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Day 3 | Daily Answer Wars| CD WarZone
Topics for Today’s question:
GS-3 Disaster and disaster management.
Question)
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WARS (DAW)?
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What is missing in Delhi’s breathing
Context
- Every year around Deepavali, and like clockwork, Delhi’s air quality makes it to the headlines. As firefighters we are doing well, but as planners doing very little. While nature will not change, emissions can be reduced. While a lot has been written and said about Delhi’s air quality, the question that still has to be answered is this: why is nothing changing after all these years?
Air pollution and its impact
- Air pollution a health crisis in making: Increasingly polluted air is a hazard and a health crisis in the making, in fact, it is already one.
- Air pollution related death in India: India now reports 2.5 million air pollution-related deaths annually.
- Air pollution not confined to external hazard: Pollution not only makes our throats and eyes burn but is much more insidious.
- Pollutants can enter bloodstreams: Some pollutants are so small that they are able to enter the bloodstream with ease, impacting almost every organ in the body and leading to the onset of health issues such as stroke, heart diseases, respiratory diseases and cancer, to name just a few serious health problems.
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Critique: Why is nothing changing after all these years?
- Applying same approach without through evaluation: A principal reason is that year after year, we are doing the same things to try and address the problem without actually trying to evaluate why those measures are not effective.
- Inefficiency of Commission for Air Quality Management: The Government formed the Commission for Air Quality Management, which, unfortunately, did not offer anything new. This body essentially issued the same orders the Ministry and the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority used to, with just a slight change in the language used.
- Same advisory every year than the preventive measures: Every year schools are closed, people are advised to to stay indoors, or carpool and work from home, bans on firecrackers are reinforced, construction stopped, trucks and cars not allowed to enter the city, and industries running on fuel shut. These measures, and several others, are akin to dressing a bullet wound with band-aid.
Analysis: Is it only stubble burning is the culprit behind Delhi’s air pollution?
- Delhi’s bad air when stubble is not being burnt: Stubble burning in the neighbouring States being identified as the main culprit. However, the reality is that Delhi’s air is bad even when stubble is not being burnt.
- Burning of biomass in and around Delhi: The burning of biomass in and around Delhi, if audited properly, would be the same as stubble burning in other States. Unfortunately, none of the bodies, be it the municipal body or the government’s Public Works Department, is willing to take responsibility for this or address and find a solution to the problem.
- Less compliance on construction activities: Delhi chokes on its own dust and industrial activities. No clarity on how and who is ensuring compliance with the rules relating to the handling of construction and demolition waste.
- Heavy reliance on private Vehicles which is another major source of pollution: Vehicles are another source of pollution in the city. Despite an expanding fleet of public transport, citizens who primarily use two-wheelers have not moved to using the public transport system, buses and the metro. Reasons for this may include last-mile connectivity, the problem of crowding in buses and metros, and the inability to reach and navigate narrow lanes that two-wheelers can. The state of maintenance of buses could be another reason as well.
What needs to be done?
- Look beyond the measures that have already been tried: We have to be creative and look beyond the measures that have already been tried and proved they are at best a short-term solution to a recurring, long-term problem.
- Making efficient and coordinated governance mechanism: Core issue that needs to be addressed is the governance system. There needs to be a single entity that takes responsibility for air quality management. We cannot operate in silos where one system of governance is responsible for thinking, a second issues orders and a third is responsible for implementation. There need to be an efficient system that works in a coordinated way.
- Acknowledge the reality and not just taking the actions in the time of crisis: The reality also is that Delhi is not the sole offender. There are many other cities in India where safe levels of air quality are breached regularly. We need to take more comprehensive, long-term measures throughout the year and not just in the days and weeks when it begins to make news.
Conclusion
- This is not to say that stubble burning is not a problem. Some solutions have been tried out over the years, but with little success. Unless farmers are adequately compensated, the problem is unlikely to go away. What is required is a fundamental shift in agricultural patterns, and a strong political will to take bold decisions.
