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Pornography - Impact on Children & Society – The Big Picture - RSTV IAS UPSC

Pornography - Impact on Children & Society Archives TOPIC: General Studies 1: Problems faced by children and women In News: The Adhoc Committee of the Rajya instituted by Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu has made 40 far reaching recommendations to prevent sexual abuse of children and to contain access to and transmission of child pornography content on social media.  Expressing concern over the seriousness of the prevalence of the horrific social evil of child pornography, the Committee has recommended important amendments to the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and the Information Technology Act, 2000 besides technological, institutional, social and educational measures and state level initiatives to address the alarming issue of pornography on social media and its effects on children and the society as a whole. Forty recommendations have been made by the Adhoc Committee to deal with the issue.  Pornography has significant effects during all stages of family life. For a child exposed to pornography within a family setting, pornography causes stress and increases the risk for developing negative attitudes about the nature and purpose of human sexuality.For adolescents who view pornography, their attitudes toward their own and others' sexuality change, and their sexual expectations and behavior are shaped accordingly. Noting that the purveyors of child pornography seem always to be one step ahead of the regulators, the Committee stressed on the need for implementation of its recommendations as an integrated package of measures and not piecemeal to have any value and impact. The Committee urged the Prime Minister to take up the subject of child pornography and the measures required to combat it in one of his forthcoming 'Man Ki Baat' broadcast besides taking the lead in building up a global political alliance to combat child pornography on social media like the International Solar Alliance initiative. The Committee has broadly sought to address two main issues viz.,  Access of children to pornographic material on social media Circulation of pornographic material on social media in which children are abused Legislative measures The Committee has recommended some important amendments to the POCSO Act, 2012 and the IT Act, 2000 with corresponding changes to be carried out in the Indian Penal Code; A clause to be inserted in the POCSO Act, 2012 under which advocating or counseling sexual activities with a person under the age of 18 years through any written material, visual representation or audio recording or any characterization is made an offence under the Act; Another clause to be inserted in the POCSO Act, 2012 prescribing a Code of Conduct for intermediaries (online platforms) for maintaining child safety online, ensuring age appropriate content and curbing use of children for pornographic purposes; Under the POCSO Act, 2012, school management should be responsible for safety of children within schools, transportation services and any other programmes with which the school is associated; National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal shall be designated as the national portal under reporting requirements in POCSO Act in case of electronic material; A new section be included in the IT Act 2000, providing for punitive measures for those providing pornographic access to children and also those who access, produce or transmit Child Sexual Abuse Material(CSAM); Union Government shall be empowered through its designated authority to block and/or prohibit all websites/intermediaries that carry child sexual abuse material; IT Act to be modified making intermediaries responsible for all measures to proactively identify and remove CSAM as well as report it to Indian authorities as well besides the foreign authorities. Gateway Internet Service Providers (ISP's) must bear a significant liability to detect and block CSAM websites. Intermediaries shall also be responsible to report to the designated authority, IP addresses/identities of all those searching/accessing child porn/CSAM key words; Technology measures Law enforcement agencies be permitted to brake end to end encryption to trace distributors of child pornography. Apps that help in monitoring children's access to pornographic content shall be made mandatory on all devices sold in India. Such Apps or similar solutions to be developed and made freely available to ISP, companies, schools and parents; Ministry of Electronics and IT and Ministry of Home Affairs shall coordinate with Blockchain analysis companies to trace identities of users engaging in crypto currency transactions to purchase child pornography online. Online payment portals and credit cards be prohibited from processing payments for any pornographic website; ISPs shall be required to provide family friendly filters to parents at the point of sign up to regulate children's access to internet content; All social media platforms should be mandated with minimum essential technologies to detect Child Sexual Abuse Material besides regular reporting to law enforcement agencies in the country; On-streaming platforms like Netflix and social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook etc. should have separate adult section where under- aged children could be disallowed; Social media shall have mechanism for age verification and restricting access to objectionable/obscene material; Institutional measures The Committee recommended an upgraded and technologically empowered National Commission for Protection of Child Rights(NCPCR) to be designated as the nodal agency to deal with the issue of child pornography. NCPCR should have necessary technological, cyber policing and prosecution capabilities; The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shall mandatorily record and report annually cases of child pornography of all kinds. A national Tipline Number should be created where child sexual abuse as well as distribution of child pornographic material can be reported by concerned citizens; Social and Educational measures Ministries of Women and Child Development and Information and Broadcasting shall launch campaigns for greater awareness among parents to recognize early signs of child abuse, online risks and improving online safety for their child. Schools shall undertake training programmes for parents at least twice a year, making them aware of hazards for children of free access to smart phones, internet at an early age. Based on the experiences of other countries, a proper practicable policy for restricting use of smart phones by under aged kids needs to be considered; State level implementation The committee recommended that each State and Union Territory shall have empowered State Commission for the Protection for Child Rights mirroring capabilities and capacities of the NCPCR. E-safety Commissioners be appointed at state level to ensure implementation of social media and website guidelines relating to removal of pornographic content, age verification, issuing warnings etc.

