What to Read in Indian Express Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1 : India should lower tariffs – for the right reason

Context

India shouldn’t fret over US President Donald Trump telling Apple Inc’s CEO Tim Cook not to make the country its next major manufacturing-cum-export hub after China.

Tech Expansion to India

• Cook is ultimately accountable to the shareholders of Apple, which now makes about 40 million out of its 220 million-odd iPhones sold globally in India, and the balance from China.
• The Cupertino-headquartered tech giant’s plans to expand its operations in India are purely a function of the cost-competitiveness of assembling handsets hereand the perceived need to diversify supply chains from China as part of a larger geopolitical risk mitigation strategy.
• These are business decisions, not made overnight or unmade at the whim of one person, however powerful.

What should be India’s focus

• India’s focus should be on making itself a preferred investment destination for not just Apple, but all global companies that made China their factory to produce for the world.
• That would mean going beyond assembling to creating a full-fledged manufacturingecosystem of the sort already existing in India’s automotive and ancillary sectors and needing replication in industries such as smart phones, computers and consumer electronics.
• All this requires economies of scale, which India can partly offer through its largely domestic market, like China’s.
• But true cost-competitiveness and operational scale-up comes only from making for the domestic as well as global market.
• India must prove just that  through stable policies, making it worthwhile for Apple to deepen its engagement by expanding both production capacity and the local supplier base.

Impact of Tariffs on Economic Growth

• Economists agree that lower tariffs reduce consumer pricesand push domestic industries to become more efficient.
• It is better to have a single or very few tariff rates. Multiple and uneven rates distort decision-making in businesses and reduce overall efficiency in the economy.
• High tariffs in India have protected inefficient producers. Economists argue that if an Indian product, like a car, cannot compete without tariff protection, it should not be produced under such a system.
• Tariffs disrupt global supply chains. They lower efficiency and slow down overall economic activity by increasing costs across countries.

The Trade Agreement

• The fact is that the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US is still under negotiation.
• What’s clear is that India is more open to cutting tariffs and offering greater market access for imports, just as it is seeking the same from its trade partners.
• This approach a refreshing departure from the protectionist tendencies that gained hold during the first two terms of the Narendra Modigovernment was noticeable in the recently sealed comprehensive trade deal with the United Kingdom.

Conclusion

India’s economic history, both pre- and post-reform, provides sufficient evidence of growth acceleration whenever policymakers have displayed openness to foreign trade and investment. Lowering tariffs and allowing greater import competition is something India should do for its own sake.

 

Editorial 2 : Shingles vaccine & lower dementia risk: what new study says

Context

The shingles vaccine may do more than protect against the viral infection. A recent study from South Korea found that those vaccinated have a 23% lower risk of developing cardiovascular conditions and reduced odds of the onset of dementia, a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder which does not yet have very effective treatments.

What is shingles?

• Shingles is a viral infection that causes painful rashes.
• It can occur anywhere on the body and typically looks like a single stripe of blisters that wraps around the left or right side of the torso, along the path of the nerve from which the virus spreads.
• It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus— the virus which also causes chickenpox.
• After a bout of chickenpox, usually during childhood, the virus remains dormant in one’s nerve cells for life.
• It can reactivate and cause shingles when a person’s immune system is weakened.
• People who have never had chickenpox may get the infection if they come in direct contact with the fluid released by the shingles rashes, or breathe in the virus particles.
• Pain can persist even after rashes go away. In severe cases, the rashes cause vision loss if they are close to the eye, facial paralysis, or inflammation of the brain.
• The shingles vaccine, which prevents the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, is recommended primarily to individuals over the age of 50 years.
• It may also be recommended to adults living with a weakened immune system due to conditions such as HIV.

What did the Welsh study find? Why is it unique?

• Previous studies shown an association between shingles vaccination and lower risk of dementia.
• The unique roll-out strategy of the shingles vaccine in Wales created a “natural experiment”that effectively mimicked a randomised control trial, the most credible level of evidence in medical research, much better than patient records.
• Shingles-causing virus has been linked to long-lasting cognitive effects.Preventing its reactivation through vaccination, could directly reduce the risk of dementia.
• Some researchers have also pointed to changes in the immune system brought about by the shingles virus which could protect against dementia.

Shingles vaccines

• There are two approved shingles vaccines — both of which are available in India.
• Zostavax uses a live, weakened virus, while Shingrix uses a recombinant technology to develop parts of the virus that do not cause the disease.

Way forward

In conclusion, accumulating evidence suggests that various common vaccines—including those for shingles, diphtheria, pneumococcal disease, hepatitis A, and typhoid—may be associated with a reduced risk of dementia. These findings highlight the potential of vaccination not only for preventing infectious diseases but also for contributing to long-term cognitive health.