1. THE ARTEMIS ACCORDS

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: India has signed the Artemis Accords. The Accords are non-binding guidelines that underpin the Artemis programme, an ambitious project to return humans to the Moon.

EXPLANATION:

• The Artemis Accords are a set of non-binding guidelines that underpin the Artemis programme, an ambitious U.S.-led project to return humans to the Moon, this time permanently.
• The project plan includes a base on the lunar surface, multiple spacecraft to ferry humans and cargo, a small orbiting space station called the ‘Lunar Gateway’, and a constellation of satellites to help with navigation and communication.
• Artemis mirrors a Chinese-Russian plan for an ‘International Lunar Research Station’ (ILRS).
• Proponents of lunar exploration often cite the primordial human urge to explore, the supposed commercial windfalls from celestial mining, and the need to inspire younger generations. Such exhortations often overlook the more immediate and more proximate motivations.
• The ten principles listed in the Artemis Accords support an America-friendly interpretation of space law. In return for signing on, states get to participate in the Artemis programme, which can, in theory at least, bring both prestige and technological benefits.

Laws and the Moon

• Modern space law is a tent erected on four international agreements, headlined by the Outer Space Treaty. These agreements cover critical issues like the peaceful use of space, registration, and liability, and were struck between 1967 and 1976, a period roughly coinciding with both the original Space Race and Cold War detente. The ten principles of the Artemis Accords are generally in consonance with these agreements.
• A fifth treaty, the Moon Agreement, was introduced in 1979 but found no takers among the major spacefaring states of that time, including the U.S. and the Soviet Union. India joined a handful of other countries in signing the Moon Agreement, though it did not ratify it.
• A key provision in the Artemis Accords allows for actors to extract and utilise space resources. Experts have often interpreted this as being at odds with the Moon Agreement – which asks for the gains from commercial exploitation of the Moon’s resources to be equitably distributed.
• Artemis signatories like Australia and France have also signed the Moon Agreement.

Indian and Artemis Accords:

• The Artemis Accords came into being in 2020, just as India was beginning the process of opening up its own space sector to private players. While India being a signatory to the Moon Agreement may have initially given its diplomats pause, the cases of Australia and France are undoubtedly reassuring.
• India was also likely concerned that the Artemis Accords were an informal set of guidelines or norms rather than a legally-binding instrument. India has historically preferred formal law over informal guidelines because it believes laws foster better compliance among adherents regardless of their relative power in the international system.
• India feared that norms set by great powers are designed to maximise their own freedom of action while constraining less powerful states like India. That India now accepts Artemis norms set by the U.S. suggests a subtle shift in its diplomatic practice.

2. CLIMATE SHIFT INDEX

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: Climate change made the recent heatwave in Uttar Pradesh at least two times more likely, as per the Climate Shift Index, which quantifies the impact of climate change on local weather in real time

EXPLANATION:

Links between climate change and temperatures:

• Climate change caused by global warming due to increased carbon emissions in the atmosphere can cause extreme weather events. Heat waves are one of them.
• As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a heat wave “is a condition of air temperature which becomes fatal to [the] human body when exposed [to it]”. The IMD defines a heat wave as occurring if temperatures depart by 4.5°C to 6.4°C more than normal (above different temperature levels for hills and plains), and a severe heat wave when the temperature rises to more than 6.4°C.
• The duration of heatwaves in India increased by about 2.5 days between 1961 and 2021 due to global warming, as per a report released by the IMD.

Climate Shift Index:

• Researchers at Climate Central, a US-based climate research and communications group, found that the three-day extreme heat event over parts of UP from June 14 to June 16 was made at least two times more likely by climate change.
• Climate Shift Index (CSI), developed by Climate Central, that uses a categorical five-point scale to show how climate change makes daily average temperatures more or less likely around the world.
• Currently, the index includes more than 1,000 cities and the online real-time map can also reveal changes across regions around cities.
• CSI levels over 1 indicate a clear climate change signal, while levels between 2 and 5 mean that climate change made those temperatures between two and five times more likely. Per the team, the methodology used to calculate the CSI is based on peer-reviewed science.
• A CSI of 4 means that the day’s temperature was made at least four times more likely than it would have been without the influence of climate change

Lapses in heat plan implementation:

• Heat action plans are documents that list preparatory, adaptive and responsive measures for government departments to tackle the heat and its impacts. UP is one of the 18 states to have a state-level heat action plan, per a recent report that analysed 37 heat action plans at the city, district and state levels.
• The state developed its heat action plan in 2022. The 2023 Heat Action Plan is being updated with the institutional collaboration of IIPH-Gandhinagar and UNICEF, as per a report.
• UP’s standard operating procedure for heat waves identifies heatwave responses, including related preparedness and actions at the district level. It includes operating procedures to undertake these response actions. It also lists the lead and support agencies responsible for heatwave response actions.
• The combination of extreme heat and humidity during heat waves is particularly dangerous for humans, and even more so in urban contexts where the ‘heat island’ effect can further increase temperatures.

