Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Export Co-operative Society
Mains level: Not Much
The first consignment expected to be exported by the first-ever National Export Co-operative Society.
Why in news?
- The Union Cabinet on January 11 approved the setting up Multi-State Seed Society, Multi-State Organic Society and Multi State Export Society.
What is National Export Co-operative Society (NECS)?
- The society will have an authorised share capital of ₹2,000 crore with the area of operation all over the country.
- It will be registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.
- It will have its registered office in Delhi.
- The Society’s registration will be complete in the next few days and the first consignment will be exported in three months.
- It will work as an export house for handicrafts, handlooms, khadi and other products, ensuring enhancement of income of the cooperative member entrepreneurs.
Funding of NECS
- Leading cooperatives like IFFCO, KRIBHCO, NAFED, Amul and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) will be the promoters of the Society.
- They will contribute ₹100 crore each.
Working of NECS
- The Society will be different from the Export Promotion Council under the Ministry of Commerce.
- This Society will provide end-to-end services to the cooperatives.
- It will open foreign bank accounts and complete all the formalities, including necessary permissions for exporting a product.
- The dividends will be shared with the manufacturer instantly and without any brokerage fee.
- The Society will hire consultants in foreign countries who will help expand its footprint across continents.
Why need cooperatives for export promotion?
- Cooperatives contribute 28.80% in fertilizer production, 35% in fertilizer distribution, 30.60% in sugar production and 17.50% in milk in the national economy.
- However, their contribution to exports is negligible.
- Society will benefit the smallest of farmer or artisan who has a good product but does not have access to the right platform.
- Through this Society, they will get access to international market and good returns too.
- Once a product has been tested for international standards, the packaging and export will be done by the Society.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Channapatna Toys
Mains level: NA
Augmented Reality of Channapatna Toys were displayed at First Movers Coalition (FMC) Leadership Meeting of the World Economic Forum.
Channapatna Toys
- Channapatna toys are a particular form of wooden toys (and dolls) that are manufactured in the town of Channapatna in the Ramanagara district of Karnataka.
- This traditional craft is protected as a geographical indication (GI) under the World Trade Organization, administered by the state govt.
- As a result of the popularity of these toys, Channapatna is known as Gombegala Ooru (toy-town) of Karnataka.
- Traditionally, the work involved lacquering the wood of the Wrightia tinctoria tree, colloquially called Aale mara (ivory-wood).
- Their manufacture goes back at least 200 years according to most accounts and it has been traced to the era of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in the 18th century.
- The toys are laced with vegetable dyes and colours devoid of chemicals and hence they are safe for children.
Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)
- A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
- Nodal Agency: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
- GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
- The tag stands valid for 10 years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NEP
Mains level: NEP, ASER survey findings
Context
- The Covid pandemic had caused schools to shut down in March 2020, and India had one of the longest school closures in the world primary schools were closed for almost two years. The impact of the pandemic on the education sector was feared to be twofold learning loss associated with long school closures, and higher dropout rates, especially among older children, due to squeezed family budgets.
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ASER survey during the pandemic
- Assessing the learning losses: Estimates from these three state-level surveys could be used to understand the extent of children’s learning losses. These state level estimates are extremely useful as they are the only ASER estimates of learning we have between 2018 and 2022.
- Rising learning level pre-pandemic: For the country as a whole, learning levels had been rising slowly between 2014 and 2018, after being stagnant for several years. For example, at the all-India level, the proportion of children in Class III who could read a Class II level text (a proxy for grade-level reading) had risen from 23.6 per cent in 2014 to 27.2 per cent in 2018.
- Big fall during pandemic: ASER 2022 shows a big drop in this proportion to 20.5 per cent. This 7-percentage point fall is huge, given how slowly the all-India numbers move and confirms fears of large learning losses caused by the pandemic.
- Higher losses in math: In math also, learning levels had risen slowly between 2014 and 2018. The 2022 estimates show a drop here as well although much smaller than in the case of reading.
Case study of three states- Karnataka Chhattisgarh and West Bengal
- Assess learning levels in three states: Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal in 2021, when schools were still closed or had just reopened. While these are not national estimates, they provide an interim measurement that is more reflective of pandemic-induced learning losses than the estimates for 2022.
- Reading and math losses: Across all three states, there were large learning losses in both reading and math in 2021 in excess of 7 percentage points, except in the case of Std V in West Bengal. The loss in reading is a little higher, though not by much.
- Learning losses was much below 2014 levels: In both reading and math, the 2021 learning levels in these three states fell below their 2014 levels. A year later, ASER 2022 data shows that across all three states, there has been a recovery in both reading and math (except Karnataka in reading and West Bengal in reading in Std V) after schools reopened in 2021-22.
- Recovery still below pandemic: In other words, while the 2022 learning levels were still below or in some cases close to the 2018 levels, comparing 2018 with 2022 hides the dramatic fall in learning levels observed between these two points and the subsequent recovery that has happened in the last year.
- Focus on foundational competency: Another big development during 2020-21 was the introduction of the new National Education Policy (NEP) in 2020. For the first time, there was a big focus on the early years and the importance of foundational competencies.
- Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN): Once schools reopened, states moved quickly and almost all states have made a major push in the area of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) under the NIPUN Bharat mission (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy). This push is reflected in the ASER 2022 data.
- Directive for NEP Implementation: As part of the survey, ASER field investigators visited one government school in each of the sampled village to record enrolment, attendance and school facilities. This year we also asked whether schools had received any directive from the government to implement FLN activities in the school and whether teachers had been trained on FLN. At the all-India level, 81 per cent schools responded that they had received such a directive and 83 per cent said that at least one teacher in the school had been trained on FLN.
Recovery of learning losses
- Partial recovery in some states: Extrapolating from the experience of the three states for which we have 2021 data, we can assume that other states also experienced large learning losses during the pandemic. However, once schools reopened, states made a concerted effort to build or re-build foundational competencies, which has resulted in a partial and in some cases, a full recovery.
- Earliest open, recovered faster: The extent of the recovery varies across states depending on how long their schools were closed as well as when they initiated learning recovery measures. For instance, Chhattisgarh was one of the earliest states to reopen their primary schools in July 2021, giving them a longer period to work with children, as compared to, for instance, Himachal Pradesh or Maharashtra, where schools reopened much later.
- Remarkable recovery by Chhattisgarh: Taking into account the 2021 figures, the 2022 estimates for Chhattisgarh point to a remarkable recovery, in both reading and math, that is hidden if we just compare 2022 with 2018.
- Lack of data for many states: In the absence of a 2021 measurement for other states, it is difficult to say what the original pandemic-induced learning loss was from which states are aiming to recover.
Conclusion
- As per the ASER survey learning losses of the student have been recovered quickly than expected. NEP looks very promising for better learning outcomes for children and college students. Every state and union territory should implement the NEP in its entirety.
Mains Question
Q. Analyze the learning outcomes and recovery of children based on ASER survey. What is impact of NEP on recovery of learning outcome after pandemic?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India's proposed amendments
Context
- India has proposed several amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) that take into account the socio-economic development of states, promote One Health, among other things.
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What are the amendments proposed by India?
- International Health Regulations: The country advocated implementing IHR to be in accordance with (the) common but differentiated responsibilities of the States Parties, taking into consideration their social and economic development.
