In the intro, mention the geopolitical changes the world is going through in the aftermath of covid and the Ukraine war.
In the body, mention the challenges in negotiating at the multilateral platform in the fast polarising world. Mention BRICS and the current contradictions as China tries to hijack it. In the next part, mention G7 focused on the war, next mention G20 and challenges it faces in arriving at solutions to the challenges global order faces today. However, India also has the opportunity to lead the negotiation using its position.
Conclude by mentioning the need to focus on bilateral negotiations.
• Give a brief overview of the Bhakti movement.
• Mention the salient features of the movement in the medieval period.
• Discuss its role in the growth of religious languages in India.
• Conclude on the basis of the above points.
Integrated Approach: UPSC/MPSC-relevant tests | study material |Experienced mentors and dedicated Marathi faculty.
A houseful seminar conducted by CivilsDaily. The foundation stone for a balanced success in UPSC, along with MPSC has been successfully placed in Pune. Yes, Civilsdaily reached Pune.
CivilsDaily recently conducted a Mega Seminar in Pune and it was a full house. The energy and excitement among the aspirants from Maharashtra was exhilarating. As a result of our great success in UPSC 2021, and on the insistence of CivilsDaily’s alumni (ex-rankers) and our students from the state, we have decided to open our first offline center in Maharashtra, in Pune.
Sajal sir felicitaitng CD toppers from Maharashtra
Yes, this is the all-dimensional extension of CD. Whether it is Delhi or Pune, it’s a distinction without a difference. Acknowledging the need to ensure removing the trauma of relocation, the students of Maharashtra face, we will be providing the best preparation and resources to you that too at your place.
With the focus on overall development, Civilsdaily’s dedicated offline mentor teachers group stands by all UPSC & MPSC aspirants without a second thought.
MPSC changes pattern: Aligned with UPSC, to be implemented from 2023
Maharashtra PSC has recently released a notification citing changes in the pattern. Now the main examination will be subjective/descriptive in nature (essay type answers) instead of objective (MCQ type) questions. Also, an Ethics paper has also been introduced, modern history will also be included.
From earlier 6 papers in MPSC Mains now we will have 9 papers, with total marks now standing at 1750 in Mains, closely resembling UPSC’s pattern.
Papers
Subjects
Marks
Nature of papers
Paper 1
Marathi
300
Descriptive (Qualifying)
Paper 2
English
300
Descriptive (Qualifying)
Paper 3
Essay (Marathi or English)
250
Descriptive
Paper 4
GS 1
250
Descriptive
Paper 5
GS 2
250
Descriptive
Paper 6
GS 3
250
Descriptive
Paper 6
GS 4
250
Descriptive
Paper 8
Optional Paper 1
250
Descriptive
Paper 9
Optional Paper 2
250
Descriptive
1750 Marks
Closely resembling the UPSC pattern
Implications of this change
It has certainly made MPSC mains more comprehensive, requiring a wide-based knowledge just like UPSC.
It will be easier for UPSC aspirants to prepare for MPSC and vice-versa.
It improve the percentage of Marathi candidates appearing and clearing UPSC as the paper pattern is almost the same.
It will give equal opportunity to those from rural as well as urban areas. Now every candidate must play on a level playing field.
For those UPSC aspirants who have exhausted their attempts, they would find it easier to appear and crack MPSC.
Aspirants who will reappear in 2023 will have to consider it as a fresh attempt as they have to study almost from scratch.
All these pose an opportunity as well as a challenge for aspirants but for sure it calls for a change in strategy.
CivilsDaily’s performance in UPSC 2021 and an overwhelming number of our Rankers from Maharashtra
UPSC 2021 results were released a few days back and it was a major validation of CivilsDaily’s student-centric approach, personalized mentorship, and commitment to your goal – cracking the UPSC IAS exam.
..amazing observation was the overwhelming number of rankers from Maharashtra.
This was evident from 200+ rankers, including 30+ in the top 50 in the UPSC 2021 exam. Another amazing observation was the overwhelming number of rankers from Maharashtra.
Moreover, we have thousands of CivilsDaily students from the state.
On the insistence of CivilsDaily’s alumni (ex-rankers) and our students from the state, we will be opening our first center in Maharashtra very soon, in Pune.
