Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Tackling air pollution through solar farming
Context
Supreme Court (SC) judges have pulled up the Delhi and central governments for not doing enough to correct the dire air quality situation. They also remarked on what message we are sending to the world.
The pollution problem raises doubt about the quality of urbanisation in India
- If one looks at the capitals of G20 countries, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) during November 1-15, is by far the worst at 312, as per World Air Quality Index Project.
- India’s distinction goes beyond Delhi.
- As per the World Air Quality Report of 2020, prepared by IQAir (a Swiss organisation), of the 30 most polluted cities in the world, 22 are in India.
- The problem is much deeper, raising doubts about the quality of our urbanisation.
Contributing sources and their share
- Contributing sources: As per the report of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change following sources contribute in the given proportion:
- Energy generation (largely coal-based thermal power) is the biggest culprit with a share of 44 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions,
- Energy generation is followed by manufacturing and construction-18 per cent.
- Agriculture-14 per cent.
- Transport-13 per cent industrial processes and product use- 8 per cent and waste burning- 3 per cent.
Suggestions to tackle Delhi’s pollution
- As per the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the reasons for poor AQI differ day to day.
- On a particular day, say November 7, stubble burning contributed 48 per cent of Delhi’s air pollution, which fell to just 2 per cent on November 18.
- Reduce rice cultivation: The Centre needs to sit down with neighbouring states and come up with a plan to reduce the rice area in this belt, which is already depleting the water table, creating methane and nitrous oxide, to incentivise farmers to switch to other crops through better returns than in rice cultivation.
- Adopt EVs: To tackle vehicular pollution, we need a massive drive towards electric vehicles (EVs), and later towards green hydrogen when it becomes competitive with fossil fuels.
- Charging stations: Scaling up EVs quickly demands creating charging stations on a war footing.
- Develop carbon sink: Delhi also needs a good carbon sink.
- Rejuvenating the Ridge area with dense forests and developing thick forests on both sides of the Yamuna may help.
Enhancing farmers income through solar farming
- The Prime Minister has done a commendable job in Glasgow to commit that 50 per cent of India’s energy will be from renewable sources by 2030.
- To replace coal in energy generation, solar and wind is the way to go at the all-India level.
- The current model in solar energy is heavily tilted towards companies.
- They are setting up large solar farms on degraded or less fertile lands.
- We can supplement that model by developing solar farms on farmers’ fields.
- This would require solar panels to be fixed at a 10 feet height with due spacing to let enough sunlight come to the plants for photosynthesis.
- These “solar trees” can then become the “third crop” for the farmers, earning them regular income throughout the year, provided the law allows them to sell this power to the national grid.
- The Delhi government’s pilot in Ujwa KVK land on these lines showed that farmers can earn up to Rs 1 lakh per acre per year from this “solar farming”.
- This is on top of the two crops they can keep growing under those solar trees.
- This will double farmers’ income within a year.
Conclusion
As deteriorating air quality grips the whole country, we need to work on multiple levels with coordination to tackle the problem.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: S-400
Mains level: Paper 2- India- Russia ties in the changed geopolitical context
Context
The Russian president is on visit to India. Visits by Russian presidents to India always invoke a sense of nostalgia. The Moscow-Delhi relationship dates back to the Cold War era and it has been strong ever since.
Factors limiting the possibilities for bilateral partnership
- The conflict between Russia and the West: One factor is the continuing conflict between the Kremlin and the West.
- Absence of trade between India and Russia: The other is the absence of a thriving commercial relationship between India and Russia.
- India-US relations: India’s relations with Washington has never been as intense as it is today.
- Russia-China relations: Moscow’s embrace of Beijing is tighter than ever.
- The US-China rivalry: That the US and China are now at each other’s throats makes the great power dynamic a lot more complicated for India and Russia.
Importance of trade ties
- Need for robust business ties: That Delhi and Moscow have problems with the best friend of the other would have been more manageable if business ties between India and Russia were solid.
- Where India and Russia have greater freedom is in the economic domain, but their failure to boost the commercial relationship has been stark.
- India-Russia annual trade in goods is stuck at about $10 billion.
- Slow progress on enhancing trade and investment ties: During the last 20 summits with Putin, the two sides have repeatedly affirmed the importance of enhancing trade and investment ties; but progress has been hard to come by.
- How to fix the problem? The problem clearly can’t be fixed at the level of governments.
- The Russian business elites gravitate to Europe and China. The Indian corporations are focused on America and China.
Russia-US ties and its implications for India
- Implications for India? The structural constraints posed by the great power dynamic and vastly different appreciation of the regional security environment could be reduced if matters improve between Washington and Moscow.
- In Washington, the Biden administration recognises the importance of ending this permanent crisis in US-Russian relations.
- Winning a strategic competition with China: The Biden administration, which is focused on winning the intensifying strategic competition with China, values a stable relationship with Russia.
- Nothing pleases Moscow more than the image of being Washington’s equal on the global stage.
- Relief for India: A less conflictual relationship between Washington and Moscow will be a huge relief for India; but Delhi can’t nudge them closer to each other.
Why the partnership with India matters to Russia
- Dangers of excessive reliance on China: Persistent conflict with the US, Europe, and Japan have moved Moscow ever closer to Beijing.
