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Distribution: yearly

  • Employment days under MGNREGS at a 5-year low

    mgnregs

    The average days of employment provided per household under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are at a five-year low, this financial year.

    What is the news?

    • As on January 20, the average days of employment provided per household is 42 days while it was 50 days in 2021-22, 52 days in 2020-21, 48 days in 2019-20 and 51 days in 2018-19.

    Why such unprecedented drop in employments?

    The program has been plagued by systemic problems that is disincentivising participation.

    • Choking of funds: This has led to suppression of work demand and delays in wage payments.
    • App for attendance: The introduction of unnecessary technical complexities like an app for attendance at worksites has caused more hardships for workers who will be more dissuaded going forward.
    • States dismal policies: With less than two-months for the financial year to close, there are at least nine States and union territories which have utilised less than 70% of projected person days.
    • Budgetary cuts: With low utilisation, financial outlay for the underperforming States is expected to further shrink in the upcoming financial year.

    What is MGNREGS?

    • The MGNREGS is a scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005.
    • This is labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘Right to Work’.
    • The act was first proposed in 1991 by V. Narasimha Rao.

    What is so unique about it?

    • MGNREGS is unique in not only ensuring at least 100 days of employment to the willing unskilled workers, but also in ensuring an enforceable commitment on the implementing machinery i.e., the State Governments, and providing a bargaining power to the labourers.
    • The failure of provision for employment within 15 days of the receipt of job application from a prospective household will result in the payment of unemployment allowance to the job seekers.
    • Any Indian citizen above the age of 18 years who resides in rural India can apply for the NREGA scheme. The applicant should have volunteered to do unskilled work.
    • Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid.
    • Thus, employment under MGNREGS is a legal entitlement.

    Why is MGNREGS under fire these days?

    • Not enough work: Bihar despite its levels of poverty, does not generate enough work to make a concrete difference, and on the other end of spectrum we have Kerala which is economically better but has been utilising it for asset creation.
    • No asset creation: There is a lack of tangible asset creation. The committee will study if the composition of work taken up presently under the scheme should be changed.

    Issues in implementation

    • Insufficient budgetary allocations: Increase in the nominal budget but actual budget (after adjusting inflation) decreased over the years.
    • Approved Labour Budget Constraints: The Centre through the arbitrary “Approved Labour Budget” has reduced the number of days of work and put a cap on funds through the National Electronic Fund Management System
    • Not so attractive wages rate: Currently, MGNREGS wage rates of 17 states are less than the corresponding state minimum wages.
    • Delay in wage payments: Under the MGNREGS, a worker is entitled to get his or her due wages within a fortnight of completion of work, failing which the worker is entitled to the compensation.
    • No-work situations are rising: None of the states was able to provide full 100 days employment as mentioned in the scheme.
    • Data manipulations by authorities: A recent study has found that data manipulation in the MGNREGS is leading to gross violations in its implementation.
    • Non-purposive spending and corruptions: Many works sanctioned under MGNREGS often seem to be non-purposive. Quite often, they are politically motivated hotspots to create rampant corruption.
    • Centralization weakening local governance: A real-time MIS-based implementation and a centralised payment system has further left the representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions with literally no role in implementation.

    Conclusion

    • Large scale social security programmes like MGNREGS are subjected to undergo several stumbling blocks in the times of ongoing pandemic.
    • Government and NGOs must study the impact of MGNREGS in rural areas so as to ensure that this massive anti-poverty scheme is not getting diluted from its actual path.
    • We must view MGNREGS as an opportunity and explicitly include it in a broad-based strategy to tackle any socie-economic crisis.

     

     

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  • Excavations reveal Buddhist monastery complex at Bharatpur of Bengal

    buddh

    Recent excavations at Bharatpur in West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district have revealed the presence of a Buddhist monastery.

    Bharatpur Buddhist Monastery Complex

    • The Kolkata Circle of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) started excavating the site in the second week of January and a structural complex of a monastery has now been partially exposed.
    • The site was initially excavated almost fifty years ago between 1972 and 1975 when archeologists from ASI found a Buddhist stupa at the site.

