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Consulting the CM Over the Appointment of The Governor
Context
- With the rise in instances of tension, and even standoffs, between State governments and Governors, there is once again a debate on the role of the Raj Bhavan and conduct of Governors, the relation of Governors with the Centre and State government, and whether Chief Ministers should have a say in the appointment of Governors in their respective States.
Role and responsibilities of governor
1. Executive Powers:
- Nominal Head of the government: These powers are exercised by the council of ministers in the name of Governor. Hence Governor is only nominal head and council of ministers is the real executive.
- Head of the state: He is the constitutional head of the state who appoints the leader of majority party as chief minister. He can seek any information from the chief minister. He appoints the advocate general, chairman and members of the respective state public commission.
- Can recommend the emergency: He can recommend the imposition of constitutional emergency in a state to the President. During the period of President’s rule in a state, the governor enjoys extensive executive powers as an agent of the President.
1. Legislative Powers:
- He is part of state legislative.
- No bill can become a law until the governor signs it.
- He can withhold a bill and send it to the President for consideration.
- He can dissolve the State Assembly before the expiry of its term on the advice of the Chief Minister or as directed by the President.
- He causes the annual Budget to be presented in the Vidhan Sabha.
1. Judicial Powers:
- The governor appoints the district judges.
- He is consulted in the appointment of the judges of the High Court by the President
- He can, pardon, remit and commute the sentence of a person convicted by a state court.
1. Financial Powers:
- He causes the annual budget to be laid before the Vidhan Sabha;
- No money bill can be introduced without his prior approval.
1. Discretionary Powers:
- Selection of CM: If no party gets an absolute majority, the Governor can use his discretion in the selection of the Chief Minister;
- Real executive of state: During an emergency he can override the advice of the council of ministers. At such times, he acts as an agent of the President and becomes the real ruler of the state;
- Report to president: He uses his direction in submitting a report to the President regarding the affairs of the state; and
- Withhold the assent: He can withhold his assent to a bill and send it to the President for his approval.
Sarkaria commission’s recommendation on the role of governor
- Chief minister should be involved in appointment: The powers of the President in the matter of selection and appointment of Governors should not be diluted. However, the Governor of a State should be appointed by the President only after consultation with the Chief Minister of that State. Normally the five-year term should be adhered to and removal or transfer should be by following a similar procedure as for appointment i.e., after consultation with the Chief Minister of the concerned State.
- Governor should convey assent or dissent in time: There should be a time-limit say a period of six months within which the Governor should take a decision whether to grant assent or to reserve a Bill for consideration of the President. If the Bill is reserved for consideration of the President, there should be a time-limit, say of three months, within which the President should take a decision whether to accord his assent or to direct the Governor to return it to the State Legislature or to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of the Act under article 143.
Additional suggestions by NCRWC
- Committee to appoint the governor: National commission to review the Working of the constitution (NCRWC) recommendations were similar to that of Sarkaria commission. NCRWC has suggested that a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Minister of the state in question shall nominate the Governor.
Know the basics: Present constitutional arrangement
- The Governor of a State is appointed by the President for a term of five years and holds office during his pleasure.
- Only Indian citizens above 35 years of age are eligible for appointment to this office.
What is the expert’s opinion?
- Vice-president should be involved: Total composition of the committee is of the ruling party at the Centre. It should be the Vice-President, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition, and maybe the Chief Minister of the State.
- Governor should be above the chief minister: Getting the Chief Minister involved in the process of selection is not right. The Governor cannot be made to feel that the Chief Minister was one of those responsible for his selection; the Governor has to be above the Chief Minister, be independent, be able to function in a nonpartisan manner, and not be beholden to the ruling party or to the Chief Minister.
- Minimum qualification to be the governor: we have no criteria, no minimum qualifications laid out for a Governor. These are often retirement perks or rewards for unstinting loyalty to a particular party. Governors cannot be called before a court of law. These are things which have to be kept in mind.
- A guide to chief minister: The Governor is supposed to be a friend, philosopher and guide, helping from the back, sorting out issues and resolving disputes, even between political parties. The Governor has to at times advise the Centre on what is happening and what needs to be done. That brings the Centre and the State together.
Conclusion
- Governors’ role is always in contestation when Centre and state have different government. Governor is a political appointee for political purpose. However, governor should respect the constitutional post he holds and perform his duties and responsibilities without any biases and affiliations.
Mains Question

Q. What actions of governors undermines his constitutional position? What are the recommendations of Sarkaria commissions regarding the governor’s office?

