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  • Role of Lieutenant Governor

    The Madras High Court has held that the role of Puducherry’s Lieutenant Governor and that of an elected government in the UT were intertwined as per law, and therefore they were expected to act in unison and not in division.

    What did the court rule?

    • The government headed by the CM and the Administrator/Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry shall work in unison and not in division.
    • The Madras HC set aside a single bench judgment that had held that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) does not have the right to interfere in the daily affairs of the elected government of Puducherry.
    • The HC has held that the Administrator is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in matters where the Legislative Assembly is competent to enact laws.
    • This power of Assembly is contemplated under Section 44 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1962.

    How is Puducherry different from other UTs?

    • UT of Puducherry is headed by the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry as its nominal head, with a democratically elected CM as real head of the executive.
    • Other union territories don’t have an elected government and legislative assembly.
    • Puducherry, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir (newly formed UT) are the three territories which have democratically elected governments like Indian states.
    • The State legislatures were a creation of the Constitution, whereas the UT legislatures were created under a law such as the Government of UTs Act, 1963.
    • The constitutional provisions, the 1963 Act as well as the Rules of Business of the Government of Puducherry lay expect the Lieutenant Governor to act as a bridge between the local government and the Centre.
    • The Administrator is expected to play the role of an umpire whenever there was a disagreement between the Lieutenant Governor and the Council of Ministers.

  • Explained: Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897

    Till today, at least 60 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in India. So it was decided in a Cabinet Secretary meeting that States and UTs should invoke provisions of Section 2 of Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, so that Health Ministry advisories are enforceable.

    History of the 1897 Epidemic Diseases Act

    • The Epidemic Diseases Act is routinely enforced across the country for dealing with outbreaks of diseases such as swine flu, dengue, and cholera.
    • The colonial government introduced the Act to tackle the epidemic of bubonic plague that had spread in the erstwhile Bombay Presidency in the 1890s.
    • Using powers conferred by the Act, colonies authorities would search suspected plague cases in homes and among passengers, with forcible segregations, evacuations, and demolitions of infected places.
    • Historians have criticised the Act for its potential for abuse.
    • In 1897, the year the law was enforced, Lokmanya Tilak was punished with 18 months’ rigorous imprisonment after his newspapers Kesari and Mahratta admonished imperial authorities for their handling of the plague epidemic.

    Provisions of the 1897 Epidemic Diseases Act

    • The Act is one of the shortest Acts in India, comprising just four sections. It aims to provide for the better prevention of the spread of Dangerous Epidemic Diseases.
    • The then Governor-General of colonial India had conferred special powers upon the local authorities to implement the measures necessary for the control of epidemics.
    • Although, the act does define or give a description of a “dangerous epidemic disease”.

    Its various sections can be summarized as under:

    • The first section describes all the title and extent, the second part explains all the special powers given to the state government and centre to take special measures and regulations to contain the spread of disease.
    • The second section has a special subsection 2A empowers the central government to take steps to prevent the spread of an epidemic, especially allowing the government to inspect any ship arriving or leaving any post and the power to detain any person intending to sail or arriving in the country.
    • The third section describes the penalties for violating the regulations in accordance with Section 188 of the IPC. Section 3 states, “Six months’ imprisonment or 1,000 rupees fine or both could be charged out to the person who disobeys this Act.”
    • The fourth and the last section deals with legal protection to implementing officers acting under the Act.

    Examples of implementation

    The act has been invoked several times since independence. Few recent incidents include-

    • In 2018, the district collector of Gujarat’s Vadodara issued a notification under the Act declaring a town as cholera-affected.
    • In 2009, to tackle the swine flu outbreak in Pune, Section 2 powers were used to open screening centres in civic hospitals across the city, and swine flu was declared a notifiable disease.

  • Genome sequencing of Coronavirus

    Scientists across the world are trying to develop a line of treatment and a possible vaccine for COVID-19. However, with the most optimistic timelines we don’t see a line of treatment or vaccine arriving before next year.

    Genome sequencing of Coronavirus

    • A global effort is on to collect and analyse the genetic composition of the new virus, which would be key to developing a cure and a vaccine.
    • Genome sequence is the unique code of genetic material of any organism, and determines the characteristic of any organism.
    • Whole genome sequencing is the process of determining the complete DNA sequence of an organism’s genome at a single time.
    • The gene composition of novel coronavirus, for instance, is different from that of the influenza virus. Every organism has a unique genome sequence.
    • Laboratories in various countries have been isolating and sharing the genome sequences of the virus on an international platform.

    Why are so many genome sequences being isolated?

    • When viruses multiply, or reproduce, there is a copying mechanism that transfers the gene information to the next generation.
    • However, no copying mechanism is perfect. When the virus multiplies, there will be small changes, which are called mutations.
    • These mutations accumulate over time, and after prolonged periods, are responsible for evolution into new organisms.
    • Within a single reproduction, the changes are extremely minor. More than 95 per cent of the gene structure remains the same.

    How it helps scientists?

