THE ART & CULTURE

1. A.P. GOVT. BANS 100-YEAR-OLD ‘CHINTAMANI PADYA NATAKAM’

THE CONTEXT: The Andhra Pradesh government has brought the curtains down on the popular ‘Chintamani Padya Natakam’, which has enthralled people for almost 100 years.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• Telugu play writer Mahakavi Kallakuri Narayana Rao who was also a social reformer, cinematographer, and nationalist wrote the play Chintamani around 100 years ago, which was very popular on stage. It was also made into a movie twice in Telugu once in 1933 & in 1956 with NT Rama Rao, Bhanumathi, and Jamuna in the lead roles.
• The Arya Vaishyas or baniya community in Andhra have been portrayed in such a manner and they have been up in arms against the play for a long time. The issue had cropped during the centenary celebrations of the play which was held in Eluru of West Godavari.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. INDIA EXTENDS ANOTHER $500 MILLION LOC TO SRI LANKA

THE CONTEXT: India extended a $500 million-Line of Credit (LOC) to Sri Lanka for urgent fuel imports, days after providing $900 million relief to the island nation facing one of its worst economic downturns.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the Ministry of External affairs the emergency assistance Sri Lanka had sought from India to tide over its dollar crunch leading to a shortage of essentials, including fuel, medicines, and certain food supplies.
• These measures are in line with India’s commitment to stand with Sri Lanka, contribute to Sri Lanka’s economic growth and impart greater momentum to bilateral economic and commercial partnership.”
• The LoC from India coincides with Sri Lanka’s central bank servicing a sovereign bond for $500 million, and also with reports on likely power outages owing to a shortage of fuel supply amid the persisting dollar crisis.

What is the current economic situation in Sri Lanka?

• Poor state of tourism industry: The tourism industry, which represents over 10% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and brings in foreign exchange, has been hit hard by the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 2019 and coronavirus pandemic.
• Shortage of forex reserves: As a result, forex reserves have dropped from over $7.5 billion in 2019 to around $2.8 billion in July 2021.
• Depreciation of currency: The printing of Rs. 800 billion by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka over the last 18 months to ease the economic crisis has increased liquidity in the economy. But this infusion of money, and the consequent increase in demand without a corresponding increase in supply, has led to a sharp spike in inflation. This in turn has devalued the currency, made imports costlier, added to the debt, and put the forex reserves under more pressure. So, the value of the Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated by around 8% in 2021.
• Rise in price of food items: It has to be noted that the country depends heavily on imports to meet even its basic food supplies. So the price of food items has risen in tandem with the depreciating rupee. The government’s ban on the use of chemical fertilizers in farming has further aggravated the crisis by dampening agricultural production.
• High debt: Its public debt-to-GDP ratio was at 109.7% in 2020, and its gross financing needs to remain high at 18% of GDP, higher than most of its emerging economy peers. More than $2.7 billion of foreign currency debt will be due in the next two years.

3. THE HOUTHI ATTACK ON THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

THE CONTEXT: A suspected drone attack in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), caused multiple explosions in which three people were killed —two Indians and one Pakistani.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Shia Houthi rebels of Yemen, who have been controlling the northern parts of the country, including the capital Sana’a, for almost seven years, have claimed responsibility for the attack.
• While the UAE hasn’t confirmed the Houthi claims. Also the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting the Houthis in Yemen, launched air strikes on Sana’a.

Who are the Houthis?

Founded in the 1990s by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a member of Yemen’s Shia majority, the Houthi movement has a pretty straight forward slogan or sarkha: “God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam.” After Yemeni soldiers killed Hussein in 2004, his brother Abdul Malik took over.

How did Saudi Arabia get involved?

The rise of the Houthis sent alarm bells ringing across Sunni Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition — backed by the US, UK and France — then launched an air campaign in Yemen, with the aim of defeating the rebel group. What the coalition thought would take only a few weeks has stretched on for seven years, growing into a full-blown civil war.

4. INDONESIA RELOCATE CAPITAL TO BORNEO

THE CONTEXT: Indonesia’s parliament has approved a bill to relocate the nation’s capital from Jakarta to a jungled area of Kalimantan on Borneo Island.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The new centre will be called “Nusantara”, a Javanese name for the Indonesian archipelago, also “the new capital has a central function and is a symbol of the identity of the nation, as well as a new centre of economic gravity,”
• Plans to relocate the government from Jakarta, a bustling megacity of 10 million people that suffers from chronic congestion, floods and air pollution, have been floated by multiple presidents, but none have made it this far.
• Southeast Asia’s largest economy has envisioned the newcapital as a low-carbon “superhub” that will support pharmaceutical, health and technology sectors and promote sustainable growth beyond Java island.
• But critics say the law was rushed through with limited public consultation and environmental consideration.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

5. THE DEVAS-ANTRIX DEAL

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court has upheld the liquidation of Devas, whose foreign investors continue to fight for compensation following the cancelled 2005 satellite deal with Antrix.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A 2005 satellite deal between Antrix Corporation — the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) – and Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd, a start-up headquartered in Bengaluru, is at the heart of a global legal tussle between the Indian government and foreign investors in Devas.
• The tussle is a fallout of the cancellation of the deal in 2011 by the then UPA government citing requirement of satellite spectrum allotted to Devas for security purposes.

What was the Devas-Antrix deal?

• They signed an “Agreement for the Lease of Space Segment Capacity on ISRO/Antrix S-band spacecraft by Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd” on January 28, 2005, a month after Devas was incorporated in Bengaluru in December 2004 by two former ISRO employees.
• Under the deal, ISRO would lease to Devas two communication satellites (GSAT-6 and 6A) for 12 years for Rs 167 crore. Devas would provide multimedia services to mobile platforms in India using S-band transponders on the satellites, with ISRO leasing 70 MHz of S-band spectrum.
• The deal progressed smoothly for six years before it was annulled by the UPA government on February 25, 2011, following a Cabinet Committee on Security decision of February 17 to terminate the agreement to use the S-band for security purposes. The government decision was taken in the midst of the 2G scam and allegations that the Devas deal involved the handing over of communication spectrum valued at nearly Rs 2 lakh crore for a pittance.

What is the current Issue?

• After the NDA government came to power in 2014, the CBI was asked to investigate the 2005 deal. In August 2016, the CBI filed a chargesheet against eight officials from Devas, ISRO and Antrix linked to the deal for “being party to a criminal conspiracy with an intent to cause undue gain to themselves or others by abusing official positions”.
• Among the eight is former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair and former Antrix executive director K R Sridharamurthi. The CBI has charged the accused of causing a loss of approximately Rs 578 crore to the government through the deal.
• The ED filed a chargesheet in 2018 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against a former managing director of Antrix and five Devas officials, stating that Devas transferred 85% of its Rs 579 crore foreign funding to the US under various claims.

What led to the liquidation?

Antrix filed a plea in the National Company Law Tribunal in January 2021 for liquidation of Devas in India, which it said was incorporated in a fraudulent manner. The NCLT order held that the start-up was “incorporated in a fraudulent manner and for unlawful purposes”.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

6. WEB 3.0 NEXT PHASE OF INTERNET

THE CONTEXT: Web 3.0 is the potential next phase of the internet wherein the internet will be decentralized and run on blockchain technology.

THE EXPLANATION:

THE CONCEPT OF WEB 3.0:

It is used to describe a potential next phase of the internet, created quite a buzz in 2021. The model, a decentralized internet to be run on blockchain technology, would be different from the versions in use, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. In web3, users will have ownership stakes in platforms and applications unlike now where tech giants control the platforms.

EARLIER VERSIONS

• Web 1.0 was mostly static where users would go to a website and read and interact with static information; The differentiating characteristic of Web 2.0, which we use now, is that users can create content.
• In Web 2.0, most of the data in the internet and the internet traffic are owned or handled by a few large companies creating issues of data privacy, data security and abuse of data. Web3 offers a solution to these problems.

What are some of the concerns?

In Web 2.0, most of the data on the internet and the internet traffic are owned or handled by very few behemoth companies. This has created issues related to data privacy, data security and abuse of such data. It is in this context that the buzz around Web3 is significant.