3. THE ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY REGULATIONS

TAG: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: Earlier this year the Health Ministry notified the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulations (ART), 2023, which are aimed at providing donors and patients with better medical care and security. But the new provisions have pushed up the already sky-high medical costs and are proving to be a challenge for treating doctors and couples wanting to have children through ART because of the restricted and limited resource availability in terms of donors, according to industry insiders.

EXPLANATION:

• The new ART provisions impose restrictions on the number of times a donor, male or female can donate (sperm/oocyte) in their lifetime, and specifies age limits for donors.
• The provision states that an oocyte donor should be an ever-married (persons who have been married at least once in their lives) woman having at least one living child of her own (minimum three years of age).
• She can donate oocyte only once in her lifetime and not more than seven oocytes can be retrieved. Also, an ART bank cannot supply gamete (reproductive cell) of a single donor to more than one commissioning couple (couple seeking services).
• Additionally, parties seeking ART services will be required to provide insurance coverage in the favour of the oocyte donor (for any loss, damage, or death of the donor). A clinic is prohibited from offering to provide a child of pre-determined sex. Also checking for genetic diseases before the embryo implantation is needed.
• Overall, the new ART laws restricting the number of donation attempts “have the potential to increase costs and create challenges for couples relying on assisted reproductive techniques.

THE ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY REGULATIONS:

• India’s convoluted and long tryst with assisted reproductive technology (ART) began in 1978 with the birth of India’s first test-tube baby in Kolkata.
• The industry grew exponentially, albeit without any congruent regulatory or legal framework to govern it.
• The legislative vacuum was attempted to be filled by the Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR) in 2005 with the issuance of the National Guidelines for Accreditation, Supervision and Regulation of ART Clinics in India – the first ever national guidelines for laying down standards of conduct for surrogacy in India.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs has also periodically issued guidelines for regulating surrogacy. In 2009, the Law Commission in its 228th report recommended the enactment of legislation to facilitate the correct use of ART and legalization of surrogacy.
• It is in this backdrop that Parliament on December 8, 2021 passed the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021. The Act aims at the regulation and supervision of ART clinics and assisted reproductive technology banks, prevention of misuse, and safe and ethical practice of ART services.
• Right alongside this Act comes the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, which only recognises altruistic surrogacy as legal. While the Acts finally regulate the industry, they also bring in a number of concerns to the legal domain-including rights, scientific advances, cross-border surrogacies, obligations as well as ethical dilemmas.

Important highlights of the ART Act:

• Under the Act, every ART clinic and bank must be registered under the National Registry of Banks and Clinics of India. This Registry, comprising scientific and technical staff, will be a central database for all facilities providing ART services in India.
• State governments are required to appoint authorities to facilitate the registration process. No person/clinic/bank shall render ART procedures unless they are registered with the Registry.
• The Act also provides for setting up of a National Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board, which shall lay down a Code of Conduct to be observed by persons working at ART clinics and banks and also set minimum standards of physical infrastructure, laboratory and diagnostic equipment and expert manpower to be employed by clinics and banks. The Board shall also supervise the functioning of the Registry.
• Additionally, the Act also lays down the duties to be performed by ART banks and clinics, which include ensuring that the commissioning couple, woman and donor are eligible to avail ART services; requiring clinics to obtain donors’ gametes from banks which shall ensure that the donor has been tested for diseases; providing counselling services to commissioning couples and woman about the implications of ART; and rights of the child.
• A duty is imposed on the clinics and banks to keep the information of commissioning couples and women confidential and to maintain a grievance redressal cell. The Act also empowers the Central government to make rules to carry out the provisions of the Act as and when the need may arise.
• Further, the Act provides for stringent punishment in the event of contravention of its provisions. First-time offenders may be liable to pay a fine between ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh, and for subsequent contraventions, the offender may be sentenced to imprisonment of 8 to 12 years and may also be liable to pay a fine of ₹10 to 12 lakh. Operators of clinics or banks offering or advertising sex selective ART may face imprisonment of 5 to 10 years or would also be liable to pay a fine of ₹10 to 25 lakh, or both.

