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Indian Army Updates

[pib] Exercise Dustlik-II

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Exercise Dustlik-II

Mains level: NA

The Second Edition of Joint Exercise Dustlik is scheduled from tomorrow.

Must read:

[Prelims Spotlight] Various Defence Exercises in News

Exercise Dustlik-II

  • It is a bilateral defence exercise held between the Indian Army And Uzbekistan Army.
  • It is named after Dustlik, a town in the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan.
  • The first edition of the exercise, Dustlik-I was held in Uzbekistan, near Tashkent, from November 3-13, 2019.
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had flagged off the exercise along with his Uzbek counterpart, Major General Bakhodir Kurbanov in 2019 for the first time.
  • The joint exercise focused on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in urban settings.

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Implications of increasing prices of subsidised LPG on Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Ujjwala Yojana

Mains level: Paper 2- Impact of increasing prices of subsidised LPG on PMUY

Price increase of subsidised LPG

  • Subsidised LPG prices have increased by a massive 50% in this financial year alone.
  • This would have a significant impact on the government’s flagship scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).
  • Since 2016, PMUY has provided LPG connections to 80 million poor households to reduce women’s drudgery and indoor air pollution.
  • Providing an upfront connection subsidy of ₹1,600, PMUY helped expand LPG coverage to more than 85% of households.

Challenges

  • Large-scale primary surveys by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) suggest that, on average, recent PMUY beneficiaries consumed only about half the LPG compared to long-standing regular consumers.
  • Limited uptake of LPG among poor households has two main reasons.
  • First, the effective price of LPG is not affordable for such households, despite the subsidy.
  • Second, many rural consumers have access to freely available biomass, making it difficult for LPG to displace it.
  • Beyond causing indoor air pollution, biomass use for cooking contributes up to 30% to the ambient PM2.5 at the national level, more than the contribution of transport, crop residue or coal burning.

Impact of price rise

  • The recent increases in the subsidised LPG price have made it more difficult for the poor to sustain LPG use.
  • As the pandemic set in, the LPG subsidised price began to rise, even when global LPG prices plummeted.
  • Now with LPG prices rising globally, a 50% reduction in the LPG subsidy budget for FY22 (versus FY21) does not bode well.
  • The information about LPG price build-up and subsidy has become more difficult to obtain in recent years.

Way forward

  • The central government tread should balance between LPG subsidies and sustained clean fuel consumption in poorer households by better targeting of subsidy.
  • One approach for such targeting is to rely on the existing LPG consumption patterns of consumers. 
  • Provide households exhibiting low consumption or a decline in LPG consumption over time with greater subsidy per cylinder to sustain health gains.
  • Further, the subsidy levels could be dynamic with different slabs reflecting the previous year’s consumption.
  • Alongside, the de-duplication efforts must continue to avoid subsidy leakages.

Consider the question “What is the social impact of the Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)? What are the challenges in its success.”

Conclusion

In the post-pandemic rebuilding, the continued support to the economically poor for sustaining LPG use is not merely a fiscal subsidy but also a social investment to free-up women’s productive time and reduce India’s public health burden.

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Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

What we must consider before digitising India’s healthcare

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: National Digital Health Mission

Mains level: Paper 2- Issues to consider in digitising health infrastructure

As India seeks to create digital health infrastructure, it must consider several issues.

Integrated digital health infrastructure

  • The National Digital Health Mission aims to develop the backbone needed for the integrated digital health infrastructure of India.
  • This can help not only with diagnostics and management of health episodes, but also with broader public health monitoring, socio-economic studies, epidemiology, research, prioritising resource allocation and policy interventions. 
  • However, before we start designing databases and APIs and drafting laws, we must be mindful of certain considerations for design choices and policies to achieve the desired social objectives.

Factors to be considered

1) Carefully developing pathway to public good

  • There must be a careful examination of how exactly digitisation may facilitate better diagnosis and management, and an understanding of the data structures required for effective epidemiology.
  • We must articulate how we may use digitisation and data to understand and alleviate health problems such as malnutrition and child stunting.
  • We need the precise data we require to better understand crucial maternal- and childcare-related problems.

2) Balancing between public good and individual rights

  • The potential tensions between public good and individual rights must be examined, as must the suitable ways to navigate them.
  • Moreover, for the balancing to be sound and for determining the level of due diligence required, it is imperative to clearly define the operational standards for privacy management.
  • Conflating privacy with security, as is typical in careless approaches, will invariably lead to problematic solutions.
  • In fact, most attempts at building health data infrastructures worldwide — including in the UK, Sweden, Australia, the US and several other countries — have led to serious privacy-related controversies and have not yet been completely successful.

3) Managing the sector specific identities

  • Even if we define and use a sector-specific identity, the question of when and how to link it with that of other sectors remains.
  • For example, with banking or insurance for financial transactions, or with welfare and education for transactions and analytics.
  • Indiscriminate linking may break silos and create a digital panopticon, whereas not linking at all will result in not realising the full powers of data analytics and inference.

4) Working out the operational requirement of data infrastructure

  • We need to work out the operational requirements of the data infrastructure in ways that are informed by, and consonant with, the previous points.
  • In other words, the design of the operationalisation elements must follow the deliberations on above points, and not run ahead of them.
  • This requires identifying the diverse data sources and their complexity — which may include immunisation records, birth and death records, informal health care workers, dispensaries etc.
  • It also requires an understanding of their frequency of generation, error models, access rights, interoperability, sharing and other operational requirements.
  • There also are the complex issues of research and non-profit uses of data, and of data economics for private sector medical research.

5) Issue of due process

  • Finally, “due process” has always been a weak point in India, particularly for technological interventions.
  • Building an effective system that can engender people’s trust not only requires managing the floor of the Parliament and passing a just and proportional law, but also building a transparent process of design and refinement through openness and public consultations.
  • In particular, technologists and technocrats should take care to not define “public good” as what they can conveniently deliver, and instead understand what is actually required.
  • While we can understand the urge to move forward quickly, given the urgent need to improve health outcomes in the country, deliberate care is needed.

