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  • Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

    Rethink for EWS Criteria

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    The Union Government has decided to revisit the criteria set out for eligibility for its 10% reservation under the economically weaker sections (EWS) category within a month.

    Context

    • The decision came after the Supreme Court closely questioned it on how it arrived at the income figure.
    • The Supreme Court is considering a case to the implementation of 27% reservation for the Other Backward Classes and 10% for the EWS under the all-India quota for medical admissions.

    How was EWS reservation introduced?

    • The 10% reservation was introduced through the 103rd Constitution Amendment and enforced in January 2019.
    • It added Clause (6) to Article 15 to empower the Government to introduce special provisions for the EWS among citizens except those in the classes that already enjoy reservation.
    • It allows reservation in educational institutions, both public and private, whether aided or unaided, excluding those run by minority institutions, up to a maximum of 10%.
    • It also added Clause (6) to Article 16 to facilitate reservation in employment.
    • The new clauses make it clear that the EWS reservation will be in addition to the existing reservation.

    Significance of the quota

    • The Constitution initially allowed special provisions only for the socially and educationally backward classes.
    • The Government introduced the concept of EWS for a new class of affirmative action program for those not covered by or eligible for the community-based quotas.

    What are the criteria to identify the section?

    • The main criterion is that those above an annual income limit of ₹8 lakh are excluded.
    • It accounts income from all sources such as salary, business, agriculture and profession for the financial year prior to the application of the family, applicants, their parents, siblings and minor children.
    • Possession of any of these assets, too, can take a person outside the EWS pool:
    1. Five or more acres of agricultural land
    2. A residential flat of 1,000 sq.ft. and above
    3. A residential plot of 100 square yards and above in notified municipalities, and
    4. A residential plot of 200 square yards and above in other areas

    What are the court’s questions about the criteria?

    • Reduction within general category: The EWS quota remains a controversy as its critics say it reduces the size of the open category, besides breaching the 50% limit on the total reservation.
    • Arbitrariness over income limit: The court has been intrigued by the income limit being fixed at ₹8 lakh per year. It is the same figure for excluding the ‘creamy layer’ from OBC reservation benefits.
    • Socio-economic backwardness: A crucial difference is that those in the general category, to whom the EWS quota is applicable, do not suffer from social or educational backwardness, unlike those classified as the OBC.
    • Metropolitan criteria: There are other questions as to whether any exercise was undertaken to derive the exceptions such as why the flat criterion does not differentiate between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.
    • OBC like criteria: The question the court has raised is that when the OBC category is socially and educationally backward and, therefore, has additional impediments to overcome.
    • Not based on relevant data: In line with the Supreme Court’s known position that any reservation or norms for exclusion should be based on relevant data.

    What is the current status of the EWS quota?

    • The reservation for the EWS is being implemented by the Union Government for the second year now.
    • Recruitment test results show that the category has a lower cut-off mark than the OBC, a point that has upset the traditional beneficiaries of reservation based on caste.
    • The explanation is that only a small number of people are currently applying under the EWS category — one has to get an income certificate from the revenue authorities — and therefore the cut-off is low.
    • However, when the number picks up over time, the cut-off marks are expected to rise.

    Way forward

    • The per capita income or GDP in all States, or the difference in purchasing power in the rural and urban areas, should be taken into account while a single income limit was formulated for the whole country.

     

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  • Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

    UNCITRAL Model for Cross Border Insolvency

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has published a draft framework for cross-border insolvency proceedings based on the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) model under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

    About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)

    • The IBC, 2016 is the bankruptcy law of India that seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy.
    • It is a one-stop solution for resolving insolvencies which previously was a long process that did not offer an economically viable arrangement.
    • The code aims to protect the interests of small investors and make the process of doing business less cumbersome.

    Cross border insolvency proceedings

    • Cross-border insolvency proceedings are relevant for the resolution of distressed companies with assets and liabilities across multiple jurisdictions.
    • A framework for cross-border insolvency proceedings allows for the location of such a company’s foreign assets, the identification of creditors and their claims.
    • This helps establishing payment towards claims as well as a process for coordination between courts in different countries.

    Current status of foreign stakeholders and courts in other jurisdictions under IBC

    • While foreign creditors can make claims against a domestic company, the IBC currently does not allow for automatic recognition of any insolvency proceedings in other countries.
    • Current provisions under the IBC do not allow Indian courts to address the issue of foreign assets of a company being subjected to parallel insolvency proceedings in other jurisdictions.

