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GS Paper: Government Scheme/Policies

  • Delay in govt.’s flagship PMAY-G scheme to invite penalty

    Pulling up the States for the delay in completion of the government’s flagship rural household scheme — Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana –Gramin (PMAY-G) — the Union Ministry of Rural Development has come up with a set of penalties that the State governments will have to bear for any further delay.

    About PMAY-G Scheme

    • In pursuance of the goal – Housing for all by 2022, the rural housing scheme Indira Awas Yojana was revamped to PMAY-G and approved during March 2016.
    • The main aim of the PMAY-G scheme is to provide pucca house with some of the basic amenities.
    • This scheme is meant for people who do not own a house and people who live in kutcha houses or houses which are severely damaged.
    • At present, the minimum size of the houses to be built under the PMAY-G scheme has been increased to 25 sq. mt. from 20 sq. mt.
    • Under PMAY, the cost of unit assistance is to be shared between Central and State Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly states.

    Subsidies under PMAY – G scheme

    There are various subsidies offered under PMAY G. These include:

    • Loans up to Rs. 70,000 from financial institution
    • Interest subsidy of 3%
    • Subsidy for the maximum principal amount is Rs. 2 lakh

    Why in news?

    • Opposition-ruled states such as West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Odisha are the leading four States who are far behind their targets.
    • The initial deadline for the scheme was March 2022, which owing to the COVID-19 pandemic was extended by another two years till March 2024.

    What are the penalty provisions?

    • If the sanction of the house is delayed for more than one month from the date of issue of the target, the State government will be penalised.
    • The penal fees are per week ₹10 per house for the first month of delay and ₹20 per house for each subsequent month of delay.
    • Similarly, if the first instalment due to the beneficiary is delayed for more than seven days from the date of sanction, then the State governments will have to pay ₹10 per house per week of delay.

     

    Also read:

    Govt. extends PMAY-Urban scheme

     

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  • FAME India

    FAMEContext

    • Centralized procurement of 5,450 electric buses and subsequent increase in ambition to have 50,000 e-buses on the country’s roads by 2030 under FAME scheme.
    • With the shared aim to rapidly electrify a key pillar of India’s public transportation, recent governance efforts of Union and state governments have created a new business model for e-buses.

    Status of State-owned buses

    • Status: There are currently around 1,40,000 registered public buses on India’s roads.
    • Condition: Large numbers of them having sputtering engines which emits planet-warming fumes into the atmosphere. At least 40,000 of these buses are at the end of their lifespan and must be taken off the roads
    • Operators: Most buses are owned and operated by State transport undertakings, which are in poor financial health.
    • Revenue loss: They incur large losses because of the subsidized fares to crores of Indians each day.
    • Problem: problems of fragmented demand and high prices.
    • Limitation: As State governments control issues such as transit, urban governance and pollution control so there’s a limitation for the nation-wide action on this issue.

    FAMEWhat is FAME India scheme?

    • The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020: Is a National Mission document providing the vision and the roadmap for the faster adoption of electric vehicles and their manufacturing in the country.
    • FAME: As part of the NEMMP 2020, Department of Heavy Industry formulated a Scheme viz. Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme in the year 2015 to promote manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicle technology and to ensure sustainable growth of the same.
    • FAME Phase-II: Government has approved Phase-II of FAME Scheme with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 Crore for a period of 3 years commencing from 1st April 2019.
    • Out of total budgetary support, about 86 percent of fund has been allocated for Demand Incentive so as to create demand for EVs in the country.
    • This phase aims to generate demand by way of supporting 7000 e-Buses, 5 lakh e-3 Wheelers, 55000 e-4 Wheeler Passenger Cars (including Strong Hybrid) and 10 lakh e-2 Wheelers. However, depending upon off-take of different category of EVs, these numbers may vary as the provision has been made for inter as well as intra segment wise f
    • Incentives: Only advanced battery and registered vehicles will be incentivized under the scheme.
    • Coverage: With greater emphasis on providing affordable & environment friendly public transportation options for the masses, scheme will be applicable mainly to vehicles used for public transport or those registered for commercial purposes in e-3W, e-4W and e-bus segments. However, privately owned registered e-2Ws are also covered under the scheme as a mass segment. 