- Assessing human+ animal health: It also recommended assessing human health in congruence with animal and environment health to promote One Health.
- Public health alert: India also sought a provision for an intermediate public health alert in the event where an outbreak doesn’t yet meet the criteria for a public health emergency of international concern but requires timely mitigating measures.
Impact of COVID 19 on proposed amendments
- Equitable access demand: Drawing on the learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic, India argues for “equitable access to medical countermeasures.”
- Accountability of WHO: India also sought greater accountability from the World Health Organization (WHO) in how the IHR is implemented and whether Member States are complying.
- Reporting to WHA: It proposed the Director-General report all activities under the IHR to the World Health Assembly (WHA), particular instances when Member States did not share information.
Support from other countries
- Some developed and developing countries: Other countries which made submissions included Armenia, Brazil, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Namibia, New Zealand, Russia and Switzerland, among others.
- Support from Arica: Eswatini also made suggestions to the IHR amendments on behalf of the WHO Africa Region.
- Other issues are also raised: It included issues surrounding intellectual property, licensing, transfer of technology and know-how for diversification of production.
- Equitable access to health: Equity has emerged as the common focal point in demands made by developing countries. Equitable access to the health products, international financing mechanisms, strengthening health systems, access and benefit sharing mechanisms and tailoring responsibilities based on a country’s capacity are some of the key features.
- Similar demand by executive board: The WHO’s executive board, in its sixth meeting last January, had noted that IHR amendment “should be limited in scope and address specific and clearly identified issues, challenges, including equity,
- Universal protection from disease: Other demands include, technological or other developments, or gaps that could not effectively be addressed otherwise but are critical to supporting effective implementation and compliance of the International Health Regulations (2005), and their universal application for the protection of all people of the world from the international spread of disease in an equitable manner”.
What are the opposition from developed countries?
- Equity only for pandemic: Amendments proposed by developed countries seem to evade the equity demand. The European Union’s policy, for instance, noted equity principles should only be applicable for pandemic-scale health emergencies.
- Non-pandemic health emergency doesn’t need equity: This terminology, in effect, excludes health emergencies that are not officially declared a pandemic. The argument being that outbreaks at the scale of COVID-19 occur occasionally.
- Pandemic specific capacities cannot be generalized: Capacities developed solely for pandemic response cannot therefore be put in use regularly and this will further result in the deterioration of the capacities as well.
Conclusion
- As per the current suggestions, the new regulations should make developed countries and WHO more responsible towards developing countries, put in place stricter mandates, swift action and regular implementation review by WHO.
Mains Question
Q. What are the amendments suggested by India for WHO? Why there is opposition from developed countries for demand of equity by developing countries?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ASER 2022
Mains level: Status of schooling in India
Pratham’s Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) 2022 — the first full-fledged one after the pandemic has now been published.
ASER Survey
- This is an annual survey (published by the education non-profit Pratham) that aims to provide reliable estimates of children’s enrolment and basic learning levels for each district and state in India.
- ASER has been conducted every year since 2005 in all rural districts of India. It is the largest citizen-led survey in India.
- It is also the only annual source of information on children’s learning outcomes available in India.
- The survey is usually done once in two years.
How is the survey conducted?
- ASER tools and procedures are designed by ASER Centre, the research and assessment arm of Pratham.
- The survey itself is coordinated by ASER Centre and facilitated by the Pratham network. It is conducted by close to 30,000 volunteers from partner organizations in each district.
- All kinds of institutions partner with ASER: colleges, universities, NGOs, youth groups, women’s organizations, self-help groups, and others.
- The ASER model has been adapted for use in several countries around the world: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Pakistan, Mali, and Senegal.
Assessment parameters
- Unlike most other large-scale learning assessments, ASER is a household-based rather than school-based survey.
- This design enables all children to be included – those who have never been to school or have dropped out, as well as those who are in government schools, private schools, religious schools or anywhere else.
- In each rural district, 30 villages are sampled. In each village, 20 randomly selected households are surveyed.
- Information on schooling status is collected for all children living in sampled households who are in the age group 3-16.
- Children in the age group 5-16 are tested in basic reading and basic arithmetic. The same test is administered to all children.
- The highest level of reading tested corresponds to what is expected in std 2; in 2012 this test was administered in 16 regional languages.
- In recent years, this has included household size, parental education, and some information on household assets.
Highlights of ASER 2022
The ASER 2022 report, which surveyed 6.99 lakh children aged 3 to 16 across 616 rural districts, however, bears some good news. School-level enrolment continues to grow strong and fewer girls are now out of school.
(1) Enrolment
- India has recorded a 95% enrolment for the last 15 years in the 6-14 age group.
- Despite the pandemic forced school closure, the figure rose from 97.2% in 2018 to 98.4% in 2022.
- Only 1.6% children are now not enrolled.
- There is a clear increase in government school (6-14) enrolment across states — it rose from 65.6% in 2018 to 72.9% in 2022.
- This is contrast to the trend in the 2006-14 period, which marked a steady decline in government school enrolment for the 6-14 age group.
- From 10.3% of 11-14 year old girls not enrolled in schools in 2006, the proportion came down to 4.1% in 2018 and is at 2% in 2022. Save Uttar Pradesh, where it is at 4%, the number is lower across states.
(2) Learning Loss
- The ASER 2022 report says that children’s basic reading ability has dropped to ‘pre2012 levels, reversing the slow improvement achieved in the intervening years’.
- The decline is seen across gender and across both government and private schools and is more acute in lower grades.
- Percentage of children in Class III in govt or private schools who can read at Class II level dropped from 27.3% in 2018 to 20.5% in 2022.
- Class V students who can at least read a Class II level text fell from 50.5% in 2018 to 42.8% in 2022.
- Nationally, 69.6% of Class VIII students can read at least basic text in 2022, falling from 73% in 2018.
(3) Arithmetic abilities
- Students in Class III who are able to at least do subtraction dropped from 28.2% in 2018 to 25.9% in 2022.
- For Class V, students who can do division has also fallen from 27.9% in 2018 to 25.6% in 2022.
- Class VIII has done better with an improvement recorded — proportion of children who can do division has increased from 44.1% in 2018 to 44.7% in 2022.
- ASER says that this increase is driven by improved outcomes among girls as well as among children enrolled in government schools, whereas boys and children enrolled in private schools show a decline over 2018 levels.
(4) Tuition dependency
- Rural India has been reporting an uptick in Class I-VIII paid tuition classes and it has moved up from 26.4% in 2018 to 30.5% in 2022.
- In UP, Bihar, and Jharkhand, the proportion of children taking paid private tuition increased by 8 percentage points.
(5) English proficiency
- ASER recorded English abilities last in 2016 and the trend stays similar till date.
- Children’s ability to read simple English sentences was at 24.7% in 2016 and is found at 24.5% in 2022.
- Class VIII has shown some improvement from 45.3% in 2016 to 46.7% in 2022.
- Children’s basic reading ability has dropped to pre-2012 levels, reversing the slow improvement achieved in the intervening years, while the basic maths skills have declined to 2018 levels nationally.
(6) Schools improvement
- Average teacher attendance increased from 85.4% in 2018 to 87.1% in 2022, while average student attendance persists at 72% as before.
