Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Decriminalization of certain offences
Last week, the Union Government tabled the Jan Vishwas Bill, 2022, (Bill) in the Parliament with the objective of “decriminalising” 183 offences across 42 legislations and enhancing the ease of living and doing business in India.
Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022,
- It sought to amend 42 Acts to reduce the compliance burden on individuals and businesses and ensure ease of doing business.
- Some Acts that are amended by the Bill include: the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, and the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Key provisions of the Bill
(1) Replacing imprisonment with money penalty:
Under the Bill, several offences with an imprisonment term in certain Acts have been decriminalised by imposing only a monetary penalty under the –
- Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937, counterfeiting grade designation marks is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to five thousand rupees. The Bill replaces this with a penalty of eight lakh rupees.
- Information Technology Act, 2000, disclosing personal information in breach of a lawful contract is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to five lakh rupees, or both. The Bill replaces this with a penalty of up to 25 lakh rupees.
- Patents Act, 1970, a person selling a falsely represented article as patented in India is subject to a fine of up to one lakh rupees. The Bill replaces the fine with a penalty, which may be up to ten lakh rupees. In case of a continuing claim, there shall be an additional penalty of one thousand rupees per day.
(2) Revision of fines and penalties:
- The Bill increases the fines and penalties for various offences in the specified Acts.
- Further, these fines and penalties will be increased by 10% of the minimum amount every three years.
- It is a welcome move and can be viewed as an attempt to reverse the trend of overcriminalisation. However, there is much that needs to be done in order to institutionalise efforts aimed at decriminalisation.
Why was this legislation brought up?
- Rise in criminal cases: An unprincipled growth of criminal law has long been a cause of concern for scholars of law.
- Political motives: The act of criminalisation often becomes a medium for governments to put across a strong image as opposed to punishing wrongful conduct.
- Over-criminalization: Governments offer little in the way of justifications to support such decisions. This phenomenon has been termed “overcriminalisation” by scholars.
- Increased burden on Judiciary: As per the National Judicial Data Grid, of the 4.3 crore pending cases, nearly 3.2 crore cases are in relation to criminal proceedings.
- Overcrowding of prisons: Similarly, the rise in the prison population is also proof of this. As per the NCRB’s Prison Statistics of 2021, a total of 5.54 lakh prisoners were confined in prisons against a capacity of 4.25 lakh.
Scope of the Bill
- Hefty fines cannot create deterrence: The Jan Vishwas Bill either omits penal provisions or replaces them with fines in legislation. These are primarily offences which are regulatory in nature.
- Quasi-decriminalisation: By and large, an examination of the provisions of the Bill reveals that stress has been on the replacement of imprisonment clauses with fines. This can hardly be termed as ‘decriminalisation’.
Achieving decriminalisation in real sense
There is much that is required for the efforts aimed at decriminalisation to fructify in any meaningful way.
(1) Stigma of fines to create deterrence
- In his seminal piece titled – ‘Is the Criminal Law a Lost Cause?’ Mr. Andrew Ashworth’s creates a distinction between regulatory offences and penal offences and exemplifies the same through the functional distinction between a tax and a fine.
- While the purpose of a tax is primarily regulatory in nature, a fine carries with it an element of censure and stigma.
(2) De-linking petty economic offences with over-criminalization
- Secondly, the Observer Research Foundation’s report titled Jailed for Doing Business found that there are more than 26,134 imprisonment clauses in a total of 843 economic legislations, rules and regulations which seek to regulate businesses and economic activities in India.
- In this light, the number of offences deregulated under the Bill seems to be a mere drop in India’s regulatory framework.
(3) Regulatory offences to be considered for ‘decriminalisation’
- This need to be prioritised not only from the point of view of the ease of doing business, but also from the points of view of the ills that plague our criminal justice system itself.
- Debates are ongoing about the decriminalisation of several penal offences such as sedition, offences under NDPS Act & UAPA Acts, triple talaq and anti-conversion laws etc.
- There is an urgent need to assess these offences on a principled basis.
Conclusion
- The intent of the Bill is merely to ensure that imprisonment is replaced with fines for as many offences as possible.
- The extent to which it succeeds in ‘decriminalising’ offences, however, is questionable.
- If these faults are to be rectified, it is pertinent that a more comprehensive exercise is undertaken and that the government prioritises the needs and requirements of the criminal justice system.
- Still this legislation is a welcome move in all senses.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Social Stock Exchange
Mains level: Read the attached story
The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE India) received an in-principle approval from the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to set-up Social Stock Exchange (SSE) as a separate segment.
What is Social Stock Exchange (SSE)?
- SSE is a novel idea in India, and a stock exchange of this kind is intended to benefit the private and non-profit sectors by directing more capital to them.
- During her Budget speech for the fiscal year 2019–20, Finance Minister first proposed the concept of SSE.
- The Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 was then invoked by the government, which subsequently published a gazette notification announcing a new security as “zero coupon zero principal”.
- The SSE will function as a distinct division of the current stock exchanges under the new regulations.
Who can list on SSE?
- The SSE will be a distinct division of the current stock exchanges under the new regulations.
- Not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) and for-profit social enterprises with social intent and impact as their primary goal will be eligible to participate in the SSE.
- Additionally, such an intent should be shown by its emphasis on social goals that are appropriate for under-served or less privileged populations or areas.
- The social enterprises will have to engage in a social activity out of 16 broad activities listed by the regulator.
The eligible activities include-
- Eradicating hunger poverty, malnutrition and inequality
- Promoting healthcare, supporting education, employability and livelihoods
- Gender equality empowerment of women and LGBTQIA communities
- Supporting incubators of social enterprise
Who are not eligible?
- Corporate foundations, political or religious organisations or activities, professional or trade associations, infrastructure companies, and housing companies, with the exception of affordable housing, will not be eligible to be identified as social enterprises.
- According to SEBI’s framework, minimum issue size of ₹1 crore and a minimum application size for subscription of ₹2 lakh are currently required for SSE.
Minimum requirements for sustenance
- NPO needs to be registered as a charitable trust and should be registered for at least three years, must have spent at least ₹50 lakh annually in the past financial year.
- They should have received a funding of at least ₹10 lakh in the past financial year.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: City Finance Ranking
Mains level: Not Much
The Centre launched City Finance Rankings 2022 and City Beauty Competition aimed at incentivising urban local bodies for improving cities’ public infrastructure and strengthening them on basis of key financial parameters.
What is City Finance Rankings?
- It aims to evaluate, recognise, and reward urban local bodies on the basis of their strength across key financial parameters.
- City Finance Rankings aim to motivate city and state officials and decision makers, to implement municipal finance reforms.
- The participating urban local bodies will be evaluated on 15 indicators across three key municipal finance assessment parameters like resource mobilisation, expenditure performance, and fiscal governance.
