Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Child marriage issue
Context
There has been an ongoing debate on whether increasing the age of marriages can solve the problem of child marriage in India.
Background
- It is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.
- The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, fixes 21 years as the marriageable age for women.
Prevalence of child marriage in India
- NFHS-5 data show that about 25% of women aged 18-29 years married before the legal marriageable age of 18.
- Marginal decline: The proportion has declined only marginally from NFHS-4 (28%).
- Higher in rural India: Expectedly, the prevalence is higher in rural than urban India (28% and 17%, respectively).
- West Bengal has the highest prevalence (42%), followed by Bihar and Tripura (40% each).
- Oddly, the decline in child marriage has been paltry at best in these high-prevalence States.
- At the other end of the spectrum are Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala (6% to 7%).
- 39% of child marriages in India take place among Adivasis and Dalits.
- The share of advantaged social groups is 17% and the remaining share is of Other Backward Classes.
Role of structural issues in adverse health and educational outcomes
- Impact: Studies associate early marriage of women with early pregnancy, lower likelihood of accessing ante-natal care, higher risks of maternal morbidity and mortality, poor nutritional status of women and poor nutritional and educational outcomes of children.
- These studies seem to provide a rather compelling case for increasing the age of marriage of women from 18 to 21 years, as a delayed marriage might offer significant public health dividends.
- Structural factors at play: But a closer reading of the evidence shows that the association between child marriage and adverse health outcomes does not emerge in a vacuum.
- Rather, it is abetted by structural factors, including social norms, poverty, and women’s education.
- Role of social norms: It is because of social norms in many regions and cultures that parents begin preparations for a girl’s marriage once she has reached menarche.
- Role of poverty: A large proportion of child marriages take place primarily because of poverty and the burden of the huge costs of dowry associated with delayed marriages.
- Role of education: The NHFS-5 data confirm that a significant proportion of child marriages takes place among women with less than 12 years of schooling and households that are socially and economically disadvantaged.
- The average age at marriage increases from 17 years among women who are illiterate and have had up to five years of schooling to 22 years among women who have had more than 12 years of schooling.
- This indicates that an increase in years of schooling goes hand in hand with an increase in age at marriage.
- While an increase in education is most likely to delay marriage, the increase in age at marriage may or may not increase women’s education.
Why the age of marriage of women matters
- Age of marriage has bearing on maternal mortality rates, fertility levels, nutrition of mother and child, sex ratios, and, on a different register, education and employment opportunities for women.
- It is also argued that other factors — such as poverty and health services — were far more effective as levers for improving women’s and children’s health and nutritional status.
- Child marriage curtail a girl’s opportunities to continue her education.
- And in turn, the lack of educational opportunities plays an important role in facilitating child marriage.
Way forward
- The fact that about one-fourth of women (18-29 years) in India have married before 18 years despite the law tells us that legally increasing the age of marriage may not fully prevent child marriages.
- 1] Ensure education for at least up to 12 years: Much of the benefits can be reaped by ensuring that women complete education at least up to 12 years.
- Bangladesh shows that improving women’s education and imparting modern skills to them that increase their employability reduces child marriage and improves health and nutrition.
- 2] Educational attainment criteria in schemes: Schemes which ease the financial burden of marriage but the eligibility criteria of which should essentially link to educational attainment in addition to age demand attention.
- The lessons from Janani Suraksha Yojana and the zeal demonstrated in ending open defecation might provide valid insights here.
Conclusion
A legalistic approach to increasing the age at marriage will produce positive results only if it leads to an improvement in women’s education and skill acquisition for employability. In the absence of an enhancement in women’s schooling or skills, a legalistic approach to ending child marriage might become counterproductive.
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Context
A virtual meeting of BRICS+ foreign ministers was held on May 20 in which the ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) were joined by representatives from Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Thailand.
About BRICS
- BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- The BRICS Leaders’ Summit is convened annually.
- It does not exist in form of organization, but it is an annual summit between the supreme leaders of five nations.
- The grouping was formalized during the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of the UNGA in New York in September 2006.
- The first BRIC Summit took place in 2009 in the Russian Federation and focused on issues such as reform of the global financial architecture.
- South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS.
- South Africa subsequently attended the Third BRICS Summit in Sanya, China, in March 2011.
- The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S.
What are the factors leading to the expansion of BRICS?
- Ukraine war and hardened Western positions: The disruption in the international order, heightened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the hardening of Western positions, are leading to the making of competitive plurilateral fora.
- Russia and China have decided that this is an opportune time to expand BRICS and challenge the domain of the G7 by including members from the G20.
- China is challenging Western influence over countries and wants to use BRICS to that end.
- China is taking the lead and setting the agenda for BRICS expansion.
- The New Development Bank associated with BRICS, expanded membership in 2021, admitting Bangladesh, the UAE, Uruguay and Egypt
- This shows the Chinese determination for an expansion process on its watch.
Criteria and the process of inducting new members into BRICS and challenges
- Prioritise G20 members: The first likely criteria will be to prioritise G20 members.
- Among the recent guests of the BRICS+ virtual meeting, Argentina, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia would qualify for this category.
- From among Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA), only Indonesia was invited.
- Thus, China, backed by Russia, is creating cleavages to choose its friends from among the G20 and beyond
- Emerging economy: Another criteria which could come up would be an emerging economy status and adherence to BRICS objectives.
- The push for setting criteria is actually a battle to choose partners who are more amenable to the individual members of the current BRICs.
- Russia and China would prefer to have Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Argentina excluding Egypt since it is a close ally of the US.
- Brazil would have a say on including Argentina – the two countries have a longstanding rivalry in Latin America.
- If Argentina is excluded, it may unravel the G20 membership criteria for inclusion in the BRICS.
- South Africa has views on Nigeria and, particularly, Egypt. Being a member of G20 gives it leadership in Africa.
- Being in the BRICS gave it heft as the African representative.
- If Nigeria and Egypt are admitted, South Africa would no more be the African representative in the BRICS.
- New Development Bank membership: The UAE and Egypt could utilise their membership of NDB as a qualifier.
- There could be an easier consensus on Indonesia because India is unlikely to oppose it as its relationship has been improving politically, even if not economically.
- On Kazakhstan, the decision would be that of Russia and China and how they deal with the other Central Asian countries.
- China may also back Iran and Malaysia but then Indonesia may feel a loss of uniqueness.
- A consensus with Brazil and South Africa for members from their regions will be critical.
Way forward for India
- Membership of the UAE and Saudi Arabia: The UAE and Saudi Arabia are two countries with whom India has rapidly enhanced its engagement and are good contributors to development.
- Having them in the BRICS could be of advantage to India.
- Both countries have a longstanding relationship with the US, but seek to diversify and would not be averse to joining BRICS.
- Avoid BRICS expansion on Chinese terms: China, backed by Russia, is hastening the process of expansion of BRICS as part of its strategic challenge to the international order and to collect middle powers around them.
- India needs to ensure that expansion is not on Chinese terms and that the countries admitted are equally receptive to India.
- Bilateral engagement with them should see this perception built up.
- Consultations on criteria and members must be strong.
- Leverage ISBA: IBSA may act as a phalanx within BRICS to prevent China from running away with the expansion agenda over the views of other members.
Conclusion
Since Russia is simply with Chinese priorities, it’s time for the IBSA trilateral of democracies within BRICS to assert itself.
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Back2Basics: What is the fundamental difference between ISBA, BRICS and BASIC?
- IBSA is between three democracies – India, Brazil and South Africa wanting to engage in deeper economic aspects and discuss security related issues.
- BASIC includes Brazil, South Africa, India and China.
- These three expressions of multilateralism steer clear from articulating the softer aspects of foreign policy like refugee rights or human rights invoking the ‘sovereignty’ clause with domestic political sanctity paramount.
- BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- Russia is a democracy with its political spectrum anchoring around an individual.
- China is a socialist country, successful by implementing economic reforms that do not agree with the basic tenets of socialism/communism.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Lessons from Ukraine crisis
Context
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, now more than three months old, will cause major, long-term shifts in the global energy and commodity trade.
Factors responsible for high prices
- Ukraine war: Western sanctions on Russia and efforts of European nations to diversify their energy supplies are already causing market distortions and high prices.
- Crude oil prices are at their highest level since 2014; the price of LNG is at its highest ever, fertiliser and food are up and markets for several other commodities such as nickel have been disrupted.
- Expensive commodities are already causing distress in India’s neighbourhood, for example, in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
- Insufficient investment: Insufficient investment in oil and gas production in preceding years resulted in high prices, and shortages were being felt.
