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THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 15 July 2020 A Skill India for AtmaNirbhar Bharat(Indian Express)

A Skill India for AtmaNirbhar Bharat(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2:Governance 
Prelims level: AtmaNirbhar Bharat
Mains level: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors

Context: 

  • It is common knowledge that life in the post-COVID era will not be the same. 
  • The effects of the pandemic are expected to have a lasting impact on every sphere of activity, even as various nations are trying to revive their economies and protect livelihoods.
  • As pandemic-induced lockdowns battered economies, disrupted global supply chains and affected livelihoods across different sectors, Prime Minister gave a clarion call to make India self-reliant. 
  • He announced the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to propelthe country on the path of self-sustenance.

 OBJECTIVES:

  • The twin objective of reviving different spheres of the economy, the Abhiyan seeks to build capacities across sectors and promote local products. 
  • At the same time, Atmanirbhar Bharat is not meant to promote protectionism or isolationism by erecting trade barriers.
  • Rather, it seeks to make the Indian economy robustin the long run by scaling up manufacturing, accelerating infrastructure development, attracting investments and promoting a consumption-led growth.
  • The youth are the future of any country. But India can take the lead over many other nations because about 65% of its population is below 35 years and 50% is below 25 years. 
  • With a huge, educated young population, India is uniquely poisedto realise its demographic potential. 
  • The fact that Indians are heading several MNCs shows that there is no dearthof knowledge and talent in the country. 
  • However, the need of the hour is to upgrade the skills or upskill the youth to meet the employment needs of technology-driven 21st century and accelerate the pace of self-reliance.

 UPGRADE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND ACQUIRE NEW SKILLS:

  • One of the most profound impacts of the pandemic has been on workplaces. 
  • Offices straddling multiple domains, particularly IT, are functioning with minimum staff strength. 
  • Most organisations are allowing their employees to work from home. 
  • The uncertainty created by the pandemic is being seen by many as an opportunity to upgrade their knowledge and acquire new skills.
  • The UN has quite appropriately chosen the theme “Skills for a Resilient Youth” for World Youth Skills Day today, which is being observed by holding virtual events.
  • According to the UN, the pandemic and lockdown measures have led to the worldwide closure of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, threatening the continuity of skill development. 
  • It is estimated that nearly 70% of the world’s learners are affected by school closures across education levels. 
  • TVET institutions play an important role in equipping the youth with the skills for employment, including those needed for self-employment. 
  • They also help in upgrading or re-skilling low-skilled youth.

 SKILL SETS:

  • Much before the current pandemic, the fourth industrial revolution triggered a paradigm change with digital technology driving the job market. 
  • Remote working with increasing adoption of digital technology might continue to be the modus operandifor the foreseeable future.
  • A host of skill sets — listening and communication, cross-cultural sensitivity, adaptability to changing work environments, emotional intelligence and social etiquette along with a good academic record — are important for those seeking employment in the emerging job scenario. 
  • Artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, cloud computing and Internet of Things, among others, will be relied upon by companies. 
  • With people increasingly resorting to online buying, companies will seek to adopt new online marketing strategies.

 LOCAL TO GLOCAL:

  • The India Skills Report-2020 says that currently, millennials constitute nearly half (47 per cent) of the country’s working population. 
  • This is likely to remain the largest chunk of the Indian workforce for the next 10 years. 
  • Another important issue that needs to be addressed by all stakeholders is ensuring equitable employment through higher participation of women in the workforce.
  • In the backdrop of the call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, there have been some reassuring developments with an accent on “local to glocal”. 
  • The production of several lakh PPE kits, collaboration of automobile industries to produce ventilators, manufacture of more than 70 Made in India products by the DRDO, development of the low-cost ventilator Prana-Vayu by IIT Roorkee, the products developed by start-ups in Karnataka to tackle COVID-19 are just a few examples of the capability of Indian scientists, IT professionals and technocrats.
  • Based on the locally available resources, talent, and skills of the human capital, we must aim to gradually reduce imports in every sector from crude oil to heavy machinery.

INDIAN PRODUCTS:

  • While remaining vocal about local, there has to be a paradigm shift in all areas for Indian products to be globally competitive. 
  • We must endeavourto stay ahead in the innovation-led knowledge economy. 
  • PSUs and the private sector must not only play a complementary role in building a self-reliant India but collaborate wherever feasible. 
  • Undoubtedly, the private sector must massively step up investments R&D. 
  • PSUs too need to modernise in terms of technology. 
  • In areas like hi-tech medical devices and equipment, India has to drastically increase manufacturing to cut down imports and save precious foreign exchange.

 CONCLUSION:

  • This is the time for 130 crore Indians to showcase the country’s collective resolve to overcome the setbacks caused by the pandemic. 
  • We need to forge ahead by harnessing India’s human resources and technological capabilities. 
  • To remain globally competitive with a well-assured future, we need to focus on “skills, scale and speed”. 
  • India has the potential to emerge as the global hub for providing skilled manpower to other nations. 
  • We can prove to the world that the 21st century belongs to India through self-belief, dedication and discipline.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the oropharyngeal secretions, consider the following statements:

1. It is the secretions from the part of the throat at the back of the mouth. 
2. The oropharynx lies behind the oral cavity, extending from the uvula to the level of the hyoid bone.

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 is ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’? Discuss the significance of self-reliance and self-efficiency in the times of crisis like the COVID pandemic.

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 15 July 2020 Perfect 100(Indian Express)

Perfect 100(Indian Express)

 

Mains Paper 2:National 
Prelims level: Central Board of Secondary Education
Mains level: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education

Context: 

  • The topper in this year’s Class 12 examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education has scored 100 per cent. 
  • She is amongst the 1,57,934 students who have secured more than 90 per cent. 
  • In fact, the number of those who scored in excess of 90 per cent has increased by more than 65 per cent this year. 
  • And the number of students who have scored more than 95 per cent has doubled. 
  • The personal accomplishments of these students should, no doubt, be celebrated — especially since several of them have, reportedly, overcome difficult odds.

