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  • Places in news: Mount Sinabung

    Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung volcano sent a cloud of hot ash as high as 3 km today, in its first big eruption since August last year.

    Mount Sinabung

    • It is a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano in the Karo plateau of Karo Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
    • It is created by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate under the Eurasian Plate.
    • It erupted in 2010 after a 400-year-long hiatus and has been continuously active since September 2013.

    Why frequent eruptions?

    • Indonesia straddles the “Pacific ring of fire” with nearly130 active volcanoes, more than any other country.
    • Sinabung had been inactive for centuries before it erupted again in 2010.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
    2. Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar
    3. The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2018)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1 and 3

    What is the Pacific ring of fire?

    • The Pacific Ring of Fire is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.
    • It includes the Pacific coasts of South America, North America and Kamchatka, and some islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
    • It is a direct result of plate tectonics: specifically the movement, collision and destruction of lithospheric plates under and around the Pacific Ocean.
    • The collisions have created a nearly continuous series of subduction zones, where volcanoes are created and earthquakes occur.

  • [pib] Sugamya Bharat App

    Union Minister for Social justice and Empowerment has launched the “Sugamya Bharat App”.

    Sugamya Bharat App

    • The Sugamya Bharat App is a simple to use Mobile App with an easy registration process, requiring only 3 mandatory fields, namely, Name, Mobile number and Email-id.
    • Registered users can raise issues related to accessibility being faced.
    • The App is made accessible for ease of use for persons with disabilities also with features such as font size adjustment, color contrasting option, text to speech, and having an integrated screen reader in Hindi and English.
    • It is available in 10 regional languages, namely, Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, Odiya, Kannada, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Malayalam.
    • The App also has the provision of easy photo uploads with a geotagging option of the premise where accessibility intervention is required.

    Its features

    • The app, a Crowdsourcing Mobile Application is a means for sensitizing and enhancing accessibility in the 3 pillars of the Accessible India Campaign i.e. built environment, transportation sector and ICT ecosystem in India.
    • The app provides for five main features, 4 of which are directly related to enhancing accessibility, while the fifth is a special feature meant only for Divyangjan for COVID related issues.

    The accessibility-related features are:

    • Registration of complaints of inaccessibility across the 3 broad pillars of the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan;
    • Positive feedback of examples and best practices worth emulating being shared by people as jan-bhagidhari;
    • Departmental updates and guidelines and circulars related to accessibility.

    Back2Basics: Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan

    • Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is a program that is set to be launched to serve the differently-able community of the country.
    • The flagship program has been launched on 3 December 2015, the International Day of People with Disabilities.
    • The program comes with an index to measure the design of disabled-friendly buildings and human resource policies.
    • The initiative also in line with Article 9 of the (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) which India is a signatory since 2007.
    • The scheme also comes under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 for equal Opportunities and protection of rights which provides non-discrimination in Transport to Persons with Disabilities.

  • 2nd March 2021 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 559]

    [WpProQuiz_toplist 559]

  • 5 deadly mistakes you must avoid in your UPSC IAS preparation | Fill Samanvaya for IAS 2021-22 and discuss with us.

    5 deadly mistakes you must avoid in your UPSC IAS preparation | Fill Samanvaya for IAS 2021-22 and discuss with us.

    Samanvaya: FREE 1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP SESSION (click)

    There are some fundamental mistakes that many serious aspirants make. And no, we’re not talking about ignoring daily current affairs, not writing answers, or attempting tests.

    Based on our interaction with 2500 aspirants in the past two months who have not been able to clear this exam after multiple attempts, there are five deadly mistakes for an UPSC aspirant.

    1. Ignoring or failing to understand what UPSC expects from you.

    UPSC through this exam has to maintain the merit in the Indian administration. For that, they are constantly evolving w.r.t. the exam process – questions and the manner in which they ask questions. Just go through the last three years’ UPSC Prelims question papers and you will realize it yourself.

    Just knowing the syllabus and sources is not enough. Neither is it about finishing the syllabus only. It has to be done in a certain manner. Only when you know what UPSC wants you can make an effort in that direction. Fill Samanvaya form below to discuss the expectations of UPSC and more.

    Samanvaya: FREE 1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP SESSION (click)
    How to prepare for upsc 2021? Strategy for upsc 2021? Answer writing for 2020 Abhishek Saraf rank 8 Civilsdaily
    Abhishek has benefited from Civilsdaily’s approach, so did 70+ candidates who cleared UPSC IAS 2019

    2. Not having a workable strategy

    Internet and youtube are flooded with IAS toppers’ strategy. While it worked for the toppers, what will work for you is a strategy that is based on your situation (UPSC experience, education, background, etc.), your learning style, the time you have, consideration for your job commitments, etc.

