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: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
Against the entrenched colonial bias that early Indians did not write history, it becomes important to understand Indic visions and methods of recollecting their past in their own right.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about importance of ancient Indian religious literature.
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:
Begin by mentioning the rich corpus of ancient Indian religious literature.
Body:
First, write about the importance of ancient India religious literature from the point of History and culture – political details, economic information, aspect of society, religion and culture which can be understood form the religious literature. Substantiate with examples.
Next, write the various limitations of the above – myth, lack of organised dates, comprehending religious literature as historical texts etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by giving a balanced opinion.
Introduction
History is the study of past events. It helps us to understand those processes that enabled the early humans to successfully conquer their environment and develop the present-day civilizations. One of the major sources to recreate history is Ancient religious literature. Vedas, Puranas, Epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana and so on, serve as a good literary source to know India’s society, culture and past.
Body
Ancient Indian religious literature and understanding of past
- Vedas: Most ancient Indian texts contain religious themes and these are known as Vedas. They are assigned to c. 1500–500 B.C.
- The early Vedic Society represented human equality and simplicity at their best. It was a society of high moral standards.
- It showed an advanced civilisation, a settled life, and an organised human relation.
- The women held a high position in the Aryan society. This started slowly deteriorating with time.
- Post-Vedic literature: In the post-Vedic period ( i.e. after BC600) we have recorded a large number of ritual literature on moral values called Sutras.
- Grand public sacrifices to be performed by rulers are recorded in Shrautasutra while domestic rituals connected with birth, naming, sacred thread ceremony, marriage, funerals etc. are prescribed in Grihyasutras.
- This literature was compiled between c. 600–300 B.C
- Buddhist literature: The earliest Buddhist texts were written in Pali. They are called Tripitakas (three baskets) viz. Suttapittaka, Vinayapitaka and Abhidhammapitaka.
- Of the most important non-religious Buddhist literature are the Jatakas.
- They contain the stories of the previous birth of the Buddha. It was believed that before he was actually born as Gautama, the Buddha passed through over 550 births. Each birth story is called a Jataka.
- These stories throw invaluable light on the social and economic conditions of the period between the fifth and second centuries BC.
- Jain literature: They are called Angas and contain the philosophical concepts of the Jainas.
- They show how common people came into the fold of Jainism and led austere life based on principles of the Thirthankaras.
- It always shows how vibrant the trading community was in those times.
- Other literary works: Arthasastra of Kautilya provides rich material for the study of Indian economy and polity of the Mauryan period.
- Works on grammar are also sometimes useful for historical reconstruction. The earliest and the most important work on grammar is the Ashtadhyayi written by Panini, which is dated by scholars to around 700 B.C
Conclusion
Religious literature provides information for the period between the beginning of the Aryans into India and Alexander’s invasion into India. The Vedic, Buddhist, Jain and other contemporary literature are the religious literary sources of Ancient Indian History. It is important to interpret these works in the context of the society of ancient India.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes;
Difficulty level: Tough
Reference: Live Mint
Why the question:
A two-day national conference on India’s Cooperation Policy inaugurated by the home and cooperation minister took place earlier this week. The programme was attended by several officials of the Centre and states along with other national institutes and cooperatives.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about role of cooperatives in making the society self-dependent and creating opportunities for livelihood.
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:
Begin by mentioning the various measures taken by the state since independence to improve the accessibility to basic needs of its citizens.
Body:
First, mention various success stories and benefits associated with cooperatives. Amul, IFFCO etc.
Next, mention different problems associated with cooperatives – institutional financial lacunae, policy hurdles, administrative issues, sources of credit, capital equipment, and state-of-the-art technology for producers.
Next, suggest steps for overcoming the above.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled. The need for profitability is balanced by the needs of the members and the wider interest of the community
Body
Importance of cooperatives:
- India is an agricultural country and laid the foundation of World’s biggest cooperative movement in the world.
- For instance, Amul deals with 16 million milk producers, 1,85,903 dairy cooperatives; 222 district cooperative milk unions; marketed by 28 state marketing federations.
- There are over 8 lakh cooperatives of all shapes and sizes across sectors in India
- In India, a Co-operative based economic development model is very relevant where each member works with a spirit of responsibility.