PIB

Press Information Bureau (PIB) IAS UPSC – 27th January to 31st January – 2020

Press Information Bureau (PIB) IAS UPSC – 27th to 31st January, 2020 ARCHIVES GS-2 Historic Bodo Accord (Topic: Government policies and interventions; Development in North-East) What is the Bodo issue? Bodos are the single largest community among the notified Scheduled Tribes in Assam. Part of the larger umbrella of Bodo-Kachari, the Bodos constitute about 5-6% of Assam’s population. The first organised demand for a Bodo state came in 1967-68 under the banner of the political party Plains Tribals Council of Assam. In 1985, when the Assam Movement culminated in the Assam Accord, many Bodos saw it as essentially focusing on the interests of the Assamese-speaking community. In 1987, the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) led by Upendra Nath Brahma revived the Bodo statehood demand. The armed group Bodo Security Force arose, under the leadership of Ranjan Daimary, in October 1986. It subsequently renamed itself NDFB, and later split into factions. Bodoland Territorial Council It is an autonomous body under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. There have been two Bodo Accords earlier, and the second one led to the formation of BTC. The ABSU-led movement from 1987 culminated in a 1993 Bodo Accord, which paved the way for a Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC), but ABSU withdrew its agreement and renewed its demand for a separate state. In 2003, the second Bodo Accord was signed by the extremist group Bodo Liberation Tiger Force (BLTF), the Centre and the state. This led to the BTC. What has been settled now? Agreement signed between Ministry of Home Affairs, Bodo Groups and Assam government which has following provisions: Renaming: From BTAD to Bodoland Territorial Region. Redrawing Boundaries: Villages dominated by Bodos that were presently outside the BTAD would be included and those with non-Bodo population would be excluded Bodos living in the hills would be granted Scheduled Hill Tribe status. Bodo language with Devnagri script will become associate official language for entire of Assam and a separate directorate for Bodo medium schools will be set up. Development Package of ₹1500 crore by the Centre for the development of Bodo areas The agreement also involved rehabilitation of members of National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) factions- over 1500 armed cadres will abjure violence and join the mainstream Cabinet approves Official amendments in the National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2019: The amendments will: Ensure necessary regulatory reforms in the field of Homoeopathy education Enable transparency and accountability for protecting the interest of the general public.  The Commission will promote availability of affordable healthcare services in all parts of the country Proposal for Official Amendments in the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019 The proposed legislation will ensure necessary regulatory reforms in the field of Indian System of Medicine education.  The proposed regulatory structure will enable transparency and accountability for protecting the interest of the general public.  The Commission will promote availability of affordable healthcare services in all parts of the country. The Commission has been structured to streamline the functions related to academic standards, evaluation, assessment and accreditation of educational institutions pertaining to Indian System of Medicine.  The main objective of establishing NCIM is to promote equity by ensuring adequate supply of quality medical professionals and enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services in Indian System of Medicine.  The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 Proposing requirement for opinion of one provider for termination of pregnancy, up to 20 weeks of gestation and introducing the requirement of opinion of two providers for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation. Enhancing the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women which will be defined in the amendments to the MTP Rules and would include 'vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (like differently-abled women, Minors) etc. Upper gestation limit not to apply in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by Medical Board. The composition, functions and other details of Medical Board to be prescribed subsequently in Rules under the Act. Name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed except to a person authorised in any law for the time being in force. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is for expanding access of women to safe and legal abortion services on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian or social grounds. The proposed amendments include substitution of certain sub-sections, insertion of certain new clauses under some sections in the existing Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, with a view to increase upper gestation limit for termination of pregnancy under certain conditions and to strengthen access to comprehensive abortion care, under strict conditions, without compromising service and quality of safe abortion. GS-3 Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India (Topic: Conservation) In a major recognition towards Government of India’s effort towards conservation, restoration and rejuvenation of its wetlands, Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance.  The Ramsar Convention signed on February 2, 1971, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord signed by members countries to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.  The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits. Wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention. With this, the numbers of Ramsar sites in India are now 37 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,067,939 hectares.  Maharashtra gets its first Ramsar site (Nandur Madhameshwar) Punjab which already had 3 Ramsar sites adds 3 more (Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve, Nangal) UP with 1 Ramsar site has added 6 more (Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and SarsaiNawar). Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation. They are, in fact, are a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands which help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater. Four pronged strategy for the restoration of wetlands Preparing a baseline data Wetland health cards Enlisting wetland mitras Preparing targeted Integrated Management Plans Indian Railways commissions first Waste to Energy Plant in Bhubaneswar (Topic: Environment; Waste Management) Capacity of this Waste to Energy Plant is 500 Kg waste per day All types of waste including plastic and e-waste can be converted to Light Diesel Oil which is used to light furnaces. Technology This Waste to Energy Plant, a patented technology called POLYCRACK, is first-of-its-kind in Indian Railways and fourth in India. It is world’s first patented heterogeneous catalytic process which converts multiple feed stocks into hydrocarbon liquid fuels, gas, carbon and water. Polycrack Plant can be fed with all types of Plastic, Petroleum sludge, Un-segregated MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) with moisture up to 50%, E–Waste, Automobile fluff, Organic waste including bamboo, garden waste etc., and Jatropha fruit and palm bunch. Waste generated = feeder material for this plant The Process The process is a closed loop system and does not emit any hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere. The combustible, non-condensed gases are re-used for providing energy to the entire system and thus, the only emission comes from the combustion of gaseous fuels. The emissions from the combustion are found to be much less than prescribed environmental norms. This process will produce energy in the form of Light Diesel Oil which is used to light furnaces. Polycrack has the following advantages over the conventional approach of treating solid waste:- Pre-segregation of waste is not required to reform the waste. Waste as collected can be directly fed into Polycrack. It has high tolerance to moisture hence drying of waste is not required. Waste is processed and reformed within 24 hours. It is an enclosed unit hence the working environment is dust free. Excellent air quality surrounding the plant. Biological decomposition is not allowed as the Waste is treated as it is received. The foot print of the plant is small hence the area required for installing the plant is less when compared with conventional method of processing. All constituents are converted into valuable energy thereby making it Zero Discharge Process. Gas generated in the process is re-used to provide energy to the system thereby making it self-reliant and also bring down the operating cost. There is no atmospheric emission during the process unlike other conventional methods except for combustion gases which have pollutants less than the prescribed norms the world over. Operates around 450 degrees, making it a low temperature process when compared with other options. Safe and efficient system with built-in safety features enables even an unskilled user to operate the machine with ease. Low capital cost and low operating cost. Fully automated system requires minimum man power. Prelims oriented News Operation Vanilla: By Indian navy to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief at Madagascar post devastation caused by Cyclone Diane. Nal se Jal' scheme: Aims to provide piped water connection to every household by 2024. Missing Person Search: The Citizens can search for their missing kins against the national database of recovered unidentified found person/unidentified dead bodies from their homes. This will hugely benefit relatives of missing persons and save them from running around pillar to post, as all such details including photos are available in Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System and will now be accessible to citizens through this portal at their convenience. Generate Vehicle NOC: Allows citizens to ascertain the status of a vehicle before its second hand purchase, as to whether it is suspicious or clean from Police records. This search could be made against National database based on vehicle’s details; one can generate and download the relevant NOC, required by the RTO beforethe transfer of ownership. SAMPRITI-IX: Exercise SAMPRITI is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh and will be the ninth edition of the exercise which is hosted alternately by both countries. India has jumped up 79 positions in World Bank’s Doing Business rankings, improving from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019. It has progressed on seven out of the 10 parameters. The Goods and Service Tax (GST) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) top the list of reforms that have propelled India’s rise in rankings. However, it continues to trail in parameters such as Ease of Starting Business (rank 136), Registering Property (rank 154), Paying Taxes (rank 115), and Enforcing Contracts (rank 163). Facility of Life Certificate by banks from the doorstep of the pensioners: The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW), has taken a landmark step to make life easier for senior citizens to submit their Annual Life Certificate for continued pension. The Department for stricter monitoring in order to ensure that no pensioners are left out, directed all Pension Disbursing Banks to make an exception list as on 1st December every year of those pensioners who fail to submit their Life Certificate and issue another SMS/Email to them for submitting the Life Certificate.  The bank in addition will also ask such pensioners through SMS/Email as to whether they are interested in submission of Life Certificate through a chargeable doorstep service, the charge not exceeding Rs.60/-. Bhuvan Panchayat V 3.0 Web portal The Web Geo portal is an easy to use Geo portal developed for database visualization, data analytics, generation of automatic reports, model based products and services for the benefit of Gram Panchayat members and other stake holders.  The targeted audience for this portal are Public, PRIs and different stakeholders belonging to the gram panchayats.  ISRO launched SISDP project to assist Gram Panchayats at grassroot level with basic planning inputs derived from satellite data for preparing developmental plans, its implementation and monitoring the activities. SISDP phase I Project was successfully concluded in the year 2016-17. Based on the rich experience gained and encouraging feedback received from various stakeholders on SIS-DP-I Project “SISDP-Update” was initiated with enhanced objectives of providing value added geospatial products and services to aid Gram Panchayat development planning process of MoPR.  For the first time, thematic database on 1:10,000 scale for the entire country is available with high integrated High Resolution satellite data for planning. India-Brazil set target of USD 15 billion trade by 2022 Brazil is one of the most important trading partners of India in the entire LAC (Latin America and Caribbean) region trade between the two countries will grow to USD 15 billion by 2022. The 15 MoUs signed during the visit of the President of Brazil shows the power of democracy, demography, leadership, the talent pool available in India, India’s market and the aspirations of one billion Indian citizens for a better life. The MoUs of cooperation that have been signed during the presidential visit on investments, trade facilitation, social security, agriculture, defence and double taxation makes this the most productive visit by a Brazilian Head of State. Investments will also grow in the sectors of clean energy, startups, railways and creation of value chains between India and Brazil where goods may be semi assembled in one country and finished in another.  