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: Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).
1. Discuss the prospects and problems of Aluminum industry in India in the current times.(250 words)
Reference: Financial Express
Why this question:
The article talks about the impact that the COVID-19 crisis has made on the metal industry in general and aluminum industry in particular.
Key demand of the question:
Explain in detail the prospects and problems of Aluminum industry in India in the current times.
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:
Present in short an overview of Aluminium industry in India. The aluminium sector contributes to nearly 2 percent of manufacturing GDP.
Body:
To start with explain the expanse and spread of the Industry in the country, use maps to pictorially depict the width and breadth across the country. Discuss the prospects of it in general and specific ones in the current covid-19 crisis times. Highlight the China factor; the slowdown owing to COVID-19 situation. Talk about the associated challenges; suggest solutions to address the same.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward and end on a positive note that aluminium Industry are generally based in the hinterlands of the country and aid in generating peripheral employment and economic development of the region. It is a direct and an indirect employment multiplier creating close to 800,000 jobs.
Introduction:
Covid-19 has spread to 211 countries, since its Outbreak in Wuhan in China, forcing imposition of lockdowns which have created much socio-economic disruption. Global losses are pegged at $9 trillion, and India is losing Rs 35,000 crore every day. This will adversely impact the entire metal industry, especially the world’s second most important metal, aluminium.
Body:
Status of Aluminium industry in India:
- Aluminium Industry is the second most important metallurgical industry in India.
- Aluminium has gained popularity as a substitute of steel, copper, zinc and lead.
- Some of its unique properties like lightweight, recyclability, conductivity, non-corrosiveness and durability have helped establish it as a metal of choice for various applications across various segments of the manufacturing
- Aluminum is also called ‘the Metal of Future’ due to the above properties.
- There are 8 aluminium smelting plants in the country located in Odisha (Nalco and Balco), West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
- Aluminum Consumption in India at 2.5kg per capita is much below the global average of 11kg per capita.
- Globally, auto & transport account for 23% of aluminum consumption, followed by construction (22%), packaging (13%), electrical (12%), machinery and equipment (8.5%), consumer durables (4.5%), and other segments (4%)
Prospects:
- The aluminium industry has a high multiplier for job creation. Every job in primary production creates two more in the downstream and upstream industries.
- The industry provides livelihood to over 8 lakh people and every 1 mn tonne addition creates an additional 2 lakh livelihood opportunities.
- Even at its low consumption, aluminium contributes 2% of manufacturing GDP (steel 12%, cement 9%) and provides nearly 800,000 jobs.
- This growth is critical for India’s vision of achieving 25% of GDP from manufacturing by 2022.
- Aluminium is the most apt industry for creating livelihoods to achieve the coveted V-shaped recovery from ~2% to ~7% by next year.
- It will be a key contributor to ‘Make in India’, National Capital Goods Policy, setting up of smart cities and the goal of 100 GW solar capacity by 2022.
- A country’s over-reliance on foreign imports for essential strategic metals may be detrimental towards the objective of economic and national security.
- Many industrialised nations have included non-ferrous metals/aluminium industry as a strategic sector in their industrial strategy.
- The U.S. Department of Defense considers aluminum a strategic metal for maintaining effective military capabilities
- Given its high availability in India, it would greatly contribute to economic growth
- If properly utilized, many backward States can become financially healthier, leading to development
- China is a leader in solar equipments which use high quantity of aluminium. It is used in wind farms too. Given India’s ambitious INDCs, aluminium remains a key metal with its importance increasing day by day
Problems:
- With a gloomy global forecast and Chinese smelters continuing operations, there will be an inventory glut. End-users are cancelling contracts for primary aluminium in Europe and North America, contracting demand by 5 mn tonnes.
- India’s GDP forecast falling to 2% (from 6%) will impact aluminium demand in the construction, transport, and electrical sectors. Aluminium demand will decelerate by 40-50% unless enough stimulus is given—an SOS call of the aluminium industry.
- Global recession, shrinking markets in the western hemisphere, and semi-finished products through FTA countries like Malaysia and Thailand spell trouble for Indian aluminium exports.
- Dumping of aluminium into India by China has posed a serious risk to the domestic industry. China provides very cheap power and various subsidies to the industry, which India cannot afford to provide at this moment
- Even if various import duties are levied, aluminium imports are recalibrated as semi-furnished products, nullifying the effect of duties
- India’s own aluminium consumption will recover slowly post FY22, to reach ~6-7 mn tonnes by 2025.
- Aluminium industry is also affected by poor infrastructure in India when compared to leading producers across the world.
- Lack of availability of cheap power in the country
- Internal problems like labor unrests, environmental regulations and tribal issues like Dongria Kondh of Niyamgiri vs Vedanta Resources
Measures needed:
- Tariff support recommendations for aluminium MSMEs:
- Immediately impose minimum import price and/or quantitative restriction on imports safeguard our MSMEs from cheap imports by increasing import duty
- To be globally competitive, enhance the MEIS scheme from 2% to 5% for all aluminium products under Chapter 76, and implement the RoDTEP (remission of duties or taxes on export products) scheme expeditiously.
