he Swachh Bharat (2020) Awards were conferred to the best performing States/UTs, districts, blocks, GPs and others in various categories marking six years of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) launch.
The awards were given by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS).
Top Awards were conferred upon Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab& others.
Gujarat was felicitated with the first prize in the state category; Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu as best district; Khachrod, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh as best block; and Chinnaur, (Salem) as the best Gram Panchayat for Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) campaign organized from 1st Nov 2019 to 30th April 2020.
For the week-long Gandagi Se Mukt campaign launched by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 8th August 2020, Telangana received the top award for maximum Shramdaan participation.
Wildlife Week is celebrated every year in India between October 1 and 8.
The annual theme of the campaign is to promote the preservation of fauna – i.e. animal life.
Wildlife Week was conceptualized in 1952 with the overall goal of raising awareness to serve the long-term goal of safeguarding the lives of wildlife through critical action.
In addition, the Indian Government established an Indian Board of Wild Life which works to improve awareness towards the preservation of wildlife.
Context- Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Chinese President Xi Jinping made two promises that came as a welcome surprise to climate change watchers.
What has China announced ?
First, Xi said, China would become carbon net-zero by the year 2060.
Net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorptions and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Absorption can be increased by creating more carbon sinks such as forests, while removal involves application of technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
Second, the Chinese President announced a small but important change in China’s already committed target for letting its emissions “peak”, from “by 2030” to “before 2030”.
That means China would not allow its greenhouse gas emissions to grow beyond that point.
Xi did not specify how soon “before 2030” means, but even this much is being seen as a very positive move from the world’s largest emitter.
How significant is China’s commitment?
China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It accounts for almost 30% of global emissions, more than the combined emissions in the United States, the European Union and India, the three next biggest emitters.
Getting China to commit itself to a net-zero target is a big breakthrough, especially since countries have been reluctant to pledge themselves to such long term commitments.
So far, the European Union was the only big emitter to have committed itself to a net-zero emission status by 2050.
Context- Earlier this week, late actor Irrfan Khan’s wife Sutapa Sikdar made an appeal to legalise CBD oil in India for its potential to treat cancer. Her appeal followed the criticism of actor Rhea Chakrabaorty after it was reported that she had administered CBD oil, used as a pain reliever for some, to Sushant Singh Rajput when he was alive.
About CBD oil ?
CBD oil is an extract from the cannabis plant. The two main active substances in it are cannabidiol or CBD and delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
The high that is caused by the consumption of cannabis is due to THC. CBD, however, does not cause a “high” or any form of intoxication.
CBD oil is made by extracting CBD from the cannabis plant, then diluting it with a carrier oil like coconut or hemp seed oil.
Cannabidiol can reduce pain and anxiety. It also reduces psychotic symptoms associated with conditions such as schizophrenia as well as epilepsy.
There is not enough robust scientific evidence to prove that CBD oil can safely and effectively treat cancer.
CBD oil manufactured under a license issued by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 can be legally used. However, the use of cannabis as a medicine is not much prevalent in India.
Between 2004-05 and 2017-18, the share of salaried workers outside agriculture without any written contract increased from 60 per cent to 71 per cent.
Even in private and public limited companies, this share increased from 59 per cent to 71 per cent.
In the government and the public sector the share of such workers increasing from 27 per cent to 45 per cent over the period.
Many of the wage jobs in the organised sector came through contractors.
In organised manufacturing, the reported share of contract labour increased from 13 per cent in 1995-06 to 36 per cent in 2017-18.
Policy response
A policy to deal with the problem of employment security was much needed.
The response came in the form the three revised labour Code Bills — on Industrial Relations, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, and Social Security.
These were introduced in Parliament in the Monsoon Session, and approved on September 23.
These three labour codes, along with the Code on Wages approved earlier, touch the lives of every Indian worker.
“Fixed term” worker
In 2018, the government amended the Standing Orders on Employment Act and introduced the category of “fixed term” worker.
That category creates a permanent cadre of temporary workers, with no prospects of career growth and job security.
Changes and issues with the Bills
1) Government had rationalised fixed-term employment by arguing that industries had resorted to the third-party engagement of contract labour to get around the rigidities in firing workers.
But that has not stopped the Codes from further liberalising the provisions relating to employment of contract labour and making their regulation applicable only in establishments employing 50 or more workers, instead of 20 or more.
2) The key provisions which regulate the employment of inter-state migrant workers have been further diluted and made applicable only to establishments employing 10 or more such workers, compared to five earlier.
3) Along with the provisions of retrenchment, the applicability of the Standing Orders, which regulate the categorisation as well as the terms of employment of workers in establishments, has also been raised from 100 to 300 workers.
