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.
Reference: Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
Why this question:
The question is from the static portions of GS paper I and is based on the temple architecture aspects of ancient and medieval India.
Key demand of the question:
Explain the unique features of Vesara tradition of Indian Hindu temple architecture that distinguished it from Dravida and Nagara styles.
Directive:
Comment– here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Briefly explain the coming of different styles of temple architecture in India.
Body:
The Vesara Style is hybrid temple architecture. It has features of both the Nagara and Dravidian Style of Temple architecture. As we know that the Nagara Style is prevalent in North and Central India Dravidian Style is prevalent in South India. Discuss the architectural details with suitable examples; explain in detail how it differentiated itself from the other styles of temple architecture in the country.
Conclusion:
Conclude with importance of these various styles of architecture.
Introduction:
The Vesara style also called the Chalukyan type possessed the Dravidian vimana and the Nagara- type faceted walls. At times, the Vesara style of temples is also found as an independent style, created through the selective mixing of the Nagara and Dravida orders. In the southern part of the Deccan, i.e., in the region of Karnataka where some of the most experimental hybrid styles of vesara architecture are to be found. Dodda Bassapa Temple at Dambal, Ladkhan Temple at Aihole and Temples at the Chalukyan Capital Badami are few of the specimens of Vesara style.
Body:
Unique features of Vesara style of architecture:
- Ornamentation:In case of ornamentation of temple walls and pillars, Chalukyan temple shows indigenous quality.
- Transformation of Dravida tower:The Chalukyan builders modified the Dravida towers by minimizing the height of each storey and arranging them in descending order of height from base to top with much ornamentation in each storey.
- Transformation of Nagara tower:Instead of inclined storey here modification is seen in the vertical shape of the tower.
- Two special features of Chalukya temples – Mantapa and Pillars:
- Mantapa: The mantapa has two types of roof – domical ceilings (the dome like ceilings standing on four pillars are very attractive) or Square ceilings (these are vigorously ornamented with mythological pictures).
- Pillars: the miniature decorative pillars of Chalukya temples stands with its own artistic value.
However, Vesara style had influence of both Dravida and Nagara schools of architectures:
Influence of Nagara tradition
- The plan of shrine, subsidiary shrine, panchayatan style bears similarity to Nagara School.
- The plan of vestibule joining the sanctum to mantapa bears resemblance to orissan temples.
- The most of the temple pillars in Karnataka region bears similarity to sekhari and bhumija type of pillars in northern India.
- The stepped diamond plan that is a plan of design arrangement as seen in Chalukya temples is from northern region.
- The most of the temples in kalyani portrays Nagara articulation projecting stepped diamond or stellate plan.
Influence of Dravida tradition
- The Dravida influence is mainly visible in vimana of the Chalukya temples in first part of the Chalukya rule.
Combination of Nagara and Dravida style:
- Vesara sikhar or kadamba sikhara: It is a shikhara of Chalukya temple showing northern shikhara and southern vimana features.
- Ornamentation: Miniature decorative towers and ornamentation of walls in Chalukya temples show combination of both Nagara and Dravida style.
Special departure from Nagara and Dravida tradition:
In case of entrance hall to shrine Chalukya temple bears special uniqueness. It has two or more than two entrances while
- There is a small closed mantapa to the shrine in Nagara temples.
- There is an enlarged, open and closed mantapa in Dravida temples
Conclusion:
Chalukya architecture is also called the precursor of Hoysala art. Thus, Vesara style was a confluence of both Dravida and Nagara styles of architecture, yet, it had its own distinctive features which were unique.
Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Reference: Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
Why this question:
The question is from the static portions of GS paper I and refers to Medieval Indian architecture and the external influences that led to its unique characters.
Key demand of the question:
Explain in detail how the Medieval Indian Architecture is a synthesis of indigenous styles and external influences.
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:
Give a brief introduction of medieval Indian architecture.
Body:
To start with, explain that Medieval Indian architecture accommodated the local and regional cultural traditions and social requirements, economic prosperity, and religious practice of the time. Indian architecture is a synthesis of indigenous styles and external influences which has lent it a unique characteristic of its own. The medieval period saw the synthesis of Persian and indigenous styles of architecture. List the variety of structures constructed at that time. Give examples to justify better.
Conclusion:
Conclude that the historic structures ranging from military structures, mortuary, royal courts, mosques, temples showcased the entire range of structures that catered to life in the medieval period in India.
