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  • Mother and Child Health – Immunization Program, BPBB, PMJSY, PMMSY, etc.

    Measles outbreak: Need to accelerate Children Immunization program

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Measles and other contagious diseases

    Mains level: Measles outbreak, Immunization program and the concerns

    Measles

    Context

    • A measles outbreak in Mumbai has raised concerns amongst the country’s public health authorities. The city has reported more than 200 cases in the past two months and at least 13 children have lost their lives.

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    Measles: A memory shot

    • Measles is a highly contagious viral disease.
    • Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family and it is normally passed through direct contact and through the air.
    • The virus infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body.
    • Measles is a human disease and is not known to occur in animals.

    outbreak

    All you need to know about Measles

    • Signs and symptoms include:
    • The first sign of measles is usually a high fever, runny nose, a cough, red and watery eyes, and small white spots inside the cheeks can develop in the initial stage.
    • The most serious complications include blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea and related dehydration, ear infections, or severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia.
    • Who is at risk?
    • Unvaccinated young children are at highest risk of measles and its complications, including death.
    • Unvaccinated pregnant women are also at risk.
    • Any non-immune person (who has not been vaccinated or was vaccinated but did not develop immunity) can become infected.
    • Transmission:
    • Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases.
    • It is spread by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions.
    • Treatment:
    • No specific antiviral treatment exists for measles virus.
    • Severe complications from measles can be reduced through supportive care that ensures good nutrition, adequate fluid intake and treatment of dehydration with WHO-recommended oral rehydration solution.
    • All children diagnosed with measles should receive two doses of vitamin A supplements.
    • Prevention:
    • Routine measles vaccination for children, combined with mass immunization campaigns in countries with high case and death rates, are key public health strategies to reduce global measles deaths.
    • The measles vaccine is often incorporated with rubella and/or mumps vaccines.

    Reasons sought behind the sudden outbreak of Measles in India

    • A backslide in the universal immunisation programme during the pandemic:
    • By all accounts, the outbreak seems to have been precipitated by a backslide in the universal immunisation programme during the pandemic.
    • According to the state government data, only 41 per cent of the eligible children have been inoculated against measles in Mumbai.
    • Vaccine hesitancy:
    • Parents, reportedly, are showing a disinclination to continue the inoculation regime for their children after they developed fever on being administered the first jab.
    • Overworked public health professionals, including ASHA workers, have also had to combat vaccine hesitancy.

    outbreak

    Government efforts and the status of Immunization programs

    • Mission Indradhanush: In recent years, the Centre’s Mission Indradhanush project has improved vaccine coverage and reduced delays between shots.
    • Low coverage in last two years: WHO and UNICEF studies have shown that immunisation programmes especially those focusing on DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) and measles have taken a hit in low- and mid-income countries, including India, in the past two years.
    • Missed shots during Pandemic restrictions: Early in the pandemic, the National Health Mission’s information system reported that at least 100,000 children missed their shots because of the restrictions on movement.
    • India speeding up the immunization after the pandemic: Anecdotal reports do indicate that India’s universal inoculation programme picked up during the latter part of the pandemic. But measles is a highly contagious disease. Experts had cautioned that even a 5 per cent fall in the vaccination rate can disrupt herd immunity and precipitate an outbreak. The surge of the disease in Mumbai indicates that their fears are coming true.

    Countries with lower per capita incomes are more at risk

    • Measles is still common in many developing countries particularly in parts of Africa and Asia. The overwhelming majority (more than 95%) of measles deaths occur in countries with low per capita incomes and weak health infrastructures.
    • Measles outbreaks can be particularly deadly in countries experiencing or recovering from a natural disaster or conflict. Damage to health infrastructure and health services interrupts routine immunization, and overcrowding in residential camps greatly increases the risk of infection.
    • Measles outbreaks can result in epidemics that cause many deaths, especially among young, malnourished children. In countries where measles has been largely eliminated, cases imported from other countries remain an important source of infection.

    outbreak

    Conclusion

    • Studies have shown that child vaccination had suffered during the pandemic as attention shifted towards adult vaccination. Now that the pandemic has waned, governments must carefully evaluate at the grassroots how many children fell out of the vaccine net during this period and take countermeasures.

    Mains question

    Q. Measles is a highly contagious disease with a high mortality rate in unvaccinated children. Discuss the reasons behind the recent outbreak of measles in India.

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  • Issues related to Economic growth

    Retail Inflation and the new trends

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Inflation

    Mains level: Inflation and the concerns

    Inflation

    Context

    • The recent data seems to indicate that retail inflation has possibly peaked and is now likely to trend downwards. But, it would be wise to exercise caution. The latest data, while providing useful nuggets of information about price trends in the economy, challenges some of the widely held conceptions about inflation, and gives mixed signals about its trajectory.

    Inflation

    What is a simple definition for inflation?

    • Inflation is an increase in the level of prices of the goods and services that households buy. It is measured as the rate of change of those prices. Typically, prices rise over time, but prices can also fall (a situation called deflation).

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    Inflation Rate

    • Inflation Rate is the percentage change in the price level from the previous period. If a normal basket of goods was priced at Rupee 100 last year and the same basket of goods now cost Rupee 120, then the rate of inflation this year is 20%.
    • Inflation Rate= {(Price in year 2 – Price in year 1)/ Price in year 1} *100

    Inflation

    Five broad trends emerge to consider as reasons behind high inflation.

