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Subject: Governance

Important aspects of Society

  • VB-GRAM G rural jobs fall in its first month

    Why in the News

    After replacing MGNREGS on 1 July 2026, the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-GRAM G] recorded nearly a 50% year-on-year decline in rural employment generated during its first month.

    What is VB-GRAM G?

    1. New framework: Replaced MGNREGS from 1 July 2026.
    2. Employment guarantee: Increased from 100 to 125 days per rural household.
    3. Digital monitoring: Retains face-authentication-based attendance.

    Why did employment fall?

    1. Transition friction: Migration of registrations, job cards and payment systems disrupted work allocation.
    2. Sowing season: Provision for pausing employment demand during peak agricultural operations reduced July person-days.
    3. Comparability issue: Comparing July 2026 with July 2025 may exaggerate the decline because the institutional framework has changed.
    4. Implementation lag: Initial administrative bottlenecks may have temporarily reduced employment generation.

    MGNREGS: Back to Basics

    • Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development.
    • Legal basis: MGNREGA, 2005.
    • Guarantee: At least 100 days of wage employment per rural household.
    • Nature: Demand-driven, rights-based employment programme.
    • Eligibility: Rural households whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work.

    [2011] Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act?

    (a) Adult members of only the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households

    (b) Adult members of below poverty line (BPL) households

    (c) Adult members of households of all backward communities

    (d) Adult members of any household.

  • Conflict of interest surfaces in the Rs 1 lakh crore RDI Fund

    Why in the News

    An investigation found that a large share of soft loans under the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund went to firms linked to the fund’s own selection panel. The tension is between fast tracking private deep tech financing and preserving impartial public fund governance.

    What is the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund?

    1. Corpus: A Rs 1 lakh crore fund to provide low cost, long tenure financing for private research and deep technology.
    2. Anchor body: It operates under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) framework, with the Technology Development Board (TDB) disbursing loans.

    What is the conflict of interest concern?

    1. Panel linkage: Members of the selection panel had financial ties to firms that received public funding.
    2. Concentration: A majority of the sanctioned loans went to entities connected to those approving them.

    What safeguards does the government cite?

    1. Super majority: Approvals require a super majority of the selection committee.
    2. Stake disqualification: Members holding a stake above a threshold are barred from that decision.
    3. Cost cap: Public funding is capped at a share of total project cost.
    4. Disclosure: Members must declare any negative interest before voting.

    Why does the safeguard design still draw scrutiny?

    1. Small expert pool: India’s narrow deep tech expert base makes overlaps between funders and funded hard to avoid.
    2. Verification gap: Declared interests need independent audit to prevent capture.

  • FCRA Amendment Bill becomes a Monsoon Session flashpoint

    Why in the News

    The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 has become a flashpoint of the Monsoon Session, with the Opposition demanding it be scrapped or sent to a Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC). The contest is between the state’s interest in policing foreign funds and the operating space of civil society and minority run institutions.

    What is the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010?

    1. Governing law: The FCRA regulates the receipt and use of foreign contributions by individuals, associations, and NGOs in India.
    2. Enforcing authority: The Ministry of Home Affairs grants, renews, suspends, and cancels FCRA registration.

    What does the Amendment change?

    1. Asset vesting: On cancellation of registration, an entity’s assets could vest in a government designated authority.
    2. Fund routing: Proceeds from such assets could flow to the Consolidated Fund of India.

    Why is the Opposition resisting the Bill?

    1. Procedural demand: The INDIA bloc seeks a JPC review before passage, alleging inadequate scrutiny.
    2. Minority institutions: Christian charitable bodies, major service providers in tribal areas, have sought legal clarity on the ‘religion neutral’ framing.
    3. Chilling effect: Wider cancellation and vesting powers could deter legitimate foreign funded welfare work.

    What is the counter case for tighter FCRA control?

    1. Sovereignty concern: Foreign funds can be used to influence domestic policy and public order.
    2. Accountability: Stricter vesting rules aim to prevent misuse of assets built with foreign money.

    Conclusion

    The Bill tests the balance between regulating foreign money and protecting civil society autonomy. Its trajectory now depends on whether it is referred to a JPC or pushed through in the current session.