Consider the question “While seeking to develop digital health infrastructure through the National Digital Health Mission, we should be mindful of certain considerations for design choices and policies to achieve the desired social objectives. Comment.”

Conclusion

Developing a comprehensive understanding of the considerations related to health data infrastructure may also inform the general concerns of e-governance and administrative digitisation in India, which have not been all smooth sailing.

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Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

Recovery? Different numbers tell different stories

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Paper 3- Indian economy's growth rate

India’s growth numbers reveal a different story when seen through the quarter-on-quarter growth lense. The article deals with this issue.

Weakness of India’s GDP statistics

  • The CSO press release for 4Q20 stated that India grew 0.4 per cent on a year-ago basis.
  • That is, relative to the level of GDP four quarters before.
  • Many heaved a sigh of relief at growth turning positive after two-quarters of negative year-ago: -24.4 per cent in 2Q20 and -7.3 per cent in 3Q20 and declared that growth would accelerate from hereon.
  • Nothing could be further from the truth.
  • To know whether the economy will accelerate or decelerate, one needs to know its current speed.
  • To do that, one needs to compute the quarter-on-quarter growth as almost all large economies do.
  • This is a central weakness of India’s GDP statistics, exemplified by last week’s 4Q20 print.

Challenges in measuring quarter-on-quarter growth

  • These computations are not easy, because each quarter has its own characteristics or, as economists call it, “seasonality”
  • Seasonality naturally increases or decreases activity in that period.
  • Think of quarters with festivals or with harvests versus those without them.
  • The modern economy is more complicated as its seasonal patterns change when its structure does.
  • To compare two quarters, these changes to seasonality need to be excluded from the data.
  • Statisticians have been working on this issue for more than a century and, over the last two decades.
  • As a result, many official statistical bodies (such as the US Census Bureau) have made deseasonalising methods freely available.

Understanding the issue through example

  • If the level of 1Q20 GDP is set at 100, then the quarterly growth rates imply that it fell to 75, rising to 91.1 in the following quarter and then to 96.3 last quarter.
  • Now assume that the level of GDP remains constant for the next five quarters, that is, there is no growth in the economy until the end of fiscal year 2021-22.
  • This would mechanically put the full-year growth in 2021-22 at 7.2 per cent simply because of the low average level of GDP in the previous year.
  • If the speed of the economy were to remain at its current pace of 5.7 per cent, then the annual growth in 2021-22 would be an astonishing 28.7 per cent.
  • Any annual growth projection for next year that is less than this necessarily implies a slowdown from the current pace.

So, what is Indian economy’s current growth rate

  • J.P. Morgan uses one of the above mentioned deseasonalising technique.
  • The derived quarterly path is the following: In 1Q20, India’s economy grew 3.7 per cent over the previous quarter, in 2Q20 the economy contracted 25 per cent and then recovered 21.5 per cent in 3Q20 and ended the last quarter at 5.7 per cent.
  • Put differently, growth slowed to 5.7 per cent last quarter — the latest reading of the economy’s “current” speed.

Putting in context the projected nominal growth

  • The budget documents suggest that the government’s projected nominal growth for 2021-22 is 14.5 per cent.
  • This implies a real growth rate of around 11 per cent assuming inflation averages 3.5 per cent.
  • The implied average quarterly pace, consistent with an 11 per cent annual growth, is just 1 per cent.
  • The year-on-year quarterly numbers will keep rising giving the false assurance of a strengthening recovery when in reality the level of income would rise only at a grinding pace.

Reasons behind the deceleration

  • India’s growth drivers had already slowed dramatically prior to the pandemic, the pandemic likely exacerbated them.
  • With listed companies posting strong profit growth in 3Q and 4Q, much of the decline in overall income has fallen on households and MSMEs.
  • This is likely to have not only worsened income inequality, but also severely impaired their balance sheets, making it that much more difficult to access credit in the coming quarters.
  • While industry has recovered to 98 per cent of its pre-pandemic level, the service sector remains substantially below.
  • Thus, much of the continued high unemployment (as reported by private surveys) is in services.
  • This is likely to have disproportionately increased women’s unemployment, thereby widening the gender gap.
  • Last quarter, central government spending rose 12 per cent, but overall public expenditure contracted 1 per cent, implying a sharp contraction at the state level.

Consider the question “Why quarter-on-quarter growth rates reveal a true picture of India’s growth rate as compared to year-on-year rates? What are the challenges in dealing with the quarter-on-quarter data?”

Conclusion

Neither fiscal policy nor monetary policy are designed to reverse these widening economic imbalances. This makes it hard to see India’s growth engines firing on all cylinders, despite the rollout of vaccines and the anticipated surge in US growth.

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Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

Assam’s Sattras and their political significance

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Sattras, Sankardeva's Philosophy

Mains level: Various schools of philosophy in India

In poll-bound Assam, the campaigns are sought to be held in the Bartadrava Than/Sattra (monastery) in Nagaon, which is the birthplace of renowned Vaishnavite saint-reformer Srimanta Sankardeva.

Q.Discuss the role of religion in India’s electoral politics. Discuss how identity politics is harmful to a harmonious society.

What are Sattras?

  • Sattras are monastic institutions created as part of the 16th-century Neo-Vaishnavite reformist movement started by Vaishnavite saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1596).
  • As the saint travelled across Assam, spreading his teachings and propagating an egalitarian society, these Sattras/Thans were established as centres of religious, social and cultural reforms in the 16th century.
  • These institutions are of paramount importance and lie at the heart of Assamese culture.
  • Today, Sattras are spread across the state, promulgating Sankardeva’s unique “worship through art” approach with music (borgeet), dance (sattriya) and theatre (bhauna).

Composition of Sattra

  • Each Sattra has a naamghar (worship hall) as its nucleus and is headed by an influential “Sattradhikar”.
  • Monks, known as bhakats, are inducted into Sattras at a young age.
  • They may or may not be celibate, depending on the kind of Sattra they are inducted into.

What is Sankardeva’s philosophy?