    In short, your strategy has to be unique. Just for you. Moreover, it has to be organic and adaptable. Else it won’t work. Let us help make one for you or improve your strategy. (Just fill in the Samanvaya form)

    3. No mechanism to identify your mistakes

    Even if you’ve taken multiple attempts you are bound to make some mistakes, much more for UPSC beginners. These are inevitable. And this makes it essential for you to put up a mechanism to find out and highlight those mistakes in your preparation on a regular basis.

    Eg. Finished Modern History (or any subject), only to realize after a month that you don’t seem to remember a thing or solve a UPSC level MCQ. This realization that you’re doing it wrong should have come to you on the first or second day itself. You could’ve saved your precious time, efforts and attempt.

    Discussing your approach with mentors is one of them. Don’t have a mentor? Yes, you have one at Civilsdaily. Fill in this Samanvaya form.

    Civilsdaily’s Samanvaya: free 1-to-1 mentorship session

    Fill the Samanvaya form for a free on-call mentorship session. We’ll call you within 24 hours.

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    4. Inability to rectify your mistakes

    Maybe due to inertia or ignorance or fear of change, most of the aspirants are not able to rectify their mistakes.

    Eg. Even after finishing Laxmikant for Polity a couple of times you can’t understand why you are scoring miserably low marks in Polity pre-mocks. Or, not able to improve your mains answers.

    Only those who are able to rectify their mistakes on a frequent basis are able to clear this exam. What issues with your preparation you feel are difficult to resolve? Fill Samanvaya and let us help you resolve them.

    5. Integrate these learnings in your preparation

    After you have developed the awareness of the mistakes and what should be done, you must integrate it asap with your preparation. The required unlearning and re-learning must take on a regular basis.

    Eg. You were scoring less in answer writing and realized that it was due to either missing out on the demand of the question or not giving examples to support your arguments. Don’t stall the process of improvement. Do it asap.

    Instead of regressing or stopping, you should always be moving forward, closing the loops of progress, and returning to the most effective path.

    Whatever be the stage of your IAS exam preparation, these mistakes must be avoided at all costs and nipped-in-the-bud.

    Samanvaya: FREE 1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP SESSION (click)

    More than 10.5 lakh applied, but only 796 are going to clear UPSC IAS 2020. It is going to be much more challenging in 2021 and 2022.

    It is not just about walking. It is about walking in the right direction. If you don’t have these above issues sorted you are bound to make more mistakes.

    Fill the Samanvaya form given above to discuss your strategy and issues that you are facing.

    Civilsdaily’s Hall of Fame.

    Why mentorship?

    See, broadly six factors determine your success in cracking this prestigious IAS exam and the most important being understanding the expectations of UPSC and according to that planning and strategizing; other being, Learning – Knowledge and information; Analyzing – making linkages, connections, etc.; Executing and utilizing information; and Constant course correction – because mistakes are inevitable, need to rectify them asap.

    These are the areas where most of the aspirants fail to create a balance. Where are you facing an issue?

    Integrate them in your preparation. We’ll tell you how to do it

    To address the problems in your preparation, guidance and mentorship are the first steps. And here comes our three tiered mentorship.

    CLICK HERE FOR A FREE 1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP SESSION: Samanvaya

    Our 3 tier mentoring:

    1. First step starts with this Samanvaya call: Once you fill in the form, our senior mentors will have a 1-to-1 detailed discussion (on-call) with you to understand your prep level, working/ study constraints, current strategies, and create a step by step plan for next week, next month and so on.

    2. You are given access to our invite-only chat platform, Habitat where you can connect with mentors, ask your daily doubts, discuss your test-prep questions and have real-time live sessions on news and op-eds, and find your optional groups.

    How to prepare for upsc 2021? Strategy for upsc 2021? Answer writing for 2020
    Daily target monitoring.

    3. The third and the most personalized tier is the dedicated 1 on 1 mentor allotment who stays with you through the course of your UPSC preparation – always-on chat and on scheduled calls to help you assess, evaluate, and chart the next milestone of your IAS 2021/2022 journey.

    Daily target monitoring on Habitat
    Samanvaya: CLICK HERE FOR A FREE 1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP SESSION

    Who are you?

    1. Working Junta? If you are preparing for IAS 2021/2022 and working simultaneously, we can help you strategize and decipher the IAS exam and design a timetable that fits right in your hectic schedule.
    2. First-time prep? If you are in the last year of college or thinking of dropping a year and preparing for IAS 2021/2022 full time, we’ll help you pick the right books and craft a practical & personal strategy.
    3. Have appeared before? and weren’t successful. We’ll help you identify your mistakes, rectify them for the necessary course correction. Let this be your final and successful attempt.

