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Type: Op-ed

  • Promotion of nutri-cereals(Millet crop) in India

    Promotion of millet crops serves the dual purpose of securing health and supporting farmers. This article explains the strategy adopted by the government to achieve the same.

    Millet crops in India

    • The three major millet crops currently growing in India are jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet) and ragi (finger millet).
    • India also grows a rich array of bio-genetically diverse and indigenous varieties of “small millets” like kodo, kutki, chenna and sanwa.
    • Major producers include Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.

    Advantages of millet cultivation

    • Millets are good for the soil, have shorter cultivation cycles and require less cost-intensive cultivation.
    • These unique features make millets suited for and resilient to India’s varied agro-climatic conditions.
    • Millets are not water or input-intensive, making them a sustainable strategy for addressing climate change and building resilient agri-food systems.

    Reasons for decline in millet production in India

    • In the 1960s before the Green Revolution, millets were extensively grown and consumed in India.
    • With the Green Revolution, the focus, rightly so, shifted to food security and high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice.
    • An unintended consequence of this policy was the gradual decline in the production of millets.
    • Millets were increasingly seen as “poor person’s food”.
    • The cost incentives provided via MSPs also favoured a handful of staple grains.

    Health issues related to refined food

    • Along with declining millet production, India saw a jump in consumer demand for ultra-processed and ready-to-eat products, which are high in sodium, sugar, trans-fats and even some carcinogens.
    • This demand was again met by highly-refined grains.
    • With the intense marketing of processed foods, even the rural population started perceiving mill-processed rice and wheat as more aspirational.
    • This has lead us to the double burden of mothers and children suffering from micronutrient deficiencies and the astounding prevalence of diabetes and obesity.

    Strategy for promotion of nutri-cereals

    1) Rebranding the cereals as nutri-cereals

    • The first strategy from a consumption and trade point of view was to re-brand coarse cereals/millets as nutri-cereals.
    • As of 2018-19, millet production had been extended to over 112 districts across 14 states.

    2) Incentive through hiking MSP

    • Second, the government hiked the MSP of nutri-cereals, which came as a big price incentive for farmers.
    • From 2014-15 to 2020 MSPs for ragi has jumped by 113 per cent, by 72 per cent for bajra and by 71 per cent for jowar.
    • MSPs have been calculated so that the farmer is ensured at least a 50 per cent return on their cost of production.

    3) Providing steady markets through inclusion in PDS

    • To provide a steady market for the produce, the Modi government included millets in the public distribution system.

    4) Increasing area, production and yield

    • The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare is running a Rs 600-crore scheme to increase the area, production and yield of nutri-cereals.
    • With a goal to match the cultivation of nutri-cereals with local topography and natural resources, the government is encouraging farmers to align their local cropping patterns to India’s diverse 127 agro-climatic zones.
    • Provision of seed kits and inputs to farmers, building value chains through Farmer Producer Organisations and supporting the marketability of nutri-cereals are some of the key interventions that have been put in place.

    5) Intersection of agriculture and nutrition

    • The Ministry of Women and Child Development has been working at the intersection of agriculture and nutrition by -1) setting up nutri-gardens, 2) promoting research on the interlinkages between crop diversity and dietary diversity 3) running a behaviour change campaign to generate consumer demand for nutri-cereals.

    Consider the question “What are the reasons for decline in the millet production in India? What are the steps taken by the government to encourage its production?”

    Conclusion

    As the government sets to achieve its agenda of a malnutrition-free India and doubling of farmers’ incomes, the promotion of the production and consumption of nutri-cereals seems to be a policy shift in the right direction.

  • The NEP 2020 must look beyond just data science and AI

    The article deals with the issues with the emphasis on the coding instead of understanding the basic algorithmic process.

    Issues with focusing on coding in NEP 2020

    • The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) envisages putting greater emphasis on mathematical and computational thinking throughout the school years.
    • The framing in the NEP appears to put it at the same level of distinction as the more instrumental ‘coding’, and almost as a mere tool towards the utilitarian goals of artificial intelligence (AI) and data science.
    • An overemphasis on learning the nitty-gritty of specific programming languages prematurely — even from middle school — may distract from focusing on the development of algorithmic creativity.

