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GS Paper: GS3

  • Fiscal prudence

    Fiscal prudenceContext

    • The Central government’s alarm has been on the mounting debt burden and the deteriorating fiscal situation in some States due to diversion in fiscal prudence.
    • As both the Union government and States are expected to work closely in a co-operative federal structure, frictions arising out of these exchanges might have repercussions on both resource sharing and expenditure prioritisation.

    What is India’s fiscal federalism?

    • Fiscal federalism refers to the financial relations between the country’s federal government system and other units of government.
    • It refers to how federal, state, and local governments share funding and administrative responsibilities within our federal system.

    Three issues in India’s fiscal federalism                   

    • First: are a set of issues related to Goods and Services Tax (GST) such as the rate structure, inclusion and exclusion of commodities, revenue sharing from GST and associated compensation.
    • Second: State-level expenditure patterns especially related to the welfare schemes of States.
    • Third: the conception and the implementation of central schemes.

    Fiscal prudenceMeaning of fiscal prudence

    • Fiscal prudence is defined as the ability of a government to sustain smooth monetary operation and long-standing fiscal condition.

    Where should state government spend the borrowed money?

    • Fundamental infrastructure: Ideally, governments should use borrowed money to invest in physical and social infrastructure that will generate higher growth, and thereby higher revenues in the future so that the debt pays for itself.
    • Targeted expenditure only: On the other hand, if governments spend the loan money on populist giveaways that generate no additional revenue, the growing debt burden will eventually implode.

    Fiscal prudenceWhy there is a need for Fiscal Council?

    • Institutionalizing fiscal practices: With a complex polity and manifold development challenges, India need institutional mechanisms for fiscal prudence.
    • Transparency: An independent fiscal council can bring about much needed transparency and accountability in fiscal processes across the federal polity.
    • Fiscal prudence: International experience suggests that a fiscal council improves the quality of debate on public finance, and that, in turn, helps build public opinion favourable to fiscal discipline.

    What does fiscal consolidation mean?

    • Fiscal consolidation is defined as concrete policies aimed at reducing government deficits and debt accumulation.

    Why fiscal consolidation is needed?

    • Fiscal expansion financed through debt and the resultant debt accumulation have important impacts on the economy both in the short run as well as in the long run.

    How to achieve fiscal consolidation?

    • Better targeting of government subsidies and extending Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for more subsidies
    • Improved tax revenue realization For this, increasing efficiency of tax administration by reducing tax avoidance, eliminating tax evasion, enhancing tax compliance etc. are to be made.
    • Enhancing tax GDP ratio by widening the tax base and minimizing tax concessions and exemptions also improves tax revenues.

    Suggestions

    • Amend FRBM Act for complete disclosure: First, the FRBM Acts of the Centre as well as States need to be amended to enforce a more complete disclosure of the liabilities on their exchequers.
    • Centre should impose conditionalities: Under the Constitution, States are required to take the Centre’s permission when they borrow. The Centre should not hesitate to impose conditionalities on wayward States when it accords such permission.
    • Use of financial emergency provision: There is a provision in the Constitution of India which allows the President to declare a financial emergency in any State if s/he is satisfied that financial stability is threatened.
    • Course correction by the Centre: The Centre itself has not been a beacon of virtue when it comes to fiscal responsibility and transparency. It should complete that task in order to command the moral authority to enforce good fiscal behaviour on the part of States.

    Conclusion

    • Fiscal correction at the State level is important. While there exists a need for raising additional resources at the sub-national levels, expenditure prioritisation has to be carried out diligently. The Centre, too, on its part needs to demonstrate commitment to fiscal discipline by sticking to announced fiscal glide path to ensure the sustainability of a frictionless cooperative federal structure.

    Mains question

    Q. Why Fiscal correction at the State level is important? Why fiscal consolidation is needed? Write in context frictionless cooperative fiscal federal structure.

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  • Scientific temper

    Context

    • India has not produced any Nobel Prize winner in science in the last 85 years — largely because of the lack of a scientific environment in the country.

    What is scientific temper?

    • Jawaharlal Nehru coined the term ‘scientific temper’; he defines it as an attitude of logical and rational thinking. An individual is considered to have scientific temper if she employs the scientific method when making decisions.

    Why it is important?

    • Scientific temper is very important for bringing forth a progressive society. It is free from superstitions. Irrational practices in developing the nation are in all aspects like political, economic and social.

    Its components

    • The vital parts of scientific temper are discussion, argument, and analysis. Various elements like fairness, equality, and democracy. The most important characteristic of a scientific temper is: – untiring search for truth with an open mind and spirit of inquiry.

    Constitutional mandate of scientific temper

    • In 1976, the Government of India reemphasised its commitment to cultivate scientific temper through a constitutional amendment (Article 51A).
    • Article 51A in the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution in 1976 says “It shall be the duty of every citizen of Indian to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of enquiry and reform.”