    FAMEObstacles in electric vehicle mobility

       EV Cost and Battery cost:

    • The cost is the most concerning point for an individual when it comes to buying an electric vehicle.
    • However, there are many incentives given off by central and state governments. But the common condition in all policies is that the incentives are only applicable for up to a certain number of vehicles only and after removing the discount and incentives the same EV which was looking lucrative to buy suddenly becomes unaffordable

       Beta version of vehicles:

    • Right now, both the technology and companies are new to the market and the products they are manufacturing are possibly facing real costumers for the first time.
    • It’s nearly impossible to make such a complex product like an automobile perfect for the customers in the first go, and as expected the buyers faced many issues. Vehicles like RV400, EPluto 7G, Nexon all them has to update their vehicle up to a very high extent after customer feedback and reviews.

       Poor Infrastructure and range anxiety:

    • Poor infrastructure is among the most pressing issue among people thinking to opt for electric vehicles.
    • Poor infra doesn’t only include a lack of charging stations but also the lack of proper charging set up in their home.

     No Universal charger and Ecosystem (Lack of standardization):

    • Every second electric vehicle-making company has its own different charging port which is becoming a hurdle to setting up a proper charging ecosystem.
    • Also, many EV users complained about facing moral trouble for charging their vehicle in different EV-making Company’s charging stations which can impact the growth of the EV industry.

       Temperature Issues:

    • Temperature can affect the performance of an EV battery at a large extent which makes EV’s inappropriate for too cold (Uttarakhand, Meghalaya) or too hot regions like (Rajasthan, Kerala). The battery can give its ideal performance when it’s in use under the temperature range of 15-40 degrees.

       Environmental concerns:

    • The EV revolution is necessary for the most populated and polluted parts of India like Delhi, Mumbai, etc. but in such cities the major chunk of electricity is generated through burning fossil fuels which are equivalent to spreading the pollution through the ICE vehicle smoke, even most of the charging stations are reportedly operating upon diesel-driven electricity generator.

    Way ahead

    • With anything new, there will always be challenges.
    • The EV industry is still in a nascent stage in India but developing at a rapid pace. Catching up to speed are the infrastructure requirements to support the EV demand.
    • Even with the current challenges, electric vehicles present huge potential to reduce our carbon footprints and provide a cost-effective system of transportation.
    • And one way to contribute towards this growth is to buy an electric vehicle.

     

    Mains Question

    Q. What do you understand by FAME India scheme? How it will help tackling climate change? What are the obstacles in implementation of this scheme?

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  • Road safety in India

    Road SafetyContext

    • A horrific car accident killed Cyrus Mistry and Jehangir Pandole. This tragedy got plenty of people thinking about road safety measures. Sadly, neither Mistry nor Pandole was wearing their rear-seat safety belts this highlights importance of following road safety norms.

    What’s the meaning of road safety?

    • Road safety means methods and measures aimed at reducing the likelihood or the risk of persons using the road network getting involved in a collision or an incident that may cause property damages, serious injuries and/or death.

    What is road safety education?

    • The aim of education, training and encouragement in Road Safety is to educate all road users in the proper and safe use of roads in order to change user attitudes and behaviour and to stimulate an awareness of the need for improvement in road safety.

    What affects road safety?

    • Several factors most notably speed, traffic density, flow, congestion, demographics (namely age gender and deprivation), driving behaviour (involving alcohol consumption, helmet or seat belt usage) and land use, such as residential or economic zones, were found to have mixed effects on road safety.

    Road SafetyWhat are examples of road safety?

    • Pedestrian crossing warning;
    • Left turn driver assistance; and
    • Approaching emergency vehicle warning.

    Road Accidents in India A lookover

    • In spite of several years of policymaking to improve road safety, India remains among the worst-performing countries in this area.
    • Total 1,47,913 lives lost to road traffic accidents in 2017 as per Ministry of Road Transport and Highways statistics.
    • The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figure for the same year is 1,50,093 road accident deaths.

    Do you know?

    The ‘golden hour’ has been defined as ‘the time period lasting one hour following a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing prompt medical care.