- It provides agricultural credits and fundswhere state and private sectors have not been able to do very much.
- It provides strategic inputsfor the agricultural-sector; consumer societies meet their consumption requirements at concessional rates.
- It is an organization for the poor who wish to solve their problems collectively.
- It softens the class conflictsand reduces the social cleavages.
- Itreduces the bureaucratic evils and follies of political factions;
- It overcomes the constraintsof agricultural development;
- It creates a conducive environment for small and cottage industries.
For women in particular:
- Increased Income: A study conducted on Women Dairy Cooperative Society (WDCS) members across Rajasthan showed that with the income generated through dairying, 31% of the women had converted their mud houses to cement structures, while 39% had constructed concrete sheds for their cattle.
- Provides Leadership lessons: Importantly, women-led cooperatives also provide fertile ground for grooming women from rural areas for leadership positions.
- Breaks barriers: In many instances, this becomes the first step for women in breaking free from traditional practices.
- Defeats Information Asymmetry: The presence of collectives in the form of cooperatives and milk unions plays a significant role in enhancing the knowledge and bargaining power of women
- Set up business chain: Cooperatives enhance backward and forward linkages in the dairy value chain, paving the way for freeing small farmers from the clutches of middlemen, and guaranteed minimum procurement price for milk.
- A study by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) indicates that 93% of women farmers who receive training alongside financial support succeed in their ventures, compared to the 57% success rate of those who receive financial aid alone.
- According to latest data, there are more than 1,90,000 dairy cooperative societies across the country, with approximately 6 million women members.
Reasons for the success of cooperative movement in India
- Economic growth and the increase in disposable incomes have played an important role in the growth of cooperatives in India.
- Focus on quality means that the product quality is better. This helps in building customer confidence and makes customer retention easier.
- Cooperatives, being democratic entities in nature, have the opportunity to elect a professional and experienced management. The most successful cooperatives in India are run by a professional management.
- Innovation plays a crucial role in the success of Indian cooperatives. For instance, Amul has added 102 new products in the past four years. The increased adoption of drones is expected to help save farmers’ time and energy and increase their income.
- Branding and effective marketing have played an important role in the success of cooperatives. Amul is famous for its Amul Girl mascot
- cooperatives have remained socially relevant even after five decades. dairy cooperatives participate in community affairs such as festivals, donate food, contribute monetarily and non-monetarily in cultural and social functions in villages and help farmers in distress through loans.
- The Government has initiated various reforms to help the Indian cooperatives. Such reforms include forming the Ministry of Cooperation, reducing compliance burden, providing training, and so on.
- Further, the Government has organised training programmes through various entities, to help cooperatives become more eficient in conducting their operations. Among such entities are the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
Way forward:
- Principle of the cooperative movement is to unite everyone, even while remaining anonymous. The cooperative movement has the capacity to solve people’s problems.
- The pandemic seems to have increased the significance of community effort.
- Reducing vaccine hesitancy, providing food to those waiting outside hospitals and, most importantly, looking after orphaned children are imperatives crying out for the cooperative model.
- Implementing the steps provided by the Vaidyanathan committee on credit cooperative societies.
- The idea of cooperatives must take the agenda beyond agriculture, milk, credit and housing cooperatives
- New areas are emerging with the advancement of technology and cooperative societies can play a huge role in making people familiar with those areas and technologies.
- There is a need to create more cooperatives with women at the helm of it.
- The irregularities in cooperatives need to be checked and the need of the hour is to have rules and stricter implementation of same.
Topic: India and its neighborhood- relations.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Insights on India
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 2 and mentioned as part of Mission-2022 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the way in which India has to deal with China.
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:
Begin by giving context regarding the Indo-China situation.
Body:
Present Background on recent India-China relations; Continuing stand-off: no signs of resolution, disengagement has stalled and talks been fruitless. Rupture bilateral relationship: Political relations are marked by hostility and distrust.