    Importance of scientific temper in nation building

    • Formation of public policy: Scientific temperament can become a part of the policy formation and plan through analyzing the performance of our nations, especially all the hardships and shortfalls that occurred in the past years.
    • Self -Reliance: There is a relationship between scientific temperament and becoming self-reliant. Our country is becoming self-reliant with the available technology and industrial infrastructure.
    • Quality education: It will help the children to assimilate the knowledge acquired through the practical observations in a scientific framework; thus, laying down a basis for the growth of a scientific perspective in the children.

    scientific temperChallenges before scientific temper

    • Political unwillingness: Most of the policymakers and the politicians to increase their vote banks include the stagnant ideologies and beliefs of the people in their public policies, and the government tends to give away in the popular public opinion rather than try to improve their thinking by including a more scientific approach to the various societal problems.
    • Prevalent orthodoxy: In India, people still have an orthodox ideology and will not adhere to the scientifically obtained solutions.
    • Low budget: Even after seventy years of independence, Indian Scientists are working on tight budgets, and they don’t have resources like other nations for conducting scientific research.
    • Pseudoscience: Pseudoscience is everywhere, whether in denying the science of climate change or the evolution theory that explains the secret of diversity that we see around us.

    Value addition / case study / Innovation

    An IIT Kanpur alumni Mr.Arvind Gupta tries to inculcate a spirit of inquiry among children through toys made from inexpensive everyday items.


    What can be done?

    • Directional efforts: Activities focused on school children can be undertaken like nature walks, visit to museums etc. ‘Science Express’, a collaborative effort of Ministry of railways and Ministry of Environment & Forests & Climate Change, is a progressive step because it provides a platform that can expose children and common people in far-flung areas of the country to scientific aspects of our everday life.
    • Policy initiatives: Children’s Science Congress organized by National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) is a good way to encourage scientific temper in children.
    • Public initiative: Civil Society organizations like, Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) and Delhi Science Forum, which are People’s Science Movement, can also go a long way in boosting scientific temper amongst the community.
    • From Sensationalism to Sensible Science Journalism:The media must monitor the content to discourage and limit superstition and blind belief.
    • Scientific journalism: Science communicators do the critical job of bridging the gap between science, society, and policymakers. Science journalism should be promoted at the university level. Science agencies should fund science communication activities in their domains.
    • From Exclusive to Inclusive Science: Inequitable participation concerning gender and social diversity must be eliminated. The ‘open source science’ or ‘open science’ movement includes, at the core, open access, open data, open-source, and available standards that offer unfettered dissemination of scientific discourse.
    • Open science: Government has a significant role in facilitating open science and promoting and preserving a free-thinking, open-minded society.

    Conclusion

    • Let’s hope that someday all cultures free themselves from the shackles of blind faith  with science likely to play a major hand in this endeavour. Unto a similar goal, we should celebrate India’s constitutional provision for the scientific temper and vigorously safeguard it.

    Mains question

    Q. The shrinking space for scientific temper in India today is worrisome for some reasons. Do you think so? Identify these reasons and suggest way forward for scientific future of India.

    Discuss the importance of scientific temper, what kind of public culture is needed to advance it? 10 Marks

    Q.4 Explain why superstitious beliefs and practices abound in India. In this context, discuss the importance of inculcating scientific temper to remove superstitions. (10 Marks)

     

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  • What is Positive Indigenisation List (PIL)?

    In line with the effort to promote self-reliance in defence manufacturing, the Defence Minister has approved the third Positive Indigenisation List (PIL) of 780 strategically important line replacement units (LRU).

    What is a Positive Indigenisation List (PIL)?

    • The positive indigenisation list essentially means that the Armed Forces—Army, Navy, and Air Force—will only procure the listed items from domestic manufacturers.
    • The manufacturers could be private sector players or Defense Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).
    • This concept was rolled out in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.

    Why in news?

    • This third list is different from the three PILs announced for the armed forces.
    • This list is in continuation to the two PILs of LRUs, sub-systems, assemblies, sub-assemblies and components that were published in December 2021 and March 2022.
    • These lists contain 2,500 items which are already indigenised and 458 (351+107) items which will be indigenised within the given timelines.
    • Out of the 458 items, 167 items (163 from the first PIL, and four from the second PIL) have been indigenised, so far, it stated.

    Other steps taken by the Centre to boost defence production

    • Licensing relaxation: Measures announced to boost exports since 2014 include simplified defence industrial licensing, relaxation of export controls and grant of no-objection certificates.
    • Lines of Credit: Specific incentives were introduced under the foreign trade policy and the Ministry of External Affairs has facilitated Lines of Credit for countries to import defence product.
    • Policy boost: The Defence Ministry has also issued a draft Defence Production & Export Promotion Policy 2020.
    • Budgetary allocation: In addition, a percentage of the capital outlay of the defence budget has been reserved for procurement from domestic industry.
    • Defence Industrial Corridors: The government has also announced 2 dedicated Corridors in the States of TN and UP to act as clusters of defence manufacturing that leverage existing infrastructure, and human capital.
    • Long-term vision: The vision of the government is to achieve a turnover of $25 bn including export of $5 bn in Aerospace and Defence goods and services by 2025.
    • Push for self-reliance: The govt has identified the Defence and Aerospace sector as a focus area for the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ or Self-Reliant India initiative.

