INSIGHTSIAS

IA SIMPLIFYING IAS EXAM PREPARATION

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MAINS MISSION 2023

GS-III

SEPTEMBER 2022

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NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They
are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing
is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you
extra points in the form of background information.

Table of Contents
Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and
employment. ..................................................................................................................................... 6
The fiscal year 2021–22 ended with a somewhat mixed picture on the trade deficit front. What are
its implications on the Indian economy? Enumerate the measures that are needed to bridge the
trade deficit. (250 words) .............................................................................................................. 6
India’s performance has consistently been poor in the Human Development Index. Analyse the
reasons and suggest improvements. (250 Words) .......................................................................... 8
What do you understand by ‘Windfall Tax’? Why has the Union government introduced such a tax
recently? Examine its significance for resource mobilization for the country. (250 Words) ........... 11
“India’s service-led economic growth has circumvented manufacturing-led growth phase”,
examining the causative factors, suggest measures to boost the manufacturing sector in India.
(250 words) ................................................................................................................................. 12
Explain what is monetary policy and how it is different from Fiscal policy. What explains the
divergence between the RBI and govt on monetary policy in recent times? (250 Words) ............. 14
Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial
growth. ........................................................................................................................................... 17
At the heart of Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) reforms in India has been an extensive focus on
rationalisation and digitalisation of regulatory compliances, encompassing the entire business
cycle from start to exit. Discuss. (250 words) ............................................................................... 17
Critically analyse the current Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20). What measures are needed in the
upcoming Foreign Trade Policy to help push up goods and services exports? (250 words) ........... 20

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Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. ...................................................................................... 23

Inequalities in health and education have actually increased in the past few years and this needs
to be addressed on a war footing. Analyse the reasons behind it and suggest possible measures.
(250 words) ................................................................................................................................. 23
Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and
irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related
constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers ................................................................................ 27
Tea industry is facing a number of problems resulting in low production of tea and tea leaves. It is
the policy makers who have to formulate strategies to keep this industry thriving and profitable.
Examine. (250 words) .................................................................................................................. 27
Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution
System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security;
Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.......................................................................... 29
Examine the various threats to India’s food security. Suggest measures in order to have sufficient
production and proper distribution of food grains amidst rising geopolitical tensions. (250 words)
.................................................................................................................................................... 29
It is a travesty that global hunger persists even though we know cutting food waste just by half
could feed all. Individual and organization efforts have a key role in solving this problem.
Comment. (250 words) ................................................................................................................ 32
Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and
downstream requirements, supply chain management. .................................................................. 34
Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. ............................................................ 34
The concerns of states on some provisions of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 are justified. But
the legislation proposes welcome correctives to longstanding problems of the power sector.
Analyse. (250 words) ................................................................................................................... 34
Examine the various obstacles and suggest measures to ensure energy security and longer-term
sustainability of growth for India. (250 Words) ............................................................................ 36
Discuss the ways that India can achieve energy security and strategic autonomy in the energy
sector by 2040. (250 words) ........................................................................................................ 39
Despite various efforts to improve road infrastructure, analyse the various causes behind
increasing accidents. Discuss the measures that are needed to improve road safety in the
country. (250 words) .................................................................................................................. 42
Discuss the role of New Logistics Policy (NLP) in reduction of overall logistics cost and increase the
competitiveness of domestic goods in the global market. (250 words)......................................... 45
Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life;
Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new
technology. ..................................................................................................................................... 47
Highlighting the purpose of granting patents, discuss the issues concerning it and suggest
solutions to address them for India. (250 Words) ........................................................................ 47
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and
issues relating to intellectual property rights. .................................................................................. 52

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Explaining the intention behind ‘Safe harbour’ provisions for social media companies, discuss the
need for removing it and regulating the dominance of social media companies. (250 words) ...... 52
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment .......... 53
In keeping with the spirit of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the country is taking steps to curb
littered and unmanaged plastic waste pollution. Elaborate upon the efforts to eliminate single-use
plastics in the country. (250 words) ............................................................................................. 53
The effects of invasive alien species on their new surroundings as well as the overall biodiversity
of the region are grave. Analyse. (250 words) .............................................................................. 57
One of the main factors contributing to air pollution and decreasing air quality in regions of north
India is the burning of agricultural waste. Additionally, failure to use stubble as a fuel or fodder
results in financial losses as well. Analyse. (250 words) ................................................................ 60
What is fly ash? Discuss its types, applications, advantages, and disadvantages as a construction
material. What steps are required to promote its usage? (250 words) ......................................... 62
Disaster and disaster management. ................................................................................................. 65
Do you think that Urban flooding which is being witnessed in metropolitan cities across the nation
is a man-made disaster? Critically analyse. (250 words) ............................................................... 65
The risk of fire in urban areas has increased over the years and the rising cost of fire losses are
increasing at a greater rate than the measures devised to control them. Examine. (250 words)... 67
Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security ..................... 71
Left-wing extremism was considered the single largest internal security threat in India, but lately,
it is the decline. Bring out the role of security forces in this regard. What more needs to be done?
Discuss. (250 Words) ................................................................................................................... 71
Security challenges and their management in border areas ............................................................. 73
The northeast needs to be freed from the AFSPA, as it has subsumed constitutional rights with
impunity. Critically analyze. ......................................................................................................... 73
Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social
networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its
prevention....................................................................................................................................... 76
Disinformation spread through social networks can have dire political, economic and social
consequences and is unequivocally bound to compromise national security. Analyse. (250 words)
.................................................................................................................................................... 76
The gaps in an intrusive surveillance framework are causing severe harm to India’s democratic
ideals. Critically analyze ............................................................................................................... 79

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Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources,

growth, development and employment.
The fiscal year 2021–22 ended with a somewhat mixed picture on the trade deficit
front. What are its implications on the Indian economy? Enumerate the measures that
are needed to bridge the trade deficit. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
Data for the first four months of 2022–23 allow us to make initial assessments about India’s
merchandise trade patterns. At first sight, the numbers for April to July 2022 do not look promising as
exports have expanded by 20%, but imports have grown by over 48%.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the trade deficit, reasons for its increase and its impact on the Indian economy, steps
that are needed to bridge it.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start by defining trade deficit.
Body:
Frist, write about the factors that have led to increasing trade deficit in the recent past.
Next, write impact increased trade deficit will have on the Indian economy. Substantiate with facts
and examples.
Next, write about ways to mitigate impact of negative impact of increasing trade deficit and bridge
the growing deficit.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.

Introduction

A trade deficit occurs when a country’s imports exceed its exports during a given time period. It is
also referred to as a negative balance of trade (BOT). A trade deficit or net amount can be
calculated on different categories within an international transaction account. These include goods,
services, goods and services, current account, and the sum of balances on the current and capital
accounts.

Body
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Background

• India’s trade deficit had breached the $60 million level in the April-July period four times
since 2010.

• In 2011-12 and 2012-13, it went past $60 billion when elevated prices of petroleum crude
and gold raised the imports bill.

• More recently, it crossed $60 billion level in 2018-19 and 2019-20, again when petroleum
prices climbed.

Reasons for increasing trade and current account deficit

• Government measures to control petrol prices: In the current instance, government

intervention to control exports of petroleum products and certain commodities due to
domestic demand and inflation contributed to the widening of the trade deficit.

o Earnings from petroleum product exports declined by $2.4 billion in July from $7.83
billion in June 2022, as volumes fell after the government imposed an export cess on
petrol and diesel and global prices cooled amid concerns about economic growth in
the US and China.

• Gems and Jewellery muted exports: A contraction in earnings from exports of gems
and jewellery, organic and inorganic chemicals and readymade garments also contributed
to lowering July’s export earnings by $2.7 billion from the previous month.

• Rising imports: Imports maintained their momentum in July, rising about 4.2 percent from
the previous month, due to the country’s dependence on imported energy, electronics
goods and certain machinery.

• High import of crude: Imports of petroleum crude and products were up about 2 percent on
a sequential basis and a massive 70.4 percent from a year ago. Petroleum crude and
products together accounted for about 32 percent of the import bill in July. It might have
been higher if Indian refiners were not buying Russian crude.

• Coal imports: Coal imports were another transaction that contributed to the import bill and
the widening of the trade deficit this financial year.

Implications on the Indian economy

• There is less room for fiscal policy stimulus to support growth given high deficit and debt
levels.

• A large CAD will result in demand for foreign currency rising, thus leading to depreciation of
the home currency. Nations balance CAD by attracting capital inflows and running a surplus
in capital accounts through increased foreign direct investments.

• A weaker Indian currency will drive inflation up, which is already a grave concern due to
high commodity prices.

• If an increase in the import bill is because of imports for technological upgradation it

would help in long-term development.

• But more alarming for the Indian economy is the increase in imports of
electronics products and machinery, both electrical and non-electrical, since it is India’s
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northern neighbour China that is the overwhelmingly large supplier in both these product
groups.

• The sharp increase in textile yarn and raw cotton imports is equally concerning, as this could
have serious implications for domestic producers.

• If increasing imports is accompanied by an expansion in industrial production, it is a sign of

economic development.

• Exports to the EU and the UK, the two potential CEPA partners, have been expanded during
this fiscal, with the latter witnessing a 46% increase. However, the challenge for India would
be to maintain its current level of market access in the face of severe headwinds these
countries face.

• The most remarkable development during the first quarter is India’s substantially increased
dependence on Russia. Compared to the previous year, imports from Russia have increased
by nearly 370%, making it India’s sixth largest import source compared to 19th in April–June
2021–22. More importantly, Russia is now India’s third largest source of crude oil, with a
13% share, just behind Saudi Arabia, which has a 17% share. Russia is also the largest source
of fertilisers, with a 19% share.

Conclusion

These trends in merchandise trade have sent out one clear message: more than ever before, India’s
trade engagements are dependent on strategic choices that the government makes during these
challenging times.

India’s performance has consistently been poor in the Human Development Index.
Analyse the reasons and suggest improvements. (250 Words)
Difficulty level: Medium
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
India has shown poor ranking in the latest ranking of HDI.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the reasons and suggest solutions for improving HDI for India.
Directive word:
Analyze: When asked to analyse, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the
topic by separating it into component parts and presenting them as a whole in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by citing stats about India’s HDI e.g., India is ranked 132 out of 191 countries. India’s score of
0.633 is not only a long way away from the top-ranking scores — Switzerland is ranked 1 with a score
of 0.962 — but also below the global average.
Body:
First, give reasons for India’s poor performance on various parameters of HDI
Next, briefly mention the steps taken by the government in various parameters.
Don’t forget to mention a few other indices by HDR as well: Inequality-adjusted HDI, Gender
Development Index, Multidimensional Poverty Index, etc.
Then, suggest what more needs to be done.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction

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India ranks 132 out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) 2021, after registering
a decline in its score over two consecutive years for the first time in three decades.

The HDI combines indicators of life expectancy, education or access to knowledge and income or
standard of living, and captures the level and changes to the quality of life. The index initially
launched as an alternative measure to the gross domestic product, is the making of two acclaimed
economists from Pakistan and India, namely Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen.

Body

India’s standing in latest HDI

• Human Development Index: India’s HDI value stood at 0.633 in 2021, which was lower than
the world average of 0.732. In 2020, too, India recorded a decline in its HDI value (0.642) in
comparison to the pre-Covid level of 2019 (0.645).

• Life expectancy: In 2021, India’s life expectancy at birth was recorded at 67.2 years.

• Schooling: Expected years of schooling at 11.9 years; mean years of schooling at 6.7 years;

• Gross National Income: The gross national income per capita stood at USD 6,590.

• Gender Inequality Index: India has been ranked 122 on the Gender Inequality Index.

Reasons for India’s poor performance on various parameters of HDI

• Increasing Income Inequalities: Income inequalities amplify failings on other HDI indices of
human development. Intergenerational income mobility is lower in countries with high-
income inequality.

o It manifests at birth and determines access to quality healthcare, education, and

opportunities.

o Further, there is an increasing trend in income inequality. In India, the income

growth of the bottom 40% between 2000 and 2018 (58%) was significantly below
the average income growth for the entire population (122%).

• Gender Inequality: Numbers show female per capita income in India was only 21.8% of that
of males, while it was more than double at 49% in other developing countries.

o The meagre per capita income of females in India is mainly because of their
exclusion from the labour force.

o Only 20.5% of the women in the working-age group were in the labour force,
pointing to its dismal Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR).

• Cumulative Impact: The cumulative impact of these factors spills over across generations. It
is this intergenerational cycle which denies opportunities to those at the bottom of the
pyramid.
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Government measures

• Poverty alleviation and Employment schemes like PM Rozgar Yojana, MGNREGA, JAM
Trinity etc was implemented to ensure security of livelihood of the poor.

• Right to education was made a fundamental right which has ensured free education to all
children between 6 to 14years of age.

• Skill India was introduced to hone the skills, upskill and reskill individuals who could be
leveraged in attaining the demographic dividend of India.

• To ensure food security, National Food Security Act was implemented in 2013 and schemes
like Antyodaya Anna Yojana for the poorest of the poor was carried out.

• New Education policy is to be implemented soon to ensure quality education and increase
human development of the nation through younger generation and access to better
education.

• Healthcare measures such as Ayushman Bharat will ensure a healthy populace with access
to good treatment and care.

More measures needed

• Fair Income Distribution: While the size of economic resources is a key factor affecting
human development, the distribution and allocation of these resources also play a major
role in determining the level of human development.

o Many global case studies show that high growth accompanied by more effective
income distribution can help enhance human development, even with moderate
social expenditures.

o For Example, South Korea and Taiwan improved income distribution through
early land reforms.

• Investing in Social Infrastructure: Universalisation of education and health care could have
pulled deprived sections out of the poverty trap.

o Sustaining and improving the quality of life will also depend on policies crafted to
handle major emerging challenges such as urbanisation, the housing deficit, access
to power, water, education and health care.

• Streamlining of the Finances: Streamlining the traditional approach of generating new

sources of revenue generation, steps like rationalised targeting of subsidies, judicious use of
revenues meant for social sector development etc will probably meet the financial
requirements needed for improving HDI.

• Good Governance Reforms: Effective performance evaluation of the projects and activities
engaged in the social sector development through innovative methods like outcome
budgeting, social auditing and participatory democracy has been known to yield positive
results.

• Gender Empowerment: Government should invest in Gender equality and women’s

empowerment, as they are integral to human development.
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Conclusion

India’s HDI scores can be substantially enhanced if a politically committed government rolls out
inclusive policies that strengthen public health, education and nutrition, and end gender
discrimination to usher in a more egalitarian order.

What do you understand by ‘Windfall Tax’? Why has the Union government
introduced such a tax recently? Examine its significance for resource mobilization for
the country. (250 Words)
Reference: The Hindu
Difficulty level: Easy
Why the question:
Recently government introduced a windfall tax due to rising crude prices, on the refining companies.
In early August, Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, sharply criticised the
“grotesque greed” of big oil and gas companies for making record profits from the global energy
crisis on the back of the world’s poorest people. He urged all governments to tax these excessive
profits.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain the concept of the windfall tax. Examine its significance and a few limitations.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Give a brief introduction of what is Windfall tax. and.
Body:
With data/stat show why was it introduced in India? Has it helped India? How has the experience
been in other countries?
Next, give a few limitations of such a tax for resource mobilization for the country.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward and need to depend on a regular source of resources.
Introduction

Windfall taxes are designed to tax the profits a company derives from an external, sometimes
unprecedented event— for instance, the energy price-rise as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

These are profits that cannot be attributed to something the firm actively did, like an investment
strategy or an expansion of business. The United States Congressional Research Service
(CRS) defines a windfall as an “unearned, unanticipated gain in income through no additional effort
or expense”.

Body

The Central government on July 1, introduced a windfall profit tax of ₹23,250 per tonne on domestic
crude oil production, which was subsequently revised fortnightly four times so far. The latest
revision was on August 31, when it was hiked to ₹13,300 per tonne from ₹13,000.

Rationale behind Windfall tax

• the introduction of the windfall tax is a way to rein in the “phenomenal profits” made by
some oil refiners who chose to export fuel to reap the benefits of skyrocketing global prices
while affecting domestic supplies.

• Prices of oil, gas, and coal have seen sharp increases since late last year and in the first two
quarters of the current year, although having reduced recently.

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• Pandemic recovery and supply issues resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict shore up
energy demands, in turn driving up global prices.

• The rising prices meant huge and record profits for energy companies while resulting in
hefty gas and electricity bills for household bills in major and smaller economies.

• Since the gains stemmed partly from external change, multiple analysts have called them
windfall profits.

Significance

• In July, India announced a windfall tax on domestic crude oil producers who it believed were
reaping the benefits of the high oil prices.

• It also imposed an additional excise levyon diesel, petrol and air turbine fuel (ATF) exports.

• Analysts see the windfall tax as a way for the Centre to narrow the country’s widened trade
deficit.

• The IMF noted that Italy has already imposed a one-time 25% tax on energy companies,
while Spain announced a temporary windfall tax for extraordinary profits earned in 2022 and
2023 by electricity utility companies.

Conclusion

However, The one-off taxes, which by definition are imposed retrospectively, are seen as arbitrary,
fueling uncertainty among businesses about future taxes.The imposition of windfall tax is branded as
anti-investment and anti-business.

Notably, even when a similar tax was introduced by the U.S in the 1980s on domestic oil companies,
the revenue it generated for the government was significantly lower than what it had projected,
while the tax also reduced domestic oil production and increased imports.

