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Tailwind from Villages(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 3:Economy 
Prelims level: Essential Commodities Act
Mains level: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment

Context:

• As the COVID-19 pandemic courses on, India has now become the third country to have more than a million confirmed cases, together with the US and Brazil. 
• Even as the geographical dispersionincreases, COVID-19 remains largely an urban pandemic with large parts of rural India still mostly unscathed.
• The naturally distanced and less mobile rural India seems to show a stark divergence to the densely-packed, most urbanised parts of the country, which have seen the worst outbreaks. 
• While the cities wrestlewith the health crisis, a number of factors are combining to boost rural India’s contribution to the revival of the overall economy.

Rural growth:

• The government’s Rs 20-trillion economic package announced in May to mitigatethe downside impact of the COVID-19 crisis has largely focused on providing relief for the rural population and economy. 
• In addition to passing long-pending reforms such as easing norms with regard to the Essential Commodities Act, the government also announced a 10 per cent hike in minimum wages for MGNREGA, a 65 per cent rise in spending on public work schemes, and a six-month programme that will distribute free rations to around half of the households in the country. 
• Further, a strong start to the monsoon, along with high availability of water in reservoirs and large fiscal transfers, is helping improve rural growth prospects.
• This confluence of factors shows up in the sowing activity at the beginning of the kharif planting cycle. As of July 17, the area sown had already crossed 66 per cent of overall arable area. 
• While the area under sowing is eventually likely to come closer to more realistic numbers, an early sowing cycle should ultimately boost income perceptions for the farming sector, which should eventually support rural consumer confidence. 
• Taken together, the organic farm growth and government measures are likely to raise the disposable income levels of rural households.
• The combination of good production, better prices and large fiscal transfers may provide a material tailwindfor the rural economy. 
• With basic costs like spending on foodgrains being partly covered through fiscal transfers, rural savings have still risen, as evident from trends in Jan Dhan bank accounts. 
• Further, government-support programmes may lead to the movement of workers from urban to rural areas and provide for a cheaper alternative to farm labour during the peak season.

Double digit growth:

• We estimate that the agriculture sector could register double-digit nominal GDP growth in FY20-21. 
• That compares with a 2 per cent contraction we estimate for the overall economy. 
• This twin-speed recovery track is also well reflected in high-frequency indicators — sales of tractors, fertilisers, and two-wheelers are improving, while the typical urban signposts of demand, like automobile sales, aviation traffic and fuel consumption are lagging. 
• More importantly, this growth comes on the back of a third consecutive surplus monsoon, and amid relatively high food inflation.
• However, a stronger rural sector will only be able to mitigate, not fully offset, the economic damage. The localised lockdowns continue to weigh on activity in the urban areas. 
• Ultimately, health care management and disease resolution will dictate the pace of the economy’s return to normal.

Conclusion:

• A more robust recovery cycle in the farm sector to a certain extent actually increases the degree of policy freedom for the government and the RBI. 
• As rural incomes remain supportive on their own, the next phase of policy support can be more targeted towards the urban population, which has borne the bruntof the economic and the health crisis. 
• Supporting discretionary spending and incomes in urban areas will not lead to a faster economic recovery, but will help in improving fiscal finances. 
• This in turn should further boost the government’s ability to spend in a pro-cyclical manner, thus improving the chances of the Indian economy going back to levels seen before the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the “Transparent Taxation - Honouring the Honest”, consider the following statements:

1. The platform has major reforms like Faceless Assessment, Faceless Appeal and Taxpayers Charter.
2. Faceless Assessment and Taxpayers Charter came into force with immediate effect while the facility of faceless appeal will be available for citizens across the country from 25th September. 

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: C

Mains Questions:

Q.1) What do you mean by the essential commodities act? Also highlights the key provision under MGNREGA. 

ReleasFighting to win(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2:Health 
Prelims level: COVID-19 symptoms 
Mains level: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Context:

• The country’s coronavirus tollcrossed 50,000 on Monday. More than 28 lakh people have been infected by the pathogen. 
• India is the world’s third-most COVID-19-affected country — in terms of mortalityand number of infections — after the US and Brazil. 

Declining positive rate:

• But amid such dismalfactoids, there are also early signs of the country getting an upper hand in its struggle against the contagion. 
• For the first time since May, the positivity rate — the percentage of the virus carriers amongst those tested — has begun to come down. 
• This figure had touched a high of 9 per cent on August 9 and has been on a decline ever since — it currently stands at 8.7 per cent. 
• It is also heartening that the infection rate has remained stable even as tests have been scaled up in most states. 
• The number of new positive cases has remained between 60,000-70,000 for two weeks now — much longer than it has remained in any other range.

