Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tundra Satellite, Various types of Orbits
Mains level: Not Much
Russia has successfully placed into orbit a military satellite believed to be part of the Kremlin’s early warning anti-missile system. This launch could be delivering a Tundra satellite.
Tundra Satellite
- The Tundra or EKS (Edinaya Kosmicheskaya Sistema) series of satellites is the next generation of Russian early-warning satellites.
- The development of the EKS started in 2000.
- These satellites carry a secure emergency communications payload to be used in case of a nuclear war.
- They are launched on Soyuz-2-1b Fregat boosters into Molniya-orbits, inclined highly elliptical 12 h orbits.
What are Tundra Orbits?
- A Tundra orbit is a highly elliptical geosynchronous orbit with a high inclination (approximately 63.4°), an orbital period of one sidereal day.
- A satellite placed in this orbit spends most of its time over a chosen area of the Earth, a phenomenon known as apogee dwell.
- It makes satellites particularly well suited for communications satellites serving high latitude regions.
- The ground track of a satellite in a Tundra orbit is a closed figure 8 with a smaller loop over either the northern or southern hemisphere.
- This differentiates them from Molniya orbits designed to service high-latitude regions, which have the same inclination but half the period and do not hover over a single region.
Back2Basics: Types of Orbits
[1] Geostationary orbit (GEO)
- Satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) circle Earth above the equator from west to east following Earth’s rotation – taking 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds – by travelling at exactly the same rate as Earth.
- This makes satellites in GEO appear to be ‘stationary’ over a fixed position.
- In order to perfectly match Earth’s rotation, the speed of GEO satellites should be about 3 km per second at an altitude of 35 786 km.
- This is much farther from Earth’s surface compared to many satellites.
- GEO is used by satellites that need to stay constantly above one particular place over Earth, such as telecommunication satellites.
- Satellites in GEO cover a large range of Earth so as few as three equally-spaced satellites can provide near-global coverage.
[2] Low Earth orbit (LEO)
- A low Earth orbit (LEO) is, as the name suggests, an orbit that is relatively close to Earth’s surface.
- It is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km but could be as low as 160 km above Earth – which is low compared to other orbits, but still very far above Earth’s surface.
- Unlike satellites in GEO that must always orbit along Earth’s equator, LEO satellites do not always have to follow a particular path around Earth in the same way – their plane can be tilted.
- This means there are more available routes for satellites in LEO, which is one of the reasons why LEO is a very commonly used orbit.
- It is most commonly used for satellite imaging, as being near the surface allows it to take images of higher resolution.
- Satellites in this orbit travel at a speed of around 7.8 km per second; at this speed, a satellite takes approximately 90 minutes to circle Earth.
[3] Medium Earth orbit (MEO)
- Medium Earth orbit comprises a wide range of orbits anywhere between LEO and GEO.
- It is similar to LEO in that it also does not need to take specific paths around Earth, and it is used by a variety of satellites with many different applications.
- It is very commonly used by navigation satellites, like the European Galileo system of Europe.
- It uses a constellation of multiple satellites to provide coverage across large parts of the world all at once.
[4] Polar Orbit
- Satellites in polar orbits usually travel past Earth from north to south rather than from west to east, passing roughly over Earth’s poles.
- Satellites in a polar orbit do not have to pass the North and South Pole precisely; even a deviation within 20 to 30 degrees is still classed as a polar orbit.
- Polar orbits are a type of low Earth orbit, as they are at low altitudes between 200 to 1000 km.
[5] Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO)
- SSO is a particular kind of polar orbit. Satellites in SSO, travelling over the polar regions, are synchronous with the Sun.
- This means they are synchronised to always be in the same ‘fixed’ position relative to the Sun.
- This means that the satellite always visits the same spot at the same local time.
- Often, satellites in SSO are synchronised so that they are in constant dawn or dusk – this is because by constantly riding a sunset or sunrise, they will never have the Sun at an angle where the Earth shadows them.
- A satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit would usually be at an altitude of between 600 to 800 km. At 800 km, it will be travelling at a speed of approximately 7.5 km per second.
[6] Transfer orbits and geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)
- Transfer orbits are a special kind of orbit used to get from one orbit to another.
- Often, the satellites are instead placed on a transfer orbit: an orbit where, by using relatively little energy from built-in motors, the satellite or spacecraft can move from one orbit to another.
- This allows a satellite to reach, for example, a high-altitude orbit like GEO without actually needing the launch vehicle.
- Reaching GEO in this way is an example of one of the most common transfer orbits, called the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sahel Region
Mains level: Great Green Wall Project
Africa’s Great Green Wall (GGW) program to combat desertification in the Sahel region is an important contribution towards combating climate change, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a study.
Note the countries swept by the GGW project on the African map.
About GGW Program
- The Great Green Wall project is conceived by 11 countries located along the southern border of the Sahara and their international partners, is aimed at limiting the desertification of the Sahel zone.
- Led by the African Union, the initiative aims to transform the lives of millions of people by creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa.
- The initial idea of the GGW was to develop a line of trees from east to the west bordering the Saharan Desert.
- Its vision has evolved into that of a mosaic of interventions addressing the challenges facing the people in the Sahel and the Sahara.
Why was such project incepted?
- The project is a response to the combined effect of natural resources degradation and drought in rural areas.
- It aimed to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030; only four million hectares had been restored between 2007 and 2019.
- It is a partnership that supports communities working towards sustainable management and use of forests, rangelands and other natural resources.
- It seeks to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as improve food security.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Farm laws
Mains level: Paper 2- Repeal of the laws and its implications
Context
Parliament’s “performance” is assessed at the end of a session, typically in terms of bills discussed and passed. It is equally necessary to take stock of the issues facing the country and set expectations about what Parliament should be doing when the session is to commence.
Analysing the repeal of laws from the standpoint of the parliamentary system and the functioning of Parliament
- In the current session, three farm Acts will probably be presented for repeal.
- Not referred to select committee: Three Acts were passed earlier amidst demands to refer them to a select committee.
- This Lok Sabha — increasingly the Rajya Sabha as well — poses a riddle for the theory of representative democracy.
