MANIFEST 11 · 2019-05-24 · manmade disaster can be seen in the international relations and...

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FORTNIGHTLY MANIFESTO

NOVEMBER 2018 (Part 1)

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MANIFEST 11: NOVEMBER 2018 (Fortnightly series-1) #9945092222

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MANIFEST 11 is getting an added feature from now on!!

A fortnightly series is released as a PDF document, two Mains tests will be

conducted online.We will be conducting mains test every Saturday. The

source for the test will be MANIFEST 11 current affairs. To make your easy

we will compile two weeks of current affairs of Manifest 11 as a PDF and

will be releasing every fortnight. This will be one stop source for the tests.

Feature of the tests

1) Two tests on one fortnightly issue, which will be held on consecutive

Saturdays.

2) Each test will consist of 7 questions, with maximum marks of 90 and

aspirant needs to attempt them strictly in one hour.

3) Aspirant can and must upload their answer sheets (even if they have

attempted one question) on the website comment section.

4) The best part is the unique way of evaluation.

a) Peer evaluation

b) MANIFEST IAS faculty will be discussing the answers of these

questions through videos which will be uploaded on Monday.

c) During the discussion, uploaded answers will be picked at random

and personalized inputs will be given.

5) We will ensure that every aspirant get a fair chance for evaluation over a

period of time.

Details of upcoming tests:

Test 1: December 1st, 2018 Saturday

Test 2: December 8th, 2018 Saturday

SOURCE: MANIFEST 11 FORTNIGHTLY MANIFESTO PART-1




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Contents

HISTORY, ART & CULTURE ........................................................ 6

First World War ........................................................................................................................................................... 6

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ....................................................................................................................................... 14

early Man And His Artistic Expressions ........................................................................................................... 18

Dravidian Movement .............................................................................................................................................. 20

Antiquites And Art Treasures Act ...................................................................................................................... 27

Swami Vivekananda ................................................................................................................................................ 33

INDIAN SOCIETY ....................................................................................................... 36

Movements For Opening Public Spaces Of Worship For Women ........................................................ 36

#Metoo ........................................................................................................................................................................ 41

Naxalism ...................................................................................................................................................................... 45

GEOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................... 57

Andaman And Nicobar Islands ........................................................................................................................... 57

Oumuamua ................................................................................................................................................................ 63

Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN) .......................................................................................................... 65

Manifest IAS – Who Are We? 70

Vision and Mission 70

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE ................................................ 73

CBI VS CBI ................................................................................................................................................................... 73

Higher education reforms under the new regime ...................................................................................... 79

Judiciary, Constitution and recent judgements ........................................................................................... 86




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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ........................................ 92

India - Japan Relations .......................................................................................................................................... 92

China-Pakistan relations ....................................................................................................................................... 96

ECONOMY ...................................................................................................................................... 99

Regulation of payments and settlements in India ...................................................................................... 99

Exporter Woes ........................................................................................................................................................ 105

Ease of Doing Business ........................................................................................................................................ 109

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Package .......................................................................................... 112

Health Insurance .................................................................................................................................................... 116

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ......................................... 120

Chandrayaan – 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 120

5G Technology ........................................................................................................................................................ 122

Parker Solar Probe ................................................................................................................................................. 126

Tiangong-2............................................................................................................................................................... 130

India's first indigenous ballistic missile submarine ................................................................................... 132

ENIVRONMENT AND DISASTER

MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................................ 137

Green Crackers ....................................................................................................................................................... 137

INTERNAL SECURITY ................................................................................. 140

Directorate of Enforcement ............................................................................................................................... 140



HISTORY, ART & CULTURE

FIRST WORLD WAR

In news

100 years of World War 1

Placing it in syllabus

History of the world will include events from 18th century such as

industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries,

colonization, decolonization, political philosophies like communism,

capitalism, socialism etc.- their forms and effect on the society.

