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GS Paper: GS2

  • The move to ease Voting for Overseas Citizens

    The Union Government was exploring the possibility of allowing online voting for non-resident Indians (NRI).

    Why in news?

    • The matter of to ease voting for NRIs comes in the wake of a proposal made by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
    • The Law Ministry in November 2020 decided to extend the facility of postal ballots to eligible NRIs for the various State Assembly elections to be held in 2021.
    • The ECI then, had proposed amending the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, in order to allow this facility.

    NRI vs. OCI

    • The term NRI is a residential status designed by the Income Tax Department of the Indian government and has efficiency only during filing Income Tax returns.
    • On the other hand, OCI is an immigration status or special visa in layman’s language provided to foreign nationals of Indian origin by the Indian government to work or live indefinitely.

    How can overseas voters currently vote in Indian elections?

    • Prior to 2010, an Indian citizen who is an eligible voter and was residing abroad for more than six months, would not have been able to vote in elections.
    • This was because the NRI’s name was deleted from electoral rolls if he or she stayed outside the country for more than six months at a stretch.
    • After the passing of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2010, eligible NRIs who had stayed abroad beyond six months have been able to vote, but only in person at the polling station where they have been enrolled as an overseas elector.
    • Just as any resident Indian citizen above the age of 18 years) is eligible to vote in the constituency where she/he is a resident, overseas Indian citizens are also eligible to do so.
    • In the case of overseas voters, their address mentioned in the passport is taken as the place of ordinary residence and chosen as the constituency for the overseas voter to enroll in.

    How has the existing facility worked so far?

    • Hike in voters: From merely 11,846 overseas voters who registered in 2014, the number went up to close to a lakh in 2019. But the bulk of these voters (nearly 90%) belonged to just one State — Kerala.
    • Section 20-1A, Part III of the RP Act: It addresses this to some extent by qualifying “a person absenting himself temporarily from his place of ordinary residence shall not by reason thereof cease to be ordinarily resident therein.
    • Proxy provisions: The Bill provided for overseas voters to be able to appoint a proxy to cast their votes on their behalf, subject to conditions laid down in the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
    • Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System: The ECI then approached the government to permit NRIs to vote via postal ballots similar to a system that is already used by service voters, (a member of the armed Forces of the Union; or a member of a force to which provisions of the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950) which is ETPBS. The ECI proposed to extend this facility to overseas voters as well.

    What is ETPBS and how does it function?

    • The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 was amended in 2016 to allow service voters to use the ETPBS.
    • Under this system, postal ballots are sent electronically to registered service voters.
    • The service voter can then download the ETPB (along with a declaration form and covers), register their mandate on the ballot and send it to the returning officer of the constituency via ordinary mail.
    • The post will include an attested declaration form (after being signed by the voter in the presence of an appointed senior officer who will attest it).
    • The postal ballot must reach the returning officer by 8 a.m. on the day of the counting of results.
    • In the case of NRI voters, those seeking to vote through ETPBS will have to inform the returning officer at least five days after notification of the election.

    Will this facility be available to all overseas voters across countries?

    • There were news reports that the ECI had indicated to the Ministry of External Affairs that it would want postal voting introduced on a pilot basis in non-Gulf countries.
    • But the ECI had asked the Law Ministry to explore the possibility of extending postal ballots to overseas electors and not restrict it to any particular country.
    • In March 2021, the Ministry of External Affairs informed ECI that the implementation could require to overcome “huge logistical challenges” and needs “a realistic assessment of requirements”

    Are postal ballots a viable means of voting?

    • The ETPBS method allowed for greater turnout among service voters in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
    • With the increasing mobility of citizens across countries for reasons related to work, the postal ballot method has been internationally recognized.
    • A postal ballot mechanism that allows for proper authentication of the ballot at designated consular/embassy offices and an effective postal system should ease this process for NRIs.

