Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Karaga Festival
Mains level: NA
The centuries-old Karaga (temple fair) festival was recently held at the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple in Bengaluru.
Karaga Festival
- It is celebrated annually in the Chaitra month (March/April) according to the Hindu calendar.
- The festival has found its roots in the epic Mahabharata.
- It honours Draupadi as the ideal woman and Goddess Shakti.
- The word ‘Karaga’ translates to an earthen pot, supporting a floral pyramid and an idol of Goddess.
- The Karaga is carried on the head of the bearer without touching it.
- The carrier wears a woman’s attire with bangles, mangal-sutra, and vermillion on his forehead.
Cultural significance of Karaga
- The Karaga procession makes a customary halt at Astana e-Hazrath Tawakkal Mastan Shah Saharwardi Dargah to pay obeisance to Tawakkal Mastan.
- The Dargah, a symbol of syncretic Sufism, has been taken care by the Muzavvar family for several generations.
- According to them, the history of the Dargah goes back to at least 300 years when Tawakkal Mastan, who came to Bengaluru with his horses looking for business opportunities, was adored as a saint.
- Hyder Ali, who was the ruler then, was a patron of Mastak for his good deeds.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: BRI
Mains level: Paper 2- Debt trap diplomacy
Context
China’s intervention has proved disastrous for the economies of Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
China-Myanmar relations and its implications
- Myanmar, China’s closest neighbour with a long history of cross border trade, was the first country to voluntarily turn towards Beijing, from 1988, when the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) took over the reins of government.
- World sanctions followed, but Beijing reassured the generals of its continued support and in 1989, signed a treaty of trade and cooperation that made China the sole supporter of the illegitimate military government.
- The strong western sanctions after 2007, made China virtually its sole trading partner.
- The link with China became essential for the regime’s survival but did little to increase economic prosperity.
- Wood alone accounts for about 70 per cent of Myanmar’s exports to China.
- It’s clear that China is stripping bare Myanmar’s centuries-old teak forests.
Implications for Pakistan
- In 2012, Pakistan signed on to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
- New Delhi and Washington imagined wrongly that the CPEC would lead to a major People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) expansion into the Indian Ocean through Gwadar, which even now is a largely disused port.
- As a conservative IMF estimate put it, Islamabad’s poor management of the economy and reckless borrowing has put its immediate financial needs (2022) at $51 billion.
- Projects chosen are unviable like the Gwadar port and the Lahore Metro and attracted huge public criticism. The CPEC was put on hold and rebooted.
- The IMF warned Islamabad of the CPEC repayment boosting the current account deficit, forcing Pakistan to cut Chinese interest payments for 10 years.
- The CPEC has been a humbling experience for China and an economic disaster for Pakistan.
Implications for Sri Lanka
- Against all economic surveys and advice, the Hambantota port was built, it floundered and Sri Lanka transferred the land as equity to China for 99 years.
- From 2012 to 2016, China accounted for 30 per cent of all FDI to Sri Lanka, becoming the top source of foreign investment
- Today China is funding 50 projects in the country, involving more than $1 billion, including the Colombo Port and the Lakvijaya thermal power plant.
- Today, the Sri Lankan economy is in complete meltdown, with China holding the largest amount of Sri Lankan debt.
- Private banks have run out of funds to finance imports. Its main sources of revenue, tourism and remittances, have dried up, and the government is in a crisis.
Conclusion
The recourse to availing Chinese money by Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka has led to a feeling of hubris among the leaders, inducing them to take bad economic decisions in the perception that Beijing is footing the bills.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Read the attached story
Recently, Chinese state-sponsored hackers targeted Indian electricity distribution centres near Ladakh.
Amid a surge in cyberattacks on India’s networks, the Centre is yet to implement the National Cyber Security Strategy which has been in the works since 2020.
Recent trends of Cyber-attacks in India
- As per American cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks’ 2021 report, Maharashtra was the most targeted State in India — facing 42% of all ransomware attacks.
- India is among the more economically profitable regions for hacker groups and hence these hackers ask Indian firms to pay a ransom, usually using cryptocurrencies, in order to regain access to the data.
- One in four Indian organisations suffered a ransomware attack in 2021.
- Indian organisations witnessed a 218% increase in ransomware — higher than the global average of 21%.
- Software and services (26%), capital goods (14%) and the public sector (9%) were among the most targeted sectors.
Increase in such attacks has brought to light the urgent need for strengthening India’s cybersecurity.
What is the National Cyber Security Strategy?
Conceptualised by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), the report focuses on 21 areas to ensure a safe, secure, trusted, resilient, and vibrant cyberspace for India.
The main sectors of focus of the report are:
- Large scale digitisation of public services: There needs to be a focus on security in the early stages of design in all digitisation initiatives and for developing institutional capability for assessment, evaluation, certification, and rating of core devices.
- Supply chain security: There should be robust monitoring and mapping of the supply chain of the Integrated circuits (ICT) and electronics products. Product testing and certification needs to be scaled up, and the country’s semiconductor design capabilities must be leveraged globally.
- Critical information infrastructure protection: The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) security should be integrated with enterprise security. A repository of vulnerabilities should also be maintained.
- Digital payments: There should be mapping and modelling of devices and platform deployed, transacting entities, payment flows, interfaces and data exchange as well as threat research and sharing of threat intelligence.
- State-level cyber security: State-level cybersecurity policies and guidelines for security architecture, operations, and governance need to be developed.
What steps does the report suggest?
To implement cybersecurity in the above-listed focus areas, the report lists the following recommendations:
- Budgetary provisions: A minimum allocation of 0.25% of the annual budget, which can be raised up to 1% has been recommended to be set aside for cyber security.
- Ministry-wise allocation: In terms of separate ministries and agencies, 15-20% of the IT/technology expenditure should be earmarked for cybersecurity.
- Setting up a Fund of Funds: The report also suggests setting up a Fund of Funds for cybersecurity and to provide central funding to States to build capabilities in the same field.
