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General Studies – 1
Topic: Social empowerment
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: LiveMint
Key Demand of the question: To write about the impact of gender-based violence and barriers to justice and suggest steps to rectify the same.
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:
Start by giving statistic about gender-based violence in the country.
Body:
First, write the adverse impact of Gender-based violence on woman’s physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Cite examples and statistics regarding the same.
Next, write about the societal and cultural factors which are limiting accesses to justice – illiteracy, subordination, unfriendly process of law, weak law enforcement, unsympathetic attitude etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward to overcome the above societal hindrances to end gender-based violence.
‘Gender-based violence’ refers to violence that is directed towards an individual owing to their gender and/or sexual orientation. National Crime Record Bureau report shows stark increase in violence against women in India in the forms of dowry deaths, acts of sexual harassment, torture, rapes and domestic violence. Violence can negatively affect women’s physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health, and may increase the risk of acquiring HIV in some settings.
Body
Adverse outcomes of Gender-based violence
- Public health burden:
- Gender-based violence leads to serious public health burden.
- It includes injuries, unintended pregnancies and pregnancy complications, poor reproductive and sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, HIV, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, difficulties with intimacy and interpersonal relationships, and death.
- Physical abuse:
- UN Women estimates that globally every third woman has been subjected to physical and/or sexually-intimate partner violence or both at least once in their lives.
- In the National Family and Health 5th Survey, 1.5% of Indian women aged 18-29 years report having encountered sexual violence by 18, and nearly one in four women has experienced physical or sexual abuse by a partner.
- Mental trauma:
- Mental health consequences include increasing women’s risk of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse
- In many societies, women who are raped or sexually abused are stigmatised and isolated, which impacts not only their well-being, but also their social participation, opportunities and quality of life.
- Rights Issue:
- Any form of Violence against women hinders their realization of fundamental rights under article 14, 21, 19 and 32 of the Indian constitution.
- Economic Issue:
- violence against women can have serious impact on economy of the household as well as of the nation.
- Direct cost:loss of income, productivity, healthcare and cost of social services.
- Indirect cost:Impact on child wellbeing, female and child mortality, intergenerational social and psychological cost.
- Development Issue:
- Violence obstructs participation of women in development and planning programs both at micro and macro level.
- Violence prevents women from experiencing or accessing the benefits of development by restricting their ability to act or move freely.
- Violence against women is an obstruction to poverty alleviation programs as it impedes equitable distribution of resources.
Barriers to access justice
- Gender roles and relations
- Men’s agreement with sexist, patriarchal, and sexually hostile attitudes
- Violence-supportive social norms regarding gender and sexuality
- Male-dominated power relations in relationships and families
- Sexist and violence-supportive contexts and cultures
- Social norms and practices related to violence
- Lack of domestic violence resources
- Violence in the community
- Childhood experience of intimate partner violence (especially among boys)
- Access to resources and systems of support
- Low socioeconomic status, poverty, and unemployment
- Lack of social connections and social capital
- Personality characteristics
- Alcohol and substance abuse
- Separation and other situational factors
Way forward
- Addressing the deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes of the police, lawyer and other judicial officers that continues to contribute to low reporting and conviction rates.
- Bridging the gap between GBV laws and its correlated areas such as legal rights to property, land, inheritance, employment and income that allows a woman to walk out of an abusive relationship and specific emphasis on political and economic participation of women.
- Systematic intervention for multi-sectoral linkages between Health sector (medical and psychosocial support), Social Welfare sector (Shelters, counselling and economic support/skill), Legal (legal aid)
- Not just engage with “men and boys” as change agents but also acknowledge the expectations linked to masculinity, their position as victim of violence especially for young boys to address the perpetuation of cycle of GBV.
- Recognize sexual and reproductive health and rights by promotion and protection of women’s right to have control and decide freely over matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, family-planning choices and access to comprehensive sexuality education.
- Reclaiming the spaces for women to increase their presence in visibility through political and economic participation and diversifying their engagement in non-traditional sectors.
- Use of technology and emerging concepts such as Smart City in urban policy for ensuring safer and gender friendly infrastructures and spaces that prevents GBV
General Studies – 2
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: IndianExpress
Why the question: In the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, 1.8 million people were reported to have succumbed to the virus. In the decade between 2010-20, 1.5-2 million individuals died every year because of tuberculosis. Yet, we seldom see the word “pandemic” used in the context of TB.