    Issues retarding defence indigenization

    • Excess reliance on Public Sector: India has four companies (Indian ordnance factories, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)) among the top 100 biggest arms producers of the world.
    • Policy delays: In the past few years, the government has approved over 200 defence acquisition worth Rs 4 trillion, but most are still in relatively early stages of processing.
    • Lack of Critical Technologies: Poor design capability in critical technologies, inadequate investment in R&D and the inability to manufacture major subsystems and components hamper the indigenous manufacturing.
    • Long gestation: The creation of a manufacturing base is capital and technology-intensive and has a long gestation period. By that time newer technologies make products outdated.
    • ‘Unease’ in doing business: An issue related to stringent labour laws, compliance burden and lack of skills, affects the development of indigenous manufacturing in defence.
    • Multiple jurisdictions: Overlapping jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Industrial Promotion impair India’s capability of defence manufacturing.
    • Lack of quality: The higher indigenization in few cases is largely attributed to the low-end technology.
    • FDI Policy: The earlier FDI limit of 49% was not enough to enthuse global manufacturing houses to set up bases in India.
    • R&D Lacunae: A lip service to technology funding by making token allocations is an adequate commentary on our lack of seriousness in the area of Research and Development.
    • Lack of skills: There is a lack of engineering and research capability in our institutions. It again leads us back to the need for a stronger industry-academia interface.

    Way forward

    • Reducing import dependence: India was the world’s second-largest arms importer from 2014-18, ceding the long-held tag as the largest importer to Saudi Arabia, says 2019 SIPRI report.
    • Security Imperative: Indigenization in defence is critical to national security also. It keeps intact the technological expertise and encourages spin-off technologies and innovation that often stem from it.
    • Economic boost: Indigenization in defence can help create a large industry which also includes small manufacturers.
    • Employment generation: Defence manufacturing will lead to the generation of satellite industries that in turn will pave the way for a generation of employment opportunities.

     

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  • Construction and demolition waste

    Construction and demolitionContext

    • Huge amounts of construction and demolition waste in a residential area is hazardous for human health and warrants immediate disposal.

    Why in news?

    • The Twin towers in Noida, Uttar Pradesh were demolished by controlled implosion. Their being located in a residential neighbourhood of Noida makes it even more essential to introduce interventions to mitigate pollution and waste, post-demolition.

    What is construction and demolition waste?

    • Construction and demolition wastes (CDW) are the status of building materials after the end life of buildings. CDW could be concrete, steel, wood products, asphalt shingles, and bricks from building.

    What is waste management?

    • Waste management refers to the activities and actions required to manage waste from its start till its disposal. This includes collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and regulation.

    Construction and demolitionWhy they should be managed properly?

    • Waste management and diligent planning becomes critical for regulation of humongous solid waste being generated every day. With growing urbanization and rise of smart cities on the offing the issue of solid waste management becomes even more imperative.

    Data to remember

    62 million tons of waste is generated annually in the country at present.

    India manages to recover and recycle only about 1 per cent of its construction and demolition (C&D) waste, says new CSE analysis.

    Construction and demolitionWhat are the impacts of construction waste on the environment and human health?

    • Air: Disassembling and shredding of construction waste generate dust or large particulates into the surroundings and affects the respiratory health of waste management workers and others.
    • Water: (Landfills are not properly designed to hold construction waste + Illegal dump sites + Improper recycling & disposal of e-waste) = compounds leach into the ground = Groundwater gets toxified due to heavy metals from demolition waste.
    • Soil: Soil is contaminated by direct contact with contaminants from construction waste or its by-products from recycling & disposal + indirectly through irrigation. Soils become toxic when substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and polychlorinated biphenyl’s (PCBs) are deposited in landfills. Contaminated soils have bad impacts on microbes and plants => the pollutants reach higher animals or humans through the food chain.

    Construction And Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 – Salient Features

    1.Duties of waste Generators

    • Construction and demolition waste must be separated by each waste generator, and it must be deposited at a collection site or given to authorised processing companies.
    • Should take care to prevent any trash or depositing that could block vehicles, the general public, or drains.
    • Before beginning building, demolition, or remodelling work, large generators (those that create more than 20 tonnes or more in a single day or 300 tonnes per project in a month) must submit a waste management plan and obtain the necessary approvals from the local authorities.
    • Large generators must have an environmental management strategy to address any environmental problems resulting from building and demolition work, storage, transportation, and waste disposal and recycling.
    • The waste from large generators must be divided into four streams, including concrete, soil, steel, wood, and plastics, as well as bricks and mortar.
    • The appropriate fees for collection, transportation, processing, and disposal must be paid by large generators according to the notices issued by the competent authorities.

