Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gilgit-Baltistan Region, CPEC
Mains level: CPEC and India's sovereignty concerns
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has turned five.
What is CPEC?
- China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a collection of infrastructure projects that are under construction throughout Pakistan since 2013.
- It is an extension of the Belt and Road Initiative of China.
- It intended to upgrade Pakistan’s required infrastructure and strengthen its economy by the construction of modern transportation networks, numerous energy projects, and special economic zones.
- On 13 November 2016, CPEC became partly operational when Chinese cargo was transported overland to Gwadar Port for onward maritime shipment to Africa and West Asia.
Why in news?
- The viability of some of the CPEC’s projects, and how they were going to be paid for in a pandemic-hit economy, had come under renewed attention in Pakistan.
- China had sought additional guarantees before sanctioning a $6 billion loan for the Main Line-1 (ML-1) project, which includes upgrading a 1,872 km rail line from Peshawar to Karachi.
- This is due to the “weakening financial position of Pakistan” and had “proposed a mix of commercial and concessional loans against Islamabad’s desire to secure the cheapest lending”.
An overrated project
- The CPEC, to some degree, has been a victim of its own hype.
- Its economic figure may never materialise as the plan has been “considerably slimmed-down” from the scope that was first imagined.
- This largely due to the ever-deteriorating financial situation of Pakistan and a visible debt-trap.
- Pakistan had established a CPEC authority to speed up the execution of several projects that were mired in delays (and to give the military a greater role in the project).
Threats of Baloch insurgency
- Gwadar, the heartland of CPEC certainly faces serious threats.
- The city is a prime target for Baloch nationalist insurgents. Hence Pakistan has decided to fence the area.
- This has sparked a new furore among the local residents.
India’s concerns with CPEC
- CPEC passes through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (Gilgit-Baltistan) which is an Indian territory illicitly occupied by Pakistan.
- Thus CPEC undermines India’s strategic interests and territorial integrity.
- More importantly, with CPEC, China will get access to the western Indian Ocean through Gwadar port.
- This will help China in controlling maritime trade and would affect the freedom of navigation and trade-energy security of India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Trans fats
Mains level: Health threats posed by Trans Fats
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has capped the amount of trans fatty acids (TFA) in oils and fats to 3% for 2021 and 2% by 2022 from the current permissible limit of 5%.
New FSSAI norms
- FSSAI has acted in response to the amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations.
- The country’s food regulatory body notified the amendment on December 29, more than a year after it issued a draft on the subject for consultation with stakeholders.
- The revised regulation applies to edible refined oils, vanaspati (partially hydrogenated oils), margarine, bakery shortenings, and other mediums of cooking such as vegetable fat spreads and mixed fat spreads.
- It was in 2011 that India first passed a regulation that set a TFA limit of 10% in oils and fats, which was further reduced to 5% in 2015.
What are Trans Fats?
- Artificial Trans fats are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid.
- Since they are easy to use, inexpensive to produce and last a long time, and give foods a desirable taste and texture, they are still widely used despite their harmful effects being well-known.
Why such a regulation?
- Trans fats are associated with increased risk of heart attacks and death from coronary heart disease.
- As per the WHO, approximately 5.4 lakh deaths take place each year globally because of intake of industrially-produced trans-fatty acids.
- The WHO has also called for global elimination of trans fats by 2023.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ramsar Convention, Wetlands
Mains level: Ramsar wetlands in India
Assam has prohibited community fishing at Deepor Beel, a wetland on the south-western edge of Guwahati and it’s the only Ramsar site.
Try this PYQ:
In which one among the following categories of protected areas in India are local people not allowed to collect and use the biomass?
(a) Biosphere reserves
(b) National parks
(c) Wetlands declared under Ramsar convention
(d) Wildlife sanctuaries
Deepor Beel
- Deepor Beel is located to the south-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup district of Assam, India.
- It is a permanent freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River, to the south of the main river.
- It is a wetland under the Ramsar Convention which has listed since November 2002, for undertaking conservation measures on the basis of its biological and environmental importance.
- Considered as one of the largest beels in the Brahmaputra valley of Lower Assam, it is categorised as a representative of the wetland type under the Burma monsoon forest biogeographic region.
- It is also an important bird sanctuary habituating many migrant species.
- Freshwater fish is a vital protein and source of income for these communities; the health of these people is stated to be directly dependent on the health of this wetland ecosystem.
Back2Basics: Ramsar Convention
- The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (better known as the Ramsar Convention) is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
- It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem.
- The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
- Traditionally viewed as a wasteland or breeding ground of disease, wetlands actually provide fresh water and food and serve as nature’s shock absorber.
- Wetlands, critical for biodiversity, are disappearing rapidly, with recent estimates showing that 64% or more of the world’s wetlands have vanished since 1900.
- Major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing, water diversion for dams and canals and infrastructure development are considered to be some of the main causes of loss and degradation of wetlands.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Natural Gas
Mains level: Natural gas as an alternative fuel
PM will today dedicate the Kochi – Mangaluru Natural Gas Pipeline to the nation.
Try this PYQ:
Q. Consider the following statements:
- Natural gas occurs in the Gondwana beds.
- Mica occurs in abundance in Kodarma.
- Dharwars are famous for petroleum.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) None
Kochi – Mangaluru Pipeline
- The 450 km long pipeline has been built by GAIL (India) Ltd.
- It has a transportation capacity of 12 Million Metric Standard Cubic Metres per day.
- It will carry natural gas from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Regasification Terminal at Kochi (Kerala) to Mangaluru (Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka).
- It will pass through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod districts.
Its significance
- The event marks an important milestone towards the creation of ‘One Nation One Gas Grid’.
- The pipeline will supply environment-friendly and affordable fuel in the form of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to households and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to the transportation sector.
- It will also supply Natural Gas to commercial and industrial units across the districts along the pipeline.
- Consumption of cleaner fuel will help in improving air quality by curbing air pollution.
Back2Basics: Natural Gas
- Natural gas is a fossil fuel source consisting primarily of methane.
- It is the cleanest among all the available fossil fuels.
- It is used as a feedstock in the manufacture of fertilizers, plastics and other commercially important organic chemicals as well as used as a fuel for electricity generation, heating purpose in industrial and commercial units.
- Natural gas is also used for cooking in domestic households and a transportation fuel for vehicles.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 213, Article 123
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with U.P. government's ordinance on religious conversion
The article examines the provision of U.P. governments religious conversion ordinance and issues with these provision.
Power to promulgate an ordinance
- As per Article 213(1) of the Constitution of India, there are three pre-conditions to be satisfied before the Governor promulgates an ordinance, these are:
- 1) The State Legislature should not be in session.
