Hello All, The result of Prelims 2020, UPSC/IAS Civil Services Examination has been announced. To Download the Civil Services (Preliminary) Result Sheet/PDF– CLICK HERE To Download the Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Result Sheet/PDF– CLICK HERE Wish You Good Luck IASbaba
Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) US Justice Department sues Google in Antitrust Case Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Technology; Internet In news Recently, the US Justice Department sued Google. It has accused the company of illegally abusing its dominance in internet search. It has been harming competitors and consumers. Key takeaways The action against the company comes after a report by the US House of Representatives panel. The panel had found that Google, Facebook Inc, Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc all abused their power as gatekeepers in the digital economy to diminish competitive threats. Google is illegally protecting its dominant position in the market for search and search advertising through the deals it has signed with tech companies. Google has contracts with smartphone makers that use its Android operating system. These require them to install its search engine as the default. All this stifles competition and innovation from smaller startups and harms consumers by reducing the quality of search and limiting privacy protections and alternative search options. Do you know? Many countries have broad laws that protect consumers and regulate how companies operate their businesses. The goal of these laws is to provide an equal playing field. These are called antitrust laws. Also, various antitrust probes are going on against Google in India. Google has had run-ins with regulators, especially the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Punjab becomes the first State to reject Farm Acts Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Policies and interventions; Federalism In news Recently, Punjab became the first State to reject the Central government’s three Farm Acts. It also passed three Bills to negate the Union laws. It also rejected the proposed Electricity Amendment Bill and demanded their immediate annulment. Key takeaways Three farm Bills introduced by the Punjab assembly The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020: (1) Seeks to ensure that sale or purchase of wheat or paddy in Punjab is not allowed below the Minimum Support Price (MSP); (2) Seeks to provide for punishment for harassment of farmers or payment of less price to the farmers. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment Bill, 2020: (1) It provides for imprisonment of not less than three years and fines for sale-purchase of wheat or paddy under a farming agreement below the MSP. The Essential Commodities (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020: (1) It prevents hoarding and black-marketing of agricultural produce; (2) Seeks to ensure status quo ante with regard to implementation of ‘The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020’. The Punjab bills have reintroduced market fees or licences for private players outside the APMCs which the central law had abolished . The Assembly also introduced Code of Civil Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020. It seeks to exempt agricultural land not exceeding 2.5 acres from Section 60 of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which provides for attachment of various properties. It also seeks to exempt the Properties of the farmers such as cattle, implements, cowsheds, etc from attachment. China objects to official exchanges between India and Taiwan Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Relations In news Recently, China objected to any official exchanges between India and Taiwan. China also objected to India wishing Taiwan “Happy National Day” (October 10) and referring to it as a country. China is also opposing inclusion of Australia in the upcoming Malabar naval exercise. Important value additions Taiwan - the Republic of China (ROC) It is an island off the southern coast of China that has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. It is not a member of the United Nations and is the largest economy outside the UN. China views it as a province only. It has its own democratically elected government Russia proposes to Extend New START Treaty Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Relations In news The Russian President has proposed to extend the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) by one year. It is a Treaty between the USA and Russia expiring in February 2021. Key takeaways It is a treaty on measures for the further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms. It came into force on 5th February, 2011. It is a successor to the START framework of 1991 (at the end of the Cold War) that limited both sides to 1,600 strategic delivery vehicles and 6,000 warheads. It continues the process of verifiably reducing the USA and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals by limiting both sides to 700 strategic launchers and 1,550 warheads. It will expire in February 2021 unless extended for five more years. State of Global Air 2020 released by the Health Effects Institute Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Pollution In news Recently, State of Global Air 2020 was released by the Health Effects Institute (HEI). HEI is an independent, nonprofit research institute funded jointly by the USA’s Environmental Protection Agency and others. Key takeaways It highlights that air pollution is the largest risk factor for death among all health risks. It is the first-ever comprehensive analysis of air pollution’s global impact on new-borns. India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal are among the top ten countries with the highest PM2.5 (particulate matter) exposures in 2019. All these countries also experienced increases in outdoor PM2.5 levels between 2010 and 2019. India is also among the top ten countries with highest Ozone (O3) exposure in 2019. Among the 20 most populous countries, India recorded the highest increase (17%) in O3 concentrations in the past ten years. Long-term exposure to outdoor and household (indoor) air pollution contributed to over 1.67 million annual deaths from stroke, heart attack, diabetes, lung cancer, chronic lung diseases, and neonatal diseases, in India in 2019. Do you know? High PM contributed to the deaths of more than 1, 16, 000 Indian infants who did not survive their first month. More than half of these deaths were associated with outdoor PM2.5 and others were linked to the use of solid fuels such as charcoal, wood, and animal dung for cooking. Government working on the formation of Integrated Theatre Command Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Defence; Security In news The government is working on the formation of integrated theatre commands after the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Key takeaways An integrated theatre command envisions a unified command of the three Services, under a single commander, for geographical theatres (areas) that are of strategic and security concern. Such a commander will be able to bear all resources at his disposal with greater efficiency. The commander will not be answerable to individual Services. Integration of the three forces will also avoid duplication of resources. The integration will strengthen cohesion in the defence establishment. Do you know? The Shekatkar committee has recommended the creation of 3 integrated theatre commands — northern for the China border, western for the Pakistan border, and southern for the maritime role. Government expands Production-Linked Incentive Scheme Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Policies and interventions & GS-III - Industry In news The government will extend the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to eight more sectors to boost domestic manufacturing. Key takeaways All the sunrise and important sectors are proposed to be covered in this. The sectors may be automobile, networking products, food processing, advanced chemistry and solar PV manufacturing. Through PLI Scheme, incentives will be paid only if the manufacturers make the goods. This scheme will give cash incentives for five to seven years. Important value additions PLI Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing The scheme proposes a financial incentive to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in the electronics value chain including electronic components and semiconductor packaging. Under the scheme, electronics manufacturing companies will get an incentive of 4 to 6% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India for a period of next 5 years. The scheme shall only be applicable for target segments - mobile phones and specified electronic components. With the help of the scheme, domestic value addition for mobile phones is expected to rise to 35-40% by 2025 from 20-25%. It shall also generate 8 lakh jobs more, both direct and indirect. Do you know? The government has launched the PLI scheme for mobile phones (electronic manufacturing) and it was also extended to pharma products and medical equipment sectors. Tubarial Salivary Glands: Potential new organ in the human throat Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III - Science and Technology In news Scientists in the Netherlands have discovered a potential new organ in the human throat. The discovery was made while carrying out research on prostate cancer. Researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute have identified a set of salivary glands deep in the upper part of the throat and have named them “tubarial salivary glands”. The discovery may be important for cancer treatment. Till now, this nasopharynx region (behind the nose) was thought to host only microscopic, diffuse, salivary glands. However, the newly discovered glands are about 1.5 inches (3.9 centimeters) in length on average. Location: These are located over a piece of cartilage called the torus tubarius. Function: The glands probably lubricate and moisten the upper throat behind the nose and mouth. Do you know? Till now, there were three known large salivary glands in humans: one under the tongue, one under the jaw and one at the back of the jaw, behind the cheek. (MAINS FOCUS) INTERNATIONAL/ SECURITY Topic: General Studies 1,2: Contemporary World History Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests Greece- Turkey Clash Context: Greece (EU member) said it would be extending a wall along its border with Turkey (candidate for EU membership) to prevent potential mass crossings by migrants into its territory. Greece-Turkey Relations For centuries, Turkey and Greece have shared a chequered history. In 1830, Greece won independence from modern Turkey’s precursor, the Ottoman Empire. In 1923, the two countries exchanged their Muslim and Christian populations – a migration whose scale has only been surpassed in history by the Partition of India. The two nations continue to oppose each other on the decades-old Cyprus conflict, and on two occasions have almost gone to war over exploration rights in the Aegean Sea. Both countries are, however, part of the 30-member NATO alliance Relations between the two nations have seen a marked downturn this year. Issue of Migration Consequences of Syrian War: Since the beginning of the Syrian war in 2011, vast numbers of displaced Syrians have sought refuge in Turkey. Refugee Crisis: According to the latest known figures, Turkey hosts some 37 lakh refugees from Syria, and is feeling the socio-economic and political strain of their presence in the country. Refugee Crisis spilling to EU: In 2015, the refugee crisis reached its peak as thousands drowned while attempting to cross over to the West using water routes. Around 10 lakh reached Greece and Italy. Deal with EU: In 2016, Turkey agreed to prevent migrants from crossing into the EU, and the bloc in return promised funds to help the former manage the refugees on its soil. Reneging on Deal: However, in February 2020, Turkey said it would not be honouring the 2016 agreement, asserting its inability to sustain another refugee wave. As a result, Turkey had allowed thousands of migrants to cross the border into Greece and the European Union, irking the latter Using deal as leverage: Turkey is criticised for using the migrant issue as a means to bring its western allies on board with its military campaign in Syria’s Idlib province, where hostilities had escalated in preceding weeks. Greece’s response: Greek government has said it would extend its already existing 10 km long wall with Turkey by an additional 26 km by the end of April 2021, spending EUR 63 million on the project. Eastern Mediterranean dispute For 40 years, Turkey and Greece have disagreed over rights to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, which covers significant oil and gas deposits. Increasingly assertive under President Erdogan, Turkey in July 2020 announced that it would be exploring a disputed part of the sea for oil and gas. Greece responded by placing its air force, navy and coastguard on high alert. After brief peace, Greece has once again started conducting seismic surveys near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. Greece considers the waters surrounding the island as its own and described Turkey’s actions as a “direct threat to peace in the region”. Greece Stand: A signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), it maintains that its continental shelf should be calculated while considering its island territories in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey’s stand: Ankara, which has not signed UNCLOS, argues a nation’s continental shelf should be calculated from its mainland, and maintained that its activity was “fully within Turkish continental shelf” The Hagia Soophia row The Hagia Sophia was originally a cathedral in the Byzantine Empire before it was turned into a mosque in 1453, when Constantinople fell to Ottoman forces. In the 1930s, however, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, shut down the mosque and turned it into a museum in an attempt to make the country more secular. Many Greeks continue to revere the Hagia Sophia, and view it as a key part of Orthodox Christianity. President Erdogan of Turkey converted Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque which Greece called the site’s conversion an “affront to civilisation of the 21st century”. Implications of rising Greece-Turkey Tensions Rising Nationalistic tendencies in both the countries which would run against the plans of integration of Turkey with EU Another war in the region, especially in the wake of pandemic, will further plunge the countries into recession and poverty. All this impacts the stability in the region which further puts strain on International Organisations tasked with maintaining peace in world. UN, whose credibility is already battered due to allegations of politicisation of institution, will be under immense pressure to prove its utility. Rule of law in international Politics will be challenged. India: The bilateral relation of India-Turkey will be further strained especially after Turkey has voiced its criticism on India’s abrogation of Article 370 and enactment of Citizenship Amendment Act. Conclusion All stakeholders in the region – US, EU, Russia, Iran, Syria – should try to help resolve the conflict at the earliest before it blows out of proportion INTERNATIONAL/ ECONOMY / GOVERNANCE Topic: General Studies 2: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate. Reviving WTO Context: The WTO is on the verge of getting fresh top leadership Challenges of WTO Backlash Against Globalisation: There is a backlash against globalisation, free trade and by extension, against international organisations such as WTO. New Negotiating positions by Nations: People who have lost out from technological disruption, globalisation or free trade have found an important voice and have started asserting themselves through political choices made in national elections (electing conservative parties/people to power). These changes are subsequently reflected in country negotiating positions in the WTO. Restoring Faith of common man: WTO has to demonstrate that it is on the side of the underdog i.e. it’s mission is to enhance the conditions of poor people and not further the agenda of corporates To build New Agenda: It is common knowledge that the Doha Round of trade negotiations has long been dead. The new task for WTO is to build a consensus around a new common work programme and a negotiating agenda. One solution to overcome above challenges is by announcing that the WTO’s future work programme and negotiating agenda will be