Daily Current Affairs – 18th October 2022

Arihant SLBM launch: Enhancing India’s underwater capability

On October 14, India joined a select group of nations when it announced the successful launch of an SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile). The other six nations that have demonstrated similar underwater capability include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council Russia, the UK, France and China. In August 2016, North Korea claimed a successful launch of an SLBM.

Features of K-15 SLBM

The code names K-15 or B-05, is an Indian submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) with a range of 750 kilometres (466 mi) that was designed for retaliatory nuclear strikes. It belongs to the K Missile family and forms a part of India’s nuclear triad.

The K-15 is a two-stage submarine-launched ballistic missile which uses a gas booster to eject out of its launch platform and rise up to the surface of water. A solid rocket motor is fired after the missile reaches a fixed altitude. The missile has a range of around 750 kilometres (466 mi).

About INS Arihant

Launched in 2009 and Commissioned in 2016, INS Arihant is India’s first indigenous nuclear powered ballistic missile.

It is capable submarine built under the secretive Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project, which was initiated in the 1990s.

INS Arihant and its class of submarines are classified as ‘SSBN’, which is the hull classification symbol for nuclear powered ballistic missile carrying submarines.

While the Navy operates the vessel, the operations of the SLBMs from the SSBN are under the purview of India’s Strategic Forces Command, which is part of India’s Nuclear Command Authority.

Cyber ​​threats pose a challenge to Internal Security

As the 21st century advances, a new danger the cyber threat is becoming a daily monster. It is hardly confined to any one domain though the military is the one most often touted. Rather, it is the civilian sphere where the cyber threat is becoming more all-pervading today and, in turn, a serious menace.

What is mean by Cyber threat?

A cyber threat or cyber security threat is defined as a malicious act intended to steal or damage data or disrupt the digital wellbeing and stability of an enterprise.

Cyber threats include a wide range of attacks ranging from data breaches, computer viruses, denial of service, and numerous other attack vectors.

How Cyber threat is ever increasing?

Increasing Grey Zone Operations: Grey zone Operations which fall outside traditional concepts of conflicts have become the new battleground, especially in regard to cyber warfare. ‘Grey Zone Operations’ are already beginning to be employed to undermine the vital of a state’s functioning, a trend likely to grow. The convergence of emerging technologies alongside new hybrid usages, pose several challenges to nations and institutions.

Attack on examination: The recent arrest in India, of a Russian for hacking into computers involved in the conduct of examinations for entry into the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), is a reflection of how cybercriminals are significantly amplifying their Grey Zone Warfare’ tactics

Pervasive nature of cyber threat: What is most unfortunate is that not enough attention is being bestowed on the all-encompassing nature of the cyber threat. In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the world seems awash with papers on artificial intelligence (AI)-driven military innovations and potential crisis hot zones, along with stray references to new forms of hybrid warfare.

Weaponization of everything: There is very little about the threat posed by cyber-attacks. Ignored also is the new reality of the weaponization of everything’ which has entered the vocabulary of threats. The latter clearly demands a ‘proto-revolutionary’ outlook on the part of policymakers, which is evidently lacking.

Becoming a Multi-dimensional threat: Lost in translation is also the nature of today’s weapon of choice, viz., cyber. This lack of awareness is unfortunate at a time when states clearly lack the necessary resilience to face a variety of multi-vector threats.

Challenges to India’s cyber security infrastructure

Structural:

1. Absence of any geographical constraints.

2.Lack of uniformity in devices used for internet access.

Administrative:

Lack of national-level architecture for cybersecurity

Security audit does not occur periodically, nor does it adhere to the international standards.

The appointment of the National Cyber Security Coordinator in 2014 has not been supplemented by creating liaison officers in states.

Procedural

Lack of awareness in local police of various provisions of IT Act, 2000, and also of IPSC related to cybercrime.

Lack of data protection regime.

Human Resource Related

Inadequate awareness among people about the security of devices and online transactions.

Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global poverty

A recent World Bank report, titled “Correcting Course”, captures the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global poverty. The economic mismanagement we were witness to in India resulted in 5.6 crore people slipping into extreme poverty in 2020.

What is the Impact of COVID-19?

Rapid rise in extreme poverty: The number of people living in extreme poverty rose by seven crores million in 2020, as the global poverty rate rose from 8.4% in 2019 to 9.3%in 2020.

Increased Inequality: This is the first time in two decades that the poverty rate has gone up. Global inequalities have widened, evident in the relative impacts felt on incomes in the richest countries as opposed to the poorest; and, unsurprisingly, economic recovery has been similarly uneven.

What the World Bank report says on fiscal policy of developing Nations?

The report focuses on fiscal policy as an instrument for governments in dealing with crises such as the pandemic.

Poorer countries were unable to use fiscal policy as effectively and thus unable to offset the impact of the pandemic to a much lesser degree than richer countries.

What is the status of India’s Fiscal Policy and Poverty?

Sluggish state of Indian Economy: India’s economy continues to be sluggish in 2022, and one should look back at the policy choices that were made back in 2020.