- 2) Circumstances should exist for promulgating an ordinance and importantly.
- 3) Those circumstances must warrant immediate action.
Scrutiny of the circumstances
- There is no established practice requiring the Governor (or the President under Article 123) to state the circumstances for promulgating the Ordinance.
- The reason for immediate action is, as yet, not justiciable.
- But the Supreme Court of India has held that the existence of circumstances leading to the satisfaction of the Governor can be inquired into.
- A healthy convention should develop and the preamble to any ordinance should state the immediacy for promulgating it when the Legislature is not in session.
- This would greatly enhance transparency in legislation.
- This would also help legislators to understand why they are by-passed and why a procedures in the Legislature could not be awaited.
Issues with the U.P. ordinance
- The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance records the satisfaction of the Governor of the existence of circumstances and the necessity for “him/her to take immediate action.
- If one fraudulent or coercive inter-faith marriage is taking place, the police can certainly prevent it.
- An ordinance is not required for it.
- Section 3 prohibits conversion or attempt to convert any person from one religion to another by coercion or fraud etc. or by marriage.
- But, nobody gets converted by marriage.
- The offense of attempting to convert poses a bigger rights issue.
- Under Section 7, on receiving the information a police officer is authorized to arrest a person without orders from Magistrate or warrant.
- The nature of information includes an allegation of allurement which includes an offer of any temptation in the form of a gift or gratification.
- Under Section 8, if someone genuinely desires to convert but not get married, that person would have to inform the District Magistrate (DM) two months in advance of the plan through a declaration.
- Assuming conversion is not objected to, even thereafter the DM must be informed by the converted through a declaration under Section 9.
- Section 12 provides that the burden to prove the conversion was not on account of coercion, fraud, etc., or by marriage will be on the person who has caused the conversion.
- But, how the person causing the conversion expected to know the mind of the converted?
Conclusion
The ordinance vilifies all inter-faith marriages and places unreasonable obstacles on consenting adults in exercising their personal choice of a partner, mocks the right to privacy and violates the right to life, liberty, and dignity. In short, it is unconstitutional.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NSR
Mains level: Paper 2- Melting of Arctic ice cap and its geopolitical implications
Melting of the ice in the Arctic region has as much impact on the geopolitics as it has on the environment. The article explains in detail the geopolitics involved.
Melting of Arctic ice and its impact on climate
- Arctic region is warming up twice as fast as the global average.
- The ice cap is shrinking fast — since 1980, the volume of Arctic sea ice has declined by as much as 75 percent.
- The loss of ice and the warming waters will affect sea levels, salinity levels, and current and precipitation patterns.
- The Tundra is returning to the swamp, the permafrost is thawing, sudden storms are ravaging coastlines and wildfires are devastating interior Canada and Russia.
- The rich biodiversity of the Arctic region is under serious threat.
- These changes are making the survival of Arctic marine life, plants, and birds difficult while encouraging species from lower latitudes to move north.
- The Arctic is also home to about 40 different indigenous groups, whose culture, economy, and way of life are in danger of being swept away.
Opportunities in the melting of the Arctic
- The Northern Sea Route (NSR) which connects the North Atlantic to the North Pacific through a short polar arc was once not open for navigation.
- The melting ice has now made it a reality and a trickle of commercial cargo vessels have been going through every summer since the last decade.
- The opening of the Arctic presents huge commercial and economic opportunities, particularly in shipping, energy, fisheries, and mineral resources.
- Oil and natural gas deposits, estimated to be 22 percent of the world’s unexplored resources, mostly in the Arctic ocean, will be open to access along with mineral deposits.
Challenges in exploiting opportunities
- Navigation conditions are dangerous and restricted to the summer.
- There is a lack of deep-water ports, a need for ice-breakers, a shortage of workers trained for polar conditions, and high insurance costs.
- Mining and deep-sea drilling carry massive costs and environmental risks.
- Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic is not a global common and there is no overarching treaty that governs it, only the UN Convention of Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
- Large parts of it are under the sovereignty of the five littoral states — Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark (Greenland) and the US — and exploitation of the new resources is well within their rights.
Geopolitics of the Arctic
- Russia, Canada, Norway, and Denmark have put in overlapping claims for extended continental shelves.
- The US, not a party to UNCLOS, is unable to put in a formal claim but is under pressure to strengthen its Arctic presence.
- For the present, Russia is the dominant power, with the longest Arctic coastline, half the Arctic population, and a full-fledged strategic policy.
- Russia anticipates huge dividends from commercial traffic including through the use of its ports, pilots, and ice-breakers.
- China, playing for economic advantage, has moved in fast, projecting the Polar Silk Road as an extension of the BRI, and has invested heavily in ports, energy, undersea infrastructure, and mining projects.
What are the concerns for India
- India’s extensive coastline makes it vulnerable to the impact of Arctic warming on ocean currents, weather patterns, fisheries, and most importantly, our monsoon.
- Scientific research in Arctic developments, in which India has a good record, will contribute to our understanding of climatic changes in the Third Pole — the Himalayas.
- The strategic implications of an active China in the Arctic and it’s growing economic and strategic relationship with Russia are self-evident and need close monitoring.
Way forward
- India has observer status in the Arctic Council, which is the predominant inter-governmental forum for cooperation on the environment and development (though not the security) aspects of the Arctic.
- India should leverage its presence in Arctic Council for a strategic policy that encompassed economic, environmental, scientific, and political aspects.
Consider the question “Melting of the Arctic opens the door for geopolitical game in the region and India cannot be immune to its implications. In the context of this, examine the developments in the region and how it impacts India’s interests?”
Conclusion
India must strive to protect its interest and strive for strategic policy for the region.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NEP 2020
Mains level: Paper 2- Regulation of higher education through single regulator
The article deals with the idea of single regulator for higher education in the country and the challenges it could fece.
Recommendations for regulation of higher education
- Regulatory bodies came up in response to the rapid growth of private participation since the 1980s.
- Due to multiplicity of regulatory bodies in higher education, nearly all advisory panels appointed since 2005 have been asked for a single regulator.
- National Knowledge Commission (NKC) concluded in 2007 that the plethora of agencies attempting to control entry, operation, intake, price, size, output and exit had rendered the regulation of higher education ineffectual.
- The NKC recommended the setting up of an overarching Independent Regulatory Authority in Higher Education (IRAHE).
- A major concern of the Yash Pal Committee constituted in 2009 was compartmentalisation of academia.
- To promote such a dialogue, the Yash Pal committee recommended the creation of an apex body called the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER).
