Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MTP Act.
Mains level: Abortion rights,Persistence of marital rape and need for its criminalization
Context
- The recent Supreme court judgment expands the definition of rape to marital rape for the MTP Act. Marital rape is still not criminalised. If society does not accept âmarital rapeâ as even a moral offence, how will a woman convince doctors to terminate her pregnancy based on the exception provided by the SCâs verdict.
Background
- The Supreme Court has held that all women, irrespective of their marital status, are entitled to safe and legal abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP).
What is Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act?
- Abortion in India has been a legal right under various circumstances for the last 50 years since the introduction of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971
- The Act was amended in 2003 to enable womenâs access to safe and legal abortion services.
- The gestation limit: The gestation limit for abortions has been raised from the earlier ceiling of 20 weeks to 24 weeks, but only for special categories of pregnant women such as rape or incest survivors. But this termination would need the approval of two registered doctors.
- Doctorâs approval: All pregnancies up to 20 weeks require one doctorâs approval. The earlier law, the MTP Act 1971, required one doctorâs approval for pregnancies up to 12 weeks and two doctorsâ for pregnancies between 12 and 20 weeks.
- Contraceptive failure: Women can now terminate unwanted pregnancies caused by contraceptive failure, regardless of their marital status. Earlier the law specified that only a âmarried woman and her husbandâ could do this.
- In case of fetal disability: There is also no upper gestation limit for abortion in case of fetal disability if so decided by a medical board of specialist doctors, which state governments and union territoriesâ administrations would set up.
What is marital rape?
- Marital rape is the act of sexual intercourse with oneâs spouse without her consent.
- It is no different manifestation of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
- It is often a chronic form of violence for the victim which takes place within abusive relations.
Statistics on Marital rape in India
- The NFHS-5 survey (2019-21):
- The survey said that 32% of ever-married women have suffered spousal physical, sexual, or emotional violence, and 27% have suffered at least one form of violence.
- Twenty-nine percent of ever- married women have experienced spousal physical violence and 14% have suffered emotional violence.
- The form of sexual violence most commonly reported by women is that their husband used physical force to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to (5%).
- Four per cent reported that their husband forced them with threats or in other ways to perform sexual acts they did not want to and 3% of them reported that their husband forced them to perform any sexual acts they did not want to.
- Women in rural areas are more likely (34%) than women in urban areas (27%) to experience one or more forms of spousal violence.
Why modern India still not accepting marital rape as a rape?
- Definition: The definition of rape codified in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) includes all forms of sexual assault involving non-consensual intercourse with a woman.
- Non-Criminalization: Non-Criminalization of marital rape in India emanates from Exception 2 to Section 375.
- Exemption: Section 375 defines rape and lists seven notions of consent which, if vitiated, would constitute the offence of rape by a man. However, the provision contains a crucial exemption, Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape.
- Marriage as perpetual consent: As per current law, a wife is presumed to deliver perpetual consent to have sex with her husband after entering marital relations. The concept of marital rape in India is the epitome of what we call an “implied consent”. Marriage between a man and a woman here implies that both have consented to sexual intercourse, and it cannot be otherwise.
What is the link between marital rape and MTP Act?
- The distinction and the cultural ethos: Married women have a different world attire, jewellery, rituals compared to widows or unmarried or deserted women .So is the right to sexual intercourse. In contrast, unmarried women do not have a right to sex. So what does the right to terminate pregnancy mean for them
- Ownership of womenâs sexuality: Unmarried women cannot have sex, married women cannot say no to sex because men own womenâs sexuality. Husbands can use the legal remedy of restitution of conjugal rights against runaway wives. Ownership is integral here
- Cause of Disharmony: An unmarried woman does not have an owner. It causes confusion and disorder. Womenâs sexuality is seen as a cause of disharmony.
Why marital rape must be a crime?
- Associated physical violence:Â Rape by a spouse, partner or ex-partner is more often associated with physical violence.
- Mental harassment:Â There is research showing that marital rape can be more emotionally and physically damaging than rape by a stranger.
- Compulsive relationship:Â Marital rape may occur as part of an abusive relationship.
- Revengeful nature:Â Furthermore, marital rape is rarely a one-time event, but a repeated if not frequent occurrence.
- Obligation on women:Â In the case of marital rape the victim often has no choice but to continue living with their spouse.
Present regulations in India
- Indian Penal Code criminalizes rape in most cases, although marital rape is not illegal when the woman is over the age of 18.
- However, until 2017, men married to those between 15 and 18 could not be convicted of rape.
- Marital rape of an adult wife, who is unofficially or officially separated, is a criminal offence punishable by 2 to 7 year in prison; it is not dealt by normal rape laws which stipulate the possibility of a death sentence.
- According to the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act (2005), other married women subject to such crime by their husband may demand for financial compensation.
- They also have the right to continue to live in their marital household if they wish, or may approach shelter or aid homes.
Way forward
- Sanctioning marital rape is an acknowledgment of the womanâs right to self-determination (i.e., control of all matters relating to her body.
- The recent judgment on the MTP Act has extended the definition of rape to marital rape which is a big step in the right direction.
- However in a society with strong social norms and value systems every stakeholder should have more than a legitimate motive. It has to play an important role.
Mains Question
Q.While abortion is available under legal regulations in the country, Discuss the relationship between the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and Marital Rape.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Quantum Technology
Mains level: Quantum Technology applications
Context
- The Nobel Prize committee decided to honour three scientists Alain Aspect of France, John Clauser of the US, and Anton Zeilinger of Austria for their work in domain quantum physics.
What is the contribution of these three scientists?
- Together, these three have made seminal contributions to not just the foundations of quantum theory but also to efforts that have now enabled the possibility of a wide range of applications.
- Their experiments have conclusively established that the âentanglementâ phenomenon observed in quantum particles was real, not a result of any âhiddenâ or unknown forces.
What is the Significance of this Discovery?
- Wide applications: It could be utilised to make transformative technological advances in computing, hack-free communications, and science fiction-like concept of âteleportationâ.
What is Quantum Theory?
- Subatomic level: Quantum theory is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles.It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.
- Different from conventional physics: Quantum mechanics differs from classical physics in that energy, momentum, angular momentum.
- Planckâs assumption: In 1900, Planck made the assumption that energy was made of individual units, or
- Albert Einsteinâs theory : In 1905, Albert Einstein theorized that not just the energy, but the radiation itself was quantized in the same manner.
- Louis de Broglie theory: In 1924, Louis de Broglie proposed that there is no fundamental difference in the makeup and behaviour of energy and matter; on the atomic and subatomic level either may behave as if made of either particles or waves. This theory became known as the principle of wave-particle duality: elementary particles of both energy and matter behave, depending on the conditions, like either particles or waves (wave-particle duality).
- Heisenberg proposed: In 1927, Werner Heisenberg proposed that precise, simultaneous measurement of two complementary values – such as the position and momentum of a subatomic particle – is impossible. Contrary to the principles of classical physics, their simultaneous measurement is inescapably flawed; the more precisely one value is measured, the more flawed will be the measurement of the other value. This theory became known as the uncertainty principle, which prompted Albert Einstein’s famous comment, “God does not play dice.”
What is Entanglement?
- Entanglement was another of several weird properties exhibited by these tiny particles. Two particles, having âinteractedâ with each other at some stage, were found to have got âentangledâ in a way that the behaviour of one produced an instantaneous reaction in the other even if the two were no longer connected in any way and were separated by very large distances.
- The entanglement property to open up new technological possibilities. first time that it was possible to âteleportâ the quantum states of a particle to another location without the particle moving anywhere and without a medium.
What is Superposition?
- Itâs a phenomenon where, a particle exists simultaneously at multiple locations, known as superposition. The chance of finding the particle at any given place was dictated by probabilistic calculations, and once it was found, or observed, at one location, it ceased to exist at all other places.
What was the Einsteinâs assessment?
- Special theory of relativity: Einsteinâs Special Theory of Relativity prohibited any signal from travelling faster than the speed of light. The seemingly instantaneous communication due to entanglement had the danger of further unravelling the foundations of physics.
- Spooky behaviour: Einstein describes the strange behaviour by quantum particles as âspookyâ.
- Speed of light: One major concern of Einstein, that entanglement allows for transmission of information at speeds faster than light, was not entirely accurate.When an operation is performed on one of the entangled particles, there is an instantaneous reaction in the other.
- Communication problem: There is no way for the observer at the other end to know the reaction has happened. The observer has to be made aware of the operation having been performed, and this happens only through classical communication channels limited by the speed of light restriction.
Conclusion
- The entanglement property is now being utilised to build the next generation of computers, called quantum computers, which exploit the quantum behaviour of particles to overcome challenges considered as unsurmountable. It is being used to create secure communication algorithms that would be immune to hacking.
Mains Question
Q.What is the quantum theory? How it is different from classical theory of physics? How entanglement property is used in various applications?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: India china friction points
Mains level: Border security
Context
- The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), scheduled in October, promises to deliver important outcomes, which will impact not just China but affairs of other nations, neighbour and beyond. A look into India-china Relationship as china has always been hostile towards its neighbours.
Background of Indo-China Relations
- 1950
- India and China established diplomatic relations on 1st April 1950.
- India was the first non-socialist country to establish relations with the People’s Republic of China and the catchphrase âHindi Chini Bhai Bhaiâ became famous.
- 1955
- Both countries attended the Asian-African Conference in which 29 countries participated in Bandung, Indonesia and jointly advocated the Bandung Spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation.
- It has led to the decolonisation of the whole of Asia and Africa and to the formation of a Non-Aligned Movement as the third Way between the Two Blocs of Superpowers.
- The First NAM Summit Conference took place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1961.
- 1962
- The border conflict led to a serious setback in bilateral relations.
- 1976
- China and India restored ambassadorial relations and bilateral ties improved gradually.
- 1988
- Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China, initiating the process of normalization of bilateral relations.
- The two sides agreed to look forward and develop bilateral relations actively in other fields while seeking a mutually acceptable solution to boundary questions.
Areas of Cooperation between India and China
1.Political Relations between India and China
- In 1993, Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the India-China Border Areas was signed to bring stability and substance in bilateral ties.
- In 2008, two countries have also extended their strategic and military relations.
- MoU was signed to open an additional route for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La.
- India and China have also established a High Level Dialogue Mechanism on Counter Terrorism and Security
- To facilitate exchanges between Indian states and Chinese provinces, States/Provincial Leaders Forum was established
 2.Commercial and Economic Relations between Indo-China
- China will establish two Industrial Parks in India and expressed their intention to enhance Chinese investment in India
- India extended e-visa facility to Chinese nationals
- Trade and Economic Relationship are shaped through various dialogue mechanism
- Joint Economic Group led by the Commerce Ministers of both sides
- Strategic Economic Dialogues led by the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog and the Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission of China
 3.Cultural Relations between India and China
- India and China have entered into an agreement on co-production of movies
- Yoga is becoming increasingly popular in China. China was one of the co-sponsors to the UN resolution designating June 21 as the International Day of Yoga
 4.Education Relations between India and China
- India and China signed Education Exchange Programme (EEP), which is an umbrella agreement for educational cooperation between the two countries.
- Chinese students are also annually awarded scholarships to study Hindi at Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, to learn Hindi
 5.Indian Community
- Presently around 35,500 Indians are staying in China, students and working professional form a major part of it.
- PICFA” Pondicherry India China friendship association is an NGO dedicated for developing people-to-people relation between India and China in areas of education, culture and tourism.
What are the recent anti- India moves by China?