    Uniqueness of this site

    • This place hosts a large stupa along with a monastery complex and black and red ware pottery from the Chalcolithic or Copper Age.
    • In other sites across West Bengal, such as Karnasubarna in Murshidabad, Moghalamari in Paschim Medinipur and Jagjivanpur in Malda, archeologists have found only smaller votive stupas.
    • Further excavation is likely to shed more light to understand the earliest occupation of the site and its continuity till the establishment of a Buddhist monastery.

    Key findings

    • In the 1970s when the site was excavated along with the stupa, five beautiful seated sculptures of the Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra -with all five fingers of the right hand extended to touch the ground — were found.
    • These miniature sculptures, each about 30 cm in height, were most likely used for worship in the monastery.

    Back2Basics: Mudras of Buddha

    buddh

    (1) Dharmachakra Mudra

    • It is also called as the gesture of ‘Teaching of the Wheel of Dharma’ that describes one of the most important moments in the Buddha’s life as he performed the Dharmachakra mudra in his first sermon in Sarnath after he attained enlightenment.
    • It is performed with the help of both the hands which are held against the chest, the left facing inward, covering the right facing outward.

    (2) Dhyan Mudra

    • It is also known as Samadhi or Yoga Mudra.
    • It is performed with the help of two hands, which are placed on the lap and place the right hand on the left hand with stretched fingers (thumbs facing upwards and other fingers of both the hand resting on each other.)
    • This is the characteristic gesture of Buddha Shakyamuni, Dhyani Buddha Amitabh and the Medicine Buddha.

    (3) Bhumisparsa Mudra

    • This gesture is also known as ‘touching the Earth’, which represents the moment of the Buddha’s awakening as he claims the earth as the witness of his enlightenment.
    • It is performed with the help of the right hand, which is held above the right knee, reaching toward the ground with the palm inward while touching the lotus throne.

    (4) Varada Mudra

    • This mudra represents the offering, welcome, charity, giving, compassion and sincerity.
    • It is performed with the help of both the hands in which palm of right hand is facing forward and fingers extended and left hand palm placed near centre with extended fingers.

    (5) Karana Mudra

    • It signifies the warding off of evil which is performed by raising the index and the little finger, and folding the other fingers.
    • It helps in reducing sickness or negative thoughts.

    (6) Vajra Mudra

    • This gesture denotes the fiery thunderbolt that symbolises the five elements—air, water, fire, earth, and metal.
    • It is performed with the help of right fist and left forefinger, which is placed by enclosing the erect forefinger of the left hand in the right fist with the tip of the right forefinger touching (or curled around) the tip of the left forefinger.

    (7) Vitarka Mudra

    • It signifies the discussion and transmission of the teachings of the Buddha.
    • It is performed by joining the tips of the thumb and the index fingers together while keeping the other fingers straight, which is just like the Abhaya Mudra and Varada Mudra but in this mudra the thumbs touch the index fingers.

    (8) Abhaya Mudra

    • It is a gesture of fearlessness or blessing that represents the protection, peace, benevolence, and dispelling of fear.
    • It is performed with the help of right hand by raising to shoulder height with bent arm, and the face of palm will be facing outward with fingers upright whereas the left hand hanging down while standing.

    (9) Uttarabodhi Mudra

    • This denotes the supreme enlightenment through connecting oneself with divine universal energy.
    • It is performed with the help of both the hands, which are placed at the heart with the index fingers touching and pointing upwards and the remaining fingers intertwined.

    (10) Anjali Mudra

    • It is also called Namaskara Mudra or Hridayanjali Mudra that represents the gesture of greeting, prayer and adoration.
    • It is performed by pressing the palms of the hands together in which the hands are held at the heart chakra with thumbs resting lightly against the sternum.

     

    Answer this PYQ from CSP 2014 in the comment box:

    Q.Lord Buddha’s image is sometimes shown with a hand gesture called ‘Bhumisparsha Mudra’. It symbolizes-

    a) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to watch over Mara and to prevent Mara from disturbing his meditation

    b) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to witness his purity and chastity despite the temptations of Mara

    c) Buddha’s reminder to his followers that they all arise from the Earth and finally dissolve into the Earth and thus this life is transitory

    d) Both the statements ‘a’ and ‘b’ are correct in this context

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”i3wwnob4og” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • What is Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and how it impacts the climate?

    lng

    The EU is weaning itself off piped Russian gas by rapidly expanding imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from US.

    What is Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG?

