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UPSC CSAT Quiz – 2021: IASbaba’s Daily CSAT Practice Test – 5th March 2021

ARCHIVES Daily CSAT Practice Test Everyday 5 Questions from Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension will be covered from Monday to Saturday. Make the best use of the initiative. All the best! To Know More about Ace the Prelims (ATP) 2021 - CLICK HERE Important Note: Don't forget to post your marks in the comment section. Also, let us know if you enjoyed today's test :) After completing the 5 questions, click on 'View Questions' to check your score, time taken and solutions. To take the Test - Click Here

Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz - 2021 : IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs Quiz 5th March 2021

For Previous Daily Quiz (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE The Current Affairs questions are based on sources like ‘The Hindu’, ‘Indian Express’ and ‘PIB’, which are very important sources for UPSC Prelims Exam. The questions are focused on both the concepts and facts. The topics covered here are generally different from what is being covered under ‘Daily Current Affairs/Daily News Analysis (DNA) and Daily Static Quiz’ to avoid duplication. The questions would be published from Monday to Saturday before 2 PM. One should not spend more than 10 minutes on this initiative. We will make sure, in the next 4 months not a single day is wasted. All your energies are channelized in the right direction. Trust us! This will make a huge difference in your results this time, provided that you follow this plan sincerely every day without fail. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” To Know More about Ace the Prelims (ATP) 2021 - CLICK HERE Important Note: Don't forget to post your marks in the comment section. Also, let us know if you enjoyed today's test :) After completing the 5 questions, click on 'View Questions' to check your score, time taken and solutions. To take the Test - Click Here

SYNOPSIS [3rd March,2021] Day 45: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 1): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)