- R&D, skill-building and technology development: The report suggests investing in modernisation and digitisation of ICTs, setting up a short and long term agenda for cyber security via outcome-based programs and providing investments in deep-tech cyber security innovation.
- National framework for certifications: Furthermore, a national framework should be devised in collaboration with institutions like the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and ISEA (Information Security Education and Awareness) to provide global professional certifications in security.
- Creating a ‘cyber security services’: The DSCI further recommends creating a ‘cyber security services’ with cadre chosen from the Indian Engineering Services.
- Crisis management: For adequate preparation to handle crisis, the DSCI recommends holding cybersecurity drills which include real-life scenarios with their ramifications. In critical sectors, simulation exercises for cross-border scenarios must be held on an inter-country basis.
- Cyber insurance: Cyber insurance being a yet to be researched field, must have an actuarial science to address cybersecurity risks in business and technology scenarios as well as calculate threat exposures.
- Cyber diplomacy: Cyber diplomacy plays a huge role in shaping India’s global relations. To further better diplomacy, the government should promote brand India as a responsible player in cyber security and also create ‘cyber envoys’ for the key countries/regions.
- Cybercrime investigation: It also suggests charting a five-year roadmap factoring possible technology transformation, setting up exclusive courts to deal with cybercrimes and remove backlog of cybercrimes by increasing centres providing opinion related to digital evidence under section 79A of the IT act.
- Advanced forensic training: Moreover, the DSCI suggests advanced forensic training for agencies to keep up in the age of AI/ML, blockchain, IoT, cloud, automation.
- Cooperation among agencies: Law enforcement and other agencies should partner with their counterparts abroad to seek information of service providers overseas.
Progress in its implementation
- The Centre has formulated a draft National Cyber Security Strategy 2021 which holistically looks at addressing the issues of security of national cyberspace.
- Without mentioning a deadline for its implementation, the Centre added that it had no plans as of yet to coordinate with other countries to develop a global legal framework on cyber terrorism.
Way forward
- India has to contend with the importance and necessity of cyber offence as much as cyber defence.
- As of today, India’s primary or possibly only response measures appear to be defensive.
- India has to also invest in more offensive cyber means as a response.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Enforcement Directorate, PMLA
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is in the news now and often.
About Enforcement Directorate (ED)
- It goes back to May 1, 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed in the Department of Economic Affairs.
- It then aimed for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).
- The ED today is a multi-dimensional organisation investigating economic offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, Foreign Exchange Management Act and FERA.
From where does the ED get its powers?
- When proceeds of crime (property/money) are generated, the best way to save that money is by parking it somewhere, so one is not answerable to anyone in the country.
- Therefore, there was a need to control and prevent the laundering of money.
- The PMLA was brought in for this exact reason in 2002, but was enacted only in 2005.
- The objective was to prevent parking of the money outside India and to trace out the layering and the trail of money.
- So as per the Act, the ED got its power to investigate under Sections 48 (authorities under act) and 49 (appointment and powers of authorities and other officers).
At what stage does the ED step in when a crime is committed?
- Whenever any offence is registered by a local police station, which has generated proceeds of crime over and above ₹1 crore, the investigating police officer forwards the details to the ED.
- Alternately, if the offence comes under the knowledge of the Central agency, they can then call for the First Information Report (FIR) or the chargesheet if it has been filed directly by police officials.
- This will be done to find out if any laundering has taken place.
What differentiates the probe between the local police and officers of the ED?
Case study:
- If a theft has been committed in a nationalised bank, the local police station will first investigate the crime.
- If it is learnt that the founder of the bank took all the money and kept it in his house, without being spent or used, then the crime is only theft and the ED won’t interfere because the amount has already been seized.
- But if the amount which has been stolen is used after four years to purchase some properties, then the ill-gotten money is brought back in the market.
- Or if the money is given to someone else to buy properties in different parts of the country, then there is ‘laundering’ of money.
- Hence the ED will need to step in and look into the layering and attachment of properties to recover the money.
- If jewellery costing ₹1 crore is stolen, police officers will investigate the theft. The ED, however, will attach assets of the accused to recover the amount of ₹1 crore.
What are the other roles and functions of the ED?
- The ED carries out search (property) and seizure (money/documents) after it has decided that the money has been laundered, under Section 16 (power of survey) and Section 17 (search and seizure) of the PMLA.
- On the basis of that, the authorities will decide if arrest is needed as per Section 19 (power of arrest).
- Under Section 50, the ED can also directly carry out search and seizure without calling the person for questioning.
- It is not necessary to summon the person first and then start with the search and seizure.
- If the person is arrested, the ED gets 60 days to file the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) as the punishment under PMLA doesn’t go beyond seven years.
- If no one is arrested and only the property is attached, then the prosecution complaint along with attachment order is to be submitted before the adjudicating authority within 60 days.
Can the ED investigate cases of money laundering retrospectively?
- If an ill-gotten property is acquired before the year 2005 (when the law was brought in) and disposed off, then there is no case under PMLA.
- But if proceeds of the crime were possessed before 2005, kept in storage, and used after 2005 by buying properties, the colour of the money is still black and the person is liable to be prosecuted under PMLA.
- Under Section 3 of PMLA, a person shall be guilty of money-laundering, if such person is found to have directly or indirectly attempted to indulge or knowingly assist a party involved in one or more of the following activities:
- Concealment; possession; acquisition; use; or projecting as untainted property; or claiming as untainted property in any manner etc.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Resolving judicial pendency
The retirements in the topmost rung of the judiciary in 2022 will encompass changes in the powerful Supreme Court Collegium and see two new Chief Justices in a span of months.
Why in news?
- The retirements come at a time when the court is in the process of steadying itself after particularly brutal waves of the pandemic.
Pendency in Supreme Court
- The Supreme Court’s statistics show that 70,362 cases are pending with it as on April 1, 2022.