    Causes of Road Accidents in India

    • Sub-standard roads: The life of roads is not good due to the substandard raw materials and potholes accidents caused.
    • Traffic: The increasing traffic on roads and conditions of roads are not proportionate to each other.
    • Use of mobile phone: Most of the people are on call while driving thus they drive recklessly and accidents happen as most of the Indians now have mobile phones.
    • Drunk Driving: Drinking makes people lose the ability to focus and function properly. This makes it dangerous for the driver to operate the vehicle.
    • Dis-obedience for traffic rules: Indian drivers are quick to learn to drive but they don’t learn traffic rules and the purpose of such rules.
    • Malpractices: Malpractices such as over-speeding, triple riding, underage driving, etc are reducing the safety of road users.
    • Implementation drawbacks: Police are supposed to execute the rules but, it may be a lack of workforce or lack of intention, they also fail to execute.
    • Corrupt practices: Mostly police use the rules to mint money either officially by Chalan or in person.

    Key data for value addition

    Despite being home to only 1% of the world’s vehicles, India shoulders 11% of the global road crash fatality burden.

    Road SafetyVarious Policy Initiatives by government

    • Road Safety: In the area of road safety, the Act proposes to increase penalties to act as deterrent against traffic violations. Stricter provisions are being proposed in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken driving, driving without licence, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading etc. Stricter provisions for helmets have been introduced along with provisions for electronic detection of violations.
    • Vehicle Fitness: Automated fitness testing for vehicles has been made mandatory. This would reduce corruption in the transport department while improving the road worthiness of the vehicle. Penalty has been provided for deliberate violation of safety/environmental regulations as well as for body builders and spare part suppliers.
    • Recall of Vehicles: The Act allows the central government to order for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users.
    • Road Safety Board: A National Road Safety Board, to be created by the central government through a notification to advise the central and state governments on all aspects of road safety and traffic management. This would include standards of motor vehicles, registration and licensing of vehicles, standards for road safety, and promotion of new vehicle technology.
    • Protection of Good Samaritan: The Act lays down the guidelines and provides rules to prevent harassment of Good Samaritan to encourage people to help road accident victims.
    • Cashless Treatment during Golden Hour: The Act provides for a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during golden hour.

    Value addition for good marks

    The 4 ‘E’ Approach

    • The Government of India put forth Engineering, Economy, Enforcement and Education as the fundamental areas to focus on in order to ensure road safety.

    Way forward

    • Road safety education from the primary level: Those already using our roads and driving or riding on it could have formed bad habits that are difficult to change or undo. So it’s important that we catch them young and start educating children on road safety and correct behaviour on the road.
    • Better first aid and paramedic care: In most cases, the public and police are the first ones to reach the site of an accident. But sadly, neither has any first aid training and the police don’t even have even simple things like a first aid box or stretcher. This initial trauma care has to improve.
    • Stricter criteria for driving licenses: Fortunately, the government has recognized the need for this, and getting a driving license is no longer as easy as before. Lots of the process has been digitalized and made more stringent. But it’s still far from perfect and lots more needs to be done
    • Better road design, maintenance, and signage: Many of our roads are poorly designed with badly placed junctions, acute corners, uneven gradients, sudden speed-breakers, etc. And this is made worse by poor road maintenance and many accidents occur because a driver suddenly swerves to avoid a pothole.
    • Heavy crackdown against non-compliance: This is one of the leading causes of road accidents in India and while we do have strict laws, the enforcement, particularly on our highways is quite lax. Consumption of drugs by truck drivers while driving is rampant, and this needs to stop completely.
    • Stricter enforcement of traffic rules: The Amended Motor Vehicles Act has higher penalties and punishment to deter people from committing traffic offenses and driving rashly. It’s high time we enforced our traffic rules and imposed discipline while driving and using the road.
    • Encouraging better road behaviour: The people should motivate themselves to behave in a better manner on the road. The campaigns such as “Be the Better Guy”, need to be applauded, encouraged and expanded.

    Mains question

    Q. In spite of several years of policymaking to improve road safety, India remains among the worst-performing countries in this area. Critically analyse.

     

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  • MGNREGA

    MGNREGAContext

    • The delay in payment of wages has pushed MGNREGS workers in West Bengal to the brink. There are allegations of corruption against the State government, the Centre’s reluctance in releasing payments, and the plight of the workers caught in this tussle.

    What is MGNREGA?

    • The MGNREGA stands for 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 P.V. Narasimha Rao.

    Significant Features of the scheme

    • Fixed employment: MGNREGA 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.
    • Assured compensation: 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.
    • Locality is ensured: Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid.
    • Legal backing: Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.

    MGNREGAWhat are the issues?