“India’s service-led economic growth has circumvented manufacturing-led growth

phase”, examining the causative factors, suggest measures to boost the
manufacturing sector in India. (250 words)
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The question has come from opinion piece of the Hindu.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss the role of the service sector and in what way India’s economic growth surpassed the
manufacturing-led growth phase. Suggest solutions.
Directive:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must look into the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it,
investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so
we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Discuss in brief the background of the sector-led growth in the recent decades. Give data/facts to
support your answer.
Body:

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After 1991, the share of industries stagnated at around 30% of GDP. This is mainly because the
service sector has grown at a more rapid pace than industries. Give reasons for Service led growth.
Why manufacturing sector couldn’t catch up as it did in the case of China or ASIAN countries.
Discuss then, how India’s system promoted service and discouraged industrialization in the later
stages.
Suggest a solution to boost the manufacturing sector.
Conclusion:
Conclude by pointing out the issues that may arise due to such a skewed dependence on a single
sector and suggest solutions to accommodate both manufacturing and service sectors in the coming
future.

Introduction

Structural transformation that involves a shift from agriculture straight to services, is a cause of
concern to many scholars as an expanding service sector might be a pale substitute to technical
progress in manufacturing as the main engine of growth

Body

Causative factors for service-led economic growth

• Stagnation in manufacturing output and employment contraction: Less jobs were created
due to stagnant manufacturing output and contraction of labour-intensive segment of the
formal manufacturing sector.

o This is due to excessive rigidity in the manufacturing labour market and rigid labour
regulations has created disincentives for employers to create jobs.

o According to world bank study Industrial Disputes Act has lowered employment in
organised manufacturing by about 25%.

• Service sector driven growth: The biggest employer in India is the agriculture sector,
employing 45% of the population but it contributes only 15% to the GDP, whereas Service
sector is the biggest contributor to the GDP but employs less than 30%.

o IT and Financial services are drivers of service sector growth in last 2 decades
however both of these sectors are not employment intensive.

o This is contributing to jobless growth in India.

• Import-oriented economy: Excessive imports have been damaging Indian manufacturing

industry.

o India has failed to witness a strong growth in the labour-intensive segment of

the manufacturing sector, as it did not move from the import to an export-oriented
development strategy.

o If India had followed Labour intensive goods export-led model like Southeast Asian
countries, it would have created many jobs in the MSME sector.

• Low demand: Low demand has led to slow economic growth and led to loss of jobs of many
due to loss to companies. This is mainly due to less lower purchasing power and
concentration of wealth in hands of few.

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• Infrastructure Bottlenecks: Infrastructural bottlenecks (especially in access to electricity),

lack of backward and forward linkages between agriculture, industry and service sector has
failed to create jobs and also hindered growth of labour intensive sectors.

• MSME problems: The labour intensity of MSME is four times higher than that of large firms.
But they face many problems. They have poor access to credit and are plagued by many
serious problems which has limited there growth potential.

• Skill Mismatch: Indian labour is not skilled as per industrial demands. Lesser skill levels of
workers limit them the job opportunities. Also various programs by government like Skill
India and stand up India are launched recently only. Industry focussed skills are needed to be
inculcated.

Measures needed to boost manufacturing

• Labour reforms: Labour Laws should be reformed as due to the stringent Labour Laws
Corporates in India are preferring Capital intensive mode of Production in a country where
labour is abundant.

• Promoting labour Intensive sectors:Labour intensive sectors like food processing industry,
leather industry, apparel, electronics, gems and jewellery, financial services, and tourism etc.
should be encouraged. Appropriate subsidies and tax incentives should be given to
incentivise them. Make in India initiative a great step forward which will boost the
manufacturing.

• Strengthening MSME: MSME sector should be promoted and supported. Easing regulations,
subsidies will help. Also easy available of credit should be the priority. MUDRA has a
potential to create required jobs in India.

• Implementing Niti Ayog action agenda: The Action Agenda has provided several good ideas
for job creation, including labour law reforms at the state level. The report emphasizes the
role of exports in job creation and recommends establishing coastal employment zones
(CEZs), similar to China’s special economic zones (SEZs). This agenda must be implemented
in letter and spirit.

• Entrepreneurship: The focus of economic policy must be on creating an enabling policy for
youth to take up entrepreneurship and create more jobs in the market. India does not need
five companies worth 5000 crores turnover but needs 5000 companies of 5 crore turnover.

Conclusion

With higher growth rates not having translated into more jobs, the government should formulate a
National Employment Policy that takes these trends into account. Expansion of public employment
and a national skilling programme could boost employment.

Explain what is monetary policy and how it is different from Fiscal policy. What
explains the divergence between the RBI and govt on monetary policy in recent
times? (250 Words)
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:

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While in recent times, the government has emphasised growth. RBI is focused on containing Inflation,
thus creating divergence.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss what monetary policy is and its relationship with fiscal policy and draw the differences and
comparisons and the reasons for the divergence.
Directive:
Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the
particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate them
with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Monetary policy is the control of the quantity of money available in an economy and the channels
by which new money is supplied.
Body:
Discuss the concept of monetary and fiscal policy in detail.
Discuss its objectives.
Draw a comparison of it with that of monetary policy. Suggest the reason for the divergence
between the two in detail.
Conclusion:
Conclude with how to address the divergence.

Introduction

Monetary policy refers to the policy of the central bank ie Reserve Bank of India, in matters of
interest rates, money supply and availability of credit.

In short, Monetary policy refers to the use of monetary instruments under the control of the central
bank to regulate magnitudes such as interest rates, money supply and availability of credit with a
view to achieving the ultimate objective of economic policy.

Fiscal policy refers to the use of government spending and tax policies to influence economic
conditions, especially macroeconomic conditions, including aggregate demand for goods and
services, employment, inflation, and economic growth. In simple terms, it is an estimate of taxation
and government spending that impacts the economy. It is the guiding force that helps the
government decide how much money it should spend to support the economic activity, and how
much revenue it must earn from the system, to keep the wheels of the economy running smoothly.

Body

Background

• The core policy concern is what to prioritise: economic growth or controlling price rise. The
latter cannot be done without hurting the prospects of the former.

• The Govt wants high growth as elections approach, but the RBI must, by law, act to check
rising prices.

• India’s GDP growth rate had been decelerating sharply over the three years leading up to
the Covid-19 pandemic. It decelerated from more than 8% in 2016-17 to less than 4% in
2019-20.

• By late 2019, inflation started creeping up. Then, in March 2020, came the Covid-induced
nationwide lockdown
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• Almost instantly, India’s faltering GDP came to a standstill. The economy started
contracting. The RBI responded by cutting interest rates sharply in order to limit the
economic contraction and continued to stay put in order to fuel the recovery.

• The trouble was, inflation never gave up. It continued to stay above the RBI’s target rate of
4% for many months. This trend worsened in May 2021, when it started staying outside
RBI’s comfort zone of 6%. RBI continued to ignore this inflation because it was prioritising
economic recovery and did not want to stall it. Between May 2021 and March 2022, inflation
stayed around or above 6%.

• Then came the impact of the war in Ukraine. It sent inflation beyond 7%. In April 2022,
inflation hit the 7.8% mark

Divergence between monetary and fiscal policy

• Tighter money policy undermining growth: From May 2022 onward, the RBI started raising
the interest rate because by then it was clear that inflation could no longer be ignored, and
that, if not contained, it would undermine India’s economic recovery.

o It is noteworthy that the RBI’s main legal mandate is to maintain price stability. It
must, by law, keep inflation at 4% with a leeway of two percentage points either
side in any particular month.

• But then, these actions by the RBI — and more rate hikes are in store — will drag down
economic growth.

• Unemployment and poor man’s inflation: The government is struggling to deal with
massive and widespread unemployment. While in percentage terms GDP growth rates look
rosy, the truth is that in real terms the economy is barely out of the contraction it witnessed
during the Covid pandemic.

o Unemployment has been a concern since 2017, when it hit a four-decade high.

• Dilemma: If RBI continues to tighten monetary policy, it will weaken economic recovery at
a time when growth is already faltering and unemployment is already quite high.

o If RBI ignores inflation then it hits the poor immediately without necessarily
guaranteeing that growth and unemployment will be resolved.

Fiscal policy vis-a-vis monetary policy

• Fiscal policy, along with monetary policy, plays a crucial role in managing a country’s
economy.

• The government uses both monetary and fiscal policy as macroeconomic tools to meet the
county’s economic objectives and manage or stimulate the economy.

• Monetary policy is concerned with the management of interest rates and the total supply
of money in circulation. It is generally carried out by the RBI.

• Fiscal policy, on the other hand, estimates taxation and government spending. It should
ideally be in line with the monetary policy, but since it is created by lawmakers, people’s
interest often takes precedence over growth.
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• Monetary policy seeks to spark economic activity, while fiscal policy seeks to address either
total spending, the total composition of spending, or both.

• Monetary policy is more of a blunt tool in terms of expanding and contracting the money
supply to influence inflation and growth and it has less impact on the real economy.

• Both fiscal and monetary policy play a large role in managing the economy and both have
direct and indirect impacts on personal and household finances.

Conclusion

Fiscal policy is an important constituent of the overall economic framework of a country and is
therefore intimately linked with its general economic policy strategy. Monetary policy and fiscal
policy together have great influence over a nation’s economy, its businesses, and its consumers.
Thus, they must complement each other for a stable and growing economy of a country.

Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their

effects on industrial growth.
At the heart of Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) reforms in India has been an extensive
focus on rationalisation and digitalisation of regulatory compliances, encompassing
the entire business cycle from start to exit. Discuss. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Live Mint , Insights on India
Why the question:
Recently, a senior industry leader shared his first-hand experience of improved Ease of Doing
Business (EoDB) in the country, mentioning how the allocation letter for a designated frequency band
was issued within a few hours by the Department of Telecommunications.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the role of easing of compliances and its digitisation in Ease of Doing Business (EoDB).
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context.
Body:
First, write about the various different aspects of compliances and its digitisation in Ease of Doing
Business. Substantiate with statistics and bring about the impact of high cost of compliances on
various macroeconomic parameters.
Next, write about the steps that are needed to be taken in order to further improve the above.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.

Introduction

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Government has carried out a series of regulatory reforms to create a favourable investment
climate. After the pandemic and slowdown, India must focus on re-invigorating the business climate
by removing the hurdles that come in the way of starting a business from start to exit.

Though World Bank’s EODB ranking have been done away with, India must not stop reforms in
making the business environment better.

Body

India’s measure to ensure ease of doing business in recent times

• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of 2016 has
introduced new dimensions in resolving insolvency in India. It is India’s first comprehensive
legislation of corporate insolvency.

o Under Fast-track Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) for mid-sized

companies, the process for insolvency shall be completed within 90 days with a
maximum grace period of another 45 days.

• Goods and Service tax (GST): The idea of ‘one nation, one tax’ has made it easier for people
to start a business, and ITC (Input Credit) mechanism ensures an uninterrupted flow of cash
for businesses and reduced price of goods/services for the end consumers.

o The Goods and Service Tax came into effect from 01 July 2017. It subsumes eight
taxes at the Central and nine taxes at the State level.

o Further simplification of returns processes, addressing concerns for India’s huge

MSME/SME sectors etc. are necessary steps that need to be taken to reap the kind
of benefits envisioned during GST inception.

• Technology Based Governance: The Government has taken innumerable steps to enhance
digital adoption in India.

o The eBiz platform of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)
integrates several processes across (government) departments to make the process
of incorporating a company simpler.

o Registration under Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and Employee

Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) are available at Shram Suvidha portal as a
common online service with no physical touch point.

o e-Sanchit, an online application system, allows traders to file all documents

electronically.

o The Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has developed a fully online
module for electronic return filing with online payment. This has substantially
reduced the time to prepare and file returns.

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• Taxation Relief: Reduction of corporate tax from 30% to 25% for mid-sized companies.

o The tax rate for new domestic manufacturing companies is now 15% (17.01%
inclusive of surcharge and cess).

o Domestic companies can opt for concessional tax regime @ 22% (effective tax rate:
25.17% inclusive of surcharge and cess). Such companies cannot claim any other
income tax incentive or exemption and are also not be liable to pay the Minimum
Alternate Tax (MAT).

• Fixed Term Employment: The provision for Fixed Term Employment- hiring employees for
specific period- earlier applicable to only textile industries has now been proposed to be
extended to all sectors.

Challenges to Ease of doing Business in India

• Economic Slowdown: The viability of a business depends on the vitality of the economy in
which it is embedded.

o Aggregate Demand Dip: Indian economy is facing an aggregate demand slowdown

which is mainly characterized by very slow growth of agriculture sector. This has put
a break on consumption growth which is the main driver for Indian economy.

o Income Distribution: Income distribution shifts away from the overwhelming

majority of the population to a handful few, increasing income gap. This is evident
from the fact that the sale of luxury cars had fared well than sales of the most basic
items of clothing during the Diwali.

• Legislative Challenges: The structural reasons for slow growth of business comprises of
regulatory framework which includes a plethora of overlapping laws and compliance
requirements in setting-up and running a business.

o Subjective interpretation of the law: Tax laws are prone to the subjective
interpretation of tax officers which causes undue hardships to taxpayers and
leaves scope for “tax terrorism”.

o Overlapping Laws: The Companies Act, 2013 and the Foreign Exchange
Management Act (FEMA), 1999, have overlapping provisions, which act as
deterrents to the ease of doing business in India.

• Asymmetrical Policy Response: The government measures are mainly directed toward
reforming formal sector, while almost 85% of our workforce is engaged in unorganised
sector.

o For long, economic policies had remained impervious to the challenges faced by its
smaller businessmen. Neither the grand industrial policy statements of the Nehru

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era nor ‘Make in India’ programme appear to have realised that they need to be
enabled too.

Conclusion and way forward

• Creating Demand: To address an aggregate-demand growth slowdown, an active

macroeconomic policy is needed. Spending must focus on the rural sector to raise
agricultural yields and build the infrastructure needed to support non-farm livelihoods so
that pressure on the land can be reduced.

o Investment: Recent initiatives of corporate tax cut could feed a private investment
surge but it could also add to the ongoing shift in income distribution. Therefore,
spinoffs of public spending could lead to growth in business activity.

• Legal Barriers:

o Companies Act should be reviewed in order to minimise criminalisation of violations.

o Taxation laws should be made simpler and tax administration should be impersonal.
Direct Tax Code (DTC) will be the right step in this direction.

o The GST law should be stabilised and the technology backbone should be
strengthened rather than making more changes.

o Human interface between tax officers and taxpayers should be reduced while
automating the tax machinery.

• Make in India: The program represents a comprehensive overhaul of processes and policies
and represents a complete change of the Government’s mindset – a shift from issuing
authority to business partner.

o Emphasis on manufacturing would help in solving employment crisis and will lead to
increased purchasing capacity, thus boosting domestic consumption.

Critically analyse the current Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20). What measures are
needed in the upcoming Foreign Trade Policy to help push up goods and services
exports? (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu , Insights on India
Why the question:
The Government will release a new foreign trade policy in the coming week, that could include
measures to help push up goods and services exports as well as rein in the runaway import bill. The
current trade policy was introduced in 2015.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about successes and limitations of current FTP and suggest measures to overcome the
limitations.
Directive word:

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Critically analyze – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature
of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary. When ‘critically’
is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a
balanced judgment on the topic.
Introduction:
Begin by writing about the aims and objectives of Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20).
Body:
First, in brief, write about the major features of Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20).
Next, write about the successes of the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20) and cite facts to indicate the
progress achieved because of it boosting exports.
Next, write about the shortcomings of the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20) and reasons therefore.
Next, suggest measures that are needed in the upcoming foreign to overcome the limitations of the
above.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction

Various aspects of globalization are being rethought all over the world, and this includes rethinking
trade policy. India is also going through this process. The Ministry of Commerce is working on a new
trade policy to be unveiled in September 2022. The Government will roll out a new foreign trade
policy (FTP) of a shorter term of two-three years in a bid to keep pace with the fast-evolving
scenarios in international trade. These have been triggered by recent disruptions, such as the
pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Body

Background

• An FTP is an elaborate policy guideline and strategy to promote the export of goods and
services, usually with a duration of 5 years.

• It sets out the regulations for cross-border trade and reveals the Government’s position on a
host of crucial policy variables such as technology flow, intangibles, and so on.

• Revisited and notified every five years since the 1991 economic reforms, the FTP has been
the guiding beacon for all stakeholders.

• The last FTP was notified in 2015, and the new policy was due in April 2020.

• However, it has been periodically extended since then, and the new policy is expected by
September 2022.

Challenges with current FTP and need for a new one

• Clarifying India’s Stand at Global Level: It is essential to clarify India’s position and
alignment with flagship programmes like ‘Local for Global’ and PLI (Production Linked
Incentive) schemes, WTO’s ruling against India’s export incentive schemes, an overdue
review of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) scheme, changing geographical profiles of India’s
export basket, and implications of the FTAs.

• In 2019, a dispute resolution panel of WTO had held that the export incentives
under the FTP are violative of India’s WTO Commitment.

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• Impact on Export-Oriented Businesses: Another reason for overhauling the FTP is some
export-oriented businesses have been adversely impacted by certain ad hoc, mistimed, and
contradictory changes to the 2015 FTP

• The 2015 FTP incentivised exports by issuing duty-credit scrips directly in proportion
to exports. However, in 2020 the government limited the maximum export
incentives for goods to Rs. 20 million, and in 2021, limited them to Rs. 20 million
for services.

▪ Moreover, the changes for service incentives were retrospectively notified

in September 2021 to be applied from April 2019.

• Reduction in Outlays and Incentives: The annual export incentives — the Merchandise
Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) of Rs.
51,012 crore were replaced with the RoDTEP scheme incentive of Rs.12,454 crore.

