Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: HCI, HDI
Mains level: Impact of coronovirus outbreak on Human Capital
India has been ranked at the 116th position in the latest edition of the World Bank’s annual Human Capital Index that benchmarks key components of human capital across countries.
Try this PYQ:
Q.As per UN-Habitat’s Global Report on Human Settlements 2009, which one among the following regions has shown the fastest growth rate of urbanization in the last three decades?
(a) Asia
(b) Europe
(c) Latin America and Caribbean
(d) North America
Highlights of the 2020 rankings
- The 2020 Human Capital Index update includes health and education data for 174 countries — covering 98 per cent of the world’s population — up to March 2020.
- It provides a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education of children, with the biggest strides made in low-income countries.
Impact of the pandemic
- The analysis shows that pre-pandemic, most countries had made steady progress in building the human capital of children, with the biggest strides made in low-income countries.
- The pandemic puts at risk the decade’s progress in building human capital, including the improvements in health, survival rates, school enrollment, and reduced stunting.
- The economic impact of the pandemic has been particularly deep for women and for the most disadvantaged families, leaving many vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty.
- Due to the pandemic’s impact, most children — more than 1 billion — have been out of school and could lose out, on average, half a year of schooling, adjusted for learning, translating into considerable monetary losses.
- Data also shows significant disruptions to essential health services for women and children, with many children missing out on crucial vaccinations.
India’s performance
- India’s score increased to 0.49 from 0.44 in 2018, as per the Human Capital Index report released by the World Bank.
- Last year, India had raised “serious reservations” over the Human Capital Index, wherein India was ranked 115 out of 157 countries.
- This year India finds itself at 116th from among 174 countries.
Back2Basics: Human Capital Project
- As part of this World Development Report (WDR), the World Bank has launched a Human Capital Project (HCP).
- The HCP programme is claimed to be a program of advocacy, measurement, and analytical work to raise awareness and increase demand for interventions to build human capital.
- There are three components of HCP:
- a cross-country human capital measurement metric called the Human Capital Index (HCI),
- a programme of measurement and research to inform policy action
- a programme of support for country strategies to accelerate investment in human capital.
Human Capital Index (HCI)
- The HCI has been constructed for 157 countries.
- It claims to seek to measure the amount of human capital that a child born today can expect to attain by age 18.
- The HCI has three components:
- Survival: as measured by under-5 mortality rates
- Expected years of Quality-Adjusted School: which combines information on the quantity and quality of education
- Health environment: Using two proxies of (a) adult survival rates and (b) the rate of stunting for children under age 5.
HDI vs. HCI
- UNDP constructs Human Development Index (HDI) for several years.
- The HCI uses survival rates and stunting rate instead of life expectancy as a measure of health, and quality-adjusted learning instead of merely years of schooling as a measure of education.
- HCI also excludes per capita income whereas the HDI uses it.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Medical Commission
Mains level: Not Much
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has replaced the Medical Council of India (BoG-MCI), as per information released by the Health Ministry.
National Medical Commission
- National Medical Commission (NMC) is an Indian regulatory body of 33 members which regulates medical education and medical professionals.
- It replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI) on 25 September 2020.
- The Commission grants recognition of medical qualifications, gives accreditation to medical schools, grants registration to medical practitioners, and monitors medical practice and assess the medical infrastructure in India.
- The NMC will have four separate autonomous boards: under-graduate medical education, post-graduate medical education, medical assessment and rating and ethics and medical registration.
It’s legal backing
- The NITI Aayog had recommended the replacement of MCI with NMC.
- The decision was approved by most states and after its approval by the Prime Minister and NMC bill was passed by parliament and approved by President on 8 August 2019.
- National Medical Commission ordinance was brought in to replace Medical Council of India in early 2019 through an ordinance issued in January 2019 by the President of India.
- The Supreme Court had allowed the Central Government to replace the medical council and with the help of five specialized doctors monitor the medical education system in India, from July 2017.
- The government dissolved the MCI in 2018 and Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956) stands repealed.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: RRTS train
Mains level: Not Much
The first look of India’s first RRTS train on Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor has been unveiled.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following pairs:
National Highway: Cities connected
- NH 4: Chennai and Hyderabad
- NH 6: Mumbai and Kolkata
- NH 15: Ahmedabad and Jodhpur
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None
About the RRTS train
- The Delhi–Meerut RRTS is an 82.15 km long, under-construction, semi-high speed rail corridor connecting Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut.
- It is one of the three rapid-rail corridors planned under Phase-I of Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) project of National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).
- With a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99.42 mph), the distance between Delhi and Meerut will be covered in around 62 min (1.03 h).
- With radiating stainless steel outer body, these aerodynamic RRTS trains will be lightweight and fully air-conditioned.
- Each car will have six automatic plug-in type wide doors, three on each side for ease of access and exit.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: JIMEX 20
Mains level: Not Much
The 4th edition of India – Japan Maritime bilateral exercise JIMEX will be held in the North Arabian Sea from 26 to 28 September 2020.
JIMEX 20
- It is conducted biennially between the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)
- This series of exercises was commenced in January 2012 with a special focus on maritime security cooperation.
- The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam, India.
- JIMEX 20 will showcase a high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the spectrum of maritime operations.