THE INTERNAL SECURITY

7. THE ‘HYBRID TERRORISTS’ IN JK

THE CONTEXT: Jammu and Kashmir Police that biggest challenge for security forces in the union territory are going to be hybrid terrorists. Hybrid terrorists are those who are not listed with the security forces and are only brought in by terror groups just once or twice to carry out terrorist attacks.

THE EXPLANATION:

According to JK Police, there are two biggest challenges with regard to terrorism, they are

1. Hybrid Terrorism
2. Narco-terrorism

Hybrid Terrorism:

In 2021, Kashmir valley saw dozens of attacks soft targets like civilians, policemen (on leave), political workers and people from minority communities. Security forces are now focussing on identification of such hybrid terrorists.

Narco Terrorism:

The security forces are facing in the Kashmir Valley is narco-terror. Tons of narcotics have been recovered by security forces in various districts of the Kashmir valley and security agencies believe that the money from these drugs is being used by the terror outfits. The arms and ammunition are mostly bought from money generated through drug trafficking. These drugs are sold in different parts of the country.

Kashmir is very near to Golden Crescent 

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY 19^TH JANUARY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about National Commission for Women:

1. It is neither constitutional nor a statutory body.
2. It consists of one chairman and other five members.
3. They are nominated by the central government.

Which of the statement given above is/are correct?

               a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR 18^TH JANUARY 2022.

Answer: a)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Kathak is a prominent ancient Indian classical dance and is thought

to have started from the wandering bards of North India (Uttar Pradesh) known as Kathakars, meaning storytellers.

• Statement 2 is correct: The foundations of Kathak are rooted in Natya Shastra, an ancient

Sanskrit text written by Bharata Muni.

• Statement 3 is correct: Kathakars convey stories through rhythmic foot movements, hand

gestures, facial appearances and eye work.

THE CONTEXT: The fifth annual democracy report by Sweden’s V-Dem Institute, titled ‘Autocratisation goes viral’, has downgraded India from “the world’s largest democracy” to an “electoral autocracy”.V-Dem’s findings are consistent with other contemporary international inferences on the quality of democracy prevailing in India: Freedom House designated India to be “partly free” recently; India was described as a “flawed democracy” in the latest Democracy Index published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

INDIA: A CAPTURED DEMOCRACY

The current crisis of Indian democracy should be seen as the outcome of a “democracy capture”.  In democratic societies, the common good should prevail over individual interests. The state’s role is to design and implement public policies that enhance and improve the rights of its citizens. If the opposite is the case, the state is said to have been ‘captured’. A state that grants privileges to a few over the majority of the population is one in which public policies reduce or limit the rights of its citizens.

The current crisis is different from the Emergency

• Emergency was an exception to a norm; what we now have is a different norm.
• Emergency needed a formal legal declaration. Capturing democracy does not.
• The Emergency had a beginning and was, at least on paper, required to have an end. Democracy capture has a beginning, but not necessarily an end.
• Beyond Kashmir, there has been no mass arrest of politicians, and many more state governments are run by political parties that do not rule in Delhi.

This is ‘democracy capture’ as democracy is both the object and the subject of this capture. The apparatus being seized is democracy. And the means being deployed for this capture are also democratic. The formal procedures of democracy have been used to subvert the substance of democracy. This democracy capture could not have happened without some structural weaknesses within the Indian democracy. Therefore, one must focus on the conditions that made this kind of capture possible.

GOVERNMENT TO BLAME

The rankings blame the government for the backsliding of democracy.  They say there has been increased pressure on human rights groups, intimidation of journalists and activists, and a spate of attacks, especially against Muslims under the present regime. This has led to a deterioration of political and civil liberties in the country.

• V-Dem said the “diminishing of freedom of expression, the media, and civil society have gone the furthest” and that far as censorship goes India was “as autocratic as Pakistan and worse than its neighbours Bangladesh and Nepal”.
• Freedom House said civil liberties have been in decline since 2014, and that India’s “fall from the upper ranks of free nations” could have a more damaging effect on the world’s democratic standards.
• And The Democracy Index said the “democratic backsliding” by authorities and “crackdowns” on civil liberties had led to a decline in India’s rankings. It said government policies had “fomented anti-Muslim feeling and religious strife and damaged the political fabric of the country”.

THE WORLD MOVES TOWARDS AUTOCRATISATION

Going by rankings, democracy, despite its enduring appeal, appears to be in trouble all over the world. The erosion of freedoms in India seems to be consistent with the retreat of liberal democracies around the world. According to V-Dem, electoral autocracies are now present in 87 states that are home to 68% of the global population.

• In the 2020 Democracy Index, only 75 of the 167 countries and territories covered by the model – or 44.9% – are considered to be democracies.
• Freedom House estimates less than 20% of the world’s population now lives in a free country, the smallest proportion since 1995.
• According to V-Dem Liberal democracies are diminishing, and are home to only 14% of the people.
• In 2020, two-thirds of countries imposed restrictions on the media and a third of countries have emergency measures without an expiry date.

But the breakdown of democracy in established cases is concerning. India is the latest example of this following Hungary and Turkey. The Indian case stands out given the size of its population and past record as a successful model of multi-ethnic democracy

Third-wave

• Unlike previous waves, the present wave mainly affects democracies.
• Traditional methods of dramatic and blatant military coups (1^st wave) and election fraud (2^nd wave) have been replaced with legal, informal and discrete power transfers (3^rd wave).

Like for authoritarianism

• Surveys have reported that Indians have demonstrated both majoritarian and authoritarian impulses for some years now and younger people do not have particularly more progressive beliefs.
• In the latest round (2010-2014) of the World Values Survey, India along with Pakistan and Russia featured below the global average on the importance accorded to democracy.
• The latest Pew Global Attitudes Survey, conducted in early 2018, found that a majority of Indians were satisfied with the way democracy was working.

INDIA’S AUTOCATISATION PROCESS

Autocratisation typically follows a similar pattern across very different contexts. It begins with ruling governments attacking the media and civil society, followed by polarisation of the society by disrespecting opponents and spreading false information and culminates in elections and other formal institutions being undermined. Leaders in some constitutional democracies have used use constitutionalism and democracy to destroy both. Electoral mandates plus constitutional and legal changes are used for this. They support elections and use their electoral victories to legitimize their legal reforms. They use constitutional change for achieving the unified domination of all of the institutions of the state. India follows the pattern observed in other cases of recent democratic breakdown, the typical pattern for countries in the ‘Third Wave’. India is among the countries leading the ‘third wave of automatisation,

EVIDENCE FROM THE REPORTS

INDIA IS NOW ‘PARTLY FREE’ IN FREEDOM HOUSE’SREPORT

Freedom in the World report has downgraded India’s status from a ‘Free’ country to a ‘Partly Free’ country. The report noted a “multiyear pattern” as it attributed the downgrade — from a score of 71 in 2019 and 75 in 2018 to 67 in 2020. It said criminal charges were filed against journalists, students, and others under “colonial-era sedition laws” and the Information Technology (IT) Act in response to “speech perceived as critical of the government, notably including expressions of opposition to the new citizenship legislation and discussion of the official response to the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Discrimination’ against Muslims

• A number of Hindu nationalist organizations and some media outlets promote anti-Muslim views, which the government has been accused of encouraging.
• The implementation of the CAA and the government’s intention for an NRC threatened to disenfranchise Muslim voters.
• The report also mentioned cow vigilantism.

Lack of freedom’ in institutions

• Freedoms of various institutions such as the Election Commission of India and the Supreme Court have been called into question.
• The amendment of the Right to Information Act potentially exposed the commissioners to political pressure.

Freedom of media and expression

• The report said the authorities have used security, defamation, sedition, and hate speech laws, as well as contempt of court charges, to quiet critical voices in the media which has exacerbated self-censorship.
• It also claimed that academic freedom has declined and that academics, professors and students are intimidated.

How reliable are these rankings?

Global exercises.

• Freedom House’s latest global report on political rights and civil liberties covers developments in 195 countries and 15 territories.
• V-Dem claims to produce the largest global dataset on democracy involving 202 countries from 1789 to 2020.
• The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index gives a snapshot on the health of democracy in 165 countries and two territories.

