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1st February (Wednesday) at 7:30 PM | UPSC webinar on How to utilize the last 4 months (120 Days) before UPSC Prelims 2023 by Zeeshan sir | Get Free Prelims Notes on Registration

Last 120 Days’ Preparation will decide if you are writing UPSC Mains 2023 or not.

The UPSC Prelims 2023 is just knocking at the door because UPSC-CSE 2023 notification is out. The majority of candidates are about to finish their syllabus, which includes reading books and newspapers, taking notes, attending classes, taking practice exams, and—most importantly—psychologically preparing for the exam.

But, these are not enough to clear UPSC Prelims in 2023.

Zeeshan sir, a senior IAS mentor who helped many to crack UPSC Prelims with 120+ marks often says, “When time is limited, you must maintain more balance between learning and execution.”

In this case, 2 different rock-steady strategies are the only things that are required for…
- GS Paper
- CSAT Paper
And in such a situation even a veteran fails to manage time for both papers. On the other hand, you can’t value your time without a workable strategy.

You can neither afford to fail UPSC Prelims 2023 nor regret it later. Don’t miss the super important session by Zeeshan sir

Know how to utilize the last 120 days before UPSC Prelims 2023 and get a Master Timetable with strategy

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Webinar DETAILS:

Topic: 4 months’ rock-steady strategy for UPSC Prelims 2023.

Date and Time: 1st February (Wednesday) at 7:30 PM

Link: Zoom link will be shared on email post registration

Key takeaways: How to make a timetable for UPSC?
- What should be your approach for the next 4 months even if you have not covered the entire syllabus for the preparation for UPSC 2023? Strategy for the next 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and the last 30 days will be shared with you.
- How to divide your time for both GS and CSAT papers?
- How to cover uncovered and revise segment-wise?
- How to cover the UPSC syllabus? The syllabus, and not the books, must be completed. Focussing on the essentials first.
- Time management: You just need to invest 5 to 6 hours per day effectively for UPSC’s success. How to effectively manage preparation time? Update your timetable and set new revision targets.
- Managing UPSC preparation with a serious time crunch; job – working professionals, college students, and family (especially for homemaker aspirants)
- He made a UPSC trend analysis and based on that decoded the expectations and pattern of UPSC 2023. Zeeshan sir will share 10 essential themes for the upcoming exams that one must not ignore whether it’s UPSC Prelims 2023.
- Short-time smart Revision techniques that are common, standard, and used frequently. What exactly are they?
- How to take full advantage of the FREE CivilsDaily’s Preparatory Package and personalized mentorship session
You can neither afford to fail UPSC Prelims 2023 nor regret it later. Don’t miss the super important session.

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Feedback on Zeeshan sir’s mentorship by AIR 65, Pranav (from Quora: https://qr.ae/pvH4yA)

CivilsDaily’s FREE Webinar package

Post-webinar we will share important PDFs, timetable framework, and notes.

Other than this a strategy package will be emailed to you.

What The Hindu mentioned about Civilsdaily Mentorship

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February 1, 2023

History, Significance of President’s Address

president

President Droupadi Murmu addressed the joint sitting of Parliament for the first time after assuming the position.

Mains PYQ: The President’s address is one of the most solemn occasions in the Parliamentary calendar. Discuss. Highlight its importance in Parliamentary Democracy. (250W)

President’s Address: What is the history?

United Kingdom: The tradition of the monarch addressing the Parliament began in the 16th century.
United States: President Gorge Washington addressed Congress for the first time in 1790.

President’s Address in India

(A) Colonial period

GoI Act, 1919: In India, the practice of the President addressing Parliament was established after the promulgation of the Government of India Act in 1919.
Governor General’s address: This law gave the GG the right of addressing the Legislative Assembly and the Council of State.
No joint address: The law did not have a provision for a joint address but the Governor-General did address the Assembly and the Council together on multiple occasions.
During constituent assembly: Between 1947 and 1950, there was NO address to the Constituent Assembly (Legislative).

(B) After the enactment of Constitution

After the Constitution came into force, President Rajendra Prasad (after taking over from Dr Sachchidananda Sinha) addressed members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for the first time on January 31, 1950.
When the Constitution came into force, the President was required to address each session of Parliament. The Constitution gave the President and the Governor the power to address a sitting of the legislature.

