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Subject: Governance

Important aspects of Society

  • State of the World Population Report 2020

    The UNFPA has released the State of the World Population Report 2020.

    Highlights of the WPR

    I) Global prospects

    • According to estimates averaged over a five year period (2013-17), annually, there were 1.2 million missing female births, at a global level.
    • The same study shows that in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan excess female mortality of girls below 5 years of age was under 3 per cent.
    • These skewed numbers translate into long-term shifts in the proportions of women and men in the population of some countries, the report points out.
    • In many countries, this results in a “marriage squeeze” as prospective grooms far outnumber prospective brides, which further results in human trafficking for marriage as well as child marriages.

    II) Data on India

    • India had about 4,60,000 girls ‘missing’ at birth each year.
    • The figure shows that the number of missing women has more than doubled over the past 50 years, who were at 61 million in 1970.
    • The report examines the issue of missing women by studying sex ratio imbalances at birth as a result of gender-biased sex selection as well as excess female mortality due to deliberate neglect of girls because of a culture of son preference.
    • Excess female mortality is the difference between observed and expected mortality of the girl child or avoidable death of girls during childhood.
    • The report cites a 2014 study to state that India has the highest rate of excess female deaths at 13.5 per 1,000 female births or one in nine deaths of females below the age of 5 due to postnatal sex selection.

    About UNFPA

    • The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN organization.
    • It is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
    • Their work involves the improvement of reproductive health; including the creation of national strategies and protocols, and birth control by providing supplies and services.
    • The organization has recently been known for its worldwide campaign against child marriage, obstetric fistula and female genital mutilation.

  • G4 Flu virus and it’s pandemic potential

    In new research, scientists from China – which has the largest population of pigs in the world – have identified a “recently emerged” strain of influenza virus that is infecting Chinese pigs and that has the potential of triggering a pandemic.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.What are zoonotic diseases? Why China has emerged as the epicentre of global outbreaks of zoonotic disease?

    G4 Flu

    • Named G4, the swine flu strain has genes similar to those in the virus that caused the 2009 flu pandemic.
    • The scientists identified the virus through surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs that they carried out from 2011 to 2018 in ten provinces of China.
    • They also found that the G4 strain has the capability of binding to human-type receptors (like, the SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to ACE2 receptors in humans).
    • The virus was able to copy itself in human airway epithelial cells, and it showed effective infectivity and aerosol transmission.

    Swine industry is the new hotspot for zoonoses

    • The scientists report that the new strain (G4) has descended from the H1N1 strain that was responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic.
    • Pigs are intermediate hosts for the generation of pandemic influenza virus.
    • Thus, systematic surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs is a key measure for pre-warning the emergence of the next pandemic influenza.

    Back2Basics: 2009 swine flu pandemic

    • The WHO declared the outbreak of type A H1N1 influenza virus a pandemic in 2009 when there were around 30,000 cases globally.
    • It was caused by a strain of the swine flu called the H1N1 virus, which was transmitted from human to human.
    • Influenza viruses that commonly circulate in swine are called “swine influenza viruses” or “swine flu viruses”.
    • Like human influenza viruses, there are different subtypes and strains of swine influenza viruses. Essentially, swine flu is a virus that pigs can get infected by.
    • The symptoms of swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue.

  • Share the public data with public

    Open access to public data is essential for policy analysis and evidence-based policymaking. Policy framework for sharing of public data by the government is also looked into in this article. 

    How Open Data Charter came about

    • Open-source software enthusiasts and civil society activists in the U.S. and U.K. came with a demand to unlock the data gathered by governments for unfettered access and reuse by citizens.
    • Data collected at public expense must belong to the people. This is the principle for the Open Data Charter adopted by 22 countries since 2015.
    • It calls upon governments to disseminate public data in open digital formats.
    • In return, the Charter argues, governments can expect “innovative, evidence-based policy solutions”.

