SECURE SYNOPSIS: 27 NOVEMBER 2019
NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you extra points in the form of background information.
Topic: Indian Culture will cover the salient aspects of Art forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
1) Discuss the contributions of celebrated Tamil poet and Philosopher Tiruvalluvar.(250 words)
Why this question:
There has been a growing tendency in the recent times in our society to appropriate the legacy of Tiruvalluvar for achieving narrow political
Gains.
Key demand of the question:
Discuss in detail the contributions of celebrated Tamil poet and Philosopher Tiruvalluvar.
Directive:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Introduce with description of Who was Tiruvalluvar.
Body:
Explain in detail about Tiruvalluvar; his works and contributions in terms of philosophy, poems etc. He is best known for his famous work Thirukkuṛaḷ. This work consists of couplets on ethics, political and economical
Matters and love. Thirukkural is a highly celebrated work in Tamil
Literature.
Conclusion:
Conclude that he was a poet above all labels; religion; and with no boundaries.
Introduction:
Thiruvalluvar commonly known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher-saint. He is believed to have lived between 3rd Century BC and 1st Century BC. Valluvar has influenced a wide range of scholars down the ages since his time across the ethical, social, political, economic, religious, philosophical, and spiritual spheres. He has long been venerated as a great sage, and his literary works a classic of Tamil culture.
Body:
Contributions:
- He has contributed the Thirukkural or ‘Kural’ to the Sangam literature.
- The Thirukkural, a set of 1,330 couplets thematically divided into three books and 133 chapters, is widely regarded as a secular tome.
- Its message is best seen in the first book on virtue, while the two others deal with wealth and love.
- The Tirukkural has been compared to the great books of the world’s major religions.
- It holds importance in the same way the Bhagavad Gita or the Ramayana are in traditional North Indian Hindu households.
- Thirukkural aims at guiding human beings to lead a moral, ethical and useful life in this world. Its focus, unlike religious works, is “life on earth” and “life-affirmation”.
- Despite Thiruvalluvar’s reasonable tone, many of his ideas were revolutionary.
- He dismissed the caste system: “One is not great because of one’s birth in a noble family; one is not low because of one’s low birth.”
- The poet maintained that goodness is its own reward and should not be regarded as a mere means to a comfortable afterlife.
- He has remained common to all sections of society over the centuries
Ethical values from Thirukkural:
- It preaches simplicity and truth throughout its verses.
- The ethics propounded by the Thirukkural are eminently practical and universal.
- Its concern is primarily the world of all of us.
- It is realistic in its approach to human life, and the author, Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, makes no distinction between men on the basis of caste or creed.
- According to him, there are in- deed two classes of people: the noble and the ignoble. But birth, he says, has nothing to do with either.
- Valluvar gives supreme importance to virtue. He affirms that all aspects and all stages of human life should be governed by virtue.
- He deals with a wide range of virtues or positive qualities to be cultivated and negative qualities to be eschewed.
- He states that good conduct and character is the pathway to perfection. It earns the appreciation and respect of people. It also leads to purification of heart, which is an indispensable requirement for higher spiritual attainment.
Conclusion:
Thiruvalluvar is revered as an ancient saint, poet, and a philosopher by Tamils, irrespective of their religion. He is an essential anchor for Tamils in tracing their cultural roots; Tamils are taught to learn his couplets word-for-word, and to follow his teachings in their day-to-day living.
Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Why this question:
The Home Minister’s announcement in the Rajya Sabha earlier this week that a National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be implemented across India, and repeated again in Assam, has ignited interest in the existing legal framework in India for illegal migrants.
Key demand of the question:
One must discuss in detail the available laws in place to tackle illegal non-citizens and way forward. Also highlight why the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 was amended.
Directive:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
In brief discuss the provisions available in the country to deal with illegal migrants.
Body:
The first enactment made for dealing with foreigners was the Foreigners Act, 1864, which provided for the expulsion of foreigners and their arrest, detention pending removal, and for a ban on their entry into India after removal.
Discuss the various available provisions like passport act, Foreigners Act, IMDT Act.
Discuss why Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 was amended.
