2 June 2024

• Elections: India awaits counting on 4 June. Exit polls released after the final phase suggested NDA would win big, but results would contradict them.
• Economy: FDI data for FY 2023-24 circulated in analyst discussions, showing 44 billion US dollars in gross equity inflows.
• Science: ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission legacy remains in policy focus as India prepares its next space missions.
• Health: Heat stress deaths reported across north India; IMD data on extreme heat in focus.

GS area: Economy, International Relations

US President Joe Biden announced steep tariff increases on 18 billion US dollars worth of Chinese imports. The announcement, made in May 2024, continued to shape trade discussions into June.

• Basis: Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 authorises the US Trade Representative to investigate and act against foreign trade practices that burden US commerce.
• EV tariffs: raised from 25 per cent to 100 per cent. Lithium-ion EV battery tariffs raised from 7.5 per cent to 25 per cent.
• Sectors targeted: the tariff escalation covered steel, aluminium, semiconductors, batteries, solar cells, ship-to-shore cranes and medical products across 18 sectors.
• India's dual position: India stands to gain export share in medical supplies and natural graphite. It also faces the risk of Chinese goods being diverted to the Indian market at dumped prices.
• DGTR: the Directorate General of Trade Remedies under the Ministry of Commerce handles anti-dumping, safeguard, and countervailing duty investigations in India.
• China plus one strategy: the approach by multinational companies to diversify supply chains away from single dependence on China. India, Vietnam and Mexico are the main beneficiaries.

Static linkage: international trade, economy.

GS area: Economy

Foreign Direct Investment data for FY 2023-24 showed gross equity inflows of 44 billion US dollars. Total FDI including reinvested earnings reached 70.95 billion dollars.

• DPIIT: the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce formulates India's FDI policy.
• Automatic route: foreign investment does not require prior government approval. The investor only notifies the RBI after the investment.
• Government route: prior approval from the relevant ministry is required. Sectors like defence (above threshold), media and satellite require government route approval.
• Prohibited sectors: lottery businesses, gambling and betting, chit funds, Nidhi companies, trading in transferable development rights, real estate business (excluding townships and housing) and manufacturing of cigars.
• FDI inclusions: the FDI definition includes foreign currency convertible bonds, foreign institutional investment above 10 per cent in an Indian company, and global depository receipts.
• Historical top sources (2000 to 2024): Mauritius, Singapore, United States, Netherlands and Japan in that order. Mauritius and Singapore route large flows because of tax treaty benefits.

Static linkage: economy (investment, external sector).

GS area: Science and Technology

The Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru developed a novel mass-production method for recombinant proteins, reported in the lead-up to the June 2024 period.

• Recombinant proteins: proteins produced artificially by inserting a gene of interest into a host organism using genetic engineering tools.
• Host organisms: bacteria (E. coli is most common), yeast, mammalian cells, and insect cells. The choice of host determines post-translational modifications.
• Applications: vaccine antigens (the protein coat that triggers immunity), insulin production, monoclonal antibodies used in cancer therapy, and agricultural pest resistance.
• IISc contribution: the new method achieves high yield with lower cost, addressing a bottleneck in large-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
• India's biopharma position: India is among the world's top producers of vaccines. The Serum Institute of India is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume.

Static linkage: science and technology, health.

GS area: Polity (judiciary), Social Issues

Reports from Goa highlighted the first formal registration of a Living Will under guidelines set after the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling. Justice M.S. Sonak of the Bombay High Court was Goa's first registrant.

• Living Will: a document in which a person specifies the medical treatment they want or do not want if they become incapacitated and cannot communicate their wishes.
• Common Cause vs. Union of India (2018): a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court allowed passive euthanasia and recognised the right of a terminally ill patient to refuse life-prolonging treatment. Active euthanasia (administering a lethal drug) remains illegal.
• Requirements under the 2018 guidelines: the will must be drafted with two witnesses and certified by a notary or gazetted officer. A copy must be sent to the District Collector and kept with the treating doctor.
• Article 21: the right to life under Article 21 includes the right to die with dignity. The Court derived the right to refuse treatment from this provision.
• Passive euthanasia: withdrawal of life support in cases where the patient has no prospect of recovery, done with Court approval.

Static linkage: fundamental rights (polity), social issues.

GS area: International Relations, Geography

Cambodia's Techo Funan Canal remained in discussions. The 180-kilometre Chinese-backed project connects the Mekong River basin to Cambodia's coast near Sihanoukville.

• Purpose: reduce Cambodia's dependence on Vietnamese ports for its exports and imports. The canal aims to lower transportation costs and development logistics.
• Mekong River: one of the world's great rivers, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. China controls upstream dams that influence downstream flow.
• Cambodia borders: Thailand to the west and northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east. The Gulf of Thailand lies to the southwest.
• Vietnam's concern: reduced water flow down the Mekong delta, which is Vietnam's rice bowl. Vietnam raises environmental and economic objections.
• Chinese military angle: analysts note potential dual-use infrastructure. Cambodia's 2019 constitution bars foreign military bases, but the US has raised concerns about a Chinese naval facility at Ream.
• Cambodia's global standing: designated as a United Nations least-developed country. Member of ASEAN and WTO.

Static linkage: international relations, world geography.

GS area: Health, Governance

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) remains India's primary legal framework for tobacco control.

• COTPA 2003: prohibits smoking in public places, bans tobacco advertising in specified media, mandates pictorial health warnings on packets, and restricts tobacco sales near educational institutions.
• Pictorial warnings: cover at least 85 per cent of the principal display area of tobacco product packaging, per a 2014 amendment. This is among the largest mandatory warning sizes globally.
• National Tobacco Control Programme: runs at the district level across all states. Key components include training health workers, running cessation clinics, and enforcing COTPA provisions.
• GATS India: the Global Adult Tobacco Survey. India conducted its second round in 2016-17 showing 28.6 per cent of adults use tobacco. A third round's findings were expected around this period.

Static linkage: health, social issues.

• Cryonics: Southern Cryonics in Australia preserved its first client at minus 196 degrees Celsius using cryoprotective solution. The practice raises consent, equity and efficacy questions under medical ethics.
• IMD heat records: multiple north Indian stations reported temperatures at or above 45 degrees Celsius through late May and early June 2024.