National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 25th November 2019

Privatisation of Public Sector Units

Topic: Economy

In News: Recently, the government announced that it would sell stakes in several public sector undertakings (PSUs) and even give up management control in some.

More on the Topic:

• The Central government will cede full management control to buyers in the case of oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR). The government will transfer its 74.2% stake in THDC India Limited (formerly Tehri Hydro Development Corporation of India) and its 100% stake in North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) to another public sector unit and power distribution major, NTPC Ltd.

Why do governments divest stake in public sector undertakings?

• Theory 1: The government’s role is to facilitate a healthy business environment but the core competence of a government does not lie in selling fuel or steel at a profit.
• Theory 2: With governments always having to spend more than they earn through taxes and other means, additional income from the proceeds of a stake sale is beneficial. Example: in the case of present India, where it has fallen to the government to spend higher amounts on infrastructure to boost economic growth, along with its commitments on health and education.

What is a strategic sale?

• A strategic sale by a government is one where the management control is ceded to the buyer. A divestment could be stake sale to a buyer, via an initial public offering or a direct deal, but in which the government still retains majority and management control.
• A strategic sale is also different from cases where the government transfers majority stake but only to another PSU over which it has control, as happened recently with HPCL (bought by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) and with Tehri Hydro and NEEPCO in the latest round.

What is the history of disinvestment in India?

• Since liberalisation began in India in 1991 under then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, the country saw a steady flow of disinvestment decisions. However, privatisation, where buyers took over management control, began later under the National Democratic Alliance governments.
• Arun Shourie, the country’s first Disinvestment Minister, gave an impetus to the exercise. He is credited with the privatisation of Maruti, Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd., Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited and Hindustan Zinc through the strategic sale process.

What does the government get out of divestment?

• In the latest round, the government stands to get a sum in the region of ₹80,000 crore from a stake sale in the five aforementioned units, which would take the total disinvestment value for the fiscal close to the ₹1.05 lakh crore amount it had planned.
• India is currently facing an economic slowdown in which indirect tax collections are below par. The government has cut corporate tax rates hoping that companies will use these savings for price cuts or dividend payouts, or for investments that create jobs. As consumption is highly muted, the Central government may look to place more disposable cash in the hands of the taxpayer through lowering personal income tax rates.
• As a result of cut and to-be-cut tax rates, the government would have less and less cash for its own expenditure in infrastructure and the social sector.
• If the fiscal deficit goes out of hand, global rating agencies lower the country’s investment grade. This would make any future foreign currency loans costlier, both for the country and for large Indian conglomerates whose fortunes rise and fall with the local economy.
• Here is where proceeds from strategic sales give the government extra spending cushion.
• This fiscal has been a year without precedent for the government on the fiscal front. The Reserve Bank of India gave the Central government a record dividend pay-out of about ₹1.76 lakh crore. This couldn’t help much as the government has had to execute a corporate tax cut to mitigate the effects of a slowdown and will suffer an annual loss of ₹1.45 lakh crore.
• So at least meeting the year’s disinvestment target, if not exceeding it, would give the government some respite from the string of bad fiscal situation that has been flowing its way.

Source: The Hindu

Golden Rice

Topic: Agriculture

In News: Bangladesh could be the first country to approve plantation of Golden rice variety.

More on the Topic:

• In the late 1990s, German scientists developed a genetically modified variety of rice called Golden Rice. It was claimed to be able to fight Vitamin A deficiency, which is the leading cause of blindness among children and can also lead to death due to infectious diseases such as measles.
• In Bangladesh, over 21 per cent of the children have vitamin A deficiency.
• The rice variety will not be more expensive than the conventional variety.
• Rice is naturally low in the pigment beta-carotene, which the body uses to make Vitamin A. Golden rice contains this, which is the reason for its golden colour.

Source: Indian Express

Protein that helps regulate blood sugar levels identified

Topic: Health

In News: Scientists at the Hyderabad based Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) have demonstrated the role of a protein Secretagogin (SCGN) in increasing insulin action in obesity-induced diabetes.