Key Demand of the question: To write about how India can cope up to the disruptions in fight against TB due the covid-19 pandemic.
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:
Begin by giving context regarding the disruption caused by the pandemic on the health care functions and fight against TB.
Body:
Mention about TB, the burden of TB and the reasons as to why it should also need to addressed along with the pandemic. Cite facts mentioned in the article to substantiate your points.
Write the measures that are needed in this hour to tackle both TBs as well as the pandemic. Mention the lessons learnt from fight against covid that can be used for fight against TB. Also, write the steps that are needed in the long run as well after the normalcy is restored but burden of TB will continue in the country.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
In the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, 1.8 million people were reported to have succumbed to the virus. In the decade between 2010-20, 1.5-2 million individuals died every year because of tuberculosis.
Covid-19 and tuberculosis (TB) are remarkably similar. They are transmissible, airborne infections. Both are more likely to spread in crowded settings, and harm people with immuno-compromising conditions. The increased burden on healthcare to manage Covid has led to a serious setback in TB control.
Body
Background
- The amount of money spent by governments for research and development in the first 11 months of the Covid-19 pandemic was 162 times the corresponding amount spent on TB in 2020.
- The difference in responses to the two pandemics can only be explained by the differences in the profiles of those who get infected.
- TB disproportionately affects people in low-income nations, the poor and the vulnerable.
Burden of Tuberculosis: Need for focus
- Before the Covid pandemic, it was assumed that a third of all individuals with TB were undiagnosed, and were likely spreading the disease in their communities.
- In the past two years, case detection has dropped, suggesting that the proportion of such “missing cases” is likely to have increased.
- Lockdowns, the fear of healthcare establishments and the stigma associated with respiratory symptoms have possibly contributed to the increase in “missing cases”.
- For those diagnosed, access to medicines has not always been
- The redirection of human resources within the health system during the three Covid waves has left TB facilities understaffed leading to poorer quality and delayed care.
- Studies have suggested that Covid may trigger pathways leading to reactivation of dormant TB bacilli.
- Historically, turmoil in society (such as wars), food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition have resulted in surges in the incidence of TB. We could, therefore, witness an increase in TB in the coming years
Measures needed to tackle TB
- Address malnutrition: Malnutrition, poverty and immuno-compromising conditions such as diabetes are some of the factors strongly associated with TB.
- Over a hundred million Indians smoke tobacco — a strong risk factor for both developing TB, and dying from it.
- Social security programmes that work towards prevention of modifiable risk factors would possibly pay richer dividends than an exclusive focus on “medicalising” the disease.
- Environmental factors which have been neglected include ventilation of indoor spaces, educating individuals to avoid crowds when possible, and to encourage voluntary masking, especially in ill-ventilated and closed spaces.
- We must not lose this opportunity to invest in these measures, at a time when the sensitisation to their need is high.
- Investment to prevent and treat TB: India needs to triple the funding not just for TB but for health, nutrition and preventive services.
- The country needs to invest in state-of-the-art technologies, build capacity, expand its health workforce and strengthen its primary care facilities.
- It also needs to consider telemedicine and remote support as important aspects of health services.
- Test, treat and track has been a strategy successfully employed for Covid.
- We need to aggressively scale up testing with innovative strategies such as active surveillance, bidirectional screening for respiratory tract infections using the most sensitive molecular diagnostics, and contact tracing for TB as well.
Conclusion
Covid has been a stellar example of how investments and actions can be swift, and public education can transform behaviour. Similar aspirations for TB can help turn this crisis into an opportunity to re-imagine our overburdened and underfunded systems. We need to actively engage the private sector, build bridges and partnerships as we did in the case of Covid.
Topic: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: the Hindu
Why the question: Aiming to make comprehensive changes in criminal laws, the government has initiated the process of amendment to laws such as Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act in consultation with all stakeholders, the Rajya Sabha was informed.
Key Demand of the question: To write about the reforms that are needed in the criminal justice system of the country.
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 by explaining context regarding the present status of the criminal justice system in India.
Body:
In the first part, explain the various drawbacks and issues with respect to the criminal justice system – lackadaisical implementation of law, poor investigation, delays, corruption. Mention the outcome of the same.
