InstaLinks : help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically
Table of Contents:
GS Paper 2:
1. Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) has hit a 51% mark
GS Paper 3:
1. Central Bank Digital Currency
2. Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) violence came down
Content for Mains enrichment
1. Gender-inclusive space suits
2. Importance of maternal health – Data
3. Pulwama Mission Youth IAS
Facts for Prelims:
1. Ibrahim Adil Shah II
2. National Child Labour Project
3. Twiplomacy
4. India-Africa Trade and Investment Agreement (IATIA)
5. Landlord Port Model
6. ISRO’s upcoming mission
7. Aneurysm
8. Minimum Support Price
9. India and Namibia sign MoU to bring cheetahs to India
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) has hit 51% mark
GS Paper 2
Syllabus: Welfare schemes
Source: Live Mint
Context: JJM hit 51% completion of the project. From less than 17% of households with a running tap water connection, JJM has enabled reach to more than 34% now in less than 3 years.
Other data:
About 1.4 million soak beds have been constructed in schools and anganwadis to use recycled water in tap connections.
How does a village certify as Har Ghar Jal?
Only after the formal resolution by the gram panchayat, with a video recording of the session which has to be uploaded on the portal, can they be counted as a village with Har Ghar Jal.
Which are the best-performing states?
Three states have declared that they have completed the project: Haryana, Telangana and Goa. But there is substantial progress in Punjab, Gujarat and Bihar, which, although it started a year late, has progressed quickly in providing tap water supplies to rural households.
About the Jal Jeevan Mission:
JJM envisages a supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.
It is under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
- It was launched in 2019.
- Funding is demand-driven.
- The mission is very strongly focused on Jan bhagidari, or community engagement which is seen as a very important pillar of the project.
The mission ensures:
- Functionality of existing water supply systems and water connections.
- Water quality monitoring and testing as well as sustainable agriculture.
- Coordinated use of surface water and groundwater
- Drinking water source augmentation.
- Drinking water supply system, grey water treatment and its reuse.
It also encompasses:
- Prioritizing provision of FHTCs in poor water quality affected areas, villages in drought-prone and desert areas, Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) villages, etc.
- Providing functional tap connection to Schools, Anganwadi centres, Gram Panchayat buildings, Health centres, wellness centres and community buildings.
- Technological interventions for removal of contaminants where water quality is an issue.
Insta Links
Practice Questions
Q. The Jal Jeevan Mission will be a major step towards improving our people’s ease of living and meeting their aspirations of a New India. Analyse. (250 words)
Central Bank Digital Currency
GS Paper 3
Syllabus: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers
Source: The Hindu
Context: RBI is in the process of implementing the CBDC in a phased manner for wholesale and retail segments.
Benefits:
- For social benefits and other targeted payments in a country
- CBDCs could be used for faster cross-border remittance payments.
- Inclusive development: universal access attributes of a CBDC could also include an offline payment functionality, thus helping bridge the digital divide.
- Instant lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs)in India can be possible with the help of CBDC.
Need for CBDC:
- An official digital currency would reduce the cost of currency management while enabling real-time payments without any inter-bank settlement.
- Need to reduce cost: India has a high currency-to-GDP ratio. It adds to the cost of printing, transporting and storing paper currency.
About CBDC:
A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), or national digital currency, is simply the digital form of a country’s fiat currency.
- Instead of printing paper currency or minting coins, the central bank issues electronic tokens. This token value is backed by the full faith and credit of the government.
- CBDC is not comparable with private virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies. It will be a sovereign-backed digital currency.
Recent steps towards CBDC:
- The introduction of CBDC was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23.
- Government amended section of the RBI Act, 1934 through the Finance Bill 2022.
- India’s official digital currency is likely to debut by early 2023
Challenges in rolling out National Digital Currency:
- Potential cybersecurity threat.
- Lack of digital literacy of the population.
- Issue with regulation, tracking investment and purchase, taxing individuals, etc.
- Threat to Privacy: The digital currency must collect certain basic information about an individual so that the person can prove that he’s the holder of that digital currency.
On Cryptocurrency:
SC Garg Committee recommendations (2019):
- Ban anybody who mines, holds, transacts or deals with cryptocurrencies in any form.
- It recommends a jail term of one to 10 years for exchange or trading in digital currency.
- It proposed a monetary penalty of up to three times the loss caused to the exchequer or gains made by the cryptocurrency user whichever is higher.
- However, the panel said that the government should keep an open mind on the potential issuance of cryptocurrencies by the Reserve Bank of India.
What Government should do to regulate Cryptocurrency:
- Enact consumer protection measures like payment guarantee, and dispute resolution. For this, Cryptocurrency based businesses can be tested in the regulatory sandboxes e.g. RBI’s regulatory sandbox for Banks
- Regulation of digital currency exchanges and administrators.
