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  • Risks involved in over-valued unicorns

    Context

    The biggest-ever initial public offering (IPO) in India fell flat on its face on the first day of its listing in the stock exchange, with shares being traded at prices less than 27% of the IPO price.

    Rise of unicorns in India and factors driving it

    • Unicorns in diverse sectors: There has been a unicorn gale in India in recent years, covering diverse sectors from fintech to cloud kitchen.
    • Growth in digital payment is reflected in the fintech sector that has contributed the most to the unicorn list.
    • Factors driving growth: An ecosystem which combines thriving digital payments, a growing smartphone user base and digital-first business models adopted by many start-ups has driven expectations of investors, resulting in large-scale fund flows into new business ventures.
    • Growing smartphone user: Expectations are high as the country has around 640 million Internet users, of which 550 million are smartphone users.
    • Growing digital payments: Digital payment has seen a growth of 30.19% as of March 31, 2021 and by the end of September 30, the unified payments interface (UPI) registered 3.5 billion transactions amounting to ₹6.54 trillion.

    FinTech and EdTech leading unicorns

    • American investment firms Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital have been the major investors, providing very quick follow-up rounds of funds across all stages and sectors.
    • Fundamental financial performance of the business is not factored in these decisions which could lead to biased valuations.
    • Idea of disruptive technologies: The idea of disruptive technologies has become a buzzword for characterising start-ups.
    • The idea was that start-ups with limited resources can aim at technology disruption by inventing an entirely new way of getting something done.
    • The story is similar in educational technologies (EdTech) as well.
    • The novel coronavirus pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for EdTech firms, as it is this external environment that is pushing the industry, giving it an acceleration by four to five years.
    • Too many acquisitions with big ambitions to grow inorganically puts pressure on the balance sheet in the years to come as some of the new acquisitions are likely to fail.
    • Even, EdTech firms with reasonably good business models are highly overvalued due to abundant liquidity.
    • Cost of achieving behaviour change: Almost every second advertisement on primetime television is either of a digital payment firm or EdTech platform.
    • New firms in services will have to indulge in this process for a longer period than firms in other industries such as transportation as these firms have to bring about a particular kind of change that customers are significantly comfortable using the service.
    • Firms burn cash to give massive discounts to customers in the hope that people will get so habituated to these platforms that they will remain active even when the prices are hiked.
    • To some extent this worked in the context of mobile telephone services as Indians have got hooked to mobile phones and reoriented spending to buy more sophisticated smartphones and data.
    • But in other services this does not seem to work so easily.
    • The projection flaw: Data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) points to this flaw of over-optimistic demand projections as there are just about 23 million households which earn more than ₹5 lakh per year i.e., less than ₹42,000 a month, which is about 7% of all Indian families.
    • It is only this class which can be coaxed to behavioural changes — i.e. people who can afford various kinds of goods and services.
    • If firms want to go beyond this 7% of households they have to offer bigger discounts, burning more cash, with the possibility that once the discounts are reduced, customers drop off.

    Consider the question “India is witnessing the unicorn boom in the starts-ups. However, valuation of these unicorns has raised concerns. In light of this, examine the factors driving the rise of unicorns in India and why their valuation raises concerns?”

    Conclusion

    We are witnessing new unicorns emerging every month, which are products of inflated valuations to tap more funds to burn more cash. These valuations are solely on the basis of future earnings, with virtually no profits to show in the present.

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  • Bharat Gaurav Scheme to promote Tourism

    To tap the huge potential of tourism, the Railways has announced the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ Scheme.

    Bharat Gaurav Scheme

    • Under this Scheme, theme-based tourist circuit trains, on the lines of the Ramayana Express, can be run either by private or State-owned operators.
    • Till now, the Railways had passenger segments and goods segments.
    • Now, it will have a third segment for tourism under the Bharat Gaurav.
    • The scheme has been developed after extensive stakeholder discussions and a lot of State Governments, including Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have shown interest.

    Key features

    • Service providers, who can be an individual, company, society, trust, joint venture or consortium will be free to decide themes/circuits.
    • They will offer an all-inclusive package to tourists including rail travel, hotel accommodation and sightseeing arrangement, visit to historical/heritage sites, tour guides etc.
    • They have full flexibility to decide the package cost.
    • The service providers will also be able to design/furnish the interior of the coaches based on the theme and put branding or advertising inside and outside of the train.

     

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  • [pib] Mysuru Declaration on Service Delivery by Panchayats

    The Participants from 16 States signed the Mysuru Declaration and resolved to roll out the Common Minimum Service delivery by Panchayats across the country from April 1, 2022.

