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Subject: Governance

Important aspects of Society

  • Burden of Anaemia in India

    Indian women and children are overwhelmingly anaemic, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-20 released this month, and the condition is the most prevalent in the Himalayan cold desert.

    Anaemia is the condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or a quantity of haemoglobin. How widespread is it in India?

    What is Anaemia?

    • The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or a quantity of haemoglobin. It can make one feel tired, cold, dizzy, and irritable, and short of breath, among other symptoms.
    • A diet that does not contain enough iron, folic acid, or vitamin B12 is a common cause of anaemia.
    • Some other conditions that may lead to anaemia include pregnancy, heavy periods, blood disorders or cancer, inherited disorders, and infectious diseases.

    How widespread is anaemia in our country?

    • In Phase I of the NHFS, result factsheets have been released for 22 states and UTs.
    • In a majority of these states and UTs, more than half the children and women were found to be anaemic.
    • In 15 of these 22 states and UTs, more than half the children are anaemic. Similarly, more than 50 percent of women are anaemic in 14 of these states and UTs.
    • The proportion of anaemic children and women is comparatively lower in Lakshadweep, Kerala, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland.
    • However, it is higher in Ladakh, Gujarat, J&K, and West Bengal, among others.
    • Anaemia among men was less than 30 percent in a majority of these states and UTs.

    What was the methodology used?

    • NFHS used the capillary blood of the respondents for the estimation of anaemia. For children, haemoglobin of fewer than 11 grams per decilitre (g/dl) indicated anaemia.
    • For non-pregnant and pregnant women, it was less than 12 g/dl and 11g/dl respectively, and for men, it was less than 13 g/dl.
    • Among children, the prevalence was adjusted for altitude and among adults, it was adjusted for altitude and smoking status.

    Why is anaemia so high in the country?

    • Iron-deficiency and vitamin B12-deficiency anaemia are the two common types of anaemia in India.
    • Among women, iron deficiency prevalence is higher than men due to menstrual iron losses and the high iron demands of a growing foetus during pregnancies.
    • Lack of millets in the diet due to overdependence on rice and wheat, insufficient consumption of green and leafy vegetables could be the reasons behind the high prevalence of anaemia in India.

    What about the cold desert region of the western Himalaya?

    • In the union territory of Ladakh, a whopping 92.5 per cent children, 92.8 per cent women, and around 76 per cent men are anaemic in the given age groups, as per the survey.
    • The high prevalence in this region could be due to the short supply of fresh vegetables and fruits during the long winter each year.
    • Crops here are generally only grown in summer and during winter; residents fail to get a regular supply of green vegetables and fresh produce from outside, due to restricted connectivity in harsh weather.
    • However, there could be other factors as well and the causes of anaemia here are yet to be scientifically ascertained.

  • Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI)

    Union Health Minister has been nominated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) as a member of the GAVI Board.

    Q.The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the limitations of global cooperation. Critically analyse.

    GAVI

    • GAVI is a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries.
    • GAVI has observer status at the World Health Assembly.
    • GAVI has been praised for being innovative, effective, and less bureaucratic than multilateral government institutions like the WHO.
    • Members: the WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialized and developing countries, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation among others.
    • GAVI programs can often produce quantified, politically appealing, easy-to-explain results within an election cycle, which is appealing to parties locked in an election cycle.

    Its function

    • It currently supports the immunization of almost half the world’s children, giving it the power to negotiate better prices for the world’s poorest countries and remove the commercial risks of manufacturers.
    • It also provides funding to strengthen health systems and train health workers across the developing world.

    Significance of India’s membership

    • The GAVI Board is responsible for the strategic direction and policymaking oversees the operations of the Vaccine Alliance and monitors program implementation.
    • With membership drawn from a range of partner organizations, as well as experts from the private sector, the Board provides a forum for balanced strategic decision making, innovation, and partner collaboration.

  • [pib] PM-JAY SEHAT

    The Prime Minister has launched Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT to extend coverage to all residents of Jammu & Kashmir.

    Q.Discuss various challenges in ensuring Universal Healthcare in India. (150W)

    PM-JAY SEHAT

    • The full form of SEHAT is social, endeavor for health, and telemedicine. Under this scheme, the SEHAT card will be distributed to all the eligible beneficiaries.
    • All the eligible beneficiaries of Jammu and Kashmir can apply for the Scheme through common service center operators
    • Around 1 crore beneficiaries will cover under this scheme. All the eligible citizens of Jammu and Kashmir will get cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under the Scheme.

  • Governance reforms in central universities

    Central Universities need reforms in their Governing Councils to make them realise their potential.

