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  • What are your personal recommendations for IAS Prelims? Books and hacks

    Hello,

    A good while ago, we had released a set of standard text books which every aspirant checks through once he starts preparing for IAS prelims. The original list is this –
    https://www.civilsdaily.com/recommended-books-for-ias-prelims-2016/

    BUT, over time students tend to explore books and notes on their own or via some references and this becomes a great hack for newbies to consolidate their preparation. We invite each and every user of Civilsdaily to profile their most recommended reading material/ books for us.

    Keep it simple and crisp. Just talk about 3 things –
    1. Book name & subject
    2. Pros (mention your hacks and how it is a refreshing read from the others)
    3. Cons (difficulty level, things which it misses out on etc etc.)

    Why this exercise is important?

    If you know about the Tamil Nadu state books which are considered a boon for history @Pre & Mains, it was discovered by one such student and then promoted to all!

    So open up and be generous 🙂

  • Indian Polity | Powers of the President and the Governor

    In a federal  <constitutional division of power b/w centre and states> parliamentary democracy <real power vests in council of ministers which is accountable to Lower House i.e Lok Sabha> which is India, President and Governor are only ceremonial heads of state, real power lies with elected govt headed by PM and CM. President and governors have to act in accordance with the aid and advice of the council of ministers.

    So, are they mere rubber stamps? Do they have any discretionary powers? What’s the nature of that discretionary power?

    Art 74 and art 163 basically states that council of minister will aid and advice president and governor. In its various judgments supreme court interpreted that they have to act only upon and in accordance with the aid and advice of CoM, save in a few well known exceptional circumstances.

    The infamous 42nd amendment clarified this position and added that president shall act in accordance with aid and advice which was diluted by 44th amendment so that president can return back advice for reconsideration after which advice shall be binding. No changes were made wrt governor.

    So, it’s clear by constitution (for president) as well as supreme court judgment (governor) that only in exceptional circumstances can they act as per their own discretion.

    Rule of thumb is, a situation where the CoM is not in a position to tender unbiased or impartial advice to the president / governor can they use their own discretion.

    Situation in which discretion can be used?

    1. When no party has clear majority– Obviously caretaker govt would tend to advice president or governor to call it’s candidate for govt formation,, they have to as per their discretion
    2. When lower house has lost confidence in the govt– Obviously govt would not ask for dissolution, discretion has to be used

    But the real power comes from the fact that there is no time limit specified within the constitution within which president/ governor have to give assent to the bill. They may simply decide to sit on the bill and do nothing (pocket veto).

    In the case of governor there is more scope for discretion-

    1. For bills– governor can reserve bills for consideration of president. Obviously no govt will ask it’s bill to be reserved, discretion has to be applied.
    2. Recommendation of president’s rule-Again no govt would advise imposition of presidential rule.

    This reconsideration of bills become sore point b/w governor and govt <against the federal spirit; president i.e union CoM taking decisions on state bills; governor is not even elected>

    Let’s compare president and governor

    Issue President Governor
    Head Head of the country, head of govt is PM Head of a state, head of govt is CM
    Executive power All executive action in his name Same
    Oath Preserve, protect and defend the constitution Same
    Appointment Indirect election Nominated by president; representative of union in states
    Removal Impeachment President can remove him any time/ pleasure principle
    Grounds of removal Violation of constitution No grounds mentioned
    Advice of council of minster Binding (42nd amendment), can return the advice once (44th amendment) binding save for exceptional circumstances (various supreme court judgements)
    Ordinary bill Can be sent for reconsideration once to parliament, bound to give assent after that same
    Money bill Can’t send for reconsideration (after all president himself recommends the bill) same
    Constitution amendment bill Has to give his assent (24th amendment) No role
    if governor reserves the bill for president (article 200) Can assent/ withhold assent or send the bill for reconsideration (except money bill which can’t be resent) (article 201) No further role of governor
    If house sends the bill back in the same form Not bound to give assent <governor is bound to give assent after repassage> No role
    Clemency power Can pardon death sentence and court martial sentences Can’t pardon death sentence, no role in military matters

    State Bills reserved for President’s consideration under the Constitution may be classified as follows:—

    I. Bills which must be reserved for President’s consideration

    1. bills derogating the powers of the High Court (art 200)
    2. imposition of taxes on water or electricity in certain cases (Article 288)
    3. during a Financial Emergency (art 360)

    II. Bills which may be reserved for President’s consideration and assent for specific purposes

    a). To secure immunity from operation of Articles 14 and 19. These are Bills for

    1. acquisition of estates, etc.  (Article 31A(I (b))
    2. giving effect to Directive Principles of State Policy (Article 31C).