Shortcomings of the ART Act:

• While the Act is a decisive and considerable step towards curbing the menace of illegal and unregulated ART clinics and towards safeguarding donors and women undergoing ART from the health implications faced due to unsafe and illegal procedures, it falls short of addressing some serious concerns.
• First and foremost, the Act excludes unmarried men, divorced men, widowed men, unmarried yet cohabiting heterosexual couples, trans persons and homosexual couples (whether married or cohabiting) from availing ART services. This exclusion is relevant as the Surrogacy Act also excludes above said persons from taking recourse to surrogacy as a method of reproduction.
• The Act is also limited to those commissioning couples who are infertile – those who have been unable to conceive after one year of unprotected coitus. Thus, it is limited in its application and significantly reduces the reproductive choices of those excluded. Third, the prices of the services are not regulated; this can certainly be remedied with simple directives.

4. PARIS FINANCE MEET

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Summit for a New Global Financing Pact concluded in Paris. The first of its kind, the conference was spearheaded by President of France, and had several leaders from the developing world, as well as European heads of state in attendance. The Summit took on the monumental task of addressing the lack of money flowing to poor and vulnerable countries as they battle “a cocktail of interconnected crises” as Prime Minister of Ethiopia framed it poverty, debt, inflation triggered due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and increasing climate impacts.

EXPLANATION:

• To begin with, countries of the South are in a debt crisis and are facing pressure to decarbonise their economies without adequate climate finance flowing in.
• “African countries are facing an unprecedented funding squeeze. Public and private debt has reached new heights. Inflation in almost all commodities has risen sharply, and today daily meals are the biggest issue for many Africans.

Clear demands:

• Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have been at the center of the discussion on financial systems reform, and Indian Finance Minister pointed out that they are “being asked by non-borrowing shareholders to address transboundary challenges alongside their core development mandate”.
• Thus, the pressure on MDBs’ resources will increase manifold, and the G20 Capital Adequacy Framework recommendations, while welcomed, are still not enough due to the scale and scope of development challenges.
• This reveals the politics at the core of the MDB reform discussion, where developed countries want to squeeze more out of existing MDB resources while simultaneously adding on climate as a part of their mandate.
• More concessional and grant financing is needed, while there is a call for reduction of debt levels in developing countries particularly debt cancellations for least developed countries.
• It also emphasised that while private sector money can be unlocked, it cannot replace long-term development money. The latter is needed to help middle-income countries access concessional finance as well.
• South African President laid out his views on Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP)  a deal that his country is currently struggling to implement.
• Such plans must consider each country’s circumstances, the needs of workers and communities, and developmental goals to address poverty and unemployment.

What was announced?

• This was not a ‘pledging’ conference, but some announcements were unveiled, perhaps in an effort to address the thorny trust erosion issue.

1. MDBs: A contentious MDB Vision Statement document did not get full consensus at the Summit, and the Summit’s synthesis document mentions that “30 countries, in the presence of 8 Multilateral Development Banks” endorsed it.

It was however announced that an additional lending capacity of $200 billion would be unlocked for emerging economies. The World Bank announced disaster clauses for debt deals, that would suspend debt payment in the case of extreme weather events.

New World Bank head also unveiled a ‘Private Sector Investment Lab’ with the aim to “develop and rapidly scale solutions that address the barriers that are preventing the private sector from investing  at scale  in emerging markets and developing countries, with a specific focus on renewable energy and energy infrastructure”.

2. Special Drawing Rights: IMF Head announced that 100 billion in SDRs for vulnerable countries has been met. Some experts were quick to point out that 20 billion worth of SDRs are yet to pass through the US Congress. The US being the biggest quota holder of SDRs. The ‘recycling’ of SDRs from rich countries whose central banks do not need the cushioning, to poor countries who need them or MDBs who can channel them, has been proposed by many as means to expand the amount of concessional finance to developing countries
3. A new JETP: A new 2.5 billion Euro JETP deal was announced for Senegal, with a consortium of countries comprising of Germany, France, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, with the goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in installed capacity to 40 per cent of Senegal’s electricity mix by 2030.
4. Debt: It was announced that Zambia reached a $6.3 billion debt restructuring deal in debt owed to other governments including China. Colombian and Kenya President also proposed a Global Expert Review on Debt, Nature and Climate to “assess the impact of debt on low- and medium-income countries capacity to preserve nature, adapt to climate change and decarbonise their economies”.
5. Climate finance goal: It was suggested that the long overdue $100 billion climate finance goal will be delivered this year, something that was also alluded to at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue. The Paris Summit’s synthesis document mentions that this “should be further supported by confirmed figures provided by contributors and reported by the OECD”.
6. Carbon markets: The EU unveiled a call to action on ‘Paris Aligned Carbon Markets’ with the goal of covering at least 60 per cent of global emissions with carbon pricing mechanisms (compared to four per cent today) and allocating a proportion of the revenues to climate finance.
7. Polluter taxes: Momentum on polluter taxes accelerated at the Summit, with many groups supporting a tax on shipping emissions. More traction is expected on this issue at the International Maritime Organisation meeting.