- Textbooks had been distributed to all grades in 90.1% of primary schools and in 84.4% of upper primary schools.
- Fraction of schools with useable girls’ toilets increased from 66.4% in 2018 to 68.4% in 2022.
- There were 76% schools with drinking water facilities compared with 74.85% in 2018, but there are interstate variations.
- In 2022, 68.9% schools had a playground, up slightly from 66.5% in 2018.
Way forward
- In the past 10 years, we’ve seen improvement, but it has been in small bits. So it means that we really need to shake up things.
- It is a critical thing for improving the productivity of the country. Business as usual is not going to work.
- Again, it’s not a new message, but it’s a message that needs to be reiterated.
- There are Anganwadi everywhere and their enrollment has gone up. Integration between the Anganwadi system and the school system is urgently needed because the work starts there.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Calling Name Presentation (CNAP)
Mains level: Caller spams these days
Telecom operators have expressed concerns over user privacy on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) proposal.
Calling Name Presentation (CNAP)
- Under this phones would need to display the name of a caller, by extracting the name of the telecom subscriber from their SIM registration data.
- The feature would provide the called individual with information about the calling party (similar to ‘Truecaller’ and ‘Bharat Caller ID & Anti-Spam’).
- The idea is to ensure that telephone subscribers are able to make an informed choice about incoming calls and curb harassment by unknown or spam callers.
Why need CNAP?
- Securing important calls: Genuine calls should not get unanswered. Hence proper system is solicited.
- Blocking of spammers: Since subscribers are not given the name and identity of the caller, they may choose not to answer them believing it could be commercial communication from unregistered telemarketers.
- Rise of robocalls: There have been rising concerns about robocalls (calls made automatically using IT-enabled systems with a pre-recorded voice), spam calls and fraudulent calls.
What are the proposed models?
The regulator has proposed four models for facilitating the CNAP mechanism-
- TSPs operating CNAP database: The first model involves each telecom service provider (TSP) establishing and operating a CNAP database of its subscribers. Here, the caller’s TSP would have to extract the relevant data from its own database.
- Database sharing: In the second model, the operator of the calling entity shares its CNAP database with the receiver’s operator. The difference here is that the calling operator would permit the receiver’s operator to access its database for the caller’s CNAP data.
- Creating a Centralised database: The onus rests on the receiver’s operator to delve into the centralized database to retrieve and present the caller’s data. This model is similar to a plan envisaged by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in 2018, involving the setting up of a Digital Intelligence Unit at the central level.
- Centralized CNAP database: TSP retains a copy of a synchronized central database operated by a third party. It works this way: the call is facilitated as per the routine procedure, and since the receiver’s operator has access to both the centralized and their own database, the lookup is, therefore, internal.
Issues involved
- Latency: The regulator has said that latency in setting up the call must be ensured and CNAP must be inter-operable. The responsiveness might also suffer when moving from a faster wireless network (4G or 5G) to a comparatively slower one (2G or 3G), or vice-versa.
- Privacy Issue: It is not clear how the CNAP mechanism would balance the caller’s right to remain anonymous, an essential component of the right to privacy. To put it into perspective, an individual may opt to remain anonymous for multiple reasons, for example, whistle-blowers or employees being harassed.
- Gendered impact: The proposal may particularly harm women. The service will display a woman subscriber’s name and data, to every calling party whether or not she consents to it.
- Data sharing without consent: We have to see it in parallel with The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (2022) which has a clause on deemed consent lacking adequate safeguards including sharing of data with third parties.
- Implementation loopholes: Marketers have figured out newer ways to circumvent the existing framework. Previously, telemarketers were required to be registered as promotional numbers. Now they have started deploying people not necessarily part of the entity’s set-up, but rather “at-home workers”.
Way forward
- Innovative solution: TRAI must build an interface that is user-friendly and in turn, an effective mechanism.
- Spam identification: Active participation from the subscribers would ensure that spammers are rightly identified and are unable to make further calls.
- Digital literacy: The government must also invest in digital literacy, skilling citizen’s to navigate and use the tech better, ensuring they do not share their data indiscriminately and are informed about dangers such as financial fraud and spoofing.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India's fertilizer subsidy burden
The government is expected to come out with a new fertilizer policy.
What is the news?
- A task force to examine the production and promotion of bio-fertilizer and organic fertilizers has already been set up under the NITI Aayog.
How much fertilizer does India consume?
- Total consumption of fertilizers between April and mid-December 2022 was 40.146 million metric tonnes (mmt), with production of 32.076 mmt and imports of 12.839 mmt.
- The gap between demand and production is met through timely imports.
How is fertilizers availability monitored?
- Some steps undertaken by the government to improve the availability of fertilizers include:
- Assessment of state-wise requirements every month;
- 100% neem coating of urea, which increases nutrient efficiency;
- Monitoring of crop yield and soil health; and
- Online monitoring of the movement of fertilizers through the integrated Fertilizer Monitoring System.
Impact of the current policy
- Heavy subsidies: This has prompted many farmers to use chemical fertilizers like urea, which leads to higher productivity, but affects soil fertility in the long run.
- Excessive and inefficient use of fertilizers: This leads to nutrient losses to the environment and could also result in drinking water contamination and impact human lives as a result of unsafe storage practices, as per a UN report.
- Emission causing: With the subsidy being released directly to companies, technology-inefficient companies are being protected causing carbon emission.
While attempts have been made to reform the fertilizer policy, they had to be rolled back after pressure from various quarters.
Trend in government expenditure
- Food subsidy: The government has spiked spending on food, fertilizer and fuel subsidy by nearly 70%.
- Increased expenditure: For 2023-24, the fertilizer ministry might seek budgetary support of ₹2.5 trillion subsidy – outgo for FY23 has already crossed ₹2 trillion.
- Increased import bill: Russia being a major exporter of liquefied natural gas -critical input for manufacturing of urea – has also led to higher prices.
Steps taken in 2022
- Implementation of DBT: The department of fertilizers disbursed subsidies for urea and nutrient-based subsidy, and implemented direct benefit transfer.
- One Nation One Fertilizers Scheme: It also implemented the ONOF scheme which aims to ensure timely supply of fertilizers.
- Model fertilizer retail outlets: The existing village, block/sub district/taluk and district level fertilizer retail outlets are being converted into model fertilizer retail outlets.
Way forward
- Promoting local fertilizers: Lower duty on imported phosphoric acid to raise the competitiveness of local fertilizer manufactures, and an incentive for promoting organic fertilizers, could be proposed.
- Bio-fertilizer and organic fertilizers: A task force on bio-fertilizer and organic fertilizers has already been set up under NITI Aayog.
- Curbing hefty subsidies: Considering the long-term interests of agriculture and the effects of using inorganic fertilizers, saving a huge amount on account of subsidy support is a step in the right direction.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Coal Index
Mains level: NA
The Ministry of Coal has launched the sixth round of commercial coal mines’ auction for 141 coal mines.
What is the news?
- As per the provisions of the tender document, the Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) to be submitted for each successfully auctioned coal mine is to be revised annually based on the National Coal Index (NCI).
What is National Coal Index (NCI)?
- Ministry of Coal has started commercial auction of coal mines on revenue share basis.
