[Mission 2024] Insights SECURE SYNOPSIS: 8 July 2023

NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same

General Studies – 1

1. What are the key features and significance of modern Indian paintings in the contemporary art scene?

Reference: Insights on India

Introduction

The modern Indian art movement in Indian painting is considered to have begun in Calcutta in the late nineteenth century. The old traditions of painting had more or less died out in Bengal and new schools of art were started by the British. Initially, protagonists of Indian art such as Raja Ravi Varma drew on Western traditions and techniques including oil paint and easel painting. A reaction to the Western influence led to a revival in primitivism, called as the Bengal school of art, which drew from the rich cultural heritage of India. It was succeeded by the Santiniketan school, led by Rabindranath Tagore’s harking back to idyllic rural folk and rural life.

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Key features of modern Indian paintings

• A certain freedom from invention
• The acceptance of an eclectic approach which has placed artistic expression in the international perspectiveas against the regional
• A positive elevation of technique which has become both proliferous and supreme
• The emergence of the artist as a distinct individual.
• It is product of Indian Renaissancethrough heavy influence of west on traditional Indian art.
• It used western ideas and realism to depict Indian themes and in due course, got delinked from Indian tradition and went closer to international trends and modern abstractionism.
• A major characteristic of contemporary Indian Painting is that the technique and method have acquired a new significance.
• Formcame to be regarded as separate entity and with its increasing emphasis it subordinated the content in a work of art

significance of modern Indian paintings

• The painter has gained a great deal on the visual and sensory level: particularly in regard to the use of colour, in the concept of design and structure, texture, and in the employment, of unconventional materials.
• Form was not regarded as a vehicle for content. In fact the position was reverse.
• And the means, inspired and developed on extraneous elements, rendered technique very complex and brought in its train a new aesthetique.
• A painting stood or fell in terms of colour, compositional contrivance or sheer texture.
• Art on the whole acquired an autonomy of its own and the artist an individual status as never before.

Conclusion

Contemporary Indian art has travelled a long way since the days of Ravi Verma, Abanindranath Tagore and his followers and even Amrita Sher-Gil. Broadly, the pattern followed is this. Almost every artist of note began with one kind of representational or figurative art or the other tinged with impressionism, expressionism or post-expressionism.

Eventually, the modern school came to be characterised by an international aesthetic of abstract form, emphasis on the individual’s sensory perception of colour, form, structure and medium. These were explored by artist like Amrita Shergill and later by Tyeb Mehta, Jamini Roy, MF Hussain etc.

2. What were the causes of the Santal Rebellion? Examine its impact on the socio-political landscape of colonial India.

Reference: Indian Express

Introduction

Santhals were the agricultural people settled in Rajmahal Hills of Bihar. British turned to them for the expansion of the revenue through agriculture. Santhals agreed to clear forests to practice settled agriculture. In 1832, a large number of areas were demarcated as Damin-i-Koh or Santal Pargana. However, gradually the exploitation started from the British side and to such an extent, that it gave rise to Santhal Rebellion.

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Distinctiveness of Santhal rebellion:

• The British East India Company implemented the Permanent Settlement System in 1793 which granted zamindars (tax-collecting intermediaries) perpetual and hereditary rights to land in exchange for a fixed revenue paid to the government.
• This system, however, gave zamindars significant power to exploit and oppress peasants, leading to widespread resentment among the Santhal community.
• Many Santhals fell victim to predatory lending practices, where they were charged exorbitant interest rates on loans.
• When they were unable to repay these loans, they often lost their land and were forced into bonded labor.
• The zamindars and moneylenders, with the support of the British police, frequently dispossessed the Santhals of their land through aggressive extractions.
• This resulted in a significant loss of land ownership for the Santhal community.
• The implementation of the Zamindari system and the arrival of moneylenders led to the disruption of traditional systems and political structures that had been in place for generations among the Santhals.
• The Santhals were forced to rely on moneylenders, which led to a heavy debt burden and increasing poverty among the community.
• This economic hardship contributed to the decision of many Santhals to revolt against the British and the zamindars.
• The Santhals traditionally used a barter system and had difficulty adapting to the use of money.
• This made it difficult for them to pay the zamindars, and they often had to borrow from moneylenders at high interest rates, trapping them in a cycle of debt.
• The only way out of this situation was to resist British policies and reclaim their traditional way of life.

Impact of Santhal Rebellion on the socio-political landscape of colonial India

• The Santhal Rebellion brought attention to the oppressive nature of the zamindari system imposed by the British East India Company on indigenous communities in the region.
• It also highlighted the exploitative practices of moneylenders, who took advantage of the indigenous people’s lack of understanding of currency and charged exorbitant interest rates on loans.
• The Santhal uprising was an organized movement with good leadership qualities. In a short period of time, it was successful in uniting about 60,000 people.
• If we look at the other spontaneous movement of that time, we find that none of the movements was that well-arranged as the Santhal revolt. The unity of the Santhals shook the nerve of the Britishers.
• It also served as an inspiration for the Naxalite movement, which aimed to address similar issues of land rights and exploitation faced by tribal communities in India.
• The rebellion is considered a turning point in the evolution of the modern Santhali identity and resistance against oppression.
• It also led to the British government passing the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act in 1876, which offered some protection for tribals against exploitation.
• This was successful in inculcating nationalist feelings among the people.
• The rebellion played an important role in the creation of the state of Jharkhand in 2000, which is home to a significant population of the Santhal people.

