Day-319 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS
[WpProQuiz 364]
[WpProQuiz 364]
THE CONTEXT: The concept and practice of gig economy has gained wide currency across the globe. In India, the entry of various food delivery apps, cab aggregators and others have revolutionized this segment of the economy. While they provide huge scope for freelance/part time jobs for India’s demographic dividend, the management practices of these platforms have raised concerns of labour exploitation. In this context, this write up examines how gig economy results in informalisation of labour on the one hand and provides freedom of work on the other.
WHAT IS GIG ECONOMY?
WHAT IS PLATFORM WORK?
WHAT IS MEANT BY INFORMALISATION OF LABOUR?
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL SECTOR?
DEFINITION OF LABOUR FORCE
DEFINITION OF WORKFORCE
OUTSIDE THE PURVIEW OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
UNCLEAR EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP
EXPLOITATIVE SERVICE CONDITIONS
SUBJUGATION TO ALGORITHMS
NON EXISTENT SOCIAL SAFETY NET
DEMAND AND SUPPLY MISMATCH
NO SCOPE FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
EXERCISING CONTROL WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY
FREEDOM OF CHOICE
FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS
NO FORMAL TRAINING REQUIRED
INCENTIVISATION OF HARD WORK
GENDER EMPOWERMENT
DATA ON THE SIZE OF THE GIG WORKFORCE
LEGAL INTERVENTIONS
PROVIDING CONCRETE SOCIAL SAFETY MEASURES.
CLARIFYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPANY AND THE WORKERS
LEARNING FROM INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL INTERVENTIONS
UNIONIZATION OF THE WORKERS
BEST PRACTICES OF THE STATE GOVERNMENTS.
THE WAY FORWARD
THE CONCLUSION: The Economic Survey 2021 has appreciated the role played by gig economy in terms of service delivery and provision of employment to the labour force in the pandemic period. This sector holds out huge promise especially in the context of governments’ push towards digital economy through Digital India. It is true that the freelance nature of the work and other attributes may not strictly fit into the traditional employer-employee matrix. But that does not mean the labour should be left for exploitation and suffer from poor working conditions. It is in the interest of all stakeholders; the promoters, management, workers, the shareholders the consumers and others that adequate concreate measures be adopted for a win situation for all.
THE CONTEXT: Recently the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) .In June 2022, MeitY had put out a draft of the amendments and solicited feedback from the relevant stakeholders.
THE EXPLANATION:
What are the key features of the IT Rules, 2021?
Grievance Appellate Committees (GACs):
SMIs obligations:
What is the criticism of the rules?
High cost
Uncertainties regarding GAC
What is IT Rules, 2021?
Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 or IT Rules, 2021 was notified by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY). It replaces decade-old rules regulating social media intermediaries (SMI) to make them more accountable towards providing open, safe and trusted internet.
THE CONTEXT: Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is currently planning to recommend environmental release of a genetically modified (GM) herbicide tolerant cotton of German multinational company Bayer AG.
THE EXPLANATION:
What is BG-II RRF?
What are genetically modified crops?
How are genetically modified crops regulated in India?
THE CONTEXT: Uttar Pradesh is set to have its fourth Tiger Reserve and 53rd tiger reserve in India. The tiger reserve is spread across over 529.36 sq km out of which the core area is 230.32 sq km and the buffer area is 299.05 sq km.
THE EXPLANATION:
VALUE ADDITION:
Project Tiger
National Tiger Conservation Authority
THE CONTEXT: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the first pilot of the Central Bank Digital Currency — Digital Rupee (Wholesale segment) will be launched from 1st November 2022 for transactions in government securities.
THE EXPLANATION:
What is Digital Rupee?
CBDC can be classified into two types
1. Retail (CBDC-R): Retail CBDC would be potentially available for use by all
2. Wholesale (CBDC-W) is designed for restricted access to select financial institutions.
THE CONTEXT: China successfully launched the final module of its Tiangong space station inching closer to its completion by the end of the year and a landmark moment in the country’s space ambitions.
THE EXPLANATION:
What is “Mengtian” module?
About Tiangong space station
THE CONTEXT: Recently the Supreme Court has voiced concerns over the increasing use of DNA to prove cases.
THE EXPLANATION:
Current Challenges:
Justice vs privacy: The Supreme Court has recently held that compelling an unwilling person to undergo a DNA test would be a violation of his/her personal liberty and right to privacy.
