Daily Current Affairs: UPSC-May-10-2021:GST on Vaccines, Chinese Space Debris

Polity⚖️

(GSM2) Separation of powers: Union government’s “Liberalized and Accelerated National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy” came into force on May 1. It provides that
- 1) vaccine manufacturers would sell 50% of their monthly production to Union & sell remaining 50% to entities “other than Union Government” i.e., state governments & private hospitals- Which will be given to 18-44-years age group.
- 2) Two set of different prices for Centre and states. Aldo union government has made informal consultations with vaccine manufacturers to ensure that price remains the same for Union and State Government
- 3) Beneficiaries need not pay the price because state governments have declared that they will give it free of cost. Supreme Court case going on against this Policy.
- So, Union Government’s stand: 1) Our vaccination policy had been framed to ensure equitable distribution, with the limited availability of vaccines. 2) policy was “just, equitable, non-discriminatory”. 3) “policy conforms to mandate of Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India and is made after several rounds of consultation and discussion with experts, State Government and vaccine manufacturers 4) policy requires no interference by SC as while dealing with a pandemic of this magnitude, the Executive does have a room for free play in the joints, in larger public interest.
- केंद्र सरकार की कोरोनावायरस टीकाकरण नीति- उत्पादित वैक्सीन का आधा हिस्सा केंद्र सरकार को बेचा जाएगा और बाकी का आधा हिस्सा राज्य सरकार तथा निजी अस्पतालों को बेचा जाएगा. राज्य सरकारी यह वैक्सीन मुफत में लाभार्थियों को देगी और जो व्यक्ति पैसा खर्च करने की क्षमता रखते हैं वह निजी अस्पतालों में खुद से खरीद भी सकते हैं. यह टीकाकरण नीति समता के सिद्धांत पर बनाई गई है और कोर्ट ने इसमें दखल देने की जरूरत नहीं है ऐसा केंद्र सरकार का कहना है
Constitution: If a person becomes minister but not yet elected to either upper/lower house of the respective Union or state Legislature then he/she must do so within 6 months. Such by-election to the vacancies in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha must be held within a reasonable period of time. Representation of peoples act Section 153: By election must be held within six months from the vacancy. However some discretion / compulsion to Election Commission of India such as
- 1) IF state government recommends to ECI to hold by-election earlier, then ECI Needs to take cognizance.
- 2) if a person elected as leader of the biggest Legislature Party in the Assembly is yet to become an MLA, he or she can write to the EC, announcing his intention to contest from a vacant seat. A colleague can resign from a seat to facilitate the election. In this case also ECI Needs to take cognizance.
- 3) But by-election can be delayed if the electoral rolls are not updated.
- 4) Different court different orders: Kerala HC ordered election for Rajya Sabha while Madras HC saying ECI should be charged with murder case. So it remains to be seen how Election Commission approaches the case of W.Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee’s election within 6 months.
- यदि कोई व्यक्ति मंत्री बन जाता है लेकिन सदन में विधायक या सांसद के रूप में चुना नहीं गया तो 6 महीने में उसने चुनाव जीतना होगा इस प्रकार के उपचुनाव कब किए जाएं उसकी स्पष्ट समयसीमा संविधान में तो नहीं लिखी गई किंतु जनप्रतिनिधित्व कानून में उपचुनाव 6 महीने के भीतर करने की बात है. यहां पर चुनाव आयोग संज्ञान में ले सकता है – यदि सदन की सबसे बड़ी पार्टी का लीडर जल्द से जल्द उपचुनाव करवाने के लिए पत्र लिखें, राज्य सरकार की तरफ से यदि ऐसा कोई पत्र लिखा जाए. हालांकि कोरोनावायरस मैं जब मद्रास हाईकोर्ट ने चुनाव आयोग को फटकार लगाई है तो क्या उसी का इस्तेमाल करते हुए 6 महीने तक पश्चिम बंगाल में कोई उपचुनाव न आयोजित कर, ममता बनर्जी का मुख्यमंत्री पद काटने की कोशिश होगी कि नहीं, इस पर विशेषज्ञ चिंतित.
Age of politicians: When a person became PM/President What was his age? USA-Barack Obama 47. UK David Cameron was 43. Canada Justin Trudeau 44. Modi- 64 (2014, first term). So while India has median age of 26, but PM/CM is mostly above 60 age. For the last 20 years, the average age of Lok Sabha MPs has always been above 50. According to Census 2011, around 11 per cent of the Indian population comes in the age bracket of 25-30. But, in Lok Sabha 2019, hardly 1.5 per cent MPs came in 25-30 age group. Younger PM/CM/leaders required to bring about change in a faster manner attuned to the value system of the younger generation – with respect to gender / women reservation, LGBT, caste, religion politics. विकसित देशों में प्रायः उनके प्रधानमंत्री और राष्ट्रपति 50 से कम उम्र के होते हैं जबकि भारत में हालांकि ज्यादातर आबादी नौजवान है किंतु मुख्यमंत्री, प्रधानमंत्री, राष्ट्रपति की उम्र सामान्य रूप से 60 साल से ऊपर की होती है. ऐसे बुजुर्गों /पुरानी पीढ़ी के नेताओं की मूल्य व्यवस्था नौजवान पीढ़ी से अलग होती है अतः विविध मुद्दों पर राजनीति अलग किसम से चलती रहती है.