Temper optimism with caution:

• There are, however, good reasons to temper optimismwith caution. A breakdown of the national-level data suggests that some states have more work to do than others. 
• Delhi has seen a continuous decline in the number of active cases for more than a month: From a high of about 28,000 at the end of June, the number of active cases has fallen to a little over 7,000 this week. 
• Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu remain COVID-19 hotspots but the two states have managed to check the speed of transmission by rampingup testing and shoring up medical amenities. 
• But such alacrityhas been at a premium in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar and Telangana. 
• Last week, Prime Minister pulled upthese states for not conducting adequatenumber of tests even though they have a high positivity rate. 
• Moreover, most states continue to test only those who show COVID symptoms, or their close contacts. 
• Given that a substantial number of coronavirus carriers are asymptomatic, random tests could give a truer picture of the spread of the infection. 
• Such tests could substantiate, corroborateand even disprove the results of the recent serological surveys in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, which indicate the number of people exposed to the virus could be much more than suggested by the data on confirmed infections.

Battle not over:

• The pathogen will remain till there is a vaccine against it. 
• In the past three weeks, COVID-19 clusters have resurfaced in countries that had flattened the transmission curve two months ago — France, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany and South Korea. 
• Kerala — once the most successful state in containing the pandemic — has seen a spurt of cases in the past fortnight.
• The experience of the past six months will, no doubt, offer valuable lessons in combatingthe virus in the coming days and weeks.
• But the most important caveatremains: The coronavirus is unpredictable, and there can be no letting the guard down.

Conclusion:

• There are early signs of improvement in COVID-19 situation. But coronavirus is unpredictable, battle is not over. 

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the Abscisic acid (ABA), consider the following statements:

1. It is a plant hormone.
2. ABA functions in many plant developmental processes, including seed and bud dormancy, the control of organ size and stomatal closure. 

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: C

Mains Questions:

Q.1) How COVID 19 impacted the vulnerable sections of the society? What are the challenges faced by them? What are the steps taken by the government to provide some relief?

1. Consider the following statements

1.   The founder of the Indian Communism was M.N. Roy
2.   M.N. Roy founded communist party of India in Kanpur.

(a)  Only 1      
(b)  Only 2
(c)  Both 1 & 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

2.  Match the following

           Party                                 State

1. Labour Swaraj Party         (a) Madras
2. Kirti Kishan Party              (b) Bengal
3. Congress Labour Party     (c) Punjab
4. Labour Kisan Party           (d) Mumbai

(a)  1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d
(b)  1-b, 2-c, 3-d, 4-a
(c)  1-c, 2-d, 3-b, 4-a
(d) 1-d, 2-a, 3-c, 4-b

3.  Consider the following statements

1.   All India trade union congress held its first Session in Kanpur.
2.   Meerut conspiracy case’s accured were defended by J.L. Nehru, M.A. Ansari & M.C. Chagla

(a)  Only 1
(b)  Both1& 2
(c)  Only 2
(d) Neither1nor 2

4.  Consider the following statements about Congress Samaj Party (CSP)

1.   Congress Socialist Party was formed in 1934
2.   J.L. Nehru & Bose did not support CSP
3.   The Cabinet Mission Plan was rejected by CSP.

(a)  All of the above
(b)  1 & 2
(c)  2 & 3
(d) 1 & 3

5. Consider the following statements

1. Under the presidentship of C.R. Das, Swaraj Party formed in 1922
2. Swaraj Party win 42 out of 101 elective seats in the central legislative assembly

(a) Both1& 2
(b) Only 1
(c) Only 2
(d) Neither1 nor 2

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ANS: 1(a), 2(b), 3(c), 4(b), 5(c)

1. निम्नलिखित मुगल अमीरों पर विचार कीजिएः

1. अफजल खाँ
2. महाबत खाँ
3. अली मर्दान खाँ
4. आसफ खाँ

उपर्युक्त अमीरों का सही कालानुक्रम क्या है ?

(a) 1 . 2 . 3 . 4
(b) 4 . 3 . 2 . 1
(c) 3 . 1 . 4 . 2
(d) 4 . 2 . 3 . 1

2. निम्नलिखित मे से किन्होंने गाँधी-इरविन समझौते के हस्ताक्षरित होने में एक महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाई ?

1. मोतीलाल नेहरू
2. तेज बहादूर सप्रू
3. मदन मोहन मालवीय
4. एम आर जयकर
5. सी. वाई. चिन्तामणि

नीचे दिए गए कूट का प्रयोग कर सही उत्तर चुनिए

(a) 1 और 2
(b) 2 और 4
(c) 2 और 3
(d) 4 और 5

3. ऐनी बेसेंट के  सम्बन्ध् में निम्न में से कौन-सा वक्तव्य सही नहीं है?