Conclusion

The Santhal rebellion was overshadowed by the revolt of 1857 but it remains a watershed in the evolution of the modern Santhali identity. It played an important role in the creation of the state of Jharkhand in 2000.

General Studies – 2

3. By investing in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives, societies can make significant progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to health, water, and sanitation. Explain.

Reference: Down to Earth

Introduction

WASH is the collective term for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. Due to their interdependent nature, these three core issues are grouped together to represent a growing sector. While each a separate field of work, each is dependent on the presence of the other. For example, without toilets, water sources become contaminated; without clean water, basic hygiene practices are not possible.

The core activity of WASH emphasizes the teaching of basic sanitation and hygiene to communities and school children with a particular focus on girls’ education and gender equality, as a necessary complement to the success of water and sanitation infrastructure projects.

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Importance of WASH

• Unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) were responsible for 395,000 deaths among children under five years of age, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• This includes 273,000 deaths from diarrhoea and 112,000 deaths from acute respiratory infections. These diseases are the two leading infectious causes of death in children under five years of age in the world.
• The report, Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2019 update,showed that half of the world’s population still does not have adequate access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, which caused the death of at least 1.4 million people and 74 million disability-adjusted life years (DALY) in 2019.
• On a positive note, a 2012 WHO report had calculated that for every dollar invested in sanitation, there was $5.50 to be gained in lower health costs, more productivity and fewer premature deaths.
• The intersection between WASH, infection prevention and control and antimicrobial resistanceis unique in that it offers policy makers an opportunity to address multiple overlapping problems through interventions on WASH in healthcare facilities
• WASH is critical in the prevention and management of Neglected Tropical Diseases for intensified control or elimination

However, there are still many challenges to the WASH in India:

• Highly expensive:
  • BMJ global estimates that improving WASH across the pubic healthcare facilities in India and maintaining this for a year would cost $354 million (Rs 2567,00,00,000 approximately) in capital costs and $289 million (Rs 2095,00,00,000 approximately) in recurrent expenses.
• Accessibility issues:
  • A 2019 joint global baseline report by WHO and UNICEF had pointed out that globally, one in four healthcare facilities lacked basic water servicing and one in five had no sanitation service and 42% had no hygiene facilities at point of care.
  • The study further finds that the costliest interventions were providing clean water, linen reprocessing and sanitation while the least expensive were hand hygiene, medical device reprocessing and environmental surface cleaning.
• Solid and Liquid waste management:
  • Just 6% of rural households use the recommended twin-pitsystem. The waste from the remainder of rural toilets could create a new sanitation nightmare — harmful to health and the environment, and even pushing a new generation into manual scavenging.
  • For the more than 70% of toilets without twin pits, a faecal sludge management systemis desperately needed.
  • A 2018 survey of 30 cities and towns in Uttar Pradesh by the Centre for Science and Environment found that 87% of toilet waste is dumped into water bodies and farm lands.
  • In Bihar, some households throw sanitary pads in toilets, burn them or bury them under the ground as they do not have a formal arrangement to dispose solid wastes.
  • Most of the households surveyed in Manipur, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal also do not have any arrangement to dump solid wastes. Ironically, these three states also have more than 80 per cent coverage of household toilets.
  • It is still a challenge for the SBM-G to manage black and grey water, especially, in areas near coast and areas having shallow groundwater.
• States like Odisha, Goa, Tripura, Telangana are still lacking in IHHL (individual household latrine application) coverage.
• Behavioural change failures:
  • The researchers from the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment visited villages near Ganga in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and found that Usage of toilets was very low because of wrong design of toilets and absence of water connection.
• Swachhagrahis
  • The SBM agents, who act as motivators for construction and usage of toilets in the states, are underutilized. It also came to pass that in few states there is a long list of vacancies for the post of Swachhagrahis.

Way forward:

• Modules on WASH services and infection prevention and control procedures (IPC) should be included in pre-service training and as part of ongoing professional development of healthcare professionals.
• In addition, health authorities should work more closely with communities, especially in rural areas, to promote demand for WASH services.
• The twin pit has been promoted by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation as well as the World Health Organization as an in-situ sanitation system which claims to bypass thorny issues such as caste purity, as owners will be dealing with manure, not excreta.
• Governmental Initiatives of Swachhata Pakwada Campaigns should be promoted to raise awareness of sanitation and hygiene. Adequate Budgetary Allocation should be given to construct twin-pit toilets at villages, public toilets etc.
• Teach them young: Children must be taught the importance of Sanitation and hygiene. Initiatives like Bal Swachhata Mission, Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan are pushing forward the objective.
• Competition raising initiatives like Swachha Survekshan Abhiyan will help in boosting the spirit of cities and towns to improve the ODF status.
• In places of water scarcity, trains etc. use of bio-toilets can be promoted.
• Technology like mini-jetting machines, robots to clean the clogged pits as done in Hyderabad and Trivandrum should be emulated in other places to curb manual scavenging.
• Swachhata Doots, NGOs and CSOs must be involved at the grassroots level to achieve 100% ODF by October 2nd, 2019.

Conclusion:

The success of the Swachh Bharat Mission is linked to the participation of the people. It depends on people changing their attitudes towards cleanliness, building and using toilets, and maintaining personal hygiene among other things. This means creating a ‘behavioural change’ in an individual is critical to help break old habits and norms.

General Studies – 3

4. It is essential to approach the internationalization of the rupee cautiously, considering the potential advantages and risks associated with it. Critically examine.