Rules and parameters

• V-Dem says it measures “hundreds of different attributes of democracy” with almost 30 million data points, involving more than 3,500 scholars and country experts.
• The Economist’s Democracy Index is based on measuring electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties”.
• And Freedom House says it uses a two-tiered system consisting of scores and status – a country is awarded points for each of its political rights and civil liberties indicators.

Subjectivity

• Such rankings, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania, are the result of quantitative assessments – like the distribution of seats in the national legislature among political parties – and qualitative judgements, like evaluating whether safeguards against corruption are effective.
• Aggregating these indicators into an index is a subjective exercise, depending on the judgements of experts to identify metrics to include and how to weigh each appropriately.
• Most rankings do not impose a single definition of democracy – experts agree that an “electoral democracy” is really the bare minimum.

INDIA IS NOW AN ‘ELECTORAL AUTOCRACY’ IN V-DEM’S REPORT

India registered a 23-percentage point drop on its 0-to-1 Liberal Democracy Index (LDI) scale, which aims to capture electoral and liberal aspects of democracy.

With this slide, India has moved from the top 50% of the 180 countries analyzed by V Dem to the bottom 50%. In last year’s report, India was last among the 90 countries in the top 50%. This year, it is ranked 97th, falling into the bottom 50%.

Elections

• The autonomy of the ECI saw a severe depreciation since around 2013 and signals the decline in the quality of critical formal institutions.
• The overall freedom and fairness of elections also were hard hit, with the 2019 elections, hastening a downgrading to an electoral autocracy.

Freedom of expression

• By 2020, censorship efforts are becoming routine and no longer even restricted to sensitive (to the government) issues. India is, in this aspect, now as autocratic as is Pakistan, and worse than both its neighbours Bangladesh and Nepal.
• In general, the government has used laws on sedition, defamation, and counterterrorism to silence critics. For example, over 7,000 people have been charged with sedition after 2014 and most of the accused are critics of the ruling party.
• The law on defamation has been used frequently to silence journalists and news outlets that take exception to policies of the government.

Civil Society

• Constraints have been also placed on civil society. The UAPA, 1967, amended in August 2019, is being used to harass and imprison political opponents, as well as people mobilizing to protest government policies and to silence dissent in academia.
• The government has increasingly used the FCRA to restrict the entry, exit, and functioning of Civil Society Organisations.

INDIA’S SLIDE IN OTHER INDICES WHICH MONITOR DEMOCRATIC FREEDOMS

India’s slide in these reports only mirrors its decline in indices compiled by independent bodies which monitor democratic freedoms over the past few years.

• In March 2020, Reports Without Borders (RSF) placed India alongside China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia in a list of press freedom’s “worst digital predators”. The list flags countries where companies and government agencies use “digital technology to spy on and harass journalists”.
• In April 2020, the US government’s Religious Freedom Monitor recommended that the country’s state department should include India in the list of “countries of special concern”. It noted that religious freedom had improved globally but singled out India for seeing a “sharp downward turn”.
• Again in April, India was ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s Press Freedom Index, sliding two ranks down. It criticized the ‘longest electronic curfew’ in history in Kashmir and highlighted that ‘state troll armies’ in the country use the ‘weapon of disinformation on social media.
• The country also fell 26 places to rank 105th among 162 countries and territories on a global economic freedom index released by the Fraser Institute in Canada in September 2020.
• Finally, in December 2020, India was ranked 111th out of 162 countries in the Cato Institute’s Human Freedom Index 2020. Between the 2019 and 2020 indices, the country plummeted 17 spots.

With the Centre giving the nod to the new IT Rules, which give the government sweeping powers, future reports could see India’s media freedom being downgraded further.

INDIA IS A “FLAWED DEMOCRACY” IN EIU’S ‘DEMOCRACY IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH?’REPORT

India has fallen two places to 53rd in the 2020 Democracy Index report released by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The country was ranked 51st in 2019, with an overall score of 6.9 which has dropped down to 6.61. While India’s democratic credibility and scores suffered this year, regional neighbours, namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Pakistan saw marginal improvement.

Religious strife

• It cites the CAA, as the primary cause that fuelled protests in the country for months.
• The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is the second significant event that the report cites to explain the fall in India’s position as a vibrant democracy

Lockdown

• The government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and a crackdown on voices that criticized its measures.
• According to media reports, 55 Indian journalists were threatened, arrested, and booked by the Centre and state governments for their reporting on COVID-19.

HOW HAS INDIA’S GOVERNMENT REACTED?

The flurry of downgrades has cast a shadow on the global image of India’s democracy. The government has said that the ‘Freedom in the World’ report is “misleading, incorrect and misplaced”. The government also issued a point-by-point rebuttal. In parliament, the chairman of the upper house, Venkaiah Naidu, did not allow an opposition MP to pose a question related to the V-Dem report.

WHAT COULD BE A PROBABLE IMPACT ON INDIA?

1. A) Foreign Policy

The biggest impact of these developments is, of course, internal. But the impact is also external. India has been accorded great respect in the world but the perceptions are now changing. Other countries’ view of India is influenced by calculations and hopes that it can help counter Chinese expansionism in Asia. India exercises lesser economic power internationally than China. Democracy was unquestionably one of India’s biggest international assets. The United States and its allies have courted India as a potential strategic partner and democratic counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the Indian government’s departures from democratic norms could blur the values-based distinction between Beijing and New Delhi

1. B) Entrepreneurship

In India, due to the diversities of economic life, the evidence shows that economic growth is best achieved in times of civic and social freedom. In India’s economic growth-oriented phases where governments delivered steady growth rates, the state had a lighter footprint on civic life. The attempt to spur free private enterprise is bound to fail when the state apparatus is constricting civil and democratic rights. The common entrepreneur is a free thinker. But when the freedom to think is constricted, the robust energies of new entrepreneurs are in danger of being snuffed out.

WHAT ARE THE CRITICISMS OF THESE REPORTS?

But just as democracy is not about poll statistics, our democratic credentials can’t be crunched into a score either. The parameters in play are unquantifiable. The method used to condense the complexities of this vast country into a score that allows a rank ordering could be debated. Globally, ratings are being called into question. One prominent researcher concludes that the ratings may look scientific but they’re actually subjective.

General observation does confirm that India has not escaped global trends. Power appears more centralized than before and complaints have been aired of dissent losing space. What these ratings seem not to have taken into account are the popular voices of support for the constitutional values and democratic principles of equality, liberty and justice.

As Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has argued, Indians are inherently argumentative, and our traditions of debate and discursive problem-solving go back millennia. The country’s response to the suspension of civil liberties during the Emergency testifies to that. It is hard to argue that Indians at large are not better informed and keener on empowerment now than they were then. Democracy is far more than the periodic ritual of exercising our franchise, yes, but it cannot be reduced to an index reading either.

Other organs of the state, Parliament and the Courts have enacted and reinforced progressive social legislation. Gay sex decriminalized, right to privacy fire-walled and women have been granted equal rights to pray in thus far male-only places of worship. Even when state governments have enacted legislation impinging upon the private lives of two consenting adults the courts have been quick to restrain police who filed cases under the laws.

A large number of nations where there is no separation of powers between the state and religion, which do not have a republican form of government, and where the concept of equality before the law does not exist, are way ahead of us. In fact, many countries in the top ten nations have different forms of Christianity as their state religion, whereas the secular ideal is embedded in the preamble of our Constitution.

These rankings are useful for research and identifying very broad trends that academics are interested in. This is an instance of academic discourse and concepts operating at a considerable distance from lived experience. The operational concepts across the two domains are very different.

Indeed, the methodology and ranking mechanisms adopted by organisations like Freedom House and projects like V-Dem can be critiqued. But Within their limitations, such assessments fulfil two purposes. They allow cross-national comparisons. One may have reservations about their criteria but being common for all countries, they give a reasonable idea of where a country stands vis-à-vis others. They also tell us how a given country has been performing over time.

WAY FORWARD

The signs of authoritarianism cannot be denied. Since the end of the Cold War, most democratic breakdowns have been caused not by coups but by elected governments themselves. More prevalent now is what scholars are calling “democratic backsliding”, a new concept to depict democratic erosion led by elected politicians, often quite legally. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are legal in the sense that they are approved by the legislatures or accepted by the courts. There are examples from Latin America and Europe, and the US under Donald Trump. India’s democracy is backsliding because elected politicians are subverting democracy.