- The ruling majority has a handsome majority — a 300 plus representation in the Lok Sabha — and by the standards of the FPTP system, a reasonable vote share of over 37 per cent.
- Yet, laws passed by Parliament are increasingly being seen as unacceptable.
- This non-acceptance is, perhaps, restricted to a small section. But the arguments put forward by them remain persuasive.
- The “majority” government seems less representative than many minority governments of the past.
- The government may have the majority in numbers, but does not have the capacity to take the majority along.
- At this juncture, an important responsibility lies with the Opposition.
Suggestions
1] Role of the opposition
- Coordinate: In Parliament, the Opposition will need to ensure coordination on common issues, strategise on parliamentary procedures and above all, endeavour to represent voices that have been suppressed by the current regime.
- Avoid disruption: Acrimony might be unavoidable given that the current regime doesn’t give adequate respect to differences of opinion.
- But it is incumbent on the Opposition to avoid creating pandemonium merely as a tactic.
- Noise and sloganeering cannot replace the responsibility to represent.
- Pandemonium is only a cover up for bad coordination and lack of homework.
2] Role of the ruling party MPs
- Probe the executive: The role of ruling party MPs is not merely to ram through the House whatever the government wishes but to also probe the executive delicately.
- Assert the role as a representative: In allowing the government to sidestep all opposition, the MPs from the ruling party create an atmosphere wherein they lose any semblance of authenticity in their role as representatives.
- Independence of ruling party members is connected both to intra-party democracy and to intra-party factionalism.
- Need for intellectual position: It is also important that they have an intellectual position of their own.
- The litmus test to their independence will be in how they express themselves in Parliament.
- In any case, for Parliament to regain its representative character, ruling party members need to be more sincere about the parliamentary system, and unafraid of executive power.
3] Role of civil society
- Protests have played, and will continue to play, a critical role in forcing us to confront the issue of representation.
- It must be reiterated that no democracy can exist without a robust civil society.
- Its tension-ridden relationship with party politics must be recognised.
- In that sense, the rising antinomy between Parliament and protests is more because of the unrepresentativeness of Parliament than due to the rebellious ways of civil society.
Consider the question “What is the significance of the opposition to the laws enacted by the legislature? Suggest the steps need to be taken by the various participants in democracy.”
Conclusion
All the participants in the democracy need to recognise their role and ensure the the smooth functioning of democracy.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MFN status
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Pakistan relations
Context
The recent partial opening of land borders between India and Pakistan signals a thaw in the troubled relations between the two South Asian neighbours.
How normalising relations with Pakistan help India?
- Reduce India’s vulnerability to China: From the Indian standpoint, as a Centre for Policy Research report argues, a continuing freeze in relations with Pakistan will “enhance India’s external vulnerability to other actors, in particular, China”.
- Impact on bilateral trade: After the Pulwama terror attack, bilateral trade between the two countries plummeted from around $2 billion in 2017-18 to a paltry $280 million in 2020-21 (April to February).
Steps to normalise relations
1] Pakistan needs to revoke suspension of trade with India
- Pakistan needs to revoke the unilateral suspension of trade with India undertaken in August 2019 due to India’s decision to dilute Article 370.
- Suspension against GATT and SAFTA: The trade suspension by Pakistan is inconsistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement — the two international law instruments that regulate trade between India and Pakistan.
- GATT, as part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), allows countries to adopt trade-restraining measures on certain grounds such as public health and conservation of exhaustible natural resources (Article XX) and for national security purposes (Article XXI).
- Neither the WTO nor SAFTA permits a country to suspend trade with another member country on grounds that it disapproves a domestic law enacted by the latter.
2] Pakistan needs to confer MFN status on India
- Pakistan needs to reverse its practice of not according the most favoured nation (MFN) status to India.
- MFN is a principle of non-discrimination in trade given in Article I of GATT.
- Breach of GATT: Pakistan is in breach of Article I of GATT towards India since the formation of the WTO in 1995.
3] India should restore Pakistan’s MFN status
- India should restore Pakistan’s MFN status that it revoked after the Pulwama terror attack by hiking the tariff rates on all Pakistani imports to an unfeasible rate of 200 per cent.
- Such a move by India will put the ball in Pakistan’s court.
- If Pakistan fails to reciprocate, India should exert pressure on Islamabad by mounting a legal challenge.
4] Explore the special trading arrangement under GATT
- Article XXIV.11 allows India and Pakistan to enter into any special trading arrangement without fully complying with GATT conditions that typically apply to countries signing free trade agreements.
- This merciful rule that only India and Pakistan enjoy, out of 160 odd WTO members, was incorporated in GATT to enable the two sides to overcome the economic hardships caused by Partition.
Consider the question “How normalising trade relations will India and Pakistan? Suggest the steps both the countries need to take in this regard.”
Conclusion
India should appreciate that the rise of China, not Pakistan, poses the graver threat. Strengthening bilateral trade can be an important lever towards establishing a working relationship with Pakistan.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: EWS Quota
Mains level: Issues with EWS quota
The Union Government has decided to revisit the criteria set out for eligibility for its 10% reservation under the economically weaker sections (EWS) category within a month.
Context
- The decision came after the Supreme Court closely questioned it on how it arrived at the income figure.
- The Supreme Court is considering a case to the implementation of 27% reservation for the Other Backward Classes and 10% for the EWS under the all-India quota for medical admissions.
How was EWS reservation introduced?
- The 10% reservation was introduced through the 103rd Constitution Amendment and enforced in January 2019.
- It added Clause (6) to Article 15 to empower the Government to introduce special provisions for the EWS among citizens except those in the classes that already enjoy reservation.
- It allows reservation in educational institutions, both public and private, whether aided or unaided, excluding those run by minority institutions, up to a maximum of 10%.
- It also added Clause (6) to Article 16 to facilitate reservation in employment.
- The new clauses make it clear that the EWS reservation will be in addition to the existing reservation.
Significance of the quota
- The Constitution initially allowed special provisions only for the socially and educationally backward classes.
