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GS Paper: GS3

  • Day 6 | Daily Answer Wars| CD WarZone

    Topics for Today’s question:

    GS-3          Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

    Question)

    Q. What is learning poverty? Highlighting the reasons behind learning poverty in India, mention steps taken to address the issue. (10 Marks)

     

    HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WARS (DAW)?

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  • India-China trade deficit is at $51.5 Bn

    The trade deficit, difference between import and exports, between India and China has touched $51.5 billion during April-October this fiscal.

    Widening deficit

    • The deficit during 2021-22 had jumped to $73.31 billion as compared to $44.03 billion in 2020-21.
    • According to the data, imports during April-October this fiscal stood at $60.27 billion, while exports aggregated at $8.77 billion.
    • The merchandise exports from India to China had increased from $11.93 billion in 2014-15 to $21.26 billion in 2021-22.

    India-China bilateral trade

    • In 2021, annual two-way trade crossed $100 billion for the first time, reaching $125.6 billion, with India’s imports accounting for $97.5 billion, pegging the imbalance at close to $70 billion.
    • This is certainly a healthy deficit compared to the industrial development in both nations.

    A quick backgrounder

    • Trade ties began to boom since the early 2000s.
    • This was driven largely by India’s imports of Chinese machinery and other equipment.
    • It rose up from $3 billion in the year 2000 to $42 billion in 2008, the year China became India’s largest trading partner.

    The Hindi-Chini buy buy

    • A third of machinery and almost two-fifths of organic chemicals that India purchases from the world come from China.
    • Automotive parts and fertilizers are other items where China’s share in India’s import is more than 25 per cent.
    • Several of these products are used by Indian manufacturers in the production of finished goods, thus thoroughly integrating China in India’s manufacturing supply chain.
    • For instance India sources close to 90 per cent of certain mobile phone parts from China.

    India’s export to China

    • Even as an export market, China is a major partner for India.
    • China is the third-largest destination for Indian shipments.
    • At the same time, India only accounts for a little over two percent of China’s total exports, according to the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).

    Should we worry about this?

    • Trade deficits/surpluses are just accounting exercises and having a trade deficit against a country doesn’t make the domestic economy weaker or worse off.
    • In this light, India’s trade imbalance with China should not be viewed in isolation.
    • For instance, pharmaceuticals that India exports to the world require ingredients that are imported from China.
    • Chinese imports of Indian seafood are one area that has recently shown robust growth and carries scope to grow in future.

    So, having a trade deficit is good?

    • Of course NOT. Running persistent trade deficits across all countries raises two main issues.
    1. Availability of foreign exchange reserves to “buy” the imports.
    2. Lack of domestic capacity to produce most efficiently.

    Can we ban trade with China?

    Ans. Certainly NOT!

    • It will hurt the Indian poor the most: This is because the poor are more price-sensitive. For instance, if Chinese TVs were replaced by either costlier Indian TVs or less efficient ones, unlike poor, richer Indians may buy the costlier option.
    • It will punish Indian producers and exporters: Several businesses in India import intermediate goods and raw materials, which, in turn, are used to create final goods — both for the domestic Indian market as well as the global market (as Indian exports).
    • Pharma sector could be worst hit: For instance, of the nearly $3.6 billion worth of ingredients that Indian drug-makers import to manufacture several essential medicines, China catered to around 68 percent.
    • Ban will barely hurt China: According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) data for 2018, 15.3% of India’s imports are from China, and 5.1% of India’s exports go to China.
    • Chinese money funds Indian unicorns: India and China have also become increasingly integrated in recent years. Chinese money, for instance, has penetrated India’s technology sector, with companies like Alibaba and Tencent strategically pumping in billions of dollars into Indian startups such as Zomato, Paytm, Big Basket and Ola.
    • India will lose policy credibility: It has also been suggested that India should renege on existing contracts with China. This can be detrimental to India’s effort to attract foreign investment.

    China is our Frenemy. Here is why.

