Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- National Education Policy
The article contrasts the targets set in the National Education Polity with the present state of education in the country.
Key recommendations
- Redesigning the school curriculum to accommodate early childhood care and education.
- Ensuring universal access to education.
- Increasing gross enrolment in higher education to 50% by 2035.
- Improving research in higher education institutes by setting up a Research Foundation.
Let’s take stock of the current situation on the above-suggested parameters.
1) Universal Access to Education
- Despite the Right to Education Act-2009 retaining children remains a challenge for the schooling system.
- As of 2015-16, Gross Enrolment Ratio was 56.2% at senior secondary level as compared to 99.2% at primary level.
- Data for all groups indicates a decline in GER as we move from primary to senior secondary for all groups.
- This decline is particularly high in case of Scheduled Tribes.
NEP 2020 recommendations
- The NEP recommends strengthening of existing schemes and policies which are targeted for such socio-economically disadvantaged groups.
- Further, it recommends setting up special education zones in areas with a significant proportion of such disadvantaged groups.
- A gender inclusion fund should also be setup to assist female and transgender students in getting access to education.
2) GER to 50% in higher education
- The NEP aims to increase the GER in higher education to 50% by 2035.
- As of 2018-19, the GER in higher education in the country stood at 26.3%.
- The annual growth rate of GER in higher education in the last few years has been around 2%.
NEP 2020 recommendations
- The NEP recommends increasing capacity of existing higher education institutes by restructuring and expanding existing institutes.
- It recommends that all institutes should aim to be large multidisciplinary institutes, and there should be one such institution in or near every district by 2030.
- Further, institutions should have the option to run open distance learning and online programmes to improve access to higher education.
3) Restructuring of Higher Education Institutes
- The NEP notes that the higher education ecosystem in the country is severely fragmented.
- At present, there is complex nomenclature of higher education institutes (HEIs) in the country such as ‘deemed to be university’, ‘affiliating university’, ‘affiliating technical university’, ‘unitary university’.
- These shall be replaced simply by ‘university’.
NEP 2020 recommendations
- The NEP recommends that all HEIs should be restructured into three categories:
- 1) research universities focusing equally on research and teaching.
- 2) teaching universities focusing primarily on teaching.
- 3) degree-granting colleges primarily focused on undergraduate teaching.
- All such institutions will gradually move towards full autonomy – academic, administrative, and financial.
4) National research foundation to boost research
- The NEP states that investment on research and innovation in India, at only 0.69% of GDP, lags behind several other countries.
- The total investment on R&D in India as a proportion of GDP has been stagnant at around 0.7% of GDP.
- Of which 58% of expenditure was by government, and the remaining 42% was by private industry.
NEP 2020 recommendation
- To boost research, the NEP recommends setting up an independent National Research Foundation (NRF).
- The Foundation will act as a liaison between researchers and relevant branches of government as well as industry.
- Specialised institutions which currently fund research, such as the Department of Science and Technology, and the Indian Council of Medical Research, will continue to fund independent projects.
- The Foundation will collaborate with such agencies to avoid duplication.
5) Digital Education
- The NEP states that alternative modes of quality education should be developed when in-person education is not possible.
- But let’s look into the accessibility of such mode.
- As of 2017-18, only 4.4% of rural households have access to a computer (excludes smartphones).
- Nearly 15% have access to internet facility. Amongst urban households, 42% have access to the internet.
NEP 2020 recommendations
- Several interventions are recommended-
- (i) developing two-way audio and video interfaces for holding online classes.
- (ii) use of other channels such as television, radio, mass media in multiple languages to ensure the reach of digital content where digital infrastructure is lacking.
6) Increasing public spending on education to 6% of GDP
- Public spending of 6% of GDP was first made by the National Policy on Education 1968 and reiterated by the 1986 Policy.
- NEP 2020 reaffirms the recommendation of increasing public spending on education to 6% of GDP.
- In 2017-18, the public spending on education-includes spending by centre and states-was budgeted at 4.43% of GDP.
- In 2020-21, states in India have allocated 15.7% of their budgeted expenditure towards education.
- States such as Delhi, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra have allocated more than 18% of their expenditure on Education for the year 2020-21.