Article 87: It provides two special occasions on which the President addresses a joint sitting. The first is to address the opening session of a new legislature after a general election. The second is to address the first sitting of Parliament each year. A session of a new or continuing legislature cannot begin without fulfilling this requirement.
Making it an annual affair: So during the provisional Parliament in 1950, President Prasad gave an address before every session. In 1951, the First Amendment to the Constitution changed this and made the President’s address an annual affair.

What is the procedure and tradition?

Motion of Thanks: After the President’s address, the two Houses move a motion to thank the President for her speech.
Debate on the speech: This is an occasion for MPs in the two Houses to have a broad debate on governance in the country.
PM addresses the questions: The issues raised by MPs are then addressed by the Prime Minister, who also replies to the motion of thanks.
Unanimous voting: The motion is then put to vote and MPs can express their disagreement by moving amendments to the motion.
Scope for Amendment: Opposition MPs have been successful in getting amendments passed to the motion of thanks in Rajya Sabha on five occasions, including in 1980, 1989, 2001, 2015 and 2016.

Do you know?

The Motion of Thanks must be passed in Parliament. Otherwise, it amounts to the defeat of the government. It is one of the ways through which the Lok Sabha can also express a lack of confidence in the government.

Content of the address

There is no set format for the President’s or Governor’s speech.
During the making of the Constitution, Prof K T Shah wanted the President’s address to be more specific.
He suggested that the language be changed to specify that the President shall inform Parliament “on the general state of the Union including financial proposals, and other particular issues of policy he deems suitable for such address”.
His proposal took inspiration from the US Constitution.
But the Constituent Assembly didn’t accept Prof Shah’s amendment.

What is the government’s role?

Written by the government: The President’s speech is essentially the govt. viewpoint and is also written by the government itself.
Inputs from various ministries: Usually, in December, the Prime Minister’s Office asks the various ministries to start sending in their inputs for the speech.
Collation of information: The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs sends a message, asking ministries to give information about any legislative proposals that need to be included in the President’s address. All this information is collated and shaped into a speech, which is then delivered to the President.
Role of Lok Sabha Secretariat: The address is an event, associated with ceremony and protocol, and the Lok Sabha Secretariat makes extensive arrangements for it.

Significance of the address

Policy announcements: The President’s address serves as a platform for the government to make policy and legislative announcements.
Report card of the government: It highlights the government’s accomplishments from the previous year and sets the broad governance agenda for the coming year.

What if the President disagrees with the text of the speech?

Ans. It is CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATION on the President.

The President or Governor cannot refuse to perform the constitutional duty of delivering an address to the legislature.
But there can be situations when they deviate from the text of the speech prepared by the government.
So far, there have been no instances of a President doing so.

Recent instances of defiance

Ans. States vs. Governors

There have been occasions when a Governor skipped or changed a portion of the address to the Assembly.
Most recently, Tamil Nadu’s Governor made changes to the prepared speech he read out in the Assembly.
TN Chief Minister had to step in and move a resolution, which demanded that only the original speech given to the Governor be put in records.
In 2020, Kerala Governor, during his address to the Assembly, stopped before reading out his speech’s paragraph 18, which related to the Kerala government’s opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Why it is so cherished in democracy?

Parliament as a unit: The President’s address is one of the most solemn occasions in the Parliamentary calendar. It is the only occasion in the year when the entire Parliament, i.e. the President, Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha come together.
Ceremonial event: The event is associated with ceremony and protocol. The Lok Sabha Secretariat prepares extensively for this annual event.
Grandeur: In the past, it used to get 150 yards of red baize cloth from the President’s house for the ceremonial procession.

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February 1, 2023

Vishakhapatnam is Andhra Pradesh’s new Capital
Visakhapatnam will be the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, announced the Chief Minister.