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM- IMPERFECT:

  • But also spare a thought for those who have not got such high marks. 
  • Does a system based on “perfect” marks offer fair opportunities to students from diverse learning environments? 
  • Does scoring well in board exams necessarily mean learning well?
  • Principals of Delhi University colleges have indicated that the high marks will lead to increases in cut-offs for undergraduate courses. This is nothing new. 
  • The cut-offs have been increasing virtually every year for the past 30 years in most parts of the country.
  • But there is something terribly wrong with an educational system when a student with 95% marks gets admission to an institution, while the one who secured 94.5% is left in the lurch.

EXCLUSION:

  • It speaks of a system designed to exclude while fostering an illusion of merit. 
  • The problem becomes graver given that good institutions of higher learning are so few in the country. 
  • The frantic competition to get into a good college — where every mark counts — make parents enrol their students into tutorial “institutes”, which have mushroomedall over the country. 
  • This bizarre state of affairs, when even a bright student does not feel assured about getting admission to a good institution, is also the cause of mounting anxiety amongst children.
  • In 2008, less than 500 students got more than 95% marks in the Class 12 examinations conducted by the CBSE. 
  • In 10 years, this number increased to more than 15,000. And this year, this number has gone up to 38,686. 
  • But all this does not necessarily signify an improvement in the learning environment. 

CONCLUSION:

 Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), consider the following statements:

1. Union Cabinet has approved further extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) as part of Economic Response to COVID-19, for another Five months from July to November, 2020.
2. Expenses on the extended PMGKAY are to be borne by Central and state governments. 

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: A

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 15 July 2020 A big plan(Indian Express)

A big plan(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2:International 
Prelims level: Google $10 billion investment planfor India
Mains level: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Context: 

  • On Monday, the US tech giant Google announced plans to invest $10 billion in India over the coming five to seven years through the “Google for India Digitisation Fund”. 

INCREASING ENGAGEMENT:

  • The focus will reportedly be on bringing more high-quality low-cost smartphones to enable greater Internet access in the country.
  • It also aims to build new products and services in consumer technology, education, health and agriculture, and empowering small and medium businesses to transform digitally. 
  • The move signals a stepping up of engagement between Indian and US tech firms and underlines the continued attractiveness of the country’s digital economy, even in the midst of a severe global economic slowdown.

 SPLIT IN THE TECH WORLD:

  • Google’s decision is also indicative of a wider shift, with events over the past few weeks or so signalling a split in the tech world between the US and China. 
  • Following India’s decision to ban the widely used Chinese app TikTok, Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, has indicated that the US administration is considering following suit.
  • Washington also putting pressure on countries to keep Chinese company Huawei’s equipment out of their 5G networks.
  • The UK, on Tuesday, banned the purchase of new Huawei equipment by its telecom operators after the end of 2020, reversing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s earlier stance. 
  • Meanwhile, in the aftermath of China passing the new national security law in Hong Kong, major US tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter have announced that they are pausing requests for user data from Hong Kong authorities. 

 EASIER SAID THAN DONE:

  • Even as these shifts are underway, however, reducing the world’s dependence on Chinese manufacturing will be a complex and costly affair. 
  • Reconfiguring of the supply chains, most of which are centred around China, is unlikely to be achieved in the short run. 
  • For India, which imports a significant share of its mobile/internet equipment requirements from China, and has also seen huge Chinese investments in the tech space, disentanglingthe relationship will be difficult.
  • For a government that has been aggressively courting foreign investment, the sheer size of the Google outlaywill be heartening, especially at a time when the economy is in the midst of a deep slowdown. 
  • The move signals the tech major’s commitment to the Indian market, underlines the huge opportunity that exists, and signals the continuing global appeal of the India digital story. 
  • The government should do everything it can to deepen and widen this burgeoningmarket.

CONCLUSION:

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), consider the following statements:

1. The Government had announced a relief package “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana" which also included relief for poor families who had availed of an LPG connection under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). 
2. Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme, an adult woman belonging to a poor family not having LPG connection in her household, is an eligible beneficiary under the expanded scheme.

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 is the Google for India digitization fund? What are the relevance for the country in the current scenario?

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 15 July 2020 Viral outrage only spikes the data (The Hindu)

Viral outrage only spikes the data (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:Health 
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Context: 

  • As the number of cases of COVID-19 in Karnataka and Telangana begins to surge, there is a corresponding urge to affix blame to a cause. 
  • This has happened earlier too when there was a rise in cases in other States — evidence that governments had failed and had shielded numbers finally appeared to be here. 
  • But the knee-jerk response to bad numbers is actually causing great harm.

AFFECTS LESSON LEARNING:

  • When we react with outrage to the rising numbers alone, we get no closer to finding out or fixing what is wrong. 
  • If we were to react with horror to bad processes instead, we would have some hope of mitigating the worst of the crisis.
  • This is particularly important in the context of a disease that, in most of the country, can only be identified when a doctor prescribes a test based on limited criteria.
  • Reported new cases are a direct consequence of the decision and ability of State and city administrations to expand the parameters of testing, and numbers need to be viewed in that context. 
  • Roughly 5,000 COVID-19 cases are what separate Telangana from Andhra Pradesh, but it would be a mistake to see this as an indication that the two States are in a similar situation. 
  • Telangana discovered these 34,000 cases by testing just 1.7 lakh tests, while Andhra Pradesh discovered its 30,000 cases by conducting 11.5 lakh tests. 
  • Then there is the question of what type of test is being conducted. 
  • Delhi now conducts more than twice as many tests each day than it did a month only to discover fewer cases. 
  • But well over half of its tests are the far less sensitive and reliable antigen tests.