- Multi-faceted tactical exercises involving weapon firings cross deck helicopter operations and complex surface, anti-submarine and air warfare drills will consolidate coordination developed by the two navies.
- JIMEX 20 will further enhance the cooperation and mutual confidence between the two navies and fortify the long-standing bond of friendship between the two countries.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pritilata Waddedar
Mains level: Not Much
The government of Bangladesh is financing a film on the life of revolutionary freedom fighter Pritilata Waddedar.
Try this PYQ:
Q.The Ghadr (Ghadar) was a –
(a) Revolutionary association of Indians with headquarters at San Francisco.
(b) Nationalist organization operating from Singapore
(c) Militant organization with headquarters at Berlin
(d) Communist movement for Pritilata Waddedar
Pritilata Waddedar (1911-1932)
- She was a Bengali revolutionary nationalist from the Indian subcontinent who was influential in the Indian independence movement.
- After completing her education in Chittagong and Dhaka, she attended Bethune College in Kolkata.
- She graduated in philosophy with distinction and became a school teacher.
- Pritilata joined a revolutionary group headed by Surya Sen. She is known for leading fifteen revolutionaries in the 1932 armed attack on the Pahartali European Club, during which one person was killed and eleven injured.
- The revolutionaries torched the club and were later caught by the British police. To avoid arrest, Pritilata consumed cyanide and died.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Agri marketing and related issue
The article analyses the results of complete abolition of APMC in Bihar in the context of current protest against the agri bills.
Context
- Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 has been a source of anger among farmers.
- By allowing unregulated trading areas beyond APMC mandis, the law seeks to remove intermediaries from agricultural trade and raise price realization for farmers.
Excessive politicization of APMCs
- APMC’s excessive politicization has resulted in cartelization and price-fixing.
- For this reason, there have been several attempts at reforming their functioning.
- Easier licensing norms, the removal of entry and exit barriers and computerization and transparency have been introduced in most APMC markets.
- However, the Bihar government decided to abolish the APMC system altogether in 2006.
Analysing the impact of abolition of APMC in Bihar
- It was hoped that abolition would ensure better prices for farmers of the state and attract large sums of private investment.
- Before their abolition, Bihar had 95 market yards, of which 54 had infrastructure such as covered yards, godowns and administrative buildings, weighbridges, and processing as well as grading units.
- With no revenue to maintain it, that infrastructure is now in a dilapidated condition.
- A study by the National Council for Applied Economic Research reported increased volatility in grain prices after 2006.
- Most of the farmers surveyed reported high storage costs at private warehouses.
- Farmers this year in Bihar received lower price for maize compared to the farmers in states with APMC.
Lessons from Bihar
- The Bihar experiment has important lessons for future marketing reforms in agriculture.
- The benefits of these reforms will only accrue to farmers if they are accompanied by private investment in creating the physical infrastructure and institutional mechanisms needed to allow for greater participation of farmers.
- The record of states on attracting private investment isn’t much better.
Conclusion
By only attempting to shift trade away from APMC to non-APMC areas, without a regulatory framework, the new law is unlikely to ensure better price realization for farmers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-China relations
The article discusses the issue of dealing with China in the aftermath of clashes on the border.
Understanding the importance of Tibet
- Tibet is the roof of the world, with vast mineral and natural resources.
- The mighty rivers that emanate from its expansive glaciers — such as the Brahmaputra, the Yangtse, the Yellow river, the Mekong, the Salween and the Indus — together with thousands of their tributaries have nurtured civilisations in peripheral countries for centuries.
- The Kailash Mansarovar is centered in this region.
- In an act of naked aggression, China occupied Tibet in 1959.
- A buffer was eliminated, and the de facto boundary of China became contiguous to that of India.
- That boundary was deliberately left undemarcated to enable further expansion.
Understanding China’s stand
- China has land borders with 14 neighbours covering an estimated 22,100 kilometres.
- Post-independence, and as its economic status increased, so did its military muscle.
- China embarked on claims based on perceived imbalances of treaties forced on countries when they were weak.
- Some of these have since been resolved after bloody clashes such as with Russia and Vietnam, while others have been resolved using a combination of lucrative offers.
- Russia accepted half of China’s claim, Kazakhstan was given lucrative economic deals, Kyrgyzstan retained 70% of the land, ceding just 30%, and so on.
Way forward
- The road ahead will have to be evolved and based on a study of the manner in which China has negotiated its boundary disputes with 12 of its neighbours.
- Under the prevailing circumstances, it has become imperative to form a group of experts.
- This group will plan and prepare, short-, medium- and long-term goals to achieve them within a suggested time frame.
Conclusion
Let us play down the rhetoric and adopt a pragmatic approach. It can no longer be a part-time issue to be addressed only when a crisis occurs. The crisis is upon us now.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sustainable Development
Mains level: Paper 3- Sustainable development
The article explains the importance of focusing on the green supply chain for ensuring sustainability along with the progress of the organisations.
Sustainability as an essential issue
- The U.N’s. Millennium Development Goals and the World Bank Group’s global practices have recognised sustainability as an essential issue of global importance.
- Economic, social and other forms of sustainability have evolved over the years, but it is environmental sustainability that has gained significant popularity.
Economy and sustainability
- Some firms have positioned environmental practices at the forefront due to legislation, and industry and government commitments.
- Several firms have prioritised environmental practices due to compelling regulatory norms, and a potential to manage costs, risks and optimise eco-friendly practices.
