Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Food fortification
Mains level: Paper 3- food fortification to deal with anaemia
Context
To deal with the high prevalence of anaemia, the government has been pursuing the policy of food fortification with iron. This policy needs a rethink.
Rice-fortification policy
- There are high levels of anaemia in India, affecting women and children equally.
- This is despite the corrective measures like mandatory supplementation of iron tablets through Anaemia Mukt Bharat programme of pharmaceutical iron supplementation.
- To deal with the issue, the government has decided on compulsory rice fortification in safety-net feeding programmes like the ICDS, PDS and school mid-day meals.
- This was announced by the Prime Minister in his recent Independence Day address to the nation.
- The mandatory rice fortification programme is being piloted in some districts already.
- Food fortification is considered attractive as it requires no behavioural modification by the beneficiary.
Why iron fortification policy needs re-examination?
1) Over-estimation of anaemia burden
- High WHO cutoff for Hg levels: WHO haemoglobin cut-offs are used to diagnose anaemia in India.
- There is a growing global consensus that these may be too high.
- A recent Lancet paper suggested a lower haemoglobin cut-off level to diagnose anaemia in Indian children.
- Using this will actually reduce the anaemia burden by two-thirds.
- Capillary Vs venous blood sample: Haemoglobin level can be falsely low when a capillary blood sample (taken by finger-prick) is used for measurement, instead of the more reliable venous blood sample (taken with a syringe from an arm vein). The anaemia burden in India is estimated from capillary blood, which inflates the anaemia burden substantially.
- If the recommended venous blood sample is used, it would halve this burden.
- There is, thus, a significant overestimation of anaemia burden.
2) Other nutrients and protein intake
- A MoHFW national survey (Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey) of Indian children showed that iron deficiency was related to less than half the anaemia cases.
- Many other nutrients and adequate protein intake are also important, for which a good diverse diet is required.
3) Iron requirement over-estimated
- The idea for iron fortification comes from the premise that a normal Indian diet cannot possibly meet an individual’s daily iron requirement.
- This is wrong thinking, and is based on older iron requirements (as per National Institute of Nutrition [NIN] 2010), which were much too high.
- The latest corrected iron requirements (NIN 2020) are 30-40 per cent lower.
- The iron density of the Indian vegetarian diet, about 9 mg/1000 kCal, can thus meet most requirements.
4) Challenges in rice fortification
- Rice fortification is very complex.
- It requires a fortified rice “kernel” or grain that is composed of rice flour paste, along with the required concentration of micronutrients and binders, extruded into a grain that exactly matches the shape of the rice it is intended to fortify.
- The problem lies in making “matching” kernels for each rice cultivar that is distributed in the food safety-net programmes from year to year and state to state.
- If it does not match, the instinct of a home cook will be to pick out and discard the odd grains, thereby defeating the purpose of fortification.
Risks involved
- Ingesting fortified salt (two teaspoons, 10 g/day) or rice (quarter kilo/day) will deliver an additional 10 mg iron/day each to the diet.
- When the iron intake exceeds 40 mg/day, the risk of toxicity goes up.
- The unabsorbed iron that remains in the gut can wreak havoc among the beneficial bacteria in the large intestine.
- Iron causes oxidative stress, and more seriously, is implicated in diabetes and cancer risk. Men will also be more at risk.
Way forward
- We just need to absorb the existing dietary iron better and complement this with all the other nutrients that are required, by eating a diverse diet (with fruits and vegetables, for example), and improving our environment.
- Indeed, it is well-known that the benefits derived from the nutrients in whole foods are greater than the sum of their parts.
Conclusion
We need to rethink our reductionist strategies if we are to deliver food and nutrition security to our people.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm
Mains level: Paper 3- Oil palm cultivation in India
Context
On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a support of Rs 11,000 crore to incentivise oil palm production.
National Mission on Edible Oils and Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)
- Under NMEO-OP, the government intends to bring an additional 6.5 lakh hectares under oil palm cultivation.
- The agro-business industry has said the move will help its growth and reduce the country’s dependence on palm oil imports, especially from Indonesia and Malaysia.
- Indonesia has emerged as a significant palm oil hub in the last decade and has overtaken Malaysia.
- The two countries produce 80 per cent of global oil palm.
- Indonesia exports more than 80 per cent of its production.
Reducing the import dependence
- India imported 18.41 million tonnes of vegetable oil in 2018.
- The National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm are part of the government’s efforts to reduce the dependence on vegetable oil production.
- The Yellow Revolution of the 1990s led to a rise in oilseeds production.
- Though there has been a continuous increase in the production of diverse oilseeds — groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, soybean — that has not matched the increasing demand.
- Most of these oilseeds are grown in rain-fed agriculture areas of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
Issues with oil palm cultivation in India
- Impact on biodiversity: Studies on agrarian change in Southeast Asia have shown that increasing oil palm plantations is a major reason for the region’s declining biodiversity.
- The Northeast is recognised as the home of around 850 bird species, it is also home to citrus fruits, it is rich in medicinal plants and harbours rare plants and herbs.
- Above all, it has 51 types of forests.
- Studies conducted by the government have also highlighted the Northeast’s rich biodiversity.
- The palm oil policy could destroy this richness of the region.
- To preserve the environment and biodiversity, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have already started putting restrictions on palm tree plantation.
- Water pollution: Along with adversely impacting the country’s biodiversity, it has led to increasing water pollution.
- Climate change: The decreasing forest cover has significant implications with respect to increasing carbon emission levels and contributing to climate change.
- Against the notion of self-reliance: Such initiatives are also against the notion of community self-reliance:
- The initial state support for such a crop results in a major and quick shift in the existing cropping pattern that are not always in sync with the agro-ecological conditions and food requirements of the region.
- Against commitment to sustainable agriculture: The policy also contradicts the government’s commitments under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.
- The mission aims at “Making agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location specific integrated/composite farming systems.”