- On the other hand, Telangana (7.4%), Andhra Pradesh (12.1%) and Punjab (12.3%) lack in spending on education, as compared to the average of states.
Consider the question “Examine the provision with regard to increasing research in the country in the National Education Policy 2020.”
Conclusion
The National Education Policy is an ambitious document with the potential to transform. What is required is the zeal to implement and assess the progress by analysing the outcomes.
Source-
https://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/national-education-policy-recommendations-and-current-scenario
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3-Self reliance in defence manufacturing.
India is one of the largest importers of defence equipment. This should have naturally made India a manufacturing hub of the defence equipment. But this is not the case. This article deals with this issue.
Context
Following China’s stance of open belligerence towards India, making war preparedness a top priority. It is against this backdrop, the Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 was unveiled.
Key features
- It aims for domestic output worth ₹1.75 trillion of aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025.
- Of which exports is aimed at ₹35,000 crore.
- It has various strategic initiatives that would aid the indigenous development of modern weaponry from hypersonic missiles and ace sensors to stealth submarines and fly-by-wire fighter jets.
Why India lacks indigenous capacity
- If India’s dependence on foreign suppliers of armaments was not for lack of trying.
- Our Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) exists for this very purpose.
- DRDO scientists claim success in several projects, including the Tejas design.
- But decisions on procurements for our armed forces are made through a complex process—involving service chiefs, technocrats and politicians—that ends up favouring foreign purchases.
- This is this convenient, as off-the-shelf wares are readily available abroad.
- The finer details of defence deals are usually confidential, after all, and the payments huge.
- By one estimate, India was the world’s third largest military spender in 2019, with a bill of over $71 billion, after the US and China.
Issues and Challenges in partnership with private players
- So far, efforts to get our private sector into the act have not fared too well, despite all our schemes to attract them.
- Long-drawn out acquisition processes may partly be to blame for this.
- Companies are apprehensive of investment without an assurance of a ready market.
- But by the time their prototypes are tested and approved for induction by our forces, they risk being outmoded by advances made abroad.
- In the US, spin-offs from defence research have been behind many technological innovations of everyday utility.
- So, the knowledge acquired in defence research has the potential to benefit the other sectors as well.
Consider the question “Being one of the top importers of defence equipment India is well placed to enhance its domestic manufacturing capacity of defence equipment. Yet, India lacks it after repeated attempts to achieve it. Examine the reasons for this and suggest measures to overcome this anomaly.”
Conclusion
If a big push for “made in India” defence systems calls an entire ecosystem of experiments, ideas and technical wizardry into being, it could help our economy leap ahead too.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Adoption of PPP model by the Indian Railways and related issues
Adoption of the PPP model by the Indian Railways will help it get rid of the many issues it suffers from. This article analyses the two initiative by the railways in this regard and spells out their advantages and challenges.
Significance of railways
- Its route spans about 68000 km.
- It employs over 1.2 mn people and generates approximately Rs 2 lakh cr annually.
- So, a major contributor to jobs, GDP, and mobility.
- Efficient and optimal use of the railways could further add up to 1% to GDP.
Adopting PPP model
- The time has come to modernise the Indian Railways, make it world-class, and a key driver of the country’s growth.
- To do so, India must involve the best resources via PPP to bring in the latest technology, leading practices, and efficiencies.
- PPP has been actively deployed as a mechanism in Europe and Japan.
Two initiatives of Indian Railways involving PPP model
1. Operation of trains on selected route
- Indian Railways’ proposal features a list of 109 pairs of routes through 151 trains to private operators.
- Proposed routes include Delhi–Mumbai, Delhi–Chennai, Mumbai–Chennai, and others.
- PPP operators are expected to finance, procure, operate, and maintain the allocated trains.
- The concession period will be for 35 years.
Advantages
- The initiative will bring in cutting-edge, technologically advanced rolling stock, shorter journey times, enhanced job growth, better safety, and best-in-class service standards.
- It will bridge the demand-and-supply deficit for passengers.
- The PPP investment is expected to be in the range of Rs 30,000 cr—in a Make in India–led growth strategy.
- Encouraging domestic manufacturing of rolling stock, these projects will also create direct and indirect employment.
2. Redevelopment of railway stations
- Initially, 50 stations will be bid out and funded through land monetisation as well as user charges.
