GS3
Q1. Expert says that Indian private sector investment has been weak for almost a decade now. Identify the factors inhibiting it and suggest measures to address them. (10M)
Introduction
Private investment, one of the pillars of economic growth, had been lacklustre for a long time, falling from 31 per cent of the GDP in 2011 to 22 per cent in 2020, according to World Bank estimates.
Body:
Factors inhibiting private investment in India:
- Uncertain and unstable policy environment: The Indian government often changes its policies, making it difficult for businesses to plan for the future. This is especially true in the areas of taxation, labour laws, and environmental regulations.
- For instance, retrospective taxation cases like the Vodafone case
- Global slowdown: The export story will be under threat because of the global slowdown due to Russia-Ukraine War, Protectionism, Covid impact
- Impact of k-shaped recovery: Because of the K-shaped recovery, private consumption is only concentrated in some parts of the income pyramid.
- High cost of capital: The cost of borrowing money in India is high, which makes it more expensive for businesses to invest. This is due to a number of factors, including high interest rates, high inflation, and a weak rupee.
- Infrastructure Bottlenecks: Insufficient infrastructure, including inadequate transportation networks, power shortages, and limited logistics facilities, hampers business operations.
- These bottlenecks raise operational costs, discourage expansion, and lower investor confidence.
- Skill Deficit: Despite a large workforce, a substantial skills gap exists, rendering the workforce inadequate for high-skill industries.
- Only 7% of total youth in India is employable.
- “constant raids and harassment” by agencies like the Income Tax Department, Central Bureau of Investigation, and the Enforcement Directorate have significantly eroded the confidence of companies looking to do business in India.
Measures needed to boost private investment in India:
- Policy Stability: The government must ensure consistent and transparent policies to foster a stable investment climate. Regular consultations with industry stakeholders can help design policies that align with economic goals.
- Provide tax breaks and other incentives to businesses. This will make it more attractive for businesses to invest and create jobs.
- Improving infrastructure: The government needs to invest in infrastructure, such as roads, power, and telecommunications. This will make it easier and cheaper for businesses to operate, and will help to boost demand. E.g. PM Gatishakti initiative.
- Simplifying the tax regime, reducing tax burdens, and digitizing regulatory procedures can go a long way in attracting private investments.
- Government-led skill development initiatives should align with industry needs, ensuring that there is a pool of trained professionals ready to contribute to various sectors, thereby encouraging investments.
- Resilience to external shocks: India must work towards strengthening its resilience to external shocks through sound economic policies, diversification of trade partners, and effective risk management strategies.
Conclusion
It is imperative that the government collaborates closely with industry experts and stakeholders to chart a path towards a more investment-friendly environment.
Q2. Do you believe that the Green Revolution has had a lasting positive impact on India’s agricultural sector? Is India prepared for another Green Revolution. (15M)
Introduction
The Green Revolution, a series of agricultural advancements and initiatives implemented in India during the 1960s and 1970s, aimed to boost agricultural productivity and food security. It introduced high-yielding crop varieties, improved irrigation, and increased the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
Body:
Lasting positive impact of green revolution on India’s agricultural sector:
- Increase in Agricultural Production and productivity: The production and productivity of wheat, rice, maize and bajra has substantially increased.
- Less Dependence on Imports: After the green revolution, India was finally on its way to self-sufficiency.
- There was now enough production for the population and to build a stock in case of emergencies. In fact, India was able to start exporting its agricultural produce.
- A Benefit to the Farmers: The Green Revolution has increased the income of farmers and landless labourers.
- It enabled them to shift to commercial farming from only sustenance farming.
- Dispersal of Rice and Wheat cultivation to non-traditional areas: Green Revolution spread the Rice cultivation to the semi-arid areas of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh, and the wheat cultivation has spread to the areas of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and some parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal.
Negatives impact of green revolution:
- Food-grains centric: Although all food-grains including wheat, rice, jowar, bajra and maize have gained from the revolution, other crops such as coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds were left out of the ambit of the revolution.
- Mono-cropping: Major commercial crops like cotton, jute, tea and sugarcane were also left almost untouched by the Green Revolution. This ultimately led to the dangerous trend of Mono-cropping.
- Displacement of small farmers: The Green Revolution has displaced the agricultural labourers, leading to rural unemployment. The mechanical innovations like tractors have displaced agricultural labourers.