The entire Indian Railway will be fully electrified by 2024 and by 2030 the railway network in India will run completely on clean energy with zero emission. India – Brazil Business Leader’s Forum may be activated and reconstituted to make it more relevant and contemporary to businesses in both countries. India and Brazil share close relationship at the bilateral level as well as plurilateral fora like BRICS, BASIC, G-20, IBSA, International Solar Alliance and in larger multilateral bodies like UN, UNESCO and WIPO GeM MoU with UP state for Project Management Unit The MoU aims to expedite the harmonization of the procurement guidelines of the two entities and integration of systems, enabling seamless procuring experience. The PMU to be setup under the MoU will make it easier for MSMEs of U.P. to onboard and transact on GeM. GOTT will assist the buyer agency to redesign the procurement processes and enhance competencies to derive maximum benefit from the online marketplace. The Government of Uttar Pradesh is the second State after Punjab to establish a GOTT-PMU for effectively utilizing this transformational initiative towards inclusive, efficient and transparent procurement. India’s aspiration to become a $5 trillion economy depends critically on promoting “pro-business” policy – Economic Survey Theme: Enable Markets, Promote 'Pro-Business' Policies and Strengthen 'Trust' in the Economy The Economic Survey 2019-20 says India’s aspiration to become a $5 trillion economy depends critically on promoting “pro-business” policy that unleashes the power of competitive markets to generate wealth, on the one hand, and weaning away from “pro-crony” policy that may favour specific private interests, especially powerful incumbents, on the other hand. Creative destruction The Survey stated that creative destruction has increased significantly after reform.  The liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991 unleashed competitive markets and enabled the forces of creative destruction, generating benefits that we still witness today. Creative destruction brings new innovations in the market that serve people better than the old technologies they displace. It brings new firms into the markets, which compete with existing firms and lower prices for consumers.  Using the lens of Indian equity markets as captured in the S&P(Standard & Poor’s) BSE Sensex, we can clearly see an increase in market dynamism in the pro-business India of the post-liberalization period. After the market reforms of 1991, Sensex has grown at an accelerating pace. Whereas crossing the first incremental 5000 points took over 13 years and was achieved in 1999, the time taken to achieve each incremental milestone has substantially reduced over the years. Liberalisation caused a spike in the number of firms churned in the years that immediately followed it, but the churn rate did not decline to pre-liberalization level in later years. New sectors like banks and financials entered the index for the first time, eroding the predominance of the manufacturing sector on the index, placing the services sector on the map for the first time, and reflecting the far-reaching changes that the Indian economy was witnessing in the wake of liberalization. Pro-crony policies, in contrast to pro-business ones, erode wealth in the economy as cronyism fosters inefficiencies by inhibiting the process of creative destruction. The connected firms proxy firms that may benefit from pro-crony policies. Despite impressive progress in enabling competitive markets, pro-crony policies have destroyed value in the economy. Wilful default, if unchecked, would increase the cost of borrowing for everyone else, including genuine businesses with profitable investment opportunities before them. Adverse selection may force genuine borrowers to exist the market altogether, leaving only cronies in the market and resulting in a market failure that slows economic growth, employment and wealth creation capacity. Wealth Creation: The Invisible Hand Supported by the Hand of Trust India’s dominance as global economic power for three-fourths of economic history manifests by design. Kautilya’s Arthashastra postulates the role of prices in an economy (Spengler, 1971). Historically, Indian economy relied on the invisible hand of the market with the support of the hand of trust: Invisible hand of the market reflected in openness in economic transactions. Hand of trust appealed to ethical and philosophical dimensions. Post-liberalisation, Indian economy supports both pillars of the economic model advocated in our traditional thinking. Survey illustrates enormous benefits accruing from enabling the invisible hand of the market. Exponential rise in India’s GDP and GDP per capita post-liberalisation coincides with wealth generation. Survey shows that the liberalized sectors grew significantly faster than the closed ones. Need for the hand of trust to complement the invisible hand, illustrated by financial sector performance during 2011-13. Survey posits that India’s aspiration to become a $5 trillion economy depends critically on: Strengthening the invisible hand of the market Supporting it with the hand of trust Strengthening the invisible hand by promoting pro-business policies to: Provide equal opportunities for new entrants Enable fair competition and ease doing business Eliminate policies unnecessarily undermining markets through government intervention Enable trade for job creation Efficiently scale up the banking sector Introducing the idea of trust as a public good, which gets enhanced with greater use Survey suggests that policies must empower transparency and effective enforcement using data and technology Entrepreneurship and Wealth Creation at the Grassroots Entrepreneurship as a strategy to fuel productivity growth and wealth creation India ranks third in number of new firms created, as per the World Bank New firm creation in India increased dramatically since 2014: 12.2 % cumulative annual growth rate of new firms in the formal sector during 2014-18, compared to 3.8 % during 2006-2014. About 1.24 lakh new firms created in 2018, an increase of about 80 % from about 70,000 in 2014. Survey examines the content and drivers of entrepreneurial activity at the bottom of the administrative pyramid – over 500 districts in India. New firm creation in services is significantly higher than that in manufacturing, infrastructure or agriculture Survey notes that grassroots entrepreneurship is not just driven by necessity A 10 percent increase in registration of new firms in a district yields a 1.8 % increase in Gross Domestic District Product (GDDP) Entrepreneurship at district level has a significant impact on wealth creation at the grassroots Birth of new firms in India is heterogeneous and dispersed across districts and sectors. Literacy and education in a district foster local entrepreneurship significantly: Impact is most pronounced when literacy is above 70 per cent. New firm formation is the lowest in eastern India with lowest literacy rate (59.6 % as per 2011 Census) Physical infrastructure quality in the district influences new firm creation significantly. Ease of Doing Business and flexible labour regulation enable new firm creation, especially in the manufacturing sector. Survey suggests enhancing ease of doing business and implementing flexible labour laws can create maximum jobs in districts and thereby in the states. Pro-business versus Pro-markets Survey says that India’s aspiration of becoming a $5 trillion economy depends critically on: Promoting ‘pro-business’ policy that unleashes the power of competitive markets to generate wealth. Weaning away from ‘pro-crony’ policy that may favour specific private interests, especially powerful incumbents. Viewed from the lens of the Stock market, creative destruction increased significantly post-liberalisation: Before liberalisation, a Sensex firm expected to stay in it for 60 years, which decreased to only 12 years after liberalisation. Every five years, one-third of Sensex firms are churned out, reflecting the continuous influx of new firms, products and technologies into the economy. Despite impressive progress in enabling competitive markets, pro-crony policies destroyed value in the economy: An equity index of connected firms significantly outperformed market by 7 % a year from 2007 to 2010, reflecting abnormal profits extracted at common citizens’ expense. In contrast, the index underperforms market by 7.5 % from 2011, reflecting inefficiency and value destruction inherent in such firms. Pro-crony policies such as discretionary allocation of natural resources till 2011 led to rent-seeking by beneficiaries while competitive allocation of the same post 2014 ended such rent extraction. Similarly crony lending that led to wilful default, wherein promoters collectively siphoned off wealth from banks, led to losses that dwarf subsidies for rural development. Undermining Markets: When Government Intervention Hurts More Than It Helps Government intervention, though well intended, often ends up undermining the ability of the markets to support wealth creation and leads to outcomes opposite to those intended. Four examples of anachronistic government interventions: Essential Commodities Act (ECA), 1955: Frequent and unpredictable imposition of blanket stock limits on commodities under ECA distorts: The incentives for the creation of storage infrastructure by the private sector. Movement up the agricultural value chain. Development of national market for agricultural commodities. Imposition of stock limits on dal in 2006-Q3, sugar in 2009-Q1 and onions in September, 2019 spiked up the volatility of the retail and wholesale prices of onions. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs must examine whether the ECA is relevant in today’s India. With raids having abysmally low conviction rate and no impact on prices, the ECA only seems to enable rent-seeking and harassment. Survey suggests there is clear evidence for jettisoning this anachronistic legislation. Drug Price Control under ECA: The regulation of prices of drugs, through the DPCO 2013, led to increase in the price of the regulated pharmaceutical drug vis-à-vis that of an unregulated but similar drug. The increase in prices is greater for more expensive formulations than for cheaper ones and for those sold in hospitals rather than retail shops. These findings reinforce that the outcome is opposite to what DPCO aims to do - making drugs affordable. Government, being a huge buyer of drugs, can intervene more effectively to provide affordable drugs by combining all its purchases and exercising its bargaining power. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare must evolve non-distortionary mechanisms that utilise Government’s bargaining power in a transparent manner. Government intervention in Grain markets: Policies in the food-grain markets led to: Emergence of Government as the largest procurer and hoarder of rice and wheat. Crowding out of private trade. Burgeoning food subsidy burden Inefficiencies in the markets, affecting the long run growth of agricultural sector. The food-grains policy needs to be dynamic and allow switching from physical handling and distribution of food-grains to cash transfers/food coupons/smart cards. Debt waivers: Analysis of debt waivers given by States/Centre: Full waiver beneficiaries consume less, save less, invest less and are less productive after the waiver, compared to the partial beneficiaries. Debt waivers disrupt the credit culture. They reduce formal credit flow to the very same farmers, thereby defeating the purpose. Survey suggests that: Government must systematically examine areas of needless intervention and undermining of markets; but it does not argue that there should be no Government intervention. Instead it suggests that the interventions that were apt in a different economic setting may have lost their relevance in a transformed economy. Eliminating such instances will enable competitive markets spurring investments and economic growth. Creating Jobs and Growth by Specializing in Network Products Survey says India has unprecedented opportunity to chart a China-like, labour-intensive, export trajectory. By integrating “Assemble in India for the world” into Make in India, India can: Raise its export market share to about 3.5 % by 2025 and 6 % by 2030. Create 4 crore well-paid jobs by 2025 and 8 crore by 2030. Exports of network products can provide one-quarter of the increase in value added required for making India a $5 trillion economy by 2025. Survey suggests a strategy similar to one used by China to grab this opportunity: Specialization at large scale in labour-intensive sectors, especially network products. Laser-like focus on enabling assembling operations at mammoth scale in network products. Export primarily to markets in rich countries. Trade policy must be an enabler. Survey analyses the impact of India’s trade agreements on overall trade balance: India’s exports increased by 13.4 % for manufactured products and 10.9 % for total merchandise Imports increased by 12.7 % for manufactured products and 8.6 per cent for total merchandise. India gained 0.7 % increase in trade surplus per year for manufactured products and 2.3 % per year for total merchandise.  