• The remaining Rs. 38,558 crore has been diverted into PLI to give benefit to a few
sectors.

• Also, earlier there was a 3% export incentive on agriculture implements like

tractors, which has been reduced to 0.7%.

• Infrastructural Setbacks: Due to inadequate upgraded export infrastructure such as ports,

warehouses and supply chains, the average turnaround time for ships in India is about
three days while the world average is 24 hours.

• Crisis of MSMEs: With a contribution of about 29% to the GDP and 40% to international
trade, MSMEs are the key players in achieving the ambitious export targets. However, the
surge in input and fuel costs are hitting the bottom lines of MSMEs.

• The rise in prices of raw materials such as steel, and plastics along with a shortage
of shipping containers and labour are making it difficult for the MSMEs to take full
advantage of the global increase in demand.

Way forward to boost exports

• First, the Government must invest in upgrading export infrastructure such as ports,
warehouses, quality testing and certification centers to stay ahead of technology-advanced
countries. For instance, China has planned to spend US$ 1.4 trillion on infrastructure
between 2019 and 2023.

• Second, India also needs to adopt modern trade practices that can be implemented through
the digitisation of export processes. This will save both time and cost.

• Third, the Government must help MSMEs planning to tap the export potential in existing
tariff lines and provide policy support to raise the number of exporting MSMEs and increase
MSME exports by 50% in 2022-23.

• Fourth, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) agreement offers a new opportunity.
The trade pillar in the IPEF does not, as of now, deal with market access. India should work
to push the IPEF towards a trade agreement.

• Fifth, Digital trade, e-commerce and digital payments will play a major role in global
integration in the years ahead. India has substantial strengths in this area, but there seems
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to be ambivalence about entering negotiations on it. India should shed this hesitancy and be
actively involved in the development of global rules acceptable to all.

• Sixth, a short-term FTP shall be a good move because the general elections are just two
years away. The new government (new or the existing one) should be given the mandate to
announce a new policy, as it may have a different focus area or agenda.

Conclusion

The new FTP should work in a phased manner to address export constraints. It should review the
regulatory and operational framework to reduce the transit costs and create a low-cost operating
environment through developed logistics and utility infrastructure.

Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

Inequalities in health and education have actually increased in the past few years and
this needs to be addressed on a war footing. Analyse the reasons behind it and
suggest possible measures. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Tough
Reference: Indian Express , Insights on India
Why the question:
The database and methodology for computing the human development index (HDI) by the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are not as robust as that of the national income or price
indices that get monitored on a quarterly or annual basis. The construction of HDI involves four
indicators with three dimensions — per capita income, health (life expectancy) and education
(average and expected years of schooling).
Key Demand of the question:
To write about growing inequalities in health and education and measures needed to tackle the
same.
Directive word:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the
topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by citing statistic about growing inequalities in health and education in India.
Body:
In the first part, write about the reasons behind growing inequalities. Account for the various causes
for it and the impact of the same.
Next, write about various steps that are needed to address inequalities in in India in
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.

Introduction

In India, a large portion of the population is below the poverty line, therefore, they do not have easy
access to primary health and education. There is growing inequality across social groups and income
groups which translates itself into poor socio-economic mobility.

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Healthcare provisions in India is grossly inadequate and access to healthcare is highly

inequitable. Lack of efficient public healthcare and burden of out-of-pocket health expenditures
reduces people’s capacity or disables them from investing in the human capital of their children.

Basic literacy (the ability to read and write) in the overall population has progressed modestly.
However, there is persistent gender differentials, and major differentials by caste and religion. The
state of functional literacy and professional skills is poor. Indian graduates have low employability
and does not meet changing economic structure or support global competitiveness.

Body

Inequalities in health

• Finance: At about 1.3% of the national income, India’s public healthcare spending between
2008 and 2015, has virtually remained stagnant. This is way less than the global average of 6
per cent. It is a herculean task to implement a scheme that could potentially cost Rs 5 lakh
per person and benefit 53.7 crore out of India’s 121 crore citizenry, or roughly about 44% of
the country’s population. Over 70 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure is accounted
for by the private sector.

• Crumbling public health infrastructure: Given the country’s crumbling public healthcare
infrastructure, most patients are forced to go to private clinics and hospitals. There is a
shortage of PHCs (22%) and sub-health centres (20%), while only 7% sub-health centres
and 12% primary health centres meet Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) norms.

• High Out of Pocket Expenditure: Reports suggest that 70% of the medical spending is from
the patient’s pockets leading to huge burden and pushing many into poverty. Most
consumers complain of rising costs. Hundred days into the PMJAY, it remains to be seen if
private hospitals provide knee replacement at Rs 80,000 (current charges Rs 3.5 lakh) bypass
surgery at Rs 1.7 lakh (against Rs 4 lakh).

• Insurance: India has one of the lowest per capita healthcare expenditures in the world.
Government contribution to insurance stands at roughly 32 percent, as opposed to 83.5
percent in the UK. The high out-of-pocket expenses in India stem from the fact that 76
percent of Indians do not have health insurance.

• Doctor-Density Ratio: The WHO reports the doctor-density ratio in India at 8 per 10,000
people as against one doctor for a population of 1,000. To achieve such access, merely
increasing the number of primary and secondary healthcare centres is not enough.

• Shortage of Medical Personnel: Data by IndiaSpend show that there is a staggering shortage
of medical and paramedical staff at all levels of care: 10,907 auxiliary nurse midwives and
3,673 doctors are needed at sub-health and primary health centres, while for community
health centres the figure is 18,422 specialists.

• Rural-urban disparity: The rural healthcare infrastructure is three-tiered and includes a sub-
center, primary health centre (PHC) and CHC. PHCs are short of more than 3,000 doctors,
with the shortage up by 200 per cent over the last 10 years to 27,421. Private hospitals don’t
have adequate presence in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and there is a trend towards super
specialisation in Tier-1 cities.

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• Social Inequality: The growth of health facilities has been highly imbalanced in India. Rural,
hilly and remote areas of the country are under served while in urban areas and cities,
health facility is well developed. The SC/ST and the poor people are far away from modern
health service.

• Poor healthcare ranking: India ranks as low as 145th among 195 countries in healthcare
quality and accessibility, behind even Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

• Commercial motive: lack of transparency and unethical practices in the private sector.

• Lack of level playing field between the public and private hospitals: This has been a major
concern as public hospitals would continue receiving budgetary support. This would
dissuade the private players from actively participating in the scheme.

• Scheme flaws: The overall situation with the National Health Mission, India’s flagship
programme in primary health care, continues to be dismal. The NHM’s share in the health
budget fell from 73% in 2006 to 50% in 2019 in the absence of uniform and substantial
increases in health spending by States.

Inequality in access to education

• Gender bias: Girls are often sent to government schools while a male child is sent to private
school. Moreover, after intermediate school, girls are made to drop out either for marriage
or to do household chores.

o Some cultures will allow education for girls and women but limit the content of the
education or skew the education to prepare them for a limited number of social
roles

• Caste discrimination: In certain villages in India, even today children are segregated based
on caste.

o Various researches reveals that the education system perpetuates and legitimizes
social inequality, due to the economic, political, ideological and pedagogical
practices that permeate schools.

• Family income: Financial stress on the parents can cause a child to leave school early to
work. Worries about financial hardship at home can negatively affect low-income children’s
ability to learn.

• Tribal problem: Access to education is the biggest hindrance. Most of the tribal children
drop out of school or are not sent to school as their integration is low in the society.

• Extreme inequality and decision-making power: The children of the well-to-do attend elite
well-resourced schools, with access to more than enough support at home. They have no
problems in learning.

o But the vast majority of children in our unequal country go to schools that might as
well be on a different planet.

o Thus, the well-off, who control or influence the levers of power, have no personal
stake in nor any exposure to the reality of most Indian lives.

Measures needed to address the inequities

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• To engineer an inclusive and sustainable growth for India, the social infrastructure like
education, health and social protection are being given utmost priority by the Government

• The gaps in the expenditure on social infrastructure like health and education should be
closed by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of the government initiatives.

o Protecting and investing in people’s health, education, and skilling is vital for
reducing income inequality, and sustained inclusive economic growth.

• India needs to increase its spending on health and education. As recommended by

the National Health Policy 2017 and the NEP 2020, India needs to increase its spending on
health and education to at least 2.5 % in 6 % of GDP respectively from its current levels.
Enhancing policies to maintain and even increase health and longevity will therefore be
necessary.

• The current situation calls for more and better schools, especially in rural areas. It also calls
for better transportation links between rural areas and regional urban hubs.

• India has to invest more in human capital formation at all levels, from primary education to
higher education, cutting-edge research and development as well as on vocational
training to increase the skill sets of its growing working-age population.

• The flagship schemes such as Skill India, Make in India, and Digital India have to be
implemented to achieve convergence between skill training and employment generation.

• Bridging the gender gaps in education, skill development, employment, earnings and
reducing social inequalities prevalent in the society have been the underlying goals of the
development strategy to enhance human capabilities.

• Improved infrastructure, skill development, access to easy finance, reducing barriers to

entrepreneurship and forums for mentorship of emerging entrepreneurs in partnership
with corporates are some of measures.

• Decentralized models of development: Social policies for each state must be differentiated
to accommodate different rates of population growth. The populations in south and west
India are growing at a much slower pace than in the central and eastern states.

Conclusion

India’s inequalities will be the biggest hurdle in reaping the demographic dividend that we now have.
A multi-pronged approach is imperative to reap the demographic dividend. There is also a need
to engage with the youth and create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship. The
demographic dividend offers them a unique opportunity to boost living standards, but they must act
now to manage their older populations in the near future by implementing policies that ensure a
safe and efficient transition from the first demographic dividend to the second demographic
dividend.

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Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of
irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural
produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers
Tea industry is facing a number of problems resulting in low production of tea and tea
leaves. It is the policy makers who have to formulate strategies to keep this industry
thriving and profitable. Examine. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Live Mint
Why the question:
One hundred and eighty-two years after the Assam Tea Company first started commercial production
of tea in India, the government is finally moving to amend the archaic Tea Act to try and drag the
ailing sector from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, with a prolonged socialist detour.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the issues with tea production and measures needed to overcome them.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate the topic (content words) in detail, inspect
it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so
we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by briefly citing statistics regarding the extent of tea production in India and India’s share in
global market.
Body:
First, write about the importance tea industry.
Next, write about the various issues in the tea industry – archaic laws, labour issues, pesticides, lack
of standards etc.
Next, write about the measures that are required – draft Tea (Promotion and Development) Bill,
overcoming labour issues, supply chain bottlenecks etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction

India today is the second-largest producer of tea in the world, accounting for a fifth of the world’s
production with annual production in excess of 1.2 billion kgs. It is also the fourth biggest exporter,
behind China, Sri Lanka and Kenya.

The draft Tea (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022, is meant to replace the 68-year-old Tea Act,
1953. The commerce ministry, which is piloting the Bill, says the new legislation will remove colonial-
era provisions and socialist-era governmental restrictions on the industry.

Body

Issues impacting tea production in the county

• Decline in tea price: Due to various causes, the auction price of the tea has seen a steady
decline over the years. According to World Bank, the tea prices declined by almost 44% in
real terms.

• In India, all the profits from the tea gardens were siphoned off and there was no real or
proper reinvestment in improving quality of tea.

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• License and quotas: Manufacturing tea requires a separate licence.

o Exports are controlled and there are quotas and allotments.

• Draconian provisions: As the tea sector went into a steady decline in the seventies, the
government armed itself with powers to take over the management of any estate which
remains closed for more than three months without investigation.

• Less production of tea: There are multiple problems being faced by the tea industry such
as finance crisis, power problems, labour problems, poor labour schemes, inadequate
communication system, increased revenue tax for tea gardens, increased pollution fee,
less transport subsidy etc.

o All these have altogether put the tea industry in a bad situation, resulting in low
production of tea leaves and tea.

• Labour demand: Leaving aside the natives, most of the workers in the tea gardens in Assam
and Bengal are the ones who have migrated from states like Bihar, Orissa and Madhya
Pradesh, since the later part of the 19th century. These workers are solely dependent on the
tea industry for their daily income and livelihood.

o However, the migration of labourers has reduced in recent times, resulting in the
reduction of the number of labourers in the tea factories.

o The local labourers have also reduced due to a smaller number of tea labourers for
NREGA.

• No proper storage: The problem of storing premium quality tea has always been there. Due
to delay in transportation and lack of storage facilities, the processed tea gains moisture
from the atmosphere and deteriorates in quality.

• Climatic factors: Unfavourable climatic conditions for tea plantations owing to scanty or
very heavy rainfall have badly affected the tea industry.

Measures needed to re-orient tea industry

• Tackling climate change: In tackling climate change the industry will have to work with
multiple agencies and partners such as TRA Tocklai to research and develop new tea clones,
provide information on improving soil fertility, and to study rainfall and water
management systems.

• Scrapping old laws: It has been suggested that as in Sri Lanka, India may consider
the dovetailing of various government schemes with the benefits being provided by PLA,
1951 – this will reduce the burden on Tea producers regarding compliance with the PLA,
1951 – and also help increase the quality of life of the workers.

• Marketing of products: Need to provide a marketing arrangement for small tea growers to
help them sell their product at the right price and also increase their market accessibility.

• Increase awareness regarding better plantation techniques and plantation worker rights
and provision of financial assistance to increase mechanization in Tea gardens.

• Community development, including improving education, healthcare and access to welfare,

facilitating access to government schemes, and ensuring safe migration.

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• Building the capacity of smallholders on good agricultural and pest management practices
and improving integration with the rest of the industry

Conclusion

The law must provide solution to how to develop and scale-up approaches to deal with the
sustainability challenges facing the Indian tea industry and communities, so that producers thrive,
workers lives’ and the environment are improved, and buying companies can be assured that they
are sourcing sustainably produced teas.

Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support
prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations,
revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions;
economics of animal-rearing.
Examine the various threats to India’s food security. Suggest measures in order to
have sufficient production and proper distribution of food grains amidst rising
geopolitical tensions. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express , Insights on India
Why the question:
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Food Price Index has increased by 30 per
cent in the year 2021-22. The last time it had increased in similar proportion was in 2010-11.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the various threats to food security and measures needed to ensure it.
Directive:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate the topic (content words) in detail, inspect
it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so
we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving statistic related to food security scenario in the country.
Body:
First, write the about the various threats to food security in the country – geopolitical tension,
adverse weather events like floods and droughts, improper supply chains, storage issues etc
Next, write the measures needed to overcome the above.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward on overcoming the above shortcomings.

Introduction

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Food Price Index has increased by 30 per
cent in the year 2021-22. The last time it had increased in similar proportion was in 2010-11. This
phenomenon was one of the factors that led to the Arab Spring. Currently, at a time when the Covid-
19 pandemic had already disrupted the food supply chains around the world in 2020, tensions are
exacerbated by Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine: Russia and Ukraine represent 27 per cent of the
world market for wheat, 16 per cent for corn, 23 per cent for barley, and 53 per cent for sunflower.

Body

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Background: India and food crisis vulnerability

• India, currently has the largest number of undernourished people in the world around 195
million.

• India has high undernourishment (about 16% of the population), wasting (about
17%),stunting (about 31%) and low exclusive breastfeeding practice (only 58%)

• Nearly 47 million or 4 out of 10 children in India do not meet their full human potential
because of chronic undernutrition or stunting.

• 9% of children under 5 years are stunted and 20.8% are wasted, compared to the Asia
average of 22.7% and 9.4% respectively.

• Rate of overweight and obesity continues to rise, affecting almost a fifth of the adults, at
21.6% of women and 17.8% of men.

• Inequities in food and health systems increase inequalities in nutrition outcomes that in turn
can lead to more inequity, perpetuating a vicious cycle.

Various threats to India’s food security

• Conflict: The Russia Ukraine Conflict has forced elements of Ukraine witnessing decrease
sowing due to the struggle, the web impression of global food provide shocks might be felt
in every single place.

o Ukraine and Russia export wheat across the globe and a sudden stopper has made
nations take steps such as export ban of wheat as in India.

o In peacetime, the Black Sea ports, now blocked, account for about 95 per cent of
grain exports from Ukraine.

• Weather Extremes: The Global Drought Observatory has reported that drought is probably
going to have an effect on 47% of European soil. The newest EU forecast suggests a decline
of 16% for maize to 5% for wheat and 8-10% for edible oil.

o While China has seen warmth waves and drought in a number of elements of the
nation, the US can also be struggling a dry season with excessive warmth and poor
rains.

o Similar circumstances have affected Brazil, with its agricultural worth output
declining by 8% within the first quarter, main to excessive food inflation.

o With most massive food producers reporting drops in manufacturing, there seems
to be a powerful chance that the approaching months will see global provide
shortages for many farm commodities.

• Economic Shocks: Over 30 million people in 21 countries / territories suffered acute food
insecurityin 2021 due to economic shocks, down from over 40 million people in 17 countries
/ territories in 2020.

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• Crop diseases: With experiences of the standing paddy crop in main rice-producing states
witnessing a thriller dwarfing illness in India, the web decline in paddy manufacturing may
very well be anyplace at 15-20% in contrast to regular ranges.

Measures to fortify food security in India

• Stock regulation in private sector: The Indian government could ensure more transparency
on food stocks and regulate the private sector. For that, there is a need to set restrictions
on the reserves that the private sector can hold, as they often tend to hoard food stocks to
later sell at a profit.

o This will help prevent the opaqueness of private sector reserves, which often fuels
speculation by large international financial actors.