    Back2Basics: NRI vs OCI

    Non-Resident Indian (NRI)

    • To mention it, NRI is someone who is not a resident of India.
    • However, the law is much more complicated and must be delved deeper to gain an inclusive insight into the sector.
    • A person is considered a resident of India if he/she has been staying in India for a minimum tenure of 182 days during the previous financial year of a particular year. OR
    • A person living in India for a total of 365 days during the previous four financial years and a minimum of 60 days during the last financial years is considered a citizen for a particular year.
    • Now an NRI or a non-resident of India is eligible to pay charges for only the first two situations, which means either the income received or earned in India.
    • Therefore, the NRI status also influences the enjoyable rights of that person.

    Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)

    • OCI is a card issued by the government of India that denotes that a non-resident or foreigner has been permitted to stay and work within Indian boundaries.
    • Hence, this card provides foreigners with an immigration status without any limited tenure.
    • There are cases where PIOs of specific categories are allowed for OCI cards that have migrated from India to foreign countries (except Pakistan and Bangladesh) if the other government agrees for dual citizenship.
    • An individual holding an OCI card can be an overseas citizen of India in the layman’s language.
    • So an OCI is not a citizen of India, but the Indian government has given the cardholder permission to reside and work within the boundaries of India.
    • Residents migrating from Pakistan and Bangladesh are not eligible for holding the OCI card. Even if their parents are citizens of both countries, the applicants will be denied having an OCI card.

     

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  • Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022

    The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was tabled in Lok Sabha.

    What is the MCD Amendment Bill?

    • The Bill seeks to amend The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, to effectively undo the earlier 2011 amendment to the Act.
    • Under the 2011 Act, the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was trifurcated into separate North, South, and East Delhi Municipal Corporations.

    Key features of the Bill

    (1) Unification of Municipal Corporations in Delhi:

    • The Bill replaces the three municipal corporations under the Act with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

    (2) Powers of the Delhi government:

    • The Act as amended in 2011 empowers the Delhi government to decide various matters under the Act.
    • These include:
    1. Total number of seats of councillors and number of seats reserved for members of the Scheduled Castes,
    2. Division of the area of corporations into zones and wards,
    3. Delimitation of wards,
    4. Matters such as salary and allowances, and leave of absence of the Commissioner,
    5. Sanctioning of consolidation of loans by a corporation, and
    6. Sanctioning suits for compensation against the Commissioner for loss or waste or misapplication of Municipal Fund or property
    • Similarly, the Act mandates that the Commissioner will exercise his powers regarding building regulations under the general superintendence and directions of Delhi government.
    • The Bill instead empowers the central government to decide these matters.

    (3) Number of councillors:

    • The Act provides that the number of seats in the three corporations taken together should not be more than 272.
    • The 14th Schedule to the Act specifies 272 wards across the three Corporations.
    • The Bill states that the total number of seats in the new Corporation should not be more than 250.

    (4) Removal of Director of Local Bodies:

    • The Act provides for a Director of Local Bodies to assist the Delhi government and discharge certain functions which include:
    1. Coordinating between Corporations,
    2. Framing recruitment Rules for various posts, and
    3. Coordinating the collecting and sharing of toll tax collected by the respective Corporations.
    • The Bill omits this provision for a Director of Local Bodies.

    (5) Special officer to be appointed by the central government:

    • The Bill provides that the central government may appoint a Special Officer to exercise powers of the Corporation until the first meeting of the Corporation is held after the commencement of the Bill.

    (6) E-governance system for citizens:

    • The Bill adds that obligatory functions of the new Corporation will include establishing an e-governance system for citizen services on anytime-anywhere basis for better, accountable, and transparent administration.

    (7) Conditions of service for sweepers:

    • The Act provides that a sweeper employed for doing house scavenging of a building would be required to give a reasonable cause or a 14 day notice before discontinuing his service.
    • The Bill seeks to omit this provision.

