National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 14th August 2019

High-level committee recommendation on CSR

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: The committee constituted for reviewing CSR law, chaired by Injeti Srinivas submitted its recommendations  recently.

Important recommendations: 

• Non-compliance with CSR norms should be made a civil offence. This is a departure from the recent policy change which had provided for a three-year jail term for violating CSR norms.
• CSR expenditure be made tax deductible, in order to incentivise CSR spending by companies.
• A provision to carry forward unspent CSR balance for three to five years.
• The CSR obligation under Section 135 of the Companies Act shall lie only after they have been in existence for three years.
• CSR should not be used as a “means of resource-gap funding for government schemes.
• According to the new CSR norms under Section 135 of the Companies Act a company has to earmark a part of its profit for social activities and transfer all unspent amount to an escrow account if it is an ongoing project.
• This account will be opened by the company concerned in a bank and be called the unspent corporate social responsibility account.
• The CSR expenditure which remains unspent in three years would be transferred to any fund specified in Schedule VII of the Companies Act such as the Swachch Bharat Kosh, the Clean Ganga Fund, and the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
• The central government funds should be discontinued as CSR spend instead a special designated fund should be created for transfer of unspent CSR money beyond three to five years.
• Schedule VII be aligned with the sustainable development goals to include sports promotion, senior citizens’ welfare, welfare of differently abled persons, disaster management, and heritage protection.
• It has also suggested third-party assessment of major CSR projects and bringing CSR under the purview of statutory financial audit. Government may identify 5 per cent of the CSR mandated companies on a random basis for third-party assessments.
• CSR spending will have to become part of the financial statements of the company. The committee has said that companies having CSR prescribed amount below ~50 lakh may be exempted from constituting a CSR committee.
• The other recommendations of the committee include developing a CSR exchange portal to connect contributors, beneficiaries and agencies, allowing CSR in social benefit bonds and promoting social impact companies.

About CSR:

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is referred as a corporate initiative to assess and take responsibility for the company’s effects on the environment and impact on social welfare and to promote positive social and environmental change.
• It efforts that go beyond what may be required by regulators.
• The income is earned only from the society and therefore it should be given back.

What is the legal mandate?

• Under Companies Act, 2013 any company with a net worth of the company to be Rs 500 crore or more or turnover of the company to be Rs 1000 crore or more or net profit of the company to be Rs 5 crore or more has to spend at least 2% of last 3 years average net profits on CSR activities as specified in Schedule VII and as amended from time to time. The rules came into effect from 1 April 2014.
• Further as per the CSR Rules, the provisions of CSR are not only applicable to Indian companies, but also applicable to branch and project offices of a foreign company in India.
• CSR is a commitment to support initiatives that measurably improve the lives of underprivileged by one or more of the following focus areas as Eradicating hunger, poverty & malnutrition,Promoting education,Improving maternal & child health, Ensuring environmental sustainability, Protection of national heritage,Measures for the benefit of armed forces, Promoting sports, Contribution to the Prime Minister‘s National Relief, Slum area development etc.

Model Mains Question: Corporate responsibility make companies more profitable and sustainable. Comment.

Source: The Hindu

Ebola

Topic: Health

In News: Scientists are a step closer to being able to cure the deadly Ebola haemorrhagic fever after two experimental drugs showed survival rates of as much as 90% in a clinical trial in Congo.

More on the Topic:

• Two experimental drugs an antibody cocktail called REGN-EB3 developed by Regeneron and a monoclonal antibody called mAb114 – will now be offered to all patients infected with the viral disease in an ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
• Ebola has been spreading in eastern Congo since August 2018 in an outbreak that has now killed at least 1,800 people. Efforts to control it have been hampered by militia violence and some local resistance to outside help.
• A vast Ebola outbreak in West Africa from 2013 to 2016 became the world’s largest ever when it spread through Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and killed more than 11,300 people.
• The Congo treatment trial, which began in November last year, is being carried out by an international research group coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
• The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.

Source: The Hindu, Wikipedia

57.3% allopathic practitioners are not qualified

Topic: Social Issues

In News: According to Union health ministry’s data, at present, 57.3% of personnel currently practising allopathic medicine do not have a medical qualification.

More on the Topic:

• This puts at risk rural patients who suffer because of an urban to rural doctor density ratio of 3.8:1, and India’s poor doctor-population ratio of 1:1456 as compared with the World Health Organisation standards of 1:1000.
• Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 prohibits a person other than a medical practitioner enrolled on a State Medical Register to practice medicine in the State.
• Any person acting in contravention is punishable with imprisonment and fine, and since health is a State subject, the primary responsibility to deal with such cases lies with the respective State governments.
• The ministry have requested all Chief Ministers of all the States to take appropriate action under the law against quacks, and also to evolve suitable policies to ensure availability of a quality health workforce in rural areas.