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November 11, 2022
Forgotten Heroes: Indian Soldiers in World War-II
Context
- On the eleventh hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the guns fell silent over Europe, bringing an end to a brutal first world war that drew in soldiers and contributions from around the world. Indian soldiers and their contribution are not widely recognized in India.
Background of Indian involvement World War II
- Fight against Fascism: Two conflicts and a reticence Indian reticence over these two conflicts arises from the uneasy relationship between the Indian contribution to fighting fascism on a global stage and the nationalist movement for freedom at home.
- Betrayal of nationalistic expectation: The success of the first is seen to have come at the cost of the second. It began with the betrayal of nationalist expectations of greater autonomy for India in return for support during the Great War.
- No consultation with Indian leaders: This was compounded by the bitterness of Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declaring war on Germany on India’s behalf in 1939 without consulting Indian leaders, and further roiled by the pitting of Indian against Indian when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army sided with the Axis Powers in the hope that this might bring freedom.
- Fighting for India and for World: But the failure of Indian independence to follow automatically from India’s participation in the wars does not mean that the war efforts extended colonial rule, or were all about protecting Britain: there was fighting on Indian soil to defend India.
What is Indian soldiers role in World War II
- Support of nationalist leaders: Almost 1.5 million men volunteered to fight in the Great War. Indians mobilized four days after Britain declared war on Germany, with the support of nationalist leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi.
- War in Europe, Asia and Africa: Indians fought with valor and distinction in the trenches of Europe, West Asia and North Africa, earning 11 Victoria Crosses along the way. Of those men, about 74,000 never came home.
- Largest volunteer for war: India raised the largest ever volunteer army, of 2.5 million, for the Second World War. More than 87,000 of those men are cremated or buried in war cemeteries around the world and in India.
- Thirty-one Victoria Crosses: 15 % of the total Victoria crosses went to soldiers from undivided India. Without Indian soldiers, non-combatant labourers, material and money, the course of both conflicts would have been very different as acknowledged by Field Marshal Auchinleck, Britain’s last Commander-in-Chief of the Indian.
The issue of Non-recognition of India’s contribution
- Indian soldiers are honored by Britain: In Britain, the contribution of the Commonwealth including the Indian subcontinent is memorialized in the Commonwealth Memorial Gates that lead up to Buckingham Palace. The Gates commemorate the campaigns where Commonwealth soldiers served with distinction; there is also a canopy inscribed with the names of the Commonwealth recipients of the George and Victoria Crosses.
- Indian soldiers fought the Britain’s war: Much of India’s recent history is encapsulated in these gates, in a spirit of gratitude and equality. Britain, after all, has much to be grateful for, but Indians seem less keen to acknowledge this. British perfidy, however, does not in any way reduce the sacrifices of those who fought for freedom. Those who went abroad to fight alongside white British soldiers returned with the knowledge that they were equal to their colonial masters. In not recognizing and honoring this, we push those men back into colonial subjugation.
- Britain betrayed the hopes of freedom: Some of this ambivalence owes itself to the atrocities of colonial history, which must be acknowledged too. Britain may have handed out 11 Victoria Crosses over the course of the First World War, but it betrayed the hopes of nationalists with the imposition of martial law after the war ended, culminating in the horror of Jallianwala Bagh in April 1919.
Does India fought the war for its own sake?
- Indian fought the Japanese: These were not just European wars to defend foreign lands. India was threatened in the Second World War by advancing Japanese forces who got as far as Burma/Myanmar. They were repulsed in the battles of Imphal and Kohima between March and July 1944. These were brutal battles. In Kohima, the two sides were at one point separated by the width of a tennis court. A Commonwealth cemetery on Garrison Hill, Kohima, contains this epitaph (by John Maxwell Edmonds): ‘When You Go Home, Tell Them of Us, and Say/For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today’.
- Ultimate sacrifice for India’s freedom: The memory of the almost 10 million battlefield deaths in the First World War and the 15 million or more who were killed fighting the Second World War is now honored in countries around the world on November 11, with nationwide silences and the laying of wreaths. Not so much in India apart from in Army cantonments and at the British Consulate in Kolkata even though over 1,61,000 men made the ultimate sacrifice for India’s freedom.
Conclusion
- Seventy-five years after Independence, it is time to honor India’s immense contribution to the world wars and move it from a footnote in another country’s history to the main stage, where it belongs. These were India’s wars too.
Mains Question

