Attaining Budget revenue targets is difficult in a slowing economy (The Hindu)

• Mains Paper 3: Economy 
• Prelims level: Revenue deficit 
• Mains level:  Cause of revenue deficit in a slowing economy

Context:

• The fresh ‘strategy’ drawn up by the Finance Ministry to boost tax collections for the rest of this fiscal year makes for bemusing reading.

Background:

• It concerned about indirect tax collections falling well short of ambitious targets set out in the July Budget, the Finance Ministry is said to have called a joint meeting of all senior tax officials from the CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) and CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) to exhort them to meet their revenue targets for this fiscal. 
• In the meeting, the indirect tax administration has reportedly been given a GST collection target of ₹1.1 lakh crore for the remaining four months. 
• Direct tax officials have been told that recent corporate tax cuts ‘cannot be taken as an excuse’ for mop-ups falling short of targets. 
• This sort of exhortation to the administration to extract higher taxes from individuals and businesses at a time when incomes and profits are clearly under pressure is the perfect recipe for unfair demands and tax terrorism.

Willful ignorance: 

• These actions reveal either an alarming lack of understanding or a willful ignorance on the part of the incumbent government that tax collections cannot be divorced from the economy’s growth rate. 
• India’s nominal GDP growth rate in the first six months of this fiscal has been at 7 per cent compared to the 12 per cent growth assumed in the Budget forecasts. 
• This inflexibility on tax targets is completely at odds with the NDA regime’s avowed objective of facilitating ease of doing business. 
• It could also end up worsening the slowdown by inflicting more damage on already fragile investor confidence. 
• This insistence on targets also sits oddly with the Centre reportedly telling the Fifteenth Finance Commission just six months ago that its tax revenue growth was likely to fall substantially short of projections for the next five years.

Way ahead:

• The Centre would be better off admitting that the 11 per cent growth in tax revenues projected in its July Budget can no longer be attained and letting the fiscal deficit slip, as suggested by State governments in the recent GST Council meeting.
• Options such as hiking GST rates to bridge the gap or trying to eke out higher taxes from compliant assessees with half-baked notices would be regressive in the current context. 
• It simplifying the GST compliance burden in line with recent stakeholder feedback, even as anti-evasion measures are implemented should be the way forward.
•  Many expert committees including the Tax Administrative Reforms Commission in 2015 have urged the Central government to set its Budget revenue collection targets after seeking frank feedback from the tax administration. 

Conclusion:

• For a dynamic economy, there’s also need for mid-year reviews of Union Budget estimates to allow its revenue and expenditure targets and fiscal deficit estimates to be adjusted in line with changing economic conditions.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) With reference to the Sustainable Development Cell (SDC), consider the following statements:

1. Union Ministry of Coal has recently decided to establish a Sustainable Development Cell (SDC) to promote environmentally sustainable coal mining in the country. 
2. It will address environmental concerns during the decommissioning or closure of mines.

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) None of the above

Ans: c

Mains Questions:

Q.1) What are the problems faced by central government to attain the revenue shortfall? 

Some onion lessons (Indian Express)

• Mains Paper 3: Economy 
• Prelims level: Minimum export price
• Mains level:  Storage facilities for rabi onions

Context:

• The failure to control spiking onion prices (it has crossed Rs 100/kg in several retail markets) has become a nightmare for the central government. 

How future fiascos with regard to onions can be avoided?

• When retail prices touched Rs 50-60/kg in September-October, the government imposed minimum export price (MEP), put stocking limits on retailers and wholesalers and then banned onion exports. 
• However, when these measures failed to tame onion prices, even income tax raids were conducted on traders. 
• This shows the bankruptcy of ideas in policy-making. Such a situation has arisen almost every alternate year, but we have refused to learn. 
• As finance minister, the late Arun Jaitley had announced and allocated Rs 500 crore for “Operation Green” in the 2018 Union Budget precisely to stabilise the prices of tomatoes, onions and potatoes (TOP). 
• The scheme was to be implemented by the Ministry of Food Processing, but their website shows that the money has still not been released.
• The current spike in onion prices could have been anticipated. 
• The Horticulture Statistics Division had reported 7 per cent lower kharif acreage compared to the previous year (2.73 lakh ha) in major onion growing states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan). 
• Due to heavy rains in September/October, almost 58 per cent of the kharif onions in MP, 18 per cent in Karnataka and 2 per cent in AP were damaged. 
• Besides, continuous rains led to a delay in harvesting in Maharashtra. The government woke up to the problem late and directed MMTC to import 1 lakh million tonnes (mt) of onions. 
• With relaxed fumigation norms, onions are being imported from Afghanistan, Turkey, and Egypt. The question is at what price MMTC will import the onions and dump it on the Indian market.

As a largest exporter:

• India is already the largest exporter of onions in the world with average exports of 2 mmt a year. 
• Instead of banning exports, it is better to keep imports open so that when domestic prices rise unduly, private trade can start importing rather than waiting for the government to take a delayed decision. 
• This way, India can remain a reliable exporter, which will help farmers get better prices on a sustainable basis. 
• Abrupt export bans are not only anti-farmer but actually reflect the failure of government policy. To take care of consumers’ interests, India needs to build proper value chains as envisaged under “Operation Green”.

What needs to be done to safeguard the interests of farmers as well as consumers? 

