In this section, we are presenting our readers/aspirants compilation of selected editorials of national daily viz. The Hindu, The live mint,The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, PIB etc. This section caters the requirement of Civil Services Mains (GS + Essay) , PCS, HAS Mains (GS + Essay) & others essay writing competition.
1.Vaccine skirmishes: On production of
IPR waiver will not bring immediate benefits; the effort must be to share the stockpile
The Biden administration’s announcement that it would support a waiver on intellectual property rights (IPR) for the production of COVID-19 vaccines appeared to catch the world off-guard, on both sides of the argument. The original proposal for the relaxation of TRIPS for such vaccines in the context of the ongoing pandemic was drafted at the WTO by India and South Africa last year. Months before it was tabled, during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, erstwhile candidate Joe Biden vowed that should he win, he would “absolutely positively” commit to sharing vaccine technology with countries that needed it, perhaps anticipating the deep chasm of inequality in vaccine access. Now that his administration has proclaimed its intent to fulfil that promise, it must come as a bitter realisation that what sounds like a well-intentioned, pro-developing-countries policy stance has been rebuffed by major EU nations and met with counter-suggestions that might make even the most liberal U.S. Democrats uncomfortable. The first pushback salvo came from Germany which said that it would create “severe complications” for the production of vaccines, echoing the view of major pharma corporations. While French President Emmanuel Macron had appeared relatively less hostile to considering the proposal earlier, he lashed out at the “Anglo-Saxons” for impeding vaccine availability globally by blocking the export of ingredients.
There are merits to the argument that an IPR waiver, even if it were to become a reality, may not entirely resolve the vaccine deficit issue in countries suffering the worst of the pandemic now. First, the grant of a waiver would have to be accompanied by a “tech transfer” that provides generic pharmaceutical manufacturers with the requisite trained personnel, raw materials and hi-tech equipment and production know-how. Second, there must be a scientifically convincing answer to the question of how any vaccine then produced by these generic manufacturers — in all likelihood, years from now — would pass the tests of safety, immunogenicity and protective efficacy. Third, the impact on global supply chains for vaccine production should be examined so major disruptions might be avoided. Finally, alternative options to urgently address vaccine shortfalls should be considered, including developed nations sharing a significantly greater part of their vaccine stockpiles, particularly in cases where the latter exceed projected domestic need. Indeed, there is speculation that the intention behind Mr. Biden’s waiver proclamation might be in favour of the last outcome, essentially a tactic to persuade pharmaceutical companies to accept less painful measures including sharing some of their technology willingly, agreeing to joint ventures to increase global production expeditiously, and simply produce more doses at affordable prices to donate directly to where the need is most severe, especially India.
2.On the edge: On international pressure on Israel
There must be international pressure on Israel to treat Palestinians with dignity
The ongoing violence in Jerusalem is a culmination of the tensions building up since the start of Ramzan in mid-April. When Israeli police set up barricades at the Damascus Gate, a main entrance to the occupied Old City, preventing Palestinians from gathering there, it led to clashes. Last week, close to a scheduled Israeli Supreme Court hearing on the eviction of Palestinian families in an Arab neighbourhood of Jerusalem, tensions escalated. Israeli police entered the Haram al-Sharif compound (Noble Sanctuary), which houses the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, to disperse the protesters, injuring hundreds of Palestinians. A Jewish settlement agency has issued eviction notices to Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, claiming that their houses sit on land purchased by Jewish agencies in the late 19th century (when historic Palestine was a part of the Ottoman Empire). Arab families have been living in Sheikh Jarrah for generations. The Israeli Supreme Court postponed the hearing on Monday on the advice of the government. Despite the volatile situation, the Israeli authorities gave permission to the annual Jerusalem Day Flag March, traditionally taken out by Zionist youth through the Muslim Quarter of East Jerusalem to mark the city’s capture by the Israelis. More violence broke out ahead of the march on Monday morning.
Jerusalem has been at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Israel, which captured the western part of the city in the 1948 first Arab-Israel war and the eastern half in the 1967 Six-Day War, claims sovereignty over the whole city whereas the Palestinians say East Jerusalem should be the capital of their future state. Most countries have not recognised Israel’s claim over the city and are of the view that its status should be resolved as part of a final Israel-Palestine settlement. Israel’s tactic till now has been to hold on to the status quo through force. A peace process is non-existent and the Palestinians are divided and weak. With carte blanche from the Trump administration, Israel expanded its settlements and extended repression of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. The move to evict Palestinians from East Jerusalem is seen as an attempt to forcibly expand Jewish settlements in the Arab neighbourhoods of the Old City. Israel’s actions have triggered condemnations from across the world, but it is unlikely to mend its ways. The international community, which largely overlooked Israel’s violent repression of Palestinians, should pressure Tel Aviv to at least treat the Palestinians with dignity, if not to ease the yoke of the occupation. U.S. President Joe Biden has said that America’s commitment to human rights would be at the centre of his foreign policy. In West Asia, he faces a reality check.
3.The rational course: To recover from the Covid pandemic, to thrive again, India must embrace science fully
In countless ways the world has never seen a year like the last, when it comes to science taking centrestage. It has defined all the key turning points, from helping us understand how Covid-19 spreads to finding vaccines against it at unprecedented pace. The Galileo dictum, measure what is measurable and make measurable what is not so, has been at the heart of this process. Even before today, India’s progress on many fronts had been shaped by scientific temper – take the heavy investments across governments in areas like space exploration, child vaccination and renewable energy. Only, it is clearer than ever now that this is our only path to a healthy future.