How is the Pune center going to help UPSC and Civil Services Aspirants from Maharashtra?
Saves you from the trauma of relocation
Aspirants have to leave their home state to Delhi, Karol Bagh for UPSC prep. It seriously dismantles their mental peace and continuity in preparation.
Now you no longer have to leave your state and come to Delhi for UPSC preparation.
Financially
Financially, by saving huge expenditure incurred in Karol Bagh on renting and tuition fees.
Now prepare for both: UPSC and MPSC
Recently the notification for MPSC was released and since the pattern is similar to UPSC now, we will be helping you prepare for MPSC as well.
Live lectures, Offline 1:1 Mentorship, Testing centre in Pune
We will be providing the best classroom lectures; UPSC-relevant tests and study material; experienced mentors and dedicated faculty.
CivilsDaily will always remain committed to a personalized and student-centric approach and will live for its vision of making UPSC and government service exam preparation simpler, effective, result-oriented, and affordable to every aspiring student.
Mega Seminar on 5th July, at Gokhale Institute, Pune: Sajal sir and UPSC Rankers from Maharashtra – was a huge success
We have another seminar planned.
Get a golden chance to meet and discuss 1-1 with Rankers and Sajal sir at Pune center.
Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, the alma mater of Sajal sir and a few other UPSC rankers from CivilsDaily, has acknowledged the good work and has requested us to be hosted by the esteemed institute.
You can meet Sajal sir and rankers there and discuss the strategy and approach required to tackle both MPSC and UPSC.
Venue:
to be shared soon
Date and time: to be shared soon
Feel free to call/WhatsApp for any clarification or details: +91 8668582260.
We are all the more motivated now to churn out more and more rankers from Maharashtra.
UPSC has released DAF I for those who have cleared the Prelims exam and will be writing Mains 2022. Last date to fill your DAF I is 15th July 2022, till 6 pm. You can start filling it out today.
You will need to register yourself on the UPSC website if you have not done already for filling the DAF I.
Smash Mains 2022: Strictly for Rankers and high potential aspirants
Trusted by Rankers, Acknowledged by The Hindu | (Advanced program for Veterans and High Potential candidates) Register now!
We had launched Smash Mains Program for UPSC 2022 earlier this month and now 5 seats are remaining.
If you have appeared for UPSC interview(s) previously and are super close to clearing this exam but Mains is your Achilles heel. Then this is for you.
Smash Mains Program is a highly personalized and intensive handholding program for the crème-de-la-crème (veterans) amongst UPSC aspirants (the intake is 50 students & Last 5 seats are remaining).
Unique Features of the program:
Invite/Register-only
Those who are scoring less marks in GS in mains consistently, need to send your mark sheet and test copy here.
Based on that Sajal sir will select the students.
One-to-one detailed and in-depth interaction with Sajal sir.
China has felt a need to re-visit the various projects under the BRI in different South Asian countries.
Why in news?
At the recently concluded summit of G-7 leaders in Germany, US and his allies unveiled their $600 billion plan called the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Intelligence.
This is being seen as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), valued at a trillion U.S. dollars by some experts.
What is China’s Belt and Road Initiative?
In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia, expressed his vision to build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
He then aimed to break the “bottleneck” in Asian connectivity. This vision led to the birth of the BRI.
The initiative envisioned a Chinese-led investment of over $1 trillion in partner countries by 2025.
More than 60 countries have now joined BRI agreements with China, with infrastructure projects under the initiative being planned or under construction in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.
How does BRI work?
To finance BRI projects, China offers huge loans at commercial interest rates that countries have to pay within a fixed number of years.
The west has accused China of debt-trapping by extending “predatory loans” that force countries to cede key assets to China.
However, research indicates that low and middle-income countries are often the ones to approach China after not being able to secure loans from elsewhere.
In recent years, the BRI seems to have experienced a slowing down as annual Chinese lending to countries slimmed from its peak of $125 billion in 2015 to around $50 to 55 billion in 2021.
What have been the BRI’s investments in Pakistan?