- The modernisation and redevelopment of stations will be conducted primarily through Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited, Rail Land Development Authority and other central government entities.
- The PPP basis is under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer model.
- It entails utilising the potential of real estate for excess land and air space in and around the stations for development through PPP.
- The 50 big stations have been planned to be bid out through the PPP route aimed at bringing in investments exceeding Rs 50,000–60,000 crores.
Challenges involved in the adoption of PPP model
- One of the primary challenges will be independence of adjudication in disputes.
- Other issues will be the pricing strategy to remain competitive yet stay profitable, given the competition through air, road, and to some extent, water transport.
- An independent regulator could go a long way towards allaying concerns of equitable treatment of PPP operators and ought to be considered strongly.
Consider the question “Examine the opportunities and challenges in the adoption PPP model by the Indian Railways.”
Conclusion
The introduction of PPP in Railways is a welcome step and can lead to the kind of reforms that can help transform India and make it a global leader.
Source
https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/railways/reforms-driven-agenda-why-its-time-to-modernise-the-indian-railways-make-it-world-class/2044774/
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FATF
Mains level: Money laundering and terror financing
Ahead of the crucial FATF meetings in October, Indian agencies plan to highlight its inaction in the Pulwama, 26/11 Mumbai attack and Daniel Pearl murder cases.
Practice question for mains:
Q.What is FATF? Discuss its role in combating global financial crimes and terror financing.
What is the FATF?
- FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
- The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
- It holds three Plenary meetings in the course of each of its 12-month rotating presidencies.
Why is Pakistan under its scanner?
- Pakistan has been under the FATF’s scanner since June 2018, when it was put on the Grey List for terror financing and money laundering risks.
- FATF and its partners such as the Asia Pacific Group (APG) are reviewing Pakistan’s processes, systems, and weaknesses on the basis of a standard matrix for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime.
- In June 2018, Pakistan gave a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and APG to strengthen its AML/CFT regime, and to address its strategic counter-terrorism financing-related deficiencies.
- Pakistan and the FATF then agreed on the monitoring of 27 indicators under a 10-point action plan, with specific deadlines.
- The understanding was that the successful implementation of the action plan, and its physical verification by the APG, would lead the FATF to move Pakistan out of the Grey List.
- However, Islamabad managed to satisfy the global watchdog over just five of them.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pyrolysis
Mains level: Not Much
Plastic from used personal protective equipment (PPE) can be transformed into renewable liquid fuels using chemical a process called pyrolysis, says a new study.
Try this PYQ:
Q.In the context of which one of the following are the terms ‘pyrolysis and plasma gasification’ mentioned? (CSP 2019)
(a) Extraction of rare earth elements
(b) Natural gas extraction technologies
(c) Hydrogen fuel-based automobiles
(d) Waste-to-energy technologies
What is Pyrolysis?
- Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere.
- It involves a change in chemical composition. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro “fire” and lysis “separating”.
- It is most commonly used in the treatment of organic materials. It is one of the processes involved in charring wood.
- It is considered as the first step in the processes of gasification or combustion.
How does it work?
- In general, pyrolysis of organic substances produces volatile products and leaves a solid residue enriched in carbon, char.
- Extreme pyrolysis, which leaves mostly carbon as the residue, is called carbonization.
- The process is used heavily in the chemical industry, for example, to produce ethylene, many forms of carbon, and other chemicals from petroleum, coal, and even wood, to produce coke from coal.
Applications
- Aspirational applications of pyrolysis would convert biomass into syngas and biochar, waste plastics back into usable oil, or waste into safely disposable substances.
Limitations and Concerns
- The technology requires drying of soil prior to treatment.
- Limited performance data are available for systems treating hazardous wastes containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and other organics.
- There is concern that systems that destroy chlorinated organic molecules by heat have the potential to create products of incomplete combustion, including dioxins and furans.
- These compounds are extremely toxic in the parts per trillion range.
- The molten salt is usually recycled in the reactor chamber. However, depending on the waste treated (especially inorganics) and the amount of ash, spent molten salt may be hazardous and require special care in disposal.
- Pyrolysis is not effective in either destroying or physically separating inorganics from the contaminated medium.
- Volatile metals may be removed as a result of the higher temperatures associated with the process, but they are not destroyed.