- Over 19% of them are not ready to be placed before a Bench for judicial hearing as they have not completed the required preliminaries.
- While 52,110 are admission matters, 18,522 are regular hearing cases.
- The number of Constitution Bench cases (both main and connected matters) totals 422.
General scenario: Pendency of Cases
- India’s legal system has the largest backlog of pending cases in the world – as many as 30 million pending cases.
- This number is continuously increasing and this itself shows the inadequacy of the legal system.
- And also due to this backlog, most of the prisoners in India’s prisons are detainees awaiting trial.
Factors leading to under-performance of Indian Judiciary
- The issue of heavy arrears pending in the various courts of the country has been a matter of concern since the time of independence.
- The primary factors contributing to docket explosion and arrears as highlighted by Justice Malimath Committee report are as follows:
- Population explosion
- Litigation explosion
- Hasty and imperfect drafting of legislation
- Plurality and accumulation of appeals (Multiple appeals for the same issue)
- Inadequacy of judge strength
- Failure to provide adequate forums of appeal against quasi-judicial orders
- Lack of priority for disposal of old cases (due to the improper constitution of benches)
- Issue of appointment in Quasi-Judicial Bodies
Way ahead
- For pendency, time limits should be prescribed for all cases based on priorities.
- So setting time standards is essential and it will vary for different cases, and also for different courts depending on their disposal capacity.
- Alternative disputes resolution (ADR) mechanisms should be promoted for out-of-court settlements.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Parboiled Rice
Mains level: Not Much
Recently, Telangana CM and members of his Cabinet staged a protest demanding a uniform paddy procurement policy. The protest came after the Centre said it was stopping the purchase of excess parboiled rice, of which Telangana is a major producer.
What is Parboiled Rice?
- The dictionary meaning of ‘parboil’ is ‘partly cooked by boiling’.
- Thus, the expression parboiled rice refers to rice that has been partially boiled at the paddy stage, before milling.
- Parboiling of rice is not a new practice, and has been followed in India since ancient times.
- However, there is no specific definition of parboiled rice of the Food Corporation of India or the Food Ministry.
How is it prepared?
- There are several processes for parboiling rice.
- The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru, uses a method in which the paddy is soaked in hot water for three hours, in contrast to the more common method in which paddy is soaked for 8 hours.
- The water is then drained and the paddy steamed for 20 minutes.
- Also, the paddy is dried in the shade in the method used by the CFTRI, but is sun-dried in the common method.
- The Paddy Processing Research Centre (PPRC), Thanjavur follows a method known as the chromate soaking process.
- It uses chromate, a family of salt in which the anion contains both chromium and oxygen, which removes the odour from the wet rice.
- All processes generally involve three stages—soaking, steaming and drying. After passing through these stages, the paddy goes for milling.
Are all rice varieties suitable for parboiling?
- Generally, all varieties can be processed into parboiled rice, but it is ideal to use long slender varieties to prevent breakage during milling.
- However, aromatic varieties should not be parboiled because the process can make it can lose its aroma.
What are the benefits?
- Parboiling makes rice tougher. This reduces the chances of the rice kernel breaking during milling.
- It also increases the nutrient value of the rice.
- It has a higher resistance to insects and fungi.
Certain disadvantages
- The rice becomes darker and may smell unpleasant due to prolonged soaking.
- Besides, setting up a parboiling rice milling unit requires a higher investment than a raw rice milling unit.
How much is the stock of parboiled rice in the country?
- According to the Food Ministry, the total stock of parboiled rice is 40.58 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) as on April 1, 2022.
- Out of this, the highest stock is in Telangana at 16.52 LMT, followed by Tamil Nadu (12.09 LMT) and Kerala (3 LMT).
- The stock was in the range 0.04–2.92 LMT in 10 other states —Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.
- From the other 10 rice-producing states, including Telangana, the Ministry has no plan to procure parboiled rice.
- In the coming days, the total parboiled rice stock will increase to 47.76 LMT.
How high is the demand?
- The Food Ministry pegs the parboiled rice demand at 20 LMT per annum for distribution under the National Food Security Act, 2013.
- According to the Ministry, the demand for parboiled rice has come down in recent years.
- In the last few years, production in parboiled rice-consuming states such as Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu has increased, resulting in less movement to the deficit states.
- Earlier, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) used to procure parboiled rice from states such as Telangana to supply to these states.
- But in recent years, parboiled rice production has increased in these states.
- The current stock is sufficient to meet the demand for the next two years.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gulf of Gabes
Mains level: Not Much
A Fuel Ship with 750 tons of diesel sinks off the Gulf Of Gabes in Tunisia.
Gulf of Gabes
- The Gulf of Gabes also known as Lesser Syrtis contrasting with the Greater Syrtis in Libya, is a gulf on Tunisia’s east coast in the Mediterranean Sea, off North Africa.
- The gulf roughly spans the coast from Sfax to Djerba.
- At the head of the gulf is the city of Gabès (Ghannouche) where the tides have a large range of up to 2.1 m at spring tides.
- Both Gabès and Sfax are major ports on the gulf, supporting sponge and tuna fisheries, with Gabès being the economic and administrative centre.
- It is 60 miles (100 km) long and 60 miles wide and is bounded by the Qarqannah (Kerkena) Islands on the northeast and by Jarbah (Djerba) Island on the southeast.
Regional economy of the gulf
- Except for the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of Venice, it is the only part of the Mediterranean with a substantial tidal range, causing the uncovering of extensive sandbanks at low water.
- Sponge and tuna fisheries are located at the main ports of Qābis (Gabès) and Ṣafāqis (Sfax).
- Oil and natural-gas deposits have been found in the gulf, east of Ṣafāqis.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: World food program
Mains level: Paper 2- Impact of Russia-Ukraine war on the developing and least developed countries
Context
Beyond Ukraine’s borders, far beyond the media spotlight, the war has launched a silent assault on the developing world. This crisis could throw up to 1.7 billion people — over one-fifth of humanity — into poverty, destitution and hunger on a scale not seen in decades.
