Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: TFR and replacement rate
Mains level: Paper 2- Regional demographic variation and its implications for federalism in India
Context
Recent results from National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) suggest that we are entering an era where we will have to tackle these challenges.
A milestone in India’s demographic history: TFR at 2.0
- NFHS-5 places the total fertility rate (TFR) at 2.0.
- With two parents having two children, we have reached a replacement level of fertility.
- Due to many young people, the population will continue to grow, but the replacement level fertility is a significant milestone in India’s demographic history.
- This decline is spread evenly across the country, with 29 states and UTs having a TFR of 1.9 or less, with seven below 1.6.
- All southern states have a TFR of 1.7-1.8, similar to that of Sweden.
- Even states that have not reached replacement fertility — Bihar and Uttar Pradesh — seem to be headed in that direction.
- Part of the original coterie of lagging states, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan both have achieved TFRs of 2.0.
Challenge: Supporting the ageing population
- Supporting ageing population: As fertility declines, the proportion of the older population grows, and societies face the challenge of supporting an ageing population with a shrinking workforce.
- This challenge is greater for leaders at the beginning of the demographic transition — Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- Interestingly, these are also among the more prosperous states in India, whose economic activities increasingly rely on migrant labour from other states.
- Many industries such as auto parts manufacturing and construction in southern states rely on semi-skilled migrants, often transported under contractual arrangements, from northern and eastern states, particularly Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.
Rethinking the critical dimension of Indian federalism
- Dependence on migrat workforce: Many industries such as auto parts manufacturing and construction in southern states rely on semi-skilled migrants, often transported under contractual arrangements, from northern and eastern states, particularly Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.
- Allocation of political power: While the Indian constitution mandates allocation of Lok Sabha seats across states in proportion to their population via the Delimitation Commission, the Emergency-era 42nd amendment froze seat allocation to the population share of states in the 1971 Census.
- Equity consideration in central allocation to states: The division of central allocation to states is another area where population concerns have dominated equity considerations.
- Much of the Centre-state revenue sharing occurs through recommendations of various Finance Commissions.
- The sixth to fourteenth Finance Commissions allocated resources between states using the 1971 population shares of various states.
- The Fifteenth Finance commission used Census data from 2011, but it also added the criteria of demographic performance, rewarding states with lower TFR.
Type of demographic policy India needs to pursue
- Pursue policy followed by China? Does India want to pursue China’s route of sharply lower fertility, with a large number of families stopping at one child, or are we content with moderately below replacement fertility of about 1.7-1.8?
- If the latter, we are well-positioned to head in this direction.
- Issues faced by China: while very low fertility provides a temporary demographic dividend with a reduced number of dependents to workers, the increased burden of caring for the elderly may become overwhelming over the long term.
- Advantage of Regional demographic variation in India: India is fortunate that its demographic dividend may be smaller, but is likely to last for a more extended period due to regional variation in the onset of the fertility decline.
- As southern states struggle with the growing burden of supporting the elderly, northern states will supply the workforce needed for economic growth.
- Economic expansion: The increasing pace of migration may help shore up economic expansion in the south with its shrinking workforce augmented by workers from other states.
Consider the question “Examine the influence of regional demographic variation on the fedaralism in India? How such variation can help India?”
Conclusion
The Sixteenth Finance Commission and the next Delimitation Commission must be freed from the burden of managing the demographic transition, focused on carrying out their tasks in the best interests of Indian federalism.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: AUKUS
Mains level: Paper 2- Implications of China's aggressive policies for geopolitics
Context
One of the many consequences of China’s assertive posture in Asia has been the emergence of geopolitical coalitions to limit the prospects for Beijing’s regional dominance.
Two new coalitions forcing China rethink
- Quad and AUKUS: Two new coalitions that have got a lot of political attention are the Quadrilateral framework involving Australia, India, Japan and the US, and the AUKUS, which brings together Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- Until recently, China was quite contemptuous of the new political formations.
- It had compared the Quad to “seafoam” that is here now but gone in a second.
- China’s dismissive attitude has now yielded place to denunciation.
US’s policy forcing China to rethink
- Two big factors are behind China’s rethinking.
- Consensus in the US on Challenging China: One was the surprising emergence of American domestic political consensus on challenging China.
- Beijing believed that Donald Trump was an exception to the longstanding US policy of deeper economic integration with China and sustained political engagement. But Biden has simply reinforced Trump’s strategy.
- US making alliances critical element of China policy: Trump thought that alliances are a burden on US taxpayers.
