[Synopsis] Day 43 – August 14, 2024 – 75 Days Mains Revision Plan 2024 Economy – Full Length

75 Days Mains Revision Plan 2024 – Economy – Full Length

Q1. ‘India’s Agriculture sector though resilient is most stagnant of all sectors’. What steps need to be taken to increase agriculture productivity and reduce stagnancy in agriculture? (10M)

Key Demand of the Question:

Analyze the reasons for stagnancy in Indian agriculture despite its resilience. Discuss government initiatives and suggest additional measures to enhance productivity and overcome stagnancy, incorporating recommendations from NITI Aayog, the Dalwai Committee, and other sources.

Structure of the Answer:

Introduction: Introduce the status of Indian agriculture, highlighting its resilience and stagnancy. Mention the low growth rate compared to other sectors and its critical role in the economy.

Body:

1. Resilience of Agriculture:
   • Discuss how agriculture remained resilient during economic shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
   • Factors contributing to resilience include strong domestic demand and diversified climatic conditions.
2. Reasons for Stagnancy:
   • Rain-fed nature of agriculture.
   • Incoherent policy measures like MSP affecting cropping patterns.
   • Low farm mechanization compared to other countries.
   • Lack of infrastructure and integration in agricultural marketing.
3. Government Steps Taken:
   • PM Krishi Sinchayi Yojana: Enhancing irrigation efficiency.
   • Soil Health Card Scheme: Improving soil and crop quality.
   • PM Fasal Bima Yojana: Risk coverage for farmers.
   • Gramin Bhandaran Yojana: Scientific storage creation.
   • Paramparagat Krishi Sinchayi Yojana: Promoting organic farming.
   • National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: Boosting productivity and resource conservation.
4. Additional Recommendations:
   • Natural Farming: Minimize negative impacts of the green revolution (NITI Aayog).
   • 2nd Green Revolution: Focus on sustainable agriculture (Swaminathan Commission).
   • Integrated Farming: Combine agriculture with animal husbandry for resilience (Dalwai Committee).
   • Use of ICT and Technology: Implement precision farming and smart agriculture.
   • Diversification and Infrastructure: Promote self-reliance and improve connectivity.
   • Food Processing: Enhance rural-urban market integration.

Conclusion: Summarize the need for comprehensive strategies to boost productivity and address stagnancy, emphasizing the importance of resilience and efficiency in the agricultural sector.

Introduction: 

54.6% of the Indian population is involved in agriculture which caters to 16% of the total GDP. Despite being an age-old primary activity with prime dependence of the population on the same, the average growth rate from the 1960s is 2.8%, whereas that of the services and manufacturing sector has been much higher.

Body:

Despite this stagnancy, the agricultural sector was one of the most resilient sectors to economic shocks during covid times. It showed a growth rate of 3.6% to 3.9% whereas the manufacturing experienced a deep of -8% and the service sector experienced a deep of -7.5%  during these times.

The factors responsible for such resilience are:

1. Strong domestic demand-supply cycle.
2. Diversification of Indian agriculture due to the presence of diversified climatic conditions.
3. Factors such as MSP, e-NAM, etc. make agriculture and marketing more inclusive.

Reasons for stagnancy in Indian agriculture are

1. Rain-fed nature of Agriculture: 82% of farmers are dependent on monsoon.
2. Incoherent Policy Measures and Its Impact: The policy measures such as Minimum Support Price(MSP) have made cropping patterns skewed and benefits didn’t reach inequitably.
3. Low Farm Mechanisation: The overall farm mechanisation in India has been lower at 40-45 % compared to other countries such as the USA (95%), Brazil (75 %) and China (57 %).
4. Other Factors: Further, it lacks the integration of agricultural marketing, unavailability of infrastructures like cold storage, food processing units, required forward and backward linkages, etc. which makes the growth more stagnant.

Government steps:

1. PM Krishi Sinchayi Yojana: Ensuring per drop more crop.
2. Soil Health Card Scheme: To match the quality of soil and cropping patterns in that area.
3. PM Fasal Bima Yojana: Availability of risk cover against climate risks.
4. Gramin Bhandaran Yojana: Creation of scientific storage capacity with allied facilities in rural areas.
5. Paramparagat Krishi Sinchayi Yojana: Promotion of commercial organic production through certified organic farming.
6. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: Enhancement of agricultural productivity especially in rainfed areas and synergizing resource conservation.

