Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with punitive response to sexual violence
Harsher punishment for sexual violence
- Recently, the Maharashtra cabinet approved the Shakti Bill, enlarging the scope of harsher and mandatory sentences — including the death penalty — for non-homicidal rape.
- The Shakti Bill comes amid the recent legislative trend to invoke the death penalty for sexual offences.
- In 2020, the Andhra Pradesh government passed the Disha Bill, pending presidential assent, that provides the death penalty for the rape of adult women.
Issues with the Bills
1) Focus on reporting of police complaint
- The most severe gaps in the justice delivery system are related to reporting a police complaint.
- The focus of the criminal justice system needs to shift from sentencing and punishment to the stages of reporting, investigation and victim-support mechanisms.
- The bill does not address these concerns.
2) Impact on rate of conviction
- Harsh penalties often have the consequence of reducing the rate of conviction for the offence.
- A study published in the Indian Law Review based on rape judgments in Delhi shows a lower rate of conviction after the removal of judicial discretion in 2013.
- Introducing harsher penalties does not remove systemic prejudices from the minds of judges and the police.
3) Harsher punishment would deter complainants
- Studies on child sexual abuse have shown that in the few cases of convictions, the minimum sentence was the norm and the award of the maximum punishment was an exception.
- Crime data from the National Crime Records Bureau shows that in 93.6 per cent of these cases, the perpetrators were known to the victims.
- Introducing capital punishment would deter complainants from registering complaints.
- The Shakti Bill ignores crucial empirical evidence on these cases.
4) Moving away from standard of affirmative consent
- An affirmative standard of consent is rooted in unequivocal voluntary agreement by women through words, gestures or any form of verbal or non-verbal communication.
- In a sharp departure, the bill stipulates that valid consent can be presumed from the “conduct of the parties” and the “circumstances surrounding it”.
- The vaguely worded explanation in the bill holds dangerous possibilities of expecting survivors to respond only in a certain manner, thus creating the stereotype of an “ideal” victim.
- It also overlooks the fact that perpetrators are known to the survivors in nearly 94 per cent of rapes, which often do not involve any brutal violence.
Conclusion
Punitive responses to sexual violence need serious rethinking, given the multitude of perverse consequences and their negligible role in addressing the actual needs of rape survivors.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC)
Mains level: Paper 3- Increasing maritime domain awareness
The article analyses India’s efforts in increasing the maritime domain awareness while increasing the cooperation with the neighbourhood and other countries.
Indian Navy improving domain awareness
- The enemy at sea is often unrecognisable — a terrorist, a pirate, a criminal or a sea robber.
- Of late, the Indian Navy has been on a drive to improve domain awareness in the Indian Ocean.
- The Indian Navy’s efforts seem focused primarily on monitoring Chinese activity in the Eastern Indian Ocean, particularly in the seas around the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
- The Navy is seeking to expand India’s surveillance footprint by setting up radar stations in the Maldives, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
- Mauritius, the Seychelles and Sri Lanka have already integrated into the wider coastal radar chain network.
Increasing international cooperation
- Seven Indian Ocean countries — Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Mauritius and the Seychelles — will soon post Liaison Officers at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram.
- France already has an officer at the IFC.
- Four other Indo-Pacific navies — Australia, Japan, the U.K and the U.S. — have also agreed to position officers at the centre.
- As a result of such cooperation, IFC is fast emerging as the most prominent information hub in the Eastern Indian Ocean.
- India is increasing engagement in the Western Indian Ocean by positioning a Liaison Officer at the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar.
- India has also posted an officer at the European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASOH) in Abu Dhabi to assist in the monitoring of maritime activity.
Stronger partnership with France
- Delhi’s moves in the Western and South-Western littorals have been facilitated by France.
- Two countries have signed a logistics agreement in 2019.
- France is keen for a stronger partnership in the maritime commons.
- France has been instrumental in securing ‘observer’ status for India at the Indian Ocean Commission and is pushing for greater Indian participation in security initiatives in the Western Indian Ocean.
- However, the Indian Navy’s priority remains South Asia, where the naval leadership remains focused on underwater domain awareness in the Eastern Indian Ocean.
Concerns over increasing Chines presence
- There is concern that the Chines navy may be poised to develop a generation of quieter submarines that would be hard to detect.
- As a result, India has moved to expand its underwater detection capabilities in the Eastern chokepoints.
- India might also partner Japan in installing an array of undersea sensors near the Andaman Islands to help detect Chinese submarines.
India as a security provider: Manifestation of SAGAR
- India’s initiatives in the maritime domain are motivated by more than just strategic considerations.
- Shipping agreements with 21 countries in the Indian Ocean have enabled a comprehensive picture of maritime traffic.
- Efforts are under way to help smaller island states build capacity to combat regional threats.
- India’s military satellite (GSAT-7A) may soon facilitate a real-time sharing of maritime information with partners.
- These endeavours are a manifestation of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) that advances the idea of India as a ‘security provider’ and ‘preferred partner’ in the Indo-Pacific region.
Challenges
- Indian initiatives, however, are yet to bring about an alignment of objectives and strategies of regional littoral states.
- While cooperative information sharing allows for a joint evaluation of threats, countries do not always share vital information timeously.
Conclusion
To bring real change, India must ensure seamless information flow, generating operational synergy with partners, and aim to expand collaborative endeavours in shared spaces.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Reservations policy and need for is revision
The Supreme Court last month clarified the position of law on the interplay of vertical and horizontal reservations.
This newscard is useful for GS paper 1 as well as aspirants with sociology optional. Let us know in the comment box if you want to get a deeper insight.
It perfectly highlights the heart of the debate on “merit versus reservation”, where reservation is sometimes projected as being anti-merit.
What are vertical and horizontal reservations?
- Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes is referred to as vertical reservation.
- It applies separately for each of the groups specified under the law.
- Horizontal reservation refers to the equal opportunity provided to other categories of beneficiaries such as women, veterans, the transgender community, and individuals with disabilities, cutting through the vertical categories.
