Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Freedom of speech and restrivtions
Mains level: Freedom of speech, political free speech, And Hate speech
Context
- A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously and rightly ruled out any additional curbs on free speech by ministers. It said, like other citizens, they are guaranteed the right to freedom of expression under Article 19(1) (a), governed by the reasonable restrictions laid out in Article 19(2) and those are enough.
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What is the issue of freedom of speech to Ministers?
- Scope: Ministers and lawmakers enjoy the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) of the Constitution as other citizens and additional restrictions cannot be imposed to curb their right to free speech.
- Restrictions: A five-judge Constitution bench held that curbs on free speech cannot extend beyond what is prescribed under Article 19(2) of the Constitution imposes reasonable restrictions and applies equally on all citizens.
- Rights are not residual privileges: Court said that the role of the court is to protect fundamental rights limited by lawful restrictions and not to protect restrictions and make the rights residual privileges.
- Distinction on governmentâs responsibility and remarks by individual minister: The ruling also made a valid distinction on the governmentâs vicarious responsibility for ill-judged or hateful remarks made by its individual ministers, the flow of stream in collective responsibility is from the Council of Ministers to the individual ministers. The flow is not on the reverse, namely from the individual ministers to the Council of Ministers.
- Clarification on the concept of collective responsibility: It is not possible to extend the concept of collective responsibility, it said, to âany and every statement orally made by a Minister outside the House of the People/Legislative Assemblyâ.
- Public functionaries should be more responsible while they speak: Even while agreeing with the majority ruling, however, it is possible to underline the concern articulated in the minority judgment over a hateful public discourse âhate speech, whatever its content may be, denies human beings the right to dignityâ. And to agree with it when it speaks of the special duty of public functionaries and other persons of influence to be more responsible and restrained in their speech, to âunderstand and measure their wordsâ.
What is âHate Speechâ?
- There is no specific legal definition of âhate speechâ.
- The Law Commission of India, in its 267th Report, says: âHate speech generally is an incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons defined in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief and the like.
- Thus, hate speech is any word written or spoken, signs, visible representations within the hearing or sight of a person with the intention to cause fear or alarm, or incitement to violence.
- In general, hate speech is considered a limitation on free speech that seeks to prevent or bar speech that exposes a person or a group or section of society to hate, violence, ridicule or indignity
Brief Analysis: Hate speech by Ministers
- Problem is real but primarily political: The problem of hate speech by ministers and others belonging to the party in power is real, but it is primarily political.
- Solution is not in new law as, there are enough provisions to deal with it: The solution is not for the court to draw a new line, or even, as the minority judgment proposed, for Parliament to make another law. There are enough provisions in the statute book to deal with speech that promotes enmity and violence or results in cramping the freedoms of others.
- Legal provisions can be weaponised so what is needed is a political resolve: What is missing is the political resolve and will of governments to act on instances of hate speech, especially when they involve one of their own, and there are no legal shortcuts to make up for that absence. In fact, the same legal provisions that are designed to curb hate speech can be twisted and turned and weaponised by governments against citizens who dissent and disagree.
Conclusion
- The problem of hate speech by ministers and others associated with the party in power is real, but it is primarily political. The solution lies not in making new laws, but in individual responsibility and collective political resolve.
Mains question
Q. How do you understand hate speech? Do ministers and MLAs have freedom of speech? Discuss the recent court ruling on free speech restrictions on ministers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Latest developments in AI
Mains level: ChatGPT, AI generative models, limitations and challenges
Context
- 2022 had an unusual blue-ribbon winner for emerging digital artists; Jason Allenâs winning work ThĂ©Ăątre DâopĂ©ra Spatial was created with an AI Generative model called Midjourney.
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What is Midjourney?
- Midjourney is an AI based art generator that has been created to explore new mediums of thought.
- It is an interactive bot, which uses machine learning (ML) to create images based on texts. This AI system utilises the concepts and tries to convert them into visual reality.
- It is quite similar to other technologies such as DALL-E 2.
The journey of AI generative models so far
- Midjourney generator: Midjourney is one of the rash of AI-generated Transformer or Generative or Large Language Models (LLMs) which have exploded onto our world in the last few years.
- Earlier models: Models like BERT and Megatron (2019) were relatively small models, with up to 174 GB of dataset size, and passed under the collective public radar.
- Composition skills of GPT3: GPT3, released by OpenAI with a 570 GB dataset and 175bn parameters was the first one to capture the public consciousness with some amazing writing and composition skills.
- Models that creat images or videos based on texts: The real magic, however, started with Transformers which could create beautiful and realistic pieces of art with just a text prompt OpenAIâs DALL-E2, Googleâs Imagen, the open-source Stable Diffusion and, obviously, Midjourney. Not to be left behind, Meta unleashed a transformer which could create videos from text prompts.
- ChatGPT, a latest and more evolved, like real communication: Recently in late 2022 came the transformer to rule them all ChatGPT built on GPT3, but with capabilities to have real conversations with human beings.
Are these models ethical?
- Ethics is too complex a subject to address in one short article. There are three big ethical questions on these models that humanity will have to address in short order.
- Environmental: Most of the bad rap goes to crypto and blockchain, but the cloud and these AI models running on it take enormous amounts of energy. Training a large transformer model just once would have CO2 emissions equivalent to 125 roundtrips from New York to Beijing. This cloud is the hundreds of data centres that dot our planet, and they guzzle water and power at alarming rates.
- Bias; as it do not understand meaning and its implications: The other thorny ethical issue is that sheer size does not guarantee diversity. Timnit Gebru was with Google when she co-wrote a seminal research paper calling these LLMs âstochastic parrotsâ, because, like parrots, they just repeated a senseless litany of words without understanding their meaning and implications.
- Plagiarism, question of who owns the original content: The third prickly ethical issue, which also prompted the artist backlash to Allenâs award-winning work is that of plagiarism. If Stable Diffusion or DALL-E 2 did all the work of scouring the web and combining multiple images (a Pablo Picasso Mona Lisa, for example), who owns it. Currently, OpenAI has ownership of all images created with DALL-E, and their business model is to allow paid users to have rights to reproduce, paint, sell and merchandise images they create. This is a legal minefield the US Copyrights office recently refused to grant a copyright to a piece created by a generative AI called Creativity Machine, but South Africa and Australia have recently announced that AI can be considered an inventor.
- ChatGPT is a chatbot built on a large-scale transformer-based language model that is trained on a diverse dataset of text and is capable of generating human-like responses to prompts.
- A conversation with ChatGPT is like talking to a computer, a smart one, which appears to have some semblance of human-like intelligence.
What are the other concerns?
- Besides the legal quagmire, there is a bigger fear: This kind of cheap, mass-produced art could put artists, photographers, and graphic designers out of their jobs.
- Machine does not have human like sense: A machine is not necessarily creating art, it is crunching and manipulating data and it has no idea or sense of what and why it is doing so.
- As it is cheap, corporate might consider using it at a large scale: But it can do so cheaply, and at scale. Corporate customers might seriously consider it for their creative, advertising, and other needs.
Conclusion
- Legal and political leaders across the world are sounding the alarm about the ethics of large generative models, and for good reason. As these models become increasingly powerful in the hands of Big Tech, with their unlimited budgets, brains and computing power, these issues of bias, environmental damage and plagiarism will become even more fraught. Such AI models should not be used to create chaos rather a harmonious existence.
Mains question
Q. Name some of the models of AI based art generators. Discuss the ethical concerns of such models.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: E-rupee
Mains level: UPI and future of E-rupee
Context
- Paperless payments have been a big national goal ever since 8 November 2016, when India rendered âč500 and âč1,000 currency notes useless in a stunning decision that was upheld as valid by the Supreme Court on recently. Today, our cash intensity remains roughly on the same incline as it was earlier. But online payments have soared. This means a fine policy judgement call will need to be made soon.
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Demonetization: A brief Analysis
- The supreme court rejected petitions arguing that demonetization was done illegally and by 4:1 bench majority Supreme court held the process as satisfactory.
- The overnight note-ban was also found to satisfy a general test of proportionality. For all the hardship caused by weeks of cash starvation, that exercise of authority was not judged too drastic for its aims.
- The extent to which unaccounted-for money was flushed out, terror funding frozen and commerce formalized cannot reliably be estimated, but small businesses were clearly hit hard and Indiaâs economy slowed down soon after.
The changing trend: How we are transacting?
- Rise of digitals payments: The past half decadeâs big trend in our use of money has been the exponential rise of a platform thatâs part of our digital stack of public goods.
- Spectacular success of UPI: Designed for instant transfers between bank accounts done via mobile phones, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been a spectacular success since its 2016 launch.
- UPI transactions for instance: According to National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), its operator, UPI processed more than 74 billion transactions in 2022, up 90% over 2021, worth almost âč126 trillion, a 76% leap.
Examining feasibility of levying user fee on UPI and the E-rupee
- Financial support to UPI: The case for UPI as Indiaâs payment bedrock is weakened by the fact that while it levies no user fee, it isnât a costless service. Last year, the finance ministry justified financial support for UPI on the ground that itâs a digital public good with immense convenience for the public and productivity gains for the economy.
- Coast benefit review must be done: If public funds are increasingly needed to back UPI as it expands, we must put it to a cost-benefit review as we go along; UPI is already logging huge sums and the total for 2023 may be much more.
- Promoting E-rupee: Itâs not just a cost consideration that should make us promote RBIâs retail e-rupee instead for routine payments.
- E-rupee is a direct liability of RBI: The E-rupeeâs mass usage would involve circulation of money thatâs a direct liability of the central bank (an IOU issued by it, i.e., like cash), which would better serve the cause of economic stability. This is because what RBI owes its currency bearers is entirely free of risk, while the same cannot be said of banks.
- Online transactions: India is a leader in digital payments, but cash remains dominant for small-value transactions.
- High currency in circulation: India has a fairly high currency-to-GDP ratio.
- Cost of currency management: An official digital currency would reduce the cost of currency management while enabling real-time payments without any inter-bank settlement.
Conclusion
- For superior systemic safety, the e-rupee should get a significant share of online payment swipes. Even if its holdings earn no interest, it could catch on if the security of its value, ease of liquidity and erasure of data trails (below a limit) are duly advertised. For an e-rupee to aid macro level prudence, it will have to eat into UPI.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India's role in present International relations
Context
- As the great powers get at each otherâs throats, the prospects for multilateral agreements have diminished. On both the economic and political fronts, the conflict among the major powers has sharpened. That makes Indiaâs chairmanship of G20 more challenging.