COMBINATION OF FACTORS:

  • What all of this means is that the number of new cases reported each day in a city or State is not a purely mathematical fact. 
  • It is a combination of not just the city’s disease environment but also its political economy. 
  • Reacting to its numbers without accounting for this will lead us to the wrong lessons. 
  • We have seen this tendency to view higher numbers as a lack of governance than a success of reporting, and it has had similarly deleterious consequences. 
  • The publication of India’s annual crime statistics is met every year with headlines about relatively developed States having among the highest rates of reported crime, particularly against women. 
  • But until we reach the point of “full registration” — which means a country that is confident it is capturing the full extent of crime — more reported crime is for the most part a good thing.  

FEAR OF CRITICISM:

  • Instead, the outrage following “bad” new numbers is already creating perverse incentives against honest reporting. 
  • While investigating the working of committees set up by State governments to audit COVID-19 deaths, this writer found that not all deaths of those who were COVID-19 positive were being recorded as COVID-19 deaths. 
  • What was more worrying was that Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai had recorded zero “suspected or probable” COVID-19 deaths — deaths of people who presented like COVID-19 patients but had not had a positive test prior to death. 
  • This means that such cities could be missing 20-30% or more of true COVID-19 deaths.
  • In each of these three cities, health administration officials said reporting more deaths would lead to their cities and States being heavily criticised, and unfairly so, they thought. 
  • An adviser to the Delhi government said, “If we start adding suspected deaths, no one’s going to praise us for it. 
  • All we’ll get is ‘Deaths shoot up in Delhi’ sort of headlines.”

 THE DELAY FACTOR:

  • Such concerns have been borne out by recent media coverage of similar attempts. 
  • Reconciliation exercises aimed at fixing delayed data in the three cities and were reported as if hidden deaths had been “exposed”.
  • Delayed reporting and reconciliation are a feature of epidemic reporting the world over, and the new numbers were the result of these audit committees doing the job they were set up to do. 
  • When missing deaths are discovered, they are slowly added to the total over the next few days by administrations that fear people becoming angry or panic-stricken if they read about or see a sudden spike.
  • From a public health perspective, the attempts of State governments to restrict the numbers of deaths being reported so as not to show a higher burden than other States is a loss of valuable knowledge. 

 CONCLUSION:

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (AHRCs), consider the following statements:

1. The Union Cabinet has given its approval for developing of Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (AHRCs) for urban migrants/poor as a sub-scheme under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation. 
2. Existing vacant government funded housing complexes will be converted in ARHCs through Concession Agreements for 25 years

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) How are bad coronavirus figures causing great harm? Critically explain. 

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 15 July 2020 The standoff and China’s India policy dilemma(The Hindu)

The standoff and China’s India policy dilemma(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:International Relations
Prelims level: Line of Actual Control
Mains level: India and its neighbourhood- relations

Context: 

  • China is preoccupied with its relentless pursuit to approach the centre of the world and in managing a turbulent relationship with the United States.
  • June 15 incident of a violent face-off between Chinese and Indian troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), causing casualties on both sides, came as a big jolt.
  • It brought the national focus back on an otherwise not-so-popular topic of China-India relations. 
  • The development took China’s strategic community by storm, while the intense debate and discussions that followed, rather than generating a consensus, brought out China’s many dilemmas vis-à-vis India.

 NO ACCIDENT:

  • China’s top India watchers believe that the present conflict is not an “accident” but an “inevitable result” of what they perceive as “India’s long-standing speculative strategy on the China-India border”. 
  • From Doklam to Kashmir to India’s “unending infrastructure arms race” at the LAC, they say, Beijing was “fed up” and “had to teach India a lesson”.
  • Their key argument is that China-India relations hold no great prospect in the current international situation. 
  • There is no possibility of a negotiated settlement of the border dispute any time soon. 
  • India is already a “quasi-ally” of the U.S. with no scope for reversal. 
  • Opportunities for cooperation at the global level is diminishing, regional competition intensifying and the earlier system of effective management of bilateral differences is crumbling beyond control.
  • Periodic violent conflicts, they predict, are the “new normal” in China-India ties.
  • China, they argue, should reconsider its prevalent strategic thinking that India is not its main strategic challenge and, therefore, peace needs to be maintained in its direction as much as possible. 
  • Only by daring to fight, by showing strong determination, the will and the ability on the western frontier can China effectively deter its adversaries on the eastern coast. 
  • This is also, what they called, the right way to resolve China’s primary contradiction, that is the China-U.S. problem, by first breaking “its arms and legs”.

HANDLING A RESURGENT INDIA:

  • To deal with a resurgent India, Chinese hardliners suggest a policy of “three nos”: “no weakness, no concession and no defensive defence”. 
  • In other words, China should take all opportunities to crack down on India, take the initiative to hit it hard whenever possible. 
  • This, it is argued, will not damage China-India relations; on the contrary, it will make it more stable. 
  • Didn’t the 1962 China-India war help China to maintain peace and stability on the western front for a long time and directly eliminate American and Soviet ambitions to use India to contain China? 
  • In this backdrop there is renewed interest among certain sections of the Chinese strategic community to keep India under control by destabilizing.

Chinese aim to destabilize:

  • the entire border region;
  • creating tension across the board, from the McMahon Line in the east to the Aksai Chin area in the west; 
  • take the initiative to attack and seize territories under India’s control from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh;
  • weaken India internally by supporting the cause of Maoists, Naga separatists and Kashmiris.

CRITICISM:

  • However, on the other side of the debate are Chinese political thinkers who in their analysis of the Galwan Valley incident, have been somewhat critical about China’s policies towards India. 
  • They say the policy remain mostly tactical, of a “reactive nature” and are characterised by a “tit-for-tat” approach without any clear strategic intent. 
  • This, according to them, stokes extreme nationalism in India and unites the otherwise divided nation against China. 
  • They criticise those vying to “teaching India a lesson” as being “short-sighted” and not “psychologically prepared for the rise of India”. 
  • China, they argue, lacks understanding of the fact that India, as a rising power, is very important to China.
  • And India will be increasingly crucial in the future, with China-India relations evolving as the most important pair of relations after China-U.S. links.
  • If China-India ties are damaged beyond repair, they warn, India alone or in association with other countries will cause “endless trouble for China”. 
  • For instance, an openly hostile India will use every possible means to prevent China from reaching the Indian Ocean. 
  • On the other hand, the decoupling of China-India relations will further strengthen the “anti-China alliance” between the U.S., Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia and other countries.
  • These countries will actively take the initiative to reshape global industrial chains, use the Indo-Pacific Strategy to check and balance China’s military and economic power. 
  • They will expand international organisations such as the G-7 to weaken China’s influence in international affairs.

