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(VIDEO) Regulating Anonymous Donations : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Regulating Anonymous Donations : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

L'affaire Khashoggi 

Mains Paper: 2 | IR
Prelims level: Jamal Khashoggi
Mains level: There are limits to Saudi Arabia’s defiance even within the ambit of narrow national interest 

Context 

• The gory, gruesome and ghastly details of the last few moments in the life of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
• As reported in the government-controlled Turkish media, have reaffirmed the continuing validity of the universal truth: the pen is mightier than the sword.

Tokenism in reactions

• Saudi Arabia is defiant. It has warned all those who may be thinking of isolating or even moving sanctions against the regime with dire consequences. 
• Some token action is being taken by some western governments such as demanding a thorough, impartial inquiry into the incident. 
• The chief of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has cancelled her participation at the ‘Davos in the Desert’ Conference, in Riyadh. 
• The U.S. Treasury Secretary has joined the boycott. 
• The outrage is universal in the developed world, though the developing countries seem to have decided their own counsel. 
• The Bretton Woods institutions will still need Saudi funding.

India’s deck of cards

• India does not have the kind of money to throw around as the Saudis have.
• If India needs their oil, they also need to sell it. 
• They need to sell as much oil as they can to continue with their disastrous misadventure in Yemen. 
• If India is forced to reduce the import of Iranian oil to zero in the next few weeks, India does not have to worry about alternate sources of which there are plenty, as the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas has assured us.
• Saudi Arabia has no choice but to continue to make up the shortfall, first, because it needs to sell its oil, but second and more important, it must do all in its power to weaken and destroy its mortal enemy, the leader of the Shias of the world. 
• As King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told the U.S. a few years ago, “the head of the snake needs to be cut off”. If it becomes useful to befriend India in its relentless campaign against Iran, it will be a small price to pay.

Way forward 

• There is yet one more weapon that India can selectively use. 
• The U.S., France, Russia all have only one interest in India  to sell their extremely expensive war material. 
• They not only earn money, they even earn our gratitude. 
• The principle of national interest can run into conflict with respect to other higher principles especially in democracies. 
• Thus, the Khashoggi affair might eventually result in action in the U.S. Congress which the President then will have no option but to abide by.
• This is what happened in Congressional action against Russia and which Mr. Trump then had to follow. Vox populi will on occasion trump narrow national interest.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Famous Journalist Jamal Khashoggi is belongs to which Country? 
A.    Turkey
B.    Iran
C.    Saudi Arabia 
D.    Iraq
Answer: C

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) Is there a lesson for India in the Saudi Arabian stance of defiance? 
 

Taliban surge: on Kandahar attack

Mains Paper: 2 | IR
Prelims level: Kandahar attack
Mains level: With the Kandahar attack, the militants strike a blow to Afghan election and peace processes 

Context 

• The attack on a high-level meeting inside the Governor’s compound in southern Kandahar on Thursday, killing top security officials, is yet another reminder of the sharply deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. 
• In recent years, the Taliban had shown its capability to infiltrate official meetings and attack any government building, notwithstanding claims by the authorities of heightened security. 
• A year ago, the Kandahar Governor’s office had come under attack by militants, resulting in the death of a Deputy Governor, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates and members of Parliament.
• Thursday’s assault happened at a meeting that was attended by General Austin ‘Scott’ Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. 
• U.S. troops later said he was unhurt, while Gen. Abdul Raziq, the Kandahar police chief, and Abdul Momin, the Kandahar intelligence chief, were killed. 

Consequences behind this attack 

• The Kandahar attack happened two days ahead of the much-delayed parliamentary election. 
• From the day the election dates were announced, the Taliban had warned those participating in the process. 
• The security situation is so dire in the country that one-third of the polling stations will not open on Saturday, election day.
• The Taliban has repeatedly targeted election offices and gatherings, killing at least 10 candidates and dozens of their supporters. 
• Afghan security forces will now have to deal with the fallout of the Kandahar strike. 
• The attack is a setback for the U.S. plan for direct talks with the Taliban as a way out of the 17-year-long conflict. Zalmay Khalilzad, the American special envoy to Afghanistan, recently met Taliban representatives in Qatar. 
• The push for talks comes from a realisation that the war has drifted into a stalemate and an outright military solution could be impossible. 
• The U.S. is trying to turn up pressure on the militant group through Pakistan. But this strategy will work only if the Afghan forces and their allies make some advances on the ground, and bring the Taliban under military pressure. 
• What is actually happening, as incidents such as the Kandahar attack suggest, is the opposite. 
• Both the U.S. and Afghan forces appear to be clueless about how to stop the Taliban’s advances.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Which among the following sites are associated with Ashokan art and architecture/inscriptions?
1. Dhauli
2. Maski
3. Kandahar
4. Girnar
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: D