(a) वह आयरिश महिला थी
(b) वह थियोसोपिफकल सोसायटी से सक्रिय रूप से जुड़ी थी
(c) वह होमरूल आन्दोलन से जुड़ी थीं
(d) वह महिला विश्वविधलय की संस्थापिका थीं   

4. चुनाव आयोग के संदर्भ में निम्न कथनों पर विचार कीजिए 

1. चुनाव आयोग की तिथि और कार्यक्रम घोषित करता है एवं नामांकन पत्रों की जांच करता है।
2. परिसीमन आयोग के आधार पर देश में चुनावी क्षेत्र घोषित करता है
3. राज्य विधायिका की अयोग्यता के संबंध में राष्ट्रपति को सलाह देता है

उपर्युक्त कथनों में सही कथन है 

(a) केवल 1
(b) केवल 1 एवं 3
(c) 2 एवं 3
(d) उपर्युक्त सभी

5. निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए ।

1. मुख्य निर्वाचन आयुक्त का कार्यकाल 6 वर्ष का होता है
2. मुख्य निर्वाचन आयुक्त 63 वर्ष तक पद में रह सकता है
3. निर्वाचन आयुक्त एवं मुख्य निर्वाचन आयुक्त को वेतन सुप्रीम कोर्ट के जज के बराबर वेतन मिलता है

उपर्युक्त कथनों में सही कथन है 

(a) केवल 1
(b) केवल 1 एवं 3
(c) 2 एवं 3
(d) उपर्युक्त सभी
 

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ANS: 1(d), 2(b), 3(d), 4(d), 5(b)

Q.Examine the changing initiatives of the land tenure system in India. 10 Marks/2019

Q.Critically examine Dube’s contributions to the study of Indian villages. 20 Marks/2019

Q.Give a critical analysis of Andre Beteille’s study of Tanjore village.10 Marks/2018

Q.Write short notes with a sociological perspective: Significance of Village Studies in Indian Sociology 10 marks/2016

Q.Analyse the major components of Land Reform Acts. Show their effectiveness in curbing rural inequality. 10 marks/2016

Q.Write short notes with a sociological perspective: Jyotirao Phule as an agrarian radical.10 marks/2015

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Sociology Mains Optional Study Notes

UPSC Exam Complete Study Materials (Pre, Mains, Interview COMBO Study Kit)

Q. Define patriarchy. Does it have bearings on women’s entitlement in Indian family system? Explain. 20 Marks/2019

Q. What do you understand by LGBTQ? Comment on the issues concerning their marriage rights. 10 Marks/2019

Q. Illustrate the importance of ‘Kanyadan’ and ‘Kulabadhu’ in changing institution of marriage and family. 10 Marks/2018

Q. Discuss the issues relating to the entitlement of transgender in Indian society. 10 Marks/2018

Q. Western patriarchy which surrenders feminine principles is the development project in India. Do you agree with this view? Why? 20 Marks/2018

Q.Clarify the distinction between “household” and “family” and evaluate Whether joint families have completely disintegrated.20 Marks/2017

Q.Compare the north Indian kinship System with the South Indian kinship system. 10 Marks/2017

Q. Patriarchy as a form of dominance. 10 marks/2016

Q. Bring out the significance of the difference between family and household. 20 marks/2016

Q. Give some of the important studies relating to the structural changes in the Indian family system. 20 marks/2015

Q. Broadly compare the kinship system of North and South India. 10 marks/2015

Q. What is patriarchy? How does it affect the child socialization pattern in India? 20 marks/2015

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Sociology Mains Optional Study Notes

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Q. Write a note on the changing roles of middle-class women in India. 10 marks/2018

Q. How has the New Economic Policy (1991) affected the lifestyle and life changed in new middle class in India. 20 marks/2018

Q. What accounts for the growth and consolidation of the middle classes in modern India? 10 marks/2016

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Q. Examine sociological dynamics of Champaran Peasant Movement in colonial India. 20 Marks/2018

Q.The main objective of socio- religious movement during the colonial rule in India were reforming and synthesizing Hinduism. Write an any two such important movement. 20 Marks/2017

Q.Discuss Yogendra singh’s thesis on Modernization of Indian Tradition. And evaluate its applicability in the present-day context. 20 Marks/2017

Q. Anti-Brahmanical movements during the colonial period.  10 marks/2016

Q. Discuss the paradigm of modernization of Indian tradition in analyzing social change in India. 20 marks/2015

Q. Analyze Gandhi as a moralist, ascetic and man of action through his Hind Swaraj. 20 marks/2015

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Sociology Mains Optional Study Notes

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(The Gist of PIB) COVID-19 vaccine COVAXIN

COVID-19 vaccine COVAXIN 

• COVAXIN, India’s first vaccine candidate against novel coronavirus, developed by vaccine maker Bharat Biotech gets the approval of Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for Phase I and II clinical trials.

