Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Social media in the time of conflict
Context
The lack of clear systems within social media companies that claim to connect the world is appalling. It is time that they should have learned from multiple instances, as recent as the Israeli use of force in Palestine.
Role of social media platforms in the context of conflict
- There was no unpredictability over conflicts in the information age spilling over to social media platforms.
- In the context of conflict, social media platforms have multiple challenges that go unaddressed.
- Threat of information warfare: Content moderation remains a core area of concern, where, essentially, information warfare can be operationalised and throttled.
- Their sheer magnitude and narrative-building abilities place a degree of undeniable onus on them.
- After years of facing and acknowledging these challenges, most social media giants are yet to create institutional capacity to deal with such situations.
- Additionally, they also act as a conduit for further amplification of content on other platforms.
- Major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter also provide space for extremist views from fringe platforms, where the degree of direct relation to the user generating such content is blurred.
Technology falls short
- Misinformation and disinformation are thorny challenges to these platforms.
- Algorithmic solutions are widely put to use to address them.
- These include identification of content violative of their terms, reducing the visibility of content deemed inappropriate by the algorithm, and in the determination of instances reported to be violative of the terms by other users.
- More often than not in critical cases, these algorithmic solutions have misfired, harming the already resource-scarce party.
- The operational realities of these platforms require that the safety of users be prioritised to address pressing concerns, even at the cost of profits.
Lessons for India
- The lack of coherent norms on state behaviour in cyberspace as well as the intersection of business, cyberspace, and state activity is an opportunity for India.
- Indian diplomats can initiate a new track of conversations here which can benefit the international community at large.
- India should ensure that it initiates these conversations through well-informed diplomats.
- Finally, it is necessary to reassess the domestic regulatory framework on social media platforms.
- Transparency and accountability need to be foundational to the regulation of social media platforms in the information age.
Conclusion
It is in our national interest and that of a rule-based global polity that social media platforms be dealt with more attention across spheres than with a range of reactionary measures addressing immediate concerns alone.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Opec plus
Mains level: Paper 3- Impact of Ukraine crisis on India's energy sector
Context
The Ukraine crisis will affect India’s energy landscape in many ways. This article analyses the impact and suggest the policy measures.
The trajectory of oil prices
- The inflation-adjusted price of Brent crude is $83/bbl (as of writing, the nominal price is $116 / bbl), which is lower than the peak of $145/ bbl in 2008 and the average price that year of $100/bbl.
- In other words, prices could rise much further and we would still not be in uncharted waters.
- Factors affecting prices: The price trajectory will depend on the duration of the conflict, its impact on global energy demand, countervailing supply measures (for example, drawdown of strategic reserves, diversion of US LNG supplies to Europe, the Iranian nuclear deal which, if signed, could release up to 1 mbd of Iranian crude into the market) and whether in all this mayhem, the pipeline infrastructure currently feeding Russian gas into Europe remains operational.
- Impact on India’s earnings: Our earnings from petroleum products (diesel, petrol, naphtha) will be adversely impacted.
- In 2021, these products generated $39 billion in revenue and at 14 per cent, they accounted for the highest share of export earnings.
Impact on India’s energy assets in Russia
- ONGC has a 26 per cent stake in the Vankor oil field, a 20 per cent stake in the Sakhalin-1 LNG/oil export complex.
- All these holdings have eroded substantially in value.
- In India, Rosneft (the Russian national oil company) operates the 20 mtpa refinery in Vadinar through Nayara Energy.
- Nayara is not sanctioned but the traders of crude/products might worry about transacting with an Indian company owned by a sanctioned Russian entity.
Four emergent energy trends that would affect India
- 1] Energy ties of Russia and China: Only last week, for instance, Gazprom signed off on an agreement to build a second gas pipeline to China christened “Power of Siberia 2”.
- The “Power of Siberia 1” pipeline has been pumping gas into China since 2019.
- 2] Emergence of US as second largest producer: The emergence of the US as the largest producer of oil in the world and potentially the largest exporter of LNG.
- It has the capacity to blunt the impact of a supply shortfall but as it is controlled by profit-maximising private corporates.