    2.Duties of Service providers and Contractors

    • Within six months of the rules’ notification, the service providers are required to develop a thorough waste management plan for the waste produced under their control.
    • They must also remove all construction and demolition waste independently or through a third party after consulting with the relevant local authority.

    3.Duties of State Government and Local Authorities

    • Within one and a half years after the date of the final notice of these regulations, the responsible State Government department dealing with land should offer suitable locations for the establishment of the storage, processing, and recycling facilities for construction and demolition waste.
    • In order to prevent long-term disruption of the processing plant, the Town and Country Planning Department must include the location in the authorised land use plan.
    • In municipal and government contracts, materials created from building and demolition waste must be purchased and used to the tune of 10–20%.
    • The local authority must install suitable bins for garbage collection, removal at regular intervals, and transportation to suitable facilities for processing and disposal.
    • Large generators of construction and demolition waste must submit a comprehensive plan or undertaking before Local Authorities may approve the waste management plan;
    • Seek help from the relevant authorities for the safe disposal of any nuclear waste or building and demolition debris contaminated with hazardous or toxic materials from industry;
    • Local Authorities must provide the generator with the necessary incentives for salvaging, processing, and/or recycling, preferably on-site;
    • Million plus cities (based on the 2011 Indian census) must commission the processing and disposal facility within 1.5 years of the date of final announcement of these regulations.
    • Local Authorities will build a database and update it once a year.

    4.Duties of Central Pollution Control Board, State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee

    • Construction and demolition waste management operating rules must be created by the Central Pollution Control Board.
    • The construction and demolition waste processing plant will receive authorization from SPCB.
    • The involved local bodies will keep an eye on how these guidelines are being applied.
    • Send an annual report to the State Government and the Central Pollution Control Board.

    Construction and Demolition Waste Management – Concerns

    • In spite of the aforementioned, industry and state pollution control boards operate poorly.
    • In India, between 25 and 30 million tonnes of C&D waste are produced each year, but barely 5 percent of it gets treated.
    • It is noteworthy that dirt, sand, and gravel make up 36% of C&D waste. This waste affects soil fertility and poses a threat to public health in cities.
    • The almost total lack of recycling also violates India’s obligations to reduce carbon emissions.
    • The need to recycle C&D waste is critical.
    • This is due to the fact that widespread sand mining is already eroding river beds and ultimately aggravating flood damage.

    Some positive suggestions

    • Need robust estimation and characterisation of C&D waste to design systems for material recovery: Cities need comprehensive assessment and quantification of C&D waste generation, to plan adequate infrastructure and systems for treatment and management.
    • Need of documentation: Cities must create easily accessible databases of buildings and their physical and legal attributes. Construction/demolition permits need to be inventorised with associated waste management plans attached.
    • Preparing for waste management from new generation material: Expanded polystyrene insulation (EPS), Styrofoam, plastic spacers, bituminous material and asbestos embedded within new wall assemblies are a recycling challenge. This needs special attention.
    • Infrastructure projects need to set up their own recycling facilities: DMRC has done so. Concrete can be easily recycled. Butt excavated waste is a challenge. Other infrastructure projects like highway and roadwork find recycling of bituminous material waste challenging. Globally, proactive prevention of waste is undertaken through modification of existing on site construction practices etc.
    • Responsibility of the construction Industry: The current system provides no incentive to the construction agencies for managing their own waste via waste reduction and on-site reuse and recycling. The Rules have created a push by creating a legal requirement for waste management but the financial drivers are missing. This requires fiscal strategy.

    Conclusion

    • Environmental and material challenges associated with the Construction and Demolition waste problem need urgent and immediate attention nation-wide to recover material, protect environment, and for clean air.

    Mains question

    Q. India manages to recover and recycle only about 1 per cent of its construction and demolition waste analyse the constraints in it. Also suggest some positive measures to address this challenge.

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  • INS Vikrant: All about India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier

    The nation’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) , INS Vikrant is set to be commissioned on September 2, the Indian Navy has announced.

    About INS Vikrant

    • The name ‘INS Vikrant’ originally belonged to India’s much-loved first aircraft carrier, a source of immense national pride over several decades of service before it was decommissioned in 1997.
    • The original ‘Vikrant’, a Majestic-class 19,500-tonne warship, which was acquired from the UK in 1961, played a stellar role in the 1971 War with Pakistan.
    • The IAC-1 is 262 m long and 62 m wide ‘Vikrant’ displaces approximately 43,000 tonnes when fully loaded, and has a maximum designed speed of 28 knots (about 52 km/h) with an endurance of 7500 NM.
    • It has around 2,200 compartments designed for a crew of around 1,600, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers and sailors.

    Why is it important for India to have an aircraft carrier?

    • An aircraft carrier is one of the most potent marine assets for any nation.
    • It enhances a Navy’s capability to travel far from its home shores to carry out air domination operations.
    • Having an aircraft carrier as essential to be considered a “blue water” navy — that is, a navy that has the capacity to project a nation’s strength and power across the high seas.
    • An aircraft carrier generally leads as the capital ship of a carrier strike/ battle group.

