12 May 2023

• Economy: MoSPI released April 2023 retail inflation: 4.7 per cent. The lowest in 18 months.
• Governance: Over 50 per cent of Indian villages attained ODF Plus status. More than 2.96 lakh villages manage solid and liquid waste.
• Defence: Pokhran-II's 25th anniversary brought focus on India's nuclear doctrine.
• Technology: Telangana launched India's first state-level robotics ecosystem strategy.
• Ethics: A review of sentence remission cases raised governance concerns about transparency and victim rights.

GS area: Economy (Monetary policy, Data releases)

MoSPI released the Consumer Price Index data for April 2023 on 12 May.

• Headline CPI inflation: 4.7 per cent in April, down from 5.66 per cent in March 2023.
• Significance: This was the lowest inflation reading in 18 months. It was the second consecutive month within the RBI's tolerance band of 6 per cent.
• Food inflation: Eased to 3.84 per cent in April. Food prices drove the March spike but moderated.
• RBI context: The Monetary Policy Committee has a statutory inflation target of 4 per cent with a tolerance band of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The April reading is within the comfort zone.
• Who releases CPI: MoSPI through the National Statistics Office. Not the RBI. The RBI sets the target but does not compile the data.

Two things UPSC examines on CPI: the releasing body (MoSPI, not RBI) and the statutory target (4 per cent, band 2-6 per cent).

Static linkage: Monetary policy, price stability, MoSPI (Economy).

GS area: Governance (Swachh Bharat)

Over 50 per cent of India's villages have achieved Open Defecation Free Plus status under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).

• ODF Plus criteria: A village must maintain ODF status and implement solid and liquid waste management systems.
• Numbers: Over 2.96 lakh villages have implemented solid and liquid waste management. More than 1 lakh gram panchayats have passed resolutions banning single-use plastic.
• Leading states: Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh lead in ODF Plus achievement.
• Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II: Runs from 2020 to 2025. The focus shifts from toilet construction to behaviour change and waste management.

Static linkage: Swachh Bharat Mission, solid waste management, rural governance (Governance).

GS area: Governance (Technology, Industry)

Telangana launched India's first state-level robotics ecosystem strategy.

• Target sectors: Agriculture, healthcare and industrial automation.
• Institutional support: Telangana Robotics Innovation Centre (TRIC) to be established.
• Planned infrastructure: A robo park and a startup accelerator.
• Policy significance: Robotics adoption in agriculture and healthcare requires both infrastructure and regulatory frameworks. Telangana's early move creates a model for other states.

Static linkage: Industrial policy, digital economy, state-level governance (Economy/Governance).

GS area: Polity (Judiciary, Governance)

A review of high-profile sentence remission cases raised structural concerns.

• Remission power: Article 72 empowers the President to grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions. Article 161 gives Governors similar powers for state offences.
• Anand Mohan Singh case: A former MP convicted for the murder of a Dalit IAS officer was released in Bihar following a state government policy change.
• Bilkis Bano case: Convicts in the 2002 Gujarat riots case were released in August 2022. The Supreme Court was later asked to examine this.
• Core concerns raised: Lack of transparency, victim rights not considered, potential political motivation, no standardised criteria across states.

Static linkage: Pardoning power, constitutional articles 72 and 161, prison governance (Polity).

GS area: International Relations (Health)

The WHO lifted the Public Health Emergency of International Concern for mpox (monkeypox) after 10 months. The PHEIC was declared in July 2022.

• Disease profile: Mpox is a viral zoonosis that can spread between humans.
• 2022 outbreak: An unusual global outbreak spread to over 100 countries through non-traditional routes, primarily through close contact.
• Ending the PHEIC: Ending PHEIC status does not mean the disease is gone. It means the acute crisis phase requiring coordinated global response has passed.

Static linkage: PHEIC, WHO, One Health (International Relations/Health).

• Three-parent baby (UK): The first birth using mitochondrial donation treatment was reported in the UK. This technique combines nuclear DNA from two biological parents with mitochondrial DNA from a third donor. It prevents inheritance of mitochondrial diseases. Still experimental. Mitochondrial diseases affect approximately 1 in 5,000 to 10,000 newborns.
• Myanmar thermobaric bomb: The Myanmar military reportedly used a thermobaric (fuel-air explosive) weapon in a village attack, killing over 160 people. Thermobaric weapons are not explicitly prohibited under international law but violate the Hague Conventions when used against civilians.
• FSSAI misleading ads: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India flagged 32 cases of deceptive food advertisements. Penalties include fines up to 10 lakh rupees or licence suspension.