- Biden, in contrast, has made alliances a critical element of his China strategy.
- The idea was to create “situations of strength” vis-a-vis China by rebuilding US alliances and developing new coalitions.
- In Asia, the Biden administration moved quickly to strengthen the traditional security ties with its allies in northeast Asia — Japan and South Korea.
- Elevating the Quad to leaders-level: It also elevated the Quad to the leaders-level within weeks after Biden took charge and had a physical summit in Washington six months later.
- AUKUS: It also announced the AUKUS.
- Biden travelled to Europe in June this year to revitalise the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
- Summit with Russia: Biden also decided on an early summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that took place in Geneva at the end of his European tour.
- Rebalancing relations: Biden’s team believed that the greatest strength of the US was its wide network of allies and partners.
- And that mobilising them was the key to rebalancing relations with China.
How China is making alliances and partnerships?
- While China’s economic reach is now global and deep, political and military alliances have not been part of Beijing’s tradition.
- Relations with Russia at peak: Beijing’s ties with Moscow have never been as close as they are.
- Relations with N. Korea and Pakistan: China also has strong alliance-like relations with North Korea and Pakistan.
- But there can be little comparison though between the kind of strengths that American allies bring to the table with those of China’s partners.
Is Asian geopolitical structure turning in China’s favour?
- Beijing was betting on the proposition that the Asian geopolitical structure was turning, irretrievably, in China’s favour.
- This is based on a number of propositions.
- Location of the US: America, located far from Asia, will have trouble overcoming the tyranny of geography in a conflict with China.
- The economic and military power of China: China’s hard power — both economic and military — relative to the US is growing rapidly and shifting the local balance of power in its favour.
- Location of China: The proximity of China and Asian regional integration have made Beijing the most important economic partner for the whole region.
- Beijing believed that few Asian nations would want to spoil their commercial relations with China and align with Washington.
- Power imbalance: The vast imbalance in military power between Beijing and its neighbours it presumed would dissuade most Asian states from considering armed confrontations with China
- Breaking up coalition: China counted on the fact that it is easier to break up coalitions than build them.
Implications of China’s aggressive policies
- Making the US unfriendly prematurely: Chinese policies have driven the US towards an unanticipated internal consensus on containing Beijing.
- Making a friendly America into an enemy prematurely could go down as one of Xi Jinping’s egregious strategic errors.
- Driving regional countries towards the US: China’s aggressive regional policies are driving many countries like Australia, India, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, towards the US.
- Neighbouring countries pursuing stronger national military capacities: While the military balance of power in Asia has certainly turned in China’s favour, it has not cowed down its neighbours.
- Many are pursuing stronger national military capabilities to limit some of the threats from China.
- Stoked nationalism: China, which never stops to emphasise its own nationalism, appears to have underestimated the depth of similar sentiment in other Asian states.
- Today, it is driving many of China’s neighbours into the US camp.
- It is America and not China that today talks about the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Asian nations.
Consider the question “One of the many consequences of China’s assertive posture in Asia has been the emergence of geopolitical coalitions to limit Beijing’s regional dominance. Critically analyse.”
Conclusion
It has been quite fashionable in the West as well as in the East, to proclaim that China’s hegemony is inevitable, American decline is terminal, and Asian coalitions are unsustainable. Those conclusions are premature at best. For Xi Jinping has squandered many of China’s natural geopolitical advantages.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Citizenship of India
Mains level: Read the attached story
More than six lakh Indians renounced citizenship in the past five years, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha.
Citizenship in India
- Citizenship is in the Union List under the Constitution and thus under the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament.
- The Constitution does not define the term ‘citizen’ but gives, in Articles 5 to 11, details of various categories of persons who are entitled to citizenship.
- Unlike other provisions of the Constitution, which came into being on January 26, 1950, these articles were enforced on November 26, 1949 itself, when the Constitution was adopted.
Various provisions for Indian Citizenship
Article 5
- It provided for citizenship on the commencement of the Constitution.
- All those domiciled and born in India were given citizenship.
- Even those who were domiciled but not born in India, but either of whose parents was born in India, were considered citizens.
- Anyone who had been an ordinary resident for more than five years, too, was entitled to apply for citizenship.
Article 6
- Since Independence was preceded by Partition and migration, Article 6 laid down that anyone who migrated to India before July 19, 1949, would automatically become an Indian citizen if either of his parents or grandparents was born in India.
- But those who entered India after this date needed to register themselves.
Article 7
- Even those who had migrated to Pakistan after March 1, 1947 but subsequently returned on resettlement permits were included within the citizenship net.