- A number of European investors, such as Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, announced they would no longer invest in traditional fuels — oil, gas, coal.
- Natural gas is used as a feedstock for fertiliser.
- An energy shock is then inevitably followed by a food price shock.
Future trends
1] Strained EU-Russia relations will distort prices
- In the immediate term, the EU is trying to source its raw materials — most critically oil and natural gas, but also fertiliser, agricultural goods and metals — from non-Russian sources.
- This will cause distortions and price spikes for those commodities in the global market, as can already be seen in the natural gas market, up 300 per cent in the last year.
2] Sanctions are unlikely to achieve the desired political outcome
- The US and its allies are quick to impose sanctions — and these are rarely withdrawn, if ever.
- Iran has been under US sanctions since 1979, and the same with Venezuela for over a decade.
- In both cases, sanctions have failed to achieve the desired political outcome.
- As Russia is much better placed than either of those two countries to weather sanctions, the restrictions are likely to remain for a long while.
3] Emerging world unwilling to align with West on sanctions
- The high price of energy and the resulting inflation shows why much of the emerging world is unwilling and unable to align with the West on the current sanctions.
- Russia is 11 per cent of the global landmass and among the world’s top five producers and exporters of oil, gas, fertiliser and other critical commodities like nickel.
- It is too big to be replaced as a supplier.
- In emerging economies, it can fan public anger and political unrest, as was seen in Tunisia and other Arab countries from 2010 on.
4] Larger emerging economies will disregard sanction
- Larger emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil will disregard sanctions on their key economic interests, particularly food, fertilisers and energy.
- Specifically for India, its dependence on these essentials is unlikely to reduce meaningfully over the next 15-20 years.
Way forward for India
- Collaborate with other economies: In the immediate future, the India should collaborate with other similar economies to ensure that Russia doesn’t get locked out of global commodity markets.
- Work on insulating the supply chains: For the long term, it must work on insulating its supply chains from global political crises.
Conclusion
India needs to brace for the price shock emanating from the distortion caused by the shift in the energy policies of Europe. At the same time, India needs to collaborate with other similar economies to ensure that Russia doesn’t get locked out of global commodity markets.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CERC
Mains level: Paper 3- Power crisis
Context
The recent power crisis due to the coal shortage in India underscores the need for measures to avoid a repeat of episodes in the future.
Factors contributing to power crisis
- Spike in power demand: With the sudden early onset of summer in 2022, power demand spiked, riding on the back of the post-Covid economic recovery.
- Increase in price due to Ukraine crisis: The matter was further exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict, which led to a sharp increase in the price of imported coal.
- Consequently, power stations designed on imported coal stopped importing because it was no longer economical for them to generate, given their contract price with the distribution companies.
- Availability of railway rakes: It’s not that domestic coal was not available since enough stock had been built in the mines.
- The issue was of availability of railway rakes for transportation.
What were the measures taken by the government ?
- 1] Import of coal to 10 per cent: First, all generators have been asked to import coal to the extent of 10 per cent (as against 4 per cent earlier) and that half of this should be physically available by the end of June.
- CIL as aggregator: Coal India will function as the aggregator on behalf of the generators.
- CIL functioning as the aggregator is a better idea and it may be able to import at a cheaper cost by accumulating demand as well as standardising the coal grade to be procured.
- Moreover, it would be easier for regulators to calculate the revised energy charge since the price at which coal was imported would be well-documented.
- 2] Section 11 of the Electricity Act 2003 (Act) invoked: Under this section, the government directed imported coal-based plants to run at full capacity with the assurance that their enhanced cost of operation would be compensated.
- 3] Tolling: The government invoked the concept of tolling, which allowed states to transfer their allotted coal to private generators located near the mines instead of transporting it to far away state generators.
- This move would ease the burden on the availability of railway rakes.
- 4] Seeking the consent of beneficiaries for hike: the government issued policy directions to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) overriding CERC’s regulations that made it mandatory to seek the consent of beneficiaries if the tariff went up by more than 30 per cent, if some alternate fuel is used.
- 5] Committee to rework the energy charge: A committee of officials was set up to rework the energy charge for imported coal-based generators.
- 6] Additional working capital: The government is cognisant of the fact that there is a need for additional working capital and has advised REC/PFC as well as commercial banks to arrange for this.
Issues with the measures
- Use of Section 11: The government invoked Section 11 to give direction to private generators to import coal at a higher cost.
- Section 11(1) allows the government to give direction to a generation company to operate and maintain a generating station in extraordinary circumstances.
- Section 11(2) of the Act mentions that the adverse financial impact on generating compacy due to directions referred to in sub-section (1) would be offset by the regulator.
- Going by Section 11(2), the government should have left the job of working out the energy charge to the regulator instead of setting up a committee of officials to do so though, of course, the CERC was represented in the committee.
- 2] No transparency: The committee has already worked out the revised energy costs for six of the plants but there is no transparency regarding the coal cost assumed, its calorific value, transportation cost, etc.
- 3] Additional rakes: We have to bear in mind that the coal problem arose because of the non-availability of rakes.
- With 38 MT of coal to be imported by October this year, and half of that by end of June, the need for rakes will not only go up but would be front-loaded.
- We need the requisite number of rakes otherwise, we are back to where we began.
Conclusion
While the government is taking steps to increase coal imports and addressing the other issues, it must ensure that domestic production does not dip during monsoon season.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Mains level: Paper 3- Food crisis due to price shocks
Context
This increase in global food prices which manifested itself in the three food price crises since the 1960s offers some pertinent lessons for global food systems and the international community.
Managing year-to-year volatility Vs. periodic spikes in food prices
- Year-to-year volatility is easily managed by most countries through changes in their trade and domestic policies.
- But steep and severe periodic price shocks can lead to some sort of a crisis at the global and national levels.
- Implications: The crisis can emerge in the form of food shortages, trade disruptions, a rise and spread in hunger and poverty levels, depletion of foreign exchange reserves, a strain on a nation’s fiscal resources, a threat to peace, and even social unrest in some places.
History of food crises after since adoption of Green Revolution
- Data from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Bank/International Monetary Fund show that since the onset and the adoption of Green Revolution technology in the early 1960s, the world has been struck thrice by food price crises.
- First shock-1973-76: The first shock was experienced during 1973-76 when the food price index (based on prices in U.S. dollars) doubled in nominal terms.
- Declining trend: For the next two decades, food prices in real terms followed a declining trend and were at their lowest around 2002.
- After this, nominal as well as the real prices of food began rising.
- Second crisis-2008: This momentum built up to culminate in the next food price crisis of 2008, which was further intensified by 2011.
- While the price shock began softening after 2014, food prices did not move back to their pre-2006 level.
- Third crisis-2020: This time the increase in the food price index happened very quickly and it turned out to be very big – it has taken the food price index to its historically highest level.
- Cause outside agriculture: All the three food price crises were triggered by factors outside agriculture.
- They were not caused by any serious shortfall in agriculture production.
- The interval between crises is reducing: The interval between two consecutive price shocks has narrowed down considerably and the severity of shock is turning stronger.
What are the causes responsible for the recent food price crisis?
- 1] Covid-19 and Ukraine crisis: It was triggered by supply disruptions due to COVID-19 and further aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine war.
- The current food price spike first began in vegetable oils and then expanded to cereals.
- Higher the global trade higher disruption: The effect of global trade disruption will be higher for commodities that are traded more and vice-versa.
- 2] Diversion of food for biofuel: Another factor underlying the rising trend and spikes in food prices is the diversion of food for biofuel needs.
- When crude prices increase beyond a certain level it becomes economical to use oilseeds and grains for biodiesel and ethanol, respectively.
- The second reason for the use of food crops for biofuel is the mandates to increase the share of renewable energy resources.
- 3] Increased cost of agrochemicals and fertilisers: Food prices are also expected to go up in the current and next harvest season because of an increase in the prices of fertilizer and other agrochemicals.
Way forward for India
- Transmission of international prices to domestic prices can be prevented only if there is no trade.
- 1] Trade policy changes: This transmission of global prices to the domestic market can be moderated through trade policy and other instruments.
- When international prices go too low, India has checks on cheap imports to protect the interests of producers; and when international prices go too high, the country liberalises imports and imposes checks on exports to ensure adequate availability and reasonable food prices for domestic consumers.
- 2] Buffer stock: The policy of having a buffer stock of food staples has also been very helpful in maintaining price stability, especially in the wake of global food crises.
- 3] Strategic liberalisation: India should continue with a policy of strategic liberalisation, as followed in the past, to balance the interests of producers and consumers.
