GS-3 Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
GS-4 Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
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GS-1 Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
GS-2 Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
GS-3 Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
GS-4 Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th February is uploaded on 11th February then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th February is uploaded on 13th February , then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.
The Reserve Bank of India will soon commence limited pilot launches of the digital rupee for specific use cases.
A concept note on the Central Bank Digital Currency was released on Friday.
It explains the objectives, choices, benefits and risks of issuing digital rupee.
What is Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)?
CBDC is a central bank-issued digital currency which is backed by some kind of assets in the form of either gold, currency reserves, bonds and other assets, recognised by the central banks as a monetary asset.
The present concept of CBDCs was directly inspired by Bitcoin, but a CBDC is different from virtual currency and cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrencies are not issued by a state and lack the legal tender status declared by the government.
What are the types of E-Rupee?
Based on the usage and the functions performed by the digital rupee and considering the different levels of accessibility, CBDC can be demarcated into two broad categories:
General purpose (retail) (CBDC-R): It is an electronic version of cash primarily meant for retail transactions. It will be potentially available for use by all — private sector, non-financial consumers and businesses — and can provide access to safe money for payment and settlement as it is a direct liability of the central bank.
Wholesale (CBDC-W): It is designed for restricted access to select financial institutions. It has the potential to transform the settlement systems for financial transactions undertaken by banks in the government securities (G-Sec) segment, inter-bank market and capital market more efficiently and securely in terms of operational costs, use of collateral and liquidity management.
What are the forms of CBDC?
The central bank says e-rupee, or CBDC, can be structured as token-based or account-based.
Token-based CBDC: It would be a bearer instrument like banknotes, meaning whosoever holds the tokens at a given point in time would be presumed to own them. In this, the person receiving a token will verify that his ownership of the token is genuine. It is viewed as a preferred mode for CBDC-R as it would be closer to physical cash.
Account-based CBDC: It would require maintenance of record of balances and transactions of all holders of the CBDC and indicate the ownership of the monetary balances. In this case, an intermediary will verify the identity of an account holder. This system can be considered for CBDC-W.
What’s the model for issuance?
There are two models for issuance and management of CBDCs under the RBI’s consideration — direct model (single tier model) and indirect model (two-tier model).
Direct model: Here the central bank will be responsible for managing all aspects of the digital rupee system such as issuance, account-keeping and transaction verification.
Indirect model: It would be one where the central bank and other intermediaries (banks and any other service providers), each play their respective role. In this model, the central bank will issue CBDC to consumer’s indirectly through intermediaries and any claim by consumers will be managed by the intermediary.
What is Currency chest?
Currency in India is managed by Currency chest. Currency chest is a place where the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stocks the money meant for banks and ATMs. These chests are usually situated on the premises of different banks but administrated by the RBI.
Why India needs a digital rupee?
Online transactions: India is a leader in digital payments, but cash remains dominant for small-value transactions.
High currency in circulation: India has a fairly high currency-to-GDP ratio.
Cost of currency management: An official digital currency would reduce the cost of currency management while enabling real-time payments without any inter-bank settlement.
Why is CBDC preferred over Cryptocurrency?
Sovereign guarantee: Cryptocurrencies pose risks to consumers. They do not have any sovereign guarantee and hence are not legal tender.
Market volatility: Their speculative nature also makes them highly volatile. For instance, the value of Bitcoin fell from USD 20,000 in December 2017 to USD 3,800 in November 2018.
Risk in security: A user loses access to their cryptocurrency if they lose their private key (unlike traditional digital banking accounts, this password cannot be reset).
Malware threats: In some cases, these private keys are stored by technical service providers (cryptocurrency exchanges or wallets), which are prone to malware or hacking.
Money laundering: Cryptocurrencies are more vulnerable to criminal activity and money laundering. They provide greater anonymity than other payment methods since the public keys engaging in a transaction cannot be directly linked to an individual.
Regulatory bypass: A central bank cannot regulate the supply of cryptocurrencies in the economy. This could pose a risk to the financial stability of the country if their use becomes widespread.