- But Moscow knows the dangers of relying solely on a neighbour which has risen to greatness — the Chinese economy at nearly $15 trillion today is nearly 10 times larger than that of Russia.
- Sustaining the traditional partnership with India: While resetting Russia’s relations with the West is hard, sustaining the traditional partnership with Delhi is of some political value to Moscow.
- Longstanding defence ties: Russia is pleased that the S-400 missile sale has gone through despite strong US opposition.
- For it signals Delhi’s commitment not to let Washington roll back India’s longstanding defence ties with Russia.
- Russia knows India’s strategic cooperation with the US has acquired an unstoppable momentum; and Delhi knows it has no veto over the Sino-Russian strategic partnership.
- Moscow and Delhi are learning to live with this uncomfortable unreality and stabilising their political ties within that context.
Consider the question “While both India and Russia have drifted apart from the depth of past partnerships, there is a need for stabilising their political ties within the changed context.Comment.”
Context
Delhi and Moscow have no reason to be satisfied with the poor state of their commercial ties. The success of Monday’s summit lies not in squeezing more out of bilateral defence ties, but in laying a clear path for expansive economic cooperation, and generating a better understanding of each other’s imperatives on Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hypersonic Glide Vehicle, ICBM
Mains level: Hypersonic weapons race
China recently tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile while Russia announced that it had successfully test-launched a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile in early October.
What are Hypersonic Weapons?
- The speed of sound is Mach 1, and speeds upto Mach 5 are supersonic and speeds above Mach 5 are hypersonic.
- They are manoeuvrable weapons that can fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, five times the speed of sound.
- A number of other countries – including Australia, India, France, Germany, and Japan—are developing hypersonic weapons technology.
Features of HSWs
- Trajectory: Ballistic Missiles are long-range missile that leaves the earth’s atmosphere before re-entry, pursuing a parabolic trajectory towards its target
- Maneuverability: HSW travel within the atmosphere and can manoeuvre midway which combined with their high speeds make their detection and interception extremely difficult.
- Stealth: Radars and air defences cannot intercept them till they are very close. They can penetrate most missile defences and further compress the timelines for response by a nation under attack.
Types of Hypersonic Weapons
There are two classes of hypersonic weapons:
- Hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV): They are launched from a rocket before gliding to a target.
- Hypersonic cruise missiles (HCM): They are powered by high-speed, air-breathing engines, or scramjets, after acquiring their target.
Where does the US stand?
- The US has active hypersonic development programs.
- It is said to be lagging behind China and Russia because most US hypersonic weapons are not being designed for use with a nuclear warhead.
- It is in process of developing prototypes to assist in the evaluation of potential weapon system concepts and mission sets.
Hypersonic program in India
- HSTDV program: India is developing an indigenous, dual-capable hypersonic cruise missile as part of its Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) program.
- Capacity: India operates approximately 12 hypersonic wind tunnels and is capable of testing speeds of up to Mach 13.
- In-operation: The DRDO has successfully tested a Mach 6 scramjet in June 2019 and September 2020 using the demonstrated scramjet engine technology.
DRDO has validated many associated crucial technologies such as:
- Aerodynamic configuration for hypersonic maneuvers
- Use of scramjet propulsion for ignition and sustained combustion at the hypersonic flow
- Thermo-structural characterization of high-temperature materials
- Separation mechanism at hypersonic velocities has been validated
Conclusion
- There are rising tensions between the US, China and Russia worsening the geopolitical situation worldwide.
- The focus for hypersonic weapons is only set to accelerate more countries to invest significant resources in their design and development.
Back2Basics:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Provision for Bail
Mains level: Bail as an FR under Article 21
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has approached the Supreme Court against a Bombay High Court order granting bail to an advocate and activist.
What is the case?
- In its bail order, the court has asked the NIA Court to decide the conditions for her release.
- The activist was given ‘default bail’.
- The case highlights the nuances involved in a court determining the circumstances in which statutory bail is granted or denied, even though it is generally considered “an indefeasible right”.
What is default bail?
- This is enshrined in Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
- Also known as statutory bail, this is a Right to Bail that accrues when the police fail to complete investigation within a specified period in respect of a person in judicial custody.
- When it is not possible for the police to complete an investigation in 24 hours, the police produce the suspect in court and seek orders for either police or judicial custody.
When is the Bail granted?
- For most offences, the police have 60 days to complete the investigation and file a final report before the court.
- However, where the offence attracts death sentence or life imprisonment, or a jail term of not less than 10 years, the period available is 90 days.
- In other words, a magistrate cannot authorise a person’s judicial remand beyond the 60-or 90-day limit.
- At the end of this period, if the investigation is not complete, the court shall release the person “if he is prepared to and does furnish bail”.
How does the provision vary for special laws?
The extension of time is not automatic but requires a judicial order.
- Ordinary law (IPC/CrPC): The 60- or 90-day limit is only for ordinary penal law.
- Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act: In NDPS Act, the period is 180 days. However, in cases involving substances in commercial quantity, the period may be extended up to one year.
- Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act: In UAPA, the default limit is 90 days only. The court may grant an extension of another 90 days, if it is satisfied that the progress made in the investigation and giving reasons to keep the accused in further custody.
What are the laid-down principles on this aspect?
- A matter of Right: Default or statutory bail is an indefeasible right’, regardless of the nature of the crime liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
- Stipulated period calculation: The stipulated period within which the charge sheet has to be filed begins from the day the accused is remanded for the first time. It includes days undergone in both police and judicial custody, but not days spent in house-arrest.
- Voluntary: There is no automatic bail.
Try this similar PYQ from CSP 2021:
Q. With reference to India, consider the following statements:
- When a prisoner makes a sufficient case, parole cannot be out denied to such prisoner because it becomes a matter of his/her right.
- State Governments have their own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hallmark Gold
Mains level: Not Much
The Government has made it mandatory for the introduction of a Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number in every piece of jewellery.
What is HUID?
- HUID is a six-digit alphanumeric code, or one that consists of numbers and letters. It is given to every piece of jewellery at the time of hallmarking and is unique for each piece.
- It is being implemented by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in a phased manner.
- Hallmarking & HUID are mandatory for 14-, 18- and 22-carat gold jewellery and artefacts.
- Before buying any piece of gold jewellery, the buyer should check all these three symbols.
Implementation of HUID
- Symbols: The hallmark consists of three symbols which give some information about the jewellery piece. The first symbol is the BIS logo; the second indicates purity and fineness; and the third symbol is the HUID.
- A&H centre: Jewellery is stamped with the unique number manually at the Assaying & Hallmarking centre.
Why is it being introduced?
- Authentication: HUID gives a distinct identity to each piece of jewellery enabling traceability.
- Credibility: It is critical to the credibility of hallmarking and to help address complaints against adulteration.
- Registration: In HUID-based hallmarking, registration of jewellers is an automatic process with no human interference.
- Prevents malpractice: It also helps check malpractice by members of the trade.
- Data privacy: It is a secure system and poses no risk to data privacy and security.
- Financial tracking: HUID provides traceability and financial tracking of purchases.
Issues with HUID
- Time-consuming: It is cumbersome to number each piece of jewellery
- Intricate jewellery: HUID cannot be engraved in tiny pieces.
- Unnecessary expense: Also it will increase cost for consumers.
- Infrastructural issues: there needs to be ample AH Centres.
What does this mean for the consumer?
- Consumer protection: Given that gold plays a big role in the lives of Indians, mandating gold hallmarking is aimed at protecting consumer interests.
- Assurance of quality: It provides ‘third-party assurance’ to consumers on the purity of gold jewellery.
Conclusion
- HUID concept is innovative, out-of-the-box thinking and more than makes up for stepping in late with mandatory hallmarking.
- It is the sort of global leadership India has and needs to show in gold-related reforms.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dhawan-1
Mains level: Space startups in India
Skyroot Aerospace successfully tested Dhawan-1 last month. It became the country’s first privately developed fully cryogenic rocket engine.
Dhawan-1
- The indigenous engine was developed using 3D printing with a superalloy.
- It runs on two high-performance rocket propellants — liquid natural gas (LNG) and liquid oxygen (LoX).
- This was after successfully designing and developing the solid propulsion rocket engine, the first private firm in the country to do so.
Other projects by Skyroot
- Skyroot is working simultaneously on different stages of both solid propulsion and liquid propulsion engines.
- It is named after eminent scientists, like Kalam (Abdul Kalam) series for the former and Dhawan (Satish Dhawan).
- The launch vehicles are named after Vikram Sarabhai.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Konyak Tribe
Mains level: Not Much
An angry mob allegedly vandalized an Assam Rifles camp and the office of the Konyak Union in Nagaland’s Mon district.
Konyak Tribe
- With a population of roughly 3 lakh, the area inhabited by the Konyaks extends into Arunachal Pradesh, with a sizeable population in Myanmar as well.
- They are known to be one of the fiercest warrior tribes in Nagaland.
- The Konyaks were the last to give up the practice of head-hunting – severing heads of enemies after attacking rival tribes – as late as the 1980s.
Significance in Naga Peace Process
- Mon is the only district in Nagaland where the separatist group has not been able to set up base camps, largely due to resistance from the Konyaks.
- The Konyaks therefore, are imperative for a smooth resolution of the peace talks, as well as the post-talk peace process in the state.
Also read:
Naga Peace Accord
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Project RE-HAB
Mains level: Man-Animal Conflict
Buoyed by the success of its innovative Project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees) in Karnataka, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has now replicated the project in Assam.
Project RE-HAB
- Project RE-HAB is a sub-mission of KVIC’s National Honey Mission.
- Under the project, “Bee-fences” are created by setting up bee boxes in the passageways of elephants to block their entrance to human territories.
- The boxes are connected with a string so that when elephants attempt to pass through, a tug or pull causes the bees to swarm the elephant herds and dissuade them from progressing further.
- It is a cost-effective way of reducing human-wild conflicts without causing any harm to the animals.
How does it work?
- It is scientifically recorded that elephants are annoyed by the honey bees.
- Elephants also fear that the bee swarms can bite the sensitive inner side of the trunk and eyes.
