, joint counter-terrorism exercises, visit of 100 member youth delegation annually from Central Asian countries to India and special courses for Central Asian diplomats.
•  Prime Minister Modi also discussed the evolving situation in Afghanistan with the Central Asian leaders. The leaders reiterated their strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan with a truly representative and inclusive government. Prime Minister conveyed India’s continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.
•  A comprehensive Joint Declaration “Delhi Declaration” was adopted by the leaders that enumerates their common vision for an enduring and comprehensive India-Central Asia partnership

5 . Budget Formulation

Context : With the economy still hurting from the pandemic, the Budget on February 1 is likely to address concerns around growth, inflation and spending. The Budget, which will be tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is the Government’s blueprint on expenditure, taxes it plans to levy, and other transactions which affect the economy and the lives of citizens. 

What are the major components of the Budget? 

• There are three major components — expenditure, receipts and deficit indicators. Depending on the manner in which they are defined, there can be many classifications and indicators of expenditure, receipts and deficits. 

Expenditure

• Based on their impact on assets and liabilities, total expenditure can be divided into capital and revenue expenditure.
• Capital expenditure is incurred with the purpose of increasing assets of a durable nature or of reducing recurring liabilities.
• All these are classified as capital expenditure as they lead to creation of new assets.
• Revenue expenditure involves any expenditure that does not add to assets or reduce liabilities. Expenditure on the payment of wages and salaries, subsidies or interest payments would be typically classified as revenue expenditure. 
• Depending on the manner in which it affects different sectors, expenditure is also classified into (i) general services (ii) economic services, (iii) social services and (iv) grants-in-aid and contribution.
• The sum of expenditure on economic and social services together form the development expenditure.
• Economic services include expenditure on transport, communication, rural development, agricultural and allied sectors.
• Expenditure on the social sector including education or health is categorised as social services.
• Again, depending on its effect on asset creation or liability reduction, development expenditure can be further classified as revenue and capital expenditure. 

Receipts

• The receipts of the Government have three components — revenue receipts, non-debt capital receipts and debt-creating capital receipts.
• Revenue receipts involve receipts that are not associated with increase in liabilities and comprise revenue from taxes and non-tax sources.
• Non-debt receipts are part of capital receipts that do not generate additional liabilities. Recovery of loans and proceeds from disinvestments would be regarded as non-debt receipts since generating revenue from these sources does not directly increase liabilities, or future payment commitments.
• Debt-creating capital receipts are ones that involve higher liabilities and future payment commitments of the Government. 

Fiscal Deficit

• Fiscal deficit by definition is the difference between total expenditure and the sum of revenue receipts and non-debt receipts.
• It indicates how much the Government is spending in net terms. Since positive fiscal deficits indicate the amount of expenditure over and above revenue and non-debt receipts, it needs to be financed by a debt-creating capital receipt.
• Primary deficit is the difference between fiscal deficit and interest payments. Revenue deficit is derived by deducting capital expenditure from fiscal deficits. 

What are the implications of the Budget on the economy? 

• The Budget has an implication for aggregate demand of an economy. All Government expenditure generates aggregate demand in the economy since it involves purchase of private goods and services by the Government sector.
• All tax and non-tax revenue reduces net income of the private sector and thereby leads to reduction in private and aggregate demand. But except for exceptional circumstances, the GDP, revenue receipt and expenditure typically show a tendency to rise over time. Thus, the trend in absolute value of expenditure and receipts in themselves has little use for meaningful analysis of the Budget. The trend in expenditures and revenue is analysed either by the GDP or as growth rates after accounting for the inflation rate. 
• Reduction in expenditure GDP ratio or increase in revenue receipt-GDP ratio indicates the Government’s policy to reduce aggregate demand and vice-versa. For similar reasons, reduction in fiscal deficit-GDP ratio and primary deficit-GDP ratios indicate Government policy of reducing demand and vice versa. 
• Since different components of expenditure and revenue can have different effects on income of different classes and social groups, the Budget also has implications for income distribution. For example, revenue expenditure such as employment guarantee schemes or food subsidies can directly boost the income of the poor. Concession in corporate tax may directly and positively affect corporate incomes. Though both a rise in expenditure for employment guarantee schemes or reduction in the corporate tax would widen the fiscal deficit, its implications for income distribution would be different. 

What are fiscal rules and how do they affect policy?