- The palm oil mission, instead, aims at achieving complete transformation of the farming system of Northeast India.
- Studies also show that in case of variations in global palm oil prices, households dependent on palm oil cultivation become vulnerable.
Consider the question “India depend on import for its vegetable oil requirements to a larger extent. What are the steps taken by the government to reduce the dependence? Can oil palm cultivation in India be a solution?”
Conclusion
Similar environmental and political outcomes cannot be ruled out in India. Apart from the possible hazardous impacts in Northeast India, such trends could have negative implications on farmer incomes, health, and food security in other parts of the country in the long run.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Arctic Council
Mains level: Geopolitics of the Arctic
It is tempting to view the current geopolitics of the Arctic through the lenses of the ‘great power competition’ and inevitable conflict of interests.
Current geopolitical scenario in the Arctic: US-Russia Spat
- It is mainly viewed as the growing tensions between North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and Russia.
- By the end of the Cold War, the geopolitical tensions and security concerns in the Arctic were almost forgotten.
- The perceived ‘harmony’ was broken in 2007, when the Russian explorers planted their flag on the seabed 4,200m (13,779ft) below the North Pole to articulate Moscow’s claims in the Arctic.
- This move was certainly viewed as provocative by other Arctic State.
- The regional tension increased after the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2014.
- Consequently, relations between the U.S. and Russia reached their lowest point again.
Note: Five Arctic littoral states — Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Russia and the USA (Alaska) — and three other Arctic nations — Finland, Sweden and Iceland — form the Arctic Council (estd. 1996).
Try mapping them.
Caution: India became an Observer in the Arctic Council for the first time in 2013. And, India isn’t a full-time observer.
China’s vested interests in Arctic
- China, for example, with its self-proclaimed status of a ‘near Arctic state’, has been actively engaged in various projects across the region.
- The importance of the Arctic region for China mostly stems from its energy security issues and the need to diversify shipping lanes.
Why China focuses on Arctic?
- Transport routes from China to Europe through the Arctic are not only much shorter but also free from the challenges associated with the Malacca Strait and South China Sea.
- In the latter case, China will continue facing a backlash from many Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, supported by US forces and Quad.
Impact of Climate change on Arctic
- The Arctic is warming nearly twice as fast as the rest of the planet with consecutive record-breaking warm years since 2014.
- The Arctic is likely to begin experiencing ice-free summers within the next decade, with summers likely to be completely free of sea ice by mid-century.
Conclusion
- Given the significance of the region, the Arctic will continue to draw increased attention.
- Hence, countries should refrain from mutual provocations, excessive militarisation, and quid pro quo tactics.
- All Arctic actors should have a long-term vision and strategic goals as compared to immediate short-term gains.
- Instead of creating a potential battleground that is reminiscent of the Cold War, the parties concerned should utilise their expertise and create the required synergy to achieve shared goals.
- Climate change and its dramatic consequences must be a catalyst for Arctic cooperation.
Back2Basics: Arctic Council
- It is an advisory body that promotes cooperation among member nations and indigenous groups as per the Ottawa Declaration of 1996.
- Its focus is on sustainable development and environmental protection of the Arctic.
- The Arctic Council consists of the eight Arctic States: Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States.
- In 2013, six Observers joined the Arctic Council, including China, Japan, India, Italy, South Korea, and Singapore, bringing their total number to 13.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Volanic eruptions in news
Mains level: Volcanic landforms
Geologists have detected a swarm of earthquakes at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, though it was not erupting.
Kilauea Volcano
- Kilauea is about 200 miles south of Honolulu, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
- It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, having erupted 34 times since 1952. In Hawaiian tradition, Kilauea is home to the volcano goddess Pele.
- From 1983 to 2018, it erupted almost continuously, in some cases sending streams of lava that covered farms and homes.
- At the end of this decades-long eruption, Kilauea spewed lava from vents in a residential neighborhood on its eastern flank and destroyed more than 700 homes.
- In December, Kilauea erupted at the crater, creating a lake with enough lava to fill 10 Hoover dams. That eruption ended in May.
Do not skip answering this PYQ:
Consider the following statements:
- The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
- Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar.
- The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2014)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1 and 3 only
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Back2Basics: Volcanic Landforms
- Note the intrinsic and extrinsic types of volcanic landforms
- A volcano has 3 main characteristics
- Cone shaped mountain
- Formed by rock or ash thrown from the inside of the earth
- At times, opening or depression at top
- The three main types of volcanos are:
- Cinder cone Volcano: The cinder cones are small volcanoes with steep sides. Even though they are small, these are the ones you probably hear about. They are very explosive and made of ash and rock. Most of the cinder cones are small and less than 500 meters high. A famous cinder cone is Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona.
- Shield Volcanoes: A shield is a low and broad volcano that usually has a very wide crater (a dent in the Earth’s surface). It is formed from thin layers of lava after consistent low-grade eruptions. The largest volcano in the world is a shield volcano. It is located in Hawaii.
- Composite volcanoes: They are the tallest type of volcano. They look very impressive but do usually have quiet and slow lava flows. They sometimes have small eruptions that cause ash and rock to go flying. One of the most famous volcanoes in the world is a composite volcano. It is Mount Fuji in Japan.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kolkata City
Mains level: Urban development of colonial period
A 2003 judgment by the Calcutta High Court generates discussion of the city’s age, its date of founding, and Job Charnock, whom many credits for having “found” the city of Calcutta.
Calcutta: Who founded the city?
Nobody.
- A place then called Kalikatah was an important religious centre due to the existence of the Kali temple in the adjacent village of Kalighat.
- The first literary reference to the site is found in Bipradas Pipilai’s magnum opus Manasa Mangala which dates back to 1495.
- Abul Fazl’s Ain-I-Akbari dating 1596 also mentions the place.
- The Sabarna Roy Choudhury family was granted the Jagirdari of Kalikatah by Emperor Jehangir in 1608.