• Agriculture-Nutrition linkage schemes have the potential for greater impact in dealing with
food security malnutrition and thus, needs greater emphasis.

o Recognising the importance of this link, the Ministry for Women and Child
Development launched theBharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh in 2019.

o There is a need to promote schemes directed to nutrition-agriculture link activities

in rural areas. However, implementation remains the key.

• Underutilisation of Resources:It has been pointed out many a times that expenditure made
under many nutrition-based schemes is considerably lower than what was allocated under
them. Thus, emphasis needs to be on implementation.

• The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, legally entitles up to 75% of the rural
population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized food grains under the
Targeted Public Distribution System.

o The eldest woman of the household of age 18 years or above is mandated to be the
head of the household for the purpose of issuing of ration cards under the Act.

• Convergence with other Schemes:Nutrition goes beyond just food, with economic, health,
water, sanitation, gender perspectives and social norms contributing to better nutrition. This
is why the proper implementation of other schemes can also contribute to better nutrition.

o The convergence of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Jal Jeevan Mission with schemes
pertaining to nutrition,will bring holistic changes to India’s nutrition scenario.

Conclusion

Food security of a nation is ensured if all of its citizens have enough nutritious food available, all
persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable quality and there is no barrier on access to
food. The right to food is a well-established principle of international human rights law. It has
evolved to include an obligation for state parties to respect, protect, and fulfil their citizens’ right to
food security.

India needs to adopt a policy that brings together diverse issues such as inequality, food diversity,
indigenous rights and environmental justice to ensure sustainable food security.

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It is a travesty that global hunger persists even though we know cutting food waste
just by half could feed all. Individual and organization efforts have a key role in solving
this problem. Comment. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Live Mint
Why the question:
About 870 million people globally are undernourished, while almost 2.5 billion tonnes of food
produced annually goes unconsumed.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the impact of food wastage in India and measures needed to avoid it.
Directive word:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the
topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving a statistic of food wastage in India.
Body:
First, mention the context food shortage that is faced in India. Write in detail about the reasons for
food wastage in buffer stocks.
Next, write about the impact of food wastage of buffer stocks on food security for India.
Next, suggest steps to overcome the same and prevent food wastage.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction

Despite adequate food production, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has reported that
about 190 million Indians remain undernourished. Moreover, it states that every third malnourished
child is Indian.

Ironically, the same report highlights that around 40% of the food produced in India is either lost or
wasted. It is further estimated that the value of food wastage in India is around ₹92,000 crores per
annum.

This food wastage, however, isn’t limited to one level alone but perforates through every stage;
from harvesting, processing, packaging, and transporting to the end stage of consumption.

Body

Reasons for food wastage

• Pre-Consumption Losses: Nearly 40% of the food produced in India is wasted every year due
to fragmented food systems and inefficient supply chains.

• This is the loss that occurs even before the food reaches the consumer.

• Food Wastage At Households: There is also a significant amount of food waste generated in
our homes. As per the Food Waste Index Report 2021, a staggering 50 kg of food is thrown
away per person every year in Indian homes.

• Greenhouse Gases Emission: This excess food waste usually ends up in landfills, creating
potent greenhouse gases which have dire environmental implications.

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• Impact of The Pandemic: The Covid-19 pandemic not only exposed the problems of food
waste but also compounded them.

• In the wake of the lockdown imposed last year, surplus stocks of grain — pegged at
65 lakh tonnes in the first four months of 2020 — continued to rot in godowns
across India.

• Access to food became extremely scarce for the poor, especially daily-wage laborers.

• Supply-Chain Management Issues: Some problems in the Indian food supply chain include
inefficiency of government programs, lack of transparency in revenue generation,
insufficient storage facilities, and lack of comprehensive and accurate inventories.

Measures needed

• Behavioural Change: According to various reports food waste attributed to households and
their irresponsible consumption patterns means that change needs to begin in our own
homes.

• Calculated purchasing when buying groceries, minimizing single-use packaging

wherever possible, ordering consciously from restaurants, and reconsidering
extravagant buffet spreads at weddings can go a long way.

• Food Bank Concept: Edible food should be made available every day, for free, at the latest in
the last opening hour, so it can be picked up and consumed by those in need.

• The option of distribution through food banks can also be explored, as can tie-ups
with private actors so that food can reach hunger hotspots.

• At the community level, one can identify and get involved with organizations such as
Coimbatore-based No Food Waste which aims to redistribute excess food to feed
the needy and hungry.

• International Precedents: We can look to best practices and laws in countries like France,
Norway, Denmark, UK, etc., in order to check spoilage and destruction of edible food waste
in India.

• For example, in France, supermarkets prioritize the reduction, reuse, and recycling
of extra food.

• Technological Investment: It is important that technology is adopted at every stage of the

supply chain to overcome this problem.

• Planning in the supply chain can improve with technology, reducing transit time in
shipping and logistics. In addition, multiple government initiatives are also assisting
in building infrastructure for the food industry.

• Investments in the vibrant start-up ecosystem in India can also aid in addressing all
the hindrances in the system with the support of the latest logistics and supply chain
technologies, blockchain, artificial intelligence, data monitoring, storage, and
packaging solutions

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Conclusion

Early awareness about our duty to minimize food waste is critical in changing the way our society
addresses hunger and food scarcity. Thus everyone must join hands if we are to work towards a truly
sustainable India that does not have millions undernourished despite having adequate food
production.

Value addition

Case Study: SAFAL Outlet

• On average, 18.7 kgs of food was disposed off by one Safal outlet daily.

• This suggests that an estimated 7.5 tonnes of food are discarded daily across the 400 Safal
outlets in Delhi.

• Approximately 84.7% of the total food waste recorded was thrown in the bin, while the rest
was either fed to the poor or some animals.

• A significant portion of the food waste bin was still in edible condition.

• If the edible food waste generated by Safal is diverted, an estimated 2000 people could be
fed daily.

Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location,
upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.

Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

The concerns of states on some provisions of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 are
justified. But the legislation proposes welcome correctives to longstanding problems
of the power sector. Analyse. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express , Insights on India
Why the question:
The government introduced the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 in the Lok Sabha recently, and, as
expected, the proceedings were not smooth. Though the Bill has been referred to the Parliamentary
Standing Committee for Energy, states fear that the Centre is encroaching into their domain in power
sector governance.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the pros and cons of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 and its ability to solve
problems in the power sector.
Directive:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the
topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving aims and objectives of Electricity Amendment Bill 2022.
Body:
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First, write the key features of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022.
Next, write the positives of the bill and how it will help solve longstanding issues in the power sector.
Next, write about the shortcomings on the bill and how it has raised some concerns among the states
and how it can have adverse effects.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward on overcoming the above shortcomings.

Introduction

The government has tabled the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022 in the Lok Sabha and then
referred it to the parliamentary standing committee on energy for wider consultation.

Body

Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 and its welcome provisions

• Benefits for consumers:

o Allows multiple Discoms in the same area: More than one power distributor can
operate in an area. This is aimed at boosting competition and giving more choice to
the consumers. The new supplier can use existing supply lines.

o Regulator must decide in 90 days or the application will be deemed to be approved.

o It will end distribution monopolies and improve the viabilities of business.

• Benefit for DISCOMs:

o Fixing of Tariffs: There will be “mandatory” fixing of minimum as well

as maximum tariff ceilings by the “appropriate commission” to avoid predatory
pricing by power distribution companies and to protect consumers.

o It aims to ensure graded and timely tariff revisions.

• Benefits for remote areas and farmers:

o Cross-subsidy Balancing Fund: Cross-subsidy refers to the arrangement of one

consumer category subsidizing the consumption of another consumer category. E.g.
commercial consumers subsidies residents or farmers. The state government will set
up such a fund.

• Benefit for Environment:

o Renewable purchase obligation (RPO): Under the previous act SERCs are
empowered to specify renewable purchase obligations (RPO) for discoms. RPO
refers to the compulsory procurement of a certain percentage of electricity from
renewable sources.

o As per the Bill, RPO should not be below a minimum percentage prescribed by the
central government or DISCOMS may face a penalty.

o Promotion of green energy

• Improved regulation: The Bill seeks to strengthen payment security mechanisms and give
more powers to regulators.

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Issues with the Bill

• Violates Federal Principal: ‘Electricity’ is a state subject and any legislation on it should be in
consultation with the state government. However, no consultation was done before
introducing the bill.

• Inequity: Provision to encourage competition may lead to more entities entering lucrative
and urban areas, while loss-making areas may continue to be underserved.

• Fear of end of subsidies by farmers may increase inequality.

• Privatization of distribution companies may result in job losses

o There is a fear that the Bill might result in the privatization of profits and the
nationalization of losses.

o Only government discoms or distribution companies will have universal power

supply obligations.

o Therefore, it is likely that private licensees will prefer to supply the electricity in
profit-making areas – to industrial and commercial consumers.

o Once this happens, profit-making areas will be snatched from government

discoms and they will become loss-making companies.

• Multiple distribution licensees may lead to a situation similar to the telecom sector
where monopoly companies will destroy the public sector and smaller companies.

Conclusion and way forward

• Being a subject of Concurrent List of Indian Constitution, recommendations from states

should be taken into consideration for effective implementation of the provisions of the bill.

• Provision related to subsidies should be put up in an elaborate manner to eliminate any

scope of confusion/ conflict.

• Regulations for private players should be brought in to avoid differential distribution.

Examine the various obstacles and suggest measures to ensure energy security and
longer-term sustainability of growth for India. (250 Words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
The article came in editorial section of Indian express and author suggest ten steps for ensuring
energy security for India.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the issue of energy security and suggest solutions.
Directive:
Examine: – When you are asked to examine, you have to probe deeper into the topic, get into
details, and find out the causes or implications if any .
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start by giving status of India’s energy needs.

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Body:
First, highlight the issues plaguing energy sector in India and India’s import dependency.
Next, write few government steps in this direction. Then go on to suggest few measures to ensure
energy security for India.
Conclusion:
Conclude on a positive note about the future.

Introduction

Climate sustainability is integral to India’s economic policy while energy security also is equally
important in this transitional phase. The energy transition will also have far-reaching implications
for energy security, and the ripple effects of unfolding events in Ukraine are a sobering reminder of
its relevance.

Clean energy appears to be the future for the power needs of humanity across the globe as reliance
of fossil fuels continues to diminish. However, the road to clean energy is not straight forward and
here is where the government must rely on calculated measure to balance energy security and net-
zero commitments.

Body

Background

At the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP26), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a five-fold
strategy — termed as the panchamrita — to achieve the feat of clean energy and net-zero emissions
by 2070. These five points include:

• India will get its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030

• India will meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030

• India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now
onwards till 2030

• By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45 per cent

• So, by the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero.

Obstacles to an energy secure India

• The country’s demand for energyis set to double by 2040, and its electricity demand may

• Indian oil consumption is expected to grow faster than that of any other major economy
(including China). This makes further improving energy security a key priority for India’s
economy.

• India’s oil demandis expected to reach 6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2024 from 4.4
million bpd in 2017, but its domestic production is expected to rise only marginally, making
the country more reliant on crude imports and more vulnerable to supply disruption in the
Middle East.

• India’s oil refining capacity is expected to rise to 5.7 million bpd by 2024,making it a very
attractive market for refinery investment.

Ensuring energy security while honouring its net zero commitments

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• Focus on Energy Efficiency: Will need energy efficient buildings, lighting, appliances and
industrial practicesto meet the net-zero goal.

• Increased usage of Biofuels: Can help reduce emissions from light commercial vehicles,
tractors in agriculture.

o In aviation, the only practical solution for reducing emissions is greater use of
biofuels, until hydrogen technology gains scale.

• Transition towards Electric vehicles: This will further help curb the carbon emissions and
move towards cleaner fuel. Vehicular emissions are one of the biggest sources of GHG.

• Carbon Sequestration: India willhave to rely on natural and man-made carbon sinks to
soak up those emissions. Trees can capture 0.9 billion tons; the country will need carbon
capture technologies to sequester the rest.

• Carbon Pricing:

o India, which already taxes coal and petroleum fuels, should consider putting a tax on
emissions to drive change.

• Deploying lower-carbon Energy: There are four main types of low-carbon energy: wind,
solar, hydro or nuclear power. The first three are renewable, which means these are good
for the environment – as natural resources are used (such as wind or sun) to produce
electricity.

o Deploying lower carbon energy would help address both domestic and international
climate challenges while simultaneously improving the economic well-being of
India’s citizens.

• Mainstreaming Renewable energy: India’s energy mix is dominated by coal powered

electric generation stations as of now.

o The need of the hour is increasing the share of renewable energy in this energy mix.

Conclusion and way forward

• Given the massive shifts underway in India’s energy system, we would benefit from taking
stock of our actions and focusing on near-term transitions.

• This will allow us to meet and even over-comply with our 2030 target while also ensuring
concomitant developmental benefits, such as developing a vibrant renewable industry.

• We can start putting in place the policies and institutions necessary to move us in the right
direction for the longer-term and also better understand, through modelling and other
studies, the implications of net-zero scenarios before making a net-zero pledge.

• It would also be in India’s interest to link any future pledge to the achievement of near-term
action by industrialised countries.

• That would be fair and consistent with the principles of the UNFCCC and also enhance the
feasibility of our own actions through, for example, increasing availability and reducing costs
of new mitigation technologies.

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There appears to be no turning back on the path of decarbonized economic growth for India. The
recent Union budget has made this sufficiently clear. The scale of the challenge is also balanced by
an opportunity. It’s the execution that will now determine the pace at which we proceed along that
path.

Value addition

India on path to achieve carbon neutrality

• Exceeding the NDC commitment:India is on track (as reports/documents show) to meet and
exceed the NDC commitment to achieve 40% electric power installed capacity from non-fossil
fuel-based sources by 2030.

• Reduction in emission intensity of GDP:Against the voluntary declaration for reducing the
emission intensity of GDP by 20%-25% by 2020, India has reduced it by 24% between 2005-
2016.

• More importantly, we achieved these targets with around 2% out of the $100 billion
committed to developing nations in Copenhagen (2009),realised by 2015.

• Renewable energy expansion: India is implementing one of the most extensive renewable
energy expansion programmes to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and
450 GW by 2030.

• Investment in green measures: As part of the fiscal stimulus after the pandemic, the
Government announced several green measures, including:

• a $26.5-billion investment in biogas and cleaner fuels,

• $3.5 billion in incentivesfor producing efficient solar photovoltaic (PV)

• and advanced chemistry cell battery, and$780 million towards an afforestation programme.

• India’s contribution to global emissions is well below its equitable share of the worldwide
carbon budget by any equity criterion.

Discuss the ways that India can achieve energy security and strategic autonomy in the
energy sector by 2040. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
The Prime Minister has called for “Energy Atmanirbharta” by 2040.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the ways to achieve energy self-sufficiency by 2040.
Directive:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you must debate on paper by going through the
details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You must give reasons for both for
and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving the context of PMs announcement regarding atmanirbhata in energy.
Body:

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First, write about the various bottlenecks and threats to the energy security of India which constrain
India from achieving energy security.
Next, write about the measures that the government can take in order to achieve energy security by
2040.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction

The Prime Minister has called for “Energy Atmanirbharta” by 2040. Mark Carney, the former
Governor of the UK central bank coined the phrase “the tragedy of horizons” to highlight the
differing time horizons of politics, economics and society as regards the energy transition.

Clean energy appears to be the future for the power needs of humanity across the globe as reliance
of fossil fuels continues to diminish. However, the road to clean energy is not straight forward and
here is where the government must rely on calculated measure to balance energy security and net-
zero commitments.

Body

India’s energy requirement projection

• The country’s demand for energy is set to double by 2040, and its electricity demand may

• Indian oil consumption is expected to grow faster than that of any other major economy
(including China). This makes further improving energy security a key priority for India’s
economy.

• India’s oil demand is expected to reach 6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2024 from 4.4
million bpd in 2017, but its domestic production is expected to rise only marginally, making
the country more reliant on crude imports and more vulnerable to supply disruption in the
Middle East.

• India’s oil refining capacity is expected to rise to 5.7 million bpd by 2024, making it a very
attractive market for refinery investment.

Ways to achieve energy security in India

• Focus on Energy Efficiency: Will need energy efficient buildings, lighting, appliances and
industrial practicesto meet the net-zero goal.

• Increased usage of Biofuels: Can help reduce emissions from light commercial vehicles,
tractors in agriculture.

o In aviation, the only practical solution for reducing emissions is greater use of
biofuels, until hydrogen technology gains scale.

• Transition towards Electric vehicles: This will further help curb the carbon emissions and
move towards cleaner fuel. Vehicular emissions are one of the biggest sources of GHG.

• Carbon Sequestration: India willhave to rely on natural and man-made carbon sinks to
soak up those emissions. Trees can capture 0.9 billion tons; the country will need carbon
capture technologies to sequester the rest.

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• Carbon Pricing:

o India, which already taxes coal and petroleum fuels, should consider putting a tax on
emissions to drive change.

• Deploying lower-carbon Energy: There are four main types of low-carbon energy: wind,
solar, hydro or nuclear power. The first three are renewable, which means these are good
for the environment – as natural resources are used (such as wind or sun) to produce
electricity.

o Deploying lower carbon energy would help address both domestic and international
climate challenges while simultaneously improving the economic well-being of
India’s citizens.

• Mainstreaming Renewable energy: India’s energy mix is dominated by coal powered

electric generation stations as of now.

o The need of the hour is increasing the share of renewable energy in this energy mix.

• Energy diplomacy: Our diplomats should add the arrows of energy diplomacy to their
quiver. This is because of our dependence on the international energy supply chains. Success
in navigating the cross-currents of economic and geopolitical uncertainties will rest greatly
on skilful diplomacy.