Democratic backsliding in India is especially concerning because India’s democracy was exceptional as democracy was not only established at low levels of income, but it even flourished. Other certificates from foreign monitors or watchdogs are welcomed and celebrated. This is true of the QS World University Rankings 2021, and World Bank’s annual report on ease of doing business 2020. These are applauded — as they should be. Yet, the bedrock beneath top-notch campuses and a vibrant market are the nation’s democratic credentials and the work of maintaining them is the most stellar achievement of all. They are what separates India from its neighbours in the region, and what distinguishes it from China. The combination of an open market and open democracy is what attracts private players and investors factor into their economic calculations. There must be no erosion or backsliding here — and in an increasingly interconnected world, perceptions of erosion and backsliding need to be addressed, not dismissed.

If democracy was just about free and fair elections, India would be the world’s greatest democracy. The apparatus needed for a healthy democracy goes beyond elections to unelected institutions: the judiciary, the press, the Reserve Bank of India, the Election Commission of India, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the Lokpal, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the tax agencies, the police, and so on.

The more powerful a government, the more it pushes its way ahead of independent institutions. India will always have this problem of an executive seeking to ride roughshod over independent institutions through whatever means possible. Institutions that serve as the bulwark of democracy must regain their spirit and purpose for India to arrest its slide.

An awakening looks unlikely unless citizens themselves take up the cause of democracy. We had to pressure the government to have an independent system of appointing the Election Commissioners. Nobody wants to relinquish their powers. It is we the people who have to force the political class to have this conversation. Most of the Indian media has become a mouthpiece of the government. We need an equivalent of the First Amendment in the United States to ensure press freedom. It is civil society that will have to help create a consensus that we need to do something to ensure greater media independence.

CONCLUSION: Democracy means that the rulers represent the will of the people. It will never happen on its own. People must act to make it happen. And they need to do it as a matter of habit, daily and everywhere. That lever of control over the government – seeking accountability – must be used at every step. Reclaim democracy. It must be done daily. Seeking it once every five years will not do.

[WpProQuiz 139]

1. Ideal time for us to begin our own moulting READ MORE
2. Overcome Challenges With Faith And Patience READ MORE
3. New Moral Issues: What Happens When Someone Dies in Space? READ MORE

1. ECI’s gesture: Putting off Punjab polls welcome, but Covid concerns persist READ MORE
2. The Seventh Schedule relook READ MORE
3. Trust key to competition regulation READ MORE

1. A Failed Attempt to Create an Equally Sanitary India READ MORE
2. Preventing genocide: It is imperative that international legal protections against genocide are incorporated in domestic legislation READ MORE

1. Explainer: Why Haiti is prone to devastating earthquakes? READ MORE
2. How Does an Underwater Volcano Form? READ MORE
3. The groundwater emergency in Delhi READ MORE
4. Indian agriculture: The route post-CoP 26 READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. What you need to know about cybersecurity in 2022 READ MORE
2. Indonesia passes law to relocate capital to remote Borneo READ MORE
3. Activities of 2022 discussed at BRICS STI Steering Committee: India to host 5 events READ MORE
4. Neanderthal-inherited gene variant helps in protecting against severe COVID-19: Study READ MORE
5. ‘Hybrid terrorists’ a huge challenge in year 2022, says Jammu and Kashmir Police READ MORE
6. Legendary ‘Collarwali’ Tigress passes away in Madhya Pradesh READ MORE

Main Exam    

GS Paper- 1

1. Explainer: Why Haiti is prone to devastating earthquakes? READ MORE
2. How Does an Underwater Volcano Form? READ MORE
3. A Failed Attempt to Create an Equally Sanitary India READ MORE
4. Preventing genocide: It is imperative that international legal protections against genocide are incorporated in domestic legislation READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. ECI’s gesture: Putting off Punjab polls welcome, but Covid concerns persist READ MORE
2. The Seventh Schedule relook READ MORE
3. Trust key to competition regulation READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Inequality kills: A study of the new OxFam report READ MORE
2. The future of school education lies in learning beyond classrooms READ MORE

 INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Preventing genocide READ MORE
2. Explained: Who are the Houthis and why did they attack UAE? READ MORE
3. Strategy to woo the ‘Stans’: Why Central Asia is important to India? READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Inflation conundrum: High price rise trends could continue in 2022, compounding the challenge for policy makers READ MORE
2. Grow the pie: Rising inequality per se isn’t a big problem if economic growth raises incomes overall READ MORE
3. Need quick solutions to address bane of growing inequality READ MORE
4. The challenges ahead for India READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. The groundwater emergency in Delhi READ MORE
2. Indian agriculture: The route post-CoP 26 READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Ideal time for us to begin our own moulting READ MORE
2. Overcome Challenges With Faith And Patience READ MORE
3. New Moral Issues: What Happens When Someone Dies in Space? READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Discuss why despite having a good pace of economic growth in last three decade, inequality is widening in India?
2. ‘Public trust can be enhanced by transparency in governance and the use of modern technology in governance is critical to realise it in true sense’. Comment.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose finite hope.
• In the overall analysis, it is more imperative than ever that international legal protections against genocide are incorporated in domestic legislation.
• Economic growth is indispensable to provide the opportunity of a better life to everyone. Policy needs to focus on obstacles to growth, including rent-seeking.
• The government and citizens must treat groundwater as a valuable resource and its rapid depletion as an emergency.
• It’s widely known that levels of poverty have grown, and the chasm between rich and poor has widened as an economic fallout of the pandemic.
• Coal production must match planned thermal power capacity in light of green goals; the target of 1 billion tonnes (earlier 1.5) by 2025 may now be excessive.
• Deep decarbonisation is a very complex and challenging process and will have costs.
• Indian democracy and its foundations of civility are closely associated with caste and imageries of ‘purity’ and ‘pollution’.
• The Swachh Bharat and the project of building toilets should have been associated with both a collective fight against caste-based discrimination as well as access to better health. In failing to realise these goals, we see a failed commitment to equal citizenship.
• Climate change affects the poor and the smallholders, who earn their livelihoods from agriculture, disproportionately. Technologies and adaptation strategies must, therefore, reduce their vulnerabilities.

50-WORD TALK

• Public trust can be enhanced by transparency in governance, by even handedness in enforcement of the law, and by policies that are fair and sensitive in the distribution of public benefits. The use of modern technology in governance has strengthened public trust in government.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

1. THE POSTAL BALLOT FOR MEDIA PERSONS:EC

THE CONTEXT: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a list of those persons working in
essential services who can cast vote in upcoming assembly elections through postal ballot in five
states.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The ECI has allowed media persons authorised by it to exercise their franchise using the
  postal ballot facility for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur
  and Goa.
• The poll body has permitted persons employed in Information and Public Relation
  Department, Health and Family Welfare (Emergency Ambulance Services), Post
  Department, Traffic Department, Railways, Electricity Department, Civil Aviation
  Department, Metro Rail Corporation of Uttar Pradesh, Doordarshan, All India Radio, and
  Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to cast their vote via postal ballot.

What is postal voting?

• A restricted set of voters can exercise postal voting. Through this facility, a voter can
  cast her vote remotely by recording her preference on the ballot paper and sending it back
  to the election officer before counting.

Who else can avail this facility?

• Members of the armed forces like the Army, Navy and Air Force, members of the armed
  police force of a state (serving outside the state), government employees posted outside
  India and their spouses are entitled to vote only by post.
• The exception to the above-mentioned category of voters is provided under Section 60 of
  the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

THE SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

2. INDIA’S ECONOMIC SYSTEM RIGGED IN FAVOUR OF THE SUPER-RICH:

OXFAM REPORT

THE CONTEXT: The report points out that in India, during the pandemic the wealth of billionaires
increased from Rs 23.14 lakh crore to Rs 53.16 lakh crore. At the same time, more than 4.6 crore
Indians are estimated to have fallen into extreme poverty in 2020.

THE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• The report was published ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda. According
  to the Global Oxfam Davos report 2022, while 84% of households in India suffered a
  decline in their income in a year marked by the tremendous loss of life and livelihoods, the
  number of Indian billionaires grew from 102 to 142.
• The report states that just a 1% wealth tax on 98 wealthiest billionaire families in India can
  finance Ayushman Bharat, the government of India's national public health insurance fund,
  for more than seven years. It added that the collective wealth of India's 100 wealthiest
  people hit a record high of INR 57.3 lakh crore (USD 775 billion) in 2021.