AP’s move for three capitals
- AP had introduced a ‘Three Capitals Act’ titled Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020.
- Thus, it was decided that:
1. Amaravati was to be the Legislative capital
2. Visakhapatnam the Executive capital and
3. Kurnool the Judicial capital
- However, the Andhra Pradesh High Court repealed this Act citing that the legislature has no competence to enact any law for shifting the three organs of the capital.
Concerns raised by AP government
- AP contended that the judgement was in violation of the basic structure of the Constitution as the HC cannot hold that the State does not have the powers to decide on its capital.
- The judgement was against the doctrine of separation of powers as it sought to preempt the legislature from taking up the issue (of three capitals).
- Further, it is argued that under the federal structure of the Constitution, every State has an inherent right to determine where it should carry out its capital functions from.
Reasons for AP’s consideration

(1) Viable option of Visakhapatnam
- Vizag always had been the biggest city, after Hyderabad, even in the combined State.
- It has all the settings to become a good living space.
(2) Sri Krishna panel recommendations
- The advantages and qualities of Visakhapatnam to become the capital was elaborately deliberated by the Sri Krishna Committee to study the alternatives for a new capital for the State of Andhra Pradesh.
- Coming to suggestion for the alternative capital, the Committee primarily took up three things for consideration — creation of single city or super city in greenfield location, expanding existing cities and distributed development.
(3) Decentralisation
- This idea was elaborately described in the Sri Bagh pact.
- The pact clearly defined decentralisation, for the benefit of all three main regions such as Coastal AP, Godavari and Krishna districts and Rayalaseema.
Major practical problems
- Continuum of work: The government argues that the Assembly meets only after gaps of several months, and government Ministers, officers, and staff can simply go to Amaravati when required.
- Logistics nightmare: coordinating between seats of legislature and executive in separate cities will be easier said than done.
- Time and costs of travel: The distances in Andhra Pradesh are not inconsiderable. Executive capital Visakhapatnam is 700 km from judicial capital Kurnool, and 400 km from legislative capital Amaravati.
Examples of multi-capital states in India
- Among Indian states, Maharashtra has two capitals– Mumbai and Nagpur (which holds the winter session of the state assembly).
- Himachal Pradesh has capitals at Shimla and Dharamshala (winter).
- The former state of Jammu & Kashmir had Srinagar and Jammu (winter) as capitals where Darbar Move is carried out.
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February 1, 2023
Artform in news: Shumang Leela
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in TH.

Shumang Leela
- Shumang Leela is a unique traditional form of theatre in Manipur.
- The tradition is believed to be descended from Lai Haraoba, a ritual of the Meitei community of Manipur.
Types of this dance

Shumang Leela is of two types:
1. Nupa Shumang Leela: It performed only by men. Here the roles of women are all played by men, called Nupi Shabis.
2. Nupi Shumang Leela: It performed only by women and the roles of men are played by women.
Performance details
- The plays serve as a medium to spread awareness among people of social, political and economic issues. Shumang Leelas may also discuss moral values, unity and integrity.
- This theatre form has for long been trying to strengthen the bond of brotherhood and friendship among various communities in the State.
Significance of the art
- In a society marked by heteronormativity, the gender-bending nature of Shumang Leela makes it a unique art form that is fraught with complexity.
- The men who take up female roles or vice versa are highly appreciated and laughed at.
- The traditional theatre form has preserved its original form, and its aim to inform and entertain has remained unchanged.
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February 1, 2023
Project ELLORA to preserve ‘rare’ Indian languages with AI
Microsoft’s Project ELLORA is helping small languages like Gondi, Mundari become eloquent for the digital world.