• Upskilling and re-training: The nature of jobs and their location will change with the
progressive transition to a green energy system. There might be, for instance, less need for
maintenance workers on oil rigs and more for technicians on solar farms. The
consequential requirements for training/skilling should be anticipated and delivered.

• Green incentives: The government’s production-linked incentive scheme (PLI ) offers

benefits for investment in green energy. The investor response has so far been
encouraging.

Conclusion and way forward

• Given the massive shifts underway in India’s energy system, we would benefit from taking
stock of our actions and focusing on near-term transitions.

• This will allow us to meet and even over-comply with our 2030 target while also ensuring
concomitant developmental benefits, such as developing a vibrant renewable industry.

• We can start putting in place the policies and institutions necessary to move us in the right
direction for the longer-term and also better understand, through modelling and other
studies, the implications of net-zero scenarios before making a net-zero pledge.

• It would also be in India’s interest to link any future pledge to the achievement of near-
term action by industrialised countries.

• That would be fair and consistent with the principles of the UNFCCC and also enhance the
feasibility of our own actions through, for example, increasing availability and reducing costs
of new mitigation technologies.

There appears to be no turning back on the path of decarbonized economic growth for India. The
recent Union budget has made this sufficiently clear. The scale of the challenge is also balanced by

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an opportunity. It’s the execution that will now determine the pace at which we proceed along that
path.

India on path to achieve carbon neutrality

• Exceeding the NDC commitment: India is on track (as reports/documents show) to meet and
exceed the NDC commitment to achieve 40% electric power installed capacity from non-fossil
fuel-based sources by 2030.

• Reduction in emission intensity of GDP: Against the voluntary declaration for reducing the
emission intensity of GDP by 20%-25% by 2020, India has reduced it by 24% between 2005-
2016.

• More importantly, we achieved these targets with around 2% out of the S.$100 billion
committed to developing nations in Copenhagen (2009), realised by 2015.

• Renewable energy expansion: India is implementing one of the most extensive renewable
energy expansion programmes to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and
450 GW by 2030.

• Investment in green measures: As part of the fiscal stimulus after the pandemic, the
Government announced several green measures, including:

• a $26.5-billion investment in biogas and cleaner fuels,

• $3.5 billion in incentives for producing efficient solar photovoltaic (PV)

• and advanced chemistry cell battery, and $780 million towards an afforestation
programme.

• India’s contribution to global emissions is well below its equitable share of the worldwide
carbon budget by any equity criterion.

Despite various efforts to improve road infrastructure, analyse the various causes
behind increasing accidents. Discuss the measures that are needed to improve road
safety in the country. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Live Mint , Insights on India
Why the question:
While Cyrus Mistry’s death has drawn attention to this, the sad truth is that too many Indian lives are
lost to road crashes. In his address at a recent business conclave, Union road and transport minister
Nitin Gadkari said that in all the aspects of infrastructure development he oversees, safety is one on
which he’d fallen short.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the efforts to improve road infrastructure in the country, causes behind increasing
road accidents and measures need to improve road safety.
Directive word:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you must debate on paper by going through the
details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You must give reasons for both for
and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
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Start by giving statistic relate to road safety in the country.

Body:
Frist, write about the various measures that have been taken in the recent past to improve the road
infrastructure in the country.
Next, write reasons behind increasing road accidents – poor quality, lack of air bags, information
deficit, overburdened roads etc.
Next, write about ways to reduce the road accidents and casualties due to it.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction

The tragic death of Cyrus Mistry drew airbags and vehicle safety features into public conversation
but the menace posed by badly designed roads should be the actual focus of attention.

The state of roads in many parts of the country, especially after the monsoon rains, scream
negligence and danger.

Body

Background: Statistics

• Deaths in road accidents up by 17%

• In 2021, 1.55 lakh people died in accidents on Indian roads, up from 1.33 lakh in 2020

• A maximum number of cases were reported in Tamil Nadu.

• Reasons: Speeding accounted for over half of all deaths, while dangerous and careless
driving caused over 42000 deaths.

Causes behind increasing accidents

• Many road accidents are the result of faulty road-design especially a single-lane one with a
sharp curve.

o Eg: In Cyrus Mistry accident, a parapet wall was protruding dangerously.

• Infrastructural deficits: Pathetic conditions of roads and vehicles,

poor visibility and poor road design and engineering – including quality of material and
construction.

• Negligence and risks: Over speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
tiredness or riding without a helmet, driving without seatbelts.

• Distraction while driving like talking over mobile phones while driving has become a major
cause of road accidents.

• Overloading to save cost of transportation.

• Weak Vehicle Safety Standards in India: In 2014, crash tests carried out by the Global New
Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) revealed that some of India’s top-selling car models
have failed the UN’s frontal impact crash test.

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• Lack of awareness among people regarding importance of safety features like airbags, Anti-
lock Braking system etc. Moreover, Vehicle manufacturers do not provide them as standard
fitment but only in higher class of vehicles reducing their reach.

Measures needed

• Implementation of Legislation: The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act of 2019 has provisions
that aim to bring about change.

• Behavioural Changes: Increasing motorcycle helmet use, increasing seat-belt uses and
increasing child restraint use. Awareness regarding influence of alcohol on driving.

• Safe Roads: Safety consideration during the planning, design, and operation of roads, can
contribute to reducing road traffic deaths and injuries.

• Vehicular Safety Standards: Vehicle safety features such as electronic stability control,
effective Car Crash Standards and advanced braking should be made mandatory.

• Awareness and Publicity: Mass media and social media should be used effectively for
spreading awareness about road safety.

• Training and capacity building: Training courses and training workshops have been
organized for building capacity in road safety audits and road safety engineering.

• Motor Vehicle Accident Fund is proposed to be created. It will provide compulsory

insurance cover to all road users in India for certain types of accidents.

Way forward

• Zones of excellence in Road Safety Model: Union and state governments can earmark
smaller areas in some cities as Zones of Excellence in Road Safety (ZoE).

o All roads in the ZoE should be properly lane-marked, zebra-marked, and

signposted.

o Most markings and signage should, in addition to the pictorial image, define the
instructions in words for easy understanding, and as a source of regular education of
the road users.

o A dedicated corridor for emergency vehicles must be marked.

• Corrective action on the “black spots” should be completed on top priority in a ZoE.

• In the meantime, temporary measures can be put in place to slow down, and guide the
traffic.

o It is also important to gradually provide enabling conditions such as improved,

handicap-friendly footpaths, a safe lane for cyclists and pedestrians, more zebra
paths with an inbuilt safety mechanism.

o Round-the-clock checks should be conducted to enforce adherence to traffic norms

in the earmarked ZoE.

• All available tech devices should be deployed, and private IT agencies of repute roped in.

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• Regular road safety awareness and education programmes should be conducted in

residential areas, over the weekends, with the active assistance of the RWAs/local
bodies/NGOs.

• A three-tier administrative structure can be put in place to run a ZoE in a smooth, war-zone
like spirit.

Conclusion

India’s influential automotive industry lobby has a record of trying to delay safety mandates on
airbags and anti-skid braking systems. The argument has been the need to keep vehicles affordably
priced in India. The ethical question aside, can a fast-growing market like ours really hit a speed
bump because of the incremental cost of safety equipment that’s standard in global markets is the
real question.

Discuss the role of New Logistics Policy (NLP) in reduction of overall logistics cost and
increase the competitiveness of domestic goods in the global market. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday unveiled the National Logistics Policy that seeks to
address challenges facing the transport sector and bring down the logistics cost of businesses from
13-14 per cent to a single digit.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the advantages of NLP in boosting up exports and Indian economy.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving aims and objectives of New Logistics Policy (NLP).
Body:
First, write about the various features of New Logistics Policy (NLP) launched by the government.
Next, write about the various issues plaguing the logistic sector in the country.
Next, write about the benefits that the New Logistics Policy (NLP) will bring to improve exports,
reduce logistic cost, generate employment etc.
Next, write about the limitation of the above.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.

Introduction

Recently, the Government has launched a National Logistics Policy (NLP) 2022, aiming to achieve
‘quick last-mile delivery’, end transport-related challenges. Logistics encompasses planning,
coordinating, storing, and moving resources —people, raw materials, inventory, equipment, etc.,
from one location to another, from the production points to consumption, distribution, or other
production points.

The term “logistics” describes the total process of controlling the acquisition, storage, and delivery
of resources to their intended location.

Body

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At the launch of the PM Gati Shakti-National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity in October
2021, PM had said: “According to a study, the logistical cost in India is about 13% of GDP. Such a
situation does not exist in developed countries. Due to high logistical cost, the competitiveness of
India’s exports is greatly reduced”.

Need for a logistics policy

• Logistics costs have to be cut by half to be near global benchmarks by 2030 by reducing the
cost of logistics from 14-18% of GDP to global best practices of 8%.

o Countries like the US, South Korea, Singapore, and certain European nations have
such a low logistics cost-to-GDP ratio.

o The current cost is 16% of GDP.

• Being the 5th largest economy in the world, India aims to be among the top 10 in the LPI
(Logistics Performance Index) by 2030. It has to match the pace of South Korea.

o In 2018, India was ranked 44th in the LPI.

• Creating data-driven Decision Support Systems (DSS) to enable an efficient logistics

ecosystem.

• The policy’s target is to ensure that logistical issues are minimised, exports grow manifold,
and small industries and the people working in them benefit significantly.

National logistics Policy: Role in reducing cost and increasing competitiveness

Objectives

• The policy focuses on key areas such as process re-engineering, digitisation, and multi-
modal transport.

• It is a crucial move as high logistics cost impacts the competitiveness of domestic goods in
the international market.

• The need for a national logistics policy was felt since the logistics cost in India is high as
compared to other developed economies.

Features

• Digital Integration System: It will lead to seamless and faster work-flow, making logistics
significantly more efficient.

• Unified Logistics Interface Platform: It aims to collapse all logistics and transport sector
digital services into a single portal, thereby freeing manufacturers and exporters from the
present tyranny of long and cumbersome processes.

• Ease of Logistics Services: E-Logs, a new digital platform, will allow industry to directly take
up operational issues with government agencies for speedy resolution.

• Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan: The Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan

comprising integrated digital logistics systems, standardisation of physical assets,

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benchmarking service standards, human resource development, capacity building,

development of logistics parks, etc.

Significance

• PM Gati Shakti will get further boost and complementarity with the launch of the National
Logistics Policy.

• The Policy will help make the sector an integrated, cost-efficient, resilient, and sustainable
logistics ecosystem in the country as it covers all bases of the sector along with streamlining
rules and addressing supply-side constraints.

• The policy is an endeavor to improve the competitiveness of Indian goods, enhance

economic growth and increase employment opportunities.

Conclusion

Multimodal connectivity with last mile options are the goals to be achieved. This will boost
manufacturing in India, and will make Indian products competitive in the global market. Currently
government offsets the inefficiencies through incentives and scrips which can be done away with.

Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in

everyday life; Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization
of technology and developing new technology.
Highlighting the purpose of granting patents, discuss the issues concerning it and
suggest solutions to address them for India. (250 Words)
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The recent report of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), Why India Needs
to Urgently Invest in its Patent Ecosystem? highlights the significance of a robust patent system for a
knowledge economy and for the promotion of technological innovations.
Key Demand of the question:
Patents, their issues and solutions.
Directive word:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you must debate on paper by going through the
details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You must give reasons for both for
and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Give a brief introduction of what is Patent.
Body:
Give its significance to India. Mention section 146(2), Patents Act, 1970 a unique provision not found
in patent laws of most other countries. Talk about its needs for India as a developing country and
mention the example of a Compulsory license for the production of Bayer Corporation’s Nexavar. You

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may mention, the amendment to the Patent Rules, 2020 and form 27 which has caused dilution of
section 146(2).
Next, list down a few issues- at the national as well as at the International level.
Then, suggest solutions for it.
Conclusion:
Conclude by giving a way forward for the patent regime in India.

Introduction

The recent report of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), highlights the
significance of a robust patent system for a knowledge economy and for the promotion of
technological innovations. It highlights the rising share of residents in the total number of patent
applications filed in India, which has more than doubled during the last decade. And, for the first
time, the number of patent applications by residents has surpassed that of foreign applications
during the last quarter of the financial year 2021-22.

A major concern expressed in the EAC-PM report is the long pendency of processing patent
applications in India

Body

Purpose of granting patents and their significance

• Prosperity Rights: Intellectual Property Rights actually translates into India’s progress in
real-time and extends Intellectual Property Right to India’s Prosperity Right.

• Innovation Powerhouse: Like geographical boundaries guard our country’s interests,

Intellectual Property is the guardian of our country’s prospects. Powered by Intellectual
Property, India can be the “Innovation Powerhouse“ of the world.

• Create Livelihoods: Intellectual property is the cornerstone of a nation’s progress &

showcases the ingenuity of our youth. The IP has the power and potential to change lives
and create livelihoods for billions.

• Help in Progress: More proficient IP regimes contribute to making India an innovation hub. It
is the key for success of Start-up India, Make in India & Design in India.

• Compete Globally: A strong IPR regime will empower the expansion & energise the industry
in challenging times. It is one of the most valuable assets in India’s ability to compete in the
global economy.

• Transparency: These initiatives are bringing transparency & ease of access for IPR seekers.

Challenges and issues with the patent sustem in India

• Major problems: Among the issues raised are concerns about what can be patented, waiting
times for obtaining patents, reporting requirements, and data safety.

• Patent issues highlighted the threat of patent revocations, lack of presumption of patent
validity and narrow patentability criteria as issues which “impact companies across different
sectors.

• One of the main points of contention between India and the U.S. has been Article 3(d) of
the Indian Patent Act.
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o Section 3 deals with what does not qualify as an invention under the Act.

o Section 3(d) in particular excludes the mere discovery of a new form of a known
substance which does not result in the enhancement of the known efficacy of that
substance.

o Section 3(d) prevents what is known as “evergreening” of patents.

• Issues relating to judicial delays: The 2015 Commercial Courts Act offered an opportunity to
reduce these delays and increase expertise but only a limited number of courts have
benefited under the Act.

o Jurisdictional challenges are reducing the courts’ effectiveness and courts are also
suffering due to inadequate resources and training.

• The abolishing of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB): the overall scrapping of
IPAB, which efficiently had been dealing with proceedings involving complex IPR issues, may
create a void in the appellate resolution of cases leading to their shift to Commercial or High
Courts thereby increasing pendency of cases.

Way forward

• India must not compromise on the patentability criteria under Section 3(d) since as a
sovereign country it has the flexibility to stipulate limitations on grants of patents in
consistence with its prevailing socio-economic conditions.

• This ensures the growth of generic drug makers and the public’s access to affordable
medicines.

• India should resolve its differences with the U.S. regarding the disqualification of
incremental inventions through bilateral dialogue.

• The member countries of WTO make full use of the policy space available in the TRIPS
agreement by adopting and applying rigorous definitions of invention and patentability that
curtail ‘evergreening’ and ensure that patents are only awarded when genuine innovation
has occurred.

• Through Section 3(d), India strives to balance the international patent obligations and its
commitments to protect and promote socio-economic welfare and public health.

Conclusion

As the patent system is a critical aspect of the national innovation ecosystem, investing in the patent
ecosystem will help in strengthening the innovation capability of India. The right interventions
should be made for the promotion of the quality of patent applications and collaboration between
academia and industry.

Value addition

India Patent regime

• A patent is an exclusive set of rights granted for an invention, which may be a product or
process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a
problem.

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• Indian patents are governed by the Indian Patent Act of 1970. Under the act, patents are
granted if the invention fulfils the following criteria:

• It should be novel

• It should have inventive step/s or it must be non-obvious

• It should be capable of Industrial application

• It should not attract the provisions of sections 3 and 4 of the Patents Act 1970.

• India has gradually aligned itself with international regimes pertaining to intellectual
property rights.

• It became a party to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

Agreement following its membership to the World Trade Organization on 1st January, 1995.

• Following this, it amended its internal patent laws to comply with TRIPS, most notably in
2005, when it introduced pharmaceutical product patents into the legislation.

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Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-

technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Explaining the intention behind ‘Safe harbour’ provisions for social media companies,
discuss the need for removing it and regulating the dominance of social media
companies. (250 words)
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
The US is looking to remove special protection available to social media platforms, called ‘safe
harbour’. In India, too, the IT Rules place significant due diligence requirements on large platforms
like Facebook and Twitter.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain the ‘safe harbour’ and need to remove it. Regulation of Big Social media firms.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by defining safe harbour and briefly give why it was brought in initially.
Body:
Give reasons- why safe harbour provisions need to be removed and why Social Media firms needs to
be regulated- issues with it.
Mention steps taken in this regard at international and national level.
Briefly give what more needs to be done.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a balanced view.

Introduction

Safe harbor refers to a legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability in certain situations as long as
certain conditions are met.

Safe-harbour Protection can provide protection against liability, it is like an immunity clause.

Safe-harbor laws can be understood in the Indian context by comparing with laws like the AFSPA
that grant special powers to the Indian Armed Forces in which each act terms “disturbed areas”.

Body

About Safe harbour protection

• Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act provides for the Safe Harbour protection
to social media giants.

• It says that any intermediary shall not be held legally or otherwise liable for any third-party
information, data, or communication link made available on its platform.

• However, the intermediary should not involve any way in initiating the transmission of the
message in question, select the receiver of the transmitted message, and do not modify any
information of the transmission.

• This means that as long as a platform acts just as the messenger carrying a message from
point A to point B, it will be safe from any legal prosecution due to the transmission of a
message. However, it should be without any interference with its content in any manner.