Strategic lessons for India: intensifying strategic competition with China, China more likely to be deterred with threat of political costs rather than material costs, Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is the key, rather than LAC.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
India-China relationship is dotted with competition, cooperation, and discord. China’s attempt to raise its economic and political profile in the subcontinent was seen as a challenge to India’s authority in the region. India’s military engagements with the U.S. and Japan (China’s main strategic rivals) were seen as a serious challenge to Chinese security.
Likewise, China increased its aggression towards India in recent times, reaching the peak with the Galwan Valley clash in 2020. The disengagement is still in the work and is ongoing.
Body
Background: Chinese Aggression in recent times and reasons
- Galwan Clash: Chinese soldiers crossed the LAC around the Galwan River valley during May 2020.
- There were reports of Chinese soldiers having moved into Indian territory at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh across the LAC leading to high levels of tension between India and China.
- In the events that followed at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese forces. It was the first deadly clash in the border area in at least 45 years.
- China has been pursuing aggressive behaviour on continental and ocean fronts. Its string of pearls and South China claim are case in point.
- CPEC corridor through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir violates India’s Hence India has not endorsed China Belt and Road Initiative.
- Infrastructure Development along the LAC: In the past decade, India has worked hard to strengthen its position on the border and its presence along the LAC. g. Dalut Beg Oldie (DS-DBO road) in the northern tip of the western sector greatly facilitates the lateral movement of Indian forces along the western sector, reducing travel time by 40%.
- Shadow of Dokalam Episode: In a broader context, current confrontation is also attributed to the 2017 China-India standoff at Doklam.
India China border dispute
- The border between India and China is not clearly demarcated throughout and there is no mutually agreed Line of Actual Control (LAC).
- The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
- India used the Johnson Line and claimed Aksai Chin as its own. China, however, do not recognise it and instead accepts McDonald Line which puts Aksai Chin under its control.
- The disputed boundary in the Eastern Sector (Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim) is over the McMahon Line (in Arunachal Pradesh) decided in 1914 in a meeting of Representatives of China, India, and Tibet in Shimla.
- Though the Chinese representatives at the meeting initiated the agreement, they subsequently refused to accept it.
- The Tawang tract claimed by China was taken over by India in 1951.
Diplomacy and military resolve to deter China
- Indo-pacific diplomacy: India is also stepping up its strategic partnership with like-minded Indo-Pacific partners like US, Japan, Australia etc.
- Thus, we will see a far greater partnership between India and the United States on issues of mutual interest—which is likely to have a substantial China component. O
- This is seen in India being vocal about recent QUAD meet.
- Quad-plus: India will also likely look to build greater cooperation through configurations such as the “Quad plus” (expanding the existing grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States to include New Zealand, South Korea, and Vietnam).
- Indian ocean is the key: New Delhi must invest in and develop its strategic assets—like the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, for instance—to project power across the Indian Ocean.
- To weather a potential People’s Liberation Army (PLA) attack, India has placed greater emphasis on infrastructure hardening; base resiliency; redundant command, control, and communications systems; and improved air defence.
- India has grown closer to the US military in recent years, with Washington calling India a “major defence partner” while increasing bi- and multilateral training.
- In the event of an India-Chin war, US intelligence and surveillance could help New Delhi get a clearer picture of the battlefield
Conclusion and way forward
- The big picture is that China could no more afford to take India for granted and that ‘checks and balances’ were now recognised as a legitimate instrument for preventing ‘military’ conflicts in the post- Cold War era.
- Yet, the crisis unfolding along the LAC appears on one level to be a continuation of the trends witnessed in foregoing years.
- Also, even if the current tensions were to be resolved in the near term, India’s security perceptions about China are forcing India to undertake some force restructuring to maintain constant vigilance along the LAC, especially in the western sector.
- Thus, India must be proactive to resist any Chinese transgressions and at the same time utilise its diplomatic skills to tone down the tensions.
Value addition
Dispute settlement agreements
- A series of five agreements signed between India and China to address disputes arising over the LAC:
- 1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the LAC
- 1996 Agreement on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field Along the LAC
- 2005 Protocol on Modalities for the Implementation of Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field Along the LAC
- 2012 Agreement on the Establishment of a Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs
- 2013 Border Defense Cooperation Agreement.