Q. What role the Indian soldier played in Second world War? What are the issues regarding non recognition of contribution of Indian soldiers in world wars?

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November 11, 2022
Current Account Deficit (CAD) likely to be lower at 3% this fiscal
The SBI has estimated a lower current account deficit at 3% for this fiscal as against the minimum consensus of 3.5%, citing rising software exports, remittances and a likely $5-billion jump in forex reserves via swap deals.

What is Current Account Deficit (CAD)?
- A current account is a key component of balance of payments, which is the account of transactions or exchanges made between entities in a country and the rest of the world.
- This includes a nation’s net trade in products and services, its net earnings on cross border investments including interest and dividends, and its net transfer payments such as remittances and foreign aid.
- A CAD arises when the value of goods and services imported exceeds the value of exports, while the trade balance refers to the net balance of export and import of goods or merchandise trade.
Components of Current Account

Current Account Deficit (CAD) = Trade Deficit + Net Income + Net Transfers

(1) Trade Deficit
- Trade Deficit = Imports – Exports
- A Country is said to have a trade deficit when it imports more goods and services than it exports.
- Trade deficit is an economic measure of a negative balance of trade in which a country’s imports exceeds its exports.
- A trade deficit represents an outflow of domestic currency to foreign markets.
(2) Net Income
- Net Income = Income Earned by MNCs from their investments in India.
- When foreign investment income exceeds the savings of the country’s residents, then the country has net income deficit.
- This foreign investment can help a country’s economy grow. But if foreign investors worry they won’t get a return in a reasonable amount of time, they will cut off funding.
- Net income is measured by the following things:
1. Payments made to foreigners in the form of dividends of domestic stocks.
2. Interest payments on bonds.
3. Wages paid to foreigners working in the country.
(3) Net Transfers
- In Net Transfers, foreign residents send back money to their home countries. It also includes government grants to foreigners.
- It Includes Remittances, Gifts, Donation etc
How Current Account Transaction does takes place?
- While understanding the Current Account Deficit in detail, it is important to understand what the current account transactions are.
- Current account transactions are transactions that require foreign currency.
- Following transactions with from which component these transactions belong to :
1. Component 1 : Payments connection with Foreign trade – Import & Export
2. Component 2 : Interest on loans to other countries and Net income from investments in other countries
3. Component 3 : Remittances for living expenses of parents, spouse and children residing abroad, and Expenses in connection with Foreign travel, Education and Medical care of parents, spouse and children
What has the SBI said?
- The biggest impact on CAD is oil imports, which form as much as 30% of the country’s import bills.
- Every $10 increase in crude prices impacts the CAD to the tune of 40 basis points while the same on fuel inflation is 50 bps and also results in 23 bps decline in growth.
- Strong remittances and software exports had lowered CAD by 60 basis points (bps) in the June quarter.
- Forex reserves, which have declined from $642 billion in September 2021 to about $531 billion last week, are expected to rise by $5 billion as swap transactions reverse.
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November 11, 2022
Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson
Ukraine’s defence and intelligence unit has reported on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson but predicts it to be a delusion for a retreat.

