THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. PM TO LAUNCH BUDDHIST CENTRE WORK

THE CONTEXT: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the construction of the ‘India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage’ during a daylong visit to Lumbini in Nepal. The visit will coincide with the celebrations to mark the Buddha Jayanti.

EXPLANATION:

• Lumbini is the place where Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born around 623 B.C.. He later attained enlightenment at Bodhgaya in Bihar district and came to be known as the Buddha.
• Modi participates in the shilanyas [foundation stone laying] ceremony for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage and offer prayers at the Mayadevi temple that is dedicated to the mother of the Buddha. He will also deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organised by the Lumbini Development Trust of the government of Nepal.

Zero emission building

• An official press release has informed that the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage will be undertaken by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), which is a ‘grantee body’ under the Ministry of Culture. The IBC was registered on November 2, 2012 and is aimed at propagating and preserving the teachings and heritage of the Buddha across the world, and especially in India’s immediate neighbourhood. The official statement from India said the Buddhist centre would be the first ‘net zero emission’ building in Nepal.
• Buddha Jayanti will also be celebrated by the IBC in Delhi on Monday where the event will be led by Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju. “IBC has been actively involved in engaging Buddhist organisations in Nepal and has a strong relationship with several senior Buddhist monks,” stated the official press release.
• Modi’s visit to Lumbini comes two days after Nepal began the local election process across the country that will ultimately lead to the general election towards the end of the year.

2. QUAD INITIATIVE FOR VACCINES RUNS INTO ROUGH WEATHER

THE CONTEXT: More than a year after the first Quad summit where the leaders of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia launched an ambitious initiative to produce one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines for distribution in the Indo-Pacific region, the project is floundering, and officials concede that it is unlikely to meet its target by 2022-end for a number of reasons.

THE EXPLANATION:

• While the original plan to produce the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the Hyderabad-based Biological E’s facility for the Quad Vaccine Initiative ran into trouble over legal indemnity issues, and then ov- er safety concerns, the other vaccine being produced at the facility, Corbevax, has yet to receive the WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) needed for distribution.
• In addition, experts say there is now an “oversupply” of vaccines in Southeast Asian countries and other regions of the world, bringing down the demand for vaccines.
• Quad countries have delivered vaccines to countries such as Thailand and Cambodia under a separate commitment made in September 2021, but the original initiative for a billion India-made vaccine doses, developed and funded by the U.S. and distributed by Japan and Australia, appears to have hit a roadblock.

3. WHAT’S THE 21ST CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AIMED TO CUT POWER OF SRI LANKAN PRESIDENTS

THE CONTEXT: Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the 21st Amendment to the Constitution to curb the presidential powers will be discussed with the Attorney General’s Department.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The 21st Amendment is expected to annul the 20th Amendment, which gave unfettered powers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment, a provision that had made the Parliament powerful over the president.

What will the 21st Amendment entail?

• The amendment is likely to reduce the Presidency to a ceremonial position, retaining the powers of the President on all three armed forces while handing over almost all other key powers pertaining to governance, and cabinet ministers to the Prime Minister.
• There are two proposed amendments in the form of Private Member’s Bills – one by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and another by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs.
• Both Bills look at transferring powers of making key appointments from the President to the Constitutional Council. Both proposals agree that the Council should comprise of both MPs and citizens not affiliated to political parties.

Which amendments preceded the 21st Amendment?

• The enactment of the 19th Amendment in April 2015 was rushed by then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. It had removed the powers of the President to sack the Prime Minister at his discretion.
• Articles 46 (2) and 48 of the Sri Lankan constitution were amended ensuring that the cabinet ministers could have been dismissed only if the Prime Minister ceased to hold office by death, resignation or otherwise, or only if the Parliament rejects a statement of government policy or the budget or if the parliament passes a vote of no confidence against the Government.
• The amendment also restricted the President’s powers to dismiss Cabinet ministers as he was required to act on the advice of the Prime Minister.

THE POLITY

4. PARDON POWERS OF PRESIDENT AND GOVERNOR

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court has reserved orders on the question whether a Governor can refer the State government’s advice for granting remission to life convicts to the President for a decision.

THE EXPLANTION:

• The court is examining a petition from A.G. Perarivalan, one of the life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, questioning the delay in his release even after the Tamil Nadu government, in 2018, recommended the release of all seven convicts in the case under Article 161 of the Constitution.
• The Governor, instead of acting on the recommendation, referred it to the President.

What is the scope of the pardon power?

