CONTENTS
Part One 24
Current Affairs Analysis
02
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
#GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper III (Main)
WORLD’S LARGEST GRAIN STORAGE PLAN IN THE
COOPERATIVE SECTOR
#Agriculture #PublicDistributionSystem 02
OPEN NETWORK FOR DIGITAL COMMERCE (ONDC)
#InclusiveGrowth #Infrastructure 04
PLI SCHEME
#Industry 07
PORTS INFRASTRUCTURE OF INDIA
#Infrastructure 09
SCHEME FOR SPECIAL ASSISTANCE TO STATES FOR CAPITAL
INVESTMENT 2023-24 #FiscalPolicy 11
SHIFTING PATTERN OF REMITTANCE FLOWS
#ExternalSector 13
CHANGES IN OPEN MARKET SALE SCHEME (OMSS)
#PublicDistributionSystem 15
MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE (MSP) REGIME
#Agriculture 17
RBI ALLOWS COMPROMISE SETTLEMENT WITH WILFUL
DEFAULTERS, FRAUD ACCOUNTS #MonetaryPolicy 19
FIRST LOAN DEFAULT GUARANTEE (FLDG)
#MonetaryPolicy 19
TAKEOUT FINANCING
#Infrastructure 20
SKILL IMPACT BONDS
#Employment 21
PRICING OF OIL PRODUCTS IN INDIA
#Energy 21
PRACTICE QUESTIONS 22
CONSTITUTION, POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
#GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper II (Main)
CONTROVERSY OVER DGP APPOINTMENT IN PUNJAB
#Police Reforms #Governance 24
CONTROVERSY OF REMOVAL OF MINISTERS BY GOVERNOR
IN TAMIL NADU #Federalism #Governor 25
ORDINANCE ON CONTROL OF SERVICES IN UT OF DELHI
#Federalism #Executive Powers 26
INCREASING CENTRALISATION CHIPPING WINGS OF INDIAN
FEDERALISM #Federalism 30
SOCIAL AUDIT
#Governance 32
REGISTRATION OF BIRTH, DEATH BY AADHAAR
AUTHENTICATION #Registration #Birth #Aadhaar 34
ONLINE FACT-CHECKERS MAY NEED TO REGISTER WITH
GOVERNMENT #Governance #Digital India Bill 36
PRACTICE QUESTIONS 37
39
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS & Security
# GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper II & III (Main)
VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER TO EGYPT
#Bilateral Relations 39
PM MODI STATE VISIT TO US
#Indo-USrelations #Bilateralrelations 41
INDIA – NEPAL RELATIONS
#BilateralRelations #Neighbourhood 43
UNESCO
#InternationalOrganizations 44
REFUGEE ISSUE 46
SHIFT IN MILITANT STRATEGY: JAMMU & KASHMIR 48
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) 49
DUTY FREE QUOTA FREE SCHEME 49
CHASHMA NUCLEAR PLANT 50
 PRACTICE QUESTIONS 50 INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF SEDIMENTS IN RIVER
BASINS & RESERVOIRS #disastermanagement 67

PRACTICE QUESTIONS 70
51
SOCIETY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 71
# GS Paper I & GS Paper II (Main)
NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
#Education 51 # GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper III (Main)

ISSUES WITH RANKINGS OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS GRAPHENE

#Education 52 #New emerging technologies #Nanotechnology 71

CITY INVESTMENTS TO INNOVATE, INTEGRATE AND SUSTAIN HIGGS BOSON AND STANDARD MODEL

2.0 (CITIIS 2.0) PROGRAM #Urbanisation 53 #Particle Physics 72

POLICY FOR DE-NOTIFIED TRIBES IN RAJASTHAN WORLD'S FIRST X-RAY OF A SINGLE ATOM

#Tribes #Vulnerable Sections 53 #New Emerging Technologies 73

MEIRA PAIBIS ARE ‘SOUND PARTICLES’ QUANTUM TOO?

#Women Organisations 55 #Quantum Technology 74

GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX EUCLID SPACE TELESCOPE

#Women Issues 55 #Astronomy # Space Technology 74

CHILDLINE MERGED WITH 112 IN NINE STATES SOLAR ULTRAVIOLET IMAGING TELESCOPE

#Children #Vulnerable Section 56 #Astronomy # Space Technology 76

VAIBHAV FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS DRDO SUCCESSFULLY TESTS BALLISTIC MISSILE ‘AGNI

#Education 57 PRIME’ #Defence Technology 77

PRACTICE QUESTIONS 58 INDIGENOUS AIR INDEPENDENT PROPULSION SYSTEM FOR

SUBMARINES #Defence Technology 78

KAVACH SYSTEM

59 #New emerging technologies 79

NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES RISING IN INDIA

Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & #Biology #Health 80

Disaster Management PRACTICE QUESTIONS 82

# GS Paper (Prelims) and GS Paper I & III (Main)

OIL RESERVES IN SALT CAVERNS
#Resources #Geography 59
84
WARMER ARABIAN SEA BEHIND MORE SEVERE AND HISTORY, HERITAGE & CULTURE
FREQUENT CYCLONES #geography #climatology 60
# GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper I (Main)
NATIONAL RESOURCING STRATEGY FOR CRITICAL MINERALS
AHMEDNAGAR OF MAHARASHTRA TO RENAMED AFTER
#Resources 61
AHILYADEVI HOLKAR #Medievalindia #Personalities 84
POKKALI SYSTEM
SAVITRIBAI PHULE
#Sustainable Agriculture 64
#modernindia #personalities 84
ARCTIC OCEAN COULD BE ICE-FREE BY 2030s
REINTERPRETING SANTAL REBELLION
#Geography #Climate Change 64
#modernindia #tribalrevolts 85
SUMMER SOLSTICE
MURAL IN NEW PARLIAMENT
#geography 66
#artandculture #ancientIndia 86
 KHILJI DYNASTY ARCHITECTURE MAINS GS PAPER IV 97

#medievalindia #architecture 87

NEOLITHIC AGE
#ancientindia 87 Part Three
RANI DURGAVATI
#medievalindia #personalities 89
Essays of the month
PRACTICE QUESTIONS 90
100
CONSERVATION IS A STATE OF HARMONY BETWEEN MEN
Part TWO AND LAND #ENVIRONMENT #SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SUBMITTED BY: PRIYANKA 101
Ethics, Integrity and VIRTUE IS WISDOM
#Philosophical SUBMITTED BY: TANUJ KOTHARI 103
Aptitude POVERTY ANYWHERE IS A THREAT TO PROSPERITY
ANYWHERE #SOCIAL ISSUES SUBMITTED BY: VEVOTULU
92 KEZO 105

CORRUPTION
#Ethics #Integrity #Aptitude 93

CASE STUDIES for Practice

 Part ONE

Current
affairs
analysis
logical .simple .targeted
analysis & explanation
of all relevant news of the month
 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
# GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper III (Main)
WORLD’S LARGEST GRAIN
STORAGE PLAN IN THE
COOPERATIVE SECTOR
#Agriculture #PublicDistributionSystem
Union Cabinet recently approved the constitution of an
Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to facilitate the world’s
largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector.
WHAT IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST GRAIN STORAGE
PLAN IN THE COOPERATIVE SECTOR?
 Agencies involved in grain management presently:
○ Food Corporation of India (FCI)
○ Central Warehouse Corporation
○ Warehouse Development Regulatory Authority
○ Railways
○ Civil Supply Departments of States
 Under the new plan, the Ministry of Cooperation
aims to set up a network of integrated grain
storage facilities through Primary Agricultural
Credit Societies (PACS) across the country. There
are more than 1,00,000 PACS spread across the
country with a huge member base of more than 13
crore farmers.
WHY THE NEED FOR SUCH A FACILITY?
 Large Population: India, the most populous country
in the world, accounts for 18 per cent (1.4 billion) of
the global population (7.9 billion). However, it
accounts for only 11 per cent (160 million hectare) of
the arable land (1,380 million hectare) in the world.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 Food Security Imperative: India also runs the world’s
largest food programme under the National Food
Security Act, 2013, that covers about 81 crore people.
 Present Storage Capacity: India has a foodgrain
storage capacity of 145 million metric tonnes (MMT)
against the total food production of 311 MMT - which
leaves a gap of 166 MMT.
 Regional Variation: India has a storage capacity of 47
per cent of its total foodgrains production. At the
regional level, only a few southern states have the
storage capacity of 90 per cent and above. In northern
states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it is below 50 per
cent.
 Prevent Wastage: In the absence of sufficient storage
facilities, foodgrains are sometimes stored in the
open, which results in damage.
 Other Countries: China has a storage capacity of 660
MMT, against the total foodgrain production of 615
MMT. USA, Brazil, Russia, Argentina, Ukraine, France,
and Canada are among other countries with the
capacity to store more food grains than they produce.
ABOUT INTEGRATED FACILITY
 New storage plan is based on the hub and spoke
model.
 Of the 63,000 PACS across the country:
○ 55,767 PACS will function as spoke and will have
a grain storage capacity of 1,000 metric tonnes
each
○ Rest 7,233 PACS will function as hubs and will
have a storage capacity of 2,000 metric tonnes
each.
○ Put together, all the 63,000 PACs will have a
combined grain storage capacity of 70 million
tonnes.
2
 Economic Development
 Area: Spread over 1 acre of land.
 Cost: The facility will be built at a cost Rs 2.25 crore.
 Facilities available: The integrated modular PACS will
have a custom hiring centre, a multi-purpose hall -
procurement centres, primary processing units for
cleaning and winnowing - a storage shed, and
container storage and silos.
 Funding: Of the Rs 2.25 crore, Rs 51 lakh will come as
subsidy, while the remaining will come as margin
money or loan. It is expected that the PACS will earn
Rs 45 lakh in a year.
 Equipment: PACS will purchase agricultural
equipment like tillers, rotary tillers, disc harrows,
harvesters, and tractors under various government
schemes, such as Sub-Mission on Agricultural
Mechanisation (SMAM) and Agriculture Infrastructure
Fund (AIF). It will then offer this equipment to farmers
on rent.
 Modern Silos: The modern silos will have the facility
of computerised real-time monitoring systems. These
will be rented out to the FCI and other private
agencies.
BUDGETARY ALLOCATION
 The plan does not have a separate allocation.
 It will be implemented by the convergence of 8
schemes
A) Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
○ Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)
○ Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI)
○ Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture
(MIDH)
○ Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM)
B) Ministry of Food Processing Industries
○ Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food
Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME)
○ Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)
C) Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution
○ Allocation of food grains under the National Food
Security Act (NFSA).
○ Procurement operations at Minimum Support Price
(MSP).
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
BENEFITS OF THE PLAN
 Addresses the shortage of storage infrastructure
in the country by facilitating establishment of
godowns at the level of PACS
 Enables PACS to undertake other activities:
Functioning as Procurement centres for State
Agencies/ Food Corporation of India (FCI); Serving as
Fair Price Shops (FPS); Setting up custom hiring
centres; Setting up common processing units,
including assaying, sorting, grading units for
agricultural produce, etc.”
 Brings down post-harvesting losses.
 Reduces Logistical Cost: Brings down the food grain
handling and transportation cost by enabling storage
of produce near farms.
 Prevents Distress Sale: Farmers would have a choice
to sell their produce depending on the market
conditions, and not be forced into distress sale.
CONCLUSION
 Therefore, to ensure food security of a billion plus
population, a robust network of foodgrain storage
facilities becomes essential.
ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURE STORAGE IN INDIA
A robust end to end and scientific storage infrastructure
for Agriculture produce is essential for:
 Reducing food wastage
 Check volatility in prices and food inflation.
 Promote value addition and agri-exports.
 Reduce distress selling by farmers and securing
incomes for farmers.
CHALLENGES OF AGRICULTURAL STORAGE
 Inadequate capacity relative to production: India has a
storage capacity of 47 per cent of its total foodgrains
production this leads to large gap between production
of agricultural commodities and their safe & scientific
storage leading to crop wastage.
 Skewed regional distribution of storage infrastructure:
At the regional level, only a few southern states have a
storage capacity of 90 per cent and above. In northern
states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it is below 50 per
cent.
 Lack of adequate cold storage infrastructure: India is
the world’s largest producer of perishable
commodities like horticultural crops, dairy and meat
3
 Economic Development

products. However, India has only about 7 thousand and not just focused on one commodity.
cold storages and about 10,000 reefer vans. Most of  Merging various smaller schemes into one
these are operated by small cold storage and comprehensive scheme for warehousing and cold-
transport service providers. 60% of cold storage storage development in India.
capacity is concentrated in UP and West Bengal and is
 Encouraging private players to invest in warehousing
used for one single product i.e., potatoes), with very
and cold storage space particularly in rural areas.
low capacity in other states. This leads to damage to
 Third party assessment of storage infrastructure
perishable food products and resulting inflation.
should be introduced to assess the quality of storage
 Lack of end-to-end storage infrastructure: Even the
and food wastage.
limited Agri-storage infrastructure India has is
 Expanding the number of warehouses under
concentrated near urban and semi-urban areas and
not available close to farmgate. Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority
which give farmers access to e-Negotiable
 Lack of scientific storage: There is a over-reliance of
Warehousing Receipts and improve operating cycle of
cover and plinth storage where there is an open
farmers.
storage on a platform covered with tarpaulin. This
leads to crop wastage.
 Governance issues: Issues like high cost of credit,
delay in land procurement, multiplicity of schemes
OPEN NETWORK FOR
and authorities for incentivising warehousing.
DIGITAL COMMERCE
 Limited coverage of WDRA: The number of storages
under the regulatory ambit of WDRA is limited. WDRA (ONDC)
compliance ensures certification of storage capacity
and access to Negotiable Warehousing Receipts
#InclusiveGrowth #Infrastructure
facility by farmers.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES FOR PROMOTING
WAREHOUSING. As the platform recently surpassed the 10,000 daily order
mark, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is all set
At present, multiple government agencies, like the Food
to change the duopoly in online food delivery services in
Corporation of India (FCI), Central Warehouse
India by cutting down the middleman between the business
Corporation, Warehouse Development Regulatory
and the consumer. Currently, the service is live in select cities
Authority, Railways, and the civil supply departments of
like Bengaluru, and ONDC is said to benefit both businesses
states are involved in grain management.
and customers at the same time.
WAY FORWARD
WHAT IS ONDC?
 End-to-End storage & cold chain infrastructure:
 ONDC is being established as a first-of-its-kind
Incentivising development of storage infrastructure
initiative globally to pave the way for reimagining
and cold storages near farm-gates by incentivising
digital commerce in India and establishing a globally
FPOs, Cooperatives and Panchayats to operate such
replicable model for digital commerce.
infrastructure in rural areas.
 It represents a paradigm shift from an operator-
 Phasing out CAP: There is a need to phase out cover &
driven monolithic platform-centric model, where
plinth storage structures and move towards scientific
the buyer and seller must be part of the same
modern infrastructure.
platform/ application to enable transactions between
 Technological interventions aimed at modernization
them. Instead, it encourages a facilitator-driven,
of existing stores by introducing temperature-
interoperable decentralised network, where buyers
controlled storage, dehumidification of storage
and sellers can transact no matter what
infrastructure, access to renewable energy (solar
platform/application they use to be digitally
energy) by warehousing sector should be incentivized.
visible/available enabling the flow of value.
 Development of multipurpose storage infrastructure

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 4

 Economic Development

 It will be an open network developed on open participation by digital commerce ecosystem players
protocols based on open-source specifications with in India through multiple gateways.
established registries, enabling wide-scale

 ONDC is a network that enables location-aware, local
digital commerce stores across industries to be
discovered and engaged by any network-enabled
applications. It is neither a super aggregator app
nor a hosting platform. All existing digital commerce
apps and platforms can voluntarily choose to adopt
and be a part of the ONDC network. In addition, the
responsibility for onboarding of sellers and buyers
and the management of the end-to-end order lifecycle
will also continue to reside with the network-enabled
applications.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 5

 Economic Development
 ONDC will enable large-scale democratisation of
digital commerce in India by providing a level
playing field for large and small digital commerce
apps and platforms through the opportunity to be
ONDC enabled and make buyers/sellers registered
with them visible and discoverable.
BENEFITS OF ONDC
 The establishment of ONDC and its role in enabling
Open Network would have benefits ranging from the
significant increase in the availability of choices to
merchants and consumers to the strong financial
gains through the increase in business efficiencies
and reduction in customer acquisition cost.
 ONDC will act as an evangelist for technology
platforms by helping them socialise their solutions on
customer and/or seller acquisition, experimenting
with new business models, providing them greater
scope for innovation and value-added services.
 For Sellers: (i) Access to more buyers and thus greater
opportunities for growth; (ii) Significantly higher
discoverability of business & products at very low cost;
(iii) Autonomy on terms due to multiple choices for
being digitally visible; (iv) Lower cost of doing business
and (v) Wider options for value chain services (e.g.
logistics) to support business growth.
 For Buyers: (i) Access to more sellers and therefore
more choices which will lead to sustainable and
improved price discovery in the long term; (ii)
Enhanced service levels and faster deliveries due to
access from hyper-local retailers and (iii) Better
customer experience with enhanced scope for
innovation.
 For Technology Platforms: (i) Access growth from
digital commerce by supporting customers on
buyer/seller applications; (ii) Reduced time-to-market
and time-to-scale; (iii) Focus on the niche-consumer
acquisition or seller acquisition, while other network
partners focus on different aspects and (iv) New
opportunities for start-ups to drive innovation in the
commerce value chain.
CHALLENGES
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce said in
its report on Promotion and Regulation of e-Commerce
in India has highlighted that there are:
 No road map or strategy for some key aspects: The
entity is silent on issues such as onboarding of the
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
existing digital commerce apps and platforms, the
compatibility and interoperability of the existing
platforms/applications of the buyers and seller and
the technical capability of small and medium
enterprises to be onboarded on the digital network
and does not lay out a road map/strategy for
addressing these issues.
 Local businesses might get squeezed in the long
run: Another issue is that the local business will find it
extremely challenging to compete with the discounts,
sales and other lucrative offers being offered by
prominent e-commerce players which may result in
local business being squeezed out of the network in
the long run.
 Silent on liability for a bad product: The entity is
silent on the issues regarding liability on the network
in case consumers face issues regarding transactions,
delivery of substandard products and service.
 No clarity on how existing laws will apply: There is
also a lack of clarity on the applicability of the existing
e-commerce laws and foreign investment regulations
to the network.
WAY FORWARD
 The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce
recommends the Department for Promotion of
Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) formulate a
concrete strategy to: (i) Onboard existing e-commerce
platforms; (ii) Ensure a level playing field between
local/small businesses and e-commerce giants; (iii)
Provide technical support to small and local
businesses to design a technical tool, compatible with
ONDC protocol to achieve its intended goal of
democratising e-commerce and digital onboarding of
MSMEs; (iv) Provide clarity regarding the issue of
liability on the network by assigning definite roles and
responsibilities to all the participants, namely, e-
commerce platforms, buyers and sellers and (v) Clarify
the extent of application of the e-commerce rules on
the network
CONCLUSION
 With a focus on the above-mentioned aspirations,
ONDC will aim to enhance the market potential of
digital commerce in retail. ONDC is expected to fuel
significant growth over the next 5 years to include: (i)
Rs. 3.75 Lakh Crore of additional Gross Merchandising
Value; (ii) 730 Crore annual purchases enabled by the
network; (iii) 90 Crore buyers on the network; (iv) 12
6
 Economic Development

Lakh sellers on the network and (v) Enhanced pincode COVERAGE OF THE SCHEME
coverage.  So far, the scheme has been rolled out for
manufacturing in 14 sectors. These sectors are
labour intensive and are likely, and the hope is that
PLI SCHEME they would create new jobs for the ballooning
#Industry employable workforce of India.
○ Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/Drug Intermediates
(DIs) and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs):
The Union Cabinet cleared a revised production linked Department of Pharmaceuticals
incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware with an outlay of Rs ○ Manufacturing of Medical Devices: Department of
17,000 crore, more than doubling the budget for the scheme Pharmaceuticals
that was first cleared in 2021. The scheme will be
○ Pharmaceuticals drugs: Department of
implemented from July 1, with a cap on maximum incentives
Pharmaceuticals
available to participating companies.
○ Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing: Ministry of
ABOUT THE PLI SCHEME
Electronics and Information Technology
 Production Linked Incentive refers to a rebate given to
○ Electronic/Technology Products: Ministry of
producers. This rebate is calculated as a certain
Electronics and Information Technology
percentage of sales of the producer (sales referred to
○ Telecom & Networking Products: Department of
in it can be total sales or incremental sales).
Telecommunications
 The incentives, calculated on the basis of incremental
○ Food Products: Ministry of Food Processing
sales, range from as low as 1 per cent for the
Industries
electronics and technology products to as high as 20
per cent for the manufacturing of critical key starting ○ White Goods (ACs & LED): Department for
drugs and certain drug intermediaries. Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

KEY FEATURES OF THE PLI SCHEME
 The scheme is outcome-based, which means that
incentives will be disbursed only after production has
taken place.
○ High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules: Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy
○ Automobiles & Auto Components: Department of
Heavy Industry

 The calculation of incentives is based on ○ Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery: Department
incremental production at a high rate of growth. In of Heavy Industry
some sectors such as advanced chemistry cell ○ Textile Products: MMF segment and technical
batteries, textile products and the drone industry, the textiles: Ministry of Textiles
incentive to be given will be calculated on the ○ Specialty Steel: Ministry of Steel
basis of sales, performance and local value
○ Drones and Drone Components: Ministry of Civil
addition done over the period of five years.
Aviation
 The scheme focuses on size and scale by selecting
WHY WAS THE PLI SCHEME NEEDED?
those players who can deliver on volumes.
 Stagnant manufacturing Sector: Contribution of the
 The selection of sectors covering cutting-edge
manufacturing sector has stagnated to about 15-17%
technology, sectors for integration with global value
of GDP since 1991. This makes renewed push in the
chains, job-creating sectors and sectors closely linked
manufacturing sector imperative in order to generate
to the rural economy, is highly calibrated.
employment.
 Also, the design of the earlier PLI scheme is such that
 Small scale nature of manufacturing:
it is compatible with World Trade Organization
Manufacturing sector consists of a large number of
commitments as the quantum of support is not
MSMEs with nearly 90% of the workforce in informal
directly linked to exports or value-addition.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 7

 Economic Development
jobs. This reduces the competitiveness of production
and inhibits adoption of new technologies.
 Global push for alternatives to China (China + 1
strategy): Supply chain disruption as a result of
Covid-19 pandemic has made companies look for an
alternative to China that should provide an option for
cost effective and large-scale manufacturing. Hence,
India has an opportunity to plug this gap by offering
high-technology manufacturing facilities for global
companies.
 Limited Success of Government Initiatives like
National Manufacturing Policy, Make in India.
 Need for Investments: The idea of PLI is important
as the government cannot continue making
investments in these capital intensive sectors as they
need longer times for start giving the returns. Instead,
what it can do is to invite global companies with
adequate capital to set up capacities in India. The kind
of ramping up of manufacturing that we need
requires across the board initiatives, but the
government can’t spread itself too thin.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS SCHEME
 Utilising the comparative advantage: In some
sectors the domestic industry has comparative
advantage over other countries, focusing on these
sectors could generate higher returns. For instance
The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest
in the world by volume and 14th largest in terms of
value. It contributes 3.5% of the total drugs and
medicines exported globally.
 Increased ability to tap the high global and
domestic demand: This will help satisfy the growing
domestic demand in the respective sectors and also
give a fillip to exports.
 Developing the nascent but high-potential sectors:
These sectors may not be significant but in the
present socio-economic context, present high
potential. The growth of the processed food industry
leads to better prices for farmers and reduces high
levels of wastage.
 Attract Global Manufacturers: The renewed scheme
could attract big global IT hardware manufacturers to
shift their production base to India and give a boost to
local production of laptops, servers and personal
computers among others.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 Generate Employment: The expected incremental
production value could touch Rs 3.35 lakh crore, and
the scheme could generate 75,000 direct jobs – in
total, the employment figure could touch 2 lakh when
accounted for indirect jobs.
 Promotes Private Investment: From the perspective
of industry, the scheme indicates an attitudinal shift
from ‘discouragement’ to ‘encouragement’ for large
industries and simultaneously provides the much-
needed fiscal space required during the Pandemic.
POTENTIAL ISSUES WITH THE SCHEME
 Absence of Common Parameters: There are no
common set of parameters to understand the value
addition by companies that have received or are likely
to receive incentives under the PLI scheme. At
present, different ministries monitor the value
addition of their respective PLI schemes. There is no
way to compare two different schemes.
 Multiple Deliverables: Also, there are various
deliverables such as the number of jobs created, the
rise in exports and quality improvement. There is no
centralised database to gauge all these.
 Steep Targets: Departments and ministries which
interact with companies operating in their sector also
face certain specific issues. For instance, at times, the
target for companies to qualify for incentives are too
steep. As for the Information Technology hardware
sector, until last fiscal, only 3-4 companies managed to
achieve the incremental sales targets to qualify for the
PLI scheme out of the 14 companies that had been
approved.
 Designing sector specific incentives: The
implementation of PLI scheme in the Electronics
sector and Pharmaceutical sector has highlighted that
every sector has to have different eligibility
thresholds. Given the large range of activities covered
in the 10 sectors, effectively determining the
thresholds for each could become a difficult task.
 Interfering with natural economic processes: In the
long run, an economy can become competitive only
when sectors can die and be born. Resources get
reallocated to sectors that see higher productivity
growth. External interference may hinder optimised
allocation of resources.
 Relative disadvantage for sectors with no
incentives: The limited resources of the economy in
8
 Economic Development
the form of Capital and human resources will be
nudged towards incentivized sectors thus indirectly
disincentivizing other sectors.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO AMELIORATE THESE ISSUES
AND FURTHER IMPROVE THE SCHEME
 Pre-defined Sunset clause on scheme: It will not
only be beneficial for the sector in the long-term, it will
also encourage the individual players to see it as a
one-time opportunity for capacity building.
 Improve technological competence: The breathing
room created by these incentives could be used by the
industry players to increase their technological
competence and transition towards becoming globally
competitive.
 Improve business environment: It can be done by
improving transparency and predictability in the policy
framework. For example, simplification of the taxation
regime or easing the land acquisition process etc. This
becomes even more important for industries which
are outside the purview PLI Scheme.
 Managing the real exchange rate better to
strengthen the export regime: The real exchange
rate (adjusted for inflation) in India has appreciated
19% in the last decade on account of both Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio
Investment (FPI). This appreciation negatively affects
the overall exports.
 Augment industrial infrastructure and
connectivity by increasing expenditure on infra
creation for improved competitiveness.
 Regular scheme review to keep track of progress
and address concerns over raw materials, funds,
skilled workforce, payments etc
 Increased investments in innovation, research and
skill development is necessary to build talent for PLI
success.
CONCLUSION
 The scheme and its associated ecosystem have
ensured that India is well-positioned to develop
resilient GVCs, which will continue to provide national
security in the evolving global scenario. Indian
manufacturers now feel emboldened to move out of
their comfort zone with a clear vision of becoming
global champions even as India marches towards its
emergence as developed India.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 However, the incentives should be well-crafted and
temporary so that the industries receiving support can
mature and become economically viable without
protection. Keeping them in place for too long may
slow down, rather than accelerate growth in these
sectors.
PORTS INFRASTRUCTURE
OF INDIA
#Infrastructure
The recently released World Bank’s Logistic Performance
Index (LPI) Report 2023 has brought encouraging news for
Indian ports as well as for the country’s logistics sector. India
has moved up to 22nd rank in the global rankings on the
“International Shipments” category from the 44th position in
2014. Moreover, the country has also secured the 38th rank
on the LPI score.
INDIA'S IMPROVEMENT IN PORT SECTOR AS PER
LOGISTICS PERFORMANCE INDEX
 Increasing Port Capacity: The capacity at 12 major
ports in the country has increased from 871 million
metric tonnes (MMT) in 2015 to 1,617 MMT in 2023.
The total capacity of Indian ports has gone up from
about 1,560 MMT in 2015 to more than 2,600 MMT.
 Enhanced Public-Private Partnerships: There has
also been a nearly 150 percent increase in the value of
operationalisation of PPP projects in the major ports
from about Rs 16,000 crore in 2015 to more than Rs
40,000 crore in 2022-23.
 Reduction in Dwell Time: There has been a
substantial reduction in the dwell time (the amount of
time vessels spend in port actively loading or
unloading cargo) at Indian ports. This has reached an
optimum level of about three days only as compared
to four days in countries like the UAE and South Africa,
seven days in the US, and 10 days in Germany.
 Improving port operational efficiency: The
country’s average turnaround time (TRT) of only 0.9
days is amongst the best in the world. In Belgium,
Germany, the UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Ireland,
Indonesia, and New Zealand it is 1.4 days, in the US
1.5 days.
9
 Economic Development
ABOUT INDIA’S PORT
 Ports are an essential part of the maritime
environment and are like hubs that link sea routes
with trade routes on land.
 There are 12 major ports and 200 non-major ports
(minor ports) in the country.
 The Major Ports are under the administrative
control of the Ministry of Shipping and are
governed under the Major Port Authorities Act,
2021. The Government of India appoints a Board of
Trustees to oversee each major port. Their
responsibilities include port development,
management, and operations.
 All the Non-Major Ports (minor ports) are governed
under the Indian Ports Act of 1908 and regulates the
berths, stations, anchoring, fastening, mooring, and
unmooring of vessels. They come under the
jurisdiction of respective State Maritime Boards/ State
Governments.
 Out of the 200 non-major ports, around 65 ports
handle cargo and the others are “Port Limits” where
no cargo is handled, these are used by fishing vessels
and by small ferries to carry passengers across the
creeks, etc.
SIGNIFICANCE OF PORTS INFRASTRUCTURE
 Facilitating International Trade: Ports serve as vital
gateways for international trade, enabling the
movement of goods and commodities between
countries. India’s major and minor ports handle about
95% of India’s international trade.
 Economic Impact: Ports create numerous economic
opportunities, generating employment and attracting
investments. The Government of India has allowed
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 100% under
the automatic route for projects related to the
construction and maintenance of ports and harbours
 Supply Chain Efficiency: It acts as a critical node in
global supply chains. They connect different modes of
transportation and facilitate the smooth flow of goods
from production centres to consumers.
 Trade Competitiveness: Well-developed ports
enhance a country's competitiveness in global
markets.
 Revenue Generation: It is a significant source of
revenue for governments through tariffs, customs
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
duties, and other fees levied on cargo handling and
related services.
 Connectivity and Regional Integration: They
facilitate trade between neighbouring countries,
promote cross-border cooperation, and support the
development of economic zones and industrial
clusters.
CHALLENGES
 Prolonged ship turnaround times: India's ports
experience lengthy ship turnaround times. For
instance, the normal ship turnaround time at
Singapore is under a day. However, it takes about
three days in India.
 Port Congestion: The number of containers, the lack
of equipment for managing them, and ineffective
operations all contribute to port congestion, which is a
major problem. Consider the port of Nhava Sheva as
an illustration.
 Sub-optimal Transport Modal Mix: This is due to a
lack of the infrastructure required for evacuation from
both large and minor ports.
 Protracted Inspections and Scrutiny: Despite India’s
customs processes rapidly moving towards
paperlessness and digitisation, cargo and other
maritime activities are nevertheless the subject of
protracted inspections and scrutiny.
 Issues with technology and inadequate
infrastructure are present in non-major ports, where
there aren't enough berths or ones that are long
enough for vessels to berth properly.
 Management Issues: Different administrations are in
charge of major and minor ports. Their regulatory
framework is also rigid.
 Dredging: Some Indian ports particularly those on the
east coast and near the Gulf of Mannar are prone to
excessive siltation which reduces their capacity.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
 The Harit Sagar Green Port guidelines: It aims to
bring about a paradigm shift towards safe, efficient,
and sustainable ports while implementing sound
environmental practices among all stakeholders.
 National Logistics Portal (Marine): It is a single-
window digital platform for all stakeholders including
those engaged in cargo services, carrier services,
banking and financial services, and government and
regulatory agencies.
10
 Economic Development

 Sagar Setu App: It facilitates seamless movement of  Digitisation of Port Operations: Implementing
goods and services in ports while substantially technologies such as blockchain, Internet of Things
enhancing the ease of doing business. (IoT), and data analytics can enhance transparency,
 Major Port Authorities Act, 2021 which grants efficiency, and security in port operations. Automation
greater autonomy to major ports. of processes, such as electronic documentation,
container tracking, and cargo clearance, can help
 Marine Aids to Navigation Act, 2021 that provides
reduce paperwork, delays, and human errors.
for increased safety and efficiency in vessel traffic
services and training and certification at par with  Reduced Regulatory Burden: Simplifying and
international standards. streamlining regulatory processes, permits, and
clearances related to port infrastructure development
 The Indian Vessels Act, 2021 which brings uniformity
can attract investments and expedite project
in law and standardised provisions across all inland
implementation. An efficient regulatory framework
waterways in the country.
can provide certainty to investors and promote ease
 Maritime India Vision, 2030: It has identified
of doing business in the port sector.
initiatives such as developing world-class Mega Ports,
CONCLUSION
transhipment hubs and infrastructure modernization
of ports  The achievements in the port sector are a result of
large investments in the upgradation of infrastructure
 Sagarmala Project: To promote port-led
in the ports and shipping sector in the past few years.
development in the country through harnessing
There has been a consistent focus on improvements
India’s 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of
in port efficiency and productivity through reforms,
potentially navigable waterways and strategic location
induction of new technologies, a greater thrust on
on key international maritime trade routes. The main
public-private partnership and an overall commitment
vision of the is to reduce logistics cost
to the ease of doing business.
WAY FORWARD
 Promoting Private Sector Participation: With the
increasing participation of the private sector in the SCHEME FOR SPECIAL
port sector, the share of minor ports has been
increasing. In this respect suitable policy changes are ASSISTANCE TO STATES
needed to the Indian Ports Act of 1908 with present-
day requirements. FOR CAPITAL INVESTMENT
 Infrastructure Development: Expansion and
modernisation by increasing the capacity of ports to
2023-24
handle larger volumes of cargo, improving berthing #FiscalPolicy
facilities, and upgrading storage and handling
capabilities. The use of advanced technologies such as
automated cranes, robotic systems, and smart port
management systems should be explored to optimise
Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Government
operations and improve efficiency.
of India, has approved capital investment proposals of Rs.
 Improve Port Connectivity: Efforts should be made 56,415 crore in 16 States in the current financial year.
to improve connectivity between ports and the Approval has been given under the scheme entitled ‘Special
hinterland through efficient road and rail networks. Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24’.
 Establishing Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs): TO ABOUT THE SCHEME
provide a conducive business environment,
 In view of a higher multiplier effect of capital
streamlined regulatory processes, and infrastructure
expenditure and in order to provide a boost to
support, which can attract manufacturing units,
capital spending by States, the scheme ‘Special
logistics companies, and other industries to set up
Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24'
operations near ports.
was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 11