    You just have to take 5 minutes out and fill this form: Samanvaya For IAS 2021/2022

    Talk to senior mentors from Civilsdaily: Fill Samanvaya form for IAS 2021 and IAS 2022. Once done, we will call you within 24 hours or so.

    Fill up the following details in the Samanvaya form to schedule a free one-on-one mentorship session with senior mentors from Civilsdaily. We’ll call you within 24 hours.
    Samanvaya: click here for a free 1-on-1 mentorship session

  • [Burning Issue] Highlights of the 15th Finance Commission Report 2021-26

    This year’s Union budget was accompanied by the unveiling of the Fifteenth Finance Commission’s report for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26. This report outlines some crucial recommendations for state governments, covering tax devolution, grants from the Centre, and the guidelines for the borrowings that they are permitted to incur over the medium-term.

    Context

    • The Finance Commission is a constitutional body formed by the President of India to give suggestions on centre-state financial relations.
    • The 15th Finance Commission was required to submit two reports. The commission’s chairman is N. K. Singh, with its full-time members being Ajay Narayan Jha, Ashok Lahiri and Anoop Singh.
    • The first report, consisting of recommendations for the financial year 2020-21, was tabled in Parliament on February 1, 2020.

    Background

    What is the Finance Commission?

    • The Finance Commission (FC) was established by the President of India in 1951 under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution.
    • It was formed to define the financial relations between the central government of India and the individual state governments.
    • The Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951 additionally defines the terms of qualification, appointment and disqualification, the term, eligibility and powers of the Finance Commission.
    • As per the Constitution, the FC is appointed every five years and consists of a chairman and four other members.
    • Since the institution of the First FC, stark changes in the macroeconomic situation of the Indian economy have led to major changes in the FC’s recommendations over the years.

    Constitutional Provisions

    Several provisions to bridge the fiscal gap between the Centre and the States were already enshrined in the Constitution of India, including Article 268, which facilitates levy of duties by the Centre but equips the States to collect and retain the same.

    Article 280 of the Indian Constitution defines the scope of the commission:

    1. The President will constitute a finance commission within two years from the commencement of the Constitution and thereafter at the end of every fifth year or earlier, as the deemed necessary by him/her, which shall include a chairman and four other members.
    2. Parliament may by law determine the requisite qualifications for appointment as members of the commission and the procedure of selection.
    3. The commission is constituted to make recommendations to the president about the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Union and States and also the allocation of the same among the States themselves. It is also under the ambit of the finance commission to define the financial relations between the Union and the States. They also deal with the devolution of unplanned revenue resources.

    Important functions

    • Distribution of net proceeds of taxes between Center and the States, to be divided as per their respective contributions to the taxes.
    • Determine factors governing Grants-in-Aid to the states and the magnitude of the same.
    • To make recommendations to the president as to the measures needed to augment the Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the panchayats and municipalities in the state on the basis of the recommendations made by the finance commission of the state.
    • Any other matter related to it by the president in the interest of sound finance.

    Members of the Finance Commission

    • The Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951 was passed to give a structured format to the finance commission and to bring it to par with world standards.
    • It laid down rules for the qualification and disqualification of members of the commission, and for their appointment, term, eligibility and powers.
    • The Chairman of a finance commission is selected from people with experience of public affairs. The other four members are selected from people who:
    1. Are, or have been, or are qualified, as judges of a high court,
    2. Have knowledge of government finances or accounts, or
    3. Have had experience in administration and financial expertise; or
    4. Have special knowledge of economics

    Major Highlights of the Report 2021-26

    The final report with recommendations for the 2021-26 period was tabled in Parliament on February 1, 2021.  Key recommendations in the report for 2021-26 include:

    [A] Share of states in central taxes

    • Vertical devolution: The share of states in the central taxes for the 2021-26 period is recommended to be 41%, same as that for 2020-21. 
    • This is less than the 42% share recommended by the 14th Finance Commission for 2015-20 periods. 
    • The adjustment of 1% is to provide for the newly formed union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh from the resources of the centre. 

    [B] Criteria for devolution

    • Table below shows the criteria used by the Commission to determine each state’s share in central taxes, and the weight assigned to each criterion. 
    • The criteria for distribution of central taxes among states for 2021-26 period is same as that for 2020-21. 
    • However, the reference period for computing income distance and tax efforts are different (2015-18 for 2020-21 and 2016-19 for 2021-26), hence, the individual share of states may still change. 

