THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

1. COMMITTEE FOR PHARMA MARKETING PRACTICES

THE CONTEXT: A high-level committee has been set up to regulate the promotion of pharmaceutical products.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Government has set up a five-member committee chaired by Dr VK Paul, NITI Aayog member (health) to create a legal mechanism to address the issue of pharmaceutical companies giving incentives to promote their drugs and products.
• The members of this committee include department of pharmaceuticals S Aparna, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Nitin Gupta.
• The joint secretary (policy) from the department of pharmaceuticals is the member secretary of this committee.
• The committee was set up based on the recommendation of the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya.
• This committee will examine the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), Indian Medical Council Regulations, 2002 and CBDT rules, which are involved in the regulation of marketing practices of pharma companies.
• The UCPMP, which was unveiled in 2015, aims to prevent unethical practices of the pharma companies by regulating their marketing, including sample distribution and gifts. The code also governs hospitality and cash or monetary grants to physicians and their families. It is voluntary and not enforceable.
• The Indian Medical Council Regulations, 2002 details misconduct by medical professionals, including accepting gifts from drug companies and commissions from laboratories.
• The CBDT rules require pharma companies to file details on how much they spend to promote their products. The Supreme Court had held that gifts to medical practitioners by pharmaceutical companies is not allowable expenditure under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• The Committee will look to harmonize all codes, rules and regulations concerning the malpractices in the pharmaceutical sector. These rules are currently implemented by different entities of the government.
• It will also examine the requirement of legally enforceable mechanisms to regulate marketing practices by studying global best practices. The high-level committee will be submitting its report in 90 days.

 2. WHAT BANKING SYSTEM LIQUIDITY GOING INTO ‘DEFICIT MODE’ MEANS?

THE CONTEXT: For the first time since May 2019, the banking system liquidity situation turned into a deficit mode of Rs 21,873.4 crore on September 20, 2022. By comparison, the liquidity surplus was to the tune of Rs 8 lakh crore in November 2021 as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was providing liquidity support to the economy, which was dealing with the after-effects of the Covid pandemic.

THE EXPLANATION:

On September 20, 2021, the liquidity surplus was Rs 6.7 lakh crore. Multiple factors are at play here: an uptick in the bank credit, advance tax payments by corporates, and also incremental deposit growth not keeping pace with credit demand.

What is banking system liquidity?

• Liquidity in the banking system refers to readily available cash that banks need to meet short-term business and financial needs. On a given day, if the banking system is a net borrower from the RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), the system liquidity can be said to be in deficit and if the banking system is a net lender to the RBI, the system liquidity can be said to be in surplus. The LAF refers to the RBI’s operations through which it injects or absorbs liquidity into or from the banking system.

What has triggered this deficit?

• Economists say that there are various factors over the last few months that have led to the current situation. If an improvement in demand for credit has led to the same, the recent advance tax outflow, which is a quarterly phenomenon, has further aggravated the situation.
• Besides, there is the continuous intervention of the RBI to stem the fall in the rupee against the US dollar.
• “The deficit in the liquidity situation has been caused by an uptick in the bank credit, advance tax payments by corporates, intervention of the RBI into the forex market, and also incremental deposit growth not keeping pace with credit demand.
• According to the latest RBI data, the outstanding bank credit stood at Rs 124.58 lakh crore as on August 26, 2022 and has increased by 4.77% (Rs 5.7 lakh crore) from Rs 118.9 lakh crore as on March 25, 2022. However, deposit growth was just 3.21% (Rs 5.3 lakh crore) at Rs 169.94 lakh crore as on August 26, 2022, from Rs 164.65 lakh crore as on March 25, 2022.

How can a tight liquidity condition impact consumers?

• A tight liquidity condition could lead to a rise in the government securities yields and subsequently lead to a rise in interest rates for consumers too. The 10-year government bond yield increased to 7.23% on September 21, 2022, from 7.18% on August 20, 2022. According to Economists, the short-term rates would increase at a faster pace as the direct reflection of tighter liquidity and RBI’s rate hike would be on these papers.
• A rise in the repo rate will lead to a higher cost of funds. Banks will increase their repo-linked lending rates and the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR), to which all loans are linked to. This rise will result in higher interest rates for consumers.