 Economic Development
 Under the scheme, special assistance is being
provided to the State Governments in the form of 50-
year interest free loan for capital investment
projects up to an overall sum of Rs. 1.3 lakh crore
during the financial year 2023-24.
COMPONENTS OF THE SCHEME
 Part I: It is the largest part having the allocation of Rs.
1 lakh crore. This amount has been allocated
amongst States in proportion to their share of
central taxes & duties as per the award of the 15th
Finance Commission. Other parts of the scheme are
either linked to reforms or are for sector specific
projects.
 Part II: In this part of the scheme, an amount of Rs.
3,000 crore has been set aside for providing
incentives to States for scrapping of State
Government vehicles and ambulances, waiver of
liabilities on old vehicles, providing tax concessions to
individuals for scrapping of old vehicles and setting up
of automated vehicle testing facilities.
 Part III & IV: This part aims at providing incentives to
States for reforms in Urban Planning and Urban
Finance. An amount of Rs. 15,000 crore is earmarked
for Urban Planning Reforms, while additional Rs. 5,000
crore is for incentivising the States for making Urban
Local Bodies creditworthy and improving their
finances.
 Part V: This aims at increasing the housing stock for
the police personnel and their families within the
police stations in urban areas. An amount of Rs. 2,000
crore is earmarked for this purpose under the
scheme.
 Part VI: Another objective of the Scheme is to
promote national integration, carry forward the
concept of “Make in India” and promote the
concept of “One District, One Product (ODOP)”
through construction of Unity Mall in each State. An
amount of Rs. 5,000 crore has been set aside for this
purpose under the scheme.
 Part-VII: of the Scheme, with an allocation of Rs. 5,000
crore is for providing financial assistance to States
for setting up libraries with digital infrastructure
at Panchayat and Ward level for children and
adolescents.
 Part VIII: of the scheme incentivises States for
implementation of “Just-in-Time” release of
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) funds by State
Government to vendors and beneficiaries using RBI’s
e-Kuber Model and for timely release of Central &
State share of funds to Single Nodal Agency accounts.
CONDITIONS TO BE FULFILLED BY STATES
The scheme guidelines include mandatory conditions
which the States need to fulfil in order to avail benefits
under any Part of the Scheme. These are:
 Full compliance with the official name of all CSSs
and any guidelines/instructions issued by the
Government of India regarding branding of CSSs, in all
schemes of all ministries. However, correct translation
of the official name of CSSs in local language is
permitted.
 Integration of State treasuries with Public Finance
Management System (PFMS) and exchange of data
between State treasuries and PFMS in respect of all
State Linked Scheme for CSS in a state for which the
state has received funds from the Central Government
in the past 21 days.
 Deposit of central share of interest earned in
Single Nodal Agency accounts till 31st March, 2023
in the Consolidated Funds of India and submission of
certificate to this effect in the format, signed by the
Finance Secretary of the State Government.
IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT’S CAPITAL
EXPENDITURE
 Generates Demand: A higher capex by the
government will help generate demand in the
economy, attract private investments over a longer
term and sustain economic growth.
 Creation of Assets: By creating long-term assets, the
economy is benefitted as it can help generate
revenues for many years. Through capital
expenditure, fixed assets are acquired; existing assets
are upgraded or even loans are repaid.
 Higher Multiplier Effect: The government capital
expenditure enhances labour participation in the
economy. Also the impact multiplier effect of ₹1 spent
on capital expenditure is as high as 2.45 as against any
revenue expenditure where the impact multiplier
effect is 0.99.
 Role of States: The combined spending of Indian
states on capital expenditure now exceeds that of
the central government. For example, in 2021-22,
this figure combined for states and Union territories,
12
 Economic Development

according to budget estimates, was ₹10.5 trillion. The ○ Trade in services includes factor income and non-
Centre’s effective capital expenditure that year was factor income transactions.
₹8.4 trillion, including ₹2.5 trillion as grant for creation ○ Transfer payments are the receipts which the
of assets. Hence, they carry a greater responsibility residents of a country get for ‘free’, without having
on capital formation than the central government. to provide any goods or services in return. They
So, if these States don’t play a proactive role in capital consist of gifts, remittances and grants. They could
expenditure, the overall performance of the economy be given by the government or by private citizens
is affected. For public investment to flourish, States’ living abroad.
capital expenditure too has to grow.
TRENDS IN REMITTANCE FLOWS
CONCLUSION
● Country-wise Rankings: The top recipient
 Given the importance of State’s capital expenditure for countries for remittances in 2022 were:
the overall performance of the Indian economy, the
Centre has been nudging the States to spend more US$ Billion, 2022
and even thrown in incentives like allowing them to India 111.2
undertake additional open market borrowing.
Mexico 61.1

China 51.0
SHIFTING PATTERN OF Philippines 38.0

REMITTANCE FLOWS Pakistan 29.9

#ExternalSector Egypt 28.3

Bangladesh 21.5

Nigeria 20.1
As per World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief,
 Share of Remittance in GDP: It is an indicator of the
India is expected to post a growth of just 0.2% in remittance
significance of the remittances for funding current
inflows in 2023. It had registered a growth of more than 24%
account and fiscal shortfalls, remittance inflows
to reach a record-high $111 billion in remittances in 2022.
represented very large shares of GDP in countries
ABOUT REMITTANCES such as:
 When migrants send home part of their earnings in
As percentage of GDP, 2022
the form of either cash or goods to support their
families, these transfers are known as workers’ or Tajikistan 51
migrant remittances.
Tonga 44
 Remittance forms a part of the transfer payment
category in the current account of the Balance of Lebanon 36
Payments (BoP) records in an economy. Samoa 34
 BoP is the transactions in goods, services and assets
Kyrgyz Republic 31
between residents of a country with the rest of the
world for a specified time period typically a year. The Gambia 29
 There are two main accounts in the BoP — the current Honduras 27
account and the capital account.
EI Salvador 24
 Current Account is the record of trade in goods and
services and transfer payments. Nepal 23
○ Trade in goods includes exports and imports of Jamaica 23
goods.
GDP: Gross domestic product

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 13

 Economic Development
 Intra-Regional Variation: Although remittances
amounted to only 4% of South Asia’s GDP in 2022, the
variation across countries was large. In Nepal,
remittances stood at 23.1% of GDP in 2022, compared
with 7.9% in Pakistan, 5.1% in Sri Lanka, and 4.7% in
Bangladesh. In India, the largest global recipient,
remittances represented only 3.3% of GDP in 2022.
 Structural Shift in Country-wise Share in India’s
Inward Remittances: There has been a gradual
structural shift in Indian migrants’ key destinations
from largely low-skilled, informal employment in the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to a
dominant share of high-skilled jobs in high-income
countries such as the United States, the United
Kingdom, and East Asia. As per RBI, the share of
remittances from the US, UK and Singapore increased
to 36% of the total in 2020-21, up from 26% in 2016-
17. Over the same period, the share of Middle East
countries - Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates,
Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar - dropped from 54% to 28%.
 State-wise Share of Remittances Receipts: The
share of traditional remittance recipient states such as
Kerala and Karnataka, which dominated the West
Asian region, fell sharply in 2020-21 compared to
2016-17. Maharashtra emerged as the top recipient
state in 2020-21, surpassing Kerala, the top recipient
in 2016-17.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
IMPORTANCE OF REMITTANCES FOR AN ECONOMY
 Covers Deficit in Goods Trade: Increased remittance
flows has enabled the country to withstand even fairly
serious deficits in trade. Till the mid-1990s, the net
income on services and remittances was around 1-2%
of GDP, which now has reached the level of 4-6% of
GDP. If it had not been for the offsetting surplus on
services and remittances, India’s current account
would have been far larger.
 Evenly Distributed as compared to Capital Flows:
Remittances are more evenly distributed among
developing economies than capital flows, including
foreign direct investment. Remittances are especially
important for low-income countries and account for
nearly 4 percent of their GDP, compared with about
1.5 percent of GDP for middle-income countries.
 More Stable than Capital Flows: Remittance flows
tend to be more stable than capital flows, and they
tend to be countercyclical—increasing during
economic downturns or after a natural disaster when
private capital flows tend to decrease. In countries
affected by political conflict, they are often an
economic lifeline to the poor.
 Promotes Domestic Consumption: In poorer
households, remittances may buy basic consumption
goods, housing, and children’s education and health
care. In richer households, they may provide capital
for small businesses and entrepreneurial activities.
 Help Deal with Balance of Payment Crisis: They
help pay for imports and external debt service; in
some countries, banks have raised overseas financing
using future remittances as collateral.
 Strengthens Socio-economic Resilience: They
alleviate poverty, improve nutritional outcomes, and
are associated with increased birth weight and higher
14
 Economic Development
school enrolment rates for children in disadvantaged
households. Studies show that remittances help
recipient households to build resilience, for example
through financing better housing and to cope with the
losses in the aftermath of disasters.
 Improves Standards of Living: They provide
essential support to households, helping them meet
their financial needs and improve their living
standards. The impact of remittances extends beyond
the economic aspect, as they contribute to social
welfare and poverty reduction.
 Provides Foreign Exchanges: Remittances play a
crucial role in providing foreign exchange to countries,
which contributes to their economic stability and
growth.
CHALLENGES
 Economic Slowdown in West & Middle East: Higher
inflation in the United States accompanied by an
economic slowdown will soften remittance flows to
India. The drop in oil prices from $98 to $85 per barrel
(2022–23) combined with the decline in economic
growth in the West Asian countries will reinforce
downward pressure on remittance flows to all South
Asian countries.
 High Transaction Costs: Transaction costs rarely
affect large remittances, but for smaller remittances—
under $200, say, which is often typical for poor
migrants—fees typically average 7 percent, and can be
as high as 15–20 percent in smaller migration
corridors.
 Encourages Labour Emigration: Countries that
receive remittances from migrants incur costs if the
emigrating workers are highly skilled or if their
departure creates labour shortages.
 Higher Inflows Makes Domestic Economy Less
Competitive: Also, if remittances are large, the
recipient country could face real exchange rate
appreciation that may make its economy less
competitive internationally.
 May Lead to Moral Hazard: Remittances can
undercut recipients’ incentives to work and thus slow
economic growth.
 Negative Human Costs: Migrants sometimes make
significant sacrifices - including separation from family
- and incur risks to find work in another country. And
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
they may have to work extremely hard to save enough
to send remittances.
CONCLUSION
 In the past, the actions of Indians as individuals have
made the country’s current account more stable,
especially during a crisis, when other sources of flows,
such as those from foreign investors have dried up.
However, the World Bank’s latest Migration and
Development Brief provides a shifting picture over the
years of how the behaviour of individuals or
households have affected India’s balance of payments
with the rest of the world. As this behaviour changes,
it can introduce new uncertainties into India’s
transactions with the rest of the world.
CHANGES IN OPEN
MARKET SALE SCHEME
(OMSS)
#PublicDistributionSystem
ABOUT OPEN MARKET SALE SCHEME (OMSS)
 Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) refers to selling of
foodgrains by Government / Government agencies at
predetermined prices in the open market from time to
time to enhance the supply of grains especially during
the lean season and thereby to moderate the general
open market prices especially in the deficit regions.
 Objective: Food Corporation of India (FCI) on the
instructions from the Government, sells wheat and
rice in the open market from time to time to enhance
the supply of wheat and rice especially during the lean
season and to moderate the open market prices
especially in the deficit regions.
 Mode of Auction: For transparency in operations, the
Corporation has switched over to e- auction for sale
under Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic). The FCI
conducts a weekly auction to conduct this scheme in
the open market using the platform of commodity
exchange NCDEX (National Commodity and
Derivatives Exchange Limited).
 Participants: The State Governments/ Union Territory
Administrations are also allowed to participate in the
15
 Economic Development
e-auction, if they require wheat and rice outside the
Targeted Public Distribution Scheme (TPDS) and Other
Welfare Schemes (OWS).
 Pricing: The reserve price is fixed by the government.
In the tenders floated by the FCI, the bidders cannot
quote less than the reserve price.
 Components: The present form of OMSS comprises 3
schemes as under:
○ Sale of wheat to bulk consumers/private traders
through e-auction.
○ Sale of wheat to bulk consumers/private traders
through e-auction by dedicated movement.
○ Sale of Raw Rice Grade ‘A’ to bulk
consumers/private traders through e-auction.
RECENT CHANGES TO OMSS
 Limits on Quantity Procured: Previously, the
Department had already imposed restrictions on the
sale of wheat under OMSS(D) to a bidder, limiting the
quantity to 3,000 tonnes. Now, under the Open
Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) or OMSS(D), the
maximum quantity that a bidder can purchase in a
single bid is now restricted to ranges from 10 to 100
metric tons.
 Enhanced Reach: This reduction in quantities aims to
accommodate more small and marginal buyers,
ensuring a wider reach of the scheme and immediate
availability of stocks to the public.
 Exclusion of State Governments: As part of the
revised policy, the government has also decided to
exclude state governments from the purview of
OMSS(D) to maintain adequate stock levels in the
central pool while controlling prices.
 Exception: For the North-Eastern states, hilly states,
and states facing law and order issues or natural
calamities. The sale of rice for these exceptional cases
will continue at the existing rate of ₹3400 per quintal.
WHY WERE THE CHANGES NEEDED?
 Control Inflation: The government's decision to
discontinue the sale of wheat and rice under OMSS(D)
aims to control food inflation and protect the interests
of consumers.
 Accommodate Small Buyers: The quantities have
been reduced this time to accommodate more small
and marginal buyers and to ensure a wider reach of
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
the scheme. This will facilitate the release of stocks
sold under OMSS (D) to reach the general public
immediately.
 Meet Other Obligations: This will also lead to higher
availability of foodgrains for the Department’s other
obligations such as distribution of free food grains to
80 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib
Kalyan Yojana.
 Implications: States now will have to procure the
foodgrains from the open market at a higher cost.
This will add to the already burgeoning food subsidy
bill.
FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA (FCI)
 It is a statutory body set up in 1965 (under the Food
Corporation Act, 1964) against the backdrop of major
shortage of grains, especially wheat, in the country.
 Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food
and Public Distribution, Government of India.
 Headquarters: New Delhi
 Vision: Ensuring Food Security for citizens of the
country.
 Objectives: FCI aims to fulfil following objectives of
the Food Policy
○ Effective price support operations for safeguarding
the interests of the farmers.
○ Distribution of foodgrains throughout the country
for the public distribution system.
○ Maintaining satisfactory level of operational and
buffer stocks of foodgrains to ensure National Food
Security
 Mission:
○ Efficient procurement at Minimum Support Price
(MSP), storage and distribution of food grains.
○ Ensuring availability of food grains and sugar
through appropriate policy instruments; including
maintenance of buffer stocks of food grains.
○ Making food grains accessible at reasonable prices,
especially to the weak and vulnerable sections of
the society under PDS.
 Since its inception, FCI has played a significant role in
India's success in transforming the crisis
management-oriented food security into a stable
security system.
16
 Economic Development

METHOD OF CALCULATION OF MSP

MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE The CACP takes into account of the following factors
(MSP) REGIME while recommending the MSP for a commodity:
 Cost of production
#Agriculture
 Demand and supply
 Price trends in the market, (both domestic and
Centre has announced a 5 to 10 % hike in minimum support international)
prices (MSP) of all mandated Kharif crops for marketing  Inter-crop price parity
season 2023-24.  Terms of trade between agriculture and non-
ABOUT MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE agriculture
 Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market  A minimum of 50 percent as the margin over cost of
intervention by the Government of India to insure production
agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm  Likely implications of MSP on consumers of that
prices. In case the market price for the commodity product
falls below the announced minimum price due to
Cost of production is an important factor that goes as an
bumper production and glut in the market, govt.
input in determining MSP, but it is certainly not the only
agencies purchase the entire quantity offered by the
factor that determines MSP.
farmers at the announced minimum price.
FARMERS OBJECTIONS TO THE MSP
 Objective: The major objectives are
 Rise in MSP is less than Inflation: Farmers argue
○ To support the farmers from distress sales and to
that, apart from lentils and Mustard, none of the
procure food grains for public distribution.
announced MSPs increased beyond the prevailing
○ To induce the farmers to make capital investment inflation of 6% (CPI) in the last 3 months.
for the improvement of their farm and to motivate
 Formula to calculate the cost of production: While
them to adopt improved crop production
the Government uses A2+FL method to calculate cost
technologies to step up their production and
of production, farmers have been demanding to use
thereby their net income. In the absence of such a
C2 method which is more comprehensive than A2+FL
guaranteed price, there is a concern that farmers
and was also recommended by the MS Swaminathan
may shift to other crops causing shortage in these
committee.
commodities.
A2+FL method C2 method
 MSPs are announced by the Government of India at
the beginning of the sowing season for 24 notified  ‘A2’ covers all paid-out  ‘C2’ is a more
crops on the basis of the recommendations of the costs directly incurred comprehensive cost
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). by the farmer — in cash that factors in rentals
Currently announced for 24 commodities including and kind — on seeds, and interest of owned
○ 7 Cereals (paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize fertilisers, pesticides, land and fixed capital
and ragi) hired labour, leased-in assets, on top of A2+FL.
○ 5 Pulses (gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad and lentil) land, fuel, irrigation, etc

○ 8 Oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria,  ‘A2+FL’ includes A2 plus

soyabean, sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower an imputed value of
seed and Niger seed) unpaid family labour

○ Copra  Unimportant factors: Several unimportant factors

○ Raw cotton like international markets, inter-crop price parity etc.
are being considered by the government to determine
○ Raw jute
MSP.
○ Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 17

 Economic Development
 Lack of Statutory Recognition to MSP Regime:
Absence of ‘non-procurement’ of all the crops at the
MSP is one of the main concerns of farmers.
PRESENT STATUS OF MSP
 Presently, MSP does not enjoy statutory
recognition. This means that there is no onus on the
private sector to buy at MSP.
 Legalisation of MSP would ensure that the private
sector would buy commodities at MSP. Failure to do
so would attract a penalty.
NEED FOR LEGALISATION OF MSP
 Enhancement in Income Levels: Even though the
Government declares MSP; procurement is quite
limited to certain crops and certain regions. Most of
the farmers sell commodities below MSP in the open
market to the traders and middlemen.
 Promote Crop Diversification: Only three to four
crops (mainly wheat, paddy and cotton and at times
some pulses), were being procured at MSP while the
remaining crops were being procured at much below
the MSP. Hence, absence of any dependable or
assured market mechanism of procurement-purchase
for crops on the MSP in most parts of the country
discourages efforts towards crop diversification.
CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS
 Goes against Interest of Farmers: Legalisation of
MSP will encourage over-production of Rice and
Wheat. This may have severe environmental costs
such as decline in soil fertility, depletion of ground
water etc. In the long term, this would negatively
affect income levels of farmers.
 Adverse Impact on Economy: Higher costs of
procurement due to a statutory MSP will increase the
food prices, leading to inflation in the economy.
Higher prices of commodities would adversely affect
exports of agricultural commodities.
 Financing needs: According to some estimates, if the
Government were to procure all the 23 crops at MSP,
it would amount to half of the Government's Budget.
 Unsustainable Food grain Management Policy: The
Food subsidy bill has already become quite
unsustainable at around Rs 2 lakh crores. The excess
procurement of food grains by the FCI has led to
surplus buffer stocks leading to higher storage costs
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
and wastages. Legalisation of MSP would further
worsen the scenario.
 Administrative Challenge: Lack of government
machinery to procure all crops that are under the MSP
system.
 Violation of WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA):
Legalisation of MSP would further violate the limit on
the subsidies under AoA and it can be challenged by
other countries. India's quest for Permanent solution
on public stockholding could be in jeopardy.
 Promote Inequality: Only 6 percent of farmers are
able to benefit from the MSP. Similarly, most of the
Rice and Wheat are sourced from states such as
Punjab, Haryana, MP etc. Hence, legalisation of MSP
could worsen socio-economic inequality and promote
regional disparity.
 Environmental cost: Encourage farmers to grow
more rice and wheat leading to further environmental
problems.
 Adverse Impact of Government's Intervention: In
any free-market economy, the price of any goods and
services produced in the country must be decided by
market forces and not by the state. As highlighted by
Eco Survey 2019-20, Government's intervention,
sometimes though well intended, often ends up
adversely affecting the market.
CONCLUSION
 The MSP attempts to strike a balance between the
interests of growers and consumers. The
government’s price support policy attempts to provide
a fair return to farmers while keeping in view the
interest of consumers in a way that prices of food and
other agricultural commodities are kept at a
reasonable level.
 As farming over the years, for the majority, especially
small and marginal farmers, has not turned out to be
remunerative. A rise in their income could be the long-
term answer to farmers’ financial distress. To ensure
this rise in income, the government should focus on
setting up an effective system to provide assured
purchase and returns to farmers for all major crops at
the MSP, as is done in the case of wheat and rice or
extend subsidies on input costs.
18
 Economic Development
RBI ALLOWS COMPROMISE
SETTLEMENT WITH WILFUL
DEFAULTERS, FRAUD
ACCOUNTS
#MonetaryPolicy
Banks can take on compromise settlements on accounts
categorised as wilful defaulters or fraud without prejudice to
the criminal proceeding underway against such debtors.
WHAT IS A COMPROMISE SETTLEMENT?
 A compromise settlement with the borrowers is
negotiated by the bank with or without involving
remission or sacrifices.
 Recovery of debts due to banks is an important
activity that aims at protecting the interest of the
depositors and other stakeholders. If banks do not
recover NPAs, depositors and other stakeholders will
ultimately suffer.
 Hence, any compromise settlement should have an
underlying objective of recovery of dues to the
maximum extent possible at minimum expense and
within the shortest possible time frame.
ABOUT RBI CIRCULAR
 RBI has allowed banks to enter into a compromise
settlement for accounts termed as wilful
defaulters and fraud. A wilful defaulter is a borrower
who refuses to repay loans despite having the
capacity to pay up.
 Cooling off period: A wilful defaulter or a company
involved in fraud can apply for new loans after at
least 12 months of executing a compromise
settlement. However, a regulated entity (banks and
finance companies) are free to stipulate higher cooling
periods as per their board-approved policies.
IMPLICATIONS OF THE DECISION
 Reduction in NPAs: Write-offs, or bad loans taken out
from the NPA books for accounting and tax purposes,
were used by banks to show lower non-performing
assets (NPAs). In the last ten years, the reduction in
NPAs due to write-offs was Rs 13,22,309 crore.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 Early Recovery & Cost Savings: Such settlement
ensures early recovery of dues and results in saving of
cost to the bank in terms of legal expenses and other
costs.
 May lead to a tricky situation: Possibility that more
public money will be lost in the process.
 Misuse: Banks and corporates often misuse
restructuring for evergreening problem accounts to
keep reported NPA levels low.
FIRST LOAN DEFAULT
GUARANTEE (FLDG)
#MonetaryPolicy
WHAT IS FLDG?
 First Loan Default Guarantee (FLDG) is a lending
model serviced between digital-lending fintechs
and their partner banks and NBFCs.
 Under these agreements, the fintech originates a
loan and promises to compensate the partners up
to a pre-decided percentage in case customers fail
to repay.
 The bank/NBFC partners lend through fintech but
from their own books.
RBI FRAMEWORK
 Regulated Entities (REs) shall ensure that the total
amount of default loss guarantee (DLG) cover on
any outstanding portfolio which is specified upfront
shall not exceed 5% of the amount of that loan
portfolio.
 In the case of implicit guarantee arrangements, the
DLG Provider shall not bear a performance risk of
more than the equivalent amount of 5% of the
underlying loan portfolio.
 The RE shall invoke DLG within a maximum
overdue period of 120 days, unless made good by
the borrower before that.
 In terms of asset quality, recognition of individual
loan assets in the portfolio as Non-Performing
Asset (NPA) and consequent provisioning shall be
the responsibility of the RE as per the norms
19
 Economic Development
irrespective of any DLG cover available at the portfolio
level.
 The amount of DLG invoked shall not be set off
against the underlying individual loans.
 Recovery by the RE, if any, from the loans on which
DLG has been invoked and realised, can be shared
with the DLG provider in terms of the contractual
arrangement.
 Any DLG arrangement shall not act as a substitute
for credit appraisal requirements and robust credit
underwriting standards need to be put in place
irrespective of DLG cover.
BENEFITS
 Expands the customer base of traditional lenders
but relies on the fintech’s underwriting capabilities.
 Enhances the deeper partnerships and
collaboration between legacy institutions (Banks,
regulated entities, NBFCs) and new age fintech’s -
democratises access to credit and fuel growth for the
unserved and underserved.
 Strengthens credit penetration and boosts the
digital lending ecosystem.
 Promotes more transparency and discipline in the
digital lending environment.
 Widens the scope of resolution of stressed assets.
TAKEOUT FINANCING
#Infrastructure
National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development
(NaBFID) plans to introduce takeout financing products to
help finance projects and allow timely exits for commercial
lenders.
WHAT IS TAKEOUT FINANCING
 Take out financing scheme means a long-term lending
institution in the infrastructure sector like the NaBFID
is purchasing the infrastructure loan sanction given by
a commercial bank from its book.
 This will relieve the commercial bank from locking
assets in a long-term manner.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 Takeout financing offers a window to the banks to free
their balance sheet from exposure to infrastructure
loans, lend to new projects and also enable better
management of the asset liability position.
 Hence, takeout financing enables financing longer
term projects with medium-term funds.
ABOUT NaBFID
 Union Budget 2021-22 has proposed to set up a
development Bank in the form of NaBFID as financier,
enabler and catalyst for the National Infrastructure
Pipeline. NaBFID is expected to reduce pressure on
banks, lower the cost of capital and meet investment
needs of $ 5 trillion economy.
 Global Examples: China (China Development Bank),
UK (Green Investment Bank), Germany (KfW).
 Indian Examples: NABARD (Agriculture and Rural
Development), Industrial Finance Corporation of India
(Industrial Development), SIDBI and MUDRA (MSME
Development), EXIM Bank (Trade Development),
National Housing Bank (Housing Infrastructure).
 Note: IFCI was the first ever development bank that
was established in 1948. ICICI and IDBI Banks were
initially set up as Development Banks but were later
converted into Commercial banks based upon the
recommendations of Narasimham Committee.
 Ownership: NaBFID will be set up as a corporate body
with authorised share capital of one lakh crore
rupees. Shares of NaBFID may be held by: (i) central
government, (ii) multilateral institutions, (iii) sovereign
wealth funds, (iv) pension funds, (v) insurers, (vi)
financial institutions, (vii) banks, and (viii) any other
institution prescribed by the central government.
Initially, the central government will own 100% shares
of the institution which may subsequently be reduced
up to 26%.
 Source of Funds: Raise money in the form of loans in
Indian Rupees and Foreign currencies. NaBFID may
borrow money from: (i) central government, (ii)
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), (iii) scheduled commercial
banks, (iii) mutual funds, and (iv) multilateral
institutions such as World Bank and Asian
Development Bank.
20
 Economic Development
SKILL IMPACT BONDS
#Employment
WHAT ARE IMPACT BONDS?
 Impact bonds are innovative financing instruments
that leverage private sector capital and expertise, with
a focus on achieving results.
 It shifts the focus from inputs to performance and
results.
 Rather than a government or a donor fina­ncing a
project upfront, private investors (risk investors)
initially finance the initiative and are repaid by
outcome funders only if agreed-upon outcomes are
achieved.
SKILL IMPACT BOND
 It is a public-private partnership model in India for
the skilling and employment sector.
 As an innovative outcomes-based financing tool
that leverages private sector capital and expertise, the
Skill Impact Bond shifts its focus from inputs like
training and certification to outcomes like job
placement and retention for India’s youth.
 The collaboration also aims at strengthening the
capacity of India’s technical and vocational
education ecosystem through knowledge exchange,
evidence and data generation and mainstreaming
good practices.
 Under the Skill Impact Bond:
○ Risk Investors such as NSDC provided upfront
working capital to the trainers to implement skill
development programmes.
○ Service Providers deliver skilling interventions to
improve employment outcomes.
○ Outcome Funders repay risk investors initial
investment for each positive outcome achieved.
○ Third-party Evaluator: The employment outcomes
are assessed by an independent third-party
evaluator.
 Objective: To transform the way skill training
programmes are implemented in the country, with
major emphasis on bridging the gap between skilling
and employment, especially for women.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 Nodal Authority: It is pioneered by National Skill
Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of
the Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and a coalition of mission-
aligned partners.
 Targets: To skill and provide employment to 50,000
youths over four years. Sixty per cent of the youths
will be women and girls.
 Sectors: The trainees are being skilled and provided
access to wage employment in sectors that are
recovering from the Covid-19 economic shock, such as
retail, apparel and logistics.
PRICING OF OIL PRODUCTS
IN INDIA
#Energy
Though the crude oil prices softened towards the end of FY
2022-23, Pump prices of petrol and diesel have remained
unchanged since May 22, 2022, with the governments at the
Centre and the States, and the oil marketing companies
unwilling to reduce the taxes and revenues in order to
insulate themselves from any rise in the cost in future.
BREAKUP OF PETROL & DIESEL PRICES
Public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) revise the
retail prices of petrol and diesel in India on a daily basis,
according to changes in the price of global crude oil. The
retail price charged to consumer includes the following
components:
 Base Price set by OMCs: Several parameters like
global crude prices, expected future crude prices, local
taxes, Shipping costs, apart from the cost of refining
are considered while fixing the rates which may be
different for different OMC.
 Freight Price includes the cost of transporting to
dealers across India.
 Dealer Commissions
 Taxes and Surcharges of the Centre includes
○ Basic Excise Duty
○ Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess
○ Road & Infrastructure Cess
 Taxes of State Governments includes Sales tax/ VAT
21
 Economic Development
The prices of Petrol & Diesel vary from city to city
depending upon the taxes charged by the state
governments. Usually, the share of tax component in the
retail price is above 40%. SO any reluctance by the centre
or state governments to decrease their taxes will not
result in transmission of softening of global crude oil
prices to the ultimate consumer.
PETROL & DIESEL UNDER GST?
There has been growing demand to include petrol
products under GST mechanism as it may reduce the
ultimate price paid by the consumer because:
 Even if petroleum is charged at the current maximum
tax slab of 28%, consumers will be paying a lesser
price than they are presently paying for it.
 GST, being a value added tax mechanism, ensures that
there is no cascading effect (tax on taxation).
However, most of the states are unwilling to this
proposal as states generate a considerable amount of
revenue from taxing petroleum products.
Practice questions
MCQs
Q1. Which of the following is a most likely
consequence of implementing the Open
Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)?
(a) ONDC will totally replace the existing e-commerce
platforms.
(b) Act as an enabler for massive digital commerce
expansion.
(c) A central intermediary will regulate the e-
commerce sector.
(d) Will act as a medium to digitise businesses.
Q2. Consider the following statements related to
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme:
1. The scheme is applicable to the companies which
cross the threshold for the investment and sales in
a particular year.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 Each state has its own taxation structure for petrol
and diesel.
 Under GST, even under the 28 per cent tax slab, states
will earn a lot less compared to what they currently
earn from petrol and diesel sales as value-added tax
(VAT).
 Few States are demanding that if petrol and diesel are
brought under the GST, then the Central Government
must compensate all the States for their deficit
revenue. However, there has been no such
commitment given by the centre.
WILL INCLUSION OF PETROLEUM UNDER GST SOLVE
THE PROBLEM?
In the short run, lowering the prices of petrol and diesel
due to GST may prove helpful but ultimately, all the
consumers will have to start shifting towards renewable
energy sources for sustainable growth and development
and insulate the Indian economy from any geo-political
shocks
2. The scheme provides for incentives in the form of
land and credit at subsidised prices.
Which among the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q3. Which of the following does not reflect a wilful
default?
(a) Defaulting in repayment of loan despite having the
capacity to repay.
(b) Defaulting in repayment of loan despite utilisation
of finance for the purpose for which the loan was
taken.
(c) Defaulting in repayment of loan due to non-
utilisation by siphoning off the funds.
(d) Defaulting in repayment of loan and disposing off
the collateral assets.
22
 Economic Development

Q4. Consider the following statements: (c) All three (d) None
1. Government fixes Minimum Support Prices (MSP) Q5. Consider the following statements with
for 23 mandated agricultural crops. respect to Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS):
2. Present method of fixing MSP includes the implied 1. The maximum quantity that a bidder can purchase
cost of rent of land in addition to other in a single bid is 10,000 tonnes.
expenditures incurred by the farmers. 2. The FCI conducts e-auction for OMSS on the
3. Minimum Support Prices (MSP) do not enjoy platform eNAM.
statutory recognition. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
How many of the statements given above are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Descriptive Questions
Q1. Although the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has been significant in promoting Make in India,
implementation of the scheme faces certain challenges. Discuss
Q2. Examine the developments of Ports Infrastructure in India. What are the challenges faced by the authorities in
this regard?