- Financial measures:
- Extend RBI’s moratorium to non-convertible debentures and other commercial papers, for both principal and interest
- Waiver/moratorium on all statutory payments (electricity duty, royalty on coal and minerals, coal cess, and on renewable purchase obligation) for next two years, to support highly power-intensive industries like aluminium.
- Role of industries:
- Industry, along with the government stimulus, should promote MSMEs and downstream industries.
- Aluminium parks developed by Nalco and Vedanta will increase value addition, mentor MSMEs, lending brand names to market end products.
- Other industries can also introduce cashless model for MSMEs to give input material and buy back end-use products.
- This will be mutually beneficial—spreading industrialization, creating employment, and developing MSMEs.
Conclusion:
India’s growing economic might enables it to produce enough high-quality aluminium to ensure self-reliance in defence and critical infrastructure, and avoid global volatility in supply and prices. A National Aluminium Policy will be an important step forward. With all ingredients of competitive raw material availability (bauxite and coal), best-in-class manpower, and value addition through MSMEs, India has the potential to be self-sufficient and become a global manufacturing hub of aluminium, and can be a strong substitute to China.
Topic: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein
Reference: Indian Express
Why this question:
The author in the article brings out the importance of local governance and devolution to the grassroots and the role it plays in ensuring effective and efficient public delivery.
Key demand of the question:
Explain the significance of grassroots empowerment in ensuring effective and efficient public delivery in the country.
Directive:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must look into the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Present briefly the importance of local governance in general in the country.
Body:
To start with explain the role of local bureaucracy in the public administration.
Talk about the “confrontational federalism” that has characterized the Centre’s relations with the states in the current situation. Discuss the need to address the concerns, explain that the situation demands element of “cooperative federalism” to be incorporated in full spirit. Highlight the importance of devolution of power in bringing last mile connectivity and ensuring effective and efficient public delivery.
Conclusion:
Conclude with need to focus in further devolution to the panchayats and municipalities in keeping with the constitutional obligations under the 73rd and 74th amendments.
Introduction:
The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act 1992 is a significant landmark in the evolution of grassroots democratic institutions in the country. It transfers the representative democracy into participatory democracy. It is a revolutionary concept to build democracy at the grassroots level in the country.
Body
Importance of Self-governance institutions:
- A democratic form of government must be sustained by a system of vigorous local self-government institutions.
- Local government institutions provide an opportunity to the people to participate freely and actively in the governance and policy making which they formulate for their respective areas.
- These are necessary to encourage and foster initiative, independence, and enterprise on the part of the people.
- While inaugurating the first local self-government minister’s conference in 1948, our late Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru said “local government is and must be the basis of any true system of democracy. Democracy at the top may not be a success unless built on its foundation from below”.
- Laski said “local government offers the best opportunity to the people to bring local knowledge, interest and enthusiasm to bear on the solution of their problems.
- It not only relieves congestion at the centre but it also checks the increasing power of democracy. It stands positively for the distribution and diffusion of power leading to administrative de- concentration and de- centralization. Being closer to the original base, it finds solution for local problems more efficiently (No ‘one size fits all’ approach).
- A principal reason for Kerala’s amazing performance in “flattening the curve” is their robust system of effective devolution that has enabled the Kudumbashree programme to function in association with the panchayats
Local Bodies acting as mere ‘Delivery Mechanisms’
- Overwhelming dependency on government funding: Panchayat’s own resource base to raise finances is low and the financial resources are tied to certain schemes and initiatives. When Panchayats do not raise resources and instead depend on external funding, people are less likely to enforce social audit and efficacy of the schemes.
- Eg: In case of Urban local bodies, majority of municipalities have not increased property tax since many years and have not leveraged the municipal bonds for betterment of city infrastructure.
- Creation of Parallel Bodies: Parallel Bodies have usurped the legitimate space of local bodies. For instance, Smart City scheme is being implemented in major cities through Special Purpose Vehicles, squeezing the limited space of urban local governance in municipalities.
- Lack of adequate Devolution: Many states have not devolved the 3F’s of function, funds and functionaries, to enable local bodies to discharge their constitutionally stipulated functions.
- Excessive control by bureaucracy
- In many Gram Panchayats, Sarpanches have to spend an extra ordinary amount of time visiting block Officers for funds and/or technical approval. These interactions with the Block staff office distort the role of Sarpanches as elected representatives.
- Multiple institutions like parastatals, development authorities, public works departments, and ULBs themselves report to different departments of the state government and have been entrusted with overlapping responsibilities.
- Poor Infrastructure: It is found that nearly 25% of Gram Panchayats do not have basic office buildings. Capacity building of elected representatives is another hindrance in the grass roots democracy. In case of urban local bodies, Mayor position is merely cermonial.