    Steps toward making data accessible-NDSAP

    •  The National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP) was adopted in 2012.
    • It was a step towards making non-sensitive government data accessible online.
    • The main thrust of the policy is to “promote data sharing and enable access to Government of India owned data for national planning, development and awareness”.
    • The implementation guidelines for NDSAP include ideals such as “openness, flexibility, transparency, quality” of data.
    • It aims to facilitate “access to Government of India shareable data in machine-readable form”.
    • The guidelines prescribe open digital formats suitable for analysis and dissemination.
    • Opaque formats such as the portable document format and the image format are discouraged.
    • As part of the Open Government Data (OGD) initiative, data.gov.in was launched in 2012.
    • However, the implementation has lagged far behind its stated objectives.

    How data could have helped policy making in Covid pandemic

    • The district-wise, demographic-wise case statistics and anonymous contact traces released in the public domain would have proved useful.
    • Reliable model forecasts of disease spread and targeted regional lockdown protocols could have been generated.
    • Model forecasts have limitations, but models without inputs from empirical data are even more unreliable.

    Violation of OGD in data shared for pandemic

    • Principles of OGD notwithstanding, sufficiently granular infection data are not available.
    • Violating the data format guidelines, OGD portal provides COVID-19 data only as a graphic image unsuitable for any analysis.
    • The Indian Council of Medical Research and mygov.in fare no better.
    • They too do not publish district-wise statistics, and the available data are not in usable formats.

    Examples from other countries

    • The data portals of Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. present district-wise COVID-19 cases data.
    • These countries also provide data about the emergent effects on mental health, jobs and education.
    • According to the latest report of the Open Data Barometer, an independent group measuring the impact of open data, these nations lead the pack.
    • India is a contender to reach the top bracket and not a laggard.

    Way forward

    • The government must provide the impetus and incentive to exploit this voluminous data by invigorating the dated national data portal.
    • Every department must be mandated to share substantive data respecting privacy concerns.
    • The government should look within for examples of creative outcomes of opening up the database.
    • Start-ups have built novel applications using Indian Railways data to provide ticket confirmation prediction and real-time train status.

    Consider the question “Examine the provisions for data sharing and accessibility in India. Also, elaborate how the sharing of public data could help in policymaking.”

    Conclusion

    Sharing public data is a way to create beneficial social impact. So, the government must ensure the implementation of policy measures and encourage the analysis of public data to come at the informed policy decision.

  • What is the STARS Project?

    The World Bank has approved a $500 million Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS) to improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states.

    Try this question:

    Q. The STARS Project recently seen in news is an initiative of:

    World Bank/ Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation / UNECOSOC/ UNICEF

    STARS Project

    • The STARS project will be implemented through the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the flagship central scheme.
    • The six states include- Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan.
    • It will help improve learning assessment systems, strengthen classroom instruction and remediation, facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralized management,
    • Some 250 million students (between the age of 6 and 17) in 1.5 million schools and over 10 million teachers will benefit from the STARS program.
    • STARS will support India’s renewed focus on addressing the ‘learning outcome’ challenge and help students better prepare for the jobs of the future – through a series of reform initiatives.

    Reform initiatives under STARS

    • Focusing more directly on the delivery of education services at the state, district and sub-district levels by providing customized local-level solutions towards school improvement.
    • Addressing demands from stakeholders, especially parents, for greater accountability and inclusion by producing better data to assess the quality of learning.
    • Equipping teachers to manage this transformation by recognizing that teachers are central to achieving better learning outcomes. The program will support individualized, needs-based training for teachers that will give them an opportunity to have a say in shaping training programs and making them relevant to their teaching needs.
    • Investing more in developing India’s human capital needs by strengthening foundational learning for children in classes 1 to 3 and preparing them with the cognitive, socio-behavioural and language skills to meet future labour market needs.

