Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)
Mains level: Paper 3- Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)
Importance of animal husbandary and dairy sector
- As an allied industry of agriculture, the animal husbandry and dairy sector collectively employs more than 100 million people.
- Since the bulk of establishments in this sector is concentrated in rural India, the socio-economic relevance of this sector cannot be overstated.
- the Central government unveiled a string of measures to cushion the economy, as a part of which the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) was announced.
More about AHIDF
- The AHIDF has been set up with an outlay of ₹15,000 crore.
- As per the provisions of AHIDF, a project will be eligible for a loan amount that covers up to 90% of the estimated cost –
- There will be interest subvention of 3% for all eligible entities.
- Applicants can submit the proposal with a complete Detailed Project Report through the Udyami Mitra Portal.
- The fund includes a diverse set of stakeholders such as FPOs, private dairy players, individual entrepreneurs, and non-profits within its ambit.
Strengthening dairy value chain
- There is a pressing need to enhance chilling infrastructure at collection centres by setting up bulk milk coolers.
- If the infrastructure needs for milk processing and distribution are included, then the overall potential investment opportunity is to the tune of ₹1,40,000 crore across the dairy value chain.
- There is also considerable potential to increase the productivity of cattle, especially by enhancing the quality of animal feed.
- With this in mind, the AHIDF has been designed to support the establishment of animal feed plants of varying capacities.
- The infrastructure gap of 10-18 MMT in the production and supply of affordable compound cattle feed translates into an investment potential of around ₹5,000 crore.
Boosting the poultry industry
- There are not only economic but nutritional benefits to boosting the poultry segment’s output, efficiency and quality.
- India is the fourth largest chicken meat producer and the second largest egg producer in the world.
- India is well-positioned to help mitigate rampant malnutrition given that chicken meat provides the cheapest source of protein per unit.
- With eggs being introduced as part of the mid-day meal within several anganwadis in the country, an upgradation in poultry infrastructure would be closely intertwined with social justice outcomes too.
- Macro benefits regarding climate change and employment are linked to this sector.
- Enhanced infrastructure can make processing units more energy-efficient and help mitigate their carbon footprint.
Consider the question ” As an allied industry of agriculture, the animal husbandry and dairy sector are important for rural area and the socio-economic relevance of this sector cannot be overstated. In light of this, examine the role Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) could play in transforming rural economy.”
Conclusion
The AHIDF also has the potential to create over 30 lakh jobs, even as it overhauls domestic infrastructure towards giving greater prominence to India’s dairy and livestock products in the global value chain.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India's relations with Taiwan
The article underscores the centrality of Taiwan in the realms of semiconductor production and how that dominant spills over in geopolitics.
Silicon shield of Taiwan
- Taiwan’s security situation has been worsening amidst mounting economic, political and military pressure from China.
- Any Chinese attack on Taiwan that disrupts the flow of semiconductors would produce significant challenges not only for the US but also China that relies on semiconductor supplies from Taiwan.
- That factor appears to be preventing the crisis from boiling over into a full-scale war that could draw the US and Japan into it.
- It is Taiwan’s so-called “silicon shield”.
Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductor industry
- Taiwan is the world’s leading producer of semiconductors and other electronic components.
- The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has more than 55 per cent of the global market share in the production of high-end custom-made chips.
- Of the two rival companies that have survived, US-based Intel is in trouble and Korea’s Samsung has challenges of its own.
- There will be no generation of data without the semiconductors.
- It might be more accurate to say that “semiconductors are the new oil” and their production is increasingly dominated by Taiwan and the TMSC.
Geopolitics over Taiwan
- As its economic heft and political salience rose in the 21st century, China has ratcheted up pressure on countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
- China has also compelled international organisations to push Taiwan out of their activities, even when Taiwan had much to contribute.
- Amidst the deterioration of US-China relations in recent years, President Donald Trump was far more supportive of Taiwan than his recent predecessors.
- The Biden team has also signalled continuity with Trump’s Taiwan policies.
- All indications are that Washington will continue to seek some technological decoupling and diversification of sensitive supplies away from China.
- Taiwan will inevitably be the key element in the American quest for resilient supply chains in the digital domain.
Opportunity for India
- Taiwan’s position as a semiconductor superpower opens the door for more intensive strategic-economic cooperation between Delhi and Taipei.
- Part of the problem is that India’s strategic community continues to view Taiwan as an adjunct to India’s “One-China policy”.
- India’s policy oscillates between keeping needless distance with Taipei when ties with Beijing are warm and remembering it when Sino-Indian ties enter a freeze.
- This changed in the early 1990s, when it began to engage with Taiwan, but the policy remained a restricted one.
- In the last few years, though, there has been a steady expansion of bilateral engagement.
- Trade has increased from about $1 billion in 2001 to about $7 billion in 2018.
- India has made a special effort to woo Taiwanese companies that are moving some of their production away from China.
- India is yet to tap into the full range of commercial and technological opportunities possibilities with Taiwan.
- This is particularly true of semiconductor production.
Way forward
- Delhi must begin to deal with Taiwan as a weighty entity in its own right that offers so much to advance India’s prosperity.
- Delhi does not have to discard its “One-China policy” to recognise that Taiwan is once again becoming the lightning rod in US-China tensions.
Consider the question “India needs to explore the opportunities in relationship with Taiwan even as it pursues and sticks to its One China policy. Comment.