5. MQ-9B DRONES

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: U.S President and Prime Minister welcomed India’s plans to procure General Atomics MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAV. This sets the stage for the acquisition of 31 of these armed UAVs, 15 Sea Guardians for the Indian Navy and 16 Sky Guardians  eight each for the Indian Army and Air Force.

EXPLANATION:

• MQ-9Bs, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of India’s armed forces across domains.
• As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a Comprehensive Global Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India in support of India’s long-term goals to boost indigenous defence capabilities.
• The procurement process has commenced with the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister according the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN).
• India is negotiating to increase the indigenous content under the deal. “The current indigenous content proposed is 8-9% while India is hoping it can be increased upto 15-20%. Discussions are underway.

What do the UAV’s bring in terms of capability?

• The MQ-9B has two variants the SkyGuardian and the SeaGuardian, its maritime variant.
• The MQ-9B is designed to fly over the horizon via satellite for up to 40 hours, depending on configuration, in all types of weather and safely integrate into civil airspace, according to its manufacturer.
• For instance, the SeaGuardian configuration can include a 360-degree surface-search maritime radar, automatic identification system, sonobuoy monitoring system, and sonobuoy dispensers for persistent anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions.
• According to General Atomics, the MQ-9B can provide roughly 80% of the capability of a large human-flown maritime patrol aircraft at about 20% of its cost per hour.
• For the Army and Air Force, the MQ-9Bs can provide round-the-clock surveillance looking far beyond the borders. It also seamlessly integrates with other U.S.-origin platforms that India operates, the P-8Is, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, MH-60R multi-role helicopters among others expanding MQ-9B’s multi-domain mission set.

What UAVs are already in service?

• The Indian Navy has leased two MQ-9As from General Atomics with the maiden flight taking place on November 21, 2020. In their two years of operation till November 2022, they had completed 10,000 flight hours, and “helped the Indian Navy to cover over 14 million square miles of operating area”, General Atomics has announced.
• At Aero India in Bengaluru in February 2023, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and General Atomics announced that the turbo-propeller engines which power the MQ-9B will be supported by HAL’s engine division for the Indian market. “The companies are looking to formulate a comprehensive engine MRO programme for upcoming HALE Remotely Piloted Aircraft projects,” a joint statement said.
• The MQ-9 is a significant technological leap from the original RQ-1/MQ-1Predator that heralded the arrival of long endurance armed drones at the end of the twentieth century. Armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, the Predator became a symbol of the U.S. war on terror after the 9/11 attacks, with their extensive employment in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan in the early 2000s. The RQ-1 Predator, which was first flown by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) in 1995, was retired in 2018 and replaced by the MQ-9 Reaper.
• According to the USAF, the Reaper is employed primarily as an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets. “Given its significant loiter time, wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons, it provides a unique capability to perform strike, coordination, and reconnaissance against high-value, fleeting, and time-sensitive targets.”
• According to the USAF, the Reaper is employed primarily as an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets.

1. Ethical issuesSynthetic embryo science needs guidelines READ MORE
2. Inspirational experienceA life altering message can be delivered to one person has stayed with me all these years READ MORE
3. Discovering your self in a looking glass READ MORE
4. Piloting the psyche READ MORE

1. How can technology help in recycling and replenishing water sources? READ MORE
2. Extreme weather events led to 12 million displacements of children in 2022, estimates UNICEF READ MORE

1. Bridging the gap: On India and Gender Gap Report READ MORE
2. Learning to qualify: NEP frameworks overemphasise outcome-based learning while ignoring subjective factors of education READ MORE

