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General Studies – 2
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.
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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.
Introduction
Dalit women constitute a vast section of India’s population. They have been socially excluded and humiliated for a long period of time. The historical and cultural narratives of India have failed to acknowledge the contributions of the women from the margins, as they are either androcentric in approach or reflective of the dominant castes. Remembering unsung Dalit women heroes and their stories of struggle and bravery from across the centuries, will broaden these narratives and help address the institutionalised discrimination Dalit women have faced for centuries.
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Dalit women leaders and their contributions: a source of inspiration for modern day feminist movement
- The story of Sabari from the Ramayana has been used as an example of acceptance, selflessness and unconditional love, and adapted into bhajans and poems.
- The coming of bhakti saw the emergence of women from the Mahar caste, such as Sant Nirmala and Soyarabai, questioning Hindu orthodoxy.
- Nangeli fought against the cruel “breast tax” system, which imposed a tax on women of the lower castes who covered their breasts.
- Kuyili, who commanded the army of Velu Nachiyar, the queen of Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, was a Dalit woman who fought against the British around 1780.
- Jhalkaribai, another fearless Dalit warrior, played a pivotal role in what is known as the First War of Independence in 1857, as the most trusted companion and advisor of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi.
- Born in Ujirao, Lucknow, Uda Devi formed a battalion consisting of Dalit women under the leadership of Begum Hazrat Mahal.
- Among social reformers, there was Savitribai Phule, a pioneer in education for Dalits, who started a school in 1848 with nine girls.
- By 1851 this became three schools with around 150 girl students. She also started a school in 1849 with her friend Fatima Sheikh, the Mahila Seva Mandal in 1852 to raise awareness about women’s rights and the Balahatya Pratibandhak Griha, where widows and rape survivors could deliver their babies.
- Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar fought against the exploitative Devadasi system. In 1936, she published a Tamil novel on Devadasis and wrote the fictional series Damayanthi in 1945.
- Dakshayani Velayudhan was the first and only Dalit woman to be elected to the constituent assembly in 1946.
- In Maharashtra, writers like Shantabai Kamble, Mallika Amar Sheikh and Kumud Pawde shone a light on Dalit feminism through their autobiographies.
- In Tamil Nadu, writers like Bama and P Sivakami explored gender discrimination as a two-fold oppression.
- Marathi writers like Urmila Pawar and Meenakshi Moon worked to make Dalit women visible in women’s movement and, through their research and testimonies, brought out the grim reality of the missing voices.
Way forward
- Sensible labour laws reforms to give exit options to Dalit women trapped in a system. Integrating social and cultural transformation with an economic alternative is critical.
- Huge investments will be needed in up skilling and educating women and government needs to create an abundance of new jobs within the formal sector and lowering barriers to job creation.
- Increased availability of stable-wage jobs for women is critical to preventing their socio-economic exploitation.
- With bridging the deep-rooted biases through sustained reconditioning: -It is only possible by promoting the idea of gender equality and uprooting social ideology of male child preferability.
- They should be given decision-making powers and due position in governance.
- Thus, the Women Reservation Bill should be passed as soon as possible to increase the effective participation of women in the politics of India.
- Bridging implementation gaps:
- Government or community-based bodies must be set up to monitor the programs devised for the welfare of the society.
- Dalit women need group and gender specific policies and programmes to address the issue of multiple deprivations.
- Dalit women require comprehensive policies on health, especially on the maternal and child health
- Make credit available by pooling the women to form self-help groups. The example of Kudumbashree model of Kerala can be emulated.
Conclusion
Dalit women in India are situated at a very crucial juncture right now where they have to cross three thresholds simultaneously: class, class and patriarchy. These are the three hierarchical axes of social structure which are crucial to the understanding of gender relations and the oppression of Dalit women.
Introduction
Globalisation is the widening, intensifying speeding up & growing impact of world-wide interconnectedness. The inter-connectedness that globalisation has spawned is multidimensional & operates through distinctive economic, cultural & political processes.
Globalisation has made the distance between nations as borderless villages. Hence the whole world has been one big global village. Global village is such an environment where the world considered as a single community in which telecommunications link the inhabitants together. In other words, Global village is an idea where all the people of the world will live as a single society and provide communication and services to each other through the use of information and communication technology.
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Various attributes of Global Village
- Technology: Has reduced the speed of communication manifolds. The phenomenon of social media in the recent world has made distance insignificant.
- LPG Reforms: The 1991 reforms in India have led to greater economic liberalisation which has in turn increased India’s interaction with the rest of the world.
- Faster Transportation: Improved transport, making global travel easier. For example, there has been a rapid growth in air-travel, enabling greater movement of people and goods across the globe.
- Rise of WTO and multilateral organisations: The formation of WTO in 1994 led to reduction in tariffs and non-tariff barriers across the world. It also led to the increase in the free trade agreements among various countries.
- Improved mobility of capital: there has been a general reduction in capital barriers, making it easier for capital to flow between different economies. This has increased the ability for firms to receive finance. It has also increased the global interconnectedness of global financial markets.
- Rise of MNCs: Multinational corporations operating in different geographies have led to a diffusion of best practices. MNCs source resources from around the globe and sell their products in global markets leading to greater local interaction.
- Above factors have helped in economic liberalization and globalization and have facilitated the world in becoming a “global village”.
Positive impact of Global Village on Indian society
Globalization helps to boost the long-run average growth rate of the economy of the country through the following:
- Improvement in the allocative efficiency of resources;
- FDI and technology transfer: Globalization attracts an entry of foreign capital along with foreign updated technology which improves the quality of production.
- Globalization enhances the efficiency of the banking insurance and financial sectors with the opening up to those areas to foreign capital, foreign banks, and insurance companies.
- Improved Standard of Living and Better Purchasing Power
- Access to education: On one hand globalisation has aided in the explosion of information on the web that has helped in greater awareness among people. It has also led to greater need for specialisation and promotion of higher education in the country.
- Pervasive Media: There is greater access to news, music, movies, videos from around the world. Foreign media houses have increased their presence in India. India is part of the global launch of Hollywood movies which is very well received here. It has a psychological, social and cultural influence on our society.
- Growth of cities: It has been estimated that by 2050 more than 50% of India’s population will live in cities. The boom of services sector and city centric job creation has led to increasing rural to urban migration.
- Indian cuisine: is one of the most popular cuisines across the globe. Historically, Indian spices and herbs were one of the most sought-after trade commodities. Pizzas, burgers, Chinese foods and other Western foods have become quite popular.
Negative aspects of Global Village
- The agriculture sector is the backbone of the Indian economy. The above 50 percent of people are working in the agriculture sector. This sector has been neglected by the government in the post-reform period and the share of agriculture has decelerated continuously.
- Post reform period has witnessed a drastic increase in child labor because due to LPG policy the role of public sector was reduced. Therefore, the corporate is working for profit motive only.
- Process of Capital intensive from labour-intensive adopted global technologies and automatic machinery. But this has resulted in the high rate of unemployment in India which is becoming the biggest challenge for Indian Economy and the Government today.
- We may call globalization as a double-edged weapon that helped Indian consumers to enjoy all high-Quality global brands. On another hand, it helped the Government of India to tide over its serious foreign exchange problem, even though temporarily by getting a loan from World Bank. But it has been at the cost of decontrol of the Indian Government over its economy and at the cost of the local Industry.
Conclusion
Globalisation is an age-old phenomenon which has been taking place for centuries now. We can experience it so profoundly these days because of its increased pace. The penetration of technology and new economic structures are leading to an increased interaction between people. As with other things there have been both positive and negative impacts on India due to it.
General Studies – 2
Introduction
A Uniform Civil Code is one that would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc. It proposes to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of each major religious community in the country with a common set of laws governing every citizen.
Article 44 of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavor to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
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Background
- While delivering a judgment legitimising the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, the Supreme Court reportedly described Goa as a “shining example” with a Uniform Civil Code
- The previous Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde recently lauded Goa’s Uniform Civil Code, and encouraged “intellectuals” indulging in “academic talk” to visit the state to learn more about it.
