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  • Climate Change Impact on India and World – International Reports, Key Observations, etc.

    Antarctic Ozone Hole — one of the largest, deepest — closes

    | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Important Geophysical Phenomena

    The Antarctic ozone hole — one of the deepest, largest gap in the ozone layer in the last 40 years — has closed, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    Chlorofluorocarbons, known as ozone-depleting substances are used:

    1. In the production of plastic foams
    2. In the production of tubeless tyres
    3. In cleaning certain electronic components
    4. As pressurizing agents in aerosol cans

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

    (b) 4 only

    (c) 1, 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Antarctic Ozone Hole

    • The Antarctic “ozone hole” was discovered by British Antarctic Survey scientists Farman, Gardiner and Shanklin in 1985.
    • It came as a shock to the scientific community because the observed decline in polar ozone was far larger than anyone had anticipated.
    • It was caused by the chemical reactions on polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) in the cold Antarctic stratosphere caused a massive.
    • Though localized and seasonal, an increase in the amount of chlorine present in active, ozone-destroying forms.

    Role of PSCs

    • The polar stratospheric clouds in Antarctica are only formed when there are very low temperatures, as low as −80 °C, and early spring conditions.
    • In such conditions, the ice crystals of the cloud provide a suitable surface for the conversion of unreactive chlorine compounds into reactive chlorine compounds, which can deplete ozone easily.

    An annual process

    • An ozone hole is the thinning of the ozone layer boosted in size by colder temperatures.
    • The formation of the ozone hole in the Antarctic has been an annual occurrence and has been recorded for the last 40 years.
    • Human-made chemicals migrate into the stratosphere and accumulate inside the polar vortex. It begins to shrink in size as warmer temperatures dominate.
    • As the temperatures high up in the stratosphere start to rise, ozone depletion slows, the polar vortex weakens and breaks down.
    • By the end of December, ozone levels return to normal.

    The hole closes after achieving peak

    • The annually occurring ozone hole over the Antarctic had rapidly grown from mid-August and peaked at around 24 million square kilometres — one of the largest so far — in early October 2020.
    • The expansion of the hole was driven by a strong, stable and cold polar vortex and very cold temperatures in the stratosphere.
    • The same meteorological factors also contributed to the record 2020 Arctic ozone hole, which has also closed.

    Note: A polar vortex is a wide expanse of swirling cold air, a low-pressure area, in Polar Regions. During winters, the polar vortex at the North Pole expands, sending cold air southward.

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  • Hunger and Nutrition Issues – GHI, GNI, etc.

    World Food Price Index

    IOCR | | Mains Paper 1: Poverty & Development Issues

    World food prices rose for a seventh consecutive month in December 2020, with all the major categories, barring sugar, said the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO).

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one of the following is not a sub-index of the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’? (CSP 2019)

    (a) Maintenance of law and order

    (b) Paying taxes

    (c) Registering property

    (d) Dealing with construction permits

    World Food Price Index

    • The FAO Food Price Index is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.
    • It consists of the average of five commodity group price indices [cereal, vegetable, dairy, meat and sugar], weighted with the average export shares.
    • The index has become a critical and timely monthly indicator of the state of international food markets, gauging the change in food commodity prices over time in nominal and real terms.

    Why it matters?

    • High food prices have contributed to a surge in inflation
    • There are social and economic advantages from high food prices for example higher prices are an opportunity to improve farmers’ incomes and to stimulate investments in farming.
    • For developing countries that are major exporters of food, the rise in world prices helped to bring about an improvement in the terms of trade and a strong balance of payments.

    Concerns raised

    • That said higher food prices for domestic consumers created fresh problems of poverty and hunger.
    • Lower-income families spend a higher proportion of their budgets on food.
    • Higher prices hit them hardest causing a fall in real living standards.
    • This means that food price inflation can act as a tax on the poor and have a regressive effect on the distribution of income.