    • The first thing to understand is that turning a border dispute into a trade war is unlikely to solve the border dispute.
    • Worse, given India and China’s position in both global trades as well as relative to each other, this trade war will hurt India far more than China.
    • Again, these measures will be most poorly timed since the Indian economy is already at its weakest point ever — facing a sharp GDP contraction.

    Way forward

    • In the long term, under the banner of self-reliance, India must develop its domestic capabilities and acquire a higher share of global trade by raising its competitiveness.
    • But no country is completely self-sufficient and that is why trade is such a fantastic idea.
    • For the long run, a more effective strategy needs to be built to provide an ecosystem that addresses the cost disability of Indian manufacturing leading to such imports.

     

     

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  • ISRO successfully conducts test of Scramjet Engine

    jet

    The ISRO successfully conducted test for credible next-generation air-breathing scramjet engines, in order to launch satellites in a predetermined orbit at a low cost.

    What is a jet engine?

    • A jet engine is a machine that converts energy-rich, liquid fuel into a powerful pushing force called thrust.
    • The thrust from one or more engines pushes a plane forward, forcing air past its scientifically shaped wings to create an upward force called lift that powers it into the sky.

    Ramjet vs. Scramjet Engine

    • Both scramjet and Ramjet are types of jet engines.
    • A ramjet is an air breathing jet engine which is usually associated with supersonic transport.
    • Ramjets can start at supersonic speeds only, so as a result they cannot be started at zero velocity and cannot produce thrust as there is a lack of airspeed.
    • Hence assisted take off flights or rockets are needed to or accelerate it to a supersonic speed from which it starts producing thrust.
    • This makes ramjet engine to be efficient only at supersonic speeds as it can accelerate to speeds of about Mach 6.
    • Ramjet has revolutionized Rocket Propulsion and Missile Technology over the years.

    How different is Scramjet?

    • The Scramjet or the Supersonic Combustion Ramjet is a further complex model and is efficient at hypersonic speeds, usually upwards of Mach 6.
    • They do not have any moving parts to compress the air as the air entering is already at high pressure.
    • Scramjets have a very similar working to that of the ramjet except the fact that combustion also takes place at supersonic speed.
    • This means that the air being compressed does not slow down as it enters the combustion chamber.

     

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  • What is a Trisonic Wind Tunnel?

    tunnel

    The new trisonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) was inaugurated by conducting the first blow-down test successfully.

    What is a Wind Tunnel?

    • Wind tunnels are large tubes with air moving inside.
    • The tunnels are used to copy the actions of an object in flight.
    • Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft will fly.
    • Space agencies uses wind tunnels to test scale models of aircraft and spacecraft. Some wind tunnels are big enough to hold full-size versions of vehicles.
    • The wind tunnel moves air around an object, making it seem like the object is really flying.

    How do Wind Tunnels work?

    • Most of the time, powerful fans move air through the tube.
    • The object to be tested is fastened in the tunnel so that it will not move.
    • The object can be a small model of a vehicle. It can be just a piece of a vehicle.
    • It can be a full-size aircraft or spacecraft. It can even be a common object like a tennis ball.
    • Smoke or dye can be placed in the air and can be seen as it moves. Threads can be attached to the object to show how the air is moving.
    • Special instruments are often used to measure the force of the air on the object.

    About Trisonic Wind Tunnel at VSCC

    • ‘Trisonic’ refers to the tunnel’s capability to test in three speed regimes—below the speed of sound (subsonic), at the speed of sound (transonic), and above the speed of sound (supersonic).
    • Its parts include air storage vessels, a settling chamber where the airflow is ‘smoothened’ out, and nozzles for releasing the air into the test section.
    • It is about 160 metres long and measures 5.4 metres at its widest part.
    • In a ‘blow down test’, stored gases are released and blown through the tunnel’s test section, simulating flight conditions.
    • The tunnel can simulate flight conditions from 0.2 times the speed of sound (68 metres per second) to four times the speed of sound (1,360 metres per second), according to the space agency.
    • Commissioned in 2017, this tunnel can simulate flow speeds up to Mach 12.

     

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  • Three Himalayan medicinal plants enter IUCN Red List

    Three medicinal plant species found in the Himalayas have made it to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species following a recent assessment.