  • Sankardeva propagated a form of Bhakti called eka-sharana-naam-dhrama.
  • He espoused a society based on equality and fraternity, free from caste differences, orthodox Brahmanical rituals and sacrifices.
  • His teaching focused on prayer and chanting (naam) instead of idol worship. His dharma was based on the four components of deva (god), naam (prayers), bhakats (devotees), and guru (teacher).

Try this PYQ:

Q. With reference to the cultural history of medieval India, consider the following statements:

  1. Siddhas (Sittars) of Tamil region were monotheistic and condemned idolatry.
  2. Lingayats of Kannada region questioned the theory of rebirth and rejected the caste hierarchy

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

What is the relationship between the Sattra and the State?

  • During the Ahom reign, the Sattras received a lot of donations in the form of land or money from the kings.
  • Unlike temples, Sattras did not require patronage because they were self-sufficient, grew their own food and could sustain themselves.
  • However, today, it is different. Annual grants from the state and central government are doled out to Sattras, in the hope of political support.

Do Sattras matter in elections?

  • While Sattra votes may not decide the outcome of an election, it is undeniable that the Sattras and Sattradhikars have a lot of influence.
  • There are especially Sattra-based constituencies like Nagaon, Kaliabor, Majuli, Barpeta, Bartadadrva etc.
  • Assamese families usually have ties with one Sattra, or the other.
  • That is why politicians — regardless of party are often seen visiting Sattra.

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Telecom and Postal Sector – Spectrum Allocation, Call Drops, Predatory Pricing, etc

Government earnings from the spectrum auction

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Telecom Spectrum

Mains level: 5G technology and its rollout

The end of India’s first auction of telecommunications spectrum in five years was held with the government generating revenue of ₹77,815 crores from the exercise.

What is Spectrum?

  • Devices such as cellphones and wireline telephones require signals to connect from one end to another.
  • These signals are carried on airwaves, which must be sent at designated frequencies to avoid any kind of interference.
  • The Union government owns all the publicly available assets within the geographical boundaries of the country, which also include airwaves.
  • With the expansion in the number of cellphones, wireline telephone and internet users, the need to provide more space for the signals arise from time to time.

Spectrum allocations

  • Spectrum refers to the invisible radio frequencies that wireless signals travel over. The frequencies we use for wireless are only a portion of what is called the electromagnetic spectrum.
  • To sell these assets to companies willing to set up the required infrastructure to transport these waves from one end to another, the central government through the DoT auctions these airwaves from time to time.
  • These airwaves called spectrum is subdivided into bands that have varying frequencies.
  • All these airwaves are sold for a certain period of time, after which their validity lapses, which is generally set at 20 years.

How has the industry been since the last auction?

A lot has changed in the industry since 2016 when the previous auction took place.

  • In the last few years, there has been a consolidation in the industry, as a result of which there are only a few major players now.
  • While the user base has grown, the industry itself has witnessed unforeseen financial stress in the form of an important court case against it.
  • The reference is to the Supreme Court verdict last September that ordered telecom players to share revenues coming from even non-telecom services with the government.
  • It gave telecom companies 10 years to pay their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues to the government, with 10% of the dues to be paid by March 31, 2021.

Try this question for mains:

Q.What are the various challenges faced by India’s telecom before the upgradation to 5G technology?

What about the 5G rollout?

  • The auction for 5G is likely to happen later.
  • In the auction that was held last week the government offered spectrum for 4G in the following bands: 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz.
  • The “king” in 5G, the C-band, which is the band between 3,300 MHz and 4,200 MHz, was not on offer in this round of auctions.

How did this auction compare to the last round?

  • In 2016, about 40% of the 2,355 MHz of spectrum (at a reserve price of ₹5.6 lakh crore) was sold, giving the government ₹65,789 crores in revenue.
  • This time, the Centre has managed to get more.
  • The government said the revenue generated by the auction has exceeded its expectations, which was about ₹45,000 crore.

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Higher Education – RUSA, NIRF, HEFA, etc.

Clustering educational institutes and research centres

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Cluster universitites, NEP 2020

Mains level: NEP 2020

National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) envisions establishing large multidisciplinary universities to promote research directed to solve contemporary national problems, and provides the option of setting up clusters of higher education institutes.

Q. Discuss the salient features of Cluster Universities as propounded by the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP).

What are Education Clusters?

  • This new concept is dedicated to students who want to discover & learn new things regardless of the field/branch/discipline they’re in.
  • Currently, higher educational institutions (HEIs) follow the structure of single-stream education.
  • Generally, what happens is that a student who has taken a major is allowed to study relevant subjects. He/she can’t opt for subjects from other majors.
  • This may restrict students to widen their thinking & learning capability.
  • With the introduction of Cluster University, the single-stream approach of teaching-learning will be ruled out.
  • All the institutions including the ones that are offering professional degrees will be transformed into a rationalized architecture that is popularly being referred to as- multidisciplinary clusters.

What are the Key Benefits of Cluster Universities?

More Space for Student-Teacher Collaboration

  • With HEIs getting merged to form a large unit, there would be more space for better student-teacher collaboration.
  • Students that are genuinely interested in learning a particular course would come together helping faculties to achieve better student learning outcomes.

Inculcating Leadership Qualities in Students

  • Students would be more confident as they pursue their choice of subjects. They would get an open field to polish their skills and also develop new ones.
  • Thus, the process would ultimately lead to the inculcation of leadership qualities in students.

Accelerate Institutional Networking

  • Since the Cluster University concept of the new education policy speaks of merging multidisciplinary HEIs, institutional networking would obviously go uphill.

Fewer Resources & More Expertise

  • Many students would be able to learn under a single entity. It is bound to increase the outcomes with comparatively fewer resources.
  • Such universities would increase faculty strength, both in terms of numbers and diversity of disciplines, and facilitate the conduct of research on real-life problems.

Way forward

  • For moving away from single-discipline institutions to multi-disciplinary universities, clustering is a promising model to achieve a critical mass in a university to invigorate research.
  • Many industry associations have established research centres and more could be encouraged to do.
  • India needs to earnestly pursue this model.