- The law was more sympathetic to those who migrated from Pakistan and called them refugees than to those who, in a state of confusion, were stranded in Pakistan or went there but decided to return soon.
Article 8
- Any Person of Indian Origin residing outside India who, or either of whose parents or grandparents, was born in India could register himself or herself as an Indian citizen with Indian Diplomatic Mission.
Various Amendments for Citizenships
- According to Article 11, Parliament can go against the citizenship provisions of the Constitution.
- The Citizenship Act, 1955 was passed and has been amended four times — in 1986, 2003, 2005, and 2015.
- The Act empowers the government to determine the citizenship of persons in whose case it is in doubt.
- However, over the decades, Parliament has narrowed down the wider and universal principles of citizenship based on the fact of birth.
- Moreover, the Foreigners Act places a heavy burden on the individual to prove that he is not a foreigner.
(1) 1986 amendment
- The constitutional provision and the original Citizenship Act gave citizenship on the principle of jus soli to everyone born in India.
- However, the 1986 amendment to Section 3 was less inclusive as it added the condition that those who were born in India on or after January 26, 1950 but before July 1, 1987, shall be an Indian citizen.
- Those born after July 1, 1987 and before December 4, 2003, in addition to one’s own birth in India, can get citizenship only if either of his parents was an Indian citizen at the time of birth.
(2) 2003 amendment
- The then government made the above condition more stringent, keeping in view infiltration from Bangladesh.
- Now the law requires that for those born on or after December 4, 2004, in addition to the fact of their own birth, both parents should be Indian citizens or one parent must be Indian citizen and other should not be an illegal migrant.
- With these restrictive amendments, India has almost moved towards the narrow principle of jus sanguinis or blood relationship.
- This lay down that an illegal migrant cannot claim citizenship by naturalization or registration even if he has been a resident of India for seven years.
(3) Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019
- The amendment proposes to permit members of six communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan — to continue to live in India if they entered India before December 14, 2014.
- It also reduces the requirement for citizenship from 11 years out of the preceding 14 years, to just 6 years.
- Two notifications also exempted these migrants from the Passport Act and Foreigner Act.
- A large number of organisations in Assam protested against this Bill as it may grant citizenship to Bangladeshi Hindu illegal migrants.
Losing of Indian Citizenship
- The Citizenship Act, 1955 also lays down the three modes by which an Indian citizen may lose his/her citizenship.
- It may happen in any of the three ways: renunciation, termination and deprivation.
(1) Renunciation
- An Indian Citizen of full age and capacity can renounce his Indian citizenship by making a declaration to that effect and having it registered.
- But if such a declaration is made during any war in which India is engaged, the registration shall be withheld until the Central Government otherwise directs.
- When a male person renounces his citizenship, every minor child of him ceases to be an Indian citizen.
- Such a child may, however, resume Indian citizenship if he makes a declaration to that effect within a year of his attaining full age, i.e. 18 years.
(2) Termination
- If a citizen of India voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country, he shall cease to be a citizen of India.
- During the war period, this provision does not apply to a citizen of India, who acquires the citizenship of another country in which India may be engaged voluntarily.
(3) Deprivation
- Deprivation is a compulsory termination of citizenship of India.
- A citizen of India by naturalization, registration, domicile and residence, may be deprived of his citizenship by an order of the Central Government if it is satisfied that the Citizen has:
- Obtained the citizenship by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of any material fact
- Shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India
- Unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy during a war
- Within five years after registration or neutralization, been imprisoned in any country for two years
- Ordinarily resident out of India for seven years continuously
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nuclear Projects in India
Mains level: Carbo feasibility of Nuclear Energy
Supporters of the Nuclear Energy source say that it is a climate-friendly way to generate electricity. However, this is subjected to various considerations often not discussed.
Why focus on Nuclear Energy?
- The main factors for its choice were reliability and security of supply.
- The latest figures on global carbon dioxide emissions call into question the world’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
Soaring CO2 emissions
- CO2 emissions are set to soar 4.9% in 2021, compared with the previous year, according to a study published earlier this month by the Global Carbon Project (GCP), a group of scientists that track emissions.
- In 2020, emissions dropped 5.4% due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns.
- The energy sector continues to be the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, with a share of 40% — and rising.
Is nuclear power a zero-emissions energy source?
No. Nuclear energy is also responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.
- Uranium mining: Uranium extraction, transport and processing produces emissions.
- Construction of power plants: The long and complex construction process of nuclear power plants also releases CO2, as does the demolition of decommissioned sites.