based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so painstakingly agreed upon by all UN members in 2015. A new SDG round of trade negotiations has numerous advantages for the WTO. First, it is hard to disagree with the SDGs themselves since all countries have publicly committed themselves to achieving it within a definite time frame Second, it will be a splendid opportunity for the much-maligned WTO to get its mojo back and secure endorsement for the principle of free trade. After all, it is a matter of consensus among economists of all hues that trade is indeed the best instrument for achieving many of the SDGs. Third, the WTO’s future work programme and negotiating agenda must be directly linked to the objectives of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO, which talks of promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth as well as full and productive employment and decent work for all. What Steps should WTO take in future? Recalibrating Special treatments The WTO must carefully recalibrate the Special and Differential Treatment for countries that deserve it. The two geographical regions which display “extreme poverty” are: parts of Africa and South Asia. It goes without saying therefore that countries belonging to these two geographical regions must get Special and Differential Treatment without any question. Extreme poverty is now well defined and is backed by the Oxford Multidimensional Index of Poverty, so objective criteria may be utilised for deciding countries which are eligible. This automatically takes care of the American argument that countries such as Singapore and South Korea (or China for that matter) cannot lay automatic claim to Special and Differential Treatment. Conclude negotiations on Fisheries Subsidies The multilateral negotiations on Fisheries Subsidies is proceeding apace and must be concluded by the next Ministerial Conference in June 2021. Again, these negotiations must be consistent with SDG-14 which is defined thus: Conserve and use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Developing countries and least-developed countries whose citizens depend on fisheries for their livelihood must be treated appropriately in these negotiations. Correct Agriculture Subsidies Agriculture has always been a contentious subject in past WTO negotiations. SDG-2 provides sufficient guidance in this critical area: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. The US, EU and other rich countries have long subsidised their agriculture, often with disastrous consequences for the economies of developing and least-developed countries. It is time to make amends. Electronic Commerce Electronic Commerce poses enormous challenges for developing and least-developed countries. These challenges have to do with digital infrastructure, digital literacy and data sovereignty. The SDG-9 that talks of building resilient infrastructure, promotes inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation, should guide these negotiations. Developed countries need to take into account the serious digital divide that currently exists when they pursue their national interests in these negotiations. Conclusion The above is obviously not an exhaustive list but an illustrative one. More crucially, it provides a template for the new round of trade negotiations and the work programme of the WTO by anchoring it in the all-important SDGs. Such a move can kill two birds with one stone: to revive the negotiating agenda as well as to resuscitate the WTO itself. (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 Taiwan: It is a member of United Nations. It has its own democratic elected government. Which of the above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.2 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is a treaty between which of the following countries? Russia and India USA and Russia Japan and Russia USA and Japan Q.3 State of Global Air 2020 was recently released. Consider the following statements regarding the same: India is among the top 10 countries with the highest PM2.5 exposures in 2019. Among the 20 most populous countries, India recorded the lowest increase in Ozone concentrations in the past 10 years. Which of the above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.4 Which of the following sectors are covered under Production Linked Incentive Scheme? Mobile phones (electronic manufacturing) Pharma products Medical equipment Sunrise sectors Select the correct code 1 and 2 only 1 and 3 only 1 and 4 only All of the above Q.5 A new organ was recently discovered in which of the following part of the human body? Throat Stomach Pancreas Lungs ANSWERS FOR 22nd October 2020 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 A 2 A 3 A Must Read About indigenously developed COVID-19 test kits: The Hindu About US-India 2+2 meeting: The Hindu About QUAD needing a definitive blueprint: The Indian Express
PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (PIB) IAS UPSC – 12th October to 18th October – 2020 ARCHIVES GS-2 Announcement of measures of Rs 73,000 crore to stimulate consumer spending in the economy in an effort to fight the slowdown due to COVID-19 pandemic (Topic: Government schemes and policies to boost the economy) The understanding- Indications are that savings of government and organised sector employees have increased and we want to incentivise such people to boost demand for the benefit of the less fortunate. If demand goes up based on the stimulus measures announced today, it will have an impact on those people who have been affected by COVID-19 and are desperately looking for demand to keep their business going. Today’s solution should not cause tomorrow’s problem. The Government does not want to burden the common citizen with future inflation and also not put the Government debt on an unsustainable path. The proposals presented by the Finance Minister are designed to stimulate spending in a fiscally prudent manner as some of the proposals are for advancing or front-loading of expenditure with offsetting changes later while others are directly linked to increase in GDP. Consumer Spending Leave Travel Concession (LTC) Cash Voucher Scheme: The biggest incentive for employees to avail the LTC Cash Voucher Scheme is that in a four-year block ending in 2021, the LTC not availed will lapse, instead, this will encourage employees to avail of this facility to buy goods which can help their families. Special Festival Advance Scheme: A Special Festival Advance Scheme for non-gazetted employees, as well as for gazetted employees too, is being revived as a one-time measure to stimulate demand. Capital Expenditure Special Assistance to the States: Money spent on infrastructure and asset creation has a multiplier effect on the economy. It not only improves current GDP but also future GDP. The Government wants to give a new thrust to Capital Expenditure of both States and Centre. Enhanced Budget Provisions: Additional budget of Rs. 25,000 crore, in addition to Rs. 4.13 lakh crore given in Union Budget 2020, is being provided for Capital Expenditure on roads, defence, water supply, urban development and domestically produced capital equipment. NITI Aayog Announces Governing Structure of India Energy Modelling Forum (Topic: International organisations) India Energy Modelling Forum (IEMF)—jointly launched by NITI Aayog and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the US–India Strategic Energy Partnership—on 2 July. Part of the Sustainable Growth pillar of the US–India Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP), IEMF aims to engage Indian researchers, knowledge partners, think tanks and national and international government agencies and departments for modelling and long-term energy planning. The governing structure of IEMF will consist of an inter-ministerial and a steering committee. The inter-ministerial committee will be convened by NITI Aayog and headed by its CEO, and comprise senior officials from the ministries of petroleum and natural gas; power; new and renewable energy; coal; environment, forest and climate change; and department of science and technology. This committee will review the studies/modelling activities and provide directions and new areas of research. The steering committee will shortlist policy issues to be taken up for study and might form various taskforces depending on the specific studies/modelling exercises to be carried out. India and the US have a long-standing collaboration on energy. The Sustainable Growth pillar, one of the four of the US–India SEP, is being chaired by NITI Aayog and USAID. This pillar brings together Indian and US researchers and decision-makers to collaborate in three focal areas: energy data management; energy modelling, and promotion of low carbon technologies. IEMF was launched under the area of energy modelling. 5th Meeting of the India-Mexico Bilateral High Level Group on Trade, Investment and Cooperation (Topic: India and other countries) Both sides discussed a number of bilateral ongoing and outstanding issues, ranging from Audio-visual Co-production, Bilateral Investment Treaty, market access for agricultural products, a cooperation framework on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) & Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) measures between the two countries, co-operation in the Intellectual Property Rights, and exploring ways to promote tourism and people-to-people contact between India and Mexico. Two business to business MoUs were signed, to foster the cooperation in the respective domains. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) of India and the Mexican Chamber of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies (CANIETI) was signed. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Mexican Business Council of Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE) for promoting the development of business relations between India and Mexico was also signed. They also agreed to expand and diversify the bilateral trade relationship to tap the potential of the complementarities between India and Mexico through enhanced cooperation in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, healthcare, agro-products, fisheries, food processing and aerospace industry etc. A ‘Joint Statement’ after the successful conclusion of the meeting was issued. Cabinet approves Rs. 5718 crore World Bank aided project STARS (Topic International organization and India) The STARS project seeks to support the states in developing, implementing, evaluating and improving interventions with direct linkages to improved education outcomes and school to work transition strategies for improved labour market outcomes. The overall focus and components of the STARS project are aligned with the objectives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of Quality Based Learning Outcomes. About the project Implementation of the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project with a total project cost of Rs 5718 crore with the financial support of World Bank amounting to US $ 500 million (approximately Rs. 3700 crore). STARS project would be implemented as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education. (MOE) Setting up and support to the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH as an independent and autonomous institution under Department of School Education and Literacy, MOE. The project covers 6 States namely Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha. The Project envisions improving the overall monitoring and measurement activities in the Indian School Education System through interventions in selected states. The project shifts focus from the provision of inputs and maintaining of outputs to actual outcomes by linking the receipt and disbursement of funds to these outcomes. The STARS Project has two major components: 1) At the national level, the project envisages the following interventions which will benefit all states and UTs: To strengthen MOE’s national data systems to capture robust and authentic data on retention, transition and completion rates of students. To support MOE in improving states PGI scores by incentivizing states governance reform agenda through SIG (State Incentive Grants). To support the strengthening of learning assessment systems. To support MOE’s efforts, establish a National Assessment Center (PARAKH) - to leverage the experiences of states selected for the operation by collecting, curating and sharing these experiences with other states through online portals (e.g. Shagun and DIKSHA), social and other media engagement, technical workshops, state visits and conferences. Further, the STARS project includes a Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) under the National Component which would enable it to be more responsive to any natural, man-made and health disasters. It will help the government respond to situations leading to loss of learning such as school closures/infrastructure damage, inadequate facilities and use technology for facilitating remote learning etc. The CERC component would facilitate the rapid re-categorization of financing and the utilization of streamlined financing request procedures. 2) At the State level, the project envisages: Strengthening Early Childhood Education and Foundational Learning Improving Learning Assessment Systems Strengthening classroom instruction and remediation through teacher development and school leadership Governance and Decentralized Management for Improved Service Delivery. Strengthening Vocational education in schools through mainstreaming, career guidance and counselling, internships and coverage of out of school children The STARS project also aims to focus on initiatives of PM e-Vidya, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission and National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Some of the measurable outcomes of the project are - Increase in students achieving minimum proficiency in grade 3 language in selected states, Improvement in secondary school completion rate, Improvement in governance index scores, Strengthened learning assessment systems, Partnerships developed to facilitate cross-learning between states Improvement in the State level service delivery such as Strengthening planning and management capacities for decentralized management by training of BRCs and CRCs, Strengthened school management by training of Head Teachers and Principals for improved education service delivery. Prelims-oriented News Prime Minister of New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern Zozila Tunnel – the longest tunnel road in Asia 13th October: Philately Day; marks the collection, appreciation and research activities on stamps and other philatelic products. Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history. 15th October: Mahila Kisan Diwas Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiyan - Promoting extensive use of cow-dung/ Panchgavya products this Diwali Festival SLINEX-20: Indian Navy – Sri Lanka Navy Maritime Exercise BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile Successfully Test Fired BrahMos, the supersonic cruise missile was successfully test fired, hitting a target in the Arabian Sea. The missile hit the target successfully with pin-point accuracy after performing high-level and extremely complex manoeuvres. BrahMos as ‘prime strike weapon’ will ensure the warship’s invincibility by engaging naval surface targets at long ranges, thus making the destroyer another lethal platform of Indian Navy. The highly versatile BrahMos has been jointly designed, developed and produced by India and Russia. In the last few weeks, India has test fired a number of missiles including a new version of the surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile BrahMos and anti-radiation missile Rudram-1. The original 290-km range BrahMos has already been deployed in Ladakh as well as Arunachal Pradesh during the ongoing military confrontation with China. Exercise Suraksha Kavach- Joint Anti-Terrorist Exercise By Army and Maharashtra Police The aim of the exercise was to harmonize the drills and procedures of both Army and Police for activating anti-terrorist Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) to counter any terrorist actions in Pune. Launch of 'KAPILA' Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness campaign: On the 89th birth anniversary of former President and Scientist Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam India has a proud history of Nalanda and Takshila Universities so we already had the intellectual property inherited within our culture. India has to again lead the world as Vishwaguru in the field of patents For India to become a $5 trillion economy, we have to be more aware of protecting intellectual property. Buldhana Pattern of water conservation gets national recognition NITI Ayog is formulating National Policy on water conversation under ‘Buldhana Pattern’ Synchronization of national highway construction and water conservation was achieved for the first time in Buldhana district, by using soil from the water bodies, nallas and rivers. This consequently lead to the increase in capacity of water storage across the water-bodies in Buldana district and it came to be known as 'Buldhana Pattern'. ‘Tamswada Pattern’ of water conservation project taken up in Nagpur and Wardha district in which rain water harvesting, conservation and groundwater recharge works were done in order to increase the water storage capacity of natural water bodies situated in these two districts of Eastern Vidarbha. Aquaponics – Type of Agriculture: An emerging technique in which both fishes as well as the plants are grown in an integrated manner. The fish waste provides fertilizer for growing plants. The plants absorb nutrients and filter the water. This filtered water is used to replenish the fish tank. This is an environment friendly technique. Help the farmer in increasing the productivity of his land and also augment his income Nirbadh initiative of EPFO: To further enhance ease of living experience for its members, EPFO has recently launched WhatsApp based helpline-cum-grievance redressal mechanism, under its series of Nirbadh initiatives aimed at ensuring seamless and un-interrupted service delivery to subscribers during COVID-19 pandemic. Dust can reduce the effect of nuclear weapons: Dr Meera Chadha from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, New Delhi - Her recent study published in the ‘Proceedings of Royal Society A, London’ illustrates the reduction in energy released and damage radius from an intense explosion (nuclear explosion in particular) by introduction of dust particles. She has shown how the blast waves from the explosion decayed in the process. 