What can RBI do to deal with this situation?

• Experts feel that RBI’s actions will depend upon the nature of the liquidity situation. If the current liquidity deficit situation is temporary and is largely on account of advance tax flow, the RBI may not have to act, as the funds should eventually come back into the system. However, if it is long-term in nature then the RBI may have to take measures to improve the liquidity situation in the system.

 THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

3. DEFENCE MINISTRY CONTRACT FOR BRAHMOS MISSILES

THE CONTEXT: The Indian Government has inked a Rs.1,700 crore contract with BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd for procuring BrahMos missiles.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The contract was signed by the Defence Ministry to purchase 35 combat and 3 practice BrahMos supersonic dual-role surface-to-surface cruise missiles.
• The range of these missiles is 290 km and they are capable of both land attack and anti-ship strikes.
• Their speed is 2.8 Mach, which is almost three times the speed of sound.
• These missiles will be equipped in two P-15B class stealth guided missile destroyers of the Indian Navy.
• This is expected to significantly boost India’s naval capabilities.
• They are brought under Buy-In category, which aims to boost indigenous production of critical weapon systems and ammunitions with active participation of indigenous defence industry.

What is BrahMos Missile?

• BrahMos is the fastest supersonic missile and the fastest anti-ship cruise missile in the world. It was developed by BrahMos Aerospace – a joint venture between DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya. The missile was named after Brahmaputra river in India and Moskva river in Russia.
• In 2016, since India entered into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), India and Russia decided to develop a new generation of Brahmos missiles with a range of 400 km and then increase it to 600 km. The extended range version has been tested from warships, including from INS Visakhapatnam.

About Project 15B

• Under the Project 15B, four stealth guided missile destroyers are being constructed at the cost of Rs. 29,643.74 crore. These destroyers are improved versions of Kolkata-class destroyers. These four vessels are named after major cities from all four corners of India. These are Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat.
• While INS Visakhapatnam was commissioned in 2021, the rest were launched into waters. They were designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design and constructed by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai. These vessels will be equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, including BrahMos and Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles.

CONNECT THE DOTS:

In a major boost to India’s defence export plans, the Philippines has accepted Indian BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd’s proposal worth $374.9 million to supply a Shore-based Anti-Ship Missile System Acquisition Project for its navy.

 THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND INITIATIVES IN NEWS

4. CONVERGENCE PORTAL BETWEEN AIF, PMFME SCHEME & PMKSY

THE CONTEXT: A convergence portal was jointly launched by the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to increase the potential of India’s agriculture and food processing sector.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The convergence portal brings together Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme, Pradhan Mantri Micro Food Enterprises Upgradation Scheme (PMFME) and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).
• A standard operating procedure (SOP) was also issued to provide maximum benefits under these three schemes.
• It aims to boost the concept of “Vocal for Local”.
• The convergence portal aims to ensure effective collaboration between all ministries and departments and improving access to these schemes and creating positive impact for farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs of the food processing industry.
• The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) is a financing facility launched in 2020 to improve post-harvest management infrastructure and community farm assets through benefits like 3 per cent interest subvention and credit guarantee support. Under this, Rs.1 lakh crore funds are provided from 2020-21 to 2025-26 and interest subvention and credit guarantee assistance will be provided until 2032-33.
• The AIF has the facility of convergence with other schemes implemented by states and central government, enabling the optimization of multiple government schemes for a specific project.
• The PMFME scheme was launched to provide financial, technical and commercial assistance for the upgradation of micro food processing enterprises across India. It will be implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The total outlay for this scheme is Rs.10,000 crore. It uses the One District One Product (ODOP) approach to boost procurement, avail common services and marketing of products.
• The PMKSY is a centrally sponsored scheme launched to boost infrastructure to improve supply chain management from farm to retail outlets. It aims to create mega food parks, improve cold chain and value addition infrastructure, food safety and quality assurance infrastructure, agro-processing clusters etc.