    • Non-purposive spending and corruptions: Many works sanctioned under MGNREGA often seem to be non-purposive. Quite often, they are politically motivated hotspots to create rampant corruption by dominant sections of the local population. Even social audits of such projects are locally manipulated.
    • Workers penalized for administrative lapses: The ministry withholds wage payments for workers of states that do not meet administrative requirements within the stipulated time period (for instance, submission of the previous financial year’s audited fund statements, utilization certificates, bank reconciliation certificates etc). There is no logical or legal explanation for this bizarre arrangement. It is beyond any logic as to why workers would be penalized for administrative lapses.
    • Genuine job cards being deleted: Genuine job cards are being randomly deleted as there is a huge administrative pressure to meet 100 per cent DBT implementation targets in MGNREGA. In states like Jharkhand, there are multiple examples where the districts had later requested to resume job cards after civil society interventions into the matter.
    • Too much 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. It has become a burden as they hardly have any power to resolve issues or make payments.
    • Local priorities being ignored: MGNREGA could be a tool to establish decentralized governance. But, with the administration almost dictating its implementation, it is literally a burden now for the people and especially for the local elected representatives. The Gram Sabhas and gram panchayats’ plans are never honoured. This is a blatant violation of the Act as well.

    MGNREGALack of fund has negative implications

    • Delayed payment: Due to this, payments for MGNREGA workers as well as material costs will be delayed, unless States dip into their own funds.
    • Livelihood loss: MGNREGA data shows that 13% of households who demanded work under the scheme were not provided work.
    • Halt of work: Many workers are simply turned away by officials when they demand work, without their demand being registered at all.
    • Fall in demands: This has led to stop the generation of work. There is an artificial squeezing of demand.

    What can be done according to rural development committee?

    • Utilization of funds: A large amount of funds allocated for MGNREGA have remained un-utilised. For example, in 2010-11, 27.31% of the funds remained unutilised. The Committee recommends that the Department of Rural Development should analyse reasons for poor utilisation of funds and take steps to improve the same. In addition, it should initiate action against officers found guilty of misappropriating funds under MGNREGA.
    • Context specific projects and convergence: Since states are at various stages of socio-economic development, they have varied requirements for development. Therefore, state governments should be allowed to undertake works that are pertinent to their context. There should be more emphasis on skilled and semi-skilled work under MGNREGA. In addition, the Committee recommends a greater emphasis on convergence with other schemes such as the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, National Rural Health Mission, etc.
    • Regulation of job cards: Offences such as not recording employment related information in job cards and unlawful possession of job cards with elected PRI representatives and MGNREGA functionaries should be made punishable under the Act.
    • Participation of people with disabilities: Special works (projects) must be identified for people with disabilities and special job cards must be issued and personnel must be employed to ensure their participation.
    • Payment of unemployment allowance: Dated receipts for demanded work should be issued so that workers can claim unemployment allowance. Funds for unemployment allowance should be met by the central government.

    Some innovation in MGNREGA can address the challenges

    1) Looping in the skilled worker

    • First, there is a suggestion to use it to meet the wage cost of their employment in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
    • Accordingly, skilled migrant workers may be placed in SMEs and their wages would be charged to MGNREGA.

    2) Including farm related works

    • In the last few years, un-remunerative prices of several crops have been the root cause of widespread agrarian distress.
    • The suggestion is to allow farmers to employ MGNREGA workers in agricultural operations like land preparation, sowing, transplantation of paddy, plucking of cotton, intercultural operations and harvesting of crops etc. so as to reduce the cost of cultivation.
    • The idea is to pay part of the wages of labour in agricultural operations from MGNREGA.

    3) Increasing the number of Work Schemes

    • Currently, there are only 2-3 work schemes (say PMAY) running per panchayat, which is leading to the crowding of workers at worksites.
    • To prevent this and to ensure that all willing households are able to access employment through NREGA, the number of schemes needs to be increased, and 6-8 schemes must be introduced in each village.

    4) Paying Workers Immediately

    • Rural households urgently need cash-in-hand, and so the emerging demand is for immediate payment to workers. NREGA payments are frequently delayed by weeks or months.
    • Given the circumstances, such delays will be entirely counterproductive.
    • It is recommended that in remote areas, wage payments should be made in cash, and paid on the same day.

    Conclusion

    • Government and NGOs must study the impact of MGNREGA in rural areas so as to ensure that this massive anti-poverty scheme is not getting diluted from its actual path.