- However, organisations in the manufacturing sector focus on waste reduction and energy efficiency improvements excessively and fail to see the big picture of environmentalism.
Adopting green supply chains for long-lasting benefits
- Only through organisational learning can people be urged to work towards long-lasting benefits.
- In this context, green supply chain practices are useful.
- These include green procurement, green manufacturing, green distribution, and reverse logistics.
- With practices starting from acquisition of eco-friendly raw material to disposal/ reuse/ recycle of used products, employees, suppliers, distributors, retailers and customers will be able to integrate environmental concerns in the daily operations of a firm.
- Thus, green supply chain practices enable organisational learning in environmental sustainability.
- Research shows that the positive impacts of environmentalism can only be felt in the long term when they get embedded into organisational learning systems through green supply chain practices.
- The resultant learning system smoothens the knowledge flow in the organisation.
Focusing on linkages
- Linkages between green supply chain practices, corporate environmental performance, corporate economic performance is necessary for an organisation’s progress and environmental protection.
- When the different players of a manufacturing supply chain realise the inherent benefits associated with organisational learning dimensions, their drive towards environmentalism increases.
Conclusion
Policymakers should support this thinking by not merely imposing environmental practices as regulatory norms but by emphasising on the creation of green supply chain-based learning systems in manufacturing.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MSP
Mains level: Fixation of MSP and its legal backing
The recently enacted Farmers bill seeks to dismantle the monopoly of APMC mandis, thereby allowing sale and purchase of crops outside these state government-regulated market yards. This has prompted many fears regarding the continuance of the existing minimum support price (MSP)-based procurement regime.
Try this PYQ:
Q.There is also a point of view that agriculture produce market committees (APMCs) set up under the state acts have not only impeded the development of agriculture but also have been the cause of food inflation in India. Critically examine. (UPSC 2014)
What does the law say about MSP?
- The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill does not give any statutory backing to MSP.
- There is not even a single mention of either “MSP” or “procurement” in the Bill passed by both Houses of Parliament last week.
Is there any legal backing for MSP?
- MSP, by contrast, is devoid of any legal backing. Access to it, unlike subsidised grains through the PDS, isn’t an entitlement for farmers.
- They cannot demand it as a matter of right.
What is the basis of MSP then?
- It is only a government policy that is part of administrative decision-making.
- The government declares MSPs for crops, but there’s no law mandating their implementation.
- The Centre currently fixes MSPs for 23 farm commodities based on the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) recommendations:
- 7 cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley)
- 5 pulses (chana, arhar/tur, urad, moong and masur)
- 7 oilseeds (rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soyabean, sunflower, sesamum, safflower and nigerseed) and
- 4 commercial crops (cotton, sugarcane, copra and raw jute) —
What about CACP?
- The CACP come to existence in 1965 and MSPs are being announced since the time of the Green Revolution, starting with wheat in 1966-67.
- The CACP is simply an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- It can recommend MSPs, but the decision on fixing (or even not fixing) and enforcement rest finally with the government.
- The government can procure at the MSPs if it wants to. There is no legal compulsion. Nor can it force others (private traders, organised retailers, processors or exporters) to pay.
Exceptions to MSP: Fair and remunerative price (FRP)
- The only crop where MSP payment has some statutory element is sugarcane.
- This is due to its pricing being governed by the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 issued under the Essential Commodities Act.
- That order, in turn, provides for the fixation of an FRP for cane during every sugar year (October-September).
- But even the FRP — which, incidentally, was until 2008-09 called the ‘statutory minimum price’ or SMP — is payable not by the government.
- The responsibility to make FRP payment to farmers within 14 days of cane purchase lies solely with the sugar mills.
Has there been any move to give MSP legislative backing?
- The CACP, in its price policy report for the 2018-19 Kharif marketing season, had suggested enactment of legislation conferring on farmers ‘The Right to Sell at MSP’.
- This, it felt, was necessary “to instil confidence among farmers for procurement of their produce”. That advice, predictably, wasn’t accepted.
A cause for farmers fury
- The ongoing farmer protests essentially reflect a loss of that very confidence.
- Is the dismantling of the monopoly of APMC mandis in wholesale trading of farm produce the first step at ending even the present MSP-based procurement programme, largely limited to wheat and paddy?
- If APMCs were to turn unviable due to the trades moving outside, how will government agencies undertake procurement that now takes place in mandis?
- These questions are playing in the minds of farmers, particularly in states such as Punjab, Haryana and MP that have well-established systems of governmental MSP purchases.
- For them, freedom to sell to anyone, anywhere and anytime has little value compared to the comfort of assured procurement at MSP.
Govt’s response
- PM has tweeted that the “system of MSP will remain” and “government procurement will continue”.
- The Agriculture Minister, too, has pointed out that past governments never thought it necessary to introduce a law for MSP.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Data Sonification
Mains level: Data Sonification and its applications
While telescopes offer glimpses of outer space by translating digital data into stunning images, NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Center (CXC) has gone a step further by unveiling a new ‘sonification’ project that transforms data from astronomical images into audio.
Don’t get confused with the ‘Chandra‘ considering it as an ISRO Project.
What is the project?