7th Justice Ministers' Meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO): To be hosted by Union Law Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad To deliberate on areas of cooperation Creating favourable conditions for resolving disputes Implementation of the Action Plan of the Working Groups of Experts on Forensic Activities and Legal Service ADB, India sign $270 million loan to develop water supply and integrated storm water and sewage management infrastructure and strengthen capacities of urban local bodies (ULBs) for improved service delivery in the state of Madhya Pradesh. $300 Million Loan to Develop Rajasthan’s Secondary Towns - to finance inclusive and sustainable water supply, sanitation infrastructure and services, and strengthen the institutional capacity of the local governments Cabinet approves MoU between India and Australia: For collaboration in capacity building, research and development and making impact for sustainable groundwater management National Supercomputing Mission has been set up to provide necessary computational power to the Academia, Industry, Scientific and Research Community, MSME and the Start-ups to solve India specific grand challenges and complex real life problems in Science and Engineering. India set to achieve self-reliance in supercomputing with manufacturing critical components in India C-DAC and National Supercomputing Mission Host Institutes sign MOU for establishing Supercomputing Infrastructure in various premier institutions across India C-DAC accelerating pace of research and innovation using computational science techniques with manufacturing Critical Supercomputing components in India, is a step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat India designated Vice-Chair of OECD Working Group on Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) is a quality system, which has been evolved by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to ensure that safety data generated on various chemicals like industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals (Human and Veterinary), agrochemicals, cosmetic products, food/ feed additives, and medical devices, etc., can be relied upon by regulatory authorities. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, established the National GLP Compliance Monitoring Authority (NGCMA) with the approval of the Union Cabinet on April 24, 2002. NGCMA is the National body which grants GLP certification to test facilities (TFs) conducting safety studies on new chemicals of the above-mentioned categories in accordance with OECD Principles of GLP and OECD Council norms. The Grant of the first GLP certificate by NGCMA in 2004 was a milestone. The non-hazardous nature of chemicals needs to be established through studies and data, which is examined by the regulators of the concerned countries to certify that the use of these chemicals does not pose any hazards to human health and the environment. On March 3, 2011, India became full adherent to the Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) in the OECD, which was a historical event. The MAD status has given global recognition to India’s non-clinical safety data by tremendously augmenting its credibility and acceptability across the globe. This has not only boosted the confidence of Indian GLP TFs but also led to removal of technical barriers to trade. Haryana Government comes up with an innovative solution for Water testing; Launches State of the Art Mobile Water Testing Laboratory Van The supply of clean and safe water is essential for public health therefore, ensuring supply of water along with regular testing is imperative. The Jal Jeevan Mission of the Ministry of Jal Shakti aims to provide tap water connection to every rural home by 2024. The work under this mission is being done on war footing and the mission gives a lot of emphasis on water quality surveillance and monitoring. Govt. of Haryana has launched a State of the Art Mobile Water Testing Laboratory Van, fully equipped with multi-parameter system containing analyzers/ sensor/ probes/ instruments meant for water testing. Water Quality in State of Haryana is mainly affected by constituents like total dissolved solids (TDS), Fluoride, nitrate, iron and alkalinity. GPS enabled for location tracking and the analyzed sample data can be transmitted to a centralized PHED server via GPRS/ 3G connectivity with power backup. It also provides On-site recording and reporting of results through a smart phone or similar device with the ability to send results direct to a web based secure central server. This mobile van also has a fully automated sensor-based analysis controlled by centrally commanded software. The LED display unit in the mobile lab gives an instant display of the results immediately after analysis. PM to release commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination to mark the 75th Anniversary of FAO India and FAO: The journey of FAO in making the vulnerable classes and masses stronger, economically and nutritionally, has been unparalleled. India has had a historic association with FAO. Indian Civil Service Officer Dr. Binay Ranjan Sen was the Director General of FAO during 1956-1967. The World Food Programme, which has won the Nobel Peace Prize 2020, was established during his time. India’s proposals for the International Year of Pulses in 2016 and the International Year of Millets 2023 have also been endorsed by FAO. Combating malnutrition India has rolled out an ambitious POSHAN Abhiyaan targeting over 100 million people with the aim to reduce stunting, undernutrition, anaemia, and low birth weight. Malnutrition is a global problem with two billion people suffering from micronutrient deficiency. Nearly 45% of deaths among children are linked to malnutrition. Appropriately, it is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. Aligning with the international priority, the development of nutritionally rich varieties of crops with elevated levels of micronutrients iron, zinc, calcium, total protein, quality of protein with high lysine and tryptophan, anthocyanin, provitamin A, and oleic acid, and reduced level of anti-nutritional factors etc. has been accorded top priority by the government. The National Agricultural Research System under the leadership of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) developed 53 such varieties during the last five years. There was only one biofortified variety developed prior to 2014. Transforming Indian thali into nutri-thali The 17 recently developed biofortified varieties of 8 crops to be dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister will have up to 3.0-fold increase in nutritional value. These varieties, along with other food ingredients, will transform the normal Indian thali into nutri-thali. These varieties have been developed by utilizing the local landraces and farmer’s varieties. The high zinc rice has been developed from landraces of Assam rice collected from Garo hills and those of finger millets from Gujarat collections of Dang district. ICAR has started Nutri-Sensitive Agricultural Resources and Innovations (NARI) programme for promoting family farming linking agriculture to nutrition, nutri-smart villages for enhancing nutritional security and location specific nutrition garden models are being developed and promoted by KVKs to ensure access to locally available, healthy and diversified diet with adequate macro and micronutrients. The production of bio-fortified crop varieties will be upscaled and linked with government programmes of mid-day meal, Anganwadi etc. to reduce malnutrition and make India Kuposhan Mukta through naturally enriched food ingredients. This will also usher in higher income of farmers and will open new avenues of entrepreneurship development. India and France re-elected as President and Co- President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the third assembly of the ISA New wheat variety helping farmers in a village in Maharashtra double their yield: MACS 6478; The newly developed common wheat or bread wheat, also called high yielding Aestivum, matures in 110 days and is resistant to most races of leaf and stem rust Hydrogen Fuel Hydrogen does not occur free in nature in useful quantities. It can be made from natural gas or it can be made by passing electric current through water. When hydrogen is burned, it only emits water vapour and carbon dioxide (CO2) is not produced. It is more efficient than internal combustion engine. However, manufacturing hydrogen fuel based vehicle is still expensive. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia An activist for the Indian independence movement and a socialist political leader One of the founders of the Congress Socialist Party and editor of its mouthpiece Congress Socialist Wrote his PhD thesis paper on the topic of Salt Taxation in India, focusing on Gandhi’s socio-economic theory. Also wrote - ‘Marx, Gandhi and Socialism’, ‘Guilty Men of India’s Partition’, etc.
For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE SYNOPSIS [22nd OCTOBER,2020] Day 10: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies) 1. Do you think industrial pressure groups enjoy higher clout and influence in India’s polity than their agricultural counterparts? Critically examine. Approach: As the directive here is "Critically Examine" here candidate is expected to examine both sides of an issue and come to a balanced conclusion. The issue here is whether 'industrial pressure groups enjoy higher clout and influence in India's polity than their agricultural counterparts or not'. One can start by simply defining what are pressure groups and mentioning their impact on Indian polity in brief. To address this, in the first half of the answer candidate has to present arguments to show influence of industrial pressure groups in Indian polity, while in the second half of the answer present arguments to show influence of agricultural pressure groups in Indian polity. To add more value to your answer, arguments should be substantiated by examples. Also adding success stories of such pressure groups influence will help to fetch more marks. While concluding one can show the important place hold by Pressure groups in Indian polity and impact of their continual influence in Indian polity in brief. Introduction: A pressure group is a group of people who are organised actively for promoting and defending their common interest. It is called so, as it attempts to bring a change in public policy by exerting pressure on the government. Both kind of pressure groups i.e. industrial as well as agricultural, influence Indian polity in one way or other, however their gravity of impact changes from one aspect to other in following ways. Body: Higher clout and influence in India’s polity enjoyed by industrial pressure groups: Industrial pressure groups comes under the category of Associational Interest Groups, these are organised specialised groups formed for interest articulation, but to pursue limited goals. Trade unions, organisations of businessmen and industrialists comes under the umbrella of Industrial pressure groups. Some examples of Industrial pressure Groups in India are Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Indian Chamber of Commerce, Trade Unions such as AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress). The role of Indian industrial groups in Indian polity is important in two distinct ways. First, it increases the representative power of business in a prominent institution hence influences policy making. For instance, recent controversy where recommendation of the parliamentary health committee not to display a warning covering 85 percent of tobacco products. Second, many laws are shaped by influence of industrial pressure groups. For instance, there has been a gradual tilt towards business in the formation of economic policy in India, starting from the latter period of 1980's further accentuated by the economic liberalization of 1991, and into the present day. Here, it is evident that industrial pressure groups influence Indian polity to a larger extent by influencing policy making. Their influence is also noteworthy due to the fact of funding for political parties, and their respective interests. It's in this aspect agricultural pressure groups lack, due to low amount of funding for agricultural groups itself. For instance, consistent demands of agricultural pressure groups for the revision of MSP and wider crop insurance coverage. Industrial pressure groups not only influence Indian polity on the higher echelons, but at lower echelons too. For instance, trade unions work at the grassroots level for the demands of labourers. As evident in Pre-independence era when Mahatma Gandhi led Ahmedabad Mill workers Satyagraha and recent two-day nationwide strike call was a success with 20 crore workers, from both the organised and the unorganised sectors across banking, insurance, roads, railways, postal and medical services participated in the 'Bharat Band', alleged that the government failed to create jobs and grossly ignored unions' 12-point charter of demands besides aggressively pushing for fixed-term employment and amendment to the Trade Union Act, all of which is against the interest of the workers. With the gains made in mass media and education level, there are various experts and members of these industrial organizations who constantly raise their issues and opinions through media, social media and interviews. Through this, they have tried to influence public opinions. The efforts made by industrial groups is evident in time to time changes made by government in the respective industry related policies such as changing work hours of workers, easing tax norms, facilitating tax benefits and so on. Here, it is evident that industrial pressure groups influence Indian polity at the higher as well as lower echelons of economy thereby pushing for broader reforms as compared to their agricultural counterparts. Higher clout and influence in India’s polity enjoyed by agricultural pressure groups: Agricultural Pressure groups (APG) are among the most important and potentially legitimate actors that can promote pro-poor agricultural development. APG in the farmers’ interests occupies the domain between the state and the marketplace. Prominent farmers organization are All India Kisan Sabha, BharatiyaKisan Union, Hind Kisan Panchayat, etc. The rise of peasants groups in India has been mainly due to abolition of Zamindari System, implementation of Panchayati Raj, land reform measures, Green Revolution Movement. They gained power since the 1960s. Their demands relate to procurement prices of agricultural products, fertiliser subsidy, tenancy rights, electricity charges, etc. The farmers’ organizations influence Indian polity by offering support to the political parties during the election time and sometimes even during the non-election