Impact of the war on the developing world
- Ukraine and the Russian Federation provide 30 per cent of the world’s wheat and barley, one-fifth of its maize, and over half of its sunflower oil.
- Together, their grain feeds the poorest and most vulnerable people, providing more than one-third of the wheat imported by 45 African and least-developed countries.
- At the same time, Russia is the world’s top natural gas exporter, and second-largest oil exporter.
- But the war is preventing farmers from tending their crops while closing ports, ending grain exports, disrupting supply chains and sending prices skyrocketing.
- The World Food Programme has warned that it faces the impossible choice of taking from the hungry to feed the starving.
- It urgently needs $8 billion to support its operations in Yemen, Chad and Niger.
- But while much of the world has stepped up in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, there is no sign of the same support for the 1.7 billion other potential victims of this war.
The Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance
- The group aims to develop coordinated solutions to these interlinked crises, with governments, international financial institutions and other key partners.
- 1] On food, the group is urging all countries to keep markets open, resist hoarding and unjustified and unnecessary export restrictions, and make reserves available to countries at the highest risk of hunger and famine.
- 2] On energy, the use of strategic stockpiles and additional reserves could help to ease this energy crisis in the short term.
- But the only medium- and long-term solution is to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.
- 3] And on finance, the G20 and international financial institutions must go into emergency mode.
- They must find ways to increase liquidity and fiscal space, so that governments in developing countries can invest in the poorest and most vulnerable, and in the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Social protection, including cash transfers, will be essential to support desperate families through this crisis.
- But many developing countries with large external debts do not have the liquidity to provide these safety nets.
Conclusion
The only lasting solution to the war in Ukraine and its assault on the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world is peace.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MDR TB
Mains level: Paper 2- TB challenge
Context
Historical importance of good nutrition was ignored by the modern therapist who tried to control TB initially with streptomycin injection, isoniazid and para-aminosalisylic acid. In the ecstasy of finding antibiotics killing the germs, the social determinants of disease were ignored.
Lack of patient-centric TB treatment
- With more drug arsenals such as rifampicin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, the fight against TB bacteria continued, which became multidrug resistant.
- The regimes and the mode of delivery of drugs were changed to plug the loopholes of non-compliance of patients.
- Blister packs of a multi-drug regime were provided at the doorstep, and the directly observed treatment/therapy (DOT) mechanism set up.
- Many of the poor discontinued blister-packaged free drugs thinking that these were “hot and strong” drugs not suited for the hunger pains they experienced every night.
Role of nutrition in dealing with TB
- India has around 2.8 million active cases. It is a disease of the poor.
- And the poor are three times less likely to go for treatment and four times less likely to complete their treatment for TB, according to WHO, in 2002.
- The fact is that 90% of Indians exposed to TB remain dormant if their nutritional status and thereby the immune system, is good.
- When the infected person is immunocompromised, TB as a disease manifests itself in 10% of the infected.
- The 2019 Global TB report identified malnutrition as the single-most associated risk factor for the development of TB, accounting for more cases than four other risks, i.e., smoking, the harmful use of alcohol, diabetes and HIV.
- The work and the findings of a team at the Jan Swasthya Sahayog hospital at Ganiyari, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh established the association of poor nutritional status with a higher risk of TB.
Way forward
- Chhattisgarh initiated the supply of groundnut, moong dhal and soya oil, and from April 2018, under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana of the National Health Mission.
- All States began extending cash support of ₹500 per month to TB patients to buy food. This amount needs to be raised.
- Nutrition education and counselling support: Without simultaneous nutrition education and counselling support, this cash transfer will not have the desired outcome.
Conclusion
Food is a guaranteed right for life under the Constitution for all citizens, more so for TB patients. Thus, the goals of reducing the incidence of TB in India and of reducing TB mortality cannot be reached without addressing undernutrition.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Black Sea mapping
Mains level: Read the attached story
The sinking of the huge Russian warship Moskva whether due to a Ukrainian missile strike or, as Russia claims, a fire on board — is a serious setback for Russia in the Black Sea.
About Black Sea
- The famed water body is bound by Ukraine to the north and northwest, Russia and Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west.
- It links to the Sea of Marmara through the Bosphorus and then to the Aegean through the Dardanelles.
Significance of Black Sea for Russia
- Domination of the Black Sea region is a geostrategic imperative for Moscow.
- Black Sea has traditionally been Russia’s warm water gateway to Europe.
- For Russia, the Black Sea is both a stepping stone to the Mediterranean.
- It acts as a strategic buffer between NATO and itself.
- It showcases the Russian power in the Mediterranean and to secure the economic gateway to key markets in southern Europe.
- The Rhine-Main-Danube canal connects the Black Sea to the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea and the port of Odessa serves as a vital link between Ukraine and the outside world.
Black Sea in the Ukraine war
- Russia has been making efforts to gain complete control over the Black Sea since the Crimean crisis of 2014.
- During the ongoing invasion, the domination of the Black Sea has been a major Russian objective, along with the land bridge to connect Russia and Crimea.
- As such, there have been intense efforts to capture Mariupol, the Sea of Azov port in the breakaway eastern Ukrainian oblast of Donetsk.
- Mariupol appeared close to falling to the Russians.
Sinking of the Moskva
- The sinking of the Moskva is believed to be the worst loss in the history of naval warfare.
- It was sunk by shore-based anti-ship cruise missiles which took advantage of bad weather and used decoy UAV attacks to defeat the ship’s air defence systems.
- It demonstrates the success of outside-the-box measures adopted by Ukraine in the war.
Must answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Consider the following pairs:
| Sea |
Bordering country |
| 1. Adriatic Sea |
Albania |
| 2. Black Sea |
Croatia |
| 3. Caspian Sea |
Kazakhstan |
| 4. Mediterranean Sea |
Morocco |
| 5. Red Sea |
Syria |
Which of the pair given above are correctly matched? (CSP 2020)
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Oil Bonds
Mains level: Burden of oil bonds on exchequer
Over the last one year, as retail prices of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products have surged, the government has attracted criticism.