Answers: 1-b, 2-a, 3-b, 4-a, 5-d

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 23

 CONSTITUTION, POLITY AND
GOVERNANCE
# GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper II (Main)
CONTROVERSY OVER DGP
APPOINTMENT IN PUNJAB
#Police Reforms #Governance
Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Police Amendment Bill,
2023 which seeks to do away with Supreme Court mandated
procedure to appoint the Director General of Police. Under
the Amended Act, Punjab government has created a parallel
mechanism where a panel of three officers will be selected by
a 7-member committee headed by retired chief justice or
retired judge from the High Court of Punjab & Haryana.
SUPREME COURT MANDATED PROCEDURE FOR DGP
APPOINTMENT
 Supreme Court in Prakash Singh Judgement, 2006
directed states under Article 142 of the Constitution of
India laid down institutional reforms for the police.
 The intent of the Supreme Court was that the process
of appointment of DGP should be purely based on
merit and would insulate the office from all kinds of
influences and pressures.
The procedure for appointment of DGP laid down in the
judgement is:
 Selection from a pool of officers by UPSC (non-
political body): Director General of Police of State to
be selected by State Government from amongst the
three seniormost officers of the Police Department
who have been empanelled for promotion by the
UPSC.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 UPSC will empanel the three seniormost officers on
the basis of their length of service, very good record
and range of experience for heading the police.
 Security of tenure: The selected DGP should have a
minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of
his date of superannuation/ retirement.
 Removal of DGP: Incumbent DGP may be removed by
the State Government in consultation with State
Security Commission consequent upon any action of
the incumbent DGP against the All India Services
(Discipline & Appeal) Rules or following his conviction
in a court of law in a criminal offence or in a case of
corruption or if he is incapacitated from discharging
his duties.
Later in 2018, Supreme Court clarified on the procedure
laid down by Supreme Court in Prakash Singh Judgement
by making the following changes:
 All States to send their proposals in anticipation of
vacancies to the office of DGP to the UPSC, at least
three months in advance from the date of retirement
of incumbent to the post of DGP.
 States cannot appoint any person as an acting DGP.
 UPSC should empanel persons for the post of DGP
considering they have close two years of service
remaining which will make candidates continue in the
office for a limited period after their superannuation.
 Any legislation/rule framed by States or Central
Government running counter to the direction shall
remain in abeyance to the extent.
 Later in 2019, the Supreme Court clarified that the
maximum residual tenure of an officer appointed as
DGP after his superannuation should be six months.
24
 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
RATIONALE FOR THE CHANGES INTRODUCED BY
SUPREME COURT IN 2018
These changes were made due to the following practices
pursued by States
 States started appointing acting director general of
police to bypass the need for appointing candidates
nominated by UPSC.
 Candidates were appointed as DGP on the last date of
retirement. This made them continue on the office of
DGP despite approx two years of superannuation.
CONCERNS OF THE STATES WITH ABOVE PROCEDURE
 States have been demanding autonomy while
selecting DGP of the Police since Police and Public
order are state subjects under Schedule VII of the
constitution.
 All matters of promotion, posting and transfer of IPS
officers at all levels within the State should be handled
exclusively by the State government.
 States content that UPSC neither has jurisdiction nor
expertise to appoint the DGP of the State.
 Under Article 320 of the Constitution, UPSC can only
lay down principles for promotion and transfers and
suitability of candidates for such appointments.
However, under the Constitution, UPSC does not have
the power to select or empanel officers.
 UPSC while empanelling officers for appointment to
the post of DGP considers minimum residual tenure of
two years. Thus, the process overlooks many suitable
and eligible officers.
Thus, there is a need to give states freedom to choose
their DGPs. Supreme Court should lay down broad
parameters for appointing DGPs based on a merit based
criteria and give states freedom to choose the best
person they deem fit for the important position of DGP.
CONTROVERSY OF
REMOVAL OF MINISTERS
BY GOVERNOR IN TAMIL
NADU
#Federalism #Governor
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
Tamil Nadu Governor R. Ravi’s decision to unilaterally
dismiss with immediate effect arrested Minister V.
Senthilbalaji from the Council of Ministers only to
hurriedly backtrack his decision tests the constitutional
limitations on the role of the Governor and pushes the
Raj Bhavan into uncharted political territory. So, the
primary question which emanates is whether withdrawal
of pleasure by the Governor unilaterally allowed under
the constitutional set-up?
ABOUT GOVERNOR
The State Executive consists of the Governor, who is the
head of the State, and the Council of Ministers with the
Chief Minister at its head. The Governor acts as:
 Constitutional Head of a State under Article 153 and
154, and as
 An agent of the Centre as he holds office during the
pleasure of the President under Article 156.
 The governor is neither directly elected by the people
nor indirectly elected by a specially constituted
electoral college as is the case with the president.
 Under Article 155, Governor is appointed by the
President by warrant under his hand and seal. In a
way, he is a nominee of the Central government.
 Under Article164, Governor appoints the Chief
Ministers and other Ministers and the Ministers holds
office during the pleasure of the Governor.
MEANING OF WITHDRAWAL OF PLEASURE
 “Pleasure of the Governor” did not mean the
Governor has the right to dismiss the Chief Minister or
Ministers at will. The “pleasure” of the Governor is
understood to flow from the fact that the government
enjoys majority on the floor of the House. The
Governor can have his pleasure if the government
enjoys a majority in the House.
 The Governor can withdraw his pleasure only when
the government loses majority but refuses to quit.
Then he withdraws the pleasure and dismisses it.
Without the advice of the Chief Minister, a Governor
can neither appoint nor dismiss a minister.
 Surya Narain Choudhary vs Union of India (1981) -
Rajasthan High Court held that the pleasure of the
25
 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
President was not justiciable, the Governor had no
security of tenure and can be removed at any time by
ORDINANCE ON CONTROL
the President withdrawing pleasure.
OF SERVICES IN UT OF
SUPREME COURT TO AID & ADVICE UNDER ART. 163
 Article 163 of the Constitution states that there shall DELHI
be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the
head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of
#Federalism #Executive Powers
his functions, except in so far as he is by or under this
Constitution required to exercise his functions or any Despite the Supreme Court ruling in favour of Delhi
of them in his discretion. However, the discretion as Government over control of services including the transfers
such has neither been elaborated nor provided and postings of its officers, the Union Government has
explicitly under the Indian Constitution. introduced an ordinance under Article 123 of the
Constitution of India to bypass the judgment as it re-
Shamsher Singh v State of Punjab –
empowers the Centre over the services under Delhi
 Seven Judge Constitution Bench held that the Government. So, in this Article, let us understand about the
Governor must exercise “formal constitutional powers National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA) created
only upon, and in accordance with the aid and advice through the ordinance and Article 123.
of their ministers, save in a few well-known ORDINANCE CONSTITUTES ‘NATIONAL CAPITAL CIVIL
exceptional situations. SERVICES AUTHORITY’
 These exceptions relate to dismissal of a government  The Central Government has issued an ordinance to
that has lost its majority or decision to invite a party to constitute ‘National Capital Civil Services Authority’ in
form the government. In both these circumstances, Delhi.
the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers becomes  As per the ordinance, the authority will be headed by
unavailable or unreliable. Delhi Chief Minister, and will comprise of Chief
 Court also held that the Governor has no right to Secretary and Home Secretary of the Delhi
government.
refuse to act on the advice of the Council of Ministries.
Such a position is antithetical to the concept of  The authority is to now decide on the transfer and
‘responsible government’.” posting of Group ‘A’ officers and DANICS officers
serving in Delhi government.
 Similar issue arose when Governor of Kerala
 NCCSA shall decide matters before it through majority
withdrew pleasure from Finance Minister KN
of votes of its members present and voting.
Balagopal - Responding to this, constitutional law
 The stated authority will give effect to the intent and
expert and former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha
purpose behind Article 239AA and that it is being
Mr. PDT Achary said that a Governor can take such a
introduced to make recommendations to the
decision only on the advise of Chief Minister.
Lieutenant Governor (LG) regarding matters
WAY FORWARD concerning transfer posting, vigilance, and other
 The Supreme Court, in its recent ruling in Shiv Sena incidental matters.
case relating to the political crisis in the Maharashtra LEGISLATIVE POWERS OF THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE
government, cautioned against the Governor stepping CAN BE EXPLAINED UNDER THE FOLLOWING HEADS:
in to settle political rivalry. (a) Participation of the Executive in the Legislative
 Thus, Governor must act according to the mandates of Process –
the Constitution and should avoid political  Council of Ministers being an integral part of
confrontation with the elected government especially Parliament participates closely in the legislative
with respect to withdrawal of pleasure.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 26

 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
process and discharges several important functions as
the President is part of the Parliament.
 Executive’s power to summon, convene and prorogue
both houses of Parliament (Article 85)
 Dissolve Lok Sabha
 Right of President to address and send messages to
Houses under Article 86
 Special Address by the President under Article 87
 Call for Joint Sitting of Parliament by the President
under Article 108
 Prior recommendations of the President is required to
introduce legislations on some matters such as:
o Introduce a Bill in either house for formation of new
states or alteration of areas, boundaries or name of
existing states – Article 3
o Introducing Money Bill in Lok Sabha – Article 117(1)
o Consideration by the house of a Bill involving
expenditure from Consolidated Fund of India –
Article 117(3)
o Introducing any Bill in either House affecting any tax
in which States are interested – Article 274
(b) Power of Rule Making under the Constitution –
 Authentication of Orders and instruments made and
executed in the name of the President – Article 77(2)
 More convenient transaction of government’s business
– Article 77(3)
 Power to make rules by the President for condition of
service of persons serving in the Indian Audit and
Accounts Department and the administrative powers
of the CAG – Article 148(5)
 Power of President to make regulations as to
conditions of service of members and staff of the
Union and Joint Public Service Commission (Article
318)
 President can make rules after consultation with the
Speaker of the House of the People or the Chairman of
the Council of States regulating the recruitment, and
the conditions of service of persons appointed, to the
secretarial staff of the House of the People or the
Council of States – Article 98(3)
 Consultation with UPSC regarding appointment of
officials of Supreme Court – Article 146
 Rules made by the President on a person becoming
members of both House of Parliament or State
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
Legislature (Legislative Assembly & Legislative Council)
– Article 101(2)
 President can make rules after consultation with the
Chairman of Rajya Sabha and the Speaker of Lok
Sabha regarding the procedure with respect to joint
sittings of and communications between the two
Houses of Parliament – Article 118(3)
 President can make rule regulating the requirements
and conditions of service of persons appointed to
services and posts in connection with the affairs of the
Union – Article 309
(c) Ordinance Making Powers
The Constitution has empowered the President (Article
123) and Governor (Article 213) with legislative powers to
promulgate ordinance to meet extraordinary situations
which demands immediate enactment of laws when
either of the two Houses of Parliament or State Assembly
is not in session. However, an ordinance cannot be made
on subjects which Parliament or State Legislative
Assembly under the constitution is not competent to
enact and ordinance making power is effectively co-
extensive with the legislative powers of Parliament and
State Legislature. If an ordinance is made on such
subjects, then it is open to judicial review. The President
or Governor does not exercise the legislative power to
issue ordinance in their discretion but based on the aid
and advice of their respective council of ministers.
 Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate
such ordinances as the circumstances appear to him
to require when –
(i) both Houses of Parliament are not in session
(ii) she/he is satisfied that circumstances exist which
render it necessary for him to take immediate
action.
 An Ordinance promulgated shall have the same force
and effect as an Act of Parliament.
 However, the ordinance shall be laid before both
Houses of Parliament and shall cease to operate at the
expiration of six weeks from the reassembly of
Parliament, or, if before the expiration of that period
resolutions disapproving it are passed by both Houses,
upon the passing of the second of those resolutions;
and
 An Ordinance may be withdrawn at any time by the
President.
27
 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
 Constitution 38th Amendment (1975) – added Article
123(4) and made satisfaction of the President to issue
an ordinance non-justiciable or beyond judicial review.
Despite this, Supreme Court in State of Rajasthan v
Union of India suggested that Presidential Satisfaction
under Article 123(1) could still be questioned on the
ground of mala fides or action taken in bad faith.
 Constitution 44th Amendment (1976) – Deleted
Article 123(4) and restored the status quo ante. On the
question of judicial review of Presidential satisfaction,
Supreme Court in A.K. Roy v Union of India did observe
that judicial review is not totally excluded regarding
the question relating to the President’s satisfaction.
LIMITATIONS ON USE OF ORDINANCE
 Under the Constitution, limitations exist with regard to
the Ordinance making power of the executive:
o Legislature is not in session: The President can
only promulgate an Ordinance when either of the
two Houses of Parliament is not in session.
o Immediate action is required: The President
cannot promulgate an Ordinance unless he is
satisfied that there are circumstances that require
taking ‘immediate action.’
o Parliamentary approval during session:
Ordinances must be approved by Parliament within
six weeks of reassembling, or they shall cease to
operate. They will also cease to operate if
resolutions disapproving the Ordinance are passed
by both the Houses.
 An appropriation from out of Consolidated Fund
cannot be made by an ordinance – Article 114(3).
 Ordinance can be made on entries under Union List
(List I) & Concurrent List (List III) under Seventh
Schedule but not on State List (List II). Ordinance can
be made under Article 123 on List II only when
proclamation of emergency is in operation.
 Like any other law made by Parliament, an ordinance
is also subject to fundamental rights.
An ordinance comes to an end in the following
situations:
 Resolution disapproving the ordinance are passed by
both Houses of Parliament
 If the ordinance is not replaced by an Act within the
stipulated period (maximum of 6 months + 1.5
months)
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 If the executive lets it lapse without bringing it before
the Houses of Parliament
 If it is withdrawn by the government at any time
RE-PROMULGATION OF ORDINANCE
 Generally, the life of an ordinance comes to an end
after 7.5 months. However, in the past, government in
order to extend the life of an ordinance ended up re-
issuing it again and again.
 Similar instance was observed in the D.C. Wadhwa
case of Bihar when an ordinance was continuously re-
promulgated without placing them before the
legislature for approval. This was referred to as the
ordinance raj and it effectively amounted to law-
making by an executive fiat instead of by the
legislature.
 For example, The Bihar Sugarcane (Regulation of
Supply and Purchase) Ordinance was kept in force for
more than 13 years through re-promulgation without
placing it before the legislature for approval.
 Instances of recent re-promulgation of ordinances by
the centre:
o 2013-2014: the securities laws ordinance was re-
promulgated for 3 years.
o 2014-2015: The land acquisition act which was
issued in the year 2014 was re-promulgated twice in
the year 2015.
o 2016-2019: the Indian medical council ordinance
was issued in 2018 and was re-promulgated in
2019.
o 2020-2021: the Commission for Air Quality
Management in the National Capital Region and
Adjoining Areas Ordinance has recently in this year
been re-promulgated.
 DC Wadhwa vs. State of Bihar, 1987: SC said that the
legislative power of the executive to promulgate
Ordinances is in the nature of an emergency power
and is to be used in exceptional circumstances and not
as a substitute for the law-making power.
o Re-promulgation for 14 years - It was examining a
case where a state government re-promulgated a
total of 259 Ordinances and some of them for as
long as 14 years.
28
 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
o Executive Cannot Usurp Legislature’s Role - The
Court observed that the executive cannot by taking
resort to Article 213 usurp the law-making function
of the legislature as this would subvert the
democratic process which lies at the core of the
constitutional scheme.
o People Governed by Laws made by Executive –
Re-promulgation would also mean that the people
are governed not by the laws made by the
legislature as provided in the Constitution but by
laws made by the executive.
o Amounts to Colourable Legislation - Such
continuous re-promulgation would be a colourable
exercise of power on part of the executive to
continue an ordinance with substantially the same
provision beyond the period limited by the
Constitution by adopting the methodology of re-
promulgation.
o Re-promulgation Fraud on the Constitution -
Thus, the systematic practice of Bihar Government
in promulgating ordinances successively without
enacting them through the legislature was clearly
unconstitutional and amounted to fraud on the
constitution.
 Krishna Kumar Singh vs. State of Bihar, 1998:
o Re-promulgation - Bihar Government promulgated
ordinance to take over private recognised Sanskrit
schools receiving government grants. The ordinance
was issued in 1989 and again re-promulgated in
1991 and 1992.
o The ordinance had a ‘repeal and savings’ clause
which effectively repealed the previous ordinance
for fresh ordinance to be promulgated, although on
the same matter.
o Supreme Court referred to D.C. Wadhwa case
and held the successive ordinances as
unconstitutional and invalid. The Court held that in
the absence of any compensation for taking over
the properties of schools, all ordinances which took
colour and from one another formed a chain were
held to be fraud on the constitution.
o Supreme Court also held that the failure to
place an ordinance before the legislature
constitutes abuse of power and a fraud on the
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
Constitution. It makes it mandatory for an
ordinance to be tabled in the legislature for its
approval.
OTHER IMPORTANT CASE LAWS - ORDINANCE
 K. Nagraj v State of Andhra Pradesh – The power to
issue an ordinance is not executive power but power
of the executive to legislate and hence an ordinance
cannot be declared invalid for the reason of non-
application of mind. An executive act is liable to be
struck down on non-application of mind but not an act
of legislature.
 R.C. Cooper v Union of India - The Supreme Court
has held that the ordinance is promulgated in the
name of the President and in a constitutional sense on
his satisfaction: it is in truth promulgated on the advice
of council of ministers and on their satisfaction.
President’s satisfaction can be questioned in a court
on the grounds of malafide. This means that the
decision of the President to issue an ordinance can be
questioned in a court on the ground that the President
has prorogued one House or both Houses of
Parliament deliberately with a view to promulgate an
ordinance on a controversial subject, so as to bypass
the parliamentary decision and thereby circumventing
the authority of the Parliament.
 AK Roy vs. Union of India, 1982: Supreme Court held
that an ordinance issued by the President partakes
fully of the legislative character and is made in the
exercise of legislative power. SC argued that the
President’s Ordinance making power is not beyond the
scope of judicial review.
WHY FREQUENT RESORTING TO ORDINANCE ROUTE?
 Reluctance to face the legislature on particular issues.
 Lack of majority in Parliament.
 Repeated and willful disruption by opposition parties
ISSUES ON EXCESSIVE USE OF ORDINANCE
 The executive’s power to issue ordinances, goes
against the Philosophy of separation of powers
between the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary
 It bypasses the democratic requirements of argument
and deliberation.
 Re-promulgation defeats the constitutional scheme
under which a limited power to frame ordinances has
been conferred on the President and the Governors.
29
 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
 It poses threat to the sovereignty of Parliament and
the state legislatures which have been constituted as
primary lawgivers under the Constitution.
The Constitution has provided for Separation of Power
where enacting laws is the function of the legislature. The
executive must show self-restraint and should use
ordinance making power only as per the spirit of the
Constitution and not to evade legislative scrutiny and
debates.
FEDERALISM AS PRACTICED IN INDIA BASED ON THE
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
 Article 1 - mentions that India that is Bharat shall be a
Union of States. It means that states do not have
power or right to secede away from the Union of India.
Also, unlike USA, in India, different states have not
formed because of an agreement among the states.
 Article 3 - empowers Parliament to create new States.
It allows the federation to evolve, grow and respond to
regional aspirations as we have witnessed in the past.

INCREASING  Formation of new State - When a new state is

formed, Schedule I and Schedule IV of the Constitution
CENTRALISATION are amended:
o Schedule I - contains list of States and Union
CHIPPING WINGS OF Territories.
o Schedule IV - provides for allocation of seats in
INDIAN FEDERALISM Rajya Sabha. The allocation of seats in Rajya Sabha
is made on the basis of the population of each
#Federalism State.
 Distribution of Legislative, Administrative &
The article highlights restricting impact on Indian federalism Financial Powers - The Constitution has demarcated
especially the autonomy of states based on recent steps each level of government by devising an elaborate
taken by the central government which is also reflective of scheme of distribution of legislative, administrative
increasing centralising tendencies. and financial powers between the Centre and the
UNDERSTANDING FEDERALISM States.

 Two Level of Governments - The term ‘federalism’  Article 246 of the Indian Constitution clearly
refers to the constitutionally allocated distribution of enumerates the Federal character of the Indian
powers between two or more levels of government in Constitution. It empowers:
the modern nation-state system. One, at the national o Parliament to make law under Union List
level and the other, at the provincial, state or local o States to make law under State List and
level.
o both the Parliament and States to make law under
 Division of Power & Functions - Federalism is a Concurrent List.
system of government in which the power is divided
 Finance Commission constituted under Article 80
between a central authority and various constituent
evaluates finances of the Union and State
units of the country i.e., states or provinces through a
Governments, recommends sharing of taxes between
written constitution.
them, lays down the principles determining the
 Both Units function Independent of each other - distribution of these taxes among States. Thus,
Both levels of governments at centre and in states Finance Commission is a constitutionally mandated
enjoy their power independent of the other as body that is at the centre of fiscal federalism.
mandated by the constitution.
 Settling Inter-state River water disputes under
 Independent Judiciary – Disputes between the two Article 262. For this purpose, Parliament has enacted
levels of government are addressed by an The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.
independent judiciary by interpreting the law of the
 Inter-state Council (Article 263) inquiries into and
land.
advises upon disputes which may have arisen between
States.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 30

 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
 GST Council (Article 279A) makes recommendations
to the Union and State Government on issues related
to Goods and Service Tax. The GST Council is chaired
by the Union Finance Minister and other members are
the Union State Minister of Revenue or Finance and
Ministers in-charge of Finance or Taxation of all the
States.
However, it has been observed that conflict between
centre and states has increased in the past few years and
one of the main reasons is over centralisation
tendency of the Union Government. In this regard, let
us go through the three key areas of conflict between
the Centre and states.
RECENT INSTANCES OF CENTRALISATION
1. Legislative Issues
 Increasing Centralisation
o converting Bills into Money Bill
o Excessive use of ordinance
o Lack of debates in Parliament on key issues
o Passing of Bills without sending to Parliamentary
Committees
o Merging of three Municipal Corporations of Delhi
 Increasing use of Concurrent List by the Centre to
frame laws for socio-economic development
o Greater central role – Electricity Amendment Bill –
Selection Committee - State Electricity Regulatory
Commission
o Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi
(Amendment) Act, 2021 – disturbing balance
between LG-CM
 Non-functioning of Parliament due to regular
protest is further impacting law making process.
 Political rivalry in Maharashtra has led to delay in
conduct of municipal elections in Maharashtra post
change in government currently led by Eknath Shinde
faction of Shiv Sena.
2. Administrative Issues
 Increasing politicisation of Governor’s role
o It has disturbed the balance between elected
government and an appointed Governor especially
in opposition ruled states.
o The role of Governor was also questioned by the
Five Judge Constitution Bench in Subhash Desai v
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
Principal Secretary, Governor of Maharashtra &
Others.
o Active involvement of Governor in appointment of
Vice-Chancellor of State-run Universities (Kerala,
West Bengal) has created further frictions between
the elected government and appointed Governor.
 Increasing interference of Governors & LG in daily
administration – ignores elected government –
Despite Supreme Court judgment on control over
services to elected Delhi Government, Centre through
the LG of Delhi has taken decisions in contravention of
the decisions of Apex Court.
 Unilateral decision making having adverse impact
on administration or finance without taking states
into confidence – reflected in decisions of
demonetisation, sudden lockdown announcement
during Covid pandemic in March 2020 increased
people’s suffering.
 Restricting interaction of states with outside
countries - This was witnessed in 2018 post
devastating floods of Kerala where the centre blocked
financial aid worth Rs. 700 crores from UAE.
 Despite the importance of Inter-state Council as a
platform of inter-state cooperation, due importance
has not been given to the institution and has been re-
constituted last year in 2022.
 Concerns & Challenges in working of– Inter-state
Council, Zonal Council, NE Council
 Special Powers of Governors under Fifth and Sixth
Schedule
 Constitutional Asymmetry – Special Provisions –
Article 371A-J
 Lack of co-ordination with states on issues of
health facilities of state – state list
3. Financial Issues
 Introduction of Goods and Services Tax through
Constitution 101st Amendment
o Replaced sales taxes and other indirect taxes that
were partly collected by the states.
o Policy decisions are taken by the GST council where
the states have only two-thirds of voting rights while
the Centre holds the remaining third (more than
25%).
31
 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
o Further, decision of the GST Council requires a 75
per cent majority which effectively empowers
Centre with overriding veto powers.
 Limited borrowing powers of state from outside
India – Article 293
 Fiscal Deficit of State cannot exceed 3% of State’s
GDP as per FRBM Act – These further limits the
borrowing powers of states.
 Centre’s Permission on future Borrowings through
recently launched 50-year interest free loan for
states.
 Higher Share of Cess and surcharge collected by
Centre (A-271) is not distributed among the States –
Agri Infrastructure Cess
 Problems in Paying GST compensation Cess to
States due to fall in revenue because of COVID.
 Sharing of finance by states in Centrally Sponsored
Schemes (CSS) without ensuring administrative
independence in implementing the scheme - CSS
such as Swachh Bharat Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas
Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, PMJAY etc.
acts more as political advertisement of the centre.
These further clips the wings of state in terms of their
delivery as in such schemes, even state shares a
burden of finance.
distribution system (PDS) and fair price shops under the
National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
ABOUT SOCIAL AUDIT
 It is a continuous process that includes verification of
works at the various stages of implementation of
programs/schemes with active involvement of the
primary stakeholders.
 It is a way of measuring, understanding, reporting
and ultimately improving an organization’s social and
ethical performance.
 It helps to narrow gaps between vision/goal and
reality, between efficiency and effectiveness.
 It creates an impact on governance. It values the voice
of stakeholders, including marginalized/poor groups
whose voices are rarely heard.
 It is taken up for the purpose of enhancing local
governance, particularly for strengthening
accountability and transparency in local bodies.
 The key difference between a development and a
social audit is that a social audit focuses on the
neglected issue of social impacts, while a
development audit has a broader focus including
environmental and economic issues, such as the
efficiency of a project or program.

WAY FORWARD  It is a powerful tool, that is, associated with

Constitutional powers including fiscal relations are accountability and promotes the Right to Information
inherently biased towards the Centre. Despite this, Indian (RTI).
Constitution provides healthy space to ensure state’s  The states in India have taken up Social Audits of
autonomy through Article 246. Thus, centre must act various programs/schemes such as MGNREGS,
responsibly without impeding state’s powers and Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), Mid-Day
maintain harmonious relations between centre and Meal Scheme (MDM), Integrated Child
states. Such a step will ensure balance of power as Development Services (ICDS) and Public
provided under the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Distribution System (PDS).
Constitution which forms one of the basic features of
ORIGIN OF SOCIAL AUDIT IN INDIA
Indian Constitution.
 The concept gained significance after the 73rd
Amendment of the Constitution.
SOCIAL AUDIT  National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005
#Governance provides for regular Social Audits so as to ensure
transparency and accountability in the scheme. The
State Government shall identify or establish, under the
Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi has raised the issue of the NREGS, an independent organization, Social Audit Unit
Delhi government’s 10-year delay in framing rules for (SAU), at the state level, to facilitate the conduct of
conducting a social audit into the functioning of the public social audit by Gram Sabha.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 32

 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
 In April 2017, Meghalaya became the first State in the ensures that the audited accounts are disclosed to
country to pass social audit legislation, the Meghalaya stakeholders.
Community Participation and Public Services Social  Scrutiny: Scrutiny of various policy decisions, keeping
Audit Act. in view stakeholder interests and priorities, particularly
NEED FOR SOCIAL AUDIT of rural poor.
 Reduces corruption: It uncovers irregularities and  Timely access: Estimation of the opportunity cost for
malpractices in the public sector and maintains stakeholders of not getting timely access to public
oversight of government functioning, thus reducing services.
leakages and corruption.  Participatory: Encourages participation of
 Monitoring and feedback: It monitors the social and stakeholders and sharing of their values and reflects
ethical impact of an organization’s performance and the views (voices) of all those people (stakeholders)
provides feedback on the work. involved with or affected by the
 Accountability and transparency: It ensures organization/department/program.
accountability and transparency in the working of local  Transparency and accountability: Ensure that the
government bodies and reduces the trust gap between social accounts are audited by a suitably experienced
people and local governments. person or agency with no vested interest in the
o According to the MGNREGA Social Audit Report organisation.
of 2020, close to 3 lakh cases of financial ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL AUDIT
misappropriation amounting to a total of Rs 658  Trains the community in participatory local planning.
Crore, combining audits of both 2018-19 and 2019-
 Encourages local democracy.
20 were identified. 60 percent of these financial
 Encourages community participation.
misappropriation cases pertain to issues of
payment to persons who did not work under  Benefits disadvantaged groups.
NREGA.  Promotes collective decision-making and sharing
 Participative and democratic: It promotes the responsibilities.
participation of people in the implementation of  Develops human resources and social capital.
programs and makes people more forthcoming for CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL AUDIT
social development activities.
 Lack of Infrastructure: At ground level to address
 Strengthens the Gram Sabha: It gives voice and grievances made by the public during scrutiny.
influences power to the Gram Sabha, the lynchpin of
 Lack of administrative and political will: In
the rural governance structure.
institutionalizing social audit mechanisms.
 Collective platform: It provides a collective platform
 Lack of stringent penal action: Against those
such as a social audit Gram Sabha, for people to
creating hurdles in the process.
express their common needs, resulting in social
cohesion.  Lack of awareness: Lack of educated and well-
informed citizenry to undertake regular audits.
OBJECTIVES OF SOCIAL AUDIT
 Low skilled capacity: Lack of technical and
 Physical and financial gaps: Assessing the physical
managerial capacity such as book-keeping, and
and financial gaps between needs and resources
accounting.
available for local development.
 One size fits all approach: Lack of uniform process of
 Awareness: Creating awareness among beneficiaries
social audit across states due to language and cultural
and providers of local social and productive services.
barriers. No Benchmarking of Social Audit mechanisms
 Efficacy and effectiveness: Increasing efficacy and for comparison purposes across districts.
effectiveness of local development programs and

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 33

 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
WAY FORWARD CASE STUDIES
 Director and staff selection: The selection of Social audit in Jharnipalli Panchayat, Agaipur block,
Directors of Social Audit Units (SAUs) should be free of Bolangir district, Orissa
political control and the selection process should be
 In October 2001, the Gram Sabha members of
strictly followed.
Jharnipalli Panchayat conducted a one-day social audit
 Legally sanctioned outcomes: Social audit of development works carried out in the panchayat
arrangements have mostly been ineffective because over the preceding three years. This audit took place
there is no legal provision for punitive action. States with the active participation of many individuals and
should enact legislation to facilitate social audit by agencies, including block and district administration
the Gram Sabha on the line of Meghalaya’s Public officials
Services Social Audit Act.
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)
 Increased frequency: Social audits must be
 It conducted social audits of daily wage earners and
conducted in every Gram Panchayat once every 6
farmers on government projects, and more generally,
months.
to expose corruption in government expenditure in
 Using Management Information System (MIS): Rajasthan. They found various irregularities in finance
Usage of MIS to track details of schemes at all levels to which resulted into right to information movement in
streamline the life cycle of program planning, Rajasthan.
implementation and feedback.
 Displaying Information of Notice Board: The
findings of the social audit should be shared with all
REGISTRATION OF BIRTH,
local stakeholders. This encourages transparency and
accountability. A report of the social audit meeting
DEATH BY AADHAAR
should be distributed for Gram Panchayat auditing. In
addition, key decisions should be written on walls and
AUTHENTICATION
boards and communicated orally.
 Civil society participation: People including students #Registration #Birth #Aadhaar
from different universities should be encouraged to
participate as Village Resource Persons. Example,
According to a Ministry of Home Affairs’ notification, the
Jharkhand has instituted a formal mechanism by
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
inviting prominent civil society representatives to be
has allowed the office of Registrar General and Census
part of the SA panel.
Commissioner established under the Registration of Births
 Better coordination: Seeks clarifications from the
and Deaths Act, 1969 to perform Aadhaar authentication for
implementing agency about any decision-making, such registration. Authentication process, however, is not
activity, scheme, income and expenditure incurred by
mandatory.
the agency.
ABOUT BIRTH AND DEATH REGISTRATION IN INDIA
 Scrutiny: Consider and scrutinize existing schemes
 History of Civil Registration System (CRS) in India
and local activities of the agency.
dates to the middle of 19th century.
 Database: Access registers and documents relating to
 In 1886, a Central Births, Deaths and Marriages
all development activities undertaken by the
Registration Act was promulgated to provide for
implementing agency or by any other government
voluntary registration throughout British India.
department.
 Post-independence, Registration of Births and Death
 Independent agency: An agency like the Ombudsman
Act was enacted in 1969 to promote uniformity and
can be set up to look into complaints of local
maladministration.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 34

 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
comparability in registration of Births & Deaths across
India and compilation of vital statistics.
 Registration of birth, death & still birth is
mandatory.
 Registrar General, India at Union Government
coordinates and unifies activities of registrations.
 Implementation of RBD Act is vested with State
Governments.
 Registration of births and deaths is done
functionaries appointed by State Governments.
 Directorate of Census Operations are sub-ordinate
offices of Office of Registrar General, India and
these offices are responsible of monitoring of the Act
in their concerned State/UT.
 Under Section 3(3) of the Registration of Births and
Deaths Act, 1969, the Registrar-General may issue
general directions regarding registration of births and
deaths in the territories to which this Act extends and
shall take steps to co-ordinate and unify the activities
of Chief Registrars in the matter of registration of
births and deaths and submit to the Central
Government an annual report on the working of this
Act in the said territories.
 Under Section 7(1) of the Registration of Births and
Deaths Act, 1969, State Government may appoint a
Registrar for each local area comprising the area
within the jurisdiction of a municipality, panchayat or
other local authority or any other area or a
combination of any two or more of them. The State
Government may also appoint in the case of a
municipality, panchayat, or other local authority, any
officer or other employee thereof as a Registrar.
WHAT CHANGES HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO FACILITATE
AADHAAR AUTHENTICATION?
 According to the gazette notification, the Registrar
appointed under Section 7(1) of the Registration of
Births and Deaths Act, 1969 shall be allowed to
perform Yes or No Aadhaar authentication, on
voluntary basis, for verification of Aadhaar number
being collected along with other details as sought in
the reporting forms of births or deaths.
 The purpose of the authentication is to establish the
identity of child, parent and the informant in case of
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
births, and of the parent, spouse and the informant in
case of deaths during registration of births or deaths.
 The State government and Union territory
administration shall adhere to the guidelines with
respect to the use of Aadhaar authentication as laid
down by MeitY.
 Authentication process though not mandatory, aims to
promote ease of living and better access to services
based on the Aadhaar Authentication for Good
by
Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge)
Rules 2020.
AADHAAR AUTHENTICATION FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE
(SOCIAL WELFARE, INNOVATION, KNOWLEDGE) RULES
2020
 The Rules has been made by the Central Government,
in consultation with Unique Identification Authority of
India under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of
Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services)
Act, 2016.
 As per the Rules, Central Government may allow
Aadhaar authentication by requesting entities in the
interest of good governance, preventing leakage of
public funds, promoting ease of living of residents and
enabling better access to services for them, for the
following purposes, namely: –
(a) usage of digital platforms to ensure good
governance.
(b) prevention of dissipation of social welfare
benefits; and
(c) enablement of innovation and the spread of
knowledge.
 The rules however provided that Aadhaar
authentication shall be on a voluntary basis.
 The Ministry or States desirous of utilising Aadhaar
authentication shall prepare a proposal to justify such
authentication and submit it to the Centre for making
a reference to the Unique Identification Authority of
India (UIDAI).
CHANGES PROPOSED IN AADHAAR AUTHENTICATION
FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE RULES IN APRIL 2023
 Based on the amendment, any entity other than a
Government Ministry or Department that desires to
use Aadhaar authentication for the purpose of
35
 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
o promoting ease of living and enabling better access  The term “intermediary” has been presently defined
to services, or in The Information Technology Act, 2000 -
o usage of digital platforms to ensure good “intermediary”, with respect to any particular
governance, or electronic records, means any person who on behalf
of another person receives, stores or transmits that
o preventing dissipation of social welfare benefits, or
record or provides any service with respect to that
o enabling innovation and spread of knowledge,
record and includes telecom service providers,
 it shall prepare a proposal giving justification as to how network service providers, internet service providers,
the authentication sought is for one of the said web-hosting service providers, search engines, online
purposes and in the interest of State and submit the payment sites, online-auction sites, online-market
same to the concerned Ministry or Department of the places and cyber cafes.
Central Government in respect of Central subjects and
 Multiple types of intermediaries in the current digital
of the State Government in respect of State subjects.
age comprise e-commerce, digital media, social media,
 If the Ministry/Department is of the opinion that the Artificial Intelligence, Over the Top (OTT) Platforms,
proposal submitted fulfils such a purpose and is in the Online Gaming etc.
interest of the State, it will forward the proposal along
PROLIFERATION OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES IN DIGITAL
with its recommendation to MeitY.
SPACE
 With increasing proliferation of technology and
ONLINE FACT-CHECKERS expansion of digital space at an exponential rate also
increases the risks of cyber-fraud and hence needs
MAY NEED TO REGISTER better regulation.
 We are witnessing new innovative ways of online
WITH GOVERNMENT financial fraud and criminal and illegal activity also
thrives in other areas of digital space.
#Governance #Digital India Bill
 New Complex forms of user harms includes –
o Catfishing - creation of fictional or fake identity by
The government of India plans to register online fact taking personal details of other persons.
checking platforms of various institutions including big o Doxxing - a form of cyberbullying that uses
corporates to ensure greater accountability in the digital sensitive or secret information, statements, or
space. This aspect of registration is expected to be a part of records for the harassment, exposure, financial
the proposed Digital India Bill and such registration of harm, or other exploitation of targeted individuals.
online fact checking platform could be carried out in
o Cyberstalking - is a technologically based "attack"
different phases.
on one person who has been targeted specifically
CLASSIFICATION OF ONLINE FACT CHECKING for that attack for reasons of anger, revenge or
PLATFORM control. Cyberstalking can take many forms,
 The proposed Digital India Bill is expected to including harassment, false accusation, defamation,
classify various types of online intermediaries, embarrassment or humiliation of the victim.
including fact-checking portals - One of the major o Cyber trolling - person who posts or makes
reasons behind the proposed classification of online inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or
intermediaries is that the Centre intends to prescribe off-topic messages online.
specific rules for different types of intermediaries. One
o Gaslighting – manipulating someone using
of the rules may prescribe for registration of online
psychological methods leading to question sanity of
intermediaries or online fact checking portal.
the person.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 36

 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
o Phishing – attackers deceiving people into revealing o Adjudicatory mechanism
sensitive information such as credit card numbers, o New Technologies
bank information, or passwords etc. or installing
 There is also an urgent need for a specialized and
malware such as ransomware.
dedicated adjudicatory mechanism for online civil and
 Increasing proliferation of hate speech, criminal offences. The adjudicatory mechanism should
disinformation and fake news is another very
o be easily accessible
important reason to register online fact checking
o deliver timely remedies to citizens
platforms.
o resolve cyber disputes
WHAT DOES THE PROPOSED DIGITAL INDIA LAW
INTEND TO ACHIEVE? o develop a unified cyber jurisprudence

 According to the Ministry of Electronics and o enforce the rule of law online
Information Technology, the proposed Digital India law WAY FORWARD
should evolve through rules that can be updated, and The proposed Digital India Bill should not only provide a
address the tenets of Digital India which includes: global standard cyber law to act as a catalyst and enabler
o Open Internet for $1 trillion digital economy but should also ensure that
o Online Safety and Trust the digital space is not misused. Hence, the proposed law
should also protect citizens’ rights and address emerging
o Accountability and Quality of Service
technological risks including technological disruptions.

practice questions
MCQs
Q.1) Which of the following statements is/are Q.3) Consider the following statements about
correct regarding the Ordinances under Registration of Births and Deaths in India:
Indian Constitution: 1. The Registrar General of India is the nodal
1. While President has power to issue ordinances, agency for registration of births and deaths in
Governors do not have this power. India.
2. President can issue Ordinances even when one 2. Aadhar authentication is mandatory for
of the houses of Parliament is not in session. registration of births and deaths in India.
3. Ordinance can lapse if even a single house of Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Parliament passes a resolution disapproving it. (a) 1 only (b) 2 only
How many of the statements given above is/are (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two Q.4) Prakash Singh Judgement is a famous case
(c) Only three (d) None which deals with, which of the following:
(a) Civil Service Reforms
Q.2) Which of the following states have enacted a (b) Police Reforms
comprehensive legislation on Social Audit? (c) Medical Education Reforms
(a) Rajasthan (b) Kerala (d) Higher Education Reforms
(c) Meghalaya (d) Jammu & Kashmir
Q.5) Consider the following statements:

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 37

 Constituti0n, Polity and
Governance
1. According to the Constitution, ministers hold Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
office during the pleasure of the Governor. (a) 1 only (b) 2 only
2. Ministers are appointed on the recommendation (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
of Chief Minister by the Governor.

