PIB Analysis : 13th August

PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. DPCO & NPPA
2. Report of the High Level Committee on CSR
3. Partial Credit Guarantee offered by Government of India (GoI) to Public Sector Banks (PSBs) for purchasing high-rated pooled assets
4. Swach Survekshan 2020
5. Operation Number Plate

1 . DPCO & NPPA

Context : The knee implant is a non-scheduled medical device / drug for which DPCO, 2013 allows an annual increase upto 10% of MRP. However, this was not permitted in 2018. Though the industry has requested for a 20% (10% for the year 2018 and 10% for the year 2019) increase in the price of knee implants, it was decided to further monitor the price increase of knee implants as per para 20 of the DPCO, 2013 that restricts price increase beyond 10% in a given year. This shall be subject to a review after one year.

About DPCO

• The Drugs Prices Control Order, 1995 is an order issued by the Government of India under Sec. 3 of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to regulate the prices of drugs.
• The Order interalia provides the list of price controlled drugs, procedures for fixation of prices of drugs, method of implementation of prices fixed by Govt., penalties for contravention of provisions etc.
• For the purpose of implementing provisions of DPCO, powers of Govt. have been vested in NPPA. Later, the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO) 2013 was notified.

About NPPA

• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), was established on 29th August 1997 as an independent body of experts as per the decision taken by the Cabinet committee in September 1994 while reviewing Drug Policy. The Authority, interalia, has been entrusted with the task of fixation/revision of prices of pharmaceutical products (bulk drugs and formulations), enforcement of provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order and monitoring of the prices of controlled and decontrolled drugs in the country.

How are prices regulated?

• The DPCO controls the prices of all essential medicines by fixing ceiling prices, limiting the highest prices companies can charge.
• The National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) is drawn up to include essential medicines that satisfy the priority health needs of the population.
• The list is made with considerations of safety, efficacy, disease prevalence and the comparative cost-effectiveness of medicines, and is updated periodically by an expert panel set up for this purpose under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This list forms the basis of price controls under the DPCO.

What is the mechanism for price capping?

• The NLEM 2015 contains 376 medicines on the basis of which the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed prices of over 800 formulations using the provisions of the DPCO. However, these formulations cover less than 10% of the total pharmaceutical market.
• The DPCO follows a market-based pricing mechanism. The ceiling price is worked out on the basis of the simple average price of all brands having at least 1% market share of the total market turnover of that medicine.

2 . Report of the High Level Committee on CSR

Context : Shri Injeti Srinivas, Secretary (Corporate Affairs), today presented the Report of the High Level Committee on CSR to the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.

Background

• The High Level Committee on CSR was constituted in October, 2018 under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Corporate Affairs) to review the existing CSR framework and make recommendations on strengthening the CSR ecosystem, including monitoring implementation and evaluation of outcomes.

Recommendations given by the committee

• The main recommendations  include, making CSR expenditure tax deductible, provision for carry forward of unspent balance for a period of 3 – 5 years, aligning Schedule 7 with the SDGs by adopting a SDG plus framework (which would additionally include sports promotion, Senior Citizens’  welfare, welfare of differently abled persons, disaster management and heritage protection), balancing local area preferences with national priorities, introducing impact assessment studies for CSR obligation of 5 crore or more, and registration of implementation agencies on MCA portal. 
• The other recommendations include developing a CSR exchange portal to connect contributors, beneficiaries and agencies, allowing CSR in social benefit bonds, promoting social impact companies, and third party assessment of major CSR projects.
• The Committee has emphasized on not treating CSR as a means of resource gap funding for government schemes. 
• The Committee discourages passive contribution of CSR into different funds included in Schedule VII of the Act.  It has emphasized on CSR spending as a board driven process to provide innovative technology based solutions for social problems. 
• The Committee has also recommended that companies having CSR prescribed amount below Rs. 50 lakh may be exempted from constituting a CSR Committee. 
• The Committee has also recommended that violation of CSR compliance may be made a civil offence and shifted to the penalty regime.

3 . Partial Credit Guarantee offered by Government of India (GoI) to Public Sector Banks (PSBs) for purchasing high-rated pooled assets

Context : In pursuance of the announcement made in the Union Budget 2019-20 presented by the Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Government has issued a scheme regarding partial credit guarantee on 10.8.2019.

About the Scheme

• The Scheme would enable the public sector banks (PSBs) to purchase pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs amounting to Rs. one lakh crore.
• It is expected that this measure would provide liquidity to the NBFC Sector and, in turn, enable them to continue to play their role in meeting the financing requirements of the productive sectors of economy including MSME, retail and housing.

Details of the Scheme

• Name of the Scheme: ‘Partial Credit Guarantee offered by Government of India (GoI) to Public Sector Banks (PSBs) for purchasing high-rated pooled assets from financially sound Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)/Housing Finance Companies (HFCs)’.
• Objective: To address temporary asset liability mismatches of otherwise solvent NBFCs/HFCs without having to resort to distress sale of their assets for meeting their commitments.
• Validity of the scheme: The window for one-time partial credit guarantee offered by GoI will open from the date of issuance of the Scheme by the Government for a period of six months, or till such date by which Rupees One lakh crore assets get purchased by banks, whichever is earlier.

4 . Swach Survekshan 2020

Context : Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing & Urban Affairs launched the Swachh Survekshan 2020 (SS 2020), the fifth edition of the annual cleanliness survey conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) here today. Alongside, the Swachh Survekshan 2020 Toolkit, SBM Water PLUS Protocol and Toolkit, Swachh Nagar – an integrated waste management app and AI enabled mSBM App were also launched.

Key Focus Area of SS 2020

Swachh Survekshan 2020 Toolkit

• Swachh Survekshan 2020 Toolkit launched by the Hon’ble Minister contains the detailed survey methodology and component indicators with scores to help cities to prepare themselves for the survey.

Water PLUS Protocol and the accompanying Toolkit

• Moving beyond ODF, ODF+ and ODF++, the Water PLUS protocol aims to provide a guideline for cities and towns to ensure that no untreated wastewater is released into the environment thereby enabling sustainability of the sanitation value chain.
• This is in line with the Government’s focus on water conversation and reuse under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan and also aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation.
• The toolkit provides the detailed SBM Water Plus protocol laid down by MoHUA, along with declaration formats to be obtained from various stakeholders, that wards / work circles (in case under jurisdiction of development authority) and cities are required to submit, as part of the SBM Water Plus declaration and certification process.

Swachh Nagar – an integrated waste management App

• The app contains features such as tracking of waste collection by ULBs through route and vehicle monitoring, notification to citizens, online collection of user fee for waste collection and an effective grievance redressal mechanism, will be the answer to several issues that hinder effective waste management such as lack of monitoring, collection of segregated waste, and tracking the movement of waste vehicles and waste pickers, amongst others.

AI enabled mSBM App

• Mobile app developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) helps detect the beneficiary face and toilet seat in the photo uploaded using Artificial Intelligence (AI) model at the backend.
• This app will not only facilitate the applicants of Individual Household Toilets (IHHL) under SBM-U know the status of their application in real-time after uploading the photograph but also help them upload the correct photo.
• The App will also help the respective ULB nodal officer to verify and approve the application thereby significantly reducing the processing time for applicants.

5 . Operation Number Plate

About Operation Number Plate

• Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Indian Railways launched a Special Drive with a Code Name – Operation “Number Plate”to identify and verify all vehicles parked in Railway premises, circulating area, parkings and even in the ‘No Parking’ areas for longer duration.
• The unidentified vehicles are considered as a serious threat to security and safety of passengers and other stake holders of railways.