Next, write about the reforms that are needed to the criminal justice system to overcome the above. Mention the recommendations of various committees in this regard.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction
Criminal Justice System refers to the agencies of government charged with enforcing law, adjudicating crime, and correcting criminal conduct. Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay is said to be the chief architect of codifications of criminal laws in India. Criminal law in India is governed by Indian Penal Code, 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and Indian Evidence Act, 1872, etc.
Body
Need for reforms
- Pendency of Cases: According to Economic Survey 2018-19, there are about 3.5 crore cases pending in the judicial system, especially in district and subordinate courts, which leads to actualisation of the maxim “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
- Huge Undertrials: India has one of the world’s largest number of undertrial prisoners.
- According to NCRB -Prison Statistics India (2015), 67.2% of our total prison population comprises undertrial prisoners.
- Investigation: Corruption, huge workload and accountability of police is a major hurdle in speedy and transparent delivery of justice.
- Ineffectiveness: The purpose of the criminal justice system was to protect the rights of the innocents and punish the guilty, but nowadays the system has become a tool of harassment of common people.
- The existing system “weighed in favour of the accused and did not adequately focus on justice to the victims of crime.” This was as per Malimath Committee report
Measures needed
- Penal code: Penal code should be modified to incorporate the present day societal, economic, and other changes. The Penal code can be divided into various codes incorporating social offences, correctional offences, economic offences and an Indian penal code (which will deal with cases that warrant 10 years punishment or more).
- Police processes: Institutional reform including proper investigation of crimes, rationalisation of court systems by inducting technology, limiting appeal procedures to a minimum.
- In Prakash Singh vs Union of India, Supreme Court ordered that reform must take place.
- The states and union territories were directed to comply with seven binding directives that would kick start reform.
- Victim centric: The system should be victim centric to ensure that the victims get justice. The victim should get a chance to put forth his case and quick completion of trials is needed to ensure that they do not lose faith in the system.
- Fixing responsibility quickly and transparently will maximise the sense of justice to the victim.
- Witness protection is another area, where in if made robust, victims are more likely to get justice.
- Prison reforms: Reforming the property-based bail system, provision of proper legal support to remove problem of undertrials, improvement of prison conditions is needed. Thus, India needs to reform its archaic system to incorporate more efficient practices like restorative justice, plea bargaining, etc. that will ensure a more robust criminal justice system.
- Malimath committee has recommended many reforms which need to be implemented. Some of the important recommendations of the Malimath committee are as follows:
-
- Need for more judges to dispose-off a large number of pending cases.
- Constitution of a National Judicial Commission to deal with the appointment of judges to the higher courts and amendment of Article 124 to make impeachment of judges.
- Creation of separate criminal division in higher courts that have judges specialising in criminal laws.
- Article 20 (3) of the Constitution, which protects the accused from being compelled to be a witness against himself/herself, needs to be modified.
- The courts should be given freedom to question the accused to give information and draw an adverse inference against the accused in case the latter refuses to answer.
- Victim Compensation Fund should be created under the victim compensation law and the assets confiscated from organised crimes should be made a part of it.
Conclusion
The reforms should not only make Criminal Justice System more efficient but also be sensitive to both the innocent and the needs of the law enforcing officers. Our policy makers need to focus on reformative justice in order to bring all around peace in the society.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: the Hindu
Why the question: On February 28, 2022, the National Statistical Office (NSO) released India’s GDP data for Q3 of 2021-22 along with Second Advance Estimates (SAE) for 2021-22.
Key Demand of the question: To write about the impact ongoing geopolitical uncertainties on economic growth and measures need to overcome it.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start the answer by giving context regarding ongoing geopolitical uncertainties.
Body:
In the first part, present statistic how the Post COVID-19, the normalisation of the Indian economy was taking place and highlight major recovery in the sectors.
Next write about how ongoing geopolitical uncertainties will impact the economy – Crude upsurge impact, inflation effects, fiscal implications, tax buoyancy, subsidy bill, worsening of the current account balance, higher import bills, depreciating rupee, supply-side bottlenecks and cost escalation.
Next, write about the steps that are needed to overcome the above.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
Fitch has slashed India’s growth forecast for next fiscal to 8.5% on high energy prices due to the adverse impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict on the global economy.