OPINION ON SCENARIOS:

  • On a similar note, various commentaries in the Chinese press highlight that downgrading China-India relations is easier said than done. 
  • This will require a complete reversal of China’s present LAC policy of being “reasonable, profitable and economical”.
  • Strategically too, they say, it is “unwise” for China to take the initiative to get into a comprehensive military conflict with India — “a big country with comparable military strength”— at this point in time. 
  • The general view among these military analysts is that if China has an advantage in terms of psychology, equipment, and logistics mobilisation.
  • India too has advantage on various fronts such as deployment, supply line, practical war experience, topography, and climate among others. 
  • If India’s disadvantage remains in the fact that its capital lies well within the bombing range of China, China’s key disadvantage is its particularly long supply lines. 
  • Therefore, if the conflict ends in a short period of time, it will benefit China. But if it is prolonged, China will be disadvantaged.
  • If a war starts, they argue, India will make all efforts to prolong it as long as possible, and the U.S. is likely to help India to attain this objective. 
  • Even if the two sides ended in a tie, in India it will be counted a victory and the national morale will rise sharply; on the contrary, in China, the morale will decline if it cannot beat India decisively. 
  • Therefore, in its effort to “teach India a lesson”, they fear, China might lose more than it would gain.

 CONCERN FOR INDIA:

  • The overall consensus within this group is that it is still not the time to ‘resolve’ the India problem. 
  • Instead, China, for now, should strive to make India retreat without a military conflict, maintain basic peace and stability at the borders, and, at the minimum, not deliberately push it towards the U.S. 
  • Meanwhile, China simultaneously carries out its strategy of weakening India internally by leveraging its social and political differences, completing its strategic encirclement. 
  • Also, improving troop deployment in the Tibet region to secure the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and stationing Chinese troops in the Gwadar Port (Arabian Sea), so as to secure China’s Indian Ocean sea routes, among other interests. 
  • In the words of another Chinese strategist, Yin Guoming, rather than winning a war, China should aim at attaining a comprehensive and overwhelming advantage in geopolitics vis-à-vis India, which cannot be altered by war.

 CONCLUSION:

 Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), consider the following statements:

1. Union Cabinet has given its approval for extending the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution to 40% for another three months from June to August 2020 under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY)/Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
2. Government will provide Budgetary Support of Rs.4800 crore for the year 2020-21 for this purpose.

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

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 15 July 2020 Lost opportunity: On India losing Chabahar project(The Hindu)

Lost opportunity: On India losing Chabahar project(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:International Relations 
Prelims level: Chabahar rail project
Mains level: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Context: 

  • Right from the beginning of its tenure, the government has underlined the geostrategic importance it attaches to the Chabahar port project. 
  • The project, signed in 2003, has been a symbol of traditionally important India-Iran ties.
  • Connected by sea lanes to ports on India’s west coast, Chabahar would form the fulcrum of India’s outreach to Russia and Central Asia, enhancing connectivity, energy supplies and trade.  

IMPORTANCE OF CHABAHAR:

  • Given that Pakistan had blocked Indian aid to Afghanistan and all trade over land, Chabahar provided India an alternative to permanently bypass its troublesome neighbour. 
  • As a result, the government fast-tracked plans for the project, and in 2016, Prime Minister was in Tehran to sign a trilateral trade and transit agreement with Iranian President and Afghanistan President.
  • According to the MoUs, India would be granted a 10-year lease to develop and operate two terminals and five berths, access to the Chabahar free trade zone, and the opportunity to build the 628 km rail line from Chabahar to Zahedan, just across the border from Afghanistan. 
  • The government acted quickly to develop Chabahar port facilities, sent exports to Afghanistan in 2018, and has moved over half-a-million tonnes of cargo, including grains and food supplies, for Afghanistan again, through the port.  

MOVING AWAY:

  • However, the rail line has never taken off for a number of reasons despite a commitment from state-owned IRCON, to undertake its construction at an estimated $1.6 billion. 
  • While contract changes by the Iranian side and delayed responses from the Indian side were part of the problem, the main hurdle has been the fear of American penalties. 
  • Even though India was able to negotiate a sanctions waiver for the Chabahar port and rail line from the U.S., New Delhi dragged its feet on the matter. 
  • After appeals to India, including one issued by its Foreign Minister Javad Zarif when he visited Delhi in January this year, Iran decided to go on its own. 
  • Iran began to lay tracks for the line connecting Chabahar to Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, last week. 

LOST OPPORTUNITY:

  • Regardless of the reasons for India’s inability to join the railway project, the decision can only be seen as an opportunity lost. 
  • The impression that India wavered due to U.S. pressure, especially after India cancelled oil imports from Iran, also questions New Delhi’s commitment to strategic autonomy. 
  • Iran claims it will fund the railway using its own resources. 
  • It seems to have embarked on the Chabahar-Zahedan project with a confidence borne from an imminent deal with China for a 25-year, $400 billion strategic partnership on infrastructure, connectivity and energy projects.  

CONCLUSION:

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, consider the following statements:

1. The scheme shall provide a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support.
2. All loans under this financing facility will have interest subvention of 3% per annum up to a limit of Rs. 2 crore. This subvention will be available for a maximum period of seven years. 

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 is Chabahar project? What are the reasons behind dropping India from this project? What are the implications of this?

