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.
General Studies – 1
Topic: The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Chapter-22: India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1 as mentioned in Mission-2022 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To reason behind Gandhi’s strategy to choose salt as a core aspect of civil disobedience movement.
Directive word:
Substantiate – When you are asked to Substantiate, you must pass a sound judgement about the truth of the given statement in the question or the topic based on evidence. You must appraise the worth of the statement in question using suitable case studies or/ and examples.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start by giving introduction to the events that led to the rise of the civil disobedience movement.
Body:
Mention the intent of Gandhi’s strategy behind choosing salt as an issue to launch a movement against the British and link it with Gandhi’s method of Constructive work, the economic aspect, emotional aspect, Civil Disobedience aspect and stress on the factor of mass appeal.
Conclusion:
Conclude by mentioning the impact of salt satyagraha setting the foundation for a non-violent mass struggle.
Introduction
Gandhiji had presented 11 demands in front of British based on mandate of Lahore congress session and gave an ultimatum of Jan 31st 1930 to accept them. With no positive response forthcoming from the Government on these demands, the Congress Working Committee invested Gandhi with full powers to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) at a time and place of his choice. By February-end, Gandhi had decided to make, salt, the central formula for the CDM.
Body
Salt issue as focus of protest:
- In every Indian household, salt was indispensable, yet people were forbidden from making salt even for domestic use, compelling them to buy it from shops at a high price.
- As Gandhi said, “There is no other article like salt, outside water, by taxing which the Government can reach the starving millions, the sick, the maimed and the utterly helpless”.
- It is the most inhuman poll tax the ingenuity of man can devise.
- Salt in a flash linked the ideal of swaraj with a most concrete and universal grievance of the rural poor and with no socially divisive implications like a no-rent campaign.
- Salt afforded a paltry but psychologically important income, like khadi, for the poor through self-help.
- Salt also offered to the urban adherents the opportunity of a symbolic identification with mass suffering.
- The British used to destroy salt collected from the villagers from the sea which led to an increase in national expenditure.
- The state monopoly over salt was deeply unpopular; by making it his target, Gandhiji hoped to mobilise a wider discontent against British rule.
- Salt had no divisive elements in terms of caste, religion or class thus was a silent ingredient of “Unity in Diversity”.
- Salt was chosen to symbolize the start of civil disobedience movement because salt was deemed as something on which every Indian had the basic right.
- Gandhiji declared resistance to British salt policies to be the unifying theme for the civil disobedience movement and thus started Dandi March.
Conclusion
The Salt March got national and international recognition and shook the Britishers with its non-violent nature. It got massive press coverage and drew the world’s attention towards the Indian Independence Movement. Even today, non-violent peaceful protest is a potent tool against oppressive practices of the government.
Value addition:
Significance of Dandi March in Indian National Movement
- The historic march, marking, the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement, began on March 12, and Gandhi broke the salt law by picking up a handful of salt at Dandi on April 6.
- The violation of the law was seen as a symbol of the Indian people’s resolve not to live under British- made laws and therefore under British rule.
- The march, its progress and its impact on the people was well covered by newspapers. In Gujarat, 300 village officials resigned in answer to Gandhi’s appeal.
- Participation of women: For Indian women, the movement was the most liberating experience and can truly be said to have marked their entry into the public sphere.
- Reduced British Authority: The hegemony of the Government was eroded, as they faced the classic dilemma of ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t—if force was applied, the Congress cried ‘repression’, and if little was done, the Congress cried ‘victory’.
- Mass involvement: Massive participation of peasants and business groups compensated for decline of other features. The number of those imprisoned was about three times more this time. The Congress was organisationally stronger.
Topic: The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Chapter-22: India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1 as mentioned in Mission-2022 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the spread of the civil disobedience movement in India along with its regional patterns.
Directive word:
Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the context. You must be defining key terms wherever appropriate and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin your answer by giving context of Civil disobedience movement (CDM) and its beginnings.
Body:
Draw a small map showing various regional manifestations of the CDM.
Mention about the various leaders across India such as Kelappan, C Rajagopalachari and others leading each of the regional areas across India.
Mention Civil disobedience movement against Chowkidari tax, the people of Balasore boycotting all forms of tax, defying the forest laws etc and the areas in which it was active.
Also new forms of boycott such as formation of volunteer corps, involving children and women, secretly spreading the messages of Congress in rural areas for demand of swarajya through underground channels may be highlighted to show emergence of new patterns of activism against the British Raj.
