• February 5, 2023

Economic Survey 2022-23: Key Highlights

In News

• The Economic Survey 2022–23, which highlights the outlook for India’s GDP, inflation, and unemployment in the upcoming years, was recently presented by the Union Minister for Finance.

About

• According to the Economic Survey of India, the economy has recovered from the Covid disruption and is prepared for continued strong growth over the course of the next ten years.

• According to the survey, extensive structural and governance reforms that have improved the economy’s efficiency and fundamentals are to blame for the rebound.

• Although the growth projection for the Indian economy is unlikely to be much higher than 6%, it is anticipated that it would expand at its capacity, comparable to the growth experience after 2003.

• India’s growth rate has become more capital-intensive, which lowers labour force participation rates and causes widespread unemployment, both of which restrain economic growth.

• With a big youth bulge, extreme poverty, and malnourished children, India’s population is expanding, necessitating faster growth to keep up with the population expansion.

• The survey cautions that a growth rate of 6% may not create enough jobs to meet the demand from the growing population.

Major Findings of the Survey

• State of the Economy 2022-23:

• Following its recovery from inflation, a Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and a pandemic-induced contraction, the Indian economy is now seeing a broad-based rebound across sectors.
• India’s GDP growth is anticipated to remain strong and to range between 6 and 8.0% in the fiscal year 2023–24, although several downside risks were also mentioned, including weak export demand and persistent monetary tightening.
• A phased reduction in the export tax on gasoline and diesel
• Major input import duties were eliminated.
• The HS Code 1101 prohibits the export of products made from wheat;
• The imposition of rice export taxes.
  • From April to December 2022, exports of goods totaled 332.8 billion US dollars.
  • India expanded its exports to Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Brazil while diversifying its markets.
  • In 2022, the UAE and Canada will sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to expand their market and assure improved penetration.
  • The Australian Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) went into effect.
  • In 2022, India will receive US$ 100 billion in remittances, making it the largest recipient in the world.
  • After service export, remittances are the second-largest main source of external financing.
  • In 2020–21, private investment in agriculture climbed to 9.3%.
  • From January 1, 2023, free foodgrains will be distributed to about 81.4 crore individuals as part of the National Food Security Act.
  • Between 2019 and 22, the value and volume of transactions based on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) increased by 11% and 11%, respectively, opening the door for its global adoption.
    • More than 98% of all telephone subscribers are wirelessly linked.
• In March 2022, the overall tele-density in India was 84.8%.
• The National Logistics Policy aims to create a cohesive, economical, and resilient logistics ecosystem in the nation for rapid and inclusive growth.
• The 100-year-old Act was superseded with the Inland Vessels Act 2021 to maintain smooth vessel movement and support inland water transportation.
• In order to reach its net zero emissions objective by 2070, India made the Net Zero Pledge.
• India met its goal of having 40% of its installed power capacity come from non-fossil fuels by the year 2030.
• A widespread movement Launched was LIFE (Lifestyle for Environment).
• In November 2022, the Sovereign Green Bond Framework (SGrBs) was launched.
  • Launch of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which will help India achieve energy independence by 2047.

• Inflation: 
  • The RBI projects headline inflation at 6.8% in FY23, outside its comfort zone of 2% to 6%, but the Survey is optimistic about the inflation levels and trajectory.
  • Steps taken by government to control inflation included:

• External Sector:

• Agriculture & Food Management:

• Services:
  • The services sector is expected to grow at 9.1% in FY23, as against 8.4% (YoY) in FY22.
  • India was among the top ten services exporting countries in 2021, with its share in world commercial services exports increasing from 3 per cent in 2015 to 4 per cent in 2021.
• Digital Infrastructure:

• Physical Infrastructure:

• Climate Change and Environment:

• Unemployment: 
  • Employment levels have risen in the current financial year, with job creation appearing to move into a higher orbit. The urban unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above declined from 9.8% to 7.2%.
• Implications for India’s economy: 
  • The Survey suggests that India’s economy has recovered from the Covid disruption and is poised for sustained robust growth which will be higher than for almost all major economies.
• Reference to 2003: 
  • The Survey argues that the situation in 2023 is similar to 2003, when the Indian economy was poised for growth.
• Likelihood: 
  • India’s potential growth rate is unlikely to rise much above 6% in the next few years.