- China continues to stake its claim to Arunachal Pradesh as Southern Tibet.
- Beijing recently renamed 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, following the six it had done in 2017.
- China justifies the renaming as being done on the basis of its historical, cultural and administrative jurisdiction over the area â these old names existed since ancient times which had been changed by India with its âillegal occupationâ.
- On January 1, 2022, Beijingâs new land border law came into force, which provides the Peopleâs Liberation Army (PLA) with full responsibility to take steps against âinvasion, encroachment, infiltration, provocationâ and safeguard Chinese territory
What is the present situation of Indo-China relations?
- Troops in Ladakh: We have been on tenterhooks since the sanguinary Galwan clash of 2020, and borne a heavy cost for the âmirror-deploymentâ of 50,000-60,000 additional troops in Ladakh.
- LAC negotiations: Sino-Indian diplomatic parleys having been suspended, the task of LAC negotiations has been foisted on local military commanders.
- Truce for SCO: The 16th successive commandersâ meeting would have seen yet another futile conclusion, but for compulsions of the impending Shanghai Cooperative Organisation, which apparently led to a modest breakthrough. Consequently, the third round of troop disengagement and the creation of another buffer zone has taken place in Siachen, this time in the area of Gogra-Hot Springs.
- Bilateral Trade: The India-China trade is on course to cross USD 100 billion for the second consecutive year as it has gone up to USD 67.08 billion in the first half of this year amid a big surge of Chinese exports.
- “According to the statistics of Chinese competent authorities, bilateral trade volume between China and India stood at USD 125.66 billion in 2021.China remains the largest trade partner of India and for the first time the bilateral trade exceeded USD 100 billion in 2021.
Issue of concerns in India-China relations:
- Belt Road Initiative: India has objected this, since its inception on grounds of violating its sovereignty pointing to China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
- Indiaâs support to China on global issues has not led to Beijingâs reciprocation for instances: China opposed Indiaâs permanent membership to UN Security Council and entry into NSG.
- India faces trade imbalance heavily in some favor of China. In 2017-18, trade deficit has gone wide to US$62.9 billion in China’s favor.
- Two countries failed to resolve their border dispute and steadily established military infrastructure along border areas Indian media outlets have repeatedly reported Chinese military incursions into Indian territory
- China has expressed concerns about Indian military and economic activities in the disputed South China Sea. Same way India is also concerned about rising Chinese activities in Indian Ocean.
- China’s strong strategic bilateral relations with Pakistan and other neighboring countries like Nepal and Bhutan is cause of concern as these countries act as buffer states.
What are the options for India to learn from the past and see what lies ahead in India-China relations?
- Inevitable Race: The prevailing tension on the China-India border is a symptom of the broader strategic competition between the two Asian neighbors.
- Quad grouping: Immediately after the clashes, India leaned toward the Quad a grouping of the United States, Australia, Japan, and India with multiple summit meetings and other engagements. Until that point, India was unwilling to refer to the Quad as the Quad, instead using the cumbersome India-Australia-Japan-United States grouping.
- Equal seriousness: Both sides should treat the military escalation in eastern Ladakh with equal seriousness.
- Armed coexistence: Even after the resolution of the present standoff in eastern Ladakh, both sides may be in a prolonged period of armed coexistence as a new normal. As the forces on both sides are likely to be relatively balanced, it would be advantageous for both to return to the agreements and understandings from 1993 onward and improve upon them. Clarifying the LAC is a crucial step in this effort.
- Address trade imbalance: India has flagged the unsustainable trade imbalance at the front and centre of the relationship, and this has gone unaddressed. China will need to work on resolving the trade deficit with India. At any rate, decoupling will happen selectively, in the same way and for the same reasons that China is choosing to decouple from the United States. A balanced trade and economic relationship might lay a solid foundation for future relations, given the size of both economies.
- Dialogue is necessary: Better understanding of each otherâs regional initiatives through open dialogue is important to build trust. The Indo-Pacific vision is as much a developmental necessity for India as the BRI may be to China. Part of building trust must be an open discussion on each otherâs intentions in key regions South Asia and the northern Indian Ocean and East Asia and the western Pacific as well as respect for each otherâs special positions in the western Pacific and northern Indian Oceans.
- Protect the core interest: The two sides would need to accommodate the legitimate interests of the other side on key partnerships: Chinaâs with Pakistan and Indiaâs with the United States. These may not be desirable, but in the current circumstances neither will give up its partners, and both India and China could talk through a modus vivendi on the red lines of concern.
Conclusion
- The two countries are standing at a crossroads, and this might be the final chance to take the path to coexistence of cooperation and competition. If not, a new phase of antagonistic rivalry may be starting, with the countries sliding into possible confrontation as the strategic periphery of China collides with the strategic backyard of India in the Indian Ocean region.
UPSC Mains Question
Q.India and China are the two Asian giants aspiring for regional supremacy and global influence, clash is unavoidable. Discuss how India and china can coexist together.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Right to Privacy
Mains level: Cyber security,Right to privacy,Technology
Context
- Keeping an eye on the telecommunication regulatory framework Supreme Court issued substantive legal reform on surveillance laws in India. Union government has published the Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022 to replace the Telegraph Act, 1885.
Background
- Over two decades ago, allegations of surveillance against politicians led to a CBI inquiry and report against V P Singhâs government. The allegations revealed that imaginary reasons were given for ordering phone tapping without authorization.
- Last years, many publications reported that phones of several dozen Indian journalists, lawyers and human rights activists had been compromised using an invasive Israeli-developed malware called Pegasus.
What is Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022?
- The draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 is an attempt by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to consolidate various legislations presently governing the telecommunication landscape in India.
- The Bill seeks to replace three laws, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950.
- The new regulatory framework is to bring the law at par with technological advancements and remove obsolete provisions from the colonial era laws.
What are the current laws governing communication surveillance in India?
Communication surveillance in India takes place primarily under two laws:
- Telegraph Act, 1885:Â It deals with interception of calls.
- Call interception:Under Section 5(2) of this law, the government can intercept calls only in certain situations.
- For sovereignty:They include the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or public order, or for preventing incitement to the commission of an offense.
- Free speech restrictions:These are the same restrictions imposed on free speech under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
- Exceptions for journalists:A provision in Section 5(2) states that even this lawful interception cannot take place against journalists.
- Information Technology Act, 2000:Â It was enacted to deal with surveillance of all electronic communication, following the Supreme Courtâs intervention in 1996.
- Electronic surveillance:Section 69 of the IT Act and the IT (Procedure for Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring, and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009 were enacted to further the legal framework for electronic surveillance.
- Data interception:Under the IT Act, all electronic transmission of data can be intercepted.
- Section 69 of the IT Act adds another aspect that makes it broader â interception, monitoring, and decryption of digital information âfor the investigation of an offenseâ.
How the loopholes in the current system breaching the Data Privacy?
- No comprehensive data Protection Law:
- No comprehensive data protection law leaving ambiguities over several laws.
- A comprehensive data protection law to address the gaps in existing frameworks for surveillance is yet to enact.
- Unaccountable, opaque exercise of surveillance:
- The Telegraph Act contains broad and excessive powers of interception and surveillance of communications carried out through any telegraph.
- The surveillance power is principally contained under Section 5(2), and has resulted in an unaccountable, opaque and unconstitutional exercise of surveillance that has led to accusations across the political spectrum.
- Less transparency:
- Ministry of Home Affairs refuses to disclose even aggregate data on the number of surveillance orders issued by it each year illegally gathered evidence is being sought to prosecute people.
- For instance, the Bombay High Court about three years ago noted in a case that premier investigating agencies such as the CBI have used, interception orders (that) neither have sanction of law nor issued for legitimate aim.
Key features of the Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022
- The Bill introduces a broad definition of ‘telecommunication services’.
- It now includes internet-based services, in-flight and maritime connectivity, interpersonal communications services, machine to machine communication services, and over-the-top (OTT) based communication services that are made available to users by telecommunication
- KYC and caller id requirements:
- The Bill requires licensed entities to ensure that they identify the persons to whom they provide telecommunication services.
- The Bill places an obligation on telecommunication service providers to do this through a ‘verifiable mode’, as prescribed by the government.
- Licensing, registration, and authorization:
- Under the Bill, four types of permissions are identified – license, registration, authorization and assignment.
- While the Bill does not differentiate between the four types of permissions, it clarifies that a license is only required for providing telecommunication services or operating telecommunication networks
- Wide ranging powers of Central Government:
- The Bill includes wide-ranging powers for the central and state governments in the event of a public emergency or in interest of public safety.
- These powers include taking temporary possession of any telecommunication services, suspension of transmission in cases of public emergency, interception/detainment/disclosure of messages, suspension of communications, or otherwise transmit certain announcements for public safety and national security purposes.
- User protection and duties: User has been declared as an important policy objective of the Government. It places a duty on users to not furnish false information, suppress material information or impersonate others when proving identity to avail telecommunication services.
- Offences and penalties: Any offence under the Bill may be punished with a fine, imprisonment, suspension of telecommunication services or a combination of the above. For companies, the employees who were responsible for the conduct or the business relating to the offence at the time the offence was committed will be punished.
- Dispute resolution mechanism: The Bill provides for the right of appeal before the appellate authority. It also creates an enabling provision for the Central Government to set up an alternate dispute resolution mechanism such as arbitration, mediation or other processes of dispute resolution
What are Concerns over the Draft Telecommunication bill, 2022?
- Regulatory overlaps:The broad of the definition of ‘telecommunication services’ include OTT communication platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal among others, may potentially lead to regulatory or jurisdictional overlaps.
- Unchecked use of State powers:The Bill gives broad powers to the central government in prescribed situations without any accompanying checks and balances. The Bill empowers the central and state government to intercept messages in the interest of public safety and emergency without the providing clearly defined guardrails for it.
- Undefined National security: The term, national security is left undefined and does not match constitutional precedent or text which instead uses the phrase,in the interests of the security of state
- Users Less choice in the privacy and security of their digital footprint:
- Power to prescribe standards under Clause 23, which may result in regulations as recently issued by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) that have resulted in the closure of servers or services by leading, global VPN providers such as Proton and TunnelBear.
- All of this practically means that users will have less choice in the privacy and security of their digital footprint, as these powers will lead to requirements to locally register and host data, and comply with requirements to identify users (KYC requirements).
Conclusion
- There should be some reasonable basis or some tangible evidence to initiate or seek approval for interception by State authorities. Any digression from the ethical and legal parameters set by law would be tantamount to a deliberate invasion of citizens.
Mains Question
Q. Any deviation from the moral and legal parameters set by the law would amount to a deliberate attack on citizens. In this context discuss the data privacy of citizens in the era of massive expansion of internet and mobile usage.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various Schemes
Mains level: Malnutrition, under-nutrition and micro-nutrition.
Context
- Under the free breakfast scheme of Tamil Nadu Government, children in government schools from Class I to Class V will get nutritious breakfast provided in their schools every morning. The scheme is aimed at encouraging more children to continue to come to school and help prevent dropouts in primary level.
CMâs Breakfast Scheme
- The scheme covers around 1.14 lakh students in 1,545 schools which include 417 municipal corporation schools, 163 municipality schools and 728 taluk and village panchayat-level schools.
- The inauguration of the scheme marks an important milestone in the Stateâs history of providing free meals to school students.
- Morning Breakfast: Under the morning breakfast scheme, every student is to be provided a cooked meal of 150-500 grams breakfast with sambar with vegetables. With a budget outlay of Rs33.5 crore in the initial phase, the new scheme caters to 1,14,095 primary school students from1,545 government schools.