Global norms on safe harbour

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• As most of the bigger social media intermediaries have their headquarters in the US, the
most keenly watched is Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.

• This provides Internet companies a safe harbour from any content users post of these
platforms.

• Experts believe it is this provision in the US law that enabled companies such as Facebook,
Twitter, and Google to become global conglomerates.

• Like Section 79 of India’s IT Act, this Section 230 states that “no provider or user of an
interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information
provided by another information content provider”.

• This effectively means that the intermediary shall only be like a bookstore owner who
cannot be held accountable for the books in the store unless there is a connection.

New guidelines in India

• The guidelines had asked all social media platforms to set up a grievance redressal and
compliance mechanism.

• This included appointing a resident grievance officer, chief compliance officer and a nodal
contact person.

• The IT Ministry had also asked these platforms to submit monthly reports on complaints
received from users and action taken.

• A third requirement was for instant messaging apps was to make provisions for tracking
the first originator of a message.

• Failure to comply with any one of these requirements would take away the indemnity
provided to social media intermediaries under Section 79 of the Information Technology
Act.

Conclusion

India is also working on a complete overhaul of its technology policies and is expected to soon come
out with a replacement of its IT Act, 2000, which will look at ensuring net neutrality, data privacy,
and algorithmic accountability of social media platforms.

Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact

assessment
In keeping with the spirit of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the country is taking steps
to curb littered and unmanaged plastic waste pollution. Elaborate upon the efforts to
eliminate single-use plastics in the country. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: The Hindu , Insights on India
Why the question:
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, notified the Plastic
Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 on August 12, 2021.
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Key Demand of the question:

To write about concerns associated single use plastic and ways to successfully phase it out.
Directive:
Elaborate – Give a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the context. You must
be defining key terms wherever appropriate and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by defining single use plastic and give statistic related to plastic waste generation in India.
Body:
First, write about the concerns associated with single use plastic – usually goes into a landfill where it
is buried or it gets into the water and finds its way into the ocean, releases toxic chemicals, affects
Endocrine system which can cause cancer, infertility, birth defects, impaired immunity and many
other ailments etc
Next, write about the ways in which singe use plastic can be phased out in the country and ensure its
successful ban.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction

Single Use plastic is a form of plastic that is disposable, which is only used once and then has to be
thrown away or recycled. The single-use plastic items include plastic bags, water bottles, soda
bottles, straws, plastic plates, cups, most food packaging and coffee stirrers. The single-use plastic
products also prevent the spread of infection. Instruments such as syringes, applicators, drug tests,
bandages and wraps are often made to be disposable. Also, single-use plastic products have been
enlisted in the fight against food waste, keeping food and water fresher for longer and reducing the
potential for contamination.

The Centre has defined a list of single-use plastic items that will be banned from July 1, 2022. The
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, notified the Plastic
Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 on August 12, 2021.

Body

Govt. of India has laid great emphasis on eradicating single use plastic which has become one of the
biggest sources of pollution. During his Independence Day Speech this year Prime Minister had
urged the people to take a pledge on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th Anniversary on 2nd October to make
the country free of single use plastic

Efforts undertaken to ban single-use plastic

• Monitoring by CPCB:The ban will be monitored by the CPCB from the Centre and by the
State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) that will report to the Centre regularly.

• Stop raw materials supply: Directions have been issued at national, state and local levels —
for example, to all petrochemical industries — to not supply raw materials to industries
engaged in the banned items.

• Directions to industries:SPCBs and Pollution Control Committees will modify or revoke

consent to operate issued under the Air/Water Act to industries engaged in single-use
plastic items.

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• Fresh licensing required: Local authorities have been directed to issue fresh commercial
licenses with the condition that SUP items will not be sold on their premises, and existing
commercial licences will be cancelled if they are found to be selling these items.

• Encouraging compostable plastics:CPCB has issued one-time certificates to 200

manufacturers of compostable plastic and the BIS passed standards for biodegradable
plastic.

• Penalty: Those found violating the ban can be penalised under the Environment Protection
Act 1986 – which allows for imprisonment up to 5 years, or a penalty up to Rs 1 lakh, or
both.

o Violators can also be asked to pay Environmental Damage Compensationby the

SPCB.

Challenges posed:

• Petroleum-based plastic is not biodegradable and usually goes into a landfill where it is
buried or it gets into the water and finds its way into the ocean.

• Plastic in oceans and forests are choking flora and fauna. In fact, plastic trash is expected to
exceed the fish population in 2050.

• Microplastics have ability to enter food chain with the highest concentration of the
pollutants.

• The PWM Rules Amendment, 2018, omitted explicit pricing of plastic bags that had been a
feature of the 2016 Rules.

• Waste plastic from packaging of everything from food, cosmetics and groceries to goods
delivered by online platforms remains unaddressed.

• The fast moving consumer goods sector that uses large volumes of packaging, posing a
higher order challenge.

• Lack of adequate infrastructure for segregation and collection is the key reason for
inefficient plastic waste disposal.

• Small producers of plastics are facing the ban, while more organised entities covered by the
Extended Producer Responsibility clause continue with business as usual.

• Lack of consultation with stakeholders such as manufacturers of plastics, eateries and citizen
groups: This leads to implementation issues and inconvenience to the consumers.

• Exemptions for certain products such as milk pouches and plastic packaging for food items
severely weaken the impact of the ban.

• No investment in finding out alternative materials to plug the plastic vacuum: Until people
are able to shift to a material which is as light-weight and cheap as plastic, banning plastic
will remain a mere customary practice.

• Lack of widespread awareness among citizens about the magnitude of harm caused by
single-use plastic: Without citizens ‘buying in’ to a cause, bans only result in creating
unregulated underground markets.

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• No strategy to offset the massive economic impact: Sweeping bans like the one in
Maharashtra are likely to cause massive loss of jobs and disruption of a large part of the
economy dependent on the production and use of plastic.

Measures needed

• Target the most problematic single-use plastics by conducting a baseline assessment to

identify the most problematic single use plastics, as well as the current causes, extent and
impacts of their mismanagement.

• Consider the best actions to tackle the problem (e.g. through regulatory, economic,
awareness, voluntary actions), given the country’s socio-economic standing and considering
their appropriateness in addressing the specific problems identified.

• Assess the potential social, economic and environmental impacts (positive and negative) of
the preferred short-listed instruments/actions. How will the poor be affected? What impact
will the preferred course of action have on different sectors and industries?

• Identify and engage key stakeholder groups – retailers, consumers, industry representatives,
local government, manufacturers, civil society, environmental groups, tourism associations –
to ensure broad buy-in. Evidence-based studies are also necessary to defeat opposition from
the plastics industry.

• Raise public awareness about the harm caused by single-used plastics. Clearly explain the
decision and any punitive measures that will follow.

Way forward

• Promote alternatives like cotton, khadi bags and bio-degradable plastics.

• Provide economic incentives to encourage the uptake of eco-friendly and fit-for-purpose

alternatives that do not cause more harm. Support can include tax rebates, research and
development funds, technology incubation, public-private partnerships, and support to
projects that recycle single-use items and turn waste into a resource that can be used again.

• Reduce or abolish taxes on the import of materials used to make alternatives.

• Provide incentives to industry by introducing tax rebates or other conditions to support its
transition. Governments will face resistance from the plastics industry, including importers
and distributors of plastic packaging. Give them time to adapt.

• Use revenues collected from taxes or levies on single-use plastics to maximize the public
good. Support environmental projects or boost local recycling with the funds. Create jobs in
the plastic recycling sector with seed funding.

• Enforce the measure chosen effectively, by making sure that there is clear allocation of roles
and responsibilities.

• Monitor and adjust the chosen measure if necessary and update the public on progress.

• International examples:

o The success of imposing a plastic bag fee has also been established in cities like
Chicago and Washington, showing that such interventions could be effective in
shaping behaviour change.
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o The European Union is mulling new laws to ban some everyday single-use plastic
products including straws, cutlery and plates citing plastic litter in oceans as the
concern prompting the action.

o Countries such as the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands have already put in place
regulations to stop the use of microbeads in personal-care products. The sooner
India adopts such regulations, the better

• Encouraging plogging: Picking up litter while jogging or strolling was kick-started on a small
scale in a small part of Stockholm about an year ago, it has spread across the globe and India
can adopt this as well.

The effects of invasive alien species on their new surroundings as well as the overall
biodiversity of the region are grave. Analyse. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Down to Earth
Why the question:
Invasive south red-eared slider turtle poses threat to Indian biodiversity. This turtle is very small and
easy to maintain and these features made them popular pets.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the threats posed by invasive alien species and ways to tackle their spread.
Directive word:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the
topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start by explaining the term invasive alien species.
Body:
First, Explain the various threats posed by them. Provide examples and present the scenario of harm
posed by invasive species in India – threaten cultivable land and wildlife habitats alike, may lead to
the conversion of marshy wetlands into dry land. E.g.: water hyacinth, spread into the forests
through the corridors created by landslides, affect the soil and destroy the microhabitat of that area
Next, Write about the various government policies and programmes in this direction.
Conclusion:
Conclude with solutions to address the issue.

Introduction

Invasive alien species are plants, animals, pathogens and other organisms that are non-native to an
ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human
health. In particular, they impact adversely upon biodiversity, including decline or elimination of
native species – through competition, predation, or transmission of pathogens – and the disruption
of local ecosystems and ecosystem functions. Examples: Needle Bush, Goat weed, Prickly Poppy,
Black Mimosa.

Since the 17th century, invasive alien species have contributed to nearly 40% of all animal
extinctions for which the cause is known (CBD, 2006). Invasive south red-eared slider turtle poses
threat to Indian biodiversity. This turtle is very small and easy to maintain and these features made
them popular pets.

Body

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Threats posed by Invasive alien species:

Threats to Environment:

Biodiversity is essential for the functioning of the ecosystems that provide vital resources such as
food, water, fuel, building material and traditional medicines for millions of people. Invasive species
alter and degrade the environment, and have a negative effect on both native species and the
people who live and work there. The impacts of invasive species include:

• Reduced biodiversity

• Decreased availability and quality of key natural resources

• Water shortages

• Increased frequency of wildfires and flooding

• Pollution caused by overuse of chemicals to control infestations

Threats to native species:

• India is endowed with 2,319 species of finfish.

• Studies from several parts of the country show that the diversity of freshwater fish is
depleting at an alarming pace due to the invasion of commercially important and
ornamental exotic fish species

• Many native species, especially Indian major carps in various riverine systems, have been
affected because of the invasion of exotic fish species such as Nile tilapia, African catfish,
Thai pangus and common carp.

• Apart from commercially important exotic species, ornamental fishes such as guppy,
piranha, suckermouth, blue perch, goldfish and platy have been recorded in rivers, lakes,
traditional village ponds and other inland freshwater bodies. These also accelerate the
extinction of natural varieties from local water bodies.

• The exotic ornamental Amazon sailfin catfish poses a serious threat to the native fish species
of Vandiyur Lake, Madurai.

• The biomass of the Amazon sailfin catfish is statistically significant compared to the
indigenous varieties. This clearly shows the negative impact of this exotic aquarium fish on
inland aquaculture in terms of diminished production/catch of edible fish.

• Thus more than 15 exotic ornamental species have successfully established a reproductive
population in our freshwater bodies and still don’t know the magnitude of the impact of this
species on the native diversity of fish.

Economic threats:

Agriculture, forestry and fishing are of huge importance to the economies of developing countries.
Invasive species affect the productivity of these systems, and limit the ability of producers to access
export markets. This hinders sustainable economic growth and development. The impacts of
invasive species include:

• Value and quality of land degraded

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• Lower crop productivity

• High cost of controlling pests, weeds and diseases

• Routes to domestic and global markets blocked

• Livestock forced into marginal, sub-optimal grazing lands

Social threats:

Invasive species are a major threat to the livelihoods of the people who live in the areas they
colonize. Through disrupting ecosystems, invasive plants, insects and diseases impair many of the
things humans need to sustain a good quality of life – including food and shelter, health, security and
social interaction. The impacts of invasive species include:

• Livelihood options narrowed

• Food security decreased

• Recreational and social opportunities limited

• Risks to human and animal health

• Increased social challenges

Way forward

• The most cost-effective measure to address the impacts from IAS is to prevent their
introduction.

• This can be achieved by establishing effective and well-resourced biosecurity measures to

manage priority pathways of introduction, supported by early warning systems and rapid
eradication capacity.

• Control, containment and – where feasible – eradication, also need to be undertaken to

mitigate the impacts from established IAS, including those whose impacts are likely to
increase due to climate change.

• It is essential that a cross-sectoral approach is taken in IAS prevention and management

measures. This needs to include the environment, human health, agriculture, fisheries,
customs and transport government departments, along with key private sector bodies and
civil society.

• Governments, donors and agencies that fund and implement projects, including projects
supporting the SDGs, must ensure that current and potential impacts of IAS are understood
so that relevant prevention and management measures can be incorporated into projects.

Conclusion

Ecosystems need to be prioritized according to their vulnerability to climate change and IAS, making
it possible to establish measures that will prevent IAS introduction. This should include establishing
effective biosecurity measures to manage priority pathways of introduction, supported by early
warning and rapid eradication to tackle alien species before they become invasive.

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One of the main factors contributing to air pollution and decreasing air quality in
regions of north India is the burning of agricultural waste. Additionally, failure to use
stubble as a fuel or fodder results in financial losses as well. Analyse. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Print , Indian Express , Insights on India/
Why the question:
Punjab and Haryana governments have embarked on planning elaborate measures for tackling
stubble burning issue in the two states ahead of winter, Four Punjab ministers on Monday got
together with experts to formulate a strategy to deal with the stubble burning issue and safeguard
the environment.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the issues related to stubble burning and discuss the role bio-decomposers can play in
tackling it.
Directive word:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the
topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Explain what is stubble burning and the reasons why it is undertaken.
Body:
First, wite about the effects of the stubble burning on air quality in north India and it impact on
health and ecosystem.
Next, write as to how the inability to use stubble as fuel or fodder is an economic loss.
Next, policy measures that have been takin this regard so far and examine the effectiveness in
addressing the problem. explain bio-decomposers, their functioning and efficacy in addressing the
issue of stubble burning.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward to tackling stubble burning holistically.

Introduction

Stubble Burning is a common practice followed by farmers to prepare fields for sowing of wheat in
November as there is little time left between the harvesting of paddy and sowing of wheat. With
wheat harvesting over in Punjab, the State has witnessed a spike in incidents of stubble burning
against the last two years as several farmers continue to defy the ban on burning the crop residue.
The ban and action against the people burning the crop residue is regulated under the Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

Body

Background

• A section of farmers, especially in Punjab, burnt the residue after harvesting their wheat
even as fodder prices shot up.

• Several farmers told Down To Earththat they took to burning stubble as they were in a hurry
— the state had set June 10 as the date to sow paddy.

Effects of Stubble Burning:

• Pollution: Open stubble burning emits large amounts of toxic pollutants in the atmosphere
which contain harmful gases like methane (CH4), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Volatile organic
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compound (VOC) and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. They may eventually
cause smog.

• Soil Fertility: Burning husk on ground destroys the nutrients in the soil, making it less fertile.

• Heat Penetration: Heat generated by stubble burning penetrates into the soil, leading to the
loss of moisture and useful microbes.

Alternative solutions that can avoid Stubble Burning:

• Promote paddy straw-based power plants. It will also create employment opportunities.

• Incorporation of crop residues in the soil can improve soil moisture and help activate the
growth of soil microorganisms for better plant growth.

• Convert the removed residues into enriched organic manure through composting.

• New opportunities for industrial use such as extraction of yeast protein can be explored
through scientific research.

Supreme Court’s observations

• Incentivescould be provided to those who are not burning the stubble and disincentives for
those who continue the practice.

• The existing Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme must be so interpreted as to enable the
States concerned to wholly or partly deny the benefit of MSP to those who continue to burn
the crop residue.

• Chhattisgarh Model:

o An innovative experiment has been undertaken by the Chhattisgarh government by

setting up gauthans.

o A gauthanis a dedicated five-acre plot, held in common by each village, where all the
unused stubble is collected through parali daan (people’s donations) and is
converted into organic fertiliser by mixing with cow dung and few natural enzymes.

o The scheme also generates employment among rural youth.

o The government supports the transportation of parali from the farm to the nearest
gauthan.

o The state has successfully developed 2,000 gauthans.

Government’s initiatives:

• Union Government: Under a 100% centrally-funded scheme, machines that help farmers in
in-situ management—by tilling the stubble back into the soil—were to be provided to
individual farmers at 50% subsidy and to custom hiring centres (CHCs) at 80% subsidy.

• While Haryana has set up 2,879 CHCs so far and has provided nearly 16,000 straw-
management machines, it has to set up 1,500 more and has to cover nearly as many
panchayats it has reached so far.

• Similarly, Punjab, which has provided 50,815 machines so far, will need to set up 5,000 more
CHCs—against 7,378 set up already—and reach 41% of its panchayats by October 2020.
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Way forward:

• Short term Solution: Giving farmers easy and affordable access to the machines which allow
them to do smart straw management is the short term solution to the problem

• Dual Strategy: Both in-situ (in the field) and ex-situ (elsewhere) solutions need to be
considered, apart from tackling the fundamental factors prompting the practice.

• Affordability of Government Measures: A key factor will be ensuring affordability of service

for those hiring the machines; Haryana has reserved 70% of the machines at panchayats-run
CHCs for small and marginal farmers, while Punjab has prioritised service to them.

• Utilizing Crop Stubble: Instead of burning of the stubble, it can be used in different ways like
cattle feed, compost manure, roofing in rural areas, biomass energy, mushroom cultivation,
packing materials, fuel, paper, bio-ethanol and industrial production, etc.