    Table : Criteria for Horizontal Devolution

    Criteria14th FC 2015-2015th FC 2020-2115th FC 2021-26
    Income Distance50.045.045.0
    Area15.015.015.0
    Population (1971)17.5––
    Population (2011)#10.015.015.0
    Demographic Performance–12.512.5
    Forest Cover7.5––
    Forest and Ecology–10.010.0
    Tax and fiscal efforts*–2.52.5
    Total100100100
    • Income distance: Income distance is the distance of a state’s income from the state with the highest income. 
    • Demographic performance: The Commission was required to use the population data of 2011 while making recommendations.  The demographic performance criterion has been used to reward efforts made by states in controlling their population.  States with a lower fertility ratio will be scored higher on this criterion. 
    • Forest and ecology: This criterion has been arrived at by calculating the share of the dense forest of each state in the total dense forest of all the states.
    • Tax and fiscal efforts: This criterion has been used to reward states with higher tax collection efficiency.  It is measured as the ratio of the average per capita own tax revenue and the average per capita state GDP during the three years between 2016-17 and 2018-19.

    [C] Grants

    Over the 2021-26 periods, the following grants will be provided from the centre’s resources:

    (1) Sector-specific grants

    • Sector-specific grants of Rs 1.3 lakh crore will be given to states for eight sectors. A portion of these grants will be performance-linked.
    • He sectors are: (i) health, (ii) school education, (iii) higher education, (iv) implementation of agricultural reforms, (v) maintenance of PMGSY roads, (vi) judiciary, (vii) statistics, and (viii) aspirational districts and blocks. 

    (2) State-specific grants

    • The Commission recommended state-specific grants of Rs 49,599 crore. 
    • These will be given in the areas of: (i) social needs, (ii) administrative governance and infrastructure, (iii) water and sanitation, (iv) preservation of culture and historical monuments, (v) high-cost physical infrastructure, and (vi) tourism

    (3) Grants to local bodies

    • Grants to local bodies (other than health grants) will be distributed among states based on population and area, with 90% and 10% weightage, respectively. 
    • No grants will be released to local bodies of a state after March 2024 if the state does not constitute State Finance Commission and act upon its recommendations by then.

    (4) Disaster risk management

    • The Commission recommended retaining the existing cost-sharing patterns between the centre and states for disaster management funds. 
    • The cost-sharing pattern between centre and states is: (i) 90:10 for north-eastern and Himalayan states, and (ii) 75:25 for all other states. 
    • State disaster management funds will have a corpus of Rs 1.6 lakh crore (centre’s share is Rs 1.2 lakh crore).

    [D] Fiscal roadmap

    (1) Fiscal deficit and debt levels

    • The Commission suggested that the centre bring down fiscal deficit to 4% of GDP by 2025-26. 
    • For states, it recommended the fiscal deficit limit (as % of GSDP) of: (i) 4% in 2021-22, (ii) 3.5% in 2022-23, and (iii) 3% during 2023-26. 
    • It recommended forming a high-powered inter-governmental group to: (i) review the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM), (ii) recommend a new FRBM framework for centre as well as states, and oversee its implementation.

    (2) Revenue mobilization

    • Income and asset-based taxation should be strengthened, recommended the commission. 
    • To reduce excessive dependence on income tax on salaried incomes, the coverage of provisions related to tax deduction and collection at source (TDS/TCS) should be expanded. 
    • Stamp duty and registration fees at the state level have large untapped potential. 

    (3) GST

    • Revenue neutrality of GST rate should be restored which has been compromised by multiple rate structure and several downward adjustments. 
    • Rate structure should be rationalized by merging the rates of 12% and 18%. 
    • States need to step up field efforts for expanding the GST base and for ensuring compliance.

    (4) Financial management practices

    • A comprehensive framework for public financial management should be developed. 
    • An independent Fiscal Council should be established with powers to assess records from the centre as well as states.
    • The Council will only have an advisory role.

    [E] Other recommendations

    (1) Health

    • States should increase spending on health to more than 8% of their budget by 2022. 
    • Primary healthcare expenditure should be two-thirds of the total health expenditure by 2022. 
    • All India Medical and Health Service should be established.

    (2) Defence and internal security

    • A dedicated non-lapsable fund called the Modernization Fund for Defence and Internal Security (MFDIS) should be established.
    • It will primarily bridge the gap between budgetary requirements and allocation for capital outlay in defence and internal security. 
    • The fund will have an estimated corpus of Rs 2.4 lakh crore over the five years (2021-26).   Of this, Rs 1.5 lakh crore will be transferred from the Consolidated Fund of India. 
    • Rest of the amount will be generated from measures such as disinvestment of defence public sector enterprises, and monetisation of defence lands.