Descriptive Questions
Q1. What is a social audit and how does it empower local communities? Also, highlight how can we make the
instrument of social audit more effective?

Q2. Ordinance has been kept to be used sparingly in the event of emergency. In this respect, highlight what effect the
over-reliance on the ordinance route has on democratic functioning? Also highlight important Supreme Court
judgements in this regard.

Answers: 1-a, 2-c, 3-a, 4-b, 5-c

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 38

 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS &
Security
# GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper II & III (Main)
VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER
TO EGYPT
#Bilateral Relations
Prime Minister of India visited Egypt while returning from his
significant bilateral visit to USA. During the visit both
countries took mutual decision to upgrade their ties to a
Strategic Partnership, which is seen as a significant move
for India’s ties with the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) region
that is long overdue, given their historical ties. The visit was
also important because it was the first official bilateral visit
of the Indian Prime Minister to Egypt since 1997. There have
been visits in between but they have mostly been for the
multilateral or plurilateral events.
HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP
 India & Egypt signed a Friendship Treaty in 1955, and
India’s support to Egypt, including during the Suez
Canal crisis in 1956, eventually led to the Non-Aligned
Movement in 1961, with both as founder members.
 They were also instrumental in the G-77 grouping and
“South-South Cooperation” initiatives
 During the Cold War, India and Egypt were united
over their desire not to become “camp followers” of
either the U.S. or the Soviet Union
RECENT INTERACTIONS
 In the recent times their positions on the Ukraine
war have been extremely similar — refusing to
criticise Russia’s actions but not condoning them
either and calling for a diplomatic resolution.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 India’s decision to supply wheat to Egypt, one of
the world’s biggest importers that was hit by the
blockade on exports from Russia and Ukraine last
year, won New Delhi much goodwill in Cairo.
 The leaders have recently spent much time focusing
on multilateral issues, India’s close ties in Egypt’s
neighbourhood (especially Israel and Saudi Arabia),
food and energy security constraints, and building
more cooperation with the Global South including the
African Union
 Egypt joined “New Development Bank” set up by
BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) and is
keen to join BRICS grouping that will deliberate new
memberships at its Summit in Cape Town this August,
where Egypt will seek India’s support.
During the recent visit apart from upgrading ties to
strategic level following developments were made
 The two sides are also pursuing closer cooperation in
green energy, pharmaceuticals and defence, with
MoUs in agriculture, archaeology and antiquities,
and competition law.
 Leaders identified green and renewable
collaboration will be an important part of future
partnership because of the importance the two sides
attach to clean energy.
 Prime Minister also interacted with leaders of Bohra
community, who are actively involved in the upkeep
of this Fatimid era Shi’a Mosque and highlighted the
strong people to people ties between India and
Egypt.
 Egypt and expansion of BRICS: As BRICS countries
are exploring the possibility of expansion of BRICS,
39
 International Relations & Security
Egypt wants to be a part of the BRICS grouping. India
is also favouring the entry of Egypt into BRICS as it
wants to balance Pakistan, whose candidature to
BRICS is being backed by China. As all decision making
in BRICS is based on consensus, India will have to
eventually convince other BRICS member countries
over the candidature of Egypt.
 Indian investment in Egypt: India has been pushing
Egypt for a special economic zone for Indian
companies along the Suez Canal. This will give Indian
companies geographical footprint to access the larger
markets of West Asia, North Africa and Southern
European markets.
 India Unit of Egypt Cabinet: President El Sisi has
formed an ‘India Unit’ of Egypt cabinet comprising of
seven cabinet ministers and headed by Prime Minister
of Egypt. India Unit reflects ‘whole of government
approach’ of Egypt to take forward bilateral relations
with India and explore cooperation in new areas.
IMPORTANCE OF EGYPT FOR INDIA
 Egypt is the most populous country in West Asia.
 Locational advantage of Egypt:
 Egypt occupies a crucial geo-strategic location on
international trade map as it hosts Suez Canal which
connects Red Sea with Mediterranean and Europe.
About 12% of global trade passes through the Suez
Canal.
 Egypt connects Asia with North Africa and shares
boundary with Gaza strip part of Palestine. This makes
Egypt important player in the politics of Arab Nations
backing Palestine in the long-standing Israel-Palestine
conflict.
 Good relations with Egypt can help India to have
larger access to North-African and West Asian
markets. In this respect, India has been wanting
 Countering global terrorism: With Al Azhar Mosque
and university revered across the Muslim world, a
voice of moderation emerging from Cairo to counter
the millenarian ideas of global Jihad, espoused
prominently by Al Qaeda and Islamic State terror
groups, can play a major role in the battle of
narratives.
 Egypt under El- Sisi is totally opposed to Muslim
Brotherhood (MB), making India Cairo’s natural
partner in countering the MB ideology which is being
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
transmitted by regional influencers including Qatar
and Turkey.
 India’s engagement with Egypt can become part of an
energetic but pragmatic exercise to limit Chinese
influence as China’s bilateral trade with Egypt is
currently at USD 15 billion, double that of India’s USD
7.26 billion in 2021-22 plus Sisi has also been wooing
Chinese investments and has visited China seven
times in the past eight years.
 Egypt is a major market for India and can act as a
gateway to both Europe and Africa. It is also important
to increase India’s influence is increasing in the Middle
East and the Indian Ocean Region.
 Boosting India’s image as a champion of Global
South: India has invited Egypt as ‘guest country’ for
the G20 Summit in September in India. Given
 Defence trade & cooperation: India sees Egypt as a
major market for defence exports to boost its
domestic defence industry. Egypt has already shown
interest in Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and Akash
missile systems.
 Egypt has shown a pragmatic policy by responding in
cautious manner to Pakistan’s aggressive campaign on
Jammu & Kashmir in the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation.
 Moral leadership of Egypt in Islamic World: Egypt
holds a moral leadership of Islamic World as the seat
of Al-Azhar Mosque, which is oldest and most
respected seat of Islamic learning in the West Africa. In
this respect, India has decided to set up a Centre of
Excellence in IT at the Dar-al-Ifta.
NORTH-AFRICA IN INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY MATRIX
 Gateway to African continent: Countries such as
Morocco & Algeria become geographical gateways to
other parts of Africa. This is especially relevant for
India given its desire to penetrate Francophone Africa
 Connectivity to Europe: North African nations are
also important for Europe which provides many
opportunities for India to collaborate with the
European Union (EU) on issues such as terrorism,
migration, and climate change amongst others.
 Diplomatic Support: India looks forward to
generating employment, develop the youth, advance
agricultural technology, and combat issues such as
climate change and terrorism, amongst others.
Specifically with the North African nations, India also
40
 International Relations & Security

aims to garner support for its bid to gain a permanent to trade, defence, and counterterrorism amongst others.
seat at the United Nations Security Council. In the long run, this region will become an important
 Critical Imports: Many of the North African Nations gateway to India’s global power ambitions and its
are trade partners of India with commodities such as presence in Africa, and it would do well to increase its
petroleum, machinery, electrical appliances, medical activities here.
goods, and many others often being exported and
imported between the nations. Of these is phosphate
which is used for agricultural purposes to enrich soil is
PM MODI STATE VISIT TO
a key import from the region. Indeed, Algeria, Tunisia,
and Morocco account for almost 50 percent of
US
India’s total imports of phosphates resulting in trade #Indo-USrelations #Bilateralrelations
deficits occurring in some of the bilateral exchanges.
 Traditional and Non-Traditional Security: The
second aspect is defence and counter terrorism.
India & US share multifaceted Comprehensive Global
India’s defence relations with nations in North Africa
Strategic Partnership which is characterized by:
are staggered with Egypt, however recently India also
Regular Bilateral visits: The political connect at the
upgraded its relationship with Algeria in 2021 having
leadership level, a high level of and very intense level of
conducted its maiden maritime partnership off the
political exchanges has been one of the key features of
Algerian coast in the Mediterranean a sign of India’s
relationship between Indian and the USA
growing interest in growing its maritime prowess as
well. Burgeoning Economic partnership: The second key
component, which has been a very strong pillar of
 Diplomatic Aid: India has long boosted its image in
relationship has been strong trade and investment
the North African nations by providing medical,
partnership. If one looks at the quantum of bilateral
financial, and agricultural aid such as when it donated
trade, touching close to $200 billion, or the strong flow of
more than a million dollar to Libya to help stabilise the
capital on both sides.
nation after the fall of Colonel Gaddafi in 2010.
Further recently India’s “Vaccine Maitri” programme Technology Cooperation: The technology component
meant to distribute vaccines for COVID-19 also and technology component interfaces in the telecom
included North African nations. area, in the space area, in the manufacturing domain.
Along with it a lot of triangulation of technology,
 Vibrant Diaspora: Indian workers in nations like Libya
manufacturing and investment can be identified as the
are well regarded due to their role as skilled medical
next pillar of strong ties between India and US.
professionals. In addition, India has also
provided educational scholarships to citizens of the Strong Diaspora connect: Another key component,
North African nations who often come to India to take always a very vibrant, robust and dynamic component of
advantage of the affordable living costs amongst other relationship and a strong driver of the relationship is also
things the Diaspora and interface with Diaspora.

 Soft-Power Matrix: Many of the North African nations India has close to 5 million strong Indian Diaspora in the
also have a long love affair with Bollywood, making it US, which contributes enormously and very richly to the
one of India’s most powerful soft power exports apart growth, the substance and the strength of the
from aid for the region. Thus, North African nations relationship.
have even made documentaries on Bollywood due to Emerging Areas of cooperation: There is deepening of
the wide penetration of Hindi movies in the nation. partnership, skilling and mobility as the whole new
CONCLUSION domain of renewable energy, health, environment and
green partnership which has emerged as the new area
India’s engagement with North African nations is historic,
of cooperation.
but still not as immense as other nations such as UAE
and Saudi Arabia. There exists immense potential for During the recent official state visit of PM Modi to US, the
India to ramp up its presence in North Africa pertaining two leaders have reiterated the recent visit and

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 41

 International Relations & Security
concluded agreements as a ‘new stage’ in the India US
relationship.
 India and the U.S. announced several agreements on
defence cooperation, critical and emerging
technologies, health, environment, visas and space
including a deal which could pave the way for an
unprecedented transfer of jet engine technology.
 The leaders also highlighted that both countries share
democratic values, while addressing a gathering of
officials and thousands of members of the Indian
American diaspora.
 In the field of defence partnership in a recent move
General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited has signed a big-ticket MoU to jointly
produce GE 414 jet engines in India for the Tejas Mk2
light combat aircraft. This comes as significant
development as the US has been able to overcome
bureaucratic roadblocks.
 The Defence Ministries of the two countries also
launched the inaugural session of an innovation
platform INDUS-X which was organised by the U.S.
India Business Council, to foster defence industrial
collaboration.
 In space cooperation, India is signing on to a
framework of 25 countries for space exploration
and cooperation. The two countries have agreed on a
mission to the International Space Station in 2024.
o The leaders appreciated the rapid progress made
through initiatives such as the Critical and
Emerging Technologies(iCET) and the keen desire
to elevate strategic technology collaborations to
build resilient supply chains. They welcomed the
deepening cooperation in critical minerals and
space sectors.
 The big private sector deals coinciding with the visit
was U.S. semiconductor and chip maker Micron
Technology, Inc’s announcement that it would invest
up to $825 million in a new chip assembly and test
facility in Gujarat, which would be bolstered by
investment from the Indian and Gujarat governments,
totalling $2.75 billion.
 The leaders reiterated their commitment to
combating climate change and achieving a
sustainable future and discussed ways to promote
clean and renewable energy and collaborate on
climate initiatives.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 The U.S. also announced a pilot programme to
renew visas domestically which means that
applicants do not have to travel outside the U.S. to get
their renewal stamps for certain petition-based
temporary workers.
o This programme could expand to cover H1B and
L-1 skilled visas by 2024 and to other categories
eventually.
o The U.S also announced that it will also open two
new consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad to
further give boost to people-to-people relationship.
INDIAN PM ADDRESSES US CONGRESS
 Indian Prime Minister also addressed a Joint Sitting of
the US Congress and spoke about the rapid strides
made in India-US bilateral relations and shared his
vision for elevating bilateral ties.
o PM also outlined the enormous progress made by
India and the opportunities that it presents for the
world.
o Prime Minister also conveyed his appreciation for
the long-standing and strong bipartisan support in
the US Congress for the deepening of India-US
relations.
Indian PM also attended the event, "India and USA:
Skilling for Future”
 The event focused on workforce redevelopment
across higher education institutions to expand and
enhance access to quality education across society.
 Indian Prime Minister presented 5-point proposals for
energising India-USA collaboration in education and
research sector, as follows:
o Integrated approach bringing together
government, industry and academia.
o Encouraging exchange of
Teachers & Students.
o Organising Hackathons on
various subjects between the
two countries.
o Mutual recognition of
vocational skills qualifications.
o Encouraging visits of people
associated with education and
research.
42
 International Relations & Security
INDIA – NEPAL RELATIONS
#BilateralRelations #Neighbourhood
On his return to Kathmandu after concluding his four-day
official visit to India, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal
Dahal ‘Prachanda’ described it as “successful”. He has
reason to be satisfied. This is Prachanda’s third stint as
Prime Minister and compared to his earlier official visits in
2008 and 2016, the visit in 2023 has delivered many more
concrete outcomes.
OUTCOMES OF THE VISIT
 A Transit Agreement signed between two countries,
which will help Nepal’s population to access India’s
inland waterways.
 A long-term Power Trade Agreement has signed to
take forward India – Nepal vision document for
cooperation 2022. Under this, target has been set for
import of 10,000 MW of electricity from Nepal.
 A proposal to build new pipeline from Siliguri to
Jhapa in easter Nepal.
 A MoU is signed for the development of Phukot
Karnali Hydroelectric Project.
 Both countries agreed to achieve the time bound
progress on the Pancheshwar multipurpose
project.
 Both Prime Minister is participated in a ceremony of
Gorakhpur – Bhutwal Transmission line.
 Inauguration of cargo train from Bathnaha in India
to Nepal Customs Yard.
 Two integrated check posts (ICPs) have been
inaugurated at Nepalgunj in Nepal and Rupaidhia
on India side.
 Both countries call for fast track completion of
projects related to Ramayana Circuit.
 New Projects: The National Hydroelectric Power
Corporation (NHPC) has recently signed two projects a
total of 1,200 MW.
o There were announcements during the recent visit
about the SJVN signing the 669 MW Lower Arun
project and the NHPC Limited, the 480 MW Phukot-
Karnali projects.
o To keep pace, work has begun on a second high
voltage transmission line between Butwal and
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
Gorakhpur and two more have been planned
under a line of credit of $679 million
 Finalizing Delivery: The Arun III project (900MW)
started in 2018 by the SJVN (formerly the Satluj Jal
Vidyut Nigam) will be operational this year thus
marking delivery by India on delayed projects.
RECENT DIPLOMATIC INTERACTION
 Nepal’s transition to a federal republic (it began in
2008 with the abolition of the monarchy and the
election of a new Constituent Assembly) has been
politically tumultuous, but largely peaceful.
 Following the adoption of a new Constitution in 2015,
two rounds of elections have been held, in 2017 and
in 2022.
 The current coalition has enough incentive to hold
together, providing an opportunity to the government
to focus on the economy.
 During his path-breaking visit to Nepal in 2014, Prime
Minister Modi had invoked ‘neighbourhood first’ to
denote a new beginning in relations. To highlight the
focus on connectivity, he coined the acronym HIT,
covering Highways, Infoways, and Transways.
However, relations took a downturn in 2015 with the
economic blockade.
HYDROPOWER COOPERATION
 Nepal is endowed with an economically viable
potential of 50,000 MW of hydropower, but till a
decade ago, had an installed capacity of barely
1,200 MW, making it dependent on electricity
imports from India.
 Nepal however has made progress and today has an
installed capacity of 2,200 MW, and in season, can
export power to India.
 A 400 KV transmission is now operational between
two countries and in 2021, Nepal made a modest
beginning by exporting 39 MW which has
increased to 452 MW, earning Nepali rupees 11
billion in export earnings.
 Though in the lean season, Nepal does import power
from India but its dependence has dropped from
20% to 10% during the last five years marking
delivery of India’s developmental cooperation and
efforts in Nepal by making them self-capable and net
exporter in later stages.
AVOIDING IRRITANTS
43
 International Relations & Security
The fact that both sides avoided controversial issues and
public disagreements went a long way in keeping the
focus on economic ties and ensuring that the Prachanda
visit was successful.
However, there are still some new irritants and legacy
issues that the two sides face and where there is a need
for resolution
1. The latest issue is the Agnipath scheme that impacts
the recruitment of Gurkha soldiers into the Indian
Army’s Gurkha regiments, a practice that began in
1816 by the British Indian Army. This was continued
under a 1947 treaty based on ‘equal treatment’. The
Agnipath revision of the terms needs to be discussed
between the two armies and the defence and finance
officials concerned.
2. The second is the Kalapani boundary issue that was
deliberately stoked as a nationalist cause by Mr. Oli in
2020, when his position as Prime Minister was under
threat. A constitutional amendment was pushed
through and Nepal’s map changed unilaterally.
Resolving this will need time because a lasting
solution will need political wisdom and
understanding.
3. The legacy issue is the India–Nepal Treaty of Peace
and Friendship of 1950. In Nepal, conviction has
taken root that the Treaty is unfair as it was imposed
somehow.
o This ignores the reality that in 1949, the Nepali
regime was perturbed by the Maoist revolution in
China and the subsequent takeover of Tibet. It
needs to be understood that the Treaty enables
Nepali nationals ‘equal treatment’ in terms of
employment and permits them to apply for any
government job, except for the Indian Foreign
Service, the Indian Administrative Service and the
Indian Police Service.
o Nepali nationals work in the Indian private and
public sector, have joined the revenue services, and
in the Army, have risen to become two-star
generals.
o The demand to review the Treaty was officially
raised first in 1995; in 1996, it was on the agenda of
the Foreign Secretary’s meeting. Subsequent
summits have included a reference to ‘review and
update’ it, but substantive talks have not taken
place.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
However, some of the cobwebs of history need to be
cleared so that discussions can take place in an objective
manner that addresses the concerns of both countries.
CONCLUSION
The two leaders in the recent visit have kept their focus
on developmental agenda rather than digressing on
contentious issues.
The “HIT” suggested by The Indian
PM is the long way to go between the
two countries such that civilizational
ties between the countries can be
further strengthened, with Nepal
focusing on the socio- economical
and developmental needs while at
the same time India keeping its geo-
political and geo-security issues in check.
UNESCO
#InternationalOrganizations
UN cultural and scientific agency UNESCO announced that
the United States is planning to re-join and pay more than
$600mn in back dues after a decade long dispute sparked
by the organisations move to include Palestine as a member.
The decision was motivated by the concern that China is
filling the gap left by US in UNESCO policy making
The US and Israel have stopped funding UNESCO after it
voted to include Palestine as a member state in 2011 and
Trump administration in 2017 decided to withdraw citing
Anti-Israel bias and management issues . Before leaving the
US contributed 22% of the total funding to UNESCO.
HISTORY
As early as 1942, in wartime, the governments of the
European countries, which were confronting Nazi
Germany and its allies, met in the United Kingdom for
the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education (CAME).
World War II was far from over, yet those countries were
looking for ways and means to rebuild their education
systems once peace was restored.
Upon the proposal of CAME, a United Nations
Conference for the establishment of an educational and
cultural organization (ECO/CONF) was convened in
London in November 1945.
44
 International Relations & Security
PURPOSE
 UNESCO was originally founded to focus on rebuilding
schools, libraries, and museums that had been
destroyed in Europe during World War 2. Since then,
its activities have been mainly facilitative, aimed at
assisting, supporting, and complementing the national
efforts of member states to eliminate illiteracy and to
extend free education.
 In 1972 UNESCO sponsored an international
agreement to establish a World Heritage List of
cultural sites and natural areas that would enjoy
government protection. The sites are designated as
having “outstanding universal value” under the
Convention concerning the protection of the World
Cultural and Natural heritage Sites include hundreds
of historic buildings and town sites, important
archaeological sites, and works of monumental
sculpture or painting.
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
1. EDUCATION
2. NATURAL SCIENCES
3. OCEAN SCIENCES
4. SOCIAL AND HUMAN SCIENCES
5. CULTURE
6. COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
7. AFRICA
8. GENDER EQUALITY
MEMBERSHIP
 Membership of UNESCO is governed by Articles II and
XV of the Constitution and by rules 98 to 101 of the
Rules of Procedure of the General Conference
 Membership of the United Nations carries with it
the right to membership of UNESCO.
 States that are not members of United Nations
may be admitted to UNESCO, upon recommendation
of the Executive Board, by a two-thirds majority
vote of the General Conference.
 All Member States have established a National
Commission for UNESCO. The UNESCO National
Commissions are national cooperating bodies set up
by the Member States for the purpose of associating
their governmental and non-governmental bodies
with the work of the Organization.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 UNESCO gets its funding from contributions by
member states, voluntary contributions,
fundraising, and other, smaller sources of funding.
 Top three contributors being China, Japan and
Germany presently.
 UNESCO is funded by two principal means. The first
is a core budget based upon assessed
contributions. This core budget is allocated to the
biennial programme as agreed at the General
Conference. Each member state pays a percentage
of the overall agreed budget, based upon their
overall burden share set for United Nations family
of organisations as a whole. This project covers the
payment of the UK share, which is a legal obligation
for members.
 Funding specifically for the conservation of World
Heritage Sites includes the World Heritage Fund,
composed of obligatory contributions from member
countries and voluntary contributions, as well as
publications and funds-in-trust donated by countries
that have particular goals in mind.
WORLD HERITAGE FUND
The fund provides about US$4 million annually to
support activities requested by States Parties in need
of international assistance. It includes compulsory and
voluntary contributions from the States Parties, as
well as from private donations.
RAPID RESPONSE FACILITY
The Rapid Response Facility is a small grants
programme jointly operated by the UNESCO World
Heritage Centre, the United Nations Foundation and
Fauna & Flora International. It aims to protect natural
World Heritage sites in times of crisis - and to do so
quickly, flexibly and in real time.
IMPORTANT REPORTS
 Global Education Monitoring Report
 Global Ocean Science Report
 UNESCO State of Education Report for India: Children
with Disabilities
 World Trend in freedom of expression and media
development
INDIA AND UNESCO
 India joined the organisation in 1946 and currently
participates in 19 of its conventions.
45
 International Relations & Security

 There are 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India GLOBAL COMPACT ON REFUGEES
which belongs to cultural, natural and mixed slides.  Establishes a framework aimed at achieving more
predictable and fair burden-sharing, acknowledging

REFUGEE ISSUE that effective and sustainable resolutions to refugee

situations require international cooperation.
World Refugee Day (June 20) is an international day
designated by United Nations to honour refugees around the  Serves as a guide for governments, international

globe. It is an occasion to build empathy and understanding organizations, and other relevant stakeholders,

for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding outlining strategies to ensure that host

their lives. communities receive the necessary support and that

refugees can lead productive lives.
ABOUT THE NEWS
GLOBAL COMPACT ON REFUGEES FOCUSES ON FOUR
 Number of people affected by forced displacement
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES
due to conflicts and unrest worldwide is 103
million.  Alleviating pressures on host countries: The
compact aims to help and resources to host countries
 Presence of global conflicts, such as ongoing wars in
facing the strain of hosting large numbers of refugees.
Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan, and other regions, as well
as the prolonged situations in Afghanistan and  Enhancing refugee self-reliance: The GCR

Somalia, poses an unparalleled challenge. emphasizes the importance of empowering refugees

to become self-reliant by providing them with access
 Issues of displacement are not limited to specific
to education, employment, and skills training.
regions, as South and Southeast Asia also face these
challenges.  Expanding access to third-country solutions: The
compact seeks to broaden opportunities for refugees
 In India, around 250,000 individuals have been
to find durable solutions by facilitating their
forcibly displaced, with women and children
resettlement in third countries.
comprising half of this population.
 Supporting conditions in countries of origin for
CHALLENGES FACED BY REFUGEES
safe and dignified return: The GCR recognizes the
 Forced displacement: Refugees have been forced to significance of addressing the root causes of
flee their home countries due to conflict, persecution, displacement by supporting conditions in countries of
or violence. origin and the reintegration of returning refugees with
 Legal obstacles: Many refugees face legal challenges safety.
in obtaining official recognition and documentation in HOW DID THE GLOBAL COMPACT ON REFUGEES
their host countries. This lack of legal status can limit DEVELOP?
their access to basic rights, services, and
 New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants
opportunities.
marked a significant milestone in fostering global
 Access to essential services: Limited resources, solidarity and enhancing refugee protection during a
language barriers, and unfamiliar systems can hinder period of unprecedented displacement.
their ability to meet basic needs and rebuild their
 Adopted by UN Member States in September 2016,
lives.
its Annex I, known as the Comprehensive Refugee
 Discrimination and xenophobia: Refugees may face Response Framework (CRRF), was implemented.
discrimination and xenophobia in their host
 Simultaneously, UNHCR led extensive consultations
communities, which can lead to social exclusion and
involving Member States, international organizations,
marginalization.
refugees, civil society, the private sector, and experts.
 Economic challenges: Refugees face economic
 These consultations aimed to learn from the
difficulties, including limited job prospects, low wages,
application of the CRRF and gather valuable
and financial instability.
insights.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 46

 International Relations & Security

 This inclusive two-year process culminated in the o Refugees are also entitled to identity and travel
recognition and endorsement of the Global Compact documents
on Refugees by UN Member States in December o The Convention requires contracting states to
2018. establish a central authority for assessing
UN CONVENTION ON REFUGEES refugee status applications and ensuring
 Adopted in 1951 and in force since 1954, is an procedural safeguards.
international treaty that focuses on global refugee o The United Nations High Commissioner for
protection. It is also known as the Geneva Refugees (UNHCR) plays a key role in supporting
Convention. countries in implementing these procedures and
 It has been supplemented by the 1967 Protocol. serves as the guardian of the Convention and its
Protocol.
 The Convention originated from efforts by the League
of Nations following World War I and was expanded o While 149 countries are parties to either the 1951
in response to the increased displacement of people Convention or the 1967 Protocol, India has not
after World War II. signed or ratified either of them.

 Initially, the 1951 Convention was limited to SEVERAL REASONS FOR NON-RATIFICATION BY INDIA
individuals fleeing events occurring before January 1,  Security Concerns: India shares porous borders with
1951, and within Europe. However, the 1967 Protocol neighbouring countries, and conflicts or unrest in the
removed these temporal and geographical region can lead to large-scale displacement of people.
limitations, making the Convention universally The potential influx of refugees could disrupt the
applicable. delicate regional demography.
 It is a legally binding document that clarifies the  Existing Refugee Population: India already hosts a
definition of a refugee and outlines the rights, significant number of refugees, including Tibetans, Sri
assistance, and legal protection they are entitled to Lankan Tamils, Rohingya Muslims and populations
receive. from African countries.
 According to the Convention, “a refugee is defined as  Sovereignty and International Scrutiny: Joining the
a person who is outside their country of nationality or Convention would subject India to international
habitual residence, has a well-founded fear of scrutiny of its internal security, political stability, and
persecution based on race, religion, nationality, international relations.
membership in a particular social group, or political  Past Experiences and Distrust: During the
opinion, and is unable or unwilling to seek protection Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, India faced a
from their own country”. massive influx of refugees without substantial
 The Convention excludes certain categories of international support or financial aid. This has led to
individuals, such as war criminals, from qualifying for scepticism about the effectiveness of the United
refugee status. Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
 Rights:  Narrow Definition of Refugee: The Convention's
o The rights of refugees under the Convention definition of a refugee may not align with India's
include protection against refoulement (return perspective on refugee issues. For example, the
to a country where their life or freedom would Convention does not include economic deprivation as
be at risk), the right to not be punished for illegal an eligibility criterion for refugee status.
entry into a contracting state, access to work, INDIA’S POLICY ON REFUGEES
housing, education, public relief, and assistance,  India's approach to refugees is characterized by the
freedom of religion, access to courts, and freedom absence of specific legislation to address their
of movement within the territory. challenges, despite the increasing number of arrivals.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 47

 International Relations & Security

 The existing Foreigners Act of 1946 fails to

adequately address the unique issues faced by
refugees as a distinct group. Additionally, this act
grants unrestricted authority to the Central
government to deport any foreign citizen.
 The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019 aims
to grant citizenship only to immigrants
Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who belong to
Hindu, Christian, Jain, Parsi, Sikh, and Buddhist
communities and have faced persecution in their
home countries.
 The Supreme Court of India, in the case of
National Human Rights Commission vs. State of
Arunachal Pradesh (1996), affirmed that while
certain rights are specifically available to Indian
citizens, foreign individuals, including refugees, are
entitled to the right to equality and the right to life,
among other fundamental rights.
CONCLUSION: Despite not being a signatory, India hosts
a significant number of refugees, including Tibetans, Sri
Lankan Tamils, Chakmas from Bangladesh, Rohingya
Muslims from Myanmar, etc. The country has a
longstanding moral tradition of assimilating foreign
individuals and cultures, and its constitution recognizes
and respects the life, liberty, and dignity of all human
beings.
SHIFT IN MILITANT
STRATEGY: JAMMU &
KASHMIR
Recent attacks in Poonch and Rajouri that killed ten security
personnel have made Jammu, the new focus of militant
attacks.
SIGNS OF SHIFT
 In February 2021, the UT police seized fifteen
magnetic IEDs in Samba district along international
border with Pakistan.
 In June 2021, low flying drones dropped two IEDs at
Jammu’s Air force station.
 Militants are now targeting the Rajouri-Poonch belt
in the Pir Panjal region “after suffering setbacks in
Kashmir.”
from
REASONS FOR SHIFT
 Thinning of security forces: In 2020, amid the
standoff with China along the LAC in Ladakh sector,
several companies of Rashtriya Rifles were moved
from the hinterlands of Poonch, Rajouri and adjoining
Reasi district in Jammu division.
 Usage of Technology: Terror groups are using newer
applications such as Telegram, to avoid tracking their
movements.
 Reduced Network of informers: Drying up of
“human intelligence” makes it difficult to anticipate the
attacks by security personnel.
 New Hideouts: Swathe near the LoC south of Pir
Panjal Range is a contiguous one of very thick forests,
which stretch from the LoC leading to the mountains,
which make it extremely difficult for the forces to
effectively cordon off the area.
GOVERNMENT STEPS
 In response to the ambush in the Rajouri sector, the
Indian Army, state police, and CRPF have
collaboratively initiated a mission named 'Trinetra'
aimed at detecting and neutralizing the militants
involved in the attack.
 Three new branches of NIA operationalized at
Kolkata, Jammu, and Raipur.
WAY FORWARD
 Security agencies need to keep changing their
strategies as militants modify their plans as per
requirement.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 48

 International Relations & Security
 The emphasis should be shifted from kinetic military
actions, such as aggressive cordon and search
operations, to intelligence-based operations.
PRELIMS POINTERS
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT
BANK (ADB)
Asian Development Bank has launched its 2023-27 country
partnership strategy for India, pledging to focus on
accelerating structural transformation and job creation,
promoting climate-resilient growth, and deepening social
and economic inclusiveness.
COUNTRY PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY (CPS)
 Its objective is to assist India in resuming its path of
development, with a focus on enhancing health,
education, social protection, urban livability, rural
development, and gender empowerment.
 The CPS will allocate funds towards reinforcing
policies, plans, and institutions that contribute to
achieving net-zero carbon emissions.
 Capitalizing on India's distinctive position, the CPS will
foster greater regional cooperation and integration
within South Asia.
ABOUT ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
 ADB a regional development bank established in
1996 with headquarters at Mandaluyong,
Philippines.
 It envisions a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and
sustainable Asia-Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to
eradicate extreme poverty in the region.
 It assists its members, and partners, by providing
loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity
investments to promote social and economic
development.
 It has 68 members, 49 are from Asia and the Pacific
and 19 outside.
 Japan and United States each holds the largest
proportion of shares at 15.571%, China holds
6.429%, India holds 6.317%, and Australia holds
5.773%.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 It is crucial to prioritize the strengthening of
intelligence agencies to effectively identify and
apprehend informants, overground workers, and
underground operatives.
DUTY FREE QUOTA FREE
SCHEME
According to a report by the LDC Group at the World Trade
Organisation (WTO), approximately 85% of the products that
India offers at zero tariff to the least developed countries
(LDCs) under the duty-free quota-free (DFQF) scheme are not
being utilized.
ABOUT DUTY FREE QUOTA FREE SCHEME (DFQF)
 It is a trade arrangement that aims to promote the
economic development of developing countries by
granting them preferential access to developed
country markets.
 It involves granting duty-free and quota-free access to
the markets of developed countries for a wide range
of products originating from eligible developing
countries.
 The DFQF scheme is a part of the World Trade
Organization's (WTO) efforts to promote trade
liberalization and development. It is primarily
targeted at helping least developed countries
(LDCs) by removing tariff barriers and import quotas
that could hinder their ability to export goods to
developed countries.
 The scheme typically covers a broad range of
products, including agricultural goods, textiles,
garments, and manufactured items.
 The decision to provide Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF)
access for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) was an
outcome of the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial
Meeting, held in December 2005.
 India became the first developing country to
extend this facility to Least Developed Countries
(LDCs).
49
 International Relations & Security

CHASHMA NUCLEAR
PLANT
CONTEXT

China inks deal with Pakistan to set up Chashma nuclear

power plant in Punjab province.

practice questions
MCQS
Q.1. With reference to Asian Development Bank (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
(ADB), consider the following statements:
1. India and China are the largest shareholders in Q.3. Chashma Nuclear Power Plant, was recently in
ADB. news, is situated in which of the following
2. It has launched Country Partnership Strategy for countries?
Least Developed Countries (LDCs). (a) India (b) Afghanistan
3. It does not have any members from outside Asia. (c) Pakistan (d) Nepal
How many of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two Q4. Consider the following statements:
(c) All three (d) None 1. Economic deprivation resulting in forced
displacement can be considered an eligibility
Q.2. With reference to the Duty-Free Quota Free criterion for refugee status under the Geneva
(DFQF) Scheme, consider the following Convention of 1951.
statements: 2. The 1967 Protocol to the Geneva Convention of
1. It is part of World Trade Organization’s (WTO) effort 1951 expanded the scope of the definition of
to promote economic development in Least refugees by removing temporal and geographical
Developed Countries. limitations.
2. India became the first developing country to extend Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
this facility to Least Developed Countries (LDCs). (a) 1 only (b) 2 only
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only

Descriptive Questions
Q1. Discuss India’s refugee policy in the context of its geopolitical challenges and humanitarian obligations.
Q2. Analyze the importance of North Africa in Indian Foreign Policy Matrix.