Dimensions

1. Causes for outbreak of the war.

2. War as a total war.

3. Consequences of war.

4. Contribution of colonies (especially India).

5. Its impact on Indian national movement.

Content

First World War is a war of monumental proportions with nearly 8 million

casualties and large scale destruction of property. The causes of this

manmade disaster can be seen in the international relations and imperial

rivalries starting from 1870.

1. The system of Secret alliances which made the international

relations anarchical.

2. Arms race between countries particularly the naval race between

Britain and Germany.




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3. Competitive mobilizations which lead to the outbreak of war which

were generated out of fear. This set of the war machine without

any control over its consequences.

4. New imperialism and competitive rivalries among countries to

acquire colonies.

5. Protectionism - Economic and Trade wars

6. Nationalism as an aggressive force emerged in Europe guided and

helped by the propaganda machines. The best example of which

are Nationalism of France for re-conquest of Alsace and Lorraine

and slavish nationalism in Balkan Peninsula.

7. Welt Politick of Kaiser Wilhelm which is based on world

dominance.

8. The process of unification of Germany lead to a thorough

reordering of the balance of power in Europe.

9. The final trigger for the war is the murder of Arch Duke Franz

Ferdinand by a Serbian extremist organization which sparked off

the accumulated rivalries into a great war.

Thus the First World War is a product of the underlying intentions which

festered for nearly 4 decades and tensions between the countries which

lead to the immediate outbreak of war.

War as a total war

Total War is when the entire resources and population are mobilized

towards the war effort, which takes priority over everything else. Further,

Total War also involves prosecuting the war against the entire population

of the enemy, not just against its military.




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Nature of total war

1. Conscription into the military for all countries involved.

2. Women working in munitions factories, heavy industry, and many

other jobs they hadn't done before.

3. A War Economy where manufacture of weapons, munitions, and

other war materiel was prioritized.

4. German U-boats attacked and sank civilian merchant shipping and

liners.

5. Advancements in technology made the war to be fought on all

domains of Air, land, sea.

6. Rationing was enforced on the civilian population.

7. Because of mobilization of industry, factories and the workforce,

civilian facilities were made targets as they were supporting the

war efforts leading to strategic bombing.

8. The instruments of nationalism and the newly emerged mass

media based propaganda was effectively used by the nations to

mobilize the masses for war effort. The society started working in a

disciplined fashion with military ethos.

9. The state powers enormously increased as a war measure laying

the foundation for the further emergence of totalitarian states and

ideologies like Nazism and Fascism.

10. It also involved the resources both of men and material of

the colonies for the cause of the imperial powers.




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Consequences of total war

1. The need to organize masses of men and material for years of

combat led to increased centralization of government powers,

economic regimentation, and manipulation of public opinion to

keep the war effort going.

2. Free market capitalistic systems were temporarily shelved as

governments experimented with price, wage, and rent controls; the

rationing of food supplies and materials; the regulation of imports

and exports; and the nationalization of transportation systems and

industries. This finally led to the conception of planned model of

development.

3. The overproduction in the economy during the war lead to the glut

in post war situation which finally lead on to the great economic

depression of 1929.

4. As the war dragged on for quite long the morale of the population

was replaced by disillusionment and a general trend of anti-war

sentiments as the atrocities of the war were made clear in the post

war situation.

5. The war also created new roles for women. Because so many men

went off to fight at the front, women were called on to take over

jobs and responsibilities that had not been available to them

before. This lead to rise of feminist movements.

6. The role of ideological differences between countries and their

effective usage to mobilize masses during war was further

perfected and used in the post war phase.

7. The strategies of total war lead to breakdown of a familiar world

order and its replacement by an efficient national war machine

which lead to emergence of states based on new ideologies like

socialism and fascism which provided succor to people who are

adversely affected by war.

Thus the strategy of total war has deep seated and long lasting

consequences both during and the post war phase. And the monstrosity

of the total war led to a commitment to global peace but this

commitment in the form of League of Nations wavered in post war

phase leading to outbreak of Second World War.