    Species assessed-

    1. Meizotropis pellita : ‘Critically Endangered’
    2. Fritilloria cirrhosa : ‘Vulnerable’
    3. Dactylorhiza hatagirea : ‘Endangered’

    (1) Meizotropis pellita

    iucn

    • Commonly known as Patwa, is a perennial shrub with restricted distribution that is endemic to Uttarakhand.
    • The species is listed as ‘critically endangered’ based on its limited area of occupancy (less than 10 sq. km)
    • The species is threatened by deforestation, habitat fragmentation and forest fires.
    • The essential oil extracted from the leaves of the species possesses strong antioxidants and can be a promising natural substitute for synthetic antioxidants in pharmaceutical industries.

    (2) Fritillaria cirrhosa

    iucn

    • Also called, Himalayan fritillary, it is a perennial bulbous herb.
    • It is reasonable to conclude a decline of at least 30% of its population over the assessment period (22 to 26 years).
    • Considering the rate of decline, long generation length, poor germination potential, high trade value, extensive harvesting pressure and illegal trade, the species is listed as ‘vulnerable’.
    • In China, the species is used for the treatment of bronchial disorders and pneumonia.
    • The plant is also a strong cough suppressant and source of expectorant drugs in traditional Chinese medicine.

    (3) Dactylorhiza hatagirea

    iucn

    • Known as Salampanja, it is threatened by habitat loss, livestock grazing, deforestation, and climate change.
    • It is extensively used in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and other alternative systems of medicine to cure dysentery, gastritis, chronic fever, cough and stomach aches.
    • It is a perennial tuberous species endemic to the Hindu Kush and Himalayan ranges of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

    Back2Basics: IUCN Red List

    • The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species founded in 1964, has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species.
    • It uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of all species and subspecies.
    • A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit.
    • The IUCN aims to have the category of every species re-evaluated every five years if possible, or at least every ten years.
    • For plants, the 1997 Red List is the most important source.
    • The formally stated goals of the Red List are-
    1. to provide scientifically based information on the status of species and subspecies at a global level,
    2. to draw attention to the magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity,
    3. to influence national and international policy and decision-making, and
    4. to provide information to guide actions to conserve biological diversity.

    Red List Categories of IUCN

    Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups specified through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation. They are:

    • Extinct (EX) – beyond reasonable doubt that the species is no longer extant.
    • Extinct in the wild (EW) – survives only in captivity, cultivation and/or outside native range, as presumed after exhaustive surveys.
    • Critically endangered (CR) – in a particularly and extremely critical state.
    • Endangered (EN) – very high risk of extinction in the wild, meets any of criteria A to E for Endangered.
    • Vulnerable (VU) – meets one of the 5 red list criteria and thus considered to be at high risk of unnatural (human-caused) extinction without further human intervention.
    • Near threatened (NT) – close to being at high risk of extinction in the near future.
    • Least concern (LC) – unlikely to become extinct in the near future.
    • Data deficient (DD)
    • Not evaluated (NE)

     

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  • RS clears Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2022

    wild

    The Rajya Sabha has passed the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2022.

    Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2022

    • The Bill amends the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 by increasing the species protected under the law.
    • There are 50 amendments to the Act proposed in the Bill.
    • Substituting the definition of ‘Tiger and other Endangered Species’ to ‘Wild Life’, this Bill includes flora, fauna and aqua under its protection.
    • The Bill also regulates wild life trade as per the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

    Key propositions

    (1) Implementing CITES

    • The Bill aims to implement CITES — which was signed in Washington D.C. on March 3, 1973, and later amended in 1979 — to trade plant and animal specimens with other governments.
    • Regulating the possession of specimens, the Bill defines ‘specimen’ as any animal or plant (dead or alive).
    • It also constitutes a Management authority which will issue permits for the trade of scheduled specimens in accordance with CITES.
    • The Centre can designate a management authority to grant export or import permits for the trade of specimens and a scientific authority to give advice on the trade impact on the survival of the specimens, as per the Bill.

