manifest ias fortnightly manifesto-articles issue 25 · manifest ias fortnightly manifesto-articles...

MANIFEST IAS FORTNIGHTLY MANIFESTO-ARTICLES ISSUE 25

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Table of Contents HISTORY, ART & CULTURE .................................................................................................................................................. 2

Udupi Mutt ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Jyotibha phule and Savitribhai phule........................................................................................................................................................ 4

INDIAN SOCIETY ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.................................................................................................................................................. 6

GEOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Dallol geothermal field..................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Bushfires of Australia .................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

INDIAN POLITY ......................................................................................................................................................................12

AFSPA extended in Nagaland..................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Compulsory Renewal of OCI ....................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Guidelines to seek compensation of Damage..................................................................................................................................... 15

Cabinet committees ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 16

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, ISSUES & INSTITUTION .............................................................................................18

Kalapani issue ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18

INDIAN ECONOMY.................................................................................................................................................................21

Sustainable Development Goals Index .................................................................................................................................................. 21

National Infrastructure pipeline (NIP) ................................................................................................................................................. 23

Restructuring railway board ...................................................................................................................................................................... 27

UPI and Rupay ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29

SCIENCE AND TECHOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................32

Sir Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman (C.V. Raman) ...................................................................................................................... 32

Har Gobind Khorana ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 32

ENVIRONMENT & DISASTER MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................. 1

Swachch Survekshan 2020 ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1

INTERNAL SECURITY & DEFENCE ....................................................................................................................................36

Chief of defence staff (CDS) ........................................................................................................................................................................ 36

ETHICS & INTEGRITY ...........................................................................................................................................................38

Good Governance Index ............................................................................................................................................................................... 38

HISTORY, ART & CULTURE

Udupi Mutt Manifest pedagogy: Rama Swami Naicker is a prominent personality in the Indian National History and the

Regional History of Tamil Nadu. He is a pioneer in bringing about Radical changes in Tamil Society and Politics.

As UPSC is concentrating on alternative voices of the nation like that of Ambedkar, Narayan guru in this line

Periyar's voice is an important alternative voice.

In news:


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Recently Tamil Nadu BJP had tweeted distasteful remarks on Periyar’s 46th death anniversary which

triggered a firestorm of protests in the state.

Placing it in syllabus:

Historical personalities

Dimensions:

His Political Ideology

Political organisations and Newspapers started by him

His Social Reform Measures

His opposition to Indian National Congress (INC)

Legacy left behind by him

Content:

Udupi as a cultural Centre:

Udupi city of Karnataka state is the heavenly

abode of Lord Krishna which has attained

international repute on the cultural frontage. It is

also known as the temple city.

Udupi is known as Rajata Peetha and Shivalli

(Shivabelle). Udupi is famous for its cuisine, which

differs from South Indian cuisine as it follows the

Satvik discipline of cooking.

It is upholding its exclusive ethnic traditions of

Yakshagana, Bhuta Kola, Nagaradhane, Aati Kalenja

and Karangolu.

Yakshagana: Yakshagana, which literally means ‘the

song of the Yaksha’ is a theater form wherein the

collage of music, dance, dialogue, costume, make-up

and stage techniques collectively presents a unique

performance. It emerged during the Bhakti

Movement and developed from the pre-classical

music and theatre prevailing in that era. The

Yakshagana Performances normally narrate the

stories from various Indian Epics and religious

scriptures such as the Puranas.

Bhuta Kola: It is a traditional ritual wherein the

spirits are worshipped and solicited for their

assistance in fertility and prosperity. The term

‘Bhuta’ means the supernatural beings while ‘Kola’

means worship.

Nagaradhane: ‘Nagaradhane’ means the worship of

the Nagas (Cobras and snakes) is believed to have

perpetuated by the Bunts of Tulu Nadu who claim

to be the descendants of the Nagavansha. Snakes

are enshrined in ‘Nagabana’ shrines and

worshipped as an emblem of fertility. It comprises

of two distinctive rituals namely ‘Nagamandala’ and

‘Aashleshabali’.

Aati Kalenja: It is a traditional dance form that is

basically performed during the rainy season to

protect the village from all the evil spirits.

Karangolu: Karangolu is a traditional dance form

that is performed by the members of the ‘Harijan’

community at the time of the second harvest in the

months of February or March for the prosperity of

the region and the well being of the people.

The biennial ‘Paryaya Festival’ performed at the

Udupi Krishna Temple once in every two years on

18th January is one of the most important religious

rituals. It is at this time the Puja rights and

administration of the Krishna Temple are handed

over from the Swamiji of one Matha to the Swamiji

of the other Matha.

Madhvacharya and his philosophy of Dvaita:

• Madhvacharya was born in 1238 AD to a

Vaishnavite Brahmin family in Karnataka.

• His childhood name was Vasudeva, later

became famous as Purnaprajana and finally

Madhvacharya.

• He became a monk in his teenage years and

went to Dwaraka in Gujarat and accepted

Chitra Preksha as his Guru.

• There he studied the Advaita literature and

Upanishads.

• However, he wasn't convinced with the dual

principles and philosophy of ‘God and

human soul’ are the same.

• He left the monastery and founded the

Dvaita school of Vedanta and called the

philosophy as ‘Tattvavada’.

• His analysis on holy books of Bhagavad Gita,

Upanishads and Brahman Sutras has been

written in the Sanskrit Language as 37

books. which are famous as Anuvyakhyana,

which was composed in poetic version.


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• His ideas were different to Adi Shankara’s

Advaita Vedanta and Ramanuja’s

Vishishtadvaita philosophy.

• He travelled through India to propagate the

philosophy Dvaita Vedanta and in 1285 AD

he came to Udupi and established ashta

mathas (eight monasteries).

They are: Pejavara, Palimaru, Adamaru, Puttige,

Sodhe, Kaniyooru, Shirur, Krishnapura

• For each of the eight mathas, he appointed

one of his direct disciples to be the first

Swami, head of the matha.

• After him his disciples Jayatirtha, Vadiraja

Tirtha, Raghavendra Tirtha and Vyasatirth

spread the philosophy of Dvaita Vedanta.

• Another 24 mathas were also established

throughout India.

• The monks in the temple learn the Paryaya

system introduced by Madhvacharya.

• All the monasteries follow the traditions

and rituals, which were written by

Madhvacharya in Tantrasara.

• Madhvacharya died in 1317 AD in Udupi.

Shri Madhvacharya's Nine Teachings

1) Bhagavan Shri Krishna alone is the Supreme

Absolute Truth.

2) He is the object of knowledge in all the

Vedas.

3) The universe is real, satya.

4) The differences between Ishvara (God), Jiva

(soul) and Matter are real.

5) Jiva souls are by nature the servants of the

Supreme Lord Hari.

6) There are two categories of jivas - liberated

and illusioned.

7) Liberation (moksha) means entering an

eternal relationship of service to the

Supreme Lord.

8) Pure devotional service to Krishna is the

only way to attain this liberation.

9) The truth may be known by pratyaksha

(direct perception), anuman (inference or

logic), sabda (spiritual sound or Vedic

authority.

Carnatic music and its association with Udupi

(Haridasa movement):

• The Haridasa devotional movement

originated in Karnataka after Madhvacharya

and spread to eastern states such as Bengal

and Assam of medieval India.

• It was ushered in by the Haridasas and took

shape during the 13th and 14th centuries,

prior to and during the early rule of the

Vijayanagara empire.

• The main objective of this movement was to

propagate the Dvaita philosophy of

Madhvacharya to the masses through a

literary medium known as Dasa Sahitya.

• The Haridasas were saints who considered

themselves as slaves of their supreme lord -

Hari.

• The movement was a net result of earlier

devotional movements such as the

Veerashaiva movement of Vachana

literature in Karnataka led by Basavanna

(12th century) and the Alvar saints of Tamil

Nadu (10th century).

• Prominent Hindu philosophers, poets and

scholars such as Sripadaraya, Vyasathirtha,

Vadirajatirtha, Purandara Dasa and Kanaka

Dasa played an important role during this

time.

• Later, Vallabhacharya in Gujarat and Guru

Chaitanya were influenced by the teachings

of Madhvacharya.

• Their devotees started the International

Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)

- known as the Hare Krishna Movement.

• The Haridasa movement developed the

Carnatic music tradition as a distinct art

form from the Hindustani style.

• Purandara Dasa, one of the foremost of

Haridasas' is known as the "Father of

carnatic music" composed several Kirtane.

• Apart from Purandara Dasa, several later

Haridasas' composed songs adhering to the

same musical and philosophical traditions

which fell in one of the following categories:

Padagalu (devotional hymns), Kriti,

Ugabhoga, Suladi, Vruttanama, Dandaka,

Tripadi, Pattadi, Sangathya and Ragale.

• The tradition was elaborated and perfected

by the Trinity of Carnatic music (Tyagaraja,

Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri).

Essential characters of Carnatic music:

The main emphasis in Carnatic tradition is on vocal

music and most compositions are written to be

sung. It rests on four main elements.

Shruti: It refers to musical pitch. It is the note from

which all the others are derived.


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Swara: It refers to a type of musical sound that is a

single note, which defines a relative (higher or

lower) position of a note, rather than a defined

frequency. Swaras also refer to the solfege of

Carnatic music, which consist of seven notes,

"sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-da-ni".

Raga system: A raga prescribes a set of rules for

building a melody. It specifies rules for movements

up (aarohanam) and down (avarohanam), the scale

of which notes should figure more and which notes

should be used more sparingly etc...

Ragas may be divided into two classes:

• Janaka ragas (i.e. melakarta or parent

ragas)

• Janya ragas (descendant ragas of a

particular janaka raga

Tala system: Tala refers to a fixed time cycle set

for a particular composition, which is built from

groupings of beats. Talas have cycles of a defined

number of beats and rarely change within a song.

They have specific components, which in

combinations can give rise to over 108 varieties

allowing different compositions to have different

rhythms.

Mains:

1) What are the principles of Dvaita

philosophy? How did Haridasa movement

emerge in Karnataka?

Jyotibha phule and Savitribhai phule Manifest pedagogy:

Jyotibha Phule along with Savitri Bhai Phule are important social reformers in Indian History. There

contribution to an impact on Modern Indian history is commendable. They were pioneers in Lower caste and

Women movements which laid the foundation for later day evolution of alternative voices of the nation. There

is a good possibility of both Prelims and Mains questions on them.

In news:

- Savitribai Phule’s 187th anniversary was on 3 January, 2020.


- Historical personalities

Dimensions:

- His Biography

- Savithribhai Phule

- His political ideology

- Their social outlook

- His writings

- Influences on him

- His contribution to dalit empowerment

Content:

His biography:

• Phule was born in Mali family of Poona in 1827.

• The Malis belonged to shudra Varna and were

placed immediately below peasant caste.

• He was educated at a Marathi school with a three

year break at a mission school in Poona.

• Phule completed his English schooling in 1847.

• He was married young at a young age of 13 to a girl

of his own community, Savithribhai Phule, who

was chosen by his father.

• He fought against the social stigma prevalent in the

society during the nineteenth century.

• He was the harbinger of unheard ideas for social

reforms.

• He started awareness campaigns that inspired the

personalities like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma

Gandhi, who later undertook major initiatives

against caste discrimination.

• Dhananjay Keer in 1974, penned down his

biography titled, ‘Mahatma Jyotiba Phule: Father of

Our Social Revolution’.

• The Mahatma Phule Museum in Pune has been set-

up in honour of the great reformer.

• Maharashtra Krishi Vidyapeeth at Rahuri, has been

renamed Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth.


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Savithribhai Phule:

• Savitribai Phule was born on 3 January 1831 at

Naigaon in Maharashtra’s Satara district.

• Savitri was not educated at the time of her

marriage, as she was from a backward caste and a

woman.

• Savitribai Phule was taught by Jyotiba at their

home.

• Later, she took a teacher’s training course at an

institute run by an American missionary in

Ahmednagar and in Pune’s Normal School.

• During that time there were only a few missionary

schools which were “open to all" and Brahmins

were the only caste group that received an

education.

• In this context Jyotiba and Savitri opened a school

for women in 1848.

• It was the country’s first school for women started

by Indians.

• She then started teaching girls in Pune’s

Maharwada, along with Sagunabai, a revolutionary

feminist and a mentor to Jyotiba.

• Savitribai was also a poetess and published Kavya

Phule in 1854 and Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar

in 1892.