- TSR Subramanian committee in 2016 proposed an Act for setting up an Indian Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE) to subsume all existing regulatory bodies in higher education.
- The draft national policy presented by the Kasturirangan Committee in 2019 proposed a National Higher Education Regulatory Authority (NHERA) as a common regulatory regime for entire higher education sector.
- The draft NEP 2020 proposed a Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog (RSA) to coordinate, direct and address inter-institutional overlaps and conflicts.
The regulatory regime under NEP 2020
- NEP 2020 has now a single regulator for all higher education barring medical and law education.
- It envisages an overarching Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), with four independent verticals comprising the National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC), the National Accreditation Council (NAC), the Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) and the General Education Council (GEC).
- The University Grants Commission (UGC) is to become HEGC while the other regulatory bodies will become professional standard setters.
Fragmented regulation of medical education to continue
- NEP-2020 provides for separate regulation for medical education.
- But it envisions healthcare education as an inter-disciplinary system.[Allopathic student to have a basic understanding of Ayurveda, Yoga etc and vice-versa]
- Multiple regulators in health education include the National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH) and the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and continuation of the Dental Council of India (DCI), Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) and the Indian Nursing Council (INC),
- Thus, making medical education inter-disciplinary would be difficult due to multiple regulators.
Lessons from the governance of medical education
- The above example demonstrate the difficulty in designing a single regulatory framework to take care of the domain-specific needs of even within healthcare education.
- But if accepted as a principle, it has the potential to delay, if not derail, the idea of a single regulator.
- And should that actually happen, the idea of reining in the regulators might mean abandoning the idea of regulation of regulators.
Issues with the single regulator proposed in NEP 2020
- The regulatory architecture proposed in the NEP is far too monolithic for a system of higher education serving a geographically, culturally and politically diverse country like ours.
- Even in the matter of privatisation, there is enormous diversity of players and practices.
- Historically too, private participation in the running of colleges has not followed a single pattern.
- To imagine that a uniform structure called Board of Governors can serve all different kinds of institutions across the country is flawed.
- Such a vision calls for better appreciation of what exists, no matter how worrisome a condition it is in.
Consider the question “What are the challenges in the regulation of higher education in the country? What are the concerns with the idea of single regulator for the regualtion of higher education in country?”
Conclusion
Before proceeding with the single regulator, the government need to pay attention to the issue of diversity in various aspects in the country.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: India's IR equation for 2021
After a year when it battled Covid-19 and Chinese aggression, India enters 2021 with the challenge of strengthening ties and building new ones with the US, EU, Middle East countries, and its neighbors.
Lets’ take a look at key determinants of India’s foreign policy in the post-pandemic year 2021.
Taking forward our legacy
- In April 1963, about six months after the 1962 war with China, then PM Jawaharlal Nehru wrote an article in Foreign Affairs magazine, titled ‘Changing India’.
- He conceded that there was a need to adjust our relations with friendly countries in the light of the changing actualities of the international situation.
- The Chinese, ‘devious and deceptive’ as they have proved to be, required that India pay ‘considerably more attention to strengthening her armed forces’, said Nehru.
Agenda for 2021
- As India bids adieu to a disruptive year that challenged its diplomatic and military standing and enters a new one fraught with challenges, it could borrow from Nehru’s words.
- The New Year presents India an opportunity to emerge as a global rather than an aspirational player.
- A reflection of events shows India faced seven hard realities in 2020 and has to deal with six challenges and opportunities in 2021.
Hard realities of 2020
#1: China aims for top
- While it was targeted initially for being the source of the coronavirus, Xi’s regime turned around and started to flex its muscle in the region.
- The Indo-Pacific was its playground, where Chinese naval or militia forces rammed a Vietnamese fishing boat, “buzzed” a Philippines naval vessel, and harassed a Malaysian oil-drilling operation.
- It even tried to arm-twist Australia through trade curbs.
- And since May, Chinese troops have altered the status quo along the border with India, claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers, and violated every agreement to maintain peace.
#2: America under Biden
Over the last four years, the US vacated the leadership space at the world stage under the Donald Trump Administration.
- It walked out of or weakened almost a dozen multilateral bodies or agreements, from the Iran deal to the WHO.
- While Beijing moved in to claim space, the Trump Administration did one thing right — it targeted China and the Communist Party of China for disrupting the global order.
- Once Joe Biden takes over as President, the US is expected to reclaim the space vacated by Trump.
#3: Acceptance for Taliban
- Having invaded Afghanistan 19 years ago trying to root out the Taliban, the US finally made peace with them in February as it looks to exit.
- For India, this meant the beginning of the process of re-engaging with the Taliban.
- Signaling long-term commitment to Afghanistan’s future — under Taliban or other political forces — India has committed $80 million, over and above its $3 billion commitment in the last two decades.
- This means India too is finally looking at the Taliban as a political actor, although it is controlled by the Pakistan military.
#4: Middle East equations
- The US-brokered rapprochement between Israel and four Arab countries — the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan — reflected the changing landscape in the region.
- With Saudi Arabia and Iran competing for leadership, along with Turkey, in the Islamic world, there have been growing calls for ties with Israel.
- New Delhi has been ahead of the curve, cultivating ties with Israel as well as Saudi-UAE and the Iranians with deft diplomacy.
- But it has to be careful to not let its gains get impacted by polarizing politics at home — be it through the CAA-NRC or religious fault-lines.
#5: Russia-China bonding
- Brewing for the last three decades, ties between Russia and China got closer in 2020.
- India has always felt that it was the West, with its approach towards Russia after the annexation of the Crimea in 2014 that has pushed Moscow towards Beijing.
- This has been possible also due to the US’s anti-Chinese rhetoric, the collapse of oil prices, and Russia’s dependence on Chinese consumption.
- India has strong ties with Russia, and Moscow was the venue for all the India-China official and ministerial conversations over the border standoff.
- But, it has taken note of Moscow’s position on the Quad and Indo-Pacific, a near-echo of Beijing’s stance.
#6: Assertive neighbors
- The year began with Bangladesh asserting itself on CAA-NRC, and then Nepal claiming territory and issuing a new map. It brought home the reality that neighbors are no pushovers.
- By the end of the year, New Delhi had moved to build bridges with both, wary of an active Beijing. Bangladesh pushed back, and India did not notify the CAA rules. Nepal reached out at the highest level.
- India also watched closely the US and Chinese forays with the Maldives and Sri Lanka. India appears to have made peace with the involvement of the US in the Maldives, and that of Japan in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
# 7: Aspirational India
- By 2020, India’s public articulation of “self-reliance” and refusal to sign trade pacts with RCEP countries was widely perceived as “isolationist” and “inward-looking”.