Introduction:
Medieval Indian architecture accommodated the local and regional cultural traditions and social requirements, economic prosperity, and religious practice of the time. Medieval Indian architecture is a synthesis of indigenous styles and external influences which has lent it a unique characteristic of its own. The medieval period saw the synthesis of Persian and indigenous styles of architecture. Structures meant for public activity including temples, mosques, tanks, wells, bazaars were built highlighting the combination of needs, imagination, capacities of the builders and capabilities of the workers.
Body:
Characteristics of Medieval Indian architecture:
- The extension of Islam into India in the 11th and 12th centuries introduced typical Muslim architectural elements into mosques, tombs, and other structures on the subcontinent.
- These elements included such forms as the dome and the pointed arch as well as Islamic styles of decoration.
- A Muslim kingdom known as the Delhi sultanate dominated northern India from the 1200s to the 1500s. The Pashtun style of Islamic architecture developed in this period.
- Among the typical features of this style are red sandstone surfaces with white marble inlays and arches in the shape of a pointed horseshoe. Windows were fitted with perforated screens.
- The buildings feature intricate and abundant decoration. Notable early Pashtun architecture in Delhi includes the Quwat-ul-Islam mosque, a tall tower called the Qutb Minar, the tomb of the sultan Iltutmish, and the Alaʾi Gate. Later Pashtun styles are represented by the tombs of the Sayyid and Lodi kings.
- Many forts were built with sophisticated defence system. Most of these forts had ingenious water structures designed for harvesting and storage, including step-wells, elaborate reservoirs and channels.
- For example- The famous Srirangapatna fort, also called Tipu’s palace, in Mysore, Karnataka, was built in 1537 in Indo-Islamic style. This magnificent fort is considered to be the second toughest fort of India.
- From the mid-16th to the late 17th century, under the rule of the Mughal dynasty, northern India saw a striking revival of Islamic architecture.
- Persian, Indian, and various local architectural styles were successfully combined. Mughal architects produced structures of unusual refinement and quality.
- Though the Hindu and the Muslim architecture possessed the distinct features of their own, the mingling of the two led to the rise of a new school of architecture sometimes designated as “Indo-Islamic architecture”.
- Certain scholars have described it as “Indo Saracenic” or “Pathan”.
- It represented a blend of Brahmanical, Buddhist and Jain styles with those of western and central Asia and northern African styles which the Muslims brought with them to India.
- It is very difficult to ascertain how much this architecture owed to the Hindu style and how much to the Islamic system.
- Many grand mausoleums were built in the memories of royal members. For example, the Taj Mahal, the mausoleums of Akbar (at Agra), Humayun (Delhi), Mohammed Adil Shah (Bijapur) etc.
- Gardens with running water like Nishat Bagh in Kashmir, the Shalimar Bagh at Lahore and the Pinjore garden in the Punjab were laid down.
- Many stepwells were built in medieval times. Stepwells are wells or ponds in which the water is reached by descending a set of steps. They may be multi-storied with a bullock turning a water wheel to raise the well water to the first or second floor.
- They are most common in western India and are also found in the other more arid regions of the Indian subcontinent, extending into Pakistan.
- Some of the examples of Baori in medieval times are: Rani ka Vav(Gujarat), Chand baori in Rajasthan, Agrasen ki Baoli in Delhi.
Rationale behind the synthesis of indigenous styles and external influences:
- The arrival of Turks during the thirteenth century led to the introduction of- the architectural styles of Persia, Arabia and Central Asia.
- The salient features of these buildings were the domes, arches and minarets. So, during the course of time blend of Islamic style with the Indian architecture culminated into Indo-Islamic architecture with syncretic features.
- The palaces, mosques and tombs built by the rulers had these features which were blended with the features of the indigenous architecture and a new synthesis in architecture was achieved.
- This happened because the Turkish rulers of Delhi utilized the services of the local Indian craftsmen who were very skilful and had already constructed beautiful buildings.
- Though the buildings were designed by Muslim architects to suit the requirements of their religious ideas, yet they were constructed by Hindu craftsmen who formed the finest artistry of the world. Obviously the buildings had a combination of Indo- Islamic architecture.
- In the buildings that came up we find the simplicity of the Islamic structure as well as the detailed sculptures and designs they made on their own indigenous structures.
- The early Muslim rulers constructed their palaces, mosques and other buildings out of the materials acquired from demolition of Hindu temples and other buildings.