Project ELLORA
- To bring ‘rare’ Indian languages online, Microsoft launched the Project ELLORA or Enabling Low Resource Languages in 2015.
- Under the project, researchers are building digital resources of the languages.
- They say that their purpose is to preserve a language for posterity so that users of these languages “can participate and interact in the digital world.”
How is ELLORA creating a language dataset?
- The researchers are mapping out resources, including printed literature, to create a dataset to train their AI model.
- The team is also working with these communities on the project.
- By involving the community in the data collection process, researchers hope to create a dataset that is both accurate and culturally relevant.
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February 1, 2023
Possibility of global recession?
Context
- There have recently been growing concerns about the global economy slipping into recession. These concerns were primarily triggered by the contraction of the US economy, observed in the first half of 2022. Negative growth in two consecutive quarters is commonly but not officially used as an indication of recession.
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Background: Status of the US economy
- First and second quarter of 2022: As reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the US real Gross Domestic Product (GDP adjusted for inflation) decreased at an annual rate of 1.6 per cent and 0.6 per cent in the first and second quarters of 2022, respectively.
- Third quarter: In the third quarter, however, the US economy grew by 3.2 per cent, signalling a significant recovery.
- Fourth quarter: The latest BEA advance estimates show that the US real GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.9 per cent in the fourth quarter.
- Expansion of US economy a positive sign: Despite the slight decrease from the third quarter, the continued expansion of the US economy at the end of 2022 marks a positive sign, soothing concerns about a recession in 2023.
Economic recovery of the US economy
- Positive growth in fourth quarter: The positive growth in the fourth quarter can primarily be attributed to consumer spending, which increased by an annualised rate of 2.1 per cent, and private inventory investment that showed an upturn in 2022. Although a significant decline from the 5.9 per cent increase in 2021, the difference accounts for the enthused post-Covid economic recovery in 2021.
- The US labour market continues to remain robust: The unemployment rate was recorded at a low of 3.5 per cent in December 2022, matching the pre-pandemic levels. Also, the total non-farm payroll employment increased by 2,23,000 in December, exceeding the Dow Jones estimate of 2,00,000.
- Inflation has eased: While the labour market remains tight, US inflation has eased in the last few months. Consumer prices fell 0.1 per cent in December the largest month-over-month decrease since April 2020, due to reductions in motor vehicle and gasoline prices.
- Layoffs not yet translated into rise in jobless claims: Although not a perfect association, the decline in jobless claims in January shows that the mass layoffs in recent weeks, particularly in the tech sector, have not yet translated into a rise in claims, suggesting the possibility of finding new jobs.
- The reopening of China’s borders can have positive implications for the global economy: As China resumes its economic activities to pre-Covid levels by boosting growth, domestic consumption is expected to increase significantly. With the ease of trans-border movement and eventual increase in exports of consumer and industrial goods, global trade is expected to strengthen as well.
What is Recession?
- A recession is a significant decline in economic activity that lasts for months or even years.
- Experts declare a recession when a nation’s economy experiences negative GDP, rising levels of unemployment, falling retail sales, and contracting measures of income and manufacturing for an extended period of time.
- Recessions are considered an unavoidable part of the business cycle or the regular cadence of expansion and contraction that occurs in a nation’s economy.
Possibility of a global recession
- Elevated inflation continues to be a cause for global concern: Despite the fall in consumer prices, the headline CPI for the US showed an annual increase of 6.5 per cent in December 2022. In spite of the slow-paced increase in headline CPI, persistent elevation in core inflation excluding food and energy continues to be a major issue across economies.
- Interest Rate Hikes on the Horizon: Consequently, the central banks are expected to continue with interest rate hikes in the coming months. On an annualised level, the CPI inflation in Australia also jumped to 7.8 per cent in the 2022 fourth quarter, increasing the likelihood of respective interest rate hikes as well.
- China’s Impact on Commodity Prices: Moreover, an increase in China’s demand for goods post-reopening could drive up commodity prices, thereby creating an inflationary impact. For instance, China’s increased demand for natural gas would mean more competition with the European market, leading to higher commodity prices that can put further inflationary pressures on Europeans already dealing with high energy bills.
- Higher borrowing costs: Rising interest rates would incur even higher borrowing costs that could dampen consumer spending. While sectors sensitive to high borrowing costs such as housing and construction have slowed down significantly.
Conclusion
- Among the positive signs are the continued expansion of the US economy and the reopening of China’s borders. Rising inflation remains a cause for global concern. However, prevalence of mixed signals suggests that the onset and depth of a global recession in 2023 are not certain.
Mains question