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) Recent attacks in Kandahar is matter of concerns for Afghan government and to destabilize the peace process. Critically examine the statement 
 

Keep the peace: on Sabarimala 

Mains Paper: 2 | Polity 
Prelims level: Sabarimala temple issue 
Mains level: The immediate task is to dial down the tensions over Sabarimala 

Context 

• The Sabarimala temple in Kerala in the last few days ought to persuade everyone, irrespective of where they stand on the Supreme Court’s recent verdict, of the importance of one thing: to keep the peace. 
• There is no dispute that the Supreme Court judgment allowing into the shrine the entry of all women, irrespective of their age, is the law of the land. 
• The popular protests that have consumed Kerala following the Supreme Court judgment have suggested there is a sizeable section of devotees of both sexes that believes women in the age group of 10 to 50 should not be permitted into the shrine. 
• This is no basis for devotees to prevent the implementation of the Supreme Court order, by threats and the unseemly use of force. 
• Not one woman has managed to enter the temple, with two of them being turned away just 500 metres from the shrine. 
• Faced with a threat by the head priest that the shrine itself would be closed if any of the women entered it, the police advised a woman journalist and an activist to turn back. 

Measures need to be taken 

• These developments do not augur well.
• Located in forest terrain, the shrine is accessible only from a few points, rendering it easy for protesters to stop vehicles and check for women in the 10 to 50 age group. 
• It transpires that two of the women who tried to enter the temple were activists.
• The State government has now declared that its protection is available only to genuine devotees and not those trying to make a statement. 
• Activists and non-devotees are legally entitled to visit the shrine, but in such a volatile atmosphere, little is gained and a lot is lost by merely attempting to score a point. 
• Everyone would do well to await the outcome of the review petitions before the apex court, even if the same issues resurfaced were the court to reiterate its verdict. 
• The State government, the Travancore Devaswom Board and the devotees should discuss ways of implementing the Supreme Court order instead of frittering away their energies on managing protests and conflicts on a daily basis. 

Way forward 

• If no solution is found soon, there is a risk that incidents may recur on any day when the shrine is open. 
• Next month, the temple will open again for a longer season, placing a question mark on the possibility of peaceful and incident-free worship for devotees.
• It is important that everyone works together to ensure that such fears are unfounded.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Sabarimala in kerala is a famous place that devoted to?
A.    Kotilingeshwara 
B.    Muthappan
C.    Aiyanar
D.    Ayyappan 
Answer: D

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) What is the Sabarimala issues? What are the measures need to taken up by temple authority to resolve the issue? 

The end of digital history

Mains Paper: 3 | Science and Technology 
Prelims level: Indigenization of technology
Mains level: Indigenization of technology and developing new technology. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology 

Introduction 

• One of the digital planet’s many pleasures is that it has many distinct mountaintops.
• Different locations have offered different advantages: The US, Europe, China and India. 
• But that era might be coming to an end. 
• We may be en route to digital unipolarity as all the others cede the high ground to China. 
• Chances are, we are witnessing a phenomenon I shall call the end of digital history. 
• If digital history were the process by which we converge towards a technological utopia of algorithmic efficiency, social order and productivity, then we might be approaching this end as well. 
• This time the end-state might be one exemplified by an emerging China.

Analysing the situation 

• The world’s digital topography thus far. 
• The US, of course, is the pinnacle of digital innovation.
• In addition to its free-wheeling spirit, it is abundant in dorm rooms and garages, and college dropouts who abandon the former for the latter. 
• It also has many venture capitalists eager to throw money at a college dropout as long as every other venture capitalist is doing the same. 
• Europe, on the other hand, has always been the place where people have a healthy respect for history: Cathedrals and cobblestones over “smart” streetlights and self-driving cars. 
• The Europeans could be relied on to ensure that we didn’t let all this delirium about innovation overtake an old-fashioned concern for privacy and placing controls on the wanton generation, consolidation and harvesting of data. 
• By making the early move with a data protection framework, Europe had claimed the privacy mountaintop. 
• At the other end of the planet, China has people, and lots of them. 
• With 800 million of its citizens on the internet, the Chinese are wantonly generating, consolidating and harvesting data. 
• In turn, this data is digital fuel for the artificial intelligence machine that will power China’s ride up to its own mountaintop.

From India’s perspective 

• India’s hill climb has always been a more complex one to describe. It has people, poverty and phones resident in a noisy democracy. 
• While its e-commerce potential may be mouthwatering for investors, its true contribution may well be a framework that balances digital empowerment and digital productivity; this is a balance that has proven elusive elsewhere. 
• As the country’s top tech visionary, Nandan Nilekani, has written recently in Foreign Affairs, India’s intent is to give its citizens “technical and legal tools required to take back control of their data”.

