💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (August Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Type: Op-ed

  • Rajasthan’s rural power solution that other states can emulate

    Power regulatory body in Rajasthan recently ordered discoms to solarise unelectrified public schools. The move has several benefits and therefore can be emulated by the other states as well. 

    Expanded electricity access in rural areas and shortcomings in it

    • Estimates suggest that India has doubled the electrified rural households, from 55% in 2010 to 96% in 2020.
    • However, the measure of access to power supply has been the number of households that have been connected to the electricity grid.
    • This measure discounts large areas of essential and productive human activities such as public schools and primary health centres.
    • And despite greater electrification, power supply is often unreliable in rural areas.

    Solar energy: Solution to electrification in remote parts

    • To address the above problems, the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) has ordered the State’s discoms to solarise unelectrified public schools.
    • The RERC has also suggested installation of batteries to ensure storage of power.
    • Apart from enabling education, this ruling would benefit several other crucial aspects of rural life.
    • The RERC order also directed discoms to seek corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the solarising drive and allows schools ownership of the power systems in a phased manner.
    • This removes the burden of infrastructure development expenses on discoms, while also ensuring clean energy for the schools.
    • The power that is generated could also be counted towards the discoms’ Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).
    • Large-scale projects are generally financed by companies that wish to profit from economies of scale.
    • They are less interested in investing in rural electricity as it is not as lucrative.
    • Large-grid based projects add to the supply of power in urban areas, and therefore, only marginally further greater energy access goals.

    The decentralised model of power generation

    • While Rajasthan has land mass with vast, sparsely populated tracts available to install solar parks, bulk infrastructure of this scale is susceptible to extreme weather events.
    • With climate change increasing the possibility of such events, a decentralised model of power generation would prove to be more climate resilient.
    • With battery storage, the susceptibility of grid infrastructure to extreme weather events could be mitigated.
    • This is called climate proofing.
    • As solar installations become inexpensive and with rapidly advancing battery storage technologies, decentralised solar power generation has become a reality.

    Conclusion

    The ruling by Rajasthan’s power regulator not only helps in increasing access to electricity, achieving targets of renewable energy but also suggests solutions that other States could emulate.

  • The problem now with the military synergy plan

    The recent controversy over the alleged marginalization of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the proposed ‘theaterisation’ of the national security landscape has led to some debates.

    IAF concerned over ITC

    • The Indian military continues to work in silos, like all governmental agencies in India, and a need was rightly felt and directions issued by PM to bring about jointness.
    • The aim is to bring about synergy in operations while economizing through the elimination of duplication and wasteful practices or processes.
    • IAF is keen to bring in the requisite reforms to improve the war-fighting capabilities of the Indian military as a whole while also economizing.

    Reservations of IAF

    • In the current formulation of theatres, the objections from the IAF have essentially been due to air power being seen as an adjunct to the two surface forces.
    • IAF veterans feel that the IAF is being divided into penny packets which would seriously degrade the effectiveness of air operations in any future conflict or contingency.
    • They feel that the use of air power is found to be sub-optimal under the military ethos of “an order is an order”.

    Hurry by the CDS

    • Concurrently, such an intellectual exercise would identify duplication, wasteful resources and practices.
    • This is what the CDS should have been pursuing before first freezing the structure and then trying to glue the pieces together or hammer square pegs in round holes.
    • Only such a strategy can define the types of contingencies the military is expected to address, leading to appropriate military strategies, doctrines and required capabilities.

    Why is the IAF right?

    • Airpower is the lead element, particularly since the Indian political aim, even in the foreseeable future, is unlikely to be the occupation of new territories.
    • A large, manpower-intensive army with unusable armour formations would then also come into focus.
    • Even the proposed air defence command conflicts with the domain command in the seamless employment of airpower.
    • It is due to the absence of such an intellectual exercise that the IAF does not wish to see its limited resources scattered away in fighting defensive battles by a land force commander with little expertise.
    • The Army fails to realise that offensive air power is best not seen, busy keeping the enemy air force pinned down elsewhere as shown in 1971.