- In order to arrive at the revenue share based on market prices of coal, one National Coal Index (NCI) is conceptualized.
- The NCI is a price index which reflects the change of price level of coal on a particular month relative to the fixed base year.
- The base year for the NCI is FY 2017-18.
- NCI is a price index combining the prices of coal from all the sales channels- Notified Prices, Auction Prices and Import Prices.
- It is released every month.
Components of NCI
- The concept and design of the Index as well as the Representative Prices have been developed by the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
- NCI is composed of a set of five sub-indices: three for Non-Coking Coal and two for Coking Coal.
- The three sub-indices for Non-Coking Coal are combined to arrive at the Index for Non-Coking Coal and the two sub-indices for Coking Coal are combined to arrive at the Index for Coking Coal.
- Thus, indices are separate for Non-coking and Coking Coal.
- As per the grade of coal pertaining to a mine, the appropriate sub-index is used to arrive at the revenue share.
Implementation of NCI
- The amount of revenue share per tonne of coal produced from auctioned blocks would be arrived at using the NCI by means of a defined formula.
- The Index is meant to encompass all transactions of raw coal in the Indian market.
- This includes coking and non-coking of various grades transacted in the regulated (power and fertilizer) and non-regulated sectors.
- Washed coal and coal products are not included.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Grameen Udyami Scheme
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship the felicitation program of 200 tribal women under the Grameen Udyami Scheme.
Grameen Udyami Scheme
- It was launched to augment skill training in tribal communities for their inclusive and sustainable growth.
- It is a unique multiskilling project, funded by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) that aims to train tribal students in select states.
- It is implemented under Sansadiya Parisankul Yojana.
- Under the program, 49 ST clusters in 15 states of India have been selected by 40 tribal MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
- Under their leadership, the scheme in respective clusters is being implemented.
- One development associate is appointed by the MPs in each cluster.
Stated objectives
- Increase in Rural/Local Economy
- Enhance employment opportunities
- Reduce forced migration due to lack of local opportunities
- Conservation of natural resources
Scope of the project
- The project is being implemented in six states – Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Gujarat.
Benefits
- Transportation, boarding & lodging during the learning period is provided to candidates
- The training under the project will be conducted in the job roles which are relevant to the local economy.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Brahmaputra and its tributaries
Mains level: Hydrodiplomacy over Brahmaputra River
India has planned to build a buffer reservoir in the proposed Arunachal hydropower project to counter China’s proposed 60,000 MW Medog hydropower project on the Brahmaputra River.
Brahmaputra hydrology: A tool of aggression for China
- China has continued to use the water of river Brahmaputra for its interest and has intentionally created hazardous conditions for downstream states like India and Bangladesh.
- Concerns over China’s proposed 60,000 MW hydropower in Medog, Tibet are influencing the design of a proposed hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district.
- Still only in the planning stage, a ‘pre-feasibility report’ on the 11,000 MW project, or more than five times the size of the largest such projects in India – has been submitted.
What is Medog super-dam Project?
- China is planning a mega dam in Tibet able to produce triple the electricity generated by the Three Gorges—the world’s largest power station.
- The structure will span the Brahmaputra River before the waterway leaves the Himalayas and flows into India.
- It is billed as able to produce 300 billion kilowatts of electricity each year and said to be largest dam in the world once completed.
India’s plan: To build buffer reservoir
- The design of the proposed project incorporates a “buffer storage” of 9 billion cubic metres (or about 9 billion tonnes of water) during monsoonal flow.
- This could act as a store of water worth a year’s flow that would normally be available from the Brahmaputra or buffer against sudden releases.
Threats posed by Medog Project
Chinese dams can hold large amounts of water, during times of droughts China could stop the flow of the river, jeopardizing the lives of millions of people in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Bangladesh.
- Reduced flow in the Brahmaputra: The 60,000 MW dam in Medog could reduce the natural flow of water from the Brahmaputra.
- Triggering artificial floods: Away from India during lean patches, it might be used to trigger “artificial floods” in the Brahmaputra basin.
- Degradation of the entire basin: Silt carried by the river would get blocked by dams leading to a fall in the quality of soil and eventual reduction in agricultural productivity.
- Seismic threats: Seismologists consider the Himalayas as most vulnerable to earthquakes and seismic activity.
- Ecological threats: The cumulative impact of these two megaprojects might aggravate ecological degradation, converting lotic ecosystems into lentic ones.
- Water security: Damming Brahmaputra would result in water security in an era of unprecedented shifting climate patterns.
- Catastrophic threat: Any damage to the mega dam, if constructed here, will cause dam breaching and consequent flood havoc in India and Bangladesh.
Why are such issues unaddressed?
- No treaty on water sharing: We do not have any bilateral or multilateral treaty or any other effective and formal instrument of understanding for collaborative management of the Brahmaputra River.
- Hostility over borders: Undemarcated borders are at the core of all hostilities between India and China.
India’s dilemma
- Flood control dichotomy: India’s hydropower projects, while potentially beneficial in controlling flooding from the Brahmaputra in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
- No deterrence to China: This might not necessarily serve as a strategic deterrent to China.
- Resentment to Bangladesh: A large dam in India may help control floods within India but might open fresh disputes over water sharing with Bangladesh downstream.
Way forward
- There must be collaborative management of our shared rivers.
- Hydro-diplomacy should form an important ingredient of Indian foreign policy, especially as India shares river basins with neighbors.
Brahmaputra River
- Origin → Chemayungdung Glacier (Kailash Range, Tibet)
- In Tibet, known as TSANG – PO
- In China, known as YARLUNG ZANBO
- Forms grand canyon in Tibet
- Turns southward near Namcha – Barwa
- Enters Arunachal Pradesh as Dihang River at Sadiya, emerging from the mountains
- Joined by Dibang river from the north & Lohit river from the south → Known as Brahamputra
- Turns at Dhubri to enter into Bangladesh
- After joining Teesta, known as Jamuna in BD
- Joins Ganga & Megna → Merges to BOB.
- Forms many river island of which Majuli is world 2nd largest one
- Major tributaries → Dihang, Lohit, Subansiri, Teesta, Meghna (Barack in Assam), Manas
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Agnipath Scheme, Agniveers
Mains level: Indian Army
The Agnipath scheme for recruitment is a “transformative policy” which will be a “game changer” in strengthening the armed forces, said the Prime Minister.
What is Agnipath Scheme?
- This will be the only form of recruitment of soldiers into the three defence services from now.
- Recruits under the scheme will be known as ‘Agniveers’.
- After completing the four-year service, they can apply for regular employment in the armed forces.
- They may be given priority over others for various jobs in other government departments.
- The move is expected to decrease the average age profile of armed forces personnel from the current 32 to 24-26 years over a period of time.
Working of the scheme
- The process of recruitment will commence in 90 days with a planned intake of 46,000 young men and women this year.
- Enrolment to all three services will be through a centralized online system, with special rallies and campus interviews at recognized technical institutes.
- Recruitment will be carried out on an “All India All Class” basis with the eligibility age ranging from 17.5 to 21, with medical and physical fitness standards in accordance with existing norms.
Payouts of the Agniveers
- The ‘Agniveers’ will receive an annual package of ₹4.76 lakh in the first year to ₹6.92 lakh in the fourth year, apart from risk and hardship and other allowances as applicable.
