Women Role in society:

Climate: How are women more vulnerable to climate change?

Impoverished women gather fuel, water and food, and hence, often suffer the most when
shortages are caused or made worse by the climate crisis.
No land rights: They don’t usually have land rights, so they are also more likely to
be displaced in climate disasters. UN report stated that nearly 80% of people displaced by
climate change are women.
Gender-based violence: The climate crisis exacerbates gender-based violence against
women. Climate change increases women and girls’ risk for marital violence, sexual
exploitation and early and forced marriage.
They lack representation in influencing decision-making at regional and global level.

What are the events voicing women participation at UNFCCC?

CoP-7 in 2001 stressed on the need for women’s equal participation and representation in
bodies established under the UNFCCC or Kyoto Protocol. It was reiterated in CoP16 in 2010.
At CoP-20 in 2014, parties were formally invited to enhance participation of women in the
Convention process. They established the first Lima Work Programme on Gender (LWPG).
The first gender action plan (GAP) under the UNFCCC was established at CoP23.
At CoP25, parties agreed for a five-year enhanced ‘LWPG’ and ‘GAP’.

What is the progress seen in women representation?

A marginal increase: According to UNFCC, since 2013, female representation
has increased in eight bodies, most significantly the adaptation committee.
IUCN 2015 data showed that only 12% of national environmental ministries were led by
women. In 2020, the figure was 15%.

What is the status of child marriages in India?

NFHS 4 data shows that one in four girls in India was being married before 18. The first
phase findings of NFHS5 (2019-20) also show a similar result. Even according to other
reports, more child marriages happened during the Covid pandemic.

What are the reasons behind the prevalence of child marriage?

1) Domestic work and care performed by women, 2) A belief that girls need to marry early
for their safety and protection, 3) Apprehensions about the risk to family honour or
economic burden.
Read here: Major reasons for prevalence of child marriage in India

What are the negatives of child marriages?

1) Violates girl human rights, 2) Lack of opportunities for women in society, 3) Impacts their
overall personality from education to health, 4) Exposed to domestic abuse, 5) Women will
have less decision-making powers.
There are several other outcomes that will also occur. Such as teenage pregnancy,
population growth, child stunting, poor learning outcomes for children and the loss of
women’s participation in the workforce etc.

What are the government initiatives to stop child marriages?

-Karnataka amended the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in 2017 declaring every child
marriage void, making it a cognizable offense and providing harsh punishment for those
involved in child marriages.

Read here: Incentives and Schemes provided by the Government of India to end child marriage

What are the hurdles in stopping child marriages?

1) Patriarchal mindset 2) One size fits all approach: Although the government introduced
various schemes like Conditional Cash Transfers, all failed to show the desired result.

What is the way forward?

Introduce various reforms: Like the expansion of secondary education, access to safe and
affordable public transport, and support for young women to apply their education to earn
a livelihood.
Education: Teachers should hold regular gender equality conversations with high school
girls and boys to shape progressive attitudes that will sustain them into adulthood.
Community engagement: through programmes like Mahila Samakhya.
Involvement of various stakeholders: Bureaucrats across multiple departments, teachers,
Anganwadi supervisors, panchayat and others interacting with rural communities, should be
notified as child marriage prohibition officers.
Decentralized approach: Decentralising birth and marriage registration to gram
panchayats will protect women and girls with essential age and marriage documents, thus
better enabling them to claim their rights.
New threats to environment:
Giant data centres:
As the world gets increasingly digitised, data centres and server farms are proliferating, that
consume energy and generate heat.
Millions of litres of water are often required to keep them cool, particularly if the data
centres are not set up in extremely cold regions.
Many regions where big data centres are located are already water stressed and their
problems could get worse.
The carbon footprint of solar:
The sharp fall in prices of solar panels has played a role in the popularity of solar power.
But, most of the world’s cheap solar panels come from China where companies have largely
depended on thermal power for manufacturing solar panels.
Producing solar panels using cleaner energy sources also increases their costs, thus creating
a dilemma for policy makers.
The recycling problem:
The recycling issue of discarded solar panels, wind turbines and an increasing mountain of
electronic waste is a major issue.
The average lifespan of a solar panel is 25 years, but their efficiency starts declining much
earlier. Quite often they are replaced after a decade and a half. This was not a problem a
decade ago when solar panels were not being installed at such a rapid pace. Over the next
decade, it will become a major headache for all countries that have installed large solar
power farms.
Earlier, rich countries would send their e-wastes to poorer countries but now increasingly
the latter are declining to become dump yards for e-waste

How to improve transportation in india which satisfy modern climate challenges?

What is the way forward?

First, Indian policy needs redesigning of street parking so that the most crowded places
charge the highest parking fees. A rising trend in cities is for new shopping areas, buildings,
etc, to have ‘minimum parking requirements.
Second, we need street parking management with more effective and up-to-date
enforcement and pricing practices
Third, public transport must combine accessibility to stops/stations, connectivity, frequency,
span of coverage, speed, civility, fairness, simplicity, reliability and presentation.
Fourth, the integration of cycling pathways with public transit systems. It requires gentle
track- bends and cyclist-friendly junctions, could attract car owners to use bicycles instead.
Fifth, there is need to redesign the timing, frequency and connectivity of bus and train
services, etc, so as to synchronize the same with various other services such as Metro and
monorail networks that are run by metropolitan and state governments.
Sixth, Implement transport-sector investments that favor environmental sustainability:
for example, Delhi Metro, earned carbon credits from the United Nations under its Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM).
Expanded Metro networks by 2030 can go some distance towards attaining the sustainable
development of safe, affordable and accessible transport systems for all, with improved road
safety as an additional benefit.

Indian economy is gaining steam, but informal sector is losing out.

What are the matters of concern?

Poor availability of Informal Jobs: MGNREGA Demand in the April-September 2021
period was higher than the pre-Covid 2019. This reflects the poor availability of informal
jobs in the market. This may translate to poor purchasing power in rural India and might
impact the economic recovery.
Increase in Personal Loans: During the second quarter of the current financial year,
outstanding personal loans overtook industrial credit for the first time. Personal loans now
makeup about 27% of the total credit, propelled mainly by home loans.
Fund crunch for MSMEs: MSMEs contribute about 45% of manufacturing output. The
decrease in industrial credit shows the inability of MSMEs to get institutional credit.
Thus, there is a need for targeted support to ensure that the current growth momentum is
maintained.

Nation Water policy

recently, the draft National Water Policy has been submitted by the Mihir Shah
committee.

What are the reasons behind the water crisis in India?

Lack of sustainable urban planning: Many cities in India are developing by encroaching
flood plains and reducing green cover. This will reduce the water retention capacity of the
city. This is reflected exactly in Chennai. The city face floods during rainfall and droughts
during the shortage of rainfall.
Continuous extraction of groundwater: In the rural areas, 80%-90% of the drinking water
and 75% of the water used for agriculture is drawn from groundwater sources. In urban
areas, 50%-60% of the water supply is drawn from groundwater sources.
A case of Punjab: The success of the green revolution and continuous cultivation of water-
intensive crops in Punjab has turned the water into saline. The draft report of the Central
Ground Water Board concluded that Punjab would be reduced to a desert in 25 years if the
extraction of its groundwater resources continues unabated

Ever-increasing demand: The composite water management index of NITI Aayog, points
out that by 2030, the demand for water is projected to be twice the available supply. The
introduction of Jal Jeevan Mission will play a significant role in this.

What can be done to address water crisis?

Integrate the ongoing work of different Ministries and Departments: This will enhance
coordination and protect water bodies, groundwater sources, wetlands and green cover. It
will also enhance wastewater recycling and water recharge activities.
Note: In 2019, Ministries of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation were merged as the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Replenish groundwater: The government has to create a participatory groundwater

management approach with a combination of water budgeting, aquifer recharging and
community involvement.
Water governance and management plans with expert opinions: Increase interactions
from the expertise of fields such as hydrology (watershed sustainability), hydrogeology
(aquifer mapping and recharge) and agriculture sciences (water-sensitive crop choices and
soil health).
In conclusion, India needs to encourage conserving water resources and efficient usage of
water.

How government can improve its financial reporting and plug leakages
of expenditure?
Structural limitations of the polity in India has led to a phrase that the government is
spending a rupee to provide 50 paise of benefits.
States need to invent their own development models to escape the Financial
mismanagement and the structural issues in budgeting and resource allocations.

What are the issues associated with State Funding?

The government in India provides public services at subsidized prices and at times is even
willing to take losses. But Financial mismanagement in public services rise due to, 1) Policy
differences between the centre and the states. 2) Differences between parties and coalitions.
3) Structural issues in the budget.

What are the structural issues in the Budget?

Accounts preparation: The Financial Accounts (FA) are presented to the legislature after 18
to 24 months of budget approval along with the Revised Estimates (RE) for the current year.
This means that less attention is paid to the outcomes of the previous budget as the focus is
more on the current budget.
Cash accounting: Governments sticks to outdated cash accounting as opposed to
accrual(Accumulation) accounting. This leads to 1. A spending rush at the end of the year, 2.
Funds marked as spent might be held in some off-balance account and hidden from the
government’s finance department.

How did the Tamil Nadu government addressed the structural issues?
TN government adopted a set of 5 reforms, these include – (1) Collect and analysing data to
develop a deeper understanding, (2) Data-centric governance, (3) public asset and risk
management, (4) disseminating results into the public domain and generate a public
debate, and (5) strengthening the role of the legislature and course correct with public
feedback.

What is the outcome of TN government initiatives?

First, Approx Rs 2,000 crore of funds have been verified as “lapsed” and will be returned to
the state treasury.
Second, procedures are being established to ensure that moving/parking of funds cannot
happen outside the finance department’s oversight.
Third, Many discrepancies like ghost pension etc. have been identified which will translate
to savings for the government.
All these steps, if executed diligently by the Centre and State governments, can overcome
the issues of financial mismanagement and provide enough fiscal space to the government
to meet its desired outcomes.

challenges in the way of fiscal consolidation?

fiscal consolidation, which includes rationalizing the government expenditure, attracts
foreign borrowers. However, it will not be an easy task due to following factors. 1)
Increasing food and fertilizer subsidies on social sector schemes like PM Garib Kalyan Anna
Yojana. 2) The bar on Government’s expenditures on salary and office expenses has been
lifted. 3) States and centers will have to cut their capital expenditures, which may halt the
boost to the economy.

Why do we need a climate law?

Inadequacy in present laws: Our existing laws like Environment (Protection) Act (EPA), are
not adequate to deal with climate change. For example, Clause 24 of EPA says that if an
offence is committed under the EPA or any other law, the person will be punished under the
other law (for example, Code of Criminal Procedure). It means the EPA is subordinate to
every other law.
To ensure comprehensive climate action: There is a need to integrate climate action —
adaptation and mitigation — and monitor progress. Comprehensive climate action is not
just technological i.e. changing energy sources or carbon intensity, but also nature-based
i.e. restoration of ecosystems, reducing natural hazards, and increasing carbon sinks.
To avoid inequality: Climate actions need to ensure that our stated renewable energy
goals like 500 Gigawatts by 2030 goal do not increase inequality or poverty.
Ensuring compliance: environmental interventions are not followed properly at present.
For example, NGT order to NTPC to cover coal wagons with tarpaulin on railways is not
followed. It not only increases emission from coal, but also results in presence of respirable
coal dust in the air.
What steps can be taken?
Setting up a ‘Commission on Climate Change’ that monitors action plans for climate
change with the power and the authority to issue directions. The Commission could have
quasi-judicial powers with powers of a civil court to ensure that its directions are followed in
letter and spirit. It will ensure compliance with the environmental guidelines.
A legally enforceable National Climate Change Plan to ensure liability and accountability
at short-, medium- and long-term levels.

Why India doesn’t/shouldn’t need to depend on coal for its future energy
requirements?
Alternative forms of energy: Normally the argument in favor of coal is on account of
its cost, reliability, and domestic availability. But a deeper analysis reveals the truth.
– Cost: The recent data shows that the levelised cost of electricity from renewable energy
sources like the solar (photovoltaic), hydro and onshore wind has been declining
sharply over the last decade. It is already less than fossil fuel-based electricity generation.
– Reliability: With technological progress, the reliability issues are being addressed by the
frontier renewable tech.
– Domestic availability: As for the easy domestic availability of coal, it is a myth. According
to the Ministry of Coal, India’s net coal import went up from ₹782.6 billion in 2011-12 to
₹1,155.0 billion in 2020-21. India is among the largest importers of coal in the world.
The abundance of renewable natural resources in the tropical climate can give India a
head start in this competitive world of technology.
South-South collaboration: This type of collaboration can help India avoid the usual
patterns of trade between the North and the South, where the former controls technology
and the latter merely provides inputs.
Benefits of a greener development path: The high-employment trajectory that the green
path entails vis-à-vis the fossil fuel sector may help address the issue of surplus labor, even
if partially. Such a path could provide decentralised access to clean energy to the poor and
the marginalised, including in remote regions of India. So, it simultaneously addresses the
issues of employment, technology, energy poverty, and self-reliance.
Arguing for burning more coal will make the situation worse for developing countries
like India. Due to its tropical climate and high population density along the coastal lines,
India remains vulnerable to climate change. Hence, burning more coal is not the solution.
Moral high ground: If the global south including India takes an independent and greener
approach to development, then it affords it a moral high ground. This will allow developing
countries to push for a more inclusive carbon budget framework, like South Africa at
Glasgow. It’ll force the global north to come to the table for negotiations on climate
finance.

Must Read: Coal crisis in India – Explained, pointwise

What is the way forward?

Current climate dialogue is stuck in a perennial deadlock. The global North justifies
operating coal mines since the South continues to emit more, while the global South
negotiates for a higher share in carbon budget based on the past emissions of the North.
The wrongs of the global injustice are captured rightfully by the carbon budget framework,
but the need of the hour is a global progressive agenda that abstains from the dangerous
model of competitive emissions.
Why the allegations against bureaucracy are misplaced?
Bloated bureaucracy: According to ILO (International Labour Organization) estimates, the
percentage of public sector officials in the total workforce is much higher in other countries
compared to only 3.8% in India. It is about 18-20% of the total workforce in France and the
UK, 12-13% in Germany and the US, and 28% in China. Further, out of the total number of
public sector officials, only 2.8% belong to group A, who would take up senior-level,
managerial, and leadership tasks.
Self-serving or autonomous: In reality, bureaucracy is subservient to the political
executive. It is its duty to implement and respond to the policies, programs, and orders of
central and state governments.
Inefficient bureaucracy: There are more than one reasons for that, i.e. outdated rules and
regulations, political interference in postings, transfers, corrupt recruitment systems, etc.
However, overburdening of bureaucracy is the most important reason. The number of public
officials per 10,000 people in India is very low. For example, it is 85 government officials for
10,000 people in India, compared to 625 full-time equivalent in New York State.
Inefficient and corrupt: Political patronage is a reality in bureaucracy. Ministers and MLAs
in state governments have a say in postings and transfers of civil servants. Entrepreneurial
bureaucrats accept the system and establish the system of political patronage. In many
states, a spoils system is being established where the MLAs and ministers get bureaucrats
of their choice. It gives rise to both inefficiencies and corruption.

Issues of Mental Health in India:

India celebrates 10th October as World Mental Health Day. Despite such campaigns,
mental health remains under-invested and underappreciated in India.
What is the status of mental health issues in India?
The proportion of mental disorders to the total disease burden in India has doubled since
1990. Lancet 2020 study shows that over 197 million Indians suffered from mental
disorders in 2017 ( 15% of India’s population).
UNICEF survey has found that only 41% of people between 15 and 24 years of age in India
sought help for mental health issues (compared with 83% in the world).

Read more: Seeking a paradigm shift in mental health care

What is the impact of the Mental Health issue?

World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that unaddressed mental health issues could
cost India $1 trillion between 2012 and 2030.
What steps have been taken by the Indian government?
The Mental Healthcare Act was passed in 1982. It was further improved with Mental Health
Act, 2017. Act mandated each state to set up its own mental health authority by 2019.

Read here: How can India address its mental healthcare problem?

What are the issues in the Indian system?

According to the WHO’s Mental Health Atlas for India, there were only 0.07 psychologists
and 0.29 psychiatrists per 1 lakh people in 2017.
Psychologist needs a license which requires a 2 year MPhil degree from select institutions
picked by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). Though national education policy
abolished the need for this degree, RCI still insists on it.
What are the governance issues?
India specifies mental illness on WHO’s criteria. But neither RCI nor the health ministry has
any clarity or consistency on this in their textbooks. Also, RCI is part of the Ministry of
Social Justice and empowerment while mental health is under the health ministry.
Quota system: RCI, run by bureaucrats, rations out seats for MPhil programmes. This limits
the number of trained psychologists that can be produced every year.
What is the way forward?
There is a need to adopt a multi-stakeholder approach, where inputs from all the
perspectives are taken to evolve a comprehensive policy.

India has failed to utilize the international law to advance its national security
interests.
International laws cover wide array of security issues ranging from terrorism to maritime
security. For example, Article 1(1) of the UN Charter recognizes the maintenance of
“international peace and security” as a principal objective of the UN. However, India has not
been able to fully utilize international law to advance its national security interest.
What are the examples of non-usage of international laws in India?
First, after Pulwama attack of February 2019 by a Pakistan-based terror outfit, India struck
the terror camps in Pakistan. However, in its justification for this action, India did not invoke
the right to self-defense, rather, it relied on a contested doctrine of ‘non-military pre-
emptive action’.
Second, as per General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), countries can deviate from
their MFN obligations on grounds of national security. But India did not use this provision
for suspending the most favored nation (MFN) status of Pakistan after Pulwama. Instead,
India increased the customs duties on all Pakistani products to 200% under Customs Tariff
Act, 1975.
Third, India wants to deport Rohingya refugees, as they pose a security threat. But the
justification for this action is being given that India is not a signatory to the Refugee
Convention, whereas, India is bound by the principle of non-refoulment to not deport
them. National security is one of the exceptions to the non-refoulment principle in
international refugee law, which is not used as a justification yet.
However, there are also instances, like Kulbhushan Jadhav case and pushing
for international law to counter terrorism, where India has utilised international
laws effectively.

Bhutan is graduating from least developed country (LDC) in 2023. The country has
experienced impressive growth in the past four decades.
Least developed countries (LDCs) are low-income countries confronting severe structural
impediments to sustainable development. They are highly vulnerable to economic and
environmental shocks and have low levels of human assets.
Poverty levels have declined from 36% in 2007 to 10% in 2019. UNDP Human Development
Report 2020 ranks Bhutan highest amongst LDCs. Furthermore, Bhutan is the only carbon-
negative country in the world. Bhutan has also achieved 100% electricity access. The
following approaches have contributed to the Bhutan’s development:
Niche markets: It has diversified its exports considering its domestic industries of natural
resources, tourism, culture, handicrafts and textiles.
Digital transformation: Due to accessible and affordable backbone infrastructure such as
electricity and internet in Bhutan, it was able to launch of the Thimphu TechPark in
2012. The TechPark increased productive employment in Bhutan and enhanced ICT skills
amongst the Bhutanese workforce.
What are the challenges facing Bhutan?
First, Bhutan’s export concentration is high on hydropower, tourism services and the mining
sector. Whereas the growth of its manufacturing sector is stagnant. Its export market
concentration is also high, with 80% of exports are to India.
Second, LDC category will result in the erosion of preferential treatment.
Third, its small size of market, landlocked status and high cost of trading means it cannot
compete in the global market at a large scale.
Bhutan is lagging behind in attracting the foreign direct investment (FDI) compared to other
LDCs such as Cambodia and Maldives. The small size of the Bhutanese market has remained
a disincentive to foreign investment in the country.