- Micronutrients deficiency: School administration will serve hot breakfasts to schoolchildren by 8:30 am before their classes begin. Students will be served upma, kichadi or Pongal from Monday to Friday, while rava kesari or semiya kesari will be added to the menu on Fridays.The local millets available in the area will also be part of the menu for at least two days a week.
- Aim of the scheme: The scheme mainly aims to help students attend school hunger free and improve their nutritional status.
What do the Critics of the scheme argue?
- Freebies: The scheme stands at the confluence of three socio-political developments: a fierce but murky political debate on freebies.
- Mid-day meal scheme: There was no need to supplement the existing mid-day meal scheme. But going by the content of the scheme, it seems unlikely that it will bring any substantial or sustained improvements in the above mentioned aspects of nutrition, especially since T.N. is already doing well in this regard.
- Populism: This is just a populist scheme by state government for vote bank politics.
- Questionable outcomes: Though the scheme has the potential to ensure that children attend classes hunger free, reliable and representative data on what proportion of them attend school without having breakfast regularly is scarce. Though the State acknowledges that students tend to skip breakfast because of the school timing and their financial situation, it is important to identify which among these is the significant contributor. The present approach does not distinguish between the two.
What the Defenders of the scheme argue?
- Positive outcomes: Studies from other countries suggest that free breakfast schemes might help increase educational outcomes through a likely increase in school attendance and improved concentration on studies.
- On freebies: The freebie debate strategically deploys fiscal burden as a potent tool to possibly constrain States from discharging this responsibility.
Why feeding children in school is important?
- Welfare state: The States have a responsibility to promote welfare and minimise inequalities in income as well as in facilities and opportunities among individuals and groups (Article38).
- Global Food Security Index: The welfare responsibility of the States remains undiminished, especially since India is ranked 71out of 113 countries on the Global Food Security Index.
- Global Hunger Index: India ranked 101 out of 116countries on the Global Hunger Index.
- Human development index: 132 out of 191 countries on the Human Development Index. Indiaâs mean years of schooling stood at just 6.7 years in 2020-21.
- Inequality: Additionally, India has among the highest levels of inequality in education. This responds closely with the rising wealth inequality, as brought out by the recent Credit Suisse report.
- Stunting and wasting: Malnourishment in children (stunting, wasting and underweight) under 5 years has reduced as per National family health survey-5 (2019-21) from 38.4% to 35.5%, 21.0% to 19.3% and 35.8% to 32.1% respectively as compared to NHFS-4 (2015-16). However present scenario is not good as compare to other developing nations in south Asia.
What are the different Existing Scheme?
- The Midday Meal Scheme: The Midday meal is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
- The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centres, Madrasa supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour.
- Serving 120 million children in over 1.27 million schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, the Midday Meal Scheme is the largest of its kind in the world.
- PM-POSHAN: The name of the scheme has been changed to PM-POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) Scheme, in September 2021, by MoE (Ministry of Education), which is nodal ministry for the scheme.
- The Central Government also announced that an additional 24 lakh students receiving pre-primary education at government & government-aided schools would also be included under the scheme by 2022.
Conclusion
- Indiaâs spending in human development enhancing welfare schemes has been very dismal. There is an urgent need for implementing innovative and effective welfare schemes to address the disruptions caused by the pandemic in the education and nutrition sectors and strengthen these sectors.
Mains Question
Q.Malnutrition, under-nutrition and micro-nutrition requires a different approach. Distinguish and suggest the existing policy gaps to address them.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mediation Bill
Mains level: Scope of Mediation Bill
Context
- The Mediation Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December20, 2021,with the Parliamentary Standing Committee being tasked with a review of the Bill. The committeeâs report to the Rajya Sabha was submitted on July 13, 2022. In its report, the Committee recommends substantial changes to the Mediation Bill, aimed at institutionalising mediation and establishing the Mediation Council of India.
What is mean by mediation?
- Mediation: Mediation is a process wherein the parties meet with a mutually selected impartial and neutral person who assists them in the negotiation of their differences.
- Brings Parties Together: Parties can save and sometimes rebuild their relationship like during a family dispute or commercial dispute.
- Very Convenient: The parties can control the time, location, and duration of the proceedings to large extent. Scheduling isn’t subject to the convenience of courts
Why does India need mediation?
- No separate law: While there is no standalone legislation for mediation in India, there are several statutes containing mediation provisions,such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908,the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996,the Companies Act, 2013, the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
- Supreme Court mandate: The Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court of India describes mediation as a tried and tested alternative for conflict resolution.
- Being an international signatory: As India is a signatory to the Singapore Convention on Mediation (formally the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation), it is appropriate to enact a law governing domestic and international mediation.
- Promote mediation: The Bill aims to promote, encourage, and facilitate mediation, especially institutional mediation, to resolve disputes, commercial and otherwise.
- Mandatory Mediation: The Bill further proposes mandatory mediation before litigation. At the same time, it safeguards the rights of litigants to approach competent adjudicatory forums/courts for urgent relief.
- Confidentiality: The mediation process will be confidential and immunity is provided against its disclosure in certain cases.
- Legally binding: The outcome of the mediation process in the form of a Mediation Settlement Agreement (MSA) will be legally enforceable and can be registered with the State district or taluk legal authorities within 90days to ensure authenticated records of the settlement.
- Mediation Council of India: The Bill establishes the Mediation Council of India and also provides for community mediation.
- Services of Mediator: If the parties agree, they may appoint any person as a mediator. If not, they may apply to a mediation service provider to appoint a person from its panel of mediators.
- Disputes where no mediation required: The Bill lists disputes that are not fit for mediation (such as those involving criminal prosecution, or affecting the rights of third parties). The central government may amend this list.
- Time bound process: The mediation process must be completed within 180 days, which may be extended by another 180 days by the parties.
What are the Concerns over the bill?
- Mandatory provision: According to the Bill, pre-litigation mediation is mandatory for both parties before filing any suit or proceeding in a court,whether or not there is a mediation agreement between them.
- Monetary punishment: Parties who fail to attend pre-litigation mediation without a reasonable reason may incur a cost. However,as per Article 21 of the Constitution,access to justice is constitutional right which cannot be fettered or restricted. Mediation should just be voluntary and making it otherwise would amount to denial of justice.
- Clause 26: According to Clause26 of the Bill, court annexed mediation, including pre-litigation mediation, will be conducted in accordance with the directions or rules framed by the Supreme Court or High Courts. However, the Committee objected to this. It stated that Clause26 went against the spirit of the Constitution.In countries that follow the Common Law system, it is a healthy tradition that inthe absence of statutes, apex court judgments and decisions carry the same weight. The moment a law is passed however, it becomes the guiding force rather than the instructions or judgments given by the courts. Therefore, Clause 26 is unconstitutional.
- Lack of international enforceability: Bill considers international mediation to be domestic when it is conducted in India with the settlement being recognised as a judgment or decree ofa court. The Singapore Convention does not apply to settlements that already have the status of judgments or decrees. As a result, conducting cross border mediation in India will exclude the tremendous benefits of worldwide enforceability.
Conclusion
- In order to enable a faster resolution of disputes,the Bill should be implemented after discussion with stakeholders and resolve the issues in an amicable manner. Itâs a good opportunity for India to become an international mediation hub for easy business transactions.
Mains Question
Q.Address the key concerns in the mediation bill 2021 and how India can become the centre of international dispute resolutions.Discuss.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Live streaming of courts proceedings
Context
- On September 27, the Supreme Court enabled the live streaming of the hearing of cases.
- A full court of all Supreme Court judges under the leadership of Chief Justice U U Lalit took the unanimous decision to live-stream constitutional bench proceedings. Justice Chandrachud, the Chairperson of the Supreme Courtâs E-committee and the driving force behind the live streaming initiative, began the hearing in his courtroom by announcing,âWe are virtualâ.
Background
- The Courtâs original decision by the bench of the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud on September 27, 2018, allowing the live telecast of important proceedings paved the way for this outcome. They had held that the live-streaming of court proceedings is in the public interest.
- Their vision had the full support of Chief Justices M V Ramana and U U Lalit.
What is live-streaming technology?
- At its core, streaming content is meant to help people attend events, expos, and experiences they cannot attend in person.
- Live streaming technology is how videos are streamed over the internet, live, in real-time, as they are being recorded.
- Live streaming technology is the internetâs response to live television broadcasts, with the most popular being news shows and sports.
What is Live-streaming of the court?
- Live streaming of court is that its proceedings that the people can watch on their mobiles and computers.All courtrooms function under camera glare.
- Instilling Faith in the Judiciary: Enabling the ordinary people of the country to view, without any barrier, the workings of the highest court of the land will go a long way in instilling faith in the judiciary.
- Empowering the masses: It will enable the legal system to deliver on its promise of empowering the masses.Important step toward developing an informed citizenry.
- Respect to Rule of Law: The decision will enable people to understand the importance of the rule of law.It will help people appreciate that the judiciary is firm in protecting the rights of the impoverished, historically marginalised and disempowered sections of society. Potential to build a culture of respect for the rule of law.
- Living up the expectation of Constitution: Live-Streaming of Court proceedings is manifested in public interest. Public interest has always been preserved through the Constitution article 19 and 21.
- More transparency: It will encourage the principle of open court and reduce dependence on second-hand views. It will effectuate the publicâs right to know. This would inspire confidence in the functioning of the judiciary as an institution and help maintain the respect that it deserved as a co-equal organ of the state.
- Raise the quality and standards of the legal profession: Lawyers will be better prepared to appear before the court and they will be mindful of not making irresponsible remarks. An inclusive approach to public scrutiny could nudge and enable lawyers to take the justice delivery mechanisms more seriously than they may have in the past.
- Level playing field: It also creates a level playing ground for the younger members of the legal profession as their preparedness and intellectual prowess will be apparent to all.
- Academic help: Watching courtroom proceedings,actual arguments by lawyers and searching questions by judges could inspire law students to take up this relatively neglected field.Law faculty members and legal researchers will be motivated to work on new areas of scholarship and research relating to the functioning of the judiciary and legal profession.
- Easy accessibility reducing the obstacle of distance: With live-streaming, the litigants will no longer have to come to Delhi to witness proceedings of their case which would be just a click away.
- Strengthening Democracy: Transparency and accessibility of the process of justice delivery will strengthen the countryâs democracy
What are the Concerns around live-streaming of court?
- Contempt of court:Â Video clips of proceedings from Indian courts are already on YouTube and other social media platforms with sensational titles and little context, such as âHIGH COURT super angry on army officerâ.
- Disinformation and sensationalism:Â There are fears that irresponsible or motivated use of content could spread disinformation among the public.
- Unnecessary activism:Â With the advent of social media, every citizen became a potential journalist. Study shows that justices behave like politicians when given free television time, they act to maximize their individual exposure
- Internet connectivity: Internet connectivity issues and the need for a well-equipped space where lawyers can conduct their cases are some of the major problems requiring attention.
- Awareness and training: Judges, court staff and lawyers are not well-versed with digital technology and its benefits. The need of the hour is for them to be made aware of these and receive adequate training.
Which countries live-stream their court hearing?
- Internationally,constitutional court proceedings are recorded in some form or the other.
- United States: The Supreme Court of the United States streams its hearings in audio format at the end of each week.The US top court publishes hearings on its website and Oyez of all cases. Oyez is a multimedia judicial archive of the Supreme Court of the United States’ proceedings.