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Historical understanding of major global events
- Major wars and rebalancing: Major wars have always reshaped great power relations and rearranged the international system. Russiaâs war against Ukraine will be no exception.
- First world war: The First World War saw the collapse of the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and the Russian empires. It also helped the Bolsheviks in Russia form the Soviet Union, gave birth to new nations in Europe, and accelerated the rise of Asian nationalism.
- The Second World War: Hastened the demise of European colonialism and heralded the rise of the United States and the Soviet Union as the superpowers. Washington and Moscow managed an armed peace in a divided Europe during the Cold War. The process of decolonization saw the birth of a number of new nations in Asia and Africa.
- The Cold War: It led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, undid its sphere of influence in East and Central Europe and led to the rise of the unipolar moment. The era of massive economic interdependence that followed the Cold War saw the rapid rise of China and a slower but definitive emergence of India as a major power.
How Russia and China are colluding to change regional and global world order?
- Asserting themselves against US: Moscow and Beijing, which were willing to acquiesce in the unipolar moment in the 1990s, began to assert themselves against the US-led international order in the 21st century. Europe focused on strengthening its economic and political integration, and sought greater strategic autonomy from the United States.
- Apparent decline of USA: As they drew steadily closer over the last decade, Russiaâs Vladimir Putin and Chinaâs Xi Jinping bet that the apparent American decline was real and irreversible. That emboldened Putin to fancy his chances in ending Ukraineâs sovereignty.
- China backed Russia against Europe: The seeming political disarray in the West also convinced Xi to back Putinâs attempt to reorder European regional security order. The partnership without limits and no forbidden areas of cooperation was unveiled less than three weeks before Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
- Only option is diplomacy: As the costs of war mount, the case for diplomacy will gain ground in 2023. While both sides talk about peace, they are also gearing up to fight through the harsh winter. Bridging that gulf between Russian and Ukrainian negotiating positions will occupy diplomacy in 2023.
- Weaker Russia: Whatever the nature of the eventual settlement, Russia will come out weaker from this military misadventure. Putinâs attempts to eliminate Ukraine as an independent nation and roll back the eastward expansion of NATO have backfired. The war has consolidated Ukraine as a nation and NATO has expanded to include Sweden and Finland.
- Self-defense Inability of Europe: The war has also demonstrated Europeâs inability to defend itself against Russia despite the EUâs economy being 10 times larger than that of Russia. But for now, and the near term, Europe will remain dependent on the US to defend it against an expansionist Russia. While Europe is weaker, trans-Atlantic NATO has become stronger.
- US industries are winning: The US is emerging as a big winner from the Ukraine war. American oil companies are raking it in from high energy prices. US weapons like the HIMARS and its high technology companies like SpaceX with its Starlin satellite system and Palantir with its algorithms have actively shaped the battlefield in favour of Ukraine, the underdog in the war. Far more consequential is the fact that without being directly involved in the fight, the US is influencing the direction of the war and has the most leverage in defining the terms of peace in Ukraine.
Impact of Chinese and Russian aggression on Mid-power countries
- US as reliable partner: Thanks to the overreach of Putin and Xi, the US has become a valuable partner for the middle powers at the receiving end of Russian and Chinese bullying.
- Eyeopener for Germany and Japan: Russian expansionism in Europe and Chinese aggressiveness in Asia have compelled Germany in Europe and Japan in Asia to boost their defence spending.
- Regional security Policy: Poland in Europe and Australia and South Korea in Asia have embarked on ambitious regional security policies.
What should be the approach of India?
- India should rework its status: India that long relied on Russia to provide a regional balance of power will have to rework its great power sums. This should not be too hard, given Indiaâs improving relations with the US and Europe and its focus on diversifying its defence partnerships.
- Boosting the domestic capabilities: Delhi, however, will have to move much faster in developing the national capabilities and international partnerships to deter Chinaâs aggressive actions on the border and balance Beijingâs power in the Indo-Pacific. Delhi certainly canât take for granted that its current economic and political advantages will endure.
- Prevent the breakdown of multilateral system: Finally, it is unlikely the world will return to the kind of multilateralism we got used to since the 1990s. Indiaâs G20 leadership would be a success if it can prevent the complete breakdown of the multilateral system and generate major power consensus on a few issues.
Conclusion
- India should take the advantage of chaotic world order to strengthen itself. Indigenous military capabilities, double digit economic growth and securing core foreign policy interest should be the top priorities for India.
Mains Question
Q. Major wars in world have often culminated into rebalancing of international politics. Comment. What should be the Indiaâs approach towards new emerging global order in the aftermath of Russia-Ukraine war?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blue economy
Mains level: Blue economy , maritime pollution and associated challenges
Context
- Blue economy relates to presentation, exploitation and regeneration of the marine environment. It is used to describe sustainability-based approach to coastal resources. The worry is that the oceans are under severe threat by human activities, especially when the economic gains come at the cost of maintaining environmental sanity.
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- Origin of the concept: Gunter Pauliâs book, âThe Blue Economy: 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobsâ (2010) brought the Blue Economy concept into prominence.
- A project to find best nature inspired and sustainable technologies: Blue Economy began as a project to find 100 of the best nature-inspired technologies that could affect the economies of the world. While sustainably providing basic human needs potable water, food, jobs, and habitable shelter.
- Inclusive approach and objective: This is envisaged as the integration of Ocean Economy development with the principles of social inclusion, environmental sustainability and innovative, dynamic business models
- Environment friendly maritime infrastructure: It is creation of environment-friendly infrastructure in ocean, because larger cargo consignments can move directly from the mothership to the hinterland through inland waterways, obviating the need for trucks or railways
Significance of Maritime transport
- One of the largest employers within ocean-related activities: Maritime transport plays a big role in the globalised market in the form of containerships, tankers, and ports, coastal tourism is the largest employer within ocean-related activities.
- Eighty percent trade happens on the seas: Eighty per cent of world trade happens using the seas, 40 per cent of the worldâs population live near coastal areas, and more than three billion people access the oceans for their livelihood.
- Annual value makes up equivalent to seventh largest GDP: A healthy marine environment is essential for a sustainable future for people and the planet. Its value is estimated to be over $25 trillion, with the annual value of produced goods and services estimated to be $2.5 trillion per year, equivalent to the worldâs seventh largest economy in gross domestic product (GDP) terms.
- Ensures food security: The oceans, seas and coastal areas contribute to food security and economic viability of the human population. The ocean is the next big economic frontier, with the rapidly growing numerous ocean-based industries.
What are the concerns?
- Human induced Oceanic pollution: Marine activities have brought in pollution, ocean warming, eutrophication, acidification and fishery collapse as consequences on the marine ecosystems.
- Oceans are rarely financial institutions: The ocean is uncharted territory, and rarely understood by financial institutions. Hence preparedness of these institutions in making available affordable long-term financing at scale is nearly zero.
- Developing nations pay heavy price: In this journey of achieving blue economy goals, it is developing nations that pay a heavy economic price.
- Lack of capacity is a critical hindrance: Many of the developing nations have high levels of external debt. Lack of capacity and technology for transition between agri economy and marine economy is also a critical hindrance.
- Not having a elaborative guiding principles is a major concern: There is concern that without the elaboration of specific principles or guidance, national blue economies, or sustainable ocean economies, economic growth will be pursued with little attention paid to environmental sustainability and social equity.
What should be the approach towards achieving Blue economy?
- Inclusive discussion and participation is must: The blue economy is based on multiple fields within ocean science and, therefore, needs inter-sectoral experts and stakeholders. It is imperative to involve the civil society, fishing communities, indigenous people and communities for an inclusive discussion.
- SDG-14 journey cannot undermine the other SDGs: The UN stresses that equity must not be forgotten when supporting a blue economy. Land and resources often belong to communities, and the interests of communities dependent on the ocean are often marginalised, since sectors such as coastal tourism are encouraged to boost the economy.
- Integrated marine spatial planning with national and global expertise is necessary: Developing the blue economy should be based on national and global expertise. It is important that any blue economy transformation should include using integrated marine spatial planning. This would provide collaborative participation of all stakeholders of the oceans, and would make room for debate, discussion and conflict resolution between the stakeholders.
Where does India stand at this hour?
- Suitable natural geography: Vast coastline of almost 7,500 kilometres, with no immediate coastal neighbours except for some stretches around the southern tip. In some sense, India has the advantage of its natural geography
- Opportunity on G20 presidency: It is an opportunity for India to use its G20 Presidency to ensure environmental sustainability, while providing for social equity.
- Rising role and significance: Indiaâs engagement in the blue economy has been rising, with its active involvement in international and regional dialogues, and maritime/marine cooperation.
Conclusion
- Achieving the Blue economy goal would need tremendous human effort, and would call for global cooperation through various legal and institutional frameworks. This also includes the need to develop newer sectors such as renewable ocean energy, blue carbon sequestration, marine biotechnology and ex-tractive activities, with due attention paid to the environmental impacts.
Mains question
Q. What do you understand by mean Blue economy? Highlight the importance of maritime transport and discuss what need to be done to achieve blue economy in a true sense?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Wealth tax
Mains level: Income inequality, Wealth tax and its necessity
Context
- The discourse on efficient, effective and equitable public spending often takes us into the realm of limited resources facing competing demands. India definitely needs to widen its revenue collection as well as base. In this context its time to consider a wealth tax.
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What is wealth tax?
- Wealth tax is a direct tax unlike the goods and services tax or value-added tax, can take several forms, such as property tax, inheritance or gift tax and capital gains tax.
- It aims to reduce the inequalities of wealth.
- It is based on the market value of assets owned by a taxpayer and charged on the net wealth of super rich individuals.
Wealth Tax in India
- Abolished wealth tax: The government abolished wealth tax as announced in the budget 2015. In its place, the government decided to increase the surcharge levied on the ‘super rich’ class by 2% to 12%. (Super rich are persons with incomes of Rs.1 crore or higher and companies that earn Rs.10 crores or higher).
- Abolished to simplify tax structure and discourage tax evasion: The abolition was a move to do away with high costs of collection and also to simplify the existing tax structure thereby discouraging tax evasion.
- No wealth tax at present: India presently does not have any wealth tax i.e., a tax levied on oneâs entire property in all forms. It did not impose a one-time âsolidarity taxâ on wealth in post-covid budgets that could have generated resources for essential public investment.
What is the need for levying a wealth tax?
- High inequality: Indiaâs top 10% population owns 65% of the countryâs wealth, while the bottom 10% owns only 6%, according to the World Inequality Database, 2022.
- Massive accumulation of wealth in a few hands: A small section of people has access to a large share of economic assets and resources that remain almost completely untaxed and thus unavailable for public allocation.