    • However, the small changes that occur are crucial to understanding the nature and behaviour of the organism.
    • In this case, for example, the small changes could provide scientists with information about the origin, transmission, and impact of the virus on the patient.
    • It could also hold clues to the differing effects the virus could have on patients with different health parameters.

    How many genome sequences are required?

    • India has far fewer positive cases compared to China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, or even the US.
    • Patients who have been infected with the virus in similar conditions are unlikely to show any significant changes in the genome sequences.
    • Patients with existing medical conditions could be other candidates from where genome sequences of this virus could be isolated.
    • This could help scientists to look for clues to possible impact of virus amidst those existing medical conditions.

    Currently, what is the most effective medication?

    • As of now, there is none such. Right now, drugs are being repurposed, meaning old drugs for similar diseases are being checked for their efficacy against COVID-19.
    • These drugs, if they work, will require clinical trials, and then can be made widely available for people.
    • In most cases, symptomatic treatment for fever, body ache, and cough will be sufficient. More severe cases will require oxygen and respiratory support.

  • Changes in SDGs

    Thirty-six major changes to the global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were approved and adopted by the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC).

    Sustainable Development Goals

    • The UN General Assembly in its 70thSession considered and adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the next 15 years.
    • The 17 SDGs came into force with effect from 1stJanuary, 2016.
    • Though not legally binding, the SDGs have become de facto international obligations and have potential to reorient domestic spending priorities of the countries during the next fifteen years.
    • Countries are expected to take ownership and establish a national framework for achieving these Goals.
    • Implementation and success will rely on countries’ own sustainable development policies, plans and programmes.

    About the changes

    • These changes are based on the ‘2020 comprehensive review’ conducted by the UN Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs).
    • The revised global framework will have 231 indicators, approximately the same number as in the original framework, the statement said.
    • The global indicator framework was adopted by the UN General Assembly on July 6, 2017.

    Eight additional indicators were added across six SDG goals — 2, 3, 4, 10, 13 and 16.

    These include:

    • Indicator 13.2.2 on the total greenhouse gas emissions per year for the SDG target 13.2 to integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
    • Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15-49 years, by pregnancy status (percentage) under the target 2.2 to end forms of malnutrition by 2030.
    • A new indicator on reducing the percentage of bloodstream infections due to selected antimicrobial-resistant organisms has been added under the Global health goal (SDG 3).
    • Indicator 10.7.3 on the number of migrants killed while attempting to cross maritime, land and air borders.
    • Indicator 10.7.4 on the proportion of the population who are refugees, by country of origin.

    Six indicators across six SDG goals — 1, 4, 8, 11, 13 and 17 — have been deleted.

     These include:

    • Indicator 1.a.1 on the proportion of domestically-generated resources allocated by the government directly to poverty reduction programmes.
    • Indicator 4.2.1 on the proportion of children under five years of age who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex.
    • The portion of the indicator that measures progress for children between 0 and 23 months of age, which is currently in tier III was proposed for deletion by the IAEG.
    • Under the SDG goal on combating climate change, the indicator 13.3.2, quantifying the number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of capacity-building for implementing adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer, and development actions has been deleted.

  • AT-1 bonds

    India’s fourth-largest private lender YES bank was placed under a moratorium by RBI and its perpetual debt additional tier-1 (AT1 bonds) would become worthless if RBI does ask mutual funds to write down their value.

    What are AT1 bonds?

    • AT-1, short for Additional Tier-1 bonds, are a type of unsecured, perpetual bonds that banks issue to shore up their core capital base to meet the Basel-III norms.
    • AT-1 bonds are complex hybrid instruments, ideally meant for institutions and smart investors who can decipher their terms and assess if their higher rates compensate for their higher risks.
    • They carry a face value of ₹10 lakh per bond.
    • There are two routes through which retail folk have acquired these bonds — initial private placement offers of AT-1 bonds by banks seeking to raise money; or secondary market buys of already-traded AT-1 bonds based on recommendations from brokers.

    Why are they important?

    AT-1 bonds have several unusual features lurking in their fine print, which make them very different from plain bonds.

    • One, these bonds are perpetual and carry no maturity date. Instead, they carry call options that allow banks to redeem them after five or 10 years. But banks are not obliged to use this call option and can opt to pay only interest on these bonds for eternity.
    • Two, banks issuing AT-1 bonds can skip interest payouts for a particular year or even reduce the bonds’ face value without getting into hot water with their investors, provided their capital ratios fall below certain threshold levels. These thresholds are specified in their offer terms.
    • Three, if the RBI feels that a bank is tottering on the brink and needs a rescue, it can simply ask the bank to cancel its outstanding AT-1 bonds without consulting its investors. This is what has happened to YES Bank’s AT-1 bond-holders who are said to have invested ₹10,800 crore.

  • [pib] ARI-516 Grape Variety

     

    Pune’s Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), an autonomous institute of the DST has developed a hybrid variety of grapes which is resistant to fungal diseases, high yielding and has excellent juice quality.