- 3] The ability of Saudi Arabia to swing the crude oil market: It is the one member of OPEC plus with significant spares, low cost, producible capacity (approx 3 mbd) of crude oil.
- The US has pressured Saudi to bring this volume into the market but they have, as yet, not buckled.
- 4] China’s dominance over rare earth metals: The chokehold of China over the rare earths, minerals and components that are required to effect the transition to a clean energy system.
Suggestions for India
- 1] Take into account uncertainty: Frame the polic around the expectation of continuing volatility.
- 2] Strategic reserves: Build up strategic reserves to safeguard against the unexpected.
- 3] Transnational pipelines: Revive conversations with Turkmenistan and Iran about a transnational gas pipeline.
- 4] Reduce dependence on China for minerals and components required for the transition to clean energy: Fast forward efforts to decouple the supply chain dependence on China for the minerals and components required for the clean energy transition.
- And, finally bring in psychologists to get a better fix on the logic that drives the decisions of the energy autocrats in Russia, Saudi Arabia and China.
Conclusion
The Ukraine crisis throws up many learnings. But one needs particular emphasis. It is not enough to read the tea leaves of supply, demand and geopolitical trends to understand the trajectory of the energy market.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: DIGIT
Mains level: Paper 3- Digital Public Infrastructure
Context
A lot has been written about the emphasis on “digital” in the 2022 Union Budget. But one aspect that hasn’t been talked about as much is the importance given in the budget to digital public infrastructure (DPI).
Significance of digital public infrastructure (DPI) in India
- A global trendsetter: India is seen as a global trendsetter in the DPI movement, having set up multiple large-scale DPIs like Aadhaar, UPI and sector-specific platforms like DIGIT for eGovernance and DIKSHA for education.
- Improvement in public service delivery: These DPIs have helped push the frontier of public service delivery.
- Four key announcements in Budget: This year’s budget adds to the growing discourse on DPIs by making four key announcements:
- 1] In health, an open platform with digital registries, a unique health identity and a robust consent framework;
- 2] In skilling, a Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood (DESH-Stack) to help citizens upskill through online training;
- 3] a Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) to streamline movement of goods across modes of transport; and for travel,
- 4] In mobility, an “open source” mobility stack for facilitating seamless travel of passengers.
- Analysis by the Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research (C-DEP) estimates that national digital ecosystems could add over 5 per cent to India’s GDP.
Suggestions
- But important design considerations must be set right if we are to truly unlock the value of these platforms.
1] Differentiating between tech and non-tech layer
- We need to differente between the “tech” and “non-tech” layers of our digital infrastructure.
- While India seems to have made significant headway on the “tech” layers, the “non-tech” layers of community engagement and governance need a lot more work.
- The combination of these three layers is what is critical to making tech work for everyone.
- Together, they embody what we call the open digital ecosystems (ODE) approach.
2] Get non-tech layers right
- To unleash the true potential of India’s ODEs, we need to get the “non-tech” layers right, by prioritising principles around data protection, universal access and accountability.
- In this regard, three specific non-tech levers are critical.
- 1] Data protection: Protecting the data of all users and giving them agency over how their data gets used.
- The passage of a robust Data Protection Bill is imperative.
- But we also need to go beyond the mere requirement of “consent”.
- 2] Address digital divide: It is important to address the digital divide.
- Research by ORF, for instance, shows that Indian women are 15 per cent less likely to own a mobile phone and 33 per cent less likely to use mobile internet services than men.
- So, we need a “phygital” approach that provides services through both online and offline options and strong grievance redressal mechanisms.
- 3] Institutional mechanism: As we push the frontier on digitisation, India must also focus on developing anchor institutions and robust governance frameworks.
- Just as Aadhaar is anchored by UIDAI under an Act of Parliament, and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is anchored by the National Health Authority, every new ODE requires an accountable institutional anchor.
- These institutions are critical for setting standards, ensuring a level playing field and safeguarding consumer interest.
Consider the question “India is seen as a global trendsetter in the DPI movement, having set up multiple large-scale Digital Public Infrastructures(DPI). List the various DPIs in various sectors in India. Suggest the changes needed in the non-tech layers of these DPIs.”