    (b) A Bill relating to a subject enumerated in the Concurrent List, to ensure operation of its provisions despite their repugnancy to a Union law or an existing law, by securing President’s assent in terms of Article 254(2). <for instance Rajsthan govt took presidential consent for it’s labour law which violated union legislation>

    (c) Legislation imposing restrictions on trade and commerce requiring Presidential sanction under the

    III. Bills which may not specifically fall under any of the above categories yet may be reserved by the Governor for President’s consideration under Article 200. 

    They are reserved if the bill is deemed to be against broader national interest

    But what if even 2nd advice of CoM which enjoys the confidence of house is unconstitutional and thus comes in conflict with the oath of president i.e to preserve, protect and defend the constitution?

    Well, there’s no precedence. Supreme court will have to take the call if in very exceptional circumstances, president can overrule the governor.

    Appendix-

    The presidential election and removal

    Presidential election -indirect election

    Method – proportional representation by means of single transferable vote

    Electoral college – All the elected members of parliament plus elected members of the legislative assembly of States and UT of Puducherry and NCT.

    Value of vote of an MLA = total population of state/total elected members in LA ×1000

    Value of vote of an MP= total value of votes of all MLAs of all states / total elected members of parliament

    Note members of the legislative council, nominated members of Legislative assembly,  Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha does not participate <simple, how can those whom he nominates participate in his own election>

    Value of all the states plus UT votes = value of all

    Contrast this with the election of Vice President in which all members of parliament (nominated as well as elected) participate but members of state assemble do not.

    Removal of the President– Impeachment, 2/3rd (absolute 2/3rd not present and voting) of both the houses vote for his removal.

    Parliamentary v/s presidential system

    In parliamentary system (India), council of minister is part of legislature<all ministers come from either LS or RS>. PM is head of govt while president is head of state.

    In presidential system, President is the head of state as well as head of govt. He is not part of legislature. He chooses his own cabinet and cabinet ministers can not be part of legislature. Recall John Kerry had to resign from Senate when he was appointed secretary of state.

    It’s time for attempting some previous years IAS questions

    #1. Consider the following statements:

    1. The President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India, and for the allocation among Ministers of the said business.
    2. All executive actions of the Government of India shall be expressed to be taken in the name of the Prime Minister.
    Which of the statements given above is / are correct?

    a. 1 only
    b. 2 only
    c. Both 1 and 2
    d. Neither 1 nor 2

    #2. Which of the following are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State?

    1. Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President’s rule
    2. Appointing the Ministers
    3. Reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India
    4. Making the rules to conduct the business of the State Government
    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    a. 1 and 2 only
    b. 1 and 3 only.
    c. 2, 3 and 4 only.
    d. 1, 2, 3 and 4

    #3. In the context of India, which of the following principles is/are implied institutionally in the parliamentary government?

    1. Members of the Cabinet are Members of the Parliament.
    2. Ministers hold the office till they enjoy confidence in the Parliament.
    3. Cabinet is headed by the Head of the State.
    Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

    a. 1 and 2 only
    b. 3 only
    c. 2 and 3 only
    d. 1, 2 and 3

    #5. Which one of the following statements is correct?

    a. In India, the same person cannot be appointed as Governor for two or more States at the same time
    b. The Judges of the High Court of the States in India are appointed by the Governor of the State just as the Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President
    c. No procedure has been laid down in the Constitution of India for the removal of a Governor from his/her post
    d. In the case of a Union Territory having a legislative setup, the Chief Minister is appointed by the Lt. Governor on the basis of majority support

    #5. Consider the following statements:
    1. The Executive Power of the union of India is vested in the Prime Minister.
    2. The Prime Minister is the ex officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
    (a) 1 only
    (b) 2 only
    (c) Both 1 and 2
    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    #6. There is a Parliamentary System of Government in India because the

    • (a) Lok Sabha is elected directly by the people
    • (b) Parliament can amend the constitution
    • (c) Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved
    • (d) Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha

    Want to read more such article, Follow this collection – Constitution simplified 

  • Dedicated Freight Corridors | The Future of railways

    Freight operations on the Indian Railways are set to witness a paradigm shift with the stage-wise completion of its two dedicated freight corridors, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) and the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), over the next four years, beginning 2017-18.

    Why DFCs?

    #1. Congestion:

    Indian Railways plans to handle higher freight volumes without- increase in infrastructure, increased axle load, reduction of turn-round time, reduced unit cost of transportation, rationalization of tariffs

    Example- Golden Quadrilateral Freight Corridor (GQFC)

    What is GQFC?

