Tobacco consumption: Higher Prices Could Be The Effective way

Central Idea

• The share of smokers is declining in India, but smokeless tobacco consumption continues unabated. Smokeless tobacco use is widespread and is a significant public health challenge. The use of smokeless tobacco in India is deeply ingrained in cultural and traditional practices, making it difficult to address through public health interventions.

DATA: Tobacco consumption in India

• High Consumption in north eastern states: In the north-eastern States of India, consumption of tobacco among men in both smokable and chewable forms was higher than the rest of India in 2019-21.
• Consumption in southern states is relatively low: In the southern States, the share was relatively low with regard to both forms of tobacco consumption. However, among those who smoked, the share of those who consumed more than five sticks a day was much higher in many southern States. So, while smokers were fewer in the south, those who smoked did so heavily.
• Smokable forms: If only the smokable forms were considered, the share was higher in the northern States of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, J&K U.T. and the eastern State of West Bengal.
• Chewable forms: If only the chewable forms were considered, the share was higher in the east Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha and in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
• Share of cigarette/bidi smokers is coming down: Overall, in India, the share of cigarette/bidi smokers is coming down. Compared to 2005-06, the share of smokers came down by over 10% points in 2019-21.

Why is this trend?

• Increase in prices of smokable forms: According to health economists the reduction in cigarette smoking may be attributed to the increase in the prices of the commodity over time.
• Price of chewable form have not increased: On the other hand, the prices of bidis and other chewable forms have not increased much, and so consumption too has not reduced much.

Why price and taxation of tobacco matters?

• Effective way to reduce consumption: Research from many countries around the world including India shows that a price increase induces people to quit or reduce tobacco use as well as discourages non-users from getting into the habit of tobacco use.
• For example: a study conducted in India found that a 10% increase in the price of tobacco products led to a 6.4% reduction in tobacco consumption among adults.
• Higher prices can also discourage young people from taking up smoking: According to the World Health Organization, increasing tobacco prices by 10% can reduce tobacco use among young people by about 4%. This is particularly important as most tobacco users start smoking during adolescence.

Tobacco consumption: Negative health effects

• Cancer: Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable cancer. It can cause cancer of the lungs, mouth, throat, larynx, pancreas, bladder, kidney, and cervix.
• Respiratory diseases: It may cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It can also worsen asthma symptoms.
• Cardiovascular diseases: Consumption increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. It damages blood vessels and increases the risk of blood clots.
• Reproductive health: Tobacco use can lead to infertility, premature birth, and low birth weight in babies.

Tobacco consumption: Social-Economic Impact

1. On an individual level:
2. Tobacco consumption can lead to decreased productivity and increased healthcare costs.
3. Smoking-related illnesses can result in absenteeism from work, decreased work performance, and increased medical expenses.
4. In addition, tobacco consumption can lead to decreased life expectancy, which reduces the overall productive years of an individual.
5. On a societal level:
6. Tobacco consumption can lead to decreased economic development due to the increased burden of healthcare costs and decreased productivity.
7. According to a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco-related illnesses cost India about $22.4 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity annually

Conclusion

• Tobacco consumption in India has significant socioeconomic and health impacts, particularly on the poor and marginalized sections of the population. Worryingly, after GST implementation, cigarette prices have not increased much. Increasing the price of tobacco products through taxation is a key strategy for reducing tobacco consumption and its associated health and economic costs.

National Science Day 2023

National Science Day in India is celebrated on 28th February every year to commemorate the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, also known as Sir C.V. Raman. The discovery was announced on 28th February 1928, and Raman won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, making him the first Indian to receive a Nobel Prize in a scientific field. This year’s edition is being celebrated under the theme of “Global Science for Global Wellbeing”, in light of India’s G20 presidency.

What is CV Raman Effect

1. The Raman Effect is a phenomenon in which a photon interacts with a molecule, causing it to undergo a change in energy and momentum.
2. Specifically, when a photon interacts with a molecule, it can transfer some of its energy and momentum to the molecule, causing it to vibrate or rotate.
3. This change in the molecule’s energy and momentum results in a shift in the wavelength of the scattered photon, which is known as Raman scattering.
4. The Raman effect is used in Raman spectroscopy, which is a technique used to identify and analyze the chemical composition of materials.
5. In Raman spectroscopy, a laser is used to excite the molecules in a sample, and the resulting Raman scattering is measured and analyzed to determine the vibrational and rotational modes of the molecules in the sample.

Objectives of National Science Day

1. The idea of celebrating National Science Day was first proposed by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) in 1986, and it was subsequently accepted by the Indian government.
2. The first National Science Day was celebrated on 28th February 1987.
3. The day is celebrated to recognize and appreciate the contributions of scientists and researchers to the field of science and to create awareness among the general public about the importance of science and its applications in everyday life.
4. It is an opportunity to promote scientific temper and encourage young people to take up careers in science.

India’s proposed MIIRA to promote millets

India has introduced a draft to launch a global initiative to encourage the consumption and production of millet. The draft of the proposed initiative — MIIRA — was placed during the first Agriculture Deputies Meeting under the Agriculture Working Group (AWG), G20 at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. During the meeting, Shubha Takur, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, introduced the MIIRA.

What is MIIRA?

1. The acronym MIIRA stands for ‘Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness’.
2. According to Agriculture Ministry sources, the MIIRA will be aimed at coordinating millet research programmes at the international level.
3. It is in line with the UN declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets, the proposal for which was moved by India and supported by 72 countries.
4. The International Year will see several events and activities such as conferences, issuing of stamps and coins etc. to raise awareness about millets, improve their production and quality, and attract investments. The Centre also plans to make India a global hub for millets.

What is the aim of MIIRA?