CONTINUING DEPENDENCE ON INDIRECT TAXES

• In 2000 the percentage of indirect taxation in the total tax revenue was 63.69%. Due to
  Covid pandemic, the dependent on the indirect taxes —especially the tax levied on the sale
  and manufacture of goods and services that ordinary Indians depend upon.
• Also, the indirect tax as a share of the Union government revenue has been increasing when
  there is a decline in the proportion of corporate tax for the same in the last four years.
  The additional tax imposed on fuel has risen 33% in the first six months of 2020-21 as
  compared to the previous year and is 79% more than pre-Covid levels.
• It is important to note, wealth tax for the super-rich was abolished in 2016. Corporatetaxes were lowered from 30% to 22% to attract investment last year, which has resulted in a loss of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, which has contributed to the increase in India's fiscal deficit.
• These trends show that the poor, marginalised, and the middle class paid high taxes despite going through the raging pandemic while the rich made more money without paying their fair share.

LACK OF FUNDS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES

• The India Supplement highlighted the de-prioritisation of education and health in the Union
  government budget when these two services were needed the most. Allocation towards
  health in 2021-22 saw a decline of 10% from the previous year in the Union budget, while
  the allocation towards education in 2021-22 saw an increase of only 10% from the
  previous year.
• As a percentage of GDP, health spending has remained abysmally low at 1.2 to 1.6% and
  increased only by 0.09% over the last 22 years. As a percentage of GDP, education spending
  has remained low at 3% and increased only 0.07% over the last 18 years.
• With 93 percent of the nation's workforce comprising of informal employment, there has
  been little success in bringing them under the ambit of formal employment, which would
  give them various benefits like paid leaves, health insurance, paid maternity leaves and
  pension”.

PRIVATISATION OF BASIC SERVICES

• The India supplement shows that the high cost of private healthcare affects marginalised
  communities, mainly due to its high costs and further widens inequalities. Data from the
  National Sample Survey (NSS) 2017-18 shows that Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in
  private hospitals is almost six times that in public hospitals for inpatient care and two or
  three times higher for outpatient care. The average OOPE in India is at 62.67%, while the
  global average is at 18.12%.

WAY FORWARD

• Oxfam India said that India needs to track policy impact better by improving mechanisms
  for its measurement. “There is an immediate requirement to start disaggregating more
  public statistics by income and introduce a regular collection of data on income and wealth
  inequality while ensuring that this data is made freely available in the public domain".
• It also highlighted the importance of generating revenue to invest in education and
  healthcare. The report pointed out that a temporary 1% surcharge on the wealthiest 10%
  of the population could help raise an additional Rs 8.7 lakh crore, utilising the education
  and health budget.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

3. THE GLOBAL COALITION PUSHES FOR MORATORIUM ON SOLAR

GEOENGINEERING

THE CONTEXT: An international “coalition” of scientists and governance scholars launched an
initiative that calls for a moratorium on the study and development of a controversial climate-
change mitigation strategy known as solar geoengineering.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The scholars are calling for an ‘International Non-Use Agreement on Solar
  Geoengineering’. It is particularly opposed to the idea of spraying aerosols in the
  stratosphere to scatter some sunlight into space because, the technology is “ungovernable
  in a fair, democratic and effective manner”.
  The group of experts proposed an international non-use agreement on solar geoengineering that
  called upon governments and the United Nations to make the following commitments:

1.  To prohibit national funding agencies from supporting the development of technologies for
   solar geoengineering.
2. To ban outdoor experiments of solar geoengineering technologies.
3. To not grant patent rights for technologies for solar geoengineering.
4. To not deploy technologies for solar geoengineering if developed by third parties
5. To object to future institutionalisation of planetary solar geoengineering as a policy option in relevant international institutions, including assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

WHAT IS SOLAR GEO ENGINEERING?

According to scientists, the solar geoengineering, also known as solar radiation management or
modification, is a set of technologies to lower global temperatures by artificially intervening in the
climate systems.

WHY IT IS CONTROVERSIAL?

• Solar geoengineering is controversial because it’s impossible to contain its consequences in
  one geographical region and, by extension, to know their full extent.
• For example, if the US government decides to spray large quantities of aerosols into the
  stratosphere over its west coast, and scatter sunlight, there will be implications for the
  American mainland, for temperature and wind patterns over the Pacific Ocean, for marine
  life (and the livelihoods of people that depend on them), and could cascade into longer-
  term effects over South America, Oceania and Asia as well.
• The experts have also expressed concerns that the availability of solar geoengineering technologies in the future could disincentivise the efforts and commitments being made towards achieving carbon neutrality in the world.

4. ANIMAL BIODIVERSITY LOSS LIMITS PLANTS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

THE CONTEXT: According to a new study, the plant worldwide has a 60 per cent lower chance of
adapting to climate change due to the declining numbers of birds and mammals.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the study, more than half of the plant species depend on animals and plants
  for seed-dispersing. But the number of mammals, birds, fish, plants and insects has dropped
  to an average of 68 per cent from 1970 to 2016, the Living Planet Report 2020 revealed.
• With declining animal biodiversity, fewer seeds will reach new grounds. Consequently,
  plants might lose their ability to migrate to a newer and more suitable environment.
• The scientists used computer models to draw comparisons between seed dispersal in the
  real world and a simulated world with no extinctions and range shrinkage of birds and
  mammals.
• They found that seed dispersal function globally has “declined sharply” from its natural level, with 60 per cent fewer seeds travelling far enough to keep pace with climate change.
• The seed-dispersal losses were especially severe in temperate regions across North America, Europe, South America and Australia.

Effects on India

• India is home to over 45,000 species of plants and 91,000 species of animals.
• Over the last five decades, India has lost 12 per cent of its wild mammals, 19 per cent
  amphibians and 3 per cent birds.
• In northeast India, seed dispensers such as elephants and bats are heavily hunted. This loss
  limits the movement of seeds in the region.
• The rest of the country, on the other hand, has a higher density of elephants, horn bills and
  other fruit-eating animals. But the region is witnessing fragmentation and habitat
  degradation, which impact seed dispersal.
• India has smaller patches of forests. This means animals are likely to drop off seeds on the
  rooftops. “Livestock grazing in forest areas impacts seed dispersal. Invasion is another major
  issue.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY 18 TH JANUARY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about Kathak:
1. It is a classical dance form of India originated in Southern India.
2. Its foundations are rooted in Natya Shastra, an ancient Sanskrit text written by Bharata
Muni.
3. The exponents of Kathak convey stories through rhythmic foot movements, hand gestures,
facial appearances and eye work.
Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 3 only

ANSWER FOR 17 TH JANUARY 2022.

Answer: D)
Explanation:

• Vitamin D works more as a hormone and is involved in a host of biochemical reactions. It is
  key to maintaining metabolic functions, immune system, bone health and plays a crucial
  role in depression, mood swings, anxiety, and sleep quality.

[WpProQuiz 138]

THE CONTEXT: The Covid-19 pandemic and its eventful aftermath has been inflicting unprecedented stress, on the already vulnerable Indian society. Most have seen their incomes fall, many have seen their families uprooted, some have even lost their lives. On moral grounds alone, there is a strong case for augmenting spending on social protection for the poor.

STATUS OF SOCIAL PROTECTION IN INDIA

• Prior to COVID-19, despite absolute poverty reduction in the past two decades, half of India’s population was vulnerable with consumption levels precariously close to the poverty line.
• Ninety percent of the Indian workforce is informal, without access to significant savings or work-place based social protection benefits such as paid sick leave or social insurance.
• The Periodic Labour Force Survey (2017-18) has found that only 47% of urban workers have regular, salaried jobs.
• Even among workers in formal employment, over 70% do not have contracts, 54% are not entitled to paid sick leave and 49% do not have any form of social security benefits. These workers, who may not be identified as ‘poor’ as per the consumption data but are at grave risk of falling into poverty due to wage and livelihood losses triggered by shrinking economic activity.
• In India, the pandemic has brought to the forefront the chronic poverty and inequality that already plague the nation, where more than 21.9% of the population lives below the poverty line. The implementation of nationwide lockdown measures has caused factories to shut down and interrupted supply chains, rendering migrants and non-migrant employees jobless.

