1. Heisenberg Principle and trade-offs in life READ MORE
2. Key to good parenting READ MORE
3. Be Mindful of Your Surroundings READ MORE

1. Deluge in Spain continues, could still face its driest summer in over 6 decades READ MORE
2. Uncertain showers: On monsoon information and the Indian farmer READ MORE
3. Why water sustainability needs to become a climate action priority READ MORE

1. Good Faith: Why India’s society and politics need both the strength and gentleness of Hanuman READ MORE
2. Manual scavenging is a curse, must end now READ MORE  

1. A parliamentary democracy or an executive democracy READ MORE
2. Institutionalising social audits: Lessons from Meghalaya READ MORE
3. Pretoria’s choice READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. North Korea spy satellite launch fails as Chollima-1 rocket falls into the sea READ MORE  
2. UAE withdraws from U.S.-led maritime coalition in the Gulf READ MORE
3. Treatment worth ₹61,501 cr. provided under PM-JAY scheme READ MORE
4. Cabinet nod for second phase of CITIIS programme READ MORE
5. World’s largest grain storage plan: Centre to implement pilot project in 10 districts READ MORE
6. India joins global laboratory network for vaccine tests READ MORE
7. Jaishankar to meet Lavrov, Qin at BRICS FM meeting in South Africa READ MORE
8. Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar to be renamed Ahilyanagar: Who was the Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar READ MORE
9. What California’s Ravidassia community believes and why they want caste bias outlawed READ MORE
10. Nvidia breaches trillion dollar market cap: How the chipmaker is riding the AI wave READ MORE
11. Zambia government renews commitment to end obstetric fistula by 2030 READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Deluge in Spain continues, could still face its driest summer in over 6 decades READ MORE
2. Uncertain showers: On monsoon information and the Indian farmer READ MORE
3. Why water sustainability needs to become a climate action priority READ MORE
4. Good Faith: Why India’s society and politics need both the strength and gentleness of Hanuman READ MORE
5. Manual scavenging is a curse, must end now READ MORE  

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. A parliamentary democracy or an executive democracy READ MORE
2. Institutionalising social audits: Lessons from Meghalaya READ MORE
3. Pretoria’s choice READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Sanjaya Baru responds to C Raja Mohan: Getting multipolarity wrong READ MORE
2. Balancing act, diverging interests: The shades of grey in India-US ties and a quandary for Quad READ MORE
3. China Takes Leadership Role in Central Asia – I READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. GDP exceeds expectations READ MORE
2. Impressive growth, but will it sustain? READ MORE
3. Economic resilience READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Biodiversity is us and we are biodiversity READ MORE
2. How Butterflies Can Help Protect Natural Habitats in a Rapidly Changing World READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Is India missing the graphene bus? READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Why India’s national security needs a 21 century refit READ MORE
2. Cracking down on fraud in cyberspace READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Heisenberg Principle and trade-offs in life READ MORE
2. Key to good parenting READ MORE
3. Be Mindful of Your Surroundings READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. How far do you agree with this view that a virtual Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit is a setback for India’s diplomacy and it shows the China’s influence in this grouping? Analyse your view.
2. The NITI Aayog acts as the quintessential platform for the Government of India to bring states together as ‘Team India’, to work towards the national development agenda. Critically examine.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.
• A claim to justice becomes the new ballet of solidarity.
• The establishment can stretch time to weaken the protest. It can convert a search for justice into a law-and-order problem, even banalize it into a traffic issue.
• The growth in FY24 will very likely be lower than FY23’s level as the opportunities from the opening of the economy have been more or less exhausted.
• Both India and the USA view the Indo-Pacific region and engage with China differently but this is unlikely to impede the incremental progress in their bilateral ties.
• To end this menace Govt must provide alternative employment opportunities and encourage mechanised cleaning technologies.
• The escalating cost of education is denying higher education to students who wish to pursue it but cannot afford its prohibitive cost.
• It is crucial to recognize that girls are disproportionately affected by these financial barriers and encounter significant limitations in the absence of accessible, free, and affordable education.
• India’s relations with the US, as indeed with China, Russia or any other nation, would be defined by her interests and values and not out of fear of anyone nor in favour of anyone.
• Currently, under the Constitution, only the CEC enjoys the same protection from removal as a Supreme Court judge. It is imperative that the protection enjoyed by the CEC should also be extended to ECs.
• By providing PICs with a voice and support on Global South issues, including on existential aspects such as Climate Change or on UNSDGrelated themes, India has validated its humane and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ credentials.
• All temporary, freelance and contract workers must be properly defined and identified to ensure minimum wages, maximum working hours and social security.
• The India-Latin America partnership can work toward building digital public infrastructure, improving financial inclusion, and reducing the cost of access to data, which is critical for engagement with the digital economy.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

50-WORD TALK

• GDP growth in FY23 at 7.2%, higher than the 7% predicted by the government itself, is a positive surprise. Buoyed by strong cross-sector fourth quarter performances, India is indeed a bright spot in a slowing global economy. No time for complacency, though. El Nino, global recession, and war still loom.
• Appointment of another acting DGP in UP, third in a row, is a mockery of SC guidelines for police chiefs’ selection. It’s to do with politicians’ intent to control police force and pre-empt central interference through UPSC. Centre-state disagreement over DGP’s appointment underlines the facile nature of double-engine government slogan.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit being held in virtual mode instead of a physical event with India as the Chair is an embarrassing setback to New Delhi’s diplomacy. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s refusal to come to India, which led to the change in format, shows how Beijing influences this grouping.

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.

1. AHMEDNAGAR RENAMED AS AHILYANAGAR

TAGS: GS 1: HISTORY; ART AND CULTURE

CONTEXT: Marking the 298th birth anniversary of Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar on May 31, 2023, Maharashtra Chief Minister announced that his government would rename Ahmednagar after her. The Western Maharashtrian city will now be known as Ahilyanagar.