- The Delhi High Court, in a very revolutionary decision, backed the need for a Uniform Civil Code observing that there is a need for a Code – ‘common to all’ in the country and asked the central government to take the necessary steps in this matter.
Article 44 benefits:
- Promotion of secularism: One set of laws to govern the personal matters of all citizens irrespective of religion is the cornerstone of true secularism. A secular republic needs a common law for all citizens rather than differentiated rules based on religious practices. It would help end gender discrimination on religious grounds and strengthens the secular fabric of the nation.
- Protection of Vulnerable & Women’s Rights: It will protect the vulnerable sections of society. Women have been denied via personal laws in the name of socio cultural-religious traditions. Therefore UCC could bring all communities together to ensure Women the Right to a dignified life and control over their life as well as body.
- Gender justice:The rights of women are usually limited under religious law, be it Hindu or Muslim. Many practices governed by religious tradition are at odds with the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Indian Constitution. Courts have also often said in their judgements that the government should move towards a uniform civil code including the judgement in the Shah Bano case.
- Prevents religion-based discrimination: Personal laws differentiate between people on grounds of religion. A unified law having the same provisions regarding marital affairs would provide justice to those who feel discriminated against.
- Ending unjust customs and traditions: A rational common and unified personal law will help eradicate many evil, unjust and irrational customs and traditions prevalent across the communities. For example, Law against Manual scavenging. It might have been a custom in the past but in a mature democracy like India, this custom cannot be justified.
- Indian laws do follow a uniform code in most civil matters –Indian Contract Act, Civil Procedure Code, Sale of Goods Act, Transfer of Property Act, Partnership Act, Evidence Act etc. States, however, have made hundreds of amendments and therefore in certain matters, there is diversity even under these secular civil laws.
- Justice Prathiba M Singh of Delhi HC stated that the modern Indian society was gradually becoming homogenous, the traditional barriers of religion, community and caste are slowly dissipating and thus UCC ought not to remain a mere hope.
- Eases Administration: UCC would make it easy to administer the huge population base of India.
Challenges facing the passage of UCC:
- Violation of fundamental rights:Religious bodies oppose uniform civil code on the ground that it would be interference into religious affairs which would violate fundamental rights guaranteed under article 25 of the constitution.
- Reduces diversity:It would reduce the diversity of the nation by painting everyone in one colour. Tribals have their unique customs and traditions as per their culture. Replacing their customs and traditions with a unified law may lead to the identity crisis of the tribals. This may further lead to social tension.
- Communal politics:It would be a tyranny to the minority and when implemented could bring a lot of unrest in the country.
- Threat to Multiculturalism: Indian society has a unique identity in the form of its being multiculturalism, and unified law might do away with these unique characteristics of this nation.
- Affects Majority as well: For example, even Hindus themselves have separate Hindu laws for themselves. Thus, it is not merely a question for minorities but it also affects the majority.
- Lacking Political Will: Bigger issues have been resolved by the BJP Government like Ayodhya Dispute, repeal of Article 370, so with adequate will from the political community, UCC could also be implemented
- Sensitive and tough task – Such a code, in its true spirit, must be brought about by borrowing freely from different personal laws, making gradual changes in each, issuing judicial pronouncements assuring gender equality, and adopting expansive interpretations on marriage, maintenance, adoption, and succession by acknowledging the benefits that one community secures from the others. This task will be very demanding time and human resource wise. The government should be sensitive and unbiased at each step while dealing with the majority and minority communities. Otherwise, it might turn out to be more disastrous in a form of communal violence.
- Time is not yet suitable for this reform – Considering a major opposition from Muslim community in India over this issue overlapping with controversies over beef, saffronization of school and college curriculum, love jihad, and the silence emanating from the top leadership on these controversies, there needs to be given sufficient time for instilling confidence in the community. Otherwise, these efforts towards common will be counterproductive leaving minority class particularly Muslims more insecure and vulnerable to get attracted towards fundamentalist and extremist ideologies.
Way forward
- Major sensitization efforts are needed to reform current personal law reforms which should first be initiated by the communities themselves.
- Current institutions need to be modernized, democratized and strengthened for this change. Sincere efforts towards women empowerment have to be taken for all women of all religions.
- UCC can only emerge through an evolutionary process, which preserves India’s rich legal heritage, of which all the personal laws are equal constituents.
- The social transformation from diverse civil code to uniformity shall be gradual and cannot happen in a day. Therefore, the government must adopt a piecemeal approach and no knee-jerk decisions.
- There is need for deliberations and discussions among members of various communities to reach a common ground.
Conclusion
The guiding principles of the Constitution itself visualize diversity and have tried to promote uniformity among peoples of different denominations. A uniform law, although highly desirable but may be counterproductive to the unity and integrity of the nation. Hence, only those elements of customs and traditions should be brought into a unified law that causes injustice to individuals. In a democracy and rule of law, a gradual progressive change and order must be brought about.
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”.
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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.
Introduction
The covid pandemic was a grim reminder of breaking down of multilateral organizations such as the WHO, UNSC, IMF and others such organizations, mainly due to high politicization. The instance where World Health Organization coyly followed the Chinese leadership in responding to the pandemic and Chinese interference in manipulating World Bank EODB index are few examples of the same. International institutions are inherently political in nature, but the way our post-1945 global multilateral order has been manipulated by China underscores an underlying power transition in global arrangements.
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Changing power dynamics within the multilateral organisations
- US-China cold war: This weakening of the multilateral system is happening in the context of the world’s two major powers, the US and China, either unwilling or unable to shape institutional underpinnings.
- While China wants a multipolar world and a unipolar Asia, the US wants a multipolar Asia but a unipolar world.
- United Nations: The UNSC has been dysfunctional for many years and is now aligned into P3 and P2 (Russia-China axis).
- International peace and security actions became hostage to UNSC indecisions. E.g.: Syrian civil war and Yemen civil war
- World Trade: WTO dispute settlement body has become non-functional due to USA’s blocking of new appointments.
- Due to non-consensus, the Doha Development Agenda has not found any resolution till date.
- There is a clear developed vs developing country dichotomy that has hamstrung any agreement like e-commerce, digital trade, sustainable trade etc.
- China’s dominance: China dictating actions of WHO during covid-19 pandemic is one of the main reasons for the wide spread disease outbreak.
- It’s secrecy over covid-19 outbreak and blocking thorough investigations shows failure of multilateral bodies to enforce mandate.
- Climate change and financing: Major issues of small island nations like submergence, displacement are ignored due to dilly-dallying of major powers for climate finance.
- The common but differentiated responsibility has not been acknowledged by major industrial powers and Conference of Parties on Climate change has failed year after year to bring about rules to enforce the same under Paris Agreement.
Reforms needed to rejig multilateral bodies to be more equitable
Multilateralism should promote international law, democracy, equity and justice, mutual respect, right to development and non-interference in internal affairs of any country without double standards.
- UN reforms long overdue: No reform of the UN would be complete without reform of the Security Council. Therefore, equitable representation as well as expansion of the UNSC is the desired reform.
- WTO reforms: Immediate priority in WTO reforms should be to resolve the ongoing impasse in the Appellate Body to address the unilateral measures as these pose serious existential challenges for the organisation.
- Climate finance: All nations collectively, should make instruments of global governance more inclusive, representative and participatory to facilitate greater and more meaningful participation of developing and least developed countries.
- Reforms in global financial institutions like IMF: Reduce the voting powers of the USA which holds a virtual veto in the decision-making process of IMF.
- Multilateral bodies need to become more responsive, effective, transparent, democratic, objective, action-oriented, solution-oriented and credible.
Conclusion
The world is changing rapidly and the US as well as China have little or no interest in shaping the multilateral order. As a consequence, plurilateral are fast emerging as one of the more important instruments available to middle powers to fill the void. This way, the US can be cajoled while China can be pushed back. The calculus of variable geometries is now being shaped by middle powers. For New Delhi, this a moment to take the lead in shaping the contours of the emerging world order.
General Studies – 3
Introduction
5G is the fifth generation mobile network. It’s a unified platform which is much more capable than previous mobile services with more capacity, lower latency, faster data delivery rate and better utilisation of spectrum. The standards for the usage of 5G are defined and driven by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
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Benefits of 5G technology:
- A more Connected World:
- 5G will provide the capacity and bandwidth as per the need of the user to accommodate technologies such as Internet of Things.
