National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 31st August 2019

Bank Merger

Topic: Economy

In News: In what comes as the second wave of the government’s efforts to revive the economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced merger of 10 public sector banks into four entities. This would take the number of banks in the country from 27 in 2017 to 12.

More on the Topic:

• Government has chosen the banks for the mergers on the basis of ensuring that there is no disruption in the banking services, and that the banks should benefit from increased CASA [current account savings account] and greater reach.
• These banks would also be able to compete globally and increase their operational efficiency by reducing their cost of lending.

Details of the Merger:

• The largest of the mergers announced is that of Punjab National Bank with Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank. The amalgamated entity — to be called Punjab National Bank — will become the second-largest public sector bank in India, after the State Bank of India.
• The second merger announced was that of Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank.
• The third merger is of Union Bank of India with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank.
• The fourth merger announced is of Indian Bank and Allahabad Bank.
• Previously, the government has already merged State Bank of India with its affiliate banks, and Bank of Baroda with Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank.

Perceived Benefits:

• Will make the banks stronger and sustainable
• Will increase their lending ability
• Improvement in operational efficiency

Perceived Challenges:

• Handling of human resources & cultural differences: There is a cost to managing complexity that management tends to overlook in weighing the benefits of merger. Which general manager reports to which general manager, how portfolios will be assigned to executive directors and so on.
• Branch rationalisation without shedding any staff is quite a task.
• Further, the multiple posts that exist in the different banks will have to be reconciled as there can be only one head of risk, treasury, credit, HR, etc.
• Customer retention
• Technology integration: putting different banks in the same platform; Systems and processes could be different and would have to be harmonised.
• Ensuring accountability
• Rationalisation of physical infrastructure which is also linked with the headcount and existing hierarchy. All bank mergers will lead to multiplicity of branches and ATMs that will have to be reviewed. There would be redundancies of the same in the combined entity. When the policy is to retain the headcount, accommodating them in a smaller set of branches will not be possible.

The Way Ahead:

• It is important to ensure that such mergers do not end up creating an entity that is weaker than the original pre-merger strong bank. That said, the fact is that mergers are one way of managing the problem and therefore cannot be discounted totally. However, the trick lies in ensuring that the merger fallout is managed prudently; identifying synergies and exploiting scale efficiencies will be crucial here.
• Also, unless there is a change in the operating structures, mergers will only be symbolic and may not deliver the desired results in the long run. Counter intuitively, if we are willing to change the way in which public sector institutions function by giving them autonomy along with accountability, we may not require such mergers.
• The long-term solution outlined by Raghuram Rajan, former RBI Governor, mentioned in his note to the estimates committee of Parliament: ‘Improve governance of public sector banks and distance them from the government’ should be taken up for discussion.

Model Mains Question: Analyse  the Significance and Challenges of Bank Merger.

Source: Hindu, Big picture RS TV

West Bengal passes Bill against lynching

Topic: Governance

In News: The West Bengal Assembly passed a Bill to prevent and punish mob assaults and lynching.

More on the Topic:

• The legislation, which has provision for the death sentence, says “nodal officers” will be appointed to “monitor and coordinate prevention of lynching”.
• It proposes a jail term from three years to life for those involved in assaulting and injuring a person. The Bill, while defining terms such as “lynching” and “mob”, says the West Bengal Lynching Compensation Scheme may be framed under this Act.

What is mob violence:

• Lynching, a form of violence in which a mob, under the pretext of administering justice without trial, executes a presumed offender, often after inflicting torture and corporal mutilation. The term lynch law refers to a self-constituted court that imposes sentence on a person without due process of law.

Causes Of Rise In Mob Violence and Lynching:

• Rise of cow vigilante: Ever since, Government imposed a ban on the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter at animal markets across India, under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals statutes (26th May 2017), it sparked a new wave of cow vigilante in the country. Though the Supreme Court, suspended the ban on the sale of cattle in its judgment in July 2017, giving relief to the multi-billion dollar beef and leather industries and several states where beef is one among the primary foods there was a rise in attacks on Muslims accusing them as beef eaters. Several dozen innocent Muslims were killed in such mob attack.
• Silence of political class: Despite the rising mob violence, the political class and bureaucracy continued remain a silent spectator. The politicians have built their political career propagating violence against minorities, where the mobs feel empowered and strong. The political class, apart from their customary condemnation, they avoid visiting the victims or their surviving families.
• Rumours of child lifters: Rumours of child kidnappers proved to an ignition point for mob violence, where WhatsApp posts were circulated Odisha, Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Tripura and West Bengal. This claimed several lives on domestic visitors, mentally deranged peoples and incited numerous mob attacks.

Government initiatives:

• Central government on its part has asked states to appoint a nodal officer in each district to prevent the incidents of mob violence and lynching. In its advisory, the Home Ministry said, the nodal officer should be of superintendent of police-level officer. It has also asked to set up a special task force to procure intelligence reports about the people who are likely to commit such crimes or who are involved in spreading hate speeches, provocative statements and fake news.
• Two high-level committees have been constituted by the Central government to suggest ways and legal framework to effectively deal with incidents of mob violence and lynching.