Conclusion:
Comment on the impact of the movement.
Introduction
Gandhi addressed an ultimatum to Viceroy Lord Irwin on 31 January 1930, asking him to remove the evils of the British rule and also informed of his decision to undertake Civil Disobedience Movement. The aim of this movement was a complete disobedience of the orders of the British Government. There was agitation against land revenue, abolition of salt tax, cutting down military expenditure, levying duty on foreign cloth, among others, throughout India. A very important movement was that of Salt Satyagraha where Gandhi undertook the Dandi march as a protest against the Salt tax.
Body
Spread of the civil disobedience movement:
In terms of Popular Response:
- With Gandhi’s symbolic breaking of salt laws at Dandi, defiance of salt laws started all over the country.
- Every section of society as Students, Women, Tribals, Merchants and Petty Traders, Workers & Peasants took active part in CDM.
- The defiance of salt laws took place in different provinces too under leadership of various leaders.
- In Tamil Nadu, C Rajagopalachari led the Salt Satyagraha; K Kelappan headed in Malabar and in Dharasana Salt Works (Gujarat) by Sarojini Naidu and Manilal Gandhi.
- Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan raised the band of non-violent revolutionaries, the Khudai Khidmatgars, popularly knowns as the Red Shirts in the Peshawar region in the North West Frontier Province which played a crucial role in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
- Women, young mothers, widowed and unmarried girls, played an important role in the picketing of liquor shops and opium dens and stores selling foreign cloth. They used non-violent and persuasive means to convince the buyers and sellers to change their ways.
- They were ably supported by the students and youth in the boycott of foreign cloth and liquor.
- Significantly, for Indian women, the movement was the most liberating experience to date and the can be said to have marked their entry into public space.
- The CDM was launched and the farmers were asked to not pay rent or only pay 50% of it. The government repression was harsh on them.
In terms of regional patterns across India:
- In Bihar, anti-Chowkidara tax campaign was initiated where villages refused to pay protection money to the local guards (chowkidars) who supplemented the meagre police forces in the rural areas. Rajendra Prasad took part in the anti-Chowkidara tax campaigns in Bihar.
- In Gujarat, a no-tax movement took place against payment of land revenue. This was most visible in Kheda, Surat and Broach districts. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel led the no-tax campaign in the Kheda district.
- Defiance of forest laws took place on a large scale in Maharashtra, Karnataka and the Central Provinces, especially in areas with large tribal populations.
- In Assam, a powerful agitation led by students was launched against the ‘Cunningham circular‘ which forced students and their guardians to furnish assurances of good behaviour.
- In United Provinces, a no-revenue, no-rent campaign was organized against the government which soon turned into a no-rent campaign against the zamindars. Jawaharlal Nehru played an important role in organizing the no-revenue, no-rent campaign and the districts of Agra and Rae Bareli were the important centers of this campaign.
- The movement also popularized a variety of forms of mobilization like Prabhat Pheris, Patrikas, and Magic Lanterns.
- In Manipur and Nagaland, at the young age of thirteen, Rani Gaidinliu of Nagaland raised the banner of revolt against foreign rule. She was captured in 1932 and sentenced to life imprisonment
- In Chittagong, Surya Sen’s Chittagong Revolt Group carried out a raid on two armouries. It declared the establishment of a provisional government.
- Provisional Governments were established in Ballia in UP by Chittu Pandey, Satara in Maharashtra.
Conclusion
The civil disobedience movement of 1930-31, then marked a critically important stage in the progress of the anti-imperialist struggle. The impact of the civil disobedience movement reverberated far and wide. It created distrust towards the British government and laid the foundation for the freedom struggle.
Topic: Role of women and women’s organization
Difficulty level: Moderate.
Reference: Indian Express , The Hindu
Why the question:
Karnataka State Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports about Mysuru police in connection with the alleged gang rape of a girl near the foothills of Chamundi.
Key Demand of the question:
To comment about why the system remains lackadaisical to prevent crimes against women.
Directive word:
Comment– here we must express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start the answer by giving the status of crime against women in India. Use NCRB data to paint a brief picture.
Body:
In the first part, mention despite the outrage caused cases in Hathras, Hyderabad and Nirbhaya cases, the chronic problem of rape in India remains.
In the next time bring out the reasons for above. Examine to which extent the system has been infective preventing the crimes against women and when detected, its insensitivity towards the victims.