    Why is it a big deal that this warship has been Made in India?

    • Only five or six nations currently have the capability of manufacturing an aircraft carrier, and India has joined this prestigious club now.
    • India has demonstrated the capacity and self-reliance to build what is considered to be one of the most advanced and complex battleships in the world.
    • India has had aircraft carriers earlier too — but those were built either by the British or the Russians.
    • The ‘INS Vikramaditya’, which was commissioned in 2013 and which is currently the Navy’s only aircraft carrier, started out as the Soviet-Russian warship ‘Admiral Gorshkov’.
    • India’s two earlier carriers, the ‘INS Vikrant’ and the ‘INS Viraat’, were originally the British-built ‘HMS Hercules’ and ‘HMS Hermes’.
    • These two warships were commissioned into the Navy in 1961 and 1987 respectively.

    What indigenous components does the new ‘Vikrant’ have?

    • The indigenous content of the project is approximately 76%.
    • The warship-grade steel was indigenised through Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in collaboration with Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL).
    • It includes 23,000 tonnes of steel, 2,500 km of electric cables, 150 km of pipes, and 2,000 valves.
    • It also includes a wide range of finished products including rigid hull boats, galley equipment, air-conditioning and refrigeration plants, and steering gear.

    What weapons and equipment will the new ‘Vikrant’ have?

    • The new warship can carry up to 34 aircraft, including both fighter jets and helicopters.
    • It will be capable of operating 30 aircraft including MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 Air Early Warning Helicopters, MH-60R Seahawk multi-role helicopters, as well as the Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).
    • Using a novel aircraft-operation mode known as Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR), the IAC is equipped with a ski-jump for launching aircraft.

    What else will be there on the new INS Vikrant?

    • The carrier is designed with a very high degree of automation for machinery operations, ship navigation and survivability.
    • The carrier is equipped with the latest state of the art equipment and systems.
    • It boasts a fully-fledged state of the art medical complex with the latest medical equipment facilities..

    Now that India has shown the capability, will it build more carriers?

    • Since 2015, the Navy has been seeking approval to build a third aircraft carrier for the country, which, if approved, will become India’s second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-2).
    • This proposed carrier, to be named ‘INS Vishal’, is intended to be a giant 65,000-tonne vessel, much bigger than both IAC-1 and the ‘INS Vikramaditya’.
    • The Navy has been trying to convince the government of the “operational necessity” of having a third carrier.
    • Also, it is argued that now that India has developed the capability to build such vessels, it should not be whittled away.
    • The expertise gained by the Navy and the country over the past 60 years in the art of maritime aviation should not be wasted either.

    Significance of the induction

    • Vikrant is the largest warship to have ever been built in India, and the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy.
    • It puts India in an elite club of nations that have the capability to design and build these giant, powerful warships.
    • The indigenisation efforts led to the development of ancillary industries, and generated employment opportunities for 2,000 CSL personnel and about 13,000 employees in ancillary industries.
    • This bolstered plough-back effect on the nation’s economy. That is, it pushed all money back that it consumed.

     

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  • Why Nepal postponed Gorkhas’ recruitment under the Agnipath scheme?

    Nepal has postponed the recruitment rallies which were to be held in that country to recruit Gorkha soldiers for the Indian Army under the Agnipath scheme.

    Why has Nepal postponed Agnipath recruitment rallies?

    • Nepal is of the opinion that this new form of entry into the Indian military is not covered under the Tripartite Agreement signed between Nepal, Indian and UK governments in 1947, soon after Indian independence.
    • The government feels that the Agnipath scheme must be approved by it and for that political consultations with all parties in Nepal must take place.
    • This is move is visibly ‘inspired’ with inputs from China.

    What was the Tripartite Agreement between India, Nepal and UK?

    • Soon after Indian Independence on August 15, 1947, an agreement was reached by the governments of India, Nepal and the UK regarding the future of the Gorkha soldiers who were serving in the Indian Army.
    • As per the terms of this agreement four regiments of Gorkha soldiers – 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th – were transferred to the British Army while the rest – 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th – remained with the Indian Army.
    • A new Gorkha Regiment, the 11th Gorkha Rifles, was raised by India soon after Independence.
    • The agreement also provides for the terms and conditions of the Nepal-domiciled Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army and for their post-retirement benefits and pensions.

    Significance of Gorkha Soldiers

    • Legend has it that Hitler’s very words were, “If I had Gurkhas, no army in the world could defeat me.”
    • An interesting historical aspect of Gorkha troops is that Pakistan, at the time of Independence, and China, soon after the 1962 war, had also requested Nepal for Gorkha soldiers.
    • However, this request was turned down by the Nepal government.
    • The largest body of Gorkha troops serves in the Indian Army while in the UK their presence has been reduced from four regiments to just two.

    Can Nepalese Gorkhas in foreign Armies be called mercenaries?