On his 2015 visit to Pakistan, Xi unveiled the BRI’s flagship project and its biggest one in a single country — the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The CPEC envisioned multiple projects involving energy, transport and communication systems.
At the centre of the CPEC was the $700 million development of the city of Gwadar into a smart port city that would become the “Singapore of Pakistan”.
Other major projects are the orange line metro, coal power plants to tackle energy shortages and the Main Line 1 rail project from Peshawar to Karachi.
Pace of progress in Pakistan
Multiple reports have shown that shipping activities at the Gwadar Port is almost negligible so far, with only some trade to Afghanistan.
Gwadar residents have also protested against the large security force deployed to protect Chinese nationals involved in projects.
Chinese nations has also became the target of multiple deadly attacks by Baloch freedom fighters.
Coal plants were set up and managed by Chinese firms to improve the power situation in Pakistan.
Chinese power firms closing down their operations as the latter did not pay dues worth 300 billion in Pakistani rupees (approximately $1.5 billion).
What about Sri Lanka?
In Sri Lanka, multiple infrastructure projects that were being financed by China came under the fold of the BRI after it was launched in 2013.
In 2021, Colombo ejected India and Japan out of a deal to develop the East Container Terminal at the Colombo port and got China to take up the project.
Some BRI projects in Sri Lanka have been described as white elephants — such as the Hambantota port.
The port had always been secondary to the busy Colombo port until the latter ran out of capacity.
Other key projects under BRI include the development of the Colombo International Container Terminal, the Central Expressway and the Hambantota International Airport among others.
Projects in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has not comprehensively been brought into the BRI, despite a MoU being signed with China in 2016.
China had promised investments worth $100 million in Afghanistan which is small in comparison to what it shelled out in other South Asian countries.
The projects have not materialised so far and uncertainties have deepened after the Taliban takeover last year.
Projects in Maldives
Situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Maldives comprises two hundred islands, and both India and China have strategic interests there.
One of the most prominent BRI projects undertaken in the Maldives is the two km long China-Maldives Friendship Bridge — a $200 million four lane bridge.
Most of China’s investment in the Maldives happened under former President Abdullah Yameen, seen as pro-China.
Projects in Bangladesh
Bangladesh, which joined the BRI in 2016, has been promised the second-highest investment (about $40 billion) in South Asia after Pakistan.
It has been able to benefit from the BRI while maintaining diplomatic and strategic ties with both India and China.
It has managed to not upset India by getting India to build infrastructure projects similar to BRI in the country.
BRI projects include Friendship Bridges, special economic zones, the $689.35 million-Karnaphuli River tunnel project, upgradation of the Chittagong port, and a rail line between the port and China’s Yunnan province.
However, multiple projects have been delayed owing to the slow release of funds by China.
India and Australia have decided to strengthen their partnership in the field of projects and supply chains for critical minerals.
What is the news?
Australia has confirmed that it would commit A$5.8 million to the three-year India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership”.
What are Critical Minerals?
Critical minerals are elements that are the building blocks of essential modern-day technologies, and are at risk of supply chain disruptions.
These minerals are now used everywhere from making mobile phones, computers to batteries, electric vehicles and green technologies like solar panels and wind turbines.
Based on their individual needs and strategic considerations, different countries create their own lists.
However, such lists mostly include graphite, lithium, cobalt, rare earths and silicon which is a key mineral for making computer chips, solar panels and batteries.
Aerospace, communications and defence industries also rely on several such minerals as they are used in manufacturing fighter jets, drones, radio sets and other critical equipment.
Why is this resource critical?
As countries around the world scale up their transition towards clean energy and digital economy, these critical resources are key to the ecosystem that fuels this change.
Any supply shock can severely imperil the economy and strategic autonomy of a country over-dependent on others to procure critical minerals.
But these supply risks exist due to rare availability, growing demand and complex processing value chain.
Many times the complex supply chain can be disrupted by hostile regimes, or due to politically unstable regions.
They are critical as the world is fast shifting from a fossil fuel-intensive to a mineral-intensive energy system.
What is China ‘threat’?
China is the world’s largest producer of 16 critical minerals.
China alone is responsible for some 70% and 60% of global production of cobalt and rare earth elements, respectively, in 2019.