Mention the other factors – social and economic, which are responsible.
Conclusion:
Mention the urgent steps that are required to reduce the crimes against women to make this country a safer place for women.
Introduction
The narrative of violence against women in India continues unhindered. Recently, a MBA student was gangraped near Chamundi Hills in Mysuru, sending shock waves around the country. Justice delayed is justice denied is the corner stone in delivering justice, speedy trial is the essence of the criminal justice.
If legal redress is available for a party that has suffered some injury, but is not forthcoming in a timely fashion, it is effectively the same as having no redress at all. Rape is a heinous crime which gives pain and suffering to the victim both physically and mentally. It is a violative of Article 21 of the constitution, Article 21 of the constitution guarantees “ Right to life and Personal liberty” to all which includes right to live with human dignity.
Body
Lack of efficient and speedy system to try rape cases
- It is a social fact that the criminal legal system often merely re-arranges a system of illegalities. For example, rape survivors are routinely pressurized to “compromise” illegally and turn hostile in trials, failing which they may be threatened or even killed.
- There is general acceptance that the Indian judicial system suffers from case delay and the use of antiquated methods, the discourse on judicial reform remains focused on areas such as appointments and vacancies. There is a need to identify other areas such as organizational barriers, infrastructure and court processes that also contribute to case delay are studied.
- Nearly 2.8 crore cases are pending in the district and subordinate courts across the country and there are only 16,874 judges to try them — that’s around 1,540 cases per judge.
- Another issue is Gender gap in Judiciary, only 28% of lower judiciary judges in the country are women, a first-of-its-kind study by Delhi-based Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy has revealed.
- The lack of gender diversity is not limited to the lower judiciary. The Supreme Court has only seen six women judges in its six decades of existence, and currently has one woman judge out of 25 judges.
- In the 24 High Courts across the country, just over 10% judges are women.
- The Criminal law in India is contained in a number of sources – The Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Issues with protecting survivor’s sense of privacy and dignity
- Despite stringent laws in place, especially after the 2012 Nirbhaya case in Delhi, a rape occurs every 16 minutes in India, according to the latest records available with the National Crime Records Bureau.
- To make matters worse, sexist, misogynist, survivor-blaming remarks and inept measures invariably follow a heinous crime against women.
- Girls are pulled up for wearing ripped jeans, and staying out late.
- Sections of society, in their warped thinking, often argue the survivor could have evaded the assailants by adhering to conservative norms: wearing traditional attire, skipping parties, returning home by sunset.
- Parents are blamed for not bringing up their girl children with ‘Indian values’.
- After the Mysuru rape, a similar pattern ensued. The Karnataka Home Minister ‘joked’ about rape while accusing the opposition party of ‘politicizing’ it. He subsequently retracted his insensitive remarks.
- Even the University of Mysore was rapped for passing order that dictated women to not venture out after 6:30 pm.
Suggestion for reforming trial of rape cases
- We should create special criminal bench in high court as that of commercial bench which is in place to try rape cases.
- Intention is much needed on the part of executive, legislature and judiciary.
- The right thing to do in rape cases is to appoint senior judges in fast-track courts.
- Create specialist benches in the courts where judges are given training in criminal system.
- No adjournments should be permitted, and fast-track courts should be put under the direct control of High Courts.
- The state needs to avoid unprincipled criminalization and rather focus on developing a guiding principle for re-classification of offences. This is because unprincipled criminalization often leads to not only the creation of new offences on unscientific grounds, but also arbitrariness in the criminal justice system.
- Separating the investigation wing of the police.
- The Supreme Court has repeatedly admonished trigger-happy police personnel who liquidate criminals and project the incident as an encounter.
Conclusion
Women have come a long way, fighting for their rights against patriarchal mindsets and other social ills. Instead of curbing their freedom, society and the state must ensure protection of women both in public and private places. Rape which destroys the woman completely and she has left nothing except knocking the doors of the courts for the justice has to wait for prolonged trail and even after that justice is not given to her. The right to speedy justice is not a fact or fiction but a Constitutional reality and it has to be given its due respect.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
Difficulty level: Tricky
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation as he emphasised the need to ensure “poshan” (nutrition) to the country’s women and children.
Key Demand of the question:
To explain Biofortification and examine its potential in the fights against hunger and malnutrition.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate 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:
Start by defining Biofortification and the process.