Reference: The Hindu

Introduction

Internationalisation of the rupee is a process that involves increasing use of the local currency in cross-border transactions. It involves promoting the rupee for import and export trade and then other current account transactions followed by its use in capital account transactions. It other words, it means adopting full capital account convertibility.

RBI Dy governor T Rabi Sankar has marked upon the importance of the internationalization of the rupee, its advantages and associated risks. As far as the rupee is concerned, it is fully convertible in the current account, but partially in capital account.

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Need for Internationalization of Rupee

• Currently, while the dollar accounts for 88% of internationaltrade, Rupee accounts for less than 7% of global trade.
• India currently has full convertibility of the rupee in current accountssuch as for exports and imports. However, India’s capital account convertibility is not full. There are ceilings on government and corporate debt, external commercial borrowings and equity.
• Excessive dependence on dollars combined with global inflation and economic crises has led to the depreciation of the rupee to an all-time low. If the rupee is internationalized, India would not have to depend on US Dollars for its trade.
• RBI has allowed domestic traders to settle their import-export bills in rupee.

Advantages

• Appreciate currency value: It will improve the demand for the rupee in international trade.
• Mitigate exchange rate volatility: Rupee-denominated payments can help reduce price volatility associated with dollars.
• Making significant savingsin Indian foreign reserves.
• Circumvent sanctions: Improving acceptance and trade in rupees can help India to diversify its trade basket by circumventing restrictions and sanctions imposed by the west.
• Improve its standingas a global economic power

Risks involved

• Impact on monetary policy: The internationalization of the rupee will limit the country’s ability to create a monetary policy specific to its local economic demand.
  • The Indian economy will become more susceptible to international economic fluctuations.
  • Managed currencyhas been utilized to protect the economy from damages during the economic crises of 1980 and 2008. It may not be the case anymore.
• The outflow of Hot money: Complete internationalization of currency will expand the risk of hot currency (highly prone to sudden outflows) to capital assets.
  • , east Asian crisis in 1997.

Way forward

• India needs to open its currency to complete capital account convertibility.
• Frame policies cautiously and test them in the Regulatory sandbox environment
• Bilateral and multilateral trade agreements can be used to test the viability of internationalized rupee e.g., using the Vostro account for Rupee trade with Russia and Iran.
• Rupee internationalization may also require an efficient swap market and a strong foreign exchange market.
• Improvements in financial fundamentals and steps to improve sovereign credit ratings.

Conclusion

Internationalization of the rupee though with associated risks is inevitable if India is to emerge as a global economic power in a multipolar world.

5. Evaluate the potential benefits and challenges of adopting hydrogen as an alternative fuel for reducing emissions in the transportation sector.

Reference: Down to Earth

Introduction

Hydrogen is all set to play a significant role in decarbonising energy system. The hydrogen economy is an envisioned future where hydrogen is used as fuel for vehicles, energy storage and long-distance transport of energy. The different pathways to use hydrogen economy includes hydrogen production, storage, transport and utilization.

In this regard, A National Hydrogen Energy Mission (NHEM) to transform transportation in India was announced during Union Budget 2021-22.

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Hydrogen Fuel can be a game changer in ensuring energy security as well as our battle against climate change:

• Hydrogen is the lightest and first elementon the periodic table. Since the weight of hydrogen is less than air, it rises in the atmosphere and is therefore rarely found in its pure form, H2.
• At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a nontoxic, non-metallic, odourless, tasteless, colourless, and highly combustible diatomic gas.
• Hydrogen fuel is a zero-emission fuel burned with oxygen. It can be used in fuel cells or internal combustion engines. It is also used as a fuel for spacecraft propulsion.
• It can be produced from renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind. At present, there are a number of ways to produce hydrogen, but the most common method is natural gas reforming and electrolysis.
• Its use can reduce CO2 related emissions significantlyand decarbonise the entire value chain, enabling reduced emissions and climate change threats.
• Hydrogen can also bridge the gap between supply and demand, in both a centralized or decentralized manner, thereby enhancingthe overall energy system flexibility.
• Hydrogen can be used to meet both seasonal and daily supply-demand mismatch in the case of renewables.
• At present, the current global demand for hydrogen is 70 million metric tons, most of which is being produced from fossil fuels– 76% from natural gas and 23% from coal and remaining from the electrolysis of water– consumes 6% of the global natural gas and 2% of the global coal. This results in CO2 emissions of around 830Mt/year out of which only 130Mt/year is being captured and used in the fertilizer industry.
• Much of the hydrogen produced is used for oil refining (33%), ammonia (27%), methanol production (11%), steel production via DRI (3%)and others.

Challenges:

• One of the biggest challenges faced by the industry for using hydrogen commercially is the economic sustainability of extracting green or blue hydrogen.
• The technology used in production and use of hydrogen like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)and hydrogen fuel cell technology are at nascent stageand are expensive which in turn increases the cost of production of hydrogen.
• Several challenges in scaling up the commercial-scale operations of green hydrogen persist.
• Maintenance costsfor fuel cells post-completion of a plant can be costly.
• The commercial usage of hydrogen as a fuel and in industries requires mammoth investment in R&D of such technology and infrastructurefor production, storage, transportation and demand creation for hydrogen.
• Another key challenge has been portability and transporting the gas.
• Currently costs of production of Green Hydrogen are too high to be competitive with other fuels.
• Most renewable energy resources that can produce low-cost electricity are situated far from potential demand centres

Steps taken by India towards hydrogen economy:

• India has a huge edge in green hydrogen production owing to its favourable geographic conditions and presence of abundant natural elements.
• India’s goal of attaining 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and to decarbonise by 2050 got an impetus in the Union Budget 2021-22.
• The National Hydrogen Mission has created a road-map for this, and pilot projects on blue hydrogen, green hydrogen and hydrogen compressed natural gas (CNG) have been initiated.
• The proposed introduction of green hydrogen consumption obligations for fertiliser and petroleum refining industry, indicate the country’s resolve to transition towards an economy fuelled by green hydrogen.
• The government has given impetus in scaling up the gas pipeline infrastructureacross the length and breadth of the country, and has introduced reforms for the power grid, including the introduction of smart grids. Such steps are being taken to effectively integrate renewable energy in the present energy mix.
• In October 2020, Delhi became the first Indian city to operate Hydrogen-enrichedCNG (H-CNG) buses in a six-month pilot project.
• The Government of India is planning to focus on five key areas: (a)Research and Development (b) Demand creation (c) how to use it in the industry (d) how to create an eco-system (e) how to bring it on board along with international partnerships.

Way forward for India:

• At this juncture, with a calibrated approach, India can uniquely position itself to take advantage with increasing investment in R&D, capacity building, compatible legislation, and the opportunity for creation of demandamong its vast population. Such initiatives can propel India to become the most favoured nation by exporting hydrogen to its neighbours and beyond.
• Proactive industry collaboration with the government is key to creating a hydrogen economy in India.
• This will help bring best-in-class hydrogen technology, equipment, and know-how to create a hydrogen supply chain in India — in many cases, these could be “Made in India”.
• By prioritising national hydrogen demonstration projects, innovations to further reduce the cost of hydrogen will become prominent locally.
• A robust policy framework akin to the one that guided the country’s solar revolution could lead to an increase in production and demand of this green fuel.
• The Government of India should consider setting up a multi-agency mission to bring multiple ministries, private industry and academia together in a partnership to scale up the deployment of hydrogen across sectors and industries.
• Having a clear mid-term and long-term target inspires confidence in the private sector to make their investments in a new energy source.
• Tax benefits that solar and wind receive should be extended to all players in the green hydrogen ecosystem.
• In the short term, the price of hydrogen generated through steam methane reformation should be capped.
• Generating hydrogen from biomass should also be incentivised as it also has the potential to increase farmer incomes.
• India should ramp up international collaborations for more effortless transfer of technology and resources related to hydrogen.
• Low solar prices coupled with pragmatic policies can help India take a leadership position in driving the global hydrogen economy.
• India needs to secure supplies of raw materials that are needed for this technology.
• Major institutions like the DRDO, BARC and CSIR laboratories have been developing electrolyser and fuel-cell technologies, which could further boost hydrogen economy.
• There is a need for a manufacturing strategy that can leverage the existing strengths and mitigate threats by integrating with the global value chain.

Conclusion

Green hydrogen is one of the most promising fuels in the efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Green hydrogen energy is vital for India to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions and ensure regional and national energy security, access and availability. Hydrogen can act as an energy storage option, which would be essential to meet intermittencies (of renewable energy) in the future.

Answer the following questions in 250 words(15 marks each):

General Studies – 1

6. Mughal architecture represents a pluralistic approach by incorporating diverse architectural traditions, including Islamic, Indian, Persian, and regional influences. This synthesis resulted in the creation of iconic structures that showcase the rich cultural and artistic heritage of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. Discuss.

Reference: Insights on India

Introduction

India is often referred to as the land of cultural plurality and diversity where two contrasting worldviews – that of the traditional and continuous and the formal and official (inherited from the British) thrive. Mughal architecture is a construction style that thrived in northern and central India from the mid-16th to late-17th centuries under the patronage of Mughal rulers. Famous buildings such as Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, etc were built under them..

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Features of Mughal architecture

• It’s the blend of Indian, Islamic and Persian elements that makes Mughal architecture so unique.
• Typical features include huge, onion-shaped domes crowning commemorative monuments, with smaller domed buildings and minarets standing symmetrically on either side.
• There are impressive entrances and gateways, within tall turreted walls, and water features and quadrilateral gardens.
• White marble, red sandstone and, less commonly, limestone, are typical construction materials as well as semi-precious stones and coloured marble which are inlaid as decorations.
• Understated lattice work appears throughout as well as verses from the Qur’an inscribed on interior and exterior walls in Persian and Arabic.
• Royal palaces are often surrounded by symmetrical gardens featuring walkways and water channels.
• These stand in contrast to the stark courtyards within the mosques, which can hold enormous congregations.
• Indo-Muslim architecture got striking improvement with the arrival of Mughals, as had been declined significantly during the Lodi’s period.
• Unlike Delhi Sultanate Sultans, Mughals mixed and mingled with the local population & Rajput provinces.

Conclusion

Mughal architecture is a unique Indo-Islamic architectural style that flourished in northern and central India from the 16th to the 18th centuries under the patronage of Mughal monarchs. It’s a stunningly symmetrical and ornate blend of Persian, Turkish, and Indian architecture.

General Studies – 2

7. Migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation due to their lack of social networks and awareness of their rights. Examine the need for an inclusive social policy to address the challenges faced by migrant workers in India.

Reference: The Hindu , Insights on India

Introduction

The migrants’ crisis left India shocked by their plight of walking hundreds of kilometres, facing hunger, exhaustion and violence, to get to the safety of their home villages. After the two covid waves, the crisis compelled policy-makers to make certain provisions for them in the schemes announced for the assistance of the poor.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2020-21 shows that 20.8% of total male migration in the country was from urban to rural areas in 2020-21. The 2011 census had found that proportion to be merely 8% back then.

