Industrial Sector Updates – Industrial Policy, Ease of Doing Business, etc.

Declining Consumer Demand and Reluctant Investors

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

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Corporate Investment, demand situation and related issues
Context
- In September, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was anguished that industry was holding back from investing in manufacturing despite a significant cut in corporate tax rates in 2019.
Analyzing the corporate Investment since the pandemic
- Less investment is not the result of losses: The slowdown in corporate investment did not happen because companies were making losses.
- More profit but less investments by corporates: In fact, private companies, boosted by considerable tax cuts, made windfall profits. A State Bank of India analysis shows that tax cuts contributed 19% to the top line of companies during the pandemic. But this did not result in increased investments.
- Dividends to shareholders: Before the pandemic, instead of investing in themselves, companies chose to reward shareholders with higher dividends.
- Investment in equity and debt instead of Infrastructure: During the pandemic, they did not use the profits for paying out dividends; they retained a big chunk of the profits. However, instead of investing in buildings, plants and machinery, they invested in equity shares and debt instruments.
- Corporate cited the slowdown in demand as reason for less investment: So, both before and after the outbreak, they shied away from capital investments. The hesitancy to invest can be explained by a slowdown in the demand side of the economy.
- Corporates didn’t invest in long term returns sectors: Consumer demand started to decline the year before the pandemic and worsened after the COVID19 outbreak. This forced companies to use the increased profits to decrease their debts, pay dividends and invest in financial instruments instead of increasing productivity by making capital investments.
What is The current consumer’s demand situation?
- Average Consumer sentiment index: Private companies invest when they are able to estimate profits, and that comes from demand. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s (CMIE) consumer sentiment index is still below pre-pandemic levels but is far higher than what was seen 12-18 months ago.
- Buoyant Aggregate demand: RBI’s Monetary policy report dated September 30 says, Data for Q2 (ended Sept) indicate that aggregate demand remained buoyant, supported by the ongoing recovery in private consumption and investment demand. It shows that seasonally adjusted capacity utilization rose to 74.3% in Q1 the highest in the last three years.
- High household savings: Along with household savings intentions remaining high, might hold the key to the investment cycle kicking in.
Statistic on demand and investment
- New investment projects: The new investment projects announced as a % of GDP, since FY18, the share has remained below the 5% mark, compared to over 9% between FY05 and FY22.
- Collection of corporate tax decreased: Corporate tax and income tax collected in India as a % of GDP after the cut in 2019, the share of corporate tax declined dramatically, while the share of income tax gradually increased.
- Double burden on tax payers: The shift in tax burden from the corporates to the people came at a time of job losses and reduced income levels. This pushed more people into poverty.
- Corporate profit increased after tax cut: Profit after tax earned by non-financial private companies in ₹ trillion after the tax cut, the profits of these companies rose to ₹4-5 trillion in the last two financial years from ₹1-2 trillion in many of the previous periods.
- Increase and decrease in dividend to shareholders: Dividends paid by non-financial private companies as a share of profits earned after tax, Payouts to shareholders surged in FY20, the year before the pandemic, but reduced in the following years.
- Profit retention increased: Retained profits as a % of profit after tax surged to 63% in FY22 the highest in a decade (limited companies were analyzed in FY22, so data are provisional).
- Profits are invested in equities: In FY21, the debt-to-equity ratio came down to 0.86 the lowest in at least three decades. In FY22 (provisional data), it came down further to 0.71.
- Year on year decline in capital investment: Year on year change in the investments of non-financial private companies in fixed assets such as buildings, plants, machinery, transport and infrastructure have declined in recent years. But the year on year change in investments in financial instruments such as equity, debt and mutual funds have surged.
Conclusion
- Corporates are holding their pockets in hope of demand rise in future. However, this affects the post-pandemic recovery of economy. IMF and RBI was right to revise their growth forecast this year. Unequal recovery of economy have certainly affected the income levels of middle class. Government has taken a lot of step on supply side (corporate side and banking reform) but no intervention in revival of demand.
Mains Question

Q. Analyze the corporate investment pattern before and after the pandemic? What are the reasons for decline in corporate investment in fixed assets in economy since the pandemic?

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Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