Q. Highlight the current situation of global economies. Discuss if there’s a global recession in 2023?

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January 31, 2023
Its high time to focus on Mental Health
Context
- Suicides rates in India are amongst the highest when compared to other countries at the same socio-economic level. According to WHO, India’s suicide rate in 2019, at 12.9/1,00,000, was higher than the regional average of 10.2 and the global average of 9.0. Suicide has become the leading cause of death among those aged 15–29 in India.
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Background: Mental Health
- While every precious life lost through suicide is one too many, it represents only the tip of the mental health iceberg in the country, particularly among young adults. Women tend to suffer more.
- Across the world, the prevalence of some mental health disorders is consistently higher among women as compared to men.
Prevalence of Mental ill-health
- The pandemic has further exacerbated the problem: Globally, it might have increased the prevalence of depression by 28 per cent and anxiety by 26 per cent in just one year between 2020 and 2021, according to a study published in Lancet.
- Increased among younger age groups: Again, the large increases have been noted among younger age groups, stemming from uncertainty and fear about the virus, financial and job losses, grief, increased childcare burdens, in addition to school closures and social isolation.
- Use of social media exacerbating the stress: Increased use of certain kinds of social media is also exacerbating stress for young people. Social media detracts from face-to-face relationships, which are healthier, and reduces investment in meaningful activities. More importantly, it erodes self-esteem through unfavourable social comparison.
Socio-economic implications of Mental ill-health
- People living in poverty are at greater risks: Mental ill health is a leading cause of disability globally and is closely linked to poverty in a vicious cycle of disadvantage. People living in poverty are at greater risk of experiencing such conditions.
- People experiencing mental health problems likely to fall in poverty: On the other hand, people experiencing severe mental health conditions are more likely to fall into poverty through loss of employment and increased health expenditure.
- Stigma and discrimination: Stigma and discrimination often further undermine their social support structures. This reinforces the vicious cycle of poverty and mental ill-health.
- Higher income inequality has high prevalence of ill mental ill health: Not surprisingly, countries with greater income inequalities and social polarization have been found to have a higher prevalence.
Approach to protect, promote and care for the mental health of people?
- Killing the deep stigma surrounding mental health issues: The first step should be killing the deep stigma which prevents patients from seeking timely treatment and makes them feel shameful, isolated and weak. Stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light. We need a mission to cut through this darkness and shine a light.
- Making Mental health an integral part of public health programme: There is need to make mental health an integral part of the public health programme to reduce stress, promote a healthy lifestyle, screen and identify high-risk groups and strengthen interventions like counselling services. Special emphasis will need to be given to schools.
- Paying attention to highly vulnerable: In addition, we should pay special attention to groups that are highly vulnerable because of the issues such as victims of domestic or sexual violence, unemployed youth, marginal farmers, armed forces personnel and personnel working under difficult conditions.
- Creating a strong infrastructure for mental health care and treatment: Lack of effective treatment and stigma feed into each other. Currently, only 20-30 per cent of people with such disorders receive adequate treatment.
- Mental health services should be made affordable for all: Improved coverage without corresponding financial protection will lead to inequitable service uptake and outcomes. All government health assurance schemes, including Ayushman Bharat, should cover the widest possible range.
Why is the wide treatment gap?
- One major reason for a wide treatment gap is the problem of inadequate resources.
- Less than two per cent of the government health budget, which itself is the lowest among all G20 countries, is devoted to mental health issues.
- There is a severe shortage of professionals, with the number of psychiatrists in the country being less than those in New York City, according to one estimate.
- Substantial investments will be needed to address the gaps in the health infrastructure and human resources.
- Currently, most private health insurance covers only a restricted number of mental health conditions. Similarly, the list of essential medicines includes only a limited number of WHO-prescribed medications.
Conclusion
- We need an urgent and well-resourced whole of society approach to protecting, promoting and caring for the mental health of our people, like we did for the Covid pandemic. Brock Chisholm, the first Director General of WHO, famously said, “there is no health without mental health”.
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January 31, 2023
31st Jan 2023 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

[WpProQuiz 1228]

[WpProQuiz_toplist 1228]