    The Army-Air Force silo

    • Historically, the Indian Army has always kept the IAF out of the information loop and demonstrated a penchant to ‘go it alone’.
    • The charge that the IAF joined the party late during Kargil (1999) is also totally baseless and shows a lack of knowledge of events and a failure to learn from historical facts.
    • Recorded facts and a dispassionate view would clearly show that the IAF began conducting reconnaissance missions as soon as the Army just made a request for attack helicopters.
    • This despite the IAF pointing out the unsuitability of armed helicopters at these altitudes and their vulnerability.
    • The use of offensive air power close to the Line of Control also required that the political leadership be kept informed due to possibilities of escalation, something that the Army was unwilling to do.

    Echoes from Kargil

    • Seen in this light, the Chinese incursion into Eastern Ladakh last year is reminiscent of Kargil.
    • While the response has been swift, it is evident that a clear intent to use combat air power, as against 1962, has significantly contributed in deterring China.
    • However, such intent and a joint strategy would have been forcefully signalled by the presence of air force representatives in the ongoing negotiations to restore status quo ante.
    • The continuing build-up of the infrastructure for the PLA Air Force in Tibet further emphasizes the need for an air-land strategy, with air power as the lead element to deter or defeat the Chinese designs at coercion.

    National security strategy should be at the centerstage

    • If war is the continuation of politics by other means, then it is essential to first define the political objectives flowing into a national security strategy before any effective use of force can be truly contemplated.
    • The failures of the mightiest militaries in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and even our own Indian misadventure in Sri Lanka bear testimony to the lack of clear political objectives and appropriate military strategies.
    • It is, therefore, unfortunate that even after over seven decades after Independence, India still does not have a clearly articulated national security strategy.

    Address the structural gaps

    • Finally, theatre or any lower structure requires an institutionalized higher defence organization, which has been sadly missing.
    • This has lead to little regular dialogue between the political and military leadership, except in crises resulting in knee-jerk responses.
    • This led to a remark from a scholar-warrior that, “it is ironic that the Cabinet has an Accommodation Committee but not a Defence Committee”.
    • In the current proposal, it appears that the CDS, as the permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC), would also exercise operational control of the theatre/functional commands.

    Way forward

    • Prudence demands that instead of ramming down such structures without adequate deliberations and discussions with all stakeholders.
    • We need to first evolve appropriate military strategies in a nuclear backdrop in concert with the political objectives.
    • Thereafter, joint planning and training for all foreseen contingencies, with war-gaming, would automatically indicate the required structures with suitable command, control and communications.

    Conclusion

    • We must remember that in war there is no prize for the runner-up.
    • It is better that such objections and dissenting opinions come out now before the structure is formalized than once it is set in stone.
    • The nation would then end up paying a heavy price, with the Air Force carrying the burden and blame for the failures.

  • Why the dairy sector needs more private players

    One of India’s largest dairy cooperative societies has just raised its milk prices for consumers by Rs 2/litre and this has become national news.

    Sparking off a debate

    • Many in the media are debating how this will push up Consumer Price Index causing inflationary pressures, which may soon force the RBI to change its “accommodative stance” on monetary policy.

    Why such hues over Milk?

    Milk is an important case study for our overall agriculture sector.

    • First, milk is our biggest agri-commodity in terms of value, greater than paddy (rice), wheat, and sugarcane combined.
    • Second, India is the largest producer of milk in the world with an estimated production of about 208 million tonnes in 2020-21, way above its closest competitor, the US, whose milk production hovers around 100 million tonnes.
    • Third, our dairy sector is dominated by smallholders with an average herd size of 4-5 animals.
    • Fourth, and this is important, there is no minimum support price (MSP) for milk. It is more like a contract between the company and the farmers.

    How is the milk price determined?

    • The price of milk is largely determined by the overall forces of demand and supply.
    • Increasing costs of production enter through the supply side, but the demand side cannot be ignored.
    • As a result of all this, the overall growth in the dairy sector for the last 20 years has been between 4-5 per cent per annum, and lately, it has accelerated to even 6 per cent.

    Concerns of dairy farmers

    • For dairy farmers, this increase in milk prices is not commensurate to the increase in their feed and other costs, and they feel that their margins are getting squeezed.
    • They also feel that this price still does not count their logistics cost.