New Category of Reservation, EWS

op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Reservation system, SC Judgments and associated concerns
Context
- The Supreme Court has now upheld the validity of the 103rd constitutional amendment. For instance, economic criterion was provided for this new category of affirmative action.
What is the verdict of supreme court?
- SC/ST Excluded in new clause: The Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and non-creamy layer Other Backward Classes were excluded from the newly inserted clauses of Article 15(4) and 16(4).
- The ceiling of 50 per cent reservation was breached: The cap of 50% is breached and the individual rather than the group became the basis of backwardness.
Do you know?
- Indra Sawhney Vs. Union of India -Issued 50% Cap on Caste-based reservation: In the case the Supreme Court held that reservation for beneficiaries should not exceed 50% of India’s population. It was this case that issued a cap limit on caste-based reservations.
The Backgrounder: What are concerns over the reservation verdicts so far?
- Judiciary is reluctant supporter of reservation: A closer look at the judicial response to reservation policies from Dorairajan (1951) to MR Balaji (1963) to Indra Sawhney (1992) to M Nagaraj (2006) shows that the Indian judiciary has not been quite supportive of such policies.
- New conditions for new category of reservation: In many cases, it created new conditions in the implementation of such policies by introducing several exclusions/doctrines/rules etc. In fact, Parliament had to amend the Constitution through the 77th amendment to overturn Indra Sawhney judgment against reservation in promotions.
- Reservation in promotion cancelled: The 85th constitutional amendment was passed to undo the Virpal Singh Chauhan (1995) and Ajit Singh (1999) judgments that had introduced the “catch up rule” under which general candidates, who are promoted after SC/ST candidates, will regain their seniority over earlier promoted SC/ST candidates.
- Concerns about dilution of merit: Basically, Indian courts have been emphasising merit and have been concerned about the dilution of “merit”. In several reservation matters, the courts have been more interested in protecting the interests of general categories.
- 90% population is eligible under EWS: As a matter of fact, the EWS reservation is for the erstwhile general candidates: The Rs 8-lakh family income provision covers over 90 per cent of our population.
What is the significance of this recent Judgement?
- New category on economic basis: The majority verdict is right in saying that though reservation on economic basis is new it has not made the Constitution unrecognizable. Justice Trivedi said the legislature best understands the needs of the people. The majority does have a point in holding that the basic structure doctrine does not bind Parliament from laying down the economic criterion. Such a basis does not impinge on the equality code of the Constitution.
- Poverty as an injustice: Justice Maheshwari has quoted a number of judgments in which poverty was mentioned as a fundamental source backwardness. Justice Maheshwari held that poverty is not merely a stage of stagnation but a point of regression.
- Identity of constitution will not change: India’s affirmative action programme far was catering to only historical injustices and social backwardness. The extension of this benefit to others, in the opinion of Justice Maheshwari, won’t change the identity of the Constitution.
- Towards the justice: The court observed that the new reservation is in furtherance of the Preamble’s goal of achieving justice – social, economic and political.
- Consistent with FR’s and DPSP’s: The other judges were also of the view that any provision that is consistent with fundamental rights and directive principles cannot be held to be in the teeth of the basic structure doctrine.
- Constitutional amendment upheld: Constitutional amendments are rarely struck down since this can be done only on the narrow ground of the amendment being violative of the basic structure of the Constitution. Since 1973, when the basic structure doctrine was propounded, over 70 amendments had been passed but only five have so far been struck down. The NJAC was the last one in 2016.
Critical analysis of judgement
- Goes to Individual and not group reservation: Economic disadvantage is individual, unlike caste discrimination. It carries no social stigma. The Court has gone against the earlier precedents on this point, which is why Justice Bhat was not able to persuade himself to agree with this reasoning, particularly when SC/ST/OBC categories have been excluded.
- Argument over level playing field for open category: The majority was of the view that such an exclusion was inevitable for the true operation and effect of new policy. If existing beneficiaries are not excluded, it would amount to excessive benefit and advantage. Justice Maheshwari said that in the vertical reservation provided to these groups also, others are excluded. He said that those who are themselves receiving the benefit of others’ exclusion cannot object to their exclusion in the reservation policy made for others.
- Debate on SC/ST exclusion: Justice Bhat observed that since the bulk of the poorest people belong to SC/ST/OBC groups, their exclusion is not right. The majority was also of the view that Parliament is entitled to experiment with new policies.
- 50% ceiling breached: The majority also cited a number of earlier judgments on the 50 per cent ceiling such as NM Thomas (1976), in which Justices Fazal Ali and V R Krishna Iyer observed that the arithmetical limit cannot be pressed too far. In Vasanth Kumar (1985), Justice Chinnappa Reddy observed that “for a court to say that reservation should not exceed 40 per cent, 50 per cent or 60 per cent would be arbitrary and the Constitution does not permit us to be arbitrary”.
- Indira Sawhney judgement is overturned: Even Indra Sawhney had kept a small window for the government to go beyond the 50 per cent ceiling. The real question is would the Court have permitted such a breach at the all-India level if the same had been done for the existing beneficiaries of the reservation policy.
- justice to general categories is not injustice to others: Justice Maheshwari admitted so when he observed that the 50 per cent limit was for the benefit of general candidates and it causes no injustice to the reserved categories. Justice Bhat, though, felt this may open the floodgates.
Conclusion
- Justice should not only be done but should also be appear to have been done. Economical weaker section reservation was an effort to pacify the dissatisfaction among general categories against reservation. However, the merit system will be compromise or not only time will tell.
Mains Question

Q. Does exclusion of SC/ST from EWS reservation is justifiable? How EWS reservation will impact the merit system in India?

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Banking Sector Reforms

Price regulation of UPI

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

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: UPI,MDR, etc
Mains level: Digital payment ecosystem, pricing mechanism and associated issues
Context
- The recent discussion paper by the RBI on charges in payment systems has triggered widespread public debate, especially on the zero-charge framework for UPI transactions.
Know the basics- What is UPI?
- UPI is an instant real-time payment system developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) facilitating inter-bank transactions.
- The interface is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and works by instantly transferring funds between two bank accounts on a mobile platform.
Why RBI wants to intervene?
- Two important reasons:
1. Goals of financial inclusion: Viewing digital payments as a public good and
2. Addressing market failures: Such as the presence of dominant firms or externalities that may arise due to the two-sided nature of this market.
- For both objectives, regulators might want to cap or set to zero the MDR or merchant discount rate (paid by merchants to their payments service provider) or the interchange fee (paid by the acquiring bank to the issuing bank), or both.
What is the present scenario of Pricing UPI?
- Subsidies on operational cost: In the case of UPI, the government subsidizes the operational costs of facilitating UPI transactions, which is reportedly inadequate. In January 2022, the Payments Council of India reported that the industry expected a loss of Rs 5,500 crore.
- Subsidies are inadequate: Even with a public good motive, in the absence of evidence, one cannot assume this to be the best allocation of limited government resources. As per the Indian Digital Payments Report (second quarter of 2022), the average ticket size of P2M transactions (person to merchant) on UPI is Rs 820. RBI’s estimated cost of Rs 2 for processing a Rs 800 transaction, is 0.25 per cent of the transaction value, much lower than the MDR cap set at 0.9 per cent for debit cards and an MDR of 2 per cent being pro- posed for RuPay credit cards on UPI.
- Presently MDR is Zero: A floor MDR of 0.25 per cent is, therefore, not unreasonable. Arguably, these are substitutable services competing for the same pool of merchants. Policymakers must also bear in mind behavioural challenges in moving from zero MDR to a positive MDR. Anchored at a zero MDR since January 2020, merchants, especially ones with thin margins, may hesitate to accept an increase in MDR, even if they benefit on net terms.
How RBI can regulate price?
- Understanding what to regulate: In order to understand how and what to regulate, we borrow from the rationale followed for other two-sided markets that exhibit cross-platform externalities. consumers benefit more if the size of the merchant network accepting a payment instrument (for example, debit cards) is larger and, at the same time, merchants benefit more if many consumers use debit cards.
- Recovering the cost from merchants: Card networks like Visa and Mastercard compete for banks, usually not too many, to issue their cards. Since the acquiring bank must pay the interchange fee, they recover these costs from merchants.
- Regulating the interchange fee: In most jurisdictions, the interchange fee is regulated to prevent banks from charging exploitative rates and the MDR is left to be commercially determined. This is also done for administrative ease, since banks are fewer, while monitoring bank-merchant contracts can be onerous.
- Charging the MDR: In the UPI parallel, involving payment service providers of payers and payees, the remitter and beneficiary banks as well as NPCI, RBI could either regulate the inter change fee between payment service providers or the merchant discount rate charged by them.
- Deciding between MDR and interchange fee: The market for merchant acquisition is usually more competitive and can be left unregulated, and if necessary, the interchange fee between the two payment service providers can be regulated. If both markets are sufficiently competitive, regulation could mean establishing a floor/ cap charge. The decision what to regulate is, therefore, crucial.
- Example of telecom industry: A related example is available in the telecom industry where facilities provision is regulated through the interconnection fee, while retail prices for the relatively competitive telecom services segment are left to the market. For externalities of the two-sided market to be internalized, the choice of instrument must be carefully evaluated.
- Determining the actual price: The next step is to determine the price level, which is a lot trickier. Drawing from economic theory, the optimal level would depend on whether the regulator cares only about consumer welfare (as op- posed to total welfare), and whether the issuing and acquiring banks make positive margins on each transaction.
How digital payment is charged around the world and India’s requirement?
- Example of PIX of Brazil: Pix, a two-year-old interoperable digital payments system in Brazil, provides a good comparison of how price setting might be considered in the UPI context. Pix does not regulate MDR, payment service providers have the freedom to set MDR, though in practice most banks currently don’t charge an MDR, largely to onboard more merchants on their platforms.
- MDR appears less attractive: The indicated cost is R$ 0.01 for each 10 transfers, or 16 paise in Indian rupees for every s10 transactions. This is substantially lower than the costs estimated for India and is also perhaps the reason why payment service providers are not immediately inclined to recover costs through MDR.
- Not hampering the innovation and investment: In general, benefits of regulatory intervention should outweigh the costs of intervening. The costs of intervening not only include the administrative costs, but also potential costs arising from setting the wrong interchange fee or cap, as well as any costs arising from the impact of the intervention on future investment and innovation in the market.
Do you know what is Merchant Discount Rate?
- Merchant Discount Rate (alternatively referred to as the Transaction Discount Rate or TDR) is the sum total of all the charges and taxes that a digital payment entails.
- Simply put, it is a charge to a merchant by a bank for accepting payment from their customers in credit and debit cards every time a card gets swiped in their stores.
- Similarly, MDR also includes the processing charges that a payments aggregator has to pay to online or mobile wallets or indeed to banks for their service.
Conclusion
- Policymakers must collect more data on costs of transfer, user preferences, both merchants and consumers, as well as undertake a thorough analysis of substitutability and competition in the digital payments sector, to put our best foot forward in helping achieve the potential of UPI in India.
Mains Question