• In her poem, “Go, Get Education”, she urged the

oppressed communities to get an education and

break free from the chains of oppression.

• In 1852, Savitribai started the Mahila Seva Mandal

to raise awareness about women’s rights.

• Savitribai called for a women’s gathering where

members from all castes were welcome and

everybody was expected to sit on the same mat.

• Jyotiba and Savithribhai also started the Home for

the Prevention of Infanticide in her house, a place

where Brahmin widows could deliver their babies

safely.

• They also adopted a child, Yashwant, who was

born at the shelter.

• She simultaneously campaigned against child

marriage, while supporting widow remarriage.

His political ideology:

• The British rule opened up new employment

opportunities in the administration.

• The political power at local level was also being

given to the Indians.

• Phule who had worked as a member of the Poona

Municipality could visualise how lower castes

would be able to acquire power at local level

during the period of British rule and also enter the

colonial bureaucracy.

• He wanted lower castes to exploit the opportunity

and get rid of the tyranny of Brahmins.

• Phule assured the colonial rulers that if the

Shudras were made happy and contented, they

need not worry about the loyalty of the subjects.

• He wanted the British government to abolish

Brahmin Kulkarni's position, and a post of village

headman (Patil) filled on the basis of merit.

• Phule wanted Brahmin bureaucracy to be replaced

by non-Brahmin bureaucracy.

• But if the non-Brahmins were not available, he

thought that the government should appoint the

British men to these posts.

• The masses had not yet become politically

conscious.

• The high caste elites were claiming that they were

the true representatives of the people and

therefore were demanding political rights.

• This process, Phule thought, would reestablish the

political supremacy of the high castes.

• Phule advised his followers from the lower castes

not to participate in the movement for political

rights.

• He argued that the Indian National Congress or

other political associations were not national in the

true sense of the term because they represented

only high castes.

• In his Satya Shodhak Samaj, he had made it a rule

not to discuss politics.

• However, his efforts to organise lower castes

under the banner of Satya Shodhak Samaj should

be seen as a political activity.

• He gave preference to social reform rather than

political reform in the 19th century.

Their social outlook:

• In 1848, Phule began his work as a social reformer

when he started a school for girls of low and

untouchable castes.


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• In the 1850s, the Phule couple initiated two

educational trusts - the Native Female School, Pune

and The Society for Promoting the Education of

Mahars, Mangs and Etceteras.

• He, along with his wife opened two more schools

for girls in 1851.

• Phule established a school for untouchables and a

night school in 1852.

• He supported the movement for widow remarriage

in 1860.

• In 1865, he published a book on caste system

written by one of his friends Padval.

• Satya Shodhak Samaj was established in 1873 by

him and his colleagues to organise the lower castes

against the Hindu social order based on varna and

caste system.

• The government appointed him as a member of the

Poona Municipality in 1876 and continued as a

member till 1882 and fought for the cause of

downtrodden.

• The Phule couple along with Sagunabai started

their school at Bhide Wada, which included

mathematics, science and social studies instead of

Brahmanical texts like Vedas and Shastras.

• Jyotiba and his colleagues saw the need for an

organization that served the interests of non-

Brahmins and started Satyashodhak Samaj in

1873.

• After Jyotiba’s death in 1890, Savitribai carried

forward the work of the organization and also

chaired the annual session held at Saswad in 1893.

• She initiated the first Satyashodhak marriage -

marriage without dowry, Brahmin priests or

Brahminical rituals.

• Savitribai Phule died on 10 March 1897, while

caring for a patient in the clinic which she had

opened for the treatment of those affected by the

bubonic plague.

His writings:

• He wrote mainly in Marathi and that too in a

Marathi meant for the masses.

• In Brahmanache Kasab (1869) Phule has exposed

the exploitation of Brahmin priests.

• In Gulamgiri (1873) he has given a historical

survey of the slavery of lower castes.

• In 1883, he published a collection of his speeches

under the title Jhetkaryarlcha Asud (The

cultivator's whip-cord) where he has analysed how

peasants were being exploited in those days.

• A text of his philosophical statement can be found

in Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak (A book of True

Religion For All) published in 1891

Influences on him

British rule had brought to an end the tyranny of the last

Peshwa in Maharashtra and had not only established law

and order but also the principle of equality before the law.

The new rulers opened the opportunities in education and

mobility in occupation for the members of all castes.

New ideas of equality and liberty could reach the

moderately educated sections of the lower caste. Phule who

was concerned with the slavery of the lower castes

favoured the British rule

His writings reveal that his thinking on social and political

issues was influenced by Christianity and the ideas of

Thomas Paine (1737-1809). Phule was known for his

religious radicalism in England.

His contribution to dalit empowerment:

• He was worried about the condition of Shudras

who were deprived of their rights by the Brahmins

who kept them ignorant.

• Phule thought that selfish Brahmins had

prohibited women and dalits from taking to

education in order to continue their domination.

• He attacked the customs and practices such as

child marriage, polygamy, harassment of dalits and

even varna system and Vedic culture.

• He advised Shudra peasants not to have more than

one wife and not to marry their young children.

• He started schools for untouchables and promoted

their social development.

• His writings reflected his zeal to work for the

emancipation of dalits.

• As a recognition of his great work for the lower

castes, he was felicitated and a title of 'Mahatma'

was conferred on him by the people in Bombay in

1888.

Mains: 1) “The achievements of Jyotiba and Savithribhai

Phule is a challenge to Manuwadi culture”. Discuss.

INDIAN SOCIETY

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 Manifest pedagogy:


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Child marriage has been a key issue in India. Other issues such as POCSO, dowry and gender gap emerging from

household work done by girl child are also issues which deserve attention.

In news:

- SC has recently held that Section 9 of Child Marriage Act is only concerned with punishment for male

adult marrying a child.


- Social issues

Dimensions:

- Interpretation of Section 9 of the Act

- Recent judgement by Supreme Court

- Its importance and drawbacks

Content:

Supreme Court held in a recent judgment that the

Child marriage act does not intend to punish a male

aged between 18 and 21 years for marrying a “female

adult”.

Interpretation of Section 9 of the Act:

Section 9 of the Child marriage act ( Punishment for

male adult marrying a child) states that - “ Whoever,

being a male adult above eighteen years of age,

contracts a child marriage shall be punishable with

rigorous imprisonment which may extend to two years

or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees or

with both”

• In November, 2019 verdict, SC had held that a

provision of the child marriage law that

punishes a man aged between 18 and 21 years

for marrying an adult woman is not a correct

interpretation of the law.

• The bench held that punishing the male for

such a marital union on grounds that it

amounts to child marriage is against the

“legislative history” of the law.

• The legislative intent was to punish men who

married minor girls.

• Although both men and women are deemed to

be adults at the age of 18 under other laws, a

differential metric has been adopted in the

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, which

says a man has to attain the age of 21 to be

considered an adult.

• Thus, even if the husband is between 18-21

years of age, the law treats it as a child

marriage and punishes the male.

• According to the SC bench this anomaly had

occurred due to the literal interpretation of

Section 9 of the Act that goes against the very

object of the Act.

Recent judgement by Supreme Court:

• The case at present was concerned a boy who

married a 21-year-old woman when he was

17 years old.

• The Punjab and Haryana High Court had set

aside its own order providing protection to

the couple.

• Prosecution was instituted against the boy for

contracting a child marriage, in which he

himself was the child.

• The Supreme Court set aside the HC order,

saying the intent behind Section 9 was not to

punish a child for contracting a child marriage.

• SC bench has said that neither does the

provision punish a child for marrying a

woman nor a woman for marrying a male

child because in Indian society decisions

regarding marriage are usually taken by the

family members of the bride and groom, and

women generally have little say in the matter.

• The SC bench held that the sole objective of

the provision is to punish a man for marrying

a minor girl.

• The intention behind punishing only male

adults contracting child marriages is to

protect minor girls.

• It said that the 2006 Act gives an option for

prospective grooms who are between 18 and

21 years old to opt out of marriages.

Importance of the Act and its drawbacks:

• Under the Act, child marriages will be

declared null and void if

• the injunction prohibiting a child marriage

from taking place is violated/ contravened

• the child is taken away from their lawful

guardian by enticement, force or use of

deceitful means


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• the child is sold or trafficked for the purpose

of marriage.

• The law makes child marriages voidable by

giving choice to the children in the marriage

to seek annulment of marriage.

• It gives a legal status to all children born from

child marriages and makes provisions for

their custody and maintenance.

• The law provides for all support and aid

including medical aid, legal aid, counselling

and rehabilitation support to children once

they are rescued.

• Section 11 of the Act provides punishment for

those who permit and promote child

marriages.

• Section 12 of the Act lays down that if

someone kidnapped and married a minor girl

and contested claim over the minor’s

guardianship in defense to charges of

kidnappings, in such cases the marriage would

be treated as null and void.

• Now the recent SC interpretation of Section 9

helps in dealing with the problem of men in

the 18-21 year age group being punished for

marriage with a woman.

Drawbacks:

• The Act has failed to make all child marriages

automatically void, instead making them void

only where the child is “taken or enticed” from

the care of a guardian, in cases of compulsion,

fraud or trafficking, and if performed in

violation of an injunction.

• The Act holds that a child marriage is voidable

only upon the filing of a petition for

annulment in district court. Hence it does not

automatically declare child marriages void,

only making them voluntarily voidable.

• The Act criminalizes criminalizes family

members who themselves are often living in

poverty, lack adequate education and may be

succumbing to social pressure.

Facts (UNICEF):

• While there has been a decline in the

incidence of child marriage nationally from 54

per cent in 1992-93 to 27 per cent in 2016, the

pace of change remains slow, especially for

girls in the age group 15-18 years.

• Child marriage is more prevalent in rural

areas (48 per cent) than in urban areas (29

per cent).

• The rates of child marriage are highest in the

central and western parts of India and lower

in the eastern and southern parts of the

country.

• Other states that have an incidence of child

marriage higher than national average are:

Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal,

Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and

Karnataka.

Mains:

1) How has the Supreme Court recently

interpreted the Section 9 of the Prohibition of

Child marriage Act? What is the importance of

the Act and the new interpretation?

GEOGRAPHY

Dallol geothermal field

Manifest pedagogy:

Dallol represents the region which is completely devoid of life. The physio-chemical conditions of such regions

could be asked at preliminary stage. Brief preparation of the above helps in answering Science &Tech

questions.

In news:

- Scientists recently discovered a place on earth which is devoid of any form of life.



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- Geothermal energy

Dimensions:

- Dallol Geothermal Field

- Geographical location

- Itsphysio-chemical properties

Content:

Geothermal energy is the heat derived within the

sub-surface of the earth. Water and/or steam carry

the geothermal energy to the Earth’s surface.

Dallol Geothermal Field:

• Scientists have discovered that hot, hyperacid

ponds of Dallol Geothermal Field in Ethiopia

and the nearby magnesium-filled salt pools

have no life.

• The conditions here are so extreme that even

microbes cannot adapt to survive.

• The importance of this finding is that it could

help us understand the limits of habitability of

life on Earth despite the presence of liquid

water.

• This place has extreme conditions of heat

(daily temperatures soar over 45 degrees

Celsius even in winters) and dryness that the

study experts have proposed it as a terrestrial

analogue of early Mars.

• It is also one of the lowest land points on

Earth which lies 410 feet below the mean sea

level.

Its geographical location:

• Dallol lies in the evaporitic plain of the

Danakil depression at the Afar Triangle.

• It lies in the prolongation of the Erta Ale

basaltic volcanic range.

• The intrusion of basaltic magma in the marine

sedimentary sequence of Danakil resulted in

the formation of a salt dome structure, where

the hydrothermal system is hosted.

• The wider area of Dallol is known as one of

the driest and hottest places on the planet.

• Other known hydrothermal features nearby

Dallol are Yellow and Black Lakes.

• Earlier findings had shown that

microorganisms cannot survive in the

magnesium-rich Black and Yellow lakes.

Physio-chemical properties of Dallol field:

• The hydrothermal springs of Dallol discharge

anoxic, hyper-acidic, hyper-saline (almost 10

times more saline than seawater), high

temperature brines that contain more than 26

g/L of iron.

• The pH scale measurements even reach

negative readings at times.

• The main gas phases emitted from the springs

are CO2, H2S, N2, SO2 and traces of H2, Ar,

and O2.

• The coexistence of such extreme

physicochemical characteristics has left Dallol

to be one of the very few ‘poly-extreme’ sites

on Earth.