Conclusion
As Taiwan becomes the world’s most dangerous flashpoint, the geopolitical consequences for Asia are real. Although Delhi has embraced the Indo-Pacific maritime construct, it is yet to come to terms with Taiwan’s critical role in shaping the strategic future of Asia’s waters.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: State Finance Commission
Mains level: Paper 2- Conditional grants to incentivise the states for reforms
The article highlights the crucial recommendations made by the 15th Finance Commission and also explains the importance of conditions for grants from the Centre to push the state for reforms.
Crucial recommendations by 15th Finance Commission
- The Fifteenth Finance Commission’s report for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 outlines some crucial recommendations for state governments.
- These recommendations cover tax devolution, grants from the Centre, and the guidelines for the borrowings that they are permitted to incur over the medium-term.
- The commission has recommended that 41 per cent of the government’s divisible pool of taxes be transferred to state governments.
Horizontal devolution formula
- The horizontal devolution formula specifies each state’s share in the overall pie.
- The 15th FC was required to use the states’ population as per the 2011 Census — a highly contentious change.
- It has also introduced a demographic performance criterion.
- Additionally, it has also introduced a new criterion –tax effort.
- Tax effort is measured by the ratio of the three-year average of per-capita own tax revenues and per-capita gross state domestic product (GSDP).
- The net result of the change in criteria is that the share of 10 states in the divisible pool has declined.
- Karnataka is the biggest loser, while Maharashtra is the biggest gainer.
Grants from the Centre conditioned on reforms in states
- Another major set of the commission’s recommendations pertain to grants from the Centre.
- In a major shift, the 15th FC has sharply increased the proportion of grants whose receipt is conditional on specified reforms being undertaken.
- 57 per cent of the 15th FC-recommended grants accepted so far by the GoI are conditional, relative to just 17 per cent for the 14th FC (including J&K).
What are the conditions
1) Setting up of State Finance Commission (SFC) and applicability of SFC’s recommendations for 5 years only
- Constitution requires state governments to set up State Finance Commissions (SFC).
- The 15th FC has asserted that the mandate of any given SFC is intended to be applicable only for five years.
- It revealed that only 15 states have set up their fifth or sixth SFCs, whereas several states have not moved beyond their second or third SFC.
- Accordingly, a staggering 84 per cent of the Rs 4.4 trillion grants for local bodies recommended by the 15th FC are conditional on the states setting up SFCs for the coming five-year period, and acting on their recommendations by March 2024.
2) Availability of online accounts
- Another entry-level condition for availing grants by rural and urban local bodies pertains to the timely availability of their accounts online from 2021-22 onwards.
3) Notiflying floor rate for property tax
- For the receipt of grants by the urban bodies, states are required to notify a floor rate for property tax by 2021-22, and demonstrate consistent year-wise improvement from 2022-23 onwards.
- This will complement the conditions set previously by SEBI for ULBs to become eligible to raise municipal bonds.
Changes in limit on net borrowings of state governments
- The commission has recommended that the normal limit for net borrowings of state governments be fixed at 4 per cent of GSDP in 2021-22.
- This will ease to 3.5 per cent by 2022-23, thereafter reverting to the erstwhile 3 per cent limit till 2025-26.
- The additional borrowing space of 0.5 per cent of GSDP for states is conditional on the completion of power sector reforms.
Prospect of huge gaps in states’ revenue in the future
- The states’ fiscal arithmetic will alter in 2022-23 with the GST compensation set to cease at the end of June 2022 as things stand today.
- The ensuing drop in grants, combined with the tapering of the front-loaded revenue deficit grants is likely to leave a big gap in some states’ revenues.
Consider the question “What are the conditions laid down by the 15th Finance Commission on the states for the central grants? How these conditions could benefit the states?”
Conclusion
The question is whether this revenue gaps will force the states to move on both the power sector reforms, which have proven challenging in the past, and the municipal reforms, so that their resource availability may be enhanced.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Carbon footprints, Ecological footprints
Mains level: Not Much
Chandigarh became the first state or UT in India to launch Carbon Watch, a mobile application to assess the carbon footprint of an individual.
Carbon Footprint
- A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.
- It corresponds to the whole amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) produced to, directly and indirectly; support a person’s lifestyle and activities.
- Carbon footprints are usually measured in equivalent tons of CO2, during the period of a year, and they can be associated with an individual, an organization, a product or an event, among others.
- The GHGs whose sum results in a carbon footprint can come from the production and consumption of fossil fuels, food, manufactured goods, materials, roads or transportation.
Note: An ecological footprint, as explained earlier compares the total resources people consume with the land and water area that is needed to replace those resources. A carbon footprint also deals with resource usage but focuses strictly on the greenhouse gases released due to burning of fossil fuels.
How does the app Carbon Watch work?
- As a person downloads the application, they will need to fill details in four parts — Water, Energy, Waste Generation and Transport (Vehicular movement).
- In the category of Water, the person will be required to inform about the consumption of water.
- In the Energy category, the details regarding the electricity units consumed every month at the house, monthly bill etc and usage of solar energy will have to be furnished.
- In the Waste category, the individual will need to inform about the waste generated on their part and their family.
- In the transport section, the individual will have to inform about the mode of transport used by four-wheeler, two-wheeler or bicycle.
Try this PYQ:
As a result of their annual survey, the National Geographic Society and an international polling firm GlobeScan gave India top rank in Greendex 2009 score. What is this score?