Targeting Ease of Doing Business in India A jump of 79 positions to 63 in 2019 from 142 in 2014 in World Bank’s Doing Business rankings. India still trails in parameters such as Ease of Starting Business, Registering Property, Paying Taxes and Enforcing Contracts. Survey has numerous case studies: For merchandise exports, the logistics process flow for imports is more efficient than that for exports. Electronics exports and imports through Bengaluru airport illustrate how Indian logistical processes can be world class. The turnaround time of ships in India has almost halved to 2.48 days in 2018-19 from 4.67 days in 2010-11. Suggestions for further Ease of Doing Business: Close coordination between the Logistics division of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Ministry of Shipping and the different port authorities. Individual sectors such as tourism or manufacturing require a more targeted approach that maps out the regulatory and process bottlenecks for each segment. Golden jubilee of bank nationalisation: Taking stock Survey observes 2019 as the golden jubilee year of bank nationalization Accomplishments of lakhs of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) employees cherished and an objective assessment of PSBs suggested by the Survey. Since 1969, India’s Banking sector has not developed proportionately to the growth in the size of the economy. India has only one bank in the global top 100 – same as countries that are a fraction of its size: Finland (about 1/11th), Denmark (1/8th), etc. A large economy needs an efficient banking sector to support its growth. The onus of supporting the economy falls on the PSBs accounting for 70 % of the market share in Indian banking: PSBs are inefficient compared to their peer groups on every performance parameter. In 2019, investment for every rupee in PSBs, on average, led to the loss of 23 paise, while in NPBs it led to the gain of 9.6 paise. Credit growth in PSBs has been much lower than NPBs for the last several years. Solutions to make PSBs more efficient: Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) for PSBs’ employees Representation on boards proportionate to the blocks held by employees to incentivize employees and align their interests with that of all shareholders of banks. Creation of a GSTN type entity that will aggregate data from all PSBs and use technologies like big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning in credit decisions for ensuring better screening and monitoring of borrowers, especially the large ones. Financial Fragility in the NBFC Sector Survey investigates the key drivers of Rollover Risk of the shadow banking system in India in light of the current liquidity crunch in the sector. Key drivers of Rollover Risk: Asset Liability Management (ALM) Risk. Interconnectedness Risk. Financial and Operating Resilience of an NBFC. Over-dependence on short-term wholesale funding. Survey computes a diagnostic (Health Score) by quantifying the Rollover risk for a sample of HFCs and Retail-NBFCs (which are representative of their respective sectors). The analysis of the Health Score has the following findings: The HFC sector exhibited a declining trend post 2014 and overall health of the sector worsened considerably by the end of FY2019. The Score of the Retail-NBFC sector was consistently below par for the period 2014 -19. Larger Retail-NBFCs had higher Health Scores but among medium and small Retail- NBFCs, the medium size ones had a lower score for the entire period of 2014-19. Survey suggests that the Health Score provides an early warning signal of impending liquidity problems. Equity markets react favourably to increase in Health Score of individual HFCs and Retail-NBFCs. The Survey prescribes this analysis to efficiently allocate liquidity enhancements across firms (with different Health Scores) in the NBFC sector, thereby arresting financial fragility in a capital-efficient manner. Privatization and Wealth Creation Survey examines the realized efficiency gains from privatization in the Indian context and bolsters the case for aggressive disinvestment of CPSEs. Strategic disinvestment of Government’s shareholding of 53.29 per cent in HPCL led to an increase of around Rs. 33,000 crore in national wealth. Survey presents an analysis of the before-after performance of 11 CPSEs which underwent strategic disinvestment from 1999-2000 to 2003-04: Financial indicators such as net worth, net profit, return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) etc of the privatized CPSEs, on an average, have improved significantly. Privatized CPSEs have been able to generate more wealth from the same resources. Survey suggests aggressive disinvestment of CPSEs to: Bring in higher profitability. Promote efficiency. Increase competitiveness. Promote professionalism India’s Economic Performance in 2019-20 India’s GDP growth moderated to 4.8 % in H1 of 2019-20, amidst a weak environment for global manufacturing, trade and demand. Real consumption growth has recovered in Q2 of 2019-20, cushioned by a significant growth in government final consumption. Growth for ‘Agriculture and allied activities’ and ‘Public administration, defense, and other services’ in H1 of 2019-20 was higher than in H2 of 2018-19. India’s external sector gained further stability in H1 of 2019-20:  Current Account Deficit (CAD) narrowed to 1.5 % of GDP in H1 of 2019-20 from 2.1 % in 2018-19.  Impressive Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).  Rebounding of portfolio flows.  Accretion of foreign exchange reserves.  Sharper contraction of imports as compared to that of exports in H1 of 2019-20, with easing of crude prices. Headline inflation expected to decline by year end: Increased from 3.3 % in H1 of 2019-20 to 7.35 % in December 2019-20 due to temporary increase in food inflation. Rise in CPI-core and WPI in December 2019-20 suggests building of demand pressure. Deceleration in GDP growth can be understood within the framework of a slowing cycle of growth: Financial sector acted as a drag on the real sector (investment-growth-consumption). Reforms undertaken during 2019-20 to boost investment, consumption and exports: Speeding up the insolvency resolution process under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).  Easing of credit, particularly for the stressed real estate and NBFC sectors.  Announcing the National Infrastructure Pipeline 2019-2025. Survey expects an uptick in the GDP growth in H2 of 2019-20: 5 % GDP growth for 2019-20 based on CSO’s first Advance Estimates.  Expeditious delivery on reforms for enabling the economy to strongly rebound in 2020-21 Sustainable Development and Climate Change India moving forward on the path of SDG implementation through well-designed initiatives SDG India Index: Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh are front runners. Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh come under the category of Aspirants. India hosted COP-14 to UNCCD which adopted the Delhi Declaration: Investing in Land and Unlocking Opportunities. COP-25 of UNFCCC at Mandrid: India reiterated its commitment to implement Paris Agreement. COP-25 decisions include efforts for climate change mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation from developed country parties to developing country parties. Forest and tree cover Increasing and has reached 80.73 million hectare. 24.56 % of the geographical area of the country. Burning of agricultural residues, leading to rise in pollutant levels and deterioration of air quality, is still a major concern though the total number of burning events recorded reduced due to various efforts taken. International Solar Alliance (ISA) ‘Enabler’ by institutionalizing 30 Fellowships from the Member countries. ‘Facilitator’ by getting the lines of credit worth US$ 2 Billion from EXIM Bank of India and 1.5 Billion from AfD, France. ‘Incubator’ by nurturing initiatives like the Solar Risk Mitigation Initiative. ‘Accelerator’ by developing tools to aggregate demand for 1000 MW solar and 2.7 lakh solar water pumps. Agriculture and Food Management Largest Proportion of Indian population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture for employment opportunities as compared to any other sector. The share of agriculture and allied sectors in the total Gross Value Added (GVA) of the country has been continuously declining on account of relatively higher growth performance of non-agricultural sectors, a natural outcome of development process. GVA at Basic Prices for 2019-20 from ‘Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing’ sector is estimated to grow by 2.8 %. Agricultural productivity is also constrained by lower level of mechanization in agriculture which is about 40 % in India, much lower than China (59.5 %) and Brazil (75 %). Skewed pattern of regional distribution of agricultural credit in India: Low credit in Hilly, Eastern and North Eastern states (less than 1 % of total agricultural credit disbursement). Livestock income has become an important secondary source of income for millions of rural families: An important role in achieving the goal of doubling farmers’ income. Livestock sector has been growing at a CAGR of 7.9 % during last five years. During the last 6 years ending 2017-18, Food Processing Industries sector has been growing: Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR) of around 5.06 % Constitutes as much as 8.83 % and 10.66 % of GVA in Manufacturing and Agriculture sector respectively in 2017-18 at 2011-12 prices. While interests of the vulnerable sections of the population need to be safeguarded, Survey emphasizes on sustainability of food security operations by: Addressing the burgeoning food subsidy bill. Revisiting the rates and coverage under NFSA. Industry and Infrastructure The industrial sector as per Index of Industrial Production (IIP) registered a growth of 0.6 per cent in 2019-20 (April-November) as compared to 5.0 % during 2018-19 (April-November). Fertilizer sector achieved a growth of 4.0 % during 2019-20 (April-November) as compared to (-) 1.3 per cent during 2018-19 (April-November). Steel sector achieved a growth of 5.2 % during 2019-20 (April-November) as compared to 3.6 % during 2018-19 (April-November). Total telephone connections in India touched 119.43 crore as on September 30, 2019. The installed capacity of power generation has increased to 3, 64,960 MW as on October 31, 2019 from 3, 56,100 MW as on March 31, 2019. Report of the Task Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline released on 31.12.2019 has projected total infrastructure investment of Rs. 102 lakh crore during the period FY 2020 to 2025 in India. Services Sector Increasing significance of services sector in the Indian economy: About 55 % of the total size of the economy and GVA growth.  Two-thirds of total FDI inflows into India. About 38 per cent of total exports. More than 50 % of GVA in 15 out of the 33 states and UTs. Gross Value Added growth of the services sector moderated in 2019-20 as suggested by various high-frequency indicators and sectoral data such as air passenger traffic, port and shipping freight traffic, bank credit etc. On the bright side, FDI into services sector has witnessed a recovery in early 2019-20. Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development The expenditure on social services (health, education and others) by the Centre and States as a proportion of GDP increased from 6.2 % in 2014-15 to 7.7 % in 2019-20 (BE). India’s ranking in Human Development Index improved to 129 in 2018 from 130 in 2017: o With 1.34 % average annual HDI growth, India is among the fastest improving countries Gross Enrolment Ratio at secondary, higher secondary and higher education level needs to be improved. The share of regular wage/salaried employees has increased by 5 percentage points from 18 % in 2011-12 to 23 % in 2017-18.  A significant jump of around 2.62 crore new jobs with 1.21 crore in rural areas and 1.39 crore in urban areas in this category. Total formal employment in the economy increased from 8 % in 2011-12 to 9.98 % in 2017-18. Gender disparity in India’s labour market widened due to decline in female labour force participation especially in rural areas: o Around 60 % of productive age (15-59) group engaged in full time domestic duties. Access to health services inter-alia through Ayushman Bharat and Mission Indradhanush across the country has improved. Mission Indradhanush has vaccinated 3.39 crore children and 87.18 lakh pregnant women of 680 districts across the country. About 76.7 % of the households in the rural and about 96 % in the urban areas had houses of pucca structure. A 10 Year Rural Sanitation Strategy (2019-2029) launched to focus on sustaining the sanitation behavior change and increasing access to solid and liquid waste management. Quotes The Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu On spread of newly-discovered strain of Coronavirus Underscored the need for global cooperation for early detection of new viruses and to contain any serious fallout from outbreak of epidemics Period outbreak of epidemics and new viruses highlights our vulnerability to diseases Referring to the vital role of the Indian Science and Technology Innovation (STI) System in achieving national goals as India aspires for sustainable and inclusive growth, he appealed to the private sector to create a fund for financing innovative scientific projects that will address societal concerns. Observing that investment in STI plays a major role in promoting research and developing cutting edge technologies, Shri Naidu said the funding for basic research also has to be stepped up. Called upon scientists of CCMB and other scientific labs to find answers to the many challenges the world was facing today like poverty, effects of climate change, pollution, lack of clean drinking water, sanitation, increasing urbanization and growing drug resistance, among others. Lauding CCMB for developing bacterial blight-resistant Sambah Mahsuri rice variety in collaboration with Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), Shri Naidu urged scientists to find ways to develop more disease and pest-resistant crops and aid in increasing productivity to make agriculture viable and sustainable. He stressed the need to protect farmers from the vagaries of nature. Urged CCMB to develop Rapid DNA Testing Kits for detection of some of the rare diseases and many other genetic disorders. On outside interference in India's internal matters Expressing his concern over the trend of foreign bodies interfering in matters that are completely within the purview of the Indian Parliament and the Indian Government, Shri Naidu said that such efforts were totally uncalled for and unwarranted and expressed hope that they would refrain from making such statements in future.   “As a Republic of 70 years of experience, we have successfully withstood various challenges and have overcome several challenges. We are now more united than ever before and no one should have any concerns in this regard”, he said. Asserting that our polity and democracy provided enough space for expressing differences and dissent whenever warranted, the Vice President said that whenever basic and fundamental rights of citizens came under threat, citizens rose in unison and defended them, as was seen against emergency. Observing that ‘New India’ needed vibrant young thinkers who are willing to experiment and explore the various possibilities around them, he called upon the youth of the nation to become solution-makers. The Vice President also stressed that education was meant not just to secure employment but also for enhancement of knowledge, empowerment, and enlightenment. Referring to India’s cherished ideal of ‘Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava’, the Vice President said that secularism is one of the founding principles of the nation and is a value that is ingrained in every Indian.