• Parts of the region are nearly sterile, except

for a diverse array of "ultrasmall" archaea.

• In contrast to other hydrothermal systems

known for their colorful pools (e.g.

Yellowstone), where the colors are generated

by biological activity, the color palette of

Dallol is produced by the inorganic oxidation

of the abundant iron phases.

• It has a wide array of unusual mineral

patterns like salt-pillars, miniature geysers,

water-lilies, flower-like crystals, egg-shaped

crusts, and pearl-like spheres.

Mains:

1) What is the characteristic feature of Dallol

geothermal field? Why is it considered a poly-

extreme site on earth?


11

Bushfires of Australia Manifest pedagogy:

Bushfires are becoming more deadlier in recent times. Climate change induced by human activities is the cause

for greater instances of forest fires. The topic especially the ways of tackling it could be asked in mains.

In news:

- Australia is currently engulfed with smoke due to bushfires.


- Natural disasters

Dimensions:

- What is bushfires/forest fire?

- Causes for bushfires

- Climate change and bushfires

- Ways to tackle it

Content:

What is bushfires/forest fire?

• A forest fire/ bushfire is an unclosed freely

spreading combustion, which consumes the

natural fuels of a forest that consist of duff,

grass, weeds, brush and trees.

• It is a natural disaster and poses a threat to

the forest wealth, disturbs the biodiversity

and ecology of a region.

• Natural fires have been a disturbance of

several ecosystems throughout evolution thus

plants have adapted to this regime.

• Though man-made fires have also coexisted in

equilibrium with ecosystems for centuries, the

unmanaged fire caused by stakeholders, has

led to adverse consequences for the diversity

and structure of forests.

Incidents of forest fire in recent times

• El-Nino events and extensive forest fires of

Australia in 2010

• Forest fires of Uttarakhand and Himachal

Pradesh in 2016

• Forest fires of Western Ghats 2015 and 2017

• California forest fire of 2018

• Scandinavian forest fire in summers of 2018

• Amazon forest fire of 2019

• Australian bushfires, 2019-2020

Australian bushfires:

- The wildfires that Australia is experiencing

are a result of man-induced global warming.

- More than 5.25 million hectares (13 million

acres) of land has been burnt (more than

twice the area that burned in the Amazon

forest fire of August 2019).

- Australia saw the hottest and driest season in

2019 with the temperature reaching almost

50 degrees celsius in December.

- According to reports over 8,000 koalas, which

is approximately 30 percent of the total

population in mid-North Coast region have

been lost to fire.

- Over 480 million birds, animals and reptiles

have already been lost.

Causes for bushfires:

Natural Causes:

- Lightning which set trees on fire

- High atmospheric temperatures and dryness

(low humidity)

- In the dry season, friction leading to sparks by

rolling stones in the mountainous areas may

lead to forest fires

- In bamboo areas, forest fires may occur by the

rubbing together of clumps of dry bamboo.

- Volcanic eruptions

- The presence of El Nino conditions affecting

the monsoon movements

Man-made causes:

- Practice of shifting cultivation

- The use of fires by villagers to ward off wild

animals

- Forest fires are started by smugglers and

poachers to hide the stumps of illicit felling.

- Gatherers of various forest products start

small fires to obtain good grazing grass as well

as to facilitate gathering of minor forest

produce like flowers of Madhuca indica.

- Accidentally discarded cigarette butts

- Stubble burning - when these fires are not put

out completely, it may spread to the adjoining

forest areas.

Climate change and bushfires:

Bushfires are exacerbated by the effects of global

warming. The Climate Council, an independent,

community-funded climate organization, suggests


11

that drought conditions and record-breaking

temperatures have contributed to the fires'

unprecedented scale and intensity.

Longer bushfire seasons, drought, dried fuels and

soils and record-breaking heat increases the risk of

bushfires.

Australia experienced its hottest year on record in

2019, climbing 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the

average. These rising temperatures increase the risk

of bushfire and Australia is experiencing a

catastrophic fire danger for the first time ever.

Bushfires release carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas,

into the atmosphere which is exceptionally good at

trapping heat. In just three months, Australia's fires

are estimated to have released 350 million metric

tons of carbon dioxide. Experts opined that a century

or more will be needed to absorb the carbon dioxide

released.

The main climate driver behind the heat has been a

positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) - an event where

sea surface temperatures are warmer in the western

half of the ocean, cooler in the east. The difference

between the two temperatures is currently the

strongest in 60 years.

As a result, there has been higher-than-average

rainfall and floods in eastern Africa and droughts in

south-east Asia and Australia.

In addition to this, the bushfires in Australia are so

big that they are generating their own weather, in the

form of giant thunderstorms that might start more

fires.

Pyro-cumulonimbus clouds have developed to

altitudes over 16km and these fire-induced storms

can spread fires through lightning and generation of

severe wind outflows according to experts.

Ways to tackle it:

• By creating fire breaks by clearing a section of

trees around a town area.

• Removing the fuel of a bushfire from the town

area.

• Growing trees that are not so flammable.

• Ensure building codes and laws to make

houses more fire resistant.

• Ensure a good town emergency plan.

• Ensure there is a good local fire fighting force

that is well planned and prepared to fight any

on coming fires.

• Create watch towers during bushfire seasons.

• Track fires from satellites in space

Strategies followed based on fire intensity are:


12

• Smaller fires are fought directly, by

firefighters applying water to the flames,

either from the ground or the air.

• Fire intensity less than 800 kilowatts per

metre can be suppressed with hand tools with

water support as a direct attack.

• More intense fires of up to 2000 kilowatts per

metre can be suppressed directly by

machines, tankers and water bombers as a

direct attack.

• As the intensity increases indirect attack

methods are employed which include the use

of tracked machines to build wide fire breaks,

water bombers and fire itself.

• As intensities exceed the suppressible limit,

fire-fighting actions focus on the containment

of fire flanks and protecting lives and

property.

Another way to try and contain a fire is to

deliberately burn sections of the fuel in its path, so

that there’s no flammable material left to fuel it.

Mains:

1) What are bushfires? How is the climate

change and bushfires interrelated?

INDIAN POLITY

AFSPA extended in Nagaland

Manifest pedagogy:

AFSPA is an anomaly in the Indian Democratic and Constitutional set up. The special powers that armed forces

get, the criticisms against the violation of Human Rights are always in the public discourse. The issue is very

important for both Prelims and Mains.

In news:

- AFSPA has been extended in Nagaland for six months


- Law and order

Static dimensions:

- AFSPA provisions

- Process of declaring a Disturbed Area

- Criticisms

- Solutions

Current dimensions:

- What is the issue about?

Content:

• The entire state of Nagaland has been

declared a "disturbed area" for six more

months, till June, 2020, under the AFSPA.

• According to the Home Ministry notification

the decision was taken as killings, loot and

extortion was going on in various parts of the

state which necessitated the action for the

convenience of the security forces operating

there.

• The AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland for

decades.

• It has not been withdrawn even after a

framework agreement was signed on August

3, 2015 by Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM

general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and

government interlocutor R N Ravi in presence

of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• The framework agreement was a result of

over 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 18

years with the first breakthrough in 1997

when the ceasefire agreement was sealed.

AFSPA provisions:

• Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA),

1958 gives armed forces the power to

maintain public order in “disturbed areas”.


13

• The Act came into force in the context of

increasing violence in the Northeastern States

decades ago

Provisions:

• Any suspect can be arrested without a

warrant.

• Armed forces can search any house without

any warrant and required force can be used to

search for it.

• The armed forces have the authority to

prohibit gathering of five or more persons in

an area.

• The forces can open fire on the disturbing

factors after giving due warning if they found

any suspicious person.

• If a person is a repeated offender and tries to

disturb the peace of the area then armed

forces are entitled to use force till his death.

• If the Armed Forces suspect that any militant

or offender is hiding in any house/building

then the site or structure can be destroyed by

the forces.

• Any Vehicle can be stopped and searched.

• Even in the case of wrongful action by the

armed forces, legal action is not taken against

them.

As on January, 2019 AFSPA is operational in entire

States of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (except Imphal

Municipal area), three districts namely Changlang,

Tirap and Longding of Arunachal Pradesh and the

areas falling within the jurisdiction of the eight police

stations in the districts of Arunachal Pradesh,

bordering the State of Assam.

Process of declaring a Disturbed Area:

• A “disturbed area” is one which is declared by

notification under Section 3 of the AFSPA.

• As per Section 3, it can be invoked in places

where “the use of armed forces in aid of the

civil power is necessary”.

• An area can be disturbed due to differences or

disputes between members of different

religious, racial, language or regional groups

or castes or communities.

• The Central Government or the Governor of

the State or administrator of the Union

Territory can declare the whole or part of the

State or Union Territory as a disturbed area.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs would usually

enforce this Act where necessary, but there

have been exceptions where the Centre

decided to forego its power and leave the

decision to the State governments.

• Army and armed forces are sent in the area

only after the implementation of this law.

• As per the Section (3) of the AFSPA, it is

mandatory to seek the opinion of the state

government that whether an area is disturbed

or not.

• If an area is declared as the disturbed area, it

will be under the control of special forces for

at least 3 months.

Criticisms:

• The Act has been described as a draconian law

that encourages the Army to carry out human

rights violations with impunity.

• Section 4 empowers officers to “fire upon or

otherwise use force, even to the causing of

death” not only in cases of self-defence but

against any person contravening laws or

orders.

• Hence it is criticized for providing sanction to

soldiers for excessive use of force that is in

contravention to international norms.

• This section is also said to be in violation of

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

• Section 6 of the Act prohibits prosecution or

other legal proceedings without the sanction

of the central government.

• Hence it is argued that this provision gives

blanket immunity to soldiers.

• Many times the armed forces are blamed for

conducting fake encounters and sexually

exploiting women in the disturbed areas.

Solutions:

In 2012, the UN asked India to revoke AFSPA saying

it had no place in Indian democracy.

Santosh Hegde commission on Manipur encounter

deaths (2013):

• The probe showed that none of the victims

had any criminal records.

• The committee suggested fixing a time frame

of three months for the central government to

decide whether to prosecute security

personnel engaged in extrajudicial killings or

unruly behaviour in insurgency-hit regions.

• The commission also said the law needs to be

reviewed every six months to see whether its

implementation is actually necessary in states

where it is being enforced.


14

Justice Jeevan Reddy Commission (2005)

recommended to repeal AFSPA as "the Act is a symbol

of hate, oppression and instrument of high

handedness”.

Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)

in its fifth report on "Public Order”, recommended

repeal of AFSPA to remove sentiments of

discrimination and alienation among the people of the

North East India. It supported a new doctrine of

policing and criminal justice inherent in an inclusive

approach to governance.

Supreme Court in its judgements have told that any

encounter carried out by armed forces in the garb of

AFSPA should be subjected to thorough inquiry and it

does not matter whether the victim was a common

person or a militant or a terrorist.

The basic requirement of a democracy is the

preservation of the rule of law and the preservation of

individual liberties. So it is time for the government to

look at a new legislation that strengthens both respect

for human rights, as well as assures a protection to

the soldiers.

Mains:

1) How an area is declared as “disturbed” under

Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA),

1958? Why is the act often criticised?

Compulsory Renewal of OCI Manifest pedagogy:

Citizenship is an important and controversial issue in India today. It has a lot of Nuance and numerous clauses

and provisions and it is an issue which is continuously developing. In this context the issues like OCI and PIO

are beyond the scope of standard texts. This article covers the entire issue of OCI.

In news:

- Compulsory Renewal of OCI card goes


- Citizenship Act

Static dimensions:

- OCI and features

- OCI and PIO merge

Current dimensions:

-What is the issue?

Content:

OCI and features:

• The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)

Scheme was introduced by amending the

Citizenship Act, 1955 in August 2005.

• It was launched during the Pravasi

Bharatiya Divas convention 2006 at

Hyderabad.

• The Scheme provides for registration as OCI

of all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who

were

- citizens of India on 26th January, 1950 or

thereafter or

- were eligible to become citizens of India on

26th January, 1950 except who is or had

been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or

such other country as the Central

Government may specify.

Features:

• A registered OCI is granted multiple entry,

multi purpose, life-long visa for visiting

India.

• He/she is exempt from registration with

Foreign Regional Registration Officer for

any length of stay in India.

• He/she is entitled to general parity with

Non-Resident Indians in respect of all

facilities available to them in economic,

financial and educational fields except in

matters relating to the acquisition of

agricultural or plantation properties.