Mains question
Q. Do you agree with the statement that only stubble burning is the culprit behind Delhi’s air pollution?
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Price cap on Russia’s Oil and India’s contextual response
Context
- Recently, G7 proposal to impose a price cap on Russian oil came into effect. The proposal, which took months to fructify, seeks to achieve a delicate balance how to starve the Russian state of oil revenues so as to financially cripple its war against Ukraine, but without causing supply disruptions in the global oil market which would cause prices to spiral. The move, however, risks fracturing the global crude oil market.
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What is Price cap on Russian oil?
- The $60 per barrel and denial of infrastructure services to Russian oil: The $60 per barrel cap is intended to cut Russia’s oil revenues while keeping Russian crude on the market by denying insurance, maritime services, and finance provided by the Western allies for tanker cargoes priced above a fixed dollar-per-barrel cap.
- Aim to hurt Russia’s oil revenue and create a pressure: The US-proposed cap aims to hurt Moscow’s finances while avoiding a sharp oil price spike if Russia’s oil is suddenly taken off the global market.
- Impact on shipping: Without insurance, tanker owners may be reluctant to take on Russian oil and face obstacles in delivering it.
Russian response to the price cap
- Russia refused to abide by the measure: Russia has said it will not observe a cap and will halt deliveries to countries that do.
- Retaliate by shutting off the shipments: It could retaliate by shutting off shipments in hopes of profiting from a sharply higher global oil price on whatever it can sell around the sanctions.
- Russia said price cap will not hurt financing the war: Russia recently said that the cap would not hurt the financing of its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
- Others buyers may bypass the restrictions putting countries interests first: Buyers in China and India might not go along with the cap, while Russia or China could try to set up their own insurance providers to replace those barred by US, UK and Europe. It is also possible that these countries will find creative ways to bypass the restrictions imposed by the G7.
How impacts global oil supply chain?
- Russian oil can now only be shipped using G7 countries infrastructure: Broadly speaking, Russian oil can now be shipped across the world using the infrastructure of the G7 countries tankers, insurers, etc only if it is sold at a price of $60 per barrel or less.
- Higher price for buying oil from Russia: This makes buying oil from Russia at a higher price in the week prior to this announcement, Urals crude was trading in the mid-$60s range a difficult proposition as most of the companies that offer shipping and insurance services are located in these G7 nations.
- Countries wish to buy are at disadvantage but still not higher than brent crude oil: While Russia has refused to abide by this measure, and the cap will place countries that do opt for buying oil from Russia at a price higher than $60 at a disadvantage, it will still be at a considerable discount compared to Brent crude oil which is currently trading at around $81 per barrel.
- Countries that continued trade despite of objections: So far, despite objections from western nations, countries like India and China have continued to trade with Russia.
India’s response and the bilateral trade with Russia
- India’s bilateral trade with Russia has surged to an all-time high: In fact, as reported in this paper, India’s bilateral trade with Russia has surged to an all-time high in the first five months of the year (April-August).
- India putting its interests first and taking advantage of discounted price: Putting its interests first, India has raised its oil imports from Russia, taking advantage of the discounts being offered the country which used to import less than 1 per cent of its import requirement from Russia, now imports around a fifth from it.
- As India is an oil importer, the trade at discounted price will give some relief in current account deficit and economic stability: After all, for an oil importer like India, which meets an overwhelming share of its requirements through imports, lower crude oil prices will moderate the price pressures in the economy and bring relief to the current account deficit, easing risks to macroeconomic stability.
- India rejected the so-called moral duty: India has rejected any “moral” duty to join the price cap coalition.
Conclusion
- Attempts to use trade as a weapon will only distort the global market and hurt energy-poor consumers not responsible for the war. India’s response so far to the West’s retaliation against Russia for the war in Ukraine has been guided by its sovereign interests. This must continue to be the guiding principle.
Mains Question
Q. G7 recently imposed a price cap on Russian oil driven by US and west. In light of this Discuss how it disrupt the global oil supply chain and how India is responding?
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Pendency falls in the Child Adoption cases
The pendency in the adoption of children has come down to 644 from 905 over the last two months since the new Adoption Regulations were notified.