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  • Magneto-Telluric Survey in the Delhi-NCR Region

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: S&T – Applications In Everyday Life

    In the backdrop of multiple quakes of low intensity in the Delhi-NCR region, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) is conducting a unique geophysical Magnetotelluric-MT survey to accurately assess potential seismic hazards.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The Earth’s magnetic field has reversed every few hundred thousand years.
    2. When the Earth was created more than 4000 million years ago, there was 54% oxygen and no carbon dioxide.
    3. When living organisms originated, they modified the early atmosphere of the Earth.

    Which of the statements given above is/ are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    What is Magneto-Telluric Survey?

    • MT is a geophysical method which uses natural time variation of the earth’s magnetic and electric fields to understand the geological (underground) structure and processes.
    • It is an increasingly popular technique widely used to image the electrical resistivity distribution inside the Earth in various application fields ranging in scale from the shallow crust to the lithosphere.
    • In the MT method, the earth’s natural electromagnetic field is used as a source field.
    • The receivers record the electric and magnetic fields on the surface of the Earth.
    • The variations in amplitude and phase of the received signals can be interpreted in terms of the resistivity structure of the subsurface using the magnetotelluric impedance.

    Where would the MT survey be undertaken?

    • The survey is conducted across three major seismic sources, namely Mahendragarh-Dehradun Fault (MDF), Sohna Fault (SF) and Mathura Fault (MF).
    • It will ascertain the presence of fluids, which generally enhance the possibility of triggering earthquakes.

    Benefits of the survey

    • Its findings will help different user agencies for designing quake-resistant buildings, industrial units and structures such as hospitals and schools.
    • In addition to MT, analysis and interpretation of satellite imageries and geological field investigations for locating the faults are also being carried out.
    • Both these geophysical and geological surveys will help in taking multiple preventive measures in the quake-prone region.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) 2021

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    The two-day Asian Waterbird Census-2020 was recently held in Andhra Pradesh.

    Anyone can participate!

    By using eBird and filling an additional site form, one can take part in this multi-country effort to document the state of our wetlands and waterbirds.  To take part one simply visits a wetland and count the birds he/she see there.

    Asian Waterbird Census

    • The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) takes place every January.
    • The AWC was started in 1987, and many birders were initiated into bird counting and monitoring through this project.
    • This citizen-science event is a part of the global International Waterbird Census (IWC) that supports the conservation and management of wetlands and waterbirds worldwide.
    • The data collected each year is shared by Wetlands International with global conservation organisations such as IUCN and Ramsar Convention.

    Why need such census?

    • Waterbirds are one of the key indicators of wetlands health.
    • Wetlands provide feeding, resting, roosting and foraging habitats for these charismatic species.

    AWC in India

    • In India, the AWC is annually coordinated by the Bombay Natural history Society (BNHS) and Wetlands International.
    • BNHS is a non-government Organisation (NGO) founded in the year 1883.
    • It engages itself in the conservation of nature and natural resources and also in the research and conservation of endangered species.
    • Its mission is to conserve nature, primarily biological diversity through action based on research, education and public awareness.

    Back2Basics: Waterbirds

    • The term water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird is used to refer to birds that live on or around water.
    • In some definitions, the term is especially applied to birds in freshwater habitats, though others make no distinction from birds that inhabit marine environments.
    • Also, some water birds are more terrestrial or aquatic than others, and their adaptations will vary depending on their environment.
    • These adaptations include webbed feet, bills, and legs adapted to feed in the water, and the ability to dive from the surface or the air to catch prey in water.

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  • Women Safety Issues – Marital Rape, Domestic Violence, Swadhar, Nirbhaya Fund, etc.

    Issues with Harsher Punitive measures for the sexual violence

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    Harsher punishment for sexual violence

    • Recently, the Maharashtra cabinet approved the Shakti Bill, enlarging the scope of harsher and mandatory sentences — including the death penalty — for non-homicidal rape.
    • The Shakti Bill comes amid the recent legislative trend to invoke the death penalty for sexual offences.
    • In 2020, the Andhra Pradesh government passed the Disha Bill, pending presidential assent, that provides the death penalty for the rape of adult women.