    • Mercenaries are understood as fighters who take part in a conflict for financial gain and usually are not parties to that conflict.
    • As per the definition of the 1949 Geneva Convention, gives the officially agreed definition of a mercenary.
    • It says that soldiers serving in sovereign armies are not considered mercenaries, and Gorkha soldiers cannot be called mercenaries.
    • In addition, Gorkha soldiers from Nepal serve side-by-side with Gorkha soldiers who are born and brought up in India.

    Have any changes been made in Gorkha unit recruitments over the years?

    • There have been attempts to reduce the dependence on Nepal for the Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army,
    • To this effect, the composition has increasingly been attempted to be balanced between Indian and Nepal-domiciled troops.
    • Also, a pure Indian Gorkha battalion was raised in 2016.
    • This unit, 6th Battalion of the 1st Gorkha Rifles (6/1 GR), was raised in Subathu, in Himachal Pradesh.
    • Otherwise, the ratio of Nepalese-domiciled soldiers and Indian-domiciled soldiers in a Gorkha battalion ranges from 60:40 to 70:30, though this will change further in future.
    • A change was made in the recruitment rules for Gorkha Rifles recently when the Army decided that soldiers hailing from the Kumaon and Garhwal regions of Uttarakhand will also be eligible for serving in Gorkha Rifles.

    What is the socio-economic impact on Nepal of Gorkha soldiers serving in the Indian Army?

    • A major economic and social impact is felt in Nepal due to the Nepal-domiciled Gorkha soldiers serving in the Indian Army and much of it has to do with the remittances that they send home.
    • Kathmandu receives a sustainable source of remittances from Gorkhas working in foreign armies.
    • This has significantly contributed to social modernization in the isolated villages, while the financial remittances spurred entrepreneurship development thereby contributing to regional development.

    Why induct Gorkha soldiers?

    • Gorkha soldiers are tough. Living in the hills of Nepal makes them strong and resilient and they can stand war, climate and terrain better than most.
    • No one can match their swift movement in the mountainous terrain.
    • They are cheerful in disposition and nothing disturbs their equanimity.
    • They are loyal to the core and fearless in battle.
    • All this makes them amongst the best soldiers in the world and they are much sought after.
    • Historically, they have deep rooted connection and affinity for India definitely due to cultural assimilations.

     

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  • Green finance for green future

    green finance Context

    • Inclusion of climate change and green finance in policy is crucial for a strong economy.

    What is green finance?

    • Green finance is a phenomenon that combines the world of finance and business with environment friendly behaviour. It may be led by financial incentives, a desire to preserve the planet, or a combination of both.
    • In addition to demonstrating proactive, environment friendly behaviour, such as promoting of any business or activity that could be damaging to the environment now or for future generations.

    Green finance instruments       

    • Dedicated fund: A “green super fund” could be established to jumpstart green investments by pooling together international and domestic capital.
    • Sovereign green bond (SGB): The sovereign green bond is a novel idea. It will be a part of the government’s borrowing programme. The gross borrowing programme of the government is pegged at Rs 14.95 lakh crore. The SGB (sovereign green bond) raised will be part of the aggregate borrowing programme and has to be used for projects which are ESG (environment, social and governance) compliant.

    green financeNetwork for Greening the Financial System

    • The Network for Greening the Financial System is a network of 114 central banks and financial supervisors that aims to accelerate the scaling up of green finance and develop recommendations for central banks’ role for climate change.
    • The NGFS was created in 2017 and its secretariat is hosted by the Banque de France.

    Purpose

    • The Network’s purpose is to help strengthening the global response required to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and to enhance the role of the financial system to manage risks and to mobilize capital for green and low carbon investments in the broader context of environmentally sustainable development.

    green financeSignificance

    • Green goals: Reaching net-zero emissions and other climate-related and environmental goals will require significant investments to enable decarbonisation and innovation across all sectors of the economy. Greening the financial system is key to making these investments happen.
    • SDG goals: Green finance initiatives also aim to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), shifting the focus from creating value for shareholders (economic) to creating value for stakeholders (economic, environmental, and social).
    • Green future: And as we begin to recover from the pandemic, green finance presents a huge opportunity to build back with a greener future, creating new businesses and jobs.
    • Robust growth: Supports strong and green growth in all sectors of economy .

    The issues in mobilization and effective use of green finance are

    • Low incentives: The return on green finance is long term, low in monetary value & many times intangible, so that the ability of the financial system to mobilize private green finance, especially in developed countries is difficult.
    • Distribution challenge: Developing countries like India have challenges of development & poverty alleviation, so allocation of resources towards meeting fundamental needs & promoting the green projects which require heavy investment is a challenge.
    • Skewed investment: In many countries, green finance & much of the green projects are limited to the investment in renewable energy: India whose 60% of installed capacity is coal based, greening of coal technology is required which is mostly limited to private players in developed countries. It is subjected to IPR & makes them cost prohibitory.
    • High risk: Green bonds are perceived as new and attach higher risk and their tenure is also shorter. There is a need to reduce risks to makes them investment grade.