    • LNG is natural gas reduced to a liquid state (liquefaction) through intense cooling to around -161 degrees Celsius (-259 Fahrenheit).
    • It is constituted almost wholly of methane — a potent greenhouse gas and can be transported around the world by ship.
    • This liquid gas is 600 times smaller than the original volume and is half the weight of water.
    • After arriving at its destination, the cargo is regasified in a floating terminal and redistributed through pipelines.

    Economic feasibility of LNG

    • High cost of liquefaction: despite LNG’s export potential, the high cost of liquefaction and producing LNG has limited its market.
    • Losses: Between 10-25% of the energy of the gas is being lost during the liquefaction process.
    • Costly transport: The cooling, liquefying and transport processes, as well as the post-transport regasification procedures, also require a lot of energy.

    What’s the climate impact of LNG?

    • Emission: With LNG creating almost 10 times more emissions than piped gas by one estimate, its rapid expansion will likely compromise climate targets.
    • Risks of methane leakages: Methane loss across the supply chain risks also contributes to LNG’s high emissions.
    • Huge carbon equivalence: Meanwhile, LNG emits 14 times as much carbon as solar power when producing the equivalent amount of energy, and 50 times as much carbon as wind power.

     

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  • What are Additional Tier-1 (AT-1) Bonds?

    The Bombay High Court has quashed the write-off of Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds worth Rs 8,400 crore issued by Yes Bank Ltd, bringing relief to investors.

    What are AT1 bonds?

    • AT-1, short for Additional Tier-1 bonds, are a type of unsecured, perpetual bonds that banks issue to shore up their core capital base to meet the Basel-III norms.
    • AT-1 bonds are complex hybrid instruments, ideally meant for institutions and smart investors who can decipher their terms and assess if their higher rates compensate for their higher risks.
    • They carry a face value of ₹10 lakh per bond.
    • There are two routes through which retail folk have acquired these bonds — initial private placement offers of AT-1 bonds by banks seeking to raise money; or secondary market buys of already-traded AT-1 bonds based on recommendations from brokers.

    Why are they important?

    AT-1 bonds have several unusual features lurking in their fine print, which make them very different from plain bonds.

    • One, these bonds are perpetual and carry no maturity date. Instead, they carry call options that allow banks to redeem them after five or 10 years. But banks are not obliged to use this call option and can opt to pay only interest on these bonds for eternity.
    • Two, banks issuing AT-1 bonds can skip interest payouts for a particular year or even reduce the bonds’ face value without getting into hot water with their investors, provided their capital ratios fall below certain threshold levels. These thresholds are specified in their offer terms.
    • Three, if the RBI feels that a bank is tottering on the brink and needs a rescue, it can simply ask the bank to cancel its outstanding AT-1 bonds without consulting its investors. This is what has happened to YES Bank’s AT-1 bond-holders who are said to have invested ₹10,800 crore.

     

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  • Highlights of ASER 2022

    aser

    Pratham’s Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) 2022 — the first full-fledged one after the pandemic has now been published.

    ASER Survey

    • This is an annual survey (published by the education non-profit Pratham) that aims to provide reliable estimates of children’s enrolment and basic learning levels for each district and state in India.
    • ASER has been conducted every year since 2005 in all rural districts of India. It is the largest citizen-led survey in India.
    • It is also the only annual source of information on children’s learning outcomes available in India.
    • The survey is usually done once in two years.

    How is the survey conducted?

    • ASER tools and procedures are designed by ASER Centre, the research and assessment arm of Pratham.
    • The survey itself is coordinated by ASER Centre and facilitated by the Pratham network. It is conducted by close to 30,000 volunteers from partner organizations in each district.
    • All kinds of institutions partner with ASER: colleges, universities, NGOs, youth groups, women’s organizations, self-help groups, and others.
    • The ASER model has been adapted for use in several countries around the world: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Pakistan, Mali, and Senegal.

    Assessment parameters

    • Unlike most other large-scale learning assessments, ASER is a household-based rather than school-based survey.
    • This design enables all children to be included – those who have never been to school or have dropped out, as well as those who are in government schools, private schools, religious schools or anywhere else.
    • In each rural district, 30 villages are sampled. In each village, 20 randomly selected households are surveyed.
    • Information on schooling status is collected for all children living in sampled households who are in the age group 3-16.
    • Children in the age group 5-16 are tested in basic reading and basic arithmetic. The same test is administered to all children.
    • The highest level of reading tested corresponds to what is expected in std 2; in 2012 this test was administered in 16 regional languages.
    • In recent years, this has included household size, parental education, and some information on household assets.