• He/she can also apply for a Permanent

Account Number (PAN) card.

• OCI is not to be misconstrued as 'dual

citizenship'.

• It does not confer political rights.

• The registered OCI shall not be entitled to

the rights conferred on a citizen of India

under article 16 of the Constitution.


15

• It is mandatory for registered OCIs to carry

their passports which carry the Universal

visa sticker for entry into/exit from India.

OCI and PIO merger:

• From January 9, 2015, the PIO card scheme

was merged with the OCI card scheme.

• The PIO and OCI schemes were merged to

maximize benefits and reduce immigration

procedures for non-resident Indians (NRIs)

visiting India.

• Now all PIO cardholders are deemed OCI

cardholders and anyone holding a PIO card

at the time of the PIO and OCI merger as a

result inherits the benefits and rights of the

OCI card scheme.

• This service was made available until

September 30, 2019 after which the PIO

card would be deemed invalid and traveling

without a valid OCI card is not advisable.

Benefits of PIO and OCI merger

• Existing PIO cardholders will be free from

various procedural requirements like

registration and reporting obligations.

• PIOs who wish to travel India can apply for

the OCI category and assume the benefits

that are available to the OCI.

• This will provide PIO Card Holders visa-free

travel to India, rights of residency and

participation in business and educational

activities in the country.

A total of 32,53,912 foreign nationals have been

registered as OCI cardholders and 4,14,906 OCI

cards have been issued in lieu of PIO cards till

March 2019.

What is the issue?

• The Union Home Ministry has relaxed the

provisions for OCI card holders that made it

compulsory for those aged above 50 and

below 20 to renew their cards on renewal of

their passports.

• The move was taken as several OCI card

holders were not able to travel to India due

to this issue and many were stopped by

airlines and immigration authorities at

various airports due to the mismatch.

• A recent order by Home Ministry has stated

that OCI card holder is required to re-

register each time a new passport is issued

until 20 years of age and once after 50 years

of age.

• However re-issuance of OCI registration is

not mandatory each time a new passport is

issued between the ages of 21 and 50.

• This requirement has been relaxed till 30th

June, 2020.

• The OCI cardholders should carry existing

OCI card along with old and new passport.

Mains:

1) What is Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)

scheme? What changes have been brought

about recently to benefit OCI card holders?

Guidelines to seek compensation of Damage Manifest pedagogy:

Right to free speech, assembly and the Right to strike are the issues in the public discourse. The provisions of

the Prevention of damage to Public Property Act and the legal route taken to get the damages recovered is

something which is important for UPSC mains as UPSC has gone into these kind of niche areas many a times.

In news:

- The Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to ask alleged vandals to pay damages or face the seizure of

their properties has been opposed.


- Fundamental rights

Dimensions:

- What did UP government do?

- How does UP government actions violate Supreme Court guidelines?

Content:

What did UP government do?

• After protests broke out across Uttar

Pradesh against the Citizenship Amendment

Act (CAA) in December, CM Yogi Adityanath


16

had declared that his government would

auction off the properties of protesters.

• So far the administrations of four different

districts have issued notices to over 130

people accused of rioting to pay up around

Rs 50 lakh in damages.

• The UP administration has also warned

residents that defaulting on the payment

would result in the attachment of their

properties.

• In Sambhal, several civil society leaders,

educationists and political workers have

been issued notices by the UP government

for the payment of Rs 15.35 lakh.

• This move has been criticised as civil

society leaders who happen to be Muslims

have been targeted and there is little or no

evidence of their involvement in the

destruction of public property.

• It is also alleged that many damages were

perpetrated by the police themselves.

How does UP government actions violate

Supreme Court guidelines?

Supreme Court in a similar issue of destruction of

public property had considered Justice K.T. Thomas

and Nariman committee reports and had suggested

to amend the Prevention of Damage to Public

Property Act (1984).

For the destruction of public property during a

riot, the Supreme Court had taken the view that

ultimately people who are instigators of such riots

should be taken into account and damages should

be recovered from them. Hence the confiscation of

property is normally after a criminal trial and there

cannot be any ipso facto confiscation.

But the UP government’s “stern intention” to

ensure that “every protester will cry out” have been

fulfilled at the cost of the legal process itself. Its

decision to ask alleged vandals, even before their

guilt has been proven, to pay damages or face the

seizure of their properties has been opposed as it

lacks any backing of the law.

Though there must be some penalties when

protests descend into violence, in UP’s case the

state is pitting itself against those who express

dissent. The law and order machinery has been

used as an agent of revenge.

Supreme Court allowed confiscation action

against instigators and not perpetrators. But recent

move in UP is unconstitutional and illegal as action

was taken without even a fair trial and confiscation

was done to curb dissent.

Mains:

1) How the Uttar Pradesh government’s recent

move to ask vandals to pay damages is

against Supreme Court guidelines on

Prevention of damage to Public Property

Act?

Cabinet committees

Manifest pedagogy:

The role of Cabinet Committees as an instrument to fast track governance reforms and thereby accelerating the

pace of economic development is not new. In light of this, the topic serves needs across domains such as polity,

governance and economy.

In news:

- The newly-formed Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth (CCIG) held its first meeting recently.


- Cabinet committees

Static dimensions:

- What is a cabinet committee?

Current dimensions:

- New cabinet committees under NDA2

- Need for new committees

Cabinet committees importance


17

Content:

What is a cabinet committee?

• Under the Government of India Transaction

of Business Rules (TBR), 1961 an executive

arm of the government was assigned the

task of conducting the business of it.

• These Rules emerge out of Article 77(3) of

the Constitution, which states: “The

President shall make rules for the more

convenient transaction of the business of the

Government of India, and for the allocation

among Ministers of the said business.”

• Thus Cabinet Committees are formed which

are instrumental in reducing the workload

of the Cabinet.

• These committees are extra-constitutional

in nature and are nowhere mentioned in the

Constitution.

• There are two types of cabinet

committees:

Standing Cabinet Committees which are

permanent in nature with a specific job. These are

specified in the First Schedule of TBR. The Cabinet

Ministers are called its ‘members’ while the people

without the rank of Cabinet Committee are called

‘special invitees’.

Ad hoc committees of ministers, including Groups

of Ministers (GoMs), may be appointed by the

Cabinet or by the Prime Minister for specific

matters. They are temporary in nature and are

formed from time to time.

• The Prime Minister constitutes Standing

Committees of the Cabinet and sets out the

specific functions assigned to them.

• He can add or reduce the number of

committees.

• The composition of a Cabinet Committee

varies from 3 to 8 people.

• Even Ministers who are not part of the

Cabinet can be added to a Cabinet

Committee.

• The members of the Cabinet Committee can

be from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya

Sabha.

New cabinet committee under NDA-2:

• PM in his first term had scrapped four

cabinet committees by a cabinet secretariat

order of June 26, 2014.

• During his 2nd term, PM has constituted

two new committees- Cabinet committee on

investment and committee on skill

development.

• Currently, there are eight Cabinet

committees.

• The PM is not a member of either the

committee on parliamentary affairs or

accommodation.

Need for new committees:

NDA2 has set an ambitious target of making India

a $5 trillion economy by the year 2025 and

committed to a capital investment of Rs 100 trillion

in the infra sector by 2024.

However, the GDP growth is slowing (4.5%),

which is a six-year low, as investment, exports and

consumption have declined in the country. Moody's

has put 2019-20 growth at 4.9 percent and the

Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates it at 5.1

per cent.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey of the NSSO has

shown that the unemployment rate in the country

was 5.3% in rural India and 7.8% in urban India,

resulting in an overall unemployment rate of 6.1%

during 2017-18

In addition, interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank

of India are not being adequately transmitted to

lending rates because of the credit squeeze caused

by a disruption in the non-bank financial sector.

Hence to address the challenges of slowing

economic growth and inadequate job creation, PM

constituted two Cabinet committees and both the

new committees will be chained by him.

Cabinet committees’ overview and their

importance:


18

• Cabinet committees are established to

reduce the workload of the Cabinet

Ministers.

• These committees facilitate deep

examination of the policy issue and effective

coordination.

• Such committees are based on the principle

of division of labour.

Overview:

Cabinet Committee on Appointments - This panel

makes appointments to the higher posts in the

government including the three service chiefs. It

decides on all important empanelments and shift of

officers serving on Central deputation

Accommodation: This Committee determines the

guidelines or rules with regard to the allotment of

government accommodation.

Economic Affairs: This committee is supposed to

review economic trends, problems and prospects

“for evolving a consistent and integrated economic

policy”, coordinate all activities requiring policy

decisions at the highest level, deal with fixation of

prices of agricultural produce and the prices of

essential commodities.

Parliamentary Affairs: This committee draws the

schedule for Parliament sessions and monitors the

progress of government business in Parliament. It

scrutinises non-government business and decides

which official Bills and resolutions are to be

presented.

Political Affairs: This committee addresses

problems related to Centre-state relations. It also

examines the economic and political issues that

require a wider perspective but have no internal or

external security implications.

Security: It deals with issues relating to law and

order, internal security and policy matters

concerning foreign affairs with internal or external

security implications. It also goes into economic

and political issues related to national security.

Investment and growth: It will “identify key

projects required to be implemented on a time-

bound basis”, involving investments of Rs 1,000

crore or more or any other critical projects, with

regard to infrastructure and manufacturing.

It will prescribe time limits for giving requisite

approvals and clearances by the ministries

concerned in identified sectors. It will also monitor

the progress of such projects.

Employment and skill development: It is supposed

to provide “direction to all policies, programmes,

schemes and initiatives for skill development aimed

at increasing the employability of the workforce

and mapping the benefits of demographic

dividend”.

The panel will set targets for expeditious

implementation of all skill development initiatives

by the ministries and to periodically review the

progress in this regard.

Mains:

1) Explain the importance of cabinet

committees. Why are the new cabinet

committees constituted

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, ISSUES & INSTITUTION

Kalapani issue

Manifest pedagogy:

India and Nepal are historical friends with common culture and interests. But in recent decades with the fall of

the Monarchy in Nepal and emergence of communists and other forces the relations have been a little rough. In

the context of China's overbearing attitude in Indian neighbourhood we need to resolve all the issues amicably

with our neighbours. In this context we need to concentrate upon some of the important issues like the

Kalapani Issue.


19

In news:

- India, Nepal to hold talks on Kalapani issue


- India-Nepal relations

Static dimensions:

- Kalapani historical aspects of conflict

- Agreements signed to solve the issue

Current dimensions:

- Why is the conflict lingering?

- Solutions

Content:

Kalapani historical aspects of conflict:

• In 1816, the East India Company and Nepal

signed the Treaty of Sagauli under the

conclusion of the Anglo-Nepalese War and

Nepalese territories including Darjeeling

were handed over to the British East India

Company as concessions.

• The treaty defined river Mahakali as the

western border of Nepal.

• Several tributaries of River Mahakali merge

at Kalapani.

• India claims that the river begins in

Kalapani as this is where all its tributaries

merge.

• But Nepal claims that the river begins from

Lipulekh Pass, the origin of most of its

tributaries.

• Hence Nepal has laid claim to all areas east

of the Lipu Gad — the rivulet that joins the

river Kali on its border.

• According to Nepal, the Kalapani area was

included in the Census of Nepal until 58

years ago.

• According to some sources, the late

Nepalese King Mahendra had “handed over

the territory” to India in 1962 in the wake

of the India-China war.

• Nepal has claimed that India had occupied

an additional 62 sq km land.

• However a map of 1879 shows Kalapani as

part of British India and India on its part

has presented administrative and tax

records dating back to 1830s to back its

claims.

• Nepal has also raised concern over Lipulekh

Pass, which has been made a trading tri-

junction route between India and China,

reportedly without Nepal’s consent, since

2015.

• However the Indian side claims that

Lipulekh pass has been referred to as a

border trading point since 1954.

Though in 1981, a Joint Technical Boundary

Committee was formed, no final settlement could

be reached. In 2014, joint commission meeting was

led by the foreign ministers. In 2016, an Eminent

Persons Group was formed to look into several

bilateral issues.

Why is the conflict lingering:

• As the Indian government released the new

map of India on November 2, 2019,

following the reorganization of Jammu and

Kashmir, the bone of contention now is a

35-square km area within Uttarakhand.

• Nepal claims that the Limpiyadhura,

Lipulekh and Kalapani areas shown in

India's maps lie within its territory.