• To storage facilities for rabi onions must be created on massive scale, both at the farmers’ end as well as with traders. 
• When prices were hovering around Rs 4-5/kg in April-May, the government could have purchased onions at, say, Rs10/kg and stored the stock in modern, private-sector godowns. 
• Repeated stocking limits and raids discourage private investment in modern cold storages. 
• For encouraging private storages, the Essential Commodities Act has to go, and if traders collude, let the Competition Commission of India (CCI), and not income tax officials, look into this.
• The government needs to promote the use of dehydrated onions (flakes, powder, granules) among urban households and bulk consumers (armed forces, hospitals, hotels and restaurants, etc). 
• As onions are sensitive commodities, the government should also keep a buffer stock of dehydrated onions, which have a much longer shelf life. 
• Also, 1 kg of dehydrated onion equals 10 kg of fresh onions. This is the right time to promote their use. 
• With more than 100 units, Mahuva in Gujarat is already a hub for the dehydrated onion industry. But with low international demand and negligible domestic demand, these units have high pile up of the previous year’s stocks. 
• On the contrary, Jain Irrigation emerged as the largest dehydrated onion company in India engaging small and marginal farmers on contract. 
• The price to be paid to growers is assured by the company even before planting. And if the market price after harvest is higher than the assured price, then farmers get a price that is 60 paise/kg less than the market price. Such models of contract farming reduce market risk and need to be scaled up.
• Small and marginal farmers should be organised in Farmer-Producer Organisations and direct buying by organised retailers should be encouraged through contract farming, bypassing the mandi system. 
• Additionally, market reforms along with overhauling the infrastructure of existing APMC mandis are required. 

Way ahead:

• After over five years in office, the Modi government has missed the golden opportunity of carrying out APMC reforms in the large number of states it ruled, and this opportunity is slipping further by the day. 
• Without that, the prospects of unified national markets, stabilising prices or ensuring a fair price to farmers and consumers are bleak.
• It is time to wake up from the onion nightmare and work towards more sustainable solutions, rather than knee-jerk measures.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) With reference to the ‘COP25’ 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, consider the following statements:

1. International climate talks at COP25 closed with no deal on carbon markets. 
2. It was held in Chile under the presidency of the Chilean government. 

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) None of the above

Ans: A

Mains Questions:

Q.1) What are the steps needed to the storage facilities for rabi onions must be created on a massive scale? 

Why Amazon rainforest is reaching a dangerous tipping point (Indian Express)

• Mains Paper 3: Environment 
  Prelims level: Amazon rainforest
  Mains level:  Threat to the Amazon rainforestU climate action plan

Context:

• The researchers Thomas E Lovejoy and Carlos Nobre have said that while 2019 was not the worst year for fire or deforestation in the Amazon.
• As the world’s largest tropical rainforest the precious Amazon is teetering on the edge of functional destruction and, with it, so are we.

Why is the Amazon rainforest in danger?

• The Amazon basin is the world’s largest repository of biodiversity and produces about 20 per cent of the world’s flow of freshwater into the oceans. 
• In the recent few years, the rainforest has been under threat from deforestation and burning. 
• Earlier this year, fires in the Amazon that were visible from space made headlines. According to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), forest fires in the Brazilian part of the rainforests have doubled since 2013. 
• It estimates an increase of over 84 per cent since last year. 
• Until August this year, over 72,000 fires were recorded. June to December is considered to be burning season when farmers want to clear land for farming.
• Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, which comprises about two-thirds of the area of the rainforest, started in the 1970s and 1980s when large-scale forest conversion for cattle ranching and soy cultivation began. 
• NASA’s Earth Observatory notes that state policies that encourage economic development, such as railway and road expansion projects have led to “unintentional deforestation” in the Amazon and Central America. 
• The forest clearing has been encouraged by agricultural subsidies, timber concessions and tax breaks have encouraged forest clearing in the Amazon.

What the researchers have said?

• The researchers mention that when it rains on the landscape of the Amazon forest, it returns at least 75 per cent of the moisture to the westward-moving air mass. 
• Over the whole Amazon basin, the air rises, cools and precipitates out close to 20 per cent of the world’s river water in the Amazon river system. 
• The moisture of the Amazon is crucial for the continental climate system and has specific benefits for Brazilian agriculture practised in the south.
• The fact is that every country in South America other than Chile (blocked from this moisture by the Andes) benefits from Amazon moisture.
• Essentially, when forests are cut, the land is rendered barren, which means that potentially more than 50 per cent of the rainforest runs off and not much water is left for recycling. 

Their predictions:

• The researchers predict that if the deforestation continues to happen at the going rate, the rainforest, which they have likened in size to that of 48 states of the continental US.
• This could soon not have enough moisture for the rainforests to sustain, eventually leading to the development of savannahs in the eastern and southern portions of the Amazon.
• Perhaps extending into central and southwestern areas, because these zones are naturally close to the minimum amount of rainfall required for the rain forest to thrive.
• The situation may exacerbate further due to “negative synergies” induced by man-made global warming.
• In addition, although deforestation anywhere in the Amazon diminishes its hydrological cycle, what happens in the Brazilian Amazon is particularly important because of the sensitivity of that part of the forest to incremental and cumulative impacts of vegetative decline from dieback.
• The researchers have estimated that 17 per cent of the entire rainforest and about 20 per cent of the Brazilian rainforest has been deforested. They refer to these figures as “substantial and frightening”.

What is dieback?

• When the Amazon rainforest reaches its tipping point, which is to say when the level of deforestation has led to there not being enough water for recycling and as result, moisture to induce rainfall, the rainforests will be unable to sustain themselves. 
• This will lead to a situation when the trees, and in turn, the forest will start to “dieback”. In other words, some trees and eventually the forests will reach the physiological limits of dryness probably induced by droughts and heat stress. 
• Because of this dehydration, the affected trees will begin to die from the tip of their leaves or roots backwards.
• The first time that an Amazon dieback scenario was suggested was in 2000 by Peter M Cox who published his findings about running large-scale computer simulations that showed how forests were affected by a changing climate scenario throughout the 21st century.
• As per Cox’s analysis, forests would continue to take up carbon until about 2050, post which, warmer temperatures and water-related stress could cause dieback of the Amazon rainforest. 
• Essentially this means that instead of being a carbon sink, the rainforest would start emitting carbon.