UPSC Mains Law Paper Topic : Legality of the use of nuclear weapons; ban on testing of nuclear weapons; NPT, CTBT

UPSC Mains Law Paper Topic : Legality of the use of nuclear
weapons; ban on testing of nuclear
weapons; NPT, CTBT

  1. Write short note : India and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.(95/I/8d/20)
  2. Is the threat or use of nuclear weapons in any circumstances permitted under international law? Answer the question in the light of the Advisory Opinion of the I.C.J. dated 8th July 1996. (97/I/5c/20)
  3. Write short note : Legality of the use of nuclear weapons (98/I/8b/20)  (Main) Law—Topic Wise Paper 48
  4. Comment on the ‘Legality of use or threat of atomic and nuclear weapons. (03/I/7b/30)
  5. Discuss the legality of the use of nuclear weapons in International Law. (06/I/8b/30)

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UPSC Mains Law Paper Topic : Fundamental principles of international humanitarian law

UPSC Mains Law Paper Topic : Fundamental principles of international
humanitarian law

  1. “India is neither a signatory to the 1951 Convention nor to the 1967 Protocol relating to the status of refugees and is already a signatory to other Universal Human Rights instruments. The Indian courts have taken the lead by resorting to judicial activism in protection of refugees with the aid of International Instruments, constitutional and various legislative provisions.” Discuss. (08/I/5b/20)
  2. “Humanitarian Law is no longer Geneva and the Hague Law but  transcends these conventions to reach cosmic stature and seek expression through the United Nations and other transnational instruments.” Discuss with reference to growth and development of International Humanitarian Law in the present century. (09/I/5b/20)
  3. The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 for the protection of war victims cover the wounded and sick and land warfare; the wounded, sic and ship-wrecked in warfare at sea; prisoners of war; and civilians. Discuss these protections. (11/I/8a/30)
  4. A member of European Union has witnessed widespread disturbances, consequent upon a military coup, including censorship on all forms of media and communication, targeting civilians sympathetic with the ousted by assaulting and killing, severe rationing and control on essential commodities such as fuel and food resulting into galloping inflation. In the light of these grave violation of human right, examine the role of : (i) Security Council (ii) European Court of Human Rights (13/I/8b/25)

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UPSC Mains Law Paper Topic : Lawful recourse to force: aggressions, self-defence, intervention

UPSC Mains Law Paper Topic : Lawful recourse to force:
aggressions, self-defence, intervention

  1. Write short note : Self-defence. (94/I/ 8c/ 20)
  2. Explain in the background of relevant U.N. Security Council Resolutions adopted in the context of the recent Gulf War and provisions of the U.N. Charter, the legal status of “Operation Desert Storm” mounted by the multinational forces under U.S. Command to combat Iraq aggression. (96/I/6a/30)
  3. State A received information that its neighbour, state B is preparing to invade its territory. In order to forestall the invasion State A attacks State B and disperses to troops amassed in the State B. States A and B, both are the members of the United Nations. State B brings a complaint against State A in the Security Council and contends the State A and committed aggression. State A pleads self-defence. Discuss the validity of the use of force by State A. (97/I/7c/20)
  4. What do you understand by lawful use of force?  Explain in this context aggression, self- defence and intervention.(98/I/6a/30)
  5. How far is war recognised today by the rules of international law as an instrument of national policy? What is  the distinction between war and non- war hostilities? Discuss. (99/I/7a/30)
  6. About a decade back the Government of Sri Lanka, as a part of anti-insurgency operations against L.T.T.E., laid siege on a portion of its Jaffna province. The Government of India insisted to drop*, and did drop, food supplies in that area. Was it justified in International Law? What justifications can be proffered on behalf of the Government of India?  47 (Main) Law—Topic Wise Paper  (99/I/8b/20)
  7. State ‘A’ and ‘B’ are at war with each other. Examine the effect of the war on the following treaties: (00/I/7a/20) (i) An extradition treaty between the States ‘A’ and ‘B’ (ii) The Convention of Traffic in Narcotic Drugs 1926, to which States ‘A’ and ‘B’ are the parties. (iii) The Geneva Prisoners of War Convention, to which States ‘A’ and ‘B’ are the parties.
  8. Write explanatory note : Self-defence (03/I/8a/20)
  9. Define intervention and state the grounds under which it is justified under International Law.(05/I/ 5c/ 20)
  10. In what circumstances may the use of force be legal under the United Nations Charter? Critically comment. (05/I/5d/20)
  11. “It is evident that general International Law does not prohibit intervention under all circumstances, forcible interference in the sphere of interest of another State is permitted as reaction against violation of International Law.” Critically examine the statement. (08/l/7a/30)

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Public Administration Mains 2019 : Solved Paper-2 (Question: 3)

Public Administration Mains 2019 : Solved Paper Question Paper-2 (Question-3)

SECTION-A

Q1. “Strong PMO is anti-thesis to the feature of collective responsibility of Council of Ministers”. Examine the issues in relation to the position of PMO via-a-vis Council of Ministers in the light of this statement. 20 Marks

ANSWER: 

Historically, the PMO had a modest origin. Under Jawaharlal Nehru, the office used to be headed by a joint secretary while the bulk of the coordinating work was carried out by the all powerful cabinet secretary. It was only after political complexities arose in the 1960s—powerful and ambitious cabinet ministers; chief ministers defying the whip of the Union government and a series of crises—that the PMO became a force to be reckoned with. The PMO of later years had its actual origins under Lal Bahadur Shastri, who created the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. Since then, the office has served as the nerve centre of governmental control. Under Singh, the PMO lost much of its effectiveness. 

Under Modi government , a strong PMO-led by a bureaucratic heavyweight as his principal secretary. This is necessary not only to implement his ideas effectively but also to minimize official resistance to his diktat. 

Two, even more importantly, he needs to streamline the cabinet system. The groups of ministers and empowered groups of ministers can be dispensed with as they are the relics of a government where the prime minister was not in a position to take decisions. The number of cabinet committees too should be kept to a minimum. The time has come to tilt the balance between the cabinet system and the PMO towards the latter. 
Three, the prime minister needs a coordinating device to manage his relations with chief ministers. This is perhaps the most delicate task of all and the PMO will have an essential role in this.