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Coronavirus – Disease, Medical Sciences Involved & Preventive Measures

What changes after COVID-19 vaccination?

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Vaccine for COVID

Mains level: Vaccination challenges for coronavirus

As the vaccination drive gains momentum, questions have emerged about appropriate behaviour after being vaccinated.

What does being vaccinated mean?

  • Being fully vaccinated means a period of two weeks or more following the receipt of the second dose in a two-dose series, or two weeks or more following the receipt of a single-dose vaccine.
  • In India, currently, both vaccines being used — Covishield and Covaxin — follow a two-dose regimen.
  • Typically, the immune response takes a while to build up after a vaccine shot.
  • After the first jab of a two-dose vaccine, a good immune response kicks in within about two weeks. It is the second dose that boosts the immune response.

Is the COVID threat averted?

  • It is still unclear how long immunity lasts from the vaccines at hand now.
  • Whether or not the immune response is durable, how it performs with the passage of time, and how long it lasts can be found out only by monitoring people who have already been vaccinated over a period.
  • If the vaccinated individual is still carrying the virus, the vaccine may provide immunity from severe disease for him or her, but the individual could still transmit the virus.

What changes after you get a vaccine shot?

  • After vaccination, one risk of severe disease from COVID-19 goes down dramatically.
  • There is not enough evidence yet of vaccine response for some age groups, and vaccines are in short supply in the community.

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-Bangladesh

[pib] Maitri Setu between India and Bangladesh

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Maitri Bridge

Mains level: Recent trends in India-Bangladesh ties

PM will inaugurate ‘Maitri Setu’ between India and Bangladesh tomorrow.

Maitri Setu

  • The bridge ‘Maitri Setu’ has been built over the Feni River which flows between the Indian boundary in Tripura State and Bangladesh.
  • The 1.9 Km long bridge joins Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
  • The construction was taken up by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.

Try this PYQ:

Q. Recently, which of the following States has explored the possibility of constructing an artificial inland port to be connected to the sea by a long navigational channel?

(a) Andhra Pradesh

(b) Chhattisgarh

(c) Karnataka

(d) Rajasthan

Significance of the bridge

  • With this inauguration, Tripura is set to become the ‘Gateway of North East’ with access to Chittagong Port of Bangladesh, which is just 80 kms from Sabroom.
  • The name ‘Maitri Setu’ symbolizes growing bilateral relations and friendly ties between India and Bangladesh.

About Feni River

  • Feni is a river in southeastern Bangladesh and Tripura.
  • It is a trans-boundary river with an ongoing dispute about water rights.
  • It originates in the South Tripura district and flows through Sabroom town and then enters Bangladesh.
  • The question of sharing the waters of the river between India and Pakistan was first discussed in 1958.

Other associated projects

Sabroom Check Post

  • PM will lay the foundation stone for setting up an Integrated Check Post at Sabroom.
  • It will help ease the movement of goods and passengers between the two countries provide new market opportunities for products of North-East states and assist the seamless movement of passengers to and from India and Bangladesh.
  • The project is being taken up by the Land Ports Authority of India.

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Swachh Bharat Mission

Women’s needs are key to Swachh Bharat success

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Paper 2- Women's role in SBM

The article highlights the central role of women in the success of the Swacch Bharat Mission.

Recognising the gender dimensions of sanitation in India

  • The Swachh Bharat Grameen Phase I guidelines (2017) state that requirements and sensitivities related to gender are to be taken into account at all stages of sanitation programmes.
  • Planning, procurement, infrastructure creation, and monitoring are the basic tenets of implementation in Swachh Bharat and the guidelines for the first phase of the mission called for strengthening the role of women.
  • The states were accordingly expected to ensure adequate representation of women in the village water and sanitation committees (VWSCs), leading to optimal gender outcomes.
  • The department of Drinking Water and Sanitation released the guidelines, recognising the gender dimensions of sanitation in India.
  • Swachh Bharat Mission 2 .0 speaks of sustained behavioural change while embarking on the newer agendas of sustainable solid waste management and safe disposal of wastewater and reuse.
  • Besides the government, the role of non-state actors like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Unicef and several NGOs, must be lauded as we pursue sustainable sanitation using a powerful gender lens.

Challenges and solutions

  • There were inevitably cases where women were fronts for spouses.
  • This capturing has happened in panchayat seats as well but research has shown that over time, women do pick up the challenge, and if voted back are likely to assume charge.
  • The government has also very effectively used over 8 lakh swachhagrahis, mainly women, who for small honorariums work to push through behavioural change at the community level.
  • There are no quick solutions other than adopting concerted approaches to ensure the survival and protection of the girl child through good health from sanitation and nutrition.
  • Information, education, and communication, which aims at behaviour change of the masses, is key to the success of the swachhta mission 2.0.
  • Changes in SBM messaging reflects major transformations attempting to popularise and portray stories of women groups and successful women swachhta champions.

Need for monitoring and evaluation system

  • A national monitoring and evaluation system to track and measure gender outcomes in SBM is necessary.
  • Several researchers in this space have commented that gender analysis frameworks have a long history in development practice.
  • We can learn from these frameworks to support design, implementation, and measurement.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that women can help to drive change and bring about lasting change as the jan andolan for swachhta, health and sanitation gains momentum.

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Climate Change Negotiations – UNFCCC, COP, Other Conventions and Protocols

Adaptation, not mitigation, should inform India’s climate strategy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: 26th COP

Mains level: Paper 3- COP 26 to UNFCCC agenda

The article discusses issues such as China’s changing stance, climate finance and adoption of targets.

The 26th COP to the UNFCCC

  • Countries Across the world are gearing up for the 26th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
  • At the forthcoming COP countries will be expected to increase the nationally determined commitments they made as part of that agreement.
  • Those original commitments would put the planet on track towards a 3 degrees centigrade temperature rise by the end of the current millennium.
  • 3-degree centigrade is far beyond the 1.5-degree limit that science considers to be a relatively safe threshold.