How are the two categories of quotas applied together?
- The horizontal quota is applied separately to each vertical category, and not across the board.
- For example, if women have 50% horizontal quota, then half of the selected candidates will have to necessarily be women in each vertical quota category.
- This means half of all selected SC candidates will have to be women, half of the unreserved or general category will have to be women, and so on.
- The interlocking of the two types of reservation throws up a host of questions on how certain groups are to be identified.
- For example, would an SC woman be put in the category of women or SC? Since quotas are fixed in percentages, what percentage of quota would be attributed to each?
What was the Saurav Yadav case about?
- The case was on the technicalities that form a substantial question of law.
- It was this: Two aspirants had secured 276.5949 and 233.1908 marks respectively.
- They had applied under the categories of OBC-Female and SC-Female respectively. OBC and SC are vertical reservation categories, while Female is a horizontal reservation category.
- The two candidates did not qualify in their categories.
- However, in the General-Female (unreserved-female) category, the last qualifying candidate had secured 274.8298 marks, a score that was lower than the two backwards.
- The question before the court was that if the underlying criterion for making selections is “merit”.
What did the court decide?
- The court ruled against the UP government.
- It observed if a person belonging to an intersection of the vertical-horizontal reserved category had secured scores high enough to qualify without the vertical reservation.
- It held that the person would be counted as qualifying without the vertical reservation, and cannot be excluded from the horizontal quota in the general category.
- If a person in the SC category secures a higher score than the cut-off for the general category, the person would be counted as having qualified under the general category instead of the SC quota.
What was the government’s argument?
- The government’s policy was to restrict and contain reserved category candidates to their categories, even when they had secured higher grades.
- The court said this was tantamount to ensuring that the general category was ‘reserved’ for upper castes.
What was the court’s reasoning?
- The court did the math by examining a number of hypothetical scenarios.
- It concluded that if both vertical and horizontal quotas were to be applied together — and consequently, a high-scoring candidate who would otherwise qualify without any reservation.
- On the other hand, if a high-scoring candidate is allowed to drop one category, the court found that the overall selection would reflect more high-scoring candidates.
- In other words, the “meritorious” candidates would be selected.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Trade Policy Review (TPR)
Mains level: WTO and India
India’s seventh Trade Policy Review (TPR) has begun at the World Trade Organization in Geneva.
Q.In the wake of the global economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, discuss the challenges ahead of WTO.
Trade Policy Review (TPR)
- The TPR is an important mechanism under the WTO’s monitoring function and involves a comprehensive peer-review of the Member’s national trade policies.
- India’s last TPR took place in 2015.
Why need a TPR?
- To increase the transparency and understanding of countries’ trade policies and practices, through regular monitoring
- To improve the quality of public and intergovernmental debate on the issues
- To enable a multilateral assessment of the effects of policies on the world trading system
India’s progress
- Since previous TPR, India has worked diligently to reform and transform the entire economic eco-system to meet the socio-economic aspirations of a billion-plus Indians.
- The introduction of the GST, the IBC, labour sector reforms, an enabling and investor-friendly FDI Policy, and various national programmes like Make in India, Digital India, Startup India and Skill were the path-breakers.
- The improvement in the economic and business environment, on account of the wide-ranging reforms, has enabled India to better its position in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking from 142 in 2015 to 63 in 2019.
- This improvement is also endorsed by investors who continue to view India as a desirable investment destination even during the testing time of the pandemic.
- In 2019-20, India received highest ever FDI inflow of USD 74.39 billion.
A note of caution
- India’s trade policy remained largely unchanged since the previous review.
- India continues to rely on trade policy instruments such as the tariff, export taxes, minimum import prices, import and export restrictions, and licensing, WTO said.
- These are used to manage domestic demand and supply requirements, protect the economy from wide domestic price fluctuations, and ensure conservation and proper utilization of natural resources.
- As a result, frequent changes are made to tariff rates and other trade policy instruments, which create uncertainty for traders.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Data Protection Authority
Mains level: Paper 2- Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 and issues with it
The Personal Data Protection Bill (2019) has several provisions which could have implications for the privacy of an individual. The article examines such provisions and highlights the need for further debate on the Bill.
Evolution of privacy as a fundamental right
- The Supreme Court in MP Sharma v. Satish Chandra (1954) and Kharak Singh v. Uttar Pradesh (1962) had declared that while in certain circumstances the privacy of individuals was to be protected, there was no constitutional right to privacy in and of itself.
- However, in Puttuswamy v India (2017) the Supreme Court accepted privacy as a fundamental right.
- This was an important development.
Rising importance of data
- The rising importance of data has pushed over 80 countries to pass national laws protecting the collection and use of their citizens’ data by companies and the government.
- The DPB will have huge commercial and political consequences for India.
- In India, the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 (DPB) is currently under consideration by a parliamentary committee.
- According to Ernst and Young, emerging technologies in India will create $1 trillion in economic value by 2025.
- Much of this value will be founded on the creation, use, and sale of data, and the DPB will have immense implications as firms scramble to meet new privacy regulations.
Conditions for access to data and issues
- The bill establishes a number of conditions for companies to follow.
- For one, it would require digital firms to obtain permission from users before collecting their data.
- It also declares that users who provide data are, in effect, the owners of their own data.
- So that the users will be able to control the data their online selves produce, and may request firms to delete it, just as European internet-users’ “right to be forgotten”.
- But the bill stipulates that critical or sensitive personal data, related to information such as religion, or to matters of national security, must be accessible to the government if needed to protect national interest.
- Critics have suggested that such open-ended access could lead to misuse.
- Even B N Srikrishna, who chaired the committee that drafted the original bill has also expressed concerns about this provision.
- Other major concern is about Data Protection Authority (DPA).
Concerns about Data Protection Authority
- The bill outlines the establishment of a Data Protection Authority (DPA).
- The DPA will be charged with managing data collected by the Aadhaar programme.
- It will be led by a chairperson and six committee members, appointed by the central government on the recommendation of a selection committee.