For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE   SYNOPSIS [3rd March,2021] Day 45: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 1): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)   1. Examine the distorting impact of agricultural subsidies. What reforms are needed to streamline the subsidy regime in India? Discuss. Approach: Question is straight forward in its approach students are expected to explain the distorting impact if agricultural subsidies in India with proper examples also explain how to streamline the subsidy regime to lower the burden on exchequer and then arrive at a well balanced, logical and forward looking conclusion. Introduction: Agriculture in India is the most important segment of the economy. Growth of Agricultural sector is crucial for Indian economy as it employs two-third of its population and contributes nearly one-third of national income. However its importance in the economic, social and political fabric of India goes well beyond what is indicated by its contribution to the economy. The large number of poor agricultural households and their income vulnerability are major concern among policy makers. These concerns have driven both agricultural policies and public expenditures in agriculture in India as well as in other part of the globe. Agriculture is also one of the major sources of export earnings of our country and is crucial for improving the balance of payments. In recent years, the export of agricultural and allied products accounted for about one-fifth of total export earnings of India. India's share of agricultural export has remained very low in many commodities despite inherent strength of Indian agriculture with the exception of few commodities. Body: Introduction of the High Yielding Varieties (HYV) seeds programme in the 1960s demanded a high priority to supplying irrigation water and fertilisers to the farmers, the government tried to ensure that they were accessible and affordable. Subsidy on fertilisers is provided by the Central government whereas subsidy on water is provided by the State governments. Government gives different types of subsidies to farmers like, fertilizer, irrigation, equipment, credit subsidy, seed subsidy, export subsidy etc. Distorting impact- Subsidies directed by the United States government, particularly to corn farmers, can have a spill over affect in developing countries like India. Subsidies granted to the farmers of developed countries are way higher than that given to Indian farmers, thus it can cause distortion to the domestic market of domestic markets as well. Fertilizers subsidy, as an input for agriculture production, is responsible for rampant use of fertilizers, commonly the triad NPK, in India. This acts as a barrier for entry to the developed market like European Union who held that India’s agricultural products are not up to the mark of WTO’s phytosanitary measures. While the developing countries like India and China are not in an affordable position to breach the de-minimus level of Aggregate measures of support(AMS), developed countries like US provides subsidies exceeding 50% in some products such as Canola, cotton, sugar and more than 200% for wool. Most benefits of subsidies are allotted to big farmers while In India, 2/3 rd farmers are marginal farmers which can’t utilize the benefit of subsidy properly. Thus the value of produce of such farmers decrease. It leads to overproduction of one crop(grains) over other(like fruit, pulses). Thus sometimes grains are piled up for rotting in warehouse. Also in market, the trade of such cereals take place on the expanse of other non- subsidised products. Groundwater is the dominant source of irrigation and it has expanded rapidly since the 1970s. Since electricity is used to pump water from underground aquifers, electricity use in agriculture and the number of electrified pumpsets have also increased rapidly. In 1979/80, the number of electrified pumpsets was a little less than 4 million. By 2017/18, the number had jumped to more than 21 million. The share of agriculture in electricity supply was negligible in the early 1970s. The low and flat tariff structure of agricultural electricity supply is a plausible reason for excessive groundwater extraction although it is not probably the only or even the major factor. Other reasons such as price support policies that make water-intensive crops attractive. Agricultural Finance: Farmers are entitled to pre- harvest loan at 7% interest rate.They are allowed further 3% subvention in case of timely payment. Farmers can also take loan for post-harvest time against negotiable warehouse receipt. Economic survey notes three discrepancies in this subsidy. One, trend indicates that amount for a single loan is increasing for most of these subsidized loans. This means that more subsidies is going in favor of rich farmers. Two, extension of subsidized credit is concentrated in last three months of the financial year, which indicates that reluctant banks otherwise unable to meet priority sector lending targets, desperately disburse loans to reach target at the end only. It is unlikely that this way credit will reach to desirable party. Third, agriculture credit is getting concentrated on peripheries of urban areas, which means that money is being diverted to nonagricultural use. Reforms to streamline subsidy regime in India- Pursuing Cooperative Federalism: Agriculture is a State subject in the Constitution, listed as Entry 14 in the State List (List II). Apart from this, entry 26 in List II refers to “trade and commerce within the State”; entry 27 refers to “production, supply and distribution of goods”; and entry 28 refers to “markets and fairs” For these reasons, intra-State marketing in agriculture was always considered a legislative prerogative of States. Therefore, any reform pertaining to agriculture and farmer’s income must come up after consultation with the states. Changing the Pricing Mix: Government must come up with a suitable transition to agricultural pricing policy, whereby partial agricultural pricing should be state-supported and partially market-driven. One way to do this, could be a deficiency payments scheme along the lines of the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana (BBY) initiated by Madhya Pradesh. In this scheme, the government rather than procuring from farmers, compensates farmers with cash transfers when the market price falls below MSP. Strengthening FPO: With the changes brought the recent farm legislation, it is expected that many companies will be encouraged to build efficient supply lines somewhat on the lines of milk. However, there is a genuine demand for protection of farmers from ruthless market orientation for Profit. Thus, there is a need for strengthening of Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs), this will increase bargaining power of farmers on one hand and provide a suitable investment climate on the other. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in Fertilizers: DBT scheme can bring benefits to the farmer on various fronts; choice of improved products at competitive rates, gain from enhanced extension services from the industry on best practices leading to "sustainable and responsible" agriculture production, and better earnings for such produce. Enabling Last-Mile Connectivity: Affordable and workable" last mile" technologies can enable the Government to set up the required framework for disbursal, which in turn will allow for focused targeting of subsidy based on land, crop, soil health and other geographical factors. In order to address the imbalance in the fertilizer use, urea has to come under NBS. Conclusion: Agriculture lies at the backbone of Indian economy. Therefore, more sustainable solutions lie in augmenting productivity, diversifying to high-value crops, and shifting people out of agriculture to the high productivity sector. Subsidies are meant for poor people and they shall ensure equitable redistribution of resource. Subsidies extended to rich are regressive. They help in keeping poverty intact and create inefficiencies in economy which culminates in inflation and corruption. In such case economy is retarded as we have seen in India’s case. When India grew in first decade of millennium at average rate of 7.5% it was found that this growth was jobless and unsustainable. India’s economy faced supply side constraints, which didn’t increase productivity as compared to GDP. RBI had to then control spiraling inflation by steep hikes in interest rates. Rationalization of subsidy regime will improve markets in India which will then attract more investment. This in short, can turn the wheel of a virtuous economy which creates more employment and attacks poverty at its roots. 2. What is the recent debate over minimum support price (MSP)? What are your views on the same? Discuss. Approach A simple and straightforward question where in the candidate needs to explain Minimum support Price (MSP) and debate surrounding it in India’s agricultural sector. Further, you need to discuss your views with regards to the MSP debate. Introduction Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. The minimum support prices are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).  Body  The MSP system was started in 1966-67 for wheat and was expanded further to include other essential food crops, which was then sold to the poor under subsidised rates under the public distribution system (PDS). In 1966, wheat’s MSP was Rs 54 per quintal. Currently, it is at Rs 1,975 per quintal. The Centre currently fixes MSPs for 23 farm commodities — 7 cereals, 5 pulses, 7 oilseeds and 4 commercial crops. The CACP considers various factors such as the cost of cultivation and production, productivity of crops, and market prices for the determination of MSPs.  The National Commission on Farmers (Chaired by Prof. M. S. Swaminathan) in 2006 had recommended that MSPs must be at least 50% more than the cost of production. This is the first debate with regards to MSP where farmer’s organisations and protestors are demanding implementation of these recommendations. The CACP calculates cost of production at three levels: (i) A2, which includes cost of inputs such as seeds, fertilizer, labour; (ii) A2+FL, which includes the implied cost of family labour (FL); and (iii) C2, which includes the implied rent on land and interest on capital assets over and above A2+FL. The government claims the A2+FL as the cost of production and decides MSP 50% above this price whereas farmers consider C2 as cost of production and demand MSP based on it. Even the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) is not clear on the definition of cost of production and thus there is need to bring in more clarity in this regard. Next debate surrounding the MSP issue is with regards to provide legal guarantee for the minimum support prices (MSPs) that the Centre declares for various crops every year. Currently, there is no statutory backing for these prices or any law mandating their implementation. There are two ways it can be done. The first is to force private buyers to pay it. In this case, no crop can be purchased below the MSP like sugarcane procurement and the second route is the government itself buying the entire crop that farmers offer at the MSP. Many argue that the government undertaking to buy at MSP is definitely better than forcing private players. But the entire proposition of legal guarantee for MSP is fraught with numerous challenges and also issues with the concept of MSP itself. Increasingly, procuring farm produce at an MSP is seen more of an appeasement strategy to cultivate a vote-bank.  Data show that procurement of food grains by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in January 2021 has overshot the buffer-stock limit and the country’s food grains reserves are more than 2.7 times the norm. This is more than the country’s demands for food security and welfare schemes such as distribution of free wheat and rice under the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna. The economic cost of excess rice and wheat with the FCI beyond the buffer-stock norm is a whopping ₹1,50,000 crore. Further, the losses borne by the FCI due to mountains of wheat and rice spoiling as the stocks exceed its total capacity protected and scientific storage capacity needs to be considered too. Further, there has been large scale imbalance in procurement due to historical factors. E.g. - Procurement of wheat from Punjab at the MSP amounts to 99.5 per cent of the total stocks offered by farmers for sale. There is also waste of tax payer’s money due to continuous raising of MSP for political gains and farmers producing wheat and paddy regardless of what the market actually demands. Also, the entire PDS system can be jeopardized due to issues arising out of legally assured MSP and thus affecting the vulnerable poor the most. There are also the environmental costs, especially due to depleting water-table and stubble burning. E.g. - Punjab’s current cropping pattern of growing paddy, which is a water guzzler (one kg of rice requires 2500-5500 litres of water), is economically unsustainable and groundwater depletion is a serious concern (the groundwater level on 92 per cent of Punjab farms has depleted by over 0.60 metres annually). Flawed MSP system encourages such abuse of resources. Last, but not the least, data show that hardly 6 per cent of farmers are able to benefit from the MSP. Thus, making it a law will keep a substantial section of small and marginal farmers outside this privilege and lead to socio-economic inequality apart from geographical imbalance. Way Forward – Farmer awareness about the benefits of crop diversification so as to produce more pulses to ensure nutritional security and prevent supply-side shocks. Impetus to improve the agriculture infrastructure should be provide such as cold storage building, warehouses for perishable production, so in case of surplus production they will not be wasted. For instance, in this light a new pan India Central Sector Scheme-Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is established. NITI Aayog is working on alternative mechanism. A counterpart of the MSP is the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), under which the state government procures perishable commodities like vegetable items. Price Deficiency Payment (PDP): Niti Aayog also proposed PDP; PDP is  to support the farmers in case the market price falls below Minimum Support Price (MSP) is called, “Price Deficiency Payment”. This system aims to provide a part (for example, 70-75 %) of the difference between the MSP and the market price to the farmers. Some states like, Haryana government launched Bhavantar Bharapai Yojaan for vegetables, the government pays the farmers the difference between model rate (the average prices in major mandis) and the minimum support prices (MSPs). It can be better alternative. Conclusion Along with market reforms for agricultural marketing envisaged through new farm acts, government should also increase the public farm infrastructure which will pose a tough competition in the free market and help ensure healthy environment of public private cooperation towards the major of goal of doubling farmer’s income by 2022. 