    Transformation since Op Flood

    • It is well known that “Operation Flood” (OF) that started in the 1970s transformed this sector.
    • The institutional innovation of a cooperative model, steered by Verghese Kurien, changed the structure of this sector.
    • However, even after five decades, cooperatives processed only 10 per cent of the overall milk production.
    • India needed the double-engine force of the organised private sector to process another 10 per cent.
    • The doors for the private sector were opened partially with the 1991 reforms, but fully in 2002-03 under the leadership of Vajpayee, when the dairy sector was completely de-licenced.

    Rise of dairypreneurs

    • Many start-ups “dairypreneurs” have come in promising a farm-to-home experience of milk.
    • There is one company that delivers fresh milk at the consumer’s doorstep and gives quality testing kits at home.
    • These have digitized cattle health, milk production, milk procurement, milk testing, and cold chain management.

    Effective breeding

    • Sexed semen technology helps in predetermining the sex of offspring by sorting X and Y chromosomes from the natural sperm mix.
    • This can solve the problem of unwanted bulls on Indian roads.
    • Although the current cost of sexed sorted semen is high, Maharashtra has taken a bold step in subsidizing it for artificial insemination.

    Way forward

    • The upshot of all this is that let prices be determined by market forces, with marginal support from the government or cooperatives in times of extreme.
    • The major focus should be on innovations to cut down costs, raise productivity, ensure food safety, and be globally competitive.
    • That will help both farmers and consumers alike.
    • The cooperatives did a great job during OF, and are still doing that, but the private sector entering this sector in a big way has opened the gates of creativity and competition.

  • Failure to comply with international judicial rulings hurts India’s image as an investment destination

    The article highlights the lack of immediate compliance by the Indian government in awards involving foreign investors.

    Why honouring award is important

    • An important factor that propels investors to invest in foreign lands is that the host state will honour contracts and enforce awards even when it loses.
    • But when the host state refuses to do so, it shakes investors’ confidence in the host state’s credibility towards the rule of law, and escalates the regulatory risk enormously.
    • To an extent, this has been India’s story over the last few years
    • Last year, India lost two high-profile bilateral investment treaty (BIT) disputes to two leading global corporations — Vodafone and Cairn Energy — on retrospective taxation.
    •  India has challenged both the awards at the courts of the seat of arbitration.
    • As India drags its feet on the issue of compliance, it harms India’s reputation in dealing with foreign investors.

    Antrix-Devas agreement cancellation dispute

    • The other set of high-profile BIT disputes involve the cancellation of an agreement between Antrix, a commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, and Devas Multimedia.
    • This annulment led to three legal disputes — a commercial arbitration between Antrix and Devas Multimedia at the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC), and two BIT arbitrations brought by the Mauritius investors and German investors.
    • India lost all three disputes. 
    • The ICC arbitration tribunal ordered Antrix to pay $1.2 billion to Devas after a U.S. court confirmed the award earlier this year.
    • After the ICC award, Indian agencies started investigating Devas accusing it of corruption and fraud.
    • Last month, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ordered the liquidation of Devas on the ground that the affairs of the company were being carried on fraudulently.
    • This has led to Devas issuing a notice of intention to initiate a new BIT arbitration against India, sowing the seeds for complex legal battles again.

    Implications for investment in India

    • A closer reading of these cases reveals that whenever India loses a case to a foreign investor, immediate compliance rarely happens.
    • Instead, efforts are made to delay the compliance as much as possible.
    • While these efforts may be legal, it sends out a deleterious message to foreign investors.
    • It shows a recalcitrant attitude towards adverse judicial rulings.
    • This may not help India in attracting global corporations to its shores to ‘make for the world’.

    Consider the question “What are the factors that are leading to more Indian business disputes being settled elsewhere? What are the implications of delay by the government in honouring the awards of the disputes?” 

    Conclusion

    As India aspire to be the global destination of FDI, it needs to burnish its image on the dispute resolution front by honouring the awards.

  • Middle income trap

    The article suggests focusing on improving productivity and thereby the manufacturing sector to avoid the middle-income trap.

    What is the middle-income trap and why it matters for India

    • This trap was first conceived by World Bank economists.
    • They found that of the 101 developing economies that could be classified as ‘middle income’ in 1960, only 13 managed to become rich nations by 2008. 
    • There is little consensus on why some countries succeed in making the transition to high-income status.
    • But a distinctive attribute of those that succeed in the transition to high income is productivity improvement.
    • India could use its demographic dividend to avoid this predicament and achieve the critical velocity needed to move into the high-income bracket.