    • Russia- Ukraine war:
    • The sharp rise in commodity prices as a consequence of the war is considered to have been largely responsible for the spurt in inflation this year, pushing it beyond the upper threshold of the RBI’s inflation-targeting framework.
    • For instance, India’s crude oil import price rose from $84.67 per barrel in January to $112.87 in March, and further to $116.01 in June. The ripple effects of higher commodity prices have been felt across the economy.
    • Inflation generalized in formal and informal sectors:
    • There are indications that inflation is getting more generalized across both the formal and informal segments of the economy.
    • One indication of this comes from the clothing and footwear category, a highly fragmented industry with the presence of both formal and informal segments. Another possible indication comes from rentals.
    • Rental inflation in India had tended to remain largely range-bound over much of the past few years. But as this category has the highest individual item-wise weight in the inflation index, any movement in either direction, however small, would have a large impact on core inflation.
    • Supply side disruptions during the pandemic: During the pandemic, supply-side disruptions had caused goods inflation to rise, even as services inflation remained relatively muted owing to risk-averse behaviour by consumers and restrictions on high-contact intensive sectors.
    • Competition and the pricing mechanism in the economy:
    • Prices are rigid on the downside will depend not only on how demand fares now with monetary conditions having been tightened, but also on the extent of competition in the economy, among others.
    • After all, greater market concentration creates conditions for greater pricing power. A badly damaged non-corporate sector (MSMEs) would have led to ruptures in the low-cost economy, increasing the pricing power of the corporate sector during this period.
    • Wage- price spiral:
    • Inflation in India is not a consequence of a strong economy. Wage growth in the large informal rural economy has been lower than inflation.
    • While some skill-intensive segments of the urban formal labour force may be able to exercise some bargaining power, the labour force participation rates suggest continuing slack in urban labour markets.

    Inflation

    What are the concerns?

    • Commodity should have come down over the period: If high core inflation in the months after the beginning of hostilities was an outcome of the passthrough, either in part or completely, of the Ukrainewar, then the decline in commodity prices since then should have led to a moderation in core inflation
    • Services inflation vs goods inflation: But as activities normalised, there was an expectation that services inflation would see a strong pick-up. The recent data indicates that this has not been the case. While services inflation has risen, it remains considerably lower than goods inflation, perhaps owing to a combination of lower cost-push pressures, more slack and less demand.

    Conclusion

    • While inflation may have peaked, it is far from being quashed. The RBI expects inflation to edge downwards from 6.5 per to 5 per cent in the first quarter of the next financial year (2023-24). But RBI ca not afford to underestimate the price pressures in the economy.

    Mains Question

    Q. What is inflation?  Some of the new emerging trends are considered while measuring rising inflation in the current scenario. Discuss.

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  • RTI – CIC, RTI Backlog, etc.

    Central Information Commission (CIC) and The RTI

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters,Statutory, Regulatory & Various Quasi-Judicial Bodies

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: CIC and RTI

    Mains level: Central Information Commission, and issues with the effectiveness of Right to Information Act

    Information

    Context

    • The most vital mandate of the Central Information Commission, the apex body under India’s transparency regime, is to decide the disclosure or the non-disclosure of information. But the commission has seemingly relinquished this primary duty in cases of larger public importance.

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    All you need to know about Central Information Commission (CIC)

    • Chief Information commissioner (CIC): Chief Information commissioner who heads all the central departments and ministries- with their own public information officers (PIO)s. CICs are directly under the President of India.
    • Composition: The Commission consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and not more than ten Information Commissioners. At present (2019), the Commission has six Information Commissioners apart from the Chief Information Commissioner.
    • Appointment: They are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the PM as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM.
    • Office term: The CIC/IC shall hold office for such term as prescribed by the Central Government or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They are not eligible for reappointment.
    • Power and functions:
    • It is the duty of the Commission to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person regarding information request under RTI, 2005.
    • The Commission can order an inquiry into any matter if there are reasonable grounds (suo-moto power).
    • While inquiring, the Commission has the powers of a civil court in respect of summoning, requiring documents etc.

    Information

    Procedure of RTI and the role of CIC

    • Provision to File and application and seek guaranteed reply: Citizens can file applications under the Right to Information Act with any public body and are guaranteed a reply from the public information officer of that public body within 30 days.
    • Provision of appeal in case of dissatisfaction:
    • In case of a no reply or dissatisfaction with the response, the citizen can file an appeal at the departmental level and then a second and final appeal with the Information Commission.
    • Each State has its own State Information Commission to deal with second appeals concerning State bodies. At the Centre, it is the Central Information Commission (CIC).

    Information

    How RTI amendment, 2019 has changed CIC?

    • Before the amendment to the Until the 2019 amendment to the RTI Act, Information Commissioners (ICs) appointed to the CIC were equal in status to the Chief Election Commissioner, and that of a Supreme Court judge. They had a five­-year fixed term and terms of service.
    • After the amendments of 2019, the Centre gave itself powers to change and decide these terms whenever it wished, thereby striking at the independence of the commission and those who man it.

    What are the concerns raised over the changed approach of CIC?

    • Decreasing accountability: Records show that not a single order for disclosure has been forthcoming in matters of public importance. The present set of Information Commissioners have together adopted a new jurisprudence that has created additional hurdles in a citizen’s quest for accountability.
    • Systematic ignorance to the mandate of non-disclosure: The Commission has adopted a new way of delegating its mandate to decide cases to the Ministry before it. In most cases, the Ministries reiterate their earlier stand of non­disclosure, most often under vague grounds of national interest.
    • Refusing to its duty: After these public authorities pass fresh orders, which are usually a reiteration of their earlier stand against disclosure, the CIC refuses to accept any further challenge to such orders, therefore, refusing to do its duty of deciding the cases.
    • Ignoring the principle of natural justice: One of the cardinal rules of natural justice is that no one should be a judge in their own cause. However, the commission now allows, or rather wants, the very Ministry that stands accused of violating the RTI Act to act as the judge in their own cause and decide whether a disclosure is necessary.
    • New instruments such as pending cases and stay orders: A case to keep pending for final order or a stay order is unheard of and there is no provision in the RTI Act for the same.
    • Officers have no fear of any penal provisions: Bureaucrats reject RTIs with glee with no fear of facing penal provisions outlined in Section 20 of the RTI Act, knowing fully well that they have a free hand under the Information Commissioners.