- The Government introduced the concept of EWS for a new class of affirmative action program for those not covered by or eligible for the community-based quotas.
What are the criteria to identify the section?
- The main criterion is that those above an annual income limit of ₹8 lakh are excluded.
- It accounts income from all sources such as salary, business, agriculture and profession for the financial year prior to the application of the family, applicants, their parents, siblings and minor children.
- Possession of any of these assets, too, can take a person outside the EWS pool:
- Five or more acres of agricultural land
- A residential flat of 1,000 sq.ft. and above
- A residential plot of 100 square yards and above in notified municipalities, and
- A residential plot of 200 square yards and above in other areas
What are the court’s questions about the criteria?
- Reduction within general category: The EWS quota remains a controversy as its critics say it reduces the size of the open category, besides breaching the 50% limit on the total reservation.
- Arbitrariness over income limit: The court has been intrigued by the income limit being fixed at ₹8 lakh per year. It is the same figure for excluding the ‘creamy layer’ from OBC reservation benefits.
- Socio-economic backwardness: A crucial difference is that those in the general category, to whom the EWS quota is applicable, do not suffer from social or educational backwardness, unlike those classified as the OBC.
- Metropolitan criteria: There are other questions as to whether any exercise was undertaken to derive the exceptions such as why the flat criterion does not differentiate between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.
- OBC like criteria: The question the court has raised is that when the OBC category is socially and educationally backward and, therefore, has additional impediments to overcome.
- Not based on relevant data: In line with the Supreme Court’s known position that any reservation or norms for exclusion should be based on relevant data.
What is the current status of the EWS quota?
- The reservation for the EWS is being implemented by the Union Government for the second year now.
- Recruitment test results show that the category has a lower cut-off mark than the OBC, a point that has upset the traditional beneficiaries of reservation based on caste.
- The explanation is that only a small number of people are currently applying under the EWS category — one has to get an income certificate from the revenue authorities — and therefore the cut-off is low.
- However, when the number picks up over time, the cut-off marks are expected to rise.
Way forward
- The per capita income or GDP in all States, or the difference in purchasing power in the rural and urban areas, should be taken into account while a single income limit was formulated for the whole country.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNCITRAL, IBC
Mains level: Cross border insolvency proceedings
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has published a draft framework for cross-border insolvency proceedings based on the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) model under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)
- The IBC, 2016 is the bankruptcy law of India that seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy.
- It is a one-stop solution for resolving insolvencies which previously was a long process that did not offer an economically viable arrangement.
- The code aims to protect the interests of small investors and make the process of doing business less cumbersome.
Cross border insolvency proceedings
- Cross-border insolvency proceedings are relevant for the resolution of distressed companies with assets and liabilities across multiple jurisdictions.
- A framework for cross-border insolvency proceedings allows for the location of such a company’s foreign assets, the identification of creditors and their claims.
- This helps establishing payment towards claims as well as a process for coordination between courts in different countries.
Current status of foreign stakeholders and courts in other jurisdictions under IBC
- While foreign creditors can make claims against a domestic company, the IBC currently does not allow for automatic recognition of any insolvency proceedings in other countries.
- Current provisions under the IBC do not allow Indian courts to address the issue of foreign assets of a company being subjected to parallel insolvency proceedings in other jurisdictions.
The UNCITRAL model
- The UNCITRAL model is the most widely accepted legal framework to deal with cross-border insolvency issues.
- It has been adopted by 49 countries, including the UK, the US, South Africa, South Korea and Singapore.
- The law allows automatic recognition of foreign proceedings and rulings given by courts in cases where the foreign jurisdiction is adjudged.
- Recognition of foreign proceedings and reliefs is left to the discretion of domestic courts when foreign proceedings are non-main proceedings.
- The model law deals with four major principles of cross-border insolvency:
-
- Direct access to foreign insolvency professionals and foreign creditors to participate in or commence domestic insolvency proceedings against a defaulting debtor.
- Recognition of foreign proceedings & provision of remedies.
- Cooperation between domestic and foreign courts & domestic and foreign insolvency practitioners.
- Coordination between two or more concurrent insolvency proceedings in different countries. The main proceeding is determined by the concept of Centre of Main Interest (COMI).
- The COMI for a company is determined based on where the company conducts its business on a regular basis and the location of its registered office.
- It is designed to assist States in reforming and modernizing their laws on arbitral procedure so as to take into account the particular features and needs of international commercial arbitration.
Issues with Indian framework
- The framework for cross-border insolvency adopted in India may require reciprocity from any country which seeks to have its insolvency proceedings recognized by Indian courts.
- This would allow Indian proceedings for foreign corporate debtors to be recognized in foreign jurisdictions.
Back2Basics: UNCITRAL
- It is an affiliate organization to the UN made up of business and legal professionals.
- This group develops model standards and procedures for dealing with issues affecting international business.
- Perhaps most notably, UNCITRAL promulgated the Convention on International Sale of Goods (CISG).
- The CISG is a model law commonly used as the governing provisions in contracts between parties from different nations.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indus valley civilization
Mains level: Not Much
A group of researchers has been able to collect bones and teeth samples of over 2,000 such ancient specimens from regions from where domestic horses could have originated.
Research on horse domestication
- The research has studied fossils from the Iberian Peninsula in the southwestern corner of Europe, or the western-most edge of Eurasia (Spain and its neighbours), Anatolia (modern Turkey), and the steppes of Western Eurasia and Central Asia.
- These collective data have led them to decide that until about 4200 BCE, many distinct horse populations inhabited various regions of Eurasia.
Key findings of the research
- A similar genetic analysis has found that horses with the modern domestic DNA profile lived in the Western Eurasian Steppes, particularly the Volga-Don River region.
- By around 2200–2000 BCE, these horses spread out to Bohemia (the Czech Republic of today and Ukraine), and Central Asia and Mongolia.
- These horses were bred by breeders from these countries to sell them to countries that demanded them.
- Riding on horses became popular in these nations by around 3300 BCE, and armies were built using them, for example, in Mesopotamia, Iran, Kuwait and the ‘Fertile Crescent’ or Palestine.