Measures Need to strengthen local self-governance
- The most important requirement is planning to receive the migrant labour influx, including testing, quarantine, isolation, social distancing to the extent possible, and ensuring that all without exception are fed and housed and receive the monetary grants that are essential to keep body and soul together.
- Last mile delivery can only be comprehensively ensured by empowered panchayats (and municipalities) reporting to their respective gram sabhas and ward sabhas mandated under Articles 243 A and 243 S.
- Central Government has started the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan. The campaign is undertaken under the name of “Sabka Sath, Sabka Gaon, Sabka Vikas”.
- It aims to draw up Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) in the country and place them on a website where anyone can see the status of the various government’s flagship schemes.
- Gram Panchayats have been mandated for the preparation of GPDP for economic development and social justice utilizing the resources available to them.
- Government of India formulated E-Panchayat Mission Mode Project for e-enablement of all the Panchayats, to make their functioning more efficient and transparent.
- Social Audit: The power of social audit was proven by Jan Sunwai in Rajasthan. Transparent, third party Social Audit can enable people to hold the representatives accountable.
- Citizen Participation
- Ward committees and area sabhas should be activated with a technology- enabled ‘Open Cities Framework’ and the use of digital tools for feedback and reporting.
- In case of Gram Sabhas, their functions and roles must be clearly defined as in the PESA Act, to enable to function effectively.
Conclusion
Local self-government institutions are expected not only to provide for the basic civic amenities for the safety and convenience of the citizens but also mobilize local support and public cooperation for the implementation of various programmes of welfare. Another benefit of the local government is that the transmission of power from bureaucrats to the democratically formed local government has positively checked the influence of bureaucracy. Thus it can be said that the local government ensures close relationship between the people and the higher level of governments through this device of communication.
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Reference: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare- Yojana May edition 2020
Why this question:
The question is from the May edition of the magazine – Yojana.
Key demand of the question:
The question is straightforward and aims to discuss the technological, sociocultural, regulatory, legal and ethical issues involved in leveraging AI in the healthcare industry of the country.
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:
Briefly explain AI, its components.
Body:
One must outlines the opportunities for Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology within the Indian Healthcare sector. Then move on to illustrate some of the many challenges from the wider adoption of AI based solutions. Elucidate the use of AI for the current COVID-19 situation and potential exponential spread amongst the population.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction:
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines. These are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. Artificial intelligence has a lot of potential applications especially in the healthcare sector. It can be used in diagnosis, treatment design, imaging diagnosis, early detections of disease outbreaks, robot assisted surgeries, virtual nurse assistants etc.
Body:
AI potential for healthcare in India:
- According to an Accenture report published in December 2017, key clinical healthcare AI apps can create $150 billion in annual savings for the United States healthcare economy by 2026.
- “Growth in the AI health market is expected to reach $6.6 billion by 2021—that’s a compound annual growth rate of 40%,” says the report.
- Another report by the CIS India published earlier this year, AI could help add $957 billion to the Indian economy by 2035. “…investment in AI in the Indian healthcare industry appears to be growing.
- For example, of the $5.5 billion raised by global digital healthcare companies in the July-September 2017 quarter, at least 16 Indian healthcare IT companies received funding,” the report said.
- State governments are also providing support to AI startups – with reports quoting the Karnataka government mobilising 2,000 crore by 2020 towards supporting the same.
- The Karnataka government also has a Startup Policy and Karnataka Information Technology Venture Capital Fund that can support AI startups.
- A Transparency Market Research (TMR) report published in May 2017 suggests that the global healthcare automation market is growing at a CAGR of 8.8% and will touch $58.98 billion by the end of 2025, up from $28.31 billion in 2016.
- Microsoft also has a partnership with Apollo Hospitals to use AI for early detection of cardiac diseases.
- Some of the initiatives of Microsoft India in healthcare include a Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare (MINE) project where the company is working the government of Telangana for its Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram. The state government has adopted the MINE an AI platform to reduce avoidable blindness.
- Healthi is a four-year-old Bengaluru-based digital health and wellness startup. The company uses predictive analytics, personalisation algorithms and machine learning to deliver personalised health suggestions.
Potential application of artificial intelligence in the healthcare system:
- Diagnosis:
- One of the biggest advantages of AI is going to be diagnosis. The technology can help industry stakeholders collate the massive health data that is available. It is estimated that more than 80% of the health data is unstructured, making it invisible to current systems, according to a PWC report.
- Fortunately, technology firms like IBM and Google have already come up with solutions. Google’s DeepMind Health platform is working with clinics and health institutes across the world to implement Artificial Intelligence.
- IBM’s popular AI, Watson, is using cognitive technology to process and analyse the vast data.
- Monitoring of Chronic Conditions
- Conditions like diabetes, cholesterol, fertility issues and cardiac heath are managed by regular monitoring and lifestyle changes. Chronic conditions are the single- largest burden on healthcare systems globally.
- Connected POC devices help generate a lot of data about the user’s body parameters.
- This can be combined with lifestyle information like food habits, exercise, etc, by an AI algorithm to help manage the conditions and adjust dosage of medication.