    Back to basics: The Right to Information

    • RTI is an act of the parliament which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens’ right to information.
    • It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
    • Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply expeditiously or within 30.
    • In case of the matter involving a petitioner’s life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours.
    • The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.

    Information

    Conclusion

    • Dark clouds surround India’s transparency regime. Citizens have to mount intense pressure on authorities to act and appoint commissioners of integrity. Lawyers have to help willing citizens take matters to court and seek justice.

    Mains question

    Q. What are the role and functions of Central Information Commission? CIC’s deviance from its duty may undermine citizens’ power of right to information.

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  • Food Procurement and Distribution – PDS & NFSA, Shanta Kumar Committee, FCI restructuring, Buffer stock, etc.

    A reality check on Nutrition programs

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies,Health & Education

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: NFHS and GHI

    Mains level: Malnutrition in India

    Nutrition

    Context

    • The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022 has brought more unwelcome news for India, as far as its global ranking on a vital indicator of human development is concerned. India ranked 107 out of 121 countries. Malnutrition still haunts India

    Global hunger Index (GHI)

    • The GHI is an important indicator of nutrition, particularly among children, as it looks at stunting, wasting and mortality among children, and at calorific deficiency across the population.

    Findings according to the National family health survey findings (NFHS-5)

    • India’s National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) from 2019-21 reported that in children below the age of five years, 35.5% were stunted, 19.3% showed wasting, and 32.1% were underweight.

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    Nutrition

    Status of budgetary allocation for Government Schemes

    • Gaps in the funding: Experts have suggested several approaches to address the problem of chronic malnutrition, many of which feature in the centrally-sponsored schemes that already exist. However, gaps remain in how they are funded and implemented, in what one might call the plumbing of these schemes.
    • Saksham Anganwadi:
    • The Government of India implements the Saksham Anganwadi and Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN) 2.0 scheme (which now includes the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme),
    • It seeks to work with adolescent girls, pregnant women, nursing mothers and children below three.
    • However, the budget for this scheme for FY2022-23 was ₹20,263 crore, which is less than 1% more than the actual spent in FY2020-21 an increase of less than 1% over two years.
    • PM POSHAN:
    • PM POSHAN, or Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman, known previously as the Mid-Day Meal scheme (National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools).
    • The budget for FY2022-23 at ₹10,233.75 crore was 21% lower than the expenditure in FY2020-21.
    • It is clear that the budgets being allocated are nowhere near the scale of the funds that are required to improve nutrition in the country.

    Nutrition

    What are the hurdles for effective Implementation of such large-scale schemes.

    • Underfunded Nutrition Programme: An Accountability Initiative budget brief reports that per capita costs of the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (one of the largest components of this scheme) has not increased since 2017 and remains grossly underfunded, catering to only 41% of the funds required.
    • Vacant posts of Projects officers and insufficient manpower: The budget brief also mentions that over 50% Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) posts were vacant in Jharkhand, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, pointing to severe manpower constraints in successfully implementing the scheme of such importance.
    • Regular controversies over the food served under MDM: While PM POSHAN (or MDM) is widely recognized as a revolutionary scheme that improved access to education for children nationwide, it is often embroiled in controversies around what should be included in the mid-day meals that are provided at schools.
    • Irregular social audits: Social audits that are meant to allow community oversight of the quality of services provided in schools are not carried out routinely.
    • Volatile food prices effects: The effect of cash transfers is also limited in a context where food prices are volatile and inflation depletes the value of cash.
    • Social factors: Equally, there are social factors such as ‘son preference’, which sadly continues to be prevalent in India and can influence household-level decisions when responding to the nutrition needs of sons and daughters.

    Nutrition

    Suggestions for the effective delivery of the government schemes

    • Tracing the reasons behind existing malnutrition: It is clear that malnutrition persists due to depressed economic conditions in large parts of the country, the poor state of agriculture in India, persistent levels of unsafe sanitation practices, etc. Political battles over malnutrition are not going to help; nor is continuing to think in silos.
    • Cash transfers where purchasing poverty is less: Cash transfers have a role to play here, especially in regions experiencing acute distress, where household purchasing power is very depressed. Cash transfers can also be used to incentivize behavioural change in terms of seeking greater institutional support.
    • Targeted supplementation: Food rations through PDS and special supplements for the target group of pregnant and lactating mothers, and infants and young children, are essential.
    • Community participation: Getting these schemes right requires greater involvement of local government and local community groups in the design and delivery of tailored nutrition interventions.
    • Comprehensive social education programs for girls: A comprehensive programme targeting adolescent girls is required if the inter-generational nature of malnutrition is to be tackled. There is a need of comprehensive social education programme.

    Conclusion

    • Malnutrition has been India’s scourge for several years now. A month-long POSHAN Utsav may be good optics, but is no substitute for painstaking everyday work. The need of the hour is to make addressing child malnutrition the top priority of the government machinery, and all year around.

    Mains Question

    Q. Despite large government nutrition programs, malnutrition still haunts India. Discuss the problems and suggest solutions.

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  • Climate Change Impact on India and World – International Reports, Key Observations, etc.