- Capital gains tax has limited base: Capital Gains tax exists in India, but applies only to transactions and hence is limited in its base.
- Wealth largely depends on inheritance and privilege: Wealth, much less than even income, has little to do with oneâs education, merit or efforts; it is largely dependent on inheritance and opportunities that come with the advantages associated with belonging to one of Indiaâs privileged classes and castes.
- India does not have inheritance tax: India scrapped its estate duty in 1985 and has no inheritance tax.
- Almost entirely exemptions on gift tax: Although the receipt of gifts is subject to income tax in the beneficiaryâs hands, it has various exemptions; it is almost entirely exempt if received from within the family, including the extended family of self and spouse. These exemptions shrink the base significantly, as most accumulated wealth is acquired through family, and that remains outside the gift taxâs ambit. Given the cultural context of wealth inheritance, some exemptions make sense, but upper thresholds can be easily added to make it more effective.
Comprehensive PoV: Why wealth tax is necessary at present economic condition
- Wealth of rich doubled during the pandemic but not channelised well to create productive resou: An Oxfam report has highlighted how Indiaâs richest doubled their wealth during the pandemic. This happened for a variety of reasons. despite facing grave financial and economic challenges, has no means to convert any of this growing wealth into productive resources that can generate employment opportunities and push up the incomes of multitudes, which in turn can drive demand for goods something that is needed to counter an economic drag-down.
- There is no sufficient increase in private investment: The government lowered the corporate tax rate significantly from 30% to 22% in 2019-20, which has continued despite the economic crises caused by the pandemic. However, this did not elicit much private investment. Obviously, there is something else at work, and one cannot assume that accumulated wealth in private hands will necessarily be invested in the domestic economy.
- Not only investment is important but also the right application is important: It is not only investment that is important, but also where that investment is going and whether it is creating employment opportunities for the youth.
- Data on youth unemployment: Data from diverse sources show high unemployment rates during May-July 2022 for the youth: 28.3% in the 15-24 age group and an even higher 43.3% for the 20-24 age-group.
- Likely global recession overhead: The likelihood of a global recession and the related layoffs being announced by corporate giants will make the situation worse.
- Jobless growth and wealth inequality: The recent economic growth experienced in India, especially in the post-covid recovery phase, has largely been jobless growth and can further deepen both income and wealth inequalities.
- Economy cannot afford to have such high level of youth unemployment: No economy can afford to have such youth unemployment rates for long without adversely affecting economic growth and social cohesion.
Way ahead
- A number of Latin American countries, including Argentina, Peru and Bolivia, have either introduced or are introducing a progressive annual wealth tax levied on the wealth gains of each year or a one-time covid âsolidarityâ tax.
- There is no reason why India cannot do so too. This is the right time to introduce a progressive wealth tax along with other fiscal steps that can directly reverse the trend of growing inequalities in the country.
Conclusion
- India needs a shift in its fiscal policy, as suggested by a number of economists, to adopt measures that create employment opportunities and in turn drive demand for products made by small and medium level producers. This would also push up growth while not necessarily widening inequalities.
Mains question
Q. What is wealth tax? Why wealth tax abolished? Considering the present economic situation Discuss the need to levy wealth tax in India?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Status of prisons in India and associated challenges
Context
- Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi (L-G) Vinay Kumar Saxena directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to allocate 1.6 lakh square metres of land to Delhiâs prison department to construct a district prison complex in Narela.
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Background: Recent prison reform debate
- Speech by president of India: At the Constitution Day celebrations organised by the Supreme Court in November 2022, President Draupadi Murmu shared a snippet of her journey with the audience.
- Prisoners unaware of their rights: She reflected on her visits to prisons across India and the circumstances of those incarcerated. She highlighted that these individuals were often unaware of their fundamental rights and had been incarcerated for prolonged periods for minor offences, while their families, struggling with poverty, were unable to bail them out.
- All organs of state must work together: President Murmu emphasised how the judiciary, executive, and legislature must work together to help them, and concluded by poignantly asking: How are we claiming that we are progressing as a nation, if we are still building prisons to address the issue of overcrowding?
What is the problematic architecture of Prison?
- High security prison in Delhi: In phase 1, which is expected to be completed by April 2024, a high-security jail is to be built in the complex with a capacity to lodge 250 high-risk prisoners.
- Stringent security measures: The prison administration has incorporated stringent security measures in the design such as constructing high walls between cells to prevent inmates from viewing others, and interacting with each other, as well as building office spaces between cells to facilitate surveillance.
- Intention of torture: Architecture of prisons is often used as a tool to surveillance, torture, and break the souls of inmates.
- Physical and mental health of prisoners: With this prison design, the Delhi prison administration is essentially creating solitary confinement which will have a severe detrimental effect on prisonersâ mental health.
- Governed by colonial act: Prisons in India are still governed by the Prisons Act, 1894, a colonial legislation which treats prisoners as sub-par citizens, and provides the legal basis for punishment to be retributive, rather than rehabilitative.
- Caste biases in laws: These laws are also highly casteist, and remain largely unchanged since they were drafted by the British. For example, some jail manuals continue to focus on purity as prescribed by the caste system, and assign work in prison based on the prisonerâs caste identity.
- Colonial mindset in prison governance: Organisations such as the Vidhi Centre of Legal Policy have taken us one step further in identifying colonial legal continuities that India must shred, and the manner in which she can do so.
- SC/ST community suffers more: Furthermore, Dalits and Adivasis are over-represented in Indian prisons. The National Dalit Movement for Justice and the National Centre for Dalit Human Rightsâ report âCriminal Justice in the Shadow of Casteâ explains the social, systemic, legal, and political barriers that contribute to this. Legislations such as the Habitual Offenders Act and Beggary Laws allow the police to target them for reported crimes.
What should be way forward?
- Preventive measures are necessary: We must take preventive measures before we realise that we have travelled far down this road, and have subjected several people to unnecessary trauma and confinement.
- Prison reforms rather than more prisons: With the warning signs beseeching us, we must amplify President Murmuâs message on the need to de-carcerate and stop building more prisons, so that the L-G takes adequate steps in that direction.
Conclusion
- Many prisoners in India continue to suffer for petty crimes just because of lack education and legal assistance. More than 70% of them are economically poor people. Government must address the false cases by police and judicial delay before building more prisons.
Mains Question
Q. Critically examine the present condition of prisons in India? prisons reform should be prior step than building more prisons. Comment.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Indian Economy, stock trade indicators and economic growth
Context
- Even as the RBI steadily downgraded Indiaâs growth forecasts for the year from 7.2 per cent in April to 6.8 per cent in December, and the benchmark Nifty50 index ended the year up a mere 4.1 per cent, a handful of stocks delivered outsized returns to investors.
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Expansion of business and reward
- Adani gained because of expansion: The top trade was undoubtedly that of Adani Enterprises with the stock more than doubling over the year. But that should not come as a surprise. After all, the group has embarked on a breathless pace of expansion (both organic and inorganic) that is perhaps unparalleled in recent times.
- Unexpected rise in prices: Share prices of associated companies such as Adani Green have also seen a remarkable surge, catapulting the group into the top leagues of Indian conglomerates.
- Risky price-to-rent ratio: One should be forgiven for thinking that residential real estate in Delhi, with a price-to-rent ratio that ranges between 40-50, is expensive. Adani Enterprises is currently trading at a price-to-equity ratio of 394 as per NSE. The Nifty50, in comparison, is trading just above 21.
Performance of Public sector banks
- SBI AND PNB gained: The year also belonged to Indian banks, more specifically to public sector banks, who at last seemed to have turned the corner. SBI is up more than 30 per cent, while Punjab National Bank is up almost 50 per cent. Others like Bank of Baroda and UCO Bank have more than doubled.
- Outperforming private banks: While private sector bank stocks have also seen a sharp rise Axis is up almost 35 per cent, while ICICI is up 17 per cent, public sector banks have outperformed their private counterparts by a significant margin. The Nifty PSU bank index is up 70 per cent for the year, while in comparison, the private bank index is up only 21 per cent. This was perhaps to be expected.
- Cleaning up balance sheet: Public sector banks have been on a multi-year drive to clean up their balance sheets, and shore up capital. And while there are still some concerns over possible slippages from accounts that were restructured during the pandemic, gross non-performing assets or bad loans were down to 6.5 per cent at the end of September 2022.
- Rising lending rates: Moreover, lending is growing at a brisk pace. And banksâ spreads also have improved with the interest rate cycle on the upswing. In typical fashion, lending rates have risen faster than deposit rates. But, as credit growth picks up and competition for deposits among banks begins to intensify, deposit rates are likely to edge upwards, putting pressure on the spread.
Status of Consumption and auto sector
- Consumption is up: while concerns over the unevenness of the economic recovery persist, consumption stocks have fared well. ITC is up more than 50 per cent, as are Britannia (almost 20 per cent) and HUL (9 per cent).
- Real wages have not increased: But with firms underlining the continuing pressure on volumes with elevated inflation, real wage growth has been subdued in rural areas it is likely that in some product segments, the formalisation theme is still playing out.
- Size of market is not expanding: The bigger formal firms gaining market share even as the overall size of the market isnât expanding as hoped.
- Auto sector have done well: Among the auto stocks, M&M and Maruti are up 50 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, though Tata motors is down 22 per cent, while among the two-wheelers, both Bajaj and Hero are up.
- Moderate uptick in infrastructure: Infrastructure stocks are a mixed bag. Larsen & Toubro, often thought of as a proxy for the domestic capex cycle, is up almost 9 per cent, recently hitting a new high.
- Impact of PLI scheme: Perhaps, this reflects a pick up in the public sector capex or the private sector push under the governmentâs production-linked investment scheme.
- Mix picture of steel and cement: Among cement stocks, Ultratech is down, though ACC is up, while among steel stocks, SAIL is down, Tata steel is almost flat, but JSW Steel is up.
IT sector was worst performing
- IT NIFTY significantly down: The sector which has taken a beating has been IT. The Nifty IT index is down 26 per cent.
- Heavy correction in market: All major IT firms from TCS to Infosys to Wipro have witnessed heavy correction.
- Impact of slowdown in advanced economy: Valuations of the sector will be heavily influenced by market views over the slowdown in advanced economies which are major revenue centres for these firms.
Conclusion
- Though stock market doesnât reflect the entirely true picture of economy but it certainly a good indicator of where the retail investor and common man invest his money. Indiaâs stock market is going to be top 3 in the world. SEBI must protect the retail investor from this highly volatile terrain.