times. They control the parties through this voting-in-a-bloc mechanism. Another method is staging a protest at the state and national level. This is mainly done on a large scale basis. For instance, recent protests by farmers organisation to oppose the newly passed three farm sector related laws. In recent times, the long march of farmers to prominent cities for their demands has become an active medium of voicing their issues. Recently, Mumbai was gheraoed by hundreds of thousands of peasants comprising various agrarian outfits. The overall impact has been tremendous for landless labourers and tillers of the soil. Not only the farmers’ organizations succeeded in many places increasing the wage rates for agriculture labourers and securing a due share for poor peasants. Pressure has been exerted by organized agrarian lobbies to persuade the government to improve the socio-economic position of the farmers. Hence varied land reforms measures have been adopted since independence. Major reforms due to the intervention of these farmers’ bodies include the abolition of Zamindari system, tenancy, reforms, ceiling of land holdings, setting up of co-operative farms etc. Following are some of the success stories of Industrial and Agricultural pressure groups; In 2012, The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture comprising of 31 members across party lines including 11 members from the ruling party submitted its report on GM crops. After looking at various aspects of the issue and consulting almost all the stakeholders i.e. agricultural pressure groups, over a period of 2.5 years, the committee unanimously recommended that the government should not be in a haste to approve GM crops and there be a complete overhaul of the current regulatory system. The important business groups include the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and industry (FICCI) and Associated Chamber of Commerce. They exerted varied kinds of pressures, by trying to influence planning, licensing bodies and economic ministries. Conclusion: It is evident that whether it is Industrial or agricultural pressure groups both have their respective domain of influence. Both have worked for the betterment of the respective interest groups and their presence is necessary to have a check on arbitrary government policies and expert advice in policy formulation for the growth and development of their targeted interest groups. It will not only ensure the dream of 'doubling farmers income by 2022' and 'AatmNirbhar Bharat' but also give impetus to realise the dream of becoming a '$5 trillion economy by 2025'. 2. Examine the evolution of the issue of judicial appointments in India. What are your views on the current system? Substantiate your views. Approach: Aspirants should examine how judicial appointments in India evolved through the years and associated issues with it. Since, the directive is “substantiate”, aspirants should support their stand/view on current system of appointment with evidence and logical arguments. Note: Student’s views or opinions can be based on two policies of judicial appointments i.e., committed judges policy and independent judges policy. Those who advocate the committed judiciary policy base their argument on the moot point that it envisages judiciary and the judges committed towards the laws and public policy made by the democratic representatives who best know the interests and demands of the people. On the other hand, independent judges policy holders do not advocate any compromise in appointment in judiciary. Introduction: Currently, the Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under Article 124 (2), while the Judges of the High Courts are appointed by the President under Article 217 (1) of the Constitution. The recent developments and concerns with regards to appointment of judges make it essential to understand the system of judicial appointments in India. Body: Evolution of the issue of judicial appointments in India: Consultative process: Constituent assembly was sure that the power and procedure to appoint judges cannot rest exclusively with one organ. Therefore it adopted a consultative process of appointing judges to ensure that judges remain insulated from political influence. It vested in the President the power to both make appointments and transfer judges between high courts. The President (to act on the advice of the council of ministers) was however required to consult certain authorities such as the CJI or chief justice of the high court appropriately. For the first twenty-three years of the constitution the judicial appointments were made through the consultative process provided under Article 124 and 217; and the opinion of CJI was hardly avoided. The senior most judge of the Supreme Court was made the CJI and the executive (president) respected the constitutional convention of appointing the senior most judge a CJI till 1973. In 1973 this convention was deliberately violated and new CJI was appointed superseding three senior most judges. 'Consultation does not mean Concurrence’ The Supreme Court earlier ruled that the word “consultation” could not be interpreted to mean “concurrence”. Accordingly, the CJI’s opinion was not binding on the executive. Nevertheless, the executive could depart from the opinion only in exceptional circumstances and any such decision could be subject to judicial review. The system was thus fairly balanced and in the First Judges Case, 1981 the court once again endorsed this interpretation. ‘Consultation means Concurrence’ Second Judges Case - In the famous Second Judges Case, 1993 the court however overruled its earlier decisions. It now held that “consultation” meant “concurrence”, and that the CJI’s view enjoys primacy. This is with the rationale that CJI could be best equipped to know and assess the "worth" of candidates. But, the CJI was to formulate the opinion only through a body of senior judges that the court described as the 'collegium'. Collegium system In the Third Judges Case, 1998 the court clarified that the collegium would comprise CJI and four senior-most colleagues, in appointments to the Supreme Court. And, the CJI and two senior-most colleagues in the case of appointments to the high courts. Additionally, for HCs, the collegium would consult other senior judges in the SC who had previously served in the HC concerned. On whether these views of the consultee-judges are binding on the collegium or not, the judgments are silent. National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) The government, through 99th constitutional amendment, sought to replace the collegium with the National Judicial Appointments Commission. The Supreme Court however struck NJAC down. The court's rationale was that the NJAC law gave politicians an equal say in judicial appointments to constitutional courts. Collegium as part of the Constitution’s basic structure In what might now be called the Fourth Judges Case (2015), the court upheld the primacy of the collegium. More importantly it declared collegium as part of the Constitution’s basic structure. And so its power could not be removed even through a constitutional amendment. But given the criticisms against the system, the judgment promised to consider appropriate measures to improve the collegium system. Views on the current system: The move is essential in terms of bringing transparency into a system that has been long been criticized for its opacity. Critics have argued that the actual functioning is far from its proposed objective. Notably, the details on the valid reasons behind the selection or rejection of judges still lack clarity. Also details on which of the judges reject the candidature is unrevealed. In case of lack of consensus, at times the majority views are being over-ridden even by decision of one of the judges in the collegium. These shortfalls seem to go against the objective of transparency and impartiality, and thus the system needs further assessment. Conclusion: An independent and impartial judiciary is sine qua non if, democracy based on rule of law and fundamental freedoms is to sustain. Though, the principle and policy of judicial independence rests on various pillars, appointment of judges is the central pillar of the edifice. (Or) Aspirants can conclude their answer by summarizing how judicial appointments in India are keeping its independence by removing executive from it. (Conclusion will be awarded with some marks). 3. PILs are manifestations of judicial activism which aims to widen judicial access to citizens. Elucidate. Approach: It expects students to explain PIL as the manifestation of judicial activism along with how various section of the society got access of judiciary through PIL with relevant examples. Introduction: The PIL was envisioned by the Supreme Court’s legendary judges as a powerful instrument to preserve the rule of law and to ensure the accountability of and transparency within structures of governance. Since 1980s, It has been successful in enforcing rights of the citizen and redressal of common grievances. Body: PILs as manifestations of judicial activism: Public Interest Litigation is product of judicial activism. Supreme Court being apex court in the country under article 142 of Indian constitution allowed passing any order necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it. PILs have introduced a new dimension to judiciary's involvement in public administration. The issue of locus standi and the procedural complexities has taken a back seat in the causes brought before the courts through PIL. In the beginning, the PIL was confined only to improving the lot of the disadvantaged sections of the society, who by reason of their poverty and ignorance was unable to seek justice and, therefore, any member of the society was permitted to file a case for appropriate directions. Consequently, the expectations of public went high and the demands on the courts to improve the administration by giving appropriate directions for ensuring compliance with statutory and constitutional prescriptions increased. Supreme Court of India has taken a goal-oriented approach in the interest of justice by simplifying highest technical and anachronistic procedures and brought justice to the doorstep of the weak, the unprivileged and exploitative section of society. Supreme Court highlighted essential aspect of PIL in words, ‘person who moves the court has no personal interest in the outcome of the proceedings, apart from a general standing as a citizen before the court.’ PIL widened Judicial Access: Scope of Fundamental rights widened: The Courts in exercise of powers under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution can entertain a petition filed by any interested person in the welfare of the people and constitutionally bound to protect the Fundamental Rights of such disadvantaged people and direct the State to fulfill its constitutional promises. Through judicial review Supreme Court expanded scope of Fundamental rights under Article 19, 21 and 23 substantially. Reforms in judicial approach towards under trials: In HussainaraKhatoon case, Supreme Court addressed the issue of under trial prisoners and helped to create a precedent over the speedy trial and equitable justice for the under trial prisoners. This case was stated to be a landmark case in India. Many times inadequacy of the law or regulation in concerned matter obliged court to issue guidelines regarding. E.g. Vishakha guidelines issued by Supreme Court because there was no Sexual harassment at workplace act put in place. Progressive societal change: Rights of LGBTQ community were long ignored by state. Political compulsions of ruling parties hindered radical societal changes. PILs helped to decriminalize the homosexual relations. Environment protection: Indian Judiciary is always vocal in support of Environment and healthy life for the people through its judgements. In various cases, courts had preferred environment over developments. E.g. in M.C. Mehta case the Supreme Court held that air pollution in Delhi caused by vehicular emissions violates right to life under Art. 21 and directed all commercial vehicles operating in Delhi to switch to CNG fuel mode for safeguarding health of the people. Electoral reforms: In the case of Association for Democratic Reforms, the judiciary brought about a major electoral reform. Court gave various directions making it obligatory on the part of candidates at the election to furnish information about their personal profile, background, qualifications and antecedents. Public Interest Litigation has done tremendous amount of good. It has practically tried to wipe away every tear of the underprivileged, disadvantaged and illiterate sections of the society. Conclusion: PIL is a radical procedural innovation that allows the court to overcome conventional, constitutional norms of the separation of powers, dilute procedural norms and devise unique and far-reaching institutional remedies. This may only be justified if it is used as an extraordinary instrument that compensates for the political and legal marginality of groups or interests otherwise excluded by current institutional practices. 4. India’s geopolitical interests are in close alignment with a stable and moderate Arab centre. Do you agree? Substantiate your views. Approach: It expects students to write about - in first part write about why stable Arab centre important for India geopolitically - in second part mention challenges in west Asia - in third part write about what should be India's future policy towards West Asia. Introduction: India’s relations with the West Asian countries are historical since the independence. India has interests in economic, political, security and strategic fields with the West Asian nations. India has huge stakes involved in the region such as energy, trade and safety of Indian community in the region. Body: Geopolitical interest of India in west Asia: Geopolitically West Asia occupies an important position in international relations due to its geographical location and proximity to continents and countries South Asia, China, Central Asia, Europe, and Africa. The region is strategically significant due to its enormous energy resources, trade route links to different parts of the world. It is the world's largest oil-producing region accounting for 34% of world production, 45% of crude oil exports and 48% of oil proven reserves. Gate way to central Asia: West Asia is gate way to land locked and energy rich central Asia. Geostrategic importance: To reduce the influence of china in west Asia and in Arabian Sea. China is continuously making in road to west Asia through OBOR initiative. Challenges in west Asia: The security situation in West Asia has been continuously deteriorating ever since the onset of the Arab Spring in December 2010. The internal security situation in Syria, Iraq and Yemen has gone from bad to worse. The regional powers continue to fight proxy wars on sectarian lines, pumping huge amount of money and weapons to bolster their favoured groups. The involvement of extra-regional players such as the USA and Russia in the internal conflicts in West Asia has further aggravated the situation. The GCC-Iran rivalry, Shia-Sunni conflict, external intervention in the region, the fear of rise of religious radicalism etc. have further contributed to instability in West Asia. Terrorism: Terrorism has emerged as the biggest security threat to the region. The rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is the most disturbing trend. Saudi-Iran rivalry: destabilizing West Asia and influencing West Asian geopolitics. Pakistan factor: Pakistan is very close ally of many west Asian countries especially with GCC. India’s close relation with Iran may antagonize Saudi Arabia. India has to balance its ties with all three regional power in west Asia-Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia. India’s geopolitical interests are in close alignment with stability in West Asia. Therefore, standing up for the region and opposing the forces of regional destabilisation should be at the very heart of India’s foreign policy in the region. In this context, India’s West Asia policy should adhere to following four principles: Acting as a Peace Negotiator: India should act as a mediator to normalize the relationship between West Asian countries, especially between Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey and Iran. Opposing Foreign Interventions in the Region: In the past, those came from the West and Israel. Today, most Arabs see the greatest threat to their security from Turkish and Iranian interventions. Aiding Arab Economic Integration: India should extend support to Arab economic integration, intra-Arab political reconciliation and the strengthening of regional institutions. Strengthening Ties with All Major Players in the Region: India’s geopolitical interests are in close alignment with those in the Arab Centre including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman. Thus, India needs to make strong ties with the region. Conclusion: The geopolitical realignment in the Middle East, marked by agreement on the normalisation of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, intersects with the equally significant reorientation of the Subcontinent’s relationship with the region. As Pakistan rediscovers its tradition of aligning with non-Arab powers, India must renew its defence of Arab sovereignty. 