More on the Topic:

• It is a protein that in humans is encoded by SCGN gene. The encoded protein is a secreted calcium-binding protein which is found in cytoplasm. The findings shows that SCGN would soon become a diagnostic marker, and one should check its potential in diabetes management.
• As per CCMB the findings have established SCGN as a functional insulin-binding protein with therapeutic potential against diabetes. They show that SCGN binds to insulin and protects it from various stresses, increases its stability as well as adds to its action.
• Significance: The findings are significant as various kinds of cellular stresses can result in loss of structure and function of insulin, ultimately leading to diabetes. Diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are often linked with each other. SCGN is found in lower quantities in brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Source: Hindu

Maharashtra Bill to Protect Media Persons

Topic: Governance

In News: The President of India has given assent to the Maharashtra Media Persons and Media Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Bill, 2017. Maharashtra is the first state to pass legislation which ensures protection for journalists.

More on the Topic:

• The bill considers violent attacks on media persons a non-bailable offence.
• Anyone who commits or attempts to commit any act of violence against journalists or media houses shall be punished with jail terms up to three years or with a fine up to Rs 50,000 or with both.
• A media institution has been defined as any registered newspaper, news channel, news-based electronic outlet or news station establishment.
• A media person means a person whose principal vocation is that of a journalist, who is employed as a journalist, whether on a regular or contract basis.
• Any offence against a media person will be investigated by a police officer above the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
• The assailant would also be liable to reimburse the medical expenditure incurred by the media persons in the attack.
• The offender is also liable to pay compensation for damage or loss caused to the property of the media person or the media house as determined by the court.

Significance of the bill:

• It ensures the implementation of the “Safety and Security of Journalists” advisory (2017) by the Ministry of Home Affairs. (The advisory was issued days after Bengaluru-based journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in 2017.)
• The act will ensure the safety of journalists in exercising freedom of speech and expression.
• It will help to improve ranking under the World Press Freedom Index.
• India ranked 140th out of 180 countries in this index released by ‘Reporters Without Borders’.
• According to the report violence against journalists including police violence, attacks by Maoist fighters and reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt politicians is one of the most striking characteristics of the current state of press freedom in India.

Source: Indian Express

Sumatran Rhino

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: The Sumatran rhinoceros has become extinct in Malaysia after the death of the last rhino in the country.

More on the Topic:

• It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
• The World Wild Life (WWF) estimates that there are only about 80 of them and are left mainly in Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia.
• There are five different species of Rhino named Black Rhino, White Rhino, Greater One-Horned Rhino, Javan Rhino and Sumatran Rhino.
• Only the Great one-horned rhino is found in India.

Source: Indian Express

Manipur Sangai Festival

Topic: Culture

In News: The 2019 edition of Manipur Sangai Festival is being organised in Imphal.

More on the Topic:

• The ‘Festival’ is named after the State animal, Sangai, the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur (IUCN status: Endangered.). It started in the year 2010 and has grown over the years into a big platform for Manipur to showcase its rich tradition and culture to the world.
• The State’s classical dance form, ‘Ras Leela’ is quite famous all over the world for its distinctiveness from any other dance forms in India. The Ras Leela will form an important part of the dance performances at the Manipur Sangai Festival besides the various other folk dance performances like the Kabui Naga dance, Bamboo dance, Maibi dance, Lai Haraoba dance, Khamba Thoibi dance etc. which will be showcased at the festival.
• Indigenous sports will also be a major highlight of the State’s biggest tourism festival this year. Manipur’s famous martial arts- Thang Ta (a combination Spear & Sword skills), Yubi-Lakpi (a game played with greased coconut like rugby), Mukna Kangjei (a game that combines hockey and wrestling), and Sagol Kangjei– Modern Polo (believed to have evolved in Manipur) will all form part of the festival.

Source: PIB

Living Root Bridges

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: A new research investigates the jing kieng jri or living root bridges structures and proposes to integrate them in modern architecture around the world, and potentially help make cities more environment-friendly.

More on the Topic:

• The jing kieng jri or living root bridges aerial bridges built by weaving and manipulating the roots of the Indian rubber tree have been serving as connectors for generations in
• Spanning between 15 and 250 feet and built over centuries, the bridges, primarily a means to cross streams and rivers, have also become world-famous tourist attractions.

Source: Indian Express