Power consumption: Since validating transactions is energy-intensive, it may have adverse consequences for the country’s energy security (the total electricity use of bitcoin mining, in 2018, was equivalent to that of mid-sized economies such as Switzerland).
Features of CBDC
High-security instrument: CBDC is a high-security digital instrument; like paper banknotes, it is a means of payment, a unit of account, and a store of value.
Uniquely identifiable: And like paper currency, each unit is uniquely identifiable to prevent counterfeiting.
Liability of central bank: It is a liability of the central bank just as physical currency is.
Transferability: It’s a digital bearer instrument that can be stored, transferred, and transmitted by all kinds of digital payment systems and services.
Key benefits offered
Faster system: CBDC can definitely increase the transmission of money from central banks to commercial banks and end customers much faster than the present system.
Financial inclusion: Specific use cases, like financial inclusion, can also be covered by CBDC that can benefit millions of citizens who need money and are currently unbanked or banked with limited banking services
Monetary policy facilitation: The move to bring out a CBDC could significantly improve monetary policy development in India.
Making of a regional currency: In the cross border payments domain, India can take a lead by leveraging digital Rupee especially in countries such as Bhutan, Saudia Arabia and Singapore where NPCI has existing arrangements.
Others benefits:
It is efficient than printing notes (cost of printing, transporting, and storing paper currency)
It reduces the risk of transactions
It makes tax collection transparent
Prevents money laundering
Issues involved with CBDC
Innovation with centralization: The approach of bringing a sovereign digital currency stands in stark contrast to the idea of decentralization.
Liability on RBI: when bank customers wish to convert their deposits into digital rupee, the RBI will have to take these liabilities from the books of banks and onto its own balance sheet.
Inflationary risk: Central banks would indulge in issuing more digital currencies which could potentially trigger higher inflation.
User adoption: User adoption could also pose a major setback for the smooth roll out of the CBDC in India. The main challenges would always be user adoption and security.
Reduced savings: Many, including various central bankers, fear that people may begin withdrawing money from their bank accounts as digital currencies issued by Central banks become more popular.
Volatility: the risk is higher and there is more price volatility and lesser acceptance as a money instrument globally, unless the trust factor and investor protection factors change.
Way forward
The launch of CBDCs may not be a smooth affair and still requires more clarity in India. There are still a lot of misconceptions about the concept of digital currency in the country.
The effectiveness of CBDCs will depend on aspects such as privacy design and programmability.
There is a huge opportunity for India to take a lead globally via a large-scale rollout and adoption of digital currencies.
Conclusion
RBI is creating small pivot for experimenting CBDC where financial transaction is happening through digital currency.
CBDC has to be a gradual process, various nuances has to be taken care not only about its utilization but also about the impact it will make.
More clarity on the concept in the days to come will be the key for CBDCs and much will depend on how the whole concept will evolve in India which is predominantly a paper currency market.
UPSC 2022 Mains will be over by the end of this week. UPSC 2023 exam date is already out and Prelims are scheduled for May 28th, 2023. That’s just 8 months away. Understanding the criticality of time is of utmost importance. If you want to crack UPSC with a rank in 2023, everything that you do must be under a plan, a strategy.
CivilsDaily IAS is conducting a Seminar for UPSC Exam 2023
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A UPSC beginner – confused about the syllabus, prioritizing subjects, making timetables & targets, or just getting started.
A working professionalor college student who will be attempting UPSC 2023 with a job. Facing a serious time crunch and mismanagement in UPSC preparation.
A veteran or aspirant trying to improve your rank in UPSC 2023 attempt.
Strategic planning will help you fully uncover your options, set priorities for them, and define the methods to achieve them.
This is going to be an interactive 1-1 session with Senior mentors and UPSC Rankers. These points will be discussed.
12 Important Points to be discussed in the Seminar
1. Trend analysis of UPSC based on the previous 10 years’ CSE exam, Understanding the expectations of UPSC, and devising an evolving adaptive strategy for UPSC 2023 Prelims and Mains.
2. What should be your approach for the next 8 months even if you have just started the preparation? Strategy for the next 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and like that, will be shared with you.