    Mysuru Declaration

    • The Mysuru declaration is aimed at recognising Citizen Centric Services as the “Heart of Governance”.
    • It provides key inputs on various aspects of service delivery that are either provided by the panchayats directly or services of other departments that are facilitated by panchayats.

    Highlights of the Declaration

    WE, the Representatives and Officials recognise the efforts to promote inclusive and accountable Local Self Governments in delivery of services, in consonance with the priorities and the aspirations of our citizens.

    We accepresponsibility for seizing this moment to strengthen our commitments to promote transparency, empower citizens, and harness the power of new technologies towards timely and quality delivery of services; enhancing citizen service experiences

    We uphold the value of openness in our engagement with citizens to improve services, incorporating diverse views when designing and delivering services. We embrace principles of transparency and open government with a view towards achieving greater prosperity, well-being, and human dignity for sustainable development of local communities.

     

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  • Facial Recognition Technology

    Context

    According to police officials, more than six lakh CCTV cameras have already been deployed in the city, with the very real possibility that this number will continue to increase. These all-pervasive cameras will soon be connected in a real-time network managed by Hyderabad’s Command and Control Centre.

    Facial Recognition

    It is a biometric technology that uses distinctive features of the face to identify and distinguish an individual. Over a period of almost 6 decades, it has evolved in many ways- from looking at 3D contours of a face to recognizing skin patterns.

    How does it work?

    • The facial recognition system works primarily by capturing the face & its features through the camera and then using various kinds of software to reconstruct those features.
    • The captured face along with its features is stored into a database, which can be integrated with any kind of software that may be used for security purposes, banking services, etc.
    • In the Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS), the large database (containing photos and videos of peoples’ faces) is used to match and identify the person. The image of an unidentified person, taken from CCTV footage, is compared to the existing database using Artificial Intelligence technology, for pattern-finding and matching.

    What are the uses?

    • Authentication: It is used for identification and authentication purposes with a success rate of almost 75%.
      • For instance, the NCRB’s Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) managing crime data for police, use automated facial recognition to identify criminals, missing people, and unidentified dead bodies, as well as for “crime prevention”.
      • The project is aimed at being compatible with other biometrics such as iris and fingerprints.
      • The integration of fingerprint databases, face recognition software and iris scans will massively boost the police department’s crime investigation capabilities.
    • Force Multiplier: In India, where there are just 144 constables per 1 lakh citizens, this can act as a force multiplier. It neither requires too much manpower nor regular up-gradation. Hence, this technology coupled with the present manpower in place can act as a game-changer.
    • Varied applications: It is increasingly being used for everything from unlocking mobile phones to validating the identity, from auto-tagging of digital photos to finding missing persons, and from targeted advertising to law enforcement.

    Opposition to facial recognition technologies

    • How it works: Facial recognition technology identifies the distinctive features of a person’s face to create a biometric map, which an algorithm then matches to possible individuals.
    • The system searches across databases of millions of images scraped without knowledge or consent and often fails.
    • Severe scrutiny: The use of facial recognition technology is already under severe scrutiny around the world, with some jurisdictions, including Belgium and Luxembourg, have already banned its use.
    • Ban by EU: The European Union is in the process of finalizing and passing one of the most comprehensive bans on facial recognition technology yet, while in the United States, multiple cities- and state-level bans and moratoria have been imposed.
    • More than 200 organizations have called for a global ban on the use of biometric surveillance technologies that enable mass and discriminatory surveillance, while even Facebook announced that it would be shutting down its facial recognition program.

    Issues with the use of facial recognition technologies in India

    • Violation of the right to privacy: The right to privacy was recognized as a fundamental right, included under the right to life and liberty by the Supreme Court of India in 2017.
    • Absence of legal framework: Without a law in place to regulate data collection and to act as an oversight mechanism, valid concerns about privacy and other rights violations continue to arise.
    • High Infrastructural Costs: Technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Big Data are costly to implement. The size of stored information is extremely large and requires huge network & data storage facilities, which are currently not available in India.
    • Image Collection: The sources from which images will be collected to create a repository/database need to be known.
    • The concern of Data Leakage: In today’s world of cybercrime, it is important to put appropriate safeguards in place in order to ensure the integrity of the repository/database, so that it doesn’t leak out the information and is not privatized or monetized.
    • Required Expertise: Experts are needed to verify and authenticate data collected before storing them who should be provided proper training to protect & avoid abuse and misuse of the collected data & database.
    • Reliability & Authenticity: As the data collected may be used in the court of law during the course of a criminal trial, the reliability and the admissibility of the data along with standards and procedures followed would be taken into consideration. Hence, the authenticity of the data is crucial.
    • Huge amounts of public money are being spent on these technologies with no evidence of their effectiveness, further squandering precious public funds.