• Fiscal rules provide specific policy targets on the basis of which fiscal policy is formed. Policy targets can be met by using different policy instruments. There exists no unique fiscal rule that is applied to all countries. Rather, policy targets are sensitive to the nature of economic theory and depend on the specificity of an economy. 
• In India’s case, its present fiscal rule is guided by the recommendations of the N.K. Singh Committee Report. Allowing for some deviations under exceptional times, it has three policy targets — maintaining a specific level of debt-GDP ratio (stock target), fiscal deficit-GDP ratio (flow target) and revenue deficit-GDP ratio (composition target). 
• Though both expenditure and revenue receipts can potentially act as policy instruments to meet a specific set of fiscal rules, tax rates within the existing policy framework happen to be determined independent of the expenditure requirement of the economy.
• Accordingly, in the present institutional framework in India, it is primarily the expenditure which is adjusted to meet the fiscal rules at given tax-ratios. Such an adjustment mechanism has at least two related, but analytically distinct, implications for fiscal policy. First, independent of the extent of expenditure needed to stimulate the economy or boost labour income, existing fiscal rules provide a cap on expenditure by imposing the three policy targets. Second, under any situation when the debt-ratio or deficit ratio is greater than the targeted level, expenditure is adjusted in order to meet the policy targets.
• By implication, independent of the state of the economy and the need for expansionary fiscal policy, existing policy targets may lead the Government to reduce expenditure. In the midst of the inadequacies of fiscal policy to address the contemporary challenges of unemployment and low output growth rate, the nature and objective of fiscal rules in India would have to be re-examined. 

6 . Suspension of Legislators

Context : The Supreme Court on Friday revoked the one-year suspension of 12 MLAs from the Maharashtra Assembly, calling it an “irrational” act that would impact the democratic set-up, leave constituencies unrepresented and help governments on a “thin majority” manipulate numbers.

Background

• The BJP legislators were suspended for a year for “grossly disorderly conduct” in the House during the monsoon session in 2021.

About the Verdict

• A Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and C.T. Ravikumar quashed the resolution of July 5 last year as “unconstitutional” and traversing beyond the powers of the Assembly.
• The court said it was illegal to suspend a sitting legislator beyond the ongoing session.
• “A suspension beyond the remainder period of the ongoing session would not only be grossly irrational measure, but also violative of the basic democratic values owing to unessential deprivation of the member concerned, and more importantly, the constituency would remain unrepresented in the Assembly,” Justice Khanwilkar observed.
• “It would also impact the democratic set-up as a whole by permitting the thin majority government [coalition government] of the day to manipulate the numbers of the Opposition party in the House in an undemocratic manner,” he added.
• Court held that the such suspensions would cripple the Opposition’s ability to effectively participate in the discussion/debate in the House owing to the constant fear of its members being suspended for longer period.
• Justice Khanwilkar said, “Suspension for a period of one year would assume the character of punitive and punishment worse than expulsion. Suspension for long period and beyond the session has the effect of creating a de facto vacancy though not a dejure vacancy”.
• Suspension of members or their withdrawal was meant to protect the House from disturbances or obstruction. The power of suspension was different from the privilege to inflict punishment on a member, he stated.

Article 190 – Vacation of Seats

• Article 190 (1) states that no person shall be a member of both Houses of the legislature of a State and provision shall be made by the Legislature of the State by law for the vacation by a person who is chosen a member of both Houses of his seat in one House or the other
• Article 190 (2) states that no person shall be a member of the legislatures of two or more States specified in the First Schedule and if a person is chosen a member of the Legislatures of two or more such States, then, at the expiration of such period as may be specified in rules made by the President, that persons seat in the Legislatures of all such States shall become vacant, unless he has previously resigned his seat in the Legislatures of all but one of the States
• Article 190 (3) states that If a member of a House of the Legislature of a State
  • Becomes subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause ( 1 ) or clause ( 2 ) of Article 191; or
  • Resigns his seat by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker or the Chairman, as the case may be, and his resignation is accepted by the Speaker or the Chairman, as the case may be, his seat shall thereupon becomes vacant: Provided that in the case of any resignation referred to in sub clause (b), if from information received or otherwise and after making such inquiry as he thinks fit, the Speaker or the Chairman, as the case may be, is satisfied that such resignation is not voluntary or genuine, he shall not accept such resignation
• Article 190 (4) states that if for a period of sixty days a member of a House of the Legislature of a State is without permission of the House absent from all meetings thereof, the House may declare his seat vacant: Provided that in computing the said period of sixty days no account shall be taken of any period during which the House is prorogued or is adjourned for more than four consecutive days

Expulsion of Member

• In India, legislatures’ power to punish a member by suspending or expelling him or her from the legislative is derived from Article 194 (3) in the case of State legislatures and Article 105 (3) in case of Parliament.