- But this selection committee will be composed of senior civil servants, raising questions about the board’s independence.
- The government’s power to appoint and remove members at its discretion also stokes fears about its ability to influence this independent agency.
- Unlike similar institutions, such as the Reserve Bank of India or the Securities and Exchange Board, the DPA will not have an independent expert or member of the judiciary on its governing committee.
Consider the question “Discuss the various provision of Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 for the protection of individual’s privacy. What are the concerns over the various provisions of the Bill?”
Conclusion
The DPB is a unique opportunity for India, a country with some 740 million internet users, to forge a pathbreaking agenda that will act as a standard-setter in the still-developing field of national data protection legislation.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: STIP 2020
Mains level: india's endeavours in STI
The Department of Science and Technology has published the draft National Science Technology and Innovation Policy and has invited suggestions from the public.
Q.The STIP, 2020 contains radical and progressive proposals that could be game-changers for not just the scientific research community, but also for the way ordinary Indians interact with Science. Discuss.
STIP, 2020
Aim: To identify and address the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian STI ecosystem to catalyse socio-economic development of the country and also make the Indian STI ecosystem globally competitive.
The philosophy behind
- Unlike previous STI policies which were largely top-driven in the formulation, this policy follows core principles of being decentralized, evidence-informed, bottom-up, experts-driven, and inclusive.
- It aims to be dynamic, with a robust policy governance mechanism that includes periodic review, evaluation, feedback, adaptation and, most importantly, a timely exit strategy for policy instruments.
- The STIP will be guided by the vision of positioning India among the top three scientific superpowers in the decade to come; to attract, nurture, strengthen, and retain critical human capital through a people-centric STI ecosystem
The Open Science Framework
Open Science fosters more equitable participation in science through-
- Increased access to research output;
- Greater transparency and accountability in research; inclusiveness;
- Better resource utilization through minimal restrictions on reuse of research output and infrastructure and
- Ensuring a constant exchange of knowledge between the producers and users of knowledge
Inclusion principles
- The STIP proposes that at least 30 per cent representation be ensured for women in all decision-making bodies, as well as “spousal benefits” are provided to partners of scientists belonging to the LGBTQ+ community.
- Among the proposals in the policy is the removal of bars on married couples being employed in the same department or laboratory.
- As of now, married couples are not posted in the same department, leading to cases of loss of employment or forced transfers when colleagues decide to get married.
- The policy says that for age-related cut-offs in matters relating to the selection, promotion, awards or grants, the “academic age” and not the biological age would be considered.
Funding improvements
- At 0.6% of GDP, India’s gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) is quite low compared to other major economies that have a GERD-to-GDP ratio of 1.5% to 3%.
- This can be attributed to inadequate private sector investment (less than 40%) in R&D activities in India; in technologically advanced countries, the private sector contributes close to 70% of GERD.
- STIP has made some major recommendations in this regard, such as the expansion of the STI funding landscape at the central and state levels.
- It has enhanced incentivisation mechanisms for leveraging the private sector’s R&D participation through boosting financial support and fiscal incentives for industry.
Other key Proposals
- STIP will lead to the establishment of a National STI Observatory that will act as a central repository for all kinds of data related to and generated from the STI ecosystem.
- The “One nation, one subscription” policy to establish a system whereby all researchers in India can access research published in top international journals for no cost.
- All data used in and generated from public-funded research will be available to everyone (larger scientific community and public) under FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) terms.
- Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) will be established, that bring together industries, MSMEs, startups, R&D institutions and HEIs with the government.
- Industry clusters will be encouraged and incentivized wherever necessary, to engage in collaborative R&D.
- Opportunities for foreign MNCs to invest in the country’s STI landscape will be strengthened and made more accessible.
- It proposes lateral entry of scientists up to 25 per cent of scientists in related ministries.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kalyana Chalukya Style of Architecture
Mains level: Temple Architecture of India
Karnataka CM has laid the foundation stone for the ‘New Anubhava Mantapa’ in Basavakalyan, the place where 12th-century poet-philosopher Basaveshwara lived for most of his life.
Vaishnavism and Shaivism are the two most profound strands of Bhakti Movement in Indian history. Enlist all the Bhakti Saints and their theistic philosophy and teachings. Try to spot the minute differences between them.
Who was Basaveshwara?
- Basaveshwara or Basavanna was an Indian 12th-century statesman, philosopher, a poet and Lingayat saint in the Shiva-focussed Bhakti movement and a social reformer in Karnataka.
- He lived during the reign of the Kalyani Chalukya/Kalachuri dynasty.
- He was active during the rule of both dynasties but reached his peak of influence during the rule of King Bijjala II in Karnataka, India.
Founder of Lingayat cult
- The traditional legends and hagiographic texts state Basava to be the founder of the Lingayats.
- However, modern scholarship relying on historical evidence such as the Kalachuri inscriptions state that Basava was the poet-philosopher who revived, refined and energized an already existing tradition.
His Philosophy
- Basava’s Lingayat theology was a form of qualified nondualism, wherein the individual Atman (soul) is the body of God, and that there is no difference between Shiva and Atman (self, soul).
- Basava’s views find places in Vedanta school, in a form closer to the 11th-century Vishishtadvaita philosopher Ramanuja.
Famous works
- Basavanna spread social awareness through his poetry, popularly known as Vachanaas.
- Basavanna rejected gender or social discrimination, superstitions and rituals but introduced Ishtalinga necklace, with an image of the Shiva Liṅga to every person regardless of his or her birth.
- As the chief minister of his kingdom, he introduced new public institutions such as the Anubhava Mantapa (or, the “hall of spiritual experience”) which welcomed men and women from all socio-economic backgrounds.
The New Anubhava Mantapa
- The New Anubhava Mantapa, as envisaged now, will be a six-floor structure in the midst of the 7.5-acre plot and represent various principles of Basaveshwara
- It will showcase the 12th Century Anubhava Mantapa (often referred to as the “first Parliament of the world”) established by him in Basavakalyan where philosophers and social reformers held debates.