- Under the ‘Seva Nidhi’ package, they will receive about ₹11.71 lakh, including contribution and interest, on completion of service.
- The recruits will have to contribute 30% of their monthly emoluments to Seva Nidhi, with a matching contribution made by the government.
- There will be no entitlement to gratuity and pension benefits under the scheme.
- However, the ‘Agniveers’ will be provided a non-contributory life insurance cover of ₹48 lakh during their service.
Why are aspirants protesting?
- Contractualisation of armed forces: The foundation of this scheme is a four-year contract.
- Jobs for the majority: States such as Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, are where the bulk of the Army recruitment takes place.
- Perks and benefits: Many of these people value job stability, which includes retirement benefits and pensions over competitive salaries.
- Uncertainty after end of commission: Most of them will be forced to leave the job within four years, which doesn’t fit into their hopes and aspirations.
- Casualization of Training: It reportedly takes two to three years to train a member of the army, but as a part of the Agnipath, soldiers will only be trained for six months.
- Threats to national security: Defence analysts have allegedly pointed out that the Russian soldiers who were trained for a limited amount of time before they went to war have performed disastrously.
- Conflicts of interest: Apprehensions have been voiced against how the new recruits will be adjusted in the existing system under which most of the Army units are region, caste or class-based.
Reasons behind aspirants’ frustration
- Unemployment: Analysts always cite the crunch of gazetted officers in the Armed forces and there has been no recruitment for the last two years.
- Pandemic impact: Many aspirants lost their chance to join the Armed forces as they are now overage.’
- Unanticipated reforms: In guise of a push for “major defence policy reform”, the scheme is a fuss.
- Coaching mafias: Coaching mafias have played a significant role in sparking and provoking protesters.
Need for the Scheme: Official explanation
- Budgetary efficiency: With the largest volunteer army in the world, paying an increased salary and pension bill, given rising incomes all around, has steadily eroded the capital side of the defence budget.
- Preferential treatment: For job-seekers, the government has already said they will get priority in the Central Armed Police Forces.
- Promotional avenues: One significant advantage of this scheme would be the much lower age profile of the service. It will increase the promotional avenues of the permanent cadre.
- Diverse career options: Once retired, aspirants will be free to pursue other careers, with several departments and governments.
- Selective skilling: Aspirants will get preference, educational credits, skill certificates, to help them rehabilitate in other fields.
- Financial assistance: Those wishing to be entrepreneurs will get a financial package and bank loans and those wishing to study further will be given 12 class equivalent certificate.
Way forward
- Longer contract term: Make the period of the contract for new recruits longer than four years. The present clarification fails to address this issue.
- Continuance of the commission: Relook the 25 per cent re-enlistment at the end of the contractual period. Ideally, it should be over 50 per cent retention for long-term posts.
- Policy commitment for reabsorption: For those leaving after their short service, do obtain a binding commitment from CAPFs, states’ police forces and other organisations that they are willing to absorb this trained military manpower.
- Gradual shift in recruitment policy: Continue with existing regular enrolment, in reduced numbers, and gradually shift to the Tour of Duty once it stabilizes after five to ten years.
Conclusion
- A nation should never compromise with the personnel who make up the fighting sinews of its armed forces.
- The best way to prevent such an impression is to look upon them not as a burden to the exchequer, but as rough diamonds, to be cut and polished to their maximum capabilities and then deployed in the defence of the nation.
- A diamond is forever, our future men and women in uniform too deserve to serve to their maximum for the betterment of the nation and their own lives.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNSC 1267
Mains level: Global terrorist designations
The ISIL and Al Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council (UNSC) has placed Abdul Rehman Makki, a fundraiser and key planner of the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), on its sanctions list.
Blacklisting Maki: Under UNSC 1267 list
- The UNSC resolution 1267 was adopted unanimously on 15 October 1999.
- It came to force in 1999, and strengthened after the September, 2001 attacks.
- It is now known as the Da’esh and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
What is UNSC 1267 committee?
- It comprises all permanent and non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
- The 1267 list of terrorists is a global list, with a UNSC stamp.
- It is one of the most important and active UN subsidiary bodies working on efforts to combat terrorism, particularly in relation to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
- It discusses UN efforts to limit the movement of terrorists, especially those related to travel bans, the freezing of assets and arms embargoes for terrorism.
How is the blacklisting done?
(1) Submission of Proposal
- Any member state can submit a proposal for listing an individual, group, or entity.
- The proposal must include acts or activities indicating the proposed individual/group/entity had participated in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities linked to the said organizations.
(2) Actual decision
- Decisions on listing and de-listing are adopted by consensus.
- The proposal is sent to all the members, and if no member objects within five working days, the proposal is adopted.
- An “objection” means rejection for the proposal.
(3) Putting and resolving ‘Technical Holds’
- Any member of the Committee may also put a “technical hold” on the proposal and ask for more information from the proposing member state.
- During this time, other members may also place their own holds.
- The matter remains on the “pending” list of the Committee.
- Pending issues must be resolved in six months, but the member state that has placed the hold may ask for an additional three months.
- At the end of this period, if an objection is not placed, the matter is considered approved.
How China supports Terror in Pakistan?
- China has exposed its double standards on the issue of terrorism for consistently stopping the listing of Pakistan-based terrorists.
- This time, Beijing has argued that the blacklisting is in fact a “recognition” of Pakistan’s record of fighting terrorism.
Here is a timeline of how China disrupts the global efforts against terrorism:
- 2009: After the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, India moved an independent terror designation proposal against Masood Azhar but China blocked the move.
- 2016: After seven years, India proposes listing of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist and is supported by the US, the UK and France. China blocks the move again.
- 2017: The trio moves a third proposal only to be blocked by China again.
- 2019: After the attacks on the CRPF personnel in J-K’s Pulwama, India calls 25 envoys of different countries to highlight the role Islamabad plays in funding, promoting and strengthening global terrorism. India moves the fourth proposal demanding Masood Azhar’s listing. China lifted its technical hold.
- June 2022: China blocked a proposal by India and the US to list Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki as a ‘Global Terrorist’
- August 2022: China blocks India-US joint proposal to list Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) deputy chief Abdul Rauf Azhar as UNSC designated terrorist.
Why China shields Pak-based terrorists?
- Rewarding Pakistan: China rewards Pakistan to keep India engaged in regional battles and internal conflicts.
- Oppressing the Uighurs: The quid pro quo is that Pakistan does not utter a word against Uighur Muslim oppression by China in restive Xinjiang province.
Conclusion
- China’s actions expose its double speak and double standards when it comes to the international community’s shared battle against terrorism.
- This clearly depicts its care for its vassal state Pakistan.
Back2Basics: United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
- The UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
- Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions.
- It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
- The Security Council consists of fifteen members. Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, and the United States—serve as the body’s five permanent members (P5).
- These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary-General.
- The Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The body’s presidency rotates monthly among its members.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Unified Payment Interface (UPI)
Mains level: Digital banking in India
The National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI) has allowed Indians abroad to use fast payments network UPI, if their domestic bank accounts are linked to their foreign mobile numbers.
What is UPI?
- UPI is an instant real-time payment system developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) facilitating inter-bank transactions.