- Thus, will help to incorporate Artificial Intelligence in our lives. It can also support Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality services.
- Bringing Internet Connectivity Everywhere:
- The speed of 5G will have ripple effects across many industries and geographies.
- High speed internet access is critical to pushing rural industries — like farming and agriculture — to evolve.
- 5G networks stand to unlock that innovation, but it’s highly dependent upon how it’s implemented.
- Better Coverage in Densely Populated Areas:
- Small cell deployments will be made more effective through high-speed internet, allowing lightweight, easy-to-mount network base stations to increase capacity and coverage in densely populated areas.
- Though their range is much shorter, they will be able to alleviate overloaded networks in cities and other densely populated regions.
- Networking as a Service:
- Network slicing allows multiple virtual networks to be created on top of a shared physical infrastructure, so different types of applications and services will be able to run on shared infrastructure.
- This enables telecommunications companies to provide networking on-demand in the same way that we currently access other services on-demand, creating a user experience that’s indistinguishable from a physically separated network.
- radio access networks (RAN):
- This is creating a new set of ecosystem players dominated by smaller and more innovative companies, which can make way for unknown companies from countries such as India, to emerge as mainstream mobile infrastructure technology providers for the world
The potential advantages it offers:
- Industry 4.0:
- The manufacturing industry is going through a digital revolution.
- Within the context of Industry 4.0, manufacturers are becoming more efficient through the application of automation and data exchange to their existing factory processes to enable better integrated workflows and smarter manufacturing.
- Industrial IoT technologies are streamlining and simplifying many manufacturing processes in revolutionary ways.
- Mixed reality (MR) applications:
- The MR Apps comprise augmented reality (AR) plus virtual reality (VR) apps.
- Beyond the consumer market (think Pokémon Go), interesting applications are also likely to be found in industrial and medical contexts.
- Remote medical procedures, engineering, public safety and field-service applications are all strong use case opportunities for the application of low latency 5G services.
- Sports and entertainment:
- A combination of VR and AR with ultra-high-fidelity enabled by 5G could transform the way fans interact in these events.
- Motorsports is ideal for VR in particular: equipped with their mobile device or headset, fans could be served information like lap or technical information about cars as they race on the track in a sport like Formula 1
- Fixed wireless access:
- Fixed wireless access could also be used to bring high bandwidth digital services to under-served rural areas.
- Mobile operators will then be able to compete with wireline, satellite and cable companies, offering new revenue streams and faster RoI.
- Autonomous vehicles:
- The idea that much of the car, if not all of it, is controlled not by the driver but by technology.
- 5G is critical to realize this as it will offer the connectivity and speed needed to deliver vast amounts of data to one another as well as other objects simultaneously.
- 5G can provide a completely seamless mobile experience is a must so that cars can stay constantly connected.
Challenges:
- Huge Investment Required: India needs a massive Rs 5 lakh crore ($70 billion) investment to bring in 5G.
- Expensive spectrum: Indian spectrum prices are some of the highest in the world and the allocated quantity is well below global best practices, while 40% of the spectrum is lying unsold.
- Lack of uniform policy framework: Delays due to complex procedures across states, non-uniformity of levies along with administrative approvals have impacted telecom service providers in rolling-out Optical Fiber Cables (OFC) and telecom towers.
- Local Regulatory Issues: Many of the local rules and regulations are prohibiting the rapid and cost-effective roll-out of small cells in city centres where Fifth Generation (5G) is initially expected to be most in demand.
- Debt scenario in the industry: According to ICRA, the collective debt of telecommunications service providers (TSPs) stands at Rs 4.2 lakh crore.
- Low optical fiber penetration: India lacks a strong backhaul to transition to 5G. Backhaul is a network that connects cells sites to central exchange. As of now 80% of cell sites are connected through microwave backhaul, while under 20% sites are connected through fiber.
- High Import of Equipments: Imports account for a 90 per cent of India’s telecom equipment market. However due to lack of local manufacturing and R&D, Indian telecom providers have no option other than to procure and deploy 5G technologies from foreign suppliers.
- Security: According to the Global Cyber Security Index released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), only about half of all the countries had a cybersecurity strategy or are in the process of developing one. The index, which was topped by Singapore at 0.925 saw India at 23rd position.
- Possibility of increased digital divide: Initial deployment of 5G networks in dense urban areas could left behind rural areas due to commercial viability, may led to increase the digital divide.
- Human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: There has been concern about the said impact of these frequencies on health of human as well as on animals.
Way Forward:
- Spectrum Policy: India’s spectrum allocation for public wireless services should be enhanced significantly. Also, the cost of spectrum relative to per capita GDP is high and should come down.
- Create a Fifth Generation (5G) Program Office within Department of Telecommunications and an Oversight Committee.
- New civil infrastructure like highways, roads, canals and utilities (gas, electricity, water) lines should be mandated to provide Common Telecom Infrastructure resources such as ducting and power junction boxes to support 5G infrastructure.
- Security audits, a prerequisite for importing of equipment before deploying in Indian networks, needs to be simplified.
- Favorable Taxation Policy: Reducing taxation and regulatory fees on revenues could contribute to further evolution of the tax framework.
- Fifth Generation (5G) Pilot: Policy-makers may consider encouraging 5G pilots and test beds to test 5G technologies and use cases and to stimulate market engagement.
- Support Fifth Generation (5G) investment: Indian government and regulators should ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry and its ability to fund the significant investment required for 5G network deployments.
- Policy-makers may consider the use of licensed, unlicensed and shared spectrum to create a balanced spectrum ecosystem – one that encourages investment, makes efficient use of spectrum and promotes competition.
- Where market failure has occurred, governments may consider stimulating investment in fibre networks and passive assets through setting up PPPs, investment funds and offering grant funds, etc.
Conclusion
The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2023 there will be a staggering 9.1 billion mobile subscriptions. 5G will act as the catalyst for Digital India—a watershed moment in digital transformation. India is at the cusp of a next generation of wireless technology 5G. It provides an opportunity for industry to reach out to global markets, and consumers to gain with the economies of scale. It can help in better service delivery, faster access to services and deeper penetration of digital services.
Introduction
A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions (DLT) that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain. Blockchains are open, distributed ledger that can chronologically record transactions between two parties efficiently in near real time.
The blockchain technology generally has key characteristics of decentralization, persistency, anonymity and auditability. With these traits, blockchain can greatly save the cost and improve the efficiency.
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Applications of Blockchain
- Banking & Capital Market: For efficient banking operations and efficiently using the KYC procedures offered by this technology.
- For instance, SBI leads as the first bank to use KYC and facilitate remittances based on blockchain.
- Cross border remittances can be made faster and less costly.
- Trade Settlement: Faster transfer of securities and payments and reduced trading cost by removing intermediaries.
- Cybersecurity: Sensitive data moved to the blockchain can effectively manage access by minimizing the risk of leaks to hackers.
- For instance, The Block Armour solution is the company which ring-fences an organization’s critical resources, securely providing access to authorized users and devices.
- Healthcare and pharmaceuticals: It involves a lot of sensitive clinical data which demands a secure and reliable system.
- For instance- Blockchain-enabled mobile platform “HealthPro” to connect hospitals, insurance companies and host medical records of patients.
- Agriculture: The food supply chain is one characterized by asymmetry of information. The complex network comprises farmers, brokers, distributors, processors, retailers, regulators and consumers.
- Improved data sharing will result in stakeholders getting their dues (particularly poor farmers with small land holdings) and consumers having control on food quality.
- Telecom: to eliminate spam calls and financial fraud by unregistered telecom marketers and open up new revenue streams for the telecom companies etc.
- Governance: Digital identities, maintaining digital certificates of citizens, monitoring welfare programs, tracking of health records of all citizens, cybersecurity of critical infrastructure etc are some of the key applications of Blockchain technology.
- g., Andhra Pradesh has piloted two projects on managing land records and streamlining vehicle registrations.