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January 31, 2023
[Burning issue] 4th Industrial Revolution
Context
- The World Economic Forum (WEF, as announced earlier, chose Hyderabad as the location for its Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), which will focus on healthcare and life sciences.
- In this context, this edition of the burning issue will talk about C4IR, the 4^th industrial revolution and India’s readiness to embrace it.
Objective of setting the ‘Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (C4IR)
- The C4IR Hyderabad will be an autonomous, non-profit organization and the only such World Economic Forum in India with a thematic focus on healthcare and life sciences.
- The C4IR Hyderabad will facilitate, advance and accelerate the development and adoption of newer technologies including genomics, personalized medicine and healthcare manufacturing, with a focus on the interplay between life sciences and technology in the region and globally.
- It will be the 18th center to join WEF’s Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) network that spans four continents.
What is industrial revolution 4.0?
- According to the Executive Chairman of WEF, Klaus Schwab, “the fourth industrial revolution is a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate to one another”.
- It is the information-intensive transformation of manufacturing and related industries into smart factories.
- It involves the integration of some of the key emerging technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI).
Four integral design principles of Industry 4.0
- Technical assistance: The ability of the system to assist humans in decision-making, problem-solving, and helping humans with difficult or unsafe tasks.
- Information transparency: Sharing immense amounts of data and information among the components, to instantly adjust and optimize for higher efficiency.
- Decentralized decisions: The ability of cyber-physical systems to make decisions on their own and to perform their tasks as autonomously as possible.
- Interconnection: The ability of devices and people to connect and communicate with each other through the Internet of things.
The Previous three industrial revolutions
- 1^st industrial revolution: The first Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the last quarter of the 18th century with the mechanization of the textile industry, the harnessing of steam power, and the birth of the modern factory.
- 2^nd industrial revolution: The Second Industrial Revolution, from the last third of the nineteenth century to the outbreak of World War I, was powered by developments in electricity, transportation, chemicals, steel, and mass production and consumption. Industrialization spread even further – to Japan after the Meiji Restoration and deep into Russia, which was booming at the outset of World War I. During this era, factories could produce countless numbers of identical products quickly and cheaply.
- 3^rd industrial revolution: The third industrial revolution, beginning c. 1970, was digital — and applied electronics and information technology to processes of production. Mass customization and additive manufacturing — the so-called ‘3D printing’ — are its key concepts, and its applications, yet to be imagined fully, are quite mind-boggling.
How different will be the 4^th industrial revolution?