    Mains question

    Q. Large scale social security programmes like MGNREGA are subjected to undergo several stumbling blocks in the times to come due to lack of fund. Analyse these roadblocks and give some innovative measures to tackle these roadblocks.

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  • Personal Data Protection Bill

    Context

    In a surprise development last week, the Government withdrew the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill, 2019, thereby abruptly halting the country’s quest for a national data protection law that had been in the works for over five years.

    Reasons for withdrawal of the Bill

    • The short circular issued by the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology states that considering the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) — it had proposed 81 amendments and made 12 recommendations — “a comprehensive legal framework is being worked on”. 
    • There is no elaboration on what such a “comprehensive legal framework” entails.
    • Possible plan of action: The Government could enact a fresh privacy legislation or a comprehensive data protection law (covering both personal and non-personal data).
    • Subsuming data protection in IT Act: Alternatively, it could subsume data protection under its ongoing attempts at revising the existing Information Technology Act, 2000.
    • Digital markets law: It could also enact a digital markets law, along the lines of the European Union’s Digital Services Act, focusing on competition and innovation in the digital space.

    Background of the introduction of Personal Data Protection Bill

    • When the Supreme Court of India affirmed the right to privacy in  K.S. Puttaswamy judgment in 2017, the nine-judge Bench of the Court referred to the Government’s Office Memorandum constituting the B.N. Srikrishna Committee to suggest a draft Data Protection Bill.
    • The committee released its draft Personal Data Protection Bill in 2018, which was the first public articulation of a data protection law in India.
    • When the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Aadhaar Act, the majority emphasised that it believed that “there is a need for a proper legislative mechanism for data protection”.
    • In December 2019, the Government introduced the PDP Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha as a comprehensive personal data protection regime.
    • The Bill was referred to the JPC for its recommendations.

    What were the issues with the Bill?

    • Power to exemption with state: The Bill’s expansive exemptions allowed the state to exempt the entire application of the law simply as if it was “expedient” to do so in the interest of national security or public order.
    • Powers without accountability: The PDP Bill, 2019 as well as the JPC’s version established a strong regulator (the Data Protection Authority) with a lot of power, but very little independence or accountability.
    • Data localisation: The Bill imposed a strong data localisation mandate, requiring companies to store all sensitive personal data and critical personal data (which was not defined) in India.
    • Subsuming the personal and non-personal data: The JPC recommended subsuming the regulation of personal data and non-personal data within a single legislation, even though it undermined the Puttaswamy mandate to ensure protection of personal data.

    Why we need data protection law?

    • Increasing internet use: India currently has over 750 million Internet users, with the number only expected to increase in the future.
    • The Government is also making a strong push for a ‘Digital India’, with increased focus on digitisation of access to health, ration, banking, insurance, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • There is a greater focus on the inter-linking of data, whether through facial recognition, Aadhaar, or the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022.
    • Data breaches: At the same time, India has among the highest data breaches in the world.
    • Without a data protection law in place, the data of millions of Indians continues to be at risk of being exploited, sold, and misused without their consent.
    • Lack of writ proceeding against corporate action: Unlike state action, corporate action or misconduct is not subject to writ proceedings in India.
    • This is because fundamental rights are, by and large, not enforceable against private non-state entities.
    • This leaves individuals with limited remedies against private actors.
    • A personal data protection legislation would remedy this lacuna by providing individuals with proper grievance redress options and creating sufficient deterrence among private actors.

    Conclusion

    It is imperative that the Government soon introduces a fresh data protection legislation, drawn after proper public consultation. Such a law should take into consideration the criticisms that have been raised by civil society as well as the private sector.

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  • Labour Codes

    Addressing to the National Labour Conference, Prime Minister said that the Centre had taken initiatives to abolish laws from “the period of slavery” that reflected a slavery mentality through the Labour Codes.

    New Labour Codes

    The four codes likely to be implemented in FY23 are:

    1. Code on Wages
    2. Industrial Relations Code
    3. Social Security Code, and
    4. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code

    Objectives of the Labour Code

    • The new labor codes are aimed at facilitating ease of doing business in the country and seek to replace 29 cumbersome laws.
    • The objective is to encompass over 500 million organized and unorganized sector workers—90% of the workforce which has been outside labour laws.
    • The idea is to ensure that they receive wage security, social security and health security, gender equality in terms of remuneration, a minimum floor wage, make the lives of inter-state migrant workers easier.