Economy?

⚾️?⚾️?✋NATIONAL ASSET Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) / bad bank announced in Budget 2021- 22,is expected to be operational in June. Basics already covered in Win21 series Pillar1B.
GST on Vaccines: West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee wrote to the Finance ministry To remove the GST on vaccines (5%) and corona medicines (12%). But, finance minister has rejected the demand saying if GST =0% then Vaccine manufacturer will not get input tax credit (ITC), Then he will increase the price of the final product and it will increase the price burden on the customer /Patient. वैक्सीन पर अगर वस्तु एवं सेवा कर को शून्य कर दिया गया तो वैक्सीन बनाने वाली कंपनी को इनपुट टैक्स क्रेडिट नहीं मिलेगा तो असल में वह वैक्सीन को ग्राहकों के लिए महंगा कर देगी इसलिए वित्त मंत्रालय वैक्सीन पर से जीएसटी हटाने के हक में नहीं है
5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks. 5Gmainlyworks in 3 bands- namely low, mid and high frequency spectrum.
- 1) The low band spectrum has a large coverage area but it has limited speed.
- 2) The mid-band spectrum offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but coverage area and penetration of signals is weak.
- 3) The high-band spectrum offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength.
- 4) The Department of Telecom decided to defer the auction of 5G spectrum because presently telecom companies do not have enough money / profit to bid high amounts. So even if the spectrum is auctioned, the government is unlikely to get good amount of money.
Cryptocurrency Mania & Social media: billionaire Elon Musk had been making tweets about Dogecoin Cryptocurrency. So many people went crazy about it and started purchasing it at very high prices resulting in price rise by 16,000% in 2020. Now 2021- billionaire Elon Musk, appearing on “Saturday Night Live comedy show” said “Dogecoin is a hustle” [“Hustling”‘ is a word associated with cheating and defrauding in sales through fake claims.] Immediately after the telecast of this comedy show, Price of Dogecoin (against dollar) fell by nearly 30%. Lesson? People are losing hard earned savings in the social media fuelled craze for cryptocurrencies. Corona led job loss making them invest in such risky manner. Cryptocurrencies are not backed by any hard assets like Oil or Gold. Government regulation necessary. गंजेड़ी एलोन मस्क की ट्वीट के चलते डोजकॉइन नाम की क्रिप्टो मुद्रा का दाम आसमान छू रहा था किंतु उसी गंजेड़ी ने ‘सैटरडे नाइट लाइव’ नामक हास्य कार्यक्रम में उसी डोजकॉइन को एक जाली तरकीब/धोखाधड़ी बताया- जिसके चलते वापस इस क्रिप्टो मुद्रा का दाम गिरने लगा है. तो कई बाबू शोनो की जीवन भर की कमाई इसमें डूबने के कगार पर है.

E-Gov?

Hacking ransomware: USA’s Energy Company Colonial Pipeline – forced to shutdown operation after hackers locked its computers with ransomware and demanded payment. Points to consider: ICT Driven Technologies help in automation of the companies but also make them more vulnerable to such attacks. Such attack on energy companies not only endangers the energy / economic security but also endangered the lives of Corona patients. अमेरिका में हैकर द्वारा ऊर्जा कंपनियों को हैक किया जा रहा है उनसे फिरौती में पैसा मांगा जा रहा है जिससे ऊर्जा सुरक्षा और कोरोना मरीजों की जान जोखिम में है

Science?

