The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 20 January 2023

Panchayati raj not up to the mark as it should be -

More than three decades after the 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, which gave constitutional status
to local governments, State governments, through the local bureaucracy, continue to exercise
considerable discretionary authority and influence over panchayats.

In India, the powers of local elected officials (such as these sarpanchs in Telangana) remain seriously
circumscribed by State governments and local bureaucrats in multiple ways, thereby diluting the
spirit of the constitutional amendments seeking to empower locally elected officials.

Gram panchayats remain fiscally dependent on grants (both discretionary and non-discretionary
grants) from the State and the Centre for everyday activities.

Broadly, panchayats have three main sources of funds — their own sources of revenue (local taxes,
revenue from common property resources, etc.), grants in aid from the Centre and State
governments, and discretionary or scheme-based funds.

Even when higher levels of government allocate funds to local governments, sarpanchs need help
accessing them. An inordinate delay in transferring approved funds to panchayat accounts stalls
local development.

State governments also bind local governments’ through the local bureaucracy. Approval for public
works projects often requires technical approval (from the engineering department) and
administrative approval from local officials of the rural development department, such as the block
development officer, a tedious process for sarpanchs that requires paying multiple visits to
government offices.

The situation in Telangana is a reminder for State governments to re-examine the provisions of their
respective Gram Panchayat laws and consider greater devolution of funds, functions, and
functionaries to local governments.

73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments were passed by Parliament in December, 1992. Through
these amendments local self-governance was introduced in rural and urban India.

The Acts came into force as the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 on April 24, 1993 and the
Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 on June 1, 1993.

These amendments added two new parts to the Constitution, namely, added Part IX titled “The
Panchayats” (added by 73rd Amendment) and Part IXA titled “The Municipalities” (added by 74th
Amendment).

Independent Election Commission in each State for superintendence, direction and control of the
electoral rolls (Article 243K).

G20 summit

India has identified several priorities, i.e. green development, climate finance and LiFE (lifestyle for
environment); accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth; accelerating progress on Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs); technological transformation and digital public infrastructure;
multilateral reforms; and women-led development. Given that the priorities are global, the motto
“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, or “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, underscores how
interconnected our world is.

The majority of problems that South Asian countries face are global in nature, transcend national
borders, and necessitate group effort.

India needs to promote collective action at the G20 that results in economic stability and peace in
the region.

As South Asia’s largest country with the largest economy and significant global clout, India is well
poised to represent the subcontinent at these international fora.

The majority of South Asian nations produce their energy from fossil fuels; 63% of the region’s
emissions of greenhouse gases come from energy generation. Since dollars are short in supply, it has
become challenging for countries to keep up with energy production.

Improving health infrastructure is quite important for South Asia and the G20 agenda. The discussion
of global cooperation needs to go beyond technology transfers and financial aid to cover losses and
damages brought on by climate change.

For South Asia, it is important that multilateral organisations and development finance institutes
supporting economic development and good governance are reformed as these countries are major
stakeholders for these global institutes.

Being the only G20 member from South Asia, India has added responsibilities since many non-G20
nations (particularly those in the global South) look upon India to represent their interests at the
G20, whose choices have an impact on their future prosperity and well-being.

All eyes are on India’s G20 leadership to provide a road map to tackle some of the major challenges
before the subcontinent at a time when multilateralism itself is experiencing a crisis of relevance.

India should use its G20 chair to reform international governance procedures and ensure fair
negotiations.

Trade wind

December 2022 marked the steepest fall in two years for India’s goods exports, with products worth
$34.5 billion shipped out — 12.2% lower than a year ago.

These include the clouds of recession blowing through Europe and the U.S., the COVID-19 situation
in China and a reversion towards protectionism in some markets.

Amid these tumultuous times, a month-on-month reading of export trends is perhaps a better way
to gauge the situation.

Aging factors

The last time China’s population saw a decline was in 1961, in the midst of a devastating four-year
famine following Mao’s failed “Great Leap Forward” campaign. The latest decline in population,
however, is no blip. The shrinking of the world’s most populous country by as much as 8,50,000 in
2022 marks a watershed moment with lasting consequences for China and the world.

China’s economy is already feeling the impact of demographic change. The 16-59 working age
population (2022), was 875 million, a decline of around 75 million since 2010. Wages are rising, and
labour-intensive jobs are moving out, predominantly to Southeast Asia.