    Issues with the Amendment Bill

    The Bill, when passed, will not return the MCD exactly to its pre-2011 situation.  There are many sections in the Bill that will make the new MCD very different from the older one.

    • New delimitation exercise: Reducing the number of seats means a new delimitation exercise will have to be conducted, which experts say will take at least three months, but is more likely to take six months.
    • Bureaucratization: Appointing a Special Officer means that until the elections are concluded, the Centre will likely appoint an officer to run the corporation. The Bill also does away with the provision of appointing a Director of Local Bodies by the Delhi government.
    • Central hegemony: The other significant change is the replacement of the word “government” with “Central government” in all places. The bill hence seeks to curtail the powers of the elected govt of New Delhi by introducing central hegemony.

     

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  • How does the CBI take up cases?

    The Calcutta High Court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the killings in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, where eight persons were burnt alive.

    About CBI

    • The Bureau of Investigation traces its origins to the Delhi Special Police Establishment, a Central Government Police force, which was set up in 1941 by the Government of India.
    • It then aimed to investigate bribery and corruption in transactions with the War and Supply Department of India.
    • It then had its headquarters in Lahore.
    • After the end of the war, there was a continued need for a central governmental agency to investigate bribery and corruption by central-government employees.
    • The DSPE acquired its popular current name, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), through a Home Ministry resolution dated in 1963.

    Mandate of the CBI

    • The CBI is the main investigating agency of the GoI.
    • It is not a statutory body; it derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
    • Its important role is to prevent corruption and maintain integrity in administration.
    • It works under the supervision of the CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) in matters pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
    • The CBI is also India’s official representative with the INTERPOL.

    Cases to investigate

    • Cases connected to infringement of economic and fiscal laws
    • Crimes of a serious nature that have national and international ramifications
    • Coordination with the activities of the various state police forces and anti-corruption agencies.
    • It can also take up any case of public importance and investigate it
    • Maintaining crime statistics and disseminating criminal information.

    How does the CBI take up cases?

    • Unlike the NIA, CBI cannot take suo motu cognizance of a case in a state — whether in a matter of corruption involving government officials of the Centre and PSU staff, or an incident of violent crime.
    • In order to take up corruption cases involving central government staff, it either needs general consent (see last question) of the state government, or specific consent on a case-to-case basis.
    • For all other cases, whether involving corruption in the state government or an incident of crime, the state has to request an investigation by the CBI, and the Centre has to agree to the same.
    • In case the state does not make such a request, the CBI can take over a case based on the orders of the High Court concerned or the Supreme Court.

    Can the CBI decline to take up a case for investigation?

    • After a state makes a request for an inquiry by the CBI, the Centre seeks the opinion of the agency.
    • If the CBI feels that it is not worthwhile for it to expend time and energy on the case, it may decline to take it up.
    • In the past, the CBI has refused to take over cases citing lack of enough personnel to investigate, and saying it is overburdened.

    What is the CBI’s workload currently?

    • According to the latest Annual Report of the Central Vigilance Commission, the CBI registered 608 FIRs in 2019 and 589 FIRs in 2020.
    • In 2020, a total 86 cases related to demands for bribes by public servants for showing favour, and 30 cases for possession of disproportionate assets were registered.
    • Out of 676 cases in the year (including FIRs and Preliminary Enquiries), 107 cases were taken up on the directions of constitutional courts and 39 on requests from state governments/ Union Territories.
    • Also, there are over 1,300 vacancies in the CBI.

    What is the CBI’s progress on cases?

    • At the end of 2020, the CBI had 1,117 cases (both FIRs and PEs) pending investigation. In 2019, this number stood at 1,239.
    • During 2020, investigation was finalised in 693 FIRs and 105 PEs.
    • The conviction rate during the year was 69.83% against 69.19% in 2019.
    • At the end of 2020, 9,757 cases were pending in various courts.
    • The conviction rate in corruption cases was slightly lower at 67% in 2020.
    • Almost 2,000 corruption cases are pending trial for more than 10 years.