Mains Question
Q. Analyze the performance of the auto and IT sector in India through lenses of stock market? Why the balance sheet of public sector banks is improving?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: International energy market, decarbonatization and Challenges in front of India
Context
- India marches ahead carrying the same challenge projected as last year that it will have to navigate the choppy waters of a volatile petroleum market without straying from the green path towards clean energy. Energy security cannot be achieved by focusing only on the supply and distribution side of the equation. The demand conservation and efficiency sides are equally important.
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- Fragmented energy market: the energy market has fragmented and energy nationalism is the driving force behind policy.
- Restricted markets for Russia: Irrespective of how and when the Ukraine conflict ends, Russia will not be allowed access to the western markets for as long as President Putin is at the helm of the affairs. One fallout is the tightening energy embrace between Russia and China.
- Declining western orbit and increasing non-aligned approach: Three, OPEC plus one which is, in effect, Saudi Arabia plus Russia has stepped outside the Western orbit. Saudi Arabia has made clear it intends to pursue a Saudi first, non-aligned approach to international relations including with the US.
- Emergence of new energy centres: The new centres of energy power are emergent around countries that have a large share of the metals, minerals and components required for clean energy. China is currently the dominant power.
What should India do against this backdrop?
- Government must increase productivity of existing sources: Discounted Russian crude is an opportunistic panacea. It does not provide a sustainable cover to meet our requirements. To secure such a cover, government must increase the productivity of our existing producing fields; additional resources should be allocated for accessing relevant enhanced oil recovery technologies.
- Secure long- term supply relationship with Saudi Arabia and Iran: Further, it should leverage the countryâs market potential to secure a long-term supply relationship with Saudi Arabia and an equity partnership with Iran.
- Enhance the strategic petroleum reserves: It should enhance the strategic petroleum reserves to cover at least 30 days of consumption and remove the sword of Damocles that the CBI/CVC/CAG wield over the heads of the public sector petroleum companies so that their traders can, without fear, take advantage of market volatility.
- Expediate gas pipeline grid: The construction of a pan-India national gas pipeline grid should be expedited.
Analysis: Phasing out coal and the energy transition in India
- Coal one of the major sources of energy in India: Coal will remain the bulwark of Indiaâs energy system for decades. It is no doubt the dirtiest of fuels, but it remains amongst, if not the cheapest, source of energy. Plus hundreds of thousands depend on the coal ecosystem for their livelihood.
- Phasing out is not yet a near possibility: The option of phasing out coal whilst environmentally compelling is not yet a macroeconomic or social possibility.
- Need a balance: In the interim, the government has to find an energy transition route that balances livelihoods and pushes forward the green agenda.
- Steps to be taken: Some small, politically feasible steps in that direction would include increased R&D expenditure for coal gasification and carbon capture and sequestration technologies; setting a carbon tax; the establishment of regulatory and monitoring mechanisms for measuring carbon emissions from industry; the closure of inefficient and old plants and a decision not to approve any new ones.
- Determining competitiveness: In parallel, it would help if Niti Aayog were to pull together a group of economists and energy experts to determine the competitiveness of coal versus solar on a full-cost basis
Other possible measuresÂ
- Upgrading the transmission grid: Allocation of funds for upgradation of the transmission grid network to render it resilient enough to absorb clean electrons on an intermittent basis. The sun does not shine at night and the wind does not blow all the time. In parallel, the underlying structural issues currently impeding the scaling up of renewables must be addressed.
- Repairing the balance sheets of discoms through various regulatory reforms: In parallel, the repair of the balance sheets of state distribution companies (discoms), easing the procedures for the acquisition of land and the removal of regulatory and contract uncertainties are most important.
- Building up the domestic chip industry: It will take decades to harness our indigenous resources of the metals and minerals critical for clean energy and build up a domestic chip industry. In the interim, diplomats should secure diversified sources of supply to reduce the countryâs vulnerability.
- Developing and commercializing 3G clean energy technologies: Finally, the creation of an enabling ecosystem for developing and commercializing third-generation clean energy technologies like hydrogen, biofuels and modular nuclear reactors. Nuclear, in particular, should be pushed.
Conclusion
- India is not responsible for global warming, but it will be amongst the worst affected. Millions live around its coastline. Their livelihoods will be undermined by rising sea levels. Millions will also be affected by melting glaciers and extremes of temperatures. So irrespective of who is to blame, India has to stay on the path of decarbonization. It cannot afford to develop first and clean up later.
Mains question
Q. What is the current situation of international energy market? What are the measures that India should take in the time of global uncertainty of energy market.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: E- waste and gender justice
Context
- According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2020, out of the total 56.3 million tonnes of discarded e-waste products generated in 2019, only 17.4 percent was officially recorded as being collected and recycled. The rest end up in landfills, in scrap trade markets or are recycled by the informal markets.
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E-waste in India
- Third largest contributor: India is the third largest contributor to this great wall of waste after China and the United States (US) with a whopping 1,014,961.21 tonnes generated in 2019-2020, out of which only 22.7 percent was collected, recycled or disposed of.
- More than 12 million workers: For the 12.9 million women working in the informal waste sector, Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEEâs) are lifelines as it contains valuable recyclable metals notwithstanding the detrimental effects it can have on health and the environment.
E-waste and Burden on women
- Less women in value chain: Inequalities are particularly pronounced in this largely gender-neutral sector across the value chain which is heightened by the barriers in decision-making roles.
- Negligible percent of women: With reliable data hard to come by from this sector recent reports indicate that an estimated 0.1 percent of waste pickers account for Indiaâs urban workforce with women populating the lower tiers in this economy as collectors and crude separators at landfill sites.
- Men at skilled position: Men unsurprisingly dominate the entire spectrum of skilled positions as managers, machinery operators, truck drivers, scrap dealers, repair workers and recycling traders.
- Women mostly from poor background: Workers in this âgrey sectorâ are some of the most marginalised, poverty-stricken, uneducated people from vulnerable backgrounds with little social or financial security. They remain unprotected at their workplaces, and often are victims of sexual abuse with no bargaining power in selling their goods. All of these factors then act upon their exclusion as cities begin to formalise the waste sector to effectively control discarded goods.
E-waste Impact on Health
- Incineration and leaching: Open incineration and acid leeching often used by informal workers are directly impacting the environment and posing serious health risks, especially to child and maternal health, fertility, lungs, kidney and overall well-being.
- Occupational health hazards: In India, many of these unskilled workers who come from vulnerable and marginalised are oblivious to the fact that that what they know as âblack plasticsâ have far reached occupational health hazards especially when incinerated to extract copper and other precious metals for their market value.
- Exposures to children: This âtsunami of e-waste rolling out of the worldâ, as described in an international forum on chemical treaties, poses several health hazards for women in this sector as they are left exposed to residual toxics elements mostly in their own households and often the presence of children.
- Constant contact with organic pollutants: According to a recent WHO report, a staggering 18 million children, some as young as five, often work alongside their families at e-waste dumpsites every year in low- and middle-income countries. Heavy metals such as lead, as well as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), like dioxins, and flame retardants (PBDEs) released into the environment, have also added to air, soil, and water pollution.
- Indiaâs E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016: Released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) flagged e-waste classification, extended producer responsibility (EPR), collection targets, and restrictions on imports of e-wastes containing hazardous substances.
- Amendment to Rules: The amended Electronic Waste Management Draft Rules 2022, expected to come into effect by early next year has also emphasised on improving end-of-life waste throughout the circular economy.
- Lack of clear guidelines: These progressive measures, however, lack clear guidelines on the role of informal recyclers and have particularly blind sighted the role of women creating a lacuna in equitable growth.
- The Beijing Platform of Action: It is worth mentioning that The Beijing Platform of Action clearly maintains that a properly designed e-waste processing system can meet both economic and environmental goals to improve the status of women in the informal economy. Sculpting this blueprint in a variegated social and cultural milieu can perhaps play out to examine best practices and success stories around the world.
How to make E-waste sector more gender inclusive
- Ownership of supply chain: The social stigma attached to this sector progressively manifests in discrimination and loss of dignity. Women lack ownership at the end of the value chain as business owners of material processing units nor have access to capital for starting business ventures.
- Separate policy for ground workers: Educating the un-educated takes more than simply designing training modules, skill development and generating awareness about e-waste should be tailored to run at ground-zero where workers operate without disrupting their daily work schedules.
- Gendered data collection: All of these factors compounded by the severe lack of gender-disaggregated data necessitate earmarked gender budgeting to shape an inclusive e-waste management system.
Conclusion
- The concept of the 3Râs, Reduce, Reuse, recycle as envisaged under Mission LiFE will have to invest in women as drivers of a responsible waste management economy, recognising their critical role to minimise the quantum of waste with the ultimate objective of zero waste.
Mains Question
Q. Analyze the gender inequality in the E-waste sector? What are the ways to make e-waste sector more gender Inclusive?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Indian economic growth prospect and challenges
Context
- The new year begins on a slightly more optimistic note for India. Global crude and food prices are down, the rupee has stabilised at 82-83 to the dollar after dropping from 74.5 levels at the start of 2022, even as official foreign exchange reserves have recovered. However, there are challenges to the economic growth of India which needs an immediate attention and action.
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The current scenario and the optimism around Indian economy
- Global crude and food prices: Global crude and food prices are roughly 38 per cent and 15 per cent down respectively from their highs in March, following Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine.
- Stabilised rupee: The rupee has stabilised at 82-83 to the dollar after dropping from 74.5 levels at the start of 2022
- FOREX recovered: even as official foreign exchange reserves, which had plunged to $524.5 billion on October 21 from a year-ago peak of $642 billion, have since recovered to $562.8 billion.
- Environmental conditions are good for Rabi crops: With the prospects for the upcoming rabi crop looking good, as there is favourable soil moisture conditions, timely onset of winter and improved fertiliser availability on the back of declining international prices one can expect consumer inflation to ease further.
What is inflation?
- Inflation is an increase in the level of prices of the goods and services that households buy. It is measured as the rate of change of those prices. Typically, prices rise over time, but prices can also fall (a situation called deflation).
- Challenge is more on growth than on Inflation: The challenge for India this year is likely to be more on the growth than on the inflation front.
- It seems, Chineseâs authoritarian policies making India a favourable investment destination: On paper, the worldâs disillusionment with China (more specifically, the authoritarian policies of Xi Jinping, both at home and beyond) and its diminishing economic prospects, worsened by a looming demographic crisis, should be making India every investorâs favourite destination.
- On paper government efforts are honest to attract investment: The present governmentâs focus on improving the countryâs physical as well as digital infrastructure plus schemes such as production-linked incentive to attract investments in specific sectors, from solar photovoltaic modules and drones to specialty steels ought to have given added impetus to this process.