As the sugarcane harvest season comes to an end, residents of villages that make the intra-State move for six months, talk about living on the fringes and the exploitation they face, without even realising the injustice

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Govt efforts

• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana: After the lockdown, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana with a financial package of Rs. 1.7 lakh crore was launched to help poor, needy, and unorganized sector workers of the country.
• PM SVANidhi Scheme: PM SVANidhi Scheme was launched to facilitate collateral-free working capital loans up to Rs.10,000/- of one-year tenure, to approximately, 50 lakh street vendors, to resume their businesses.
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan: In order to facilitate the employment of migrant workers who have gone back to their home state, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan was initiated in 116 districts in Mission Mode.
• One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) project
• Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) scheme
• State migrant cell: Migrant workers’ Cell is being created to prepare a database of migrant workers in states with mapping.
• eShram portal: It is a national database created to register the unorganised workers in the country, including the migrant workers.
• National policy on migrant workers: NITI Aayog has been mandated to prepare a draft national policy on migrant workers to reimagine labour-capital relations while integrating the migrantworkers within the formal workforce.

Challenges despite Govt efforts

• Repeated surveys have found that the incomes of migrant households continue to be lower than pre-pandemic levels, even after returning to cities.
• Migrants are finding less work and their children eating less.
• The post-1991 poverty alleviation of almost 300 million Indians, driven by migration out of farm work, is being undone.
• Despite this, a cohesive migration policy guidance remains elusive.

Inadequate provisions by government

• The Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, was approved by Parliament in December 2008.
• But it lacks the mandatory elements of the NCEUS’s proposals and included neither a National Minimum Social Security Package, nor the provision for mandatory registration.
• Estimates show that the central government’s expenditure on all major social protection programmes declined from 1.96 per cent of GDP in 2008-09 to 1.6 per cent in 2013-14and to only 1.28 per cent in 2019-20.

Way forward

• Role of Centre:migrants would be well served if the Centre played a proactive role by offering strategic policy guidance and a platform for inter-State coordination. State-level political economy constraints make the Centre’s role particularly crucial in addressing issues of inter-State migrant workers at ‘destination States’.
• The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector had pointed out that the circular migrant workers were a disadvantaged segment among informal workers.
• Comprehensive law: The NCEUS had advocated acomprehensive law for the protection of the rights of all informal workers, including migrants, home workers, and domestic workers.
• Universal registration: NCEUS had also recommended a universal registration mechanism based on self-declaration, with the issuance of a smart social security card, and a National Minimum Social Security Package.
• Guaranteed social security/social protection: We need the provision of a minimum level ofguaranteed social security/social protection for all informal workers and their households within a definite time frame.
• More public spending: Guaranteed social protection would involve a clear framework and a commitment to greater public resources being spent on social protection as a large class of workers in India do not have an identifiable employer and a contributory social insurance framework will not work for them.
• Recommendation 202:Government should embrace ILO’s Recommendation 202 and work towards these in a time-bound manner.
• The NITI Aayog’s Draft Policy on Migrant Workers is a positive step forward in articulating policy priorities and indicating suitable institutional frameworks, and deserves a speedy release.

Conclusion

To end the silent, painful, and enduring crisis for the workers, as well as the crisis for the economy, the government must urgently recognise the right to social security, embedded both in the Indian Constitution and international covenants. Strategic initiatives to provide migrants safety nets regardless of location as well as bolster their ability to migrate safely and affordably must keep up the momentum towards migrant-supportive policy.

8. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill must ensure that individuals’ personal data is collected and processed in a manner that respects their privacy rights under article 21 of the Indian constitution.

Reference: Live Mint

Introduction

The monsoon session of Indian Parliament will likely take up Digital Personal Data Protection Bill framed in response to the Supreme Court ruling of 24 August 2017 that said privacy is a fundamental right.  The personal data protection bill has been in the works for about five years. The first draft of the Bill was presented by an expert panel headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna in July 2018, after a year-long consultation process.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, a draft of which was published last year to replace an unwieldy earlier proposal, got Cabinet approval this week as part of the Centre’s effort to update Indian laws for the digital age.