- A large number of mosques of this period were constructed by destroying certain portions of Hindu temples and making the necessary changes in the buildings according to the Islamic requirements.
- The Muslim rulers, particularly dismantled the Sikhars and roofs and erected domes and lofty minars.
- In addition, the spirit of toleration and harmony was also to a large extent responsible for the synthesis of the two architectures. A middle path was followed in all their designs in the architecture of this period.
Conclusion
Thus, the historic structures ranging from military and defensive structures, mortuary, royal courts, mosques, temples showcased the entire range of structures that catered to life in the medieval period in India.
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Reference: Indian Express
Why this question:
The author talks about the current situation; that is in what way Pandemic is being used to push online education.
Key demand of the question:
One has to evaluate whether online education must supplement, not replace, physical sites of learning and justify viewpoint suitably.
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 explain how the pandemic situation has changed the education scenario across the world.
Body:
Student has to analyse in detail in the answer if online education is being force-fed to Indian education as a miracle cure — at all levels (school, college, university) and for all tasks (lectures, exams, admissions) — not only for pandemic conditions but for the future. Analyse if online educations is a viable alternative to traditional educational institutions in our country. Present points in favour and against.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a balanced and fair opinion.
Introduction:
The coronavirus pandemic has shuttered educational institutions across the globe. Closure of schools, colleges and universities, shutdown of routine life of students and teachers, disruptions in education and the education ministry remaining incommunicado, have created an unprecedented situation and thrown many unexpected challenges to administrators, educators, teachers, parents and students.
Body:
Impacts on education due to COVID-19 pandemic:
- school and university closures will not only have a short-term impact on the continuity of learning for more than 285 million young learners in India but also engender far-reaching economic and societal consequences.
- The pandemic has significantly disrupted the higher education sector as well, which is a critical determinant of a country’s economic future.
- A large number of Indian students—second only to China—enroll in universities abroad, especially in countries worst affected by the pandemic, the US, UK, Australia and China.
- Many such students have now been barred from leaving these countries. If the situation persists, in the long run, a decline in the demand for international higher education is expected.
- The bigger concern, however, on everybody’s mind is the effect of the disease on the employment rate. Recent graduates in India are fearing withdrawal of job offers from corporates because of the current situation.
- The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s estimates on unemployment shot up from 8.4% in mid-March to 23% in early April and the urban unemployment rate to 30.9%.
Challenges posed by Online Education:
- India is far behind some developing countries where digital education is getting increased attention.
- Democratization of technology is now an important issue, comprising internet connectivity, telecom infrastructure, affordability of online system, availability of laptop/desktop, software, educational tools, online assessment tools, etc.
- Census 2011 tells us that 71 per cent of households with three or more members have dwellings with two rooms or less (74 per cent in rural and 64 per cent in urban areas).
- According to National Sample Survey data for 2017-18, only 42 per cent of urban and 15 per cent of rural households had internet access, and only 34 per cent of urban and 11 per cent of rural persons had used the internet in the past 30 days.
- It is true that many traditional educational institutions (TEIs) (both public and private) have substandard infrastructure. But these data suggest that the majority (roughly two-thirds) of students are likely to be worse off at home compared to any campus.
- The impact of smartphone capabilities and stability of net connectivity on OE pedagogy also needs to be examined.
- But it is as a social rather than physical space that the college or university campus plays a critical role. We have long ignored the vital role public educational institutions play as exemplary sites of social inclusion and relative equality. In Indian conditions, this role is arguably even more important than the scholastic role.
- the public educational institution is still the only space where people of all genders, classes, castes, and communities can meet without one group being forced to bow to others.
- Women students, in particular, will be much worse off if confined to their homes by OE.
- Poor are disconnected and irrespective of background, some children cannot relate to the online classroom, and many more are losing out on midday meals.
Online education as a supplement to Traditional Educational Institutes:
- OE can play as a supplement to on-site education.
- It can use content and methods that are hard to include in the normal curriculum. It can put pressure on lazy or incompetent teachers.
- It can provide hands-on experience in many technical fields where simulations are possible.
- And it can, of course, be a powerful accessory for affluent students able to afford expensive aids.
- But it is fraudulent to suggest that OE can replace public education, the only kind that the majority can access.
Conclusion:
To summarize, education must continue. Students should keep learning. The lockdown period should be productive. Educators should think creatively and introduce innovative ways of learning. In a country where access to the Internet and high-speed connectivity is a problem, and the digital divide is an issue, it is important to address the challenges. Those who are involved in education planning and administration should give a serious thought to reducing the digital divide in the country and popularize digital learning along with traditional education.