Finance Minister has sought to counter such criticism by claiming that the current government cannot bring down taxes (and, as a consequence, prices) because it has to pay for the oil bonds issued by the previous regime.
What are oil bonds?
- An oil bond is an IOU (I owe you), or a promissory note issued by the government to the OMCs, in lieu of cash that the government would have given them so that these companies don’t charge the public the full price of fuel.
- An oil bond says the government will pay the oil marketing company the sum of, say, Rs 1,000 crore in 10 years.
- And to compensate the OMC for not having this money straightaway, the government will pay it, say, 8% (or Rs 80 crore) each year until the bond matures.
- Thus, by issuing such oil bonds, the government of the day is able to protect/ subsidise the consumers without either ruining the profitability of the OMC or running a huge budget deficit itself.
Why were they issued?
- When fuel prices were too high for domestic consumers, governments in the past often asked oil marketing companies (OMCs) to avoid charging consumers the full price.
- But if oil companies don’t get paid, they would become unprofitable.
- To address this, the government said it would pay the difference.
- But again, if the government paid that amount in cash, it would have been pointless, because then the government would have had to tax the same people to collect the money to pay the OMCs.
- This is where oil bonds come in.
How much of fuel prices is tax?
- There are two components to the domestic retail price — the price of crude oil itself, and the taxes levied on this basic price.
- Together they make up the retail price.
- The taxes vary from one product to another. For instance, as of now, taxes account for 50% of the total retail price for a litre of petrol, and 44% for a litre of diesel.
How much of the UPA-era oil bonds has the NDA government paid back?
- There are two components of oil bonds that need to be paid off: the annual interest payment, and the final payment at the end of the bond’s tenure.
- By issuing such bonds, a government can defer the full payment by 5 or 10 or 20 years, and in the interim just pay the interest costs.
- Table 1 shows that between 2015 and 2021, the NDA government has fully paid off four sets of oil bonds — a total of Rs 13,500 crore.
- Each year, the BJP government had also had to pay the interest rate on all bonds that have not matured. Chart 1 shows the amount paid towards interest payment each year.
- Between 2014 and 2022, the government has had to spend a total of Rs 93,686 crore towards interest as well as the principal.
Still, isn’t it a bad idea to issue such bonds?
- Former PM Manmohan Singh was correct in noting that issuing bonds just pushed the liability to a future generation.
- But to a great extent, most of the government’s borrowing is in the form of bonds.
- This is why each year the fiscal deficit (which is essentially the level of government’s borrowing from the market) is so keenly tracked.
- Further, in a relatively country like India, all governments are forced to resort to the use of bonds of some kind.
- Take the current NDA government itself, which has issued bonds worth Rs 2.79 lakh crore (twice the amount of oil bonds) to recapitalise public sector banks.
- These bonds will be paid by governments till 2036.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MTS Project
Mains level: Migration tracking in India
In a first-of-its-kind project in the country, the Maharashtra government has developed a website-based migration tracking system (MTS) application to map the movement of vulnerable seasonal migrant workers through individual unique identity numbers.
What is MTS Project?
- The MTS project is envisaged to maintain the continuity of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) like nutrition supply, immunisation and health check-up etc. to migrant beneficiaries.
- It is targeted for children aged up to 18 years, lactating mothers and pregnant women registered with the Anganwadi centres.
- Their migration will be tracked for ensuring the portability of the ICDS for their families in their destination districts within or outside the state until their return to their native places.
Need for such a project
- Distress-driven seasonal migration of workers is quite prevalent in Maharashtra.
- Due to lockdowns, a large number of women and children had got displaced and missed on their nutrition, vaccination and other services under the ICDS scheme.
- Like other states, does not have any institutionalized mechanism to enumerate it.
- So, through this initiative, the state has sought to capture the data of intra-district, inter-districts and interstate migration of such workers.
Working details of the project
- Anganwadi workers have to first register the migrating beneficiaries from their areas on the MTS website app on their laptops or mobile phones by using the workers’ identity cards like Aadhaar, PAN card, or ration cards etc.
- Other than names, the Anganwadi workers have to mention the age, weight, and height of the migrant children, who will be placed in nutritional categories like severe, moderate or acute.
- Depending on this data, the nutrition benefits will be allocated to the children in their new locations.
- On the MTS app, the Anganwadi workers would also collect details about various informal sectors — such as brick kilns, agriculture labour, stone crushing, construction work, sugarcane cutting or sugar factory — where the migrant workers are headed along with their children.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: E-DAR portal
Mains level: Road safety issues in India
The Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has developed the portal named ‘e-DAR’ (e-Detailed Accident Report).
Why such move?
- Road accidents continue to be a leading cause of death, disabilities and hospitalization in the country despite our commitment and efforts.
- India ranks first in the number of road accident deaths across the 199 countries and accounts for almost 11% of the accident related deaths in the World.
E-DAR portal
- It is designed in consultation with insurance companies to provide instant information on road accidents with a few clicks and help accelerate accident compensation claims, bringing relief to victims’ families.
- Digitalised Detailed Accident Reports (DAR) will be uploaded on the portal for easy access.
- The web portal will be linked to the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD).
- From iRAD, applications to more than 90% of the datasets would be pushed directly to the e-DAR.
- Stakeholders like the police, road authorities, hospitals, etc., are required to enter very minimal information for the e-DAR forms.
- Thus, e-DAR would be an extension and e-version of iRAD.
Its working
- The portal would be linked to other government portals like Vaahan and would get access to information on driving licence details and registration of vehicles.
- For the benefit of investigating officers, the portal would provide geo tagging of the exact accident spot along with the site map.
- This would notify the investigating officer on his distance from the spot of the incident in the event the portal is accessed from any other location.