Q. Explain the reasons for success of UPI in India? Analyze the Role of UPI in financial inclusion in India?

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Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

Unrecognized Madrasas and Government’s role

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

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Debate on legal and illegal Madrasa and modern education
Context
- There has been a lot of unhappiness about the UP-government’s decision to conduct a survey of unrecognized madrasas in Uttar Pradesh.
What is the intention of Government behind such survey?
- The government’s claim: The survey being an exercise to help the madrasas and their students has been less than convincing.
- Questionable intention: In the past, the government has called into question the patriotism of madrasa students by asking their management to hoist the national flag on Independence Day, record the proceedings, and submit the same to the local magistrate.
Know the History of Madrasa
- After the birth of Islam in the seventh century, Muslims who wanted a religious education joined study circles in mosques where teachers provided instruction.
- Over the next 400 years, additional centers of learning, founded and endowed by rulers, high officials and wealthy members of the community, met in public and private libraries. These were early forms of madrasa.
- By the 11^th century madrasas were well-established independent centers of learning with some of the features they retain today.
- As economies modernized, Muslims who continued to choose madrasas over other schools found that they lacked the training needed for well-paid jobs. Their socioeconomic mobility suffered. Nonetheless, many madrasas refused to integrate nonreligious subjects into their curriculum.
What is the status of unrecognized madrasas?
- Lack of direction: Most are floundering for lack of direction. Many impart elementary theological instruction through semieducated teachers.
- Dependence on community funding: If at all there, secular education is, at best, piecemeal. Madrasas depend almost fully on community funding.
- Funding cut with covid19: With the economic downturn first post demonetization and then postCOVID19, that funding has reduced to a trickle. Under normal circumstances, an institute pressed for funds cuts down on expansion plans or puts new courses on hold.
- Existential crisis for madrasa: It has become an existential crisis for tens of thousands of students. The dwindling community sponsorship has translated into less food to eat and no warm clothes for them. If that makes it seem as though the madrasas’ prime purpose is to feed and clothe the needy, the reality is not entirely different.
- Feeding and imparting the literacy: Most students are first generation learners. Many of them are sent by parents with the idea that there will be one less mouth to feed at home. For poverty-stricken parents, the madrasas’ free boarding and lodging is a blessing. The education is often considered a bonus. The Much-maligned madrasas feed the hungry and impart literacy.
What the case studies reveal about education via unrecognizes madrasas?
- Example of CBSE along with Quran: Jamiatul Hamd in Gautam Buddha Nagar district is a rare madrasa which encouraged its students to take the Central Board of Secondary Education exams alongside learning to be Hafize Quran (one who has memorized the Quran).
- Shortage of funds: The madrasa is so short of funds that the management does not know where the next meal for the students will come from. In the past, Good Samaritans sent packs of rice, lentils, wheat flour and cooking oil.
- Decline in sponsorship: Sponsorship has come down drastically, leaving the students with the prospect of going to bed hungry. Also, 40% of the students in this madrasa who went back home during the COVID19 pandemic did not return.
- Jamia Mahade Noor madrasa in Dadri: Where 30% of the students dropped out after COVID19. Day scholars face an uncertain future. Some teachers could not be retained due to paucity of funds.
- Closing down of madrasa: The cash-strapped Jamia Naseeriya Islamia in Ghaziabad closed down its wing for outstation students. In mosques across Uttar Pradesh, community aid is sought for unrecognized madrasas after daily prayers.
- Fear about survey: In almost every madrasa, there are lingering apprehensions about their fate after the survey. Many packed off their outstation students in panic when the survey started. The students may never return.
- Some student never returned: Incidentally, these schools had also sent back their outstation students after the nationwide lockdown was imposed in March 2020. Many students did not return as their parents got them employed as either farm labourers or at sundry tea shops or eateries. A student who may have at one time dreamed of becoming a scholar of Islam is now a menial worker.
What government can do?
- Upholding the Constitutional right: According to constitution the Right of a citizen not to be denied admission into state maintained and state-aided institution on the ground only of religion, race, caste, or language [Art.29(2)2]-” No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them”
- Survey for collecting the data: Aim of survey should not be harassment but the know the status of madrasa and they’re by collecting the data to draft policy for educational and social upliftment of students of madrasa.
- Recognition of madrasa: Following the due procedure of law government can seek Registration and recognition of madrasa.
- Financial assistance to madrasa: State government can provide the one-time financial assistance for and after the feedback and review state may continue the funding.
- Education should be the priority: Government objective should be the modern education of those who are getting poor quality of education. Any constitutional or legal hindrances should not be the excuse to provide the help to needy.
Conclusion
- While government is duty bound to provide aid to registered and recognized madrasa but not mandatory to provide financial aid to unrecognized madrasa. Government can revamp the unrecognized madrasa into modern education imparting institutions. Whatever government decides, state must provide the quality education without any biases.
Mains Question

Q. What are the cultural and educational rights enshrined under constitution? Explain government can provide the educational assistance to unrecognized religious institutions in India?