Where is Kherson?
- Geographically, Kherson is a strategic location for Russia and Ukraine.
- Situated in the northwest of the Dnipro River, the province shares borders with Donetsk, Crimea and the Black Sea.
Why is it important for Russia?
- With Moscow capturing Crimea in 2014, the occupation of Kherson in March 2022 has benefited Russia in transferring its military from Crimea to counter Ukraine.
- It provides access to Odesa and Black Sea ports in the west and serves as the main route to secure southern Ukraine.
Implications of regaining for Ukraine
- For Ukraine, regaining Kherson is significant to protect its population in Kalanchak and Chaplynka districts and also to recapture Crimea.
- Kherson is also an important agricultural region, with irrigation channels.
How did Kherson come under Russia’s control?
- In early March 2022, Kherson was captured by Russia through intense fighting.
- The battle of Kherson proved to be the starting point to capturing and occupying the southern part of Ukraine while the battles for Kharkiv and Kyiv in the north progressed.
- Russia’s hold over Kherson since March 2022 enabled Moscow to capture the key port cities — Mariupol in the Sea Azov, and Odesa, thus expanding control.
- Kherson’s irrigation canals were used as defence positions, creating a strong line preventing Ukraine’s counter-attacks.
- Russia also had positioned its soldiers in Kherson and stockpiled the ammunition.
Why has Moscow announced its withdrawal from Kherson?
- Mobilisation failure: When Russia was advancing rapidly in capturing the southern and northern cities of Ukraine, its military personnel and weapon systems started to run thin.
- Unexperienced troops: The failure of new recruits added an additional challenge to Russia to keep its hold against the Ukraine counter-offensive in Kherson.
- Inability of Russia to govern Kherson: Despite imposing martial law, Russia could not effectively rule Kherson; the three-level security in the occupied areas could not enforce Russia’s control on the ground.
- Ukraine’s expanding counter-offensive: Until August, Ukraine was supplied only with short-range and low-grade weapons by the West. On the other hand, Russia has been facing challenges in augmenting its military hardware on the battleground.
Is the withdrawal final, or a tactical move by Russia?
- Ukraine is advancing: Russia’s new mobilisation has failed to stop the advancing of Ukraine forces.
- Russia is weakening: The challenges to remobilise its defence systems and the shortage of weapons must have played a role in Russia’s withdrawal.
- Inevitable western intervention: With Ukraine strengthening its military capacity through support from the west, upgrading from land-based to air-based to heavy battle tanks, Russia is facing a challenge to hold its occupied territories in Ukraine.
Conclusion
- Withdrawal from Kherson exposes a serious gap in Russia’s strategy to hold southern Ukraine.
- However, it also underlines its strategy — to withdraw under serious attack or resistance by the Ukrainian forces — as it happened in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
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November 11, 2022
Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) launched at COP27
At the 27th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP27), this year’s UN climate summit, the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) was launched with India as a partner.

Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC)
- An initiative led by the UAE and Indonesia, the MAC includes India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, and Spain.
- It seeks to educate and spread awareness worldwide on the role of mangroves in curbing global warming and its potential as a solution for climate change.
- Under MAC, UAE intends to plant 3 million mangroves in the next two months, in keeping with UAE’s COP26 pledge of planting 100 million mangroves by 2030.
Working of MAC
- MAC would work on a voluntary basis. It means that there are no real checks and balances to hold members accountable.
- Instead, the parties will decide their own commitments and deadlines regarding planting and restoring mangroves.
- The members will also share expertise and support each other in researching, managing and protecting coastal areas.
Why protect mangroves?
- Infrastructure projects — industrial expansion, shifting coastlines, coastal erosion and storms, have resulted in a significant decrease in mangrove habitats.
- Between 2010 and 2020, around 600 sq km of mangroves were lost of which more than 62% was due to direct human impacts, the Global Mangrove Alliance said in its 2022 report.
Importance of mangroves
- Biodiversity: Mangrove forests — consisting of trees and shrub that live in intertidal water in coastal areas — host diverse marine life.
- Fishing grounds: They also support a rich food web, with molluscs and algae-filled substrate acting as a breeding ground for small fish, mud crabs and shrimps, thus providing a livelihood to local artisanal fishers.
- Carbon sinks: Equally importantly, they act as effective carbon stores, holding up to four times the amount of carbon as other forested ecosystems.
- Cyclone buffers: When Cyclone Amphan struck West Bengal in May, its effects were largely mitigated by the Sundarbans flanking its coasts along the Bay of Bengal.
Threats to Mangroves
- Anthropogenic activities: They are a major threat to the mangroves. Urbanization, industrialization and the accompanying discharge of industrial effluents, domestic sewage and pesticide residues from agricultural lands threaten these fragile ecosystems.
- Saltpan and aquaculture: This causes huge damage to the mangroves. Shrimp farming alone destroyed 35,000 hectares of mangroves worldwide.
- Destruction for farming: 40% of mangroves on the west coast has been converted into farmlands and other settlements in just 3 decades.
- Sea-level rise: This is another challenge to these mangroves- especially on the Bay of Bengal coast.
Mangroves in India
- India holds around 3 percent of South Asia’s mangrove population.
- Besides the Sundarbans in West Bengal, the Andaman region, the Kutch and Jamnagar areas in Gujarat too have substantial mangrove cover.
How can India benefit from MAC?
- India is home to one of the largest remaining areas of mangroves in the world — the Sundarbans.
- It has years of expertise in restoration of mangrove cover that can be used to aid global measures in this direction.
- The move is in line with India’s goal to increase its carbon sink.
Try this PYQ:

Q.Which one of the following is the correct sequence of ecosystems in the order of decreasing productivity?

(a) Oceans, lakes, grasslands, mangroves

(b) Mangroves, oceans, grasslands, lakes

(c) Mangroves, grasslands, lakes, oceans

(d) Oceans, mangroves, lakes, grasslands

Post your answers here.

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November 11, 2022
Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA): A new carbon offset scheme by the US
The US has unveiled a new carbon offset scheme called Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) for climate finance.

Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA)
- ETA is carbon offset plan that will allow companies to fund clean energy projects in developing countries and gain carbon credits that they can then use to meet their own climate goals.
- The plan will be developed by the US along with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation.
- It would receive inputs from public and private
- The concept is to put the carbon market to work, deploy capital otherwise undeployable, and speed up the transition from dirty to clean power.
Benefits of ETA
- It may be good for renewable energy projects for sure and for those coal plants that are very old and unviable and which India wishes to shut down.
- The scheme comes at a time when there is growing mistrust among developing countries about developed nations failing to deliver on climate finance commitments.
Limitations of ETA
- The proposed initiative would be insufficient to make up for the lack of funding from rich countries.
- What developing countries need is predictable finance – not offset markets.
- The proposed initiative cannot make up for the US’s failure to provide its fair share of climate finance – an estimated $40 billion of the unmet goal of $100 billion a year.
Conclusion
- ETA appears to be a substitute for deep decarbonization needed within the US and other industrialized countries.
- For developing countries like India, the first priority would be to meet their own targets and not provide offsets for reductions in developed nations.
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November 11, 2022
10th Nov| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement
Topics for Today’s questions:

GS-1 Effects of globalization on Indian society.

GS-2 Executive and Judiciary

GS-3 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment; Indian Economy

GS-4 Dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.

Question 1)

Q.1 A new globalization is taking shape, and it’s both good and bad news for India. Critically analyse. (10 Marks)

Question 2)

Q.2 Briefly outlining the evolution of collegium system for appointment of judges in India, highlight the issues with the process. (15 Marks)

Question 3)

Q.3 What are green bonds? Illustrate using examples. What are the objectives of India’s Sovereign Green Bonds Framework? (10 Marks)

Question 4)

Q.4 What are the principles of effective public service delivery? Explain its importance in ensuring good governance with the help of relevant examples. (10 Marks)

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November 10, 2022
Watch LIVE(inside) | UPSC Workshop: Master the art of Intelligent Elimination for UPSC Prelims MCQs | Session by Dinesh sir at 4pm | Register now.
13th Nov @ 4 PM- Intelligent Elimination of options for UPSC Prelims MCQs by Dinesh Sir.

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Day 4: 13th Nov, 4 pm (Sunday)

Dinesh sir, the senior IAS Faculty from Civilsdaily will discuss the most important aspects of the UPSC exam – How to attempt UPSC Prelims MCQs? and in that he will share tips and hacks to attempt successfully questions that pull you into negative marking by confusing you.
- Intelligent Elimination Techniques for UPSC Prelims 2023-24
- 10 smart hacks for MCQ option elimination
You will be able to solve many questions with almost no or relatively less information by using these techniques.