Countries declaring carbon neutrality targets

  • The European Union (EU), the UK, Japan and South Korea have announced more ambitious targets.
  • The EU and the UK have pledged to reduce their carbon emissions by 55 per cent in 2030 with 2000 as the base year
  • They have also pledged to achieve “carbon neutrality” or zero carbon emissions by 2050.
  • China has announced that it will achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and this has been welcomed by other major economies.

Delinking from China

  • It is anticipated that the Biden administration may engage with China to come up with a template for COP-26.
  • That template did not take into account India’s interests despite China being part of the BASIC group of Brazil, South Africa, China and India.
  • BASIC, as major emerging economies, had been taking coordinated positions at multilateral climate negotiations.
  • Going forward, India must delink itself from China, let BASIC become a consultative forum only and reconstruct a larger coalition of developing countries whose climate change goals are more aligned with its own.
  • After Paris, BASIC has lost whatever rationale it originally possessed.

Course of action for India: Adaptation is the key

  • There will be some important international conferences before COP-26, where major efforts are expected to set down an agenda for that meeting.
  • Biden has called for a summit of major emitting nations on April 22.
  • In June there will be a G-7 summit of western countries and Japan to which India has been invited.
  • The UK has let it be known that climate change would be at the top of the summit agenda.
  • What should India’s stance be at these meetings?
  • Both for India and other developing countries, it is important that mitigation does not overshadow other key elements of the Paris Climate agreement.
  • There has been step-motherly treatment of adaptation, which is a bigger challenge for most developing countries than mitigation is.
  • Adaptation should have equal billing with mitigation whenever and wherever climate change action is being deliberated upon.
  • India may find itself under pressure to commit to decisions that limit rather than enhance its development prospects.
  • One should not yield to pressures to declare a peaking year for India’s carbon emissions or to follow China into declaring a target year for carbon neutrality.
  • There is a relentless effort by the US and Western European countries to include climate change on the UN Security Council (UNSC) agenda.
  • At a recent UNSC meeting, this was strongly opposed by Russia and by India.
  • We will need to work out a persuasive case for opposing it since a large number of countries seem to believe that climate change is indeed a security issue and needs to be treated as such.
  • The potentially menacing intent behind it should be exposed.

Climate finance falling short

  • The developed countries had committed themselves to providing $100 billion a year in climate finance to developing countries up to 2020.
  • There was a pledge to increase the size of this funding significantly in the period 2021-2025.
  • Even by the very accommodative accounting methods used by the OECD, the actual flows have fallen far short, being only $79 billion in 2018.
  •  Our own ministry of finance has estimated that there has been only a billion dollars in new and additional finance transferred to developing countries annually against the $100 billion pledge.
  • It is therefore important for India to highlight the finance component.
  • This will also enable the mobilisation of other developing countries, in particular small and medium countries and small island developing states.
  • These countries look up to India to provide intellectual leadership in a domain that is often quite technical and complex.

Consider the question “What are the factors India should highlight and focus on as it heads to the 26th COP to the UNFCCC?”

Conclusion

It is evident that India needs to fashion a fresh strategy on climate change negotiations to safeguard its interests, contribute to a global climate regime that enhances and does not diminish India’s development prospects and helps the country both to adapt to climate change that is already taking place and to accelerate its transition to a low carbon growth trajectory.

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Innovation Ecosystem in India

Technology and Innovation Report, 2021

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Country-Readiness Index

Mains level: Frontier technologies

According to UNCTAD’s Technology and Innovation Report 2021, India is the greatest outperformer among developing countries to use, adopt and adapt frontier technologies than their per capita GDPs.

Q.What do you mean by Frontier technologies? Discuss their potential for path-breaking technological change that will profoundly affect markets and societies. (250W)

Technology and Innovation Report, 2021

  • The report critically examines the possibility of frontier technologies such as AI, robotics, and gene-editing widening existing inequalities and creating new ones.

What are Frontier technologies?

  • Frontier technologies include AI, IoT, big data, blockchain, fifth-generation mobile telephony, 3D printing, robotics, drones, gene-editing, nanotechnology, and solar power — the ones that take advantage of digitalization and connectivity.
  • Frontier technologies are essential for sustainable development, but they also could accentuate initial inequalities.

Country-Readiness Index

  • The country-readiness index released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) under this report.
  • The index analyzed the progress of countries in using frontier technologies, considering their national capacities related to physical investment, human capital, and technological effort.

India’s performance

  • India’s actual index ranking was 43, while the estimated one based on per capita income was 108.
  • This meant that India overperformed other countries by 65 ranking positions.
  • It was followed by the Philippines, which overperformed by 57 ranking positions.

Global performance

  • China was at position 25; both India and China performed well in research and development.
  • This was reflective of their abundant supplies of qualified and highly skilled human resources available at a comparatively low cost.
  • The Philippines has a high ranking for the industry—because of high levels of foreign direct investment in high-technology manufacturing, especially electronics.
  • The United States, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom were “best prepared” for frontier technologies, the report highlighted.
  • Most of the best-prepared countries are from Europe, except the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and the United States. Some transition economies, such as Russia, also perform well on the index.

Major takeaways of the report

The report urges all developing nations to prepare for a period of deep and rapid technological change that will profoundly affect markets and societies.

  • Developing countries should align science, technology, and innovation policies with industrial policies.
  • New technologies can re-invigorate traditional production sectors and speed up industrialization and economic structural transformation.
  • It is up to policymakers to reduce this risk and make frontier technologies contribute to increasing equality, says the report.
  • Low-and middle-income developing countries and the least developing countries cannot afford to miss the new wave of rapid technological change.

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Oil and Gas Sector – HELP, Open Acreage Policy, etc.

What is OPEC+?

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: OPEC+

Mains level: India's oil import

India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, has said that the decision by major producers to continue with output cuts as prices move higher could threaten the consumption led-recovery in some countries.

Try this PYQ:

Q.The term ‘West Texas Intermediate’, sometimes found in news, refers to a grade of

(a) Crude oil

(b) Bullion

(c) Rare earth elements

(d) Uranium

What is the news?