Body:
First, write about the SDG-2 and the steps taken by India so far in order to meet its targets.
Next, in detail, write about the potential of Biofortification with respect to addressing the issues of hunger and malnutrition in India. Elaborate especially with respect the aspect of hidden hunger.
Write about India’s capabilities with regard to Biofortification and numerous other benefits it offers.
Conclusion:
Suggest a way forward to build towards Biofortification in India.
Introduction
WHO defines Biofortification as the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology. Biofortification differs from conventional fortification in that biofortification aims to increase nutrient levels in crops during plant growth rather than through manual means during processing of the crops. Biofortification may therefore present a way to reach populations where supplementation and conventional fortification activities may be difficult to implement and/or limited.
Body
Need for Biofortification in India:
- India faces a development paradox—of being one of the fastest-growing global economies in the world and contrast—of having an estimated 189.2 million people i.e., 14% of the population as undernourished.
- Further, the percentage of children under the age of five who are stunted, wasted and are underweight are 38.4, 21.0 and 42.5 respectively.
- Also, 53.1% of women of reproductive age between 15 to 49 years are anemic.
- These metrics highlight the prevalence of chronic malnourishment of women, girls and children in India.
Potential of Biofortification with respect to India:
- Biofortification, an agriculture-based approach to the development and dissemination of micronutrient-rich crops, offers a viable option to mitigate malnutrition and hidden hunger.
- The solution majorly targets poor and rural people who grow and consume staple crops significantly and supply their surplus produce majorly within their community.
- The method enriches staple crops with required micronutrients that reduces people’s nutritional vulnerability because, during economic shocks, the poor tend to reduce their consumption of higher-value food commodities that are naturally rich in micronutrients.
- With a one-time research and development investment, biofortified seeds can spread through the existing seed distribution systems in the country.
- Farmers, even with limited resources and market access, can grow biofortified crops since they do not need repeated purchases of seeds year after year—they can use a part of their produce as the seeds for the next year.
- Moreover, an increase in the adoption of seeds through efficient seed distribution channels will ensure it is economically remunerative for the growers.
- For consumers, awareness has to be created about subsequent health benefits while ensuring easy access and affordability of the produce.
- Currently, there is sufficient evidence available to say that biofortification can improve nutritional outcomes
- g., improvement in hemoglobin and total body iron in Rwanda women after consumption of biofortified iron bean, enhancement in serum ferritin and total body iron observed in iron-deficient adolescent boys and girls in Maharashtra, India after consuming biofortified pearl millet flatbread twice daily for four months etc.
- Biological fortification of food has proven to be simple, cost-effective and sustainable.
- Thus, bio-fortified crops can be directly fed into India’s ambitious POSHAN Abhiyaan targeting over 10 crore people with the aim to reduce stunting, undernutrition, anemia, and low birth weight.
Way forward:
- Focus on mother’s education
- There is a direct correlation between mother’s education and the wellbeing of children.
- Targeted programmesfor improving the educational status of girls and reducing the school dropout rates need to be promoted.
- The Global Nutrition Report (2014)estimates that every dollar invested in a proven nutrition programme offers benefits worth 16 dollars.
- Scale-up innovation in biofortified food by supporting policies
- Innovations in biofortified food can alleviate malnutrition only when they are scaled up with supporting policies.
- This would require increasing expenditure on agri-R&D and incentivising farmers by linking their produce to lucrative marketsthrough sustainable value chains and distribution channels.
- The government can also rope in the private sector to create a market segment for premium-quality biofortified foods.
- For instance, trusts run by the TATA group are supporting different states to initiatefortification of milk with Vitamin A and D.
- National awareness drive
- A national awareness drive on the lines of the “Salt Iodisation Programme” launched by the government in 1962 can play an important role at the individual and community levels to achieve the desired goals of poshan for all.
- Branding, awareness campaigns, social and behavioural change initiatives, can promote consumption of locally-available, nutrient-dense affordable foods among the poor and children.
Conclusion
The emphasis on bio-fortification is a step forward for India’s transition from food availability and access to nutrition security and eradicating hidden hunger. Leveraging science to attack the complex challenge of malnutrition, particularly for low-income and vulnerable sections of society, can be a good intervention.
Value Addition:
Examples of biofortification projects include:
- iron-biofortification of rice, beans, sweet potato, cassava and legumes;
- zinc-biofortification of wheat, rice, beans, sweet potato and maize;
- provitamin A carotenoid-biofortification of sweet potato, maize and cassava; and
- amino acid and protein-biofortification of sorghum and cassava.