- AI assisted Robotic Surgery:
- AI assisted robotics can guide the surgeon’s instrument during a procedure, cutting down the time required to do the surgery and reducing complications.
- Image Analysis:
- A lot of pathological evaluations like microscopy for infections like malaria, differential counts, etc, depend on image analysis.
- Similarly, finding out abnormalities in an MRI scan is done through manual analysis by a radiologist.
- In both the cases, AI can help by screening the image analysis to help the pathologist or the radiologist give a faster and more accurate diagnosis.
- Using the fitness wearables:
- From Fitbit, Xiaomi Mi Band to Apple Watch, there are a number of smart fitness-focused wearables available. These fitness devices are coupled with applications that provide a deeper insight on the individual’s health on a daily basis.
- Drug discovery:
- The AI has the potential to help researchers create drugs as well. One of the popular names in this field is Atomwise, which uses deep learning process to reduce the time taken to discover new drugs.
- The six-year-old company raised more than $51 million in funding earlier this year. The company also said that it is offering over 50 molecular discovery programmes.
- Even IBM is utilising its Watson AI to help accelerate drug research.
- Managing medical records and other Data:
- The first step in health care is compiling and analysing information (like medical records and other past history), data management is the most widely used application of artificial intelligence and digital automation.
- Robots collect, store, format, and trace data to provide faster, more consistent access.
- Virtual nurses:
- The AI has been used to develop a digital nurse to help people monitor patient’s condition and follow up with treatments, between doctor visits.
- In 2016, Boston Children’s Hospital developed an app Alexa that gives basic health information and advice for parents of ill children.
- Precision medicine:
- Genetics and genomics look for mutations and links to disease from the information in DNA. With the help of AI, body scans can spot cancer and vascular diseases early and predict the health issues people might face based on their genetics.
Issues with AI in healthcare:
- Technological issues:
- Data: The obstacle to AI implementation in healthcare is not technological but access to data. Research is hampered by difficulties in accessing large medical datasets, for legal or other reasons. It’s particularly tough for startups in the field as larger players already have access to such data.
- Development: The lack of robust medical open data sets in India can also hinder the development of AI, as developers must rely on data sets from other countries for their prototypes.
- Digitization issues: In many Indian health centers, medical records are still paper, and radiology still uses films.
- Scaling up and distributing technology in India is challenging
- Infrastructure: Though India is working to develop and improve national infrastructure necessary for AI to take off in the country remains ignored by policy makers. Cloud- computing infrastructure, for example, is mostly concentrated in servers outside India. Delays in investing in native infrastructure have resulted in many Indian start-ups incorporating themselves outside India due to easier access to infrastructure and technology.
- Regulatory issues:
- At present, India lacks a Regulating Authority for AI in healthcare. There is also a regulatory gap around medical devices, which has sought to be addressed by the recent Indian Medical Devices Rules, 2017.
- Investment: Investment, though growing, in health related AI in India appears to be currently limited and research is under-funded and explored, especially by the government.
- Information Asymmetries and Perceptions: AI-based healthcare solutions often face the issue of information asymmetry between the doctors who use the system and the coders who built it.
- Legal issues:
- One of the biggest issues with the adoption of AI in healthcare in India is acceptability of results, which include direct results arrived at using AI technologies as well as opinions provided by medical practitioners that are influenced/aided by AI technologies.
- The lack of government spending on healthcare means that public health programmes are still largely funded from outside the country. This sometimes results in importing technology rather than fostering the development of indigenously developed locally appropriate inventions.
- Medical education in India does not place enough emphasis on research and on keeping up with new developments. Combined with an overburdened system, this results in generations of practicing clinicians with little motivation to innovate or to understand and adopt technology.
- Ethical issues:
- Clinical practice often involves complex judgments and abilities that AI currently is unable to replicate, such as contextual knowledge and the ability to read social cues.
- Reliability and safety: Reliability and safety are key issues where AI is used to control equipment, deliver treatment, or make decisions in healthcare. AI could make errors and, if an error is difficult to detect or has knock-on effects, this could have serious implications.
- Transparency and accountability: It can be difficult or impossible to determine the underlying logic that generates the outputs produced by AI. Machine learning technologies can be particularly opaque because of the way they continuously tweak their own parameters and rules as they learn. This creates problems for validating the outputs of AI systems, and identifying errors or biases in the data.
- Data bias, fairness, and equity: Concerns have been raised about the potential of AI to lead to discrimination in ways that may be hidden or which may not align with legally protected characteristics, such as gender, ethnicity, disability, and age.
- Effects on patients: Concerns have been raised about a loss of human contact and increased social isolation if AI technologies are used to replace staff or family time with patients.