    Issues with the Bills

    1) Focus on reporting of police complaint

    • The most severe gaps in the justice delivery system are related to reporting a police complaint.
    • The focus of the criminal justice system needs to shift from sentencing and punishment to the stages of reporting, investigation and victim-support mechanisms.
    • The bill does not address these concerns.

    2) Impact on rate of conviction

    • Harsh penalties often have the consequence of reducing the rate of conviction for the offence.
    • A study published in the Indian Law Review based on rape judgments in Delhi shows a lower rate of conviction after the removal of judicial discretion in 2013.
    • Introducing harsher penalties does not remove systemic prejudices from the minds of judges and the police.

    3) Harsher punishment would deter complainants

    • Studies on child sexual abuse have shown that in the few cases of convictions, the minimum sentence was the norm and the award of the maximum punishment was an exception.
    • Crime data from the National Crime Records Bureau shows that in 93.6 per cent of these cases, the perpetrators were known to the victims.
    • Introducing capital punishment would deter complainants from registering complaints.
    • The Shakti Bill ignores crucial empirical evidence on these cases.

    4) Moving away from standard of affirmative consent

    • An affirmative standard of consent is rooted in unequivocal voluntary agreement by women through words, gestures or any form of verbal or non-verbal communication.
    • In a sharp departure, the bill stipulates that valid consent can be presumed from the “conduct of the parties” and the “circumstances surrounding it”.
    • The vaguely worded explanation in the bill holds dangerous possibilities of expecting survivors to respond only in a certain manner, thus creating the stereotype of an “ideal” victim.
    • It also overlooks the fact that perpetrators are known to the survivors in nearly 94 per cent of rapes, which often do not involve any brutal violence.

    Conclusion

    Punitive responses to sexual violence need serious rethinking, given the multitude of perverse consequences and their negligible role in addressing the actual needs of rape survivors.

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  • Indian Navy Updates

    India’s efforts in increasing Maritime domain awareness

    | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    The article analyses India’s efforts in increasing the maritime domain awareness while increasing the cooperation with the neighbourhood and other countries.

    Indian Navy improving domain awareness

    • The enemy at sea is often unrecognisable — a terrorist, a pirate, a criminal or a sea robber.
    • Of late, the Indian Navy has been on a drive to improve domain awareness in the Indian Ocean.
    • The Indian Navy’s efforts seem focused primarily on monitoring Chinese activity in the Eastern Indian Ocean, particularly in the seas around the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
    • The Navy is seeking to expand India’s surveillance footprint by setting up radar stations in the Maldives, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
    • Mauritius, the Seychelles and Sri Lanka have already integrated into the wider coastal radar chain network.

    Increasing international cooperation

    • Seven Indian Ocean countries — Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Mauritius and the Seychelles — will soon post Liaison Officers at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram.
    • France already has an officer at the IFC.
    • Four other Indo-Pacific navies — Australia, Japan, the U.K and the U.S. — have also agreed to position officers at the centre.
    • As a result of such cooperation, IFC is fast emerging as the most prominent information hub in the Eastern Indian Ocean.
    • India is increasing engagement in the Western Indian Ocean by positioning a Liaison Officer at the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar.
    • India has also posted an officer at the European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASOH) in Abu Dhabi to assist in the monitoring of maritime activity.

    Stronger partnership with France

    • Delhi’s moves in the Western and South-Western littorals have been facilitated by France.
    • Two countries have signed a logistics agreement in 2019.
    • France is keen for a stronger partnership in the maritime commons.
    • France has been instrumental in securing ‘observer’ status for India at the Indian Ocean Commission and is pushing for greater Indian participation in security initiatives in the Western Indian Ocean.
    • However, the Indian Navy’s priority remains South Asia, where the naval leadership remains focused on underwater domain awareness in the Eastern Indian Ocean.

    Concerns over increasing Chines presence

    • There is concern that the Chines navy may be poised to develop a generation of quieter submarines that would be hard to detect.
    • As a result, India has moved to expand its underwater detection capabilities in the Eastern chokepoints. 
    • India might also partner Japan in installing an array of undersea sensors near the Andaman Islands to help detect Chinese submarines.