    The UNCITRAL model

    • The UNCITRAL model is the most widely accepted legal framework to deal with cross-border insolvency issues.
    • It has been adopted by 49 countries, including the UK, the US, South Africa, South Korea and Singapore.
    • The law allows automatic recognition of foreign proceedings and rulings given by courts in cases where the foreign jurisdiction is adjudged.
    • Recognition of foreign proceedings and reliefs is left to the discretion of domestic courts when foreign proceedings are non-main proceedings.
    • The model law deals with four major principles of cross-border insolvency:
        • Direct access to foreign insolvency professionals and foreign creditors to participate in or commence domestic insolvency proceedings against a defaulting debtor.
        • Recognition of foreign proceedings & provision of remedies.
        • Cooperation between domestic and foreign courts & domestic and foreign insolvency practitioners.
        • Coordination between two or more concurrent insolvency proceedings in different countries. The main proceeding is determined by the concept of Centre of Main Interest (COMI).
          • The COMI for a company is determined based on where the company conducts its business on a regular basis and the location of its registered office.
      • It is designed to assist States in reforming and modernizing their laws on arbitral procedure so as to take into account the particular features and needs of international commercial arbitration.

    Issues with Indian framework

    • The framework for cross-border insolvency adopted in India may require reciprocity from any country which seeks to have its insolvency proceedings recognized by Indian courts.
    • This would allow Indian proceedings for foreign corporate debtors to be recognized in foreign jurisdictions.

    Back2Basics: UNCITRAL

    • It is an affiliate organization to the UN made up of business and legal professionals.
    • This group develops model standards and procedures for dealing with issues affecting international business.
    • Perhaps most notably, UNCITRAL promulgated the Convention on International Sale of Goods (CISG).
    • The CISG is a model law commonly used as the governing provisions in contracts between parties from different nations.

     

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  • Historical and Archaeological Findings in News

    Were there domestic horses in ancient India?

    Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    A group of researchers has been able to collect bones and teeth samples of over 2,000 such ancient specimens from regions from where domestic horses could have originated.

    Research on horse domestication

    • The research has studied fossils from the Iberian Peninsula in the southwestern corner of Europe, or the western-most edge of Eurasia (Spain and its neighbours), Anatolia (modern Turkey), and the steppes of Western Eurasia and Central Asia.
    • These collective data have led them to decide that until about 4200 BCE, many distinct horse populations inhabited various regions of Eurasia.

    Key findings of the research

    • A similar genetic analysis has found that horses with the modern domestic DNA profile lived in the Western Eurasian Steppes, particularly the Volga-Don River region.
    • By around 2200–2000 BCE, these horses spread out to Bohemia (the Czech Republic of today and Ukraine), and Central Asia and Mongolia.
    • These horses were bred by breeders from these countries to sell them to countries that demanded them.
    • Riding on horses became popular in these nations by around 3300 BCE, and armies were built using them, for example, in Mesopotamia, Iran, Kuwait and the ‘Fertile Crescent’ or Palestine.
    • The first spoke-wheeled chariots emerged around 2000-1800 BC.

    Indian story

    • Horses were never native to India.
    • The only animals native to India were the Asian elephant, snow leopard, rhinoceros, Bengal tiger, Sloth bear, Himalayan wolf, Gaur bison, red panda, crocodile, and the birds peacock and flamingo.
    • Thus, it seems clear from these sources that horse is not native to India.
    • Horses must have come into India through inter-regional trading between countries.
    • Indians might have traded their elephants, tigers, monkeys, birds to their neighbours and imported horses.

    When did India get its horses?

    • Horse-related remains and artefacts have been found in Late Harappan sites (1900-1300 BCE).
    • Horses did not seem to have played an essential role in the Harappan civilization.
    • This is in contrast to the Vedic Period, which is a little later (1500-500 BCE).
    • The Sanskrit word for horse is Ashwa, which is mentioned in the Vedas and Hindu Scriptures.
    • These are roughly towards the end of the late Bronze Age.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to the difference between the culture of Rigvedic Aryans and Indus Valley people, which of the following statements correct?