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Features of the bill

• Data Principal and Data Fiduciary: The bill uses the term “Data Principal” to denote the individual whose data is being collected.
  • The term “Data Fiduciary” the entity (can be an individual, company, firm, state etc.), which decides the “purpose and means of the processing of an individual’s personal data.”
  • The law also makes a recognition that in the case of children –defined as all users under the age of 18— their parents or lawful guardians will be considered their ‘Data Principals.’
• Defining personal data and its processing: Under the law, personal data is “any data by which or in relation to which an individual can be identified.”
  • Processing means “the entire cycle of operations that can be carried out in respect of personal data.”
  • So right from collection to storage of data would come under processing of data as per the bill.
• Individual’s informed consent: The bill also makes it clear that individual needs to give consent before their data is processed.
  • Every individual should know what items of personal data a Data Fiduciary wants to collect and the purpose of such collection and further processing.
  • Individuals also have the right to withdraw consentfrom a Data Fiduciary.
  • The bill also gives consumers the right to file a complaint against a ‘Data Fiduciary’ with the Data Protection Board in case they do not get a satisfactory response from the company.
• Language of information: The bill also ensures that individuals should be able to “access basic information” in languages specified in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution.
  • Further, the notice of data collection needs to be in clear and easy-to-understand language.
• Significant Data Fiduciaries: The bill also talks of ‘Significant Data Fiduciaries, who deal with a high volume of personal data.
  • The Central government will define who is designated under this category based on a number of factors ranging from the volume of personal data processed to the risk of harm to the potential impact on the sovereignty and integrity of India.
• Data protection officer & Data auditor: Such entities will have to appoint a ‘Data protection officer’ who will represent them.
  • They will be the point of contact for grievance redressal.
  • They will also have to appoint an independent Data auditor who shall evaluate their compliance with the act.
• Right to erase data, right to nominate: Data principals will have the right to demand the erasure and correction of data collected by the data fiduciary.
  • They will also have the right to nominate an individual who will exercise these rights in the event of death or incapacity of the data principal.
• Cross-border data transfer: The bill also allows for cross-border storage and transfer of data to “certain notified countries and territories.”
  • However, an assessment of relevant factors by the Central Government would precede such a notification.
• Financial penalties: The draft also proposes to impose significant penalties on businesses that undergo data breaches or fail to notify users when breaches happen.
  • Entities that fail to take “reasonable security safeguards” to prevent personal data breaches will be fined as high as Rs 250 crore.
  • As per the draft, the Data Protection Board— a new regulatory body to be set up by the government — can impose a penalty of up to ₹500 crore if non-compliance by a person is found to be significant.

Positives of the current Bill

• Gender neutrality:Significantly, and for the first time in the country’s legislative history, the terms ‘her’ and ‘she’ have been used irrespective of an individual’s gender. This, as per the draft, is in line with the government’s philosophy of empowering women.
• Imbibes best global practices:To prepare it, best global practices were considered, including review of data protection legislations of Australia, European Union (EU), Singapore, and a prospective one of the USA.
• Comprehensiveness:The draft has outlined six ‘Chapters’ and a total of twenty-five points. The ‘Chapters’ are: ‘Preliminary,’ ‘Obligations of Data Fiduciary,’ ‘Rights and Duties of Data Principal,’ ‘Special Provisions,’ ‘Compliance Framework,’ and ‘Miscellaneous.’
• Special emphasis for child protection:If personal data is likely to cause harm to a child, its processing will not be allowed.
• Widening the scope of data:Narrowing the scope of the data protection regime to personal data protection is a welcome move, as it resonates with the concerns of various stakeholders.
• Harnessing economic potential:Now non-personal data could be used to unlock social and economic value to benefit citizens, businesses, and communities in India with appropriate safeguards in place.
• Doing away with aggressive push for Data localisation:Relaxing data localisation provisions to notify countries to which data can flow, could aid India in unlocking the comparative advantage of accessing innovative technological solutions from across the globe, which in turn helps domestic companies.
• Free flow of data:In addition, the free flow of data will help startups access cost-effective technology and storage solutions, as our research shows.
• Allowing data transfers:This will also ensure that India is not isolated from the global value chain, helping businesses stay resilient in production and supply chain management and fostering overseas collaboration.

Issues with the current Bill

• Wide-ranging exemptions to the Centre and its agencies with little to no safeguards,and reduced independence of the proposed Data Protection Board are among the key concerns flagged by experts.
  • It is also worth noting that the new Bill has just 30 clauses compared to the more than 90 in the previous one, mainly because a lot of operational details have been left to subsequent rule-making.
• The central government can issue notifications to exempt its agenciesfrom adhering to provisions of the draft law for national security reasons.
  • In an explanatory note accompanying the proposed legislation, the government argued that “national and public interest is at times greater than the interest of an individual”, while justifying the need for such exemptions.
• The draft law leaves the appointment of the chairperson and members of the Data Protection Board entirely to the discretion of the central government. While the Data Protection Authority was earlier envisaged to be a statutory authority (under the 2019 Bill), theData Protection Board is now a central government set up board.

Privacy laws of other countries

• China model : New Chinese laws on data privacy and security issued over the last 12 months include the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which came into effect in November 2021.
  • It gives Chinese data principals new rights as it seeks to prevent the misuse of personal data.
  • The Data Security Law (DSL), which came into force in September 2021, requires business data to be categorized by levels of importance, and puts new restrictions on cross-border transfers.
  • These regulations will have a significant impact on how companies collect, store, use and transfer data, but are essentially focused on giving the government overreaching powers to collect data as well as to regulate private companies that collect and process information.
• US Model: Privacy protection is largely defined as “liberty protection” focused on the protection of the individual’s personal space from the government. It is viewed as being somewhat narrow in focus because it enables collection of personal information as long as the individual is informed of such collection and use.
  • The US template has been viewed as inadequate in key respects of regulation.
• GDPR EU: The GDPR focuses on a comprehensive data protection law for processing of personal data.
  • It has been criticised for being excessively stringent, and imposing many obligations on organisations processing data, but it is the template for most of the legislation drafted around the world.

Conclusion

The reworked version of the data protection Bill, released three months after the Govt withdrew an earlier draft, eases cross-border data flows and increases penalties for breaches. But it gives the Centre wide-ranging powers and prescribes very few safeguards. A thorough stakeholder consultation is required before the Bill is tabled.

General Studies – 3

9. Examine the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform in India and its progress over the past six years. Throw light on the challenges faced, the impact on the economy, and the potential for further improvements.