    (2) Classification of specimens

    • Classifying animals into two specially protected schedules, the Bill prohibits their trade by anyone, barring certain exceptions.
    • The Bill removes the present schedule for vermin species and inserts a new schedule for specimens listed for extinction under CITES.
    • The Bill also lists 131 mammals, 112 birds, 43 birds, 26 fishes, 63 insects, 388 corals under schedule I and 41 mammals, 864 birds, 12 reptiles, 58 insects, molluscs, and sponges under schedule II.
    • A separate schedule for plants is also listed.

    (3) Prohibitions

    • The Bill seeks to empower the Centre to regulate or prohibit the import, trade, possession or proliferation of plant or animal species not native to India – invasive alien species.
    • Apart from states, the Centre too can notify a conservation reserve — an area adjacent to national parks and sanctuaries.
    • Any person can voluntarily surrender any captive animals or animal products to the Chief Wild Life Warden (an appointee of state governments).
    • However, no compensation will be paid to the person for it and the surrendered items become the property of the state government.
    • Under the Bill, the fine for General violation is up to Rs 1,00,000 and for specially protected animals is at least Rs 25,000.

    Concerns raised

    (1) Elephants transportation

    • The amendment has given huge discretion for the transportation of live elephants and expressed concern on protecting the animal.
    • The elephant is a national heritage animal for India.
    • The Standing Committee accepted the religious significance of the elephant, but the Minister has also included the words ‘any other purpose’

    (2) Vermins

    • The damage to the national economy due to crop depredation by wild animals has never been computed.
    • Since 1972, the WLPA has identified a few species — fruit bats, common crows and rats — as vermin.
    • Killing animals outside this list was allowed under two circumstances:
    1. Under Section 62 of WLPA, given sufficient reasons, any species other than those accorded the highest legal protection (such as tigers and elephants but not wild boars or nilgais) can be declared vermin at a certain place for a certain time.
    2. Under Section 11 of WLPA, the chief wildlife warden of a state can allow the killing of an animal, irrespective of its status in the Schedules, if it becomes “dangerous to human life”.
    • The issue of the declaration of Vermins has since entered the realm of centre-state politics.

    Back2Basics:  Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

    • WPA provides for the protection of the country’s wild animals, birds and plant species, in order to ensure environmental and ecological security.
    • It provides for the protection of a listed species of animals, birds and plants, and also for the establishment of a network of ecologically-important protected areas in the country.
    • It provides for various types of protected areas such as Wildlife Sanctuaries, National Parks etc.

    There are six schedules provided in the WPA for the protection of wildlife species which can be concisely summarized as under:

    Schedule I: These species need rigorous protection and therefore, the harshest penalties for violation of the law are for species under this Schedule.
    Schedule II: Animals under this list are accorded high protection. They cannot be hunted except under threat to human life.
    Schedule III & IV: This list is for species that are not endangered. This includes protected species but the penalty for any violation is less compared to the first two schedules.
    Schedule V: This schedule contains animals which can be hunted.
    Schedule VI: This list contains plants that are forbidden from cultivation.

     

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  • Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 introduced in RS

    The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has introduced the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha.

    Highlights of the Bill

    • The Bill amends the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 to empower the central government to specify a carbon credit trading scheme.
    • Designated consumers may be required to meet a proportion of their energy needs from non-fossil sources.

    Why was this Bill introduced?

    • During the COP-26 summit in 2021, India made commitments relevant for energy efficiency efforts.
    • Against this backdrop, the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in Lok Sabha in August 2022.