VALUE ADDITION:

“VOCAL FOR LOCAL”:

• It means that products are made competitive vis-a-vis global brands. But it does not mean that one must only buy products that have a logo ‘made in India’ on it
• Government’s announcement to make ‘local companies global’ and to increase demand for locally manufactured goods, India’s digital industry is going to benefit from more Indian brands wanting to reach a wider audience.
• Vocal for local also aims to achieve ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India).

Idea behind it

• ‘Vocal for Local’ is a concept which dates back to the era of the Swadeshi movement which stared in 1905 as part of the Indian independence movement
• It was also Developed and promoted by Mahatma Gandhi.As an economic strategy, it helped develop Indian nationalism at the time. After 1947, in the 1950s and 60s India followed a conscious, socialist pattern of development to create and grow a base of domestic big industry.
• However, this minimized competition and also encouraged protectionism.
• The era of the 1990s saw a liberalization of the economies across the world, including in India.
• This led to an infusion of FDI and big investments from MNCs and corporate houses and several joint ventures which made India very competitive.
• The Indian Prime Minister latest slogan ‘Be vocal about local’ is built on both the reform agenda of Narasimha Rao and Vajpayee’s infrastructure focus to address a serious weakness in the India growth story ― low share of manufacturing in the country’s GDP vis-à-vis China.

 THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

5. THE 2023 BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE WINNERS ANNOUNCED

THE CONTEXT: The 2023 Breakthrough Prizes conferred to individuals who made key contributions in the scientific growth.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Breakthrough Prizes are international awards conferred under three categories – mathematics, fundamental physics and life sciences.
• These awards give recognition to scientific advances in these fields.
• The awards were created in 2010 by a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs – Milner (venture capitalist), Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan of Facebook and Sergey Brin of Google.
• The Breakthrough Prizes were conferred for the first time in 2012 and the ceremony was hosted by Morgan Freeman.
• Awardees receive 3 million USD each in prize money, which is higher than the 1 million USD received by Nobel laureates.
• These prizes are conferred at a televised award ceremony that is organized to celebrate their achievements and inspire the next generation of scientists.
• This year, three prizes were conferred in the life sciences category, one for mathematics and one for fundamental physics.
• The total prize received by all these awardees are more than 15 million USD.

Who are the winners?

• Life Sciences: Clifford Brangwynne and Anthony Hyman received the prize for discovering a new mechanism of cellular organization. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper were recognized for the development of AlphaFold, which predicts the structure of proteins. The prize was also given to Emmanuel Mignot and Masashi Yanagisawa for the discovery of causes of narcolepsy – the chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep.
• Mathematics: Daniel Spielman of Yale University was given recognition for multiple discoveries in theoretical computer science and mathematics. He has been a professor of applied mathematics and computer science at Yale University since 2006.
• Fundamental physics: The prize was shared by Charles Bennett, Gilles Brassard, David Deutsch and Peter Shor for their research in quantum information.

 6. WHAT IS CARBON DATING, AND CAN THE GYANVAPI ‘SHIVLING’ BE DATED BY THIS TECHNIQUE?

THE CONTEXT: Recently, a district court in Varanasi on allowed a petition seeking carbon dating of the structure inside the Gyanvapi mosque that the Hindu side has claimed is a ‘Shivling’. The court has issued notices to other parties wanting to know whether they have any objection to carbon dating.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is carbon dating?

• Carbon dating is a widely-used method applied to establish the age of organic material, things that were once living. Living things have carbon in them in various forms. The dating method makes use of the fact that a particular isotope of carbon called C-14, with an atomic mass of 14, is radioactive, and decays at a rate that is well known.
• The most abundant isotope of carbon in the atmosphere is carbon-12 or a carbon atom whose atomic mass is 12. A very small amount of carbon-14 is also present. The ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 in the atmosphere is almost static, and is known.
• Plants get their carbon through the process of photosynthesis, while animals get it mainly through food. Because plants and animals get their carbon from the atmosphere, they too acquire carbon-12 and carbon-14 isotopes in roughly the same proportion as is available in the atmosphere.
• But when they die, the interactions with the atmosphere stops. There is no further intake of carbon (and no outgo either, because metabolism stops). Now, carbon-12 is stable and does not decay, while carbon-14 is radioactive. Carbon-14 reduces to one-half of itself in about 5,730 years. This is what is known as its ‘half-life’.

