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  • Financial Inclusion in India and Its Challenges

    Enabling financial inclusion

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    The article takes an overview of the progress made by India in the financial inclusion and role played by JAM trinity in it.

    What is financial inclusion?

    Financial inclusion is defined as the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services. It refers to a process by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and services. These include banking, loan, equity, and insurance products.

    Growing adoption of digital payment in India

    • India overtook China to register the highest number of countrywide digital payments.
    • Real-time transactions crossed 25 billion, much higher than China’s 15 billion in 2020, as per the report of ACI Worldwide.
    • The report also stated that digital payments in India are set to account for 71.7 per cent of all payments by volume by the year 2025.
    • The digital payment boom is indicative of a larger paradigm shift in the ease of access to financial services.

    What are the contributing factors

    • More and more people, across all strata, are adopting digital payments as it is convenient, safe and limits exposure.
    • It is also a result of the nudges and diligent policy and technology frameworks created by the central government in the last few years.
    • By building the Jan-Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile (JAM) and Universal Payment Interface (UPI) platform, the government has been creating the ground for greater financial inclusion.

    Significance of JAM trinity

    • While Jan Dhan was the first pillar of the ambitious JAM trinity, Aadhaar card seeding and bank account linkages to mobile numbers have empowered people in hitherto unimagined ways.
    • The JAM trinity has helped people know their account status, receive scholarships and fellowships, get fertiliser and LPG subsidy, disability pensions and farm income support — directly into their accounts.
    • The trinity also helped eliminate middlemen, frauds, and leakages due to corruption.
    • In the past one year alone, Rs 4.3 lakh crore was transferred, in over 477 crore transactions under 319 schemes.
    • With an estimated saving of Rs 1.8 lakh crore, the success of DBT is a big thumbs up for the central government.
    • The aid that reached people during the pandemic under the PM Garib Kalyan package is indicative of the success of the government’s financial inclusion and digitisation efforts.

    Conclusion

    The unmissable digital and financial revolution that has been unleashed is hard to miss for anyone. The digital journey, however, is long and one hopes to see the positive trends sustaining given their transformative impact on the lives of Indians.

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  • RBI Notifications

    Government Securities Acquisition Programme (GSAP 2.0)

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    In a bid to infuse more liquidity in the market, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced undertake Government Securities Acquisition Program (G-SAP) 2.0 during the second quarter of FY22 and conduct secondary market purchase operations of Rs 1.20 lakh crore.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The Reserve Bank of India manages and services the Government of India Securities but not any State Government Securities.
    2. Treasury bills are issued by the Government of India and there are no treasury bills issued by the State Governments.
    3. Treasury bills offer are issued at a discount from the par value.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 Only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    What are Government Securities?

    • These are debt instruments issued by the government to borrow money.
    • The two key categories are:
    1. Treasury bills (T-Bills) – short-term instruments which mature in 91 days, 182 days, or 364 days, and
    2. Dated securities – long-term instruments, which mature anywhere between 5 years and 40 years

    Note: T-Bills are issued only by the central government, and the interest on them is determined by market forces.

    Why G-Secs?

    • Like bank fixed deposits, g-secs are not tax-free.
    • They are generally considered the safest form of investment because they are backed by the government. So, the risk of default is almost nil.
    • However, they are not completely risk-free, since they are subject to fluctuations in interest rates.
    • Bank fixed deposits, on the other hand, are guaranteed only to the extent of Rs 5 lakh by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).

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  • Monsoon Updates

    Anti-hail guns to mitigate hailstorms crop damage

    | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    To help out horticulturists who face crop damage due to hailstorms, the Himachal Pradesh government will be testing the use of indigenously developed ‘anti-hail guns’.

    What are anti-hail guns?

    • An anti-hail gun is a machine that generates shock waves to disrupt the growth of hailstones in clouds, according to its makers.
    • It comprises a tall, fixed structure somewhat resembling an inverted tower, several metres high, with a long and narrow cone opening towards the sky.
    • The gun is “fired” by feeding an explosive mixture of acetylene gas and air into its lower chamber, which releases a shock wave (waves that travel faster than the speed of sound, such as those produced by supersonic aircraft).
    • These shock waves supposedly stop water droplets in clouds from turning into hailstones, so that they fall simply as raindrops.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.During a thunderstorm, the thunder in the skies is produced by the

    1. meeting of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky
    2. lightning that separates the nimbus clouds
    3. violent upward movement of air and water particles

    Select the correct option using the codes given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) None of the above

    How do they ‘prevent’ a hailstorm?