- Effects on healthcare professionals: Healthcare professionals may feel that their autonomy and authority is threatened if their expertise is challenged by AI. The ethical obligations of healthcare professionals towards individual patients might be affected by the use of AI decision support systems
- Malicious use of AI: While AI has the potential to be used for good, it could also be used for malicious purposes. For example, there are fears that AI could be used for covert surveillance or screening. The question of who is responsible when AI is used to support decision-making; difficulties in validating the outputs of AI systems, securing public trust in the development and use of AI technologies etc. are other ethical issues.
Way forward:
- AI research in India is still in its infancy and requires largescale concerted and collaborative interventions.
- Skilling and reskilling of workforce forms an integral part of adopting AI.
- Adoption of decentralised teaching mechanisms, working in collaboration with the private sector and educational institutions.
- Adoption of AI across the value chain viz. startups, private sector, PSUs and government entities, will truly unlock the potential by creating a virtuous cycle of supply and demand.
- Data is one of the primary drivers of AI solutions, and thus appropriate handling of data, ensuring privacy and security is of prime importance.
- Establishing data protection frameworks and adoption of international standards.
- In order for India to ride the AI innovation wave, a robust intellectual property framework is required.
Conclusion:
The significant need for technology to bridge resource gaps in India, and the potential of AI to offer affordable solutions at scale means that India may soon be poised to realise the benefits of these technologies on health outcomes.
Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
Reference: The Hindu
Why this question:
The article presents the FCI’s role in the pandemic crisis.
Key demand of the question:
Explain in detail the critical role being played by Food Corporation of India in countering the challenges posed by COVID-19.
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:
Present a brief background of FCI and its functions.
Body:
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been set up under the Food Corporations Act 1964. In the initial decades of its inception, the FCI was praised for being at the forefront of India’s quest for self-sufficiency in rice and wheat following the Green Revolution, managing procurement and stocking grains that supported a vast Public Distribution System (PDS). Then move onto explain the role of FCI in the ongoing pandemic crisis.
Conclusion:
Conclude with strategies for the FCI(take hints from the article) which would enable it to more effectively play its role in countering the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Introduction:
Food Corporation of India (FCI) was formed in 1960’s and was part of larger plan directed toward food security and self-sufficiency. Other major institution was CACP. These two institutions along with MSP regime and Public distribution system were expected to work in tandem. FCI’s responsibility was to procure, Store and discharge grains as per policy of the government. Over the time, as in other cases these institutions too failed to adapt to changing circumstances such as changing demands of economy. As a result, FCI now reels under chronic inefficiency through huge wastages, and storage cost of grains keeps on cumulating.
Body:
the critical role being played by Food Corporation of India in countering the challenges posed by COVID-19:
- Notwithstanding its dubious reputation, the FCI has consistently maintained the PDS, a lifeline for vulnerable millions across the country.
- Currently, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, FCI with its buffer stocks holds the key to warding off a looming crisis of hunger and starvation, especially in regions where lakhs of migrant workers have returned home with little money or food.
- The FCI has already moved 3 million tonnes (post-lockdown) to States, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Karnataka and those in the Northeast, where demand outstrips State procurement and/or stocks.
- The FCI has also enabled purchases by States and non-governmental organisations directly from FCI depots, doing away with e-auctions typically conducted for the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS).
- Given the extended lockdown, the FCI is uniquely positioned to move grains across State borders where private sector players continue to face formidable challenges.
However, in recent times, there have been many concerns over FCI:
- FCI’s operations are regarded as expensive and inefficient. There are long-term concerns regarding the costs of food subsidy.
- The FCI has witnessed mounting debts which currently stands at an estimated ₹55 lakh crore in March 2020, in the form of National Small Saving Funds Loan.
- FCI faces serious storage problems and is plagued by the issue of shortage of modern storage facilities. In the 1970s and 1980s, poor storage conditions meant a lot of grain was lost to pests, mainly rats.
- There have been reports of widespread diversion of grains and high leakage losses.
- FCI has lacked a “pro-active liquidation policy” for excess stocks which leads to market distortion in some instances. The distribution of subsidised grains is sometimes blamed for depressing food prices and affecting farmers.
- Some experts have argued that given the increasing role of the market economy, the FCI seems to have long outlived its purpose.
Measures that FCI can take during times of pandemic:
- Use of Roads for transportation:
- The FCI has long back recognized the road movement as better suited for emergencies and for remote areas.
- However, in 2019-2020 (until February) only 24% of the grains moved by road.
- FCI needs to increase the use of roads more imperatively to move grains with least cost and efforts to the remote areas where the need is greatest
- Decentralized storage:
- In the current context, it would be useful for the State government and the FCI to maintain stocks at block headquarters or panchayats in food insecure or remote areas.
- Fiscal Burden:
- The centre should release stocks over and above existing allocations under PDS and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, but at its own expenses rather than by transferring the fiscal burden to States.
- Activating Vibrant Network:
- In many States, there is a vibrant network of self-help groups formed under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) which can be tasked with last mile distribution of food aid other than the PDS.
- Consultative committees presumably exist already in each State to coordinate with the FCI on such arrangements.