    ARI-516

    • The hybrid variety ARI-516 has been developed by interbreeding of two species from the same genus — Catawba variety of Vitis labrusca and Beauty seedless variety of Vitis vinifera.
    • It is a result of collaboration between Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science (MACS) and ARCI and can benefit farmers, the processing industry and consumers.
    • This variety of grapes is resistant to fungal diseases, high yielding and has excellent juice quality.
    • The fungal resistance of ARI-516 has been derived from Catawba, which is an American grape variety.

    Commercial benefits

    • It is also suitable for preparation of juice, raisin, jam and red wine and farmers are enthusiastically adopting the variety.
    • It has superior quality fruits and higher yield per unit area.
    • An early ripening hybrid, it matures in 110 – 120 days after pruning.
    • Being moderately resistant to a majority of fungal diseases, its cost of production is lower.

    Back2Basics

    Grape production in India

    • India ranks twelfth in the world in terms of grape production.
    • About 78% of grape production in India is utilized for consumption, 17-20 % for raisin production, 1.5 % for wine and 0.5 % for juice.
    • Maharashtra leads in the production of grapes in India with a share of 81.22 %. A negligible share of grapes is used for juice production.
    • A majority of farmers in Maharashtra cultivate ‘Thompson seedless’ and its clones for table purpose or raisin making.

  • [Prelims Spotlight] Important Policies and Schemes Regarding Education

     

    Prelims Spotlight is a part of “Nikaalo Prelims 2020” module. This open crash course for Prelims 2020 has a private telegram group where PDFs and DDS (Daily Doubt Sessions) are being held. Please click here to register.

    12th March 2020

    Important Schemes and Policies related to education.

     

    1. SHREYAS Scheme: Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skill (SHREYAS)

    Launched by- Ministry of Human Resource Development

    Important objectives-

    • Improve employability: The scheme aims to improve the employability of introducing employment relevance to the learning process of higher education.
    • Linking education with industry: Close link between education and industry/service sector.
    • Establishing earn while you learn the system into education

    Operation of the scheme-

    • It will be operated in conjunction with the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.
    • The scheme will be implemented by the Sector Skill Council.

    2.  NEAT Scheme- National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) 

    Launched by- Ministry of Human Resource Development

    Objective- Objective is to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalised and customised as per the requirements of the learner.

    • It is a PPP based scheme.
    • MHRD would act as a facilitator to ensure that the solutions are freely available to a large number of economically backward students.
    • MHRD would create and maintain a National NEAT platform that would provide one-stop access to these technological solutions.
    • EdTech companies would be responsible for developing solutions and manage the registration of learners through the NEAT portal.

    3. EQUIP- ‘Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP)’

    • It is a Five-year vision plan, finalised and released by HRD Ministry.
    • The ten Expert Groups have suggested more than 50 initiatives that would transform the higher education sector completely.
    • The groups have suggested 10 goals for the higher education sector.
    • Key Goals are-
      • Double the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education and resolve the geographically and socially skewed access to higher education institutions in India.
      • Position at least 50 Indian institutions among the top-1000 global universities.
      • Double the employability of the students passing out of higher education
      • Achieve a quantum increase in investment in higher education.

      Important Initiatives launched in 2019-

    • DHRUV- The Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme –
      • DHRUV has been started by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge.
      • In centres of excellence across the country, gifted children will be mentored and nurtured by renowned experts in different areas, so that they can reach their full potential.
      • The program aims to cover two areas namely Science and Arts.
      • The program is to be launched from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
    • NISHTHA- National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement.
      • Its aim is to build capacities of 42 Lakh government teachers across the country.
      • The basic objective of this massive training programme ‘NISHTHA’ is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.
    • PARAMARSH- Paramarsh’ for Mentoring NAAC Accreditation Aspirant Institutions to promote Quality Assurance in Higher Education
      • The scheme will be operationalized through a “Hub & Spoke” model wherein the Mentor Institution, called the “Hub” is centralized and will have the responsibility of guiding the Mentee institution through the secondary branches the “Spoke”.
    • SHAGUN– Union HRD Minister launches Integrated Online junction for School Education ‘Shagun’
      • It is one of the world’s largest Integrated Online Junction for – School Education.
      • It is an over-arching initiative to improve the school education system by creating a junction for all online portals and websites relating to various activities of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Government of India and all States and Union Territories.
    • UDISE+ Unified District Information System for Education Plus – To ensure quality, credibility and timely availability of information from all the schools in the country.

    4. RISE– Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Higher Education (RISE).

    • Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) scope was expanded to meet the rising financial requirements of educational infrastructure in the country
    • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for expanding the scope of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) by enhancing its capital base to Rs. 10,000 crore and tasking it to mobilise Rs. 1,00,000 crore for Revitalizing Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022.
    • The CCEA has also approved that the modalities for raising money from the market through Government guaranteed bonds and commercial borrowings.
    • In order to expand this facility to all institutions, especially to the institutions set up after 2014, Central Universities which have very little internal resources, and the school education/health education infrastructure like AllMSs, Kendriya Vidyalayas, the CCEA has approved five windows for financing under HEFA.