    • It is this hail formation process that the shock waves from anti-hail guns try to disrupt in a radius of 500 meters, so that the water droplets fall down before they can be lifted by the updrafts.
    • The machine is repeatedly fired every few seconds during an approaching thunderstorm.
    • However, the effectiveness of anti-hail guns has remained a contentious issue.

    How do Hailstorms occur?

    • Hail is produced by cumulonimbus clouds, which are generally large and dark and may cause thunder and lightning.
    • In such clouds, winds can blow up the water droplets to heights where they freeze into ice.
    • The frozen droplets begin to fall but are soon pushed back up by the winds and more droplets freeze onto them, resulting in multiple layers of ice on the hailstones.
    • This fall and rise is repeated several times, till the hailstones become too heavy and fall down.

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  • Innovations in Biotechnology and Medical Sciences

    How blind people can navigate better using Echolocation

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

    A technique used by animals such as dolphins, whales, and bats to navigate their surroundings can also be used by blind people to get around better and have greater independence and well-being, researchers at Durham University in the UK have shown.

    What is Echolocation?

    • Echolocation, also called biosonar, is a biological sonar used by several animal species.
    • Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them.
    • They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects.

    What has the new study found?

    • The same technique can help blind people locate still objects by producing clicking sounds from their mouth and hands.
    • The researchers organized a 10-week training programme, in which 12 blind and 14 sighted volunteers aged between 21 and 79 were taught click-based echolocation.
    • The volunteers were trained in distinguishing between the size of objects, orientation perception and virtual navigation.
    • At the end of the training, the participants had been able to improve their ability to navigate using clicking noises either from one’s mouth, walking cane taps or footsteps.

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  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    CIBER-2 Mission to count the stars in the Universe

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

    A NASA-funded rocket’s launch window will open at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, USA. The aim of this mission is to count the number of stars that exist in the Universe.

    Answer this PYQ from CSP 2020 in the comment box:

    Q.“The experiment will employ a trio of spacecraft flying in formation in the shape of an equilateral triangle that has sides one million kilometers long, with lasers shining between the craft.” The experiment in question refers to

    (a) Voyager-2

    (b) New horizons

    (c) Lisa Pathfinder

    (d) Evolved LISA

    What is CIBER-2?

    • In order to roughly estimate the number of stars in the Universe, scientists have estimated that on average each galaxy consists of about 100 million stars, but this figure is not exact.
    • The figure of 100 million could easily be an underestimation, probably by a factor of 10 or more.
    • To put this into perspective, an average of 100 million stars in each galaxy (there an estimated 2 trillion of them as per NASA), would give a total figure of one hundred quintillion stars or 1 with 21 zeroes after it.
    • NASA notes that if this figure is accurate, it would mean that for every grain of sand on Earth, there are more than ten stars.
    • But this calculation assumes that all stars are inside galaxies, which might not be true and this is what the CIBER-2 instrument will try to find out.

    How will CIBER-2 count stars?

    • NASA notes that the instrument will not actually count individual stars but it will instead detect the extragalactic background light
    • It is all of the light that has been emitted throughout the history of the Universe.
    • From all of this extragalactic background light, the CIBER-2 will focus on a portion of this called cosmic infrared background, which is emitted by some of the most common stars.
    • Essentially, this approach is aiming to look at how bright this light is to give scientists an estimate of how many of these stars are out there.
    • The ESA infrared space observatory Herschel also counted the number of galaxies in infrared and measured their luminosity previously.

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  • Start-up Ecosystem In India

    [pib] SAGE (Senior-care Ageing Growth Engine) Initiative

    PIB | Governance | Mains Paper 1: Social Empowerment

    The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the SAGE (Seniorcare Aging Growth Engine) initiative and SAGE portal for elderly persons.

    SAGE Initiative

    • The SAGE will be a “one-stop access” of elderly care products and services by credible start-ups.
    • The start-ups will be selected on the basis of innovative products and services.
    • Their products should be able to provide across sectors such as health, housing, care centers, apart from technological access linked to finances, food and wealth management, and legal guidance.
    • The start-ups who have applied will be selected by an independent screening committee of experts.
    • A fund of upto Rs.1 crore as one-time equity will be granted to each selected start-up.