• Both the President and the Governor have been vested with sovereign power of pardon by the Constitution, commonly referred to as mercy or clemency power.
• Under Article 72, the President can grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence in all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a court-martial, in all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence under any law relating to the Union government’s executive power, and in all cases of death sentences. It is also made clear that the President’s power will not in any way affect a Governor’s power to commute a death sentence.
• Under Article 161, a Governor can grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, or suspend, remit or commute the sentence of anyone convicted under any law on a matter which comes under the State’s executive power.

What is the difference between statutory power and constitutional power?

• The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides for remission of prison sentences, which means the whole or a part of the sentence may be cancelled. Under Section 432, the ‘appropriate government’ may suspend or remit a sentence, in whole or in part, with or without conditions.
• This power is available to State governments so that they may order the release of prisoners before they complete their prison terms. Under Section 433, any sentence may be commuted to a lesser one by the appropriate government.
• However, Section 435 says that if the prisoner had been sentenced in a case investigated by the CBI, or any agency that probed the offence under a Central Act, the State government can order such release only in consultation with the Central government.
• In the case of death sentences, the Central government may also concurrently exercise the same power as the State governments to remit or suspend the sentence.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

5. INDIAN GOVERNMENT PROHIBITS EXPORT OF WHEAT WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT

THE CONTEXT: Citing a threat to food security, the Union government has “prohibited” the export of wheat with immediate effect. The decision was announced on Saturday in view of the “sudden spike in the global prices of wheat arising out of many factors” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Significantly, the order came two days after the government decided to send trade delegations to a number of countries to explore possibilities for its export.
• The global agriculture market has been destabilised by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major wheat-producing nation and a major supplier to the European market. Apart from national requirements, the order cited the requirement of India’s wheat among its neighbours in the region.
• Officials revealed that there was a decline in the “opening stock” compared with last fiscal’s.
• The prohibition was “not a ban”, and was also aimed at controlling the sudden rise in the price of wheat and atta in India. The order will prevent some traders from carrying out “speculative” trading in wheat and help in stabilising the agriculture sector.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

6. HEATWAVE IN INDIA

THE CONTEXT: Severe heatwave conditions have been consistently reported over large parts of India since the beginning of the summer season in March. In April, the mercury touched nearly 50 degrees Celsius in some areas of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, a day after Jacobabad in neighboring Pakistan had recorded 51 degree Celsius.

THE EXPLANATION:

• March and April saw early and unprecedented heat across India. March was the warmest and April was the fourth-warmest in 122 years.
• Though heatwave over large parts of north and central India is an annual phenomenon in May, the maximum temperatures in areas of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir have been unusually high.

Sweltering heat grips north and central India

• Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana are some of the states that witnessed heatwave conditions.
• A severe heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature jumps over 6 degrees Celsius above normal.

Why have the temperatures been so high?

• Urban areas like Delhi and Gurgaon recording day temperatures in the 45-49 degrees Celsius range is abnormal and was aggravated by contributions from other local weather, and anthropogenic and man-made factors.
• Western disturbances, which bring rainfall and cloudy skies to northwest India and regulate temperatures at this time of the year, have been feeble and lacked sufficient moisture, keeping the temperature high. In the absence of cloud cover, temperatures can soar with the solar radiation, while dry westerly winds do not bring any moisture.
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) rainfall data since March shows that many states in north and central India have remained parched.

Heatwaves not unusual for May

• Heatwave season over India begins in March and peaks in May, especially over the core heatwave zone areas. This summer saw record temperatures during March and April but such warm days in May are normal.
• The current heatwave spell, prevailing for a week, is spread across 11 states and UTs. While the geographical extent may be similar to the spell recorded between March 27 and April 12, the severity this time is manyfold higher.
• The last spell saw a severe heatwave limited to some pockets of Rajasthan and eastern Uttar Pradesh, whereas the May spell has had similar conditions raging across all north and central India regions.
• On Sunday, more than ten meteorological stations recorded maximum temperatures over 47 degrees Celsius, including Banda (49), Gurgaon (48), Churu (47.9), Ganganagar (47.6), Pilani (47.7), Khajuraho and Nowgong (47.4 each), Jhansi (47.6), Hissar (47.3) and Delhi ridge (47.2).