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India’s role in First World War and its impact:

1. Men and material

1.5 million Indians participated directly in the war as soldiers and carriers.

As the nature of the war is a total war, the entire resources of the empire

were put at the disposal of war effort turning it in to a global

conflict. The total Indian military casualties were 75,000 soldiers.

2. Fronts fought

India dispatched 7 expeditionary forces overseas during the war. Indian

soldiers participates in all the theaters of the war like German East

Africa (Burundi, Ruanda), Gallipoli campaign (Turkey), French trench

warfare, Mesopotamian front in Middle East.

3. Princely states contribution

Indian princes contributed to the British War effort with money,

resources and army. Many princely states rulers were recruited into the

British army in honorary positions.

4. Contribution of nationalist leadership

Gandhi ji participated actively in recruiting the volunteer forces to

support the British war effort. Most of the moderate leadership led by

the Grand old man Dadabhai Naoroji gave unconditional support to

British War effort. Gandhi was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind medal.

5. Economic support of India

Many Indians were forced to prescribe to the war bonds and Indians

faced higher taxes and material shortages. The total Indian contribution

to the British war effort is a loan of 2 billion dollar equivalent

according to modern estimates.

6. Contribution of women




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Queen Alexandria’s imperial military nursing service was established

and Indian women were recruited for tending to the wounded and

maimed in the war.

Effect on India

1. Attempts at using British weakness for Indian advantage:

Ghadar Movement

The war years were also witness to increased political turbulence with

intensifying revolutionary activity. Particularly on the part of the

revolutionary Ghadar Movement which aimed to gain India’s

independence, by violence if necessary. The war had drained India of

troops and at one point a mere 15,000 soldiers were physically

present in the subcontinent. For revolutionaries, like the Ghadar, this

weakness was ripe for exploiting and their violent activities flourished –

particularly in Punjab and Bengal.

2. Attempts by revolutionary terrorists to take help of enemies of

British like Germany

The Provisional Government of India was a provisional government-in-

exile established in Kabul, Afghanistan on December 1, 1915 by Indian

nationalists, during World War I with support from the Central Powers,

the provisional government was composed of Mahendra Pratap as

President, Maulana Barkatullah as Prime Minister.

3. Price rise

During the war prices of food grains rose by 93%, Indian made goods

60% & Imported goods 190%.

These rise in prices were caused by the disruption of war to normal

trading patterns, exchange rate problems, and diversion of food to

the war effort and the demands of the military.

4. Industrial expansion

A group of entrepreneurs who bagged war supply contracts, however,

made windfall profits in a short time. Britain understood the need for an

independent industrial base in India and its strategic advantage. This




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created opportunities for Indian industrialists to set up war goods

oriented industries in the country. As a result, a good number of

factories sprang up in centers like Bombay. This created employment

and benefited the economy. First World War gave the newly established

and ailing Tata steel plant a shot in the arm.

5. Political suppression

The British imposed the repressive Rowlatt Act, which vested the

Viceroy's government with extraordinary powers to quell "sedition"

against the Empire by silencing and censoring the press, detaining

political activists without trial, and arresting without a warrant any

individuals suspected of treason against the Empire.

Public protests against this draconian legislation were quelled ruthlessly.

The worst incident was the Jallianwallah Bagh Massacre of April 1919,

when Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire without

warning on 15,000 unarmed and non-violent men, women and children

demonstrating peacefully in an enclosed garden in Amritsar, killing as

many as 1,499 and wounding up to 1,137.

6. National disillusion

Sir Rabindranath Tagore returned his knighthood to the British in

protest against "the helplessness of our position as British subjects in

India" because of the Jallianwallah Bagh Massacare.

7. British policies

The principle of self-government to India in the future was promised by

the Montagu declaration.