Importance of Economic Survey

• Provides an overview of the current state of the economy: A summary of the Indian economy’s performance for the current fiscal year is provided in the Survey, together with data on the GDP growth rate, inflation, the balance of payments, and other important macroeconomic indicators.
• Identifies key economic challenges: The Survey identifies key challenges facing the Indian economy and provides insights into how they can be addressed which is crucial for policymakers, who use this information to formulate their economic policies.
• Offers policy recommendations: The Survey provides policy recommendations to the government on how to address economic challenges and promote economic growth and development. This is important for businesses and investors, who can use these recommendations to plan their investments and strategies.
• Guides future economic policies: It provides a roadmap for future economic policies, including a projection of GDP growth, inflation, and other key macroeconomic indicators. 
• Supports data-driven decision making: The Survey offers a thorough and in-depth overview of the Indian economy, complete with facts and research-based conclusions.
• Limitations of Economic survey

• Data Availability: The lack of reliable data sources and the delay in the release of official data can pose challenges for the preparation of the survey.
• Forecasting: Predicting the future state of the economy can be challenging, especially in an environment of economic volatility and uncertainty.
• Representation of Diverse Sectors: The survey needs to be thorough enough to include all of the different sectors and how they are connected because the Indian economy is complex and varied.
• Balancing Policy Recommendations with Objectivity: The Economic Survey is expected to be both policy-oriented and objective in its analysis which is challenging as it requires a delicate balance between providing policy recommendations and retaining its independence.
• Addressing Political Pressures: The Economic Survey is a political document, thus it must be created in a way that is both credible and objective while also aligning with the political goals of the government.
• Managing Expectations: It can be difficult to control public expectations about the contents of the Survey because it is read and examined widely.
• Source: PIB

Theory of Alienation

In News

• One of the most frequently discussed ideas in social, political, and economic theory is Karl Marx’s concept of “alienation.”

Meaning of Alienation 

• About:

•  “Withdrawal or separation from an object or position of prior attachment” or, in the case of property, “a surrender of property to another” are both examples of alienation.

• Marx’s idea:

• According to Marxist theory, alienation is the sensation of being cut off from one’s own labour and having no control over it.

Marx’s forms of alienation

• Karl Marx discussed four forms of alienation:
  • Alienation from the product of labour:

• • Workers in today’s highly specialised and divided manufacturing industry frequently have no idea what they are doing because of how fragmented the production process is.
  • The product gains autonomy as soon as it is taken possession of and managed by another person.

• • Alienation from the process of labour:
    • Workers in factories reportedly work long hours, in poor conditions and for low wages. They perform repetitive tasks.
    • The more the workers produce, the more productive power there is for someone else to own and control. 
  • Alienation from humanity:
    • The worker becomes an ever-cheaper commodity the more goods he creates. He does not develop freely his mental and physical energies but is physically exhausted and mentally debased. 
    • The worker, therefore, feels himself at home only during his leisure time, whereas at work he feels homeless. His work is not voluntary but imposed, forced labour.
  • Alienation from society:

• Workers also begin to gradually become more competitive as a result of their desire to keep their jobs. Since they are unable to obtain other, higher-paying employment, they must live away from their family because the job is so taxing.
  • In this way, the process of alienating employees from the end result, the way it was done, themselves and their skills, and other people is finished.