    India as a security provider: Manifestation of SAGAR

    • India’s initiatives in the maritime domain are motivated by more than just strategic considerations.
    • Shipping agreements with 21 countries in the Indian Ocean have enabled a comprehensive picture of maritime traffic.
    • Efforts are under way to help smaller island states build capacity to combat regional threats.
    • India’s military satellite (GSAT-7A) may soon facilitate a real-time sharing of maritime information with partners.
    • These endeavours are a manifestation of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) that advances the idea of India as a ‘security provider’ and ‘preferred partner’ in the Indo-Pacific region.

    Challenges

    • Indian initiatives, however, are yet to bring about an alignment of objectives and strategies of regional littoral states.
    • While cooperative information sharing allows for a joint evaluation of threats, countries do not always share vital information timeously.

    Conclusion

    To bring real change, India must ensure seamless information flow, generating operational synergy with partners, and aim to expand collaborative endeavours in shared spaces.

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

    How horizontal, vertical quotas work; what Supreme Court said?

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

    The Supreme Court last month clarified the position of law on the interplay of vertical and horizontal reservations.

    This newscard is useful for GS paper 1 as well as aspirants with sociology optional. Let us know in the comment box if you want to get a deeper insight.

    It perfectly highlights the heart of the debate on “merit versus reservation”, where reservation is sometimes projected as being anti-merit.

    What are vertical and horizontal reservations?

    • Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes is referred to as vertical reservation.
    • It applies separately for each of the groups specified under the law.
    • Horizontal reservation refers to the equal opportunity provided to other categories of beneficiaries such as women, veterans, the transgender community, and individuals with disabilities, cutting through the vertical categories.

    How are the two categories of quotas applied together?

    • The horizontal quota is applied separately to each vertical category, and not across the board.
    • For example, if women have 50% horizontal quota, then half of the selected candidates will have to necessarily be women in each vertical quota category.
    • This means half of all selected SC candidates will have to be women, half of the unreserved or general category will have to be women, and so on.
    • The interlocking of the two types of reservation throws up a host of questions on how certain groups are to be identified.
    • For example, would an SC woman be put in the category of women or SC? Since quotas are fixed in percentages, what percentage of quota would be attributed to each?

    What was the Saurav Yadav case about?

    • The case was on the technicalities that form a substantial question of law.
    • It was this: Two aspirants had secured 276.5949 and 233.1908 marks respectively.
    • They had applied under the categories of OBC-Female and SC-Female respectively. OBC and SC are vertical reservation categories, while Female is a horizontal reservation category.
    • The two candidates did not qualify in their categories.
    • However, in the General-Female (unreserved-female) category, the last qualifying candidate had secured 274.8298 marks, a score that was lower than the two backwards.
    • The question before the court was that if the underlying criterion for making selections is “merit”.

    What did the court decide?

    • The court ruled against the UP government.
    • It observed if a person belonging to an intersection of the vertical-horizontal reserved category had secured scores high enough to qualify without the vertical reservation.
    • It held that the person would be counted as qualifying without the vertical reservation, and cannot be excluded from the horizontal quota in the general category.
    • If a person in the SC category secures a higher score than the cut-off for the general category, the person would be counted as having qualified under the general category instead of the SC quota.

    What was the government’s argument?

    • The government’s policy was to restrict and contain reserved category candidates to their categories, even when they had secured higher grades.
    • The court said this was tantamount to ensuring that the general category was ‘reserved’ for upper castes.

    What was the court’s reasoning?

    • The court did the math by examining a number of hypothetical scenarios.
    • It concluded that if both vertical and horizontal quotas were to be applied together — and consequently, a high-scoring candidate who would otherwise qualify without any reservation.
    • On the other hand, if a high-scoring candidate is allowed to drop one category, the court found that the overall selection would reflect more high-scoring candidates.
    • In other words, the “meritorious” candidates would be selected.