- Land Degradation: The overuse of chemical fertilizers to get high yield causes physical and chemical degradation of the soil by altering the natural microflora and increasing the alkalinity and salinity of the soil. E.g. Punjab and Haryana.
- Led to Regional Disparities: It led to growing disparities in economic development at inter and intra-regional levels.
- Only 40 percent of the total cropped area benefitted while the rest was left untouched by it.
- Rampant usage of Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides: The Green Revolution resulted in a large-scale use of pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilisers for improved irrigation projects and crop varieties.
- This caused more harm than good to crops and also becomes a cause for environment and soil pollution.
Preparedness for Another Green Revolution:
- Technological Advancements: India has made significant strides in agricultural research and development since the Green Revolution.
- Improved crop varieties, precision agriculture techniques, and innovative irrigation methods are available to address new challenges. g. Bt cotton adoption
- Diversification: Promoting crop diversification can help enhance biodiversity, reduce risks associated with mono-cropping, and ensure a balanced diet for the population. E.g. The National Horticulture Mission
- Climate Resilience: With climate change affecting agricultural patterns, India’s preparedness for a new Green Revolution depends on its ability to develop climate-resilient crops.
- Drought-tolerant rice varieties like Swarna Sub1 have been developed, enabling farmers to withstand erratic rainfall and prolonged dry spells.
- Sustainable Practices: Learning from the environmental repercussions of the past, India has taken steps towards sustainable agriculture.
- The Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) initiative promotes organic farming techniques, reducing reliance on synthetic inputs and mitigating soil degradation.
- Inclusive Growth: Ensuring that agricultural benefits are equitably distributed among farmers is vital.
- The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) provides crop insurance to shield farmers from yield losses and economic uncertainties.
Measures needed for another green revolution:
- R&D: India needs to continue to invest in agricultural research and development to develop new high-yielding varieties of crops that are resistant to pests and diseases.
- Improve agricultural extension services: to help farmers adopt new technologies.
- Capacity building: Efforts to enhance farmers’ skills, knowledge, and access to information are essential for agricultural transformation.
- Policy initiatives: Initiatives that focus on improving market access, providing credit, and promoting sustainable practices indicate a proactive stance towards another Green Revolution.
- Reduce inequality in land ownership: India needs to reduce inequality in land ownership to ensure that all farmers have the opportunity to benefit from agricultural growth.
Conclusion
By building upon these successes and addressing existing challenges, India can embark on another Green Revolution that balances productivity, sustainability, and equitable growth.
Ethics
Syllabus: “Strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance;”
Q3. “Ethical curriculum and training in our country is inadequate to deal with the emerging ethical challenges.” Do you agree? Justify your opinion (10M)
Introduction:
In the country evolves, ethical curriculum shapes hearts and minds. As Aristotle famously said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
Body:
I agree with the statement that ethical curriculum and training in India are often inadequate to effectively address the emerging ethical challenges. Because of:
- Lack of Comprehensive Ethical Education: While some schools and universities may include ethics as a subject, it is often treated as a peripheral topic rather than a fundamental one.
- Rapidly Changing Ethical Landscape: In today’s globalized and technologically advanced world. Artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and data privacy present new ethical dilemmas that traditional curricula may not adequately cover.
- Ethical Dilemmas in Professions: including medicine, law, business, and technology, which are encountering complex ethical issues. However, many educational programs lack specialized ethics training for these professions.
- For instance, allocation of limited medical resources, such as ventilators or organ transplants, especially during a public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic was a major ethical dilemma.
- Insufficient Emphasis on Critical Thinking: The current education system in India often places more emphasis on rote learning and memorization than on cultivating critical thinking abilities, which are essential for addressing ethical dilemmas.
- Cultural and Regional Variations: For instance, meat eating in North-eastern states is near universal. An ethics curriculum that doesn’t account for variations may provide generic guidelines on dietary choices, rendering it ineffective.
- Professional Ethics and Corruption: India faces significant challenges related to corruption and unethical practices in various sectors. But education isn’t addressing social issues.
- Limited Awareness of Global Ethical Issues: In an interconnected world, global ethical issues, such as climate change, migration, and human rights, require attention. As the Rohingya issue highlighted, which was a tough choice between national security and humanitarianism.
- Inadequate Teacher Training: Many teachers may lack the necessary background and training in ethics, leading to less effective ethics education.