- But on the ground, neither domestic nor foreign companies are really investing: The biggest drag on investment during the last decade was over-leveraged corporates and bad loans-saddled banks.
- Deepening global slowdown is a major challenge to the economic growth: That twin balance sheet problem has more or less resolved itself. Todayâs problem has mainly to do with strained government and household balance sheets. That, coupled with a deepening global slowdown constricting export demand, could have a bearing on Indiaâs economic growth.
What is Current Account Deficit (CAD)?
- A current account is a key component of balance of payments, which is the account of transactions or exchanges made between entities in a country and the rest of the world.
- This includes a nationâs net trade in products and services, its net earnings on cross border investments including interest and dividends, and its net transfer payments such as remittances and foreign aid.
- A CAD arises when the value of goods and services imported exceeds the value of exports, while the trade balance refers to the net balance of export and import of goods or merchandise trade.
What should the government do?
- Refrain from fiscal stimulus and maintain macroeconomic stability: It should certainly refrain from any fiscal stimulus to kick-start investment or drive growth. Far from stimulus, what the country needs is macroeconomic stability and policy certainty.
- Managing current account deficit: The current fiscal deficit and public debt levels are far too high to allow any new populist schemes in the name of putting money in peopleâs hands or sharp tax cuts to supposedly revive investor sentiment. Large government deficits will invariably spill over into current account deficits. The latter number, at 4.4 per cent of GDP in July-September, was the highest for any quarter since October-December 2012 and the prelude to the last so-called taper tantrum-induced balance of payments crisis.
- Must prioritize fiscal consolidation: The coming budget must prioritize fiscal consolidation. This will enable the RBI to also pause interest rate hikes and further monetary tightening, which is probably not the best thing for an economy already facing multiple growth headwinds.
Conclusion
- Indiaâs challenge has shifted from inflation management to facilitating growth in 2023. Policy stability and credibility should be the mantra that will ultimately work for India.
Mains question
Q. It is said that the new year 2023 is starting on a slightly more optimistic note for the Indian economy. In this background, discuss the challenges facing India’s economy and what the government should do?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Road accidents and road safety In India
Context
- Cricketer Rishabh Pantâs accident near Roorkee resulting in some injuries, has once again drawn attention to the problem of road safety in India. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, recently said that the Indian road accident scenario, with 415 deaths and many injured every day, is more serious than Covid-19. This is a frank admission that even with comprehensive road safety programmes, Indiaâs record shows little signs of improvement.
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Road Accidents in India A lookover
- In spite of several years of policymaking to improve road safety, India remains among the worst-performing countries in this area.
- Total 1,47,913 lives lost to road traffic accidents in 2017 as per Ministry of Road Transport and Highways statistics.
- The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figure for the same year is 1,50,093 road accident deaths.
- Easy licences without basic road signage knowledge: The fact of the matter is that simple but serious issues, like road usersâ inept understanding of the basic traffic rules and road signage, easier access to driving licences without a meaningful ground scrutiny of skills and unchecked selfish and aggressive driving behaviour continue to dominate Indian road traffic.
- Road traffic rules are grossly violated and goes unchecked: Deadly violations of lane driving, speed limits and traffic signals, instances of at-will parking on the fast-developing modern, smooth highways all these go mostly unchecked and unquestioned.
- Human errors are major factors: The causes of road crashes, such as the ones above, are well known. Human error on the roads is admittedly the single-largest factor responsible.
- Lack of understanding of basic traffic rules: Nobody seems to know which lane theyâre supposed to be in; not even the traffic police personnel on duty can tell.
- Charges are often framed against the driver but rarely against the officials: Further, in case of a serious road crash, charges are framed against the erring drivers, but rarely (or, never) against the road-safety public officials for non-performance, non-enforcement of traffic rules, not taking urgent corrective action on conspicuous road-hazards and the black spots.
- Engaged more in paperwork than ion ground: At the macro level, various institutions of road safety, both at the national level and in the states, are engaged in routine paperwork and bear no accountability for the failure to produce desired results.
What is road safety?
- Road safety means methods and measures aimed at reducing the likelihood or the risk of persons using the road network getting involved in a collision or an incident that may cause property damages, serious injuries and/or death.
What needs to be done?
- The enforcement of traffic norms is the key to road safety: All ongoing programmes towards enhancing safe road conditions and vehicles have to go on. However, the priority goal and the global mandate is to significantly reduce the rising number of road crashes.
- Scare resources and complex nature of road safety: The central and state governments run complex road safety programmes with their scarce resources, with little success. The World Bank has chipped in with a $250 million loan to India to tackle the high rate of road crashes through road-safety institutional reforms and the results-based interventions.
- Wise administration and enforcement of rules is necessary: Regular, professional enforcement of rules and swift and innovative solutions to traffic indiscipline and bottlenecks by the administration could help evolve a healthy safe-road culture.
- An example to be followed: In Delhi too the governmentâs insistence on drawing a bus lane on the cityâs major roads has been accepted overnight, and largely implemented. The lessons from such sporadic but crucial initiatives are apparent and inspiring.
What are the proposed measures?
- To begin with, identify the two worst roads in a specific area:
- Notify each identified road as a Zone of Excellence (ZOE) in road safety (RS) This could include a state or national highway/road/part thereof and adjoining areas
- Provide road marking/written instructions on road-surface/road signage
- Take care to provide lanes for emergency vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians etc, as feasible
- Ensure adherence to basic traffic rules/ safety norms. Create multiple checkpoints (CP), every 2-4 kms for example, with each CP supported by road safety volunteers in addition to police
- Use tech aids, judiciously combined with manual interventions/ volunteers
- Supplement enforcement with road safety education/ awareness measures
- Station ambulances and lift cranes for swift response to accidents
- Make reliable arrangements with hospitals/ trauma centres through formal MoUs
- The administrative structure for the implementation of road safety can be set up in three tiers.
- Tier 1 would be the Managing Group (MG), which would look after day-to-day operations and would be autonomous and financially empowered. The MG would meet daily to introspect, analyse issues, incorporate suggestions and assign tasks. It would organise training and refresher programmes for traffic police and road safety volunteers.
- Tier 2 would have district level monitoring. Exclusive personnel would be earmarked for ZoEs with a district. This is where urgent solutions would be sought, budgetary allocations made and review modes fixed. It would also ensure adherence to targets.
- Tier 3 would have top management and control, represented at the level of the Union or state government. It is at this level that a dynamic road-safety ecosystem would be developed. Existing road safety institutions would either be dismantled or rejuvenated, and there would be monthly reviews, with directions, accountability and disciplinary action
- The expected results would include:
- A logical, simple, practical and convincing model that would add new perspective to road safety measures
- A potentially effective action plan, plus a dynamic live-experiment lab for road safety
- Application of best practices, both local and global
- Proactive engagement of elected public representatives, NGOs, RWAs, educational institutes and voluteers
- An evolving standing expert think tank
- Revitalisation and development of existing and new institutions of road safety
- Employment generation
- Traffic decongestion and lane discipline
- A carnival of road safety on the ground overnight, throughout the country, which would make road safety visible and respectable
- A model that would be replicable in other low and middle-income countries
Way ahead
- The need here is to return to the basics, with courage and coordination: A newly power-packed Motor Vehicles Act, a decentralised federal structure, down to the level of district and panchayat administration, and the Supreme Court committee on road safety and its regular monitoring of the related issues.
- Regular monitoring: What is further required is a specific regime whereby road safety authorities are given clear targets for reducing road crashes over a defined period.
- Ensuring accountability: Further, the authorities should be subjected to close and regular monitoring, review and accountability.
Conclusion
- In spite of several years of policymaking to improve road safety, India remains among the worst-performing countries in this area. It is absolutely necessary for citizens to follow road safety norms but government cannot look away from its responsibility.
Mains question
Q. Road accidents in India is a serious and a silent pandemic. Discuss where lies the overall apathy and discuss mention few proposed measures.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Contamination of medicines and drug regulations in India
Context
- Merely two months after the World Health Organisation (WHO) sounded an alert over deadly contamination in four brands of cough syrup manufactured by a Sonepat-based pharmaceutical company that were subsequently linked to the deaths of 72 children in Gambia, another Indian pharmaceutical company stands accused of a similar crime. This time, it is Uzbekistan which has accused a Noida-based pharmaceutical company of selling contaminated cough syrup that has allegedly killed 18 children in that country.
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Thorough analysis
- Unacceptable levels of Ethylene/ Diethylene glycol: In both cases, lab tests reportedly found unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol (EG) or both in the cough syrups.
- Ideally these chemicals should not be found in any medicine: Both DEG and EG are deadly chemicals that should not be found in any medicine.
- Then how these chemicals end up in medicines: The typical reason these chemicals end up in medicine is because pharmaceutical manufacturers do not adequately test industrial solvents purchased from chemical traders and used to manufacture cough syrups despite the fact that the law mandates such testing for contamination.
- Proximity in two cases: Given the physical proximity of the manufacturers implicated in the Gambian and Uzbekistan cases, there is a very high possibility that the same batch of contaminated industrial solvent was used by both companies.
Contamination of medicines in India
- India has a tumultuous history of DEG contamination in medicines: Between 1972 and 2020, India has seen at least five mass DEG poisonings in Chennai, Mumbai, Bihar, Gurgaon and Jammu. The incident in Gurgaon led to the death of 33 children and the incident in Jammu of at least 11 children.
- Difficult to diagnose deaths due to adulterated medicine: The final reported toll in such cases is definitely an undercount because it is notoriously difficult for doctors to diagnose such deaths and attribute them to adulterated medicine.
- Lethargy and denial is a pattern with drug regulators in India: In August 2020, about eight months after the DEG-related deaths of the children in Jammu were first reported by PGIMER, Chandigarh, the same hospital reported that another two-year-old child from Baddi had died in its facility after consuming a different brand of cough syrup manufactured by the same company that was responsible for the deaths earlier in Jammu. This was a death that could have been easily avoided if the regulators had conducted and published a thorough root cause analysis after the Jammu incident and followed it up by a nationwide recall of all cough syrups manufactured at the same facility. This never happened.
Critique: Whether the Ministry of Health and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization have learnt their lessons from these previous incidents?
- Government will handle the issue just as any other public relation crisis: The present government is likely to handle this crisis as yet another public relations crisis instead of a public health crisis. Assumption is based on the observation of the official response from the government to the tragedy in Gambia.
- Instead of condoling, accused them for not testing before prescribing: Far from condoling the deaths of 72 Gambians, the initial press release from the Ministry of Health gaslit the Gambians by accusing them of not testing the cough syrups before prescribing them to patients.