    Back2Basics: Consolidated Fund of India

    1. Constitutional basis: Established under Article 266(1) of the Constitution.
    2. Composition: Holds all revenues received, loans raised, and receipts from loan recovery by the Union government.
    3. Withdrawal rule: No money can be withdrawn from it except by law passed by Parliament.

    “[2015, GS2, 12.5 marks] Examine critically the recent changes in the rules governing foreign funding of NGOs under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 1976.”

  • The challenge for school consolidation

    Why in the News

    A recent NITI Aayog Report flagged the closure of nearly 94,000 government schools across India over the past decade. Falling enrolment and a declining fertility rate underlie the closures and mergers. The debate weighs neighbourhood access against better resourced consolidated schools.

    What is school consolidation?

    1. Definition: the merging of under enrolled schools into better equipped composite schools with qualified teachers and improved infrastructure.
    2. Aim: to raise educational quality rather than merely cut costs.
    3. Constitutional placement: education sits on the Concurrent List, so states drive closure and merger policy.

    What is UDISE Plus?

    1. Full form: the Unified District Information System for Education Plus.
    2. Function: an education management information system that tracks schools, enrolment and teachers nationwide.
    3. It is the largest digital database of information related to school education in India.
    4. This portal, operated by the Union Ministry of Education, records the details of all recognized government and private schools in the country online.

    What do the data reveal between 2014-15 and 2024-25?

    1. Schools: the total number of schools fell by about 45,000, driven entirely by a fall of 94,000 government schools while private unaided schools grew.
    2. Enrolment: overall enrolment fell by 2.26 crore to 24.69 crore.
    3. Sector shift: government enrolment fell while private enrolment rose from 8.42 crore to 9.59 crore.
    4. Teachers: teacher numbers rose from about 90 lakh to over one crore, improving teacher availability.
    5. Demography: the total fertility rate fell from more than 3 in the early 1990s to about 2.0, below the replacement level of 2.1.

    Why does school size matter?

    1. Thin schools: thousands of schools run with a single teacher or a handful of students.
    2. Weak instruction: low size makes grade wise, subject specific teaching, laboratories and peer learning difficult.
    3. Teacher load: teachers handle multiple classes alongside administrative tasks.
    4. Hidden disparity: national averages mask overcrowded urban schools alongside near empty rural ones.

    What are the challenges to school consolidation?

    1. Travel distance: longer distances disadvantage young children, girls and students in remote or tribal areas.
    2. Access risk: closures can strip neighbourhood access unless safe transport is guaranteed.
    3. Cost driven mergers: decisions taken on financial grounds alone can undercut quality goals.
    4. Equity gap: consolidation must balance quality, efficiency and equitable access, not just efficiency.
    5. Data need: decisions should be data driven rather than administrative, with uninterrupted access ensured wherever schools merge.

    Conclusion

    The school numbers reflect a transformation, not merely closures, driven by demographic change and shifting preferences. Consolidation can raise quality but only if it protects access for the most vulnerable children. Success should be measured by whether every child reaches a well resourced school, with safe transport where schools merge.

    Back2Basics

    International Examples & Case Studies

    India (Project SATH-E & State Initiatives):

    1. Under NITI Aayog’s Project SATH-E, states like Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha consolidated over 26,000 schools.
    2. Rajasthan horizontally merged co-located schools and built vertically integrated “Adarsh” (model) schools spanning grades 1-12. This reduced multi-grade teaching and doubled the presence of designated headmasters.

    China (Rural School Consolidation Policy):

    1. Implemented to centralize resources in middle-income rural areas. While it successfully built larger, better-funded institutions, longitudinal studies indicate unintended consequences.
    2. For instance, longer commutes occasionally limited written minority language facility and worsened educational equity for marginalized groups.

    The Nordic Countries & Western Europe: Ecosystem Integration

    1. Low demographic density in isolated rural pockets across Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway.
    2. Unlike abrupt closures, Denmark and other Nordic nations leveraged regional clustering. Rather than completely standardizing environments, they implemented extensive public support networks, dedicated student transport, and digital infrastructure to ease student adjustments.
    3. Short-term disruption to student test scores was documented, particularly for students transferring from the smallest schools. However, these adverse effects weakened over time as institutional integration stabilized

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2022] The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 remains inadequate in promoting incentive-based system for children’s education without generating awareness about the importance of schooling. Analyse.