The empowerment toolbox components  

• A digital infrastructure designed as a public good; users with ownership of their data; “data fiduciaries” who are consent managers acting in the users’ interest; a “stack”,
• The world’s largest applications programming interface that would allow developers and entrepreneurs, public and private, to build products and services.
• Aadhaar, a foundation enabling efficient verification of each user’s identity. 
• With 1.2 billion people signed up to this biometric identity system, India seemed poised to climb its mountain. 
• The other grand nationwide initiatives, however, the execution fell shy of the vision. 
• The identity database has not proven to be secure and has raised fears of abuse by those in power or exploited for commercial use. 
• It has already failed in several instances, for a host of reasons from technical difficulties to the biometrics being hard to read.

Way forward 

• India is not alone in ceding its digital high ground. 
• China may set new standards in privacy protection as long as you overlook the notion that the state knows everything. 
• Beijing is reportedly reproducing aspects of Europe’s data protection rules, but it is going further by requiring that its citizens’ data be held within China.
• Europe, in the meantime, will focus on compliance and regulation and continue to struggle to re-establish an innovative mindset, one it has lost for two decades. 
• China is laying the groundwork for beating the US at its own game. 
• The US; it produces 4.7 million STEM graduates versus 5,68,000 in the US each year.
• Chinese-origin authors produce anywhere between a quarter to a third of all scientific papers; and, most importantly, it has a government that plans two steps ahead and a president who has a job for life without the annoying disorderliness of democracy. 
• The US, in the meantime, is struggling to deal with its growing angst about its digital companies and their many foibles while its government has all but abandoned investing in innovation for the long term.
• The digital planet’s high points US, Europe, India  are losing ground to China. 
• Unless governments, visionaries and entrepreneurs in each of these locations wake up and smell the coffee.
• A digital planet with a mountaintop in a single location doesn’t seem like a particularly exciting place, especially one that works with clockwork precision under the watchful eyes of a central planner. 
• It would be the end of digital history. Francis Fukuyama, the end-of-history progn

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) With reference to Bitcoins, consider the following statements:
1. The value of the Bitcoins is based on a basket of currencies.
2. In India, only the entities approved by the Reserve Bank of India can transact in Bitcoins.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: D

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1)  Increasing protectionism in the West and the rise of new digital technologies pose challenges and opportunities for India’s IT services industry. How should India weather these challenges? Examine.

The anatomy of banking frauds

Mains Paper: 3 | Banking  
Prelims level: NPA 
Mains level: Issues relating to improving the banking system 

Introduction 

• The latest Financial Stability Report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows, the Indian banking system reported about 6,500 instances of fraud involving over ₹30,000 crore in the last fiscal. 
• The state-run lender took a hit of about ₹12,000 crore. 
• Several other cases of large banking frauds were reported subsequently, which raised questions about the ability of banks, especially in the public sector, to contain them. 
• It is in this context that the analysis of the top 100 banking frauds by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), released this week, is important.

What CVCs are looking for?

• The CVC needs to be commended for this as it will help improve the general understanding of banking frauds. 
• It analyzed frauds in different sectors and has also suggested measures that will help avoid such unscrupulous activities in the future.
• The most audacious among the cases mentioned was that of the fixed deposit (FD) fraud. 
• The fraudster presented himself as a bank representative to companies and government organizations. 
• For banks, he became a financial advisor of those organizations and managed to mobilize large bulk deposits.
• He gave fake term deposit receipts (TDRs) to depositors. 
• The miscreant later opened loan accounts in the name of the depositors by giving fictitious documents and original TDRs and took the money away.

Improving the banking intelligence and other technology system 

• Most frauds show that banks did not do proper due diligence, both before and after disbursing loans. 
• The FD fraud, for example, shows the poor level of checks and balances in the banking system. Therefore, in order to check frauds, banks will need to improve their due diligence capabilities. 
• This will lead to better credit appraisal and also help contain non-performing assets (NPAs). As the financial system evolves, expands and gets more sophisticated, banks will need to be better prepared to avoid frauds. 
• It is also important that banks leverage technology to detect frauds and improve the sharing of information. 
• Further, like the PNB fraud, it is likely that in some cases bankers may have been complicit in frauds.
• However, law enforcement agencies should tread with care so that they don’t end up creating an environment of fear, affecting the flow of credit to productive sectors.