With the Omicron wave subsiding quickly, containment measures have been scaled back, setting the stage for a pick-up in GDP growth momentum. It needs to be seen if India’s recovery can be sustained amidst inflation.
Body
Geopolitical uncertainties and its impact
- CAD deficit: Other economic challenges emanating from global uncertainties may include a worsening of the current account balance due to higher import bills with a depreciating rupee.
- Russia-Ukraine war: There would also be some sectoral supply-side bottlenecks and cost escalation.
- Sectors that draw heavily on petroleum products, such as fertilizers, iron and steel foundries, transportation, construction and coal, would be adversely affected.
- Due to the discontinuation of transactions through SWIFT, there would be some disruption in trade to and from Russia and Ukraine.
- Financial outflows: There would also be some adverse effects with regard to financial flows.
- Net foreign portfolio investment (FPI) outflows during October to December 2021 increased to U.S.$6.3 billion.
- Net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have also been falling during this period although they have remained positive.
Measures needed
- RBI’s monetary policy: As developed countries are being forced to raise their interest rates and inflationary pressures continue to mount in India and abroad, the RBI may find it advisable to raise the policy rate with a view to stemming inflationary pressures and outward flow of the U.S. dollar even as the growth objective would be served by fiscal policy initiatives.
- Controlling fuel prices: Policymakers may have to exercise a critical choice regarding who bears the burden of higher prices of petroleum products in India among consumers and industrial users, oil marketing companies and the Government.
- Consumption growth: If growth is to be revived, maximum attention should be paid to supporting consumption growth and reducing the cost of industrial inputs with a view to improving capacity utilisation.
- Managing the Elevated Inflation Levels: India is at the risk of inflation; it is at an elevated level which is why the RBI has been conservative; it has projected the growth rate at 10.5% only.
- The RBI has also adopted a policy to support economic growth. It has increased the limit of ways and means advances to the states and has allowed them to borrow more amounts from the RBI.
- The growth projection also depends upon policies adopted by the government, especially the fiscal policy and monetary policies.
- So far India has proved to adopt such policies more wisely as compared to other countries.
- E.g. PLI Production Linked Incentive Scheme, Aatmanirbhar Yojana etc.
Conclusion
India as the fifth largest economy in the world has to focus on growth recovery that is more sustainable and by just drawing satisfaction from just the growth numbers would not do much. India is slowly but surely on the path to economic recovery and investment and policy push is the way to sustain this growth momentum.
Topic: issues relating to intellectual property rights
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: InstaPedia
Why the question: The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 3 and mentioned as part of Mission-2022 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question: To evaluate the performance of IPR regime in India and to suggest changes to IPR policy in the light of recent developments.
Directive word:
Evaluate – When you are asked to evaluate, you have to 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. There is scope for forming an opinion here.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start the answer by giving an overview of IPR regime in India. Give stats with respect to applied ansd approved IPR’s.
Body:
In the first part, give brief overview of National IPR Policy, 2016 and mention the challenges in enforcing Intellectual property rights (IPR) in India – procedural and substantive constraints, legal aspects, conflict with competition law, low awareness, counterfeiting and piracy, IP Financing, etc.
Mention IPR regime has gained further significance in light of the Government’s focus on ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and Covid-19 pandemic.
Next write about changes to National IPR Policy, 2016 such as elaborating more on expanding innovation ecosystem of the country, organization of awareness drives on IPR, comprehensive advisories on increasing R&D activities, encouraging IP financing and involvement of State Governments in evolving a robust IPR regime.
Conclusion:
Conclude by summarising the benefits of a robust IPR regime.
Introduction
Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are legal rights, which result from intellectual invention, innovation and discovery in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields. These rights entitle an individual or group to the moral and economic rights of creators in their creation. The National IPR Policy (2016) is a vision document that aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), concerned statutes and agencies. It sets in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review. It aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario.