    Climate Change and the role of Panchayat Raj Institutes (PRI’s)

    op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 2: Important Geophysical Phenomena

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: NA

    Mains level: Role of PRI's in a fight against climate change

    Panchayat

    Context

    • If India has to achieve the set of goals enunciated in the ‘Panchamrit’ resolution of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow 2021, it is necessary that Panchayati raj institutions, the third tier of government which are closest to the people are involved.

    Climate change and rural area

    • Major impact on rural areas: The greater variability in rainfall and temperatures, etc. experienced of late has directly affected the livelihood and well-being of millions of rural households.
    • PRI excluded from National action plan: India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change 2008 identifies a range of priority areas for coordinated intervention at the national and State levels. However, there would have been better results had Panchayati raj institutions been given a greater role.
    • Decentralization of climate efforts are necessary: Through the ongoing decentralization process which ensures people’s participation, panchayats can play a crucial and frontline role in coordinating effective responses to climate risks, enabling adaptation and building climate-change resilient communities.

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    Panchayat

    What is carbon neutrality?

    • Zero carbon production:
    • The climate change discussion also focuses on the emerging and widely accepted concept of ‘carbon neutrality’ which puts forth the notion of zero carbon developments, nature conservation, food, energy and seeds sufficiency, and economic development.
    • As human activities are the cause of the current climate crisis, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to growing and extreme weather events are critical.
    • Zero carbon development which promotes sustainable living is the effective solution to reducing anthropogenic emissions and improving climate resilience.

    Panchayat

    Efforts of Panchayat raj institutes to fight climate change: Case study of Meenangadi

    • Carbon neutral Meenangadi: In 2016, the panchayat envisaged a project called ‘Carbon neutral Meenangadi’, the aim being to transform Meenangadi into a state of carbon neutrality. There were campaigns, classes and studies to begin with. An awareness programme was conducted initially. A greenhouse gases emission inventory was also prepared. The panchayat was found to be carbon positive.
    • Implementation of Multi-sectoral schemes: An action plan was prepared by organising gram Sabha meetings. Socio-economic surveys and energy-use mapping were also carried out. Several multi sector schemes were implemented to reduce emissions, increase carbon sequestration, and preserve the ecology and bio-diversity.
    • Tree plantation Initiative: ‘Tree banking’ was one of landmark schemes introduced to aid carbon neutral activities which encouraged the planting of more trees by extending interest-free loans. Interestingly 1,58,816 trees were planted which have also been geo-tagged to monitor their growth.
    • People’s participation: The entire community was involved in the process, with school students, youth, and technical and academic institutions given different assignments. Five years have passed and the changes are visible. Local economic development was another thrust area where LED bulb manufacturing and related micro-enterprises were initiated.

    Panchayat

    Government of India’s effort to support climate change: ‘Clean and Green Village’

    • SDG theme: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has focused its attention on localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on a thematic basis.
    • Various activities delegated to PRI: ‘Clean and Green Village’ has been identified as the fifth theme where panchayats can take up activities on natural resource management, biodiversity protection, waste management and afforestation activities.
    • Documentation of best practices: According to the latest data, 1,09,135-gram panchayats have prioritised ‘Clean & Green Village’ as one of their focus areas for 2022-23. The Ministry has highlighted the need for the documentation of best practices and for wider dissemination.
    • Integrated panchayat development plan: The net result is that many panchayats are coming forward with their eco plans. The integrated Panchayat Development Plan prepared by all panchayats is a stepping stone towards addressing many of the environmental concerns of villages.

    Conclusion

    • In today’s age of rapid technological advancements and digital transformation, India’s rural local bodies are silently contributing their strength to ensuring the global target of carbon neutrality, as envisaged in the UN conference on climate change.

    Mains Question

    Q. What role PRIs can play in a fight against climate change? What is the scheme of “Clean and Green Village” of Ministry of Panchayat Raj?

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  • Foreign Policy: India as a Pole in Itself

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: NA

    Mains level: India's rising geopolitical significance and balanced foreign policy

    India

    Context

    • The ongoing war in Ukraine on the one hand and the confrontation between Russia and the United States and the West, on the other have increased the frequency/regularity of the question, whose side is India on, after all? Is India with Russia or with the U.S./the West in this war?

    What is the issue of India taking the either side?

    • India doesn’t support the either camp: When great powers seek India’s support during geopolitical contestations, such as the one over Ukraine, they end up facing a stubborn India that is reluctant to toe the line.
    • India is not a satellite state: The inherent reason behind Indian reluctance, however, is not stubbornness but a sense of self which views itself as a pole in the international system, and not as a satellite state or a camp follower.
    • India has a different position than two poles: India refuses to take sides because it views itself as a side whose interests are not accounted for by other camps or poles.
    • India projects the multipolar world order: New Delhi’s constant exhortations of a multipolar world are also very much in tune with this thinking about itself as a pole in a multipolar world.

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    India

    India’s history of not taking the side (non-alignment)

    • Historically different civilization: The origins of this thought can be found in the character of the country’s long struggle for independence; the pre- and post-Independence articulations of leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhiji, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak among others on international politics; the (not uncontested) primacy India inherited as the legatee state of the British empire in South Asia; India’s larger than life civilizational sense of self.
    • Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) experiment: NAM have contributed to India’s desire for a unique foreign policy identity and a voice in the comity of nations. For much of its modern independent history, India’s foreign policy has been a unique experiment.
    • Independent foreign policy: Historically, India’s view of itself as a pole is evident in the manner in which it used to pursue non-alignment for several decades after Independence. Some vestiges of this continue to inform India’s foreign policy to this day.
    • Non-alignment is not a neutrality: It is also important to point out that India’s non-alignment is often misunderstood given that a number of foreign commentators and practitioners interpret it as neutrality. For India, however, non-alignment is not neutrality, but the ability to take a position on a given issue on a case-by-case basis.

