Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Starberry-Sense
Mains level: Not Much
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have developed a low-cost star sensor for astronomy and small CubeSat class satellite missions.
What is Starberry-Sense?
- Based on commercial/off-the-shelf components, this star sensor costs less than 10% of those available in the market.
- It is made from a single-board Linux computer called Raspberry Pi, which is widely used among electronics hobby enthusiasts.
Benefits of Starberry-Sense
- Starberry-Sense can help small CubeSat class satellite missions find their orientation in space.
- The instrument can be used for CubeSats and other small satellite missions in the future.
- The position of stars in the sky is fixed relative to each other and can be used as a stable reference frame to calculate the orientation of a satellite in orbit.
Successful test
- The star sensor has successfully undergone the vibration and thermal vacuum test that qualifies it for a space launch and operations.
- These tests were conducted in-house at the environmental test facility located at the CREST Campus of IIA in Hosakote.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: National Champions Model for Infrastructure Development, Advantages and disadvantages
Central Idea
- Emerging economies struggle to provide functional and efficient infrastructure. Infrastructure has become a national aspiration good, a mechanism for job creation, and a necessity. The two biggest constraints on infrastructure provision are cost and public good component. This national champion’s model aims to incentivize private sector participation in infrastructure investments, but it also has its own set of challenges and limitations.
Traditional Financing Approaches and their Limitations
- The traditional approach to financing infrastructure has relied on tax revenues or government borrowing.
- However, this creates a vicious trap as poorer economies generate less tax revenue, which limits infrastructure investment, leading to a further spinoff that affects the growth of the economy and keeps the country poor.
- Increasing public borrowing domestically tends to crowd out private investment, exacerbating the problem.
The Public-Private Partnership Model and its Problems
- The Indian government tried to incentivize private sector participation in infrastructure investment by introducing the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model in the early 2000s.
- While the PPP model led to the construction of a lot of infrastructure, it ended in an avalanche of non-performing assets with public sector banks, private sector bankruptcies, accusations of widespread corruption, and a change in government in 2014.
The National Champions Model and its Innovations
- The present government has modified the PPP approach by assigning the bulk of infrastructure provisioning for roads, ports, airports, energy, and communications to a few chosen industrial houses.
- This is the national champions model where the government picks a few large conglomerates to implement its development priorities.
- This model incentivizes national champions to build projects by providing subsidies to cover the costs.
- New aspects of the National Champions Model:
- National champions need control over existing projects with strong cash flows to incentivize investment in projects with low returns and negative cash flows.
- Public association of champions with the government’s national development policy generates a competitive advantage for the champions in getting domestic and foreign contracts.
- Access to some cash-rich projects allows national champions to borrow from external credit markets by using these entities as collateral, which lowers the cost of finance of other.
Benefits of National Champions Model
- Economic growth: National champions can contribute to economic growth by generating revenue, creating jobs, and investing in research and development.
- Strategic importance: The model can help ensure that the country has a strong presence in strategically important industries, such as defense or energy, which can be critical to national security.
- Export competitiveness: National champions can become leaders in their respective markets and compete effectively in global markets, which can increase exports and improve the country’s trade balance.
- Innovation: National champions can invest heavily in research and development, leading to technological advancements that can benefit the broader economy.
- Access to capital: National champions may be able to access capital more easily than smaller companies, allowing them to make larger investments and pursue growth opportunities.
The Problems with the National Champions Model
- Too big to fail: Market and regulatory treatment of conglomerates as too big to fail. This means that these companies are so large and important to the economy that their failure could cause widespread harm to the financial system and the economy as a whole. This opens the door to market hysteria, delayed discovery of problems, and spillovers of sectoral problems into systemic shocks. The recent troubles of the Adani companies in India highlight the potential risks associated with this approach.
- Encouraging market concentration that can be bad for efficiency and productivity: Concentrated markets reduce competition and can lead to higher prices, lower quality, and reduced innovation. When firms have market power, they have less incentive to improve their products or services, reduce costs, or innovate. This can result in lower overall productivity in the economy.
- The risk of turning the country into an industrial oligarchy: An industrial oligarchy is where a small group of powerful and influential conglomerates control a large portion of the economy. This can have negative consequences for economic growth, social mobility, and political stability. An oligarchy may be resistant to change and less responsive to the needs and aspirations of the broader population.
- Uneven playing field: The optics of an uneven playing field in terms of market access and selective regulatory forbearance that can become a significant deterrent for foreign investors.
Conclusion
- While infrastructure is a necessary condition for growth, it is not a sufficient one. Effective demand is the problem, as seen in the power sector, where the inability of the power distribution companies to recover payments was the issue. India is at an inflection point in its development path, and the national champions model has its pros and cons that needs to be analyzed before its consideration.
Mains Question
Q. What is National Champions Model for Infrastructure development in India? Discuss its advantages and disadvantages.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Child marriage, Reasons, Challenges and solutions
Central Idea
- When the Assam government launched a massive crackdown on child marriage, social activists pointed out that the root of the problem, i.e., limited access to education among women, is not being sufficiently addressed. National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data show that higher education levels could play a greater role than wealth in delaying a woman’s marriage. The data also reflect wide variations between the marital age of rural and urban women, and Dalit and upper-caste women.
Does education or wealth play a greater role in determining when a woman gets married?
- Education is significant: Education has a longer history of being significant in delaying a woman’s marriage.
- For instance: Depending on National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data, education has had a steady influence, while poverty has had an increasing influence over time.
- Poverty: Poverty is the greatest determinant of early marriage as the poor do not want to wait due to the increasing demand for dowry. Wealthier people are no longer marrying their daughters early.
Marriage plays a significant role in India as it serves multiple purposes.
- Most significant institution: It is considered the most significant institution for daughters as it fulfills the family’s responsibility towards them. For sons, the responsibility is to settle them in a job, which will hopefully lead to marriage.
- Social identity: Marriage is crucial for social identity, and a woman who remains single is an anomaly because almost everyone gets married.
- Sexual respectability: marriage is essential for sexual respectability as those who wish to have social respect have sexual relationships within marriage.
- Legitimate children: Marriage provides the option to have children, and having a child without a husband is completely unacceptable in the Indian context.
What advantages that families see in getting women married earlier instead of educating them further?
- Dowry: This dowry can be a significant financial burden for families, and getting their daughters married early may be seen as a way to reduce this expense. The more educated a girl, the more the boy has to be educated too and the higher the dowry.
- Transfer of responsibility: Families feel there is the responsibility of protecting her sexually before marriage. And that responsibility gets transferred to the boy’s family. After marriage, the girl goes to live with her husband’s family, so why spend on her education?
- Maintenance of caste and community lines: In some cultures, marrying within one’s own caste and community is essential to maintain social status and cultural traditions. Early marriage may be seen as a way to ensure that women are married within their caste and community and preserve cultural practices.
Women are increasingly getting access to education. Does this result in more empowerment?
- Advantages of Women’s Access to Education:
- Education provides women with knowledge and skills that lead to greater empowerment and the ability to make informed decisions about their lives.
- Educated women are more likely to participate in the workforce, earn higher wages, and have better health outcomes.
- Access to education can challenge traditional gender norms and stereotypes, creating new opportunities for women and girls.
- Education can increase women’s bargaining power within their families and communities, allowing them to negotiate for better living conditions, higher earnings, and greater autonomy.
- Challenges in Women’s Employment
- The female labor force participation rate is low at 25%, and job losses have been especially harmful to women.
- Despite increased access to education, there is a high proportion of educated but unemployed women.
- Women who enter the corporate sector often face hostility or are unable to balance domestic expectations with work demands.
- The conjugal contract between men and women remains largely unchanged, with women assuming the majority of domestic burdens and men often having power over family decisions.
- Impact of Age of Marriage
- Increasing the age of marriage may not automatically lead to greater empowerment, autonomy, or freedom for women.
- While delaying marriage may provide women with more opportunities to pursue education and careers, there is still a significant gender gap in employment and earnings.
- Low and declining employment rates may also result in a greater burden on marriage as a means of economic security.
Why women in SC/ST/OBC communities get married at younger age than even those in rural India?
- Socio-economic factors: Women in SC/ST/OBC communities tend to get married at younger ages than even those in rural areas due to a combination of social and economic factors.
- Sense of social disadvantage: Families who belong to these groups experience a sense of social disadvantage in the marriage market, but they are also often poor, with lower wealth quintiles being disproportionately populated by SC, ST, and OBCs.