    Why need such initiative?

    • India’s elderly population is on the rise as per surveys.
    • The share of elders, as a percentage of the total population in the country, is expected to increase from around 7.5% in 2001 to almost 12.5% by 2026, and surpass 19.5% by 2050.
    • There is an urgent need to create a more robust eldercare ecosystem in India, especially in the post-COVID phase.

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  • Innovations in Biotechnology and Medical Sciences

    [pib] India’s First Indigenous Tumour Antigen SPAG9

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Achievements Of Indians In S&T

    The National Institute of Immunology (NII) has received a trademark for India’s First Indigenous Tumor Antigen SPAG9.

    About SPAG9

    • India’s first indigenous tumor antigen SPAG9 was discovered by Dr Anil Suri in 1998 who is heading the Cancer Research Program at NII.
    • In a recent development, the SPAG9 antigen has received the trademark ASPAGNII-TM.
    • Currently, ASPAGNIITM is being used in dendritic cell (DC) based immunotherapy in cervical, ovarian cancer and will also be used in breast cancer.

    What is immunotherapy?

    • Immunotherapy is a new approach that exploits the body’s inner capability to put up a fight against cancer.
    • With this approach, either the immune system is given a boost, or the T cells are “trained’’ to identify recalcitrant cancer cells and kill them.
    • In this personalized intervention, those patients expressing SPAG9 protein can be treated with DC-based vaccine approach.
    • In DC-based vaccine, patient’s cells called monocytes from their blood are collected and modified into what are called dendritic cells.
    • These dendritic cells are primed with ASPAGNIITM and are injected back to the patient to help the ‘fighter’ cells, or T-cells, in the body to kill the cancer cells.

    Why need such therapy?

    • DC-based immunotherapy is safe, affordable and can promote antitumor immune responses and prolonged survival of cancer patients.
    • The ASPAGNIITM is a true example of translational cancer research and the Atmanirbhar Bharat spirit.
    • This will be a real morale boost in affordable, personalized, and indigenous products for cancer treatment.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.‘RNA Interference (RNAi)’ technology has gained popularity in the last few years. why?

    1. It is used in developing gene silencing therapies
    2. It can be used in developing therapies for the treatment of cancer
    3. It can be used to developer hormone replacement therapies
    4. It can be used to produce crop plants that are resistant to viral pathogens

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    a) 1, 2 and 4

    b) 2 and 3

    c) 1 and 3

    d) 1 and 4 only

    The burden of cancer in India

    • Cancer kills 8.51 lakh people in India every year (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2020).
    • As per World Health Organization (WHO), one in 10 Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime, and one in 15 will die of cancer.

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  • Freedom of Speech – Defamation, Sedition, etc.

    A national consensus on removal of sedition law is called for

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    Is the government entitled to the love and affection of the citizens? Answer to this question lies in the Kedar Nath judgment recently invoked by the Supreme Court in a case against a journalist. The article deals with this issue.

    About the Kedar Nath judgement

    • A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court observed that every journalist is entitled to the protection under the Kedar Nath judgment (1962) on the petition filed by journalist Vinod Dua.
    • The court entertained Dua’s writ petition under Article 32.
    • In the Kedar Nath judgement, the apex court had held that a citizen has the right to say or write whatever he likes about the government or its measures by way of criticism so long as he does not incite people to violence against the government or with the intention of creating public disorder.
    • Section 124A read along with explanations is not attracted without such an allusion to violence. 

    Increasing use of the sedition law

    • NCRB data shows that between 2016 to 2019, there has been a whopping 160 per cent increase in the filing of sedition charges with a conviction rate of just 3.3 per cent.
    • Of the 96 people charged in 2019, only two could be convicted.
    • A number of CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protesters are facing sedition charges.

    Background of Section 124-A

    • Section 124-A was not a part of the original Indian Penal Code drafted by Lord Macaulay and treason was confined just to levying war.
    • It was inserted in 1870 in response to the Wahabi movement that had asked Muslims to initiate jihad against the colonial regime.
    • It was argued that Wahabis are going from village to village and preaching that it was the sacred religious duty of Muslims to wage a war against British rule.

    Way forward

    • In 2018, the Law Commission had recommended that the sedition law should not be used to curb free speech.
    •  Let the criminal law revision committee working under the Ministry of Home Affairs make the bold recommendation of dropping the draconian law.
    • A political consensus needs to be forged on this issue.