- West Bengal has implemented Blockchain based issuance of Birth certificates to newborn
Importance of blockchain
- Blockchain can bring value addition in e-Governance: Improves Transparency & Accountability, Building Trust with Citizens, speed up transactions, Protecting Sensitive Data and Reducing Costs & Improving Efficiency.
- No Middlemen in Transaction: It is completely decentralized and no middlemen are required.
- Protect businesses from fraud: Blockchain is open-source ledger which is why it is very easy to identify if a fraud has taken place since every transaction is recorded on them.
- Blockchain Business Value: The World Economic Forum (WEF) anticipates that 10% of the global GDP will be stored on blockchain by 2025 and lists blockchain as one of 7 technologies that are anticipated to revolutionize various aspects of our lives.
Conclusion
Although blockchain is in its infancy, India is pacing towards its adoption and inclusion. Implementing this technology across all spheres of business will certainly prove to be a game-changer despite the roadblocks in its adoption.
Value addition
Government measures to promote blockchain
- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has supported a multi institutional project titled Distributed Centre of Excellence in Blockchain Technology with C-DAC, IDRBT and VJTI as executing agencies. Objectives of this initiative are
- Evolving an ecosystem around R&D organizations, Government departments and Academia to foster Blockchain technology.
- Design, development and pilot deployment / prototyping of Blockchain based applications in the domains of Governance, Banking & Finance and Cyber Security o Conduct research to address the issues and challenges related to Blockchain usage in identified application domains
- Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in partnership with NASSCOM has launched FutureSkills platform. It focuses on 10 emerging technologies including Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, etc.
- Department of Science and Technology has launched National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS). It has a roadmap to develop Blockchain, AI, Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, Robotics etc
Introduction
Reducing the cost of doing business is the key to the success of the economy to continue to grow in an acceptable way in light of the current conditions. Improving the ease of doing business continues to be a major priority. But even more important is the cost of doing business. For this, action is needed to reduce government policy-induced pricing distortions which add to the cost of doing business. In our open economy, these pricing distortions have become a source of competitive disadvantage to domestic value addition and job creation. India’s relative lack of success in manufacturing and employment generation is the outcome.
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Background
- Diesel prices in India are 20.8 per cent higher than those in China, 39.3 per cent higher than in the US, 72.5 per cent higher than Bangladesh and 67.8 per cent higher than in Vietnam.
- This is largely because of heavy taxation — total taxes on diesel account for over 130 per cent of the base price in India.
- Including fuels under GST would lower costs for businesses owing to input tax credit even if taxation levels continue to remain high.
- Likewise, in the case of electricity, prices for businesses in India were higher by around 7-12 per cent vis-à-vis those in the US, Bangladesh or China and by as much as 35-50 per cent as compared to those in South Korea.
- High fuel and power costs impart a significant cost disability to energy-intensive sectors such as steel, aluminium and cement, where they account for between 25 and 40 per cent of the cost of production.
- This, in turn, leads to a competitive disadvantage for sectors such as auto, durable goods and construction, which consume these intermediate goods.
Aspects of cost of doing business
- Energy and fuel: Energy is the basic requirement of the modern industrial economy and the key to competitiveness. Its pricing distortions are onerous. But the real adverse impact is on the cost of road transport of goods which makes the cost of logistics about twice that of our competitors.
- Logistics: For instance, the port turnaround time in India is 64 hours, compared to 10 hours in Taiwan, 12 hours in Korea, 19 hours in Singapore, 20 hours in China, and 22 hours in Malaysia.
- There are many other roadblocks that exist in India, reducing the competitiveness of industries. Land, labour, capital, power and logistics are major factors to increase the cost of doing business in India.
- Electricity pricing: As the Railways have been unable to raise passenger fares to cover their costs, they need to cross subsidise passenger traffic from goods freigh They, therefore, charge about twice the actual cost for carrying coal to thermal power plants. This distortion adds to the cost of coal for thermal power plants and further increases the price of electricity for the distribution companies.
- They, in turn, cross subsidise most domestic household consumption by having higher tariffs for industrial users.
- This increases the cost of industrial production vis-a-vis competitors in other countries.
- The consequential loss of competitiveness results in lower manufacturing growth and the creation of fewer jobs.
- Cost of land: Not only is it difficult to get land for business enterprises, but prices are also higher than they need to be.
- India has had a real estate asset price bubble with return on land assets by way of rents or returns on farming being around 2%, far lower than the cost of capital.
Conclusion
Private investments can create jobs for our young generation. Government jobs are a mirage. The sooner we realise this and start grappling with feasible pathways for reducing the cost of doing business and getting a surge in private investment which creates jobs, the better. Our demographic dividend is fast becoming a nightmare while we struggle to leverage this to our advantage.
Meanwhile, reducing the cost of business along with increasing the ease can make India a much more favourable destination in establishing new businesses, that too, at a time when many companies are looking forward to shifting their bases from China.
Introduction
Net-zero emission is the method of balancing the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere by the greenhouse gas absorption from the atmosphere. In zero-carbon emission, the country will focus on limiting carbon emission. But in Net-zero carbon the country will focus on bringing the net carbon emission to zero.
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Background
At the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP26), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a five-fold strategy — termed as the panchamrita — to achieve this feat. These five points include:
- India will get its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatt (GW) by 2030
- India will meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030
- India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now onwards till 2030
- By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45 per cent
- So, by the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero.
Challenges for India to achieve carbon neutrality
- India is the world’s third-biggest emitter of GHG.
- India’s per capita CO2 emissions – at 1.8 tonnes per person in 2015 – are around a ninth of those in the USA and around a third of the global average of 4.8 tonnes per person.
- India must also meet the aspirations of 1.4 billion people for faster economic development. This will limit India’s development potential.
- India’s (Baa3 stable) 2070 net-zero target and intermediate goals through 2030 present significant policy implementation challenges for the government.
- Meeting the nation’s existing target of 450 gigawatts of renewables by 2030 is already a massive lift. Hitting net zero will require an even more dramatic acceleration.
- By 2050, India’s total electricity demand would be about 5500 to 6000 terawatt-hours (TWh), roughly a factor of five on today’s level.
- In developed countries, emissions have already peaked. Their decision is only about the path to net-zero. Emerging economies like India, instead, will go through a high-growth phase with rising energy demand and emissions. So, before a net-zero year can be targeted, India must discuss options for its peaking year
- India’s pursuit of its targets is conditional upon the country receiving as much as $ 1 trillion in climate finance from external donors, including multilateral development banks and advanced economies – an unlikely prospect.
- Indian banks’ significant loans to carbon-intensive sectors expose them to transition risks, and they will face pressure to decarbonise their loan books.
- Many argue that net zero is not equitable and fair as it does not differentiate between developing and developed countries in sharing the burden of mitigation.
- Some also criticise mid-century net zero as allowing uncontrolled emissions today while relying on uncertain technologies to offset emissions in the future.
- Many net zero pledges are premised upon trading and offsetting emissions, allowing the rich to continue emitting and buying their way out.
Measures needed to achieve net zero emissions
- Focus on Energy Efficiency:
- Will need energy efficient buildings, lighting, appliances and industrial practicesto meet the net-zero goal.
- Increased usage of Biofuels:
- Can help reduce emissions from light commercial vehicles, tractors in agriculture.
- In aviation, the only practical solution for reducing emissions is greater use of biofuels, until hydrogen technology gains scale.
- Transition towards Electric vehicles:
- This will further help curb the carbon emissions.
- Carbon Sequestration:
- India willhave to rely on natural and man-made carbon sinks to soak up those emissions. Trees can capture 0.9 billion tons; the country will need carbon capture technologies to sequester the rest.
- Carbon Pricing:
- India, which already taxes coal and petroleum fuels, should consider putting a tax on emissions to drive change.
- Deploying lower-carbon Energy:
- There are four main types of low-carbon energy: wind, solar, hydro or nuclear power. The first three are renewable, which means these are good for the environment – as natural resources are used (such as wind or sun) to produce electricity.
- Deploying lower carbon energy would help address both domestic and international climate challenges while simultaneously improving the economic well-being of India’s citizens.
- Mainstreaming Renewable energy:
- India’s energy mix is dominated by coal powered electric generation stations as of now.