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  • WTO and India

    Trade Policy Review of India at the WTO

    IOCR | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Important International Institutions

    India’s seventh Trade Policy Review (TPR) has begun at the World Trade Organization in Geneva.

    Q.In the wake of the global economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, discuss the challenges ahead of WTO.

    Trade Policy Review (TPR)

    • The TPR is an important mechanism under the WTO’s monitoring function and involves a comprehensive peer-review of the Member’s national trade policies.
    • India’s last TPR took place in 2015.

    Why need a TPR?

    • To increase the transparency and understanding of countries’ trade policies and practices, through regular monitoring
    • To improve the quality of public and intergovernmental debate on the issues
    • To enable a multilateral assessment of the effects of policies on the world trading system

    India’s progress

    • Since previous TPR, India has worked diligently to reform and transform the entire economic eco-system to meet the socio-economic aspirations of a billion-plus Indians.
    • The introduction of the GST, the IBC, labour sector reforms, an enabling and investor-friendly FDI Policy, and various national programmes like Make in India, Digital India, Startup India and Skill were the path-breakers.
    • The improvement in the economic and business environment, on account of the wide-ranging reforms, has enabled India to better its position in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking from 142 in 2015 to 63 in 2019.
    • This improvement is also endorsed by investors who continue to view India as a desirable investment destination even during the testing time of the pandemic.
    • In 2019-20, India received highest ever FDI inflow of USD 74.39 billion.

    A note of caution

    • India’s trade policy remained largely unchanged since the previous review.
    • India continues to rely on trade policy instruments such as the tariff, export taxes, minimum import prices, import and export restrictions, and licensing, WTO said.
    • These are used to manage domestic demand and supply requirements, protect the economy from wide domestic price fluctuations, and ensure conservation and proper utilization of natural resources.
    • As a result, frequent changes are made to tariff rates and other trade policy instruments, which create uncertainty for traders.

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  • Right To Privacy

    Personal Data Protection Bill 2019

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters,Government Scheme/Policies,Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    The Personal Data Protection Bill (2019) has several provisions which could have implications for the privacy of an individual. The article examines such provisions and highlights the need for further debate on the Bill.

    Evolution of privacy as a fundamental right

    • The Supreme Court in MP Sharma v. Satish Chandra (1954) and Kharak Singh v. Uttar Pradesh (1962) had declared that while in certain circumstances the privacy of individuals was to be protected, there was no constitutional right to privacy in and of itself.
    • However, in Puttuswamy v India (2017) the Supreme Court accepted privacy as a fundamental right.
    • This was an important development.

    Rising importance of data

    • The rising importance of data has pushed over 80 countries to pass national laws protecting the collection and use of their citizens’ data by companies and the government.
    • The DPB will have huge commercial and political consequences for India.
    • In India, the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 (DPB) is currently under consideration by a parliamentary committee.
    • According to Ernst and Young, emerging technologies in India will create $1 trillion in economic value by 2025.
    • Much of this value will be founded on the creation, use, and sale of data, and the DPB will have immense implications as firms scramble to meet new privacy regulations.

    Conditions for access to data and issues

    • The bill establishes a number of conditions for companies to follow.
    • For one, it would require digital firms to obtain permission from users before collecting their data.
    • It also declares that users who provide data are, in effect, the owners of their own data.
    • So that the users will be able to control the data their online selves produce, and may request firms to delete it, just as European internet-users’ “right to be forgotten”.
    • But the bill stipulates that critical or sensitive personal data, related to information such as religion, or to matters of national security, must be accessible to the government if needed to protect national interest.
    • Critics have suggested that such open-ended access could lead to misuse.
    • Even B N Srikrishna, who chaired the committee that drafted the original bill has also expressed concerns about this provision.
    • Other major concern is about Data Protection Authority (DPA).