About:

• COVAXIN is an inactivated vaccine, created from a strain of the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus, that has shown promise in preclinical studies, demonstrating extensive safety and effective immune responses.
• COVAXIN has been developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).
• The SARS-CoV-2 strain was isolated in NIV, Pune and transferred to Bharat Biotech. The indigenous, inactivated vaccine will be developed and manufactured by Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) High Containment facility located in Genome Valley, Hyderabad, India.
• Human clinical trials of the experimental COVID-19 are scheduled to start across the country in July 2020.
• Bharat Biotech’s track record in developing Vero cell culture platform technologies has been proven in several vaccines for polio, rabies, rotavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, Chikungunya and Zika.

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Courtesy: PIB

Job of the state(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2:Governance 
Prelims level: Job Quota 
Mains level: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Context:

• With the COVID-19 pandemic aggravatingthe economic crisis, an already existing insulartendency on employment matters has become more pronounced. 
• On Tuesday, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan went a step ahead of his predecessor in announcing that all government jobs will be given to the “children of the state”. 
• Last year, the Kamal Nath government had directed industries in MP to provide 70 per cent reservation to people from the state. 

Following the suit:

• The MP chief minister seems to have also gone by the playbook made familiar recently by his counterparts in Haryana and Telangana. 
• In July, the Haryana government approved a proposal for an ordinance reserving 75 per cent jobs in the private sector for local people. 
• And, on August 5, the Telangana cabinet approved a policy to reserve 60 per cent of skilled jobs and 80 per cent of unskilled jobs in “new industries in the state”.
• Conversations on reserving jobs for local people predate the pandemic, or the current economic crisis. 
• The Shiv Sena’s “Marathi manoos” rhetoric is infamous. In the 1990s, the Gujarat government directed industries to employ 80 per cent local people. 
• The state, however, stopped short of enacting a legislation on the issue, anticipating legal problems. 
• A 2008 Maharashtra government policy — still in operation — requires industries that seek subsidies to employ 80 per cent local people. 
• Some other states have used criteria such as language tests to accord preference to local people. 
• But the dearthof jobs in several sectors in the past two years seems to have made the nativist sentiment much more strident and conspicuous.

Fundamental right to move and work freely:

• Exigenciescreated by the economic downturn and the pandemic are, no doubt, compelling. 
• But state-level protectionism is problematic. “Local”, for one, is a contentious category that could add to the country’s many fault lines. 
• A long history of jurisprudence dating back to the 1950s makes the salient distinction between domicile and place of birth, between the place of education and work. 
• A significant body of work has also underlined the role of labour fluidity in introducing skills, spurring innovation and enriching the cultural fabric of different regions. 
• Moreover, reserving jobs for local people militatesagainst the citizen’s fundamental right to move and work freely within India and the idea of the country as one market. 
• State governments need to talk amongst themselves and with each other to address current insecurities, to keep job flows going — populist solutions to economic woescould end up doing more harm than good.

Conclusion:

• The demographic dividend is attributed to the young, and values energy over experience. 
• The survival of the elderly, including centenarians, reminds us that these attributes are not absolute.
• Instead of reserving employment for ‘children' of state amid economic distress, state governments need to be more creative.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), consider the following statements:

1. Every Indian will have an Aadhar like ID card containing all relevant information about his/her medical conditions and treatments and tests.
2. The vision of National Digital Health Mission is to create a national digital health ecosystem which provides timely and efficient access to inclusive, affordable, and safe healthcare to all citizens.

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: C

Mains Questions:

Q.1) Madhya Pradesh government’s recent decision to reserve all government jobs for “children of the state.” In this context what does the Constitution say in this context? 

Repair and mend (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2:International Relations 
Prelims level: 
Mains level: Bilateral agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Context:

• Delhi has begun a long-overdue outreach to two important neighbours, Nepal and Bangladesh, with whom relations have been uneven in recent months. 
• PM and his Nepal counterpart spoke with each other in a prelude to Monday’s meeting between officials of both sides to discuss the territorial spat over the Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura-Kalapani trijunction. 

Taken for granted:

• Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla’s two-day visit to Dhaka came at a time when the Sheikh Hasina government is in talks with Beijing for a $1bn loan for a project on the river Teesta. 
• India has tended to take for granted neighbours with whom it has had traditionally good relations. 
• Even seasoned foreign policy hands in the MEA appear to have failed to anticipate that Nepal’s concerns about India’s new map last year would escalate, or that the CAA, 2019, would provoke problems with Bangladesh. 
• Down the years, the politics of the states on the borders has played an oversized role in setting, and skewing, India’s foreign policy towards neighbours. 
• Of late, though, the ideology and politics of the ruling party at the Centre has been a dominant force.