Who was Job Charnock?
- Job Charnock (1630–1693) was an English administrator with the East India Company.
- He was once regarded as the founder of the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).
- However, this view is challenged, and in 2003 the Calcutta High Court declared that he ought not to be regarded as the founder.
- Charnock was entrusted with procuring the Company’s saltpetre and appointed to the centre of the trade, Patna in Bihar in1659.
Beginning of Urbanization
- The establishment of the Government House in 1767 and the Lottery Commission in 1817 were the other important developments in the city’s history that gave its urban landscape more defined contours.
- This commission was entirely responsible for the setting up of the city’s roads, streets and lanes.
- Some markers of urban settlements include planned roads, water supply and transport.
- The establishment of these in the early 19th century was responsible for making Calcutta the great city that it eventually became.
Significance of Kolkata
One of the most significant developments that gave the city a semblance of urban formation occurred in 1756 when the Nawab of Bengal Siraj ud-Daulah lay siege to Calcutta.
- This was in retaliation for the British East India Company engaging in unauthorized development of the structure that is now known as Fort William.
- The East India Company was defeated in a decisive battle, making them realise the vulnerability of the fort.
- Post 1757 the fort was remade and fortified with enhanced protection, the construction was exceptionally well done.
- It was really this attack on Fort William, a bastion of the British and other Europeans living there, that changed the map of Calcutta.
- The Europeans who used to primarily lived inside the fort—the European merchants, the administrators etc—started moving out.
- They knew that if there was an attack, there was infrastructure to save them. That was European Calcutta, what we call ‘White Town’.
Hey! We won’t let you move away without answering this PYQ:
Wellesley established the Fort William College at Calcutta because (CSP 2020):
(a) He was asked by the board of directors at London to do so
(b) He wanted to revive interest in oriental learning in India
(c) He wanted to provide William Carey and his associates with employment
(d) He wanted to train British civilians for administrative purposes in India.
Post your answers here:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SUJALAM Campaign
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Jal Shakti began ‘SUJALAM’, a ‘100 days campaign’ to create more and more ODF Plus villages by undertaking wastewater management at the village level.
SUJALAM Campaign
The key activities that will be organized in the villages under this campaign include:
- Organizing Community consultations, Khuli Baithaks and Gram Sabha meetings to analyze the current situation
- Pass resolution to maintain ODF sustainability and achieve a needed number of soak pits to manage the greywater
- Develop a 100 days’ plan to undertake sustainability and soak pit construction-related activities
- Construct a requisite number of soak pits
- Retrofit toilets where needed through IEC and community mobilization and
- Ensure all newly emerging Households in the village have access to toilets
Objectives of the campaign
- The effort of the campaign would be directed towards achieving the ODF plus status for villages across the country in an accelerated manner in a short time.
- The campaign will not only build desired infrastructure soak pit for management of greywater in villages but will also aid in sustainable management of water bodies.
- The disposal of wastewater and clogging of water bodies in the villages or on the outskirts of the villages remain one of the major problems.
- The Campaign would help in the management of the wastewater and in turn, would help to revive the water bodies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- International recognition of a government
Context
The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has triggered a new debate in international law on the issue of recognising an entity that claims to be the new government of a state.
Legal challenge of recognising a government
- Questions of recognition do not arise when the change of government within a state occurs when political power is transferred through legal means.
- However, things are different when the change of government happens through extra-legal methods like ousting the sitting government using unconstitutional means.
- China and Russia, two of the five permanent United Nations Security Council members, have seemingly shown readiness to recognise a Taliban-led government.
- Whereas countries like Canada have opposed it.
- Recognition of governments under international law is vital for several reasons.
- Recognition of government Vs. Recognition of State: Malcolm Shaw, the international lawyer, writes, “a change in government, however, accomplished, does not affect the identity of the State itself.”
- Thus, in the current debate, the issue is not about the recognition of Afghanistan, whose legal personality remains intact it’s about the recognition of government.
Two doctrines in Internation laws for recognising a government
1) Effectiveness
- According to this principle, to recognise a government means to determine whether it effectively controls the state it claims to govern.
- Under this doctrine, it is immaterial how the new government occupied office.
- Since there is hardly any doubt that the Taliban now effectively controls Afghanistan, as per this test, it would be recognised as Afghanistan’s government for international law and thus, international relations.
2) Democratic legitimacy
- According to this doctrine, recognition of a government also depends on whether it is the legitimate representative of the people it claims to govern.
- The end of the Cold War, the subsequent spread of democracy in the world, and the growing demand for universal respect for human rights gave an impetus to this doctrine in the last three decades.
- This doctrine has led many countries to bestow de jure recognition (legal recognition) on governments in exile in place of governments exercising effective control.
- Two recent examples include recognition by some states of Yemen’s government in exile since 2015.
- Second, the Nicolás Maduro government in Venezuela is not recognised by several countries due to the alleged lack of democratic legitimacy.
- The Taliban regime, despite exercising effective control over Afghanistan, lacks democratic legitimacy.
- Thus, it would fail to be recognised as the legitimate representative of Afghanistan if the doctrine of democratic legitimacy is applied.
- Nevertheless, there is no binding legal obligation on countries to withhold recognition citing democratic legitimacy.
- Thus, if Russia and China were to formally recognise the Taliban regime due to its effective control of Afghanistan, it would be consistent with international law.
Way forward for India
- India will have to find a way to engage with the Taliban given India’s huge investments in Afghanistan and stakes in the South Asian region.
- India should adopt a clear policy that it will deal with the Taliban simply because it is the de facto government, not because it is a legitimate one.
- This principle should be followed for bilateral relations and also for multilateral dealings such as within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
Consider the question “What are the doctrines in international law in recognising the government of State? What should be India’s course of action in dealing with the Taliban in Afghanistan?”