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Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 3rd February 2020

IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 3rd February 2020 Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) Coronavirus: India temporarily suspends e-visa facility for Chinese and foreigners residing in China Part of: GS Prelims –Sci & tech and GS-II - Health  In news: India temporarily suspended e-visa facility for Chinese travellers and foreigners residing in China in view of the coronavirus From Prelims Point of View e-Visa: The India e-Visa is an electronic authorization to travel to India for business, tourism, or medical visits.  When applying for an e-Visa, it is not necessary to submit your passport or other personal documents to the consulate. The e-Visa approval will be issued in advance electronically before your departure to India.  At the immigration checkpoint the actual visa will be placed inside your passport. Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 3rd February 2020 Src: Click here Money earned in India by NRIs will be taxed Part of: GS Prelims –Economy  and GS-III - Budget In news : The Finance Bill has proposed three major changes to prevent tax abuse by citizens that don’t pay taxes anywhere in the world — reducing the number of days that an Indian citizen can be granted non-resident status for tax purposes from 182 to 120;  citizens who don’t pay taxes anywhere will be deemed to be a resident;  The definition of ‘not ordinarily resident’ has been tightened. Non-Resident Indian An Indian citizen who is ordinarily residing outside India and holds an Indian Passport. A person is considered NRI if She is not in India for 182 days or more during the financial year Or; If he/she is in India for less than 365 days during the 4 years preceding that year and less than 60 days in that year. Coronavirus : Study on bats and bat hunters in Nagaland  Part of: GS Prelims –Sci & Tech and GS-II – Health  In news: The government has ordered an inquiry into a study conducted in Nagaland by researchers from the U.S., China and India on bats and humans carrying antibodies to deadly viruses like Ebola. Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 3rd February 2020 From Prelims Point of View: Filoviruses are a family of non-segmented negative-stranded RNA viruses, with Marburg virus and Ebola virus constituting two different species. In Kerala, 2,130 islands brought under CRZ regime Part of: GS Prelims –Environment   and GS-III - Conservation In news: 2,130 backwater islands of Kerala, including Maradu, have been brought under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regime thereby imposing curbs on development activities. This is for the first time that the list of the Kerala islands is being drawn up. The list of the islands was prepared by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ) CRZ Notification 2018 is based on the recommendations of Shailesh Nayak committee. Coastal stretches of seas, bays, estuaries, creeks, rivers, and backwaters were declared as CRZs under coastal zone regulation notification in 1991. CRZs have been classified into 4 zones for the purpose of regulation: CRZ-I: includes ecologically sensitive areas, where no construction is allowed except activities for atomic power plants, defense. CRZ-II: includes designated urban areas that are substantially built up. Construction activities are allowed on the landward side only. CRZ-III: includes relatively undisturbed areas, mainly rural areas. No new construction of buildings allowed in this zone except repairing of the existing ones. However, constructions of dwelling units in the plot area lying between 200-500m of the high tide line is allowed. CRZ-IV: includes the water area covered between Low Tide Line and 12 nautical miles seaward. Except for fishing and related activities, all actions impugning on the sea and tidal water will be regulated in this zone. Miscellaneous  National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS)  Research centre specialising in biological research (Bangalore) Under the Department of Atomic Energy  Basic and interdisciplinary research in the frontier areas of biology.  The research interests of the faculty are in four broad areas ranging from the study of single molecules to systems biology.  (MAINS FOCUS) Indian Economy Topic: General Studies 3: Government Budgeting. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. Key Highlights of the Economic Survey 2019-20 – Part 2 TARGETING EASE OF DOING BUSINESS IN INDIA A jump of 79 positions to 63 in 2019 from 142 in 2014 in World Bank’s Doing Business rankings. India still trails in parameters such as Ease of Starting Business, Registering Property, Paying Taxes and Enforcing Contracts. Electronics exports and imports through Bengaluru airport illustrate how Indian logistical processes can be world class. The turnaround time of ships in India has almost halved to 2.48 days in 2018-19 from 4.67 days in 2010-11. Suggestions for further Ease of Doing Business: Close coordination between the Logistics division of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Ministry of Shipping and the different port authorities. Individual sectors such as tourism or manufacturing require a more targeted approach that maps out the regulatory and process bottlenecks for each segment. 2019 GOLDEN JUBILEE OF BANK NATIONALISATION: TAKING STOCK Since 1969, India’s Banking sector has not developed proportionately to the growth in the size of the economy. India has only one bank in the global top 100 – same as countries that are a fraction of its size: Finland (about 1/11th), Denmark (1/8th), etc. The onus of supporting the economy falls on the PSBs accounting for 70 % of the market share in Indian banking: In 2019, investment for every rupee in PSBs, on average, led to the loss of 23 paise, while in NPBs (New Private Banks) it led to the gain of 9.6 paise. Solutions to make PSBs more efficient: Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) for PSBs’ employees Representation on boards proportionate to the blocks held by employees to incentivize employees and align their interests with that of all shareholders of banks. Creation of a GSTN type entity that will aggregate data from all PSBs and use technologies like big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning in credit decisions for ensuring better screening and monitoring of borrowers, especially the large ones. FINANCIAL FRAGILITY IN THE NBFC SECTOR Survey investigates the key drivers of Rollover Risk of the shadow banking system in India in light of the current liquidity crunch in the sector. Key drivers of Rollover Risk: Asset Liability Management (ALM) Risk. Interconnectedness Risk. Financial and Operating Resilience of an NBFC. Over-dependence on short-term wholesale funding. Analysis of a diagnostic (Health Score) by quantifying the Rollover risk provides an early warning signal of impending liquidity problems. The Survey prescribes to efficiently allocate liquidity enhancements across firms (with different Health Scores) in the NBFC sector, thereby arresting financial fragility in a capital-efficient manner. Privatization and Wealth Creation Survey examines the realized efficiency gains from privatization in the Indian context and bolsters the case for aggressive disinvestment of CPSEs.  Strategic disinvestment of Government’s shareholding of 53.29 per cent in HPCL led to an increase of around Rs. 33,000 crore in national wealth. Likewise an analysis of the before-after performance of 11 CPSEs which underwent strategic disinvestment from 1999-2000 to 2003-04 show Privatized CPSEs have been able to generate more wealth from the same resources THALINOMICS: THE ECONOMICS OF A PLATE OF FOOD IN INDIA  An attempt to quantify what a common person pays for a Thali across India. A shift in the dynamics of Thali prices since 2015-16. Absolute prices of a vegetarian Thali have decreased significantly since 2015-16 across India; though the price has increased during 2019-20. Post 2015-16: Average household gained close to Rs. 11, 000 on average per year from the moderation in prices in the case of vegetarian Thali. Average household that consumes two non-vegetarian Thalis gained close to Rs. 12, 000 on average per year during the same period. From 2006-07 to 2019-20: Affordability of vegetarian Thalis improved 29 %.  Affordability of non-vegetarian Thalis improved by 18 %. INDIA’S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN 2019-20 GDP growth pegged at 6-6.5% in fiscal year starting April 1, up from 5% in current fiscal To achieve GDP of $5 trillion by 2024-25, India needs to spend about $1.4 trillion over these years on infrastructure Current Account Deficit (CAD) narrowed to 1.5 % of GDP in H1 of 2019-20 from 2.1 % in 2018-19 India’s BoP position improved from US$ 412.9 bn of forex reserves in end March, 2019 to US$ 461.2 bn as on 10th January, 2020. Net FDI inflows was US$ 24.4 bn in the first eight months and Net FPI in the first eight months of 2019-20 stood at US$ 12.6 bn. External Debt Rremains low at 20.1% of GDP as at end September, 2019. The Gross Non performing Advance Ratio: Remained unchanged for Scheduled Commercial banks at 9.3% between March and September 2019 Increased slightly for the Non-Banking Financial Corporations (NBFCs) from 6.1% in March 2019 to 6.3% in September 2019. Bank Credit growth (YoY) moderated from 12.9% in April 2019 to 7.1% as on December 20, 2019. Total formal employment in the economy increased from 8 % in 2011-12 to 9.98 % in 2017-18. About 76.7 % of the households in the rural and about 96 % in the urban areas had houses of pucca structure (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  When the annual Union Budget is not passed by the Lok Sabha ?  The Budget is modified and presented again The Budget is referred to the Rajya Sabha for suggestions The Union Finance Minister is asked to resign The Prime Minister submits the resignation of Council of Ministers Q 2.  What is the difference between “vote-on-account” and “interim budget” ? The provision of a “vote-on-account’’ is used by a regular Government, while an “interim budget’’ is a provision used by a caretaker Government A “vote-on-account’’ only deals with the expenditure in Government budget, while an “interim budget’’ includes both expenditure and receipts Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 1 only  2 only Both 1 and 2  Neither 1 nor 2 Q 3. Under which one of the following Constitution Amendment Acts, Bodo language was added to the list of languages under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, thereby raising their number to 22?  Constitution (Ninetieth Amendment) Act Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act Constitution (Ninety-second Amendment) Act Constitution (Ninety-third Amendment) Act ANSWERS FOR 01 FEB 2020 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 A 2 C 3 A 4 C MUST READ About Analysis Budget https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/falling-short-of-aspirations/article30722733.ece https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-budgets-blurred-social-sector-vision/article30722735.ece https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/opinion-like-the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-that-did-not-bark-11580748596455.html