(a) It is a measure of efforts made by different countries in adopting technologies for reducing the carbon footprint
(b) It is a measure of environmentally sustainable consumer behavior in different countries
(c) It is an assessment of programs/schemes undertaken by different countries for improving the conservation of natural resources
(d) It is an index showing the volume of carbon credits sold by different countries
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tipraland
Mains level: Demand for separate states
Tripura royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya has recently announced his political demand for a new state called ‘Greater Tipraland’.
Try this:
Q.New-age ethnic politics in North East is driving demands for separate statehood movements in India. Discuss.
What is Greater Tipraland?
- ‘Greater Tipraland’ is essentially an extension of the ruling tribal partner Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura – IPFT’s demand of Tipraland, which sought a separate state for tribals of Tripura.
- The new demand seeks to include every tribal person living in an indigenous area or village outside the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) under the proposed model.
- However, the idea doesn’t restrict to simply the Tripura tribal council areas but seeks to include ‘Tiprasa’ of Tripuris spread across different states of India like Assam, Mizoram etc. as well.
- It seeks to include even those living in Bandarban, Chittagong, Khagrachari and other bordering areas of neighbouring Bangladesh.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NAFLD
Mains level: Health threats posed by Fats
The Union Govt has integrated the Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke.
Try this MCQ:
Q.A Company marketing food products advertises that its items do not contain trans-fats. What does this campaign signify to the customers?
- The food products are not made out of hydrogenated oils.
- The food products are not made out of animal fats/oils.
- The oils used are not likely to damage the cardiovascular health of the consumers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
NAFLD
- NAFLD is the abnormal accumulation of fat in the liver in the absence of secondary causes of fatty liver, such as harmful alcohol use, viral hepatitis, or medications.
- According to doctors, it is a serious health concern as it encompasses a spectrum of liver abnormalities.
- It can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL, simple fatty liver disease) to more advanced ones like non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and even liver cancer.
Why such a move?
- NAFLD is emerging as an important cause of liver disease in India.
- Epidemiological studies suggest the prevalence of NAFLD is around 9% to 32% of the general population in India with a higher prevalence in those with overweight or obesity and those with diabetes or prediabetes.
- Researchers have found NAFLD in 40% to 80 % of people who have type 2 diabetes and in 30% to 90% of people who are obese.
- Studies also suggest that people with NAFLD have a greater chance of developing cardiovascular disease.
- Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in NAFLD.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: One Nation One Standard, BIS
Mains level: One Nation One Standard
It’s time to embark on Mission “One Nation One Standard” and make India the leader in setting global benchmarks in setting standards, highlighted the Food and Consumer Affairs Minister.
One Nation One Standard
- The purpose of setting standards and enforcing them is not to bring back “inspection raj” but to ensure that quality products are made available to consumers.
- The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the only national body that frames standards, has come out with more than 20,000 standards for various products and services so far.
- Besides this, there are about 50-odd agencies that have framed about 400 standards in the country.
- There are multiple standards in the country for a single product/service. The new mission is to converge such standards with the BIS.
Main objectives:
- No one should feel the need to go abroad to get the quality certification.
- Lab testing in India should be of world standards. Modern equipment and the latest technologies would be used there.
Why such a move?
- Having uniform national standards will help in making it mandatory for more products.
- The government proposes to set Indian standards in line with the global benchmarks, just like other countries enforce their standards on imported products.
- The Centre, through this move, wants foreign goods coming into India to comply with Indian standards.
Try this PYQ:
Consider the following statements:
- The Standard Mark of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is mandatory for automotive tyres and tubes.
- AGMARK is a quality Certification Mark issued by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
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
Back2Basics: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
- BIS is the National Standards Body of India working under the aegis of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
- It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 which came into effect on 23 December 1986.
- The organisation was formerly the Indian Standards Institution (ISI), set up under the Resolution of the Department of Industries and Supplies in September 1946.
- The ISI was registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
- A new Bureau of Indian standard (BIS) Act 2016 has been brought into force with effect from 12 October 2017.
- The Act establishes the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the National Standards Body of India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SFURTI Scheme
Mains level: Reviving MSME Sector
Union Minister for MSME has inaugurated 50 artisan-based SFURTI clusters, spread over 18 States.
SFURTI is an off-track scheme compared to other HRD schemes with Hindi acronyms. Similar is the SPARSH scheme for philately.
SFURTI Scheme
- Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) is an initiative by the Ministry of MSME to promote Cluster development.
- Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is the Nodal Agency for the promotion of Cluster development for Khadi.
- Under the Scheme, the MSME Ministry supports various interventions including the setting up of infrastructure through Common Facility Centers (CFCs), procurement of new machinery, design intervention, improved packaging and marketing etc.
Types of clusters
- SFURTI clusters are of two types i.e., Regular Cluster (500 artisans) with Government assistance of up to Rs.2.5 crore and Major Cluster (more than 500 artisans) with Government assistance up to Rs.5 crore.
- The scheme focuses on strengthening the cluster governance systems with the active participation of the stakeholders so that they are able to gauge the emerging challenges and opportunities and respond to them.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Privatisation of PSBs
The article deals with the stark differences in the performance of the public sector banks (PSBs) and private banks and suggests ways to deal with the issues.
Comparing PSBs with private banks
- The performance of PSBs over the years hasn’t been worth the money that the government has invested in them.