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-Myanmar

India’s Troubled Neighborhood, Myanmar

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Military coup, Troubled neighborhood and issues of refugees crisis
Context
- Twenty-one months after a military coup, which derailed a decade old experiment with limited democracy, Myanmar is struggling to cope with the consequences. People are suffering, authorities and opposition forces are locked in a cycle of violent clashes, the economy is deteriorating, and ASEAN’s mission to produce a solution has failed.
Background of Present situation in Myanmar
- Violation of constitution by Military: When the Tatmadaw (military), unhappy with the victory of the Aung San Suu Kyi led National League for Democracy in the November 2020 elections, chose to violate the constitution, it acted in the belief that the people would accept its diktat, as they had done in previous decades.
- Civilian opposition continues: Clearly, military junta underestimated public anger and their commitment to freedom and democracy. Even after killing over 2,300 people and imprisoning thousands, including Ms. Suu Kyi, the military still faces a rebellion. Its plan to hold an election next year stands jeopardized.
- Imprisonment of Suu Kyi: Suu Kyi, 77, the most popular leader, has been sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment in multiple cases on apparently trumped-up charges. Besides, 1.1 million Rohingya, driven by military oppression to seek shelter in Bangladesh in 2017, continue to languish there. Dhaka’s efforts to arrange their safe return have failed.
- Migration crisis in India and Bangladesh: Armed clashes between the military and their ethnic opponents in the border region are having a spill-over effect in Bangladesh. Dhaka continues to show restraint and a preference for diplomacy to manage the situation.
How is the response of civilian opposition against military?
- National unity Government: The parallel National Unity Government (NUG) may not be recognized by any state, but it continues to receive political and financial support from abroad. It has effectively channelled popular indignation against military rule, while still being vulnerable due to the paucity of resources and the absence of a visible leader.
- Support of ethnic groups to NUG: About 20 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), located in the east, north and west of Myanmar’s periphery, have divergent approaches towards the postcoup conflict. Many view it as an intra Bamar contestation, an issue of limited concern to them. Some like the Karens and Kachin’s support the NUG, while others, especially those controlled or supported by China, remain aloof.
- Strong military but disunity among groups: Those operating in the Chin and Rakhine states are engaged in a fierce armed conflict with the military and have enfeebled it. But overall, due to their divergences and relative weaknesses, the EAOs are unlikely to defeat the military.
- No nationwide opposition: While the opposition has performed well, it is unable to turn the tide in its favour, without a nationwide front against the Tatmadaw. National reconciliation between the military and civilian forces, and ethnic reconciliation between the majority Bamars and ethnic minorities, have been put on hold.
UN and International criticism
- Criticism of coup: The UN has been forthright in criticizing the coup. It has expressed concern over continuing violence, support for a ‘democratic transition’, a release of all political prisoners and dialogue among the parties concerned.
- Division among international community: However, the UN Secretary General’s special envoy has had little success in promoting peace. The UN’s failure lies in the sharp divisions within the international community on how to deal with this vexed issue.
- Sanction on military: The western powers have been severely critical of the military. They have put in place several restrictive measures and imposed more sanctions. They have extended support to the NUG.
- Russian support to military: On the other hand, Russia has given considerable backing to the military regime, seeing in its own isolation an opportunity to strengthen bilateral cooperation in defence and energy supplies.
- China’s exploiting the opportunity: China is keeping a door open to democratic forces even while doing business with the regime and exploiting every opportunity to ensure progress on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
- ASEAN’s divided response: ASEAN is divided in three ways: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore are prodemocracy; Thailand and Laos are promilitary; and Vietnam and the Philippines are ambivalent. This disunity and the Tatmadaw’s refusal to cooperate with ASEAN have led to the non-implementation of the Five Point Consensus. The upcoming ASEAN summit may provide clues on whether the grouping can forge a united stand and devise something that works better.
India’s reaction to Myanmar situation
- Refugee crisis in India: India is concerned as the postcoup conditions have adversely impacted its interests and hampered bilateral cooperation. Mega projects stand delayed. Some 50,000 refugees, as per unofficial estimates, have been camping in Mizoram.
- Advocating the democracy: Meanwhile, there is an erroneous perception that India has abandoned the Myanmar people. The reality is that India proactively advocates an early restoration of democracy, the release of prisoners, and internal dialogue.
- Myanmar under the shadow of India-China relations: Can India do more? It can explore the possibility of a combined mediatory role with ASEAN and likeminded neighbors. Will China have a role in such a group? India-China relations preclude that possibility.
- Brokering the political settlement: Through greater unity, external players can help Myanmar in creating a suitable environment for dialogue on a political settlement. Distant countries such as Norway and Japan can play a helpful role as catalysts. But the principal responsibility to construct a solution must rest with the Myanmar elite and leadership of both camps. Through resilience and pragmatism, they crafted a way out in 2011-21. They must recreate that spirit.
Conclusion
- India has been walking on tight rope on balancing national interest and restoration of democracy in Myanmar. Sooner the civil war in Myanmar ends better for India and especially for Mizoram. ‘The Golden Land’, where Lord Buddha is revered, needs to be reinspired by his teachings. Else, a prolonged, contested military rule or a failed state seems a distinct possibility.
Mains Question

Q. How situation in Myanmar is affecting the national interest of India? What is the India’s response to the military coup in Myanmar?