    (3) Centrally sponsored schemes (CSS)

    • A threshold should be fixed for annual allocation to CSS below which the funding for a CSS should be stopped (to phase out CSS which outlived its utility or has insignificant outlay). 
    • Third-party evaluation of all CSS should be completed within a stipulated timeframe. 
    • Funding pattern should be fixed upfront in a transparent manner and be kept stable.

    Criticisms of the report

    (1) 2011 census population as criteria

    • The commission’s proposal to use the 2011 Census figures as the basis to allocated union tax revenues will adversely affect the ability of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to provide an effective welfare state for their residents.
    • The basis for this claim is that southern states have (through a combination of improved health and education) reduced birth rates and total fertility rates far more than the northern states,.
    • Thus allocation union tax revenues on the basis of population will “punish” the southern states for following sensible policies.

    (2) Creating a regional divide

    • In spite of this balancing act, however, the South has lost out. This yet again creates a North-South divide.
    • Karnataka was the biggest loser, with its share being slashed from 4.71% to 3.65%.
    • Of the five biggest losers, four are the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

    Significance of FC recommendations

    • As a federal nation, India suffers from both vertical and horizontal fiscal imbalances.
    • Vertical imbalances between the central and state governments result from states incurring expenditures disproportionate to their sources of revenue, in the process of fulfilling their responsibilities.
    • However, states are better able to gauge the needs and concerns of their inhabitants and therefore more efficient at addressing them.
    • Horizontal imbalances among state governments result from differing historical backgrounds or resource endowments, and can widen over time.

    Conclusion

    • The positive of India being a political and economic union is what the XVFC tries to convey.
    • However, FCs has always struggled in balancing between ensuring equitable fund distribution among regions and fair fiscal federalism.
    • The best way forward would be to adhere to the letter and spirit of the constitution by balancing the Union and state’s revenue powers with expenditure responsibilities listed in the 7th schedule.
    • The government must appreciate the problems raised by states, and attempt to address the contemporary issues relevant to the terms of reference.

    The report starts with the famous quote of Mahatma Gandhi: “The future depends on what we do in the present”. It would be interesting to see the impact of these overarching and revolutionary recommendations in the times ahead.

    References:

    https://www.prsindia.org/policy/report-summaries/report-15th-finance-commission-2021-26#.YDTwjXaMaZE.whatsapp

    https://fincomindia.nic.in/ShowContentOne.aspx?id=9&Section=1  (Page no. 399 onwards)

    https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1693868

    https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/15th-finance-commission-report-challenges-and-controversies

    https://scroll.in/article/952357/how-15th-finance-commission-is-trying-to-manage-south-indias-anger-over-tax-division-and-failing

  • The IT Act new rules and the challenge of Big Tech

    The article discusses the issues with the new rules issues under the IT Act.

    Issues with the new rules

    1) No discussion

    • Last week, the Union Government issued a set of rules under the Information Technology Act, superseding rules issued under Section 79 of that statute in 2011. 
    • This has happened in the absence of open and public discussion and without any parliamentary study and scrutiny.

    2) Concerns over legal basis

    • The Union Government has chosen to pass these rules under the requirement to outline the due diligence that Internet intermediaries have to follow in order to be able to claim their qualified legal immunity under Section 79 of the IT Act.
    • These rules at the outset appear unlawful even with respect to whether they could have been issued under the Information Technology Act in the manner chosen by the government, leave alone their constitutionality with respect to fundamental rights.
    • The government’s gazette notification has further claimed that the rules were also issued under the legal authority to specific procedure for blocking web content under Section 69A of the IT Act.
    • However,  rules overseeing government web content blocking powers have already been issued for that section in 2009, and not superseded.

    3) Using rule making power to issue primary legislation

    • The ability to issue rules under a statute — i.e. to frame subordinate legislation — is by its nature a limited, constrained power.
    • The executive branch is subordinate to what Parliament has permitted it and cannot use its rule-making power to seek to issue primary legislation by itself.
    • With the present Internet content and social media rules, the Union Government has done precisely that.
    • The executive branch has created new rules that apply only to “significant social media intermediaries” — a term that appears nowhere in the Information Technology Act.
    • The rules have grown to include a chapter on how digital news sites have to be registered before the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
    • However, digital news service registration is not required under the IT Act and streaming video content has not been included under the ambit of the Cinematograph Act.