- Brazil: The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil live streams hearings of all cases in video format on television.
- UK: The UK Supreme Court live streams hearings of all cases in video format on its website.
- Canada: The Canadian Supreme Court also live streams hearings of all its cases in video format on its website.
- Australia: The Australian Supreme Court streams hearings of its full-court cases on its website with a delay of about a day. Meanwhile, the High Court of Australia (HCA) does not live-stream its proceedings.
- China: In China,court proceedings are live-streamed from trial courts up to the Supreme Peopleâs Court of China.
Conclusion
- The chief justices (past and present) and the judges of the Supreme Court deserve to be congratulated for enabling a path-breaking and democratic decision that allows the people of India to be able to watch the live proceedings of the Constitutional Bench.The distinguished jurist, Oliver Holmes,famously observed,âThe great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.â The judges of the Supreme Court of India have ensured that we are indeed moving in the right direction.
Mains Question
Q.Adoption of technology will radically change the field of law and transform the judiciary. What will be the role of courts, judges, politicians,media and citizens of the country regarding live streaming of court proceedings. Discuss
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Natural gas
Mains level: Clean energy
Context
- The announcement at the end of August by the ministry of petroleum that they had constituted a committee, headed by energy expert Kirit Parikh, to review the domestic natural gas pricing regime.
Background
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to raise the share of gas in India’s energy mix to 15% by 2030 from 6.2%, helping it progress towards meeting a 2070 net zero carbon-emission goal.
What is Natural Gas?
- Natural gas is a fossil fuel source consisting primarily of methane. It is the cleanest fossil fuels among the available fossil fuels.
- It is used as a feedstock in the manufacture of fertilizers, plastics and other commercially important organic chemicals as well as used as a fuel for electricity generation, heating purpose in industrial and commercial units.
- Natural gas is also used for cooking in domestic households and a transportation fuel for vehicles.
Why Natural gas is Important?
- Energy Efficient:Natural gas produces more energy than any of the fossil fuels in terms of calorific value.
- Cleaner fuel:Â Natural gas is a superior fuel as compared with coal and other liquid fuels being an environment-friendly, safer and cheaper fuel.
- Economy of use:Â Natural Gas (as CNG) is much cheaper compared with petrol or Diesel.
- Emission commitments:Â India made a commitment to COP-21 Paris Convention in December 2015 that by 2030, it would reduce carbon emission by 33%-35% of 2005 levels.
- Diverse applications:Â Natural gas can be used as domestic kitchen fuel, fuel for the transport sector as well as a fuel for fertilizer industries and commercial units.
- Supply chain convenience: Natural Gas is supplied through pipelines just like we get water from the tap. There is no need to store cylinders in the kitchen and thus save space.
- Pacing up the progress line: On the global front,switching to natural gas is bringing commendable results.The latest report released by IEA shows that the electricity produced by natural gas worldwide was more than that of coal for the first time ever.
Natural gas scenario in India
- Domestic Gas Sources: The domestic gas in the country is being supplied from the oil & gas fields located at western and southeastern areas viz. Hazira basin, Mumbai offshore & KG basin as well as North East Region (Assam & Tripura).
- Import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): In order to meet the gas demand, LNG is imported through the Open General License (OGL) in the country. Â At present, India is having six operational LNG regasification terminals at Dahej, Kochi, Mundra, Ennore etc.
- Gas Pipelines :
- Gas Pipeline infrastructure is an economical and safe mode of transporting natural gas by connecting gas sources to gas-consuming markets.
- An interconnected National Gas Grid has been envisaged to ensure the adequate availability and equitable distribution of natural gas in all parts of the country.
- Pricing:
- To incentivise gas producers and boost local output, since 2014 India has linked local gas prices to a formula tied to global benchmarks, including Henry Hub, Alberta gas, NBP and Russian gas.
- In 2016, the country began fixing the ceiling prices of gas produced from ultra-deep water and challenging fields and allowed marketing freedom to the operators of these fields.
- Current consumption: Indiaâs natural gas consumption is expected to grow by eight per cent year-on-year to around 34,949 million standard cubic meters (MSCM) in the current calendar year aided by expanding infrastructure, strong GDP growth projections, and supportive government policy.
- 2021 Consumption: In the 2021 calendar year (CY), the countryâs natural gas demand stood at 32,360 MSCM. The share of domestic gas and imported RLNG was about 48% & 52% respectively. The City Gas Distribution (CGD) accounts for the largest consumption of natural gas followed by fertilizers, power and other industrial sectors
- High prices: The state-set local gas prices and ceiling rates are at a record high and are expected to rise further due to a surge in global gas prices triggered by the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Kirit Parikh Committee
- Objective: Ensuring fair prices to end consumers, and to suggest a market oriented, transparent and reliable pricing regime for India’s long term vision for ensuring a gas based economy.
- Members: The committee,headed by energy expert Kirit Parikh, will include members from the fertiliser ministry, as well as gas producers and buyers.Four of the six members are from the public sector.
What are the problems facing India’s natural gas reserves?
- Harsh topography: IHS CERA has estimated India has undiscovered gas resources of approximately 64 TCF The bulk of this is, however, in harsh topography and complex geology. These reserves are difficult to locate.
- Distant from the market:Even if located,they are difficult to bring to market on economically viable terms. This is because the cost of creating the development and production infrastructure is massive.
- Heavy Budget: The reality is India is a high-risk exploration play. There are inherent geologic, technical, and economic obstacles to achieving commercial success.
- Administered Pricing: Constraint of administered pricing petroleum companies have reduced their exploration budgets under pressure to shift away from fossil fuels.
What can be done?
- Pricing freedom: It should clear up the existing complexity and, other than for producers of gas from nomination blocks, permit all producers of gas to determine prices through arms length,direct and transparent negotiations with different consumer segments.
- Subsidies: There are no liquefaction facilities for the export of LNG in India. Subsidies may have to be provided but if so,they should be given directly by the government,through the exchequer. The gas producers must not be asked to bear that brunt.
Conclusion
- In the wake of the Ukraine crisis, the international energy market has undergone a profound transformation.India has made impressive progress towards clean energy. It has,however, a long way to go before it can fully wean itself off fossil fuels.
Mains Question
Q. It is evident that clean energy transitions are underway and itâs also a signal that we have the opportunity to meaningfully move the needle on emissions through more ambitious policies and investments in natural gas regime. Comment
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PDS,Subsidies
Mains level: Climate change and Food security
Context
- In pursuance of the earlier announcement of additional food security under PMGKAY, the Union Cabinet has approved the extension for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-Phase VII) for a further period of 3 months from October to December 2022.
What is Climate Change?
- United Nations defines Climate change as long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas
- The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)defines food security as , when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana?
- Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) is a scheme as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat to supply free food grains to migrants and poor.
- Phase-I and Phase-II of this scheme was operational from April to June, 2020 and July to November, 2020 respectively.
- The PMGKAY scheme for Phase VI from April-September, 2022 would entail an estimated additional food subsidy of Rs. Rs. 80,000 Crore.
How food security and climate change are interlinked?
- Extreme events: India is going to have extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, etc of increasing intensity and frequency.
- Rising GHGs emission: We may keep blaming developed economies and ask for climate justice, yet we will have to act fast and boldly to correct our own policies that increase GHG emissions and aggravate the situation.
- Subsidies: Power provided at next-to-nothing prices, free water and highly subsidised fertilisers especially urea are some of the policies that are damaging the natural environment.
- Food ecosystem: Food security is one of the leading concerns associated with climate change. Climate change affects food security in complex ways. It impacts crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and can cause grave social and economic consequences in the form of reduced incomes, eroded livelihoods, trade disruption and adverse health impacts.
Why food security is a matter of concern?
- Fiscal deficit: The fiscal deficit of the Centre may go higher than provisioned in the Budget for FY23. The finance ministry not supporting the extension of this free food beyond September was, economically, a rational recommendation. More so as Covid-19 is behind us and the economy is back to its normal level of activity.
- Depleting stocks: The PMGKAY was announced in April 2020 in the wake of the pandemicâs first wave. At that time, it was perhaps necessary to support all those who lost their jobs. But doubling free rations depleted the bulging stocks of grains. Now with wheat procurement having plummeted, there is a concern about whether stocks are enough to curb inflationary expectations in the country.
- Less harvest: To replenish wheat stocks in FCI godowns, the government will have to raise the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat quite substantially. For rice, the current stocks are ample, but given the monsoon vagaries, the forthcoming rice harvest is estimated to be about 7 million tonnes less.
- Rising MSP: PMGKAY will be difficult to extend beyond December without putting an undue burden on MSPs and the fiscal deficit.
- Other reasons:
- Inflation: Even though the RBI has raised the repo rate by 50 basis points, the probability of inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), remaining higher than the central bankâs tolerance band is increasing by the day.
- Depreciating Rupee: The RBI has already spent more than $80 billion to support the rupee, and there are limits to which it can go. And, if RBI tries to hold the rupee artificially high, it will adversely hit Indian exports, widening the current account deficit and putting further pressure on the rupee. The best that RBI can and should do is to avoid a sudden and abrupt fall in the rupee, but also let it find its natural level given what is happening globally, especially in the currency markets.
- Long haul: The risks of higher inflation from the falling rupee remain and are likely to continue for at least one year, if not more.
What can we do?
- Increasing foreign exchange reserves: Government have to have innovative policies to promote exports and attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).
- Fixing Issue price: fix the issue prices of PDS supplies at half the MSP and limit the PDS coverage to 30 per cent of the bottom population.
- On rupee fall: The best that RBI can and should do is to avoid a sudden and abrupt fall in the rupee, but also let it find its natural level given what is happening globally, especially in the currency markets.
- Use of technology: If we have to tame food inflation, we will have to invest more in climate-smart agriculture, in precision farming, with high productivity and less damage to natural resources.
- Right ecosystem: Science and technologies can, of course, help us, but they cannot be scaled in a perverse policy ecosystem.
- Adoption of sustainable agricultural practices: India needs to step up public investment in development and dissemination of crop varieties which are more tolerant of temperature and precipitation fluctuations and are more water and nutrient efficient.
- Management of water resources: A four pronged strategy is recommended for the water sector; Increase irrigation efficiency, Promote micro irrigation in water-deficient areas, Better water resource infrastructure planning, Restoration of water bodies in rural areas, Stronger emphasis on public health.
- Long-term relief measures in the event of natural disasters: A recent report by NITI Aayog suggests that the government should transfer a minimum specified sum of cash to affected farmers and landless workers as an instant relief. For richer farmers who may want insurance above this relief, the report recommends a separate commercially viable crop insurance programme.
Conclusion
- So far India has done well to tame the food inflation as compared to other developed and developing economies. Present policy of RBI burning the FOREX and government increasing the deficit is unsustainable in long run. Food security needs to be insured by climate resilient policies for long term sustenance.
Mains Question
Q.Climate change is a growing concern that threatens sustainable development in addition to food security and inflation. Discuss
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nord Stream,GHG,Methane Emission
Mains level: Environmental degradation, Man made disasters.
Context
- Four leakages were reported at different points in the Nord Stream pipelines, linking Russia and Europe, since September 26. Two of the leaks were in Swedish waters while the other two were reported from Danish waters. The European Union said they suspected âsabotageâ behind the leaks.
What is Nord Stream Pipeline?
- Nord Stream 1 is the biggest pipeline transporting natural gas between Russia and Europe via Germany.It is a system of offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
- Nord Stream 1 is a 1,224 km underwater gas pipeline that runs from Vyborg in northwest Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany via the Baltic Sea.