- False presumption that the drug regulator is doing its job well: This was an absurd allegation because nobody tests drugs that are purchased before releasing them for patient use, even in India. The presumption is that the drug regulator is doing its job to ensure quality control.
- Governmentâs information czars accusing WHO: The first step of this PR strategy was to keep leaking to journalists that the WHO was not co-operating with the information requests made by an expert committee set up by the Government of India to investigate the deaths in Gambia. This despite the government fully knowing that the responsibility of investigating the deaths lay not with the WHO but with the sovereign authorities in Gambia.
- Rare mention of sympathy: The common thread running through these events is a communications strategy aimed at denial and intimidation. There is rarely a mention of sympathy for lives lost or a commitment to protect public health.
- Even China does better than India: An iron fist in a titanium glove is the best way to describe the governmentâs response to any allegations of quality issues afflicting the Indian pharmaceutical industry. In 2007, when a Chinese chemicals manufacturer was implicated in the deaths of 365 people in Panama who consumed cough syrup manufactured with an adulterated industrial solvent, the Chinese arrested the manufacturer and publicly promised to punish him.
- The immediate public health response in these cases of DEG contamination should be aimed at limiting further deaths.
- This means tracing the origins of the contaminated industrial solvent used to manufacture the syrups.
Conclusion
- What India needs right at the moment is to accept the fact that there is a major quality problem with the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Allegations cannot be morphed from one to another. Perhaps the need of the hour is to have meaningful and comprehensive conversation on actual regulatory reform.
Mains question
Q. It is said that India has a tumultuous history of DEG contamination in medicines. The recent deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan supports this statement. What the critique has to say over Indiaâs response in such cases.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India's G20 presidency, opportunities and challenges
Context
- In September 2014, in his first meeting with President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about making the US a principal partner in the realization of Indiaâs rise as a responsible, influential world power. This was in a way the first time that any Indian prime minister had talked about the countryâs ambition to grow into a responsible, influential world power.
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India in World politics
- India is not new to playing a proactive role in world politics: Right from Independence, Indiaâs leadership had actively pursued an agenda that favoured the interests of developing or less developed countries.
- India took a form stand against the domination of developed countries: Whether it was the GATT negotiations or the Non-Proliferation Treaty, India took a principled stand and stood up to the policy domination of the developed world.
- India as a protector of developing world: Indiaâs role as the protector of the interests of the developing world during WTO negotiations has been significant.
- For instance: Murasoli Maran, as the Minister of Commerce in the Vajpayee government, played a very critical role in preventing developed countries from pushing through their trade and commercial agendas. The UPA government continued that approach, inviting opprobrium and occasional isolation from the interested players. However, that didnât deter India from opposing agendas that were seen as against the interests of not only its people but also the larger developing world.
- India added moral dimension to the developing world but seen as obstructionist: Indiaâs significant contribution in all these fora was that it added a moral dimension to the developed worldâs monetary vision. However, India, in the process, acquired the image of being a nay-sayer and obstructionist.
- Stated playing proactive role: While standing up for the developing world and zealously upholding its strategic autonomy, India started playing a proactive role in finding solutions.
- Paris climate summit provided a major opportunity: The Paris Climate Summit in 2015 provided the first major opportunity for India to highlight its new priorities. It played a pivotal role in clinching the climate deal while ensuring that the interests of the developing world are not compromised.
- Indiaâs stand in the words of PM Modi: PM PM Modi cogently articulated this stand on the eve of the Summit: âJustice demands that, with what little carbon we can safely burn, developing countries are allowed to grow. The lifestyles of a few must not crowd out opportunities for the many still on the first steps of the development ladder.â Indiaâs efforts resulted in developed countries agreeing to the principle of âcommon and differentiated responsibilityâ.
- India successfully convinced developed countries for INDCs: India also convinced developed countries to agree to the formulation of not externally imposed targets but âintended nationally determined contributionsâ or INDCs.
- India emerged as a powerful player during Covid pandemic response through âVaccine Maitriâ: Indiaâs arrival on the global stage as an important player was further augmented by its constructive response during the Covid pandemic. Besides undertaking the massive exercise of vaccinating its billion-plus citizens, India came to the rescue of more than 90 countries by ensuring a timely supply of vaccines through its âVaccine Maitriâ programme.
- Commendable economic recovery in post-Covid world: Indiaâs growing importance is conspicuous in many areas. Its post-Covid economic recovery has been commendable, with the World Bank even revising its projections for 2022 GDP growth from 6.5 per cent to 6.9 per cent. The IMF estimated it to be at 6.8 per cent while the rest of the world was projected to grow at 4.9 per cent.
India in a new year
- Stronger ties with African nations: The India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS), started in 2008 as a triennial event by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, met for the third time in 2015 in Delhi. PM Modi took a special interest in cultivating stronger ties with African nations which led to the highest-ever participation in the Summit. It is important to revive the process.
- Indiaâs crucial role in Russia-Ukraine war: At the Bali G20 Summit, India played a crucial role in ensuring that both Russia and its critics like the US had their say on the Russia-Ukraine war in a dignified way without being interrupted. On its part, India conveyed to the Russian leadership that it was not a time for war. The new year will bring an opportunity before India to play a role in ending the war.
- Opportunity to set new agenda for global public good: As G20 chair, India has the opportunity to set a new agenda before the worldâs most powerful block of nations. In the past, it always worked for the judicious sharing of global public goods. It is time now to undertake similar efforts for global digital and genetic goods.
Way ahead
- India must continue to act as voice of global south: While striving to achieve its ambition, India must not lose sight of the principles that it always championed. It must continue to act as the voice of the Global South.
- Focus on neighbourhood must increase: Indiaâs diplomatic, strategic and political investments in its neighbourhood and Asia, Africa and Latin America must increase.
- Attention in ASEAN IOR must grow: With SAARC failing and BIMSTEC remaining a non-starter, Indiaâs attention to the ASEAN and Indian Ocean neighbourhood must grow. Indiaâs Act East policy needs more teeth.
- India must bring moralist dimensions in new tech developments: India always upheld moralism in global politics. In climate talks, too, the Indian side is resorting to traditional wisdom to achieve global good. India must bring that moralist dimension to new technological developments.
- India must lead to regulate technologies for humanityâs future: The advent of artificial intelligence and genetic manipulation technologies is going to throw the world into turmoil. If not regulated globally on time, these technologies are going to play havoc with humanityâs future.
Conclusion
- The country is entering the new year on a buoyant note. The leadership of important multilateral bodies including the G20 and SCO has come into its hands. The new year is thus going to provide India with the opportunity to fulfil its world power ambition. However, opportunities come with challenges. China may try to curtail Indiaâs ambitions by keeping the border tense. India needs to maintain harmonious balance.
Mains question
Q. From wars to the economy to climate, India has become integral to the contemporary global discourse. What will India need to do to fulfil its global superpower ambitions in the new year?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Target 30x30
Mains level: Target 30x30, CBD and conservation challenges
Context
- At the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), member countries adopted the âKunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Frameworkâ (GBF) that includes four goals and 23 targets to be achieved by 2030.
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What is target 30×30 among 23 targets?
- Conservation through ecological representative: Among the 23 targets, Target 3, colloquially known as â30Ă30,â requires that âat least 30 percent of terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative.
- Area-based conservation measures: Such area should be well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures.
- Protected area: Place-based conservation has usually taken the form of Protected Areas wherein human occupation or at least the exploitation of resources is limited. The definition provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in its categorisation guidelines for protected areas has been widely accepted across regional and global frameworks.
- Different level of protection: There are several kinds of protected areas that vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international organisations involved.
- Currently only 17% is protected: Currently, about 17 percent of terrestrial and 8 percent of marine areas are within documented protected and conserved areas.
- Less than desirable quality: The quality of these areas has fallen far short of the commitments; less than 8 percent of land is both protected and connected. In the face of such a lacuna, the 30Ă30 target represents a significant commitment.
What are the challenges towards conservation of biodiversity areas?
- Improving the quality: One of the main challenges will be to improve the quality of both existing and new areas, as biodiversity continues to decline, even within many Protected Areas. Protected and conserved areas will need to be better connected to each other for movement of species, and for ecological processes to function.
- Large countries have to take big steps: Demographically large, high population density countries, and the very high density small and city-states are unlikely be able to bring significant additional terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas under Protected Area management.
- Addressing animal and human settlement: Moreover, species range shifts due to the effects of impacts of climate change will have to be taken into account. Challenges faced by Protected Areas that are experiencing coastal squeeze due to rising sea level on one side, and hard human settlements on the other will also have to be addressed.
- Investment for management: All of these measures will require significant investments for effective management and community involvement, particularly those areas that harbour megafauna. The track record of the Global North, thus far, has been poor in meeting its commitments on financial support for climate and biodiversity initiatives.
What should be the way forward?
- Better connectivity: Innovative area-based conservation measures will have to be considered for better connectivity for movement of species megafauna in particular between protected and conserved areas. Areas adjoining and or connecting Protected Areas that are not formally managed for conservation will have to be considered for protection; agricultural lands.
- Conservation development mechanism: Akin to the Clean Development Mechanism under the climate convention, UNFCCC, a carbon offset scheme allowing countries to fund greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects in other countries and claim the saved emissions as part of their own efforts to meet international emissions targets.
- Mobile protected areas: Innovative management will be required for Protected Areas that are experiencing coastal squeeze due to rising sea level on one side, and hard human settlements on the other. In high altitude and coastal areas, Protected Areas will have to be conceived as mobile rather than static, confined to a set of geographical coordinates. Mangrove and alpine ecosystems
Conclusion
- Only declaring the certain area as protected area will not improve the quality of protected area and it is mere a lip service to conservation efforts. Investment backed by effective, result oriented and time bound action plan for place-based conservation should be the path ahead.
Mains Question
Q. What is 30×30 target under CBD? What are the challenges in area-based conservation and suggest the way forward?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India- china strained relations
Context
- India-China relations have been under enormous strain in recent years. The Indian foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, on many occasions has stated that India-China relations are going through an extremely difficult phase. For the two to return to normalcy in the relationship, he added that it will depend on three mutuals: mutual sensitivity, mutual respect and mutual interest.
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Chinese foreign minister statement
- Statement by Wang Yi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that China is ready to work with India in improving bilateral ties.
- Statement said China will work with India for steady China-India growth: Speaking at a symposium on the international situation and Chinaâs foreign relations in 2022, Wang reportedly said that both countries âhave maintained communication through the diplomatic and military-to-military channels, and both countries are committed to upholding stability in the border areas. We stand ready to work with India in the direction toward steady and sound growth of China-India relations.