Way forward:

• Through reforestation, Brazil should help to reach its goals under the Paris Agreement and a “new vision” for the Amazon must be created by the citizens and leaders of South America and the world, they say.
• The tipping point is here, it is now. The peoples and leaders of the Amazon countries together have the power, the science, and the tools to avoid a continental-scale, indeed, a global environmental disaster. 
• Together, we need the will and imagination to tip the direction of change in favor of a sustainable Amazon.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) With reference to the Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements:

1. Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India gives linguistic and religious minorities a fundamental right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. 
2. The Supreme Court in T.M.A. Pai Foundation vs. State of Karnataka (2002) held that a minority, whether linguistic or religious, is determinable only by taking into consideration the population of the country as a whole.

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) None of the above

Ans: A

Mains Questions:

Q.1) How deforestation and burning became a threat to the Amazon basin?

Why EU Green Deal matters (Indian Express)

• Mains Paper 3: Environment 
• Prelims level: EU Green Deal
• Mains level:  EU climate action plan

Context:

• The annual climate talks ended in Madrid last week with a disappointing outcome. 
• The talks were unable to define the rules of a new carbon market to be set up under the Paris Agreement, the only major agenda before it. 
• Nor were they able to persuade countries to commit to increase the scale of climate actions by next year, a demand being made again and again in view of scientific assessments that show that current efforts to tackle climate change were not enough.

Why EU Green Deal matters? 

• The European Union, whose 28 member countries are together the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world after China and the United States, came up with an announcement on additional measures it would on climate change. 
• Called the European Green Deal, the EU announcement was hailed as a major step forward, even though it needs complementary efforts from other countries to make a significant impact.

The two key decisions

• Two major decisions are at the heart of the European Green Deal. One is about achieving “climate neutrality”. 
• The EU has promised to bring a law, binding on all member countries, to ensure it becomes “climate neutral” by 2050.
• Climate neutrality, sometimes also expressed as a state of net-zero emissions, is achieved when a country’s emissions are balanced by absorptions and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. 
• Absorption can be increased by creating more carbon sinks like forests, while removal involves technologies like carbon capture and storage.
• The EU is now the first major emitter to agree to the 2050 climate neutrality target. It has said it would bring a proposal by March next year on a European law to enshrine this target.

Increase emission reduction target:

• The second decision pertains to an increase in its 2030 emission reduction target. 
• In its climate action plan declared under the Paris Agreement, the EU was committed to making a 40 per cent reduction in its emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. 
• It is now promising to increase this reduction to at least 50 per cent and work towards 55 per cent.
• Even at 40 per cent, the European Union had the most ambitious emission reduction targets among the developed countries. 
• The US had agreed to cut emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels, but having withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, it is under no obligation to fulfill even that target.
• The EU also happens to be only one among major emitters to retain the 1990 baseline for emission cuts, originally mandated under the Kyoto Protocol for all developed countries. 
• Most other countries have shifted their baselines to 2005 or even later under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
• The Green Deal includes sectoral plans to achieve these two overall targets, and proposals for the policy changes that would be required. 

Better than others

• The European Union, as a whole, has been doing better than other developed countries on reducing emissions. 
• In 2010, the EU had pledged to reduce its emissions by at least 25 per cent by 2020 from 1990 levels. 
• By 2018, it claimed to have achieved 23 per cent reduction in emissions. In terms of emission reductions, it probably is on track to meet the 2020 target, unlike any developed country outside the EU.
• Canada, which walked out of the Kyoto Protocol, reported last year that its emissions were down 4 per cent from 2005 levels, but compared to 1990, this was an addition of about 16 per cent. 
• Japan, another country to have abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, said its emissions for the year ending March 31, 2018 had come to about 8 per cent below the 2013 baseline it has chosen for itself. But this is a miniscule decrease compared to 1990 levels.

Way ahead:

• The Green Deal is important but inadequate in itself to achieve the emission reductions that scientific assessments say would be required to save the world from catastrophic and irreversible impacts of climate change. 
• There has been no signal from other big emitters, including large developing countries like China and India, that they were considering immediate scaling up of their climate actions.

Conclusion:

• As long as many international partners do not share the same ambition as the EU, there is a risk of carbon leakage, either because production is transferred from the EU to other countries with lower ambition for emission reduction, or because EU products are replaced by more carbon-intensive imports. 
• If this risk materializes, there will be no reduction in global emissions, and this will frustrate the efforts of EU and its industries to meet the global climate objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) With reference to the Global Sulphur cap complaint fuel oil, consider the following statements:

1. International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations to reduce sulphur oxides (SOx) emissions from ships first came into force in 2005, under Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (known as the MARPOL Convention). 
2. From 1 January 2020, the limit for sulphur in fuel oil used on board ships operating outside designated emission control areas will be reduced to 0.50% m/m (mass by mass). 

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) None of the above

Ans: C

Mains Questions:

Q.1) The European Union has come up with a climate action plan when the global climate talks failed to reach key objectives. In this context, what is the EU’s plan? How does it compare to others’, and how much remains to be done?

(Notification) UPSC: CISF AC (Exe) LDCE Examination, 2020

No.45012/43/2019-Pers.I -The Rules for a Limited Departmental Competitive Examination to be held by the Union Public Service Commission in 2020 for the purpose of filling vacancies of Assistant Commandants (Executive) in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for the vacancy year 2020 are published for general information:

1. The number of vacancies to be filled on the results of the examination will be specified in the Notice issued by the Commission. Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government.

2. The examination will be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission in the manner prescribed in Appendix I to these rules.  The dates on which and the places at which the examination will be held, shall be fixed by the Commission.

3. The candidates should have completed 04 years of regular service as on 01st January, 2020 in the rank of Sub. Inspector (GD)/Inspector(GD) including the period of basic training and should have clean record of service till issue of offer of appointment.

4. A candidate must not have attained the age of 35 years on the 01st August, 2020 i.e. he/she must have been born not earlier than 02nd August 1985. However, the upper age limit prescribed above shall be relaxable upto a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Schedule Caste or a Schedule Tribe. 