    Issues with the project

    • First, it fails to address the basic capacity issues: major vacancies across the education system from District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), district and block education offices, to teachers in schools, remain unaddressed.
    • Without capable and motivated faculty, teacher education and training cannot be expected to improve.
    • Second, the Bank ignores that decentralizing decision-making requires the devolution of funds and real decision-making power.
    • Greater decentralisation can allow accountability to flow to the people rather than to supervising officers.
    • It requires not just investment in the capacity of the front-line bureaucracy but also in increasing their discretionary powers while fostering social accountability.

  • Online education in India

    What are the benefits of Online Learning in distress situations?

    • In pandemic situation like today’s, where due to nationwide lockdown, all schools, colleges, universities were shut down, online learning comes as a savior to students and provided them with an opportunity to continue learning even while at home.
    • There was anxiety, particularly about the graduating batches of students, lest the ongoing session should be declared a ‘zero semester’. There were attempts from individual teachers to keep their students engaged. A few universities made arrangements for teachers to hold their classes virtually through video conferencing services such as Zoom. These are well-meaning attempts to keep the core educational processes going through this period.
    • Many private and government colleges in the country had been conducting online classes. Very small aperture terminals (VSATs) are still used by top Business schools in the country to create a closed user group (CUGs), which offers online classes globally. However, COVID-19 has hastened
    • Online education, a result of the digital world has brought a lot to the learning table at all levels of education, beginning from preschool up to higher level institutions. The move to remote learning has been enabled by several online tech stacks such as Google Classroom, Blackboard, Big Blue Button, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, all of which play an important role in this transformation.
    • With the development of ICT in education, online video-based micro-courses, e-books, simulations, models, graphics, animations, quizzes, games, and e-notes are making learning more accessible, engaging, and contextualized.
    • To ensure that learning never stops, the online education sector, and mobile networks have become the preferred platform. Teachers are preparing lessons using distance learning tools, and parents are learning new teaching techniques at home. Providing aid are the entrepreneurs offering online learning apps like BYJU’s, Adda24x7, Duolingo, Khan Academy, Witkali and several others.
    • Universities like World University of Design, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Amity, IP University, Lovely Professional University and Mumbai University are offering online classes across different subjects.
    • Schools in 165 countries around the world have closed due to the Corona virus outbreak, according to UNESCO. And, according to the International Telecommunication Union(ITU), more than 1.5 billion school children around the world are using online education, following the global lockdown.
    • Online learning is not for everyone. Schools located in remote areas of the country with limited availability of electricity and internet is making restricted use of WhatsApp to stay connected with their classrooms.

      3.) Less intimidating

      Many students in classroom environments aren’t comfortable speaking in public. In an online environment, it can be much easier to share thoughts with others

      5.) Focus on ideas

      With an estimated 93 percent of communication being non-verbal, online students don’t have to worry about body language interfering with their message. While body language can be effective sometimes, academics are more about ideas, and online education eliminates physical judgments that can cloud rational discussion.

      5.) Focus on ideas

      With an estimated 93 percent of communication being non-verbal, online students don’t have to worry about body language interfering with their message. While body language can be effective sometimes, academics are more about ideas, and online education eliminates physical judgments that can cloud rational discussion.

      8.) Cost

      Although the cost of an online course can be as much or more than a traditional course, students can save money by avoiding many fees typical of campus-based education, including lab fees, commuting costs, parking, hostels, etc. Imagine living in Dhule but going to college in Mumbai.

  • Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2020

    The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities in education systems across the world a/c to the latest GEM report.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.Discuss the impact of COVID-19 induced lockdown on India’s education sector.

    About the report

    • Originally the EFA Global Monitoring Report, it has been renamed as the Global Education Monitoring Report.
    • It is developed by an independent team and published by UNESCO aimed to sustain commitment towards Education for All.
    • The ‘UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), based in Montreal provides data for the report on students, teachers, school performance, adult literacy and education expenditure.

    Highlights of the 2020 report

    • The report noted that efforts to maintain learning continuity during the pandemic may have actually worsened exclusion trends.
    • During the height of school closures in April 2020, almost 91% of students around the world were out of school.
    • About 40% of low- and lower-middle-income countries have not supported learners at risk of exclusion during this crisis, such as the poor, linguistic minorities and learners with disabilities.