- Details like photos, video of the accident spot, damaged vehicles, injured victims, eye-witnesses, etc., would be uploaded immediately on the portal.
- Apart from the state police, an engineer from the Public Works Department or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile device and the official concerned will then examine the accident site.
Check on fake claims
- The e-DAR portal would conduct multiple checks against fake claims by conducting a sweeping search of vehicles involved in the accident, the date of accident, and the First Information Report number.
Various moves to curb road accidents
- Several initiatives have been taken by the MoRTH which continues to implement a multi-pronged road safety strategy.
- It is based on Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Emergency Care consisting inter-alia of setting up Driver training schools, creating awareness, strengthening automobile safety standards, improving road infrastructure, carrying out road safety audit etc.
- High priority has been accorded to rectification of black spots.
- A major initiative of the Ministry in the field of Road Safety has been the passing of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019.
- It focuses on road safety include, inter-alia, stiff hike in penalties for traffic violations and electronic monitoring of the same, enhanced penalties for juvenile driving, cashless treatment during the golden hour etc.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: JAM
Mains level: Paper 2- Need for data sharing
Context
While this year’s Economic Survey focuses on improving the quality and quantity of data for better and quicker assessment of the state of the economy, it pays little attention to access to the data by citizens, ignoring the criticality of data for a healthy and informed public discourse on issues of policy relevance.
Strengthening data architecture
- The government has been proactively strengthening the data architecture for tackling corruption and better targeting of beneficiaries.
- Since 2014, the scope of UIDAI has seen a huge expansion.
- JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) has private details of citizens.
- The government is sufficiently empowered to collect and use information about its citizens touching all the spheres of their life.
- Along with traditional instruments such as the Census, sample surveys and registers of various departments, the government is now armed with real-time data.
Erosion in citizens’ right to access data and widening information gap
- Delayed release of survey data: The citizen’s right to access relevant data for quality public discussion seems to be gradually eroding.
- In this process, the government has refused to hold itself accountable.
- This is evident from repeated events of delayed release of various survey data.
- For example, data from the consumption survey 2017-18 has not yet been released.
- Similarly, the first Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS 2017-18) was released only after the 2019 general election.
- Undermining of scientific data: Further, instead of relying on the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), a systematically designed survey for estimation of industrial sector GDP, the government has started to depend on self-reported, unverified data submitted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs since 2011.
- Now that ASI is nearly redundant for official estimation purposes, the future of this database is uncertain.
- Another example of undermining the scientific database is the delay in the release of Water and Sanitation Survey data 2018.
- The information gaps in the area of migration are well documented.
- Information gap: While the JAM architecture and pandemic induced tracking tools allow for the mapping of individuals, researchers and the civil society do not have access to that information, which is useful to ascertain the level and prevalence of migration across regions within the country.
Conclusion
This data divide between the state and its citizens is a potential threat to the smooth functioning of a democracy. Without bridging this data gap, the scope of modern technology for tracking development cannot be realised.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Dealing with the hate speech
Context
Hate speech is at the root of many forms of violence that are being perpetrated and has become one of the biggest challenges to the rule of law and to our democratic conscience.
Consequences of hate speech
- Electoral mobilisation along the communal line: One of the most visible consequences of hate speech is increased electoral mobilisation along communal lines which is also paying some electoral dividends.
- Hate speech, in itself, must be understood and treated as a violent act and urgently so.
- With elected members currently sitting in the legislative assemblies and Parliament giving political sanction to citizens mobilised into mob violence and complicit public officials, hate speech is becoming the dominant mode of public political participation.
Role of Election Commission
- In 2019, the Supreme Court reprimanded the Election Commission, calling it “toothless” for not taking action against candidates engaging in hate speech during the election campaigns in UP.
- The Commission responded by saying that it had limited powers to take action in this matter.
- So far, the Supreme Court does not appear to have acted decisively in response to allegations of hate speech in electoral campaigns, indicating that the EC must assume more responsibility and the EC has argued that in matters of hate speech, it is largely “powerless”.
- In any case, the EC’s role is confined to the election period.
Legal provisions to deal with hate speech
- The Indian Penal Code, as per Sections 153A, 295A and 298, criminalises the promotion of enmity between different groups of people on grounds of religion and language, alongside acts that are prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony.
- Section 125 of the Representation of People Act deems that any person, in connection with the election, promoting feelings of enmity and hatred on grounds of religion and caste is punishable with imprisonment up to three years and fine or both.
- Section 505 criminalises multiple kinds of speech, including statements made with the intention of inducing, or which are likely to induce, fear or alarm to the public.
- It covers incitement of violence against the state or another community, as well as promotion of class hatred.
Recommendations and suggestions
- The Law Commission in its 267th report published in March 2017, recommended introduction of new provisions within the penal code that specifically punish incitement to violence in addition to the existing ones.
- Responsibility of Media: In recent years, hate speech in all its varieties has acquired a systemic presence in the media and the internet, from electoral campaigns to everyday life.
- This epidemic of mediatised hate speech is, in fact, a global phenomenon.
- According to the Washington Post, 2018 can be considered as “the year of online hate”.
Conclusion
Enough damage has been done. We cannot wait another day to address this growing challenge.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Zonal Councils
Mains level: Paper 3- Inter-State collaboration for dealing with pollution crisis
Context
With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governing both Delhi and Punjab, collaboration for clean air should be the mantra for both State governments.
Impact of air pollution on Delhi and Punjab
- Punjab is home to nine of the 132 most polluted cities in the country identified by the Central Pollution Control Board.
- In 2019, Delhi and Punjab together faced economic losses estimated to be approximately ₹18,000 crore due to worsening air pollution.
- Therefore, by collaborating for clean air, both States can ensure improvements in citizen well-being and labour productivity.
How can the two States collaborate?
1] Arrive at a common understanding of sources
- Those in charge of the two States must talk.
- Setting aside their disagreements on the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s air pollution, the States should arrive at a common understanding of sources polluting the region.