    What is the role of state consent in an investigation by the CBI?

    • Since 2015, as many as nine states — Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Mizoram and Meghalaya — have withdrawn general consent to the CBI.
    • Opposition-ruled states have alleged the CBI has become its master’s voice, and has been unfairly targeting opposition politicians.
    • Withdrawal of general consent means that to probe any case in these states, CBI would have to take prior permission from the state government.
    • CBI has claimed that this has tied its hands.

    Also read

    [Burning Issue] Central Bureau of Investigation

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  • Who are the Bucharest Nine (B9) Countries?

    The envoys to India of nine Eastern European countries called Bucharest Nine jointly wrote to acquaint the Indian public with the basic facts on the ground” about the “premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified Russian aggression in Ukraine”.

    What is Bucharest Nine?

    • The “Bucharest Nine” is a group of nine NATO countries in Eastern Europe that became part of the US-led military alliance after the end of the Cold War.
    • The Bucharest Nine or Bucharest Format, often abbreviated as the B9, was founded on November 4, 2015, and takes its name from Bucharest, the capital of Romania.
    • The group was created on the initiative of Klaus Iohannis, who has been President of Romania since 2014, and Andrzej Duda, who became President of Poland in August 2015.

    Composition

    • The B9 are, apart from Romania and Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
    • All members of the B9 are part of the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
    • All nine countries were once closely associated with the now dissolved Soviet Union, but later chose the path of democracy.
    • Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria are former signatories of the now-dissolved Warsaw Pact military alliance led by the Soviet Union.
    • The other Warsaw Pact countries were the erstwhile Czechoslovakia and East Germany, and Albania. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were part of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

    Functions of B9

    • The B9 offers a platform for deepening the dialogue and consultation among the participant allied states, in order to articulate their specific contribution to the ongoing processes across the North-Atlantic Alliance.
    • It works in total compliance with the principles of solidarity and indivisibility of the security of the NATO Member States.

    Opposition to Russian expansion

    • The B9 countries have been critical of President Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Ukraine since 2014, when the war in the Donbas started and Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula.
    • After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the B9 met in Warsaw.
    • Ukraine’s President has also appealed to the B9 for defense aid, sanctions, pressure on the aggressor Russia and create one anti-war coalition.

     

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  • Places in news: Solomon Islands

    The Solomon Islands has defended plans to sign a security deal with Beijing that could allow China to boost its military presence in the South Pacific island nation. This has left Australia very concerned.

    Solomon Islands

    • Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
    • It has a land area of 28,400 square kilometres and a population of 652,858.[10] Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal.
    • The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands.
    • It also includes the North Solomon Islands (a part of Papua New Guinea), but excludes outlying islands, such as the Santa Cruz Islands and Rennell and Bellona.
    • The islands have been settled since at least some time between 30,000 and 28,800 BCE, with later waves of migrants, notably the Lapita people, mixing and producing the modern indigenous Solomon Islanders population.

     

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  • Time for India to redefine its relationship with Russia

    Context

    Russia’s war on Ukraine has decisively shaped international opinion. Indian foreign policy is also going to be affected in a profound manner.

    India’s foreign policy conundrum

    • Russia’s attack on Ukraine has put New Delhi in a foreign policy conundrum that will not disappear soon because Russia’s action has changed the global order.
    • India has not directly criticised Moscow’s action.
    • Memories of the historic Indo-Soviet partnership still seem to tip the scales when it comes to India’s vote at the UNSC.
    • Western countries have criticised India’s repeated abstentions at the UNSC on the issue of the Russian invasion.
    • The Western world has imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia and banned energy imports.
    • New Delhi is concerned about the impact of these sanctions on global finance, energy supplies, and transportation, amid growing signs that they will constrain India’s ability to import Russian oil.