    Consider the question “What are the challenges in the regulation of Big Tech to democracies? Suggest the measures to deal with these challenges.”

    Conclusion

    Instead of advancing Internet content control, India needs to advancing surveillance law reform or enacting a strong statutory data protection framework.

  • Lessons from Uttarakhand and Texas

    The article deals with the common threads running through the recent flash floods in Uttarakhand and the severe cold that snapped the power grid in Texas.

    Time-bound net zero carbon target

    • Most governments and corporates are in agreement over what needs to be done to reach the target of net-zero carbon emission target. Which include:
    • Fossil fuels must be steadily but inexorably replaced by clean energy electricity should be increasingly generated from solar and wind.
    • Transport should switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.
    • Energy demand should be conserved and more efficiently consumed.
    • Technology and innovation must remain the centrepiece of all activities.
    • Governments and corporates have also to agree on removing the legacy obstacles that lie on the pathway.

    3 Legacy obstacles need to be removed

    • Two events last month will explain better the reasons for this concern.
    • A chunk of the Nanda Devi broke off and triggered flash floods downstream that then washed away or damaged several hydroelectric dams and led to the loss of hundreds of lives
    • A severe cold snap crashed the electricity grid system in Texas, plunging a wide swathe of the state into darkness.
    • These two events were unrelated, other than possibly by the link of climate change, but on examination of the reasons for the consequential material and human misery, they offer common insight.

    1) Poorly designed planing system

    • In both cases, the authorities were caught unprepared. This is despite the fact that there had been precedents.
    • One reason for this lack of preparedness could be the presumption, based on historical data.
    • The lesson is that whilst the past is a useful guidepost, it is an imperfect one especially in view of the spate of natural disasters across the world in recent times, and that planners should be cautious about linear extrapolations.
    • Certainly, for the journey of decarbonisation, there is little of the distant past for them to hang onto.

    2) Siloed and fragmented physical and regulatory oversight mechanisms

    • The tragedy in Uttarakhand reflected the costs of institutional fragmentation and lack of coordination in decision making.
    • The suggestions made in the aftermath of the Kedarnath flooding regarding land use and watershed management and the best means of securing an optimal balance between construction and the Himalayan ecology.
    • But the suggestion had not been implemented in large part because energy is a concurrent subject and there is no one ministerial or regulatory body responsible for this domain.
    • Further, these recommendations required the coming together of various non-energy ministries which, given the current vertically siloed structures of responsibility and accountability in our system, did not happen.
    • The glacial burst may have been beyond anyone’s control; the consequential downstream damage was avoidable. 

    3) The lack of investment in energy infrastructure

    • One reason why solar and wind did not pick up the power slack in Texas was because the grid was not resilient enough to absorb the surge in the flow of intermittent renewable electrons.
    • India’s transmission system is not capable of managing the energy transition.
    • This problem will clearly have to be addressed if decarbonisation is to proceed smoothly.
    • But to do so, many issues will have to be resolved.
    • Not least, how much will it cost to upgrade the infrastructure? How will it be financed?
    • Who will take the lead on driving this change e?
    • Questions that are easier to set out than answer.

    Way forward

    • To ensure that decarbonisation translates into effective action on the ground, policymakers will have to build structures that reflect the woven, multidimensional, interdependent and interconnected nature of the energy ecosystem.
    • This means creating mechanisms that facilitate inter-ministerial and inter-state collaboration within the country and multilateral cooperation internationally.

    Consider the question “There are legacy obstacles in the road to decarbonisation. What are these obstacles and suggest the pathway to remove these obstacles?” 

    Conclusion

    In order to achieve the targets on carbon emission, India needs to draw on these lessons and build robust systems, regulatory mechanisms and facilitate investment in the creation of resilient energy infrastructure.

  • Operation Green

    The article compares the performance of  Operation Flood with Operation Green and offers several lessons for the success of Operation Green.

    Operation Green and its expansion

    • There were three basic objectives when OG was launched.
    • First, that it should contain the wide price volatility in the three largest vegetables of India (TOP).
    • Second, it should build efficient value chains of these from fresh to value-added products with a view to give a larger share of the consumers’ rupee to the farmers.
    • Third, it should reduce the post-harvest losses by building modern warehouses and cold storages wherever needed.
    • The Union budget for the FY 2021-22 proposes the expansion of Operation Green (OG) beyond tomatoes, onions, and potatoes (TOP) to 22 perishable commodities.
    • The move reflects the government’s intentions of creating more efficient value chains for perishables.