- The need of the hour is increase the share of renewable energy in this energy mix.
Way forward for India:
- Given the massive shifts underway in India’s energy system, we would benefit from taking stock of our actions and focusing on near-term transitions.
- This will allow us to meet and even over-comply with our 2030 target while also ensuring concomitant developmental benefits, such as developing a vibrant renewable industry.
- We can start putting in place the policies and institutions necessary to move us in the right direction for the longer-term and also better understand, through modelling and other studies, the implications of net-zero scenarios before making a net-zero pledge.
- It would also be in India’s interest to link any future pledge to the achievement of near-term action by industrialised countries.
- That would be fair and consistent with the principles of the UNFCCC and also enhance the feasibility of our own actions through, for example, increasing availability and reducing costs of new mitigation technologies.
Answer the following questions in 250 words:
General Studies – 1
Introduction
India has a vast basket of living and diverse cultural traditions, traditional expressions, intangible cultural heritage comprising masterpieces which need institutional support and encouragement with a view to addressing areas critical for the survival and propagation of these forms of cultural heritage. Preserving our heritage is enshrined as a Fundamental Duty in our Constitution.
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The term heritage has wide connotations spanning across nature, culture, food and other dimensions. Indian Art heritage primarily refers to the tangible heritage comprising of Paintings and art forms; Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites; Sculptures; Scriptures; Artefacts.
Threats to Indian Art Heritage:
- Theft: The incidents of thefts have been observed usually from unprotected monuments, ancient temples. The thefts cases have also been seen in the protected monuments and museums as well. It is due to negligence of security guards in museums, monuments etc.
- Smuggling: illicit traffic and smuggling in antiquities. Illicit traffic is motivated often by profit and sometimes by the demand for luxuries.
- Tourism: Unregulated tourism, tourist activities run by touts, private agents have affected the art heritage places.The Culture Ministry of India has reported that up to 24 Indian monuments have been declared “untraceable” or “missing” by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
- Issues with security of museums: Most of the museums are poorly guarded due to shortage of manpower leading to theft of artefacts, fire accidents etc.
- Lack of public awareness: This leads to poor maintenance, vandalism, spoiling the monuments artefacts. Replacing the structures or building structures close to the monuments leading to
- Duplication: Fakes of paintings and art forms leading to threat to livelihoods of artists.
- Poor Maintenance: The state of the wall paintings in Ajanta caves is continuously getting worse, which can be attributed to humidity as well as to a lack of care.
- Encroachment of monuments: Another miss from the ministry has been encroachments of monuments. Over 278 centrally protected monuments have been encroached upon or have illegal occupants, as per government data.
Rationale behind safeguarding the art heritage:
- Evolution of human consciousness is a continuous process: History here serves as a laboratory and the past serves as a demarcation to understand the regional laws and social structures. This understanding helps in our progress towards an ideal society.
- The art heritage is the identity and pride of our country. It is duty of every citizen to protect, preserve and perpetuate the cultural richness.
- Tourism potential for art monuments and museums is very high. Tourism generates revenue for the state as well as private artists due to the money-multiplier quality.
- Infrastructure development takes place in and around the areas. Eg. Hampi despite being a small town has excellent infrastructure.
- It creates jobs for a lot of people from art industry and tourism industry as well
- It creates a feeling of oneness and a sense of attachment by enhancing a sense of belonging to a culture or a region.
- Every historical site has an important story to tell and these stories have inspired many people to strengthen their convictions and commitment to fight injustice and oppression.
Way forward
- Strengthening Legislations and Initiatives:
- The Antiquity Act of 1947, Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972 particularly provide for the prevention of smuggling and illegally dealing in antiques.
- Recent bill to amend The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act which allowed construction within 100m of the protected monuments should be avoided.
- In 2015, the ministry launched an initiative of e-ticketing services in over 116 monuments under the ASI and launched an initiative to digitise cultural resources.
- Strengthening institutions:
- The CAG report on Preservation and Conservation of Monuments and Antiques clearly indicates that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for this purpose needs to be more proactive and vigilant in its efforts and the ministry needs to develop an aggressive strategy for the same
- Tapping of the Public —Private Partnership models for sustenance of Arts and Crafts.
- Setting up at least one museum in each district with different chambers for visual and other forms of art, architecture, science, history and geography with regional flavour.
- Artistes from the field of architecture, sculpture, painting, handicrafts, puppetry, music, dance, theatre, and literature will be graded by the Centre on the basis of their performance.
- Cultural awareness:
- Curriculum modification – Identification and inclusion of heritage as an asset in school, Open departments of Heritage management on the lines of Ahmedabad University
- Introduction of a compulsory offline and online training for tourism purposes willing to undertake ventures.
- Heritage depiction and promotion through immersive technology & augmented reality
- Re-Classify heritage and announce awards for people with exceptional heritage sense.
- Greater involvement of universities in schemes promoting arts and culture as well as inclusion of Fine Arts as a subject in universities.
- Adaptive reuse of heritage sites:
- Restoring the historical sites in the form of festivals and inducing festivity link perceptions.
- Recognizing ‘cultural heritage tourism’ as an upcoming industry by building cultural resources with an adaptation of scientific and technological knowledge to local circumstances as well as forming partnerships between local and global bodies.
Conclusion
It is the duty of every citizen to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture. The art and culture of our nation are a vast continuum, evolving incessantly since time immemorial. Naturally, preservation and conservation of India’s rich cultural heritage and promotion of all forms of art and culture, both tangible and intangible, including monuments and archaeological sites, anthropology and ethnology, folk and tribal arts, literature and handicrafts, performing art of music-dance-drama and visual arts of paintings-sculpture-graphics is essential and assumes a lot of importance.
Introduction
Indian Science and technology, including astronomy has a long history and was a Vedanga, an auxiliary discipline associated with the study of the Vedas, dating back to 1,500 BCE or earlier.
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Science and Technology in ancient India
- Baudhayana in 800 BCE calculated the value of pi and discovered what is now known as the Pythagoras’ theorem. Pythagoras lived in sixth century BCE Greece; and the third century CE sophist Philostratus says that Pythagoras studied under Hindu sages or gymnosophists in India.
- Brahmagupta lived in seventh century Ujjain and wrote several books on mathematics and astronomy. India was the source of the number system, now called the Arabic numerals because the Arabs took it everywhere. This number system is a feat of genius. It enables all numbers to be expressed with just ten symbols—the numbers 1 through 9 and the symbol for zero.
- Brahmagupta was the first to discuss zero as a number and established the basic mathematical rules for it.
- He did a lot of work in geometry, trigonometry and discovered new theorems. He also explained how to find cubes, cube roots, squares and square roots.
- Bhaskaracharya wrote about arithmetic, geometry, algebra and calculus. Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz are given credit for being the first to introduce calculus, but Bhaskaracharya had written about it 500 years earlier.
- Sushruta was a great surgeon who used 125 different surgical instruments and herbal sprays before an operation to prevent sepsis. His greatest contribution was in the fields of plastic surgery and cataract removal.
- Charaka wrote about herbal treatments that Indians are just rediscovering.
- In 300 BCE, Patanjali codified the Yoga sutras.
- In 200 BCE, Kanada wrote about gravity and that the universe is made up of
- Nagarjuna was a great metallurgist and chemist.
Science and Technology in medieval India
- During the medieval times in India, the greatest Indian contribution was in the use of decimal system.
- The Indians also tried to calculate latitudes of some places which was based on the timings of the eclipse at different places.
- Achievements in scientific areas like astronomy and medicine continued from the Delhi Sultans as well as from Mughal Emperors and their nobility.
- The kings of the Mughal period made many astronomical observations which in turn led to the construction of large sized observational instruments for fixing time and determining latitudes.
- In the field of geography, advancement was made in the form of World Atlas in which maps of different countries were prepared.
- In medicine Unani (Greek) system of medicine became popular Hakinis and vaids worked for the emperor. Surgery and orthopaedics were regularly practices.
- Some technical devices like gearing, belt-drive, weaving, paper manufacturing, distillation, architecture, military technology, metal screws, ship-building and in some areas of agriculture were invented or improved in the medieval India.