Explain the concerns involved.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction:
Union home minister has said that India shall soon introduce a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). The NRC is the list of Indian citizens and was prepared in 1951, following the census of 1951. The process of NRC update was taken up in Assam as per a Supreme Court order in 2013. In the case of Assam, there was a cut-off date — March 25, 1971 — after which all foreigners as per the Assam Accord were to be “detected, deleted and expelled in accordance with law”.
Body:
Laws to tackle illegal non-citizens in the country:
Pre-Independence:
- The first enactment made for dealing with foreigners was the Foreigners Act, 1864, which provided for the expulsion of foreigners and their arrest, detention pending removal, and for a ban on their entry into India after removal.
- The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, empowered the government to make rules requiring persons entering India to be in possession of passports. This rule also granted the government the power to remove from India any person who entered without a passport.
- During the Second World War, the Imperial Legislative Assembly enacted the Foreigners Act, 1940, under which the concept of “burden of proof” was introduced. Section 7 of the Act provided that whenever a question arose with regard to the nationality of a person, the onus of proving that he was not a foreigner lay upon the person.
Post-Independence:
- Foreigners Act, 1946:
- The legislature enacted the above act by repealing the 1940 Act, conferring wide powers to deal with all foreigners.
- Apart from defining a ‘foreigner’ as a person who is not a citizen of India, it empowered the government to make provisions for prohibiting, regulating or restricting the entry of foreigners into India.
- It also restricted the rights enjoyed by foreigners in terms of their stay in the country if any such orders are passed by the authority.
- The 1946 Act empowered the government to take such steps as are necessary, including the use of force for securing compliance with such directions.
- The most important provision of the 1946 law, which is still applicable in all States and Union Territories, was that the ‘burden of proof’ lies with the person, and not with the authorities.
- This has been upheld by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court.
- The Foreigners (Tribunals) Order:
- In 1964, the government brought in the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order.
- The tribunal has the authority to decide whether a person is a foreigner within the ambit of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
- The tribunal, which has powers similar to those of a civil court, gives reasonable opportunity to the person alleged to be a foreigner to produce evidence in support of his case, before passing its order.
- In June this year, the Home Ministry made certain amendments in the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964. It was to empower district magistrates in all States and Union Territories to set up tribunals to decide whether a person staying illegally in India is a foreigner or not.
- Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983:
- This act was unsuccessful — it was also referred to as the IMDT Act — was introduced for the detection and deportation of illegal migrants who had entered India on or after March 25, 1971.
- One factor for its failure was that it did not contain any provision on ‘burden of proof’ similar to the Foreigners Act, 1946.
Need of the hour:
- Any such exercise demands a robust process that minimizes data infirmities.
- This would mean a complete rehaul of the methods used in Assam.
- Also, those who don’t make it to the list should get adequate legal recourse.
Conclusion:
A person’s citizenship is a basic human right. Declaring people foreigners in haste without judicially verifying their credentials can leave many human beings stateless.
Topic:Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies. Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Indian polity by Laxmikanth
Why this question:
The question is straightforward from the static portions of the GS paper II from polity section.
Key demand of the question:
One must elaborate on the roles and responsibilities of the Attorney-General of India.
Directive:
Elaborate – Give a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
The Constitution under Article 76 has provided for the office of the Attorney-General for India (AGI). He is appointed by the President and holds the office during the pleasure of the President. He must be a person who is qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court.
Body:
Discuss the duties and responsibilities of the AG.
Explain the significance of his constitutional position in the Indian polity.
Take help of recent situations where he would have represented the GOI.
Conclusion:
Conclude by reasserting significance of the post.
Introduction:
The Attorney General is the chief legal adviser of Government of India. Attorney General of India is appointed by the President under Article 76 of Indian Constitution. Attorney General is said to be the lawyer from the government side.
Body:
Powers and functions of Attorney General of India:
- As a Chief Legal adviser of the government Attorney General of India has to give the advice to the government of India upon such legal matters which assigned to him by the President.
- As lawyer from the government side Attorney general is required to appear on behalf of the government of India in Supreme Court in which the government of India is concerned.
- He may also be required to appear in any High Court on behalf of the government of India which the Government of India is concerned.