(b) Capacity issues relating to employees have hampered the implementation of several government programmes. Trace the reasons in the context of the provisions of the National Training Policy, 2012. 20 Marks

ANSWER: ONLY FOR COURSE MEMBERS

(c) The strategy to deal with the non-performing assets of banks may lead to overburdened taxpayers. Examine the role of government to protect the interests of both. 10 Marks

ANSWER: ONLY FOR COURSE MEMBERS

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THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 14 July 2020 A Better Lending(Indian Express)

A Better Lending(Indian Express)

Mains Paper 3:Economy 
Prelims level: MSMEs
Mains level: Economic growth and development process, revival of MSMEs 

Context: 

  • The government’s initiatives announced in the stimulus package have been geared towards helping MSMEs maintain liquidity and for ensuring greater credit availability. 
  • The emergency credit line, the subordinate debt provision and the equity infusion measure, apart from the long-awaited reform to the MSME definition, have been significant interventions. 
  • It is important, however, to examine how game-changing they have been to the existence of approximately 6.3 crore MSMEs that employ 11 crore people across the country.

Results from survey:

  • A recent nationwide survey, conducted by the All India Manufacturing Organisation (AIMO), found that 78 per cent of small companies’ owners were not satisfied with the implementation of the package. 
  • The results of the survey also suggest that transmission on the ground is slow, moreover 85 per cent of the sector may not benefit from it. 
  • In another survey carried out, 79% of respondents believed that the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) has not yielded the desired results, while 70% say that they haven’t availed the benefits of loans and interest moratorium.
  • As of July 4, Rs 1.14 lakh crore worth of loans have been sanctioned. However, only close to half that amount sanctioned has been disbursed.
  •  Ills in MSMEs: 
  • Even before COVID, the MSME sector was marredby rampant informality, stunted growth and bore a heavy share of the compliance burden. 
  • It is important to periodically assess and identify measures that could ease these challenges that have been exacerbatedby the pandemic and provide relief to these businesses. 
  • Despite financial and regulatory support offered to the sector, there is a clear operationalisation and implementation gap. 
  • The Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship’s (GAME) National Task Force on MSMEs recommendations hold the promise of not just short-term survival but also of helping MSMEs thrive.
  • This entails ensuring credit reaches those who need it the most.
  • Credit growth to MSMEs, in particular, has declined — a clear sign of risk-averse bank lending that has only become worse. 
  • Lending to micro and small enterprises has contracted 3.4 per cent, while to medium enterprises, it has contracted 5.3 per cent. 
  • The RBI has clarified that Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) shall assign zero% risk weight on credit facilities extended under the scheme since these are backed by an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee by the government. 
  • Despite this, a lag in loan disbursals is seen, especially with private sector banks still hesitant to lend, but even when doing so, preferring to disburse larger loans.

 Changes proposed: 

  • First, set aside credit for new-to-credit MSMEs with a focus of bringing them into the formalised fold.
    • The current scheme is open only to MSMEs who have a Rs 25-crore loan outstanding and a turnover of up to Rs 100 crore.
    • This implies that fresh borrowers cannot avail of this scheme. Such MSMEs need to be targeted to bring them into the formal credit ecosystem.
    • The Task Force has recommended that Rs 1 lakh crore be set aside for disbursing small ticket size loans of Rs 1 lakh to first-time MSME borrowers.
  • Second, mandate a definite percentage of credit guaranteed loans to be released to micro and small businesses.
    • Ninety-nine per cent of enterprises in the MSME sector are micro-enterprises that are largely informal.
    • These 6.3 crore micro-enterprises comprise of one-person businesses/self-employed persons and units that employ less than 10 workers.
    • Small enterprises, at an estimated 3.3 lakh, are the next highest in number.
    • Post the upward revision in turnover limits of medium enterprises, a greater number of enterprises will be eligible for benefits enlisted for this sector.
    • To ensure that these enterprises are not crowded out in such a situation, mandating a certain percentage of credit guaranteed loans to micro and small enterprises could offer them necessary succour.
  • Third, bridge the gap between the amounts sanctioned and disbursed by banks under the ECLGS.
    • It could be that state-owned banks are under pressure to show that the scheme has received a good response, and hence are giving automatic sanctions to all eligible borrowers.
    • Disbursements, however, will depend on the actual credit needs of the borrower.
    • Another reason could be that a borrower can avail only 20 per cent of the outstanding loan amount.
    • For those MSMEs that have repaid their loans, the window of fresh loans is very small.
    • Such prescriptions need to be examined to ensure that MSMEs in genuine need of credit are not left out.
    • Fourth, scheme eligibility, application processes, and benefits need to be conveyed more simply.
    • While the CHAMPIONS portal has a comprehensive information base and exhaustive FAQs, these need to be disseminated in multiple languages through various channels.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the CogX Awards 2020, consider the following statements:

1. India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk has bagged two awards at the Global Leadership Summit and Festival of AI and Emerging Technology, CogX 2020. 
2. CogX is a prestigious Global Leadership Summit and Festival of AI and Emerging Technology held annually in London.

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 induced lockdown impacted the MSME sector? What are the steps taken by the government in this context like Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme?

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 14 July 2020 From Thoothukudi to Kanpur (Indian Express)

From Thoothukudi to Kanpur (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 3:Security 
Prelims level: Not much 
Mains level: Police reforms 

Context: 

  • Police was in the news for the right reasons till yesterday — for its humanitarian role during the pandemic. 
  • It was laudedas “the frontline of the frontline” and even the prime minister said that “the human and sensitive side of policing has touched our hearts”. 
  • Unfortunately, the pendulum has very soon swung to the other extreme.

Embarrassment: 

  • The brutal treatment of a father and son in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, resulting in their death, exposed the ugly face of the police. 
  • It showed that the police are still relying on medieval methods in their day to day working and that custodial torture continues to be an area of serious concern. 
  • What was worse, the supervisory officers abdicatedtheir responsibility and failed in their primary duty of registering a case against the delinquentpolice personnel and getting them arrested. 
  • It is a great pity that the high court had to step in and the case had to be handed over to the CBI. 
  • The situation could have been easily defused if the officers had risen to the occasion and ensured action under the law. 
  • We are now faced with the embarrassment of the UN Secretary General wanting the incident to be investigated.