Relevance today
- All these inventions became a foundation for future inventions and discoveries.
- Their contribution in astronomy, mathematics, medicine, metallurgy, chemistry havemade an impact on modem scientists.
- It is clear that progress of science and technology in India has been quite significant. Many new methods, products and better-quality goods have been developed in the country.
- India has made rapid progress in the frontier areas of science and technology like space research and atomic energy.
- At present the country has a strong base in modern technology. It also has the third largest scientific and technical manpower in the world
Conclusion
It is clear that progress of science and technology in India has been quite significant. Many new methods, products and better quality goods have been developed in the country. India has made rapid progress in the frontier areas of science and technology like space research and atomic energy. At present the country has a strong base in modem technology. It also has the third largest scientific and technical manpower in the world.
General Studies – 2
Introduction
India’s North Eastern Region is a rainbow country, known for its diversity. It stretches from the foothills of the Himalayas in the eastern range and is surrounded by Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal and Myanmar. The region is rich in natural resources, covered with dense forests, has the highest rainfall in the country, with large and small river systems nesting the land and is a treasure house of flora and fauna. Marked by diversity in customs, cultures, traditions and languages, it is home to multifarious social, ethnic and linguistic groups.
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Background
- Recently, the Assam and Meghalaya chief ministers signed an agreement to resolve the five-decade-old border dispute in the presence of the Union home minister.
- Two days later, the Union home ministry (MHA) decided to reduce the disturbed areas under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur after decades.
- Both these developments are significant for restoring normalcy and enabling perception changes about the north eastern region.
Issues hindering the growth of Northeast India
- Geographical Challenges:
- Very high rainfall, shifting river courses, poor drainage system and narrow valleys are regularly causing severe floods, erosion, landslides and sand deposition in the North East causing loss of huge areas of valuable agricultural land.
- Hilly, inaccessible and undulating terrain has led to underdeveloped transport links.
- Large area of land is under ‘Jhum cultivation’ which leads to large scale deforestation resulting in soil erosion and loss of soil fertility.
- Disaster Proneness of North East:
- High rainfall and large river basins of the Brahmaputra and the Barak along with their narrow valleys regularly cause severe floods, erosion, landslides and sand deposition leading to loss of huge areas of valuable agricultural land and thereby reduction of the average size of land holdings in the region.
- The region is highly prone to Earthquakes and post the great earthquake of intensity of 8.5 in Richter scale of 1950 in Assam, flood and erosion have increased in the state and till date about5000-6000sq.km of land has been lost due to erosion by rivers. This has made lakhs of people landless and homeless in the state.
- Historical Challenges:
- Despite the above mentioned challenges, the North-eastern region was at par with rest of the country at independence but post-independence events have retarded the development of the region.
- Partition of the country: When the major road, rail and river routes connecting North East to the rest of the country suddenly got snapped.
- The Bangladesh Liberation was of 1971: When crores of people from Bangladesh entered some states of North East as refugees which changed the demographic situation in some state of North-East bordering Bangladesh.
- Insurgencies: From the end of the seventies of the last century problems of insurgency started in states like Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur, Insurgency affected the present day Nagaland and Mizoram in the fifties and sixties of the last century. Now, of course, due to various actions taken by the Central and State governments, insurgency in this region is no longer a matter of great concern.
- Infrastructural Factors:
- NER has about 6 per cent of the national roads and about 13 percent of the national highways. However, their quality is not good due to poor maintenance.
- The prominent indicators of shortfalls in infrastructure in this region are: increasingly congested roads, power failures, shortage of drinking water etc.
- Political challenges:
- Chinese Aggression on Arunachal Pradesh (called NEFA at that time) in 1962, apparently refrain large scale investment from private player in North East.
- Large scale Migration from Bangladesh led to various socio-economic- political problem
- The culture of ‘bandhs’ is peculiar problem of NER, widely prevalent in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.
- Three fourth of NER have no proper land records and Individual ownership of land is not well established
- Social Challenges:
- Remarkable growth of migration from the North East to different parts of the country mostly in search of education and job opportunities gives big blow to the local society.
- Drug abuse is a serious problem among youth of North east with more than 30% of its youth being drug abusers.
- The pandemic of HIV/AIDS, spreading fast in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, is also a matter of grave concern.
- Migration from surrounding areas of NERs (Bangladesh and states of Bihar and Bengal) reduced the average size of land holding to about one hectare.
- Lack of Social Infrastructure:
- Inadequate number of polytechnics and higher institutions for engineering, medical and nursing studies etc.
- Teachers’ Training is poor thereby leading to poor standards of education
Measures needed:
- Proper Demarcation of Borders
- There is a need for a legitimate ‘Centre led’ initiative to resolve the border issues.
- The Centre can decide to maintain the status quo in the region or find a ‘common rationale’ to demarcate the border.
- People to People Engagement
- All ethnic majority and minority tribes residing in the region, must be respected and developed.
- The concept of a ‘shared’ North East Identity could bring the people together. Education can be an effective tool to facilitate people-to-people connect.
- The Act East Factor
- Maintaining a peaceful North East is vital for India’s ‘Act East Policy’ as the NorthEast Region is the doorway to the ASEAN regions.
- All the states gain by being connected to one another and for this peaceful border to ensure ‘free’ movement of people and trade are essential.
- Empowerment of the people by maximizing self-governance and participatory development through grass-roots planning. Such planning will help to evolve development strategy based on the resources, needs and aspirations of the people.
- Rural development with a focus on improving agricultural productivity and the creation of non-farm avocations and employment.
- Development of sectors with comparative advantage agro-processing industries, modernization and development of sericulture, investment in manufacturing units based on the resources available in the region, harnessing the large hydroelectric power generation potential and focus on developing services such as tourism that will help to accelerate development and create productive employment opportunities.
- Capacity development will have to address the issue of imparting skills among the people to enhance their productivity, generating a class of entrepreneurs within the region willing to take risks.
- Augmenting infrastructure, including rail, road, inland water and air transportation to facilitate a two-way movement of people and goods within the region and outside, communication networks including broadband and wireless connectivity, and harnessing of the vast power generation potential, all of which will open up markets for produce from the region, attract private investment, create greater employment opportunities and expand choices for people of the region.
- Ensuring adequate flow of resources for public investments in infrastructure, implementing a framework for private participation in augmenting infrastructure and creating an enabling environment for the flow of investments to harness the physical resources of the region for the welfare of the people.
Conclusion
Innovation, Initiatives, Ideas and Implementation–all the four needs to go together. Inclusive growth is possible through improved governance, doing away with the draconian laws and ensuring the local communities are empowered to implement basic services. For this, all the stakeholders need to formulate a comprehensive realistic plan for the overall development of North East.
Value addition
Government Initiatives for NE Region
- Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER):A Department of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) was established in 2001. It was elevated to a full ministry in 2004.
- Infrastructure Related Initiatives:
- Under Bharatmala Pariyojana (BMP),road stretches aggregating to about 5,301 km in NER have been approved for improvement.
- The North East has been kept as a priority area under RCS-UDAN(to make flying more affordable).
- Connectivity Projects:Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Project (Myanmar) and Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Corridor.
- For Promoting Tourism:Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, projects worth Rs.1400.03 crore have been sanctioned for the NER in the last five years.
- Mission Purvodaya:Purvodaya in the steel sector is aimed at driving accelerated development of Eastern India through the establishment of an integrated steel hub.
- The Integrated Steel Hub, encompassing Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Northern Andhra Pradesh, would serve as a torchbearer for socio-economic growth of Eastern India.
- North-East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS):In order to promote employment in the North East States, the Government is incentivizing primarily the MSME Sector through this scheme.
- The National Bamboo Missionhas a special significance for the Northeast.
- North Eastern Region Vision 2020:The document provides an overarching framework for the development of the NE Region to bring it at par with other developed regions under which different Ministries, including the Ministry of DoNER have undertaken various initiatives.
- Digital North East Vision 2022:It emphasises leveraging digital technologies to transform lives of people of the north east and enhance the ease of living.