    How India asserts itself as a different pole in international affairs?

    • No domination in south Asia: India has a different view of itself as a pole. It has not actively sought to dominate the South Asian regional subsystem even when it could.
    • No alliance like NATO: Its balancing behaviour has been subpar, it has refused to build alliances in the classical sense of the term, or sought camp followers or allegiances. As a matter of fact, even its occasional balancing behaviour (for instance, the 1971 India-Soviet Treaty during the Bangladesh war) was contingent on emergencies.
    • South Asia is not a Strategic periphery: It does believe it has a strategic periphery in South Asia where it has a natural claim to primacy.
    • Doesn’t allow interference in south Asia: It discourages interference by other powers in that space.
    • India speaks for global south: India often tends to speak for ‘underprivileged collectives’, physical (South Asia) or otherwise (NAM, developing nations, global south, etc. in varying degrees); and it welcomes the rule of law and regional order.

    India

    What should world learn from India’s position as a pole in itself?

    • India as unique player in international system: India’s recent or past statements on issues of global importance be it Ukraine or Iraq, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s aerial campaign in Serbia, or bringing climate change to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) indicate that it tends to take positions that not just suit its interests but are also informed by its sense of being a unique player on the global stage.
    • India as partner not cheerleader: Western powers must, therefore, treat India as a partner rather than as a cheerleader. They should mainstream India into global institutions such as the UNSC, and consult India rather than dictate to India which side to take.

    India

    Conclusion

    • As India becomes the chair of the G20 and the SCO in 2022, it will further seek to assert itself as a major pole in the international system, and dissuade demands to follow one camp or another. Therefore, those wishing to work with India on the global stage must learn to deal with the ‘India pole’.

    Mains Question

    Q. Analyse the India’s policy of not taking the position of west or Russia on global issues. How India asserts itself as a different pole in international affairs?

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  • Right To Privacy

    Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2022

    Mains level: Data surveillance and the concerns over the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2022

    personal

    Context

    • Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released the Digital Personal data Protection Bill, 2022, on November 18.

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    Background: Demand for the data surveillance reforms

    • The journey towards a data protection legislation began in 2011 when the department of Personnel and Training initiated discussions on the Right to Privacy Bill, 2011.
    • As per an Office Memorandum dated September 29, 2011, the then attorney General, Goolam Vahanvati, opined that conditions under which the government can carry out “interception of communication” should be spelt out in the Bill.
    • The report of the group emphasized the need to examine the impact of the increased collection of citizen information by the government on the right to privacy. Since then, civil society organizations, lawyers and politicians have consistently demanded surveillance reform, highlighting how personal data can only be protected when the government’s power to conduct surveillance of citizens is meaningfully regulated.

    Personal

    Revoked version of Digital Personal data Protection Bill, 2022

    • Eases cross-border data flows but wide-ranging powers to state agencies: The reworked version of the data protection Bill, released three months after the Govt withdrew an earlier draft, eases cross-border data flows and increases penalties for breaches. But it gives the Centre wide-ranging powers and prescribes very few safeguards.
    • Delicate balance on privacy and restrictions: Officials at the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) have said the new draft strikes a delicate balance and factors in learning from global approaches, while staying aligned to the Supreme Court’s ruling on privacy as a fundamental right, but within reasonable restrictions.
    • Seven principles of the Bill: The explanatory note accompanying the Bill elaborates on the seven principles it seeks to promote, including transparency, purpose limitation, data minimization, and preventing the unauthorized collection of personal data.

    personal

    The surveillance architecture In India

    • Main components: The surveillance architecture in India comprises mainly of Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000; and the procedural rules promulgated under them.
    • No clearly defined ground: No But this architecture does not meaningfully define the grounds under which, or the manner in which, surveillance may be conducted.
    • No safeguards: It also does not contain safeguards such as ex-ante or ex-post facto independent review of interception directions.
    • Lack of accountability: The concentration of power with the executive thus creates a lack of accountability and enables abuse. Evidence for this emerges not only from instances of political surveillance, but also from the slivers of transparency that accidentally emerge from telecom companies.
    • Excessive surveillance: For instance, submissions by Airtel to the Telecommunications Department, as part of the public consultation process for the Indian Telecommunication Bill, reveal that excessive data collection requests are already a reality. Airtel has asked the government to share the costs it incurs to comply with the increasing demands from law enforcement agencies to carry out surveillance.
    • Concerns over citizen data processing: Apart from outright surveillance, unfettered collection and processing of citizen data for other purposes, such as digital governance, raise concerns.

    What are the concerns over the revoked version of the bill?

    • No proposals for surveillance reform: All iterations of the data protection legislation since the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, the draft Data Protection Bill, 2021 and the 2022 Bill have no proposals for surveillance reform.
    • Data processing without consent: Personal data can be processed even without the person’s consent. Blanket exemptions Like previous iterations, Clause 18(2) of the 2022 Bill allows the Union government to provide blanket exemptions for selected government agencies.
    • Permits exemption to private entities: However, this Bill is more egregious than previous iterations as it permits exemption to private sector entities that may include individual companies or a class of them, by assessing the volume and nature of personal data under Clause 18(3).
    • Exemptions without the purview of data protection: Under the new Bill in India, exempted state agencies and private entities will not be within the purview of the Data Protection Board, the body responsible for imposing penalties in case fiduciaries infringe privacy.