SOCIAL SECURITY

• According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Social Security is a comprehensive approach designed to prevent deprivation, give assurance to the individual of a basic minimum income for himself and his dependents and protect the individual from any uncertainties.
• It is also comprised of two elements, namely:
  • Right to a Standard of Living is adequate for health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing, medical care, and necessary social services.
  • Right to Income Security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond any person’s control.
• In a report on the state of social protection globally, the UN’s International Labour Organization said that 4.1 billion people were living without any social safety net of any kind. Social protection includes access to health care and income security measures related especially to old age, unemployment, sickness, disability, work injury, maternity, or the loss of the main breadwinner in a family, as well as extra support for families with children.

CHALLENGES IN DELIVERING ENTITLEMENTS AT SCALE

• The limiting factors: Even before the pandemic, the effective and smooth distribution of social protection benefits has been hampered by barriers such as insufficient staffing, funding, and training of local-level government bodies and organizations (including SHGs and NGOs).
• Reaching the last mile: Common Service Centres (or CSCs) that are front-end channels for delivering services at the last mile have their fair share of problems, associated with weak connectivity, poor infrastructure, minimal incentives, and a lack of automated backend processes.
• Ever-increasing job loss: People cannot carry on with their usual jobs or occupations. The existing situation of unemployment worsens. Incomes fall or cease. Economically better-off people manage with varying degrees of difficulty, but people from the lower economic sections become almost destitute.
• Distribution struggles: Amidst free distribution of food and essential items to the needy and poor, people were seen fighting amongst themselves in the race to get there first and even to the extent of snatching it from others. Members of the NGOs and social organizations engaged in community service during these times were also hackled and abused.
• Targeting errors: While the JAM trinity and the increasing reliance on Direct Benefit Transfers have been a step towards automating the existing structure, the reform has its own shortcomings. For example, the Aadhaar-Based Biometric Authentication at Fair Price Shops often fails to read fingerprints of the elderly and those engaged in manual work as demonstrated in Karnataka, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. Targeting is a key issue to consider when designing inclusive social assistance programs in developing countries with large populations. In India, PDS beneficiaries are bracketed on the basis of a poverty line that may not reflect the accurate socio-economic status of a household.

GOI’S RESPONSE TOWARDS SOCIAL PROTECTION

• Introducing financial cushion: The Government of India and the World Bank today signed a $750 million of $1 billion proposed for Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Programme to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The first phase of the operation will be implemented countrywide through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). It will immediately help scale-up cash transfers and food benefits, using a core set of pre-existing national platforms and programs like the following:
  • Both anticipation of benefit payments and a top-up of INR2,000 to beneficiaries of PM-Kisan, a cash transfer scheme supplementing farmers’ income and supporting agriculture-related expenses
  • An increase of INR20 in the daily wages of workers registered under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the flagship public works program, representing up to INR2,000 per worker per year.
  • Expansion of the Public Distribution System (PDS) to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, with beneficiaries of Antyodaya Anna Yojana, a program providing highly subsidized food grains, receiving free food, and additional food subsidies to mitigate food insecurity during the pandemic.
  • Government payment of three months’ worth of provident fund contributions for employees who earn less than INR15,000 per month and work in companies with less than 100 employees in which 90 percent of employees’ wages are below the INR15,000 threshold.
  • Financial support for 23 million construction workers from the Building and Construction Workers’ Fund managed by state governments, with a one-time cash benefit ranging between INR1,000 and INR5,000.
• Schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), public distribution system (PDS), and a modest universal income transfer can drive growth by boosting demand, correcting market failures, improving credit access, and providing the insurance needed for people to undertake risky investments to improve productivity. The GOI thus increased budget grants for these schemes. The sub-schemes like ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ further amplify the penetrative potential of schemes like PDS.

In the second phase, the program will deepen the social protection package, whereby additional cash and in-kind benefits based on local needs will be extended through state governments and portable social protection delivery systems.

Analysis by World Bank Group

Coverage and outreach of the first round of India’s social protection response have been impressive at scale, reaching a majority of households. Between May and August 2020, more than 87 percent of India’s poorest households reported receiving at least one benefit, food or cash, under the PMGKY. Across the country, nearly 74% of all households received food through PDS allocations, 40% of households received cash transfers.

IMPROVING TARGETING OF SOCIAL WELFARE: FILLING THE LOOPHOLES

Shifting priorities and erring on the side of being inclusive, i.e., recognizing the scale of the economic losses that the population faces and focusing on plugging exclusion errors that deny benefits to eligible beneficiaries.

• Moving towards self-targeting: Various stakeholders argued that there is a need to tailor the economic response to COVID-19 to the public health response. For instance, during intense lockdown periods where economic activity is severely curtailed, more universal and broad transfers are needed. Direct food assistance can be particularly useful in this scenario since they allow for self-targeting.
• Avoiding one-size-fits-all approach: While monitoring attendance using Aadhaar authentication has already been discontinued for central government employees for fear of virus transmission, this should be employed as a long-term solution for beneficiaries as well. Rather than relying entirely on ABBA (Aadhaar Based Biometric Authentication) transactions, recording transactions in offline mode where needed would prevent their exclusion.
• To mitigate the health risks of crowding in PDS centers, in-kind transfers can also be made through other means like door-step delivery through PDS trucks.
• Community model of social security: Organizations at the community level, like NGOs, CSOs, and Self Help Groups (SHGs) are also making efforts to reach beneficiaries, spread information, and mobilize relief measures. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, SHGs have worked to circulate relevant health information using WhatsApp groups.
  • A study conducted by Gram Vaani found that when community volunteers intervened in escalating complaints about public schemes, there was an improved turnover in response from administrators.
• Utilizing last-mile agents to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of social assistance programs can be considered as well. According to the Business Correspondents Federation of India, 80-85% of BCs were active as of June 2020. These agents have played a vital role in ensuring last-mile access to Direct Benefit Transfers under the PMGKY.
• Using technology augmentation: Existing government service delivery systems like HESPL’s Haqdarshak and DEF’s Mera App rely on an ‘agent + technology’ model to overcome the barriers of financial and digital illiteracy. While agent involvement has been critical for enabling cash withdrawal, the COVID-19 experience has highlighted how this model may benefit from the development of simplified applications that enable self-service.

Successful Social security models

In practice, by relaxing the criteria of having a specific type of bank account, targeting can be made more universal; Tamil Nadu has disbursed cash and ration-based commodities to ration card owners. The utilization of a job card (MNREGA) can also be considered to make targeting more inclusive.

THE WAY FORWARD

• While the government has responded to the challenges posed by COVID-19 through different interventions, the country could benefit from taking further steps to ensure universal social protection coverage, including the ‘missing middle.
• Potential policy strategies encompass the implementation of a universal child benefit, which would ensure that all households with children are able to meet their basic needs, and/or greater coverage and adequacy for India’s elderly population through an old-age pension scheme, including through the existing Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme.
• Existing social insurance schemes administered by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation should be supported and strengthened to provide social insurance to workers in times of need.
• Furthermore, to guarantee greater coverage for future shocks, flagship programs such as the PDS and MGNREGA could be expanded to provide security to all regions and to households in both urban and rural areas. Lastly, more needs to be done to reach and support internal migrant workers who are either temporarily or indefinitely living outside their home states and often lack access to social protection programs.
• The current ‘one-size-fits-all’ model of national programs which offer the same benefit levels and interventions across a variety of states needs reform. India can draw from the experience of other middle-income countries and allow greater funds and flexibility to sub-national governments to design localized approaches, while retaining a core set of national programs such as MGNREGS, NSAP, PMAY, PAHAL, PDS, and social insurance schemes to operate pan-nationally.

THE CONCLUSION: Debates around reducing the stringency of poverty tests, expanding social assistance programs to cover a wider range of citizens, and improving the ease of receiving benefits all point to the need of developing a more inclusive system of welfare support. To this end, the COVID-19 pandemic can act as an impetus to address the inadequacies of existing mechanisms and institutions and adapt them to not only suit the current situation but also prove resilient in the future.