Conclusion
Given the Taliban’s brutal past, India is within its right to withhold de jure recognition of the Taliban regime. However, India has to devise a policy to deal with the Taliban as a de facto government.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with automated facial recognition system
Context
On June 23, 2021, the Joint Committee examining the Personal Data Protection Bill (2019) was granted a fifth extension by Parliament. While the Government has been simultaneously exploring the potential of facial recognition technology.
Automatic Facial Recognition in India
- To empower the Indian police with information technology, India approved implementation of the National Automated Facial Recognition System (NAFRS).
- On its implementation, it will function as a national-level search platform that will use facial recognition technology.
- It will help to facilitate investigation of crime or for identifying a person of interest regardless of face mask, makeup, plastic surgery, beard or hair extension.
Issues with AFR technology
- Intrusive in nature: The technology is absolutely intrusive, for the purposes of ‘verification’ or ‘identification’, the system compares the faceprint generated with a large existing database of faceprints typically available to law enforcement agencies.
- Accuracy and bias: Though the accuracy of facial recognition has improved over the years due to modern machine-learning algorithms, the risk of error and bias still exists.
- With the element of error and bias, facial recognition can result in profiling of some overrepresented groups (such as Dalits and minorities) in the criminal justice system.
- Privacy: As NAFRS will collect, process, and store sensitive private information: facial biometrics for long periods; if not permanently — it will impact the right to privacy.
- Accordingly, it is crucial to examine whether its implementation is arbitrary and thus unconstitutional, i.e., is it ‘legitimate’, ‘proportionate to its need’ and ‘least restrictive’?
- The Supreme Court, in the K.S. Puttaswamy judgment provided a three-fold requirement to safeguard against any arbitrary state action.
- Unfortunately, NAFRS fails each one of these tests.
- Any encroachment on the right to privacy requires the existence of ‘law’ (to satisfy legality of action); there must exist a ‘need’, in terms of a ‘legitimate state interest’; and, the measure adopted must be ‘proportionate’ and it should be ‘least intrusive.’
- Lack of law: It does not stem from any statutory enactment (such as the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill 2018 proposed to identify offenders or an executive order of the Central Government.
- Rather, it was merely approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in 2009.
- Fails proportionality test: Even if we assume that there exists a need for NAFRS to tackle modern day crimes, this measure is grossly disproportionate.
- For NAFRS to achieve the objective of ‘crime prevention’ or ‘identification’ will require the system to track people on a mass scale — avoiding a CCTV in a public place is difficult — resulting in everyone becoming a subject of surveillance: a disproportionate measure.
- Impact on civil liberties: As anonymity is key to functioning of a liberal democracy, unregulated use of facial recognition technology will dis-incentivise independent journalism or the right to assemble peaceably without arms, or any other form of civic society activism.
- Due to its adverse impact on civil liberties, some countries have been cautious with the use of facial recognition technology.
- In the United States, the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act of 2020 was introduced in the Senate to prohibit biometric surveillance without statutory authorisation.
- Similarly, privacy watchdogs in the European Union have called for a ban on facial recognition.
Way forward
- Statutory basis: NAFRS should have statutory authorisation, and guidelines for deployment.
- Data protection law: In the interest of civil liberties it is important to impose a moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology till we enact a strong and meaningful data protection law.
Consider the question “What are the issues associated with the deployment of NAFRS? Suggest the way forward.”
Conclusion
In sum, even if facial recognition technology is needed to tackle modern-day criminality in India, without accountability and oversight, facial recognition technology has strong potential for misuse and abuse.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indira Sawhney Case
Mains level: Creamy Layer Issue
The basis of exclusion of ‘creamy layer’ cannot be merely economic, a Supreme Court Bench has observed in their judgment, while referring to the court’s Indra Sawhney verdict of 1992.
What was the case?
- The court was hearing a petition challenging some notifications by the Haryana government sub-classifying backward classes solely on economic basis while fixing the criteria for creamy layer.
- The notifications said children of persons having “gross annual income” of up to ₹3 lakh annually would get the benefit of reservation in services and admission in educational institutions.
- The remaining quota would go to those from backward families, which earn between₹3 lakh and ₹6 lakh per annum.
- The sections earning over ₹6 lakh annually were considered as ‘creamy layer’ under Section 5 of the 2016 Act.
- The apex court held that the Haryana’s notifications have violated the law declared in the Indra Sawhney judgment by identifying creamy layer only on the basis of income.
Defying Indra Sawhney Verdict (1992)
- The case had declared that ‘creamy layer’ in a backward community should be excluded from reservation so that the more deserving were able to come up.
- Explaining this verdict, court said that such persons were to be treated as ‘creamy layer’ without any further inquiry.
Who else would be excluded from such reservation?
- Likewise, people with sufficient income who were in a position to provide employment to others should also be taken to have reached a higher social status and therefore, should be treated as outside the backward class.
- Similarly, persons from backward classes who had higher agricultural holdings or were receiving income from properties, beyond a prescribed limit, do not deserve the benefit of reservation.
Key takeaways from the Judgement
- The Supreme Court has held that the government cannot deny reservation to a person belonging to a backward community solely on the ground that he or she is rich.
- Social advancement, higher employment in government services, etc, played an equal role in deciding whether such a person belonged to the creamy layer and could be denied quota benefits.
- The court had illustrated that ‘creamy layer’ would include persons from backward classes who occupied posts in higher services like IAS, IPS, and All India Services.
- These persons had reached a higher level of social advancement and economic status,and therefore, were not entitled to be treated as backward.
What is the Creamy Layer?
- Creamy Layer is a concept that sets a threshold within which OBC reservation benefits are applicable.
- While there is a 27% quota for OBCs in government jobs and higher educational institutions, those falling within the “creamy layer” cannot get the benefits of this quota.
Basis of Creamy Layer
- It is based on the recommendation of the Second Backward Classes Commission (Mandal Commission).