    How can India avoid the middle-income trap

    1) Improve productivity

    • Re-allocation of labour from low-productivity agriculture to high-productivity sectors, such as manufacturing, has been a primary channel through which today’s advanced economies raised their living standards.
    • In India, growth in labour productivity has consistently declined over the past decade.
    • The annual growth rate of output per worker has dipped from 7.9% in 2010 to 3.5% in 2019, as per International Labour Organization estimates.
    • This was also a period of low growth in India’s manufacturing sector.
    • In 2020-21, it accounted for only 14.5% of India’s gross value added, down from 17.4% in 2011-12.
    • An essential first step in improving productivity would be strengthening this sector.

    2) Strengthen manufacturing sector

    • Industrial labour relations is among the most critical elements to revitalize India’s manufacturing sector especially in the context of labour productivity.
    • These labour laws created incentives for firms to remain small and uncompetitive, thereby affecting productivity.
    • The new code, once implemented, would increase the threshold relating to layoffs and retrenchment in industrial establishments to 300 workers.
    • Other countries, such as China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, with whom India competes for foreign investment and export markets do not require the approval of administrative or judicial bodies for dismissals.
    • Therefore, in spite of recent reforms, India’s labour laws stay rigid in comparison with those of its competitor countries.

    3) Technology intensive manufacturing

    • Engendering innovation in higher value-added, tech-intensive activities is important for economies before they reach that juncture.
    • If exports are taken as a proxy for the manufacturing capabilities and competitiveness of an economy, the present status of tech-intensive manufacturing in India leaves a lot to be desired.
    • As per World Bank data, high-tech exports accounted for only 10.3% of India’s manufacturing exports in 2019.
    • Rival countries had a much higher share of the same: 31% in China, 13% in Brazil, 40% in Vietnam and 24% in Thailand.
    • Low R&D spending in India, ranging from a mere 0.64% to 0.86% of gross domestic product over the past two decades, has held the country back.

    Steps to improve tech-intensive manufacturing

    • The government has introduced a production-linked incentive scheme to ensure a greater share of local value addition.
    • While this would attract foreign investments in tech-intensive manufacturing, there is also a need for greater incentives for R&D investments by firms in India.
    • A first step in this direction could be reinstating the tax exemption on R&D under Section 35 (2AB), even for companies opting for the lower corporate tax rate of 22%.

    Conclusion

    We need appropriate interventions to improve productivity—both economy-wide and within the sector. And we must do it now.

  • How the GNCTD (Amendment) Act affects functioning of Delhi Assembly

    The article highlights the implications of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD)(Amendment) Act, 2021 on functioning of Assembly and its committees.

    Context

    The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD)(Amendment) Act, 2021 has been criticised as a retrograde law. However, what deserves equal attention is the Act’s assault on the functioning of Delhi’s Legislative Assembly.

    Background of GNCTD Act

    • The GNCTD Act was enacted in 1992.
    • Under the Act, Delhi Legislative Assembly was given the power to regulate its own procedure, as well as the conduct of its business.
    • This sought to realise a delicate balance reflecting Delhi’s unique constitutional position: neither full state nor a centrally governed Union Territory.

    How amendment affects functioning of Assembly

    • Its standards of procedure and conduct of business have been firmly tethered to that of the Lok Sabha, depriving Delhi’s elected MLAs of an effective say in how their Assembly should be run.
    • The Amending Act prohibits the Assembly from making any rule enabling either itself or its committees to consider any issue concerned with “the day-to-day administration of the capital” or “conduct inquiries in relation to administrative decisions”.
    • The most significant impact of this shall be on the exercise of free speech in the Assembly and its committees.
    • The amendment impeded the Assembly from performing its most basic legislative function — that of holding the executive to account by restricting its ability to freely discuss matters happening in the capital.

    Impact on committees

    • The deliberations and inputs of committees often pave the way for intelligent legislative action.
    • In a way, they act as the eyes and ears for the whole House, which has neither the time nor the expertise to scrutinise issues in depth.
    • It would be impossible for committees to perform this function without the power to conduct inquiries.
    • Pre-emptively injunct a committee from conducting an inquiry “in relation to the administrative decisions” (an extremely broad exception) completely negates the ability of committees to function effectively as the Assembly’s advisors and agents.
    • The quality of legislative work emanating from the Assembly is thus ultimately bound to suffer.