The court is turning the spotlight on the spreading use of a technology that aids the cause of justice on the one hand but violates privacy on the other.
Global scenario: While the 3,000-odd DNA tests Indian labs perform annually is minuscule compared to the 70 other countries that rely on DNA technology.
VALUE ADDITION:
About DNA Testing:
Where is it used?
Crime scenes:
Finding inheritance:
Legislation on DNA testing:
Courts’ stands:
Courts are also reluctant to use the DNA test technique because there are serious questions raised regarding the right of privacy which comes under Article 21 of the Constitution and the right against self-incrimination which comes under Article 20(3) of the Constitution.
VALUE ADDITION:
Autosomal DNA technique :
[WpProQuiz 363]
THE CONTEXT: Three decades ago, India embarked on a new economic journey when Manmohan Singh, then Finance Minister, placed the reform Bill and echoed Victor Hugo, “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come,” in Parliament. Since then, the crisis-hit economy has come a long way and marked its firm presence in the global platform. In this article, we will analyse India’s Journey in these three decades.
The need for the introduction of the reforms was because of the following factors:
POOR PERFORMANCE OF THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
Before the introduction of economic reforms, the industrial sector suffered due to bureaucratic controls. The industries had to obtain several licenses and permissions for any undertaking activity such as setting up a new firm, starting a new product line, expanding existing business, foreign investments, etc. Many public sector enterprises were incurring huge losses due to poor productivity.
The main objectives of the industrial policy introduced in 1991 were:
I. To unshackle the Indian industrial sector from the cobwebs of unscrupulous bureaucratic controls.
II. To introduce liberalisation to integrate the Indian economy with the world economy.
III. To remove restrictions on foreign investments and relieve the entrepreneurs from the restrictions of the MRTP Act.
IV. To shed the load of public enterprises that were incurring heavy losses.
ADVERSE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
Some of the factors responsible for the crisis were:
I. The rising level of expenditure over revenue.
II. Heavy government borrowing.
III. Inefficient utilisation of resources.
IV. Excessive protection to domestic industries.
V. Inefficient management of public sector enterprises.
VI. Lack of technological development and innovation
VII. Lack of investments in research and development.
RISE IN FISCAL DEFICIT
INFLATION
THE GULF WAR
Economic reforms in India were implemented to change the pattern of economic activities to liberalise the Indian economy and accelerate the rate of economic growth. These new economic reforms brought about a structural change in the share of different sectors in the national income.
The new economic reform policies mainly focused on structural reforms in the agricultural sector, industrial sector, financial sector, and global trade. Such economic reforms were possible with the help of broad and comprehensive policies on liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation.
The main objective of liberalisation was to unshackle the industrial sector from the cobwebs of unnecessary bureaucratic controls.
The main features of liberalisation policy were
ABOLITION OF INDUSTRIAL LICENSING
REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS
RELAXATION OF MRTP RESTRICTIONS
FOREIGN INVESTMENT
FOREIGN TECHNOLOGY
Globalisation may be defined as the integration of the domestic economy with the world economy to facilitate the free movement of goods, services, people, ideas, technology, etc. It refers to the opening of the economy to international competition.
The major features of globalisation measures as undertaken in 1991 were:
Reduction of Trade Barriers
Promotion of Foreign Direct Investment:
To Encourage Efficiency
Diffusion of Technology
Privatisation refers to the introduction of private ownership in public sector enterprises. The government holding in public sector enterprises was sold to increase private participation.
Many public-sector units were incurring losses due to inefficiencies in management and lack of innovation and investments in research and development. Privatisation measures enabled modern technology, improved the quality of service, and led to efficient utilisation of resources.
Various privatisation measures introduced in India included:
The privatisation wave in India, which was a part of the economic reforms of 1991, increased the role of the private sector and restricted the public sector to priority areas which included:
Privatisation measures were introduced in India as part of the economic reforms in 1991 for the following reasons:
To Reduce the Burden of the Government
To Promote Efficiency
To Enhance Investment Opportunities
To Facilitate Growth of Infrastructure
To Reduce Unnecessary Bureaucratic Interventions
THE SUCCESS:
SIZE OF GDP AND GROWTH
From a GDP of $512.92 billion in 1991, India had grown to $2.70 trillion by 2020. Besides, the average annual growth rates in GDP, post the 1990s, have been around 6.25 per cent against 4.18 per cent for the three decades prior to the reforms.