- When the off-gases are cooled, liquids condense, producing an oil/tar residue and contaminated water.
- These oils and tars may be hazardous wastes, requiring proper treatment, storage, and disposal.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: HEFA
Mains level: Higher education infra development
The JNU has got approval for a fund from the Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) for the construction of new infrastructure.
Try this PYQ:
What is the aim of the programme ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’? (CSP 2017)
(a) Achieving 100% literacy by promoting collaboration between voluntary organizations and government’s education system and local communities.
(b) Connecting institutions of higher education with local communities to address development challenges through appropriate technologies.
(c) Strengthening India’s scientific research institutions in order to make India a scientific and technological power.
(d) Developing human capital by allocating special funds for health care and education of rural and urban poor, and organizing skill development programmes and vocational training for them.
About HEFA
- HEFA is a joint venture company of Canara Bank and Ministry of Human Resource Development.
- It provides financial assistance for the creation of educational infrastructure and R&D in India’s premier educational institutions.
- All the Centrally Funded Higher Educational Institutions will be eligible to join as members of the HEFA.
- For joining as members, the educational institution must agree to escrow a specific amount from their internal accruals for a period of 10 years to the HEFA.
Funding pattern of HEFA
- HEFA will have an authorized capital of 2,000 crore rupees and the government equity would be 1,000 crore
- It also mobilizes CSR funds from Corporates/PSUs which will, in turn, be released for promoting research and innovation in these institutions on a grant basis.
- The principal portion of the loan will be repaid through the ‘internal accruals’ of the institutions earned through the fee receipts, research earnings etc.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian Peafowl
Mains level: Wildlife conservation and various policy efforts
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the D2E.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following is the national aquatic animal of India? (CSP 2015)
(a) Saltwater crocodile
(b) Olive ridley turtle
(c) Gangetic dolphin
(d) Gharial
Indian Peafowl
- The Indian peafowl is a native of India and some parts of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- The Arakan hills prevented their spread further east while the Himalayas and the Karakoram did so northwards.
- As our national bird, the peacock has the utmost level of legal protection.
Peacock vs. Peafowl
- Only the males of the species are peacocks.
- The females are properly called peahens, while young birds less than a year old are known as peachicks.
- Collectively they are known as peafowl, regardless of age or gender.
- Peacocks are male Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) belonging to the Phasianidae family
Various protections
- It comes under Section 51 (1-A) of Schedule I of the Wild (Life) (Protection) Act, 1972, with imprisonment that may be extended up to seven years, along with a fine that shall not be less than Rs 10,000.
- Since 2014, Indian Peafowl has been protected under Appendix III of the CITES.
- They are listed under the ‘Least Concern’ (LC) category of the IUCN Red Data List.
Threats
- Despite this, these birds experienced dwindling populations for many decades due to habitat loss, poaching and contamination of their food sources.
- In 1991, the peafowl population census conducted by the WWF revealed that 50 per cent of the species had declined, compared to their number at the time of independence.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Swadesh Darshan Scheme
Mains level: Various initiaitves tourism promotion
Union Minister for Culture & Tourism has inaugurated the “Thenzawl Golf Resort” Project at Aizawl, Mizoram.
Try this question for mains:
Q. Swadesh Darshan Scheme is one of the most ambitious schemes to transform the tourism industry in India. Comment.
Thenzawl Golf Resort Project
- The Project is sanctioned under the Integrated Development of New Eco-Tourism under Swadesh Darshan- North East Circuit.
- It is designed by Graham Cooke and Associates, one of top-ranked Canada based Golf Course architectural firm.
- It is designed to have facilities of international standards.
- The competitive advantage of Thenzawl Golf Course is that it will provide quality golfing experience and international facilities at a fair price.
Back2Basics: Swadesh Darshan Scheme
- Swadesh Darshan Scheme is one of the flagship schemes of the Ministry of Tourism, for development of thematic circuits in the country in a planned and prioritized manner.
- The scheme was launched in 2014 -15 as a Central Sector Scheme.
- It aims for integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits in the country.
- Under the scheme, the identified thematic circuits for development are: North-East Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit, Heritage Circuit, Sufi Circuit, and Tirthankara Circuit.
- “Development of North East Circuit: Imphal & Khongjom” is the first project implemented under the Scheme.
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