- The collective buzz of the bees is annoying to elephants that force them to return.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NIRF
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues in ranking HEI based on common framework
Context
The ranking of State-run higher education institutions (HEIs) together with centrally funded institutions using the National Institutional Ranking Framework, or the NIRF, is akin to comparing apples and oranges.
Institute data
- According to an All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2019-20 report, there are 1,043 HEIs.
- Of these, 48 are central universities.
- 135 are institutions of national importance,
- 1 is a central open university,
- 386 are State public universities,
- 5 are institutions under the State legislature act,
- 14 are State open universities,
- 327 are State private universities,
- 1 is a State private open university,
- 36 are government deemed universities,
- 10 are government aided deemed universities.
- 80 are private deemed universities.
Comparison of financial health of State HEI with Central HEIs
- A close study of the above data shows that 184 are centrally funded institutions (out of 1,043 HEIs in the country) to which the Government of India generously allocates its financial resources in contrast to inadequate financial support provided by State governments to their respective State public universities and colleges.
- The Central government earmarked the sums, ₹7,686 crore and ₹7,643.26 crore to the IITs and central universities, respectively, in the Union Budget 2021.
- Ironically, out of the total student enrolment, the number of undergraduate students is the largest (13,97,527) in State public universities followed by State open universities (9,22,944).
How NIRF ranks the education institutions?
- Parameters set by the core committee of experts: The NIRF outlines a methodology to rank HEIs across the country, which is based on a set of metrics for the ranking of HEIs as agreed upon by a core committee of experts set up by the then Ministry of Human Resources Development (now the Ministry of Education), Government of India
- The NIRF ranks HEIs on five parameters: teaching, learning and resources; research and professional practice; graduation outcome; outreach and inclusivity, and perception.
Where do State HEIs lag on NIRF parameters?
- Teaching, learning and resources include metrics viz. student strength including doctoral students, the faculty-student ratio with an emphasis on permanent faculty, a combined metric for faculty with the qualification of PhD (or equivalent) and experience, and financial resources and their utilisation.
- Low faculty strength in State HEIs: In the absence of adequate faculty strength, most State HEIs lag behind in this crucial NIRF parameter for ranking.
- The depleting strength of teachers has further weakened the faculty-student ratio with an emphasis on permanent faculty in HEIs.
- Research and professional practise encompasses a combined metric for publications, a combined metric for quality of publications, intellectual property rights/patents and the footprint of projects, professional practice and executive development programmes.
- Need for modernisation of laboratories: As most laboratories need drastic modernisation in keeping pace with today’s market demand, it is no wonder that State HEIs fare miserably in this parameter as well while pitted against central institutions.
Issues with comparing State HEIs with Central HEIs
- The difference in financial allocations diregarded: The financial health of State-sponsored HEIs is an open secret with salary and pension liabilities barely being managed.
- Hence, rating such institutions vis-à-vis centrally funded institutions does not make any sense.
- No cost-benefit analysis carried out: No agency carries out a cost-benefit analysis of State versus centrally funded HEIs on economic indicators such as return on investment the Government made into them vis-à-vis the contribution of their students in nation building parameters such as the number of students who passed out serving in rural areas, and bringing relief to common man.
- While students who pass out of elite institutions generally prefer to move abroad in search of higher studies and better career prospects, a majority of State HEIs contribute immensely in building the local economy.
- Issues in embracing technologies: State HEIs are struggling to embrace emerging technologies involving artificial intelligence, machine learning, block chains, smart boards, handheld computing devices, adaptive computer testing for student development.
Consider the question “What are the challenges in the ranking of Higher Education Institutions in India? What are the issues faced by State HEI?”
Conclusion
Ranking HEIs on a common scale purely based on strengths without taking note of the challenges and the weaknesses they face is not justified. It is time the NIRF plans an appropriate mechanism to rate the output and the performance of institutes in light of their constraints and the resources available to them.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Contrast between white and green revolution
Context
November 26, 2021 was celebrated in Anand, Gujarat as the 100th birth anniversary of Verghese Kurien, the leader of India’s ‘white revolution’.
Analysing the Green revolution
- Purpose of green revolution: The purpose of the green revolution was to increase the output of agriculture to prevent shortages of food.
- Technocratic enterprise: The green revolution was largely a technocratic enterprise driven by science and the principles of efficiency.
- It required inputs, like chemical fertilizers, to be produced on scale and at low cost.
- Therefore, large fertilizer factories were set up for the green revolution. And large dams and irrigation systems were also required to feed water on a large scale.
- Monocropping on fields was necessary to apply all appropriate inputs — seeds, fertilizer, water, etc., on scale.
- Monocropping increased the efficiency in application of inputs.
- Thus, farms became like large, dedicated engineering factories designed to produce large volumes efficiently.
- Diversity in the products and processes of large factories creates complexity.
- Therefore, diversity is weeded out to keep the factories well-focused on the outputs they are designed for.
The contrast between White and Green revolution
- The contrast between the two revolutions provides valuable insights. Their purposes were different.
- Purpose of white revolution: The purpose of the white revolution was to increase the incomes of small farmers in Gujarat, not the output of milk.
- The white revolution was a socio-economic enterprise driven by political leaders and principles of equity.