    Personal

    Data processing in other countries

    • Exemptions on case by case and the rationale behind it: While the existing or proposed legislations in the European Union and in the U.S. permit security agencies to claim exemptions on a case-by-case basis, depending on why they are collecting personal data, they do not contain blanket exemption powers to an entire government entity.
    • Meaningful state surveillance: Other jurisdictions exercise meaningful oversight over state surveillance. For instance, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in the U.K. is authorized to hear complaints against misuse of surveillance powers and can impose monetary penalties in case of a breach.

    Conclusion

    • The preamble to the 2022 Bill states that the purpose is to protect the personal data of individuals and to ensure that personal data is processed only for lawful purposes. However, blanket exemptions for state agencies alongside private entities raise untold concerns, which need to be addressed on a war footing.

    Mains question

    Q. What do you understand by data surveillance? It is said the Data surveillance architecture in India lacks accountability and transparency. Analyze.

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  • Indian Ocean Power Competition

    India’s compulsion to develop The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI)

    op-ed snap | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI)

    Mains level: Necessity of developing Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) and issues associated with it.

    Andaman

    Context

    • The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) are in the news as the union government proposing a slew of infrastructure projects to boost business and tourism on the islands, conservation groups are on the warpath.

    The significance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI)

    • Oceanic outpost: The ANI is an oceanic outpost for continental India.
    • Facilitates unique surveillance: With a critical vantage location overlooking the ten-degree and six-degree channels (through which a vast majority of cargo and container traffic in the eastern Indian Ocean transits), the islands give India a unique surveillance and maritime interdiction capability.
    • Strategically important: The ANI is a vital ‘staging post’ for maritime operations, and a hub for logistics, providing operational turnaround for Indian warships and aircraft deployed in the Andaman Sea.

    One go Memory shot: Geography of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI)

    • Location: Located between 6° and 14° North Latitude and 92° and 94° East Longitude lie the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory in India.
    • Two groups of Island: It consists of two groups of islands. The islands located north of 10° north latitude are known as Andaman while islands located south of 10° north latitude are called Nicobar.
    • The Andamans: More than 300 islands make up the Andamans. North, Middle, and South Andaman, known collectively as Great Andaman, are the main islands;
    • The 10- degree channel: The 10-degree channel which is about 145 km long separates Little Andaman in the south from the Nicobar Islands.
    • The Nicobars: The Nicobars consists of 19 islands. Among the most prominent is Car Nicobar in the north; and Great Nicobar in the south. About 90 miles to the southwest of Great Nicobar lies the northwestern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia.
    • Formation: Both the Andaman and Nicobar groups are formed by the above-sea extensions of submarine ridges of mountains and are a part of a great island arc. The highest peak is 2,418 feet at Saddle Peak on North Andaman, followed by Mount Thullier at 2,106 feet on Great Nicobar and Mount Harriet at 1,197 feet on South Andaman. Barren island, the only known active Volcano in south Asia lies in the Andaman Sea. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, there were volcanic eruptions on Barren Island.
    • Andaman Terrain: Formed of sandstone, limestone, and shale of Cenozoic age, the terrain of the Andamans is rough, with hills and narrow longitudinal valleys. Flat land is scarce and is confined to a few valleys.
    • Nicobar Terrain: The terrain of the Nicobar is more diverse than that of the Andamans. Some of the Nicobar Islands, such as Car Nicobar, have flat coral-covered surfaces with offshore coral formations that prevent most ships from anchoring. Other islands, such as Great Nicobar, are hilly and contain numerous fast-flowing streams.
    • Great Nicobar is the only island in the territory with a significant amount of fresh surface water.
      Climate      : The climate of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is tropical but is moderated by sea.

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    Past objections on India developing Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI)

    • Perspective of India’s diplomatic community:
    • When India first began developing the ANI in the 1980s, the defence and foreign policy establishments were not entirely in agreement.
    • India’s diplomatic community opposed the militarization plan, arguing that turning the islands into a strategic-military garrison would weaponize the littorals, an outcome unlikely to sit well with India’s maritime neighbors.
    • Neighbor’s apprehensions: Indonesia and Malaysia were apprehensive that India would use its military facilities on the Andamans to dominate its region, and project power east of Malacca.

    Andaman

    Today’s perspective India developing Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI)

    • More empathy towards India: Today arguably, there is more empathy for Indian compulsions to develop the ANI. It is clear that developing the islands is a necessity for India that could not be overlooked.
    • India’s compulsion: With China expanding its footprint in India’s backyard, regional states realise New Delhi has little option but to consolidate strategically on the islands.
    • Securing maritime borders: In the aftermath of the June 2020 standoff with China in Ladakh, the Indian military has been under growing pressure to forestall Chinese adventurism in the Indian Ocean.
    • Higher stakes for India in eastern Indian Ocean: With China moving to expand its presence in India’s neighbourhood, including at Maldives (Feydhoo Finolhu), Pakistan (Gwadar), Sri Lanka (Hambantota), and Bangladesh (at Cox Bazaar where China is said to be constructing a submarine base), the stakes for India in the eastern Indian Ocean have never been higher.
    • Intentions are good: Asia’s leaders knew that India’s intentions are good because it is willing to keep its security presence on the strategic islands to a minimum.

    Rational behind developing Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI)

    • To counter China’s belt and road Initiative: New Delhi also needs to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The manner of China’s development of infrastructure projects in the Bay of Bengal suggests that it seeks both economic leverage and strategic prowess in South Asia.
    • Countering China Dual use facilities: By some accounts, China is looking for military access to Chinese-built facilities in the Bay of Bengal. Beijing, reportedly, is on a drive to create ‘dual-use’ facilities that have both commercial and military applications.

    What could be the way to counter China in the region

    • By expanding military Presence in BOB: One way for India to counter China’s forays in the Bay of Bengal would be to expand Indian military presence in the littorals. The process is already underway
    • By turning islands into logistic support facilities for navies: The other way for India to counter China is to develop its island territories in the eastern Indian Ocean and offer military facilities therein for logistics support to navies from friendly Quad countries.