- Statement against the backdrop of Tawang clash: The Chinese foreign ministerâs statement comes against the backdrop of the December 9 clash near Tawang in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, where soldiers on both sides sustained minor injuries.
- No sign of taking a back step: Even though the two sides managed to bring the Tawang situation under control, the reality is that the number of forces on deployment on either side of the border after the Galwan clash two years back shows no sign of being pulled back, a stark reminder of the far-from-normal state of relations between India and China.
- Despite of commander level talks, no fruitful negotiation on disengagement: Despite 17 rounds of military talks at the army commander level, the two sides have not been able to resolve their differences and accomplish a complete disengagement of their military forces.
- Statement by India: Following the 17th session of military talks last week, the Indian Ministry of Defense issued a statement that blandly stated that both sides will maintain the security and stability on the ground in the Western Sector and that they agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.
Is there any positive change in Chinese strategic thinking?
- Chinese foreign policy is just the same: It is unclear if Wangâs comment on India-China relations reflects any fundamental change in Chinaâs foreign policy. Clearly, there has been no general softening of Chinaâs attitude.
- Speech was a part of diplomacy: The ministerâs statement on India was part of a long speech taking stock of Chinaâs diplomacy and foreign relations in 2022.
- Particular focus on United states: In the statement, there was a particular focus on the troubled nature of its ties with the United States, calling out Washingtonâs erroneous China policy. Wang went on to say that it was U.S. stubbornness in seeing China as its peer competitor and Washingtonâs âblatant blockade, suppression and provocation against Chinaâ that has put the relationship in âserious difficulties.
- Concerned about Taiwan: The minister noted Taiwan is a red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations. He also made note of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosiâs visit to Taiwan to which the minister said that China has taken firm and resolute measures, which have strongly deterred anti-China elements in the United States and the Taiwan independence forces.
- Indirect reference to QUAD: The Quad, which comprises the U.S., Japan, India and Australia, also found an indirect mention in Wangâs speech. He stated that China is opposed to âbloc confrontation and zero-sum competition.
- Aggressive with each of Indiaâs security partner: Each of Indiaâs new security partners among the Quad countries has been subjected to Chinaâs aggressive behavior in military, political and economic terms, which has brought a new depth of strategic purpose to the Quad.
Way ahead
- Indiaâs relationship with China has been teetering from bad to worse over the last 32 months since the standoff in Ladakh began, and it seems unlikely to improve unless Beijingâs calculus vis a vis India and the region undergoes a drastic change.
- On the current status of the ties Indian foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, remarked that âthe state of the border will determine the state of the relationship.”
- While Delhiâs G20 leadership may bring opportunities for engagement with Beijing, what is required first is a clear vision and a grand strategy to deal with the China challenge, instead of reacting to each crisis as it emerges
Conclusion
- Inconsistencies, both in Chinaâs words and also between words and actions, will likely reduce the willingness of other countries, including India, to take seriously Chinaâs statements about wanting a reset of ties.
Mains question
Q. India-China relations, though occasionally showing signs of peace and cooperation, have often been afflicted by tension and mistrust. China is inconsistent in words and actions. Discuss.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India- Saudi Arabia relations
Context
- The presidency, which India has recently assumed for the period between 1 December 2022 and 30 November 2023, will likely open more avenues for cooperation on multiple fronts with countries like Saudi Arabia, a key Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country, also a member state of G20.
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- Fourth largest trading partner: Since the last few years, India-Saudi Arabia relations have become comprehensive and robust, with the kingdom not only becoming New Delhiâs fourth largest trading partner but also an important collaborator in the joint combat against all forms of terrorism, money laundering, and terror financing.
- 18% of Indiaâs energy Imports: It is noteworthy that the bilateral trade in the fiscal year 2021-2022 stood at US$42.8 billion, and the kingdom alone accounts for 18 percent of Indiaâs energy import, which reflects the significance of the country from the standpoint of New Delhiâs energy and economic security calculus.
- Collaboration on defence corridor: Simultaneously, military-security and defence cooperation have also gained momentum, which has been triggered by a certain commonality of security threats and challenges, and the interests of the respective governments to collaborate in the defence industrial sector (within the ambit of their military modernisation programmes).
- Non-oil areas of cooperation: The ties between the two countries, now, are not only concentrated on the oil-energy trade alone (as it has been the pattern) but both sides have started to explore the possibilities of working together on domains such as renewable energy, climate change, healthcare, food security, education, technology, etc.
Partnership in Green and clean energy
- Collaboration with Indian companies: In November 2020, Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, called on foreign investors to âinvest on their ownâ or to collaborate with Indian companies in the countryâs green energy sector.
- Reducing dependency on hydrocarbon: Similarly, Saudi Arabia, striving to reduce its dependency on a hydrocarbon-based economy, is investing in the same sector.
- Saudi Vision 2030 programme: In line with its Saudi Vision 2030 programme, it launched (in 2021) the Saudi Green Initiative which works on âincreasing Saudi Arabiaâs reliance on clean energy, offsetting emissions, and protecting the environment.
- Ambitious targets by both country: Riyadh, ushering in a new era of energy diplomacy, is building partnerships with countries that have similar ambitions. This, to a great extent, has facilitated the need to expand cooperation with India in the renewable energy sphere. While the Indian government works towards generating 450 Gigawatt about 60 percent of electricity using renewable and clean sources, Saudi Arabia also aims at about 50 per cent, both to be achieved by the year 2030.
India-Saudi Arabia cooperation in health sector and during Covid19
- Cooperation with west Asia region: India has stepped up its healthcare-related engagements with the wider West Asian region, and, particularly in matters related to the production of vaccines, joint medical researches, exchange of best-fit practices, and so on.
- Healthcare professionals to Saudi Arabia: During the peak of the aforementioned pandemic, the Indian government assisted its Saudi counterpart in their fight against this outbreak, mainly by dispatching hundreds of Indian healthcare professionals.
- Vaccine acceptancy: Saudi Arabia was also one of the few countries that recognised âSerum Institute of Indiaâs Covishield as an approved COVID-19 vaccineâ for any travellers who wanted to enter the kingdom.
- MoU on health and medical products: Now, what could act as a catalyst in elevating the interactions from the existing level is the Indo-Saudi Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on health and medical products regulations that were signed during the 2019 visit of Modi to Riyadh.
Cooperation in Food Security
- Investment by Saudi and UAE: It could be noted that, in 2019, to act as a safeguard from any food insecurity, UAE and Saudi Arabia GCC states decided to invest in Indiaâs organic and food processing industries.
- Win-win situation in food cooperation: With Indiaâs expertise in the field of crop production and overall agricultural activities, and also being a net exporter of agricultural commodities (especially rice), strengthening of partnerships could prove to be highly beneficial for the populace of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and other GCC countries that continue to depend on external sources for their food security, mostly owing to the lack of fertile soil.
Conclusion
- While India-Saudi Arabia ties are expected to grow further, there also exists a potential for collaboration beyond this bilateral engagement. This is precisely because, in the emerging international order, there is also a growing call for a collective response to the multidimensional crises the world is facing today.
Mains Question
Q. Briefly describe the India-Saudi Arabia relationship? How both countries are collaborating on clean energy and food security?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Edtech startups, problems of funding and its significance for the economy
Context
- The Indian government is emphasizing and celebrating its tech startups as an important component of its economic development policy. Prime Minister Modi recently pointed out that the number of Indian âunicornsâ technology startup companies with a valuation of US$ 1 billion or more has doubled since 2021. Some sectors within these startups, such as climate tech, do demonstrate strong promise.
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Funding a major problem
- Though India has emerged as the third largest ecosystem for startups, funding is becoming a growing problem, with the number of unicorns dropping by half in 2022.
- One of the sectors that appear to be not doing very well is the Indian online tech startups.
- Good performance during the pandemic: These Indian tech startups did very well during the two-year-long pandemic. With the dramatic increase in work-from-home (WFH) office interactions, online consulting for various services but especially heathcare, online classes at schools and colleges and other educational centres, and other online services and platforms proliferate.
- Indian techs became popular for online services: Overnight, technological solutions and electronic communications using virtual platforms, digital payments system, video consultations and edtech all became popular.
- As people returning to normal lives Indian techs looks weak: But with the pandemic now relatively under control and people returning to normal lives, the future of Indian startups that provided online services is beginning to look bleak.
- Negative assumptions: Going by recent media reports, the future of such tech startup companies is not so bright. Funds are drying up and not all startups are going to survive.
- Global uncertainties adding up to the existing problems: Further, issues like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a spike in global inflation rates, and fears of a possible recession have also brought down the prospects for many startups in general.
Impact of shortage in funding to tech startups
- Complete shutdown of many startups: Shortage of capital that is critical for the startups to sustain has led to cost-cutting measures with layoffs, mergers and consolidation and even complete shutdowns of some of them.
- Shut down as it unable to find market fit product: According to Inc42, a tech media platform, eight startups shut shop in 2022. These include Matrix Partners-backed SaaS startup, Protonn, which closed its operations in January 2022 since it was unable to find the right product-market fit.
- For instance, the funding case of Protonn: Protonn was a Bengaluru and San Francisco-based startup, focused on providing its platform to professionals such as lawyers, graphic designers and nutritionists to launch their businesses online, create videos, conduct live sessions, generate payment links, and track their businessâs financial performance. The company had raised US$9 million in seed funding. The company, founded by former Flipkart executives, Anil Goteti and Mausam Bhatt, returned US $ 9 million to its investors.
Problem faced by edtch startups in a post pandemic world
- A case of edtech startup Uday: Uday ended its operations in April this year. The Gurgaon-based startup had difficulties finding ways to stay in business in the post-pandemic world. The startup co-founder, Soumya Yadav stated that the company was witnessing the post-pandemic world for the first time, as the kids went back to school, we faced roadblocks in growing the original model of online, live learning. We evaluated multiple different strategies and adjacent pivots however none of them were promising enough.
- Financial crunch and laying off the employees by well-established edtechs: Edtech startups such as Vedantu and Unacademy are also facing severe financial crunch, leading to hundreds of layoffs or shutting down certain verticals.
- Vedantu for instance: Earlier in the year, Vedantu laid off around 620 employees. Unacademy, earlier in the year, shut down its medical test preparation vertical, USMLE.
- Unacademy laying off its verticle: As of November, Unacademy has done three rounds of layoffs, starting with 600-800 employees from its sales and marketing team.
- Byjus: Byjuâsa rival of Unacademy has also felt the pinch and is reported to have laid off close to 2,500 employees.