- Users can now ‘listen’ to images of the Galactic Centre, the remains of a supernova called Cassiopeia A, as well as the Pillars of Creation Nebula, which are all located in a region around 26,000 light-years away from Earth.
- The data has been collected by NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope — each of which is represented by a different musical ‘instrument’.
What is data sonification?
- Data sonification refers to the use of sound values to represent real data. Simply put, it is the auditory version of data visualization.
- In NASA’s recent Chandra project, for instance, data is represented using a number of musical notes.
- With this data sonification project, users can now experience different phenomena captured in astronomical images as an aural experience.
- The birth of a star, a cloud of dust or even a black hole can now be ‘heard’ as a high or low pitched sound.
How did NASA translate astronomical images into sound?
- NASA’s distant telescopes in space collect inherently digital data, in the form of ones and zeroes, before converting them into images.
- The images are essentially visual representations of light and radiation of different wavelengths in space, that can’t be seen by the human eye.
- The Chandra project has created a celestial concert of sorts by translating the same data into sound. Pitch and volume are used to denote the brightness and position of a celestial object or phenomenon.
- So far, the astronomers behind Project Chandra have released three examples made using data collected from some of the most distinct features in the sky — the Galactic Centre, Cassiopeia A, and Pillars of Creation Nebula.
(1) The Galactic Centre
- The first example is that of the Galactic Centre, which the rotational centre of the Milky Way galaxy is.
- It comprises a collection of celestial objects — neutron and white dwarf stars, clouds of dust and gas, and most notably, a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*, that weighs four million times the mass of the sun.
- Based on data gathered by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, an image is rendered using X-ray, visible and infrared light before being translated into sound.
- The translation begins on the left side of the image and then moves to the right.
- Stars and other compact sources are represented using individual short notes, while a longer humming sound is used to denote clouds of gas and dust.
(2) Cassiopeia A
- Located around 11,000 light-years away from Earth in the northern Cassiopeia constellation, Cassiopeia A is one of the most well-known remnants of a once-massive star that was destroyed by a supernova explosion around 325 years ago.
- The image shows the supernova remnant as a ball of different coloured filaments.
- Each colour represents a particular element — red is used for silicon, yellow for sulfur, purple denotes iron, while green is used for calcium. Each of these filaments is also assigned its own unique sound.
- Unlike with the sonification of the Galactic Centre, where the translation plays from left to right, here the sounds move outwards from the centre of the circular structure.
(3) The Pillars of Creation
- The iconic Pillars of Creation is located in the centre of the Eagle Nebula, which is also known as Messier 16.
- The Hubble Star Telescope was used for images of the celestial structure, which comprises wispy towers of cosmic dust and gas.
- Here too, different colours are used to represent elements — blue for oxygen, red for sulphur and green for both nitrogen and hydrogen.
- Like with the Galactic Centre, this sound translation also plays from left to right. However, the sound has an eerie effect, with sharp whistles representing stars and low howls indicating the presence of gas clouds.
Significance of the project
- The sonification project aims to “incorporate NASA science content into the learning environment effectively and efficiently for learners of all ages”.
- Over the years, NASA has been working towards making data about space accessible for a larger audience.
- The projects like this allow audiences — including visually-impaired communities — to experience space through data.
Back2Basics: Chandra X-Ray Observatory
- The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) is a Flagship-class space telescope launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999.
- Chandra is sensitive to X-ray sources 100 times fainter than any previous X-ray telescope, enabled by the high angular resolution of its mirrors.
- Since the Earth’s atmosphere absorbs the vast majority of X-rays, they are not detectable from Earth-based telescopes; therefore space-based telescopes are required to make these observations.
- Chandra is an Earth satellite in a 64-hour orbit, and its mission is ongoing as of 2020.
- The telescope is named after the Nobel Prize-winning Indian astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lok Adalat
Mains level: Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in India
A daily wager in Odisha has moved the Lok Adalat against PM after he allegedly failed to get an Aadhaar card registered in his name despite 21 attempts.
Try this PYQ:
Q. With reference to National Legal Services Authority, consider the following statements:
- Its objective is to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society on the basis of equal opportunity.
- It issues guidelines for the State Legal Services Authorities to implement the legal programmes and schemes throughout the country.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
What are Lok Adalats?
- Lok Adalat (People’s Court) is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism.
- The forum can settle cases pending on panchayat or at a pre-litigation stage in a court of law.
- The decisions have statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
- Under this Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a case of a civil court, final and binding for all parties, and not subject to appeal.
- It has broad powers to devise its procedures, compared to national courts.
- If the parties do not recognise the Lok Adalat (though there is no provision for an appeal against such a prize), they may initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yo-Yo Test
Mains level: NA
In his interaction with fitness experts and influencers the PM asked about the yo-yo test, that is a vital part of the Indian cricket team’s fitness routine.
Try this MCQ:
Q.The Yo-Yo test sometimes seen in news is related to:
Sports/ Healthcare/ Robotics/ Automation
What is the Yo-Yo test?
- The test was developed by Danish football physiologist Jens Bangsbo.
- Two cones are placed 20 metres apart, and the athlete has to run between them when the beep goes off.
- The beeps become more frequent after one minute, and if the athlete fails to reach the line within that time, he is expected to catch up within two more beeps.
- The test is stopped if the player fails to catch up before the beeps run out.