• The long-term solution has to be crop diversification, away from paddy

What is fly ash? Discuss its types, applications, advantages, and disadvantages as a
construction material. What steps are required to promote its usage? (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Down to Earth , Insights on India
Why the question:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) noted September 19, 2022 that there was an urgent need to
augment the utilisation and disposal of fly ash in Chhattisgarh.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about fly ash, its types, its applications, advantages, and disadvantages and steps needed to
promote its usage.
Directive word:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you must debate on paper by going through the
details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You must give reasons for both for
and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by defining fly ash and its components.
Body:
In the first part, write about its types and its application in various fields especially as a construction
material.
Next, write about the advantages and disadvantages of fly in the various types of application, as a
by-product, issues with its disposal etc.
Next, suggest steps to promote its usage across the country.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction

Fly ash (flue-ash or simply ash) is the finely divided residue that results from the combustion of
pulverized coal and is transported from the combustion chamber by exhaust gases. Fly ash is
produced by coal-fired electric and steam generating plants.

It is a fine grey powder consisting mostly of spherical, glassy particles that are produced as a by-
product in coal-fired power stations. Fly ash has pozzolanic properties, meaning that it reacts with
lime to form cementitious compounds. It is commonly known as a supplementary cementitious
material.
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Body

Types

Two classes of fly ash are defined

• Class F fly ash

▪ Fly ash that is produced from the burning of anthracite or bituminous coal is typically
pozzolanic and is referred to as a Class F fly ash.

• Class C fly ash

▪ Fly ash that is produced from the burning of lignite or subbituminous coal, in addition to
having pozzolanic properties, also has some self-cementing properties (ability to harden
and gain strength in the presence of water alone).

▪ Most Class C fly ashes have self-cementing properties.

Applications of flyash

• Currently, over 20 million metric tons (22 million tons) of fly ash are used annually in a variety of
engineering applications.

• Fly ash is most commonly used as a pozzolan in PCC applications.

• Fly-ash pellets which can replace normal aggregate in concrete mixture.

• Typical highway engineering applications include: Portland cement concrete (PCC), soil and road
base stabilization, flowable fills, grouts, structural fill and asphalt filler.

• Other applications include Dams, Mines, Landfills and Geopolymer concrete

• Stabilization of soft soils.

• Road subbase construction.

• As aggregate substitute material (e.g. for brick production).

• Agricultural uses: soil amendment, fertilizer, cattle feeders, soil stabilization in stock feed yards,
and agricultural stakes.

• Loose application on rivers to melt ice.

• Loose application on roads and parking lots for ice control.

Advantages

• Fly ash can be a cost-effective substitute for Portland cement in many markets.

• Fly ash is also recognized as an environmentally friendly material because it is a byproduct and
has low embodied energy, the measure of how much energy is consumed in producing and
shipping a building material.

• Fly ash requires less water than Portland cement and is easier to use in cold weather.

Environmental benefits

• Fly ash utilization, especially in concrete, has significant environmental benefits including:
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▪ increasing the life of concrete roads and structures by improving concrete durability,

▪ net reduction in energy use and greenhouse gas and other adverse air emissions when fly
ash is used to replace or displace manufactured cement,

▪ reduction in amount of coal combustion products that must be disposed in landfills,

▪ conservation of other natural resources and materials.

Disadvantages

• The under-utilisation of fly ash, a by-product, over the years has led to the accumulation of
1,670 million tonnes of it. This is according to the Summary of Ash Generation and Utilisation
during 2020-2021 by the NGT-constituted joint committee on fly ash.

• Toxic heavy metals present: All the heavy metals found in fly ash nickel, cadmium, arsenic,
chromium, lead, etc—are toxic in nature. They are minute, poisonous particles accumulate in
the respiratory tract, and cause gradual poisoning.

• Radiation: For an equal amount of electricity generated, fly ash contains a hundred times more
radiation than nuclear waste secured via dry cask or water storage.

• Water pollution: The breaching of ash dykes and consequent ash spills occur frequently in India,
polluting a large number of water bodies.

▪ Coal, which is a component of Fly Ash, contains elements such as arsenic, barium, boron,
selenium and mercury, most of which is toxic to human and animal life. Thus, fly ash
obtained after combustion of the coal has potential to pollute groundwater.

• Effects on environment: The destruction of mangroves, drastic reduction in crop yields, and the
pollution of groundwater in the Rann of Kutch from the ash sludge of adjoining Coal power
plants has been well documented.

Way forward to promote better utilization of Flyash

• Fly ash utilisation in India has increased from nearly 10% in 1996-97 to the highest level of over
83% during 2019-20, unutilised ash gets dumped in an environmentally hazardous manner,
polluting air, water and soil.

• Infrastructure to transport the flyash from coal plants at low cost to cement plants need to be
built to facilitate easy use of Flyash

• Collaboration with Cement manufacturers around the country to utilizse Fly Ash needs to be
done.

• The state authority must also instruct all transporters to comply with guidelines issued by the
central and state governments for safe transportation of fly ash and bottom ash.

• In January 2022, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the constitution of a ‘Fly Ash
Management and Utilisation Mission.

• More measures can be promoted to use fly ash bricks in Government schemes like Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates on fly ash and its products can be further reduced from
existing rate of 5%.
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• Strict action should be taken if any complaint regarding illegal disposal is received by the
authorities

• Awareness programmes needed to be organised for common people about the utilisation of fly
ash for its own use.

Disaster and disaster management.

Do you think that Urban flooding which is being witnessed in metropolitan cities
across the nation is a man-made disaster? Critically analyse. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
It was near apocalypse beyond the western outskirts of Bengaluru last weekend, as the government’s
marquee project—the Bengaluru-Mysuru 10-lane express highway, to be readied in time for Dasara
in October—was flooded. So were the districts of Mandya, Ramanagara and regions lying along the
highway route.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the various causes of urban floods and ways to mitigate them
Directive word:
Critically analyze – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of
the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary. When ‘critically’ is
suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a
balanced judgment on the topic.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by explaining what is urban flood.
Body:
Next, Mention the man-made causes of urban floods such as lake bed encroachments, deforestation
etc.
Next, write about the natural causes of urban floods.
Next, mention the need for a city wise strategic approach and recourse in the building codes and by-
laws of cities to ensure proper drainage channels and provision for perforation of rainfall into ground
water to avoid urban floods.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.

Introduction

As the incidence of climate variability and extreme weather events increases, urban flooding
becomes more and more common. While the untimely heavy rains can be attributed to climate
variability, the urban flooding is largely due to an unplanned urbanisation.

Recently, It was near apocalypse beyond the western outskirts of Bengaluru last weekend, as the
government’s marquee project—the Bengaluru-Mysuru 10-lane express highway, to be readied in
time for Dasara in October—was flooded. So were the districts of Mandya, Ramanagara and regions
lying along the highway route.

Body:

Causes for the rise in urban floods

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• Inadequate Drainage Infrastructure:Cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai rely on a century-old

drainage system, covering only a small part of the core city.

o In the last 20 years, the Indian cities have grown manifold with its original built-up
area.

o As the city grew beyond its original limits, not much was done to address the
absence of adequate drainage systems.

• Terrain Alteration:Lasting irreversible damage has been done to the city by property
builders, property owners, and public agencies by flattening terrain and altering natural
drainage routes.

• Reducing Seepage:Indian cities are becoming increasingly impervious to water, not just
because of increasing built up but also because of the nature of materials used (hard, non-
porous construction material that makes the soil impervious).

• Lax Implementation:Even with provisions of rainwater harvesting, sustainable urban

drainage systems, etc, in regulatory mechanisms like the Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA), adoption at user end as well as enforcement agencies remains weak.

• Encroaching Natural Spaces:The number of wetlands has reduced to 123 in 2018 from 644
in 1956.

o Green cover is only 9 per cent, which ideally should have been at least 33 per cent.

Way forward

• Need for Holistic Engagement:Urban floods of this scale cannot be contained by the
municipal authorities alone. Floods cannot be managed without concerted and focused
investments of energy and resources.

o The Metropolitan Development Authorities, National Disaster Management

Authority, State revenue and irrigation departments along with municipal
corporations should be involved in such work together.

o Such investments can only be done in a mission mode organisation with active
participation of civil society organisations at the metropolitan scale.

• Developing Sponge Cities:The idea of a sponge city is to make cities more permeable so as
to hold and use the water which falls upon it.

o Sponge cities absorb the rain water, which is then naturally filtered by the soil and
allowed to reach urban aquifers.

o This allows for the extraction of water from the ground through urban or peri-urban
wells.

o This water can be treated easily and used for city water supply.

• Wetland Policy:There is a need to start paying attention to the management of wetlands by

involving local communities.

o Without doubt, terrain alteration needs to be strictly regulated and a ban on any
further alteration of terrain needs to be introduced.

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o To improve the city’s capacity to absorb water, new porous materials and
technologies must be encouraged or mandated across scales.

o Examples of these technologies are bioswales and retention systems, permeable

material for roads and pavement, drainage systems which allow storm water to
trickle into the ground, green roofs and harvesting systems in buildings.

• Drainage Planning:Watershed management and emergency drainage plan should be clearly

enunciated in policy and law.

o Urban watersheds are micro ecological drainage systems, shaped by contours of

terrain.

o Detailed documentation of these must be held by agencies which are not bound by
municipal jurisdictions; instead, there is a need to consider natural boundaries such
as watersheds instead of governance boundaries like electoral wards for shaping a
drainage plan.

• Water Sensitive Urban Design:These methods take into consideration the topography, types
of surfaces (permeable or impervious), natural drainage and leave very less impact on the
environment.

o Vulnerability analyses and risk assessments should form part and parcel of city
master plans.

o In a changing climate, the drainage infrastructure (especially storm water drainage)

has to be built considering the new ‘normal’.

o Tools such as predictive precipitation modelling can help do that and are also able to
link it with the adaptive capacity of urban land use.

Conclusion:g

These can all be delivered effectively through an urban mission along the lines of the Atal Mission
for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), National Heritage City Development and
Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) and Smart Cities Mission. Urban Flood management will not just
help control recurring floods but also respond to other fault lines, provide for water security, more
green spaces, and will make the city resilient and sustainable.

The risk of fire in urban areas has increased over the years and the rising cost of fire
losses are increasing at a greater rate than the measures devised to control them.
Examine. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu , Insights on India
Why the question:
The horrific fire accident on September 12 in Secunderabad, Telangana, in which eight guests of a
hotel were asphyxiated has brought back focus on illegal building structures.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the reasons for fire incidents and measures needed to control such ones.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate the topic (content words) in detail, inspect
it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so
we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
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Structure of the answer:

Introduction:
Begin by giving statistic regarding rising instances of fire accidents.
Body:
First, write about the reasons for the increasing fire hazard incidents – mention the part of
lackadaisical safety measures as well ineffective implementation of exist fire safety norms.
Next, write about the measures that are needed to overcome the above and promote fire safety and
prevent losses due to fire hazard.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction

Fires breaking out in buildings, big and small across India is not a new phenomenon. The Uphaar
tragedy that’s in news after 24 years was once expected to serve India a wake-up call on safety
lapses. The National Crime Records Bureau states that 330 people died in commercial building fires
in 2019, while fatalities for residential or dwelling buildings were at much higher rate of 6,329.

The horrific fire accident on September 12 in Secunderabad, Telangana, in which eight guests of a
hotel were asphyxiated has brought back focus on illegal building structures.

Body

Major Causes of Fires

• Electric faults are quoted as the foremost cause of fires but State governments are widely
criticised for being negligent with building safety laws and for failing to equip public buildings
with modern technology.

• Hospital ICUs are at pronounced fire risk because they are oxygen-suffused, and are required to
meet high standards.

• Flammable and Combustible Materials:

▪ Urban premises that hold any number of materials that are flammable or combustible
represent a dangerous hazard.

• Human Error:

▪ When staff are not trained properly, they are at risk of making catastrophic mistakes.

▪ Accidents such as placing liquid near electrical equipment, burning food in the kitchen or
spilling flammable liquids have occurred due to human error.

• Resource crunch:

▪ Fire safety operations in urban India often fall under municipalities, a tier of governance
that is particularly weak.

▪ Adequate funding is not available, inhibiting the technological progression for

firefighting.

▪ A consequence of it is that firefighting operations are starved of resources. India had

only 39% of the 8,559 fire stations needed in 2018.

• Rules and regulation are violated & neglected:

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▪ Fire incidents are usual across India owing to the country’s poor record for workplace
safety standards and negligence in the enforcement of building regulations

▪ The dense residential development, entangled wires and lack of implementation of fire
safety norms are a few reasons for fire hazard related devastation in the country.

▪ A National Building Code (NBC) has set out elaborate guidelines including those for fire
safety. But the adherence is lacklustre. For example, NBC requires all buildings over 15
metres to carry out a fire safety audit once in two years by an independent entity. Its
adherence appears to be patchy.

• Lack of Knowledge:

▪ There are many buildings/structures with firefighting equipment’s installed but hardly
anyone has the knowledge of using them.

▪ In many accidents, it was observed that firefighting equipment was installed. But there is
no knowledge training for the persons to handle the equipment.

• Lack of maintenance:

▪ Making the equipment dysfunctional.

• No unified fire services:

▪ Unified fire services offer all the essential guidelines and instruction in firefighting but
lacks in most of the states

• Rapid Urbanisation:

▪ This has increased the proliferation of high rise buildings due to scarcity of land.
However, ensuring fire safety in them is a complex affair due to lengthy exit routes and
more fire-prone areas.

Way Forward

• Fire Safety Audit seems to be an effective tool to evaluate fire safety standards of an
organisation. Hence, once in a year a fire safety audit by independent agencies should be made
mandatory across India.

o For instance, The Supreme Court in December 2020 directed all the States to carry
out fire safety audits of devoted COVID-19 hospitals.

• It is evident that State forces lack the manpower to examine and ensure compliance with the
safety codes, including the NBC, where it is obligatory.

• Enactment of a Fire Act in every state: The states which have not enacted their own Fire Act
should immediately enact a suitable Fire Act based on the 2019 model bill.

• Following Fire Safety Standards: The Home Ministry must make sure that National Disaster
Management Guidelines on Scaling, Type of Equipment and Training of Fire Services. The States
has to duly follow them.

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• Another option is to make heavy fire liability insurance obligatory for all public buildings, which
would offer protection to occupants and visitors and bring about the external inspection of
safety.

• We need to have guidelines/framework to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment.

• Government should continue to deliver financial support and assistance in supplementing

and modernising the fire departments

• Building awareness among citizens regarding fire prevention and protection measures is also of
supreme importance.

• Infrastructure and Technology: Simple interventions like constructing water storage tanks at
suitable locations can provide water during fire emergencies. In addition, adopting modern
technology such as water mist and drones is the need of the hour.

• Financial support to the fire safety department: The government should provide financial
support and assistance in augmenting and modernising the fire departments.

o For urban areas, the government can impose a fire tax/levy. The government can
earmark the revenue generated for the improvement and upkeep of the fire services.

o Similarly, fire management has to incorporate innovative funding through public-private

partnerships.

Conclusion

Through conscious planning, the government has to strengthen and upgrade the Fire services in
India. To achieve this facet, a robust institutional mechanism and coordinated approach including all
concerned stakeholders is desired.

Value addition

Fire Safety Regulations in India

• Fire service is a state subject and is included as a municipal function in the XII schedule of
the Constitution.

• National building code of India deals with fire safety regulations in India.

• Part 4 of the Code deals with Fire and Life

• It recommends the location of buildings by type of use in definite zones to guarantee that
industrial and hazardous structures do not coexist with residential, institutional, office and
business buildings.

• The code broadly includes the following areas:

o Fire deterrence: Covers aspects of fire prevention relating to the design and
construction of buildings. It provides specifications and guidelines for design and
materials that decrease the threat of destructive fires

o Life Security: This covers life safety provisions in the occurrence of a fire and related
emergencies, also addressing construction and occupancy features that are essential
to limit danger to life from fire, smoke, fumes or panic.

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• Fire Defence: Includes significant accessories and their associated components and
guidelines for choosing the right type of equipment and installations intended for fire
protection of the building, depending upon the classifications and type of building.

Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal

security
Left-wing extremism was considered the single largest internal security threat in India,
but lately, it is the decline. Bring out the role of security forces in this regard. What
more needs to be done? Discuss. (250 Words)
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The geographical influence of Maoists has contracted to only 41 districts in the country, a sharp
reduction from 96 such districts in 10 States in 2010, according to data provided by the Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA).
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the declining trends of Maoism and the role of security agencies in combating it.
Directive word:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you must debate on paper by going through the
details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You must give reasons for both for
and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by citing stats about the declining trends of Maoism.
Body:
First, write the reasons that led to this decline – various works done by security agencies.
Next, suggest the steps are not enough and we need a hard+ soft approach. Suggest various other
measures. Give examples/data to substantiate your points.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward on taking a multi-prong approach to defeat Maoism.

Introduction

Left Wing Extremism (LWE) movement has its roots in the Naxalbari area West Bengal in the
1960’s.These Maoists insurgents started running a parallel system of administration in parts of
central and Eastern India. They kill civilians, destroy public buildings and extract ransom from

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businessmen. In the recent years, however, LWE movement is showing decline, because of the shift
in the approach of the successive Governments. The recent statement by Home Minister noted that
the geographical influence of the Maoists has reduced from 96 districts in 10 States in 2010 to 41
now.