    Conclusion

    • Our future depends on how we resolve our environmental challenges. Further, we are the world’s third-largest carbon emitter and will play a crucial role in getting the planet to a low-carbon trajectory. Simply put, we must urgently transform our economy to get to the green frontier.

    Mains question

    Q. As the world copes with the repercussions of carbon emissions, there is growing pressure to achieve climate-compatible growth. In this context What do you understand by the term green finance? Discuss how it will help to achieve climate-compatible growth along with limitations of green finance.

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  • Centre raises alarm over Undemarcated Protected Forests in Chhattisgarh

    The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has objected to the transfer of thousands of hectares of land without following due process by Chhattisgarh from its Forest to the Revenue Department for setting up industries and for building road, rail, and other infrastructure.

    What is the news?

    • The Union Environment Ministry has warned that the land in question is “undemarcated protected forests”, which cannot be used for non-forest purposes without clearance under the Forest Conservation (FC) Act, 1980.

    ‘Types of Forests’ in Law

    • Broadly, state Forest Departments have jurisdiction over two types of forests notified under the Indian Forest (IF) Act, 1927:
    1. Reserve Forests (RF): where no rights are allowed unless specified and
    2. Protected Forests (PF): where no rights are barred unless specified
    • Certain forests, such as village or nagarpalika forests, are managed by state Revenue Departments.
    • The FC Act, 1980, applies to all kinds of forests, whether under the control of the Forest or the Revenue Department.
    • It requires statutory clearance before forests can be used for any non-forest purpose such as industry, mining, or construction.
    • In 1976, forests were included in List III (Concurrent List) under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

    Chhattisgarh case

    • The recorded forest area in Chhattisgarh covers 44.21% of its geography.
    • The state government says it is constrained by the limited availability of land, particularly in the tribal regions, for development works.
    • Therefore, in May 2021, it sought a field survey to identify non-forest land — parcels smaller than 10 hectares with less than 200 trees per hectare.

    Orange, a grey area

    • It sought that the forests had been included by mistake in Orange Areas under the Forest Department.
    • This year, it announced that over 300 sq km of “Orange” area in the Bastar region had been handed over to the Revenue Department.
    • Under the zamindari system, villagers used local malguzari (livelihood concessions) forests for firewood, grazing, etc.
    • When zamindari was abolished in 1951, malguzari forests came under the Revenue Department.
    • In 1958, the government of undivided Madhya Pradesh notified all these areas as Protected Forest (PFs) under the Forest Department.
    • Through the 1960s, ground surveys and demarcations of these PFs continued — either to form blocks of suitable patches to be declared as Reserve Forests, or to denotify and return to the Revenue Department.
    • For this purpose, Madhya Pradesh amended the IF Act, 1927, in 1965 — when forests figured in the State List — to allow denotification of PFs.
    • The areas yet to be surveyed — undemarcated PFs — were marked in orange on the map.

    Policy jam

    • Since 2003, a case has been pending in the Supreme Court on rationalising these orange areas that have remained a bone of contention between the two Departments.
    • The transfer of PFs to the Revenue Department continued until 1976, when reports of illicit felling in Revenue areas prompted Madhya Pradesh to seek a fresh survey to shift quality forest patches.
    • But before this survey could be undertaken, the new government that came to power in the state in 1978 switched the focus to settling encroachments.
    • The FC Act came in 1980, and required central clearance for non-forest use of forest land.
    • This led to a situation where the rights of lakhs of villagers, including those settled by the government through pattas, remained restricted.

    After MP was split

    • Carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000, Chhattisgarh inherited its share of ‘orange’ areas.
    • Ranked second after Orissa in implementing the Forest Rights Act, 2006, the state has settled over 26,000 claims since 2019.
    • The logical next step, say officials who declined to be quoted, was to find land for the economic development of the tribal belt.
    • Chhattisgarh did not seek central clearance to transfer over 300 sq km to Revenue, they claim, because it did not have to.

    New definition of forests

    • In December 1996, the SC defined ‘forest’ after its dictionary meaning, irrespective of the status of the land it stands on.
    • It also defined forestland as any land thus notified on any government record irrespective of what actually stands on that land.
    • To meet this broad definition, Madhya Pradesh in 1997 framed a “practical yardstick” — an area no smaller than 10 hectares with at least 200 trees per hectare — to identify forests in Revenue areas for handing over to the Forest Department.
    • These non-forest areas, they claim, are now being identified and returned to the Revenue.

    Issues with such Un-forestation

    • The nature of vegetation changes over time.
    • After so many years, a visual survey cannot determine if a particular piece of land did not meet the definition of forest.
    • Once brought under the Forest Department, whether mistakenly or otherwise, an area gets the status of forestland as per the 1996 SC order, and hence comes under the FC Act, 1980.

    Options available for CG

    • Chhattisgarh, thanks to the 1965 amendment to the IF Act, can still denotify PFs unilaterally.
    • It may also vest management of any land with any department since the state owns all land within its boundaries.
    • But if the stated purpose is non-forest use — building industries and infrastructure — the state will anyway require central clearance under the FC Act, 1980.