5. Collaboration between India and Australia can limit the dangers of the growing geopolitical imbalance in the Indo-Pacific. Comment. Approach: It expects students to write - in first part write how India and Australia can limit the dangers of the growing geopolitical imbalance in the Indo-Pacific - In second part write about challenges before it - in third part write way forward Introduction: India and Australia has shared a cordial relation with each other since a very long time and has witnessed an increased commitment in recent past. Multiple engagement in fields such as bilateral trade, strategic relations, student exchange programs, similar commitments towards sustainable development has made this relationship all the more dynamic. As the global momentum is markedly shifting towards the Indo-Pacific region it becomes imperative for both the nations to stand in unison and provide the stability the region desires owing to the over-indulging nature of China. Body: Geopolitical imbalance in the Indo-Pacific: China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) raises concerns among other nations like China Pakistan Economic Corridor Passing through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. China’s alleged ‘String of Pearls Policy’ aimed at encircling India using infrastructural projects in countries like Sri Lanka and Pakistan. China is also building artificial islands in SCS and establishing naval ports of Hambantota and Gwadar in Indian periphery. Japan is also wary of China’s capability to influence the energy supply chains on which East Asia depends. It is estimated that IPR will witness more than 50% of world’s submarines and advanced combat aircraft movement in next two decades. Debt Book Diplomacy followed by China of leading to China acquiring Hambantota Port of Sri Lanka for a lease period of 99 years. China’s has declared its ambition to make its military world class’, one that is capable of ‘winning wars’ is not the right signal for regional peace and prosperity. The recently released Doklam report by Indian Parliamentary Panel even also suggested not to take China’s strategic intentions casually. In 2016, International Court’s (ICJ) held that China’s claim over whole of SCS is baseless compromising the sovereignty of many other nations. China’s out rightly refused to accept this verdict on South China Sea. Lack of holistic Legal mechanism for multilateral cooperation on maritime security in the IPR makes resolution of issues difficult. For example, the recently concluded Caspian Sea deal is a legal mechanism evolved to recognize the sovereign rights of all the littoral nations. Presence of Organized Crime and Piracy in the IPR the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle region. Also, there is still presence of Pirate groups in the Somalia and adjoining regions. Presence of major nuclear weapons states like India, China, USA and rouge nuclear states like Pakistan and North Korea, in this region. India and Australia can limit the dangers of the growing geopolitical imbalance in the Indo-Pacific as follows: The two countries must order their security establishments to develop strategic coordination in the various sub-regions of the Indo-Pacific littoral. The eastern Indian Ocean that lies between the shores of peninsular India and the west coast of Australia ought to be the top priority. Eastern Indian Ocean, connecting the two oceans, is at the heart of the Indo-Pacific. This is where Delhi and Canberra can initiate a full range of joint activities, including on maritime domain awareness, development of strategically located islands and marine scientific research. The sea lines of communication between the Indian and Pacific oceans run through the Indonesian archipelago. Given the shared political commitment to the Indo-Pacific idea between Delhi, Jakarta and Canberra and the growing pressures on them to secure their shared waters, India and Australia must seek trilateral maritime and naval cooperation with Indonesia. The current trilateral dialogue between Japan, Australia and India (JAI) can be expanded from the diplomatic level to practical maritime cooperation on the ground. Paris and Canberra are eager to develop a trilateral arrangement with Delhi that will supplement the bilateral cooperation among the three nations. Delhi must endorse the initiative. India and Australia must explore the possibilities for engagement between India and the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA). FPDA was set up back in 1971, after Britain pulled back most of its forces from the East of Suez. The FPDA brings together the armed forces of the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Challenges: There are also a growing number of non-traditional and trans-boundary security challenges, including terrorism, natural disasters and pandemics. Also, India faces unfavourable trade with Australia and despite opening talks for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement in 2011, the agreement which would have significantly lowered the trade balance in favour of India, has remained elusive. The region faces a range of traditional security challenges that relate to issues of trust in the form of China which has emerged as a regional power and has little faith in rule based order. Way Forward: Shared values, shared interests, shared geography and shared objectives are the bedrock of deepening India-Australia ties and the cooperation and coordination between the two countries have picked up momentum in recent years. India no longer sees Australia at the periphery of India’s vision but at the centre of its thoughts. Both India and Australia share a vision of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region and cooperative use of the seas by adherence to international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and peaceful resolution of disputes rather than through unilateral or coercive actions. The opportunity as well as challenge is that the two nations are at very different levels of development. There can be converging and diverging interests. It is only by building a series of overlapping bilateral and minilateral platforms for regional security cooperation that Delhi and Canberra can limit the dangers of the growing geopolitical imbalance in the Indo-Pacific. Therefore, the future must be woven around the three pillars, which are economic relationship, geostrategic congruence and people-to-people ties, and the glue that can bind this is a sustained momentum. Conclusion: It is only by building a series of overlapping bilateral and minilateral platforms for regional security cooperation that Delhi and Canberra can limit the dangers of the growing geopolitical imbalance in the Indo-Pacific. TLP HOT Synopsis Day 10 PDF
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. This is a part of our recently launched, NEW INITIATIVE IASbaba’s INTEGRATED REVISION PLAN (IRP) 2020 – Road Map for the next 100 Days! FREE 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 the Initiative -> CLICK HERE SCHEDULE/DETAILED PLAN – > 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
For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE Hello Friends, Welcome to IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2 - ENGLISH & हिंदी): UPSC Mains Answer Writing - General Studies Paper 4 Questions[23rd OCTOBER,2020] - Day 11 We will make sure, in the next 3 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. We are giving 5 Mains Questions on 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. Examine the importance of value based learning in the age of social media. सोशल मीडिया के युग में मूल्य आधारित शिक्षा के महत्व की जांच करें। 2. What do you understand by ‘perseverance’ as a human value. Explain its importance. मानव मूल्य के रूप में 'दृढ़ता' से आप क्या समझते हैं इसका महत्व समझाएं। 3. Decline of family as an institution is a disturbing social reality. Do you agree? What are its implications? Discuss. एक संस्था के रूप में परिवार का विघटन एक सामाजिक वास्तविकता है। क्या आप सहमत हैं? इसके निहितार्थ क्या हैं? चर्चा करें। 4. Man needs difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy success. Comment. मनुष्य को जीवन में कठिनाइयों की आवश्यकता होती है क्योंकि यह सफलता का आनंद उठाने के लिए आवश्यक है। टिप्पणी करें। 5. The happiest people are those who lose themselves in the service of others. Do you agree? Substantiate your views. सबसे खुश लोग वो हैं जो खुद को दूसरों की सेवा में खो देते हैं। क्या आप सहमत हैं? अपने विचारों की पुष्टि 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 :)
Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) States show reduction in Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases (STH) Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Sci & Tech In news Recently, Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases (STH) was in news. Several states have shown reduction in the infection. Important value additions Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases (STH) It is also known as parasitic intestinal worm infection. It is known to have detrimental effects on children’s physical growth and well-being and can cause anaemia and under-nutrition. Regular deworming is advised by the WHO. It eliminates worm infestation among children and adolescents living in areas with high STH burden. In India, there were an estimated 64% children in the age group (1-14 years) at risk of STH as per WHO Report on STH published in 2012. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) completed the baseline STH mapping across the country by the end of 2016. The data showed varied prevalence ranging from 12.5 % in Madhya Pradesh to 85% in Tamil Nadu. Do you know? The National Deworming Day (NDD) was launched in 2015. Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Education and technical assistance from WHO It is implemented as a biannual single day programme implemented through the platforms of schools and anganwadis. India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020 Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Sci & Tech In news The 6th edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF) will be held virtually in 2020. The 5th edition was held in Kolkata in 2019. IISF 2020 will be spearheaded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Important value additions India International Science Festival (IISF) It is a festival to celebrate the achievements of India’s scientific and technological advancements with students, innovators, technocrats, etc. from India and abroad. It was launched in 2015. Objective: (1) To promote Science and Technology; (2) To demonstrate how science could lead India towards a developed nation within a short span of time. Aim: (1) To engage the public with science and celebrate the joy of science; (2) To show the ways how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) provide solutions to improve people's lives. Organised by: Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA) Stand-Off Anti-Tank (SANT) Missile successfully test-fired Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Defence & Security In news India successfully test-fired the Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile off the coast of Odisha. Key takeaways Developed by: DRDO’s research centre, Imarat, in collaboration with the Indian Air Force. It will have both Lock-on After Launch and Lock-on Before Launch capability. It is, reportedly, an upgrade on India’s Helina missile believed to have a range of 7 to 8km. The new missile is said to have a range of between 15 and 20km. It also comes equipped with a nose-mounted active radar seeker, enabling the launch platform to be located at a safe distance from the target area. Ministry for Shipping e-launches the development of Indigenous Software solution for VTS/ VTMS Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Infrastructure; Science and Technology In news Recently, the development of Indigenous Software solution for Vessel traffic services (VTS) and Vessels Traffic Monitoring Systems (VTMS) was launched. Launched by: Ministry for Shipping The Shipping has sanctioned an amount of Rs. 10 Crore to IIT, Chennai for development of indigenous VTS software. Key takeaways VTS and VTMS are software which determine vessel positions, position of other traffic or meteorological hazard warnings and extensive management of traffic within a port or waterway. Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) contribute to safety of life at sea, safety and efficiency of navigation and protection of the marine environment. VTMS is mandatory under IMO Convention SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea). The VTMS traffic image is compiled and collected by means of advanced sensors such as radar, AIS, direction finding, CCTV and VHF or other co-operative systems and services. Do you know? A modern VTMS integrates all of the information into a single operator working environment for ease of use and in order to allow for effective traffic organization and communication. Implementation of National Maritime Domain Awareness programme of Indian Navy shall become feasible with Indian VTS software at low cost. Place in news: Nazca Lines Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I – Geography In news Recently, Peru’s famous Nazca Lines was in news. A massive carving of a resting cat on the slope of a steep hill was discovered there. Important value additions Nazca Lines The Nazca Lines are a group of very large geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were created between 500 BCE and 500 CE by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and leaving differently coloured dirt exposed. There are many figurative designs of animals and plants. The figures include pelicans (the largest ones sized around 935 feet long), Andean Condors (443 feet), monkeys (360 feet), hummingbirds (165 feet), and spiders (150 feet). Geometric shapes, such as triangles, trapezoids and spirals, are also found. Some designs have been associated with astronomical functions as well. The Lines were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994. Trial run of Delhi's buses on Hydrogen-blended CNG (HCNG) launched Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Technology; Environment In news The trial run of Delhi's buses on Hydrogen-blended CNG (HCNG) was recently launched. Ministry: Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Key takeaways HCNG is a hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas (CNG). In Delhi, instead of physically blending hydrogen with CNG, hydrogen spiked CNG will be produced using compact reforming process patented by Indian Oil Corporation. H-CNG blends can be produced directly from CNG, bypassing the energy-intensive electrolysis process and high-pressure blending costs. The flexible and robust process allows the production of H-CNG on-site, in less severe conditions, and under low pressure. It provides a higher yield H-CNG mixture by up to 4% to 5% compared to CNG's input quantity. The cost of H-CNG production by the above process is about 22% cheaper than conventional physical blending. Do you know? The Supreme Court had suggested in 2019 to look at hydrogen-run vehicles as a solution for Delhi NCR’s poor air quality An SC directive in July 2018 had led to Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) collaborating to put up this first semi-commercial plant. Mixing hydrogen with CNG physically is a difficult proposition and that is why IOCL came up with the compact reforming process, which reforms CNG and there is no need for mixing. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx to collect samples from Asteroid Bennu Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Space In news NASA’s OSIRIS-REx — Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer — spacecraft shall collect samples of dust and pebbles from asteroid Bennu and deliver them back to Earth in 2023 Important value additions Asteroid Bennu The asteroid was named after an Egyptian deity by a nine-year-old boy from North Carolina in 2013 who won NASA’s “Name that Asteroid” competition. The asteroid was discovered by a team from the NASA-funded Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research team in 1999. Bennu is an asteroid located at a distance of about 200 million miles away from the Earth. Asteroids Asteroids are rocky objects that orbit the Sun, much smaller than planets. They are also called minor planets. Asteroids are divided into three classes. First, those found in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, which is estimated to contain somewhere between 1.1-1.9 million asteroids. The second group is that of trojans that share an orbit with a larger planet. NASA reports the presence of Jupiter, Neptune and Mars trojans. In 2011, they reported an Earth trojan as well. The third is Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA), which have orbits that pass close by the Earth Over 1,400 NEA are classified as potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs). Do you know? OSIRIS-REx mission is NASA’s first mission meant to return a sample from the ancient asteroid. The mission was launched in 2016, it reached its target in 2018 and since then, the spacecraft has been trying to match the velocity of the asteroid. Scientists study asteroids to look for information about the formation and history of planets and the sun since asteroids were formed at the same time as other objects in the solar system. Another reason for tracking them is to look for asteroids that might be potentially hazardous. Aditi Urja Sanch inaugurated Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Sources of energy In news The Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences recently inaugurated the Dimethyl ether (DME) fired “Aditi Urja Sanch” unit along with the DME-LPG blended fuel cylinders. It is a newly designed Burner. Key takeaways The new design is efficient for both DME and the blend of DME and LPG. Novel design and flexible air access. The new nozzle design allows optimum oxygen access for combustion. The angles at which nozzles are placed maximize the heat transfer area across the utensils. Optimum flame velocity can be obtained. The length of the flame (high, low, and medium) can be adjusted by altering the oxygen ingress. The experiment shows that it increases the heat transfer rate as well. Do you know? Dimethyl ether (DME) is an ultra-clean fuel. CSIR-NCL has developed nation’s first kind of DME pilot plant with 20-24Kg/day capacity. The conventional LPG burner is not suitable for DME combustion as DME density is different than LPG. To address this issue, CSIR- NCL’s “Aditi Urja Sanch” was developed. The new Burner is fully designed and fabricated by NCL for DME, DME -LPG blended mixtures and LPG combustion. Kavaratti to be commissioned into the Indian Navy Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Defence & Security In news The last of four indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes (a small warship) “INS Kavaratti” under Project 28 (Kamorta class) is scheduled to be commissioned into the Indian Navy on 22 October 20. Key takeaways It is referred to as a potent Stealth ASW Corvette. It has anti-submarine warfare capability Indigenously designed by: The Indian Navy's in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design(DND) Built by: Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata Kavaratti has a state-of-the-art weapons and sensor suite capable of detecting and prosecuting submarines. The ship also has a credible self defence capability and good endurance for long-range deployments. Environmental Clearance given to the Kaleshwaram project void Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Defence & Security In news Recently, the National Green Tribunal has ruled that the Environmental Clearance given to the Kaleshwaram project in December 2017 was void. This was so because the Telangana government subsequently changed the design of the project to increase its capacity. Key takeaways The petition filed in 2018 stated that while the Kaleshwaram Project was a lift irrigation system, the state government had wrongly claimed, until the grant of environmental clearance (EC), that the project was not for lift irrigation, but only for drinking water supply. The NGT has now directed that until the Telangana government obtains final forest clearance, it should stop all work except the drinking water component. Important value additions The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation System is considered to be one of the world’s largest multi-purpose projects. It is designed to provide water for irrigation and drinking purposes to districts in Telangana, apart from Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The project starts at the confluence point of Pranahita River and Godavari River. Miscellaneous CSIR Ushered Repurposed Drugs (CuRED) Recently, Union Health and Science and Technology Minister launched CuRED. It is a website that gives comprehensive info about the numerous COVID-19 clinical trials that the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is engaged in partnership with industry, other government departments and ministries. It provides information about the drugs, diagnostics and devices including the current stage of the trials, partnering institutions and their role in the trials and other details. (MAINS FOCUS) ECONOMY/ GOVERNANCE/ S&T Topic: General Studies 2,3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Potholes on the digital payment superhighway Context: Digital payments have found strong ground, especially in India, increasingly relegating all other modes of payments to the background. Payment Ecosystem steered by the RBI 1. RTGS and Large Value Payments Initiative of RBI: A major thrust toward large value payments was effected through the Real Time Gross Settlement System, or RTGS, launched by the RBI in March 2004. Impacted Capital Markets: The large value payments on stock trading, government bond trading and other customer payments were covered under the RTGS, providing finality of settlement in short time period Reduced Risks: The payment system greatly reduced the risks such as the Harshad Mehta scam and improved the confidence in financial system thus attracting more participation (domestic and foreign players) 2. NEFT and Bulk Retail Payments The RBI introduced National Electronic Funds Transfer, or NEFT, and bulk debits and credits to support retail payments around the same time. Now, NEFT is available round the clock and RTGS will follow from December 2020 — only a few countries have achieved this. 3. Setting up of NPCI as Umbrella Organisation for retail payments National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was set up by 10 lead banks at the instance of the RBI in 2009. Learning from other successful models: In 2004, a four-member team of RBI visited the Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden and learnt that a not-for-profit organisation owned by eight Swedish banks was set up in Sweden for providing retail payment and related services. The model appeared as an attractive proposition as payments is basically a public good. Thus the idea of the NPCI as a not-for-profit company has a link from Sweden’s financial system The corporation was fully supported by the RBI and the government as an extended arm of the sovereign The setting up of such an umbrella organisation to build a super highway for digital payments led to humongous success in the coming years Challenge Ahead for NPCI- Demand to convert into for-profit Company There is a demand from some quarters that the NPCI should be converted into a for-profit company to withstand competition. But this will be a retrograde step with huge potential for loss of consumer surplus along with other strategic implications. Instead, like the RBI providing free use of the RTGS and other products, the strategy should be to assist the NPCI financially, either by the RBI or the government, to provide retail payment services at reduced price (in certain priority areas). Issue of Merchant Discount Rate(MDR) MDR is charged to merchants for processing debit and credit card transactions. To accept debit and credit cards, merchants must set up this service and agree to the rate. The amount that the merchant pays for every transaction gets distributed among three stakeholders--the bank that enables the transaction, vendor that installs the point of sale (PoS) machine and the card network provider such as Visa, MasterCard, RuPay. In Budget 2020-21, the government prescribed zero MDR for RuPay and UPI, both NPCI products, to popularise digital payments benefiting both customers and merchants. For reasons unknown, the government left out other providers of digital payment products from this MDR prescription, which is unjustified and had adverse effects. Taking advantage of this dichotomy, many issuing banks switched to mainly Visa and Master cards for monetary gains. As customers were induced by such supplier banks, it created a kind of indirect market segmentation and cartel formation, though there is hardly any quality difference in payment products. Way Ahead The ideal pricing for digital payments products should be based on an analysis of producer surplus, consumer surplus (i.e. gain or loss of utility due to pricing) and social welfare for which we need cost-volume-price data. Digital payment system is like a national superhighway, for which the government has a crucial role to play in protecting consumers against exploitation. A free market should not deny a fair amount of return to payment service providers including Fin-Tech companies. But this should not be at the cost of huge loss of consumer surplus. FEDERALISM/ POLITY Topic: General Studies 3: Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of farmers Punjab’s three new farm Bills Context: To nullify the possible impact of the three farm acts passed by the Parliament, the Punjab government not only rejected the laws by a unanimous resolution but also passed three farm amendment Bills removing Punjab from the ambit of the central laws. The three bills passed by Punjab Legislature are as follows: Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020 Strengthens MSP: One of the key provision of this bill is that the sale of wheat and paddy shall be valid only if the seller pays a price equal to or greater than the MSP announced by the central government. Protects MSP through Punishments: Stating that one of the direct consequences of the central Act will be to nullify the MSP mechanism, this Bill also provides for punishment to sellers who buy wheat or paddy at less than the MSP. Grievance Redressal: This Bill also allows the farmer to approach a civil court, besides seeking remedies available under the central act in case of any differences with the buyer of his produce. Levy of Market Fees: While the central law abolished any market fees or licences for private players outside the APMCs, the Punjab bill have reintroduced it.These fees will go towards a fund for the welfare of small and marginal farmers Critical Analysis Objective: The Bill seeks to address the fears of state farmers about being forced to sell their produce at less than the minimum support price (MSP) Against Spirit of Free Market: This law has been passed to meet the demands of the farmers, and will discourage private players to participate in food procurement Cereal Centric: The benefits should have covered the whole gamut of crops where the state has marketable surplus of cotton, maize, some pulses and even milk and also for which the state decides the MSP. The Farmer’s Produce and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment Bill 2020? It declares status quo in the state with regard to the APMC Act 2016. By bringing the entire state under APMC ambit, the Bill ensures that the private players will also be regulated by the rules of government mandis. The Bill also states that no punitive action will be taken against anyone for violating the provisions of the central Act Amendments in The Essential Commodities (Special Provisions and Amendment) Bill, 2020 Objective: This Bill aims to protect consumers from hoarding and black marketing of agri produce. Voices opinion against Central Act: Underlining that production, supply, and distribution of goods is also a state subject, the Bill claims the central Act seeks to give unlimited power of stocking essential commodities to traders. Power to regulate trade: The state of Punjab will have the power to order, provide for regulating or prohibiting the production, supply, distribution, and imposing stock limits under extraordinary circumstances, which may include famine, price rise, natural calamity or any other situation. Significance of the bills The three Bills mention the agriculture census 2015-16 to underline that 86.2% of farmers in the state are small and marginal, with the majority owning less than two acres of land. Consequently, they have limited access to multiple markets, and lack the negotiation power needed to operate in a private market. All the three Bills underscore the importance of farmers getting a level playing field in the form of a fair price guarantee. The Bills also point out that agriculture, agricultural markets, and land is the primary legislative domain of the state. Will these Bills supersede Central Bills? Apart from the Governor, the Punjab government's new farm Bills need the assent of the President since they seek to amend laws passed by the central government. If not, they can at best serve as a symbolic political statement against the Centre's farm laws. Politics now threatens to complicate the process of providing remunerative prices to agricultural produce. Conclusion Both Central and State government need to set aside their politics so as to provide adequate safety nets to farmers in the wake of agriculture facing threats from Climate Change. (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 Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH) causes infection in which of the following? Children Rice crops Earthworms Both adults and children Q.2 Nazca desert is situated in which of the following country? Peru Brazil Argentina Columbia Q.3 Consider the following statements regarding hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas (H-CNG): It is produced directly from CNG. It does not involve energy-intensive electrolysis process. The production process is costlier than conventional physical blending between hydrogen and CNG. Which of the above is/are correct? 1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only None of the above ANSWERS FOR 22nd October 2020 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 C 2 B Must Read About festivals in the time of COVID: The Hindu About Politics in West Asia: The Hindu About Virtual Courts and its drawbacks: The Indian Express