India’s tragic descent into the second Covid surge was preceded by sheer disregard of pandemic science. From distaste for public masking to declaring premature victory against the virus and neglect of key protocols that allowed the virus to storm our shaky public health defences, irrational institutional responses have taken an obvious toll. And individual lapses continue: An Indian football team has negligently breached another country’s bio-bubble, nine lives were lost ingesting an alcohol-based homeopathic concoction in Chhattisgarh, fake and dangerous cures for Covid pneumonia continue to be peddled on social media etc.
A decrepit education system that is based on rote learning isn’t helping. In the coming years it must be reformed to promote scientific habits and critical inquiry. Citizens bereft of modern governance or structures like functional schools and hospitals often can’t gauge the value of science in their lives. This may even explain some families being improperly masked at hospitals despite the virus having invaded the respiratory tract of their relative. A long civilisational quest has bequeathed India traditional systems of medicine and thought. But a virulent pandemic demands dispassionate interrogation of the evidence and this is where high-profile quacks deserve no quarter from the state.
The vaccines that have passed the test of multiple trials before authorisation for commercial use best exemplify the spirit of scientific objectivity. Where the vaccine remains slow in coming, governments must not neglect tools like testing and genome sequencing. When detected cases shot up in Maharashtra from February, ramping up testing in neighbouring states – a virus is no respecter of porous borders – could have mitigated the second wave. To recover, to thrive again, India must commit fully to science. And make sure that our children get a solid grounding in it
4.Virtual terror: Ransomware attack in the US foregrounds the need to better protect key infrastructure
An unauthorised software code has crippled a key channel of oil supply in the east coast of the US. Colonial Pipeline, an energy company, was forced to shut down a 5,500-mile pipeline after the discovery of ransomware in its system. It needed a declaration of an emergency by the federal government to keep up supply through an alternative route. The incident forcefully brings home cybersecurity risks that have increased significantly in the wake of digitalisation.
Malware is malicious software that uses security gaps to take over important computer files, and ransomware is a form of malware that can prevent a legitimate user from accessing essential files. Over the last five years, ransomware has emerged as a frequent way through which cybercriminals, with or without the help of state actors, have unleashed damage. In 2017, there were two separate multi-country attacks by ransomwares WannaCry and NotPetya. The latter even disrupted the production of critical vaccines by pharma firm Merck. A couple of developments have enhanced threats from ransomware. Software code has become ubiquitous; from home appliances to power grids it’s now an integral part of the system. Separately, the advent of multiple cryptocurrencies has provided cybercriminals new ways to route illegal payoffs.
As the pandemic quickened digitalisation, the forced transition has not always been accompanied by appropriate risk mitigation. Tackling cybercrime needs enormous coordination at national and international levels because interconnectedness of computer networks amplifies threats. Also, as cybercrime can be initiated from across borders, all countries have a stake in establishing response standards through bodies such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as well as a new coalition focussed on this threat. India’s CERT-in (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) also needs an upgrade in terms of resource allocation to be in sync with the country’s pace of digitalisation.
5.The Congress must act, now
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) met on Monday to discuss the defeat in the assembly elections, with party president Sonia Gandhi saying that if the party did not “face up to reality”, it would not draw the right lessons. Here is the reality. The Congress got decimated in Bengal, failed to capture power in Kerala and Assam, lost power in Puducherry before the polls and failed to regain it, and is a junior partner in the ruling coalition in Tamil Nadu. To add insult to injury, high-profile defectors who switched ranks have found leadership oppor-tunities in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — with Himanta Biswa Sarma (who left the Congress in 2015) now becoming the third former Congress leader (after N Biren Singh in Manipur and Pema Khandu in Arunachal Pradesh) to take over as a BJP chief minister.
The setback also comes at a time when the question of leadership remains unresolved. Sonia Gandhi is interim president but wants to give way to Rahul Gandhi. He doesn’t want to be president but is, for all effective purposes, in-charge. A group of dissenters forced the party to commit to a timeline for organisational elections — but while slated for this summer, it has now been deferred due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. And in any case, the dissenters lack a leader with the stature to openly, successfully, challenge the leadership of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Through all of this, the Congress appears to sense an opportunity in the Centre’s mixed record in managing Covid-19. The fact that Rahul Gandhi gave obvious, but sensible, suggestions on the course of the disease, and that party organisations such as the Indian Youth Congress have done a stellar job in providing relief to citizens, gives the party hope that it can shape some of the political narrative around the pandemic. But in the absence of a clear leadership — the key question is not who becomes party president but who becomes the face to take on Narendra Modi in what will once again be a presidential-style contest in 2024 — the party’s ability to rise is doubtful. Supplement this with its weak organisation, the shift in incentives for leaders and workers who can sense political opportunities elsewhere, and the erosion in states where the party’s base was strong, and the nature of the crisis in the Congress becomes clearer. With noise about a possible non-BJP, non-Congress grouping rising, India’s grand old party is once again in a familiar place — the crossroads. Mrs Gandhi’s admission must be followed by action.