Vedic IAS

SAMAGRA
Current Affairs Notes Program for UPSC
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Important news from The Hindu

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Articles on Economic Survey

1. Falling short of aspirations [Editorial]

Editorial section
1. The Budget’s blurred social sector vision
2. No room for panic

Fine-print
1. Filorvirus [Pg 1]
2. ‘Haryana’s Harappan site to create jobs [Pg 4]
3. Open-ended procurement policy [Pg 5]
4. Paraquat poisoning [Pg 9]

Factpedia
 Rubigula [Pg 7]

Already covered
 Essential religious practices doctrine [Pg 8]
 CRZ [Pg 8]
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Articles on Economic Survey

1]. No room for panic
Topic: GS III [Economy] Mains
Question analyzed in this editorial
Does the Budget really hold out the promise for reversing the falling growth rate, reducing
unemployment and rekindling the animal spirits needed to revive private investment?

On Skill development allocation

Allocation in the budget: Allocation of a paltry ₹3,000 crore for skill development in the
budget

What the government could have done?

The Budget could have given tax incentives to companies to provide internships and on-site
vocational training to unemployed youth

On flagship welfare schemes

The bad

 The MGNREGA is allocated ₹61,500 crore, which is less than ₹71,000 crore for the
current fiscal year
 Disbursement under the PM-KISAN will also be less than budgeted, unless the
beneficiary base is expanded

The good

 The allocation of ₹1.7 lakh crore for transportation infrastructure is a welcome step
o But a lot will depend on whether the money actually gets invested or remains
unspent as it has happened in the current fiscal year.
o If the public investment infrastructure actually materialises, it will lend
credence to the government’s stated commitment to revive the investment
cycle — to spur job-creating growth
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Getting private investment

 Many projects have been mired in contractual disputes with government

departments and various regulatory hurdles.
 All these factors make infrastructure investment unnecessarily risky and render
these projects unattractive for investors

Bonds and startups

Bonds: not enough steps announced

 Increasing foreign portfolio investors and exchange traded funds in government

bonds
A well-developed bond market should draw upon domestic insurance funds, pension funds
and mutual funds which are capable of investing in corporate bonds across different
schemes

Startups
Some relief on the tax they have to pay and on taxation of the Employee Stock Option Plans
is welcome but the reluctance to abolish the angel tax that results in harassment of start-
ups and their investors is unfathomable

Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS): a welcome step

The scheme to allow the non-banking financial companies into the Trade Receivables
Discounting System (TReDS) — an ecosystem that aims to facilitate the financing and
settling of trade-related transactions of small entities with corporate and other buyers,
including government departments and public sector undertaking

Threshold for audit of the accounts for SMEs has been increased
To reduce the compliance burden on small retailers, traders and shopkeepers who comprise
the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) sector, the threshold for audit of the
accounts has been increased from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore for those entities that carry out less
than 5% of their business transactions in cash.
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 Problem of SMEs: For many products produced by these enterprises, the tax rates
are higher for inputs than the final goods. In addition, many SMEs suffer from high
taxes on imports of raw material and exports of intermediary services by them

Extension of the window for restructuring of loans

It is also good that the Finance Minister has extended the window for restructuring of loans
for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises till March 31, 2021.

Conclusion
The future of the economy will depend on whether the government walks the talk in terms
of public investment and the promises made to different sections of society including the
taxpayer and companies. When it comes to reviving private sentiments, actions will speak
much louder than the budgetary promises

Editorial section

1]. The Budget’s blurred social sector vision

Topic: GS III [Economy] Mains
What this editorial talks about?
The allocations for the social sector this year once again fail to deliver for the country’s poor
and marginalized.

A look at the NREGA & PDS allocations and whether they are
enough or not?

Importance of MGNREGA and PDS:

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the Public
Distribution System (PDS) are two important lifelines for the rural poor: providing
employment and food during times when the market fails them.