    Linkage: The PYQ examines whether school education reforms ensure universal and equitable access under the RTE Act. The article assesses whether school consolidation can improve quality without compromising access for vulnerable children.

  • FIRs cannot be withdrawn, three routes for relief under BNSS

    Why in the News

    The Supreme Court has clarified that State Governments cannot simply withdraw or cancel FIRs against student protesters through executive orders. Criminal proceedings can end only through procedures provided under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

    What is a First Information Report (FIR) under the BNSS?

    • Definition: An FIR is the first written record of information relating to a cognizable offence received by the police.
    • Purpose: It sets the criminal investigation in motion under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
    • No Executive Power: A government cannot cancel or erase an FIR through an executive order. Only the subsequent criminal proceedings can be terminated through legal procedures.

    Route 1: Closure Report

    • Provision: If the police find insufficient evidence during investigation, they may submit a closure report before the jurisdictional Magistrate under Section 193 of BNSS.
    • Judicial Scrutiny: The Magistrate is not bound to accept the report and may order further investigation or take cognizance.
    • Key Case: Abhinandan Jha v. Dinesh Mishra (1967) affirmed the Magistrate’s independent powers.

    Route 2: Withdrawal from Prosecution

    • Provision: Under Section 360 of BNSS, the Public Prosecutor, with the court’s consent, may withdraw from prosecution before judgment.
    • Independent Decision: The request must reflect the prosecutor’s own assessment and not merely government instructions.
    • Court’s Role: The court must ensure the withdrawal is in good faith and public interest.
    • Victim’s Rights: The victim must be given an opportunity to be heard.
    • Key Case: Sheonandan Paswan v. State of Bihar (1986).

    Route 3: Quashing by the High Court

    • Provision: Section 528 of BNSS preserves the High Court’s inherent powers to prevent abuse of process and secure the ends of justice.
    • Direct Remedy: An accused person may directly approach the High Court for quashing of criminal proceedings.
    • Limited Use: Courts have consistently held that this power should be exercised sparingly, particularly while investigation is ongoing.

    Important Judicial Precedent

    • Baroda Dynamite Case (1980): The Supreme Court upheld withdrawal of prosecutions arising from the Emergency period.
    • Principle: Withdrawal may be justified where it promotes public peace, reconciliation and good governance, provided legal safeguards are followed.

  • Government and faculty spar over the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026

    Why in the News

    The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Bill, 2026 seeks to restructure the governance of the Indian Statistical Institute by converting it from a registered society into a government controlled statutory body corporate. The proposal has sparked concerns over institutional autonomy.

    What is the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)?

    • Founded: Established in 1931 by Prasanta Chandra (P.C.) Mahalanobis.
    • Premier institution: A leading centre for statistics, mathematics, data science, computer science, quantitative economics and related research.
    • Institution of National Importance: Declared under the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959.
    • Administrative Ministry: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
    • Current governance: Functions as a registered society managed by a representative Governing Council.

    What does the Bill propose?

    • Repeals the 1959 Act: Introduces the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026.
    • Body corporate: Converts ISI from a society into a statutory body corporate with perpetual succession.
    • New governance structure: Replaces the Governing Council with an 11 member Board of Governors.
    • Greater government role: The Board will have a majority of government nominated members, increasing the Centre’s role in administration.

    Why are faculty members concerned?

    • Reduced academic autonomy: Faculty argue that greater government control may affect academic freedom and institutional independence.
    • Lack of consultation: They claim the Bill was drafted without adequate consultation with ISI’s academic community.
    • Demand for scrutiny: Opposition members have sought referral of the Bill to the Standing Committee on Finance for detailed examination.

    Prelims Pointers

    • Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) was founded in 1931 by P.C. Mahalanobis.
    • P.C. Mahalanobis developed the Mahalanobis Distance and played a key role in India’s statistical system and economic planning.
    • ISI is an Institution of National Importance under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
    • The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 proposes replacing the Governing Council with an 11 member Board of Governors.