- Russian threats to choke this gas supply to Europe present an economic threat to Germany.
- To expand options and double the supply from Russia, Germany decided to build Nord Stream 2.
- The construction of the $11 billion-worth Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021 but never began commercial operations.
Why the Nord Stream pipeline is so important?
- For Germany: Energy prices in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, are among the lowest in the continent because of the cheap gas supplies via Nord Stream 1. This also makes German manufactured goods more competitive in the international market.
- For European Union: In 2021, Russia supplied nearly 40 per cent of the EU’s natural gas needs through this pipeline. The flows through Nord Stream play a vital role in filling up the national storage tanks of EU. It is crucial to provide the required heating in the upcoming winter.
- For Russia: Russia is using the supplies via the crucial pipeline as a bargain to navigate its economy through sanctions from the western countries.
- Nord stream pipeline is the largest single supply route for Russian gas to Europe. The Russian state owned gas company Gazprom has a majority ownership in the pipeline.
- While it was running at just 20% of its capacity since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, the company, in early September fully cut gas flows from the pipeline on the pretext of maintenance.
- According to Bloomberg, while 40% of Europeâs pipeline gas came from Russia before Russia Ukraine the war, the number now stands at just 9%.
- Even though both pipelines were not running commercially, they had millions of cubic metres of gas stored in them.
The recent leakage in the pipeline
- Commercial Methane: Measuring satellite firm GHGSat says, that a conservative estimate based on available data suggested that the leaks together were releasing âmore than500 metric tonnes of methane per hourâ when first breached, with the flow decreasing over time.
- Biggest methane leakage ever: According to UNEP The leakage from the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline system under the Baltic Sea have led to perhaps the single biggest release of methane ever recorded.
- Amount of leakage: The rate of leakage at one of the four points of rupture in the pipeline was 22,920 kg per hour. That is equal to burning about 286,000 kg of coal every hour, according to scientists.
What will be the Impact of methane leakage?
- Possibility of more leakage: With the timeframe for repairs being uncertain, the pipelines were unlikely to provide any gas to Europe in the forthcoming winter months, even if the political will to resume supply was found.
- Commercial damage: European gas prices spiked after reports of the leaks emerged; European Benchmark prices rose 12% on Tuesday, while Dutch and British Prices continued to rise.
- Ozone formation: Methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year.
- Green House gas: Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, it is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.
- Global warming: Methane has accounted for roughly 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times and is proliferating faster than at any other time since record keeping began in the 1980s.
- Emission have already increased during the lockdown: According to data from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, even as carbon dioxide emissions decelerated during the pandemic-related lockdowns of 2020, atmospheric methane shot up.
Why is it important to reduce methane emission?
- Short lifespan: Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. But it takes only about a decade for methane to break down. So, reducing methane emissions now would have an impact in the near term and is critical for helping keep the world on a path to 1.5°C.
- Human caused methane emissions: Human-caused methane emissions could be reduced by as much as 45 per cent within the decade. This would avert nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045, helping to limit global temperature rise to 1.5ËC and putting the planet on track to achieve the Paris Agreement targets.
- Prevent premature deaths: Every year, the subsequent reduction in ground-level ozone would also prevent 260,000 premature deaths, 775,000 asthma-related hospital visits, 73 billion hours of lost labour from extreme heat and 25 million tonnes of crop losses.
- Reducing the Agriculture emission: Agriculture and allied activities remains the biggest contributor of methane emission. The UNâs Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture initiative is supporting the transformation of agricultural and food systems, focusing on how to maintain productivity amid a changing climate. Representatives are also working to mainstream agriculture into the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Conclusion
- Nord stream pipeline leakages will further exacerbate the ozone formation, Green House Gas emissions global warming and thereby climate change. In the spirit of Paris climate change agreement nations must act together to rein in the menace of GHG emissions.
Mains Questions
Q.Methane emission into atmosphere is done more by human activities than natural causes. In the spirit of Paris climate change agreement nations must act together to rein in the menace of GHG emissions. Explain
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Location,BIMSTEC,Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies
Mains level: Foreign Policy,Regional Grouping
Context
- At the fourth BIMSTEC summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the opening of the Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBS) at Nalanda University. The launch of the CBS has once again demonstrated Indiaâs commitment to advancing constructive agendas by forging connections and setting up platforms for all those with an interest in the of Bay of Benagl.
- Commerce hub: The Bay has long been a major commerce hub for the Indian Ocean. It created a conduit between the East and the West in terms for trade and culture.
- Emerging arena of maritime warfare: An Indo-Pacific orientation and the realignment of global economic and military power towards Asia have had a considerable impact on the Bay region.
- Communication and Energy: The key sea lanes of communication in this area are lifelines for global economic security and are crucial to the energy security that powers the economies of many countries in the region.Further, non-traditional dangers including terrorism and climate change have become more prevalent.
- Under water resources: The Bay also provides an opportunity for greater regional cooperation in the environmentally friendly exploration of marine and energy resources. The Bay has a biodiverse marine environment.
- Fresh water resources: It receives the water from some of the worldâs largest rivers. It is a partially enclosed sea that has given rise to several geological characteristics.
- Ecology: It is home to many rare and endangered marine species and mangroves, which are essential to the survival of the ecology and the fishing sector.
Why ecology in the region is under threat?
The regionâs maritime environment has changed as are result of major powers expanding their economic and geopolitical influence.
- Competition: Political and cultural engagement, together with economic competition, have taken on new dimensions. More crucially, the Bayâs ecosystem is going through an unprecedented crisis brought on by widespread environmental exploitation and geopolitical unrest.
- Resource exploitation: Species extinction is a result of careless exploitation of the maritime environment, which has severe consequences on biodiversity. Problems such as population growth, altered land use, excessive resource exploitation, salinity, sea level rise, and climate change are exerting significant strain on the Bayâs environment.
- Water pollution: Operational discharge from small and medium feeder ships, shipping collisions, unintentional oil spills, industrial waste, pollution, and the accumulation of non- biodegradable plastic litter are all contributing to the deterioration of the Bay.
- Declining ecology: A dead-zone has formed, and the mangrove trees that protect the shore from the fury of nature are under more threat than ever.
What could be the Solutions?
For a better knowledge of challenges, and strategies to overcome them for the sustainable development of the region, more focused and inter-disciplinary study is required on these issues.
- Centre for Bay of Bengal studies: By founding the CBS, Nalanda University has already started its journey and given the nation a unique interdisciplinary research centre devoted to Bay focused teaching, research, and capacity building. Additionally, scholars from many countries and academic streams are already participating in CBSâs first certificate programme on the Bay.
- Inter-governmental cooperation: It is essential that nautical neighbours develop a partnership and cooperate because of the maritime domainâs interrelated and interdependent nature, transnational character, and cross-jurisdictional engagement of various governments and diverse organisations and enterprises.
- Maritime connectivity: A few concerns that need immediate attention include expanding cooperation in maritime safety and security, enhancing cooperation on maritime connectivity and the ease of maritime transit, and boosting investment possibilities in the maritime connectivity sector.
- Illegal activities: The latter subject involves addressing non-traditional threats and fostering group efforts to reduce illicit, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
- Data sharing: Standardising and harmonising data reporting.
- Balanced approach: Furthermore regional marine entities should strive to balance opportunities and goals on a national, regional, and international scale.
- Investment in R&D: Littoral governments need to support and promote skill-building, research, and training.
Conclusion
- Countries in the Bay of Bengal need to mobilise investments, manage maritime affairs more effectively. Alternative lifestyle should be explored. The cooperation of all member states, for information gathering, sharing and result oriented actions is crucial in protecting the ecology of Bay of Bengal.
Mains Question
Q.Countries in the Indian subcontinent are developing rapidly, putting serious stress on the environment of the Bay of Bengal.Mention the challenges and suggest solutions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Transboundary Rivers
Mains level: Disaster Management
Context
- Pakistan experiencing devastation, with a spread of diseases and severe shortage of potable water after intense flooding. In June this year Assam experienced one of its worst floods in which it affected over 30 districts. Assam and Bihar frequently suffer from transboundary flood disasters.
- Floods that are originate in upper riparian state crosses the international boundary and also affects the lower riparian state. For example, river Brahmaputra causes flood both in China and India simultaneously.
How the transboundary floods are difficult to manage than normal floods?
- Flooding is still considered to be a natural phenomenon that cannot be entirely prevented. But it is compounded by the lack of transparency in the sharing of hydrological information and also information relating to activities (such as by one riparian state) that are transboundary in their effect (affecting other riparian states), thus serving as an obstacle in understanding the magnitude of flooding.
What is a riparian state?
- A riparian state is state (or country) located alongside a river.
What are the International laws governing transboundary waters?
There are at two international treaties that governs the transboundary water
- UNWC:
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Use of International Watercourses (UNWC) 1997.UNWC contains a direct reference to floods, which covers harmful conditions and the emergency situations.
- Article 27 of the Convention says, Watercourse States shall individually and, where appropriate, jointly, take all appropriate measures to prevent or mitigate conditions that may be harmful to other watercourse States, whether resulting from natural causes or human conduct or desertification.
- Environmental Impact Assessment:
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in the Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina vs Uruguay) case of 2010, upheld that conducting a transboundary environmental impact assessment (TEIA) of a planned measure or projects on the shared water course is part of customary international law.
- In fact, the ICJ noted that the acting state must notify the affected party of the results of TEIA for assessment of its own damages that are likely to occur.
- UNECE: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes 1992 (Water Convention).
How India manages transboundary flood?
- Note:Neither India nor China are signatory to UNWC or UNCEC.
- River Brahmaputra: India has signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China in 2013 with a view to sharing hydrological information during the flood season (June to September). The MoU does not allow India access to urbanisation and deforestation activities on the Chinese side of the river basin.
- Rivers Gandak and kosi: Floods are also a recurrent problem in the Kosi and Gandak river basins that are shared by India and Nepal.
- The India-Nepal Kosi agreement 1954: Agreement aimed at reducing devastating flooding in the river basin. The treaty-based joint bodies have also tried to refine the early warning systems for flood forecasting.
What are the suggestions?
- Signing the treaty: Expert suggests, India by becoming a party to either the UNWC and the Water Convention could lay the groundwork for a bilateral treaty on the Brahmaputra but subject to the reservation that it should not insist on the insertion of a dispute settlement mechanism provision.
- Information exchange: In contravention of procedural customary international law obligation, India considers data on transboundary rivers as classified information, which is one of the key challenges in developing cross-border flood warning systems. India needs to share the hydrological and river information for its own sake.
Conclusion
- Climate change has accelerated the frequency and intensity of floods across the world. with Changing climate India should also change its strategy to protect its people, to preserve the soil and to save its resources from the scourge of floods.
Mains Questions
Q.Climate change has created a more difficult challenge in flood management. In this context, what measures can be taken to deal with frequent transboundary floods in India. Discuss.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Economics,Energy,Infrastructure
Context
- The game changing scheme is being proposed by the central government in power sector governance. The scheme under consideration is the market-based economic dispatch (MBED). When it comes to any drastic change in the power sector, a clash between the Centre and the states is inevitable.
What is Market Based Economic Dispatch (MBED)?
- Market Based Economic Dispatch (MBED) is new approach towards power distribution to help distribution companies save costs and transition to a new form of power market.
- It is a shift to a centralised framework, marks a radical departure from the current decentralised, voluntary pool-based electricity market.