Body
A comprehensive National IPR policy was adopted in May 2016, to stimulate innovation and creativity across sectors, and provide a clear vision regarding IPR issues. Objectives enshrined in the policy are hereunder:
- IPR Awareness – Outreach and Promotion – To create public awareness about the economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society;
- Generation of IPRs – To stimulate the generation of IPRs;
- Legal and Legislative Framework – To have strong and effective IPR laws, which balance the interests of rights’ owners with larger public interest
- Administration and Management – To modernize and strengthen service-oriented IPR administration;
- Commercialization of IPRs – Get value for IPRs through commercialization;
- Enforcement and Adjudication – To strengthen the enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for combating IPR infringements; and
- Human Capital Development – To strengthen and expand human resources, institutions and capacities for teaching, training, research and skill building in IPRs
Important highlights of National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy
- The Policy aims to push IPRs as a marketable financial asset, promote innovation and entrepreneurship, while protecting public interest.
- In order to have strong and effective IPR laws, steps would be taken — including review of existing IP laws — to update and improve them or to remove anomalies and inconsistencies.
- The policy is entirely compliant with the WTO’s agreement on TRIPS.
- Special thrust on awareness generation and effective enforcement of IPRs, besides encouragement of IP commercialisation through various incentives.
- India will engage constructively in the negotiation of international treaties and agreements in consultation with stakeholde
- The government will examine accession to some multilateral treaties which are in India’s interest, and become a signatory to those treaties which India has de facto implemented to enable it to participate in their decision making process, the policy said.
- It suggests making the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) the nodal agency for all IPR issues. Copyrights related issues will also come under DIPP’s ambit from that of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.
- Films, music, industrial drawings will be all covered by copyright.
- The Policy also seeks to facilitate domestic IPR filings, for the entire value chain from IPR generation to commercialization. It aims to promote research and development through tax benefits.
Issues with the current policy:
- Policy is aimed at a gold rush towards IPR. A blind rush towards IP could be a deterrent to innovation itself by restricting knowledge flow.
- Policy recommends scientist and professors to convert all their discoveries into IP which in turn has the potential to curb the free flow of knowledge
- IPR policy is driven by the agenda of IP maximalism, where IP owners’ rights will be maximised at the cost of public interest. This (policy) will influence courts and judges who might consider rights of patentees above that on common man in certain cases.
- Connection between patenting and application of patented knowledge is yet to be established. Hence, patenting and not applying the new invention could deter progress
- Policy recommends criminalization of unauthorised copying of movies – which is just a civil wrong.
- Not understanding the modes of creativity and sharing in “shadow economy “, the policy leans towards superimposition of formal IP framework.
- While IP could accelerate innovation in certain technologies it in turn impedes in others. Policy recommends scientist and professors to convert all their discoveries
- According to USTR, Patent applicants face costly and time-consuming patent opposition hurdles, long timelines for receiving patents, and excessive reporting requirements
Measures needed:
- Fostering an environment where innovation flourishes and a knowledge economy is built, is the key idea. Hence, the policy should have a balance.
- It should encourage patenting and at the same time ensure that patentability of a product/process does not deter further innovation and progress.
- Intellectual Property must not be about patents on paper but dearth of application in reality. T
- The organisations such as CSIR and others must be encouraged to work upon socially useful applications of their patents.
- Support for innovation has to be accompanied with instruments that guard local companies against the misuse of market power, coercive bargaining and aggressive acquisition strategies.
- India needs to spread awareness on IPR in public and for its traditional industries to enable fair monetisation of IP Rights.
- It needs to safeguard its patents, copyrights and traditional knowledge by ensuring easy IPR rules.
Conclusion
Beliefs, attitudes and approaches towards IPRs in India must change for the sake of the ambitions articulated in this government’s many initiatives—from Make in India to Startup India and Smart Cities. Indian policymakers do not adequately appreciate the fundamental reality that IP laws and policies are meant to incentivize innovation by establishing enforceable boundaries to protect new products, processes, and original works of expression. Adequate safeguards though necessary should not cripple innovation or new technology that can come to India and benefit the larger public.
Topic: Budgeting.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her fourth budget speech announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue India’s own digital Rupee in Financial Year 2022-23.
Key Demand of the question: To write about CBDC, its challenges and steps needed for it to be successful.
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:
Start by explaining concept central bank digital currency (CBDC)
Body:
In the first part, explain the technology behind CBDC – Blockchain giving rise to secure digital instruments. Also, mention the potential benefits that India can accrue from CBDC. financial inclusion, the cashless society, decrease the cost of printing, expanding the digital economy and empowering citizens etc.