    The National Automated Facial Recognition System

    • To empower the Indian police with information technology, India approved the implementation of the National Automated Facial Recognition System (NAFRS).
    • On its implementation, it will function as a national-level search platform that will use facial recognition technology.
    • It will help to facilitate investigation of crime or for identifying a person of interest regardless of face mask, makeup, plastic surgery, beard, or hair extension.

    Way Forward

    • Save the time of police: This is a compare and contrast tool meant for identification based on existing information. The process of identification can be accelerated by its use.
    • Proper Legal safeguards are a must: With proper safeguards, this technology is much needed for India. Having the biggest IT workforce in the world, state-of-the-art technology can act as a game-changer for India.
    • Need to learn from Global examples: Police departments in London are under pressure to put a complete end to the use of facial recognition systems following evidence of discrimination and inefficiency.
      • Hence, it is necessary to make use of such technology, but it cannot act as the silver bullet for all the police reforms that we need.

    Conclusion

    Government programs such as Safe City, Smart City, and the Nirbhaya Fund have been utilized to bankroll these projects — yet the human rights violations that occur as a result of their use far outweigh any purported benefit that these technologies claim to provide.

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  • Co-op Societies are not banks, RBI cautions

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned members of the public not to deal with cooperative societies undertaking banking business by adding ‘bank’ to their names.

    What is the news?

    • It has also come to the notice of RBI that some co-operative societies are accepting deposits from non-members/nominal members/ associate members.
    • This is tantamount to conducting banking business in violation of the provisions.

    Who can use ‘Bank’ title?

    • The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 was amended by the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020, which came into force on September 29, 2020.
    • Accordingly, co-operative societies cannot use the words “bank”, “banker” or “banking” as part of their names, except as permitted under the provisions of BR Act, 1949 or by the RBI.

    What is Cooperative Banking?

    • Cooperatives are people-centred enterprises owned, controlled and run by and for their members to realise their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations.
    • Cooperative bank is an institution established on the cooperative basis and dealing in ordinary banking business.
    • Like other banks, the cooperative banks are founded by collecting funds through shares, accept deposits and grant loans.
    • They are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and governed by the
    1. Banking Regulations Act 1949
    2. Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955

    Features of Cooperative Banks

    • Cooperative banks are generally concerned with the rural credit and provide financial assistance for agricultural and rural activities.
    • Such banking in India is federal in structure. Primary credit societies are at the lowest rung.
    • Then, there are central cooperative banks at the district level and state cooperative banks at the state level.
    • Cooperative credit societies are mostly located in villages spread over the entire country.

    History of Cooperative Banking in India:

    • The cooperative movement in India was started primarily for dealing with the problem of rural credit.
    • The history of Indian cooperative banking started with the passing of Cooperative Societies Act in 1904.
    • The objective of this Act was to establish cooperative credit societies “to encourage thrift, self-help and cooperation among agriculturists, artisans and persons of limited means.”
    • Many cooperative credit societies were set up under this Act.
    • The Cooperative Societies Act, 1912 recognised the need for establishing new organisations for supervision, auditing and supply of cooperative credit.

    Structure of Cooperative Banking

    • The whole structure of cooperative credit institutions is shown in the chart given.
    • There are different types of cooperative credit institutions working in India.
    • These institutions can be classified into two broad categories- agricultural and non-agricultural.
    • Agricultural credit institutions dominate the entire cooperative credit structure.

    Various facets of cooperatives in India

    • Cooperatives in India have grown exponentially.
    • In the banking sector, according to the RBI, their contribution to rural credit increased from 3.1 percent in 1951 to an impressive 27.3 percent in 2002.

    Importance of Cooperative Banks:

    • The cooperative banking system has to play a critical role in promoting rural finance and is especially suited to Indian conditions.
    • Various advantages of cooperative credit institutions are given below:

    (1) Alternative Credit Source:  The main objective of the cooperative credit movement is to provide an effective alternative to the traditional defective credit system of the village moneylender.

    (2) Cheap Rural Credit: Cooperative credit system has cheapened the rural credit by charging comparatively low-interest rates, and has broken the money lender’s monopoly.

    (3) Productive Borrowing:  The cultivators used to borrow for consumption and other unproductive purposes. But, now, they mostly borrow for productive purposes.

    (4) Encouragement to Saving and Investment: Instead of hoarding money the rural people tend to deposit their savings in cooperative or other banking institutions.

    (5) Improvement in Farming Methods: Cooperative credit is available for purchasing improved seeds, chemical fertilizers, modern implements, etc.