- In the performance of his duties, the Attorney general of India has right to audience in any Court in the territory of India.
- The Attorney General of India has right to speak and take a part in the proceeding of any house of Parliament, without the right to give vote (Article 88). The Attorney General of India is entitled to get all the immunities and privileges as a Member of Parliament.
- Unlike the Attorney General of the United States, the Attorney General for India does not have any executive authority. Those functions are performed by the Law Minister of India. Also, he is not a government servant and is not debarred from private legal practice.
- The Attorney General can accept briefs but cannot appear against the Government. He cannot defend an accused in the criminal proceedings and accept the directorship of a company without the permission of the Government.
- The Attorney General is assisted by a Solicitor General and four additional Solicitors General. The Attorney General is to be consulted only in legal matters of real importance and only after the Ministry of Law has been consulted. All references to the Attorney General are made by the Law Ministry.
- He is an advocate of the government and is allowed to take up private practice, provided the other party is not the state.
Conclusion:
The Attorney General is the first Law Officer of India. He is the Chief Legal Advisor to the Central Government and also acts as a lawyer in the Supreme Court on behalf of it. He also represents to the Government of India in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution. All references are made to the Attorney General by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.
Topic: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies. Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
4) What are quasi-judicial bodies? Explain with the help of tangible examples. (250 words)
Indian polity by Laxmikanth
Why this question:
The question is straightforward from the static portions of the GS paper II from polity section.
Key demand of the question:
Highlight the concept of quasi-judicial bodies; elaborate in detail their significance with suitable examples.
Directive:
Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Briefly define quasi-judicial bodies.
Body:
Explain the aspects such as –
An authority is described as quasi-judicial when it has some attributes of judicial provisions but not all.
It has powers analogous to that of the law imposing bodies but it is not a court.
Quasi-judicial bodies have powers of imposing laws on administrative agencies, instead of supervising over all types of disputes like courts. Their activity is restricted to the issues that concern the particular administrative agency.
Their powers are usually limited to a particular area of expertise, such as financial markets (SEBI), human rights (NHRC), market practices (Competition Commission of India) etc. Their action may be appealed to a court of law.
They act as an alternative justice system to lessen the burden of the courts.
Quote suitable examples.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction:
Quasi-judicial bodies are an entity such as an arbitrator or a tribunal, generally of a Public Administrative Agency, which has powers and procedures resembling that of a Court of Law or Judge, and which is obliged to objectively determine facts and draw conclusions from them so as to provide the basis of an official action. Such actions are able to remedy a situation or to impose legal penalties, and may affect the legal rights, duties or privileges of specific parties.
Body:
Some examples of Quasi-Judicial Bodies in India are as follows
- Election Commission of India.
- National Green Tribunal.
- Central Information Commission (CIC)
- Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.
- Lok Adalat.
Reasons for Emergence of Quasi-Judicial Bodies in India:
- As the State grew in size and functions, the burden on its functions, especially those of the judicial system increased manifold. Therefore, the need for an alternative judicial system arose.
- The cost factor also played an important role because ordinary judicial procedures can turn out to be a costly affair if stretched over a long period of time.
- The complexity of a plethora of laws called for more technical minds in specific fields.
- The conventional judiciary is suffering with procedural rigidity, which delays the justice.
Pros:
- Low Cost: Tribunals on the other hand, have an overall low cost which encourages people to seek redressal for their grievances.
- Simplicity: Tribunals and other such bodies do not follow any lengthy or complex procedure for submitting application or evidence etc.
- Expert Knowledge: A tribunal comprises of experts, who can easily understand the technicalities of a case, the necessary actions involved and their consequences.
- Reduction of Workload: Tribunals while taking up specific matters, majorly help by sharing the massive workload of the Judiciary. In a country which has 2.81 crore pending cases, it is important to take steps to decrease the burden of the Judiciary.
- Flexibility: since there is little use made of precedent.
Cons:
- There is an unfair imbalance between represented and unrepresented parties. It is unfair to people who are not represented and cannot get legal aid to come up against a rich corporation. Since richer parties are allowed to employ skilled representation they are consequently more likely to win.