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Given the voluminous nature of the UPSC exam syllabus, it is almost impossible for a candidate preparing for UPSC to expect a complete revision of all textbooks and the entire syllabus right before the examination; however, revision is critical to scoring well and passing the examination. As a result, most aspirants rely on self-made notes for quick revision during exam days to overcome this challenge.

Making notes is not only an important part of UPSC preparation but also it is the main part of active learning. One cannot expect to clear even the Prelims unless he prepares his notes and regularly revises them. Take any UPSC topper from any year, and you will find that almost all of them used note-taking as part of their UPSC preparation strategy.

Day 3: 13th Nov, 12 noon (Sunday)

Dimple Chouhan ma’am, CD’s Senior IAS Mentor will discuss how to make UPSC notes for GS-Current Affairs for Pre+Mains. She will also share value-added 2-3 paged crisp and comprehensive notes so that students get proper guidance…

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Apart from the above, an IAS aspirant must know how to deal with offbeat questions.

Day 1: UPSC FREE Workshop by AIR 109, UPSC 2021, Areeba Nomaan was concluded successfully. In case you missed it, Register for the Recorded session, PDF & Notes

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UPSC is nothing but a difficult battle. Every year Lakhs of aspirants face only fail because they accept self-defeat. Sajal sir said, “UPSC is the most UNPREDICTABLE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION’.

‘The Journey of UPSC something different.
Civilsdaily

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You have to be Prelims, Mains ready even before 2 months of Prelims itself. And only then you can catch your IAS/IPS dream on the very 1st attempt.

True success involves the full use of your power and strategy. Most of the time it happens that an aspirant works very hard but he/she does not achieve success because they lack clarity.

REGISTER FOR RECORDED SESSION | Day 1: 11th Nov, 5:30 pm (Friday) | The most important Masterclass by AIR 109, UPSC 2021, Areeba Nomaan | Post-session important PDFs, videos, and notes will be shared for FREE.

Acknowledging the need to ensure sure success in UPSC in the very 1st attempt, AIR 109, UPSC 2021, Areeba Nomaan, CD’s Super Mentor will take the IMP masterclass on cracking UPSC 2023-24 in just one attempt + Important themes and strategy…She will be giving a 6 months strategy for UPSC 2023 Prelims aspirants as well.

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Key Takeaways of Masterclass with AIR 109, UPSC 2021, Areeba Nomaan, Super Mentor of Civilsdaily. Other than those mentioned above we will be discussing the following points:

1. Analysing the trend of UPSC and devising an evolving adaptive strategy.

2. How to cover the syllabus? The syllabus, not the books, must be completed. Focussing on the essentials first.

3. What are the best books to refer to? Based on the last 10-year UPSC-CSE paper analysis.

4. Recognize the UPSC requirement. What kinds of test series are useful? Which mock test series should be avoided?

5. Complete UPSC-CSE Preparation Timeline for a Working Professional

6. The skill of taking notes. What topics necessitate notes and which do not?

7. Working hard in the right direction vs. working hard in the wrong direction Is it possible to be successful solely by studying hard?