- First in, First out (FIFO) principle:
- Typically, the FCI’s guidelines follow a first in, first out principle (FIFO) that mandates that grain that has been procured earlier needs to be distributed first to ensure that older stocks are liquidated, both across years and even within a particular year.
- It is time for the FCI to suspend this strategy, which will enables movement that costs least time, money and effort.
- Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs):
- The FCI along with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) has required expertise to manage the logistics to help farmers across the country to reach out to consumers directly.
- The FCI should consider expanding its role to support FPOs and farmer groups, to move a wider range of commodities including agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilizers, packing materials
Conclusion:
The Shanta Kumar Committee recommendations however was criticized due to suggestions like limiting NFSA, cash subsidy, privatization of FCI despite suggesting useful reforms to reform FCI, PDS. A closer scrutiny in the recommendation is needed today in times of agricultural distress & drought prone years. The FCI needs to overhaul its operations and modernise its storage.
Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
5. Discuss the importance and role of MSMEs in the Indian Economy.(250 words)
Reference: Indian Express
Why this question:
The article brings out the fact that Medium, Small & Micro Enterprises have been the focus of the government’s relief package and in what way they are worst hit, thus forcing us to ponder upon importance and role of MSMEs in the Indian Economy.
Key demand of the question:
Discuss in detail the importance and role of MSMEs in the Indian Economy.
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:
Define briefly MSMEs.
Body:
To start with explain the fact that MSMEs are worst hit. In India, capital is scarce and labour abundant. MSMEs are thought to have lower capital-output and capital-labour ratios than large-scale industries, and therefore, better serve growth and employment objectives. MSMEs are instruments of inclusive growth which touch upon the lives of the most vulnerable and marginalized. Explain the role of MSMEs in detail.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction:
Micro, Small & Medium enterprises (MSME) termed as “engine of growth “for India, has played a prominent role in the development of the country in terms of creating employment opportunities. The government, in conjunction with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has now launched a series of measures to alleviate their distress.
Body:
Current crisis faced by MSME sector:
- The Covid-19 pandemic has left its impact on all sectors of the economy but nowhere is the hurt as much as the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) of India.
- All anecdotal evidence available, such as the hundreds of thousands of stranded migrant workers across the country, suggests that MSMEs have been the worst casualty of Covid-19 induced lockdown.
- MSMEs were already struggling — in terms of declining revenues and capacity utilisation — in the lead-up to the Covid-19 crisis.
- The total lockdown has raised a question mark on the existence of many primarily because these are not firms that have too much cash to wait out the crisis. That explains the job losses.
- According to a recent survey for “small and medium” firms in manufacturing, only 7% said they will be able to survive for more than three months with their cash in hand if their business remains closed.
- A big hurdle to restarting now is the lack of labour availability.
Potential of India’s MSME sector:
- Contribution to GDP: The share of MSMEs in the country’s gross value added is estimated to be about 32%.
- Leveraging Exports: It also contributes about 40% to total exports and 45% to manufacturing output.
- Employment Opportunities: It employs 60 million people, creates 1.3 million jobs every year and produces more than 8000 quality products for the Indian and international markets.
- Diversity: There are approximately 30 million MSME Units in India and is quite diverse in terms of its size, level of technology employed, range of products and services provided and target markets.
- Fostering Inclusive Growth: MSME is constructing inclusive growth in numerous ways through promoting non- agricultural livelihood at least cost, unbiased regional development, large female participation, and providing a protection against deflation.
The challenges and concerns associated with the growth of MSME sector:
- Access to Credit:
- According to Economic Survey (2017-18), MSME sector faces a major problem in terms of getting adequate credit for expansion of business activities.
- The Survey had pointed out that the MSME received only 17.4 per cent of the total credit outstanding.
- Most banks are reluctant to lend to MSMEs because from the perspective of bankers, inexperience of these enterprises, poor financials, lack of collaterals and infrastructure.
- According to a 2018 report by the International Finance Corporation, the formal banking system supplies less than one-third (or about Rs 11 lakh crore) of the credit MSME credit need that it can potentially fund
- most of the MSME funding comes from informal sources and this fact is crucial because it explains why the Reserve Bank of India’s efforts to push more liquidity towards the MSMEs have had a limited impact.
- Poor Infrastructure:
- With poor infrastructure, MSMEs’ production capacity is very low while production cost is very high.
- Access to modern Technology:
- The lack of technological know-how and financial constraints limits the access to modern technology and consequently the technological adoption remains low.
- Access to markets:
- MSMEs have poor access to markets. Their advertisement and sales promotion are comparatively weaker than that of the multinational companies and other big companies.
- The ineffective advertisement and poor marketing channels makes it difficult for them to compete with large companies.
- Legal hurdles:
- Getting statutory clearances related to power, environment, labour are major hurdles.
- Laws related to the all aspects of manufacturing and service concern are very complex and compliance with these laws are difficult.
- Lack of skilled manpower:
- The training and development programs in respect of MSME`S development has been. Thus, there has been a constant crunch of skilled manpower in MSMEs
Other issues:
- Low ICT usage.