- As the Economic Survey of 2019-20 pointed out that over ₹4.3 trillion of taxpayer money is invested as government’s equity in PSBs.
- In 2019, every rupee of taxpayer money invested in PSBs, on average, lost 23 paise.
- In contrast, every rupee of investor money invested in New Private Banks—banks licensed after India’s 1991 liberalization—on average gained 9.6 paise.
- The combined market value of HDFC Bank’s shares is ₹8.56 trillion (as of 18 February), whereas the market capitalization of all PSBs is around ₹6.41 trillion (excluding IDBI Bank, which is now categorized as a private bank).
- Of course, if we add up the assets of PSBs, they are a lot bigger than HDFC Bank’s.
Dual regulation
- The private banks are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- PSBs are regulated both by RBI and the department of financial services under the finance ministry.
- The P.J. Nayak Committee report of May 2014 had pointed out this issue of dual regulation.
- This is primarily because PSBs are used by the government to fulfil its social obligations and pump-prime the economy when it’s not doing well.
- The stock market discounts these factors while valuing them.
Way forward
- The policies for regulating and promoting industrial growth do not have any social content in them.
- Hence, PSBs should be run as proper banks irrespective of whether they are privatized or not.
- If they are not privatized, the government’s stake in these banks needs to come down to 33%, something which would help them raise more capital.
- Once investors see PSBs being run as proper banks their market capitalization will start to go up.
- Once PSBs are properly valued by the stock market, the government can sell some of its stake in them every year, and use that money to fund its social objectives.
- It can also use some of that money to incentivize all banks, not just PSBs, to deliver some of its social objectives.
Conclusion
The government should take these steps to let the PSBs realise their potential. At the end of the day, nothing improves service delivery more than some good competition.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bicameralism
Mains level: Paper 2- Importance of bicameralism
The article discusses the issue of undermining of the upper house by passing the certain bills through voice vote and use of money bill route.
Passing of the Bill by voice vote
- The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill was passed by the State’s Legislative Council by voice vote without any division.
- The law was passed by the Council despite the lack of a majority.
- There was no division vote based on actual voting as is usual and as the Opposition members had demanded.
A new legislative precedent
- Similar process was followed to pass the controversial farm laws (by the Rajya Sabha) in September 2020.
- The pandemonium in the House caused by heated interventions by the Opposition was used as a pretext to resort to a voice vote.
- The laws passed with a voice vote seem like a new template for bypassing the constitutionally envisaged legislative process.
- Another process repeatedly used over the last few years to bypass the Upper House of Parliament is the Money Bill route.
- The Aadhaar Bill was passed in this manner.
- Other controversial laws such as those pertaining to electoral bonds, retrospective validation of foreign political contributions and the overhaul of the legal regime relating to tribunals have also been carried out through the Money Bill route.
The Rajya Sabha’s role
- The Lok Sabha is seen as directly representing the will of the people, and the Rajya Sabha as standing in its way.
- The countervailing function of the Upper House is rarely seen as legitimate.
- The Rajya Sabha has historically stopped the ruling party from carrying out even more significant legal changes.
- The Rajya Sabha is imperfect, partly because of constitutional design.
- And partly because obviously undesirable practices, such as members representing States they have no affiliation to, have been allowed to flourish.
Importance of bicameralism
- The very questioning of the monopoly of the Lower House to represent the ‘people’ makes bicameralism desirable, argues legal philosopher Jeremy Waldron.
- In India, the fact that the Rajya Sabha membership is determined by elections to State Assemblies leads to a different principle of representation, often allowing different factors to prevail than those in the Lok Sabha elections.
- John Stuart Mill had warned about a single assembly becoming despotic and overweening, if released from the necessity of considering whether its acts will be concurred in by another constituted authority.
- The other merit of bicameralism is significant in a Westminster system like India, where the Lower House is dominated by the executive.
- The Rajya Sabha holds the potential of a somewhat different legislative relation to the executive, making a robust separation of powers possible.
Consider the question “Examine the importance of bicameralism in India. Why passage of certain bills as money bill is causing controversies?”
Conclusion
The important role played by the upper house needs to be recognised and respected in the legislative processess.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gross fixed capital formation
Mains level: Paper 3- Year of economic consolidation
The article argues that we are less likely to witness high growth next year rather it is going to be the year of consolidation.
Year of consolidation
- The Economic Survey, the Union budget, and the RBI credit policy attest that the economy is on the recovery path.
- The fourth quarter will register a positive growth rate, and as a consequence, the contraction for the full year will be between 7.5-8 per cent.
- The contraction sets the pace for growth in 2021-22 which is now going to be critical as it is the foundation for the fructification of the budget revenue targets.
- But consider this: GDP in 2019-20 was Rs 146 lakh crore, which has come down to Rs 134 lakh crore in 2020-21.
- Hence, a 10 per cent growth will take the Indian economy to Rs 147 lakh crore — when compared to Rs 145 lakh crore, this reflects modest growth.
- Therefore, expectations should be tempered when we talk of growth next year.
- There will be a revival in economic activity on all ends which will probably bear fruit in 2022-23 — FY 2021-22 will be a year of consolidation.
Policy architecture
- The government has brought in a cogent policy framework right from the time of the Atmanirbhar announcements, culminating in the budget.
- There is a focus on infrastructure as well as providing incentives to investment through the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.
- Real estate, power and construction saw several policy reforms last year.