8. There are only two consolidated sources for current events. What exactly are they?

9. Revision techniques that are common, standard, and used frequently. What exactly are they?

10. And many more IMP points of UPSC Prep that only a Topper can disclose

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November 10, 2022
Impact of Pandemic on Vulnerable Section: SC, ST and OBC
Context
- SC/ST and OBC have been impacted disproportionately by the pandemic as various social indicators shows vulnerabilities of this communities.
Impact of pandemic on education
- On the one hand, with policies mandating the promotion of students, promotion rates at the secondary school level rose significantly and repetition rates nosedived during the pandemic years (2020-21 and 2021-22).
- On the other, the inability to attend physical school and the lack of access to digital education caused a massive drop in learning levels after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Impact on education of SC, ST and OBC
- Increasing promotion rate: Notably, the promotion rate among Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students increased sharply after the outbreak. The promotion rate among Other Backward Classes (OBC) students continued to rise unabated.
- Repetition rate declining: The repetition rates too drastically came down in the pandemic years with some 1% students repeating their class across all communities. Notably, the gap in the repetition rate between SC/ST students and general category students declined greatly after the outbreak.
- Declining learning outcomes: While the promotion rate surged and the repetition rate declined, the marks scored by school students in National Achievement Survey (NAS) exams dropped significantly across classes and in most subjects.
- Disproportionate impact: There is a disproportionately greater impact on SC and ST students as their learning outcomes reduced the most while their promotion rates saw the highest degree of rise among all the communities.
Impact on livelihood of vulnerable sections of the society
- High job loss probability: The researchers found that compared to workers from upper castes, the probability of job loss was three times higher for those who are SC and two times higher for OBC workers.
- Comparatively higher unemployment: In December 2019, 39% of upper caste workers were employed and by April 2020, the percentage had dropped to 32%. The fall was more pronounced for SC workers, 44% of whom were employed in December 2019, but only 24% were employed in April 2020. For OBCs and STs the fall was from 40% to 26% and 48% to 33%, respectively.
- Poor education poor Opportunities: According to researchers, the upper castes are endowed with higher human capital, i.e. educational achievement, and are in jobs less vulnerable to pandemic disruption. What is surprising is that the impact on scheduled caste is three times worse. Not only has the pandemic exposed the pre-existing inequities but has amplified them.
How women are affected due to the pandemic?
- Effect on mental health: Women in low-caste women may be at a greater risk for worse mental health outcomes and higher perceived loneliness relative to high-caste women.
- Social exclusion and job losses: Prior research has found that low-caste women have been found to experience greater social exclusion greater job loss and greater barriers to healthcare and thus may experience both worse mental health and higher loneliness.
- Rising loneliness: Women in SC/ST and OBC groups will experience worse mental health, and higher perceived loneliness relative to women in the general caste group. We expect that this difference will be robust even when accounting for sociodemographic factors.
- Victims of systemic disadvantage: Women in general and women of weaker sections in particular, are victims of multiple systemic disadvantages, which exacerbated during the pandemic. Rural women, especially the female wage workers, endured greater socio-economic difficulties as their livelihood opportunities were abruptly halted by the lockdown.
- Visible gendered impact of pandemic: There is nothing natural in the gendered impact of pandemic, but the social norms and behaviour put them at greater risks due to unequal gender preference that is inbuilt in the social structure and culture.
Conclusion
- Pandemic have disproportionately affected the Indian society. Whether it is access to healthcare or vaccination SC, ST and OBC had a disadvantage. Lot of studies and research have assessed the caste specific impact of coronavirus and projected the dismal state of vulnerable groups. Government must look all these data while drafting the future policies for vulnerable communities.
Mains Question

Q. Analyze the learning outcome of SC/ST students after the pandemic. Assess the impact of pandemic on women belonging to SC, ST and OBC community.