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

7. WHAT IS POST COVID AND LONG COVID?

THE CONTEXT: With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, evidence showed that a considerable proportion of people who have recovered from COVID-19 continue to face long-term effects on multiple organs and systems.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Technically, post-COVID defines symptoms that persist four weeks after infection and Long COVID, 12 weeks past a COVID-19 infection.
• The effects range from skin rash, sleep difficulties, fatigue or muscle weakness, hair loss, joint pain, palpitations, dizziness, cough, headache, sore throat, chest pain, smell and taste disorders, anxiety disorders and mobility issues.
• The government of India developed its own National Comprehensive Guidelines for the management of post-COVID sequelae. This document sets out detailed techniques to treat post-COVID complications affecting cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nephrological, neurological and respiratory systems.

8. BLOOD GROUPS AND BLOOD DONATION

THE CONTEXT: Blood in a healthy human body is about 7% of the total body weight (the average body weight being 55- 65 kg), or 4.7 to 5.5 litres (1.2 to 1.5 gallons).

THE EXPLANATION:

• India is the second-largest producer of wheat in the world, with a share of around 14.14 per cent of the total production in 2020. The country produces around 107.59 million MT of wheat annually and a major chunk of it goes towards domestic consumption.In a regular donation, the donor gives about 500 ml of blood, and this is replaced in the body within a day or two (24-48 hours).
• Blood types are determined by the presence (or absence) of certain antigens (molecules that can trigger an immune response), if they are foreign to the body of the recipient. Thus, a matching of the blood type of the donor with that of the receiver is necessary.
• Antigens are classified as antigens A and B in our red blood cells.
• Landmark research on these was done by a medical doctor, Dr. Karl Landsteiner of University of Vienna in Austria. He defined three acceptable types of blood cells which he called as A, B and O blood types.
• Blood group A in India to be about 40%, blood group B between 25-35% and group O to be 40-50%.
• Primates (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, gibbons) also have blood groups containing AB, A, B and O, just as we humans have. Indeed, we owe our blood types (A, B, O, AB), thanks to what our primate monkey ancestors had millions of years ago.

Who can donate blood to whom?

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 16th MAY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about Election Commission:

1. Indian Constitution provides for establishment of Election Commission as multi-member body.
2. CEC and ECs have equal powers and equal salary, allowances which are similar to a judge of a High Court.
3. Constitution has debarred CEC and ECs from any further appointment by government after their retirement.

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) All of them

 

ANSWER FOR THE 14TH OF MAY

Answer: B

Explanation:

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• Prior to creation of SCO in 2001, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five.
• Shanghai Five (1996) emerged from a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks that the four former Soviet republics held with China to ensure stability along the borders.
• Following the accession of Uzbekistan to the organisation in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.
• Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aims to maintain peace, security and stability in region.
• India and Pakistan became members in 2017.
• 8 members: Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan
• Secretariat: Beijing
• Official languages: Russian and Chinese.
• The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is a permanent organ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. Its headquarters are located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

[WpProQuiz 223]

THE CONTEXT: Fifteenth Finance Commission Chairperson NK Singh on 19 April 2022 delivered a lecture at the Delhi School of Economics and warned about how the politics of freebies could lead to fiscal disasters. Over the years the politics of freebies has become an integral part of the electoral battles in India and the scenario was no different in the recently held assembly polls in five states, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab, and Manipur. This article analyzes the socio-economic costs of freebies by distinguishing them from the concept of “expenditure on the public good, having overall benefits.”

THE IDEA OF FREEBIES:

• The literal meaning of freebie is something that is given free of charge or cost.
• Political parties are outdoing each other in promising free electricity and water supply, laptops, cycles, electronic appliances, etc. These are called ‘freebies’ and are characterized as unwise for long-term fiscal stability.
• However, during the pandemic, governments (both Union and states), as well as the RBI, took several measures to mitigate pandemic effects. This included expansion of the food security scheme for two full years; cash transfer schemes for farmers, expansion of the jobs scheme, etc.

THE COMPLEX ISSUE OF FREEBIES:

• There is great ambiguity in what “freebies” mean.
• Merit goods Vs. Public goods: We need to distinguish between the concept of merit goods and public goods on which expenditure outlays have overall benefits such as the strengthening and deepening of the public distribution system, employment guarantee schemes, support for education and enhanced outlays for health, particularly during the pandemic.
• Around the world, these are considered to be desirable expenditures.
• It is important to analyse, not how cheap the freebies are but how expensive they are for the economy, life quality, and social cohesion in the long run.

Merit goods: are those public goods that result in interference with consumer choices. Here the government will be providing the goods (merit) to a specific section of the society because of their backward status, poverty, etc (depending on their merit, like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan).

Public goods: refer to those goods which satisfy public wants. The main attribute of a public good is that they are supplied by the government jointly for the entire public. Examples of public goods are defense services, pollution control, streetlight, etc.

