[WpProQuiz 443]

1. Jainism’s three keys to transcendence READ MORE
2. Levels of love READ MORE
3. Ethics, yoga are must for holistic growth READ MORE

1. How to use free satellite data to monitor natural disasters and environmental changes READ MORE
2. Weather report. Shadow of El Nino over growth READ MORE

1. Married or partnered: Politics won’t defy a largely traditional society. So, civil unions may be a good first step for same-sex couples READ MORE
2. How Does Living with In-Laws Affect Women’s Employment? READ MORE
3. Inaction and intervention: On the handling of social issues READ MORE   
4. Digital training in healthcare is vital READ MORE

1. SC is right, Centre wrong on same-sex marriage READ MORE
2. Self-regulation of online gaming will need safeguards READ MORE
3. Relief to Govt READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. National Project of Soil Health READ MORE  
2. PLI Scheme in Food Processing Sector READ MORE
3. Atal Innovation Mission launches ATL Sarthi READ MORE
4. Armenian PM critical of Moscow-dominated security pact READ MORE
5. House panel apprehensive about ₹15,000 crore PM-PVTG allocation READ MORE
6. RBI has allowed banks from 18 countries to trade in rupee: government in Rajya Sabha READ MORE
7. Bhopal gas tragedy case | Supreme Court dismisses Centre’s petition seeking additional compensation READ MORE
8. Government corrects MPLADS change on allocation for SC/ST areas after concerns raised READ MORE
9. IPCC meet in Switzerland: The significance, likely impact READ MORE  
10. Carbon footprint of marine fisheries lower than global average. Efforts on to green sector: CMFRI READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Married or partnered: Politics won’t defy a largely traditional society. So, civil unions may be a good first step for same-sex couples READ MORE
2. How Does Living with In-Laws Affect Women’s Employment? READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. SC is right, Centre wrong on same-sex marriage READ MORE
2. Self-regulation of online gaming will need safeguards READ MORE
3. Relief to Govt READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Inaction and intervention: On the handling of social issues READ MORE   
2. Digital training in healthcare is vital READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. In Saudi-Iranian ‘normalisation’, new challenges emerge in West Asia READ MORE   
2. India and Italy: Friends in a turbulent world READ MORE
3. Iran-Saudi deal casts China as desirable counsel READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. What are India’s immediate growth prospects? READ MORE
2. Silicon Valley Bank collapse: How safe are Indian banks? READ MORE
3. The big bank collapse: Long-term solution needed to deal with systemic issues READ MORE  
4. RBI’s fresh approach is promising READ MORE
5. Policy dilemma: Central banks must focus on inflation READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Look at AI, not ChatGPT READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. How to use free satellite data to monitor natural disasters and environmental changes READ MORE
2. Weather report. Shadow of El Nino over growth READ MORE

SECURITY

1. China-Russia cybersecurity ties taking darker turns. India needs to worry too READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Lessons from Turkey: How to make India earthquake prepared READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Jainism’s three keys to transcendence READ MORE
2. Levels of love READ MORE
3. Ethics, yoga are must for holistic growth READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Any stimulus for growth should be undertaken while adhering to the fiscal consolidation road map to keep India’s medium-term story intact. Comment on the statement in the light of India’s latest growth prospects and fiscal challenges.
2. The China-brokered deal affirms Beijing’s role in West Asian affairs, posing new challenges for Indian diplomacy in the region. Critically Examine.
3. ‘China’s role in the Iran-Saudi rapprochement raises questions about India’s decision to shed its traditional policy of pursuing strict neutrality and going for bilateralism in West Asia’. Examine.
4. Digital training of healthcare professionals is an important step towards achieving the SDGs.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• A banking system is an act of faith: it survives only for as long as people believe it will.
• The Supreme Court’s decision to refer to a Constitution Bench the issue of granting legal recognition to same-sex marriages can be seen as an important step towards ensuring gender equality, despite apprehension that it is encroaching on the legislative domain.
• The China-brokered deal affirms Beijing’s role in West Asian affairs, posing new challenges for Indian diplomacy in the region.
• India will need to engage with China in West Asia where they have a broad gamut of shared interests in energy security, free and open sea lanes, logistical connectivity, and, above all, regional stability. Here, they can work together to further mutual and regional interests.
• A steady growth of 6% to 7% can be ensured over the medium term, only if the fixed capital formation rate is raised by another 2 percentage points. This is notwithstanding the global factors that are not encouraging.
• As our society and nation lurch towards a future in which even the rudimentary semblances of democracy and decency are defied, we are increasingly witness to a shrinking support base of persons who can struggle and assert the need for these indispensable norms.
• In very challenging times, India and Italy intend to give a strong impulse to their relations, united by a millenary tradition of exchanges, linked by the common recognition of the value of true friendship and solidarity.
• The lack of standardized healthcare practices hampers the objective of achieving SDGs which can lead to disparities in care and negative health outcomes.
• Digital training can provide healthcare professionals with a consistent, evidence-based approach to patient care.
• Digital training of healthcare professionals is an important step towards achieving the SDGs.
• Increasing access to quality healthcare education can play a critical role in achieving a more sustainable and equitable world.
• Investing in digital training programs for healthcare professionals can help to ensure that the SDGs are met and we are on track towards achieving our goals.
• A continuous evaluation of banks and other financial institutions would allow the RBI to focus on attaining the objective of price stability.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Women are ready to take charge of this era but they can’t leave their responsibilities behind.

50-WORD TALK

• A responsive government that wants to treat this as a matter of policy and not cede space to the courts would act on its own to consider the right of any two people, regardless of gender, to marry or found a family. Legislative inaction on burning social issues will legitimise and invite judicial intervention.
• Indian policymakers will have to carefully assess the developments because prima facie, the Iran-Saudi rapprochement raises questions about India’s decision to shed its traditional policy of pursuing strict neutrality and going for bilateralism in West Asia. Some Indian scholars have long advocated that India should act as a bridge between contending states of West Asia.
• Wholesale inflation at a two-year low won’t be much relief for policymakers. The systemically more important retail inflation, at 6.44%, was still higher than RBI’s upper comfort limit. Govt and RBI have to quickly get India out of this high inflation, low growth phase—the worst combination for an economy.