Analysis of the theory:

• Interpretations:
  • Other writers have interpreted alienation in a more social-psychological sense to mean powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, self-estrangement and social isolation. 
  • Applicability in the political sense:
    • The term “alienation” is occasionally employed in a political context, with the disaffection with political parties or policies being attributed to the alienation of the electorate.
• Possible causes:
  • There may be various causes for these forms of alienation such as bureaucracy and organisational structures, lack of ownership, social disorganisation or poor management, or technology. 
  • Most of these approaches refer to alienation as a loss of control, the lack of meaning, and the difficulty of self-expression in work.
  • Some authors consider assembly-line workers to have the greatest sense of alienation
• Exceptions:
  • Professionals like doctors, teachers, or other employees feel the least alienated.
  • According to a few, alienation is likely to be lowest in organisational setting where members have control, meaning, and opportunities for self-fulfilment in their roles.
• Solution:

• Making work more meaningful is the answer to this sort of alienation.

Criticisms

• Impracticability of communism: 
  • Thinkers have said that Marx’s explanation was not worked out in terms of its implications and how it might be eliminated. 
  • The solution of communism given by Marx has not occurred, and does not seem a likely prospect in the near future.
• Changing times & availability of labour protections:
  •  Although Marx’s method for studying alienation aids in our understanding of the labour market and its living and working conditions, all of these have changed significantly since his time.
    • Today, labour laws are in effect everywhere.
• Diversity at play:
  • As there is greater division of labour, the effects of labour are faced differently by different segments and is dependent on the countries they live in.
• Focus on class and not Social relations:
  • • Marxism is sometimes criticised for its exclusive focus on class and disregard for other types of discrimination.
    • Marx saw the roots of alienation only in the exchange of labour and private property. 
    • But similar feelings of alienation may be related to ethnicity or race (say, if Black people are not hired), region (people from Western Canada often say that they have been excluded from mainstream politics), caste (upper castes are reportedly preferred in some roles in private companies) and gender (women have often reported that they have not received promotions and wages the way men do) that are not directly tied to production. 

• Alienation can result from social interactions as well as employment circumstances.

Way ahead

• It’s commonly believed that the concept of alienation has lost favour in social and political thought. Others, however, still interpret it, discuss it, and criticise it from a modern perspective.

Source: TH

Snakebites in India

Context

• According to a recent assessment by the Kerala Forest Department, snakebites cause nearly twice as many human fatalities as wild elephants.

About

• An ICMR analysis estimates that from 2000 to 2019, there were an estimated 1.2 million (12 lakh) snakebite deaths in India, or an average of 58,000 each year.
• India is responsible for over 50% of all snakebite deaths worldwide.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) designated snakebite envenoming (poisoning from snake bites) as a high-priority neglected tropical disease.

• .

Snakebite Envenoming 

• Snakebite envenoming is a potentially life-threatening disease caused by toxins in the bite of a venomous snake. 
• Envenoming can also be caused by having venom sprayed into the eyes by certain species of snakes that have the ability to spit venom as a defence measure.

• Snake venom contains a number of enzymes or proteinaceous substances, present in varying amounts according to the species of snake, which attack the blood, the nervous system, or other tissues. 

Impacts of Snake biting

• While certain venoms directly cause harmful consequences, not all of them are fatal to humans. Some are fatal throughout the body (such as rattlesnake venom), whilst others are mostly harmful to the tissue around the bite site but may result in gangrene.
  • Due to the socioeconomic backgrounds of the victims, there is a neglect and lack of attention given to snakebites in India as a public health issue.
  • It is viewed as a disease of the underprivileged or a rural issue. Typically, women, children, and members of marginalised populations come from rural areas and are bitten by snakes.
  • Russell’s viper, saw-scaled viper, spectacled cobra, and common krait are the four snake species that, according to a popular idea, inflict the most human bites in South Asia.
  • The “big four” are responsible for over 90% of snakebite cases in India.