Answers : 1-d, 2-c, 3-c, 4-b

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 50

 SOCIETY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
# GS Paper I & GS Paper II (Main)
NATIONAL RESEARCH
FOUNDATION
#Education
The Union Cabinet approved the introduction of National
Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, 2023. The approved Bill will
pave the way to establish NRF that will seed, grow and
promote R&D and foster a culture of research and
innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, research
institutions, and R&D laboratories.
ABOUT NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION
 The bill, after approval in Parliament, will establish
NRF as an apex body to provide high-level strategic
direction of scientific research in the country as per
recommendations of National Education Policy (NEP),
at a total estimated cost of Rs. 50,000 crores during
five years (2023-28).
 Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be
the administrative Department of NRF which will be
governed by a Governing Board consisting of eminent
researchers and professionals across disciplines.
 Prime Minister will be the ex-officio President of the
Board and the Union Minister of Science &
Technology & Union Minister of Education will be the
ex-officio Vice-Presidents.
 NRF’s functioning will be governed by an Executive
Council chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to
the Government of India.
 The bill will repeal the Science and Engineering
Research Board (SERB) established by an act of
Parliament in 2008 and subsume it into NRF which
has an expanded mandate and covers activities over
and above the activities of SERB.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
FUNCTIONS OF NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION
 NRF will forge collaborations among the industry,
academia, and government departments and
research institutions, and create an interface
mechanism for participation and contribution of
industries and State governments in addition to the
scientific and line ministries.
 It will focus on creating a policy framework and
putting in place regulatory processes that can
encourage collaboration and increased spending by
the industry on R&D.
SIGNIFICANCE OF NATIONAL RESEARCH
FOUNDATION
 As per the NRF detailed project report, less than one
per cent of the nearly 40,000 institutions of higher
learning in the country are currently engaged in
research. NRF aims to get colleges and universities
involved in scientific research.
 It will aim to remove artificial separation between
research and higher education in the
country. Presently universities and colleges are more
focussed towards imparting education and very little
research. One of the objectives of NRF would be to
build research capacities in universities.
 Serving or retired researchers with no age bar would
be encouraged to take up NRF professorships at
universities and colleges. It also plans to offer
doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships to young
researchers at these universities.
 It will give opportunities to university professors and
researchers to participate in long-term projects aimed
specifically at solving societal problems, such as river
cleaning, access to clean energy in villages, etc.
 It aims to identify priority areas in which science and
technology interventions can help larger national
objectives.
51
 Society and Social Justice

 Collages
ISSUES WITH RANKINGS  University
OF EDUCATIONAL  Research

INSTITUTIONS
#Education
National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) recently
released the India Rankings for 2023. Notwithstanding some
of the criticisms on the methodology adopted and the
parameters chosen by the Ministry of Education, a scrutiny
of the 2023 edition as well as some of the available data on
higher education raises some important issues warranting
policy attention.
ABOUT NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL RANKING
FRAMEWORK (NIRF)
 This framework outlines a methodology to rank
institutions across the country since 2016.
 The methodology draws from the overall
recommendations and broad understanding arrived
at by a Core Committee set up by MHRD, to identify
the broad parameters for ranking various universities
and institutions.
PARAMETERS ON WHICH NIRF RANKINGS ARE
COMPUTED
 Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR)
 Research and Professional Practice (RP)
 Graduation Outcomes (GO)
 Outreach and Inclusivity (OI)
 Peer Perception
 Innovation
 Overall
ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH NIRF RANKING
 Majority of Higher Educational Institutions not
captured: According to Ministry of Education, 5,543
institutions offered themselves for ranking under
overall, category-specific or domain-specific ranking.
However, this number is only small fraction (12.3%) of
the total number of higher educational institutions in
operation in India. Thus, NIRF rankings are not
captured for vast majority of higher educational
institutions in India.
 Educational institutions in rural areas not
represented: Higher educational institutions from
rural areas have scant representation in the NIRF
rankings. The lack of participation of institutions from
rural areas raises questions on the inherent urban
bias of the ranking framework, reinforced by choice of
parameters.
 Regional bias: Of the top 100 colleges ranked by
NIRF, 35 are from Tamil Nadu, 32 are from Delhi, 14
are from Kerala, and the remaining are from the rest
of India. According to AISHE, Uttar Pradesh has the
highest number of colleges in the country, followed
by Maharashtra and Karnataka. The list of top 100
colleges does not feature a single college from U.P. It
features three colleges from Maharashtra and two
from Karnataka.

NIRF RANKS DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES IN  Close correlation between faculty strength and
THE FOLLOWING 13 CATEGORIES rankings: The average number of faculty in the top
100 universities is 645, while for the remaining
 Engineering
universities, it is only 242. Quality education cannot
 Management
be provided by brick and mortar alone. This means
 Pharmacy that 12.3% of institutions that have participated in the
 Law ranking contribute close to 90% of scholarly output in
 Medical the country. The rankings underscore the urgent need
for quality enhancement in the higher education
 Dental
system.
 Architecture and planning
 Agriculture and allied sectors

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 52

 Society and Social Justice

(c) facilitate climate-data-driven planning, develop

CITY INVESTMENTS TO climate action plans

INNOVATE, INTEGRATE (d) build capacities of municipal functionaries.

 To achieve these objectives, the Program
AND SUSTAIN 2.0 (CITIIS Management Unit (PMU) at NIUA will coordinate the
provision of technical assistance and strategic
2.0) PROGRAM support to state governments.
#Urbanisation  Interventions at all three levels– Centre, State and
City– to further climate governance in urban India
through institutional strengthening, knowledge
Recently, Union Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime dissemination, partnerships, building capacity,
Minister Narendra Modi, approved the City Investments to research and development to support scale-up across
Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) 2.0, a programme all States and Cities.
under the ambit of the Smart Cities Mission, which aims to  CITIIS 2.0 will supplement the climate actions of
promote integrated waste management and climate- Government of India through its ongoing National
oriented reform actions. programs (National Mission on Sustainable Habitat,
ABOUT CITY INVESTMENTS TO INNOVATE, INTEGRATE AMRUT 2.0, Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 and Smart
AND SUSTAIN 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0) Cities Mission), as well as contributing positively to
It aims to leverage and scale up the learnings and India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions
successes of CITIIS 1.0 which was launched in 2018. (INDCs) and Conference of the Parties (COP26)
commitments.
CITIIS 2.0 program will run for four years from 2023 till
2027, in partnership with the French Development  The first phase of CITIIS was launched in July 2018
Agency (AFD), KfW, European Union (EU), and National with projects in 12 cities namely Agartala, Amaravati,
Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Dehradun,
Hubbali-Dharwad, Kochi, Puducherry, Surat, Ujjain
Vision
and Visakhapatnam.
The program envisages to support competitively
selected projects promoting a circular economy with
focus on:
POLICY FOR DE-NOTIFIED
 Integrated waste management at the city level
 Climate-oriented reform actions at the state level TRIBES IN RAJASTHAN
 Institutional strengthening and knowledge #Tribes #Vulnerable Sections
dissemination at the national level.
COMPONENTS OF CITIIS 2.0
The Congress government in Rajasthan has initiated a move
The programme has three components:
to prepare a policy for the denotified tribes ahead of this
 Financial and technical support for developing year’s Assembly election even though very few among them
projects focused on building climate resilience, are registered as voters in the absence of any residential
adaptation and mitigation in up to 18 smart cities. proof because of their nomadic lifestyle.
 All states and Union Territories will be eligible for ABOUT DE-NOTIFIED TRIBES
support on-demand basis. The states will be provided
 The term 'De-notified Tribes' stands for all those
support to
communities which were once notified under the
(a) set up/strengthen their existing state climate Criminal Tribes Acts, enforced by the British
centres/ climate cells/ equivalents government between 1871 and 1971.
(b) create state and city-level climate data  These Acts were repealed by the independent Indian
observatories Government in 1952, and these communities were

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 53

 Society and Social Justice
"Denotified". A few of these communities which were
listed as de-notified were also nomadic.
 A National Commission for De-notified, Nomadic and
Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was constituted in
2006 by the then government. It was headed by
Balkrishna Sidram Renke and submitted its report
in June 2008.
 Renke commission estimated their population at
around 10.74 crore based on Census 2001. A new
Commission (Idate Commission) constituted in
February 2014 to prepare a state-wise list, which
submitted its report on January 8, 2018, identified
1,262 communities as de-notified, nomadic and semi-
nomadic.
 Not all these tribes are categorised under SC, ST and
OBC. The standing committee report in Parliament
has cited that 269 DNT communities are not covered
under any reserved categories.
ISSUES / CHALLENGES FACED BY DENOTIFIED TRIBES
 Though the notified communities were often
described as "Criminal Tribes", they were often
treated as castes in traditional rural society. There
were restrictions placed on marriage, access to village
facilities and dining. While there are significant
overlaps with the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled
Tribes, these communities ore often treated
differently by police and other authorities when it
comes to crime.
 Despite 65 years elapsing since the repeal of the
colonial era Criminal Tribes Act, the authorities still
view many of these communities with suspicion.
 ln independent India, despite attempts by previous
governments to provide them with some avenues of
growth and development by placing them in the same
category as scheduled tribes, schedule castes and
other backward communities, it has been incomplete
at best and inadequate at worst.
 They remain, in most cases, firmly placed of the
lowest rung of the social hierarchy, often forcing the
prejudices thot were created during colonial rule.
FEATURES OF DENOTIFIED TRIBES
 As is the case with most of the communities in India,
large majority of De-notified and nomadic
communities ore primarily patriarchal.
 De-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities
hove o very strong caste or tribal panchayat. The
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
decisions pertaining to their domestic and social life
ore negotiated in their Kulpanchayat (Caste Councils).
The panchayat comprises of the village elders. Their
laws (unwritten) ore respected and obeyed by
everyone. Any violation of these conventions is dealt
with seriously.
 Being subdued in the social stratum, they were never
treated with dignity. Likewise, their languages too
were not recognized. Every subgroup of these
communities has its own distinct language for intro-
group communication.
 DNTs and NTs show great pride in their past. They try
to survive on traditional patterns of livelihood. They
have been into supply of goods and services to
people in villages and towns, some were pastoral
nomads while others were involved in a variety of
occupations like entertaining people, fortune telling
and practice of crafts.
 Nomadic communities have been forced to adopt
new means of livelihood abandoning their traditional
occupations. Most of them become daily wage
labourers; some migrated to cities like Delhi in search
of work. Communities with traditional occupations of
singing and playing instruments got opportunities to
work in hotels and cafes in tourist places. But the fight
for livelihood, land and shelter is common across all
nomadic communities.
 Behrupia, Banjara, Sapera, Van Gujjar and Birhors are
some of the commonly known Denotified, Nomadic
and Semi-nomadic communities.
SCHEMES FOR DENOTIFIED TRIBES
 Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is
implementing the following schemes for the welfare
of the DNTs.
 Dr. Ambedkar Pre-Matric and Post-Matric
Scholarship for DNTs: This Centrally Sponsored
Scheme was launched for the welfare of those DNT
students who are not covered under SC, ST or OBC.
 Nanaji Deshmukh Scheme of Construction of
Hostels for DNT Boys and Girls: This Centrally
Sponsored Scheme is implemented through State
Governments/ UT Administrations/ Central
Universities. The aim of the scheme is to provide
hostel facilities to those DNT students; who are not
covered under SC, ST or OBC; to enable them to
pursue higher education.
54
 Society and Social Justice

 From the year 2017-18, the scheme "Assistance to  Against AFSPA: The Meira Paibi women were the
Voluntary Organization working for the Welfare of active support base of Irom Sharmila, the activist
Other Backward Classes (OBCs)" has been who remained on a hunger strike in the state from
extended for DNTs and EBCs as "Central Sector 2000 to 2016 to protest against the Armed Forces
Scheme of Assistance for Skill Development of Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Backward Classes (OBCs)/ De-notified, Nomadic and  Over demands for ILP: In 2015, the state saw
Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs)/ Economic Backward tensions over demands for the Inner Line Permit (ILP)
Classes (EBCs). system to be introduced there, requiring outsiders to
obtain a permit to enter. Protesters contended that
this was necessary in order to protect local interests,
MEIRA PAIBIS culture, and commercial opportunities available to
#Women Organisations them.
 Manipur crisis: They have been reported to play a
role in the current Manipur crisis as well. The armed
During the recent visit of the Home Minister to Manipur as forces recently apprehended 12 Kanglei Yawol Kanna
violence raged in the state, he met with the Meira Paibis as Lup (KYKL) cadres with arms, ammunition, and war-
part of his meetings with various civil society groups. like stores during an operation in Itham village in
ABOUT MEIRA PAIBIS Imphal East, but were forced to release the men,
 They are known as women torch bearers because reportedly after pressure from women activists who
of the flaming torches that they hold aloft while confronted the security personnel.
marching in the streets, often at night.
 Also known as Imas or Mothers of Manipur, are
Meitei women who come from all sections of
GLOBAL GENDER GAP
society in the Imphal valley, are widely respected, INDEX
and represent a powerful moral force.
 They are loosely organised, usually led by groups of
#Women Issues
senior women, but have no rigid hierarchy or
structure, or any overt political leanings.
India was ranked 127 among 146 countries in gender
 They may become more visible during certain times, parity, up eight places from last year’s place, in the Gender
but their presence and importance in Manipuri civil Gap Report, 2023 of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
society are permanent and palpable, and their role as
GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX
society’s conscience keepers is widely acknowledged.
SOCIAL ROLE OF MEIRA PAIBIS
 Origin: It was formed in 1977. One of the largest
grassroots movements in the world.
 Focus: Its initial focus of fighting alcoholism and drug
abuse has now expanded to countering human rights
violations and the development of society at large.
 Over the decades, they have led numerous social and
political movements in the state, including some
powerful protests against alleged atrocities by
Indian security forces, leveraging their strong
position in society in the interest of the causes they
have espoused.
MAJOR ACTIONS WERE UNDERTAKEN BY THEM

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 55

 Society and Social Justice
 It is an annual report highlights the current state and
evolution of gender parity.
 It was first introduced by the World Economic Forum
in 2006.
 It is the longest-standing index tracking the progress
of numerous countries’ efforts towards closing these
gaps.
 Elements of the Global Gender Gap Index Framework
KEY FINDINGS OF THE GLOBAL GENDER INDEX 2023
REPORT
 According to the WEF no country has yet achieved full
gender parity.
 For the 14th year running, Iceland (91.2%) takes the
top position. It also continues to be the only country
to have closed more than 90% of its gender gap.
 For the 146 countries, the Health and Survival gender
gap has closed by 96%, the Educational Attainment
gap by 95.2%, Economic Participation and
Opportunity gap by 60.1%, and Political
Empowerment gap by 22.1%.
 The current rate of progress from 2006 to 2023
suggests that it will take considerable time to close
the gender gaps.
 The Political Empowerment gender gap is projected to
take 162 years to close, while the Economic
Participation and Opportunity gender gap is
estimated to require 169 years.
 On the other hand, the Educational Attainment
gender gap is expected to be resolved within 16
years. However, the time needed to close the Health
and Survival gender gap remains uncertain.
 Achieving gender parity in the labour market
continues to pose a significant challenge. Notably,
women's participation in the global labour market has
declined in recent years, and there are substantial
disparities between men and women in various
aspects of economic opportunity.
 Despite women globally returning to the labour force
at higher rates than men, resulting in a slight
improvement in gender parity in labour force
participation since the 2022, significant gaps persist in
multiple dimensions (like leadership roles).
STATUS OF SOUTH ASIA & INDIA IN THE GLOBAL
GENDER INDEX
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 India was ranked 135 in 2022 and has since improved
by 1.4 percentage points, indicating a partial recovery
towards its 2020 parity level.
 The report highlights that India has closed 64.3% of
the overall gender gap. However, India has only
reached 36.7% parity in economic participation and
opportunity.
 India has achieved parity in enrolment across all
levels of education.
 In India, while there has been an improvement in
parity in wages and income, the representation of
women in senior positions and technical roles has
slightly decreased since the last edition.
 India has a 25.3% parity in political empowerment,
with women comprising 15.1% of MPs.
 Among 117 countries with available data since 2017,
18 countries, including Bolivia (50.4%), India (44.4%),
and France (42.3%), have achieved women's
representation of over 40% in local governance.
 In India, a 1.9 percentage point improvement in the
sex ratio at birth has contributed to increased parity
after more than a decade.
 Compared to top-scoring countries with 94.4% gender
parity at birth, India's indicator stands at 92.7%.
 Overall, the Southern Asian region has achieved
63.4% gender parity, which is the second lowest
among the eight regions.
CHILDLINE MERGED WITH
112 IN NINE STATES
#Children #Vulnerable Section
Recently, Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD)
has decided to do away with NGOs collaborating to run the
successful Childline emergency counselling and Distress
Helpline for Children, established in 1995.
ISSUES WITH THE EXISTING SYSTEM OF CHILDLINE
 Childline India Foundation (CIF) has been rendering
Childline services in 568 districts, 135 railway stations
and 11 bus stands through its network of over 1,000
units.
 CIF’s response time to children’s distress calls is about
60 minutes.
56
 Society and Social Justice

 The current system, however, lacks interoperability  All 1098 calls will land at the WCD Control Room in the
with other services, including Police, Fire and respective States and Union Territories, and
Ambulance services, which leads to loss of precious emergency calls would be forwarded to the ERSS 112.
time in distress situations.
 CIF network covered only 568 districts, leaving almost
200 districts without Childline coverage. VAIBHAV FELLOWSHIP
 Hence, Government is likely to stop funding trust
linked to 1098, Earlier, WCD Ministry, under the
PROGRAMS
erstwhile Child Protection Services scheme, was #Education
supporting the 24x7 helpline through the Childline
India Foundation (CIF) and its partner NGOs.
Recently the Government of India has launched a new
NEW PROPOSAL OF MERGER OF CHILDLINE WITH 112
fellowship programme to connect the Indian STEMM
 The merger is a part of the broader ‘One Nation One
diaspora with Indian academic and R&D institutions for
Helpline’ initiative.
collaborative research work leading to sharing of
 In the first phase, the Ministry plans to merge the knowledge, wisdom, and best practices in the frontier areas
Childline 1098 service with the Emergency Response of science & technology.
Support System (ERSS) number 112 by the end of June
ABOUT VAISHVIK BHARTIYA VAIGYANIK (VAIBHAV)
in nine States and Union Territories — Andhra
 Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) fellowships
Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Goa,
program is to be implemented by Department of
Mizoram, Ladakh, Puducherry, and Dadra and Nagar
Science and Technology (DST).
Haveli and Daman and Diu. Other States and Union
Territories will follow in a phased manner.  Ministry of Science and Technology would be award
to outstanding scientists/technologists of Indian
 States have to ensure a dedicated 24x7 WCD (Women
origin (NRI/OCI/PIO) who are engaged in research
and Child Development) Control Room to be
activities in their respective countries.
integrated with the ERSS 112.
 The fellowship programme launched as a step to
 At the district level, a Child Help Line (CHL) would be
further those efforts by shaping and implementing
available round the clock at the District Child
Protection Unit (DCPU) to link children in crises to VAIBHAV programme, envisages collaboration
between scientists of the Indian Diaspora with Indian
emergency as well as long-term care and
Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), Universities,
rehabilitation services.
and/ or public funded Scientific Institutions.
 Help desks or kiosks or booths will be maintained for
 VAIBHAV Fellow would identify an Indian Institution
children in distress at select railway stations and bus
for collaboration and may spend up to two months in
stands.
a year for a maximum of 3 years.
 The Ministry has made the Kerala-based Centre for
 The fellowship would include a fellowship grant (INR
Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) the
4,00,000 per month), international and domestic
‘total solution provider’ for the automation and
travel, accommodation and contingencies.
integration of Childline 1098 with ERSS 112.
 VAIBHAV fellows are expected to collaborate with
 “Incoming 1098 calls will be classified as ‘emergency
their Indian counterparts and help initiate research
calls’, ‘non-emergency calls’, and ‘information calls’.
activities in the host institution in the cutting-edge
 All emergency calls can be forwarded from 1098 to
areas of Science and Technology.
112 or vice versa with the switch of a button,”.
 75 selected fellows would be invited to work in 18
 ‘Non-emergency calls’ may be transferred to the
identified knowledge verticals including
respective CHL units at DCPUs, while ‘information
o Health
calls’ could be handled at the WCD Control Room
itself or transferred to DCPU CHL units for providing o Pharma
information to the caller.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 57

 Society and Social Justice

o Electronics o Energy
o Agriculture o Computer sciences and
o Quantum technology o Material sciences amongst others.

practice questions
MCQS
Q.1) Gender Gap Index is published by which of the
following institutions? Q.4) Consider the following statements about CITIIS
(a) World Bank 2.0 Program:
(b) World Economic Forum 1. It is a program under the Smart Cities Mission of
(c) UN Women Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
(d) UNESCO 2. The program will aim to promote circular
economy in urban areas.
Q.2) Consider the following statements about Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Vaibhav Fellowships: (a) 1 only (b) 2 only
1. This fellowship is provided by the Minister of (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Education.
2. The fellowship will be awarded to Indian students Q.5) Consider the following statements about
in STEMM fields of study. Denotified Tribes:
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 1. All denotified tribes are identified under
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only Scheduled Tribes.
(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 2. Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry for
development of Ministry of Social Justice &
Q.3) Meira Paibis are a women’s organisation which Empowerment.
is has been in news in recent times. In which of Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
the following states it belongs to? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only
(a) Rajasthan (b) Assam (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
(c) Manipur (d) Tamil Nadu

Descriptive Questions
Q1. Denotified tribes need different solutions as compared to other vulnerable sections like scheduled tribes. In this
regard, identify the mains issues and concerns of Denotified Tribes and suggestions for their development.
Q2. The 21st century is era of knowledge economy. How would the proposed National Research Foundation will pave
the way for India to become a knowledge economy of 21st century.

Answers: 1-b, 2-d, 3-c, 4-c, 5-b

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 58

 Geography, Environment,
Biodiversity & Disaster
Management
# GS Paper (Prelims) and GS Paper I & III (Main)

 The country is in the process of expanding its SPR

OIL RESERVES IN SALT capacity by a cumulative 6.5 million tonnes at two
locations — Chandikhol in Odisha (4 million tonnes)
CAVERNS and Padur (2.5 million tonnes).
#Resources #Geography  So far India stores crude oil in the rock-based caverns
and not in salt-based caverns.

Government-owned engineering consultancy firm WHAT ARE ROCK BASED CAVERNS?

Engineers India (EIL) is studying the prospects and
feasibility of developing salt cavern-based strategic oil
reserves in Rajasthan, in line with government’s objective
of increasing the country’s strategic oil storage capacity.
STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVES (SPR)
 Strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) are stockpiles of
crude oil maintained by countries for release in event
of a supply disruption.
 For example, India currently has an SPR capacity of
5.33 million tonnes, or around 39 million barrels of
crude, that can meet around 9.5 days of demand.
 India’s strategic oil reserves come under the Petroleum
Ministry’s special purpose vehicle Indian Strategic
Petroleum Reserve (ISPRL).
STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVES IN INDIA
 India has three existing strategic oil storage facilities —
at Mangaluru and Padur in Karnataka, and
Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh — are made up of
excavated rock caverns.
 Rock caverns are mined underground cavities in solid
rock deep underground, using conventional mining
techniques, and consist of a system of shafts or ramps
and drifts, forming cavities, e.g., in granite.
HOW SALT-BASED CAVERNS ARE DIFFERENT FROM
ROCK-BASED CAVERNS?
 Unlike underground rock caverns, which are developed
through excavation, salt caverns are developed by the
process of solution mining, which involves pumping
water into geological formations with large salt
deposits to dissolve the salt.
 After the brine (water with dissolved salt) is pumped
out of the formation, the space can be used to store
crude oil.
ADVANTAGES OF SALT CAVERNS
 The process is simpler, faster, and less cost-intensive
than developing excavated rock caverns.
 Salt cavern-based oil storage facilities are also naturally
well-sealed and engineered for rapid injection and
extraction of oil. This makes them a more attractive
option than storing oil in other geological formations.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 59

 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management
 The salt that lines the inside of these caverns has
extremely low oil absorbency, which creates a natural
impermeable barrier against liquid and gaseous
hydrocarbons, making the caverns apt for storage.
 Also, unlike rock caverns, salt cavern-based storages
can be created and operated almost entirely from the
surface.
 Salt caverns are also used to store liquid fuels and
natural gas in various parts of the world.
 They are also considered suitable for storing
compressed air and hydrogen.
STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVES PROGRAM
 India’s strategic oil reserves are part of the effort to
build sufficient emergency stockpiles.
 Crude oil from the reserves is to be released by an
empowered committee set up by the government, in
the event of supply disruptions due to a natural
calamity or an unforeseen global event leading to an
abnormal increase in prices.
 The International Energy Agency (IEA), a Paris-based
autonomous intergovernmental organisation in which
India is an ‘Association’ country, recommends that all
countries should hold an emergency oil stockpile
sufficient to provide 90 days of import protection.
 In India, apart from the SPR the oil marketing
companies (OMCs) have storage facilities for crude oil
and petroleum products for 64.5 days — which means
there is sufficient storage to meet around 74 days of
the country’s petroleum demand.
 India has also decided to commercialise its strategic
petroleum reserves, as part of which the Abu Dhabi
National Oil Company (ADNOC) stored about 0.8
million tonnes of crude oil in the Mangaluru strategic
reserve.
 In the second phase, government wants to develop
strategic reserves through public-private partnerships
to reduce government spending and exploit the
commercial potential of the reserves.
WARMER ARABIAN SEA
BEHIND MORE SEVERE AND
FREQUENT CYCLONES
#geography #climatology
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
Behind extremely severe cyclone Biparjoy’s evolution is a
gradual but undesirable change in the nature of the Arabian
Sea. It was always relatively cooler compared to the Bay of
Bengal in north Indian Ocean.
REASONS FOR LESS TROPICAL CYCLONES IN WEST
INDIAN OCEAN
Ratio between Arabian Sea (A.S) and Bay of Bengal (B.O.B)
for incidence of tropical cyclones annually has been 1:4 in
because of the following factors:
 Average temperature of B.O.B is higher than A.S. B.O.B
is a warm pool region. On the other hand, A.S has
higher salinity and lower temperature which is
disadvantageous for cyclone formation.
 B.O.B has abundant water availability due to
continuous influx of water from large rivers like Ganga,
Brahmaputra etc. This freshwater influx makes it
further impossible to mix with the cooler water below.
 Shape of the land around B.O.B weakens the wind
speed thus allowing the winds to spin faster.
 B.O.B also experiences the offshoots of tropical
cyclones from Pacific-ocean.
On the other hand, Arabian Sea is calmer as stronger
winds hand Arabian Sea is calmer as stronger winds help
dissipate the heat and lack of constant fresh water helps
the warm water to mix with the cool water underneath,
reducing the surface temperature.
CHANGING NATURE OF ARABIAN SEA
 Sea surface temperatures over the Arabian Sea have
increased by 1.2 to 1.4 degrees C in recent decades
compared to four decades ago.
 According to a 2021 paper published in Nature, there is
a significant increasing trend in the intensity,
frequency, and duration of cyclonic storms (CS) and
very severe cyclonic storms (VSCS) observed over the
Arabian Sea during the study period, 1982 to 2019.
 There is a 52% increase in the frequency of CS during
the recent epoch (2001–2019) in the Arabian Sea, while
there is a decrease of 8% in the Bay of Bengal, the
paper highlighted.
 Further, there has been an 80% increase in the total
duration of cyclones in the Arabian Sea over two
decades to 2021. The duration of very severe cyclones
60
 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management

increased by 260% in the same period, the paper

added. NATIONAL RESOURCING
 The change in the Arabian Sea’s character has also led STRATEGY FOR CRITICAL
to more severe cyclones forming and sustaining over it
which also means India’s west coast is now more MINERALS
vulnerable.
#Resources
CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTING FREQUENCY AND
INTENSITY OF TROPICAL CYCLONES
CRITICAL MINERALS
According to Council on Energy, Environment and Water
(CEEW) India, in the last 50 years, has recorded a 12-fold  A critical mineral is a metallic or non-metallic element
surge in the number of associated cyclonic events such as that has two characteristics: It is essential for the
extreme rainfall, floods, sea-level rise, and functioning of our modern technologies, economies or
thunderstorms. national security and. There is a risk that its supply
chains could be disrupted.
 Increased sea surface temperature: Over the past 50
years, the global ocean has absorbed 90% of the  But these supply risks exist due to rare availability,
excess heat generated due to man-made climate growing demand and complex processing value chain.
change leading to higher convection and rapid Many times, the complex supply chain can be
intensification of cyclones. disrupted by hostile regimes, or due to politically
unstable regions.
 Rising sea level: on account of Antarctic melting has
increased the moisture availability for cyclones.  Based on their individual needs and strategic
considerations, different countries create their own
 Micro-climatic changes on land: Local heating of
lists.
coastal land is pulled by adjacent ocean further
heating it up.  However, such lists mostly include graphite, lithium
and cobalt.
 Changing weather events: El-Nino and rising marine
heat waves lead to prolonged warm periods over IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL MINERALS
oceans by reducing the ocean upwelling.  These minerals are now used everywhere from making
 Higher Atmospheric moisture: due to anthropogenic mobile phones, computers, batteries, electric vehicles
global warming increase cyclonic precipitation rates and green technologies like solar panels and wind
thereby increasing the frequency. turbines.

 Changes in wind systems: Occasionally intense winds
drive the low-pressure regions to other areas, rising
the frequency in those areas. Ex. Gulab cyclone shifted
to Arabian sea from B.O.B.
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION
 Aerospace, communications and defence industries
also rely on several such minerals as they are used in
manufacturing fighter jets, drones, radio sets and
other critical equipment.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 61

 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management
 According to 2019 USGS Mineral Commodity
Summaries report, China is the world’s largest
producer of 16 critical minerals.
 According to a report on the role of critical minerals by
the International Energy Agency, China is “responsible
for some 70% and 60% of global production of cobalt
and rare earth elements, respectively, in 2019.
Indian steps in this regard:
 India has set up KABIL or the Khanij Bidesh India
Limited, a joint venture of three public sector
companies, to “ensure a consistent supply of critical
and strategic minerals to the Indian domestic market”
 Indo- Australia have signed Critical Mineral
Investment Partnership which enable both countries
to work towards investment in critical mineral projects
to develop supply chains between the two countries.
 In the recent trip of Prime Minister to USA, India
officially joined the Mineral Security Partnership.
Mineral Security Partnership is a strategic grouping of
13 member countries including Australia, Canada,
Finland, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden,
UK, USA, EU, Italy and India with aim to catalyse public
& private investment in critical mineral supply chains
globally.
 Government amended Mines & Minerals
(Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 allowing private
players to mine lithium and five other critical minerals
including titanium, beryllium, zirconium, niobium and
tantalum. These six minerals were earlier governed
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 Level of concentration is even higher for processing
operations, where China has a strong presence across
the board. China’s share of refining is around 35% for
nickel, 50-70% for lithium and cobalt, and nearly 90%
for rare earth elements.”
 China controls cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic
of Congo, from where 70% of this mineral is sourced.
under the Atomic Minerals list, where mining of these
were preserve of government agencies.
WHAT ARE RARE EARTH ELEMENTS?
 Rare Earth Elements or Rare Earth Metals are a set of
17 chemical elements in the periodic table — the 15
lanthanides, plus scandium and yttrium, which tend to
occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and
have similar chemical properties.
 The 17 Rare Earths are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy),
erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium
(Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd),
praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm),
scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium
(Yb), and yttrium (Y).
 Despite their classification, most of these elements are
not really “rare”. One of the Rare Earths, promethium,
is radioactive. Although originally thought to be rare,
many of the minerals are actually common in the
Earth’s crust. However, due to the difficulties in
extracting the metal from the ore, rare is a fitting term.
These elements rarely exist in pure form; they are
62
 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management

usually found within other minerals, making them  Scandium is used in televisions and fluorescent lamps,
costly to mine. and yttrium is used in drugs to treat rheumatoid
 These elements are important in technologies of arthritis and cancer.
consumer electronics, computers and networks,  Rare Earth elements are used in space shuttle
communications, clean energy, advanced components, jet engine turbines, and drones. Cerium,
transportation, healthcare, environmental mitigation, the most abundant Rare Earth element, is essential to
and national defence, among others. NASA’s Space Shuttle Program.