Understanding the success of Amul
- Amul has become one of India’s most loved brands, and is respected internationally too for the quality of its products and the efficiency of its management.
- The fledgling, farmer-owned, Indian enterprise had many technological problems to solve.
- That is why they enrolled Kurien, who had studied engineering in the United States.
- Indigenous solutions: Kurien and his engineering compatriots in the organisation were compelled to develop solutions indigenously when Indian policy makers, influenced by foreign experts, said Indians could not make it.
- The enterprise achieved its outcome of empowering farmers because the governance of the enterprise to achieve equity was always kept in the foreground, with the efficiency of its production processes in the background as a means to the outcome.
Increasing productivity and issues with it
- ‘Productivity’, when defined as output per worker, can be increased by eliminating workers.
- This may be an acceptable way to measure and increase productivity when the purpose of the enterprise is to increase profits of investors in the enterprise.
- It is a wrong approach to productivity when the purpose of the enterprise is to enable more workers to increase their incomes, which must be the aim of any policy to increase small farmers’ incomes.
- The need for new solutions to increase farmers’ incomes has become imperative.
- Moreover, fundamental changes in economics and management sciences are necessary to reverse the degradation of the planet’s natural environment that has taken place with the application of modern technological solutions and management methods for the pursuit of economic growth.
Suggestions to increase inclusion and improve environmental sustainability
- Ensure inclusion and equity: Increase in the incomes and wealth of the workers and small asset owners in the enterprise must be the purpose of the enterprise, rather than production of better returns for investors.
- Social side: The ‘social’ side of the enterprise is as important as its ‘business’ side.
- Therefore, new metrics of performance must be used, and many ‘non-corporate’ methods of management learned and applied to strengthen its social fabric.
- Local solution: Solutions must be ‘local systems’ solutions, rather than ‘global (or national) scale’ solutions.
- The resources in the local environment (including local workers) must be the principal resources of the enterprise.
- Practical use of science: Science must be practical and useable by the people on the ground rather than a science developed by experts to convince other experts.
- Moreover, people on the ground are often better scientists from whom scientists in universities can learn useful science.
- Sustainable solution through evolution: Sustainable transformations are brought about by a steady process of evolution, not by drastic revolution.
- Large-scale transformations imposed from the top can have strong side-effects.
Consider the question “Contrast the differences between the White Revolution and Green Revolution in India. What lessons can be applied to Indian agriculture from the success of the White Revolution in India?”
Conclusion
The essence of democratic economic governance is that an enterprise must be of the people, for the people, and governed by the people too.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Types of questions
Mains level: Parliamentary scrutiny
Over the last few sessions of Parliament, MPs mainly from the Opposition have often alleged that their questions have been intentionally disallowed.
What are the categories of Questions?
(1) Starred Question
- The member desires an oral answer from the minister.
- Such a question is distinguished by the MP with an asterisk.
- The answer can also be followed by supplementary questions from members.
(2) Unstarred Question
- The MP seeks a written answer, which is deemed to be laid on the table of the House by the concerned minister.
(3) Short Notice Question
- These are on an urgent matter of public importance, and an oral answer is sought.
- A notice of less than 10 days is prescribed as the minimum period for asking such a question.
(4) Question to a Private Member
- A question can be addressed to a private member under Rule 40 of Lok Sabha’s Rules of Procedure, or under Rule 48 of Rajya Sabha’s Rules.
- Such question deals with a subject relating to some Bill, resolution or other matter for which that member is responsible.
When are the questions asked?
Ans. Question Hour
- In both Houses, the first hour of every sitting is usually devoted to asking and answering of questions, and this is referred to as the ‘Question Hour’.
- The total number of questions for any day is limited to 175.
- These includes 15 questions for oral answers, questions postponed from one list to another for written answers, and 15 questions pertaining to states under President’s Rule.
How are questions admitted?
- In both Houses, elected members enjoy the right to seek information from various ministries and departments in the form of questions.
- The Rajya Sabha Chairman or the Lok Sabha Speaker has the authority to decide whether a question or a part is or is not admissible under the norms of the House, and disallow any question or a part.
- Usually, MPs’ questions form a long list, which then go through a rigorous process of clearance.
- Once a question that fulfils the conditions of admissibility is received, the Secretariat sends it to the ministry concerned.
- Once the facts are received from the ministry, the question is further examined for admissibility.
- A final list of questions is circulated to ministers, on the basis of which they frame their answers.
Answering the Questions
- For answering the questions, ministries and departments have been divided into five groups (I to V) that have been allotted Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays respectively.
- The grouping has been done in such a way that each minister has one fixed day in the week for answering questions in Rajya Sabha and another fixed day for answering questions in Lok Sabha.
What kind of questions can be asked?
(A) Rajya Sabha
- The question shall be pointed, specific and confined to one issue only
- It shall not bring in any name or statement not strictly necessary to make the question intelligible
- If it contains a statement the member shall make himself responsible for the accuracy of the statement
- It shall not contain arguments, inferences, ironical expressions, imputations, epithets or defamatory statements
(B) Lok Sabha
Questions that are not admitted include:
- Those that are repetitive or have been answered previously and
- Matters that are pending for judgment before any court of law or under consideration before a Parliamentary Committee
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Autonomous districts, Sixth Schedule
Mains level: Subnationalist demands
Several tribal outfits in Tripura have joined hands to push their demand for a separate state called Greater Tipraland for indigenous communities in the region.