Kanpur incident:

  • On top of that, we have an encounter in Kanpur where a criminal wanted for the murder of eight policemen was killed by UP Police under circumstances which have raised uncomfortable questions. 
  • These would hopefully be answered by a proper inquiry into the matter in due course. However, we need to go to the root of the problem.

Committee report:

  • As far back as 1993, the Vohra Committee had submitted a report on the nexus between the criminals, politicians and government functionaries. 
  • The Director of the Intelligence Bureau (DIB), in his report to the Committee, clearly stated that “the network of the mafia is virtually running a parallel government, pushing the state apparatus to irrelevance”
  • It suggested that an institution be set up to effectively deal with the menace. 
  • There were heated discussions in parliament, but the matter ended there. There was hardly any follow-up action.
  • And it was futile to expect any decisive action. Politics in the country was gradually entering a murkyphase. 

Entering politics:

  • The mafiosi, who were hithertosupporting the politicians from outside, had decided to enter the fray.
  • They started contesting elections on party tickets. It is a sad reflection on our democracy that the number of members of parliament with criminal background has been going up with every successive election. 
  • It was, according to the Association of Democratic Reforms, 30 per cent in 2009, 34 per cent in 2014 and 43 per cent in 2019. 
  • The present UP Assembly has 36 per cent or 143 MLAs with criminal cases against them. 
  • What do we expect from them in their constituencies except that the administration should turn a blind eye to, if not support their depredationsand also of their henchmen?
  • The nexus has proliferatedand grown in strength down the years. It creates an environment where the criminals who are part of the nexus are able to dodgethe due processes of law. 
  • After all, Vikas Dubey had 62 FIRs against him, including seven of murder and eight of attempt to murder, and yet he was roaming free.

Way forward:

  • We must have a law which debarspersons with serious criminal cases from entering the assemblies and the Parliament. 
  • Secondly, the criminal justice system must be revamped as recommended by the Malimath Committee. 
  • Thirdly, the Supreme Court’s directions on police reforms must be implemented. 
  • Fourthly, an institution comprising representatives of the police/CBI/NIA, Intelligence Bureau, Income Tax department, Revenue Intelligence and Enforcement Directorate should be set up to monitor the activities of the mafia and criminal syndicates in the country and ensure stringent action against them. 
  • Fifthly, a Central act on the lines of MCOCA should be enacted to curb the activities of organised criminal gangs. 
  • Sixthly, the concept of federal crime, as recommended by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, should be accepted and offences which have all-India ramifications or are trans-national in character, like those of terrorism and organised crimes, should be brought within its ambit. 
  • The journey of a thousand miles, they say, begins with the first step. Let that step be taken at least.

Conclusion:

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the “MATSYA SAMPADA”, consider the following statements:

1. Union Ministry of Animal Husbandry launched the first edition of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Newsletter “MATSYA SAMPADA”. 
2. The Government of India in May, 2020 launched a new Flagship Scheme i.e. the Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana (PMMSY) for sustainable and responsible development of fisheries sector at an investment of Rs. 20050 crore. 

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) Comment on the urgency to have necessary police reforms in India.

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 14 July 2020 Yet another challenge to the Dalit movement(The Hindu)

Yet another challenge to the Dalit movement(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 1:Society 
Prelims level: Dalit movement
Mains level: Social empowerment

Context: 

  • The pandemic is forcing us to understand the changing nature of society. In north India, specifically, it has also reshaped the discourse on marginalisation.
  • Dalit issues are part of this discoursebut are submerged in the broader discussions on economic vulnerabilities highlighted by COVID-19.
  • This pandemic has brought about two important shifts in the political discourse on the marginalised. 
  • As the lockdown caused untold suffering to poor, migrant labourers, it brought them from the margins to the centre of deliberations. 
  • Second, discussions on the space for the marginalised in the public health system and their safety are in focus. 
  • However, the concerns of Dalits remain hidden under the broader categories of poor, vulnerable, marginal, etc.

Changing vocabulary:

  • In contemporary debates, there is a reappearance of class-based vocabulary. 
  • Caste-based issues have either become invisible or are only visible as part of the wider discourse.
  • Leaders such as Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad have not been able to engage effectively with these new shifts. 
  • They have not been able to carve outa location in these new debates for their own politics. 
  • They have to reorient their exclusively caste-based language and reshape their political discourse to be in tune with the times. 
  • There are a large number of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes among the migrant labourers. 
  • But Dalit leaders in north India have not been able to represent their concerns.
  • It is possible that these shifts in political debates may continue in the post-pandemic phase at least for a few years as vulnerabilitiesof the marginalised will increase.

Key challenges:

  • The Dalit movement in north India is habituated in using caste-based binaries in its mobilisational language but has failed to respond to the changing political diction. 
  • In fact, leaders have not changed their political diction for 30 years, since the time of the Kanshi Ram-led Bahujan movement. 
  • The movement is facing a crisis of agendas and social programmes. 
  • The constant repetition of unfulfilled claims and commitments and slogans and promises create disillusionmentamong a section of their support base.
  • Another issue is that the Dalit movement in north India is grappling with a leadership crisis. 
  • In States such as U.P., Bihar, Punjab and Rajasthan, Dalit assertions are mostly centred around the electoral politics of Dalit-Bahujan political groups and parties. 
  • Even alternative social movements led by Jignesh Mevani and Mr. Azad seem to be caught in the logic of electoral politics.