- 4] Maintain image as a reliable and credible exporter: The importance of agriculture exports to mop up food and agriculture surplus from the country is increasing.
- Ongoing trends in domestic demand and supply imply that India will be required to dispose of 15% of its domestic food output in the overseas market by 2030.
- This underscores the need to maintain India’s image as a reliable and credible exporter.
- However, it is important to differentiate between the two situations: disturbing normal export and regulating exports exceeding the normal level.
What are the implications for India?
- Increased prices in India: Export and import in the agriculture sector constituted 13% of gross value added in agriculture during 2020-21.
- Therefore, some transmission of an increase in global prices on domestic prices is inevitable.
- Wheat export ban and implications: The recent ban on wheat exports and restrictions on the export of other food commodities by India need to be seen in the light of an abnormal situation created by spikes in international prices.
- Some experts see it as a setback to India’s image as a reliable exporter as this move is seen to disrupt (regular) export channels.
- A closer examination of data reveals that India’s action to ban or restrict food exports is not disrupting its normal exports.
- India was a very small exporter of wheat, with its share in global wheat trade ranging between 0.1% to 1% during 2015-16 to 2020-21.
- The international market is looking for around 50 million tonnes of wheat to compensate for the disruption in wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine.
- If India had not imposed a ban on wheat export, it would have resulted in a severe shortage of wheat within the country.
Global impact and suggestions
- As the steam of Green Revolution technology slowed down with the start of the 21st century, food prices began increasing in real terms.
- New breakthroughs required: The world requires new breakthroughs such as Green Revolution technology, for large-scale adoption in order to enable checks on food prices rising at a faster rate.
- Increase spending on agri-research: This in turn requires increased spending on agriculture research and development (especially by the public sector and multilateral development agencies).
- Strengthen global agri-research system: There is a need to strengthen and rejuvenate the global agri-research system under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) which is heading towards disarray.
- Rethink biofuel protocols: Biofuel protocols have contributed to the global food crisis for the second time in the last 15 years.
- Diversion of land under food crops and food output for biofuel should be carefully calibrated with implications for food availability.
Conclusion
- The last three food price crises were primarily caused due to an increase in energy prices and disruptions in the movement of food across borders.
- Factors related to climate change are going to be an additional source of supply shocks in the years ahead.
- Therefore, the global community must plan to have a global buffer stock of food in order to ensure reasonable stability in food prices and supply.
Back2Basics: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
- CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security.
- CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve human health and nutrition, and sustainable management of natural resources.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Duopoly threat in India's telecom sector
Context
The near-death of competition signalled by the incipient exit of Vi late last year pushed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to announce steps to prevent the premature exit of a sagging operator.
About 5G
- 5G is the 5th generation mobile network.
- It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.
- 5G can be significantly faster than 4G, delivering up to 20 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) peak data rates and 100+ Megabits-per-second (Mbps) average data rates.
- 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
- 5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultra low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users.
- Higher performance and improved efficiency empower new user experiences and connects new industries.
- With high speeds, superior reliability and negligible latency, 5G will expand the mobile ecosystem into new realms.
- 5G will impact every industry, making safer transportation, remote healthcare, precision agriculture, digitized logistics — and more — a reality.
India’s telecom sector: From monopoly to hyper-competition to duopoly
- India’s telecom market has seen monopoly as well as hyper-competition.
- Twenty-five years ago, the government alone could provide services.
- Technology and deregulation: In the following years, the combined forces of technology and deregulation helped break the shackles of public sector dominance despite the latter’s stiff resistance
- In the following years, there were nearly a dozen competing operators. Most service areas now have four players.
- However, the possible exit of the financially-stressed Vodafone Idea would leave only two dominant players-Airtel and Jio in the telecom sector.
- A looming duopoly, or the exit of a global telecommunications major, are both worrying.
- They deserve a careful and creative response.
Government package for telecom sector to prevent duopoly
- The near-death of competition signalled by the incipient exit of Vi late last year pushed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to announce steps to prevent the premature exit of a sagging operator.
- As a part of its support package for the telecom sector, in October 2021, it dispensed with the requirement of performance bank guarantees required earlier as security.
- It increased the tenure of spectrum holding from 20 to 30 years.
- It allowed for the surrender of the unutilised or underutilised spectrum after 10 years.
- Most importantly removed the levy of spectrum usage charges.
Why competitive telecom market is important?
- Key to achieving digital ambitions: A competitive telecom sector is fundamental to realising India’s digital ambitions.
- Innovation: Monopolies have no incentive to innovate.
- Investment: The competition will guarantee that operators find it attractive to invest in network infrastructure upgradation and offer consumers a wide range of innovative service options.
- Source of revenue: A competitive telecom sector would be an indirect source of tax revenue as well.
- How to make market competitive? Competition cannot be willed into the sector.
- It needs careful nurturing, assiduous fostering and regulatory neutrality.
Way forward on 5G
- Structural changes: While the package may have prevented the exit of Vi from the market, to embed competition within the sector, structural changes are necessary.
- The imminent 5G networks demand massive investment and sophistication of operations.
- 1] Level playing field: This will not be achieved unless the playing field is level across the relevant operators and honest incentives are provided to operators to embrace new technology.
- 2] Change the spectrum allocation method: There is no doubt that spectrum auctions have served India well in the past due to the acrimonious political economy associated with administrative spectrum assignment, including First Come First Serve (FCFS) method.
- The auction regime worked well when demand exceeded supply, but if there is an adequate quantity of spectrum for everyone, that constraint would not exist.
- Administrative assignments can thus be considered once again.
- 3] Administrative assignments: An administrative assignment will include the possibility that all spectrum can be assigned at reasonable prices and in the process, a grand bargain can be struck with telecom operators.
- 4] Assigning 5G spectrum for private enterprise business: TRAI and the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) are considering whether 5G spectrum should be assigned to companies like TCS, Amazon and Google, among others, for their private enterprise business.
- 5G spectrum assignment for enterprises would adversely affect the business model of telcos.
- But there will be enterprises that telcos could serve that are not large enough to purchase 5G spectrum.
- A grand bargain that allows enterprises to buy 5G spectrum while assigning spectrum to the existing telcos through the administrative route will also serve the revenue needs of the government.
- 5] Privatise public sector operator: This is an opportunity to also signal to the public sector operator that 5G business is outside the range of its capability set.
- Hence like Air India it needs to be privatised in the fullness of time.
- These are difficult decisions and will need much more political will than in 1994.
Consider the question “Why a competitive telecom market is a prerequisite for achieving India’s digital dream and why an eminent duopoly in the sector stands to threaten that dream? Suggest way forward.”
Conclusion
It would be tragic if India’s telecom-access market was to be reduced to only two competing operators, as we have a long way to go. What we need is structural changes in the sectors as well as the way the sector is regulated.
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Back2Basics: Spectrum usage charges
- Companies had to pay 3-5 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as spectrum usage charge to the department of telecom.
- If they share spectrum with another operator, operators must pay an additional 0.5 per cent of AGR for that band as SUC.
- However, in September 2021, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) decided to remove the floor rate of 3% of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for operators to pay their spectrum usage charge (SUC).
- The removal of the clause fixing a floor rate of 3% was done to give effect to the recently announced telecom relief package.
- Though the telecom package talks of scrapping SUC only on spectrum acquired in future auctions like that of 5G, if the 3% floor is abolished, as and when operators acquire more spectrum in future auctions, their SUC will become zero on the entire holding.
- This is because of a complex weighted average formula to calculate the SUC of operators who have a mix of administratively allocated spectrum and acquired through auctions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CoWIN
Mains level: Paper 2- CoWIN platform
Context
Seeing its success, other nations have also expressed interest in availing CoWIN and using it as a bridge for erecting their digital health systems. Responding to this incoming interest, our prime minister has offered CoWIN as a digital public good, free of cost, for all nations globally to adopt.
About CoWIN
- In late 2020, even before the Covid-19 vaccines had arrived, the Government of India had commenced preparations for launching the world’s largest vaccination drive.
- This led to the beginning of the CoWIN journey in January 2021.
- Scalability, modularity, and interoperability: CoWIN, or the Covid-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network, was developed in a record time, with consideration given to scalability, modularity, and interoperability.
- The platform has been made available in English and 11 regional languages to allow citizens across multiple states to access the platform with ease.
- To circumvent the lack of digital access, the platform allows for up to six members to be registered under one mobile-number linked account.
- CoWIN has scaled every 100 million milestone faster than any other platform.
- It reached the coveted one billion registered user mark which only a handful of platforms have been able to achieve globally, and none in such a short time.