- India did step up to supply medicines and protective kits to more than 150 countries but did not come across as the global leader the world needed at this time.
- Lack of resources, a contracting economy, and its populist politics made it come across as an aspirational power.
2021: Challenges, opportunities
#1: Countering China
- India’s response to the border standoff has been guided by thinking that one has to stand up to the bully, but that has come at a cost: soldiers braving the harsh winter and military assets deployed on land, in air, and at sea.
- The standoff has reinforced Nehru’s belief in 1963 that India needs “external aid in adequate measure”.
- India will need continuing support from the US, Japan, Australia, besides European leaders such as France, Germany, and the UK.
#2: High table at UN
- As India enters the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for the eighth time, stakes are high in the wake of this leadership contest between China and the rest of the world.
- India will have to take positions on issues it had carefully avoided — from Tibet to Taiwan, from Iran-Saudi rivalry to the refugee crisis between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
- Cross-border terrorism is one of the top concerns and India will work towards isolating Pakistan further.
- But a limited fixation on the western neighbor would distract from India’s aspirations of being a global leader.
#3: Friendship with the US
- Much is expected from the Biden Administration for building on Indo-US ties, but a lot will depend on how the US views China in the larger scheme of things.
- Moves towards a possible US-China trade deal will be watched by South Block closely. One of the key tests will be the future of Quad, and the Indo-Pacific strategy of the new administration.
- New Delhi will build on its deepening strategic and defense ties with the US and would want to resolve trade and visa issues.
#4: Wooing Europe
- As the UK and the EU agree on a deal, India will look ahead to negotiating a deal with the UK and a long-pending one with the EU.
- For a start, it has invited British PM Boris Johnson as Chief Guest for Republic Day.
- In May, there is a possibility of an India-EU summit.
- Already, France and Germany have come up with their Indo-Pacific strategy, and a potential European strategy is a possibility, but an EU-China trade deal would be dissected by Indian negotiators.
#5: Engaging with neighbors
- China’s growing economic footprint in India’s neighborhood is a concern. While it is being played out in Nepal, India will also watch China’s moves in the rest of the subcontinent.
- Its moves in Iran, too, were closely watched, and as Presidential elections take place in Iran this year, stakes for engagement will be high.
- One of the important aspects of 2021 is that, while there is a churning in Nepal, almost every South Asian country has had elections in the last couple of years.
- That means the governments in these countries are stable.
- As the world emerges from the pandemic, New Delhi has a lot to gain from what could be “vaccine diplomacy” with neighbors in 2021 — supplying vaccines either frees or at affordable costs.
Conclusion: Thining global, not just aspirational
- For a long, India has played the role of an emerging power — with ambitions to play the role of global power.
- In 2021, New Delhi will host the BRICS summit, and start its preparations for the G-20 summit in 2023. And the India-Africa Forum summit, which could not be held in 2020, could be held in 2021 or later.
- New Delhi has opportunities to articulate and be vocal on issues that matter to the world and be proactive to further its interests.
- This could well be the Indian strategy in the New Year, as it navigates a post-Covid-19 future.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various parameters of the index
Mains level: Digital banking in India
The RBI has constructed a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI) with March 2018 as the base period to capture the extent of digitization of payments across the country.
Note various indicators of the DPI.
Digital Payments Index
- RBI-DPI will be published on the central bank’s website on a semi-annual basis from March 2021 onwards with a lag of four months.
- It comprises five broad parameters that enable the measurement of deepening and penetration of digital payments in the country over different time periods.
- The parameters are:
- Payment enablers (weight 25 percent)
- Payment infrastructure–demand-side factors (10 percent)
- Payment infrastructure – supply-side factors (15 percent)
- Payment performance (45 percent) and
- Consumer centricity (5 percent)
- Each of these parameters has sub-parameters which, in turn, consist of various measurable indicators, RBI said.
Why need such an Index?
- Digital payments in India have been growing rapidly.
- The DPI reflects accurately the penetration and deepening of various digital payment modes.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IUC
Mains level: TRAI and its regulations of telecom services
The termination charge for wireless to wireless domestic calls has been zeroed from January 1 onwards. Until now operators paid Interconnection Usage Charges (IUC) of 6 paise per minute on mobile calls.
We are heading for 5G and yet we were indulged in 2G era spat. Sounds strange, but finally IUC got away….
Interconnection Usage Charge (IUC)
- IUC is the cost that a mobile operator pays to another operator for carrying through/ terminating a call.
- If a customer of Mobile Operator A calls a customer of Mobile Operator B and the call is completed, then A pays an IUC charge to B for carrying/facilitating the call.
- Essentially, it is the originating network compensating the receiving network for the cost of carrying the call. In India, IUC is set by the TRAI.
When was it introduced?
- IUC was introduced at a time when some operators had a larger network footprint compared to new players.
- In such a scenario, the larger operators had to be compensated for the investments it had to enable call completion. However, over the years this gap between operators has reduced.
- All the remaining operators have identical network footprint when it comes to voice calls.
- TRAI’s original deadline to phase out IUC was January 1, 2020.
What does it mean to Consumers?
- For mobile users, this means that all voice calls will be free from now on.
- While almost all operators had already started offering unlimited calls as part of their bundled pack, some were charging the 6 paise from consumers for paying IUC charges.
- From January 1, operators will stop collecting the charges.
- But other than that there will not be any significant gain for users. Tariff packs available in the market already offer data with unlimited voice calls.
What does the end of the IUC regime imply?
- For the operators, the end of the IUC regime will lead to easier operations.
- Many legal battles have been fought in the past over disputes related to IUC charges.
- Now, the operators can keep whatever money they collect from consumers without having to keep a tab on where the call is terminating.
- The change in the billing system will not have any significant impact on operators’ revenue.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Battle of Bhima-Koregaon
Mains level: British annexation of India
The history of the Bhima-Koregaon battle should be taught in schools, said the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment.
Try this PYQ:
What was the immediate cause for Ahmad Shah Abdali to invade and fight the Third Battle of Panipat:
(a) He wanted to avenge the expulsion by Marathas of his viceroy Timur Shah from Lahore
(b) The frustrated governor of Jullundhar Adina Beg khan invited him to invade Punjab
(c) He wanted to punish Mughal administration for non-payment of the revenues of the Chahar Mahal
(Gujrat Aurangabad, Sialkot and Pasrur)
(d) He wanted to annex all the fertile plains of Punjab upto borders of Delhi to his kingdom
Battle of Bhima-Koregaon
- The 1818 battle of Bhima-Koregaon, one of the last battles of the Third Anglo-Maratha War culminated in the Peshwa’s defeat.