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November 10, 2022
Urban Pollution
Context
- More than 1,10,000 infants are likely to have been killed by air pollution in India in 2019, almost immediately after being born while long-term exposure to outdoor and household air pollution was estimated to be responsible for about 1.67 million annual deaths amongst the adult population in the country.
What is pollution?
- Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash. They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land.
Menace of air pollution in urban areas
- Demands for air purifiers: Demand for air purifiers has boomed. Recently, in Delhi, pollution-related curbs were lifted and schools opened, despite air quality continuing to be in the “very poor” category.
- Health related problems: For the majority of urban north Indians who can’t afford air purifiers, life continues amidst dust, cough and breathlessness.
- Children are most affected: Our children in urban localities are growing up with stunted lungs, amidst poverty.
- High percentage of respiratory problems: Eighty per cent of all families in Delhi are noted to be suffering respiratory ailments due to severe pollution.
How we can reduce the air pollution?
- Expand green cover across urban areas to reduce dust pollution: Ahmedabad’s municipal corporation, for instance, has experimented with urban forests, with the city’s 43rd urban forest inaugurated in June 2021 over 20,000 trees have been in 7,625 sq. metres. Chandigarh has about 1,800 parks. Close to 46 per cent of the city was classified as a green area in 2019.
- Use of Miyawaki technique: Civil society could also help in Chennai, the NGO Thuvakkam, with a volunteer force of 1,800, has been able to grow 25 Miyawaki forests, raising over 65,000 trees. Such plantations are now being replicated in other cities including Tuticorin, Vellore and Kanchipuram.
- Push for airshed management: With a focus on understanding meteorological, seasonal and geographic patterns for air quality across a large region. In the US, the passage of the Air Quality Act (1967) saw the state of California being divided into 35 districts which had similar geographic and meteorological conditions and pollution was regulated at the state level. This approach was successful in reducing emissions by 98 per cent from 2010 to 2019.
- Heavy penalty on polluting cars: Inspiration can also be taken from London’s air pollution revolution an Ultra-Low Emission zone has been established in Central London, with hefty daily fees on cars that emit more than 75g/km of pollution.
Water pollution in Indian cities
- Untreated water into freshwater bodies: 72 per cent of urban sewage is untreated in India’s urban freshwater bodies. The Central Pollution Control Board reckons that more than 50 per cent of 351 river stretches (on 323 rivers) are polluted. Over 4,000 septic trucks (with each truck having 5,000 litres of human waste) dispose of their waste in the Ganga every day. In Delhi, about 941 MLPD of raw sewage finds its way to the river, killing off fish and preventing rituals on the banks.
- Riverine Pollution: Riverine pollution causes due to raw sewage overflowing from sewage treatment plants, untreated waste from unauthorized colonies, industrial effluents, sewer water from authorized colonies and inter-state pollution.
- Water scarcity: More than 40 per cent of Indians are expected to face water scarcity by 2050 and close to 35 million will face annual coastal flooding with sea level rise.
- Lack of planning: Apathy prevails as of May 2021, only 16 Indian cities had disclosed their plans to tackle climate change to international institutions, with only eight having actual sustainability-related targets in their urban master plans. Only 43 per cent of all Indian cities surveyed actually sought to address climate change adaption as a topic in their master plans, while only five had a GHG emission reduction target.
Do you know this harsh reality?
- In India, nearly 7 lakh premature deaths are attributed to water pollution
- Globally, 1.5 million children under five years die each year as a result of water-related diseases.
How to fight water pollution?
- Improving sewage treatment plant capacity: ensuring linkages with the drainage network. Mangalore’s City Corporation (MCC) has wastewater treatment plants with end-user linkages. The MCC offered to supply treated water to such industrial end-users in the city’s special economic zone if the latter agreed to fund about 70 per cent of the operations and maintenance cost of the pumps and the sewage treatment plant.
- Developing a sanitation network: The problem of untreated waste and sewer water from unauthorized colonies can be solved by investing in a sewerage network. Consider the example of Alandur, a small suburb of Chennai in 2000, it had no underground sewage lines, with most houses dependent on septic tanks. In the late 1990s, the local municipality in partnership with local resident welfare associations conducted collection drives to gain deposits (ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500) for developing a sanitation network.
- Pump house: The project was launched with a push for creating a pump house, setting up over 5,650 manholes and providing sewerage connections to 23,700 households, a sewage treatment plant with a 12 MLD capacity was also set up. Going forward, many other municipalities in Tamil Nadu have sought to adopt this model.
- A systems-based approach should be adopted: along with a push for protecting “blue infra” areas places that act as natural sponges for absorbing surface runoff, allowing groundwater to be recharged. At the household level, we can encourage citizens to take up rainwater harvesting, urban roof terrace greening, urban roof water retention tanks and having a green corridor around residential buildings.
- Water permeable roads: Municipalities could be encouraged to make existing roads permeable with a push for green landscaping and rain gardens. At the city level and beyond, policymakers should push for “sponge cities” and incorporate disaster planning. A mindset shift, in citizenry and policymakers, is urgently needed.
Conclusion
- Urban planning and urban pollution are largely neglected in our governance model. Unplanned cities are facing the various problems. We must embrace the technology to fight the pollution in urban India.
Mains Question

How severe is the problem of Urban pollution? What steps can be taken to fight the urban pollution in India?

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November 10, 2022

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