- 2020: the EU Commission has officially released the Proposal for a Regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets (“MiCA”).
- Banning cryptocurrencies might drive crypto transactions underground
- Awareness: Government should make the public aware of cryptocurrency and its threat
- Allow framework for taxing the digital currency transaction to avoid tax evasion
- Transactions: For now countries should ban retail cryptocurrency transactions or be used as financial instruments (e.g. China, Belgium) or cryptocurrency transactions between banks
- NASSCOM: It says that government should work towards developing a risk-based framework to regulate and monitor cryptocurrencies and tokens.
- The creation of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will be a positive step: can better control the money supply (and volatility) and also help in quick financial disbursal of budgeted sums based on smart contract
- Creating a cryptocurrency ecosystem by improving financial literacy, improving cybersecurity, and digital penetration
- Global governance through UN or Financial Stability Boards to allow cross-border regulation and a transparent system of digital currency
Practice Question
Q. Critically Examine the need for central bank digital currency (CBDC) in India’s economy.
Q. With reference to digital payments, consider the following statements: (UPSC 2018)
- BHIM app allows the user to transfer money to anyone with a UPI-enabled bank account.
- While a chip-pin debit card has four factors of authentication, the BHIM app has only two factors of authentication.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: A
BHIM is a UPI-enabled initiative to make quick and easy payments, developed by NPCI. It has three-factor authentication.
Fig: Three-factor authentication
Q. A digital signature is
-
- an electronic record that identifies the certifying authority issuing it
- used to serve as a proof of identity of an individual to access information or server on the Internet.
- an electronic method of signing an electronic document and ensuring that the original content is unchanged
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: C
Justification: There is a difference between digital signatures and digital certificates.
A digital signature is an electronic method of signing an electronic document whereas a Digital Certificate are the digital equivalent (that is electronic format) of physical or paper certificates. Few Examples of physical certificates are drivers’ licenses, passports or membership cards.
A digital signatures are NOT a record, but certificate is. So option 1 is incorrect.
Digital certificate is issued by a trusted third party to establish the identity of the certificate holder. It is used to serve as a proof of identity of an individual to access information or server on the Internet. Hence option 2 is incorrect.
Digital Certificates help prevent someone from using a phoney key to impersonate someone else.
Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) violence came down
GS Paper 3
Syllabus: Internal Security
Source: Times of India
Context: Government informed that steadfast implementation of the national policy and action plan to address left-wing extremism has led to a 77% fall in the LWE violence from 2258 incidents in 2009 to 509 incidents in 2021.
Other data given by the government:
- Fatalities among civilians and security forces declined by 85% (between 2010 to 2021)
- Geographical spread of Maoists’ influence was shrinking- the district most affected by LWE came down to 25 (2021) from 30 (2018)
- Number of districts covered under the security reimbursement expenditure scheme came down to 70 (2021) from 90 (2018)
Left-wing extremism (LWE) is a form of armed insurgency against the State motivated by leftist ideologies.
Causes of Naxalism in India
| Governance deficit | Development deficit | Social exclusion | Jal-Jangal-Jameen/Exploitative Deficit (Environmental) |
| Incompetent, ill-trained and poorly motivated public personnel
Mismanagement and corruption Poor implementation of laws and schemes |
Unemployment
Poverty Infrastructure deficit Lack of education Poor health facilities Low trade/marketing |
Violation of human rights
Abuse of dignity of life Disconnect with mainstream society Discontent against government |
Evasion of land ceiling laws
Encroachment and occupation of Government and community lands Disruption of the age-old tribal-forest relationship |
The D Bandopadhyay Committee had in 2006 identified the socio-political, economic and cultural discrimination against the Scheduled castes and tribes and the lack of their empowerment as the reason for the spread of Naxalism.
Government approach to Infrastructure and Good Governance:
- SAMADHAN doctrine: It is a one-stop solution to fight LWE, encompassing the entire strategy of government from short-term policy to long-term policy formulated at different levels.
- Aspirational District: Collaborative, bottom-up convergence-based developmental approach in 35 LWE-affected districts.
- Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS)to construct fortified police stations.
- Road Connectivity Project-for the construction of 5,412 km of roads.
- Installation of Mobile Towers-for endless telecom connectivity.
- Financial inclusion-for ensuring the presence of banking facilities within 5 km to all citizens residing in LWE-affected areas.
- Chhattisgarh proposed an action plan to make the Baster region free of Maoism/Naxalism by giving grants to make cold storage chains for arranging the processing and sale of minor forest produce, forest medicines and several types of horticultural crops in the forest areas, building a steel plant in the area etc.
Government approach to commerce, education, health and environment
- Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojanafor holistic development of the tribal people by targeting their education, employment, trade of minor forest produce, healthcare, infrastructure and connectivity.