- The first spoke-wheeled chariots emerged around 2000-1800 BC.
Indian story
- Horses were never native to India.
- The only animals native to India were the Asian elephant, snow leopard, rhinoceros, Bengal tiger, Sloth bear, Himalayan wolf, Gaur bison, red panda, crocodile, and the birds peacock and flamingo.
- Thus, it seems clear from these sources that horse is not native to India.
- Horses must have come into India through inter-regional trading between countries.
- Indians might have traded their elephants, tigers, monkeys, birds to their neighbours and imported horses.
When did India get its horses?
- Horse-related remains and artefacts have been found in Late Harappan sites (1900-1300 BCE).
- Horses did not seem to have played an essential role in the Harappan civilization.
- This is in contrast to the Vedic Period, which is a little later (1500-500 BCE).
- The Sanskrit word for horse is Ashwa, which is mentioned in the Vedas and Hindu Scriptures.
- These are roughly towards the end of the late Bronze Age.
Try this PYQ:
Q. With reference to the difference between the culture of Rigvedic Aryans and Indus Valley people, which of the following statements correct?
- Rigvedic Aryans used the coat of mail and helmet in warfare whereas the people of Indus Valley Civilization did not leave any evidence of using them.
- Rigvedic Aryans knew gold, silver and copper whereas Indus Valley people knew only copper and iron.
- Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated the horse whereas there is no evidence of Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) Only 1
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Good Samaritan Scheme
Mains level: Road safety issues in India
The Good Samaritan scheme, meant to encourage and felicitate those helping road accident victims, has received a poor response from the states more than a month since its launch.
Good Samaritan Scheme
- The Road Transport and Highways Ministry announced this scheme so that taking a road crash victim to hospital is not just hassle-free but there is also the incentive of a reward and recognition.
- Historically, Indians are reluctant in taking victims to hospital because of associated legal processes and investigations that follow.
- To address that, the Centre inserted Section 134A in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, which deals with “Protection of Good Samaritans”.
Need for such scheme
- India witnesses around 5 lakh road accidents and 1.5 lakh deaths from them every year.
- As per several government assessments and independent studies, a large number of deaths occur because the victims did not get medical help within the golden hour.
Key features of the scheme
- Non-liability: Under the scheme, a good samaritan will not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of the victim of an accident involving a motor vehicle.
- Reward: The scheme entitles any person, who helps save a life by taking a road crash victim to the hospital during golden hour, to a reward of Rs 5,000 per accident.
- Anonymity clause: The new law is that the “Good Samaritan” is free to not disclose their name to the hospital or law enforcement authorities; they can also choose not to take part in any legal process.
Issues with the scheme
Ans. Poor response from the states
- Despite the Centre willing to give an initial grant of Rs 5 lakh for it, states have not even opened bank accounts to get the money.
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sent several reminders to states to operationalize the scheme.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: COVID mutation
Mains level: Not Much
A new lineage of SARS-CoV-2 has been designated as a Variant of Concern (VoC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been named Omicron.
Behind the name: Omicron
- The WHO has been using Greek letters to refer to the most widely prevalent coronavirus variants, which otherwise carry long scientific names.
- It had already used 12 letters of the Greek alphabet before the newest variant emerged in South Africa this week.
- After Mu, the 12th named after a Greek letter, WHO selected the name Omicron, instead of Nu or Xi, the two letters between Mu and Omicron.
- The WHO said Nu could have been confused with the word ‘new’ while Xi was not picked up following a convention.
Why is the Omicron variant interesting?
- The Omicron variant is interesting due to the fact that it has a large number of mutations compared to other prevalent variants circulating across the world.
- This includes 32 mutations in the spike protein.
- Many of these mutations lie in the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein, a key part of the protein required for binding to the human receptor proteins for entry into the cell.
- It can thus play an important role in recognition by antibodies generated due to a previous infection or by vaccines.
What do spike mutations do?
- Many of the mutations in the spike protein have been previously suggested to cause resistance to antibodies as well as increased transmission.
- Thus, there is a possibility that this variant could be more likely to re-infect people who have developed immunity against previous variants of the virus.
- The behavior of the virus is not yet accurately predictable based on the evidence on individual mutations.
Does the variant result in vaccine breakthrough infections?
- Some of the initial individuals identified to be infected with the variant have been vaccinated for COVID-19 and therefore the variant can indeed cause vaccine breakthrough infections.
- This should not be of concern, since the prevalent variants of concern including Delta have been shown to cause breakthrough infections.
- Whether the variant causes more breakthrough infections than Delta is not currently known.
How can we be prepared for the variant?
- Enhanced surveillance and genome sequencing efforts are essential to detect and track the prevalence of the Omicron variant.
- Rapid sharing of genome sequences of the virus and the epidemiological data linked with it to publicly available databases will help in developing a better understanding of the variant.
- Existing public health and social measures need to be strengthened to control and prevent transmission.
- Enhancing vaccination coverage across different regions along with access to testing, therapeutics and support will be essential for combating the new variant.
- Equitable access to vaccines would be key to controlling the Omicron variant, and slowing down the emergence of any future variants.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nuclear Projects in India
Mains level: Nuclear Energy
If built on time, Jaitapur Project in Maharashtra would be the largest nuclear power generating station in the world by net generation capacity, at 9,900 MW.
Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project
- Jaitapur Project is a proposed nuclear power plant in India.
- The power project is proposed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and would be built at Madban village of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra.
- It is being built with technical cooperation from France.
Project description
- It is proposed to construct 6 European Pressurized Reactors designed and developed by Framatome (former Areva) of France, each of 1650 MW, thus totaling 9900 MW.
- These are the third generation pressurized water reactors (PWR).
- The cost of building the plant is about ₹20 crore (US$2.7 million) per MW electric power compared with ₹5 crore (US$660,000) per MW electric power for a coal power station.
- A consortium of French financial institutions will finance this project as a loan. Both French and Indian government will give sovereign guarantee for this loan.
Issues with the project
(I) Liability for nuclear damage
- The lack of clarity on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 passed in Indian Parliament in August 2010 is a hurdle in finalizing deal.