Education Qualification  :

The Educational Qualification for appearing in the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination will be a Graduation from a recognized University.

Nationality : 

No person who is not a citizen of India shall, except with the consent of the Central Government signified in writing be appointed or employed under these Rules.
Provided that nothing contained in these rules shall debar the appointment, enrolment or employment of a subject of Nepal or Bhutan under these Rules.

Sex :

Both Male and Female candidates are eligible for appointment to the post of Assistant Commandants.

Age Limits :

A candidate must not have attained the age of 35 years on the 01st August, 2020 i.e. he/she must have been born not earlier than 02nd August 1985. However, the upper age limit prescribed above shall be relaxable upto a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Schedule Caste or a Schedule Tribe.

Selection Procedure:

UPSC Topper  Answer Booklets

To robbing Peter to educate Paul (Mint)

• Mains Paper 3 : Economy 
• Prelims level : Investor Education and Protection Fund
• Mains level : Investment models

Context

• Can you name a social cause in India which is inundated with so much money, that those collecting it don’t know what to do with it? Investor education and protection must surely fit this description.
• Over the years, Indian policymakers have devised so many creative ways of appropriating retail investor money towards this cause that today multiple institutions sit on stockpiles of money dedicated to it.

The many funds

• The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) managed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is the big daddy of all such funds. Created by the Companies Act.
• It houses sums unclaimed from companies by way of matured deposits, debentures and IPO application monies, apart from dividends (after a waiting period of seven years).
• In 2013, it was decreed that companies would also transfer into the IEPF all shares on which dividends weren’t claimed for seven years (this could be due to owing to incorrect bank details, physical certificates, death or incomplete transmission). 
• Though the IEPF offers a searchable database for investors looking to reclaim lost amounts, retail investors complain that it is an arduous process with a very low success rate.
• The IEPF has thus deployed its rich coffers in conducting nationwide Investor Awareness Programmes (IAPs), propagating messages through radio jingles and TV ads even developing a TV serial on financial frauds.
• In FY19 alone, it organised 35,000 IAPs, covering rural areas.

Problem of plenty 

• SEBI manages its own Investor Protection and Education Fund carved out of its profits and sums forfeited from de-recognised stock exchanges. 
• As per its last published accounts for FY17, it managed ₹108 crore and spent roughly ₹20 crore on investor education.
• Every stock exchange is required to create an Investor Protection Fund out of turnover fees and fines levied from members. While their primary purpose is to compensate retail investors after broker default, surpluses go into investor education. 
• NSDL and CDSL chip in with their own Investor Protection Funds, contributing 5 per cent of their profits and penalties from market participants. 
• With very little financial information about these funds in the public domain, it is hard to say how much money they’re sitting on, or how they spend it.
• SEBI added a gusher in 2012 by decreeing that all the 40-odd mutual fund houses must spend two basis points of their annual net assets towards investor awareness. Half of this sum was later handed over to AMFI. 
• With the fund industry now managing assets of over ₹25-lakh crore, that’s nearly ₹500 crore dedicated to investor education. 
• According to AMFI, AMCs conducted 72,257 IAPs until May 2017. But this apart, no public data is available on the amounts garnered or spent by the fund industry under this head.

More, but not merrier

• It given that most of the investor education initiatives today rely on IAPs, print ads and online content, there’s significant overlap in the content across institutions.
• While many entities, including mutual funds, do make genuinely laudable efforts to propagate financial literacy, there’s also wastage, with some market players using it to subtly solicit business or conduct five-star jamborees for distributors.
• With stock market participants funding most of these initiatives, the content is heavily skewed towards equity investing, SIPs and mutual funds. But there’s a far greater need to teach young people the basics of personal finance and have basic literacy initiatives around financial planning, banking and insurance, loans, safe digital transactions, and so on.

Reworking the idea 

• The financial market regulators including RBI, IRDAI and PFRDA need to get together with the MCA to see how all the publicly-funded investor education initiatives can be pooled together and monitored, so that there is little wastage and duplication of efforts. 
• SEBI could be a good choice to oversee this money, as it has been a more efficient user of it than the MCA.
• Once this is done, with RBI’s active collaboration, it can work to broad-base the current IAPs and print content to include explainers on interest rates, loan pricing, personal finance, insurance, banking or digital transactions, across multiple Indian languages.
• It is time investor education initiatives went beyond creating generic content designed to induce the novice investor into taking his first step into equities or funds. 
• The stock exchanges on their part, must be induced to put basic information about indices and trading activity in the public domain, instead of trying to monetise every scrap of data. 

Conclusion 

• Today, a lay investor is denied access even to rudimentary data on the individual stock weights in the Nifty or Sensex, historical adjusted stock prices, total return indices and debt benchmarks, while they’re available on a subscription basis to fat-cat investors.
• All entities collecting retail money in the name of investor education must be mandated to put their latest audited accounts in the public domain. 
• If it transpires that a lot of the money is being idled, there would be a strong case to roll back some of the levies, charges and penalties on the existing investors who are paying so heavily for the education of their brethren.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With respect to “Preventive steps taken to check Marine Pollution”, consider the following statements:
1. India is not a signatory to MARPOL (International Convention on Prevention of Marine Pollution).
2. Prevention of Marine Pollution is also dealt with by Merchant Shipping Rules, 2009 framed under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A.   1 only
B.   2 only
C.   Both
D.   None 

Answer: B

Mains Questions:
Q.1) Do we need so many entities bankrolled by public money to propagate investor awareness? 

Role of ethics in business of innovation (Mint)

• Mains Paper 3 : Economy 
• Prelims level : Gini coefficient
• Mains level : India’s economic growth and development

Context

• ‘Innovation’ and ‘entrepreneurship’ have become business jargon. 
• It seems every business conference, journal, and management curriculum must include innovation or enterprise in its title to be noticed. 

