2 November The HIndu Editorial | Vocab

 Editorial - 1

Signs of easing: On India’s COVID-19 fight

India’s COVID-19 trajectory shows a downward trend, but there is no room for complacency

After reporting over 97,650 novel coronavirus cases on September 11, the largest number ever reported on a single day by any country till then (the U.S. registered 99,780 cases on October 30), India has been witnessing a steady fall in daily fresh cases reported since mid-September. Since October 25, there have been fewer than 50,000 new cases every day, except on one. More importantly, the reduction in daily cases has continued despite no appreciable drop in overall testing numbers, a trend quite pronounced in States that bore the brunt of the pandemic — Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. It is quite clear that the pandemic has peaked by spreading through the major densely populated cities, leaving lakhs infected and thousands dead, but there is a definite slowing down in these areas. Since August, cases had already started to pile up beyond urban areas in rural districts. It is unclear whether the drop in daily cases and deaths registered in the urban areas is playing itself out similarly in rural areas as well, as unlike urban areas, the protocols for testing, treatment, isolation are not as diligently followed because of gaps in the rural health infrastructure across States. This is something State Health Departments need to follow up on.There is evidence from other disease surveillance in the past that States with better primary health and sentinel infrastructure across topographies, urban or rural, have recorded diseases better. For example, the reporting of HIV cases in Maharashtra and the southern States resulted in the recording of more cases while Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and a few other north Indian States reported fewer cases. The absence of evidence is, after all, not the evidence of absence and Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and others must not become complacent about the drop in cases, and must continue to increase their respective testing rates to keep pace with the rest of India. While peaking and a reduction in cases is a good sign that could ease the strain on the health infrastructure, the danger the virus poses is still real. The dip in cases may turn out to be just a statistical blip, with a second surge and heightened spread waiting to happen in the winter, particularly as people partake in the festive season. States have started to ease restrictions on schooling, commercial activities and have even allowed theatres and malls to open to spur the consumption economy severely affected by the lockdowns. The easing was unavoidable as the economic strain was becoming as much of a problem for people as COVID-19 was to their health. Citizens must not get complacent about the drop in cases and should continue to observe norms of social distancing, mask wearing and hand hygiene till vaccines made available prove their efficacy.