- It was fought on 1 January 1818 between the British East India Company (BEIC) and the Peshwa faction of the Maratha Confederacy, at Koregaon at the banks of River Bhima.
- A 28,000-strong force led by Peshwa Baji Rao II while on their way to attack the company-held Pune were unexpectedly met by an 800-strong Company force of which 500 belonged to the Dalit community.
- The battle was part of the Third Anglo Maratha war, a series of battles that culminated in the defeat of the Peshwa rule and subsequent rule of the BEIC in nearly all of Western, Central, and Southern India.
Mahars under Shivaji
- Back in the seventeenth century, the community was particularly valued by the ruler Shivaji, under whom Maratha caste identities were far more fluid.
- The value of the Mahars for military recruitment under Shivaji was noted by the social reformer Jyotirao Phule.
- The Mahars were not only beneficiaries of the attempt at caste unity under Shivaji but were in fact valued for their martial skills, bravery, and loyalty.
Mahars after Shivaji
- The position occupied by the Mahars under Shivaji, however, was short-lived and under later Peshwa rulers, their status deteriorated.
- The Peshwas were infamous for their Brahmin orthodoxy and their persecution of the untouchables.
- The Mahars were forbidden to move about in public spaces and punished atrociously for disrespecting caste regulations.
- Stories of Peshwa atrocities against the Mahars suggest that they were made to tie brooms behind their backs to wipe out their footprints and pots on their necks to collect their spit.
Why is the battle significant?
- The battle resulted in losses to the Maratha Empire, then under Peshwa rule, and control over most of western, central, and southern India by the British East India Company.
- The battle has been seen as a symbol of Dalit pride because a large number of soldiers in the Company forces were the Mahar Dalits, the same oppressed community to which Babasaheb Ambedkar belonged.
- After centuries of inhumane treatment, this battle was the first time that Mahars had been included in a battle in which they won.
Dr. Ambedkar’s association
- It was Babasaheb Ambedkar’s visit to the site on January 1, 1927, that revitalized the memory of the battle for the Dalit community.
- He led to its commemoration in the form of a victory pillar, besides creating the discourse of Dalit valor against Peshwa ‘oppression’ of Dalits.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MEIS, RODTEP Scheme
Mains level: Export promotion measures
The Union govt. has decided to extend the benefit of the Scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) to all export goods with effect from 1st January 2021.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Among the following, which one is the largest exporter of rice in the world in the last five years? (CSP 2019)
(a) China
(b) India
(c) Myanmar
(d) Vietnam
RoDTEP Scheme
- RoDTEP is a scheme for the Exporters to make Indian products cost-competitive and create a level playing field for them in the Global Market.
- It has replaced the current Merchandise Exports from India Scheme, which is not in compliance with WTO norms and rules.
- The new RoDTEP Scheme is a fully WTO compliant scheme.
- It will reimburse all the taxes/duties/levies being charged at the Central/State/Local level which are not currently refunded under any of the existing schemes but are incurred at the manufacturing and distribution process.
Why need such a scheme?
- The scheme was announced last year as a replacement for the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS), which was not found not to be compliant with the rules of the World Trade Organisation.
- Following a complaint by the US, a dispute settlement panel had ruled against India’s use of MEIS as it had found the duty credit scrips awarded under the scheme to be inconsistent with WTO norms.
Back2Basics: Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)
- MEIS was launched with an objective to enhance the export of notified goods manufactured in a country.
- This scheme came into effect on 1 April 2015 through the Foreign Trade Policy and will be in existence till 2020.
- MEIS intended to incentivize exports of goods manufactured in India or produced in India.
- The incentives were for goods widely exported from India, industries producing or manufacturing such goods with a view to making Indian exports competitive.
- The MEIS covered almost 5000 goods notified for the purpose of the scheme.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Operation Meghdoot
Mains level: Not Much
Colonel Narinder ‘Bull’ Kumar (Retd.), instrumental in the Army launching Operation Meghdoot and securing the dominating heights of Siachen Glacier in 1984 has passed away at 87.
Operation Meghdoot
- Operation Meghdoot was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces’ operation to seize control of the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir, precipitating the Siachen conflict.
- The Siachen then had become a bone of contention following a vague demarcation of territories in the Karachi Agreement of July 1949.
- Executed in the morning of 13 April 1984, this military operation, launched on the highest battlefield in the world, was the first offensive of its kind.
- The operation preempted Pakistan’s impending Operation Ababeel and was a success, resulting in Indian forces gaining control of the Siachen Glacier in its entirety.
- Currently, the Indian Army remains the first and only army in the world to have taken tanks and other heavy ordnance up to such an altitude (well over 5,000 m or 16,000 ft).
Bull Kumar’s contributions
- Kumar, a legendary mountaineer who had spotted Pakistani activities around the Siachen glacier in 1984 that helped India secure it subsequently.
- He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, in 1965.
- He was decorated with Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), Kirti Chakra, and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM).
- The battalion headquarters on the glacier located close to an altitude of 16,000 feet is named “Kumar post” in his honor.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Strategy for full recovery
The Indian economy has been showing the green shoots in the results of the third quarter. However, the recovery is far from complete. The article suggests the strategy to get to the 5 per cent trend line.
Divergent performance after lockdown
- At the end of the third quarter, the economy is showing a hugely divergent performance.
- Pharmaceuticals and chemicals are showing growth on their Year-To-Date numbers.
- FMCG reached last year’s level in the second quarter.
- Construction equipment are showing a huge recovery, with record sales numbers in the last three months, driven by rural demand from sales to individuals.
- Capital goods are still sluggish with YTD numbers well down on last year, but are now showing some signs of life.
- In contrast, travel and tourism, real-estate and construction, and retail, are all still at under half last year.
- These are high employment sectors, and salaried employment has correspondingly taken a big hit, with potentially longer term effects.
How to achieve ‘full recovery’
- Full recovery means getting back to the trend line of growth where we would have been pre-COVID.
- We need to aspire to grow 9 per cent for three years, which is what will get us back to our 5 per cent trend line of growth by 2024.
- The recovery underway is solid, but we need measures to sustain and deepen it.
- The government can do three things.
3 suggestions to sustain the recovery
1) Stimulate the economy
- The most immediate fiscal stimulus possible is to put cash into the economy.
- Distribute the pending tax refunds, pay the bills of all companies, pay off the arbitration awards pending where the government has lost cases, and pay state governments their pending GST dues.