Gini coefficient:

• Societies around the world are also troubled by large inequalities in incomes and wealth. Gini coefficients of income inequality, ranging over 0.5 in many countries, are alarming. More alarming is the inequality of wealth. 
• The Gini coefficient of wealth inequality is estimated at over 0.9, as high as it can possibly be. 
• Just eight persons own as much wealth as 50 per cent of the world’s population, i.e., as many as 3.9 billion people. Concepts of innovation and capitalist enterprise must be changed to make growth more inclusive and sustainable.

Seeking profit

• A foundational principle of ethics in all religions, and in secular philosophy too, is compassion for others. 
• All of them say that the conduct of any person who is concerned only with himself, and not with the impacts of his actions on others, is fundamentally unethical. 
• Therefore, the principle that the business of business must be only business, which has driven corporate governance, is an unethical principle.
• This is the foundational principle on which the governance of the limited-liability business corporation is founded. 
• Its board and its executives are legally enjoined to serve the interests of the shareholders of the corporation, produce profits for them, and increase their wealth. 
• They must not be distracted by soft-hearted social concerns. Those are the responsibility of governments. 

Who owns the enterprise and makes the profit? 

• The shape of the global economy has changed. Wealth begets more wealth.
• Labour costs can be reduced to increase profits, by outsourcing to lower cost countries, automation in richer ones, preventing workers’ unions from demanding higher wages, and by parcelling out bits of work in the gig economy — avoiding the employer-employee relationship altogether. 
• Only 8 per cent of an Apple iPhone’s price is labour cost. The cost of materials and other inputs accounts for 22 per cent. And as much as 70 per cent is profits.

Intellectual monopoly

• The ownership of intellectual property has become an enormous source of profit in the global economy. 
• Innovative enterprises, in the capitalist world, stand out by the amount of profit and wealth they earn from intellectual property.
• While production and sales of products are globalised, control of the rules of IPR (intellectual property rights) has become a great source for accumulation of wealth in richer countries. 

Way forward:

• Democracies around the world are threatened by populist movements upset with the chokehold on public policies by capitalists and the economists who provide them with intellectual ammunition. Institutions of business must change to make capitalism more democratic. 
• Ownership of the means of production must be dispersed more widely amongst workers, so that people at the bottom can accumulate wealth too. 
• The IPR system must be overhauled to return it to its original intention, which was to enable knowledge of innovations to be disseminated more widely to multiply its benefits, rather than enabling the perpetuation of intellectual monopolies. 
• Governments must play more effective roles in delivering public services either by providing them or by more firmly regulating businesses that provide them.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Department-related Standing Committee on Science report on Cancer patients, consider the following statements:
1. Mortality to incidence ratio of 0.68 in India is higher than that in very high human development index (HDI) countries (0.38) and high HDI countries (0.57).
2. The incidence of cancer is very high in all Southern States. 

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A.   1 only
B.   2 only
C.   Both
D.   None 

Answer: A

Mains Questions:
Q.1) The power of new technologies must be used to benefit the lives of many, rather than maximise the wealth of a few. Critically analyse the statement. 
 

Has India’s financial sector lost the plot? (The Hindu)

• Mains Paper 3 : Economy 
• Prelims level : Not much 
• Mains level : Financial slowdown across India

Context

•  The outcome of reforms in India, in a broader sense, is remarkable. 
•  The breadth and depth of finance have vastly increased — be it in banking, financial markets, insurance, or fund management.
•  Investment opportunities have grown with newer asset classes, an expanded market infrastructure and innovative distribution.

Background:

•  In 1990, rural areas accounted for 15 per cent of deposits and 24 per cent of credit, both of which fell to 10 per cent in 2018. 
•  Metro areas sucked in a large part of business — with deposits jumping from 39 per cent to 51 per cent and bank credit from 37 per cent to 59 per cent. Semi-urban/urban areas saw some minor changes.
•  The decline in rural banking may slow the pace of development and the achieving of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, despite interventions like the Jan Dhan Yojana. 
•  It would not do much good for public sector banks to overlook rural and semi-urban areas, which are traditional venues for raising low-cost deposits. 
•  The scene on the side of markets, too, is discomforting. 
•  About 70 per cent of domestic market cap, only half of the companies listed in stock markets are traded on any day; liquidity concentration in a few stocks only..
•  In the absence of independent research to promote newer companies that hold potential, is considered routine. 
•  There are structural issues that are gaining gravity and need scrutiny.

Resource mobilisation

•  Three sectors — banking, finance and insurance — mobilised anywhere up to 60 per cent of the resources from the primary markets during 2010-18.
•  Regional inequities become glaring as the western and northern regions account for 80 per cent — the South and the East are way behind with 14 per cent and 6 per cent respectively — of resources mobilised.
•  India’s public markets have not widened the investor base enough to the potential it holds, as could be seen from resources mobilised in the private placement corporate debt market (seven times higher), and Qualified Institutional Placements accounting for about 50 per cent of the primary market issuance, during 2010-18.
•  This surely is a distinction for Indian markets, but the lingering concern is about its questionable contribution to either economy or development, when the notional value traded in equity derivatives (mostly index options) is 30 times the size of spot market turnover.
•  The benefit of which is largely derived by a small fraction of smart traders specialising in the zero-sum game of taking complex bets using sophisticated strategies supported by latest trading technologies.

Banking woes

•  NBFCs depend on banks for up to 30 per cent of fund requirements, and many at present are in dire straits. The write-downs from this put additional strain on banks’ profitability.
•  New private sector banks began with a big bang in the early 1990s with less than a handful turning successful. While four of them chose to merge, from the others, two are now facing governance issues and two — licensed recently — are yet to stir up any excitement.
•  Older private banks are struggling under various types of stress. Urban cooperatives are primarily meant to be local, but management lapses are hurting their sustained growth.
•  Commercial banks still struggle to fulfil demands for short-term finance, but were made to lend long-term under the lure of universal banking — this hit them badly.