- This Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 has a clause that deals with the legal binding of the culpable groups in case of a nuclear accident.
- It allows only the operator (NPCIL) to sue the manufacturers and suppliers. Victims will not be able to sue anyone.
(II) Clearance issue
- Environmental effects of nuclear power and geological issues have been raised by anti-nuclear activists of India against this power project.
- Even though the Maharashtra state govt completed land acquisition in 2010, only few people had accepted compensation cheques.
(III) Seismicity of the area
- Since Jaitapur is a seismically sensitive area, the danger of an earthquake has been foremost on the minds of people.
- According to the Earthquake hazard zoning of India, Jaitapur comes under Zone III. This zone is called the moderate Risk Zone and covers areas liable to MSK VIII.
- The presence of two major creeks on the proposed site has been ignored while clearing the site.
(IV) Nuclear waste disposal
- It is not clear where the nuclear waste from the site will be shipped for recycling or removed for disposal.
- The plant is estimated to generate 300 tonnes of used nuclear fuel each year.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Challenges facing Indian agriculture
Context
Many wish for legendary “Milk Man of India” Verghese Kurien’s presence in our midst today as the conflict between the Central government and the farming community on the issue of the farm laws appears to be still unresolved.
Adopting cooperative model
- Kurien won the farmers over with his professional integrity and his vision of a central role for farmers in India’s journey of development.
- It is on that foundation that Kurien went on to design his idea of Amul as a co-operative.
- He turned it over the years into a global brand, and later launched the White Revolution that would make India the largest milk producing nation in the world.
- Central to Kurien’s vision was the co-operative model of business development.
- Kurien’s fascination for the co-operative model was also influenced by Gandhian thinking on poverty alleviation and social transformation.
- Kurien could borrow from the ideas and the practices of the corporate world.
- In areas such as innovations in marketing and management, branding and technology, the private sector excels and sets benchmarks for businesses across the world to follow and adopt.
- Innovations and evolving technologies: At the same time, Amul was steadily emerging as a laboratory, developing significant innovations and evolving technologies of its own, and these have strengthened its competitive power against multinational corporations.
Challenges facing cooperative movements in India
- Amul’s success has not been the catalyst for similar movements across other agricultural commodities in India.
- Bypassing digital revolution: India’s digital revolution has bypassed the agriculture sector.
- The cooperative movement in India is in a state of flux.
- Decline of cooperative movement: India has suffered due to lack of professional management, adequate finance and poor adoption of technology.
Conclusion
This is truly a moment to reflect on Verghese Kurien’s remarkable legacy and the unfinished task he has left behind.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Making of Indian Constitution
Mains level: Paper 2- Indian Constitution
Context
On November 26, 1949,72 years ago, India adopted new Constitution. Provisions of the Constitution like those pertaining to citizenship, a provisional parliament and other transitional measures came into force immediately, on November 26, 1949.
Challenges faced by the Constituent Assembly
- Boycott of the members: The body was meant to comprise 296 members but was boycotted by some members who would eventually move to Pakistan.
- Hence, the assembly would be a 210-member body at the initial sessions.
- Deft statesmanship, not rage was displayed in response to the boycott.
- Juristicconcerns: There were other juristic concerns.
- The colonial constitutionalist Ivor Jennings, who long sought to be involved in India’s drafting project but was refused later, asked, why the Constitution of India “plays down communalism?”
- This was a stinging question, for Partition was the result of communalism, how could any of us forget that?
Important feature of Indian Constitution: Addressing historical discrimination
- India’s Constitution is unique in its approach for making reparations for historical discrimination on grounds of caste that defines the present and future of so many Indians.
- By contrast, America’s Constitution makes no apology nor enables reparations for slavery.
- Despite being a body that was not significantly diverse, the founders, having appreciated the concerns of their people, were able to stand outside of their own privilege and conceive of a founding document that would speak for those who have been silenced for thousands of years.
What makes the Indian Constitution enduring?
- After having studied every constitution from 1789 to 2005, Tom Ginsburg of the University of Chicago School of Law and his colleagues concluded that on average a constitution survives for around 17 years.
- France with 14 constitutions, Mexico at five constitutions and neighbouring Pakistan with three constitutions typify the global experience.
- Expansion of freedoms of citizens: India’s Constitution has endured because its founders, its interpreters — the constitutional courts — and litigants in the form of social movements have all ensured that it is used to consistently expand the freedoms of citizens, even if social morality thinks otherwise.
- Constitutional morality: The Constitution’s morality has stood firmly with disadvantaged castes, women, and religious minorities.
- Accommodating marginalised groups: In contemporary times, other marginalised groups like LGBT Indians have been heard by constitutional courts that have unanimously found for their freedoms and for a full equality.
Consider the question “Elaborate on the features that explain the endurance of the Indian Constitution.”
Conclusion
Today, we marvel at the 72nd year of the adoption of our Constitution, and 72 years of our birth as “We the People”. But, as we revel in our good fortune, we must also be aware that its endurance is deeply rooted in the ability of all of us to commit to the project of expanding freedom, not contracting it
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blockchain technology
Mains level: Paper 3- Approach towards cryptocurrencies
Context
The draft legislation on crypto currency being introduced in Parliament and the stance of the RBI suggest that consideration is being given to banning crypto currencies in India.
What fascination with crypto reveals about our society?
- It is about faith in that value is largely a matter of belief.
- It is about politics because money is always about the allocation of power.
- The money itself may not be material, but it is still embedded in a materiality.
- The fact that money is subject to politics is actually the advantage of money.
- It allows a modicum of collective control over our future, and allows distributive questions to be posed.
- It is mania because the alchemy of creating something out of nothing is always deeply alluring.
- Cheap money: The global economy is awash with cheap money.
- Seeking return: In an Indian context small savers are desperate for return.
- In this context it is easy for the powerful to misallocate money and the small saver to express desperation by speculation.
Background
- Faced with the inflation of the 1970s, thinkers like Friedrich Hayek theorised about reasserting the dominance of private currencies, protected from the state.
