The Karnataka government has proposed the ‘school bubble’ concept to mitigate the spread of the disease among children (aged below 18) attending offline classes at schools and pre-university colleges across the state.
It takes a village to raise a child.
-Anonymous
What are school bubbles?
School bubbles are physical classifications made between groups comprising a small number of students.
As per the concept, each such bubble will include students who tend to remain as a group during school hours throughout the term or an academic year.
The concept would help managements easily isolate a fewer number of students in case anyone gets infected.
For instance, a school bubble can include 30 students. If one among them gets infected, the others can self-isolate but the school need not be closed completely.
This would allow uninterrupted learning to others as well.
Why are school bubbles significant?
The concept of school bubbles, experts feel, will be more relevant to students studying in primary school or below.
These students will have more chances of peer-to-peer interactions on a daily basis.
With school bubbles in place, the risk assessment process to identify close contacts of a Covid-positive student will also get easier.
Is this concept completely new?
This has been successfully implemented at schools in the United Kingdom.
The government there has further relaxed social-distancing measures for students within a particular school bubble.
However, all members of the bubble are mandatorily subjected to RT-PCR tests if a student is infected.
The use of leaded petrol has been eradicated from the globe, a/c to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
What is Leaded Petrol?
Tetraethyl-lead (TEL) is a petro-fuel additive, first being mixed with petrol beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that allowed engine compression to be raised substantially.
This in turn caused increased vehicle performance and fuel economy.
The practice of adding tetraethyl lead to petrol had spread widely to all countries soon after its anti-knock and octane-boosting properties were discovered.
TEL is still used as an additive in some grades of aviation gasoline.
Issues with leaded petrol
Lead is toxic, affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children.
It affects the brain, liver, kidneys, and bones. Lead is measured in the blood to understand exposure.
Lead in bone is released into the blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing foetus.
More recent research has indicated that lead can damage the infant brain even at blood levels as low as 5 microunits per decilitre (μ/dl).
India’s tryst with leaded petrol
India was among those countries that took early action to phase out leaded petrol. The process of phase down that had started in 1994, got completed in 2000.
Initially, low-leaded petrol was introduced in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in 1994, followed by unleaded petrol in 1995.
The entire country got low-leaded petrol in 1997 while leaded fuel was banned in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
The final introduction of unleaded petrol in the entire country was mandated in April 2000.
This decision was also catalyzed by the Supreme Court order that had directed the introduction of unleaded petrol to enable the adoption of catalytic converters in petrol cars.
Significance of phasing out
It is a milestone that will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths and save world economies over $2.4 trillion annually.
It has taken 100 years to stop the use of leaded fuel finally.
Try answering this PYQ:
Q.Lead, ingested or inhaled, is a health hazard. After the addition of lead to petrol has been banned, what still are the sources of lead poisoning? (CSP 2012)
Smelting units
Pens pencils
Paints
Hair oils and cosmetics
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”pqazxezyfv” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
Some researchers would use satellites to study the elusive milky sea phenomenon.
What is the Milky Sea?
Milky seas, also called mareel, is a luminous phenomenon in the ocean in which large areas of seawater appear to glow translucently (in varying shades of blue).
Such occurrences glow brightly enough at night to be visible from satellites orbiting Earth.
They are a rare nocturnal phenomenon in which the ocean’s surface emits a steady bright glow.
Why do they glow?
Luminous bacteria cause the particles they colonize to glow.
The purpose of this glow could be to attract fish that eat them.
These bacteria thrive in the guts of fishes, so when their populations get too big for their main food supply, a fish’s stomach makes a great second option.
How do they occur?
It is typically caused by Noctiluca scintillans (popularly known as “sea sparkle”), a dinoflagellate that glows when disturbed and is found in oceans throughout much of the world.
Once their population gets large enough – about 100 million individual cells per millilitre of water – a sort of internal biological switch is flipped and they all start glowing steadily.
Clearing Prelims is all about Knowledge + Answering Tricks (Tikdams). And while you are studying hard to improve your knowledge, Sajal sir will help you improve your answering techniques, for absolutely FREE!
This is a short snippet of Sajal Sir’s session where he discussed 10 Different smart techniques which can help you increase your Prelims score by 30 marks. Please register here and we will send you the Full video over e-mail which is 1.5 hours long.