The level of concentration is even higher for processing operations, where China has a strong presence across the board.
China’s share of refining is around 35% for nickel, 50-70% for lithium and cobalt, and nearly 90% for rare earth elements.
It also controls cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from where 70% of this mineral is sourced.
In 2010, China suspended rare earth exports to Japan for two months over a territorial dispute.
What are countries around the world doing about it?
US has shifted its focus on expanding domestic mining, production, processing, and recycling of critical minerals and materials.
India has set up KABIL or the Khanij Bidesh India Limited to ensure mineral security of the nation.
Australia’s Critical Minerals Facilitation Office (CMFO) and KABIL had recently signed an MoU aimed at ensuring reliable supply of critical minerals to India.
The UK has unveiled its new Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre to study the future demand for and supply of these minerals.
The Union Environment Ministry proposes to soften the provisions of the EP Act (EPA) by replacing a clause that provides for imprisoning violators with one that only requires them to pay a fine.
Environment Protection Act (EPA), 1986
EP Act was passedunder Article 253 of the Constitution, which empowers the Centre to enact laws to give effect to international agreements signed by the country.
The purpose of the Act is to implement the decisions of the UN Conference on the Human Environment.
They relate to the protection and improvement of the human environment and the prevention of hazards to human beings, other living creatures, plants and property.
It was enacted in 1986 on the backdrop of Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
The Act was last amended in 1991.
Why this Act?
The Act is an “umbrella” legislation that has provided a framework for the environmental regulation regime in India.
It covers all major industrial and infrastructure activities and prohibits and regulates specific activities in coastal areas and eco-sensitive areas.
The Act also provides for coordination of the activities of various central and state authorities established under other environment-related laws, such as the Water Act and the Air Act.
Key provisions
The Environment (Protection) Rules lay down procedures for setting standards of emission or discharge of environmental pollutants.
The objective of Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 is to control the generation, collection, treatment, import, storage, and handling of hazardous waste.
The Manufacture, Storage, and Import of Hazardous Rules define the terms used in this context, and sets up an authority to inspect, once a year.
The Cells Rules,1989 were introduced with a view to protect the environment, nature, and health in connection with the application of gene technology and micro-organisms.
Try this PYQ:
Q. Consider the following statements:
The Environment Protection Act, 1986 empowers the Government of India to
State the requirement of public participation in the process of environmental protection, and the Procedure and manner in which it sought.
Lay down the standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
India’s services firms saw growth in new business and output accelerate to a 11-year high in June, as per the survey-based S&P Global India Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI).
What is the news?
The index rose to 59.2 last month, from 58.9 in May, signalling a strengthening in demand across the services sector, which had borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)
PMI is an indicator of business activity — both in the manufacturing and services sectors.
It is a survey-based measure that asks the respondents about changes in their perception of some key business variables from the month before.
It is calculated separately for the manufacturing and services sectors and then a composite index is constructed.
The PMI is compiled by IHS Markit based on responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers.
How is the PMI derived?
The PMI is derived from a series of qualitative questions.
Executives from a reasonably big sample, running into hundreds of firms, are asked whether key indicators such as output, new orders, business expectations and employment were stronger than the month before and are asked to rate them.
How does one read the PMI?
A figure above 50 denotes expansion in business activity. Anything below 50 denotes contraction.
Higher the difference from this mid-point greater the expansion or contraction. The rate of expansion can also be judged by comparing the PMI with that of the previous month data.
If the figure is higher than the previous month’s then the economy is expanding at a faster rate.
If it is lower than the previous month then it is growing at a lower rate.
What are its implications for the economy?
The PMI is usually released at the start of the month, much before most of the official data on industrial output, manufacturing and GDP growth becomes available.
It is, therefore, considered a good leading indicator of economic activity.
Economists consider the manufacturing growth measured by the PMI as a good indicator of industrial output, for which official statistics are released later.
Central banks of many countries also use the index to help make decisions on interest rates.
The Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment has observed three never-before-seen particles.
What is the discovery?
CERN was investigating the slight differences between matter and antimatter by studying a type of particle called the “beauty quark”, or “b quark”.
The three “exotic” additions — a new kind of “pentaquark” and the first-ever pair of “tetraquarks” — to the growing list of new hadrons were found.