Way forward 

• By improving capabilities in the banking system, accountability of third-party service providers such as auditors and lawyers should also be fixed.
• India needs a system where auditors and other professionals vetting fake documents are not able to escape. 
• This is necessary as large frauds can increase reluctance in the banking system to lend, affecting the flow of credit.
• In this context, the CVC has rightly noted: “Bank must immediately delist such third valuers, Chartered Accountants/ Chartered engineers, Advocates etc. who have questionable credentials/ have been negligent in their professional duties or have caused financial loss to the bank by their willful acts of omission/ commission/dishonesty.”
• Some of the recent frauds and the accumulation of NPAs in the system show that Indian banks need significant improvements in operation and governance standards.
• Both the government and the regulator would do well to work with banks to improve the overall structure.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Consider the following statements about the Central Vigilance Commission:
1. Central Vigilance Commission consists of chairperson and not more than two members.
2. Salary, allowances and other conditions of services of the Central Vigilance Commissioner are similar to those of chairperson of UPSC.
3. The jurisdiction of the CVC does not extend to managers and above in general insurance companies.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 2 only
d) 3 only
Answer: A

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) How to Improving the banking intelligence and other technology system to lower down the NPAs and stabilize the banking system as well? 
 

A game theory take on sexual harassment

Mains Paper: 1 | Society 
Prelims level: #MeToo
Mains level: Game theory and behavioural science can provide nuance to the wider discussion on #MeToo and gender roles    

Introduction 

• Over the past year, India has witnessed an upheaval of sexual harassment and assault allegations through social media and anonymous reporting. 
• The women from the media, performing arts and other professions have come forward with accounts of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment at the hands of ‘powerful’ men. 

From the perspective of game theory 

• Consider a two-person sequential game, where a male in the first stage chooses between two actions: Harass (H), or do not harass (NH) a woman.
• In both cases, the woman has two subsequent choices—report (R), or do not report (NR). 
• To  reporting to be disclosing to the public, which could include posting on social media, filing a formal complaint with officials, or to an internal complaints committee. 
• Now, consider all four combinations: 
• The game terminates in two cases, both when the woman chooses NR.
• The simplest case (intuitively), is the one where the man chooses NH and the woman chooses NR, where they are both neither better nor worse off.
• However, when the man chooses H and the woman chooses NR, she undergoes significant emotional and mental damage, and therefore, a negative payoff.
• The man receives a positive payoff, as he is assumed to derive utility from harassing women. 
• It could be on account of pluralistic ignorance: A woman considering R is deterred because she wrongly believes that all other women also strictly prefer NR to R.

The man will always choose to harass women since the onus is on them to prove the allegations

• When a woman chooses R, preceded by NH (i.e. a false allegation), both face a negative payoff (more so for the man than the woman owing to the reputational damage); but when preceded by H, both face an equally negative payoff. 
• H followed by R damages potential economic opportunities for a man, but also costs the woman who is seen with suspicion, potentially deprived of employment, or stigmatized by reliving the incident ad nauseam. 
• When she chooses R, males can choose two actions: To either Admit (A), or to Fight the allegation (F). 
• The game continues if and only if the man chooses F, following which the game places the responsibility squarely on the woman to either Prove (P) or remain Unproven (UP). 
• Again, consider the two points at which the game terminates: When the male chooses to admit (A). 
• However, if he plays A when the allegations are true, then he faces the same negative payoff as he would if he chose F—i.e. the man is indifferent between fighting and admitting when he has actually harassed the woman.

Effect of the subgame perfect equilibrium

• The subgame perfect equilibrium of this game suggests a solution that resonates with what has been unfolding on social media. 
• For men, action H strictly dominates NH, since he knows that a woman will strictly prefer NR to R.
• Since the game assumes common knowledge, common and perfect information, all players know exactly how the game will play out and, hence, choose their dominant strategy. 
• The man will always choose to harass women because he knows that she knows the onus is on them to prove their allegations, which she will have to do.
• The man always prefers to fight allegations than simply admit to them, regardless of whether he has actually harassed her or not. 

Way forward 

• This analysis is aimed to be a bare-bones attempt at clarifying the gender roles at play while dealing with cases of sexual harassment. 
• Their elegant economic model explains repeat offences and delays in reporting of sexual misconduct. 
• It suggests using a novel online system called ‘Callisto’ to discretely and privately transmit reports of sexual harassment, applied to the case of academic institutions. 
• This must be considered in developing countries like India where stigma still remains the prime hurdle in reporting sexual harassment.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) Government of India implements the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) via
a) Anganwadi centres
b) Krishi Kiosks
c) Common Service Centres (CSCs)
d) Single Window Facilitation Centres (SWFCs)

Answer: A

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) How Game theory and behavioural science can provide nuance to the wider discussion on #MeToo and gender roles?