    Consider the question “What are the reasons for frequent disputes between Delhi government and the Lt. Governor? Would the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD)(Amendment) Act, 2021 succeed in ending that trend?” 

    Conclusion

    The amendment deprive the Delhi Assmbly of its very basic functions and render it a ‘legislature’ in name only. Surely, Delhi’s voters deserve better than that. The Government need to reconsider the provisions of the amendment act.

  • Investors should not be tempted to ignore macroeconomic factors

    Despite gloom in the economy, financial markets are scaling new highs. The situations calls for diligence on the part of individual investors. The deals with this issue.

    What influences investors’ decision

    • Investors may not necessarily be always sensible or even capable of perceiving the larger picture.
    • Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman argues that humans usually use the ‘first system’ of ‘fast thinking’ to hurriedly act and perceive their environment.
    • Consequently, they are susceptible to the ‘priming effect’, ‘framing bias’, ‘anchoring effect’, ‘overconfidence bias’ and ‘availability heuristic’.
    • These phenomena, thus, play their part in pervading optimistic market conditions.
    • As a result, investors often end up ignoring or overlooking uncertainties and risks involved in their decision.
    • At the same time, investors’ decision choices could be significantly influenced by ‘nudging’.
    • It is a deliberate tactics and method of behaviour modification by which it is the ‘choice architect’ that decides who does what and who does so, as argued by the Nobel laureate, Richard H. Thaler.
    • The present surge in the Indian stock market is indeed nudging individual investors to trade more.

    What makes individual investors vulnerable

    • National Stock Exchange data indicate following trends:
    • The share of the non-institutional individual investors in equity trading volume has risen to one half of the total turnover. in 2021.
    • It was around a third in 2016.
    • In contrast, the share of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in the total trading volume has shrunk to just about a tenth, it used to be one fifth in 2016.
    • Trading in the stock market, the sudden rise, the intraday moves, etc., are, thus, attributable largely to individual traders now. 
    • However, despite their large trading volumes, individual investors have actually contracted their holding of the market capitalisation.
    • The FIIs currently own around half of the free float of all Indian companies.
    • Apparently, the retail investors have constantly sold their stake to end up holding less than 20% shares now.
    • Trading, thus, seems to be the mainstay of retail investors and this is what makes them more vulnerable to the vagaries of the market.

    Market is ignoring macroeconomic factors

    • Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd. data of the listed companies reveal a rise in their profit, due to rationalisation and cost-cutting.
    • Investors might be tempted to ignore macroeconomic factors and invest in such stock believing that it is the profit that impels the stock prices.
    •  In reality, however, share price is expected to ascend if a company declares to cut its wage bill.
    • This probably explains why stock markets around the world have been on the rise amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic; demand may have declined but profits have been least impacted.
    • At the larger economic level, however, real wages have plunged.
    • Clearly, the market has not entirely decoupled itself from the economic indicators.
    • Established wisdom suggests that corporates cannot sustain contraction in the economy for long.
    • Sustained decline in demand caused by waning disposable household income would catch them soon.
    • Robert J. Shiller attributes this phenomenon of creating a possible bubble to irrational exuberance.
    • When bubbles burst, they cause a kind of financial earthquake, in turn destabilising public trust in the integrity of the financial system.
    • Critically, as the past portrays, individual investors, with all their vulnerabilities, suffer the most devastating consequences.
    • Retail investors are as well susceptible to overreaction when negative news hits the market.

    Consider the question “What are the factors driving the financial markets up despite the weak macroeconomic foundations? What are the risks involved in such situation for the individual investors?”

    Conlcusion

    History of financial markets is replete with bubbles and bursts. Most affected in such burst are the individual investors. Informed decisions based on information and risks involved should form the basis of investment by individual investors.

  • Rule of Law vs Rule by Law

    What makes the Rule of Law different from the Rule by Law? It is the idea of justice and equity that separates the two. The article explains the principles that emerge as the basis of the Rule of law and the role of the judiciary in ensuring their constitutionality.