Case study: Madhuban Gajar
- Madhuban Gajar, a biofortified carrot variety with high β-carotene and iron content developed by Shri Vallabhhai Marvaniya, a farmer scientist from Junagadh district, Gujarat is benefitting more than 150 local farmers in the area.
- It is being planted in an area of over 200 hectares in Junagadh, and the average yield, which is 40-50 t/ha, has become the main source of income to the local farmers.
- The variety is being cultivated in more than 1000 hectares of land in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh during the last three years.
- The Madhuvan Gajar is a highly nutritious carrot variety developed through the selection method with higher βcarotene content (277.75 mg/kg) and iron content (276.7 mg/kg) dry basis and is used for various value-added products like carrot chips, juices, and pickles.
- Among all the varieties tested, beta-carotene and iron content were found to be superior.
Biofortification initiatives in India:
- The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed 21 varieties of biofortified staplesincluding wheat, rice, maize, millets, mustard, groundnut by 2019-20 which are not genetically modified.
- These biofortified crops have 5 to 3 times higher levels of protein, vitamins, minerals and amino acids compared to the traditional varieties.
- A research team at the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute in Mohali has also developed biofortified coloured wheat (black, blue, purple) that is rich in zinc and anthocyanins.
- The HarvestPlus programme of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) have been working closely with ICAR, to improve the access of the poor in India to iron-rich pearl millet and zinc-rich wheat.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The Environment Ministry told the SC that it has permitted seven hydroelectric power projects to go ahead. One of them is the 512 MW Tapovan Vishnugadh project, in Joshimath, Uttarakhand that was recently damaged by a flood in February.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the various risks of constructing hydropower projects in Himalayan regions and how climate change has impacted the risks.
Directive word:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin the answer by writing about the potential of hydropower – a renewable source of energy in the Himalayan region. Draw a small map to show existing projects in that region.
Body:
In the first part, write about the various risks that are associated with hydropower projects – political conflicts, social impact, economic viability and ecological concerns must be written in detail. Substantiate them with examples.
Next, write about how the climate change has enhanced these existing vulnerabilities with respect to the Himalayan region. Mention studies/reports to substantiate your points.
Conclusion:
Suggest measures which must be takin in to account before going ahead with hydropower projects and to ensure safety of the existing ones in the Himalayan region.
Introduction
The central government’s unconditional push on renewable energy (RE), in recent years, has motivated the Himalayan states to seek RE status for the hydropower sector. In an affidavit placed in the Supreme Court recently, the Environment Ministry has disclosed that it has permitted seven hydroelectric power projects, which are reportedly in advanced stages of construction. Ecological fragilities of Himalayas as seen through various disasters like the Kedarnath floods of 2013, the cloudburst in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand in 2021 have all once again underlined the risk of developing hydropower in the Himalayas.
Body
Various risks posed by hydropower projects in the Himalayan region:
- Economic, social, technical, institutional and political issues
- Evidence from the HKH region shows that local communities living in areas adjoining hydropower projects are the most vulnerable to the impacts of these projects.
- There are many issues with land acquisition for hydropower project development – local people are displaced, communities are disturbed and livelihoods are disrupted.
- As mentioned earlier as well, all these lead to strong resistance to such projects, further hindering hydropower development in the region.
- In some cases (for instance in Himachal Pradesh, India), common pool resources such as forests and pastures are also affected, directly impacting the livelihoods of local communities.
- Generating alternative livelihoods has been challenging because of the limited skill sets of locally displaced youth.
- In Himachal Pradesh and in Jammu and Kashmir, the local people also raised issues about cracks in their houses and shops due to the blasting activities carried out to cut rocks near the inhabited areas.
- The incidence of waterborne diseases such as malaria also increased in adjoining areas, as reported by Bose et al.
- Environmental, ecological, physical and geological issues
- India is heavily invested in dam development and growth of hydropower, largely in the Himalaya region plan to construct dams in 28 river valleys in the hills, to cut carbon emissions.
- The dangers of such projects include potential earthquake impacts, severe biodiversity loss and, importantly, extreme danger to communities downstream.
- The HKH region is very rich in globally significant biodiversity, and large hydropower development projects may disturb or destroy the habitats of several terrestrial plant and animal species.