- These agreements provide a modus operandi for diplomatic engagement at the military and political levels, as well as a set of “status quo” commitments both sides can return to in case of escalation
Topic: Role of civil services in a democracy.
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Live Mint
Why the question:
Two recent articles on the failure, or otherwise, of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have attracted public attention. D. Subbarao argues for true meritocracy, faults the system of incentives and disincentives that rewards mediocrity, and makes it clear that the failure is not all due to political context and interference.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the importance of civil services and reforms that are needed in them.
Directive word:
Elaborate – Give 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 by writing a few introductory lines about the Civil services in India.
Body:
Discuss in points the role played by civil services in a democracy and try to connect them with Indian civil services – Role in Governance, Role in provision of public goods and services, Economic policy improvement and implementation, Role in fiscal sustainability, Role in institutional development etc.
Next, mention the various drawbacks and limitations with respect to civil services in India and the various reforms that are needed in this regard.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
Public Servants are the glue between the State and the people. They have a wide array of responsibilities from formulation, implementation of various rules, policies to service delivery to citizens. They are granted with sufficient powers to carry on their work in an unhindered manner.
When India attained independence, Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the first to envision civil services as the ‘steel frame’ of Independent India. Today, more than six decades later, the Indian bureaucracy is both celebrated and reviled. Far from what Patel had warranted, his vision of a “steel frame” is now derided as “babudom”.
Body
Importance of civil services
- In a democracy, the civil services play an extremely important role in the administration, policy formulation and implementation, and in taking the country forward towards progress and development.
- Civil servants by maintaining law and order protect the life and liberty of the people.
- Due to their administrative expertise, they are the “think tank” of the Government. They collect data and information related to core issues.
- They assist the ministers in formulating policy and are responsible for implementing these policies wherein ministers are accountable to parliament and civil servants are accountable to ministers.
- It is also the responsibility of the civil servants to check the feasibility of the proposals in relation to the Constitutional provisions. They also take up the task of implementing the laws and policies of the Government.
- The civil service is present all over India and it thus has a strong binding character.
- It offers non-partisan advice to the political leadership of the country, even in the midst of political instability.
- Since citizens are the main focus point of the administrative system, the civil servant has become a connecting bridge between the State and the society.
- Formulation of appropriate developmental goals and programs in order to secure the support of the people and for the development of the nation is the responsibility of the civil servants.
- The service gives effective coordination between the various institutions of governance, and also between different departments, bodies, etc.
- It offers service delivery and leadership at different levels of administration.
Measures needed:
- Personal self-interest should be secondary to the common good in all situations, especially when such circumstances give rise to conflict of interest.
- A dilemma should be dealt appropriately by considering and reformulating all the options in a systematic and coherent manner.
- To resolve ethical dilemmas, an order or a sequence of logical reasoning is must to integrate and rearrange the process of dealing with ethical dilemmas.
- The decisions should be guided by following principles:
- The provisions of Indian Constitution.
- Democratic accountability of administration.
- The rule of law and the principle of legality.
- Professional integrity.
- Impartiality and neutrality.
- Larger public good.
- Responsiveness to civil society.
- The bureaucracy should be loyal to the country and its people while decision making considering consequences of such decisions.
- It is fundamental ethical duty of civil servants to show a spirit of neutrality and discretion and keep their own personal preferences out in the performance of their duties and responsibilities.
Conclusion
A bureaucracy must be an enabler and not a hinderer that clogs the decision-making pipeline. Honest and competent civil servants—and there are many—need to initiate human capital reform to create high-performing machinery that does fewer things but does them better.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Reference: Insights on India
Difficulty level: Moderate
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 write about possible advantages and limitations that AI comes with and what way our country should tackle it.
Directive word:
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:
Begin by defining AI.
Body:
Explain that Artificial intelligence (AI) is competent to have a revolutionary impact on businesses and consumers globally. List down the advantages of AI in detail. Substantiate with examples.
Discuss the concerns associated with AI such as – job losses, robot bosses, human errors, high cost, ethical issues etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
It is simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computers. It refers to the ability of machines to perform cognitive tasks like thinking, perceiving, learning, problem solving and decision making and execute tasks in real time situations without constant supervision.
