Archives: News

The Crisis In The Middle East

Location in news: Idlib Province

| International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests
The nine-year-old war in Syria is currently raging in the northwestern province of Idlib, with rapidly escalating tensions between government forces of President Bashar al-Assad and the Turkish military.

Background
- President’s Assad’s forces are backed by Russia, who are clashing with thousands of Turkish troops south of its border with Syria.
- Turkey has closed the border and is trying to seal itself from waves of displaced refugees as Assad presses forth with a brutal campaign to take back Idlib.
Why is Idlib important?
- Assad has been pushing to recapture Idlib, which, along with parts of neighbouring Hama, Latakia and Aleppo, are the last remaining strongholds of the rebel opposition and other groups that have been attempting to overthrow Assad since 2011.
- At one point, the opposition held large parts of Syria under its control, but that changed after Assad, with Russian military support, slowly regained control over most of the country.
- In 2015, Idlib province was overtaken by opposition forces.
- Now, Syrian government forces are attempting to capture the strategic M4 and M5 national highways that connect Idlib, Aleppo and Damascus, the capital of the country.
- Idlib skirts the two national highways and lies between Aleppo in the north and Damascus in the south.
- It’s proximity to the Turkish border makes Idlib strategically important to the Syrian government.
Who controls Idlib now?
- Since the province fell to opposition forces, there is no one group that controls Idlib, but rather, several separate factions.
- International watchdogs say that the dominant faction in Idlib is the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a UN-designated terrorist organization set up in 2017, with links to al-Qaeda.
- Also operating in Idlib is the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army, an armed opposition group. Included in the mix are the remnants of the Islamic State.
- Watch groups say that other factions in Idlib strongly oppose the presence of IS fighters in the province.
Why is Idlib important for Turkey?
- Idlib’s proximity to the Turkish border makes it not only important for the Syrian government, but also a cause of concern for Turkey.
- Since the war started in Syria, thousands of displaced Syrians have sought refuge in Turkey over the years.
- According to the latest known figures, Turkey presently hosts some 3.6 million refugees and is feeling the socio-economic and political strain of their presence in the country.
- More conflict in Idlib would only serve to displace more people, pushing them towards the Turkish border.
- Turkey has been witnessing a surge in hostility among its citizens towards refugees and a fresh wave of refugees will only exacerbate the situation.
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Global Geological And Climatic Events

Yongle Blue Hole (YBH)

| Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location
Carbon more than 8,000 years old has been found inside the world’s deepest blue hole — the Yongle Blue Hole (YBH).

Yongle Blue Hole (YBH)
- The deepest known marine cavern is the Yongle blue hole, which measures roughly 300 metres from top to bottom.
- Blue holes are marine caverns filled with water and are formed following dissolution of carbonate rocks, usually under the influence of global sea level rise or fall.
- Its waters are mostly isolated from the surrounding ocean and receive little fresh water from rainfall, making it a rare spot to study the chemistry of oxygen-deprived marine ecosystems.
- What distinguishes them from other aquatic caverns is that they are isolated from the ocean and don’t receive fresh rainwater.
- They are generally circular, steep-walled and open to surface.
Significance of YBH
- YBH has a depth of 300 metres, far deeper than the previously recorded deepest blue hole, Dean’s Blue Hole in Bahamas, which had a depth of 202 metres.
- However, like most blue holes, it is anoxic i.e. depleted of dissolved oxygen below a certain depth. This anaerobic environment is unfavorable for most sea life.
- Such anoxic ecosystems are considered a critical environmental and ecological issue as they have led to several mass extinctions.
- Concentrations of carbon, usually found in deep marine holes like YBH, provide a natural laboratory to study carbon cycling and potential mechanisms controlling it in the marine ecosystem.
- The transition from aerobic to anaerobic environment adversely affects the biogeo-chemistry of the ocean.
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Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

Taj Mahal Complex

| History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture
The Taj Mahal complex has been spruced up for the visit of US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