    Central Universities in the need of reforms

    • There are 55 central universities.
    • These are endowed with prime land, extensive funding from the central government and there is a long line of students waiting to get in.
    • However, they are in turmoil. In recent years, six vice-chancellors (VCs) of central universities have been sacked.
    • Some of these institutions have seen their glory days, yet increasingly, the energy is going out of the system.
    • However, not a single new private university has so far been able to create a true broad-based Vishwa Vidyalaya with the full range of humanities, social and natural sciences, and professional disciplines.
    • Therefore, to save academia in India, central universities must be saved.

    Organizational structure

    • Each of the 55 central universities is governed by a separate Act. but the broad structure is as follows.
    • The Visitor of the university is the President of India.
    • On his behalf, the Ministry of Education recommends an eminent citizen as the chancellor, whose role is mostly ceremonial.
    • The Ministry also constitutes a search committee for the post of VC, which comes up with a list of 3 candidates.
    • From this list, the government picks a VC.
    • Separately, and through a different process, the governing council (GC) is chosen.
    • The governing council (GC) of the university usually have nominees from various stakeholders, including the government, faculty, students, and citizens.
    • The university’s work is carried out by the executive council chaired by the VC, who also appoints the registrar.
    • A separate finance committee is constituted, headed by a chief finance officer, who is often a civil servant on secondment to the university.
    • This arrangement is designed to maintain financial checks and balances.

    Issues with the governance

    • The GC has no say in the selection of the VC.
    • The GC typically meets only once a year and its size is usually very large.[Delhi University has 475 members]
    • In theory, the VC presents and gets approval for the annual plan of the university from the GC.
    • In practice, after much grandstanding on both sides, the plan is rubberstamped.
    • After that, throughout the year, there is the minimal direction or monitoring from the GC, which may or may not meet again.
    • There are typically no quarterly updates, and there is little oversight.
    • Under the circumstances, the high number of failures should not come as a surprise, since effectively, there is minimal governance.

    Comparing with provisions in IIM Bill

    • The new IIM Bill very sensibly limits the GC to at most 19 members.
    • They are expected to be eminent citizens, with broad social representation and an emphasis on alumni.
    • This GC chooses the director, provides overall strategic direction, raises resources, and continuously monitors his or her performance.
    • Within the guidelines provided by the GC, the director has full autonomy but also full accountability.

    Way forward

    • The governing councils of all central universities, IITs, and all other central institutions, need to be restructured by an Act of Parliament.
    • The most eminent alumni of these institutions must be brought on their boards.
    • The dynamism and exposure that these alumni bring to the table will promptly lead to world-class innovations.

    Conclusion

    To allow central universities, the IITs and other public institutions to truly blossom, we need to reform their Governance. There is no time to waste.

  • Scheduled Castes Post-matric Scholarship Plan

    The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved changes to the post-matric scholarship scheme for students from the Scheduled Castes (SCs), including a new funding pattern of 60-40 for the Centre and States.

    Note:

    Equality enshrined in the Constitution is not mathematical equality and does not mean all citizens will be treated alike without any distinction.

    To this effect, the Constitution underlines two distinct aspects which together form the essence of equality law:

    1) Non-discrimination among equals, and

    2) Affirmative action to equalize the unequal

    About the Scholarship

    • It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and implemented through State Government and UT administration.
    • Under the scheme, the government provides financial assistance to students from SCs for higher education at post-matriculation and post-senior-secondary stages, which means Class XI onwards.
    • It can be availed by those, whose household incomes are less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually.

    What are the new changes?

    • States would carry out verification of the students’ eligibility and caste status and collect their Aadhaar and bank account details.
    • Transfer of financial assistance to the students under the scheme shall be on DBT [direct benefit transfer] mode, and preferably using the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System.
    • Starting from 2021-22, the Central share [60%] in the scheme would be released on DBT mode directly into the bank accounts of the students as per a fixed time schedule.

    Why such changes now?

    • The changes were aimed at enabling four crore students to access higher education over the next five years.
    • Switching from the existing “committed liability” formula, the new funding pattern would increase the Centre’s involvement in the scheme.

    Benefits of the scheme

    • The changes approved by the Cabinet were aimed at enrolling the poorest students, ensuring timely payments, and maintaining accountability.
    • An estimated 1.36 crore students who would otherwise drop out after Class 10 would be brought into the higher education system under the scheme in five years.

  • Establishing trust between government and citizens

    The article highlights the important role played by the intermediaries in connecting the citizens with the government.