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Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 1st February 2020

IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 1st February 2020 Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) 34th Surajkund International Crafts Mela inaugurated Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I- Culture In News The mela is held in Faridabad, Haryana and this year partner country is Uzbekistan and Himachal Pradesh is the theme-state It is being organized since 1987 to showcase the richness and diversity of handicrafts, handlooms and cultural heritage of India. Surajkund (literal meaning is 'Lake of the Sun') is an artificial Kund ('Kund' means "lake" or reservoir) which is said to have been built by the King Surajpal of Tomar dynasty in the 10th century Surajkund is located on Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli range in Faridabad city of Haryana. Economic Survey  Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III- Economy In News The Economic Survey 2019-20 with the theme of ethical wealth creation was tabled in the Parliament by the Union Minister for Finance.(Details in the mains section) About Economic Survey It is an official government’s report on the state of the economy in the past one year, the key challenges it anticipates, and their possible solutions. The document is prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Government is not constitutionally bound to present the Economic Survey or to follow the recommendations that are made in it Beijing Declaration  - 25 years of adoption Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I- Society In News The Beijing Declaration was a resolution adopted by the UN at the end of the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.  The resolution adopted to promulgate a set of principles concerning the equality of men and women. It was a critical turning point in the world’s focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women. Huduma Namba – Kenya’s UID Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I- International Affairs In News New digital identification system (NIIMS) has been launched by Kenyan government whereby each citizen will be assigned a Unique Identification Number (UID) or the “Huduma Namba” (as it is referred to in Swahili) National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) is envisaged as a national population register which will be the single source of information about Kenyan citizens and foreigners resident in the country. Data collected for the purposes of the Huduma Namba includes place of birth, parentage, marital status, education background, employment status and biometrics including fingerprints and a photograph. Kenya has maintained that registering in NIIMS will be necessary to have access to all public services such as healthcare, housing, voting rights, driving license and passport making it difficult and some cases impossible to opt-out of the system Think! India’s Aadhar ecosystem Brexit Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I- International Affairs In News Britain has officially left the European Union (EU) and has become the first country to leave the 28-member bloc. However, nothing will change immediately because of the 11-month transition period (till Dec 31, 2020) negotiated as part of an EU-UK exit deal, 2019 During the transition, the UK will be officially out of the EU and not be represented on EU bodies but would still have the same obligations as an EU member. That includes remaining in the EU customs union and the single market, contributing to the EU’s budget and following EU law. OCI Cardholders Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II- Indian Polity In News Union government has told the Delhi High Court that Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders do not enjoy fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution The category was introduced by the government in 2005.  The Ministry of Home Affairs defines an OCI as a person who: Was a citizen of India on or after 26th January 1950; or Was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26th January 1950; or Is a child or grandchild of such a person, among other eligibility criteria. Also, an applicant is not eligible for the OCI card if he, his parents or grandparents have ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh. OCI cardholders have been merely granted statutory rights under Citizenship Act,1955 The Government of India via Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015 merged the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) category with OCI category in 2015. Benefits to OCI Cardholders OCI cardholders can enter India multiple times, get a multipurpose lifelong visa to visit India, and are exempt from registering with Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO). If an individual is registered as an OCI for a period of five years, he/she is eligible to apply for Indian citizenship. OCI cardholders can open special bank accounts in India, buy the non-farm property and exercise ownership rights and can also apply for a PAN card. Limitations of OCI cardholders OCI cardholders do not get voting rights, cannot hold a government job and purchase agricultural or farmland. They cannot travel to restricted areas without government permission. (MAINS FOCUS) Indian Economy Topic: General Studies 3: Government Budgeting. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. Key Highlights of the Economic Survey 2019-20 – Part I Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 1st February 2020 Pic Source: India Today WEALTH CREATION: THE INVISIBLE HAND SUPPORTED BY THE HAND OF TRUST Exponential rise in India’s GDP and GDP per capita post-liberalisation coincides with wealth generation. Also, the liberalized sectors grew significantly faster than the closed ones. Survey suggests strengthening the invisible hand by promoting pro-business policies to: Provide equal opportunities for new entrants. Enable fair competition and ease doing business. Eliminate policies unnecessarily undermining markets through government intervention. Enable trade for job creation. Efficiently scale up the banking sector. Introducing the idea of trust as a public good, which gets enhanced with greater use. Policies must empower transparency and effective enforcement using data and technology. ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND WEALTH CREATION AT THE GRASSROOTS India ranks third in number of new firms created, as per the World Bank. About 1.24 lakh new firms created in 2018, an increase of about 80 % from about 70,000 in 2014. A 10% increase in registration of new firms in a district yields a 1.8 % increase in Gross Domestic District Product (GDDP). Entrepreneurship at district level has a significant impact on wealth creation at the grassroots. Literacy and education in a district foster local entrepreneurship significantly:  New firm formation is the lowest in eastern India with lowest literacy rate (59.6 % as per 2011 Census). PRO-BUSINESS VERSUS PRO-MARKETS India’s aspiration to become a $5 trillion economy depends critically on promoting “pro-business” policy and weaning away from “pro-crony” policy, that may favour specific private interests, especially powerful incumbents. Viewed from the lens of the Stock market, creative destruction increased significantly post-liberalisation: Before liberalisation, a Sensex firm expected to stay in it for 60 years, which decreased to only 12 years after liberalisation. Post Liberalisation, every five years, one-third of Sensex firms are churned out, reflecting the continuous influx of new firms, products and technologies into the economy. Pro-crony policies such as discretionary allocation of natural resources till 2011 led to rent-seeking by beneficiaries while competitive allocation of the same post 2014 ended such rent extraction. Crony lending that led to wilful default, wherein promoters collectively siphoned off wealth from banks, led to losses that dwarf subsidies for rural development. UNDERMINING MARKETS: WHEN GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION HURTS MORE THAN IT HELPS Four examples of anachronistic government interventions: Essential Commodities Act (ECA), 1955 distorts The incentives for the creation of storage infrastructure by the private sector. Movement up the agricultural value chain. Development of national market for agricultural commodities. With raids having abysmally low conviction rate and no impact on prices, the ECA only seems to enable rent-seeking and harassment. Drug Price Control under ECA: The regulation of prices of drugs, through the DPCO 2013, led to increase in the price of the regulated pharmaceutical drug vis-à-vis that of an unregulated but similar drug. Solution: Government, being a huge buyer of drugs, can intervene more effectively to provide affordable drugs by combining all its purchases and exercising its bargaining power. Government intervention in Grain markets: Policies in the food-grain markets led to: Emergence of Government as the largest procurer and hoarder of rice and wheat. Crowding out of private trade. Burgeoning food subsidy burden Inefficiencies in the markets, affecting the long run growth of agricultural sector. The food-grains policy needs to be dynamic and allow switching from physical handling and distribution of food-grains to cash transfers/food coupons/smart cards Debt waivers: Analysis of debt waivers given by States/Centre: Full waiver beneficiaries consume less, save less, invest less and are less productive after the waiver, compared to the partial beneficiaries. Debt waivers disrupt the credit culture. They reduce formal credit flow to the very same farmers, thereby defeating the purpose. Creating Jobs and Growth by Specializing in Network Products Survey says India has unprecedented opportunity to chart a China-like, labour-intensive, export trajectory. By integrating “Assemble in India for the world” into Make in India, India can: Raise its export market share to about 3.5 % by 2025 and 6 % by 2030 Create 4 crore well-paid jobs by 2025 and 8 crore by 2030. Survey suggests a strategy similar to one used by China to grab this opportunity: Specialization at large scale in labour-intensive sectors, especially network products. Laser-like focus on enabling assembling operations at mammoth scale in network products. Export primarily to markets in rich countries. Trade policy must be an enabler (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 about Economic Survey It is an official government’s report on the state of the economy in the past one year, the key challenges it anticipates, and their possible solutions Government is constitutionally bound to present the Economic Survey before tabling the Union Budget Which of the above statement(s) given above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.2) Beijing Declaration often seen in news is related to which of the following field? Environment Conservation  Security in South China Sea Gender Equality and Women Empowerment None of the above Q.3) Consider the following statements about Surajkund International Crafts Mela It is being organized since 1987 to showcase the richness and diversity of handicrafts, handlooms and cultural heritage of India. It is being held in Himachal Pradesh in 2020 with partner Country as Maldives Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.4) Consider the following statements about Huduma Namba It is a Unique Identity Number provided to each citizen in Kenya It resembles the Aadhar system of India with regard to Centralised databases, use for availing public service and collection of biometric data Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 ANSWERS FOR 31 JAN 2020 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 A 2 C 3 D MUST READ About Coastal Zone Regulations and Environment Sustainability: The Hindu About Agriculture : The Hindu About Corona virus impact on China: The Hindu