UPSC IAS Mains Previous Years Public Administration Solved Exam Paper (ii) - 2016

Paper-2: Section-A

Q.1) Attempt all of the following questions in about 150 words each:

a) “The Regulating Act of 1773 not only introduced value in administration but also laid the foundation on centralized administration in India.” Explain. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

b) Do you think that some of the ideals enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution remain only on paper even today? Critically evaluate. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

c) Examine the efficacy of the measures taken to redefine and execute cooperative federalism in India. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

d) Evaluate the performance and efficacy of the Maharatna, navratna and Miniratna type of Public Sector Undertakings in the context of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG). (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

e) “The growing prominence of NGOs in development areas is strongly related to the declining legitimacy of the State.” Explain. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

Q.2) “In contemporary times, Kautilya’s Arthashstra is relevant more in the field of international relations than in economic affairs.” Analyse the statement. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

b) “Dominant centralized administration is correlated with decisive and authoritative leadership provided by the Prime Minister’s office.” (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

c) “A significant legacy of the Mughal rule in India is a well-organized revenue administration at the State and District Levels.” Comment. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

Q.3) a) What factors have led to the expansion of the role of the Ministry of Home Affairs? How can it coordinate its affairs more effectively with the Ministry of Defence? (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

b) “Introduction of G.S.T. (Goods and Services Tax) no doubt has economic benefits, but tends to compromise the States’ ” IN this context, comment on the changing nature of Union-State financial relations. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

c) “Planning in India has failed to meet the challenges of economic development and social change.” Discuss the statement in the context of the emergence of NITI Aayog. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

Q.4) a) “The absence of congruence of views on appointments to judiciary between the Supreme Court and the Union Government has had an adverse impact on the judicial system.” In the light of the above statement, examine the proposal to constitute an All India Judicial Service. (AIJS). (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

b) “The separation between regulatory and development functions in many development administration.” Critically examine the need to relook at this policy. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

c) “Legislatures have become a place for infighting rather than for proper policy making.” Comment in the context of the working of State Governments.  (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

SECTION B

Q.5) Attempt all of the following questions in about 150 words each:

a) “Autonomy granted to higher civil servants tends to increase their creativity and productivity.” Argue the case to make the civil service more accountable as well as innovative. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

b) Justify the budgetary support to nationalized banks to overcome the crisis resulting out of Non-Performing Asserts (NPA). (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

c) “National Green Tribunal is viewed by many critics as a hindrance to economic development” Evaluate the statement and give arguments in support of the your answer. (for Answer Join Public Administration Online Coaching)

(VIDEO) Genie of Parali and Pollution (पराली और प्रदूषण का जिन्न) - Lok Sabha TV Insight Discussion

Topic of Discussion: Genie of Parali and Pollution (पराली और प्रदूषण का जिन्न)- Lok Sabha TV Insight Discussion

(VIDEO) New H1B Visa norms : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: New H1B Visa norms : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

A flawed defence procurement policy

Mains Paper: 3 | Internal Security 
Prelims level: Rafale controversy
Mains level: The Rafale controversy reflects a larger underlying problem in decision-making, transparency and consistency of public policy

Introduction 

• The recent Rafale controversy is the symptom of a larger underlying problem in decision-making, transparency and consistency of public policy. 
• The Defence Procurement Procedure, 2016, (DPP) recognises the need to ensure that procurement is undertaken in a manner that takes India closer to the goal of developing a world-class domestic defence and aerospace industry. 
• However, the offset requirements under the DPP are not helping it achieve this goal. The recent Rafale controversy is the symptom of a larger underlying problem in decision-making, transparency and consistency of public policy. 

Challenges for government 

• Under Indian law, government procurement is treated as distribution of largesse by the state and, hence, must be fair, transparent and equitable.
• There can be no favouritism or nepotism in the award of public contracts. 
• Offsets, however, operate in a strange netherworld.
• On the one hand, they are financed by Indian taxpayers, but on the other, award of contracts by foreign suppliers are not subject to public procurement safeguards. 
• The DPP even seems to indicate that the foreign supplier has complete discretion on choice of the Indian offset partner (IOP). 
• It would result in a moral hazard at the outset and, by extension, would permit the Indian government to avoid public procurement rules when taxpayer money is routed through a foreign supplier towards “offsets”. 
• It would be disingenuous for the government to require foreign suppliers to have IOPs and yet not have a say in the choice of offset partner or its investments. 
• If this were true, the offset regime would be inherently open to abuse by the foreign supplier. 

Government procurement is treated as distribution of largesse by the state and must be fair

• The DPP covers for this by providing the government with extensive control over selection of the offset partner. 
• It has the power to bar any entity from becoming an offset partner.
• The government also retains the power to evaluate offset proposals received in response to procurement tenders and conclude offset contracts.
• The DPP also provides that all offset proposals will be approved by the Union minister of defence, regardless of their value. 
• During the period of the contract, any change in the Indian offset partner also requires government approval. 
• Therefore, it is unlikely that the government of India has nothing to do with the selection of Indian offset partners. 

How DPP can be restructured? 