    1. Rigvedic Aryans used the coat of mail and helmet in warfare whereas the people of Indus Valley Civilization did not leave any evidence of using them.
    2. Rigvedic Aryans knew gold, silver and copper whereas Indus Valley people knew only copper and iron.
    3. Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated the horse whereas there is no evidence of Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) Only 1

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    Post your answers here.

     

     

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  • Road and Highway Safety – National Road Safety Policy, Good Samaritans, etc.

    Good Samaritan Scheme

    Schemes | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Ministries & Departments Of The Government

    The Good Samaritan scheme, meant to encourage and felicitate those helping road accident victims, has received a poor response from the states more than a month since its launch.

    Good Samaritan Scheme

    • The Road Transport and Highways Ministry announced this scheme so that taking a road crash victim to hospital is not just hassle-free but there is also the incentive of a reward and recognition.
    • Historically, Indians are reluctant in taking victims to hospital because of associated legal processes and investigations that follow.
    • To address that, the Centre inserted Section 134A in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, which deals with “Protection of Good Samaritans”.

    Need for such scheme

    • India witnesses around 5 lakh road accidents and 1.5 lakh deaths from them every year.
    • As per several government assessments and independent studies, a large number of deaths occur because the victims did not get medical help within the golden hour.

    Key features of the scheme

    • Non-liability: Under the scheme, a good samaritan will not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of the victim of an accident involving a motor vehicle.
    • Reward: The scheme entitles any person, who helps save a life by taking a road crash victim to the hospital during golden hour, to a reward of Rs 5,000 per accident.
    • Anonymity clause: The new law is that the “Good Samaritan” is free to not disclose their name to the hospital or law enforcement authorities; they can also choose not to take part in any legal process.

    Issues with the scheme

    Ans. Poor response from the states

    • Despite the Centre willing to give an initial grant of Rs 5 lakh for it, states have not even opened bank accounts to get the money.
    • The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sent several reminders to states to operationalize the scheme.

     

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  • Zoonotic Diseases: Medical Sciences Involved & Preventive Measures

    What is Omicron Variant?

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    A new lineage of SARS-CoV-2 has been designated as a Variant of Concern (VoC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been named Omicron.

    Behind the name: Omicron

    • The WHO has been using Greek letters to refer to the most widely prevalent coronavirus variants, which otherwise carry long scientific names.
    • It had already used 12 letters of the Greek alphabet before the newest variant emerged in South Africa this week.
    • After Mu, the 12th named after a Greek letter, WHO selected the name Omicron, instead of Nu or Xi, the two letters between Mu and Omicron.
    • The WHO said Nu could have been confused with the word ‘new’ while Xi was not picked up following a convention.

    Why is the Omicron variant interesting?

    • The Omicron variant is interesting due to the fact that it has a large number of mutations compared to other prevalent variants circulating across the world.
    • This includes 32 mutations in the spike protein.
    • Many of these mutations lie in the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein, a key part of the protein required for binding to the human receptor proteins for entry into the cell.
    • It can thus play an important role in recognition by antibodies generated due to a previous infection or by vaccines.

    What do spike mutations do?

    • Many of the mutations in the spike protein have been previously suggested to cause resistance to antibodies as well as increased transmission.
    • Thus, there is a possibility that this variant could be more likely to re-infect people who have developed immunity against previous variants of the virus.
    • The behavior of the virus is not yet accurately predictable based on the evidence on individual mutations.

    Does the variant result in vaccine breakthrough infections?

    • Some of the initial individuals identified to be infected with the variant have been vaccinated for COVID-19 and therefore the variant can indeed cause vaccine breakthrough infections.
    • This should not be of concern, since the prevalent variants of concern including Delta have been shown to cause breakthrough infections.
    • Whether the variant causes more breakthrough infections than Delta is not currently known.

    How can we be prepared for the variant?

    • Enhanced surveillance and genome sequencing efforts are essential to detect and track the prevalence of the Omicron variant.
    • Rapid sharing of genome sequences of the virus and the epidemiological data linked with it to publicly available databases will help in developing a better understanding of the variant.
    • Existing public health and social measures need to be strengthened to control and prevent transmission.
    • Enhancing vaccination coverage across different regions along with access to testing, therapeutics and support will be essential for combating the new variant.
    • Equitable access to vaccines would be key to controlling the Omicron variant, and slowing down the emergence of any future variants.

     

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  • Nuclear Energy

    Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project

    India Mapping | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

    If built on time, Jaitapur Project in Maharashtra would be the largest nuclear power generating station in the world by net generation capacity, at 9,900 MW.

    Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project

    • Jaitapur Project is a proposed nuclear power plant in India.
    • The power project is proposed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and would be built at Madban village of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra.
    • It is being built with technical cooperation from France.

    Project description

    • It is proposed to construct 6 European Pressurized Reactors designed and developed by Framatome (former Areva) of France, each of 1650 MW, thus totaling 9900 MW.
    • These are the third generation pressurized water reactors (PWR).
    • The cost of building the plant is about ₹20 crore (US$2.7 million) per MW electric power compared with ₹5 crore (US$660,000) per MW electric power for a coal power station.
    • A consortium of French financial institutions will finance this project as a loan. Both French and Indian government will give sovereign guarantee for this loan.

    Issues with the project

    (I) Liability for nuclear damage

    • The lack of clarity on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 passed in Indian Parliament in August 2010 is a hurdle in finalizing deal.
    • This Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 has a clause that deals with the legal binding of the culpable groups in case of a nuclear accident.
    • It allows only the operator (NPCIL) to sue the manufacturers and suppliers. Victims will not be able to sue anyone.

    (II) Clearance issue

    • Environmental effects of nuclear power and geological issues have been raised by anti-nuclear activists of India against this power project.
    • Even though the Maharashtra state govt completed land acquisition in 2010, only few people had accepted compensation cheques.

    (III) Seismicity of the area

    • Since Jaitapur is a seismically sensitive area, the danger of an earthquake has been foremost on the minds of people.
    • According to the Earthquake hazard zoning of India, Jaitapur comes under Zone III. This zone is called the moderate Risk Zone and covers areas liable to MSK VIII.
    • The presence of two major creeks on the proposed site has been ignored while clearing the site.

    (IV) Nuclear waste disposal

    • It is not clear where the nuclear waste from the site will be shipped for recycling or removed for disposal.
    • The plant is estimated to generate 300 tonnes of used nuclear fuel each year.

     

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  • Emulating Amul’s success across other agricultural commodities

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Agriculture and related issues

    Context

    Many wish for legendary “Milk Man of India” Verghese Kurien’s presence in our midst today as the conflict between the Central government and the farming community on the issue of the farm laws appears to be still unresolved.

    Adopting cooperative model

    • Kurien won the farmers over with his professional integrity and his vision of a central role for farmers in India’s journey of development.
    • It is on that foundation that Kurien went on to design his idea of Amul as a co-operative.
    • He turned it over the years into a global brand, and later launched the White Revolution that would make India the largest milk producing nation in the world.
    • Central to Kurien’s vision was the co-operative model of business development.
    • Kurien’s fascination for the co-operative model was also influenced by Gandhian thinking on poverty alleviation and social transformation.
    • Kurien could borrow from the ideas and the practices of the corporate world.
    • In areas such as innovations in marketing and management, branding and technology, the private sector excels and sets benchmarks for businesses across the world to follow and adopt.
    • Innovations and evolving technologies: At the same time, Amul was steadily emerging as a laboratory, developing significant innovations and evolving technologies of its own, and these have strengthened its competitive power against multinational corporations.

    Challenges facing cooperative movements in India

    • Amul’s success has not been the catalyst for similar movements across other agricultural commodities in India.
    • Bypassing digital revolution: India’s digital revolution has bypassed the agriculture sector.
    • The cooperative movement in India is in a state of flux.
    • Decline of cooperative movement: India has suffered due to lack of professional management, adequate finance and poor adoption of technology.

    Conclusion

    This is truly a moment to reflect on Verghese Kurien’s remarkable legacy and the unfinished task he has left behind.

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  • Our Constitution, A Beacon of Freedom

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    Context

    On November 26, 1949,72 years ago, India adopted new Constitution. Provisions of the Constitution like those pertaining to citizenship, a provisional parliament and other transitional measures came into force immediately, on November 26, 1949.

    Challenges faced by the Constituent Assembly

    • Boycott of the members: The body was meant to comprise 296 members but was boycotted by some members who would eventually move to Pakistan.
    • Hence, the assembly would be a 210-member body at the initial sessions.
    • Deft statesmanship, not rage was displayed in response to the boycott.
    • Juristicconcerns: There were other juristic concerns.
    • The colonial constitutionalist Ivor Jennings, who long sought to be involved in India’s drafting project but was refused later, asked, why the Constitution of India “plays down communalism?”
    • This was a stinging question, for Partition was the result of communalism, how could any of us forget that?