4) The threshold for factories has now been doubled — from 10 to 20 workers with power — thereby eliminating a large number of important regulatory provisions for the smaller factories.
5) Relevant governments have been given much more leeway in exempting establishments from the applicability of a whole range of provisions in the Code.
6) Inspection provisions have been diluted in all the Codes and will no longer even be complaints based.
7) The changes have also made legal industrial action a virtual impossibility, and the presence of unions less possible.
Conclusion
Informality contributes to inequality and to conditions which make sustainable growth impossible, and economic recovery more difficult. It also creates conditions in which employers under-invest in workers’ capacities and workers are not invested in a company’s future — leading to low productivity and lack of competitiveness.
The article discusses the issues faced by the various sectors of the economy and how the reform measures introduced by the government could help these sectors.
Exploitation of farmers and consumers
The Indian farmer has bee treated as captive sources of producing cheap food grain while living at subsistence levels.
There was no freedom to choose the point of sale for his produce, he could not decide the price of his product and had no say in selecting the buyer.
The end consumer was equally short-changed with frequent cycles of persistent high inflation.
The only beneficiaries of this perverse system were middlemen who thrived under political protection.
How reforms will help farmers
The stifling nature of the Essential Commodities Act and the APMC Act have both been removed.
Contract farming is now nationally enabled, allowing private investment to come in.
Private investment will bring in technology, modern equipment, better seeds, know-how for in-between-season crops, improved yields, better logistics and freer access to national and international markets.
The Indian farm sector will now finally begin to see the benefits of economies of scale.
Need for the reforms in various sectors
There were 44 different labour laws with more than 1,200 sections and clauses that demanded compliance if one even thought of becoming an entrepreneur.
Different inspectors and departments administered these laws and this stunted many entrepreneurs.
The Companies Act of 2013 completely paralysed risk-taking and quick decision-making among the private wealth creators.
There were a large number of organisations that called themselves “banks” but were completely outside the ambit of RBI regulation.
The politicians who controlled these banks were the primary obstacles in introducing any reforms in these sectors.
Indian mainstream banks, contrary to international norms, had a peculiar practice of “grossing” their bilateral liabilities rather than “netting”.
As per estimates, this locked anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 crore funds.
Reforms made by the government
In place of the 44 central labour laws, the Parliament has now put in place four labour codes that are much simpler — the Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Social Security Code and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.
The bilateral banking netting law has been passed and a large corpus of unproductive capital has been freed to be deployed in the market.
Cooperative banks will now be regulated by the RBI and its customers will have the same protections as those of other regular banks.
The problematic sections of the Companies Act 2013 have been done away with and the fear of criminal prosecution gone.
Conclusion
The reforms in various sectors of the economy are bound to help the faster recovery of the economy as well as help the farmers realising their full potential.
UPSC CSE Prelims 2020 was held on 4th Oct 2020. Around 6 lakh aspirants were supposed to appear for the exam. On this page, we will be sharing with you the most accurate Answer Keys for all four series, i.e. Series A, Series B, Series C, and Series D.
Our team at Civilsdaily will be posting a detailed analysis of GS paper 1. We will be providing you with solutions, sources, and relevance of each and every question. All the doubtful as well as controversial questions will be explained.
Sajal sir here has given a detailed analysis of difficult and doubtful questions. Click on the video below.
https://youtu.be/mSxS3dUOGus
Trend analysis
Based on the previous year’s papers we will be sharing a trend analysis here. This is going to help UPSC CSE 2021 aspirants.
Expected cutoff for UPSC prelims 2020
Based on a large sample size of our students and the detailed analysis by our team we are sharing an Expected cutoff for UPSC pre-2020. Various other factors like the number of vacancies, the number of candidates taking the exam, and special circumstances like lockdown will also be considered.
Expected cut off for UPSC Prelims 2020 – 95 (+-2)
This was the cut off for UPSC Prelims 2019 which was close to our predicted cutoff.
As a part of Unherd topper series, we have Abhishek Saraf, AIR 8, UPSC 2019, with us today. In a very candid conversation with Rohit Pande sir, Abhishek will be giving an insight into his mindset and thought process. His success is almost a logical corollary of his conviction, tenacity, and sheer hard work.
What made him switch from engineering to research and then to administration? Did he encounter failures? Why did he resign in 15 days after clearing the UPSC exam? Was UPSC easy for him? Watch the video to know about his challenges, strengths, and motivation.
Click on the video below and set a reminder. The session will go live at 7 pm.