    Addressing the connect between government and citizens

    • By exploring how digitally excluded communities engage with governance we understand that humans are significant in brokering trust between governments and citizens.
    • This is true even for the ‘Digital India’.
    • However, only a few States have built a cadre of individuals for last mile governance.
    • Andhra Pradesh, for instance, rolled out a ward secretariat programme with over 16,000 ward secretaries and volunteers for delivering government services at citizens’ doorstep.

    Understanding the role played by intermediaries

    • Intermediaries help citizens overcome barriers to awareness of availability of digital services and rights from the state and ability.
    •  Intermediaries support individuals by placing complaints, directing them to the right authorities, and following up.
    • Intermediaries are crucial offline architectures that enable the state to do its work better.
    • Community-based organisations and NGOs see their work as allied to their core work.

    Way forward

    • Various types and forms of intermediation emerge based on regional, social, cultural and economic contexts.
    • Equally, it is essential to pay attention to the varying incentives of intermediaries and not romanticise the benefits.
    • We need to see intermediaries as crucial to the realisation of governance outcomes.
    • India has formalised intermediation in traditional markets such as mutual funds from which we can learn.
    • In these areas, formal governance mechanisms, structured capacity building, widespread awareness campaigns, and process re-engineering enabled growth and usage.
    • At a broader level, increasing digitisation of governance across domains including healthcare, financial inclusion, justice and social services should be considered.

    Conclusion

    By acknowledging the role of intermediaries and supporting them, we will be able to support the process of responsible, responsive and data-driven governance across domains.

  • Policy implementation in India : Issues

    Policy implementation matters as much as the policy itself. The article highlights the importance of monitoring system to track the implementation of the policies.

    Implementing policy

    • It is taken for granted that a government policy or social-development program, is meant to be perfectly executed.
    • Implementation is the key and ends up with sub-par results and uncompleted projects.
    • India has had mixed experiences post-Independence, the consolidated development chart will appear rather skewed.
    • Millions continue to live in abject poverty, deprived of basic amenities.

    Dealing with implementation deficit

    • India needs to work on the implementation and reforms processes in a wider manner, with the primary aim of attaining fast-paced development and effective delivery of the intended public benefits.
    • The first requirement would be a capable implementing machine — or what has been called the “perfect administration”, driven by passionate team leaders.
    • The guiding urge should be to complete the task before schedule.
    • Other critical determinants include:
    • Unambiguous demarcation of responsibilities.
    • Frequent brainstorming sessions to anticipate and take formal note of likely challenges and agreeing upon solutions.
    • Ensuring and authorizing a largely freehand with matching resources, and the ability to make on-the-spot decisions.
    • The evergreen strategy to make the implementation of a near-perfect process is to build in a vigilant monitoring and evaluation mechanism.
    • A dynamic monitoring mechanism makes use of technology, which today is being built into various flagship programs initiated by the present government.

    Achieving implementation

    • In the interest of achieving wholesome implementation, it would be desirable to set up an autonomous “Monitoring Trust”.
    • The trust will act as an integral part of all important public policies and programs.
    • The proposed Trust can comprise core technical, administrative, and legal members, along with stakeholders and social activists.
    • Engaging stakeholders and implementers, through various methodologies, is fast emerging as an effective strategy.
    • Sharing information and progress through dashboards and other technology tools, inviting suggestions through IT portals like MyGov democratize and enrich both policy formulation and execution.
    • The institutions and methodologies developed in Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana present an exemplary fusion between human ingenuity and the miracles of customized technology.

    Conclusion

    The political leadership both at the national and the state level is the most crucial force behind the success of the implementation machinery. An endeavor’s effective implementation alone can provide the converge with good governance, bold innovation, rewarding delivery, and the transformation of marginalized human lives.

  • Dominance of Private healthcare in India & Related issues

    • Lack of resources such as 1:1,700, doctor: citizen ratio, well below the minimum ratio of 1:1,000 stipulated by WHO.

    • Rural areas and smaller towns of India are the worst sufferers, where even basic health services remain inaccessible, many cases were reported where ward boys and alone found running the primary healthcare center.

    • Inadequate government spending on healthcare and lack of access to health insurance to a large section of society.

    • The quality of public health services in India continues to remain below expectations which hamper the economic growth of the country.

    • Government’s inability to build sufficient capacity and infrastructure, difficulty in reaching out to poor and vulnerable groups.

    • An undersized skilled workforce and the absence of upgraded technology is a major challenge in the health sector.

  • Custodial torture in India

    Installation of cameras would help in curbing the custodial torture to some extent but ending the menace requires comprehensive reforms.