- SuperLearn: Another startup in the education sector, a Bengaluru-based SuperLearn, shut its operations in June because of âa dearth of funds and diminishing investor confidence.â
Other positive side of the startups
- Biotech and healthcare startups did well: While the edtech is possibly the worst hit, startups in the biotech and healthcare sector and e-commerce and fintech may not be as badly affected in the coming year.
- Healthcare startups not only survived but also benefitted: Several startups gained from the inadequacy of the Indian healthcare system and thus phenomena like online pharmacy, healthcare-at-home services, and fitness and wellness companies have sprung up and they are likely to stay.
- Funds received by healthcare startups will be helpful: Healthcare startups reportedly received funds of around US$2.2 billionn across 131 deals. They also appear to have found an appealing business model that might help them pull on with reasonable success in the coming years.
Way ahead
- Nevertheless, there is a likelihood that after seeing a boom and a significant spike in the demand in these sectors in the last two years, there may be some balancing in the next two years.
- Another possible way that startups will deal with the financial crunch, lack of adequate response is to consolidate the several different edtech and e-commerce platforms and so, one could expect a few merger and acquisition to come through in the coming years.
- Enterprisetech sector saw some of this playing out already. Startups, at least within a few exclusive sectors, have gained fair amount of prominence and appears that they are here to stay despite the possibility of a rough couple of years until issues around funds and market are evened out.
Conclusion
- It is evident that not only the economic crisis caused closures, but growing businesses in post-pandemic conditions was proving to be a challenge. Overall, Indian tech startups therefore suggest a mixed picture. Strong government support is positive but business model and market competition issues need to be addressed.
Mains question
Q. Indian edtech startups are witnessing financial crunch however, healthcare start-ups are benefitting in a post pandemic world. Therefore, Indian tech startups suggest a mixed picture. Discuss.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indiaâs First Waste-to-Hydrogen Project
Mains level: Hydrogen Energy
Context
- India assumed the Presidency of the Group of 20 this December. The worldâs third largest emitter is moving beyond a transition strategy based squarely on solar development by branching out into emerging fields such as hydrogen.
Present Energy status and future Predictions
- Only country to keep promise: India is one of the few countries that has kept to its Paris Agreement (21st Conference of Parties or COP21 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) commitments, with an exponential increase in renewable energy capacity.
- Energy through renewables: It is anticipated that by 2050, 80-85 per cent of Indiaâs overall power capacity will come from renewables by achieving the nationally determined contributions commitments.
- Reducing the fossil fuel: India had committed to increasing the share of non-fossil fuels to 40 per cent of the total electricity generation capacity by 2030.
Potential of hydrogen energy
- 6 million tonnes hydrogen: India consumes about six million tonnes of hydrogen annually to produce ammonia and methanol in industrial sectors, including fertilisers and refineries.
- Rising demand of hydrogen: This could increase to 28 million tonnes by 2050, principally due to the rising demand from the industry.
- Search for technology to generate: Ever since the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) shared that it is time for green hydrogen, private players have been looking for new technologies to generate it.
- Electrolyser is inefficient: With the challenges of electrolyser capacity for generating green hydrogen globally, finding alternatives to foster green hydrogen in the country is essential.
- Incentives from central government: The central government, the prime facilitator of such projects, has been coming up with new initiatives, policies and schemes to unleash the potential of green hydrogen generation and boost its demand.
- Rational utilization of resources: The long-term low-emission development strategy of the country submitted to UNFCCC at COP27 focused on the rational utilisation of national resources for energy security in a just, smooth and sustainable manner.
Idea proposed by Pune Municipal Commission
- Partnership with private player: PMC has partnered with business management consultant The Green Billions (TGBL) to manage its waste and generate it into useable green hydrogen. TGBLâs special purpose vehicle or subsidiary, Variate Pune Waste to Energy Private Ltd, will be undertaking the work.
- Waste management: The new facility for generating hydrogen from waste will solve major problems of Inefficient waste management and carbon emissions. Waste management is one of the prime issues in the country, which is blamed for generating pollution in the surroundings.
- Reducing carbon emissions: Pune, the second largest city in Maharashtra, hosts many industries, including steel, fertilisers and pharmaceutical industries. The emissions in the city increased by 12 per cent to 1.64-tonne carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2Eq) per capita in 2017 from 1.46 tonne tCO2Eq per capita in 2012.
How Hydrogen will be generated?
- Hydrogen generation for 30 years: Variate Pune Waste to Energy Private Ltd will be managing and utilising the municipal waste of 350 tonnes per day (TPD) for generating hydrogen for 30 years. This waste will comprise biodegradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous waste.
- Plasma gasification technology: The Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) from the waste would later be utilised to generate hydrogen using plasma gasification technology. The technology has been developed while closely working with the Bhabha Atomic Research Institute (BARC) and the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
- 9MT Tonnes of H2: It is estimated that 150TPD RDF and 9MT tonnes of H2 would be generated out of 350 TPD waste.
- Decarbonising the city: The hydrogen generated at the facility will be utilised locally to help the city lower its emissions. As the Centre is focusing on industrial decarbonisation and facing the challenges of just transition, the project can prove to be a game-changer in helping industries reduce carbon emissions.
Conclusion
- In India, where the hydrogen industry is nascent, it is imperative to keep the cost of hydrogen competitive to expand its usage in various sectors. TGBL will work on the same by making hydrogen affordable and easier to switch in the just-transition.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Cyber space, cyber sovereignty and its implications
Context
- A stateâs desire to control âcyberspaceâ within its borders is achieved by exercising what is called âcyber sovereigntyâ. While some countries such as the United States (US) support the free flow of information, others like China, by default, restrict the flow for its citizens, leading to the fragmentation of the internet.
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- A cyber threat or cyber security threat is defined as a malicious act intended to steal or damage data or disrupt the digital wellbeing and stability of an enterprise.
- Cyber threats include a wide range of attacks ranging from data breaches, computer viruses, denial of service, and numerous other attack vectors.
What is cyberspace?
- Defined by Cyber security expert Daniel Kuehl: cyberspace is a global domain within the information system whose distinctive and unique character is framed by the use of electronics and the electromagnetic spectrum to create, store, modify, exchange, and exploit information via independent and interconnected networks using information-communication technologies.
- Traditionally three layers of cyberspace: Traditionally, cyberspace was understood only in three layers: the physical/hardware, neural/software, and data.
- Forth layer of social interaction and sovereignty: Alexander Klimburg, in his book The Darkening Web, introduced a fourth layer that deals with the social interaction among the three layers: âIf cyberspace can be said to have a soul or mind, this is where it is. Establishing control over all the layers is necessary to build sovereignty in cyberspace.
What is Cyber sovereignty?
- Term coined by Bruce Schneir: One of the leading voices in internet governance, Bruce Schneier, has coined the term as the attempt of governments to take control over sections of the internet within their borders.
- It is about Internet governance: The term cyber sovereignty stems from internet governance and usually means the ability to create and implement rules in cyberspace through state governance.
- Cyber sovereignty does not necessarily mean governance by state: Cyber sovereignty does not necessarily have to mean governance by a state. It first and foremost refers to the ability to create and implement rules in cyberspace. Alternatively, one could say it refers to the authority to speak the law, i.e., having juris-diction, in cyberspace.
- Technology that drives policy decisions: In contrast to other technologies whose development is driven by policy, here it is technology which drives policy decisions. These characteristics make cyberspace governance complex and lead to confrontations among states and other stakeholders.
Whether states should be held accountable for cyber-attacks emanating from their territory?
- Sovereignty as defined by ICJ: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) defines sovereignty as that which confers rights upon states and imposes obligations on them. This implies that states must control their cyber infrastructure and prevent it from being knowingly or unknowingly used to harm other states and non-state actors.
- Who comes under the cyber sovereignty ambit: The state, or the citizens of the state, if involved in attacking other states or non-state actorsâ cyber facilities, also come under the ambit of cyber sovereignty.
Implications of Cyber sovereignty
- Cyber sovereignty restricts the free flow of information: The internet was created to promote the free flow of information, but cyber sovereignty works the other way around. Restricting the flow of information can also put global businesses at risk due to the lack of interoperability it leads to.
- It may lead to data imperialism: Control over the data could lead to new forms of colonialism and imperialism, commonly referred to as âdata colonisationâ and âdata imperialismâ in the digital era. States and private players can overreach their powers and violate human rights through cyberspace surveillance, controlling information flow, and enforcing internet shutdowns.
- Implications from the fragmentation of the internet to violation of human rights: The implications are broad, impinging on citizensâ rights such as privacy, freedom of expression, access to information, press freedom, freedom of belief, non-discrimination and equality, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, due process and personal security.
- For instance: Access to geolocation data can give insights into people who participated in a protest. Further, based on a userâs online behaviour, it is possible to determine a personâs sexual orientation, political affiliation and religious beliefs.
Example to understand the Implication of cyber sovereignty
- In 2009, seeking justice for their co-workers whom the Han Chinese killed in a doll factory, Uighurs, a Muslim minority community in China, organised a protest using Facebook and Uighur-language blogs.
- Following this incident, Facebook and Twitter were blocked across the country, and the internet was shut down for ten months in the region.
- Following the incident, the Chinese government, with the help of the private sector, developed AI-enabled applications like the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (Ijop) to monitor the daily activities of Uighur Muslims. This app obtains information like skin colour, facial features, properties owned, payments, and personal relationships, and reports if there are any suspicious activities. An investigation is initiated if the systems flag any person. Data is gathered 24/7 to carry out mass surveillance.
Value addition notes: Consider these for Essays
- Unlike other spaces such as land, sea, air, and outer space, cyberspace was created by humans; therefore, complete control can be established over it.
- Countries have tried to frame policies and rules to regulate cyberspace by building the necessary infrastructure.
- This can be seen as either a defensive mechanism that states use to protect their own critical infrastructure or a framework adopted to exploit other statesâ resources.
- It has led to a security dilemma and added fuel to the fire of great-power politics.
- Realising its importance, states have started to see cyberspace as equivalent to physical territory, and are building virtual walls to protect their âcyber territoryâ with the help of various technologies.
Conclusion
- It is often said that information is wealth, competition has developed between states, and between state and non-state actors, to control and access this wealth. The dichotomy of states trying to protect the data generated in their territory by introducing data protection laws but, simultaneously, wanting to exploit other statesâ data is adding to the complexity.
Mains question
Q. Technological advancements have made cyberspace an integral part of human lives. In this context, what do you understand by Cyber sovereignty. Discuss the implications of cyber sovereignty.
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