Introduction
The justice system in any democracy is set up, under the Constitution to serve the public without “fear or favour, affection or ill-will” as far as judges are concerned. The Indian Judiciary plays an increasingly important role in the life and the governance of this country. A measure of the justice delivery system is the pendency of cases in courts across the country. There has been a significant deterioration in this aspect.
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Background
- The retirements in the topmost rung of the judiciary in 2022 would encompass changes in the powerful Supreme Court Collegium and see two new Chief Justices in a span of months.
- The working judicial strength is 32 against the sanctioned strength of 34.
- The Supreme Court’s statistics show that 70,362 cases are pending with it as on April 1, 2022.
- While 52,110 are admission matters, 18,522 are regular hearing cases.
- The number of Constitution Bench cases (both main and connected matters) total 422.
Causes for huge pendency of cases:
- Shifting role of SC:
- The key reason for the mounting of pending cases can be attributed to shifting the role of the Supreme Court from adjudicating cases of constitutional significance into a regular court of appeals.
- According to legal experts, most of the cases that the Supreme Court was handling daily are either appeals from various high courts or cases of gross violation of individual’s fundamental rights. But this role was never meant for the apex court.
- Shortage of judges:
- From 1950 to 1921, the number of Supreme Court judges has increased nearly four times. Even then, case pendency has steadily kept rising.
- Around 5,580 or 25% of posts are lying empty in the subordinate courts, which leads to poor Judges to Population Ratio, as India has only 20 judges per million population. Earlier, Law Commission had recommended 50 judges per million.
- Frequent adjournments:
- The laid down procedure of allowing a maximum of three adjournments per case is not followed in over 50 per cent of the matters being heard by courts, leading to rising pendency of cases.
- Low budgetary allocation leading to poor infrastructure:
- India spends only about 09% of its GDP to maintain the judicial infrastructure.
- Infrastructure status of lower courts of the country is miserably grim due to which they fail to deliver quality judgements.
- A 2016 report published by the Supreme Court showed that existing infrastructure could accommodate only 15,540 judicial officers against the all-India sanctioned strength of 20,558.
- Burden of government cases:
- Statistics provided by LIMBS shows that the Centre and the States were responsible for over 46% of the pending cases in Indian courts.
- Special leave petition:
- cases in the Supreme Court, currently comprises to 40% of the court’s pendency.
- It is because of frivolous PILs and various government policies which are challenged by the people that takes up most of judiciary’s time
- Judges Vacation:
- Supreme Court’s works on average for 188 days a year, while apex court rules specify minimum of 225 days of work.
- Lack of court management systems:
- Courts have created dedicated posts for court managers to help improve court operations, optimize case movement and judicial time.
- However, only few courts have filled up such posts so far.
- Inefficient investigation:
- Police are quite often handicapped in undertaking effective investigation for want of modern and scientific tools to collect evidences.
Measures needed:
- Improving infrastructure for quality justice:
- The Parliamentary Standing Committee which presented its report on Infrastructure Development and Strengthening of Subordinate Courts, suggested:
- States should provide suitable land for construction of court buildings etc. It should undertake vertical construction in light of shortage of land.
- Timeline set out for computerization of all the courts, as a necessary step towards setting up of e- courts.
- Addressing the Issue of Vacancies:
- Ensure the appointments of the judges be done in an efficient way by arriving at an optimal judge strength to handle the cases pending in the system.
- The 120th Law Commission of India report for the first time, suggested a judge strength fixation formula.
- Supreme Court and High Courts should appoint efficient and experienced judges as Ad-hoc judges in accordance with the Constitution.
- All India Judicial Service, which would benefit the subordinate judiciary by increasing quality of judges and help reduce the pendency.
- Timeframe to dispose of cases:
- Having a definite time frame to dispose the cases by setting annual targets and action plans for the subordinate judiciary and the High Courts. The judicial officers could be issued a strict code of conduct, to ensure that the duties are adequately performed by the officials.
- Strict regulation of adjournments and imposition of exemplary costs for seeking it on flimsy grounds especially at the trial stage and not permitting dilution of time frames specified in Civil Procedure Code.
- Better Court Management System & Reliable Data Collection:
- For this categorization of cases on the basis of urgency and priority along with bunching of cases should be done.
- Use of Information technology (IT) solutions:
- The use of technology for tracking and monitoring cases and in providing relevant information to make justice litigant friendly.
- All the courts in the country must switch to a hybrid virtual mode immediately and start disposing cases.
- Process reengineering:
- Involves redesigning of core business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in productivity and quality by incorporating the use of technology in court rules. It will include:
- Electronic filing of cases: e-Courts are a welcome step in this direction, as they give case status and case history of all the pending cases across High courts and Subordinate courts bringing ease of access to information.
- Revamping of National Judicial Data Grid by introducing a new type of search known as elastic search, which is closer to the artificial intelligence.
- Alternate dispute resolution (ADR):
- As stated in the Conference on National Initiative to Reduce Pendency and Delay in Judicial System- Legal Services Authorities should undertake pre-litigation mediation so that the inflow of cases into courts can be regulated.
- The Lok Adalat should be organized regularly for settling civil and family matters.
- Gram Nyayalayas, as an effective way to manage small claim disputes from rural areas which will help in decreasing the workload of the judicial institution.
- Village Legal Care & Support Centre can also be established by the High Courts to work at grass root level to make the State litigation friendly.
Conclusion
The fundamental requirement of a good judicial administration is accessibility, affordability and speedy justice, which will not be realized until and unless the justice delivery system is made within the reach of the individual in a time bound manner and within a reasonable cost. Therefore, continuous formative assessment is the key to strengthen and reinforce the justice delivery system in India.
Introduction
The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. It seeks to replace the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 which regulates how the police can gather data from convicted or suspected criminals. The objective of the bill is to ensure more efficient and expeditious investigation of crime by the use of modern technology.
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Key Provisions of Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022
- It seeks to repeal the Identification of Prisoners Act 1920. The said Act, in its present form, provides access to a limited category of persons whose body measurements can be taken.
- It authorises law enforcement agencies to collect, store and analyse physical and biological samples of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters.
- The Bill also authorises police to record signatures, handwriting or other behavioural attributes referred to in section 53 or section 53A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973,for the purposes of analysis.
- As per the Bill, any person convicted, arrested or held under any preventive detention law will be required to provide “measurements”to a police officer or a prison official.
- Any state government of Union Territory administration may notify an appropriate agency tocollect, preserve and share the measurements of a person of interest in their respective jurisdictions.
- Resistance to or refusal to allow the taking of measurements under this Act shall be deemed to be an offence under section 186 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Need for and significance of the Bill:
- The bill makes provisions for the use of modern techniquesto capture and record appropriate body measurements.
- The Bill states that it is necessary to expand the “ambit of persons” whose measurements can be taken as this will help investigating agencies gather sufficient legally admissible evidence and establish the crime of the accused person.
- The Bill will not only help investigation agencies but also increase prosecution. There is also a chance of an increase in conviction rates in courts through this.
- It is expected to minimise the threat from organised crime, cybercriminals and terrorists who are proficient in identity thefts and identity frauds.
- The bill will help to check serious national and global threats posed by them.
Shortcomings of the bill
- The proposed law considerably expands its scope and reach.
- It violates Article 20 (3) of the Constitutionthat safeguards the rights of citizens by providing that “no person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself”.
- The Bill implied use of force in collection of biological information, could also lead to narco analysis and brain mapping.
- The proposed law, that also provides for retaining the people’s measurements for 75 years from the date of collection, was in “violation of the Right to be Forgottenenshrined in the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution”.
- The phrase ‘biological samples’ is not described further, hence, it could involve bodily invasions such as drawing of blood and hair, collection of DNA samples. These are acts that currently require the written sanction of a magistrate.
- The Bill proposes to collect samples even from protestors engaged in political protests. It infringes upon the right to privacy.
Way forward
- The need of the hour is a strong data protection law,with stringent punishment for breaches, should be in place.
- The bill must be referred to a Standing Committee for deeper scrutinybefore it is enacted into law, as now pre-legislative consultation was done.
- Measures need to be taken for better implementation of the lawas well.
- There is a need to have more experts to collect measurementsfrom the scene of crime, more forensic labs, and equipment to analyse them to identify possible accused involved in a criminal case.
- Thetraining of the investigation officers, prosecutors, judicial officers and collaboration with doctors and forensic experts need to be prioritised too.
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
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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.
General Studies – 3
Introduction
Organic Agriculture is a system of farm design and management to create an eco-system of agriculture production without the use of synthetic external inputs such as chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides and synthetic hormones or genetically modified organisms.
Natural farming is not a new concept in India, with farmers having tilled their land without the use of chemicals – largely relying on organic residues, cow dung, composts, etc. since time immemorial. This is also in sync with the Sustainable Development Goal 2 targeting ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’.
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Organic farming in India:
- India ranks first in number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming.
- Sikkim became the first State in the world to become fully organic and other States including Tripura and Uttarakhand have set similar targets.
- North East India has traditionally been organic and the consumption of chemicals is far less than rest of the country.
- Similarly, the tribal and island territories are being nurtured to continue their organic story.
- The major organic exports from India have been flax seeds, sesame, soybean, tea, medicinal plants, rice and pulses.
Benefits associated with organic farming
- Economical: In organic farming, no expensive fertilizers, pesticides, or HYV seeds are required for the plantation of crops. Therefore, there is no extra expense.
- By switching to organic farming, conventional farmer can actually reduce its production cost by over 25% as compared to the cost of conventional farming.
- Good return on Investment: With the usage of cheaper and local inputs, a farmer can make a good return on investment.
- High demand: There is a huge demand for organic products in India and across the globe, which generates more income through export.
- And organic products command higher prices among the health-conscious buyers from developed countries. Thus, farmer’s income is improved.
- Nutritional: As compared to chemical and fertilizer utilised products, organic products are more nutritional, tasty, and good for health.
- Environment-friendly: The farming of organic products is free of chemicals and fertilizers, so it does not harm the environment.
- North Eastern Region (NER)‘s niche crops like Assam lemon, Bhut Jolokia pepper, Joha rice, medicinal rice and Passion fruits have high market for their medicinal properties. If ’organic’ tag is also attached, their prices and demand will further improve, thus NE-states’ economic prosperity can improve.
- It’ll create the enabling atmosphere for food processing companies specializing in the “Organic Value Chains”. This will improve the investment and direct & indirect employment in the region.
Various limiting factors
- Lacking infrastructure: The major issue of organic farming is the lack of inadequate infrastructure and marketing of the product.
- Less production: The products obtained through organic farming are less in the initial years as compared to that in chemical products. So, farmers find it difficult to accommodate large-scale production.
- Shorter shelf life: Despite the obvious health benefits, organic products are generally more susceptible to decay for various reasons.
- From temperature fluctuations during transportation and generally less forgiving shelf life, organic products need to be consumed sooner to ensure food safety and appeal.
- Organic products have more flaws and a shorter shelf life than that of chemical products.
- Limited production: Off-season crops are limited and have fewer options in organic farming.
- Pest-attack: Another critical challenge of organic farming is that of pest infestations that are as old as farming itself. Pests such as rodents or insects, if not controlled, are responsible for the destruction of crops.
- Marketing difficulties: In organic agriculture it is important that products reach the market quickly in order to remain fresh and nutritious. However, living in a culture where commuting long distances and online ordering is the norm, organic produce is at a disadvantage.
- For this reason, organic farmers need to find local channels of distributing their products that may not always be possible. Alternatively, farmers should invest in top-quality climate control vehicles to allow longer transportation. That way, organic products can reach distant markets where demand is high.
Conclusion
To adapt to climate change, we must buttress economic models with localized, green livelihoods that provide basic nutritional and economic resilience at the last mile to significant numbers. Organic farming is a case in point, but it must be focused on localized nutritional resilience, not just on large scale farming. The crop should be climate resilient and consumed by the growers in this context
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.
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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.
Introduction
An electric vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion. An electric vehicle may be powered through self-contained battery, solar panels or an electric generator to convert fuel to electricity. India is among a handful of countries that supports the global EV30@30 campaign, which aims for at least 30 per cent new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
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Potential of EVs in India
- Help tackle Climate change and air pollution:
- India has committed to cutting its GHG emissions intensity by 33% to 35% percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
- As per NITI Aayog’s report EVs will help in cutting down as much as 1 Gigatonne (GT) of carbon emissions by 2030.
- Electric vehicles don’t produce emissions that contribute to climate change and smog than conventional vehicles.
- All-electric vehicles produce zero direct emissions, which specifically helps improve air quality in urban areas.
- According to a recent study by WHO, India is home to 14 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world. EVs will help in tackling this problem by reducing local concentrations of pollutants in cities.
- Cost reduction from better electricity generating technologies. This has introduced the possibility of clean, low-carbon and inexpensive grids.
- Energy security:
- India imports oil to cover over 80 percent of its transport fuel.
- Electric mobility will contribute to balancing energy demand, energy storage and environmental sustainability.
- Electric vehicles could help diversify the energy needed to move people and goods thanks to their reliance on the wide mix of primary energy sources used in power generation, greatly improving energy security.
- Cutting edge Battery Technology:
- Advances in battery technology have led to higher energy densities, faster charging and reduced battery degradation from charging.
- Innovation:
- EVs manufacturing capacity will promote global scale and competitiveness.
- Employment:
- Promotion of EVs will facilitate employment growth in a sun-rise sector.
growth of electric vehicles in India
- As fuel prices skyrocket, there are rising concerns about the steep increase in the cost of running petrol and diesel vehicles. Electric vehicles seem to be coming into their own at last.
- The Indian electric vehicle market was valued at USD 1,434.04 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach USD 15,397.19 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 47.09% during the forecast period (2022-2027).
- The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles in India (FAME I and II) helped create the initial interest and exposure for electric mobility.
- To promote the domestic electric vehicle industry, the Indian government has provided tax exemptions and subsidies to EV manufacturers and consumers.
- In FY 2020, EV sales for two-wheelers in India increased by 21 percent. For EV buses, the sales for the same period increased by 50 percent. In contrast, the market for electric cars remained grim, registering a five percent decline.
- In terms of penetration, EV sales accounts for barely 1.3 per cent of total vehicle sales in India during 20-21. However, the market is growing rapidly and is expected to be worth more.
- India’s shift to shared, electric and connected mobility could help the country save nearly one giga-tonne of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.
Various measures taken by the government to promote electric vehicles
- Most recently, Government think-tank Niti Aayog has prepared a draft battery swapping policy, under which it has proposed offering incentives to electric vehicles (EVs) with swappable batteries, subsidies to companies manufacturing swappable batteries, a new battery-as-a-service business model, and standards for interoperable batteries, among other measures.
- Government has set a target of electric vehicles making up 30 % of new sales of cars and two-wheelers by 2030.
- To build a sustainable EV ecosystem initiative like –National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric vehicles in India (FAME India) have been launched by India.
- NEMMP was launched with an aim to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country.
- FAME India Scheme was launched with the objective to support hybrid/electric vehicles market development and manufacturing ecosystem.
- The Union power ministry categorized charging of batteries as a service, which will help charging stations operate without licenses.
- Implementation of smart cities would also boost the growth of electric vehicle
Way Forward:
- For EVs to contribute effectively, we need commensurate efforts in developing an entire ecosystem.
- Need to shift the focus from subsidizing vehicles to subsidizing batteries because batteries make up 50% of EV costs.
- Increasing focus on incentivizing electric two-wheelers because two-wheelers account for 76% of the vehicles in the country and consume most of the fuel.
- A wide network of charging stations is imminent for attracting investment.
- 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.
- Addressing technical concerns like AC versus DC charging stations, handling of peak demand, grid stability etc.
- Private investment in battery manufacturing plants and developing low cost production technology is needed.
- India is highly dependent on thermal sources, which account for about 65% of current capacity. As EV adoption increases, so should the contribution of renewables.
- Need for a policy roadmap on electric vehicles so that investments can be planned.
- Acquiring lithium fields in Bolivia, Australia, and Chile could become as important as buying oil fields as India needs raw material to make batteries for electric vehicles.
- Providing waiver of road tax and registration fees, GST refunds and free parking spaces for EVs.
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.
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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.
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