About Abhishek Saraf:
Abhishek is a Civil Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur. An achiever through and through he scored this rank in his fourth attempt. Earlier he has scored a rank of 402 and 248 in UPSC 2017 and UPSC 2018 respectively. His optional was Civil Engineering. He is a manifestation of ‘hard work pays’ maxim. He has three research publications, two foreign internships, and a patent (pending).
Our association goes back a long way and we are proud of Abhishek. He is going to be a great administrator. We wish him all the very best for his future endeavors.
Unherd Topper Talk series is a Civilsdaily’s initiative. We want to highlight what makes these toppers, their approach and strategy different from the herd. And you will also be getting a sneak peek into the moments of their lives that are unheard of.
Instructions for joining Habitat
If you are already on Habitat, you don’t need to register again. Others follow these steps:
The article discusses the future course of action for the Quad and issues it faces in the present circumstances.
Evolution of the Quad
In 2007, the Quad (the United States, Japan, India, and Australia) was an idea whose time had not yet come.
The global financial crisis was yet to happen as America continued to enjoy its ‘unipolar moment’.
The American still expected China to become a ‘responsible stake-holder’.
America required Chinese goodwill in handling issues with North Korea and Iran, and the War on Terror.
Japan and Australia were riding the China Boom to prosperity.
If India was ambivalent at the time, it was because this mirrored the uncertainties of others.
China’s reaction and naval expansion
When the idea of Quad was barely on the table; the Chinese, labelled it as an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The real reason for China’s hyperreaction was out of concern that such a grouping would “out” China’s plans for naval expansion by focusing on the Indo-Pacific maritime space.
Once the idea of Quad 1.0 had died down, China advanced a new claim — the Nine-Dash Line — in the South China Sea.
It undertook the rapid kind of warship building activity
It built its first overseas base in Djibouti.
It started systematically to explore the surface and sub-surface environment in the Indian Ocean beyond the Malacca Straits.
China’s dismissal of the Arbitral Award in the dispute with the Philippines on the South China Sea and its militarization of the islands has given a second chance to the Quad.
Quad: A plurilateral mechanism
The Quad nations need to better explain that the Indo-Pacific Vision is an overarching framework being discussed in a transparent manner.
They should also explain that the objective of Indo-Pacific vision is of advancing everyone’s economic and security interests.
The Quad is a plurilateral mechanism between countries that share interest on specific matters.
In 2016, China itself established a Quadrilateral Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
The Quad is no exception.
Way forward
The forthcoming Ministerial Quad meeting will be an opportunity to define the idea and chart a future path.
Needless provocation of China should be avoided.
Other countries might be invited to join in the future.
An outreach to the Indian Ocean littoral states is especially important since there are reports from some quarters suggesting that India is seeking to deny access to some extra-regional countries through the Indian Ocean.
Conclusion
A positive agenda built around collective action in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, monitoring shipping for search and rescue or anti-piracy operations, infrastructure assistance to climatically vulnerable states, connectivity initiatives and similar activities, will re-assure the littoral States that the Quad will be a factor for regional benefit, and a far cry from Chinese allegations that it is some sort of a military alliance.
The article discusses the issues with excessive attention given to Hindi and how the neglect of another language could lead to the loss of language and the way of life associated with it as well.
Debate in Constituent Assembly and issues in the adoption of Hindi
The issue of adopting a national language could not be resolved when the Constituent Assembly began drafting India’s Constitution.
Members from the Hindi-speaking provinces who moved a number of pro-Hindi amendments and argued for adopting Hindi as the sole national language.
Widespread resistance to the imposition of Hindi led to the passage of the Official Languages Act of 1963, which provided for the continued use of English for all official purposes.
Hindi became the sole working language of the Union government by 1965 with the State governments free to function in the language of their choice.
The constitutional directive for the Union government to encourage the spread of Hindi was retained within Central government entities in non-Hindi-speaking States.
Issues with the Eighth Schedule
According to the 2001 Census, India has 30 languages that are spoken by more than a million people each.
The Constitution lists 22 languages and protects them in the eighth schedule.
Many languages are kept out of this schedule even if they deserve to be included.
This includes Tulu which is spoken by over 1.8 million people and has inscriptions dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.
While Hindi, a much younger Indo-Aryan language, has been gaining prominence since before independence.
When a refined language loses its status in literary and daily interactions, the way of life associated with it also vanishes.
The Census found that while Hindi is the fastest growing language, the number of speakers of other languages has dropped.
Way forward
While discussing Hindi and its use, let us also focus on the merit of other Indian languages.
Instead of focusing on one national language, we should learn a language beyond the mother tongue and get to know a different way of life too.
Conclusion
If we don’t protect and promote other well-evolved or endangered and indigenous languages, our future generations may end up never understanding their ‘real’ roots and culture