This discovery will help physicists better understand how quarks bind together into these composite particles.
What are Quarks?
Quarks are elementary particles that come in six “flavours”: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom.
They usually combine together in groups of twos and threes to form hadrons such as the protons and neutrons that make up atomic nuclei.
But they can also combine into four-quark and five-quark particles, called tetraquarks and pentaquarks.
These exotic hadrons were predicted by theorists about six decades ago — around the same time as conventional hadrons — but they have been observed by LHCb and other experiments only in the past 20 years.
What about tetraquarks and pentaquarks?
Most exotic hadrons discovered in the past two decades are tetraquarks or pentaquarks.
They contain a charm quark and a charm antiquark — with the remaining two or three quarks being an up, down or strange quark or their antiquarks.
Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska was named as one of four recipients of the prestigious Fields Medal, which is often described as the Nobel Prize in mathematics.
What is Fields Medal?
The Fields Medal is awarded by the International Mathematical Union (IMU), an international non-governmental and non-profit scientific organisation.
It is awarded every four years to one or more mathematicians under the age of 40 in recognition of “outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement”.
The winners are announced at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), which was supposed to be held in Russia this year, but was moved to Helsinki.
Belongings of the award
The honour carries a physical medal of 14K gold, 63.5 mm in diameter and weighing 169 g, and with a unit price of approximately 5,500 Canadian dollars.
There is also a cash award of CAD 15,000.
The obverse of the medal is embossed with the head of Archimedes facing right, and some Latin quotes.
History of the Medal
According to the IMU website, the 1924 ICM in Toronto adopted a resolution that at each conference, two gold medals would be awarded to recognise outstanding mathematical achievement.
The Canadian mathematician Prof J C Fields, who was secretary of the 1924 Congress, later donated funds to establish the medals, which were named in his honour.
In 1966, it was agreed that, in light of the great expansion of mathematical research, up to four medals could be awarded at each Congress.
Indian-origin winners
Among the more than 60 mathematicians who have been awarded the Fields Medal since 1936, there are two of Indian origin.
Akshay Venkatesh of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, won in 2018, the last time the honour was announced.
Manjul Bhargava of the Department of Mathematics at Princeton University was awarded in 2014.
More than seven decades after independence, India still suffers from the public health issues such as child malnutrition attributing to 68.2% of under-five child mortality.
What is malnutrition?
Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients.
The term malnutrition covers 2 broad groups of conditions.
One is ‘undernutrition’—which includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals).
The other is overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer).
Marginal improvement on Stunting and Wasting
The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) has shown marginal improvement in different nutrition indicators, indicating that the pace of progress is slow.
This is despite declining rates of poverty, increased self-sufficiency in food production, and the implementation of a range of government programmes.
Children in several States are more undernourished now than they were five years ago.
Increased stunting in some states: Stunting is defined as low height-for-age.
While there was some reduction in stunting rates (35.5% from 38.4% in NFHS-4) 13 States or Union Territories have seen an increase in stunted children since NFHS-4.
This includes Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Kerala.
Wasting remains stagnant: Wasting is defined as low weight-for-height.
Malnutrition trends across NFHS surveys show that wasting, the most visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition, has either risen or has remained stagnant over the years.
National Nutrition Mission (NNM): Focus on essential nutrition interventions
Government appears determined to set it right — with an aggressive push to the National Nutrition Mission (NNM), rebranding it the Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition, or POSHAN.
Window of opportunity: The Ministry of Women and Child (MWCD) continues to be the nodal Ministry implementing the NNM with a vision to align different ministries to work in tandem on the “window of opportunity” of the first 1,000 days in life (270 days of pregnancy and 730 days; 0-24 months).
POSHAN Abhiyaan (now referred as POSHAN 2.0) rightly places a special emphasis on selected high impact essential nutrition interventions, combined with nutrition-sensitive interventions, which indirectly impact mother, infant and young child nutrition, such as improving coverage of maternal-child health services, enhancing women empowerment, availability, and access to improved water, sanitation, and hygiene and enhancing homestead food production for a diversified diet.