- The no-costs rule and lack of legal aid penalize poor litigants, although they do keep costs down.
- The lack of fees encourages poor applicants, although it may also result in ill-founded claims.
- Tribunals can become complex over time – as did the courts – rules of procedure grow up caused by the use of representatives who as a result make representation desirable in future.
- They may lack some of the perceived independence of the judiciary
- It can still be difficult for the people who go to tribunals to represent themselves because of the inherent difficulty in presenting a case in any environment.
- It undermines the celebrated principle of separation of powers.
Way forward:
- It should be manned by plural members rather than single individual
- They should be appointed by judicious process.
- Members should be from both the technical background and legal one.
- SC recommendations: The chairman should be appointed by President from sitting or retired judge of a High Court in consultation with CJI or committee headed by CJI.
- Vice-chairman should be a judge of district court or an advocate who is eligible to become a judge of HC.
- Removal should be more stringent.
Conclusion:
Government needs to address this issue by enabling sufficient number of appointments at various Quasi-Judicial Bodies. However, as a fool proof appointment mechanism plays a crucial role in ensuring quality, the Government is duty bound to provide for the same. Only then can India’s Quasi-Judicial Bodies expedite not only the resolution of disputes but also dispensation of justice.
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Why this question:
The article discusses World Bank’s efforts to address the issue of learning poverty.
Key demand of the question:
One has to explain the scenario of learning poverty in the country. And need to improve the quality condition of the education system in the country.
Directive:
Elaborate – Give a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
In brief define what learning poverty is.
Body:
More than half of all 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand the basic books relevant to their age. This, often termed learning poverty, is a sign of the global learning crisis that stifles the opportunities and aspirations of hundreds of millions of children.
As the largest financier of education in low-and middle-income countries, the World Bank Group is working towards reducing the global level of learning poverty by 50 % by the year 2030.
State the Significance of improved reading ability.
Discuss the associated concerns.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction:
The Right-to-Education Act in India has been successful in increasing coverage and access to school education. The ASER report by NGO Pratham shows the prevalence of learning deficit and the poverty of basic reading and arithmetic skills among students in Indian schools.
A World Bank study also found that more than half of all 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand the basic books relevant to their age. This shows the lack of quality in education system despite access to education. This, often termed learning poverty, is a sign of the global learning crisis that stifles the opportunities and aspirations of hundreds of millions of children.
Body:
Importance of eradicating ‘Learning Poverty’:
- Learning to read is an important skill as it opens a world of possibilities and it is the foundation on which other essential learning like numeracy and science is built. It is key to helping children achieve their potential.
- It is key to eliminating poverty in general and boosting shared prosperity and more equitable growth.
- The learning crisis wastes the children’s potential and also hurts entire economies.
- It will negatively impact future workforces and economic competitiveness — as the World Bank’s Human Capital Index shows that, globally, the productivity of the average child born today is expected to be only 56% of what it would be if countries invested enough in health and education.
- Over the last several years, progress in reducing learning poverty has been stagnant.
- Globally between 2000 and 2017, there has only been a 10% improvement in learning outcomes for primary school-aged children.
- If the current pace continues, 43% of 10-year-olds will not be able to read in 2030
The reasons for poor learning outcomes in India are
- Infrastructure deficit:
- Dilapidated structures, single-room schools, lack of drinking water facilities, separate toilets and other educational infrastructure is a grave problem.
- Corruption and leakages:
- The transfer of funds from the central to state to local governments to school leads to involvement of many intermediaries.
- The fund transfer is drastically reduced by the time it reaches the true beneficiaries.
- High rates of corruption and leakages plague the system, undermine its legitimacy and harm the many thousands of honest headmasters and teachers.
- Quality of Teachers:
- Lack of well trained, skilled and knowledgeable teachers which provide the foundation for a high quality education system.
- Teacher shortages and poorly qualified teachers are both a cause and effect of poorly paid and managed teaching cadres.
- Non-Academic burden:
- The teachers are overburdened with senseless reports and administrative workload. This eats into the time which is necessary for teaching.
- A study by the National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA) revealed that teachers spend only around 19 percent of their time teaching while the rest is spent mostly on non-teaching administrative work.