What are the issues associated with the poverty line?

Generally, poverty indicators are linked to the general level of food intake such as
malnutrition, wasting. But they don’t reflect the estimated reduction with poverty lines. For
example, The proportion of stunted children is higher than the proportion of poor in the
country. So the poverty lines are there under counting the poor or people fall into poverty
due to spike in expenses and income loss.
Poverty measures based on income alone ignores other factors like education and health
that keep a person trapped in a poverty.

About the multidimensional poverty

Multidimensional poverty approach factors in health education and general quality of life.
But the people under multidimensional poverty will be higher than normal poverty
estimation.
India’s multidimensional poverty reduced from 53.7% of the population in 2011 to 27.9 % of
the population in 2018. But this is higher than poverty levels based on income pover

Points for Reservation question

The two BCs Commissions set up earlier had expressed similar opinion.
The Second BC Commission had argued for internal reservation within the backward
communities based on their status, while the first BC commission (A.N. Sattanathan, 1969-
70) had advocated periodic removal of top communities from the provisions of the
reservation.
What can be done?
One of the terms of reference of the existing BC Commission (set up in July 2020), is to
examine the demand for internal reservation and make a recommendation on the
matter. The Commission can undertake a comprehensive study to compile data and
understand the way the benefits of reservation get accrued to the various communities
within the Umbrella BCs, MBCs, DNCs.
a new integrated approach to Eurasia
What is the concept of Eurasia?
The concept of Eurasia poses challenges similar to the Indo-Pacific. While the region can be
defined unambiguously by the Physical Geographers, the political definition of Eurasia
remain fluid. Russia defines Eurasia in terms of territory and neighbourhood of the former
Soviet Union. Some others define it in terms of “Central Asia”, “Inner Asia” and “Greater
Middle East” by including West Asia as well. India must consider Eurasia in broadest term to
shape its Eurasian strategy.
How is the geopolitics changing in the regions?
China’s dramatic rise: China asserts deep influence in the region due to its long borders.
China has grown more aggressive in recent times as the region is central to its BRI project
which extends till Atlantic Coast of Europe. Moreover Russia’s differences with the West has
brought China and Russia closer.
US Realignment: While the US has increased focus on the Indo-Pacific, there is realignment
of America’s strategic view regarding the Atlantic and Eurasia. US has already withdrawn
from Afghanistan. The US and NATO are debating the rebalancing of Europe’s collective
defense where the US had played a central role since WWII. The US is calling this rebalance
as “Burden Sharing” while EU might call it “Strategic Autonomy”. But in essence, the US
might reduce its role in Europe’s strategic defense and Europe might take a more central
role and would require a rethink regarding Europe’s conception of Eurasia.
What has been India’s relationship with Eurasia?
India’s connection with Eurasia dates to ancient civilization links since the Buddhist era.
Foreign forces continued to come to India through the western border while the British got
entangled with the Russians in the Great Game in 18 th and 19th centuries. The partition of
India and a hostile neighbour in the West cut off India from Central Asia and Eurasia.
Overcoming this barrier would be central to India’s Eurasian Strategy.
What should be India’s Strategy?
There should be 3 core elements to India’s Eurasian Strategy
1. Centrality of Europe: Many Indian nationalists had made Europe their base during
the freedom struggle. Post independence, India’s relationship with the USSR had led
to distancing from Europe. India must have strategic engagement with Europe (both
EU and NATO) on Eurasian Security and should set up a military office in Brussels as
the first step.
2. Engagement with Russia on Eurasian security: There are differences between India
and Russia regarding QUAD, China and Taliban; but there are significant common
grounds between the two regarding Eurasian security
 3. Collaboration with Iran and Arab world: While Iran is central to connectivity; the
Arabs are critical due to their religious influence. Both might help in countering the
hostile Turkey-Pakistan alliance.
India shouldn’t let the internal contradictions between all the regional and extra-regional
stakeholders. Eurasia presents both a challenge and opportunity to India’s foreign policy.

Points for nutrition issues in India:

How malnutrition impacts children?

The highest risk is posed by anaemia. An anaemic child goes into an unhealthy adolescent,
an anaemic pregnant young woman. The woman would give birth to an asphyxiated low-
birth-weight baby. This baby will then face developmental delays and grow into a
malnourished child.

Read more: A multi-dimensional approach to tackle malnutrition

How Project Sampoorna helped Bongaigaon district?

The project yielded encouraging results – maternal deaths for six months have fallen from
16 (Apr to Sep 2020) to three (Apr to Sep 2021) and infant deaths from 130 to 63.
Project Sampoorna had prevented at least 1,200 children from becoming malnourished over
the last year

Why was Project Sampoorna launched?

The National Family Health Survey (NHFS)-5) documented that the number of children
under five who are stunted, wasted, underweight and the number of anaemic women and
children in the district are higher than the national average. And anaemia is a major
determinant of maternal and child health.
Low number of beds: District Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres, or NRCs, usually have up
to 20 beds. This means that they are not equipped to deal with high number of severely
acutely malnourished children.
Loss of wages: Parents of the children have to abandon their farmlands and forego their
wages for 10 days.
Back home, siblings of the severely and acutely malnourished (SAM) child are not taken care
of and may become malnourished. The treated child could also slip back to a SAM state
after being discharged and if not cared for.
Considering the challenges of this, Project Sampoorna was launched.
Based on the success of the community-based COVID-19 management model (Project Mili
Juli), Project Sampoorna was launched targeting the mothers of SAM/MAM (Moderate
Acute Malnutrition) children.

How did Project Sampoorna work?

Project Sampoorna’s tagline states its purpose – empower mothers, healthy children.
– Buddy mothers: First a healthy mother is identified and paired with the target mother
(buddy mothers) of the same Anganwadi Centre (AWC). They were usually neighbours and
shared similar socio-economic backgrounds. The pair is given diet chart to indicate daily
food intake for the children. they would have discussions about this on all Tuesdays at
the AWC. Local practices related to nutrition would also be discussed.
– The project also arranged 100 millilitres of milk and an egg on alternate days for all
children for 1st 3 months. Children who did not show improvement were treated by doctors
under Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram.
Assistance was taken from UNICEF, IIT Gauhati, Tezpur University and social welfare
department for periodic course correction.

Also read POSHAN 2.0 and tackling malnutrition in India

What were the challenges faced by the project?

The major hindrance to the project was patriarchy. Mothers had to be empowered
financially for sustained results.
Therefore, they were enrolled in Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the National Rural
Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) [Women Empowerment]
What is the way forward?
Project Sampoorna was recognised in the innovation category of the National Nutrition
Mission. It also prevented at least 1200 children from becoming malnourished every year.
There is a need to implement Buddy Mothers Model and Women Empowerment
Model in the world so that children can enjoy their right to stay healthy.

Points on India’s healthcare

What is the status of health infrastructure in India?
Physical infrastructure: India has 1.3 beds per 1,000 people; 0.5 pharmacists per 1,000
people & 0.8 physicians per 1,000 people–which is less than half of the world average.
Funding: Economic Survey 2020-21 observed that India ranks 179th among 189 countries in
prioritizing health care in the government budget. The public expenditure on health at 1.4%
of the gross domestic product (GDP) is low. E.g. it is 3.5% in Ghana.
Disease burden: India has 17% of the world’s population but a disproportionately high
share of the global disease burden at 20%.
Quality of healthcare: Economic Survey pointed out that India ranked 145th out of 180
countries (Global Burden of Disease Study 2016) on the quality and access to healthcare.
Doctors: India will require 2 million more doctors by 2030 to achieve a desirable doctor-to-
population ratio of 1:1000.

Read more: Why India needs an NHS-like healthcare model?

What is the status of primary healthcare in India?

At present only 12% of primary health centres (PHCs) and 13% of community health centres
are functioning. The major factor behind this is the lack of finances.
Even schemes like Ayushman Bharat -Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-
PMJAY) do not cover primary healthcare services.

Why budgetary allocation for health is poor?

With lower growth rates, and focus on spending on social indicators, health is ignored.
Under the national health authority, as a percentage of gross health expenditure, centres
share is 31% and states share 69%.
But States have little tax collection after the GST regime.

Read more: An inclusive plan for healthcare systems to be built back better

What are the government initiatives to improve healthcare?

ABHIM – Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission: It will work with the National
Health Mission in building public health facilities, critical care infrastructure and PHCs.

Read more: PM launches PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission

Drug prices: 70% off out of pocket expenditure goes towards medicine. So government
introduced tight control over the crisis and cut retail prices in 2018.
Ayushman Bharat–National Health Protection Mission (AB–NHPM), 2018: It provides
health coverage of ₹5 lakh per family per annum for secondary and tertiary care
hospitalization to nearly 110 million poor and vulnerable families.

What is the way forward?

Building public infrastructure. For this India needs to increase budgetary support to
healthcare to around 2.5% of GDP.
Incentivize state expenditure on healthcare: Finance commission parameters for
Definition can include healthcare. Better performing states should be incentivized example
Aarogyashree scheme of Telangana state.
Learn from international best practices for example Thailand and Cuba model. Thailand
passed the affordable care act and brought health insurance premiums down. Cuba focused
on the best quality primary healthcare system.
What we can learn from these is the community participation in healthcare by focusing on
awareness, sanitation and involving civil society. This can eventually pave the way for
universal healthcare.

How much India spends on Health care?

India’s annual spend on Health care is around ₹2,000 per capita.
India’s annual health budget has stayed barely above 1% of gross domestic product (GDP)
for the past decade. In the fiscal year 2019-20, it was ₹2.57 trillion, or 1.3% of GDP.
This ratio compares unfavorably even with emerging market peers such as
– Indonesia (1.4%)
– China (2.9%)
– Russia (3.2%)
– South Africa (3.6%)
And, worse, this fiscal year, the Centre and most state governments have budgeted lower
health spending.

What are the implications of a lower public health expenditure?

High out of Pocket expenditure: Low government spending means Indians spend out
more on health expenses from their pockets. According to the WHO’s health financing
profile for 2017, roughly 2/3rds of expenditure on health in India is out-of-pocket, nearly
four times the global average of approximately 18%.
The vicious cycle of poverty: Low public health spending, together with high out-of-
pocket expenditure, a catastrophic health event such as this pandemic push the vulnerable
further into poverty.
Poor health indicators: WHO ranked India 57th out of 195 countries on its Global Health
Security Index, pointing out weak spots in India’s health preparedness.

What are the emerging trends w.r.t states’ spending on health care?
One, states have not achieved their policy targets. Analysis of the past decade’s data,
though, suggests that most states are making slow progress.
Two, richer states tend to spend more on healthcare. Goa, Kerala and Gujarat, for
example, were relatively high spenders, whereas Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya
Pradesh and Odisha spent less.
Three, higher per capita health spending result in visibly better health outcomes. An
analysis of data taken from NITI Aayog’s Healthy States, Progressive India report of
2019 shows that states with higher average health expenditure per capita over 2012-17
registered better health outcomes in fiscal 2017-18

What is the way forward?

One, better resource mobilization and/or greater targeted transfers to the country’s poorer
states to help them catch up.
Two, as a topmost goal, India must focus on achieving universal health coverage.
Three, attention to non-communicable diseases will need to be balanced with that to
infectious diseases such as covid-19.
Four, the benefits of technology should be leveraged to provide last-mile healthcare access,
particularly through telemedicine. In this context, the recently announced PM Ayushman
Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, which aims to spend ₹64,180 crores over the next five
years to fill critical gaps and improve long-term health care infrastructure, is a welcome
move.
For Centre: The National Health Policy, 2017, the latest Economic Survey, have both
recommended a national public health spending target of 2.5-3% of GDP by 2025.
For States: Health is a state subject. Three-fourths of India’s public health expenditure is, in
fact, undertaken by state governments.
The National Health Policy, in addition to recommending an increase in overall public health
spending, had also proposed that states increase their health expenditure to 8% or more of
their respective budgets, by 2020.
What is the size of India’s informal economy?
Estimate done in 2018 suggests the size of the informal economy at 52%. This number was
expressed by NSC (National Statistical Commission) with very limited methodological
details.

How the size of informal economy can be measured?

e-Shram initiative: GoI is making earnest efforts to bring such unorganised employment
into the formal stream by incorporating MSMEs through the GST portal. It also recently
launched the e-Shram initiative that is creating a comprehensive database of unorganised
employment in India.
Digital footprints: the consumption of the informal sector can be captured through digital
footprints. For instance, an informal wage-earner’s trace in the economy may be captured
by the shampoo-sachet or glucose biscuit she may be purchasing. Likewise, a small entity
may be a seller in an online platform and accepting UPI-based payments.

What are the signs that indicate an increase in formalization of the

economy?
Provident-fund enrolments have steadily risen amid a job scarcity – a chunk of these
could be due to payrolls going formal.
Extra bounce seen lately in collections of GST.
Inc in UPI transactions: In October, transactions done via the Unified Payments Interface
(UPI) hit a record 4 billion, worth over $100 billion.
The EPFO portal shows that around 2.25 lakh business units have been formalised since that
data has been made online.
The total number of outstanding KCCs (Kisan Credit Cards) is currently at 6.5 crore. The
credit offtake per KCC translates into agri-credit formalisation of Rs 4.6 lakh crore.

What are the issues that still remain?

As a proportion of gross domestic product, cash in circulation has risen above its level
before demonetization.
The extent of formalization still lacks a sound estimate. Recent research work by State
Bank of India estimated that the informal sector’s share of India’s output had shrunk from
over half the total back in 2017-18 to under a fifth. The way this fraction was arrived at,
however, does not lend it the reliability needed for such an important ratio.
Example for Financial inclusion
India now ahead of China in financial inclusion metrics
What is the News?
According to the Chief economic adviser at State Bank of India (SBI), India is now ahead of
China in financial inclusion metrics.

India’s Financial Inclusion Metrics

Mobile and Internet Banking Transactions: The mobile and Internet banking transactions
have increased to 13,615 per 1,000 adults in 2020 from 183 in 2015.
Bank Branches: The number of bank branches has reached up to 14.7 per 1 lakh adults in
2020 from 13.6 in 2015 which is higher than in Germany, China and South Africa.

No Frills Account:
The number of no-frills bank accounts has significantly increased.Of these, almost two-
thirds are operational in rural and semi-urban areas and more than 78% of these accounts
are with state-owned banks.
Note: RBI had introduced ‘no-frills’ accounts in 2005 to provide basic banking facilities to
the poor and promote financial inclusion.The accounts could be maintained without or
with very low minimum balance.
Banking Outlets: The number of banking outlets in villages / banking correspondent (BC)
had increased from 34,174 in 2010 to 12.4 lakh in 2020.
Note: Banking Correspondents (BCs) are individuals/entities engaged by a bank for
providing banking services in unbanked/under-banked geographical territories.

Trade and economical setup of India

What are the issues/challenges for India at WTO?
Criticism on India’s Protective Trade policies: Unlike COP26, India might not be enjoy the
support of South countries at WTO. India’s inclination towards protectionism, accompanied
by the raising of average applied tariff over the past four years, as part of its ‘atmanirbharta’
agenda is criticised by both countries of the North and the South.
Criticism on India’s policy stands on foreign trade: India’s criticism of free trade
agreements entered into by the previous government and the decision to withdraw from
the RCEP, distanced India from many newly industrializing economies seeking greater
market access to India.
Loss of status amongst developing countries: India has also been losing its longstanding
status as a champion of developing country interests in multilateral trade negotiations.

What have been the implications?

Geo-economic consequence: Further weakening of the India-Africa compact that defined
WTO discussions at least till 2008.
Impact on Exports: With India opting out or being left out of all major plurilateral and
regional FTAs, exports, despite recent growth, have taken a setback. Exports remain static in
nominal terms over the past decade and actually shrinking by 20-30% in real terms.
Driving out FDI: Most foreign direct investments coming into India are aimed primarily at
the domestic market. Export-oriented western FDI continues to leave India, going to
countries to India’s East.

How India’s position on geo-economic challenges differs sharply from its

position on geopolitical challenges?
Indian position on geo-economic challenges like climate change, trade, and industrial policy
differs sharply from the clarity with which it has been dealing with geopolitical challenges.
While China’s geopolitical and geo-economic aggression has pushed India closer West
with respect to defense and security ties, India’s economic interests continue to place it in
the middle of the North-South economic divide.
This dichotomy between India’s geopolitical and geo-economic interests is also reflected in
the agenda of the two Quads of which it is a member.
While geopolitics of China’s rise defines the agenda of the East Asian Quad (Australia,
India, Japan, and the US), the geoeconomics of trade, manufacturing, and technology define
the West Asian Quad (India, Israel, UAE, and the US).
India is now engaged in negotiating FTAs with members of both Quads and with the
European Union, especially France, Germany, and Scandinavia.
The challenge for India is to balance its geopolitical interests, along the East-West axis,
with its geo-economic interests along the North-South axis.

What is the way forward?

First, India needs to balance its geopolitical interests, with its geo-economic interests. For
this there has to be greater coordination between the external affairs and commerce
ministries
Second, the new messaging on climate action should also define India’s approach to
foreign trade.
How India can achieve net zero approach
The new net-zero approach will require dramatic changes in the power mix and industrial
processes.
It will need the share of fossil fuel to fall from 85% now to 20% by 2070, assuming a high
use of hydrogen technology and carbon capture strategies.

What are some potential benefits of a net-zero approach?

A net-zero approach could bring more benefits over time:
India will be spared from re-fitting obligations: Much of India’s wealth is yet to be
created. 60% of India’s capital stock — factories and buildings that will exist in 2040 — is yet
to be built. The country can potentially leapfrog into new green technology, rather than
being overburdened with “re-fitting” obligations, like developed countries.
Better market access: Despite India’s large domestic market, exports are a critical driver of
overall GDP growth. They open up new markets, bring in international competition, forcing
the domestic industry to become more efficient. Further, they push up FDI inflows and
technical know-how. All high-growth periods in India have had the support of fast-growing
exports. If India’s exports achieve a green stamp, they’ll find better market access.
Employment opportunities: 2-2.5 million additional jobs can be created in the renewables
sector by 2050, as the renewable energy technologies tend to be more labour intensive than
conventional energy technologies. In fact, distributed renewables such as small-scale hydro,
rooftop solar and biomass create most jobs per unit of installed capacity.

What measures need to be implemented?

Sorting discom issues: The finances of power distribution companies need to be
improved to fund the grid upgrades necessary for scaling up renewables. This would require
a host of reforms, including having a truly independent regulator who ensures market
pricing of power tariffs, incentives that speed up smart metering and plug T&D losses, and
policies that lead to the privatisation of discoms.
India needs a coordinated institutional framework that can help overcome multiple levels of
complexity like federalism, fiscal constraints and bureaucracy.
Funding the transition to clean energy: The energy investment requirement will be high,
rising from about $70-80 billion per year now to $160 billion per year. Alongside this, a
similar amount will be needed for transportation and other infrastructure. While the private
sector will be required to fund much of this, the government can play a pivotal role,
especially in the early days.
India on Afghanistan & Taliban
India hosted Third Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan. The dialogue concluded with
the Delhi Declaration.