Extension of domestic ideology:

• The ruling party at the Centre has sometimes sought to cast foreign policy in the region as an extension of the domestic ideological project. 
• For instance, in the case of the CAA in Assam and West Bengal, neighbours of Bangladesh on either side. 
• Or in the way Nepal is perceived, by virtue of its Hindu majority, almost as a feudatory state. 
• Bangladesh, on the other hand, must be watched with suspicion for who it might be pushing in over the border. 
• In the strategic community, too, there has been an impatience with the South Asian neighbours for not seeing it India’s way. 
• But the neighbours, which have their own vibrant democratic polities, have sized up India’s economic vulnerabilities and security pre-occupations, and are confidently leveraging the regional big power imbalance to serve their own interests.

Episodic:

• Repairing these ties requires the recognition that each nation is an equal, irrespective of size, and has its own agency. 
• India must show a large-heartedness and generositythat has been missing for too long, replaced by a blunt transactionalism, in which each country is only a prize in an India vs China match. 
• The engagement has to be constant and continuous, not episodic or in reaction to a Chinese loan here or with an eye on an election in a particular state. 
• India and Nepal have had the most progressive relations in South Asia, with open borders and a free intermingling of people, almost European in vision and scope. India helped in the creation of Bangladesh. 

Conclusion:

• Delhi continues to have strong political and diplomatic relations with these countries. 
• It must mind its own strengths, the deep people to people connections, and the shared histories of the region, to reset ties, not just with Kathmandu and Dhaka but across the region.
• Delhi’s outreach to Kathmandu, Dhaka is welcome. Engagement with neighbours needs to be constant and large-hearted.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Joint Coastal Patrol (JCP), consider the following statements:

1. Indian Navy has commenced Joint Coastal Patrol (JCP) by embarking Marine Police personnel on-board Indian Navy ships to strengthen coastal security.
2. The Joint Coastal Patrolling is being instituted to implement the Coastal Security Scheme (CSS) through capacity building of Marine Police.

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: B

Mains Questions:

Q.1) Highlights the relations of India with Nepal and Bangladesh. Also highlights various deal and agreements, border issues, key analysis and ways to address them

The marriage age misconception(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:Governance 
Prelims level: Population control law
Mains level: Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections

Context:

• From the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, the Prime Minister declared that the government is considering raising the legal age of marriage for girls, which is currently 18 years. 
• He said, “We have formed a committee to ensure that daughters are no longer suffering from malnutrition and they are married off at the right age. 
• As soon as the report is submitted, appropriate decisions will be taken about the age of marriage of daughters.” 
• The Committee in question is the task force set up on June 4, announced earlier by the Finance Minister in her Budget Speech. 
• It is widely understood (but not officially stated) that the task force is meant to produce a rationale for raising the minimum age of marriage for women to 21, thus bringing it on a par with that for men. 
• Since there is no obvious constituency that has been demanding such a change, the government seems to be motivated by the belief that simply raising the age of marriage is the best way to improve the health and nutritional status of mothers and their infants.
• Because it flies in the face ofthe available evidence, we need to ask where this belief is coming from.

Population control:

• One plausible source could be those who advocate for population control and who are influential and whose research is well-funded. 
• Consider, for example, an article published in the prestigious journal The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. 
• This article analyses data on stuntingin children and thinness in mothers (as measures of under-nourishment) in the latest round of the National Family Health Survey 4 (2015-16). 
• The paper uses rigorous methods to chase a flawed hypothesis. 
• The authors examine the strength of the association between many different causal factors (the mother’s age at childbearing, her educational level, living conditions, health conditions, decision-making power, and so on) and the health status of mother and child. 
• As it turns out, the poverty of the mother plays the greatest role of all by far — both in relation to her undernourishment and that of her child, but this is not acknowledged. 
• The authors only concede that their cross-sectional design (using data from a single time period) “reduces causal inference. 
• For example, becoming pregnant early might lead to reduced education or wealth; however, a woman from a poor background and lower education might be more likely to become pregnant early.” 
• In other words, instead of early pregnancy causing malnourishment, they may both be the consequences of poverty.

Nutritional Programmes: 

• The stated concern of the study was to find ways to break the “intergenerational cycle of undernutrition”. 
• Surely the best way to go about breaking such a cycle would be to pick the factors that are playing the strongest role in perpetuating it. 
• In this case, it would be to address the poverty of the mother, which could be done in a myriadways.
• Beginning with the most direct method of nutritional programmes for girls and women through a range of institutional mechanisms from Anganwadis to schools. 
• However, the authors choose to concentrate on delaying the age of pregnancy, even though this is the weakest link of all. 
• In fact, age only begins to have some real significance when pregnancies are delayed to ages of 25 and above, which is true of only a minuscule proportion of women in India. 
• The article is unusually generous in its use of the usual scholarly caveats, but leaves itself open to being co-opted by larger agendas driven by the doctrine that “over-population” is the root of all evil in poor countries.