What about non-living things?

• Though extremely effective, carbon dating cannot be applied in all circumstances. Specifically, it cannot be used to determine the age of non-living things, like rocks, for example. Also, the age of things that are more than 40,000-50,000 years cannot be arrived at through carbon dating. This is because after eight to ten cycles of half-lives have been crossed, the amount of carbon-14 becomes almost negligible and undetectable.
• There are other methods to calculate the age of inanimate things, but carbon dating can also be used in an indirect way in certain circumstances. For example, the age of the ice cores in glaciers and polar regions is determined using carbon dating by studying the carbon dioxide molecules trapped inside large ice sheets. The trapped molecules have no interaction with the outside atmosphere and are found in the same state as when they were trapped.

Is there anything that cannot be dated?

• Though a variety of methods exist to know the age of a certain object, not everything can be dated. The accuracy of the different methods also varies.
• Though the petitioners in the Gyanvapi case have asked for carbon dating, it is not clear as of now whether carbon dating can be applied in this case, or if some other methods would be suitable. Some methods, like looking for trapped organic material beneath it, might not be feasible for practical reasons because that would involve uprooting the structure or making some other disruptions that are not desirable.

1. Five essential steps to happiness READ MORE
2. The power of patience READ MORE
3. The Use and Abuse of Oath-taking READ MORE

CASE STUDY

1. In Nandurbar, delayed MGNREGA wages trap workers in a vicious cycle of debt and migration READ MORE

1. In Conservation Efforts, the Tiger Overshadows India’s Other Carnivores READ MORE
2. Climate, Salinity, Menstrual Health: Sundarban Women Fight on Three Fronts READ MORE

1. To develop, India must forge a new social contract READ MORE  
2. Towards the Instrumentality of Inequality READ MORE

1. Issues before the Supreme Court in EWS quota case: background and analysis READ MORE
2. How to Defend India and Swaraj READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Malawi first country in southern Africa to eliminate trachoma: WHO READ MORE
2. ‘Ambedkar tourist circuit only aids nationalistic narrative’ READ MORE
3. Coming soon: relief from spam calls, fraudulent messages READ MORE
4. What banking system liquidity going into ‘deficit mode’ means READ MORE
5. What is carbon dating, and can the Gyanvapi ‘Shivling’ be dated by this technique? READ MORE
6. Burning fuel to carry fuel: Govt’s ethanol programme to face transport challenges READ MORE
7. Rupee breaches 81, policy challenge: let it find its value or burn forex, hike rates READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. To develop, India must forge a new social contract READ MORE  
2. Towards the Instrumentality of Inequality READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Issues before the Supreme Court in EWS quota case: background and analysis READ MORE
2. How to Defend India and Swaraj READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. The success of the novel PM SHRI schools scheme will depend on the quality of educators READ MORE
2. National Health Accounts, 2018–19 READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The Global South’s assertion in geopolitics READ MORE
2. UN Charter in jeopardy: World must heed Guterres’ warning that winter of global discontent is on the horizon READ MORE
3. The SCO has a long-term regional agenda READ MORE
4. The Growing Significance of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. True meaning of Atmanirbharta READ MORE
2. The Role of Industrial Policy in Market-friendly Economies READ MORE
3. Rare treasure trove: Rare opportunity for India READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT

1. In Conservation Efforts, the Tiger Overshadows India’s Other Carnivores READ MORE
2. Climate, Salinity, Menstrual Health: Sundarban Women Fight on Three Fronts READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. How this cyclone intensity estimation technique saved millions of lives across continents READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Five essential steps to happiness READ MORE
2. The power of patience READ MORE
3. The Use and Abuse of Oath-taking READ MORE