- Poor salary:
- Teachers are paid miserly salaries which affect their interest and dedication to work. They will look for other avenues like tuitions or coaching centers and coax the students to attend it.
- This has dual effect, firstly the quality of teaching in schools drop and secondly, the poor students are forced to spend money despite constitutional provision of free education.
- Teacher Absenteeism:
- Absence of teachers during school hours is rampant. The lack of accountability and poor governance structures add to the woes.
- Lack of Accountability:
- School Management Committees are largely dysfunctional. Many exist solely on paper.
- Parents are often not aware of their rights and if they are it is difficult for them to make their voice heard.
- High drop-out rates:
- The drop-out rates in schools, especially girls, is very high.
- Many factors like poverty, patriarchal mindset, lack of toilets in schools, distance to schools and cultural elements lead to children dropping out from education.
- School closure:
- Many schools are closed to low student strength, lack of teachers and infrastructure. The competition posed by private schools is also a major challenge to government schools.
The situation of Education quality can be improved as follows
- Teachers must only teach:
- Employ young people, equip them with a tablet computer and let them be cluster administrators. One cluster of schools consists of around ten schools.
- The cluster administrators will overtake the administrative tasks and ensure that teachers and headmasters can focus on academic work.
- Better policies like transparent transfer mechanisms, which urgently need upscaling and strengthening. After adequate teacher positioning, school autonomy and teacher collaborations have demonstrated in many pilots to be the catalyst that transforms the education system.
- Teacher’s own collectives or networks built collaborations and institutional capacities of teachers.
- Digitization:
- Create a single-window system for infrastructure and mainstream fund-flows: In Bihar, only around 10 percent of the schools fulfils infrastructure norms. A study revealed that files for renovating schools often go on a two-year journey through various departments.
- The same can be applied for teacher salaries and school funds. These can be transferred directly from the State to the teachers and schools. There is no need to involve the District or Block in this process.
- Leveraging the audio-visual edutainment to make education more interesting and easier to understand for the children. This will improve the quality as well as reduce the drop-out rates.
- Implementing bio-metric attendance for teachers and students for every class can help reduce absenteeism.
- Empower School Management Committees by using mobile phones:
- To develop a system that facilitates School Management Committee members by fostering democratic accountability.
- Social audits should also be carried out for effective functioning.
- The Government must insist on fixing teachers’ accountability in public schools and learning outcome-based recognition for all schools, be it public or private schools.
- Better pre-service teacher training coupled with transparent and merit-based recruitments is a lasting solution for teacher quality.
- Improve the quality of teacher education by making teacher training mandatory. Example: National Council for Teacher Education Act amendment bill, Diksha portal to train teachers.
- Increase the public spending on education to 6% of GDP as recommended by many committees like the recent TSR Subramaniam committee.
- Teachers are rarely reprimanded for non-performance, while there are recommendations for removal of non-detention policy. The blame is squarely on the children; such an attitude must be wiped out.
- Teachers’ efficiency will improve with administrative incentives, better pay and a systematic change in the professional development of this cohort.
- Education policy in India is focused on inputs rather than learning outcomes; It has a strong elitist bias in favour of higher education as opposed to primary or secondary education. This needs a change by coming out with a new policy.
Way forward:
- Eliminating learning poverty must be a priority, just like ending hunger and extreme poverty for it will help unleash the potential of the children.
- There is an opportunity to increase the rate of improvement in learning outcomes given that the children who will turn 10 in 2030 will be born in 2020.
- There is a need to triple the rate of progress worldwide. This is achievable as demonstrated by the top-performing countries between 2000 and 2015.
- The target should be to promote reading proficiency in primary schools.
- Policies should include providing detailed guidance and practical training for teachers, ensuring access to more and better age-appropriate texts, and teaching children in the language they use at home.
- There needs to be an integrated approach to improve entire education systems, so advancements in literacy can be sustained and scaled up. That means making sure children come to school prepared and motivated to learn, teachers are effective and valued and have access to technology, classrooms provide a well-equipped space for learning, schools are safe and inclusive and education systems are well-managed.