About Taj
- The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the city of Agra.
- It was commissioned in 1632 by Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658) to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself.
- The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.
- The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees (U.S. $827 million).
- The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.
- The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”.
Various threats to Taj
- The Supreme Court had earlier expressed concern over the marble of the Taj changing colour, and asked how the white marble, which had first become yellowish, was now turning brownish and greenish.
- Firstly, the polluting industries and the vehicular emissions in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) area are a major source of pollution.
- The second reason is that the Yamuna River, which flows behind the Taj, has become highly polluted.
- There is no aquatic life in it, and has caused insect and algae infestation on the Taj Mahal and other monuments situated on its banks.
Use of mud packs
- Increasing pollution in the air over the Gangetic Valley affecting the Taj has been a reason for concern for archaeologists and conservationists for long now.
- Mud packs were applied on the surface of the monument first in 1994, and then again in 2001, 2008, and, most recently, beginning 2014.
- Mud packs have been one of the ASI’s favoured ways to remove the yellow stains that have appeared over the years on the Taj Mahal’s white marble facade.
- The clay is applied in the form of a thick paste that absorbs the grime, grease and bird droppings on the marble, before being washed off using distilled water.
- The process is slow and tortuous, but is believed to leave the marble cleaner and shinier.
- The intricate parts are applied with special “multani mitti’ (Fuller’s clay) treatment.
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Wildlife Conservation Efforts

Pakke Tiger Reserve

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia
The government in Arunachal Pradesh is planning to build a 692.7 km highway through the 862 sq km Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR). Named the East-West Industrial Corridor, the highway aims to connect Bhairabhunda in West Kameng district and Manmao in Changlang district along Arunachal Pradesh’s border with Assam.

About Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR)
- Pakke Tiger Reserve, also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve, is a Project Tiger reserve in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
- The 862 km2 reserve is protected by the Department of Environment and Forest of Arunachal Pradesh.
- This Tiger Reserve has won India Biodiversity Award 2016 in the category of ‘Conservation of threatened species’ for its Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme.
- It falls within the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot.
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Digital India Initiatives

[pib] SPICe+ web form

PIB | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Effects Of Liberalization On The Economy, Changes In Industrial Policy and their effects on Industrial Growth
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has launched SPICe+ web form.

SPICe+
- It would offer 10 services by 3 Central Govt Ministries & Departments (Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Labour & Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance) and One State Government (Maharashtra).
- It saves as many procedures, time and cost for Starting a Business in India and would be applicable for all new company incorporations.
Following are the features of the new Spice+ web form:
- SPICe+ would be an integrated Web Form.
- SPICe+ would have two parts viz.: Part A-for Name reservation for new companies and Part B offering a bouquet of services viz.
- Registration for Profession Tax shall also be mandatory for all new companies to be incorporated in the State of Maharashtra through SPICe+.
- All new companies incorporated through SPICe+ would also be mandatorily required to apply for opening the company’s Bank account through the AGILE-PRO linked web form.
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Judicial Reforms

[pib] International Judicial Conference, New Delhi

PIB | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary
The President of India delivered the valedictory address at the International Judicial Conference being organised by the Supreme Court of India, in New Delhi.

About the Conference
- The Conference was organized by the Supreme Court of India.
- The theme of the Conference was ‘Judiciary and the Changing World’.
Important Topics of discussion at the Conference included :
1. Gender Justice,
2. Contemporary Perspectives on Protection of Constitutional Values,
3. Dynamic Interpretations of the Constitution in a Changing World,
4. Harmonization of Environment Protection vis-à-vis Sustainable Development and
5. Protection of Right to Privacy in the Internet Age
Other excerpts:

“Just-World” Hypothesis
- The “Just World” fallacy is associated with the actions of bringing fair actions towards education, health, gender equality and other social issues.
- The Conference introduced the “Just World” concept in the Judicial System of India.
- By this it aims to take the judicial system of the country to every citizen irrespective of their gender.
- Also, it aimed to bring upon gender equality in other crucial areas where women have still not earned their recognition, especially the areas of mining and military.
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Foreign Policy Watch: India-United States

Terms of transaction

| International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India,Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests
Context

Trump administration seems supportive of India as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, while also counting gains for itself.