    India’s challenges

    • Russia’s increasing dependence on China: What must worry India is the fact that Russia will now become increasingly dependent on Chinese support to defend its policies.
    • The collapsing ruble, the punishing sanctions, and the dire state of the Russian economy will push Russia further into China’s military and economic orbit.
    • China’s challenge in Indo-Pacific: India’s real strategic challenge is surfacing in the Indo-Pacific with the rise of China, as Beijing has consistently sought to expand its zone of military, economic and political influence through the Belt and Road Initiative.
    • Though India would like the U.S. to continue to focus on China, it is not possible for Washington to ignore Russia’s aggression along NATO’s periphery.

    How India’s ties with Russia changed over time

    • Since the end of the Cold War, Indians have been debating the contours of strategic autonomy.
    • For one section the doctrine of ‘multi-alignment’ is the 21st century avatar of strategic autonomy as India has been expanding its engagement with all the major powers.
    • Following the disintegration of the USSR, India joined Russia and China against the unipolarity of the U.S.
    •  For some time, this common concern about unipolarity put the three countries on the same path towards mutual cooperation and understanding.
    • Later, Brazil and South Africa were also brought into this coalition.
    • However, it soon became clear that India and China did not see eye to eye.
    • Moreover, India was determined to maintain its partnership with Russia, an important arms supplier.
    • Its ties with the U.S. have also improved significantly since the end of the Cold War.
    • But continuing dependence on Russian weaponry has become India’s strategic headache.

    Way forward for India

    •  Under Mr. Putin, Russia is in a state of transition, swinging wildly from one crisis to another.
    • Therefore, it is too risky for India to pursue vague aims vis-à-vis Russia in these uncertain times.
    • A NATO-Russia Council was formed specifically to alleviate Russia’s concerns, and that Russia was recognised as one of the world’s leading industrial powers through a formal admission into the elite G-7.
    • Though Moscow has drifted much closer to Beijing, and is sharply critical of India’s engagement with the U.S. and the Quad, India finds it difficult to extend support to Ukraine.
    • It goes without saying that the U.S. is the country most likely to bolster India’s future as a great power.

    Conclusion

    It is not going to be easy for New Delhi to maintain its balancing act in the future as Washington hardens its position further. It is inevitable that during this time of diplomatic and strategic uncertainty, New Delhi needs to be ready to radically redefine its relationship with Moscow.

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  • Smart Policing

    Context

    On March 11, speaking at the NCRB Foundation Day, the Union Home Minister remarked that the second phase of the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) is set to be completed by 2026.

    Increasing use of technology for policing

    • the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS), a Rs 3,500 crore project, is set to be completed by 2026 with increased use of artificial intelligence, fingerprint systems and other tools of predictive policing.
    • One crore fingerprints had already been uploaded and if these were available to all police stations as part of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS), there would no longer be any need to pursue criminals.
    • The existing systems of ICJS and CCTNS empower the state to cross-reference data between different pillars of the criminal justice system.
    • Recently, the Indore Police Commissioner unveiled a “fingerprint-based criminal record data fetching system” in which a small thumb impression machine can be added to a phone.
    • If the fingerprint recorded matches with the police database, all information about a person’s criminal record will be pulled up.

    Issues with the use of technologies

    • Privacy concerns: The enthusiasm for generating and cross-referencing data to make policing more efficient ignores privacy concerns and structural faults of policing.
    • The Supreme Court in K.S Puttaswamy declared a fundamental right to informational privacy as paramount and noted that any measure that sought to collect information or surveil must be legal, necessary, and proportionate.
    • Fear of mass surveillance: Integrating “fingerprint-based criminal record data fetching system” to the list of predictive policing practices will give birth to mass surveillance, particularly of certain oppressed caste communities, based on little evidence.
    • Nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes were ascribed “criminality by birth” and considered as “hereditary criminals addicted to systematic commission of non-bailable offences” under the colonial Criminal Tribes Act, 1871.
    • It has been replaced with the murky Habitual Offenders (HO) provisions, which have acted as a tool for police to continue to attribute criminality to Vimukta communities, by mandating their surveillance through regular check-ins at police stations.
    • Mere suspicion or FIRs filed against an individual are sufficient to trigger the discretionary powers of the police.