Conclusion
From Aadhaar and UPI to DBT and CoWin, India’s tech stacks are grabbing global attention. It is now critical to bring the gaze on to the non-tech layers of the stack, so that the potential of these platforms can be unlocked for every Indian.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Medical education in India
- According to estimates from Ukraine, reported in the media, around 18,000 Indian students are in Ukraine (before Operation Ganga).
- Most of them are pursuing medicine.
- This war has turned the spotlight on something that has been the trend for about three decades now.
Preferred countries for medical degree
- For about three decades now, Indian students have been heading out to Russia, China, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Philippines to pursue a medical degree.
Hype of becoming a Doctor
- Prestige: The desire to study medicine still holds a lot of value in the Indian community (the other is becoming an IAS officer).
- Shortages of Doctor: In many rural areas, people still look at doctors as god’s incarnate.
- Rarity of opportunity: The lack of equal opportunities exacerbated by the caste factor in the Indian context, has a great deal of impact on the prestige still associated with being a doctor.
- Social upliftment ladder: For years, certain communities were denied the opportunities, and finally they do have a chance at achieving significant educational status.
Why go abroad?
- No language barrier: The medium of education for these students is English, a language they are comfortable with.
- Affordability: The amount spent on living and the medical degree are far more affordable than paying for an MBBS seat in private medical colleges in India.
- Aesthetics and foreign culture: People are willing to leave their home to study far away in much colder places and with completely alien cultures and food habits.
- Practice and OPD exposure: It broadens students’ mind and thinking, expose them to a whole range of experiences, and their approach to issues and crises is likely to be far better.
Doesn’t India have enough colleges?
(a) More aspirants than seats
- There are certainly far more MBBS aspirants than there are MBBS seats in India.
- In NEET 2021, as per a National Testing Agency press release, 16.1 lakh students registered for the exam, 15.4 lakh students appeared for the test, and 8.7 lakh students qualified.
- As per data from the National Medical Commission (NMC), in 2021-22, there were 596 medical colleges in the country with a total of 88,120 MBBS seats.
- While the skew is in favour of Government colleges, it is not greatly so, with the number of private medical institutions nearly neck-to-neck with the state-run ones.
(b) Fees structure
- That means over 50% of the total seats are available at affordable fees in Government colleges.
- Add the 50% seats in the private sector that the NMC has mandated must charge only the government college fees.
- In fully private colleges, the full course fees range from several lakhs to crores.
(c) Uneven distribution of colleges
- These colleges are also not distributed evenly across the country, with States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala having many more colleges.
What about costs?
- The cost factor on both sides of an MBBS degree is significant.
- The costs of an MBBS degree in a Government college tot up to a few lakhs of rupees for the full course, but in a private medical college, it can go up to ₹1 crore for the five-year course.
- In case it is a management seat, capitation fees can inflate the cost by several lakhs again.
- Whereas, an MBBS course at any foreign medical university in the east and Eastern Europe costs far less (upto ₹30lakh-₹40 lakh).
Way forward
- While PM Modi emphasised that more private medical colleges must be set up in the country to aid more people to take up MBBS, medical education experts have called for pause on the aspect.
- If the aim is to make medicine more accessible to students of the country, the path ahead is not in the private sector, but in the public sector, with the Central and State governments’ involvement.
- Starting private medical colleges by reducing the strict standards set for establishing institutes may not actually be the solution to this problem, if we think this is a concern.
Conclusion
- Creating more medical colleges will be beneficial for the country, if access and availability can be ensured.
- This will not be possible by resorting to private enterprise only.
- The State and Central governments can start more medical colleges, as recommended by NITI Aayog, by utilising district headquarters hospitals, and expanding the infrastructure.
- This way, students from the lower and middle socio-economic rung, who are otherwise not able to access medical seats, will also benefit.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Democracy Report 2022
Mains level: Global trends in Democracy
A Sweden-based institute has said that India is no longer an ‘electoral democracy’, classifying the country as an ‘electoral autocracy’ instead.
About the report
- The study, titled ‘Democracy Report 2022: Autocratisation Changing Nature?’ states that more than twice as many countries are undergoing Autocratisation as are witnessing democratization.