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Women empowerment issues – Jobs,Reservation and education

Good News: Child marriage is on the decline

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

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Child marriage issue and associated problems
Content
- The steering committee of a global programme to end child marriage is on a visit to India to witness state interventions which have helped reduce the prevalence of child marriage.
What are the findings of the committee?
- Increase in Child marriage as a pandemic effect: The visit by the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage team is in view of an estimated increase in number of child brides due to the pandemic. The UNFPA-UNICEF estimates that 10 million children could become child brides as a result of the pandemic globally.
- Child marriages reduced in India according to NFHS-5: In India, child marriage reduced from 47.4% in 2005-06 to 26.8% in 2015-16, registering a decline of 21% points during the decade. In the last five years, it declined by 3.5% points to reach 23.3% in 2020-21, according to the latest National Family Health Survey-5 data.
What is the situation in the world?
- As per the UNICEF data: The total number of girls married in childhood stands at 12 million per year, and progress must be significantly accelerated in order to end the practice by 2030 the target set out in the Sustainable Development Goals. Without further acceleration, more than 150 million additional girls will marry before they turn 18 by 2030.
- Progress is Uneven and not enough: While it is encouraging that in the past decade great progress has been made in South Asia, where a girl’s risk of marrying before she is 18 has dropped by more than a third, from nearly 50% to below 30%, it is not enough, and progress has been uneven.
- Dire consequences of child marriage: Rights activists and health experts say the consequences of child marriage are dire, not only because it violates children’s rights, but also because it results in more infant and maternal deaths. Children born to adolescent mothers have a greater possibility of seeing stunted growth as they have low weight at birth. According to NFHS-5, prevalence of child stunting is 35.5% in 2019-21.
Where does India stand?
- Declining trend in overall child marriage: There is a growing trend for decline in the overall prevalence of child marriage, but 23.3% is still a disturbingly high percentage in a country with a population of 141.2 crore. Eight States have a higher prevalence of child marriage than the national average.
- High prevalence in some bigger States: West Bengal and Bihar have the highest prevalence of girl child marriage. States with a large population of tribal poor have a higher prevalence of child marriage. West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura top the list with more than 40% of women aged 20-24 years married below 18, according to NFHS data.
- Scenario in Jharkhand and Assam: In Jharkhand, 32.2% of women in the age bracket 20-24 got married before 18, according to NFHS-5; infant mortality stood at 37.9%, and 65.8% of women in the 15-19 age bracket are anaemic. Assam too has a high prevalence of child marriage (31.8% in 2019-20 from 30.8% in 2015-16).
- Child marriages reduced in some states: Some States have shown a reduction in child marriages, like Madhya Pradesh (23.1% in 2020-21 from 32.4% in 2015-16), Rajasthan (25.4% from 35.4%) and Haryana.
- Several States are pegged just below the national average: In Odisha, 20.5% of women were married off before 18 in 2020-21 from 21.3% in 2015-16.
- States on better social indices as a result of high literacy: States with high literacy levels and better health and social indices have fared much better on this score. In Kerala, women who got married before the age of 18 stood at 6.3% in 2019-20, from 7.6% in 2015-16. Tamil Nadu too has shown improved figures with 12.8% of women in the age group 20-24 years getting married before 18 compared to 16.3% in 2015-16.
What are the laws and policy interventions?
- Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012: These laws aim at protecting children from violation of human and other rights.
- A positive debate on raising the age of Marriage: A parliamentary standing committee is weighing the pros and cons of raising the age of marriage for women to 21, which has been cleared by the Union Cabinet. With various personal laws governing marriages in India, the government wants to amend the law, a reform that activists and agencies have said will not be enough to stop the practice of child marriage.
- Various schemes: There are no of Centralised schemes like the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, which are performing better on empowering the girl children
- Various initiatives by the states: States have launched many initiatives to improve the factors linked to child marriage, from education to health care and awareness programmes. For instance, West Bengal’s Kanyashree scheme offers financial aid to girls wanting to pursue higher studies, though women’s activists have pointed out that another scheme Rupashree, which provides a one-time payment of ₹25,000 to poor families at the time of a daughter’s marriage, may be counter-productive. Bihar and other States have been implementing a cycle scheme to ensure girls reach safely to school; and U.P. has a scheme to encourage girls to go back to school.
What needs to be done?
- Need a multidimensional approach: According to Sandeep Chachra, ActionAid Association India, which has been working with UNICEF and UNFPA said the solution lies in empowering girls, creating proper public infrastructure and addressing societal norms.
- Awareness not only about the law but also about the dire consequences on Health: Uma Mahadevan-Dasgupta, who serves in the IAS, says several thousand child marriage prohibition officers have been notified in Karnataka and 90,000 local gram panchayat members have been oriented to spread awareness on child marriage, not only that it is illegal to get a child married off before 18, but also the dangers to the child’s health and her offspring.
- Focusing on the overall girl child development: They stress on an all-pronged approach to end the practice; strong laws, strict enforcement, preparing an ideal situation on the ground to ensure that the girl child girls with either or below primary level education have experienced higher levels of child marriage as data show gets an education and preferably vocational training as well so that she can be financially independent.
- Schemes need better implementation: Centralised schemes like the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, which need better implementation on the ground. Various schemes by the states needs through analysis and better implementation at the grass root level.
Conclusion
- Data shows that child marriage is a key determinant of high fertility, poor maternal and child health, and lower social status of women. There has been a rise in child marriages during the pandemic, but many have been prevented as well. A lot more needs to be done on factors closely linked to child marriage, including eradication of poverty, better education and public infrastructure facilities for children, raising social awareness on health, nutrition, regressive social norms and inequalities.
Question

Q. Child marriages comes with dire consequences on adolescent mothers and children born to them. Evaluate the status on prevalence of child marriages In India and how to address the situation?

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Road and Highway Safety – National Road Safety Policy, Good Samaritans, etc.

Unscientific Highway Infrastructure: A Cause of Accidents

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.,Ministries & Departments Of The Government