Particular applications of AI includes expert systems, speech recognition and machine vision. It encompasses machine learning, where machines can learn by experience and acquire skills without human involvement.
Body
Potential of Artificial intelligence on businesses and consumers
- It has the potential to overcome the physical limitations of capital and labour and open up new sources of value and growth.
- It has the potential to drive growth by enabling
- Intelligent automatione. ability to automate complex physical world tasks.
- Innovation diffusione. propelling innovations through the economy.
- Heavy Industries & Space: Through AI an entire manufacturing process can be made totally automated, controlled & maintained by computer system.
- Example: car manufacturing machine tool production, computer chip production. Etc.
- They carry out dangerous tasks like handling hazardous radioactive materials.
- Finance: Banks use intelligent software application to screen & analyse financial data.
- Software that can predict trends in stock market have been created which have been known to beat humans in predictive power.
- Aviation: Air lines use expert system in planes to monitor atmospheric condition & system status.
- Role in social development and inclusive growth: Access to quality health facilities, addressing location barriers, providing real-time advisory to farmers and help in increasing productivity, building smart and efficient cities etc.
- The exponential growth of data is constantly feeding AI improvements.
- AI has varied applications in fields like Healthcare, Education, Smart Cities, Environment, Agriculture, smart Mobility etc.
- Examples of AI use in India: A Statement of Intent has been signed between NITI Aayog and IBM to develop Precision Agriculture using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Aspirational Districts.
- National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) launched Pai which is an AI based chatbot, to create awareness around NPCI’s products like FASTag, RuPay, UPI, AePS on a real time basis.
Need for structured development and regulation
- Ethical concerns: With popularization of a new technology, its virtues are not guaranteed. For instance, the internet made it possible to connect with anyone and get information from anywhere, but also easier for misinformation to spread.
- There are real concerns about the potential negative consequences of AI, from deep fakes to nefarious uses of facial recognition technology.
- Data Management: As there is lack of clarity on data flow and data ownership which might result into data colonialism (data generated by developing countries yet not benefitting them).
- Further, data collection for feeding AI algorithms has its associated privacy concerns e.g. mass surveillance.
- AI could contribute to the forgery of documents, pictures, audio recordings, videos, and online identities which can and will occur with unprecedented ease.
- Biasedness: The algorithms used in artificial intelligence are discrete and, in most cases, trade secrets.
- They can be biased, for example, in the process of self-learning, they can absorb and adopt the stereotypes that exist in society or which are transferred to them by developers and make decisions based on them.
- Excessive Regulation: Since the AI is still in its preliminary stages, some critics believe that, excessively strict regulation is neither necessary nor desirable.
- Lack of consensus & Conflict of Interests among the countries over the mechanisms and tactics in regulation of AI.
- Absence of widespread expertise in Al technologies: This could lead to policy decisions being taken based on a narrow spectrum of opinions. There are large gaps in data collection, preparation, and benchmarking capabilities.
Conclusion
Regulation must be continuous and adapt with evolution of technology. There is need to find country specific data, trained workforce, fine-tuned algorithms and technology suited to local needs.
For India to maximally benefit from the AI revolution, it must adopt a deliberate policy to drive AI innovation, adaptation, and proliferation in sectors beyond consumer goods and information technology services.
Topic: Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Financial Express
Why the question:
Assigning the manufacturing of a drone detection system to a private Indian industry designed by state-run organizations marks the pivotal moment of a joint first step towards defence indigenization. Notably, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s handing over of Transfer-of-Technology (ToT) documents also came close on the heels of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) third list of 100 items to be procured/developed/manufactured domestically and not through imports.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about Drones as a technology offer a distinctively puzzling and complex security threat when it comes to terrorism and hybrid warfare and the steps required to counter it.
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 by giving context regarding the emergence of hybrid warfare and increasing role of drones in it.
Body:
In first part, mention the vulnerabilities of India to such warfare –security threats associated with Drones. Drones have developed significantly and acquired massive leaps in capability.
Next, write about the steps that are needed to placed – building capacities, anti-drone mechanisms, protecting strategic areas etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
A Drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. Besides combat use, drones are used for a range of purposes like package delivery, in agriculture (spraying pesticides etc), monitoring environmental changes, aerial photography, and during search and relief operations, among others.