- The interface is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and works by instantly transferring funds between two bank accounts on a mobile platform.
What exactly has NPCI allowed on UPI?
- NPCI issued a circular that paved the way for wider adoption of homegrown payments platform UPI.
- So far, only Indian phone numbers were allowed on UPI, leaving out non-resident bank accounts linked to their phone numbers abroad.
- In the first phase, phone numbers from 10 countries including Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the UK have been allowed to be used on UPI.
- NPCI said it could extend this to other nations as well.
How will it benefit Indians abroad?
- Once the systems are in place, non-resident Indians will be able to transact using UPI, irrespective of whether they are in India or abroad.
- To use UPI, non-residents need to have either a non-resident external (NRE) account or a non-resident ordinary (NRO) account in India.
- It would, of course, be more useful when account holders visit India, given the scale of UPI merchant infrastructure in India.
- While abroad, they can use UPI to transfer funds to families in India and use it on e-commerce portals that allow such payments.
What are the prerequisites for this facility?
- NPCI has asked banks to onboard only those accounts that meet the Foreign Exchange Management Act guidelines and instructions issued by the departments of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- Apart, the remitter, as well as beneficiary banks, will have to ensure they comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating of financial terrorism (CFT) checks.
Does it help the plan to take UPI global?
- NPCI has been attempting to make UPI a global phenomenon and the idea to tap NRIs is a step towards that.
- 10 countries are just to begin with and the list will expand in future.
- NPCI has been trying to push homegrown payment systems in other countries through NPCI International Payments Ltd, a subsidiary it set up in 2020.
- It has already tied up with payment system operators in Nepal, UAE, France, UK and others to allow UPI usage there.
- There is also a plan to link UPI with Singapore’s Paynow.
How will it help the UPI ecosystem?
- UPI is almost synonymous with digital payments in India, clocking over ₹12.8 trillion worth of transactions in December.
- After a slow start in 2016, UPI payments have grown at a rapid pace. Given there are over 13.5 million NRIs, the availability of UPI is expected to raise transaction volumes.
- Industry experts said that just like resident Indians do not have to pay for UPI, it will also be available to NRIs at no extra cost.
- That said, it might be off to a slow start as the acceptance infrastructure abroad is still being developed.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Solitary Waves, Mars
Mains level: Not Much
In a first-of-its-kind discovery, a team of Indian scientists from the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) reported the first evidence of the presence of solitary waves around Mars.
Mars
- Of the largest Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury.
- In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the “Red Planet”.
- The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars’s surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye.
- Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.
- The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period, as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane, is similar.
- Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one canyons in the Solar System.
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What are Solitary Waves?
- Solitary waves are distinct electric field fluctuations (bipolar or monopolar) that follow constant amplitude-phase relations.
- Their shape and size are less affected during their propagation.
- Solitary waves are known to be responsible for the plasma energization and its transport in Earth’s magnetosphere.
Unveiling the undercover solitary waves
- Earth is a giant magnetic entity, wrapped in a magnetosphere generated by the motion of molten iron in its core.
- This magnetosphere casts a protective layer around our home planet, shielding us from the solar winds coughed towards us by the Sun.
- But unlike Earth, Mars lacks a robust intrinsic magnetic field, which effectively allows the high-speed solar wind to interact directly with the Martian atmosphere.
- This interaction suggests that even with a weak and flimsy magnetosphere, the frequent occurrences of solitary waves on Mars remain a possibility.
Why this is a significant feat for India?
- Despite several missions to Mars, their presence has never been detected — until now.
- However, Indian Scientists have successfully identified and reported the first-ever solitary waves detected on Mars.
- They arrived at this result by analyzing about 450 solitary wave pulses observed by the Langmuir Probe and Waves instrument on NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft.
Decoding the data
- Their analysis revealed distinct electric field fluctuations, which lasted for about 0.2-1.7 milliseconds.
- Such signals were predominant during dawn or between afternoon to dusk at an altitude of 1000-3500 km from Mars’ surface.
- Further investigation is needed to determine exactly why these waves are dominant during a fixed time of the day.
Significance of such waves on Mars
- These pulses are dominantly seen in the dawn and afternoon dusk sectors at an altitude of 1000–3500 km around Mars.
- Researchers are further exploring their role in the particle dynamics in the Martian magnetosphere and whether such waves play any role in the loss of atmospheric ions on Mars.
- The study of these waves is crucial as they directly control particle energization, plasma loss, transport, etc., through wave-particle interactions.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Migrants and their problems
Context
- It is very worrying that a third of the eligible voters, a whopping 30 crore people, do not vote. Among the many reasons, including urban apathy and geographical constraints, one prominent reason is the inability of internal migrants to vote for different reasons.
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What are the efforts by election commission to address the problem?
- Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants: The Election Commission had earlier formed a “Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants” to address this issue. The Committee’s report submitted in 2016 suggested a solution in the form of “remote voting”.
- All party representative: To further address this serious problem, the EC invited representatives from all recognised national and state political parties to discuss the legal, administrative, and statutory changes to resolve the issue.
- All party consensus: The discussion took place in the presence of a technical expert committee. It is important to recall that the last major decision about the voting system was the introduction of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), with the consensus of all political parties in 2010.
- Least represented group: The Constitution guarantees freedom of movement to every citizen and freedom to reside in any part of the country. However, migrant workers, especially circular or short-term migrants, constituting tens of millions of citizens are some of the least represented groups in the ballot.
- Lack of access to vote: The issue of disenfranchisement faced by migrant workers is not one arising out of deliberate denial of the right to vote, but for lack of access to vote.
- Fundamental right: The Supreme Court, in a series of cases, has conclusively interpreted the freedom to access the vote as within the ambit of Article 19(1)(a).
Problems related to migrant workers and Voting
- Large scale migration: According to the 2011 Census, the number of internal migrants stands at 450 million, a 45 per cent surge from the 2001 census. Among these, 26 per cent of the migration (117 million) occurs inter-district within the same state, while 12 per cent of the migration (54 million) occurs inter-state.
- Alienation by residency criteria: The root cause of the migrant voters’ issue is that the individual’s inalienable right to vote is conditioned by a rather strict residency qualification. As a consequence, it tends to disenfranchise the migrant population.
- 60% migrants could not vote: In the survey report, ‘Political inclusion of Seasonal Migrant Workers in India: Perceptions, Realities and Challenges’ by Aajeevika Bureau, it was found that “close to 60 per cent of respondents had missed voting in elections at least once because they were away from home seeking livelihood options”.
What is the way forward?
- Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System: Section 60(c) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 empowers the Election Commission of India, in consultation with the government, to notify “classes” of voters who are unable to vote in person at their constituencies owing to their physical or social circumstances. Once notified, the voters are eligible for the ETPB system (Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System). In the 2019 general elections, the ETPB system was accessed by 18 lakh defence personnel across the country.
- Postal ballots for migrants: In 2019, in the backdrop of a PIL before the Supreme Court, a bill was floated to extend a similar remote voting possibility to over 10 million adult NRIs in order to “boost their participation in nation-building”. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, more than 28 lakh votes were received via postal ballots.