- Caste and poverty: There is a fair deal of correlation between caste and poverty in these communities, with many lacking decent work and being vulnerable to violence from those higher in the hierarchy.
- Vulnerability: Girls from these communities are even more vulnerable to such issues, with Dalit girls being particularly susceptible to sexual predators as young upper-caste men feel that they have a right of access.
- Marriage as protection: Marriage can be seen as a form of protection for girls from these communities, but the issue of early marriage is complex and influenced by a range of factors.
Conclusion
- The issue of child marriage in India is complex and deeply rooted in societal norms, poverty, and caste systems. Despite the progress in education and women’s empowerment, there are still challenges. The issue of child marriage requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the underlying societal and economic factors that perpetuate the practice.
Mains Question
Q. Discuss the role of education and wealth in determining the age at which women get married in India.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Para Forces
Mains level: Paramilitary Forces and their mandate, challenges
Central Idea
- Last month, India observed the day of remembrance for the Pulwama attack that took place on February 14, 2019, which resulted in the death of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. The lesson learned is that there is an urgent need to address the grievances of paramilitary forces in terms of training, morale, and parity with regular armed forces to ensure the effectiveness of these forces in maintaining internal security.
Background
- The Forgotten Dantewada Attack: An earlier attack on April 6, 2010, in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed by left-wing extremists in Dantewada, has faded away from public attention despite being the deadliest attack on security forces in any counter-insurgency or anti-terrorist operations in independent India.
- The Pulwama attack: The attack on February 14, 2019, claimed the lives of 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), India’s largest paramilitary force. The Pulwama attack resulted in an unprecedented public outcry and evoked emotional responses across all sections of society. It is important to remember this incident to prevent a repeat in the future.
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
- Motto: “Service and Loyalty”
- Logo: The CRPF logo features a crossed rifle and a light machine gun over a map of India, with a laurel wreath and the words “Central Reserve Police Force” written in both Hindi and English. The crossed rifles and the light machine gun represent the CRPF’s role in maintaining internal security, while the map of India signifies its national duty.
- Establishment: CRPF is the largest Central Armed Police Force of India. It was established in 1939 as the Crown Representative’s Police (CRP) to assist British rulers in managing unrest and law and order issues. After India gained independence in 1947, it became the Central Reserve Police Force.
- Responsibility: The CRPF is primarily responsible for maintaining internal security, counter-terrorism operations, and assisting the state police in maintaining law and order. It also assists in disaster management and protects vital installations.
- Personnel and deployment: With more than 300,000 personnel, the CRPF is one of the most significant components of India’s internal security apparatus. It operates in a variety of environments, including urban, jungle, and mountainous terrain. The CRPF has also been deployed in international peacekeeping operations, such as in Haiti, Sudan, and Congo.
Challenges Faced by Paramilitary Forces
- Security threats: Paramilitary forces are often deployed in areas where there are security threats such as terrorist attacks, insurgencies, and border conflicts. These threats pose a significant risk to the lives of the personnel, and they have to be constantly vigilant to prevent any untoward incidents.
- Pay and benefits: The Indian Army personnel receive higher pay, better benefits, and retirement benefits compared to paramilitary forces. The Indian Army also has a well-established pension system, while paramilitary forces have a Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
- Inadequate infrastructure: These forces often operate in remote areas with inadequate infrastructure, including basic facilities such as food, water, and shelter. This makes it challenging for the personnel to carry out their duties effectively, especially during long deployments.
- Inadequate training: Proper training is essential for paramilitary personnel to carry out their duties effectively. However, due to budget constraints and a lack of resources, training is often inadequate, which can lead to inefficiencies and mistakes during operations.
- De-induction of Army: The deinduction of the Indian Army from certain areas has led to the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) and other paramilitary forces being tasked with carrying out hard duties, leading to overstretched personnel and compromised training.
- Stress and mental health: The nature of the job is often stressful, and paramilitary personnel are frequently exposed to traumatic situations that can have long-term effects on their mental health. Unfortunately, mental health resources are often limited, and the stigma surrounding mental health issues can prevent personnel from seeking help.
- Lack of modern equipment: Paramilitary forces require modern equipment and weapons to carry out their duties effectively. However, due to budget constraints and bureaucratic red tape, acquiring such equipment is often delayed, which puts the personnel at risk.
- Armed Forces of the union category: The Delhi High Court order of December 2022 that recognised the paramilitary as a force under the category of ‘Armed Forces of the union’ and underscores the need to address the genuine grievances of the paramilitary personnel.
- Service facilities: The paramilitary force faces discrimination in matters ranging from pension to service facilities.
- Old pension scheme: Former personnel and their families have demanded the old pension scheme for serving members of the paramilitary force.
- Training: The training and morale of paramilitary personnel must be taken care of to maintain optimum performance and effectiveness.
Other key paramilitary and special forces in India
- National Security Guard (NSG): NSG is a federal contingency force tasked with counter-terrorism and special operations. It was established in 1984 and operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Border Security Force (BSF): BSF is a border guarding force responsible for guarding India’s land borders during peace time and preventing trans-border crimes. It was established in 1965 and operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB): SSB is a border guarding force tasked with guarding India’s borders with Nepal and Bhutan. It was established in 1963 and operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP): ITBP is a specialized mountain force responsible for guarding India’s borders with China. It was established in 1962 and operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Assam Rifles: Assam Rifles is a paramilitary force responsible for maintaining law and order in the northeast region of India. It was established in 1835 and operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Conclusion
- The observance of Pulwama day should serve as a reminder to avoid a repeat of the tragedy and calls for analysing the lessons learnt and taking corrective measures. It is important to listen to the genuine grievances of the paramilitary personnel to maintain their morale and enhance the security environment of the nation.
Mains Question
Q. Discuss the challenges faced by paramilitary forces In India? What needs to be done to maintain their morale and to ensure the effectiveness of these forces in maintaining internal security?
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NRI, OCI, PIO
Mains level: E-Postal Ballot system
Central idea: The Election Commission of India (EC) has proposed to facilitate the electronically-transmitted postal ballot system for overseas Indian voters.
Why such a move?
- The total number of overseas voters on January 1, 2023, was over 1.15 lakh.
Measures taken
- The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was passed by the Lok Sabha in August 2018 on the recommendation of the EC.
- The Bill sought to enable overseas electors to cast their vote either in person or by proxy.
- However, it lapsed when the 16th Lok Sabha was dissolved as it was pending in the Rajya Sabha.
How can overseas voters currently vote in Indian elections?
- Prior to 2010, an Indian citizen who is an eligible voter and was residing abroad for more than six months, would not have been able to vote in elections.
- This was because the NRI’s name was deleted from electoral rolls if he or she stayed outside the country for more than six months at a stretch.
- After the passing of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2010, eligible NRIs who had stayed abroad beyond six months have been able to vote, but only in person at the polling station where they have been enrolled as an overseas elector.
- Just as any resident Indian citizen above the age of 18 years) is eligible to vote in the constituency where she/he is a resident, and overseas Indian citizens are also eligible to do so.
- In the case of overseas voters, the address mentioned in the passport is taken as the place of ordinary residence and chosen as the constituency for the overseas voter to enrol in.
How has the existing facility worked so far?
- Hike in voters: From merely 11,846 overseas voters who registered in 2014, the number went up to close to a lakh in 2019. But the bulk of these voters (nearly 90%) belonged to just one State — Kerala.
- Section 20-1A, Part III of the RP Act: It addresses this to some extent by qualifying “a person absenting himself temporarily from his place of ordinary residence shall not by reason thereof cease to be ordinarily resident therein.
- Proxyprovisions: The Bill provided for overseas voters to be able to appoint a proxy to cast their votes on their behalf, subject to conditions laid down in the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
- Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System: The ECI then approached the government to permit NRIs to vote via postal ballots similar to a system that is already used by service voters, (a member of the armed Forces of the Union; or a member of a force to which provisions of the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950) which is ETPBS. The ECI proposed to extend this facility to overseas voters as well.
What is ETPBS and how does it function?
- The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 was amended in 2016to allow service voters to use the ETPBS.
- Under this system, postal ballots are sent electronicallyto registered service voters.
- The service voter can then download the ETPB(along with a declaration form and covers), register their mandate on the ballot and send it to the returning officer of the constituency via ordinary mail.