However, the following steps are needed:

1. Natural Farming: Implementation of Natural farming as suggested by NITI Aayog to minimise the negative impacts of the green revolution.
2. 2nd Green Revolution: Parallel second green revolution considering sustainable agriculture as base as suggested by Swaminathan Commission.
3. Integrated Farming: Enhancing agricultural efficiency by making animal husbandry an insurance cover against monsoon-dependent Indian agriculture as suggested by Ashok Dalwai Committee.
4. Use of ICT and related technology: Application of modified farming concepts such as precision farming, digital agriculture, smart agriculture, etc. which utilises Information technology to ensure optimum resource utilisation to increase efficiency and also works towards the reduction of risks.
5. Diversification of Indian agriculture: To increase agricultural self-reliance, especially in the case of edible oil, pulses, etc is achieved in the future.
6. Infrastructural Facilities: Creation of forwarding and backward linkages through increasing connectivity and infrastructure.
7. Food Processing: Promoting food processing through MSMEs to integrated rural and urban markets.

Conclusion:

As stated by the Swaminathan Commission that the future would belong to the countries with the grains and not with the guns, India needs to work to make the agriculture sector more productive, efficient as well as resilient to climate as well as geoeconomic shocks.

Q2. Why is Public Private Partnership (PPP) required in infrastructural projects? How can the model help improve the health sector in India? Discuss with a suitable example. (15M)

Key Demand of the Question:

Explain the necessity of PPP in infrastructure projects and its benefits for improving the healthcare sector in India. Provide examples and case studies to support the discussion.

Structure of the Answer:

Introduction: Define PPP as a collaboration between public and private sectors to share risks and rewards in delivering public services and infrastructure.

Body:

1. Need for PPP in Infrastructure Projects:
   • Access to Capital: Example of Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd.
   • Road Development: NHAI’s increased efficiency.
   • Competitiveness: Improvement in port sector infrastructure.
   • Example: Jawaharlal Nehru Port’s 25 years of PPP.
2. Benefits of PPP in Healthcare:
   • Expertise: Private sector’s experience in managing healthcare facilities.
   • Finance: Large investments in healthcare infrastructure.
   • Affordability: High volume, low margin model for universal coverage.
   • Technology: Innovative solutions like telemedicine (e.g., Narayana Hrudayalaya).
   • Efficiency: Enhanced operational efficiency in hospitals.
   • Specialist Training: Initiatives like revived Post Graduate Diploma courses.
3. Case Studies:
   • Rajiv Gandhi Super-specialty Hospital, Karnataka: Collaboration with Apollo Hospitals for affordable specialty care.
   • Arogya Raksha Scheme, Andhra Pradesh: Insurance for below-poverty-line citizens.
   • Emergency Ambulance Services, Tamil Nadu: Reducing maternal mortality with better transport.
   • Urban Slum Health Care Project, Andhra Pradesh: Managing health centers in slums through NGO contracts.
4. Way Forward:
   • Role of social organizations in ensuring effective PPP implementation.
   • Balancing public needs with private profitability.

Conclusion: Highlight PPP’s potential to enhance India’s healthcare system by leveraging private sector expertise and investment to improve access, quality, and efficiency.

Introduction

PPPs are formal arrangements between public and private counterparties to share risks and rewards in the delivery of public services and infrastructure.

 Body

Why is PPP required for Infrastructural projects?

Examples of the use of the PPP model for the Infrastructure sector:

1. Improved access to capital:

1. For instance: The Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL), the largest Metro project in the world to be implemented in the public-private partnership (PPP).

2. Road:
   29. g. PPP has helped NHAI clock 29.81 Km/day (in 2014-15, the rate was 16.61 km/day).
3. Increased Competitiveness: The port sector was constrained by limited capacity, traditional infrastructure and poor equipment levels. These were resolved by roping in the private sector to make ports globally competitive.
   2022. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port completed 25 years of public-private partnership (PPP) in 2022.

PPP can be the panacea to India’s healthcare challenges

• PPP can improve the healthcare system by pooling the expertise and finances of the private sector with the access and subsidies of the public sector.
• Expertise: The experience and management expertise of the private sector in building and running successful organizations can be crucial in revamping medical facilities.
• Finance: The private sector can bring in large monies needed to build best-in-class healthcare facilities that benefit the masses.
• Affordability: PPP operates on a high volume, low margin model, which can ensure universal health coverage and provide quality care at an affordable cost.
• Technology: New-age innovative technology adopted by private players can make healthcare accessible to rural India. A strong case in point is
  • g.: The telemedicine initiative by Narayana Hrudayalaya in Karnataka
• Efficiency: The PPP model can help drive efficiencies and help run hospitals and clinics like well-oiled machines.
• Innovative and cost-effective medicines– research and production
• Specialist doctors: Change in government policies can help India create more specialist doctors to address the immense shortage in India.
  • Reviving Post Graduate Diploma courses by the Centre is a great step in this direction.