There are three reasons why today’s transformations represent not merely a prolongation of the Third Industrial Revolution but rather the arrival of a Fourth and distinct one: velocity, scope, and systems impact.
- The speed aspect: The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace.
- The scope aspect: it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance.
- The system aspect: The 4^th revolution will be characterized by the advent of cyber-physical systems which, while being reliant on the technologies and infrastructure of the third industrial revolution, represent entirely new ways in which technology becomes embedded within societies and even our human bodies. Examples include genome editing, new forms of machine intelligence, and breakthrough approaches to governance that rely on cryptographic methods such as blockchain.
- Hence, it can be said that the 4^th industrial revolution is conceptualized as an upgrade on the third revolution and is marked by a fusion of technologies straddling the physical, digital and biological worlds.
Benefits of Industrial Revolution 4.0
- Improve the quality of life: Like the revolutions that preceded it, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to raise global income levels and improve the quality of life for populations around the world.
- Enhance productivity: Industry 4.0 technologies enable can lead to optimizing resource allocation, reducing downtime and improving production rates, which makes the manufacturing processes more cost-effective and efficient.
- Cost efficiency: Transportation and communication costs will drop, logistics and global supply chains will become more effective, and the cost of trade will diminish, all of which will open new markets and drive economic growth.
- Knowledge Sharing and Collaborative Working: Industry 4.0 technologies allow your production lines, business processes, and departments to communicate regardless of location, time zone, platform, or any other factor. Hence, it will facilitate smoother integration of India into the global supply chain. Faster communication and cheaper production technologies can ensure smoother integration of India into the global supply chain. India’s automotive manufacturing sector is a leading user of IR 4.0 technologies.
- Employment generation: Though the fear of job loss due to Industry 4.0 is widespread, various research points out that is baseless. The Future of Jobs Report 2018 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts the loss of 75 million employments by 2022 worldwide and the production of 133 million occupations over a similar period.
Challenges to 4IR
- Cybersecurity issues may increase: In IR 4.0, People, products and equipment will be increasingly connected to the internet. Although this gives us greater access to data via the cloud, it opens up opportunities for hackers to access networks.
- Reduce the number of low-skill jobs: Manufacturing, and industry as a whole, continues to rely on humans to enable production. However, the move to digitally connected systems may unintentionally reduce the need for low-skill labor.
- Industry and Market Disruption: With the new technologies of 4IR, industries that are not able to move with the change will not be unable to survive what Industry 4.0 brings to market.
- The rise in social inequalities: With this revolution will give rise to a job market increasingly segregated into low-skill/low-pay and high-skill/high-pay segments, which in turn will lead to an increase in social tensions. In India, where digital literacy is dismal, a revolution of this sort can lead to a sharp rise in inequalities.
Challenges specific to India
- Deficiency of Infrastructure & internet Connectivity: Besides digital infrastructure, the country lacks some basic infrastructure such as 24×7 power, high-speed internet (especially in rural areas) and a workforce with the necessary skill set.
- Quality of data: Due to a lack of established data collection standards and a large informal sector, India is unreliable when it comes to the quality of data collected
- Limited focus on Research and Development: Though India has emerged as the choice location for cutting-edge Research and Development (R&D) projects for global companies, the overall spending on it remains dismal.
Steps taken by Government
- SAMARTH Udyog Bharat 4.0: Smart Advanced Manufacturing and Rapid Transformation Hub (SAMARTH) Udyog Bharat 4.0 is an Industry 4.0 initiative of the Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industry & Public Enterprises. It seeks to facilitate and create an ecosystem for the propagation of Industry 4.0 set of technologies in every Indian manufacturing by 2025, be it MNC, large, medium, or small-scale Indian company.
- Centre of Excellence (CoE) on IT for Industry 4.0: This CoE would act as a knowledge center for entrepreneurs and startups, propagating the concept of IT and its application in IR 4.0.
- Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution: World Economic Forum has opened its 4th center for Fourth Industrial Revolution in Mumbai. It is the fourth in the world after San Francisco, Tokyo and Beijing. It will work in collaboration with NITI Aayog in India to co-design new policies and protocols for emerging technologies. The initial focus of India will be on Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and drones.
- National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS): Launched by the Union government in 2018, it was implemented by the Department of Science &Technology.The Mission addresses the ever-increasing technological requirements of society and takes into account the international trends and road maps of leading countries for the next generation of technologies.
- National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence: Under the strategy, NITI Aayog has adopted a three-pronged approach – undertaking exploratory proof-of-concept AI projects in various areas, crafting a national strategy for building a vibrant AI ecosystem in India and collaborating with various experts and stakeholders.
What is The Global Lighthouse Network?
- The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with McKinsey, launched the Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) in 2018 to identify organizations and technologies in the vanguard of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
- A lighthouse (in this context) is a manufacturing site that has successfully implemented 4IR technologies at scale, with a significant operational impact.
- Today, 103 lighthouses—such as Tata Steel’s plant in Kalinganagar, India, and select Henkel Laundry & Home Care production sites—have been identified around the world.
Way Forward
- Go for international collaboration: India needs a collaborative effort. It will have to create a long-term ecosystem that trains and educates professionals. India could collaborate with the US, Germany, and the EU. The central government can consider a joint platform between ministries, state governments and industry bodies to create a mission for making the most of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.
- Promote industry-academia collaboration: There is an urgent need for more industry-academia collaboration and to develop requisite skills in technology. Introduction of a compulsory apprenticeship program to encourage hands-on experience in technology as early as higher secondary level.
- Increase investments: to fortify quality, prioritize investments in innovation and R&D and invest in life-long learning for employees. He urged the industry to think big and think globally.
- Focus on improving productivity: To effectively embrace digitalization, the industry has to foster competitive advantage across their value chains, focus on productivity and fill productivity gaps to compete globally.
Conclusion
- Fourth Industrial Revolution is about more than just technology-driven change; it is an opportunity to help everyone, including leaders, policy-makers and people from all income groups and nations, to harness converging technologies to create an inclusive, human-centered future.
- The real opportunity is to look beyond technology and find ways to give the greatest number of people the ability to positively impact their families, organizations and communities
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January 31, 2023
Israel-Palestinian violence on West Bank soars
US has urged Israel and the Palestinians to ease tensions amid a spike in violence that has put the West Bank region on edge.