- The cities will be ranked at the national level on the basis of their scores under any one of the following four population categories:
- Above 40 lakh
- Between 10-40 lakh
- 1 lakh to 10 lakh and
- Less than one lakh
- The top three cities in each population category will be recognised and rewarded at the national level as well as within each state and state cluster
About City Beauty Competition
- Wards and public places of cities would be judged against the five broad pillars (i) accessibility (ii) amenities (iii) activities (iv) aesthetics and (v) ecology.
- It would felicitate most beautiful wards and beautiful public places at the city level.
- It aims to encourage and recognise the transformational efforts made by cities and wards in India to create beautiful, innovative and inclusive public spaces
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
Mains level: Modernization of railways
The Ministry of Railways, as part of its station redevelopment drive, has formulated Amrit Bharat Station Scheme to modernize over 1,000 small stations over the coming years.
Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
- Under this, stations will be equipped with facilities inspired by the mega-upgradation of marquee stations such as New Delhi and Ahmedabad, albeit at a lower cost.
- Key features of these proposed stations include provisions for roof top plazas, longer platforms, ballast-less tracks, and 5G connectivity.
- The scheme will subsume all previous redevelopment projects where work is yet to begin.
Implementation strategy
- The model envisages low-cost redevelopment of stations which can be executed timely.
- Zonal railways have been given the responsibility of selecting stations, which will then be approved by a committee of senior railway officials.
- Plans and consequent budgets will only be approved on the basis of factors such as footfall and inputs from stakeholders.
Facilities Planned under this Scheme
- Provision for Roof Plaza to be created in future
- Free Wi-Fi, space for 5G mobile towers
- Smooth access by widening of roads, removal of unwanted structures, properly designed signages, dedicated pedestrian pathways, well-planned parking areas, improved lighting etc.
- High level platforms (760-840 mm) at all stations with a length of 600 metres
- Special amenities for the disabled
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: NA
2023 is set to be another busy year. Here are five of the most exciting missions to watch out for.
(1) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer
- In April, the European Space Agency (ESA) is set to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), in what will be Europe’s first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter.
- Juice is due to reach the planet in July 2031 after performing an incredible flight path through the Solar System.
- The mission will enter into orbit around Jupiter and perform numerous flybys of its large icy moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
- After four years of moon flybys, Juice will then enter into orbit around Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System — becoming the first spacecraft ever to reach orbit around the moon of another planet.
- The icy moons of Jupiter are interesting as they are all believed to host oceans of liquid water beneath their frozen surfaces.
- Europa, in particular, is regarded as one of the most likely abodes in the Solar System for extra-terrestrial life.
(2) SpaceX Starship
- Starship will be the largest spacecraft capable of carrying humans from Earth to destinations in space (the International Space Station is larger, but it was assembled in space).
- It will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever to fly, capable of lifting 100 tonnes of cargo to low Earth orbit.
- Starship is the collective name for a two-component system consisting of the Starship spacecraft (which carries the crew and cargo) and the Super Heavy rocket.
- The rocket component will lift Starship to some 65km altitude before separating and returning to Earth in a controlled landing.
- The upper Starship component will then use its own engines to push itself the rest of the way to orbit.
(3) dearMoon Project
- The long-awaited dearMoon project, which will take members of the public on a six-day trip around the Moon and back, is due for launch on Starship and was originally planned for 2023.
- It will be the first true deep space tourism launch.
- This mission will mark a big change in the way we think about space, as previously only astronauts picked using incredibly stringent criteria have been able to go into deep space.
- The success or failure of the dearMoon mission could affect whether deep space tourism becomes the next big thing, or it is relegated back to being a pipe-dream.
(4) OSIRIS-REx returning Earth
- The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security — Regolith Explorer, mercifully more commonly known as OSIRIS-REx, is a NASA mission to near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
- A key goal of this robotic mission was to acquire samples of Bennu and return them to Earth for analysis.
- OSIRIS-REx is now fast returning to Earth with up to a kilogram of precious asteroid samples stored aboard.
- If all goes well, the capsule will detach from the spacecraft, enter the Earth’s atmosphere and parachute to a soft landing in the deserts of Utah.
- Asteroid sample return has only been achieved once before, by the Japanese Space Agency’s Hayabusa 2 mission in 2020.
- Bennu is an approximately diamond-shaped world just half a kilometre in size, but has many interesting characteristics.
- Some of the minerals detected within it have been altered by water, implying that Bennu’s ancient parent body possessed liquid water.
- It also has an abundance of precious metals, including gold and platinum.
- It is however classed as a potentially hazardous object with a (very) small possibility of Earth impact in the next century.
(5) India’s private space launch
- Skyroot Aerospace, which successfully launched its Vikram-S rocket in November 2022, is soon to become the first private Indian company to launch a satellite.
- The rocket itself reached 90km in altitude, a distance that would need to be improved upon to get a constellation of satellites into orbit.
- Skyroot’s first satellite launch is planned for 2023, with a goal of undercutting the cost of private space launch rivals by producing its 3D-printed rockets in a matter of days.
- If successful, this could also provide a route for cheaper launches of scientific missions, enabling a faster rate of research.
Conclusion
- With many bold advances and launches due in 2023, we are entering a new phase akin to the “Golden era” of space launches in the 1960s and ’70s.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India's manufacturing sector and role of IAS officers
Context
- The Make in India and Ease of Doing Business policies were framed because Prime Minister Narendra Modi correctly believed that the problems of poverty and unemployment could only be solved by the rapid growth of the manufacturing sector. Despite these efforts, manufacturing has till now not shown any significant increase in its growth. Investments in the sector remain inadequate.
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- Development strategies and failures: The development of strategies and plans for implementation and their execution is done by individuals. Repeated failures in this area point to the necessity of identifying the root causes for why existing personnel charged with policy execution have been failing.
- Reasons could be: The reasons could be inadequate knowledge and skills, lack of motivation, environmental constraints or weak supervision and monitoring.
- Vision by political leaderships, implementation by IAS officers: While the political leadership lays down the vision, the responsibilities for translating these into ground realities are that of IAS officers.
IAS officers in manufacturing
- IAS officers ensures adequate skills and training: Most of the senior posts in the secretariats and districts are held by officers from the IAS. They are responsible for ensuring that subordinate civil servants are adequately trained and skilled, motivated and guided to deliver good outcomes.
- Frame rules for implementation: They create the framework of rules that constitute the environment for implementation. Therefore, if policies are to be more effectively implemented, IAS officers need to be better equipped.
How should be the role of IAS officers in manufacturing?