    Comparing performance of OG with horticulture sector

    • A closer examination of the scheme reveals that it is nowhere near achieving its objectives.
    • ICRIER research reveals that price volatility remains as high as ever.
    • It also reveals that farmers’ share in consumers’ rupee is as low as 26.6 per cent for potatoes, 29.1 per cent in the case of onions, and 32.4 per cent for tomatoes (see graph).
    •  In cooperatives like AMUL, farmers get almost 75-80 per cent of what consumers’ pay.
    • Operation Flood (OF) transformed India’s milk sector, making the country the world’s largest milk producer, crossing almost 200 million tonnes of production by now.
    • Although OG is going to be more challenging than OF there are some important lessons one can learn from OF.

    Lessons from operation flood

    • First and foremost is that results are not going to come in three to four years.
    • OF lasted for almost 20 years before milk value chains were put on the track of efficiency and inclusiveness.
    • There has to be a separate board to strategise and implement the OG scheme, more on the lines of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for milk.
    • Second, we need a champion like Verghese Kurien to head this new board of OG.
    • The MoFPI can have its evaluation every six months, but making MoFPI the nodal agency for implementing OG with faceless leaders is not very promising.
    • Third, the criteria for choosing clusters for TOP crops under OG is not very transparent and clear.
    • The reason is while some important districts have been left out from the list of clusters, less important ones have been included.
    • What is needed is quantifiable and transparent criteria for the selection of commodity clusters, keeping politics away.
    • Fourth, the subsidy scheme will have to be made innovative with new generation entrepreneurs, startups and FPOs.
    • The announcement to create an additional 10,000 FPOs along with the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and the new farm laws are all promising but need to be implemented fast.

    Consider the question “What are the objectives of Operation Green? How far has Operation Green succeeded in achieving its objectives?”

    Conclusion

    These lessons from Operation Flood will help in securing the success of the expanded Operation Green.

  • ‘Lateral Entry’ into Bureaucracy: Reason, Process, and Controversy

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the Indian Express.

    Background

    • Earlier this month, the UPSC issued an advertisement seeking applications for the posts of Joint Secretary and Director in central government Departments.
    • These individuals, who would make a “lateral entry” into the government secretariat, would be contracted for three to five years.
    • These posts were “unreserved”, meaning were no quotas for SCs, STs and OBCs.

    UPSC begins lateral entry

    • The new ad is for the second round of such recruitments.
    • Earlier, the government had decided to appoint experts from outside the government to positions of Joint Secretary in different Ministries/Departments and at the level of Deputy Secretary/Director in 2018.

    Q.In light of the growing need for Lateral Entry in top secretarial posts, discuss the need for enhancing the professional competence of Civil Servants in India.(150W)

    What is ‘Lateral Entry’ into government?

    • NITI Aayog, in 2017 had recommended the induction of personnel at middle and senior management levels in the central government.
    • These ‘lateral entrants’ would be part of the central secretariat which in the normal course has only career bureaucrats from the All India Services/ Central Civil Services.

    What are the ranks invited for this entry?

    • A Joint Secretary, appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), has the third-highest rank (after Secretary and Additional Secretary) in a Department.
    • It functions as the administrative head of a wing in the Department.
    • Directors are a rank below that of Joint Secretary.

    What is the government’s reasoning for lateral entry?

    • Lateral recruitment is aimed at achieving the twin objectives of bringing in fresh talent as well as augments the availability of manpower.
    • Government has, from time to time, appointed some prominent persons for specific assignments in government, keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area.
    • Indeed, the first ARC had pointed out the need for specialization as far back as 1965.
    • The Surinder Nath Committee and the Hota Committee followed suit in 2003 and 2004, respectively, as did the second ARC.
    • In 2005, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) recommended an institutionalized, transparent process for lateral entry at both the Central and state levels.

    Why is lateral entry sometimes criticised?

    • Groups representing SCs, STs and OBCs have protested the fact that there is no reservation in these appointments.
    • Some argue that the government is opening back doors to bring its own lobby openly.

    Mentor’s comment: Why is lateral entry necessary?

    For the sake of political economy

    • Pushback from bureaucrats, serving and retired, and the sheer institutional inertia of civil services has existed largely unchanged for decades have prevented progress.
    • The importance of economic effectiveness has risen concurrently.
    • That stagnation means the civil services as they exist today—most crucially, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)—are unsuited to the country’s political economy in many ways.
    • The need for having bureaucrats act as binding agents, no longer exist.
    • Others, such as socioeconomic development, have transmuted to the point where the state’s methods of addressing them are coming in for a rethink.