REASONS FOR THE RISE OF FREEBIE CULTURE DURING ELECTIONS

CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE FOR THE WELFARE OF THE CITIZENS:

• It is based on the principles of equality and is keen to provide equal opportunity to all. It also aims to ensure equitable distribution of wealth. The 4th century BC treatise on the art of statecraft laid out a framework for good governance and welfare, however in present times it is imperative to draw a line between dole or a handout and spending on the public good having greater benefits.

POLITICAL MANDATE: 

• Political parties contesting the polls release their manifesto stating their aims and plans for every section of the society albeit having much of the focus on announcing schemes for their largest chunk of the vote bank i.e. the lower strata of the society.
• Freebies are often used as a tool to conceal the poor performance of the incumbent government on the socio-economic parameters and provide an opportunity to alter the voter’s mindset from real issues to short-term gains.

HISTORICAL BAGGAGE:

• Since independence, parties have been promising some form of freebies to attract voters.
• Even if a new party comes to power, then also it can’t rationalize or outrightly abolish the freebie commitments of prior governments.
• For e.g., Several State Governments have been forced to continue power and irrigation subsidies due to political pressure. Governments fear that discontinuance will antagonize their voter base.

COMPETITIVE POLITICS AND DOMINO EFFECT:

• The rise in coalition era politics since the 1990s has witnessed a rise of new political parties. These small and new parties have to offer more freebies than larger parties to lure the voters. Moreover the increase in competition among the parties to seek the votes, each party tries to outdo the others in terms of populist promises.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF FREEBIES

WELFARE STATE:

• The Constitution places an obligation on the State to take proactive measures for the welfare of the poor and downtrodden.
• For instance, Art. 39(b) of The Constitution of India calls for resource distribution for achieving a common good.

GLARING INEQUALITY IN THE SOCIETY: 

• In India, there is a wide inequality between the rich and the poor in terms of income and wealth. The OXFAM report 2021 showed that the income of 84% of households in the country declined in 2021, but at the same time the number of Indian billionaires grew from 102 to 142.

STRUCTURAL HURDLES AND MAKING THE BENEFITS OF GROWTH REACH THE LOWEST LEVEL: 

• They gave up land for cities, roads, factories, and dams. However, they largely became landless workers and slum dwellers. Several economists argue that the gains of development have hardly trickled down to the most marginalized section of the society, especially after 1991. The cost of freebies offered is a fraction of what the poor lose.
• The World Bank recognized in the 1980’s that the prevalent policies marginalize the poor and a ‘safety net’ (freebies) is needed.

ECONOMIC PUSH:

• They help increase the demand that prevents the rate of growth from declining further. Free education and health are anyway justified because they are cases of ‘merit wants’ and increase the productivity of labour.

SOCIAL STABILITY:

• Freebies enable the government to release the growing discontent in the marginalized section. They keep a lid on societal disruption which would be far more expensive.

INCENTIVES FOR THE RICH:

• The well-off and businesses get ‘freebies’ that are euphemistically called ‘incentives’. Since 2006, the Union Budget estimates these to be between Rs 4-6 lakh crore each year. If the well-off who don’t really need freebies can get so much, why can’t the marginalized (especially women and youth) get a fraction of it?

CUSHION DURING EMERGENCIES:

• COVID-19 has been one of the biggest health emergencies in the world for over a century. Such extreme events warrant state support to prevent chaos and disruption in society e.g., the free COVID-19 vaccination for every individual in India led to more prudent management of the pandemic.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST FREEBIES

UNDERMINES THE SPIRIT OF DEMOCRACY: 

• This is the primary concern as many people tend to vote for parties based on the free incentives offered by them. They fail to judge them on their performance and don’t utilize their franchise as per merit. Even the Supreme Court has observed that freebies shake the root of free and fair elections.
  

FALL IN PRODUCTIVITY:

• Freebies create a feeling in the masses that they can live with minimal effort. This decreases their productivity towards work e.g., a trend has been created that whoever avail loan from banks does not repay them, expecting a waiver of loans during the election. This gives rise to moral hazard and an incentive to default.

FISCAL STRESS:

• Freebies generally form part of revenue expenditure. Excess allocation towards them leaves little to spend on capital expenditure which is a prerequisite for achieving long-term growth.
• A case in point is the states which have been rolling out freebies in keeping with poll promises and ended up increased public debt with unsustainable fiscal conditions.