- A key feature of the platform has been its modularity and evolvability.
- The CoWIN team has been adept at keeping pace with the changing policy environment and scientific research and developments in the administration of vaccines.
- It was never that CoWIN became the bottleneck or delayed the implementation of our vaccination policies or drive.
- Time and again, CoWIN has proved itself as one of the most secure and robust platforms with minimal data input and zero risk of personal data hacks.
Major phases of CoWIN
- The journey of CoWIN was staggered across three major phases, with multiple additions subsequently.
- In phase 1, the registration process went online where healthcare workers and frontline workers were sent system-generated notifications about their vaccination schedule.
- In subsequent phases, beneficiaries were allowed both walk-in and online vaccination registration, along with the choice of location and time slot as per their convenience.
- An assisted mode was also made available through the 240,000+ Common Service Centres (CSCs) and a helpline number.
- After ensuring successful orchestration using scalability and agile features of the platform to vaccinate individuals over 45 years of age, the APIs of the platform were made available to private players at the beginning of Phase III of the vaccination drive.
- Once access to its services was opened through APIs, more than 100 applications integrated with CoWIN for providing search, booking and certification facilities to their users.
Way ahead
- The inevitable question is what will we do with CoWIN when no further Covid-19 vaccines are to be administered?
- Repurpose the platform: The decision is to repurpose the platform as a universal immunisation platform.
- The credentialing service of DIVOC, used in CoWIN, has proven to be a game-changer in the world of digital certificates.
- CoWIN service is being implemented in five other countries after India and receiving global acceptance for its veracity and sound architecture.
- There is a proposal for opening the credentialing service for more use cases in health.
Conclusion
The story of CoWIN has truly been one of national impact and importance. And while the story started during the pandemic, it won’t end with the pandemic: it will segue into a repurposed digital platform for more health use-cases.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: EPI
Mains level: Paper 3- Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and related issues
Context
The 2022 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) produced by Yale and Columbia Universities and released on World Environment Day (June 5) has triggered much consternation in India, as the country is ranked last (180th).
Issues with EPI 2022
- Ignoring the past effects: Indicators may focus on current rates of increase or decrease in environmental pressures (flows) — as the EPI does for carbon dioxide emissions and tree cover gains — but under-state the accumulated effect (stocks) that relates to actual harm, thereby ignoring past effects.
- Same standard in different socio-ecological context: When ranking countries, one is essentially applying the same standard across vastly different socio-ecological contexts – this involves difficult choices.
- For example, the EPI leaves out arsenic in water, which is a major threat in Bangladesh.
- Difficulty in measurement of frogress on climate change: Climate change is a global environmental problem, and because its effects depend on the accumulation of greenhouse gases over time, measuring progress in a given country is challenging.
- Climate change mitigation has to be measured against what it is reasonable and fair to expect from different countries, taking into account their past emissions as well as national contexts.
- There has been an inconclusive 30-year debate on this question; any choice of benchmark involves major ethical choices.
- EPI has given 38 per cent weight to the climate change in the index.
- They assume that the world must reach net zero emissions by 2050, and so the appropriate benchmark is whether all countries are reducing emissions and reaching zero by 2050.
- Against CBDR: This approach is contrary to widely accepted ethical principles, especially the global political agreement on common-but-differentiated-responsibility (CBDR).
- The Yale-Columbia approach ignores the fact that countries have different responsibilities for past accumulations and are at different levels of emissions and energy use.
- The inclusion of indicators on emissions intensity and emissions per capita partly addresses this issue, but these two account for 7 per cent of the weight, versus 89 per cent for indicators derived from current emission trends.
Implications EPI’s approach
- This approach is guaranteed to make richer countries look good, because they have accumulated emissions in the past, but these have started declining in the last decade.
- Meanwhile, poorer countries that have emitted comparatively little in the past, look bad.
- The EPI’s flawed and biased approach distracts from a much-needed honest conversation about the environment in India.
- India’s local environmental performance on air, water and forests is deeply problematic.
- Air quality in India is now the second largest risk factor for public health in India, behind only child and maternal nutrition.
- Rivers and lakes are increasingly polluted, rivers are drying, groundwater tables are rapidly declining, and gains in tree cover hide declining natural productivity and diversity of forests and grasslands.
Conclusion
While indices like these have a limited attention-grabbing purpose, they serve this purpose well only when they are focused, limited to easy-to-measure metrics, and consciously minimise value judgements. The EPI 2022 resoundingly fails this test.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GDP and inflation
Mains level: Paper 3- India's growth rate
Context
The Provisional Estimates of Annual National Income in 2021-22 just released show that GDP grew 8.7% in real terms and 19.5% in nominal terms (including inflation). It makes India the fastest growing major economy in the world.
What data implies
- Just 1.51% larger: Provisional Estimates of Annual National Income in 2021-22 also indicate that, the real economy is 1.51% larger than it was in 2019-20, just before the novel coronavirus pandemic hit the world.
- In nominal terms it is higher by 17.9%.
- Inflation: These numbers imply that the rate of inflation was 10.8% in 2021-22 and 16.4% between the two years, 2019-20 and 2021-22.
- Almost no growth: This picture implies almost no growth and high inflation since the pre-pandemic year.
- So, the tag of the fastest growing economy means little.
- Quarterly growth rate: The quarter to quarter growth currently may give some indication of the present rate of growth.
- In 2020-21, the quarterly rate of growth increased through the year.
- In 2021-22, the rate of growth has been slowing down.
- Of course in 2020-21, the COVID-19 lockdown had a severe impact in Q1 (-23.8%); after that the rate of growth picked up.
- In 2021-22, the rate of growth in Q1 had to sharply rise (20.3%).
- Ignoring the outliers in Q1, growth rates in 2021-22 have sequentially petered out in subsequent quarters: 8.4%, 5.4% and 4.1%.
- Going forward, while the lockdown in China is over, the war-related impact is likely to persist since there is no end in sight.
- Thus, price rise and impact on production are likely to persist.
Issues with the data
- The issue is about correctness of data.
- The annual estimates given now are provisional since complete data are not available for 2021-22.
- There is a greater problem with quarterly estimates since very limited data are available for estimating it.
- No data for Q1 of 2020-21: The first issue is that during 2020-21, due to the pandemic, full data could not be collected for Q1.
- No data for agriculture: Further, for agriculture, quarterly data assumes that the targets are achieved.
- Agriculture is a part of the unorganised sector.
- Very little data are available for it but for agriculture — neither for the quarter nor for the year.
- It is simply assumed that the limited data available for the organised sector can be used to act as a proxy.
- The non-agriculture unorganised sector is represented by the organised sector.
- Changes in non-agriculture unorganised: The method using the organised sector to proxy the unorganised non-agriculture sector may have been acceptable before demonetisation (2016) but is not correct since then.
- The reason is that the unorganised non-agriculture sector suffered far more than the organised sector and more so during the waves of the pandemic.
- Shift in demand to the organised sector: Large parts of the unorganised non-agriculture sector have experienced a shift in demand to the organised sector since they produce similar things.
- This introduces large errors in GDP estimates since official agencies do not estimate this shift.
- All that is known is that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has faced closures and failures.
- If GDP data are incorrect, data on its components — private consumption and investment — must also be incorrect.
- Further, the ratios themselves would have been impacted by the shock of the lockdown and the decline of the unorganised sectors.
- Private consumption data is suspect since according to the data given by the Reserve Bank of India which largely captures the organised sector, consumer confidence throughout 2021-22 was way below its pre-pandemic level of 104 achieved in January 2020.
- In brief, neither the total nor the ratios are correct.
Possible corrections
- In the best possible scenario, assume that the organised sector (55% of GDP) and agriculture (14% of GDP) are growing at the official rate of growth of 8.2% and 3%, respectively.
- Then, they would contribute 4.93% to GDP growth.
- The non-agriculture unorganised component is declining for two reasons: first, the closure of units and the second the shift in demand to the organised sector.
- Even if 5% of the units have closed down this year and 5% of the demand has shifted to the organised sector, the unorganised sector would have declined by about 10%; the contribution of this component to GDP growth would be -3.1%.
Conclusion
Clearly, recovery is incomplete and India is not the fastest growing big economy of the world.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IPEF countries
Mains level: Paper 2- IPEF opportunities and challenges
Context
The official launch of the Biden Administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the US’s de facto foreign economic policy for Asia, has been lauded and welcomed.
About IPEF
- Seen as a means to counter China in the region, it is a U.S.-led framework for participating countries to solidify their relationships and engage in crucial economic and trade matters in the region.