    What is the current status of the codes?

    • The central government has completed the process of finalizing the draft rules, state governments are in the process of drafting the same.
    • With labor being a concurrent subject, states are in the process of pre-publishing draft rules for these reforms.

    How many labour laws do Indian states have?

    • The simplification of 29 labour laws into the four labour codes is expected be a watershed moment for labour reforms.
    • India currently has a web of multiple labour legislations, over 40 central laws and 100 state laws involving labour.
    • The Second National Commission on Labour (2002) recommended simplification to bring about transparency and uniformity.

    What are the major reforms in these codes?

    • Social security benefits: With organized sector workers being approximately 10% of the total workforce, the new codes may ensure that social security benefits are for all.
    • Take-home salary: As per the proposed labour codes, total allowances such as house rent, leave, travel etc. are to be capped at 50% of the salary, while basic pay should account for the remaining 50%.
    • Four days work: There could also be a permissible four-day work week of 12 hours per day.

    How will it affect ease of doing business?

    • Labour productivity: It is likely to improve with both employees and employers developing a sense of being partners in wealth creation.
    • Labour reform: A transparent environment in terms of workers’ compensation, clear definition of employee rights and employer duties.
    • Compliance un-burdening: Simplified labour codes making compliance easier are likely to attract investments.
    • Formalization of the economy: With more workers in the organized sector, leakage in terms of direct as well as indirect taxes may be plugged.

    Also read

    [Burning Issue] New Labour Laws

     

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  • Thin line between freebies and public welfare

    Context

    • ‘Revdi Culture’ (sweet) or Govt’s Basic Responsibility? What Prioritising Welfare Is Really About
    • While hearing a petition demanding the de-recognition of political parties that promise “irrational freebies” to voters, the Supreme Court recently drew attention to the substantial fiscal cost of freebies.

    What are freebies?

    • A freebie is any public policy intervention that will have a long-term impact on production as well as productivity.
    • Any public policy intervention that doesn’t support medium-term to long-term production and productivity may be termed as a freebie.
    • The term Freebies is not new; rather it is a prevalent culture in Indian politics (in the name of socialism).
    • The political parties are always trying to outdo each other in luring the Indian voters with

    Examples of freebies

    • Promise of Rs 15 lakh in our bank accounts
    • Free TV, Laptops
    • Free electricity
    • Loan waivers
    • Offering free public transport ride to all women in Delhi

    Why are such policies popular among the public?

    • Failure of economic policies: The answer lies in the utter failure of our economic policies to create decent livelihood for a vast majority of Indians.
    • Quest for decent livelihood: The already low income had to be reoriented towards spending a disproportionately higher amount on education and health, from which, the state increasingly withdrew.
    • Prevailing unemployment:  Employment surveys have shown that employment growth initially slowed down from the 1990s, and then has turned negative over the past few years.
    • Increased cost of living: Real income growth of the marginal sections has actually slowed down since 1991 reforms.
    • Increased consumerism: The poor today also spend on things which appear to be luxuries; cellphones and data-packs are two such examples which are shown as signs of India’s increased affluence.

    Thin line between freebie and public welfare

    • Using freebies to lure voters is not good.
    • Voter’s greediness may lead to a problem in choosing a good leader.
    • When we don’t have a good leader then democracy will be a mockery.

    Negative implications

    • Never ending trail: The continuity of freebies is another major disadvantage as parties keep on coming up with lucrative offers to lure more number of votes to minimize the risk of losing in the elections.
    • Burden on exchequer: People forget that such benefits are been given at the cost of exchequer and from the tax paid.
    • Ultimate loss of poors: The politicians and middlemen wipe away the benefits and the poor have to suffer as they are deprived from their share of benefits which was to be achieved out of the money.
    • Inflationary practice: Such distribution freebie commodity largely disrupts demand-supply dynamics.
    • Lethargy in population: Freebies actually have the tendency to turn the nation’s population into: Lethargy and devoid of entrepreneurship.

    Rational elements in freebies

    • Social investment: Aid to the poor is seen as a wasteful expenditure. But low interest rates for corporates to get cheap loans or the ‘sop’ of cutting corporate taxes are never criticized.
    • Socialistic policy: This attitude comes from decades of operating within the dominant discourse of market capitalism.
    • Election manifesto: Proponents of such policies would argue that poll promises are essential for voters to know what the party would do if it comes to power and have the chance to weigh options.