Demand for Greater Tipraland
- The Protestants are demanding a separate state of ‘Greater Tipraland’ for the indigenous communities of the north-eastern state.
- They want the Centre to carve out a separate state under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution.
- Greater Tipraland envisages a situation in which the entire Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTADC) area will be a separate state.
- It also proposes dedicated bodies to secure the rights of the Tripuris and other aboriginal communities living outside Tripura.
What does the Constitution say?
- Article 2 of the Indian Constitution deals with the admission or establishment of new states.
- Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions, as it thinks fit,” it states.
- Article 3 comes into play in the case of “formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States” by the Parliament.
How did the demand originate?
- Accessed state: Tripura was a kingdom ruled by the Manikya dynasty from the late 13th century until the signing of the Instrument of Accession with the Indian government on October 15, 1949.
- Demographic changes: There is an anxiety among the indigenous communities in connection with the change in the demographics of the state due to the displacements from the erstwhile East Pakistan.
- Existential threats: From 63.77 per cent in 1881, the population of the tribals in Tripura was down to 31.80 per cent by 2011.
- Ethnic conflicts: In the intervening decades, ethnic conflict and insurgency gripped the state, which shares a nearly 860-km long boundary with Bangladesh.
What has been done to address the grievances of indigenous communities?
- The TTADC was formed under the sixth schedule to ensure development and secure the rights and cultural heritage of the tribal communities.
- The TTADC, which has legislative and executive powers, covers nearly two-third of the state’s geographical area.
Back2Basics: Autonomous District Council
- The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India allows for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions which have been given autonomy within their respective states.
- Most of these autonomous district councils are located in North East India but two are in Ladakh, a region administered by India as a union territory.
- Presently, 10 Autonomous Councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura are formed by virtue of the Sixth Schedule with the rest being formed as a result of other legislation.
Powers and competencies
Under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule, autonomous district councils can make laws, rules and regulations in the following areas:
- Land management
- Forest management
- Water resources
- Agriculture and cultivation
- Formation of village councils
- Public health
- Sanitation
- Village and town level policing
- Appointment of traditional chiefs and headmen
- Inheritance of property
- Marriage and divorce
- Social customs
- Money lending and trading
- Mining and minerals
Judicial powers
- Autonomous district councils have powers to form courts to hear cases where both parties are members of Scheduled Tribes and the maximum sentence is less than 5 years in prison.
Taxation and revenue
- Autonomous district councils have powers to levy taxes, fees and tolls on; building and land, animals, vehicles, boats, entry of goods into the area, roads, ferries, bridges, employment and income and general taxes for the maintenance of schools and roads.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: St. Francis Xaviers and his missions
Mains level: Not Much
The Prime Minister has greeted the people of Goa on the day of the Feast of St. Francis Xavier.
St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552)
- Francis Xavier venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Catholic missionary and saint who was a co-founder of the Society of Jesus.
- He was born in Javier, Kingdom of Navarre (in present-day Spain), he was a companion of Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits.
- He led an extensive mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time and was influential in evangelization work, most notably in India.
His works
- He has asked for a special minister to the king of Portugal whose sole office would be to further Christianity in Goa.
- He also was the first Christian missionary to venture into Japan, Borneo, the Maluku Islands, and other areas.
- In those areas, struggling to learn the local languages and in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India.
- Xavier was about to extend his missionary preaching to China when he died on Shangchuan Island.
- Known as the “Apostle of the Indies” and “Apostle of Japan”, he is considered to be one of the greatest missionaries since Paul the Apostle.
Try this question from CSP 2021
Q. Consider the following statements:
- Francis Xavier was one of the founding members of the Jesuit Order.
- Francis Xavier died in Goa and a church is dedicated to him there.
- The Feast of St. Francis Xavier is celebrated in Goa each year.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lesser Florican
Mains level: Not Much
In a major discovery, the longest in-country migration route of lesser floricans, the endangered birds of the bustard group, has been tracked for the first time from Rajasthan to Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district.
Lesser Florican
- The lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus), also known as the likh or kharmore, is the smallest in the bustard family.
- It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent where it is found in tall grasslands and is best known for the leaping breeding displays made by the males during the monsoon season.
- The male has a contrasting black and white breeding plumage and distinctive elongated head feathers that extend behind the neck.
- These bustards are found mainly in northwestern and central India during the summer but are found more widely distributed across India in winter.
- The only similar species is the Bengal florican (Houbarobsis bengalensis) which is larger and lacks the white throat, collar and elongated plumes.
Conservation status
- The Lesser Florican is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Lesser Florican
- The bird is listed as “Critically Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
Threats
- It is threatened both by hunting and habitat degradation.
- The species is highly endangered and has been officially hunted to extinction in some parts of its range such as Pakistan.
Try this PYQ:
Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?