As India designs its social protection response to the pandemic, the country stands poised for a fundamental transformation from a set of fragmented schemes to an integrated and decentralized system. A broader social protection framework for a more urban, middle-income, mobile, natural disaster-prone, diverse and decentralized India is urgently required.

1. Soul consciousness wards off vices and viruses READ MORE
2. Eloquent Silences READ MORE
3. Remembering Martin Luther King Jr: 5 Things I’ve Learned Curating the Mlk Collection READ MORE

1. Tribals and their divinity concept READ MORE
2. Socialising digital brand communication READ MORE
3. Inequality kills: A study of the new OxFam report READ MORE
4. The future of school education lies in learning beyond classrooms READ MORE

1. Modi govt will have to wait on All India Judicial Services. Top judiciary main opposition READ MORE
2. Mentioning in Supreme Court requires urgent revision READ MORE
3. Behind the success of the gig economy READ MORE

1. Explained: Why the volcanic eruption in Tonga was so violent, and what to expect next READ MORE
2. Forest cover rises, but questions remain READ MORE
3. We Need Airports and Dams – But Here’s Why You Should Care About the Environment READ MORE
4. Will Tonga volcanic eruption affect global climate? READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. PM delivers ‘State of the World’ special address at the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda READ MORE
2. Birju Maharaj, legendary Kathak dancer, dies at 83 READ MORE
3. EC allows authorised media persons to cast vote through postal ballot in upcoming polls READ MORE
4. India’s Economic System Rigged in Favour of the Super-Rich, Says Oxfam Report READ MORE
5. Border position unambiguous: India to Nepal on Lipulekh row READ MORE
6. US bill to block defence contractors from using Chinese rare earth minerals READ MORE

Main Exam    

GS Paper- 1

1. Explained: Why the volcanic eruption in Tonga was so violent, and what to expect next READ MORE
2. Forest cover rises, but questions remain READ MORE
3. Tribals and their divinity concept READ MORE
4. Socialising digital brand communication READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Modi govt will have to wait on All India Judicial Services. Top judiciary main opposition READ MORE
2. Mentioning in Supreme Court requires urgent revision READ MORE
3. Behind the success of the gig economy READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Inequality kills: A study of the new OxFam report READ MORE
2. The future of school education lies in learning beyond classrooms READ MORE

 INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India’s watchwords in a not so bright 2022 READ MORE
2. How the India-Japan friendship can help global peace, prosperity READ MORE
3. Revival of nuclear concert diplomacy READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Just what the doctor ordered for the livestock farmer READ MORE
2. Eye on yields READ MORE
3. Tackling inequality: Govt must make the right interventions in the Budget READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. We Need Airports and Dams – But Here’s Why You Should Care About the Environment READ MORE
2. Will Tonga volcanic eruption affect the global climate? READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Set up the exclusive ministry of internal security READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Soul consciousness wards off vices and viruses READ MORE
2. Eloquent Silences READ MORE
3. Remembering Martin Luther King Jr: 5 Things I’ve Learned Curating the Mlk Collection READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened economic inequalities across the world. Substantiate the statement with reference to “Inequality Kills” report by Oxfam.
2. ‘Seventy years after diplomatic relations were established between India and Japan, they have evolved into natural partners’. Discuss the statement in the light of contemporary world politics.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.
• Facing a host of unprecedented challenges, India’s leaders and diplomats must not only take stock of the dangers that exist but also be ready on how to manage the risks that are well evident.
• With most of India’s livestock in rural and remote areas, a game changer now will be the use of mobile veterinary units.
• Seventy years after diplomatic relations were established between India and Japan, they have evolved into natural partners.
• The recent P5 statement on nuclear disarmament is hollow and contradicts the policies of most UNSC members. From India’s perspective, the statement does nothing to allay concerns about China modernising its nuclear arsenal.
• Contrary to perception, tribals in India have a belief system which is no less profound and spiritual than other religions practised in the country.
• There is no dispute that the issue of inequality needs to be addressed. The K-shaped recovery from the pandemic may not be sustainable in the medium term.
• Immediate measures should be taken to fix the accountability of companies towards gig workers, and clearly establish mechanisms for ensuring this, including substantive penalties for violating the workers’ labour and democratic rights.

50-WORD TALK

• From unrest in our border areas to left-wing insurgency, several internal security issues have been simmering for long. Only an exclusive ministry with specific expertise for day-to-day management would be able to tackle these issues and re-evaluate past policies as well as formulate new ones.
• States clamouring for Elon Musk’s Tesla investment is a joke, not another ease-of-doing-business race as they are portraying. Shows that no one has really studied Musk’s problem, which is largely about taxation. Before playing Twitter-Twitter, the question states must ask is whether Musk is ready to manufacture Tesla in India.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

[WpProQuiz 137]

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. THE REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES

THE CONTEXT: The Election Commission of India reduced the notice period from 30 days to seven
days for registration of political parties under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act,
1951, in view of the ongoing third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Election Commission had announced the poll schedule for Assembly elections in five
  states — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur.
• A party seeking registration under the section 29A of the Representation of the People’s
  Act with the Commission has to submit an application to the Commission within a period of
  30 days following the date of its formation as per guidelines prescribed by the Commission
  in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the Constitution of India.

Why registering with the EC is important?

• It is not mandatory to register with the Election Commission but registering as a political
  party with the EC has its advantage in terms of intending to avail itself of the provisions of
  the Representation of the People Act, 1951, (relating to registration of political parties).
• The candidates set up by a political party registered with the EC will get preference in the
  matter of allotment of free symbols vis-à-vis purely independent candidates.
• More importantly, these registered political parties, over course of time, can get recognition
  as a ‘state party’ or a ‘national party’ subject to the fulfilment of the conditions prescribed
  by the Commission in the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
• As per the rules, if a party is recognised as a ‘state party’, it is entitled for exclusive
  allotment of its reserved symbol to the candidates set up by it in the state in which it is so
  recognised, and if a party is recognised as a ‘national party’ it is entitled for exclusive
  allotment of its reserved symbol to the candidates set up by it throughout India.
• Recognised ‘state’ and ‘national’ parties need only one proposer for filing the nomination
  and are also entitled for two sets of electoral rolls free of cost and broadcast/telecast
  facilities over state-owned Akashvani/Doordarshan during the general elections.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

2. INDIA-CHINA TRADE GROWS TO RECORD $125 BILLION IN 2021

THE CONTEXT: According to the official data, two-way trade between India and China in 2021 stood
at $125.66 billion, up 43.3% from 2020 when bilateral trade was worth $87.6 billion.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Regardless of the disputes and military standoffs, bilateral trade between India and China
  reached a new high of over $125 billion in 2021, surpassing the $100 billion mark in a year,
  while India's trade deficit grew to over $69 billion.
• For more than a decade, India has expressed its alarm over China's rising trade deficit,
  urging Beijing to open its markets to Indian IT and pharmaceutical companies.
• The border stand off between India and China armies began on May 5 last year after a
  violent confrontation in the Pangong lake areas, and both sides have gradually increased
  their deployment by pouring in tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry. Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the mountainous sector.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

3. AQUACULTURE TURNED KOLLERU LAKE

THE CONTEXT: Local farmers residing nearby area’s of kolleru lake, practicing Aquaculture in large scale
leads to local carp and shrimp industry expanded, the fish ponds to harvest them have been built farther
into the lake, and the water has been severely degraded.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Commercial fishing came to Andhra Pradesh in 1975, when the state allowed Kolleru Lake’s
  shoreline and shallows to be converted to fish farms. In the ensuing decades, the
  international demand for fish and shrimp products rapidly expanded, and farmers
  increasingly transitioned from rice to aquaculture with the help of government subsidies.
• In the process, the aquaculture industry encroached farther and farther into the lake.
  Around the same time, in 1999, the region was named a sanctuary under India’s Wildlife
  Protection Act. And in 2002, the Kolleru wetland was named a Ramsar site, a designation
  given to wetlands considered to be of international importance.
• The rapid development is a double-edged sword in Andhra Pradesh, India’s top seafood
  exporter. Local communities overwhelmingly support aquaculture’s expansion, but they
  also lament the loss of the lake as a source of food and drinking water.
• Scientists point not just to the pollution, but also to the dramatic declines in native fishes
  and migratory birds. The ecological imbalance will only get worse, they say, if the region’s
  aquaculture is allowed to expand.