Case studies:

1.      Rajiv Gandhi Super-specialty Hospital, Raichur, Karnataka: The Rajiv Gandhi Super-specialty Hospital in Raichur Karnataka is a joint venture of the Government of Karnataka and the Apollo Hospitals Group, with financial support from OPEC.

○       The basic reason for establishing the partnership was to give super-speciality health care at a low cost to the people Below Poverty Line.

2.      Arogya Raksha Scheme in Andhra Pradesh: The Government of Andhra Pradesh has initiated the Arogya Raksha Scheme in collaboration with the New India Assurance Company and with private clinics. It is an insurance scheme fully funded by the government.

○       It provides hospitalization benefits and personal accident benefits to citizens below the poverty line who undergo sterilization for family planning from government health institutions.

3.      Emergency Ambulance Services scheme in Tamil Nadu: The Government of Tamil Nadu has initiated an Emergency Ambulance Services scheme in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu in order to reduce the maternal mortality rate in its rural area.

○       The major cause for the high MMR is the non-medical cause – the lack of adequate transport facilities to carry pregnant women to health institutions for childbirth, especially in the tribal areas.

4.      Urban Slum Health Care Project, Andhra Pradesh: In the Urban Slum Health Care Project the Andhra Pradesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare contracts NGOs to manage health centres in the slums of Adilabad.

Way forward 

Social organizations can be key enablers to ensure PPPs reach completion, as well as act as independent and unbiased agencies that oversee the formation, implementation, and sustained functioning of a Public-Private Partnership.

• While the public entity requires evidence for the mass viability of the proposed healthcare project, the private enterprise needs to see sustainable profitability for its efforts. This is where social organizations can act as a bridge between the two.

Conclusion

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is the way to go to improve and uplift the Indian healthcare system and can work toward accomplishing the goals, while dedicating time, money and resources for the betterment of the community and nation at large

Additional Details 

Need for a PPP model in the health sector in India 

1. Affordability and accessibility are two major concerns in India.
2. Affordability: The Government spends a mere 13 per cent of GDP on healthcare, with almost 65 per cent of healthcare expenditure coming out of the pockets of citizens.
3. Poverty: It is a huge financial burden pushing millions of people further into poverty each year.
4. Accessibility: The rural and urban populations have diametrically opposite experiences.
   1. About 75 per cent of healthcare infrastructure can be found in the urban areas where only 27 per cent of the Indian population resides.
5. KPMG report: 74 per cent of doctors in India practice in urban areas. This means that 73 per cent of the population living in rural areas lack even primary healthcare facilities.
6. Shortage: India also has a huge shortage of doctors, nurses and paramedics:
   1445. WHO recommends one doctor for every 1,000 people (1:1000), and India stands at 1:1445.

ETHICS

1Q. Distinguish between the Code of Ethics and the Code of Conduct. What are the ethical principles used in the Code of Ethics? [10M, 150words]

Key Demand of question:

Distinguish between code of conduct and code of ethics. Write principle between code of ethics.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction: you can briefly introduce on code of conduct and code of ethics.

Body:

• First, distinguish between code of conduct and code of ethics.
• Then, explain the ethical principle used in code of ethics.

Conclusion:

Conclude by highlighting the significance

Introduction:

A “Code of Ethics” outlines the fundamental principles and values that guide the behavior and decision-making of individuals in a profession or organization. On the other hand, a “Code of Conduct” is a more specific and detailed set of rules and guidelines that govern the day-to-day behavior of individuals within an organization.

Body:

Key ethical principles commonly found in codes of ethics are:

1. Integrity: Acting with honesty, and truthfulness in all professional interactions, ensuring that one’s actions and decisions are guided by strong moral principles.

E.g. Railway code of ethics.

2. Impartiality: Making decisions based on objective criteria and avoiding biases or favoritism, ensuring that all individuals and situations are treated fairly and equitably.

E.g. Key constitutional value under article 14.

3. Accountability: Being responsible for one’s actions and decisions, accepting the consequences of one’s behavior, and being answerable to stakeholders and the public.

E.g. Horizontal and vertical accountability.

4. Commitment to public service: Prioritizing the interests of the public, serving with dedication, and ensuring that professional actions benefit the broader community.

E.g. NDRF working in landslide hit Wayanad.

5. Exemplary behavior: Demonstrating high standards of conduct serving as a role model for others by consistently upholding ethical norms and values.

E.g. Tata group leadership code of ethics.

Conclusion:

A code of conduct and a code of ethics both form a twin pillar for any organizational performance. While a code of conduct is something that states organized values, a code of ethics is used to observe ethical norms and gives a foundation for rules of conduct.

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