- Officers should have adequate knowledge: Achieving global levels of cost and quality competitiveness in the sector requires that officers working in areas relevant to policy-making in the central and state governments understand how laws, regulations and procedures impact the competitiveness of industry.
- They must know the ways of cost-efficient manufacturing: They should specifically be aware of the various ways in which these add to or reduce the costs of manufacturing.
- They should ensure the demand and investment strategy: They need to appreciate the importance of demand creation for enabling industry to achieve economies of scale and how the stability of policies is required for companies to make long-term investments.
What needs to be done?
- Need to understand the resources, demand and growth: The importance of profits and the generation of internal resources for growth has to be understood.
- Joint efforts and trust are required: This is only possible if the concerned civil servants in the ministries have good domain knowledge of the manufacturing sector and appreciate that government and entrepreneurs have to work jointly and trust each other.
Can IAS officers do this work? What are the challenges?
- Gap in policies and implementation: While policies are largely made in Delhi, much of the implementation is done in states.
- More trust on public sector while a distrust on private sector: Effective implementation has become complex because of our past history of only trusting the public sector and distrusting the private sector.
- Even laws and procedures are based on suspicion: Many of the laws and procedures were based on the suspicion of private-sector industrialists.
- Legacy of distrust on civil servants: Equally, the system of checks and balances, inherited from the British, is based on a distrust of civil servants and leads to implementers preferring procedures and correct paperwork over producing results.
- Civil servants are not private sector friendly in general: Civil servants are generally not private sector friendly when dealing with issues that have financial implications. This results in long delays, higher costs and loss of competitiveness.
How to equip IAS officers to become more effective in dealing with the manufacturing sector?
- Bringing in the best global practices: We need to reform our system of human resource development and bring it in line with the best global practices.
- Dedicated wing to be created: A wing be created in the Department of Personnel & Training, and its counterparts in the states. This should be manned by professionals in human resource development whose function would be to select officers on the basis of aptitude from the IAS and other services, and train them to frame and implement policies relating to manufacturing and industrial development.
- Experience must be considered: The selection of officers could be made after they have completed around 10 years of service. Thereafter, selected officers would need to be trained and given postings that would enable them to gain more knowledge and experience. This could include secondment to selected private companies so that the officers could get actual working experience. They would then be better able to understand the finer points of competing in the marketplace.
- Periodic Capability evaluation should be made: Officers so trained should not be moved to other unrelated areas of work. Periodic evaluations could be made, again by professionals, to identify those capable of moving to the highest levels for making policies and strategies.
The Maruti case study
- A system that exists in Japan, and was implemented in Maruti, was to de-link salary scales from job responsibilities.
- The most suitable person for a job is selected and his pay did not change upon assuming higher responsibilities, though his designation changed.
Conclusion
- IAS officers can deliver results if they are motivated, trained and allowed to work in the area of their expertise. The recruitment system for the higher civil services ensures high-quality entrants. However, that does not automatically mean good results when posted in jobs that require specialized knowledge and experience. They need to be properly equipped to work in the manufacturing sector.
Mains Question
Q. Despite of the efforts to boost manufacturing sector, it has till now not shown any significant increase in its growth. In this context discuss the role of IAS officers and suggest what can be done to improve their role in manufacturing sector.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: What is Chatbot and ChatGPT?
Mains level: Chatbot and ChatGPT, applications, advantages and limitations
Context
- Many of us are familiar with the concept of what a “chatbot” is and what it is supposed to do. But this year, OpenAI’s ChatGPT turned a simple experience into something entirely different. ChatGPT is being seen as a path-breaking example of an AI chatbot and what the technology could achieve when applied at scale.
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Background
- ChatGPT by OpenAI: Artificial Intelligence (AI) research company OpenAI on recently announced ChatGPT, a prototype dialogue-based AI chatbot capable of understanding natural language and responding in natural language.
- Will be able to implement in softwares soon: So far, OpenAI has only opened up the bot for evaluation and beta testing but API access is expected to follow next year. With API access, developers will be able to implement ChatGPT into their own software.
- Remarkable abilities: But even under its beta testing phase, ChatGPT’s abilities are already quite remarkable. Aside from amusing responses like the pumpkin one above, people are already finding real-world applications and use cases for the bot.
- A chatbot (coined from the term “chat robot”) is a computer program that simulates human conversation either by voice or text communication, and is designed to help solve a problem.
- Organizations use chatbots to engage with customers alongside the classic customer service channels like phone, email, and social media.
What is ChatGPT?
- Simple definition: ChatGPT is a chatbot built on a large-scale transformer-based language model that is trained on a diverse dataset of text and is capable of generating human-like responses to prompts.
- A human like language model: It is based on GPT-3.5, a language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text.
- It is more engaging with details: However, while the older GPT-3 model only took text prompts and tried to continue on that with its own generated text, ChatGPT is more engaging. It’s much better at generating detailed text and can even come up with poems.
- Keeps the memory of the conversations: Another unique characteristic is memory. The bot can remember earlier comments in a conversation and recount them to the user.
- Human- like resemblance: A conversation with ChatGPT is like talking to a computer, a smart one, which appears to have some semblance of human-like intelligence.
The Question arises: will AI replace all of our daily writing?
- ChatGPT is not entirely accurate: It is not entirely accurate, something even OpenAI has admitted. It is also evident that some of the essays written by ChatGPT lack the depth that a real human expert might showcase when writing on the same subject.
- ChatGPT lacks depth like human mind: It doesn’t quite have the nuance that a human would often be able to provide. For example, when asked ChatGPT how one should cope with a cancer diagnosis. The responses were kind but generic. The type of responses you would find in any general self-help guide.
- It lacks same experiences as humans: AI has a long way to go. After all, it doesn’t have the same experiences as a human.
- ChatGPT doent excel in code: ChatGPT is writing basic code. As several reports have shown, ChatGPT doesn’t quite excel at this yet. But a future where basic code is written using AI doesn’t seem so incredible right now.
Limitations of ChatGPT
- ChatGPT is still prone to Misinformation: Despite of abilities of the bot there are some limitations. ChatGPT is still prone to misinformation and biases, which is something that plagued previous versions of GPT as well. The model can give incorrect answers to, say, algebraic problems.
- ChatGPT can write incorrect answers: OpenAI understands some flaws and has noted them down on its announcement blog that “ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers.
Conclusion
- OpenAI’s ChatGPT turned that simple experience into something entirely different. ChatGPT is a path-breaking example of an AI chatbot and what the technology could achieve when applied at scale. Limitations aside, ChatGPT still makes for a fun little bot to interact with. However, there are some challenges that needs to be addressed before it becomes a unavoidable part of human life.
Manis question
Q. What is ChatGPT? Discuss why it is seen as pathbreaking example of an AI chatbot and the limitations?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IBC
Mains level: Reforms in the IBC
The government is proposing to make changes to India’s six-year-old Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
What is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)?