Development finance

•  Private equity flows have surged from $4.5 billion in 2009 to $16.8 billion in 2017, but remained unchanged in 2018 as start-ups began to see a struggle ahead.
•  Of the $512 billion of climate bonds issued globally till 2018, India could make $7.2 billion, as the pace of green finance began to stutter after an initial start. SME capital markets could barely raise ₹5,000 crore in the last five years.
•  Recapitalisation and merger of PSBs, rehabilitation and resolution of distressed companies, tax concessions, and adhoc support to stressed sectors at best could provide temporary relief on the side. 
•  India has yet to come up with a wholesome plan and clear strategy how to make finance work for the country

Where could it start? 

•  An honest review of the fault lines of finance by a truly independent commission with interests of India at the core and domestic economy as the priority, without the peddling of worn-out Anglo-Saxon models. 
•  The finance should be dealt with utmost sanctity and integrity, avoiding shocks like demonetisation that severely dent the public’s trust and confidence.
•  The public capital markets must be entrusted with a charter, with capital raising being the key responsibility, not just showcasing of technology prowess or excessive indulgence in speculative products. 
•  The banks should be made frontline providers of finance for SMEs, and consumption should be boosted by creating specialised institutions for long-term finance for various reasons.
•  India could strive to promote a subcontinental perspective in financial development, that could enhance its regional influence and power of engaging with global financial policy. 
•  The government and the public sector must be the trend-setters and display financial discipline and corporate governance, rather than being shielded through the various exemptions and exceptions.

Conclusion:

•  Now is the time to review and retrospect in right earnest. It would do a lot of good for a course correction.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Suranga Bawadi, consider the following statements:
1. Recently UNESCO has included Suranga Bawadi in the World Monument Watch list for 2020 along with 24 other monuments from across the world.
2. Suranga Bawadi is an integral part of the ancient Karez system of supplying water through subterranean tunnels built during Adil Shahi era in Karnataka.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A.   1 only
B.   2 only
C.   Both
D.   None 

Answer: B

Mains Questions:
Q.1) Has India’s financial sector lost the plot? Comment. 

Putting back the ‘national’ in the Jallianwala Bagh trust (The Hindu)

• Mains Paper 2 : National 
• Prelims level : Jallianwala Bagh trust
• Mains level : Jallianwala Bagh trust importance and significance

Context

• Jallianwala Bagh stands witness to the sacrifices and the struggles made by the people of India. 
• One is deeply humbled by the sacrifices made and it would be no exaggeration to say that every particle of the soil here breathes a great history and a story of courage. 
• Jallianwala Bagh is to be a part of the National Museum, Delhi, so that every Indian can have a glimpse of it and can express gratitude towards the sacrifices made. 
• This is a symbol of sacrifice and patriotism, be established as a part of India’s national heritage.

A pan-Indian right:

• A trust for a special site such as Jallianwala Bagh cannot be formed on the basis of a political approach. 
• There are some institutions and places in our society or in the country that are above the reach of politics. 
• So, we should think about them beyond politics and party lines. This was the reason why the Prime Minister has noted that every countryman has a right over this trust rather than it being the fiefdom of any political party. 
• This was why the Central government thought of restructuring the trust. 
• This was also why the government said that to nominate any person of a political party would be unfair not only to this trust but also to the entire country.

As one party’s zone:

• The working of the trust was highlighted in 1970 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi passed a resolution in February 1970 on behalf of the trustees, in her capacity as chairman of the trust. 
• Mrs Gandhi’s signature on this resolution as its chairman is on record, information about when she joined the trust and in what capacity are unavailable. 
• The Congress has no clarification of how Babu Jagjivan Ram was not a part of the trust despite being the Congress President. 
• In August 1998, a meeting of trust was held again, this time chaired by Sonia Gandhi as President of the Congress. 
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then Prime Minister, was not invited to be a part of the meeting. 
• Therefore, it is very clear that the trust was being run as per convenience instead of following rules and regulations.

Way forward:

• Apart from this, the Congress President, the Minister of Culture, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Governor of Punjab, the Chief Minister of Punjab and three Members nominated by the Central government would be its members. 
• The former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, Sardar Umrao Singh and Birendra Katariya, a former Member of Parliament, were nominated for the period 2005-2010. 
• During his tenure as Prime Minister, I.K. Gujral was neither invited nor made a member of the trust. 
• Conclusion:
• It is in the light of these that the present government has felt that governance of the trust must be taken more seriously and has initiated definite changes in the way it is run. The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019 supports this.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the 10th Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report released by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, consider the following statements:
1. Globally, pneumonia and diarrhoea led to nearly one of every four deaths in children under five years of age in 2017. 
2. Only half of the Indian children with diarrhoea receive ORS (oral rehydration solution) and 20% receive zinc supplementation — to help protect against, prevent and treat pneumonia and diarrhoea.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A.   1 only
B.   2 only
C.   Both
D.   None 

Answer: C

Mains Questions:
Q.1) The Central government has reasons to recast the way the memorial and its trust are run not as a political fiefdom. Comment. 
 

Not so swachh: On sanitation goals (The Hindu)

• Mains Paper 2 : Governance 
• Prelims level : Swachh Bharat programme
• Mains level : Assessment of Swachh Bharat programme

Context

• India’s high-profile Swachh Bharat programme has won it plaudits globally for its goal of providing sanitation to all, but as new survey data from the National Statistical Office (NSO) show, it remains a work in progress. 
• The quest to equip houses in the countryside with a toilet has led to an expansion, but there was a deficit of about 28% as of October last year and not 5% as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Gramin) had claimed. 