    Concerns about Data Protection Authority

    • The bill outlines the establishment of a Data Protection Authority (DPA).
    • The DPA will be charged with managing data collected by the Aadhaar programme.
    • It will be led by a chairperson and six committee members, appointed by the central government on the recommendation of a selection committee.
    • But this selection committee will be composed of senior civil servants, raising questions about the board’s independence.
    • The government’s power to appoint and remove members at its discretion also stokes fears about its ability to influence this independent agency.
    • Unlike similar institutions, such as the Reserve Bank of India or the Securities and Exchange Board, the DPA will not have an independent expert or member of the judiciary on its governing committee.

    Consider the question “Discuss the various provision of Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 for the protection of individual’s privacy. What are the concerns over the various provisions of the Bill?”

    Conclusion

    The DPB is a unique opportunity for India, a country with some 740 million internet users, to forge a pathbreaking agenda that will act as a standard-setter in the still-developing field of national data protection legislation.

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  • Promoting Science and Technology – Missions,Policies & Schemes

    Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP), 2020

    | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: S&T – Applications In Everyday Life

    The Department of Science and Technology has published the draft National Science Technology and Innovation Policy and has invited suggestions from the public.

    Q.The STIP, 2020 contains radical and progressive proposals that could be game-changers for not just the scientific research community, but also for the way ordinary Indians interact with Science. Discuss.

    STIP, 2020

    Aim: To identify and address the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian STI ecosystem to catalyse socio-economic development of the country and also make the Indian STI ecosystem globally competitive.

    The philosophy behind

    • Unlike previous STI policies which were largely top-driven in the formulation, this policy follows core principles of being decentralized, evidence-informed, bottom-up, experts-driven, and inclusive.
    • It aims to be dynamic, with a robust policy governance mechanism that includes periodic review, evaluation, feedback, adaptation and, most importantly, a timely exit strategy for policy instruments.
    • The STIP will be guided by the vision of positioning India among the top three scientific superpowers in the decade to come; to attract, nurture, strengthen, and retain critical human capital through a people-centric STI ecosystem

    The Open Science Framework

    Open Science fosters more equitable participation in science through-

    • Increased access to research output;
    • Greater transparency and accountability in research; inclusiveness;
    • Better resource utilization through minimal restrictions on reuse of research output and infrastructure and
    • Ensuring a constant exchange of knowledge between the producers and users of knowledge

    Inclusion principles

    • The STIP proposes that at least 30 per cent representation be ensured for women in all decision-making bodies, as well as “spousal benefits” are provided to partners of scientists belonging to the LGBTQ+ community.
    • Among the proposals in the policy is the removal of bars on married couples being employed in the same department or laboratory.
    • As of now, married couples are not posted in the same department, leading to cases of loss of employment or forced transfers when colleagues decide to get married.
    • The policy says that for age-related cut-offs in matters relating to the selection, promotion, awards or grants, the “academic age” and not the biological age would be considered.

    Funding improvements

    • At 0.6% of GDP, India’s gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) is quite low compared to other major economies that have a GERD-to-GDP ratio of 1.5% to 3%.
    • This can be attributed to inadequate private sector investment (less than 40%) in R&D activities in India; in technologically advanced countries, the private sector contributes close to 70% of GERD.
    • STIP has made some major recommendations in this regard, such as the expansion of the STI funding landscape at the central and state levels.
    • It has enhanced incentivisation mechanisms for leveraging the private sector’s R&D participation through boosting financial support and fiscal incentives for industry.

    Other key Proposals

    • STIP will lead to the establishment of a National STI Observatory that will act as a central repository for all kinds of data related to and generated from the STI ecosystem.
    • The “One nation, one subscription” policy to establish a system whereby all researchers in India can access research published in top international journals for no cost.
    • All data used in and generated from public-funded research will be available to everyone (larger scientific community and public) under FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) terms.
    • Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) will be established, that bring together industries, MSMEs, startups, R&D institutions and HEIs with the government.
    • Industry clusters will be encouraged and incentivized wherever necessary, to engage in collaborative R&D.
    • Opportunities for foreign MNCs to invest in the country’s STI landscape will be strengthened and made more accessible.
    • It proposes lateral entry of scientists up to 25 per cent of scientists in related ministries.

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