    What is coding?

    Coding is basically the computer language used to develop apps, websites, and software. Without it, we’d have none of the most popular technology we’ve come to rely on such as Facebook, our smartphones, the browser we choose to view our favorite blogs, or even the blogs themselves. It all runs on code.

    About computation and algorithms

    • Algorithmics is the abstract process of arriving at a post-condition through a sequential process of state changes.
    • It is among the earliest human intellectual endeavours that has become imperative for almost all organised thinking.
    • All early learning of counting and arithmetic is method-based, and hence algorithmic in nature, and all calculations involve computational processes encoded in algorithms.
    • The core algorithmic ideas of modern AI and machine learning are based on some seminal algorithmic ideas of Newton and Gauss, which date back a few hundred years.
    • Though the form of expressions of algorithms — the coding — have been different, the fundamental principles of classical algorithm design have remained invariant.

    Algorithms in modern world

    • In the modern world, the use of algorithmic ideas is not limited only to computations with numbers, or even to digitisation, communication or AI and data science.
    • They play a crucial role in modelling and expressing ideas in diverse areas of human thinking, including the basic sciences of biology, physics and chemistry, all branches of engineering, in understanding disease spread, in modelling social interactions and social graphs, in transportation networks, supply chains, commerce, banking and other business processes, and even in economic and political strategies and design of social processes.
    • Hence, learning algorithmic thinking early in the education process is indeed crucial.

    So, how coding is different from arithmetics?

    • Coding is merely the act of encoding an algorithmic method in a particular programming language which provides an interface.
    • AS computational process can be invoked in a modern digital computer.
    • Thus, it is less fundamental.
    • While coding certainly can provide excellent opportunities for experimentation with algorithmic ideas, they are not central or indispensable to algorithmic thinking.
    • After all, coding is merely one vehicle to achieve experiential learning of a computational process.

    Way forward

    • Instead of focusing on the intricacies of specific programming languages, it is more important at an early stage of education to develop an understanding of the basic algorithmic processes behind manipulating geometric figures.
    • Indeed, this is a common outcome of the overly utilitarian skills training-based approaches evidenced throughout the country.

    Conclusion

    The NEP guideline of introducing algorithmic thinking early is a welcome step, it must be ensured that it does not degenerate and get bogged down with mundane coding tricks at a budding stage in the education process.

  • Analysing the success of NPCI

    The article tracks the evolution of digital payments system in India and the transformational role played by the NPCI in it.

    Adoption of digital payments in India

    • Digital payments have found strong ground in India reducing all other modes of payments to the background.
    • Through a faster system of simultaneous debits and credits, the money value is transferred from one account to the other across banks.
    • With such versatility and ease of settling financial transactions, the growth of digital payments is going to be phenomenal, supported by banks and Fin-Tech companies.

    Evolution of digital payments in India

    • A major thrust toward large value payments was effected through the Real Time Gross Settlement System, or RTGS, launched by the RBI in March 2004.
    • The large value payments on stock trading, government bond trading and other customer payments were covered under the RTGS.
    • It substantially reduced the time taken for settlements.
    • Around the same time, the RBI introduced National Electronic Funds Transfer, or NEFT to support retail payments.
    • Now, NEFT is available round the clock and RTGS will follow from December 2020 — only a few countries have achieved this.
    • These systems were seeded and reinforced with the setting up of the umbrella retail payments institution: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
    • NPCI was set up by 10 lead banks at the instance of the RBI in 2009.
    •  The NPCI as a not-for-profit company

    How NPCI transformed retail payment systems in India

    • The NPCI’s success against deeply entranced formidable international players, supported by innovative technology, viz. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), is well recognised by central banks in many other countries.
    • The Bank for International Settlements’s endorsement of the NPCI model in 2019 is a major accolade.
    • With digital payment being a public good like currency notes, it was necessary that the corporation was fully supported by the RBI and the government as an extended arm of the sovereign.
    • It was also necessary to contain expectations on profits, avoiding direct or indirect control by powerful private interests could dilute the public good character of the outfit.