8. Indian Muslim sentiments

The harsh terms imposed by Treaty of Severs on Ottoman Turkey and

the taking away the control of holy places from the Caliph led to a

disillusion among Indian Muslims leading to the khilafat movement.

9. Monument commemorating dead soldiers (India gate)




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The India Gate was originally named All-India War Memorial and it was

built to pay homage to the soldiers of the Indian Army who lost their

lives fighting for the British Empire in World War I and the Third Anglo-

Afghan War. India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and is at New

Delhi's Raj Path.

10. Transition from responsive co-operation to non-

cooperation

The excesses post war converted Gandhi from responsive Cooperation to

non-Cooperation. As it would be impossible to handle an intransigent

enemy who responds to cooperation by repression, leading to the non-

cooperation movement.

11. The aura and glory of western civilization was lost

beyond redemption

As the advancements in west which earlier evoked awe and inspiration of

Indians, now evoked in them a sense of revulsion looking at the enormity

of the casualties brought about by modern warfare.

Manifest pedagogy

UPSC is regularly targeting areas in history where there is a centenary or

50 years or 25 years of occurrence of an event in the year of the exam or

the one preceding it. And it is 100 years of the conclusion of the First

World War so the topic becomes automatically important. Looking at

this issue from alternative perspectives gives us new dimensions like:

1. The impact of important international events on the origin and

growth of the Indian nationalist consciousness.

2. How did this war change the nature of nationalist response during

Second World War?

3. Why did India grow economically during the three great

catastrophes of the modern world?


http://www.manifestias.com/2018/11/05/manifest-pedagogy-looking-beyond-the-issue/



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Test Yourself: Mould Your Thoughts

1. World War 1 was a fight for colonies and also involved colonies as

parties in it. In the context of this statement discuss the role played

by India in World War 1.

SARDAR VALLABHBHAI PATEL

In news

Inauguration of the statue of Unity of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,

Narmada district

In syllabus

Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth

century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the

country.

Dimensions

1. His role during the national movement.

2. His role post-independence.

3. His political ideology and economic vision.

4. Patel Nehru differences in vision for an independent India.

Content

Pre-independence Role

In 1918, Vallabhbhai took the responsibility of leading the farmers of

Gujarat. He started the Kheda/ Kaira satyagraha that demanded the

suspension of the revenue collection from farmers as there was a

drought.

In 1920, the Congress started the non-cooperation struggle and

Vallabhbhai gave up his practice. He setup the Gujarat Vidyapeeth where

children could study instead of attending Government schools.




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In 1928 he successfully organized the landowners of Bardoli against

British tax increases. It was after this that Vallabhbhai was given the title

of Sardar (Leader).

In 1931 he served as President of the Indian National Congress in its

Karachi session which changed the nature of movement from a political

struggle and added to it new socio-economic dimensions.

He was the chief organizer of the congress party and had complete

control over its organizational structure. He was the chief proponent of

the congress right wing and an important influence over the congress

working committee.

As part of congress right he is part of the No changers faction and

emphasized on the crucial role of constructive work in village

regeneration and carrying the message of nationalism to the masses.

He was also the chairman of the congress parliamentary sub-committee

which had complete control over congress ministries during 28 months

of their rule under 1935 act.

He played a crucial role in the torturous negotiations with the British for

freedom and Partition of the country.

Post-independence Role

In 1947 when India got freedom, Sardar Patel became the Deputy Prime

Minister. He was in charge of Home Affairs, Information and

Broadcasting and the Ministry of States.

He was given the task of integrating the 562 Princely States into the

union. He skilfully used patriotism, concessions in the form of privy

purses and popular movement’s and military pressure to achieve this. He

took strong steps like sending the army to Junagadh and Hyderabad to

force them to align with free India. It is because of these strong steps he

is called Iron Man of India

He played an active role as the Chairman of the Committees for

Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Provincial Constitution and




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provisions like the Right to Private Property, Privy purses for Princes and

Constitutional guarantees for the Civil Services were incorporated.