- The post will include an attested declaration form(after being signed by the voter in the presence of an appointed senior officer who will attest it).
- The postal ballot must reach the returning officer by 8 a.m.on the day of the counting of results.
- In the case of NRI voters, those seeking to vote through ETPBS will have to inform the returning officer at least five days after notification of the election.
Are postal ballots a viable means of voting?
- The ETPBS method allowed for greater turnout among service voters in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
- With the increasing mobility of citizens across countries for reasons related to work, the postal ballot method has been internationally recognized.
- A postal ballot mechanism that allows for proper authentication of the ballot at designated consular/embassy offices and an effective postal system should ease this process for NRIs.
Back2Basics: NRI vs OCI
Non-Resident Indian (NRI)
- To mention it, NRI is someone who is not a resident of India.
- However, the law is much more complicated and must be delved deeper to gain an inclusive insight into the sector.
- A person is considered a resident of India if he/she has been staying in India for a minimum tenure of 182 days during the previous financial year of a particular year. OR
- A person living in India for a total of 365 days during the previous four financial years and a minimum of 60 days during the last financial years is considered a citizen for a particular year.
- Now an NRI or a non-resident of India is eligible to pay charges for only the first two situations, which means either the income received or earned in India.
- Therefore, the NRI status also influences the enjoyable rights of that person.
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)
- OCI is a card issued by the government of India that denotes that a non-resident or foreigner has been permitted to stay and work within Indian boundaries.
- Hence, this card provides foreigners with an immigration status without any limited tenure.
- There are cases where PIOs of specific categories are allowed for OCI cards that have migrated from India to foreign countries (except Pakistan and Bangladesh) if the other government agrees for dual citizenship.
- An individual holding an OCI card can be an overseas citizen of India in layman’s language.
- So an OCI is not a citizen of India, but the Indian government has given the cardholder permission to reside and work within the boundaries of India.
- Residents migrating from Pakistan and Bangladesh are not eligible for holding the OCI card. Even if their parents are citizens of both countries, the applicants will be denied having an OCI card.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: East African Rift, Various lakes
Mains level: Read the attached story
Central idea
- Scientists predict a new ocean will be created as Africa splits into two separate parts connected to the East African Rift
- This geological process will inevitably divide the continent resulting in new coastlines and sub-sea internet infrastructure but also will have significant repercussions
What is Rifting?
- The Earth’s lithosphere, comprising the crust and upper part of the mantle, is divided into tectonic plates that move in relation to each other at varying speeds.
- Tectonic forces move the plates and can cause them to rupture, resulting in the formation of a rift and potentially leading to the creation of new plate boundaries.
- Rifting refers to the geological process in which a single tectonic plate is split into two or more plates separated by divergent plate boundaries.
- In the present day, the gradual separation of the Somali and Nubian tectonic plates is leading to the formation of a rift that could eventually lead to the creation of a new ocean basin.
- The movement of tectonic plates is a fascinating geological phenomenon.
Rifting in African Continent
- The African continent is located on the African Plate, which is one of the Earth’s major tectonic plates.
- The continent is characterized by a number of geological features, including rift valleys.
Most profound feature: The East African Rift System
- The East African Rift System is the most prominent example of rifting in Africa.
- It stretches for over 6,000 kilometers from the Red Sea in the north to the Zambezi River in the south.
- The rift system includes a series of interconnected rift valleys, volcanoes, and lakes.
Causes of the East African Rift System
- The rift system is caused by the movement of the African Plate away from the Arabian Plate and the Somalian Plate.
- This movement creates tension in the Earth’s crust, causing it to pull apart and form a rift.
Impact: Lakes Formed by Rifting
- Over time, the rifting process has led to the formation of several large lakes in the region.
- These lakes include Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Malawi.
- They are believed to have formed as a result of the sinking of the land between the rift valleys.
Future of Rifting in Africa
- The rifting process is ongoing and may eventually lead to the splitting of the African continent into two or more separate land masses.
- However, this process is expected to take millions of years and is not likely to have a significant impact on human populations in the near future.
- The necessary evacuation of people and potential loss of lives will be an unfortunate cost of this natural phenomenon.
- The emergence of new coastlines will unlock opportunities for economic growth
- As the plates continue to split in the future, this phenomenon will result in the displacement of communities, settlements, and various flora and fauna.
Conclusion
- The movement of tectonic plates has significant implications for the continent’s future.
- It is important to study and monitor these changes while remembering the power of the Earth’s natural forces and the impact they can have over time.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: LTTD
Mains level: Desalination of seawater
The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) is making efforts to make its ongoing water provision project in Lakshadweep eco-friendly by eliminating emissions in its Low Temperature Thermal Desalination technology.
What is LTTD Technology?
- LTTD Technology is a desalination process that uses low-grade thermal energy, typically below 70°C, to evaporate seawater and produce fresh water.
- The technology is designed to be efficient and cost-effective, and it has been successfully used in various locations worldwide to provide potable water.
How does LTTD Technology work?
- LTTD Technology works by using a low-grade thermal source, such as warm seawater, to heat up a chamber containing seawater.
- As the seawater is heated, it evaporates and produces fresh water vapor.
- The vapor is then condensed and collected, leaving behind concentrated seawater, which can be discharged back into the ocean.
- The fresh water produced can be used for various purposes, such as drinking water, irrigation, or industrial applications.
Benefits of this technology
- One of the main benefits of LTTD Technology is that it uses low-grade thermal energy, which is readily available in many locations, especially in coastal areas.
- This makes it a cost-effective and sustainable way of producing fresh water.
- Additionally, LTTD Technology is modular and can be easily scaled up or down, depending on the water demand.
- It also has a relatively low environmental impact compared to other desalination technologies.
Challenges of LTTD Technology
- One of the main challenges of LTTD Technology is that it requires a constant source of low-grade thermal energy, which can be affected by weather conditions and seasonal changes.
- Additionally, the technology is relatively new and may require further research and development to optimize its efficiency and performance.
How is NIOT working to make LTTD Technology emission-free?
- NIOT is working on making LTTD Technology emission-free by using renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, to power the desalination process.
- The goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of the technology and make it more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Try this MCQ:
Q. The LTTD technology involves the use of which of the following processes to produce potable water?
A) Reverse osmosis B) Distillation C) Filtration D) Chlorination
Post your answer here.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GPT-4
Mains level: Not Much
Central idea: OpenAI announced GPT-4 as the next big update to the technology that powers ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing.
What is GPT-4?
- GPT-4 is a large multimodal model created by OpenAI that accepts images as input, making it a more advanced version of GPT-3 and GPT-3.5.
- It exhibits human-level performance on various professional and academic benchmarks, and it can solve difficult problems with greater accuracy.
How is GPT-4 different from GPT-3?
- GPT-4 is multimodal, allowing it to understand more than one modality of information, unlike GPT-3 and GPT-3.5, which were limited to textual input and output.
- It is harder to trick than previous models, and it can process a lot more information at a time, making it more suitable for lengthy conversations and generating long-form content.
- It has improved accuracy and is better at understanding languages that are not English.
GPT-4’s abilities
- GPT-4 can use images to generate captions and analyses, and it can answer tax-related questions, schedule meetings, and learn a user’s creative writing style.
- It can handle over 25,000 words of text, opening up a greater number of use cases that include long-form content creation, document search and analysis, and extended conversations.
- It significantly reduces hallucinations and produces fewer undesirable outputs, such as hate speech and misinformation.
Multilingual abilities of GPT-4
- GPT-4 is more multilingual and can accurately answer thousands of multiple-choice questions across 26 languages.
- It handles English best, with an 85.5% accuracy, but Indian languages like Telugu aren’t too far behind either, at 71.4%.
Availability of GPT-4
- GPT-4 has already been integrated into products like Duolingo, Stripe, and Khan Academy for varying purposes.
- Image inputs are still a research preview and are not publicly available.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Same-sex marriage, Issues, constitutional provisions , Read the attached article
Central idea
- Recently, the Supreme Court referred a batch of petitions seeking the legal recognition of same-sex marriages to a Constitution Bench. The Union government has opposed the petitions. Law Minister Kiren said that marriage is a matter of policy to be decided by Parliament and the executive alone.
What is mean by Same-sex marriage?
- Same-sex marriage is the legal recognition of a marriage between two individuals of the same sex.