20

• Nepal's Supreme court has ordered the

government to submit the original map

exchanged with India during the signing of

the Sugauli treaty in 1816.

• It has also asked the authorities to furnish

other official maps either exchanged with

various countries or with international

organisations including the United Nations.

• It has directed to submit the original map

exchanged while signing a Boundary Treaty

with India in 1960, the map published by

the East-India Company on February 1,

1827 and a separate map published by the

British Government in 1847.

• However India has rejected allegations and

has said that the map accurately depicts the

sovereign territory of India and has in no

manner revised its boundary with Nepal.

• With Kalapani dispute, the Susta territorial

dispute has arisen as a result of the shifting

of the course of the Gandak river.

• The Treaty of Sagauli defined Gandak as the

international boundary between India and

Nepal and at that time Susta was on the

right bank of the river Gandak which falls in

Nepal territorial control.

• But, in due course of time, the river has

changed its course and Susta now falls on

the left bank of the Gandak, which is

controlled by India.

Importance of Kalapani

The 35-square kilometre region plays a strategic

role in this tug-of-war. Kalapani is a trijunction

meeting point of India, Tibet and Nepal borders.

Since 1962, it has been manned by the Indo-Tibetan

Border Police (ITBP).

Lipulekh Pass in Kalapani serves as an important

vantage point for India to keep an eye on Chinese

movements. India’s surveillance of Chinese

movements are aided by the height of the Lipulekh

pass.

Solutions:

The latest maps have nothing to do with Nepal and

were published to reflect the recent bifurcation of

the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). According to

There is no change in the depiction of India-Nepal

boundary.

Though in the past, Nepal had claimed territory in

the Kalapani area and Susta (in Uttar Pradesh) as

its own, both sides had agreed that these

differences should be resolved through friendly

negotiations and their foreign secretaries were

mandated to undertake this exercise.

In recent years, Nepal has blamed India for

interfering in its internal matters. The relationship

deteriorated considerably after the unofficial 135-

days trade blockade of Nepal in 2015.

Despite this, India still enjoys great leverage with

Nepal. India is Nepal’s largest trading partner and

the two countries are culturally intertwined. In the

past, India has played a considerable role in

maintaining stability and development in Nepal

Since the free movement of people is permitted

across the border, Nepal enjoys immense strategic


21

relevance from India’s national security point of

view. Therefore, stable and friendly relations with

Nepal is one of prerequisites which India can’t

afford to overlook.

Nepal has proposed foreign secretary-level talks

with India in mid-January on the boundary issue. It

is therefore imperative to resolve the issue by

peaceful negotiations which will be a win-win

situation for both the countries.

The existing bilateral treaties between India and

Nepal have not taken the shifting of Himalayan

rivers into consideration. Hence both nations

should try to resolve the dispute by taking into

account all shared environmental characteristics.

Mains:

1) What are the historical aspects of Kalapani

dispute? How is it disturbing the India-

Nepal relations now?

INDIAN ECONOMY

Sustainable Development Goals Index

Manifest pedagogy:

Sustainable Development Goals are an important tool to gauge performance of India vis a vis other countries.

This is also important considering the agenda for sustainable and more inclusive growth in India. It is a

keystone in the socio economic development agenda in the post reform period with MDG’s forming its

backbone.

In news:

- Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and rank list has been released


- Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Static dimensions:

- SDGs

- Timeline

Current dimensions:


36

- SDG rankings

- Role of niti aayog

- India and SDGs

Content:

SDGs:

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) define

global sustainable development priorities and

aspirations for 2030 and seek to mobilize global

efforts around a common set of goals and targets.

They call for worldwide action among governments,

business and civil society to end poverty and create a

life of dignity and opportunity for all. The SDGs

succeeded Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The 17 SDGs are:

• End poverty in all its forms everywhere

• End hunger, achieve food security and

improved nutrition, and promote sustainable

agriculture

• Good Health and Well-being

• Quality Education

• Gender Equality

• Clean Water and Sanitation

• Affordable and Clean Energy

• Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• Reducing Inequality

• Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Responsible Consumption and Production

• Climate Action

• Life Below Water

• Life On Land

• Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

• Global partnership for sustainable

development

Establishing SDGs was an outcome of the Rio+20

summit held in 2012.

Timeline:

• In June 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil, more than 178 countries

adopted Agenda 21, a comprehensive plan of

action to build a global partnership for

sustainable development.

• In September 2000 in New York, member

states unanimously adopted the Millennium

Declaration and eight Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted to

reduce extreme poverty by 2015.

• At the United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012, Member States

adopted the outcome document "The Future

We Want".

Rio+20:

• The United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development (UNCSD), also known as Rio

2012/ Rio+20/Earth Summit 2012 was the

third international conference on sustainable

development aimed at reconciling the

economic and environmental goals of the

global community.

• Hosted by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, Rio+20 was

a 20-year follow-up to the 1992 United

Nations Conference on Environment and

Development (UNCED) and the 10th

anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on

Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in

Johannesburg.

• They decided to launch a process to develop a

set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

to build upon the MDGs and to establish the

UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable

Development.

• The UN Sustainable Development Solutions

Network (SDSN) was set up in 2012 which

mobilizes global scientific and technological

expertise to promote practical solutions for

sustainable development and the

implementation of SDGs.

• In January 2015, the General Assembly began

the negotiation process on the post-2015

development agenda.

• The process culminated in the subsequent

adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development, with 17 SDGs at its core, at the

UN Sustainable Development Summit in

September 2015

SDG rankings:

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network

(SDSN) and Bertelsmann Stiftung have published the

Sustainable Development Report 2019.

The SDR 2019 has generated seven major findings:

1. High-level political commitment to the SDGs is

falling short of historic promises.

2. SDG implementation can be organized along

the following transformations: 1) Education,


22

Gender, and Inequality; 2) Health, Wellbeing,

and Demography; 3) Energy Decarbonization

and Sustainable Industry; 4) Sustainable Food,

Land, Water, Oceans; 5) Sustainable Cities and

Communities; 6) Digital Revolution for

Sustainable Development.

3. Trends on climate (SDG 13) and biodiversity

(SDG 14 and SDG 15) are alarming.

4. Sustainable land-use and healthy diets require

integrated agriculture, climate and health

policy interventions.

5. High-income countries are generating high

environmental and socio-economic spillover

effects

6. Human rights and freedom of speech are in

danger in numerous countries.

7. Eradicating poverty and strengthening equity

remain important policy priorities.

Top scorers in SDG Index: Denmark (85.2), Sweden

(85)

Bottom scorers: Central African Republic (CAR), Chad

India is ranked 115 with score 61.1.

Role of NITI aayog:

• India is committed to achieve the 17 SDGs and

the 169 associated targets, which

comprehensively cover social, economic and

environmental dimensions of development.

• At the Central Government level, NITI Aayog

has been assigned the role of overseeing the

implementation of SDGs in the country.

• NITI Aayog has organized several national and

regional level consultations to bring together

stakeholders and build capacities for the

realization of SDGs.

• The NITI Aayog releases the Baseline Report

of the SDG India Index, which

comprehensively documents the progress

made by India’s States and Union Territories

towards implementing the 2030 SDG targets.

• It has constructed the SDG India Index

spanning across 13 out of 17 SDGs (leaving

out Goals 12, 13, 14 and 17).

• The Index tracks the progress on a set of

National Indicators, measuring their progress

on the outcomes of the interventions and

schemes of the Government of India.

India and SDGs:

NITI Aayog recently released the SDG India Index,

2019. It has given India a composite score of 60

points, (was 57 in 2018) mainly for progress in clean

energy and sanitation (88), peace, justice and strong

institutions (72) and affordable and clean energy

(70).

Out of 232 indicators developed by the UN to

measure compliance on the part of member nations

Niti Aayog has adapted its monitoring approach to a

set of 100 indicators.

Highlights:

• Kerala has topped the chart with a score of 70.

• Himachal Pradesh has taken the second spot

while Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and

Telangana have shared the third spot.

• Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are

the worst performing states.

• Among UTs Chandigarh maintained its top

spot with a score of 70.

• In 2018, three states - Himachal Pradesh,

Kerala and Tamil Nadu were placed in the

category of Front Runners (with a score in the

range 65-99). In 2019, five more states have

joined this league – Andhra Pradesh,

Telangana, Karnataka, Sikkim and Goa (in

total eight).

• With regard to poverty reduction, states

which have done well include Tamil Nadu,

Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya,

Mizoram and Sikkim.

• On ‘zero hunger’ parameters, Goa, Mizoram,

Kerala, Nagaland and Manipur were the front

runners.

• Ending hunger and achieving gender equality

are the areas where most states fall far short

and all-India scores for these goals are 35 and

42 points respectively.

• On levels of hunger and nutrition, 22 of the

states and UTs have scored below 50, with the

central Indian states of Jharkhand, Madhya

Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh scoring

below 30.


23

• On gender equality, almost all states have

fared poorly except Jammu and Kashmir,

Himachal Pradesh and Kerala who have

managed to cross 50 points.

• Related to clean water and sanitation SDG all

states and union territories except for Delhi

have scored above 65.

Mains: 1) Explain the role of NITI aayog in achieving

Sustainable Development goals (SDGs). How

have the Indian states performed in SDG India

Index, 2019?

National Infrastructure pipeline (NIP) Manifest pedagogy:

Infrastructure spending has been a driver of economic growth. The vision of spending 105 lakh crores in the

coming years required better policy and implementation procedures and thus a need was felt to get National

priorities in terms of the National Infrastructure Pipeline.

In news:

- Roadmap for National Infrastructure Pipeline has been released by the government.


- Infrastructure

Static dimensions:

- Infrastructure spending in india

- Highlights about important sectors

Current dimensions:

- National Infrastructure Pipeline

- $5 trillion economy

Content:

NITI Aayog has designed ‘The Ease of living Index’

comprising 37 measurable indicators, which takes

into consideration the UN 2030 Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs). In order to meet the

growth aspirations and provide improved standard of

living, the infrastructure investments should be

increased.

Infrastructure spending in india:

Infrastructure sector is a key driver for the Indian

economy which is highly responsible for propelling

India’s overall development. Infrastructure sector

includes power, bridges, dams, roads and urban

infrastructure development.

In 2018, India ranked 44th out of 167 countries in

World Bank's Logistics Performance Index (LPI). It is

currently ranked 70 out of 140 for infrastructure

quality in World economic forum’s Global

Competitiveness Index.

India is expected to become the third largest

construction market globally by 2022. FDI received in

Construction Development sector (townships,

housing, built up infrastructure) from April 2000 to

March 2019 stood at US$ 25.05 billion.

India has a requirement of investment worth Rs 50

trillion in infrastructure by 2022 to have sustainable

development in the country. The Government of India

has allocated Rs. 4.56 lakh crore for the infra sector in

Union Budget 2019-20.

Constraints faced by infrastructure sector:

• availability of funds for financing large

projects,

• lengthy processes in land acquisition and

payment of compensation,

• environmental concerns, time and cost

overruns due to delays in project

implementation,

• procedural delays and lesser traffic growth

than expected increasing the riskiness of the


25

projects,

• Stalled or languishing projects and shortfall in

funds for maintenance.

Overcoming the deficiencies in infrastructure and

improving the quality of services provided in both

urban and rural areas in India will help in realising

the full potential of the growing urban economy thus

raising its contribution to India’s GDP.

National Infrastructure Pipeline (105 lakh crore

plan):

• Honourable PM Narendra Modi in his

Independence Day speech 2019, had said that

Rs.100 lakh crore would be invested on

infrastructure over the next 5 years.

• A task force headed by Economic Affairs

Secretary was set up by the Finance ministry

to prepare a roadmap for the "National

Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)" from 2019-20

to 2024-25 to form Rs.105 lakh crores plan.

• The task force has identified Rs 102 lakh crore

of projects.

• Another Rs.3 lakh crore of projects are likely

to be added in the NIP by the states.

• The Centre and states' contribution to the NIP

would be 39 percent each as well as 22 per

cent by the private sector which is expected to

increase to 30% by 2025.

• Sectors such as power, railways, urban,

irrigation, mobility, education, digital and

health sectors form the bulk of the proposed

projects.

• This is the first time that an infra pipeline has

been proposed and NIP helps making India a

$5 trillion economy by 2025.

• Reform suggestions by various working

groups under the infrastructure task force

including reforming the PPP based contracts,

enforcement of contracts and dispute

resolution process will be considered.

Highlights about the sectors:

Energy:

• This sector will get about 24 per cent of the

total investments.