    [2023] Consider the following organizations/bodies in India:
    1. The National Commission for Backward Classes
    2. The National Human Commission Rights
    3. The National Law Commission
    4. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
    How many of the above are constitutional bodies?

    [A] Only one

    [B] Only two

    [C] Only three

    [D] All four

  • FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026 and powers to take over foreign funded assets

    Why in the News

    FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026 will amend the foreign funding law would let a designated authority take over the assets of organisations that lose their registration. The tension is between the state’s control over foreign money and the autonomy of civil society and religious bodies.

    What is the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010?

    1. Governing law: The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA) regulates the acceptance and use of foreign donations by individuals and organisations.
    2. Registration: Bodies receiving foreign funds must register and route money through a designated bank account.
    3. Home Ministry: The Union Home Ministry administers registration, renewal, and cancellation.

    Key Rules and Goals

    1. Main Goal: Stop foreign money from harming the country, public order, or politics.
    2. Who Cannot Get Funds: Politicians, judges, government workers, and news media cannot accept foreign money.
    3. Bank Routing: Groups must use a single, approved bank account to get these funds.

    What does the amendment propose?

    1. Cessation clause: A new provision defines cessation of an FCRA certificate on cancellation or lapse. A certificate stops working if an organization fails to apply for renewal, gets denied, or lets the 5-year validity expire. The Bill proposes to increase oversight into processes relating to the handling of assets upon cancellation, surrender, or cessation of a certificate of registration, the management of defunct organisations, and other administrative and compliance processes.
    2. Asset vesting: On cessation, foreign contributions and assets vest in a government appointed Designated Authority, with proceeds going to the government.
    3. Retrospective reach: A clause would apply the vesting to assets already acquired.

    Why is the Bill contested?

    1. Sweeping powers: Critics argue it lets the executive seize and sell the assets of non governmental organisations.
    2. Faith bodies: Christian and other religious institutions fear disproportionate impact.
    3. Constitutional concerns: Objections cite Articles 14, 25, 26 and 300A on equality, religious freedom, and property.

    What are the challenges to the FCRA framework?

    1. Funding squeeze: Foreign contribution inflows have already fallen sharply after earlier tightening. Amnesty International India had to freeze operations in 2020 after the government froze its bank accounts over FCRA compliance disputes.
    2. Compliance burden: Small organisations struggle with reporting and renewal requirements.
    3. Chilling effect: Advocacy and rights groups face uncertainty over registration.
    4. Discretion risk: Wide discretion in cancellation invites arbitrariness.
    5. Judicial overhang: Asset vesting is likely to face challenge in the courts.

    Conclusion

    The Bill shifts the balance from regulating foreign money toward controlling the organisations that receive it. The next milestone is whether the government refers it to a Select Committee before passage.

    Back2Basics

    The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026:

    It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, 2026 and it establishes a framework for managing and disposing of assets and unutilised foreign contributions of organizations that lose their FCRA certification.

    Key Provisions of the Bill

    1. Designated Authority: Creates an official body to supervise, manage, and temporarily or permanently vest assets created using foreign funds if an organization’s certificate is cancelled, surrendered, or expires.
    2. Places of Worship: Requires the authority to preserve the religious character of any asset that functions as a place of worship.
    3. Rationalized Penalties: Reduces maximum imprisonment terms for minor or technical violations of the Act from five years down to one year.
    4. Investigation Coordination: Mandates that state-level agencies secure central government approval prior to launching independent FCRA-related investigations.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2015] Examine critically the recent changes in the rule governing foreign funding of NGOs under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 1976.

  • Census 2027 finalises Phase 2 questions with caste enumeration

    Why in the News

    Around 28 questions have been finalised for the Population Enumeration phase of Census 2027, which will record caste for all residents for the first time in decades. The enumeration begins on 17 August in Ladakh and snow bound areas ahead of the rest of the country.

    What is the Census in India?

    1. Constitutional and legal basis: The Census is conducted under the Census Act, 1948 by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, and Census is a Union subject in the Seventh Schedule.
    2. Decadal count: It is a decennial enumeration of the entire population covering demographic, social and economic characteristics.

    What are the two phases of Census 2027?

    1. Houselisting phase: The first phase records houses, household amenities and assets.
    2. Population Enumeration: The second phase counts every individual and records personal and household particulars, and is where caste will be captured.