Declining fertility rates:

• It is unfortunate that such thinking is finding a home in the highest office of the Indian government. 
• India is home to the largest number of underage marriages in the world. 
• Perhaps he (or his advisers) were influenced by the many international reports making alarming predictions about future dystopiasthat would result if child marriage were not swiftly eliminated.
• It is a pity that those who have the Prime Minister’s ear did not bother to seek the advice of our own demographers who have been studying the apparent link between early marriage and escalating fertility rates for decades. 
• As it turns out, India’s fertility rates have been declining to well below replacement levels in many States, including those with higher levels of child marriage. 
• This could be the reason why those advocatingpopulation control have chosen to shift from fuelling fears about booming populations to expressing concern for the undernourishment of children.

Costless and effortless:

• Perhaps there is a more cynicalreason at work. Raising the age at marriage by amending the law is costless and can be effortlessly achieved by legal fiat. 
• Why not claim that doing so will enhance the welfare of women and children, since addressing the true causes of the poor health and nutrition of mothers and children is too difficult a task? 
• The government will not incur any financial costs for raising the age of marriage of girls from 18 to 21 years. 
• But the change will leave the vast majority of Indian women who marry before they are 21 without the legal protections that the institution of marriage otherwise provides, and make their families criminalisable. 
• Those who ferventlybelieve that the minimum age of men and women should be the same in the name of gender equality can suggest that India follow global norms of 18 years for both.

Conclusion:

• Given the present climate, it could even be that this move is partly prompted by a vague belief that child marriage is more prevalent among Muslims and helps them reproduce faster. 
• The evidence shows that this is not true, but such prejudices are inoculated.
• In this context, it is interesting that the States with high mean ages at marriage of 25 years are erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Goa. Even Kerala (22 years) and Delhi (23 years) have significantly lower mean ages at marriage.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the "Sarabhai" Crater, consider the following statements:

1. It is located on the landing site of Chandrayaan 2’s Vikram lander on the Moon.
2. "Sarabhai" Crater is named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the Father of India's Space Programme.

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: B

Mains Questions:

Q.1)What are the arguments favouring for the increase in the marriage age of girls, also know the certain facts in order to support those arguments?
​​​​​

A losing proposition: On sons of the soil and jobs(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:Governance
Prelims level: Right to freedom
Mains level: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Context:

• India has seen many versions of the ‘sons of the soil’ argument over decades. 
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister’s announcement that only those domiciled there would be eligible for government jobs in the State is not unique in that sense. 

Nativism:

• At the same time, it denotes a certain mainstreaming of nativism that more parties and States appear to be adopting. 
• Mr. Chouhan’s announcement was packaged as a promise to the youths of the State, but in reality, it is a sign of gloom.
• Regional parties have always focused on local sentiments, but what is notable in recent years is the BJP and the Congress too jumping on the bandwagon.
• The Congress in Madhya Pradesh is supporting the move, and in Maharashtra, it is part of the ruling coalition led by the Shiv Sena which is pushing measures to give priority to locals in employment in the private sector. 
• Similar moves from States such as Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Telangana in recent years to introduce various types of domicile eligibility for job seekers, in private and government jobs, have either been abortedor had limited outcomes. 
• But measures that raise artificial barriers go against the grain of national integration, which includes market integration.

Exaggeration:

• There are regional particularities to be considered, nevertheless. 
• Some States require a certain proficiency in the local language to be employed in government jobs, which is for administrative reasons. 
• There are also restrictions on movement of people into tribal areas of India. These are exceptions provided in the legal and constitutional scheme of India to manage its remarkable diversity. 
• Inciting local passions in order to divert public attention from the real challenge of generating employment for the country’s swelling youth population falls in a different realm. 
• Migrant populations fulfil a market demand created by gaps in skills and preferences. 
• That is one reason why government orders and even laws of the past in several places that mandated quotas for locals in employment were not enforced. 
• The spectre of locals losing out to migrants is hugely exaggerated and often designed to beguilethe people. 
• In Gujarat, politicians including those of the ruling BJP continue to raise a hue and cryfor a domicile quota of 85% in the private sector workforce whereas the government data showed in 2017 that 92% of it was local already. 