Must Read: ‘Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan’

What are the key features of the Delhi Declaration?

The declaration 1. Strongly objected to the use of Afghan soil for planning, financing and
carrying out terrorist activities, 2. Called for collective cooperation against the menace of
radicalisation, extremism, separatism and drug trafficking in the region.

Read more: The importance of the Gulf in shaping the geopolitics of Afghanistan

Why Pakistan and China did not participate in the dialogue?

1. To undermine Indian interests in the region, 2. The difference in perceived security
threat: China and Pakistan want to stabilise their borders with Afghanistan. On the other
hand, India and Iran worried more about the Taliban’s lack of inclusivity or their exporting
terror to other countries, 3. Pakistan’s Troika Plus summit on Afghanistan: China, US and
Russia are participating in the ongoing Troika Plus summit. That conference has a clear
political dimension with the presence of the Taliban’s acting foreign minister.

Read more: Is the Indian foreign-policy ship changing course?: About India-Afghanistan relations

What should India do to improve relations with Afghanistan?

India needs both defensive and proactive strategies to build relations and enhance Afghan
people’s tremendous goodwill for India.
1. Adopt wait and watch approach towards the Taliban, 2. Deliver aid directly to the
suffering Afghan people, 3. Start full visa services for Afghan citizens who may want to
temporarily leave Afghanistan, 4. Explore alternate ways to send aid to Afghanistan that
doesn’t need Pakistan’s land routes, 5. For the China-Pakistan threat, India should shore up
domestic security and work with both the US and Russia.

What are the strategies adopted by different countries?

China: It is engaging the Taliban, but is proceeding with caution. Eventually, it seeks to
include Afghanistan through BRI and also CPEC.
 Pakistan: It views Afghanistan as its backyard. So it seeks to gain international acceptance
for the Taliban regime. At the same time, it seeks to keep the Indian influence away.
What is the dilemma facing the global countries?
Countries have the following concerns:

Read here: Implications of the rise of Taliban for India – Explained, pointwise

-Whether to send aid to Afghanistan or not – If the West sends aid via Taliban, it may not
reach Afghan people.
-Whether to invest in stabilizing Afghanistan – If they stabilize Afghanistan, the beneficiaries
may be Pakistan and China.
What is the Indian dilemma? How does this impact Pakistan’s Kashmir policy?
It has the question of Whether to engage with the Taliban or not – a closer engagement
with the Taliban will make Pakistan insecure and create troubles in India-Pakistan relations
and in Kashmir. There is rise in cases of violence in Kashmir after the Taliban Takeover.
Pakistan’s earlier stand to accept the withdrawal of Article 370 seems to have changed.

Read more: Is the Indian foreign-policy ship changing course?: About India-Afghanistan relations

But with the recent convening of Regional security dialogue, India has indicated it will
engage with the Taliban. If this helps in stabilizing the Taliban regime, it is likely that the
Taliban may not be hostile to India.
What can be expected in the future?
There can be a heating up of the Kashmir issue. Given the absence of China-Pakistan from
the Indian initiative, it would be best for India to coordinate its Afghan policy through
Moscow for now.

What are the risks/concerns associated with Cryptocurrencies?

These are volatile, high-risk instruments.
These are also used by fraudsters, to cheat people of their money.
And these assets can be used to enable cybercrimes, including ransomware.

Must Read: What are Cryptocurrencies and what are the associated risks?

What is the way forward?

Ban is not recommended: Despite all the associated risks and the fact that
cryptocurrencies have survived various global financial crises over the years signify that they
are here to stay, hence banning them won’t be an optimum solution.
Moreover, it would be impossible to enforce a ban without imposing draconian currency
controls. Attempting to impose currency controls would be deeply regressive, hurting
importers, exporters, and students overseas.
Comprehensive regulatory framework: Policymakers should bring out a comprehensive
plan for such instruments. This will not only enable the central bank to manage financial
stability risks and protect investor interests, but also give clarity in terms of taxation.
Mass awareness campaign: The government should run mass awareness campaigns to
inform investors about the risks associated with such instruments.

Are cryptocurrencies viable as a medium of exchange?

Anything in excess supply is cheap. So whenever a central bank prints more and more
currency, its value erodes over time.
The global financial crisis of 2008 resulted in a similar unprecedented expansion of G3
central bank balance sheets. This sparked fears of debasement (lowering of value) of
currency.
To prevent a similar thing from happening to Bitcoin, the founders fixed its supply to a set
number. One unintended side effect of this was that, like a usual currency, the supply of
Bitcoin could not be modified as per demand. This often causes price volatility, i.e. huge
upward or downward movement of price.
This in turn means that Bitcoin or any other Cryptocurrency is not suitable as a medium of
exchange.
Instead, it is a speculative asset.

How do stable coins solve the problem of price volatility?

To get around this issue, Stablecoins, like USDT (Tether), have been introduced, whose
value is pegged to a fiat currency by maintaining equivalent reserves (think of a “currency
board” exchange rate regime).
By providing much greater price stability, these Stablecoins hope to serve as viable
mediums of exchange, and have proliferated rapidly in recent years.
Still, the risk to the monetary policy will depend on the degree of currency substitution.

What are the challenges if cryptocurrencies are adopted as medium of

exchange?
Impact on monetary policy: If a privately-issued cryptocurrency begins to compete with
fiat currency, something similar to Dollarisation would happen. For instance: In various
Latin American countries, as citizens lost faith in domestic currency, they began transacting
more and more in Dollars. This rendered domestic monetary policy ineffective, because
domestic central banks cannot set interest rates and inject liquidity in a foreign currency.
Widespread adoption of privately issued digital currencies as a medium of exchange will
have the same impact. The domestic monetary policy will not be able to respond to
business cycle needs and external shocks.
Mega tech companies may start running global e-commerce or social networking
platforms, issuing their own digital currencies to their global customer base. These
digital currencies will serve both as a unit of account and a medium of exchange on their
platforms.
Reorganisation of global economic activity into digital currency areas (DCAs) that run
across national boundaries. These DCAs will be characterised by their own digital currency
and unit of account issued by the network owner. The size of these DCAs might become
larger than various national economies.

What are the implications of widespread adoption of Cryptos as mediums

of exchange?
Threat to the monetary policy: If the privately issued Global Stablecoins gain credibility
and acceptance over time, there will be every incentive for network owners to break free
from fiat currencies pegs to generate monetary discretion. Once that happens, the fate of
economies to respond to shocks, at least in part, would be in the hands of the network
owner or private firms. This would present an existential threat to monetary policy.
Loss of seigniorage revenues to governments from the monopoly issuance of fiat currency
Fiscal revenues can also be adversely impacted by the increased tax evasion opportunities
that crypto-currencies can facilitate.
In the light of an ineffective monetary policy, the burden on fiscal policy to respond to
economic shocks will commensurately rise. This could create challenges in a post-Covid
world.
Impact on rupee:
– Capital account volatility: If cryptos begin to get mined inside the Indian territory, they
will induce capital inflows. It can increase capital account volatility. And if these cross-
border flows circumvent capital flow measures, they also increase capital account
convertibility.

What is the way forward?

The implications of widespread crypto adoption are complex and interlinked. But, the true
challenge will be if the unbacked private digital currencies are seen as viable mediums of
exchange. That’s what policy must anticipate and prepare for

What are some use cases of good crypto?

– Remittances: A remittance of, say, dirhams to rupees, involves bank charges and delays
while the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) processes payments. Instead, one can buy
cryptocurrency with dirhams and hand over the relevant codes to somebody who can sell
the crypto in rupees. This process will be much faster and not involve bank charges if the
parties are comfortable with price volatility.
– Currency swaps: A swap is a deal where two entities exchange two currencies, say USD
and INR, at an agreed rate. They commit to the reverse exchange of exactly the same
amounts of USD and INR after an agreed time, at the agreed rate, even if the exchange rate
has gone up or down. The RBI itself has done swaps, most notably during the global
financial crisis. It is easier to do swaps by using cryptocurrency trades rather than via banks.

– Purchasing assets: Crypto can be used to purchase assets or services. But a clear
accounting process must be framed for such transactions. For example, El Salvador adopted
bitcoin as an alternative currency. Although this experiment has revealed several challenges,
it’s worth studying.
– Trustless contract enabled by blockchain: This could prove quite useful in the Indian
context. In such a contract, money is put into an escrow account. Instructions are put in
blockchain that if certain conditions are fulfilled, the money is to be transferred
automatically to a given account. This is much cheaper and less cumbersome than
conventional bank escrow.
For example, a municipality hands out a garbage disposal contract. It may create a
blockchain where the residents can vote whether they are satisfied with the garbage
disposal service. Such contracts cut down on corruption and accelerate government
payment processes.

What are the reasons behind fascination and attraction around

Cryptocurrencies?
– They are a fascinating technological innovation. Part of their initial attraction was that they
promised a new governance order.
– Faced with the inflation of the 1970s, thinkers like Friedrich Hayek theorized about
reasserting the dominance of private currencies, protected from the state. This required
a solution to the problem of ‘trust’ on which every currency depends. Crypto seemed to
solve that problem, with its decentralised architecture and community and self-verification
protocols.
– The global economy currently has an abundance of cheap money, while small savers are
desperate for return. In this context, it is easy for the powerful to misallocate money, and
the small saver to indulge in speculation via cryptocurrency.

Why a new governance order backed by Crypto can never be a reality?

This obvious due to the following reasons:
– No state is going to let go of its power to assert control over the monetary system.
The sustenance of state-sponsored fiat money is one of the great achievements of modern
state formation, and the foundation of its power and legitimacy.
– Crypto requires substantial material infrastructure, which a state could always control.
States can shut down mining, as China has done.
– Neither Bitcoin, nor any other cryptocurrency currently possess stability, efficiency, privacy
and safety that would allow it to dominate central bank money.
Crypto is now considered more like an asset.

Are there any tangible benefits to Cryptopcurrency?

Some financial products bring genuine gains for the economy or development, others pose
a risk. Cryptocurrency doesn’t bring any concrete development benefits.
The underlying technology of Blockchain can be harnessed for potential benefits even
without crypto. Hence, a ban on cryptocurrency should not be a major problem.

Why a ban instead of regulation is a good choice for India?

Because the insulation of the financial system from the volatility of crypto markets will be
difficult to achieve for the following reasons:
The first reason is political economy. A large number of investors, and some influential
ones, will become a vested interest in their own right, potentially demanding the
socialisation or mitigation of losses. Now RBI is facing lobbying by investors as an interest
group.
A major new class of assets, especially if volumes grow, will have systemic effects on the
rest of the economy. For instance:
– In a crisis, if stable coin redemptions go up, RBI will have to step in.
– Opportunity costs of investments flowing into crypto on prices of other assets and
monetary instruments.

What is the way forward?

– RBI should avoid a scenario where it bans but then carves out exceptions.
– Ensure that trade does not go offshore. Not fully banning and allowing it offshore will be
the worst of both worlds.
– Lastly, RBI’s case would be strengthened if it spelled out the systemic risks that crypto
might pose to the stability of the real economy.

What are the issues with India’s net zero target?

i). Sustainability issues: Commitments made by India at COP26 regarding non-fossil fuel
and renewable energy generation entail ecological and social costs.
– Nuclear and large hydro projects will cause deforestation, people’s displacement, climate
change emissions, and hazardous radiation etc.
– Solar and wind energy promotion in India is largely focused on mega-energy parks,
requiring enormous amounts of land. For example: About 60,000 hectares of Kachchh’s
ecologically fragile grassland-desert ecosystem have been allotted to energy mega-parks.
ii). Continued use of coal and thermal power: The government has continued promoting
coal mining and thermal power, and has no intentions of even plateauing fossil fuel use or
reducing it. At this rate, it may overtake the US and China as the highest emitter of
greenhouse gases in the world. This also means continual devastation of India’s most
valuable forests for mining, and the displacement of communities. Thousands of Adivasis
have been protesting against proposed mining in the biologically rich Hasdeo forests in
Chhattisgarh, but the government is busy clearing it.
iii). Net zero target is merely a greenwash: Net zero simply means that emissions at one
place can be offset elsewhere by activities like planting trees, or by capturing carbon etc. It
is to be noted that net zero doesn’t necessarily talk about reducing the emissions rather just
cancelling them out. In India, the pursuit of net zero target might result in govt grabbing
land from communities for massive new plantations, like in case of compensatory
afforestation.

Greenwashing means to make people believe that more is being done to protect the environment than i
really is.

iv). 2070 is too late a target: Additionally, scientific opinion is that we need to drastically
cut emissions within a decade or so; waiting till 2050 or 2070 is simply too late for the earth.
Must Read: Does India has a right to burn fossil fuel?

What is the way forward?

India can achieve its net zero target only if it commits to fundamental changes in its
economy, focused on meeting basic needs of all. This can be achieved via
– community based strategies based on sensitive use of land and nature including
decentralised energy generation, without costly and massive infrastructure.
– leveraging India’s traditional knowledge and skills with the best in modern systems.
– Prioritising of small and medium manufacturing, promoting worker-led cooperatives
and producer companies.
– addressing energy-guzzling production processes and lifestyles that are being pushed
in the name of development.
– Accelerated deployment of electric or fuel-cell vehicles must go alongside a rapid
reduction in personal vehicle use and a major push for mass transportation.
– Minimising Carbon lock-ins and energy use through mandatory green construction
codes for the huge housing and other buildings stock, highways and infrastructure yet to be
built.
– Encouraging employment-intensive recycling of waste goods and materials, including
in solid and liquid waste management linked to methane recovery, would deliver substantial
benefits across sectors.
– Embracing a multidimensional approach, embodied in the idea of LIFE (Lifestyle for
Environment (LIFE), that India gave to this world at COP26.

Can renewables fuel India’s future energy requirements?

India cannot depend entirely on renewable sources of energy due to the following reasons:
– Intermittency or irregularity remains a major issue with renewables, which are also
vulnerable to weather.
– Unlike the West, India has comparatively smaller gas-fired and nuclear generation
capacities. Power from such small plants is unaffordable.
– Hydel projects are costly and involve large displacement of forests and habitats. They
also remain susceptible to weather patterns. Storage technology is still evolving and
remains a costly option.
The power demand recently surged in double digits in India. This was caused due to lower
power generation from solar, wind and hydel sources, which happened due to seasonal
factors. Coal-fired plants had to step in to meet the demand.
Hence, the only dependable option is coal.

What are some other issues with phasing out coal?

At the mining level, the government enjoys dividend payments from Coal India Limited
The railways, which dominate transportation of coal, receive an existential level of cross-
subsidy from coal.
There are large revenues from taxes, royalties, and mining fees, which are amongst the
highest in the world

Why the government needs to support Dalit entrepreneurship?

– Employment opportunities: With the dominance of a few castes over business and
commerce and lack of access to capital, an individual from a marginalized section of society
has limited options of employment. He can either take up a government job or continue
their manual and low paying caste-based occupation.
– Supporting Dalit entrepreneurship can improve their access to rights while helping them
fight the social hierarchies.
– Material well-being and financial autonomy: Entrepreneurship often results in gaining
of material benefits, and the relative autonomy.

What steps are being taken by the govt?

The District Industries Centre (DIC) stipulates that to nurture entrepreneurs, the
government must increase the share of goods produced by Dalits in its procurement. It has
also sought to get financial institutions to amend their rules for collateral in order to ease
financing for the projects of Dalit entrepreneurs.
State financial corporations have also been instructed to increase financial support to
Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs.
Stand-Up India initiative, a focussed financial intervention for SC/ST entrepreneurs
guarantees credit up to Rs 1 crore.
The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation has allocated 16.2% of plots to
SC entrepreneurs
The Small Industries Development Bank of India offers an additional subsidy to Dalit
entrepreneurs.
What are the issues/challenges faced by Dalit entrepreneurs?
– Artificial inaccessibility: Despite the existence of government schemes and policies, the
actual benefit is not reaching the beneficiaries due to the artificial inaccessibility created by
inherent social and caste biases.
For instance, the Stand-Up India initiative failed to deliver the expected results due to the
unavailability of so-called eligible SC/ST entrepreneurship, with most of the funds lying
unutilised.
– The lack of enthusiasm of loaning branches and officials towards proposals by Dalit
entrepreneurs

What is the way forward?

Dalit-focussed alternate investment finance (AIF) and private equity (PE) funds are
needed to create a vibrant and inclusive MSME ecosystem.
Creation of inclusivity cell in banks and lending institutions/NBFCs in order to inform,
educate and foster Dalit entrepreneurship.
Formulate multiple credit guarantee trusts by raising contributions from MNCs, FDIs,
portfolio investors, corporates, etc. to provide guaranteed support to the banks for them to
extend credit to Dalit entrepreneurs.
A social vulnerability index can also to be introduced.

What is Nehru’s version of NAM?

1. Believed that world problems are interlinked, and it is for One World that free India
should work. 2. Opposed to ideological confinement imposed by two power blocks. This
was visible from India’s opposition to American weapons in Pakistan from 1954 and the
creation of western-led military blocs in Asia.
NAM was seen as a cost-effective method to achieve Indian objectives. India also supported
anti-colonial movements in African states.

Read more: Relevance of Non Aligned Movement

However, India’s inclinations towards NAM were reduced post Nehru. But it was retained to
provide flexibility to maintain India’s diplomatic and economic relations.

What are the failures of NAM?

-There was a lack of collective action and collective self-reliance. For example,
only Cyprus and Ethiopia supported India during the India – China war.
–Ideological challenge to the concept of nonalignment. For example, Yugoslavia and
Egypt became nonaligned and they defied the great power blocs. But such an alignment of
nations goes against the very concept of non-alignment.
-Non-establishment of an equitable international economic or information order.
-NAM counties themselves did not work on their human rights issues.
In India, Change in the course of NAM is visible after Nehru’s death. India adopted a
pragmatism approach under Indira Gandhi to opportunism after the dissolution of the
former Soviet Union and the semi-alignment of today.

What is the future scope of NAM?

Centre for policy research produced a document Nonalignment 2.0, but that made no
impact. All organizations have a shelf life starting from the League of Nations, SAARC,
and BRICS etc. So, the success of NAM for India will depend on its utility for India.

What is Internet vernacularisation?

Internet vernacularisation refers to the increasing numbers of people accessing social media
in their own languages.
It revolves around the twin aspects of linguistic diversification as well as the massification
of the medium.

Why it is significant?
Its most important contribution is the vast amount of user-generated online
content available in various Indian languages. This not only offers new opportunities to
understand emerging digital cultures but also provides an opportunity to understand the
regional public sphere.
It has led to the increase of digital consumption and interactions, digital nationalism and
populism, and the emergence of multi-lingual, non-English, and vernacular internet spheres.
The trend of internet vernacularisation in India is in line with the global trend of the
decentralisation and de-Americanisation of the world wide web along with the rise of the
global south in terms of the number of web users.

What are the potential downsides of internet vernacularisation?