No substantive outcomes of the visit stated
- Neither side has so far publicly touted any major substantive outcomes of the visit.
- Creation of positive atmosphere: To create some positive atmospherics, the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security just gave final approval to $3 billion worth of pending contracts to purchase military helicopters from US companies Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
  - Missile defence system sale: The US Administration, on its part, informed Congress of its willingness to authorise the sale of another $1.8 billion worth missile defence system.
  - The move is indicative of the US’s growing willingness to allow higher technology defence equipment to India.
- Placing India at level (STA-1) similar to its closest allies: The Trump Administration has gone farther than its predecessors in the technology levels it is willing to offer.
  - Including Guardian drones in 2017, and placing India at STA-1 level, similar to its closest allies and partners.
- The expected MoUs: The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs indicated on February 20 that five MoUs can be expected, inter alia,-
  - On intellectual property.
  - Trade facilitation and
  - Homeland security.
- Making sense of the US’s actions in the present context: There will also be the regulation joint statement.
  - Analysing in greater details: This time, the statement will be parsed in more than usual detail for indications of future direction and intent for the partnership.
  - It is the time when the US has been talking of “Make America Great Again”, advocating for sovereignty and nationalism.
  - The US is also decrying-Alliance commitments, Readying to sign an agreement with the Taliban by month-end leading to a drawdown of US troop presence.
  - Yet, it is articulating repeatedly about India being a lynchpin of its “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”.
No development on the limited trade front
- No progress on limited trade package: The two countries have not been able to finalise even a “limited trade package”, which has been under discussion for two years.
- Gaps between the expectations: Obviously, there is a gap between what India can accommodate, and what the US negotiators want for their own political reasons.
- The Trump administration has taken several steps that have negatively impacted India.
  - It has imposed additional tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from India, ostensibly on national security grounds.
Contradictory impulses
- The above action flies in the face of citing strategic partnership and convergence in Indo-Pacific strategy.
- GSP withdrawal: It has withdrawn hitherto available GSP benefits from certain categories of labour-intensive Indian products.
- Labelling India a ‘Developed’ country: The US has taken India out of its list of “developing” countries, lowering the threshold for countervailing trade action.
- Against the spirit of the beneficial rise of India: These actions go against the grain of the US articulation that it sees the rise of India to be in US benefit.
  - Treating the trade deficit with China and India on equal footing: It also does not make sense when India is an overall trade deficit country.
  - Even though it has a $20 billion surplus with the US which pales compared to China’s $350 billion surplus.
- Unprecedented actions against the closest allies: Trump has taken unprecedented action against the closest US allies.