CASE STUDY

1. In Nandurbar, delayed MGNREGA wages trap workers in a vicious cycle of debt and migration READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘The rising importance of the SCO is an indicator of the growing strategic exhaustion with the US-led world order’. Analysis.
2. ‘Poor teaching is a product of systemic deficits that makes the teaching profession unattractive to a large number of talented people’. In the light of the statement analyse how a parallel teacher training programme can must be in place to train the educators in the pedagogical practices?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
• Given the supply-chain disruptions observed in the past two years and China’s severe hedonistic tendencies, it is not wise to maintain dependence for such crucial raw materials.
• Agriculture electricity supply has been the Achilles heel in the context of electricity policy and subsidy in India. The study summarises all the electricity consumption methods and numbers in the major agricultural states by state electricity regulatory commissions and researchers.
• The rising importance of the SCO is an indicator of the growing strategic exhaustion with the US-led world order.
• A deficit in healthcare and its skewed availability across states remain major limitations.
• The outcome of the SCO in Samarkand shows that the members are bracing for a larger role on the world stage.
• Bemoaning the stark reality that while the international community had a ‘duty’ to act, the SG added: ‘We are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction. The international community is not ready or willing to tackle the big dramatic challenges of our age.
• Poor teaching is a product of systemic deficits that makes the teaching profession unattractive to a large number of talented people. A parallel teacher training programme must be in place to train the educators in the pedagogical practices proposed by the NEP.

50-WORD TALK

• Arresting PFI leaders — even banning the group — will achieve little unless the government presents credible evidence of ties to terrorism. Past prosecutions against PFI haven’t succeeded, only gave it a halo of victimhood and more supporters. Fighting its toxic politics needs a nuanced political response, not only the police’s hammer.
• Endless arguments about who cast the first stone in Leicester won’t fix the damage Hindu-Muslim clashes have inflicted on South Asian communities abroad. Importing hatred from the homeland will destroy the hard-won reputation of South Asian immigrants as workers and entrepreneurs. Hindu-Muslim fanaticism will only empower English-nationalist opposition to immigration.

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 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.

THE CONTEXT: Many developing countries have reorganized their subnational administrative boundaries as a part of administrative reforms and decentralization. Theoretically, organisational proliferation can lead to better developmental outcomes by better managing ethnic heterogeneity, bringing public services closer to people, and better matching services to local preferences. This article analyzes the demographic and developmental outcomes of such administrative proliferation in India.

THE OVERVIEW: In a bid to arrive at the optimal population size in a local government unit, many national governments have reorganized their sub-national boundaries and have implemented vast decentralization reforms with the explicit goal of improving governance. The fundamental argument for decentralized administration is that there is heterogeneity in demand for public services. The variance in preferences can be better understood and catered to by a government that is closer to the citizens, thus raising well-being throughout society. Small jurisdictions have an information advantage and can tailor their services, tax appropriately, and raise welfare. In addition, it also enhances the capability of the citizens to monitor their government and hold the responsibility of the public official to better match local preferences.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROLIFERATION:

• Administrative proliferation is the creation of new administrative units by the splitting of existing ones at subnational levels. Although administrative proliferation may be associated with decentralization reforms, it is a distinct policy choice. Decentralization involves the devolution of responsibility, authority, and resources to lower-level governmental units, while administrative proliferation only creates new governmental units without changing the underlying power structure.
• Many developing countries create new districts as a part of their administrative reforms process, also referred to as administrative proliferation or government fragmentation.

WHY ADMINISTRATIVE PROLIFERATION?

• Administrative proliferation may claim some of the theoretical benefits of decentralization as it brings citizens closer to their administrators. Each administrative unit is smaller and more homogeneous—with less heterogeneity in preferences, they are able to provide better services to citizens. Splitting of administrative units also may reduce the bargaining power of each unit.
• Another consideration in the creation of administrative units is the management of ethnic diversity. Ethnic politics constitutes a crucial dimension of public life and serves as an intermediary between public administration and the economic well-being of citizens, especially in cases where multiple hierarchically nested administrative units interact to provide public goods. In ethnically diverse states, it is common to devolve power to subnational units as a compromise between the demands of territorially concentrated ethnic groups and the need to preserve the higher-level territorial integrity.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROLIFERATION IN INDIA

Administrative proliferation in India has been occurring since Independence, but it has picked up pace since the enactment of the decentralization reforms in 1992. India enacted extensive decentralization reforms with a constitutional amendment in 1992. Until the 73rd and 74th amendments to the constitution, the government structure in India was two-tiered, with the union and state governments—and the district level administrators performing such tasks as assigned to them by the state governments, such as rural development programs. With the passing of the 73rd and 74th Amendments, the local government units became the third tier of government. The local government units are of three levels – district level, 220 sub-district (taluka) level and village (panchayat) level.