• India aims to take the current installed power

capacity of 356 GW to 619 GW.

• The share of thermal installations is expected

to go down from 66 per cent to 50 percent.

Roads:

• 19 percent of the investments will be

channelised to this sector.

• The target is to add 50 percent total length to

the existing National Highways, with 12x

more Expressways constructed.

• The ownership of roads will tilt in favour of

asset aggregators and financial investors as

opposed to the public authorities today.

Urban and Housing:

• About 16 percent of the NIP investments will

go towards improving urban infrastructure

and running housing programmes.

• The government aims to cover 100 percent

urban and rural households with piped water

supply.

• 100 percent of all municipal waste is expected

to be treated.

• More than 25 cities will get operational metro

projects.

• Affordable housing projects will continue to

remain in focus.

Railways:

• This sector gets 14 percent of the total

investment outlay.

• The vision for Railways includes healthy

private sector participation with targets of 30

percent net cargo volumes, 500 private

passenger trains and 30 percent of 750

stations privatised.


26

• The two dedicated freight corridors (DFCs)

will be fully operational, while the

construction of East-West, North-South, East

Coast, and South-West DFCs will be underway.

• Railways also expects to electrify 100 percent

of its network.

Irrigation:

• This sector will get about 8 percent of the total

investment outlay.

• The target is to bring 61 percent of India’s

cultivable land under irrigation from the

current 49 per cent.

• Higher investments will be earmarked

towards drip and sprinkler irrigation.

Other sectors include:

Ports:

Airports:

Digital infrastructure:

$5 trillion economy:

• The path to a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25

has been laid down in the recently released

NIP report.

• GDP by the end of 2024-25 has been projected

to be around Rs 365.5 lakh crore ($5.15

trillion).

• GDP is expected to grow at an average

nominal rate of 12.2% over the next five years

to 2024-25.

• Even considering 4.5% inflation, the

government is expecting the GDP growth rate

to be around 6% in the next financial year,

touching 8.5% in 2024-25.

• However economists and analysts have raised

doubts over the target.


27

Path to $5-trillion economy

Though the NIP brings about an overarching vision

to infrastructure development in India, its success will

depend on a plethora of factors including

administrative reforms, financial success, judicial

reforms and intervention and general governance

reforms. Hence the states and the central government

should work in tandem to achieve the NIP targets.

Mains:

1) Explain the importance of National

Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) in achieving the

envisaged $5 trillion Indian economy by 2025.

Restructuring railway board

Manifest pedagogy:

Indian Railway and its legacy are both historic and contemporary in nature. In light of new initiatives,

disruptions in logistics and aspirations of the nation at large it was imperative to bring in operational changes.

The restructuring of the Railway board is one such transformative paradigm.( The restructuring gained traction

after the train 18 controversy

In news:

- Union Cabinet has approved restructuring of Railway Board


- Railways reforms (explicitly mentioned)

Static dimensions:

- Merger of railway budget

- Committees on railways

Current dimensions:

- Restructured railway board

- Merger of cadres

- IRMS

Content:

Merger of railway budget:

• On 21 September 2016, Government of India

approved the merger of the Railway Budget

with the Union budget of India.

• The committee headed by economist and NITI

Aayog member Bibek Debroy had

recommended that the British-era practise

should be phased out.

• The decision of merger was taken keeping in

mind the long-term interest of both the

railways and the country’s economy.

• On 25th February 2016, Suresh Prabhu

became the last railway minister to present a

separate Railway Budget in the parliament.

• On 1st February 2017, Arun Jaitley became

the first Finance Minister to present a

combined railway and general budget.

Reasons for Merger as per committee report:

- As the size of the Railway Budget had

shrunken when compared to the overall

general budget, presenting it separately was

not required.

- India was the only country in the world with a

separate Railway Budget.

- Railway Budget is not a legal or constitutional

requirement like the Union Budget.

- Over the years the spending of other

ministries such as defence, road transport,

petroleum and natural gas had overtaken the

spending of Indian Railways, even though

these ministries functioned without a separate

budget.

- It was used as a political tool and decisions on

new trains, routes, fare hikes were getting

influenced because of political considerations.

Committees on railways (safety, modernisation,

restructuring):


28

On safety (Dr Anil Kakodkar committee):

• There should be an independent body like

Railway Safety Authority.

• A robust and powerful Safety Architecture

should be there to have a safety oversight on

the operational mode of Railways.

• Elimination of both manned and unmanned

level crossings within the next five years.

• Monitoring of all the bridges in terms of

scientific measurements of

deflections/displacements, water level and

flow velocity on a continuous basis.

• An advanced signalling system should be

there based on continuous track circuiting and

cab signalling similar to European train

control system.

On modernisation (Sam Pitroda committee):

• Modernisation of 19,000 km of existing tracks

• Strengthening of 11,250 bridges to sustain

higher load at higher speed

• Eliminating all level crossings

• Implementation of automatic block signalling

on major routes

• GSM-based mobile train control

communication system

• Stress on complete upgradation of railway’s

communication system

• New generation locomotives

• Train sets for high speed intercity travel

• Green toilets on all passenger trains

• Modernisation of 100 major stations

• Real time information system and internet

facility at 342 railway stations

• Development of public private partnership

(PPP) models and policies in various areas of

railways to attract private investment

• High speed railway lines

• Elevated rail corridor

• Railways should venture into captive power

generation through the PPP route

On restructuring (Bibek Debroy):

• Establishment of Railway Regulatory

Authority of India (RRAI)

• Transition to commercial accounting

• Streamline recruitment & HR processes

• Decentralisation

• All the existing production units should be

placed under a government SPV known as the

Indian Railway Manufacturing Company

(IRMC).

• Encouraging private entry

• Railway restructuring

• Joint Venture with State governments

Restructured Railway board:

• The Union Cabinet has approved the

downsizing of the strength of the Railway

Board from eight to five, including the

chairman, who will be the chief executive

officer (CEO).

• There will be four other members, in charge of

infrastructure, rolling stock, finance and

operations, and business development.

• There will be some “outside talent",

independent members, comprising experts

helping the Board to set a “strategic

direction".

• The chairman will be the cadre controlling

officer responsible for human resources (HR)

with assistance from a DG (HR).

• All the remaining posts of the Railway Board

shall be open to all officers regardless of the

service to which they belong, thus ensuring

equal opportunity for all.

• The Indian Railway Medical Service (IRMS)

will be renamed the Indian Railway Health

Service (IRHS).

Impact of restructuring:

- It will ensure end of departmentalism and

promote smooth operations and expedite

decision-making.

- It will lead to end of turf wars among the

different cadres and departments which was

harming railway operations.

- Restructuring has set the path for Indian

Railways to move on a very high-growth

trajectory as it would be a unified

organisation that will work single-mindedly.

- This will end the culture of working in ‘silos’

and mark the beginning of a new and unified

railway with a coherent vision for the future.

Merger of cadres:

• Cabinet has approved the merger of eight

‘Group A’ services into one central service

called the Indian Railway Management Service

(IRMS).

• Currently, the Indian Railways is organised

into departments such as traffic, civil,


29

mechanical, electrical, signal & telecom,

stores, personnel, and accounts.

• These departments are vertically separated

and are each headed by a secretary-level

officer (member) in the Railway Board.

• Unification of services will streamline

operations and provide flexibility in how they

deploy people.

• The decision to merge the services is to

ensure that officers put railways first instead

of their service.

• The Railways will have just two departments -

Railway Protection Force and Medical Service

Department.

• All other departments will come under one

Railway Management System.

IRMS:

• The creation of the IRMS will be done in

consultation with the department of

personnel and training (DoPT) and Union

Public Service Commission (UPSC) to facilitate

recruitment.

• Unification of eight existing services of Indian

Railways for IRMS will be done at all levels.

• However, modalities for unification and

assignment of inter se seniority will be

decided by Alternative Mechanism.

• Ministry of Railways and DoPT will together

work out the necessary formula before it is

taken up by Alternative Mechanism.

• Officers of IRMS only will be eligible to

become the Functional Members and

Chairman/CEO of Railway Board.

• All new recruits in railways will be inducted

through the UPSC civil services exams.

• The candidates aspiring to get into railways

will have to appear for their prelims after

which they will indicate their preference for

IRMS under five specialities.

• The first batch will be recruited in 2021.

Mains: 1) What are the new features of restructured

Railway board? What impact does this

restructuring have on working of Railways?

UPI and Rupay

Manifest pedagogy:

The transformation towards a less cash economy along with possible downstream benefits of using electronic

payments in terms of Fastag, broadening of tax collections and operational efficiency, the innovation made

through UPI/RUPAY have been a step in the right direction. India has been able to establish itself in the fintech

sector and beyond with these initiatives.

In news:

- With a view to promote digital payments, no MDR charges will be applicable on Rupay and UPI from Jan

1, 2020.


- Cashless economy

Static dimensions:

- Digital payments

- Demonetization

Current dimensions:

- MDR

MDR rules for UPI, rupay

Content:

Digital payments:

• “Faceless, Paperless, Cashless” is one of

professed role of Digital India.

• As part of promoting cashless transactions

and converting India into less-cash society,

various modes of digital payments are

available.

• These modes are: Banking Cards, USSD,

Aadhar Card, AEPS, UPI, Mobile Wallets, Banks

Prepaid Cards, Point of Sale (PoS), Internet

Banking, Mobile Banking, Micro ATMs.


31

The Reserve Bank of India has forecast an outcome

of 50 per cent increase in mobile-based payment

transactions as per its '2021 vision document’.

According to global advisory KPMG, digital

payments in India are witnessing thriving growth

with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7

per cent in the number of non-cash transactions.

One of the key factors which played a

transformational role and democratised mobile

payments in India was the role played by wallet

players. Another factor that has led to the next wave

in mobile payments is the Unified Payments Interface

(UPI)-based real time payments.

Some factors such as inter-operability and

possibility of origination across different platforms

such as mobile wallets, are further fuelling the growth

of UPI transactions. The volume of UPI transactions

have increased at a CAGR of 246 per cent during the

period from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

Demonetization:

• Demonetization is a process of stripping a

currency unit of its status as a legal tender.

• Once demonetized, the currency unit will no

longer be valid as legal currency.

• Usually, a new currency replaces the old

currency unit/s.

• In 1946, the Reserve Bank of India had

demonetized Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 10,000

currency notes which were then under

circulation.

• In 1954, the Government introduced new

currency notes of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 5,000, and

Rs. 10,000 which were demonetized in

1978.

• On November 8, 2016, honourable PM

Narendra Modi announced the

demonetization of the currency notes of Rs.

500 and Rs, 1,000.

Benefits:

- It will help formalize India’s informal

economy and help in the creation of a less-

cash economy.

- It will plug financing to terrorists.

- It will help unearth black money.

- Will expand the fiscal space of the

government.

- It will help in increasing savings.

- It will help in reducing interest rates in the

banking system.

- Reduce counterfeit currency notes.

Merchant Discount rate (MDR):

- MDR is a fee charged from a merchant by a

bank for accepting payments from customers

through credit and debit cards in their

establishments.

- MDR compensates the card issuing bank, the

lender which puts the PoS terminal and

payment gateways such as Mastercard or Visa

for their services.

- MDR charges are usually shared in pre-agreed

proportion between the bank and a merchant

and is expressed in percentage of transaction

amount.

- Since 1 January, 2019 small merchants pay a

maximum MDR of 0.4% of bill value and larger

merchants pay 0.9%.

MDR rules for UPI and Rupay:

• In order to promote digital payments, no MDR

charges will be applicable on transactions

through RuPay and UPI platforms from

January 1, 2020.

• RuPay and UPI will be notified soon as the

prescribed mode of payment for digital

transactions without any MDR by the

Department of Revenue (DoR).

• The business establishments with annual

turnover of Rs 50 crore or more shall offer

such low-cost digital modes of payment to

their customers and no charges shall be

imposed on customers as well as merchants.

• Now indigenously developed digital payment

medium like RuPay and BHIM UPI will have

edge over the payment gateway promoted by

foreign companies.

• RBI and banks will absorb these costs from

the savings that will accrue to them on

account of handling less cash.

• Two laws- Income Tax Act and the Payments

and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 have

already been amended to give effect to these

provisions.

Criticisms:

• According to the Payments Council of India,

there will be a significant negative impact on

the payment ecosystem - innovation, job

losses and a slowdown in the expansion of the

digital payments.