Background:

• The declaration that the country has ended open defecation in its rural areas, made to international acclaim on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary by PM.
• Many States that were declared to be free of open defecation simply did not qualify for the status, according to the NSO data. 
• The Centre has disputed the survey results, but it should ideally treat it as a fresh assessment of how much ground is yet to be covered. 
• The data could help it review performance in States such as Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, where the lack of toilets is reported to be higher than the national average. 
• The survey provides an opportunity to review other social determinants such as education, housing and water supply which have a strong influence on adoption of sanitation. 
• It would be pointless to pursue sanitation as a separate ideal, if communities are unable to see its benefits due to overall deprivation.

Performance by the government:

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti said the coverage in 5,99,963 villages had risen from 38.7% in 2014, to 100% this year. 
• It is indisputable that the number of toilets has gone up significantly, and for which taxpayers remitted about ₹20,600 crore as a cess since 2015, until the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax. 
• The NSO survey results add a new dimension, since they controvert data relied upon by the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on ODF.
• It will take a marathon programme to bring all-round development to India’s villages, which have not really benefited from years of fast-paced economic growth. Rural housing and water supply are key to bringing toilet access to all.
• It is doubtful whether the 2.95 crore subsidised dwellings targeted to be built by 2022 under the government’s flagship housing programme can bridge the shortfall. 

Way forward:

• It is well-recognised that development indices are low in some States, and local bodies lack the capacity and resources to bring universal sanitation even where political will is present. 
• Sustained work to eliminate black spots in coverage and a massive urban programme are critical to ending open defecation and universalising toilet access.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the acquisition of certain area at Ayodhya act, 1993, consider the following statements:
1. Section 3 of the Ayodhya Act transferred the right, title and interest in relation to the area in and around the disputed land to the Central Government.
2. The validity of the Ayodhya Act was earlier upheld by the Supreme Court in Dr. M. Ismail Faruqui case, 1994. 

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A.   1 only
B.   2 only
C.   Both
D.   None 

Answer: C

Mains Questions:
Q.1) Sanitation cannot be a separate ideal without reference to other forms of deprivation. Critically analyse the statement. 
 

Consumer spending surveys (Indian Express)

• Mains Paper 3 : Economy 
• Prelims level : Consumer Expenditure Survey 
• Mains level : Highlights the data of Consumer Expenditure Survey

Context

• Government of India announced that in view of “data quality issues” the Ministry of Statistics had decided not to release the results of the all-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) during 2017-2018. 

Key highlights:

• The all-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) is traditionally a quinquennial (recurring every five years) survey conducted by the government’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
• It is designed to collect information on the consumption spending patterns of households across the country, both urban and rural. 
• The data gathered in this exercise reveals the average expenditure on goods and services and helps generate estimates of household Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE) as well as the distribution of households and persons over the MPCE classes.

Way ahead: 

• • Government has announced that it is “separately examining the feasibility of conducting the next Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) in 2020-2021 and 2021-22 after incorporating all data quality refinements in the survey process”. 

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions: 

Mains Questions:

Q.1) Describe the key highlights of the Consumer Expenditure Survey.

Rule of Rajapaksas (Indian Express)

• Mains Paper 2 : International 
• Prelims level : Not much 
• Mains level : Political autonomy in Sri Lanka 

Context

• Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency has started off predictably and disquietingly. 

Rajapaksa:

• After Ranil Wickremesinghe stepped down as Prime Minister the new president lost no time in appointing Mahinda as the new prime minister of a caretaker government. 
• Another brother, Chamal, has been appointed a minister in the government, which will hold fort until fresh parliamentary elections are held in March 2020.
• The present parliament can be dissolved before the end of its five year term next August. At the height of the previous Rajapaksa rule, there were 40 family members in government. 
• Mahinda, who was barred from the presidential election because he had already held the office twice, will run the country in close coordination with his brother. 

Constitution:

• The parliamentary configuration is not such as to allow the new dispensation to do away with progressive amendments to the Constitution made by the last government to check the powers of the executive presidency.
• It including the two-time bar.
• The Rajapaksas turned the clock back on these 2015 amendments when the opportunity arises.

State of polity:

• President Rajapaksa is confident of winning the 2020 parliamentary election. 
• A divided opposition, engaged in a tug of war between Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa, is unlikely to put up a fight to the Rajapaksa. 
• Sri Lankan voters have seen that cohabitation, by which the president and prime minister are from different parties leads to paralysis of governance. 

From the perspective of India:

• India has communicated its desire for hastening national reconciliation in Sri Lanka. 
• In the post-war years, the rulers oversaw an unprecedented militarisation of the Sinhala Buddhist majority community. 
• Voters from the majority community have not forgotten that it was the Rajapaksas who crafted a victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE). 
• This powered Gotabaya’s majoritarian victory in these elections. 

Conclusion:

• National reconciliation requires statesmanship of a tall order. 
• If Gotabaya, the newest majoritarian right wing leader to join the growing ranks of such leaders in the world, can pull it off.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions: 

Mains Questions:

Q.1) Sri Lanka needs a politics of national reconciliation. It looks unlikely to get it. Critically examine the statement.

Telecom quick-fix: Relief on dues will help players survive (The Hindu)

• Mains Paper 3 : Economy 
• Prelims level : Telecom sector 
• Mains level : Key highlights about the debt in telecom sector 

Context

• The Centre’s decision to give a two-year moratorium to telecom operators on pending spectrum payment is a welcome move, given the financial stress being faced by them. 
• Having a financially strong telecom industry, one that is capable of operating a world-class communication network, is key to securing India’s digital future. 
• The moratorium in payments will help telecom companies avoid an immediate outflow of over ₹42,000 crore. 
• Players such as Vodafone Idea will be able to tide over immediate liquidity crunch and stay operational. However, the moratorium alone is not a long-term solution. The operators still have to pay the spectrum dues at the end of the two-year period. 

Highlights about the debt:

• The telecom operators collectively have debts of over ₹4 lakh crore. 
• Supreme Court ruling on Adjusted Gross Revenue has plunged the telecom sector further into a financial mess as incumbent operators stare at an additional payout of nearly ₹1.3 lakh crore of dues to the national exchequer. 
• As a result, telecom operators reported combined losses of ₹79,000 crore in the second quarter. 