    Important feature of Indian Constitution: Addressing historical discrimination

    • India’s Constitution is unique in its approach for making reparations for historical discrimination on grounds of caste that defines the present and future of so many Indians.
    • By contrast, America’s Constitution makes no apology nor enables reparations for slavery.
    • Despite being a body that was not significantly diverse, the founders, having appreciated the concerns of their people, were able to stand outside of their own privilege and conceive of a founding document that would speak for those who have been silenced for thousands of years.

    What makes the Indian Constitution enduring?

    • After having studied every constitution from 1789 to 2005, Tom Ginsburg of the University of Chicago School of Law and his colleagues concluded that on average a constitution survives for around 17 years. 
    •  France with 14 constitutions, Mexico at five constitutions and neighbouring Pakistan with three constitutions typify the global experience.
    • Expansion of freedoms of citizens: India’s Constitution has endured because its founders, its interpreters — the constitutional courts — and litigants in the form of social movements have all ensured that it is used to consistently expand the freedoms of citizens, even if social morality thinks otherwise.
    • Constitutional morality: The Constitution’s morality has stood firmly with disadvantaged castes, women, and religious minorities.
    • Accommodating marginalised groups: In contemporary times, other marginalised groups like LGBT Indians have been heard by constitutional courts that have unanimously found for their freedoms and for a full equality.

    Consider the question “Elaborate on the features that explain the endurance of the Indian Constitution.”

    Conclusion

    Today, we marvel at the 72nd year of the adoption of our Constitution, and 72 years of our birth as “We the People”. But, as we revel in our good fortune, we must also be aware that its endurance is deeply rooted in the ability of all of us to commit to the project of expanding freedom, not contracting it

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  • Blockchain Technology: Prospects and Challenges

    Is crypto mania more a symptom than a cause?

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    The draft legislation on crypto currency being introduced in Parliament and the stance of the RBI suggest that consideration is being given to banning crypto currencies in India.

    What fascination with crypto reveals about our society?

    • It is about faith in that value is largely a matter of belief.
    • It is about politics because money is always about the allocation of power.
    • The money itself may not be material, but it is still embedded in a materiality.
    • The fact that money is subject to politics is actually the advantage of money.
    • It allows a modicum of collective control over our future, and allows distributive questions to be posed.
    • It is mania because the alchemy of creating something out of nothing is always deeply alluring.
    • Cheap money: The global economy is awash with cheap money.
    • Seeking return: In an Indian context small savers are desperate for return.
    • In this context it is easy for the powerful to misallocate money and the small saver to express desperation by speculation.

    Background

    • Faced with the inflation of the 1970s, thinkers like Friedrich Hayek theorised about reasserting the dominance of private currencies, protected from the state.
    • Crypto currencies are a fascinating technological innovation.
    • Part of their initial attraction was that they promised a new governance order. 
    • It is at the confluence of faith, politics, and psychological mania.
    • Solving the problem of trust: This project crucially depended on solving the problem of “trust” on which every currency depends.
    • Crypto seemed to solve that problem, with its decentralised architecture and community and self-verification protocols.

    How cryptocurrency poses challenges to the state?

    • No state was going to let go of its power to assert control over the monetary system.
    • Significance of fiat money: The sustenance of state-sponsored fiat money is one of the great achievements of modern state formation and the foundation of its power and legitimacy.
    • Cryptocurrency requires material infrastructure: There was a delusion, as if crypto is conjured out of thin air: It actually requires substantial material infrastructure, which a state could always control.
    • States can shut down mining as China has done.

    Way forward

    • We allow people to invest in all kinds of things. Why ban this, especially now that so many investors are in it?
    • Analyse the risk to the financial system: The answer to this question depends on how much risk the existence of crypto assets pose to the stability of the rest of the financial system.
    • Insulate financial system: One answer is if you can insulate the financial system from the gyrations of crypto markets there are few systemic risks.
    • This is why it was a good idea of the RBI to prohibit the entanglement of financial institutions with this market.
    • Instead of just focussing on issues of fraud, money laundering, and private risks, the RBI’s case would be strengthened if it spelled out the systemic risks that crypto might pose to the stability of the real economy.
    • Avoid ban with exception scenario: For political economy reasons, the RBI should avoid a scenario where it bans but then carves out exceptions.
    • Ensuring that trade does not go offshore: The second thing is that if it somehow allows Indians to invest then it has to ensure that trade does not go offshore. 
    • Not fully banning and allowing it offshore will be the worst of both worlds.