- Crypto currencies are a fascinating technological innovation.
- Part of their initial attraction was that they promised a new governance order.
- It is at the confluence of faith, politics, and psychological mania.
- Solving the problem of trust: This project crucially depended on solving the problem of “trust” on which every currency depends.
- Crypto seemed to solve that problem, with its decentralised architecture and community and self-verification protocols.
How cryptocurrency poses challenges to the state?
- No state was going to let go of its power to assert control over the monetary system.
- Significance of fiat money: The sustenance of state-sponsored fiat money is one of the great achievements of modern state formation and the foundation of its power and legitimacy.
- Cryptocurrency requires material infrastructure: There was a delusion, as if crypto is conjured out of thin air: It actually requires substantial material infrastructure, which a state could always control.
- States can shut down mining as China has done.
Way forward
- We allow people to invest in all kinds of things. Why ban this, especially now that so many investors are in it?
- Analyse the risk to the financial system: The answer to this question depends on how much risk the existence of crypto assets pose to the stability of the rest of the financial system.
- Insulate financial system: One answer is if you can insulate the financial system from the gyrations of crypto markets there are few systemic risks.
- This is why it was a good idea of the RBI to prohibit the entanglement of financial institutions with this market.
- Instead of just focussing on issues of fraud, money laundering, and private risks, the RBI’s case would be strengthened if it spelled out the systemic risks that crypto might pose to the stability of the real economy.
- Avoid ban with exception scenario: For political economy reasons, the RBI should avoid a scenario where it bans but then carves out exceptions.
- Ensuring that trade does not go offshore: The second thing is that if it somehow allows Indians to invest then it has to ensure that trade does not go offshore.
- Not fully banning and allowing it offshore will be the worst of both worlds.
Challenges in insulating the crypto market
- In practice the insulation of crypto markets will be difficult to achieve.
- Political economy: The first reason is political economy. Once you have a large number of investors, and some influential ones, they will be a vested interest in their own right, potentially demanding the socialisation or mitigation of losses.
- Impact of volume: The second reason is that it is difficult to pretend that a major new class of assets, especially if volumes grow, does not have systemic effects on the rest of the economy.
Consider the question “What are the risks and advantages provided by the cryptocurrencies? Suggest the approach India should adopt in dealing with cryptocurrencies.”
Conclusion
As the RBI makes the case for banning crypto, we also need to ask, why it is alluring in the first place. What does this mania reveal about our politics and economics?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Family Health Survey
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Union health ministry released the summary findings of the fifth round of the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted in two phases between 2019 and 2021.
About NFHS
- The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
- The previous four rounds of the NFHS were conducted in 1992-93, 1998-99, 2005-06 and 2015-16.
- The survey provides state and national information for India on:
Fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia, utilization and quality of health and family planning services etc.
Objectives of the survey
Each successive round of the NFHS has had two specific goals:
- To provide essential data on health and family welfare needed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and other agencies for policy and programme purposes
- To provide information on important emerging health and family welfare issues.
Key highlights of the NFHS-5
[1] Women outnumbering men
- NFHS-5 data shows that there were 1,020 women for 1000 men in the country in 2019-2021.
- This is the highest sex ratio for any NFHS survey as well as since the first modern synchronous census conducted in 1881.
- To be sure, in the 2005-06 NFHS, the sex ratio was 1,000 or women and men were equal in number.
[2] Fertility has decreased
- The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has also come down below the threshold at which the population is expected to replace itself from one generation to next.
- TFR was 2 in 2019-2021, just below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1. To be sure, in rural areas, the TFR is still 2.1.
- In urban areas, TFR had gone below the replacement fertility rate in the 2015-16 NFHS itself.
[3] Population is ageing
- A decline in TFR, which implies that lower number of children are being born, also entails that India’s population would become older.
- Sure enough, the survey shows that the share of under-15 population in the country has therefore further declined from 28.6% in 2015-16 to 26.5% in 2019-21.
[4] Children’s nutrition has improved
- The share of stunted (low height for age), wasted (low weight for height), and underweight (low weight for age) children have all come down since the last NFHS conducted in 2015-16.
- However, the share of severely wasted children has not, nor has the share of overweight (high weight for height) or anaemic children.
- The share of overweight children has increased from 2.1% to 3.4%.
[5] Nutrition problem for adults
- For children and their mothers, there are at least government schemes such as Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) that seek to address the nutritional needs at the time of childbirth and infancy.
- However, there is a need to address the nutritional needs of adults too.
- The survey has shown that though India might have achieved food security, 60% of Indians cannot afford nutritious diets.
- While the share of women and men with below-normal Body Mass Index (BMI) has decreased, the share of overweight and obese (those with above-normal BMI) and the share of anaemic has increased.
[6] Basic sanitation challenges
- Availability of basic amenities such as improved sanitation facilities clean fuel for cooking, or menstrual hygiene products can improve health outcomes.
- There has been an improvement on indicators for all three since the last NFHS. However, the degree of improvement might be less than claimed by the government.
- For example, only 70% population had access to an improved sanitation facility.
- While not exactly an indicator of open defecation, it means that the remaining 30% of the population has a flush or pour-flush toilet not connected to a sewer, septic tank or pit latrine.
[7] Use of clean fuel
- The share of households that use clean cooking fuel is also just 59%.
[8] Financial inclusion
- The share of women having a bank account that they themselves use has increased from 53% to 79%.
- Households’ coverage by health insurance or financing scheme also has increased 1.4 times to 41%, a clear indication of the impact of the government’s health insurance scheme.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NMPI
Mains level: Multidimensional Poverty in India
The Government think-tank NITI Aayog has released the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
- This baseline report of India’s first-ever national MPI measure is based on the reference period of 2015-16 of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)- 4.
- It uses the globally accepted and robust methodology developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- It captures multiple and simultaneous deprivations faced by households.
Parameters used
- The NMPI is calculated using 12 indicators — nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, antenatal care, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets and bank account,
- They have been grouped under three dimensions namely, health, education and standard of living.
Why NFHS-4?
