UPSC Essentials: Weekly news express —MTP to MSP with MCQs

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II -Social Justice

Why in news?

—Underlining that a distinction in law between a married and an unmarried woman should have no bearing on the right to terminate a pregnancy, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed an unmarried woman whose relationship status changed during the pregnancy to terminate her 24-week foetus.

Key takeaways

—The 25-year-old woman, a permanent resident of Manipur who currently resides in Delhi, moved the top court after the Delhi High Court last week declined her plea.

—A two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court, comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad, had observed that it would “amount to killing the child.”

—The HC bench said it cannot allow what the law prohibits – access to termination of pregnancy between 20-24 weeks for an unmarried woman on the grounds that her relationship status changed.

—The woman had told the court that the pregnancy was a result of a consensual relationship and that she wanted to terminate the pregnancy because her partner had refused to marry her. She also told the court that she feared stigmatisation as a single, unmarried woman.

—The Central law on abortion, The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,1971 (MTP Act), allows termination of pregnancy for all women in the first 20 weeks on the opinion of a registered medical practitioner. However, only certain categories of women are allowed termination between 20-24 weeks under certain circumstances.

—Rule 3B of Rules annexed to the MTP Act, which was amended in 2021, specify seven categories of women who are eligible for termination between 20-24 weeks. These are: survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest; minors; those who have a change of marital status during the ongoing pregnancy (widowhood and divorce); women with physical disabilities; mentally ill women; women carrying malformed foetus that has substantial risk of being incompatible with life; and women with pregnancy in humanitarian settings or disaster or emergency situations as may be declared by the government.

—While the law recognises change in circumstances of the relationship status between a pregnant woman and her spouse — in the case of divorce and widowhood — it does not envisage the situation for unmarried women. This is the gap in the law that the petitioner before the Supreme Court falls in.

—The Supreme Court also observed that the Delhi High Court had taken an “unduly restrictive view” of Rule 3B. The Court referred to the MTP Act’s use of “woman or her partner” in another provision that was also brought in after the 2021 amendment to say that the legislation must be given a “purposive interpretation”.

—For pregnancies between 20-24 weeks old, the opinion of two doctors is required.

—Explanation 1 under Section 3 of the MTP Act states, “where any pregnancy occurs as a result of the failure of any device or method used by any woman or her partner for the purpose of limiting the number of children or preventing pregnancy, the anguish caused by such pregnancy may be presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman.”

Point to ponder: MTP Act is an attempt to give reproductive rights to women in India. Discuss

MCQ:

Which of the following statements with respect to MTP Act is correct?

1) Only certain categories of women are allowed termination between 20-24 weeks under certain circumstances according to MTP Act.

2) Termination of pregnancies between 20-24 weeks old, the opinion of at least one doctor is required.

a) only 1                    b) only 2

c) Both 1 and 2        d) Neither 1 nor 2

Press Freedom Index Report

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination

General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

General Studies IV: Ethics and Human Interface

Why in news?

The Centre  informed Parliament that it did not agree with the conclusions drawn by ‘Reporters Without Borders’ in the World Press Freedom Index that ranked India at 150 among 180 nations in its 2022 report.

Key takeaways

— The report described India as “one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media” and noted that “journalists are exposed to all kinds of physical violence, including police violence, ambushes by political activists and deadly reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.”

—On World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) (3rd May), the 20th edition of the World Press Freedom Index was published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Theme for 2022 was Journalism under digital siege. India ranked 150th among the 180 countries.

—The report reveals a two-fold increase in “polarisation” amplified by information chaos, that is, media polarisation fuelling divisions within countries, as well as polarisation between countries at the international level.

— Ranking of Countries: Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions. The index placed Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Myanmar at 176th position. North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of 180 countries. China was ranked at 175th position.

—India has fallen eight places from 142nd to 150th in 2022 among the 180 countries. India’s position has been consistently falling in the index since 2016 when it was ranked 133. The reasons behind the fall in the ranking are the increased “violence against journalists” and a “politically partisan media”.