1. According to the sources, MIIRA will aim to connect millet research organisations across the world while also supporting research on these crops.
2. This is significant as issues like food security and nutrition are among the key priority areas in the agriculture sector during India’s G20 Presidency. India assumed the G20 Presidency on 1 December 2022.
3. Besides setting up a web platform to connect researchers and holding international research conferences, the plan is also to raise awareness for promoting the consumption of millet.

Who will fund the MIIRA initiative?

1. For MIIRA to take off, India will contribute the “seed money”, while each G20 member will later have to contribute to its budget in the form of a membership fee.
2. The MIIRA secretariat will be in Delhi, the sources said, adding that with India being a major producer of millets, this will ensure a flow of investment from the country’s industry and research bodies.

Which food grains are called millets?

1. Millets are small-grained cereals such as sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), foxtail millet (kangni/ Italian millet), little millet (kutki), kodo millet, finger millet (ragi/ mandua), proso millet (cheena/ common millet), barnyard millet (sawa/ sanwa/ jhangora), and brown top millet (korale).
2. These crops require much less water than rice and wheat, and are mainly grown in rainfed areas.
3. Gobally, jowar is the most widely grown millet crop; its major producers are the US, China, Australia, India, Argentina, Nigeria, and Sudan.

 Sebi proposes changes to rules for REITs

Sebi has proposed changes to rules governing REITs and InvITs whereby sponsors will be required to own a certain percentage of units in these investment vehicles.

More about the news:

1. The markets regulator said the changes are being proposed keeping in mind the interest of unit holders and the structural vulnerabilities associated with absence of a sponsor for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).
2. The watchdog has suggested that the sponsors of REITs/InvITs should hold 15 percent of the capital for a period of three years from the date of listing as there is no mandatory unit holding requirement after three years.
3. It has also been proposed to mandate sponsors to hold 5 percent of the unit capital after 3-5 years, 3 percent from 5-10 years, 2 percent from 10-20 years and 1 percent after 20 years.
4. It is done in order to ensure that there is some alignment of interest with the unit holder. Also, the REIT/InvIT industry is in a nascent stage and continuously evolving.
5. Sebi noted that most of the sponsors have significant shareholding in managers of REITs/InvITs which gives them the right to appoint directors and also has a say in the financing related decisions of the investment managers especially in debt financing.
6. According to the regulator, a sponsor of a REIT/InvIT whose units have been listed on the stock exchanges for a period of three years can be permitted to declassify as the sponsor subject to certain conditions, including that there has to be a new inducted sponsor in place of the existing sponsor getting declassified.
7. At present, there are 5 REITs and 19 InvITs registered with Sebi. Out of them, 3 REITs and 15 InvITs have raised funds through initial offer and/or further offer.

Flashback:

REITs:

1. It refers to an entity created with the sole purpose of channelling investible funds into operating, owning or financing income-producing real estate.
2. REITs are modelled on the lines of mutual funds and provide investors with an extremely liquid way to get a stake in real estate.
3. It is a type of security that provides all types of investors, big or small, an outlet for regular income, portfolio diversification, and long-term capital appreciation. Like any other security, REITs can enlist themselves on a stock exchange.
4. In India, the Real Estate Investment Trusts were introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in 2007. In September, 2013, Sebi came out with revised regulations for REITs, which were approved on September 26, 2014.

INVITs:

1. An Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvITs) is like a mutual fund,which enables direct investment of small amounts of money from possible individual/institutional investors in infrastructure to earn a small portion of the income as return.
2. InvITs work like mutual funds or real estate investment trusts (REITs) in features. InvITs can be treated as the modified version of REITs designed to suit the specific circumstances of the infrastructure sector.
3. Sebi notified the Sebi (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 on September 26, 2014, providing for registration and regulation of InvITs in India.
4. The objective of InvITs is to facilitate investment in the infrastructure sector.

Constitutional Validity of Agni Path

The Delhi High Court upheld the validity of the Agni path scheme for the temporary recruitment of youths into the armed forces. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad dismissed a bunch of petitions challenging the Central Government’s scheme and maintained that it has been introduced in “national interest”.

What

1. The Agnipath scheme was unveiled in June last year outlining rules for armed forces recruitment.
2. Under the scheme, around 46,000 soldiers between the ages of 17.5 and 21 years who would be known as “Agniveers” will be recruited into the three services for a period of four years on a short-term contractual basis.
3. Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
4. After this period, only 25% of the selected candidates will be absorbed into permanent positions while the others will be retired.
5. The scheme’s introduction triggered widespread protests across several parts of the country, particularly in the wake of rising unemployment and inflation.
6. A ballooning section of job aspirants complained that the scheme does not offer pensions and social security benefits for Agni veers who will be left unemployed after four years of service.

Yellow River

 A recent study has noted that the Chinese practice of building embankments is one of the reasons to blame for the devastating floods occurring in the “Yellow river”.

About Yellow River:

• The Yellow River (Huang He) is the second longest river in China (after the Yangtze).
• It’s the fifth-longest river in the world.
• Source: The Bayankala Mountains on the Plateau of Tibet in western central China.
• Mouth: southern Bohai Sea
• Claims to fame: world’s muddiest major river, “China’s cradle (of civilization)”
• Provinces flowed through: Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong
• Tributaries: Black River, White River, Tao River, Huangshui, Fen River, Luo River, Wei River.
• The name “Yellow River” comes from the huge amounts of “yellow” loess sediment it carries, which are eroded when it flows through the Loess Plateau.
• The Yellow River is not just an iconic river of China, but also the symbol of the Chinese spirit: bearing burdens (its sedimentation), adaptation (its course changes), and perseverance (its continual flow).
• Hukou Waterfall on it is the second-largest waterfall in China.
• Qinghai Lake on it is China’s biggest lake.