- Studies in the HKH found that deforestation can occur, leading not only to diversity loss in forest ecosystems, but also affecting the communities depending on forests for their livelihoods.
- Limited exploitation of hydropower potential is also partly due to problems associated with the geological features of the region.
- The HKH region is in a seismic zone, so it is imperative to take earthquake resilience into account during construction, to avoid adverse future impacts on populations.
- The ‘river-bed profile’ across the major HEPs of Uttarakhand has changed significantly, suggesting the possibility of disasters in future.
Impact of climate change on further exacerbating the existing risks:
- The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate found that in the Himalayan ranges, there could be variations in overall water availability, but floods, avalanches and landslides were all forecast to increase.
- Changes in monsoonal precipitation could also bring more frequent disasters.
- Environmental experts have attributed the glacial melting to global warming.
- Glacier melt and permafrost thaware projected to decrease the stability of mountain slopes and increase the number and area of glacier lakes, which in turn increases the chances of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods.
- The thermal profile of ice is increasing, which means that the temperature of ice that used to range from -6 to -20 degrees C, was now -2 degrees C, making it more susceptible to melting.
- It was these changing phenomena that made infrastructure projects in the Himalayan regions risky.
- Moreover, with increased instances of cloudbursts,and intense spells of rainfall and avalanches, residents of the region were also placed at increased risk of loss of lives and livelihood.
Measures needed:
- The need of the hour is a pause on hydropower in the Himalayas in order to stop further devastation.
- Government should adhere to the recommendation made by the expert committees that there should be no hydropower development beyond an elevation of 2,200 metre in the Himalayan region.
- There needs to be a complete stop to subsidies to the hydropower sector based on the ‘green’ tagging. The ‘renewable’ tag for hydropower should be mulled upon.
- An independent scientific review or assessment of the immediate or long-term implications of construction work for hydropower development especially in the Himalayas should be commissioned.
- A revision of terms of reference of impact assessment studies should be done on the basis of this.
- There should be an independent inquiry or audit of the social, environmental and safety norms compliance of all under-construction and operational projects, specifically projects where accidents have already been reported.
- Himalayas needs an independent dam safety cell that will have members from all concerned departments.
- India needs a dam safety law.
- Citizens’ engagement and public consent mechanisms need to be strengthened at the planning stage and a grievance redressal mechanism for addressing issues brought forth by public needs to be put in place post clearance.
Way forward:
- Micro-hydel projects may also be promoted, as these have less of an adverse social and environmental impact on local communities.
- Large, ‘smart’ hydropower projects may be developed, taking into account the economic, environmental and social concerns of local and downstream communities, in addition to national economic benefits.
- Technical provisions in smart projects can minimize the impacts on aquatic life and terrestrial ecosystems.
- The need is to rigorously study the impact of policy on the Himalayas and confine hydro projects to those with the least impact, while relying more on low impact run-of-the-river power projects that need no destructive large dams and reservoirs.
Value addition:
History of hydropower projects in the Himalayas
- In the aftermath of the Kedarnath floods of 2013 that killed at least 5,000 people, the Supreme Court had halted the development of hydroelectric projects in Uttarakhand pending a review by the Environment Ministry on the role such projects had played in amplifying the disaster.
- A 17-member expert committee, led by environmentalist Ravi Chopra, was set up by the Ministry to examine the role of 24 such proposed hydroelectric projects in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basin, which contains the Ganga and several tributaries.
- The Chopra committee concluded that 23 projects would have an “irreversible impact” on the ecology of the region.
- Following this, six private project developers, whose projects were among those recommended to be stopped, said that they should be allowed to continue since their projects had already been cleared for construction before the Kedarnath tragedy.
- The SC directed a new committee to be set up to examine their case. This committee led by Vinod Tareof IIT Kanpur, concluded that these projects could have a significant environmental impact.
- The Environment Ministry in 2015 set up yet another committee led by B.P. Das, that recommended all six projects with design modifications to some, and this gives way to the Environment Ministry’s current stance (permitting these projects)w. The Power Ministry seconded the Environment Ministry’s stance.
Topic: indigenization of technology and developing new technology;
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
Odisha on Friday announced its Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy and became the 10th state in India to roll out policy guidelines to make the transition from conventional fossil fuel-based mobility to electric mode.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the need for to government to move ahead of policy guidelines and focus on execution with respect to EV’s.