3. How to cover the UPSC syllabus? The syllabus, and not the books, must be completed. Focussing on the essentials first. Eg. This year in Mains 2022 Modern History questions were missing, similarly, there were many firsts in Prelims 2022. How that affects your preparation and how you should prepare?
4. You just need to invest effectively 5 hours per day for UPSC success. How to effectively manage preparation time? Make a timetable and set targets.
5. Managing UPSC preparation with a serious time crunch; job – working professionals, college students, and family (especially for homemaker aspirants)
6. Building a strong foundation: NCERT, current affairs, and standard books. How and which one to focus more on? Best sources for GS and Current Affairs.
7. Breaking the inertia towards answer writing, and attempting mock tests. When and how to attempt tests and start mains answer writing?
8. Do’s and Dont’s; and breaking the myths around UPSC. Eg. Aspirants from rural or non-engineering backgrounds are at a disadvantage.
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9. How to take notes and organize information/content for UPSC prelims and Mains answers? Making notes of case studies, schemes, examples, etc. Basically the skill of taking notes. What topics necessitate notes and which do not?
10. UPSC Hacks and tricks like Tikdams that worked for UPSC rankers. A PDF will be shared with you all.
11. Revision techniques that are common, standard, and used frequently. What exactly are they?
12. How to take full advantage of the FREE CivilsDaily’s Preparatory Package and personalized mentorship session (FREE) that will follow?
GS-1 History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc.— their forms and effect on the society.
GS-2 Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
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GS-1 Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.
GS-2 Constitution of India- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
GS-3 Indian Economy
GS-4 Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th February is uploaded on 11th February then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th February is uploaded on 13th February , then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
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GS-1 The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
GS-2 Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary
GS-3 Indian Economy; Changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
GS-4 Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th February is uploaded on 11th February then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
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*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.
India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, late General Bipin Rawat was instrumental in laying down the foundation for joint theatre commands in India.
His successor, Lt. General Anil Chauhan has now spelt it as his priority area.
In his maiden communication with the three defence forces, the new CDS asked the Army, the Navy and the Air Force to make a move ahead toward the creation of integrated theatre commands.
What is Theaterisation?
It is a concept that seeks to integrate the capabilities of the three services — army, air force and navy — and optimally utilise their resources for wars and operations.
Specific theatre commands – or units – will be placed under the Theatre Commander.
Such commands are expected to come under the operational control of an officer from any of the three services, depending on the function assigned.
The committee, which was headed by Lt General DB Shekatkar (retd) has recommended the creation of 3 integrated theatre commands i.e.:
Northern for the China border,
Western for the Pakistan border and
Southern for the maritime role.
What will it entail?
The current theaterisation model under consideration seeks to set up at least six new integrated commands.
The first phase involves the creation of Air Defence Command and Maritime Theatre Command.
Air Defence Command: This will control air defence resources of all three services and will be tasked with protecting military assets from airborne enemies. It will be headed by a top three-star Indian Air Force officer based in Prayagraj.
Maritime Theatre Command: This will be responsible for securing India from seaborne threats and will have army and air force elements. It will be headed by a top three-star Indian Navy officer and will be based in Karwar, Karnataka.
Ultimately, India is expected to have three other integrated commands to secure its western, northern and eastern fronts.
Additionally, a logistics command is in the works to avoid duplication of efforts and resources.
How many commands does the military currently have?
The armed forces currently have 17 single-service commands spread across the country’s geography.
The Army has 7 commands, IAF has 7 commands and the Navy, 3 commands.
Creating theatres would involve merging existing commands.
The Port Blair-based Andaman and Nicobar Command is the only tri-service command.
What is the current status?
Lack of consensus: A lack of consensus on the military’s theaterisation model emerged during a key meeting of top government officials reviewing a draft cabinet note on the new joint structures.
Expert panel working in tandem: This led to the government setting up an expert committee last week for consultations and to remove differences before the reform plan is sent to the Cabinet Committee on Security for approval. The panel has members of the armed forces, defence ministry and other ministries (finance and home).
Who has reservations about the current model?
In-favor: While the army and navy are in favour of theatre commands, the IAF has concerns about the model over the division of its air assets, the nomenclature of commands, the leadership of theatre commands and dilution of powers of chiefs.