- The government in 1990 had notified 27% reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in vacancies in civil posts and services that are to be filled on direct recruitment.
- After this was challenged, the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney case (1992) upheld 27% reservation for OBCs, subject to exclusion of the creamy layer.
How is it determined?
- Following the order in Indra Sawhney, an expert committee headed by Justice (retired) R N Prasad was constituted for fixing the criteria for determining the creamy layer.
- In 1993, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) listed out various categories of people of certain rank/status/income whose children cannot avail the benefit of OBC reservation.
- For those not in government, the current threshold is an income of Rs 8 lakh per year.
- For children of government employees, the threshold is based on their parents’ rank and not income.
- For instance, an individual is considered to fall within the creamy layer if either of his or her parents is in a constitutional post; if either parent has been directly recruited in Group-A; or if both parents are in Group-B services.
- If the parents enter Group-A through promotion before the age of 40, their children will be in the creamy layer.
- Children of a Colonel or higher-ranked officer in the Army, and children of officers of similar ranks in the Navy and Air Force, too, come under the creamy layer.
- Income from salaries or agricultural land is not clubbed while determining the creamy layer (2004).
Back2Basics: Indira Sawhney Case
In the famous Mandal case (Indra Sawhney Case, 1992), the scope and extent of Article 16(4), which provides for reservation of jobs in favor of backward classes, has been examined thoroughly by the Supreme Court.
- Though the Court has rejected the additional reservation of 10% for poorer sections of higher castes, it upheld the constitutional validity of a 27% reservation for the OBCs with certain conditions.
- The advanced sections among the OBCs (the creamy layer) should be excluded from the list of beneficiaries of reservation.
- No reservation in promotions; reservation should be confined to initial appointments only. Any existing reservation in promotions can continue for five years only (i.e., up to 1997).
- The total reserved quota should not exceed 50% except in some extraordinary situations. This rule should be applied every year.
- The ‘carry forward rule’ in case of unfilled (backlog) vacancies is valid. But it should not violate the 50% rule.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Immunities of ministers
Mains level: Parliamentary privileges
The Maharashtra Police has arrested the Union Minister for MSMEs for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the CM.
Procedure to arrest a Cabinet Minister
- If Parliament is not in session, a cabinet minister can be arrested by a law enforcement agency in case of a criminal case registered against him.
- As per Section 22 A of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business of the Rajya Sabha, the Police, Judge, or Magistrate would, however, have to intimate the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha about the reason for the arrest, the place of detention or imprisonment in an appropriate form.
What is the procedure to be followed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in case of an arrest?
- The Chairman is expected to inform the Council if it is sitting about the arrest.
- If the council is not sitting, he/she is expected to publish it in the bulletin for the information of the members.
What about the privileges of the Rajya Sabha members vis-a-vis arrests?
- As per the main privileges of Parliament, in civil cases, they have freedom from arrest during the continuance of the House and 40 days before its commencement and 40 days after its conclusion, as per section 135 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
- The privilege of freedom from arrest does not extend to criminal offences or cases of detention under preventive detention.
Can a person be arrested from the precincts of the House?
- No arrest, whether of a member or of a stranger, can be made within the precincts of the House without the prior permission of the Chairman/Speaker and that too in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Home Ministry in this regard.
- Similarly, no legal process, civil or criminal, can be served within the precincts of the House without obtaining the prior permission of the Chairman/Speaker whether the House is in session or not.
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Back2Basics: Parliamentary Privileges
- Article 105 and Article 194 grant privileges or advantages to the members of the parliament so that they can perform their duties or can function properly without any hindrances.
- Such privileges are granted as they are needed for democratic functioning.
- These powers, privileges, and immunities should be defined by the law from time to time.
- These privileges are considered special provisions and have an overriding effect in conflict.
Freedom from being arrested
- The member of parliament cannot be arrested 40 days before and 40 days after the session of the house.
- If in any case a member of Parliament is arrested within this period, the concerned person should be released in order to attend the session freely.
Right to exclude strangers from its proceedings and hold secret sessions
- The object of including this right was to exclude any chances of daunting or threatening any of the members.
- The strangers may attempt to interrupt the sessions.
Right to prohibit the publication of its reporters and proceedings
- The right has been granted to remove or delete any part of the proceedings that took place in the house.
Right to regulate internal proceedings
- The House has the right to regulate its own internal proceedings and also has the right to call for the session of the Legislative assembly.
- But it does not have any authority in interrupting the proceedings by directing the speaker of the assembly.
Right to punish members or outsiders for contempt
- This right has been given to every house of the Parliament.
- If any of its members or maybe non-members commit contempt or breach any of the privileges given to him/her, the houses may punish the person.
- The houses have the right to punish any person for any contempt made against the houses in the present or in the past.
Article 105(3) and Article 194(3) states that the parliament should from time to time define the laws or pass the laws on the powers, privileges and immunities of the members of the parliament and members of the legislative assembly.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sri Guru Granth Sahib
Mains level: Not Much
A union minister has received one of the Saroops of the holy Guru Granth Sahib flown in from Afghanistan.
What is Saroop?
- Saroop is a physical copy of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, also called Bir in Punjabi.
- Every Bir has 1,430 pages, which are referred to as Ang. The verses on every page remain the same.
- The Sikhs consider the Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib a living guru and treat it with utmost respect.
- They believe that all the 10 Gurus were the same spirit in different bodies, and the Guru Granth Sahib is their eternal physical and spiritual form.
Compilation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib
- It was the fifth Sikh master, Guru Arjan Dev, who compiled the first Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib in 1604, and installed it at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
- Later, the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh, added verses penned by the ninth master, his father Guru Tegh Bahadur, and compiled the Bir for the second and last time.
- It was in 1708 that Guru Gobind Singh declared the Guru Granth Sahib the living Guru of the Sikhs.