  - He has also repeatedly publicly ridiculed Indian tariffs, claiming recently that India has not treated the US fairly.
What the future holds for the India-US relationship
- Is the US “all-weather” partner: Given the contradictory impulses, it would be fair to ask what the future holds for the India-US relationship, and where would the Trump visit and its aftermath take us.
  - Can India consider the US a reliable and “all-weather” partner, or be constantly juggling convergences and divergences?
- The factors that affected relationship: Historically, four factors have affected the India-US relationship at any point of time:
  - US global posture and priorities.
  - Strength of bilateral relations.
  - The role assigned to Pakistan in its global objectives.
  - The strategy towards China.
Evolution of India-US relationship
- Under Democrat Presidents
- Roosevelt Period: During the Second World War, Roosevelt pushed Britain to grant independence to India, facilitated a separate official Indian representation in Washington through an Agent-General since 1941.
  - But did not go far enough fearing disruption of the necessary wartime alliance. In the post-war period.
- Truman Period: Truman spoke of partnering with developing countries for their industrial and scientific progress.
  - He welcomed Indian PM Nehru for an acclaimed visit in 1949.
  - But initiated the Cold War containment strategy against the Soviet Union, and the assessment of newly independent countries from that lens.
- Kennedy Period: He was extremely supportive of democratic India’s economic assistance requirements, and for military assistance during the 1962 China conflict.
- Carter Period: Carter, wedded to human rights issues, acclaimed India’s post Emergency elections.
  - But was critical on non- proliferation differences.
- Clinton Period: Clinton stabilised the relationship after the dissonance and sanctions following our 1998 nuclear tests.
  - And gave full support to India’s position during the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan.
- Obama Period: He came out in support of India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council, and declared India a Major Defence Partner, enabling higher-level technology authorisations.
- Under Republican Presidents
- Eisenhower Period: Eisenhower embraced and armed Pakistan in its CENTO and SEATO military alliances.
  - India as a bulwark against China: He emphasised food and economic assistance to India seeing it as a democratic bulwark against a Communist China.
  - First-ever visit to India by the US president: He made a successful first-ever visit of a serving US President to India, welcomed also by a 5 lakh crowd in Connaught Place.
- Nixon Period: He visited India for a day in 1959, was upset with Indian criticism of his Vietnam military offensives.
  - Sided completely with Pakistan during the Bangladesh crisis of 1971.
  - He sent the US seventh fleet into the Bay of Bengal to pressurise India and sought to reorder the global balance by outreach to China through a secret Kissinger visit that year.
- Reagan Period: He explored economic and scientific cooperation with India, but was absorbed with Pakistan’s support in pushing the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan.
- George W Bush Period: George W Bush transformed the relationship with the civil nuclear cooperation agreement of 2008.
  - Perceiving again the technological, military and political challenge to the US from a rising China.
Conclusion