Against: The IAF’s traditional resistance to theaterisation is well-known and has been articulated by its top leadership. The expert committee is expected to hold more discussions to iron out the details of the theaterisation plan and bring all stakeholders, especially the IAF, on board.
Deliberations on the proposal are likely to take more time and previous timelines may have to be revised.
How will the role of service chiefs change?
Operational control of the theatre commands will eventually come under the CDS, with the service chiefs being responsible for raising, training and sustaining their forces.
CDS is expected to have operational control over all integrated commands when they are fully functional — this will be in his role as CDS, and not as permanent chairman, COSC.
Which other militaries have theatre commands?
Most leading militaries, including those of the US, Russia, China, UK and France, function as per the theatre command concept with the idea of seamless integration.
The US military, the world’s most powerful, has 11 combatant commands, each with a geographic or functional mission.
Similarly, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has five theatre commands — eastern, southern, western, northern and central, with its western theatre handling the entire border with India.
Pakistan has sought Beijing’s help to reorganise its forces under the same military concept.
Why is there a need to integrate Armed Forces?
Changed nature of warfare: The nature of warfare itself has witnessed a paradigm shift in the planning and execution of operations. The modern-day wars will be fought with simultaneity in a non-linear pattern across the spectrum of land, sea and air.
Multi-pronged strategy: The execution of operations would entail well-coordinated offensive-defensive manoeuvres, net-centric operations, information warfare, cyber-attacks, possibly under nuclear overhang etc.
Magnifying security threats: India has two hostile nuclear neighbours. Additionally, there is Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in almost half the districts in the country and international power play unfolding in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) as well as the Asia-Pacific Regions.
Arguments for integrated theatre command
Better acclimatisation of troops: This aims to the given battle space, which will assist them to comprehend the operational requirements correctly in the assigned area of operation.
Training needs and administrative requirements: This can be better understood for troops, which would allow specialisation and suitable honing of battle drills at all levels.
Quick mobilization of troops: Equipment can be procured, maintained and pre-positioned for quick mobilisation and apt application during the envisaged, short-duration, high-intensity war.
Optimal use of resources: The allocation of military hardware, in terms of weapon systems, command, control and communication equipment and combat support elements will be theatre specific and result in optimisation of the resources.
Precision in combat action: Unified command of the three Services under one designated commander will allow for prompt and precise decision-making and will remove unnecessary tri-services one-man-up ship.
Challenges ahead
Perception of superiority: There is deep-rooted insecurity among the Services, arising out of loss of absolute authority over its Service, loss of identity of each Service in an integrated set up and erosion of empire within each Service. This may lead to unwillingness among the Armed Forces to integrate.
Political willingness and divided opinions: This will despite being convinced about the requirement of integration of the Armed Forces. There is a sense of reluctance arising out of insecurity to bestow the complete authority of Armed Forces with one individual.
Military hierarchy: The structure of command, i.e. who will report to who within the tri-services and joint theatre command configurations, and who will have operational command over personnel and machinery, service chiefs or theatre commanders.
Shortage of resources: Shortages within the Indian Air Force (IAF) which has only 31 operational squadrons against a modest sanctioned strength of 42, would make it difficult for the IAF to permanently station assets in a particular command with territorial boundaries.
Inter-services competition: This exists everywhere in the world wherein each service zealously oversees its own assets and strives for a greater share of the defense budget and influence might prove to be an obstacle in creating synergy among the services.
India’s limited experience: India may require a fair bit of mid-course corrections which would require problems to be timely identified and remedied, and slow down the integration process regardless.
Conclusion
Even though both merits and demerits highlight logical arguments, the truth is this was a much-needed reform in Indian Armed Forces.
Thus this integration would lead to theaterisation which would further lead to the modernization of forces. Until now, modernization was implemented from the equipment and weapons system per se but this restructuring into unified commands is the other side of modernization of forces.
Even though there is a line of difference between Jointmanship among armed forces and Integration of Armed Forces, cooperation is a prerequisite of armed forces.
GS-1 Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present – significant events, personalities, issues.
GS-2 Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
GS-3 Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
GS-4 Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
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