    1. Risks of school closure

    • School closures also interrupted support mechanisms from which many disadvantaged learners benefit.
    • For poor students who depend on school for free meals or even free sanitary napkins, closures has been a major blow.
    • Cancellation of examinations in many countries, including India, may result in scoring dependence on teachers’ judgements of students, which could be affected by stereotypes of certain types of students.

    2. Substitutes were imperfect

    • Education systems responded with distance learning solutions, all of which offered less or more imperfect substitutes for classroom instruction said the report.
    • Many poorer countries opted for radio and television lessons, while some upper-middle-income countries adopted for online learning platforms for primary and secondary education.
    • India has used a mix of all three systems for educational continuity.

    3. The digital divide has resurfaced yet again

    • Even as governments increasingly rely on technology, the digital divide lays bare the limitations of this approach.
    • Not all students and teachers have access to an adequate internet connection, equipment, skills and working conditions to take advantage of available platforms.

  • Learning Platform “Skills Build Reignite”

    MSDE-IBM Partnership has unveiled Free Digital Learning Platform “Skills Build Reignite” to reach more job seekers & provide new resources to business owners in India.

    There are various web/portals/apps with Hindi acronyms such as YUKTI, DISHA, SWAYAM etc. Their core purpose is similar with slight differences. Pen them down on a separate sheet under the title various digital HRD initiatives.

    Skills Build Reignite

    • The SkillsBuild Reignite tends to provide job seekers and entrepreneurs, with access to free online coursework and mentoring support designed to help them reinvent their careers and businesses.
    • It is a long term institutional training to the nation’s youth through its network of training institutes and infrastructure.
    • IBM will provide multifaceted digital skill training in the area of Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to students & trainers across the nation in the National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and ITIs.
    • Directorate General of Training (DGT) under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is responsible for implementing the program.
    • Job seekers, individual business owners, entrepreneurs and any individual with learning aspirations can now tap into host of industry-relevant content on topics including AI, Cloud, Data analytics etc.

    Features

    • Its special feature is the personalized coaching for entrepreneurs, seeking advice to help establish or restart their small businesses as they begin to focus on recovery to emerge out of the COVID 19 pandemic.
    • Courses for small business owners include, for example, financial management, business strategy, digital strategy, legal support and more.
    • Plus, IBM volunteers will serve as mentors to some of the 30,000 SkillsBuild users in 100 communities in at least five major regions worldwide to help reinvigorate local communities.

  • Secrecy of ballot is the cornerstone of free and fair elections, says Supreme Court

    • Secrecy of ballot is the cornerstone of free and fair elections. The choice of a voter should be free and the secret ballot system in a democracy ensures it, the Supreme Court has held in judgment.
    • The judgment came on an appeal against the Allahabad High Court decision setting aside the voting of a no-confidence motion in a Zila panchayat in Uttar Pradesh in 2018.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. Discuss how Secrecy of Ballot is the cornerstone of free and fair elections in India.

    What is the Secret Ballot?

    • The secret ballot, also known as Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter’s choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous.
    • It aims for forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote-buying.
    • The system is one means of achieving the goal of political privacy.

    What did the Supreme Court rule?

    • The principle of secrecy of ballots is an important postulate of constitutional democracy, the court said.
    • Justice Khanna, who wrote the judgment, referred to Section 94 of the Representation of People Act, which upholds the privilege of the voter to maintain confidentiality about her choice of vote.
    • It is the policy of the law to protect the right of voters to the secrecy of the ballot.
    • Even a remote or distinct possibility that a voter can be forced to disclose for whom she has voted would act as a positive constraint and a check on the freedom to exercise of the franchise.