- It grants same-sex couples the same legal and social recognition, rights, and privileges that are traditionally associated with marriage, including property rights, inheritance rights, and the ability to make decisions for each other in medical emergencies.
- The recognition of same-sex marriage varies around the world, with some countries legalizing it while others do not.
- The issue has been the subject of much debate and controversy, with arguments for and against same-sex marriage based on religious, cultural, social, and legal considerations.
Same-sex marriage in India
- Same-sex marriage is currently not legally recognized in India.
- Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalized homosexuality, was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in 2018, which was a landmark decision for LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
- However, there is still no law that allows same-sex couples to legally marry or have any legal recognition of their relationships.
- In its affidavit to the Supreme Court, the government argued that the traditional concept of marriage, consisting of a biological man, woman and child, cannot be disrupted.
- It claimed that recognising same-sex marriages could cause havoc in the system of personal laws.
- As different from many liberal democracies, in India, aspects of marriage, succession and adoption are governed by religious personal laws.
What petitioners are claiming?
- Same-sex marriage as a matter of rights
- Any social policy is liable to judicial interference if rights are violated.
- The petitioners rely on the rights to equality and non-discrimination as laid out in Articles 14 and 15.
- The Constitution prohibits the state from discriminating on the basis of sex.
- Sex has been interpreted by the Supreme Court in Navtej Singh Johar (2018) to include sexual orientation. Granting the right to marry to heterosexual couples and not to homosexual couples clearly discriminates on the basis of their sexual orientation.
- Same-sex marriage is a matter of privacy
- Right to privacy: Supreme Court recognised this right to be part of the right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution in the celebrated Puttaswamy (2017) verdict.
- What court said on privacy: Privacy includes at its core the preservation of personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home and sexual orientation.
- State currently denies this right: The right to privacy entails the right of the citizens to make decisions about their family life and marriage. The state currently denies same-sex couples this right.
- The Special Marriage Act: The Special Marriage Act is a secular law which works alongside religious personal laws. Same-sex marriages can be recognised under the Special Marriage Act. The Act already speaks of marriages between any two persons which are solemnised under it. Any two persons can include two persons of the same sex.
Special Marriage Act
- The Special Marriage Act is a law in India that allows individuals of different religions or nationalities to marry each other.
- It was enacted in 1954 and came into effect from 1955.
- The Special Marriage Act allows for inter-caste and inter-religious marriages, and couples who register under this act are not required to change their religion or follow any religious rites or rituals.
- The act also provides for divorce on certain grounds and maintenance to the spouse and children.
Consider the situation in the United States
- In Obergefell v Hodges (2015), the Supreme Court of the United States held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage.
- Thirty-one out of the 50 states in the United States have marriage laws that define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Conclusion
- The debate on legal recognition of same-sex marriages in India continues to be a contentious issue, with the government and petitioners presenting opposing views. However, given the complex social, cultural, and legal considerations, any decision regarding same-sex marriage should be carefully evaluated to ensure that it is inclusive and respects individual rights. Ultimately, it is important to arrive at a balanced and just solution that upholds the principles of equality and non-discrimination for all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Mains Question
Q. What do you understand by same-sex marriage? Describe same sex marriage situation in India by highlighting both the arguments.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Women empowerment, Reforms to thrive Women leadership
Central Idea
- Today the world is home to a transformative generation of 900 million adolescent girls and young women poised to shape the future of work and growth. If this cohort of young women could be equipped with the right resources and opportunities to nurture the 21st century skills, they would become the largest segment of women leaders, change-makers, entrepreneurs, and innovators in history.
- India is home to one of the largest generations of girls and young women, has made significant progress across various domains, such as education, health, digital and financial inclusion, and leadership building, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5, which envisions a more gender-equal world by 2030.
- To unleash the gender dividend and create conditions for female leadership to flourish, women at all levels of society must have inclusion in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT), bodily autonomy and safety, shared responsibility within the household, and equal participation in decision-making spaces.
What are the necessary conditions that must be in place for Women leadership to thrive?
- Cultivating Agency:
- Given the socio-economic barriers that adolescent girls confront from their earliest years that the work to cultivate their agency must begin early.
- India’s initiatives across various domains, such as education, health, digital and financial inclusion, and leadership building, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5, which envisions a more gender-equal world by 2030.
- Inclusion in ICT:
- Inclusion in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for women at all levels of society is very important.
- As access to digital technology increasingly becomes an arena of opportunity and basic service, EdTech can bridge the accessibility gap in education through hybrid learning models, even where girls’ access to schooling is restricted by harmful norms.
- STEM Education:
- The prevailing stereotypes that characterize STEM education as a traditionally masculine domain, even though over 43% of Indian STEM graduates are women.
- The gender norms that disproportionately allocate domestic and care responsibilities to women, representation of men as leaders of STEM, finance, and entrepreneurial fields in the public perception, and institutional mechanisms are some of the barriers that explain why increased women’s representation in STEM education does not translate into work participation.
- There is need of inclusion of grade-appropriate STEM, financial education, and entrepreneurship syllabi into the educational curriculum for girls to counter these stereotypes actively.
- Bodily Autonomy and Safety
- Empowering women to make decisions about their bodies and be free from all forms of violence and harassment is very important.
- These basic conditions are critical to enable women and young girls to chart the trajectory of their personal and professional lives.
- Sport for Leadership
- The sporting activities can promote leadership, self-sufficiency, and teamwork. The inclusion of adolescent girls and young women in sports can build their self-confidence, strengthen self-belief, and impart the nuances of teamwork.
- The National Sports Policy and inclusion programs for children from vulnerable communities, which have seen remarkable success.
- Redistribute Care Work
- The backbone of thriving families, communities, and economies largely falls on women, increasing in times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
- It is crucial to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work, so that women may enjoy economic opportunities and outcomes on an equal footing to men.
- The policies that provide services, social protection and basic infrastructure, promote sharing of domestic and care work between men and women, and create more paid jobs in the care economy, which are urgently needed to accelerate progress on women’s economic empowerment.
Do you know? STEM education
- STEM education refers to a curriculum that focuses on four academic disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
- STEM education is designed to promote and enhance the critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills of students, while also encouraging their creativity and innovation.
- The curriculum typically integrates these four subjects to show how they are interconnected and applicable to real-world problems.
- STEM education is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, as technology continues to advance and the demand for skilled workers in these fields grows.
Conclusion
- Nurturing the leadership abilities of adolescent girls and young women is crucial for breaking down restrictive gender norms and barriers and accelerating progress across the Sustainable Development Goals. By working together to empower girls and women, we can create a more gender equal world and unlock the full potential of the next generation of female leaders.
Mains Question
Q. What are the necessary conditions that must be established for female leadership to flourish in India?
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India-china Trade, development and Bilateral Relations
Central idea
- China’s recent developments in steady growth, people’s well-being, opening up, and win-win cooperation, as well as its willingness to strengthen communication and coordination with India, can provide new opportunities for all countries in the world, especially neighbouring countries. importance of China-India relations and their role in facilitating an Asian Century.
China’s focus areas of development
- Modernization: China is currently advancing modernization in all fronts, based on its practices, and a focus on high-quality development.
- Overall development: The country aims to modernize its huge population, ensuring common prosperity for all, material and cultural-ethical advancement, harmony between humanity and nature, and peaceful development.
- New opportunities: China’s development will create new opportunities for all countries, especially neighbouring countries.
The development of China in recent years
- Steady Growth:
- In 2022, China’s economy grew by 3%, and the country added a total of 12.06 million urban jobs.
- The country’s GDP increased to 121 trillion yuan (approximately $18 trillion), registering an annual growth rate of 5.2% over the past five years and an annual growth of 6.2% over the past decade, with GDP increasing by nearly 70 trillion yuan.
- China’s economic strength is steadily reaching new heights.
- People’s Well-being:
- China has historically resolved absolute poverty, with the alleviation of close to 100 million rural residents from poverty.
- Over 70% of the government’s expenditure went toward ensuring people’s well-being.
- Basic old age insurance covers 1.05 billion people, an increase of 140 million. Living standards continue to witness new improvements.
- Opening Up:
- In 2022, China’s total volume of trade in goods exceeded 40 trillion yuan, registering an annual growth rate of 8.6%.
- China’s actual use of foreign capital was up by 8%, and the country remained one of the top destinations for foreign investors.