    Delicate ecology of the island cannot be ignored

    • Environmentalists contend that construction activity on ecologically sensitive islands could lead to a large-scale loss of biodiversity, which could hurt local communities and the islands’ indigenous people.
    • New Delhi cannot afford to ignore the ecological implications of infrastructure development on the islands, in particular, the proposal for a container terminal at Campbell Bay on the Great Nicobar Island.
    • The project entails the mass culling of forests and could take a toll on the region’s delicate ecological balance.
    • New hotels, resorts, and a trans-shipment port could upend decades of conservation efforts.

    Conclusion

    • The need of the hour is to balance competing requirements: enable development on the islands, while avoiding large-scale environmental damage. As ‘high-wire’ acts go, this is going to be a hard walk for Indian decision-makers.

    Mains question

    Q. China is moving towards increasing its presence in India’s neighborhood and is challenging India in many ways. Analyze India’s compulsion to develop the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI).

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  • Pharma Sector – Drug Pricing, NPPA, FDC, Generics, etc.

    Role of private sector in India’s Space programmes

    op-ed snap | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Private space programs

    Mains level: Indian private sector participation in space programmes.

    private

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    Context

    • The launch of the Vikram S (Mission Prarambh) rocket last week has been rightly hailed as an important milestone in India’s outer space journey. It is the first privately built Indian rocket to make it to space.

    Private players in space sector

    • Lack of Enabling policy: The country’s private sector has the talent and experience to shorten that distance if Delhi creates the enabling policy environment.
    • Monopoly of Government: When space emerged as an important endeavour in the second half of the 20th century, governments were in the lead. The cost, complexity and research-intensity of the space effort meant the space programmes everywhere became a government monopoly.
    • Government can no longer ignore private players: But in the 21st century, the role of the private sector has dramatically expanded. Satellites were once owned only by governments but today private companies lead the satellite business.

    private

    Major private players and their space endeavor

    • Starlink satellite system: Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system is now a major player with more than 2,300 satellites in low earth orbit they deliver a variety of space services including useful military information to the armed forces of Ukraine in their fight against Russian forces.
    • Amazon’s Project Kuiper: Plans to launch more than 3,000 satellites in the coming years to offer a range of services, including broadband internet. This will involve making at least three satellites a day.
    • One-web cooperation: Airtel in India is a partner in the One-Web corporation that offers connectivity through its system of nearly 500 satellites.
    • Breaking the monopoly of Government: The business of launch vehicles the most demanding of space activities remained a state monopoly until recently. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has broken through that launch monopoly and Amazon’s Blue Origin rocket will soon be in the market too.

    History of India’s space programme

    • Space for national development only: Delhi’s main objective was to leverage outer space to accelerate national development. Eventually, military and commercial dimensions began to envelop the Indian space programme.
    • Cooperation with Soviet Union: India’s space programme began with intensive cooperation with the Western countries and later with the Soviet Union. Delhi also offered space cooperation to other developing countries within the rubric of engagement with friendly governments.
    • Sanctions halted India’s progress: The non-proliferation sanctions on India after its first nuclear test in 1974 severely constricted the space for the country in international space cooperation. It was only after the historic civil nuclear initiative that the sanctions regime began to ease.

    private

    What should be India’s future approach in space domain?

    • Commercially leveraging the space using MTCR: India is now part of the Missile Technology Control Regime that regulates commerce in space related commodities and technologies.
    • Dual use technology under Wassenaar Arrangement: India is also part of the Wassenaar Arrangement that controls trade in dual use technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
    • The growing range of new space possibilities: From using satellites for delivering broadband internet to the mining of the Moon and from space manufacturing to deep space exploration. Put simply, the scale of the global economy is rapidly growing its value is expected to more than double from about $450 billion in 2022 to nearly one trillion dollars within a decade.
    • It must be about business and economy: For India, outer space can no longer be about narrowly framed ideas of “development” and “national prestige”. It must be about business and economy. The current Indian share of the global space economy is barely 2 per cent. PM Modi has been demanding that India rapidly increase its share to 8 per cent in the coming years.
    • The private sector companies for larger role: Raising the Indian share of the global space economy can only be done by drawing in the private sector companies to play a larger role. Consider, for example, The Artemis 1 rocket was launched last week and the programme involves a number of leading aerospace companies like Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, Airbus and Space X.
    • International cooperation in national space programmes: If Apollo was a purely national project of the United States, the Artemis programme is a multinational endeavor between the US and its partners, including France, Canada, and Japan. Meanwhile Russia and China are coming together to collaborate not only on their space programmes, but also on building a joint base on the Moon that will establish long term human presence there.
    • Capital support for space programme: India has just about embarked on a programme to enhance the contribution of its private sector in outer space. India is also drawing on foreign capital to support its start-ups. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, for example, is a major investor in Skyroot Aerospace that launched the Vikram S rocket.

    Conclusion

    • Many Western aerospace companies will be eager to invest in India’s space programme as it begins to open up. India is also coming to terms with the fact that international cooperation is not just an “add-on” to the national space programme, but must be an integral part of India’s space strategy.

    Mains Question

    Q. 20th century was dominated by monopoly of government in space domain. Elaborate. How India can commercialize the space sector with help of private players?

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  • Historical and Archaeological Findings in News

    Ram Setu and The Sethusamudram Project (SSCP)

    op-ed snap | | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP)

    Mains level: Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) and its impact on the marine ecosystem

    Ram Setu

    Context

    • On November 10, the Supreme Court gave the Centre four weeks’ time to file a response clarifying its stand on a plea seeking national heritage status for the ‘Ram Setu’.