Key findings of NHFS-5 data
Data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 2019-21, as compared to NFHS-4 2015-16, reveals a substantial improvement in a period of four to five years in several proxy indicators of women’s empowerment.
No progress on nutritional intervention: Alarmingly, during this period, the country has not progressed well in terms of direct nutrition interventions.
Preconception nutrition, maternal nutrition, and appropriate infant and child feeding remain to be effectively addressed.
India has 20% to 30% undernutrition even in the first six months of life when exclusive breastfeeding is the only nourishment required.
Neither maternal nutrition care interventions nor infant and young child feeding practices have shown the desired improvement.
Suggestions
Child undernutrition in the first three months remains high. Creating awareness on EBF, promoting the technique of appropriate holding, latching and manually emptying the breast are crucial for the optimal transfer of breast milk to a baby.
Complementary feeding: NFHS-5 also confirms a gap in another nutrition intervention — complementary feeding practices, i.e., complementing semi-solid feeding with continuation of breast milk from six months onwards.
The fact that 20% of children in higher socio- economic groups are also stunted indicates poor knowledge in food selection and feeding practices and a child’s ability to swallow mashed feed.
Creating awareness: So, creating awareness at the right time with the right tools and techniques regarding special care in the first 1,000 days deserves very high priority.
Revisit nodal system for nutrition program: There is a need to revisit the nodal system for nutrition programme existing since 1975, the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) under the Ministry of Women and Child and examine whether it is the right system for reaching mother-child in the first 1000 days of life.
Alternative way to distribute ICDS supplies: There is also a need to explore whether there is an alternative way to distribute the ICDS supplied supplementary nutrition as Take- Home Ration packets through the Public Distribution (PDS) and free the anganwadi workers of the ICDS to undertake timely counselling on appropriate maternal and child feeding practices.
Conclusion
It is time to think out of the box, and overcome systemic flaws and our dependence on the antiquated system of the 1970s that is slowing down the processes.
At a time when the world is trying to grapple with the impact of unprecedented problems which arose in the first two decades of the 21st century, the various intergovernmental organisations and groupings, which are undergoing fundamental changes, may not be fertile places for building peace.
Contradiction in the BRICS
The 14th virtual BRICS summit hosted by China (June 23-24) was a clear attempt by China to hijack the grouping, going by a blueprint it has prepared for the new world order.
Not a political grouping: BRICS was not meant to be a political grouping when the acronym, BRIC, was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in 2001.
Economic grouping: Seeing the possibility of developing a non-western global economic system, China welcomed the idea of BRICS as the nucleus of a new economic grouping and invested energy and resources in building it.
Two permanent members of the Security Council together with three aspirants to permanent membership underscored the contradictions in composition.
No support for permanent membership: The fundamental question of support for the three countries to secure permanent membership was fossilised on China’s position that the role of the developing countries should be enhanced, implying that there shall be no expansion of the permanent membership of the Security Council.
But the grouping focused on possibilities of cooperation among them by developing institutions such as the New Development Bank, the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement and cooperation in certain sectors.
India-China relations: The entire fragile framework of limited cooperation was shattered with the bloodshed at Galwan, when China unilaterally sought to alter the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
China showed no enthusiasm to bring India into the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) even after India met the criteria of a liberalised economy.
Expansion for friends: The way China brought in 13 like-minded countries through the back door for a high-level dialogue on global development smacked of unfair means to expand the group with their friends.
What was achieved by India at G7 meeting
India’s presence at G7 meetings are not rare and Germany invited the India to attend the G7 summit in Bavaria.
The G7 made its own statement on the Ukraine war on expected lines and India was only involved in other issues such as environment, energy, climate, food security, health, gender equality and democracy.
Since it was a war summit, it did not produce any results on other major issues.
Curtailing energy supplies from Russia would hurt Germany, France, Japan and others, but they could not get any exemption.
India’s gain has been the opportunity it got to interact with world leaders, though it was tinged with the disappointment that India, as a Quad member, did not condemn Russia’s action in Ukraine.
Conclusion
Multilateral negotiations will be increasingly difficult in the present chaotic global situation. It is only by working bilaterally with potential allies that India can attain the status of a pole in the new world with steadfast friends and followers.