What is the news?
- The Rules for the adoption of the Juvenile Justice Act were notified in September this year.
Adoption Regulations, 2022
- The new rules empower District Magistrates to issue adoption orders.
- Earlier, this power was exercised by the judiciary.
- Changes have also been made to the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS) online platform for adoption.
- In accordance with the new rules, prospective adoptive parents can now opt from their home State or region.
- This has been mandated to ensure that the child and the family adjust well with each other, belonging to the same socio-cultural milieu.
Adoption in India: A backgrounder
- In 2015, the then Minister for Women and Child Development centralised the entire adoption system by empowering Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
- CARA is an autonomous and statutory body of Ministry of Women and Child Development set up in 2015.
- It was empowered to maintain in various specialised adoption agencies, a registry of children, prospective adoptive parents as well as match them before adoption.
- This was aimed at checking rampant corruption and trafficking as child care institutions and NGOs could directly give children for adoption after obtaining a no-objection certificate from CARA.
Why is there concern over the revised rules?
- Parents, activists, lawyers and adoption agencies will have to be transferred and the process will have to start afresh.
- A delay in such an order can often mean that a child can’t get admission into a school because parents don’t yet have a birth certificate.
- Parents and lawyers also state that neither judges, nor DMs are aware about the change in the JJ Act leading to confusion in the system and delays.
- DMs don’t handle civil matters that bestow inheritance and succession rights on a child.
- If these rights are contested when a child turns 18, a judicial order is far more tenable to ensure the child is not deprived of his or her entitlements.
Is it such a big issue?
- The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) says there are nearly 1,000 adoption cases pending before various courts in the country.
- This is not such a huge burden.
What is the adoption procedure in India?
- Adoptions in India are governed by two laws:
- Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA): It is a parent-centric law that provides son to the son-less for reasons of succession, inheritance, continuance of family name and for funeral rights and later adoption of daughters was incorporated because kanyadaan is considered an important part of dharma in Hindu tradition.
- Juvenile Justice Act, 2015: It handles issues of children in conflict with law as well as those who are in need of care and protection and only has a small chapter on adoptions.
- Both laws have their separate eligibility criteria for adoptive parents.
- Those applying under the JJ Act have to register on CARA’s portal after which a specialised adoption agency carries out a home study report.
- After it finds the candidate eligible for adoption, a child declared legally free for adoption is referred to the applicant.
- Under HAMA, a “dattaka hom” ceremony or an adoption deed or a court order is sufficient to obtain irrevocable adoption rights.
Issues with child adoption in India
- Parent-centrism: The current adoption approach is very parent-centred, but parents must make it child-centred.
- Age of child: Most Indian parents also want a child between the ages of zero and two, believing that this is when the parent-child bond is formed.
- Institutional issues: Because the ratio of abandoned children to children in institutionalised care is lopsided, there are not enough children available for adoption.
- Lineage discrimination: Most Indians have a distorted view of adoption because they want their genes, blood, and lineage to be passed down to their children.
- Red-tapism: Child adoption is also not so easy task after the Juvenile Justice Rules of 2016 and the Adoption Regulations of 2017 were launched.
Practical issues in adoption
- There are no rules for monitoring adoptions and verifying sourcing of children and determining whether parents are fit to adopt.
- There are many problems with the adoption system under CARA but at the heart of it is the fact that there are very few children in its registry.
- According to the latest figures there are only 2,188 children in the adoption pool, while there are more than 31,000 parents waiting to adopt a child.
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What is Goods Trade Barometer?
The World Trade Organization’s Goods Trade Barometer says the global economy, hit by strong headwinds and weakening import demand, may see trade growth slowdown in the closing months of 2022 and into 2023.
What is Goods Trade Barometer?
- The Goods Trade Barometer was developed by the WTO to complement conventional trade statistics and forecasts.
- It is the world’s leading composite indicator that highlights the turning points in the global merchandise trade and provides forecasts of its likely trajectory in the near future.
- It is released on a quarterly basis based on the availability of data.
- It provides real-time data on the trajectory of merchandise trade relative to the current trends.