    • It links 4 metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and its two diagonals- Delhi-Chennai & Howrah-Mumbai
    • It has a total route length of 10,122 km

    The problem with GQFC:

    • It carries more than 55% of revenue earning freight traffic of Indian Railways
    • The existing routes of Howrah-Delhi and Mumbai-Delhi are highly saturated
    • The line capacity utilization is around 115% to 150%

    #2. Single tracks:

    As mentioned in the recent rail budget- We run fast passenger trains, slow trains, goods trains all on the same track. Hence trains like Rajdhani which can achieve speeds upto 130kmph run at average 70kmph. Also goods trains have to wait to let passenger train pass and this causes also supply delays.

    #3. Chronic under-investment in the railways:

    This had led to congestion and over-utilization, along with sub-optimal freight and passenger traffic and fewer financial resources. The 12th Plan points out the urgency of investments as- If consistent growth of 7-10% per annum is to be achieved over the next 20 years, there is a pressing need for unprecedented capacity expansion of the railways for both freight and passenger traffic in a manner that has not taken place since Independence.

    #4. The surging power needs requiring heavy coal movement, booming infrastructure construction and growing international trade

    #5. Carbon emission reduction may help India claim carbon credits

    #6. Railway’s falling share of goods traffic:

    According to 12th Plan- The Indian railways transports only 36% of the total goods traffic in the country, compared to the 48% in the US and 47% in China. Whereas, nearly 57% of the total goods are transported by road in India, as compared to 22% in China and 37% in the US.

    Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL)

     

    • It is a Special Purpose Vehicle established by the Ministry of Railways in 2006
    • Aim: To undertake planning & development, mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the DFCs
    • It has been registered as a company under the Companies Act 1956

    The Corridors

    #1. Sanctioned (and under construction)

    • Western DFC: From Dadri, UP to Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai- 1,468 km
    • Eastern DFC: From Ludhiana, Punjab to Dankuni, West Bengal- 1,760 km

    #2. Planned (but not yet started)

    • East-West DFC- connecting Kolkata and Mumbai- 2,000 km
    • North-South DFC- connecting Delhi and Chennai- 2,173 km
    • East Coast DFC- connecting Kharagpur with Vijayawada- 1,100 km
    • South-West DFC- connecting Chennai and Goa- 890 km

    #3. Proposed (neither sanctioned nor planned)

    Bangalore-Chennai DFC- This DFC goes through Bangalore-Chennai Industrial Corridor promoted by Japan & India

    Advantages

    • Railways’ freight operations will see a fundamental change by operationalisation of these corridors
    • It will help the railways regain its market share of freight transport
    • Provide an efficient, reliable, safe and cheaper system of goods movement
    • Provide relief to the railways’ heavily congested GQFC along the western and eastern rail routes
    • Facilitate fresh industrial activity and multi-modal value-addition services hubs along the corridors
    • Reduction in unit cost of transportation, smaller organization and management cost, higher efficiency and lower energy consumption
    • WDFC  will mainly  benefit  export-import  container   traffic, besides petroleum,  oils and  lubricants,  imported fertilizers and coal, foodgrains, cement, salt, and iron and steel
    • EDFC will benefit traffic of coal for power plants in the northern region from coalfields in Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal as also finished steel, foodgrains and cement

    Progress

    Remember, we have to be diplomatic while citing the progress. So here it goes…

    • The major achievements for the two sanctioned projects is the completion of negotiation for EDFC-3 Project and loan amount of US$ 650 million sanctioned by World Bank
    • 86% of the 10548 hectares land required has been acquired and most environmental clearances have been obtained
    • DFCCIL has implemented one of the best rehabilitation and resettlement packages for the people affected by the projects
    • Compensation as per the new land acquisition Act has been started with effect from 1st January, 2015
    • By mid-2016, most contracts for the Rs 81,459 crore projects are planned to be awarded

    Here’s a question for you– Differentiate between Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), Golden Quadrilateral Freight Corridor (GQFC) & Diamond Quarilateral (DQ) projects.

    Suggested readings:

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Polity

    Hello .. do we have any discussions on the women’s bill, reservation in panchaythi raj?

  • Know Your Services | The Indian Forest Service

    • IFoS is one of the three All India Services
    • It was created in 1966 under the All India Services Act 1951
    • Previously, the Imperial Forestry Service existed during the British Raj from 1865 to 1935

    Exam pattern:

    #1. Prelims It is the same as that of Civil services Preliminary Examination (same exam, held simultaneously).

    #2. Mains
    The written examination consists of the following papers:

    • Paper 1- General English- 300 Marks
    • Paper 2- General Knowledge- 300 Marks
    • Papers III, IV, V and VI- Any two subjects to be selected from the list of the optional subjects. Each subject will have two papers- 200 marks for each paper.