- The building will adopt the Kalyana Chalukya style of architecture.
- The grand structure supported by 770 pillars will have an auditorium with a seating capacity of 770 people.
- It is believed that 770 Sharanas (followers of Basaveshwara) led the Vachana reformist movement in the 12th Century.
- The basement is designed for a Dasoha Bhavana (dining hall) where around 1,500 people eat together. On its top, the structure would have a Linga placed on a large pedestal.
- The project also envisages a state-of-the-art robotic system, open-air theatre, modern water conservation system, terrace garden, library, research centre, prayer hall, yoga centre and so on.
Back2Basics: Kalyana Chalukya Style of Architecture
- It is the distinctive style of ornamented architecture that evolved during the rule of the Western Chalukya Empire in the Tungabhadra region of modern central Karnataka.
- These monuments, regional variants of pre-existing Dravida (South Indian) temples, form a climax to the wider regional temple architecture tradition called Vesara or Karnata Dravida.
- They are either Ekakuta (one mandapa of one shrine) or Dvikuta (a common hall attached to two shrines).
- The style has characters of both the Northern as well as Dravidian temple architecture.
- This combination of both of these styles is known as Vesara Style, also Central Indian Style, which is represented by the Hoysala Temples.
- Most of the temples of the Western Chalukyas are dedicated to Shiva, some of them dedicated to Vishnu and Jain Tirthankars also.
Examples: Truketshwara Temple, Gadag; Kasivisvesvara Temple, Lakkundi
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dmitri Mendeleev, Periodic table
Mains level: NA
Mendeleev was a Russian chemist and inventor who formulated the Periodic Law and the Periodic Table of Elements.
Chemistry can, no wonder, find their place in exam if core Biology could do in 2020 CSP.
Q.Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the general difference between plant cells and animal cells?
- Plant cells have cellulose cell walls whilst animal cells do not.
- Plant cells do not have plasma membrane unlike animals cells which do
- Mature plant cell has one large vacuole whilst animal cell has many small vacuoles
Select the correct answer using the given code below-
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Dmitri Mendeleev
- Mendeleev was born in the Siberian town of Tobolsk.
- In 1861, Mendeleev published a textbook named Organic Chemistry, which won him the Demidov Prize of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
- While explaining the chemical and physical properties of elements, he discovered similarities in the progression of atomic weights.
- He found that the order of atomic weights could be used to arrange the elements within each group and the groups themselves.
- Thus, Mendeleev formulated the periodic law. His Osnovy khimii (The Principles of Chemistry) became a classic, running through many editions and many translations.
The Periodic Law
- Using the Periodic Law, Mendeleev developed a systematic table of all the 63 elements then known.
- He even predicted the locations of unknown elements together with their properties within the periodic table.
- When these predicted elements, notably gallium ( 1875), scandium (1879), and germanium (1886) were discovered, Mendeleev Periodic Table began to gain wide acceptance.
- Incidentally, in 1870, German chemist Julius Lothar Meyer also published a paper describing the same organisation of elements as Mendeleev’s. But the latter is given credit for the table.
- In all, Mendeleev predicted 10 new elements, of which all but two turned out to exist. Element 101 is named Mendelevium in his honour.
Also read:
Mendeleev and his periodic table of elements
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI)
Mains level: India's age-old population
The Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare has released INDIA REPORT on Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI) Wave-1.
Discuss various issues pertaining to old-age care in India.
Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI)
- LASI is a full–scale national survey of scientific investigation of the health, economic, and social determinants and consequences of population ageing in India.
- The LASI, Wave 1 covered a baseline sample of 72,250 individuals aged 45 and above till the oldest-old persons aged 75 and above from all States and UTs of India (excluding Sikkim).
- It is India’s first and the world’s largest ever survey that provides a longitudinal database for designing policies and programmes for the older population in the broad domains of social, health, and economic well-being.
- The evidence from LASI will be used to further strengthen and broaden the scope of National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly.
- It would also help in establishing a range of preventive and health care programmes for older population and most vulnerable among them.
Why need such survey?
- In 2011 census, the 60+ population accounted for 8.6% of India’s population, accounting for 103 million elderly people.
- Growing at around 3% annually, the number of elderly age population will rise to 319 million in 2050.
- 75% of the elderly people suffer from one or the other chronic disease.
- 40% of the elderly people have one or the other disability and 20% have issues related to mental health.
- This report will provide base for national and state level programmes and policies for elderly population.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Brexit
Mains level: Paper 2- India-U.K. ties
India and the U.K. has shard past, now the present offers an opportunity to strengthen the ties between the two countries.
India-U.K. ties in changing geopolitical landscape
- India has invited the British Prime Minister as chief guest for the Republic Day parade.
- India has a shared past with Britain and needs to chart a different shared future, now that Britain has left the European Union (EU).
- One joint enterprise will be as members of the UN Security Council where Britain has permanent status and India holds a non-permanent seat this year and next.
- Also, this year, the U.K. will be hosting India as an invitee to the G-7, and the UN Climate Change Conference.
Implications of Brexit on the bilateral relations
- For the U.K., Brexit necessitates that every effort be made to seek commercial advantage in Asian countries with high growth rates.
- India has been fruitlessly negotiating a trade agreement with the EU since 2007, during which Britain was considered the main deal-breaker.
- The EU wanted duty reductions on autos, wines and spirits and wanted India to open financial sectors.
- India sought free movement for service professionals.
- The same obstacles with post-Brexit Britain will arise, because the export profile of both countries is predominantly services-oriented.
- In response to free movement for professionals, Britain will refer to its new points-based system for immigrants.
- After withdrawing from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and will place greater stress on aspects related to country of origin and percentage of value addition in exports.
- Therefore, while signing agreement two countries will coverge on pharmaceuticals, financial technology, chemicals, defence production, petroleum and food products.
India-U.K. close ties
- One and a half million persons of Indian origin reside in Britain.
- Before COVID-19, there were half a million tourists from India to Britain annually and twice that figure in the reverse direction.
