National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 24 October 2019

NAM Summit

Topic: International Affairs

In News: Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu will represent India at the 19th Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.

More on the Topic:

• This is the second time in a row that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not attending the summit.
• Modi’s absence indicates a decisive move away from past practice at the 60-year-old organisation that India was a founding member of, by the NDA government. In 2016 as well, India was represented by then Vice-President Hamid Ansari at the NAM summit in Venezuela.

About NAM:

• NAM was founded in 1961 in Belgrade.
• It was created by the heads of Yugoslavia, India, Egypt, Ghana and Indonesia.
• The Non-Aligned Movement was formed during the Cold War as an organization of States that did not seek to formally align themselves with either the United States or the Soviet Union, but sought to remain independent or neutral.
• The movement represented the interests and priorities of developing countries. The Movement has its origin in the Asia-Africa Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955.

Key features of the NAM policy:

• The policy of non-alignment was based on the five principles of Panchasheel, which directed international conduct.
• These principles which were envisaged and formulated in 1954, were mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty; non interference in each other’s military and internal affairs; mutual non aggression; equality and mutual benefit and finally, peaceful coexistence and economic cooperation

NAM’s Significance for India:

• NAM played an important role during the Cold War years in furthering many of the causes that India advocated: Decolonisation, end to apartheid, global nuclear disarmament, ushering in of new international economic and information orders.
• NAM enabled India and many newly born countries in 1950’s and 1960’s their sovereignty and alleviated the fears of neo-colonialism.
• NAM made India a leader for many countries who didn’t want to ally with the then global powers USA or USSR. India became a soft-power leader which still holds good till date.
• India’s non-alignment gave her the opportunity to get the best of both the global superpowers of the time in terms of aid, military support etc. This was in line with her objectives of national development.

NAM Present Status:

• The end of cold war lead to unipolar world and now tending towards multi-polarity. The NAM is now reached irrelevance.
• NAM could not push for reforms in the global bodies like UN, IMF, WTO.
• Inability to find solution to the West-Asian crisis. Withdrawal of one of the founder members- Egypt, after the Arab Spring.
• Most of the members are economically weak; hence they have limited say in world politics or economy.

Source: Hindu

Peritoneal Dialysis Programme

Topic: Government Schemes

In News: The Health Ministry issued guidelines for establishing peritoneal dialysis services under the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme.

More on the Topic:

• The guidelines are expected to benefit the 2 lakh Indians who develop end-stage kidney failure every year in India.
• The guidelines will also serve as a comprehensive manual for states intending to set up peritoneal dialysis centers.
• This will ensure the delivery of high-quality and cost-effective services and develop a clinically-safe and effective programme.

About Peritoneal Dialysis:

• There are two main types of dialysis namely- Hemodialysis, and Peritoneal dialysis.
• In peritoneal dialysis, people will have access to the treatment option that could be performed at home (as in hemodialysis, treatment needs to be performed at a designated dialysis centre).
• The peritoneal dialysis avoids the substantial costs of infrastructural set-up, maintenance, and staffing; reduces the demands placed on the healthcare system, and offers patients the autonomy to be at home.
• The move is also expected to benefit children suffering from kidney failure who need dialysis treatment because of biological and lifestyle reasons. Also, paediatric haemodialysis facilities are scarce in India.

Source: PIB

Ozone Hole

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: During September and October months of 2019, the ozone hole over the Antarctic has been the smallest observed since 1982.

More on the Topic:

• The presence of abnormal weather patterns in the atmosphere over Antarctica is responsible for shrinkage of the ozone hole.
• Due to the warmer temperatures over Antarctica in 2019, fewer polar stratospheric clouds formed and they couldn’t persist longer, which limited the ozone-depletion process.
• Thus, shrinkage of the ozone hole is not a sign of a fast track recovery of atmospheric ozone but the result of the temporary warming of Antarctica.