- There is a need for continued research and innovation, and the smart use of new technologies on how to build foundation skills.
Conclusion:
Cutting learning poverty in half by 2030 must only be an intermediate goal. The ambition must be to bring that number to zero. India’s decision to join the Programme for International Student Assessment and the merger of schemes under Samagra Shiksha are encouraging signs that India is moving in this direction. Innovative digital interventions to improving the teacher and education quality along with proper governance structure can help achieve the true objectives of the Right to Education as a fundamental right of every child.
International Case studies:
- In Kenya, the government’s national reading programme has more than tripled the percentage of grade two students reading at an appropriate level. This was accomplished through technology-enabled teacher coaching, teacher guides, and delivering one book per child.
- In Vietnam, a lean, effective curriculum ensures that the basics are covered, there is deep learning of fundamental skills, and all children have reading materials. Learning outcomes of Vietnamese students in the bottom 40% of the income ladder are as high, or higher, than the average student in high-income countries.
Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.
Why this question:
Recently, the government announced that in view of “data quality issues” the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had decided not to release the results of the all-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) during 2017-2018.Thus the question.
Key demand of the question:
One must discuss the significance of consumer spending surveys and their significance in policy making.
Directive:
Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Elucidate – Give a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
In brief narrate What CES is.
Body:
The CES is traditionally a quinquennial (recurring every five years) survey conducted by the government’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) that is designed to collect information on the consumption spending patterns of households across the country, both urban and rural.
The data gathered in this exercise reveals the average expenditure on goods (food and non-food) and services and helps generate estimates of household Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE) as well as the distribution of households and persons over the MPCE classes.
Explain its utility.
Discuss why the latest survey has become controversial.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction:
The consumer spending surveys (CES) is traditionally a quinquennial (recurring every five years) survey conducted by the government’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) that is designed to collect information on the consumption spending patterns of households across the country, both urban and rural.
The government recently announced that in view of “data quality issues” the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had decided not to release the results of the all-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) during 2017-2018.
Body:
Uses of CES:
- The estimates of monthly per capita consumption spending are vital in gauging the demand dynamics of the economy.
- It is also used for understanding the shifting priorities in terms of baskets of goods and services, and in assessing living standards and growth trends across multiple strata.
- From helping policymakers spot and address possible structural anomalies that may cause demand to shift in a particular manner in a specific socio-economic or regional cohort of the population.
- It provides pointers to producers of goods and providers of services, the CES is an invaluable analytical as well as forecasting tool.
- It is, in fact, used by the government in rebasing the GDP and other macro-economic indicators.
Impact of withholding the current CES on policy making:
- The government’s decision to withhold the survey’s findings deprives policymakers of invaluable contemporary consumption data that would have helped drive their intervention strategies.
- Instead of a six-year gap, the next survey’s findings — depending on when the Ministry decides to actually undertake it, 2020-21 or 2021-22 — would end up coming after 9 or 10 years after the 2011-12 round.
- With the Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics also having separately recommended that 2017-18 would not be used as an appropriate year for rebasing of the GDP series, the very credibility of GDP data going forward could come under greater scrutiny.
Lessons from the previous survey:
- Apart from the omnibus ‘Key Indicators of Household Consumer Expenditure in India, 2011-12’ the Ministry released as many as six detailed reports on varied aspects of household consumer expenditure based on the survey.
- These included the ‘Level and Pattern of Consumer Expenditure 2011-12’, ‘Household Consumption of Various Goods and Services in India, 2011-12’ and the invaluable ‘Nutritional Intake in India, 2011-12’.
- There were also detailed findings on the energy sources used by households for cooking and lighting and another report on the Public Distribution System and other sources of household consumption.
- Several researchers had also pointed to the widening inequality revealed by the 2011-12 survey: in terms of sharp variations between States with better socio-economic indices and those still aiming to improve, the urban-rural divide and the gap between the highest spending and the lowest spending fractiles.
- The previous report on nutritional intake also showed a big gulf in the consumption patterns of urban and rural households and a similar chasm between the top 5% and the bottom 5% on food products contributing to nutrition.