    Ram Setu

    • Also known as Adam’s bridge, Ram Setu is a 48-km long bridge-like structure between India and Sri Lanka.
    • It finds mention in the Ramayana but little about its formation is known or proven, scientifically.

    Interesting Research on “Ram Setu”

    • Conclusion by the researchers that Ram Setu is not man-made:
    • In 2003, space-based investigations, using satellite remote sensing imagery, by researchers at the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad concluded that Ram Setu is not man-made, but comprises 103 small patch reefs lying in a linear pattern with reef crest, sand cays and intermittent deep channels.
    • Cays, also known as keys, refer to low-elevation islands situated on surfaces made of coral reef.
    • Reasoning behind the conclusion:
    • It is reasonable to assume that Ram Setu is a linear ridge made of coral reefs and forms a shallow part of the ocean that is being constantly impacted by sedimentation processes.
    • Like the Great Barrier Reef, the Ram Setu is also a continuous stretch of limestone shoals that runs from Pamban Island near Rameswaram to the Mannar Island on the northern coast of Sri Lanka.
    • During glaciation period: During a global glaciation period that began around 2.6 million years ago and ended 11,700 years ago, the Indian coast, including parts of the Sethusamudram, may have been raised above water.
    • Post glaciation: The post-glaciation period witnessed a steady rise in sea levels around the world and coral polyps could once again have grown higher on the newly submerged platforms. And in time, the platforms may have been used by migrants to cross oceans.
    • Ramayana belief: The Ramayana refers to a putative land bridge in this region; believers hold it as the structure that Lord Rama and his army built to reach Lanka. This ridge may have been used in the distant past as a migratory route.

    Ram Setu

    Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP)

    • Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) can be traced back to the British, who Proposed as channel to link the Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar.
    • It was only in 2005 that the project was inaugurated.
    • Separating the shallow sea consisting of the Gulf of Mannar in the south and Palk Bay in the north is a somewhat linear coral ridge called Adam’s Bridge or Ram Setu.
    • This runs between Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka.
    • The SSCP, if completed, is expected to considerably reduce the navigation time between the east and west coasts of India.

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    Memory shot

    • “The Sethusamudram project envisages dredging of a channel across the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka to allow ships to sail between the east and west coasts of India, instead of circumventing the island nation.”

    What are the Concerns raised about the project?

    • High energy waves may bring sediments: Computer models suggest that the central, eastern and north-eastern parts of the Palk Bay may be impacted by waves of higher energy. This means that these areas also receive more sediment, rendering them more turbid.
    • Alignment is not easy: The models also indicate that waves enter the Bay from its north and south, corresponding to how the channel is aligned.
    • High frequency of cyclonic storms: The area is also vulnerable to cyclonic storms. A cyclone in 1964 was so powerful that it wiped out the town of Dhanushkodi. Such storms can cause the local sedimentary dynamics to go haywire.
    • Dumping of dredged material may harm marine ecosystem: Finding safe places for dumping dredged material without harming terrestrial or marine ecosystems is therefore a big challenge.
    • Air and water pollution by the ships: Emissions from ships traversing the narrow channel will pollute the air and water. And if a rogue ship carrying oil or coal is grounded or strays from its course within the canal, it could cause an ecological disaster.
    • Religious belief of Significant Ram Setu: While environmental groups have been protesting against the project for the huge environmental cost it would entail, religious groups have been opposing it as they believe that the structure, which is mentioned in the Ramayana, is of religious significance.

    Ram Setu

    What is the need of protection?

    • Marine biosphere reserves: The coral reef platforms between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram in the Gulf of Mannar were notified as a marine biosphere reserve in 1989.
    • Biodiversity rich area:
    • More than 36,000 species of flora and fauna reportedly live there, flanked by mangroves and sandy shores which are considered conducive for turtles to nest.
    • This is also a breeding ground for fish, lobsters, shrimps and crabs.
    • Of the 600 recorded varieties of fish in the region, 70 are said to be commercially important.
    • Area is already under stress:
    • This area is already threatened by discharge from thermal plants, brine run-off from salt pans, and illegal mining of corals.
    • The SSCP, if it becomes a reality, will be the final blow to this sensitive environment and to the livelihoods of the people there.

    Perspective: Area is not only a religious belief but also a “Geo heritage site”.

    • While considering this issue from a believer’s point of view, it is also important to consider this feature from a ‘geoheritage’ perspective.
    • The geoheritage paradigm is used in nature conservation to preserve the natural diversity of significant geological features.
    • The value of abiotic factors like geology, soils and landforms is also recognised for their roles in supporting habitats for biodiversity.
    • Geodiversity here consists of varied landforms and features representative of dynamical natural processes, is under threat from human activities and needs protection.

    Ram Setu

    Do you Know Underwater archaeological project at Ram Setu?

    • The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) will undertake a three-year scientific project.
    • The idea is to see whether Ram Setu is a man-made structure or not.
    • The most important aspect of the project is to establish its age, scientifically.
    • The explorers will apply a number of scientific techniques while attempting to date the Ram Setu, study its material composition, outline the sub-surface structure along with attempting to excavate remnants or artefacts, if any, from the site.
    • Once it is known, the information can be verified and co-related with its mention in the Ramayana and similar scriptures.

    Conclusion

    • The Ram Setu carries the unique geological imprints of an eventful past. Therefore, it needs to be preserved not just as a national heritage monument, but also as a Geoheritage structure as defined from a scientific perspective.

    Mains Question

    Q. What is Sethusamudram Ship channel project? Discuss the Concerns raised over the stability of the project.

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