Reference: The Hindu , Insights on India

Introduction

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is one indirect tax for the whole nation, which will make India one unified common market. GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the consumer. Credits of input taxes paid at each stage will be available in the subsequent stage of value addition, which makes GST essentially a tax only on value addition at each stage. The final consumer will thus bear only the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain, with set-off benefits at all the previous stages.

GST is an indirect tax system which was rolled out on 1^st July 2017 The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed out lacunae in the GST regime, saying that system-validated input tax credit through invoice matching is not in place and a non-intrusive e-tax system still remains elusive.

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Performance of the GST regime

• Revenue collection:
  • The average growth rate of Gross GST revenue from 2018-19 to 2022-23 stands at 3%, surpassing the nominal GDP growth rate of 9.8%.
  • The (June 2023) collection has crossed the 1.6 lakh crore markfor the 4th time since the inception of GST.
  • This is noteworthy as indirect taxes typically exhibit lower buoyancy– an increase in its revenue rate without increasing the tax rate.
• A seamless market and digitised compliance:
  • GST laid the foundation for a seamless national market, reshaping India’s tax landscape and driving economic growth.
  • By digitising processes from registration to return filing, the GST portal ensured smoother compliance for businesses, fostering a tech-enabled environment.
  • It paved the way for other significant indirect tax reforms, including e-way bills and e-invoicing, promoting transparent data sharing between businesses and the government.
• Empowering the manufacturing sector:GST’s impact on the manufacturing sector was remarkable, as it eliminated the cascading effect of taxes and reduced manufacturing costs.
• Introduced as one of the biggest economic reforms by the incumbent government, the GST kicked off with the promise to streamline taxation and compliance burden.
• Based on the one nation one tax ideology, GST has helped in reducing the cascading effect of tax considerably.
• Also, multiplicity of compliances under various indirect taxes has been reduced.
• Hence, introduction of GST in India has brought in efficiencies in indirect tax compliance, incidence and reduced the number of indirect tax authorities that a taxpayer needed to interact with
• Another positive is the concept of e-invoicing which seeks to ensure greater transparency in supplier-receiver transactions.
• The introduction of e-way bill coupled with the crackdown on fake invoicing has helped in bringing in a substantial portion of GST revenues, which were either being evaded or under-reported, in order.
• Over 53 lakh taxpayers and 67,000 transporters are enrolled on the e-way portal, generating, on average, 7.81 crore e-way bills per month. Since the launch of the system, a total of 292 crore e-way bills have been generated of which 42 per cent are for the inter-state transport of goods.
• GST has eliminated the tax arbitrage that existed among the states under the CST/VAT regime.
• Increase in logistic supply chain: With no such arbitrage under the IGST and with the e-way bills, the logistics supply chain efficiencies have increased manifold.

Various issues with respect to goods and services tax (GST) regime

• The breakdown of trust and cooperative federalism between states and the Union government:
  • It turned out to be prescient as GST failed to live up to its economic promises and states’ revenues were protected through this guarantee, despite Finance’s attempt to wriggle out of this commitment during the pandemic under the alibi of an “act of God”.
  • The Union government’s proclivity to levy and appropriate cess revenues for itself without sharing them with the states has lent credence to the wisdom of guaranteed compensation for states.
  • This guarantee is now set to expire..
• The recent Supreme Court’s judgment highlighting that the GST Council’s recommendations are not binding on the states:
  • The SC recently observed that it is in the national interest to have both cooperative and competitive federalism, and hence, the GST Council’s decisions are not binding on the states.
  • This means that states had and continue to have the right to either comply fully with the Council’s recommendations or modify them as they deem necessary.
  • This has opened the window for states to override the fundamental GST premise of a “one nation one tax”.
  • If pushed to a corner, states may now use the SC ruling as a shield.
• Expiry of the revenue guarantee that protected states’ revenues 
  • GST is too precariously perched to yank away the compensation guarantee for states.
  • the Union government is not desirous of extending the compensation guarantee.
• Difficulty in tax administration:
  • Goes against the canons of taxation.
  • A modern tax system should be fair, uncomplicated, transparent and easy to administer.
  • It must yield revenues sufficient to cover the cost of government services and public goods.
  • Lack of clarity on many rules is also leading to various litigation and different interpretations (of the same laws) by Advanced Ruling Authorities in different states.
• Complicated taxation structure:
  • A World Bank study published in May 2018 said that the Indian GST rate was the second highest among the 115 countries with a national value-added tax.
  • It was also the most complicated, with five main tax rates, several exemptions, a cess and a special rate for gold.
  • The multilateral lender said that only five countries had four or more non-zero tax rates—India, Italy, Pakistan, Luxembourg and Ghana.
  • Falling revenue amid disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has continuously delayed the reform, leaving a large number of items in high tax slabs.
• High compliance costs:are also arising because the prevalence of multiple tax rates implies a need to classify inputs and outputs based on the applicable tax rate. Along with the need to apply the correct rate, firms are required to match invoices between their outputs and inputs to be eligible for full input tax credit, which increases compliance costs further.
• GST Council meetings: the meetings of the GST Council are not as frequent as they were earlier, if the recent incidents are anything to go by, and it often end up with disagreement, fight and strong letters and statements. States have also accused the Centre of cornering a substantial portion of tax in forms of cess.
• There has been lack of coordination between the Department of Revenue, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and the GST Network.