Conclusion:
There is a need for a more comprehensive, up-to-date, and culturally sensitive approach to ethical education. This should include integrating ethics into various subjects and professions and ensuring that ethical education is adapted to the diverse cultural and regional contexts of India.
Case Study
Q4. You are working as a clerk in a government office which is responsible for distributing free food ration to eligible beneficiaries. You have found good amount of satisfaction in your work since it routinely lets you help people. All was going well in your department, services were being disbursed, people were happy and trust of the common public was also high on your department. All this started to change when a new head was chosen to this department. This new head was stickler for rules and regulation, he also had a general disregard for poor people. He held quite many prejudices against the poor. No matter what advice other officers gave to him, he rarely followed them. He just went with his instincts. Poor people started to suffer because of this. Trust that the common public had started to recede.
All this has caused a great much of stress to you. You no longer enjoy your work. You cannot bring yourself to respect your boss. The stress that you are harboring is also causing problems in your private life.
In the context of the above situation, answer the following questions:
1) What are the ways through which you can alleviate your emotional stress?
2) How can moral values be strengthened in our government departments to prevent bosses like this acting in a such a narrow manner?
3) How would you advice the new boss in this situation to change his attitude? Briefly discuss. Justify your advice on ethical grounds.
(20M)
Introduction:
The above case study highlights the ethical challenges when a new department head’s actions compromise public service values and employee well-being.
Ethical issues involved:
- Benevolence vs. Bureaucracy
- Equity vs. Hierarchy
- Advocacy vs. Compliance
- Trust vs. Conscience
- Personal Well-being vs. Professional Integrity
1) Ways to Alleviate Emotional Stress:
- Seeking Support: by reaching out to friends, family, or a counselor to discuss your feelings and concerns. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”
- Practicing Self-Care: Prioritize self-care activities such as exercise, meditation, or hobbies that help relax and reduce stress. Taking care of your well-being is essential to continue helping those in need effectively, Just as an aircraft passenger must secure their oxygen mask before assisting others.
- Set Boundaries: Establishing clear boundaries between work and personal life. Albert Einstein once noted, “Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony.”
- Engage in Constructive Dialogue: expressing my concerns to my supervisor or HR department.
- Engage in Ethical Actions: Continue to provide support to eligible beneficiaries and ensure that my work remains ethically sound.
Knowing that I’m still helping those in need would provide a sense of purpose and satisfaction despite the challenging work environment.
2) Strengthening Moral Values in Government Departments:
- Ethics Training: Implement mandatory ethics training programs for all government employees, including supervisors and department heads. These programs should emphasize the importance of fairness, empathy, and service to the public.
- Accountability: Create mechanisms for evaluating and holding supervisors accountable for their actions and decisions. This can include regular performance assessments that consider ethical behavior and adherence to the department’s mission.
- Transparency: As Louis Brandeis said, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” Foster a culture of transparency within government departments.
- Whistleblower Protection: Ensure strong whistleblower protection policies to encourage employees to report unethical behavior without fear of retaliation.
- Community Engagement: The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’s success was partly due to community involvement. Advocate for involving beneficiaries and community representatives in decision-making to ensure policies align with their needs.
3) Advice to the New Boss on Changing Attitude:
- Listen and Learn: Share the story of Eleanor Roosevelt, who transformed herself from a reserved first lady to a powerful advocate for human rights by actively listening to others. Encourage the boss to learn from the experiences and perspectives of colleagues and beneficiaries.
- Empathy and Compassion: As Martin Luther King Jr. said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Emphasize the power of empathy and compassion in healing divisions and fostering positive change.
- Ethical Leadership: Share a quote by Warren Bennis: “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Explain how ethical leadership, rooted in principles of fairness and accountability, can turn a vision of a better department into reality.
- Training and Awareness: Mention the story of Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO, who underwent sensitivity training after a scandal. Suggest that the boss engage in ethics and sensitivity training to raise awareness of biases and prejudices and strive for personal growth.
- Alignment with Department’s Mission: Quote Mahatma Gandhi again: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Remind the boss that the department’s mission is to serve the public, and ethical conduct is essential to fulfilling that mission effectively.
The advice focuses on ethical principles such as empathy, fairness, transparency, and accountability. These principles are fundamental to ethical leadership and public service.
Conclusion:
By adopting these principles, the new boss can align their behavior with ethical standards, rebuild trust with employees and the public, and ensure that the department’s mission of helping those in need is fulfilled with integrity and compassion.
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