- The overall tariff level continues to fall, from 9.8% to 7.4%. China’s doors to the outside world are opening even wider.
- Win-Win Cooperation
- In the period 2013-2021, China’s contribution to global economic growth averaged 38.6%, higher than that of G7 countries combined (25.7%).
- More than 100 countries have expressed their support, and over 60 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) since Chinese President, Xi Jinping, proposed it in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 2021.
- Emerged as Representatives: As neighboring and ancient civilizations, China, and India are representatives of developing countries and emerging economies.
- National rejuvenation: Both countries are currently in the process of national rejuvenation and a crucial period of modernization where challenges need to be overcome and problems need to be solved.
- Interests than differences: China and India have far more common interests than differences.
China- India Trade
- China and India are important trading partners, with bilateral trade volume reaching $135.984 billion in 2022.
- Although there is a trade deficit, India’s import of equipment and materials from China reduces the overall cost of Made-in-India products, benefits Indian downstream industries and consumers, enhances the competitiveness of Indian exports, and in turn facilitates India’s integration into global industrial and supply chains.
Facilitating an Asian Century
- Chinese Foreign Minister recently stated that the development and revitalization of China and India embody a boost to the force of developing countries, which will change the destiny of a third of the world’s population and have a bearing on the future of Asia and beyond.
- This echoes what India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had expressed in 2022 that the Asian Century will happen when China and India come together.
Conclusion
- China’s development and its relationship with India are important for the region and the world. Both countries are in the process of modernization and face challenges that need to be overcome. China and India are important trading partners, and their cooperation can facilitate an Asian Century and contribute to peace and stability in the region and beyond.
Mains Question
Q. Provide your insights on the role of China and India in shaping the destiny of the developing countries and their impact on the future of Asia and beyond
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bar Council
Mains level: Foreign legal professionals in India
Central Idea: The Bar Council of India (BCI) has opened up law practice in India to foreign lawyers and law firms. It has framed the ‘Bar Council of India Rules for Registration of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2021’.
About Bar Council of India (BCI)
- The BCI is a statutory body established under the section 4 of Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India.
- Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and as such represents the Indian bar.
- It prescribes standards of professional conduct, etiquettes and exercises disciplinary jurisdiction over the bar.
- It also sets standards for legal education and grants recognition to universities whose degree in law will serve as a qualification for students to enroll themselves as advocates upon graduation.
History
- In March 1953, the ‘All India Bar Committee’, headed by S. R. Das, submitted a report which proposed the creation of a bar council for each state and an all India bar council as an apex body.
- It was suggested that the all-India bar council would regulate the legal profession and set the standard of legal education.
- The Law Commission of India was assigned the job of assembling a report on judicial administration reforms and helps India to reform justice and equity to whole country.
- In 1961, the Advocates Act was introduced to implement the recommendations made by the ‘All India Bar Committee’ and ‘Law Commission’.
Functions
The functions of the Bar Council are to:
- Lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates.
- Lay down procedure to be followed by disciplinary committees
- Safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates
- Promote and support law reform
- Deal with and dispose of any matter which may be referred by a State Bar Council
- Promote legal education and lay down standards of legal education.
- Determine universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrollment as an advocate.
- Conduct seminars on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest.
- Organise and provide legal aid to the poor.
- Recognise foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for admission as an advocate.
- Manage and invest funds of the Bar Council.
- Provide for the election of its members who shall run the Bar Councils.
Constitution
- As per the Advocates Act, the BCI consists of members elected from each state bar council, and the Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India who are ex officio members.
- The council elects its own chairman and vice-chairman for a period of two years from among its members.
- Assisted by the various committees of the council, the chairman acts as the chief executive and director of the council.
|
Why such move?
- The BCI notification also stated that the Rules would help to address the concerns expressed about the flow of Foreign Direct Investment into the country.
- The Rules would also help make India a hub for international commercial arbitration.
Move to benefit Indian lawyers
- The rules enable foreign lawyers and law firms to “practice foreign law, diverse international law and international arbitration matters in India on the principle of reciprocity in a well-defined, regulated and controlled manner”.
- The BCI said that the move would benefit Indian lawyers, whose standards of proficiency in law are comparable with international standards.
- The legal fraternity in India is not likely to suffer any disadvantage since the move would be mutually beneficial for lawyers from India and abroad.
How foreign lawyers can begin operating in India?
- The Rules prescribe that foreign lawyers and firms would not be entitled to practice law in India without registration with the BCI.
- Foreign lawyers and law firms are not allowed to practice Indian law in any form or before any court of law, tribunal, board or any other authority legally entitled to record evidence on oath.
- However, the restriction does not apply to law practice by a foreign lawyer or foreign law firm on a ‘fly in and fly out basis’ for the purpose of giving legal advice to a client in India on foreign law or international legal issues.
- In such a case, the lawyer or firm cannot have an office in India, and their practice cannot exceed 60 days in any 12-month period.
Requirements for foreign lawyers and firms
A primary qualification required from foreign lawyers and firms is-
- Certificate from the competent authority of their country that they are entitled to practice law in that country.
- Undertaking that they shall not practice Indian law in any form or before any court of law, tribunal, board or any other authority legally entitled to record evidence on oath.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Foreign Trade Policy
Mains level: India's foreign trade policy
Central idea: The revision of India’s Foreign Trade Policy, which has been unchanged since 2015 and due for three years, may finally be announced by the end of this month.
What is a Foreign Trade Policy?
- India’s Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) is a set of guidelines for goods and services imported and exported.
- These are developed by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s regulating body for the promotion and facilitation of exports and imports.
- FTPs are enforceable under the Foreign Trade Development and Regulation Act 1992.
What is India’s Foreign Trade Policy?
- In line with the ‘Make in India,’ ‘Digital India,’ ‘Skill India,’ ‘Startup India,’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business initiatives, the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20) was launched on April 1, 2015.
- It provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services, creating jobs, and increasing value addition in the country.
- The FTP statement outlines the market and product strategy as well as the steps needed to promote trade, expand infrastructure, and improve the entire trade ecosystem.
- It aims to help India respond to external problems while staying on top of fast-changing international trading infrastructure and to make trade a major contributor to the country’s economic growth and development.
Issues with FTP (2015-2020)
- Acting on Washington’s protest, a WTO dispute settlement panel ruled in 2019 that India’s export subsidy measures are in violation of WTO norms and must be repealed.
- Tax incentives under the popular Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) (now renamed as RODTEP Scheme)and Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) programmes were among them.
- The panel found that because India’s per capita gross national product exceeds $1,000 per year, it may no longer grant subsidies based on export performance.
Why such a delay in Foreign Trade Policy?
- Geopolitical uncertainty: The geo-political situation is not suitable for long-term foreign trade policy, said Union Commerce Minister.
- Global recession: Currently, fears of a recession in major economies like the US and Europe have escalated a panic among investors.
- Decline in USD inflows: Foreign investors have begun to pull back their money from equities.
- Rupee depreciation: The US Dollar is at a 22-year high, while the Rupee hit a new all-time low of $81.6.
- Huge trade deficit: The trade deficit widened by more than 2-folds to $125.22 billion (April – August 2022) compared to $53.78 billion in the same period last year.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Smart Cities Mission
Mains level: Not Much
Central idea: The Govt asks 20 worst-performing cities to improve as June 2023 Smart Cities Mission deadline nears.
What is the Smart Cities Mission?
- The Smart Cities Mission is an initiative of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry that was launched by PM on June 25, 2015.
- Cities across the country were asked to submit proposals for projects to improve municipal services and to make their jurisdictions more liveable.
- Between January 2016 and June 2018 (when the last city, Shillong, was chosen), the Ministry selected 100 cities for the Mission over five rounds.
Deadline of the project
- The projects were supposed to be completed within five years of the selection of the city.
- However, in 2021 the Ministry changed the deadline for all cities to June 2023, which was earlier the deadline for Shillong alone.
What kinds of projects were proposed?
- Project proposals ranged from making certain stretches of roads more accessible and pedestrian-friendly to more capital-intensive ones like laying water pipelines and constructing sewage treatment plants.
- All 100 cities have constructed Integrated Command and Control Centres.
- These centres monitor all security, emergency and civic services.
- During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of these centres were converted into emergency response units by the cities.
What is the status of the projects?
- As of March 3, 100 cities have issued work orders for 7,799 projects worth Rs 1.80 lakh crore.