DISCOURAGES THE HONEST TAXPAYER:

• It creates a sense of discontentment in the mind of an honest taxpayer whose money is used to fund the freebie expenditure. This feeling is more dominant especially when the State is unable to improve the public services due to freebie commitments.

SECTORAL COLLAPSE:

• The populist measures of loan waivers have put significant pressure on the banking sector.
• Similarly, rising power subsidies have enhanced pressures on Discoms who are failing to sustain themselves.

WASTAGE OF RESOURCES:

• Promises of free water and electricity create severe stress on the water table and lead to over-exploitation as seen in the states of Punjab and Haryana.
• NITI Aayog has cautioned that 21 major cities of India are on the verge of running out of groundwater in a few years.

ALLEGED INFRINGEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS:

• Promise/distribution of irrational freebies from the public fund before election unduly influences the voters, shakes the roots of the free-fair election, disturbs level playing field, vitiates the purity of the election process, and also allegedly violates Articles 14, 162, 266(3) and 282.

LANGUOR AMONG THE MASSES:

• Recurring the nature of the freebies in the Indian socio-political scenario also makes the masses develop the habit of acting irresponsibly and dampen their spirit to work hard.

THE ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUE

• India could face the prospect of sub-national bankruptcies if States continued to dole out freebies to influence the electorate, Fifteenth Finance Commission Chairperson NK Singh cautioned, terming the political competition over such sops a “quick passport to fiscal disaster”.
• We must strive instead, for a race to efficiency through laboratories of democracy and sanguine federalism where states use their authority to harness innovative ideas and solutions to common problems which other states can emulate.
• If the political parties go for effective economic policies where the welfare policies or government schemes have good reach without any leakages or corruption and it is targeted at the right audience, then infrastructure and development will take care of themselves and the people will not require such kinds of freebies.
• Central government’s debt-to-GDP ratio is supposed to be 40% but now it has crossed 90%of the GDP, while the states have managed to keep their debt-to-GDP ratio at almost 27% in FY 2020. Hence the problem of financial stability is more pressing at the level of the centre.
• Political parties shall also provide the road map for achieving the targets mentioned in the manifesto and also the rationale behind enlisting such targets.
• Certain freebies are important to cushion or safeguard the socio-economic fabric such as the basic healthcare facilities, school education, subsidized ration, etc. Such interventions by the government, guide the economy in the long term growth by strengthening the human capital.
• Freebies during the crises situation also help in sustaining the economic cycle through demand pull growth such as in COVID times.
• Qualified freebies such as the ascribed conditions of creating public assets through MGNREGA also contribute in more than one way in economic growth by increasing the productive capacity of the population.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• There should be a strengthening of internal party democracy so that promises of development and not freebies are made in the elections. This would also reduce the magnitude of the criminalization of politics.
• The Election Commission should be given greater powers like the power to deregister a political party, power of contempt, etc. This would curtail the distribution of liquor and other goods during elections and ensure expenditure as per the desired limit.
• The Government should use the money spent on freebies towards job creation and infrastructure development as advised by Madras HC in 2021. This will lead to social upliftment and progression of the State.
• The focus should now be tilted on improving the efficiency of public expenditure. This requires focusing on outcomes and not merely outlays. One good example is the Pradhan Mantri UjjwalaYojana:
• Arresting the health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels thereby reducing the out of the pocket expenditure on health.
• Employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.
• Improving India’s performance on Sustainable Development Goals-SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 5 (gender equality) and especially SDG 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
• Distribution of LPG subsidy through direct benefit transfer (DBT) also led to a decline in the subsidy bill.
• In the long run, eradication of unnecessary freebie culture requires an attitudinal change in the masses. It is high time that the ruling government should be made accountable for using tax revenue because freebies always prove to be a burden on taxpayers.
• The idea rendered by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has called for a wider debate on the freebies promised during polls and the possibility of making election manifestos legally binding. This will restrict the poll parties from making extravagant promises.

THE CONCLUSION: India has experienced the politics of freebies for a long time and the outcome of those policies has been sub-optimal, inefficient, and unsustainable. Therefore rather than doling out money, the focus should be on spending it efficiently. It is high time the discourse on improving public expenditure efficiency should take center stage while discussing the role of fiscal policy in India. However, until that is achieved, reliance on acceptable freebies like health, education, etc. can’t be completely stopped.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. ‘Instead of announcing freebies on the eve of elections, political parties need to come out with a clear road map with definitive time frames to solve the problems being faced by people for years.’ Elaborate.
2. ‘Irrational freebies in an under-tax country like India are not economically viable in the long run.’ Critically evaluate.