    Understanding law

    • Law, in its most general sense, is a tool of social control that is backed by the sovereign.
    • However, such a definition of law can be used not only to render justice, it can also be used to justify oppression.
    • Therefore it is argued that a law cannot really be classified as a “law” unless it imbibes within itself the ideals of justice and equity.
    • So, any law backed by a sovereign must be tempered by certain ideals or tenets of justice.
    • Only a state that is governed by such law, can be said to have the Rule of Law.
    • The British colonial power used the law as a tool of political repression, enforcing it unequally on the parties, with a different set of rules for the British and for the Indians.
    •  It was an enterprise famous for “Rule by Law”, rather than “Rule of Law.

    Four principles of rule of law

    • Clarity and accessibility: Laws must be clear and accessible, the people at least ought to know what the laws are.
    • Another implication of this principle is that they should be worded in simple, unambiguous language.
    • Equality: An important aspect of equality before law is having equal access to justice.
    • This guarantee of equal justice will be rendered meaningless if the vulnerable sections are unable to enjoy their rights because of their poverty or illiteracy or any other kind of weakness.
    • Another aspect is the issue of “gender equality”.
    • Participation of people: The third principle, the “right to participate in the creation and refinement of laws”.
    • The very essence of a democracy is that its citizenry has a role to play, directly or indirectly, in the laws that govern them.
    • In India, it is done through elections.
    • The idea that people are the ultimate sovereign is also to be found in notions of human dignity and autonomy
    • Strong independent judiciary: The fourth principle stemsp from the idea that the judiciary is the “guardian” of the Constitution.
    • The judiciary is the primary organ which is tasked with ensuring that the laws that are enacted are in line with the Constitution.

    Independent judiciary and role of media

    • The judiciary cannot be controlled, directly or indirectly, by the legislature or the executive, or else the Rule of Law would become illusory.
    • At the same time, judges should not be swayed by the emotional pitch of public opinion either, which is getting amplified through social media platforms.
    • Judges have to be mindful of the fact that the noise thus amplified is not necessarily reflective of what is right and what the majority believes in.
    • Therefore, media trials cannot be a guiding factor in deciding cases.
    • It is, therefore, extremely vital to function independently and withstand all external aids and pressures.
    • While there is a lot of discussion about the pressure from the executive, it is also imperative to start a discourse as to how social media trends can affect the institutions.

    Conclusion

    The importance of the judiciary shouldn’t blind us to the fact that the responsibility of safeguarding constitutionalism lies not just with the courts. All the three organs of the state, i.e., the executive, legislature and the judiciary, are equal repositories of constitutional trust.

  • Can India avoid a telecom duopoly?

    The Indian telecom sector faces the prospect of duopoly due to the impending exit of Vodafone-Idea. This has several implications.

    India’s telecom sector: From monopoly to hyper-competition

    • India’s telecom market has seen monopoly as well as hyper-competition.
    • Twenty-five years ago, the government alone could provide services.
    • Ten years later, there were nearly a dozen competing operators. Most service areas now have four players.
    • However, the possible exit of the financially-stressed Vodafone Idea would leave only two dominant players-Airtel and Jio in the telecom sector.
    • A looming duopoly, or the exit of a global telecommunications major, are both worrying.
    • They deserve a careful and creative response.

    Why it matters

    • Competition has delivered relatively low prices, advanced technologies, and an acceptable quality of services.
    • There is a long way to go in expanding access as well as network capacity.
    • For example, India is ranked second globally—after China—in the number of people connected to the internet.
    • However, it is also first in the number of people unconnected.
    • Over 50% of Indians are not connected to the internet, despite giant strides in network reach and capacity. India tops aggregate mobile data usage.
    • However, its per capita or device data usage is low.
    • It has an impressive 4G mobile network, however, its fixed network—wireline or optical fibre—is sparse and often poor.
    • 5G deployment has yet to start and will be expensive.
    • Filling the gaps in infrastructure and access will require large investments and competition.
    • The exit of the Vodafone-Idea will hurt both objectives.
    • The closure of Vodafone Idea is an arguably greater concern than the fading role of BSNL and MTNL.
    • The government companies are yet to deploy 4G and have become progressively less competitive.
    • Vodafone Idea, on the other hand, still accounts for about a quarter of subscriptions and revenues and can boast of a quality network.