As a member of the Partition committee, he helped the allocation of the

liabilities and dividends between India and Pakistan.

It was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel‘s vision that the Civil Service should

strengthen cohesion and national unity. He wanted a strong and vibrant

federal administrative system in which the All India Services would play

an important role. Sardar Patel viewed the All India Services as a group

of professionals who would take a long- term view of the nation‘s needs

and priorities. While the state and local administration would focus on

day-to-day issues of governance, the All India Services were charged

with the responsibility of thinking ahead and into the future.

Political and Economic Ideology

His political value system was a fine synthesis of liberalism, conservatism

and welfarism.

He was a staunch follower of Gandhi ji and his vision was in sync with

Gandhian ideology of non-violence, spirituality, discipline, moral

strength. He also belonged to the congress right which had alternative

approaches to national movement and alternative visions for post

independent India.

1. His political vision is driven by the Gandhian ideal of Ram Rajya. He

envisaged a democratic state which will lead India on path of

progress. He had a deep respect for individual rights and liberty

which made him think in the line of a liberal economic model. He

considered nationalism and patriotism to be two important binders

of society.

2. His Economic vision is driven by ideas of national self-sufficiency.

For this he proposed the path of higher production, savings and

investment cycle based production. He did not agree with the

nationalized industrial model as the state administration did not

have enough capacity to manage them. He visualized an industrial

growth lead by private players in a liberalized economic setting.




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3. Sardar Patel advocated for education of farmer and better

management of farming sector. Patel was very much concerned

about the small farmer and their economic plight. He said that the

income of small farmers can increase by increasing the productivity

and organizing market. He was against the concept of middlemen

in commodity sale.

4. He advocated formation of cooperatives to increase the income of

peasants and milk producers. He provided the vision for creation of

Kheda district co-operative milk producers union which went on to

become India’s most successful experiment in co-operatives i.e.,

Amul.

5. He not only criticized the arbitrary policies of confiscation of

movable and immovable properties, but also insisted on guarded

regulations on land reforms and nationalization of key industries.

Which clearly shows his political leaning to maintenance of private

property which is a liberal ideal.

6. His vision of State was in tune with the pattern of his political

values. In his concept, the State was founded and held together by

a high sense of nationalism and patriotism.

7. His efforts to reform the Hindu religion and protect the people of

other faiths reflected his longing for the right to religion. His active

participation in the reconstruction of the Somnath temple makes

him a conservative in his outlook.

8. He pressed for the emancipation of backward communities and

women and bring about Hindu-Muslim unity through the

Gandhian constructive program which makes him a welfarist.

9. Liberal-democratic ideology with due emphasis upon

conservatism, pragmatism, welfarism and nationalism seems to

characterize the mindset of Vallabhbhai Patel.

Manifest Pedagogy

Alternative Thinking

UPSC is interested in those areas where the market is not. “Vallabhai

Patel” as a personality may not be asked directly (That does not mean

you should not prepare). The alternative perspectives on the same topic

like, National Development or Nationalism vs Tribal Development (as





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tribal protested against the statue of unity) or issue of use of public

money on such areas when it should be done in developmental sectors

could be asked. What if these alternative perspectives also get

publicized- no need to worry! Solution is to develop multidimensional

cognitive abilities to handle any question on the spot.


1. Write a short note on politico-economic vision of Vallabhai

Patel for India. How relevant is it today? Explain.

EARLY MAN AND HIS ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS

In news

The recent amateur explorations in Ratnagiri district of Maharastra

have yielded numerous Petroglyphs. The difference from other

petroglyphs of India is these are made in laterite rocks. Here we can

find enormous petroglyphs like the 50 ft elephant petroglyph which

was made to look from an aerial view maybe a symbolic offering to

a god in the skies.