How to deal with the Lower Ratio:

• The wide gaps in comprehensive primary healthcare services for many rural areas need to be filled through competent mid-level healthcare providers who are adequately trained, technologically enabled and legally empowered.
• The Health Ministry stated that it is now looking into bringing in mid-level healthcare providers to relieve overburdened specialists.
• “Countries such as Thailand, United Kingdom, China and even [a city like] New York have permitted community health workers/ nurse practitioners into mainstream health services, with improved health outcomes.
• In India, Chhattisgarh and Assam have experimented with community health workers, and that according to independent evaluations carried out by the Harvard School of Public Health, they have performed very well.
• There is no grounds for concern if the quality of personnel is regulated tightly.

Source: The Hindu

Highlands in Kerala on threat

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: A team of scientists from the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) here who carried out an investigation in the wake of the heavy rain and devastating floods in August 2018 found that Destabilising geological processes, coupled with extreme rainfall events and unscientific farming and construction activities, pose a serious threat to human habitation in the highlands of Kerala

More on the Topic:

• During the investigation, which primarily focussed on landslip-prone areas in Thrissur and Kannur districts, the researchers found huge cracks across farmlands and dwellings.
• They had found that land subsidence, lateral spread, and soil piping were an immediate threat to life and property in the uplands.
• Based on the recommendations of the NCESS, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has initiated steps to establish a network of landslip monitoring stations in the highlands. The units based on acoustic emission technology will also have an early warning mechanism to alert the local community.
• In the areas surveyed, most of the slopes were used for raising crops and farmers had blocked the natural drainage systems. Any developmental activity like construction of roads and buildings in such vulnerable areas requires remedial measures for slope stabilisation.
• The team alerted the District Collectors in the disaster prone areas outlining the remedial steps to be adopted.
• The scientists also recommended the formation of a trained task force for the highlands to monitor ground signatures like hollows, cracks, and water spouts that often precede land subsidence, lateral spread, and landslips.

Source: The Hindu

Jammu and Kashmir delimitation process kicks off

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: Election Commission held internal discussions on the delimitation of constituencies ahead of elections to the new Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

More on the Topic:

• Total population would be divided over the 114 seats to get an average number of electors per constituency. The boundaries of the constituencies would then be drawn while ensuring that administrative units are not split as far as possible.
• According to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the UT of J&K would be increased from 107 to 114. The Act also specifies that delimitation will be based on the 2011 census till 2026.

Delimitation Commission of India:

• The Delimitation commission or Boundary commission of India is a commission established by the Government of India under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act. The main task of the commission is redrawing the boundaries of the various assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on a recent census.
• The representation from each State is not changed during this exercise. However, the number of SC and ST seats in a state are changed in accordance with the census. The present delimitation of constituencies has been done on the basis of 2001 census under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002.(J&K it will be based on 2011 census)
• The Commission is a powerful and independent body whose orders cannot be challenged in any court of law. The orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the respective State Legislative Assemblies. However, modifications are not permitted.

Source: The Hindu and Wikipedia

Perseid Meteor Shower

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: Sky watchers were treated with an incredible show with The annual Perseid meteor shower.

More on the Topic:

• The ‘Perseids’, are a prolific meteor shower which peak during mid-August, are considered the best meteor shower of the year.
• They are also known for their ‘Fireballs’ and also for their brightest Meteor Shower.
• Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak.
• Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids.
• When comets come around the sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them.
• Every year, from around July 17 to August 24, Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Swift-Tuttle, the parent of the Perseid meteor shower.
• This particular comet goes around the Sun once in 133 years.

Source: The Hindu and Wikipedia

National Youth Awards

Topic: Human Resource Development

In News: National Youth Awards for excellent work and contribution in different fields of development and social service were recently conferred.

More on the Topic:

• The awards are conferred on individuals (aged between 15-29 years) and organizations for excellent work and contribution in different fields of development and social service, such as health, promotion of human rights, active citizenship, community service etc.
• The awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Department of Youth Affairs.
• The Objective is to motivate young persons to achieve excellence in the field of national development and social service, to encourage young people to develop a sense of responsibility to the community and thus to improve their own personal potential as good citizens and to give recognition to the outstanding work done by voluntary organizations working with the youth for national development including social service.

Source: The Hindu