Source: The Hindu

Appointment of Judges

Topic: Governance

In News: The Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has made a slew of recommendations to fill four vacancies in the Supreme Court and for appointments of Chief Justices in eight High Courts across the country.

More on the Topic:

• The Collegium System is a system under which appointments/elevation of judges/lawyers to Supreme Court and transfers of judges of High Courts and Apex Court are decided by a forum of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.’ There is no mention of the Collegium either in the original Constitution of India or in successive amendments.
• The recommendations of the Collegium are binding on the Central Government; if the Collegium sends the names of the judges/lawyers to the government for the second time.

Procedure:

• The Collegium sends the recommendations of the names of lawyers or judges to the Central Government. Similarly, the Central Government also sends some of its proposed names to the Collegium. The Central Government does the fact checking and investigate the names and resends the file to the Collegium.
• Collegium considers the names or suggestions made by the Central Government and resends the file to the government for final approval.
• If the Collegium resends the same name again then the government has to give its assent to the names. But time limit is not fixed to reply. This is the reason that appointment of judges takes a long time.

Source: PIB

International Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

Topic: Disaster Management

In News: Cabinet approves Establishment of an International Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. It will be officially launched by PM during UN Climate Summit in New York on 23rd September 2019.

More on the Topic:

• It will serve as a platform where knowledge is generated and exchanged on different aspects of disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure.
• It will create a mechanism to assist countries to upgrade their capacities and practices, with regard to infrastructure development in accordance with their risk context and economic needs.
• This initiative will benefit all sections of society. Economically weaker sections of society, women and children, are the most vulnerable to the impacts of disasters and hence, will be benefitted from the improvement of knowledge and practice in creating disaster resilient infrastructure.
• It will also benefit all areas with high disaster risk. In India, the north-eastern and Himalayan regions are prone to earthquakes, coastal areas to cyclones and tsunamis and central peninsular region to droughts.

Source: PIB

Anandan’s day gecko

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: The recently discovered Cnemaspis anandani (Anandan’s day gecko), is the most recent day gecko found in the Nilgiris and is endemic to the Western Ghats.

More on the Topic:

• the researchers are concerned that the Anandan’s day gecko, like many other species, some of which may still be undiscovered in the Western Ghats, faces the threat of extinction.
• While one threat may be from natural predators such as calotes (lizards), and birds, the more serious threat could be due to anthropogenic factors.

Source: The Hindu

Jupiter

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: ‘Juno’, the NASA probe orbiting Jupiter, has been sending information that gives scientists new insights into the evolution and structure of the planet.

More on the Topic:

• A new study suggests that 4.5 billion years ago, Jupiter received a massive whack from a planet still being formed and swallowed it.
• Another study looks at the reasons why the “stripes” on Jupiter do not run deep into its surface. Information sent by Juno shows that Jupiter’s core is not mainly ice and rock as previously thought.
• It is a “fuzzy core” that includes lighter elements like helium and hydrogen. Scientists suggest that it could be explained by a head-on collision with a still-forming planet about 10 times the size of Earth.
• Magnetic fields can make fluids that conduct electricity (like Jupiter’s atmosphere) behave more like honey than water.Deeper into the planet, where the pressure is higher, the atmosphere becomes more conducting.
• It is more strongly influenced by the planetary magnetic field.

Source: NASA

Marine Fisheries Regulation and Management (MFRM) Bill 2019

Topic: Governance

In News: The Marine Fisheries Regulation and Management (MFRM) Bill 2019 is in the public domain for discussion.

More on the Topic:

• India has obligations to frame laws under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements.
• The Marine Fisheries Regulation and Management (MFRM) Bill 2019 is one such piece of legislation.
• The Bill prohibits fishing by foreign fishing vessels, thus nationalising the country’s EEZ.An Indian fishing vessel keen on fishing in the EEZ, outside the TS, must obtain a permit.

Key Provisions of the Bill:

• This requirement has been contested by the fishing industry, particularly small-scale operators.
• Bigger vessels, particularly trawlers, registered and licensed under state departments, will need a permit to fish.This is a welcome measure to manage the fishing sector.
• The Bill respects the jurisdiction of the coastal states over the TS.
• It proposes social security for fish workers and calls for protection of life at sea during severe weather events.

Concerns:

• There is a faulty assumption in the Bill that only large-scale vessels fish outside the TS.In reality, thousands of small-scale fishing crafts regularly venture into such areas.Their freedom to access fish outside the TS will cease if the Bill becomes law.
• A few exemption clauses to safeguard their livelihoods should be incorporated in the Bill.
• The Bill also lacks congruence with important regional fishery agreements.It seems to be incomplete compared to the regulations in other coastal nations.
• However, it is necessary for the sustainable future of the marine fishing industry.

Source: Indian Express