- There is a strong capex push by the government and there will more action taken here.
RBI policies
- The RBI has promised to continue accommodative policies, which sends a signal of managing liquidity considering the large borrowing programme of the government of Rs 12.8 lakh crore.
- RBI will carry out more open market operations, and long-term repo operations during the year to ensure that interest rates remain stable.
- However, there will be concern around state government borrowings too, which will exert pressure on the availability of funds.
- Hence, there will be more central bank intervention in the market to ensure that funds are available.
Inflation concerns
- Inflation is a concern as global commodity prices have already started going up and this has led to core inflation rising.
- Given that the monsoon has been good in the last four years, there is a possibility of an adverse season this time which can affect food prices.
- In India, too, we have seen that the price of petrol and diesel is rising sharply.
- Add to this rising manufactured goods inflation witnessed of late, and there is a possibility of inflation rising above the MPC’s tolerance levels.
Lack of consumption growth
- For growth to take place, consumption growth has to be real and rapid.
- Consumption growth has been affected by the absence of commensurate job creation.
- Consumption growth is unlikely too soon as consumption is dependent on job creation.
- Jobs get created when growth is high and hence there is circular reasoning here.
- Income has been affected in 2020 due to the pandemic which has led to job losses as well as salary cuts.
- This has affected the sustainability of the pent-up demand seen in October and November.
Falling investment
- Investment has lagged with gross fixed capital formation falling to a low of 24.2 per cent in 2019-20 from 34.3 per cent in 2011-12.
- Reversing this decline will be challenging because the demand for such projects has slowed down and banks have been wary of lending for infrastructure.
- There is also surplus capacity in industry with the capacity utilisation rate being 63.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2020-21.
- Therefore, private investment will rise only gradually and the onus is on governments to manage their targets.
- Private investment will follow, but at a slower pace and realistically speaking, will fire more in 2022-23 rather than 2021-22.
Consider the question “Growth has to be driven by two engines- consumption and investment. India has been facing challenges on both fronts. In light of this, suggest the measures India needs to adopt to move forward on both fronts.
Conclusion
The year 2021-22 will be one of cautious optimism. Growth will trend upwards, but it has to be interpreted with caution, keeping a check on the consumption while pushing the investment while arresting the inflation.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Conclusive Land Titling
Mains level: Land records management in India
Land ownership in India
- In India, land ownership is determined through various records such as sale deeds that are registered, property tax documents, government survey records, etc.
- Land ownership is broadly defined by access to a land title. Land Title is a document that determines the ownership of land or immovable property.
- Having a clear land title protects the rights of the titleholder against other claims made by anyone else to the property.
What is the news?
- In 2020, even as laws for farm reform and labour code reform were being enacted, the government’s think tank, NITI Aayog, took steps to initiate land reforms.
- A Model Bill on Conclusive Land Titling was sent to States and Union Territories last June seeking their comments.
- In September, after many States failed to send in their feedback, the Centre warned that their agreement would be presumed.
What is Conclusive Land Titling?
- In a conclusive titling system, the government provides guaranteed titles and compensation in case of any ownership disputes.
- Achieving this will require shifting to a system of registered property titles (as opposed to sale deeds) as the primary evidence of ownership, and having clear and updated land records.
How does the current system work?
- India currently follows a system of presumptive land titling.
- This means that land records are maintained, with information on possession, which is determined through details of past transactions.
- Ownership, then, is established on the basis of current possession. Registration of land is actually a registration of transactions, such as sale deeds, records of inheritance, mortgage and lease.
- Holding registration papers does not actually involve the government or the legal framework guaranteeing the ownership title of the land.
What will change in the new system?
- On the other hand, under a conclusive land titling system, land records designate actual ownership.
- The title is granted by the government, which takes the responsibility for accuracy.
- Once a title is granted, any other claimant will have to settle disputes with the government, not the titleholder.
Why is conclusive land titling needed?
- The main advantage is that a conclusive system will drastically lower litigation related to land.
- According to a 2007 World Bank study on ‘Land Policies for growth and poverty reduction’, land-related disputes accounted for two-thirds of all pending court cases in India.
- A NITI Aayog study on strengthening arbitration estimated that disputes on land or real estate take an average time of 20 years in the courts to be resolved.
A move for EODB
- Right now, because land titles are based on transactions, people have to keep the entire chain of transaction records, and a dispute on any link in that chain causes ambiguity in ownership.
- Once conclusive titling is in place, investors who want to purchase land for business activities will be able to do so without facing the constant risk that their owners may be questioned and their entire investment may go to waste.
- Land disputes and unclear titling also create hurdles for infrastructure development and housing construction, leading to costly delays and inefficiency.
Multiple benefits
- In cities, urban local bodies depend on property taxes that can be levied properly only if there is clear ownership data available.
- In rural areas, the need is even more acute. Access to agricultural credit is dependent on the ability to use the land as collateral.
- Without being able to prove their ownership of land and access formal credit from banks, small and marginal farmers are often left at the mercy of unscrupulous moneylenders.
What does the model Bill propose?
- The Bill circulated by the NITI Aayog in 2020 calls for Land Authorities to be set up by each State government, which will appoint a Title Registration Officer (TRO),
- TRO will prepare and publish a draft list of land titles based on existing records and documents.
- This will be considered a valid notice to all potential claimants interested in the property, who will have to file their claims or objections within a set period of time.