 Examining the available data, it is found that China  The Indian rare earth industry keeps on operating on
consumes around 104,000 metric tons (MT) of rare the downstream production process only.
earth, which is 67 per cent of the total consumption  Associated risks
worldwide.
 High level of technology is required.
 China is followed by Japan, the US, and the EU with 16
 failure to promote entrepreneurship in this sector
per cent, 13 per cent and four per cent respectively.
 Foreign investors have always kept a distance from this
 Data further suggest China controls about 90 percent
sector. This is mainly because the sector was reserved
of global production of rare earth metal while it
for the public sector.
possesses only 36 percent of the global reserve of this
 Stiff competition from China-> Easy to import at much
rare metal
lower prices.
India has the 5th largest reservoir and recognised the
In 2016, a study, supported by India’s Department of
importance of rare earth back in 1950 and started
Science and Technology (DST), provides a framework for
extracting rare minerals through the establishment of the
India to assess the impact of critical minerals including
Indian Rare Earth Limited. India could not, however, make
rare earth in the manufacturing sector, considering both
progress in this sector due to several reasons.
economic importance and associated supply risks. The
WHY DID INDIA FAIL?
study argues the development of this mineral will also
 Lack of separate guiding policy to expand the give a fillip to India’s ambitious Make in India plan by
production of rare earth. enhancing the volume of rare earth production.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 63

 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management

POKKALI SYSTEM and Pathanamthitta Districts, in the state of Kerala

#Sustainable Agriculture

Traditionally, the coastal wetlands in many parts of India

ARCTIC OCEAN
have been used for sequential paddy-fish cultivation
under different forms of institutional structures. In Kerala
COULD BE ICE-
it is called Pokkali. In the recent years there’s a decline in FREE BY 2030s
Pokkali cultivation.
 Pokkali rice is a saline-tolerant, indigenous rice variety
#Geography #Climate Change
grown in the Alappuzha, Thrissur and Ernakulam
districts of Kerala. Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by the 2030s,
 This lesser-known rice variety is developed in low-lying even if we do a good job of reducing emissions between
coastal areas and employs one of the oldest organic now and then. That’s the worrying conclusion of a new
farming techniques. study in Nature Communications.

 Pokkali is a system in which the farming alternates Over the past 30 years, the Arctic has warmed at roughly
between rice and prawn; the fields are used alternately twice the rate as the entire globe, a phenomenon known
for rice farming and prawn and shrimp cultivation. as Arctic amplification. Most scientists agree that this
rapid warming is a signal of human-caused climate
 Pokkali is cultivated with no fertilisers, be it chemical or
change.
organic, as it is grown in waterlogged areas.
 This organically grown rice is famous for its medicinal
qualities and peculiar taste and has high protein and
fibre content.
 Due to its geographical specificity, Pokkali was
conferred a geographical indication (GI) tag in the year
2008.
CHALLENGES FACED
A shortage of skilled labour, the lack of technology that
suits a soggy soil, low crop prices and the disturbance to
and encroachment of the marine and estuarine
ecosystems are the main factors for the decline of this
sustainable farming practice.

Note:
 In West Bengal, this agriculture-fisheries integration is
known as bheries, in Karnataka it is called gajani, in
Goa and Maharashtra it is called khazaan and in Kerala
it’s pokkali.
 Kuttanad below-sea level farming system has been
recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of This map shows trends in mean surface air temperature
the United Nations (FAO) as a Globally Important over the period 1960 to 2019. Notice that the Arctic is red,
Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). It is unique as it indicating that the trend over this 60-year period is for an
increase in air temperature of nearly 4° C (7.2° F) across
practices rice cultivation below sea level.
much of the Arctic, which is larger than for other parts of
 Kuttanad is a region covering the Alappuzha, Kottayam the globe.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 64

 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management

o Old ice is more resilient than new ice, which melts

MULTIYEAR ICE
faster. New ice contains more salty water and is
The ice which remains at the end of summer is called more subject to melting, whereas old ice has a
multiyear sea ice and is considerably thicker than its higher share of water coming from snow
seasonal counterpart. It acts as barrier to the transfer of precipitations and is a source of freshwater.
both moisture and heat between the ocean and
IMPACTS OF ARCTIC MELTING
atmosphere. Over the past 40 years this multiyear sea
 Coastal erosion: Over the Arctic Ocean, sea ice
ice has shrunk from around 7 million sq. km to 4 million.
absorbs the impacts of waves and limits shoreline
BLUE OCEAN EVENT
wave erosion. As sea ice retreats farther away from
“Blue ocean event” is defined as when the sea ice area surrounding landmasses, late-summer and autumn
drops below 1 million sq. km. This threshold is used storms stir up strong waves that crash onto shore.
mainly because older, thicker ice along parts of Canada
 Increase in sea level: Increased wave action caused
and northern Greenland is expected to remain long after
due to sea ice melt can bend the ice shelves increasing
the rest of the Arctic Ocean is ice-free. We can’t put an
the possibility of glacial retreat. Glaciers that have lost
exact date on the last blue ocean event, but one soon
their ice fronts tend to flow faster, and because this
would likely mean open water at the North Pole for the
process introduces a body of ice into the ocean that
first time in thousands of years.
was not there previously, it raises sea level which
further can lead to coastal flooding.
REASONS BEHIND ARCTIC AMPLIFICATION
 Global warming: Sea ice loss leads to increased
 Change in Albedo: When bright and reflective ice (with
permafrost thaw, which drives the release of carbon
more albedo) melts, it gives way to a darker ocean
dioxide and methane—an even more potent
(lowering albedo); this amplifies the warming trend
greenhouse gas. The retreat of sea ice exposes greater
because the ocean surface absorbs more heat from
expanses of darker ocean water, which absorbs more
the Sun than the surface of snow and ice.
solar radiation than white sea ice, perpetuating the
 Changing Ocean currents: Currents are changing
global warming effect.
because more melting ice is injecting the Arctic Ocean
 Alteration of ocean current: Massive amounts of
with freshwater. The missing ice also exposes the
very cold glacial-melt water entering warmer ocean
surface waters to more wind. This mixes up colder
waters reduces the thermal contrast between cold and
freshwater at the surface and warmer saltwater below,
warm waters. It further alters the density differences,
raising surface temperatures and further melting ice.
thereby leading to slowing down of ocean currents.
 Changing Weather
 Changes in weather systems: accelerating sea ice
o Ocean currents drive the powerful polar jet stream,
melt could be linked to the intensification of Central
which moves hot and cold air masses around the
Pacific trade winds, the emergence of El Niño events,
Northern Hemisphere. This is a product of the
and a weakening of the North Pacific Aleutian Low
temperature differences between the Arctic and the
Circulation — a semi-permanent low-pressure system
tropics.
that drives post-tropical cyclones and generates strong
o But as the Arctic warms, the jet stream now storms.
undulates wildly north and south. This has been
 Loss of biodiversity: Arctic melting is disrupting the
injecting the Arctic with warm air.
behavior of marine mammals and ice-obligate species
o The abundance of thunderstorms in tropics creates including polar bears, walruses, and bearded and
a near-constant flow of heat away from the tropics ringed seals. Restructured food webs, changes in prey
towards the Arctic. populations, the arrival of new marine mammal
 Change in nature of Ice Cover species (including new predators and competitors),
o Quality of ice cover in the Arctic region is changing. and pathogens from more temperate seas will
New ice is replacing old ice. challenge Arctic species.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 65

 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management

 Higher human interference: The loss of Arctic Sea ice

overhead at noon on the two equinoxes.
could open up new regions to shipping, tourism, and
oil extraction. More people living, working, and
extracting resources in the Arctic will likely require
more infrastructure, and may raise the risk of
emergencies needing cleanup or rescue.

SUMMER SOLSTICE
#geography

Longest day of the year, for anyone living north of the

Equator, is June 21. The day is referred to as the summer  Since Earth rotates on its axis, the Northern
solstice, and it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic Hemisphere gets more direct sunlight between March
of Cancer, or more specifically right over 23.5 degrees north and September over the course of a day, which also
latitude. means people living in the Northern Hemisphere
UNDERSTANDING SOLSTICE, EQUINOXES AND experience summer during this time. The rest of the
SEASONS year, the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight.

 Earth’s axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees.  During the solstice, the Earth’s axis — around which
the planet spins, completing one turn each day — is
 Earth makes a complete revolution around the sun
tilted in a way that the North Pole is tipped towards the
once every 365 days, following an orbit that is elliptical
Sun and the South Pole is away from it.
in shape. This means that the distance between the
Earth and Sun varies throughout the year.  It should be noted that summer solstice for northern
and southern hemisphere will be on different dates
 During the first week in January, the Earth is about 1.6
different.
million miles closer to the sun. This is referred to as
the perihelion. The aphelion, or the point at which the
June 20th – 22nd – summer solstice in northern
Earth is about 1.6 million miles farther away from the
hemisphere and winter solstice in southern hemisphere.
sun, occurs during the first week in July.
December 21st - 22nd – Winter solstice for Northern
hemisphere and Summer solstice for Southern
hemisphere.
March 20th – 21st – Vernal equinox
September 22nd – 23rd – Autumnal equinox

Seasons are not caused due to this variation in distance

rather they are caused due to tilted axis of Earth.
There are two times of the year when the Earth's axis is
tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in
an equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes.
These events are referred to as equinoxes and occur near
March 21st (Vernal Equinox) and near September 22nd
(Autumnal Equinox). At the equator, the sun is directly

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 66

 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management
 The amount of light received by a specific area in the
Northern Hemisphere during the summer solstice
depends on the latitudinal location of the place. The
further north one moves from the equator, the more
light one receives during the summer solstice. At the
Arctic Circle, the sun does not set during the solstice.
 Summer solstice, however, does not necessarily mean
the earliest sunrise or latest sunset. That depends on
the latitudinal location of the country.
INTEGRATED
MANAGEMENT OF
SEDIMENTS IN RIVER
BASINS & RESERVOIRS
#disastermanagement
Central Water Commission under Ministry of Jal Shakti
organized a one-day national workshop on ‘Integrated
Management of Sediments in River Basins and Reservoirs for
Sustainable Development” at India International Centre in
New Delhi. It was largely agreed that short- and long-term
action plans need to be prepared along with measures to
control silt deposition in Reservoir which may
implemented in phases.
WHAT ARE SEDIMENTS?
 Sediment is a naturally occurring material, organic and
inorganic, that is moved and deposited in a new
location by water, wind or ice.
 It is broken down and transported by processes of
weathering and erosion.
 They can consist of rocks, minerals, remains of plants
and animals.
 It can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a
boulder.
 Sediment that is light enough to be carried by water
without touching the stream bed is called suspended
sediment.
 Sediment created and deposited by glaciers is called
moraine.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
WHAT IS SILTATION AND SEDIMENTATION?
 Rivers flowing in the alluvial plains tend towards a
stable flow condition. In other words, they try and
maintain a balance between the silt load carried and
the volume and velocities achieved by the flow. This is
usually called a stable sediment regime for the river.
 When the core parameters of volume and velocities
are disturbed, either due to a low gradient (while it
enters the plains) or encroachment in flood plain,
widening of the channel (braiding of river streams)
suspended silt particles in the river water settle down.
This is called siltation.
 This phenomenon is normally called sedimentation
when it occurs in a reservoir.
WHY SEDIMENTS ARE IMPORTANT?
 Source of nutrients: Sediment is important because it
usually enriches the soil with nutrients forming large
fertile plains. Areas rich in sediments are often also
rich in biodiversity. The rivers lacking in sediments
(mostly downstream rivers of dams,) are known as
‘hungry waters’.
 Landform development: Sediment deposition create
several landforms like natural levees, embankments,
deltas and riverbanks, flood plains beaches, spits and
be sand bars etc.
 Ecological functions: Sediment processes are an
extremely important part of many ecosystems as well
as of primary importance to particular species. For
example, various organisms in both marine and
freshwater environments rely on replenishment of
sediment for their reproductive habitat.
 Natural water filtration: When water passes through
soil, it is cleaned via physical, chemical and biological
processes. In addition to soil's physical filtration
capacity, soil contains important biota that helps
transform and decompose certain chemicals and other
contaminants from soil, thus helping filter them out of
the water.
 Disaster management: Sediment is one of the main
tools in coastal zone management. Huge amounts of
sediment are being used for flood protection (e.g.,
67
 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management

beach nourishment), and habitat and wetland  Following chart can help us to analyse the role of
protection. sediments in various spheres.

WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF SAND MINING ON a. Geomorphology - configuration of the land surface
SEDIMENTATION IN RIVERS? including the location, size and shape of such
Mining of sand, if done at an optimum level, removes physical features as hills, ridges, valleys, streams
excessive sediment deposit in rivers. and lakes.

 Unscientific and excessive sand mining depletes the b. Hydrology - To be successful, a dam and reservoir
mineral at rates at which the river system cannot project must have an adequate and continuous
replenish it. supply of water. The annual rainfall, the ratio of
watershed area to reservoir area, and the volume
 Excessive mining creates high over banks with steep
of stream of the year must be known.
slopes, which are not stable due to the limited shear
strength of the constituent soil materials. c. Hydrogeology - to determine whether groundwater
would contribute to the reservoir or whether the
 Continued collapse of such banks leads the river
reservoir would lose water to the groundwater
course to deviate towards developed lands and poses
system is also essential.
an ever-increasing threat to them.
d. Soil characteristics - The type of soil and its
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF RESERVOIR
properties such as porosity and permeability can
SEDIMENTATION?
cause or lead to erosion within and around the
Generally, soil erosion is the major cause of reservoir
reservoir.
sedimentation and subsequent sedimentation of
2. Anthropogenic Causes
reservoirs is a complex process dependent upon several
natural and anthropogenic factors. a. Tillage practices: Wrong tillage practices can cause
loose soil thereby leading to washing away of
The causes are classified into two with respect to the
topsoil.
factors, namely.
1. Natural Causes

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 68

 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management
b. Overgrazing: Too much grazing of vegetation by
animals can lead to exposure of the soil in an area
thereby causing erosion.
c. Mining and logging: Mining activities can lead to
erosion due to wearing of the surface through
surveys and excavation as well.
WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS WITH SEDIMENTATION IN
DAMS?
 Reduction of storage capacity: When a river is put to
halt behind a dam, the sediment it contains settles at
the bottom of the reservoir. Reservoirs have become
settling tanks for the sediment in most cases. This
means the dam has less and less space for water,
which it was supposed to hold.
 Impact on stability: Higher siltation of reservoirs
exerts pressure on the reservoir thereby
compromising the dam stability.
 Reduced efficiency of power generation: The high
rate of reservoir sedimentation poses a challenge to
dam operators due to the abrasion of turbines and
other dam components. The cracking of the tips of
turbine blades by waterborne sand and silt
considerably reduce their generating efficiency and
needs costly repairs.
 Reduced discharge capabilities: Sediments will often
block low-level outlets designed to allow for reservoir
drawdown. Reduction of spillway capacity can occur
because of the loss of approach depth when the
sediment front reaches the dam.
 Environmental impacts: Plant and animal species are
sensitive to alteration of both the sediment supply and
flow regime. Increases in sediment concentration in
upstream areas can create turbid waters with a smaller
euphotic zone. This decreases plant productivity,
negatively impacting fish and bird species and can also
cause visual impairment for predatory fish, affecting
their feeding habits. Finally, sediment is a primary
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
carrier of suspended pollutants such as nitrogen,
phosphorous and heavy metals. Sediments released
because of sediment management or a dam breach
may have environmental effects that can persist for
decades.
In India, government statistics on 11 of the country’s
reservoirs with capacities greater than one cubic
kilometre show that all are filling with sediment faster
than expected, with increases over assumed rates
ranging from 130 percent (Bhakra) to 1,650 percent
(Nizam Sagar). A 1990 World Bank paper on watershed
development concluded that in India, "erosion and
reservoir sedimentation are not only severe and costly
but accelerating. It is now obvious that the original project
estimates of expected sedimentation rates were faulty,
based on too few reliable data over too short a period”.
WHAT STEPS CAN BE TAKEN IN THIS REGARD?
 Reducing sediment inflow: Sediment delivery to
reservoir can be reduced by techniques such as
erosion control and upstream sediment trapping.
 Routing the sediments: Some or the entire inflowing
sediment load may be hydraulically routed beyond the
storage pool by techniques such as drawdown during
sediment-laden floods, off stream reservoirs, sediment
bypass etc
 Sediment removal: Deposited sediments may be
periodically removed by hydraulic flushing, hydraulic
dredging or dry excavation.
 Adopting Erosion Control and Soil Conservation
Measures: This includes all those general methods
which are adopted to reduce erosion of soil and to
make it more and more stable. They may include
plantation, control grazing, terracing benching, cover
cropping like grassing and contour binding, etc.
69
 Geography, Environment, Biodiversity & Disaster Management

practice questions
MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements regarding
strategic petroleum reserve storage: Q3. Consider the following statements:
1. Salt cavern-based storages can be created and 1. June 20th – 22nd is the Winter solstice in southern
operated almost entirely from the surface. hemisphere.
2. India presently has all the facilities in rock-based 2. December 21st - 22nd – Winter solstice for
caverns as salt caverns are relatively more capital Northern hemisphere.
intensive. Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Which of the above statements is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Q4. Consider the following statements regarding

Q2. Consider the following: Pokkali system of agriculture:
1. Reduction in discharge capabilities 1. Pokkali rice is an indigenous variety of Kerala
2. Reduction in efficiency of power generation grown in fresh waters.
3. Increase in Nitrogen and Phosphorous content in 2. It is cultivated with no fertilizers.
downstream water. 3. It is conferred a geographical indication (GI) tag in
How many of the above statements can be the outcomes the year 2008.
of Reservoir siltation? How many of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
(c) All three (d) None (c) All three (d) None

Descriptive Questions
Q1. Explain the term 'Arctic Amplification'. Analyse its various impacts. (10 Marks, 150 words)

Q2. The Arabian sea is becoming a new hotbed of tropical cyclones. Discuss. Also assess India's west coast
vulnerability in this regard. (15 Marks, 250 words)

Answers: 1-a, 2-c, 3-c, 4-b

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 70

 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
# GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper III (Main)
GRAPHENE
#New emerging technologies
#Nanotechnology
India is a latecomer in the research and production of
graphene and graphene technology. Presently, China and
Brazil are global leaders in the commercial production of
graphene. India produces about one-twentieth compared to
China and one-third compared to Brazil. The leading
countries in graphene research are China, the U.S., the U.K.,
Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Singapore.
GRAPHENE
 Graphene is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a
single layer of Carbon atoms arranged in a two-
dimensional hexagonal lattice.
 Properties:
o Thinnest compound (one atom thick)
o Lightest material
o Strongest compound discovered (between 100-300
times stronger than steel)
o Best conductor of heat at room temperature
o Best conductor of electricity known
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
o Almost perfectly transparent as it absorbs only 2%
of light.
o Impermeable to gases, even those as light as
hydrogen and helium.
Applications:
 Flexible Electronics: Graphene's flexibility and
transparency make it suitable for flexible electronic
devices. It can be used in wearable electronics, flexible
displays, electronic textiles, and bendable sensors.
 Energy Storage: Graphene-based materials can
enhance the performance and capacity of energy
storage systems while reducing charging time. Ideal to
create supercapacitors and high-performance
batteries.
 Water purification: Graphene oxide membranes
have nanometre-sized pores that enable selective
permeability, which allows passage of water
molecules while blocking the passage of ions, salts,
and larger molecules. This property makes them
suitable for water filtration systems and desalination
systems. E.g., Removing pesticides from water.
 Biosensors: Graphene can be used to sense chemical
and biological agents, explosives, radiation, and other
hazardous substances. E.g., Graphene-based sensors
can detect CO2 and volatile organic compounds inside
buildings with significantly low power usage.
 Aerospace and Defence: Graphene's remarkable
strength-to-weight ratio makes it an attractive
material in the Aerospace sector and for developing
lightweight and high-strength armour and ballistic
protection. E.g., Create lighter impact-resistant
helicopter and aircraft structures.
 Graphene has the potential to absorb and dissipate
electromagnetic waves, making it valuable for
developing stealth coatings and materials that reduce
radar signatures and electromagnetic interference.
71
 Science & Technology

 Medical Applications: Biomedical applications of  It is the fundamental particle associated with the
graphene-based nanomaterials include biosensing, Higgs field, a field that gives mass to other
bioimaging, targeted drug delivery, tissue engineering, fundamental particles such as electrons and quarks.
phototherapy and cancer treatment. o Not all fundamental particles have mass. E.g.,
 Other industrial usages: Used as waterproof Photon has no mass at all.
coatings for industrial machinery, ocean liners, and  Scientists confirmed its existence in 2012 through the
aircraft. Graphene oxide-based wrappers loaded with ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron
preservatives can increase the shelf life of fruits and Collider at CERN in Switzerland. This discovery led to
vegetables. the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to
CHALLENGES IN PRODUCING HIGH-GRADE LARGE- Higgs and Englert.
SCALE GRAPHENE
 It is difficult to make a large sheet of two-dimensional
materials. Attempts to produce a large sheet of
graphene often break it into tiny flakes.
 The easiest way to make large quantities of graphene
is by using chemicals to exfoliate graphite into
individual graphene sheets. But side reactions occur
with oxygen, forming electrically non-conducting
graphene oxide, which is useless for commercial use.
 Two-dimensional structure of graphene leads to
contamination of graphene when it meets other
materials, which reduces the properties of graphene.
 High-grade graphene has a high cost-to-volume ratio;
therefore, production may become centralised in a
few places.

HIGGS BOSON AND

STANDARD MODEL
#Particle Physics
Scientists are studying the characteristic properties of the
Higgs boson to determine if it precisely matches the
predictions of the Standard Model of particle physics. If
the Higgs boson deviates from Standard Model, it may
provide clues to new particles that only interact with other
Standard Model particles through the Higgs boson and
thereby lead to new scientific discoveries.
HIGGS BOSON
 Higgs boson was proposed in 1964 by Peter Higgs and
other theorists to explain why certain particles have
mass.
STANDARD MODEL
 Standard Model of physics is the theory of particles,
fields and the fundamental forces that govern them. It
tells about how families of elementary particles group
together to form larger composite particles, how one
particle can interact with another, and how particles
respond to the fundamental forces of nature.
 Standard Model describes the behaviour of six
types of quarks, six types of leptons, three
fundamental forces (Strong force, electromagnetic
force & weak force) and their four associated particles,
plus the Higgs boson. It has made successful
predictions such as the existence of the Higgs boson
and acts as the cornerstone for theoretical physics.
o There are four fundamental forces in nature:
Strong force, electromagnetic force, weak force and
gravitational force.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 72

 Science & Technology
o Each fundamental force has its own corresponding
boson – the strong force is carried by the “gluon”,
the electromagnetic force is carried by the
“photon”, and the “W and Z bosons” are responsible
for the weak force.
 Limitations: Currently, the Model is incomplete and
cannot explain the existence of dark matter and dark
energy in our universe and cannot account for the
existence of gravity. (Graviton, the force-carrying
particle for gravity, has not been discovered yet).
WORLD'S FIRST X-RAY OF A
SINGLE ATOM
#New Emerging Technologies
Scientists, for the first time, have identified an element by X-
raying a single atom of a material.
THE EXPERIMENT
 X-rays are an important way to identify the type of
material. Until the recent experiment, the minimum
sample size required for identification using X-rays
was roughly 10,000 atoms.
o A minimum amount of material is required as a
sample, as a single atom’s response to being hit by
X-rays can be very weak. Hence, the more atoms,
the better detectors can pick up on their response.
 For the experiment, the scientists used a method
called synchrotron X-ray scanning tunnelling
microscopy. The scientists modified a conventional
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
X-ray detector to add a sharp metal tip that would
be moved to be extremely close to a sample (as close
as 0.5 nanometres from the atom). This is to improve
the detector’s ability to record any signals from the
atom.
 The sample’s atom was hit with X-ray photons. The
electrons in the atom absorbed only photons of
certain frequencies. Using a spectroscope, the team
determined which frequencies had been absorbed
and hence, identified the element. (Every element has
a unique absorption spectrum which can be used to
identify it).
 Significance: Identification of a material using only
one atom can revolutionise research in material
science, quantum mechanics, and other areas, as
researchers would be able to manipulate the atoms to
greater precision and help understand their
properties better.
About X-rays:
 X-Rays are a form of high-energy electromagnetic
radiation. They have a wavelength ranging from 0.01
to 10 nanometres, frequencies in the range 3 × 10^19
Hz to 3×10^16 Hz and energies in the range of 100 eV
to 100 keV.
 X-rays are generated when high-energy electrons
interact with matter. X-ray photons carry enough
energy to ionize atoms and disrupt molecular bonds.
 A very high radiation dose of X-ray over a short period
causes radiation sickness, while chronic exposure to
lower doses can give an increased risk of radiation-
induced cancer.
73
 Science & Technology
Applications:
 X-rays are used in checking for fractures (broken
bones), spotting pneumonia (chest X-rays), spotting
cancer (Mammograms) and detecting tumours.
 Ionizing capability of X-rays can be utilized in cancer
treatment to kill malignant cells using radiation
therapy.
 X-rays have much shorter wavelengths than visible
light, which makes it possible to probe structures
much smaller than can be seen using a normal
microscope. This property is used in X-ray
microscopy to acquire high-resolution images, and in
X-ray crystallography to determine the positions of
atoms in crystals.
 X-rays are also used for material characterisation
using X-ray spectroscopy.
 X-rays can travel through a vacuum (propagate
through empty space without requiring a medium).
This property allows X-rays to be used in space
exploration and research conducted in vacuum
chambers.
 X-rays are used in security systems, such as airport
scanners, to detect objects hidden within luggage or
on a person's body.
ARE ‘SOUND PARTICLES’
QUANTUM TOO?
#Quantum Technology
According to recent research, it would be possible to build a
quantum computer whose information unit is sound
(phonons), in future.
QUANTUM COMPUTERS AND QUBITS
 Quantum computers are machines that use the
properties of quantum physics to store data and
perform computations. They use qubits as their basic
units of information.
 A qubit can be:
o a particle — like an electron, photon
o a collection/group of particles
o or a quantum system engineered to behave like a
particle.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 Any particle that can be controlled and manipulated
using quantum-mechanical phenomena can be
used as an information unit in a quantum
computer. E.g., Linear optical quantum computing
uses photons (the particles of light) as qubits.
 The premise of quantum computing is that
information can be ‘encoded’ in some property of
the particle (like an electron’s spin) and then
processed using these peculiar abilities. As a result,
quantum computers are expected to perform
complicated calculations that are out of the reach of
the classical and even the best supercomputers of
today.
CAN PHONONS BE USED AS QUBITS?
 What are Phonos? Like Photons are packets of light
energy; similarly, phonons are packets of vibrational
energy.
 To use phonons as qubits, researchers from the
University of Chicago, conducted an experiment and
for that purpose developed an acoustic beam-splitter.
o In the experiment, the physicists found that
phonons display quantum-mechanical
properties of superposition and entanglement
as displayed by photons.
o This suggests that like photons, phonons can be
used in the future as qubits.
 However, it is still a long way to the development of a
functional quantum computer that uses phonons as
units of information.
EUCLID SPACE TELESCOPE
#Astronomy # Space Technology
European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched the
Euclid Space Telescope on July 1.
EUCLID MISSION
 The mission is part of ESA’s ‘Cosmic Vision’
programme which plans to explore the origin and
components of the Universe and the laws that govern
it.
 Objective: Euclid seeks to unveil the secrets of dark
matter and dark energy, which drive the
accelerating expansion of the universe. It also hopes
74
 Science & Technology
to understand the evolution of the Universe by
looking at the light emitted from galaxies 10 billion
years ago.
 The payload will have a 1.2-metre-wide telescope, a
visible-wavelength camera (VISible) and a near-
infrared camera/spectrometer (NISP).
o VISible will look for tiny distortions in the shapes of
distant galaxies from different points in time to
DARK ENERGY AND DARK MATTER
 Dark matter and dark energy together make up 95%
of the Universe. Around 68% of the Universe is made
of dark energy while dark matter makes up 27%. Only
the remainder is composed of fermionic matter, i.e.,
things on the Earth, planets, stars, etc.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
understand the tussle between the pull of gravity
and the push of dark energy.
o NISP will look at how quickly galaxies are moving
away from each other, offering scientists insights
into the effects of gravity.
 The telescope will be stationed at L2 (Lagrangian 2),
1.5 million km away from the Earth, and is expected to
deliver images at least four times sharper than
ground-based observatories.
DARK ENERGY
 Existence of dark energy was theorised 25 years ago,
when a team of researchers found that the expansion
of the Universe was speeding up, instead of slowing
down due to gravity (inwards pulling force). It was
hypothesised to happen due to a mysterious form of
energy called dark energy.
o Previously, it was thought that the pull of gravity
will either slow down or even retract the expansion
of the Universe. But the expansion of the universe
is accelerating.
 Dark matter exerts a “pull” on the universe, while Dark
energy has a contrasting expansionary effect.
o Dark energy has been hypothesised as a repulsive
force — a sort of anti-gravity. As our universe is
expanding, it indicates that Dark energy has a
greater abundance than dark matter.
o Dark energy is a property of space so does not get
diluted as space expands. As more space comes
into existence, more of this energy of space
appears. As a result, dark energy causes the
universe to expand faster and faster.
75
 Science & Technology

WHAT IS DARK MATTER? nudged, there would be an effective restoring force

Astronomers know more about what ANTIMATTER to bring a satellite back to the stable point.
dark matter isn't than what it is.
1. DARK MATTER IS DARK It emits no light and cannot
be seen directly, so it cannot be stars or planets.
2. DARK MATTER IS NOT CLOUDS OF NORMAL
MATTER Normal matter particles are called
baryons. If dark matter were com posed of
baryons, it would be detectable through reflected
light.
3. DARK MATTER IS NOT
Antimatter annihilates matter on contact,
producing gamma rays. Astronomers do not
detect enough of them to account for dark matter.
4. DARK MATTER IS NOT BLACK HOLES
Black holes are gravity lenses that bend light. Dark
matter composed of black holes would create
more lensing events than astronomers detect.
SOURCES: NASA ESA 1. L1 point: L1 is located roughly 1.5 million kilometres
from Earth, where the Sun and Earth's combined
DARK MATTER
gravitational pull permits a spacecraft to remain
 Dark matter has not yet been observed directly. It
nearly stationary to the Sun. The L1 point provides an
does not interact with matter and is completely
uninterrupted view of the Sun as the satellite can
invisible to light and other forms of electromagnetic
continuously view solar activities without eclipses.
radiation, making it impossible to detect.
2. L2 point: L2 point is used as a location for space-
 Scientists are confident it exists because of the
based observatories, as it provides an unobstructed
gravitational effects it has on galaxies and galaxy
view of the Universe and is stable enough to allow
clusters.
long-duration observations. James Webb Space
LAGRANGIAN POINTS Telescope is placed at the L2 Lagrange point.
 A Lagrange point is a special location in space where 3. L3 point: L3 point lies behind the Sun, opposite to
the combined gravitational forces of two large bodies Earth. Objects in L3 cannot be seen from Earth and
(such as the Sun and Earth or Earth and the Moon) offers the potential to observe the far side of the
equal the centrifugal force felt by a much smaller third Sun. There is no known natural object at the L3 point,
body. The interaction of the forces creates a point of but it is sometimes discussed as a possible location
equilibrium where a spacecraft may be "parked" to for a future space-based observatory.
make observations.
 There are five Lagrangian points, denoted L1 to L5,
which are located along the line connecting the two SOLAR ULTRAVIOLET
larger celestial bodies. Of these, three are unstable
and two are stable.
IMAGING TELESCOPE
o Unstable Lagrange points are labelled L1, L2 and #Astronomy # Space Technology
L3. Unstable means that if an object/satellite
located at these points is nudged, it will break out
from the orbit and drift off into interplanetary Pune’s Inter-University Center for Astronomy and
space. Astrophysics has delivered the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging
o Stable Lagrange points are labelled as L4 and L5. Telescope (SUIT) to the Indian Space Research Organisation.
This means that if a small object at L4 or L5 is The telescope will be integrated as an essential instrument

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 76

 Science & Technology

with the ADITYA-L1 mission, the first space-based Indian

mission to study the Sun.
The new generation ballistic missile ‘Agni Prime’ was
WHAT IS SUIT?
successfully flight-tested by Defence Research and
 Developed by: Inter-University Center for Astronomy Development Organisation (DRDO) from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul
and Astrophysics. Kalam Island off Odisha.
 It will study Sun's ultraviolet (UV) emissions and AGNI SERIES OF MISSILES
capture high-resolution images of the Sun's
 The Agni series of missiles is a family of long-range,
atmosphere in various UV wavelength range (2000-
surface-to-surface ballistic missiles that can carry
4000 A).
nuclear bombs.
o Sun is one of the most difficult things to study
 Developed by: Defence Research and Development
outside Earth due to its high emissions and
Organisation
radiation.
 There are currently six operational missiles in the
o SUIT will be launched along with the ADITYA-L1
Agni series: Agni-I, Agni-II, Agni-III, Agni-IV, Agni-V, and
satellite to fly 15 lakh kilometres towards the Sun
Agni-Prime and one missile is under-development
(to the first Lagrangian point, L1).
(Agni-VI). Each missile has different ranges and
 SUIT will provide observations of the solar capabilities.
atmosphere slicing through different layers, which is
1. Agni-I
important to fully comprehend the complete
 Agni-I is the shortest-range and oldest missile in the
transport of mass energy within the various layers.
Agni family of Indian nuclear-capable missiles. It was
o Solar atmosphere is composed of several distinct
first tested at the Chandipur test range, off the coast
layers, including the photosphere, chromosphere,
of Odisha in 1989.
transition region, and corona.
 It is a two-stage solid-fuel missile that can be stored
o Each layer exhibits unique physical characteristics
in canisters and transported by road and rail.
and plays a crucial role in the overall behaviour of
 Range: 700 km
the Sun.
 The missile has a specialised navigation system that
Significance: SUIT will enable scientists to:
ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of
 Explore dynamic and complex processes occurring in
accuracy and precision.
Sun's outer layers.
2. Agni-II
 Monitor Sun's activity and provide early warning of
 Agni-II is a medium-range ballistic missile equipped
potential solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections.
with two solid fuel stages.
 Study the interaction between Sun and the Earth's
 Range: 2000-2500 km
atmosphere and try to better understand the role of
the Sun in climate change.  They are said to be a component of "credible
deterrence" against China and Pakistan.
 Address the fundamental question of the existence of
a higher-temperature atmosphere above the cooler 3. Agni-III
surface.  Agni-III is a two-stage ballistic missile that can carry
nuclear weapons.
 Range: 3500 km
DRDO SUCCESSFULLY 4. Agni-IV

TESTS BALLISTIC MISSILE  Agni-IV is an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile which

uses a two-stage rocket engine powered by solid
‘AGNI PRIME’ propellants.
 Range: 4000 km
#Defence Technology
5. Agni-V