2] Create platforms for knowledge exchange
- Cross-learning on possible solutions: A common knowledge centre should be set up to facilitate cross-learning on possible solutions to developmental challenges in both States.
- Such a centre would especially benefit Punjab given the host of measures that the Delhi government has already taken to improve air quality in Delhi.
- Information on air quality levels and source assessment studies are critical in developing long-term strategies for pollution mitigation.
3] Collaborate to execute proven solutions
- Co-design solutions: The two States could co-design solutions that would improve air quality.
- Institutionalise a task force: They could jointly institutionalise a task force comprising experts from State-run institutions to pilot these solutions and assess their impact.
- This would ensure wider acceptance of the proposed solution, which has not been the case in the past.
- For instance, the PUSA bio-decomposer (developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute), has received mixed reviews from farmers.
- The decomposer only makes sense for early maturing varieties of paddy, as even with the decomposer, stubble would take between 25 to 30 days to decompose.
- Therefore, it is of little use in high burn districts such as Sangrur, Punjab, where late-maturing paddy varieties are dominant.
4] Create a market for diversified crop products
- Moving away from paddy-wheat cycle: Shifting away from the ‘paddy-wheat cycle’ through crop diversification is a sure shot solution to stubble burning.
- But, the lack of an assured market for agricultural products, other than wheat and paddy, has acted as a deterrent.
- For years now, the Delhi government has toyed with the idea of introducing ‘Aam Aadmi kitchens’ in Delhi.
- These community kitchens could potentially incorporate crops other than wheat and paddy in meals offered.
5] Extending inter-State cooperation to other States in Indo-Gangetic plains
- Both State governments should assert the need for extending inter-State cooperation to other States in the Indo-Gangetic plains in different inter-State forums.
- One such forum is the Northern Zonal Council which has representation from Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
- Both Delhi and Punjab must use this platform to highlight the need for coordination with neighbouring States to alleviate the pollution crisis.
Conclusion
With a collaborative plan of action, we can be optimistic about cleaner air in the years to come.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Solomon Islands
Mains level: Chinese expansion in Pacific
A recent leaked document has revealed that the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific has reached a deal with China. This has raised alarms in Washington and Canberra.
Where is the Solomon Islands located?
- The Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
- Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal.
- It is part of the ethnically Melanesian group of islands in the Pacific and lies between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
- The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands (a part of Papua New Guinea).
- It excludes outlying islands, such as the Santa Cruz Islands and Rennell and Bellona.
Quick recap of its past
- The islands, which were initially controlled by the British Empire during the colonial era, went through the hands of Germany and Japan.
- It then went back to the UK after the Americans took over the islands from the Japanese during World War II.
- The islands became independent in 1978 to become a constitutional monarchy under the British Crown, with a parliamentary system of government.
- Nevertheless, its inability to manage domestic ethnic conflicts led to close security relations with Australia, which is the traditional first responder to any crisis in the South Pacific.
What are the contents of the proposed deal?
- The Framework Agreement has the potential to disturb the established security mechanisms in the South Pacific region.
- The document explicitly enables Beijing to send its “police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces” to the islands on the latter government’s request, or if the former sees that the safety of its projects and personnel in the islands are at risk.
- The document also provides for China’s naval vessels to utilise the islands for logistics support.
- There have been speculations in the wake of this revelation that China might be building its next overseas naval base in Solomon Islands after Djibouti.
What is the rationale for the Solomon Islands’ increasing proximity to China?
- The Solomon Islands had cultivated strong ties with Taiwan, which ended with the emergence of the current government in Honiara.
- In 2019, the regime change switched Taiwan for China.
- This was supposedly after Beijing offered half a billion US dollars in financial aid, roughly five times what Taiwan spent on the islands in the past two decades.
- It has been alleged by the pro-Taiwan Opposition that the incumbent government has been bribed by China.
Why is China interested in the Solomon Islands?
- Isolating Taiwan: The Solomon Islands was one among the six Pacific island states which had official bilateral relations with Taiwan.
- Supporter in UN: The small Pacific island states act as potential vote banks for mobilising support for the great powers in international fora like the United Nations.
- Larger EEZ: These states have disproportionately large maritime Exclusive Economic Zones when compared to their small sizes.
- Natural resources: Solomon Islands, in particular, have significant reserves of timber and mineral resources, along with fisheries.
- Countering US: But more importantly, they are strategically located for China to insert itself between America’s military bases in the Pacific islands and Australia.
What does this mean for the established geopolitical configuration in the region?
- Diminishing western influence: The Pacific islands, in the post-World War II scenario, were exclusively under the spheres of influence of the Western powers, in particular the US, UK, France and Australia and New Zealand.
- Inserting into western hegemony: All of them have territorial possessions in the region, with the three nuclear powers among them having used the region as a nuclear weapons testing ground.
- Shifting of dependencies: The smaller island nations of the region are heavily dependent on them, especially Australia as it is a resident power.
Damage control by West
- Australia has reacted with boosted finances, and by extending its current security mission till 2023 when the islands will host the Pacific Games.
- The US has responded by considering reopening its embassy in Honiara after a long 29-year gap.
- New Zealand has shed its typical restraint about China and has criticised it for attempting to militarise the Pacific islands.
Chinese response to Indo-Pacific
- It is to be noted that China’s rise in the South Pacific is not without opposition.
- AUKUS is a recent example of how the established powers are reacting; although, to what extent they can mobilize individual governments against China is questionable.
- Significant discontent has been brewing within and among the Pacific island states against China’s economic inroads and its adverse impact on their vulnerable economic and political systems.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NATO
Mains level: Russian contention with NATO
One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned NATO that if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance then Russia would have to bolster its defences in the region, including by deploying nuclear weapons.
Why in news?
- Finland, which shares a 1,300-km border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO alliance.
Why do they want to join NATO?