Manipulation of public opinion and political polarisation by targeted propaganda.
These attempts have already had dangerous social consequences, contributing to conflicts
and killings.
Further, social media platforms have become competitive hotspots for gaining political
power and control public opinion. Internet vernacularisation will result in exacerbating
this issue.

What is the way forward?

Business Ethics: Social media companies should be guided by social values and invest in
understanding the societies in which they operate.
Culture-specific protocols: Social media companies should not be allowed to operate in a
language for which they do not have content moderators
Ensure consumer protection: Facebook and other social media companies must invest in
building an infrastructure to ensure users are not exposed to harmful and fake content.
Ensure Accountability: Facebook needs to be held accountable for the dominant role it has
come to play in controlling the flow and access to information.
Effective regulations: Appropriate regulations that help in checking the abuse of market
power, misuse of users’ data, and privacy breaches from social media companies
Operational changes: While AI-based algorithms are faster in detecting harmful content,
they are not good at understanding Indian languages. Facebook should hire and deploy
human moderators directly, rather than outsourcing such jobs, to ensure more
accountability from them.
Investing in local culture: Social media platforms should invest in understanding the
societies in which they operate. This could help in developing strategies and policies that
protect the public interest and safeguard

What is the Supreme Court’s stance on privacy?

In R. Rajagopal case 1994: Though privacy was not a specifically guaranteed right earlier,
unabated surveillance was never allowed.
2017 case judgement: SC said that the Right to privacy is as sacrosanct as human
existence and is inalienable to human dignity and autonomy.
Court judgement on Privacy: Court restricts the conditions on snooping. It can be done
only on 3 grounds.
1) the restriction must be by law; it must be necessary and only if other means are not
available 2) It must be proportionate (only as much as needed) 3) It must promote a
legitimate state interest (e.g. national security)
 Food Security in India:
How Landraces are different from commercially grown crops?
Landraces refer to naturally occurring variants of commonly cultivated crops.
These are different from commercially grown crops, which are developed by selective
breeding (hybrids) or through genetic engineering to express a certain trait over others.

Why preserving landraces is important?

Adaptation to environmental stress: Genetic diversity ensures a natural mechanism for
crops to develop traits to face challenging situations. However, given the large-scale human
interference in crop selection and breeding, that ability is now lost in most commercially
crops.
On the other hand, naturally occurring landraces still have a large pool of still untapped
genetic material, which can provide solutions to climate change induced biotic and abiotic
stress factors.
For example: Kalbhat, a unique landrace of scented rice. It has better climate resilience
than popularly grown rice and can withstand flood or drought better.
Boosting farmers income: With proper agricultural practices, landraces can give better
yield with lower input costs.
Nutritional security: Landraces are richer in nutrients than commercially grown variants.

What are the threats being faced by landraces?

Today, landraces survive in only a few rural and tribal pockets, but they too are depleting
due to lack of proper conservation.
Loss of traditional knowledge about the way these varieties need to be grown, or how
seeds are to be saved, is also being lost over time.

Since 2008, BAIF Development Research Foundation has initiated a community-led programme to
preserve landraces in villages of Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Gujarat. It aims to identify germplasm
available and, through community participation, create seed banks. So far, it has deposited 150 landraces of
paddy, finger millet, and little millet to the National Bureau Plant Genetic Resource. A network of 5,000
seed savers has also been developed.

What is the way forward?

Much remains to be understood about the germplasms (a living tissue from which new
plants can be grown) of the landraces.
 – It is necessary to understand how these landraces can contribute to climate-resilient
agriculture.
– Nutritional profiling too can hold the key to fighting deficiencies, as many landraces are
richer in nutrients than commercially grown variants.

What are the reasons behind floods in Urban areas?

1. Density of population, 2. Underdeveloped infrastructure, 3. Poor management across
institutions, 4. Faulty construction design of Smart City Project works, for example, T Nagar
neighbourhood in Chennai faces flood due to faulty stormwater drain designs, 5. Not
planting the required number of trees in the urban ecosystem, 6. Not allow for groundwater
recharge.

Read more: Urbanisation to blame for Chennai’s flood woes, integrated system need of the hour: Report

How India can mitigate the impacts of floods in urban areas?

Coordination between various institutions: For example, the coordination between water
resources and disaster management authorities needs combined coordination and
responsibility for disaster risk management.
Translate traditional water infrastructure investment into nature-based solutions: Ensure
adequate space for river and flood plains to capture discharge from high-intensity rainfall,
and invest in healthy watersheds.

Read more: Nature-based, people-centred solutions for water

Work closely with grassroots organisations: To promote awareness on holistic flood risk
management and participatory approach for risk-based early action coordination among
stakeholders to mitigate flood risks.
Utilise the power of digital technologies: To digitise informal settlements, identify levels
of vulnerability for flood protection strategies and ensure timely actionable information
including financial supports.

Role of Nuclear fusion in society:

The nuclear-fusion startup, Helion, recently announced that it has developed new
technologies that may make nuclear fusion viable.
Nuclear fusion could be used to produce relatively clean energy (hydrogen fuel), which
could then be deployed in a number of ways, unleashing a chain reaction across the global
economy.

How cheap and clean energy could benefit the global economy?
Development of remote places: It would facilitate faster transportation and a consequent
faster transformation of remote places.
Greening of Deserts: Desalinating water would become cheap and easy and irrigation
would become less expensive, enabling the transformation of many landscapes. For
instance, the Middle East would become much greener.
Facilitate more control over the Environment: It might be possible to manipulate
temperatures outdoors, so Denmark in January and Dubai in August would no longer be so
unbearable.
Rise in wages: Increased tourism will increase the demand for labor, thereby resulting in
higher wages.
Technological developments: Cheap energy would also make supercomputing more
available, crypto more convenient, and nanotechnology more likely.
Social change: People might invest more resources in status-seeking due to the increased
availability of material goods.
Impact on climate change: nuclear fusion could replace coal plants around the world.
Further, protective technologies to remove methane and carbon from the air, are also likely
to be more feasible and affordable.

What are some potential negative consequences?

Though clean energy will mostly be beneficial, but it can have some negative consequences
too. Like,
In the short run, fossil-fuel-rich nations such as Saudi Arabia and Russia would face
difficulties.
In the long term, commodity-exporting nations like Brazil and Argentina might face
difficulties too as with cheaper irrigation, countries relying on their exports might start
growing their own crops.
Increased methane emissions: As water desalination became more feasible and irrigation
would become less expensive, many areas would be far greener, and people might raise
more cows and eat more beef. Those cows, in turn, might release far more methane into the
air.
How would climate change affect the farm sector?
The findings of various studies and the projections made by UNFCCC present a mixed
picture.
Impact on rainfall: Monsoon rain might increase as a consequence of heat-induced
acceleration in the hydrological cycle.
Unpredicted weather pattern: The incidence of severe and extended dry spells,
interspersed with heavy downpour, might also increase.
Decrease in farm productivity: According to the vulnerability assessment done by the
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the overall productivity of paddy, irrigated
paddy, wheat, maize might decrease between 2050 and 2080.
Benefit to few crops: Some crops might benefit from climate change. For instance,
Chickpea (gram or chana).
Drop-in farm income. The government’s Economic Survey 2018 reports that every one-
degree Celsius rise in temperature could reduce agricultural income by 6.2% in kharif and
6% in the rabi season in non-irrigated areas.
Other challenges: Reduces water availability, variations in the incidence of pests and
pathogens (crop diseases).

What are the steps taken to address the issue?

India, nearly a decade ago launched the countrywide project on National Innovations in
Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA).
Objectives of NICRA: 1) Identify vulnerable areas, 2) Assess the potential impact of
temperature rise on crop farming, livestock, and fisheries, 3) Evolve crop varieties and
agronomic practices adaptable to the emerging weather patterns.

How has NICRA helped farmers to cope up with Climate change?

Many water-harvesting structures have been created under the NICRA project to
facilitate crop irrigation at critical stages of plant growth. These have resulted in yield
gains in some low-rainfall areas.
Situation-specific advanced technologies for imparting climate-resilience to farming have
also been evolved and successfully transferred to farmers in 151 climatically vulnerable
districts.
Several climate-resistant crop varieties have also been developed.
More importantly, contingency plans to cope with climate anomalies have been drawn
up for as many as 650 districts.
 Almost all agricultural activities such as crop farming, horticulture, livestock rearing, and
fisheries have continued to scale new highs, regardless of the increase in the frequency of
weather-induced natural disasters.

The present situation of Left-Wing Extremists in India

Over time, the Maoists have managed their own strikes against security forces, but such
attacks have not yielded an increase in support base or increase in the red corridor. This is
because,
1. Contribution of the Indian government: The government improved both the security
establishment’s work and development schemes in LWE areas, 2. Issues with Indian
Maoists’ programme: The programme has issues such as Replicating the Chinese
Revolution of the previous century, using armed struggle as the means to achieve its aims,
India’s condition at present is not similar to China in the 1920s etc., 3. Change in people
and peasants mindset, 4. Maoists’ refusal to acknowledge the diverse industrial
base and liberal democratic instruments in the country.

Read more: Union Minister of Home Affairs chairs review meeting in New Delhi on Left Wing Extremism

So, to curb LWE areas, the government must act continually in winning over the support of
tribals, peasants and other sections of people in the region and retaining people’s faith in
the liberal democratic institutions.

What are the concerns associated with cryptocurrency?

1) Limit the government to tax the amount as it is difficult to trace. 2) Can be used against
various criminal activities like money laundering. 3) Can harm the investors as they will be
vulnerable to hacks, scams etc 4) Can harm the lending capacity of banks as more people
will invest in cryptocurrency and less in banks

How will efficient logistics help?

With the country aspiring to be a manufacturing destination, an improved logistics
environment will benefit in the following manner:
– Generating better economies of scale,
– Minimizing cost per unit, leading to lower prices for the consumer.
– Improved supply chain efficiencies will help bring down logistics costs
 – Enhances industry competitiveness.

What are the initiatives taken by the government in this regard?

Policy target: Centre’s aim is to bring down logistics costs in India by 4-5% of GDP over the
next five years to approximately 8% of GDP.
Developmental initiatives taken at the international level-The Supply Chain Resilience
Initiative (SCRI)

Developmental initiatives taken at Domestic front: Infrastructure development initiatives

such as Sagarmala, Bharatmala, Dedicated Freight Corridors, paperless EXIM trade process
through E-Sanchit, mandatory electronic toll collection system (FASTag), etc.

Why do farmers prefer to burn stubble?

There are multiple reasons behind stubble burning.
Long term causes
– Policy issues: In 2009 the Punjab government made a law that barred farmers from
planting paddy before the dates notified. This was done to time plantings to the arrival of
the annual monsoon.
This enforced delay in planting pushed the date of harvest to November, which meant
farmers had to quickly clear their fields to plant wheat. A delay means lower yields. Due to
this short window, farmers took to burning the crop residue in larger numbers.
Contribution of climate: Wind direction changes in late October-mid November, which
carries the smoke all over the northern Gangetic plains.
Lack of trust on crop residue management machinery: Farmers fear a decline in
productivity if crop residue management machines (happy seeder and super seeder) are
used.
The lack of supply chain constituents like biomass aggregators, processors, and storage
facilities have made the existing ex-situ ecosystem a failure.

Must read: Read more about stubble burning in these articles: Article 1, Article 2, Article 3

Immediate causes
– Cost-related issues: Rising prices of diesel pushed up the operational cost of using these
machines. Fuel accounts for a quarter of the cost of operating these machines.
– Farmer protest: Some farmers seem to be putting their fields on fire as a mark of protest.
What are some potential solutions?
Firstly, using machines to incorporate crop residues into the soil, using straw as boiler fuel
or for manufacturing packaging materials.
Secondly, finding an alternative to the paddy-wheat cycle. Such as growing pulses or
oilseeds, instead of paddy.

What are the associated challenges?

Firstly, incorporating crop residues back into the soil is facing a severe challenge due to
the rising cost of diesel and rent for the necessary machines.
Also, the machine-led solution is only benefitting manufacturers who have raised the
prices (of crop management machines) to corner government subsidies.
Secondly, farmers are unwilling to move away from paddy since they can sell their entire
production to the government at assured support prices, while growing pulses or oilseeds
entails significant price risks.

What is the way forward?

– Scaling up biomass-based power generation to 1,000MW in a year, the problem of
stubble burning in northern India can be remedied significantly.
– Discoms should pay a bit extra for biomass-based renewable energy for the sake of
clean air.
– Assured government purchase at support prices for pulses like masoor and oilseeds like
groundnut
– State government-run cooperative MARKFED can stop the procurement of food grains for
central agencies. It must focus on its original mandate of marketing farmers’ produce. It
could enter into contract farming with farmers for oilseeds to improve supplies where India
is deficient.

Why deep-sea mining is necessary?

– Need for alternative sources of minerals: Building EV batteries requires minerals such as
cobalt, lithium, nickel, copper, vanadium and indium. Demand for these minerals will shoot
up with the rising demand for EVs. It will put pressure on the existing land mineral ores, so
there is a need to identify alternative sources to extract these minerals.
 – Potential to reduce child labor: It is a greener option than land-based mining and can
significantly reduce child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where abundant
mineral mining sites are present.

What are the factors that may discourage deep-sea mining?

– First, the projected rise is subject to multiple factors such as technological advancements
in battery chemistry, capability to recycle minerals from used batteries, and investment in
public transport infrastructure.
– Second, Many projections assume the use of current lithium-ion battery technology
(incorporating cobalt and nickel) will continue. But, while some alternatives of cobalt-free
lithium-ion batteries are in-development such as lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, some
alternatives are already available. For example, Tesla’s EV battery requires neither cobalt
nor phosphate.
– Third, The automobile sector is gearing up to invest in battery mineral recycling. This will
further reduce the future mineral demand. Battery recycling could reduce lithium demand
by 25%, cobalt by 35% as well as nickel and copper by 55% by 2040, according to the
Institute of Sustainable Futures.
– Fourth, In countries where governments bring down private motorised vehicle share by
improving existing public transportation as well as implementing vehicle restraint measures,
the demand for EV batteries will also be less.
– Fifth, Irreversible damage to aquatic life: During deep-sea mining, the unwanted
sediments containing heavy metals are pumped back into the sea. This creates sea pollution
and can choke jellyfish and other species that transfer a significant amount of carbon back
to the sea bed. There is also a possibility that species that have not yet been discovered are
lost.

What is the way forward?

We should plan our cities in such a way that trips are more local in nature and can be made
by walking and cycling so that there is little need to use a private electric car. This will result
in a lower demand for EV batteries.

Recently, India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United
States have decided to launch a new quadrilateral economic forum. The
technology dimension of this partnership promises a far greater potential for collaboration.

Must read: Quadrilateral economic forum and India – Explained, pointwise

 How the Quad countries are collaborating with each other on
Technology?
Israel and UAE’s startup sectors sign a deal to collaborate on fintech and digital security.
This will create regulatory sandboxes and accelerators for start-ups and provide them with
market access opportunities.

Read more: IFSCA introduces framework for ‘Regulatory Sandbox’

India and the US have been separately working with the two countries on multiple
projects. For instance, an Israel-based company, specialised in robotic solar cleaning
technology, signed an agreement to utilise its manufacturing facility in India for a project in
the UAE.
Israel, the UAE and the US are collaborating on water and energy projects.

What are the advantages for the Quad countries if engaged in

Technology?
– Can shape an innovation-based partnership, which can conjoin the technology hubs of
Silicon Valley, Dubai, Tel Aviv, and Bengaluru,
– Can focus on emerging technologies according to their respective national priorities,
-Counter the technological growth of China: By collaborating with Russia, and domestic
flagship initiatives like “Made in China 2025”, China reduced the capability gap with the US.
With the Quad nation’s shared technological goals, they can utilise each country’s unique
advantage for common good.

How do the technological collaborations benefit India?

India can leverage Silicon Valley’s venture capital funding, Tel Aviv’s close-knit organic
linkages between start-ups, industry, and academia, and UAE’s funding and focus on
innovation.
Provide an opportunity for India on transformative technologies: The startup
community in the US, Israel and the UAE have already reached an advanced research and
development stage on three transformative technologies Quantum science, blockchain, and
3D printing. India can build expertise and offer the scale to the development and
applications of these technologies.
For instance,
–3D printing: Israel manufactures about 40% of 3D printers worldwide. On the other hand,
India is lagging behind the 3D printing bandwagon.
–Quantum computer: Israel, UAE and the US have made a research on quantum
technology a priority. India is catching up with them through National Mission on
Quantum Technologies and Applications.
–Blockchain: India and the UAE can leverage the American and Israeli expertise in cyber and
cryptography to craft customised applications for use in banking, fintech and trade
financing. This can contribute to reducing administration and transaction costs in India.

What should Quad nations do to strengthen technological collaboration?

Add opportunities for scaling up and manufacturing: Indian towns like Bengaluru and
Hyderabad that have vibrant technology bases along with multiple defence public sector
units and research establishments, private sector companies can be potential towns for such
manufacturing.
Begin technology cooperation in transformative technologies: Quantum science,
blockchain, and 3D printing can be a priority area for the four countries as they offer
exciting applications for encrypted communications, cryptography, aerospace engineering,
and manufacturing.
Their dual-use nature offers the potential to give a technological edge to the four countries’
militaries. This, in turn, can add the security cooperation element to the grouping’s agenda.
Plug innovation ecosystems: The new quad nations should broaden the base of
cooperation, rather than restrict it to the government-to-government domain. This can be
done through seed-funding, academic collaborations, industrial partnerships and MoUs.

What are the reasons behind constant air pollution in Delhi?

Government policies–
The crop timetable was set by Punjab in 2009 to match with the monsoon season. It was
aimed at groundwater conservation by getting paddy to be fed by as much monsoon rain
as possible. This pushed all further sowing seasons into a tight common band, leaving little
time to harvest and sow rabi crops.
As part of our ‘mixed economy‘, we adopted a system of mass procurement for the sake
of food security, which led to frequent gluts of rice and consequent excess of straw.
Work-in-silos– In the past, the problem got compounded because the Central Pollution
Control Board, EPCA, transport departments, and state-level pollution management
agencies worked in silos, and often at cross-purposes.
Technological issues
Mechanical harvesters– These are widely used and are faster than manual labour. However,
they leave a residue of straw that farmers would rather burn than pay for eco-friendly but
expensive field-clearance options. Incentive plans to cheapen the eco-friendly options have
achieved little so far.
Other sources of Pollution
Particulate matter from personal vehicles, industrial and construction activities are the major
source of pollution in the region.
Road dust is the dominant source of particulate matter and the most significant
impediment to clean air, but unfortunately, is not taken care of.
Bursting of crackers- Deepavali, social gatherings such as weddings see a demand for
crackers around Oct-Nov. It is further compounded by less availability of green
crackers leads to additional smoke from all of these.
What are some steps taken to resolve the issue?
Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, in the
past.
The new agency, instituted by the Commission for Air Quality Management in National
Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act in August, is mandated to frame a “holistic
approach” to the NCR’s perennial problem.
What are the solutions?
Market-driven demand for food grain would adjust the price and thereby helping output
reach an optimal level. This would lead to optimal production of paddy and thereby less
straw generation.
Farms could diversify into pulses, oilseeds, or other crops that we’re actually short of.
Resolving distrust– A plan for a gradual shift towards a market system accompanied by
strong antitrust provisions designed to shield cultivator interests would allay their anxiety.
-The state could play chief procurer until a robust market for their produce takes shape,
after which it should offer a fallback cushion mandated by law.
The way forward is to view winter air pollution as a natural disaster and target root causes.