    Issue of converting NPCI into for-profit

    • Converting NPCI intro for-profit company will be a retrograde step with huge potential for loss of consumer surplus along with other strategic implications.
    • Instead the strategy should be to assist the NPCI financially, either by the RBI or the government, to provide retail payment services at reduced price (in certain priority areas).
    • This may also help support expansion of the payment system network and infrastructure in rural and semi-urban areas in partnership with Fin-Tech companies and banks.

    Issue fo MDR

    • In Budget 2020-21, the government prescribed zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for RuPay and UPI, both NPCI products.
    • Zero MDR on UPI and RuPay will help to popularise digital payments benefiting both customers and merchants.
    • There is justification in this zero MDR prescription by the government.
    • It is justified because depositors implicitly pay around 3% to banks as net interest margin, being the difference between saving and risk free bond rate, for enjoying certain payments services traditionally.
    • When banks enjoy such a huge amount of current account savings account (CASA) deposits, in return, is it not incumbent on them to provide such payment services?
    • The government left out other providers of digital payment products from this MDR prescription.
    • Taking advantage of this dichotomy, many issuing banks switched to mainly Visa and Master cards for monetary gains.
    • As customers were induced by such supplier banks, it created a kind of indirect market segmentation and cartel formation, though there is hardly any quality difference in payment products.
    • It may be noted that even the European Central Bank imposed a ceiling on MDR for all, protecting consumer interest.
    • It is hoped that the government will take corrective action in the next Budget to ensure a level playing field and to relieve the NPCI from such policy-induced market imperfection.

    Pricing for digital payments

    • The ideal pricing for digital payments products should be based on an analysis of-(i) producer surplus (ii) consumer surplus (i.e. gain or loss of utility due to pricing) (iii) social welfare for which we need cost-volume-price data.
    • A factor which needs to be reckoned is the float funds digital payments allow (cash withdrawal is a drain on the banking system), which is a source of sizeable income for banks.
    • The RBI will do well to study and arrive at a rational structure of pricing including MDR (possibly also penalty on default by customer).

    Consider the question “Elaborate on how the NPCI has been successful in transforming the digital payment landscape in the country through innovations? What are the challenges facing retail payments infrastructures?”

    Conclusion

    Given that the digital payment system is like a national superhighway, for which the government has a crucial role to play in protecting consumers against exploitation.

    Back2Basics: RTGS and NEFT

    • With NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer)
      you can transfer any amount to the recipient’s account in a one-on-one transfer basis.
    • NEFT transactions don’t have a maximum limit for funds that can be transferred in a single day.
    • The NEFT system is available round the clock throughout the year on all days (24x7x365).
    • Funds are transferred in batches that are settled in 48 half-hourly time slots throughout the day.
    • There is no maximum or minimum limit on the amount of funds that could be transferred through NEFT.

    RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement)

    • Business owners can use RTGS when they need to transfer large amounts instantly.
    • One advantage that RTGS has over the other methods is the transaction speed, since the entire amount is transferred in real time.
    • The available hours for RTGS transactions vary based on the individual banks and their branches.
    • There’s a minimum limit of Rs. 2 lakhs for RTGS transactions, and there’s no maximum limit as such.

    What is MDR?

    • The merchant discount rate (MDR) is charged to merchants for processing debit and credit card transactions.
    • To accept debit and credit cards, merchants must set up this service and agree to the rate.
    • The merchant discount rate is a fee, typically between 1%-3%, that merchants must consider when managing business costs

  • Issues with dilution of offset condition for defence procurement

    The ‘offset clause’ could help the country achieve the technological expertise and consequently self-reliance. However, India recently relaxed some norms in the policy. The article discusses the stated reasons for tweaking and its implications for the defence manufacturing industry in India.

    Context

    • Recently, the government diluted the “offset” policy in defence procurement, reportedly in response to a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India’s report tabled in Parliament last month.