- The IBC, 2016 is the bankruptcy law of India that seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy.
- It is a one-stop solution for resolving insolvencies which previously was a long process that did not offer an economically viable arrangement.
- The code aims to protect the interests of small investors and make the process of doing business less cumbersome.
Key features
Insolvency Resolution: The Code outlines separate insolvency resolution processes for individuals, companies, and partnership firms. The process may be initiated by either the debtor or the creditors. A maximum time limit, for completion of the insolvency resolution process, has been set for corporates and individuals.
- For companies, the process will have to be completed in 180 days, which may be extended by 90 days, if a majority of the creditors agree.
- For startups (other than partnership firms), small companies, and other companies (with assets less than Rs. 1 crore), the resolution process would be completed within 90 days of initiation of request which may be extended by 45 days.
Insolvency regulator: The Code establishes the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, to oversee the insolvency proceedings in the country and regulate the entities registered under it. The Board will have 10 members, including representatives from the Ministries of Finance and Law, and the RBI.
Insolvency professionals: The insolvency process will be managed by licensed professionals. These professionals will also control the assets of the debtor during the insolvency process.
Bankruptcy and Insolvency Adjudicator: The Code proposes two separate tribunals to oversee the process of insolvency resolution, for individuals and companies:
- National Company Law Tribunal: for Companies and Limited Liability Partnership firms; and
- Debt Recovery Tribunal: for individuals and partnerships
What are the changes being proposed?
- Easier settlements: The process is being proposed to be divided into two phases—phase I will focus on finding potential buyers and handing over the management to the acquirer. Phase II would address the distribution of proceeds among creditors and settle inter-creditor disputes. This would make an effort to revive the units with better management, wherever possible.
- Preventing delays: Average days taken to resolve a case has risen to 679 days in H1FY23 from 230 days in FY18. The changes presently under consideration seek to address inter-creditor disputes, which have been identified as the leading cause of delays.
Why is the IBC seen as a game-changer?
- The IBC has proved to be a deterrent for many unscrupulous borrowers and imparted tools to banks to be reasonably confident about recovering NPAs.
- Fear of losing control of the firm nudges debtors to settle their dues.
- Till September 2022, 23,417 applications for initiation of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), with an underlying default amount of ₹7.31 trillion, were resolved before admission.
- Indirectly, the code provides an exit route by winding up commercially unviable units.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Triple Test
Mains level: OBC quota in local body polls
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court quashed the state government’s draft notification on urban local body elections and ordered that the polls be held without reservation for OBCs.
Precursor to the news
- The Uttar Pradesh government had issued a draft notification for the reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in urban local body elections.
Why did the HC strike the draft down?
- The verdict comes on the back of PILs challenging the state’s OBC reservation draft.
- It was alleged that it was prepared without following the “triple test” formula prescribed by the Supreme Court.
- The Court said that OBC reservation in local body polls cannot be provided until conditions mandated in the “triple test” are complied with.
What’s the Triple Test formula?
- A five-judge Constitution Bench in the K. Krishnamurthy (Dr.) v. Union of India (2010) judgment said that barriers to political participation are not the same as barriers to education and employment.
- While deciding on the legality of OBC reservations in Maharashtra local body elections in March 2021, the Supreme Court set out a three-layered test – also called triple test.
- This is something that State governments have to follow to provide reservations-
- Step 1: States must set up a dedicated commission to examine backwardness in local bodies.
- Step 2: they must determine the size of the quota for communities on the basis of data collected by the commission.
- Step 3: These reservations, combined with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes quotas, cannot exceed 50% of the total seats in the local body.
What did the court observe now?
- Reservation to OBCs in local body elections without empirical base can no more be sustainable in law.
- The latest order in RR Wagh v. State of Maharashtra & others makes it mandatory that the principles laid down by the Supreme Court for providing reservation to OBCs in local bodies shall be scrupulously followed across the country.
Major takeaways of K. Krishnamurthy Case
In this case, the Supreme Court had interpreted Article 243D(6) and Article 243T(6), which permit reservation by enactment of law for backward classes in local bodies respectively.
- It held that barriers to political participation are not the same as that of the barriers that limit access to education and employment.
- However, for creating a level playing field, reservation may be desirable as mandated by the aforementioned conditions.
- Above articles provide a separate constitutional basis for reservation, as distinct from what are conceived under Article 15 (4) and Article 16 (4) which form the basis for reservation in education and employment.
Reception of the Krishnamurthy Judgment
- The Indian political class usually displays apathy to the law declared by the courts as contrary to the enacted law.
- The 2010 judgment was not acted upon and the constitutionality of the enacted reservation was challenged.
- This resulted in the 2021 judgment of a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.
What about other states?
- In 2021, OBC reservations in local bodies were set aside in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh too on similar grounds by courts.
- Earlier this year, the Karnataka and Patna high courts have set aside notifications reserving seats for OBCs in municipal elections in Bengaluru and Bihar.
- In May this year, the top court, however, allowed local body polls with OBC reservation in Madhya Pradesh after it proved compliance to the triple test formula.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Delimitation of constituencies
Mains level: Not Much
The Election Commission is set to begin the delimitation exercise of Assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam using census figures of 2001.
Why discuss this?
- The last delimitation of constituencies in Assam was done on the basis of census figures of 1971 by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976.
What is Delimitation?
- Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time.
- This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
Why is it needed?
- The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
- Aside from changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in a change in the number of seats in a state.
How is delimitation carried out?
- Delimitation is carried out by an independent Delimitation Commission (DC).
- Under Article 82, the Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after every Census.
- Once the Act is in force, the Union government sets up a DC made up of a retired Supreme Court judge, the Chief Election Commissioner and the respective State Election Commissioners.
Terms of reference for DC
- The Commission is supposed to determine the number and boundaries of constituencies in a way that the population of all seats, so far as practicable, is the same.
- The Commission is also tasked with identifying seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; these are where their population is relatively large.
- All this is done on the basis of the latest Census and, in case of difference of opinion among members of the Commission, the opinion of the majority prevails.
Implementation
- The draft proposals of the DC are published in the Gazette of India, official gazettes of the states concerned and at least two vernacular papers for public feedback.
- The Commission also holds public sittings.
- After hearing the public, it considers objections and suggestions, received in writing or orally during public sittings, and carries out changes, if any, in the draft proposal.
- The final order is published in the Gazette of India and the State Gazette and comes into force on a date specified by the President.
How often has delimitation been done in the past?
- The first delimitation exercise in 1950-51 was carried out by the President (with the help of the Election Commission).
- The Constitution at that time was silent on who should undertake the division of states into Lok Sabha seats.