What is AR, VR & Mixed Reality (MR)?

Virtual Reality (VR) is all about a world created solely inside computers or online.
Augmented Reality (AR) deals with the real world and has elements of the virtual world built
atop it, like layers of information.
 Mixed reality or MR, as the name suggests, mixes both realities in a bid to capture the best
of both worlds. MR is what powers the metaverse to a very great extent.
MR is a metaverse for enterprises where –
– The employees can go in groups for training.
– The machines can be upgraded or replaced
– Existing and new employees can be trained on new machines quickly, safely, and at lower
costs.
In this metaverse, the team members can even connect with an instructor by dialing in,
following which the instructor can appear as a 3D hologram.

Must Read: What is Metaverse – Explained, pointwise

What are some associated concerns with the metaverse?

Products and services that come out from the metaverse will use data collection and AI-
powered data analytics. This can lead to gross misuse if there are no checks and balances.

What is the way forward?

AI-powered algorithms need to be transparent.
AI training models should be able to address bias in the training data or simply be able to
detect a human-induced bias.
Humans should have a right to appeal against the decision of an AI-based algorithm.

What are the root causes of the increasing education divide?

Commercialisation of education is the main cause. Knowledge has become a commodity
with a thriving market. Commodification leads to commercialisation.
The growth in entrepreneurship-led economic growth requires innovation and technology.
Also, it has increased the knowledge intensity of production, which keeps the knowledge
economy booming.
Further, Parents and students consider education as an assured instrument of mobility. This
has further increased the demand for education.
Consequently, modern education has become costly.
What are the negative consequences?
Exclusion of poor from education: The digital revolution, with its emphasis on robotics,
artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, will bypass the “capability of poor”.
What are the solutions to address these challenges?
Guaranteeing economic security: Providing assured basic income through provision of
universal property rights.
Expanding the ambit of Right to education: Article 21A now guarantees the right to
education for children in the six-14 age group. This progressive step should be extended to
all sectors and levels of education.
Fiscal measures: Enhancing budget allocation to education by reordering fiscal priorities,
and applying methods like zero-based/ outcome budgeting etc.
Ideological change: put education at the centre of economic/ development policy
formulation.
Involve private sector: Involve the corporate sector in meeting the demand for publicly
funded education, not just through CSR, but as part of academic social responsibility, in
return for special concessions and incentives.
Resource mobilisation: institute endowments and enhance diaspora contributions.

Why India should review its trade protectionist policies?

The principle of comparative advantage: Freeing up trade moves a country towards
specialization in products. This encourages the country to move towards products with low
output costs and move away from comparatively costly products.
Benefits of economies of scale: Open Trade allows each country to specialize in a handful
of products. In doing so, it allows each country to take advantage of scale economies and
lower the costs of production of products it continues to produce.
Trade serves as a medium to access the most productive technology worldwide: For
instance, the technology embodied in imported machines or imported products can be
accessed by reverse engineering.
Exposes a country’s entrepreneurs to compete against the best in the world: Such
intense competition keeps them competitive and offers an opportunity to learn from their
peers.
Free trade benchmarks the economy against the best in the world: Exposure to the best
in the world is an effective instrument of exposing domestic-policy distortions and poor
infrastructure. It can help to identify the changes needed in its domestic policies,
regulations, and infrastructure when the country is non-competitive.
Access to the global supply chain: Due to advances in transportation and communication
technologies, and technological advances, product innovation, product design, and
production and assembly can all take place in different locations based on cost advantage.
For example, a country that is rich in human capital is can focus on innovation and design,
leaving manufacturing of components and assembly to countries that have a cost
advantage in those activities.

What is climate risk?

IPCC, defines climate risk as the likelihood of unfavorable impacts occurring as a result of
severe climate events interacting with vulnerable environmental, social, economic, political,
or cultural conditions.
Quantitatively, it is the product of the probability of a climate event occurring and its
adverse consequences.
What are the issues in Global Climate Risk Index?
First, the GCRI report does not provide a rationale for the selection of macro
indicators. Out of the four key indicators (The number of deaths, number of deaths per
1,00,000 inhabitants sum of losses in Purchasing Power Parity, and losses per unit of the
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) two are absolute while the other two are relative.
Second, the index suffers from exclusion errors and selection bias. It excludes a number
of key micro indicators such as the total number of people injured, loss of livestock, loss of
public and private infrastructure, crop loss, and others that are better suited for assessing
the composite loss resulting from climate change events.
Third, the index omits geological incidents like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or
tsunamis, which may be potentially triggered by climate change and can have an economic
and humanitarian impact.
Fourth, data not validated at ground level: The ranking under the GCRI is done based on
data collected by Munich Re’s NatCatService, which is not validated at the ground-level.
They are at best approximate values of economic losses.
What is the way forward?
Climate change can at best be managed within a comprehensive risk assessment framework,
which uses climate information to better cope with the impact of climate change.
In this context, India’s latest module on the National Disaster Management Information
System (NDMIS) extensively captures damages and losses caused by disasters. The data
captured by the NDMIS includes all major climatic events.
It is necessary that India should use its own comprehensive risk assessment framework to
identify climate risks.

What are the critical roles played by street vendors?

Creating substantial employment opportunities. According to a study, 11% of the total
urban workforce across India is in street vending.
Street vendors also play an important role in food distribution, food security, as well as in
making public spaces safer.
Moreover, households across income classes (rich and poor alike) regularly rely on street
vendors for procuring food.

What are the issues faced by Street vendors?

State or city governments crack down frequently on street vendors, in an effort to
‘clean up’ their cities, roads and public spaces. Attempts are also made to relocate public
markets to the outskirts of cities.
Violence by police and local officials: In addition, street vendors also face everyday
harassment, confiscation of goods, and sometimes violence by police and local level
officials on the street. This leads to further exclusion for vendors.
Poor living conditions: Street vendors live in poorly serviced housing, work long hours with
long commute times, face difficult conditions in carrying out their daily work.

What steps are being taken to ensure the development of street vendors?
Firstly, India is one of the few countries that recognise the right to work on the street,
through the National Policy for Street Vendors, 2004, and the Protection of Livelihood
and Regulation of Street Vending Act, 2014.
– The Acts provide for the formation of a Town Vending Committee. However, the
implementation of this remains partial. Evidence suggests that the TVCs have not been
formed because the different stakeholders have been unable to work together.
Secondly, Main Bhi Dilli campaign, a collective of civil society organisations, have brought
attention to the ways in which urban planning can be more responsive to the needs of
street vendors.
Thirdly, government is experimenting with several approaches to address the question of
providing social security or assuring basic minimum incomes for the street vendors. For
instance, proposals on an urban employment guarantee program.

What is the way forward?

First, Vending should be included in the cities Master Planning process, which would help
balance the needs of vendors, pedestrians and vehicular mobility.
Second, an entire Land use category (such as commercial, residential) should not be
declared as a no-vending zone. This will help in providing improved amenities for vendors.
Third, adopting the spirit and the letter of the Street Vending Act, will help in forming
genuine partnerships with vendor organisations. It will help them in addressing the
governance issues related to street vending.

What are the challenges in China-US relations?

Failed fulfilments: During the Trump regime, the Phase 1 Trade Agreement, required China
to buy $380 billion worth of American goods by the end of 2021. But China didn’t fulfil the
agreement.
Deepening structural contradiction: Both the US and China have structural contradictions
that are unlikely to resolve soon.
The approach of Trump and Biden on China: Under Trump, the US shifted from
engagement at all costs with China to challenging it across a broad front, including trade,
technology, human rights, security, and global governance.
Under Biden, the US has moved more systematically in challenging China. For instance, by
strengthening US alliances and focusing on domestic economic renewal.

What US-China relations mean for India?

Many in India worry that any relaxation of tensions between the US and China would
undermine India’s position in relation to China. So, India must carefully monitor the state of
US-China relations. But India has no reason to panic. This is because,
1. China is far too important for any major power to ignore it, 2. Even after Chinese
aggression in Ladakh, India continued its engagement with China. More recently, in COP 26
also, India and China coordinated with each other. 3. All of India’s Asian and European
partners have huge stakes in a productive economic relationship with China.
So, engaging with China is a fact of international life today.

What India should do?

1. Strengthen India’s partnership with all major powers, including the US, Europe, Japan and
Russia, 2. Enhance India’s own standing in the great power constellation.
Overall, India can’t see itself as a victim of great powers, but as a nation that can shape the
regional and global balance of power.
What are the factors that have contributed to the growth in
exports?
Factors that have given thrust to exports are,
– Revival of global growth
– Inventory restocking in early 2021 as economies opened.
– Pandemic-induced shift towards consumption of goods.

How does India stand to gain from this trend?

India’s merchandise exports could continue to benefit from a rise in external demand in the
short run due to the following reasons:
One, merchandise exports highly elastic to global growth are driving the post-pandemic
surge. India has a high share of these items in its export’s basket. Such items include
chemicals engineering goods, petroleum products, and gems and jewelry.
Elasticity is calculated as the ratio of growth in exports to growth in world GDP, and a
measure higher than 1 indicates high sensitivity to global growth.
Two, value of exports has grown faster than volume this fiscal, compared with the pre-
pandemic levels. High global commodity prices have provided a disproportionate lift to the
value of exports.
Three, despite higher commodity prices, the terms of trade (the ratio of export prices to
import prices) remain favorable to exporters, but the gap has narrowed. This suggests prices
of imports are growing faster than those of exports, and it could reduce the net earnings of
exporters.

What are the risks that can offset exports trade?

The risks include,
– Supply-chain disruptions and material shortages
– Uncertainties around the impact of the delta variant
– Medium-term cut in global potential output.
– UNCTAD report cautions that the momentum in global trade in 2021 may be short-lived,
as it partially reflects inventory restocking cycle.

What India should do to consolidate the benefits arising out of exports?

First, enhancing domestic production capacity will open avenues for exports in import-
dependent sectors. In this context, PLI scheme can be a crucial bridge between short-term
opportunities and longer-lasting growth.
Second, improving India’s competitiveness through focused reduction in trade costs (tariff
and non-tariff barriers, transportation, and other costs) is critical.

What are the benefits of micro irrigation system?

– water savings in comparison with flood irrigation.
– decrease in electricity consumption.
– the adoption of micro irrigation results in savings on fertilizers.
– results in the increase of the average productivity of fruits and vegetables.
– increase in farmers’ income.

What are the issues faced by the manufacturers & suppliers of drip
irrigation systems?
Issue of prolonging the selection process and extending delays: In most Indian states,
despite the availability of funds, scheme applications are processed only at the end of a
financial year. This is done typically to achieve pre-set targets in what is famously known as
the ‘March rush’. This tends to discourage farmers from availing the benefits offered under
this scheme.
Delays in the reimbursement of subsidies to industries: Unlike other subsidies that are
directly transferred to beneficiaries, those for installing drip irrigation systems are
transferred to vendors only after due diligence. Further, there is no fixed timeline for the
inspection and testing of an installed system. This results in a long pendency of
disbursement against bills.
Governments continue to dishonor their commitments to support industries: For
instance, under the scheme, the prices of equipment and installation services are fixed by
the government. These have not been revised in the past five years. However, raw material
costs, however, have risen by at least 50%.

What reforms are needed?

– set a timeline for each stage, from an application by a farmer to the execution and
payment disbursement.
– strengthen the Centre’s monitoring mechanism by insisting on a periodic review of
applications, approvals, work orders and actual installations.
– establish a central information system to monitor the scheme’s progress.
– deploy direct benefit transfers for subsidy sums to go straight into the bank accounts of
farmers.
– ask state administrations to operate the scheme throughout the year on a first- come-
first-serve basis.
– link equipment prices to either inflation or underlying input costs.

Why it is said that the government’s taxation policy is anti-poor and pro-
rich?
Pro-rich policies:
Replacing the wealth tax with an income tax for households that earned more than 10
million rupees annually.
Reduction in the corporate tax rate for companies from 30 percent to 22 percent.
Corporate tax for manufacturing firms incorporated after October 1, 2019, was reduced
from 25 to 15 percent.
Increasing the income tax exemption limit from Rs 2,00,000 to 2,50,000. The tax rate for
incomes up to Rs 5 lakh was also reduced from 10 to 5 percent.
Increased indirect taxes: Pro-rich taxation policy has deprived the state of important
resources. To compensate for the decline of direct taxes, the government has increased
indirect taxes. Indirect taxes affect all Indians, irrespective of their income. For instance,
taxes on petroleum products
Why the government should resort to a progressive taxation policy?
Reduce inequality: A 2018 Oxfam report revealed that 10 percent of the richest Indians
hold 77.4 percent of the nation’s wealth.
To mobilise funding for welfare schemes: According to The IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich
List of 2019, a tax rate of four percent on the nation’s 953 richest families would give the
government the equivalent of one percent of India’s GDP.
In addition to that, the country has one of the world’s fastest-growing populations of
millionaires. The average wealth of these millionaires has increased by 74 percent over this
period

Why do banks settle for less payment?

The bank recovered ₹25 crores out of dues of ₹40 crores. Recovering over 60% is excellent,
when globally, such sales yield only around 30% or less. In India, recoveries average only
23.2% across various channels.
Firstly, it depends on a banker’s judgment that recovering an even smaller amount today is
better
then recovering an uncertain amount in the distant future, given the time value of money
and delays in our judicial processes.
Secondly, investing people and money in messy recovery processes distracts a bank from its
core business.
What are the steps taken to strengthen recovery and its failures?
In 1962, after the Palai Central Bank failed, an amended RBI Act provided for a credit
information bureau that would have strengthened information sharing among bankers
soon became dysfunctional.
In 1971, a study group recommended setting up a Credit Information Trust. The entire
system
was discontinued in 1995.
The Debt Recovery Tribunal was introduced in 1993 following the Narasimham
Committee recommendations of 1991.
The SARFAESI Act was passed later, intended to speed up recovery and strengthen the
hands of bankers. But, the system, over the years, became compromised in different ways.
-This included the non-appointment of judges, failed auctions, delayed payments, and so
on.
The IBC is the most effective system to date to secure the interests of the lender.

How China’s military capabilities are undergoing a major shift?

China Military Power Report (CMPR) recently released by the Pentagon reveals four
specific areas where change is underway —
i). Quantitative strength: the size of the PRC’s nuclear arsenal, is set to increase. Presently,
it has around 200 nuclear warheads. By 2027, they are likely to increase to 700.
ii). Atomic yield: The PRC is likely to favor the expansion of low-yield weapons. They are
weapons ideal for battlefield use during conventional military operations and against
conventional targets such as concentrations of armoured, artillery and infantry forces. Lower
yield warheads help the PRC avoid causing collateral damage.
iii). Delivery capabilities: these low-yield nuclear warheads are also likely to find their way
into a key delivery capability — the PRC’s Dong-Feng-26 (DF-26) ballistic missile. In addition
 to the DF-26, China has also developed the JL-2 Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles
(SLBMs) with a range of 7,200 kilometres capable of striking targets across continental Asia.
iv). Posture: China has moved towards a Launch on Warning (LoW) nuclear posture. A
higher alert posture risks reducing the threshold for nuclear use in the form of preemption.
It could also lead to miscalculation and unintended nuclear use.

What are the implications for India of China’s increasing military

capabilities?
For India, there are some serious implications with China’s increasingly minatory nuclear
military capabilities.
First, the size of China’s nuclear arsenal complicates the potency of India’s nuclear arsenal.
A significantly larger Chinese nuclear arsenal paired to missile defences will limit damage to
the PRC. It also threatens the survivability of the Indian nuclear arsenal.
Secondly, the Launch on Warning (LoW) posture reduces the decision time for any Indian
retaliatory nuclear strike in the heat of a war or crisis and places pressure on India to pursue
its own LoW. The PRC could also significantly degrade an Indian retaliatory strike if China
chooses to resort to First Use (FU) of nuclear weapons, and completely eradicate India’s
nuclear forces.
Thirdly, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese have added two new Type 094 (Jin
class) SSBNs/nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines to their existing fleet. The
Chinese Navy has carried out bathymetric and ocean mapping surveys in the Indian
Ocean, crucial to the execution of sub-surface military operations. The Bay of Bengal’s sea
depth is very conducive for nuclear submarine missions, which will leave India exposed to a
Chinese atomic pincer from the maritime & the continental domain.

A pincer attack is a military attack by two coordinated forces that close in on an enemy position from
different directions

What is the way forward?

Indian strategic planners will have to think about the quantitative nuclear balance and
India’s nuclear posture vis-à-vis the PRC.
The maritime dimension of China’s nuclear capabilities might not be an immediate strategic
challenge but will potentially become one in the coming years for New Delhi. It will have to
specifically watch the pattern in the People Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) nuclear
submarine deployments and address the deficit in its subsurface nuclear delivery
capabilities.
Beijing opened its first foreign military base in Djibouti in the
Horn of Africa in 2017.
It is said to be building its second foreign military base at Ream, Cambodia.

Must Read: Keeping a close eye on China’s nuclear capabilities

Through acquiring foreign military bases, China is trying to assert its primacy in Asia and the
Indo-Pacific region while pushing out the US and India. A permanent naval presence in the
Indian Ocean will profoundly alter India’s security environment.

Which countries is China targeting for its foreign military bases?

The recent US annual report on Chinese military power cites several countries that People’s
Liberation Army is targeting for military bases.
In Bay of Bengal: Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka are candidates from the Bay of Bengal
To the West of India: Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, and the UAE.
Pakistan is likely to emerge as the most important vehicle for Chinese naval power
projection in the Indian Ocean, with significant implications for India’s military planning.

What are the reasons behind China’s pursuit of acquiring foreign military
bases?
Background: In the past, Communist China claimed that it had no interest in projecting
power to distant seas or foreign military bases. China also actively campaigned against the
foreign military presence in Asia. As a defensive power in the second half of the 20th
century, China’s priority was to fight off external threats to its sovereignty and consolidate
its communist revolution.
This policy changed as China rose rapidly to become a great power in the 21st century.
– Due to its vast globalized economy and growing reliance on foreign markets and
resources, a need was felt within the Chinese security establishment to secure its regional
and global interests.
– In the 1970s, China valued the US role in containing Soviet social-imperialism and latent
Japanese militarism. Today, China wants to establish primacy in Asia and its waters by
expanding its military reach and is trying to push America out of Asia once again.
Hence, China started establishing foreign bases.

What are the features of the Chinese strategy of establishing foreign

military bases?
 Dual-use facilities: China’s focus was on building dual-use facilities rather than explicit
military bases on foreign soil.
Construction of ports & BRI: China’s dual-use approach benefited immensely from its
expansive foreign port construction and the more recent Belt and Road Initiative to build
infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific.
Cultivating special relationships with the political elites, as well as strengthening ties
with the military establishments in a potential host country.
Arms transfer, and military diplomacy, are also an integral part of China’s pursuit of
foreign bases.