RATE OF INFLATION
The average annual inflation rates in the post-reform period were significantly lower at around 5 per cent and the gross fiscal deficit was below 4.80 per cent of GDP. While curbing automatic monetisation of deficits and strong monetary measures contributed to lower inflation, disinvestment via privatisation and fiscal restraint in the form of lower subsidies arrested the deficits.
IMPORT- EXPORT
On the external front, the reforms made a significant impact too. Firstly, India’s trade openness increased from a meagre 13 per cent in 1990-91 to 42 per cent in 2020. The exports, driven by the devaluation of the rupee in 1991 and further depreciation in later years, have increased from $17.96 billion in 1990 to $324.43 billion in 2019.
FOREIGN INVESTMENT
Abolition of licence-raj and curbing of excessive regulations saw rewards in terms of better foreign investment. From $236.69 million in 1991, the net FDI inflows stood at $50.61 billion in 2020. With more foreign companies entering India, domestic consumers benefited from healthy market competition. For Indian manufacturing, the foreign collaborations meant access to technology and, thereby, efficient production. Also, there has been a significant improvement in forex reserves, which are now sufficient to cover 15 months’ imports.
REDUCING POVERTY
The reforms had a telling impact on India’s socio-economic fabric. From about 45 per cent of the population below the national poverty line in 1994, the rates fell to 21.9 per cent in 2011. There have also been improvements in literacy rates, gross enrolments ratio and life expectancy, among others.
AVERAGE MONTHLY PER CAPITA HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE
It was Rs 243.5 and Rs 370.3 in July-Dec 1991 and this stood at Rs 1,430 and Rs 2,629.7 from July 2011 to June-2012 for rural and urban areas.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVE
Increased $1.1 billion in 1991 to $642 billion in 2021.
PER CAPITA INCOME
Increased $300.10 to $2200.60 in 2020.
However, opening up the economy makes it susceptible to external shocks. Within a few years after the reforms, the first challenge for India came from its East Asian neighbours in 1997. In a span of three years, the world economy was hit by the dot-com bubble, and the third challenge came in the form of the global financial crisis in 2008. It was prudent economic policies and disciplined financial markets that helped the Indian economy to resist and recover quickly from all three crises.
THE FAILURES:
INCONSISTENT PERFORMANCE
RICH-POOR DIVIDE
POVERTY RATE
UNEMPLOYMENT
MORTALITY RATE
SHARE OF MANUFACTURING IN GDP%
COMBINED FISCAL DEFICIT OF CENTRE AND STATES
TAX TO GDP RATIO
Successive governments have built on LPG reforms, but a lot more needs to be done if India is to achieve its full potential. A look at the key areas that need urgent intervention to address long-standing issues to help the country achieve double-digit growth.
EDUCATION
HEALTHCARE
JUDICIAL REFORMS
(Vacancies of Judges- 38.70%)
(Pending cases- 63,146 in SC, 56.43 lakh in High Courts and 3.71 Cr in Districts and Subordinate Courts)
TAX REFORMS
POWER SECTOR
INNOVATION
UNIVERSAL BROADBAND
EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
SOME OTHER TARGET AREAS
THE WAY FORWARD
THE CONCLUSION: While Covid-19 has been a big blow, the economy was already showing signs of deteriorating growth even in periods preceding the pandemic. This would require immediate intervention to tackle the predicaments of unemployment, poverty, and other social issues. The pandemic has also raised concerns over existing health infrastructure and the future of education. The government must make higher investments in these sectors.
Disinvestment:
This is one of the most important strategies adopted by the Government of India as a part of its privatisation measures. A disinvestment is an act by which the government sells its complete or a part of its holding in a public sector unit to the private sector.
The disinvestment policies of the government also enable it to raise huge revenue to finance its fiscal deficit. About Rs. 20,000 cores were raised through disinvestment in public sector units between the period of 1991-92 to 2001-02.
The funds raised through disinvestment are also used:
1. To shut down the industries declared sick by the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) and settle their claims.
2. To restructure and modernise the public sector enterprises.
3. To settle the public debt.
The disinvestment policies of the government, by bringing in private participation, improve the efficiency of public sector units by lowering their costs of production. It enables access to modern technology, thus, improving the quality of products and services. Disinvestment can be carried out through the public issue of equities to retail investors through Initial Public Offer (IPO).