Even with a similar syllabus and similar study materials, most candidates fall in one of the following four categories when it comes to their Prelims score: 1) Prelims score 0-40: They need to work on improving their knowledge and learn answering tricks 2) Prelims score 50-70: They have decent knowledge and decent answering tricks. 3) Prelims score 80-100: They have good knowledge but they need to develop answering tricks. 4) Prelims score 120+: They have excellent knowledge and know all the answering tricks.
Using these simple and yet very effective Elimination Techniques, one can successfully wade through this turbulent examination. These are proven methods and have got a near flawless application. But be mindful, you need to be smart to use these tools. So let’s Catalyse your Preparation.
The government of India recently unveiled a four-year (FY 2022-25) National Monetization Pipeline (NMP) worth an estimated Rs 6 lakh crore. It aims to unlock value in brownfield projects by engaging the private sector, transferring to them revenue rights and not ownership in the projects, and using the funds so generated for infrastructure creation across the country.
The NMP has been announced to provide a clear framework for monetization and give potential investors a ready list of assets to generate investment interest.
What is monetization?
In a monetization transaction, the government is basically transferring revenue rights to private parties for a specified transaction period in return for upfront money, a revenue share, and commitment of investments in the assets.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are the key structures used to monetize assets in the roads and power sectors.
These are also listed on stock exchanges, providing investors liquidity through secondary markets as well.
While these are a structured financing vehicle, other monetization models on PPP (Public Private Partnership) basis include:
Operate Maintain Transfer (OMT),
Toll Operate Transfer (TOT), and
Operations, Maintenance & Development (OMD).
OMT and TOT have been used in highways sector while OMD is being deployed in case of airports.
Global Instances
The monetisation of assets is not a new concept. A number of countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, France and China have effectively utilized this policy.
Indian Scenario
In India, the concept was suggested by a committee led by Vijay Kelkar on the roadmap for fiscal consolidation in 2012.
The committee had suggested that the government start monetization as a key instrument to raise resources for development.
It asked the government to use these resources for financing infrastructure needs
What is the difference between Greenfield and Brownfield projects?
Greenfield and brownfield investments are two types of foreign direct investment.
With greenfield investing, a company will build its own, brand new facilities from the ground up.
Brownfield investment happens when a company purchases or leases an existing facility.
In a greenfield investment, parent company opens a subsidiary in another country. Instead of buying an existing facility in that country, the company begins a new venture by constructing new facilities in that country.
Brownfield investments, an entity purchases or leases an existing facility to begin new production.
Companies may consider this approach a great time and money saver since there is no need to go through the motions of building a brand new building.
‘Infrastructure creation’
Unlike privatization, which seeks to sell state-owned companies to the private sector, or disinvestment, in which shares of public sector units are sold to non-state firms or individuals, the National Monetisation Pipeline seeks to do something else.
The NMP is talking about brownfield assets where investment has already been made, which are either languishing, not fully monetized or remaining underutilized.
So, by bringing in private participation, monetization gets better, and the resource can be put it into further infrastructure creation. The idea is also known as “asset recycling”.
Essentially, the government gives over operational duties and revenue rights to a private operator for assets like roads, power transmission lines, stadiums, warehouses and more.
This allows government to build an ambitious infrastructure plan, without adding to existing government debt.
A key aspect of this approach is that the government is not handing over ownership of the underlying asset.
Unlocking capital
Another difference from other privatization efforts, which often focus on loss-making public sector units, the effort here is to pick ones that aren’t necessarily struggling, on the assumption that the private sector can unlock efficiencies that the government cannot.
By keeping ownership and only transferring revenue rights for a set period of time, the government is essentially taking a fresh look at Public-Private Partnership model, commonly known as PPP.
What is the government’s plan?
Roads, railways and power sectorassets will comprise over 66% of the total estimated value of the assets to be monetized.
The remaining upcoming sectors include telecom, mining, aviation, ports, natural gas and petroleum product pipelines, warehouses and stadiums.
In terms of annual phasing by value, 15% of assets with an indicative value of Rs 0.88 lakh crore are envisaged for rollout in the current financial year.
The NMP will run co-terminus with the National Infrastructure Pipeline of Rs 100 lakh crore announced in December 2019.