- Guru Granth Sahib is a compendium of hymns written by six Sikh gurus,15 saints, including Bhagat Kabir, Bhagat Ravidas, Sheikh Farid and Bhagat Namdev, 11 Bhatts (balladeers) and four Sikhs.
- The verses are composed in 31 ragas.
What does the act of carrying the saroop on one’s head signify?
- The installation and transportation of Guru Granth Sahib is governed by a strict code of conduct called rehat maryada.
- As a mark of respect, the Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib is carried on the head, and the person walks barefoot.
- Whenever a devout sees the Bir of Guru Granth Sahib passing by, s/he removes her shoes and bows.
- A ceremonial whisk is waved high over the Guru Granth Sahib either on the move or while reading from it.
- Gurdwaras have a separate resting place for the Saroop, called ‘Sukh Asan Sthan’ or ‘Sachkhand’ where the Guru rests at night.
- This takes place at the end of the day when the holy book is ceremoniously shut and rested. In the morning, the saroop is again installed in a ceremony called ‘prakash’.
- Many tourists specially come to watch the prakash and sukha asan ceremony of the Guru Granth Sahib at the Golden Temple.
Where are copies of the Guru Granth Sahib published?
- There was a tradition among Punjabis, both Sikhs and Hindus, to copy the Guru Granth Sahib by hand and produce multiple copies.
- The Udasi and Nirmla sects also played a role in making handwritten copies of the Birs until the British introduced the printing press.
- Nowadays, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has the sole rights to publish the Birs of the Guru Granth Sahib, and this is done at Amritsar.
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Try answering this PYQ:
Consider the following Bhakti Saints:
- Dadu Dayal
- Guru Nanak
- Tyagaraja
Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over? (CSP 2018)
(a) 1 and 3
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 2
Post your answers here:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Transport Initiative for Asia
Mains level: Not Much
NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute (WRI), India, jointly launched the ‘Forum for Decarbonizing Transport’ in India as part of the NDC-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA).
Transport Initiative for Asia
- The NDC Transport Initiative for Asia (TIA 2020-2023) is a joint programme that will engage China, India, and Vietnam in promoting a comprehensive approach to decarbonizing transport in their respective countries.
- The project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
- NITI Aayog is the implementing partner for the India component of the project.
- The project aims at bringing down the peak level of GHG emissions (transport sector) in Asia (in line with a well below 2-degree pathway), resulting in problems like congestion and air pollution.
Why need such initiative?
- India has a massive and diverse transport sector, which is also the third most CO2 emitting sector.
- Data suggests that within the transport sector, road transport contributes to more than 90% of the total CO2 emissions.
- The NDC-TIA India component focuses on developing a coherent strategy of effective policies and the formation of a multi-stakeholder platform for decarbonizing transport in the country.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: E-Shram Portal
Mains level: Welfare of the unorganized workers
The Union Ministry of Labour & Employment will launch the e-Shram portal – National Database on Unorganized Workers (NDUW).
What is the E-Shram Portal?
- The government aims to register 38 crore unorganized workers, such as construction labourers, migrant workforce, street vendors and domestic workers, among others.
- The workers will be issued an e-Shram card containing a 12-digit unique number, which, going ahead, will help in including them in social security schemes.
- The government had earlier missed deadlines for creating the database, inviting criticism from the Supreme Court.
How will the registration for workers happen on the portal?
- The registration of workers on the portal will be coordinated by the Labour Ministry, state governments, trade unions and CSCs.
- Awareness campaigns would be planned across the country to enable nationwide registration of workers.
- Following the launch of the portal, workers from the unorganized sector can begin their registration from the same day.
- A national toll free number — 14434 — will also be launched to assist and address the queries of workers seeking registration on the portal.
- A worker can register on the portal using his/her Aadhaar card number and bank account details, apart from filling other necessary details like date of birth, home town, mobile number and social category.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Jim Corbett NP, NTCA
Mains level: Tiger Conservation
The Delhi High Court has asked the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to consider as a representation a petition to stop the alleged illegal construction of bridges and walls within the tiger breeding habitat of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Jim Corbett National Park
- Jim Corbett NP is the oldest national park in India and was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park to protect the endangered Bengal tiger.
- It is located in Nainital district and Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand and was named after hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett.
- The park was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative.
- It has sub-Himalayan belt geographical and ecological characteristics.
- Dense moist deciduous forest mainly consists of sal, haldu, peepal, rohini and mango trees.
- Forest covers almost 73% of the park, while 10% of the area consists of grasslands.
Try answering this PYQ:
Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat” ? (CSP 2020)
(a) Corbett
(b) Ranthambore
(c) Nagarjunasagar- Srisailam
(d) Sunderbans
Post your answers here:
Back2Basics: National Tiger Conservation Authority
- The NTCA was established in December 2005, following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India.
- The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 was amended in 2006 to provide for constituting NTCA responsible for the implementation of the Project Tiger plan to protect endangered tigers.
- It works for the reorganized management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Reserves in India.
- A program for protection called, ‘Tiger Protection Program’ (popularly known as Project Tiger) was started in 1973, by the GOI in co-operation with WWF.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: India's expenditure on health
Mains level: Paper 2- India needs NHS like healthcare model
Context
Even after the pandemic, the Indian government continues to budget less than 1 per cent of GDP for healthcare, one of the lowest in the world.
About NHS
- Every year, Britain’s legendary health network National Health Service (NHS) cures 15 million patients with chronic ailments, at a fraction of the cost spent by the US.
- The NHS funded by direct taxes is also the fifth largest employer in the world, after McDonalds and Walmart.
- One of every 20 British workers is employed as a doctor, nurse, catering and technical personnel.
Public healthcare in India
- Even after the pandemic, the Indian government continues to budget less than 1 per cent of GDP for healthcare, one of the lowest in the world.
- In contrast, China invests around 3 per cent, Britain 7 per cent and the United States 17 per cent of GDP.