- The test has a beginner and an advanced level, and players are given scores. The minimum score set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to pass the test is 16.1.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: English Channel
Mains level: NA
Hundreds of migrants have taken advantage of the warm weather and calm seas in the English Channel to reach the UK in a flurry of small boat crossings.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the ‘Ten Degree Channel’?
(a) Andaman and Nicobar
(b) Nicobar and Sumatra
(c) Maldives and Lakshadweep
(d) Sumatra and Java
English Channel
- The English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France.
- It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end.
- It is the busiest shipping area in the world.
- It is about 560 km long and varies in width from 240 km at its widest to 34 km in the Strait of Dover.
- It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Women's Reservation
The article analyses the issue of women representation and leadership.
Role of female leaders in pandemic
- Germany, Taiwan and New Zealand have women heading their governments.
- Three countries seem to have managed the pandemic much better than their neighbours.
- A detailed recent study by researchers in the United States reports that States which have female governors had fewer COVID-19 related deaths.
- The authors of the study conclude that women leaders are more effective than their male counterparts in times of crises.
Role of women as pradhans in gram panchayats
- Women leaders perform significantly better than men in implementing policies that promote the interests of women.
- This was demonstrated in study conducted by Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo and co-author Raghabendra Chattopadhyay.
- They used the system of mandated reservations of pradhans in gram panchayats to test the effectiveness of female leadership.
- Study concluded that pradhans invested more in rural infrastructure that served better the needs of their own gender.
- This is also an important goal from the perspective of gender equality.
Underrepresentation of women in politics
- Female members make up only about 10% of the total ministerial strength in India.
- The underrepresentation of female Ministers in India is also reflected in the fact that there is only one female Chief Minister.
- Despite this, women constitute just over 14% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.
- This gives us the dismal rank of 143 out of 192 countries for which data are reported by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
State of Women’s Reservation Bill
- Women running for elections face numerous challenges, it is essential to create a level-playing field through appropriate legal measures.
- Attempts have also been made to extend quotas for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies through a Women’s Reservation Bill.
- Male members from several parties opposed the Bill on various pretexts.
- Although the Rajya Sabha did pass the bill in 2010, the Lok Sabha and the State legislatures are yet to give their approval.
- 24 years that have passed since it was first presented in the Lok Sabha.
Way forward
- Political parties can sidestep the logjam in Parliament by reserving say a third of party nominations for women.
Conclusion
There is substantial evidence showing that increased female representation in policy making goes a long way in improving perceptions about female effectiveness in leadership roles. This decreases the bias among voters against women candidates, and results in a subsequent increase in the percentage of female politicians contesting and winning elections.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Social Stock Exchange
Mains level: Paper 2- Social Stock Exchange
Context
- The Securities and Exchange Board’s (SEBI) working group has submitted its report with recommendations regarding the structure, mechanisms, and regulatory framework for the proposed Social Stock Exchange (SSE).
What are Social Stock Exchanges (SSEs)?
- An SSE is a platform which allows investors to buy shares in social enterprises vetted by an official exchange.
- The Union Budget 2019 proposed setting up of first of its kind SSE in India.
- The SSE will function as a common platform where social enterprises can raise funds from the public.
- It will function on the lines of major stock exchanges like BSE and NSE. However, the purpose of the Social Stock Exchange will be different – not profit, but social welfare.
- Under the regulatory ambit of SEBI, a listing of social enterprises and voluntary organizations will be undertaken so that they can raise capital as equity, debt or as units like a mutual fund.
Issues with the idea of Social Stock Exchange
- SSE exists in one form or another in UK, Singapore, South Africa, Canada and Brazil, but it is yet to take off in any country.
- It has been an instrument focussed on social enterprises with rather poor results.
- The proposed SSE in our country could have been an interesting innovation if it was first.
- Replicating an experiment from elsewhere in an extremely complex environment of endemic poverty, high inequality and regional variation does not seem a reasoned decision.
- It is therefore important to analyse why it has been pushed as a key policy.
Why civil society is sceptical
- The 2020-21 Union Budget says that not-for-profit organisations will need to apply every five years for income tax registration to ascertain their charitable status.
- They will also need to renew their 80(G) certificate that provides tax relief to their donors.
- The not-for-profit sector would not be able to survive without the tax-exempt charitable status.
- These restrictions will open the gates to corruption and bullying by the tax and government bureaucracy.
- The SEBI working group was constituted of business leaders, government and SEBI officials with a token representative from civil society.
- Composition of the committee reflects the real intent of the SSE, which is to create instruments for market to enter the social sector.
- However, the way the exchange is envisioned makes it clear that the interests of the private sector are guiding the idea of SSE.
Will the entry of private sector benefit social sector
- The proponents of the SSE argue that it would help set standards and a performance matrix for the social sector.
- SSE is also expected to help bench-marking of sector actors (credibility checks), organise information and data, help in impact assessments, and do capacity building for the sector.
Solving complex social problems
- Poverty or injustice are essentially systemic and political questions that need multi-pronged dynamic engagement.
- Developing set standards of impact assessment and performance matrix has the risk of privileging only one approach to the developmental challenges at hand.
- The SSE would create more intermediaries and benefit larger organisations.
- More than 99 per cent of the three million NGOs in the country are in the small category and will be untouched by the SSE.