- Migrants are also equal citizens: In the existing system, remote voting within the constituency by voting via postal ballot is available to senior citizens, people with disabilities, and Covid-affected personnel. The postal ballot voting outside the constituency is available only to service voters, persons on election duty and persons on preventive detention. The Indian migrant worker too deserves the secured right to have access to vote through some mechanism.
- Remote electronic voting machine: The Election Commission has proposed the use of remote voting for migrant workers wherein a modified version of the existing model of M3 EVMs will be placed at remote polling stations. In fact, the Electronic Corporation of India Ltd. has already developed a prototype of a Multi-constituency Remote EVM (RVM) a modified version of the existing EVM which can handle 72 constituencies in a single remote polling booth. Technical details will be available only after the crucial demonstration.
Conclusion
- Migrant workers are also the equal citizens of the country. Social-economic and structural barriers should not the hurdle in there right to vote. Election commission of India has taken the step in the right direction. However, consensus needs to be built over the voting rights of migrants.
Mains Question
Q. What are the problems faced by migrant workers in exercise of there voting rights? What is the way forward towards ensuring voting rights to migrants?
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Wealth tax and present status in India
Mains level: Rationale behind wealth tax
Context
- The discourse on efficient, effective and equitable public spending often takes us into the realm of limited resources facing competing demands. India definitely needs to widen its revenue collection as well as base. In this context, it is important to discuss the need for levying a wealth tax, and levying it now.
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Why wealth needs to be taxed?
- Accumulation of wealth: The most compelling reason stems from evidence that there has been massive accumulation of wealth in a few hands. A small section of people has access to a large share of economic assets and resources that remain almost completely untaxed and thus unavailable for public allocation.
- Wealth without hard work: Wealth, much less than even income, has little to do with one’s education, merit or efforts; it is largely dependent on inheritance and opportunities that come with the advantages associated with belonging to one of India’s privileged classes and castes.
- Income inequality: India’s top 10% population owns 65% of the country’s wealth, while the bottom 10% owns only 6%, according to the World Inequality Database, 2022.
- Wealth of rich doubled in pandemic: An Oxfam report has highlighted how India’s richest doubled their wealth during the pandemic. This happened for a variety of reasons, including profits made on vaccines and commodity and asset price movements.
- Wealth doesn’t translate into productive resources: But the fact remains that India, despite facing grave financial and economic challenges, has no means to convert any of this growing wealth into productive resources that can generate employment opportunities and push up the incomes of multitudes, which in turn can drive demand for goods something that is needed to counter an economic drag-down.
What is the government’s attitude towards wealthy?
- Rich knows how to invest: One may argue and it is common to hear this that wealth is better left to the wealthy, as they know best how to invest. This has not been in sufficient evidence, at least in India.
- Corporate tax lowered: The government lowered the corporate tax rate significantly from 30% to 22% in 2019-20, which has continued despite the economic crises caused by the pandemic. However, this did not elicit much private investment.
History of Wealth taxation in India
- Wealth tax: Wealth tax, which is a direct tax unlike the goods and services tax or value-added tax, can take several forms, such as property tax, inheritance or gift tax and capital gains tax.
- Capital gains tax: Capital Gains tax exists in India, but applies only to transactions and hence is limited in its base.
- Estate duty: India scrapped its estate duty in 1985 and has no inheritance tax. Although the receipt of gifts is subject to income tax in the beneficiary’s hands, it has various exemptions; it is almost entirely exempt if received from within the family, including the extended family of self and spouse.
- Exemption leads to accumulation: These exemptions shrink the base significantly, as most accumulated wealth is acquired through family, and that remains outside the gift tax’s ambit. Given the cultural context of wealth inheritance, some exemptions make sense, but upper thresholds can be easily added to make it more effective.
- No wealth tax: India presently does not have any wealth tax i.e., a tax levied on one’s entire property in all forms.
- One time solidarity tax: It did not impose a one-time ‘solidarity tax’ on wealth in post-covid budgets that could have generated resources for essential public investment.
- Example of developing countries: A number of Latin American countries, including Argentina, Peru and Bolivia, have either introduced or are introducing a progressive annual wealth tax levied on the wealth gains of each year or a one-time covid ‘solidarity’ tax.
Conclusion
- Idea of wealth tax appear good on paper however; it may negatively impact the domestic and foreign investment in the country. Direct tax slab for superrich in India is already among the highest in the world. The idea of wealth taxation needs careful deliberation before implementation.
Mains Question
Q. Comment on history of wealth tax in India. why wealth tax is necessary in India? elaborate.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Marital Rape
The Supreme Court is set to begin hearing a series of petitions seeking to criminalize marital rape from March 14.
What is Marital Rape?
- Marital rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one’s spouse without her consent.
- It is no different manifestation of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
- It is often a chronic form of violence for the victim which takes place within abusive relations.
Status in India
- Historically considered as right of the spouses, this is now widely classified as rape by many societies around the world.
- In India, marital rape is not a criminal offense (as protected under IPC section 375).
- India is one of fifty countries that have not yet outlawed marital rape.
Reasons for disapproval of this concept
- The reluctance to define non-consensual sex between married couples as a crime and to prosecute has been attributed to:
- Traditional views of marriage
- Interpretations of religious doctrines
- Ideas about male and female sexuality
- Cultural expectations of subordination of a wife to her husband
- It is widely held that a husband cannot be guilty of any sexual act committed by himself upon his lawful wife on account of their mutual matrimonial consent.
Why it must be a crime?
- Associated physical violence: Rape by a spouse, partner or ex-partner is more often associated with physical violence and sexual mutilation.
- Mental harassment: There is research showing that marital rape can be more emotionally and physically damaging than rape by a stranger.
- Compulsive relationship: Marital rape may occur as part of an abusive relationship.
- Revengeful nature: Furthermore, marital rape is rarely a one-time event, but a repeated if not frequent occurrence.
- Obligation on women: In the case of marital rape the victim often has no choice but to continue living with their spouse.
Violation of fundamental rights
- Marital rape is considered as a violation of FR guaranteed under Article 14 of the Indian constitution which guarantees the equal protection of laws to all persons.
- By depriving married women of an effective penal remedy against forced sexual intercourse, it violates their right to privacy and bodily integrity, aspects of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.
Problems in prosecuting marital rape
- Lack of awareness: A lack of public awareness, as well as reluctance or outright refusal of authorities to prosecute is common globally.
- Gender norms: Additionally, gender norms that place wives in subservient positions to their husbands, make it more difficult for women to recognize such rape.
- Acceptability of the concept: Another problem results from prevailing social norms that exist.
Present regulations in India
- Indian Penal Code criminalizes rape in most cases, although marital rape is not illegal when the woman is over the age of 18.
- However, until 2017, men married to those between 15 and 18 could not be convicted of rape.
- Marital rape of an adult wife, who is unofficially or officially separated, is a criminal offence punishable by 2 to 7 year in prison; it is not dealt by normal rape laws which stipulate the possibility of a death sentence.
- According to the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act (2005), other married women subject to such crime by their husband may demand for financial compensation.
- They also have the right to continue to live in their marital household if they wish, or may approach shelter or aid homes.
However, marital rape is still not a criminal offense in this case and is only a misdemeanor.
Arguments against criminalization
- Subjective: It is very subjective and intricate to determine whether consent was acquired or not.