- If disputing claims are received, the TRO will verify all the relevant documents and refer the case to a Land Dispute Resolution Officer (LDRO) for resolution.
Major hurdles
- The biggest challenge is that land records have not been updated for decades, especially in rural and semi-urban areas.
- Land records are often in the name of the grandparents of the current owner, with no proof of inheritance.
- Unless they are based on updated records, conclusive land titles could create even more problems.
- Comprehensive village-level surveys with community involvement are a necessary precursor to the land titling process.
- Relying on current records or even satellite imagery will not provide the same accuracy as actual, on-the-ground, local surveys.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Laschamp Excursion
Mains level: Mass Extinction
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in DownToEarth.
The world experienced a few centuries of apocalyptic conditions 42,000 years ago, triggered by a reversal of the Earth’s magnetic poles combined with changes in the Sun’s behaviour. This event is called as Laschamps Excursion.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:
Q.The term “sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction” is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of
(a) Widespread monoculture Practices agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.
(b) Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the manner it happened 65million years ago that caused the mass extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs.
(c) Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and promoting their cultivationin other Parts of the world which may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss offood biodiversity.
(d) Mankind’s over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss, natural habitats, destructionof ecosystems, pollution and global climate change.
Laschamp Excursion
- The Laschamp event was a geomagnetic excursion (a short reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field). It occurred 41,400 years ago, during the end of the Last Glacial Period.
- This event is named after the village where it was discovered in the French Massif Central.
- It led to series of catastrophic events like the ozone layer was destroyed, electrical storms raged across the tropics, solar winds generated spectacular light shows (auroras), Arctic air poured across North America, ice sheets and glaciers surged and weather patterns shifted violently.
- During these events, life on earth was exposed to intense ultraviolet light, Neanderthals and giant animals known as megafauna went extinct, while modern humans sought protection in caves.
The Adams Event
- This last major geomagnetic reversal triggered a series of dramatic events that have far-reaching consequences for our planet.
- Because of the coincidence of seemingly random cosmic events and the extreme environmental changes found around the world 42,000 years ago, researchers have called this period the “Adams Event”.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mawsynram
Mains level: Not Much
A recent study that looked at the rainfall pattern in the past 119 years found a decreasing trend at Cherrapunji and nearby areas.
Try this PYQ:
Q.“Climate is extreme, rainfall is scanty and the people used to be nomadic herders.” The above statement best describes which of the following regions?
(a) African Savannah
(b) Central Asian Steppe
(c) North American Prairie
(d) Siberian Tundra
Mawsynram
- Mawsynram is a town in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya state in northeastern India, 60.9 kilometres from Shillong.
- Mawsynram receives the highest rainfall in India.
- It is reportedly the wettest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of 11,872mm but that claim is disputed.
- According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Mawsynram received 26,000 millimetres (1,000 in) of rainfall in 1985.
Why it rain highest in Mawsynram?
- Because of the uneven relief of India due to the presence of a number of hill ranges, the monsoon is not able to shed its moisture evenly over India.
- Windward sides receive more rainfall and leeward sides receive less rainfall.
- Mawsynram lies in the funnel-shaped depression caused by the Khasi range in Meghalaya.
- The Bay of Bengal branch of monsoons is trapped in it and causes heavy rainfall.
Decreasing rainfall trends
- The research analysed daily rain gauge measurements during 1901–2019 and noted that the changes in the Indian Ocean temperature have a huge effect on the rainfall in the region.
- There was a reduction in the vegetation area in northeast India in the past two decades, implying that human influence also plays an important role in the changing rainfall patterns.
- The traditional way of cultivation known as Jhum cultivation or shifting cultivation is now decreased and being replaced by other methods.
- Also, previous studies have noted there is sizable deforestation in the region.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sant Ravidas
Mains level: Bhakti Saints and their contribution
The President of India recently addressed the ‘Shri Guru Ravidas Vishva Mahapeeth Rashtriya Adhiveshan-2021’ in New Delhi.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:
Q.Consider the following statements:
1.Saint Nimbarka was a contemporary of Akbar.
2.Saint Kabir was greatly influenced by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi.
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
Who was Sant Ravidas?
- Ravidas was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement and founder of the Ravidassia religion during the 15th to 16th century CE.
- Venerated as a guru (teacher) in the region of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and mainly Punjab and Haryana. He was a poet-saint, social reformer and spiritual figure.
- The life details of Ravidas are uncertain and contested. Scholars believe he was born in 1450 CE, in the cobbler caste.
- Ravidas’s devotional Verses were included in the Sikh scriptures known as Guru Granth Sahib.
- The Panch Vani text of the Dadupanthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poems of Ravidas.
- He taught the removal of social divisions of caste and gender and promoted unity in the pursuit of personal spiritual freedoms.
Why his preaching is important?
- Philosophy and values of Sant Ravidas like social justice, equality and fraternity have been imbued in our constitutional values.
- He had envisaged a society that is based on equality and free from any kind of discrimination.
- He gave it the name ‘Be-gampura’ (a city near Lahore) where there is no place for any kind of grief or fear.
- Such an ideal city would be bereft of fear, vulnerability or scarcity. Rule of law based on the right ideas like equality and welfare of all would be the principle for governance.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Sexual harassment at workplace
Why the Ramani judgement matters
- The verdict went beyond a mere refusal to convict Ramani for criminal defamation.