China’s Long March 5B rocket was used to send a module to its Tianhe space station. When a rocket is launched, its discarded booster stage re-enters the atmosphere and falls back to Earth, usually in an uninhabited area. But Chinese rocket / space debris fell in an uncontrolled manner near the Maldives. NASA has criticized Chinese space agency for being irresponsible. चीनी रॉकेट के अवशेष मालदीव के करीब गिरे, नासा ने चीनी अवकाश संस्था के अवकाश कचरे के प्रबंधन के प्रति रवैया को गैर-जिम्मेदार ठहराया है.

IR/Defense?

Role of Diaspora: Bihar and Jharkhand Association of North America (BJANA)- these NRI doctors created ‘Pran Covid-19 Helpline’, where through a live Zoom session, They provide 1) “general information” regarding Covid-19 2) special webinars on weekends 3) one-on-one online medical consultancy 4) telemedicine call to the patient directly, – all free of cost.
China has shown reluctance to clear a $6 billion loan for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s Mainline-I railway due to the growing concern that Pakistan will not be able to repay the debt. सोचो चीन भी पाकिस्तान को लोन/कर्जा देने से डर रहा है, कि इमरान खान वापस कर पाएगा कि नहीं.
Bioterrorism/Bioweapons: news agency ANI released a research paper Authored by Chinese scientists. The document revealed that
- 1) Third world war would be fought on bioweapons
- 2) Chinese military scientists were discussing the weaponization of SARS coronaviruses five years before the Covid-19 pandemic.
- 3) So now News Agency believes that Coronavirus was created for military use by Chinese Government and it was accidentally released- Causing the present pandemic. यानी कि चीनी सरकार द्वारा कोरोनावायरस को जैविक हथियार के रूप में 5 साल पहले से बनाना शुरू किया गया था, ऐसा अखबारी संस्था का दावा है.