1. trajectory (noun) – track, direction, course.प्रक्षेप पथ
2. downward (adjective) – descending, sliding, falling.नीचे
3. room (noun) – scope, opportunity, chance (for something to happen).
4. complacency (noun) –शालीनता- carelessness, laziness, laxity, satisfaction; self-satisfaction, self-approval, smugness (excessive pride in oneself).
5. novel coronavirus (nCoV) (noun) – a new strain (type/variety) coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. (Courtesy: WHO)
6. witness (verb) – see, observe, view, notice.
7. fall (noun) – decline, decrease, drop, dip, reduction.
8. appreciable (adjective) – considerable, substantial, significant, reasonable.
9. quite (adverb) – completely, fully, entirely, obviously.
10. pronounced (adjective) – noticeable, distinct, strong, conspicuous, striking.
11. bear the brunt (phrase) – to suffer or endure the worst part of something (force/burden/pressure) when a very bad or unpleasant thing happens.
12. pandemic (noun) – the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.
13. definite (adjective) – clear, certain, marked, distinct, unequivocal, unambiguous.
14. slowing down (noun) – reduction, decrease, decline.
15. pile up (phrasal verb) – increase, raise in quantity.ढेर लगाना
16. play out (phrasal verb) – happen, occur, take place.
17. protocol (noun) – procedure,  method, rules of conduct.
18. isolation (noun) – a complete separation from others of a person known or reasonably believed to be infected with communicable diseases.
19. diligently (adverb) – carefully, attentively, thoroughly.लगन से
20. follow up (phrasal verb) – continue/carry on something further.
21. disease surveillance (noun) – the ongoing systematic collection and analysis of data and the provision of information which leads to action being taken to prevent and control a disease, usually one of an infectious nature.
22. primary health (care) (noun) – it is a whole-of-society approach to health and well-being centred on the needs and preferences of individuals, families and communities. It addresses the broader determinants of health and focuses on the comprehensive and interrelated aspects of physical, mental and social health and well being. (Courtesy: WHO)
23. sentinel surveillance (noun) – a sentinel surveillance system is used when high-quality data are needed about a particular disease. A sentinel system deliberately involves only a limited network of carefully selected reporting sites with good laboratory facilities and experienced well-qualified staff, to identify and notify on certain diseases. Because sentinel surveillance is expensive and time-taking, conducted only in selected locations, however, it may not be as effective for detecting rare diseases or diseases that occur outside the catchment areas of the sentinel sites. (Courtesy: WHO)
24. topography (noun) – countryside, surroundings, environment.स्थलाकृति
25. after all (phrase) – most importantly, above all, ultimately, essentially.
26. complacent (adjective) – careless, casual, unconcerned, uninterested, apathetic, perfunctory; smug, self-satisfied, pleased/proud of oneself, self-opinionated, satisfied, pleased, contented.आत्मसंतुष्ट
27. keep pace with (phrase) – progress at the same speed as.
28. strain (noun) – pressure, demands, burdens; stress, tension.
29. pose (verb) – raise, ask, put (a question/matter for consideration).
30. dip (noun) – decrease, fall/drop, reduction.डुबोना
31. turn out (phrasal verb) – transpire, emerge; happen.
32. blip (noun) – a small/very short & temporary deviation (from normality/trend).
33. surge (noun) – sudden increase, rise.
34. heightened (adjective) – increased, intensified, worsen, aggravated.बढ़ाना
35. partake (verb) – participate, take part/join, engage.हिस्सा लेना
36. spur (verb) – motivate, stimulate, encourage, urge, galvanize.
37. consumption (noun) – the use of goods and services by households.
38. lockdown (noun) – an emergency protocol implemented by the authorities that prevents people from leaving from a place; An extended state of confinement/encirclement/isolation of a person by the authority.
39. observe (verb) – comply with, abide by, obey, adhere to, conform to.
40. norm (noun) – standard, convention, regulation.
41. social/physical distancing (noun) – a term means actively avoiding crowded public places, is a key element in decreasing the rapid spread of COVID-19. This is an effort intended to limit exposure by reducing face-to-face contact and preventing spread among people in community settings.
42. hygiene (noun) – cleanliness.
43. vaccine (noun) – a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease.
44. efficacy (noun) – effectiveness, efficiency, power/ability to give estimated results.

Editorial -2

A secure future for platform workers

The Code on Social Security Bill,

2020, for the first time in Indian law,

attempted to define ‘platform work’

outside of the traditional employ-

ment category. It says: “Platform

work means a work arrangement out-

side of a traditional employer­em-

ployee relationship in which organi-

sations or individuals use an online

platform to access other organisa-

tions or individuals to solve specific

problems or to provide specific services or

 any such other activities

which may be notified by the Central

Government, in exchange for pay-

ment.” While the long overdue move

to recognise platform work has been

made, the Code has drawn criticism

from platform workers’ associations

for failing to delineate it from gig

work and unorganised work. A cate-

gorical clarification could ensure that social security measures are provid-

ed to workers without compromising

the touted qualities of platform work:

flexibility and a sense of ownership.

An ongoing global conversation on

platform workers’ rights has been

around the misclassification of plat-form workers as 

‘independent con-tractors’; adjudications and emerg-

ing amendments to labour laws in

Ontario and California have shown a

move towards granting employee sta-

tus to platform workers, thus guaran-

teeing minimum wage and welfare

benefits. This is the view propagated

by international agencies in the EU,

including the European Trade Union.

Flexibility of the platform

The ostensible preference for em-

ployment status stems from the fact

that while platform work promises

workers flexibility and ownership ov-

er delivery of work, they are still lar-

gely dictated by mechanisms of con-

trol wired by the algorithm. This

affects pricing per unit of work, allo-

cation of work, and hours. Addition-

ally, entry into on­demand platform

work like ride sharing and food deliv-

ery are dependent on existing access

to vehicular assets. The average In-

dian worker on a ride­sharing plat-

form has limited access to such capi-

tal. Thus, to enter the platform

economy, workers rely on intensive

loan schemes, often facilitated by

platform aggregator companies. This

results in dependence on platform

companies, driven by financial obli-gations, thus rendering fl

exibilityand ownership moot in the short­ to

middle­term investment cycle.