Leadership crisis:

  • During the Bahujan movement in the 1990s, the idea was that the movement and the party could facilitate each other. 
  • But the BSP, which emerged from the Bahujan social movement, developed gradually as a party structured like a pyramid. 
  • Under Ms. Mayawati, it has stopped its reciprocalrelationship with the Dalit movement. 
  • In the BSP, the emergence of political leaders of various Dalit-Bahujan castes at different levels became frozen.
  • This caused erosion in the broader social base and ultimately weakened the Dalit movement. 
  • The Dalit movement is constantly facing new challenges but its leaders are not able to change their strategies and grammar of politics to respond to them.
  • Under the influences of the Ambedkarite ideology and the Dalit-Bahujan movements, an assertive and politically aware Dalit consciousness was being formed among a section of Dalit groups. 
  • In the meantime, interventions by Hindutva leaders among Dalits mobilised a section of the most marginalised Dalits under the Hindutva flag. 
  • Now the pandemic has posed a new challenge for the Dalit movement. 

Conclusion:

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the draft scheme for cashless treatment of motor accident victims, consider the following statements:

1. It has been envisaged in the scheme to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in the country. 
2. The scheme also includes creation of a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund. 
3. NHAI has been entrusted to implement the scheme.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) None

Answer: B

Mains Questions:

Q.1) Highlights the contribution of Ambedkar in awakening Dalit consciousness.

THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 14 July 2020 Enabling people to govern themselves(The Hindu)

Enabling people to govern themselves(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:Governance 
Prelims level: Sustainable Development Goals
Mains level: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein

Context: 

  • Governance systems at all levels, i.e. global, national, and local, have experienced stress as a fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • Architectural flawshave been revealed in their design. 
  • Breakdowns in many subsystems had to be managed at the same time — in health care, logistics, business, finance, and administration. 
  • The complexity of handling so many subsystems at the same time have overwhelmed governance. 
  • Lockdowns to make it easier to manage the health crisis have made it harder to manage economic distress simultaneously. 
  • In fact, the diversion of resources to focus on the threat to life posed by COVID-19 has increased vulnerabilitiesto death from other diseases, and even from malnutrition in many parts of India.

A mismatch is evident:

  • Human civilisation advances with the evolution of better institutions to manage public affairs. 
  • Institutions of parliamentary democracy, for example, and the limited liability business corporation, did not exist 400 years ago. 
  • Institutions of global governance, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, did not exist even 100 years ago. 
  • These institutions were invented to enable human societies to produce better outcomes for their citizens. 
  • They have been put through a severe stress test now by the global health and economic crises. 
  • The test has revealed a fundamental flaw in their design. 
  • There is a mismatch in the design of governance institutions at the global level (and also in India) with the challenges they are required to manage. 

Interconnected issues: 

  • The global challenges listed in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, which humanity must urgently address now, are systemic challenges. 
  • All these systemic problems are interconnected with each other. 
  • Environmental, economic, and social issues cannot be separated from each other and solved by experts in silos or by agencies focused only on their own problems. 
  • A good solution to one can create more problems for others, as government responses to the novel coronavirus pandemic have revealed.
  • Even if experts in different disciplines could combine their perspectives and their silo-ed solutions at the global level, they will not be able to solve the systemic problems of the SDGs. 
  • Because, their solutions must fit the specific conditions of each country, and of each locality within countries too, to fit the shape of the environment and the condition of society there. 
  • Solutions for environmental sustainability along with sustainable livelihoods cannot be the same in Kerala and Ladakh, or in Wisconsin and Tokyo. 
  • Solutions must be local. 
  • Moreover, for the local people to support the implementation of solutions, they must believe the solution is the right one for them, and not a solution thrust upon them by outside experts. 
  • Therefore, they must be active contributors of knowledge for, and active participants in, the creation of the solutions. 
  • Moreover, the knowledge of different experts — about the environment, the society, and the economy — must come together to fit realities on the ground.

A case for local systems:

  • Governance of the people must be not only for the people. It must be by the people too. 
  • Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics, in 2009, had developed the principles for self-governing communities from research on the ground in many countries, including India.
  • There are scientific explanations for why local systems solutions are the best. 
  • Indian Constitution requires to devolve power to citizens in villages and towns for them to govern their own affairs.
  • Several Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers were involved at some time in their careers with the evolution of community-based public health and the self-help group movements in Andhra Pradesh. 
  • These officers see their role as ‘deliverers of good government’. 

Role of the district collector:

  • Before Independence, role of District collector was to collect revenues and to maintain law and order. 
  • After Independence, the Indian state took up a large welfare role, District Collector also became the District ‘Deliverer’ of government largesse. 
  • It strengthened the image of a paternalist government taking care of its wards. 
  • The District Deliverer’s task became complicated when the numbers of government schemes multiplied — some designed by the central government, and others by State government. 
  • The schemes were managed by their own ministries and departments in the capitals, with local functionaries of those departments as the points of contact with citizens. 
  • At a meeting of IAS officers in 2013 as to understand why government schemes were not producing enough benefits for people on the ground, an officer presented a list of over 300 schemes that were operational in her district. 
  • The citizens did not know how many schemes there were and what they were entitled to.
  • The pandemic has not passed yet, but evidence is emerging that some States in India, such as Kerala, have weathered the stormbetter than others.
  • And some countries, such as Vietnam and Taiwan, better than others too. 
  • A hypothesis is that those States and countries in which local governance was stronger have done much better than others. 
  • This is worthy of research by social and political scientists looking for insights now into design principles for good governance systems that can solve problems that the dominant theory of government is not able to solve.

 Conclusion:

  • The dominant theory in practice of good government is ‘government of the people, by the government, for the people’. 
  • This has been the prevalenttheory in most States of India for too long. 
  • The government has to support and enable people to govern themselves, to realise the vision of ‘government of the people, for the people, by the people’. 
  • Which is also the only way humanity will be able to meet the ecological and humanitarian challenges looming over it in the 21st century.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the OneWeb, consider the following statements:

1. OneWeb is a global communications company founded by Greg Wyler. 
2. The company is headquartered in Paris. 

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: A

Mains Questions:

Q.1)What are the flaws in both domestic and international governance institutions? What are the challenges they are facing and also explain its remedies?

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