- This delimitation was temporary as the Constitution mandated redrawing of boundaries after every Census. Hence, another delimitation was due after the 1951 Census.
- Pointing out that the first delimitation had left many political parties and individuals unhappy, the EC advised the government that all future exercises should be carried out by an independent commission.
- This suggestion was accepted and the DC Act was enacted in 1952.
- DCs have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.
Why postponed till 2026?
- There was no delimitation after the 1981 and 1991 Censuses.
- Although the freeze on the number of seats in Lok Sabha and Assemblies should have been lifted after the 2001 Census, another amendment postponed this until 2026.
- This was justified on the ground that a uniform population growth rate would be achieved throughout the country by 2026.
- So, the last delimitation exercise — started in July 2002 and completed on May 31, 2008 — was based on the 2001 Census and only readjusted boundaries of existing Lok Sabha and Assembly seats and reworked the number of reserved seats.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Naegleria fowleri
Mains level: Not Much
South Korea reported its first case of infection from Naegleria fowleri or “brain-eating amoeba”.
What is Naegleria fowleri (Amoeba)?
- Amoeba is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopods.
- Naegleria is an amoeba, a single-celled organism, and only one of its species, called Naegleria fowleri, can infect humans.
- It was first discovered in Australia in 1965 and is commonly found in warm freshwater bodies, such as hot springs, rivers and lakes.
- So far, Naegleria fowleri has been found in all continents and declared as the cause of PAM in over 16 countries, including India.
How does it infect humans?
- The amoeba enters the human body through the nose and then travels up to the brain.
- This can usually happen when someone goes for a swim, or dive or even when they dip their head in a freshwater body.
- In some cases, it was found that people got infected when they cleaned their nostrils with contaminated water/ vapour/ or aerosol droplets.
- Once Naegleria fowleri goes to the brain, it destroys brain tissues and causes a dangerous infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).
What are the symptoms of PAM?
- The CDC says the first signs of PAM start showing within one to 12 days after the infection.
- In the initial stages, they might be similar to symptoms of meningitis, which are headache, nausea and fever.
- In the later stages, one can suffer from a stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations, and even coma.
- The infection spreads rapidly and on average causes death within about five days.
How its spread is linked to climate change?
- With the rising global temperatures, the chances of getting Naegleria fowleri infection will go up as the amoeba mainly thrives in warm freshwater bodies.
- The organism best grows in high temperatures up to 46°C and sometimes can survive at even higher temperatures.
- Various recent studies have found that excess atmospheric carbon dioxide has led to an increase in the temperature of lakes and rivers.
- These conditions provide a more favourable environment for the amoeba to grow.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nuralink
Mains level: Nuralink and its applications and testing issues
Context
- Elon Musk’s medical company, Neuralink, has been accused of causing needless suffering and death to around 1,500 animals in just short few years. Sources indicate that animal testing is proceeding too swiftly, which results in unnecessary suffering and death for the animals.
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What Is Neuralink?
- A device to be inserted in brain: Neuralink is a gadget that will be surgically inserted into the brain using robotics. In this procedure, a chipset called the link is implanted in the skull.
- Insulated wires connected to electrodes: It has a number of insulated wires connected from the electrodes that are used in the process.
- Can be operated by smartphones: This device can then be used to operate smartphones and computers without having to touch it.
- Neurons of the Brain: The brain consists of neurons that transmit signals to cells in the body including muscle, nerve, gland and other neuron cells.
- Functions of each part of the brain: Every neuron is made up of three parts called the dendrite, the soma (cell body) and the axon. Each of this part has its own function. The dendrite receives the signals. The soma processes these signals. The axon then transmits the signals to the other cells.
- Neurotansmitters: The neurons are connected to one another by the synapses which release neurotransmitters. These chemical substances are then sent to another neuron cell’s dendrite causing the flow of current across the neurons.
How Does Neuralink Work?
- Electrodes can read electric signals: The electrodes that are part of the Neuralink will read electrical signals that are produced by several neurons in the brain. The signals are then outputted in form of an action or movement.
- Implanted directly in the brain: According to the company’s website, the device is implanted directly in the brain because placing it outside the head will not detect the signals produced by the brain accurately
What Does Neuralink Do?
- To operate encephalopathy: Neuralink can be used to operate encephalopathy.
- People with paralysis can be operated: It can also be used as a connection between the human brain and technology. This means that people with paralysis can easily operate their phones and computer directly with their brain.
- It will help people to communicate: Its main purpose is to help people to communicate through text or voice messages.
- Wide applications: Neuralink can also be utilised to draw pictures, take photographs and do other activities.appliactions
Conclusion
- Though the Neuralink innovation pushing the boundaries of neural engineering, cruelty over the animals cannot be ignored.
Mains question
Q. What is Neuralink? What is the science behind the human brain and what the neuralink will do?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Russia Ukraine war, India-Russia relations
Context
- Russia marks two anniversaries the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Union and the 31st anniversary of its dissolution. Following the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917, the Soviet Union was proclaimed on December 30, 1922. Until its dissolution on December 26, 1991.
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- Special Strategic Partner: Vladimir Putin’s Russia continues to be valued as the heir to the Soviet Union and as a special strategic partner.
- Ukraine war has not affected the ties: Putin’s aggression against Ukraine and his brutal bombing of its civilian population, which Moscow claims is an integral part of Russia, has hardly made a dent in the way the Indian political classes think about the crisis.
- Russia as anti-imperialist: On the left and centre of the Indian political spectrum, the Soviet Union has been viewed purely through the ideological lens of progressive politics nationalist, internationalist, communist and anti-imperialist. That lens, however, is detached from the history of Russia and the continuing struggles for its political soul.
- Russia as best friend forever: Within the strategic community, the conviction that Russia is India’s “best friend forever” leaves little room for a nuanced view of Russia’s domestic and international politics.
Understanding Russia’s behaviour through Russian History
- The Bolshevik Revolution: It is initially sought to destroy the Russian Orthodox Church, eventually leveraged it in the deification of the Soviet state and lent a religious colour to the claim of Russian exceptionalism.
- Alliance with orthodoxy: Putin has taken the alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church to a higher level. For the Russian nationalists today, the effort to take back Ukraine is a “holy war”.
- Limited sovereignty to other communist state: After the Second World War, Soviet Russia insisted that fellow communist states had only “limited sovereignty” and Moscow had the right to intervene to keep them on the straight and narrow path of socialism and prevent their destabilisation. The military invasions in Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1968), and Afghanistan (1979) were motivated by this impulse.
- Russia has not given up Imperialist tradition: In claiming that Ukraine has no sovereignty of its own, Putin is merely following that imperial tradition as well as the conviction that Ukraine, Belarus and Russian-speaking people everywhere are part of the “Russkiy Mir” or the “Russian world”.