About Ozone Hole:

• The ozone hole is a region of depleted layers of ozone above the Antarctic region.
• The causes for ozone depletion are free radicals like chlorine and bromine which are called Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS).
• ODSs are found in stable organic compounds like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform which are released from refrigeration, fire suppression, foam insulation, and vehicular exhaust.
• Natural processes like volcanic eruptions also contribute indirectly to ozone depletion by the release of aerosols.
• Montreal Protocol is an international treaty signed in 1987 after the Vienna Convention and came into force in 1989. According to this treaty, many countries of the world have agreed to phase out of ODSs.

Significance of Ozone Layer:

• The depletion of ozone layer paves the way for high energy Ultraviolet radiation to enter into the Earth s lower atmosphere which causes health effects on human beings like skin cancer (malignant melanoma) eye damage and cataract problems due to direct exposure to UV rays A weakening of the immune system Acceleration of the ageing process of the skin Difficulty in breathing, chest and throat pain
• In amphibians, it affects every stage of life cycle.

Source: Hindu

Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), is considering the proposal of creating the East Antarctic marine park, in its upcoming meeting.

More on the Topic:

• The proposed park, almost a million square kilometres, would protect important foraging areas and essential food sources for emperor penguins as well as seals, whales and other seabirds.
• Rampant sailing has brought some species of the ocean like seals, whales, fish, to the brink of extinction.
• Also looming are the consequences of the changing climate. The ocean is warming, acidifying and ice shelves are thinning and collapsing.
• The consent of all 26 members of the CCAMLR is required for the creation of marine park.
• China and Russia have been key in blocking the proposal, which was first floated by Australia, France and the European Union in 2010 before being scaled down in 2017.
• Both China and Russia have fishing interests in the region.

Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources:

• CCAMLR was established by international convention in 1982 with the objective of conserving Antarctic marine life.
• This was in response to increasing commercial interest in Antarctic krill resources, a keystone component of the Antarctic ecosystem and a history of over-exploitation of several other marine resources in the Southern Ocean.
• It’s Secretariat is located in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

Source: Hindu

BrahMos Missile

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: The Indian Air Force (IAF), recently, carried out successful firing of BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles from a mobile platform at Trak Island in Andaman Nicobar islands.

More on the Topic:

• BrahMos is a 8 Mach state-of-art supersonic cruise missile designed and developed by the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL).
• BAPL was formed as a joint venture between the companies of India and Russia.
• IAF had previously successfully fired the land and air version of BrahMos missile.
• The BrahMos missile provides Indian Air Force a much desired capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or on land with pinpoint accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions.
• The missile functions on the Fire and Forget principle.

Source: PIB

Ease of Doing Business

Topic: Reports and Indices

In News: World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking released.

More on the Topic:

• India went up 14 ranks in the 2020 survey to score a 63, making it the one of world’s top 10 most improved countries for the third consecutive time.
• However, India failed to achieve government’s target of being at 50th place. It was 77th last year.
• This is the third year in a row that India has made it to the top 10 in Doing Business, which is a success which very few countries have done over the 20 years of the project.
• India still lags in areas such as enforcing contracts (163rd) and registering property (154th).
• It takes 58 days and costs on average 7.8% of a property’s value to register it, longer and at greater cost than among OECD high-income economies.
• It takes 1,445 days for a company to resolve a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court, almost three times the average time in OECD high-income economies.

What helped India improve its ranking?

• Sustained business reforms over the past several years.
• India conducted four reforms in the 12-month period to May 1. Among other improvements, India made the process of obtaining a building permit more efficient.
• Importing and exporting also became easier for companies with the creation of a single electronic platform for trade stakeholders, upgrades to port infrastructure and improvements to electronic submission of documents.

Indicators of the Survey:

• This year’s study covers 12 indicator sets and 190 economies. Ten of these areas—starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency—are included in the ease of doing business score and ease of doing business ranking.
• Doing Business also measures regulation on employing workers and contracting with the government, which are not included in the ease of doing business score and ranking.

Model Mains Question: What are the reformative steps taken by the Government to improve Ease of doing business in India?  

Source: Hindu