- Low market penetration.
- Quality assurance/certification.
- IPR related issues.
- Quality assurance/certification.
- Standardization of products and proper marketing channels to penetrate new markets.
Measures needed:
- Government of India and banks should design plans and measures to widen easy, hassle-free access to credit.
- The RBI should bring stringent norms for Non-Performing Assets (NPA) and it will help curbing loan defaulters and motivate potential good debts. Further, according to critics, the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSME (CGTMSE) run by SIDBI is a growing contingent liability and needs to be examined with urgency
- Government should provide enhanced development and upgradation of existing rail & road network and other infrastructure facilities in less developed and rural areas to boost growth and development of MSMEs
- There should proper research and development in respect of innovative method of production and service rendering. Further, the government should promote and subsidise the technical know-how to Micro and small enterprises.
- Government should encourage procurement programme, credit and performance ratings and extensive marketing support to revive the growth of sick units.
- Skill development and imparting training to MSME workers is a crucial step to increase the productivity of the sector. The government should emphasise predominantly on skill development and training programs
Conclusion:
MSMEs being the growth engine of economy, there is a need to prepare a roadmap for sector in addition to the ad-hoc initiatives undertaken. Delineation of the objectives, vision, and mission is necessary to give clarity on the path to be treaded. An inclusive, sustainable vision to compete with the global MSMEs, by collaborating the industry groups, researchers, government and other stakeholders is the need of the hour.
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.
Reference: Ethics by Lexicon Publications
Why this question:
The question is about differentiating rule of law from the law of rules from an ethical perspective.
Key demand of the question:
Compare and contrast the two and differentiate them by applying to the context of public administration.
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:
Define the two phrases – “Rule of law” and “law of rules” separately.
Body:
Rule of Law means that the supreme authority must be granted to Law – which implies that Law should dictate upon what terms like justice, liberty, equality and fraternity must mean and lay down standards for judgments for citizens. A Law of Rules on the other hand would mean the rigidity of the fine line of rules that must be adhered to in order to set a thing into motion; rules are made to support the higher principles of Law and must be used in assistance of furthering the Rule of Law. Give examples to explain the interrelation better.
Conclusion:
Conclude with importance in public administration.
Introduction:
Rule of Law implies that the law remains the same for everyone, irrespective of his position, status or power within the society. This law provides for equality in treating the individual. It was A.V. Dicey in England who popularized the rule of law and explained its 3 principles-
- No man can be punished except for violation of the law established in an ordinary court of country in an ordinary legal manner
- All persons are subjected to ordinary law of land without any distinction based on rank or position
- Constitution is a result of ordinary law of land. However, this rule has been modified in India where it reads that the Constitution is the supreme law of land and all laws passed by legislature shall be consistent to it.
Body:
Rule of Law means that the supreme authority must be granted to Law –which implies that Law should dictate upon what terms like justice, liberty, equality and fraternity must mean and lay down standards for judgments for citizens. No individual’s opinion of these words can be higher than the Rule of Law. Rule of Law provides certainty, order and peace within a society to follow its pursuits.
The term “Rule of law” is not provided in the Indian constitution but followed in principle but is accepted by Supreme court in various cases like Maneka Gandhi case and Keshavananda Bharathi case.
For instance, In the case of ADM Jabalpur Shivakant Shukla is one of the most important cases when it comes to rule of law. In this case, the question before the court was ‘whether there was any rule of law in India apart from Article 21’. This was in the context of suspension of enforcement of Articles 14, 21 and 22 during the proclamation of an emergency. The answer of the majority of the bench was in negative for the question of law. The majority judges could not take a firm stand and interpreted the supremacy of law to mean supremacy of the law of the land and not supremacy of the constitutional spirit which is rule of law.
The main characteristic of the concept of rule of law is ‘equality’. However, this itself has been criticized widely. Total equality is possible to prevail in general conditions, not only in India but in any country for that matter.
Law of Rules on the other hand would mean the rigidity of the fine line of rules that must be adhered to in order to set a thing into motion. Rules are made to support the higher principles of Law and must be used in assistance of furthering the Rule of Law, but in many cases we observe that the following of rules itself becomes the biggest hindrance for achieving order and justice.
For instance, the Bruisers came up with rigid laws like Sedition Act, Ilbert Bill, Rowlatt Act, Vernacular Press Act etc. which curbed the rights of the Indians.
Another example would be the denial of citizenship to a family living in India for generations due to the absence of specific documents follows the rule but abdicates the law.
Conclusion:
Thus, Rule of law is a well-accepted doctrine in India and is quintessential in the successful functioning of any democracy in the world.
Topic: Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships. 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.
Reference: The Hindu
Why this question:
The question is from the static portions of GS paper I
Key demand of the question:
The article from The Hindu talks about the importance of acknowledging and correcting mistakes in journalism.
Directive:
Throw light – 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:
Present briefly the importance of ethics in Journalism.