- Prone to Misuse: If marital rape is criminalized without adequate safeguards it could be misused like the current dowry law by the dissatisfied wives to harass and torture their Husbands.
- Burden on Judiciary: It will increase the burden of judiciary which otherwise may serve other more important causes.
Way forward
- Sanctioning marital rape is an acknowledgment of the woman’s right to self-determination (i.e., control) of all matters relating to her body.
- In the absence of any concrete law, the judiciary always finds it difficult to decide the matter of domestic rape in the absence of solid evidence.
- The main purpose of marriage is procreation, and sometimes divorce is sought on the ground of non-consummation of marriage.
- Before giving a final interpretation, the judiciary must balance the rights and duties of both partners.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Expected Loss-based Approach
Mains level: Debt management
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a framework for the adoption of an expected loss-based approach for loan provisioning by banks.
What is Loan-Loss Provision?
- The RBI defines a loan loss provision as an expense that banks set aside for defaulted loans.
- Banks set aside a portion of the expected loan repayments from all loans in their portfolio to cover the losses either completely or partially.
- In the event of a loss, instead of taking a loss in its cash flows, the bank can use its loan loss reserves to cover the loss.
- Since the bank does not expect all loans to become impaired, there is usually enough in the loan loss reserves to cover the full loss for any one or a small number of loans when needed.
- An increase in the balance of reserves is called loan loss provision.
- The level of loan loss provision is determined based on the level expected to protect the safety and soundness of the bank.
And what is the expected loss-based approach?
- Under this practice, a bank is required to estimate expected credit losses based on forward-looking estimations, rather than wait for credit losses to be actually incurred before making corresponding loss provisions.
- As per the proposed framework, banks will need to classify financial assets (primarily loans, including irrevocable loan commitments, and investments classified as held-to-maturity or available-for-sale) into one of three categories — Stage 1, Stage 2, or Stage 3.
- This depends upon the assessed credit losses on them, at the time of initial recognition as well as on each subsequent reporting date, and make necessary provisions.
- Stage 1 assets are financial assets that have not had a significant increase in credit risk since initial recognition or that have low credit risk at the reporting date. For these assets, 12-month expected credit losses are recognised and interest revenue is calculated on the gross carrying amount of the asset.
- Stage 2 assets are financial instruments that have had a significant increase in credit risk since initial recognition, but there is no objective evidence of impairment. For these assets, lifetime expected credit losses are recognised, but interest revenue is still calculated on the gross carrying amount of the asset.
- Stage 3 assets include financial assets that have objective evidence of impairment at the reporting date. For these assets, lifetime expected credit loss is recognised, and interest revenue is calculated on the net carrying amount.
What are the benefits of this approach?
- The forward-looking expected credit losses approach will further enhance the resilience of the banking system in line with globally accepted norms.
- It is likely to result in excess provisions as compared to shortfall in provisions as seen in the incurred loss approach.
What is the problem with the incurred loss-based approach?
- The incurred loss approach requires banks to provide for losses that have already occurred or been incurred.
- The delay in recognising expected losses under an “incurred loss” approach was found to exacerbate the downswing during the financial crisis of 2007-09.
- Faced with a systemic increase in defaults, the delay in recognising loan losses resulted in banks having to make higher levels of provisions which ate into the capital maintained precisely at a time when banks needed to shore up their capital.
- This affected banks’ resilience and posed systemic risks.
- Further, the delays in recognising loan losses overstated the income generated by the banks which, coupled with dividend payouts, impacted their capital base
Which banks are covered under this approach?
- The proposed norms are for all scheduled commercial banks, excluding regional rural banks.
- Regional rural banks and smaller cooperative banks (based on a threshold to be decided based on comments) are proposed to be kept out of the framework.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: World Economic Forum
Mains level: Not Much
The World Economic Forum has begun its annual summit in Davos, Switzerland,
World Economic Forum (WEF)
- Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WEF is an international not-for-profit organization, focused on bringing the public and private sectors together to address the global political, social, and economic issues.
- It was founded in 1971 by Swiss-German economist and Professor Klaus Schwab in a bid to promote the global cooperation on these most pressing problems.
- The first meeting of WEF was held more than five decades ago in Davos, which has been the home of the annual gathering almost ever since, also becoming the shorthand for the event.
Tap to read more about important reports published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
WEF partners
- The WEF is largely funded by its partnering corporations.
- These are generally global enterprises with an annual turnover greater than $ 5 billion.
- For these corporations, the WEF provides a platform “to shape the future, accessing networks and experts to ensure strategic decision-making on the most pressing world issues.”
- Partners range from Apollo Tyres to Apple – they can be from any industry, as long as they wish to engage using WEF’s platforms.
- WEF also partners with public subsidies.
Why are the summits held at Davos?
- Sometimes described as Europe’s highest town, Davos has been the venue for the WEF’s annual meeting every year since its inception – with one exception.
- Davos, a ski resort, and the annual host of WEF’s meeting is a quaint town located on the lap of the Swiss Alps.
- In many ways, it is a surprising choice for a meeting of global economic giants and geopolitical leaders.
- The meeting was held in New York in 2002 in a gesture of solidarity following the 9/11 attacks.
Who are the attendees and what actually happens in Davos?
- Typically, Davos attracts global business executives and policymakers – and it’s strictly invite-only.
- Usually attending will be the sitting U.S. president, top EU and UN leaders, business leaders and entrepreneurs, academics, heads of NGOs and charities, the media, activists and even some celebrities.
- Donald Trump, Jens Stoltenberg, Ursula von der Leyen, Greta Thunberg, Elton John and many other high-profile names have all previously attended Davos.
- The conference includes hundreds of discussions, keynote speeches and panels, and all-important networking sessions, usually behind closed doors in five-star hotels.
- CEOs and investors seize the opportunity for face-to-face deal-makings.
Davos 2023: What’s on this year’s agenda?
- This year’s annual meeting in Davos will take place January 16–20, 2023.
- The theme is “cooperation in a fragmented world” and within that are five sub-themes, including the energy and food crises, inflation, technology for innovation, social vulnerabilities and geopolitical risks.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Shukrayaan I
Mains level: Not Much
ISRO said that it is yet to receive approval from the Indian government for the Venus mission and that the mission could as a result be postponed to 2031.
Shukrayaan I: Venus Orbiter Mission
- Shukrayaan-I is a planned orbiter to Venus by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus.
- The idea was born in 2012; five years later, ISRO commenced preliminary studies after the Department of Space received a 23% hike in the 2017-2018 budget.
- The orbiter, depending on its final configuration, would have a science payload capability of approximately 100 kilograms (220 lb) with 500 W available power.
- The launch will involve GSLV Mark II.
Expected launch
- ISRO had originally hoped to launch Shukrayaan I in mid-2023 but cited the pandemic when it pushed the date to December 2024.
- Optimal launch windows from Earth to Venus occur once around every 19 months.
- This is why ISRO has ‘backup’ launch dates in 2026 and 2028 should it miss the 2024 opportunity.
- But even more optimal windows, which further reduce the amount of fuel required at liftoff, come around every eight years.
Other missions to Venus
- The US and the European space agencies have Venus missions planned for 2031 — referring to VERITAS and EnVision, respectively.
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