Increasing the use of drones in warfare and other areas has brought into focus the potential the use of drones holds and the other issues related to its misuse (Rogue Drones). India has an estimated over 6 lakh rogue or unregulated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Assigning the manufacturing of a drone detection system to a private Indian industry designed by state-run organizations marks the pivotal moment of a joint first step towards defence indigenization.
Body
Security threats posed by drones
- National Security Issues:Drones have demonstrated the potentials for their threat to the security of a country. Drones are operated remotely and can strike where it wants it to strike. Raising serious security issues.
- Terrorism:Drones have been used by various terrorist organisations like ISIS in Syria and Iraq to hit their targets.
- Conflict Zones: Drones are becoming security threats particularly in conflict zones where non-state actors are active and have easy access to the technology. For example: 2019 twin drone attacks on Aramco crude oil production in Saudi Arabia.
- Potential weapons of mass destruction: What makes combat drones in the hands of non-state actors most dangerous is the threat of them being used to deliver weapons of mass destruction.
- Aviation safety: Drones flying too close to commercial aircraft has called for regulations.
- Privacy:Drones have been used by the paparazzi to take the images of individuals breaching their privacy.
- Critical infrastructure: unregulated drones, UAVs and remotely-piloted aircraft system are a “potential threat” to vital installations, sensitive locations and specific events
- Cross border smuggling: Over the past two years, drones have been deployed regularly by Pakistan-based outfits to smuggle arms, ammunition and drugs into Indian territory. Drones fly low and therefore cannot be detected by any radar system.
Way forward
- India first needs to evolve a basic academic understanding of where counter-drone and drone systems fit in the larger scheme of things involving emerging technologies, military concepts, industrial capabilities and adversary nations’ capabilities.
- Security agencies should work on developing more modern anti-drone weapons like ‘sky fence’ and ‘drone gun’ to counter terror or similar sabotage bids by these aerial platforms.
- The Tokyo police have been using ‘flying nets’ attached to legal drones to capture and neutralise rogue UAVs. the Taiwanese police have been testing RF jammer guns to bring down rogue drones.
- The other anti-drone technology is through geofencing agreements with commercial drone manufacturers, a technique that will prevent UAVs from flying near critical infrastructure by pre-programmed codes put in by manufacturers.
- India needs to invest more in counter-drone research and technology and procure them in a planned manner to address the security concerns arising from rogue operations the unmanned aerial vehicles.
- There is a need to develop partnerships between counter-drone companies and public sector units (PSUs), government organisations like Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other private organisations.
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation could potentially look at making the existing regulations for unmanned aircraft systems more stringent.
- The answer to the emerging threat of rogue drones, though serious, is not over-regulation but smart regulation, creating a balance between the evolving drone sector and the emerging security concerns.
- This needs to be done with investing in cutting-edge technologies for countering drones and indigenous R&D, with the support of government grants besides private investments.
- ‘National Counter Rogue Drone Guidelines’ is a step in the right direction outlining ‘procedural means’ of prevention, deterrence and denial and ‘active means’ of detection, interruption and destruction. This must be coupled with ‘Counter Rogue Drone Deployment Plan’ based on vulnerability analysis
- Defence indigenization should not be looked at as a standalone effort but as a larger goal towards becoming industrially advanced with hi-tech and electronics manufacturing leading the charge.
Conclusion
Regulation on use of drones in India should be effectively implemented to foster technology and innovation in the development of drones and improve the ease of doing business, by side-lining unnecessary requirements and creating a single-window process. The government should ensure protection of privacy of citizens by limiting the use of drones for surveillance. It is important to use drones responsibly to minimize negative impacts on wildlife, including birds. Possibilities of drone-related accidents should be minimized by strict enforcement of regulations.
Value addition
Recent events featuring drones
- Recently, Drones were used for the first time to drop explosive devices, triggering blasts inside the Air Force Station’s technical area in Jammu.
- Recently, the BSF detected weapons dropped by a suspected Pakistan drone in Jammu. One AK-47 assault rifle, one pistol, one magazine, and 15 rounds for a 9 mm weapon were recovered 250 m inside Indian territory.