32

• If there is zero revenue to be made from the

over 500 million-plus active RuPay debit

cards, service providers will start

withdrawing PoS terminals to cut their losses.

• Multinational electronic payment companies

such as Visa and Mastercard are likely to face

losses.

• The move could affect credit card companies

in the long run as more people will be

influenced to make payment through cheap

UPI platforms.

Mains: 1) What do you understand by Merchant

discount rate (MDR)? What are the recent

measures taken by the government to

promote digital payments?

SCIENCE AND TECHOLOGY

Sir Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman (C.V. Raman) • Raman was an Indian physicist who carried

out ground-breaking work in the field of light

scattering.

• He was born on 7th November 1888 in

Trichinopoly, Tamil Nadu.

• Because of his father's interest, he appeared

for the Financial Civil Services (FCS)

examination and topped it.

• In 1907, he went to Calcutta and joined as

Assistant Accountant General.

• Meanwhile he conducted research at the

Indian Association for the Cultivation of

Sciences on the areas of vibrations and

acoustics.

• He got an opportunity to join the University of

Calcutta in 1917, as the first Palit Professor of

Physics.

• He held the position of permanent visiting

professor at BHU.

• On 28 February 1928, Raman led an

experiment with K. S. Krishnan, on the

scattering of light, when he discovered what is

called the Raman effect.

• It gave further proof of the quantum nature of

light.

• The field of Raman spectroscopy came to be

based on this phenomenon and Ernest

Rutherford referred to it in his presidential

address to the Royal Society in 1929.

• Raman was president of the 16th session of

the Indian Science Congress in 1929.

• He won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics "for

his work on the scattering of light and for the

discovery of the Raman effect".

• He was the first Asian and first non-white to

receive any Nobel Prize in the sciences.

• In 1933, Venkatraman became the first Indian

director of the Indian Institute of Science

(IISc).

• In 1943, he started a company called

Travancore Chemical and Manufacturing Co.

Ltd. (now known as TCM Limited) which

manufactured potassium chlorate for the

match industry.

• In 1947, he was appointed as the first National

Professor by the new government of

Independent India.

• Raman retired from the IISC in 1948 and

established the Raman Research Institute in

Bangalore in 1949.

• He served as its director and remained active

there until his death in 1970.

His works:

Raman Effect:

Raman conducted research about light scattering in

gases, liquids and solids. He and his team used

monochromatic light – sunlight that had been filtered

to leave only a single color – and found that a variety

of different liquids indeed changed the color of the

light. They first observed this in April 1923, but very

weakly.

When light meets particles that are smaller than the

light's wavelength, the light spreads in different

directions. This occurs when photons encounter

molecules in a gas. In 1928 C.V.Raman discovered that

a small portion of the scattered light acquires other

wavelengths than that of the original light.


32

This is because some of the incoming photons' energy

can be transferred to a molecule, giving it a higher

level of energy. His team experimented to find a

particularly strong color change in light scattered by

glycerol. They observed the effect in gases, crystals

and glass. In Raman’s work the light scattered by

liquids was polarized, which ruled out the possibility

of fluorescence.

This phenomenon which came to be known as the

Raman effect – a color change accompanied by

polarization, had never been seen before. The

inelastic scattering was a very strong confirmation of

quantum theory.

(A) Blue light approaches a molecule, and then (B)

Lower energy green light leaves the molecule.

This is inelastic scattering, i.e. the light has given

some of its energy to the molecule, causing it to

vibrate more strongly. Only about 1 in ten million

photons undergoes inelastic scattering.

Raman Spectroscopy (1929)

Raman showed that the energy of photons scattered

inelastically serves as a ‘fingerprint’ for the substance

the light is scattered from. Raman spectroscopy is

now commonly used in chemical laboratories all over

the world to identify substances. It is also used in

medicine to investigate living cells and tissues, even

detecting cancers without causing harm. Laser light

rather than sunlight is used as the source of photons.

Work on acoustics

Raman worked on the acoustics of musical

instruments. He worked out the theory of transverse

vibration of bowed strings, on the basis of

superposition of velocities. He was also the first to

investigate the harmonic nature of the sound of

Indian drums such as the tabla and mridangam. He

also investigated the propagation of sound in

whispering galleries.

Raman-Nath theory

Raman and his student, Nagendra Nath, provided the

correct theoretical explanation for the acousto-optic

effect (light scattering by sound waves), in a series of

articles. Modulators, and switching systems based on

this effect have enabled optical communication

components based on laser systems.

Other investigations carried out by Raman were

experimental and theoretical studies on the

diffraction of light by acoustic waves of ultrasonic and

hypersonic frequencies (published b/n 1934–1942)

and those on the effects produced by X-rays on

infrared vibrations in crystals exposed to ordinary

light.

Honours:

• India celebrates National Science Day on 28

February of every year to commemorate the

discovery of the Raman effect in 1928.

• He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in

1924.

• He was knighted in 1929 for his discovery of

the Raman Effect, becoming Sir

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman.

• In 1930 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

• In 1941 he was awarded the Franklin Medal.

• In 1954 he was awarded the Bharat Ratna.

• He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in

1957.

• He resigned from the Fellowship of the Royal

Society in 1968 for unrecorded reasons, the

only Indian FRS ever to do so.

• The American Chemical Society and the Indian

Association for the Cultivation of Science in

1998 recognised Raman's discovery as an

International Historic Chemical Landmark.

• Postal stamps featuring Raman were issued in

1971 and 2009.

Har Gobind Khorana

• Har Gobind Khorana was a world renowned

biochemist famous for his work in the field of

genetics and DNA.

• He was the first person to demonstrate the

role of nucleotides in protein synthesis.

• H. G. Khorana was born in Punjab (now part of

eastern Pakistan) in January, 1922.

• He studied at the Punjab University in Lahore

where he obtained an M. Sc. degree.


34

• In 1945 he was awarded a scholarship by

the Government of India to study at the

University of Liverpool.

• He went to England where he worked for a

Ph.D degree at the University of Liverpool

under the supervision of Roger J.S. Beer.

• He earned his Ph.D in 1948.

• By 1949, he obtained a fellowship to work

with Dr. G. W. Kenner and Professor A. R.

Todd where his interest in both proteins

and nucleic acids took root.

• In 1952, he got a job offer from Dr. Gordon

M. Shrum of British Columbia and he went

to Vancouver.

• With Dr. Shrum’s inspiration, encouragement

and scientific counsel from Dr. Jack Campbell

of the University of British Columbia,

Khurana in a group began to work in the

field of biologically interesting phosphate

esters and nucleic acids.

• In 1960, he moved to the Institute for Enzyme

Research at the University of Wisconsin and

then became a naturalized citizen of the

United States.

• He became the Professor of Biology and

Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology (MIT) in 1970 and remained

there until his retirement in 2007.

His works:

During the 1960s he delved deeper into his

experiments in nucleic acids found in RNA, a

chemical that translates the genetic information

contained in DNA. RNA is composed of four

chemical bases represented by the letters A, C, U, and

G.

Using chemical synthesis to combine the chemical

bases, Khorana deduced that the code for amino acid

serine was UCU and that for leucine was CUC. He

showed that the genetic code consists of 64

distinct three-letter words.

Biochemist Marshall W. Nirenberg had

independently been working on genetics and Khorana

confirmed the former’s findings that four different

types of nucleotides are arranged on the spiral

staircase of the DNA molecule.

He proved that the nucleotide code is transmitted in

groups of three, called codons to the cells. Some

codons are responsible for signaling to the cells to

start or stop the manufacture of proteins.

He was successful in constructing the first ever

artificial gene in 1972. A few years later he made the

artificial gene function in a bacteria cell.

During his later years he experimented on the

molecular mechanisms underlying the cell signaling

pathways of vision in vertebrates. He primarily

studied the structure and function of Rhodopsin, a

light sensitive protein found in the eye.

Honours:

- He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or

Medicine in 1968 "for the interpretation of

the genetic code and its function in protein

synthesis”.

- He shared the Prize with Marshall W.

Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for

research that showed how the order of

nucleotides in nucleic acids which carry

the genetic code of the cell, control the

cell’s synthesis of proteins.

- Khorana and Nirenberg were also awarded

the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from

Columbia University in the same year.

- The Khorana Program was founded in his

honor in 2007 by the University of

Wisconsin-Madison, the Government of India,

and the Indo-US Science and Technology

Forum, with the mission to build a community

of scientists, industrialists, and social

entrepreneurs in the US and India.


1

ENVIRONMENT & DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Swachch Survekshan 2020

Manifest pedagogy:

The achievements under various initiatives such as smart city, swachch bharat etc zero down to a broader

aspect of ease of living, healthy life and socio economic development in the country. The rankings not only

encourage greater sense of responsibility and participation but also motivate u to try harder towards

fulfillment of these goals.

In news:

- Swachh Survekshan 2020, has commenced from 4th January, 2020 across India.


- Swachh Bharat mission (SBM)

Static dimensions:

- SBM and rankings

Current dimensions:

- Survekshan 2019, 2020

Content:

Swachh Bharat mission(SBM):

• Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India

mission) was launched on 2nd October

2014 to honor Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a

Clean country.

• The major objectives of Swachh Bharat

include eliminating open defecation

through the construction of household-

owned and community-owned toilets and

establishing an accountable mechanism of

monitoring toilet use.

• It aims to achieve an "open-defecation free"

(ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th

birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by

constructing 100 million toilets in rural

India at a projected cost of ₹1.96 lakh crore.

• The mission also contributes to India

reaching Sustainable Development Goal 6

(SDG 6).

• The action plan for SBM is laid by the

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

(now Ministry of Jalshakti).

At the core of this mission lie six components:

- Individual household toilets;

- Community toilets;

- Public toilets;

- Municipal Solid Waste Management;

- Information and Educating Communication

(IEC) and Public Awareness;

- Capacity Building

The Urban Clean India mission seeks to eradicate

open defecation, convert insanitary toilets to flush

toilets, eradicate manual scavenging and facilitate

solid waste management.

The Rural mission, known as Swachh Bharat

Gramin, aims to make Village Panchayats open

defecation free by October 2, 2019. It aims to

provide all rural households with individual

latrines and build cluster and community toilets on

public-private partnership mode.


35

The World Health Organization (WHO) has in its

report stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal

deaths were averted in rural India since the launch

of SBM. According to a National Statistical Office

(NSO) survey, 71% of rural households had access

to toilets as of 2018.

Rankings:

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs

(MoHUA) and the Central Pollution Control

Board (CPCB) of India, annually published

National City Rating under the Swachh

Bharat Abhiyan scheme based on

cleanliness index.

• The rating includes around 500 cities,

covering 72 percent of the urban population

in India.

• Until 2017, India was divided into five

zones for the purpose of this survey and

each city was scored on 19 indicators.

• From 2017-18 survey, the parameters of

assessment were modified and cities are

categorised based on population into

metropolis, large, medium, and small cities.

• The latest ranking of 2019 by SBM has been

released and Indore is declared the cleanest

city in India for a third time.

Swacch Survekshan 2019 (SS2019):

• Swachh Survekshan is a ranking exercise

taken up by the Government of India to

assess rural and urban areas for their levels

of cleanliness and active implementation of

SBM initiatives.

• Swachh Survekshan conducted since 2016,

is the world’s largest urban sanitation and

cleanliness survey.

• The surveys are carried out by Quality

Council of India.

• The primary goal of Swachh Survekshans is

to encourage large scale citizen

participation and create awareness

amongst all sections of society about the

importance of working together towards

making towns and cities better places to

reside in.

• The Ministry of Urban Development,

Government of India takes up the Swachh

Survekshan in urban areas and the Ministry

of Drinking Water and Sanitation in rural

areas.

• SS 2019 covered 4,237 cities in a record

time of 28 days, in a completely paperless,

digital format for data collection.

• Indore has been awarded the cleanest city

in the country in the SS 2019 awards while

Bhopal has been declared as the cleanest

capital.

- Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh was awarded

the second India's Cleanest City overall and

became a role model for other towns in the

state, followed by Mysuru of Karnataka as

the third cleanest city.

- Ahmedabad was named as the Cleanest Big

City (more than 10 lakh population).

- Ujjain bagged the award for being the

Cleanest Medium City (3 lakh to 10 lakh

population).

- The New Delhi Municipal Council area was

given the 'Cleanest Small City' Award.

- Uttarakhand's Gauchar was bestowed as the

'Best Ganga Town' in the cleanliness survey.