In syllabus

Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and

Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Dimensions

1. What are petroglyphs?

2. Where are they found?

3. How are they made?

4. What is their significance?




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Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs are images created by removing part of rock surface by

incising, picking, carving, or abrading as a form of rock art.

Examples in India:

Bhimbetka, kupgal, sindhudurg, rajapur and ratnagiri, edakkal caves of

kerala, unakoti (Tripura), perumukkal and kollur in Tamil Nadu. In Tamil

Nadu the petroglyphs are found on Dolemens which are part of the

Megalithic burial sites.

Made by:

Late Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and megalithic people.

Techniques and base material:

They are typically made on granite, sand stone and laterite rocks. The

early man typically chose rock facets coated with patina which is a dark

mineral accumulation on rock surfaces. In making the picture the outer

patina is removed exposing the contrasting lighter rock interior. They are

made by using stone chisel and hammer stone.

What do they represent?

Some of them depict real life events like hunting and flora and

fauna of the time.

There were some abstract petroglyphs which represent religious or

ceremonial purposes.

They might be used for symbolic communication as a form of pre

writing.

Some of them represent geometrical patterns.

Some depict the tools used by early man.

A significant factor in Indian petroglyphs is presence of rock gongs

which were used to generate music.

Some represented abstract and fertility symbols.

Some of them have religious-magical functions where simplistic

magic is thought to ensure a certainty in life.




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Some of them also represent aquatic life.

Manifest Pedagogy

BEGINNERS MYOPIA

Petroglyphs discovery in Ratnagiri was extensively covered in ground

zero page in the Hindu. Manifest Pedagogy puts it under those issues

where a beginner who has just started his/her static portions may not

find this issue important. (Beginners Myopia or lack of foresight) but

such issues are important and will be covered and will put beginners on

par with experienced candidates. As questions like Mesolithic rock

paintings have been targeted by UPSC.


1. Petroglyphs in India are artistic expressions of pre historic life.

Critically examine the statement in the context of recent discovery of

petroglyphs in Ratnagiri.

DRAVIDIAN MOVEMENT

In news

Death of Karunanidhi, the Most Prominent Dravida.


Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century

until the present - Significant events, personalities, issues.

Dimensions

1. Origins of Dravidian identity

2. The establishment, reforms and limitations of Justice party

3. V. Rama swami Naicker life and ideas

4. Activism and role of Dravida parties post-independence.





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Content

Origins of Dravidian identity

The British divide and rule policies found their expression in the Aryan

invasion theory and giving credence to the idea that Dravidian language

speakers are the original inhabitants of India.

Bishop Robert Caldwell was a missionary and linguist, who academically

established the Dravidian family of languages. Robert Caldwell used the

term Dravidian to separate the languages spoken in South India from

other, more Sanskrit-affiliated languages of India.

Caldwell asserted that the Tamil speakers were "indigenous Dravidian"

people, distinct ethnically and, most critically for him, religiously, from

their high-caste oppressors, whom he referred to as "Brahmanical

Aryans".

The historical research and the dating of Sangam Age and its contrast

with the Vedic literature was also used in arousing a consciousness of

difference and parity with the Sanskritic culture of north.

Communal division between Brahmins and non-Brahmins began in the

presidency during the late-19th and early-20th century, mainly due to

caste prejudices and disproportionate Brahminical representation in

government jobs.

The Dravidian movement also claimed that Brahmins were originally

from the north and that they had imposed Sanskrit, religion, and their

heritage on the people of South India.

Justice party

Formation

The Justice Party was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British

India. It was established in 1917 by T. M. Nair and P. Theagaraya Chetty

and was the first backward class mobilization which created social

change and political empowerment.




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Political ideology

1. It opposed Brahmins in civil service and politics, and this anti-

Brahmin attitude shaped many of its ideas and policies.

2. It opposed Annie Besant and her Home rule movement, because it

believed home rule would benefit the Brahmins.