- The member nations include Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
- It includes seven out of 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), all four Quad countries, and New Zealand.
- Together, these countries account for 40 per cent of the global GDP.
- Not a free trade agreement: The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is not a free trade agreement.
- No market access or tariff reductions have been outlined, although experts say it can pave the way for future trade deals.
- The IPEF is also seen as a means by which the US is trying to regain credibility in the region after former President Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership TPP.
- IPEF countries value its purpose and potential, particularly given some doubts over whether the US administration could sustain its focus in Asia as war broke out in Europe.
- The IPEF empowers the Biden administration to shape rules across several critical pillars that will condition America’s economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific amid competing economic paradigms, notably the Chinese through the BRI and Europe through digital policies and standards.
- Countering China: Besides Ukraine, the IPEF’s importance also owes to China’s patent economic footprint across Asia that could be checked by an alternative economic paradigm that emphasises openness, flexibility, and integration.
Significance of IPEF
- Boost supply chain resilience: Globally, the IPEF signifies the first multilateral attempt to boost supply chain resilience to ease global inflationary pressures and mitigate effects of future disruptions, particularly key raw materials, critical minerals, and semiconductors.
- Four key pillars: It’s a framework or a starting point to regulate trade and commerce across four key pillars: Digital economy, supply chains, clean energy, and governance.
- Negotiating high standard rules: The IPEF also represents an effort to negotiate “high-standard” rules between like-minded countries to govern the digital economy, particularly data flows, climate mitigation, global tax, anti-money laundering and anti-bribery provisions.
Challenges
- Impact on domestic companies: IPEF commitments and standards that other signatories like India have to accede to, will likely facilitate US MNCs’ access to Asian economies at the expense of domestic preferences.
- Impact on policy preference of countries: The IPEF’s pillars — climate, digital, supply chains, and governance reforms — could clash with and supersede these countries’ policy preferences on such issues.
- For instance, the US’ preference to allow free and open data flows under the digital economy pillar will constrict India’s ability to regulate data for domestic purposes.
Way forward for India
- The IPEF remains attractive for India given its flexibility and open nature, allowing Delhi to demonstrate its political commitment to the United States to jointly shape the rules governing the Indo-Pacific’s economic future even as competitors lurk.
- Tough policy choices, like the one on data and taxation, must be made by Indian officials while negotiating the terms of the IPEF accession.
Conclusion
What’s clear is that the IPEF represents both a mirage and aspiration. Collectively, it represents a leap into an unknown that has to be negotiated amongst partners that share interests and some values.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Lessons from Indus Water Treaty
Context
The 118th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) comprising the Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan held on May 30-31, 2022 in New Delhi.
Indus Waters Treaty, 1960: A background
- After years of arduous negotiations, the Indus Waters Treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960, by then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistani President Ayub Khan, negotiated by the World Bank.
- According to this agreement, control over the water flowing in three “eastern” rivers of India — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej was given to India
- The control over the water flowing in three “western” rivers of India — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum was given to Pakistan
- The treaty allowed India to use western rivers water for limited irrigation use and unrestricted use for power generation, domestic, industrial and non-consumptive uses such as navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc. while laying down precise regulations for India to build projects
- India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through the run of the river (RoR) projects on the Western Rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation is unrestricted.
- The Permanent Indus Commission, which has a commissioner from each country, oversees the cooperative mechanism and ensures that the two countries meet annually (alternately in India and Pakistan).
- This year, the commission met twice, in March in Islamabad, Pakistan, and then in New Delhi, in May.
- It is a rare feat that despite the many lows in India-Pakistan relations, talks under the treaty have been held on a regular basis.
Some disagreements
- Throughout its existence, there have been many occasions during which differences between the two countries were discernible.
- Both countries held different positions when Pakistan raised objections regarding the technical design features of the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants.
- Differences were also discernible when Pakistan approached the World Bank to facilitate the setting up of a court of arbitration to address the concerns related to these two projects referred to in Article IX Clause 5 of the treaty, and when India requested the appointment of a Neutral Expert referent to Clause 2.1 of Article IX .
- Eventually, on March 31, 2022, the World Bank, decided to resume two separate processes by appointing a neutral expert and a chairman for the court of arbitration.
- The appointment of a neutral expert will find precedence to address the differences since under Article IX Clause 6 of the treaty provisions, Arbitration ‘shall not apply to any difference while it is being dealt with by a Neutral Expert’.
- Pakistan, invoking Article VII Clause 2 on future cooperation, raised objections on the construction and technical designs of the Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai hydropower plants.
- Similarly, India has raised concerns on issues such as Pakistan’s blockade of the Fazilka drain.
Lessons from the treaty
- Engagement between conflicting nations: The treaty is an illustration of a long-standing engagement between the conflicting nations that has stood the vagaries of time.
- Water management cooperation: The treaty is considered one of the oldest and the most effective examples of water management cooperation in the region and the world.
- Avoiding conflict: With the exception of differences on a few pending issues, both countries have avoided any actions resulting in the aggravation of the conflict or acted in a manner causing conflict to resurface.
Potential for cooperation
- Joint research: Recognising common interests and mutual benefits, India and Pakistan can undertake joint research on the rivers to study the impact of climate change for ‘future cooperation’ (underlined in Article VII).
- Potential for cooperation and development: The Indus Waters Treaty also offers great potential for cooperation and development in the subcontinent which can go a long way in ensuring peace and stability.
Conclusion
Given that both India and Pakistan have been committed to manage the rivers in a responsible manner, the Treaty can be a reference point to resolve other water-related issues in the region through regular dialogue and interaction.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Jal Jeevan Mission
Mains level: Paper 2- Achievements of JJM and SBM
Context
The performance of the Jal Jeevan and Swachh Bharat Missions highlights the importance of convergence as an operating principle of the government.
Jal Jeevan Mission: Progress made so far
- Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is a flagship programme of the Government of India, launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 15th August 2019.
- Jal Jeevan Mission, is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
- Community approach: The Jal Jeevan Mission is based on a community approach to water and will include extensive Information, Education and communication as a key component of the mission.
- Over 9.6 crore rural households get tap water supply; notably, more than 6.36 crore households have been provided tap water connections since the programme was announced in August 2019.
Achievements of Swachh Bharat Mission
- Universal sanitation coverage: To accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put the focus on sanitation, the Prime Minister of India had launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on 2nd October 2014.
- Under the mission, all villages, Gram Panchayats, Districts, States and Union Territories in India declared themselves “open-defecation free” (ODF) by 2 October 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
- To ensure that the open defecation free behaviours are sustained, no one is left behind, and that solid and liquid waste management facilities are accessible, the Mission is moving towards the next Phase II of SBMG i.e ODF-Plus.
- Swachh Bharat Mission Phase-2: The government has launched Swachh Bharat Mission Phase 2 with a focus on plastic waste management, biodegradable solid waste management, grey water management and faecal sludge management.
- Under Swachh Bharat Mission Phase-2, arrangements for solid and liquid waste management have been made in 41,450 villages; nearly 4 lakh villages have minimal stagnant water.
- ODF Plus: Nearly 22,000 villages have been named “model village” under the ODF Plus scheme, and another 51,000 villages are on their way to achieving this tag.
- Sludge treatment and plastic waste management: Before the government embarked on Swachh Bharat Mission, nearly 1,20,000 tonnes of faecal sludge was left untreated as two-thirds of all toilets were not connected to the main sewer lines
- The scale of India’s plastic waste pollution is staggering.
- Both these problems find themselves on the agenda of Swachh Bharat Mission’s Phase 2.
- In a short time, 3.5 lakh villages have become plastic dump free and nearly 4.23 lakh villages have minimal litter.
- Nearly 178 faecal sludge treatment plants and nearly 90,000 km of drains have been constructed.
How convergence between SBM and JJM enabled each other
- Principle of convergence: The late Arun Jaitley introduced convergence as one of the primary operating principles of the government in his first budget speech.
- One enabling the other: The best exhibition of this can be found in the ways in which the Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission work in tandem, one enabling the other.
- More than 10 crore toilets were built under SBM but this accomplishment could have been difficult had the government not had the foresight to build the toilets on a twin-pit design that has in-situ treatment of faecal sludge.
- Now, providing tap water connections through the Jal Jeevan Mission is among the government’s top priorities.
- Managing grey water discharge: The Jal Jeevan Mission faces a challenge similar to that faced by the Swachh Bharat Mission — managing grey water discharge.
- Holistic sanitation: When household tap connections were provided, the Jal Jeevan Mission converged with the Swachh Bharat Mission to achieve holistic sanitation in which the treatment of grey water became a vital component.