MGNREGA
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 Allocation for NREGA in this budget is less

o The allocation in this Budget for MGNREGA is ₹61,500 crore which is ₹10,000
crore less than the revised estimate (RE) for the current year (₹71,000 crore
for 2019-20) and, even less than what was allocated last year (₹60,000
crore)
 Effect
o In current times when the levels of unemployment are at their peak, the
demand for employment will only increase. But MGNREGA is failing to fully
play the role of filling the gap because of poor implementation and
inadequate funds
 What needs to be done?
o There’s a need to revise the MGNREGA wages to bring them on a par with
minimum wages
o This would require much higher allocations for the scheme.
 Why higher allocations for the scheme is justified?
o It is justified because MGNREGA expenditure is also known to have high
multiplier effects through boosting consumption demand in rural areas.

Public distribution System (PDS)

 Allocation for PDS in this budget is also less

o The allocation is not even enough to support the existing PDS under the
National Food Security Act (NFSA)
o The food subsidy allocated for 2020-21 is only ₹1.11 lakh crore, which, once
again, is slightly higher than the previous year’s RE of ₹1.08 lakh crore.
o This is much less than the budget estimate (BE) of last year, of ₹1.8 lakh
crore, which is closer to the actual subsidy required for meeting the costs of
the grain distributed through the PDS and other welfare schemes

Health and education sectors also didn’t receive much

There is an overall increase of ₹5,000 crore-₹6000 crore each in the overall education and
health budgets which are hardly sufficient to cover for inflation.

 The BE for the much publicised Ayushman Bharat Yojana/Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya
Yojana stays at ₹6,400 crore, the same as last year (RE was 50% lower at ₹3,200
crore).
 The budget for the Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition, or
POSHAN Abhiyaan, another flagship scheme of this government, sees a meagre
increase of ₹300 crore (from ₹3,400 crore to ₹3,700 crore)
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 The funds allocated for the maternity entitlement scheme, Pradhan Mantri Matru
Vandana Yojana remains the same as last year — ₹2,500 crore.

What this means?

 It is clear that the agenda of the present government for the social sector is for
greater privatisation and withdrawal of the state.
 This is reflected not just in the low allocations but also policy pronouncements such
as introducing the public-private partnership model for medical colleges and
district hospitals or the push, in the Economic Survey, for narrowing the coverage
under the PDS.
This would be a worrying direction in the current context.

Terms to know

 Budget Estimates: Amount of money allocated in the Budget to any ministry or

scheme for the coming financial year.
 Revised Estimates: Revised Estimates are mid-year review of possible expenditure,
taking into account the rest of expenditure, New Services and New instrument of
Services etc.
o Revised Estimates are not voted by the Parliament, and hence by itself do not
provide any authority for expenditure.
o Any additional projections made in the Revised Estimates need to be
authorized for expenditure through the Parliament's approval or by Re-
appropriation order.

2]. No room for panic

Topic: GS II [Health] Mains
What this editorial talks about?
The best way to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus is by raising public awareness

Steps that need to be taken

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 There is an urgent need to raise public awareness: essential so that they report to a
hospital when symptoms show up later or in case of contact with a person who has
travelled to China recently
 Following time-tested measures as thermal screenings are prone to fail: These
include hand washing and hand hygiene, wearing protective gear while attending to
sick people and covering one’s mouth and nose properly when coughing or sneezing
will drastically reduce the infection risk.
o Failure of thermal screening at airports: There is evidence that those who
appear to be healthy despite being infected can spread it even during the
incubation period.
 Also, cases have been reported wherein people have not exhibited
symptoms in spite of being infected.
 In both instances, thermal screening at airports, which is largely
helpful, would fail to detect infected people — as in the case of the
Kerala patients