- Around 30,000 Indians study in Britain despite restrictive opportunities for post-graduation employment.
- Britain is among the top investors in India and India is the second-biggest investor and a major job creator in Britain.
- India has a credit balance in total trade of $16 billion, but the level is below India’s trade with Switzerland, Germany or Belgium.
Conclusion
Two countries should strive towards strengthening ties against the backdrop of changing geopolitical circumstances and the Brexit.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Trends in the various data of NFHS
Mains level: Paper 2- Analysis of NFHS-5 data
The article analyses the data of NHFS-5 and try to factors responsible for the outcomes.
Analysing health and nutrition of child through NHFS-5
- The recently released fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) provide insights into some dimensions of micro-development performance before COVID struck.
- The latest round only has data for 17 states and five Union territories.
- Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are notable exclusions.
- Many of the child-related outcomes are also determined by state-level implementation, therefore neither success nor failure can be attributed to state or the centre alone.
Let’s understand the data
- The NFHS has 42 indicators related to child’s health and nutrition.
- Indicators fall into nine categories and each of these can be divided into outcomes and inputs.
- For example, neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality rates can be thought of as outcomes.
- Similarly, all the nutrition indicators —stunting, wastage, excess wastage, underweight and overweight can also be classified as outcomes.
- In contrast, the post-natal care indicators relating to visits made by health workers and the extent and nature of feeding for the child can be classified as inputs.
Outcomes of the survey
- On the front of wasting (weight for height of children) these is an improvement because even though the gains were marginal, they reversed a negative trend between 2005 and 2015.
- India continues to be successful in preventing child deaths, but the health and nutrition of the surviving, living child has deteriorated, somewhat worryingly.
- India continued to make progress in preventing child-related deaths (neonatal, infants and under-5).
- The pace of improvement in child mortality slowed down relative to the previous 10 years (Fig.1).
- Figure 2 shows the six indicators where outcomes have deteriorated. These all relate to what happens after survival:
- The health (anaemia, diarrhoea, and acute respiratory illness (ARI)) and nutrition (stunting, and overweight) of the child deteriorated between 2015 and 2019.
- The absolute deterioration in health and nutrition indicators must be seen against the fact that they reversed the historic trends of steady improvements.
What explains the outcomes
- Implementation capacity of individual states probably played an important role.
- Sector-specific factors such as changing diets are also implicated.
- A broader deterioration in outcomes hints at the likelihood of a common factor, namely the macro-economic growth environment, which determines employment, incomes and opportunities.
- At the least, it is safe to conjecture that some of these outcomes are inconsistent with the narrative of a rapidly growing economy.
Conclusion
As discussed in Chapter 5 of the Economic Survey of 2015-16, perhaps the next big welfare initiative of the government should be a mission-mode focus on the well-being of the early child (and of course the mother), from the womb to the first five years, which research shows is critical for realising its long run potential as an individual.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Water usage for agriculture in India
Mains level: Paper 3- Need for RD in agriculture
The article highlight the need for more emphasis on agricultural R&D as a solution to the woes of the farmers.
India needs low-input high-output agriculture
- Amid farmers protest against farm acts, the current debates focus mainly on MSP, reducing farmers’ debt liabilities, reducing post-harvest losses, cash transfers and marketing reforms.
- India with entrenched poverty requires low-input, high-output agriculture; low input in terms of both natural resources and monetary inputs.
- Very little attention is being given to reducing the natural resource inputs — most critical being water —and agricultural R&D.
- This cannot be achieved without science and technology.
Following are the areas in which Indian agriculture needs R&D to reduce agriculture inputs
1) Water usage for agriculture
- India receives around 4,000 billion cubic meters (bcm) of rainfall, but a large part of it falls in the east.
- Moreover, most of the rain is received within 100 hours of torrential downpour, making water storage and irrigation critical for agriculture.
- India has one of the highest water usages for agriculture in the world — of the total 761 bcm withdrawals of water, 90.5 per cent goes into agriculture.
- In comparison, China uses 385.2 bcm (64.4 per cent) out of the total withdrawals of 598.1 bcm for agriculture.
- China’s per-unit land productivity in terms of crop production is almost two to three times more.
- The total estimated groundwater depletion in India is in the range of 122-199 bcm .
- The depletion is highest in Punjab, Haryana, and western UP.
2) Increasing the yields of coarse-grain crops and oilseed crops
- Years of intense research on yield increase and yield protection by breeding varieties and hybrids resistant to pests and pathogens have made wheat, rice and maize stable high yielders.
- Environmentalists suggest replacing rice with coarse grain crops — millets, sorghum etc.
- However, the yields of these crops are not comparable to those of wheat and rice even when protective irrigation is available.
- These crops have a serious R&D deficit leading to low yield potential as well as losses to pests and pathogens.
- This leaves us with pulses and oilseeds.
- In the 2017-18 fiscal year, India imported around Rs 76,000 crore worth of edible oils.
- Three oilseed crops (mustard, soybean, and groundnut) are already grown very extensively.
- Soybean and groundnut are legume crops and fix their nitrogen.
- All three crops not only provide edible oils but are also an excellent source of protein-rich seed or seed meal for livestock and poultry.
- Unfortunately, yields of the three crops are stagnating in India at around 1.1 tons per hectare, significantly lower than the global averages.
3) Genetic improvements of crops
- Pests and pathogens can be best tackled by agrochemicals or by genetic interventions.
- A recent global level study on crop losses in the main food security hotspots for five major crops showed significant losses to pests — on average for wheat 21.5 per cent, rice 20 per cent, maize 22.5 per cent, potato 17.2 per cent, and soybean 21.4 per cent.
- India is one of the lowest users of pesticides.
- In 2014, comparative use of pesticides in kilograms per hectare in some select countries/regions is as following: Africa 0.30, India 0.36, EU countries 3.09, China 14.82, and Japan 15.93.
- A more benign method for dealing with pests is through breeding.
- The Green Revolution technologies were based on the effective use of germplasm and strong phenotypic selections.