- So, 62 per cent of health expenses in India are paid for by patients themselves
- This is one of the main reasons for families falling into poverty especially during the pandemic.
- In India, hospitals are beleaguered with absentee staff.
- As per a Niti Aayog database, in the worst state of Bihar in 2017-18, positions for 60 per cent of midwives, 50 per cent of staff nurses, 34 per cent of medical officers and 60 per cent of specialist doctors were vacant.
- Those on the job, despite being handsomely paid, are chronically overworked.
Conclusion
In the 21st century, not much has improved in India’s public hospitals. Still, in India doctors are often equated with gods. What India needs in NHS like healthcare model.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tauktae and Yaas
Mains level: Paper 3- Need for long term mitigation measures to deal with the cyclones
Context
The severe cyclones, Tauktae and Yaas, battered India earlier this year. With a rise in the frequency of devastating cyclones, India needs to look at long-term mitigation measures.
India’s vulnerability
- The Indian coastline is around 7,500 km; there are 96 coastal districts (which touch the coast or are close to it), with 262 million people exposed to cyclones and tsunamis.
- The World Bank and the United Nations (2010) estimate that around 200 million city residents would be exposed to storms and earthquakes by 2050 in India.
- Between 1891 and 2020, out of the 313 cyclones crossing India’s eastern and western coasts, the west coast experienced 31 cyclones, while 282 cyclones crossed the east coast.
- Among the natural disasters, cyclones constituted the second most frequent phenomena that occurred in 15% of India’s total natural disasters over 1999-2020.
- According to the Global Climate Risk Index report 2021, India ranks the seventh worst-hit country globally in 2019 due to the frequent occurrence of extreme weather-related events.
- Increase in frequency: According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), 2013 data frequency of cyclones in the coastal States accounting increased by 7%.
- Factor’s responsible: Increasing sea surface temperatures in the northern Indian Ocean and the geo-climatic conditions in India are the factors responsible for the increase in frequency.
Economic cost
- Between 1999 and 2020, cyclones inflicted substantial damage to public and private properties, amounting to an increase in losses from $2,990 million to $14,920 million in the absence of long-term mitigation measures.
- India lost around 2% of GDP and 15% of total revenue over 1999-2020.
- Between 1999-2020, around 12,388 people were killed, and the damage was estimated at $32,615 million.
- Cyclones are the second most expensive in terms of the costs incurred in damage, accounting for 29% of the total disaster-related damages after floods (62%).
- In addition, they are the third most lethal disaster in India after earthquakes (42%) and floods (33%).
Odisha model
- In the aftermath of the 1999 super cyclone, the Government of Odisha took up various cyclone mitigation measures.
- These included installing a disaster warning system in the coastal districts, and construction of evacuation shelters in cyclone-prone districts.
- Other steps were the setting up of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), conducting regular cabinet meetings for disaster preparedness, and building the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF).
Way forward
- Still, Odisha’s disaster management model is inadequate to minimise the economic losses that result from cyclones.
- Therefore, the Government of India should adopt a few measures to minimise disaster damage and fatalities.
- Improve warning system: It is imperative to improve the cyclone warning system and revamp disaster preparedness measures.
- Increase cover under shelterbelt plantation: The Government must widen the cover under shelterbelt plantations and help regenerate mangroves in coastal regions to lessen the impact of cyclones.
- In addition, adopting cost-effective, long-term mitigation measures, including building cyclone-resilient infrastructure such as constructing storm surge-resilient embankments, canals and improving river connectivity to prevent waterlogging in low-lying areas are important.
- Disaster resilient power infrastructure: installing disaster-resilient power infrastructure in the coastal districts, providing concrete houses to poor and vulnerable households, and creating massive community awareness campaigns are essential.
- Coordination between Centre-State: Healthy coordination between the Centre and the States concerned is essential to collectively design disaster mitigation measures.
- Collective mitigation effort by the Centre and States that can help reduce the fiscal burden of States and also be effective in minimising disaster deaths.
Conclusion
Long term mitigation measures are essential to minimise the impact of the disasters such as cyclones.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cities in Afghanistan
Mains level: Paper 2- Implications of Taliban control over Afghanistan
Context
Notwithstanding the current triumphalism in Pakistan at “overthrowing” the US-backed order in Kabul and “pushing” India out of Afghanistan, India can afford to step back and signal that it can wait.
Uncertainties about the future
Two interconnected political negotiations unfolding are likely to determine Afghanistan’s immediate future.
1) Setting up political order
- One is focused on building a new political order within Afghanistan.
- More than a week after President Ghani fled Kabul, there is no government, let alone an inclusive and internationally acceptable one, in sight.
- Before Pakistan can get the Taliban to share power with other groups, it has to facilitate an acceptable accommodation between different factions of the Taliban.
- Then there is the problem of including the non-Taliban formations in the new government.
2) Gaining international recognition
- The international community has set some broad conditions for the recognition of the Taliban-led government.
- Besides an inclusive government at home, the world wants to see respect for human rights, especially women’s rights, ending support for international terrorism, and stopping opium production.
- Pakistan will hope to get some of its traditional friends like China and Turkey or new partners like Russia to break the current international consensus.
- Pakistan and the Taliban, however, know Chinese and Russian support is welcome but not enough.
- They need an understanding of the US and its allies to gain political legitimacy as well as sustained international economic assistance.
- The West, too, needs the Taliban to facilitate the evacuation of its citizens from Kabul and, sooner rather than later, deliver humanitarian assistance.
How India differs from Pakistan in its approach towards Afghanistan?
- India has never been in strategic competition with Pakistan in Afghanistan. India’s lack of direct geographic access to Afghanistan has ensured that.
- Both their strategies have roots in the 19th-century policies of the Raj.
- Forward policy: The Pakistan Army’s quest for strategic depth in Afghanistan harks back to the “forward policy” school that sought to actively control the territories beyond the Indus.