Where is West Bank?
- The West Bank is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean in Western Asia that forms the main bulk of the Palestinian territories.
- It is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel to the south, west, and north.
Point of discussion: Anti-Semitism
- Anti-Semitism (hatred against Jews) is an officially stated policy of many theocratic countries (created by divine orders of religion).
- This includes entire Arab world, the self-proclaimed caliphate ‘Turkiye’ and even Pakistan.
- Jews, the micro-minority religion of the world were denied access to their homeland.
What is the Israel-Palestine Conflict?
- The land to which Jews and Palestinians lay claim to was under the Ottoman Empire and then the British Empire in early 20th century.
- Palestinian people —the Arab people from the same area— want to have a state by the name of Palestine in that area.
- The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is over who gets what land and how it’s controlled.
- Jews fleeing the persecution in Europe at the time wanted to establish a Jewish state on the land which they believe to be their ancient homeland.
- The Arab at the time resisted, saying the land was theirs. The land at the time was called Palestine.
- In 1917’s Balfour Declaration, the United Kingdom declared its support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
- Arabs resisted it which led to violence.
Jews into West Bank: Arab hinterland in Israel
- Some 75,000 Jews migrated to Palestine from 1922-26 and some 60,000 Jews emigrated in 1935, according to a history published by the University of Central Arkansas.
- It adds that Palestinian Arabs demanded the UK to halt Jewish emigration, but the UK ignored such calls. There were violent incidents, leading to deaths of some 500 people.
- In 1923, the British Mandate for Palestine came into effect.
- The document was issued by the League of Nations, the failed predecessor of the United Nations (UN).
- The mandate gave the UK the responsibility for creating a Jewish national homeland in the region.
- In 1936, the UK government recommended the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.
How did the issue escalate?
- In 1947, Britain referred the issue of Palestine to the UN, which came up with a partition plan.
- It put up two proposals. One, two separate states joined economically —the majority proposal— and, two, a single bi-national state made up of autonomous Jewish and Palestinian areas, the minority proposal.
- The Jewish community approved of the first of these proposals, while the Arabs opposed them both.
Israel’s independence
- In May 1948, Israel declared its independence. This was eye-pricking development for Arabs.
- The Arab countries of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt invaded the newly-declared country immediately.
- When the war ended, Israel gained some territory formerly granted to Palestinian Arabs under the UN resolution in 1947.
- It also retained control over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank respectively.
Resolving the conflict

Ans. Two-state solution
- The two-state solution refers to an arrangement where Israeli and Palestinian states co-exist in the region.
- However, such a solution has not materialised over the decades.
- As outlined in the beginning and in the briefly explained roots of the conflict, the two-state solution means two separate states for Israelis and Palestinians.
Why it hasn’t worked out?

There are four main reasons why the two-state solution has not materialized by now:

[1] Borders
- There is no consensus as to how to draw the lines dividing the two proposed states.
- Many people say borders should have pre-1967 lines.
- In 1967 Israeli-Arab war, Israel captured Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem, and Golan Heights.
- Israel is not willing to give up these gains. It returned Sinai to Egypt in 1982.
- Moreover, there is the question of Israeli settlements in West Bank.
[2] Question of Jerusalem
- Both Israel and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital and call it central to their religion and culture.
- The two-state solution typically calls for dividing it into an Israeli West and a Palestinian East, but it is not easy to draw the line — Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites are on top of one another.
- Israel has declared Jerusalem its ‘undivided capital’, effectively annexing its eastern half, and has built up construction that entrenches Israeli control of the city.
[3] Refugees
- A large number of Palestinians had to flee in the 1948 War.
- They and their descendants —numbering at 5 million— demand a right to return. Israel rejects this.
- The return of these people would end the demographic majority of Jews, ending the idea of Israel that’s both democratic and Jewish.
[4] Security
- Security concerns are also central to Israel as it’s constantly harassed by terrorist group Hamas that controls Gaza Strip.
- Hamas and other Islamist group in Gaza launch rockets into Israel time-to-time.
- Moreover, there are also concerns of Palestinians’ attack inside Israel.
- This year in March-April, at least 18 Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks inside Israel.
- A total of 27 Palestinians were also killed in the period, including those who carried out attacks inside Israel. Palestinians too have their concerns.
- For Palestinians, security means an end to foreign military occupation.
Why the two-state solution is needed?
- Besides fulfilling the basic desire of both Jews and Arabs of their own states, supporters of two-state solutions say it must be backed because its alternatives are simply not workable.
- A single state merging Israel, West Bank, and Gaza would reduce Jews to a minority.
- At the same time, in such a state, Jews would be a significant minority which would mean that the Arab majority would be miffed.
Moral reasoning for a two-state solution
- It says that the aspirations of one person should not be overridden for others’ aspirations.
- It’s a struggle for collective rights between two distinct groups of people.
- Jews are the global micro-minority with a very small piece of land to exist.
- Depriving Israeli Jews of a Jewish state or Palestinians of a Palestinian state would represent a subordination of one group’s aspirations to someone else’s vision.
Way forward
- India opines that long-term peace in Israel and Palestine can be achieved only through a negotiated two-State solution leading.
- This can be done with the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders.
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January 31, 2023