1. Judicial restraint READ MORE
2. CoWIN Data Leak Is a Sign India Needs to Rethink its Digital Public Infrastructure Strategy READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. How prokaryotes led to eukaryotes READ MORE  
2. The role of the Y chromosome in cancer outcomes studied READ MORE
3. Indian-made mRNA vaccine priced at ₹2,292, will be available as a booster dose READ MORE
4. New ART regulations push up cost of treatment, limit conception opportunities READ MORE
5. Tamil Nadu idol wing steps up efforts to retrieve 16 idols from the U.S. READ MORE
6. Did climate change really make U.P.’s deadly heatwave twice as likely? READ MORE
7. Vikram, Pragyan to return for another tryst with the moon READ MORE
8. Pricing, terms of MQ-9B drone deal with U.S. yet to be finalised, says govt. READ MORE
9. Vande Bharat train to be introduced from Saharanpur to Prayagraj, says Vaishnaw READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. How can technology help in recycling and replenishing water sources? READ MORE
2. Extreme weather events led to 12 million displacements of children in 2022, estimates UNICEF READ MORE
3. Bridging the gap: On India and Gender Gap Report READ MORE
4. Kuki-Meitei conflict is more than just an ethnic clash READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Judicial restraint READ MORE
2. CoWIN Data Leak Is a Sign India Needs to Rethink its Digital Public Infrastructure Strategy READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Learning to qualify: NEP frameworks overemphasise outcome-based learning while ignoring subjective factors of education READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Outreach to diaspora and statesmanship READ MORE
2. The united States of India READ MORE
3. Ashok Gulati writes on the US and India: Old friends in a changing world READ MORE
4. Win-win for US-India trade READ MORE
5. India-US bonhomie: Talks go beyond military concerns READ MORE
6. Focus on neighbourhood at the core of India’s foreign policy READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Startups must iron out governance issues READ MORE
2. Saving Banks~I READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Sustainable fishing to offset climate change impacts READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Jailbreaking generative AI READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Need to understand data both as a strength and vulnerability READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Social connectedness vital to survive climate disasters READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Ethical issuesSynthetic embryo science needs guidelines READ MORE
2. Inspirational experienceA life altering message can be delivered to one person has stayed with me all these years READ MORE
3. Discovering your self in a looking glass READ MORE
4. Piloting the psyche READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. The technological aspects India and the USA is a new era of India-US relationship but both countries will have to travel together given changing geopolitics surrounding China and Russia. Critically comment.
2. Sustainable tourism cannot be seen only through the prism of tourism-specific policies; it requires a holistic understanding of the ecology and the people who are dependent upon this ecosystem. In the light of the statement discuss the pros and cons of the Blue Flag certification.
3. A NATO overreach to the Asia-Pacific poses a major challenge to India’s much-touted “strategic autonomy”. Evaluate.
4. What do you understand by the concept “ethical legalism? In what situation, an legal action can be considered an ethical action?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Violence, even well-intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
• While the flexibility to accelerate should always be present, India must specify a streamlined regulatory process that weeds out non-essential steps but is hawk-eyed on safety and adverse reactions from new drugs and vaccines.
• The underperformance of India- Egypt bilateral ties is not due to a lack of bilateral institutional mechanisms, but their efficacy and sense of purpose.
• The Law Commission of India should aim to eliminate only those practices that do not meet the benchmarks set by the Constitution of India.
• When it comes to the Global South, it is India that nations look up to; it is this nation that millions would like to see as a proponent of their demands.
• Sedition laws need to be viewed in light of their political, and not merely legal, uses and abuses.
• Personal laws are mixed up with religions and their varying practices and cover a range of issues like divorce, succession, inheritance, adoption and guardianship.
• Mere existence of difference does not imply discrimination, but is indicative of a robust democracy.
• A NATO overreach to the Asia-Pacific will pose a major challenge to New Delhi’s much-touted “strategic autonomy”. The push to transform Quad into a security alliance focusing on China will also have the same effect.
• Although an Asian NATO remains a pie in the sky for now, an extended war over Ukraine will force India and the Asia-Pacific nations to bear the brunt of increasing big-power rivalry in the region.

Essay topic

• Take the diplomacy out of war and the thing would fall flat in a week.

50-WORD TALK

• Failure of authorities to arrest men hired by a British teacher to make violent pornographic clips using Indian children demonstrates the low priority police give to crimes involving powerless victims. Matthew Smith was arrested in November and convicted this week—but police in India have not even filed an FIR.
• Our epidemiological history has taught us that respiratory viruses (the ones which spread through coughing, sneezing, and talking) emerging from reservoirs in the wild, jumping over the species barrier to infect humans, and then sweeping the globe before settling into an endemic behaviour can cause outbreaks that can result in significant mortality and morbidity. Examples include the 1957 flu pandemic caused by an A/H2N2 influenza virus, the 1968 flu pandemic from an A/H3N2 influenza virus, and the 2009 “swine flu” pandemic, from an A/H1N1 influenza virus.