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 77

 Science & Technology
 Agni-V is the first of its kind inter-continental
ballistic missile of India.
 It is a three-stage solid-rocket-powered missile
system capable of delivering a 1.5-tonne nuclear
warhead.
 Range: Exceeding 5000 km
 Agni-V can bring almost the entire Asia, including the
northernmost part of China, as well as some regions
in Europe, under its striking range.
6. Agni-P
 Agni Prime missile is a new-generation advanced
variant of the Agni class of missiles.
 The two-stage canisterised ballistic missile has a
range between 1000 and 2000 kilometres.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 It is India's first 'declared' MIRV (Multiple
Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicles) missile,
and it is 50% lighter than Agni-III.
 Agni-Prime may be launched from train and road and
stored for an extended period. It can be used to target
enemy ships in the Indian Ocean.
7. Agni-VI
 Agni-VI is a three-stage solid-fuel intercontinental
ballistic missile in the early phases of development
in India.
 It will be able to launch from both submarines and
land and carry independently targetable re-entry
vehicles (MIRV) payloads.
 Range: 8000-10000 km
INDIGENOUS AIR
INDEPENDENT
PROPULSION SYSTEM FOR
SUBMARINES
#Defence Technology
Larsen & Toubro and DRDO signed a contract to develop two
Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system modules for
Kalvari-class submarines of the Indian Navy. These modules
constitute the core of the fuel cell-based AIP System,
indigenously developed by the Naval Materials Research
Laboratory of DRDO.
 The technology of the indigenous AIP system is unique
that it generates hydrogen on demand, thereby
eliminating the need for carrying hydrogen
onboard which is a major safety concern for a
submarine.
TYPES OF SUBMARINES
1. Diesel-Electric Submarine:
 Propulsion System: These submarines are powered
by diesel engines that drive electrical generators,
which in turn power electric motors to propel the
submarine.
 Energy Source: Diesel-electric submarines rely on
stored diesel fuel for their power, which limits their
78
 Science & Technology
underwater endurance and requires them to
surface to intake air (oxygen) for the diesel engines.
 Advantages: Generally quieter than nuclear
submarines, making them suitable for stealth
operations. They are less expensive to build and
maintain compared to nuclear submarines.
 Limitations: Due to their dependence on
atmospheric air for their diesel engines, diesel-electric
submarines have limited submerged endurance and
speed. They need to surface periodically (1-2 days),
which can make them more vulnerable to detection
and attack.
2. Air Propulsion Submarine:
 Propulsion System: The submarines use a
combination of diesel engines and Air Independent
Propulsion systems. Air Independent Propulsion (AIP)
is a technology used in submarines to extend their
underwater endurance and operational
capabilities than ordinary diesel-electric submarines.
 Energy Source: In addition to diesel engines, AIP
submarines incorporate advanced technologies like
fuel cells.
o Fuel cell AIP systems generate electricity through
an electrochemical process using hydrogen
(conventionally stored onboard the submarine) and
oxygen (from onboard storage or seawater).
o The electricity produced is used to power the
submarine's propulsion and electrical systems,
while the byproduct of the reaction is water.
 Advantages: Offer improved underwater endurance
compared to traditional diesel-electric submarines,
can stay submerged for extended periods (more
than a fortnight) underwater without the need to
surface. They have reduced acoustic signatures,
making them harder to detect by sonar systems.
 Limitations: AIP systems do not eliminate the need
for traditional diesel engines and still must surface
after a period. Installing AIP increases the length and
weight of the submarines and they have lower speed
capabilities.
3. Nuclear Submarine:
 Propulsion System: Nuclear submarines are powered
by nuclear reactors, which generate heat that
produces steam to drive turbines and propel the
submarine.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 Energy Source: Nuclear reactors use nuclear fuel
(typically enriched Uranium or Plutonium) to generate
heat through controlled nuclear reactions, providing
an almost limitless source of power.
 Advantages: Nuclear submarines have virtually
unlimited underwater endurance as they do not
require air for propulsion and can operate for months
or even years without surfacing. They can achieve
high speeds and have immense power capabilities.
 Limitations: Nuclear submarines are more
expensive to build and maintain due to the
complexity of their propulsion systems. They also
require a sophisticated infrastructure for handling and
managing nuclear fuel. Nuclear propulsion systems
also produce noise, making them less stealthy than
diesel-electric or AIP submarines.
KAVACH SYSTEM
#New emerging technologies
The tragic railway accident in Balasore district of Odisha has
highlighted the need for safety mechanisms to prevent such
tragedies.
WHAT IS KAVACH?
 KAVACH is an indigenously developed Automatic
Train Protection system by the Research Design and
Standards Organisation in collaboration with Indian
industry.
 It is a state-of-the-art electronic system with Safety
Integrity Level-4 standards with the probability of an
error being one in 10,000 years.
FEATURES OF KAVACH
 It prevents the collision between two locomotives
equipped with functional KAVACH systems.
 It activates the train’s braking system
automatically if the driver fails to control the train as
per speed restrictions.
 It is meant to provide protection by preventing trains
to pass the signal at Red (which marks danger) and
avoid collision.
 The system also relays SoS messages during
emergency situations. An added feature is the
centralised live monitoring of train movements
through the Network Monitor System.
79
 Science & Technology
HOW DOES KAVACH WORK ON RAILWAY SYSTEMS?
 Traffic Collision Avoidance System helps in two-way
communication between the station master and loco
pilot to convey any emergency message.
o A set of electronic devices and Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) devices are installed in
locomotives, in the signalling system as well as the
tracks.
o They connect using ultra-high radio frequencies
to control the brakes of trains and alert drivers, all
based on the logic programmed into them.
 The instrument panel inside the cabin helps loco pilot
know about the signal in advance without visual
sighting and the permissible speeds to be
maintained.
 If a red signal is jumped and two trains come face to
face on the same line, the technology automatically
takes over and applies sudden brakes.
 Additionally, the hooter activates by itself when
approaching a level crossing which serves as a big
boon to loco pilots during fog conditions when
visibility is low.
Commission of Railway Safety
 Commission of Railway Safety is an administrative
office under Ministry of Civil Aviation of Central
Government.
 It deals with matters pertaining to safety of rail travel
and train operation.
 There are 09 Commissioners of Railway Safety (CRS) &
01 Circle Office of Commissioner of Metro Railway
Safety (CMRS) located at different places across the
country and looking after the works of different Zonal
Railways.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 The body is headquartered at Lucknow.
 It is a statutory body constituted under the Railways
Act, 1989.
 The body has been given following powers under
Railways Act, 1989 and Metro Railway Act, 2002:
o To inspect new railways with a view to determine
whether they are fit to be opened for public
carriage of passengers and to report to the Central
Government.
o To make such periodical or other inspections of any
railway or of any Rolling Stock used.
o To make accident inquiry under the Railway Act.
NON-COMMUNICABLE
DISEASES RISING IN INDIA
#Biology #Health
A decade-long nationwide study funded by the Indian
Council of Medical Research and Department of Health
Research and coordinated by the Madras Diabetes Research
Foundation has found that 31 million more Indians became
diabetic in four years (2019-2021) and nearly 40% of the
population was hit by abdominal obesity.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE LATEST STUDY
 The study is the first comprehensive
epidemiological research paper which includes
participants from 31 States and some Union
Territories, with a large sample size of 1,13,043
individuals. It shows two big trend indicators:
o First, diabetes and other metabolic non-
communicable diseases, such as hypertension,
obesity and dyslipidaemia are much more common
than estimated previously in India.
o Secondly, while currently, urban regions had higher
rates of all metabolic NCDs than rural areas, except
for prediabetes, rural India will see a diabetes
explosion in the next five years if left unregulated.
 The study highlights interstate and inter-regional
variations in NCDs:
o Highest diabetes prevalence was found in Goa,
Puducherry and Kerala. While prediabetes was
80
 Science & Technology
prevalent in Sikkim, hypertension was highest in
Punjab.
o Generalised obesity and abdominal obesity were
highest in Puducherry, while Kerala had high
hypercholesterolemia and high LDL cholesterol.
o Lowest prevalence of NCDs was found in U.P.,
Mizoram, Meghalaya and Jharkhand.
NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
 NCDs are a group of chronic diseases that are not
caused by infectious agents and typically have a
long development period.
 They include a range of conditions such as
cardiovascular diseases (E.g., heart disease and
stroke), cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases
(E.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and
mental health disorders.
 Risk factors for NCDs include poor diet (increase in
consumption of ultra-processed food with cosmetic
additives, high sugar, fat and sodium content),
physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol consumption,
pollution and environmental factors.
 According to the World Health Organisation, NCDs
account for 71% of all deaths globally, with
cardiovascular diseases being the leading cause.
o 66% of total deaths in India in 2019 were due to
NCDs.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
 National Action Plan for NCD: In response to the
“WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and
Control of NCDs 2013-2020”, India is the first country
to adopt the National Action Plan with specific
national targets and indicators aimed at reducing the
number of global premature deaths from NCDs by
25% by 2025.
 National Programme for Prevention and Control of
Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD):
o Launched in 2010, the National Programme for
Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes,
Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS)
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
focuses on prevention, early detection, and
management of NCDs. It includes setting up NCD
clinics, training healthcare providers, raising
awareness, and providing free diagnostic services
and treatment for NCDs.
o NPCDCS has been rebranded and expanded into
NP-NCD broadening its scope to include Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Asthma,
Chronic Kidney Disease, and Non-Alcoholic Fatty
Liver Disease.
 National Tobacco Control Program: This program
aims to control tobacco use, which is a major risk
factor for NCDs. It includes measures like awareness
campaigns, enforcing laws on tobacco advertising and
packaging etc.
 National Mental Health Program: Mental health
disorders contribute to the burden of NCDs. The
NMHP, launched in 1982 and revised in 2014, focuses
on promoting mental health, preventing mental
disorders, and providing accessible and affordable
mental health services.
 Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya
Yojana: This flagship health insurance scheme
provides coverage for hospitalization expenses to over
500 million vulnerable individuals. It covers the
treatment of several NCDs, including cardiovascular
diseases, cancer, and diabetes.
 Eat Right India Movement: Launched by the Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India, this
movement promotes healthy eating habits, food
safety, and hygiene. One of its key goals is to make
Indian food trans-fat free by 2022. (Trans-fats can
increase the risk of heart disease).
 National Salt Reduction Initiative: To combat
hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases, the
initiative aims at raising public awareness and
promoting the production/consumption of low-salt
food products.
81
 Science & Technology

practice questions
MCQs
Q1. Which among the following is/are applications (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and
of Graphene or Graphene-based derivatives? Statement-II is the correct explanation for
1. Manufacturing flexible electronic devices Statement-I
2. Enhancing stealth capabilities of military vehicles (b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and
3. Water purification and desalination Statement-II is not the correct explanation for
4. Sensors for environmental monitoring Statement-I

Select the correct answer using the codes given below: (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

(a) 1 and 3 only (b) 2 and 4 only (d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

(c) 1, 2 and 4 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q4. Consider the following statements with

Q2. Consider the following statements: reference to Solar Ultraviolet Imaging

Statement-I: X-ray crystallography is used to determine
the positions of atoms in crystals. 1.
Statement-II: X-rays have much shorter wavelengths
than visible light which makes it possible to probe 2.
Telescope (SUIT):
SUIT is one of the main payloads on the
Gaganyaan human space-flight programme.
SUIT aims to study the solar atmosphere by

structures much smaller than can be seen using a observing various solar layers and understanding

normal microscope. the transport of mass and energy within them.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

above statements? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only

(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Statement-II is the correct explanation for
Statement-I Q5. Consider the following statements with
(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and reference to KAVACH:
Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I: KAVACH activates the train’s braking
Statement-I system automatically if the driver fails to control
(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect the train as per speed restrictions.
(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct Statement-II: The Traffic collision avoidance
system in KAVACH enables two-way

Q3. Consider the following statements: communication between the station master and
loco-pilot using Near Field Communication
Statement 1: Phonons, the packets of vibrational
technology.
energy, technically qualify to act as qubits.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the
Statement 2: Any particle that can be controlled and
above statements?
manipulated using quantum-mechanical phenomena
can be used as an information unit in a quantum (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and

computer. Statement-II is the correct explanation for

Statement-I
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the
above statements?

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 82

 Science & Technology

(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
Statement-II is not the correct explanation for (d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
Statement-I

Descriptive Questions
Q1. Graphene has been touted as a wonder material owing to its unique properties. Mention the potential
applications of Graphene and challenges in the production of high-grade large-scale graphene.
Q2. Comment on the status and growing burden of non-communicable diseases in India. Highlight some initiatives
taken by the Government for their prevention and control.

Answers: 1-d, 2-a, 3-a, 4-b, 5-c

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 83

 History, HERITAGE & Culture
# GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper I (Main)
AHMEDNAGAR OF
MAHARASHTRA TO
RENAMED AFTER
AHILYADEVI HOLKAR
#Medievalindia #Personalities
aharashtra Government is planning to rename Ahmednagar
after Ahilyadevi Holkar (Maratha queen of Malwa).
AHILYADEVI HOLKAR
 She was born in Chaundi village (present-day
Ahmednagar district) of Maharashtra.
 She belonged to Holkar dynasty of Maratha which
ruled from Indore.
 She made Maheshwar (south-west of Indore in
Madhya Pradesh) the home of the Holkar Dynasty.
 She came to power after passing of her husband
Khande Rao Holkar and father-in-law Malhar Rao
Holkar.
 She is known to have built hundreds of temples and
Dharmashalas across India. She is particularly well-
known for restoring and rededicating some of the
holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites that the Mughal
Emperor Aurangzeb had desecrated and destroyed a
century earlier.
 She rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath temple which was
destroyed by Aurangzeb to build Gyanvapi Mosque in
Banaras.
 Current structure of Vishnupad Temple, Gaya, Bihar
was built by Ahilya Bai Holkar in 1787.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
ABOUT HOLKARS OF MARATHA CONFEDERACY
 Holkars were Subedar under Peshwa Baji Rao I (Pune
seat). The dynasty was founded by Malhar Rao, who
joined the service of Peshwas of Maratha Empire in
1721, and quickly rose to the rank of Subedar. The
name of the dynasty was associated with the title of
the subedar, who was known informally as Holkar.
 In the 1720s, he led Maratha armies in Malwa region,
and in 1733 was granted 9 Parganas in the vicinity of
Indore by the Peshwa.
 In 1747, he started the construction of his royal
palace, the Rajwada. By the time of his death, he ruled
much of Malwa, and was acknowledged as one of the
five virtually independent rulers of the Maratha
Confederacy.
 He was succeeded by Ahilyabai Holkar (r. 1767–1795),
his daughter-in-law. She was born in the Chaundi
village in Maharashtra. She moved the capital to
Maheshwar, south of Indore on the Narmada River.
 Due to internal feud, Holkar became independent and
remained so till 1818. After this they were under the
protectorate of British Empire.
SAVITRIBAI PHULE
#modernindia #personalities
Maharashtra Chief Minister directed to initiate a probe into
a website that allegedly posted derogatory content against
pioneering 19th-century educationists.
SAVITRIBAI PHULE
 She was from the Mali community and was born on
January 3, 1831, in Maharashtra’s Naigaon village.
84
 History, Heritage & Culture
 At the tender age of 10, she was married to 12-year-
old Jyotirao Phule, a man of social reform himself, who
believed that women must be educated. He began to
home-school Savitribai. Later, Jyotirao admitted
Savitribai to a teacher’s training institution in Pune.
 She was an exponent of female education, equality,
and justice who took on the caste system with her
revolutionary ideals and strived to dismantle the elite-
controlled education system.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF SAVITRIBAI PHULE IN
EDUCATION
 In 1848, Savitibai and Jyotiba established the first-
ever school for girls in Bhidewada of which
Savitribai was the headmistress.
 In 1853, they established an education society that
opened more schools for girls and women from all
classes, in surrounding villages.
 Savitribai and Jyotirao broke social barriers, paving the
way for women's emancipation in a time when
female education was unheard of.
 Known as modern India’s first female teacher and
in 1852, she was declared the best teacher in the state
by the British government.
ROLE AS SOCIAL REFORMER
 Savitribai started the Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha
(‘Home for the Prevention of Infanticide’), a
childcare centre for sexually exploited, pregnant
widows, and rape victims facing discrimination.
 She also adopted a child of a widow, Yashwantrao.
 In 1852, she started the Mahila Seva Mandal to fight
for the rights of women.
 She organised a strike against barbers in Pune and
Mumbai, putting pressure on them to stop shaving
the heads of Brahmin widows.
 She is often referred to as the mother of Indian
feminism.
 In 1873, Savitibai and Jyotiba started ‘Satyashodhak
Marriage’, a rejection of Brahmanical rituals where
the marrying couple takes a pledge to promote
education and equality.
 In 1868, she along with her husband set up a well in
their backyard to allow people from the oppressed
classes to drink water.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
 In 1897, following the Bubonic plague, Savitribai set up
a clinic in Hadapsar to address the victims of the
plague.
LITERARY WORKS
 She published two anthologies of poems - Kavya
Phule (Poetry’s Blossoms) which was published in
1854 and Bhavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (The
Ocean of Pure Gems), in 1892.
 Her most iconic poem is titled 'Go, Get Education'
and was intended to encourage women to educate
themselves as the best means of fighting inequality.
REINTERPRETING SANTAL
REBELLION
#modernindia #tribalrevolts
Australian historian Peter Stanley, in his book "Hul! Hul! The
Suppression of the Santal Rebellion in Bengal, 1855," sheds
light on Santhal rebellion and provides a comprehensive
account that challenges existing narratives.
CONTEXT OF SANTHAL REBELLION (1855-1856)
In 1793, Governor-General Lord Cornwallis implemented
Permanent Settlement System in Bengal and Bihar
which granted hereditary and lifelong rights to
zamindars, who paid a fixed amount to the British
government annually. It resulted in widespread
dissatisfaction among the local population and
exploitation of peasants.
FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REBELLION
 Forced relocation and exploitation: Santhals, an
agrarian tribal community dependent on forests for
their livelihood, were encouraged to settle in Damin-i-
Koh region (now part of Jharkhand) ruled by
zamindars and established by East India Company in
1832. Company wanted Santhals to meet the demand
of labour.
 Exploitation by merchants and moneylenders such as
false measurements, usury and fraudulent lawsuits
perpetuated their subjugation and kept Santhals
trapped in cycles of debt bondage. The exploitative
systems of bonded labor, known as "kamioti" and
"harwahi," made it practically impossible for the
Santhals to repay their debts.
85
 History, Heritage & Culture

 Tyranny of zamindars and capitalist agriculture such  Examples: Ajanta, Ravan Chhaya Rock Shelter, Bagh
as extraction of exorbitant rents from their meagre caverns, Sittanavasal caves, and Kailasanatha temple
earnings. Those employed in indigo plantations in Ellora.
further plunged them into poverty.
 Ineffectual redress and neglect by British
administration.
 Eruption of Social Banditry and Popular Uprising.
SANTHAL REBELLION
 Rebellion was led by four people from Bhagnadihi
village: Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand, and Bhairav Murmu.
 Around 60,000 Santhals mobilized with traditional
weapons.
 It was against the British initially but later also shifted
to Indian 'upper' caste zamindars, moneylenders,
merchants, and darogas (police officials), collectively
referred to as 'diku,' who had established dominance
over the economic aspects of Santhal life.
IMPACT
FEATURES OF MURAL PAINTINGS
 Passage of Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act in 1876,
 Two notable qualities: Organic integration with
providing some protection to tribal members against
architecture and their significant public significance.
exploitation.
Mural paintings possess a truly three-dimensional
 The region between Bhagalpur and Rajmahal hills in
nature, as they interact with and inhabit space they
Singhbhum district was separated and designated as
occupy. Natural sources like terracotta, chalk, red
Santhal Pargana.
ochre, yellow ochre were blended with animal fat.
 Zamindari system and acts of moneylenders were
 Subjects: Human and animal figures, hunting scenes,
exposed.
family life, courtly settings, deities, and narratives
from the Buddhist Jataka tales.
MURAL IN NEW ABOUT ASHOKA (MAURYAN EMPEROR)

PARLIAMENT  Ashoka was the third emperor of Mauryan Empire

from 268 to 232 BCE. During his father's reign
#artandculture #ancientIndia (Bindusara), Ashoka served as governor of Ujjain, and
suppressed a rebellion in Taxila.
 He is credited with construction of various stupas and
Ministry of External Affairs characterised murals within
viharas and notable ones are Sanchi and Bharhut
recently constructed parliament buildings as a
stupa in Madhya Pradesh; Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath,
representation of expanse of ancient Ashokan empire. The
Uttar Pradesh; Mahabodhi Temple, Barabar Caves and
mural illustrates Ashoka empire's growth and conveys the
Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar and Sannati Stupa in
concept of accountable and citizen-centred governance that
Karnataka, India.
Ashoka embraced and promoted.
 Ashoka played a crucial role in the dissemination of
ABOUT MURAL PAINTINGS
Buddhism throughout ancient Asia.
 Murals are artworks displayed on solid structures,
 Edict 13 of Ashoka Rock inscriptions reveals deep
such as walls, and have rich and extensive history.
remorse experienced by the Ashoka upon witnessing
 They are found predominantly within natural caves &
devastation in the Kalinga war.
rock-cut chambers having religious denominations.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 86

 History, Heritage & Culture
 Third Buddhist Council was convened in Pataliputra,
under the patronage of Ashoka, around 250 BC. This
aimed to unite various Buddhist schools and purify
the Buddhist movement. Moggaliputta Tissa, a
Buddhist monk, presided over the council.
Sthaviravada sect was established as an orthodox
school. Abhidhamma Pitaka was compiled.
KHILJI DYNASTY
ARCHITECTURE
#medievalindia #architecture
During the renovation work at Siri Fort, conducted by the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), a tomb-like structure
dating back to the 13th century was unearthed.
ABOUT SIRI FORT
 Siri Fort was built around 1303, during the reign of
Alauddin Khilji, the second ruler of Khilji Dynasty.
 Alauddin Khilji established Siri as the second city of
Delhi and designed to mimic massive Turkish forts,
serving as a seat of power during Alauddin's territorial
expansion campaigns.
 Its construction aimed to counter the frequent Mongol
invasions of West Asia and protect Delhi from their
onslaught.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
ARCHITECTURAL MARVEL AND STRATEGIC DESIGN OF
SIRI FORT
 It was meticulously planned and built with an oval-
shaped layout. It houses the grand Hazar Sutan
palace with its marble floors and exquisite stone
decorations.
 Unique additions like flame-shaped battlements and
bastions showcased innovative architectural style of
the Khilji’s.
 Hauz Khas village was an extension of the fort, which
was designed to meet the water needs of the army.
The fort is currently in ruins and the only structure
that remains is its boundary walls.
 Siri was also known as ‘Darul Khilafat’ or ‘Seat of the
Caliphate.’ The fort's strength and grandeur attracted
the attention of Timur, the Mongol ruler who invaded
Delhi in 1398.
 Unfortunately, the decline of Siri Fort began with the
removal of its stones and artefacts by local rulers for
their buildings. Sher Shah Suri used materials from Siri
to construct his city.
KHILJI DYNASTY ARCHITECTURE
 His notable architectural endeavours included the
expansion of Qutb-mosque. The proportions of the
minaret were doubled compared to those established
a century earlier.
 Alai Darwaza, which was completed in 1305. It stands
out for its inventive arches, walling techniques, dome
support systems, and surface decorations.
 Jamaat Khana Masjid was built at the tomb of Nizam-
ud-din Auliya, towards the end of Khilji rule.
 Other buildings include the tomb of Ala-ud-din Khilji
and Madrasa (part of Qutb Complex).
NEOLITHIC AGE
#ancientindia
In Poothinatham village, Tamil Nadu, Department of
Archaeology made a noteworthy discovery from Neolithic
period. This find is an ancient celt, crafted from Doloraid
stone, which had a dual purpose as both a plough and an
axe.
87
 History, Heritage & Culture

 Location: Fertile Crescent in Egypt and Mesopotamia,

WHAT IS A NEOLITHIC CELT?
 A celt, composed of stone, is an age-old instrument
used for cutting and shaping. This adaptable tool
served as an axe, chisel, or adze,
 Application: Widespread uses
Neolithic era in different fields such as woodworking,
agriculture, and building.
the Indus region, the Ganges Valley in India, and
China.
 Domestication of animals and plants introduced a
plentiful supply of grains and animal food.
 Fertile soil deposited by rivers contributed to
agricultural growth, resulting in surplus grain
production. Surplus food production played a pivotal
role in the rise of early civilizations, as large villages
were established, pottery developed, and permanent
residences were constructed.
 Neolithic locations in North-Western India:
Mehrgarh and Sarai Kala, which are presently located
in Pakistan
 Neolothic locations in South India: Often situated
throughout the near granite hills with access to water sources. They
can be found in the river valleys of Godavari, Krishna,
Pennaru, Tungabhadra, and Kaveri.
SOCIAL ORGANISATION
 Presence of small houses suggests the presence of
nuclear families within these settlements.
 Development of ceramics and beads indicates
advancements in material cultural production.
 Burials within houses were practiced, and in some
cases, animal burials have also been discovered,
suggesting the adoption of rituals and reverence for
the deceased.
 It is possible that they worshipped natural forces.
 Evidence for art objects is limited, but the existence of
terracotta images depicting cattle implies the
presence of a fertility cult or similar beliefs.

POTTERY OF THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD

EARLY NEOLITHIC CULTURES & BEGINNING OF
AGRICULTURE
 Advent of agriculture and animal domestication
during the Neolithic period marked a significant phase
in Indian history.
 Early phases of the Neolithic era are referred to as A-
ceramic or Pre-Pottery Neolithic due to the absence of
pottery vessels.
 Containers were crafted using unfired clay, leather,
wood, stone, straw, and other materials.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 88

 History, Heritage & Culture
 Most elaborate examples of painted ornamentation
are observed in the Middle Neolithic period.
RANI DURGAVATI
#medievalindia #personalities
Martyrdom of Rana Durgavati was celebrated in Madhya
Pradesh as part of an initiative to honour the contributions
made by individuals from marginalised social and caste
groups who may not have received widespread recognition.
EARLY LIFE OF RANI DURGAVATI
 Rani Durgavati (born in kalinjar), ruled over the
Gondwana kingdom from 1550 until 1564.
 Her father, Raja Salbahan of Ratha and Mahoba, was a
descendant of the famous Chandelas.
 After the sudden death of her husband in 1550, Rani
Durgavati took the reins of the Gondwana kingdom.
RANI DURGAVATI’S RULE
 With the support of her trusted advisors, Diwan Adhar
Kayastha and Man Thakur, she skillfully managed the
administration, promoting peace, trade, and goodwill
throughout her realm.
 To strengthen her kingdom's defences, Rani Durgavati
decided to move her capital from Singorgarh Fort to
the strategically important Chauragarh Fort, nestled in
the Satpura hill range. This relocation further fortified
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
her position and prepared her kingdom for potential
conflicts.
 Rani Durgavati also undertook various developmental
projects, including the construction of reservoirs like
Ranital, Cherital, and Adhartal, for the benefit of her
subjects.
 She was a patron of learning and allowed Acharya
Bitthalnath to establish a seat of the Pushtimarg Cult
at Garha.
 Under Rani Durgavati's rule, the boundaries of her
kingdom were consolidated, and she led her army to
quell rebellions. Most of the population consisted of
Gond tribesmen living in villages.
 Kingdom's strength lay in its well-equipped army,
comprising cavalry, war elephants, and a large
infantry. During the period between 1555 and 1560,
Durgavati repulsed the attacks of Baz Bahadur.
GARHA-MANDALA KINGDOM
 Garha Mandala or Garha Katanga, held the distinction
of being the first major kingdom established by the
Gond tribe and exerted significant control over
Central India during its zenith.
 It was founded by Jadurai, a Gond leader who
ascended to the throne after overthrowing the
Kalchuri Rajputs of Garha-Mandala, where he had
previously served in the court.
 Initially, the Garha-Mandala kingdom was a relatively
small territory, and its early rulers focused on
consolidating their authority.
 Kharji (1440-1460) expanded the kingdom's army, and
his grandson Sukhandas (1480-1500) incorporated
Rajputs into both the military and administration.
REIGN OF SANGRAM SHAH
 Kingdom experienced rapid expansion under the
reign of Sangram Shah, who conquered territories
such as the Narmada Valley, Bhopal, Sagar, Damoh,
and most of the Satpura hills.
 Sangram Shah captured 52 forts, leading to the
construction of the Chouragrh Fort in Narsinghpur as
a testament to his conquests.
 He was also renowned as a patron of arts and
literature and possessed extensive knowledge of
Sanskrit, with one of his notable works being the
Rasratnamala.
89
 History, Heritage & Culture

 During his reign, the capital of the Garha kingdom was Singhorgarh.

MAP WORK

practice questions
MCQs
Q1. With reference to medieval Indian history, (a) Only one (b) Only two
consider the following pairs: (c) All three (d) None
S.NO Dynasties Region
Q2. With reference to Maratha queen Ahilyabai,
1. Chahmanas : Bundelkhand
consider the following statements:
2. Gurjara Pratiharas : Mador, Mewar 1. She ruled the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh
3. Chandelas : Marwar region with the capital at Indore.
2. She is credited with restoring Kashi Vishwanath
How many of the pairs given above is/are correctly
Temple at Varanasi and Mahabodhi Temple at
matched?
Gaya.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 90

 History, Heritage & Culture

3. She ruled the Holkar family of Maratha How many of the statements given above are correct?
Confederacy. (a) Only one (b) Only two
How many of the above are the correct statements? (c) All three (d) None
(a) Only one (b) Only two
(c) All three (d) None Q5. After the Santhal Uprising subsided, what
was/were the measure/measures taken by the
Q3. Consider the following statements: colonial government?
Statement-I: Savitribai is referred to as the mother of (1) The territories called `Santhal Parganas’ were
Indian feminism. created.
Statement-II: Savitribai established a community named (2) It became illegal for a Santhal to transfer land to a
Bharat Stree Mahamandal for raising awareness about non-Santhal.
women's rights Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the (a) 1 only (b) 2 only
above statements? (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and
Statement-II is the correct explanation for Q6. Consider the following:
Statement-I
1. Khooni Darwaza
(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and
2. Alai Darwaza
Statement-II is not the correct explanation for
3. Siri Fort
Statement-I
4. Jamait Khana Mosque
(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
Which of the above given monuments were built during
(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
the reign of the Khilji dynasty?
(a) Only one (b) Only two
Q4. Consider the following, with reference to the
(c) Only three (d) All four
‘Neolithic age’ in the Indian subcontinent:
1. The Neolithic sites of the north-western region
have shown distinct features of having ash Q7. The painting of Bodhisattva Padmapani is one
mounds. of the most famous and oft-illustrated
paintings at:
2. Early Neolithic period has shown evidence of the
most elaborate type of pottery. (a) Ajanta (b) Badami

3. The Neolithic people believed in natural forces as (c) Bagh (d) Ellora
well as had faith in fertility cults.

Descriptive Questions
Q1. The significance of Ashoka’s Dhamma lies in the fact that it emphasised on promoting religious and cultural
harmony in ancient India, rather than imposing a single religious system. Comment. (10 marks; 150 words)

Q2. “The Santhal Hul began in July in 1855. The core of the movement was economic, the basic cause of the uprising
was agrarian discontent.” Elucidate (15 marks; 250 words).

Q3. Discuss the origin of the Harappans, emphasising the role of an urban revolution in their rise from a Neolithic
pastoral stage. (150 words; 10 marks)

Answers: 1-a, 2-a, 3-c, 4-a, 5-c, 6-c, 7-a

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 91

 Part TWO

Ethics, Integrity
& Aptitude
Coverage from varied sources
 Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude

CORRUPTION
#Ethics #Integrity #Aptitude

Corruption news is becoming the new normal of our
times. We are witnessing new forms of corruption.
Corruption causes great harm to society. With the help of
this article, we will try to understand various aspects of
corruption so that we can cover this topic holistically
from the perspective of the GS4 paper.
MEANING OF CORRUPTION
 Undue protection is given to civil servants under
Article 311
 The collusion of politicians, business and bureaucracy.
WHY CORRUPTION IS WRONG?
 It shows a betrayal of trust
 It amounts to an abuse of power

The word ‘corrupt’ is derived from the Latin word ‘corrupt  It is a violation of the rights of the subjects

us’, meaning ‘to break or destroy’.  Vitiates the role modelling role of government

It can be grand corruption involving persons in high officials.

places and retail corruption touching the everyday life EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION ON THE SYSTEM
of common people.  Snowballing: corrupt behaviour tends to grow into
REASONS RESPONSIBLE FOR CORRUPTION bigger ones.
2nd ARC identifies three main reasons  Contamination: it tends to infect other colleagues.