What is the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)?
NIP includes economic and social infrastructure projects. During the fiscals 2020 to 2025, sectors such as Energy (24%), Roads (19%), Urban (16%), and Railways (13%) amount to around 70% of the projected capital expenditure in infrastructure in India. It has outlined plans to invest more than ₹102 lakh crore on infrastructure projects by 2024-25, with the Centre, States and the private sector to share the capital expenditure in a 39:39:22 formula.
The estimated amount to be raised through monetization is around 14% of the proposed outlay for the Centre of Rs 43 lakh crore under NIP.
NMP aims to provide a medium term roadmap of the programme for public asset owners; along with visibility on potential assets to the private sector.
An empowered committee has been constituted to implement and monitor the Asset Monetization programme. The Core Group of Secretaries on Asset Monetization (CGAM) will be headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
Real time monitoring will be undertaken through the asset monetization dashboard. The government will closely monitor the NMP progress, with yearly targets and a monthly review by an empowered committee
The top 5 sectors (by estimated value) capture ~83% of the aggregate pipeline value. These include: Roads (27%) followed by Railways (25%), Power (15%), oil & gas pipelines (8%) and Telecom (6%)
What is the list of assets?
The assets on the NMP list include:
26,700 km of roads, railway stations, train operations and tracks,
2,8608 Ckt km worth of power transmission lines,
6 GW of hydroelectric and solar power assets,
2.86 lakh km of fiber assets and 14,917 towers in the telecom sector,
8,154 km of natural gas pipelines and
3,930 km of petroleum product pipelines.
In the roads sector, the government has already monetized 1,400 km of national highways worth Rs 17,000 crore. Another five assets have been monetised through a PowerGrid InvIT raising Rs 7,700 crore.
Also, 15 railway stations, 25 airports and the stake of central government in existing airports and 160 coal mining projects, 31 projects in 9 major ports, 210 lakh MT of warehousing assets, 2 national stadiums and 2 regional centres, will be up for monetization.
Redevelopment of various government colonies and hospitality assets including ITDC hotels is expected to generate Rs 15,000 crore.
What are the merits of the NMP?
Resource Efficiency: Resources are scarce with the government. Proper and effective channelization of them is very important. NMP leads to optimum utilization of government assets.
Keeping Fiscal Deficit at check: The revenue accrued by leasing out these assets to private sector will help fund new capital expenditure without pressuring government finances.
Streamlining the Process: Monetization of assets is not new, but the government has finally organized it in baskets, set targets, identified impediments, and put in place a framework.
Mobilizing Private Capital: Since the assets are de-risked as it is brownfield projects, it will help in mobilizing private capital (both domestic & foreign). Global investors have revealed that they are keen to participate in projects to be monetized through a transparent/competitive bidding process.
Less Resistance from the opposition: The plan involves leasing to private sector without transferring ownership or resorting to fire sale of assets. Therefore, it is going to face less resistance from the opposition.
Cooperative Federalism: To encourage states to pursue monetization, the Central government has already set aside Rs 5,000 crore as incentive.
If a state government divests its stake in a PSU, the Centre will provide a 100 per cent matching value of the divestment to the state.
If a state lists a public sector undertaking in the stock markets, the Central government will give it 50 per cent of that amount raised through listing.
If a state monetizes an asset, it will receive 33% of the amount raised from monetization from the Centre.
Promoting Public-Private Partnership: The end objective of NMP is to enable ‘Infrastructure Creation through Monetization’ wherein the public and private sector collaborate, each excelling in their core areas of competence, so as to deliver socio-economic growth and quality of life to the country’s citizens.
What are the challenges associated?
(1)Lack of identifiable revenue streams in various assets and low interest among investors in national highways below four lanes.
Monetization potential of toll road assets is limited by the percentage of stretches having four-lane and above configuration.
(2) Level of capacity utilization in gas and petroleum pipeline networks and regulated tariffs in power sector assets
(3) Dispute resolution mechanism
(4)Uncertainty of proper execution of the plan
(5)Slow pace of privatization in government companies including Air India and BPCL, and less-than-encouraging bids in the recently launched PPP initiative in trains, indicate that attracting private investors’ interest is not that easy.