- Nuclear waste and its transportation: This also has to be transported and stored under strict conditions — here, too, emissions must be taken into account.
- Water consumption: Power plants depend on nearby water sources to cool their reactors, and with many rivers drying up, those sources of water are no longer guaranteed.
How much CO2 does nuclear power produce?
- Results vary significantly, depending on whether we only consider the process of electricity generation, or take into account the entire life cycle of a nuclear power plant.
- A report released in 2014 by the IPCC estimated a range of 3.7 to 110 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
- It’s long been assumed that nuclear plants generate an average of 66 grams of CO2/kWh.
How climate-friendly is nuclear compared to other energies?
- If the entire life cycle, nuclear energy certainly comes out ahead of fossil fuels like coal or natural gas.
- But the picture is drastically different when compared with renewable energy.
- Nuclear power releases 3.5 times more CO2 per kilowatt-hour than photovoltaic solar panel systems.
- Compared with onshore wind power, that figure jumps to 13 times more CO2.
- When up against electricity from hydropower installations, nuclear generates 29 times more carbon.
Can we rely on nuclear energy to help stop global warming?
- Around the world, nuclear energy representatives, as well as some politicians, have called for the expansion of atomic power.
- Other countries have also supported plans to build new nuclear plants, arguing that the energy sector will be even more damaging for the climate without it.
Feasibility of Nuclear Energy
- High cost of construction: Due to the high costs associated with nuclear energy, it also blocks important financial resources that could instead be used to develop renewable energy.
- Renewables are better: Those renewables would provide more energy that is both faster and cheaper than nuclear.
- High water consumption: During the world’s increasingly hot summers, several nuclear power plants have already had to be temporarily shut down due to water scarcity.
Conclusion
- Taking into account the current overall energy system, nuclear energy is by no means CO2 neutral.
- The contribution of nuclear energy is viewed too optimistically.
- In reality construction, times are too long and the costs too high to have a noticeable effect on climate change. It takes too long for nuclear energy to become available.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GOCO Model
Mains level: Defence modernization issues
The Army’s ambitious plan for modernization of the Army Base Workshops (ABWs) and implementation of the ‘Government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO)’ model is delayed, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in its report.
What is GOCO Model?
- The GOCO model was one of the recommendations of the Lt. Gen. DB Shekatkar (Retd.) committee to enhance combat capability and re-balancing defence expenditure.
- In GOCO model, the assets owned by the government will be operated by the private industries.
- Under the GOCO model, the private companies need not make investments on land, machinery and other support systems.
What is the current system?
- Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO): The Army follows the traditional ‘womb to tomb’ life cycle support management for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of its costly equipment.
- Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME): It is responsible for the MRO system.
Need for GOCO Model
- High end technologies: In the last three decades, there has been a quantum jump in military technology and the MRO of military equipment has become very complex.
- Lack of infrastructure: However, some repairs and overhauls have run into problems on account of lack of infrastructure, spares and expertise.
- Poor performance of Corps: The infrastructure, expertise and work culture has not kept pace with time, leading to below par and inefficient performance.
Benefits offered by the GOCO Model
- Time savings: The main advantage of the model is that the targets are achieved in lesser time frame.
- Competitiveness: Also, it will boost competitiveness among the private entities paving way to newer technologies.
- Efficiency: The GOCO model will bring in corporate culture, leading to efficiency and accountability.
- Expertise: Private operators can easily go into partnership with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), both for expertise and spares.
- Manpower saving: The government can save on manpower — 12,500 personnel workforce of the ABWs.
- Technical training: This model also opens avenues for absorbing trained retired personnel, which can be built into the contract.
Major issues with GOCO
- Costly affair: The corporate world is driven by market forces, which means the GOCO model will be more costly. In most cases, private operators will want better infrastructure, which would have to be upgraded or replaced at government cost.
- Corporate management: Private operators may not have the expertise to deal with military equipment; they are also unlikely to absorb the existing manpower and will want a younger and better-trained workforce.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: JCPOA
Mains level: US sanctions on Iran
As Iran has refused to hold direct talks with the U.S., European officials will shuttle between the Iranian and American delegations, exchanging talking points and seeking common ground over the nuclear deal.
Do you know how the enmity between Iran and the US came into reality? We hope you have watched the Argo (2012) movie for sure!
Context
- After a gap of five months, Iran, Russia, China and the European countries resumed negotiations in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
- The 2015 JCPOA agreement sought to cut Iran off a possible path to a nuclear bomb in return for lifting of economic sanctions.