- Focus on women: The Jal Jeevan mission intends to relieve women of the drudgery of travelling long distances to fetch water.
- The Swachh Bharat Mission too is centred around the dignity of women.
- A joint study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and UNICEF revealed that an overwhelming number (80 per cent) of the respondents stated that safety and security were the main drivers of their decision to construct toilets.
- The Jal Jeevan Mission is catalysing change at the grass roots level by reserving 50 per cent seats for women in village and water sanitation committees.
- In every village, at least five women have been entrusted with water quality surveillance and many of them have been trained as plumbers, mechanics and pump operators.
Impact on growth and economy
- In 2006, a joint study by WSP, Asian Development Bank and UKAID revealed that inadequate sanitation cost India Rs 2.4 trillion — 6 per cent of India’s GDP at that time.
- The Swachh Bharat Mission, apart from preventing GDP loss, provides annual benefits worth Rs 53,000 per household.
Conclusion
The success of Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission is a good example of convergence, one of the primary operating principles of the government.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Core inflation
Mains level: Paper 3- Inflation challenge
Context
A rate hike in the monetary policy committee’s June meeting was a foregone conclusion after the spike in inflation and an off-cycle surprise interest rate hike on May 4.
Reasons fast forwarding of interest rate hike
- 1] Broad based inflation: A confluence of factors has pushed inflation higher and made it persistent and broad-based.
- 2] Policy rates are still negative: Even with this hike, the repo rate, the signalling tool for bank interest rates, is still below pre-pandemic levels.
- The real policy rate (repo rate less expected inflation) remains negative and has some distance to cover before it reaches positive territory — where the RBI would like to see it.
- 3] Lag in effect: Monetary policy impacts growth, and thereafter, inflation with a lag.
- To control inflation, the RBI needed to act faster by front loading rate hikes.
- 4] Elevated inflation expectations: The risk of inflation expectations getting unmoored had risen.
- Household and business inflation expectations remain elevated, as indicated by the RBI’s inflation expectations survey of households.
- 5] Interest rate hike in the US: The aggressive stance of the US Federal Reserve and ensuing tightening financial conditions.
- India is better placed today than in 2013 to face the Fed’s actions with a stronger forex shield.
How US Fed’s actions affect India?
- India is not insulated.
- Capital outflow: The headwinds now are stronger than in 2013 and we have seen net capital outflows since October 2021.
- S&P Global expects the US federal funds rate to be hiked to 3-3.25 per cent in 2023, higher than the pre-pandemic level, and highest since early 2008.
- Despite a strong forex hoard, the RBI has had to deploy monetary policy to mute the impact of the Fed’s actions.
Inflation and its impact
- Upward pressure on food inflation: The pressure on food inflation has increased owing to the impact of the freak heatwave on wheat, tomatoes and mangoes, which is driving prices higher.
- This is on top of rising input costs for agricultural production, the global surge in food prices and the expected sharper than usual rise in minimum support price.
- Fuel inflation will remain high, duty cuts notwithstanding, as global crude prices remain volatile at elevated levels.
- Core inflation, the barometer of demand, is a complex story.
- Goods (despite only partial pass-through of input costs) are witnessing higher inflation than services.
- That’s because services faced tighter restrictions during the Covid-19 waves, restricting their consumption and the pricing power of providers as well.
- Service categories that are mostly regulated, such as public transport, railways, water and education, have over 50 per cent weight in core services.
- However, prices of discretionary services such as airlines, cinema, lodging and other entertainment are rising.
- Transportation-related services have seen the sharpest rise in the past six months due to fuel price increases.
- Impact on the poor: For those at the bottom of the pyramid, high inflation hits harder because energy and food are a big chunk of their consumption basket.
Growth prospects
- S&P Global has recently cut the growth outlook for major economies for 2022 — that of the US to 2.4 per cent from 3.2 per cent, for Eurozone to 2.7 per cent from 3.3 per cent earlier, and for China to 4.2 per cent from 4.9 per cent.
- This will hurt exports which are very sensitive to global demand.
Monetary policy actions
- Not all aspects of supply-driven inflation can be addressed via monetary policy.
- So the authorities are complementing monetary policy actions by using the limited fiscal space to cut duties and extend subsidies to the vulnerable.
Conclusion
Monetary tightening impacts growth with a lag of at least 3-4 quarters and the fact that real interest rates are negative and borrowing rates still below pre-pandemic levels, implies monetary policy is unlikely to be growth-restrictive for this year.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Health Mission
Mains level: Paper 2- Reforms in healthcare
Context
The lesson emerging from the pandemic experience is that if India does not want a repeat of the immeasurable suffering and the social and economic loss, we need to make public health a central focus.
Need for institutional reforms in the health sector
- The importance of public health has been known for decades with every expert committee underscoring it.
- Ideas ranged from instituting a central public health management cadre like the IAS to adopting an institutionalised approach to diverse public health concerns — from healthy cities, enforcing road safety to immunising newborns, treating infectious diseases and promoting wellness.
- Covid has shifted the policy dialogue from health budgets and medical colleges towards much-needed institutional reform.
About National Health Mission (NHM)
- The National Health Mission (NHM) seeks to provide universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care which is accountable, at the same time responsive, to the needs of the people, reduction of child and maternal deaths as well as population stabilization, gender and demographic balance.
- The Framework for Implementation of NUHM has been approved by the Cabinet on May 1, 2013.
- NHM encompasses two Sub-Missions, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and National Urban Health Mission (NUHM).
- The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in 2005 with a view to bringing about dramatic improvement in the health system and the health status of the people, especially those who live in the rural areas of the country.
Learning from the failure of National Health Mission (NHM)
- The National Health Mission (NHM) has been in existence for about 15 years now and the health budget has trebled— though not as a proportion of the GDP.
- Despite this less than 10 per cent of the health facilities below the district level can attain the grossly minimal Indian public health standards.
- Clearly, the three-tier model of subcentres with paramedics, primary health centres with MBBS doctors and community health centres (CHC) with four to six specialists has failed.
- Lack of accountability framework: The model’s weakness is the absence of an accountability framework.
- The facilities are designed to be passive — treating those seeking care.
Suggestions
- 1] FHT: Instead of passive design of NHM, we need Family Health Teams (FHT) like in Brazil, accountable for the health and wellbeing of a dedicated population, say 2,000 families.
- The FHTs must consist of a doctor with a diploma in family medicine and a dozen trained personnel to reflect the skill base required for the 12 guaranteed services under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
- A baseline survey of these families will provide information about those needing attention.
- Family as a unit: The team ensures a continuum of care by taking the family as a unit and ensuring its well-being over a period.
- Nudging these families to adopt lifestyle changes, following up on referrals for medical interventions and post-operative care through home visits for nursing and physiotherapy services would be their mandate.
- 2] Health cadre: The implication of and central to the success of such a reset lies in creating appropriate cadres.
- 3] Clarity to nomenclatures: There is also a need to declutter policy dialogue and provide clarity to the nomenclatures.
- Currently, public health, family medicine and public health management are used interchangeably.
- While the family doctor cures one who is sick, the public health expert prevents one from falling sick.
- The public health management specialist holds specialisation in health economics, procurement systems, inventory control, electronic data analysis and monitoring, motivational skills and team-building capabilities, public communication and time management, besides, coordinating with the various stakeholders in the field.
- 4] Move beyond doctor-led systems: India needs to move beyond the doctor-led system and paramedicalise several functions.
- Instead of wasting gynaecologists in CHCs midwives (nurses with a BSc degree and two years of training in midwifery) can provide equally good services except surgical, and can be positioned in all CHCs and PHCs.
- This will help reduce C Sections, maternal and infant mortality and out of pocket expenses.
- 5] Counsellors and physiotherapists at PHC: Lay counsellors for mental health, physiotherapists and public health nurses are critically required for addressing the multiple needs of primary health care at the family and community levels.
- 6] Review of existing system: Bringing such a transformative health system will require a comprehensive review of the existing training institutions, standardising curricula and the qualifying criteria.
- Increase spending on training: Spending on pre-service and in-service training needs to increase from the current level of about 1 per cent.
- 7] Redefining of functions: A comprehensive redefinition of functions of all personnel is required to weed out redundancies and redeploy the rewired ones.
Conclusion
Resetting the system to current day realities requires strong political leadership to go beyond the inertia of the techno-administrative status quoist structures. We can.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Forward-looking strategy on Pakistan
Context
India’s approach in dealing with Pakistan today is very different from the framework that emerged at the dawn of the 1990s.
Terms of engagement with Pakistan
- From the 1990s, for nearly three decades, it was Pakistan that had the political initiative.