Directive word:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you must debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You must give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start the answer by mentioning the recent push witnessed across India with respect to EV’s.
Body:
Write about the current scenario with respect to EV’s and the potential it has in India. Mention its economic and ecological benefits. Also, write existing schemes and policy measures put in place for its promotion and existing limitations.
Next, write about how the country needs to walk the talk with respect to EV. Suggest measures that are to be taken to harness the full potential of EV’s in India.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
Many states in India have come out with policies on e-vehicles including Jharkhand and Odisha recently. It is encouraging to see that both Centre and States are introducing measures such as vehicle scrappage, smart city, PLI schemes to give a boost to e-vehicles sales.
Body
Background: India and e-vehicles
- The race among states is a good sign as India fervently seeks to cut down on its fossil fuel consumption.
- About 80% of its oil imports are to meet transport sector needs. It is also mandated to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by around 35% of 2005 levels in another nine years to meet global climate goals.
- India, by the middle of July, clocked 1.04 lakh EV sales in the current fiscal whereas in the last 5 years, the total registrations were 5.17 lakh.
- But it stands at the cusp of a revolution if it pushes EVs seriously. Between 2001 and 2017, vehicle ownership in the country rose over three-fold.
Need for Centre and State to go beyond policy guidelines to push electric vehicles sales
There is a strong believe that electric infrastructure will have a massive scale going forward.
- The Centre has extended its Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles scheme till 2024, with a total budgetary outlay of Rs 10,000 crore.
- The government’s support to manufacturing, R&D, subsidy and scrapping apart, it must show intent by investing robustly in battery manufacturing and charging infrastructure, which is very negligible at present.
- It must also adopt EVs in the public transport system in a big way.
- Central and state governments must lead by inducting EVs for office use.
- For EVs to contribute effectively, we need commensurate efforts in developing an entire ecosystem. This requires a nudge from state and central government.
- Need to shift the focus from subsidizing vehicles to subsidizing batteries because batteries make up 50% of EV costs.
- Work places in tech parks, public bus depots, and Multiplexes are the potential places where charging points could be installed. In Bangalore, some malls have charging points in parking lots.
- Corporates could invest in charging stations as Corporate Social Responsibility compliances.
- A longer-term policy priority has to be the setting up of lithium battery production and solar charging infrastructure of a scale that matches the ambition. The Centre has accepted some of the demands of the auto industry to popularize EVs.
- The government should provide incentives for CNG vehicles and should also come out with a scrappage plan for vehicles to incentivize customers to buy new vehicles.
Conclusion
While various incentives have been provided by the government and new policies are being implemented, it is important that these policies not only focus on reducing the upfront costs of owning an EV but also reduce the overall lifetime costs of ownership.
Value addition
FAME Phase II
- In FAME India Phase II, launched from 1 April 2019, emphasis is on electrification of public transportation.
- Electrification of the public & shared transport: It is planned to support 10 Lakhs e-2W (electric – 2-Wheeler), 5 Lakhs e-3W, 55000 4Ws and 7000 Buses.
- Demand incentives on operational expenditure mode for electric buses will be delivered through State/city transport corporation (STUs).
- Incentives will be given to 3-wheeler/4 wheeler vehicles used for public transport or registered for commercial purposes.
- Charging infrastructure: About 2700 charging stations will be established in metros, million plus cities, smart cities and cities of hilly states across the country.
National Electric Mobility Mission Plan
- To encourage reliable, affordable and efficient hybrid and electric vehicles that meet consumer performance and price expectations.
- Government-Industry collaboration for promotion and development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities in hybrid and electric vehicles, required infrastructure, consumer awareness and technology;
- Energy Security: Helping India to emerge as a leader in the electric vehicle Two-Wheeler and Four-Wheeler market in the world by 2020, with total EV sales of 6-7 million units thus enabling Indian automotive Industry to achieve global EV manufacturing leadership and contributing towards National Fuel Security.
- Environment Conservation: Mitigation of the adverse impact of vehicles on the environment.
- According to NITI Aayog (2019), if India reaches an EV sales penetration of 30 per cent for private cars, 70 per cent for commercial cars, 40 per cent for buses, and 80 per cent for 2 and 3 wheelers by 2030, a saving of 846 million tons of net CO2 emissions and oil savings of 474 MTOE can be achieved.
- Indian Manufacturing Capabilities: Growth of domestic manufacturing capabilities in the automobile sector. Economic Survey 2019 had noted that India could become the Detroit of Electric Vehicles.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.