Fine-print
1]. Filovirus
Topic: GS II [Health] Prelims

 It is a virus in the family filoviridae that causes severe hemorrhagic fever in humans
and non-human primates. Filoviruses have single-stranded RNA as their genetic
material
 So far, three types of this virus family have been identified: Cuevavirus,
Marburgvirus and Ebolavirus
 The first Filovirus was recognized in 1967 when a number of laboratory workers in
Germany and Yugoslavia, who were handling tissues from green monkeys,
developed hemorrhagic fever. A total of 31 cases and 7 deaths were associated with
these outbreaks. The virus was named after Marburg, Germany, the site of one of
the outbreaks
 Filoviruses are zoonotic i.e. they are transmitted from animal to humans

2]. 5 archaeological sites to be developed as “iconic sites”

Topic: GS I [Art & Culture] Pre

Why in news?
In her 2020 Budget speech in the Parliament on February 1, 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman announced that five archaeological sites across India will be developed into
"iconic" sites. Further, on-site museums will also be constructed at these locations.
 The five archaeological sites include
o Rakhigarhi in Haryana
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o Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh

o Dholavira in Gujarat
o Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu
o Sivasagar in Assam

 Located in the Hisar district of Haryana, Rakhigarhi is known to be a site of pre-

Harappan Civilisation settlement, and later a part of the ancient civilisation itself,
between 2600-1900 BCE.

 Excavated by Amarendra Nath of Archaeological Survey of India, the site revealed

remains of a planned township with mud-brick houses and proper drainage system,
along with terracotta jewellery, conch shells, vase and seals, things the Harappans
were known for.
 Spread across 500 hectares, Rakhigarhi is the largest Harappan site in the Indian
sub-continent.
 Animal sacrificial pit lined with mud-brick and triangular and circular fire altars on
the mud floor have also been excavated that signifies the ritual system of Harappans.
 The excavations have yielded a few extended burials, which certainly belong to a
very late stage, maybe the medieval times
 Recently, a study of DNA from skeletal remains excavated from the Harappan
cemetery at Rakhigarhi found that the people in the Harappan Civilization have an
independent origin.
o This study negates the theory of the Harappans having Steppe pastoral or
ancient Iranian farmer ancestry.
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 Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh. It is said to have been
described in Hindu texts Mahabharata and Puranas as the capital of the Kuru
Kingdom
 Excavations at Hastinapur reportedly began in 1950-52 on behalf of the
Archaeological Survey of India and the items found included arrows, spearheads,
shafts, tongs, hooks, axes and knives, amounting to about 135 iron objects.
 Hastinapur interestingly marks a confluence of religions and is home to several
places of worship.
o Shri Digamber Jain Bada Mandir is one of the oldest temples at the site,
among others like Jambudweep Jain temple, Shwetambar Jain temple,
Prachin Digambar Jain Temple and Astapad Jain Temple

 Hastinapur is also known to be the birthplace of Panch Pyare Bhai Dharam Singh, a
disciple of Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, and welcomes devotees in
significant numbers, especially at the Gurdwara at Saifpur Karamchandpur.

 Sivasagar is a city in Assam. The place gets its name from the lake Sivasagar, which is
situated in the heart of the city
 This place used to be the capital of the Ahom kingdom from 1699-1788, and was
formerly called Rangpur. The province was later conquered by the British
 Guwahati Circle Archaeological Survey of India mentions excavations conducted at
the Karenghar (Talatalghar) complex, the citadel of Ahom power, with structural
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remains of pathways, long walls, terracotta pipes for drains, vase, and vessels, to
name a few
 The other important historical site is Rang Ghar, an amphitheatre for the Ahom
kings, known to have been used for enjoying sports.
o Amphitheatre: an open circular or oval building with a central space
surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators, for the presentation of dramatic
or sporting events.