    Consider the question “Use of technology in policing can make it better at the same time run the risk of making it more dangerous.” Critically examine.

    Conclusion

    With the increasing adoption of technology in policing, we must pay attention to the risks involved and the issue of misuse.

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  • Vacancies in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)

    Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions told  the Lok Sabha that as on January 1, 2021, there were 5,231 IAS officers in the country — 1,515 (22.45 per cent) fewer than the sanctioned strength of 6,746.

    About IAS

    • The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India.
    • Considered the premier central civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service.
    • Members of these three services serve the Government of India as well as the individual states.
    • IAS officers may also be deployed to various public sector undertakings and international organizations.

    Functions of the IAS

    • Upon confirmation of service, an IAS officer serves a probationary period as a sub-divisional magistrate.
    • Completion of this probation is followed by an executive administrative role in a district as a district magistrate and collector which lasts several years.
    • After this tenure, an officer may be promoted to head a whole state administrative division, as a divisional commissioner.

    How are officers recruited in the IAS?

    • Direct recruits are selected through the Civil Service Examination (CSE) every year; the number of recruits is decided by a committee that takes several factors into account.
    • Since 2012, 180 IAS officers have been recruited every year through the CSE.
    • A committee has been constituted to arrive at a suitable formula to determine the intake of IAS officers every year from CSE-2022 to 2030.
    • Some officers are promoted from the State Civil Services (SCS), and a limited number are promoted from among non-SCS officers.
    • Filling of vacancies through induction from State Services is a continuous process.
    • The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) holds Selection Committee meetings with state governments.

    Is the shortage a new trend?

    • The shortage has been a constant feature ever since — it was the least in 2001 (0.79 per cent), and the most in 2012 (28.87 per cent), as per available data.

    How is the sanctioned strength decided?

    • There is a provision for quinquennial cadre reviews for every cadre of the All India Services under the relevant Cadre Rules.
    • The Cadre Review Committee (CRC) is headed by the Cabinet Secretary with the Secretary DoPT, Secretary Expenditure, Secretary Administrative Ministry, and the senior-most member of the service/cadre in question as its members.
    • Cadre review is an ongoing process, and some states are taken up by rotation every year for review — in 2020-21.
    • For example, it was decided to revise the strength and composition of the IAS in UP and Bihar, and of the IPS in Manipur.
    • The sanctioned strength, therefore, keeps changing.

    What impact can a shortage of IAS officers have?

    • IAS officers are given a wide range of high-level responsibilities.
    • In states, their work relates to the collection of revenue, maintenance of law and order, and supervision of policies of the central and state governments.
    • They function as executive magistrates in revenue matters, and as development commissioners.
    • They supervise the spending of public funds and, at a senior level, contribute to policy formulation and decision-making in consultation with Ministers.
    • They serve the central government under deputation.

    Other issues

    • State governments have sometimes refused to send IAS/IPS/Indian Forest Service officers to the Centre saying they are short of officers.
    • The Centre has recently proposed amendments to the IAS (Cadre) Rules in order to exercise greater control in central deputation of IAS officers.

    Why can’t we have more IAS officers?

    • The B S Baswan Committee, said in its report submitted in 2016 that “any number above 180 would
    1. Compromise quality
    2. Exceed the LBNSAA’s (Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration’s) capacity and
    3. Lead to a distortion in the career pyramid of IAS officers, particularly for senior posts in the Government of India
    • The Committee recommended that “vacant posts in the Centre and states can be filled by deputation where the number of deputationists would be less than the present.”

    Issues with shortage of Officers

    • Bureaucracy deficit is, perhaps, compelling states to take recourse to such means as appointing non-cadre officers to cadre posts.
    • States allow them to continue in such posts beyond the permissible time limit besides giving multiple charges to serving officers.
    • Such measures compromise the efficiency of administration.