Next, write about potential challenges with regards to CBDC – Relation with rupee, User adoption, security of the users, complexity and financial system robustness, regulation by RBI’s etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward as to how India should step up to CBDC.
Introduction
A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), or national digital currency, is simply the digital form of a country’s fiat currency. Instead of printing paper currency or minting coins, the central bank issues electronic tokens. This token value is backed by the full faith and credit of the government.
Body
Background
- The Reserve Bank of India is likely to soon kick off pilot projects to assess the viability of using digital currency to make wholesale and retail payments to help calibrate its strategy for introducing a full-scale central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- Union Finance Minister in the budget speech said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2022-23, marking the first official statement from the Union government on the launch of much-awaited digital currency.
Need for a CBDC:
- The growth of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum etc has raised challenges to fiat currencies.
- Along with their other vulnerabilities made the central bank of each country explore the possibility of introducing their own digital currencies.
- A 2021 BIS survey of central banks, which found that 86% were actively researching the potential for such currencies, 60% were experimenting with the technology, and 14% were deploying pilot projects.
- The need for inter-bank settlement would disappear as it would be a central bank liability handed over from one person to another.
Challenges posed:
- India is already facing many cyber security threats. With the advent of digital currency, cyberattacks might increase and threaten digital theft like Mt Gox bankruptcy case.
- According to the Digital Empowerment Foundation in 2018 report, around 90% of India’s population is digitally illiterate. So, without creating enough literary awareness introduction of digital currency will create a host of new challenges to the Indian economy.
- Introduction of digital currency also creates various associated challenges in regulation, tracking investment and purchase, taxing individuals, etc.
- The digital currency must collect certain basic information of an individual so that the person can prove that he’s the holder of that digital currency. This basic information can be sensitive ones such as the person’s identity, fingerprints etc.
Conclusion:
There are crucial decisions to be made about the design of the currency with regards to how it will be issued, the degree of anonymity it will have, the kind of technology that is to be used, and so on. There is no doubt that the introduction of National Digital currency prevents the various threats associated with the private-owned cryptocurrencies and take India the next step as a digital economy. But the government has to create necessary safeguards before rolling out. India needs to move forward on introducing an official digital currency.
Value addition
Global situation of CBDC
According to the Bank for International Settlements, more than 60 countries are currently experimenting with the CBDC. There are few Countries that already rolled out their national digital currency. Such as,
- Swedenis conducting real-world trials of their digital currency (krona)
- The Bahamasalready issued their digital currency “Sand Dollar” to all citizens
- Chinastarted a trial run of their digital currency e- RMB amid pandemic. They plan to implement pan-China in 2022. This is the first national digital currency operated by a major economy.
Working of CBDC:
- A central bank digital currency is the legal tender issued by a central bank in digital form.
- It is the same as a fiat currency but the form is different and is exchangeable one-to-one with the government-issued money.
- In other words, CBDC is the same as the legal currency we use. Just that it’s in a digital form.
- A CBDC is the digital form of fiat currency and will ease transactions.
- An RBI report had earlier described CBDC as something that will provide a safe, robust, and convenient alternative to physical cash.
- Depending on various design choices, it can also assume the complex form of a financial instrument, the RBI report said.
- A CBDC is not a crypto currency. CBDC is the digital form of a legal tender but private virtual currencies are entirely different.
- CBDCs use distributed ledger technology (DLT), which is typically deployed in a hybrid architecture i.e. existing central bank and payment infrastructure + DLT for movement, transparency, workflow and audit trail or tracing of funds (value).
- This technology helps in efficiency (speed), security (encryptions) and also other aspects like smart contracts which execute buy and sell transactions based on a pre-defined criteria and opens up the possibility of ‘programmable’ money.
Potential of a CBDC:
- An official digital currency would reduce the cost of currency management while enabling real-time payments without any inter-bank settlement.
- India’s fairly high currency-to-GDP ratio holds out another benefit of CBDC — to the extent large cash usage can be replaced by CBDC, the cost of printing, transporting and storing paper currency can be substantially reduced.
- As the currency in digital form, it can provide an efficient way for financial transaction. Further, digital currency also solves the challenges with Cash and coins. Cash and coins require expenses in storage and have inherent security risks like the recent heist in the RBI currency chest.
- There are about 3,000 privately issued cryptocurrencies in the world. According to IMF, the key reason for considering national digital currency is to counter the growth of private forms of digital money.