- The turmoil in Kashmir, the international focus on nuclear proliferation, and the relentless external pressure for a sustained dialogue with Pakistan put Delhi in a difficult situation.
- If Pakistan was on the political offensive, a series of weak coalition governments in Delhi were forced onto the back foot.
- At the heart of Pakistan’s ambition was to change the status quo in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Islamabad also played up to the concerns in Western chancelleries that the conflict in Kashmir might escalate to the nuclear level.
- The new international consensus that Kashmir is the “world’s most dangerous nuclear flashpoint” aligned well with Pakistan’s strategy.
- Delhi had no option but to respond, but any move to counter Pakistan would make the situation worse.
- Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has begun to reset the terms of the engagement agenda.
- Change in regional and international context: Meanwhile, the regional and international context has also altered in many ways since the early 1990s essentially in India’s favour.
Reset in engagement
- India’s transformed relations with the US, the resolution of Delhi’s dispute with the global nuclear order, and getting the West to discard its temptation to mediate on Kashmir enormously improved India’s diplomatic position.
- But the most consequential change has been in the economic domain.
- The persistent neglect of economic challenges left Pakistan in an increasingly weaker position in relation to India.
- If India has inched its way into the top six global economies, Pakistan today is broke.
- Modi had the opportunity to build on these shifting fortunes of Delhi and Islamabad and develop a three-pronged strategy of his own.
- 1] India bet that the heavens won’t fall if Delhi stops talking to Islamabad or negotiating with Pakistan-backed militant groups in Kashmir.
- 2] Delhi has been unafraid of staring at nuclear escalation in responding to Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism.
- 3] By changing the constitutional status of Kashmir in 2019, India has reduced the scope of India’s future negotiations with Pakistan on Kashmir.
Way forward
- Pakistan’s hand today is much weaker than in the 1990s and Delhi’s room for manoeuvring has grown, notwithstanding the challenges it confronts on the China border.
- That opens some room for new Indian initiatives toward Pakistan.
- Getting Pakistan’s army and its political class to be more practical in engaging India is certainly a tall order; but Delhi can afford to make a move.
Conclusion
While there can be much disagreement on Pakistan’s capacity to respond, Delhi’s new initiatives can reinforce the positive evolution of Indian foreign policy, and expand the space for Indian diplomacy in the region and beyond.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GST council
Mains level: Paper 2- GST council's role in federal structure of India
Context
The Supreme Court of India recently ruled that “The recommendations of the GST Council are not binding on either the Union or the States…”.
About GST Council
- The GST Council is a federal body that aims to bring together states and the Centre on a common platform for the nationwide rollout of the indirect tax reform.
- Article 279 (1) of the amended Indian Constitution states that the GST Council has to be constituted by the President within 60 days of the commencement of the Article 279A.
- According to the article, the GST Council will be a joint forum for the Centre and the States. It consists of the following members:
- 1] The Union Finance Minister will be the Chairperson.
- 2] As a member, the Union Minister of State will be in charge of Revenue of Finance.
- 3] The Minister in charge of finance or taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State government, as members.
- The Council has to function as a platform to bring the Union and State governments together.
- As a mark of cooperative federalism, the Council shall, unanimously or through a majority of 75% of weighted votes, decide on all matters pertaining to GST and recommend such decisions to the Union and State governments.
- Article 279A (4) specifies that the Council will make recommendations to the Union and the States on the important issues related to GST, such as the goods and services will be subject or exempted from the Goods and Services Tax.
- Article 246A confers simultaneous or concurrent powers on Parliament and the state legislatures to make laws relating to GST.
- This article is in sharp contrast to the constitutional scheme that prevailed till 2017.
Background of the case
- In Union of India Anr. vs Mohit Minerals Pvt. Ltd., the Supreme Court of India on May 19, 2022 ruled on a petition relating to the levy of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) on ocean freight paid by the foreign seller to a foreign shipping company.
- Mohit Minerals had filed a writ petition before the Gujarat High Court challenging notifications levying IGST on the ground that customs duty is levied on the component of ocean freight and the levy of IGST on the freight element in the course of transportation would amount to double taxation.
- GST is paid by the supplier, but if the shipping line is located in a non-taxable territory, then GST is payable by the importer, the recipient of service.
- Ocean freight is a method of transport by which goods and cargo is transported by ships through shipping lines.
Important aspects of the judgement
- Power to legislate simultaneously: Article 246A gives powers to the Union and State governments simultaneously to legislate on the GST.
- In other words, the two tiers of the Indian Union can simultaneously legislate on matters of the GST (except the IGST, which is in the legislative domain of the Union government).
- In this case, the Government of India had argued that “Neither can Article 279A override Article 246A nor can Article 246A be made subject to Article 279A.”
- However, cooperative federalism is to operate through the GST Council to bring in harmony and alignment in matters pertaining to the GST from both governments.
- Given this background, the Union government had almost delegated the powers to create laws under the GST Act Section 5(1) to the GST Council.
- Persuasive value only: The Supreme Court of India adjudicated that the GST Council’s recommendations are non-qualified and the simultaneous legislating powers of the Union and State governments give only persuasive value to the Council’s recommendations.
- The power of the recommendations rests on the practice of cooperative federalism and collaborative decision-making in the Council.
Issues with voting rights in GST council
- Inbalance in voting rights: The Union government holds one-third weight for its votes and all States have two-thirds of the weight for their votes.
- This gives automatic veto power to the Union government because a resolution can be passed with at least three-fourths of the weighted votes.
- This imbalance in the voting rights between the Union and State governments, makes democratic decision-making difficult.
- Equal weight to all states creates political problems: Though all the States are not equal in terms of tax capacity, everyone has equal weight for their votes.
- This creates another political problem as the smaller States with lesser economic stakes can be easily influenced by interest groups.
- Debate on political lines: The debates in the GST Council will be on political lines rather than on the economics of taxation.
- When the States governed by Opposition parties are vocal on counter-points, the States governed by the same party at the Union government are mute spectators.
Way forward
- Work in a harmonised manner: The Supreme Court has recorded, “Since the Constitution does not envisage a repugnance provision to resolve inconsistencies between the Central and State laws on GST, the GST Council must ideally function, as provided by Article 279A(6) in a harmonised manner to reach a workable fiscal model through cooperation and collaboration.”
- Cooperative federalism: The nuanced understanding of cooperative federalism shows that there is no space for one-upmanship in either of the two tiers of the Indian federal government and particularly for the Union government under a quasi-federal Constitution.
Conclusion
Given the lopsided power structure favouring the Union government in the GST Council, it is against the spirit of democracy and federalism that the finances of governments can be left to such bodies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Creation of All India Services
Mains level: Paper 2- Civil Service reforms
Context
Recently, two IAS officers were the subject of widespread public derision for misuse of power. A week later, the media and the public feted those who had successfully cracked the UPSC examination in order to become bureaucrats of the future.
About Indian Administrative Service
- Civil Services refer to the career civil servants who are the permanent executive branch of the Republic of India.
- The modern Indian Administrative Service was created under Article 312(2) in part XIV of the Constitution of India, and the All-India Services Act, 1951.
- It is the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country.
- As India is a parliamentary democracy, the ultimate responsibility for running the administration rests with the people’s elected representatives.
- The elected executive decides the policy and it is civil servants, who serve at the pleasure of the President of India, implement it.
- Article 311 of the Constitution protects Civil Servants from politically motivated vindictive action.
What makes civil services favourable in India
- Most countries in the world have a cadre of professional civil servants but nowhere are new entrants to the system of government celebrated like in India.
- Colonial legacy: The fact is that, 75 years after independence and 30 years after liberalisation, there is still an overhang of the all-powerful, all-pervasive state.
- There are good reasons for a favourable view of the civil services.
- Merit based selection: For one, candidates are selected on merit based on an open examination and interview.
- Job security: Then there is the job security that comes with gaining entry.
- Unless a civil servant does an extraordinary wrong, she has a job for life, and steady, time-bound promotions which ensure that everyone retires at the top irrespective of performance.
Issues with public perception
- However, in the perceived strengths of the civil services lie its weaknesses.
- Single exam: The single UPSC examination is treated as gospel.
- But merit and competence cannot be judged by a single exam.
- Permanence is a problem: The permanence of the job is a problem too.
- Punishment for over-reach or misuse of power is a transfer, either from a weightier ministry to a lighter one or from high-profile capitals to geographically remote ones.
- A system of limited accountability: The result is that all civil servants, never mind their ability or competence, operate in a system of limited accountability with few incentives to perform and plenty of opportunities to use and abuse their powers.