(a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda, Asiatic Wild Ass
(b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetah, Blue Bull, Great Indian Bustard
(c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey, Saras (Crane)
(d) Lion Tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur, Cheetah
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- What findings of NHFS-5 imply
Context
The second and final phase of NFHS-5 was released which covered 11 states (including Uttar Pradesh (UP), Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Jharkhand, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh) and about 49 per cent of the population.
Major findings
[1] Success of New Welfarism
- Figure one plots household access to improved sanitation, cooking gas and bank accounts used by women.
- The improvements are as striking as they were based on the performance of the phase 1 states.
- In all cases, access has increased significantly, although claims of India being 100 per cent open defecation-free still remain excessive.
[2] Child-related outcomes
- India-wide, stunting has declined although the pace of improvement has slowed down post-2015 compared with the previous decade.
- For example, stunting improved by 0.7 percentage points per year between 2005 and 2015 compared to 0.3 percentage points between 2015 and 2021.
- On diarrhoea too, adding the new data reverses the earlier finding.
- However, on anaemia and acute respiratory illness, there seems to have been deterioration.
- The new child stunting results are significant but also surprising because of the sharply divergent outcomes between the phase 1 and phase 2 states.
- The interesting pattern is that nearly all the phase 2 states show large improvements, whereas most of the phase 1 states exhibited a deterioration in performance.
[3] Catch up by the laggard states
- If the new child stunting numbers are right, a different picture of India emerges.
- Apparently, Madhya Pradesh now has fewer stunted children than Gujarat; Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand are almost at par with Gujarat; Chhattisgarh fares better than Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra; and Rajasthan and Odisha fare better than Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh!
- On child stunting, the old BIMARU states (excepting Bihar) are no longer the laggards; the laggards are Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, and to a lesser extent, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- Indeed, the decline in stunting achieved by the poorer states such as UP, MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan would be all the more remarkable given the overall weakness in the economy between 2015 and 2021.
Conclusion
When commentators speak of two Indias, it is now important to ask: Which ones and on what metrics.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Disconnect between policy and politics in India
Context
Decision-making on virtually all governance issues is disconnected from politics and the mobilisation of public opinion.
Disconnect between politics and policy
- The repeal of the farm laws is thus a notable instance of politics and policy coming together, although in conflict.
- The Opposition speaking in one voice in the Parliament helped, but the heavy lifting of organising in the villages and sustaining the protests was done by the farmers’ groups.
- This disconnect between politics and policy is not a recent development, though it manifests differently across political divides.
- Policy-first lens and its implications: The liberal side has a policy-first lens but is unable to articulate its ideas in a manner which makes for good politics, repeatedly couching its ideas in a bureaucratic framework disconnected from political organisation.
- Bureaucracy is downstream from politics and this approach rather than curbing the state may have instead contributed to undermining the democratic process of political accountability since the political class is, by design, not central to the policy in the first place.
- A politics-first approach: The right, on its side, has a politics-first lens but it derives its politics largely from its social agenda instead of issues of governance.
- The policy imperatives, if any, are ad hoc and appear to be driven by the demands of running the political apparatus instead of a clear governance agenda.
- Despite these differences, what is common across parties is the apolitical harnessing of the state as a disburser of different kinds of economic largesse, especially just before elections, as political parties cast about for simple ideas for easy mass communication.
Reasons for the breakdown of the process
- Weakly institutionalised nature of state and politics: Indian politics and the state are weakly institutionalised to begin with, which leads to an all-around fuzziness in the relationship between politics and policy.
- However, this is as much an effect as it is cause, with the direction of change towards greater deinstitutionalisation instead of the opposite.
- Lack of consensus-building: Another contributing factor is that traditional sites of consensus-building such as media, civil society, and political parties have developed pathologies which have rendered sustained consensus-building almost impossible.
- Centralisation of power: The excessive centralisation of power in party platforms and the head of the government (state and national).
- This renders the individual elected representative extraneous to governance even in their own constituency, where their function is to provide representation and oversight.
Way forward
- There’s too much at stake to allow such a state of affairs to continue.
- It is important to rescue public interest from partisanship and cut through at least some of the bad-faith crosstalk across partisan divides.
- Cross-cutting collaboration: There are many issues which lend themselves to cross-cutting collaboration outside of ideological affiliations.
- Need for reforms: Institutional reforms are required to create such a space but public-spirited individuals across political divides can lay the foundation for such collaboration through issue-based discipline, moderation and intellectual independence.
Consider the question “There has been a growing disconnect in India between policy and politics. Examine the factors responsible for this. Suggest the way forward.”
Conclusion
We need to address the disconnect between policy and politics to make the functioning of democracy more meaningful for us.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Paika Rebellion
Mains level: Peasants uprising in India
The 1817 Paika Rebellion of Odisha would be included as a case study in the Class 8 NCERT history textbook, informed the Union Culture Minister.
Who were the Paiks?
- The Paiks of Odisha were the traditional landed militia and enjoyed rent free land tenures for their military service and policing functions on a hereditary basis.
Paika Rebellion
- When the British started tinkering with the revenue system in 1803, the farming community of Odisha rose in rebellion.
- At that critical juncture, Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar — the military chief of the King of Khurda — led his army of Paikas forcing the British East India Company forces to retreat.