- The conceptual scheme takes into account not only the electoral dimension (free and fair elections) but also the liberal principle that democracy must protect “individual and minority rights”.
- The V-Dem report classifies countries into four regime types based on their score in the Liberal Democratic Index (LDI):
- Liberal Democracy
- Electoral Democracy
- Electoral Autocracy and
- Closed Autocracy
What is the report’s methodology?
- Since key features of democracy, such as, judicial independence, are not directly measurable, and to rule out distortions due to subjective judgments, V-Dem uses aggregate expert judgments.
- It gathers data from a pool of over 3,700 experts worldwide who provide judgments on different concepts and cases.
- Leveraging the diverse opinions, the V-Dem’s measurement model algorithmically.
The Liberal Democratic Index (LDI)
- The LDI captures both liberal and electoral aspects of a democracy based on 71 indicators that make up the:
- Liberal Component Index (LCI): It measures aspects such as protection of individual liberties and legislative constraints on the executive.
- Electoral Democracy Index (EDI): It considers indicators that guarantee free and fair elections such as freedom of expression and freedom of association.
- In addition, the LDI also uses:
- Egalitarian Component Index (to what extent different social groups are equal)
- Participatory Component Index (health of citizen groups, civil society organisations) and
- Deliberative Component Index (whether political decisions are taken through public reasoning focused on common good or through emotional appeals, solidarity attachments, coercion)
Highlights of the report
- The democratic gains of the post-Cold War period are eroding rapidly in the last few years.
- Autocratisation is spreading rapidly, with a record of 33 countries autocratising.
- The level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen in 2021 is down to 1989 levels.
- While Sweden topped the LDI index, other Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and Norway, along with Costa Rica and New Zealand make up the top five in liberal democracy rankings.
What does the report say about India?
- India is one of the top ten ‘autocratisers’ in the world says the report.
- The report classifies India as an autocracy (‘electoral autocracy’) rather than a democracy, ranking it 93rd on the liberal democracy index, out of 179 countries.
- The report notes that India is part of a broader global trend of an anti-plural political party driving a country’s Autocratisation.
- Ranked 93rd in the LDI, India figures in the “bottom 50%” of countries.
- It has slipped further down in the Electoral Democracy Index, to 100, and even lower in the Deliberative Component Index, at 102.
- In South Asia, India is ranked below Sri Lanka (88), Nepal (71), and Bhutan (65) and above Pakistan (117) in the LDI.
Concerns raised by the report
- (Communal) Polarisation: The report also points out that “toxic levels of polarisation contribute to electoral victories of anti-pluralist leaders and the empowerment of their autocratic agendas”.
- Rise of political hate speeches: The report states that measures of polarisation of society, political polarisation, and political parties’ use of hate speech tend to systematically rise together to extreme levels.
- Misinformation as a policy tool: The report identified “misinformation” as a key tool deployed by autocratising governments to sharpen polarisation and shape domestic and international opinion.
- Repression of civil society and censorship of media: These were other favored tools of autocratising regimes.
- Declining autonomy of Election bodies: The report also found that decisive autonomy for the electoral management body (EMB) deteriorated in 25 countries.
Note: The west uses every nook and corner to bully India in all walks of life. This report is an evidence. It ranks India as more autocratic than Pakistan (where democracy is a namesake joke). Credibility of such reports are definitely questionable. But we as an aspirant have to take cognisance of such reports (but not very seriously).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FATF
Mains level: Terror financing and money laundering
The global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Pakistan on its terrorism financing “grey list”.
What is the FATF?
- FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
- The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
- It holds three Plenary meetings in the course of each of its 12-month rotating presidencies.
- As of 2019, FATF consisted of 37 member jurisdictions.
India and FATF
- India became an Observer at FATF in 2006. Since then, it had been working towards full-fledged membership.
- On June 25, 2010, India was taken in as the 34th country member of FATF.
- The EAG (Eurasian Group) is a regional body comprising nine countries: India, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.
What is the role of FATF?
- Watchdog on terror financing: The rise of the global economy and international trade has given rise to financial crimes such as money laundering.