    #3. Personality Test of candidates who qualify from Mains will be conducted by the UPSC. Maximum Marks- 300.

    List of optional subjects:
    (i) Agriculture
    (ii.) Agricultural Engineering
    (iii) Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
    (iv) Botany
    (v) Chemistry
    (vi) Chemical Engineering
    (vii) Civil Engineering
    (viii) Forestry
    (ix) Geology
    (x) Mathematics
    (xi) Mechanical Engineering
    (xii) Physics
    (xiii) Statistics
    (xiv) Zoology

    The following combination of subjects are not allowed:
    (a) Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering
    (b) Agriculture and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
    (c) Agriculture and ·Forestry
    (d) Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
    (e) Mathematics and Statistics
    (f) Of the Engineering subjects viz. Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering- not more than one

    Eligibility– The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree with at least one of the following subjects:

    Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics and Zoology, Agriculture, Forestry, Agriculture Engineering, Engineering.

    Mandate:

    The implementation of the National Forest Policy which aims to ensure environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance which are vital for sustenance of all life forms, human, animal and plant.

    IFoS officers while in field postings in respective state cadres work for conservation, protection and development of forests and wildlife along with an aim to enhance livelihood opportunities of forest dependent communities of rural and tribal areas.

    Cadre:

    Their services are placed under various State cadres and joint cadres, even though they have the mandate to serve both under the State and Central Governments.

    Career opportunities:

    • An IFS officer is largely independent of district administration and exercises administrative, judicial and financial powers in their own domain.
    • All top positions in state forest department are held by IFS officers. Positions like Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Conservator of Forests (CF) and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) etc. are some examples.
    • The highest ranking IFoS official in each state is the Head of Forest Forces (HoFF), a cabinet selection post equal in rank to the Chief Secretary for IAS or State Police Chief for the IPS.
    • They are also eligible for State and Central deputations as their counterpart IAS and IPS officers
    • Deputation of IFS officers to the Central Government includes appointments in Central Ministries at the position of Deputy Secretary, Director, Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary etc.; appointments in various Public Sector Units, Institutes and Academies at the position of Chief Vigilance Officers (CVO), Managing Directors, Inspector General, Director General etc.
    • Deputation of IFS officers is also permissible to foreign governments, United Nations bodies, international organisations, NGOs, voluntary organisations apart from private sector as per the Indian Forest Service (Cadre) Rules, 1966.
    • Ministry of Environment and Forests (India), under the Government of India, is the cadre controlling authority of Indian Forest Service.

    Deputations:

    Let’s see how they are deputed technically…

    As per Rule 6 of the Indian Forest Service (Cadre) Rules, 1966 deputation of IFS officers broadly falls into two categories: Central Deputation & State Deputation

    #1. Central Deputation
    For Central Deputation, there are two schemes devised for the purpose of regulating appointments in Government of India and organisations under its control:

    Central Staffing Scheme
    Non-Central Staffing Scheme

    • There are two Central Staffing Schemes, one each controlled by Ministry of Environment and Forests (India) (MoEF) and Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and they are respectively called as CSS of MoEF and CSS of DoPT.
    • Manning the pre-identified professional positions in the Ministry, its regional offices, subordinate offices, organisations under its control (located elsewhere in the country) and in other Ministries/Departments, exclusively by IFS, CSS of MoEF scheme has been formulated.
    • The posts included under it are Director General of Forests, Additional Director General of Forests, Inspector General of Forests and Deputy Inspector General of Forests in Ministry of Environment and Forests, Associate Professors and Lecturers in IGNFA, Director of Forest Survey of India, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Project Tiger, Project Elephant, National Zoological Park, Forest Education and Deputy Directors/Conservators in Regional offices of the Ministry.
    • Similar to the CSS of the MoEF, for manning pre-identified positions of Under Secretary (US), Deputy Secretary (DS), Director, Joint Secretary to Government of India (JS), Additional Secretary (AS), Special Secretary (SS) and equivalent levels in the Government of India and its organizations, DoPT have formulated a staffing Scheme. A total of 38 Civil Services including the three All India Services under this scheme.
    • Similar to the CSS, there are two Non-CSS under the Government of India one each controlled by the MoEF and DoPT.
    •  All posts to be filled up by IFS officers in the autonomous bodies under the control of the Ministry viz ICFRE, Dehradun; Wild Life Institute of India, Dehradun and Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal; Wild-Life Crime Control Bureau, Central Pollution Control Board, Central Zoo Authority etc. are called as non-CSS posts.
    •  Isolated posts under various Departments and Ministries in Government of India and the posts of Commissions, Autonomous Bodies, Authorities, Trusts, Boards, Societies, etc. constitute non-CSS of DoPT.viz IAS, IPS, IFS are participants under this Scheme

    It was on deputation at AIIMS as deputy secretary and Chief Vigilance Officer that Sanjiv Chaturvedi, an IFoS officer exposed corruption and was later awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award (Asia’s nobel) for emergent leadership

    #2. State Deputation:
    An IFoS officer may also be deputed for service under a company, association, corporation which is wholly or substantially owned or controlled by a State Government, a Municipal Corporation or Local Body. Appointment is done by the State Government.