—The government had decided to monitor global indices through the Niti Aayog and create a dashboard for it.

Point to ponder: What is the subjective factors that impact India’s Sovereign Ratings? What can we do about it?

MCQ:

With respect to Press Freedom in India which of the following statement is not true?

a) Freedom of the press is also not absolute as per Indian Costitution.

b) The Supreme Court in Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras observed that freedom of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations.

c) Freedom of the press is protected under article 19(1) (a) of the constitution.

d) India ranks below China in the World Press Freedom Index 2022.

Europe heatwave

Why in news?

—An extraordinarily hot summer in Europe crossed another peak on Tuesday with some places in Britain recording temperatures above 40°C, the first time any place in the United Kingdom had breached this mark. Last month, a few places in France had recorded temperatures in excess of 45°C — this too an all-time high for that country.

—Other countries in Europe are also facing extreme heat, made all the more unbearable because domestic air-conditioning is not very common in that part of the world. Temperatures have dropped a bit in some countries in the last two days, but are still higher than the normal that is expected during this time of the year.

Key takeaways

—As is true of most such situations, the unusually high temperatures are a result of the combination of global and local factors. On the global scale, climate change has been driving the temperatures upwards, which, in general, is evident across the world.

—Climate change alone does not fully explain the record-breaking temperatures being seen in Europe. These kinds of unprecedented high temperatures are usually a result of some unusual combinations of local, short-term, warming phenomena which accentuate the already high baselines induced by climate change.

—In the present case, a low-pressure system over the European region has been found to be attracting hot air from northern Africa. Unusual warming in the Arctic Ocean is also said to be playing a role.

—A slow-moving high-pressure area has been, and is still, transporting hot air from North Africa over western and parts of central Europe. The hot air is moving northwards, first affecting Portugal, Spain, France, now the UK, and imminently reaching the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), and western Germany, Switzerland, and northern Italy. It is expected that local/regional temperature records will be broken this week.

—The head of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Thursday that the kind of heatwaves being seen in Europe right now would very soon become the new normal.

—The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which brings out the most authoritative analysis of climate change science, has been repeatedly warning of a sharp increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events – rainfall, heatwaves, drought, flooding.

—The IPCC’s most recent report suggested that global temperatures would most likely go beyond 1.5°C higher than pre-industrial times within a decade.

Point to ponder: What are the criteria of declaring heatwaves in India? What strategies should be adopted to reduce the impact of heat wave in India?

MCQ:

Which of the following statements is true?

1. According to IMD, heat wave need not be considered till the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40°C for Plains and at least 30°C for Hilly regions.

2. Climate change alone is the reason behind the record-breaking temperatures being seen in Europe recently.

a) Only 1             b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2  d) Neither 1 nor 2

Over 3.9 lakh Indians gave up citizenship in past 3 yrs to settle abroad: govt data

Why in news?

—More than 3.9 lakh Indians have renounced their citizenship in the past three years, the government told the Parliament on Tuesday, with America emerging as the top choice among 103 countries where the emigrants settled.

—More than 1.63 lakh Indians relinquished their citizenship in 2021 alone, according to the date tabled by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Of them, more than 78,000 took US citizenship, it added.

Key takeaways

—Answering an unstarred question in Lok Sabha on Tuesday (July 19), the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that over 1.6 lakh Indians relinquished their Indian citizenship in 2021.

—The numbers marked a sharp increase in comparison to the 85,256 people who gave up their Indian citizenship in the Covid-hit year of 2020, and a somewhat smaller increase over the 1.44 lakh who surrendered their passports in 2019.

—According to government data, the largest numbers of Indians who relinquished Indian citizenship in 2021 went to the United States (78,284), followed by Australia (23,533), Canada (21,597), and the United Kingdom (14,637).

—India does not allow dual citizenship, and taking up the citizenship of another country automatically results in the cancellation of Indian citizenship. The Indian government did not give reasons for the high numbers, but said that individuals renounce Indian citizenship for “for reasons personal to them”.