Way forward
- Placing civil servant at par with other professions: The civil services system needs to be brought down from its pedestal and placed at par with every other profession like elsewhere in the world.
- This will not happen via political diktat. It requires the weight of public opinion.
- Broaden the selection criteria: The system must be manned by capable, competent individuals. This cannot be decided on the basis of one exam.
- Remove the job permanency: The underperforming officers need to be separated which cannot happen when the job is for life.
- It may sound radical for India’s civil services but that is the way the rest of India and the world function, including the UK from where we inherited the structure.
Conclusion
If we can make these changes in the civil services, India will get the government it needs for the 21st century.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper- India-Pakistan relation
Context
An official delegation from Pakistan was in New Delhi recently to hold talks with its Indian counterparts under the aegis of the Indus Water Treaty.
Positive developments in the relations
- Starting from February, India has been sending through Pakistan consignments of wheat, via the World Food Programme, to the Taliban-run Afghanistan.
- Evidently, channels of communication between the two governments are working and open hostility has subsided, if not vanished completely.
- China factor: The change has been driven by realist considerations that surfaced during the Ladakh border crisis on the Line of Actual Control with China in the summer of 2020.
- The recent change of government in Pakistan, including Imran Khan’s removal, is seen as a positive in New Delhi.
- The official Indian establishment has had close ties with both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party that are now part of the government.
Countering the collusive military threat from China and Pakistan
- The border crisis in Ladakh raised the spectre of a collusive military threat between China and Pakistan.
- Such a challenge cannot be effectively dealt with by the military alone and would need all the instruments of the state — diplomatic, economic, informational, and military — to act in concert.
- To prevent such a situation, India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval opened backchannel talks with Pakistan.
Way ahead
- There are some low-hanging fruits which can be plucked the moment a political go-ahead is given.
- These include a deal on the Sir Creek dispute, an agreement for revival of bilateral trade, return of High Commissioners to the missions in Delhi and Islamabad, and build-up of diplomatic missions to their full strength.
- Demilitarisation of the Siachen glacier is still seen to be off the table as the Indian proposal is believed to be unacceptable to the Pakistan Army.
- A window of opportunity would possibly open in Pakistan after the next elections, which are scheduled next year but could be held earlier.
Conclusion
India must shift course from the belligerence it has displayed and profited from earlier in favour of proper diplomatic and political engagement with Pakistan.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India's approach in dealing with the Taliban
Context
It is good that India has extended humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan at this time through international agencies and not let its unhappiness with the Taliban’s policies come in the way.
India’s recent engagement with Afghanistan
- Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that a team led by J P Singh, Joint Secretary (PAI) “is currently on a visit to Kabul to oversee the delivery operations of our humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan”.
- The MEA clearly implied that this engagement should be seen only in the limited context of assistance to the Afghan people
- The continuance of humanitarian assistance can be only one, though an important, segment of interaction; other aspects, especially security issues and later, connectivity and investments, as Afghanistan stabilises, have to be part of the dialogue with the Taliban.
Why Afghanistan matters to India’s security
- Afghanistan impacts India’s security.
- It has, in the past, provided space to al Qaeda with which the Taliban had a special relationship.
- Afghanistan has an ISIS presence too.
- Of special concern to India are the Taliban’s ties with the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
- A recent United Nations report has emphasised that the Taliban’s connections with these groups have not been severed.
So, what should be India’s approach toward the Taliban?
- It is argued that both “principle and pragmatism” demand that India should not do business with the Taliban.
- However, Pakistan has continued to sponsor terror and yet India has continued to engage it and has maintained a diplomatic presence in Islamabad.
- India cannot argue that the diplomatic door must be kept open for Pakistan because it’s a neighbour while it can be shut on the Taliban because Afghanistan directly impacts Indian security.
- Engagement with Taliban: An engagement with the Taliban would at least give an opportunity to convey Indian concerns directly and encourage those elements within the group who wish to open up its diplomatic choices.
- Exploit contradiction: Far from being a monolith, the Taliban has significant tribal and regional contradictions.
- Therefore, India should not leave the Afghan arena entirely to Pakistan and China because of the social manifestation of Taliban theology.
- The Taliban is here to stay and for India, there is no alternative but to deal with it even while repeating, if it wishes, the mantra of inclusive government.
- India should also maintain contacts with the leaders of the ousted Republic, especially as the Taliban itself wants them to return to the country.
Conclusion
All in all, the sooner India establishes a permanent presence in Kabul the better for the pursuit of national interests in the external sphere. This is not an exercise in evangelism but the cold and undeterred pursuit of interests.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ASHA program
Mains level: Paper 2- Strengthening ASHA
Context
India’s one million Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) volunteers have received World Health Organization’s Global Health Leaders Awards 2022.
Background of the ASHA program
- In 1975, a WHO monograph titled ‘Health by the people’ and then in 1978, an international conference on primary health care in Alma Ata (in the then USSR and now in Kazakhstan), gave emphasis for countries recruiting community health workers to strengthen primary health-care services that were participatory and people centric.
- Soon after, many countries launched community health worker programmes under different names.
- India launched the ASHA programme in 2005-06 as part of the National Rural Health Mission.
- The biggest inspiration for designing the ASHA programme came from the Mitanin (meaning ‘a female friend’ in Chhattisgarhi) initiative of Chhattisgarh, which had started in May 2002.
- The core of the ASHA programme has been an intention to build the capacity of community members in taking care of their own health and being partners in health services.
- Each of these women-only volunteers work with a population of nearly 1,000 people in rural and 2,000 people in urban areas, with flexibility for local adjustments.
A well thought through and deliberated program
- The ASHA programme was well thought through and deliberated with public health specialists and community-based organisations from the beginning.
- 1] Key village stakeholders selected: The ASHA selection involved key village stakeholders to ensure community ownership for the initiatives and forge a partnership.
- 2] Ensure familiarity: ASHAs coming from the same village where they worked had an aim to ensure familiarity, better community connect and acceptance.
- 3] Community’s representative: The idea of having activists in their name was to reflect that they were/are the community’s representative in the health system, and not the lowest-rung government functionary in the community.
- 4] Avoiding the slow process of government recruitment: Calling them volunteers was partly to avoid a painfully slow process for government recruitment and to allow an opportunity to implement performance-based incentives in the hope that this approach would bring about some accountability.
Contribution of ASHA
- It is important to note that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, ASHAs have made extraordinary contributions towards enabling increased access to primary health-care services; i.e. maternal and child health including immunisation and treatment for hypertension, diabetes and tuberculosis, etc., for both rural and urban populations, with special focus on difficult-to-reach habitations.
- Over the years, ASHAs have played an outstanding role in making India polio free, increasing routine immunisation coverage; reducing maternal mortality; improving new-born survival and in greater access to treatment for common illnesses.
Challenges
- Linkages with AWW and ANM: When newly-appointed ASHAs struggled to find their way and coordinate things within villages and with the health system, their linkage with two existing health and nutrition system functionaries — Anganwadi workers (AWW) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) as well as with panchayat representatives and influential community members at the village level — was facilitated.
- This resulted in an all-women partnership, or A-A-A: ASHA, AWW and ANM, of three frontline functionaries at the village level, that worked together to facilitate health and nutrition service delivery to the community.
- No fixed salary to ASHAs: Among the A-A-A, ASHAs are the only ones who do not have a fixed salary; they do not have opportunity for career progression.
- These issues have resulted in dissatisfaction, regular agitations and protests by ASHAs in many States of India.
Way forward
- The global recognition for ASHAs should be used as an opportunity to review the programme afresh, from a solution perspective.
- 1] Higher remuneration: Indian States need to develop mechanisms for higher remuneration for ASHAs.
- 2] Avenues for career progression: It is time that in-built institutional mechanisms are created for capacity-building and avenues for career progression for ASHAs to move to other cadres such as ANM, public health nurse and community health officers are opened.
- 3] Extend the benefits of social sector services: Extending the benefits of social sector services including health insurance (for ASHAs and their families) should be considered.
- 4] Independent and external review: While the ASHA programme has benefitted from many internal and regular reviews by the Government, an independent and external review of the programme needs to be given urgent and priority consideration.
- 5] Regularisation of temporary posts: There are arguments for the regularisation of many temporary posts in the National Health Mission and making ASHAs permanent government employees.
Conclusion
The WHO award for ASHA volunteers is a proud moment and also a recognition of every health functionary working for the poor and the underserved in India. It is a reminder and an opportunity to further strengthen the ASHA programme for a stronger and community-oriented primary health-care system.
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