    (6) Financial Inclusion: They have played a significant role in the financial inclusion of unbanked rural masses. They provide cheap credit to the masses in rural areas.

     

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  • Andhra Pradesh government repealed laws on 3 capitals

    The Andhra Pradesh Assembly unanimously passed a Bill to repeal two laws that were cleared last year to set up three different state capitals.

    Three Capitals Act

    • The law was titled Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020.
    • The incumbent govt had decided to reverse the previous government’s decision to have an ambitious world-class capital city at Amaravati, which is located between Vijayawada and Guntur.
    • Thus, it was decided that Amaravati was to be the Legislative capital, Visakhapatnam the Executive capital, and Kurnool the Judicial capital.

    Why was it repealed?

    • Over a hundred petitions challenging the government’s move have been filed before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
    • Farmers of Amaravati, who let the government acquire their lands, wanted them to stick to the previous plan and build a world-class capital city in the same location.

    Will Andhra Pradesh have only one capital now?

    • It is not clear if the government will stick to Amaravati as the sole capital.
    • Throughout his address, the CM stressed the need for decentralization for the equitable development of all regions.

    What are the other examples of multiple capital cities?

    • Among Indian states, Maharashtra has two capitals– Mumbai and Nagpur (which hold the winter session of the state assembly).
    • Himachal Pradesh has capitals at Shimla and Dharamshala (winter).
    • The former state of Jammu & Kashmir had Srinagar and Jammu (winter) as capitals.

    Must read

    Three capitals for Andhra Pradesh — its logic and the questions it raises

     

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  • Matosinhos Manifesto for accelerated use of space in Europe

    The European Space Agency (ESA) has approved a Matosinhos Manifesto to accelerate the use of space in Europe.

    Matosinhos Manifesto

    • At the Intermediate Ministerial Meeting that was held in Matosinhos, Portugal.
    • The Council of Ministers unanimously adopted this resolution that lays down a vision for the continent in terms of maintaining and expanding its activities in space.
    • The large-scale nature and fast pace of the climate crisis and other challenges means that no European nation will be able to effectively address them alone.

    The manifesto defines three “accelerators” to further advance Europe’s space ambitions:

    1. The first of these accelerators is for the ESA to start working towards the “Space for a Green Future”
    2. The second accelerator is called “Rapid and Resilient Crisis Response” to support governments to act decisively on crises facing Europe, from flooding and storms to wildfires
    3. The third accelerator mentioned in the resolution is “Protection of Space Assets”, whose objective is to safeguard ESA astronauts and assets from interference by space debris and space weather

    A brief history of the ESA

    • The ESA is an intergovernmental organization that was formed in 1975 with the aim of developing Europe’s space capabilities.
    • The organization has 22 member states — Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
    • Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.

     

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  • Global State of Democracy Report, 2021

    The number of countries moving towards authoritarianism in 2020 was higher than that of countries going in the other direction, towards democracy, a/c to the Global State of Democracy (GSD) Report, 2021.

    Note: The Global Democracy Index is released by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU). One may get confused over this two.

    About GSD Report

    • The GSD report is released by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International-IDEA).
    • The International-IDEA, is an inter-governmental organization supporting democracy, is chaired by Australia and includes India as a member-state.
    • The report aims to influence the global debate and analyses current trends and challenges to democracy, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
    • It offers specific policy recommendations to spark new and innovative thinking for policymakers, governments and civil society organizations supporting democracy.

    GSD framework

    Highlights of the report

    • The US and three members of the European Union (EU) [Hungary, Poland and Slovenia] have also seen concerning democratic declines.
    • The pandemic has prolonged this existing negative trend into a five-year stretch, the longest such period since the start of the third wave of democratization in the 1970s.
    • Democratically elected Governments, including established democracies, are increasingly adopting authoritarian tactics.
    • This democratic backsliding has often enjoyed significant popular support.

    India’s performance

    • The report highlighted the case of Brazil and India as “some of the most worrying examples of backsliding.
    • India is the backsliding democracy with the most democratic violations during the pandemic.
    • Violations include- Harassment, arrests and prosecution of human rights defenders, activists, journalists, students, academics and others critical of the government or its policies; internet obstructions etc.

    Resilient democracies

    • The report pointed out that many democracies had proved to be resilient to the pandemic.
    • Despite pandemic restrictions on campaigning and media, the electoral component of democracy has shown remarkable resilience.
    • Countries around the world learned to hold elections in exceedingly difficult conditions and they rapidly activated special voting arrangements to allow citizens to continue exercising their democratic rights.

    Democracy is good. I say this because other systems are worse.