- All this will run into a few trillion rupees, and it will be cash that immediately stimulates the economy.
2) Invest in public health infrastructure
- Some preparation is underway to distribute vaccines, but there is need to go much further.
- Centre should finance state government efforts to build an extensive public health network so we are equipped to handle a possible second wave of the virus.
- If we demonstrate that we are much more prepared in February and March 2021 than we were in April and May 2020, we will spread confidence.
- Government should work in partnership with private sector hospitals.
3) Invest in inftrstructure
- There are dozens of projects stuck as funds are not available.
- The 20 trillion infrastructure pipeline needs to have some cash flow in it.
- The COVID crisis revealed awful things about living conditions in slums across our cities.
- We can put in place the right public-private programme to provide decent, accessible housing, with quick and cheap connectivity into our cities.
- This could trigger a building boom that would stimulate demand like nothing else.
How to finance the spending: Privatisation program
- Government can manage the resource for spending through privatisation program.
- Our current stock market boom says that buyers are ready to invest. But public-sector stock values are still depressed.
- The best way to see them take off is to announce that the government intends to reduce its share-holding to 26 per cent across public-sector banks, steel companies, oil companies, and every manufacturing company and hotel it currently owns.
- To avoid opposition to such reforms, we must operate consistent with our democratic institutions.
- We need discussion papers for public comment, the debate in Parliament, hearing out stakeholders, and compromise with the interests of state governments.
Consider the question “What are the measures India needs to take to achieve the complete recovery of the Indian economy disrupted in the wake of the pandemic.”
Conclusion
Unless we act now we will have a stunted recovery. We must use our economic crisis to set some bigger things right. 2021 will be a year to welcome if it returns us to the growth trajectory we deserve.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CrPC provisions
Mains level: Paper 2- Reduction in the time for investigation and issues with it
Andhra Pradesh’s Disha Bill of 2019 seeks to reduce the time period for investigation of some crimes to seven days. Such a move could have several consequences. The article deals with that issue.
State governments reducing the period of investigation
- The proposed Maharashtra Shakti Act of 2020 will have a provision to complete the investigation within 15 days.
- Maharashtra has taken cur from the Andhra Pradesh’s Disha Bill of 2019.
- Disha mandated completion of investigation within seven working days for offenses such as harassment of women, sexual assault on children, and rape, where “adequate conclusive evidence” is available.
- The interpretation of “adequate conclusive evidence” by the police shall remain a problem.
What are the CrPC provisions?
- The Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) provides that investigations relating to offenses punishable with imprisonment up to 10 years must be completed within 60 days.
- For offenses with higher punishment (including rape) the time limit is of 90 days of detaining the accused, else he or she shall be released on bail.
- To speed up the process, the CrPC was amended in 2018 and the period of investigation was reduced from 90 to 60 days for all cases of rape.
Factors that decide the time required
- Generally, the time of investigation depends on several factors like the severity of the crime, the number of accused persons and agencies involved.
- This is besides the fact that in many cases of rape, the victim remains under trauma for some time and is not able to narrate the incident in detail.
- The speed and quality of investigation also depend on whether a police station has separate units of investigation and law and order.[ a long-pending police reform]
- It also depends on the number of available IOs and women police officers, and the size and growth of the FSL and its DNA unit.
Consider the question “Examine the reasons for the high crime rate in India? Recently, some state governments have reduced the duration for the investigation of crime. How such move could impact the investigation?”
Conclusion
Setting narrow timelines for investigation creates scope for procedural loopholes that may be exploited during the trial. Therefore, instead of fixing unrealistic timelines, the police should be given additional resources so that they can deliver efficiently.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Agreement on Agriculture
Mains level: Paper 3- Challenges of farm subsidies and declining farm incomes
The article examines the reasons for declining farm incomes and the contribution of farm subsidies.
Contribution of agriculture
- India’s agriculture, which also supports the rural workforce, was, forever, living beyond its means.
- In 1950-51, agriculture’s share in the country’s GDP was 45%, the share of the workforce dependent on it was close to 70%.
- Today, agriculture’s share in GDP is below 16%, but almost 50% of the country’s workforce depends on this sector.
- The squeeze on the agricultural sector becomes even more evident from its terms of trade vis-à-vis the non-agricultural sectors.
- Agriculture has been facing adverse terms of trade over extended periods since the 1980s, and even during the phases when the terms of trade have moved in its favour, for instance in the 1990s and again since 2012-13, there was no distinct upward trend.
Reason for fall in farm incomes: falling investment
- The decline in farm incomes was triggered by growing inefficiencies.
- This decline, in turn, was caused by a lack of meaningful investment in agriculture.
- The share of this sector in the total investment undertaken in the country consistently fell from about 18% in the 1950s to just above 11% in the 1980s.
- In the most recent quinquennium for which data are available (2014-15 to 2018-19), the average share of agriculture was 7.6%.
India’s dismal performance in term of yields of major crops
- If one ranks countries in terms of their yields in wheat and rice — India’s two major crops — the country’s ranks were 45 and 59, respectively, in 2019.
- This ranking would go down sharply if the areas recording high yields, such as Punjab and Haryana, are excluded.
- In other words, for farmers in most regions of the country, it is an uphill battle for survival amid low yields.
Need for coherent policy for agriculture
- The lack of a coherent policy for agriculture must surely be regarded among the most remarkable failures of the governments in post-Independence India.
- Compare this failure with the United States, with less than 2% of its workforce engaged in agriculture, has been enacting farm legislations every four years since the Agricultural Adjustment Act was enacted in 1933.
- These policies comprehensively address the needs of the farm sector through proactive support from the respective governments.
Issue of the farm subsidies in India
- The subsidies are the price that the country pays for the failure of the policymakers to comprehensively address the problems of the farm sector.
- Wanton distribution of subsidies without a proper policy framework has distorted the structure of production and, consequently, undesirable outcomes in terms of excessive food stockpiling.
- And, yet, the fundamental ills of Indian agriculture are not adequately addressed.
- Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are expected to notify their agricultural subsidies as a part of their commitment under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA).
- India’s latest notification, for 2018-19, shows that the subsidies provided were slightly more than $56 billion.
- In most of the recent years, the largest component of India’s subsidies ($24.2 billion, or 43% of the total) is provided to “low income or resource-poor farmers”, a terminology that the AoA uses.
- However, the designation of this category of farmers is left to individual members.
- India has notified that 99.43% of its farmers are low income or resource-poor.
- According to the agricultural census conducted in 2015-16, these are the farmers whose holdings are 10 hectares or less.
- Thus, almost the entire farm sector comprises economically weak farmers.