- Recommendation against financial crimes: The FATF makes recommendations for combating financial crime, reviews members’ policies and procedures, and seeks to increase acceptance of anti-money laundering regulations across the globe.
What is the Black List and the Grey List?
- Black List: The blacklist, now called the “Call for action” was the common shorthand description for the FATF list of “Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories” (NCCTs).
- Grey List: Countries that are considered safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the FATF grey list. This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.
Consequences of being in the FATF black list:
- Economic sanctions from IMF, World Bank, ADB
- Problem in getting loans from IMF, World Bank, ADB and other countries
- Trade sanctions: Reduction in international trade
- International boycott
Pakistan and FATF
- Pakistan, which continues to remain on the “grey list” of FATF, had earlier been given the deadline till June to ensure compliance with the 27-point action plan against terror funding networks.
- It has been under the FATF’s scanner since June 2018, when it was put on the Grey List for terror financing and money laundering risks.
- FATF and its partners such as the Asia Pacific Group (APG) are reviewing Pakistan’s processes, systems, and weaknesses on the basis of a standard matrix for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tiger Density in India
Mains level: Man-Animal Conflict
Preliminary findings of a study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) suggest that the density of tigers in the Sunderbans may have reached the carrying capacity of the mangrove forests, leading to frequent dispersals and a surge in human-wildlife conflict.
Tiger Density of India
- In the Terai and Shivalik hills habitat — think Corbett tiger reserve, for example — 10-16 tigers can survive in 100 sq km.
- This slides to 7-11 tigers per 100 sq km in the reserves of north-central Western Ghats such as Bandipur, and to 6-10 tigers per 100 sq km in the dry deciduous forests, such as Kanha, of central India.
- The correlation between prey availability and tiger density is fairly established.
- There is even a simple linear regression explaining the relationship in the 2018 All-India Tiger report that put the carrying capacity in the Sunderbans “at around 4 tigers” per 100 sq km.
- A joint Indo-Bangla study in 2015 pegged the tiger density at 2.85 per 100 sq km after surveying eight blocks spanning 2,913 sq km across the international borders in the Sunderbans.
Conflict: cause or effect
- The consequence, as classical theories go, is frequent dispersal of tigers leading to higher levels of human-wildlife conflict in the reserve peripheries.
- Physical (space) and biological (forest productivity) factors have an obvious influence on a reserve’s carrying capacity of tigers.
- What also plays a crucial role is how the dispersal of wildlife is tolerated by people — from the locals who live around them to policymakers who decide management strategies.
- More so when different land uses overlap and a good number of people depend on forest resources for livelihood.
Why tiger corridors are not a solution?
- But though vital for genes to travel and avoid a population bottleneck, wildlife corridors may not be the one-stop solution for conflict.
- First, not all dispersing tigers will chance upon corridors simply because many will find territories of other tigers between them and such openings.
- Even the lucky few that may take those routes are likely to wander to the forest edges along the way.
- Worse, the corridors may not lead to viable forests in reserves such as Sunderbans, bounded by the sea and villages.
Way ahead
- Artificially boosting the prey base in a reserve is often an intuitive solution but it can be counter-productive.
- To harness the umbrella effect of tigers for biodiversity conservation, it is more beneficial to increase areas occupied by tigers.
- For many, the prescription is to create safe connectivity among forests and allow tigers to disperse safely to new areas.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:
Q.Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat” ?
(a) Corbett
(b) Ranthambore
(c) Nagarjunasagar- Srisailam
(d) Sunderbans
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Exercise Vayu Shakti
Mains level: NA
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to postpone its firepower demonstration, Ex Vayu Shakti, scheduled in the Pokhran ranges in Rajasthan.
Exercise Vayu Shakti
- It is conducted once in three years which is participated by fighters, helicopters, force enablers and support systems.
- The aim of the exercise is to detect and identify targets and neutralise them in day, dusk and night capability demonstrations.
- The Indian Air Force showcases repower capability of indigenously developed aircrafts and its missile arsenal in this exercise.
- Fighter aircraft including Jaguar, Rafale, Sukhoi-30, MIG-29, light combat aircraft Tejas, MIG-21 Bison, Hawk 32, M200 participates in the exercise.
Also read
Various Defence Exercises in News
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