Conclusion
The core business of the SSE is to strengthen the social sector and bring new resources to it, SEBI for sure itself would admit that it is not the appropriate anchor.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: RTI
Mains level: Paper 2- RTI and issue of transparency
The article discusses the issue of growing lack of transparency in the functioning of government.
Issues with Transparent Governance in India
1) Electoral bond
- They were introduced in February 2017— they allowed anonymous donations to political parties and, therefore, protected the privacy of the donors.
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) criticised the opacity of this financial mechanism.
- The ECI told the government that this arrangement would prevent the state from ascertaining whether a political party has taken any donation in violation of provisions under Section 29B of the Representation of the People Act.
- Section 29B prohibits the political parties from taking donations from government companies and foreign sources.
- Electoral bonds also made it impossible to check whether a company was giving to parties more than what the Companies Act (2013) permitted, that is 7.5 per cent of the net average profit of the three preceding financial years.
2) Sealed envelopes
- Sealed envelope has become a modus operandi in several Indian institutions, including the Supreme Court (SC).
- In the case of political funding by electoral bonds or otherwise, a three-judge bench in 2019 directed political parties to submit the details of donations received to the ECI in sealed cover.
- The Assam administration had to show the progress it was making in the implementation of the National Register of Citizens by submitting reports in sealed covers.
3) Undermining RTI
(A) Reluctance to fill vacancies
- The government did not appoint a Chief Information Commissioner for a year after the incumbent retired in August 2014.
- Similaryly, government did not fill vacant information commissioner posts in the Central Information Commission (CIC) between 2016 and 2018.
- The backlog of pending appeals had reached 30,000 cases in late 2019 as the CIC has become a rather dysfunctional body.
(B) Government refusing to disclose infromation
- The government refused to disclose information which was previously available under the RTI Act.
- Queries about phone tapping are not responded to anymore.
- In 2016-17, the home and finance ministries rejected close to 15 per cent of the applications they received while the RBI and public sector banks rejected 33 per cent.
- The RBI, for instance, refused to give any information about the decision-making process that led to demonetisation.
(C) Limiting the powers of CIC
- During the 2019 Monsoon Session of Parliament, government amended the RTI Act to limit the power of the CIC.
- The five-year fixed tenure for the Chief Information Commissioner and information commissioners was abolished.
- Their salaries were not fixed any more, but notified separately by the government.
4.Diluting Whisleblower’s Protection Act
- Whistleblowers can now be prosecuted for possessing the documents on which the complaint has been made.
- Issues flagged by them have to be in “public interest”.
- Issues flagged should not be “affecting the sovereignty and integrity of India”, related to “commercial confidence” or “information received in confidence from a foreign government.
5.Issues with statistical information
- The National Statistical Commission and the Chief Statistician of India faced a credibility crisis when the new GDP series was released.
- Similarly, the National Crime Records Bureau has been affected by delays (its 2017 report was released in October 2019) and deletions.
- The National Sample Survey Office has also raised several concerns.
Conclusion
Transparency is not only necessary for maintaining a democratic polity, it is also necessary for making the economy work. Government actions must be informed by this fact.
B2BASICS
Electoral bond
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Abraham Accord
Mains level: Balance of relations between India, Israel and the Gulf
The White House has marked the formal normalization of Israel’s ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Bahrain has created a significant inflexion point in regional history and geopolitics.
Try this question:
Q. What are Abraham Accords? Discuss how the Israel-Gulf synergy could impact India’s relations with Israel.
What are Abraham Accords?
- The Israel–UAE normalization agreement is officially called the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement.
- It was initially agreed to in a joint statement by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on August 13, 2020.
- The UAE thus became the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to agree to formally normalize its relationship with Israel as well as the first Persian Gulf country to do so.
- Concurrently, Israel agreed to suspend plans for annexing parts of the West Bank. The agreement normalized what had long been informal but robust foreign relations between the two countries.
New friendships
- Externally, Israel, the UAE and Bahrain share the common threat perception of Iran.
- Internally, while all three have their respective hotheads opposing this reconciliation, these seem manageable.
- They are relatively more modern societies which share the overarching and immediate priority of post-pandemic economic resuscitation.
- They have lost no time to set up logistics such as Internet connectivity and direct flights to pave the way for more active economic engagement.
- If these sinews evolve, other moderate Arab countries are likely to join the Israel fan club.
India and the Gulf
- Now India has stronger, multifaceted and growing socioeconomic engagements with Israel and the Gulf countries.
- With over eight million Indian diasporas in the Gulf remitting annually nearly $50 billion, annual merchandise trade of over $150 billion.
- It sources nearly two-thirds of India’s hydrocarbon imports, major investments, etc. Hence it is natural to ask how the new regional dynamic would affect India.
The Israel-GCC synergy
- With defence and security cooperation as a strong impetus, both sides are ready to realize the full potential of their economic complementarity.
- The UAE and Bahrain can become the entrepôts to Israeli exports of goods and services to diverse geographies.
- Israel has niche strengths in defence, security and surveillance equipment, arid farming, solar power, horticultural products, high-tech, gem and jewellery, and pharmaceuticals.
- Tourism, real estate and financial service sectors on both sides have suffered due to the pandemic and hope for a positive spin-off from the peer-to-peer interactions.
- Further, Israel has the potential to supply skilled and semi-skilled manpower to the GCC states, particularly from the Sephardim and Mizrahim ethnicities, many of whom speak Arabic.