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Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 31st January 2020

IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 31st January 2020 Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) EXERCISE SAMPRITI Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III- Security In News It is a joint military exercise between India and Bangladesh which is hosted alternately by both countries. The ninth edition will be conducted at UMROI, Meghalaya, India from 03 Feb to 16 Feb 2020 Martyr’s Day Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I- Society, Modern History In News It is observed on 30th January every year in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi and his contributions to the nation. He was assassinated by Nathuram Godse in the Birla House during his evening prayers on 31st Jan 1948 23rd March is also observed as Martyr's Day to pay tribute to three revolutionaries of India namely Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar. Basant Panchami Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I- Society In News Basant Panchami or Vasant Panchami celebrated on 30th Jan marks the beginning of the spring season - Basant means spring and Panchami means "the fifth day" The day is also celebrated as Saraswati Puja It is more popular in Bengal, Odisha and North Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh. Beating Retreat Ceremony Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I- Culture In News It officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day. It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, and pipe bands from the Army, and from 2016 a massed formation of bands of the Central Armed Police Forces and the Delhi Police The chief guest of the function is the President of India. E-flows in River Ganga: 4 hydropower projects in upper Ganga violating e-flows Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III- Environment Conservation In News According to the Central Water Commission(CWC), the hydropower projects violating Ganga ecological flow (e-flow) norms. Vishnuprayag Hydroelectric project – Alaknanda Srinagar Hydroelectric project – Alaknanda Maneri Bhali Phase 2 – Bhagirathi Pashulok - Ganga Mainstream Centre’s ecological flow notification (under Environment Protection Act of 1986) mandates that project developers ensure a minimum supply of water all through the year CWC is the designated authority responsible for the supervision, monitoring, regulation of flows in the rivers About Central Water Commission Central Water Commission is a premier technical organization of India in the field of Water Resources, formed via notification in 1975 It is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Jal Shakti Country’s First Fruit Train Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III- Infrastructure In News This is the first time in India where ‘fruit train’ i.e. an entire train is being sent to the gateway port (JNPT) for export. From: Tadipatri Railway Station in Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh To: Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, from where the consignment will be exported to Iran. Cargo: 980 metric tonnes of locally (AP) grown bananas under the brand name “Happy Bananas” The train helps save both time and fuel as 150 trucks would have been required to send a consignment of this size by road to JNPT, which is over 900 km away (MAINS FOCUS) International Affairs Topic: General Studies 2 India and its neighbourhood- relations India-Australia Relationship India-Australia relationship has been traditionally characterised as one of the perpetually unfulfilled promises Historically, India-Australia relations suffered from at least four deep structural impediments. They are: The logic of the Cold War After the end of Cold war, Australia aligned with USA & sided with Pakistan whereas India adopted Non-alignment policy (at times tilting towards USSR). This prevented the growth of India-Australia bilateral relationship Progression in recent times With the end of Cold war in 1991 (disintegration of USSR) and simultaneous opening of the Indian economy, the logic of cold war has vanished India’s adoption of a free-market economic model and India’s growing closeness with the USA has enabled both India & Australia to come out of cold war closet and nurture their relationship India’s nuclear status outside the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This resulted in Australia taking a particularly strong stance against India’s 1998 nuclear tests, which came soon after French nuclear tests in the South Pacific. Progression in recent times However, the 2008 waiver granted to India by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the subsequent lifting by Australia of its uranium ban against NPT non-signatories, and a bilateral civil nuclear agreement between India & Australia in 2014-2015 largely addressed the matter. Absence of people-to-people content - “ The backdrop to this was the “White Australia” policy, which discouraged immigration from Asia Progression in recent times In recent years, however, Indian immigrants have been among the largest contributors to Australia’s population growth. In addition to the massive influx of Indian students, Indian tourists are also visiting Australia in larger numbers. Lack of economic content – It is here that both Nations are yet to exploit the full potential The trade between the two countries has been at a modest $31 billion, largely composed of resources like coal and other minerals. Negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement, which began in 2011, have not moved forward significantly. Weak Spots in Trade relationship The weakest link in India’s exports to Australia is in merchandise. India needs to look at three broad areas First, despite globalisation, markets are country-specific and culturally sensitive. Therefore, Indian companies need to research on Australian consumer expectations and lifestyles before entering the Australian market Second, Australia is a brand-conscious market while India has not created a single consumer brand of international acceptance. Third, innovation is emerging as the single-most-important factor for sustained success in every sphere. Innovation in Cricket like 20/20 format has kept the game alive and popular. Global trade cannot be different. Brighter Prospects in Future with regard to Trade India-Australia trade has been steadily evolving into a new architecture underpinned by developments in digital technology. There has been a noticeable shift in the trade basket from resources to services. Young Australians, like young Indians, carry the compelling vision of 21st-century globalisation, multiculturism and quality education. As a result, the young can see issues like immigration and outsourcing with far more equanimity than the older generation. India Economic Strategy 2035 Report prepared by Peter Varghese, a diplomat and former Australian High Commissioner to India. It observes that no single market over the next 20 years will offer more growth opportunities for Australia than India. Conclusion In recent times there has been a Strategic Convergence between India & Australia due to China’s assertiveness and economic profile, shared concerns about Southeast Asian cohesion, and anxieties about US’s strategic commitment to the Indo-Pacific. This strategic common interest should be expanded to increase the economic interlinkage between the two countries. (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in the 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 about Central Water Commission It is a premier technical organization of India in the field of Water Resources, formed via notification in 1975 It is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Home Affairs Which of the above statement(s) given above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.2) Exercise Sampriti is a bilateral military exercise between India and which other country? Sri Lanka Nepal Bangladesh None of the above Q.3) Consider the following statements about Beating Retreat Ceremony It officially denotes the beginning of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of 23 January, the third day before Republic Day. Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 ANSWERS FOR 30 JAN 2020 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 A 2 B 3 A 4 C 5 C   MUST-READ About restrictions on free speech: The Hindu About rural poor & consumer expenditure survey: The Hindu About Corona Virus: The Hindu

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Scope and Status of Inland Waterways and Tourism - All India Radio (AIR) IAS UPSC