• The defence procurement should be subject to transparent processes that ensure that Indian companies, big and small, compete on a level playing field. 
• The selection of a large (and failing) conglomerate with no prior experience.
• Rafale would not have been possible if the government had directly procured under a sophisticated award process. 
• If it is not possible or desirable under a direct procurement regime, it is difficult to argue that it is desirable under an offsets regime. 
• The procurement policy recognizes the need for domestic private partnership, it does not mandate a fair and diverse procurement process for offsets. 
• Given the large contract values involved, this makes it likely that foreign suppliers will partner with just one or two large industrial groups to discharge their offset obligations. 
• The definition of IOP is flawed. IOPs are defined as Indian enterprises engaged in making eligible products and/or services. 
• If the objective is to build a domestic defence sector, the focus should instead be on direct investments. 
• In other sectors where India has succeeded, foreign technology and know-how has followed investments, irrespective of ownership. “Indian” ownership does not necessarily contribute to the growth of a sector, as much as investments within Indian shores. 
• Focussing on investments will ensure that companies of all sizes, including foreign companies who wish to manufacture in India, are permitted to grow and flourish. 
• This regulations will restrict foreign investments in the defence sector require a dose of reform. 

Way forward 

• More importantly, transparency is essential in procurement contracts. 
• While national security arguments may withstand scrutiny in outright sales (regarding, say, specifications and customization) or where specific components or technology transfer are involved, they do not stand scrutiny in relation to offsets.
• In the interest of fairness, foreign suppliers should be free to invest in India, yet at the same time, offset investments/procurement must be subject to safeguards along the lines of those that govern public procurement, because after all, they are expending public funds. 
• Without substantive reforms in the DPP, there are likely to be more controversies and perceptions of crony capitalism. 
• The substantial amount of taxpayer’s money is meant for the development of an indigenous defence sector might not find its way back that make worse.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) LCA Tejas, recently in news, is a/an indigenously designed
a) Combat aircraft
b) Electric motor vehicle
c) High Performance Diesel
d) Solar Cell
Answer: A

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) If the intention is to create a free, open and competitive market, and yet at the same time, ensure that Indian taxpayers aren’t taken for a ride, are the offset guidelines satisfactory?

Why television has an edge over digital advertising platforms during festive season

Mains Paper: 3 | Science and Technology 
Prelims level: Digital advertising platforms
Mains level: While there is growth in the digital medium, the power of TV is in the high level of granularity of viewership data.

Introduction 

• Homes are gearing up for the festive season and so are brands, which are optimistic about their sales uplift. 
• It have been witnessing an advertising blitzkrieg by brands across all platforms TV, digital, print, radio and out-of-home or OOH advertising. 
• However, television, with a daily tune-in of 613 million individuals, offers the biggest platform to advertisers to get maximum reach. 
• And, if you ask me, while the key to better sales is in promotion, it needs to be on the right platform, and one which can be accurately measured. 
• It comes as no surprise that 42% of annual ad-spend in India ends up on TV.

Analysing the fact 

• Holidays and special programming during festivals, such as Dussehra and Diwali, lead to increased viewership on TV.
• It making it the right time for these advertisers to catch the attention of their target audience. 
• Some recent reports on brand push during festive season got me digging into our three years of advertising data during the festive period.
• Data shows that Dussehra and Diwali weeks see 17% more ads on TV, compared to the weekly average through the year. 
• Not just this, categories, such as TV sets, camera and non-stick cookware, air 60%, 87% and 53%, respectively, of their total ad spots during this season. 
• Other categories such as housing loans, paints and real estate, too, concentrate on this season for better brand push. 
• The appetite for TV in India continues to be on the rise and this has led to new channel launches over the years.
• What this has done is provided advertisers with an opportunity to be available on channels which cater to specific preferences of the audience, thus increasing their opportunity to see.

Why these are happen? 

• Many in the industry have been talking about growth of digital and attractiveness of the medium for advertising. 
• The growth in the medium is that the power of TV in the high level of granularity of viewership data. 
• Advertisers can get to know exactly how many people their campaigns reached, as well as demography, geography and socio-economic profile of the audience they reached. 
• This is gold-dust for planners and marketers.
• Its effective and granular measurement, helps brands plan well towards gaining a better ROI on their ad-spends.
• So what are the categories that up their presence on TV during this festive season? For the past two years, it has been cell phones, two-wheelers, online shopping sites and chocolates.