(6) Asset-specific challenges such as the presence of an identifiable revenue stream. This is specifically relevant to the railway sector, which has seen limited PPP success as a mode of project delivery.
Konkan Railway, for instance, has multiple stakeholders, including state governments, which own stake in the entity. Creating an effective monetization transaction structure could be a bit challenging in this case.
Way Forward
Execution is the Key: While the government has tried to address many challenges, owing to infrastructure development in the NMP framework, execution of the plan remains key to its success.
Dedicated and effective Dispute Redressal Mechanism: Looking at the track record of previous efforts of government to lure the investors and history of long pending cases in courts, there is a need for an efficient dispute resolution mechanism.
Key to success lies in Multi-stakeholder approach:The success of the infrastructure expansion plan would depend on other stakeholders playing their due role. The role of State governments is going to be very important.
Earlier this month, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana expressed concern at the degree of human rights violations in police stations in the country. He said that “the threat to human rights and bodily integrity is the highest in police stations”
Deaths in police custody
Improvement in the situation: A reality check shows that the picture is not so bleak and efforts are being made to improve the human rights protection regime in police stations.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data reveal that though the number of custodial deaths varies year to year, on average of about 100 custodial deaths have taken place every year between 2010 and 2019.
Of them, about 3.5 persons allegedly died due to injuries caused by policemen.
A judicial inquiry, which is mandatory for every suspicious custodial death, was conducted in 26.4 cases.
Though every death in custody needs to be prevented, suspicious deaths which bring disrepute to the police system must be rooted out completely.
Measures to reduce the instances of custodial violence
1) Reduce the number of arrests
As per the law, arrest for offences punishable up to seven years of imprisonment should be made only when such arrest is necessary to prevent the person from tampering with evidence, or committing any further offence, etc.
The Supreme Court held that each arrest must be necessary and justified; having the authority to arrest is alone not sufficient.
In Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014), it was held that despite the offence being non-bailable under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which relates to torture for dowry, arrest is not mandatory as per Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
In Special Action Forum v. Union of India (2018), the Court further held that the police officer shall furnish to the magistrate the reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest for further detention of the accused.
The purpose of these checks is to ensure that the police does not abuse the power of arrest.
NCRB data show that the ratio of the number of arrests to the number of IPC offences has decreased from 1.33 in 2010 to 0.96 in 2019.
2) Separate investigation from law and order
The National Police Commission (1977-81), the Law Commission in its 154th report (1996) and the Malimath Committee Report (2003), and the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006), have recommended that the investigating police should be separated from the law-and-order police to ensure better expertise in investigation.
It is believed that a separate wing will do more professional investigation and will not use unwarranted methods to extract confession from the accused.
Though efforts have been made by some States in this direction, more resources are required in policing to implement the Court’s directions.
3) Increase the number of investigating officers
Unless investigating officers are increased in proportion to the number of serious offences, the quality of investigation may suffer.
The Malimath Committee’s recommendation that an investigating officer should preferably investigate no more than 10 cases every year needs to be implemented.
Subject expert officers: With the increase of newer types of crime like white collar crime and cybercrime, subject experts are needed to assist the police in the investigation.
4) Sensitise Police
The police officers must know that their mandate is to protect human rights and not violate them.
They need to be sensitised regularly and encouraged to employ scientific tools of interrogation and investigation like the lie detection test, narco test and brainfingerprinting test.
5) Display board on human rights
The CJI’s suggestion to install display boards on human rights to disseminate information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services may deter police excesses.
Steps taken to deal with the issue
Much has changed in the police consequent to the judgment in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1996) in which the Supreme Court laid down guidelines to check custodial torture.
Guidelines incorporated in CrPC: Most of these guidelines such as providing information to a friend or relative about the arrest, medical examination, and permission to meet a lawyer have now been incorporated in the CrPC.
CCTV Cameras installed: In Paramvir Singh v. Baljit Singh (2020), the Supreme Court has directed States to cover more area of each police station under CCTV cameras and have storage facility of audio-video recording for 18 months.
Actions against guilty: NCRB data show that on average about 47.2 criminal cases were registered annually against policemen in last 10 years.
Departmental action against errant officers is a rule in the police force, rather than an exception.
