UPSC Key—31 August, 2023: Production-linked incentive scheme, Gross domestic product, Coup and Coup d’état

Another coup attempt in Africa, this time in Gabon

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Mutinous soldiers in Gabon proclaimed their republican guard chief as the country’s leader Wednesday after placing the just-reelected President Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest, alleging betrayal and massive embezzlement during his long-time rule over the oil-rich Central African nation.

• Map Work-Gabon

• Who is President Ali Bongo Ondimba?

• For Your Information-Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, has served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, who ruled the country for 41 years, and there has been widespread discontent with his reign. Another group of mutinous soldiers attempted a coup in 2019 but was quickly overpowered. The former French colony is a member of OPEC, but its oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few — and nearly 40% of Gabonese aged 15 to 24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank. Its oil export revenue was $6 billion in 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

• What do you understand by Coup?

• What is the difference between coup and coup d’état?

• What were the causes of the coup?

• Why Africa has had so many coups?

• The recent coup in Niger and now in Gabon-Why?

• How Coup can have impact on Gabon and the region?

• What is ECOWAS?

• Is Gabon part of ECOWAS?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Coup leaders in Gabon say ousted president Ali Bongo Ondimba is under house arrest

176 global leaders urge Bangladesh to suspend cases against Nobel Peace winner

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-More than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates have urged Bangladesh’s prime minister to suspend legal proceedings against Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people. In an open letter, the leaders, including former U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and more than 100 Nobel laureates, said they were deeply concerned by recent threats to democracy and human rights in Bangladesh.

• Who is Muhammad Yunus?

• What does Yunus’s Grameen Bank do?

• Do You Know-Yunus founded the Grameen Bank on the principles of “trust and solidarity” to provide micro-credit without collateral to the “poorest of the poor” in rural Bangladesh. According to its website, the bank provides services in over 80,000 villages and has about 2,500 branches. It has been seen as a remarkable success story, empowering the poor with much-needed credit, while maintaining very high recovery rates that keep the model sustainable.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognised the efforts of Yunus and Grameen Bank “to create economic and social development from below”. The citation noted that “lasting peace can not be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights.”

• What is a concept of Grameen Bank?

• What Is Microfinance and Microcredit?

• How Grameen Bank inspired the creation of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in India?

• How did the Laureate end up in controversy?

• For Your Information-In 1983, Yunus founded Grameen Bank, which gives small loans to entrepreneurs who would not normally qualify for bank loans. The bank’s success in lifting people out of poverty led to similar microfinancing efforts in many other countries. Yunus and the Grameen Bank have faced a series of investigations and accusations under the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which came to power in 2009. The problems began around 2007 when Yunus forayed into politics briefly. In an open letter that was published in the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star, Yunus asked for people’s views on floating a political party. “He observed that the current political climate seeks to destroy the potential of the country and so without a comprehensive change there, it would never be possible to take the nation ‘to the height it deserves’,” The Daily Star reported.
He further observed it was time for the country to get rid of its past frustrations and give rise to a political structure in the country that Bangladeshis dreamt of. In 2010, a Danish documentary made allegations against Yunus and the Grameen Bank of diverting funds worth about $100 million given to the bank by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). The allegations were subsequently disproved. In January 2011, the Grameen Bank came under scrutiny when the government ordered a probe on allegations that the donations to the bank were not being used for the intended purposes. In response, a group called “Friends of Grameen” was formed to protect Yunus from “politically orchestrated attacks.”
In March 2011, Yunus was asked to step down as head of the bank in violation of the country’s retirement laws, according to which the retirement age is 60. Yunus was 70 at the time. His review petitions were rejected by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in May 2011.

• What is India’s stand on this entire issues?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Why is Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus facing arrest in Bangladesh?

US inks new pact with Palau over maritime security in Pacific region

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- THE UNITED States has signed a new agreement with Palau,

which gives American ships the authorisation to unilaterally enforce maritime regulations in the tiny Pacific island nation’s exclusive economic zone, the US Coast Guard said Tuesday.

• Map Work-Palau, Pacific region

• For Your Information-In the agreement, concluded a week ago, U.S. Coast Guard ships can enforce regulations inside Palau’s exclusive economic zone on behalf of the nation without a Palauan officer present, the Coast Guard said in a statement. “This agreement helps Palau monitor our exclusive economic zone, protect against Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and deter uninvited vessels from conducting questionable maneuvers within our waters,” Palau’s president, Surangel S. Whipps Jr., was quoted as saying in the release. “It’s these types of partnerships that help us work toward our common goal of peace and prosperity in the region.”

• Why Palau is news?

• Do You Know-Palau is one of the few countries that recognizes Taiwan and maintains diplomatic relations with the island, which split from mainland China during a civil war in 1949 and set up a rival government to the victorious Communists in Beijing.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, the government of the Solomon Islands was persuaded to switch its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan to China in 2019. Since then, the Solomons signed a secretive security pact with China that has given rise to concerns it could give Beijing a military foothold in the South Pacific.

• US and Maritime Security of the Pacific Region-connect the dots

• Palau is an island country in the Micronesia subregion-What is Micronesia?

• For Your Information-Located in the Western Pacific, in the Micronesia sub-region of Oceania, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) consists of four island states, Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae and Pohnpei (where the capital Palikir is located), all in the Caroline Islands. Also known as the Carolines, it is a scattered archipelago of small islands that are divided between Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.
FSM is composed of 607 islands and islets with a total land area of 702 square km. While this area is rather small, the islands stretch across an estimated 2,900 sq km of sea, giving the nation the 14th largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world. EEZs grant countries special right over marine resources up to 370 km from their coasts.
The Federated States of Micronesia shares its sea borders with other small island nations and territories in the Micronesia region like Guam, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Palau, Kiribati, and the Mariana Islands. Its larger neighbouring states — separated by large swathes of the Pacific Ocean — include the Philippines in the west, Hawaii in the east, Papua New Guinea and Australia to the south, Japan to the north.

• Map Work-Mark Pacific Island Nations

• Map Work-Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia

• Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia-Compare and Contrast

• What are the issues and challenges faced by the US Maritime Security Goals in the Pacific Region?

• Maritime Security Agreement signed by US with Palau-What are the key takeaways?

• Why Agreement between US and Palau is significant?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍A Pacific Beyond Fiji

FRONT PAGE

38 IT firms apply to make laptops, PCs under PLI scheme

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Asus, Dell, HP and Foxconn are among 38 companies that have submitted applications to manufacture laptops, personal computers and servers in India under the Centre’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware. Apple, however, has opted to skip participation in the scheme.

• What is production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme ?

• How PLI scheme works?

• For Your Information-The development comes weeks after the Centre imposed — and then postponed — a licensing requirement on the import of laptops and personal computers, which had set alarm bells ringing at major electronics hardware manufacturers. The move was deferred until October 31. While the expected incremental production at the end of six years of the scheme is estimated at Rs 3.35 lakh crore, it could bring an incremental investment of just Rs 4,000 crore over these many years. The government estimates the manufacturing process to result in 75,000 direct jobs, said Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw.

• What is the tenure of the PLI scheme?

• Which companies and what kind of investments will be considered?

• Quick Recall-The Union government has restricted imports of personal computers, laptops, palmtops, automatic data processing machines, microcomputer/ processors and large/ mainframe computers with immediate effect. The move was deferred until October 31.

• Why this move?

• What does the notification for the restriction on imports state?

• Why have the restrictions been imposed?

• Multiple justifications for the move have been offered by the government-know them

• How the shift in stance progressed?

• What does the notification for the restriction on imports state?

• Why have the restrictions been imposed?

• For Your Information- The move is being seen as a direct boost to the Centre’s recently renewed production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware. A senior government official said that the measure is to push companies to manufacture locally in India, as the country looks to strengthen its domestic production prowess in the electronics sector.
The scheme was revised in May with an outlay of Rs 17,000 crore, more than doubling the budget for the scheme that was first cleared in 2021. The push is aimed at makers of laptops, servers and personal computers among others – since a majority of the imports in these segments are from China.
India has seen an increase in imports of electronic goods and laptops/computers in the last few years. During April-June this year, the import of electronic goods increased to $6.96 billion from $4.73 billion in the year-ago period, with a share of 4-7 per cent in overall imports.
Of the seven categories restricted for imports by India, the majority share of imports is from China. During April-May, the latest period for which country-wise data is available, India’s imports from China for these seven categories of restricted imports were valued at $743.56 million, down 5.6 per cent from $787.84 million.
The highest share of imports is in the category of personal computers including laptops, and palmtops, under which imports from China stood at $558.36 million in April-May this year as against $618.26 million in the year-ago period. China accounts for roughly 70-80 per cent of the share of India’s imports of personal computers, laptops.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The new restriction on Personal Computers/laptop imports: Why the move, and its potential impact

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

📍With reference to the international trade of India at present, which of the following statements is/are correct? (GS1, 2020)
(1) India’s merchandise exports are less than its merchandise imports.
(2) India’s imports of iron and steel, chemicals, fertilisers and machinery have decreased in recent years.
(3) India’s exports of services are more than its imports of services.
(4) India suffers from an overall trade/current account deficit.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 3 and 4 only
📍Which of the following best describes the term ‘import cover’, sometimes seen in the news? (GS1, 2016)
(a) It is the ratio of value of imports to the Gross Domestic Product of a country
(b) It is the total value of imports of a country in a year
(c) It is the ratio between the value of exports and that of imports between two countries
(d) It is the number of months of imports that could be paid for by a country’s international reserves
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍How would the recent phenomena of protectionism and currency manipulations in world trade effect macroeconomic stability of India? (GS3, 2018)

EXPLAINED

GDP growth trends, outlook

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Higher government capital expenditure, a pick-up in the services sector, and a favourable base are likely to have pushed up the growth of India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the April-June quarter, with economists projecting a growth rate of 7.7-8.5%. The country’s growth rate is, however, expected to moderate in the coming quarters of this financial year, given the effect of the El Nino on the monsoon, weakness in mining output, and sluggish exports, and a possible slowing in the momentum of government capex as Lok Sabha elections approach.

• What is Gross domestic product?

• What are the different types of Gross Domestic Product?

• GDP-How it is Calculated?

• Gross domestic product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP)-Key Differences

• What is Gross Value added (GVA)?

• How are GDP and GVA different?

• What do the GDP data show?

• What do the GVA data show?

• ‘Nominal’ GDP and ‘Real’ GDP-What is the difference?

• What is National Statistical Office (NSO)?

• What is the main function of National Statistical Office (NSO)

• What are the Eight core sector industries in the Indian Economy?

• What is the weight/weightage of the different core sectors in the Index of Industrial Production?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Reading GDP growth Data

📍Service Sector: Place in Economy, Definition and Examples

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

📍With reference to Indian economy, consider the following statements: (UPSC GS1, 2015)
1. The rate of growth of Real Gross Domestic Product has steadily increased in the last decade.
2. The Gross Domestic Product at market prices (in rupees) has steadily increased in the last decade.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
📍A decrease in tax to GDP ratio of a country indicates which of the following? (UPSC GS1, 2015)
1. Slowing economic growth rate
2. Less equitable distribution of national income
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍Define potential GDP and explain its determinants. What are the factors that have been inhibiting India from realizing its potential GDP? (UPSC GS3, 2020)
📍Explain the difference between computing methodology of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before the year 2015 and after the year 2015. (UPSC GS3, 2021)

Karnataka’s fact-check unit: the plan, concerns

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Karnataka government’s decision to create a fact-checking unit to curb fake news on social media has raised concerns regarding the move possibly impinging upon the freedom of press. The Editors Guild of India has issued a statement that any move to check the spread of fake news should not be draconian in nature, and should be fair, independent and democratic.

• What are the issues and concerns with Karnataka’s fact-check units?

• What is fact-checking unit?

• The proposal drawn a lot of criticism by the Editors Guild of India?

• For Your Information-The Editors Guild of India, in a statement dated August 27, expressed concerns over some aspects of the Karnataka government’s decision. The statement urged the Karnataka government to “clearly specify the scope of and powers of the proposed fact-checking unit, as well as the governing mechanism under which it will operate”. “While admittedly there is a problem of misinformation and fake news especially in the online space, efforts to check such content have to be by independent bodies that are not under the sole purview of the government lest they become tools to clampdown on voices of dissent. Any such monitoring network should follow principles of natural justice including giving prior notice, right to appeal and judicial oversight,” the Editors Guild of India said. “Such units should also be set up with due consultation and involvement of all stakeholders, including journalists and media bodies so that press freedom is not tampered with,” it said. The Karnataka IT/BT, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister Priyank Kharge has stated that the fact checking would not “impinge upon the freedom of the press” and would uphold an “apolitical stance devoid of bias and will transparently explain the methodologies employed to the public.”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍As Editors Guild red-flags Karnataka’s fact-check unit, minister says it’s ‘apolitical’, won’t impinge on press freedom 

An unusual full moon this Rakhi, but neither blue in colour nor super in size

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Main Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Raksha Bandhan full moon — Rakhi is celebrated on the Purnima of the month of Shravan — on August 30-31 will be unusual: it will be both a “blue moon” and a “super moon” and therefore, a “Super Blue Moon”, a rare trifecta of astronomical events.

• What does supermoon mean?

• How rare is a supermoon?

• What makes a supermoon different?

• What is Apogee and Perigee?

• For Your Information-The orbit of the moon around the earth is not circular; it is elliptical, that is, an elongated or stretched-out circle. It takes the moon 27.3 days to orbit the earth.
(It is 29.5 days from new moon to new moon, though. This is because while the moon is orbiting the earth, both the earth and the moon are also moving around the sun — and it takes additional time for the sun to light up the moon in the same way as it does at the beginning of every revolution around the earth. The new moon is the opposite of the full moon — it is the darkest part of the moon’s invisible phase, when its illuminated side is facing away from the earth.)
The point closest to earth in the moon’s elliptical orbit is called perigee, and the point that is farthest is called apogee. A super moon happens when the moon is passing through or is close to its perigee, and is also a full moon. (This happens with a new moon as well, just that it is not visible.)
A full moon occurs when the moon is directly opposite the sun (as seen from earth), and therefore, has its entire day side lit up. The full moon appears as a brilliant circle in the sky that rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. The moon appears ‘full’ not just on Purnima, but also on the night before and after the full moon night.

• What is a blue moon?

• Did the moon actually appear blue?

• What triggers a super blue moon?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Rare super blue moon and Saturn to light up the sky today: Here’s everything you need to know

ECONOMY

How a pioneering EU law is forcing Big Tech to reduce digital surveillance

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-As Europe’s sweeping rules to regulate the ways in which big tech uses algorithms to target users kick in, a number of companies including Meta, Google, and Snap, have been forced to make changes to their platforms — including more disclosures on how they use artificial intelligence (AI) to offer “personalised” content to users, and allowing them the option to opt out of being subjected to digital surveillance by these platforms.

• What is Digital Services Act (DSA)?

• What are the Key features of the Digital Services Act?

• For Your Information-Faster removals, opportunity to challenge: Social media companies are required to add “new procedures for faster removal” of content deemed illegal or harmful. They must explain to users how their content takedown policy works. Users can challenge takedown decisions, and seek out-of-court settlements. Bigger platforms have greater responsibility: The legislation has junked the one-size-fits-all approach and put a greater burden of accountability on the big tech companies. Under the DSA, ‘Very Large Online Platforms’ (VLOPs) and ‘Very Large Online Search Engines’ (VLOSEs), that is, platforms with more than 45 million users in the EU, have more stringent requirements. Direct supervision by the European Commission: These requirements and their enforcement will be centrally supervised by the European Commission itself, ensuring that companies are not able to sidestep the legislation at the member-state level. More transparency on how algorithms work: VLOPs and VLOSEs will face transparency measures and scrutiny of how their algorithms work, and will be required to conduct systemic risk analysis and reduction to drive accountability about the societal impacts of their products. VLOPs must allow regulators and researchers to access their data to assess compliance and identify systemic risks of illegal or harmful content. Clearer identifiers for ads and who’s paying for them: Online platforms must ensure that users can easily identify advertisements and understand who presents or pays for the ads. They must not display personalised ads directed towards minors or based on sensitive personal data.

• What Changes big tech has been forced to make?

• Why is the Act important for India and other non-EU regions?

• For Your Information-The DSA may have been implemented by the EU for the EU, but its effects may stretch far beyond those continental bounds. EU hopes that the Act will serve as a standard for effective intervention for the protection of fundamental rights online.
“It preserves a balanced approach to the liability of intermediaries, and establishes effective measures for tackling illegal content and societal risks online. In doing so, the DSA aims at setting a benchmark for a regulatory approach to online intermediaries also at the global level,” states EU’s official website.
Moreover, platforms tend to favour consistent policies that are easier to implement and maintain. As a result, the DSA may prompt the platforms to adopt changes that will affect not only the EU, but also other regions. For example, the upcoming iPhone 15 series is likely to feature a USB Type-C port worldwide, even though it is only mandated in the EU.

• Why has the DSA been implemented?

• Which online platforms are affected?

• How are online platforms complying?

• What happens in case of non-compliance?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What is EU’s new Digital Services Act and how will it impact non-EU regions?

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com

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