Data shows the rise of advertisement 

• In 2015, during Dussehra and Diwali, online shopping players upped their advertising by 49%, in 2016 it grew by 86%, and, in 2018.
• The growth of 40%. Two-wheeler advertising, meanwhile, increased by 113% in 2015 and 107% in 2016. 
• In 2017, cell phones upped advertising by 107%, while retail jewellers too hopped on to the TV bandwagon, increasing their advertising by 83% during festive season. 
• Viewers in North and South India behave differently during festivals such as Dussehra and Diwali.
• This reflects in advertising on channels catering to these markets. In the north, for instance, many homes buy a new vehicle. 
• So, we see a rise in advertising of two-wheelers on Hindi language channels. The category pumped in 138% and 229% more advertising on TV in 2015 and 2016, respectively. 
• On channels catering to the five southern states, retail jewellery and ready-made garment sectors see double-digit growth in advertising.
• In 2015, ad spots on TV, in the period post-Diwali, dropped by 13%. In 2016 and 2017 it dropped by 22% and 7% respectively.

Way forward 

• Over the years though, we are seeing that many brands, especially e-commerce and cell phone players, among others, have been effectively using granular insights provided by TV viewership data, and are coming up with focused advertising throughout the year and not just during festive season.
• Looking at the data that tells the economy has moved ahead from the policy impacts of last year. 
• Confidence in the economy and consumer seems to be on a high and advertising on TV looks set to scale another high. 

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) With reference to the mission eKranti, consider the following statements:
1. It has been envisaged by Department of Telecommunications.
2. It aims to delivering Government services electronically to the citizens through integrated and interoperable systems.
3. It is one of the component of digital India mission.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: C

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) What are the reasons behind in holidays and special programming during festivals lead to increased viewership on TV? 

Labelling, the new illiteracy of our times 

Mains Paper: 1 | Society  
Prelims level: Not so important 
Mains level: Effects of digital technologies on Indian society

Introduction 

• According to the Census, “a person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with understanding in any language, is treated as literate.” 
• We are now seeing a form of illiteracy creeping on those who are literate and this has to do with the term “understanding” in the above definition. 
• Today, under the influence of digital technologies and a dominant visual culture, are we reading (and seeing) with less understanding? 

The art of reading 

• This new form of illiteracy has to do with certain incapacities of reading and writing. 
• Reading is matter of fact and habitual; 
• It has many hidden dimensions to it. Reading is more than seeing words. 
• It is about making sense of words, about discovering and constructing meaning. 
• The meaning of the words we read are not gathered from dictionaries alone. 
• They are also created from our memories and experiences.
• The meaning of every sentence is dependent on the context in which it is used. 

If reading is so complex, how is it that we read so effortlessly? 

• The strategies of reading have to be taught and they become part of our habits of reading.
• We often take for granted the relation between reading and writing, or writing a sentence from left to right (say, in English). 
• Even this simple practice of writing has deep cognitive consequences. 
• When we read from left to right, our experiences of reading are different than when we read from right to left. 
• We also tend to read, like this article, from top to bottom. These practices of writing deeply influence how we make meaning of what we read. Experiments have shown that our notion of time as moving from left to right has a strong correlation with the way we write. People who write from right to left (as in Urdu or Hebrew) tend to understand time as moving from right to left. 
• Reading practices have always been culturally influenced. 
• Every age has had different strategies of reading. 
• Even the pleasure of reading silently, which is so endemic today, was not always the social norm since reading aloud was a common practice in various medieval societies.
• It is said that ancient libraries had people reading out aloud and shouting across tables, which is quite unlike our idea of a library today.

The act of labelling 

• A troubling practice that has crept into our contemporary reading practices is the act of labelling instead of ‘reading’. 
• When we read we discover and/or create meaning of what we read. One easy way of discovering meaning is not to struggle through reading but through the act of labelling. 
• Labelling is a way of saying that the article is about something without even reading it. It is remarkable how so much of our reading gets judged by the act of labelling. 
• Labelling is the new illiteracy of our times. 
• Labelling is an obstacle to really understanding what is being said and how it is being said.
• It is also a lazy and unethical way of reading. 
• The motivation for labelling is not to learn and understand but to attack without justification.
• It is a symptom of how a literate people can become dangerously illiterate when labelling replaces understanding.

Habit of labelling

• It is the spread of labelling as a form of social reading that has also contributed to the spread of hate in our society.
• If you do not want to hear what a woman has to say, all you have to do is to label her as a ‘feminist’.
• Similarly, if you do not want to be persuaded by the reasonable arguments of those who are concerned about so many things going wrong around us, all you have to do is to label them ‘anti-national’. 
• This habit of labelling has become so deep and endemic that we will not read a book or an article if the author is labelled in a particular way.
• Everything in our society today has been reduced to labels: Left, Right, man, woman, Brahmin, Dalit, Hindu, Muslim, and so on.
• Labelling is our new social disease of illiteracy.