    What is new in Census 2027?

    1. Caste for all: For the first time in decades, the caste of every resident is to be recorded, not only Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
    2. Questionnaire: The final questionnaire is likely to carry 28 questions for the Population Enumeration phase.
    3. Phased timing: Snow bound areas of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are counted from 17 August, and the rest of the country in February 2027.

    Why does caste enumeration matter?

    1. Evidence for policy: Caste data informs reservation, welfare targeting and assessment of backwardness beyond SC and ST groups.
    2. Filling a data gap: The last full caste count outside SC and ST dates to 1931, leaving current policy reliant on dated estimates.

    Challenges to caste enumeration in the Census

    1. Classification complexity: Caste names run into thousands with regional and spelling variations, complicating standardised recording.
    2. Self identification: Responses depend on self reporting, which can be inconsistent or strategically stated.
    3. Enumerator training: Accurate capture of caste needs trained enumerators and a controlled code list.
    4. Political sensitivity: Publication of caste numbers can intensify demands for revised reservation shares.
    5. Data privacy: Handling granular caste data raises confidentiality and misuse concerns.

    Census Act, 1948

    1. Central legislation empowering the government to conduct the decennial Census.
    2. Administered by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    3. Makes public cooperation compulsory and guarantees confidentiality of individual records.
    4. Census information is not admissible as evidence in court, protecting respondent data.

    [2009] Consider the following statements:
    1. Between Census 1951 and Census 2001, the density of the population of India has increased more than three times.
    2. Between Census 1951 and Census 2001, the annual growth rate (exponential) of the population of India has doubled.
    (a) 1 only
    (b) 2 only
    (c) Both 1 and 2
    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

  • What is the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill

    Why in the News?

    Repeated crises in NEET 2024, UGC NET 2024 and NEET 2026 have exposed a gap in how examination breaches are defined and prevented. Despite the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, closure reports found no prosecutable conventional paper leak, raising the deeper question of institutional accountability.

    What is the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024?

    1. Anti cheating law: It criminalises organised cheating, paper leaks and impersonation in public examinations conducted by central agencies.
    2. Penalties: It prescribes stringent imprisonment and fines and targets service providers and organised gangs, not candidates alone.

    What counts as a paper leak?

    1. Traditional meaning: A paper leak is the unauthorised disclosure of a printed question paper before the exam, during printing, storage or transport.
    2. Broader compromise: Confidential material can leak at question setting, moderation, translation or digitisation, disclosing selected questions without any printed paper being recovered.

    Why do repeated crises yield no prosecutable evidence?

    1. Investigation focus: Probes trace physical papers, so a compromise at the source may never produce recoverable evidence of a conventional leak.
    2. Closure reports: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed closure reports in the 2024 cases, reportedly finding no prosecutable leak under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 or this Act.
    3. Detection failure: In NEET 2026, official action followed a whistleblower’s complaint rather than the exam’s own security or intelligence systems.

    Where does primary accountability lie?

    1. Examination authority: Prevention rests with the examination body, here the National Testing Agency (NTA), not with the CBI, police or courts that act only after a crisis.
    2. Lifecycle safeguards: Accountability must run from selection of question setters and translators to centres, digital systems, evaluation and result processing.

    What is the proposed way forward?

    1. White Paper: A committee headed by the former Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman is to document the full spectrum of breaches across the three examinations.
    2. Integrity framework: This should underpin a Public Examination Integrity Framework (PEIF) prescribing standardised end to end standard operating procedures, conflict of interest management and cybersecurity audits.

    What are the challenges to examination integrity?

    1. Insider access: A small number of individuals with privileged access at setting and moderation are the hardest risk to police.
    2. Coaching ecosystems: Organised coaching networks create demand and channels for leaked or guided material.
    3. Cybersecurity: Digitised question banks and candidate data widen the attack surface beyond physical papers.
    4. Scale: Examinations covering millions of candidates across thousands of centres magnify any single point of failure.
    5. Attribution and prosecution: Source compromises leave little physical evidence, making conviction under penal law difficult.
    6. Conflict of interest: Repeated engagement of the same experts and vendors without rotation weakens independent oversight.