    Conclusion

    • Pushback is inevitable since every smallest policy change is resisted in our country.
    • It is both a workaround for the civil services’ structural failings and an antidote to the complacency that can set in a career-based service.
    • The second ARC report points out that it is both possible and desirable to incorporate elements of a position-based system where lateral entry and specialization are common.

    Way forward

    • India’s civil services need reform. There is little argument about this.
    • These are not entirely new in India.
    • Domain experts have been brought in from outside the services to head various committees, advisory bodies and organizations.
    • Internal reforms—such as insulation from political pressure and career paths linked to specialization—and external reforms such as lateral entry are complementary.

  • IAEA

    The move by the US administration under Biden to revive the Iran nuclear deal has once again turned the spotlight on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which played a key role in enforcing the original nuclear deal from which Trump withdrew the US in 2018.

    Try this question from CSP 2020:

    Q.In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA Safeguards” while others are not?

    (a) Some use Uranium and others use thorium.

    (b) Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies.

    (c) Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises.

    (d) Some are State- owned and others are privately-owned.

    What is IAEA?

    • The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
    • As the preeminent nuclear watchdog under the UN, the IAEA is entrusted with the task of upholding the principles of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970.
    • It was established as an autonomous organisation on July 29, 1957, at the height of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
    • Though established independently of the UN through its own international treaty, the agency reports to both the UN General Assembly and the UNSC.

    What are its safeguards?

    • Safeguards are activities by which the IAEA can verify that a State is living up to its international commitments not to use nuclear programmes for nuclear-weapons purposes.
    • Safeguards are based on assessments of the correctness and completeness of a State’s declared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities.
    • Verification measures include on-site inspections, visits, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

    Basically, two sets of measures are carried out in accordance with the type of safeguards agreements in force with a State.

    1. One set relates to verifying State reports of declared nuclear material and activities.
    2. Another set enables the IAEA not only to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material but also to provide assurances as to the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in a State.

    Why in news again?

    • The IAEA and Iranian diplomats struck a “temporary” deal to continue inspection of Iran’s nuclear plants for three more months, which keeps at least the diplomatic path to revive the deal open.
    • However, there have always been questions about the Agency’s ability to work independently, without being drawn into big power rivalries.

    IAEA success: Civil nuclear solution

    • The IAEA is active in championing civil nuclear solution to a number of areas like health, which is one of the main areas of peaceful application of nuclear know-how.
    • That apart, in recent years, the IAEA is also active in dealing with climate change, pandemic containment and in the prevention of Zoonotic diseases.
    • The IAEA was the first to announce that the North Korean nuclear programme was not peaceful.
    • North Korea finally expelled IAEA observers and as a result, there are no on-the-ground international inspectors in North Korea.
    • The world is reliant on ground sensors and satellite imageries to observe North Korea’s nuclear actions.

    Issues with IAEA

    • What the IAEA missed in terms of real authority over sovereign states, it compensated for that by cultivating some tall leadership whose actions kept the issue of non-proliferation on the multilateral table.
    • It proved to be ineffective to prevent power politics from influencing nuclear negotiations.
    • This was particularly visible when Pakistan pursued a nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s and despite overwhelming evidence in possession of the American authorities.
    • They did not pursue the case effectively through the IAEA because of the cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan on the Afghan front.
    • IAEA does not have any power to override the sovereign rights of any member nation of the UN.
    • The uneven authority produced results when in the case of Iran when the Agency’s efforts were backed by big powers.
    • One major criticism of the IAEA is that it never challenges the nuclear dominance of the five permanent members of the UNSC, who themselves hold some of the biggest nuclear arsenals of the world.

    IAEA and India

    • The IAEA-certified the nuclear power plant at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan in 2012, which drew criticism as the power plant had two incidents of leakage of nuclear material earlier that year.
    • The second incident affected at least four workers who worked in the nuclear power plant and had caused concern among the scientific community.

    Iran challenge

    • The coming weeks will, however, test the 63-year old organisation as Iran remains suspicious of the exact intentions of the Biden administration.
    • The current episode, which involves regional political concerns like Saudi-Iran and Iran-Israel rivalries as well as the American interests in the region, will certainly test the IAEA.
    • It will also test the ability of the IAEA to deal with powerful states from its position of “uneven authority”.
    • The main negotiation on this front is dependent on Tehran’s demand for lifting American sanctions. Iran has said its compliance will depend on the lifting of sanctions.

    Future prospects

    • The issues involved between Iran and the U.S. indicate that they are not part of the mandate of the IAEA.
    • Iran also requires assurance that once activated, the deal will not be abandoned in future by an American President in the way that Trump had done in 2018.
    • Tying all the loose ends of this difficult negotiation will be the biggest challenge for all parties.

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