What is the framework under MBED?
- The cheapest power from across the country will be dispatched to meet the system wide demand. The architecture would also lead to a âMarket clearing priceâ.
- Sellers and buyers will place their bids for the day market, and an outcome of this will be the discovery of the market clearing price.
- This process is expected to generate significant savings for consumers.
- Under the present regime, each distribution company (Discom) is bound by the power purchase agreements (PPAs) that it holds.
- It can schedule power only from its own PPAs, starting from the cheapest PPA and then moving up; it cannot schedule power from the PPA of some other distribution company.
What are the drawbacks of present system?
- Financial Burdon:
- The Indian government responded to COVID-19âs economic shock with a stimulus package of Rs.20-lakh crore, out of which Rs.90,000 crore was earmarked for discoms (later upgraded to Rs.1,25,000 crore). While it was called a stimulus, it is really a loan, meant to be used by discoms to pay off generators.
- Discoms owe one lakh crore rupees to generators, and without such an infusion the chain will collapse.
- States are defaulters:
- State governments are the biggest defaulters, responsible for an estimated a third of trade receivables, besides not paying subsidies in full or on time.
- On an annual cash flow basis, the shortfall in subsidy payments appears very low, only about 1% but cumulative unpaid subsidies, with modest carrying costs, make discoms poorer by over Rs.70,000 crore just over the last 10 years.
What will be the Advantages of MBED?
- Centralized approach: The centralised dispatch will be done with the assistance of electricity exchanges. Each discom and each generator will place a bid in the day-ahead market of the electricity exchanges, which will indicate how much power is being demanded/ supplied at what price.
- Pan India market: These bids will enable the load dispatcher to construct a pan India demand and supply curve, the intersection of which will determine the market clearing price (MCP). All generators whose variable cost of generation is below the MCP will be asked to dispatch and all of them will receive the same MCP irrespective of what they had bid. Generators whose variable cost is higher than the MCP will sit idle.
- No loss to discom: The MBED is so devised that its operation will not affect the current finances of either the discoms or the generators for the following reasons.
- First, the fixed cost of the generators will still be paid by the discoms outside the market as determined by the regulator.
- Second, if the MCP comes out to be Rs 3 per unit, and if in the case of any PPA, the variable cost is Rs 2.75 per unit, then the generator will compensate the discom to the extent of Rs 0.25 per unit. Similarly, if the MCP so determined is Rs 2.50 per unit, then the discom will compensate the generator to the extent of Rs 0.25 per unit.
- Increasing efficiency: The logic is that by adopting MBED, only the relatively efficient plants will generate, without affecting the revenues of either the discoms or generators. Hence, the total cost of generation under the MBED system would be less.
- Less pollution: There would be less coal consumption and less carbon dioxide injected into the atmosphere.
- Easy integration with renewable: It would also mean less movement of coal leading to decongestion of railway tracks. Further, there would be enhanced renewable integration since the balancing area would shift from state to national level.
- Single market clearing price (MCP): Incidentally, since there are three electricity exchanges in operation today, there would be three different MCPs determined. What we need is a single MCP for which there will be an institution called the âmarket couplerâ. It will be the job of the coupler to determine a national MCP based on what has arrived at the three different exchanges.
Why states are opposing?
- High generation cost: The reason is the state-owned generators are relatively inefficient and may have to sit idle as their variable cost of generation is likely to be more than the MCP.
- Political backlash: Today, the states are operating their own generators to the hilt, even though they are inefficient, and drawing only the balance from the more efficient interstate generating stations. Keeping state generators idle has its own political implications and no state would be enamoured of this idea.
Conclusion
- Power distribution companies (discom) are sinkhole of government finances. Every year budgetary support is needed to this loss-making companies , With due consultation, all states and union territories need to adopt and implement the MBED and save the resources for other development activities.
Mains Question
Q. India has became the power surplus nation, however power distribution and financial unsustainability is still a nightmare for union and states. Elaborate.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Urbanization issues
Context
- In the recent few years, the growth of the economy and urbanization have accelerated. Rapid unplanned urbanization has put extreme pressure on natural resources.
- Unplanned urbanization, however, exerts great strain on our cities. In fact, the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the dire need for the planning and management of our cities.
What does urban planning mean?
- Urban planning, also known as regional planning, town planning, city planning is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks and their accessibility.
What are âHappy Citiesâ?
- A term that follows the Green City, Sustainable City, Liveable City, in the lingo of urban planning
What is a smart city?
- A smart city is one that uses information and communication technologies to enhance citizen engagement. It is a neo-vision which seeks to improve the delivery of services in urban areas. The following story maps out the steps being taken by India to explore this concept in practice.
What is the Smart Cities Mission?
- Sustainable cities: The Smart Cities Mission aims at developing 100 cities, which were shortlisted, into self-sustainable urban settlements.
- Chronology: The mission was launched on June 25, 2015 and was projected as one aimed at transforming the process of urban development in the country.
- Comprehensive revamp: Among its strategic components is âarea-based developmentâ, which includes city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (Greenfield development), plus a pan-city initiative in which âsmart solutionsâ are applied covering larger parts of the city.
Fast Facts – Urbanization in India
- Most Urbanized States: Tamil Nadu 43.9%; Maharashtra 4%; Gujarat 37.4%
- 3 out of world’s 21 mega cities: Mumbai (19 mill); Delhi (15 mill); Kolkata (14 mill)
Urban planning challenges
Planning
- Many urban governments lack a modern planning framework
- The multiplicity of local bodies obstructs efficient planning and land use
- Rigid master plans and restrictive zoning regulations limit the land available for building, constricting citiesâ abilities to grow in accordance with changing needs.
Housing
- Building regulations that limit urban density – such as floor space indexes â reduce the number of houses available, thereby pushing up property prices
- Outdated rent control regulations reduce the number of houses available on rent â a critical option for the poor
- Policy, planning, and regulation deficiencies lead to a proliferation of slums
Service delivery
- There is a strong bias towards adding physical infrastructure rather than providing financially and environmentally sustainable services
Infrastructure
- Most urban bodies do not generate the revenues needed to renew infrastructure, nor do they have the creditworthiness to access capital markets for funds
- Urban transport planning needs to be more holistic â there is a focus on moving vehicles rather than meeting the needs of the large numbers of people who walk or ride bicycles in Indiaâs towns and cities.
Environment:
- The deteriorating urban environment is taking a toll on peopleâs health and productivity and diminishing their quality of life.
- Demystifying Planning and Involving Citizens: While it is important to maintain the master plansâ technical rigour, it is equally important to demystify them for enabling citizensâ participation at relevant stages. Therefore, the committee strongly recommends a âCitizen Outreach Campaignâ for demystifying urban planning.
- Steps for Enhancing the Role of Private Sector: The report recommends that concerted measures must be taken at multiple levels to strengthen the role of the private sector to improve the overall planning capacity in the country.
- Revision of Town and Country Planning Acts: Most States have enacted the Town and Country Planning acts, that enable them to prepare and notify master plans for implementation. However, many need to be reviewed and upgraded.
- Revision of Town and Country Planning Acts: Most States have enacted the Town and Country Planning Acts, that enable them to prepare and notify master plans for implementation. However, many need to be reviewed and upgraded.
Interesting fact
India is home to 11% of the total global urban population.
Government initiatives
- Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT);
- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) â Housing for all (Urban),
- Smart Cities Mission (SCM),
- Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM),
- Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY);
- Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana â National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).
Conclusion
- What is now increasingly understood, is that urban planning and design can be a powerful contributor to the happiness of citizens. The structure and layout of our streets, the availability of green spaces, the possibility of using urban spaces freely, the inclusion of beauty in public space.
- It is safe to assume that when there are avenues for a community to come together in a pleasant environment, which is accessible to everyone, it can only increase well-being.
Mains question
Q. Can urban planning and design change Indian cities to be happy cities? Express your views by addressing the roadblocks in the same.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UN Security council
Mains level: International Relations
Context
- There is greater support for India to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council and also a broad global consensus over the need to reform the Council, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. India has once again renewed its bid for permanent membership of UNSC.
What is UNSC?
- The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter.
- Its powers include establishing peacekeeping operations, enacting international sanctions, and authorizing military action. The UNSC is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions on member states.
What is the composition of UNSC?
- Presently there five permanent members (P-5) with veto and 10 non-permanent members without veto elected for tenure of 2 years.
- India has been the non-permanent member multiple times. Presently India is serving its tenure that will end in December 2022.
Who are P-5 members?
- The victors of World War 2 â USA, RUSSIA, CHINA, UK, FRANCE.
What are the hurdles that India facing?
- Elite club: Most exclusive club in international relations. All other clubs have been breached. Until a quarter century ago, the nuclear weapon club had five members, the same five as the P-5.India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel have since joined the club. But UNSC is unbreachable till date.
- All are reluctant: The inescapable fact is that none of the P-5 wants the UNSCâs ranks to be increased. One or the other of them might make some noise about supporting one or more of the aspirants. Each is confident that someone among them will torpedo the enlargement of the club. Declarations of support for Indiaâs candidature need to be taken with a fistful of salt.
- Veto issue: Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan bluntly told India not to expect to get the veto power. Though India has said it will not accept a seat without veto power.
- China-Pakistan axis: China, which has historically blocked Indiaâs aspirations to become a permanent member of the UNSC. Beijing has an âall-weather allyâ in Islamabad, another neighbour who also strongly opposes Indiaâs candidature to the UNSC.
- Odd man out: Four out of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have bilaterally expressed official affirmations of support for India’s candidature to a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council.
- Coffee club opposition: Members like Italy, South Korea, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, Argentina, Pakistan, and others, who have together formed the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) movement. Also known as the Coffee Club, the movement argues that bids for permanent seats by India, Japan, Germany, and Brazil (G4 countries) must not be considered without first reaching an international consensus regarding the form and size of the new Security council.
What are the Efforts taken by India?
- Text based negotiation: External affairs minister is canvassing for the countryâs candidature, meeting his counterparts from several countries. He has repeated the call, made often in the past, for a text-based negotiation on what has been euphemistically referred to as the reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), i.e., negotiation on a written document outlining the proposed reform instead of just holding forth verbally.
- Woking together with G-4: INDIA, JAPAN, GEMANY, BRAZIL works together to get permanent UNSC seat however these efforts are opposed by coffee club.
- Multilateral engagements: By expanding its footprint in multilateral organisations, India is gearing up to become a global rule-maker.
- Distinguished group of experts suggested a few years ago that a new category of semi-permanent members should be created. Countries would be elected for a period of eight to 10 years and would be eligible for re-election. India ought to give serious consideration to this idea.
- With or without veto: According to former foreign secretary Chinmaya gharekhan, if by some miracle we are offered or manage to obtain permanent membership without veto, we must grab it. Even a permanent membership without veto will be tremendously helpful in protecting our interests.
Conclusion
- Looking at the present geopolitical divide Indiaâs dream of seat at the highest table is unlikely to get fulfilled in near future. India must analyse the utility of UNSC membership for securing its national interest. India should not give up anything in bargain against UNSC seat which harms its international interest.
Mains question
Q. Indiaâs quest for UNSC is like âSisyphus carrying the boulder just to see how it fallsâ. In this context Analyse the utility of Permanent seat at UNSC.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Incredible India
âTo other Country, I may go as a tourist. But to India I come as a pilgrimâ, the words of Martin Luther King says a lot about Indiaâs wisdom and tourism potential.