3. What role does IT play in agricultural growth? Discuss with the help of suitable examples. What can be the next possible frontiers for IT in the field of agriculture? Examine. Approach Candidates are expected to write about Information technology as potential tool for agriculture and how application of IT will play a role in agriculture growth with suitable examples. Also highlight on few next possible IT enabled technology which can enhance the field of agronomy and increase the productivity of agriculture. Introduction Information technology and agriculture, both were considered incongruous to each other a decade ago, but now the scenario has changed. Today, information system is being widely incorporated with agriculture. Information technology always had the potential to increase the quality of farming and farming products. The WTO has recently made a laudable effort in promoting the information technology as an integral part of farming sector around the world.  Body Role of IT in agriculture growth: E-Agriculture is a new area of knowledge emerging out of convergence of IT and farming techniques. It enhances the agricultural value chain through the application of Internet and related technologies. Basically IT helps farmers to have better access to information which increases the productivity. It also enables get better prices through information of change in price in different markets. Soil Management, Water Management, Seed Management, Fertiliser Management, Pest Management, Harvest Management and Post-Harvest Management are the important components of e-Agriculture where information technology aids farmers with better information and alternatives. The E-Agriculture is part of Mission Mode Project, which has been included in NeGP (under National E-governance Plan) in an effort to consolidate the various learnings from the past, integrate all the diverse and disparate efforts currently underway, and upscale them to cover the entire country. For example it uses a host of technologies like Remote Sensing, Computer Simulation, Assessment of speed and direction of Wind, Soil quality assays, Crop Yield predictions and Marketing using IT. Mobile is playing a big role in monitoring and controlling crop irrigation systems. With the right equipment a farmer can control his irrigation systems from a phone or computer instead of driving to each field.  Moisture sensors in the ground are able to communicate information about the level of the moisture present at the certain depth of the soil. GPS enabled services are  helping in field documentation about yield, moisture, maps for field drainage, etc. Site specific crop management (SSCM) i.e precision agriculture is a farming management concept. This technique focuses on utilising resources optimally to improve the quality and quantity of crops while lowering the cost of production. For example Uzhavan app, Ag mobile, CCMobile app, IFFCO Kisan are some of the applications developed keeping in mind the need of the hour requirements in farming. Several notable initiatives like e-choupal, Agri market, Kisan Suvidha and the more recent e-NAM had long been trying to place agriculture as the forerunner. IT has the potential to transform agriculture into a better prospect in the wake of climate change and decrease in the cultivable land let us examine next possible frontiers for IT in the field of agriculture:  Computer-controlled devices or automated systems. For example, automated milking systems that milk the dairy cattle without human labor. This way, farmers can save time for supervisory duties. RFID (Radio-frequency identification) allows easier identification and provides to data, such as bearer’s location, name of breeder, origin of livestock, sex, and dates of movement. Also, RFID technology will provide improvements in controlling disease outbreaks in livestock.  Digital Mandi App helps to check the latest Indian agricultural commodities mandi price from different states and districts. It simplify for farmers, traders and for every Indian citizen to know the mandi and trade.  IMD and ICAR in collaboration with the different institutions like agricultural universities, there inter-institutional collaboration could be further strengthened  in the field of agro-meteorological activities.  National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET) aims to plan interactive methods, using information and communication technology (ICT), which includes messaging services, web-based applications, capacity building, institutional strengthening, encouragement of public-private partnership and training services to guide farmers. With the new extension of ITC initiatives like Krishivihar, i-Kisan,e-kutir, e-Sagoo, ICT models- AGROWEB, Agropedia, AgrInnovate, etc. Indian agriculture has come to a long way and established several records in terms of production and productivity.  Challenges in India for adopting IT initiatives: In rural areas, insufficient connectivity, along with lack of basic computer knowledge, high costs for services and literacy hinder rapid development of electronic-agriculture.  Despite the visible benefits of the new agricultural technologies, farmers either do not adopt them or it takes a long time for them to begin the adoption process and scaling up.  Rich farmers are adopting the technology and utilizing their services but the small and marginal farmers are unable to afford the new technologies and they remain left out. Conclusion ICTs are changing all the spheres of human lives and agriculture cannot be an exception. It may act as an agent for changing agrarian and farmer’s life by improving access of information, linking farmer with big markets, consumers and sharing knowledge. However, these technologies are pretty expensive, thus, government should strive to make it affordable and accessible with targeting digital divide so that farmers feel empowered and can adopt for substantial upliftment and sustainable development. 4. What has been the recent trend of employment in the country? What factors can be attributed to the current employment scenario in India? Discuss. Approach- Candidate is required to outline the employment trend in context of pandemic and recession and can discuss the scenario of future employment trends in India and factors responsible for it. Introduction With thousands of national and multinational companies using India as a facilitator for expansion into the global economy, the country has acquired an image of a new global player on the world stage. These companies enjoy business presence spanning diverse clusters; from IT, Healthcare, Automobiles, Telecommunications, Hospitality, Construction to Education, Logistics, and Manufacturing and are known to create a massive number of jobs. Body Employment trend in India Population in India is at its all time high and growing. As per Wikipedia, the youth literacy rate is 91.2%. Yet India’s employment situation is bad, especially with the current ongoing fight against coronavirus. The unemployment rate as of 03 May 2020 stands high at 24.1%, according to CMEI unemployment data. In the year 2019, there was a predictable slowdown in the economic growth and labour market, leading to employers of major companies racking their brains to overcome this crisis. The Indian marketplace, although witnessing the worst at the moment, sees a range of opportunities and employment trends in the offing. What the factors driving employment scenario? Skilled employees One major employment trend thought by major companies is to upskill their existing staff as hiring new recruits would increase their budget, which they could ill afford and be counterproductive. The recruitment experts concluded that a major percentage of industries did not wish to increase the strength of the workforce but made sure to retain the right people for the required role. Technological growth In simple terms, it can be defined as the unification of two technological concepts that we are already aware of for quite some time now — Artificial Intelligence and Automation. By using this combination of artificial intelligence and automation, an organization can automate processes end to end. A typical end-to-end process involves developing and testing products, personalizing products and services, managing customer interactions and many more. Work from home A report published in the Harvard Business Review says employees felt that commuting to their workplace was more stressful than their jobs itself. With the current pandemic that the world is facing, work from home is one trend that will definitely stand out. Many studies have been conducted on remote working and suggest that it helps employees to have a work-life balance, thus reducing stress and increasing productivity. Contractual employment Almost half the Indian population is engaged in agriculture, dairy farming, horticulture and many related occupations. With millions of migrant workers, most of them into agriculture, they lack stable employment. Recently, the Indian labour workforce suffered due to low productivity growth and widening income inequality. Slowdown in the construction jobs, mounting educated youth unemployment and also lack of quality jobs have resulted in an increased Indian labour market. Jobs in demand With the advanced technology available at our disposal, the jobs to look for in the coming decade are Digital Marketing, Artificial intelligence, Data Scientist, Cyber Security, Drone Handling. Besides the above mentioned jobs, careers as Dieticians, Robot Engineers, Event Managers are in great demand and will continue to do so. Conclusion The employment trends in India looks upward but the nation has to be ready with their talent pool for the new employment demands and the skills that employers are seeking for. Reskilling and upskilling will turn out to be the winner in order to stay competent and updated with the always-hungry-for-skilled-talent workplace. 5. You must be closely following the ongoing farmers’ protests. Are the fears of corporate takeover of agriculture misplaced? Share your views. Approach  As the question is asking you to share your views so you have to give your thoughts about the particular issue. Introduction  Some of India’s farmers are among the country’s poorest people, but government policies have long protected them from the ravages of open market prices. But as per the farmers that is changing now. A set of three laws passed in September aims to deregulate India’s enormous agriculture sector. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said they will liberate farmers from the tyranny of middlemen. But many farmers fear that they stand to lose more than they could gain from the new regulations and that the main beneficiaries will be agricultural corporations with gargantuan financial firepower. Body ARE THE FEARS OF CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF AGRICULTURE MISPLACED?  India’s new farm laws make it easier for farmers to bypass government-regulated markets (known locally as mandis) and sell produce directly to private buyers. They can now enter into contracts with private companies, a practice known in India as contract farming, and sell across state borders. The new regulations also allow traders to stockpile food. This is a shift away from prohibitions against hoarding, which could make it easier for traders to take advantage of rising prices, such as during a pandemic. Such practices were criminal offences under the old rules. THE FEARS OF CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF AGRICULTURE ARE NOT MISPLACED  The reform policies would only make farmers vulnerable to market forces. The deepening of capitalist market forces has already ruined agriculture, agricultural communities, farmer’s lives and livelihoods in India. The market-led industrial approach to agriculture has already been driving farmers out of business and reinforces agrarian crisis, forcing them to commit suicide. In the united states of America, farmers today are exposed to corporate exploitation and abuse because of similar reform policies. Liberalised agricultural policies have aided the growth of very few corporations that control American agriculture today. Such deepening penetration of market forces and the growth of industrial agriculture have led to the rise of four corporations that control around 40% of the agricultural market in the USA. It has destroyed the livelihood of small and medium farmers, rural communities and swallowed family farms there. This is because corporations, while suppressing the price of farm produce, have simultaneously increased its selling price. Many developed countries have witnessed land grabs by big corporations and farmers with the growth of corporatisation of agriculture. In India, the congress-led governments introduced such practices in the name of special economic zones (SEZS).  Now with agricultural policy reforms, the current government plans to liberalise land laws further by which corporate takeover of land from the small and medium farmers in India will be easy. The corporate-led industrial agriculture in India will create conditions of industrial feudalism and corporate landlordism on the one hand, and consumerist individualism on the other. The corporatisation of agriculture will simply destroy the social fabric of agricultural and rural communities. Cooperative culture is converted into a competitive culture that would ruin rural communities with the growth of individualist consumerism. Market forces do not believe in diversification and they promote economies of standardisation dangerous for diversity within Indian agriculture.  Market-led industrial agriculture dominated by corporations can never be an alternative for India and Indian farmers and the government needs to find ways to invest in agricultural cooperatives to empower farmers and generate employment by diversifying it. India and Indian farmers need socially responsible, environmentally sustainable and economically rewarding agricultural policies, and egalitarian land reforms to increase their income and where agricultural producers can directly interact with their consumers. Such an agricultural market economy would be really open, free and fair. Conclusion Farmers have some genuine concerns. A big one is that the new rules remove many of their safeguards. More than 86 percent of India’s cultivated farmland is controlled by smallholder farmers who own less than two hectares (five acres) of land each.  They fear that they just do not have enough bargaining power to get the kinds of prices they need for a decent standard of living when they negotiate to sell their produce to larger companies. They feel that the government has left them at the mercy of big corporations. Without strong institutional arrangements, the free market may harm lakhs of unorganised small farmers, who have been remarkably productive and shored up the economy even during a pandemic hence there is a need for strong institutional arrangements before unleashing the laissez-faire policy in Indian agriculture. TLP HOT Synopsis Day 45 PDF