Scope and Status of Inland Waterways and Tourism ARCHIVES Search 13th Jan, 2020 Spotlight here: http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx    TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation In India Inland waterways have been accorded a central role in maritime development in India. The National Waterways Act 2016, has declared 111 rivers or river stretches, creeks, estuaries in India as National Waterways. Navigation in rivers, lakes and other water bodies by smaller vessels connecting places not far from each other has been around for centuries, and been the mainstay of our inland waterways. In a few cases, especially near ports and coastal areas, this has also evolved to large-scale, commercial shipping. A Good Alternative Development of transport system using the connections between inland waterways is an alternative to automotive communication.  Introducing new types of inland and coastal ships that are technically advanced, environmentally friendly – to decrease the level of harmful emissions and amount of waste, which apart from the economy values also has significant ecological virtues.  Moreover, moving car transport onto waterway routes shall relieve the burden on land roads in international scale, increasing their flow capacity and driving safety and decreasing the level of atmospheric contamination and noise in areas directly adjacent to them. The National Waterways Act  Intends to create such large-scale, commercial shipping and navigation systems in all these 111 waterways. Expected to realise the potential of cargo and passenger traffic, including tourism and cruise, offer seamless connectivity at lower per-unit cost and make transportation more efficient. The project, in its entire implementation and operation phase, would generate a series of forward and backward linkages with prospects to penetrate deep into the economy. The multiplier effect of the investment and its linkages can result in a virtuous cycle of all-round growth.  Vast network: The National Waterways Act mandates the Central Government to regulate these waterways for systematic and orderly development of shipping and navigation activities. Spread across the Eastern, Western, Southern and Central regions of the country, these waterways cover nearly 15000 kilometres across 24 states and two union territories. They include the country’s 138 river systems, creeks, estuaries and related canal systems, and can be utilised as a channel to move passengers and cargo within the country and to the neighbouring countries. Working on Linkages: The waterways are also proposed to be linked to the eastern and western Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), as well as the Sagarmala Project, which aims to promote port-led direct and indirect development. The linkages are being planned in a manner such that commodities and cargo can be swapped/shifted from and to the waterways, the DFCs and road transport. The inland waterway in its full scope is conceived as part of an ambition to link several big infrastructure projects. Increased Investment: Inland waterway network has no continuous connectivity. It requires a multimodal network comprising water bodies and roadways, including culverts, bridges etc, to be developed. This involves investment in a large number of activities to be carried out for infrastructure development. Moreover, the Integrated National Waterways Transportation Grid plans to link many of the national waterways to each other and also to roads, railways and major ports. The capital cost of the Grid is estimated at Rs. 22,763 crores with phase-I (2015-18) estimated at INR 2,631 crore and phase- II (2018-23) at INR 20,132 crore. In addition, setting up of a large number of ports/terminals, riverside jetties, godowns, boat building workshops, repairing yards and ancillary industries, will spur investment opportunities. Advantages A fundamental alteration in the logistics scenario of the country: It represents a ready built infrastructure network, which can be utilised without any further capital investment.  The network requires no green field investment, but only capex for improvement/upgradation. Waterways can decongest roads, including highways by moving cargo away.  Waterways do not involve challenges associated with land acquisition, which has always been a sensitive issue, causing time and cost overruns of numerous projects.  The significant investment which India needs to build its roads/highways infrastructure network can be conserved through increased utilisation of the waterways. User charges can be levied to meet the expenses on maintenance of the waterways. Waterways are a cheaper mode of transportation vis-à-vis the available alternatives, significantly reducing the point-to-point cost of goods transportation.  “Inland water transport is recognised as fuel efficient, cost effective and environment-friendly mode of transport, especially for bulk goods, hazardous goods and over dimensional cargos. It also reduces time, cost of transportation of goods and cargos, as well as congestion and accidents on highways. They are expected to also “help create seamless interconnectivity connecting hinterlands along navigable river coasts and coastal routes” and “are likely to play a crucial role in connecting the north-eastern states to the mainland.” Implementation Challenges Implementation of the national waterways network is, however, fraught with challenges.  The channel draft of the national waterways is not uniform at 2 meters throughout the year, as is required. Some of these rivers are seasonal and do not offer navigability through the year. Around 20 out of the 111 identified national waterways have reportedly been found unviable.  Further, all the identified waterways require intensive capital and maintenance dredging, which could be resisted by the local community on environmental grounds, including displacement fears, thereby posing implementation challenges. Water also has important competing uses, viz. need for living as well as for irrigation, power generation etc. It would not be possible for local government/others to overlook these needs. The exclusive jurisdiction of the Central Government is only in regard to shipping and navigation on inland waterways declared to be ‘national waterways’ by an act of Parliament. Utilisation/sailing of vessels, in other waterways, is within the ambit of the concurrent list or is in the jurisdiction of the respective state governments. As every riverine system is unique and presents diverse challenges, separate studies based on a detailed micro-level review to assess viability need to be done for each, before taking up implementation. An effective waterways network would necessitate drawing up a well-coordinated strategy on lines of complementarity between the national network and other waterways, not declared as such, as well as between waterways and roadways/railways. The said strategy should closely look into the various undercurrents, including competing uses/needs, possible local resistance and also work closely and in coordination with local governments for quick and successful implementation of this important national project. Inland Waterways Authority of India IWAI is the statutory body in charge of the waterways in India. Its headquarters is located in Noida, UP. Its main function is to build the necessary infrastructure in the inland waterways, surveying the economic feasibility of new projects and also carrying out administration and regulation. It undertakes projects for development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grant received from Ministry of Shipping. Kalasa Banduri project The project involves diverting water from Mahadayi river, the lifeline of Goa, into the Malaprabha river. The Kalasa Banduri project is aimed at providing drinking water to three important districts of north Karnataka — Belagavi, Gadag and Dharwad — which go parched in summer due to acute water scarcity. Mahadayi river originates from a cluster of 30 springs at Bhimgad in the Western Ghats in the Belgaum district of Karnataka. Then it enters Goa and finally drains in Arabian sea. Goa state capital Panaji lies on the banks of Mandovi Mahadayi Water Tribunal (MWT) Award in 2018:Karnataka has been allocated 13.5tmcft of water, Goa has been 24tmcft while Maharashtra has been allocated 1.3tmcft Connecting the Dots: Examine the potential of inland water transportation in India.   Do you think national waterways in India must get greater policy attention? Critically examine. Waterways has been the most neglected mode for inland transportation in India. Examine. Discuss the challenges associated with waterways in India. How can their potential be tapped? What are the essential geographic conditions for a waterway? Do Indian rivers fulfill these conditions? Examine.

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Regulating Artificial Intelligence – The Big Picture - RSTV IAS UPSC

Regulating Artificial Intelligence Archives TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. In News: One of the most powerful men in IT, Sundar Pichai, has backed regulations for artificial intelligence. While Pichai isn’t the first big tech executive to say so publicly, his voice matters, given that Google is arguably the world’s largest AI Company. Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk has been vocal about the need for regulating AI several times in the past. Musk even said that “by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, it’s too late". Microsoft president Brad Smith is another prominent person in tech who has called for regulation of AI.  Pichai, in an editorial, advocated for AI to be regulated keeping in mind both the harm and societal benefits that the technology can be used for. He also said that governments must be aligned on regulations around AI for “making global standards work".  While India has been vocal about the use of AI in various sectors, it is far from regulating it. A 2018 NITI Aayog paper proposed five areas where AI can be useful. In that paper, the think tank also noted the lack of regulation around AI as a major weakness for India.  Despite all the established entry modes into the global market, AI is yet to have a guidepost, be regulated or even be legally understood. Let’s take the example of Sophia: awarded citizenship under the laws governing citizens of Saudi Arabia, will she be permitted to drive from June 2018? Will she be allowed to purchase property? If she commits a crime, equal to the statement she said apparently by error i e, she wanted to destroy humankind, what punishment would be awarded? AI is wholly based on data generated and gathered from various sources. Hence, a biased data set could evidently lead to a biased decision by the system or an incorrect response by a chatbot. The point being, AI is growing mutli-fold and we still do not know all the advantages or pitfalls associated with it which is why it is of utmost importance to have a two-layered protection model: one, technological regulators; and two, laws to control AI actions as well as for accountability of errors. Accountability for Errors Let’s take the example of AI in the form of personalised chatbots. Chatbots are chat-based interfaces which pop up on websites with which customers can interact. These chatbots can either follow a scripted text or through machine learning (ML) and increased interaction deviate from the standard questions to provide a more human-like interaction. In the course of communicating with the chatbot, if a person were to divulge sensitive personal information for any reason whatsoever, what happens to this data? So in the case of an ML chatbot which does not work as per a scripted text and has collected sensitive personal information, who is responsible if Rule 5(3) is breached? The most obvious answer would be the business unit/company because the rules in the 2011 Rules state that “The body corporate or any person who on behalf of the body corporate…” collects information. However, could the business possibly avoid liability by claiming that it was not aware that the chatbot, due to its AI ability of machine learning, had collected sensitive and personal information? We do not have any clear provisions for advanced chatbots which do not work on a scripted text. With the lack of a clear provision in the law, accountability may take a hit. Additionally, what happens if an AI robot is given citizenship in India? Who is responsible for their actions? Or in case of autonomous car accidents, who is responsible for damage to property or harm caused or death of a person? Reflects existing social biases and prejudice Much recent research shows that applications based on machine-learning reflect existing social biases and prejudice. Such bias can occur if the data-set the algorithm is trained on is unrepresentative of the reality it seeks to represent. Bias can also occur if the data set itself reflects existing discriminatory or exclusionary practices. The impact of such data bias can be seriously damaging in India, particularly at a time of growing social fragmentation. It can contribute to the entrenchment of social bias and discriminatory practices, while rendering both invisible and pervasive the processes through which discrimination occurs. Even if estimates of AI contribution to GDP are correct, the adoption of these technologies is likely to be in niches within the organised sector.  These industries are likely to be capital rather than labor intensive, and thus unlikely to contribute to large scale job creation. Will replace low to medium skilled jobs At the same time, AI applications can most readily replace low to medium skilled jobs within the organised sector. This is already being witnessed in the BPO sector – where basic call and chat tasks are now automated. Re-skilling will be important, but it is unlikely that those who lose their jobs will also be those who are being re-skilled – the long arch of technological change and societal adaptation is longer than that of people’s lives. The Way Forward With all the positive impact AI has to offer, it is of utmost importance for the Government of India to establish sound data policies to ensure that the benefits can be materialized by society. Achieving meaningful results will depend on India’s ability to create an environment that fosters the development of AI and builds trust and confidence in the technology. AI systems are only as strong as the quantity and quality of the data that is available to them for training; if data cannot be accessed and shared, then AI will suffer. This means that the government has a critical role to play in the future of India’s AI landscape. Our laws need to be amended or new laws for AI technologies and processes will need to be adopted to fill up existing lacunae in the growing AI space. There is a need to form the basic guidelines which should be met on a national level for any AI activity – indigenous, foreign or even modifications to an open source AI. The guidelines would serve as the foundation for any amendments in the laws or brand new AI laws. In addition to developing AI applications and creating a skilled workforce the government needs to prioritize research that examines the complex social, ethical and governance challenges associated with the spread of AI-driven technologies. Blind technological optimism might entrench rather than alleviate the grand Indian challenge of inequity and growth. In fact the element of end-to-end ‘human involvement’ has been insisted upon by most AI advanced countries such as Canada, in order to ensure accountability and security of AI systems. Connecting the Dots: Analyse the need and challenges in regulating Artificial Intelligence in India.

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