- Mao’s characterization of Russia: After he broke from the Russian communists, Mao began to characterise Russia as an “imperial power”. Mao had not forgotten the persistent tension between the Chinese and Russian empires.
Analyzing Russia’s internal politics
- Weak federalism by Lenin: The founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin warned against the dangers of “great Russian chauvinism”. He insisted on structuring a federal polity with the right of various nationalities to secede.
- Strong soviet by Stalin: Stalin, however, turned Russian federalism into a hollow shell and erased the difference between the “Soviet Union” and “Soviet Russia”.
- Putin refuse to recognize Ukraine: Putin denounced Lenin for giving a separate identity to Ukraine. “Modern Ukraine”, Putin said, “can with good reason be called ‘Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s Ukraine’.”
- Stalling the democratic process: The enduring autocratic impulse in Moscow that is rooted in the stalled democratic revolution. Traditionally, the Russian fear of disorder has left the population to put great faith in strong leaders.
- Centralising tendency: The frequent but unsuccessful efforts at political liberalisation have left a fertile ground in Russia for centralising power under leaders like Putin and increasing the chances of grave miscalculation.
What should be the India’s approach towards Russia?
- Not directly criticize Russia: Although it has been reluctant to directly criticise Russian aggression, official India is not blind to the fact that Putin’s “special military operation” has gone horribly wrong.
- Taking note of changing world order: India will inevitably find ways to adjust to the tectonic shifts in the world order triggered by Putin’s misadventure.
- Learning from Putin’s mistake: The Indian political and strategic communities must come to terms with the many complex factors that have contributed to Putin’s egregious errors in Ukraine.
Conclusion
- To understand how the war in Ukraine might play out and its longer-term consequences for India, India’s discourse must pay greater attention to the turbulent history of Russia and its troubled relations with its Central European neighbours.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: AVGC-ER
The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Promotion Task Force report has proposed a national AVGC-Extended Reality Mission with a budget outlay to be created for integrated promotion and growth of the sector.
What is AVGC?
- While the etymology of the word surrounds everything to do with Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics, the overarching term is an umbrella for all the sub-sectors that are contributing to India’s digital economy.
- This includes-
- Animation Studios
- VFX Studios
- Game Development Studios
- Platforms
- Hardware Manufacturers
- Software developers
- Virtual Production Studios and many more entities
- The sector saw immense growth with technological adoption as is, but it witnessed steep uptake with the onset of the pandemic.
Why focus on the AVGC sector?
- Emerging sector: The global AVGC industry amounts to $800 billion, and the Indian AVGC sector is brimming with the potential to bag up to 5 percent of the global share ($40 billion).
- India’s IT prowess: India today contributes about $2.5-3 billion of the estimated $260-275 billion worldwide AVGC market.
- Skilled workforce availability: According to industry experts, the Indian market which currently employs about 1.85 lakh AVGC professionals, can witness a growth of 14-16% in the next decade.
- Employment generation: Not only does the sector contribute significantly to the economy, it also creates an abundance of employment opportunities for several skilled sectors, with over 160,000 jobs that it could provide yearly.
Key recommendations by the task force
The report has also recommended-
- “Create in India” campaign with an exclusive focus on content creation
- Establishment of AVGC accelerators and innovation hubs in academic institutions
- Democratizing AVGC technologies by promoting subscription-based pricing models for MSME, Start-ups and institutions;
- Indigenous technology development through incentive schemes and Intellectual Property creation; and
- Setting up a dedicated production fund for domestic content creation from across India to promote the country’s culture and heritage globally.
- Memorandum of Cooperation with developed global AVGC markets — U.S., Japan, South Korea, Germany etc.
Way forward
- Policy vision: Because of the wide range of sub-sectors that are amass under AVGC’s wide umbrella, there is a need for a broad vision to help further incubate this industry.
- Up-skilling: There is a requirement for not only financing and resource allocation for the sector, but also education and talent development.
- Collaboration: Gaming, VFX, and animation markets in the likes of the US or South Korea, for instance, has been heavily incubated, and are thus at the crest of the wave on a global scale today.
Conclusion
- If it gets the correct atmosphere to grow in–especially one that covers all the bases under it, the Indian AVGC sector has the capacity to become the zenith of Digital India and the hallmark of the ‘Brand India’ dream that PM envisages.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pralay Missile
Mains level: Tactical weapons and their battle significance
The Defence Ministry has decided to deploy indigenously developed surface-to-surface ‘Pralay’ ballistic missiles near India’s borders with China and Pakistan.
What are Tactical Missiles?
- Generally, short-range missiles are termed tactical while long-range missiles are termed strategic.
- A missile which is used to destroy tactical targets of enemy like bunkers, mortar position, artillery position etc. is tactical missile.
- Battlefield missiles are tactical while long-range missiles targeting bigger targets like cities are termed strategic.
- Features of these missiles include-
- Versatile range: Tactical missiles fills the gap between long range rockets and short range ballistic missiles , and have range mainly about 100 to 200 kms .
- Very high precision and accuracy: These missiles are highly accurate, and can destroy small steady and moving targets with high accuracy.
About ‘Pralay’ Missile
- Pralay is a Hindi word which means “apocalypse” or “to cause great destruction” or “damage”.
- The Pralay missile project was sanctioned in 2015 and is a derivative of the Prahaar missile programme, which was first tested in 2011.
- Developed by the DRDO, the ‘Pralay’ ballistic missile is a canisterised tactical, surface-to-surface, and short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) for battlefield use.
- It can hit targets from a distance of 150 to 500 km and is extremely difficult to intercept by enemy interceptor missiles.
- Pralay is powered by a solid fuel rocket motor and is a high explosive preformed fragmentation warhead that weighs somewhere between 350 kg to 700 kg.
- It also accounts for its Penetration-Cum-Blast (PCB) and Runaway Denial Penetration Submunitions (RDPS).
Unique features of Pralay
- Precise targeting: The missile is designed to destroy enemy radar, communication installations, command centres and airfields.
- Quasi Ballistic Trajectory: It means the object takes a low curved path after being shot.
- Stealth features: Pralay has the ability to evade any anti-ballistic missile (ABM) interceptors by performing mid-air manoeuvres by using a manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle.
- Destruction capability: When a high-explosive warhead, like the one Pralay missile is equipped with, explodes, its pieces are thrown at a high speed which can inflict heavy damage.
What makes Pralay lethal?
- The Indian missile can be compared to China’s Dong Feng 12 and the Russian Iskander missile that has been used in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
- The US Army is in the process of increasing the range of a similar short-range ballistic missile called the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).
- What makes Pralay deadly is that it is a quasi-ballistic weapon, which means that while it has a low trajectory and is largely ballistic, it can manoeuvre in flight.