    Why they need to stop?

    • Winning election and good governance are two different things. The role of freebies to avail good governance is definitely questionable.
    • The social, political and economic consequences of freebies are very short-lived in nature.
    • There are many freebies and subsidies schemes available in many States but we still find starvation deaths, lack of electricity, poor education and health service.
    • Hence the sorrow of the masses of India cannot be solved by freebies or by incentives.

    Conclusion

    • There is nothing wrong in having a policy-led elaborate social security programme that seeks to help the poor get out of poverty.
    • But such a programme needs well thought out preparation and cannot be conjured up just before an election.

    Mains question

    Q. Do you think freebies are justified under the name of social security? Critically evaluate the rising freebie culture in India with its negative implications.

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  • Arth Ganga Model: New govt model for the River’s Sustainable Development

    The Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, spoke about the Arth Ganga Model during his virtual keynote address to the Stockholm World Water Week 2022.

    What is Arth Ganga Model?

    • PM Modi first introduced the concept during the first National Ganga Council meeting in Kanpur in 2019.
    • He urged for a shift from Namami Gange, the Union Government’s flagship project to clean the Ganga, to the model of Arth Ganga.
    • The latter focuses on the sustainable development of the Ganga and its surrounding areas, by focusing on economic activities related to the river.
    • At its core, the Arth Ganga model seeks to use economics to bridge people with the river.
    • It strives to contribute at least 3% of the GDP from the Ganga Basin itself.
    • The Arth Ganga project’s interventions are in accordance with India’s commitments towards the UN sustainable development goals.

    Features

    Under Arth Ganga, the government is working on six verticals.

    1. Zero Budget Natural Farming that includes chemical-free farming for 10 kms on either side of the river, generating “more income, per drop”, ‘Gobar Dhan’ for farmers,
    2. Monetization and Reuse of Sludge &Wastewater that envisages reuse of treated water for irrigation; industrial purposes and revenue generation for ULBs,
    3. Livelihood Opportunities Generation such as ‘Ghat Mein Haat’, promotion of local products, Ayurveda, medicinal plants, capacity building of volunteers like Ganga Praharis,
    4. Public Participation to ensure increased synergies between stakeholders,
    5. Cultural Heritage &Tourism that looks to introduce boat tourism through community jettis, promotion of yoga, adventure tourism etc. and Ganga Artis and
    6. Institutional Building by enhancing the local capacities for better decentralized water governance.

     

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  • Dam safety bill for sustainable water management

    dam safety billContext

    • Integrated risk assessment of dam safety required to prevent human-made disasters: Experts

    Why in news?

    • The recent floods in the Mahanadi basin in Odisha have brought to the fore, the faulty management of dam safety, which were built to mitigate floods and not be the cause of them.

    What is a dam?

    • A dam is a barrier that stops the flow of water and results in the creation of a reservoir. Dams are mainly built in order to produce electricity by using water. This form of electricity is known as hydroelectricity.
    • Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability.

    Key facts

    India has 5,745 large dams according to the National Register of Large Dams, 2019, prepared by the Central Water Commission. Some 5,334 of them are operational and the remaining 411 are under construction.

    What is the Dam Safety Act, 2021?

    • The Act comprehensively postulates for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of dams to prevent disasters.

    Features

    • National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS): It will be constituted and will be chaired by the chairperson, Central Water Commission. Its’ functions will include formulating policies and regulations regarding dam safety standards and prevention of dam failures, analyzing the causes of major dam failures, and suggesting changes in dam safety practices.
    • National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA): It will be headed by an officer, not below the rank of an Additional Secretary, to be appointed by the central government. The main task of this authority includes implementing the policies formulated by the NCD, resolving issues between State Dam Safety Organisations (SDSOs), or between an SDSO and any dam owner in that state, specifying regulations for inspection and investigation of dams.
    • State Dam Safety Organisation (SDSO): Its functions will be to keep perpetual surveillance, inspection, monitoring the operation and maintenance of dams, keeping a database of all dams, and recommending safety measures to owners of dams.
    • Dam Safety Unit: The owners of the specified dams are required to provide a dam safety unit in each dam. This unit will inspect the dams before and after the monsoon session, and during and after any calamity or sign of distress.
    • Emergency Action Plan: Dam owners will be required to prepare an emergency action plan, and carry out risk assessment studies for each dam at specified regular intervals.
    • Certain offences: The act provides for two types of offences – obstructing a person in the discharge of his functions, and refusing to comply with directions issued under the proposed law.

    dam safetyDam rehabilitation and improvement programme DRIP

    • Government of India, with financial assistance from the World Bank initiated Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) in April 2012 with an objective to improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams along with dam safety institutional strengthening with system wide management approach. It was a State Sector Scheme with Central component.