    Key features of the bill

    • Carbon credit trading:The Bill empowers the central government to specify a carbon credit trading scheme.   Carbon credit implies a tradable permit to produce a specified amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse emissions.
    • Obligation to use non-fossil sources of energy:The Act empowers the central government to specify energy consumption standards for designated consumers to meet a minimum share of energy consumption from non-fossil sources.  Designated consumers include: (i) industries such as mining, steel, cement, textile, chemicals, and petrochemicals, (ii) transport sector including Railways, and (iii) commercial buildings, as specified in the schedule.
    • Energy conservation code for buildings: The bill empowers the central government to specify norms for energy efficiency and conservation, use of renewable energy, and other requirements for green buildings.   Under the Act, the energy conservation code applies to commercial buildings: (i) erected after the notification of the Code, and (ii) having a minimum connected load of 100 kilowatt (kW) or contract load of 120 kilo volt ampere (kVA).
    • Standards for vehicles and vessels: Under the bill, the energy consumption standards may be specified for equipment and appliances which consume, generate, transmit, or supply energy.  The Bill expands the scope to include vehicles (as defined under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988), and vessels (includes ships and boats).
    • Composition of the governing council of BEE: The Act provides for the setting up of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).  The Bureau has a governing council with members between 20 and 26 in number.

    Concerns raised

    • Carbon credit trading aims to reduce carbon emissions, and hence, address climate change.  The question is whether the Ministry of Power is the appropriate Ministry to regulate this scheme.
    • A further question is whether the market regulator for carbon credit trading should be specified in the Act.
    • Same activity may be eligible for renewable energy, energy savings, and carbon credit certificates.
    • The Bill does not specify whether these certificates will be interchangeable.
    • Designated consumers must meet certain non-fossil energy use obligation.  Given the limited competition among discoms in any area, consumers may not have a choice in the energy mix.

     

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  • Discussing the Indian Economy’s pressing problems

    Economy

    Context

    • Several agencies, including the IMF and the World Bank have projected lower growth rates for the Indian economy in FY23, than the 7.2 per cent estimated by the RBI in April. The Central bank has now lowered its forecast to 6.8 per cent. Given the current situation, with the Q2 FY 2023.

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    Economy

    Current economic growth estimation

    • Economy is likely to grow at 6.5-7.0 per cent: Given the current situation, with the Q2 FY 2023 GDP growth clocking in at 6.3 per cent, the economy is likely to grow at 6.5-7.0 per cent in this fiscal year.
    • Considering economic uncertainties it is difficult to arrive at precise estimate: It is difficult to arrive at a precise estimate for growth this year with unprecedented economic uncertainty worldwide, including high global inflation, synchronized monetary tightening, and the impact of the Ukraine war.

    Positive signs in the Indian Economy

    • Positive medium-term growth prospects: Company and bank balance sheets are healthier, credit growth is rising, and capacity utilisation has increased, all of which augur well for investment activity.
    • Positive impact on tourism: The waning of Covid-19 should hopefully have a positive impact on travel, transport and tourism. Construction activity should pick up further with the reduction in housing inventory and almost stable prices over the last decade.
    • On inflation India is doing better: On the inflation front, India is doing better than many advanced economies and emerging markets.

    Economy

    What is Indian economy’s pressing problems specifically in terms of Labour-intensive growth?