Cure of SnakeBiting

•  The majority of the negative consequences of a snakebite’s envenoming can be avoided or reversed with the use of snake antivenoms. They are on the list of WHO essential medications.
• Antivenoms: Antivenoms are purified antibodies against venoms or venom components. Antivenoms are produced from antibodies made by animals to injected venoms. Antivenom is the only definitive treatment for effective bites by venomous snakes.
• Antivenoms making process: To make life-saving antivenoms, scientists enlist the help of horses that live on specialized ranches.
  • The scientists inject the animals with a tiny, harmless dose of venom, which causes their immune systems to produce antibodies proteins that attack and disable the venom toxins.
  • Then the scientists can collect the antibodies and use them to treat people who have been bitten or stung.

Challenges 

• Lack of awareness, inadequate knowledge of prevention of snakebite and lack of first aid amongst the community lead to inefficient medical care. 

• Peripheral healthcare workers, delay in receiving lifesaving treatment, and non-availability of trained medical officers for management of snakebite contribute to a higher number of deaths.
• Superstitions about snake bites: The general public has incorrect ideas about how to recognise dangerous snakes and snakebites. belief in a snake god, or the power of magnets or tamarind seeds to lessen the effects of the venom.
  •  None of the public healthcare facilities had any Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials on the identification of venomous and non-venomous snakes, prevention, first aid, or treatment of snakebites.
• Steps taken 

• The necessary short-term training of medical graduates during their internship as well as as a component of the induction training when joining state health services in India.
•  The inclusion of snakebite management in the curriculum of training institutes of state public health departments.
• The Union government will incorporate snakebite prevention in a nationwide programme.
  • A multi-sectoral strategy of community education and healthcare facility capacity building to lower mortality and morbidity from snakebite envenoming in India.
  • Anti Snake Venom (ASV), the first stage of treatment, is now readily available in every village-level health centre in rural India.
  • By 2030, WHO’s plan aims to reduce death and disability from snakebites by half.

Source: The Hindu

President’s Address

In News

After taking office in July 2022, President Droupadi Murmu addressed the joint session of Parliament for the first time.

Major Highlights of Speech 

• She lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, saying that it “respects honesty” and is “stable, fearless and decisive, and works to fulfill big dreams”.

• By 2047, we must create a country that celebrates both its illustrious heritage and everything that is best about modernity.

About President’s address

• History: The custom of the king addressing Parliament in the United Kingdom dates back to the 16th century.
  • In 1790, President George Washington of the United States delivered his first speech to Congress.
• Evolution in India: In India, the practice of the President addressing Parliament was established after the promulgation of the Government of India Act in 1919.
  •  There was no speech to the Constituent Assembly between 1947 and 1950. (Legislative).
    • On January 31, 1950, President Rajendra Prasad gave the first speech to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha following the Constitution’s enactment.
• Constitutional Provisions: The Constitution gives the President and the Governor the power to address a sitting of the legislature. 

• The Constitution’s Article 87 specifies two occasions when the President may address both Houses of Parliament separately.
• When the newly elected lower house convenes for the first time following a general election, the President of India addresses both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
• At the start of each year’s first session, the President also addresses both houses.

• Procedure and tradition: There is no set format for the President’s or Governor’s speech. The Constitution states that the President shall “inform Parliament of the cause of the summons”. 
  • The President’s speech essentially highlights the government’s policy priorities and plans for the upcoming year. The address provides a broad framework of the government’s agenda and direction.
  • After the President’s address, the two Houses move a motion to thank the President for her speech. 
• Deviation from the text of the speech: The President or Governor cannot refuse to perform the constitutional duty of delivering an address to the legislature. 
  • But there can be situations when they deviate from the text of the speech prepared by the government. So far, there have been no instances of a President doing so. 
  • But there have been occasions when a Governor skipped or changed a portion of the address to the Assembly.
    • Most recently, Tamil Nadu’s Governor R N Ravi made changes to the prepared speech he read out in the Assembly. 
• Importance 

• One of the most sombre events on the parliamentary calendar is the President’s address.

• It is the only occasion all of Parliament meets at once in a year.