- Out of these, 5,399 projects worth Rs.1.02 lakh crore have been completed, and the rest are ongoing.
- Only around 20 cities are likely to meet the June deadline. The rest will need more time.
- Shillong has completed just one of its 18 proposed projects.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: McMahon Line
Mains level: Not Much
Central idea: Republican and Democrat senators introduced a resolution in US Congress reiterating that the US recognises the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and India in Arunachal Pradesh.
Significance of such move
- This resolute confirms US (both ruling and opposition) stand with India at a time when China poses a threat to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
- The resolution reaffirms India’s position that Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls ‘South Tibet’, is an integral part of India.
What is the McMahon Line?
- The McMahon Line serves as the de facto boundary between China and India in the Eastern Sector and represents the boundary between Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet.
- China disputes the boundary and claims the state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR).
Under what circumstances was the McMahon Line drawn?
- The McMahon Line was drawn during the Simla Convention of 1914, officially described as the Convention between Great Britain, China, and Tibet.
- The British led an expedition into Tibet and signed the Convention of Lhasa in 1904, alarmed at the growing Russian influence in the region.
- China invaded at the same time, taking control of the southeastern Kham region and pushing British officials to advocate extending British jurisdiction into the tribal territory.
- The convention attempted to settle the question of Tibet’s sovereignty and avoid further territorial disputes in the region.
What happened at the Simla Convention of 1913-14?
- The Tibetan government in Lhasa was represented by its plenipotentiary Paljor Dorje Shatra, and Britain by Sir Arthur Henry McMahon, foreign secretary of British India at Delhi.
- The Chinese plenipotentiary was Ivan Chen.
- The treaty divided the Buddhist region into “Outer Tibet” and “Inner Tibet” and determined the border between China proper and Tibet as well as Tibet and British India.
- The final convention was only signed by McMahon on behalf of the British government and Shatra on behalf of Lhasa.
- Ivan Chen did not consent to the convention, arguing that Tibet had no independent authority to enter into international agreements.
How was the border between British India and China decided?
- The 890-km border from the corner of Bhutan to the Isu Razi Pass on the Burma border was drawn largely along the crest of the Himalayas, following the “highest watershed principle”.
- However, exceptions were made, such as Tawang, which was included in British India due to its proximity to the Assam Valley.
What has the status of the McMahon line been since 1914?
- While there were disputes regarding the McMahon line from the beginning, after the communists took power in 1949, they pulled China out of all international agreements.
- The McMahon line was not mentioned during the Bandung Conference of 1955, which was held in Indonesia and saw Asian and African leaders agree to a common stand against colonialism and the Cold War.
- However, the Chinese have recently raised the issue of the McMahon line, and in 2017, Beijing officially renamed six places in the Arunachal Pradesh region, including the disputed area of Tawang.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India-Italy Bilateral relations
Central Idea
- The recent summit between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and India. It also marked a significant turning point in the relations between the two countries, as they have established a strategic partnership for the first time.
- Now strategic partners: India and Italy have decided to elevate the ties to the level of strategic partnership and identified defence as one of the areas where they can start a new chapter.
- Boost to startups: The meet led to the establishment of a ‘Startup Bridge’ between India and Italy.
- Bilateral defence exercise: Another important area of mutual cooperation is defence. They also decided to organise joint military exercises and training courses on a regular basis.
- Enhance people’s mobility: India and Italy also signed a Declaration of Intent on migration and mobility and inked a memorandum of understanding between Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, and Italian Consulate General; and Morarji Desai Institute of Yoga and Sarva Yoga International, Italy.
India-Italy Flourishing Partnership
- Bilateral Trade: Italy and India have intensified their collaboration in recent years, resulting in a record figure of around 15 billion euros in 2022, doubling the figure recorded in 2020.
- Five-Year Action Plan: In 2020, a five-year action plan was adopted with a well-defined range of priorities including energy transition, food processing, advanced manufacturing, creative industry, and infrastructure.
- Multilateral Initiatives: Italy has joined all the multilateral initiatives promoted by India, from the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to the Coalition for Disaster Relief Infrastructure (CDRI), to the International Solar Alliance.
- Cultural Collaboration: Italy and India have enhanced their collaboration in the cultural field, from the heritage front to the creative industry, including fashion, design, cinema, etc.
- Scientific Research and Technology: The partnership between the two countries has registered the launch of 13 new joint projects in scientific research and technology.
- Mobility: In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the flow of Indian students and workers in Italy, where an Indian community that exceeds a figure of 2,00,000 is already actively operating in the Italian economy.
- Health Sector: During the pandemic, Italy and India collaborated by exchanging experiences and practices, with humanitarian initiatives and promoting joint research projects.
- Strategic Partnership: The Joint Declaration approved in the last summit affirms the commitment of the two governments to develop a strategic partnership that will also focus on sectors such as defence, cybersecurity, space, and energy.
- Indo-Pacific and Enlarged Mediterranean: A connection was identified between the Indo-Pacific and the enlarged Mediterranean where Italy is a front-line player in terms of energy security, investments, and commerce.
- Support for G20 Presidency: Italy offered full support to the Indian Presidency of the G20, contributing around issues that were at the centre of Italy’s G20 Presidency in 2021.
- Ukraine Conflict: Italy and India will be engaged in trying to find a cessation of the conflict in Ukraine.
- European-Indian Strategic Partnership: Both the Prime Ministers expressed their commitment to enhancing the European-Indian strategic partnership and their support for the ongoing negotiations for Free Trade Agreements and agreements on investment protection and geographical indication protection.
What makes Italy a crucial partner for India?
- Economic Cooperation: Italy is one of the largest economies in the European Union and is home to several global corporations. India has a growing economy, and both countries have strong economic ties.
- Trade and Investment: Italy is the 13th largest investor in India with around 700 Italian companies having a presence in India. Italian companies are investing in various sectors in India, including infrastructure, energy, automotive, and textiles.
- Cultural Ties: India and Italy share a rich cultural heritage, and their cultural ties go back centuries. Both countries have a long history of art, literature, music, and architecture. Italy is known for its classical art, and India is renowned for its rich cultural diversity.
- Strategic Cooperation: Both have a shared vision of a multi-polar world order, and are committed to promoting peace and security. Both countries work closely on global issues such as climate change, counter-terrorism, and UN reform.
- People-to-People Contacts: Italy and India have a significant number of people-to-people contacts, with a large Indian diaspora in Italy. There are over 150,000 people of Indian origin living in Italy, and they contribute significantly to the cultural, social, and economic fabric of the country. The growing tourism sector is also promoting more significant people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
Conclusion
- The strategic partnership between Italy and India is based on respect for international law, freedom of navigation, and territorial integrity. It aims to strengthen bilateral relations and focus on sectors such as defence, cybersecurity, space, and energy. In these challenging times, the two countries aim to give a strong impulse to their relations based on the common recognition of the value of true friendship and solidarity.
Mains Question
Q. What are the key highlights of the recent visit of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to India, and how does it mark a significant turning point in the relations between Italy and India? Also Discuss the factors that make Italy a crucial partner for India.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Online Public Hearings and In person Public hearings
Central Idea
- The scale of operations of electricity distribution companies is clear from the fact that their annual revenue requirement is 20% of the Union Budget. The article discusses the importance of public participation in the decision-making process of electricity distribution companies and the role of public hearings conducted by Electricity Regulatory Commissions (ERCs) in this regard. The central ERC recently issued a public notice where it announced that hearings would resume through in-person mode.
- Independent body: ERCs are independent statutory bodies established by the government to regulate the generation, transmission, distribution, and trading of electricity in a particular state or region.
- Role: The primary role of ERCs is to protect the interests of electricity consumers by ensuring that electricity is supplied to them at reasonable and affordable rates while ensuring the financial viability of the electricity sector.
- Powers: ERCs also have the power to issue licenses to power generation and distribution companies, set tariffs, and adjudicate disputes between stakeholders in the electricity sector.
- To ensure transparent framework: ERCs are an essential part of the electricity sector, ensuring that there is a fair and transparent regulatory framework that promotes competition, efficiency, and innovation.
Importance of Public Participation in the decision-making process of electricity distribution companies
- Transparency: Public participation promotes transparency in the decision-making process, It ensures that stakeholders are informed about the decisions being made, the rationale behind them, and the potential impact on the community.
- Accountability: It creates a system of checks and balances that helps ensure that decisions made are in the best interest of the public.