    5. IMPRESS- Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences

    • Under the Scheme, 1500 research projects will be awarded for 2 years to support the social science research in the higher educational institutions and to enable research to guide policymaking.
    • The broad objective is to identify and fund research proposals in social sciences with maximum impact on governance and society.

    6. SPARC- Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration.

    • SPARC scheme aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian Institutions and the best institutions in the world.
    • At a total cost of Rs.418 Cr for implementation up to 31.3.2020 and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is the National Coordinating Institute to implement the SPARC programme.
    • Only such Indian institutes can apply which are in top 100 NIRF ranking or top 100 NIRF subject ranking.

     7. LEAP-Leadership for Academicians Programme

    • It is a flagship leadership development training programme.
    • It is a three weeks Flagship leadership development training programme (2 weeks domestic and one-week foreign training) for second level academic functionaries in public-funded higher education institutions.
    • The implementation of LEAP Programme will be through 15 NIRF top-ranked Indian Institutions.

    8. ARPIT- Annual Refresher Programme In Teaching (ARPIT)

    • It is a major and unique initiative of online professional development of 15 lakh higher education faculty using the MOOCs platform SWAYAM.
    • For implementing ARPIT, 75 discipline-specific institutions have been identified and notified as National Resource Centres (NRCs) in the first phase.

    9. Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram- It is a first of its kind portal for students seeking Education Loan.

    • A fully IT-based Student Financial Aid Authority has been proposed through the ‘Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram.
    • This initiative aims to bring on board all Banks providing Educational Loans.

    10. Institutes of Eminence Scheme-

    • The aim of the scheme is to bring higher educational institutions selected as IoEs in top 500 of the world ranking in the next 10 years and in top 100 eventually overtime.
    • The salient features are available in the UGC Guidelines and the UGC Regulations under which greater autonomy viz.
      • To admit foreign students up to 30% of admitted students.
      • To recruit foreign faculty up to 25% of faculty strength.
      • To offer online courses up to 20% of its programmes; to enter into academic collaboration with top 500 in the world ranking Institutions without permission of UGC.
      • Free to fix and charge fees from foreign students without restriction.
      • The flexibility of course structure in terms of a number of credit hours and years to take a degree; complete flexibility in fixing of curriculum and syllabus, etc. has been provided to IoEs.
    • Each Public Institution selected as IoE will be provided financial assistance up to Rs. 1000 Cr over a period of five years.
    • The private institution will not be given any funds.

    11. Samagra Shiksha Scheme–

    • The scheme is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.
    • It envisages the ‘school’ as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels and subsumes the three erstwhile centrally sponsored schemes- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education(TE).
    • Bridging gender and social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the scheme.
    • The scheme reaches out to girls and children belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), minority communities and transgender.
    • The Samagra Shiksha scheme supports States for a strengthening of school infrastructure including in rural areas.
    • The scheme provides for the infrastructural strengthening of existing government schools based on the gaps determined by Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) and proposals received from respective States/UTs.

    12. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan-

    • Universalizing elementary education across the countryRashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, Vidhyanjali, PBBB.
    • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State Governments for universalizing elementary education across the country. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in education and enhancement of learning levels of children.
    • SSA provides for a variety of interventions, including inter alia, the opening of new schools, construction of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers, periodic teacher training and academic resource support, textbooks and support for learning achievement. These provisions are made in accordance with norms and standards and free entitlements as mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. 

    13. Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)-

    • It aims to raise the minimum level of education to class X and universalize access to secondary education.
    • To ensure good-quality secondary education with a focus on Science, Mathematics and English; and
    • To reduce the gender, social and regional gaps in enrolments, dropouts and improving retention.
    • To make sure that the secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers, etc. Important physical facilities are provided which include, (i) additional classrooms, (ii) laboratories, (iii) libraries, (iv)art and crafts room, (v) toilet blocks, (vi) drinking water provisions, (vii) electricity / telephone/internet connectivity and (viii) disabled-friendly provisions. Improvement in quality through, (i) appointment of additional teachers to improve PTR (ii) in-service training of teachers, (iii) ICT enabled education, (iv)curriculum reforms and (v) teaching learning reforms. Equity aspects addressed through (i) special focus in micro-planning, (ii) preference to areas with concentration of SC/ST/minority for opening of schools, (iii) special enrolment drive for the weaker section, (iv more female teachers in schools and (v) separate toilet blocks for girls. 

    14. Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)-

    • It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013. It aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions based on their progress.
    • The key objectives of RUSA are to improve access, equity and quality in higher education through planned development of higher education at the state level.
    • The central funding (in the ratio of 60:40 for general category States, 90:10 for special category states and 100% for union territories) would be norm based and outcome dependent.
    • The funding flows from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the identified institutions.