    Way out

    1) Strategic partnership with BSNL-MTNL

    • A possible way out could be to combine the resources of the MTNL and BSNL and Vodafone Idea through a strategic partnership.
    • Creative government action can save Vodafone Idea as well as improve the competitiveness of BSNL and MTNL.
    • It could help secure government dues, investments, and jobs.

    2) Develop resale market

    • Global experience suggests that well-entrenched incumbents have massive advantages.
    • New players are daunted by the large investments.
    • However, regulators and policymakers have other options to expand choice for telecom consumers.
    • Their counterparts in mature regulatory regimes—e.g., in the European Union—have helped develop extensive markets for resale. 
    • Recognising the limited influence of smaller players, regulators mandate that the incumbent offer wholesale prices to resellers who then expand choice for end-users.
    • A key barrier to resale is India’s licence fee regime which requires licence-holders to share a proportion of their revenues with the government.

    Conclusion

    It would be tragic if India’s telecom-access market was to be reduced to only two competing operators, as we have a long way to go. The government needs to consider the implications of the situation arising due to the exit of one of the major players in the sector.

    Source:

    https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/failing-to-connect-can-india-avoid-a-telecom-duopoly/2281486/

  • How police can serve citizens better

    The article highlights the necessity of adopting the technology driven service delivery mechanism by the police.

    SC mandated police reforms of 2006

    Cost of inefficient criminal justice system

    • There is a reluctance to implement the Supreme Court-mandated police reforms of 2006.
    • The economic cost of the failed criminal justice system is reflected in the reluctance of foreign companies to set up manufacturing and commercial ventures in India for want of quick settlement of criminal, labour and civil disputes.
    • The social implications can be gauged from the report, “Crime in India 2019”, published by the National Crime Records Bureau.
    • Investigation and prosecution need improvement and all criminal trials must be completed within a year.
    • Technology-driven service delivery mechanisms can help achieve this.

    Need to ensure time-bound delivery of services

    • Along with prevention and detection of crime and maintenance of law and order, police stations in India undertake numerous daily tasks.
    • These tasks include providing verifications and no objection certificates of different kinds to citizens.
    • In criminal and non-cognisable cases, police stations provide copies of FIRs, complaints and final reports.
    • Police stations also verify domestic help/employees of central and state governments/public sector undertakings/students going abroad for studies.
    • The Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) had identified 45 such tasks in 2017.
    • Ease of business means police stations dispose of these requests in a transparent and time-bound manner.
    • The procedures are non-transparent and timelines are often blurred which encourage corrupt practice.
    • Even as police reforms are pursued by the Supreme Court, a definite attempt can be made to ensure time-bound delivery of the above-mentioned services to citizens.

    Use of technology for service delivery

    • These e-portals of various state police seek to provide citizen-centric services such as requests for issue/renewal of various NOCs, verification requests for servants, employment, passport, senior citizen registrations etc.
    • The India Justice Report (IJR) 2020 supported by Tata Trusts has studied the e-portals of various state police organisations.
    • The report mentions that “despite the push for digitisation, no state offered the complete bouquet of services…
    • The report also mentions that users face numerous problems of accessibility to these services.
    • The IJR 2020 audit confirms that states need to invest more resources to upgrade their e-portals for providing the 45 identified basic services to the citizens

    Way forward

    • This highlights that technology for service delivery to citizens has not been prioritised by the police leadership.
    • . This is a task that police leadership can concentrate on without any political interference.
    • The Bureau of Police Research had worked out the timeline for each service and the hierarchy/levels involved.
    • The recommendations have been shared with the state police organisations.
    • Adhering to a defined process with a timeline and clear delineation of the levels of police officers involved can ensure transparent and non-corrupt service delivery.
    • It will reduce the number of fruitless visits a citizen makes to a police station chasing different officers.
    • Along with ease of use, the language of e-portals needs attention too.
    • Citizens seeking clearances may not be very educated.
    • The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) earmarked about Rs 20,000 crore for the modernisation of police (2017-2020), for schemes such as crime and criminal tracing networks and system (CCTNS), police wireless and e-prisons.
    • States can take up this crucial service delivery mechanism.

    Conclusion

    Life for Indians would be transformed if government departments, including the police, provide maximum information and services through their portals respecting the defined processes and timelines