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Issues with unscientific highway infrastructure
Context
- In a March 2019 circular, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) raised the subject of premature issuance of completion certificates for national highway works. NHAI had noticed that, in certain cases, completion certificates had been issued even before the completion of works ‘up to the standards and specifications’ prescribed by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
Status of National highways and deaths
- 35 percent of all road deaths: NHAI is the principal organization responsible for construction of National Highways in India. National highways constitute a mere 2 percent of the country’s road network, but account for close to 35 percent of all road deaths.
- Record 37 kms per day: The ministry has been taking credit for the pace at which national highways are being constructed. In the fiscal year 2021, it reached a record 37 kms per day. This has come down to 19.44 km per day in the first six months of the financial year 2022.
What was the circular issued by NHAI?
- Issuance of completion certificate: The circular forbade the issuance of such certificates, especially if non-completion resulted in ‘material inconveniences to users’ or affected their safety.
- Likely cause of fatalities: Items such as road shoulders, road signs, markings, dressing of slopes, and road furniture were explicitly mentioned. circular was not taken with due seriousness by some authorized engineers. This negligence could have contributed to road crashes, probably resulting in fatalities.
- Dereliction of duty by NHAI’s officials: The NHAI has now warned the delinquents that such behavior would be treated as a serious dereliction of duty and disciplinary action would be taken against officers issuing such certificates to incomplete road works. Additionally, the officers would be held personally liable in case of serious accidents that occur on such unfinished infrastructure.
- Safety is better than pace of construction: The Minister for Road Transport & Highways stressed that it is necessary to build safer roads even if this decelerated the pace of construction.
Case study of NHAI’s road construction?
- Death of Cyrus Mistry: Unfortunately, self-introspection by the NHAI in regard to safety failures and the large number of deaths on national highways was not in evidence in the aftermath of the death of Cyrus Mistry on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai national highway in September 2022.
- Crash was result of poor infrastructure: In this instance, a seven-member forensic investigation team found that the car crash was the result of an infrastructure issue. The car in which Mistry was travelling happened to tragically hit a bridge that was faultily designed.
- Invisible dividers: The bridge parapet was found to be protruding into the shoulder lane. Furthermore, the road with three lanes unexpectedly narrowed to a road with two lanes with a dangerous L-shaped concrete divider that had no proper paint on it.
- Inadequate safety signs: Road signages were grossly inadequate, making that road stretch a ‘black spot’. This epithet is used for a road section where accidents are a frequent occurrence.
- Expressways are constructed for more speed: The accident also raised issues of the excessive speed of the car that crashed. It was said that the car was travelling at a speed in excess of 100 km per hour. However, the minister himself has been in favour of higher speeds on Indian expressways and national highways. He proposed a speed limit of 140 kmph on expressways and at least 100 kmph on four-lane national highways. This, he stated, was advocated on account of considerable improvements in the quality of India’s highways that permit vehicles to go faster than in the past.
- Speed limit safety needs to be revise: The minister was also critical of some judicial rulings that disallowed hiking speeds on national highways. However, in the light of certain facts repeatedly surfacing in regard to safety issues of national highways, it does appear that greater caution in regard to increasing speed needs to be taken.
Critical analysis of NHAI’s road construction and maintenance
- Rains and potholes: While the government claims that they are of international standard, a recent report highlighted the plight of road travelers on national highways post India’s monsoons. The rains have left the country’s arterial network in poor shape as they have become riddled with potholes.
- Higher toll but poor roads: The cited report mentioned the Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch of NH-8, which, despite a hike in toll rates, remains incomplete and terribly potholed. The reason for this sorry state of affairs was revealed in a reply by the government to a parliamentary standing committee.
- Insufficient maintenance: The budgetary provision for maintenance of national highways was a mere 40 percent of their own estimated standards. Clearly, maintenance of national highways was being discounted in favour of more kilometres of road construction. The shortfall of 60 percent of maintenance money was terribly high and resulted in the resources being thinly spread, making adequate maintenance intervention highly unlikely.
- Inadequate budgetary allocation: The parliamentary committee pointed out in its report titled ‘Issues related to road sector’ that the shortfall in sufficient budgetary allocation was echoed in the poor quality of national highways often witnessed across the country. The committee emphasized that the maintenance of national highways was vitally significant in regard to safety and good average traffic speeds and ought to be given high priority. The issue had been repeatedly flagged by the committee.
- NITI Aayog’s acknowledgement of poor infrastructure: Similarly, NITI Aayog, in its report titled ‘Strategy for New India @75’, advised that the government should earmark 10 percent of its annual budget for maintenance of roads and highways and move towards the developed country norm of marking 40 percent of the budget for road upkeep. It is evident that if national highways are not in shape, the economy of the country and the states takes a hit.
Conclusion
- It is absolutely necessary for citizens to follow road safety norms but government cannot look away from its responsibility. Scientific road construction even at the cost of slow construction rate is non-negotiable for sake of accident prevention. Safety of citizens is prior to any world record.
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Climate Change Negotiations – UNFCCC, COP, Other Conventions and Protocols

A call to ban use of fossil fuels

op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Important Geophysical Phenomena

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: implications of fossil fuel ban
Context
- The President of Vanuatu, a small Pacific Island, wanted the General Assembly to adopt a universal Non-Proliferation Treaty to ban the use of fossil fuels across the world.
Why such extreme call on fossil fuel ban?
- Unlikely discussion on climate change: There is a strong belief in some quarters that the next climate conference, just days away in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt this year (COP27) may not discuss climate change mitigation largely on account of the ongoing energy stress in Europe.
- Ukraine conflict and rising energy demand: It is felt that the Russia Ukraine crisis and resulting global energy supply shortages have dented everyone’s ability to reduce emissions. This may be a legitimate view but the discussion on coal in the United Nations General Assembly, in September, points to an opposite possibility.
Why this demand is significant?
- Vanuatu represents the strong voice of island nations: Usually, such a call by a nation whose contribution to the global energy supplies and emissions is negligible would have gone unnoticed. But Vanuatu represents a strong and vocal group of small islands developing states whose voice is heard with attention and empathy in the UN.
- Endorsement from various stakeholders: More so, when it is a matter that will affect the global discourse on climate change. The small island group has gone around seeking endorsements from various quarters governments, the corporate world and civil society.
- Support from Indian quarters: Interestingly, the Mayor of Kolkata, capital of one of the largest coal producing States in India, has lent his voice of support.
Similar demand of ban on coal use
- Demand of coal ban on Glasgow conference: Vanuatu’s plea comes in the wake of a similar call for phaseout of coal which was made last year at the Glasgow climate conference.
- From phaseout to phasedown: After strong protest by the Indian interlocutors, the language of the decision at Glasgow was toned down from phaseout to phase down of unabated coal power and inefficient fuel subsidies.
- Unfair for developing countries: When India argued that a phaseout was unfair to countries that were heavily dependent on coal power in the medium term, there was consternation among climate enthusiasts. Given this background, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) may be preparing the ground to make the fossil fuel elimination a part of national climate plans at COP 27.
What will be the implications of fossil fuel ban?
- No responsibility of polluting countries under UN charter: a call to end fossil fuels through a mandate in the UN has very different implications than when it is presented under the UN Climate Change Convention. A UN mandate of this nature is divorced from the legal responsibility of the polluting countries to reduce their emissions on the basis of responsibility, capability and national circumstances, as required by the Climate Change Convention.
- No commitment technological and financial innovations: It also makes no provisions for technological and financial innovations that are necessary to ensure the transition.
- Attempt of securitization of climate: A few months ago, a similar attempt had been made in the UN to treat the matter of climate change as that of global security and request the UN Security Council to resolve it. This was dropped because of the opposition of most of the global south, which saw in this an attempt to address climate change not through international cooperation and consensus but by imposing the wish of a select few on others.
What should be the way forward?
- Without sacrificing the developing economy: A plan to drastically reduce coal fired power would in fact do very little to arrest the problem of climate change globally but may create insurmountable difficulties in securing the progress of developing economies towards key sustainable development goals.
- Just and equitable transition: If the transition to a world of lower emissions has to be sustainable, it must also be just and equitable.
- Equal access to alternative energy: It must ensure equal access to energy and secure energy supplies to all, not just to a few. While the developed economies have full access to alternative sources of energy, because of their strength in terms of technology and resources, the developing nations are handicapped. Therefore, a just transition needs to be built on the promise that green energy and a green future will be available to all.
- Promoting the philosophy LiFE: It is in this context that the call for Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UN Secretary General, jointly in India recently, assumes importance. Consumers in countries that consume at an unsustainable pace and contribute to rising emissions have a much greater responsibility to clean up the planet and support the growth of green energy.
- Most vulnerable should be attended first: The world today is suffering from the adverse effects of climate change which have devastated homes and the livelihoods of large populations in various parts of the vulnerable world. Addressing these impacts and preparing the world for an uncertain future should be the priority.
Conclusion
- It is high time that building climate resilient infrastructure in the developing and growing countries is given as much importance as phasing down coal and investment in energy innovations and alternative technologies.
Mains Question