EXPLANATION:

How did the city of Ahmednagar first get its name?

• Located in the Western region of Maharashtra, Ahmednagar has been a part of some prominent kingdoms, starting from 240 BC, when the vicinity is mentioned in the reference to the Mauryan Emperor Ashok.
• In the Medieval period, the region was ruled over by the Rashtrakuta Dynasty, the Western Chalukyas, and then the Delhi
• In the last case, the rule was not direct, and a revolt by Afghan soldier Alladin Hasan Gangu led to the establishment of the Bahmani kingdom in the Deccan. In the following years, Ahmednagar, then known as Nizamshahi, became one of the five independent kingdoms to emerge from that empire.
• In 1486, Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah assumed the position of the Bahmani Sultanate’s prime minister. He successfully defeated the king of the Bahmani kingdom, who tried to dislodge him from power, in 1490.
• Four years later, he laid the foundation of a city close to where he had defeated the army, on the left bank of Sina river.  This city was named after him: Ahmednagar.
• Nizam Shah also later captured the fort of Daulatabad and stationed his army there. By his kindness, peaceful demeanour & efficiency, he could win the loyalty of the local and foreign Muslims and also of the Maratha peasants and worriers. Since his origin was Hindu, he found no difficulty in winning over the confidence of Brahmins, who were highly regarded by the Hindus.
• Jawaharlal Nehru, in his book A Discovery of India (1946), wrote of him, “Ahmad Nizam Shah, the founder of Ahmadnagar in 1490, was the son of Nizam-ul-Mulk Bhairi, a minister of the Bahmani kings. This Nizam-ul-Mulk was the son of a Brahmin accountant named Bhairu. Thus the Ahmednagar dynasty was of indigenous origin.”

Ahilyabai holkar:

• Ahilyabai was born in Chondi village of Ahmednagar to the village head Mankoji Shinde, who ensured that his daughter received an education, which was quite rare at that time.
• It is believed that Malhar Rao Holkar, the army commander to Peshwa Bajirao, spotted eight-year-old Ahilyabai at a temple service in Chondi. Impressed by her devotion and character, he decided to get his son, Khande Rao, married to her.
• After her husband’s death in the Battle of Kumbher against the king of Bharatpur in 1754, Ahilyabai took control of Malwa.

Role in administration and temple-building

• She excelled at administrative and military strategies under the guidance of her father-in-law, who believed she should lead her people, and not die by Sati after Khande Rao passed away. After the death of her father-in-law and son a few years later, she petitioned the Peshwa to become the ruler, backed by the support of her army.
• In his book, Nehru said Holkar’s rule, which lasted for thirty years (1765-1795), was “almost legendary as a period during which perfect order and good government prevailed and the people prospered.
• She was a very able ruler and organizer, highly respected during her lifetime.
• Notably, her role in the restoration of Hindu temples is often talked about for instance ancient Somnath, the temple built by Holkar in 1783.

2. COMBINED MARITIME FORCES

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: The United Arab Emirates has withdrawn from a U.S.-led maritime coalition tasked with securing tense Gulf waterways that are vital to the global oil trade. The UAE “withdrew its participation” in the 38-nation Combined Maritime Forces two months ago, a Foreign Ministry statement said, without giving reasons for the move.

EXPLANATION:

• The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) is a multinational maritime partnership, which exists to uphold the Rules-Based International Order (RBIO) by countering illicit non-state actors on the high seas and promoting security, stability, and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, which encompass some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
• The Bahrain-headquartered CMF was established in 2001, initially as a partnership between 12 nations.
• It is active in crucial but troubled Gulf waters where tankers have been seized and attacked in recent months.
• CMF is commanded by a U.S. Navy Vice Admiral, who also serves as Commander US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and US Navy Fifth Fleet. All four commands are co-located at US Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
• CMF’s Deputy Commander is a United Kingdom Royal Navy Commodore. Other senior staff roles at CMF’s headquarters are filled by personnel from member nations.

CMF’s main focus areas:

• CMF’s main focus areas are counter-narcotics, counter-smuggling, suppressing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation, and engaging with regional and other partners to strengthen relevant capabilities in order to improve overall security and stability, and promoting a safe maritime environment free from illicit non-state actors.
• When requested, CMF assets at sea will also respond to environmental and humanitarian incidents.

CMF has four Combined Task Forces: 

• CTF 150 (Maritime Security Operations outside the Arabian Gulf)
• CTF 151 (Counter-Piracy)
• CTF 152 (Maritime Security Operations inside the Arabian Gulf)
• CTF 153 (Red Sea Maritime Security)
• CTF 154 (Maritime Security Training)

CMF has 37 member nations (Earlier 38 members including UAE)

• Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United States, and Yemen.

How CMF works?

• CMF nations are united in their desire to uphold the IRBO by protecting the free flow of commerce, improving maritime security, and deterring illicit activity by non-state actors in the CMF Area of Operations.
• CMF is a coalition of the willing and does not proscribe a specific level of participation from any member nation. The contribution from each country, therefore, varies depending on its ability to contribute assets and the availability of those assets at any given time.
• The 37 nations that comprise CMF are not bound by either a fixed political or military mandate.
• CMF is a flexible organisation. Contributions can vary from the provision of a liaison officer at CMF HQ in Bahrain to the deployment of warships or maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
• Participation is purely voluntary. No nation is asked to carry out any duty that it is unwilling to conduct. The contribution from each country varies depending on its ability to contribute assets and the availability of those assets at any given time.
• The 34 nations that comprise CMF are not bound by either a political or military mandate.