    #3. Deputation under International Organisations
    An IFoS officer may also be deputed for service under international organisation by Central Government in consultation with State Government.

    Training & Recruitment:

    • Training at the Academy extends over a period of 2 years. Comprehensive exposure to all the subjects that are directly or indirectly related to forestry are provided.
    • The course is designed to be covered in phases:
      1. Foundation Course
      2. Professional Phase I
      3. Professional Phase II
      4. Convocation Phase
    • Officers of the IFoS have to initially attend the common foundation course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussorie.
    • On completion of this, they are trained at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy at Dehradun, with training on forest and wildlife management, soil conservation, surveying, Scheduled Tribes and handling weapons.
    • After completion of their training the officers are awarded a master’s degree in Science (Forestry) of Forest Research Institute. The officers are taught more than 56 subjects of life sciences in these two years.
    • After completing training at the academy, candidates go through a year of on-the-job field training in the state to which he or she is assigned, during which they are posted as Assistant Conservators of Forests or Deputy Conservator of Forests.
    • After four years of service in the junior scale, which includes a professional training phase and foundation course, officers are appointed to the Senior Time Scale and are entitled to be posted as Deputy Conservators of Forests or Divisional Forest Officers (DFO) in charge of districts/forest divisions.

    The life in IFoS:

     

    Let’s know about life in IFoS from an IFoS himself…
    Jayanti Prasad Sharma, an IFoS officer (retd.) served for 35 years from 1963 to 1998. Sharma retired as Chief Conservator of Forests after serving in different districts and commissionerates of Uttar Pradesh. In his long career span he gathered precious insight into the world of animals and nature that most modern youngsters can only imagine.

    #1. Wildlife encounter:
    As a young officer Sharma’s first posting was in Gorakhpur in 1965 and within days, he had his first brush with the most feared of all.

    He encountered a Tiger merely 20-30 yards and was chased by him. He was literally frozen. But somehow he managed to hide himself and use all theory learnt during training into practice.

    #2. Human encounter:
    The problems and challenges faced are not from the wildlife itself, but most often from humans. Apart from the known illegal activities of poaching and felling of protected trees which the officers had to constantly check on, one of the biggest everyday challenge is to prevent encroachment of the forest land.

    On the other hand, as chief protectors of the forest and its inhabitants, forest officers are also the chief negotiators who resolve conflict when a wild animal enters human settlements. Sharma says, it was a part of his day-to-day job to ensure that peace was maintained when such conflicts arose.

    #3. Disappearing forests:
    He says during the sixties when he joined the service there was lot of love and respect in the eyes of public for forest as well as foresters. There was in general, respect for forest law. Things have changed now. There is lots of political interference. In the name of development the pressure on land has increased and it has becomes the easiest prey, he adds.

    Due to such policies to please the interests of few, the forest land has diminished a lot and is fast diminishing from what we inherited.
    When he was in service, Sharma recalls there were no roads. They were trained to travel on foot on hills.

    #4. Choosing to serve forests:
    Sharma hopes more youngsters choose IFS. He advises them to join this service with a determination and zeal of serving the country and the environment. He also importantly asks the next generation to not stoop down to political pressures.

    They must make an effort to change the mindset of people and politicians who have become anti forests, who value monetary gains over our mother nature. For them forests and forest departments are obstructions in their plans of grabbing forests land. They have to take up the task of making world aware of the natural wealth we have inherited and teach them to pass it on to our next generation. It should be taken up as our moral responsibility.

    #5. Some vital career lessons:

    As you have decided to join IFS, so now it is forests where you belong. Along with office work, field inspections are very important. Make it a habit to visit the fields and do lots of site inspections. Try not to be an arm chair officer but a one who is a field officer.

    We have inherited a chain of rest houses in dense and remote places built by Britishers. Always stay few nights every month in them. It helps connecting with the locals in much better way and gives a great command over the area of one’s jurisdiction.