    Let’s understand ‘offset’ policy

    •  In order to safeguard national interest, most countries restrict trade in defence equipment and advanced technologies.
    • Yet, for commercial gains and for global technological recognition, governments and firms do like to expand the trade through negotiated bilateral sales.
    • Restrictions are often imposed on the buyer country on use, modification and resale of such equipment and technologies.
    • The product and technology compel buyers to stick to them for: the advantages of bulk purchase, and dependence on the supplier for spares and upgrades.
    • The price and the terms of the contract often reflect the government’s relative bargaining strength and also domestic political and economic considerations.
    • Large buyers such as India seek to exercise their “buying power” to secure not just the lowest price but also try to acquire the technology to upgrade domestic production and build R&D capabilities.
    • The offset clause — used globally — is the instrument for securing these goals.

    Changes in the offset policy

    • Initiated in 2005, the offset clause has following requirements:
    • 1) Sourcing 30% of the value of the contract domestically.
    • 2) Indigenisation of production in a strict time frame.
    • 3) Training Indian professionals in high-tech skills, for promoting domestic R&D.
    • However, the policy has been tweaked many times since.
    • According to the recent CAG report,  between 2007 and 2018, the government reportedly signed 46 offset contracts worth ₹66,427 crore of investments.
    • However, the realised investments were merely 8%, or worth ₹5,457 crore.
    • Reportedly, technology transfer agreements in the offsets were not implemented, failing to accomplish the stated policy objective.
    • Recently, the government has changed this policy further so that the offset clause will not be applicable to bilateral deals and deals with a single (monopoly) seller, to begin with.

    Implications of the changes in offset policy

    • The dilution means practically giving up the offset clause, and a setback to India’s prospects for boosting defence production and technological self-reliance.
    • The government, however, has defended the decision by claiming a cost advantage.
    • Howver, price is but one of many factors in such deals, as explained above.
    • The higher (upfront) cost of the agreement due to the offset clause would pay for itself by: reducing costs in the long term by indigenisation of production and the potential technology spill-overs for domestic industry.
    • Hence, giving up the offset clause is undoubtedly a severe setback.

    How did offset policy work for aerospace industry?

    • Despite the heft of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, India is a lightweight in global civilian aircraft manufacturing, as the public sector giant mostly devotes itself to defence production.
    • The National Civil Aircraft Development (NCAD) project — to come up with an indigenously designed Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) — has remained a non-starter from day one.
    • However, with the introduction of the offset policy in 2005, things changed dramatically.
    • For contracts valued at ₹300 crore or more, 30% of it will result in offsets, implemented through Indian offset partners.
    • As aerospace imports rose rapidly, so did the exports via the offsets, by a whopping 544% in 2007, compared to the previous year.
    • By 2014, exports increased to $6.7 billion from a paltry $62.5 million in 2005, according to the United Nations Comtrade Database.
    • The offset clause enabled India to join the league of the world’s top 10 aerospace exporters; the only country without a major domestic aerospace firm.
    • However, exports reduced after the offset clause was relaxed, primarily when the threshold for the policy was raised from the hitherto ₹300 crore to ₹2000 crore, in 2016.
    • The offset exports fell to $1.5 billion by 2019.
    • The 2005 policy helped promote a vibrant aerospace cluster, mostly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) around Bengaluru.

    Consider the question “How far has the offset clause been successful in enhancing the domestic capabilities of India in defence manufacturing? What are the challenges in achieving the objectives of the policy?”

    Conclusion

    There are successful examples to draw lessons from, as the aerospace industry episode demonstrates. India needs to re-conceive or re-imagine the offset clause in defence contracts with stricter enforcement of the deals, in national interest, and in order to aim for ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan’, or a self-reliant India.

  • Reforms police in India need

    The article highlights the challenges facing the police force in India and suggests the measures to deal with them.

    Urgency of the police reforms

    • In a well-ordered democracy, the police are supposed to be a disciplined force trained to uphold the law and enforce the functioning of democracy on constitutional lines.
    • However, police in India suffers from a triad of malaises:
    • 1) The lack of sensitisation of police personnel.
    • 2) Absence of accountability.
    • 3) Politicisation of the police.

    Objectives of the reforms:

    1) Police sensitisation about their role in society

    • The sensitisation module should aim at bringing about attitudinal change in police — especially pertaining to gender and power relations and police behaviour.
    • There has to be promptness of action and decency of behaviour.
    • They need to be trained in body language and strictly advised to refrain from abusive behaviour.
    • It is necessary to increase public confidence in the police by upgrading levels of police service delivery as well as by investigating and acting in cases of police misconduct.