It is clear that India’s interests have been impacted a bit by party orientation on issues, but more by the overall global circumstance. Under the present circumstance, therefore, India will have to deal with a transactional administration, supportive of strengthening India as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, but also counting the gains for itself.
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Tax Reforms

Making the super-rich pay their fair share

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

It is now beyond obvious that India cannot revive its economy without increasing public spending, and so increasing its fiscal resources is essential. Among other measures, this requires urgent adoption of legislation and institutional reforms to end financial opacity.

The opacity in the data
- Unlikely Budget estimates: The Union Budget was presented, based on numbers for revised estimates for the current year and Budget estimates for the coming year that the Finance Ministry itself knows are
- Where else the opacity in data extends: The opacity of data also extends to cross-border movement of funds generated through a range of activities, including tax evasion, misappropriation of state assets, laundering of the proceeds of crime, and bribery.
  - Even here, India still has a lot to do, as confirmed by the recent publication of the Financial Secrecy Index by the Tax Justice Network, a U.K.-based financial advocacy group.
- Financial Secrecy Index rank: On the surface, India has managed to reduce its contribution to global financial secrecy, with its rank falling from 32 on the 2018 index to 47 in 2020.
  - But this is partly because the new edition of the index covers more countries than it did two years ago.
Transparency Reforms by the government
- Arrangement with Switzerland: It is true that the government has adopted and supported a few transparency reforms, such as the automatic exchange of tax and financial information with other jurisdictions, like Switzerland.
  - What the arrangement with Switzerland mean? If an Indian citizen has an account with a Swiss bank and has a balance over a certain threshold, this information will be sent to the Indian tax authorities automatically.
- Beneficial ownership register: The government did create a beneficial ownership register- which would allow the identification of the beneficial owner of an asset regardless of whose name the title of the property is in.
  - Exemption making the law weak: The law is weak since it exempts a lot of people at the discretion of the authorities.
  - Also, this register is not accessible to the public.
Making multinationals and the super-rich pay their fair share of taxes
- Need to do more: Stopping the financial haemorrhage and making multinationals and the super-rich pay their fair share of taxes requires much more.
- Capital flight and consequence for the country’s development: Capital flight out of India by Indian elites and foreigners alike has been undermining our country’s development for decades.
  - Outdated international system: An important part of these flows is the result of artificial profit shifting by multinational companies taking advantage of an outdated international tax system.
- How the multinationals shifts profits? These multinationals may be making profits in India but can easily declare those profits in a low tax jurisdiction like Hong Kong and justify that transaction as a payment for the use of a patent.
  - The magnitude of loss-$27.5 billion: According to one estimate, this strategy represented a loss of $27.5 billion in 2014 for the Indian government, up from $142 million in 2000.
Onshore financial services and issues with it
- Paradoxical decision: Three years ago, the government took the paradoxical decision to set up onshore international financial services in the country.
  - This is how the International Financial Services Centre in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT-City), Gandhinagar, emerged.
  - It was modelled after offshore financial centres such as Hong Kong, Singapore, the City of London and Dubai.
- Increasing the possibility of regulatory arbitrage: While this has not created much employment, it has led to growing possibilities for regulatory arbitrage by financial firms, with potentially very problematic consequences.
The issue with the policy of tax incentives
- Little evidence of attracting investment: The government keeps granting tax incentives on a discretionary basis, even though there is little evidence that these incentives attract investment.
- What factors matters for investment: Recent research by International Monetary Fund, factors such as-
  - Quality of infrastructure.
  - A healthy and skilled workforce.
  - Market access and-
  - Political stability matters much more.
- Consequences of the policy-reduction in tax revenue: The massive reduction in corporate tax rates has thus far not led to any increase in private investment.
  - But it has meant a significant reduction in tax revenues, with devastating consequences.
  - Implications for health, educations etc.: Reduction in tax revenue translates into a lack of resources for education, healthcare, food and nutrition and infrastructure.
  - Low tax-GDP ratio: India is already an outlier among similarly placed developing countries with its low tax-GDP ratio of 18%.
  - Making the budget dependent on indirect taxes: The government budget is also highly dependent on indirect taxes like the Goods and Services Tax which are regressive and hit ordinary citizens harder.
Way forward
- Legislation to end financial opacity: Adoption of legislation and institutional reforms to end financial opacity- including, for example-
  - Opening the beneficial ownership register to the public and-
  - Stopping the creation of onshore tax havens is the need of the hour.
- Opening the debate on how to make the multinationals pay their fair share: The Government of India must also assume a more vocal role in the international debate about how to make multinationals pay their fair share of taxes.
  - This means continuing to appeal for a United Nations tax body, which is much more legitimate than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
  - The issue with the OECD’s proposal: The OECD’s proposals, published at the end of 2019, are neither ambitious nor fair enough.
- Explore the possibility of going alone: If the organisation continues to remain deaf to the demands of developing countries, India must be prepared to go it alone, thinking unilaterally about how to make multinationals pay what they owe.
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Skilling India – Skill India Mission,PMKVY, NSDC, etc.

Youth can be a clear advantage for India

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies,Health & Education
Context

The demographic dividend is close to five-decade-long demographic opportunities that can be leveraged only with suitable policies and programmes