Topic: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Reference: Live Mint
Why this question:
The author highlights the dismal picture of migrants and the crisis they are undergoing owing to the Covid situation in the country.
Key demand of the question:
Evaluate the need to identify an Aadhaar based system that would enable policy makers to design an inclusionary model and thus enable a change in the social and economic story of migrants in independent India.
Directive:
Comment– here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Briefly explain the issue of Migrants in the country.
Body:
To start with, explain that the social and economic story of independent India has been intertwined with migration. India has the world’s largest emigrant population, several hundred million domestic migrants, and a large immigrant population. Explain the idea of applying Aadhaar to manage the issue, discuss the possibilities of designing policies focusing on migrants through right data, technology for services etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by suggesting solutions and emphasize that migrant issues should be urgently looked into in the country.
Introduction:
India has the world’s largest emigrant population, several hundred million domestic migrants, and a large immigrant population. Thousands of migrant labourers have headed home on foot after national lockdown, which has created an acute shortage of labourers in major agrarian states. The inter-State migrant worker community, thousands of these migrant labourers have been leaving cities, even on foot, for their towns in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and elsewhere. Cleaved from their livelihood, bereft of money and devoid of adequate nutrition, these exhausted walkers have held a mirror to the soul of an upwardly mobile nation and marred its claim of inclusive growth.
Body:
Reasons for the migration problems:
- Lack of clear data:
- The data on migration is fuzzy. India’s decennial census tracks international emigrants, intra-district, intra-state and inter-state migrants.
- The estimate for total domestic migrants from the 2011 census extrapolated to now is about 500 million people.
- High number of dependents:
- The vast bulk of these migrations, nearly 340 million, are female migrations related to marriage.
- Inter-state migrations for employment-related reasons was about 13 million in 2011, but has dramatically increased to about 25 or 30 million now.
- Migration began for both push and pull reasons:
- The push factors relate to climate change (agrarian distress, flooding, drought, cyclones, etc.), social-structure rigidity, indignities related to the rural/feudal caste system, and lack of employment opportunities.
- The pull factors relate mostly to income opportunity, relative freedom from caste discrimination, and the ability to build a nest-egg using remittances.
- Circular migration:
- Most of these migrations are “circular”, meaning that migrant’s intent is to return to his or her place of origin, or at the very least live with one foot there and the other in the work destination.
- No Social security:
- The lack of social security among the poor makes it difficult for them to practice social distancing. They are mostly dependent upon daily and even hourly wage earnings. The lockdown would lead to an income security challenge to them.
Aadhar as a solution:
- Aadhaar is becoming India’s default ID. Those who have Aadhaar use it regularly and across multiple services. 80% of respondents felt that Aadhaar had improved the reliability of government funded welfare services
- 95% of adults have Aadhaar and 75% of children have Aadhaar.
- 8% of people do not have Aadhaar– or an estimated 102 million people.
- 80% of beneficiaries feel Aadhaar has made PDS rations, MGNREGS and social pensions more reliable.
Other measures needed to tackle:
- The country needs policy thinking on both inter-state and intra-state labour migrants.
- This is a job that requires collaboration between the Centre and the states, as well as between states.
- Data:
- A non-political agency reporting to Parliament should be created to track all labour-related data in India with a focus on migrants.
- It has become clear in recent months that India’s data collection with respect to its labour market is abysmal.
- This agency should work with civil service organisations and academics in building longitudinal, cross-sectional and high-frequency data sets for policy formulation purposes.
- Technology for services:
- There is widespread agreement among sociologists that the household is at the centre of any migration decision.
- Policy for migrant workers must, therefore, be focused on the household and its multi-locational presence.
- It is unrealistic to build upon the Centre’s “one nation one ration card” idea from scratch.
- The most effective way to deliver services would be to use the Aadhaar-based technology stack, after obtaining legislative sanction for this specific purpose.
- Since the stack stays off individual bio-metric identification, it will have to be adapted to add household clusters.
- Employment structure:
- So long as certain social security benefits are accessible to migrant workers, both circular migrant workers and employers appear to prefer a flexible work format.
- Employers and governments should, thus, focus on creating the enabling urban infrastructure—affordable flexible rental housing, clean hygienic communities, portable affordable healthcare access and technology stack for delivery of in-kind and cash transfers—rather than on formalizing contracts between employers and migrant workers.