- Improved Decision Making: Public participation can provide DISCOMs with valuable insights and perspectives from the community. This can help improve decision-making by ensuring that decisions are made based on a comprehensive understanding of the issues and the needs of the community.
- Increased Trust: When the public is involved in the decision-making process, it helps build trust between the community and the DISCOM. This can lead to increased support for the decisions made, greater acceptance of the outcomes, and reduced potential for conflict or opposition.
- Community Empowerment: Public participation can empower the community to have a voice in the decisions that affect their daily lives. This can lead to a greater sense of ownership and responsibility for the outcomes, as well as increased engagement and participation in future decision-making processes.
In-person Public Hearings
- Pros of In-person Public Hearings
- Greater sense of community: In-person hearings provide a greater sense of community and allow for face-to-face interactions, which can help build trust and foster dialogue.
- Physical presence: In-person hearings allow participants to physically be present in the room, which can make it easier for them to be heard and have their concerns addressed.
- Better understanding: In-person hearings may be more effective at conveying complex information and data, as participants can ask questions and seek clarification in real-time.
- Increased transparency: In-person hearings can increase transparency as they allow the public to see and hear the proceedings first-hand, and hold regulators and utilities accountable.
- Cons of In-person Public Hearings
- Accessibility: In-person hearings may not be accessible to all members of the public, especially those who are physically unable to attend, live far away, or have other commitments.
- Time-consuming and expensive: In-person hearings can be time-consuming and expensive to organize and attend, which can deter participation and limit the diversity of voices represented.
- Limited participation: In-person hearings may limit participation to those who are comfortable with public speaking or who have the means to travel and attend the hearing, potentially excluding some marginalized groups.
Online Public Hearings
- Pros of Online Public Hearings
- Accessibility: Online hearings are more accessible to a wider audience, as participants can attend from anywhere with an internet connection.
- Convenience and flexibility: Online hearings provide more convenience and flexibility for participants as they can attend from the comfort of their own homes and at their own pace.
- Increased participation: Online hearings may increase participation from diverse groups and those who may not be comfortable with public speaking or traveling to attend an in-person hearing.
- Cost-effective: Online hearings can be less expensive to organize and attend, which can allow for more resources to be dedicated to other aspects of the regulatory process.
- Cons of Online Public Hearings
- Technical difficulties: Online hearings may be subject to technical difficulties, such as poor internet connection or difficulties with the online platform, which can hinder participation and the effectiveness of the hearing.
- Limited sense of community: Online hearings may lack the sense of community that in-person hearings provide, potentially limiting the opportunity for dialogue and relationship building.
- Digital divide: Online hearings may be inaccessible to those who do not have reliable internet access or the necessary technology to participate.
- Privacy concerns: Online hearings may raise privacy concerns, as participants may be uncomfortable sharing personal information or speaking out in a public forum.
What could be the best option?
- A hybrid mode with both in-person and online options is the best approach to ensure quality public participation.
- Moving back to the pre-pandemic practice of only in-person hearings takes away a convenient avenue for consumer engagement and impacts meaningful interactions that are possible in the in-person platform.
- The provision of online mode in addition to in-person hearings would strengthen public participation and plug access gaps, provide flexibility of participation to the citizen, and enable a robust avenue for public participation.
Conclusion
- Public hearings conducted in hybrid mode, with the choice of mode being left to the citizen, are best suited to improving access and ensuring quality public participation. There is a need for institutions to continue to build infrastructure and experience toward online hearings and make improvements in how online hearings are conducted.
Mains Question
Q. What is the role of Electricity Regulatory Commissions (ERCs) in the electricity sector, and why is public participation important in the decision-making process of electricity distribution companies?
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
The Kochi landfill site has caught fire. This is a stark reminder that Indian cities need to be prepared for more such incidents as summer approaches.
What are Landfills?
- Garbage landfills, also known as waste disposal sites or dumps, are areas where waste materials are disposed of by burying them in the ground.
- They are designed to contain and isolate the waste from the surrounding environment, preventing the spread of pollutants and contamination of soil and water sources.
- Garbage landfills are commonly used for the disposal of non-hazardous municipal solid waste, such as household trash, construction debris, and yard waste.
- However, they can also be used for the disposal of hazardous waste and other types of industrial waste, depending on the regulations and restrictions in place.
Is landfilling best way for waste management?
- Landfilling is not considered the best way for garbage disposal, as it can have negative environmental impacts.
- Landfills take up space
- Release harmful gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, and
- Contaminate groundwater and soil if not properly managed
- Landfills can emit odours and create noise pollution, which can impact nearby communities.
Alternative methods for garbage disposal
- Recycling: This involves the separation of waste materials such as plastics, glass, metals, and paper from the general waste stream, and processing them into new products.
- Composting: This is the process of breaking down organic waste materials such as food scraps, yard waste, and paper into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.
- Waste-to-energy: This involves the conversion of waste into energy through incineration, gasification, or pyrolysis. The energy produced can be used to generate electricity or heat.
- Landfill gas recovery: This involves the collection and use of methane gas produced by decomposing waste in landfills to generate electricity or heat.
- Mechanical biological treatment: This is a process that combines mechanical and biological processes to separate and treat waste materials, producing compost and recyclable materials.
- Anaerobic digestion: This is a biological process that breaks down organic waste in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas and fertilizer.
Landfills in India
- Indian municipalities collect more than 95% of the waste generated in cities.
- The efficiency of waste processing is 30-40% at best.
- Indian municipal solid waste consists of about 60% biodegradable material, 25% non-biodegradable material, and 15% inert materials.
- Municipalities are expected to process wet and dry waste separately and have recovered by-products recycled.
Why do Indian landfills often catch fire in summers?
- The rate of processing in India’s cities is far lower than the rate of waste generation.
- Unprocessed waste remains in open landfills for long periods.
- Openly disposed waste includes flammable material like low-quality plastics and rags and clothes.
- In summer, the biodegradable fraction composts much faster, increasing the temperature of the heap.
- Higher temperature and flammable material increase the chance for the landfill to catch fire.
- Some fires have been known to go on for months.
Is there a permanent solution?
There are two possible permanent solutions to manage landfill fires.
- Completely cap the material using soil and close landfills in a scientific manner: This solution is unsuitable in the Indian context as the land can’t be used again for other purposes. Closed landfills have specific standard operating procedures, including managing methane emissions.
- Clear the piles of waste through bioremediation: Excavate old waste and use automated sieving machines to segregate the flammable refuse-derived fuel (RDF), such as plastics, rags, clothes, etc., from biodegradable material. The recovered RDF can be sent to cement kilns as fuel, while the bio-soil can be distributed to farmers to enrich soil. The inert fraction will have to be landfilled.
Some immediate measures to manage landfill fires
- Divide the site into blocks: Based on the nature of waste, separate fresh waste from flammable material and capping portions with soil to reduce the chance of fire spreading across blocks.
- Cap the most vulnerable part of the landfill: That contains lots of plastics and cloth, with soil.
- Provide enough moisture to the fresh-waste block: By sprinkling water and regularly turn the material for aeration to cool the waste heap.
- Classify incoming waste: On arrival and dispose of it in designated blocks rather than dumping mixed fractions.
- Send to kilns on time: Send already segregated and baled non-recyclable and non-biodegradable waste to cement kilns instead of allowing it to accumulate at the site.
Way forward
- Sites should be equipped with water tankers with sprinklers for immediate action.
- The municipality should work with the nearest fire department and have a plan of action in advance.
- Waste-processing workers (plant operators, segregators, etc.) should have basic fire safety and response training.
- People around landfill sites should also be trained and equipped to safeguard themselves during fires.
- The municipality should have routine round-the-clock video surveillance of the most flammable portion of the landfill.
- Flammable material like chemical waste, match sticks, and lighters should not enter the site.
- Machines at the site, like sieves and balers, should be cleaned and moved away from the flammable material.
- On-site staff and security personnel should be housed away from the flammable portion.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: AUKUS
Mains level: AUKUS as a response to China
Australia will buy up to 5 US nuclear-powered submarines and build a new model with US and British technology under the AUKUS.
AUKUS: A Backgrounder
- This new partnership is known as AUKUS and the major highlight of this arrangement is the sharing of US nuclear submarine technology with Australia.
- The first major initiative of AUKUS would be to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia thereby giving it a nuclear heft in the Pacific where China has been particularly aggressive.