The youngest population in the world
- Median age at 28 years: By 2022, the median age in India will be 28 years.
  - In comparison, it will be 37 in China and the United States.
  - 45 in western Europe, and 49 in Japan.
- The demographic dividend
  - The working-age population more than non-working: India’s working-age population has numerically outstripped its non-working age population.
  - An extraordinary opportunity: A demographic dividend, said to have commenced around 2004-05, is available for close to five decades.
The two caveats
- The demographic dividend is an extraordinary opportunity. There are, however, two caveats.
- First: Dividend available in different states at different times.
  - India’s population heterogeneity ensures that the window of demographic dividend becomes available at different times in different States.
  - Example of Kerala vs. Bihar: While Kerala’s population is already ageing, in Bihar the working-age cohort is predicted to continue increasing till 2051.
  - Decline in 11 major states by 2031: By 2031, the overall size of our vast working-age population would have declined in 11 of the 22 major States.
- Second: Many factors that matter for harnessing the dividend
  - Factors that matter: Harnessing the demographic dividend will depend upon the-
  - Employability of the working-age population.
  - Health.
  - Education.
  - Vocational training and skill.
  - Besides appropriate land and labour policies, as well as good governance.
  - Demography is not destiny: India will gain from its demographic opportunity only if policies and programmes are aligned to this demographic shift. Demography is not destiny.
Need for skills
- Need for the additional jobs: The Economic Survey 2019 calls for additional jobs to keep pace with the projected annual increases in the working-age population.
- Lack of education and skills: UNICEF 2019 reports that at least 47% of Indian youth are not on track to have the education and skills necessary for employment in 2030.
  - Possibility of demographic disaster: The projected demographic dividend would turn into a demographic disaster if an unskilled, under-utilised, and frustrated young population undermines social harmony and economic growth.
- Poor learning outcomes: While over 95% of India’s children attend primary school, the National Family Health Surveys (completed up to 2015-16) confirm that poor infrastructure in government schools, malnutrition, and scarcity of trained teachers have ensured poor learning outcomes.
What needs to be done?
- Adopt a uniform school system: A coordinated incentive structure prompting States to adopt a broadly uniform public school system focusing on equity and quality will yield a knowledge society faster than privatising school education can accomplish.
- Ensure training in line with the market demand: Most districts now have excellent broadband connectivity-
  - Let geography not trump demography: Irrespective of a rural or urban setting, the public school system must ensure that every child completes high school education, and is pushed into appropriate skilling, training and vocational education in line with market demand.
- Invest and modernise: Modernise school curricula, systematically invest in teacher training so that they grow in their jobs to assume leadership roles while moving beyond the tyranny of the syllabus.
- Use of technology: Deploy new technology to accelerate the pace of building human capital by putting in place virtual classrooms together with massive open online courses (MOOCS) to help prepare this huge workforce for next-generation jobs.
  - Investing in open digital universities would further help yield a higher educated workforce.
Focus on women
- Translating literacy into skill: Growing female literacy is not translating into relevant and marketable skills.
  - A comprehensive approach is needed to improve their prospects vis-à-vis gainful employment.
  - Need of the flexible policies: Flexible entry and exit policies for women into virtual classrooms, and into modules for open digital training, and vocational education would help them access contemporary vocations.
- The need for equal pay: Equal pay for women will make it worth their while to stay longer in the workforce.
- The deferred bonus: Economist Yogendra Alagh has written that the significance of this “deferred bonus” (women entering the workforce), could be higher than the immediate benefits of the dividend from shifts in population age structure.
Health care
- In India, population health is caught between the rising demand for health services and competition for scarce resources.
- Impact of economy on rural health: The National Sample Survey Office data on health (75th round, 2018), shows that a deep-rooted downturn in the rural economy is making quality health-care unaffordable.
  - People are availing of private hospitals less than they used to, and are moving towards public health systems.
  - Diverting public investment from However, central budget 2020-21 lays emphasis on private provisioning of health care which will necessarily divert public investment away from public health infrastructure.
- The Ayushman Bharat Yojana: It links demand to tertiary in-patient care.
  - This promotes earnings of under-utilised private hospitals, instead of modernising and up-grading public health systems in each district.
- We need to assign 70% of health sector budgets to integrate and strengthen primary and integrated public health-care services and systems up to district hospital levels.
  - Include out-patient department and diagnostic services in every health insurance model adopted, and-
  - Implement in ‘mission mode’ the Report of the High-Level Group, 2019, submitted to the XV Finance Commission.
- The elderly population in India is projected to double from 8.6% in 2011 to 16% in 2040.
  - This will sharply reduce the per capita availability of hospital beds in India across all major States unless investments in health systems address these infirmities.
Conclusion

The policies that we adopt and their effective implementation will ensure that our demographic dividend, a time-limited opportunity, becomes a boon for India.
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Defence Sector – DPP, Missions, Schemes, Security Forces, etc.