Conclusion:
As a subscriber to the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), India is obliged to follow good practices in four areas in disseminating macroeconomic statistics to the public. These comprise the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of data; public access to those data; data integrity; and data quality.
Topic: Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
Why this question:
The question is based on ethics in governance.
Key demand of the question:
One has to bring out the positive correlation between economic developments of a country with the level of ethics in governance system.
Directive:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
In brief explain what ethics in governance is.
Body:
Discuss the significance of economic development for a country first.
Then with suitable example explain in what way good ethical governance in the country can foster economic development and vice-versa.
Conclusion:
Conclude with significance of ethics in Governance.
Introduction:
Good governance, defined as the quality management and orientation of development policies is assumed by many economists, having positive influence on economic performance. According to the World Bank, good governance is evaluated by the implementation capacity of governance principles of a country, providing a framework for market development and economic growth.
Body:
Importance of ethics in governance:
- The person who governs deals with the whole community. It is imperative that he/she has high standard of ethics because his decision affects the whole community not an individual.
- The system of governance provides him with many powers which he /she may use at his/ her own discretion. Ethics in governance would prevent him from misusing his position.
- Sustainability in governance: An administrator, achieving goals set by the institution through unethical means may set a bad precedent for others to follow and this may act as a justification for other unethical acts. Thus this can hurt the long term interests of the organization either through dwindling credibility or pervading corruption
- Efficiency: probity in an organization brings transparency and accountability. It eliminates corruption and siphoning of funds. There would be an efficient selection process based on merit bringing expertise in the organization. The responsiveness towards the needs of clients would increase.
- Ethic in public service governance can bring participatory citizenship, reduced poverty and inequality through better redistribution and efficient use of resources.
High level of ethics in Governance can lead to economic development:
- The variables of good governance such as control of corruption, stability of property rights or democracy are closely correlated with variables such as GDP growth rate per capita, investment or human capital development.
- Ethical values in governance show how well the ethical values are followed in governance and its structure.
- This includes legality of government action, rationality in policy and decision making, evolving a sense of responsibility, ensuring accountability, strengthening work commitment, creating excellence, facilitating spirit of individual and organizational goals, developing responsiveness, showing compassion, protecting the national interests, protecting the spirit of justice, bringing transparency and elevating integrity.
The steps taken by the government to improve ethical values in governance and the impact of such steps
- eGovernance and Digitisation to increase transparency and accountability along with easing paper work and reducing red-tapism. Example: PRAGATI, MyGov portal
- RTI to allow for citizen’s right to know which enhances probity in governance.
- Stringent laws like Prevention of Corruption Act, presence of CVC to ensure there is no corruption.
- Civil service codes and various Service Rules to ensure honesty and integrity. Example: Civil Service Conduct Rules.
- Citizen charters and citizen oriented governance to better address feedback, grievances. Example: CPGRAMS, Jan Sunwai.
- In 2006, the department of Personnel drafted a Public Service Bill which enumerated fundamental values of Public Services, a Code of Ethics, a Management Code etc. with the objective of developing public services. The bill didn’t make much headway and is in cold storage etc
- Witness protection scheme to safeguard the witness from victimization.
The following steps can be taken to strengthen the ethical values
- Effective implementation of citizen charters.
- Removing political interference in administration and politicisation of administration.
- Introduction of Public Service bill and Code of Ethics.
- The Second Administrative reforms commission has suggested the following methods
- Codification of ethics will ensure the minimum standards that public servants must follow.
- Strong vigilance systems to ensure that corruption is eliminated at the root. Example: CVC, whistle blowers act, Lokpal etc.
- Social audit mechanisms must be strengthened and be made a norm.
- Digitization and e-governance is the way forward to ensure citizen centric governance. Example: UMANG- one stop for customers to pay all their bills.
- Values such as selflessness, honesty, integrity and objectivity if inculcated at early age through education will lead to Ethical leadership in the future.
- Sensitivity trainings, Value oriented training of public servants.
- Ethical auditing should be done.
- Delegation of work and responsibility in every organisation should be ensured similarly the standard protocols must be codified vide citizen charters.
Conclusion:
Strengthening ethical and moral values in Governance is imperative to ensure the best service delivery and citizen-centric administration.