- The forward policy seeks political dominance over Afghanistan in the name of a “friendly government” in Kabul.
- Masterly inactivity: India, in contrast, stayed with a rival school in the Raj that called for “masterly inactivity” — a prudent approach to the badlands beyond the Indus.
- India’s strategy seeks to strengthen Kabul’s autonomy vis-à-vis Rawalpindi and facilitate Afghanistan’s economic modernisation.
- The Afghan values that India supports — nationalism, sovereignty, and autonomy — will endure in Kabul, irrespective of the nature of the regime.
Consider the question “What are the implications of the return of Taliban in Afghanistan for India? What should be India’s approach in dealing with the Taliban controlled Afghanistan?”
Conclusion
Strategic patience coupled with political empathy for Afghan people, and an active engagement will continue to keep India relevant in Kabul’s internal and external evolution.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Right to Protest
Mains level: Reasonable restrictions on Fundamental Rights
The Supreme Court took a nuanced stand saying farmers have the right to protest but the agitation should not hinder traffic or public movement.
Right to Protest
- When a group, community, or even a person goes up to protest, it is usually to showcase their disapproval or demur against any action, policy, statement, etc of state or government or any organization.
- Mostly the flow of protest is driven through political waves that also demonstrate the collective organization of people to make the government or state address their issues and take steps to overcome them.
- In India, the right to protest is the manifestation of the right to freedom of assembly, the right to freedom of association, and the right to freedom of speech.
Constitutional Backing
- Article 19(1) states that All citizens shall have the right:
(a) to freedom of speech and expression;
(b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
(c) to form associations or unions;
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and
(f) omitted
(g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business
Reasonable restrictions on Protest
- Article 51A makes it a fundamental duty for every person to safeguard public property and to avoid violence during the protests and resorting to violence during public protests results in infringement of key fundamental duty of citizens.
- Article 19(1)(b) states about the right to assemble peaceably and without arms. Thereby, the right to peaceful protest is bestowed to Indian citizens by our Constitution.
- Article 19(2) imposes a restriction on a person to prevent him from making a defamatory statement which defames the reputation of another person.
- Article 19(3): The reasonable restrictions are imposed in the interests of the sovereignty & integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to an offense.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Smog Tower
Mains level: Air quality issue in New Delhi
Ahead of its infamous smog season, Delhi has got a ‘smog tower’, a technological aid to help combat air pollution.
What are Smog Towers?
- Smog towers are structures designed to work as large-scale air purifiers. They are fitted with multiple layers of air filters and fans at the base to suck the air.
- After the polluted air enters the smog tower, it is purified by the multiple layers before being re-circulated into the atmosphere.
Structure of the Delhi smog tower
- The structure is 24 m high, about as much as an 8-storey building — an 18-metre concrete tower, topped by a 6-metre-high canopy. At its base are 40 fans, 10 on each side.
- Each fan can discharge 25 cubic metres per second of air, adding up to 1,000 cubic metres per second for the tower as a whole. Inside the tower in two layers are 5,000 filters.
- The filters and fans have been imported from the United States.
How does it work?
- The tower uses a ‘downdraft air cleaning system’ developed by the University of Minnesota.
- Polluted air is sucked in at a height of 24 m, and filtered air is released at the bottom of the tower, at a height of about 10 m from the ground.
- When the fans at the bottom of the tower operate, the negative pressure created sucks in air from the top.
- The ‘macro’ layer in the filter traps particles of 10 microns and larger, while the ‘micro’ layer filters smaller particles of around 0.3 microns.
- The downdraft method is different from the system used in China, where a tower uses an ‘updraft’ system — air is sucked in from near the ground, and is propelled upwards by heating and convection.
- Filtered air is released at the top of the tower.
Likely impact
- Computational fluid dynamics modelling suggests the tower could have an impact on the air quality up to 1 km from the tower.
- The actual impact will also determine how the tower functions under different weather conditions, and how levels of PM2.5 vary with the flow of air.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bhuvan Yuktdhara Portal
Mains level: MGNREGA
A new portal under Bhuvan “Yuktdhara” has been released to facilitate planning of new MGNREGA assets using Remote Sensing and GIS based information.
Bhuvan Yuktdhara Portal
- Yuktdhara is a geospatial planning portal meant for facilitating Gram Panchayat level planning of MGNREGA activities across India.
- Portal integrates a wide variety of spatial information contents to enable a holistic approach towards planning using open-source GIS tool.
- Subsequent to pan Indian initiative of geo-tagging assets created under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, harnessing the strength of GIS for identifying upcoming activities and their locations was a natural corollary.
Features of the portal
- The current level of integration under Yuktdhara, as part of Bhuvan, incorporates multi-temporal IRS satellite data of better than 3M detail in natural color, digital terrain, thematic layers as wed as locations of MGNREGA works and watershed management assets.
- The interface currently has a Gram Panchayat-specific logo to address planning as well as approval mechanisms intended to ensure the evaluation and acceptance of proposed activities.
- This will be enhanced for other levels of users gradually.
- Access for other Gram Panchayat will be facilitated at the earliest, by addressing the case multiple logins created for geotagging and moderation.
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Back2Basics: MGNREG Scheme
- The MGNREGA stands for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005.
- This is labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘Right to Work’.
- The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao.
The objectives of the MGNREGA are:
- To enhance the livelihood security of the rural poor by generating wage employment opportunities.
- To create a rural asset base that would enhance productive ways of employment, augment and sustain a rural household income.
Features of the program
- MGNREGA is unique in not only ensuring at least 100 days of employment to the willing unskilled workers, but also in ensuring an enforceable commitment on the implementing machinery i.e., the State Governments, and providing a bargaining power to the labourers.
- The failure of provision for employment within 15 days of the receipt of job application from a prospective household will result in the payment of unemployment allowance to the job seekers.
- Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid.
- Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.
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