    #6. Some other view:

    Let’s see what a guy has to say about his father being in IFS…

    Life’s been pretty much an adventure. His cadre is WB, sometimes it has been dangerous living around there – Bodo, Naxalite and Gorkhaland uprisings. Perks and power are the same as an IAS officer in such areas coz of extensive forest lands. Plenty of beautifully constructed colonial/modern times forest rest houses, postings in National Parks and Sanctuaries etc, discounted timber rates. Got to live in one of the nicest bungalows with fancy gardens.

    On the less brighter side, the CM can bust you for anything from minimal tree-felling to an animal getting slaughtered on a railroad. More so in states with more rural populations and tribal areas. Especially now when everybody is waking up to the environment more consciously. I would’ve liked sitting for the exam myself if people from a non-science background were eligible.

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

     

     

  • Preparing for CSE ??

    I’m preparing for CSE. I’m giving my +2 exams this year. After that i will persuade a degree in Science. My main aim is to be IAS? Is it good to go through syllabus right now?

  • The offline magazine is now available on Flipkart

    Link to the latest edition – http://www.flipkart.com/unique-publishers-1-pvt-ltd-magazines/p/itmehfcvtqdqbv9h?pid=MAZEHFCVHFYC8NDW

    If you have any queries, issues – please direct the email to Pallavi Saxena – psaxena[at]uniquepublishers.in

    Keep hello[at]civilsdaily.com in the “cc” so that we can follow up with Unique publishers if needed.

  • Economic Survey For IAS | Chapter 07 | Fiscal Capacity for the 21st Century

    What is Fiscal Capacity?

    It’s simply ability to generate revenues. As majority of the revenue of governments around the world is through taxes (other from various fees/user charges/ dividends etc), Tax to GDP ratio is often taken as proxy for the fiscal capacity of a govt.

    Survey argues that state capacity and taxes are crucial determinants of long run political and economic development. But Why?

    Govt can only spend as much as it earns (plus some limited amount of borrowings). So fiscal capacity i.e tax to GDP ratio also determines it’s spending capacity.

    Political development-If spending is about the entitlements of citizenship in a democracy, taxation is about the obligations of citizenship <rights and duties>. As more and more people come into the tax net via some form of direct taxation <in indirect taxation, people don’t feel like they are paying. Don’t we all generally think, only some 4% of India pays tax while every one who buys something pays some form of indirect tax>, they will more actively take part in nation building<their money is at stake>.

    Economic development- Democracy is a contract between the state and its citizens. The state’s role is to create the conditions for prosperity for all by providing essential services <such as law and order, enforcing contracts, roads, transport, health, education etc, for instance without enforceable property rights markets can’t function> and protecting the less well-off via redistribution <subsidies etc, providing minimum standard of living and reducing inequality>

    What is citizen’s role in this contract?

    • The citizen’s part of the contract is to hold the state accountable when it fails to honour the contract <provide essential services and redistribute to reduce inequality>
    • But a citizen’s stake in exercising accountability diminishes if he does not pay in a visible and direct way for the services the state commits to providing <esp essential services. He is not paying, what does he care if state does not provide>
    • If a citizen does not pay he either becomes a free rider (using the service without paying) or exits (not using the service at all). Both reduce the accountability of the state.

    For instance, not many taxpayers send their children to state run schools i.e exit from the service, thus reducing accountability which leads to further deterioration in the quality of schooling. They simply don’t have stakes in the system. That’s why some promote banning or reducing to the minimum the role of private sector in primary education. And it is for this reason that Allahbad High Court ordered public servants to compulsorily send their kids to Public school. Indian express link here <whether order was complied with or not, I have no idea, May be UP wale can help us>

    Taxation is not just about financing public spending, it is the economic glue that binds citizens to the state in a necessary two way relationship.

    Precocious Indian phenomenon of economic development lagging political development

    In terms of democracy index, India is highly developed with periodic free and fair elections, a very noisy and vibrant democracy but in terms of economic development India lags far behind the OECD countries.

    Difference in taxpaying <only 4% of voting age population paying direct tax> and voting <universal adult franchise with >60% voting> might explain the phenomenon in India of there being reasonably effective episodic accountability <regular elections with non performing govts being shown the door> as opposed to ongoing accountability <reflected in corruption, law and order problem>.