    • Employment a biggest concern: Employment, an issue that has persisted over the last two decades. In brief, we have not generated enough good jobs to match the scale at which the economy has grown, especially in the organised sector. As a result, we have very high under-employment and poor-quality employment, which have hampered a much-needed move away from agriculture.
    • Lack of precise data on people living in poverty: We do not have a precise estimate of the current levels of poverty, as there has been no household consumption survey since 2011-12, and the 2017-18 survey was abandoned due to technical issues. But there is reasonable consensus that poverty could be around 10 per cent of the country’s population, A low number compared to the past, but as many as 140 million people could still be living in poverty.
    • Lack of non-agricultural jobs: The rising demand for the MGNREGA, and the importance of food distribution schemes and other welfare programmes for the poor are indicators of the lack of non-agriculture jobs being generated.
    • Lowest rate of women participation in labour force: An alarming aspect of the employment problem in India is the low participation rate of women in the labour force, which is among the lowest in the world. This loops back to the importance of labour-intensive manufacturing. For example, much of Bangladesh’s success, and that of Southeast Asian countries, in exports and manufacturing stems from the large number of women working in their factories.
    • Women literacy is rising but increasing number of educated women are not working: A positive trend in India has been the growing trend in girls attending schools and college in the last 20 years, but this also means that an increasing number of educated women are not working.
    • Despite of 1991 reforms still remains an untapped opportunity: With the LPG reforms, the expectation was that, as the economy opened up to global competition, India’s low wage levels would attract private investment into labour-intensive manufacturing, thus generating jobs. This was the path followed by the East Asian economies that experienced high growth and rapid development. But for India this remains an untapped opportunity.
    • Manufacturing is shifting to countries other than India: Even with rising wage levels in China, manufacturing is shifting to countries other than India. The PLI (production-linked incentives) scheme has been rolled out to encourage manufacturing. It may need some tweaking to be biased towards labour-intensive manufacturing as China vacates space in this area. This may seem at odds with the more popular view that it is small and medium enterprises which promote employment.
    • Country’s real exchange rate is not healthy: An overvalued rupee has discouraged the export of labour-intensive manufacturing goods, which are very price-sensitive in global markets. It has also had a dampening effect on domestic production as our currency has depreciated at a lower rate than other emerging economies like China and Indonesia.
    • Depreciated rupee impacting domestic producers by inflow of cheaper imports: Domestic producers of goods that compete with imports into our markets have been impacted by the inflow of cheaper imports. This has disincentivised them from expanding production and generating employment.
    • Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are severally hit: Problems that have come to the fore post-pandemic include the health of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Accurate information on this is somewhat scarce but anecdotal evidence suggests that they have been more severely hit than the formal sector.

    Economy

    Way ahead

    • The rupee has been overvalued for long and needs to be allowed to depreciate, though in a calibrated way, ensuring external and financial stability.
    • Job growth is crucial if we are to reduce the still high levels of poverty in the country
    • Incentivizing the domestic producers so that they can compete with the cheaper inflow of imports and expands their manufacturing thereby generating employment in the economy
    • The continued recovery of the formal sector, as indicated by various metrics, in terms of the improved health of corporates and banks should effectively pull up the MSMEs through supply chains linkages, among others.
    • We still have a negative real interest rate (that is, the difference between the RBI’s policy rate and inflation). Hence, the policy rate needs to rise further, providing a push to financial savings, which are needed to generate higher investment for growth.
    • Inflation need to be contained through supply-side measures as well, such as an improvement in the supply of food products.

    Conclusion

    • High under-employment and poor-quality employment have hampered a much-needed move away from agriculture. A focus on labour-intensive formal manufacturing is the need of the hour.

    Mains Question

    Q. India is showing positive signs of economic recovery however the economy still has a hangover from the past and some are exacerbated by Covid. Discuss.

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  • Need for an effective Tourist Police

    Tourist

    Context

    • Crimes against tourists and other foreign nationals appear to be on the rise in India. Consider several recent cases, and the lessons they suggest.

    Some of the recent cases of crime against tourists

    • A case of rape and murder in Kerala: A few days ago, a Kerala session court sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a Latvian tourist in 2018.
    • A case of a rape of a girl child in Goa: A 12-year-old Russian girl was raped in a hotel in Goa on April 6 this year. The rapist was an employee of the hotel in which the girl was staying with her mother.
    • A case extortion in Gurugram: An Iraqi couple staying at a hotel in Gurugram for the treatment of the husband in the Medanta hospital was accosted by two miscreants posing as policemen on October 23. They accused the couple of carrying drugs and on the pretext of checking their wallets, fled with $15,000 the couple had saved for the treatment.
    • A case of sexual misconduct in Delhi: On September 2, a British woman lawyer lodged a complaint of sexual misconduct against a cab driver who was ferrying her from the airport to her hotel in South Delhi. The incident traumatized her to the extent that she left for the U.K. within two days of her arrival.

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    Status of Crimes against foreigners

    • Drastic decline in cases of crimes against foreigners in Delhi: According to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Delhi recorded 27 cases of crime against foreigners last year, a drastic decline from 62 cases reported in 2020 and 123 in 2019.
    • Sharp reduction Rajasthan: Rajasthan has shown a sharp reduction in registration of crimes from 16 in 2019 to just 4 in 2020 and two cases last year, which could be attributed to the sharp decline in tourist arrivals due to COVID-19.
    • Though there is a decline in cases but the data is still shameful and to be studied: As many as 29 foreigners were murdered in the last three years. While 14 foreigners fell victim to rape last year, 16 were raped in 2020 and 12 in 2019. As many as 15 cases of assault to outraging modesty of foreign women were registered last year across the country, apart from 14 complaints of cheating. While 142 cases of theft were lodged by foreigners in 2019, it declined to 52 in 2020 and further dipped to 23 in 2021.
    • Women are more prone and most cases go unreported: Women are more prone to sexual attacks by criminals on the prowl in tourist destinations. For every crime committed against foreigners, there would be several others that go unreported for multifarious reasons, with one of them being the fear instilled in them by the threats of these criminals. In the South Delhi incident, the British national was reluctant to lodge a formal complaint out of fear

    Tourist

    How do such cases of crimes against tourists tarnish our image?

    • Not only dents our image but also impacts on tourism: Crime against foreigners not only dents our image globally but could also adversely affect the inflow of foreign tourists, which is a vital source of income for our country.
    • It impacts Tourism sector which is one of the significant sources of FOREX: Tourism happens to be one of the biggest foreign exchange earners for India. Such cases may leave tourists moral down and they may lose sense of security.

    What is Tourist police scheme and what steps can be taken to ensure security of the Tourists?

    • Booklet on the tourist police scheme and tourist police stations: The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) has brought out a booklet on the tourist police scheme detailing the mode of setting up of tourist police stations and control rooms, outposts, uniforms, recruitment, qualifications, training and logistics requirements for tourist police stations.
    • Identified tourist spots: As many as 25 popular tourist spots have been identified in the country where the tourist police necessarily need to be deployed to help foreigners. As an incentive, 30% deputation allowance has been recommended for the police personnel who joins the tourist police on deputation.
    • Identified Criminals in and around tourists’ spots need to be kept on constant surveillance: While the setting up of tourist police stations is a commendable step to provide safety to foreigners, much needs to be done to instil a sense of security in them even before they leave their countries for India. With theft being the most common crime committed against foreigners, all criminals in and around tourist spots need to be identified and kept under constant surveillance.
    • Fast track courts should be set immediately to try cases of crimes against tourists: Since foreigners come for short durations, the cases cannot be allowed to linger on in courts for long. Fast track courts should be set up immediately to try cases of crime against foreigners and the culprits punished speedily. It may be recalled that a rape convict, Bitihotra Mohanty, was tried for raping a German national in Alwar (Rajasthan) on March 21, 2006 and he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment on April 12, that is, within 22 days.

    Tourist

    A positive step by Ministry of Tourism

    • For the effective implementation of Tourism police scheme: In order to provide a safe environment for tourists, the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), organised a conference in New Delhi on October 19, 2022. It was organised with a view to “sensitise the specific requirements of the tourists for effective implementation of Uniform Tourist Police Scheme at pan-India level”.
    • States that have tourist police: Though the concept of ‘tourist police’ has been in vogue for the past few years, it has not been given the kind of attention it deserves. The States that have tourist police are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan and Kerala.
    • Delhi a neglected state is gearing up for tourist police wing: In view of the forthcoming G20 Summit, the Delhi police is gearing up its tourist police wing, which was hitherto in a neglected state and so are other States which will see a huge influx of foreigners.

    Conclusion

    • With optimistic predictions of about 13.34 million foreign tourists arriving by 2024, there is a pressing need to upgrade our security systems specially to provide a flawless security blanket cover to foreign tourists. Safety assumes utmost importance to draw tourists in hordes.

    Mains question

    Q. What is tourist police scheme? Why it is necessary to have such a tourist security wing in India? What more steps can be taken to ensure the security of tourist in India?

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  • Day 4 | Daily Answer Wars| CD WarZone

    Topics for Today’s question:

    GS-3          Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security

    Question)

    Q. The unprecedented pace of technological change especially in the form of emerging and disruptive technologies is changing the face of national security. Examine. (15 Marks)

     

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