—A 2020 report by the Global Wealth Migration Review showed that high net worth individuals around the world who renounce citizenship acquired at birth may do so for reasons of rising crime rates or the lack of business opportunities at home. “It can also be a sign of bad things to come as (they) are often the first people to leave — they have the means to leave unlike middle-class citizens,” the report said.

—Among the other reasons why people make the decision to migrate to other countries and to eventually acquire citizenship listed by the Global Wealth Migration Review were: the safety of women and children, lifestyle factors like climate and pollution, financial concerns including taxes, better healthcare for families and educational opportunities for children, and to escape oppressive governments.

—In general, around the world, people leave their countries for better jobs and living conditions, and some are pushed out by climate change or unfavourable political situations at home.

Point to ponder: The number of Indians who relinquished their citizenship in 2021 marked a sharp increase in comparison to 2020 and 2019. What can be the possible reasons?

MSP and govt panel’s task

Syllabus:

Prelims: Economic issues and Polity

Mains: GS III- Agriculture

Why in news?

—Earlier this week, the government notified a committee to “promote zero budget based farming”, to “change” crop patterns keeping in mind the changing needs of the country, and to make MSP (minimum support price) more “effective and transparent”.

—The government has named 26 members including the chairman of the committee and kept three places for representatives of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which had led a sustained farmers’ agitation against three agriculture laws, now repealed.

Key takeaways

—It has been constituted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, as a follow-up to an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 19, 2021 when he had declared the government’s intention to withdraw the three farm laws.

—The protesting farm unions led by the SKM had demanded a legal guarantee on MSP, based on Swaminathan Commission’s ‘C2+50% formula’ (C2 is a type of cost incurred by farmers). This was in addition to their demand for repeal of the three farm laws.

—Its terms and references do not mention legal guarantee of MSP. What they do mention is making MSP “more effective and transparent”. “As per announcement of Hon’ble Prime Minister that ‘A committee will be constituted to promote Zero budget based farming, to change crop pattern keeping in mind the changing needs of the country, and to make MSP more effective and transparent…’,” it says.

—Under the heading ‘Subject matter of constitution of the Committee’, the committee is to look at MSP, natural farming, and crop diversification. For MSP, its agenda is:

* Suggestions to make available MSP to farmers of the country by making the system more effective and transparent

* Suggestions on practicality to give more autonomy to Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and measures to make it more scientific

* To strengthen the Agricultural Marketing System as per the changing requirements… to ensure higher value to the farmers through remunerative prices… by taking advantage of the domestic and export opportunities.

—The Centre announces the MSP (which is not legally guaranteed) for 22 mandated crops (and Fair & Remunerative Price, or FRP, for sugarcane) on the basis of the recommendations of the CACP.

—These include 14 kharif crops (paddy, jowar, bajra, maize, ragi, tur/arhar, moong, urad, groundnut, soyabean, sunflower, sesamum, nigerseed, cotton), six are rabi crops (wheat, barley, gram, masur/lentil, rapeseed and mustard, and safflower) and two are commercial crops (jute and copra).

—The CACP takes into account various factors including demand and supply; cost of production; market trends; a minimum 50% margin over cost of production; and likely implications of MSP on consumers.

—The CACP calculates three types of costs — A2, A2+FL and C2 — for each mandated crop for different states. The lowest of these costs is A2, which is the actual paid-out cost incurred by a farmer. Next is A2+FL, the actual paid-out cost plus imputed value of family labour. The highest of the three costs is C2, defined as ‘Comprehensive Cost including Rental Value of Own Land (net of land revenue and interest on value of own fixed capital assets (excluding land))’.

—Although all three costs are calculated, the CACP eventually recommends — and the government announces — MSP on the basis of A2+FL. Protesting farmers have been demanding MSP based on C2, besides a legal guarantee.

Point to ponder: List down various kharif and rabi crops separately. What are the geographical and climatic conditions required for the major crops? ( Basic yet an important question.)

Answers to MCQs- 1 (a) , 2 (d) , 3 (a)