AIR

India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership - All India Radio (AIR) IAS UPSC

ARCHIVES Search 21st December, 2020 Spotlight News Analysis here: http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx  TOPIC: General Studies 2 India and Vietnam  In News: India and Vietnam held a virtual summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc. India and Vietnam have held a number of meetings and consultations this year leading up to the summit. PM Modi, during his remarks at the summit, lauded Vietnam’s important role in India’s Act East Policy and as an “important partner of our Indo-Pacific Vision.” He highlighted the “long-term and strategic view” of the India-Vietnam relationship and the breadth and depth of their bilateral ties. He also underlined the importance of their shared purpose of “peace, stability and prosperity” for the Indo-Pacific region. Key takeaways  A ‘Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People’ document was adopted during the Summit. The document is meant to drive the future of the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, based on their “deep-rooted historical and cultural bonds, shared values and interests, and mutual strategic trust and understanding between the two countries. Both leaders also welcomed the signing of a Plan of Action for period 2021-2023 for further implementation of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in order to strengthen their bilateral partnership with a clear agenda for the next two years, as well as seven other agreements that cover a number of important areas of cooperation including defense, nuclear safety and radiation protection, petro-chemicals, clean energy, and U.N. peacekeeping. The fact that India and Vietnam have been at the receiving end of the China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea and on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has made the partnership even stronger. Given China’s aggressive behavior in South China Sea, which has remained a significant challenge for Vietnam, the joint vision document devoted attention to it. The very first paragraph of their “joint vision” highlighted a “shared commitment to international law” and agreement to “work towards achieving a peaceful, stable, secure, free, open, inclusive and rules-based region.” Announcements made: Implementation of the High Speed Guard Boat (HSGB) Manufacturing Project for Vietnam Border Guard Command under the US$ 100 million Defence Line of Credit extended by Government of India to Vietnam. The project would involve also handing over of one completed HSGB to Vietnam; launch of two HSGBs manufactured in India; and keel-laying of seven HSGBs to be manufactured in Vietnam. Completion and handing over of seven Development Projects with Indian ‘Grant-in-Aid’ Assistance of US$ 1.5 million for the benefit of local community in Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan province. Enhancing the number of annual Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) from currently five to ten commencing FY 2021-2022. Three new Development Partnership projects in heritage conservation in Vietnam (F-block of Temple at My Son; Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery in Quang Nam province; and Nhan Cham Tower in Phu Yen province). Launch of bilateral project for preparing an Encyclopedia on India – Vietnam Civilizational and Cultural Relations. The joint vision document from the summit also recognized the importance of enhanced bilateral defense partnership in the context of the changing geopolitical and geoeconomic environment in the region and beyond. The document highlighted how a strengthened defense and security collaboration between India and Vietnam could be “an important factor of stability in the Indo-Pacific region.” To this end, the two sides agreed to augment military-to-military exchanges, training, and capacity building engagements between the two militaries including the coast guard. More importantly, the two countries also decided to formalize their partnership by further institutionalizing defense exchanges through a number of programs including mutual logistics support, regular ship visits, joint exercises, and exchanges in military science and technology. The document also identified the decision to work through institutionalized dialogue structures in dealing with traditional and non-traditional security threats in some of the technology domains such as outer space and cyber space as well as a range of threats such as health security, natural disasters, terrorism, and transnational crimes through strengthened legal cooperation.   In addition to defense industry collaboration, the two sides concluded an “Implementing Arrangement for cooperation in the field of Hydrography between National Hydrographic Office, India and Vietnam Hydrographic Office”. The sharing of hydrographic data will help in developing navigational charts by both countries. The two countries also agreed to produce an institutionalized framework agreement for industry collaboration soon. India also agreed to step up the scope and level of training extended to Vietnam military personnel in the Indian defense training institutions. While there has been historically strong strategic affinity between India and Vietnam, these bonds have become stronger, driven by the strategic necessity of dealing with an aggressive China that has been questioning the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both countries.     Connecting the Dots: Vietnam is an important pillar of India's Act East policy. Discuss.

SYNOPSIS [2nd March,2021] Day 44: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 1): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)