There has been an uproar about the working papers of the IMF and World Bank, reporting no or low poverty for India in the pandemic year or just before that.
About the IMF paper
The paper by Roy and Weide (2022) for the World Bank explores the possibility of using CMIE (unemployment data) in poverty calculations after correcting for the unrepresentative character of its panel data by modifying the weightages of households for aggregation.
These adjustments carried out to remove the non-convergence of the CMIE data with other macro statistics have resulted in a poverty figure of 12 per cent.
What does the poverty index measure or attempt to capture?
Its construction involves complex calculations — to identify a poverty basket of consumption, working out price indices for updation of the poverty line and then applying it to the income or consumption of households for determining their poverty status.
Absence of consumption expenditure: The computation becomes far more challenging in the absence of data on consumption expenditure as is the case in India and several developing countries.
Intending to provide inputs for policy making, researchers have evolved ingenious methods of estimating the data, using past datasets and those that have not been designed to get robust expenditure estimates.
Background of poverty line in India
A nine-member working group set up by the Planning Commission proposed the poverty line at Rs 20 per capita per month in the early Sixties, loosely ensuring the adequacy of minimum requirements.
Poverty line based on calorie needs: Dandekar and Rath (1970) went into detail about minimum calorie needs, based on the average consumption pattern.
Issues with calorie based poverty line: During the Eighties and Nineties, it was realised that this linkage is getting blurred due to changes in the consumption pattern, microenvironment for living, etc.
Sukhatme argued that the emphasis on calories and nutrition is misplaced as the absorption of nutrients depends on physical health, particularly the presence or absence of gastrointestinal diseases.
Water and sanitation facilities were noted as important in determining the poverty line.
It was accepted that the state, through poverty interventions, cannot and should not try to guarantee adequate nutrition to people.
Delinking the nutritional norms: The Tendulkar Committee formally announced delinking of nutritional norms from poverty in 2010.
Extrapolating the consumption expenditure on NSS 2011-12
Bhalla, Virmani and Bhasin (2022) in their IMF Working Paper have developed a method of interpolation and extrapolation of the consumption expenditure of the NSS 2011-12 and building a series up to 2019-20.
They use the growth rate of private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) but bring in the distributional changes by allowing household consumption to grow as per the nominal per capita income in each state.
Takes into account rural-urban price difference: Rural-urban price differences are also introduced through separate poverty lines.
The method is reasonable except that it assumes the distributions to remain unchanged both within the rural and urban segments in each state over 2014-20.
Also, the growth rates of different commodities in the PFCE are significantly different and hence commodity-wise adjustments can be done to give higher weights to the items of consumption by the poor.
Taking into account the role of state: The most significant contribution of the study is its bringing in the differential engagement of the state in the provisioning of the essentials to the poor into poverty calculations.
This opens up the possibility of changes in the level of state engagement in poverty estimation, including free gas cylinders, etc.
Conclusion
People find the World Bank paper figures pegged at 12% more acceptable not because of the methodology but the magnitude. One does not know whether the poverty estimate would be a bit higher had the adjustments been carried out for a few other parameters and also at the state level.
GS-1 Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone. etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
GS-2 Health and Education
GS-3 Indian Economy
GS-4 Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
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If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th February is uploaded on 11th February then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th February is uploaded on 13th February , then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.
In the intro, mention the completion of 5 years of GST regime.
In the body, mention the achievements of the GST regime and issues such as low revenue neutral rate, compensation for states etc. In the next part mention various suggestions such as bringing fuel and ATF, real estate in the ambit of GST, rationalisation of rates, reducing the number of slabs, increasing the compliance etc.
Conclude by mentioning the need for continuous improvement in the GST regime to make it a good and simple tax.
In the intro, mention the recent US Supreme Court judgement in which Roe V. Wade judgement was overturned.
In the body mention that India had enacted the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971 even before the Roe V. Wade judgement in 1973. In the next part, explain the implications of the overturning of the judgement for reproductive rights in the US. In the next part, mention the provision of MTP Act and its shortcomings.
Conclude by mentioning that reproductive rights must be viewed from legal, medical and social perspectives and there is scope for improvement in all three in case of India.