Comparing subsidies given by various countries
- America provided $131 billion in 2017 and the EU, nearly €80 billion (or $93 billion) in 2017-18.
- Instead of absolute numbers; the ratios of subsidies to agricultural value addition for the three countries give a much better picture.
- Thus, for 2017, India’s farm subsidies were 12.4% of agricultural value addition, while for the U.S. and the EU, the figures were 90.8% and 45.3%, respectively.
- This then is the reality of farm subsidies that India provides.
Consider the question “Indian agriculture has been contributing beyond its means since Indian independence. However, agri incomes have shown a gradual decline. What are the reasons for such a decline? How far has farm subsidies succeeded in solving the low-income problem?”
Conclusion
India needs a comprehensive Agri policy to deal with the distortion created by the subsidies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Geo-engineering/ Climate engineering
Mains level: Geo-engineering and its limitation
Geoengineering has steadily shifted over the last few decades from the margins towards the mainstream of climate action discourse.
Q.What do you mean by Geoengineering? What are its practical applications? Also, discuss its limitations. (250W)
What is Geoengineering?
- Climate engineering aka geoengineering is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system, usually with the aim of mitigating the adverse effects of global warming.
- It is a deliberate, large-scale intervention carried out in the Earth’s natural systems to reverse the impacts of climate change.
- Its techniques fall primarily under three categories: Solar radiation management (SRM), carbon dioxide removal (CDR), and weather modification.
- Solar radiation management refers to offsetting the warming effect of greenhouse gases by reflecting more solar radiation (sunlight) back into space.
- Carbon dioxide removal refers to removing carbon dioxide gas (CO2) from the atmosphere and sequestering it for long periods of time.
Debates around geoengineering have burrowed to the deepest roots of our conflict with nature — do we have the right to manage and manipulate nature?
What are the specificities of geoengineering?
Specific technologies include-
- Solar geoengineering or ‘dimming the sun’ by spraying sulfates into the air to reflect sunlight back into space;
- Ocean fertilization or the dumping of iron or urea to stimulate phytoplankton growth to absorb more carbon;
- Cloud brightening or spraying saltwater to make clouds more reflective and more.
CDR technologies being proposed as a means to achieve ‘net zero’ emissions by mid-century involve deliberate intervention in the natural carbon cycle:
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS), direct air capture (DAC) and
- Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
India and Geo-engineering
- We had experiments such as LOHAFEX (an ocean iron fertilization experiment to see if iron can cause algal bloom and trap carbon dioxide from the atmosphere).
- LOHAFEX was an ocean iron fertilization experiment jointly planned by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in India and the Helmholtz Foundation in Germany.
- The purpose of the experiment was to see if the iron would cause an algal bloom and trap carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
How well did it fetch?
- As expected iron fertilization led to the development of bloom during LOHAFEX, but the chlorophyll increase within the fertilized patch, an indicator of biomass, was smaller than in previous experiments.
- The algal bloom also stimulated the growth of zooplankton that feed on them. The zooplanktons in turn are consumed by higher organisms.
- Thus, ocean fertilization with iron also contributes to the carbon-fixing marine biomass of fish species that have been removed from the ocean by over-fishing.
The debate over its advocacy
- Mainstream activists are advocating solar geoengineering as a means to buy “humanity more time to cut greenhouse gas emissions”.
- Opponents have numerous foundationally solid arguments. They warn against “taking our ecosystems even further away from self-regulation”.
- They argue that such actions distract attention from the need for deep cuts to gross emissions which is achievable with the right political will and resource mobilization.
Undesired consequences of geoengineering
- Conducting tests for geoengineering is a fallacy since these methods need to be deployed at a scale large enough to impact the global climate system to be certain of their efficacy.
- It is a large risk to take without knowing the potentially harmful consequences of such a planetary scale deployment.
- Some of these consequences are already known. Solar geoengineering, for example, alters rainfall patterns that can disrupt agriculture and water supplies.
- Injecting sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere above the Arctic to mimic volcano clouds, for example, can disrupt the monsoons in Asia and increase droughts.
Geopolitical concerns
- Manipulating the climate could have the same geopolitical function as nuclear weapons.
- Even before geoengineering is deployed, it may be used as a threat that will likely incite countermeasures.
- Say if governments ever gain control of changing the course of potentially damaging storms, diversions that direct storms toward other countries may be seen as acts of war.
What lies ahead?
- We all know that climate change is growing more rapidly than anticipated earlier.
- Hence we should combine it with a program of deep decarbonization. This would help implement a “clean-up process” that will hasten our return to a more habitable environment.
- Scientists agree that natural climate solutions such as forest sinks cannot be relied upon for the scale of mitigation needed.
- Therefore, a socially just application of such technologies for carbon capture with geological sequestration offers ‘negative emissions’.
Conclusion
- Geoengineering cannot be treated as a magical mechanism to escape the heightening concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) while accepting the viewpoint that rapid decarbonization is impossible.
- It also cannot be treated as a license to continue emitting more GHGs with no changes to current consumption and production patterns.
- Specific technologies that can help us achieve negative emissions need to be publicly funded and democratically administered to ensure that they serve the public interest.
- And they can only act as a supplement to scaling back of GHG emissions in all sectors, not a substitute.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act
Mains level: Not Much
Argentina has legalized abortions up to the 14th week of pregnancy, in what was a ground-breaking decision in a country that has some of the world’s most restrictive abortion laws.
In 2009 the Supreme Court of India gave a landmark judgement in Suchita Srivastava vs Chandigarh Administration case where it was held that right to reproductive autonomy is an integral part of Right to Life under Article 21 of Constitution of India.
The Apex Court stressed that a medical procedure of abortion cannot be carried out on a woman if she has not consented to it.
Hence, the right to reproductive autonomy was held as a Fundamental Right.
About the ban
- Prior, abortions were only permitted in cases of rape or when the woman’s health was at serious risk.
- Activists have been campaigning for years, calling for an overturning of this law that has been in existence since 1921.
- The bill calls for greater autonomy for women over their own bodies and control of their reproductive rights, and also provides better healthcare for pregnant women and young mothers.
Why is it a landmark move?
- Prior to this, girls and women were forced to turn to illegal and unsafe procedures because abortion was against the law in Argentina.
- For girls and women from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the scope of access to safe medical procedures for abortion was even narrower.
- According to Human Rights Watch, unsafe abortion was the leading cause of maternal mortality in the country.
- The Catholic Church and the evangelical community wield immense power and influence in Argentina and had strongly opposed the passing of this bill.
- In fact, for several decades, following the beliefs of the Catholic Church, even the sale of contraceptives was prohibited in the country.