Steps need to be taken:

• The Centre must step-in immediately to find a solution otherwise the digital revolution unleashed across the country could come to a grinding halt. 
• The demand of bringing down levies and taxes on telecom companies should be considered. Telecom companies pay nearly 30 per cent of their revenues to the government in addition to the upfront spectrum fees after each round of auction. 
• The concept of revenue share was introduced in 1999, when the spectrum was given on subscriber-based criteria. Since the upfront fee was waived by the then government, it made perfect sense to collect a share of the revenue as licence fee. 
• But since 2010, the operators are buying spectrum through an auction mechanism. 
• There is no reason to continue collecting licence fee or spectrum usage charge in the form of revenue share. 
• The reserve price for spectrum needs to be brought down to match the current market sentiments. 
• The very idea of conducting an auction is to allow market forces to determine the price, so there is no merit in keeping the last-discovered price as the floor price in the next round of spectrum auction.

Way ahead:

• The telecom industry should not try to circumvent regulation for selfish goals. 
• As the first licences were given out, operators have used lobbying powers to influence policy in their favour instead of advocating what’s good for the overall growth of the industry.
• These tactics, with a short-term view, have come to haunt them now. 

Conclusion:

• Consumers have also been largely been neglected, having to deal with poor quality of service and inefficient complaints redress mechanisms. 
• The current mess operators find themselves in is largely of their own making.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions: 

Mains Questions:

Q.1) What are the steps needed to resolve the debt in telecom sector?

How to make coal mining sustainable (The Hindu)

• Mains Paper 3 : Economy 
• Prelims level : Coal production 
• Mains level : Coal production and sustainable development

Context

• Coal fuelled approximately three-fourths of the country’s electricity generation in FY 2018-19. 
• In addition to electricity generation, it is also a vital input for other core industries like steel and cement, which play a critical role in the country’s development. 

Coal production statistics:

• Despite being the world’s second-largest coal producer, India imported 235 million tonnes of coal at the cost of more than ₹1.7 trillion during FY19.

Impact of mining operation:

• Mining operations have positive economic impacts on the local area in terms of infrastructure development, provision of employment and business opportunities, adverse effects of coal mining on the ecology of the local area are also well known. 
• The changes in the ecosystem of the region are particularly significant in the case of open-cast coal mines, which account for approximately 94 per cent of the coal produced in India. 
• All mining operations entail a temporary diversion of land for mining and allied activities, after which the mine owner must rehabilitate the mined-out land for beneficial use of the local communities.

Steps taken by the government:

• The Ministry of Coal (MoC) mandates every owner of an open-cast coal mine to deposit ₹6,00,000 per hectare of the total project area in annual installments (to be escalated using the wholesale price index from August 2009 onwards) into an escrow account managed by the Coal Controller.

Final mine closure

• The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, permits the government to auction coal mines to the private sector for captive and commercial purposes. 
• The government has auctioned 24 coal blocks to private companies till March 2019, and will be further auctioning coal blocks for commercial mining by both Indian and foreign companies.
• Government-controlled public sector companies may not have any difficulty in meeting their financial obligations related to the final mine closure. 
• There is a risk that some coal mines operated by private companies, or State government entities who outsource their coal mines to private entities, may be closed without having the necessary funds to complete the mine closure activities as per the approved Mining Plans.
• The ability to successfully rehabilitate mined-out areas is fundamental to the coal industry’s social license to operate. 
• The practice of releasing up to 80 per cent of the escrow amount after every five years, based on progress in indicative activities, may not ensure the availability of adequate funds for final mine closure.
• India needs more effective and efficient regulatory governance to streamline approvals while ensuring the adoption of advanced technologies for mining, environment protection, and reclamation.

Unified authority

• In 2014, a high-level committee appointed by the Central government recommended the creation of a National Environment Management Authority, including, inter alia, a special cell with appropriate expertise to deal with coal mining.
• Coal is a central subject, and government companies produce more than 94 per cent of the coal in India. 
• The government must set up an independent, multi-disciplinary unified authority on the pattern of the Director-General of Mines Safety, which is staffed with varied scientific and technological experts required to regulate all matters related to health and safety in the mineral industry.
• Such an authority must have in-house professional expertise in the ecological, environmental, geological, mine planning, hydro-geology, biodiversity, and social aspects of coal mine closure to consider all these facets in an integrated manner before granting all key statutory approvals for coal mines.

Official Code

• The Parliament must enact a “Sustainable Coal Mining Code” to consolidate all statutory provisions governing opening/closing and environment/forest matters related to coal mines. 
• This Code must empower the unified authority to ensure efficient and effective environmental governance of coal mines in the manner explained above.
• Since 1977, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) in the US has ensured that mine owners operate their open-cast coal mines in a manner that protects the local communities and the environment during mining, as well as rehabilitate the mined-out land for beneficial use post-mining. 
• Therefore, the OSMRE may also be a role model for the proposed unified authority.

Way ahead:

• A dynamic equilibrium between environment conservation and development for inter-generation equity is the need of the hour in India. 
• An empowered unified authority for coal mining can ensure effective compliance with all statutes related to mining, environment, forest, and mine opening/closure in coal mines by using remote sensing and GIS-based tools for remote surveillance in conjunction with quarterly inspections of each coal mine.
• This authority will also facilitate job creation and contribute to a reduction in coal imports by ensuring “ease of doing business” without compromising on forest and environment compliances.

Conclusion:

• Ultimately, this will contribute to the realisation of India’s Sustainable Development Goals and facilitate both energy security and sustainability for India during the ongoing energy transition.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions: 

Mains Questions:

Q.1) How can we ensure that the coal sector incorporates sustainability with regard to social aspects, economic dependencies, and ecological sensitivities into the mining process, right from the planning stage?