    Challenges in insulating the crypto market

    • In practice the insulation of crypto markets will be difficult to achieve.
    • Political economy: The first reason is political economy. Once you have a large number of investors, and some influential ones, they will be a vested interest in their own right, potentially demanding the socialisation or mitigation of losses.
    • Impact of volume: The second reason is that it is difficult to pretend that a major new class of assets, especially if volumes grow, does not have systemic effects on the rest of the economy.

    Consider the question “What are the risks and advantages provided by the cryptocurrencies? Suggest the approach India should adopt in dealing with cryptocurrencies.”

    Conclusion

    As the RBI makes the case for banning crypto, we also need to ask, why it is alluring in the first place. What does this mania reveal about our politics and economics?

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  • Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

    Key Demographic Transitions captured by 5th round of NFHS

    DOMR | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    The Union health ministry released the summary findings of the fifth round of the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted in two phases between 2019 and 2021.

    About NFHS

    • The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
    • The previous four rounds of the NFHS were conducted in 1992-93, 1998-99, 2005-06 and 2015-16.
    • The survey provides state and national information for India on:

    Fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia, utilization and quality of health and family planning services etc.

    Objectives of the survey

    Each successive round of the NFHS has had two specific goals:

    • To provide essential data on health and family welfare needed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and other agencies for policy and programme purposes
    • To provide information on important emerging health and family welfare issues.

    Key highlights of the NFHS-5

    [1] Women outnumbering men

    • NFHS-5 data shows that there were 1,020 women for 1000 men in the country in 2019-2021.
    • This is the highest sex ratio for any NFHS survey as well as since the first modern synchronous census conducted in 1881.
    • To be sure, in the 2005-06 NFHS, the sex ratio was 1,000 or women and men were equal in number.

    [2] Fertility has decreased

    • The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has also come down below the threshold at which the population is expected to replace itself from one generation to next.
    • TFR was 2 in 2019-2021, just below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1. To be sure, in rural areas, the TFR is still 2.1.
    • In urban areas, TFR had gone below the replacement fertility rate in the 2015-16 NFHS itself.

    [3] Population is ageing

    • A decline in TFR, which implies that lower number of children are being born, also entails that India’s population would become older.
    • Sure enough, the survey shows that the share of under-15 population in the country has therefore further declined from 28.6% in 2015-16 to 26.5% in 2019-21.

    [4] Children’s nutrition has improved

    • The share of stunted (low height for age), wasted (low weight for height), and underweight (low weight for age) children have all come down since the last NFHS conducted in 2015-16.
    • However, the share of severely wasted children has not, nor has the share of overweight (high weight for height) or anaemic children.
    • The share of overweight children has increased from 2.1% to 3.4%.

    [5] Nutrition problem for adults

    • For children and their mothers, there are at least government schemes such as Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) that seek to address the nutritional needs at the time of childbirth and infancy.
    • However, there is a need to address the nutritional needs of adults too.
    • The survey has shown that though India might have achieved food security, 60% of Indians cannot afford nutritious diets.
    • While the share of women and men with below-normal Body Mass Index (BMI) has decreased, the share of overweight and obese (those with above-normal BMI) and the share of anaemic has increased.

    [6] Basic sanitation challenges

    • Availability of basic amenities such as improved sanitation facilities clean fuel for cooking, or menstrual hygiene products can improve health outcomes.
    • There has been an improvement on indicators for all three since the last NFHS. However, the degree of improvement might be less than claimed by the government.
    • For example, only 70% population had access to an improved sanitation facility.
    • While not exactly an indicator of open defecation, it means that the remaining 30% of the population has a flush or pour-flush toilet not connected to a sewer, septic tank or pit latrine.

    [7] Use of clean fuel

    • The share of households that use clean cooking fuel is also just 59%.

    [8] Financial inclusion

    • The share of women having a bank account that they themselves use has increased from 53% to 79%.
    • Households’ coverage by health insurance or financing scheme also has increased 1.4 times to 41%, a clear indication of the impact of the government’s health insurance scheme.

     

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