Debate over abortions
- There are differing opinions with regard to allowing abortions.
- One opinion is that terminating a pregnancy is the choice of the pregnant woman and a part of her reproductive rights.
- The other is that the state has an obligation to protect life, and hence should provide for the protection of the foetus.
- Religiosity of the issue (as in case of Catholics) is another aspect.
What impact will this have in Latin America?
- Activists are hopeful that the passage of this law will have an impact in other countries in Latin America.
- At present, abortions are illegal in Nicaragua, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.
- In Uruguay, Cuba, Guyana, and in some parts of Mexico, women can request for an abortion, but only in specific cases, and each country has its own laws on the number of weeks.
- The countries also have varying degrees of punishment and penalties meted out to girls and women, including jail.
Welcome move
- Women’s rights activists have acknowledged that despite the new law in Argentina, the fight is far from over in the region.
- Anti-abortion groups and their religious and political backers have attempted to stall any progress in the process.
Back2Basics: Abortion in India
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 has governed women’s right to access abortion and their reproductive autonomy.
- The 2020 amendment bill provides for legal abortion procedure.
- The Act regulates the conditions under which a pregnancy may be aborted. The Bill increases the time period within which abortion may be carried out.
- Currently, abortion requires the opinion of one doctor if it is done within 12 weeks of conception and two doctors if it is done between 12 and 20 weeks.
- The Bill allows abortion to be done on the advice of one doctor up to 20 weeks, and two doctors in the case of certain categories of women between 20 and 24 weeks.
- The Bill sets up state-level Medical Boards to decide if pregnancy may be terminated after 24 weeks in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Anaemia
Mains level: Anaemia
Indian women and children are overwhelmingly anaemic, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-20 released this month, and the condition is the most prevalent in the Himalayan cold desert.
Anaemia is the condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or a quantity of haemoglobin. How widespread is it in India?
What is Anaemia?
- The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or a quantity of haemoglobin. It can make one feel tired, cold, dizzy, and irritable, and short of breath, among other symptoms.
- A diet that does not contain enough iron, folic acid, or vitamin B12 is a common cause of anaemia.
- Some other conditions that may lead to anaemia include pregnancy, heavy periods, blood disorders or cancer, inherited disorders, and infectious diseases.
How widespread is anaemia in our country?
- In Phase I of the NHFS, result factsheets have been released for 22 states and UTs.
- In a majority of these states and UTs, more than half the children and women were found to be anaemic.
- In 15 of these 22 states and UTs, more than half the children are anaemic. Similarly, more than 50 percent of women are anaemic in 14 of these states and UTs.
- The proportion of anaemic children and women is comparatively lower in Lakshadweep, Kerala, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland.
- However, it is higher in Ladakh, Gujarat, J&K, and West Bengal, among others.
- Anaemia among men was less than 30 percent in a majority of these states and UTs.
What was the methodology used?
- NFHS used the capillary blood of the respondents for the estimation of anaemia. For children, haemoglobin of fewer than 11 grams per decilitre (g/dl) indicated anaemia.
- For non-pregnant and pregnant women, it was less than 12 g/dl and 11g/dl respectively, and for men, it was less than 13 g/dl.
- Among children, the prevalence was adjusted for altitude and among adults, it was adjusted for altitude and smoking status.
Why is anaemia so high in the country?
- Iron-deficiency and vitamin B12-deficiency anaemia are the two common types of anaemia in India.
- Among women, iron deficiency prevalence is higher than men due to menstrual iron losses and the high iron demands of a growing foetus during pregnancies.
- Lack of millets in the diet due to overdependence on rice and wheat, insufficient consumption of green and leafy vegetables could be the reasons behind the high prevalence of anaemia in India.
What about the cold desert region of the western Himalaya?
- In the union territory of Ladakh, a whopping 92.5 per cent children, 92.8 per cent women, and around 76 per cent men are anaemic in the given age groups, as per the survey.
- The high prevalence in this region could be due to the short supply of fresh vegetables and fruits during the long winter each year.
- Crops here are generally only grown in summer and during winter; residents fail to get a regular supply of green vegetables and fresh produce from outside, due to restricted connectivity in harsh weather.
- However, there could be other factors as well and the causes of anaemia here are yet to be scientifically ascertained.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Internet usage in India and the digital divide
The recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) survey helps us gain an idea about the spread of awareness regarding the internet among people.
This newscard provides a picture of gendered as well as regional differentiation of internet usage in India.
Statewise Internet Usage
(1) Gendered data
- A very high differential is also seen among the female and male population who have ever used the internet. In every state, it is seen that the percentage of male users exceeds the number of females.
- The states and Union territories with the highest percentage of internet users among men are Goa (82.9 %), Lakshadweep (80.3 %), and Mizoram (79.7 %).
- Also, states like Sikkim (76.7 %), Goa (73.7 %) and Mizoram (67.6 %) have the highest percentage of female internet users. The lowest internet usage among men is seen in Meghalaya (42.1 %), Assam (42.3 %) and Bihar (43.6 %).
- In some states like Bihar, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, there is almost double the number of male internet users than female ones. Among women, it is seen in Bihar (20.6 %), Andhra Pradesh (21 %) and Tripura (22.9 %).
(2) Urban-Rural divide
- Except for West Bengal, there is no other state which shows a lower percentage of urban male internet users compared to rural ones.
- States like Goa, Kerala and Lakshadweep don’t show a huge variation in internet accessibility in the urban and rural areas.
- But in every other state, there is an approximate difference of 10-15 % between the two regions, with urban areas staying ahead.
Why it matters?
- The internet today has a very huge range and a big impact on the lifestyle and empowerment of people.
- Female empowerment and gender equality have been one of the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals that our country is trying to achieve.
- Good and affordable internet availability to women will be a big step towards fulfilling this goal.
Significance of the data
- Gender differentiation that is seen in the offline world also affects the variations that we have seen in the online world, which includes differences in education, employment and income.
- Sexual harassment and trolling are other reasons why people prefer to keep their female relatives away from the internet.
- Just like phone ownership was used as an indicator to understand the women empowerment situation in the country, this too can be an indicator for the same.
Conclusion
- The results from the NFHS-5 survey are still partial, but they have shown a great variation in the access to the internet among the states, between men and women and also between the rural and urban regions of each state.
- When we look at the differentials in the usage of the internet by women across the rural and urban regions, a huge gap is seen between the urban and rural women’s use of the internet.
- The variations are very high, with the percentage of women users of the internet in rural areas being just half of that in urban areas. These disparities paint a sad picture.
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