     15. Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA)-

    • It aims at-
      • Building institutional capacity in Institutes of higher education in research & training relevant to the needs of rural India.
      • As a flagship programme of the Ministry of HRD, it aims to link the Higher Education Institutions with a set of at least (5) villages, so that these institutions can contribute to the economic and social betterment of these village communities using their knowledge base.
      • Provide rural India with professional resource support from institutes of higher education, especially those which have acquired academic excellence in the field of Science, Engineering & Technology and Management.
    • The UBA 2.0 was officially launched on 25th April, 2018

    16. SWAYAM-

    • Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds is an indigenous IT platform for hosting the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
    • SWAYAM is designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality.
    • It targets those students who could not complete their studies and professionals who wish to upgrade their knowledge.
    • This is done through an indigenous developed IT platform that facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from 9th class till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.

    17. Saksham Scholarship Scheme-

    • The scheme was launched in 2014-15, with the objective of encouraging economically weaker differently-abled students to pursue technical education at Diploma and Degree levels.
    • The scholarship amount of Rs.30,000 is provided towards tuition fee reimbursement and Rs.20000 as contingency allowance for 1000 persons/annum.

    18. Swayam Prabha-

    • The SWAYAM PRABHA is a group of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high-quality educational programmes on a 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite.
    • Every day, there will be new content for at least (4) hours which would be repeated 5 more times in a day, allowing the students to choose the time of their convenience.
    • Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an autonomous Inter-University Centre (IUC) of UGC maintains the web portal.
    • The DTH Channels shall cover the following:
      • Higher Education.
      • School education (9-12 levels)
      • Curriculum-based courses that can meet the needs of life-long learners of Indian citizens in India and abroad.
      • Assist students (class 11th & 12th) prepare for competitive exams.

    19.Shala Darpan Portal-

    • It is an E-Governance school automation and management system for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS).
    • This portal has been developed for information sharing and knowledge dissemination for employees and students across schools and offices of NVS.

    20. All School Monitoring Individual Tracing Analysis (ASMITA)-

    • Shala Asmita Yojana (SAY) aims to track the educational journey of close to 25 crore school students from Class I to Class XII across 15 lakh schools in the country.
    • Students will be tracked through their Aadhaar numbers and incase those not having a unique number will be provided with it.
    • This online database will carry information about student attendance and enrolment, mid-day meal service, learning outcomes and infrastructural facilities, among other things, on one platform for both private and government schools. 

    21. Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN)-

    • It is intended to enlarge and deepen the interface of India’s institutions of higher learning and globally recognised institutions of academic eminence.
    • Under it, faculty from highly rated institutions abroad will visit India, interact and partner with their counterparts and with students, and deliver specialised courses. 

    22. IMPRINT India-

    • It is MHRD supported Pan-IIT + IISc joint initiative to address the major science and engineering challenges that India must address and champion to enable, empower and embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.
    • This novel initiative with a twofold mandate is aimed at:
      • Developing new engineering education policy.
      • Creating a road map to pursue engineering challenges
    • IMPRINT provides the overarching vision that guides research into areas that are predominantly socially relevant.

    23. Ishan Uday and Ishan Vikas-

    • Ishan Vikas and Ishan Uday schemes are being implemented for the students of the North-Eastern region.
    • Ishan Vikas is coordinated by IIT, Guwahati.
    • Under it selected school children from the North Eastern States  are  brought in close contact with the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and  National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) during the vacation period
    • Ishan Uday Scholarship Scheme is administered by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Under the scheme, the scholarship is provided to the economically backward students from the North East Region for pursuing general degree courses, technical and professional degree courses.
    • It is envisaged to provide 10000 scholarships annually.

    24. Shodhganga-

    • It is the repository developed to contain an electronic copy of all M.Phil/PhD thesis to make it accessible to all institutions.
    • The task of setting-up of this repository is assigned to Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an interuniversity centre of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
    • It also provides access to Indian theses and dissertations in open access to the worldwide academic community and making visibility of Indian research to other countries.

    25. Vidya Virta Abhiyan-

    • It is to encourage varsities to display portraits of Param Veer Chakra-decorated soldiers.
    • The objective is to instil a sense of nationalism and patriotism among the students
    • Universities and educational institutions across the country will have a wall of heroes, depicting portraits of soldiers who showed extraordinary courage in defending the nation.

    26. Diksha Portal-

    • HRD ministry has launched Diksha Portal (diksha.gov.in) for providing a digital platform to a teacher to make their lifestyle more digital.
    • It will serve as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers.
    • Diksha portal will enable, accelerate and amplify solutions in the realm of teacher education. It will aid teachers to learn and train themselves for which assessment resources will be available.

    27. Margadarshan-

    • The scheme aims to provide mentoring to institutes by a well-performing Institute.
    • Institutions of repute will act as a mentor with its existing facilities to serve as the hub to guide and disperse knowledge to 10 technical institutions.
    • It is under the purview of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a national-level apex advisory body under the Ministry of Human Resource and Development.
    • Mentor institute also provides services to faculty for self-improvement.
    • Government-owned, aided and self-financed institutes and universities approved by AICTE can participate.