 Enormous asymmetry of power in our society  Revelation: corruption by media may dilute the public
 Overregulation trust.
 Radiation: corruption in any organ of the
 Colonial legacy
organisation damages the reputation of the whole
Other reasons
organisation.
 Over-centralization
FEATURES OF CORRUPTION IN INDIA
 Criminalisation of politics
National Commission to review the working of the
 Lack of Accountability Mechanisms constitution’s consultation on probity in governance
 Poor Implementation of the RTI Act identified features of corruption in India-
 Lesser protection for whistleblowers  Corruption in India occurs majorly upstream, not
 Lack of Social Audit in most the organisations downstream. (Corruption at the top level)

 Social Acceptance of corruption  Corruption money in India has wings, not wheels
(smuggling corrupt money abroad)
 Rising consumerism/Materialism
 Corruption in India often leads to promotion, not
 Lack of role model
prison.
 Poor implementation of Prevention of Corruption
 Corruption in India is the main reason behind
 Politically motivated function of Anti- Corruption inequality.
Agencies
RECOMMENDATIONS OF 2ND ARC TO DEAL WITH
 Changing values and desires
CORRUPTION
 Lack of strong public opinion against corruption Legal reforms
 Complicated and cumbersome procedures and Enlarging the scope of corruption under the
working
Prevention of Corruption Act:
 Inadequate laws to deal with corruption

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 93

 Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
 Gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic
institutions amounting to a wilful violation of oath of
office.
 Abuse of authority unduly favouring or harming
someone.
 Obstruction of justice.
 Squandering public money
Recommendations to Deal with collusive corruption
 An offence could be classified as ‘collusive bribery’ if
the outcome or intended outcome of the transaction
leads to a loss to the state, public or public interest.
 The court shall presume that the public servant and
the beneficiary of the decision committed an offence
of ‘collusive bribery’.
 The prior sanction should not be necessary for
prosecuting a public servant who has been trapped
red-handed or in cases of possessing assets
disproportionate to the known sources of income.
 The Prevention of Corruption Act should be amended
to ensure that sanctioning authorities are not
summoned and instead the documents can be
obtained and produced before the courts by the
appropriate authority.
 The Presiding Officer of a House of Legislature should
be designated as the sanctioning authority for MPs
and MLAs respectively.
 The requirement of prior sanction for the prosecution
now applicable to serving public servants should also
apply to retired public servants for acts performed
while in service.
Making civil servants liable for loss
In addition to the penalty in criminal cases, the law
should provide that public servants who cause loss to the
state or citizens by their corrupt acts should be made
liable to make good the loss caused and, in addition, be
liable for damages. This could be done by inserting a
chapter in the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Fixing a time limit for various stages of trial
A legal provision needs to be introduced fixing a time
limit for various stages of the trial. This could be done by
amendments to the CrPC.
Constitutional measures
 Suitable amendments are affected to Articles 105(2)
and 194(2) of the Constitution to provide that the
immunity enjoyed by Members of Parliament and
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
MLAs does not cover corrupt acts committed by them
in connection with their duties in the House or
otherwise.
 Articles 310 and 311 of the Constitution should be
repealed and Suitable legislation to provide for all
necessary terms and conditions of services should be
provided under Article 309, to protect the bona fide
actions of public servants taken in the public interest;
this should be made applicable to the States.
Necessary protection to public servants against
arbitrary action should be provided through such
legislation under Article 309
INSTITUTIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO CURB
CORRUPTION
 There should be Loka Yukta at all three levels of
government with full autonomy and adequate powers
along with its cadre with its recruitment and training
facilities.
 The Anti-Corruption Bureaus should be brought
under the control of the State Vigilance Commission.
 Modern techniques of investigation should also be
deployed like electronic surveillance, video and audio
recording of surprise inspections, traps, searches and
seizures.
 A reasonable time limit for the investigation of
different types of cases.
RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO SOCIAL INFRA TO
CURB CORRUPTION
 Citizens’ Charters should be made effective by
stipulating the service levels and the remedy if these
service levels are not met.
 Citizens may be involved in the assessment and
maintenance of ethics in important government
institutions and offices.
 Reward schemes should be introduced to incentivise
citizens’ initiatives.
 School awareness programmes should be
introduced, highlighting the importance of ethics and
how corruption can be combated.
 It is necessary to evolve norms and practices requiring
proper screening of all allegations/complaints by
the media and taking action to put them in the public
domain.
 The electronic media should evolve a Code of
Conduct and a self-regulating mechanism to
94
 Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
adhere to a Code of Conduct as a safeguard against
salaried action.
 Government agencies can help the media in the fight
against corruption by disclosing details about
corruption cases regularly.
 Operational guidelines of all developmental schemes
and citizen-centric programmes should provide for a
social audit mechanism.
 Legislation along the lines of the US False Claims Act
should be enacted, providing for citizens and civil
society groups to seek legal relief against fraudulent
claims against the government. This law should have
the following elements:
o Any citizen should be able to bring a suit against
any person or agency for a false claim against the
government.
o If the false claim is established in a court of law,
then the person or agency responsible shall be
liable for a penalty equal to five times the loss
sustained by the exchequer or society.
o The loss sustained could be monetary or non-
monetary in the form of pollution or other social
costs. In case of non-monetary loss, the court
would have the authority to compute the loss in
monetary terms.
o The person who brought the suit shall be suitably
compensated out of the damages recovered.
SYSTEMIC RECOMMENDATIONS TO CURB
CORRUPTION
 Reduce monopoly
 Restructuring Centrally Sponsored schemes
 Single window system
 Integrity pacts
 Annual Performance Report
 Online complaint tracking system
 Capacity building in the anti-corruption agencies.
MEASURES TAKEN TO TACKLE CORRUPTION
Prevention of corruption act 1988
 It declared the many types of gifts/ bribes as
corruption.
 According to the recent amendment in the act a
person offering a gift or a bribe will also be punished
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
o Amendments in 2018. Under the amended
Section 8, the offence of giving a bribe has been
explicitly recognised.
o Protection of Honest Bureaucrats (Amendments
in Sections 13, 17A and 19): These clauses are
amended to protect the decision makers’ decisions,
in the case of Bonafede’s decisions which might
result in losses to the public fund.
Whistle Blowers Protection Act 2014
 In defining who a whistle-blower is, the law goes
beyond government officials who expose corruption
they come across in the course of their work. It
includes any other person or non-governmental
organisation.
 It has provisions to conceal the identity of the whistle-
blower.
 It affords protection against victimisation of the
complainant or anyone who renders assistance in an
inquiry.
Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions (PBPT)
Act 1988 and Benami Transactions (Prohibition)
Amendment (BTPA) Act 2016
 The PBPT Act 1988 defines a “benami transaction” as
any transaction in which property is transferred to
one person for a consideration paid or provided by
another person. The PBPT Act 2016 is an
improvement over the 1988 Act on several fronts such
as:
o It amends the definition of Benami transactions to
add other transactions which qualify as benami,
such as property transactions where:
 the transaction is made under a fictitious name,
 the owner is not aware of or denies knowledge
of the ownership of the property, or
 the person providing the consideration for the
property is not traceable.
Institutions of the Lokpal and the Lokayuktas
 The basic idea of the institution of Lokpal has been
borrowed from the concept of the Ombudsman in
countries such as Finland, and Norway.
 Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 was passed that came
into force in January 2014.
 Various States such as Rajasthan, Bihar, Karnataka
and others have also adopted/ enacted this legislation
95
 Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude

and established the office of Lokayukta at the state
level.
 The Lokayuktas shall have jurisdiction over the CM,
Ministers, MLAs, all state government employees and
certain private entities (including religious
institutions).
 The Lokpal’s inquiry wing is required to inquire into
complaints within 60 days of their reference.
 The investigation shall be completed within 6 months.
Information sharing and transparency in
government (RTI)
 Under this Act, it is mandatory for public offices to
disclose the information within 30 days of filing an RTI
by any citizen of India.
 It also promotes the self-disclosure of information by
public offices.
Thus, it can be concluded that though corruption is a
deep-rooted problem in most societies and
Governments are trying to reduce this menace but we
need to work in front of attitudinal changes of the
masses toward the issue of corruption.

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 96

 Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
CASE STUDIES for Practice
MAINS GS PAPER IV
Case Study 1: Two youths have been killed in separate
cases of mob lynching in Maharashtra’s Nashik district
within the last two weeks. The police have arrested a
total of 20 accused in connection with two cases, with
nine arrests made in one case and 11 arrests made in
the other. The accused are self-proclaimed
“gaurakshaks" and some of them have affiliations with
the right-wing outfit Bajrang Dal. Several of the accused
are currently evading arrest and the police are actively
searching for them. In a recent case, two Mumbai-based
youths were transporting the meat of buffalo and bull in
their car. when they were apprehended by a group of 15
people on suspicion of carrying beef. The youth was
carrying meat, and when they stopped at a toll plaza, one
of the toll booth staff members noticed blood dripping
from their car. The staff member then informed one of
the ‘gaurakshaks’,". The group accosted the two men and
beat them. One of the victims, Abdul Ansari, succumbed
to his injuries during treatment while the other victim is
currently undergoing treatment. Currently, the police
have arrested 11 people in connection with this case.
“Initially, an FIR was registered under sections 307, 326,
341, 143, and 149. After the death of one of the youths,
section 302 has been added,". When asked about the
affiliations of the arrested individuals, he clarified that
they were all self-proclaimed “gaurakshaks" who
operated under the banner of ‘Gorakshak’. Just a few
days before this case, another youth was found dead in a
cow vigilante incident. a transport tempo pick-up
carrying cattle was intercepted by a group of cow
vigilantes. They found that the vehicle was being used for
cattle transportation. Three people, who had arrived
from Mokhada, were apprehended. One of the youths
managed to escape, while the others were beaten up.
One of the assaulted individuals was brought to the
nearest police station. Two days later, the lifeless body of
the third youth was found in the valley,". You are leading
the investigation of both cases. You are the only son of
your old parents. You married recently and you have a
baby girl. You are a young and enthusiastic SP. You think
that this kind of killing is against the principle of
secularism and that such incidents are creating a divide
in society. But you are also aware of the fact that you are
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
posted in a highly religiously sensitive district. Members
of the right-wing outfit have connections with political
leaders in the government. The home minister of the
state is supporting the cow vigilantes. You are receiving
life-threat calls from many other right-wing outfits if you
will not escape the accused’s, you may be killed.
a) What are the ethical issues involved in this case
b) Enlist the options available to you
c) Critically evaluate each option listed by you
d) Which option will you choose and why
e) Suggest some measures to prevent such horrific
incidents
(250 words, 20 marks)
ANS. The case depicts the worrisome situation of law
and order where the state has failed to deliver its
promise of ensuring safety and security to its subjects
under a social contract theory.
A) Ethical issues involved
Increasing intolerance: incidents of mob lynching are
the result of intolerance toward the person or his
community.
Failure of state: under the social contract, the state is
morally and legally obliged to ensure the safety of its
subjects but these cases of mob lynching show
intelligence failure and breakdown of law and order.
Lack of wisdom: most of the incidents of mob lynching
are based on rumours/ propaganda this shows that
people involved in such events lack wisdom.
Against the greatest good: incidents of mob lynching
turn the community against the community which may
harm the peace in society.
B) options available
I. Strict action against all accused
II. Leave all accused
III. Request to leave the case
C) Critical evaluation of the options
Options Merits Demerits
1st Show dedication to May harm personal
97
 Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
duty safety
2nd Secure personal Amounts to denial of
safety duty
3rd Avoid facing Show lack of courage
dilemma and wisdom
D) One should choose 1st option because
 Justice is the primary duty of the state and being an
agent of the state (SP) only strict action against cow
vigilantes can ensure justice to the victims and their
families.
 It will also ensure the rule of law and will foster the
trust of the people in the administration.
 It will strengthen the ideals of secularism and will send
a message to wrongdoers. It will also create a role
model for other police personnel dealing with similar
cases.
E) Measures to prevent such horrific incidents
 Immediate steps to be taken
 Strict action against the culprits of mob lynching
 Assign such cases to fast-track courts
 Use of persuasion
 Specific Laws to deal with such cases
 Value Education
 Ensuring effective administration
 Community policing
Thus, it can be concluded that cases of mob lynching
should be dealt with strictness to uphold the principle of
secularism.
Case Study 2: In Purola town of Uttarakhand, Muslims
have been asked by Hindu groups to abandon their
livelihoods and the homes they have lived in for
generations. About a dozen families have fled Purola
after notices were pasted on homes and businesses
asking them to vacate the town. The reason for such
pasting of notice was the so-called love jihad. Out of
these two boys, one is Muslim and another belongs to
the Hindu community the Muslim boy was a friend of a
Hindu boy who is the lover of a kidnapped Hindu girl.
The two boys accused of the kidnapping of the girl were
immediately nabbed by residents and handed over to
the police. They have been charged under the Protection
of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
laws. One of the accused in the kidnapping bid was a 24-
year-old Muslim man, leading to allegations by Hindu
groups that the kidnapping attempt was a case of “love
jihad” – an unproven conspiracy theory that accuses
Muslim men of luring Hindu women into romantic
relationships to convert them to Islam by marriage. The
government itself has denied that such a conspiracy
exists in its reports presented in parliament. But
residents of Purola say the incident was used by the
Hindu groups to intensify their years-old movement that
seeks to free the Himalayan state, known for its many
Hindu pilgrimage sites and temple towns, of the Muslim
community. There are about 400-500 Muslims in Purola,
a town 140km (87 miles) from the state capital Dehradun
with about 10,000 residents. Even government officials
allegedly asked Muslim traders to shut their shops as
some Hindu groups had planned a rally to protest
against the attempted kidnapping of the girl. The Hindu
groups and hundreds of supporters organised another
rally, calling for the expulsion of Muslims from the area.
According to the residents, provocative slogans were
raised against the minority community at the rally. The
mob also vandalised some shops and removed
signboards bearing Muslim names. Since then, most
Muslim-owned businesses have been shuttered in Purola
while the rest of the market is buzzing with activity.
Muslim traders approached the local administration for
help and urged them to act against people threatening
their livelihoods, but they say their requests fell on deaf
ears. The [Muslim] boy has been arrested. The police are
investigating the matter. Meanwhile, posters appeared
in Muslims’ Purola shops, warning them to leave town
before June 15, the day the VHP and Bajrang Dal called
for a “mahapanchayat” (or grand meeting) in the town.
Muslims in turn have called their own “mahapanchayat”
of community leaders in Dehradun on June 18 to protest
their targeting in Purola. As the atmosphere in Purola
remains strained, religious tensions have reportedly
spread to adjacent towns and villages. For decades, right-
wing groups in Uttarakhand have mobilised Hindus to
create a “Devbhoomi” (or land of the gods) and exclude
Muslims. The state government has appointed a
delegation to deal with this situation in your leadership.
a) Identify the ethical issues involved in the case
b) What are the options available to you
c) Critically evaluate each option listed by you
98
 Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude

d) Which option you will opt and why  May save resources duty/categorical
imperative of
e) Suggest some measures to deal communalism
Kant
(250 words, 20 marks)
 Amounts to
ANS. The above case represents the existence of injustice to
intolerance in society which is indirectly supported by the victims
local administration.
D) The head of the delegation should opt for the 1st
A) Ethical issues involved in the case option because
Lack of tolerance: this is the case clear cut case of  To ensure justice: involving all stakeholders in the
intolerance toward a particular community on religious conversations and assuring the minority people full
grounds it can be seen in the drive of making a region safety and security is the only way to ensure ideals of
free of Muslims in the name of “Devbhoomi” justice. It will also help in delivering the obligations
Failure of the social contract: As in the given case many under the social contract.
Muslim families have fled from Purola town, which  Greatest good to greatest number: ensuring safety
shows that they didn’t get adequate assurance from the and security for all residents of the town will ensure
local administration regarding their safety and security. the greatest good to the greatest number.
B) Option available with the head of the delegation  To create a role model: ensuring the safety and
1. Listen to all stakeholders without prejudice and security of victims will lead to creating a role model for
ensure the safety of all others to deal with similar cases.
2. Ignore the concerns of the Muslim community E) Measures to deal with communalism
C) Critical evaluation  Ensuring the rule of law by taking strict action against
Option Merit Demerit communal forces
 Attitudinal changes of communal people so that they
 Ensure the greatest
It may be a hectic can embrace diversity instead of considering other
good to the greatest
task that may communities as their enemies.
number.
require an  Participation of locals in administration so that
1st  Uphold the principle
investment of time adequate preventive measures can be taken in
of secularism
and economic advance. It will also help in the intelligence capability
 Ensure justice for the
resources of the administration.
victims
Hence, it can be concluded that the slogan of “sabka sath
 Appease the majority  Against the social sabka vikas” should be the guiding tool for
2nd community contract administration to deal with communalism in society.
 Ease your work  Amount denial to

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 99

 Part Three

Essays
of

the month
Selected essays from Rau’s GSI students
 Essays OF THE MONTH

CONSERVATION IS A STATE OF HARMONY BETWEEN

MEN AND LAND
#ENVIRONMENT #SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SUBMITTED BY: PRIYANKA

Disclaimer: The viewpoints in the topic are strictly they encroach in the area outside forests, it is because
personal of the writer above. The role of Rau’s IAS they do not find forest where they can live.

Study Circle is to present the write-up in its original Earlier, humans used to worship the environment. From
the evidence of ancient history, it can be proven that
form, hence the study circle neither endorses nor
they were living in with harmony nature. For example,
rejects any viewpoint in the submission. The purpose is
edicts of Ashoka’s pillar, Kautilya’s Arthsashtra etc.
only to showcase the manner of writing.
mention about protecting the environment. But modern
Therefore, it is the sole responsibility of the reader to human beings are completely opposite of their
use his/her intellect to check the veracity of viewpoints. ancestors. They are greedy and treat earth not as their
home but a resource pool that can be exploited
It was a very hot morning of 2031. Riya, a
endlessly. This culture of greed and human want has
small kid was studying environment and
brutally destroyed earth to the point that human
ecology for the very first time. While
existence itself is in doubt.
studying she went through various strange
“There is enough for human needs but not enough for
words like forests, tiger, lion, leopard, etc. The curious
human greed.” This phrase by Mahatma Gandhi
kid, Riya, wanted to know more about these words so
resembles the present scenario of man. In order to fulfill
she went to her father and requested him that she wants
their greed, humans are continuously exploiting Earth
to see these creatures. Her father was very helpless as
without thinking of its consequences.
there were no forest left. Tiger, lion, leopard, etc. were
Modern men are exploiting the nature for a number of
extinct. Her had no other option, but to show her the
reasons. Our wish to have air conditions, leather clothes,
images by downloading it from internet. Riya was not
synthetic material, plastics, fuel and furniture is root for
satisfied by looking only at the image. She went back to
this exploitative attitude.
her room thinking “what had happened that these
From harmony to disharmony: Harmony means
creatures were extinct?”
peaceful coexistence. Harmony is already inbuilt in
Riya and many other kids will go through this scenario if
nature. Man is a part of nature not apart from it. Man
we do not leave our earth as it is. It is high time that we
was meant for living by using natural food, natural
realize the importance of our earth, environment and
material (just as build their nests). However, human
ecology and take steps to conserve it for sustainable
started modifying the natural course for his/her benefit.
development as well for our coming generation.
Thus, humans are going towards disharmony.
Conservation simply implies protection of flora and
Manifestation of Harmony:
fauna from being extinct due to human activity. Article
Primary Sector: Agriculture being the primary sector of
48 and 48A (DPSP) and Article 51A (g) of our Indian
economy. Agriculture sector aims to produce food to
constitution deals with protection of animals,
meet the nutritional needs to human beings. However,
environment including forest, lakes, etc.
increasing use of unnatural means to produce food has
Animals live in the environment by maintaining harmony
led to disharmonisation. Use of chemical fertilizer,
with human. They do not try to encroach upon the area
pesticides, etc. are hampering with the natural cycle. This
of man nor do they go and stay in man’s house. Even if
leads to killing of various organisms which directly or

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 101

 Essays OF THE MONTH
indirectly helps me in maintaining the balance in the
nature. For example, if the complete population of honey
bees gets extinct then a large variety of crops and
vegetable will also extinct.
Secondary Sector: Secondary sectors deals with the
manufacturing industries. In order to manufacture the
products, humans are causing pollution in the
environment, resource depletion especially of fuels and
minerals. For example, in industries, untreated water is
released into water bodies such as rivers and lakes,
leading to water pollution. The smoke which is released
from industries and vehicles leads to air pollution.
Tertiary Sector: Tertiary sector deals with the service
sector of the economy. Disharmony with nature is the
nature of the tertiary sector. For example, once the
mobile or electronic items get old it leads to the creation
of e-waste generation. Radiation released from these e-
waste is very harmful for both the humans and nature.
The Reasons for increasing disharmony between
human’s needs and what nature can offer are the
following.
Blind craving for wealth: Man in order to earn more
and more money, is destroying the environment. Best
example is killing animals for leather shoes, clothes,
bags. Men want to earn huge amounts of money by
selling these products.
Infrastructure Development: Humans are clearing the
forests for development of infrastructure without even
thinking twice. Many industries are built by removing
forest and of course how can we forget urbanization.
People are shifting towards urban areas from rural
areas. Due to urbanization, population has increased in
the urban areas. To cater to the increasing population of
urban areas, sprawl of cities is increasing, resulting in
deforestation of surrounding areas.
Dangers associated with disharmony
With the increase in disharmonisation, the balance
between nature and humans has disturbed to a very
large extent. With disharmony, many dangers are
associated which will make human realize their mistakes.
Natural disaster: As per the IPCC 6th annual report, by
2100 most of the coastal cities will be submerged due to
sea level rise. Many cities are facing situation of flood,
drought, cyclones, desertification, etc.
Longer life, weaker body – Man by using various drugs
and medication is successful in living a longer life but
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
they live with weaker body. There is increasing incidence
of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and
cancer. Many of these diseases is the result of sedentary
lifestyle and unsustainable consumption.
Viruses & diseases: The recent outbreak of covid 19
pandemic was a direct result of disharmonisation with
nature. Increasing incidence of zoonotic diseases is the
result of increasing exploitation of human beings on
animal lives. For ex. Many of these novel viral diseases
have been brought into human beings by their
consumption of animals such as bats, pangolins etc.
Is disharmony that bad?
The answer of this question is that, disharmony is not
bad provided man uses the nature in judicial and
sustainable manner. For example: by using public-
transport instead of private vehicle and by planting more
and more trees.
In modern times, men cannot live without industries. So,
to protect the environment and fulfilling their demands,
men can manufacture products but in a sustainable and
least harming and polluting techniques. For ex. Use of
renewable energy in industrial sector, treating of
wastewater generated from industries etc.
Smart Solutions:
Primary Sector: Instead of using chemical fertilizers and
pesticides, farmers can use organic farming techniques
to promote the growth of agriculture, deal with pests and
to solve other problems associated with agriculture.
Some organic method could be Zero Budget Natural
Farming, System of Rice Intensification, Zero tillage
farming, happy seeder, etc.
Secondary Sector: This sector can be made more
environment friendly. For example, relying less on fossil
fuels and more on sustainable fuels such as solar energy,
wind energy and bio-energy. Before discharging
untreated water and air in the environment, it must be
treated very efficiently.
Tertiary Sector: Companies should invest more in
increasing the life of product especially electronic
materials so that less e-waste is generated when the e-
waste is generated it should be disposed properly.
Reuse, recycle and circular economy-based strategies
should be promoted.
Policy interventions: Many countries have signed
international agreements to protect environment such as
Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol, Paris agreement etc.
102
 Essays OF THE MONTH
India has come up with various initiatives for protecting
the environment, such as carbon tax, clean Ganga
program, clean energy mission, National Clean Air
Program, Green Skill Development Program etc.
Conclusion:
Humans must see the relationship between human and
nature as a mutually complementary relationship. Real &
sustainable growth occurs, economic growth does not
lead to irreparable damage to nature. Humans should
VIRTUE IS WISDOM
#PHILOSOPHICAL
SUBMITTED BY: TANUJ KOTHARI
Disclaimer: The viewpoints in the topic are strictly
personal of the writer above. The role of Rau’s IAS
Study Circle is to present the write-up in its original
form, hence the study circle neither endorses nor
rejects any viewpoint in the submission. The purpose is
only to showcase the manner of writing.
Therefore, it is the sole responsibility of the reader to
use his/her intellect to check the veracity of viewpoints.
“The fool doth thinks he wise, but a wise
man knows himself to be a fool.” - William
Shakespeare
Wisdom is not inherent in a person; it is a
burgeoning product of the experiences which a man
encounters through his interaction with society. Virtues
develop because of a person’s experiences. These virtues
set the path towards the treasures of wisdom.
William Harvey considers society as ‘Sui Generis’. He
brings out analogy of society as a social organism.
Culture is the blood of society. Virtues are shaped by the
experiences of a person embedded in his culture. Virtues
develops morals and values which further acts as norms
of the society shaping its folklores and moores.
“Wisdom can be acquired by right knowledge.” – Aristotle
Aristotle believes that knowledge is the sole harbinger to
attain wisdom and he further emphasises that not just
any knowledge, but good knowledge is the path bearer
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
not grow by damaging nature. Humans should always
keep in mind that they are a part of nature and not apart
from it. A proper harmony between nature and human
will lead to the prosperous development of both man
and nature and man will also achieve Sustainable
Development Goals. Hence, conservation, judicial and
sustainable use of nature is a state of harmony between
men and land.
to the high morals and virtues. On the other hand, bad
knowledge can lead to colossal devastation by infiltrating
the virtues of society.
How does, virtues shape culture? Virtues evolve due to
long emphasised, socially accepted practices and ethos
which merges in the ethnicity and later reflects in the
culture of a civilisation over a period. Virtues evolve with
time and takes reformed shapes in different cultures.
The early civilizations such as Indus Valley Civilization
had their own set of practices and norms. Their life was
much in tandem with nature. Nature was worshipped.
Forces of nature were personified into Sun God, Water
God, Fire God, River God etc. It was upon their wisdom
not to bring any kind of change in the working of forces
of nature. With emergence of new technology such as
discovery of copper and making of plough; they started
to become self-sufficient in their food requirements.
Virtues of society transformed from personification of
Gods to worshipping the ‘Mother Earth’. Wisdom took
new shape.
Further in Vedic Age, discovery of iron led to revolution in
the emergence of new technology. It shaped the world
from hunters & food gatherers to emerge into a Global
village. The rise of ‘Jana’ into ‘Janapads’ and later into
‘Mahajanpads’. The virtues of society took shape at each
stage.
103
 Essays OF THE MONTH

“True wisdom lies in the complete knowledge and power. A power-hungry state rises, authoritarian regimes
consciousness of the actions done by a person.” – are formed. History has instances of how lack of virtues
Gautam Buddha. resulted in World Wars and gave rise to evil ideas of
Nazism and Fascism. When virtues are lost, could the
Buddhism through its ‘Ashtanga Marg’ had an important
leaders of society can be said to be wise? Hitler and
role to play in shaping the virtues of the ancient culture.
Mussolini created history. But it rests upon the wisdom
Buddhism talked about Right Faith and Right Knowledge.
of a society to draw parallels and find if the virtues laid
It talked of high morals, practice of non-violence and
down were progressive or not.
attaining highest state of mind through Nirvana. Overall,
it tried to awaken the consciousness of the society to With the establishment of United Nations, once again
shape the highest virtues. virtues were laid emphasis on. The consciousness of the
society was restored. It did very well in promoting peace
Jainism on similar lines, talked about Right Knowledge,
and prevented a Third World War. Virtues are certainly
Right Belief and Right conduct. These principles shaped
the principles of wisdom. However, since in each era
the virtues of the society. These gave a chance to the
virtues constantly take new forms. There is always a
oppressed section of society to have an equal status with
likelihood of clashes of virtues. The Cold War between
equal opportunities. Wisdom was the ultimate goal
the erstwhile USSR and United States was a war of
through practice of these virtues. Wisdom was defined as
ideology. Virtues were at loggerheads of both the groups.
‘Self Liberation’ from the evils which reside inside the
Society faced the consequences. At such a time, the idea
person.
of non-Alignment was an example of amicable wisdom
Ashoka conquered length and breadth of territories shrouded by virtues such as non-violence and
across North-South & East – West, after the Kalinga war. Panchsheel.
But at what cost? Massacred soldiers, butchered dead
Various historians and philosophers have laid down that
bodies, orphaned children, widowed ladies and a
society has been divided into haves and have-nots. Karl
kingdom in perils. It was the awakening of the virtues
Marx is the major proponent of this theory of class
which led to self-realization and wisdom sprouted from
divide. He foresees violent revolution which will establish
the seed of virtues.
an egalitarian world order and will give rise to a utopian
Virtues have a deep impact on the society. Kindness is society. His idea of ‘Communism’ is very well revered in
considered as biggest virtue. A kind heart is comparable many political institutions.
to none. Similarly, it is said ‘Honesty is the best policy’.
Marx talks about the virtues in terms of class
The social structure is very much dependent on the
consciousness. He sees society is driven by false class
bedrock of moral ethos. A society whose people have
consciousness and the Lumpen Proletariat are being
sympathy and kindness; chivalry and honesty are the
suppressed by the Elite Bourgeoisie. True awakening of
one on the path towards progress. Wisdom will certainly
society is yet to happen, and false virtues are not letting
prevail over the minds of people. Foresight results in less
the rise of wisdom. He predicts a violent revolution which
crimes, high social solidarity, feeling of oneness, respect
will bring true class consciousness and setting of right
of an individual. These virtues lead to a society oriented
ethos, morals and virtues in the society. According to
towards shared values and collective effort towards a
Marx, true wisdom lies in Communism.
common goal. Such a society is the flag bearer of utopian
world, rising towards prosperity. French Revolution ushered the virtues such as Equality,
Liberty, Fraternity which are now the eminent core
Virtues if not channelized properly in the heart of people
principles of democratic governments around the world.
could bring devastating outcomes. Wisdom if lost can
Wisdom is the ultimate objective these states want to
cause destruction and wreak havoc. Virtues hold the
achieve through these virtues. The Preamble to the
morals which acts as conscience keeper of the society. If
Constitution of India also enshrines these ethos and
morals are lost, greed for possession of resources
virtues with its ultimate goal is to be a welfare state.
emerges. Society develops a tendency of capturing more

FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS 104

 Essays OF THE MONTH
Similarly, fundamentals duties in the Indian Constitution
also embarks on virtues such as – ‘awakening of scientific
temper’ and ‘promoting feeling of common brotherhood’.
These are meant to inculcate virtues of highest order to
awaken the sense of wisdom which should prevail in a
society.
Freedom struggle of India is another story of virtues. Be
it principles of Satyagraha and Non-violence of Gandhi or
the virtues of Rabindranath Tagore to spread rationality.
It led to awakening of society and brought Indians under
the ambit of feeling of Nationalism. The virtues of equal
land rights and Bhoodan Movement of Vinobha Bhave,
the virtue of equal right of education to girls and the rise
of Satyashodak Samaj are some of examples of the right
virtues which could lead to progress of society. Virtues
are the path which our constitution makers have
embedded in Constitution so that society could reach to
collective wisdom.
POVERTY ANYWHERE IS A THREAT TO PROSPERITY
ANYWHERE
#SOCIAL ISSUES
SUBMITTED BY: VEVOTULU KEZO
Disclaimer: The viewpoints in the topic are strictly
personal of the writer above. The role of Rau’s IAS Study
Circle is to present the write-up in its original form, hence
the study circle neither endorses nor rejects any viewpoint
in the submission. The purpose is only to showcase the
manner of writing.
Therefore, it is the sole responsibility of the reader to use
his/her intellect to check the veracity of viewpoints.
"The good of the individual is contained in the good of
All"- Mahatma Gandhi
If we look at Earth from a Cosmopolitan perspective,
what the earth reflects is not an egalitarian humanity,
but an amalgamation of rich nations concentrated in one
hemisphere and underdeveloped nations elsewhere.
Earth as a whole cannot be called prosperous as the
Global North is composed of people with high per capita
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
In the contemporary world, virtues are eminent in the
fast-changing society. In the age of Fourth Industrial
Revolution, our virtues have taken a turn. With the
emergence of Hitler, Nazism was on rise but with WW-II
story of Nazism ended and virtues turned back. A new
story of ‘Socialism’ was being written. Virtues of Socialist
society was shaping the world and India. With fall of
USSR these virtues also shredded. India in 1991 post LPG
Reforms, shifted to Liberalism. Virtues again turned tide.
US was capitalising with new World order. With 2008,
Financial Mortgage Crisis, Liberalism also waved and
virtues from there are shaping into a new world order.
The future course of action will decide the modern
virtues which will head towards a new set of Wisdoms.
However, so far, we have been clear on the fact, that our
wisdom is a product of virtues shaped around in the
fabric of time, era and culture.
income, high standard of living whereas the Global
South, that of poorer nations- example Africa, South Asia,
which are placed low on Human Development Index,
multidimensional poverty index, hunger index etc.
This image of the earth is not what reflects justice- social
economic and political, equality or fraternity. The
interconnected globalised world is highly prone to
negative entropy, irregularities like poverty, climate
change, wars, etc. which may arise from any country.
Thus, poverty anywhere threatens the idea of prosperity
anywhere.
The idea of a prosperous, egalitarian
society based on ideals of social justice,
equality, dignity for all stems from various
books of reverence. The Constitution of India envisions
105
 Essays OF THE MONTH
justice (social, economic, political) as fundamental rights
and DPSPs, where the India State in under obligation to
ensure this to its citizens. Goal One of Sustainable
Development Goals envisions a world of ' no poverty'.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights seeks to promote
equality, economic prosperity equally.
Poverty implies a state of inadequacy of resources or
capacities, where an individual is unable to fulfil his/ her
basic needs. It may be calculated quantitatively as done
by the Rangarajan formula for poverty line estimation, or
it may be understood qualitative like intellectual, relative,
ethical poverty.
If we look at historical developments, the incidence of
poverty has been due to many reasons -- lack of
resources or their access, exploitation, colonization, etc.
The sub-Saharan African Nations have been marred by
the lack of natural resources, infertile land, etc. which are
not conducive for development. On the other hand,
European Nations, with temperate climate and plentiful
resources have flourished.
Colonisation’s impact on increasing poverty can be seen
by analysing India. India, which was an ancient land of
wealth, gold, spices, culture, etc. was a prosperous
country. The British colonization appropriate India’s
wealth which has been called 'Drain of Wealth' by
historians. This drain of wealth led to immiseration of
masses, impoverishment of agricultural workers and
exploitation of its rich resources. This has been duly
brought out in various works like 'Poverty and Unbritish
rule in India', by Dadabhai Naoroji.
The industrial revolution related to deepening of
economic disparity between Global North and South. A
'zero Sum game’ was created. The ideas of mercantilism
saw the way to getting rich by making others poor, thus,
developed countries flourished at the cost of poorer
countries.
So why is the debate on poverty so important? How will it
threaten prosperity as a whole?
If we take India as a case, in the social sphere, the
presence of caste inequalities and hierarchy has
threatened our ideals of social justice and
empowerment. Poverty leads to deepening of the caste
inequalities and create greater economic and social
inequalities. Poverty reduces dignity of an individual,
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
their autonomy and freedom and thus compromises
their human rights. For e.g.- Safai Karamchari,
Prostitution, etc, are often the results of
impoverishment. Danish Institute on Human Rights has
reported that countries with poor economic growth and
high incidence of poverty also score very poorly on
safeguarding human rights of their citizens. Thus,
poverty is like a missing pearl in a necklace. It threatens
the whole aesthetic.
ASER report has highlighted about learning poverty. This
reflects poorly on our education system where even class
five students are unable to understand basic class 2 texts
and mathematical problems. This threatens the future
generation of education with reduced chances of
employment and lack of development of potential of our
children.
Poverty has been linked with anti-social elements of
society- unethical immoral acts like theft, robbery,
murder, etc. have, many times, been a result of poverty.
It is said "The rich can afford to be honest". However, the
poor are often forced to indulge in criminal activities
because of their basic needs. This results in weak social
capital, lack off mutual trust, disharmony and law and
order problems in society.
The Scandinavian countries like Norway and Finland, etc.
usually top the human development and happiness
parameters, because of high per capita income, high
standard of living, ethical society, and overall harmony.
In the economic sphere, large poverty will force the
government to provide subsidies, universal basic income,
etc, which may strain public finances making it
unsustainable for countries to invest in education,
health, and future growth opportunities such as R&D and
innovation. Higher subsidies also lead to high fiscal
deficits, which can lead to ratings downgrades making it
unattractive to foreign capital.
In the political arena, poverty, deepens communal rifts.
Rising inequality and poverty leads more left-wing
extremism. Poor people are more susceptible to political
populism, vote bank politics and political corruption.
Poverty creates demands for reservations on the lines of
caste, religions etc. this leads to increased fragmentation
of society and deepens identity politics.
106
 Essays OF THE MONTH
In the environmental sphere, poverty with respect to
natural resources that is environmental poverty is a
result of unchecked exploitation. Poor people often are
dependent on nature for their survival. They consume
coal-based power, use timber for fuel, their animals
often graze grasslands. Thus, in a way, environmental
poverty can lead to climate change global warming which
affects the earth.
From the gender perspective, women are more illiterate,
unemployed and face adverse effects of poverty more
than men. When women are not empowered, the society
is unempowered.
"I measure the progress of a nation by the degree of
progress its women have achieved"- BR Ambedkar.
FOCUS | JULY 2023 | RAU’S IAS
"If you empower a man, you empower himself. If you
empower women, you empower the entire generation." -
Gandhi
Thus, poverty of women will affect the future generation.
An especially important dimension of poverty is ethical
poverty i.e., lack of moral values in individuals and
society. Lack of ethics has resulted in major catastrophic
events in human history- the Holocaust of Jews by Nazis,
Atom Bomb explosions on Hiroshima and Nagasaki etc.
Poverty also leads to corruption. Since corruption is like a
ball of snow, once it starts, it keeps increasing.
Corruption has a bandwagon effect. Therefore, even
small acts of corruption have potential impact society
gravely.
107