- Even the Israeli Arabs may find career opportunities to bridge the cultural divide. Israel is known as the start-up nation and its stakeholders could easily fit in the various duty-free incubators in the UAE.
Implications of the new trinity
- Geopolitically, India has welcomed the establishment of diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel, calling both its strategic partners.
- In general, the Israel-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) breakthrough widens the moderate constituency for peaceful resolution of the Palestine dispute, easing India’s diplomatic balancing act.
- However, nothing in West Asia is monochromatic: The Israel-GCC ties may provoke new polarization between the Jihadi fringe and the mainstream.
- The possibility of the southern Gulf becoming the new arena of the proxy war between Iran and Israel cannot be ruled out, particularly in Shia pockets.
- India would have to be on its guard to monitor and even pre-empt any threat to its interests in the Gulf.
Way forward
- Israeli foray into the Gulf has the potential to disrupt the existing politico-economic architecture India has carefully built with the GCC states.
- India has acquired a large and rewarding regional footprint, particularly as the preferred source of manpower, food products, pharmaceuticals, gem and jewellery, light engineering items, etc.
- Indians are also the biggest stakeholders in Dubai’s real estate, tourism and Free Economic Zones.
- In the evolving scenario, there may be scope for a profitable trilateral synergy, but India cannot take its preponderance as a given.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Debate over profitability of farming in India
The government’s push to reform India’s agriculture sector has divided opinions and triggered a debate about the state of Indian agriculture.
Try this PYQ:
Q.In view of the declining average size of land holdings in India which has made agriculture nonviable for a majority of farmers, should contract farming and land leasing be promoted in agriculture? Critically evaluate the pros and cons. (UPSC 2015)
Features of Indian Agriculture
In the context of this debate, two long-standing characteristics of Indian agriculture are noteworthy:
- Indian agriculture is highly unremunerative
- It has been heavily regulated by the government and protected from the free play of market forces
Why are the new legislation introduced?
- According to the government, the new Bills passed by Parliament attempt to make it easier for farmers to sell to and produce for the private sector.
- The hope is that liberalizing the sector and allowing greater play for market forces will make Indian agriculture more efficient and more remunerative for the farmers.
- In this context, it is important to understand some of the basics of Indian agriculture.
Basics of Indian agriculture
(1) Workforce engaged
- At the time of Independence, about 70% of India’s workforce (a little less than 100 million) was employed in the agriculture sector.
- Even at that time, agriculture and allied activities accounted for around 54% of India’s national income.
- Over the years, agriculture’s contribution to national output declined sharply. As of 2019-20, it was less than 17% (in gross value added terms).
- And yet, the proportion of Indians engaged in agriculture has fallen from 70% to just 55% (Chart 1).
- As the Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income (2017) observes, “the dependence of the rural workforce on agriculture for employment has not declined in proportion to the falling contribution of agriculture to GDP”.
(2) Land holdings
- While the number of people dependent on agriculture has been burgeoning over the years, the average size of landholdings has become reduced sharply — even to the extent of being unviable for efficient production.
- Data shows that 86% of all landholdings in India are small (between 1 and 2 hectares) and marginal (less than 1 hectare — roughly half a football field).
- The average size among marginal holdings is just 0.37 ha which hardly provides enough income to stay above the poverty line.
(3) Debts
- The combined result of several such inefficiencies is that most Indian farmers are heavily indebted (Chart 2).
- The data shows that 40% of the 24 lakh households that operate on landholdings smaller than 0.01 ha are indebted. The average amount is Rs 31,000.
- A good reason why such a high proportion of farmers is so indebted is that Indian agriculture — for the most part — is unremunerative.
- Chart 3 provides the monthly income estimates for an agriculture household in four very different states as well as the all-India number.
- Some of the most populous states like Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have very low levels of income and very high proportions of indebtedness.
(4) Buying & selling
- Another way of understanding the plight of the farmers relative to the rest of the economy is to look at the Terms of Trade between farmers and non-farmers.
- Terms of Trade is the ratio between the prices paid by the farmers for their inputs and the prices received by the farmers for their output.
- As such, 100 is the benchmark. If the ToT is less than 100, it means farmers are worse off.
- As Chart 4 shows, ToT rapidly improved between 2004-05 and 2010-11 to breach the 100-mark but since then it has worsened for farmers.
(5) MSP
- A key variable in the debate is the role of minimum support prices. Many protesters fear governments will roll back the system of MSPs.
- MSPs provide “guaranteed prices” and an “assured market” to farmers, and save them from price fluctuations. This is crucial because most farmers are not adequately informed.
- But although MSPs are announced for around 23 crops, actual procurement happens for very few crops such as wheat and rice.
- Moreover, the percentage of procurement varies sharply across states (Chart 5). As a result, actual market prices — what the farmers get — are often below MSPs.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Essential Commodities
Mains level: Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020
Recently, the Rajya Sabha passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which is aimed at deregulating commodities such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes.
Try this question:
What are the salient features of Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020?
Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020
- It amends the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, by introducing a new Subsection 1(A) in Section 3.
- After the amendment, the supply of certain foodstuffs — including cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, potato — can be regulated only under extraordinary circumstances, which include an extraordinary price rise, war, famine, and natural calamity of a severe nature.