    28. JIGYASA-

    • It is a student- scientist connect programme by the Ministry of HRD and Ministry of S&T.
    • It focuses on connecting school students and scientists so as to extend student‘s classroom learning to research laboratory based learning by visiting CSIR laboratories and by participating in mini-science projects.
    • CSIR and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) are collaborating to implement this programme.

    29. Maitreyi Yatra-

    • It is an exclusive student exchange programme for J&K organized by Ministry of Human Resource development.
    • It provides a good opportunity for the youth of J&K to be acquainted with culture, language and development story of different parts of the country.

    30. Madhyamik and Ucchatar Shiksha Kosh (MUSK)-

    • It is a non-lapsable pool in the Public Account for secondary and higher, education known as “Madhyamik and Uchchtar Shiksha Kosh” (MUSK) into which all proceeds of “Secondary and Higher Education Cess” will be credited.
    • The funds arising from the MUSK would be utilized for schemes in the education sector which would be available for the benefit of students of secondary and higher education, all over the country.
    • The MUSK would be maintained as a Reserve Fund in the non-interest bearing section of the Public Accounts of India.
    • The major benefit will be enhancing access to secondary and higher education through the availability of adequate resources while ensuring that the amount does not lapse at the end of the financial year.

    31. National Testing Agency (NTA)-

    • It has been established as a premier, specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions.
    • It will be registered as a society under the Indian Societies Registration Act.
    • It will act an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organization chaired by an eminent educationist appointed by Ministry of HRD.
    • It would conduct those entrance examinations which are currently being conducted by the CBSE (NEET, JEE), AICTE etc, thereby relieving them of this responsibility.

     

  •  How the country should make the most of a second oil windfall

    Context

    Amid the coronavirus scare came India’s silver lining in the form of a failure of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Russia to reach an agreement on oil production cuts.

    Reasons for Russia’s decision and its aftermath

    • Why Russia declined to sign the agreement: Russia declined to cut its oil supply with an intention to compete with the US shale industry.
    • Start of the price war: Consequently, a price war has started as Saudi Arabia plans a big increase in its oil supply. Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s largest oil exporter, has started offering unprecedented discounts in Europe, the Far East and the US to increase its supplies at the cost of other oil producers.
    • Immediate fallout: An immediate fallout of the Russia-Opec meeting was a 9% fall in oil prices on Friday. Monday saw a sharper drop.

    Supply and demand shocks and implications for India

    • The demand shock: The impact of Covid-19 will be felt on the global demand for oil, too, as a dramatic increase in Covid-19 cases has put further downward pressure on demand for commodities, including oil.
    • Thus, both supply and demand shocks have coalesced to roil the crude oil market.
    • How much was the drop in price: Since the start of the year, oil prices have fallen by about a third.
      • Prices may drop further under the weight of the twin assault of higher supply and lower demand.
      • It is, therefore, not a stretch to expect oil prices over the coming financial year to be lower than they were in the previous two.
    • Implications for India: This has positive implications for India’s economy and policymaking, as it comes at a time when it has embarked on an uncertain and hesitant recovery.

    Opportunity for India

    • Precarious fiscal situation: The growth slowdown in the last two years has resulted in a precarious fiscal situation because of tax revenue shortfalls.
    • Implications of the fiscal constraints: A direct casualty is the ability of the government to spend or meet its fiscal commitments in the form of budgetary transfers to states, payment of dues and compensation for revenue shortfalls to state governments under the goods and services tax (GST) framework.
    • Constraints holding back the government from offering stimulus: Budgetary constraints combined with the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act have held the government back from fully offsetting a private sector demand slowdown with its own spending.
    • Opportunity in the low oil prices: Low oil prices offer an opportunity to raise some revenue and improve its fiscal balance.