Context
- The three-day National Conference of State Tourism Minister was held at Dharamshala , a first of its kind meeting aimed to discuss, debate and deliberate on modes and mechanisms to develop tourism in India .
- The three-day National Conference concluded with the adoption of âDharamshala Declarationâ which affirms commitment toward developing âsustainable and responsible tourismâ and positions India as a âglobal leader in the tourism sector by 2047â.
What is tourism?
- Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours.
Types of tourism
- Domestic tourism: Refers to activities of a visitor within their country of residence and outside of their home (e.g. a Indian visiting other parts of India)
- Inbound tourism: Refers to the activities of a visitor from outside of country of residence (e.g. a Spaniard visiting Britain).
- Outbound tourism: Refers to the activities of a resident visitor outside of their country of residence (e.g. an Indian visiting an overseas country).
What does sustainable tourism mean?
- Sustainable tourism is defined by the UN Environment Program and UN World Tourism Organization as âtourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.â
What is the main importance of tourism?
- Tourism boosts the revenue of the economy, creates thousands of jobs, develops the infrastructures of a country, and plants a sense of cultural exchange between foreigners and citizens.
Why tourism is needed?
- Tourism is not a fad. It is a compulsion driven by the urge to discover new places. Because we have this compulsion to venture into the unknown, we need each other. When humans travel, meet and exchange ideas, civilization flourishes.
What is âThe Dharamshala Declarationâ is all about?
- Aim of the declaration: The Dharamshala Declaration aims to recognise Indiaâs role in contributing towards global tourism as well as focusing on recovery by also promoting domestic tourism.
- Action plan: In the declaration, the Tourism Ministry has come up with a with a action plan to encourage more Indians to travel domestically and explore Indiaâs natural, cultural, and spiritual beauty while simultaneously reaching the goal of an âEk Bharat Shrestha Bharatâ (interaction and mutual understanding).
- Strategy: The Tourism Ministry has also been working with the Ministry of External Affairs to identify 20 Indian missions abroad with the highest tourist footfalls to India and build country-specific strategies to attract foreign tourists.
- Plan according to G-20: The Dharamshala Declaration affirms the plan to position India as a major tourism destination during its presidency of G-20 next year. Indiaâs age-old dictum of âAtithi Devo Bhavaâ will come to the fore as it welcomes delegates from the 20 countries/European Union.
- Necessary steps: The Ministry of Tourism also plans to work with other Ministries to bring in necessary interventions such as visa reforms, ease of travel, travel-friendly and improved immigration facilities at airports.
- National Tourism policy: Drafted with a holistic vision and strategy to revive India’s tourism and targets to contribute USD 1 trillion to the GDP by 2047.
- Framework:
- Draft on National Tourism Policy 2022 aims at improving the framework conditions for tourism development in the country.
- Supporting tourism industries, strengthening tourism support functions and developing tourism sub-sectors.
- Impetus to digitalisation, innovation and technology through the National Digital Tourism Mission and skilling through the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Skill Mission.
- The policy also gives a special impetus to private sector participation through public-private-partnerships (PPP)
- Guiding Principles :
- Promoting sustainable, responsible and inclusive tourism in line with our civilisational ethos From Gautama to Gandhi, India has always spoken about the inherent need to live harmoniously with nature and within our means.
- The National Green Tourism Mission aims at institutionalising green approach.
- Employement generation: India has huge tourism potential. If capitalised properly it can emerge as one of the leading sectors to contribute to GDP and also has the potential to augment employment.
- The Pandemic cost and recovery: The pandemic has caused conspicuous losses for this sector but over the past few months, all the major tourism indices such as domestic air passenger traffic, hotel occupancy and tourist footfalls have shown signs of recovery and are going back to pre-pandemic levels.
- Short term estimate: By 2024, in short term the country is estimated to contribute USD 150 billion to the GDP from tourism, USD 30 billion in Foreign Exchange earnings and can get 15 million foreign tourist arrivals..
- Medium term by 2030: It is estimated to grow at seven to nine per cent Compound Annual Growth Rate in the coming decade. In the medium term, that is 2030, the tourism-related goals are USD 250 billion GDP contribution; 137 million jobs, 56 million foreign tourist arrivals and USD 56 billion in foreign exchange earnings.
- Visionary schemes: The visionary schemes like Swadesh Darshan or Dekho Apna Desh have the potential to increase tourism value while maintaining cultural integrity and ecological sustainability of the places.
- Dekho Apna Desh: Dekho apna desh rolled out in 2020 envisages encouraging domestic tourism, urging people to visit places in India. India is a land of rich cultural heritage.
Conclusion
- If the goal of positioning of India as one of the worldâs best tourism destinations by 2047, there is need to integrate various schemes of different ministries. Need to involve various stakeholders, and local communities; necessary interventions at urban and rural level should be a priority.
Mains Question
Q.Since the positive and negative outcomes of tourism depend on human factors, including the attitude and behavior of both tourists and hosts, in this context discuss Indiaâs potential to become a global leader in tourism sector.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: smart city mission
Mains level: urban planning
Context
- Indian urban centres need to plan for migration, climate change. Healthcare, affordable housing, sustainability and inclusion hold the key reimagining them.
What does urban planning mean?
- Urban planning encompasses the preparation of plans for and the regulation and management of towns, cities, and metropolitan regions. It attempts to organize socio-spatial relations across different scales of government and governance.
What are âHappy Citiesâ?
- A term that follows the Green City, Sustainable City, Liveable City, in the lingo of urban planning
- A smart city is one that uses information and communication technologies to enhance citizen engagement. It is a neo-vision which seeks to improve the delivery of services in urban areas. The following story maps out the steps being taken by India to explore this concept in practice.
Fast Facts -Urbanization in India
Most Urbanized States: Tamil Nadu 43.9%; Maharashtra 4%; Gujarat 37.4%.
3 out of worldâs 21 mega cities: Mumbai (19 mill); Delhi (15 mill); Kolkata (14 mill)
Global best practices in urban planning
- The Garden City movement: In the West, the Garden City movement (initiated by Ebenezer Howard in 1898) sought to decentralise the working environment in the city centre with a push for providing healthier living spaces for factory workers. The ideal garden city was planned on a concentric pattern with open spaces, public parks and boulevards, housing 32,000 people on 6,000 acres, linked to a central city with over 50,000 people. Once a garden city reached maximum capacity, another city would be developed nearby.
- Neighbourhood concept: In the US, the garden city movement evolved into the neighbourhood concept, where residential houses and streets were organised around a local school or community centre, with a push for lowering traffic and providing safe roads. London has a metropolitan green belt around the city, covering 5,13,860 hectares of land, to offset pollution and congestion and maintain biodiversity. Why canât Indian cities have something similar, instead of ring roads and urban sprawls?
- La ville du quart dâheure: Paris has taken this forward with the â15-minute cityâ (âla ville du quart dâheureâ). The idea is rather simple, every Parisian should be able to do their shopping, work, and recreational activities and fulfil their cultural needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride this means that the number of vehicular trips gets reduced significantly.
- Investment in pedestrian infrastructure and non-motorised transport zones: A city would then be planned for pedestrians, instead of cars and motors. This requires an extensive usage of mixed-use developments, along with investment in pedestrian infrastructure and non-motorised transport zones. Instead of widening highways, this approach would push for widening pedestrian walkways.
What should be adopted for India?
- Every Indian city should ideally have a Master Plan: A strategic urban planning document which would be updated every decade or two. The document would entail how a city is supposed to grow, vertically and horizontally, across zones, while offering a high quality of life in a sustainable manner. Such plans would also consider poverty mitigation, affordable housing and liveability for urban migrants.
- Urban land use needs to be better: One look at satellite map imagery will show that Indiaâs urban growth is increasingly haphazard, with informal, unplanned and sprawling neighbourhoods developing in paddy fields and along linear infrastructure (arterial roads, open spaces). Indiaâs hidden urbanisation, driven partly by our stringent definition of the word, along with weak enforcement of building codes, has meant that the local government is often playing catch-up, unable to provide urban services and infrastructure to keep up with growth.
- Public land availability: Meanwhile, in places where there are formally recognised towns and urban neighbourhoods, outdated planning practices have meant that land utilisation is poor. Consider the case of Mumbai, where almost 1/4th of the land is open public space while over half of it is the underutilised space around buildings, which is enclosed by walls and hived off from public access. Such open spaces, if available, would help cities like Mumbai achieve similar ratios as globally benchmarked cities (Amsterdam, Barcelona) in public land availability (typically above 40 per cent).
- Indiaâs urban density will also need to be thought through: Dense construction on the peripheries of our major cities (for instance, dense construction in Delhiâs suburbs, like Noida and Gurugram) will inevitably mean that public services are stretched and emissions (due to transportation to the main city) remain high. Such urbanisation will unavoidably lock India into a high emissions future while making our cities prone to extreme heat and flooding.
- Then there is climate change: According to the World Bank, climate change may reduce Indiaâs GDP by 3 per cent, while depressing the living standards of its citizens by 2050. Many urban experts cite technological solutions that may save our cities a chain of sea walls, river embankments and reclamations, for instance from such potential calamities. However, structural engineering simply may not be an economically and environmentally feasible option everywhere instead, our focus must be on conservation.
- Climate resilience perspective Bengaluru, with its network of interconnected lakes, could have considered Bangkok-style ferries instead of draining out its lakes. All ongoing and upcoming urban infrastructure projects must be reconsidered from a future climate resilience perspective does the ongoing sea reclamation for the upcoming coastal road in Mumbai make sense if sea levels are rising?
- Establishing a sense of cityhood: By making a push for a city as a co-created space will also require building up institutional capacity.
- Addressing lack of town planning education: India would ideally require 3,00,000 town and country planners by 2031 (there are just 5,000 town planners currently). Much of this problem is fundamentally due to a lack of town planning education in the country there are just 26 institutes that provide this course, producing 700 town planners each year. We already have a shortage of 1.1 million planners. More schools are needed, with a push for local IITs and NITs to have a standalone planning department. With over 8,000 towns and cities, there is a clear unmet need.
Conclusion
- Our policymakers also need to be cognisant of the historical context of our urban development a push for glass buildings or utilising granite may not always be suitable for our cities. Why canât our cities look distinctly Indian, inspired by our historical architecture? Renewing our cities will require us to rethink various urban topics, including urban design, urban healthcare, affordable housing, sustainability and inclusion among others. Our urban future depends on getting this right.
Mains questionÂ
Q. Renewing our cities will require us to rethink various urban topics, including urban design, urban healthcare, affordable housing, sustainability and inclusion among others. Elaborate.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Sustainable coast management
Context
- It is politically hard, but developmentally critical, to run port development projects with coastal management sustainably.
- A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manchester and Duluth; these access the sea via rivers or canals.
What is meant by port management?
- A port management analysis involves an understanding of the port conditions, including intra-port distribution, and routes and hinterland connections outside the port.
Why ports are important?
- Ports infrastructure is key to the development of any nation. India has a coastline spanning about 7,500 km. around 90 percent of Indiaâs external trade by volume and 70 percent by value are handled by ports.
What are concerns with port projects?
- Displacement: Some 350 families that have lost homes to coastal erosion last year, and those living in makeshift schools and camps are just a foretaste of things to come if coastal erosion and extreme cyclones continue unabated.
- Ecological impact: A further danger is an irreversibly destroyed ecology, triggering deadlier hazards of nature. Ports without adequate safeguards in a highly delicate ecology unleash destruction on marine life and the livelihoods of the local population.