 Like Rakhigarhi, this place in the Kutch district also has ruins of the Harappan
civilisation
 Deemed the fifth largest Harappan site, excavations hint at how settlers temporarily
abandoned the place, only to return and establish a de-urbanised culture
 Artefacts excavated range from terracotta items and seals to urns and copper
ornaments
 About 10 large stone inscriptions have also been found at the site, written in Indus
Valley script
 Most importantly, it has one of the world’s earliest water conservation systems–a
rainwater harvesting system–ever excavated
 One can visit these archaeological ruins and also Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary
and Chari-dhand wetland conservation reserve.
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 This archaeological urn-burial site in the Thoothukudi district was brought to notice
first by a German, Dr Jagor, and later, an Englishman, Alexander Rea, who conducted
excavations between 1876 and 1905, as reported by Archaeological India
 In fact, Rea called the site the “most extensive prehistoric site as yet discovered in
southern if not in the whole of India”, in an article that appeared in the ASI’s annual
report in 1902-03.
 Carbon dating of samples excavated from the Adichanallur site has revealed that
they belonged to the period between 905 BC and 696 BC.
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3]. Open-ended procurement policy

Topic: GS III [Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum
support prices] Mains

Why in news?
As the debate surrounding the review of open-ended procurement policy has started
gaining momentum, following a recommendation by the Commission for Agricultural Costs
and Price (CACP) to the Centre government, several farmers and farmers’ bodies in Punjab
and Haryana have hinted that any move to stop or limit it would be opposed and resisted
 Agri-experts also believe that the current open-ended procurement policy is in the
best interest of the country and farmers and any deviation could have negative
impact on farmers.

Minimum Support Price (MSP)

 Before the harvest during each Rabi / Kharif Crop season, the Government of India
announces the minimum support prices (MSP) for procurement on the basis of the
recommendation of the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) which
along with other factors, takes into consideration the cost of various agricultural
inputs and the reasonable margin for the farmers for their produce.
 MSP is price fixed to protect the producer – farmers against excessive fall in price
during bumper production years. The minimum support prices are a guarantee price
for their produce from the Government
 The major objectives are to support the farmers from distress sales and to procure
 food grains for public distribution
 In case the market price for the commodity falls below the announced minimum
price due to bumper production and glut in the market, government agencies
purchase the entire quantity offered by the farmers at the announced minimum
price.

What is open-ended procurement policy?

The Central Government extends price support to wheat and paddy through Food
Corporation of India (FCI) and State Agencies.
 Procurement at MSP is open ended i.e., whatever food-grains are offered by the
farmers ,within the stipulated procurement period and which conforms to the
quality specifications prescribed by Government of India, are purchased at MSP (and
bonus/incentive ,if any) by the Government agencies including FCI.
 Some States also declare State bonus on wheat and paddy over and above MSP.

Why CACP has recommended review of open-ended procurement policy?

Following is the reason cited by CACP for review of open-ended procurement policy,
 The open ended procurement policy for rice and wheat has led to mounting food
stocks and adversely affected crop diversification. These excess stocks create
storage problems and also high storage and financing costs leading to high food
subsidy burden
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 CACP says the economic cost of wheat has increased from Rs 1,908 a quintal in
2013-14 to Rs 2,506 a quintal in 2019-20, an increase of 31.3 per cent. On the other
hand, the Central Issue Price, at which wheat is sold through ration shops, has
remained unchanged at Rs 200 a quintal from July 2013. This has led to a significant
increase in food subsidy. It rose from Rs 92,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 171,298 crore
in 2018-19. The estimate in this year’s Union Budget was Rs 184,220 crore

Therefore commission recommends that open ended procurement policy should be

reviewed & has also recommended direct procurement by private players

Why private players won’t be much interested in direct procurement?

As long as the government continues with MSP as its primary tool for farm support, eliciting
private players’ interest in procurement of grains will prove difficult since no private trader
will be willing to procure grains at a price higher than the market price, which is usually the
case with MSP.