- On June 20 last year, the BSF shot down a drone in Hiranagar, Jammu. The hexacopter’s payload included a US-made M4 semi-automatic carbine, two magazines, 60 rounds and seven Chinese grenades.
- Sources said in recent years there have been an estimated 100-150 sightings of suspected drones near India’s western border annually. Most of these are suspected to be surveillance drones.
- A drone was used by the U.S. to fire the missile at Qassem Soleimani to assassinate him.
- A few days before that, less-lethal drones monitored crowds of student protesters rocking India.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Citizen’s Charters
Difficulty level: Easy
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4 and part of ‘Conceptual Tuesdays’ in Mission-2022 Secure.
Key Demand of the question:
To explain the concept of citizen charters and its importance.
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 the answer by defining a citizen charter.
Body:
First, discuss the core principles of a citizen’s charter; Awareness: About citizen’s entitlements; time, period and quality of service delivery, Simple to understand, Moral backing, Accountability: Individual and of organization, Transparency: Rules/ Procedures/ Schemes/Grievances, Empowerment: Citizens especially weaker sections.
Next, write about the importance of above.
Conclusion:
Conclude by summarising.
Introduction
A Citizens’ Charter is a set of commitments made by an organisation regarding the standards of service which it delivers. It covers not only the Central Government Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations but also the Departments/ Agencies of State Governments and UT Administrations. As an instrument, it is propagated to make an organization transparent, accountable and citizen friendly.
Body
The basic objective of the Citizens Charter is to empower the citizen in relation to public service delivery.
Importance of Citizen’s charter in the Governance of developing nation like India
- Citizen Charter increases participation of common man in efficient working of an organization by making the citizens aware of the aims and goals of the organization.
- It helps in reducing corruption through transparent provisions and thus, ensures accountability
- It leads to citizen friendliness and citizen convenience and raises efficiency and effectiveness in public delivery system.
- It reduces cost, prevents delay and red tapism and thus promote good governance.
- Citizen Charter set standards of service, allowing high expectations from an organization, pushing them to work diligently.
- It encourages access and promote choice and thus, treat all fairly.
Shortcomings of Citizen’s Charter in India
- It has become one of the routine activities of the organisation and had no focus.
- In many cases, the concerned staff are not adequately trained and sensitised.
- Sometimes, transfers and reshuffles of concerned officers at the crucial stages of formulation/implementation of a Citizens’ Charter in an organisation severely undermined the strategic processes which were put in place and hampered the progress of the initiative.
- Lack of awareness and knowledge and inadequate publicity, led to loss of trust among service seekers.
- Lack of infrastructure and initiative defeated the very purpose of citizen’s charter.
- Different mind-sets of officers and the Staff- Insensitiveness on the part of the Supervisors and the Staff because they are yet to be sensitised.
- Staff is not prepared to shoulder the responsibility due to lack of motivation and accountability.
- Non-revision, complicated and restrictive rules & procedures reduced its effectiveness.
Reforming Citizen’s Charter to make them Effective:
- One size does not fit all:formulation of CC should be a decentralized activity with the head office providing only broad guidelines.
- Wide consultation process: CC be formulated after extensive consultations within the organization followed by a meaningful dialogue with civil society.
- Firm commitments to be made:CC must be precise and make firm commitments of service delivery standards to the citizens/consumers in quantifiable terms wherever possible.
- Redressal mechanism in case of default: clearly lay down the relief which the organization is bound to provide if it has defaulted on the promised standards of delivery.
- Periodic evaluation of CC: preferably through an external agency.
- Hold officers accountable for results: fix specific responsibility in cases where there is a default in adhering to the CC.
- Include Civil Society in the process: to assist in improvement in the contents of the Charter, its adherence as well as educating the citizens about the importance of this vital mechanism.
Conclusion
The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in its12th Report entitled ‘Citizen Centric Administration – Heart of Governance” has recommended for making the Citizens’ charters more effective as a document for interacting with citizens. This recommendation has been accepted by Government of India. All Central Ministries/Departments have been requested to review their Citizens’ Charters to make them more effective as a tool for interacting with the citizens. It must be implemented in the true spirit.
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