- Recombinant DNA technologies since the 1970s have brought forth unprecedented opportunities for genetic improvement of crops.
- Since 2000, genomes of all the major crops have been sequenced.
- The big challenge is in the effective utilisation of the enormous sequence data that is available.
- India’s efforts in all three areas are half-hearted.
Way forward
- Over the last 20 years, India has been spending between 0.7 to 0.8 per cent of its GDP on R&D.
- This is way below the percentage of GDP spent by the developing countries and Asia’s rapidly growing economies.
- There are structural issues like lack of competent human resources and lack of policy clarity.
- However, the biggest impediment to agricultural R&D has been overzealous opposition to the new technologies.
Consider the question “India needs low-input, high-output agriculture. This cannot be achieved without science and technology. In light of this, examine how R&D could play a role in the advancement of agriculture in India.”
Conclusion
Maybe the present crisis in agriculture would lead to a greater appreciation of the need for strong public supported R&D in agriculture.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Central Vista Project
Mains level: Need for new parliament building
The Hon’ble Supreme Court has allowed the central vista project to go ahead.
Try this MCQ first:
Q.The architecture of the present Parliament House of India is inspired from:
a) Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple
b) Virupaksa Temple
c) Dilwara Temples
d) Brihaddeswara Temple
The Central Vista Project
- The project aims to renovate and redevelop 86 acres of land in Lutyens’s Delhi.
- In this, the landmark structures of the government, including Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, North Block and South Block, etc. stand.
- This dream project of redeveloping the nation’s administrative heart was announced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on September 13, 2019.
Litigation over the project
- A petition was filed in the Supreme Court in April 2020, challenging the Centre’s change-of-land-use notification of March 2020 with regard to the 86 acres of land.
- The petitioner submitted that the order violated the citizen’s Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 by depriving people of open and green spaces.
- The petition also argued that the notification violated the Master Plan of Delhi 2021.
- Subsequently, the court heard the challenge on three main grounds: change of land use; violations of municipal law; and violations of environmental law.
What has the court held?
- In a 2:1 majority verdict, the court has held that there are no infirmities in the approvals granted.
- The verdict held that the central government’s change of land use for the project in the Master Plan of Delhi 2021 is also a lawful exercise of its powers.
History of Lutyens’s Delhi
- At his coronation as Emperor of India on December 12, 1911, Britain’s King George V had announced the transfer of the seat of the Government of India from Calcutta to the ancient Capital of Delhi.
- Thereafter, a 20-year-long project to build modern New Delhi was spearheaded by architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.
- They built Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, North and South Blocks, Rajpath, India Gate, National Archives and the princes’ houses around India Gate.
- New Delhi was unveiled in 1931.
Must read:
New Parliament Building
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Mains level: Horn of Africa Region
Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have agreed on to resume negotiations to resolve their decade-long complex dispute over the Grand Renaissance Dam hydropower project in the Horn of Africa.
Note: You never know when UPSC might switch map based questions away from the Middle East and SE Asia.
Considering this news, the UPSC may ask a prelim question based on the countries swept by River Nile/ various dams constructed/ landlocked countries in the African continent etc.
Also read
[Burning Issue] Ethiopian Crisis and the Geopolitics
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
- Spearheaded by Ethiopia, the 145-meter-tall (475-foot-tall) Grand Renaissance Dam hydropower project, when completed, will be Africa’s largest.
- Its construction was initiated in 2011 on the Blue Nile tributary of the river that runs across one part of Ethiopia.
- The Nile is a necessary water source in the region and Egypt has consistently objected to the dam’s construction, saying it will impact water flow.
- The long-standing dispute has been a cause of concern for international observers who fear that it may increase conflict between the two nations and spill out into other countries in the Horn of Africa.
What is the dispute about?
- The Nile, Africa’s longest river, has been at the centre of a decade-long complex dispute involving several countries that are dependent on the river’s waters.
- At the forefront of this dispute are Ethiopia and Egypt, with Sudan having found itself dragged into the issue.
- The main waterways of the Nile run through Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt, and its drainage basin runs through several countries in East Africa, including Ethiopia.
Concerns over the dam
- Given the dam’s location on the Blue Nile tributary, it would potentially allow Ethiopia to gain control of the flow of the river’s waters.
- Egypt lies further downstream and is concerned that Ethiopia’s control over the water could result in lower water levels within its own borders.
- In addition, Egypt proposed a longer timeline for the project over concerns that the water level of the Nile could dramatically drop as the reservoir fills with water in the initial stages.
- Sudan’s location between Egypt up north and Ethiopia down south has caused it to become an inadvertent party to this dispute.
- But that isn’t all; Sudan to is concerned that if Ethiopia were to gain control over the river, it would affect the water levels Sudan receives.
Why does Ethiopia want this dam?
- Ethiopia’s goal is to secure electricity for its population and to sustain and develop its growing manufacturing industry.
- Addis Ababa anticipates that this dam will generate approximately 6,000 megawatts of electricity when it is completed, that can be distributed for the needs of its population and industries.
- In addition to its domestic requirements, Ethiopia may sell surplus electricity to neighbouring nations like Kenya, Sudan, Eritrea and South Sudan, that also suffer from electricity shortages, to generate some revenue.
What lies ahead?
- Despite previous talks, the point of contention hasn’t changed: Egypt and Sudan are concerned about the filling and the operation of the dam.
- Ethiopia continues to insist that the dam is required to meet the needs of its population and has said that downstream water supplies will not be adversely affected.
- Cairo insists that the dam would cut its water supplies — concerning for a country that depends on the Nile for approximately 97% of its drinking water and irrigation supplies.
- Sudan believes that the dam will reduce flooding, but is concerned about the path forward if the negotiations end at a stalemate.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Global Lithium production
Mains level: Lithium ion batteries and their significance
India has inked a pact with an Argentine firm to jointly prospect lithium in the South American country.
Why such a move?
- Currently, India is heavily dependent on import of these cells and the move to ink sourcing pacts for lithium is seen as another salvo in the front against China, a key source of both the raw material and cells.
- India is seen as a late mover as it attempts to enter the lithium value chain, coming at a time when EVs are predicted to be a sector ripe for disruption.
- And 2021 is likely to be an inflexion point for battery technology, with several potential improvements to the Li-ion technology.
About Lithium
- Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3.
- It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
- Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable and must be stored in mineral oil.
- When cut, it exhibits a metallic lustre, but moist air corrodes it quickly to a dull silvery grey, then black tarnish.
- Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
- It is a crucial building block of the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), laptops and mobile phones.
Global producers of lithium
- Australia and Chile have swapped positions as the world’s leading lithium-producing country over the past decade. In 2019, the world’s Top 5 lithium producers were:
- Australia – 52.9% of global production
- Chile – 21.5%
- China – 9.7%
- Argentina – 8.3%
- Zimbabwe – 2.1%
- The U.S. ranked 7th with 1.2% of the world’s lithium production.
- In 2019, the world’s Top 5 lithium reserves by country were:
- Chile – 55.5% of the world’s total
- Australia – 18.1%
- Argentina – 11.0%
- China – 6.5%
- U.S. – 4.1%
Lithium-ion batteries
- A lithium-ion battery or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery.
- They are commonly used for portable electronics and electric vehicles and are growing in popularity for military and aerospace applications.
- A prototype Li-ion battery was developed by Akira Yoshino in 1985, based on earlier research by John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, Rachid Yazami and Koichi Mizushima during the 1970s–1980s.
- In 2019, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given to this trio “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”.
How does it work?
- In the batteries, lithium ions move from the negative electrode through an electrolyte to the positive electrode during discharge, and back when charging.
- Li-ion batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as the material at the positive electrode and typically graphite at the negative electrode.
- The batteries have a high energy density, no memory effect and low self-discharge.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles produce one of the following as “exhaust”:
(a) NH3
(b) CH4
(c) H2O
(d) H2O2
Limitations
- Despite the improvements in lithium-ion batteries over the last decade, long charging times and weak energy density are still barriers.
- The Li-ion batteries are seen as sufficiently efficient for applications such as phones and laptops, in case of EVs.
- They still lack the range that would make them a viable alternative to internal combustion engines.
- A number of alternatives are being fostered to achieve more optimal options.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PM UJALA scheme
Mains level: Not Much
The Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) Scheme and Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) marks their sixth anniversary today.
Do not get confused with PM-UJJWALA Scheme.
UJALA Scheme
- Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) was launched by our PM on 1 May 2015, replacing the “Bachat Lamp Yojana”.
- The project is spearheaded by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited.
- In non-subsidized LED lamp distribution projects, this program is considered the world’s largest.
- In May 2017, the Government of India announced that they were expanding the LED distribution project to the United Kingdom.
- Both the programmes are being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, Government of India since their inception.
A roaring success
- Under UJALA, EESL has distributed over 36.69 crores LED bulbs across India.
- This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 47.65 billion kWh per year with an avoided peak demand of 9,540 MW and an estimated GHG emission reduction of 38.59 million tonnes CO2 per year.
- Additionally, over 72 lakh LED tube lights and over 23 lakh energy efficient fans have also been distributed at an affordable price under this programme.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Unemployment
Mains level: Paper 3- Support to gig workers
With the lack of NREGA equivalent in the urban area government has to find ways to provide income support and employment. The article suggests ways to do the same.
Slowdown in employment recovery
- The Indian economy has been gradually recovering from historic contraction of negative 23.9%.
- This recovery has shifted focus away from the employment question, considered resolved after a sharp rally following the collapse in employment numbers in April.
- More recent data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, however, point to a gradual slowdown in employment recovery.
NREGA: employment support in rural area
- For labour coming back to rural India, employment support came in the form of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), which witnessed a 243% increase in person workdays.
- This increased dependency on NREGA, has seen the Rural Development Ministry spend nearly 90% of its increased ₹86,4000 crore allocation by the month of November.
- In several Indian cities, however, closed businesses have meant that millions of workers have either had to leave or have had to take up new forms of work.
Supporting gig workers
With no urban equivalent to the NREGA on the horizon, there must be an increased impetus on evaluating, regulating and supporting new forms of employment.
1) Evaluation
- Our current understanding of gig work is based on the limited disclosures made by the platforms themselves.
- Furthermore, most regulators continue to remain in the dark on basic questions surrounding platform labour.
- As of now, there exists no authoritative estimate on the total number of gig workers in India.
- The centralised nature of the platforms and the larger platform labour market should make the collating of this data relatively straightforward for the Labour Ministry.
2) Regulation
- The next step is significantly more sensitive and involves regulation.
- The reason for the sensitivity primarily revolves around the varied nature of gig work.
- While some workers use these platforms as a “side hustle”, for others it continues to serve as a primary source of employment.
- This dynamic is further complicated by the risk of a one-size-fits-all regulatory strategy.
- Such regulatory strategies are unintentionally hurting the similar, yet distinct, market for highly skilled (and highly paid) freelancers.
Way forward
- A more viable strategy then would involve conditional government partnerships with platforms under some of its flagship schemes.
- The successful pilot of Swiggy’s Street Food Vendors programme under the PM SVANidhi, or PM Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi scheme, may prove to be an illustrative example.
- Creation of jobs, alongside the voluntary adoption of quality standards, is an example of a mutually beneficial partnership between the state and platforms.
- Similar collaborations on urban employment, that require labour platforms to comply with disclosure norms and worker compensation standards to access government support, could create jobs while ensuring compliance.
- Collaborating with platforms to employ workers, would bring down costs significantly (for both the state and their partners) it would also create an environment where firms would be more likely to cooperate with the state.
Conclusion
Limited fiscal space and a growing need to fuel the country’s consumption base, must push the government to build symbiotic relationships with new partners.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-U.S. relations and area of cooperation
The article explores the area of cooperation for India and the U.S. under a new administration in U.S. amid changing geopolitical realities.
China: Shared cause of concern
- The Biden administration’s approach to India will be shaped by its position towards China.
- There is a bipartisan change in the US’s attitude to China.
- The Biden administration will continue Trump administrations trade policy- reducing the trade deficit, ensuring a level-playing field, keeping a keen eye on technology rivalry etc.
- There are parallels in the concerns of India and the U.S. — invigorating the domestic economy and dealing with a rising rival.
- These concerns can translate into opportunities for both countries.
How India and U.S can convert concerns into opportunities
1) Cooperation in healthcare
- Healthcare is clearly an area that India can play up in bilateral relations.
- The two countries can also work with multilateral agencies across the spectrum of vaccine (including Covid vaccine) development, logistics and distribution.
- India produces around 20 per cent of the global requirement for generic drugs by volume and every third tablet of generics consumed in the US.
- The President-elect has indicated his commitment to providing better and affordable healthcare
- This could be an opportunity for the Indian pharma sector to play a role in reducing health costs of the American consumer.
- India can benefit from advancements in medical technologies, devices, new medicines and R&D capabilities, presenting opportunities for American companies.
2) Job creation through trade and exports
- Biden has set an ambitious target for US-India trade.
- Businesses in both countries are also looking for diversifying their manufacturing supply chains.
- This portends well for the creation of employment in manufacturing.
- An area where strategic considerations and imperatives of job creation converge is defence, especially since India has been designated a Major Defence Partner of the US.
3) Focus on infrastructure in both countries
- For the US, this can mean opportunities in India in transportation, power and other urban amenities.
- The US’s renewed focus on climate change should lead to greater cooperation with India in energy-related areas.
- Cooperation in energy-related areas includes more efficient energy dissemination and management (such as smart grids) to renewable energy technologies.
4) Enhance opportunities in 5G tech
- There is potential to enhance mutual opportunities in the 5G tech sector.
- Increased partnership between the two nations can accelerate the development of technology solutions, promote vendors in the 5G open ecosystem and drive economic growth.
- The two countries should engage in shaping the rules of a new order in this space.
- This also has an important strategic element when seen in the light of developments in the Indo-Pacific as well as China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
5) Multilateralism for cooperation in wider areas
- Once the Biden administration assumes office, we should expect the U.S.’s return to multilateralism.
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership aimed to create a rules-based order that all parties could subscribe to.
- With the ascendancy of the Indo-Pacific paradigm and the Quad and Quad Plus, a successor to the TPP could include a wider canvas.
- For India, this could mean cooperation beyond defence and security, including economics, technology and developments pertaining to the regional order.
Conclusion
Both countries should treat the economic and commercial dimension with as much priority as the strategic dimension. Both governments should embrace the prosperity-creating potential of such an approach.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Uranium Enrichment
Mains level: Iran's hostile nuclear ambitions and its global threat
Iran has begun enriching uranium up to 20% at an underground facility and seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, further escalating tensions in West Asia between Tehran and the West.
Scratch your school basics to answer this PYQ:
Q.The known forces of nature can be divided into four classes, viz, gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force.
With reference to them, which one of the following statements is not correct? (CSP 2012)
(a) Gravity is the strongest of the four
(b) Electromagnetism act only on particles with an electric charge
(c) Weak nuclear force causes radioactivity
(d) Strong nuclear force holds protons and neutrons inside the nuclear of an atom.
What is Uranium Enrichment?
- Uranium enrichment is a process that is necessary to create an effective nuclear fuel out of mined uranium by increasing the percentage of uranium-235 which undergoes fission with thermal neutrons.
- Nuclear fuel is mined from naturally occurring uranium ore deposits and then isolated through chemical reactions and separation processes.
- These chemical processes used to separate the uranium from the ore are not to be confused with the physical and chemical processes used to enrich the uranium.
- Naturally occurring uranium does not have a high enough concentration of Uranium-235 at only about 0.72% with the remainder being Uranium-238.
- Due to the fact that uranium-238 is fissionable and not fissile, the concentration of uranium-235 must be increased before it can be effectively used as a nuclear fuel.
Why is the West concerned?
- Iran’s decision to begin enriching to 20% purity a decade ago nearly triggered an Israeli strike targeting its nuclear facilities, tensions that only abated with the 2015 atomic deal.
- A resumption of 20% enrichment could see that brinksmanship return as that level of purity is only a technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: School Bag Policy, 2020
The Directorate of Education has issued a circular asking school to follow the new ‘School Bag Policy, 2020’ released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
Q.What are the features of the School Bag Policy, 2020? Discuss how heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and learning capability of students.
School Bag Policy, 2020
- According to the circular, schoolteachers should inform the students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to school on a particular day.
- They frequently need to check their bags to ensure that they are not carrying unnecessary material.
- It adds that the teachers should take the responsibility of checking the weight of school bags of the students every three months on a day selected for the whole class.
- It also holds that any information about heavy bags should be communicated to the parents.
- The circular also says that it is the duty and the responsibility of the school management to provide quality potable water in sufficient quantity.
- It adds that files and thin/light exercise books should be preferred to thick/heavy ones.
Prescribed weights
The weight of the school bags, as per the policy, should be
- 6 to 2.2 kg for students of Classes I and II
- 7 to 2.5 kg for Classes III, IV and V
- 2 to 3 kg for Classes VI and VII
- 5 to 4 kg for Class VIII
- 5 to 4.5 kg for Classes IX and X
- 5 to 5 kg for Classes XI and XII
Why heavy school bags are a curse?
- Heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and well-being of students.
- A heavy backpack can pull on the neck muscles contributing to headache, shoulder pain, lower back pain and neck and arm pain.
- Not just this, carrying backpacks over one shoulder is a wrong practice as it makes muscles strain.
- The spine leans to the opposite side, stressing the middle back, ribs, and lower back more on one side than the other and this muscle imbalance can cause muscle strain, muscle spasm, and back pain.
- Heavy school bags are also one of the major reasons for cervical and lumbar pains.
- The posture of the body also gets affected to a great extent which in the long term develops imbalances in the body and affects the health of the nervous system.
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