    Conclusion

    The central issue is not the absence of a law but the failure to detect and prevent breaches early. Public confidence will be restored by an examination system with lifecycle safeguards and clear institutional accountability, not by harsher penalties or more logistics after the fact.

    Back2Basics:

    Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024

    1. Central legislation to prevent unfair means in public examinations conducted by bodies like the NTA, UPSC, SSC, railways and banking recruitment.
    2. Defines offences including paper leaks, impersonation and tampering with computer systems.
    3. Provides for imprisonment of three to ten years and fines up to one crore rupees for organised crimes.
    4. Makes offences cognisable, non bailable and non compoundable.

    Defined Unfair Means

    1. Unauthorized access to or leakage of question papers or answer keys.
    2. Assisting candidates physically or via communication devices inside exam halls.
    3. Tampering with computer networks, hardware, or customized software resources.
    4. Creation of fake examination authorities or issuance of bogus admit cards to cheat

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2024] What are the aims and objects of the recently passed and enforced, The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024? Whether University/State Education Board examinations, too, are covered under the Act?

    Linkage: The question tests the objectives, scope and limitations of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The article evaluates the Act’s implementation, showing that institutional safeguards and accountability remain as important as legal penalties in ensuring examination integrity.

  • Parliamentary panel flags that only 30% of urban households under AMRUT have sewerage

    Why in the News

    The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs reported that only about 30% of urban households under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) have a sewerage connection. It flagged slow progress and inter state gaps in sanitation infrastructure.

    What is AMRUT?

    1. Flagship civic scheme: AMRUT is the Union government’s flagship urban civic infrastructure mission, providing water supply, sewerage, septage, stormwater drains and green spaces.
    2. Two phases: AMRUT (2015 to 2021) covered 500 cities, and AMRUT 2.0 (from 2021) covers all statutory towns with a focus on universal water and sewerage coverage.

    What did the parliamentary panel find?

    1. Low sewerage coverage: Of 11.32 crore urban households, only 3.44 crore had sewerage connections and 2.84 crore relied on septage systems, per the City Water Balance Plans (2025).
    2. Inter state variation: Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar depend more on septage than on sewer networks.
    3. Network gap: Of 59,261 km of approved sewer network, only 27,418 km has been laid so far.

    Why does the sewerage gap persist?

    1. Small share of projects: Of 8,743 projects approved under AMRUT 2.0, only 594 (about 6.79%) relate to sewerage and septage management.
    2. Slow completion: Only 104 of those 594 sewerage projects (17.51%) are complete, while 398 (67%) remain under implementation.
    3. Funds pending: Only Rs 22,762 crore of the Rs 66,059 crore committed as central assistance has been released.

    What did the committee recommend?

    1. Database and audit: The Ministry should build a database of existing sewer networks, functional status and household connectivity gaps and carry out periodic assessments.
    2. End manual cleaning: Manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks should be eliminated.

    Challenges to urban sanitation delivery

    1. Weak urban local bodies: Municipal bodies often lack the finances and technical staff to build and operate sewage treatment plants.
    2. Trunk versus last mile: Laying trunk sewer lines without household connections leaves treatment capacity underused.
    3. Cost recovery: User charges for sewerage are politically difficult, so operation and maintenance is chronically underfunded.
    4. Land and legacy: Retrofitting sewer networks into dense, unplanned settlements is slow and expensive.
    5. Faecal sludge gap: Cities dependent on septic tanks lack faecal sludge treatment plants, so untreated waste re enters water bodies.

    AMRUT

    1. Launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
    2. Aims at universal household water supply and sewerage or septage coverage in urban areas.
    3. AMRUT 2.0, launched in 2021, targets all statutory towns and water body rejuvenation.
    4. Beneficiaries are urban households, with a stated focus on the urban poor.

    [2022] Consider the following statements
    1. The India Sanitation Coalition is a platform to promote sustainable sanitation and is funded by the Government of India and the World Health Organization.
    2. The National Institute of Urban Affairs is an apex body of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in Government of India and provides innovative solutions to address the challenges of Urban India.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    [A] 1 only

    [B] 2 only

    [C] Both 1 and 2

    [D] Neither 1 nor 2