According to the 2011 Census, between 2001-2011 alone, as many as 46 districts were added. Since the 2011 Census, approximately 100 districts have been added in India.

• In 2021 Punjab created Malerkotla as its 23rd district.
• The surge in several districts is primarily due to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into A.P. and Telangana in 2014. Telangana currently has 33 districts and Andhra Pradesh has 26 districts (13 new communities were created in 2022).
• Most recently, in August 2022, WEST BENGAL also announced for the creation of 7 new districts.

ADVANTAGES OF CREATING NEW DISTRICTS IN INDIA

• Better administration and governance: This is one of the foremost advantages stated by state governments during creating new districts. To some extent, it is also true.
• The smaller district ensures better governance: New districts will host a range of administrative machinery in the district. This will result in better implementation of government schemes, proper fund utilization, enhanced coverage of schemes, etc. All this will improve governance in the new district.
• Service to the increased population: Since 1981, the average district area has become 44% smaller in 2019. But, the average number of people in a district has risen from 16.6 lakh to 18.6 lakh in 2019. So the new districts can ensure better service delivery for the increased population.
• Bring administration closer to the people: Bigger districts hinder the administration process in some areas of that district itself. For example, before the bifurcation of the Amravati district, the farthest taluka was around 150 km from the district headquarters. So, administrative officers in taluka have to travel nearly 3 hours to district headquarters. A new district can bring the administration closer to the people.
• District-specific government initiatives: New districts might attract more district-specific schemes. For example, the government can set up an agricultural research and assistance centre or a residential school for gifted children. The state government can provide better funding for backward districts. This will benefit the local population.
• Increase employment: Since the new district will require new officials from the top down, this will increase employment in government directly. It will also spur employment opportunities indirectly. For example, government tender and associated employment for locals, new shops and services near government buildings, etc.

DEMOGRAPHIC AND DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROLIFERATION

The district bifurcations benefit the overall district – and especially newly created districts – in terms of economic output. There could be two underlying reasons for the observed outcomes – it may be arising due to the greater homogeneity in population distribution after the split, or due to the redistributive benefits of bifurcation.

• After the bifurcation, the child and the parent region tend to be more homogeneous. Compared with a similar district that was never split, both child and parent districts do better in terms of economic outcomes. This suggests that the greater homogeneity in population distribution and preferences after the split could be playing a part in the observed positive outcomes.
• However, the child regions do better than the parent regions in the post-bifurcation period. This is reasonable to expect because the villages in the child district gain the advantage of having a new administrative setup built closer to them. This is consistent with the idea that reducing the distance between citizens and administrative centres could lead to better outcomes. [The parent region already has an established administrative system; therefore, the redistributive effects due to the creation of a new district headquarters do not come into play in the parent district. The observed benefit to the child region over the parent region seems to suggest that the positive outcomes are due to redistributive benefits.]

CHALLENGES IN THE CREATION OF NEW DISTRICTS IN INDIA

Creating a number of districts without any rationale can be challenging. This is due to various reasons such as,

• Creating one district is challenging: The government has to find office space for different departments and fill many new positions. All this will require a huge government expenditure. The government will also face challenges with land acquisition.
• Substitute for genuine decentralization: Zilla Parishad and the Panchayat Samiti do not enjoy much power in many states. So, these officials take most of their grievances to the collector. Creating smaller districts without empowering these bodies does not conform to the idea of decentralization in the real sense.
• The increased cost of living in new districts: The growth centres created in new district headquarters will also increase land rates and other service costs. This will increase the cost of living in the new district headquarters in the long run.
• Political motive: Many states reorganize the existing districts and form new ones due to political motives. However, the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission stated that the political gains from forming a new district are a “minor dividend” and not the major one.