- Unlike intercontinental ballistic missiles that exit the Earth’s atmosphere, short-range ballistic missiles stay within it.
What lies ahead?
- Pralay, along with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, will form the crux of India’s planned Rocket Force — a concept that was envisaged by former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the late General Bipin Rawat.
- Only conventional missiles would come under the planned Rocket Force as and when it’s ready, while nuclear weapons would continue to be under the ambit of the Strategic Forces Command.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Denotified Tribes, SEED Scheme
Mains level: Mainstreaming of marginalized DNTs
A Parliamentary panel has pulled up the Centre over the “very slow” process to categorize over 260 Denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes (DNTs) under either the SC/ST/OBC lists.
Why in news?
- The government officials also pointed ‘delay’ in the approval of benefits under the SEED (Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs) scheme launched in February this year.
- There is a scheme in place with proper budgetary outlay, but there is no whereabouts of targeted beneficiaries for it. Imagine how ironical this is.
Who are the DNTs?
- The term ‘De-notified Tribes’ stands for all those communities which were once notified under the Criminal Tribes Acts, enforced by the British Raj between l87l and I947.
- These Acts were repealed after Independence in l952, and these communities were “De-Notified”.
- The DNTs (of whom most are the medieval period Banjaras) are the most neglected, marginalized, and economically and socially deprived communities.
- Most of them have been living a life of destitution for generations and still continue to do so with an uncertain and gloomy future.
- More than 10 crore Indians from over 1,400 communities are either denotified, nomadic or semi-nomadic.
About SEED Scheme
- It has been formulated for families having income from all sources of Rs.2.50 lakh or less per annum and not availing any such benefits from similar Scheme of Centre Government or the State Government.
- The Scheme will be implemented through a portal, developed by the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment.
- Post verification, the funds will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries in their account.
- The other implementing agencies are Ministry of Rural Development, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and National Health Authority (NHA).
Components of the scheme
The Scheme will have the following four components:
- Free Coaching: A component of free Coaching for DNT Students has been envisioned for the educational empowerment of these communities. It seeks to enable them to appear in competitive examinations/ admission to professional courses like medicine, engineering, MBA, etc. for obtaining an appropriate job in the Public/Private Sector.
- Health Insurance: Members of these communities are likely to have little or no access to medical facilities and other benefits available under the mainstream health policies.This would ensure a health insurance cover of Rs.5 lakhs per family per year for families as per norms of “Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
- Livelihood Initiatives: The decline of traditional occupations of DNT/NT/SNT communities has exacerbated their poverty. A focus to support livelihood generation for these communities was required.
- Financial support for Housing: Considering the shortage of houses for DNTs, it has been proposed to earmark a separate outlay for PMAY to support specific importance in providing houses only for DNTs living in rural areas.
Why was such scheme launched?
- DNTs are ignored communities: They escaped the attention of our developmental framework and thus are deprived of the support unlike Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
- Most deprived section: Historically, these communities never had access to private land or homeownership.
- Ecological contribution: These tribes used forests and grazing lands for their livelihood and residential use and had “strong ecological connections.
Status of DNT’s identification
- Anthropological Survey of India study: AnSI had submitted reports on categorisation of 48 DNT communities so far. Further, the AnSI is finalising studies on 161 communities and is expected to finish studying the remaining communities (about 70) by the end of 2022.
- Idate Commission: It had categorised 1,262 communities under SC/ST/OBC lists and 267 communities were left uncategorised.
Why is there such delay?
- Slow response from states: Officials cannot begin processing the applications for the SEED scheme unless the State and district-level reviews are completed.
- Duplication of communities: There is inaccurate categorization/duplication of communities which leading to hiccups in the approval process.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Geoglyphs
Mains level: Prehistoric Rock Art
Experts and conservationists have raised concerns over the proposed location for a mega oil refinery in Barsu village of Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district.
What are geoglyphs?
- Geoglyphs are a form of prehistoric rock art, created on the surface of laterite plateaus.
- They are made by removing a part of the rock surface through an incision, picking, carving or abrading.
- They can be in the form of rock paintings, etchings, cup marks and ring marks.
Ratnagiri’s geoglyphs
- Clusters of geoglyphs are spread across the Konkan coastline in Maharashtra and Goa, spanning around 900 km.
- Porous laterite rock, which lends itself to such carving, is found on a large scale across the entire region.
- Ratnagiri district has more than 1,500 pieces of such art, also called “Katal shilpa,” spread across 70 sites.
- The figures depicted in the geoglyphs include humans and animals such as deer, elephant, tiger, monkey, wild boar, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, cattle, pig, rabbit, and monkey.
- Moreover, they also include a high number of reptilian and amphibian creatures such as tortoises and alligators, aquatic animals such as sharks and sting rays, and birds like peacocks.
Why are they significant?
- Tourism potential: Ratnagiri’s prehistoric sites are among three Indian attractions that may soon become World Heritage Sites. The other two include Jingkieng Jri, the living root bridge in Meghalaya, and Sri Veerabhadra Temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Lepakshi.
- Evolution of art: The geoglyph clusters also are examples of advanced artistic skills, showing the evolution of techniques of etching and scooping in rock art.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PRASAD Scheme
Mains level: Religious tourism development
President of India inaugurated ‘PRASAD’ project at the tourism facilitation centre in the pilgrim town of Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh.
About Srisailam
- The temple at Srisailam is the ancient and sacred place of South India.
- The presiding deity of the place is Brahmaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy in natural stone formations in the shape of Lingam.
- It is listed as one of the twelve Jyotirlingams existing in the country.
Development with PRASAD scheme
- The pilgrim town will get a pilgrim complex, amenities centres, an amphitheatre, sound and light show, digital intervention, parking areas among others.
- There is total outlay of ₹48.03 crore under the PRASAD project.
Back2Basics: PRASAD Scheme
- PRASAD stands for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).
- It is 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Tourism Ministry.
- Provisions under the scheme include-
- Tourism Promotion and Tourist Ecosystem
- Vocational Training for Tourists and Hospitality Business
- Hunar se Rozgar tak (HSRT) and earn while you learn programs
- Improving Tourist Infrastructure
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Research and development and Research Intensity
Context
- US, has retained its global leadership for almost a century since World War I thanks to the culture of innovation backed by a solid base of research and development (R&D). China is challenging the leadership of US based on technology and innovation. If India wants to be a Vishwa guru it must invest in R&D.
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Innovation and missing R&D Investment
- Engine of growth: Innovation is rightly recognized as an engine for economic growth.
- Atal innovation Mission: In 2016, the government launched the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) to create an ecosystem to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
- Actual spending is less: All these are steps in the right direction, but the foundation of all this lies in how much India actually spends on R&D, both in absolute terms as well as a percentage of its GDP, in relation to other G20 countries.