    Highlights of ASER 2022

    The ASER 2022 report, which surveyed 6.99 lakh children aged 3 to 16 across 616 rural districts, however, bears some good news. School-level enrolment continues to grow strong and fewer girls are now out of school.

    (1) Enrolment

    • India has recorded a 95% enrolment for the last 15 years in the 6-14 age group.
    • Despite the pandemic forced school closure, the figure rose from 97.2% in 2018 to 98.4% in 2022.
    • Only 1.6% children are now not enrolled.
    • There is a clear increase in government school (6-14) enrolment across states — it rose from 65.6% in 2018 to 72.9% in 2022.
    • This is contrast to the trend in the 2006-14 period, which marked a steady decline in government school enrolment for the 6-14 age group.
    • From 10.3% of 11-14 year old girls not enrolled in schools in 2006, the proportion came down to 4.1% in 2018 and is at 2% in 2022. Save Uttar Pradesh, where it is at 4%, the number is lower across states.

    (2) Learning Loss

    • The ASER 2022 report says that children’s basic reading ability has dropped to ‘pre2012 levels, reversing the slow improvement achieved in the intervening years’.
    • The decline is seen across gender and across both government and private schools and is more acute in lower grades.
    • Percentage of children in Class III in govt or private schools who can read at Class II level dropped from 27.3% in 2018 to 20.5% in 2022.
    • Class V students who can at least read a Class II level text fell from 50.5% in 2018 to 42.8% in 2022.
    • Nationally, 69.6% of Class VIII students can read at least basic text in 2022, falling from 73% in 2018.

    (3) Arithmetic abilities

    • Students in Class III who are able to at least do subtraction dropped from 28.2% in 2018 to 25.9% in 2022.
    • For Class V, students who can do division has also fallen from 27.9% in 2018 to 25.6% in 2022.
    • Class VIII has done better with an improvement recorded — proportion of children who can do division has increased from 44.1% in 2018 to 44.7% in 2022.
    • ASER says that this increase is driven by improved outcomes among girls as well as among children enrolled in government schools, whereas boys and children enrolled in private schools show a decline over 2018 levels.

    (4) Tuition dependency

    • Rural India has been reporting an uptick in Class I-VIII paid tuition classes and it has moved up from 26.4% in 2018 to 30.5% in 2022.
    • In UP, Bihar, and Jharkhand, the proportion of children taking paid private tuition increased by 8 percentage points.

    (5) English proficiency

    • ASER recorded English abilities last in 2016 and the trend stays similar till date.
    • Children’s ability to read simple English sentences was at 24.7% in 2016 and is found at 24.5% in 2022.
    • Class VIII has shown some improvement from 45.3% in 2016 to 46.7% in 2022.
    • Children’s basic reading ability has dropped to pre-2012 levels, reversing the slow improvement achieved in the intervening years, while the basic maths skills have declined to 2018 levels nationally.

    (6) Schools improvement

    • Average teacher attendance increased from 85.4% in 2018 to 87.1% in 2022, while average student attendance persists at 72% as before.
    • Textbooks had been distributed to all grades in 90.1% of primary schools and in 84.4% of upper primary schools.
    • Fraction of schools with useable girls’ toilets increased from 66.4% in 2018 to 68.4% in 2022.
    • There were 76% schools with drinking water facilities compared with 74.85% in 2018, but there are interstate variations.
    • In 2022, 68.9% schools had a playground, up slightly from 66.5% in 2018.

    Way forward

    • In the past 10 years, we’ve seen improvement, but it has been in small bits. So it means that we really need to shake up things.
    • It is a critical thing for improving the productivity of the country. Business as usual is not going to work.
    • Again, it’s not a new message, but it’s a message that needs to be reiterated.
    • There are Anganwadi everywhere and their enrollment has gone up. Integration between the Anganwadi system and the school system is urgently needed because the work starts there.

     

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  • TRAI’s Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) Proposal

    cnap

    Telecom operators have expressed concerns over user privacy on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) proposal.