7 . Facts for Prelims

Rani Abbakka

• Rani Abbakka Chowta was the first Tuluva Queen of Ullal who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century. She belonged to the Chowta dynasty who ruled over parts of coastal Karnataka (Tulu Nadu), India. Their capital was Puttige.
• The port town of Ullal served as their subsidiary capital. The Portuguese made several attempts to capture Ullal as it was strategically placed. But Abbakka repulsed each of their attacks for over four decades. For her bravery, she came to be known as Abhaya Rani (The fearless queen).
• She was also one of the earliest Indians to fight colonialism and is sometimes regarded as the ‘first woman freedom fighter of India’
• In the state of Karnataka, she is celebrated along with Rani Kittur Chennamma, Keladi Chennamma, Queen Chennabhairadevi and Onake Obavva, as the foremost women warriors and patriots.
• The Chowtas followed the system of matrilineal inheritance (Aliyasantana) of Digambara Jain Bunt community by which Tirumala Raya, Abbakka’s uncle, crowned her the queen of Ullal.

Matangiri Hazra

• Matangiri Hazra is a freedom fighter from Bengal who laid down her life in the struggle
• She was affectionately known as Gandhi buri, Bengali for old lady Gandhi.
• As part of the Quit India Movement, members of the Congress planned to take over the various police stations of Medinipore district and other government offices.
• This was to be a step in overthrowing the British government in the district and establishing an independent Indian state. Hazra, who was 72 years at the time, led a procession of six thousand supporters, mostly women volunteers, with the purpose of taking over the Tamluk police station.
• When the procession reached the outskirts of the town, they were ordered to disband under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code by the Crown police As she stepped forward, Hazra was shot once. Apparently, she had stepped forward and appealed to the police not to open fire at the crowd

Gulab Kau

• Gulab Kau fought against the British rule after abandoning her own dreams of a life abroad

Rani Velu Nachiyar

• Velu Nachiyar, the first Indian queen to wage war against the East India Company
• Rani Velu Nachiyar was a queen of Sivaganga estate from c. 1780–1790. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company in India
• She is known by Tamils as Veeramangai (“brave woman”).
• With the support of Haider Alis Army, feudal lords, marudhu brothers, Dalit commanders and thandavarayan pillai she fought the East India company

Jhalkaribai

• Jhalkaribai was a woman soldier who played an important role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
• She served in the women’s army of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi.
• She eventually rose to a position of a prominent advisor to the queen, Rani of Jhansi
• At the height of the Siege of Jhansi, she disguised herself as the queen and fought on her behalf, on the front, allowing the queen to escape safely out of the fort

Spot billed Pelicans

• The spot-billed pelican belongs to the family Pelecanidae. The Spot-billed pelican species is distributed in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
• These spot-billed pelican species roost in trees near water bodies such as ponds, village tanks, lakes, streams and rivers.
• The pelican species in South India are considered to be sedentary. Not much is known about their migratory movement. They may locally move for selecting feeding grounds.
• The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated these pelican species and has listed them as “Near Threatened”.

Neocov

• A single molecular change in the lab enabled a coronavirus called NeoCov to “efficiently infect” human cells using the same pathway that the SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect human cells, researchers from Wuhan University, Wuhan, China said in a report that is yet to be peer-reviewed.
• NeoCov has so far only been seen in bats and no instances have been reported in people. With NeoCov closely related to the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses — traditionally more lethal but less transmissible than SARS-CoV-2 — the study has raised concern that this too may lethally proliferate in people.
• SARS-CoV-2, for instance, spreads the way it does because it has figured out a way to use the enzyme called human angiotensin converter 2 (hACE2) to infect cells. The scientists reported that they have, for the first time, shown NeoCov too uses bat ACE2. However this ACE2 is specific to the sub-species of bat and when the scientists checked if the NeoCov could use hACE2, it turned out to be a “less favourable” mode of entry.

INS Khukri

• (INS) Khukri was a missile corvette which was decommissioned on December 23 last year after 32 years of service.
• INS Khukri had the distinction of being part of both — western as well as eastern fleets — during its service.