    Way ahead

    • The DoPT should increase the annual intake of IAS officers significantly keeping in view the evolving needs of Indian administration.

     

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  • Govt. steps in to tackle Russian trade hurdles

    The government has convened a multi-Ministerial group to look into how to overcome challenges in trade with Russia, including managing payments for exporters and importers.

    Recent course of updates

    • Many parliamentarians have raised concerns over India’s abstentions at the United Nations and the impact of Indian policy on India’s trade and ties with the US.
    • Developments indicate a possible revival of “rupee-rouble trade” in the wake of economic sanctions against Russian banks and entities by more than 40 US and European allies.
    • India’s position has been “steadfast and consistent”, and India has repeatedly called for the immediate cessation of violence and end to all hostilities.

    Gearing-up for a ‘Shaky’ response

    • FM responded to a question over India’s support on sanctions being “somewhat shaky” amongst Quad partners.
    • Leaders asked whether there would be any “negative impact” on India’s relations with its closest allies.

    India’s clear stance

    • Indian foreign policy decisions are made in Indian national interest and we are guided by our thinking, our views and our interests.
    • So, there is no question of linking the Ukraine situation to issues of trade, the FM clarified.

     

     

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  • Fighting TB with lessons learnt during Covid pandemic

    Context

    On World TB day, we need to ask how best we can leverage the lessons learnt from Covid-19 to help gain a new momentum in TB control.

    Comparing the impact of Covid-19 and TB

    • In the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, 1.8 million people were reported to have succumbed to the virus.
    • In the decade between 2010-20, 1.5-2 million individuals died every year because of tuberculosis.
    • The difference in responses to the two pandemics can only be explained by the differences in the profiles of those who get infected.
    • TB disproportionately affects people in low-income nations, the poor and the vulnerable.
    • The increased burden on healthcare to manage Covid has led to a serious setback in TB control.

    Using lessons from Covid-19 for TB control

    • To leverage the lessons learnt from Covid-19 to control TB, we need to focus on the epidemiological triad: Agent, host and the environment.
    • Test, treat and track has been a strategy successfully employed for Covid.
    • Scaling up testing: We need to aggressively scale up testing with innovative strategies such as active surveillance, bidirectional screening for respiratory tract infections using the most sensitive molecular diagnostics, and contact tracing.
    • Vaccine: The biggest victory against Covid has been the speed with which vaccines were developed, scaled up and deployed.
    • We need to replicate the same for tuberculosis, lobbying for funding from governments and industry to develop a successful vaccine for TB.
    • Social security programs for the prevention of risk: Malnutrition, poverty and immuno-compromising conditions such as diabetes are some of the factors strongly associated with TB.
    • Social security programmes that work towards prevention of modifiable risk factors would possibly pay richer dividends than an exclusive focus on “medicalising” the disease.
    • Environmental factors: Environmental factors which have been neglected include ventilation of indoor spaces, educating individuals to avoid crowds when possible, and to encourage voluntary masking, especially in ill-ventilated and closed spaces.
    • Investment and actions: Covid has been a stellar example of how investments and actions can be swift, and public education can transform behaviour.
    • Similar aspirations for TB can help turn this crisis into an opportunity to re-imagine our overburdened and underfunded systems.
    • Involvement of private sector: We need to actively engage the private sector, build bridges and partnerships as we did in the case of Covid.

    Way forward

    • The country needs to invest in state-of-the-art technologies, build capacity, expand its health workforce and strengthen its primary care facilities.
    • It also needs to consider telemedicine and remote support as important aspects of health services.
    • We need to build an open and collaborative forum where all stakeholders, especially affected communities and independent experts, take a lead role.

    Conclusion

    We have ignored TB for too long. It’s time we acknowledge the magnitude of the disease, and work harder at offering individuals equitable healthcare access and resources that the disease warrants.

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