  • The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed not to increase supply in April as they await a more substantial recovery in demand amid the COVID-19.
  • Crude prices rose after the announcement and are up 33% this year (meanwhile India flaring up prices to 100 Rs/litres for Petrol).

What is OPEC+?

  • The non-OPEC countries which export crude oil along with the 14 OPECs are termed as OPEC plus countries.
  • OPEC plus countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
  • Saudi and Russia, both have been at the heart of a three-year alliance of oil producers known as OPEC Plus — which now includes 11 OPEC members and 10 non-OPEC nations — that aims to shore up oil prices with production cuts.

Concerns for India

  • Rising oil prices are posing fiscal challenges for India, where heavily-taxed retail fuel prices have touched record highs, threatening the demand-driven recovery.
  • India imports about 84% of its oil and relies on West Asian supplies to meet over three-fifths of its demand.
  • As one of the largest crude-consuming countries, India is concerned that such actions by producing countries have the potential to undermine consumption-led recovery.
  • This would hurt consumers, especially in our price-sensitive market.

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Freedom of Speech – Defamation, Sedition, etc.

[pib] India’s rebuttal to Freedom House Report

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Freedom of speech

Mains level: Free speech related issues

The Freedom House report titled “Democracy under Siege” in which it has been claimed that India’s status as a free country has declined to “partly free”, is misleading, incorrect, and misplaced.

The US who claims to be the champion of Human Rights has turned another sermon to India through its Freedom House Report. This report presents an inherently flawed and biased analysis of Indian democracy.

Rebuttal to specific points

(1) Discriminatory policies against Minorities

  • The GoI treats all its citizens with equality as enshrined under the Constitution of the country and all laws are applied without discrimination.
  • Due process of law is followed in matters relating to law and order, irrespective of the identity of the alleged instigator.
  • With specific reference to the North East Delhi riots in February 2020, the law enforcement machinery acted swiftly in an impartial and fair manner.
  • Proportionate and appropriate actions were taken to control the situation.
  • Necessary legal and preventive actions were taken by the law enforcement machinery on all complaints/calls received, as per law and procedures.

(2) Use of Sedition Law

  • “Public Order’ and ‘Police’ are State subjects under India’s federal structure of governance.
  • The responsibility of maintaining law and order, including investigation, registration, and prosecution of crimes, protection of life and property, etc., rests primarily with the concerned State governments.
  • Therefore, measures as deemed fit are taken by law enforcement authorities to preserve public order.

(3) Government response to COVID-19 through Lockdown

  • Between March 16 to 23, most State governments/UT resorted to partial or full Lockdown in their respective State/ UT based on their assessment of the COVID-19 situation.
  • Any mass movement of people would have spread the disease rapidly throughout the country.
  • The government was fully conscious that during the period of an inevitable Lockdown, people should not face undue distress.
  • India has, on a per capita basis, registered one of the lowest rates of active COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 related deaths globally.

(4) Government response on human rights organizations

  • The Indian Constitution provides for adequate safeguards under various statutes, including the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 for ensuring the protection of human rights.
  • This Act provides for the constitution of an NHRC and SHRC in the States for better protection of human rights and for matters connected to this subject.

(5) Intimidation of academics and journalists and crackdown on expressions of dissent by media

  • The Indian Constitution provides for freedom of expression under Article 19. Discussion, debate, and dissent are a part of Indian democracy.
  • The GoI attaches the highest importance to the safety and security of all residents of the country, including journalists.
  • It has issued a special advisory to States and UTs on the safety of journalists requesting them to strictly enforce the law to ensure the safety and security of media persons.

(6) Internet shutdowns

  • Temporary suspension of the telecom services, including the internet, is governed under the provisions of the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017.
  • Hence, the temporary suspension of telecom/internet services is resorted to with the over-arching objective of maintaining law and order under strict safeguards.

(7) FCRA amendment leading to freezing of Amnesty International’s assets has led to declining in ranking

  • Amnesty International had received permission under the FCRA Act only once and that too 20 years ago.
  • Since then Amnesty International, despite its repeated applications, has been denied FCRA approval by successive governments since as per law it is not eligible to get such approval.
  • However, in order to circumvent the FCRA regulations, Amnesty U.K. remitted large amounts of money to four entities registered in India, by misclassifying the remittance as FDI.
  • A significant amount of foreign money was also remitted to Amnesty India without MHA’s approval under FCRA.
  • This malafide rerouting of money was in contravention of extant legal provisions.
  • Owing to these illegal practices of Amnesty, the previous government had also rejected the repeated applications of Amnesty to receive funds from overseas.

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Water Management – Institutional Reforms, Conservation Efforts, etc.

[pib] Nag River Pollution Abatement Project

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Nag River, Godavari Basin and its tributaries

Mains level: River rejuvenation

The Nag River Pollution Abatement Project has been approved under the National River Conservation Plan.

Try this PYQ:

Q.On the planet earth, most of the freshwater exists as ice caps and glaciers. Out of the remaining freshwater, the largest proportion:

(a) is found in the atmosphere as moisture and clouds

(b) is found in freshwater lakes and rivers

(c) exists as groundwater

(d) exists as soil moisture

Nag River

  • The Nag River is a river flowing through the city of Nagpur in Maharashtra.
  • It is known for providing the etymology for the name Nagpur. It is a part of the Kanhan-Pench river system.
  • The Kanhan River is an important right-bank tributary of the Wainganga River draining a large area lying south of the Satpura range in central India.
  • Along its 275 km run through Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh, it receives its largest tributary – Pench River, a major water source for the metropolis of Nagpur.
  • It joins the Wardha River, the united stream, which is known as the Pranahita River, empties into the Godavari River at Kaleshwaram, Telangana.

About the Project

  • The Nag River which flows through Nagpur city, thus giving its name to the city, is now a highly polluted water channel of sewage and industrial waste.
  • The project, approved under the National River Conservation Plan, will be implemented by the National River Conservation Directorate.
  • It will reduce the pollution level in terms of untreated sewage, flowing solid waste, and other impurities flowing into the Nag River and its tributaries.