For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE   SYNOPSIS [2nd March,2021] Day 44: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 1): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)   1. Has India’s rail infrastructure been sufficiently utilised to create an integrated transportation network for agricultural produce? Comment. What are the constraints and potential on this front? Examine. Approach: The question given has two parts and students are expected to address each part equally. In the first part demand of the question is, has rail infrastructure been sufficiently used to create an integrated transportation network for agricultural produce both positive and negative views need to be given as the directive given is comment. In the second part students are expected to mention constriants and potential of the railway infrastructure in transporting agri produce. Introduction: Indian Railways is among the world’s largest rail network, and its route length network is spread over 1,23,236 kms, with 13,523 passenger trains and 9,146 freight trains, plying 23 million travellers and 3 million tonnes (MT) of freight daily from 7,349 stations. India's railway network is recognised as one of the largest railway systems in the world under single management. Indian farmers incur Rs 92,651 crore per year in post-harvest losses, the primary causes of which are poor storage and transportation facilities. There are scarce transport facilities because only a small number of villages are joined by railways and pucca roads to mandies. As a result, farmers carry their produce to Mandi on either bullock carts or other such means. Body: Has rail infrastructure been sufficiently used- The movement of food grains has regularly used railways wagons and is an ongoing intervention on freight trains. Since majority of shipments are undertaken by FCI, bulkhandling is possible. To compete with roadways and to bring more idle rolling stock into use, railways also developed discounts and incentives for carriage of food grains. The agricultural trade, especially in case of perishable commodities, faces a perpetual shortage of time, once the produce is harvested. The agri-logistics of such produce has to resort to technologies such as precooling and cold-chain to enhance the marketable or holding life of the perishable goods because of lack of market access in the normal lifespan of the produce. On the other hand, assured connectivity to market centres is not possible until a certain economy of scale is generated from a single commercial entity. Indian farmers incur Rs 92,651 crore per year in post-harvest losses, the primary causes of which are poor storage and transportation facilities. Ironically, according to the high-level Dalwai committee report , an investment of Rs 89,375 crore—a figure marginally lower than the annual post-harvest losses—is all it takes to improve the state of storage and transportation facilities for food crops. Since a market is the primary medium for farmers to exchange their produce for money, lack of logistics connectivity to ensure that their harvest reaches markets in time results in lowering of the farmers’ ability to monetise their produce. This becomes even more critical in case of perishable fruits and vegetables. At the all-India level, the proportions of the produce that farmers are unable to sell in the market are 34 per cent, 44.6 per cent, and about 40 per cent for fruits, vegetables, and fruits and vegetables combined,” finds the committee on Doubling of Farmers’ Income. This means, every year, farmers lose around Rs 63,000 crore for not being able to sell their produces for which they have already made investments. Although this seems to be a good show on the state of cold storage in the country, but it should be underlined that the existing cold storage capacity is confined mostly to certain crop types and not integrated with other requirements. In fact, close to only 16 per cent of the target set for creating integrated pack-houses, reefer trucks, cold storage and ripening units has been met. This means, there is an overall gap of about 84-99 per cent in achieving the target on improving the state of storage and transportation of the farm produce. Out of these, the country is far-far behind in meeting the requirement of integrated pack-houses, reefer trucks and ripening units. Use of rail infrastructure and initiatives in this regard- Budget 2020 has provided for the implementation of Kisan rails across the country with an intent to boost farmers’ welfare by doubling their incomes by 2022. The most important among them is the robust network of Indian railways, which cuts through the remotest villages of the country and has helped small farmers get an opportunity to connect to the mainstream market and sell their agricultural produce. Second, the government has allowed a 50 percent subsidy for the transportation costs of fruits and vegetables, thereby, making it economically viable for farmers to transport their produce through the railways rather than the conventional roadways. The Kisan Rails, on an average, save up to 15 hours of travel time and cuts the transportation cost by 1,000 rupees per tonne.  Further, no minimum price or quantity requirement is set for farmers’ consignment, facilitating even the small farmers with lesser quantity of produce to reach the bigger markets. These farmers — who often could not afford the roadways and were cut off from the larger markets owing to logistical and cold storage issues — now find an alternative in the veritable cold storage on the wheels (Kisan Rails). Kisan Rails is a step ahead towards transforming the traditional practices of purchase and sale of agricultural produce and exploring new possibilities in agriculture. Further, on the one hand, India today stands as the world’s second largest producer of fruits and vegetables; on the other, it has also been the country that wastes 16 percent of its agricultural produce owing to factors like inadequate logistical support, lack of cold storage facilities, supply chain bottlenecks, and under-developed market channels. The monetary worth of this wastage stands at around US$ 8.3 billion and it uses more than 230 cubic kilometers of water, which is enough to provide drinking water to 100 million people annually. The introduction of Kisan Rails has helped tremendously in reducing wastage, providing a cheaper and safer transport mode, and thereby creating a win-win situation for both the farmers and railways. The Kisan Rails, apart from directly impacting the lives and livelihoods of farmers, have also additionally helped changing smaller railway stations into major farm produce loading hubs. Kisan Rails is emerging as a profitable model for all the stakeholders involved in the process. Constriants and potential- Lengthy exercise that farmers need to undergo if they want their produce to be transported through the Kisan Rails. The product is handled in their crates at least six times — at the farm, at the source station, while loading it to the train at the source, unloading at the source, at the destination station, and finally at the mandi, resulting in increased chances of wastage of the produce. Efforts to streamline this lengthy exercise could be an instrumental step towards bringing in more traffic for the Kisan Rails. Secondly, the cold storage facility in the country needs to significantly improve and more and more stations must have cold storage facilities to maximise the potential of Kisan Rails. Overcrowded rail infrastructure makes less apace available for allowing specialized trains to operate on regular basis thus creates another challenge of increasing dedicated agri transport services. Cost of rail transport also is high compared to road and other means of transport thus acts a  a disincentivising factor for the farmers to opt for the rail services to transport their produce to the mandis. Railways can play an important role in the coming second green revolution, wherein railheads can locate the modern produce collection centres (or be linked to the same), maintain certain floating stock of containers dedicated for food cargo and to be the backbone to the Unified National Agricultural Markets. Railways not only speeds up the logistics connectivity, which is important in case of perishables, it also covers larger distances which is key to achieving improved value realisation for farmers. Indian Railways with its pan-India network is the optimal and preferred choice for Hortiproduce movement. Yet, this burgeoning demand is not fully tapped or planned for in full. Assured income from logistics service from agri-hubs. Any producer with efficient and easy access to rail transport will rarely opt for long haul roadways transportation. The ability to use railways to cover longer distances in shorter times, empowers farmers by allowing them to expand their market reach. While existing trade into local markets will continue, the amount that is surplus to localised demand can be connected to consumers farther away thereby mitigating loss and increasing recovery from surplus. Otherwise the surplus produced is incurred as total waste. Conclusion: Kisan Rails has been among one of the several holistic steps that is directed towards supporting 80 percent of the country’s small and marginal farmers and to transform the Indian agriculture sector. This is a step taken in the right direction as it intends to capitalise on the robust railway network and cutting-edge technology to connect small farmers around the country and allow them to gain access to far flung lucrative markets in the country and abroad. In short, transport enables agriculture and emboldens the farmer to invest more and increase production. And without this transport system, large quantities of painstakingly farmed produce would be laid to waste.  On the contrary, if an efficient transport system exists, and the agricultural produce is handled with care, the farmer can get the best possible returns. 2. What are the key areas that require immediate reforms to improve the efficacy of agricultural marketing in India? Discuss. Approach A straightforward question where in you need to discuss the key areas that require immediate reforms to improve the efficacy of agricultural marketing in India. Introduction Agriculture is a primary activity in India and is the largest source of employment in India, where food accounts for about half of consumer expenditures. Moving agricultural products from the farm to consumers more efficiently could result in large gains to producers, consumers, and India’s overall economy, which clearly highlights the need for improving this sector. Body  Agricultural marketing refers to process which involves moving the agricultural produce from place of origin to that of consumers. An efficient marketing system is essential for developing and also maximizing returns from agricultural production but there are many challenges in this regard, where the key areas that require immediate reforms to improve the efficacy of agricultural marketing include – Movement, storage, and pricing restrictions on food commodities: The Essential Commodities Act allows central and state governments to administratively impose movement, storage, pricing, and quality restrictions on most food commodities. These restrictions are a major source of policy risk for agribusiness investment, particularly in larger scale firms that hold relatively large stocks or operate across state borders.  Middlemen Menace: Presence of too many middlemen result in higher cost of marketing of agriculture produce. As per a study, the share of middlemen in case of rice was 31 per cent, in case of vegetable was 29.5 per cent and in case of fruits was 46.5 per cent. Agricultural marketing restrictions: State agricultural marketing laws have historically required all farm produce to be sold in government regulated markets and prohibited private investment in markets and vertical coordination or integration between agribusinesses and farmers.  Lack of storage facilities in markets: There is no proper storage or warehousing facilities for farmers in the villages where they can store their agriculture produce. Thus causing farmers to sell their surplus produce at very low and un-remunerative price. Scale limitations on agricultural processing firms: Although most scale restrictions have been removed, agricultural marketing and processing remain dominated by small-scale firms. Inadequate Transportation facilities: Poor road transportation facilities and links in rural areas affect movement of agriculture produce. Indian farmers cannot reach nearby mandis to sell their produce at a fair price. Credit policies: The high cost and limited availability of credit likely restricted new investment in agriculture and agribusiness during the 1990s. Terms and availability for institutional credit have improved significantly since 2000, but a large share of farmers and agribusinesses still depend on high-cost credit from traditional moneylenders. Absence of grading and standardisation as well as market information: Lack of knowledge of grading affects Indian farmers to fetch good price Indian farmers. Also, there is absence of market intelligence or information system in India. Indian farmers are not aware of the ruling prices of their produce prevailing in big markets. Adulteration of Commercial Crops: Adulteration i.e., mixing of inferior produce freely with superior produce is very common. Adulteration in cash crops and food-crops has assumed tremendous proportion in India. Measures by Government to overcome the Challenges – The three farm laws which were recently brought in to overcome the challenges of agro-marketing. These include: The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 (ECA), The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (FPTC), The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020. The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation formulated a Central Sector scheme for Promotion of National Agriculture Market through Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund (ATIF)  through provision of the common e-platform. Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) to connect all APMC mandis across states through an electronic portal, thus benefitting both farmers and consumers. Agriculture export policy, 2018 which aims to double agriculture exports from $30 billion to $ 60 billion by 2022. Development and Strengthening of Grading and Standardization System: Assigning ‘AGMARK’ to graded products which ensure good quality and also command a better price in the market. PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana for creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet. Conclusion As NITI Aayog’s three year agenda focuses on reforming the agricultural market so that farmers are empowered to sell their produce to whomsoever they wish. The recent measures are taken by the government in this light will be helpful to create an efficient nation-wide market and will also ensure rise in income of farmers in turn contributing  to achieve the target to double farmers income by 2022. 3. To make agriculture the growth engine for rural India, the involvement of the public sector is a must. Do you agree? Critically examine. Approach Candidates are expected to write about agriculture growth in India and then critically examine about involvement of public sector to make agriculture the growth engine for rural India. Introduction Agriculture continues to be a prime pulse of the Indian economy and is at the core of socio-economic development of the country. It accounts for around 19 per cent of GDP and about two-thirds of the population is dependent on the sector. Indian agriculture has both public and private sector involvement. Body Public sector in agriculture is crucial for building necessary infrastructure and investment let us examine how public sector involvement sets a growth engine for rural economy in India. Public sector intervention needed in agriculture especially in rural economy to achieve the goal price stability at the time of bumper harvest or below normal production and provide a guaranteed price to producer farmers. Public sector organisations also supply food to vulnerable and poor sections at a lower price. The role of infrastructure is crucial for agriculture development in rural India and for taking the production dynamics to the next level. It is only through the development of infrastructure, especially at the post-harvest stage that the produce can be optimally utilized with opportunity for value addition and a fair deal for the farmers. To make strengthen growth of rural economy NABARD is facilitating Rs 1 lakh crore finance for funding Agriculture Infrastructure Projects at farm-gate and aggregation points like Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies, Farmers Producer Organizations, Agriculture entrepreneurs, Startups, etc.  Local initiative rural level for building community infrastructure, like water harvesting, canal irrigation network, huts for community market centers etc. may generate employment opportunities in this way public sector can revitalise growth engine of rural economy. One of the important objectives of public sector is to protect the interest of poor and marginal farmers by abolishing intermediaries through land reforms expanding institutional credit support to poor farmers etc. Credit supply will set growth for rural market economy. Government investment to promote agricultural research and training facilities and to percolate the fruits of such research among the rural farmers by establishing a close linkage between research institutions and rural farmers can be beneficial. However these central and state government initiatives and subsidies are concentrated on a few crops and still too heavily subsidised in favour of the big players therefore there is need to diversify the source of investments. Involvement should be encouraged from private investment in agriculture it is made either for augmenting productivity of natural resources or for undertaking such activities, which supplement income sources of farmers. Private sector investment includes investments made by private corporates and households.  The corporate sector investment includes investment by organised corporate bodies like big private companies and unorganised entities like sugar co-operatives and milk co-operatives.  The household sector investment comprises investment on farm equipments, machinery, irrigation, land improvement and land reclamation. With about 90 per cent share, households dominate the private investment scene. These investments enable farmers to grow existing crops more productively and intensively and take up non-conventional/high value crops. The public investment in agriculture has been declining and is one of the main reasons behind the declining productivity and low capital formation in the agriculture sector. With the burden on productivity-driven growth in the future, this worrisome trend needs a reversal. Technological innovation by Private agribusiness companies are at the forefront of heavy investment in agricultural R&D and technological innovation. Eg: Trithi Robotics uses drone technology to allow farmers to monitor crops remotely. Private player also lead in seed treatment, agricultural chemicals, biologicals, plant growth regulation, animal genetics and health, biofuels, machinery, irrigation, soil analysis and data-intensive precision farming tools. The private sector’s milk processing capacity grew steadily since deregulation, and in 2012-2013 was 70 percent greater than that of cooperatives. Sales of the private processing sector and food services industry are growing rapidly. Performance and market shares of the formal food processing industry exceed those of the more traditional “unorganized”.  Conclusion The idea is to modernise the agriculture sector through conscious investments and bring down the ICOR and thereby allow the agriculture sector to perform well like industrial sector. Investment in agriculture, the prime mover needs to be accelerated to achieve the desired level of growth of over 4 per cent per annum and 5 trillion economy in future. 4. The government must stop depending on petrol, diesel taxes to bridge its fiscal deficit Do you agree? Substantiate your views. Approach- Candidate is required to outline the current scenario of petrol price hikes and management of fiscal balance sheet. With a way forward answer can be concluded with alternative sources. Introduction Retail prices of petrol and diesel have been rising over the past several weeks. In some parts of the country, the retail selling price of petrol has crossed Rs 100 a litre. Globally, oil prices have been rising because of resurgence in demand, and an increase in the retail prices of petrol and diesel is an outcome of that. Body Why prices of petrol and diesel are high? Taxes constitute a high proportion of the retail price of petrol. When tax revenues were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, the government raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel in March 2020 and again in May 2020 to garner revenues. Households did not feel the pain of the rise in excise duties because global crude oil prices had crashed. Despite a slump in international crude oil prices due to the pandemic, the prices of petrol and diesel did not decline. The gains were adjusted against the excise duty hike to provide a cushion to the government’s tight fiscal situation. What is the impact? There are two consequences of the high duty. First, it hurts consumer pockets and can be inflationary. The rise in crude oil prices in recent weeks, amid the elevated excise duties, is causing retail prices of petrol and diesel to rise. High fuel prices will feed into higher inflation. Second, it creates excessive fiscal dependence on petroleum products. Petrol and diesel have been easy targets for raising revenues for the government. The government needs to diversify its sources of revenue and reduce its dependence on oil for bridging its fiscal deficit. The RBI’s MPC has raised concerns over the inflationary impact of rising crude oil prices and high indirect taxes on petrol and diesel. The MPC has called for a calibrated reduction in high indirect taxes on petrol and diesel to contain the build-up of inflationary pressures in the economy. Oil prices mechanism in India The share of tax revenues from oil in the government’s gross tax revenue has shown a steady increase. Between 2014 and 2016, when global crude oil prices were declining, the government raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel on multiple occasions. In the long run, India has been shifting away from petrol price controls. India imports nearly 85 per cent of its oil needs and since the domestic prices are benchmarked to international rates, retail prices are increasing. The system of price controls put stress on the finances of oil marketing companies as well as of the government. In 2010, on the recommendations of the expert group on a viable and sustainable system of pricing of petroleum products, petrol prices were made market determined. Alternative energy sources Environmentalists concerned about global warming may not object to high taxes on petrol and diesel as they constitute a carbon tax and discourage greater use. Studies indicate that India’s oil needs will be more than any other country by 2040. But carbon taxes are inadequate to move towards renewable sources of energy. There is also a need to incentivise the use of alternate energy sources like natural gas and solar power. Excessive fiscal dependence on oil can discourage the move towards renewable sources of energy. Further, until public transport that depends on renewable power is created, increasing fuel prices by higher excise is only going to pinch pockets without offering a long-term solution. Fiscal calculation A cut of Rs 5.8 per litre in petrol and diesel taxes to offset rising crude oil prices would result in a loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 87,200 crore, which is nearly 0.39 per cent of GDP. The Barclays report suggested that this would raise inflation by around 56 basis points, given the current level of inflation and size of the fiscal deficit. The government’s priorities are firmly in favour of supporting the post-COVID recovery and it would thus be more likely to opt for lower inflation and a higher fiscal deficit in the short term. If the government reduces taxation on petrol and diesel, its revenue will be impacted. To compensate, the government could have to increase direct tax on sectors that saw growth during the Covid-19 pandemic. But a direct tax may become politically counter-productive. Secondly, any further reduction in revenue would widen the fiscal deficit gap. In a year, when the government is ready to borrow money for its capital expenditure, a widening fiscal deficit would ultimately make borrowing more expensive. Conclusion It is necessary to look out for alternative mechanisms to bridge gap of fiscal deficit. But that can be achieved only in the long run. In the uncertain times of global recession government is heavily relying on petrol for revenues. With GST still taking shape it will be possible with strong GST and more tax compliance to reduce dependence on petrol duties. 5. What are the potential strategic implications of artificial intelligence? Discuss.  Approach  As the derivative is discuss so it necessitates a debate where reasoning is backed up with evidence to make a case for and against an argument and finally arriving at a conclusion. Introduction  An AI Strategy defines your AI priorities, goals, milestones, mission, and vision. An AI Strategy focuses on the AI implementation of technology goals while a business strategy focuses on the execution of corporate goals. AI Strategies are being used in corporations around the world and are taking the world by storm. From self-driving cars to health biometrics - from predictive equipment failure to Netflix algorithms - the impact of AI is rippling across an expanding range of industries. Body POTENTIAL STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE  Artificial intelligence can dramatically improve the efficiencies of our workplaces and can augment the work humans can do.  When AI takes over repetitive or dangerous tasks, it frees up the human workforce to do work they are better equipped for—tasks that involve creativity and empathy among others. Although it could take a decade or more to perfect them, autonomous cars will one day ferry us from place to place. AI powered robots work alongside humans to perform a limited range of tasks like assembly and stacking, and predictive analysis sensors keep equipment running smoothly. In the comparatively AI-nascent field of healthcare, diseases are more quickly and accurately diagnosed, drug discovery is sped up and streamlined, virtual nursing assistants monitor patients and big data analysis helps to create a more personalized patient experience. Textbooks are digitized with the help of AI, early-stage virtual tutors assist human instructors and facial analysis gauges the emotions of students to help determine who’s struggling or bored and better tailor the experience to their individual needs. Journalism is harnessing AI, too, and will continue to benefit from it. Bloomberg uses Cyborg technology to help make quick sense of complex financial reports.  Last but hardly least, Google is working on an AI assistant that can place human-like calls to make appointments at, say, your neighbourhood hair salon. In addition to words, the system understands context and nuance. Already much has been made of the fact that AI’s reliance on big data is already impacting privacy in a major way. as is the case with most emerging technology, there is a real risk that commercial and state use has a detrimental impact on human rights. However, if implemented responsibly, AI can benefit society.  Conclusion One may think that AI systems will likely achieve superhuman performance in more and more domain-specific tasks, but not across all domains at the same time, which makes it a gradual process rather than an intelligence explosion. But of course, one cannot justify high confidence in these views given that many experts disagree. One of the absolute prerequisites for AI to be successful in many areas is that we invest tremendously in education to retrain people for new jobs. More generally, one of the best ways to handle pervasive uncertainty may be to focus on “meta” activities such as increasing the influence of effective altruists in the AI community by building expertise and credibility. This is valuable regardless of one’s views on AI scenarios."   TLP HOT Synopsis Day 44 PDF