    2) Increasing accountability

    • Public confidence in police decreases when the public perceives that police abuses are not investigated effectively.
    • Enhancing accountability will improve police legitimacy and increase public confidence, which, in turn, will reinforce the integrity of the system.
    • The Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland, the Danish Independent Police Complaints Authority are some examples of mechanisms for accountability of the police for acts of abuse of power.

    3) De-politicisation of the police

    • Linked to accountability is de-politicisation of the police force.
    • This is a must for the effective functioning of the country’s criminal justice system.
    • The police, as the custodian of maintenance of law and order, must stay away from agenda-driven politics.

    Need to resolve the structural issues

    In order to achieve the above-stated objectives, structural issues within the force must be given priority.

    1) Vacancies and fair representation to women

    • According to a report by Common Cause in 2019, the Indian police force is at only 77 per cent of its sanctioned strength.
    • India has 144 police personnel for one lakh population and, in some states, the figure is less than 100.
    • One in every five posts sanctioned in the Indian Police Service remains vacant.
    • In low and middle-rank posts, the vacancies of 5.28 lakh personnel account for nearly one-fourth of the total sanctioned strength of over 22 lakh.
    • A fully-staffed police force would only increase India’s police-to-population ratio to 185 against the UN recommended ratio of 222.
    • The police-to-people ratio should be improved by at least 50 per cent to meet the challenges faced by the force.
    • Women are grossly underrepresented in our police force at less than 7 per cent of our total police strength.
    • With the increase in the number of gender crimes, it has become a necessity to augment the strength of police by recruiting more and more women police personnel.
    • The situation in Uttar Pradesh is the worst where police are at roughly 50 per cent of sanctioned strength.
    • When the numbers are inadequate, police personnel are stretched, leading to shoddy policing.

    2) Lack of in-service training

    • The existing police personnel are also not adequately trained. Less than 7 per cent police get in-service training.
    • Gujarat scores the lowest, with less than one per cent having received any in-service training.

    3) Implementation of guidelines and recommendations

    • After the National Police Commission in 1977, several committees were set up, including the Gore Committee, Padmanabhaiah Committee and Malimath Committee.
    • These commissions and committees have made far-reaching recommendations.
    • The top police leadership should be selected by apolitical representatives and an impartial body as suggested by Dharma Vira Commission have farsighted implications.
    • It was a strong antidote to opportunistic appointments and transfers.
    • Recommendations of the commission, if implemented, along with the Supreme Court directives of 2006 by Justice Sabharwal, in true letter and spirit, will go a long way in police reform.

    4) Reforms in criminal justice system

    • Reforms in the criminal justice system and separation of law and order from investigation and prosecution are the other areas that need the attention of the authorities.
    • These aspects have been highlighted by many commissions and committees constituted by the Centre.

    Consider the question “What are the challenges facing the police force in the country? Suggest the measures to deal with these challenges.”

    Conclusion

    A new role and new philosophy have to be defined for the police to not only make it a capable and effective body but also one accountable to the law of the land and to the people whom they serve.

  • Opportunities for India in Bangladesh’s economic success

    Bangladesh is expected to cross India in terms per capita income. This speaks volumes about the achievements of Bangladesh when contrasted with Pakistan. At the same time, it has several implications for the region. The elaborates on such implications.

    What other countries can learn from Bangladesh

    • The International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook published recently predicts that Bangladesh’s per capita GDP will overtake that of India this year.
    • The projected difference is rather small — $1,888 to $1,877 — and unlikely to last beyond this year.
    • International development institutions are convinced that the rest of the subcontinent and developing countries around the world can learn much from Dhaka’s experience — the so-called “Bangladesh model”.

    5 Implications for the region

    1) Rising global interest in the subcontinent

    • Rapid and sustained economic growth in Bangladesh has begun to alter the world’s perception of the subcontinent.
    • India and Pakistan dominated the region and other countries were considered small.
    • But Bangladesh was far from being small, demographically it’s  the eighth-largest nation in the world.
    • The economic rise of Bangladesh is changing some of that.