SYNOPSIS [21st OCTOBER,2020] Day 9: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies) 1. Bring out the most striking differences between the Indian and the US constitutions with respect to federalism, separation of powers and electoral system. Approach: As included in our syllabus the question belongs to the area of comparison of Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries. Hence, it's a straightforward question. One can start with defining what is constitution besides mentioning one important feature of Indian and American constitution. Here, a candidate is expected to put forth most striking differences between the Indian and the US constitutions with respect to federalism, separation of powers and electoral system. For value addition part it is expected that a candidate can write about the lacunas respective constitutional schemes and how these constitutional schemes have worked in the respective countries. One can conclude by showing importance of constitution in brief and later on explaining what is the current status of constitutions of India and USA. Introduction: A constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any country in the world, while the Constitution of the United States is the oldest active codified constitution. Body: Originally, the India Constitution consisted of 395 Articles in 22 Parts, with 8 Schedules. Presently (2019), it consists of 470 Articles in 25 Parts, with 12 Schedules. Whereas American Constitution is a very rigid constitution consisting of only Seven Articles and twenty-seven amendments, so far. Though Democracy is a form of polity in both the countries, their nature of constitutional democracy is different due to difference in constitutional scheme of both the countries. Most striking differences between the Indian and the US constitutions with respect to federalism, separation of powers and electoral system: Federalism: In the US, the President is the head of the state and so his government is popularly referred as the Presidential form of government. India, on the other hand, has a Parliamentary form of Government as the Prime Minister with his cabinet exercises real power with the President being only a nominal head. India has only one Constitution, wherein the Central government interferes with functions of State governments in the form of, inter alia: Appointment of Governors. Governor having the power of reserving the States’ bills for consent of the President. Central government’s power to impose President’s rule in the States. On the other hand, The American Constitution is described as a truly Federal Constitution. It was ratified by 50 Independent States. Further, the Federal Government and States have their own Constitutions and do not interfere in each other’s functions. India is a Cooperative Federation i.e. Interdependence of Centre and state govt. Neither of them is independent of the other. Centre usually has the role of big brother. While USA is a Dual Federation i.e. both the Centre and state are completely independent. They are complete governments. India follows Asymmetrical federalism. States have been given representation in Rajya Sabha on the basis of their population. Articles 371 provide special provisions to few states. Whereas USA follows Symmetrical federalism. All states are given equal representation in Senate. USA is a Legislative federation. This means that States have dominance in law making. Whereas, India is an Executive federation. This means that states are important at the executive level only. India is an indestructible union of destructible states, while USA is an indestructible union of indestructible states. USA's constitution provides a role to states in ratifying the international treaties through the Senate. There is no such provision for states in the Indian Constitution. The Constitution of India recognises single citizenship. On the other hand, USA's Constitution provides for a double citizenship that is a US citizen can have citizenship of two countries, USA and some other country. Separation of powers: Theoretically, we may say that the doctrine of Separation of Power is adopted in our Constitution, but it is only between the Executive and Judiciary. Separation of Power is complete in US. With respect to India, The President is a part of the Union Executive. Yet, it is the Prime Minster and the Council Ministers who are the real executive because the President has to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. Whereas in USA All the three branches of the government have separate functions. The American President has no privilege of law making power. Moreover, he is neither a member of the House of Representative nor that of Senate. Whereas in Indian scenario every bill has to get an assent from President. The Presidential system (USA) provides Separation of Power w.r.t. all three organs of the government, whereas in the Parliamentary system (India) there is a fusion of legislative and executive powers. In Indian scenario, No organ of the government can be given complete liberty. Hence there have to be checks and balances. For instance, Judiciary checks on other branches of the government, by judicial review of the legislative acts. While in USA, by confirming veto power but equally not confirming the law-making power to the President, the Congress controls the Presidents and vice versa. In this way, ‘Checks and Balance’ are maintained. Electoral System: Electoral method: In the US, head of the government, President is indirectly elected by the electoral college. Whereas in India, The President is indirectly elected by means of an electoral college consisting of the elected members of the Parliament of India and the Legislative assemblies of the States of India and the Union territories of Delhi, and Puducherry. Election Body: There is no centralised election management body in US like the Election Commission in India. In US all 50 states & countries within it have different management bodies. Though the US has two federal bodies. the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) , but both of them together do not add up to anything as powerful or effective as the Election Commission in India(ECI). Effectiveness of Election Bodies: The Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) are not powerful and effective as Election Commission in India. In the US, elections are actually conducted by local authorities, working under local, state, and federal law and regulation, as well as the US Constitution. It is a highly decentralized system. Whereas in India, under Article 324, ECI has the power of superintendence, direction, and control of elections to parliament, state legislature, the office of president of India, and the office of vice-president of India. Simultaneous Election System: In India where we have one election at a time, whereas there is a bunch of simultaneous elections in the US. In many states, a voter will be choosing not just the US president but 20 different contestants on a single ballot, including the member of the US Senate and the House of Representatives, state senate, governor, state attorney general, supreme court judge, among others. Voting system: No uniform ballot system formed across the US states, where in India, EVMS would be placed in all the poll booths to ensure efficiency and correctness We choose only one candidate using on a single ballot in India but in many states in US a voter will be choosing different contestants on a single ballot apart from the president. Voter system: In US voting is at polling stations on poll day, provision of early voting in person & absentee voting by mail. In India there is no provision of early voting. However, there are provisions of postal ballot but restricted to armed forces Central govt. staffs posted outside India. Polling Stations: The polling stations in US can be variety of buildings including shopping malls, churches court houses etc. and the polling staffs can be drawn from variety of source like private & elected. In India govt. or semi govt. buildings are preferable although provision for private buildings exists too. However polling staffs in India are drawn from govt. authorities & institutions as well as from local bodies. US Constitution is the world's longest surviving written charter of government and India's constitution is written after ransacking many constitutions of other countries they still pose some challenges which are as follows. American Constitution is a very rigid constitution consisting of only Seven Articles and twenty-seven amendments, so far. In Indian constitution, Certain features that have effect on federal characteristics require amendment by special majority along with state’s concurrence under article 368. Indian constitution, Being lengthiest written, it has detailed polity and administrative principles, which need to be followed by the legislature, judiciary, and executive. Defiance of which could result in unconstitutional acts like prescribed age for elections, trying to subvert judicial independence leading to terming non-constitution even a majority backed law like NJAC. However, In the USA, each state has its own written constitution. Which makes the task of governing and adjudicating difficult for the three organs of the government. Whereas an answer to this challenge is can be observed in the foresight of our constitution makers as Indian Constitution, a living document that responds to changing time along with making it durable to protect the basic tenet of democracy, ideals on which the country was formed like those enshrined in the Preamble. Indian constitution due to its flexible nature has evolved over the time and maintained its secular, democratic character. Also it is in tune with the diverse nature of society as it enshrines and embodies welfare of every section of society. Despite the fact that states in USA have their own constitutions and they have a right to secede, USA is still one nation, it's actually a well performance of this constitutional scheme. Also, Indian constitutional scheme maintains equal distance from all religions and intervenes only when necessary. Whereas USA follows strict separation between religion and government. Despite this contrast, both the constitutions have performed in harmony with their respective societal differences over the years. The constitution forms the basic structure of any government: The constitution of any country is important because of the fact that it lays down all the legal and cultural aspects under which its people and the governmental bodies will be governed and that too when there are foreign interactions in the personal affairs. Conclusion: When it comes to comparison between different constitutions, they might have some similarities and some stark differences. However their performance with respect to political-social and economical conditions of their respective countries matters the most. Such as proved by Constitution of USA which maintained USA's status as one nation and as India which evolved over time to be known as a 'living document'. (Note: 1. Candidate can also adopt table format to answer this question. 2. Though the challenges and performance of constitutional schemes is mentioned in the synopsis, its advised to write the core points first and only if time permits, then only go for value addition.) 2. How does the Indian Parliament ensure executive accountability? Explain with the help of suitable examples. Approach: Demand of the question is quite direct – Role of Parliament in holding the Executive accountable. Explain different mechanisms and instruments available for this purpose. Introduction: Accountability of the executive to Parliament is the very essence of parliamentary democracy. While recommending the Parliamentary System of executive, the framers of the Constitution preferred “more responsibility to more stability”. Body: Indian Parliament ensures executive accountability through various mechanisms and at various stages: Constitutional Checks on the Executive Constitution of India has envisaged Parliamentary form of government where the Parliament is supreme. Certain provisions in the constitution authorises the Parliament to exercise control over the Executive. Principle of Collective Responsibility: Article 75 provides that the Executive (i.e. Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at its head) is collectively responsible to the House of the People and this constitutes the primary means of Parliament/Legislative control over the Executive. (One can also provide about motion of ‘no-confidence’ in the Lok Sabha) Principle of Individual Responsibility: Article 75 also states that the ministers (who are also part of Executive) hold office during the pleasure of the president. Ministers are individually responsible for acts specific to their departments. Parliamentary Control Relating to Legislative Matters Participation in Legislation: The executive drafts all legislation to be introduced in the Parliament and the executive cannot carry out these policies and laws without the approval of the Legislature/Parliament. Ordinances: The President can proclaim ordinances in the absence of House in session. However, the ordinance lapses if the Houses pass a resolution disapproving it. Emergency Provisions: The power of the executive to declare emergency at the State level is subject to parliamentary control. Parliamentary Control Relating to Financial Matters Financial supremacy of the Legislature is one of the basic feature of a Parliamentary democracy. No money in the Consolidated Fund will be available to the Government for any purpose unless it obtains a grant from the Lok Sabha; further the House cannot authorize a grant unless there is a demand by the Government specifying the need and amount which it plans to spend. The Parliament has established a Contingency Fund under the disposal of the President with a view to meet unforeseen expenditure of an emergent nature. Any amount expended form the Contingency Fund is returned to the Fund from the Consolidated Fund of India after approval of the Parliament. Procedural devices: The Parliament exercises control over the ministers through various devices such as question hour, discussions, adjournment motion, no confidence motion, etc. These devices constitute very potent instruments for effecting parliamentary surveillance over administrative action. Parliamentary committees: Standing committees and ad hoc committees are constituted from time to time and they play important role in ensuring legislature and executive efficiency and accountability. They deliberate and scrutinize the policy, help in obtaining public feedback and building political consensus, allow the views of diverse stakeholders, offer an opportunity for detailed scrutiny of bills and their reports allow for informed debate in Parliament. Conclusion: The modern executive is a very powerful institution of government and enjoys greater powers compared to other organs of the government. This generates a greater need to have democratic control over the executive. Hence, the makers of our Constitution thought with foresight that the executive must be put firmly under regular supervision and control. Thus, a parliamentary executive was chosen. Q3. Deference to parliamentary processes builds public trust. Do you agree? Comment in the light of the recent controversy related to the passing of important legislations in the parliament. Approach: It expects students to write about the issues related to the parliamentary processes in recent time in the first half and in latter half how deference to parliamentary processes builds public trust. Introduction: Parliament has a central role in our system of governance. Government is collectively responsible to Parliament for its actions. This implies that Parliament can hold the government accountable for its decisions, and scrutinize its functioning. This may be done using various methods including, during debates on Bills or issues on the floor of Parliament, by posing questions to ministers during Question Hour, and in parliamentary committees. Bypassing crucial processes in parliament is disservice to the trust of people. Body: Issues related to the parliamentary processes in recent time: Ordinance to avoid discussion: Minority governments or coalition governments usually resort to Ordinances, but the Current government has used it more than any of his predecessors despite enjoying a majority in the Lok Sabha. The average number of ordinances jumped from six a year under previous government to 11 a year under present. Money Bill: several key pieces of legislation have been passed as Money Bills, despite the fact that they did not fit this category. E.g. Aadhaar act. The Rajya Sabha is second house but certainly not a secondary house. Use of Finance Bill to amend other laws: Finance Bill of 2019, in addition to amending the tax laws, also amends several other laws unrelated to taxation in the country. E.g. Reserve Bank of India Act, National Housing Bank act. The 2017 Finance Bill, Changed the composition of 19 tribunals such as the Securities Appellate Tribunal, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, the National Green Tribunal. The Finance Bill, 2018, had 218 clauses, half of which were matters unrelated to the imposition of taxes. Ordinary Bills are not much discussed: Many of the ordinary bills are currently not discussed either because their texts are handed over to the MPs at the last minute or because there is little time for debates. Tendency of passing the bills on same day has increased. E.g. in last session of parliament three of the 22 Bills were passed the same day of introduction. Among them were The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020. It is increasingly the case with important pieces of legislation that they are not being either referred to committees, nor are they being fully debated in Parliament. In the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-19) 25 per cent of the Bills introduced were referred to committees. This number was much lower than 71 per cent and 60 per cent in the 15th (2009-14) and 14th (2004-09) Lok Sabha, respectively. Ignorance of processes evident in boycott: When the Labour reform laws were in discussion, opposition MPs were against it however, eight of them were suspended, several opposition parties chose to boycott the rest of the session, even thereafter government passed it along with other 15 Bills. Truncated Monsoon Session: No Question Hour and curtailed Zero Hour. This is certainly making both the houses to cease to debate. Question Hour, which was unnecessarily suspended, using the pandemic as an excuse. Even in taking that decision, the Speaker did not accede to the demand for a division. Practice of division: If a member of a House asks for a division of votes, the Speaker needs to grant it. The Speaker can refuse under some circumstances, but even then he has to take something like an informal headcount vote before refusing division. E.g. ruckus in Rajya Sabha and suspension of MPs over refusal to grant division. Deference to parliamentary processes builds public trust: Public trust can be harnessed through consultation and involvement of the public in the work of legislatures. Dedicated TV channels and live broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings has contributed to a discernible increase in public interest in parliamentary proceedings. More scrutiny will keep chances open for more evolved mechanism: The sharp debate on the floor of Parliament cannot replace the careful analysis done by Parliamentary Committees, which act as a bridge between Parliament and people. E.g. in the act regarding APMC, states could have got ‘opt out’ option. More discussion and deliberations: A lot of the farmers legitimate fears have less to do with the text and more with the context. More reasoned deliberation will avoid hasty legislation. E.g. Select Committee for surrogacy bill met with representatives of different groups and heard the testimony of the National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and multiple state governments along with the government department piloting the Bill. Based on its own study, evidence and feedback from experts and citizens, the committee suggested certain changes to the government’s Bill. Sanctity of law making process: Throwing papers, sloganeering, breaking mikes lowers the sanctity of the parliamentary processes and reduces deference of the house in the eyes of people. This was on full display during the debate and passage of the two agricultural Bills in the Rajya Sabha. The machinery of the government has to be proactive and not reactive while making laws. There must be an attempt to moderate differences and forge common ground and the greater onus for this is on the government. ‘In a parliamentary system, the opposition should have its say and the government will have its way.’ If the former is not possible, parliament as a democratic institution cannot survive for long. Conclusion: Accessible, accountable and open legislatures can reinforce public confidence in their representative institutions and thus, ensure a robust decision-making process. Parliamentary practice will not be able to knit an enduring social contract between labour, capital and farmers if it does not inspire confidence. There is need to work together by both government and opposition to improve trust. 4. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the plight of working people in the informal sector in urban areas. What measures would you suggest to address it? Discuss. Approach: It expects students to write about - in first part write about importance of informal sector in urban development - in second part mention issues faced by worker of informal sector in urban areas - in last part suggest some measures to address this problem. Introduction: The unorganised sector refers to those enterprises whose activities or collection of data is not regulated under any legal provision or do not maintain any regular accounts. Informal/unorganized sector has a predominant place in the Indian economy in terms of its contribution to the GDP and employment. Out of the total workers, nearly 72 per cent in the urban areas are engaged in the informal sector. Body: Importance of informal sector in urban development: To put things in perspective, as per the Economic Survey of India, about 90% of India’s total workforce of about 500 million workers is engaged in the informal sector. The migrant labourer is the builder of not just modern India, but modern Singapore, modern Dubai and every modern country that prides itself on the glamour list of modernity. A key feature of the urban economy in India, consistent with most developing economies, is the role played by informal workers and the unorganized sector. In many ways this is back-end India that offers the much-needed daily support to front-end India to keep the wheels of the modern economy moving. Factories, industrial units, hotels, restaurants and many other establishments, irrespective of their scale of operations, depend on such workers. They come in many avatars. There is a hierarchy even. There is the Uber and Ola driver who has migrated from Patna to Mumbai. There is the mason, the carpenter, the food delivery boy, the painter, the plumber and many, many others. Labour migration within India is crucial for economic growth and contributes to improving the socio-economic condition of people. Migration can help, for example, to improve income, skill development, and provide greater access to services like healthcare and education. Issues faced by worker of informal sector in urban areas: Huge Gap in Data About informal sector worker: Though the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act 2008 has specified the role of urban local bodies in registering numbers of informal sector worker and disseminating information regarding welfare schemes to them, these provisions are not obligatory. Due to this, there is lack of any credible data on how many informal sector workers enter and leave our states and cities. Challenge of informalisation: According to the Economic Survey of India 2019, about 90% of India’s total workforce of about 500 million workers is engaged in the informal sector. This made them more vulnerable to the economic crisis induced by Covid-19. Some of the major challenges due to the informalisation of the workforce include lack of job security, limited or no access to banking and insurance channels, a generally under-developed public health system. Lack of Basic Amenities: According to the recent “Drinking Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Housing Condition” survey by the government, there continue to be glaring gaps in water access in urban and rural India. Also, informal sector workers are likely to have relied more on public amenities such as hand pumps and public taps or standpipes which are connected to a municipal connection. These sources are generally unreliable — hand pumps and municipal pipes, for example, do not always supply water of potable quality. Given the importance of washing hands in combating the infection, the lack of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) makes migrant labourers subject to work in an unsafe work environment Measures to make Urban spaces more inclusive for the informal sector worker: Formalisation of Economy: The central and state governments need to continue their efforts to address the informality of the Indian economy, the rural-urban divide, the uneven growth within states and between regions in the country, and the social and economic inequalities associated with the poorest and vulnerable. The informal sector worker need to be supported with relevant information and counselling for job search and employment opportunities based on their skills and previous experience through their local governance and panchayat structures. Recently proposed Unorganised Worker Index Number Card by the Labour Ministry would also help in formalisation of the workforce. Focusing on Public Health Infrastructure: Smart cities project does well by focusing on creation of hard infrastructure for urban renewal. There is a need to strengthen the public health emergency infrastructure also. This social and financial inclusion would make the Smart Cities Mission truly holistic. Supporting Financially: There is a need to expedite the proposed Social Security Fund under the Code on Social Security, 2019. This could go a long way to provide a sense of financial security and act as a tool to monitor this segment of the population better. Creation of a Database of Migrant Workers: Recognition and identification of migrants is the first step towards a more enhanced framework to provide basic amenities. To begin with, an effort to create a database of migrant workers is most necessary. Creating a digital Pan-India database to ensure coordination with their home districts and respective states. Eventually, convergence around this could create a framework of health, banking, microfinance and insurance networks centred around workers and migrants in urban areas. Labour Migration Governance System: A fair and effective labour migration governance system for workers within the country is an urgent need of the hour. This is necessary for the realisation of decent work opportunities for all migrant workers while respecting fundamental human rights. Also, there is a need to ensure the protection of the labour rights of workers while taking into account the views of the employers to foster innovation in business and enterprises. Conclusion: From workers walking for days to reach home to the long queues for a single meal, the Covid-19 crisis has reiterated the perilous situation of informal workers. Neither their rights as labour nor their rights to state welfare are adequately addressed by the existing approach. Only a radically-altered development model, which addresses the conditions that foment informalisation, can ameliorate these conditions. These would include significant investment in agriculture, ensuring stable livelihoods in the villages to prevent the hunt for precarious jobs by the rural masses; formulating new state policies that address the increased dependence on metropolises; increasing state capacity to implement existing laws covering the informal sector. 5. What are asset reconstruction companies? What role do they play in the economy? Discuss. Approach: It expects student to write about - in first part explain what is Asset Reconstruction Companies - in second part write about what role they play in economy - in last part mention few suggestions. Introduction: In a recently released paper “Indian Banks: A time to reform” Viral Acharya and Raghuram Rajan argued for a greater role for Asset Reconstruction Companies. They argue that when there are fewer bids in a bankruptcy auction, the value on loans is better realised if read an asset reconstruction company takes over the borrower and places the firm under new management. Body: Asset Reconstruction Companies: An Asset Reconstruction Company is a specialized financial institution that buys the NPAs or bad assets from banks and financial institutions so that the latter can clean up their balance sheets. Or in other words, ARCs are in the business of buying bad loans from banks. ARCs clean up the balance sheets of banks when the latter sells these to the ARCs. This helps banks to concentrate in normal banking activities. Banks rather than going after the defaulters by wasting their time and effort, can sell the bad assets to the ARCs at a mutually agreed value. The Asset Reconstruction Companies were set up in India on the basis of legal status provided by the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002; enacted in December 2002. However, due to various reasons, performance of many asset reconstruction companies has not been in expected lines. The new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) gives a critical role to the ARCs in settling the bad assets through the insolvency process. It is expected that the performance of ARCs will improve with more legal support. Role played by ARC in economy: An Asset Reconstruction Company or ARC is a financial institution that buys the bad assets or NPAs from banks and other lending institutions. ARCs are specialized institutions that pay focused attention on recovery. Banks and other financial institutions sell their non-performing assets to ARCs to clean up their balance sheets. By selling bad assets to asset reconstruction companies, financial institutions save themselves from the duty of chasing defaulters. Their precious time, energy and efforts can be invested in better assets. The sale of asset is carried out at mutually agreed value. This value is arrived at based on mutual negotiation between the bank and ARC based on the realizable value of assets and other parameters and subject to the guidelines stipulated by the regulator. ARCs which buy bad loans have expert teams with adequate knowledge in legal and recovery matters to ensure better recovery or revival. The main intention of acquiring debts / NPAs is to ultimately realise the debts owed by them. However, the process is not a simple one. The ARCs have the following options in this regard: Change or takeover of the management of the business of the borrower Sale or lease of such business Rescheduling the payment of debts – offering alternative schemes, arrangements for the payment of the same. Enforcing the security interest offered in accordance with the law Taking possession of the assets offered as security Converting a portion of the debt into shares Need for extending the role of ARCs: In 2002, India lacked an effective bankruptcy system. There was no market for corporate control of distressed firms. ARCs were originally designed for this peculiar institutional ecosystem. They were required to hand over the distressed business back to the original promoter once they had generated enough value to repay the debt. Consequently, ARCs had little incentive to turn around distressed businesses. This situation completely changed in 2016 as the IBC seeks to maximise the value of distressed businesses through a market for corporate control. ARCs should be able to fully participate in this market and attempt successful turnarounds by acquiring strategic control over distressed businesses. In a solvent company, shareholders have stronger incentives than creditors to maximise enterprise value. This is because an increase in enterprise value automatically increases the value of its equity. In contrast, creditors do not benefit from increases in enterprise value beyond their individual claims. If ARCs could hold more equity instead of debt in the resolved company, they would also have a stronger incentive to take strategic control to ensure successful turnaround. Way forward: The law should enable ARCs to invest in a distressed company’s equity, whether by infusing fresh capital or by converting debt into equity. Effectively, an ARC should act more like a private equity fund, as Acharya and Rajan suggested. This in turn would make the market for corporate control under IBC deeper and more liquid, improving ex-ante recovery rates for banks. Conclusion: If only ARCs are allowed to directly participate in IBC resolutions by infusing equity, they could emerge as the most efficient vehicle for turning around distressed Indian businesses. TLP HOT Synopsis Day 9 PDF
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. This is a part of our recently launched, NEW INITIATIVE IASbaba’s INTEGRATED REVISION PLAN (IRP) 2020 – Road Map for the next 100 Days! FREE 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 the Initiative -> CLICK HERE SCHEDULE/DETAILED PLAN – > 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
For Previous TLP (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE Hello Friends, Welcome to IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 2- ENGLISH & हिंदी): UPSC Mains Answer Writing - General Studies 2 Questions[22nd October, 2020] - Day 10 We will make sure, in the next 3 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. We are giving 5 Mains Questions on 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. Do you think industrial pressure groups enjoy higher clout and influence in India’s polity than their agricultural counterparts? Critically examine. क्या आपको लगता है कि औद्योगिक दबाव समूह अपने कृषि समकक्षों की तुलना में भारत की राजनीति में उच्च दबदबे और प्रभाव का आनंद लेते हैं? समालोचनात्मक जांच करें। 2. Examine the evolution of the issue of judicial appointments in India. What are your views on the current system? Substantiate your views. भारत में न्यायिक नियुक्तियों के मुद्दे के विकास की जांच करें। वर्तमान व्यवस्था पर आपके क्या विचार हैं? अपने विचारों की पुष्टि करें। 3. PILs are manifestations of judicial activism which aims to widen judicial access to citizens. Elucidate. जनहित याचिका न्यायिक सक्रियता की अभिव्यक्ति है जिसका उद्देश्य नागरिकों तक न्यायिक पहुंच को व्यापक बनाना है। स्पष्ट करें। 4. India’s geopolitical interests are in close alignment with a stable and moderate Arab centre. Do you agree? Substantiate your views. भारत के भूराजनीतिक हित एक स्थिर अरब केंद्र में निहित हैं। क्या आप सहमत हैं? अपने विचारों की पुष्टि करें। 5. Collaboration between India and Australia can limit the dangers of the growing geopolitical imbalance in the Indo-Pacific. Comment. भारत और ऑस्ट्रेलिया के बीच सहयोग इंडो-पैसिफिक में बढ़ते भू-राजनीतिक असंतुलन के खतरों को सीमित कर सकता है। टिप्पणी 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 :)
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