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UDAY Scheme for Discoms

Reforms-Linked, Result-Based Scheme for Distribution’ (RLRBSD)

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: RLRBSD

Mains level: Paper 3- Issues with the RLRBSD scheme for discoms

The debt burden of discoms is estimated to touch 4.5 lakh crore by the end of 2020-21. This high level of debt underscores the need for reforms in the discoms. With this in view, RLRBSD has been launched by the Centre. The article highlights the issues with this scheme.

Reforms-Linked, Result-Based Scheme for Distribution’ (RLRBSD)

  • In her FY22 Budget speech, Finance Minister proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which intends to delicence the distribution business, bring in competition, and give the consumer power to choose her supplier.
  • She also unveiled the Rs 3 lakh crore electricity distribution reform programme to reduce losses and improve the efficiency of discoms.
  •  Against this background, the RLRBSD aims at helping discoms trim their electricity losses to 12-15% from the present level.
  • The aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and shortfall in the average revenue realisation from the sale of electricity vis-a-vis the average cost of supply or the ACS-ARR gap, are major causes for losses of discoms.
  • Accordingly, the scheme sets the target for both to be achieved by 2025.
  • It also aims to gradually narrow the deficit between the cost of electricity and the price at which it is supplied to ‘zero’ by March 2025.
  • It will also have a compulsory pre-paid and smart metering component to be implemented across the power supply chain, including in about 250 million households.

Funding for RLRBSD

  • The Centre is expected to contribute around Rs 60,000 crore to the scheme’s corpus.
  • The rest may be raised from multilateral funding agencies such as ADB and World Bank (WB).
  • The Centre’s contribution will be met through the previous commitment of the ongoing schemes, viz. the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) and the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna (DDUGJY).
  • The funds will be released subject to discoms meeting reform-related milestones.

Analysing RLRBSD against the context of UDAY

  • Under UDAY, discoms were required to reduce AT&C losses from 20.7% during 2015-16 to 15% by 2018-19.
  • During 2019-20, their AT&C losses were 18.9% against the 15% target for 2018-19.
  • Further, they were to reduce the ACS-ARR gap from Rs 0.59 per unit during 2015-16 to ‘zero’ by 2018-19.
  • The ACS-ARR gap during 2019-20, stood at Rs 0.42 per unit against target of ‘zero’ for 2018-19.
  • Simultaneously, the government gave them a financial restructuring package (FRP).
  • The FRP was nothing but a condoning of discoms’ staggering debt of about Rs 4 lakh crore.
  • Against this backdrop, aims of achieving those targets by 2025 under RLRBSD, which should have been achieved by 2018-19 under UDAY seems difficult.

3 factors that contribute to  debt of discoms

  • 1) At the root of persistent and increasing losses of discoms is the orders issued by state governments to sell electricity to some preferred consumers, viz. poor households and farmers.
  • Electricity is supplied to these customers either at a fraction of the cost of purchase, transmission and distribution, or even free.
  • On the units sold to these groups, discoms incur colossal under-recovery.
  • 2) This is aggravated by AT&C losses—most of it plain theft.
  • 3) Inflated tariff allowed to independent power plants (IPPs) under purchase agreements adds to the revenue shortfall.

Consider the question “Why the discoms in India require frequent bail-outs? How far will the Reforms-Linked, Reforms-Based Scheme for Distribution be successful in addressing the woes of discoms?”

Conclusion

The problem is entirely political. In a bid to win elections almost every political party promises sops which include, among others, power supply to farmers and poor households at a throwaway price or even free. As long as this effect of populist politics persists, the discoms will continue to be in the red, needing a bailout at frequent intervals.

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The perils of domicile-based preferential policies

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Article 16(3)

Mains level: Paper 2- Domicile-based preferential policies and issues with it

The Haryana government is considering a Bill that provides for 75 per cent reservation to the residents of the state. This article discusses the challenge such policies poses.

Domicile-based preferential policies on rise

  • The Haryana government’s State Employment of Local Candidates Bill 2020 reserves 75 per cent of new jobs in private establishments for Haryana residents.
  • Andhra Pradesh has mandated 75 per cent reservation for locals.
  • Karnataka is considering reserving all blue-collar jobs for locals.
  • Madhya Pradesh has announced that public employment in the state be reserved for state residents.

Constitutionality of such policies

  • The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on place of birth.
  • The right to move freely in the country and reside and settle in any part of it, the right to carry out any trade or profession, are all established rights.
  • Article 16(3) does, in principle, enable Parliament [ not state legislature] to provide for domicile-based preferential treatment in public employment.

Judicial scrutiny

  • The constitutionality of domicile-based employment preferences (unlike preferences in education) has never been frontally tested.
  • But almost all the existing case law that impinges on the matter clearly indicates such laws are unconstitutional.
  • In Pradeep Jain vs Union of India, the court had indicated this direction; in Kailash Chandra Sharma vs State of Rajasthan, the court had warned against parochialism.
  • The Andhra Pradesh Bill is sub judice in the high court.

Issues with the policies

  • The Supreme Court will hopefully rule on the constitutionality of the  Haryana government’s Bill.
  • But the Bill has ramifications beyond constitutionality.
  • First, because this kind of constitutional cynicism is now not an exception but has become a contagion.
  • Second, even if the Bill is struck down, such a high wire act is meant to fuel the flames of localism.
  • Third, the Bill now exposes the bad faith of political parties on private sector reservation more generally.
  • Fourth, these bills will open up a new form of competitive ethnic politics.
  • It is odd that a state like Haryana which has benefitted from being part of a cosmopolitan zone like NCR should unilaterally impose reservations.
  • Fifth, there is patent class discrimination: If you are rich, privileged or highly skilled, there are no entry barriers in accessing any labour market.
  • But we shall put entry barriers on lower skilled migrants; our own internal version of an H-1B visa.
  • The greatest damage the Bill does is to increase the discretionary power of the state, almost taking us back to a license permit raj, where companies will have to bargain, or worse, bribe the state for exemptions.
  • This is the antithesis of regulatory reform.