    –  Jawaharlal Nehru

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  • Who was Rani Gaidinliu?

    Union Home Minister has laid the foundation for ‘Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum’ in Imphal, Manipur.

    Rani Gaidinliu

    • Gaidinliu (26 January 1915 – 17 February 1993) was a Naga spiritual and political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India.
    • At the age of 13, she joined the Heraka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang.
    • The movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas.
    • Within the Heraka faith, she came to be considered an incarnation of the Goddess Cherachamdinliu.

    Meeting with Pt. Nehru

    • Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers.
    • Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937 and promised to pursue her release.
    • Nehru gave her the title of “Rani” (“Queen”), and she gained local popularity as Rani Gaidinliu.

    Her legacy

    • She was released in 1947 after India’s independence and continued to work for the upliftment of her people.
    • An advocate of the ancestral Naga religious practices, she staunchly resisted the conversion of Nagas to Christianity.
    • She was honored as a freedom fighter and was awarded a Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

     

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  • Why are Judicial Transfers riddled by controversies?

    The transfer of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee from the Madras High Court to the Meghalaya High Court has given rise to a controversy over the question of whether judicial transfers are made only for administrative reasons or have any element of ‘punishment’ behind them.

    Transfer of judges and the Constitution

    • Article 222 of the Constitution provides for the transfer of High Court judges, including the Chief Justice.
    • It says the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, may transfer a judge from one High Court to any other High Court.
    • It also provides for a compensatory allowance to the transferred judge.
    • This means that the executive could transfer a judge, but only after consulting the Chief Justice of India.
    • From time to time, there have been proposals that one-third of the composition of every High Court should have judges from other States.

    What is the Supreme Court’s view on the issue?

    Union of India vs. Sankalchand Himatlal Sheth (1977)

    • The Supreme Court rejected the idea that High Court judges can be transferred only with their consent.
    • It reasoned that the transfer of power can be exercised only in public interest.
    • It held that the President is under an obligation to consult the CJI, which meant that all relevant facts must be placed before the CJI.
    • It ruled CJI had the right and duty to elicit and ascertain further facts from the judge concerned or others.

    S.P. Gupta vs. President of India, 1981 (First Judges Case)

    • It considered the validity of the transfer Judges as well as a circular from the Law Ministry.
    • The Ministry had put that additional judge in all High Courts may be asked for their consent to be appointed as permanent judges in any other High Court, and to name three preferences.
    • The Minister’s reasoning was that such transfers would promote national integration and help avoid parochial tendencies bred by caste, kinship and other local links and affiliations.
    • The majority ruled that consultation with the CJI did not mean ‘concurrence’ with respect to appointments.

    SCARA Vs Union of India, 1993 (Second Judges Case)  

    • In effect, it emphasized the primacy of the executive in the matter of appointments and transfers.
    • However, this position was overruled in the ‘Second Judges Case’ (1993).
    • The opinion of the CJI, formed after taking into account the views of senior-most judges, was to have primacy.
    • Since then, appointments are being made by the Collegium.

    Current procedure for transfers

    • As one of the points made by the ‘Second Judges Case’ was that the opinion of the CJI ought to mean the views of a plurality of judges, the concept of a ‘Collegium of Judges’ came into being.
    • In the collegium era, the proposal for transferring a High Court judge, including a Chief Justice, should be initiated by the Chief Justice of India, “whose opinion in this regard is determinative”.
    • The consent of the judge is not required.
    • All transfers are to be made in public interest, i.e. for promoting better administration of justice throughout the country.
    • For transferring a judge other than the Chief Justice, the CJI should take the views of the CJ of the court concerned, as well as the CJ of the court to which the transfer is taking place.
    • The CJI should also take into account the views of one or more Supreme Court judges who are in a position to offer their views.
    • In the case of transfer of a Chief Justice, only the views of one or more knowledgeable Supreme Court judges need to be taken into account.

    Provision for Written Recommendation

    • The views should all be expressed in writing, and they should be considered by the CJI and four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, which means, the full Collegium of five.
    • The recommendation is sent to the Union Law Minister who should submit the relevant papers to the Prime Minister.
    • The PM then advises the President on approving the transfer.

    What makes transfers controversial?

    • Punitive intent: Transfer orders become controversial when the Bar or sections of the public feel that there is a punitive element behind the decision to move a judge from one High Court to another.
    • No disclosure of reasons: As a matter of practice, the Supreme Court and the government do not disclose the reason for a transfer.
    • Adverse opinions behind: For, if the reason is because of some adverse opinion on a judge’s functioning, disclosure would impinge on the judge’s performance and independence in the court to which he is transferred.

     

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