However, contrasting evidence

suggests that for specific categories

of workers with basic access to capital, the flexibility of the platform is a

significant attraction. Smallholder

agrarian labour migrants with access

to vehicular assets and capital hailing

from peri­urban areas rely on the low

barrier of entry and flexibility of plat-

form work to accumulate wealth thatthey invest back into farm work.

The Code states the provision of

basic welfare measures as a joint res-

ponsibility of the Central govern-ment, platform aggregators, and

workers. However, it does not state

which stakeholder is responsible for

delivering what quantum of welfare.

To mitigate operational breakdowns

in providing welfare services, a tri-

partite effort by the State, compa-

nies, and workers to identify where

workers fall on the spectrum of fl

exi-bility and dependence on platform

companies is critical.

The role of platform workers

amidst the pandemic has presented a

strong case to attribute a more robust

responsibility to platform aggregator

companies and the State. As argued

by Aditi Surie, platform workers were

responsible for delivery of essential

services during the pandemic at

great personal risk to themselves.

They have also been responsible for

keeping platform companies afl

oatdespite the pandemic­induced fi

nan-cial crisis. This has cemented their

role as public infrastructures who al-

so sustain demand­driven aggrega-

tors. The dependence of companies

on platform workers merits a jointly

assumed responsibility by public and

private institutions to deliver welfare

measures.

A way forward for platform work-

ers is through a socio­legal acknow-

ledgement of the heterogeneity of

work in the gig economy, and the

ascription of joint accountability to

the State and platform companies for

the delivery of social services.

A fierce contest: On U.S. election results

As the U.S. prepares for the election, a wrangle over the results is increasingly likely

With less than two days until voting ends in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the results of opinion polls gauging voter preferences between the Republican incumbent, President Donald Trump, and his Democratic challenger, former Vice-President Joe Biden, almost uniformly show that the latter is holding onto a firm lead. A leading poll of polls puts Mr. Biden ahead by a solid 7.8%. A well-regarded data-driven website running statistical models on polls simulated 40,000 possible outcomes to find that Mr. Biden won 90 times out of 100. However, an analysis of politics since January 2017 reveals how voters might regard Mr. Trump’s performance, disregarding what they may have said in response to opinion surveys. He came to power on what was essentially a nativist call to purportedly put “America First”, to fight for the middle-class workers losing jobs to foreigners or immigrants. The divisive rhetoric that his 2016 campaign employed to this end continued to yield rich political dividends for him until early 2020. However, all this changed with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an epidemiological challenge that the White House was unable to meet.

This was part bungling, the result of a chaotic executive decision-making, and part apathy, borne of Mr. Trump’s disdain of masks, social distancing and lockdowns. Even in this approach, however unscientific, he may have won voter sympathy, perhaps because some appreciated his desire to reopen the economy, regardless of COVID-19. It is this sentiment that might prove to be Mr. Biden’s undoing as vote tallying comes to a close in the days and weeks, ahead. Therein lies a major force likely to shape the denouement of this election: the pandemic has resulted in a massive shift in the balance of voting methods toward early voting, mail-in voting and absentee voting. Mr. Trump has attacked mail-in voting with factually unfounded claims regarding potential for fraud and a Democratic conspiracy. Given that well over 90 million votes have been cast already through the latter channels, and that far more Republicans and Trump supporters are likely to vote in-person on November 3, the early results will likely show a significant lead for Mr. Trump. If, as is likely, the scales start tipping toward Mr. Biden as the mail-in votes are tallied, the stage will be set for Mr. Trump to formally allege voting fraud and escalate the matter to the Supreme Court — a Court that did not hesitate to rule on the 2000 election favouring Republican George W. Bush. Given that the Republican-controlled Senate recently rushed to fill an empty seat on the Court with conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett, the 6-3 majority on the Court favouring conservatives may well have a bearing in such an eventuality. Only a strong performance by Mr. Biden on election day to add to the early-voting leads will obviate this possibility.