GS PAPER: III

CPI inflation

Why in the news?

• According to the recently released report India’s consumer price index (CPI) based inflation rate touched 5.7% in December.

About CPI inflation

• The CPI inflation is nothing but the rate of inflation that consumers face. It is different from the major inflation indicator — the wholesale price index-based inflation rate.
• The consumer price index measures changes over time in general level of prices of a basket of selected goods and services that households acquire for the purpose of consumption.
• At an all-India level, the current CPI basket comprises 299 items.
• Apart from an aggregate index, consumer price indices are constructed for both rural and urban consumers as well.

Method of calculation

• The “base year” for the current series of indices is 2012. In other words, the price index is given a value of 100 for 2012 and changes from these price levels are then calculated to arrive at inflation rates for each good or service.
• According to the National Statistical Office within the MoSPI, the monthly price data is collected from 1181 villages and 1114 urban markets spread all across the country. The data for this purpose is collected on a weekly basis by the field staff of NSO.

Components of Calculation

The CPI has six main components, each with differing weights and many more sub-components within them. The main components as follows:

• Food and beverages
• Pan, tobacco and intoxicants
• Clothing and footwear
• Housing
• Fuel and light
• Miscellaneous (services such as education, health care etc.)

Among these, food articles currently weigh 45% of the total index. The second-biggest component is that of miscellaneous services. Within the food category, cereal prices are the biggest factor — they account for 9.67% of the total CPI.

This means that a spike in prices of food articles like cereals, vegetables, milk and pulses tends to have the biggest impact in raising consumer inflation. And the reason why food articles have been given such a high weightage is that most Indian consumers tend to spend a considerable portion of their income towards meeting their food demand.

About report

• The inflation rate for any period can be analysed in two ways. One is to look at this December’s price level and compare it with the price level in December last year. The inflation rate — or the rate at which prices have gone up — so calculated is called the year-on-year increase. This is the most often used inflation rate.
• However, one can also calculate the month-on-month change by comparing the prices in December to the prices in November.

• The data shows that the YoY inflation rate has started rising towards the end of 2023. The MoM data, however, shows deflation in December.
  • Deflation means that prices fell from one period to another. It is noteworthy that deflation is different from disinflation (which means a deceleration in the rate of inflation from one month to another).
• Among the different components, it was the relative spike in food prices that caused the YoY inflation to rise in December.
• In particular, vegetable prices increased by almost 28% (relative to December 2022), while pulses were costlier by 21% and spices by 20%. Cereals, too, were costlier by 10%. Such high levels of inflation in just these four food groups, which account for 23% of the total index weight, pushed up the overall inflation rate.
• Lastly, as always, the inflation rate varied across the country with Odisha registering the highest inflation at 8.7% and Delhi experiencing the lowest at 2.9%.

Significance

• In the whole, inflation for the full financial year is likely to be 5.5% with the March 2024 inflation rate expected to be at 5%.
• Further, regardless of what is happening to headline inflation, the core inflation rate — that is inflation rate after removing the food and fuel inflation — has been trending down.

• RBI view that food shocks can have second order effects that impede attaining policy goals.
• Higher inflation is also not good news for fiscal policymakers. Partly this has to do with the political ramifications that rising inflation rate can have so close to the elections. But from the perspective of Budget making, too, uncertainty around inflation is hardly welcome.

GS PAPER – III

Multidimensional poverty Index

Why in the news?

• A recent report by NITI Aayog revealed that a staggering 24.82 crore individuals have escaped multidimensional poverty in India between 2013-14 and 2022-23.

About the report

• Decline in multidimensional poverty in India: From 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23 i.e. a reduction of 17.89 percentage points.
• States with largest decline: Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 5.94 crore people escaping poverty followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore and Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore.
• India likely to achieve SDG Target 1.2 (reducing multidimensional poverty by at least half) well before 2030.

Government’s aim

• Government has a goal to bring down multidimensional poverty to below 1% and all efforts are being made in that direction.
• The report said India is all set to reach single-digit poverty levels during 2024.
• The meeting was being held in the luxury ski resort of Davos in eastern Switzerland, on the eve of the five-day World Economic Forum summit of the globe’s business and political elite.

About National Multidimensional Poverty Index 

• NITI Aayog had published the first edition of national Multidimensional Poverty Index for India in 2021.
• A national MPI statistic for a country is tailored to the national priorities and therefore, countries choose their own set of dimensions, indicators, weights, and cut-offs, according to their plans and contexts.
• The report presents an in-depth analysis of the headcount ratio and intensity of multidimensional poverty at the national, State/UT, and district levels.
• The first report was based on the reference period of 2015-16 of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)- 4.

MPI Parameters & Methodology:

• The Index is based on the Alkire-Foster (AF) methodology and has three equally weighted dimensions –
• These three dimensions are represented by 12 indicators.

GS PAPER – III

Darjeeling zoo and leopards

Why in news?

• The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in Darjeeling has made headlines for successfully breeding 77 snow leopards since the 1980s, placing it next only to New York’s Bronx Zoo, which has produced 80 snow leopard cubs since it started breeding experiments with the species in the 1960s.

Wild cats in captivity

• The snow leopard’s first record in captivity dates back to 1891 when the London zoo acquired one from Bhutan. But it was not until the 1950s that captive born cubs became breeders themselves. After that breakthrough in the Copenhagen zoo, snow leopards have bred relatively well in captivity.
• By 1991, 98% of all snow leopards in zoos were captive bred. Big cats are known to proliferate under unusual circumstances. The US alone has over 10,000 mostly inbred captive tigers — that’s twice the species’ count in the wild. South Africa banned captive lion breeding in 2021 but does not know how to deal with more than 6,000 captive lions living on private ranches.