- Data collected during the NFHS-4 (2015-2016) corresponds to the period before the full roll out of new governments’ flagship schemes.
- Hence it serves as a useful source for measuring the situation at baseline i.e. before large-scale rollout of nationally important schemes.
How is the data used?
- The national MPI 2021 is calculated using the household microdata collected at the unit-level for the NFHS-4 that is used to derive the baseline multidimensional poverty.
- Further, the country’s progress would be measured using this baseline in the NFHS-5, for which the data was collected between 2019 and 2020.
- The progress of the country with respect to this baseline will be measured using the NFHS-5 data collected in 2019-20.
Key highlights NMPI
- As per the index, 51.91% of the population in Bihar is poor, followed by Jharkhand (42.16%), Uttar Pradesh (37.79%), Madhya Pradesh (36.65%) and Meghalaya (32.67%).
- On the other hand, Kerala registered lowest population poverty levels (0.71%), followed by Puducherry (1.72%), Lakshadweep (1.82%), Goa (3.76%) and Sikkim (3.82%).
- Other States and UTs where less than 10% of the population are poor include Tamil Nadu (4.89%), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (4.30%), Delhi (4.79%), Punjab (5.59%), Himachal Pradesh (7.62%) and Mizoram (9.8%).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Solomon Islands
Mains level: NA
Australia has announced sending police, troops and diplomats to the Solomon Islands to help after anti-Government demonstrators.
Solomon Islands
- Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
- Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal.
- The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands (a part of Papua New Guinea).
- It excludes outlying islands, such as the Santa Cruz Islands and Rennell and Bellona.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Role of the parliamentary committees
Context
The Prime Minister has informed the nation that the Government is going to repeal the farm laws. This victory indeed takes India’s politics to a new phase — a phase of robust non-political movements with a certain staying power.
Trajectory of the enactment of the farm laws and its shortcomings
- Farmers not taken into confidence: These laws have a far-reaching impact on the farmers and it was very improper and quite unwise to push them through without taking the farmers into confidence.
- Question on urgency: Under Article 123 of the Constitution the President can legislate on a matter when there is great urgency in the nature of an emergency and the sitting of Parliament is quite some time away.
- Farm laws which make radical changes in the farm sector and affect the life of farmers in very significant ways do not have the kind of urgency which necessitates immediate legislation through the ordinances.
- Bills not referred to committee: It is a wrong impression that Bills which are brought to replace the ordinances are not or cannot be referred to the standing committees of Parliament.
- The Speaker/Chairman has the authority to refer any Bill except a money Bill to the standing committees.
Significance of parliamentary committees
- Consultation with Parliament and its time honoured system is a sobering and civilising necessity for governments howsoever powerful they may feel.
- The accumulated wisdom of the Houses is an invaluable treasure.
- The experience of centuries shows that scrutiny of Bills by the committees make better laws.
- The case of the farm laws holds an important lesson for this Government or any government.
- A proper parliamentary scrutiny of pieces of legislation is the best guarantee that sectoral interest will not jeopardise basic national interest.
- So, in any future legislation on farmers it is absolutely necessary to involve the systems of Parliament fully so that a balanced approach emerges.
Way forward
- Available data shows that Bills are very rarely referred to the committees these days.
- Discretion in the presiding officer: House rules have vested the discretion in the presiding officers in the matter of referring the Bills to committees.
- No reasoned decisions of the presiding officers for not referring them are available.
- Since detailed examination of Bills by committees result in better laws, the presiding officers may, in public interest, refer all Bills to the committees with few exceptions.
- In the light of the horrendous experience of the Government over the farm laws, the present practice of not referring the Bills to committees should be reviewed.
Consider the question ” The experience of centuries shows that scrutiny of Bills by the committees make better laws. In context of this, examine the significance of the parliamentary committees and why fewer bills have been referred to the committees in the recent past?”
Conclusion
Speaker Om Birla has spoken about strengthening the committee system in the recent presiding officers’ conference. One way of strengthening it is by getting all the important Bills examined by them.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Net-zero through sustainable well being
Context
With current per capita emissions that are less than half the global average, India’s pledge to reach ‘net zero’ emissions by 2070 has cemented India’s credentials as a global leader.
Implication of net-zero by 2070
- The political implication of the date 2070 is that the world should get to ‘net-zero’ by 2050.
- For that, the rich countries will need to do more and step up closer to their share of the carbon budget.
- India’s stand also signals that it will not act under external pressure, as requiring equal treatment is the hallmark of a global power, and will have an impact on other issues.
How focus on coal harms developing countries
- The subject of oil was not touched at COP26, even as automobile emissions are the fastest growing emissions, because it is a defining feature of western civilisation.
- Most abundant source of energy: Coal is the most abundant energy source, essential for base load in electrification, and the production of steel and cement.
- Its use declines after the saturation level of infrastructure is reached.
- Declining role of G-7 in rule setting: That India and China working together forced the G7 to make a retraction has signalled the coming of a world order in which the G7 no longer sets the rules.
- Specific language on finance and adaptation: After 40 years there is more specific language on both finance and adaptation finally recognising that costs and near-term effects of climate change will hit the poorest countries hardest.
Feasibility of the goal of ‘net-zero’ by 2070
- Seeing the challenge in terms of the scale and the speed of the transformation of the energy system assumes that India will follow the pathway of western civilisation.
- Transition to electrification: India is urbanising as it is industrialising, moving directly to electrification, renewable energy and electric vehicles, and a digital economy instead of a focus on the internal combustion engine.
- Most of the infrastructure required has still to be built and automobiles are yet to be bought.
- Investment vs. incurring cost: India will not be replacing current systems and will be making investments, not incurring costs.
Challenge for the West
- The consumption of affluent households both determines and accelerates an increase of emissions of carbon dioxide.
- This is followed by socio-economic factors such as mobility and dwelling size.
- In the West, these drivers have overridden the beneficial effects of changes in technology reflected in the material footprint and related greenhouse-gas emissions.
- The West has yet to come out with a clear strategy of how it will remain within the broad contours of its carbon budget.
- And increasing inequality and a rise of protectionism and trade barriers imposing new standards need to be anticipated.