    • For instance, there has not been a single famine in independent India <Amartya Sen’s famous theory that famine simply don’t occur in democracies as they can’t afford it. Govt will simply lose power after a famine> but malnutrition remains a major challenge <discussed in chapter 4, women and children>. <Reason is simple, malnutrition is not as dramatic as famine so doesn’t attract media attention and in India accountability is episodic not ongoing>.
    • Or the Indian state can organize mega-events <commonwealth games, gigantic elections> but routine safety for women is not ensured.
    • Or state responds effectively to floods and tsunamis but finds water and power metering more challenging <can not perform routine tasks which calls for ongoing accountability but performs heroically in dramatic events which remain in public memory and thus public enforces accountability at the time of election i.e periodic accountability>

    So does India tax and spend less as liberals/ left leaning commentators (Amartya Sen and Dreaze argue)?

    Learn these facts and analysis by heart and reproduce them in essay / general studies /interview.

    • India taxes (16.6%) and spends (26.6%) less than OECD countries (34% and 43%) and less than its emerging market peers (21% and 31%)
    • For it’s level of economic development (countries with similar per capita income), India does not  tax and spend less
    • But controlling for both the level of economic and political development (democracy), India seems to tax less and spend less and this is most significant with respect to social expenditure (on health and education) 
    • India spends on average about 3.4 percentage points less vis-à-vis comparable countries on health and education <that’s a huge amount, India spends about 3.3% of GDP on education and 1.3% on health i.e 4.6% total while comparable democracies at similar level of economic development spend 8% on health and education>

    Democracies tax and spend more, in part because they face greater pressures to redistribute and India lags behind here.

    India’s tax to GDP ratio has increased by about 10% over the past six decades from about 6% in 1950-51 to 16.6% in 2013-14 (very slow growth)

    This analysis seems like indictment of the Indian development experience since India has been a democracy for nearly 70 years. But in most of the advanced democracies, the big increases in fiscal capacity have been in response to wars (world wars) or in response to extreme crises (Great Depression of the 1930s) which led to a sharp expansion of the welfare state and the need to finance it. Independent India has not experienced shocks of such large magnitudes that created pressures to enhance state capacity.

    western democracies have also had a much longer period of political evolution <USA became republic in 1789 v.s Inda in 1950> allowing them to build state capacity <taxation and expenditure institutions>

    Now that we have established India taxes and spends less compared to other democracies, should India start taxing and redistributing more?

    • The history of Europe and the US suggests that typically, states first provide essential services (physical security, health, education, infrastructure, etc.) before they take on their redistribution role. Why?
    • Because unless the middle class in society perceives that it derives some benefits from the state, it may be largely unwilling to finance redistribution
    • In other words legitimacy to redistribute is earned through a demonstrated record of effectiveness in delivering essential services
    • if the state’s role is predominantly redistribution, the middle class will seek to exit from the state, will avoid paying taxes and coccon themselves in walled communities <state’s redistribution role is perceived as illegitimate as they pay taxes but state can’t even provide them essential services such as infrastructure, law and order, decent primary education>

    As we saw earlier, in India they already send their kids to private schools thus reducing the pressure on the state <ongoing accountabilty is absent, lower class i.e poor are unable to hold state accountable for they don’t even have enough time to invest in these matters>. They thus reduce accountability and legitimacy of state even further.

    A state that prioritises or over-emphasises redistribution without providing basic public goods, risks unleashing this vicious spiral.

    Point is that India should invest more in essential services, law and order, infrastructure, pollution, congestion, health, education to earn the legitimacy before taking on big re-distributive role.

    Number of taxpayers in India (Too few or adequate)

    In India roughly 5.5% of earning individuals or 4% of voting age population is in the tax net.

    Controlling for level of economic development, India does not have too few taxpayers but again if we compare India with countries with similar level of income but those who are democracies (political development), India seems to have too few taxpayers. It should be 23% while India only has 4%.

    Top personal income distribution (Inequality in India)

    Inequality is generally measured by Gini coefficient (more on that in separate back 2 basics economics article some other day). Other measure is to compare income of top quintile (20%) with bottom quintile (20%). But of late, greater focus has been on income and wealth of top 1%, even more of top 0.1%.

     

    We can see from the figure below that increasingly there is greater concentration of income among top 1% and even more so among top 0.1%. In 2012 top 0.1% held 5.1% of national income up from 3.6% in 1998.

    Moving To A Better Equilibrium On Taxation And Spending

    India has not fully translated its democratic vigour into commensurately strong fiscal capacity <As we saw India taxes and spends less among democracies>

    Reform through inaction — Do not increase exemption threshold. As income rises, more people would automatically come into tax net.

    Additional 1.65 crore people would have been in the tax system and tax-GDP would have increased by 0.32% by 2013 if govt had not raised exemption threshold from 1.50 lakh to 2 lakh.

    But beyond this low hanging fruit of not increasing exemption limit, to increase fiscal capacity (tax more) state must also increase it’s legitimacy.