Body

Maoist threat remains a potent challenge:

• LWE still poses multiple challenges such as ‘radicalization of youth’; hindering the
development initiatives; threat to the political stability of LWE areas; etc

• The Maoist insurgency still has potency in South Bastarin Chhattisgarh, the Andhra-Odisha
border and in some districts in Jharkhand.

• These States must focus on expansive welfare and infrastructure building even as security
forces try to weaken the Maoists.

• Frequent skirmishes and attacks have not only affected the security forces but also left many
tribal civilians caught in the crossfire.

• A purely security-driven approach fraught with human rights’ violations has only added to
the alienation among the poor in these areas.

Measures needed by government to tackle the Maoist insurgency:

• Modernizing the police force: The scheme focuses on strengthening police infrastructure by
construction of secure police stations, training centers, police housing (residential) and
equipping police stations with required mobility, modern weaponry, communication
equipment and forensic set-up etc.

o On the administrative side, changes include separation of investigation from law and
order, specialized wings for Social and Cyber Crimes are initiated in several states.

o Various technological reforms are pushed including modernization of the

control room, fast tracking Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System
(CCTNS), pushing for National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) and pushing for
incorporation of new technology into policing

• Social Integration:State Governments have surrender and rehabilitation policy, while the
Central Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments through the Security
Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme for LWE affected States.

o Additional incentives are given for surrendering with weapons/ammunition.

o The surrenderers are also impartedvocational training with a monthly stipend for a
maximum period of 36 months.

o Skill Development: Skill Development in 34 Districts affected by Left Wing

Extremism” under implementation from 2011-12 aimsto establish ITIs and Skill
Development Centers in LWE affected districts.

• Infrastructure Development:Road Connectivity, communication needs to be rapidly scaled

up in LWE affected districts. g.: Mobile towers being set up in remote areas.

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• Community policing improves interface with citizens and makes police more sensitive. E.g.
(i) Janamaithri Suraksha Padhathi, Kerala (ii) Friends of Police Movement (FOP), Tamil
Nadu (iii) Suraksha Setu – Safe City Surat Project

• Improve communication network: There should be sharing of information & knowledge to

improve the functioning of police force.

• Better Surveillance and Monitoringwith standardization, deployment and integration of

private security surveillance system.

Conclusion

The Union government and the States must continue to learn from successes such as the expansion
of welfare and rights paradigms in limiting the movement and failures that have led to the
continuing spiral of violence in select districts. Through a holistic approach focusing on development
and security related interventions, the LWE problem can be successfully tackled.

Security challenges and their management in border areas

The northeast needs to be freed from the AFSPA, as it has subsumed constitutional
rights with impunity. Critically analyze.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu, Insights on India
Why the question:
The Government intends to withdraw the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, or AFSPA,
completely from the Northeast region.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about AFSPA along with the pros and cons associated with AFSPA and difficulties faced while
removing such laws.
Directive:
Critically analyze – When asked to critically analyze, you must write the pros and cons associated
with that
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving the context of AFSPA and show on the map the northeast states having AFSPA in
place.
Body:
First, write issues associated with AFSPA in the northeastern region, including how it has subsumed
constitutional rights with impunity e.g., freedom of speech, right to equality, rights against
preventive detentions etc.
Next, Give a counterview of the argument.
Next, suggest measures that are needed
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward
Introduction

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act commonly known as AFSPA came in to force decades ago in
the context of increasing violence in the North Eastern states. Passed in 1958 for North East and in

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1990 for Jammu and Kashmir , the law gives armed forces necessary powers to control disturbed
areas which are designated by the govt.

Body

Key features of act

• In simple terms, AFSPA gives armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed
areas”.

• They have the authority to prohibit a gathering of five or more persons in an area, can use
force or even open fire after giving due warning if they feel a person is in contravention of
the law.

• If reasonable suspicion exists, the army can also arrest a person without a warrant; enter or
search premises without a warrant; and ban the possession of firearms.

• Under the provisions of the AFSPA armed forces are empowered with immunity from being
prosecuted to open fire , enter and search without warrant and arrest any person who has
committed a cognizable offence.

• As of now this act is in force in Jammu and Kashmir , Assam , Nagaland and parts of
Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

AFSPA in North-East

• The Union Government partially withdrew the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA),
1958from parts of three Northeast states— Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.

• Currently, AFSPA remains in force in parts of these three states as well as in parts of
Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

AFSPA – a draconian act

• It has been dubbed as a license to kill. The main criticism of the Act is directed against the
provisions of Section 4, which gives the armed forces the power to open fire and even cause
death, if prohibitory orders are violated.

• Human rights activists object on the grounds that these provisions give the security forces
unbridled powers to arrest, search, seize and even shoot to kill.

• Activists accuse the security forces of having destroyed homes and entire villages merely on
the suspicion that insurgents were hiding there. They point out that Section 4 empowers the
armed forces to arrest citizens without warrant and keep them in custody for several days.

• They also object to Section 6, which protects security forces personnel from prosecution
except with the prior sanction of the central government. Critics say this provision has on
many occasions led to even non-commissioned officers brazenly opening fire on crowds
without having to justify their action.

• Critics say the act has failed to contain terrorism and restore normalcy in disturbed areas,
as the number of armed groups has gone up after the act was established. Many even hold it
responsible for the spiralling violence in areas it is in force.

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• The decision of the government to declare a particular area ‘disturbed’ cannot be challenged
in a court of law. Hence, several cases of human rights violations go unnoticed.

Should AFSPA be repealed?

• The Army clearly sees AFSPA as a capstone enabling Act that gives it the powers necessary
to conduct counter-insurgency operations efficiently.

• If AFSPA is repealed or diluted, it is the army leadership’s considered view that the
performance of battalions in counter-insurgency operations will be adversely affected and
the terrorists or insurgents will seize the initiative.

• Many argue that removal of the act will lead to demoralising the armed forces and see
militants motivating locals to file lawsuits against the army.

• Also, the forces are aware that they cannot afford to fail when called upon to safeguard the
country’s integrity. Hence, they require the minimum legislation that is essential to ensure
efficient utilization of combat capability.

• AFSPA is necessary to maintain law and order in disturbed areas, otherwise things will go
haywire. The law also dissuades advancement of terrorist activities in these areas.

• Also, extraordinary situations require special handling.

Way forward

• Security forces should be very careful while operating in the Northeast and must not give
any chance to the militants to exploit the situation.

• Indiscriminate arrests and harassment of people out of frustration for not being able to
locate the real culprits should be avoided. All good actions of the force get nullified with one
wrong action.

• Any person, including the supervisory staff, found guilty of violating law should be severely
dealt with.

• The law is not defective, but it is its implementation that has to be managed properly.

• The local people have to be convinced with proper planning and strategy.

Conclusion

The practical problems encountered in ensuring transparency in counter-insurgency operations

must be overcome by innovative measures. The army must be completely transparent in
investigating allegations of violations of human rights and bringing the violators to speedy justice.
Exemplary punishment must be meted out where the charges are proved.

Value addition

Expert recommendations

• A committee headed by Justice Jeevan Reddy was appointed in 2004 to review AFSPA.
Though the committee found that the powers conferred under the Act are not absolute, it
nevertheless concluded that the Act should be repealed.

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• However, it recommended that essential provisions of the Act be inserted into the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967.

• The Second Administrative Reforms Commission headed by then Union law minister M
Veerappa Moily also recommended that AFSPA should be repealedand its essential
provisions should be incorporated in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media

and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber
security; money-laundering and its prevention.
Disinformation spread through social networks can have dire political, economic and
social consequences and is unequivocally bound to compromise national security.
Analyse. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
The last few years have seen me focus more on information and how it is processed by individuals
and households. Information matters because it helps shape up expectations—and expectations are
important in determining economic outcomes.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the threats posed by disinformation and ways to tackle it.
Directive:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the
topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving the context of spread of misinformation in the digital age.
Body:
First, write about the various political, economic and social consequences of the spread of
misinformation and fake news. Substantiate with examples.
Next, write about how the above can compromise national security.
Next, write about the measures that are needed to tackle the above.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction

Fake news is news, stories or hoaxes created to deliberately misinform or deceive readers. Usually,
these stories are created to either influence people’s views, push a political agenda or cause
confusion and can often be a profitable business for online publishers. Ex: Muzaffarnagar riots of
2013: fake video fueled communal passions.

Body

Consequences of fake news

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• Social media has led to a dislocation of politics with people weighing in on abstractions
online while being disengaged from their immediate surroundings.

• Social media has led to a degradation of our political discourse where serious engagement
has been supplanted by “hot takes” and memes.

• It has obscured the providence of consequential interventions in our political discourse

because of opacity in technology.

• Misinformation and disinformation spread in media is becoming a serious social challenge. It

is leading to the poisonous atmosphere on the web and causing riots and lynching on the
road.

• Platforms for harmful conspiracy theories and hate speech

• Spread of false or discredited science – e.g. anti-vax movement

• In the age of the internet (WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter,) it is a serious problem as rumours,
morphed images, click-baits, motivated stories, unverified information, planted stories for
various interests spread easily among 35 crore internet users in India.

• There have been many instances of online rumours leading to killings of innocent people. In
some cases, ministers have deleted tweets after realizing the fake news which they shared
earlier.

• Fake news has also been used to deceive illiterate people financially. Example- Chit fund
schemes introduced the concept of online fraud through spam emails.

• Fake news has reduced people’s belief in social, print and electronic media = affect the
benefits of these media.

Measures Needed:

• The current response to fake news primarily revolves around three prongs— rebuttal,
removal of the fake news item and educating the public.

o Rebuttal:It is a form of fact-checking wherein the fake news is debunked by

pointing out errors like mismatch, malicious editing and misattribution.

o Removal of Fake news:Technical companies like Facebook and YouTube uses

algorithms to proactively remove fake news from their platforms.

o Also, WhatsApp has put a limit on forwarding messages, so as to limit the spread to
fake news.

• Education and Awareness: The government must take the initiative to make all sections of
the population aware of the realities of this information war and evolve a consensus to fight
this war. Itmust also take strict action against the fake news providers.

o Ex: Italy has experimentally added ‘recognizing fake news’ in school syllabus. India
should also seriously emphasize cybersecurity, internet education, fake news
education in the academic curriculum at all levels.

• Strict Regulation: News being spread using chatbots and other automated pieces of
software should automatically be selected for special screening.

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• Bring out policy-: The government should bring out a draft seeking opinion from
stakeholders regarding issues of controlling fake news.Any future guidelines on ‘fake news’
should target ‘fake news’ and not try to regulate media in the name of ‘fake news’.

• Regulatory mechanism:The PCI needs to be reformed and empowered in a way so as to

enable it tostrike a balance between the freedom of media and speech on the one hand,
and right to know on the other.

• Government should have independent agency: to verify the data being circulated in social
and other media. The agency should be tasked with presenting real facts and figures.

• An ombudsman Institution:To receive complaints on fake news and initiate immediate

action.

• Accountability of Social Media:Social media websites should be made accountable of such

activities so that it becomes their responsibility to have better control over the spread of
fake news.

• Using Artificial Intelligence: The artificial intelligence technologies, particularly machine

learning and natural language processing, might be leveraged to combat the fake news
problem. AI technologies hold promise for significantly automating parts of the procedure
human fact checkers use today to determine if a story is real or a hoax.

Conclusion

Fake news affects free speech and informed choices of citizens of the country, leading to the
hijacking of democracy. Hence it is extremely important that there is a collective effort from all the
stake holders involved to tackle this menace comprehensively.

Value addition

Laws and Regulation to Curb Fake News in India:

• Press Council of India:It is a regulatory body which can warn, admonish or censure
the newspaper, the news agency, the editor or the journalist or disapprove the conduct of
the editor or the journalist if it finds that a newspaper or a news agency has violated
journalistic ethics.

• News Broadcasters Association:It represents the private television news and current affairs
broadcasters. The self-regulatory body probes complaints against electronic media.

• Indian Broadcast Foundation:It looks into the complaints against contents aired by
channels.

• Broadcasting Content Complaint Council: It admits complaints against TV broadcasters for

objectionable TV content and fake news.

• Indian Penal Code:Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot)
and Section 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of
any class) can be invoked to guard against fake news.

• Information Technology Act 2000: According to the Section 66 of the act, if any person,
dishonestly or fraudulently, does any act referred to in Section 43 (damage to computer,

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computer system), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to
three years or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees or with both.

• Civil or Criminal Case for Defamation:It is another resort against fake news for individuals
and groups hurt by the fake news. IPC Section 499 (defamation) and Section 500 (whoever
defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend
to two years, or with fine, or with both) provide for a defamation suit.

• Fake news has existed since the dawn of the printing press but in the age of the internet and
social media, it has found a tremendous application.Manipulation of algorithms of social
media and search engines is a global trend now.

• Misinformation and disinformation spread in the media is becoming a serious social

challenge.It is leading to the poisonous atmosphere on the web and causing riots and
lynching on the road.

The gaps in an intrusive surveillance framework are causing severe harm to India’s
democratic ideals. Critically analyze
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu , Insights on India
Why the question:
A leading digital news platform reported that the cellphones of at least 300 Indians had been hacked
with Pegasus spyware
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the gaps in the India’s surveillance framework and how it impacts India’s democractic
system.
Directive:
Critically analyze – When asked to critically analyze , you must write pros and cons associated with
that
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by introducing the recent issues and cases of surveillance in India.
Body:
First, what are the gaps in the India’s surveillance framework.
Next, write about its impact (esp on India’s democracy, people’s rights etc.)
Next, give some examples of steps taken by India and other countries.
Next, suggest more measures that are needed
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.

Introduction

A year has passed since the disclosures about the Pegasus Project revealed the threat to India’s
democracy.

A leading digital news platform reported that the cellphones of at least 300 Indians had been
hacked with Pegasus, the spyware from the Israel-based NSO Group; 10 of the cases were
confirmed by Amnesty International’s Security Lab using forensic analysis.

The victims, important members of India’s constitutional order, included cabinet Ministers,
Opposition leaders, journalists, judges and human rights defenders.

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Body

Impact of surveillance

• Threat to Press Freedom: Surveillance affects press freedom. In 2019, similar allegations
were made about the use of Pegasus against journalists and human rights activists.

o The World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders has ranked
India 142 out of 180 countries in 2021.The press requires greater protections on
speech and privacy.

o Privacy and free speech are what enable good reporting. They protect journalists
against threats of private and governmental reprisals against legitimate reporting.

• Against Right to Privacy: The very existence of a surveillance system impacts the right to
privacy and the exercise of freedom of speech and personal liberty under Articles 19 and 21
of the Constitution, respectively.

o The fear of citizens knowing that their email is being read by the government may
impact their ability to express, receive and discuss unorthodox ideas.

o In the absence of privacy, the safety of journalists, especially those whose work
criticises the government, and the personal safety of their sources is jeopardised.

• Authoritarian Regime: The surveillance promotes spread of authoritarianism in the

government functioning since it allows the executive to exercise a disproportionate amount
of power on the citizen and impacts their personal lives.

• Against Due Process: Surveillance, when carried out entirely by the executive,
curtails Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution as it happens in secret.

o Thus, the affected person is unable to show a breach of their rights. This violates not
only the ideals of due process and the separation of powers but also goes against
the requirement of procedural safeguards as mandated in S. Puttaswamy v. Union
of India (2017).

Background

• Surveillance using Pegasus: Reports that appeared in July 2021 from the Pegasus Project,
which includes The Wire in India, The Guardian in the U.K., and The Washington Post in the
U.S., said that in India, at least 40 journalists, Cabinet Ministers, and holders of
constitutional positions were possibly subjected to surveillance using Pegasus.

o The reports were based on a database of about 50,000 phone numbers accessed by
the Paris-based non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International.

• Signs of attempted penetration: According to The Guardian, Amnesty International’s

Security Lab tested 67 of the phones linked to the Indian numbers in the database and found
that “23 were successfully infected and 14 showed signs of attempted penetration”.

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• Governments as clients: Since Pegasus is graded as a cyberweapon and can only be sold to
authorized government entities as per Israeli law, most reports have suggested that the
governments in these countries are the clients.

Way forward: Reforms needed

• Protecting privacy: Considering the severity of the threat posed by these disclosures, and
the credibility of the evidence which backs them, it is important to examine how each
branch of the Indian state has responded, or failed to respond, in protecting the privacy of
citizens.

• Prevent indiscriminate monitoring: An overhaul of surveillance laws is necessary to prevent

the indiscriminate monitoring of people and entities by the state and private actors.

• Independent oversight provisions: The Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Indian
Telegraph Act 1885 which empower the Government to survey, concentrate surveillance
powers in the hands of the executive, and do not contain any independent oversight
provisions, judicial or parliamentary.

o These legislations are from an era before spyware such as Pegasus were developed,
and, thus, do not respond to the modern-day surveillance industry.

• Lacunae in proposed Data protection law: The proposed data protection law does not
address these concerns despite proposals from members of the Joint Parliamentary
Committee. Instead, the proposed law provides wide exemptions to the Government
relating to select agencies from the application of the law

• The Freedom House ‘Freedom in the World’ report : The past year has showcased why the
need for comprehensive surveillance reform is so urgent. The Freedom House ‘Freedom in
the World’ report — it tracks global trends in political rights and civil liberties — changed
India’s status from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ in 2021.

o It has cited the alleged use of Pegasus on Indian citizens as one of the reasons for
the downgrade.

• Surveillance reforms: In the absence of immediate and far-reaching surveillance reform, and
urgent redress to those who approach authorities against unlawful surveillance, the right to
privacy may soon become obsolete.

Conclusion

This is also the right time across the world, there is an increasingly urgent debate about how to
protect basic rights against encroachment by an aggressive and intrusive state, which wields the
rhetoric of national security like a sword.

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