3. NEURALINK

TAGS: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTEXT: Since its founding in 2016, Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company Neuralink has had the ambitious mission to build a next-generation brain implant with at least 100-times more brain connections than devices currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The company has now reached a significant milestone, having received FDA approval to begin human trials.

EXPLANATION:

• Neuralink is making a Class III medical device known as a brain-computer interface (BCI).
• The device connects the brain to an external computer via a Bluetooth signal, enabling continuous communication back and forth.
• The device itself is a coin-sized unit called a Link. It’s implanted within a small disk-shaped cutout in the skull using a precision surgical robot. The robot splices a thousand tiny threads from the Link to certain neurons in the brain.
• Each thread is about a quarter the diameter of a human hair.

Potential benefits

• The company says the device could enable precise control of prosthetic limbs, giving amputees natural motor skills.
• It could revolutionise treatment for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and spinal cord injuries.
• It also shows some promise for potential treatment of obesity, autism, depression, schizophrenia and tinnitus.
• It can be used to help older people train their motor and cognitive abilities to moderate the worst effects of ageing.

What were the FDA’s concerns?

• The FDA had quite a list of issues that needed to be resolved before human trials could commence, as was reported in a Reuters investigation, which claimed to have spoken to several Neuralink sources.
• A precision robot known as Implant/r1 performs the surgical procedure to implant the Neuralink BCI. This robot surgeon had to be put through its paces to gather evidence that it could reliably and safely implant and remove the Neuralink BCI without damaging surrounding brain tissue, or creating the risk of infection, bleeding, inflammation.
• In particular, overheating lithium-ion batteries can pose great risk to users. When defective, such batteries have historically been known to overheat. They can even explode if the insulation between the cathode and anode (the metal electrode components) breaks down, resulting in a short circuit.
• Then there is the risk of wire migration. The Link consists of a disk-shaped chip with very thin wire electrodes that connect to neurons in the brain.
• Another challenge Neuralink faced was that of safe implant removal. The FDA wanted to know how easy or difficult it would be to remove the device from the brain if this became necessary.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.
• The FDA also provides accurate, science-based health information to the public.
• FDA is also responsible for advancing the public health by accelerating innovations to make medicines more effective and providing the public with accurate, science-based information on medicines and food to improve their health.
• FDA plays a significant role in addressing the Nation’s counterterrorism capability and ensuring the security of the food supply.

4. CITY INVESTMENTS TO INNOVATE, INTEGRATE AND SUSTAIN (CITIIS) PROJECT

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT:  The government approved the second phase of the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) project, a programme under the ambit of the Smart Cities Mission, which aims to promote integrated waste management and climate-oriented reform actions.

EXPLANATION:

• The CITIIS 2.0 will be implemented in 18 cities which would be selected based on a competition.
• The programme, aims to support competitively selected projects promoting circular economy with a focus on integrated waste management at the city level, climate-oriented reform actions at the state level, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the national level.
• It would span over a period of four years from 2023-2027 and has been conceived and would be implemented in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union (EU), and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
• The funding for CITIIS 2.0 would include a loan of Rs 1760 crore from AFD and KfW, split equally, and a technical assistance grant of Rs 106 crore from the European Union.
• The CITIIS 2.0 has three major components which are financial and technical support for developing projects focused on building climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation in up to 18 smart cities, support to all states and Union Territories on a demand basis and interventions at all centre, state and city levels to further climate governance in urban India through institutional strengthening, knowledge dissemination and capacity building.
• The design framework for CITIIS 2.0 is being conceptualized by AFD in consultation with SCM and MoHUA.

CITIIS(City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain)

• It is a sub-component of the Government of India’s Smart Cities Mission.
• The CITIIS program was launched on July 9, 2018.
• It is a joint program of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), the European Union (EU), and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
• It was launched with projects in 12 cities namely Agartala, Amaravati, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Dehradun, Hubbali-Dharwad, Kochi, Puducherry, Surat, Ujjain and Visakhapatnam.
• Each city receives financial assistance through a grant as well as technicalassistance from an international mentor and a domestic expert, besidesaccess to a pool of transversal experts.
• CITIIS (Cities Investments to Innovate Integrate and Sustain) Challenge was launched in partnership with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and European Union, to extend a loan of EUR 100 million for implementation of upto 15 innovative projects selected through an All-India Challenge in four sectors- sustainable mobility, public open spaces, urban governance & ICT and social and organizational innovation in low-income settlements.
• The entire set of activities including organisation of preparatory Workshop, handholding of cities to enable submission of proposals by them, evaluation of proposals by the jury leading up to selection of 12 projects and signing of tripartite agreements with the concerned cities and States was completed in record time.
• The selected projects will improve sustainable mobility, increase the amountof public open spaces, implement ICT measures to improve e-governance andintroduce social and organisational innovation in low-income settlements.

5. WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY APPROVES DRAFT RESOLUTION ON HEALTH ACTION PLAN FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

TAGS: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

CONTEXT: Member states of the World Health Organization accepted a draft resolution that proposed developing a Global Plan of Action for the Health of Indigenous People during the World Health Assembly hosted on May 29, 2023. The plan will be up for consideration at the 79th World Health Assembly in 2026.

EXPLANATION:

• The document stated that the global plan should be done in consultation with member states along “strategic lines of action for the improvement of the health of Indigenous Peoples in the development of the 14th World Health Organization General Programme of Work”.
• The draft resolution was proposed by Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, the European Union and its Member States, Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States of America and Vanuatu.
• This should be executed in consultation with indigenous peoples, with their free, prior and informed consent.
• The resolution that was proposed noted that the “indigenous peoples are disproportionately subject to poverty, poor housing, cultural barriers, violence, including gender-based violence, racism, experiencing disability, pollution and lack of access to education, economic opportunities, social protection, water, and sanitation, as well as appropriate resilience planning for climate change and natural and other emergencies”.
• The resolution put forward that the global plan be formulated “with a particular emphasis on the reproductive, maternal and adolescent health and with a specific focus on those in vulnerable situations, and bearing in mind local context”.
• WHO’s 194 member states were urged to develop a collection of ethical data to identify specific requirements of indigenous people and fill in the gaps. They were also urged to have an intersectional approach to their politics that overcomes geographical barriers, digital connectivity, information availability, remoteness and disability.
• Another approach proposed was to use evidence-based traditional medicine, along with medical services offered at the primary healthcare level, which also includes mental health and wellness serives.