Way Forward

• The first target should be to move to at least a three-rate structure, a lower rate for essential goods, a relatively high rate for luxury goods, and a standard rate for the majority of goods and services.
• The next step would be simplifying the tax returns process.
• The scope for lowering the GST rate is umbilically linked to direct tax reform.
• Commence taxation of petroleum crude, high-speed diesel, petrol, natural gas and aviation turbine fuel and similarly, alcohol meant for human consumption;
• Inclusion of other levies such as electricity duty, stamp duty, etc;
• Clarifying taxation of online gaming activities, transactions involving cryptocurrency, etc.
• A better way to make a tax system more just is by lowering regressive indirect tax rates while widening the base for progressive direct taxeson income and corporate profits.
• The government needs to establishGST Tribunals to reduce litigation timelines and the pressure on courts.
• The state authorities for Advance Ruling should ideally also have an independent jurist member, apart from a representative from the tax department.
• Emulating the best practices. The GST in New Zealand, widely regarded as the most efficient in the world, has a single standard rate of 12.5 percent across all industry groups.
• The Fifteenth finance commission, in its latest report, has addressed many issues including large shortfall in collections as compared to original forecast, high volatility in collections, accumulation of large integrated GST credit, glitches in invoice and input tax matching, and delay in refunds.
• The Commission also observed that the continuing dependence of states on compensation from the central government for making up for the shortfall in revenue is a concern.
• While at the same time it suggested that the structural implications of GST for low consumption states need to be considered.

Conclusion

While the GST’s journey has given its stakeholders some causes to celebrate, it has also given moments of worry. But then, no transformation of the scale and complexity can be achieved without its share of hiccups and challenges. The process of evolution will take a few years more for the mammoth structural change to stabilize. The four-year journey of GST has been a roller-coaster ride for all stakeholders with equitable share of hits, misses and expectations. A work-in-progress in its transformational journey, GST suffers from several shortcomings which need to be resolved quickly, but its journey to ‘Good & Simple Tax’ is still quite long.

10. There is increasing concern about the potential human health and environmental impacts of microplastics. We should work towards minimizing the threats posed by microplastics and protecting both the environment and human health from the detrimental effects of plastic pollution. Discuss.

Reference: Don to Earth

Introduction

Microplastics are small plastic particles in the environment that are generally smaller than 1mm down to the micrometer range. 

A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stating that microplastics have the potential to alter the gut microbiome and cause intestinal inflammation. In another instance, the researchers found huge amounts of them in the Arctic snow; their study claims to be the first that contains data on contamination of snow by microplastics.

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Microfibres from washing of textiles, microbeads used in cosmetics and even paint from land run-offs can dump microplastics in the ocean. Plastic bottles, bags, fishing nets, and food packaging are some examples of the larger pieces that break down into microplastics, eventually finding their way into the soil, water and the air we breathe. According to a 2017 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report, microplastics are estimated to constitute up to 30% of marine litter polluting the oceans.

Threats posed by Microplastics:

• Microplastics escape the filtration and treatment processes for waste water and end up in sites of nature.
• This is resulting in significant global impacts on wildlife from marine environment pollution.
• Microplastics are killing the fish before they reach reproductive age, stunted growth and altering the behaviour in some fishes.
• Microplastics are found in the viscera of dead sea birds, reptiles like turtles, whales etc.
• World’s coastal countries currently do not have the concerned recycling policies or the technical capabilities, and so large quantities of plastic are not recycled and enter landfill.
• The durable properties of plastics make them persistent and slow to degrade in the environment entering the food chains.
• It holds the potential for both bioaccumulation and biomagnification.
• Once the microplastics enter foodchain, they carry synthetic chemical compounds such as PCBs and PAHs, which are carcinogenic.
• Unlike POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Plastic pollution has received little attention in terms of international agreements.
• Microplastics make up 94 percent of an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in the patch. But that only amounts to eight percent of the total tonnage

Measures needed:

• Local actions are required for mitigating plastic pollution, using mechanisms such as bans on plastic bags, maximum daily limits for emissions into watersheds, and incentives for fishing gear retrieval.
• Microbeads in cosmetics, daily use items must be banned globally.
• Countries should come together to establish measurable reduction targets for plastic waste. A meaningful international agreement—one with clearly defined waste reduction targets is the need of the hour.
• Effective policies must take into account all stages of the lifecycle of plastic—connecting producers to users and ultimately to waste managers.
• Nonprofits like 5 Gyres are now pushing an agenda toward public awareness, corporate responsibility and the idea of a circular economy — an economy that focuses on keeping waste to a minimum while maximizing materials’ use.
• Fossil fuel subsidies incentivise the plastic market. Hence, Countries should end fossil fuel subsidies. Annually, 4–8% of oil is used to produce raw plastic.
• India has a major problem dealing with plastics, particularly single-use shopping bags that reach dumping sites, rivers and wetlands along with other waste.
• The most efficient way to deal with the pollution is to control the production and distribution of plastics.
• Banning single-use bags and making consumers pay a significant amount for the more durable ones is a feasible solution.
• Enforcing segregation of waste will retrieve materials and greatly reduce the burden on the environment.
• Waste separation can be achieved in partnership with the community, and presents a major employment opportunity.
• Eco-friendly substitutes (cloth/paper/jute bags, leaves/areca leaf plates, paper straws) should be developed. For this, scientific and financial support (soft loans and subsidies) is required.

Conclusion

Marine plastic pollution is a “planetary crisis,” and we should hope for a “Paris-style” global treaty aimed at tackling it. We cannot transform our world into a ‘plastic planet’. What is needed is collective public effort to stop plastic pollution and safeguard our ecosystem/biodiversity.

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