THE ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUE

• In democratic societies, small jurisdictions are believed to enhance political participation, make politics less abstract, politicians more responsive, and facilitate exit-based empowerment of citizens. Decentralization may promote responsiveness and effectiveness of the government as it enhances the capability of the citizens to monitor their government and aligns the incentive structure facing the public official. Decentralization will increase economic efficiency as local governments have an information advantage and can respond better to variance in preferences at the local level and population mobility will lead to competition between local authorities and better provision of public goods [One District, One Product; Aspirational District Programme; Swachh Bharat Mission etc will incentivise the general public in a more comprehensive way].
• Decentralized service delivery, especially when citizens directly elect the local governments, is expected to provide better coverage, quality, and efficiency. Competing local governments may experiment with various ways to provide public goods and lead to innovations [ making use of locally available resources, traditional knowledge and manpower] that can also be applied/replicated elsewhere.
• Local government proliferation also brings citizens closer to their government and may engender a better match between the supply and demand of public goods and services.
• At the same time, there is a counterargument in favour of larger jurisdiction sizes because larger units allow for economies of scale in providing public goods. Local bureaucracies may be poorly staffed and ill-equipped to handle the responsibilities associated with the decentralized provision of public goods [such as in cases of natural disasters and climate change-related issues which impact a larger geographical area and needs more coordinated efforts at a large scale]. Making each unit smaller and increasing the number of units, may increase the total cost of coordination and cooperation.
• There is also the possibility that the newly created administrative units may struggle to generate resources due to poorer administrative capability, thus leading to subpar public good provision. Thus critics also argue that the effectiveness of decentralization measures/administrative proliferation is often hampered by the particular context of its implementation, which may or may not always lead to better outcomes.

THE WAY FORWARD:

1. Ensure proper decentralization: Instead of creating new districts every time, the State governments might reform their decentralization policy as the Panchayats and Zillas face many challenges in their functioning. If the state government provides more powers, this will improve the functioning of Panchayats and Zilla Parishad. For example,

• Creation of SFCs(State Finance Commission) properly and allocating funds properly.
• Widening their tax base and providing access to the Capital market to raise funds.
• State Governments should provide local bodies with the power to properly recruit personnel to fulfil their functions.

2. Guidelines for the formation of new districts: With new districts added every year, the Center may prescribe certain criteria for the formation of a new district. For example, the Center may release a guideline that contains the minimum area of the district, its population, etc.
3. Work on other alternatives: Instead of creating new infrastructure, the States may conduct special camps and frequent field visits from officials. This will not only save the government exchequer but also serve the majority of the administrative and governance targets.
4. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are key instruments for achieving higher competitiveness in the economy and improving the social living standard of the citizens. Wide usage and incorporation of ICT in these two directions are targeted to achieve innovative, sustainable and associative growth, which is envisaged.
5. The present times is an era of technology and underlining the benefits of technology as demonstrated during the time of the pandemic, the union government is working to provide high-speed internet to every village and it is imperative to invest even further in technology and innovation, which will help in better administration and good governance initiatives, reducing the need for further bifurcation of the districts.
6. Parallel steps to enhance the Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency of the public offices will further enhance the overall functioning of the administration along with the administrative proliferation which indeed helps in bringing the government and administration closer to the people.

THE CONCLUSION: Administrative proliferation as a policy measure has mixed results with specific public service measures such as education, sanitation, water supply, or maternal health. Compared to districts that are not split, split districts (parent and child) are better off in terms of economic outcomes. However, the child regions have an advantage over the parent regions in the post-bifurcation period. Government functions are many and varied and the effect of population size on one of those functions might not be the same as that on others. The demographic and developmental outcomes may fall off the line with the conceived notions of administrative proliferation at lower levels of population per administrative unit.

Mains Practice Question:

1. What are the reasons for creating new districts in the state? are they helping in administrative ease or just a populist measure?
2. Does the concept of administrative proliferation conform to the idea of a leviathan state? In the era of minimum government, maximum governance justifies the idea of creating more administrative centres in the state.
3. Do newly added districts yield desired governance results? critically analyze.

Essay Question Paper: UPSC CSE Mains 2022

GS PAPER-1: UPSC CSE Mains-2022

GS PAPER-2: UPSC CSE Mains-2022

GS PAPER-3: UPSC CSE Mains-2022

GS PAPER-4 UPSC CSE Mains-2022