Way forward for Aadhar as a solution:
- Every decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for service provision should be carefully considered as making Aadhaar mandatory can lead to exclusion from welfare and other services.
- Improvements in on-the-ground processes related to Aadhaar should be done by designing efficient systems keeping the most vulnerable sections of society in mind.
- As more services are linked to Aadhaar, easy access as well as seamless updating and authentication will become only more critical.
- Different states implement Aadhaar in very distinct ways, which represents an opportunity to innovate and learn from each other’s successful practices.
Topic: Disaster and disaster management.
Reference: Hindustan Times
Why this question:
The question is based on the current situation of super cyclone that has hit the State of West Bengal badly amidst the already existing issues of Covid situation, lockdown and the bigger migration issue.
Key demand of the question:
Explain the need to relook at the Disaster management methods 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:
Briefly explain the current crisis situation.
Body:
To start with, one can present the case study of West Bengal, state key facts depicting the quadruple whammy of Covid-19, the lockdown, migrants’ resettlement and the cyclone. From the article take hints and explain the five points that the author presents which need immediate attention in the country with respect to disaster management.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction:
The eastern Indian city of Kolkata has been devastated by a powerful cyclone which has killed at least 84 people across India and Bangladesh. Super cyclone Amphan made landfall on last Wednesday, lashing coastal areas with ferocious wind and rain. Thousands of trees were uprooted in the gales, electricity and telephone lines brought down and houses flattened. To add to the woes of cyclone after-effects, there are increasing cases of Covid-19, continued lockdown in some areas and the resettlement of scores of migrants who are returning back to West Bengal. India, thus, needs a focused approach to cyclical natural disasters
Body:
Disaster wreaked by Cyclone Amphan:
- In less than two days, Bengal lost around Rs 1 lakh crore.
- The cyclone left 80 dead, hundreds of thousands homeless, uprooted trees, ravaged houses, marooned dwellings, knocked out electricity and phone lines, flooded cities and villages, plundered embankments, fencings and boundaries.
- It wreaked ecological destruction and devastation, especially in the eco-sensitive Sundarbans.
- Not least was the ruination of Kolkata’s iconic Great Banyan Tree, among the world’s largest.
- Prime Minister announced a relief package of Rs 1,000 crore ($132 million) for WB and Rs 500 crore ($66 million) for Odisha.
The complete disaster management cycle includes the shaping of public policies and plans that either modify the causes of disasters or mitigate their effects on people, property, and infrastructure.
Measures needed:
- There is a need for a genuinely non-discriminatory and equal approach qua all states.
- There is a need for many international agencies to come up with financial assistance like they did during the Gujarat earthquake including the European Union, United States (US) Agency for International Development, Canadian International Development Agency and World Bank ($300 m) and Asian Development Bank ($500 m).
- there is a need to exponentially increase government allocation to fight natural disasters.
- random allocation is far less useful than targeted and focused relief measures.
- planned and targeted measures need to be coupled with a robust institutional framework.
- All municipalities must draft their reconstruction plans based on modelling and the plans were based entirely on urban planning, land management, structural mitigation and relocation.
- Such innovations need to be conceptualized in India, much less implemented and even medium-term thinking, much less long-term planning, is conspicuously overwhelmed by short-term ad hocism
- Many countries in their disaster-prone coastal regions have constructed high seawalls to protect vulnerable communities. Odisha’s cyclone shelters are a praiseworthy-but-partial achievement, deserving emulation.
Lessons that can be learnt from foreign countries in Disaster Management:
- In the 2011 tsunami-earthquake, Japan allocated $167 billion for rehabilitation and recovery. It made a five-year plan to do so comprehensively.
- Similarly, the US Congress allocated $121.7 billion in hurricane relief in 2005 and 2008. Earthquake-prone Iran allocated 2% its national annual budget towards disaster risk reduction, including $4 billion in 2012.
- Though precise figures for allocation “per head of vulnerable group” are not available, it is clear that comparisons with India on per-affected-population basis yield a dismal picture.
- Japan’s targeted five-year plan focused on each stakeholder — from fisheries to housing and power. Knee-jerk reactions in grand mega-announcements after cyclones, without specific sub-allocations, lose their limited vigour and vitality by the time they reach the ground target.