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 494]

THE CONTEXT: India is entering the Amrit Kal with better-equipped schools, affordable healthcare, increasing formal employment, empowered women’s collectives, and far-reaching access to basic amenities such as sanitation, drinking water and electricity. This Chapter presents emerging evidence of the achievements on these fronts. It reviews the progress on the social infrastructure front and the enhancement of employment opportunities in the country.

SOCIAL SECTOR EXPENDITURE KEEPING PACE WITH GROWING IMPORTANCE OF THE SECTOR

• The Government’s spending on social services has shown a rising trend since FY16 with a focus on many aspects of the social well-being of citizens of the country.
• The share of expenditure on social services in the total expenditure of the Government has been around 25 per cent from FY18 to FY20. It increased to 26.6 per cent in FY23 (BE).

• The share of expenditure on health in the total expenditure on social services, has increased from 21 per cent in FY19 to 26 per cent in FY23 (BE).

IMPROVING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PARAMETERS

• According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, 90 per cent of countries have registered a reduction in their Human Development Index (HDI) value in 2020 or 2021, indicating that human development across the world has stalled for the first time in 32 years.
• India ranked 132 out of 191 countries and territories in the 2021/2022 HDI report. India’s HDI value of 0.633 in 2021 places the country in the medium human development category, lower than its value of 0.645 in 2019.
• However, India’s HDI value continues to exceed South Asia’s average human development. It has been steadily increasing and moving towards the world average since 1990 due to priority placed on investment in social infrastructure, including ensuring universal health and education.
• On the parameter of gender inequality, India’s Gender Inequality Index (GII) value is 0.490 in 2021 and is ranked 122. This score is better than that of the South Asian region.

UNDP Multidimensional Poverty Index 2022

• Multidimensional poverty measures are used to create a more comprehensive picture. It reveals who is poor and how they are poor, and the range of different deprivations experienced by them.
• The 2022 report of the UNDP on MPI was released in October 2022 and covers 111 developing countries.

TRANSFORMATION OF ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS PROGRAMME

• The Government of India launched the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ (Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP)) initiative in January 2018 with a vision of a New India by 2022 wherein the focus is to raise living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth of all in the burgeoning economy.
• Aspirational Districts (ADs) across 28 States/UTs have been identified by NITI Aayog based upon composite indicators ranging from health and nutrition, education, agriculture, and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development, and basic infrastructure which have an impact on HDI.
• The Aspirational Districts Programme has emerged as a template for good governance, especially in remote and difficult areas.
• At present, two programmes have been conceptualized along the lines of ADP design, one is ‘Mission Utkarsh’ and the other is ‘Aspirational Blocks Programme’ (ABP).

PROGRESSING LABOUR REFORM MEASURES

• In 2019 and 2020, 29 Central Labour Laws were amalgamated, rationalized, and simplified into four Labour Codes, viz., the Code on Wages, 2019 (August 2019), the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020 (September 2020).
• The new laws are in tune with the changing labour market trends and, at the same time, accommodate the minimum wage requirement and welfare needs of the unorganized sector workers, including the self-employed and migrant workers, within the legislation framework.
• Rules made under the Codes have been entrusted to Central Government, State Government and at appropriate level.

e-Shram portal

• Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) has developed eShram portal for creating a National database of unorganized workers, which is verified with Aadhaar.
• As on 31 December 2022, total over 28.5 crore unorganized workers have been registered on eShram portal.

AADHAAR: THE MANY ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE UNIQUE IDENTITY

Achievements of Aadhaar

• Aadhaar is an essential tool for social delivery by the State. 318 Central schemes and over 720 state DBT schemes are notified under section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, and all these schemes use Aadhaar for targeted delivery of financial services, subsidies, and benefits. Aadhaar is the foundation of India’s digital integration.

• JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile) trinity, combined with the power of DBT, has brought the marginalized sections of society into the formal financial system, revolutionizing the path of transparent and accountable governance by empowering the people.

• Aadhaar played a vital role in developing the Co-WIN platform and in the transparent administration of over 2 billion vaccine doses.

IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT TRENDS

• Labour markets have recovered beyond pre-Covid levels, in both urban and rural areas, with unemployment rates falling from 5.8 per cent in 2018-19 to 4.2 per cent in 2020-21, and a noticeable rise in rural FLFPR from 19.7 per cent in 2018-19 to 27.7 per cent in 2020-21.
• More recent urban employment data shows progress beyond pre-pandemic levels as the unemployment rate declined from 8.3 per cent in July-September 2019 to 7.2 per cent in July-September 2022.