    2) Changing economic weights of Bangladesh and Pakistan

    • This year, Bangladesh’s GDP is expected to reach about $320 billion.
    • The IMF did not have the 2020 numbers from Pakistan to report but in 2019, Pakistan’s economy was at $275 billion.
    • The IMF suggests that Pakistan’s economy will contract further this year.
    • Bangladesh has controlled its population growth and Pakistan has not.
    • Dhaka has a grip over its inflation and Islamabad does not.
    • There is no question that Pakistan’s negative geopolitical weight in the world will endure.
    • But Bangladesh’s growing economic muscle will help Dhaka steadily accumulate geopolitical salience in the years ahead.

    3) Accelerate regional integration

    • Bangladesh’s economic growth can accelerate regional integration in the eastern subcontinent.
    • The region’s prospects for a collective economic advance are rather dim.
    • Due to Pakistan’s opposition to economic cooperation with India and its support for cross-border terror, the main regional forum for the subcontinent, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), is dormant.
    • Instead of merely praying for the revival of Saarc, Delhi could usefully focus on the BBIN.
    • BBIN is sub-regional forum among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, activated in the middle of last decade — has not advanced fast enough.
    • It is time for Delhi and Dhaka to take a fresh look at the forum and find ways to widen the scope and pace of BBIN activity.
    • Meanwhile, there is growing interest in Bhutan and Nepal for economic integration with Bangladesh.

    4) Increasing importance of Bangladesh in geopolitics of Indo-Pacific

    • The economic success of Bangladesh is drawing attention from a range of countries in East Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.
    • The US, which traditionally focused on India and Pakistan, has woken up to the possibilities in Bangladesh.
    • Bangladesh does not want to get into the fight between Beijing and Washington, but the great power wooing of Dhaka is bound to intensify in the new geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific.

    5) Development of India’s eastern and north-eastern states could accelerate

    • Bangladesh’s economy is now one-and-a-half times as large as that of West Bengal; better integration between the two would provide a huge boost for eastern India.
    • Also, connectivity between India’s landlocked Northeast and Bangladesh would provide a boost to the development of north-eastern states.
    • Delhi and Dhaka are eager to promote greater cooperation, but there has been little political enthusiasm in Kolkata.
    • In Assam, the issue of migration continues to impose major political constraints.

    Way forward

    • Parliamentary approval of the boundary settlement in 2015, despite the opposition, was a step in the right direction from India.
    • So was the acceptance of the 2014 international arbitration award on the maritime boundary dispute between India and Bangladesh.
    • But the positive dynamic surrounding the bilateral relationship acquired a negative tone in the second amidst the poisonous rhetoric in India around the Citizenship Amendment Act.
    • There is much room for course correction in Delhi and to shift the focus from legacy issues to future possibilities.

    Conclusion

    Both the countries need to jointly develop and pursue with Dhaka an ambitious framework for shared prosperity.

  • Security implications of Doha Accord for India

    We have been spared of some unfortunate news of terrorist attacks in the recent past, however, it would be mistake to discount the threat posed by the terrorist organisations especially when we consider the backdrop of Doha Accord. The article deals with the threat of terrorism.

    Declining support

    • Terrorist organisations like Taliban, al-Qaeda, Islamic State, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have been dormant during a pandemic.
    • This is partly explained by the fact that open terror attacks have been reducing, presumably because:
    • 1) Terror outfits lack resources.
    • 2) Because of temporary loss of support from those normally hostile to the non-Islamic world and tolerant Muslims.
    • However, given their past resilience, they continue to pose threats to modern society, especially to India and its neighbourhood.

    But threat persists

    • These terrorist organisations continue to be attractive to misguided youth in India whose loyalties are extraterritorial.
    • Their numbers may not be formidable, but they can cause a ripple effect that cannot be underestimated.
    • Terrorist cells are probably engaged in the quiet process of collecting resources for future lethal assaults against India and other countries in the neighbourhood.
    • Once the pandemic eases, we may see a resurgence of terror.
    • The aggravation of poverty in developing nations due to COVID-19 could offer a fertile ground for recruitment.
    • The al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are carrying out their recruitment undiminished by the problems posed by the pandemic.
    • Only these two outfits have an impressive global reach backed by global ambitions.