- Apart from this AUKUS will also involve the sharing of cyber capabilities and other undersea technologies.
- This alliance is considered to be most significant security arrangement between these three nations.
Ripples created by AUKUS
(A) US shift of focus
- AUKUS is both an acknowledgment of and a concession to the loss of US strategic primacy.
- It gives justification for the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan — to be able to better focus on the strategic rivalry and trade competition with China.
(B) Resentment in the EU and France
- The deal has complicated the relations between France and Australia, and also France and the US. France is upset as it has been kept out of the loop.
- France has even ordered the recall of its ambassadors to Washington and Canberra.
(C) Chinese offensive reception
- China, expectedly, has strongly criticised AUKUS and the submarine deal as promoting instability and stoking an arms race.
(D) Confusion among the SE nations
- The new great power contestation might actually generate much room for the Southeast Asian states to manoeuvre, as they are wooed simultaneously by China, AUKUS, and the Quad.
- They realise that AUKUS is a challenge to the hallowed notion of “ASEAN centrality”, a totemic rhetorical device which seeks to have others acknowledge its relevance.
Why such an alliance?
(A) Deteriorating China-AU relations
- Tensions have been high between Australia and an increasingly assertive China, its largest trade partner.
- Australia banned Chinese telecom giant Huawei in 2108 and its PM called for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 last year.
- China retaliated by imposing tariffs on or capping Australian exports.
(B) US act of counterbalancing
- China has nuclear-powered submarines, as well as submarines that can launch nuclear missiles.
- The three signatories to the AUKUS deal have made it clear though, that their aim is not to arm the new subs with nuclear weapons.
(C) Bringing Australia at the centrestage of Indo-Pacific
- In the context of the AUKUS agreement, nuclear-powered submarines will give the Royal Australian Navy the capability to go into the South China Sea.
- This is primarily because a nuclear-powered submarine gives a navy the capability to reach far out into the ocean and launch attacks.
- A nuclear-powered submarine offers long distances dives, at a higher speed, without being detected gives a nation the ability to protect its interests far from its shores.
Exactly, How?
- To go from a diesel-electric fleet to a nuclear fleet is thus a change of strategy, not just of propulsion.
- It provides a way to project power from the shipping lanes which feed the all-important Malacca Strait to the waters off Taiwan.
- Add on the capacity to launch much longer-range missiles—a submarine could deliver missiles to China’s mainland while sitting to the east of the Philippines—and the country has a greatly expanded offensive capacity.
AU: Another US Base
- If Australia’s strategic stance is changed by the deal, so is America’s.
- Since the Second World War the US has projected power across the region called as an archipelago of empire.
- There are the island bases from Hawaii in the east to Guam, Okinawa in Japan and, in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia, leased from Britain without the consent of its natives.
- In Australia, America has now, in effect, a beefed-up continent-sized base for its own operations as well as a reinvigorated ally.
Outcomes of AUKUS
(A) Offensive front against China
- There is no gainsaying the fact that rapid accretion in China’s economic and military capacities, but more particularly its belligerence, has led to a tectonic shift in regional security paradigms.
- Several countries have been obliged to review their defence preparedness in response to China’s rising military power and its adverse impact on regional stability.
(B) India as a bridge in Anglosphere
- The transatlantic fissure has also pointed to something inconceivable—that India could emerge as a potential bridge between different parts of the West.
- Our PM was on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirming India’s strong commitment to the Indo-Pacific partnership with France.
- India’s solidarity with France at a difficult moment is rooted in New Delhi’s conviction that preserving the West’s unity is critical in shaping the strategic future of the Indo-Pacific.
(C) Exposed Chinese double standards
- China has the world’s fastest-growing fleet of sub-surface combatants.
- This includes the Type 093 Shang-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) and the Type 094 nuclear-powered Jin-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN).
- Its nuclear submarines are on the prowl in the Indo-Pacific.
- Yet, China denies Australia and others the sovereign right to decide on their defence requirements.
Implications on QUAD
- Not superseding: This alliance does not and will not supersede or outrank existing arrangements in the Indo-Pacific region such as the Quad, which the US and Australia form with India and Japan, and ASEAN.
- Complimentary to QUAD: AUKUS will complement these groups and others.
Opportunities for India
While the Quad and Washington’s Indo-Pacific pivot generate much interest and anxiety, it is easy to forget that the two ideas are, in essence, about India.
- India’s role has enhanced: Balancing China is the challenge confronting the United States, and Washington has recognized that India is an indispensable part of the answer.
- Just another alliance: New Delhi has no reason to complain if Australia, Britain, and the United States raise the military capabilities of their coalition. The submarine deal is an undiluted example of strategic defence collaboration.
- Intimidating China: The introduction of nuclear-powered submarine through AUKUS has a complicating impact on the Chinese maritime calculus. Anything that maintains a balance of power in the region is desirable.
- Focusing inside on land border: AUKUS also leaves India with a less of a headache in securing its maritime flank from Chinese aggression and New Delhi may focus more fully on the threat emanating from the land border with China.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Economic indicators, GDP and current trends
Mains level: India's GDP growth
Central Idea
- The National Statistical Office (NSO) has released a new set of data on India’s annual and quarterly national income, providing a final assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the country’s GDP growth. The latest numbers and sector-wise performance, highlighting areas of growth and contraction.
- Advance estimates: NSO’s second advance estimate (SAE) shows a contraction of (-) 5.7% in 2020-21, lower than its first advance estimate (FAE) at (-) 7.7%.
- Benefited sectors: Manufacturing, construction, and financial sectors benefited the most in the revised estimate.
- GDP growth: Real GDP in the COVID-19 year amounted to ₹136.9 lakh crore, higher than the earlier assessment of ₹134.4 lakh crore. GDP grew by 9.1% in 2021-22 and 7% in 2022-23.
- Negative growth in 2020: The compound annual average growth rate between 2019-20 and 2022-23 was 3.2%. Comparison with other countries, including China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, shows India’s negative growth rate in 2020.
Back to basics: Advanced estimates
- Advance estimates refer to the preliminary projections made by the government regarding the likely economic growth, inflation, or other macroeconomic indicators of a country for a given period. These estimates are usually released a few months before the actual data for the period becomes available.
- Advance estimates are based on various economic indicators such as industrial production, agricultural output, exports, and consumption expenditure, among others. These indicators are used to extrapolate the economic activity for the full period, based on which the government makes its initial projections.
Sector-wise Performance
- Overall GVA in 2022-23 is higher by 11.3% compared to 2019-20.
- Mining and quarrying sector still shows a contraction at (-) 0.3%.
- Trade, hotels, transport, etc., show weak growth of 4.3%.
- Construction sector shows higher-than-average growth at 18.6%.
- Manufacturing sector also shows robust growth at 14.8%.
- Financial, real estate, etc., grew at 14.3%.
- Agriculture sector grew at 12%.
- Government final consumption expenditure (GFCE) grew at 7.4%.
- Gross fixed capital formation and private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) increased by 17.7% and 13.1%, respectively.
Investment and Capacity Utilization
- Gross fixed capital formation to GDP ratio in nominal terms increased to 29.2% in 2022-23 from 28.6% in 2019-20.
- Real investment rates increased to 34% in 2022-23 from 31.8% in 2019-20.
- Estimated incremental capital output ratio (ICOR) decreased to 4.9 in 2022-23 from 8.5 in 2019-20.
- Capacity utilization ratio in the manufacturing sector was only 70.3% in 2019-20, but it increased to 73.5% in the first half of 2022-23.
- Subdued growth implies lower capacity utilization and higher ICOR.
Quarterly Growth and Projections
- Q3 2022-23 saw a decline in real GDP growth to 4.4% from 6.3% in Q2 and 13.2% in Q1.
- Growth rate in Q3 and expected growth rate in Q4 are quite low.
- High frequency indicators point towards improved economic activity.
- PMI manufacturing in January and February 2023 remained above its long-term average.
- PMI services increased to a near 12-year
Conclusion
- the NSO’s latest data on India’s GDP growth provides a final assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the country’s economy. The NSO’s data shows that India’s economy is recovering, albeit at a slower pace, from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Are you an IAS Worthy Aspirant? Get a reality check with the All India Smash UPSC Scholarship Test
Get upto 100% Scholarship | 900 Registration till now | Only 100 Slots Left
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