    Installation of CCTV cameras to curb custodial torture

    • The Supreme Court recently mandated that CCTV cameras be installed in police stations and offices of other investigative agencies.
    • However, previous decisions with similar recommendations have been poorly implemented.
    • The present decision shows a marked difference from the earlier ones in its approach.
    • It shows more care by listing out areas of police stations where cameras must be installed to ensure that there are no blind spots.
    • It asks for oversight committees to be set up to monitor the functioning of the cameras.
    • It also specifies that the cameras must be equipped with night vision and be able to record audio and visual footage.
    • The recordings will have to be preserved for at least 12 months.

    Issues with installing CCTV cameras

    • Alteration of a video to conceal an object, an event, or change the meaning conveyed by the video is a well-documented reality in the United States.
    • Indian courts have also expressed their apprehension of police tampering with CCTV footage.
    • The judgment does not assuage these concerns.
    •  Cameras in police stations will not foreclose the possibility of torture in other locations.
    • Multiple works on torture in India suggest that torture is often not inflicted in police stations, but in isolated areas or police vehicles.
    • Victims are illegally detained and tortured in undisclosed locations before officially arrested and brought to the police station.

    Challenges in fixing criminal responsibility

    • Since torture is not recognized as an offense per se under Indian law, the judgment refers to the use of force resulting in “serious injuries and/or custodial deaths” unwittingly creates a high threshold for what amounts to torture.
    • It fails to acknowledge the existence of forms of physical and psychological torture that leave behind no marks on the body.
    • Requiring prior sanction from the government operates as the foremost hurdle in initiating criminal complaints.
    • The absence of statutory guidelines mandating independent investigation results in police officers from the same police station investigating the crime and suppressing evidence.
    • Between 2005-2018, with respect to 1,200 deaths in police custody, 593 cases were registered, 186 police personnel were charge-sheeted, and only seven were convicted (National Crime Records Bureau).
    •  Evidentiary concerns frequently arise since often the only witnesses are the victims themselves.
    • The Supreme Court (1995) has noted that police officials remain silent to protect their colleagues as they are “bound by brotherhood” and held that courts should not insist on direct or ocular evidence in these cases.
    • This position is rarely applied and many cases result in acquittal for want of evidence.

    Conclusion

    Monitoring the police through CCTVs is an important step towards combating torture but its effectiveness is contingent on broader reforms. The Supreme Court needs to ensure a robust implementation of its order and simultaneously plug the gaps so that incidents of torture are curtailed.

  • West Bengal IPS Controversy

    Police personnel should not be made instruments of a political battle

    Tug of war between political parties in West Bengal

    • The appointment of three IPS officers of the West Bengal cadre to various posts by the Union Home Ministry on Thursday has escalated the confrontation between the State and the Centre.
    • Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has termed the deputation order despite the State’s objection “a colourable exercise of power and blatant misuse of emergency provision of IPS Cadre Rule 1954”.
    • The constant hostility between the State and Central governments is now taking a turn for the worse ahead of the 2021 Assembly election.
    • The tug of war began after a convoy of BJP President J.P. Nadda came under stone pelting in the State on December 10. The BJP apparently holds the IPS officers accountable for the incident.
    • After an initial move to recall these officials was resisted by the State, the Centre has invoked Section 6(1) of the Indian Police Service (Cadre) Rules, which says that “in case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central Government….”

    Administrative instruments Vs. Political battles

    • The CM’s style of managing the police force has gained attention for the wrong reasons in the past.
    • Senior officials are seen as allied with the ruling govt and the oppositions determined drive to capture power in the State is multi-pronged.
    • The Supreme Court restrained West Bengal from taking any “coercive action” against several opposition leaders in criminal cases registered against them by the State Police.
    • The opposition continues to knock on the doors of the Court and the Election Commission of India to bring pressure on the State government.
    • By enforcing its writ on IPS officers, the Centre is sending a signal to all officers that their conduct will now be under scrutiny.

    Never-ending issues between the state and the centre

    • The central schemes, Ayushman Bharat and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi are also a bone of contention.
    • The Bengal government has refused to implement them, demanding that the funds be routed through the State.
    • The CM has also complained of insufficient central assistance to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and cyclone Amphan.
    • The Centre’s earlier demand that the Chief Secretary and DGP attend a meeting in New Delhi on the State’s law-and-order situation increased tensions.
    • The partisan use of the personnel and instruments of the state by parties in power as is happening in this tussle is a disturbing signal for democracy and federalism.

    Practice Question: The partisan use of the personnel and instruments of the state by parties in power is a disturbing signal for democracy and federalism. Elaborate.