What are the similarities and differences b/w Chinese and Indian
positions on foreign military bases?
Similarities Differences

China opposed foreign bases due to their direct

In the second half of the 20th century, India, like security implications. Its rejection was political and
China, opposed foreign military bases in Asia and the contextual.
Indian Ocean. India’s opposition was based on an ideological
principle of its non-aligned foreign policy

In the 21st century, like China, India also began to

recognize the need for military access to strategic
locations in the Indo-Pacific.

Delhi’s efforts included negotiating arrangements with friendly states in the Indian Ocean,
as well as developing deeper strategic partnerships with the US and its regional allies.
But India is still a long way from matching the speed and intensity of Chinese military
diplomacy in its near and extended neighbouhood.

What is the significance of the US for India?

India is trying to move up its value chains and reach ambitious development targets. The
aims are to grow to a $-5 trillion economy by 2025, become a hub for high-tech
manufacturing, and install 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030.
These goals can be achieved with US capital and investment and continued access to the
US market.
What are the steps taken by India and challenges thereon to boost investment?
The recent moves to raise FDI caps in key sectors and the repeal of the retroactive tax
law have boosted investor confidence.
However, the implementation of unpredictable tariffs and regulatory regimes targeting
foreign firms should be avoided.
What should be the way forward for India and US?
Both governments can make real progress by pursuing negotiations on two parallel tracks:
One dedicated to removing and resolving longstanding irritants and disputes.
Second focused on building a 21st-century trade framework starting with the key
sectors that are driving growth and innovation across the economic corridor. Some of them
are:
– Healthcare sector
Governments should embrace market-based approaches to innovative medical products.
It must ensure that public procurement policies do not discriminate against foreign
firms, and speed up the approval of medical devices and pharmaceuticals so that critical
and lifesaving therapies can get to the market faster.
–Digital sphere
we must address several foundational issues, such as the digital service tax, cross-border
data flows, and common cellular standards.
It’s important that on the digital services tax, India accords with emerging global
agreements that will accelerate trade.
Similarly, it is important that India and the US come to a common ground on 5G
standards so that it can operate in an integrated telecommunications ecosystem.
New data regulations should also facilitate the flow of information and respect
internationally recognised intellectual property rights that serve as the cornerstone for
innovation worldwide.
What are the potential benefits of these actions if taken?
Progress on these fronts can facilitate the movement of the goods, services, technology,
talent, and capital necessary to fortify the world against climate disruption, prepare it for
future pandemics, and build an economy ready for the challenges of the 21st century.

What are the key takeaways of the Swachh Survekshan 2021 awards?
Read here: President of India Graces Swachh Amrit Mahotsav and Presents Swachh
Survekshan Awards 2021
Ganga Towns: Varanasi has been awarded the cleanest town award along the banks of river
Ganga.
Prerak Daaur Samman: It is a new category of awards that starts from 2021 and judged
states on its Solid waste management. It ranked Indore, Surat, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi
Municipal Council and Tirupati as ‘Divya’ (platinum).
What is the purpose of such rankings?
1) Publicity boost 2) Motivation to do better
What are the questions raised by the Swachh Survekshan survey?
The award categories have expanded manifold e.g., Separate award for States Category
based on number of ULBs in the State (Above 100 and below 100); ‘Ganga City’, ‘Prerak
Daaur Samman’, and ‘Population’ wise category. The expanded categories mean that more
cities get awards and consequently the award process resembles an appeasement exercise.
For the last six years, almost the same cities are topping the survey. This raises legitimate
questions like (1) whether cities are actually getting motivated as intended; (2) whether
some cities have better access to funds; (3) whether the States focus their funds in keeping
some cities clean to avail of a rank in any of the wide number of categories; (4) Can complex
problems like sanitation be reduced to simple metrics?
Thus, there should be a better analysis of the scheme to understand whether the cities are
getting cleaner or the numbers are hiding inequity?

How significant is land to people’s livelihood?

Land is a source for livelihood: Land is one of the two primary factors of production,
capital, and labour. The land is capital, and when coupled with labour, it yields a regular
income.
Land serves important social functions: For many agricultural families, despite their
marginal holdings, land serves as the basis for social, cultural, linguistic, and filial ties.
How the significance associated with land is connected to farm laws?
First, the farmers were afraid that the farm laws were designed for the benefit of large
conglomerates that could use their influence to control farmers and the farm trade.
Second, the farm income has been declining owing to a decline in operational agricultural
land-holding. For example, The National Statistical Office’s 2019 survey on farm incomes,
showed that farmers with less than 2 acres of land (90% of all farmers) had suffered poor
income growth from cultivation over the past decade.
In this context, the farm laws gave rise to fears that even this income would be further
compressed under corporate pressure, forcing many farmers to eventually lose their capital.

What are the implications of non-availability of reliable data?

Affects the framing of policies: Without reliable data, it becomes difficult to frame policy
solutions relating to social issues such as food and nutrition security, etc.
Increase dependence on unreliable surveys: In the absence of timely and reliable public
data, users are increasingly relying on data provided through large-scale surveys conducted
by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). However, users have raised questions
about the design and data collection framework of the CMIE’s high-frequency household
survey.

The newly-created National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL),

first in the public sector, offers hopes for the faster clean up of lenders’ balance sheets.
NARCL is not a bank, but a specialised financial institution to help resolve the distressed
assets of banks.
Over the last 5 years, considerable progress has been made in resolving and recovering bad
debts of banks. Despite this, there are still around Rs 10 lakh crore worth of stressed assets
in the system.
What are its potential advantages?
Firstly, it will help in the faster aggregation of distressed assets that lie scattered across
several lenders.
Secondly, its securitised receipts carry sovereign assurance. It provides comfort to PSU
banks as price discovery would not be subject to later investigations.
Thirdly, it would initially focus on large accounts with debts over Rs 500 crore. This is also
expected to free the banks from the tortuous recovery process and would provide time to
focus on much-needed credit expansion.
What were the previous measures taken to resolve the bad debts?
The RBI had launched a slew of policy measures during 2013-14 to resolve, reconstruct and
restructure stressed assets. These measures did not deliver, and they were all abandoned
subsequently.
Institutional measures:
-BIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction, 1987).
-Lokadalat, DRT (Debt Recovery Tribunal, 1993).
-CDR (Corporate Debt Restructure, 2001).
-SARFAESI (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement, 2002),
ARC (Asset Recovery Company, 2002).
The resolutions undertaken respectively by Lokadalat, DRT, and SARFAESI were merely 6.2%,
4.1%, and 26.7%.
The IBC(Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016):
With a legally time-bound resolution, rather than recovery, it marked a departure from
the earlier measures.
It has instilled a sense of fear in mischievous corporate borrowers who have siphoned funds.
It nearly put an end to ever greening. It has succeeded in resolving a few large corporate
borrowers, with an average recovery of 45%.
What are the challenges?
Realisation of debt to lenders-The execution will depend on IDRCL (Indian Debt
Resolution Company), the operating arm, which would be in the private sector.
Elevated haircuts(the lower-than-market-value placed on an asset being used as collateral
for a loan.) — in some cases going up to 95%.
The NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) is starved of infrastructure and over 50% of its
benches were short of regular judges. This coupled with the poor quality of its
decisions has made matters more difficult.
Lenders and regulators need to address this issue of delayed recognition and resolution.
Business stress and/or financial stress needs to be recognised even prior to regulatory
norms on NPA classification.
Anchoring bias(tendency to make decisions on the basis of first available information)– The
low cost of acquisition would suffer from the anchor effect. Potential bidders would quote
prices nearer to this anchor.
What needs to be done?
Incentives to lenders for more flexible provisioning requirements would encourage them to
recognise bad debts early.
NARC should uphold IBC’s given credit culture principle, not dilute it, by forbidding errant
and willful defaulters to take back distressed assets.
-it should have a sunset clause of three to five years. This will avoid the perpetuation of
moral hazards and also encourage expeditious resolution.
-Anchor bias needs to be mitigated by better extrinsic value discovery.
-NARC should avoid selling to other ARCs.
The fundamental problem of accumulation of elevated and recurring NPA
generation needs to be tackled. Prevention of the accumulation of NPAs (below 2%) is
critical.

Why the farm laws are said to be controversial?

Firstly, the farm laws, that have a far-reaching impact on the farmers, were brought through
ordinance route without taking the farmers into confidence.
Secondly, under Article 123 of the Constitution, ordinances are made during an emergency
situation and when the parliament is not functioning. But the farm laws do not have the
kind of urgency which necessitates immediate legislation through the ordinances.
Thirdly, when the Bills were brought to replace the ordinances, it should have been referred
to the standing committee on agriculture for a detailed scrutiny. However, they were not
consulted.
Why the government cannot accept the farmer demands for the legal guarantee on
MSP?
There is no dispute that farmers need to be fairly compensated for their produce. But any
form of guaranteed price is not the way forward for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, the benefit of MSP is available only to a limited number of farmers in select few
states, and the government is not in a position to procure more than what it is already
doing.
Secondly, the present cropping pattern in states such as Punjab and Haryana, which a
guaranteed MSP will further encourage, is simply not sustainable. The unabated pumping of
groundwater supported by subsidised power has led to irreversible damage to the ecology
of these states.
Thirdly, the agriculture sector needs to adjust to the evolving market and demand
conditions.
What is the way forward?
Strengthening the committee system: One way of strengthening it is by getting all the
important Bills examined by the standing committee. The presiding officers may, in public
interest, refer all Bills to the committees with few exceptions.
Leadership of the State government: Reforms should proceed in the agriculture sector
because the present situation is flawed. The best way forward, will be to let the state
governments take the lead.
Remunerative prices for farmer groups: Can be done by appropriate government
interventions. Such as,
Continued public sector procurement.
Compensating farmers for lower realisation.
Encouraging cooperatives or farmer producers to participate in the value chain.
Constantly engaging with farmers to push reforms and improve productivity in the sector.

What options have experts suggested in place of MSP?

Experts have recommended the following measures that the government can adopt instead
of MSP:
– Giving remunerative prices to farmers for their produce.
– Letting the market determine the prices.
– Building mechanisms to safeguard farmers against fluctuations, like government
interventions when commodity prices become dearer.
– Building efficient markets and provide price or income support for efficient production.

What measures can be looked into to protect farmers against price

fluctuations?
Experimenting with Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana. It is a price differential scheme to
compensate farmers in the event of a price crash that was started as a pilot scheme in
Madhya Pradesh (2018). It was not relaunched the next year owing to criticism regarding
cartelisation and depressed prices.
Re-examining the Income assurance scheme introduced during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s
rule: The model calculated the seven-year average income. Based on this, if a farmer didn’t
get the best yield or price in three of the last seven years, the government would
compensate them.
Government should create an index of the farmers for providing price support during
distress. The index should contain information’s on irrigated area, land, types of crops
produced on an average, insurance cover, weather vulnerability. This index can be used for
providing price support during distress.
Why farm bills were inadequate to address the key problems faced by the
agriculture sector?
Indian agriculture is unproductive: This is the fundamental reason why the Indian farmer
is poor. The land, despite many improvements in irrigation, seeds, fertilisers and
mechanisation, just doesn’t have enough in it to sustain the sheer number of people
dependent on it.
Agriculture today employs 45% of India’s workers, while only producing around 10% of its
output.
In this backdrop of unproductive farms, farm laws that aimed towards better price
realisation of agricultural products by bringing changes with agricultural marketing laws
are inadequate to address the low productivity of Indian agriculture.

Why labor shifted from agriculture to non-farm sector in

industrialised countries when they were at similar income levels a
century ago?
Firstly, the difference between labour productivities in the non-agricultural and agricultural
sectors was much smaller in the industrialised countries due to relatively few policy controls
on prices and quantities. Hence, the initial misallocation of labour was smaller.
Secondly, deterioration in the agriculture in the currently industrialised countries generated
a push factor that induced labour to shift out of agriculture.
Thirdly, expansion of large scale, low-tech industrial employment, provided the avenues to
absorb the surplus agricultural labour.

Why the shift is not happening in India?

Welfarism approach towards agriculture: Measures such as, minimum support prices,
subsidies to cultivators and interest rate subventions on crop loans hardly do anything for
long-term changes in the agriculture. Instead, they trap farmers by giving them marginally
stronger incentives to remain in agriculture though productivity and incomes are declining.
Failure of India’s large-scale, low-tech manufacturing sector: This is the sector that
typically absorbs surplus agricultural labour in bulk while also providing them with
significant improvements in incomes. This sector has completely failed to grow in India.
Less productive service sector: In India, the majority of the non-agricultural employment
growth has happened in the service sector. Unfortunately, 80% of this service sector
employment is in very low productivity.

What is the way forward?

The need of the hour is for the non-agricultural sectors to step up and provide a viable
alternative to low productivity agriculture.
The government, thus, needs to focus on incentivising entrepreneurs to invest in large-scale
manufacturing by legislating labour reforms.

What are the important findings revealed by the e-Shram portal

data?
The e-Shram portal data gives vital information on the unorganized labor force, such as,
– Number of registered unorganised workers: a fifth of the estimated unorganised
workers in the country are now registered on the database.
– Caste based data on unorganised workers: 40.5% of unorganised workers belong to the
OBC category, 27.4% are from the general category, 23.7% are Scheduled Castes, while 8.3%
are Scheduled Tribes.
– Sector based data on unorganised workers: Maximum registrations have been in the
agriculture sector (53.6 per cent), followed by construction (12.2 per cent), and domestic
and household workers (8.71 per cent).

What is the way forward?

Merely creating a database of workers is not enough, but identifying them, registering
them, is a step towards including them in social security schemes. For this to happen, the
following steps need to be taken:
First, the information gathered on workers, especially on migrants, will need to be regularly
updated. The states of origin and destination will need to do this and keep track of circular
migration.
Second, workers unwilling to register in e-Shram portal need to be incentivised.
Third, eligibility criteria for schemes that depend on information that is not collected by the
e-Shram portal will also need to be integrated.
Fourth, the issue of portability of benefits, extended at both the central and state level,
need to be addressed.

What is the status of manual scavenging in India?

Presently, the government does not directly employ manual scavengers, but the work is
outsourced to private providers. It is these private providers that employ manual
scavengers.
The sixth Economic Census, 2013 reported around 1.7 lakh businesses underwater supply,
sewerage, waste management, and 82% of these are in the private sector which reportedly
employs manual scavengers.
A manual scavenging survey by the Ministry of Social Justice and empowerment found 66,
692 manual scavengers till October 2020.

Read here: The Plight of Manual Scavengers in India

What steps have been taken by the government?

The government enacted the Prohibition of the Employment of Manual Scavengers Act
2013 which prohibited any form of employment of manual scavengers.
The Swatch Bharat Mission led to the construction of toilets with on-site sanitation
systems like septic tanks and pits.
Atal Mission for rejuvenation and urban transformation, which focuses on 500 cities has
led to the development of infrastructure such as sewerage networks, sewerage treatment
plants.
Latest, National Sample Survey, 2019 showed that more than 65% of households in India
have toilets with septic tanks.
Ministry of Social Justice and empowerment has taken up rehabilitation of sanitation
workers under revised self-employment scheme for rehabilitation of manual scavengers.
National Safai Karamchari Finance and Development Corporation is building capacity at
the local government level, providing mechanized desludging trucks and financial assistance
to sanitation workers.
What is the way forward?
Given that so many plans have failed to yield results, there is a need for strict monitoring of
the implementation of the act.
The government has proposed a new initiative of national action for the mechanized
Sanitation ecosystem. The plan will provide monitoring of sanitation services, including the
activities of private sanitation service organizations. These could pave the way for
eradicating manual scavenging and ensuring the welfare of all consultation workers.

A heavy increase in fertilizer subsidy bill is seen.

A brief background of fertilizer policy since 1991 reforms:
After years of unchanged prices, the budget of 1991 raised the issue prices of fertilizers by
40% on average. This rise was rolled down to 30% in a few months, with exemption to small
and marginal farmers from the price increase. Due to opposition, the increase in Urea price
was further rolled back to 17% over the pre-reform price.
-It resulted in a big shift in the composition of fertilizers used in the country in favor of urea
and thus Nitrogen(N).
The government started Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) in 2010 to address the growing
imbalance in fertilizer use, which was skewed towards urea (N). However, only non-
nitrogenous fertilizers P and K (phosphorus and potassium) were included in NBS; urea was
left out.
What is the need for reforms in the fertilizer sector?
Firstly, It is putting a huge and unsustainable burden of rising fertilizer subsidy bills on the
government exchequer. Fertilizer subsidy has doubled in a short period of three years
between 2017-18 to 2021-22. At present, taxpayers bear 78% of the cost of urea and
farmers pay only 22%.
Secondly, to promote the efficient use of fertilizers through the balanced use of N, P, and K
(nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium).
Thirdly, to reduce water and air pollution caused by the overuse of urea.
What are the challenges faced in reforming the sector?
A huge amount of fertilizer is imported into India due to limited domestic production
capacity. Further, the international prices of fertilizers are volatile due to:
-Sharp upsurge in international energy prices, with which fertilizer prices are directly
related.
–Supply constraints in major producing countries due to robust domestic demand,
production cuts, and
export restrictions.
–Cartels of major global energy producers have a strong influence on prices.
What is the way forward?
In order to address the multiple goals of fertilizer policy, we need to simultaneously work on
four key policy
areas.
Firstly, we need to be self-reliant and not depend on the import of fertilizers.
Secondly, we need to extend the NBS model to urea and allow for price rationalization of
urea compared to non-nitrogenous fertilizers and prices of crops.
-Distribution of price change over both price and subsidy based on some rational formula
rather than just on subsidy.
Thirdly, We need to shift towards non-chemical fertilizers like organic and biofertilizers
and bring parity in prices and subsidies given to chemical fertilizers with organic and
biofertilizers.
-This also provides the scope to use large biomass of crop that goes waste and enhance the
value of livestock by-products.
Finally, India should pay attention to improving fertilizer efficiency through need-based
use rather than
using excess fertilizer in the field.
What are the steps already taken by the government?
For being self-reliant, five urea plants are being revived in the public sector. To increase the
efficiency of fertilizer use, the recently developed Nano urea by IFFCO shows promising
results in reducing the usage of urea.

What is the risk to the global supply chain, due to China?

If China’s ‘zero- Covid strategy’ fails after the Winter Olympics in February, there is going
to be a major crisis. Delta variant could further the crisis.
-if it experiences a devastating Covid wave, the Chinese government will be forced to clamp
down on exports of critical products, to fulfill the demand of its own population.
Lean manufacturing processes and just-in-time delivery mean a factory closure in one Asian
country can unleash a global crisis.
How much is the dependence of the world on China for products?
According to the United Nations, China accounts for 28.7% of global manufacturing output.
China is India’s largest trading partner; bilateral trade was at $92.68 billion in 2019.
A major chunk of electronic components, auto parts, consumer durables, active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and key starting materials (KSM) required to
manufacture lifesaving drugs are imported from China.
In case of any disruption, global healthcare would be severely affected. For example, 80%
of heparin(used to prevent blood clotting) comes from China. Without heparin, critical care
will suffer, virtually paralyzing the entire global healthcare delivery system.
What needs to be done by India?
It is important for every Indian industrial body to create a checklist of vulnerable items and
secure supply till the end of 2022.
Most countries cannot be self-reliant due to small aging populations, which means a small
consumer base
or a lack of a talented workforce. It is time for India to enhance its status by becoming a
global manufacturing hub.