Compensation by NHRC: The National Human Rights Commission also oversees deaths in custody due to human rights violations and recommends compensation in appropriate cases.
Incentives linked with police reforms: The Home Ministry has recently linked the ‘police modernisation scheme’ with police reforms.
Unless sufficient action is taken by the State governments and the police authorities, incentives in the form of additional funds will not be released.
Consider the question “Human right violations in police stations is a cause for concerns. What are the reasons for such violations? Suggest the measures to curb it.”
Conclusion
Our commitment to the protection of human rights is unconditional and total. Many steps have been taken so far to check custodial violence and no stone shall be left unturned to eliminate such violence in toto.
Maintaining consistency is one of the biggest issues faced by IAS Aspirants. Streak’s initiative is to help Aspirants in their day-to-day preparation. You can follow the monthly, weekly, and daily timetables and continue this streak until you find yourself on the final list.
UPSC Daily Study Plan For 2021 and 2022 || STREAK – by Ravi Ranjan
UPSC PRELIMS-2021 || Current Affairs Most Probable Questions – by Sukanya Rana
Q1) Consider the following statements:
Agaricus is a form of bacteria.
It represents saprotrophic type of association.
Select the correct option:
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 2
d) None
Q2) Consider the following statements:
The first photosynthetic organisms in the evolutionary history of life used reducing agents such as hydrogen or hydrogen sulfide, rather than water, as sources of electrons in photosynthesis.
Cyanobacteria produced excess oxygen which contributed directly to the oxygenation of the Earth.
Identify incorrect statement in the following:
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 2
d) None
Q3) Consider the following statements with respect to Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM)
It will be established as a part of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM).
India‟s first CWCM has been established in Kolkata.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q4) Consider the following statements about Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary
1. It is located on the River Beas and in the State of Punjab.
2. Bar Headed Geese is a flagship species in the sanctuary.
3. It is known for its flying capacity at extreme altitude i.e. heights of more than 7,000m.
Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) All of the above
Which of the following statements are incorrect with respect to Mandarin Duck
1. It is a small-exotic bird native to East Asia.
2. It is very rare to spot and is mentioned as critically endangered under IUCN Red list.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a) 1 only
b)2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
UPSC PRELIMS-2021 || Most Probable Questions on Environment & Ecology– by Santosh Gupta
Q1) Consider the following statements:
1. Ecology is study of relationship of organisms with each other and environment
2. Ecosystems are larger units of organization based on structure and composition of vegetation
3. Biome is defined as a structural and functional unit of biosphere
4. Biosphere is the largest unit of ecological organisation.
Which of the above statements are correct?
a) 1&2 are correct
b) 2&3 are correct
c) 1&4 are correct
d) all of them are correct
Q2) Select the correct statement/s with regards to ecotone.
1. It is a zone of transition.
2. It is linear in nature
3. It is characterized by an edge effect.
4. Hot spots are a type of ecotone
Which of the above statements are true?
a) 1,2 and 3
b) 1, 2 and 4
c) 2, 3 and 4
d) All of them
Q3) Consider the following statements with respect to Ecological Niche:
Niche refers to functional characteristics of a species in its habitat
All the species in a habitat have same niche
The habitat plus the niche is called the ecotope
Niche follows competitive exclusion principle
Which of the above statement(s) is/are true?
a) 1 & 2 are correct
b) 1 & 3 are correct
c) 1, 3 & 4 are correct
d) only 4 is correct
Q4) Which of the following is/are the characteristics of the ecological pyramid?
1. Ecological pyramid are of two types- Food and energy pyramids
2. Species are accounted for at multiple trophic levels taking account of all the roles it plays.
3. While food chain represents complex interactions, food web shows the linear interaction
4. Saprophytes play a key role in ecological pyramid
Choose the correct option based on the above statements:
a) 1&2 are correct
b) 1,2 &4 are correct
c) only 4 are correct
d) all of them are correct
Q5) Select the correct statement/s from the set of statements given below.
1. Succession is a universal process of bidirectional change in vegetation.
2. Succession brought about by outside forces is known as allogenic succession.
3. The final stage of succession is called the climax community.
Which of above statements are true?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) All of them
Daily Dose: Complete Snapshots of Everyday News – by Shweta Mishra
Clearing Prelims is all about Knowledge + Answering Tricks (Tikdams). And while you are studying hard to improve your knowledge, Sajal sir will help you improve your answering techniques, for absolutely FREE!