The paper pointed out that India’s proportion of child and elderly population in 2020 was similar to
China’s in 1980, just when its economic boom took off. That was made possible only by making the
most of its demographic dividend by investing heavily in health care and education to fashion a
workforce capable of powering what would become the world’s factory.

Google is laying off 12,000 workers, or about 6% of its workforce, becoming the latest tech company
to trim staff as the economic boom that the industry rode during the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs.

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google’s parent Alphabet, informed staff Friday at the Silicon Valley giant
about the cuts in an e-mail that was also posted on the company’s news blog.

It’s one of the company’s biggest-ever round of layoffs and adds to tens of thousands of other job
losses recently announced by Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook parent Meta and other tech companies
as they tighten their belts amid a darkening outlook for the industry. Just this month, there have
been at least 48,000 job cuts announced by major companies in the sector.

Q) What is the main factor that determines a country’s total fertility rate (TFR)?

The number of children per woman

The number of women of childbearing age

The number of marriages in a country

The number of births per year

Explanation:

TFR is calculated by taking the number of children born per woman and multiplying it by the number
of women of childbearing age.

It is a measure of the number of children that a woman is likely to have in her lifetime.

Q) What are the main functions of the United Nations Security Council?

To maintain international peace and security

To promote human rights and economic development

To resolve disputes between member states

All of the above

Explanation:

The United Nations Security Council has multiple functions, including maintaining international
peace and security, promoting human rights, and resolving disputes between member states.

Q) How can individuals protect themselves from falling for fake news?

Only reading news from reputable sources

Checking multiple sources for the same story

Being skeptical of clickbait headlines

All of the above

Explanation:

All of the above strategies can help protect individuals from falling for fake news. Reading news from
reputable sources, checking multiple sources, and being skeptical of clickbait headlines can all help
individuals identify fake news.

Q) World Social Report 2023 is released by

ILO

UNICEF

UNDP

UN DESA

Explanation:

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) published the World Social
Report 2023, with the theme “Leaving No One Behind in an Aging World“.

Q) What is the criteria for appointment of Chief Justice of India?

Seniority

Merit

Political Affiliation

Both a and b
Explanation:

The appointment of the Chief Justice of India is based on both seniority and merit.

The senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is considered for the post, but the President also takes
into account the judge’s qualifications and experience.

Mains Practice Question:Q) Critically evaluate the functioning of NITI Aayog since its inception. (150
words)

Introduction:India has undergone a paradigm shift over the past six decades – politically,
economically, socially, technologically as well as demographically. The role of Government in
national development has seen a parallel evolution.

Keeping with these changing times, the Government of India set up NITI Aayog (National Institution
for Transforming India), in place of the erstwhile Planning Commission, as a means to better serve
the needs and aspirations of the people of India. NITI Aayog is basically a policy think tank of the
Government of India and State Governments.

Body:Cooperative Federalism: It has enabled States to have active participation in the formulation of
national policy, as well as achieving time-bound implementation of quantitative and qualitative
targets through the combined authority of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers.

Competitive Federalism: This Cooperation is further enhanced by the vibrancy of Competitive

Federalism. NITI Aayog comes up with performance-based rankings of States across various verticals
fostering a spirit of competitive federalism. For eg. Health Index, Composite Water Management
Index etc.

Shared National Agenda: NITI Ayog has helped evolve a shared vision of national development
priorities and strategies, with the active involvement of States thus furthering the ideals of unity and
integrity in the nation.

Knowledge and Innovation hub: NITI Aayog has acted as an accumulator as well as disseminator of
research and best practices on good governance, through a state-of-the-art Resource Centre which
identifies, analyses, shares and facilitates replication of the same. NITI Ayog has established more
than 1,500 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across the country to improve the innovation ecosystem in
India.

Monitoring and Evaluation: Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office monitors the
implementation of policies and programmes, and evaluates their impact. This not only helps identify
weaknesses and bottlenecks for necessary course correction, but also enables data-driven policy
making, leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness of policies and programmes.

Conclusion:NITI Aayog needs to adopt a bold, unconstrained and unconventional approach to

resolve inherent contradictions of our systems and find innovative solutions to the differences
among the states and between the centre and the states to take this country forward on a
sustainable path of all-inclusive development on a substantially higher trajectory.

Mains Practice Question:Q) Do you think that Constitution of India does not accept principle of strict
separation of powers rather it is based on the principle of ‘checks and balance’? Explain. (2019) (250
words)