Important elements of a disaster response

There are four elements in the response to any disaster that are important —
– The credibility of the warning
–A shared sense of emergency

– A social and political norm of joint responsibility

– A higher authority capable of enforcing restraint and liability on those most responsible
for the risk

What are the issues/challenges in a legally mandated MSP regime?

A legal mandate for MSP would force the government to purchase all the produce that any
farmer wants to sell at the declared MSP. It would also have to procure from all states, and
all crops for which MSPs are announced. This will have the following unintended outcomes:
– High cost to the exchequer
– Loss of food grains due to rotting in mandis.
– Increase food inflation.
– Encouragement to unsustainable cultivation of water intensive crops, rice and wheat. This
will indirectly contribute to stubble burning.
– It will increase the capacity of buffer stocks. Already, grain stocks lying with the
government are more than twice its buffer requirement.

What are the issues that are hampering the growth of agriculture in
India?
– Holdings are fragmented and have become uneconomical.
– Lack of focus towards crop diversification
– Public investments compared to subsidies are very less.
– Declining productivity.
– Disguised labor force
– Low income (Farmers earns an average of ₹27 a day)
– Lack of growth in non-farm sector jobs, limiting diversification of agriculture.

What is the way forward?

Instead of bypassing the market by using MSPs, the government should make efforts to
enable farmers to participate in the market.
Ramp up investment in the agriculture sector: Provide better irrigation facilities, easier
access to credit, timely access to power, and ramping up warehouse capacity and extension
services, including post-harvest marketing. This will increase farmers’ bargaining ability and
choices before them.
Boosting India’s industrial and services sectors: Agriculture accounts for just 17% of
India’s GDP while employing 55% of its population. Industry and service sectors can
potentially take up the excess labor that is presently engaged in unremunerative farm
activities. Rapid growth of industries and services for the next couple of decades could help
alleviate India’s farm distress.
Direct cash transfers to the rural poor: In the short term, providing direct cash transfers to
the rural poor can alleviate distress. $100 billion in annual subsidies for food, farming and
village unemployment should be slowly replaced by a basic income.
Replicating the success of AMUL in agriculture: Supporting producers’ organizations that
capture more of the farm-to-fork value chain would mean better prices for farmers.

About Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) and its impact on Act East
Policy:
The ANC was set up in 2001. Over 20 years, the ANC evolved into
-A Quad-service integrated theatre command of the army, navy, air force and coast guard.
-Better integration, training, and a common approach to operations, logistics and
sustenance.
-Enhanced ANC’s communications, networking and maritime domain awareness along with
huge infrastructure development.
-The creation of the office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has greatly empowered
ANC and the HQ Integrated Defence Staff with better control, continuity and clarity in
multiservice and multi-domain operations.
All these made the A&N Islands from the initial outpost a so-called springboard to a
veritable hub of activities in the region.

Why Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) is significant?

India’s central role and peninsular orientation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) lends itself
to supporting net maritime security in the region.
Over the years, the efforts of development have been towards Security And Growth for All
in the Region (SAGAR). The IOR offer tremendous scope for cooperation by everyone.
IOR region is witnessing more regular transit movements to and from the Gulfs of Aden and
Oman.
So the A&N Islands provide an additional strategic outreach towards India’s interests in
the IOR. The ANC’s infrastructure and military assets provide for the defence of India’s
islands and the protection of Indian interests in the IOR. So, the ANC has been a pivot in
India’s ‘Act East’ and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policies.

Recent initiatives in the A&N Region

The Niti Aayog, as well as the Island Development Agency, have announced numerous
initiatives for further development of the A&N Islands.
In 2020, the government launched submarine optical fibre cable project in A&N Islands
to provide digital connectivity.
The airport at Port Blair will also become an international airport with regional connectivity
by 2022.
All these will give a fillip to tourism at the islands and in future make the island an important
transshipment hub for Indian mainland.

What the country should learn from ANC?

The establishment of ANC saved precious government resources and operational benefits in
the form of shorter decision cycles. The same approach of ANC should be followed by
government in establishing other integrated theatre commands for the nation.

What are the tribal contributions to the Indian freedom struggle?

Several tribal communities like Paharia, Chuar, Kol, Bhil, Ho, and others fought against
British policies which adversely impact their social and economical frameworks and destroy
their natural resources. Among the various movements, some are:
Mangarh hill massacre: It is also known as the “Jallianwala Bagh massacre of the Vagad
region“. The movement is led by Bhil social reformer and spiritual leader, Govind Guru. On
November 17, 1913, the Britishers gunned down more than 1500 Bhils on Mangarh hill on
the border of present-day Rajasthan and Gujarat, where the innocent people have gathered
here for social causes under the leadership of Govind Guru.

About Govind Guru: He started working with the Bhil community during the great famine of 1899-1900. He
advocated systematically fighting social problems such as liquor consumption and intergenerational debt. He
initiated the Bhagat Sampradaya (sect) in 1908 to socially and morally uplift the Bhil community.

What Indians should learn from tribal communities?

1) Preserving indigenous art, culture, environment and forests 2) Tribals have a better sex
ratio (990) than the national average (940). Girl child is more welcome in these communities
3) Dowry is less prevalent.

What are the various mechanisms that exist to safeguard tribal interests?
Fifth and sixth Schedule: For the upliftment of tribal communities. Representation of these
communities has been ensured at the parliamentary, assembly, and panchayat levels.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs: Separate ministry has been made in 1999 to expedite the pace
of tribal welfare-related work.
Development Programme: Various measures of government like the effective
implementation of the Aspirational Districts Programme, provisions for scholarships, a
five-fold increase in the number of Eklavya Schools has been introduced for uplifting the
tribal communities. The New Education Policy has also emphasised local language as the
medium of instruction, which will undoubtedly benefit the tribal youth.
Recognizing shining stars: The government has felicitated many shining stars of the tribal
community, such as Tulasi Gowda (Karnataka), Rahibai Soma Popere ( Maharashtra),
Lakshmikutty (Kerala), Dutee Chand, Mary Kom and others.

Also read: PM launches multiple key initiatives for the welfare of Janjatiya community at Janjatiya
Gaurav Diwas Mahasammelan

What is the way forward?

There is a need to highlight the stories of tribal heroes and heroines from the freedom
struggle and introduce them to the new generation so that their sacrifices in the Indian
freedom struggle get noticed.
 About the Evolution of India’s sanitation policies
Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP; 1986-1999): It offered financial assistance to
below-poverty-line (BPL) homes to encourage the construction of ‘individual household
latrines’ (IHHLs).
Challenges: Slow construction and lack of demand-led ‘behaviour change communication’
(BCC).
Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC; 1999-2011): It focused on driving up demand for toilet
adoption. Around 15% of its budget was dedicated to educational activities, along with
continued financial assistance to BPL households.
To inculcate behaviour change, the campaign focussed on achieving Community-Led Total
Sanitation (CLTS).

Note: Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is developed in Bangladesh. It is a multistep participatory

process that acknowledges that the mere provision of toilets does not guarantee its usage. It uses audiovisual
aids to arouse a sense of discomfort and disgust with Open Defecation (OD) and motivates local communities
to end the practice collectively.

Challenges of TSC: 1. Officials running TSC lacked the training needed for educational
activities, 2. Rather than demand-led, it is infrastructure-focused.
So, less than a 10% increase in toilet coverage was achieved under TSC according to the
Census data (from 22% in 2001 to 31% in 2011).
Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA), 2012: The Abhiyan only ran for 18 months.
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) on 2 October 2014: Under it, the government aims to
achieve an OD-free India within five years. The SBM was the first to include urban (along
with rural) sanitation guidelines.
Under the SBM, India achieved the construction of around 100 million toilets and was
declared an OD-free nation on 2 October 2019. However, many independent studies, along
with NFHS-5 data, have raised questions over this claim.

Why do India’s sanitation policies not yield desired results?

1. Policies have had a top-down approach with a focus on building toilets, this led to a
higher number of toilets installed, but not used, 2. Ignored behaviour change
communication’ (BCC).

What should India do?

Proper community mobilization: India has to learn from Bangladesh. Using CLTS,
Bangladesh reduced OD from 42% in 2003 to 1% in 2016. India should follow Bangladesh’s
steps such as 1. Recognize sanitation attitudes as crucial, 2. Form collaborations with state
and local governments along with national and international NGOs, 3. Recognise the
participation and leadership role of women in achieving ODF status, such as decisions on
the location and type of toilets planned, 4. Explain the merits of using toilets and having
clean surroundings.
Remould social norms: Social norms should be remoulded in such a manner that toilets
begin to be associated with the household’s dignity and social status.
Keep toilets structurally intact and suitably clean: This will ensure that there is no
reversal to OD after some time.
Linking SDG 6 goal with the sanitation programmes at all levels: This will allow a unified
approach towards that end.

Why big private companies are adopting electric vehicles?

A rapid digital adoption across India during the covid pandemic has pressured companies
to expand their last-mile logistics.
A McKinsey analysis stated that as more netizens order online, India requires between 1
million and 1.5 million two-wheelers for delivery, by 2025.
Companies seem to be realizing that electrifying the delivery vehicles could help them
cut fuel and maintenance costs, besides reducing harmful emissions. 100% electrification
of their two-wheeler fleets by 2025 could save close to $1 billion as well as a 1.5-million-
tonne reduction in carbon dioxide emissions each year.
What are the challenges?
The idea is yet to take off on a larger scale owing to structural issues, including financing
limitations, lack of awareness, and the limited availability of EV models right now.
Insurers lack sufficient data to accurately price risk while providing cover for these
vehicles.
What efforts are done to tackle the last-mile delivery issue?
Efforts by private players:
-The rise of mobility platforms gives companies an option to lease vehicles instead of
purchasing them.
-Newer models of EVs are coming up with features such as higher top speeds, longer
ranges, and better tech packages that are ideal for last-mile delivery.
Efforts by Union Government:
-FAME-II incentives have been increased from ₹10,000 per kWh to ₹15,000 per kWh, to
spur demand and supply in this space.
–Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the automotive sector, where around
₹26,000 crores have been earmarked for 5 years. The initiative could incentivize EV
production in the country.

What are the structural challenges for India that hampers

India’s transition towards clean energy?
Firstly, Coal-based power continues to be the dominant source of energy. In 2010-11, it
formed 54% of the power produced. In this context, growth of electric vehicles that end up
using electric energy derived from coal will have no impact on the net carbon emissions.
Secondly, if solar-power capacity expands fast, then many coal-based power plants will end
up in further financial trouble than they already are, and this will create problems for banks
which have lent them money.
Thirdly, As per the British economist Lord Nicholas Stern ‘climate change results from
history’s greatest market failure—the failure to attach a price to the costs of carbon dioxide
emissions’
In this backdrop, it is widely believed that taxing fossil fuels at high rate will bring down the
consumption of fossil fuels. In India, the government already taxes petrol and diesel at a
very high rate. So, despite attaching costs, the market failure argument doesn’t hold good
for India.
Fourthly, the impact on fiscal resources: If electric vehicles become popular, tax collections
from petrol and diesel are likely to come down.

What are the means to execute such a sustainable practice?

Mixing the modern productivity-boosting technologies, including environment-resilient
crop varieties and animal breeds, with traditional knowledge and norms, that promote
living in harmony with nature.
Widely practiced mono-cropping and unchanged cropping cycles should be replaced
with diversified farming. It should include a judicious mix of agriculture, horticulture,
animal husbandry, fisheries, and agroforestry.
Land-restoring and fertility-enhancing crops like legumes and quick-growing vegetation
should be included in the cropping sequence. It will improve soil’s physical, chemical, and
biological health.
Physical churning of soil needs to be avoided or minimized. Novel concepts like
conservative agriculture involving zero or minimum tillage and direct seeding of crops can
help to do so.
Mixing manures-Greater use of farmyard manure in combination with chemical fertilizers.
-Placement of fertilizers at the right depth near the plant roots and rational use of pesticides
can help in promoting sustainable farming.
Integrated disease and pest management, involving the planting of disease-resistant crop
varieties and deployment of natural predators of pests.
Promotion of rainwater harvesting and economical use of water through systems like drip
and sprinkler irrigation.
Practices like stubble burning need to be forbidden.

India has decided to enter into trade agreements with key

partners like the UK, UAE and Australia and announced an ambitious plan for
an early harvest deal by March 2022.
These trade agreements coincides with India coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic-related
slowdown and wants to become “Atmanirbhar” and play “a bigger role in the global value
chain”.
What are the challenges?
India’s previous negotiations on trade agreements has not provided Indian exporters a
level playing field.
-For example, in the case of early harvest with Thailand, Thailand has benefitted more
compared to India.
India offered little and received a lower level of commitment, compared to its competitors in
these markets.
The possibilities of attracting more FDI, gaining greater market access, and
partnership have always taken a back seat in our industry consultations.
Policy uncertainty has been a key issue in many sectors in the case of India. Policies
designed to meet certain objectives, like reducing the trade imbalance with China, ended up
adversely affecting countries other than China.
India has one of the highest tariffs in the world. Since the trade agreements lead to tariff
liberalisation, Indian industry always worries about tariff liberalisation intensifying
competition in the domestic market.
India’s defensive policies like the ban on some GI products are considered by some
countries as a violation of India’s GI obligation under TRIPS.
What should India do in the new trade agreements?
The consultations have to look beyond tariffs. The focus should be on attracting
investment and the development of value chains.
Allowing greater market access can help other countries to source more from India, as
seen in the case of ASEAN countries, and there is a good chance that our exports will
increase.
Win-Win deal-Gains can be cross-sectoral, focus should be on areas of export competence
and interest. For example, access to cross markets for Indian IT companies and UK liquor
companies.
As India enters into trade negotiations, there is a need for policy consistency and
transparency.
It is important to make India a bigger player in the global value chain, import substitution
may not lead to greater global integration.
There is a need for alignment between domestic policy objectives and that of trade
agreements to further India’s position in trade negotiations.
India may look at best practices of countries like Vietnam, which has successfully signed
trade agreements, as it designs its domestic policies and enters into trade agreement
negotiations.

What are private cryptocurrencies?

Whatever cryptocurrency is not issued by the government, can be considered private,
though there is no clear definition of private cryptocurrency.
According to some definitions,
– Bitcoin, Ethereum and many other crypto tokens are based on public blockchain networks,
which mean transactions made using the networks are traceable while still providing a
degree of anonymity to users.
– On the other hand, private cryptocurrencies could refer to Monero, Dash and others,
which though built on public blockchains, hide the transaction information to offer privacy
to users.
What is the way forward?
The need of the hour is to balance innovation and regulation.
As per D. Subbarao (former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India),
Internationally, regulatory responses to cryptos have fallen into three broad categories:
– Passive tolerance: It involves prohibiting regulated institutions from dealing in cryptos
without explicitly clarifying their legal status. RBI tried this option but the Supreme Court
struck it down.
– Total ban: A second approach is a total ban like in China. But that model entails the risk of
pushing the trade into invisible and illegal channels, possibly inflicting even greater damage.
– Regulation: A third approach is to follow countries such as the UK, Singapore and Japan
that have allowed space for cryptos to operate under a regulatory radar but without
recognising them as legal tender. India will be well advised to follow this middle path.
Hence, the ideal way forward will be to ban Cryptocurrency use as legal tender while
allowing it to be an asset

What are the key recommendations of JPC on data protection bill:

First, It suggested renaming ‘Data Protection Bill’ by dropping the word ‘personal’.
Second, Committee recommended that the same regulator should govern both personal
data (data about an individual) and non-personal data (anonymised data, business data).
Third, It suggested that government should set up certification labs for testing the integrity
of all digital and IoT devices.
Fourth, Another suggestion is to store the sensitive and critical personal data in India only,
as proposed in the 2019 bill.
Last, The committee suggested to did away with the penalty provision proposed in the 2019
bill.

Read here: JPC retains exemption clause, adopts personal data Bill

What is non-personal data? Why is its inclusion worrying?

Non Personal data is not about any particular individual. For eg, data about traffic or
congested routes picked up by a ride-share platform. Or data about soil trends or weather
patterns that never relate to any person is considered as non-personal data.
The government argues that this data is useful for formulating any future policy, but
businessman argues that such data is proprietary.

What are the concerns associated?

Read here: What are the concerns associated with the draft bill?

How the Data Protection Bill is effective in the current scenario?

– It has the potential to address long-standing concerns around our surveillance regime.
-Having strong checks and balances over government surveillance could also help India
seek free flows of data from regions like Europe that restrict transfers to other countries
unless they have sufficient protections.

What are the reasons provided by the JCP chairperson of the data
protection bill?
On exemption of agencies: The claims that the government was given undue powers are
without foundation. Article 19 and Article 21 have reasonable safeguards. Moreover, they
are subject to judicial review.
The exemption clauses allow the government to intervene in matters of sovereignty or
integrity of the country. In such matters, the reasons cannot be disclosed on the floor of the
house. Moreover, sections 12, 13, and 14 provide that individual consent may not be
required. The state is authorized by law to seek data for the provision of any services or
benefits.

Also read: Draft Personal Data Protection Bill – Explained, pointwise

About inclusion of non-personal data: According to the chairperson, the reason behind
including of non-personal data is that so much data is flowing, which makes it hard to
differentiate between personal and non-personal data.
Inclusion of bringing hardware manufacturers under the purview of proposed
legislation: Because of various news of breaches of data, this has been done. Under the
process of Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC), both software and
hardware will be examined.
About 72 hours to report a breach of data: According to him, this is the reasonable time
for data fiduciaries to report for the breach of data.
On how the bill will impact India’s digital economy: Committee is expecting a 22%
increase in cloud storage in India due to the boost this law provides. India’s digital
infrastructure will become stronger and can benefit the economy.

As argued by Max Webber and Dr. BR Ambedkar

substantive rationality and substantive equality should
guide public policymaking to ensure the welfare of the
marginalized.

What are the arguments in support of legalising MSP?

Farmer distress: Survey after survey has shown that income from farming is inadequate to
sustain basic financial needs of farming households. Hence, MSP represent a lifeline for
farmers, and they want that lifeline to be given legal sanctity.
India’s Food security: India’s food independence and security against hunger are non-
negotiable and this independence and security depends on farmers continuing to farm and
produce food to feed nearly 1.38 billion citizens.
Lack of avenues to absorb the out-of-work farmers elsewhere in the economy: The
proponents of free-market price discovery argue that this very mechanism will push farmers
out of farming where excess labour is currently unproductive. However, Indian economy
currently doesn’t have the capacity to absorb the 900 million farmers of India.
Fundamental right: The demand for legal guarantee of MSP also stems from the
constitutional fundamental right to life and livelihood. It is the constitutional duty of the
government to ensure and enforce this fundamental right in favour of the farmers of India.

What are the arguments against legalising MSP?

Other effective alternatives exist: If the objective of MSP is to help the poor, we can now
effectively use the most direct way. For less than the amount spent on MSP, we can lift
millions out of poverty by transferring funds into their bank accounts.
If our objective is to reduce farm price volatility, then direct funds transfer to the poor can
partially address that objective along with a well-regulated crop insurance system.
Impact on Nutrition and export earnings: MSP is given only for a few crops, which means
there is excessive production of these at the expense of other crops that may be more
nutritious and could earn us export revenues.
Impact on water security: A distorted focus on few crops also depletes the water table.
Give rise to vicious demands: There is a demand to expand MSP to more crops, which is
financially unviable for the government.
Effects of MSP on equity: Poor farmers get virtually nothing from MSP because they have
little or no surplus, and many subsist as agricultural labourers.
In sum, MSP may have a few positives, but it has many negatives and should be deployed
only with great circumspection.