    Calling Name Presentation (CNAP)

    • Under this phones would need to display the name of a caller, by extracting the name of the telecom subscriber from their SIM registration data.
    • The feature would provide the called individual with information about the calling party (similar to ‘Truecaller’ and ‘Bharat Caller ID & Anti-Spam’).
    • The idea is to ensure that telephone subscribers are able to make an informed choice about incoming calls and curb harassment by unknown or spam callers.

    Why need CNAP?

    • Securing important calls: Genuine calls should not get unanswered. Hence proper system is solicited.
    • Blocking of spammers: Since subscribers are not given the name and identity of the caller, they may choose not to answer them believing it could be commercial communication from unregistered telemarketers.
    • Rise of robocalls: There have been rising concerns about robocalls (calls made automatically using IT-enabled systems with a pre-recorded voice), spam calls and fraudulent calls.

    What are the proposed models? 

    The regulator has proposed four models for facilitating the CNAP mechanism-

    1. TSPs operating CNAP database: The first model involves each telecom service provider (TSP) establishing and operating a CNAP database of its subscribers. Here, the caller’s TSP would have to extract the relevant data from its own database.
    2. Database sharing: In the second model, the operator of the calling entity shares its CNAP database with the receiver’s operator. The difference here is that the calling operator would permit the receiver’s operator to access its database for the caller’s CNAP data.
    3. Creating a Centralised database: The onus rests on the receiver’s operator to delve into the centralized database to retrieve and present the caller’s data. This model is similar to a plan envisaged by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in 2018, involving the setting up of a Digital Intelligence Unit at the central level.
    4. Centralized CNAP database: TSP retains a copy of a synchronized central database operated by a third party. It works this way: the call is facilitated as per the routine procedure, and since the receiver’s operator has access to both the centralized and their own database, the lookup is, therefore, internal.

    Issues involved

    • Latency: The regulator has said that latency in setting up the call must be ensured and CNAP must be inter-operable. The responsiveness might also suffer when moving from a faster wireless network (4G or 5G) to a comparatively slower one (2G or 3G), or vice-versa.
    • Privacy Issue: It is not clear how the CNAP mechanism would balance the caller’s right to remain anonymous, an essential component of the right to privacy. To put it into perspective, an individual may opt to remain anonymous for multiple reasons, for example, whistle-blowers or employees being harassed.
    • Gendered impact: The proposal may particularly harm women. The service will display a woman subscriber’s name and data, to every calling party whether or not she consents to it.
    • Data sharing without consent: We have to see it in parallel with The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (2022) which has a clause on deemed consent lacking adequate safeguards including sharing of data with third parties.
    • Implementation loopholes: Marketers have figured out newer ways to circumvent the existing framework. Previously, telemarketers were required to be registered as promotional numbers. Now they have started deploying people not necessarily part of the entity’s set-up, but rather “at-home workers”.

    Way forward

    • Innovative solution: TRAI must build an interface that is user-friendly and in turn, an effective mechanism.
    • Spam identification: Active participation from the subscribers would ensure that spammers are rightly identified and are unable to make further calls.
    • Digital literacy: The government must also invest in digital literacy, skilling citizen’s to navigate and use the tech better, ensuring they do not share their data indiscriminately and are informed about dangers such as financial fraud and spoofing.

     

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  • Chinese hydro-hegemony over Brahmaputra

    brahmaputra

    India has planned to build a buffer reservoir in the proposed Arunachal hydropower project to counter China’s proposed 60,000 MW Medog hydropower project on the Brahmaputra River.

    Brahmaputra hydrology: A tool of aggression for China

    • China has continued to use the water of river Brahmaputra for its interest and has intentionally created hazardous conditions for downstream states like India and Bangladesh.
    • Concerns over China’s proposed 60,000 MW hydropower in Medog, Tibet are influencing the design of a proposed hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district.
    • Still only in the planning stage, a ‘pre-feasibility report’ on the 11,000 MW project, or more than five times the size of the largest such projects in India – has been submitted.

    What is Medog super-dam Project?

    • China is planning a mega dam in Tibet able to produce triple the electricity generated by the Three Gorges—the world’s largest power station.
    • The structure will span the Brahmaputra River before the waterway leaves the Himalayas and flows into India.
    • It is billed as able to produce 300 billion kilowatts of electricity each year and said to be largest dam in the world once completed.