- The possible accession of Finland and Sweden into NATO to get collective Western security against Russia — would be one of the biggest strategic consequences of the Ukraine war.
- Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917 and fought two wars against it during Second World War during which it lost some territory to Moscow.
- Sweden has not fought a war for 200 years and post-war foreign policy has focused on supporting democracy internationally, multilateral dialogue and nuclear disarmament.
What is NATO?
- NATO is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 4, 1949.
- It sought to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.
- Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- NATO has spread a web of partners, namely Egypt, Israel, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Finland.
Why was it founded?
Ans. Communist sweep in Europe post-WWII and rise of Soviet dominance
- After World War II in 1945, Western Europe was economically exhausted and militarily weak, and newly powerful communist parties had arisen in France and Italy.
- By contrast, the Soviet Union had emerged from the war with its armies dominating all the states of central and Eastern Europe.
- By 1948 communists under Moscow’s sponsorship had consolidated their control of the governments of those countries and suppressed all non-communist political activity.
- What became known as the Iron Curtain, a term popularized by Winston Churchill, had descended over central and Eastern Europe.
Ideology of NATO
- NATO ensures that the security of its European member countries is inseparably linked to that of its North American member countries.
- It commits the Allies to democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law, as well as to the peaceful resolution of disputes.
- It also provides a unique forum for dialogue and cooperation across the Atlantic.
What is Article 5 and why is it needed?
- Article 5 was a key part of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty, or Washington Treaty, and was meant to offer a collective defence against a potential invasion of Western Europe.
- It states: (NATO members) will assist the party or parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
- However, since then, it has only been invoked once, soon after the 9/11 attack in the United States.
Why has Article 5 not been invoked this time?
- The reason is simple: Ukraine is a partner of the Western defence alliance but not a NATO member.
- As a result, Article 5, or the Collective Defence Pledge, does not apply.
- While NATO has said it will not be sending troops to Ukraine, it did invoke Article 4, which calls for a consultation of the alliance’s principal decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council.
- In its history, it has only been activated half a dozen times.
- But the fact that this time around eight-member nations chose to invoke it was enough to demonstrate the seriousness of the situation at a global level.
What may prompt NATO to invoke Article 5?
- NATO will invoke Article 5 only if Russia launches a full-blown attack on one of its allies.
- Some top US officials have warned of the impact of some of Russia’s cyberattacks being felt in NATO countries.
- When you launch cyberattacks, they don’t recognize geographic boundaries.
- Some of that cyberattack could actually start shutting down systems in eastern Poland.
But what is NATO’s problem with Russia?
- Russia has long been opposed to Ukraine’s growing closeness with European institutions, particularly NATO.
- The former Soviet republic shares borders with Russia on one side, and the European Union on the other.
- After Moscow launched its attack, the US and its allies were quick to respond, imposing sanctions on Russia’s central bank and sovereign wealth funds.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: LPA, Indian Monsoon
Mains level: Not Much
India is likely to receive a normal monsoon for the fourth consecutive year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its first Long Range Forecast (LRF) for this year.
What is Long Period Average (LPA)?
- The IMD predicts a “normal”, “below normal”, or “above normal” monsoon in relation to a benchmark “long period average” (LPA).
- The LPA of rainfall is the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval (like month or season) average over a long period like 30 years, 50 years, etc.
- LPA refers to the average rainfall recorded from June to September for the entire country, the amount of rain that falls every year varies from region to region and from month to month.
- The IMD’s prediction of a normal monsoon is based on the LPA of the 1971-2020 period, during which India received 87 cm of rain for the entire country on average.
- It has in the past calculated the LPA at 88 cm for the 1961-2010 period, and at 89 cm for the period 1951-2000.
Why LPA is needed?
- The IMD records rainfall data at more than 2,400 locations and 3,500 rain-gauge stations.
- Because annual rainfall can vary greatly not just from region to region and from month to month, but also from year to year within a particular region or month.
- An LPA is needed to smooth out trends so that a reasonably accurate prediction can be made.
- A 50-year LPA covers for large variations in either direction caused by freak years of unusually high or low rainfall, as well as for the periodic drought years.
- It also takes into account the increasingly common extreme weather events caused by climate change.
Range of normal rainfall
The IMD maintains five rainfall distribution categories on an all-India scale. These are:
- Normal or near normal, when the percentage departure of actual rainfall is +/-10% of LPA, that is, between 96-104% of LPA;
- Below normal, when departure of actual rainfall is less than 10% of LPA, that is 90-96% of LPA;
- Above normal, when actual rainfall is 104-110% of LPA;
- Deficient, when departure of actual rainfall is less than 90% of LPA; and
- Excess, when the departure of actual rainfall is more than 110% of LPA.
Also read:
Various terms related to Indian Monsoon
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SVANidhi se Samriddhi Program
Mains level: Atmanirbhar package
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ program in additional 126 cities across 14 States/ UTs.
About PM SVANidhi Scheme
- The Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme is aimed at benefiting over 50 lakh vendors who had their businesses operational on or before March 24 2020.
- It is a Central Sector Scheme.
- The scheme was announced by Finance Minister as a part of the economic package for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.
- The loans are meant to help kick-start activity for vendors who have been left without any income since the lockdown was implemented on March 25.
- The scheme was valid until March 2022.
What is SVANidhi se Samriddhi Program?
- SVANidhi se Samriddhi program was started to provide social security benefits to street vendors for their holistic development and socio-economic upliftment.
- Quality Council of India (QCI) is the implementing partner for the programme.
- Under the program, socio-economic profiling of PMSVANidhi beneficiaries and their families is conducted to assess their eligibility for 8 Government of India’s welfare schemes and facilitate sanctions of eligible schemes.
These schemes include:
- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana,
- PM Suraksha Bima Yojana,
- Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana,
- Registration under Building and other Constructions Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act (BOCW),
- Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana,
- National Food Security Act (NFSA) portability benefit – One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC),
- Janani Suraksha Yojana, and
- Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).
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