About Kolleru Lake and Aquaculture :

• Kolleru is a largest freshwater lake and is located in Andhra Pradesh.
• It has been a bed for several migratory birds and has been acting as the flood balancing
  reservoir between two river deltas, Krishna and Godavari. Aquaculture, also known as
  aquafarming, is a practice of rearing aquatic creatures for commercial food purposes.
• Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production industry in the world, according to the
  UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, and India ranks second globally in aquaculture fish
  production, contributing more than 8 percent of the world’s farm-raised fish.

THE DEFENCE AND SECURITY

4. THE BRAHMOS ORDER FROM PHILIPPINES

THE CONTEXT: The BrahMos, the supersonic cruise missile system jointly made by India and Russia,
has been selected by the Philippines under a $374.96 million deal, making it the first export order
for the missile.

THE EXPLANATION:

• In recent years the Philippines has repeatedly accused China of violating its EEZ by sending
  hundreds of militia boats into its waters.
• The new anti-ship system aims to deter foreign vessels from encroaching on the country’s
  200-nautical-mile (370km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand
  are other South-East Asian countries that have shown interest in the system.
• India has already deployed a sizeable number of the BrahMos missiles in several strategic
  locations along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

About the Missile:

• BrahMos Missile is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile. It can be launched
  from land, aircraft, submarine or ships. It is one of the fastest supersonic cruise missiles
  worldwide. The missile is a joint venture between the Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya and
  India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Both the organisation has together formed BrahMos Aerospace. It is based on Russian P-
  800 Oniks cruise missile. The name BrahMos has been taken from the names of two rivers,
  River Brahmaputra of India and River Moskva of Russia.

Characteristics of BrahMos

• BrahMos is the fastest anti-ship cruise missile of the world, currently in operation. Its land-
  launched and ship-launched versions are already there in service. In 2012, air-launched
  variant of BrahMos appeared and entered the service in 2019.
• Presently, a hypersonic version of the Missile called BrahMos-II, is under development. It has the speed of Mach 7–8. Missile is likely to be ready for testing by 2024.

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)

India became a member of MTCR in 2016. With this partnership, India and Russia are planning to
develop a new generation of Brahmos missiles with a range of 800 km-plus. It has the ability to hit
protected targets with pinpoint accuracy.

THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT

5. THE VOLCANIC ERUPTION AND TSUNAMI HIT TONGA AND THE PACIFIC

THE CONTEXT: An underwater volcano near Tonga has erupted for the third time in January 2021
potentially threatening the ability of surveillance flights to assess the damage to the Pacific island
nation.
THE EXPLANATION:
According to Australia's meteorological service eruption was likely the biggest recorded anywhere
on the planet in more than 30 years, according to experts. Dramatic images from space captured
the eruption in real time, as a huge plume of ash, gas and steam was spewed up to 20 kilometers
(12.4 miles) into the atmosphere — and tsunami waves were sent crashing across the Pacific.
Where is Tonga's Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano?

• Tonga is a Polynesian country of more than 170 South Pacific islands and home to about
  100,000 people. It's a remote archipelago that lies about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of
  Fiji and 2,380 kilometers (1,500 miles) from New Zealand.
• The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of
  Tonga's Fonuafo'ou island, sits underwater between two small islands at about 2,000
  meters (6,500 feet) high from the sea floor, with about 100 meters (328 feet) visible above
  sea level.

Where did the tsunami hit?

• The eruption caused a tsunami on Tonga's largest island, Tongatapu, with waves recorded
  at 1.2 meters (about 4 feet) near Nuku’alofa city flowing onto coastal roads and flooding
  properties.
• Tsunami warnings went into effect across Pacific Island nations including Fiji, Samoa and
  Vanuatu. Footage from the ground in Fiji shows people fleeing to higher ground in the
  capital, Suva, as large waves hit the coast.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY 17 TH JANUARY 2022

Q1. Vitamin-D plays vital role in which of the following?
1. Metabolic functions
2. Bone health
3. Immune system
4. Mental health

Select the correct answer using code given below:
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 2, 3 and 4 only
d) All of them

ANSWER FOR 14 TH JANUARY 2022.

Answer: b)
Explanation:
1. Nuakhai – Odisha
2. Wangala – Garo, Meghalaya
3. Bihu – Assam
4. Onam – Kerala

1. Forests: The good news and bad news READ MORE
2. Why India needs a Green Deal READ MORE
3. Will the wildlife amendment bill save India’s rich biodiversity? READ MORE
4. India’s New ‘State of Forest’ Report Is Not Really About Forests READ MORE

1. Countering hate in the digital world READ MORE
2. Confronting global racism READ MORE

1. State legislatures had fewer sittings than Parliament in 2021 READ MORE
2. Should electoral ID data be linked to Aadhaar? READ MORE
3. Call for Indianisation is a Fallacy, if Not a Fraud on the Constitution READ MORE

1. Countering hate in the digital world READ MORE
2. Overcome challenges with faith and patience READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Web3: A vision for the future READ MORE
2. Shockwave from Tonga volcanic eruption recorded in Chennai READ MORE
3. Muscles starve in the absence of vitamin D, study of mice finds READ MORE
4. India’s first dugong reserve will help protect the world’s only herbivorous marine mammal READ MORE
5. What is a digital AgriStack and why Indian farmers are opposed to it READ MORE
6. MeitY invites applications under the Chips to Startup (C2S) Programme from academia, R&D organisations, startups and MSMEs READ MORE

Main Exam  

GS Paper- 1

1. In images: The anger in India against the Raj-appointed Simon Commission READ MORE
2. The Ramakrishna Movement READ MORE
3. Forests: The good news and bad news READ MORE
4. Countering hate in the digital world READ MORE
5. Confronting global racism READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. State legislatures had fewer sittings than Parliament in 2021 READ MORE
2. Should electoral ID data be linked to Aadhaar? READ MORE
3. Call for Indianisation is a Fallacy, if Not a Fraud on the Constitution READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Friend in need: On India-Sri Lanka ties READ MORE
2. Explained | Why is India challenging WTO verdict on sugar? READ MORE
3. Pakistan’s new policy: Not quite abandoning its ‘thousand cuts’ strategy READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Taxing cryptocurrency transactions: A streamlined tax regime is pivotal to a clear, constructive and adaptive regulatory environment READ MORE
2. The cryptocurrency deception READ MORE
3. A ‘rare’ opportunity for India READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Why India needs a Green Deal READ MORE
2. Will the wildlife amendment bill save India’s rich biodiversity? READ MORE
3. India’s New ‘State of Forest’ Report Is Not Really About Forests READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Countering hate in the digital world READ MORE
2. Overcome challenges with faith and patience READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. What do you mean by desertification? Explain how climate change affect the process of desertification.
2. The FRA, 2006 was never going to be a panacea to address all the issues of the tribal people, but the Act is important to improve the condition of the tribal people. Analyse.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• None of us is as smart as all of us.
• It is important to note that in times of peril, New Delhi and Colombo have established a robust channel of communication and demonstrated an ability to act on promises quickly, proving that adage about friends (and neighbours) in need.
• The practice of having separate mandatory disclosure requirements in tax returns (as is the case in the United States) should be placed on the taxpayers as well as all the intermediaries involved, so that crypto transactions do not go unreported.
• Content moderation should be considered a late-stage intervention. Individuals need to be stopped early in the path to radicalisation and extremist behaviour to prevent the development of apps such as Bulli Bai.
• Cryptocurrencies are neither a currency nor an investment. They need to be scrutinised.
• The world is in search of alternative supply chains. India with its reserves in rare earth elements must leverage this.
• Correcting electoral rolls in a society like India’s has to be done the hard way — going door to door. Quick fixes and tech solutions like Aadhaar can do more harm than good.
• The Indian Constitution through Article 13 showed us the way by declaring the then existing legal system as void in so far it was inconsistent with the fundamental rights.
• The conservative populists want to fight against any challenge to the erosion of white rights, whereas the progressives want more state intervention to address inequities.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.