- This knowledge is essential for national policy as well as the next round of climate negotiations.
Way forward for India
- Climate change has to be addressed by the West by reducing consumption, not just greening it.
- Shifting the consumption pattern: Consumption patterns need to be ‘shifted away from resource and carbon-intensive goods and services, e.g. mobility from cars and aircraft to buses and trains.
- Reducing the carbon intensity: Along with’ reducing demand, resource and carbon intensity of consumption has to decrease, e.g. expanding renewable energy, electrifying cars and public transport and increasing energy and material efficiency’.
- Equal distribution of wealth and affordable energy use: Equally important, will be achieving a’ more equal distribution of wealth with a minimum level of prosperity and affordable energy use for all’, e.g., housing and doing away with biomass for cooking.
- Focused research group: The Government now needs to set up focused research groups for the conceptual frame of sustainable well-being.
- It should analyse the drivers of affluent overconsumption and circulate synthesis of the literature identifying reforms of the economic systems as well as studies that show how much energy we really need for a decent level of well-being.
Role for legislature
- Fundamental duty: After the Stockholm Declaration on the Global Environment, the Constitution was amended in 1976 to include Protection and Improvement of Environment as a fundamental duty.
- Use of provision under Article 253: Parliament used Article 253 to enact the Environment Protection Act to implement the decisions reached at the Stockholm Conference.
- Enabling new set of legislation: The decisions at COP26 enable a new set of legislation around ecological limits, energy and land use, including the efficient distribution and use of electricity, urban design and a statistical system providing inputs for sustainable well-being.
Consider the question “Examine the feasibility of India’s ‘net-zero’ target by 2070, also suggest the way forward for India to achieve the target by focusing on sustainable well being”
Conclusion
For India, in parallel with the infrastructure and clean technology thrust, the focus on a decent living standard leads to behavioural change in the end-use service, such as mobility, shelter and nutrition — for change modifying wasteful trends.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Land Boundary Agreement
Mains level: India-Bangladesh Relations
Union Home Minister has said that the Northeast States will be linked by road and railway to Bangladesh in a year or two under the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).
Land Boundary Agreement (LBA)
- India and Bangladesh have signed the LBA in 2014 to ensure proper connectivity in the region.
- The operationalization of LBA lays the way for the exchange of 162 enclaves under the control of either country as per the 1974 pact.
- Under the Agreement, 111 border enclaves will be transferred to Bangladesh in exchange for 51 that will become part of India.
- The agreement settles an old land boundary dispute which dates back to colonial times as India transfers 111 border enclaves to Bangladesh in exchange for 51 enclaves.
- It also settles the question of citizenship for over 50,000 people residing under these enclaves.
Why was such an agreement needed?
- India and Bangladesh share a 4,096 km land boundary covering West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
- This is the largest among the international boundaries that India shares with its neighbors.
- On this boundary, some 50,000-100,000 people reside in so-called Chitmahals or Indo-Bangladeshi enclaves.
- There are 102 Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh and 71 Bangladeshi ones inside India.
- Inside those enclaves are also 28 counter-enclaves and one counter-counter-enclave, called Dahala Khagrabari.
The inception of the agreement
- For the first time, a vision to solve this issue had been enshrined in the Indira-Mujib pact of 1972.
- Accordingly, the India-Bangladesh LBA was signed between the two countries in 1974.
- However, this agreement need ratification from the parliaments of both countries as it involved the exchange of the territories.
- While Bangladesh had ratified it as back as 1974 only, it was not ratified by the Indian parliament till 2014.
- The 119th Amendment Bill 2013 sought to ratify the land boundary agreement between the two countries.
Key features of the LBA
- The LBA envisages a transfer of 111 Indian enclaves to Bangladesh in return for 51 enclaves to India.
- The area transferred to India is less than that transferred by India to Bangladesh. In totality, India incurs a net loss in terms of area occupancy.
- This remained a major concern of opposition from the north-eastern affected states and west Bengal.
- Also, most of the area concerned is occupied by the tribals of the North-Eastern states and hence the swapping takes away their land rights leaving them more vulnerable.
- Current Status of the Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill has been passed by the Parliament of India on 7th May 2015.
- While India will gain 510 acres of land, ten thousand acres of land will notionally go to Bangladesh.
- This legislation will redraw India’s boundary with Bangladesh by exchanging enclaves in Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya.
Implications of the Agreement
- It will secure the long-stranded boundary and enable to curb the illegal migration, smuggling and criminal acts across the border.
- It would help those stateless citizens by granting them citizenship from their respective countries. It would help settle the boundary dispute at several points in Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam, and West Bengal.
- It would improve the access to underdeveloped north-eastern states and would further enhance the developmental works in the region.
- It would help to increase the connectivity with south-east Asia as part of India’s North-eastern policy.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GST slab
Mains level: Harmonization of GST
The Government can rationalize the GST rate structure without losing revenues by rejigging the four major rates of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% with a three-rate framework of 8%, 15% and 30%, as per a National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) study.
GST Slabs
- In India, almost 500+ services and over 1300 products fall under the 4 major GST slabs.
- These comprise rates of 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. The GST Council periodically revises the items under each slab rate to adjust them according to industry demands and market trends.
- The updated structure ensures that the essential items fall under lower tax brackets, while luxury products and services entail higher GST rates.
- The 28% rate is levied on demerit goods such as tobacco products, automobiles, and aerated drinks, along with an additional GST compensation cess.
Why harmonize GST slabs?
- Multiple rate changes since the introduction of the GST regime in July 2017 have brought the effective GST rate to 11.6% from the original revenue-neutral rate of 15.5%.
- Merging the 12% and 18% GST rates into any tax rate lower than 18% may result in revenue loss.
- The nature of rate changes has also meant that over 40% of taxable turnover value now falls in the 18% tax slab, thus any move to dovetail that slab with a lower rate will trigger losses.
What next?
- Restructuring GST rates is a timely idea to improve revenues.
- It is important to sequence the transition to the new rate structure so as to minimize the costs associated with tax compliance, administration, and economic distortions.
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