- Values higher than 100 indicates above-trend growth and the values less than 100 indicates below-trend growth.
Key trends
- In its recent release, it said trade growth is likely to slow down in 2022 and into 2023.
- Reflecting a cooling demand for traded goods based on actual trade developments through the second quarter of 2022, the current reading of 96.2 is below the baseline value index and the prior reading of 100.0.
- The downturn in the goods barometer is in line with the earlier forecast which predicted a merchandise trade volume growth of 3.5% in 2022 and a revised lower estimate of 1% for 2023.
Impact on India’s trade balance
- With a likely fall in export earnings, and no decrease in imports of essential items like crude oil and capital goods, India’s trade deficit is set to widen.
- The projection is that the country’s current account trade deficit is expected to be around 3% of GDP for FY23.
- Foreign exchange reserves which have already depleted by over $100 billion over the last year are likely to shrink further.
What does a slowdown mean for India?
- India is not an export-led economy. In FY22, 21.5% of Indian GDP depended on exports.
- However, in view of the poor performance of the country’s major market destinations such as the US and China, Indian exports are bound to suffer.
- During the subprime crisis which engulfed the entire world, India’s export-oriented sectors had to pay the price though the economy was to a large extent insulated due to a vibrant rural sector.
- But currently rural India is not in a strong position unlike in 2008-09.
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UPSC CSE Mains 2022 results out | Namewise list Download PDF here | Link for Interview Guidance Program inside
Register for LIVE DAF II session with a senior bureaucrat.
The wait is over! UPSC has released the UPSC CSE Mains 2022 result. (Name-wise list below)
Our heartiest congratulations to CivilsDaily’s students and other aspirants who have cleared the second stage of UPSC CSE 2022. Almost 85% of Civilsdaily’s Mains students are appearing for UPSC Interviews 2022.
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Register here for LIVE 1-1 session on DAF II filling on 8th December 2022 with senior bureaucrat.
The interview/personality test isn’t intended to be a test either of the specialized or general knowledge of the candidates which has been already tested through their written papers. Real UPSC Interview preparation starts with filling out DAF II. Enroll here in the Transcend: Interview Guidance Program for UPSC 2022
Those who have qualified for the UPSC Mains 2022 are advised to join the Civilsdaily Interview Program. You can discuss DAF, interview topics, and other aspects with toppers, in-service officers, and senior mentors and faculties.
For those who couldn’t find their name on the list, it is a time for introspection and reflection.
“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
Henry FordLet us discuss and uncover the issues that you are facing in your preparation.
UPSC Mains 2022 was unlike the last few years’ Mains. With very few questions focussing on the conceptual-analytical aspect, it was factual and high on GS static topics based. Apparently, it might seem easy but to contain the answer within 2-3 pages was a tough task in the exam hall. UPSC seemingly moved backward to the late 90s Mains era when such static topic-based questions were asked predominantly.
For Mains 2023 aspirants, Sajal sir’s suggestion would be to focus on value addition on GS topics rather than content addition; practice intensively Mains Previous Year questions; bring creativity & innovation in your answers because even though questions are easy but answers needn’t be simple; collecting and using case studies, examples, etc. to make your answers stand apart.
Fill out the Samanvaya form and get on a 1-to-1 call with senior IAS faculty and mentors. We will discuss preparation issues like the timetable, strategy, planning, sources, etc, and get them resolved.
Rules for DAF II
All the candidates, who qualified for the Personality Tests (Interviews), are required to fill and submit their Detailed Application Form-II (DAF-II) mandatorily. Regarding this, the following provisions have been made in the Civil Services Examination, 2022 Rules:
“14(1) Before the commencement of Interview/Personality Test of the Examination, a candidate shall be required to mandatorily indicate the order of preferences only for those Services which are participating in the Civil Services Examination-2022 and for which the candidate is interested to be allocated to in case of eventual selection, in the on-line Detailed Application Form-II (DAF-II). OBC Annexure (for OBC category only) and EWS Annexure (for EWS category only) are required to be mandatorily submitted. Any delay in the submission of the DAF-II or documents in support beyond the prescribed date will not be allowed and will lead to the cancellation of the candidature for the CSE-2022. A candidate may also upload additional documents/certificates of higher education, achievements in different fields, service experience, etc.