- Civic Action Plan:Each CRPF company is given Rs.3 lakh for holding medical camps, sanitation drives, sports meets, distribution of study material to children, minor repairs of school buildings, roads, and bridges to build confidence among the locals.
- Union Government is organizing extensive training and capacity-building programs for the state service officials for the implementation of the Forest Rights Act and PESA Act.
- Skill Development-for construction of 47 ITIs (01 ITI per district) and 68 Skill Development Centers (02 SDCs per district) by 2018-19.
- Roshani Scheme– Skill development program for the Tribal population by the Rural Development ministry.
- Education Initiatives-for building new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) & Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) where they are not present. It is also planned to open more schools under the Eklavya model.
- Facilities of residential schools for children – (e.g. Pota Cabins, Choolo Aasman, Nanhe Parinde, Tamannah) as well as focus on sports infrastructure.
Insta Links
Practice Questions
Q. The menace of Left-wing extremism which is the single largest internal security threat in India is on a decline. It is indeed welcome news but the Maoist threat remains a potent challenge to be overcome. Discuss. (250 words)
Content for main enrichment
Gender-inclusive space suits
NASA had to cancel its first all-female space walk earlier in 2019, as they didn’t have enough space suits that fit two women.
The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration has selected two start-ups, Axiom and Collins Aerospace, to develop inclusive spacesuits for the International Space Station and Artemis lunar missions.
This is a major step forward in the inclusion of women in space exploration.
Importance of maternal health – Data
Maternal mortality indicates a woman’s ability to access health care, contraceptive devices, and nutrition, and, in a sense, is a mark of the efficiency of a healthcare system in responding to demands made of it
International Institute for Population Sciences triangulated data from Health Management Information System, with Census data and the Sample Registration System (SRS)
The analysis suggests that 70% of districts (448 out of 640 districts) in India have reported MMR above 70 deaths — a target under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
Northeastern and central regions have the least number of districts (12 and six districts, respectively) with an MMR of less than 70. Thus, it fared worst in the country.
There are huge within-State inequalities, even among the better performers — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
Pulwama Mission Youth IAS
The initiative is a part of the movement the district administration has started to engage youth and realize their potential.
Under the initiative, ‘Be a Deputy Commissioner for a day‘, higher secondary level students are encouraged to get involved in administrative matters.
Benefits:
- This will motivate them to take up civil services in south Kashmir’s most militancy-affected district of Pulwama
- Understand youth’s concern and engage them on a plethora of issues that affect them.
- Help in changing the behavioral pattern of the dejected youth and students anxious about their careers
- Motivating them to become social change agents.
- Help develop administration civic interaction, thus building trust.
Facts For Prelims:
Ibrahim Adil Shah II
Among the Bijapur Sultans of the Adil Shahi dynasty (1490–1686), Ibrahim Adil Shah II (r. 1571–1627) stands out as a poet, musician and painter, besides being a talented ruler and patron of art.
Ibrahim belonged to the Sunni Islam sect but was broadminded in his religious views and practices. He was devoted to Prophet Muhammad, Hindu deities Saraswati and Ganapati, and Sufi saint Sayyid Muhammad Gisu Daraz (1321–1422) of Gulbarga.
Ibrahim was well aware of the Indian aesthetic concept of the Rasa (essence), In 1599, he laid the foundation for a new capital, Navraspur, near Bijapur.
He also issued a coin, the Nun-i-Nauras.
Ibrahim penned 59 songs and 17 couplets—in Kitab-i-Nauras (Nauras Nama)—in Deccani, which later developed into Urdu.
National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme
Context: No data has been obtained for child labour under the NCLP scheme in the country.
Reason: Drying up of funds under NCLP, after its merger with Samagra Siksha Abhiyan
About National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme 2007:
Children in the age group of 9-14 years, are enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, stipend, mid-day meal, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into the formal education system.
Definition: “Child labour” is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
-
- Last year, a study by UNDP and Coca-cola company said that there is still ambiguity in the definition of child labour.
Other provisions related to child labour in India:
-
- Provisions of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016: employment of children below the age of 14 years in any commercial enterprise is illegal. However, it allows child labour in “family or family enterprises”.
- Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour.
- Article 24: No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed in work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
- Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015:It includes the working child in the category of children in need of care and protection, without any limitation of age or type of occupation.
- Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL) Portal 2017: for effective implementation of the NCLP scheme
- International commitment: India has ratified the International Labour Organizations Convention (ILO) no 138 (minimum age for employment) and Convention no 182(worst forms of child labour).
Twiplomacy
Context:
It has been observed recently that many world leaders use Twitter as a means to communicate and put out their views to the public.