Status of Indigenous people:

• According to the United Nations, The world presently has 476 million indigenous people across the world in about 90 countries.
• They speak 7,000 languages and come from 500 different cultures.
• They are marginalised individuals without access to basic infrastructure and oftentimes cannot claim titles over their land and surrounding natural resources.
• The life expectancy of indigenous people is 20 years lower than that of an average person.

United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

• The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues established in 2000.
• The Permanent Forum is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council established by resolution 2000/22 on 28 July 2000.
• The Forum has the mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.

World Health Assembly:

• The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO.
• It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.
• The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.
• The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

[WpProQuiz 477]

1. EVERGREENING OF LOANS

TAGS: GS 3: ECONOMY

CONTEXT: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor raised red flags over banks adopting innovative methods for evergreening of loans covering up the real status of stressed loans of corporates to project an artificial clean image in cahoots with corporates. However, bankers differ, saying that sometimes it is practical to extend liquidity support to companies that are genuinely facing issues.

EXPLANATION:

What is evergreening of loans?

• The process of evergreening of loans, a form of zombie lending, is typically a temporary fix for a bank. If an account turns into a non-performing asset (NPA), banks are required to make higher provisions which will impact their profitability.
• So, to avoid classifying a loan as an NPA, banks adopt the evergreening of loans. In the past, many banks had indulged in dressing up bad loans and given additional funds to companies who didn’t have the capacity to repay.

How evergreening of loans are done?

• An accommodative monetary policy creates an enabling environment for weak banks to evergreen loans to zombies and keeps them alive. The RBI has been following an accommodative policy since March 2020 when the pandemic struck the country.
• It is done by bringing two lenders together to evergreen each other’s loans by sale and buyback of loans or debt instruments.
• Here, good borrowers being persuaded to enter into structured deals with a stressed borrower to conceal the stress.
• It is done by use of internal or office accounts to adjust borrower’s repayment obligations.
• It is done by renewal of loans or disbursement of new/additional loans to the stressed borrower or related entities closer to the repayment date of the earlier loans.

Consequences:

• Most of the evergreening has happened in public sector banks which subsequently led to a jump in Non Performing Assets(NPAs).
• Banks delay the recognition of losses due to loan defaults and engage in evergreening, which is essentially the rolling over of debts of unviable borrowers that would have otherwise defaulted. This is purely misgovernance, so that bad loans are made to look good many a time by additional lending to troubled borrowers.
• Some banks have even extended such loans to wilful defaulters to keep them out of the defaulters’ books.
• Such resource misallocation supports the crowding-out effects ascribed to zombies, according to an RBI paper on Zombies and the Process of Creative Destruction.
• It results in credit being diverted to weak entities – which is ultimately diverted for other purposes or it becomes a bad loan – depriving the genuine credit needs of good borrowers.

When do banks evergreen loans?

• Restructuring is often used by banks for ‘evergreening’ problem accounts to keep the reported NPA levels low.
• However, with the enactment of the bankruptcy code, evergreening has declined but recovery has remained abysmally low.
• It normally happens due to the unholy relationship between bankers and borrowers.

How can evergreening be stopped?

• As suggested by committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks wherever significant evergreening in a bank is detected by the RBI, penalties should be levied through cancellations of unvested stock options and claw-back of monetary bonuses on officers concerned.
• The primary defence against evergreening must however come from the CEO, the audit committee and the board. The audit committee, in particular, needs to be particularly vigilant.

What is Non Performing Assets(NPA):

• A loan turns into a nonperforming asset, or NPA, if the interest or instalment remains unpaid even after the due date and remains unpaid for a period of more than 90 days.

Different types of non-performing assets depend on how long they remain in the NPA category.

a) Sub-Standard Assets: An asset is classified as a sub-standard asset if it remains as an NPA for a period less than or equal to 12 months.

b) Doubtful Assets: An asset is classified as a doubtful asset if it remains as an NPA for more than 12 months.

c) Loss Assets: An asset is considered a loss asset when it is “uncollectible” or has such little value that its continuance as a bankable asset is not suggested. However, some recovery value may be left in it as the asset has not been written off wholly or in parts.

2. LEGAL PROVISIONS OF THE CONTRACT

TAGS: GS 2: GOVERNANCE

CONTEXT: The Supreme Court has held that the government, when entering into a contract under the President’s name, cannot claim immunity from the legal provisions of that contract under Article 299 of the Constitution.

EXPLANATION:

Issue:

• The case dealt with an application filed by Glock Asia-Pacific Limited, a pistol manufacturing company, against the Centre regarding the appointment of an arbitrator in a tender-related dispute
• Glock Asia Pacific entered into a contract with the Ministry of Home Affairs for the supply of 31,756 Glock pistols. Subsequently, there was a dispute between the two parties due to the Centre invoking a performance bank guarantee.
• Glock then issue a notice invoking arbitration, nominating a retired DelhiHigh Court judge as the sole arbitrator. When the government was called to accept this, it said that the arbitrator’s nomination violated one of the tender conditions that said an officer in the Law Ministry, appointed by the MHA Secretary, would be the arbitrator in case of a dispute.
• Thus, Glock challenged this clause in the agreement, which allowed a government officer to resolve the difference between the two parties as an arbitrator, as one party here was the MHA itself.
• A performance bank guarantee, similar to a letter of credit, is the bank’s promise that it will meet the debtor’s liabilities, provided that he fails to meet the contractual obligations.
• A letter of credit is essentially a financial contract between a bank, a bank’s customer and a beneficiary. Generally issued by an importer’s bank, the letter of credit guarantees the beneficiary will be paid once the conditions of the letter of credit have been met.
• Letters of credit are used to minimize risk in international trade transactions where the buyer and the seller may not know one another.