- The verdict vindicated Ramani by accepting Ramani’s truth as a defence to the charge of defamation.
- The verdict urged society to “understand that sometimes a victim may for years not speak up due to mental trauma,” and underlined that a woman has a right to speak up about the abuse, even after decades.
- It pointed out that since sexual harassment typically takes place in private, women’s testimonies cannot be dismissed as untrue or defamatory simply because they are unable to provide other witnesses to back their allegations.
- Institutional mechanisms have systemically failed to protect women or provide justice, the verdict reasoned.
- Therefore, survivors are justified in sharing their testimonies on media or social media platforms as a form of self-defence.
Right to dignity
- The Ramani verdict points out that sexual abuse violates the constitutionally recognised rights to dignity (Article 21) and equality (Articles 14 and 15), and that (a man’s) right to reputation cannot be protected at the cost of (a woman’s) right to dignity.
- The Ramani verdict is a huge moral vindication of the #MeToo movement and will serve to deter powerful men from using the defamation law to silence survivors.
Problem of institution
- Sexual harassment is a problem of institutions rather than of individuals alone.
- The world over, employers deploy sexual harassment as a means to discipline and control women workers.
- In India and Bangladesh, at least 60 per cent of garment factory workers experience harassment at work.
- In Guangzhou, China, a survey found that 70 per cent of female factory workers had been sexually harassed at work, and 15 per cent quit their jobs as a result.
- For factory workers, domestic workers, street vendors, sanitation and waste workers, construction workers, sex workers, labour laws or laws against sexual harassment exist only on paper.
Conclusion
The women who spoke were unanimous that individual complaints were not an option, they needed unions to fight collectively. Women workers fighting sexual harassment, need more support and attention.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blockchain
Mains level: Paper 3- Implications of banning blockchain technology
The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 seeks to ban cryptocurrencies. Banning cryptocurrencies would have several implications for India. This article deals with this issue.
Soaring value of Bitcoin
- Recently, Tesla announced that it will soon accept cryptocurrency as legitimate payment for its cars.
- Mastercard followed by announcing that it will incorporate ‘select cryptocurrencies’ on its global payment network.
- BNY Mellon, incidentally the US’s oldest bank, announced holding and transferring digital currencies for asset management clients.
- JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs announced executive positions to look at cryptocurrencies.
- All of this resulted in a soaring value of Bitcoin, and its younger sibling, Ethereum.
India’s governments stand on cryptocurrencies
- India’s government sought to ban cryptocurrency through a proposed legislation, the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021.
- The Bill also provides to also set up a legal structure for an “official digital currency”.
- The Bill promises to “allow for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency (blockchain) and its uses.”
- The way the technology is built, an ownerless, consensus-driven, distributed ledger like a blockchain needs cryptocurrency to grease its wheels.
- India tried to ban cryptocurrency once before, in 2018, before it was reversed by the Supreme Court.
Implications of banning cryptocurrencies
- The banning will kill innovation.
- India has more than 30,000 blockchain innovators and practitioners.
- These innovators will now be looking at moving out to friendlier regimes like the US, Switzerland, Singapore and Estonia.
- International tech companies will freeze blockchain and crypto-exchange investments in India and the step will undermine India’s reputation as a technology hub.
- India is the second-largest Bitcoin trading nation in Asia, and all those trades will move to overseas exchanges.
- China has large crypto trading and mining operations, and an Indian ban on Bitcoin will leave that space open for it.
Consider the question “What is cryptocurrency? What would be the implications of banning it?”
Conclusion
No doubt, there are many problems with cryptocurrency—it is volatile, sucks energy, and is often abused by criminals. But the answer is not to ban it, but regulate it.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Regulation of Big tech and challenges
Article highlights the issues with the growing dominance of social media giants and challenges involved in regulating them.
Issues to consider
1) Conflict of interest
- Many of the big tech companies were not, as they claimed, mere platforms.
- This is because they began to curate and generate their own content, creating possible conflicts of interest.
2) Monopoly power
- There is a suspicion that big tech companies were acquiring more monopoly power leading to lack of free competition.
- There is a conjunction of technology and finance here.
- The more companies were valued, the more they needed monopoly rent extraction to be able to justify those valuations.
3) Lack of accountability in algorithms
- There was an irony in an opaque algorithm being the instrument of a free, open and equitable society.
4) Mixed implications for distribution of wealth
- While the companies had immense economic impact, their distributive implications were more mixed.
- They empowered new players, but they also seem to destroy lots of businesses.
- These companies themselves became the symbol of inequality of economic and political power.
5) Lack of accountability and standards in regulating free speech
- Big tech companies set themselves up almost as a sovereign power.
- This was most evident in the way they regulated speech, posing as arbiters of permissible speech without any real accountability or consistency of standards.
- The prospect of a CEO exercising almost untrammelled authority over an elected president only served to highlight the inordinate power these companies could exercise.
6) Effects of big tech on democracy and democratisation
- The social legitimacy of California Libertarianism came from the promise of a new age of democratic empowerment.
- But as democracies became more polarised, free speech more weaponised, and the information order more manipulated, greater suspicion was going to be cast on this model.
- All democracies are grappling with this dilemma.
Big tech in Indian context
- India will justifiably worry about its own economic interests.
- India will be one of the largest bases of internet and data users in the world.
- The argument will be that this should be leveraged to create iconic Indian companies and Indian value addition.
- India can create competition and be more self-reliant in this space.