- Sustainable Target: SDG Target 9.5 calls upon nations to encourage innovation and substantially increase the numbers of researchers as well as public and private spending on R&D. Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) is the proposed aggregate to quantify a country’s commitment to R&D.
What is the scenario of Global Investment in R&D?
- Institute for Statistics (UIS): According to UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS) latest report, the G20 nations accounted for 90.6 per cent of global GERD (current, PPP$) in 2018.
- Increased spending on R&D: Global R&D expenditure has reached a record high of about 2.2 trillion current PPP$ (2018), while Research Intensity (R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP) has gradually increased from 1.43 per cent in 1998 to 1.72 per cent in 2018.
- Investment in PPP terms is inaccurate: Though looking at spending in PPP terms is a reasonable metric for welfare measurement in the economy, when it comes to technological prowess in high-end activities of R&D, it all boils down to measuring hard currency in US dollars.
- G20 leader in investment: The G20 countries, accounting for 86.2 per cent of the global GDP and over 60 per cent of the global population in 2021, are the leaders in every way.
- USA spends the Highest: The US leads the G20 by spending $581.6 billion on R&D followed by the European Union ($323 billion), and China ($297.3 billion) in 2018.
- India spends negligible amount: India lags way behind with a paltry R&D expenditure of only $17.6 billion in 2018. In terms of their relative shares in G20 R&D expenditure, the US is way ahead with 36 per cent, followed by the EU (20 per cent), and China (18 per cent). India’s share is less than 1 per cent of G20 R&D expenditure in dollar terms.
Linkages between Research Intensity and Expenditure on R&D
- Percentage to GDP: While the absolute expenditure on R&D provides a sense of scale, their percentage to the respective GDP provides the research intensity (RI).
- South Korea Highest RI: It is interesting to note that in 2018 for which the latest information is available, South Korea has the highest RI at 4.43 per cent, followed by Japan (3.21 per cent), Germany (3.09 per cent), the US (2.83 per cent), France (2.19 per cent), China (2.14 per cent) and EU (2.02 per cent). India is ranked 17th in the G20, with a RI of 0.65 per cent (see infographics).
- Example of Israel: One of the non-G20 countries is Israel, which, while having an R&D expenditure of just $18.6 billion, a population of only 9.3 million and a per capita income of around $51,430, has the highest RI of over 5 per cent. No wonder, Israel is known as a land of innovations, be it in defence or agriculture.
What India can learn from Israel?
- Innovation growth and competition: The innovation system in Israel is a fundamental driver of its economic growth and competitiveness.
- Active role of government: The government has played an important role in financing innovation, particularly in SMEs, and in providing well-functioning frameworks for innovation, such as venture capital (VC), incubators, strong science-industry links, and high-quality university education.
- India can emulate Israel: Israel builds a strong case to show that despite being a smaller nation, sustainable growth can be achieved by prioritising investments in R&D. A lesson India can learn.
Mains Question
Q. What is difference between investment in R&D and research intensity? What is the missing part in India’s R&D and innovation ecosystem?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India-EU FTA
Context
- The third round of negotiations of the India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement concluded recently. The two sides are also negotiating an investment protection agreement (IPA), which will contain investment protection standards and an independent mechanism to settle disputes between investors and states under international law.
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Why EU is seeking Investor Protection Agreement?
- Regulatory troubles in India: Notwithstanding the laudable intent of the government to welcome them, foreign investors in India have often got into numerous regulatory troubles with the state.
- Investors have sued India: Several foreign corporations like Vodafone, Cairn Energy, Nissan, White Industries, Telenor, Nokia, Vedanta have sued India to enforce the rights guaranteed to them in bilateral investment treaties (BITs). This is the main motivation behind the EU seeking an IPA with India.
- India’s past of unilaterally changing the laws: EU investors can rely on Indian law for protection. But Indian law can be unilaterally changed to the detriment of the investor.
- Slow Judicial process: The Indian judiciary is agonisingly slow in resolving disputes. Thus, the longing for protection under international law.
- Non-justiciable tax regulations: India wants to push taxation measures outside the scope of the treaty by making tax-related regulatory measures non-justiciable. The EU has difficulty accepting this proposition given the recent history of India’s tax-related investment disputes with Vodafone, Cairn Energy, and Nissan.
- Two tier court system: The EU’s investment proposal to India talks of creating a two-tier court-like system with an appellate mechanism and tenured judges to resolve treaty disputes between investors and the state.
- EU’s proposal of MIC: This proposal is connected to the EU’s stand internationally for creating a multilateral investment court (MIC), negotiations for which are going on at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The MIC is aimed at overcoming the weaknesses of the current arbitration-based system of settling investor-state disputes.
- Lack of clarity from India’s side: India’s position on creating an investment-court-like system is unknown. India hasn’t publicly contributed to the ongoing negotiations at UNCITRAL towards establishing a MIC.
What is the issue of MFN and FET?
- EU wants the MFN status: The EU’s investment proposal contains a most favoured nation (MFN) provision to ensure that EU investors do not face discrimination vis-à-vis other foreign investors.
- India don’t want to include MFN: On the other hand, India’s position is not to include the MFN provision in its investment treaties because of the apprehension that foreign investors will use the MFN clause to indulge in disruptive treaty shopping. The solution to such disruptive treaty shopping is to negotiate for a qualified MFN provision and not exclude it altogether.
- Fair equitable treatment: EU investment proposal contains what is known as a fair and equitable treatment (FET) provision, which is missing in the Indian 2016 Model BIT.
- Making the state liable: The FET provision protects foreign investors, for example, by making the states liable if it goes back on the specific assurances made to an investor to induce investments on which the investor relied while making the investment.
Why IPA is need of the hour?
- FDI is stagnant: Overall FDI to India has stagnated for the past decade at around 2 per cent of the GDP. In the case of the EU, while its share in foreign investment stock in India increased from €63.7 billion in 2017 to €87.3 billion in 2020, this is way below the EU foreign investment stocks in China (€201.2 billion) or Brazil (€263.4 billion).
- Negative Impact of BIT terminations: Recent research shows that India’s decision to unilaterally terminate BITs has negatively impacted FDI inflows to India.
- IPA needed to attract FDI: India needs the IPA with the EU to attract FDI for achieving the aspirational milestone of becoming a $10-trillion economy by 2030.
Conclusion
- India needs to put its own house in order. India should review the 2016 Model BIT, as has also been recommended by the Parliament’s standing committee on external affairs.
Mains Question
Q. What is the investor protection scheme and why EU wants to include IPA in Free Trade Agreement with India? what are the hurdles in FTA between EU and India?
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