Consider the question “There have been growing tendencies among the states to pursue domicile-based preferential policies. What are the issues related to such policies?”

Conclusion

But the fact that states feel the need to enact these bills is an indictment of the economy as a whole: They suggest a pessimism about both education and job creation. So we have returned to a world of zero sum thinking.

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Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

Haryana’s new Job Quota Rule

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Article16

Mains level: Quota debate

The Haryana government has notified a new law that requires 75% of private-sector jobs in the state, up to a specified salary slab, reserved for a local candidate.

Haryana’s move has renewed the debate on whether the government force should private companies to adopt its reservation policy in jobs. While constitutional guarantees for reservation have been limited to public employment, attempts to extend it to private sector are not new either.

Haryana Quota Rule

  • The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020 requires private companies to set aside for domiciles 75% of jobs up to a monthly salary of Rs 50,000 or as may be notified by the government.
  • The law is applicable to all companies, societies, trusts, limited liability partnership firms, partnership firms and any person employing 10 or more persons.

Other states with such laws

  • In July 2019, the Andhra Pradesh government had passed a similar law, which was challenged in court.
  • The Andhra Pradesh High Court had made a prima facie observation that the move might be unconstitutional, but the challenge is yet to be heard on merits.

What are the legal issues in such laws?

Two big legal questions come up.

(1) Question of domicile reservation

  • While domicile quotas in education are fairly common, courts have been reluctant in expanding this to public employment.
  • Last year, the MP government decided to reserve all government jobs for “children of the state”, raising questions relating to the fundamental right to equality of citizens.

(2) Right to Equality

  • The second question, which is more contentious, is the issue of forcing the private sector to comply with reservations in employment.
  • For mandating reservation in public employment, the state draws its power from Article 16(4) of the Constitution.
  • It says that the right to equality in public employment does not prevent the state from “making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which is not adequately represented in the services under the State.
  • The Constitution has no manifest provision for private employment from which the state draws the power to make laws mandating reservation.

Rationale in bringing such laws

Providing reservation in public employment is one of the many ways through which the state endeavours to ensure equal opportunity for all citizens.

  • With public sector jobs constituting only a minuscule proportion of all jobs, legislators have talked about extending the legal protections to the private sector.
  • They aim to really achieve the constitutional mandate of equality for all citizens.
  • One argument often made in favour of reservation for private jobs is that private industries use public infrastructure in many ways.
  • A similar argument was made in requiring private schools to comply with the Right to Education Act, which the Supreme Court also upheld.

Global precedences

  • Affirmative action is adopted in many countries in the context of race and gender.
  • In the US, there is no statutory requirement for employers to have quotas.
  • Courts can order monetary damages and injunctive relief, including “such affirmative action as may be appropriate”, for victims of discrimination.
  • The Employment Equity Act in Canada also protects minority groups, especially aboriginals from discrimination in federally regulated industries, even in the private sector.

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Sugar Industry – FRP, SAP, Rangarajan Committee, EBP, MIEQ, etc.

Minimum Selling Price for Sugar

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Minimum Selling Price (MSP) for Sugar

Mains level: Not Much

The Indian Sugar Mills’ Association (ISMA) has asked for an increase in the Minimum Selling Price of Sugar.

Try this PYQ:

Q.The Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane is approved by the:

(a) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

(b) Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices

(c) Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture

(d) Agricultural Produce Market Committee

Minimum Selling Price (MSP) for Sugar

  • The price of sugar is market-driven & depends on the demand & supply of sugar.
  • However, with a view to protecting the interests of farmers, the concept of MSP of sugar has been introduced since 2018.
  • MSP of sugar has been fixed taking into account the components of Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane and minimum conversion cost of the most efficient mills.

How is the pricing of Sugarcane done?

  • With the amendment of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966, the concept of Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) of sugarcane was replaced with the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)’ of sugarcane in 2009-10.
  • The cane price announced by the Central Government is decided on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
  • This is done in consultation with the State Governments and after taking feedback from associations of the sugar industry.

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Hunger and Nutrition Issues – GHI, GNI, etc.

Food Waste Index Report 2021

The Food Waste Index Report 2021 was recently released by the UNEP.

Even though the world produces enough food to feed twice the world’s present population, food wastage is ironically behind the billions of people who are starving.

Food Waste Index

  • The Food Waste Index is released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partner organisation WRAP.
  • It measures tons of wasted food per capita, considering a mixed stream of products from processing through to consumption.
  • It was prepared by using data from 54 countries and then extrapolated to the remaining countries.
  • Contrary to belief, the study by the UNEP revealed that food waste was a global problem and not that of just the developed world.

Highlights of the 2021 report

  • The report has revealed that 17 per cent of all food available at consumer levels was wasted in 2019.
  • That year, some 690 million people had to go hungry.
  • The food waste amounted to a whopping 931 million tonnes of food sold to households, retailers and restaurants.
  • Waste at household, foodservice and retail amounted to 79, 26 and 13 kilogram /capita / year respectively.
  • The data, though scarce, revealed that food waste was substantial, regardless of income level.

Data on India

  • The report notes that food waste at the consumer level happens in almost every country, regardless of income level.
  • In South Asia, while 50 kilograms of food is wasted per person each year at the household level in India.
  • Others include- 65 kilograms of this happening in Bangladesh, 74 kilograms in Pakistan, 76 kilograms in Sri Lanka, 79 kilograms in Nepal and 82 kilograms in Afghanistan.

Why it is important to prevent food wastage?

  • Food waste also has a substantial environmental, social and economic impact.
  • Food loss and waste cause about $940 billion per year in economic losses. Reductions can save money for farmers, companies, and households.
  • For example, 8-10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food that is not consumed.
  • Reducing food waste would cut greenhouse gas emissions, slow the destruction of nature through land conversion and pollution, enhance the availability of food and thus reduce hunger and save money.

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