(2) In case of recommendation of candidature by UPSC for Service Allocation, the candidate shall be considered by the Government for allocation to one of those Services for which the preference has been indicated by the candidate in the online Detailed Application Form-II subject to fulfillment of other conditions. No change in preferences for Services once submitted by a candidate would be permitted. In case preference for none of the Services is indicated, the candidate will not be considered for Service Allocation.
(3) A candidate who wishes to be considered for Indian Administrative Service or Indian Police Service shall be required to indicate in the online Detailed Application Form-II the order of preferences for various Zones and Cadres for which the candidate would like to be considered for allotment in case of appointment to the IAS or IPS. No change in preference of Zones and Cadres once submitted by a candidate would be permitted.
Note-I: The candidates are advised to indicate preferences for various services or posts very carefully. Attention is also invited to Rule 21 (1) in this connection.
Note-II: The candidates are advised to periodically visit DoPT‘s website https://dopt.gov.in or https://cseplus.nic.in for information or details about Service Allocation, Cadre allotment, etc.
Note-III: As per the extant Cadre Allocation Policy applicable for the Civil Services Examination-2022, the candidates who wish to indicate IAS/IPS as their Service preference are advised to indicate all the Zones and Cadres in the order of preference in their online Detailed Application Form-II.”
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(WATCH LIVE) FREE Ethics Seminar in Delhi: How UPSC Toppers approach and solve Ethics Case Studies? by Rahul Garg, Assistant comptroller general of accounts, Author of famous Ethics book | Meet sir in Delhi
Get FREE Ethics PDF notes on registration | 6th December (Tuesday) at 5 PM | FREE Ethics Seminar in Delhi center with Rahul Garg, Assistant comptroller general of accounts, Author of Ethics and Morality : From Vice to Virtue
Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude are part of UPSC-CSE mains GS-4 Syllabus which not only examines the analytical ability of a candidate but also tests their problem-solving approach to various issues & conflicts in our society.
Rahul Garg sir will be taking up an offline Semin Ethics case studies form the major chunk of UPSC Ethics or GS paper 4 in the UPSC Mains exam. Tackling this section takes practice, good hold on certain principles, and a solid framework for solving different types of case studies.
Rahul Garg, Assistant Controller General of Accounts, ICAS will be taking up a Seminar
FREE Ethics Seminar: Details
Date and Time:
6th December 2022 (Tuesday)
Time: 5 pm to 7 pm
Venue: This Workshop will be held in both offline and online mode. You can attend in CivilsDaily’s Delhi center in offline mode, and for Online mode, we will share a Zoom link in your email. Please register.
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Objectives of the special masterclass:
- How to approach and prepare for Ethics: UPSC GS paper 4? A broad strategy by Rahul Garg sir, ICAS.
- What kind of case studies are asked in the paper and how to tackle them? Recent trends in Ethics paper.
- How to write ethics-oriented answers even though questions could have been asked in other GS papers. Ethics norms instruct about right or wrong. So, how to charge your answers with ‘Transparency’, ‘Accountability’, and ‘Right Attitude’ is surely focused in the Seminar.
- Writing course of action of case studies in the most ethical ways along with a practical approach. Even an ideal solution wouldn’t fetch marks, if it seems unworkable. Focusing on this, how to frame your answers based on peripheral problems in a case study will be discussed.
- How to use examples and can make our own examples. The best possible ways of creating the most relevant experiences/examples from current, social issues, professional life, your area of interest, etc. will surely be talked over here.
- Do and don’t of ethics paper. The most common mistakes will also be discussed. Mistake-prone: If there are no real-life cases, never let it go without them. Be prepared to make your point from the lives of social reformers, leaders, civil servants, etc., and other respected people.
- How to enrich your answers to case studies with the “My Vision”/”thinkers” approach?
What The Hindu opined about Civilsdaily Mentorship
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6th Dec 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions
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