What is JCPOA?
- The Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as the JCPOA is a landmark accord reached between Iran and several world powers, including the United States, in July 2015.
- Under its terms, Iran agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections in exchange for billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions relief.
Expected outcomes of the deal
- Curb on nuclear program: Proponents of the deal said that it would help prevent a revival of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
- Increasing regional engagement: It would thereby reduce the prospects for conflict between Iran and its regional rivals, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Background of the JCPOA
- Iran had previously agreed to forgo the development of nuclear weapons as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which has been in force since 1970.
- However, after the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979, Iranian leaders secretly pursued this technology.
- In 2007, U.S. intelligence analysts concluded that Iran halted its work on nuclear weapons in 2003 but continued to acquire nuclear technology and expertise.
- Prior to the JCPOA, the P5+1 had been negotiating with Iran for years, offering its government various incentives to halt uranium enrichment.
Issues with the deal
(1) US withdrawal
- The deal has been in jeopardy since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from it in 2018.
- In retaliation for the US, Iran resumed some of its nuclear activities.
(2) Iran’s insistence over sanctions removal
- In 2021, President Joe Biden said the US will return to the deal if Iran comes back into compliance, though Iran’s leaders have insisted that Washington lift sanctions first.
- Iran now has indicated that he will take a harder line than his predecessor in nuclear negotiations.
Who are the participants?
- The JCPOA, which went into effect in January 2016, imposes restrictions on Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program.
- At the heart of negotiations with Iran were the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and Germany—collectively known as the P5+1.
- The European Union also took part. Israel explicitly opposed the agreement, calling it too lenient.
- Some Middle Eastern powers, such as Saudi Arabia, said they should have been consulted or included in the talks because they would be most affected by a nuclear-armed Iran.
What did Iran agree to?
- Nuclear restrictions: Iran agreed not to produce either the highly enriched uranium or the plutonium that could be used in a nuclear weapon.
- Monitoring and verification: Iran agreed to eventually implement a protocol that would allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
What did the other signatories agree to?
- Sanctions relief: The EU, United Nations, and United States all committed to lifting their nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. However, many other U.S. sanctions on Iran, some dating back to the 1979 hostage crisis, remained in effect.
- Weapons embargo: The parties agreed to lift an existing UN ban on Iran’s transfer of conventional weapons and ballistic missiles after five years if the IAEA certifies that Iran is only engaged in civilian nuclear activity.
How has the deal affected Iran’s economy?
- Prior to the JCPOA, Iran’s economy suffered years of recession, currency depreciation, and inflation, largely because of sanctions on its energy sector.
- With the sanctions lifted, inflation slowed, exchange rates stabilized, and exports—especially of oil, agricultural goods, and luxury items—skyrocketed as Iran regained trading partners, particularly in the EU.
- After the JCPOA took effect, Iran began exporting more than 2.1 million barrels per day (approaching pre-2012 levels, when the oil sanctions were originally put in place).
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Health Accounts Estimates: 2017-18
Mains level: Health expenditure in India
Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a share of total health expenditure and foreign aid for health has both come down as per the findings of the National Health Accounts (NHA) estimates for India for 2017-18.
What is National Health Accounts (NHA)?
- The NHA estimates are prepared by using an accounting framework based on internationally accepted System of Health Accounts 2011, provided by the World Health Organization (WHO).
- It is released by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- It describes health expenditures and flow of funds in the country’s health system over a financial year of India.
- It answers important policy questions such as what are the sources of healthcare expenditures, who manages these, who provides health care services, and which services are utilized.
- It is a practice to describe the health expenditure estimates according to a global standard framework, System of Health Accounts 2011 (SHA 2011), to facilitate comparison of estimates across countries.
Objective of the NHA
- To describe the Current Health Expenditures (CHE).
The details of CHE are presented according to
- Revenues of healthcare financing schemes: – entities that provide resources to spend for health goods and services in the health system;
- Healthcare financing schemes: entities receiving and managing funds from financing sources to pay for or to purchase health goods and services;
- Healthcare providers: entities receiving finances to produce/ provide health goods and services;
- Healthcare functions: It describes the use of funds across various health care services.
About NHA (2017-2018)
- The 2017-18 NHA estimates shows government expenditure on health exhibiting an increasing trend and growing trust in public health care system.
- With the present estimate of NHA 2017-18, India has a continuous Time Series on NHA estimates for both government and private sources for five years since 2013-14.