    Way forward

    • First- Passing half the benefit to consumers: As oil prices slide below levels in the previous two years and also below the price of India’s oil basket of $65 per barrel reportedly assumed for 2020-21, there’s an opportunity to pass on about half the benefit of lower global prices to consumers, while the other half can be used to shore up revenue by levying higher excise duty.
      • The Union government did something similar between 2014 and 2016.
      • Improving the fiscal health: It used low oil prices to improve its fiscal health, as the budget deficit it inherited from the previous government was higher than what the official figures suggested.
    • Second-Revenue generated should be used to clear dues: The additional tax revenue thus generated through higher excise duty should be used to clear all dues of the central government, whether to private companies, state governments, or others awaiting tax refunds.
      • Putting cash back in the hands of households and small businesses will go a long way in maintaining the growth of domestic demand, besides improving the credibility of the Union government as a trustworthy counter-party.
    • Third-Fiscal leeway: The potential excise duty windfall from oil prices could come in handy for the government to provide relief to beleaguered telecom companies.
      • The government will have fiscal leeway to allow a staggered and a longer schedule for the payments they have to make, arising out of the Supreme Court ruling on adjusted gross revenues.
      • The telecom growth story is an important component of the broader India story, and the sector needs an urgent breather to ensure we are adequately prepared for a 5G roll-out, whenever it happens.
    • Fourth-Recalibrate: A slowdown in economic activity, which is inevitable with restrictions placed on mobility and human interaction, will have adverse fiscal implications.
      • Tax collections will decline. So will remittances from Indian workers in the Gulf, if that region is buffeted by oil and virus shocks.
      • Hence, the quantum of the windfall from lower oil prices will need to be constantly re-assessed and fiscal strategies recalibrated.
    • Fifth-Hedging against the higher prices: Even as it should nimbly take advantage of the lower prices now, the government should seriously consider hedging against possible higher oil prices in the medium- to long-term through appropriate instruments available in financial markets. This idea should be extended to hedging against a fall in the rupee relative to the US dollar too.
    • Finally-Consider assembling the crack team: It may be worthwhile for the government to consider assembling a crack team of former and current bureaucrats, who have proven their mettle in different crises and in different sectors, to advise it on policy measures that should be adopted in these extraordinary times. Much policy innovation and courage, combined with integrity, will be needed for India to emerge stronger from 2020. For the country’s leadership, there isn’t much to lose from breaking free of old policy and behavioural shackles.

  • A prescription for revival

    Context

    The root cause of the present malaise in our economy is the “death of demand”.

    How demand matters for growth?

    • The relation between demand and growth: Growth in any economy depends on the growth in demand, both for investment as well as consumer goods.
    • How slackened demand leads to a vicious cycle: If demand slackens, then the installed capacity will not be fully utilised, the fresh investment will not take place, employment will slacken and the economy will get caught in a vicious cycle, as we are experiencing today.

    What needs to be done to break the vicious cycle?

    • What sequence to follow in reviving demand? The basic challenge, therefore, is to revive demand in the economy in a sequence where the revival takes place first in the investment goods sector, automatically followed by a boost in demand for consumer goods through enhanced employment opportunities.
    • Past precedents: This is the prescription we had followed in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government when we were faced with the East Asian crisis and the post-Pokhran global economic sanctions soon after the government assumed office in March 1998.

    Demand in India

    • No dearth of demand in India: In a developing country like India, there is no dearth of “good” demand.
      • We still have to provide so many goods and services to our people in order to improve their “quality of life”.
    • Need to create new infrastructure: Simultaneously, we have to create new infrastructure and improve the existing ones to reduce the transaction cost in our economy and make it more competitive.
    • How infrastructure creation lead to the creation of demand: The emphasis on the construction of roads of all kinds — rural, state and national highways, the new telecom policy, the investment in railways, the emphasis on housing construction and development of the real estate, the improvement in rural infrastructure and reform in the agricultural sector were all meant to lead to the creation of demand in the economy.
    • Creation of the virtuous cycle: The creation of demand should be in such a way that the demand for investment goods picks up first and faster, which creates the virtuous cycle of full capacity utilisation.
      • Demand for consumer goods: Demand for investment goods is followed by fresh investment for new capacity creation, larger employment opportunities of various kinds — unskilled, skilled and highly skilled — which reached money into the pockets of people leading to a surge in demand for consumer goods.

    How the government should deal with the situation

    • Deal with the demand side instead of supply-side: All commentators are agreed now that instead of tackling the demand side government is dealing with the supply side.
      • Tax relief to corporates: For instance, if, instead of wasting a precious amount of Rs 1,45,000 crore on tax relief to a limited number of corporates the government had spent that money on rural infrastructure and agriculture and a part of it on railways and highways, it would have led to the creation of demand both for investment goods as well as consumer goods.
    • Issue of sticking to the fiscal deficit target: There is also the issue of resources. The government claims that it has stuck to the fiscal deficit targets.
      • But the provisions of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act have been treated in a cavalier manner by all subsequent governments.
      • What was the basic purpose of the act? The basic purpose of the act was to eliminate the revenue deficit completely within a short period of time and live with a limited fiscal deficit.
      • The original FRBM Act, therefore, mandated that revenue deficit should be eliminated completely and the rest of the fiscal deficit should be limited to one per cent of GDP.
      • In special circumstances like today, the fiscal deficit should be allowed to go up to even two per cent of the GDP, which will mean an amount of Rs four lakh crore.

    Figures of the latest budget and need for the reforms

    • Fiscal deficit figures: The government has taken credit in the Budget for the fact that it has successfully restricted total fiscal deficit for this fiscal to 3.8 per cent and for next fiscal at 3.5 per cent of the GDP.
    • The issue involved in fiscal deficit figures: The revenue deficit for the current fiscal is 2.4 per cent of the GDP and for the next fiscal it is 2.7 per cent. In other words, minus the revenue deficit the fiscal deficit is only 1.4 per cent of GDP for this year and for the next year, it is 1.7 per se.
    • Need for managing the expenditure: So, the real villain of the piece is revenue deficit and not fiscal deficit per se.
      • Need for the reforms: It is clearly the government’s responsibility to manage its expenditure and carry out reforms in it, including austerity in expenditure.
      • How will the reforms help? Controlled fiscal deficit will make more money available in the market for private sector investment and help RBI in reducing interest rates — things which will have an overall benign influence on the economy.