    Do you know?

    Four dams — Mullaperiyar, Parambikulam, Thunakkadavu and Peruvaripallam — located in Kerala but owned, operated and maintained by the Tamil Nadu Government.

    Conclusion

    • The bill aims to help all States and Union Territories to adopt uniform dam safety procedures which will ensure safety of dams and safeguard benefits from such dams. In order to iron out the differences and issues in the bill, central government should take the state governments into consideration and hold talks with all the stakeholders. This will go a long way in ensuring the safety of dams in India, which ranks third in the world in terms of number of large dams.

    Mains question

    Q. India, which ranks third in the world in terms of number of large dams. Ageing dams poses several challenges for India. In this context discuss the importance of dam safety bill 2021.

     

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  • ‘Kerala Savari’: India’s first online taxi service as a public option

    Kerala has soft launched ‘Kerala Savari’, the country’s first online taxi service owned by a State government, to ensure fair and decent service to passengers along with fair remuneration to auto-taxi workers.

    What is Kerala Savari?

    • Operated by the Motor Workers Welfare Board under the aegis of the Labour Department, the Kerala Savari ensures safe travel for the public at ‘government approved fares’ without any ‘surge pricing’.
    • The ‘Kerala Savari’ app would be made available to the public on online platforms shortly as it is under the scrutiny of Google now.

    Why such initiative?

    • The alleged unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights by private app-based cab aggregators have come as a major concern for governments.
    • Recently, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) had issued notices to cab aggregators Ola and Uber for unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights which include:
    1. Charging exorbitant fares during peak hours
    2. Unprofessional behaviour from the part of drivers
    3. Lack of proper response from customer support, and
    4. Undue levy of cancellation charges despite the cab driver refusing to accept the ride booked by the passenger etc.
    • It is against this backdrop that the Kerala government has decided to come up with an app-based platform to offer auto-taxi service for the public.

    What are the main attractions of ‘Kerala Savari’?

    • There will be no fluctuation in fares on Kerala Savari irrespective of day or night or rain.
    • But Kerala Savari only 8% service charge in addition to the rate set by the government, whereas the private cab aggregators charge up to 20 to 30% service charge.

    What are the security-related features of ‘Kerala Savari’?

    • Kerala Savari is claimed as a safe and reliable online service for women, children, and senior citizens.
    • This consideration has been given importance in app designing and driver registration.
    • A police clearance certificate is mandatory for drivers joining the scheme apart from the required proper training.
    • A panic button system has been introduced in the app.
    • It has also been decided to install GPS in vehicles at a subsidised rate.

    Will the new government initiative end the monopoly of private cab aggregators?

    • Kerala has over five lakh autorickshaws and one lakh cabs.
    • The State government plans to bring all auto-taxi workers engaged in the sector under the new platform.
    • Since smartphone literacy is high in Kerala, the State is hopeful of bringing them under the scheme in a short span of time.
    • In addition, the Kerala government has also decided to provide fuel, insurance, and tyre subsidies for vehicle owners in the future and has already initiated talks with major companies in this regard.
    • After the evaluation of the first phase of the project in Thiruvananthapuram, it will be extended to the entire State in a phased manner.
    • Kerala Savari is expected to reach Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Kannur municipal limits within a month.
    Regulation of Cab Aggregators in India

    • The Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 seeks to regulate Cab aggregators in India
    • It’s the first time cab aggregators have got statutory recognition as “digital intermediaries” or “transport aggregators”.
    • They are now defined as marketplaces that can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for moving from one place to another.
    • The Centre will issue broad guidelines from time to time and the states will rely on them to frame their own rules to regulate the industry.
    • The aggregators will also have to comply with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
    • This means they will have to follow rules on storing data safely to protect the identity of users.

     

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