Conclusion:

• India has a severe unemployment crisis and efforts that match the challenge are badly needed. 
• Nativism is not a part of the solution. In fact, it can aggravate the crisis by creating a hostile environment to investment, growth and employment generation.
• Nativism is not a solution to India’s growing unemployment crisis

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the “Ayush for Immunity” campaign, consider the following statements:

1. The theme of campaign is accessible and affordable health for all, through Ayush solutions.
2. It is conducted through Ayush Virtual Convention Centre (AVCC), the new digital communication platform of the Ministry.

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: C

Mains Questions:

Q.1)Describe the reservation policy of India. What is the rationale behind this move taken by Madhya Pradesh government? 

Less taxing: On National Recruitment Agency (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:Governance 
Prelims level: National Recruitment Agency
Mains level: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education

Context:

• The Union Cabinet has decided to create a National Recruitment Agency to conduct a screening examination for non-gazetted jobs. 
• It also aims to eliminate the need for candidates to take separate examinations of the Railway Recruitment Board, Staff Selection Commission and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection. 

Multiple Gains:

• For some years now, the railways have been using contractual labour in projects and services, but the government system remains a major recruiter. 
• In March this year, Railways Minister told Parliament that four employment notifications for Group C employees in the Ministry were issued in 2019 for 1.43 lakh posts, besides a similar number selected the previous year. 
• Overall, the posts coming under the ambit of the proposed NRA would cover about 1.25 lakh jobs a year, which typically attract about 2.5 crore aspirants. 
• The gains from a single examination, when offered at the district level in the regional language, as opposed to a multiplicity of tests in far fewer locations are self-evident.
• Candidates would no longer have to travel to urban centres at considerable expense and hardship to take an employment test. 
• Opportunities to improve performance, subject to age limits, and a three-year validity for scores are positive features. 
• Yet, the long-term relevance of such reforms will depend on the commitment of governments to raise the level of public employment and expand services to the public, both of which are low in India.

Wider access:

• While announcing the proposal for the recruitment agency in her Budget speech earlier this year, Finance Minister said the NRA would be an independent, professional, specialist organisation. 
• There would also be an emphasis on creating advanced online testing infrastructure in 117 aspirational districts, many of which are in States with low social development indices. 
• These are laudableobjectives, but it is relevant to point out that as a share of the organised workforce, Central government employment appears to be declining. 
• New posts are sanctioned periodically, but a large number of vacancies remain unfilled. 
• With growing emphasis on transferring core railway services to the private sector, there may be fewer government jobs on offer in the future. 
• Moreover, jobs under the Centre, predominantly in the railways and defence sectors, constitute around 14% of public employment, with the rest falling within the purview of States. Reform must, therefore, have a wider reach to achieve scale. 
• It must be marked by well-defined procedures, wide publicity and open competition, besides virtual eliminationof discretion. 

Conclusion:

• As a preliminary screening test, the NRA can potentially cut delays, which are a familiar feature with government, boost transparency and enable wider access. 
• The entire process of candidate selection must be a model, raising the bar on speed, efficiency and integrity.
• A standardised recruitment test is an advance, but more jobs are needed.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD), Dwarka, consider the following statements:

1. It is an autonomous body under Union ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
2. NISD has three main divisions, namely National Centre for Drug Abuse Prevention (NCDAP), Old Age Care Division and Social Defence.

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: B

Mains Questions:

Q.1)What are the key objectives behind the establishment of National Recruitment Agency?

(The Gist of PIB) Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance 2020

Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance 2020

• President Ram Nath Kovind has promulgated the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 in pursuance of the commitment to ensure the safety of depositors across banks.

Crucial highlights:

• The Ordinance amends the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 as applicable to Cooperative Banks.
• It seeks to protect the interests of depositors and strengthen cooperative banks by improving governance and oversight by extending powers already available with RBI in respect of other banks to Co-operative Banks.
• The amendments do not affect existing powers of the State Registrars of Co-operative Societies under state co-operative laws.
• The amendments do not apply to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or co-operative societies whose primary object and principal business is long-term finance for agricultural development.
• The Ordinance also amends Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act to enable making of a scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation of a banking company for protecting the interest of the public, depositors and the banking system and for securing its proper management, even without making an order of moratorium, so as to avoid disruption of the financial system.

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(The Gist of PIB) Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Yojana

Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Yojana

• Prime Minister launching the scheme of Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Yojana through video conferencing.
• He said that ATMANIRBHAR ABHIYAN is going to benefit Uttar Pradesh the most.

About:

• The Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Yojana is focused on generating employment for those migrant workers of the state who recently returned from other states.
• Under the campaign around one crore 25 lakh people were provided employment in the state in different schemes.
• The campaign is launched in 31 districts of the state. These districts have more than 25,000 returnee migrant workers.
• The Prime Minister said that The ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT campaign will generate approximately 35 lakh new jobs in the agriculture sector.
• He said that the state government has made arrangements of one lakh beds, constituted more than 60 thousand health teams, provided food and ration to the needy and stated various schemes for ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT.
• He also has interacted with members of Self Help Groups and beneficiaries of different central and state government schemes. Under the Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Yojana, a Loan amount of more than 10600 crores has been distributed to more than 4 Lakh units.