Q. What will be the implication for developing countries if call on ban on fossil fuel is adopted? Explain the LiFE in the light of climate transition debate.

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

Assertive China, Implication for world and India

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Assertive china and its implications on India and the world
Context
- China’s 20th Party Congress concluded with hardly any surprises, and a predetermined script was implemented without any hitch. Xi Jinping was anointed President for an unprecedented third term, and all six of his acolytes made it to the powerful Politburo Standing Committee.
Why China’s 20th Party Congress is important?
- Extension of tenure of Xi Jinping: Xi’s ‘core’ status has been further reinforced, and he is now set to eclipse Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, placing him next only to Mao. Mr. Xi’s Thought on ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era’ will be the Chinese Communist Party/Communist Party of China (CCP)’s guiding philosophy for the future.
- Xi’s control over party: It was also evident that Mr. Xi enjoys wide, if not overwhelming, support within the Party elite, enabling him to infuse a renewed sense of purpose alongside tightening of controls over it.
- High focus on national security: National security would be the key factor dictating all aspects of governance. A common theme that permeated the proceedings was affirmation of the CCP’s historical mission.
- Emphasized ideological coherence: There was only a single narrative, crafted in a manner that extolled Mr. Xi’s role in revitalization of the CCP, further enhancing his cult status. Unequivocally rejected was an earlier Xi thesis of a ‘Community of Common Destiny’ which has been replaced by the belief that international public opinion was currently anti-China and also included an incitement to overthrow the existing Communist regime. To counter such disruptive philosophies, it had become necessary for the CCP to emphasize ideological coherence and internal discipline.
- Avoiding the soviet style collapse: This would help to avoid the danger of a ‘Soviet style collapse’ caused by ideological laxity, corruption, divisions within the party and attempts by outsiders to foment unrest.
What are the problematic declarations at 20^th party congress?
- Undermining the USA: In the realm of geopolitics, the Congress declared that the objective is to effectively reduce the authority and the power of the United States.
- Rejecting the Indo-pacific: This was especially true of China’s neighborhood, essentially the Indo-Pacific.
- Achieving the lost glory: Also, to be eschewed by China were the vague and contradictory goals of the past, made at a time when China sought to make rapid progress in several directions.
- Theory of victimhood of international conspiracy: Implicit in the proceedings was the belief that China was being deliberately denied access, and the ability, to import certain vital technological items, and in this regard, of being a victim of major international conspiracies. Earlier pragmatism was replaced by concerns about western pressures to derail China’s progress.
- Possible lifelong tenure to Xi: The Party Congress is indicative of the fact that Mr. Xi is much more than a mere party ‘restorer’, and that he adheres to the belief that the CCP’s role is central to Chinese society and critical to determining China’s role in world affairs.
- Raising the national strength and international influence: In terms of China’s world view, the Party Congress reiterated that the goal is to make China a modern socialist power by 2035, boost per capita income to middle income levels, and modernise the armed forces. By 2049, the 100^th anniversary of the Peoples’ Republic of China, China is determined to lead the world in terms of composite national strength and international influence.
What are the implications for the world?
- Premature takeover of Taiwan: one can expect that notwithstanding the level of rhetoric and assertions that this is a dangerous phase, China is unlikely to take any premature step to take over Taiwan, and thereby risk a wider conflict with the U.S. and the rest of the world at this point. Mr. Xi is far more likely to devote attention to internal matters within China, since unity within the Communist Party remains ephemeral; while dissent has been stamped out for the present, more consolidation would be necessary.
- Short term conciliation with world: Consequently, one might well see China stepping back from its present confrontational posture with the U.S. and several other countries, and adopting a more conciliatory approach in the near future.
- Conflicts are likely to happen: There are, of course, certain red lines any attempt at provocation within the ‘First Island Chain’, or encouraging Taiwan to seek independence or break away from China are certain to lead to a conflict, irrespective of how it would adversely affect China’s 2049 plans and objectives.
Implications for India
- Border incursion will rise: In India’s case, further skirmishes between the two countries along the several thousand kilometres of the undefined land border is to be expected.
- Conflicts in Indian ocean: China is unlikely to embark on an open conflict with it anywhere else in the Indian Ocean region. This could alter, if India were to pursue a more aggressive policy in support of the West’s ‘open seas policy’ in waters in China’s vicinity.
- Prime target in west vs China battle: India is, however, likely to be a principal target of Chinese wrath in the next few years. As India’s economic fortunes steadily improve even as China’s declines, the perception conflict will become more intense.
- China’s progress at the cost of India: Moreover, if India is seen as a major recipient of western technology, the kind being denied to China, China would make it a point to use its economic, rather than military muscle, to deter India’s progress. For China to achieve greatness by 2049, subduing India economically, and reducing its image in the eyes of the world would be critically important.
Conclusion
- China’s middle kingdom complex, unjustified assertion, paranoic claims on borders and seas and wolf warrior diplomacy is against the international rules and order. China has challenged the USA’s hegemony and entire international system without any tangible punishment. India has to choose its options carefully without compromising national security and ambitions.
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Poverty Eradication – Definition, Debates, etc.