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: The current dispensation of governance is based on Minimum Government – Maximum Governance. The relation between citizen and government in the social contract is based on Trust. And this is based on the strong foundation of the Good Governance. It is imperative for civil society, non-profits, and public officials to introduce citizen experience-based systemic measures in advocacy campaigns for improved public welfare access to vulnerable citizens.

CONCEPT OF CITIZEN CENTRIC ADMINISTRATION

Good governance aims at providing an environment in which all citizens irrespective of class, caste and gender can develop to their full potential. In addition, good governance also aims at providing public services effectively, efficiently and equitably to the citizens.
The 4 pillars on which the edifice of good governance rests, in essence are:

• Ethos (of service to the citizen),
• Ethics (honesty, integrity and transparency),
• Equity (treating all citizens alike with empathy for the weaker sections), and
• Efficiency (speedy and effective delivery of service without harassment and using ICT increasingly).

Citizens are thus at the core of good governance. Therefore, good governance and citizen centric administration are inextricably linked.
To Make the Administration more Citizen-Centric, the 2nd ARC has examined the following strategies, processes, tools, and mechanisms.

1. Re-engineering processes to make Governance ‘citizen-centric’.
2. Adoption of Appropriate Modern Technology
3. Right to Information
4. Citizens Charters
5. Independent Evaluation of Services.
6. Grievance Redressal Mechanisms
7. Active Citizens Participation – Public-Private Partnerships

Various steps has been taken to improve the citizen centricity in the welfare works like- e-governance, RTI, social audits, self-attesting of documents, citizen charters etc. However there has been issues that affect the citizen centricity in the administration.

ISSUES IN CITIZEN-CENTRIC GOVERNANCE

Burden of proof: Due to increase in the documentation requirement in availing the government services and benefits of the welfare programme, there oi shifting away from the citizen centricity in the governance.

E.g. Eligibility for subsidised ration, scholarships, maternity benefits, and so on. The burden of proof of proving their eligibility makes them run around government offices, touts, cyber cafes, common service centres (CSCs), panchayat or nagar nigam offices, and so on. The time and money spent by India’s poor either overshoots or constitutes a considerable percentage of the promised public welfare benefits.

ATTITUDINAL PROBLEMS OF THE CIVIL SERVANTS:

• There is issue of the bureaucratic apathy toward the citizen. Issues of arm chair bureaucracy affect the citizen oriented policies in the governance. Also, their attitude is one of indifference and insensitivity to the needs of citizens. is, coupled with the enormous asymmetry in the wielding of power at all levels, has further aggravated the situation.
• A common reason usually cited for inefficiency in governance is the inability within the system to hold the Civil Services accountable for their actions.

TECHNOLOGY ISSUES

E-governance was adopted to create ‘Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent (SMART) governance. The purpose of implementing e-Governance is to improve governance processes and outcomes with a view to improving the delivery of public services to citizens. Past experiences demonstrate how the promises of digitisation are closely accompanied by a variety of risks to citizens.

POSITIVE IMPACT 

• Digitising welfare payments through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system reduced widespread leakages in physical cash distribution systems.
• Multiple state governments have deployed digital platforms for social protection that allow citizens to access welfare schemes from different government departments through a single window.
• E.g. Samagra platform in Madhya Pradesh and Jan Aadhaar system in Rajasthan

ISSUES

• Data protection concerns arose from the need to collect and store Aadhaar numbers and banking information.
• Issues of uneasiness with which citizens access social protection benefits through digital paltforms.
  ○ E.g. due to digital divide, lack of digital infrastructure etc

THE WAY FORWARD:

E-Governance has to be comprehensive; mere introduction of the IT component is not an end in itself. Comprehensive e-Governance reforms cover
1. the process,
2. preparedness and the technology
3. and the people.
Introduction of e-Governance needs process engineering as the first step. The technology and the hardware and software come second, only after the processes have been re-engineered. And ultimately, in order to make the reforms sustainable the people in the concerned departments/agencies have to internalize the changes.
Research suggests that by being inclusive for the most marginalised, protecting the vast swathes of personal data collected from citizens, enhancing the ease with which citizens access social protection benefits and instituting accountability measures, Digital initiatives can become citizen centric.

ISSUES IN THE RTI

The act was legislated in a positive spirit; as an instrument for improving Government – citizen interface resulting in a friendly, caring and effective Government functioning for the good of our people. However these has been issues that can be categorised in demand and supply side issues.

DEMAND SIDE ISSUES 

• Low public awareness- awareness level among women was found to be low in comparison to men. The difference in awareness level between women and men ranged from 9% to 20%
• Constraints faced in filing applications: Appropriate Governments and the Public Authorities have taken inadequate steps to make the RTI process citizen friendly. The process of RTI application submission has not been designed keeping in view the needs and convenience of the citizens.
• Poor quality of information provided.

SUPPLY SIDE ISSUES

• Failure to provide information within 30 days.
• Inadequate trained PIOs and First Appellate Authorities
• Obsolete record management Guidelines
• Non-availability of basic Infrastructure
• Ineffective implementation of Section 4(1) (b) : As per the Act, one of the basic responsibilities of the Public Authorities (PAs) is to disseminate information on suo-moto basis. However, there is no/ inadequate mechanism within the Public Authorities to implement the provisions of the Act

Issues in the Citizen charter: Lack of awareness and knowledge and inadequate publicity, hence loss of trust among service seekers, No training to the operative and supervisory staff, Lack of infrastructure and initiative, Hierarchy gap between the Officers and the Operative Staff. complicated and restrictive rules & procedures. Further, there is no Grievance Redressal of the violation of the citizen charter.
Issues of Corruption: The causes of corruption in India include excessive regulations, complicated tax and licensing systems, numerous government departments with opaque bureaucracy and discretionary powers, monopoly of government-controlled institutions on certain goods and services delivery, and the lack of transparent laws and processes.
Lack of Citizen Centricity in Gram Panchayat: Various issue faced in the Gram panchayat is lack of effective women participation, bureaucratisation in the local panchayat, the problem of fund, function and functionaries etc affected the optimum functioning working and citizen centric governance.
Indian case study
Odisha’s KALIA programme: Databases of different social security programmes has been integrated in Odisha’s KALIA programme to ensure minimal citizen travel to the frontline or mediation offices.