Twitter diplomacy, also called “Twiplomacy” or “hashtag diplomacy” is the use of the social media website Twitter by heads of state, leaders of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and their diplomats to conduct diplomatic outreach and public diplomacy.
E.g., In April 2014, tensions between the US State Department and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the 2014 Crimean crisis devolved into tweets, with both ministries using the hashtag #UnitedforUkraine to convey opposite points of view.
India-Africa Trade and Investment Agreement (IATIA)
Context: Government has reiterated the need for IATIA to strengthen the India-Africa partnership under the African continent free trade area (AfFTA)
Other initiatives for Africa
- PIDA ( Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa): India is implementing it with help from African Development Bank
- ‘Focus Africa’ Programme
- Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program: for technical assistance and training
- Pan-African E-Network to bridge the digital divide in Africa
- Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (2017): India-Japan partnership for linking Indian ports with those in Africa
Landlord Port Model
Context: Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP) has become the first major 100% landlord port in India, having all berths being operated on the PPP model.
Landlord model: In this model, the publicly governed port authority (owner) acts as a regulatory body and as a landlord while private companies carry out all other port operations. In return, the landlord gets a share of the revenue from the private entity.
Previously, the government proposed to set up a major port at Vadhavan (India’s 13th major port) near Dahanu in Maharashtra based on the landlord model.
About JNP
JNP (Mumbai) is one of the leading container ports in the country and is ranked 26th among the top 100 global ports (as per Lloyds List Top 100 Ports 2021 Report).
JNPCT is presently handling 9000 TEUs capacity vessels and with the up-gradation, it can handle 12200 TEUs capacity vessels.
Currently, India has 12 major ports– Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), VO Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia).
ISRO’s upcoming mission
- Gaganyaan abort mission (India’s 1st manned mission) – scheduled for later in 2022
- XpoSat ( designed to study cosmic x-rays): XpoSat will be India’s second astronomical observatory in space after the Astrosat.
- ‘Space docking experiment’ (2024): Space docking is a process of joining two separately launched spacecraft, and is mainly used for setting up modular space stations.
- Aditya L1 mission: Indian spacecraft going 1.5 million km away to the L1 or Lagrangian point between the Sun and Earth.
- Chandrayaan 3: It will be a lander-rover mission that aims for a soft landing on the Moon that was planned for the second lunar mission.
- Three Earth Observation Satellites (EOSs) (2022): EOS-4 (Risat-1A) and EOS-6 (Oceansat-3) — will be launched using Isro’s workhorse PSLV, the third one, EOS-2 (Microsat), will be launched in the first developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
- Shukrayaan Mission: The ISRO is also planning a mission to Venus, tentatively called Shukrayaan.
- Own Space Station: India is planning to launch its own space station by 2030, joining the league of the US, Russia, and China as an elite space club.
Aneurysm
Context:
Actor Emilia Clarke, who played the role of Daenerys Targaryen in the series Game of Thrones recently disclosed that she had suffered two brain aneurysms while filming for the series.
Aneurysm is a swelling of the arteries and veins in any part of the body and is caused by the weakening of the walls. It occurs most commonly in the aorta, back of the knees, brain or intestines. If the aneurysm gets ruptured, it can even cause internal bleeding and stroke.
Minimum Support Price
Context: Panel on MSP, natural farming setup (this is in continuation to the previous article)
The MSP is the rate at which the government buys grains from farmers. This helps farmers bear the price volatility and ensure a basic minimum income.
How is MSP fixed?
The Centre announces the MSP (which is not legally guaranteed) for 22 mandated crops (and Fair & Remunerative Price, or FRP, for sugarcane) on the basis of the recommendations of the CACP.
Crops included are:
- 14 Kharif crops (paddy, jowar, bajra, maize, ragi, tur/arhar, moong, urad, groundnut, soya bean, sunflower, sesamum, nigerseed, cotton)
- Six are rabi crops (wheat, barley, gram, Masur/lentil, rapeseed and mustard, and safflower)
- Two are commercial crops (jute and copra)
The CACP takes into account various factors including demand and supply; cost of production; market trends; a minimum 50% margin over the cost of production; and likely implications of MSP on consumers.
The CACP calculates three types of costs — A2, A2+FL and C2 — for each mandated crop for different states. (based on Swaminathan Committee recommendations)
- A2: is the actual paid-out cost incurred by a farmer
- A2+FL: the actual paid-out cost plus the value of family labour
- C2: it includes A2+FL + Rental Value of Own Land
CACP eventually recommends — and the government announces — MSP on the basis of A2+FL. Protesting farmers have been demanding MSP based on C2, besides a legal guarantee.
India and Namibia sign MoU to bring cheetahs to India
Context:
Officials are trying to complete the first transfer of African Cheetahs to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, which has been extinct in the country since 1952.
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