    What lies ahead?

    • Clearance for non-forest use of forestland under the FC Act requires giving back twice the area for compensatory afforestation (CA) from Revenue to Forest.
    • That would defeat the very purpose of the state government’s action.
    • However, conversion of Forest to Revenue land has been exempted from CA under exceptional circumstances in the past.
    • For example, when enclaves were moved out of forests, the SC allowed those to be resettled at the edge of the forests, in the absence of suitable Revenue land, as revenue villages.
    • It will be a stretch, though, for such considerations to apply to thousands of hectares meant for industries.

     

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  • Dams in news: Vishnugadh Project

    An independent panel of the World Bank is considering a plea by residents of some village to investigate environmental damage from the under-construction Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project (VPHEP).

    Vishnugadh Project

    • The 444-MW VPHEP is being built by the Tehri Hydropower Development Corporation (THDC), a partially State-owned enterprise.
    • It is being constructed on Dhauliganga River in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand.
    • The project is primarily funded by the World Bank and was sanctioned in 2011. It is proposed to be completed in June 2023.
    • About 40% of the funds for the $792 million project (â‚č64,000 crore approx.) has already been disbursed.

    Why in news now?

    • Residents in their complaint have said muck dumping from the dam threatens the local Lakshmi Narayan Temple, which is deemed to be of historical and cultural importance.
    • They also complained about the limited availability of water, saying that 70 of the 92 households received water only for two hours daily.
    • Before the project construction, they had ready access to water.

     

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  • Forest fire management for positive sustainable forest growth

    forest fireContext

    • Forest fires are becoming more common and wildfires are destroying nearly twice as much tree cover globally as they did in 2001.

    Why in news?

    • Climate change is driving more intense and widespread forest fire by fuelling more extreme heat and deepening drought, which dries out forests.

    How to define forest fire?

    • A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation starting in rural and urban areas.

    What causes forest fires?

    • Human activities: Forest fires can be caused by a number of natural causes, but officials say many major fires in India are triggered mainly by human activities.
    • Climate change: Emerging studies link climate change to rising instances of fires globally, especially the massive fires of the Amazon forests in Brazil and in Australia in the last two years. Fires of longer duration, increasing intensity, higher frequency and highly inflammable nature are all being linked to climate change.
    • Season: In India, wildfires are most commonly reported during March and April, when the ground has large quantities of dry wood, logs, dead leaves, stumps, dry grass and weeds that can make forests easily go up in flames if there is a trigger.
    • Natural reasons: Under natural circumstances, extreme heat and dryness, friction created by rubbing of branches with each other also have been known to initiate fire.

    forest fire

    Key fact

    7.4 million acres of forest are getting burnt annually now an area roughly the size of Belgium.

    What factors make forest fires a concern?

    • Carbon emission: They act as a sink, reservoir and source of carbon.
    • Livelihood loss: In India, with 1.70 lakh villages in close proximity to forests (Census 2011), the livelihood of several crores of people is dependent on fuelwood, bamboo, fodder, and small timber.
    • Destruction of animals’ habitat: Heat generated during the fire destroys animal habitats. Soil quality decreases with the alteration in their compositions.
    • Soil degradation: Soil moisture and fertility, too, is affected. Thus forests can shrink in size. The trees that survive fire often remain stunted and growth is severely affected.

    Measures to curb Forest fires

    1) National Action Plan on wild fires

    • The MoEFCC has prepared a National Action Plan on wild fire in 2018 after several rounds of consultation with all states and UTs.
    • The objective of this plan is to minimize forest fires by informing, enabling and empowering forest fringe communities and incentivizing them to work in tandem with the State Forest Departments.
    • The plan also intends to substantially reduce the vulnerability of forests across diverse forest ecosystems in the country against fire hazards, enhance capabilities of forest personnel and institutions in fighting fires and swift recovery subsequent to fire incidents.

    2) Forest Fire Prevention and Management scheme

    • The MoEFCC provides wildfire prevention and management measures under the Centrally Sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FPM) scheme.
    • The FPM is the only centrally funded program specifically dedicated to assist the states in dealing with forest fires.
    • The FPM replaced the Intensification of Forest Management Scheme (IFMS) in 2017. By revamping the IFMS, the FPM has increased the amount dedicated for forest fire work.
    • Funds allocated under the FPM are according to the 90:10 ratio of central to state funding in the Northeast and Western Himalayan regions and 60:40 ratio for all other states.
    • Nodal officers for forest fire prevention and control have been appointed in each state.

    forest fireWay forward

    • Awareness should be created among the villagers residing near the forests with respect to the long-term ill effects of forest fires.
    • Measures to prevent wildfires have to be taken before summer season when fires are prevalent.
    • Local people should be given skills to use online portals or mobile apps in order to monitor the forests for fires and inform forest authorities regarding the same.

    Mains question

    Q. Climate change is driving more intense and widespread forest fires by fueling more extreme heat and deepening drought. Why forest fires are cause of concern? Discuss our preparedness level for the same in the above context.

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