    • Government’s spending priorities must include essential services that all citizens consume: public infrastructure, law and order, less pollution and congestion, etc.<so that middle class does not exit v/s redistribution>
    • Reducing corruption must be a high priority not just because of its economic costs but also because it undermines legitimacy<if citizens think public resources i.e their hard earned money going for taxes is being wasted, they would try to avoid paying taxes>
    • Subsidies to the well-off (1 lakh cr, disccused in chapter 6) need to be scaled back.
    • Tax exemptions Raj which often amount to redistribution towards the richer private sector will also need to be phased out. <govt announced phasing down of exemption and reducing taxes but not much guidance from the budget>
    • Reasonable taxation of the better-off, regardless of where they get their income from—industry, services, real estate, or agriculture–will also help build legitimacy<presently agri income is not taxed and we all know politicians show all their black income as income from agriculture and plantation>
    • Property taxation needs to be developed. Property taxes are especially desirable because they are progressive <rich owns more property, will pay more>, buoyant and difficult to evade, since they are imposed on a non-mobile good, which can with today’s technologies, be relatively easily identified.

    Higher property tax rates can be the foundation of local government’s finances, which can thereby provide local public goods and strengthen democratic accountability and more effective decentralization. It would also put sand in the wheels of property speculation. Smart cities require smart public finance and a sound property taxation regime is vital to India’s urban future.

  • Know Your Services | The Indian Foreign Service

    This blog is a part of the series – Know Your Services @Intro to Civil Services

    Intro

    • IFS is the administrative diplomatic civil service under Group A and Group B of the Central Civil Services
    • It is one of the two premier Civil Services (other being IAS) as appointment to IFS renders a person ineligible to reappear in Civil Services Examination
    • It is a Central Civil service as Foreign policy is the subject matter and prerogative of Union Government
    • The Indian Foreign Service holds the distinction of giving India its- President, Vice President, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Foreign Minister and many distinguished Statesmen in past and present <can you name them in the comments?>

    Training

    • On selection, the new entrants undergo a multi-faceted and comprehensive training programme
    • It gives them a thorough grounding in diplomatic knowledge, diplomatic qualities and diplomatic skills
    • The probationers commence their training, together with their colleagues from the other All India Services, at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussourie
    • Thereafter the probationers join the Foreign Service Institute in New Delhi and undergo focused training in the various disciplines that a career diplomat needs
    • The course involves lectures, attachments with various wings of the Government as well as familiarisation tours both within the country and abroad
    • The aim of this course is to inculcate in the diplomatic recruit a strong sense of history, knowledge of diplomacy and international relations and a grasp of general economic and political principles
    • At the conclusion of the training programme the officer is assigned his/her compulsory foreign language (CFL)
    • After a brief period of desk attachment in the Ministry of External Affairs the officer is posted to an Indian Mission abroad in a country where his CFL is the native language and enrolled in a language course
    • The officer is expected to develop proficiency in his CFL and pass the requisite examination before he is confirmed in service

    Career

    • A Foreign Service Officer begins his career abroad as a Third Secretary and is promoted to Second Secretary as soon as he is confirmed in service
    • Subsequent promotions are to the levels of First Secretary, Counsellor, Ambassador/ High Commissioner/ Permanent Representative <can you tell the difference among the three in the cooments box>
    • Officers can also be posted to Indian Consulates abroad where the hierarchy (going upwards) is Vice-Consul, Consul and Consul General <can you tell the difference b/w consulate and embassy in the comments box>
    • The hierarchy at the Ministry of External Affairs includes 6 stages: Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Director, Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary and Secretary <where does foreign secretary figure in this heirarchy,!? Tell us in the comments below>

    Functions

    As a career diplomat, the Foreign Service Officer is required to project India’s interests, both at home and abroad on a wide variety of issues. These include bilateral political and economic cooperation, trade and investment promotion, cultural interaction, press and media liaison as well as a whole host of multilateral issues.

    The functions of an Indian diplomat may be summarized as:

    • Representing India in its Embassies, High Commissions, Consulates, and Permanent Missions to multilateral organisations like UN
    • Protecting India’s national interests in the country of his/her posting
    • Promoting friendly relations with the receiving state as also its people, including NRI / PIOs
    • Reporting accurately on developments in the country of posting which are likely to influence the formulation of India’s policies
    • Negotiating agreements on various issues with the authorities of the receiving state
    • Extending consular facilities to foreigners and Indian nationals abroad.
    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Transport

    What are the reasons that Inland Waterways contains only 0.1% of the total inland shipping traffic??
    What can be the solutions for development of the inland waterways in India.One classic example of problem is whats going on in SYL Canal issue but want to know some more!

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