- After 2011, the Japanese government enacted the “Act on the Development of Tsunami-resilient Communities”, to efficiently combine structural and non-structural measures to minimise damage.
Conclusion:
We need five “Ps” to cope up with recurring disasters — prominence, as in the role of governments; a pool of funds; planning, especially long-term, of rehabilitation and development; policy qua institutional support; and preparedness qua countermeasures.
Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Reference: The Hindu
Why this question:
The author of the article analyzes the trends in the domain of technology and data, and evaluates the scenario in a post-COVID phase.
Key demand of the question:
One has to analyse in detail the trends in the domain of technology and data, and evaluate the Interdependence between technology and geopolitics in a post-COVID phase.
Directive:
Analyze – When asked to analyse, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Briefly start by explaining the significance of technology and data in the current times.
Body:
To start with, highlight that National governments, policymakers and healthcare researchers are using technology and data to plan and improve economic activities, social development and treat deadly diseases. Then move onto explain the Interdependence between technology and geopolitics in detail. Bring out concerns associated with it and propose solutions to address the same.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way ahead.
Introduction:
National governments, policymakers and healthcare researchers are using technology and data to plan and improve economic activities, social development and treat deadly diseases more effectively than ever before. This is because deeper issues arising due to the pandemic are slowly emerging as the world relaxes lockdown measures.
Body:
Recent trends in the domain of technology and data:
- Issues relating to technologies such as biotechnology, genetic engineering and information technology will have a long-term impact on geopolitics.
- Technology and data are becoming inherently geopolitical.
- Proper data related to the COVID-19 outbreak were not shared in time, and that is why there is so much anger towards the World Health Organization and China.
- The nature of technology and data has placed tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon in a commanding position. Given their global reach, governments are becoming increasingly dependent on them.
- Tech giants are taking a leading role in geopolitics, at times playing on their own and sometimes as proxies of nation states to influence policymaking and national regulations.
- The U.S.-China trade war, the position of governments on Huawei 5G technology, and Facebook’s attempt to implement internet.org are a few examples.
- Changing idea of privacy:
- The pandemic has brought a change in perception on issues like privacy.
- During the current pandemic, people across the globe have accepted the idea of their live locations being traced and shared with governments.
- Currently in India, more than 90 million people have downloaded Aarogya Setu despite concerns raised with respect to the right to privacy.
However, there are concerns regarding this domain of technology and data:
- Restrictions on the flow of data have increased significantly in the recent past.
- World over, data protection laws, requirements of data localisation, laws related to weakening of encryption keys and data retention requirements are increasing.
- The proposed frameworks on data are not interoperable between different jurisdictions and only focus on protection of personal data and privacy and give little thought to the broader impact of data on mobility and social aspects.
- Data protection frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU and the CLOUD Act of the U.S. are aimed at putting users in control of their data. But they have issues relating to data localisation, cross-border flow of information and issue of data sharing.
- The global body, UN has also not succeeded in bringing consensus in the preparation of an acceptable framework.
Way forward:
- Digital equity will require frameworks relating to governance of technology and data that look beyond geopolitical considerations.
- There is a need to distinguish individual data from large global data sets.
- We cannot extrapolate the current human rights framework to human rights in the digital and biological domain.
- The current concept of privacy and cross-border flow of information may require significant change.
- There is a dire need to impose obligations for data flow on countries and tech giants in the larger interest of mankind.
- We need to establish a baseline of global norms of data governance that go beyond privacy and geopolitical considerations.
- These norms must focus on mechanisms to leverage data to solve problems and ensure consistency, interoperability, privacy and security.
- It is the right time for a Parliament select committee to look at the data protection framework.
- At the same time, we need to identify an international body to evolve global norms on data governance.
Topic: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
Reference: Indian Express
Why this question:
The article explains why locusts are being sighted in urban areas, what it can mean for crops.
Key demand of the question:
Explain problem of locust invasion that has caused an unusual threat to food security and livelihood in parts of East and West Africa, South West Asia, and India while suggesting measures that need to be taken.
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.
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 the issue of Locusts in the country. The first swarms were sighted along the India-Pakistan border on April 11, months ahead of the usual time of arrival.
Body:
To start with, explain what are locusts and when are they are sighted in India. Explain the issue – These insects feed on a large variety of crops. If not controlled, locust swarms can threaten the food security of a country. At present countries in the Horn of Africa such as Ethiopia and Somalia are witnessing one of the worst locusts attacks in the last 25 years. Present the case of current locust storms that have infested north- western parts of India. Explain in what way they lead to food insecurity if not controlled. Present the case of India.