- There is a possibility of these companies going bankrupt without any protection. This will create a loss for both investor and creditor. But the National Digital currency has government backing in case of any financial crisis.
- As the state-backed digital currency can provide investor/consumer protection, the private can confidently invest in the associated infrastructure without any doubts over its regulation. This will improve the services to people.
- The national digital currency will be regulated by the RBI. So, there will be less volatility compared to other digital currencies.
- Current RBI’s work on inflation targeting can be extended to national digital currency also. Since India is planning to ban other cryptocurrencies, the RBI can better regulate digital and fiat currency. Thus, upgrading to digital currency and balancing the macroeconomic stability.
- With the introduction of CBDC in a nation, its central bank would be able to keep a track of the exact location of every unit of the currency, thereby curbing money laundering.
- Criminal activities can be easily spotted and ended such as terror funding, money laundering, and so forth
General Studies – 4
Topic: ethics – in private and public relationships;
Difficulty level: Moderate
Why the question: The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4 and part of ‘abstract Thursdays’ in Mission-2022 Secure.
Key Demand of the question: To write about the way to overcome conflict of interest.s
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Write about how there is a conflict of interest between private and public relationships during day-to-day administrative work.
Body:
Bring out the various facets of integrity, impartiality and nonpartisan ship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections that an administrator must consider before taking any actions in case of conflict.
Mention certain principles, theories and benchmarks one can take the right decision especially when faced with a conflict or dilemma.
Conclusion:
Complete by summarizing the need for doing the right thing especially for those who are in power.
Introduction
A “conflict of interest” involves a conflict between the public duty and private interests of a public official, in which the public official has private-capacity interests which could improperly influence the performance of their official duties and responsibilities.
Body
In such a situation, judgement of an individual could be impaired. A conflict of interest can exist in many different situations. Conflict of interest is seen as a moral issue and not strictly a legal one accompanied by criminal culpability in India so it is hardly surprising that blatant violations are virtually seen every day.
Example: a public official whose personal interests conflict with his/her professional position. Instances of the largest shareholder appointing himself as CEO, deciding his salary and then appointing his son to a key post and higher royalties to the parent company are some of the serious conflict of interest issues in India which don’t receive necessary attention.
A judge giving judgement in a case involving his own family member is a case of conflict of interest.
Public servants faces Conflict of Interest due to the nature of their work-
- Personal vs Professional
- This is the most common type of conflict of interest arising due to the conflict between personal and professional life.
- Say, if a public servant is in charge of giving out contracts for a certain project and one of the applicant is relative or friend.
- Conflicting Responsibility
- Sometimes public servants are given additional charge, which might sometimes create a conflict of interest with the original line of duty.
- Conflicting Organisations
- Sometimes public servants are part of two separate organisations with apparently conflicting objectives and this might put them in certain conflict of interest.
- Many public servants also volunteer for NGOs during their service. NGOs and governmental organisation sometimes come at odds with each other.
Getting into a situation of conflict of interest is sometimes unavoidable and not a crime in itself if properly handled:
- Transparency
- Declaring one’s conflict of interest to the concerned authorities is the best way.
- It helps civil servant to come clean and concerned authorities can decide further.
- Assure integrity
- The concerned authority should be assured of integrity and willingness to serve no matter what the decision is made on the declaration.
- Maintain objectivity
- If given the chance to continue working on that case, work with objectivity.
- Reduce discretion and codify procedure
- There is a need for legislation to make non-disclosure of a conflict of interest punishable.
- A private member’s bill (The Prevention and Management of Conflict of Interest Bill, introduced in 2012), the legislation ought to cover all arms of governance, including the judiciary, the legislature and the executive.
- The recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Department of Personnel and Training, calling for early retirement if interested in post-retirement private service is established, needs to be implemented, besides increasing the mandatory cooling period to five years so that no undue influence can be exerted by the retired bureaucrat.
- Also, the reasons for declining their requests for joining such firms need to be laid out clearly, to limit political concerns.
- An open, public data platform enlisting all post-retirement appointments of civil servants will increase transparency
Conclusion
The priority must be to frame a modern law relating to conflict of interest, along the lines of what exists in the statute of the other countries like the United States and also ensure them to their work ensures ethical governance.