- Chhattisgarh emerged as India’s top

performer among states, followed by

Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

Swacch Survekshan 2020:

• SS League 2020 results have been

announced.

• The objective is to sustain the onground

performance of cities along with continuous

monitoring of service level performance in

cleanliness.

• SS League 2020 has been conducted in 3

quarters: April- June, July – September and

October- December 2019.

• It has 2000 marks for each quarter

evaluated on the basis of monthly updation

of SBM-U online MIS by cities along with

citizen’s validation on the 12 service level

progress indicators.


36

• Ranks have been assigned into two

categories, namely, cities with a population

of one lakh and above (with two sub-

categories of 1-10 lakh and 10 lakhs and

above) and cities with a population of less

than 1 lakh.

• The performance of cities in SS League 2020

is crucial to their ranking in Swachh

Survekshan 2020 as 25% weightage of the

quarterly assessments will be included in it.

SS 2020:

• Under SS 2020, cities will be ranked out of

the total of 6,000 marks as opposed to

5,000 marks in SS 2019.

• The data will be collected from five different

sources –

- citizen feedback,

- direct observation,

- service level progress,

- certification for garbage and open

defecation free (ODF), ODF plus and ODF

plus plus cities

- the average score of SS league 2020.

The new entrant in the marksheet is the SS league

2020.

• 25 percent weightage that is 1500 marks

have been allotted to citizens’ feedback.

• 1500 marks are in the hands of the

independent agency visiting the city and

making crucial observations on the ground.

• Under service level progress, all the cities

will be evaluated on various parameters

like

– Collection and transportation of municipal solid

waste

– Processing and disposal of municipal solid waste

– Sustainable sanitation

– IEC (Information, Education and Communication)

– Capacity building

– Innovation and best practices

– By-laws

• Under certification introduced by the

MoHUA, 500 marks have been allotted to

the cities that have successfully achieved

ODF, ODF plus, and ODF plus plus status.

• 1000 marks have been allotted to ‘star

rating’ achieved by garbage-free cities as

per the protocol released by MoHUA.

• The star rating protocol is based on 12

parameters and follows a SMART

framework – Single metric, Measurable,

Achievable, Rigorous verification

mechanism and Targeted towards

outcomes.

• Cities are rated as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 star

based on their compliance with the protocol

conditions specified for each of the rating.

• While cities can self-declare themselves 1, 2,

or 4 starred cities, MoHUA will give 3, 4, or

7 star rating only after a verification done

by an independent third party.

Mains: 1) What is the Swacch Sarvekshan (SS) league,

2020? How are cities ranked under SS

2020?

INTERNAL SECURITY & DEFENCE

Chief of defence staff (CDS) In news

- The government has appointed General Bipin Rawat as country's first chief of defence staff (CDS).

Content:

• The CDS will act as the Principal Military

Adviser to the defence minister on tri-services

matters.

• The CDS was one of the 99 recommendations

made by Lt. Gen. (retd.) D.B. Shekatkar

Committee, which submitted its report in

December 2016.

• The Army, Navy and IAF chiefs will have

operational command of their forces.

• He is the single-point military adviser to the

government.


37

• CDS is a four-star general like the three

chiefs, the CDS will be the 'first among

equals’ in the hierarchy.

• CDS would come in the ambit of RTI Act,

2005.

• The government has amended rules putting

the maximum age limit of 65 years for the

CDS by making changes in the Army Rules,

1954.

Role and responsibilities of CDS

• The broad mandate of the CDS includes

bringing about jointness in “operations,

logistics, transport, training, support services,

communications, repairs and maintenance of

the three Services”.

• CDS has been assigned the task of integrating

different assets and resources of the armed

forces.

• The CDS would not exercise any military

command including over the three Service

Chiefs.

• In his capacity as the Permanent Chairman,

COSC (Chiefs of Staff Committee), the CDS

would administer tri-Services organisations,

special operations, cyber and space.

• Special Operations Division, headquartered

in Agra, will be headed by the Army.

• The Defence Cyber Agency (DCA), based in

Delhi, will be headed by the Navy.

• Defence Space Agency, based in Bengaluru,

headed by the Indian Air Force.

• The CDS will also head the Department of

Military Affairs (DMA) within the Ministry of

Defence (MoD) and function as its Secretary.

• The CDS will be a member of the Defence

Acquisition Council chaired by the Defence

Minister and Defence Planning Committee

chaired by the National Security Adviser

(NSA).

• The CDS will be a member (Military Adviser)

of Prime Minister-led Nuclear Command

Authority which looks after nuclear weapons

of the country

Department of Military Affairs (DMA

• A Department of Military Affairs has been

created in the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

• It will be the fifth department in the MoD.

• The existing ones are the Department of

Defence, the Department of Defence

Production, the Department of Defence

Research and Development and the

Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.

• The DMA would deal with

- the armed forces;

- the integrated headquarters of the MoD,

comprising the Army, Naval and Air;

- defence staff headquarters;

- the Territorial Army and

- works relating to the three Services and

procurement exclusive to them except capital

acquisitions.

• The DMA’s mandate includes promoting

jointness in procurement, training and staffing

for the Services, facilitating restructuring of

the military commands for optimal utilisation

of resources and promoting the use of

indigenous equipment.

Note: At present, India has 17 single-service

commands and only two tri-Service commands -

Andaman and Nicobar Command, a theatre or

regional command, and the Strategic Forces

Command, which handles the nuclear weapons.

Apart from being much more cost-effective, theatre

commands are required for the conduct of

synergized land-air-sea operations with unity of

command in modern-day warfare. PM Modi in his

speech on Kargil Vijay Diwas, 2019 had stressed on

“jointness” and had called for a connect among three

Services in terms of “action and system.”


38

Hence CDS is expected to inject much-needed

synergy in planning, procurements, training and

logistics among the Army, Navy and IAF. It helps in

inter-Service prioritization to systematically build

the country’s military capabilities within budgetary

constraints.

Mains:

1) Explain the importance of newly created Chief

of Defense Staff (CDS) in bringing synergy

among tri-services.

ETHICS & INTEGRITY

Good Governance Index

Manifest pedagogy:

Good Governance and its impact on socio economic development is far and wide. The need for better

governance sets apart institutions which are lasting, able to get on with development at the grassroots and

inclusive at the same time.

In news:

- ‘Good Governance Index’ was launched by the government on the occasion of ‘Good Governance Day’

(December 25th).


- Good governance

Static dimensions:

- Good governance

Current dimensions:

- Good governance Index

- Reforms in Railway board

- Governance reforms in India

Content:

Good governance:

• Governance is the process of decision-

making and the process by which decisions

are implemented (or not implemented).

• Government is one of the actors in

governance.

• Other actors involved in governance vary

from landlords, associations of peasant

farmers, cooperatives, NGOs, research

institutes, religious leaders to media,

lobbyists, international donors,

multinational corporations, etc…

• All the related actors play a major role in

decision- making or in influencing the

decision-making process.

Good governance assures that corruption is

minimized, the views of minorities are taken into

account and that the voices of the most vulnerable

in society are heard in decision-making. It has 8

major characteristics.

• Participation: Participation by both men

and women is a key cornerstone of good

governance. Participation could be either

direct or through legitimate intermediate

institutions or representatives.

• Rule of law: Good governance requires fair

legal frameworks that are enforced

impartially.

• Transparency: The decisions taken and

their enforcement are done in a manner


39

that follows rules and regulations. It also

means that information is freely available

and directly accessible to those who will be

affected by such decisions and their

enforcement.

• Responsiveness: Good governance

requires that institutions and processes try

to serve all stakeholders within a

reasonable time frame.

• Consensus oriented: Good governance

requires mediation of the different interests

in society to reach a broad consensus which

is in the best interest of the whole

community.

• Equity and inclusiveness: A society’s well

being depends on ensuring that all its

members (especially vulnerable) feel that

they have a stake in it and do not feel

excluded from the mainstream of society.

• Effectiveness and efficiency: The

processes and institutions produce results

that meet the needs of society while making

the sustainable use of resources at their

disposal.

• Accountability: The governmental

institutions, private sector and civil society

organizations must be accountable to the

public and to their institutional

stakeholders.

India is ranked 111 in World Bank’s Global

Governance Indicators (GGI) in 2016.

Good Governance Index (GGI):

• It is a uniform tool across States to assess

the Status of Governance and impact of

various interventions taken up by the State

Government and UTs.

• It was released on the Good Governance

Day which is observed on the birth

anniversary of former Prime Minister Shri

Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Objectives of GGI:

• To provide quantifiable data to compare the

state of governance in all states and UTs.

• Enabling the states and UTs to formulate

and implement suitable strategies for

improving governance.

• Encouraging states to shift to result

oriented approaches and administration.

Criteria followed while selecting indicators:

• Easy to understand and calculate,

• Citizen-centric and result driven,

• Leading to improved results,

• Uniformly applicable to all states and UTs.

In total 50 indicators are used to measure the

following 10 governance sectors:

1) Agriculture and Allied Sectors

2) Commerce & Industries

3) Human Resource Development

4) Public Health

5) Public Infrastructure & Utilities

6) Economic Governance

7) Social Welfare and Development,l

8) Judicial and Public Security

9) Environment

10) Citizen centric governance

The states and UTs are divided into three groups:

• Big States

• North-East and Hill states

• UTs

Though the states and UTs are ranked on all

indicators separately, composite ranking is also

calculated for these states and UTs under their

respective groups based upon these indicators.

Findings of the report:

• Top performers among the big states are

Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka.

• The bottom three states are Odisha, Bihar,

Goa.

• Among the North-East and Hill states top

performers are Himachal Pradesh,

Uttarakhand and Tripura.

• The bottom three states are Meghalaya,

Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

• Among the UTs, Pondicherry is top

performer followed by Chandigarh and

Delhi.

• Lakshadweep is at the bottom among the

UTs.

Sector-wise ranking:

Environment sector:

Top three states - West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu

Bottom three states - Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,

Goa

Judicial and public security ranking:

Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chattisgarh are at the top of the

chart.


40

Public Infrastructure:

Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab topped the chart.

Economic governance:

Karnataka is at the top under this category.

Health:

Kerala is at the top under this category.

Commerce and industries:

Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana topped the

chart.

Reforms in Railway board:

• The Union Cabinet has approved the

downsizing of the strength of the Railway

Board from eight to five, including the

chairman, who will be the chief executive

officer (CEO).

• There will be four other members, in charge

of infrastructure, rolling stock, finance and

operations, and business development.

• There will be some “outside talent",

independent members, comprising experts

helping the Board to set a “strategic

direction".

• The Indian Railway Medical Service (IRMS)

will be renamed the Indian Railway Health

Service (IRHS).

• Eight ‘Group A’ services will be merged into

one central service called the Indian

Railway Management Service (IRMS).

Impact of reforms:

- It will ensure end of departmentalism and

promote smooth operations and expedite

decision-making.

- It will lead to end of turf wars among the

different cadres and departments which

was harming railway operations.

- Restructuring has set the path for Indian

Railways to be a unified organisation that

will work single-mindedly.

- This will end the culture of working in ‘silos’

and mark the beginning of a new and

unified railway with a coherent vision for

the future.

- Unification of services will streamline

operations and provide flexibility in how

they deploy people.

Governance reforms in India:

The government had set up 10 Sectoral Groups of

Secretaries (SGoS) in June, 2019 and had tasked

them with finalising the 100-agenda and five-year

vision documents of ministries and departments.

Some of the recommendations that are readying to

submit to the council of ministers include:

• Lateral entry of private sector experts in

central government services at director and

deputy secretary level,

• “Horizontal entry” or free movement of

officials in CPSUs instead of restricting it at

board level,

• Merging of boards of CPSUs ( in line with

the Jawahar Wattal committee

recommendations) by March 30, 2020,

• Creation of an All India Judicial Service,

• A new modern and technology backed

legislation on emigration,

• Pre-departure orientation training for more

than 500,000 Indian emigrant workers,

• Bharat Drive on the lines of the Google

Drive,

• Dedicated central prabharis or in-charges

for the Northeast,

• Convergence of more ministries (as in the

case of Jal Shakti ministry which was

formed by merging Water resources, River

development and Ganga rejuvenation

ministry, and Drinking water and sanitation

ministry),

• 10 mega social sector campaigns,

• Scaling up of Ayushman Bharat to open up

the national health insurance scheme to

every citizen.


41

Mains: What is Good Governance Index? What are

the recent measures taken by government to bring

good governance reforms in India?

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