    What are the implications of Doha Accord?

    • The Doha Accord signed this year between the Taliban and the U.S., which has brought about an improved relationship between the two.
    • The U.S. has agreed to a near-total withdrawal of its troops in return for the Taliban’s promise to preserve peace in Afghanistan.
    • The Taliban and the al-Qaeda need each other in many areas.
    • Both are friendly towards Pakistan and could pose a problem or two to India in the near future.
    • Many recent raids by the National Investigation Agency point to an al-Qaeda network in India.
    • Once the situation gets better, the al-Qaeda, in cahoots with other aggressive Islamic outfits in and around Pakistan, is bound to escalate the offensive against India.
    • This is one factor that makes the al-Qaeda and other terror outfits still relevant to India’s security calculus.

    Consider the question “What are the implications of Doha Acord for India’s security architecture?”

    Conclusion

    The threat posed by the changing geopolitical landscape is bound to increase in the coming days and hence India should prepare itself to tackle the challenge.

  • [pib] Framework for Regulatory Sandbox

    The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has introduced a framework for Regulatory Sandbox to tap into innovative Fin-tech solutions.

    Try answering this simple question:
    Q.What is Regulatory Sandbox? What are its salient features?

    Regulatory Sandbox

    • A regulatory sandbox usually refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may permit certain regulatory relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing.
    • The objective of the sandbox is to foster responsible innovation in financial services, promote efficiency and bring benefit to consumers.
    • It provides a secure environment for fintech firms to experiment with products under supervision of a regulator.
    • It is an infrastructure that helps fintech players live test their products or solutions, before getting the necessary regulatory approvals for a mass launch, saving start-ups time and cost.

    Its inception

    • The concept of a regulatory sandbox or innovation hub for fintech firms was mooted by a committee headed by then RBI executive director Sudarshan Sen.
    • The panel submitted its report in Nov 2017 has called for a regulatory sandbox to help firms experiment with fintech solutions, where the consequences of failure can be contained and reasons for failure analysed.
    • If the product appears to have the potential to be successful, it might be authorised and brought to the broader market more quickly.

    What is the new framework?

    • IFSCA has introduced a framework for “Regulatory Sandbox”.
      Under this Sandbox framework, entities operating in the capital market, banking, insurance and financial services space shall be granted certain facilities and flexibilities.
    • It will experiment with innovative FinTech solutions in a live environment with a limited set of real customers for a limited time frame.
    • These features shall be fortified with necessary safeguards for investor protection and risk mitigation. The Regulatory Sandbox shall operate within the IFSC located at GIFT City (Gandhinagar).
    • IFSCA shall assess the applications and extend suitable regulatory relaxations to commence limited purpose testing in the Sandbox.

    Other propositions

    • As additional steps towards creating an innovation-centric ecosystem, the IFSCA has proposed the creation of an “Innovation Sandbox”.
    • It will be a testing environment where Fin-tech firms can test their solutions in isolation from the live market.
    • This would be based on market related data made available by the Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) operating in the IFSC.
    • The Innovation Sandbox will be managed and facilitated by the MIIs operating within the IFSC.

    Back2Basics: GIFT City, Gandhinagar

    • GIFT city is India’s first operational smart city and international financial services centre (much like a modern IT park).
    • The idea for GIFT was conceived during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit 2007 and the initial planning was done by East China Architectural Design & Research Institute (ECADI).
    • Currently approximately 225 units/companies are operational with more than 12000 professionals employed in the City.
    • The entire city is based on concept of FTTX (Fibre to the home / office).The fiber optic is laid in fault tolerant ring architecture so as to ensure maximum uptime of services.
    • Every building in GIFT City is an intelligent building. There is piped supply of cooking gas. India’s first city-level DCS (district cooling system) is also operational at GIFT City.

  • What are District Development Councils (DDCs)?

    The Centre has amended the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, to facilitate the setting up of District Development Councils (DDC).