    India’s plan: To build buffer reservoir

    • The design of the proposed project incorporates a “buffer storage” of 9 billion cubic metres (or about 9 billion tonnes of water) during monsoonal flow.
    • This could act as a store of water worth a year’s flow that would normally be available from the Brahmaputra or buffer against sudden releases.

    Threats posed by Medog Project

    Chinese dams can hold large amounts of water, during times of droughts China could stop the flow of the river, jeopardizing the lives of millions of people in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Bangladesh.

    • Reduced flow in the Brahmaputra: The 60,000 MW dam in Medog could reduce the natural flow of water from the Brahmaputra.
    • Triggering artificial floods: Away from India during lean patches, it might be used to trigger “artificial floods” in the Brahmaputra basin.
    • Degradation of the entire basin: Silt carried by the river would get blocked by dams leading to a fall in the quality of soil and eventual reduction in agricultural productivity.
    • Seismic threats: Seismologists consider the Himalayas as most vulnerable to earthquakes and seismic activity.
    • Ecological threats: The cumulative impact of these two megaprojects might aggravate ecological degradation, converting lotic ecosystems into lentic ones.
    • Water security: Damming Brahmaputra would result in water security in an era of unprecedented shifting climate patterns.
    • Catastrophic threat: Any damage to the mega dam, if constructed here, will cause dam breaching and consequent flood havoc in India and Bangladesh.

    Why are such issues unaddressed?

    • No treaty on water sharing: We do not have any bilateral or multilateral treaty or any other effective and formal instrument of understanding for collaborative management of the Brahmaputra River.
    • Hostility over borders: Undemarcated borders are at the core of all hostilities between India and China.

    India’s dilemma

    • Flood control dichotomy: India’s hydropower projects, while potentially beneficial in controlling flooding from the Brahmaputra in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
    • No deterrence to China: This might not necessarily serve as a strategic deterrent to China.
    • Resentment to Bangladesh: A large dam in India may help control floods within India but might open fresh disputes over water sharing with Bangladesh downstream.

    Way forward

    • There must be collaborative management of our shared rivers.
    • Hydro-diplomacy should form an important ingredient of Indian foreign policy, especially as India shares river basins with neighbors.

    Brahmaputra River

    brahmaputra

    • Origin → Chemayungdung Glacier (Kailash Range, Tibet)
    •     In Tibet, known as TSANG – PO
    •     In China, known as YARLUNG ZANBO
    •     Forms grand canyon in Tibet
    •     Turns southward near Namcha – Barwa
    •     Enters Arunachal Pradesh as Dihang River at Sadiya, emerging from the mountains
    •     Joined by Dibang river from the north & Lohit river from the south → Known as Brahamputra
    •     Turns at Dhubri to enter into Bangladesh
    •     After joining Teesta, known as Jamuna in BD
    •     Joins Ganga & Megna → Merges to BOB.
    •     Forms many river island of which Majuli is world 2nd largest one
    •     Major tributaries → Dihang, Lohit, Subansiri, Teesta, Meghna (Barack in Assam), Manas

     

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  • Agnipath Scheme game changer says PM

    unsc

    The Agnipath scheme for recruitment is a “transformative policy” which will be a “game changer” in strengthening the armed forces, said the Prime Minister.

    What is Agnipath Scheme?

    • This will be the only form of recruitment of soldiers into the three defence services from now.
    • Recruits under the scheme will be known as ‘Agniveers’.
    • After completing the four-year service, they can apply for regular employment in the armed forces.
    • They may be given priority over others for various jobs in other government departments.
    • The move is expected to decrease the average age profile of armed forces personnel from the current 32 to 24-26 years over a period of time.

    Working of the scheme

    • The process of recruitment will commence in 90 days with a planned intake of 46,000 young men and women this year.
    • Enrolment to all three services will be through a centralized online system, with special rallies and campus interviews at recognized technical institutes.
    • Recruitment will be carried out on an “All India All Class” basis with the eligibility age ranging from 17.5 to 21, with medical and physical fitness standards in accordance with existing norms.