What did the court hold?

• One of the major grounds of the challenge given under Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, says that notwithstanding any prior agreement, any person whose relationship with the parties or counsel of the dispute falls under any of the categories in the Seventh Schedule will be ineligible to be appointed as an arbitrator.
• The Seventh Schedule includes relationships where the arbitrator is an employee, consultant, advisor, or has any other past or present business relationship with a party.
• Deciding the case in Glock’s favour, the court observed that the arbitration clause allowed a “serving employee of the Union of India, a party to the contract, to nominate a serving employee of the Union of India as the Sole Arbitrator.” Holding this to be in conflict with Section 12(5), the court allowed the present application.
• The court also appointed former SC judge Justice Indu Malhotra “as the Sole Arbitrator to adjudicate upon the disputes” in the case.
• Referring to the recommendation of the 246th Law Commission Report, which dealt with the issue of contracts with government entities, the court observed that when the party appointing an arbitrator is the State, “the duty to appoint an impartial and independent adjudicator is even more onerous.”
• Thus, the court rejected the Centre’s reliance on Article 299, saying, “Article 299 only lays down the formality that is necessary to bind the government with contractual liability” and not “the substantial law relating to the contractual liability of the Government”, which is to be found in the general laws of the land.

Article 299 of the Constitution:

• Article 298 grants the Centre and the state governments the power to carry on trade or business, acquire, hold, and dispose of property, and make contracts for any purpose,
• Article 299 delineates the manner in which these contracts will be concluded.
• Articles 298 and 299 came after the Constitution came into effect and the government entered into contracts even in the pre-independence era.
• According to the Crown Proceedings Act of 1947, the Crown could not be sued in court for a contract it entered into.
• Article 299 of the Constitution provides that “all contracts made in the exercise of the executive power of the Union or of a State shall be expressed to be made by the President or by the Governor of the State” and that all such contracts and “assurances of property made in the exercise of that power shall be executed” on behalf of the President or the Governor by persons in a manner as directed and authorised by them.
• Further, the phrase ‘expressed to be made and executed’ under Article 299 (1) means that there must be a deed or contract in writing and that it should be executed by a person duly authorised by the President of the Governor on their behalf.
• The objective behind Article 299(1), as per the 1954 top court ruling in ‘Chatturbhuj Vithaldas Jasani v. Moreshwar Parashram & Ors’, is that there must be a definite procedure according to which contracts must be made by agents acting on the government’s behalf; otherwise, public funds may be depleted by unauthorized or illegitimate contracts. It implies that contracts not adhering to the manner given in Article 299(1) cannot be enforced by any contracting party.
• However, Article 299 (2) says that essentially, neither the President nor the Governor can be personally held liable for such contracts.

What are the requirements for government or state contracts?

• In its judgement, the court referred to its 1966 ruling in ‘K.P. Chowdhry v. State of Madhya Pradesh. And Others’, which laid down essential requirements for government contracts under Article 299.
• In that ruling, the top court had reiterated three conditions to be met before a binding contract against the government could arise, namely:

(i)the contract must be expressed to be made by the Governor or the Governor-General

(ii) it must be executed in writing

(iii) the execution should be by such persons and in such manner as the Governor or the Governor-General might direct or authorise.

• Prior to this, the Apex Court, in its 1962 ruling in ‘State of Bihar v. Messrs. Karam Chand Thapar’, had laid down these three conditions too.

3. A COMMEMORATIVE COIN OF RS 75 DENOMINATION ON INAUGURATION OF NEW PARLIAMENT

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: To mark the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Prime Minster released a commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination. In a notification released ,the Ministry of Finance first announced the launch of the coin. “The coin of Seventy-Five Rupees denomination shall be coined at the Mint for issue under the authority of the Central Government.

EXPLANATION:

• India has been issuing commemorative coins since the 1960s for several reasons such as paying homage to notable personalities, spreading awareness about government schemes, or remembering key historic events.
• The country released its first commemorative coin in 1964 in honour of Jawaharlal Nehru, who had passed away that year.

Features of commemorative coin:

• As per the Ministry of Finance notification, the latest Rs 75 coin is circular in shape with a diameter of 44mm. The composition of the coin is of a quaternary alloy 50 per cent silver, 40 per cent copper, 5 per cent nickel and 5 per cent zinc.
• “The face of the coin shall bear the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the centre, with the legend “सत्यमेि जयते” (Satyameva Jayate) inscribed below, flanked on the left periphery with the word “भारत” (Bharat) in Devnagri script and on the right periphery the word “INDIA” in English.
• It added that the other side of the coin displays an image of the new parliament building. The inscription “Sansad Sankul” is written in Devanagari script on the upper periphery while the words “Parliament Complex” in English on the lower periphery of the coin.
• If someone wants to acquire commemorative coins, they can do so by visiting the website of the Securities of Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).
• The Coinage Act, 2011 gives the central government the power to design and mint coins in various denominations. In the case of coins, the role of the RBI is limited to the distribution of coins that are supplied by the central government.
• All coins are minted in the four mints owned by the Government of India in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Noida

Securities of Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL)

• It a wholly owned Schedule ‘A’ Miniratna Category-I company of Government of India, incorporated on 13th January, 2006.
• SPMCIL, technically a new entity, has centuries-old experience in Security Printing and Minting.
• The management, control, maintenance and operations of the erstwhile 9 production units under Currency and Coinage division, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, was transferred to SPMCIL on February 10, 2006.
• The Ministry of Finance exercises its administrative control over SPMCIL through Board of Directors.
• SPMCIL is engaged in the manufacture/ production of Currency and Bank Notes, Security Paper, Non-Judicial Stamp Papers, Postal Stamps & Stationery, Travel Documents viz. Passport and Visa, Security certificates, Cheques, Bonds, Warrant, Special Certificates with security features, Security Inks, Circulation & Commemorative Coins, Medallions, Refining of Gold & Silver, and Assay of Precious Metals.

Coinage Act, 2011

• The Coinage Act was enacted on 1^st September 2011 and it extends to the whole of India.
• The Coinage Act, 2011 was enacted to consolidate the laws in relation to coinage and the mints and its protection.
• The Act puts a strict bar on activities like melting, destruction, making or possession of the coins thereof for issue and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto
• RBI functions as an agent of the Government in the distribution of Coins. It is responsible for making decisions on the pattern, production and the all-inclusive management of the nation’s currency, with the aim of ensuring an adequate supply of clean and genuine notes.

Under the Act, the Government has the authority to —

• Establish a Mint at any place which may be managed by it or by any other person, upon whom the purpose is devolved
• Abolish any Mint.

4. GURU RAVIDAS

TAGS: GS 1: ART AND CULTURE

CONTEXT: In California, members of an under-the-radar, minority religious community are stepping into the public eye to advocate for making the state the first in the nation to outlaw caste bias. They are the Ravidassia followers of Ravidass, a 14th century Indian guru who preached caste and class equality. There are about 20,000 members of the community in California, most of them in the Central Valley.

EXPLANATION:

Guru Ravidass:

• Ravidass was born in the 14th century in a village near Varnasi, India, to a family of cobblers and tanners who belonged to the then-untouchable or leather-working caste known as “chamars.”
• Guru Ravidassbelonged to the lowest-rung of the caste system formerly considered untouchable and also known as Dalit, which means “broken” in Hindi.
• Ravidass was an Indian guru, mystic and poet who was one of the most renowned figures in the North Indian bhakti movement, which placed love and devotion to god above all and preached against the caste system.
• The Guru Granth Sahib, which is the sacred text of Sikhism, bears 40 verses or shabads of Ravidass.

Ravidassia temples:

• A Ravidassia place of worship is called a sabha, dera, gurdwara or gurughar, which could all be translated as temple.
• The temples serve a post-worship meal as Sikh gurdwaras also do, which is known as langar.
• Ravidassia temples often display idols and/or pictures of Guru Ravidass in the prayer halls.

The Ravidassia identity:

• Many male Ravidassia members wear long hair in a turban and carry Sikh articles of faith such as the kada or bracelet, kangha or wooden comb and kirpan, the sheathed, single-edged knife.
• Many men and women in the community also have Sikh last names Singh and Kaur.
• Idols and images of Ravidass, however, can only be seen in a Ravidass temple.
• In addition, the community celebrates the birthday of their guru, which typically falls in February. Many Ravidass temples also observe the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, the Indian Dalit rights icon whose given name was Bhimrao.
• The faith also has followers who are Hindu and those who are from different parts of India.
• Ravidassia community members in California are largely of Punjabi descent.

5. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF CONSUMPTION

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

CONTEXT: The ever-increasing demand for agricultural products is leading to significant social and environmental consequences worldwide. The expansion of international trade has created global supply chains, directly linking consumers to geographically-distant impacts, including carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, freshwater depletion, soil degradation and labour-rights issues – all of which have local, regional, and global relevance.
EXPLANATION:

• Due to its vast size and consumer market, India is a global anchor of the trade in agricultural products. It has also undergone remarkable social and economic development over the last several decades. This has led to an increasing demand as well as supply of these products.
• Large land areas in India are used to service the international demand for grains, fruits, and vegetables, among other products, which puts pressure on national soil and water resources. At the same time, India’s vast consumer market means that large amounts of land, even outside its borders, are used to satisfy domestic demand.

What is food-based impact accounting?

• The expansion of such imports has contributed to increasing the environmental pressure in the exporting countries.
• Tackling these demand-supply dynamics is now a key aspect of international environmental governance.
• The current paradigm in measuring impacts and allocating responsibility is based on a production-based accounting method: it measures impacts in the place where the products are produced.
• There are concerns about its limitations in managing ‘leaks’, fixing accountability, and ensuring equity and justice among producers and consumers.

What is consumption-based accounting?

• Consumption-based accounting accounts for impacts at the point of consumption, attributing all the social and environmental impacts that occurred during production and trade to the final products and to the eventual consumers.
• That is, the approach urges the consumer (whether social groups or countries) to accept responsibility for the embodied or ‘virtual’ impacts of the product that is being consumed.
• This approach has become prominent thanks to growing concerns around the divide between countries that are producers and those that are consumers, leading to a high degree of international co-dependence.

What is the demand perspective?

• From a demand perspective, the basis for this approach is straightforward: since the pressure on natural and human resources is largely the direct result of consumption practices in developed economies, the responsibility for any consequences due to the production process should fall on those consumers as well.
• A consumption-based approach thus highlights the responsibility of industrialised states to mitigate impact and the rights of developing economies to not carry an excexcessive burden. This is an extension of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities that make up global climate governance.

What is the supply perspective?

• From a supply perspective, the proponents of consumption-based accounting claim that it can encourage cleaner production since producer countries are implicitly encouraged to implement strategies that lower the environmental footprint of their exports.
• The approach can also go a long way to fix ‘leaks’ in production systems, where production is often taken to jurisdictions that are relatively lenient about production standards (including India).

What are the benefits for environmental action?

• The application of this approach to estimate carbon emissions, in the form of embodied emissions, and water use, in the form of virtual water, has also been around in the scientific literature for some time, but has only recently made inroads into policy making.
• Even from a consumption-based accounting perspective, India finds itself in a unique position. Currently, major developed economies have an environmental footprint in India because of their consumption of Indian agricultural produce. Conversely, India’s own deforestation footprint outside its borders has increased over the last two decades and is rapidly growing, even if it remains below that of several G-20 countries on a per-capita basis.

THE CONTEXT: Civil society has been an essential part of governance. Civil society can be understood as the “third sector” of society. The ‘third sector’ is an umbrella term that covers a range of different organizations with different structures and purposes, belonging neither to the public sector (i.e., the state) nor to the private sector (profit-making private enterprise). This include the voluntary sector, non-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations. Third-sector organizations operate at all levels of society, from the very local to the national and the international, and they make a significant – and rapidly increasing – contribution to the health and well-being of society.

This article analyses the contribution of Civil society for a healthy democracy.

WHAT IS CIVIL SOCIETY?

According to the World Bank: “Civil society refers to a wide array of organizations: community groups, non-governmental organizations [NGOs], labour unions, indigenous groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, and foundations.”

 It is a conventional Venn diagram depiction of the spheres of civil society interacting with the state and markets. In this model, civil society is distinguishable from political society (parties, political organizations, parliaments) but also from the economic sphere of firms, business partnerships, and their associations. However, political and economic society generally arise from civil society, share some of its forms of organization and communication, and are institutionalized through rights (political rights and property rights especially) continuous with the fabric of rights that secure modern civil society.

CIVIL SOCIETY IN GOVERNANCE

In 1993, the World Bank defined governance as the method through which power is exercised in the management of a country’s political, economic and social resources for development. Governance is the process and institutions through which decisions are made and authority in a country is exercised. Governance can be used in several contexts, such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance. After 1990, the concept of good governance started taking shape.

WHAT IS GOOD GOVERNANCE?

Good governance relates to the political and institutional processes and outcomes that are necessary to achieve the goals of development. The true test of ‘good’ governance is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The key question is: are the institutions of governance effectively guaranteeing the right to health, adequate housing, sufficient food, quality education, fair justice and personal security? Thus good governance is more human-centric rather than State Centric.

With the rollback of the State in the 1990s, civil society arose with the need for a decentralized public delivery system. Further availability of funds and greater usage of Information and communication technology give way to the emergence of civil society.

IMPORTANCE OF CIVIL SOCIETY FOR HEALTHY DEMOCRACY

ADVOCACY FOR THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE

• The MKSS played a pioneering role in getting the Right to Information (RTI) law passed in India.
• One of the first issues that MKSS took up was that of wages in drought relief works, which eventually, over many years, led to the advocacy and passing of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

LIMIT THE POWER OF GOVERNMENT AND MAKE IT MORE ACCOUNTABLE

• The first and most basic role of civil society is to limit and control the power of the state. Any democracy needs a well-functioning and authoritative state. But when a country is emerging from decades of dictatorship, it also needs to find ways to check, monitor, and restrain the power of political leaders and state officials.
• It exposes the corrupt conduct of public officials and lobbies for good governance reforms. Even where anti-corruption laws and bodies exist, they cannot function effectively without the active support and participation of civil society.

IT PROMOTES POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

• NGOs promote political participation by educating people about their rights and obligations as democratic citizens and encouraging them to listen to election campaigns and vote in elections. NGOs can also help develop citizens’ skills to work with one another to solve common problems, debate public issues, and express their views.

POLICY FORMULATION- INPUT TO THE GOVERNMENT

• Pratham is an innovative learning organization created to improve the quality of education in India. As one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the country, Pratham focuses on high-quality, low-cost and replicable interventions to address gaps in the education system.

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

• The first five-year plan document emphasized the importance of voluntary organizations in the implementation of public programmes. However, only in the seventh plan document is there a detailed discussion about the role of voluntary agencies in rural development.
• Integrated Ruler DevelopmentIRural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme/TRYSEM
• Afforestation, social forestry, development of bio-gas and alternative energy sources (Solar Wind energy, smokeless chulas, etc.);
• E.g. Help Age : HelpAge India is an Indian organization focused on the concerns of elders. Established in 1978, its mission is to “work for the cause and care of under-aged elderly people and improve their standard of living”.

FEEDBACK TO THE GOVERNMENT

• One role for civil society organizations is to lobby for the needs and concerns of their members, such as women, students, farmers, environmentalists, trade unionists, lawyers, doctors, and so on. NGOs and interest groups can present their views to parliament and provincial councils, by contacting individual members and testifying before parliamentary committees.
• E.g. Oxfam India: Information about inequality due to government policies has been highlighted by Oxfam Report. It ensures that Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims, and women and girls have safe-violence-free lives with freedom to speak their minds, equal opportunities to realize their rights, and a discrimination-free future.

PROVIDE RESEARCH INPUTS

• The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a public-interest research and advocacy organization.CSE’s efforts are specifically designed to create awareness about problems and propose sustainable solutions. Research at CSE often consists of in-depth learning about an environmental problem and then finding answers in accordance with CSE’s core values.

VOICE OF THE WEAK AND VULNERABLE PEOPLE

Child welfare:

• CRY (Child Rights and You): Child Rights and You (CRY) works tirelessly to ensure happier and healthier childhoods for India’s underprivileged children. CRY addresses children’s critical needs of healthcare, nutrition, education and protection from child labour and child marriage by working with parents, teachers, Anganwadi workers, communities, district and state-level governments, and the children.

Women empowerment:

• An SHG comprises a small group of women who come together to make regular monetary contributions. Emerging as important micro-finance systems, SHGs work as platforms that promote solidarity among women, bringing them together on issues of health, nutrition, gender parity and gender justice.
• SHGs provide women entrepreneurs with micro-loans to sustain their businesses while also creating an environment for them to develop greater agency and decision-making skills.
• Example: SHGs such as Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahila Mandal, UMED Abhiyan under Maharashtra’s department of rural development’s State Rural Livelihood Mission, and government schemes such as Tejaswani, etc, have proven beneficial in the development of women entrepreneurship for the cause of women’s empowerment.

Health and Education:

• E.g. The Smile Foundation for Education in India aimed to promote education among the underprivileged. Their development program includes Education, health, livelihood for children and women, and provision equally affected by lack of resources. Some of their programs are Smile on Wheels, Mission Education and Smile Twin e-learning.

Disaster relief:

• E.g. Goonj is a non-governmental organization based in Delhi, India. It performs disaster relief, humanitarian aid and community development work in parts of 23 states of India.

Addressing Poverty and injustice:

• E.g. CARE India has been working in India for 68 years and is a non-profit organization focusing on reducing poverty and social injustice. Our overall goal is to empower women and girls from poor and marginalized communities and improve their lives and livelihoods.

Helping the mentally challenged in India:

• According to the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), 2015-16, around 150 million Indians live with mental health issues, yet 83% of them do not have access to necessary care. Some NGOs strive to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness, improve their economic status and create social acceptance for the intellectually disadvantaged.
• E.g. Based in Chennai, The Banyan provides care for the homeless and poor individuals with mental health issues in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.

RAISE THE CORRUPTION ISSUES

• India Against Corruption (IAC) is a civil society-based anti-corruption movement in India which was particularly prominent during the anti-corruption protests of 2011 and 2012, concerned with the introduction of the Jan Lokpal bill. It primarily sought to mobilize the masses in support of their demands.
• Federation of Anti Corruption Teams(FACT) India is a non-profit organization founded by a team of professionals in Chennai with the aim “To transform India into a corruption-free nation and ensure peaceful and harmonious life to all”

CHALLENGES TO THE CIVIL SOCIETY

Successive Indian governments have told the world proudly of the country’s vibrant civil society. But in recent years, there has been an alarming change back home. Several NGOs have been denied full access to foreign financial support, while many are facing accusations of financial impropriety or violating regulatory laws. Others report increasing scrutiny.

• Lack of funds and misuse of funds(Regulation under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA): Through successive Amendments to the FCRA, Union governments have increasingly scrutinized NGOs receiving foreign contributions—a grip tightened by the 2020 Amendment. The Amendment makes it impossible to sub-grant [to smaller NGOs] and build consortiums of NGOs, or to collaborate. The Union stated that the problem of misuse was widespread—19,000 NGOs had seen their FCRA licenses cancelled between 2010 and 2019. The suspension of the FCRA licence means that the NGO can no longer receive fresh foreign funds from donors pending a probe by the Home Ministry.
• Issues of Human Resources: Key challenges include:
  • Attracting talent

Whilst non-profits need highly skilled profiles, they often do not have the resources to pay competitive salaries or invest in HR.

• Retaining talent and managing turnover

Most surveyed NGOs report exceptional turnover – financial compensation and benefits play a part, as well as arduous working conditions, lack of training or career development. Some non-profits focus on the sense of purpose and different lifestyles to retain staff.

• Use of NGOs for Money laundering: Although NGOs are usually established with charitable intentions, they can actually be used by criminals to conduct illicit financial activities. The fact that funds flow in and out of the organization in a complex way makes them very susceptible to abuse from terrorists and money launderers.
• 4th generation of warfare: Fourth-generation warfare refers to a conflict where the state loses its monopoly on war and is fighting non-state actors e.g. terror groups and insurgents. It is the civil society that can be subverted by terror groups and insurgents.
• NGOs as a political tool against development: Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were once considered altruistic groups whose aim was to influence public policy with no vested interests impartially. Nevertheless, this perception has changed. They are increasingly perceived as groups that prioritize their own ideologies or that respond to the interests of their donors, patrons, and members rather than to those of the groups they represent.
  • E.g. Greenpeace has been accused by the government for working against  Development objectives like opposing coal firing and cole mining with vested interests.
• Lack of transparency in working, poor accounting and auditing practices.

THE WAY FORWARD:

The regulatory frameworks that govern civil society in India need urgent and comprehensive reform in partnership with civil society.

• Regulations need to be rationalized, simplified and made more coherent.
• They need to be fully compliant with both India’s Constitution156 and the international treaties157, to which India is a signatory.
• They need to clearly recognize the entire range of roles played by the nonprofit sector from the delivery of services to the watchdog of business, government and media.

National policy on Voluntary Sector 2007 should be implemented effectively. It aims to:

• To create an enabling environment for VOs that stimulates their enterprise and effectiveness and safeguards their autonomy;
• To enable VOs to mobilize necessary financial resources from India and abroad legitimately;
• To identify systems by which the Government may work together with VOs, on the basis of the principles of mutual trust and respect, and with shared responsibility; and,
• To encourage VOs to adopt transparent and accountable systems of governance and management.

Effective use of digital initiative for transparency: The NGO-DARPAN started out as an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Office to create and promote a healthy partnership between VOs/NGOs and the Government of India. The Portal is managed at present by NITI Aayog.

THE CONCLUSION: In developed, politically mature democracies, the role of civil society is cardinal in almost all aspects of public life. Civil society can be conceived as a social and public space and sphere that is above the domain of the family and below the state. Without a well-functional civil society, democracy cant is not functional. Thus there is a need to make the civil society, like NGO and voluntary organizations more transparent, functional and effective in functioning.

Mains Question

1. Without civil society, the conception of a vibrant democracy is not possible. Examine.
2. What are the challenges to civil society and what measures should be taken to strengthen civil society?