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 4th March 2021

Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) CAFE Regulations Part of: GS Prelims and GS – III – Economy In news Carmakers from the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) recently requested Ministry for Road Transport to postpone implementation of BS VI CAFÉ Phase II regulations since the industry is still recovering from the impact of COVID. Important value additions  CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) regulations are similar norms to BS VI.  However, it has a different approach towards reducing the carbon footprint in the exhaust gasses of the vehicle. CAFE majorly focuses on COx emissions.  While, BS VI focuses on overall emissions which include NOx (Nitrogen Oxides), SOx (Sulphur Oxides). Aim of CAFE regulations: To reduce the overall COx (Carbon Oxides) from the exhaust of the vehicle.  The reduced carbon footprint leads to increased fuel economy. These regulations were first implemented in India on 1st April 2017 with the introduction of BS4 exhaust emission norms. Merchant Digitization Summit 2021: Towards AatmaNir bhar Bharat Part of: GS Prelims and GS – III – Economy; IT In news Merchant Digitization Summit 2021: Towards AatmaNirbhar (Self Reliance) Bharat was recently held. Hosts: The Government of India, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance  Special focus: Himalayan Regions, North East Regions and Aspirational Districts of India. Important value additions  Better Than Cash Alliance  Based at the United Nations. It is a partnership of governments, companies and international organizations. It accelerates the transition from cash to responsible digital payments. It has 75 members. The Alliance Secretariat works with members to digitize payments by: Providing advisory services based on their priorities. Sharing action-oriented research and fostering peer learning on responsible practices. Conducting advocacy at national, regional and global level. It was created in 2012.  Launched by: United Nations Capital Development Fund, the United States Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citigroup, the Ford Foundation, the Omidyar Network, and Visa Inc. Related articles: ARISE – Atal New India Challenge launched Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 Maritime India Summit 2021 Part of: GS Prelims and GS – III – Defence and Security In news Indian Prime Minister recently inaugurated the ‘Maritime India Summit 2021’. Key highlights of the summit The Maritime India Vision 2030 outlines the priorities of the Government. Capacity of major ports has increased from 870 million tonnes (2014) to 1550 million tonnes. Mega ports with world class infrastructure are being developed in Vadhavan, Paradip and Deendayal Port in Kandla. India aims to operationalise 23 waterways by 2030. India has 189 lighthouses across its vast coastline. It has formulated a programme for developing tourism in the land adjacent to 78 lighthouses. Steps are being taken to introduce urban water transport systems in key states and cities such as Kochi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Goa. To encourage domestic shipbuilding, approval has been given to the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy for Indian Shipyards. The Ministry of Port Shipping and Waterways has created a list of 400 investable projects having investment potential of $ 31 billion. The Sagar-Manthan: Mercantile Marine Domain Awareness Centre has been launched.  It is an information system for enhancing maritime safety, search and rescue capabilities, security and marine environment protection. Government is in the process of installing solar and wind-based power systems at all the major ports across the country. It aims to increase usage of renewable energy to more than 60% of total energy by 2030 in three phases across Indian ports. Karnataka’s Engineering Research Policy Part of: GS Prelims and GS – III – Sci & tech; economy In news India’s first Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) Policy was launched recently by Karnataka. Objective: To raise Karnataka’s contribution to the sector to 45% in the next five years. Key takeaways The policy has the potential to create over 50,000 jobs in the ER&D space in five years. ER&D has the potential to become a $100-billion industry in India in the next five years. The sector is the fastest growing industry in India with a CAGR of 12.8%.  The global engineering research and development industry is also expected to reach $2 trillion by 2025. Five key focus sectors: Aerospace and defence; auto, auto components and EV; biotechnology, pharma and medical devices; semiconductors, telecom, ESDM; and software products. “Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy under Siege” report  Part of: GS Prelims and GS – II – Fundamental rights In news “Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy under Siege” report was recently released. Released by: U.S. think tank, Freedom House It has classified India as ‘partly free’. Key takeaways India’s score was 67  Last year, its score was 71/100 (free category )  According to the report, the Indian government and its State-level allies continued to crack down on critics during the year. The report also highlighted that many outfits encouraged the scapegoating of Muslims, who were disproportionately blamed for the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The U.S. dropped three points over one year, down to 83/100. China, classified as ‘not free’, dropped a point from last year going down to 9/100. (Mains Focus) RIGHTS/ JUDICIARY Topic: GS-2: Fundamental Rights GS-2: Structure, organization and functioning of the Judiciary Rape and Marriage Context: Recently, Supreme Court bench headed by CJI asked a State government employee whether he would marry a girl he was accused of raping repeatedly while she was a minor.  The accused had also forced her mother to not lodge a police complaint on the promise that he would marry the victim when she turned 18. The man refused by Supreme Courts proposal saying he was already married. Implication of remarks(proposal) made by SC Impact on Society: Words uttered in the highest, most pre-eminent court of the land ripple out into the larger society. SC should have been more cautious before making such proposals. Criticised as Retrograde proposal: The SC’s remarks, unfortunately, risk perpetuating the offensive and retrograde idea of marriage as a payoff for the trauma and violation of rape. Dilution of Offence: Under the law of the land, rape is a “non-compoundable” crime. That is, the offence cannot be diluted or mitigated by any settlement reached outside court. Making such compromises is considered as dilution of offence. Against SC’s own precedence: In a 2015 judgment in State of MP vs Madanlal, the court had unambiguously stated, “In a case of rape or attempt of rape, the conception of compromise under no circumstances can really be thought of”.  In an earlier judgment in Shimbhu v State of Haryana, the SC had said, “Rape is not a matter to be left for the parties to compromise and settle.” Perpetuating Patriarchy: Such type of compromises is making violation of women(rape) a matter to be settled between families so to preserve the reputation and honour of male assailants. Against Article 21: By offering marriage as a solution to a rape victim, the judiciary failed to protect the rights of a girl. Such obscene matchmaking and settlements devalues a woman’s worth and her dignity of life.  Against Article 14: Such type of remarks is considered as assault on the autonomy of Indian women as equal citizens. Equal rights activists have always worked hard against misogyny, patriarchal mindsets and other failings such as blaming the victim for rape. This arduous battle for equality becomes even more difficult when people in high offices make offensive remarks Increases Vulnerability: Such type of compromises exposes the victim to more violence from her husband/assailant Existing Practice: It is pertinent to note here that marital rape is not a crime under the Indian Penal Code. Such compromises are routinely peddled by police, village councils and lower courts. But CJI’s remarks in open court could perpetuate this inglorious tradition and derail the progress made towards empowerment of women. Conclusion When the scars of the Nirbhaya case are still raw, and a series of rape and murders are being reported against minors, especially Dalits, the judiciary’s shocking remarks echo a deep-set prejudice against gender equality Connecting the dots: Marital Rape Sex Abuse and Safeguarding our Children GEOGRAPHY/ ENVIRONMENT Topic: GS-1: Geographical phenomena GS-3: Environment and Ecology, Bio diversity – Conservation, environmental degradation, environmental impact assessment, Environment versus Development GS-3: Issues relating to deforestation, land use pattern and use of fossil fuel. Simlipal Forest Fires Context: The Simlipal forest reserve area frequently witnesses forest fires during dry weather conditions. A fire which started in the biosphere reserve area in February 2021 was raging for nearly a week that was finally brought under control. About Simlipal Reserve Location: Similipal, which derives its name from ‘Simul’ (silk cotton) tree and is situated in the northern part of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.  Protection: It is a national park and a tiger reserve. Also, Similipal and the adjoining areas, comprising 5,569 sq km, was declared a biosphere reserve by the Government of India on June 22, 1994, and lies in the eastern end of the eastern ghats Rich in Biodiversity: Similipal is the abode of 94 species of orchids and about 3,000 species of plants, 12 species of amphibians, 29 species of reptiles, 264 species of birds and 42 species of mammals. Sal is the dominant tree species. Human Settlements: The transition zone of the reserve has 1,200 villages with a total population of about 4.5 lakh. Tribals constitute about 73 per cent of the population. How fire prone is Simlipal forest? Generally, with the onset of summers and towards the end of autumn, the forest area remains vulnerable to forest fires.  They are a recurrent annual phenomenon, but are also brought under control due to short span of precipitation. The months of January and February witness rainfall of 10.8 and 21 mm, respectively.  This duration coincides with the shedding of deciduous forests in the forest areas. The fallen leaves are more vulnerable to catching fire and facilitate the spreading of these forest fires quickly over the entire forest area. Causes of forest fires Natural causes such as lighting or even soaring temperatures can sometimes result in these fires. With dried leaves and tree trunks, even a spark can lead to a raging fire. Poaching: Most of the fires can be attributed to man-made factors.  Instances of poaching and hunting wherein the poachers set a small patch of forest on fire to divert the wild animals can lead to such fires. Collection of mahua flowers: jungle areas are also set on fire by villagers to clear the dry leaves on the ground for easy collection of mahua flowers. These flowers are used to prepare a drink which is addictive in nature. Traditional Practices: Villagers also believe burning patches of sal trees will lead to better growth when planted again. Climate Change: This year, along with man-made factors, an advanced heat wave with the early onset of summer further deteriorated the condition. How are these forest fires controlled and prevented? Such fires are generally brought under control by natural rains. some of the methods to prevent fires include Forecasting fire-prone days  Creating fire lines: The forest fire lines which are strips kept clear of vegetation, help break the forest into compartments to prevent fires from spreading. Clearing sites of dried biomass Crackdown on poachers  Including community members to mitigate incidents of fire Connecting the dots: Australia Wildfires Amazon rainforest fires (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Note:  Correct answers of today’s questions will be provided in next day’s DNA section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers.  Comments Up-voted by IASbaba are also the “correct answers”. Q.1 Consider the following statements regarding BS-VI: The BS-VI grade fuel has 10 ppm sulphur.  BS VI can bring Particulate Matter in diesel cars down by 80%. On-board diagnostics (OBD) is mandatory for all vehicles under BS-VI.  Which of the above are correct? 1 and 2 only 1 and 3 only 2 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3 Q.2 India’s first Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) Policy was launched recently by: Gujarat Maharashtra Karnataka Telangana  ANSWERS FOR 3rd March 2021 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 A 2 C 3 C Must Read On criticism of government’s disinvestment plans: The Hindu On perils facing Britain: The Hindu On India’s migrant workers: Indian Express

IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 1 – ENGLISH & हिंदी): UPSC Mains Answer Writing – General Studies Paper 3 Questions [4th March,2021] – Day 46

For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE Hello Friends, Welcome to IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 1- ENGLISH & हिंदी): UPSC Mains Answer Writing – General Studies 3 Questions [4th March 2020] – Day 46 We will make sure, in the next 100 days not a single day is wasted and your mains preparation is solidified. All your energies are channelized in the right direction. Trust us! This will make a huge difference in your results this time, provided that you follow this plan sincerely every day without fail. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. We are giving 5 Mains Questions on a daily basis so that every student can actively participate and keep your preparation focused. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” To Know More about the Initiative -> CLICK HERE SCHEDULE/DETAILED PLAN – > CLICK HERE Note: Click on Each Question (Link), it will open in a new tab and then Answer respective questions! 1. What are the advantages of direct benefit transfers (DBT)? Critically evaluate the performance of DBT in recent years. प्रत्यक्ष लाभ हस्तांतरण (डीबीटी) के क्या फायदे हैं? हाल के वर्षों में डीबीटी के प्रदर्शन का समालोचनात्मक मूल्यांकन करें। 2. What do you understand by buffer stock? What are the policies related to the maintenance of buffer stocks in India? Discuss. बफर स्टॉक से आप क्या समझते हैं? भारत में बफर स्टॉक से संबंधित नीतियां क्या हैं? चर्चा करें। 3. What are the factors responsible for regional variations in food and nutritional security in India? Examine. भारत में खाद्य और पोषण सुरक्षा में क्षेत्रीय विविधताओं के लिए कौन से कारक जिम्मेदार हैं? जांच करें। 4. How do cycles of inflation affect the common farmers in India? Illustrate. What strategies would you suggest to protect farmers from price fluctuations?  भारत में मुद्रास्फीति के चक्रों का आम किसानों पर क्या प्रभाव पड़ता है? चित्रण करें। किसानों को मूल्य में उतार-चढ़ाव से बचाने के लिए आप क्या रणनीति सुझाएंगे? 5. Examine the ways through which food is made accessible and affordable to the masses in India? What are the challenges in this regard? Discuss. भारत में आम जनता के लिए किन तरीकों से भोजन सुलभ और सस्ता बनाया जाता है? इस संबंध में क्या चुनौतियां हैं? चर्चा करें। P.S: The review from IASbaba will happen from the time the question is posted till 10 pm everyday. We would also encourage peer reviews. So friends get actively involved and start reviewing each others answers. This will keep the entire community motivated. All the Best :)

Ace The Prelims (ATP)

Ace The Prelims (ATP) – 2021– PRELIMS – [4th March, 2021] – Day 52

ARCHIVES Hello Friends, Welcome to IASbaba’s Ace The Prelims (ATP) – 2021 – PRELIMS & MAINS – [4th March, 2021] – Day 52   UPSC Quiz - 2021 : IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs Quiz 4th March 2021 UPSC CSAT Quiz – 2021: IASbaba’s Daily CSAT Practice Test – 4th March 2021 UPSC Static Quiz – 2021: IASbaba’s Daily Static Quiz (PYQs) – Geography [Day 52]   The way ATP molecules provide energy to every single cell of our body and help us in achieving our day to day tasks, similarly, the ‘Ace the Prelims (ATP) 2021’ Programme will help in providing energy and direction to your prelims preparation and push you beyond the cutoff of Prelims 2021. Ace the Prelims (ATP) – 2021 will include Daily Static Quiz (PYQs) Daily CSAT Practice Test Daily Current Affair Quiz 60 Days Plan (starts from 2nd week of March) To Know More about Ace the Prelims (ATP) 2021 - CLICK HERE   Thank You IASbaba

Important Articles

NOTIFICATION – UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2021 Released – 712 Vacancies

Dear Friends, To download the notification of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2021, CLICK BELOW LINK UPSC CSP 2021 Notification How to Apply Candidates are required to apply Online by using the website https://upsconline.nic.in The online Applications can be filled up to 24th March, 2021 till 6:00 PM. Candidates (excepting Female/SC/ST/Persons with Benchmark Disability Candidates who are exempted from payment of fee) are required to pay fee of Rs. 100/- (Rupees One Hundred only). All female candidates and candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe/ Persons with Benchmark Disability categories are exempted from payment of fee. No fee exemption is, however, available to OBC/EWS candidates and they are required to pay the prescribed fee in full. The filling of online application contains two parts. In Part I registration, candidate will have to fill basic information. On submission of details, candidate will be prompted to check the details and make correction, if any, in the application. Part-II Registration consists of filling up Payment details (except for fee exempted candidates), selection of examination centre, uploading of Photograph, Signature, Photo Identity Card Document and Declaration. The OBC candidates applying for CSE-2021 must produce OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) certificate based on the income for the Financial Year (FY) 2019-2020, 2018-19 and 2017-18. The EWS Candidate applying for CSE 2020 must produce and Income and Asset Certificate for F.Y. 2019-2020. Age Limit General – 32 Years OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) – 35 Years SC/ST – 37 Years Vacancies The number of vacancies to be filled through the examination is expected to be approximately 712 which include 22 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability Category. The final number of vacancies may undergo change after getting firm number of vacancies from Cadre Controlling Authorities. Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, the Economically Weaker Sections and Persons with Benchmark Disability in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government. Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary The Examination shall comprise of two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each. Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions) and each will be of two hours duration. The General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%. Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours Current events of national and international importance. History of India and Indian National Movement. Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World. Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc. General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization. General Science Paper II-(200 marks) Duration: Two hours Comprehension; Interpersonal skills including communication skills; Logical reasoning and analytical ability; Decision making and problem solving; General mental ability; Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level) Indian Forest Service Exam 2020 Notification – DOWNLOAD IASbaba’s Programmes for PRELIMS 2020 PRELIMS EXCLUSIVE PROGRAM (PEP) - 2021​ - EXCLUSIVE MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME FOR UPSC PRELIMS ALL INDIA PRELIMS TEST SERIES (AIPTS)- 2021 - ONLINE + OFFLINE INTEGRATED LEARNING PROGRAMME Online - 2021

UPSC CSAT Quiz – 2021: IASbaba’s Daily CSAT Practice Test – 4th March 2021

ARCHIVES Daily CSAT Practice Test Everyday 5 Questions from Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension will be covered from Monday to Saturday. Make the best use of the initiative. All the best! To Know More about Ace the Prelims (ATP) 2021 - CLICK HERE Important Note: Don't forget to post your marks in the comment section. Also, let us know if you enjoyed today's test :) After completing the 5 questions, click on 'View Questions' to check your score, time taken and solutions. To take the Test - Click Here