Absence of official poverty data: The World Bank report relies on the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS) by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), in the absence of official poverty data since 2011.

Poverty and fall in GDP: By the estimate, 5.6 crore people are likely to have slipped into poverty as India’s GDP fell by7.5% in FY2020-21.

India’s Population below poverty line: The population below poverty line in India stood at 10% in 2020.

Marginal Incremental spending: Refusal to provide a fiscal stimulus to consumption the Government announced a fiscal stimulus worth Rs.2 lakh crore, or 1% of GDP. However, only a small fraction therein reflected incremental spending.

Inadequate increase in MGNREGA wage: The minor increase to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) wage by Rs.20 per day was a long-pending correction and quite inadequate to say the least.

No money in the hands of households: The majority of India’s stimulus package took the form of credit lines and refinancing schemes to private enterprises, which are an inefficient mechanism to realise the goal of putting money in the hands of people to boost household-level consumption.

The relationship between India’s Tax policies and Poverty

Reduced corporate tax: Through the pandemic and beyond, India persisted with the reduced corporate tax rate that had been announced in September 2019. The reduction of corporate tax from 30% to 22% cost the exchequer Rs.1.84 lakh crore over the last two fiscal years, according to the Parliamentary Committee on Estimates.

Rise in corporate profit: India has refused to reintroduce wealth tax, or indeed, an inheritance tax. At the same time, corporate profits soared, as reported by the CMIE.

Rise in inequality: Through all of this, and in spite of the World Inequality Report terming India as a ‘poor and very unequal country’.

GST as regressive tax regime: India has repeatedly increased the rates on a wide range of products covered by the Goods and Services Tax as well as increased the prices of cooking and transport fuels. While indirect taxes may help prop up public finances, they place a disproportionate burden on the poor.

About 41.5 crore Indians out of multi-dimensional poverty since 2005-06

About 41.5 crore people exited poverty in India during the 15-year period between 2005-06 and 2019-21, out of which two-thirds exited in the first 10 years, and one-third in the next five years, according to the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

What is global MPI?

The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is an international measure of acute poverty covering over 100 developing countries.

It complements traditional income-based poverty measures by capturing the severe deprivations that each person faces at the same time with respect to education, health and living standards.

The global MPI was developed by OPHI with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for inclusion in UNDP’s flagship Human Development Report in 2010.

It has been published in the HDR ever since.

Multidimensional poverty in India: Major improvements

poverty

The report shows that the incidence of poverty fell from 55.1% in 2005-06 to 16.4% in 2019-21 in India.

Deprivations in all 10 MPI indicators saw significant reductions as a result of which the MPI value and incidence of poverty more than halved.

Improvement in MPI for India has significantly contributed to the decline in poverty in South Asia.

It is for the first time that it is not the region with the highest number of poor people, at 38.5 crore, compared with 57.9 crore in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Bihar, the poorest State in 2015-2016, saw the fastest reduction in MPI value in absolute terms.

Long way towards alleviation

Despite the strides made, the report notes that the ongoing task of ending poverty remains daunting.

India has by far the largest number of poor people worldwide at 22.8 crore, followed by Nigeria at 9.6 crore.

Two-third of these people live in a household in which at least one person is deprived in nutrition.

There were also 9.7 crore poor children in India in 2019-2021 — more than the total number of poor people, children and adults combined, in any other country covered by the global MPI.

Why multi-dimensional poverty does persist in India?

Poverty is not just the absence of income, money and/or money-like resources required to meet needs.

Multiple disadvantages: A person who is poor can suffer multiple disadvantages at the same time – for example they may simultaneously have:

Poor health or malnutrition

Lack of clean water or electricity

Poor quality of livelihood options

Little/No schooling

Disempowerment

Threats of violence

Climate change vulnerability etc.

Other factors include:

Limited financial resources

Material deprivation

Social isolation

Exclusion and powerlessness

Physical and psychological ill-being

Multiple dimensions: Focusing on one factor alone, such as income, is not enough to capture the true reality of poverty. National MPI ensures a holistic approach towards defining poverty at the national level.

More comprehensive: MP measures can be used to create a more comprehensive picture. They reveal who is poor and how they are poor – the range of different disadvantages they experience.

Better targeting: As well as providing a headline measure of poverty, multidimensional measures can be broken down to reveal the poverty level in different areas of a country and among different sub-groups of people.

Priority definition for target groups: It offers statistics that determine the national priorities by using a set of dimensions, indicators with respect to the urban and rural areas of India along with an indicator-wise deconstruction and breakdown.

Various challenges

Pauperization: Every year a huge number is added to the population pool of the country. To exemplify, this pandemic has led to severe pauperization of migrant workers.

Regional divide: Incidence of extreme poverty continues to be much higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

Jobless growth: Despite rapid growth and development, an unacceptably high proportion of our population continues to suffer from severe and multidimensional deprivation.

Inadequate resources: The resources allocated to anti-poverty programmes are inadequate and there is a tacit understanding that targets will be curtailed according to fund availability.

Implementation bottlenecks: Lack of proper implementation and right targeting has been legacy issues in India. There has been a lot of overlapping of schemes.