- These estimates are not only comparable internationally, but also enable the policy makers to monitor progress towards universal health coverage as envisaged in the National Health Policy, 2017.
Key Highlights
Increase in GDP share: The NHA estimates for 2017-18 clearly show that there has been an increase in the share of government health expenditure in the total GDP from 1.15% in 2013-14 to 1.35% in 2017-18.
Increase in govt share in expenditures: In 2017-18, the share of government expenditure was 40.8%, which is much higher than 28.6% in 2013-14.
Per-Capita increase in expenditure: In per capita terms, the government health expenditure has increased from Rs 1042 to Rs.1753 between 2013-14 to 2017-18.
Focus on total healthcare: The primary and secondary care accounts for more than 80% of the current Government health expenditure.
Social security expenditure: The share of social security expenditure on health, which includes the social health insurance program, Government financed health insurance schemes, and medical reimbursements made to Government employees, has increased.
Decline in foreign aid: The findings also depict that the foreign aid for health has come down to 0.5%, showcasing India’s economic self-reliance.
Decline in OOPE: The government’s efforts to improve public health care are evident with out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a share of total health expenditure coming down to 48.8% in 2017-18 from 64.2% in 2013-14.
Way forward
- After 18 months of Covid-19, financial year 2017-18 appears to be from another era.
- However, learnings from that year’s NHA help us to plan for health system strengthening in the post-Covid years.
- The special financing packages for Covid emergency response, announced by the central government in 2020 and 2021, represent an extraordinary situation.
- The resolve to increase public financing for health must remain strong even after Covid.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: 5G technology
Mains level: Useful data about 5G in India
India 5G subscriptions are set to reach 500 mn by 2027, said Ericsson in its report.
Ericsson Mobility Report
- The report has added that the total number of smartphone subscriptions is expected to be 810 million at the end of 2021.
- It is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 7%, exceeding 1.2 billion by 2027.
5G penetration in India
- 5G telecom services are likely to account for 39% of mobile subscriptions or about 500 million subscriptions in India at the end of 2027.
- 4G is expected to remain the dominant technology in India in 2027.
- 4G subscriptions are expected to reduce from 68% of mobile subscriptions in 2021 to 55% in 2027 as subscribers migrate to 5G.
- However, 4G subscriptions are forecast to drop from 790 million in 2021 to 710 million in 2027, showing an annual average decline of 2%.
Back2Basics: 5G Technology
- 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
- It mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high-frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.
Three bands of 5G
- The low band spectrum has shown great promise in terms of coverage and speed of internet and data exchange, the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
- This means that while telcos can use and install it for commercial cellphones users who may not have specific demands for very high-speed internet, the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialised needs of the industry.
- The mid-band spectrum, on the other hand, offers higher speeds compared to the low band but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
- Telcos and companies, which have taken the lead on 5G, have indicated that this band may be used by industries and specialized factory units for building captive networks that can be molded into the needs of that particular industry.
- The high-band spectrum offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength.
- Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G have been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (gigabits per second), while, in most cases, the maximum internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NPK fertilizers, Soil Health Card
Mains level: Soil Health Management
National Productivity Council (NPC) has carried out a study on ‘Soil Testing Infrastructure for Faster Delivery of Soil Health Card in India’ in 2017.
What did the study find?
- In the study it was found that application of fertilizer and micronutrients based on Soil Health Card (SHC) recommendations resulted in 8-10% of savings.
- It has led to an overall increase in the yield of crops to the tune of 5-6% reported by adopting the SHC recommendations.
About Soil Health Card Scheme
- Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme is promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
- An SHC is meant to give each farmer soil nutrient status of his/her holding and advice him/her on the dosage of fertilizers and also the needed soil amendments, that s/he should apply to maintain soil health in the long run.
- SHC is a printed report that a farmer will be handed over for each of his holdings.
- It will be made available once in a cycle of 2 years, which will indicate the status of soil health of a farmer’s holding for that particular period.
- The SHC given in the next cycle of 2 years will be able to record the changes in the soil health for that subsequent period.
Parameters of SHC:
- N, P, K (Macro-nutrients)
- Sulfur (S) (Secondary- nutrient)
- Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Bo (Micronutrients)
- pH, EC (Electrical conductivity) , OC (Organic content)
Try this PYQ:
Q. The nation-wide ‘Soil Health Card Scheme’ aims at:
- expanding the cultivable area under irrigation.
- enabling the banks to assess the quantum of loans to be granted to farmers on the basis of soil quality.
- checking the overuse of fertilizers in farmlands.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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