- Pushing back against big tech is not protectionism, because this pushback is to curb the unfair advantages they use to exploit an open Indian market.
- India can also justifiably point out that in China keeping out tech companies did not make much of a difference to financial flows or investment in other areas.
The real challenge
- It will be important to distinguish between regulations that are solving some real problems created due to Big tech, and regulation that is using this larger context to exercise more control.
- It will be easier to address those issues if the government showed a principled commitment to liberty, commitment to root out crony capitalism, an investment in science and technology commensurate with India’s challenges, and a general regulatory independence and credibility.
Consider the question “What are the challenges posed by the dominance of social media giants? Suggest the measures to deal with these challenges.”
Conclusion
We should not assume that just because big tech is being made to kneel, the alternative will be any better.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indira Sawhney Case
Mains level: 50% quota limit
The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it has no role in the choices made by the Tamil Nadu government with regard to the provision of reservation for specific castes or communities in state government jobs and admissions.
Reservation being an all-time contested issue is a less inevitable topic for mains. However, we can expect some of the thought triggering questions such as – “Reservation is hardly capable of striking a balance between social inclusion and merit. Critically comment. (250 W)”
OR
Essay topic like- “Meritocracy is unrealized without an egalitarian society” are ready to raid your mind.
Issue over 69%
- The Centre was responding to a petition challenging the constitutionality of the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, SCs and STs Act of 1993, which provides 69% reservation in the State.
- The petitioner contends that the TN has acted “outside its competence” by identifying and classifying socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs).
- It is too far in excess of the 50% limit on quota laid down by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in its judgment in the Indira Sawhney Case (1992).
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 favour 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., upto 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.
What did the Centre say in the TN case?
- The inclusion or exclusion of any caste/community in the State List of SEBCs is the subject matter of the State government, and the Government of India has no role in the matter.
- It referred to the Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act of 2018, which details the difference in the procedure for inclusion or exclusion of castes and communities in the State List for SEBCs and the Central List.
Identifying SEBC
- The power to identify and specify SEBCs lies with Parliament only with reference to the Central List.
- The State governments may have separate State Lists of SEBCs for providing reservation for recruitment to State services or admissions in State government educational institutions.
- Under the newly-inserted Article 342A of the 102nd Amendment Act of 2018, the President notifies the SEBCs in a State after consultation with the Governor.
- The castes or communities included in such State Lists may differ from those included in the Central List.
A case for TN
The senior advocate appearing for Tamil Nadu said the State’s case should be heard separately. The filed affidavit said:
- India is an amalgam of States with varied population, size, history, culture and social fabric.
- The circumstances and facts prevailing in Tamil Nadu are not the same or similar to those in any other State.
- Tamil Nadu is a pioneer in the implementation of reservation in public employment and education. The policy of reservation has been in practice since 1921 in this State.
- Factual variations contributing to the grant of reservation need to be reckoned with differently for different States while deciding the question on its validity.
- The State argued that its law was protected under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution from judicial review.
- Section 4 of the 1993 Act provides 30% reservation to the Backward Classes, 20% for the Most Backward Classes and de-notified communities, 18% for the SCs and 1% for the STs.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Social media regulation
The social media giant Facebook is locked in a battle with Australia over legislation that would require FB, Google to pay for news outlets.
Row over the news on social media
- Australia had proposed a law called the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code Bill 2020.
- It seeks to mandate a bargaining code that aims to force Google and Facebook to compensate media companies for using their content.
Imagine if the case arises in India where tons of news channels and impulsive journalists are dying off hard to gather TRPs!
Response from the ‘giants’
- Google had threatened to make its search engine unavailable in Australia in response to the legislation, which would create a panel to make pricing decisions on the news.
- Facebook responded by blocking users from accessing and sharing Australian news.
Why countries are bringing such legislation?
- Australia has launched a global diplomatic offensive to support its proposed law to force Internet giants Facebook and Google to pay media companies.
- Google accounts for 53% of Australian online advertising revenue and Facebook for 23%.
- The legislation sets a precedent in regulating social media across geographies and is being closely watched the world over.
What is happening in other countries?
- Australia’s proposed law would be the first of its kind, but other governments also are pressuring Google, Facebook and other internet companies to pay news outlets and other publishers for the material.
- In Europe, Google had to negotiate with French publishers after a court last year upheld an order saying such agreements were required by a 2019 EU copyright directive.
- France is the first government to enforce the rules, but the decision suggests Google, Facebook and other companies will face similar requirements in other parts of the 27-nation trade bloc.
The ‘doubted’ reluctance
- Last year, Facebook announced it would pay US news organizations including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and USA Today for headlines.
- In Spain, Google shut down its news website after a 2014 law required it to pay publishers.
Why does this matter?
- Developments in Australia and Europe suggest the financial balance between multibillion-dollar internet companies and news organizations might be shifting.
- Australia is responding to complaints by news reports, magazine articles and other content that appears on their websites or is shared by users.
- The government acted after its competition regulator tried and failed to negotiate a voluntary payment plan with Google.
- The proposed law would create a panel to make binding decisions on the price of news reports to help give individual publishers more negotiating leverage with global internet companies.
Not losing out revenue gain
- Google’s agreement means a new revenue stream for news outfits, but whether that translates into more coverage for readers, viewers and listeners is unclear.
- The union for Australian journalists is calling on media companies to make sure online revenue goes into newsgathering.
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