Ethics GSM4☯️

NEPOTISM Gang: A CONTROVERSY in Uttarakhand over BJP MLA’s 25- year-old son getting the anti coronavirus vaccine despite the fact that inoculation of people in his age group is yet to begin in the state. Although his MLA father maintains that my son is a Corona front line Warrior so he got the vaccine. Points to consider: News of favouritism / nepotism increases the cynicism of the public towards politicians and civil servants, And makes people more inclined towards engaging in corruption thinking that without corruption it is not possible to get anything done. विधायक के बेटे को भाई भतीजावाद के चलते समय से पहले टीकाकरण मिल गया. ऐसी घटनाएं प्रकाश में आती हैं तो लोगों का नेताओं तथा सरकारी बाबू से विश्वास कम होता है, और जनता यह सोचने लगती है कि कोई भी काम बिना रिश्वत या सिफारिश के नहीं होता है, इसलिए वे बिना विरोध किए खुद भी रिश्वत और सिफारिश की फिराक में लगे रहते हैं.
Greed: British Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, Prince Michael, has been caught offering Russian investors “Confidential information about Britain in online meeting”, At the price of 10,000 pounds a day. Lesson? Greed, corruption, sedition, and traitorous tendencies are not confined only to third world countries. Even the Prince in a developed country involved in it. It is not the lack of money but the greed for more money that makes a rich and famous person to engage in such nefarious activities. महारानी एलिजाबेथ के चचेरे भाई ने रशियन जासूसों को कहा कि मुझे 1 दिन के 10000 पाउंड दोगे तो मैं अपने देश की गुप्त जानकारी आपको ऑनलाइन मीटिंग में साझा करूंगा. जब शाही परिवार के लोग ही देशद्रोह और गद्दारी में लिप्त हो, तो सामान्य जनता से क्या ही देशभक्ति की उम्मीद रखी जाए चाहे यूट्यूब पर देशभक्ति के कितने वीडियो बना लो.
Greed / Grave-robbers / Dignity of dead bodies: Uttar Pradesh Baghpat police arrests 7 people for stealing clothes and items from dead bodies in local crematorium and reselling them. They were doing it for the last 10 years so it is not out of desperation for corona-business loss. When society has become so morally degraded, Where even dead bodies are not respected, it is difficult to expect ethical behaviour from the living- family/parents, teachers, society & Government all not fulfilled their responsibilities. उत्तर प्रदेश में मृत व्यक्तियों के कपड़े कफन और चीज वस्तुओं को कब्रिस्तान में से हुई चोरी करके बेचा जा रहा था. जब किसी समाज का इस स्तर तक नैतिक पतन हो चुका हो की मृत शरीरों की भी गरिमा का सम्मान नहीं किया जाता तो, उधर क्या ही नीतिमत्ता और इमानदारी की उम्मीद रखी जाए- जब परिवार, शिक्षक, समाज, सरकार अपनी जिम्मेदारियां भूल गए हैं या चूक गए हैं.
State denialism: In corona wave 2.0: UP is witnessing oxygen / Ventilator/Hospital bed/Medicine shortage. However, chief minister Yogi Adityanath asserted that there is no shortage of oxygen in any private or public COVID hospital in Uttar Pradesh. He asked officials to take action under the National Security Act and the Gangsters Act against “anti-social elements” who spread “rumours” and propaganda on social media and try to “spoil the atmosphere”. 2017: Children had died in hospital due to oxygen shortage at that time to there was State Denialism. Lesson? Epidemic diseases are not random events that afflict societies capriciously and without warning. Every society produces its own specific vulnerabilities.To Study them, we need to understand that society’s Structure, its standard of living, and its political priorities. राज्य सरकार द्वारा कोरोनावायरस और ऑक्सीजन की आपूर्ति की कमी से ही इनकार. और यदि कोई इस प्रकार की अफवाह फैल आएगा तो उसे राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा कानून के अंतर्गत, समाज का माहौल बिगाड़ने के लिए गिरफ्तार किया जाएगा. महामारी कोई यादृच्छिक घटना नहीं है हर समाज ने स्वयं ही अपने को महामारी के प्रति भेद्य और कमजोर बनाया है- यदि समाज की संरचना उसका जीवन स्तर उसकी राजनीतिक प्राथमिकताओं का अध्ययन किया जाए – तो हम अपने आप समझ पाएंगे की महामारी का प्रकोप इतना ज्यादा क्यों है?
Recency bias: is a psychological phenomenon where we give more importance to recent events compared to what happened a while back. At present coronavirus 2.0 is being blamed on 1) political parties’ mass ralleys/campaigns for vidhansabha elections in Tamilnadu Kerala West Bengal etc. and 2) Kumbh mela. However since November-2020 many mass-events could be causing the spread of virus 1) Farmer agitation near Delhi border 2) New Year’s Eve: 45 lakh people visited Goa to celebrate! 3) Makar Sankranti, Lohri, Pongal Celebrations In mid-January, Holi in March end. ताजी घटनाओं के प्रति पूर्वाग्रह: जब हम नजदीकी समय में हुई ताजी घटनाओं को ज्यादा महत्व देकर सारी समस्याएं / सारी सफलताओं का सेहरा उसी पर बांध दें- जैसे कि सिर्फ चुनाव प्रचार और कुंभ मेले को ही कोरोना महामारी की दूसरी लहर के लिए दोष आरोपित करना- जबकि पिछले साल से ही किसान आंदोलन, नए वर्ष के पार्टी समारोह, और विविध त्योहारों में जमकर कोरोना नियमों की धज्जियां उड़ाई गई थी- यानी कि यह लहर काफी समय से धीरे-धीरे अपना स्वरूप धारण कर ही रही.
Compassion for Kids: Children feel everything intensely and go through a periodic see-saw of emotions esp in Corona Lockdown- denial, rebellion, depression, profound anxiety, intense sadness. lack of appetite,poor concentration, school/study avoidance, nightmares, irritability, aggression, withdrawal from activities and friendships. How do parents teachers relatives? 1) Children need to be told that all the emotions are normal. 2) engage with children through problem-solving, compassion, creativity and flexibility 3) address the emotions of children in an age-appropriate manner, protecting them from a negative emotion overload, 4) Ask them to create gratitude journals- Thanking everyone who has made their life happier. कोरोना तालाबंदी बच्चे – हताश, गमगीन,मायूस,भूख कम लगना, पढ़ाई में ध्यान न लगना, बुरे सपने, क्रोध/गुस्सा- इत्यादि का शिकार होते हैं तब मां-बाप और शिक्षकों की जिम्मेदारी बनती है कि बच्चों की इन संवेदनाओं को संबोधित करें उन्हें रचनात्मक प्रवृत्तियों में लिप्त रखें.

PIN-GK?️

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