- Coastal erosion: Visakhapatnam and Chennai show how siltation, coastal erosion and accretion can be exacerbated by deepening of harbour channels in ecologically sensitive areas.
- Oil spills: During the operation of ports, spillage or leakages from the loading and unloading of cargo and pollution from oil spills are common due to poor adherence to environmental laws and standards.
- Ecosystem threat: The water discharged during the cleaning of a ship and the discharge of ballast water is a threat to marine ecosystems
- Impact on fisheries: Dredging causeâs environmental problems (increased sedimentation) affecting local productivity of the local waters and its fisheries
Value addition example
A just published study shows that during 2006-20, the sea gobbled some 2.62 square kilometres or close to 650 acres from the Thiruvananthapuram coast alone.
Steps to take
- Compensation: The first order of business, as in infrastructure projects worldwide, is that the project provides compensation to the displaced people and restores their rights.
- Reversing marine damage: Second, the gross neglect of the damage to invaluable marine biodiversity must be redressed with an acceptable EIA, including inputs from experts in biology, ecology, and oceanography.
- Safeguard to place: Third, there needs to be an independent assessment of safeguards that port authorities must put in place as a precondition for any further construction.
- Blue Economy:Blue Economy as a concept includes all the economic activities related to oceans, seas, and coastal areas and emerges from a need for integrated conservation and sustainability in the management of the maritime domain.
Way forward
- Master plan: Countries should adopt a National Long-term Mater plan addressing the aspects of smarter, greener, safer sustainable port development and productivity improvement.
- Planning: Port development and investment should be driven by setting specific and realistic goals, such as building a stable infrastructure focused on reducing trade costs and contribute to achieving sustainable transport.
- Cooperation of multiple sectors: In order to establish a comprehensive port development master plan, cooperation with financial, environmental, technical, energy, transportation and urban development authorities is essential and must reflect the needs of users, including shippers and shipping lines.
Conclusion
- To address existing challenges, we should provide research, analysis and technical assistance to help ports and the maritime transport sector especially in developing countries to improve operations and become more sustainable and resilient to crises, including climate change.
Mains question
Q. What do you understand by sustainable port development and port productivity? Discuss the challenges in achieving the same along with way forward.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: na
Mains level: Soft power
Context
- Increased interest, especially by smaller nations in the world, in investing more and doing well in elite sports in international sporting events boosts a nationâs chances of attaining soft power.
- Indiaâs medal tally at recent International sports events demonstrate the countryâs soft power on the global stage and encourage working towards the status of a great âgeopolitical actorâ.
- Origin:
- As far back as the 4th century BC, Kautilya (chankyaniti) had propounded the concept of Saam(advice or cajole),daam(pay or bribe),dand(punish),bhed(exploit secrets) which acquired western touch and can be understood by Soft power, smart power, hard power, and sharp power respectively.
- Joseph Nye introduced the concept of “soft power” in the late 1980s. For Nye, power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes you want.
- Meaning:
- Soft power is the ability of a country to persuade others to do what it wants without force or coercion.
- Soft power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes you want.
Use of âSoft Powerâ includes the number of cultural missions such as language schools, Olympic Medals and the quality of a countryâs overall growth. Soft power produces following things:
- Familiarity: If people know more about your country, culture, sports, and its talents, businesses, and resources, then soft power is enhanced.
- Reputation: For a nation to be attractive and a role model for others, its overall reputation must be strong and positive.
- Influence: A direct measure of the perceived presence and impact that your country has in other countries
- Business/Innovation/Sports: The attractiveness of a countryâs economic model, its digital engagement with the world, performance in sports etc.
- Government: Showcases the ability of countryâs political leadership and what it delivers to its people in different arenas.
- Multi-Alignment: As a country rises up the âSoft Powerâ list, more and more outside parties align themselves with the common goals of that country.
Why the Sports being used as a tool of soft power in modern international relations?
Sport can be used as tool of soft power both internationally and domestically.
- International platform: Sports provide a platform for countries to showcase their culture, values and tradition.
- Puts a Better image of a country: Sports as a tool to achieve social, political, and financial goals, and improve the image of the country.
- International exposure: The focus on culture and peaceful values in sports make it a useful tool for countries to use soft power to achieve international goals and improve their public diplomacy.
- Reducing differences: Sports provides a platform for trust-building; and reconciliation, integration and anti-racism.
- Learning from Chinaâs Case:
- Dongfeng Liu (International Professor of Sport Management) in his survey on Chinaâs performance in the Olympics he found that a countryâs Olympic achievement has a positive effect on its national soft power.
- As china is a communist country and reputation about human rights is not good, so China uses its superiority in elite sports to build âpeople-to-peopleâ relations with other countries. For example, athletes from African countries such as Madagascar are trained in swimming, badminton, table tennis, etc. in China, which helps Beijing create a positive impact on a wider population and result in better formal relations as well.
- There is also Chinaâs memorandum of understanding with countries such as Kenya so that Chinese runners can train with Kenyan athletes, as they are among the best in the world when it comes to long-distance running.
Introspection on Indiaâs performance at recent International Sports events
- It is being said that the golden period of Indian sports may have begun as at the Tokyo Olympics and then the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) are examples of a good performance.
- Indiaâs medal tally in the Tokyo Olympics Games â seven â was its most decorated Olympic Games in Indian history.
- At the Commonwealth games (CWG) 2022, Indian athletes won 61 medals, including 22 gold.
- India has one of the worldâs poorest population-to-medal ratios when it comes to the Olympics.
- Ensuring competent coaches, and having adequate funding and more sports academics still remain major issues even decades later
- India spends only three paise per day per capita on sports. In contrast China spends 1 per day per capita.
What can be done to increase the countryâs sporting performance and soft power?
- Train Indian players overseas:
- India should concentrate on forging MoUs with nations that excel in specific sports and train Indian players overseas.
- For example, Australia and the United Kingdom can assist us in swimming given their standing here.
- When it comes to running, negotiating collaborative training agreements with African countries such as Kenya would be ideal.
- No Politics over assistance:
- There should be no politics in seeking or even offering assistance.
- For example China has requested Indian assistance in improving cricket development in China (Chongqing city).
- Private Investment:
- Private investment needs to be harnessed to develop infrastructure. The better a country performs in sporting events the greater a sports personâs interest in their sports atmosphere. This also creates a huge market for private players to invest in.
- For example, leading corporate houses in India have already shown how their active participation and investment can improve sporting performance as a result of unique corporate sports programmes.
- Public âprivate partnership at grass root :
- The Government should also work on a public-private partnership (PPP) model to create basic sporting infrastructure.
- As recommended by NITI Aayog, at the district level too so that talent can be captured at an early stage.
Conclusion
- Sports as a tool of soft power had always been a key element of leadership from the ancient times. Sports provide an international platform to develop an attitude of unity in a divided multi-polar modern world.
Mains Question
Q. Sports provide an international platform to develop an attitude of unity and influence others in a divided multi-polar modern world. Discuss in this context that soft power is not an end but a means to an end.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: human right of neuro-diverse people
Context
- Discrimination in employment is a worldwide phenomenon. Gender, ethnic, racist discrimination are well known but discrimination towards neurodiverse persons are hardly debated in public forums. Despite having special abilities companies are not using their potentials.
- Harvard Health Publishing defines, neurodiversity as a notion that every person interacts and experiences their surroundings differently; there is no right way of thinking, learning, or/and behaving. These differences should not be construed as defects or disorders.
What is a neuro-diverse workplace?
- Neurodiversity in the workplace refers to including people with neuro-divergent conditions such as attention-deďŹcit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and Asperger’s Syndrome.
What are those Conditions that make them different from normal humans?
- Autism: A mental condition in which a person finds it difficult to communicate or form relationships with other people. Signs of autism include not responding to their name, avoiding eye contact, not smiling when you smile at them.
- Dyslexia: a difficulty that some people have with reading and spelling signs include confusion over letters that look similar and putting letters the wrong way round , confusing the order of letters in words, reading slowly or making errors when reading aloud
- Aspergerâs syndrome: A developmental disorder related to autism and characterized by awkwardness in social interaction, pedantry in speech, and preoccupation with very narrow interests. Less severe symptoms than Autism syndrome.
- Dyscalculia: A brain disorder in which a wide range of difficulties with math, including weaknesses in understanding the meaning of numbers, and difficulty applying mathematical principles to solve problems.
How they can be naturally efficient and creative?
- More efficient: Studies have shown that teams with both neurodivergent and neurotypical members are far more efficient than teams that comprise neurotypical employees alone.
- Ability to focus: Neurodivergent individuals possess excellent attention to detail and an uncanny ability to focus on complex and repetitive tasks over a more extended period than their neurotypical peers.
- Ability to work at faster speed: A study by the University of Montreal found that in a test involving completing a visual pattern, people on the autism spectrum could finish their task 40% faster than those who were not on the spectrum.
- Robust spatial reasoning: People with dyslexia can think about objects in three dimensions and analyses such objects even with limited information.
- Out of box thinking: They have problem-solving capabilities which allow them to see multiple solutions to a problem. They are often out-of-the-box thinkers with average or above-average intelligence.
Current Status of people living with neurodivergent conditions
- People suffer with the Condition: According to a recent report, nearly 2 million people in India suffer from this neurological and developmental disorder and are therefore identified as autistic. Another study by Deloitte estimates that nearly 20% of the world is neurodiverse. In the U.S., it is estimated that 85% of people on the autism spectrum are unemployed compared with 4.2% of the overall population
- Discrimination at employment: Even with all the necessary skill sets and degrees, these persons are denied a job because they may react to situations differently from non-neurodiverse persons.
- Lack of awareness: Lack of awareness about neurodivergent conditions, and how the people with condition may react and lack of and accommodating environment. Hence, there is an urgency to create a work environment that welcomes neurodiverse individuals.
Current work profile of companies and workplaces
- A 2019 McKinsey study revealed that companies with gender diversity were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability while those with ethnic diversity out-rival their competitors by 36%.
- Another report titled âIndiaâs Best Workplaces in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 2021â states that diverse teams perform better, boost leadership integrity, heighten trust in the organizationâs management and multiply revenue growth.
Few Examples show that things are changing
- Competitive environment: Organisations embracing neurodiversity enjoy a competitive edge in several areas such as efficiency, creativity, and culture.
- Various MNCâs hiring program: Companies such as Deloitte, Microsoft, SAP, JPMorgan Chase, and E&Y have introduced neurodiversity hiring programs.
- Indian company: Indian-origin companies Hatti Kaapi and Lemon Tree Hotels have also included a neurodiverse workforce.
What can be done to create more inclusive workplaces?
- Creating neurodivergent friendly offices: .Many employees with neurodiversity may find the hustle and bustle of a traditional office disturbing. Therefore, neurodivergent friendly offices catering to the employeesâ diverse sensory responses can help ensure that these employees are comfortable in office spaces.
- Openness: Creating the right environment is an ever-evolving exercise that requires openness and a will to change on the employerâs part. This flexibility can result in exceptional benefit with minimal or no additional costs.
- Wider Inclusivity: To ensure higher profitability and be respected as a responsible employer globally, companies need to widen their definition of inclusivity by providing higher participation of a neurodiverse workforce.
Conclusion
- Organizations must not only remove barriers that obstruct the progress of such individuals but also create conducive conditions for them to achieve their true potential and providing proper infrastructure so that they can perform at their optimal levels.
Mains Question
Q. People with neurodiversity are discriminated not only socially but also economically, Comment. What measures could be taken to bridge this gap within the society?
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