KARNATAKA SAKALA SERVICES ACT, 2011 AND (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2014: A Bill has been passed by the Karnataka State Legislature to provide guarantee of services to citizens in the State of Karnataka within the stipulated time limit and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. This Act is called the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act, 2011.
Grievance Redressal Mechanism: Mo Sarkar is a feedback based-governance model as part of which the CM, ministers and senior officials seek the feedback of people directly over phone about the kind of services they receive from various government offices. Based on their feedback, the state government takes the necessary steps to improve its service delivery system. As many as 31 departments, including that of finance, works and commerce and transport, have been covered under the purview of Mo Sarkar.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme benefits in the United States, the White House has adopted the ‘administrative burden’ framework to address citizen experience pain points through an executive order a council to deploy a life experience framework as a strategy to improve federal service delivery to enhance citizen experience of application, documentation and benefits access. The life experience framework draws from a human-centred design-based methodology.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Firstly, ease access to key eligibility documents such as income and caste certificates, and residence proofs (especially for migrants).
• Secondly, on the technology front, the focus must be on the user experience of dealing with digital interfaces and portals. This involves streamlining user interface designs, training frontline officials, and integrating the databases of different social security programmes to ensure minimal citizen travel to the frontline or mediation offices. In addition, the government should make itself accountable for wait time, costs and procedural delays affecting citizens.
• Thirdly, the State must begin a renewed focus on easing welfare access rules, quality of awareness programmes and a seamless grievance redressal process to communicate rules and processes of access.

THE CONCLUSION: 2nd ARC report in its 12th Report (Citizen Centric Administration-The Heart of Governance) has recommended Making Citizens Charter Effective, Seven-Step Model for Citizen Centricity, Participation of Women and the Physically Challenged, Evolving an Effective Public Grievances Redressal System, Analysis and Identification of Grievance Prone Areas, Simplifying Internal Procedures, Monitoring and Evaluation, Rationalizing Procedures – Issue of Driving Licenses, registration of Births and Deaths Building Licenses and Completion Certificate for Citizen centric governance. It should be implemented in letter and spirit for strengthening the social contract.

Mains Question
1. What are the steps needed to Strengthen citizen centricity in the implementation of welfare programmes?
2. Analyse the various initiatives for the good governance in India.

[WpProQuiz 442]

1. Follow the signpost and go inside READ MORE
2. Accept your errors READ MORE
3. Scientific Temper~I READ MORE
4. Scientific Temper~II READ MORE

1. Can the High Seas Treaty Protect the Wild West of The Oceans? READ MORE
2. Weather report. Shadow of El Nino over growth READ MORE

1. Married or partnered: Politics won’t defy a largely traditional society. So, civil unions may be a good first step for same-sex couples READ MORE
2. How Does Living with In-Laws Affect Women’s Employment? READ MORE
3. The tricky issue of marriage equality READ MORE  
4. Poverty, population proscribe progress READ MORE

1. A chance for India to shape a data governance regime: The crafting of the country’s data governance must enable a secure, more egalitarian, and trustworthy digital future for all READ MORE   
2. Why only appoint judges as arbitrators? READ MORE
3. What Opposition-free Govt really means for democracy READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. 21 Greenfield Airports are to be set up in the country, 11 are operationalized READ MORE  
2. 5-judge Constitution Bench to decide if same-sex marriages can be legal READ MORE
3. SEBI probing ‘market allegations’ on Adani Group, says Finance Ministry READ MORE
4. India said to bat for sovereign rating upgrade in review with global agencies READ MORE
5. Supreme Court directs Defence Ministry to file note on arrears due under One Rank One Pension scheme READ MORE
6. 246 vultures spotted in first-ever synchronised survey in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka READ MORE
7. EC tells Allahabad HC it does not have power to ban caste rallies by parties in non-election period READ MORE
8. Antiquities abroad: What Indian, international laws say READ MORE
9. IPES report highlights global hunger crisis amid high debt READ MORE  
10. US approves Willow oil drilling project in Alaska: What is the outrage around this READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Married or partnered: Politics won’t defy a largely traditional society. So, civil unions may be a good first step for same-sex couples READ MORE
2. How Does Living with In-Laws Affect Women’s Employment? READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. A chance for India to shape a data governance regime: The crafting of the country’s data governance must enable a secure, more egalitarian, and trustworthy digital future for all READ MORE   
2. Why only appoint judges as arbitrators? READ MORE
3. What Opposition-free Govt really means for democracy READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. The tricky issue of marriage equality READ MORE  
2. Poverty, population proscribe progress READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. China as peace dealer: The recent Iran-Saudi Arabia agreement is significant for the region READ MORE  
2. India-Australia ties get a boost READ MORE
3. New beginnings in West Asia READ MORE
4. A year of Ukraine Crisis: Where do EU-India relations stand? READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. A fragile momentum: On the economy and India’s growth READ MORE  
2. How the Silicon Valley Bank debacle unfolded & rocked India’s start-up ecosystem READ MORE
3. Clear the regulatory air over loan apps READ MORE
4. India’s Agriculture Is Feeling the Effects of Extreme Weather Events READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Display technologies on the fast lane READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Can the High Seas Treaty Protect the Wild West of The Oceans? READ MORE
2. Weather report. Shadow of El Nino over growth READ MORE

SECURITY

1. China-Russia cybersecurity ties taking darker turns. India needs to worry too READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Lessons from Turkey: How to make India earthquake prepared READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Follow the signpost and go inside READ MORE
2. Accept your errors READ MORE
3. Scientific Temper~I READ MORE
4. Scientific Temper~II READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Enumerates the reasons those are major factors for women’s under-representation in Civil Services. What are those factors that lead women to opt out of civil services?
2. In a country like India, where inequality is so prominent, a development scheme can come a cropper if it lacks inclusivity. In light of the statement, discuss how the new changes in the MPLADS scheme Will Make it More Centralised and Less Inclusive?
3. While the judgment on the CEC appointment produces an outcome that strengthens Indian democracy, it equally strengthens the court’s institutional legitimacy. Examine.
4. Any revision should have been to enrich the scheme rather than diluting the essence of inclusivity. Comment on the statement un the light of government decision on MPLADS scheme.
5. While committees and reform commissions have repeatedly stressed on civil servants becoming customer-centric and people-friendly, the situation on the ground appears to be very different. In light of the statement, discuss whether the focus of civil services reforms should be on citizen satisfaction rather than officer performance?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• A good settlement is better than a good lawsuit.
• Security is an ever-changing landscape.
• Rapid international transportation and the use of sophisticated weapons have helped the expansion of terrorist networks globally.
• Appointments to top positions in the UN have also been captured by China in the two decades, giving it the unfair advantage of running its stated national policies through a global platform like the UN, thereby sculling many relevant interests of other member nations including India.
• It is observed that income inequalities among Indians are unlikely to be narrowed down on their own from trickledown effect of income growth.
• Our schools, colleges and universities possess large untapped potential. The need of the hour is to provide sports facilities to the upcoming sportspersons, provide them facilities and a conducive environment to nurture themselves.
• Indian civil society remains hierarchical and fragmented with the desire of integrating itself into ruling power structures.
• India, which holds the presidency of the G-20, has been repeatedly stressing the need for a globally coordinated regulatory response to deal with crypto assets.
• Despite performative obeisance to the idea by the state, decentralisation has always been hostage to a number of contradictory impulses.
• The lack of clarity over municipal governance, and the hijacking of cities by the political economy of contracting, makes the idea of cities being governed by some sort of collective deliberation a bit of a joke.
• Local government requires many technical, administrative and financial fixes. There is a case to be made that the distinction between the 73rd and 74th amendments is now obsolete.
• The guiding philosophy behind decentralisation was a faith in institutions. These were meant to be the pathways to inclusive growth and active citizenship. You cannot have inclusive growth without inclusive governance, so went the mantra.
• The non-seriousness about the 73rd and 74th amendments is a lack of seriousness about democracy itself.
• The domains of ‘public’ and ‘private’ have become separated in the market economy. The needs of the masses must be heeded, not just the needs of the classes who have wealth to invest in markets.
• The management of the economy must become a PPPP enterprise — People, Public, Private Partnership. ‘People’, the missing ‘P’ in PPP, must be included and come first.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Women are ready to take charge of this era but they can’t leave their responsibilities behind.

50-WORD TALK

• Another corruption scandal and Karnataka’s Bommai government is bouncing on potholes, as if driving on Bengaluru’s roads. Don’t write off MLA Virupakshappa in coming election though. Rousing welcome after securing bail suggests normalisation of corruption. Karnataka Lokayukta deserves praise, but for real change, voters have to feel revulsion with corruption.
• NAAC chairman Bhushan Patwardhan’s resignation after alleging corruption in higher education institute grading calls for a systemic audit. Can the young rely on ratings? Is the system gamed? Is there political interference? Aspirational Indians depend on the index to make decisions for their future. It’s time to review and reform.

 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.

[WpProQuiz 441]

THE CONTEXT: India’s Parliament approved the Wages Code in August 2019, and the Code on Industrial Relations, Code on Social Security, and the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions in September 2020. It published these Codes in the Official Gazette for general information.

The four Labour Codes envisage strengthening the protection available to workers, including unorganized workers in terms of statutory minimum wage, social security and healthcare of workers.  Some of the important provisions are as follows: –

SOME OF THE IMPORTANT PROVISIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS

CODE ON WAGES, 2019

• A statutory right for minimum wages and timely payment of wages has been made available to all workers to support sustainable growth and inclusive development.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CODE, 2020

• To avoid multiple interpretations and litigations, a uniform definition of ‘wages’ across all the four Labour Codes has been provided that is simple, coherent and easy to enforce.
• Statutory provision has been made for the first time to issue an appointment letter to every employee of the establishment which leads to the formalized contract of employment that increases job security and enables a worker to claim statutory benefits such as minimum wages, social security etc.

CODE ON SOCIAL SECURITY, 2020

• Statutory provision has been made for the first time to issue appointment letter to every employee of the establishment which leads to formalized contract of employment that increases job security and enables a worker to claim statutory benefits such as minimum wages, social security etc.
• Provision of Re-skilling Fund for skill development of workers.
• The gig worker and the platform worker have been defined for the purpose of formulating schemes to provide social security benefits. Social security schemes can be formulated from the contribution of aggregators and the other sources can include funds from the Central and State Governments.
• The Central Government may extend benefits to unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers and the members of their families through Employees’ State Insurance Corporation or Employees’ Provident Fund Organization.
• A worker engaged under Fixed Term Employment (FTE) is entitled for all the benefits which are available to permanent employees and has also been made eligible for gratuity if he renders service for a period of one year.
• Every worker is entitled to annual leave with wages after working for 180 days in comparison to 240 days at present.
• Applicability of Employees’ Provident Fund has been extended to all industries as against scheduled industries at present.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH AND WORKING CONDITIONS CODE, 2020

• Provision for annual health check-up and medical facilities has also been made which enhances labour productivity and increases life expectancy.

EFFECTS ON WOMEN LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION

While 75.1% of men, in the 15–59 age group, were in the workforce in 2018–19, for women in the same age group, it was only 25.0%, reporting a gap of more than 50 percentage points for the year.

The work participation rate (WPR) of women dec­lined from 44.2% in 2004–05 to 25% in 2018–19. The decline in WPR for women is greater in rural areas compared to urban areas. Thus, the New code help in increasing the workforce participation of women by providing them equity in the working environment.

CONDITION OF UNEMPLOYMENT

STATISTICS:

• As per the estimates of PLFS 2018–19, out of the total employment 91.1% of women are infor­mal workers which reflecting on their weak socioeconomic security.
• The increasing share of casual workers and self-employed women workers disadvantages them from regular employment contracts. The sectoral segregation and concentration of women in low-paying jobs have deprived them of employment protection.
• With regard to access to social security, it is evident that only 39.2% of women workers in regular salaried employment were eligible for any social security benefits while a majority 55.8% were not eligible.

MEASURES TAKEN:

• Labour on Social Security Code has included the unorganised worker in the definitions of “workers” .
• Protection through the labour regulations is critical for add­ressing the concerns of female labour force participation.

ISSUES:

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour on Social Security Code had informed about the multiplicity of definitions of “workers” which might lead to confusion. Though the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act (UWSSA) intends to cover all unorganised sector workers, the domestic workers are still not included.
• Though the Social Security Code 2020 has tried to include domestic workers in the definition of “wage worker,” yet an exclusive definition has not been adopted.

REPRESENTATION IN DECISION MAKING IN THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

• Prohibiting gender discrimination in wage payment has been incorporated into the Code vide Section 3 of the Code on Wages 2019. This is in conformity with ILO Convention 100 on equal remuneration and Convention 111 on discrimination (employment and occupation).
• It provides for the constitution of the Central Advisory Board and State Advisory Boards and stipulates that at least one-third members shall be women.
  • This will increase in the about force participation rate
  • It also has an important role to play in determining and fixing minimum wages.

GENDER AND MATERNITY RIGHTS

• A majority of workers in the informal sector do not have access to institutional social security. This convention talks about social security schemes, which are partially being fulfilled by state governments through the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act 2008.
• The most important social security provision for women workers that is provided in the new code is maternity benefit. The code on Social Security 2020 subsumes the existing Maternity Benefit Act (MBA) 1961 and maternity benefit provisions are detailed in Chapter VI of the said code. Existing provisions, in MBA 1961, have been kept intact in the new code and included as a chapter. The quantum of maternity benefits has been enh­anced through an amendment in 2017
• The Code on Social Security 2020 does provide maternity benefits in the form of maternity benefit scheme for unorganised workers and it is being extended for gig and platform workers (a sub-set of the broader unorga­nised labour). The term social security is explicitly defined in the new code and maternity benefit for unorganised, gig and platform workers has been included within the purview of social security.
• The definition of unorganised workers includes home-based and self-employed workers where women are engaged in greater numbers. As per the code definition, “unorganised worker” means a home-based, self-employed or a wage worker and includes a worker in the organised sector who is not covered by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

ISSUES

• However, in the Social Security Code 2020, informal women workers are not covered for the institutional maternity benefit as the specific act is applicable for establishments having 10 or more workers. Thus, maternity coverage in true sense of the term is limited to formal women workers only. Informal women workers are covered under the social security scheme.

THE WAY FORWARD

 In the case of self-employment and ambiguous employer–employee relations, the state needs to be involved in the provision of maternity entitlements through appropriate schemes. Labour welfare boards, health departments, and anganwadi centres have to be involved and their activities coordinated.

REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN TRADE UNIONS

Industrial Relations Code 2020 is gender neutral. Representation of women in the decision-making body is imperative for raising issues specific to women workers which were not prioritised in the earlier legislations.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AT THE WORKPLACE

The OSH Code has amalgamated 13 labour legislations including the Factories Act 1948, which had earlier prohibited night work for women. But, the new code has introduced a special provision for women wherein it has enabled consenting women to work beyond 7.00 pm and before 6.00 am, subject to employers’ compliance with the conditions relating to safety, holidays and working hours be prescribed by the government. However, the government can prohibit the employment of women in some operations that are dangerous to their health.

                Section 67 of the draft rules, for facilitating night working hours for women employees, transport facilities need to be arranged by the employer.

ISSUES:  OSHWC Code 2020 is applicable to establishments having 10 or more workers, women workers in the informal sector would not get legal protection as provided in the POSH Act 2013. Also, broadly, because of this applicability threshold (10 workers or more), women informal workers, including migrant women workers, are excluded from the health, safety and working condition provisions outlined in the OSHWC Code 2020. They are also outside the coverage of health and safety legislation.

SANITATION

The new code requires that employers make sufficient arrangement for latrine and urinal accommodation to male, female and transgender employees separately and maintain hygiene therein and include provision of separate bathing facilities along with a locker room.

ISSUES: OSHWC Code 2020 is its selective applicability. As per Section 2(v) an “establishment” means (i) a place where any industry, trade, business, manufacturing or occupation is carried on in which 10 or more workers are employed.8 This implies that for establishments employing less than 10 workers, provisions of this code would not apply.

THE WAY FORWARD

• There is a need for comprehensive coverage of women through women-centric initiatives. This will help in solving the problem of exclusivity problem of women in the Workspace related issues. The code should comprehensively cover all the establishments.

THE CONCLUSION: In all four codes, the term “worker” or “employee” has always been referred to as “he,” which implies how workers are perceived as male entities by the lawmakers. This itself is problematic and needs to be rectified in the first instance. The new labour codes have the potential to protect certain rights of women workers but are plagued with significant gaps that need to be addressed urgently. Some of these gaps can be filled by the state governments while finalising the rules. The discourse on labour rights for women needs to move beyond the economic rights and also focus on rectifying the larger issues of human rights violations that are embedded in the social structures.

Mains Question:

1. What are the steps taken in the New labour Code for the increase in the labour force participation of women?
2. What are the issues in the labour code that restrict women’s equal participation in the economy?

1. Smile genuinely, people will like you more READ MORE
2. Scientific Temper~I READ MORE
3. Scientific Temper~II READ MORE

1. Global production under threat due to climate hazards, finds study READ MORE
2. Weather report. Shadow of El Nino over growth READ MORE

1. Women’s empowerment is a real necessity of time READ MORE
2. Living with the in-laws: Effect on women’s employment in India READ MORE
3. Income Inequality: A Cross-states and Cross-community Analysis READ MORE
4. A Legal Remedy Is Required to Stop Caste Discrimination in Academic Institutions READ MORE

1. Migrant fears in Tamil Nadu: Migration is a constitutional right, a symbol of hope and prosperity READ MORE
2. In politics and bureaucracy, women are severely under-represented READ MORE
3. Right Outcome, Wrong Remedy: Why SC’s ECI Judgment Deserves Support and Criticism READ MORE
4. New Changes to MPLADS Will Make it More Centralised and Less Inclusive READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Sickle cell screening meets only 1% of target, hurting ambitious elimination goal READ MORE  
2. Net direct tax collection rises 16.8%, reaches closer to Budget target for 2022-23 READ MORE
3. SVB fallout. Indian SaaS and YC-backed start-ups may feel the heat of SVB shutdown READ MORE
4. Explained | Why is crypto trade within PMLA ambit? READ MORE
5. No neutralising antibodies after Japanese encephalitis vaccination READ MORE
6. The evil effects of deforestation READ MORE
7. States demand that lightning be declared a natural disaster READ MORE
8. Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese to meet in San Diego to finalise AUKUS deal READ MORE
9. Explained | The rise of the ESG regulations READ MORE  
10. Isro brings down decommissioned weather satellite: What is a controlled re-entry? Why is it done? READ MORE
11. What factors will affect India’s wheat output and food inflation in 2023? READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Women’s empowerment is a real necessity of time READ MORE
2. Living with the in-laws: Effect on women’s employment in India READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Migrant fears in Tamil Nadu: Migration is a constitutional right, a symbol of hope and prosperity READ MORE
2. In politics and bureaucracy, women are severely under-represented READ MORE
3. Right Outcome, Wrong Remedy: Why SC’s ECI Judgment Deserves Support and Criticism READ MORE
4. New Changes to MPLADS Will Make it More Centralised and Less Inclusive READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Income Inequality: A Cross-states and Cross-community Analysis READ MORE
2. A Legal Remedy Is Required to Stop Caste Discrimination in Academic Institutions READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. New reality: On Saudi Arabia-Iran reconciliation and China’s role READ MORE
2. How Chinese big show revealed Xi’s vulnerabilities READ MORE
3. Australia-India ties, solid line & length READ MORE
4. The growing centrality of India in Australia’s Indo-Pacific Policy READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Reimagining the urban-rural dichotomy READ MORE
2. Powering Amrit Kaal READ MORE
3. Myriad alibis for an underachieving economy READ MORE
4. Terms of engagement: India-US economic partnership needs more energy READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Display technologies on the fast lane READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Global production under threat due to climate hazards, finds study READ MORE
2. Weather report. Shadow of El Nino over growth READ MORE

SECURITY

1. China-Russia cybersecurity ties taking darker turns. India needs to worry too READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Lessons from Turkey: How to make India earthquake prepared READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Smile genuinely, people will like you more READ MORE
2. Scientific Temper~I READ MORE
3. Scientific Temper~II READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Enumerates the reasons those are major factors for women’s under-representation in Civil Services. What are those factors that lead women to opt out of civil services?
2. In a country like India, where inequality is so prominent, a development scheme can come a cropper if it lacks inclusivity. In light of the statement, discuss how the new changes in the MPLADS scheme Will Make it More Centralised and Less Inclusive?
3. While the judgment on the CEC appointment produces an outcome that strengthens Indian democracy, it equally strengthens the court’s institutional legitimacy. Examine.
4. Any revision should have been to enrich the scheme rather than diluting the essence of inclusivity. Comment on the statement in light of the government’s decision on the MPLADS scheme.
5. While committees and reform commissions have repeatedly stressed on civil servants becoming customer-centric and people-friendly, the situation on the ground appears to be very different. In light of the statement, discuss whether civil services reforms should focus on citizen satisfaction rather than officer performance?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• What you see depends not only on what you look at, but also on where you look from.
• Security is an ever-changing landscape.
• Rapid international transportation and the use of sophisticated weapons have helped the expansion of terrorist networks globally.
• Appointments to top positions in the UN have also been captured by China in the two decades, giving it the unfair advantage of running its stated national policies through a global platform like the UN, thereby sculling many relevant interests of other member nations including India.
• It is observed that income inequalities among Indians are unlikely to be narrowed down on their own from trickledown effect of income growth.
• Our schools, colleges and universities possess large untapped potential. The need of the hour is to provide sports facilities to the upcoming sportspersons, provide them facilities and a conducive environment to nurture themselves.
• Indian civil society remains hierarchical and fragmented with the desire of integrating itself into ruling power structures.
• India, which holds the presidency of the G-20, has been repeatedly stressing the need for a globally coordinated regulatory response to deal with crypto assets.
• Despite performative obeisance to the idea by the state, decentralisation has always been hostage to a number of contradictory impulses.
• The lack of clarity over municipal governance, and the hijacking of cities by the political economy of contracting, makes the idea of cities being governed by some sort of collective deliberation a bit of a joke.
• Local government requires many technical, administrative and financial fixes. There is a case to be made that the distinction between the 73rd and 74th amendments is now obsolete.
• The guiding philosophy behind decentralisation was a faith in institutions. These were meant to be the pathways to inclusive growth and active citizenship. You cannot have inclusive growth without inclusive governance, so went the mantra.
• The non-seriousness about the 73rd and 74th amendments is a lack of seriousness about democracy itself.
• The domains of ‘public’ and ‘private’ have become separated in the market economy. The needs of the masses must be heeded, not just the needs of the classes who have wealth to invest in markets.
• The management of the economy must become a PPPP enterprise — People, Public, Private Partnership. ‘People’, the missing ‘P’ in PPP, must be included and come first.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Women are ready to take charge of this era but they can’t leave their responsibilities behind.

50-WORD TALK

• Another corruption scandal and Karnataka’s Bommai government is bouncing on potholes, as if driving on Bengaluru’s roads. Don’t write off MLA Virupakshappa in coming election though. Rousing welcome after securing bail suggests normalisation of corruption. Karnataka Lokayukta deserves praise, but for real change, voters have to feel revulsion with corruption.
• NAAC chairman Bhushan Patwardhan’s resignation after alleging corruption in higher education institute grading calls for a systemic audit. Can the young rely on ratings? Is the system gamed? Is there political interference? Aspirational Indians depend on the index to make decisions for their future. It’s time to review and reform.

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.

[WpProQuiz 440]

THE CONTEXT: A recent study says that casteism is not only prevalent but also institutionalized in the Indian higher educational institutions particularly in the technical fields of medicine and engineering. However, these institutions rarely acknowledge the discrimination and willfully ignore both subtle and overt forms of casteism. In this article, let’s analyze how the country is still struggling with casteism in higher education institutions and steps that need to be taken to address the issue.

CASTE DISCRIMINATION: THEN AND NOW

• Historical injustice: Caste system divides Hindus into four categories Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras. Historically, with lack of access to means of production and eventually becoming a large pool of attached labourers have constrained the lower caste population in this country to remain invisible and excluded in the sphere of so-called knowledge production.
• Duality in nature of caste discrimination in contemporary India: There is a duality that is inherent within the nature of caste discrimination in contemporary India, and specifically with the question of access to ‘quality education’ in the realm of Higher educational institutions. This aforementioned duality reveals itself in two folds:

1. Enabling mobility: Contemporary society on one hand by providing access to resources and education enables mobility in caste system in terms of social and cultural and economic capital.
2. Denial of mobility: On the other hand, contemporary society acts as deterrent in mobility by discrimination and reinstate the age-old Manu-vaadi or Varna based hierarchies, where access to higher education, preserving and restructuring the pedagogic practices, and reproducing the ‘knowledge system’ itself can become the act of an ‘exclusive society’, of the Savarna or the ‘upper’ castes society to be specific.

ANALYSIS: HOW CURRENT EDUCATION SYSTEM REINFORCING DISCRIMINATION

The Structure of the caste system meant that one is confined to the social status associated with one’s caste and current educational policies further promotes this discriminatory environment as higher educational institutes become centers for self-financed courses which mandates that education remains a private market commodity and promotes the manufactured merits at the cost of discriminating against lower caste students.

DISCRIMINATION IN ADMISSION PROCESS

• Not acknowledging the savarna privileges: First, the process of admission denies the age-old repression by not acknowledging the financial and social privileges that ‘savarna merit’ enjoys.
• Economic issues: For the admission processes, the system creates a private capital oriented mechanism, which denies access to the marginalized sections of the country.
• Major disparities in acceptance rate: There are major disparities in admission rate of lower caste students for example data reveals that despite receiving hundreds of PhD applications, some IITs and many departments hardly accepted any candidates from SC/ST/OBC PhD backgrounds. Data released by the Lok Sabha found that in nine IITs, across India, the acceptance rate for SC/ST/OBC PhD candidates was at or below 8% despite all of these universities receiving hundreds of applications.

SYNDROME OF MERITOCRACY

• Devising of syndrome of meritocracy: Anthropologist Ajantha Subramanian asserts that institutes of eminence like IITs have helped convert caste privilege into what is now popularly considered as ‘merit’. Merit has acquired brahmanical overtones and continues to perpetuate caste hierarchies and savarna power.
• Reinforcing in higher universities: In the contemporary Indian context, these facets of discrimination being constantly reiterated in the field of Higher education, more importantly, in spaces, which are regarded as institutes or universities of ‘eminence’.
• Using it to consolidate power: The syndrome of meritocracy has become systemic as seen by Anecdotal evidence of professors using casteist slurs or Dalit students being expelled from the classroom space in such institutes is not rare. By converting caste capital into social capital, dominant castes have ensured the consolidation of their power in institutes and professional spaces.
• Unfair approach: Meritocratic approach is unfair and flawed as it does not consider centuries of discrimination and underrepresentation that lower castes have had to suffer through. Inherent in any meritocratic system is the premise that all participants start from the same starting line and play on an even playing field.

MYTH OF NON-DISCRIMINATION IN ACADEMIC SPACES

• It is a common myth perpetrated by upper caste faculty, students, politicians, and media that caste superiority and casteism is exercised amongst uneducated people in the villages, and not amongst the educated in urban and academic spaces.
• Remains unidentifiable: The myth of city colleges and classrooms being caste-free leads to non-identifiability of the conventional practice of untouchability, which is the only practice of caste-based discrimination that has been legally codified and thus issue remains unsolved.
• Victim blaming and further marginalization: As per the study, persons who share experiences of caste-based discriminations in higher educational institutions get accused of being ‘obsessed with caste identities’ or being ‘over-sensitive’ or ‘paranoid’ about it. This culture of not recognising and dismissing discrimination without the willingness to appreciate the experiences of persons from their own ‘locations’, contributes to the further marginalization of such persons and their experiences.
• Discrimination in Both Direct and indirect forms: Study focuses on the various ways in which casteism is practiced and even normalized in the current higher education system of the country. It may exist in the direct form of abusive casteist slurs, gestures, comments and physical exclusion or in its indirect ill-informed opposition to the constitutionally mandated policy of reservation and routine biases inflicting psychological harm upon the victims for example Suicides as ‘institutional murders’, while highlighting the culture of victim-blaming and apathy towards the victims of such institutional murders for calling them ‘mentally weak’ even after their death.

CASE STUDIES RELATED TO DISCRIMINATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

• Suicide case of Payal Tadvi: Payal Tadvi was a 2nd-year Post-Graduate resident doctor at the BYL Nair Hospital (BYL-NH), Mumbai. She was the first woman from her family to become a doctor, and the first woman from the Adivasi Muslim Bhil Community, a scheduled tribe, to pursue a post-graduation in medicine. Harassment on Dr Payal by the three accused included persistent derisive remarks about her caste, and on her being from a backward community, being an Adivasi, and having been admitted to medicine through the reserved categories. These accused would often wipe their feet on Dr Payal’s bed after using the washrooms/toilets and would also made casteist remarks which led her to suicide.
• Suicide case of Rohith Vemula: Rohith Chakravarti Vemula was an Indian PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad. From July 2015, the university stopped paying Rohith his monthly stipend of ₹25,000, with friends alleging that he was targeted for raising issues on campus under the banner of Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA), an Ambedkarite student organization.In his own words Rohith gave up when he realised that “the value of a man was reduced to his immediate identity and nearest possibility. To a vote. To a number. To a thing. Never was a man treated as a mind.

STUDIES RELATED TO HOW DALIT ARE FACING DISCRIMINATION

In modern India, caste specific bias, prejudice and discrimination is still persisting in more implicit, subtle and complex forms. In this regard, few empirical research studies is mentioned below:

• Nambissan and Rao noted that lower caste students and particularly Dalit students face various subtle and explicit forms of discrimination in the institution like IIT. The authors explored the concept of stigma in a context of polluted caste identities and its impact on social relations in the institution.
• Deshpande and Zacharias in 2013 recorded seventeen suicide cases of Dalit students in various elite institution across India which is based on interviews and a compilation of testimonies of families, peers and friends of the deceased students.
• The Thorat committee in 2007 further reported, that around 72 percent of SC and ST students mentioned some forms of discrimination were experienced in classroom. Similarly, approximately 76 percent of the respondents reported that the examiner asked them their caste background and about 88 percent students reported experiences of social isolation in various ways by higher caste peers.
• According to the National Crime Record Bureau, despite the stringent laws to stop caste discrimination and atrocities, the lower caste groups are still experiencing a range of atrocities and discrimination. Statistics of crimes committed against the Dalit showed increased from 39,408 in 2013 to 47,064 in 2014. This is just reported crimes and unreported crimes are probably many times higher.

STEPS TAKEN TO ENSURE EDUCATION TO MARGINALIZED SECTION

• Concept of reservation was introduced: A certain number of seats are reserved for the marginalized castes in public education institutes. Article 16(4) in the Indian constitution, emphasizes that reservation was intended to prevent the formation of caste monopolies in the public sector.
• Addressing untouchability: Article 17 of the Indian constitution outlaws untouchability to address the inherent social evils practiced in the different level of society.
• UGC guidelines: In 2013, the UGC (University Grants Commission) released regulations for the ‘Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions’ where it directed higher education institutions to take measures to safeguard the interests of students without prejudice to their caste. As per the regulations, the institute was supposed to penalize differential and discriminatory treatment based on caste and instate a mechanism through which caste-based discrimination such as revealing someone’s caste, calling a student “reserved category”, separate seating amongst students, or discriminatory grading could be reported.
• Right to Education Act: While the Right to Education Act guarantees education for students aged 6 to 14. However, the quality of that education is usually determined by caste. Students that belong to lower castes receive poor quality and inadequate education in schools that lack basic facilities. This makes it difficult for them to cope at higher levels of education.

CHALLENGES THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED

• Least enrollment: Across most key fields of study, Dalit enrollment fell short of the mandated quota of 15%, as did scheduled tribe (ST) enrollment (mandated quota of 7.5%). In many large states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, fewer than 20% of students enrolled in higher education who were scheduled caste or scheduled tribe. Dalit students formed 11% of the undergraduate and post-graduate enrollment .They made up under 10% of PhD students, but 16% of M.Phil students. When it came to non-degree certification, Dalit students made up 14% of diploma-holders and 13% of certificate-holders.
• High dropout rates: The drop-out rate from IITs is slightly higher among SC students than among forward caste students as the public data journalism portal Factly has found.
• Quota not applicable in private institution: Quotas are applicable only in state-run institutions, and to a limited extent to privately run institutions. In 2006 the then UPA government paved the way for the extension of reservations to private colleges, but there isn’t a binding central law yet. Most technical education private colleges provide reservation under state laws, but by no means is this comprehensive. The lack of the policy of reservation to ensure social justice and representation of the oppressed combined with exorbitant fees makes such private education institutions inaccessible and exclusive.
• Poor performance: Dalit students at IITs have reported facing caste-based discrimination which often led to record poorer academic performances than their forward caste peers even after controlling for socio-economic backgrounds.
• Economic reasons: Weaker economic status is one of the main reason that discourage Dalit students from completing college or university education.
• Upper caste mentality: Anger and resentment of savarna individuals against ‘quota students’ often manifests into a distinctive form of casteism that is rooted in the belief that their opportunities are being wrongfully occupied by undeserving quota students.
• Unconventional ways: Caste-based discrimination in the college campus or classroom is not performed in the manner of conventional untouchability only and India’s tragedy lies in the fact that young people who are privileged enough to acquire so-called modern education are instrumental in or perpetrators of caste oppression.
• Lack of proper policy: The inadequacies of the current legal frameworks and colossal gaps in Several cases have been reported in recent years led to such discrimination and even cases like suicides have been registered after alleged caste-based discrimination and not addressed at the proper time.
• Lack of infrastructure: Neither do most institutes have a functional Equal Opportunity Cell that monitors the implementation of reservations for students and informs them about scholarships nor do they implement reservations for faculty.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Need to be identified and addressed: Experiences of caste-based discrimination are traumatic and harmful and often remain unidentified which needs to be identified, codified, and addressed. Therefore, it is crucial to create a robust mechanism through which all students and faculty can learn to identify and report passive and aggressive caste-based discrimination.
• Need for legislation: There is need for anti-caste-based discrimination legislation to take into account intersectional discrimination which shall provide a direction to address caste-based discrimination both conceptually and operationally, similar to the recent reforms on sexual harassment at workplaces.
• Ensure access to quality education: Access to quality education remains an important factor to attain mobility in terms of finding entry into aspired occupations, in terms of social dignity, and most importantly in terms of breaking down the barriers imposed by the discriminatory practices of caste hierarchies in the Indian context. Access to education matters most for historically marginalized castes because such access can change their job prospects dramatically, and give them a real shot at climbing up the socio-economic ladder, which remains stacked against the less-educated in modern India.
• Proper penalisation: Institutes need to create a mechanism through which caste-based discrimination can be challenged and casteist perpetrators are penalized, thereby securing the interests and welfare of lower caste students and faculty. There is need to treat caste-based discrimination and institutionalized caste-based discrimination as a violation of the constitutional rights of individual students, especially from marginalized castes, tribes and minority communities and not simply as ragging.
• Proper policy and its implementation: According to activists, proper policy-making and proper implementation with appropriate supervision for students in educational institutions as well as ministry level can help bring an end to the discrimination. There is a need of separate legal framework to prevent and respond to caste-based discriminatory practices in educational institutions.
• Need to help marginalised section excel: All educational institutions must be barrier-free in terms of language, caste, class and religion so that the marginalized sections can come up to construct their own merits.
• Need of awareness: There is a need to raise voices and highlight how the caste discrimination continues to happen in the 21st century and in a democratic society. Awareness needs to be created and there is a need for affirmative action so that in society we can bring a change,” According to UGC, all the universities must have student counselors, psychiatric, anti-discrimination and many other facilities.
• Need to change mentality: India is not lacking in laws and policies against discrimination but faith in equality and humanity and our own will and appropriate educational base are urgently needed to fight casteism.

THE CONCLUSION: Modern notion of education is seen as the “great equalizer” and it gives everyone and anyone the “ability to rise” because of their hard work and not their social status. This notion need to be reinforced by strengthening and expanding reservations for socially disadvantaged communities, implementing the various reports and regulations of the past while infusing the study of humanities into technical courses of medicine and engineering to sensitize society and institutions which shall translate the constitutional notions of transformative justice and substantive equality into practice.

MAINS QUESTIONS

1. Quota policy of the constitution has been an effective instrument for the lower caste students to access higher education in India and ending discrimination faced by them. Critically examine.
2. Discuss about position of lower caste people in higher education institutions and what are the steps taken by Government to ensure their presence and the issues involved.

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