    Payouts of the Agniveers

    • The ‘Agniveers’ will receive an annual package of ₹4.76 lakh in the first year to ₹6.92 lakh in the fourth year, apart from risk and hardship and other allowances as applicable.
    • Under the ‘Seva Nidhi’ package, they will receive about ₹11.71 lakh, including contribution and interest, on completion of service.
    • The recruits will have to contribute 30% of their monthly emoluments to Seva Nidhi, with a matching contribution made by the government.
    • There will be no entitlement to gratuity and pension benefits under the scheme.
    • However, the ‘Agniveers’ will be provided a non-contributory life insurance cover of ₹48 lakh during their service.

    Why are aspirants protesting?

    • Contractualisation of armed forces: The foundation of this scheme is a four-year contract.
    • Jobs for the majority: States such as Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, are where the bulk of the Army recruitment takes place.
    • Perks and benefits: Many of these people value job stability, which includes retirement benefits and pensions over competitive salaries.
    • Uncertainty after end of commission: Most of them will be forced to leave the job within four years, which doesn’t fit into their hopes and aspirations.
    • Casualization of Training: It reportedly takes two to three years to train a member of the army, but as a part of the Agnipath, soldiers will only be trained for six months.
    • Threats to national security: Defence analysts have allegedly pointed out that the Russian soldiers who were trained for a limited amount of time before they went to war have performed disastrously.
    • Conflicts of interest: Apprehensions have been voiced against how the new recruits will be adjusted in the existing system under which most of the Army units are region, caste or class-based.

    Reasons behind aspirants’ frustration

    • Unemployment: Analysts always cite the crunch of gazetted officers in the Armed forces and there has been no recruitment for the last two years.
    • Pandemic impact: Many aspirants lost their chance to join the Armed forces as they are now overage.’
    • Unanticipated reforms: In guise of a push for “major defence policy reform”, the scheme is a fuss.
    • Coaching mafias: Coaching mafias have played a significant role in sparking and provoking protesters.

    Need for the Scheme: Official explanation

    • Budgetary efficiency: With the largest volunteer army in the world, paying an increased salary and pension bill, given rising incomes all around, has steadily eroded the capital side of the defence budget.
    • Preferential treatment: For job-seekers, the government has already said they will get priority in the Central Armed Police Forces.
    • Promotional avenues: One significant advantage of this scheme would be the much lower age profile of the service. It will increase the promotional avenues of the permanent cadre.
    • Diverse career options: Once retired, aspirants will be free to pursue other careers, with several departments and governments.
    • Selective skilling: Aspirants will get preference, educational credits, skill certificates, to help them rehabilitate in other fields.
    • Financial assistance: Those wishing to be entrepreneurs will get a financial package and bank loans and those wishing to study further will be given 12 class equivalent certificate.

    Way forward

    • Longer contract term: Make the period of the contract for new recruits longer than four years. The present clarification fails to address this issue.
    • Continuance of the commission: Relook the 25 per cent re-enlistment at the end of the contractual period. Ideally, it should be over 50 per cent retention for long-term posts.
    • Policy commitment for reabsorption: For those leaving after their short service, do obtain a binding commitment from CAPFs, states’ police forces and other organisations that they are willing to absorb this trained military manpower.
    • Gradual shift in recruitment policy: Continue with existing regular enrolment, in reduced numbers, and gradually shift to the Tour of Duty once it stabilizes after five to ten years.

    Conclusion

    • A nation should never compromise with the personnel who make up the fighting sinews of its armed forces.
    • The best way to prevent such an impression is to look upon them not as a burden to the exchequer, but as rough diamonds, to be cut and polished to their maximum capabilities and then deployed in the defence of the nation.
    • A diamond is forever, our future men and women in uniform too deserve to serve to their maximum for the betterment of the nation and their own lives.

     

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  • UPI for NRIs: What it means for India and Indians abroad

    upi

    The National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI) has allowed Indians abroad to use fast payments network UPI, if their domestic bank accounts are linked to their foreign mobile numbers.

    What is UPI?

    • UPI is an instant real-time payment system developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) facilitating inter-bank transactions.
    • The interface is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and works by instantly transferring funds between two bank accounts on a mobile platform.

    What exactly has NPCI allowed on UPI?

    • NPCI issued a circular that paved the way for wider adoption of homegrown payments platform UPI.
    • So far, only Indian phone numbers were allowed on UPI, leaving out non-resident bank accounts linked to their phone numbers abroad.
    • In the first phase, phone numbers from 10 countries including Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the UK have been allowed to be used on UPI.
    • NPCI said it could extend this to other nations as well.