Explained: How to unify defence resources

Explained | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates
- The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Rawat said his office is working on a tentative timeline for the establishment of joint commands among the three defence services.
- With the creation of the CDS post on December 31, the government has set the ball rolling for bringing jointness and integration among the services.
What are joint commands?
- Simply put, it is a unified command in which the resources of all the services are unified under a single commander looking at a geographical theatre.
- It means that a single military commander, as per the requirements, will have the resources of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force to manage a security threat.
- The commander of a joint command will have the freedom to train and equip his command as per the objective and will have logistics of all the services at his beckoning.
- The three services will retain their independent identities as well.
- A committee headed by Lieutenant General D B Shekatkar had earlier recommended three new commands: Northern, for China; Western, for the Pakistan border’ and Southern, for maritime security.
Present commands
- There are two tri-services commands at the moment.
- The joint command at the moment, the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), is a theatre command, which is headed by the chiefs of the three services in rotation.
- It was created in 2001 after a Group of Ministers had given a report on national security following the Kargil War.
- The Strategic Forces Command was established in 2006 and is a functional tri-services command.
What is the structure right now?
- There are 17 commands, divided among the three services. The Army and the Air Force have seven commands each, while the Navy has three commands.
- The commands under the Army are Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, Central, Southwestern and the Army Training Command.
- The Air Force has Eastern, Western, Southern, Southwestern, Central, Maintenance and Training commands, and the Navy is divided into Western, Eastern and Southern commands.
- These commands report to their respective services and are headed by three-star officers.
- Though these commands are in the same regions, they are no located together.
Advantages of joint commands
- One of the main advantages is that the leader of unified command has control over more varied resources, compared to the heads of the commands under the services now.
- For instance, the head of one of the proposed commands, Air Defence Command, will have under him naval and Army resources, too, which can be used as per the threat perception.
- And the officer commanding the Pakistan or China border will have access to the Air Force’s fighter jets and can use them if needed.
- However, that not all naval resources will be given to the Air Defence Command, nor will all resources of the Air Force come under another proposed command, Peninsula Command, for the coasts.
- The Peninsula Command would give the Navy Chief freedom to look at the larger perspective in the entire Indian Ocean Region in which China’s presence is steadily increasing.
- The other key advantage is that through such integration and jointness the three forces will be able to avoid duplication of resources.
- The resources available under each service will be available to other services too. The services will get to know one another better, strengthening cohesion in the defence establishment.
How many such commands are expected to roll out?
- While the number of commands India needs is still being studied, the CDS has envisaged that there could be between six to nine commands. It is not certain how many land-based theatre commands on the borders will come up.
- The CDS said it will be studied, and the study group will be given the options for creating two to five theatre commands.
- One possibility is to have single commands looking at the China and Pakistan borders respectively, as they are the two major threats.
- The other option is to have a separate command for the border in the J&K region, and another command looking at the rest of the western border.
- There could be independent commands looking at the border with China which is divided by Nepal.
- A proposed Logistics Command will bring the logistics of all the service under one person, and the CDS is also looking at a Training and Doctrine Command so that all services work under a common doctrine and have some basic common training.
Do militaries of other countries have such commands?
- Several major militaries are divided into integrated theatre commands.
- China’s People’s Liberation Army has five theatre commands: Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern and Central. Its Western Theatre Command is responsible for India.
- The US Armed Forces have 11 unified commands, of which seven are geographic and four functional commands. Its geographic commands are Africa, Central, European, Indo-Pacific, Northern, Southern and Space.
- Cyber, Special Operations, Transportation and Strategic are its functional commands.
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