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(The Gist of PIB) Mar Thoma Church

Mar Thoma Church

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 90th birth anniversary of Rev. Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan. He conveyed his greetings and wished him a long life and good health.

About:

• The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, also known as the Mar Thoma Church, is one of the ancient, indigenous churches in Kerala.
• It is traditionally believed that Saint Thomas, a disciple of Jesus Christ came to India in AD 52 and established the Church.
• The Church is presently headed by their 21st Malankara Metropolitan, Rev. Dr. Joseph Mar Thoma, who has headed the Church for the last thirteen years.
• The Church runs various social welfare institutions, destitute homes, hospitals, colleges, schools and technical institutions.
• During times of crises like earthquake, flood, tsunami etc. the Church participated in relief and rehabilitation activities in various States.

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(The Gist of PIB) Consolidated notification in the form of guidelines for classification of MSMEs

Consolidated notification in the form of guidelines for classification of MSMEs

• Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has come out with a consolidated notification in the form of guidelines for classification and registration of MSMEs.

About:

• This notification supersedes all earlier notifications issued with regard to classification or registration of MSMEs. Now, the entrepreneurs, enterprises and the MSMEs have to refer to just this notification for matters relating with classification or registration.
• As per the notification, an MSME will be known as Udyam, as this is more closer to the word Enterprise and accordingly, the registration process will be known as Udyam Registration.
• It can be filled online based on self-declaration with no requirement to upload documents, papers, certificates or proof. An enterprise can be registered just on the basis of Aadhaar number.
• Investment in ‘Plant and Machinery or Equipment’ and ‘Turnover’ are the basic criteria for classification of MSMEs now.
• Exports of goods or services or both shall be excluded while calculating the turnover of any enterprise whether Micro, Small or Medium.
• In another first, the Ministry of MSME has established a strong facilitation mechanism for the MSMEs. This process is in the form of Single Window Systems at the district level and regional level.
• Similarly, Ministry’s recent initiative of Champions Control Roomsacross the country have been made legally responsible for facilitating such Entrepreneurs in registration and even thereafter.

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(The Gist of PIB) Sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes

Sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes

• The Union Cabinet has approved an extension to the commission appointed to examine sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes.
• The extension is for 6 months, valid till 31st January 2021.

About:

• The Commission requested for an extension till 31at July 2020 in order to have more time to submit its report since the repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription etc. appearing in the existing Central List of OBCs need to be cleared.
• Due to the nationwide lockdown and restrictions on travel imposed on account of COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission was not able to go perform the task assigned to it.

About the commission:

• The Commission was constituted under Article 340 of the Constitution, headed by Justice (Retd.) Smt. G. Rohini in October, 2017.
• It was tasked to look into the uneven distribution of reservation benefits among different castes in the central OBC list and work out the mechanism and parameters for sub-categorisation of OBCs, to identify castes, sub-castes and communities and classify them into sub-categories.
• The Commission has since interacted with all the States/UTs which have subcategorized OBCs, and the State Backward Classes Commissions.
• The expenditure related to the establishment and administration costs of the Commission is borne by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Need for sub-categorisation:

• There are an inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities in the central list of OBCs
• Presently, half of these 1,900-odd castes have availed less than three per cent of reservation in jobs and education, and the rest availed zero benefits during the last five years.
• Five-year data on OBC quota implementation in central jobs and higher educational institutions showed that a very small section has cornered the lion’s share.
• The commission is tasked to sort out a mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters for sub-categorisation within such OBCs and taking up the exercise of identifying castes, sub-castes and communities and classifying them into respective sub-categories.

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(The Gist of PIB) Shwe oil and gas project

Shwe oil and gas project

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved additional investment of US$ 121.27 million (about Rs.909 crore) by ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) towards further development of blocks A-1 and A-3 Blocks of Shwe oil and gas project in Myanmar.

About:

• ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) has been associated with exploration and development of Shwe project in Myanmar since 2002, as part of consortium of companies from South Korea, India and Myanmar.
• The Indian PSU, GAIL, is also an investor in this project. OVL has invested US$ 722 million till 31st March 2019 in this project.
• The first gas from the Shwe Project was received in July 2013 and plateau production was reached in December 2014. The Project has been generating positive cash flows since FY 2014-15.
• The participation of Indian PSUs in oil and gas exploration and development projects in neighbouring countries is aligned with India’s Act East Policy, and also part of India’s efforts to develop Energy Bridges with its immediate neighbours.

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