SUPPLY SIDE OF EMPLOYMENT

• The labour force participation rate (LFPR), worker population ratio (WPR) and unemployment rate (UR) in PLFS 2020-21(July-June) have improved for both males and females in both rural and urban areas compared to PLFS 2019-20 and 2018-19.

• Quarterly urban unemployment rate declined from pre-pandemic level of 8.3 per cent in July-September 2019 to 7.2 per cent in July-September 2022, accompanied by a rise in LFPR from 47.3 per cent to 47.9 per cent during the same period, as discussed in paraghaphs 6.33 and 6.34.
• The share of self-employed increased and that of regular wage/salaried workers declined in 2020-21 vis-à-vis 2019-20, driven by trend in both rural and urban areas. The share of casual labour declined slightly, driven by rural areas.

Quarterly PLFS for urban areas

• An improvement in all the key labour market indicators in the quarter ending September 2022 both sequentially and over the last year. The labour participation rate increased to 47.9 per cent in July-September 2022 from 46.9 per cent a year ago

DEMAND SIDE OF EMPLOYMENT

• The estimated total employment in the nine selected sectors according to the fourth round of QES (January to March 2022) stood at 3.2 crore, which is nearly ten lakh higher than the estimated employment from the first round of QES (April-June 2021).

FORMAL EMPLOYMENT

• EPFO data indicates a consistent YoY increase in payroll addition, pointing towards improved formalization as economic activities picked up. The net addition in EPF subscriptions during FY22 was 58.7 per cent higher than in FY21 and 55.7 per cent higher than that in the pre-pandemic year 2019. In FY23, net average monthly subscribers added under EPFO increased from 8.8 lakh in April-November 2021 to 13.2 lakh in April-November 2022.

DEMAND FOR WORK UNDER MGNREGS

• The number of persons demanding work under MGNREGS was seen to be trending around pre-pandemic levels from July to November 2022.
• In FY23, as on 24 January 2023, 6.49 crore households demanded employment under MGNREGS, and 6.48 crore households were offered employment out of which 5.7 crore availed employment.

THE TREND IN RURAL WAGES

• Nominal rural wages have increased at a steady positive rate during FY23 (till November 2022). In agriculture, the YoY rate of growth of nominal wage rates in agriculture was 5.1 per cent for men and 7.5 per cent for women, during the period April-November 2022.

ENSURING QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL

• The NEP 2020 was laid down as the first education policy of the 21st century, aiming to address the many growing developmental imperatives of the country.
• This includes regulation and governance, creation of a new system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of 21st century-education, including SDG4, while building upon India’s traditions and value systems.
• It provides for nurturing all-around development and skill acquisition by youth in an inclusive, accessible, and multilingual set-up.

SCHOOL ENROLMENT

• The year FY22 saw improvement in Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER) in schools and improvement in gender parity. GER in the primary-enrolment in class I to V as a percentage of the population in age 6 to 10 years – for girls as well as boys have improved in FY22.

SCHOOL DROP-OUT

• School dropout rates at all levels have witnessed a steady decline in recent years. The decline is for both girls and boys.
• The schemes such as Samagra Shiksha, RTE Act, improvement in school infrastructure and facilities, residential hostel buildings, availability of teachers, regular training of teachers, free textbooks, uniforms for children, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya and the PM POSHAN Scheme play an important role in enhancing enrolment and retention of children in schools.

HIGHER EDUCATION

• The total enrolment in higher education has increased to nearly 4.1 crore in FY21 from 3.9 crore in FY20. Since FY15, there has been an increase of around 72 lakh in enrolment (21 per cent). The female enrolment has increased to 2.0 crore in FY21 from 1.9 crore in FY20.

Initiatives for higher education

• Research & Development Cell (RDC) in Higher Education Institutions (HEI)
• Guidelines for pursuing two academic programmes simultaneously
• Interest subsidy on education loan

EQUIPPING THE WORKFORCE WITH EMPLOYABLE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE IN MISSION

• Skill development is aimed at the removal of the disconnect between demand and supply of skilled manpower, building vocational and technical training framework, skill up-gradation, and building of new skills, and innovative thinking not only for existing jobs but also jobs of the future.
• In order to address the incremental manpower requirement and to empower youth with adequate skills, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) was created in 2014 and Skill India Mission was launched in 2015.

• The Skill India Mission focuses on skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling through short term and long term training programmes. Under the Mission, the government, through more than 20 Central Ministries/Departments, is implementing various skill development schemes across the country.

QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE HEALTH FOR ALL

Ensuring the provision of quality health facilities to citizens is an important priority for the Government. Towards this objective, multidimensional initiatives have been launched and carried forward for better overall health of the citizens.

• With concerted efforts made under the Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child, Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy, India has made considerable progress in improving the health status of both mothers and children.
• As per the Sample Registration System (SRS) data, India has successfully achieved the major milestone to bring the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to below 100 per lakh live births by 2020 (laid down in National Health Policy 2017) by bringing it down to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20 from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16.
• Eight states have already achieved the SDG target to reduce MMR to less than 70 per lakh live births by 2030. These include Kerala (19), Maharashtra (33), Telangana (43) Andhra Pradesh (45), Tamil Nadu (54), Jharkhand (56), Gujarat (57), and Karnataka (69).
• Following a steady downward trend, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) and Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) have further declined as a result of countrywide efforts towards increasing health service coverage through strengthening of service delivery; quality assurance; RMNCAH+N; human resources, community processes; information and knowledge; drugs and diagnostics, and supply chain management, etc.

HEALTH EXPENDITURE ESTIMATES

• The NHA estimates for FY19 show that there has been an increase in the share of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) in the total GDP from 1.2 per cent in FY14 to 1.3 per cent in FY19.
• Overall, for FY19, THE for India is estimated to be `5,96,440 crore (3.2 per cent of GDP and `4,470 per capita).
• The social security expenditure on health, which includes the social health insurance programme, government-financed health insurance schemes, and medical reimbursements made to government employees, has increased from 6 per cent in FY14 to 9.6 per cent in FY19.

Rural health care – strengthening of infrastructure and human resource

• The recent health sector reforms in India have laid emphasis on strengthening health infrastructure as well as human resource in the public sector system.
• This can be observed in the rise in the number of Sub-centres (SCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs), and Community Health Centres (CHCs) in rural areas, along with the rise in doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel over time.

PROGRESS UNDER MAJOR GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES FOR HEALTH

Immunization

• To reinforce universal immunization, Mission Indradhanush (MI) was launched in December 2014 with the aim to rapidly increase full immunization coverage of children to 90 per cent and sustain it thereafter.

eSanjeevani (Tele-medicine)

• At present, eSanjeevani is operational in all states and UTs across India. As of 17 January 2923, 1,12,553 HWCs in rural areas and 15,465 Hubs at tertiary level hospitals, and medical colleges in the states have been enabled in the eSanjeevani.

NATIONAL COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAMME

• More than 220 crore COVID vaccine doses administered as on 06 January, 2023.
• 97 per cent of eligible beneficiaries have already received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and around 90 per cent of eligible beneficiaries have received both the doses. Vaccination for the age group 12-14 years was started on 16 March 2022, followed by the precautionary dose for the age group 18-59 years starting from 10 April 2022.

AYUSHMAN BHARAT

• Nearly 22 crore beneficiaries have been verified under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme as on 04 January, 2023. Over 1.54 lakh Health and Wellness Centres have been operationalized across the country under Ayushman Bharat.

THE CONCLUSION AND THE WAY FORWARD

• Today, India is moving towards the attainment of the UN SDGs. While doing so, it is cognisant of the fact that for equitable development, a country as vast and diverse as India requires the implementation of broad-based inclusive social policies, supported by adequate and commensurate financial resources. Thus, the character and contour of such an approach to development presents a unique set of challenges which is consistently being addressed in the form of mindful reforms.
• Ensuring that intended outcomes of social sector development schemes reach the intended, involvement of the grassroot level of governance is imperative and is being actively pursued.
• Technology has been a great enabler in ensuring the last-mile connectivity of government schemes to the targeted citizens. It has revolutionized the delivery of services while ensuring transparency and accountability. It needs to be harnessed further to help the government attain the lofty SDGs on the social front.
• As India marches ahead, the ground lost as regards social sector improvements due to the pandemic, has largely been recouped, powered by prompt policymaking and efficient implementation interwoven with technology.
• Going forward with the vision of ‘Minimum Government; Maximum Governance’, further developments will hold the key to attaining more equitable economic growth.
• Evident ones include stepping up learning outcomes through digital and teaching interventions in schools, enhancing the role of community workers in healthcare, pushing SHGs through better product design and upscaling enterprises.
• Further, channelizing women’s economic potential through ecosystem services such as affordable market alternatives for care work, safe transportation and lodging, and long-term counselling support, can help capitalize the gender dividend for the country’s future economic and social development.