    Voter’s discretion is allowed

    • A voter can also voluntarily waive the privilege of non-disclosure.
    • The privilege ends when the voter decides to waive the privilege and instead volunteers to disclose as to whom she had voted.
    • No one can prevent a voter from doing. Nor can a complaint be entertained from any, including the person who wants to keep the voter’s mouth sealed as to why she disclosed for whom she voted said the court.

    Try this question from our AWE initiaitive:

    On what grounds a people’s representative can be disqualified under the representation of people act, 1951? Also, mention the remedies available to such person against his disqualification. (15 marks)

  • Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan

    PM Modi has launched the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, an employment scheme for migrant workers.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. Discuss the silent success of MGNREGA in COVID-19 times.

    Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan

    • It is a skill-based employment scheme aimed primarily at migrant workers who have returned to their villages to escape the COVID lockdown distress.
    • With a 125-workday mandate to create public infrastructure, with the involvement of 11 central departments, the Rs 50,000-crore initiative will focus on job creation.
    • It will be implemented in 116 districts in six states — UP, MP, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan and Bihar — that saw the maximum number of migrant workers returning over the last three months.

    Works under the scheme

    • The government has identified 25 work areas for employment in villages, for the development of various works.
    • These 25 works or projects are related to meet the needs of the villages like rural housing for the poor, Plantations, provision of drinking water through Jal Jeevan mission,  Panchayat Bhavans, community toilets, rural mandis, rural roads, other infrastructure like Cattle Sheds, Anganwadi Bhavans etc.

    Must read:

    [Burning Issue] Reorienting MGNREGA in times of COVID

  • What is Civil Services Board?

    Punjab government notifying Civil Services Board providing for a fixed tenure of IAS officers has left its leaders in the state upset.

    Practice questions for mains:

    Q. Discuss how fixed tenure for Civil Servants helps provide better administration.

    What is the Civil Services Board (CSB)?

    • Civil Services Board is responsible for the entry-level recruitment and subsequent job promotions below the rank of Joint Secretary.
    • As per a state government notification dated June 2, CSB will be headed by Chief Secretary, with Personnel Secretary, and either Financial Commissioner (Revenue) or Home Secretary (who so ever is senior in the pecking order) as its members.
    • The board provides for the state to follow the Centre’s guidelines on giving a fixed tenure of at least two years for cadre officers.
    • They cannot be transferred before that and if anyone recommends their transfer then the board will examine and affect it.
    • The final authority is the Chief Minister.

    Why had the previous government in the state declined to follow the Centre’s guidelines?

    • The previous government had refused to follow the guidelines on the argument that appointment and transfer of IAS officers are a prerogative of the state.
    • If their term is fixed, it had argued, it will not only create functional and administrative problems but also overstep the authority and jurisdiction of the state government.

    Why are the leaders upset?

    • The political leadership of the ruling party in the state has usually always had a say in postings and transfers of district officials in the state.
    • The opposition has been known to lend supremacy to its leadership over bureaucrats in the state.
    • But ever since the ruling government has taken over, the grouse of its leaders has been that they do not get due respect in their own regime.
    • This has led to several confrontations in the past.
    • With the fixed tenure rule and Chief Secretary’s board having all power to examine a recommendation for a transfer, the leaders feel their influence has been reduced to nought and all power handed to the CS.

    How do they see the board to be lending officer’s supremacy over them?

    • If any officer is to be transferred before completing his minimum tenure, the board will record the reasons for the transfer.
    • It will seek views from the concerned officer and then give a judgement on whether the tenure of the officer is to be ended mid-way.
    • The final authority will be the CM.

    What is the government’s argument in its favour?

    • It says if the officials have a fixed tenure they will be able to provide better administration.
    • They will also feel safe and try to stick to the rules instead of pleasing political bosses.
    • It says every official requires 3-6 months to get into the groove at his new place of posting.
    • If he stays there for two years, it would mean better delivery and stable tenure to people.

    What do the officials say?

    • They feel the rules will not be followed in letter and spirit unless a few officers go to the courts and ensure that the guidelines are followed.
    • They say that neighbouring Haryana had the board in place but the guidelines were not followed.