- The rebellion came to be known as Paika Bidroh (Paika rebellion).
When did it take place?
- The rebellion, by the landed militia of Khurda called Paiks, predates the first war of independence in 1857 but did not get similar recognition.
- It took place when the British East India Company wrested the rent-free land that had been given to the Paiks for their military service to the Kingdom of Khurda.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:
Q. With reference to the history of India, ‘ulgulan’ or the great tumult is the description of the which of the following?
(a) The revolt of 1857
(b) The Mappila rebellion of 1921
(c) The Indigo revolt of 1859-1860
(d) Birsa Munda’s revolt of 1899-1900
Post your answers here.
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The James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s largest space science telescope ever constructed, is scheduled to be sent into orbit in December.
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
- It is a space telescope being jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
- It has taken 30 years and $10bn to develop, and is being described as one of the grand scientific endeavors of the 21st Century.
What is the goal of this telescope?
- The telescope will be able to see just about anything in the sky.
- However, it has one overriding objective – to see the light coming from the very first stars to shine in the Universe.
- These pioneer stars are thought to have switched on about 100-200 million years after the Big Bang, or a little over 13.5 billion years ago.
- Webb will be picking out groupings of these stars.
- They are so far away their light – even though it moves at 300,000km per second – will have taken billions of years to travel the cosmos.
JWST mirror
- One of the most important objects it will carry is a large mirror which will help collect light from the objects being observed.
- The primary mirror is made of 18 hexagonal-shaped mirror segments — each 1.32 metre in diameter — stitched together in a honeycomb pattern.
- The primary mirror is a technological marvel.
- The lightweight mirrors, coatings, actuators and mechanisms, electronics, and thermal blankets when fully deployed form a single precise mirror that is truly remarkable.
- Each mirror segment weighs approximately 20 kilograms and is made from beryllium.
Why beryllium?
- NASA explains that beryllium was used as it is both strong and light.
- Beryllium is very strong for its weight and is good at holding its shape across a range of temperatures. Beryllium is a good conductor of electricity and heat and is not magnetic.
- Because it is light and strong, beryllium is often used to build parts for supersonic airplanes and the Space Shuttle.
- It added that special care was taken when working with beryllium because it is unhealthy to breathe in or swallow beryllium dust.
So, it does not have gold?
- After the beryllium mirror segments were polished a thin coating of gold was applied to it. Gold helps improve the mirror’s reflection of infrared light.
- The gold was coated using a technique called vacuum vapour deposition.
- The mirrors are kept inside a vacuum chamber and a small quantity of gold is vapourised and deposited on the mirror.
- The thickness of the gold is just 100 nanometers. So less than 50 grams of gold was used for the entire mirror.
- A thin layer of glass was also deposited on top of the gold layer to protect it from scratches.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PAT Scheme
Mains level: Schemes for emission control
A recent report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has attributed the inefficiency of the PAT scheme to non-transparency, loose targets and overlooked deadlines.
PAT Scheme
- Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme is a flagship program of Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE).
- NMEEE is one of the eight national missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) launched by the Government of India in the year 2008
Working of the scheme
- PAT is a market-based compliance mechanism to accelerate improvements in energy efficiency in energy-intensive industries.
- The energy savings achieved by notified industries is converted into tradable instruments called Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts).
- The ESCerts after issuance by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency are traded at Power Exchanges.
What is PAT cycle?
- The government shortlists industries and restricts the amount of energy they can consume and defines a time limit of three years by when this restriction should be met as part of PAT.
- These three years of time are called one PAT cycle.
- The industries are chosen after in-depth, sector-wise analysis by the government.
- Industries that participate in this scheme are called designated consumers (DC).
- Those that overachieve their targets are issued energy savings certificates (ESCerts) that can be traded with industries that have not achieved their targets.
- Non-achievers have to buy the ESCerts after the three years for compliance.
Various PAT cycles
- PAT covered about 13 energy-intensive sectors
- Sectors included are thermal power plants (TPP), cement, aluminium, iron and steel, pulp and paper, fertilizer, chlor-alkali, petroleum refineries, petrochemicals, distribution companies, railways, textile and commercial buildings (hotels and airports)
- Announcements for six cycles since 2012 have been made so far
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: [pib] Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India (SPPEL)
Mains level: Not Much
The Government of India has initiated a Scheme known as “Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India” (SPPEL) informed the Minister of Culture and Tourism.
About SPPEL
- The Scheme was instituted by Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2013.
- The sole objective of the Scheme is to document and archive the country’s languages that have become endangered or likely to be endangered in the near future.
- The scheme is monitored by the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) located in Mysuru, Karnataka.
- The CIIL has collaborated with various universities and institutes across India for this mission.
- University Grants Commission (UGC) is also providing financial assistance for the creation of centres for endangered languages at Central and State Universities.
What are Endangered Languages?
- At the moment, the languages which are spoken by less than 10,000 speakers or languages that are not been linguistically studied earlier are considered endangered language.
Present status of the scheme
- Presently, 117 languages have been listed for the documentation.
- Documentation in the form of grammar, dictionary and ethno-linguistic profiles of about 500 lesser known languages are estimated to be accomplished in the coming years.
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