The freedom of interpretation

• We are often told that artists, activists and some academics misuse the freedom of expression to say what they want.
• But what about the reader or the spectator? 
• They are also using a ‘freedom of interpretation’ to interpret what they want in the text or the play. What is the responsibility of hearing, reading and seeing? 
• It is ironic that the hooligans as well as the representatives of this government want complete freedom of interpretation, but do not want to allow freedom of expression.
• These acts are unethical because the task of a democratic society is not only to protect freedom of expression, but to also protect and enable the freedom of interpretation.
• Like all freedoms, this freedom has to be used ethically.
• This is exactly what intolerant people as well as the government are not capable of understanding.
• In the case of the play, the few people who are labelling it without reading or watching it are misusing the hard-won freedom of interpretation for their personal ends. 

Way forward 

• The government is behaving in an intolerant manner by passing a rule that the faculty cannot write any critical articles about the government, its actions, its policies. 
• How should the government read these critical pieces? They can be read as being against the government or, equally, they can be interpreted as helping the larger society by pointing out the mistakes in policies or governance.
• The problem is not the articles that are critical about the government; rather, it is about the way those articles are being read by those in the government.
• These authoritarian responses are not just against art in the public domain or university teachers but against the very ethos of literacy itself.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

UPSC Prelims Questions: 

Q.1) With reference to the constitutional provisions for the budget, consider the following statements.
1. The budget is a statement of both estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government.
2. No demand for a grant shall be made except on the recommendation of the President.
3. The Finance Act completes the process of the enactment of budget.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: D

UPSC Mains Questions:
Q.1) In under the influence of digital technologies and a dominant visual culture, are we reading (and seeing) with less understanding? 

Q.2) What really is the dominant practice of reading today? What are the skills of reading that are part of public practices?

Office of Central Information Commission—An Analysis

About CIC:

The Right to Information Act, 2005 provides for establishment of Central and State information commission as a designated authority to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person.
CIC is responsible for implementing RTI at central level. Its strength is 11 information commissioner (IC) including 1 CIC. All are appointed by the President. The tenure of CIC is 5 years and an MP/MLA can't become a CIC or IC.  The person who holds the office of commissioner or IC are of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, Science and Technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance. 

Challenges-

• The RTI act did not give adequate authority to IC to enforce their decisions. They can only direct authority to award compensation to an applicant, but no authority if such directions are neglected. 
• Commission can impose a maximum penalty of 25000 Rupees as a deterrent, but it works only when the institution involve in lower level and in ministerial and upper level, even this deterrent may not apply.

Recent Proposals and associated issues-

• The government proposes to end up with the equivalence of CIC with the Election Commission, despite of fact that both are the inevitable part of democratic protection. 
• Government also proposes to replace the 5 years tenure with tenure as may be prescribed by it. This would be detrimental to the independence ad authority of the IC.
• There is also a proposal to not disclosing any personal information if it is not related to any public activity. This may harm the essence of the information as the scope of privacy is too large. 

Bigger Questions-

There are certain inherent problems associated with the CIC. Some of them are-

• Although CIC enjoys complete financial and administrative powers of a Department of Government, they have to dependent upon the government for filling posts and therefore, presently, CIC has been functioning with less than their prescribed strength of 11 members. 
• It eventually leads to the delay in disposal of the cases, that is compounded by the backlogs in the High Courts, where the number of decisions of the commission are challenged.
• The other big issue is the selection procedure of CIC and other IC. President choses them on the recommendations of the committee that includes-- Prime Minister as chairperson, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, a Union Cabinet minister to be nominated by the PM. All the procedure questions the independence of CIC. 

Way forward-

The RTI Act is a gem for a Parliamentary democracy like India. Moreover, it’s a basic human right to get information that affect our life. CIC is an institution that acts like a watchdog in this act. The very purpose of CIC and state information commissions is to have a look whether relevant information are provided to the people. 
For that matter there is a need to empower the institution as it has to deal with all the level of officials in various departments. There is a need to enhance the working efficiency of the institution and make CIC an autonomous and independent commission. 

Multiple Choice Question-

 Q. Which of the following is/are true about Central Information Commission.
1. It was established in 2008.
2. It is an autonomous, but not a constitutional body.
3. President appoint the CIC and other IC are appointed by Chief Justice of India.

a. Only 1 is correct
b. Only 2 is correct
c. Only 1 and 3 are correct
d. All are correct
Answer is : b.

Hint- CIC was established in 2005. All the members are appointed by the honorable President of India.

Mains-

High probability that a direct question might come with CIC in GS 2. The format may be-
 
Q. The office of Chief Information Commission act as a watchdog under RTI Act, 2005. However, the body is suffering from a lot more issues and government interferences. Critically analyze.

Hint-- Try to describe about the commission in introduction part. Then directly comes to the issues and how it affect the rights of a common citizens. I have not given facts in the Article. Try to search by yourself and garnish your answers by including some of them that you think are relevant. End up with positive way forward. 
 

UPSC General Studies PRE Cum MAINS Printed Study Material

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(VIDEO) Sabarimala - Doors Open : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Sabarimala - Doors Open : Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate