Daily Current Affairs – 17th October 2022

Reality Check on India’s Hunger Index Rank

For the second time in two years, the Ministry of Women and Child Development rejected the Global Hunger Index (GHI) that ranked India 107 among 121 countries. India was accorded a score of 29.1 out of 100 (with 0 representing no hunger), placing it behind Sri Lanka (66), Myanmar (71), Nepal (81) and Bangladesh (84). It referred to the index as “an erroneous measure of hunger”.

All you need to know about Global Hunger Index

Annual report: The GHI is a peer reviewed annual report that endeavours to “comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels”. Authors of the report primarily refer to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2(SDG 2) that endeavours to achieve ‘Zero Hunger’ by 2030.

Four Indicators: According to them, the report attempts to “raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger”. The GHI score is computed using four broad indicators under nourishment (measure of the proportion of the population facing chronic deficiency of dietary energy intake), child stunting (low height for age), child wasting (low weight for height) and child mortality (death of a child under the age of five).

Why these four Indicators are considered?

To acknowledge undernourishment: As per the authors, it provides a basis to measure inadequate access to food and is among the lead indicators for international hunger targets, including the UN SDG 2. Child stunting and mortality, offers perspective about the child’s vulnerability to nutritional deficiencies, access to food and quality of nutrition.

To address urgent requirement of nutrition: Since children (especially below five) are at a developmental age there is a greater and urgent requirement for nutrition with results particularly visible. This forms the basis of assessing nutritional requirement among children. Adults are at a sustainable age they are not growing but rather subsisting on nutrition for healthy survival. And lastly, on the same rationale, child mortality indicates the serious consequences of hunger.

Uses data provided by Government: It explains that while FAO uses a suite of indicators on food security, including two important indicators — prevalence of undernourishment and prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity. The GHI only uses the data obtained through food balance sheets based on data reported by member countries, including India.

Shows a picture of food supply chain: A food balance sheet provides a comprehensive picture of the pattern of a country’s food supply during a specified reference period. It lists down the source of the supply and its utilisation specific to each food category.

Takes into account three child specific indicators: On why the GHI uses three child specific indicators out of the four to calculate hunger for a country’s population, the website explains, By combining the proportion of undernourished in the population(1/3 of the GHI score) with the indicators relating to children under age five (2/3of the GHI score), the GHI ensures that both the food supply situation of the population as a whole and the effects of inadequate nutrition within a vulnerable subset of the population are captured.

International recognition: A Senior Policy Officer at the GHI said that, “All four indicators used in the calculation of the global hunger are recognised by the international community, including India, and used for measuring progress towards the UN SDGs.”

What are the Objections of Government of India?

Very small sample size of the Index: As per the Ministry for Women and Child Development, the report lowers India’s rank based on the estimates of the Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population. It elaborates that the U.S. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimate is based on the ‘Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)’ survey module conducted using the Gallup World Poll that bears a sample size of 3,000 respondents being asked eight questions. It stated that the data represented a miniscule proportion for account of India’s size.

Counter assertion by India’s dietary supply is increasing: It countered the assertions in the report pointing to India’s per capita dietary energy supply increasing year on year due to enhanced production of major agricultural commodities in the country over the years.

Index doesn’t reflect the actual ground reality: According to the Ministry, the report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to ignore the food security efforts of the Central government especially during the pandemic.

Efficient PMGKAY: The Union Cabinet through the Pradhan Mantri Garib KalyanAnn Yojana (PMGKAY) provisioned an additional 5 kg ration per person each month in addition to their normal quota of food grains.

What are the Government efforts to address the hunger issue so far?

The Midday Meal Scheme: The Midday meal is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.

The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centres, Madrasa supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour.

Serving 120 million children in over 1.27 million schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, the Midday Meal Scheme is the largest of its kind in the world.

PM-POSHAN: The name of the scheme has been changed to PM-POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) Scheme, in September 2021, by MoE (Ministry of Education), which is nodal ministry for the scheme.

The Central Government also announced that an additional 24 lakh students receiving pre-primary education at government & government-aided schools would also be included under the scheme by 2022

Making India’s Quantum Cyberspace resilient

The Army has collaborated with industry and academia to build secure communications and cryptography applications. This step builds on last year’s initiative to establish a quantum computing laboratory at the military engineering institute in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh.

 What is mean by quantum computing?

Quantum computing is an area of study focused on the development of computer based technologies centered around the principles of quantum theory.

Quantum computing studies computation systems that make direct use of quantum-mechanical phenomena to perform operations on data.

Classical computers encode information in bits. Each bit can take the value of 1 or 0. These 1s and 0s act as on/off switches that ultimately drive computer functions.

What is quantum Theory?

Quantum theory explains the nature and behavior of energy and matter on the quantum (atomic and subatomic) level. Quantum theory is the theoretical basis of modern physics.

The nature and behavior of matter and energy at that level is sometimes referred to as quantum physics and quantum mechanics.

What is quantum computing laboratory that the Army has set up?

Two research centres: The Army has set up a quantum computing laboratory and a centre for artificial intelligence (AI) at a military engineering institute in Madhya Pradesh. The Army will get support from National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS).

Purpose of the quantum lab: To spearhead research and training in this key developing field. It said the Indian Army is making steady and significant strides in the field of emerging technologies

To Train personnel on the cyber warfare: Training on cyber warfare is being imparted through a state of the art cyber range and cyber security labs.

The Focus areas: Key thrust areas are quantum key distribution, quantum communication and quantum computing, among others.

What is the rationale behind this development?

To provide facility centre for extensive and dedicated research: The two centres will carry out extensive research in developing transformative technologies for use by the armed forces.

To transform the current system of cryptography: Research undertaken by the Army in the field of quantum technology will help it leapfrog into the next generation of communication and transform the current system of cryptography to post-quantum cryptography.

Developing quantum resistant systems: With traditional encryption models at risk and increasing military applications of quantum technology, the deployment of quantum-resistant systems has become the need of the hour.

Vulnerable existing digital infrastructure: There is a need of upgrading current encryption standards that can be broken by quantum cryptography. Current protocols like the RSA will quickly become outdated. This means that quantum cyber attacks can potentially breach any hardened target, opening a significant vulnerability for existing digital infrastructure. Hack proofing these systems will require considerable investments.

To be in a League of nations in this sector: For example US: National Quantum Initiative Act has already allocated $1.2 billion for research in defence related quantum technology. China now hosts two of the world’s fastest quantum computers.

How India can make its cyberspace resilient?

Procuring quantum resistant mechanism from US: India must consider procuring the United States National Security Agency’s (NSA) Suite B Cryptography Quantum-Resistant Suite as its official encryption mechanism. The NSA is developing new algorithms for their cypher suite that are resistant to quantum cyber attacks. This can then facilitate India’s official transition to quantum-resistant algorithms.

Enhancing cryptographic standards: The Indian Defence establishment can consider emulating the cryptographic standards set by the US’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) which has developed a series of encryption tools to handle quantum computer attacks. It has developed a series of four algorithms to frame a post-quantum cryptographic standard.

Diplomatic partnerships in this sector: Diplomatic partnerships with other techno-democracies countries with top technology sectors, advanced economies, and a commitment to liberal democracy can help India pool resources and mitigate emerging quantum cyber threats.

Active participation in global avenues: Active participation in the Open Quantum Safe project a global initiative started in 2016 for prototyping and integrating quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms.

Providing funds and encouragement: India must start its national initiatives to develop quantum-resistant systems. For this, the government can fund and encourage existing open-source projects related to post-quantum cryptography.

Start implementing the capabilities: The country should start implementing and developing capabilities in quantum-resistant communications, specifically for critical strategic sectors. QKDs over long distances, especially connecting military outposts for sensitive communications, can be prioritised to ensure secure communications whilst protecting key intelligence from potential quantum cyber attacks.