    Conclusion

    No government, as Mahatma Gandhi told Judge R S Broomfield, has a right to love and affection and people in a free country committed to the liberty of thought and freedom of expression should not be criminally punished for expressing their opinion about the government.

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  • Close the vaccination gap, in global lockstep

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests

    Why vaccination gap is cause of worry

    • By the end of May 2021, only 2.1% of Africans had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
    • A widely vaccinated world population is the only way to end the pandemic; otherwise, the multiplication of variants is likely to undermine the effectiveness of existing vaccines.
    • Vaccination is also a prerequisite for lifting the restrictions that are holding back our economies and freedoms.
    • If the vaccination gap persists, it risks reversing the trend in recent decades of declining poverty and global inequalities.
    • Such a negative dynamic would hold back economic activity and increase geopolitical tensions.
    • The cost of inaction would for sure be much higher for advanced economies than what we collectively would have to spend to help vaccinate the whole world.
    • The International Monetary Fund has proposed $50 billion plan in order to be able to vaccinate 40% of the world population in 2021 and 60% by mid-2022.

    Need to resist the vaccine nationalism

    • To achieve the goal set by IMF, we need closely coordinated multilateral action.
    • We must resist the threat posed by linking the provision of vaccines to political goals and vaccine nationalism.
    • The EU has been vaccinating its own population, while exporting large volumes of vaccines and contributing substantially to the vaccines roll-out in low-income countries.
    • The EU has also exported 240 million doses to 90 countries, which is about as much as used within the EU.
    • One-third of all COVAX doses delivered so far have been financed by the EU.
    • India’s Vaccine Maitri is another example of global solidarity.
    • However, this effort is still far from sufficient to prevent the vaccination gap from widening.

    Way forward

    • To fill widening vaccination gap, countries with the required knowledge and means should increase their production capacities, so that they can both vaccinate their own populations and export more vaccines.
    • All countries must avoid restrictive measures that affect vaccine supply chains.
    • We also need to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology, so that more countries can produce vaccines.
    • Voluntary licensing is the privileged way to ensure such transfer of technology and know-how.

    Conclusion

    The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that health is a global public good. Our common global COVID-19 vaccine action to close the vaccination gap must be the first step toward genuine global health cooperation, as foreseen by the Rome Declaration recently adopted at the Global Health Summit.

     

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Bangladesh

    India-Bangladesh Relations

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    The article highlights the need for Indian leaders to respect the sentiments of Bangladesh by avoiding adverse comments during elections and recognition of Bangladesh’s importance for India.

     Diplomacy with Bangladesh

    • Long-standing bilateral problems: As a neighbour nearly surrounded on all territorial sides by India, there are the inevitable bilateral problems of long duration.
    • Such problems include a perennially favourable balance of trade for India, drought and flood in the 54 transboundary rivers flowing from India to Bangladesh, and the smuggling of goods and vulnerable human beings across the approximately 4,100 kilometre land border.
    • Cultural ties with India: There are several sections who regard their Bengali roots and traditions as being of equal validity as their religious affiliation, and treasure the linguistic and cultural ties with adjacent India.
    • India’s expectations: For India’s attentions and support, India’s expectations are that a neighbour will keep India’s concerns in mind when devising and pursuing its policies.

    Steps taken to consolidate the bilateral ties

    • Bangladesh has successfully dealt with Muslim fundamentalist terrorists.
    • Bangladesh has also controlled the Northeast militant movements sheltering in Bangladesh.
    • This has facilitated the pacification of India’s Northeast.
    • Bangladesh facilitated a considerable degree of connectivity between India and its Northeast by land, river and the use of Bangladeshi ports.
    • Indian investments in Bangladesh have been encouraged.
    • There are at least 100,000 Indian nationals now living and working in that country.
    • For economic integration along with free movement of commerce and capital, the movement of persons on the lines of Nepal and Bhutan will have to be considered.

    Consider the question “To a certain degree both India and Bangladesh depend on each other for security and stability. In light of this, take an overview of the consolidation of the bilateral ties between the two countries and discuss the issues that need to be addressed between the two countries.”

    Conclusion

    Responsible individuals on both sides of the border, whether in government or the Opposition, must be actively discouraged from words and actions detrimental to the consolidation of the existing cordiality.

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