    Conclusion

    A lot of other things apart from austerity majors will have to be done, no doubt, like preventing companies, especially banks from failing, to further strengthen the growth impulses but in the present situation, the key is government spending and in the desired sequence.

  • Medicine and frontiers

    Context

    Although the slowdown in Chinese manufacturing has disrupted the supply chains of many goods, the impact on the drug industry has helped highlight the national security implications of China’s dominance over the pharmaceutical industry.

    Implications of the coronavirus disruption in China

    • Global dependence on China in focus: As the coronavirus spreads far and wide, the global dependence on China for drugs and medical supplies has come into sharp focus.
    • The argument for domestic production of medicine: In both the US and Europe, the shortage of essential drugs to treat the victims of the virus is strengthening the arguments for restoring some domestic production of pharmaceuticals.
    • National security implications: Although the slowdown in Chinese manufacturing has disrupted the supply chains of many goods, the impact on the drug industry has helped highlight the national security implications of China’s dominance over the pharmaceutical industry.

    China’s dominance in pharmaceutical production

    • Two factors that contributed to China rise:
      • Active state support from Beijing and-
      • Western drug companies eager to shift production to cheaper destinations has facilitated China’s emergence as the most important global source for pharmaceutical products and medical devices.
    • Global dependence on China for drugs: America and Europe are said to import nearly 80 per cent of their antibiotics from China.
      • India’s dependence for API: India is also an important supplier of generic drugs to the Western world, but it is itself dependent on massive imports of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from China.
      • Impact on India: The reduction in supplies from China after the virus breakout has been accentuated by the recent decision of Government of India to limit the export of common drugs like paracetamol.
    • How the US is responding to dominance? Well before the current crisis, there had been warnings in the US about the national security risks from the massive reliance on external sources for basic medicines.
      • Weaponising the dominance: Late last year, the US-China Security Review Commission, established by the US Congress, pointed to the prospects of China weaponising its dominance over pharmaceutical production and its massive consequences for healthcare in the US.
      • Government support in China: The report also pointed out that the Chinese government promotes and protects the nation’s pharmaceutical companies to the disadvantage of foreign competitors and that leaves other nations little leverage with China.
    • Need to limit the exposure to China in other sectors: While the current international focus is on the supply chains in the pharmaceutical sector, there has been growing recognition of the need to limit the expansive exposure to China in many different sectors.

    National security argument of the dominance

    • National security dimension of trade war: Trump’s case for bringing manufacturing back to America — by challenging the traditional framework of international trade — was not just economic.
      • It also had a strong national security argument — that the US cannot rely on China for servicing its national security needs in a range of sectors from digital components and drugs.
    • What supporters of the globalisation said? Supporters of economic globalisation had countered these arguments by saying that tight interdependence will reduce the incentives for taking unilateral advantage by nations.
    • China using trade dominance into leverage: The critics have pointed to the fact that China was turning its role as the “world’s factory” into powerful leverage.
      • Why did the West start regarding China as a challenge? The Chinese decision to stop rare earth exports to Japan during 2010 in relation to a minor political dispute had led many to put up red flags.
      • Since then, China’s greater political assertiveness and challenge to Western dominance in critical areas have strengthened the case in the West to regard China as a challenge if not an outright threat.
    • De-coupling gaining traction: As the bipartisan political consensus in the US and Europe in favour of a strong economic partnership with China began to break down in recent years, the case for de-coupling has gained much traction.

    How using economic leverage for strategic gains undergone changes?

    • Use of economic leverage and stockpiling: The history of statecraft suggests that it was quite common for states to use economic leverage for strategic gains.
      • Use of strategy during the cold war: Through the Cold War, both America and Russia sought to corner strategic resources around the world. They also adopted policies for stockpiling special materials for use during conflicts. Sustaining a strategic petroleum reserve, for example, was a major priority for the US during the Cold War.
    • Changes due to globalisation: The importance of hoarding resources at home and denying it to one’s adversaries seemed to diminish amidst great power harmony and economic globalisation that flourished after the Soviet Union collapsed.
      • Recent challenges due to weakening of globalisation: The erosion of that moment in the last few years has set up new tensions between the competing imperatives on Western governments.
    • Capital vs. Security issue: While the logic of security compels the state to limit strategic economic exposure, the logic of capital demands policies that reduce costs of production and increase the margins of profit.
      • This tension has been at the heart of the recent Western debates on the China question.

    Conclusion

    While the world finds ways to deal with the Chinese dominance in the other sector, meanwhile, in the health sector, large continental entities like the US, Europe and India are likely to insure against over-reliance on a single source for life-saving drugs. They are likely to find ways to shorten the supply chains, expand domestic production and explore coordination among like-minded nations.

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