Difficulty level: Tough
Reference: plato.stanford.edu
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4 and part of ‘Philosophical Mondays’ in Mission-2022 Secure.
Key Demand of the question:
To compare and contrast the theory of Utilitarianism proposed by Bentham and Mill.
Directive word:
Compare and contrast – provide for a detailed comparison of the two types, their features that are similar as well as different. One must provide for detailed assessment of the two.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Give the definition of utilitarianism to begin your answer.
Body:
Give a description of the utilitarian concept of Bentham and how it can be quantitatively measured according to him and contrast it with the ideas of Utilitarianism and Individualism of J S Mill and his idea of measuring utility qualitatively and differentiating different pleasures. Also, mention their similarities.
Use examples to illustrate their philosophies.
Conclusion:
Conclude with an illustration to support the more relevant concept of Utilitarianism according to either Bentham or JS Mill.
Introduction
Utilitarianism is a theory of morality, which advocates actions that foster happiness or pleasure and opposes actions that cause unhappiness or harm. When directed toward making social, economic, or political decisions, a utilitarian philosophy would aim for the betterment of society as a whole. Utilitarianism would say that an action is right if it results in the happiness of the greatest number of people in a society or a group. The theory was propounded by John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham.
Body
An example for Utilitarianism:
For example, if I were to steal bread from a market for my poor family, even though a Kantian ethics would hold that stealing is absolutely wrong no matter what the consequences, utilitarianism might say it is justifiable, since that bread will make my family happier as they haven’t eaten for days, compared to the grocer selling it for a few measly pennies.
Similarities between Bentham theory and Mill theory on utilitarianism:
- Bentham and Mill both believed that human actions are motivated entirely by pleasure and pain.
- Both propounded that the moral value of an act was determined by the pleasure it produced.
- Both Bentham and Mill thus endorse “classical” or “hedonistic” forms of utilitarianism.
The main differences between Bentham theory and Mill theory are:
- Bentham advocated that the pleasures and the pains differ in quantity and not in quality. He said that pains and pleasures can be computed mathematically. But Mill said that pain and pleasure can’t be measured arithmetically they differ in quality only.
- According to Bentham utilitarianism there is a gulf between individual interest and general happiness. But Mill narrowed down the gulf between individual interest and general happiness.
- Bentham recognized only external sanctions. But Mill recognized not only external, but internal sanctions also which would constrain the individual to promote general happiness, because every individual possesses a feeling for the happiness of mankind.
- Bentham’s principle of utility, in a society of wolves, would exalt wolfishness; in a society of saint it would exalt saintliness. But according to Mill saintliness should be the criterion of utility in any society whatsoever.
- Bentham utilitarianism supports the greatest good of the greatest number. But here there is a chance for suppression of minorities’ rights. So, Mill supported individualism.
- Bentham supported democratic government in any condition but Mill supported monarchy for primitive man and democratic government for people who are able to understand value of democratic government. It means Mill supported democracy based on condition of man.
- Bentham purely did not accept State’s intervention in the individual’s liberty. But Mill supported State control over the institution of private property by holding that it can well impose taxation on the socially-created values.
Conclusion
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism because it rests on the idea that it is the consequences or results of actions, laws, policies, etc. that determine whether they are good or bad, right or wrong. In general, whatever is being evaluated, we ought to choose the one that will produce the best overall results. In the language of utilitarians, we should choose the option that “maximizes utility,” i.e. that action or policy that produces the largest amount of good.
Value addition:
Jeremy Bentham describes his “greatest happiness principle” as: “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do.”
For instance, Bentham’s utilitarianism would approve of active euthanasia, as it would not only relieve the suffering of the terminally ill patient but also would be beneficial for the family, both monetarily as well as emotionally.
The ethical theory of John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) is most extensively articulated in his classical text Utilitarianism (1861). Mill defines “utilitarianism” as the creed that considers a particular “theory of life” as the “foundation of morals”. Its goal is to justify the utilitarian principle as the foundation of morals. This principle says actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote overall human happiness. So, Mill focuses on consequences of actions and neither on rights nor ethical sentiments.
In contrast to a form of hedonism that conceives pleasure as a homogeneous matter, Mill was convinced that some types of pleasure are more valuable than others in virtue of their inherent qualities. For this reason, his position is often called “qualitative hedonism”.