Body:
Explain that professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility and that it is quintessential to follow the principles of ethical journalism such as – Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth, Its first loyalty is to citizens, Its essence is a discipline of verification etc. Journalistic ethics are the common values that guide reporters. They lay out both the aspirations and obligations that journalists, editors, and others working in the field should follow to execute their work responsibly. Use a case study or example to bring out the need and necessity to Acknowledge and correct a mistake in journalism.
Conclusion:
Conclude by reasserting importance of Ethics in Journalism.
Introduction:
From the Radia tapes in 2010 to the Essar leaks, Indian journalism has been creaking under the burden of unethical practices. India’s gargantuan news market has 82,222 newspapers; Delhi alone has 16 English dailies in circulation. It has close to 800 television news channels, an industry that has almost trebled between 2006 and 2014. Added to that are 124 million broadband Internet connections and 1,500 state-owned, privately-owned and community radio stations.
Body:
Some of the recent articles:
- COVID-19 has not reduced readers’ expectations of a responsible newspaper. When they see any infraction in journalistic principles or humanistic values, they respond within hours, even during this pandemic.
- A front-page report with a Ghaziabad dateline, “2 priests found dead on U.P. temple premises” (April 29), triggered responses from readers.
- They cited a few earlier columns — “Cloak-and-dagger words” and “Why context matters” — while registering their protest against the report.
- The memory of cyberspace cannot match the memories of committed readers.
The core principles of ethical journalism set out below provide an excellent base for everyone who aspires to launch themselves into the public information sphere to show responsibility in how they use information.
Five Core Principles of Ethical Journalism:
- Truth and Accuracy
- Journalists cannot always guarantee ‘truth’, but getting the facts right is the cardinal principle of journalism.
- We should always strive for accuracy, give all the relevant facts we have and ensure that they have been checked. When we cannot corroborate information we should say so.
- Independence
- Journalists must be independent voices; we should not act, formally or informally, on behalf of special interests whether political, corporate or cultural.
- We should declare to our editors – or the audience – any of our political affiliations, financial arrangements or other personal information that might constitute a conflict of interest.
- Fairness and Impartiality
- Most stories have at least two sides. While there is no obligation to present every side in every piece, stories should be balanced and add context.
- Objectivity is not always possible, and may not always be desirable (in the face for example of brutality or inhumanity), but impartial reporting builds trust and confidence.
- Humanity
- Journalists should do no harm. What we publish or broadcast may be hurtful, but we should be aware of the impact of our words and images on the lives of others.
- Accountability
- A sure sign of professionalism and responsible journalism is the ability to hold ourselves accountable.
- When we commit errors we must correct them and our expressions of regret must be sincere not cynical.
- We listen to the concerns of our audience. We may not change what readers write or say but we will always provide remedies when we are unfair.
Need for ethical journalism in contemporary times:
- The issues of paid news, media trial, non-issues being presented as real news while the real issues are sidelined, the news is being doctored and fact distortion for profits and political favour, fake news, yellow journalism are important concerns which are influencing public and impacting national security. For instance, fear mongering through media has led to mob lynchings, attacks on the migrant population.
- The absence of objective journalism leads to the false presentation of truth in a society which affects the perception and opinions of people. As observed in the case of Cambridge Analytica case, the biased news coverage on social media platform affected the Presidential elections in the U.S.
- The chase for sensationalism and higher TRP rates as observed in the coverage of 26/11 terrorist attacks in India risked the internal security of the nation. The sensationalism-driven reporting compromised the identities of rape victims and survivors despite SC guidelines.
- Trial by media does not follow the due process of law and can reduce the public trust in institutions of governance like the judiciary.
- Paid news and fake news can manipulate public perception and can instigate hatred, violence, and disharmony among the various community within society.
- With the advent of social media, technological changes, the reach of media has grown profoundly. Its reach and role in impacting public opinion have made it even more important to ensure its objectivity, non-partisanship calls for the enforcement of journalistic ethics.
Measures needed:
- Handling sensitive issues like caste, religion in journalism is not an easy task. The desk must know when to name a community and when to refrain from doing so. This is not a form of self-censorship.
- One needs to understand the power of the caste hierarchy that perpetuates a dominance-dependency equation undermining our egalitarian imagination.
- Journalists must understand that their writing should uphold the dignity of people and not become a tool to humiliate them.
- Most importantly, one cannot permit the journalistic space to normalise any form of humiliation.
- Apart from deadline pressures, a journalist sometimes tends to read what he assumed he wanted to say rather than what he had actually written.
- But a Readers’ Editor has not only the benefit of time but also the advantage of collective scrutiny of a text.
- Acknowledging and correcting a mistake is an essential element of ethical journalism.
Conclusion:
It is therefore important that for the media to carry out their important role effectively and efficiently, the media should operate within a well-defined code of ethics while maintaining their freedom and editorial independence. Since irresponsible journalism invites restriction, robbing off the media its freedom, professional conduct and ethical practice are vital to safeguarding freedom of the media and ensuring that public trust invested in the media is sustained