What are the different types of AMR?

Natural (intrinsic, structural) resistance: This kind of resistance is caused by the structural
characteristics of microbes and is not associated with the use of antimicrobials. It has no
hereditary property.
Acquired resistance: Due to changes in the genetic characteristics of microbes, acquired
resistance occurs as it is now unaffected by the previous antimicrobial.
-This kind of resistance occurs mainly due to structures of chromosomes or
extrachromosomal such as plasmid, transposon, and others.
Cross resistance: Some microorganisms are resistant to a certain drug that acts with a
similar mechanism as some other drugs. However, sometimes it can also be seen in
completely unrelated drug groups.
-This resistance is usually observed against antibiotics whose structures are similar. This may
be the chromosomal or extrachromosomal origin.
Multi-drug resistance and pan-resistance: These are often bacteria resistant to the
antibiotics used to treat them. This means that a particular drug is no longer able to kill or
control the bacteria.
How vaccines can help reduce the AMR burden?
Vaccinations not only prevent diseases but also prevent the development of antimicrobial
resistance (AMR).
-Prevention of infections through vaccines results in reduced use of anti-microbials for
treatment, reducing the emergence of resistance.
What are the steps taken in this regard?
The Global Action Plan (GAP) on AMR was launched in 2015 by WHO. Today, almost 80
countries have announced National Action Plans to address AMR at a national level.
In India, the recent announcement to universalize PCV across the country would protect
children not only from pneumococcal disease, but also protect children and other populations from
the emergence of drug-resistant pneumococcal disease.
What are the issues plaguing our sports sector?
Access to infrastructure(like schools and stadiums)- In India, our pool of talent is limited to
a few pockets. For example, the badminton team has been picked from an academy; the
boxers and wrestlers are all from Haryana or the Northeast; and the shooters are all, with
few exceptions, rich kids who don’t need any state support.
No country has performed well in sports without taking care of the basic needs of its
people, especially health and social security. India needs to take care of it.
On the lines of the Soviet Union, the US, South Korea, and China, the rise in the sporting
world should be preceded by widening the sporting pool from which talented players can
be tapped.
We need to change our attitude and not accept second-best anymore. Complacency could
creep in when we celebrate bronze medals like gold.
Sports should be seen from the right perspective. It should help the community at large in
becoming better by serving a social purpose.
We must create leaders in every field who can think and act, not leaders who think they act.

Tom Ginsburg, after studying 935 different constitution systems of

200 nations commented on an average a constitution survives for 17
years. Yet, the Indian constitution is successfully entering in 72nd
year. Indians should not take the endurance of the constitution as
granted.
The endurance of the Indian constitution is deeply rooted in the
commitment to expand each other’s freedom.

How India’s constitution is unique in comparison with other

constitutions?
Reparation: India’s constitution made compensations for historical discrimination on
grounds of caste that defines the present and future of so many Indians. By contrast,
America’s Constitution makes no apology nor enables reparations for slavery.
Voice of all communities: India’s constitution is an instrument for silenced minorities to
express themselves, to have injustices redressed and in turn owe their allegiance to their
Constitution.
These are the main reasons that India’s constitution lives through along.

key findings of the National MPI?

Multidimensionally Poor: Around 25.01% of the Indian population is multidimensionally
poor. Bihar has the maximum percentage of the population living in poverty among all the
States and the Union Territories.
Poverty Criteria: The report took a person spending less than Rs 47 a day in cities and one
spending less than Rs 32 a day in villages as poor
Healthy Nutrition: Some 37.6% of Indian households are deprived of healthy nutrition
levels
Child and Adolescent Mortality: Some 2.7% households have reported child and
adolescent mortality. A household is deprived if any child or adolescent under 18 years of
age has died in the household in the five-year period preceding the survey.

Education

At least 13.9% households have a member aged 10 years or older who has not completed
six years of schooling.

Standard of Living

Source of Cooking Fuel: At least 58.5% of households have dung, agricultural crops,
shrubs, wood, charcoal or coal as their primary source of cooking fuel.
No Access to Drinking water: At least 14.6% of households do not have access to
improved drinking water or a safe drinking water facility that is more than a 30-minute walk
from home (as a round trip).
Inadequate Housing: Some 45.6% of households have inadequate housing. Their floor is
made of natural materials, or the roof or walls are made of rudimentary materials.
What are the criteria to qualify in the developing countries’ category?
Countries must meet at least two of the below criteria in order to qualify for inclusion in the
developing countries’ category.
– Per capita Gross National Income of $1,018 and above.
– A high score of 60 on the Human Assets Index, which includes a health index and
education index.
– A low score of 36 on the Economic & Environmental Vulnerability Index.

What are the pros and cons of this move?

Negative implications
– Disruption in a country’s development: As an LDC, a country gets trade related
concessions including market access, and development assistance, technical assistance and
special pathways to participate in international processes.
But when such benefits are withdrawn suddenly on account of a country’s development
from LDC to Developing country status, it could impact its growth.
Positive implications
The inclusion of Nepal and Bangladesh as developing countries, plus the scheduled
graduation of Bhutan in 2023, are all positive developments for the South Asian region.
The improvement in the economic and social prospects of the people of a country can
benefit other nations, particularly those in its neighbourhood.
What protections have been given to Nepal and Bangladesh to ensure
they don’t slip back to LDC status?
Graduating countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh are given a transition period during
which most of the benefits available to LDCs remain available to graduating countries.
Usually, the transition period is three years, but this time, in view of the economic, social
and other disruptions caused by Covid-9, the UN General Assembly has taken the right step
by giving five years.

What does the variation of status in TFR indicate?

According to NFHS 5, India’s Total Fertility Rate or the average number of children per
woman has dropped to 2 below the replacement level (2.1 estimated by WHO).
NFHS 5 showed an increase in the proportion of women using modern contraceptive
methods from 47.8% in 2015-16 to 56.5% in 2019-21, a decrease in the unmet need for
family planning and improvement in family planning services.
The states with the highest TFR like Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh also have the lowest
proportion of literate women and women who have completed 10 years of schooling. They
are also the states ranked lowest in the Niti Aayog’s latest multi-dimensional poverty
index.
This is a clear indication of the importance of underlying characteristics such as level of
women’s education, their average marital age, access to contraceptive services etc on
population control measures.

What is the difference between China’s and India’s policies?

China and India, both had a TFR of 6 in the 1950s, but China reached below-replacement
fertility levels by 1990 through a one-child policy. This has resulted in disastrous
demographic consequences such as a rapidly ageing population, a skewed gender ratio as
people aborted or abandoned female babies, and a shrinking labor force with too few
young people to support the elderly.
However, like India, countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Turkey, and Malaysia, which started
off with TFRs of 6 or more achieved replacement level fertility without such coercive policies.

What lessons should states need to learn?

India’s decadal growth rate reached as high as 24.8% in the 1960s and 24.7% in the 1970s.
Since the 1980s, there has been a steady decline in population growth. 2011 census showed
that for the first time since 1900 India added fewer people to its population in a decade
than in the previous decade.
Despite this refined, overpopulation is described as a cause of countries ills. Many states
have introduced punitive measures, such as not letting people in more than two children
contest local elections. Such penalty measures could even be counter-productive. There is
need to reduce population not stigmatize it.

What are the arguments in support of opening up the banking sector to

industrial houses?
– International examples: There are very few countries that explicitly prohibit industrial
houses from setting up banks.
– India needs more banks to cater to the diverse needs of both businesses and
consumers.
– To improve innovation: More competition in the banking sector will increase innovation
and help improve the flow of credit.
– Poor performance of state-owned banks: The Indian banking sector is dominated by
state-owned banks, which as a group are not in a position to cater to the needs of the
Indian economy. This is due to a variety of issues, including recurrent asset quality problems.
What are the risks involved in opening up the banking sector for industrial houses?
First, the issue of connected lending, could lead to higher systemic risks,
Second, corporatisation of banks will lead to concentration of power.
Third, India has fairly limited regulatory capability to contain both the concentration of
market power and risks
Hence, the experts are of the opinion that mixing industry and finance will negatively impact
growth, public finances, and the future of the country itself.

What are the other recommendations that has been accepted by RBI?
Firstly, the RBI has accepted the proposal for allowing the promoter holding cap to be
raised to 26% of the paid-up voting equity capital in banks. This will enable promoters to
bring in more capital if required.
Secondly, the RBI has also accepted the recommendation of subjecting large non-bank
financial companies (NBFCs) to tighter, bank-like regulation. This is critical as some NBFCs
have gained significant size and are systemically important.
Thirdly, the minimum capital requirement for setting up banks has also been increased. The
capital needed to set up a universal bank, for example, has been increased from Rs 500
crore to Rs 1,000 crore. A higher level of capital will certainly make the bank more stable.
What are the major recommendations of the JPC on Data Protection
Bill?
The JPC has recommended that the bill should be called the Data Protection Bill, and its
scope widened.
It said the bill should cover not just personal data within its purview, but also non-personal
data and non-personal data breaches.
Non-personal data breaches include any unauthorized acquisition, sharing, use, alteration,
destruction, or loss of access to such data that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or
availability of this data.
-Accidental disclosure of non-personal data, including breaches resulting from a lack of
proper compliance measures, are also covered under such breaches.
The JPC has recommended that social media firms shouldn’t be allowed to function in India
without setting up offices here.
Firms that do not operate as intermediaries should be treated as publishers, who will be
accountable for the content distributed on their platforms.
Creating an alternative payment system to SWIFT for cross-border payments, digital
certification of Internet of Things (IoT) and other digital devices by the DPA, and localization
of sensitive data.
Chairpersons and members of the Data Protection Authority (DPA) should be appointed
within three months, and the DPA should start work under the Act and register data
fiduciaries in six and nine months, respectively.
What is non-personal data, and what is the issue related to it?
All data that doesn’t personally identify a user is known as non-personal data. For instance,
an anonymized data set showing the preferences of users in a particular city or state can fall
under non-personal data.
Earlier, a draft report released by the Kris Gopalakrishnan committee had suggested that
non-personal data should be provided to domestic companies for building products and
services.
However, it has been opposed by major social media firms, who think it will take away their
competitive advantage.

How the states are affected by the farm laws?

Transfer of regulatory authority from the States to the Centre: The APMC Act mandated
that states can regulate, designated physical premises called the ‘market yards’, via their
respective APMCs. However, through the farm laws, the Centre assumed control of market
areas outside these yards, now called ‘trade areas’, from the States.
This particularly hurt States that had the most deregulated systems. A State that had no
APMC Act, for example, suddenly found that all deregulated areas within the State would
now come under the Centre’s regulatory ambit and control.
Further, by exempting private players from adhering to any State law in agricultural
marketing, it effectively nullified the power of States to control agricultural markets.
Why the central governments should not regulate agricultural markets?
Firstly, there is no systematic evidence to suggest that the Centre is better informed and
better equipped to regulate agricultural markets.
Secondly, during the COVID-19 lockdown, the Centre was almost unable to implement
relief measures for agricultural marketing. In contrast, States, regardless of the ruling parties,
offered a more timely and relevant response to manage the fallout of the COVID-19
lockdown on agriculture.
Thirdly, beyond agricultural marketing, the central government’s efforts in the past such as
One Million Ponds, 10,000 FPOs, and One District One Product are often disconnected from
local needs for robust and sustainable solutions for agriculture.
Fourthly, Centralisation of authority to influence the functioning of trade areas, would
facilitate consolidation of big business, a trend that is evident globally.
For instance, the recent memoranda of understanding that the Government of India has
signed for building data stacks with Cisco, Jio, ITC, NeML, etc. has raised fears.
These select few companies have been granted limited access to “data from the federated
Farmers’ database” for specific areas.
A “trade” area under full control of the central government would potentially offer the big
business a digital data consolidation route to controlling supply chains.
What is the way forward?
For state governments: States need to implement the suggestions that many expert
committees have proposed for agricultural market reform, i.e., delinking the regulatory and
operational roles of the APMCs.
For the center: The Centre, in the short term, should try to offer a stable and predictable
policy environment vis-à-vis imports and exports, the functioning of national commodity
exchanges, and futures markets.
Further, it should work towards providing inclusive platforms for discussions on State-level
market reform, public procurement, and price support, designing safeguards against the
consolidation of corporate interests, and framing data policies.
How policies adopted by India have led to rising unemployment situation
in India?
Major sectors like textile have become stagnant and less competitive. For example, labour
cost of producing one shirt in India is $0.5, as compared to $0.22 in Bangladesh. As per
a World Bank estimate, 12 million jobs in the textile sector shifted from China to
Bangladesh, while India’s textile sector remained stagnant.
Inflation has raised prices of petrol to rupees 100 per litre. Yet, as per estimates, owing
to poor government incentives and policies, electric vehicle sales are low and are likely to
comprise only 8% of total sales by 2030. This is in contrast to China, which is expected to
have 40% of Electric cars.
Moreover, the government has pushed for domestic LPG for household consumption.
India should have instead pushed for electric cookstoves which would have helped
reduce the import demand and would have shielded the consumers from price hikes.
India also find prices of edible oils rising almost 30 to 40% over the last year. This is due to
dependence on the import of palm oil and also a push for the Production of biodiesel.

How have these aggravated the poverty?

An average farmer’s net worth declined by 33.8% between 2013 and 2019. An
average entrepreneur’s wealth declined by 30% on a real value basis. Between 2012 and
2018 the debt of rural households rose by 35% and urban households by 22.4%.
The poorest category of people were given loans at rates which were as high as 25 to 40%.
All this happened, while 1% of rich Indians hold 73% of national wealth as quoted by Oxfam
in 2017.

What should be the way forward?

MSMEs are the driver of growth and employment. While the push for formalization is
required, it should not reduce the growth potential of the MSMEs.

What is the global scenario with regard to Green hydrogen?

At present, more than 30 countries have hydrogen road maps and over 200 large-scale
hydrogen projects across the value chain.
According to Hydrogen Council, governments worldwide have committed more than $70
billion in public funding to develop a hydrogen economy.
What is the significance of green hydrogen as a source of renewable energy?
Read – All about green Hydrogen
India has already increased its solar capacity nearly 3,000 times in less than a decade, now it
can use this experience in increasing green hydrogen production.
Nearly 70% of the investment, required to produce green hydrogen through electrolysis,
goes into generating renewable energy.
Green hydrogen improves the long-term energy storage capabilities of renewable energy.
It is also the most promising solution to decarbonise sectors like cement, steel, and
refineries.
India can reduce its carbon emissions and annual import bills by developing a value chain
for hydrogen from its production to its diverse applications.
What is the way forward?
Attract private investments through government funding and progressive long-term
policies.
Hydrogen’s uses in different sectors should be encouraged, according to each sector’s cost
and ease of adoption.
-Firstly, a few key sectors with low transition costs, such as refineries, fertilizers, and
natural gas, should be
mandated to use hydrogen to bring down costs.
-Secondly, as part of medium-term goals new demand from steel, cement, and road
mobility should be exploited.
-Thirdly, in the long run, heavy-duty vehicles should receive government incentives. For
example Shipping, aviation, solutions for energy storage should be mandated to use green
hydrogen in the long run.

How has the space sector evolved?

Space race 1.0– The great space race of the 20th century started with the Soviet
Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957.
-It reflected the Cold War agenda in the space field and a test of their ideologies.
Space race 2.0– This time, private players are taking the next leap for mankind and
democratizing space usage to build commercial value.
Privatisation of the space sector in India?
India is a leading space-faring country, with end-to-end capabilities to make satellites,
develop augmented launch vehicles and deploy interplanetary missions.
Investment and new ventures: The total early-stage investments in space technologies in
FY21 were $68 billion, India was in fourth place.
Already 350 plus start-ups such as AgniKul Cosmos, Skyroot Technologies, have established
firm grounds for home-grown technologies with a practical sustainable business model.
Encouragement to private participation: Further, GOI recently created a new
organisation-INSPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre)- as a
supplement to the ISRO.
-It is a single-window nodal agency established to boost the commercialization of Indian
space activities. It will promote the entry of private entities through a friendly regulatory
environment and by creating synergies through already existing necessary facilities.
What are the challenges faced by the Indian space sector?
Despite this achievement, though the space economy is a $440 billion global sector, India
has less than 2% share in the sector.
In India, brain drain has increased by 85% since 2005 and thereby low private participation.
This is due to:
Investor confidence-The hindrances faced by private space ventures to attract investors,
making it virtually non-feasible to operate in India.
Lack of clarity in laws-The absence of a framework to provide transparency and clarity in
laws is the reason for the lack of independent private participation in space.
-Timelines not fixed– Due to the technicalities involved in the space business, timelines on
licensing, issuance of authorisation, and continuous supervision mechanism need to be
defined into phases.
-Lack of insurance and indemnification clarity in space law, particularly about who or
which entity undertakes the liability in case of a mishap, creates challenges for a smooth
rollout.
The private entities in this sector currently work on leased licenses from ISRO rather than
having their own IP for a product.
What is the way forward?
The laws need to be reformed and reframed into multiple sections, each to address
specific parts of the value chain and in accordance with the Outer Space Treaty.
India can learn from France in license timelines where there are four obtainable licences in
addition to
case-by-case authorisation.
India can also learn from several western countries with an evolved private space industry,
where there is a cap on liability and the financial damages that need to be paid.
-The insurance provision can be brought in by the law. For example, in Australia space
operators are
required to hold insurance of up to AUD$100 million under Australian space law.
For independent existence, Indian space private companies need to generate their own
IP for their product or services. With this, the market for them should also be not limited to
ISRO. This will help open the door to global markets.
ISRO needs to go beyond taking small manufacturing support from private players and start
involving them in complex operations. This will help both players by reducing costs and
turnaround time with innovation and advanced technology.

Per capita out-of-pocket health expenditure sees decline: report

Government Expenditure on Healthcare
The share of government expenditure on healthcare has increased to 1.35% of GDP in 2017-
18 from 1.15% in 2013-14.
In per capita terms, the Government health expenditure has increased from ₹1,042 to
₹1,753 between 2013-14 to 2017-18.
Out of Pocket Expenditure on Health
Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a share of total health expenditure has come down to
48.8% in 2017-18 from 64.2% in 2013-14.
The per capita out-of-pocket expenditure has declined to Rs 2,097 in 2017-18 from 2,336 in
2013-14.
The government has attributed the fall in out-of-pocket expenditure to the increased
utilisation of government health facilities and reduction in the cost of services at these
facilities.
Foreign Aid to Health
The share of foreign aid for health declined to 0.5% from 0.6% the previous year, which the
government attributes to India’s economic self-reliance.
Primary Health Care
The share of primary healthcare in the current government expenditure has increased to
54.7% in 2017-18 from 51.1% in 2013.14.
The primary and secondary health care together accounted for 86% of the government
health expenditure in 2017-18 up from 75% in 2016-17.
In contrast, the share of primary and secondary care in the private sector has declined from
84% to 74%, while that of tertiary care increased.