Problems with MSP system

 Apart from quality issues with grains, the MSP regime also hinders liquidation of
stocks through export since it will trigger violations of WTO norms.
 MSP benefits only a small pool of farmers from a handful of states while distorting
agricultural production in favour of a few crops

Possible solution
 Per Acre support system: Instead of a MSP, the government should support farmers
by giving them per-acre support
o Along with the quasi-universal basic income scheme, PM Kisan, and the
insurance scheme, PM Fasal Bima Yojana, a per-acre support will mean the
farmer will be able to make choices based on market requirement, rather
than producing to benefit from an open-ended grain procurement policy
o This will also, perhaps, mean judicious use of resources, if the choice of crop
shifts from a water-intensive one to one more suited to water availability in a
region
o While MSP guarantees that farmers grow only certain kinds of crops, and
subsidies on fertiliser and electricity mean indiscriminate use of these
resources, a fixed per-acre support scheme will help cut down wastage
o More important, it shall also address demand-side constraints. FCI can still
maintain its buffer stock, but the Public Distribution System (PDS) can be
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done away with, as a NITI Aayog study shows that people tend to graduate to
a higher quality of grains once they are allowed freedom and flexibility to
choose.
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Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)

It is the minimum price at which rate sugarcane is to be purchased by sugar mills from
Farmers
 The FRP is fixed by Union government on the basis of recommendations of
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). The ‘FRP’ of sugarcane is
determined under Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966.
 India is the world’s second largest sugar producer after Brazil and also the largest
consumer.

Note: Government announces MSP for 22 crops while it announces FRP for only sugarcane

4]. Paraquat poisoning

Why in news?
Thanks to the efforts of doctors, the number of fatalities from the agricultural herbicide,
Paraquat, has fallen at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
(VIMSAR), Odisha
 The vast majority of the population in western Odisha and its bordering districts in
Chhattisgarh are dependent on agriculture. Crop failures and family disturbances
often drive people to look for poison to commit suicide and Paraquat, which is easily
available at homes as well as in neighbourhood shops, becomes an “obvious” choice.
There have also been cases of people becoming accidental victims when they absorb
Paraquat while sprinkling it in agricultural fields

Paraquat Dichloride (Paraquat)

 Paraquat is a toxic chemical that is widely used as an herbicide (plant killer),
primarily for weed and grass control.
o Herbicide is an agent, usually chemical, for killing or inhibiting the growth of
unwanted plants, such as residential or agricultural weeds and invasive
species
 Paraquat consumption leads to pulmonary fibrosis and patients find difficulty in
respiration. Similarly, kidney failures occur. Even if a person survives, he will not be
fully fit as pulmonary fibrosis worsens with the passage of time.
 Paraquat does not have antidote
 So far in India, only Kerala has banned the herbicide.
o There are reasons various state governments have not imposed an outright
ban on the herbicide. It has its benefits, like saving farmers money and time
as it is cheap and effectively kills weeds quicker than manual de-weeding
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 Paraquat is yet to be listed in the prior informed consent (PIC) of Rotterdam

Convention, is an international treaty on import/export of hazardous chemicals
signed in 1998, he said.
o India is also a party to the convention, which has 161 parties. If a chemical
figures in the PIC, the exporting country has to take the importing nation’s
prior consent before exporting it.

Factpedia
1]. Rubigula

Why in news?
The flame-throated bulbul, also called the Rubigula, was chosen as the mascot of the 36th
National Games to be held in Goa because it is the state bird

Rubigula

 Habitat: The Flame-throated Bulbul prefer habitats like rocky, scrub covered hills
mostly in the Eastern Ghats and central peninsular India but also in some places in
the Western Ghats.
 IUCN Status: Least Concern (LC)
 Flame-throated Bulbul is a Schedule – IV bird, according to wildlife (Protection) act,
1972
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o Schedule I: This section covers animals which are in the category of

endangered species. The sections in this schedule give absolute protection to
certain species and these cannot be infringed on any account.
o Schedule III and IV. These also have roughly the same provisions of Section I
and II, but cover animals that are not in danger of becoming extinct. The
penalties under this section are also less than Schedule I and II.
o Schedule V delineates animals that can be hunted like ducks and deer’s. For
this purpose the hunter has to apply for a license to the District Forest Officer
who will allow a hunter to shoot during a specific season and restricted area.
Any infringement can lead to cancellation of the hunting license.
o Schedule VI concerns cultivation and plant life and gives teeth to setting up
more protected animal parks.