• The President’s address is used by the government as a forum to announce new laws and policies.

Source:IE

Privilege motion

In News

There was a commotion in the Rajasthan Assembly as a result of a breach of privilege motion brought against senior BJP MLA and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore.

About Privilege motion

• In order to efficiently perform their duties and functions, all Members of Parliament (MPs) are granted rights and privileges, both individually and collectively.
• Any case in which these privileges and rights are violated by a Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha member constitutes a “breach of privilege” offence that is punished by law.
• Any member from either house may submit a motion to move a notice against the person they believe to be in violation of the privilege.
• Both Houses of Parliament reserve the power to impose legal sanctions on any act of contempt (not necessarily a violation of privilege) that is contrary to their authority and honour.

the rules governing privilege

• Rule No 222 in Chapter 20 of the Lok Sabha Rule Book and correspondingly Rule 187 in Chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook governs privilege. 
• It says that a member may, with the consent of the Speaker or the Chairperson, raise a question involving a breach of privilege either of a member or of the House or of a committee thereof.
•  The rules however mandate that any notice should be relating to an incident of recent occurrence and should need the intervention of the House. 

the role of the Speaker/Rajya Sabha Chair

• The Speaker/RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion.
• The Speaker/Chair can decide on the privilege motion himself or herself or refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament.
  •  If the Speaker/Chair gives consent under Rule 222, the member concerned is given an opportunity to make a short statement.

Source: TH

IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook update

In News

• The January update of the World Economic Outlook was released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

About World Economic Outlook

• It presents analyses of global economic developments during the near and medium term. 
• Chapters give an overview as well as a more detailed analysis of the world economy; consider issues affecting industrial countries, developing countries, and economies in transition to market; and address topics of pressing current interest. 
• The IMF releases the WEO twice every year, in April and October, apart from updating it twice — in January and July.

Key takeaways from the latest World Economic Outlook update

• Global growth
  • · It anticipates a decline in global growth to 2.9 percent in 2023 but an increase to 3.1 percent in 2024.
  • The 2023 forecast is 0.2 percentage points higher than predicted in the October 2022 World Economic Outlook but below the historical average of 3.8 percent. Rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine continue to weigh on economic activity. 
• Inflation 

• While remaining above pre-pandemic levels of roughly 3.5 percent (2017–19), global inflation is predicted to decline from 8.8 percent in 2022 to 6.6 percent in 2023 and 4.3 percent in 2024.
• There are two key causes for the slowdown in price growth.
• global monetary tightening, which decreases inflation by reducing demand for goods and services overall as a result of increased interest rates.
• Prices of several commodities, including both fuel and non-fuel, have decreased from their most recent highs as a result of waning demand.

• Asia: According to the report, growth in emerging and developing Asia is expected to rise in 2023 and 2024 to 5.3% and 5.2%, respectively, after the deeper-than-expected slowdown in 2022 to 4.3 percent attributable to China’s economy.
• Indian Scenario:  It is expecting some slowdown in the Indian economy next fiscal year and projected the growth to 6.1% from 6.8% during the current fiscal ending March 31.

Concerns 

• China’s poor health outcomes, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and higher global financing costs all have the potential to impede economic recovery.
• Further geopolitical disintegration might impede economic progress, and financial markets could abruptly reprioritize in response to bad inflation data.

Recommendations 

• Maintaining sustained deflation is still a top objective in the majority of economies in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis. The use of macroprudential instruments and the reinforcement of debt restructuring frameworks are required due to the possible impact that tighter monetary conditions and slower development may have on financial and debt stability.

• Increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates in China would protect the recovery and have beneficial transnational effects.

• Broad-based fiscal relief policies should be discontinued, and financial assistance should be properly targeted at those who are most negatively impacted by rising food and energy prices.

• To safeguard the benefits of the rules-based global system and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase green investment, stronger multilateral cooperation is necessary.

Source: TH