- In effect, the amendment takes these items out from the purview of Section 3(1), which gives powers to the central government to “control production, supply, distribution, etc, of essential commodities”.
- Earlier, these commodities were not mentioned under Section 3(1) and reasons for invoking the section were not specified.
How is an ‘essential commodity’ defined?
- There is no specific definition of essential commodities in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Section 2(A) states that an “essential commodity” means a commodity specified in the Schedule of the Act.
- The Act gives powers to the central government to add or remove a commodity in the Schedule.
- The Centre, if it is satisfied that it is necessary to do so in the public interest, can notify an item as essential, in consultation with state governments.
Which are those commodities?
- According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, which implements the Act, the Schedule at present contain seven commodities.
- They are drugs; fertilizers, whether inorganic, organic or mixed; foodstuffs including edible oils; hank yarn made wholly from cotton; petroleum and petroleum products; raw jute and jute textiles; seeds of food-crops and seeds of fruits and vegetables, seeds of cattle fodder, jute seed, cottonseed.
- By declaring a commodity as essential, the government can control the production, supply, and distribution of that commodity, and impose a stock limit.
Under what circumstances can the government impose stock limits?
- While the 1955 Act did not provide a clear framework to impose stock limits, the amended Act provides for a price trigger.
- It says that agricultural foodstuffs can only be regulated under extraordinary circumstances such as war, famine, extraordinary price rise, and natural calamity.
- However, any action on imposing stock limits will be based on the price trigger.
- Thus, in case of horticultural produce, a 100% increase in the retail price of a commodity over the immediately preceding 12 months or over the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower, will be the trigger for invoking the stock limit.
- For non-perishable agricultural foodstuffs, the price trigger will be a 50% increase in the retail price of the commodity over the immediately preceding 12 months or over the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower.
Why was the need for this felt?
- The 1955 Act was legislated at a time when the country was facing a scarcity of foodstuffs due to persistently low levels of foodgrains production.
- The country was dependent on imports and assistance (such as wheat import from the US under PL-480) to feed the population.
- To prevent hoarding and black marketing of foodstuffs, the Essential Commodities Act was enacted in 1955. But now the situation has changed.
- The production of wheat has increased 10 times while the production of rice has increased more than four times since five decades.
- The production of pulses has increased 2.5 times, from 10 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes. In fact, India has now become an exporter of several agricultural products.
What will be the impact of the amendments?
- The key changes seek to free agricultural markets from the limitations imposed by permits and mandis that were originally designed for an era of scarcity.
- The move is expected to attract private investment in the value chain of commodities removed from the list of essentials, such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onions and potatoes.
- While the purpose of the Act was originally to check illegal trade practices such as hoarding, it has now become a hurdle for investment in the agriculture sector in general, and in post-harvesting activities in particular.
- The private sector had so far hesitated about investing in cold chains and storage facilities for perishable items as most of these commodities were under the ambit of the EC Act.
- The amendment seeks to address such concerns.
Why is it being opposed?
- This was one of the three ordinances/Bills that have seen protests from farmers in parts of the country.
- The Opposition says the amendment will hurt farmers and consumers, and will only benefit hoarders.
- They say the price triggers envisioned in the Bill are unrealistic — so high that they will hardly ever be invoked.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SAARC
Mains level: Paper 2- South Asian countries' response to pandemic
The article analyses how South Asia is dealing with the pandemic and the need for coordinated action by the countries across the region.
Varying response across the region
- Governments in South Asian countries have responded in varying degrees to counter the health and economic crises.
- India resumed its economic activities on a limited scale following a strict lockdown.
- Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka did the same after an extended lockdown.
- Bhutan and the Maldives have managed to largely contain community transmission and avoid prolonged lockdowns due to a higher testing rate.
- This is consistent with the hypothesis that countries that have conducted more tests have been more successful in containing the pandemic.
Low mortality in the region
- Unlike other regions, South Asian countries are experiencing a lower mortality rate despite having a higher infection rate.
- However, epidemiological studies and the World Health Organization’s reviews have been sceptical about the data reliability.
Effectiveness of state responses
- India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives have unveiled stimulus packages.
- The rest of the countries are yet to announce any concrete support for their low income and lower-middle income population still suffering from the economic fallout of the crisis.
- In late March, India announced a $22.5 billion relief package to ensure food security and cash transfers to save the livelihoods of an estimated 800 million people living in poverty.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed the repo and reverse repo rate to create liquidity for businesses.
- In early April, Bangladesh announced a stimulus package worth about $8 billion in addition to an earlier $595 million incentive package for export-oriented industries.
- Although countries like India and Bangladesh announced financial and material stimulus packages, distribution concerns remain unaddressed.
United response by SAAR
- The region need to look beyond narrow geopolitical rivalry and come together to work towards a well-coordinated response mechanism.
- A SAARC COVID-19 fund was created following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to South Asian leaders.
- Bbut governments are yet to decide on its modus operandi.
- The region could leverage its existing institutional framework under the umbrella of SAARC to effectively respond to the crisis.
- For instance, SAARC Food Banks could be activated to tackle the imminent regional food crisis, and the SAARC Finance Forum can be activated to formulate a regional economic policy response.
Conclusion
Faced with an unprecedented crisis, this is the right time for the leaders of the region to come together and take on the challenge collectively.
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