Establishing nationwide network: Establish a nationwide communication network integrated with quantum cryptographic systems, thereby protecting cyberspace from any cross-border quantum cyber offensive.

What are Digital Banking Units (DBUs)?

PM has dedicated 75 digital banking units to the nation, taking forward an announcement that was made in the 2022-23 Union Budget.

What are DBUs?

A digital banking unit is a specialized fixed point business unit or hub, housing a certain minimum digital infrastructure for delivering digital banking products and services.

It aims at servicing existing financial products and services digitally in self-service mode at any time.

The RBI has announced the guidelines for DBUs, following the report of a working group of the Indian Banks Association (IBA).

Who can set up these DBUs?

Commercial banks (other than regional rural banks, payment banks and local area banks) with past digital banking experience are permitted to open DBUs in tier 1 to tier 6 centres.

They are permitted, unless otherwise specifically restricted, without having the need to take permission from the RBI in each case.

What services will be provided by these units?

As per the RBI, each DBU must offer certain minimum digital banking products and services.

Such products should be on both liabilities and assets side of the balance sheet of the digital banking segment.

Digitally value-added services to conventional products would also qualify as such.

The services include saving bank accounts under various schemes, current accounts, fixed deposit and recurring deposit accounts, digital kits for customers, mobile banking etc.

It also includes- Internet banking, debit cards, credit cards, and mass transit system cards, digital kits for merchants, UPI QR codes, BHIM Aadhaar and point of sale (PoS).

What about lending services?

Other services include making applications for and onboarding customers for identified retail, MSME or schematic loans.

This may also include end-to-end digital processing of such loans, starting from online application to disbursal and identified government-sponsored schemes that are covered under the national portal.

How will these DBUs compete with fintechs?

Currently, fintechs operating as neobanks offer digital banking services but they do so in partnership with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

Some of the neobanks offering services in India are Jupiter, Fi Money, Niyo, Razorpay X.

Compared to conventional banks with online and mobile banking facilities, neobanks or digital banks excel at product innovation and offer far better digital solutions.

However, given the arrangement they, some in the industry have pegged these digital banks as “glorified digital distribution companies”.

What is China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ Diplomacy?

Chinese President Xi Jinping will get an endorsement for a third term as President. His “wolf warrior” style of diplomacy has particularly attracted attention.

What does Wolf Warrior’ Diplomacy mean?

A term that gained popularity, especially after Xi became President, “wolf warrior diplomacy” is a tactic for the Chinese government to extend its ideology beyond China and counter the West and defend itself.

It is an unofficial term for the more aggressive and confrontational style of communication that Chinese diplomats have taken to in the last decade.

A 2015 Chinese action film, titled ‘Wolf Warrior’, and its sequel have served as the inspiration for the term.

The films, with their nationalist themes and dialogues, focus on Chinese fighters who frequently face off against Western mercenaries.

Why China resorts to such diplomacy?

The change in strategy has been attributed to many reasons, such as:

Xi’s more authoritarian tendencies as compared to earlier leaders

Deteriorating US-China relations under former US President Donald Trump and

Coronavirus pandemic-related accusations on China, etc.

What does this look like in practice?

Some examples can be seen in the form of messaging on social media too, where Chinese officials are quick to counter any allegations by the West and proactively launch attacks.

For instance, in 2021 Chinese government spokesperson Lijian Zhao tweeted a digitally morphed photo of an Australian soldier killing a child, claiming the Australian army was killing children in Afghanistan.

This led the Australian Prime Minister to announce he would seek an official apology, but China did not budge.

But this is not limited to Western countries.

Indian experience

The new ‘wolf warrior diplomacy’ confronts head-on any criticism of China in the public sphere.

They lecture host governments and don’t always show up when ‘summoned’ by foreign offices.

Delhi has been at the receiving end for a while — especially during the recent crises of Doklam and Ladakh.