Poverty Estimate using National Family Health Survey

op-ed snap | Agriculture | Mains Paper 3: Inclusive Growth & Issues

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: NFHS report findings
Mains level: NFHS, Estimating poverty in India
Context
- The recent release of the National family health survey (NFHS) data for 2019-21 allows for a detailed analysis of the progress in the reduction of absolute poverty and related determinants like nutrition.
Poverty estimation in India
- Planning Commission Expert Group (1962): It formulated the separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas at ₹20 and ₹25 per capita per year respectively.
- VM Dandekar and N Rath (1971): They made the first systematic assessment, based on National Sample Survey (NSS) data. They suggested providing 2250 calories per day in both rural and urban areas.
- YK Alagh Committee (1979): It constructed a poverty line for rural and urban areas on the basis of nutritional requirements and related consumption expenditure.
- Lakdawala Committee (1993): It suggested that consumption expenditure should be calculated based on calorie consumption as earlier. State specific poverty lines should be constructed. It asked for discontinuation of scaling of poverty estimates based on National Accounts Statistics.
- Tendulkar Committee (2009): The current official measures of poverty are based on the Tendulkar poverty line, fixed at daily expenditure of ₹27.2 in rural areas and ₹33.3 in urban areas is criticized by many for being too low.
How poverty is estimated under NFHS?
- Multidimensional poverty index: The NFHS surveys are part of a multinational attempt to provide estimates of a multidimensional poverty index. Its computation rests on estimates of poverty according to 10 different indicators:
1. Nutrition
2. Child mortality
3. Years of schooling
4. School attendance
5. Cooking fuel
6. Sanitation
7. Drinking water
8. Electricity
9. Housing
10. Assets
- The deprivation index: the deprivation index for each indicator is the per cent poor (deprived) according to that indicator. The aggregation of the 10 indicators into one index involves legitimate issues of weighting, but individual components do not suffer from this drawback.
What are the findings of NFHS?
- Multidimensional poverty declined: at a compounded annual average rate of 4.8 per cent per year in 2005-2011 and more than double that pace at 10.3 per cent a year during 2011-2021.
- Declining child mortality: There are some issues with the 2011 child-mortality data, but for each of the 10 components of the MPI index, the rate of decline in 2011-2021 is considerably faster than in 2005-2011.
- Average decline in overall indicators: The average equally weighted decline for nine indicators was 1.9 per cent per annum in 2005-2011 and a rate of 16.6 per cent per annum, more than eight times higher in 2011-2021.
- Consumption inequality decline: Every single household survey or analysis has shown that consumption inequality declined during 2011-2021. This is consistent with the above finding of highly inclusive growth during 2011-2021.
What are the efforts behind inclusive growth and reduced poverty?
- A major factor behind the inclusive nature of growth during 2011-2021 is the focus of government policies on each of the individual indicator’s indicative of a dignified standard of living. A direct impact of this dedicated fiscal push is that slow-moving variables such as housing, access to cooking fuel, sanitation, etc, have witnessed a remarkable increase.
- Swachh Bharat Mission: The government’s Swachh Bharat mission in 2014-2021 constructed over 110 million toilets even if some were without easy access to water, many were.
- Saubhagya Yojana: Similarly, close to one-third of Indians were deprived of electricity till as recently as 2014. It was only after a dedicated push (Saubhagya Yojana) that India managed to electrify every village, and eventually households. Electricity deprivation declined by a 28.2 per cent rate post-2014; between 2005 and 2011, the rate of decline was close to zero.
- Jan Dhan Yojana: Another example is the Jan Dhan Yojana which made financial inclusion a reality in India, especially for women.
- Ujjwala Yojana: On access to modern cooking fuel (through the Ujjwala Yojana), deprivation was nearly halved from 26 per cent to 14 per cent in just five years. The previous halving (2005/6 to 2015/16) took 10 years.
- Awas Yojana: The affordable housing scheme (Awas Yojana) has meant that less than 14 per cent are now deprived, compared to thrice that number in 2011/12.
- Jal Jeevan Mission: More recently, government has embarked on an ambitious project of ensuring universal access to piped water under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Rural piped water coverage was a little less than 17 per cent in 2019, but is now well above 54 per cent and expected to at least be near, if not meet, the 100 per cent target by 2024.
Conclusion
- Extreme poverty in India is surely on decline but pandemic have pushed people again back to the poverty. Pandemic have put the break on inclusive growth of people. Government must realize these and plan accordingly.
Mains Question

Q. Analyze the data of NFHS for poverty estimation in India? How government policies have helped to reduce the extreme poverty in India?

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Type: op-ed snap

Context

Analyzing the corporate Investment since the pandemic

What is The current consumer’s demand situation?

Statistic on demand and investment

Conclusion

Context

What is the verdict of supreme court?

Do you know?

The Backgrounder: What are concerns over the reservation verdicts so far?

What is the significance of this recent Judgement?

Critical analysis of judgement

Conclusion

Context

Know the basics- What is UPI?

Why RBI wants to intervene?

What is the present scenario of Pricing UPI?

How RBI can regulate price?

How digital payment is charged around the world and India’s requirement?

Do you know what is Merchant Discount Rate?

Conclusion

Context

What is the intention of Government behind such survey?

Know the History of Madrasa

What is the status of unrecognized madrasas?

What the case studies reveal about education via unrecognizes madrasas?

What government can do?

Conclusion

Context

Background of Present situation in Myanmar

How is the response of civilian opposition against military?

UN and International criticism

Conclusion

Content

What are the findings of the committee?

What is the situation in the world?

What are the laws and policy interventions?

What needs to be done?

Conclusion

Context

Status of National highways and deaths

What was the circular issued by NHAI?

Case study of NHAI’s road construction?

Critical analysis of NHAI’s road construction and maintenance

Conclusion

Context

Why such extreme call on fossil fuel ban?

Why this demand is significant?

Similar demand of ban on coal use

What will be the implications of fossil fuel ban?

What should be the way forward?

Conclusion

Context

Why China’s 20th Party Congress is important?

What are the problematic declarations at 20th party congress?

What are the implications for the world?

Conclusion

Context

Poverty estimation in India

How poverty is estimated under NFHS?

What are the findings of NFHS?

What are the efforts behind inclusive growth and reduced poverty?

Conclusion

What are the problematic declarations at 20^th party congress?