    Tap to read more about: Reorganization of J&K

    What are DDCs?

    • DDCs structure will include a DDC and a District Planning Committee (DPC).
    • The J&K administration has also amended the J&K Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996, to provide for establishment of elected District Development Councils in J&K.
    • This system effectively replaces the District Planning and Development Boards in all districts, and will prepare and approve district plans and capital expenditure.

    Composition of DDCs

    • Their key feature, however, is that the DDCs will have elected representatives from each district.
    • Their number has been specified at 14 elected members per district representing its rural areas, alongside the Members of
    • Legislative Assembly chairpersons of all Block Development Councils within the district.

    Term of reference

    • The term of the DDC will be five years, and the electoral process will allow for reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.
    • The Additional District Development Commissioner (or the Additional DC) of the district shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the District Development Council.
    • The council, as stated in the Act, will hold at least four “general meetings” in a year, one in each quarter.

    What will be the process here onward?

    • The 14 constituencies for electing representatives to the DDC will have to be delimited.
    • These constituencies will be carved out of the rural areas of the district, and elected members will subsequently elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson of the DDC from among themselves.

    Within the third tier, where do the DDCs fit in?

    • The DDCs replace the District Planning and Development Boards (DDBs) that were headed by a cabinet minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
    • For Jammu and Srinagar districts, as winter and summer capitals, the DDBs were headed by the Chief Minister.

    However, for Leh and Kargil districts, the Autonomous Hill Development Councils performed the functions designated for the DDBs.

    How will DPC work, then?

    • For every district there will be DPC comprising MPs representing the area, Members of the State Legislature representing the areas within the District etc. among others.
    • The MP will function as the chairperson of this committee.
    • The committee will “consider and guide” the formulation of development programmes for the district.
    • It would indicate priorities for various schemes and consider issues relating to the speedy development and economic uplift of the district.
    • It would function as a working group for formulation of periodic and annual plans for the district; and formulate and finalise the plan and non-plan budget for the district.

    Centre’s objective behind this new structure

    • The J&K administration in a statement said that the move to have an elected third tier of the Panchayati Raj institution marks the implementation of the entire 73rd Amendment Act in J&K.
    • The idea is that systems that had been made defunct by earlier J&K governments such as the panchayati raj system are being revived under the Centre’s rule in the state through the Lieutenant Governor’s administration.
    • In the absence of elected representatives in the UT, senior government officials argue that DDCs will effectively become representative bodies for development at the grassroots in the 20 districts of the UT.
    • They hope that this may draw some former legislators in as well.

  • Issues related to the Office of Governor

    The article deals with the role of Governor in the state and issue of misuse of discretionary power vested in him.

    Constitutional provision related to Governor

    • Various Raj Bhavans have become embroiled in controversies over the decade.
    • This is partly because the Constitution of India does allow a certain discretion to the Governor.
    • And a discretion invariably does get abused.
    • The framers of the Constitution had rejected an elected Governor because they were unambiguously clear that political power would only be vested with elected executives.
    • Yet, they were not inclined to put in a formal Instrument of Instructions for the Governors and were content to believe that political decencies and correctness would be observed both by the Governor and the Chief Minister.

    As the distinguished constitutional expert, Nani A. Palkhivala explained it “the Constitution intended that the Governor should be the instrument to maintain the fundamental equilibrium of the people of the State and to ensure that the mandates of the Constitution are respected in the State”. 

    Misuse of ‘discretion’ by Governors

    • As an appointee of the Union Government, the Governors have been prone to act on the instructions by ruling party at the Centre.
    • Inevitably the “discretion” in choosing a Chief Minister, or requiring a Chief Minister to prove his/her majority, or dismissing a Chief Minister, dissolving the legislature, recommending President’s Rule — came to be tainted with partisan political considerations.
    • More often than not, the governor’s discretion was abused, sometimes absurdly, even whimsically.
    • In the S.R. Bommai case, the Supreme Court did try through its judgment to prevent the misuse of power.

    Conclusion

    The guidelines given in the S.R. Bommai case should be adhered to by the Governor and should avoid conflict with the elected governments in the States.