This is a short snippet of Sajal Sir’s session where he discussed 10 Different smart techniques which can help you increase your Prelims score by 30 marks. Please register here and we will send you the Full video over e-mail which is 1.5 hours long.
Even with a similar syllabus and similar study materials, most candidates fall in one of the following four categories when it comes to their Prelims score: 1) Prelims score 0-40: They need to work on improving their knowledge and learn answering tricks 2) Prelims score 50-70: They have decent knowledge and decent answering tricks. 3) Prelims score 80-100: They have good knowledge but they need to develop answering tricks. 4) Prelims score 120+: They have excellent knowledge and know all the answering tricks.
Using these simple and yet very effective Elimination Techniques, one can successfully wade through this turbulent examination. These are proven methods and have got a near flawless application. But be mindful, you need to be smart to use these tools. So let’s Catalyse your Preparation.
Recognising its potential, in 2015, the Indian government announced a policy to encourage open source instead of proprietary technology for government applications. However, the true potential of this policy is yet to be realized.
Advantages of FOSS
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) today presents an alternative model to build digital technologies for population scale.
Freedom to modify: Unlike proprietary software, everyone has the freedom to edit, modify and reuse open-source code.
Reduced cost and innovation: This results in many benefits — reduced costs, no vendor lock-in, the ability to customise for local context, and greater innovation through wider collaboration.
Use in public service delivery: We have seen some great examples of public services being delivered through systems that use FOSS building blocks, including Aadhaar, GSTN, and the DigiLocker.
FOSS communities can examine the open-source code for adherence to data privacy principles, help find bugs, and ensure transparency and accountability.
Challenges in adoption by government in GovTech
In 2015, the Indian government announced a policy to encourage open source instead of proprietary technology for government applications.
Several misconceptions remain in the understanding of FOSS, especially for GovTech.
Trust issue: “Free” in FOSS is perceived to be “free of cost” and FOSS is often mistaken to be less trustworthy and more vulnerable, whereas FOSS can actually create more trust between the government and citizens.
However, Many solutions launched by the government including Digilocker, Diksha, Aarogya Setu, Cowin — built on top of open-source digital platforms — have benefited from valuable inputs provided by volunteer open-source developers.
Such inputs have immensely helped in improving solutions and making them more robust.
Accountability issue: In the case of FOSS, there appears to be an absence of one clear “owner”, which makes it harder to identify who is accountable.
While this concern is legitimate, there are ways to mitigate it.
For example, by having the government’s in-house technical staff understand available documentation and getting key personnel to join relevant developer communities.
Way forward for greater adoption of FOSS in GovTech
Here is a four-step path to make this vision a reality.
1) Incentivise FOSS in government: The government’s policy requires all tech suppliers to submit bids with open source options.
Suppliers also need to justify in case they do not offer an open-source option
Sourcing departments are asked to weigh the lifetime costs and benefits of both alternatives before making a decision.
While this serves as a good nudge, the policy can perhaps go a step further by formally giving greater weightage to FOSS-specific metrics in the evaluation criteria in RFPs, and offering recognition to departments that deploy FOSS initiatives, such as, a special category under the Digital India Awards.
2) Create a repository of GovtTech ready solutions: a repository of “GovTech ready” building blocks that are certified for use in government and audited for security compliances is needed.
Creating a repository of ready-to-use “GovTech-ised” building blocks can help departments quickly identify and deploy FOSS solutions in their applications.
3) Encourage FOSS innovation: FOSS innovations can be encouraged through “GovTech hackathons and challenges”, bringing together the open-source community to design solutions for specific problem statements identified by government departments.
One such challenge — a #FOSS4Gov Innovation Challenge — was recently launched.
4) Create an institutional mechanism: A credible institutional anchor is needed to be a home for FOSS-led innovation in India.
Such an institution can bring together FOSS champions and communities that are scattered across India around a shared agenda for collective impact.
Kerala’s International Centre for Free & Open Source Software (ICFOSS) is a great example of such an institution.
Conclusion
With an IT workforce of more than four million employees, what we need is a concerted push to harness the biggest promise that FOSS holds.