Conclusion:
Suggest measures to address the issue.
Introduction:
Locusts are a group of short-horned grasshoppers that multiply in numbers as they migrate long distances in destructive swarms (up to 150km in one day). In recent weeks, locust swarms have attacked crops in more than a dozen countries in Asia and Africa. Swarms of locusts are being sighted early in India and in areas not historically associated with such sightings.
Body:
Locusts:
- They are a collection of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase.
- These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming gregarious.
- No taxonomic distinction is made between locust and grasshopper species; the basis for the definition is whether a species forms swarms under intermittently suitable conditions.
- These grasshoppers are innocuous, their numbers are low, and they do not pose a major economic threat to agriculture.
- However, under suitable conditions of drought followed by rapid vegetation growth, serotonin in their brains triggers a dramatic set of changes: they start to breed abundantly, becoming gregarious and nomadic (loosely described as migratory) when their populations become dense enough.
- They form bands of wingless nymphs which later become swarms of winged adults. Both the bands and the swarms move around and rapidly strip fields and cause damage to crops.
- The adults are powerful fliers; they can travel great distances, consuming most of the green vegetation wherever the swarm settles
Locusts in India:
- The first swarms were sighted along the India-Pakistan border on 11th April 2020, months ahead of the usual time of arrival.
- Agriculture Ministry’s Locust Warning Organization (LWO) reported the first sightings in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar and Jaisalmer districts.
- In India, locusts are sighted normally during July- October along the Pakistan border.
- In 2019, parts of Western Rajasthan and Northern Gujarat reported swarms that caused damage to growing rabi crops.
- These were the first swarms reported in India since 1997.
- Locusts are being seen in areas not historically associated with such sightings.
- These areas include urban areas of Rajasthan including Jaipur, Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior, Morena and Sheopur.
- Also, stray swarms are seen in Vidharbha region of Maharashtra’s Amravati, Nagpur and Wardha.
- Since there are no crops in the fields, the locusts have moved across states attracted by green cover.
- The swarms were aided by high-speed wind and thus they made their way to Jaipur.
- At present, there are 3 to 4 swarms in Rajasthan, another 2 or 3 in Madhya Pradesh.
- From Madhya Pradesh, a group has migrated to Maharashtra, which is not very difficult to control.
Implications for crops in India:
- At present, chances of crop damage are low given that farmers have already harvested their rabi crop.
- The bigger problem will come once the present swarms breed.
- An adult female locust lays 80-90 eggs thrice in her three-month life cycle.
- If left uncontrolled, a swarm can grow exponentially to 40-80 million locusts per square kilometre.
- The locusts will start laying eggs after the monsoon starts and continue breeding for two more months.
- The newer generations may rise during the growth phase of kharif crop.
- In May 2020, Union Agriculture Minister chaired a meeting to take stock of the situation.
- Control involves spraying insecticide on locusts’ night resting places like trees using drones.
- India has also put an order of 60 specialised insecticide sprayers with the UK, with India already having 50 such machines.
Measures to control:
- Bio Control: Control by natural predators and parasites so far is limited since locusts can quickly move away from most natural enemies. The most effective controls were natural ones: crows, mynahs, starlings, storks, bustards, vultures and other birds all congregated to feast on locusts.
- LWO role: The locust hunters in both countries have coordinated with military authorities like the Border Security Force to set up regular meetings at border points.
- Controlling desert locust swarms primarily uses organophosphate chemicals by vehicle-mounted and aerial sprayers, and to a lesser extent by knapsack and hand-held sprayers.
- Extensive research is ongoing regarding biological control and other means of non-chemical control with the current focus on pathogens and insect growth regulators.
Conclusion:
While climate change is a global phenomenon, developing countries and least developed countries stands out for its vulnerability which is driven primarily by the prevailing low levels of socioeconomic development. Persons living in poverty face compounding vulnerabilities to climate change impacts because they lack the resources to quickly recover from its effects. In this case, desert locusts are ravaging crops in the field before harvesting, wiping out livestock and wildlife feed, and with them savings, assets and livelihoods. Deployment of climate action solutions such as decentralizing solar dryers to agro-value chain actors can ensure that they can earn up to 30 times more by being able to preserve their harvest and sell during the offseason or gives them flexibility to compensate for unpredictable events such as these locust swarms.