Challenges

• Breeding wild cats in captivity, however, is notoriously difficult — their edgy temperament, unique physiology and genetic baggage make them erratic breeders.
• Making big cats breed can be frustrating — even fraught with danger. Jittery male clouded leopards have killed the females on so many occasions that some animal fertility experts consider this shy species a bigger challenge than even hard-to-breed red pandas.
• However, clouded leopards are far from an exception. In 2019, London zoo put two tigers together after they spent 10 days in adjacent cages and showed encouraging signs of familiarity. Within minutes, a fight broke out and the 10-year-old Sumatran female was killed.
• More recently, a coalition of two male cheetahs was given access to a female inside an enclosure in Kuno national park last May in the hope that they might mate. The interaction turned violent and Dakhsha, the female from South Africa, died.

Difficult breeders

• Avoiding such tragic outcomes is not the only challenge in big cat breeding. First, zoos need to eliminate triggers for stress. Clouded leopards, for example, did better when they were off display, not housed next to bigger cats like tigers, and provided with cage furniture that allowed activities such as climbing and hiding.
• Then there is the curse of genetic bottleneck. Most big cat species have suffered major population collapses in the past. When a population rebuilds itself from handful individuals, it loses genetic variation, affecting the reproductive ability of individuals.

A unique cat

• In the social structure of other cats such as tigers or leopards, a large male territory encompasses multiple female territories to ensure female fidelity.
• It is the opposite among cheetahs: females roam multiple male territories to pair with multiple males and guard against further genetic constriction of the species.
• In captivity, the female cheetah is ‘turned off’ by loss of mating choice. There is no authenticated record of cheetahs breeding in captivity until 1956, when a cub was born in Philadelphia zoo.
• Even today, only one in five captive cheetahs, male or female, breeds. Female cheetahs come to oestrus throughout the year but show few outward signs unless they are interested in mating. Misreading oestrus and giving male cheetahs access to a female not in heat can lead to serious injuries.

Solution

• The solution is to mimic the wild where the sexes rarely meet when not mating and typically get to know the other by smelling.
• A successful zoo model connects isolated male and female holding areas with a long pathway — dubbed lover’s lane — and takes males to female enclosures when it is time to sniff and tell.
• To test if a female is ready, she is taken away and a male is allowed down lover’s lane to sniff her now-empty yard. The male can tell from the smell if she is in heat. If he tries to attract her with a typical barking sound, she is released to join him.
• If he does not bark, he goes back down lover’s lane. Even when they oblige, few cheetah matings result in conception.

GS PAPER – II

Discussion on chhabhar and red sea attack

Why in news?

• Jaishankar, who is in the Iranian capital as part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two sides, also called on Iranian President Dr Ebrahim Raisi and conveyed the greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

What happened in the meeting?

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held wide ranging discussions with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian
• Their discussion focused on the long-term framework for India’s involvement with the strategically vital Chabahar port and the North-South connectivity project.
• Jaishankar also discussed the ongoing West Asian crisis with his Iranian counterparts and stressed India’s support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state. This comes as India seeks to maintain a balanced position as Israel’s military campaign in Gaza continues.
• He also spoke about threats to maritime shipping in the region and stressed that it’s important that this issue be “speedily addressed”, in an apparent reference to targeting of merchant vessels in the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Yemen’s Houthi rebels amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Houthis attack in red sea?

• On 19 November, the Houthis hijacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea and have since attacked more than two dozen others with drones, missiles and speed boats. US-led naval forces thwarted many of the attacks.
• The Houthis say they are targeting ships which are Israeli-owned, flagged or operated, or which are heading to Israeli ports. However, many have no connections with Israel.
• Major shipping companies have stopped using the Red Sea- through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade passes -and are using a much longer route around southern Africa instead.

Chhabar port

• The Chabahar is situated in the Sistan and Baluchistan Provinces and is the only oceanic port in Iran. Chabahar Port has gained significant attention due to its geopolitical and economic significance.

GS PAPER – II

War, climate change and Davos meeting

Why in news?

• The climate crisis is in the spotlight as the World Economic Forum (WEF) holds its annual meeting in Davos.

What is the concern?

• Following COP28 – and with the climate crisis topping the forum’s list of the biggest risks over the next decade – governments and business leaders are facing some monumental challenges. 
• The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service revealed that 2023 had been the hottest year on record with major implications for keeping global warming below 1.5C.
• Climate change is among the biggest risks the world faces over the next decade, according to the WEF’s Global Risks report published last week ahead of Davos.
• Though misinformation and disinformation were deemed the biggest immediate risks, half of the most severe threats over the next 10 years are environmental.
• That includes extreme weather events, critical changes to Earth’s systems, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse and a shortage of natural resources.
• Two-thirds of the 1,400 global experts who were surveyed were worried about extreme weather events in 2024.

Global priorities has increased for this Davos meet

• Over 60 heads of state and government, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be heading to town to hold both public appearances and closed-door talks.
• They’ll be among more than 2,800 attendees, which also include academics, artists and international organization leaders.
• The gathering is mostly high-minded ambition – think business innovation, aims for peace-making and security cooperation, or life-changing improvements in health care – and a venue for decision-makers in an array of fields and industries to connect.