    How will it benefit Indians abroad?

    • Once the systems are in place, non-resident Indians will be able to transact using UPI, irrespective of whether they are in India or abroad.
    • To use UPI, non-residents need to have either a non-resident external (NRE) account or a non-resident ordinary (NRO) account in India.
    • It would, of course, be more useful when account holders visit India, given the scale of UPI merchant infrastructure in India.
    • While abroad, they can use UPI to transfer funds to families in India and use it on e-commerce portals that allow such payments.

    What are the prerequisites for this facility?

    • NPCI has asked banks to onboard only those accounts that meet the Foreign Exchange Management Act guidelines and instructions issued by the departments of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
    • Apart, the remitter, as well as beneficiary banks, will have to ensure they comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating of financial terrorism (CFT) checks.

    Does it help the plan to take UPI global?

    • NPCI has been attempting to make UPI a global phenomenon and the idea to tap NRIs is a step towards that.
    • 10 countries are just to begin with and the list will expand in future.
    • NPCI has been trying to push homegrown payment systems in other countries through NPCI International Payments Ltd, a subsidiary it set up in 2020.
    • It has already tied up with payment system operators in Nepal, UAE, France, UK and others to allow UPI usage there.
    • There is also a plan to link UPI with Singapore’s Paynow.

    How will it help the UPI ecosystem?

    • UPI is almost synonymous with digital payments in India, clocking over ₹12.8 trillion worth of transactions in December.
    • After a slow start in 2016, UPI payments have grown at a rapid pace. Given there are over 13.5 million NRIs, the availability of UPI is expected to raise transaction volumes.
    • Industry experts said that just like resident Indians do not have to pay for UPI, it will also be available to NRIs at no extra cost.
    • That said, it might be off to a slow start as the acceptance infrastructure abroad is still being developed.

     

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  • [pib] First evidence of Solitary Waves near Mars

    In a first-of-its-kind discovery, a team of Indian scientists from the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) reported the first evidence of the presence of solitary waves around Mars.

     

    Mars

    mars

    • Of the largest Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury.
    • In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the “Red Planet”.
    • The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars’s surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye.
    • Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.
    • The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period, as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane, is similar.
    • Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one canyons in the Solar System.

     

    What are Solitary Waves?

    • Solitary waves are distinct electric field fluctuations (bipolar or monopolar) that follow constant amplitude-phase relations.
    • Their shape and size are less affected during their propagation.
    • Solitary waves are known to be responsible for the plasma energization and its transport in Earth’s magnetosphere.

    Unveiling the undercover solitary waves

    • Earth is a giant magnetic entity, wrapped in a magnetosphere generated by the motion of molten iron in its core.
    • This magnetosphere casts a protective layer around our home planet, shielding us from the solar winds coughed towards us by the Sun.
    • But unlike Earth, Mars lacks a robust intrinsic magnetic field, which effectively allows the high-speed solar wind to interact directly with the Martian atmosphere.
    • This interaction suggests that even with a weak and flimsy magnetosphere, the frequent occurrences of solitary waves on Mars remain a possibility.

    Why this is a significant feat for India?

    • Despite several missions to Mars, their presence has never been detected — until now.
    • However, Indian Scientists have successfully identified and reported the first-ever solitary waves detected on Mars.
    • They arrived at this result by analyzing about 450 solitary wave pulses observed by the Langmuir Probe and Waves instrument on NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft.

    Decoding the data

    • Their analysis revealed distinct electric field fluctuations, which lasted for about 0.2-1.7 milliseconds.
    • Such signals were predominant during dawn or between afternoon to dusk at an altitude of 1000-3500 km from Mars’ surface.
    • Further investigation is needed to determine exactly why these waves are dominant during a fixed time of the day.

    Significance of such waves on Mars

    • These pulses are dominantly seen in the dawn and afternoon dusk sectors at an altitude of 1000–3500 km around Mars.
    • Researchers are further exploring their role in the particle dynamics in the Martian magnetosphere and whether such waves play any role in the loss of atmospheric ions on Mars.
    • The study of these waves is crucial as they directly control particle energization, plasma loss, transport, etc., through wave-particle interactions.

     

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