3. The party also campaigned against the non-cooperation

movement in the presidency. It was at odds with M. K. Gandhi,

primarily due to his praise for Brahminism.

4. Its mistrust of the Brahmin dominated Congress led it to adopt a

hostile stance toward the Indian independence movement.

5. By petitioning the imperial administration which was more than

willing to oblige they got reservations for the non-Brahmins

through the Government of India act of 1919.

6. This attitude of justice party gave it a pro colonial tinge.

7. It did not send representatives to the Central Legislative Assembly,

the national parliamentary body. After it won the provincial

elections under government of India act of 1919. Because of its

ideological tropes of anti-Hindi and anti-Aryan ideology.

Achievements

Empowerment of lower classes:

Gave reservations to various communities in government jobs.

Legislation that allowed Dalits to use all the public space without

discrimination.

Temple entries to non-Brahmins were allowed.

Marriages without Brahmin priests and increased acceptance of

inter-caste marriages called self-respect marriages.

The abolition of Devadasi system.

The party also played a vital role in allowing women to contest

elections paving way for Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy to become the

first woman legislator in India.

Initiating the mid-day meal scheme.

But the movement declined because of




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Abuse of power and corruption.

The image of the Justice Party as the organization of rich landlords

and Western-educated upper-caste non-Brahman intellectuals of

Tamilnadu and Telugu country contributed, to a certain extent, to

its downfall.

The Dalits of the region were not given due representation.

The rising popularity of the congress party under the effective

leadership of c. Rajagopalachari the lost in electoral politics in 1926

to Swarajya Party.

Ramaswami Naicker

The Self-Respect Movement or Dravidian Movement was founded in

1925 by E. V. Ramasamy with the aim of achieving a society where

backward sections have equal human rights, and encouraging backward

sections to have self-respect. His ideas of self-respect were propagated

through the Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu. Periyar wrote several articles on

women's rights, on atheism and against the caste system.

He represented alternative political traditions in the age when Indian

national congress was attempting to establish a unitary ideal of

nationalism against colonialism.

Periyar's movement was based on ideals of self-respect and social

empowerment

1. Deep faith in rationalism and a critical attitude.

2. Trenchant criticism of all religions and a deep faith in atheism.

3. Dismantling of Brahmin hegemony which he considered the worst

enemy of individual self-respect.

4. Revitalization of the "Dravidian Languages" (that include Telugu,

Kannada, Malayalam, and Tamil) which have greater antiquity and

separate identity when compared to the Sanskritic languages of

north.

5. He launched a Tamil cultural offensive of a reinterpreted Ramayana

a version transposing hero and villain, in which the Sri Lankan king

Ravana becomes a heroic Dravidian of 'excellent character’, and the

Aryan prince Rama a conniving, "despicable character" .




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6. He participated in Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924, a mass movement

to demand that lower caste persons be given the right to use a

public path in front of the famous Vaikom temple.

7. Social reform by the abolition of existing caste systems, religious

practices for which he advocated inter-caste self-respect marriages

without the need for Brahmin priest.

8. Equality with stress on economic and social equality formed the

central theme of the Self-Respect Movement and was due to

Periyar's determination to fight the inequalities.

9. He argued that women needed to be independent, not mere child-

bearers, and insisted that they be allowed an equal share in

employment. He considered birth control to be important for

women’s freedom. The Self Respect Movement sanctioned

property as well as divorce rights for women.

10. He appealed to people to give up the caste suffix in their

names, and to not mention caste. He instituted inter-dining with

food cooked by Dalits in public conferences in the 1930s.

11. He aimed for every human being to act according to reason,

and shall not be subject to slavery of any kind or manner.

12. A sense of pride and valorization of Dravidian and Tamil

antiquity.

13. Periyar also propagated the positive identity of non-

Brahmans as members of a 'Dravidian nation' entitled to sovereign

independence from the Indian union and strengthened an

exclusionary regional nationalism.

Periyar declared that the Self-Respect Movement alone could be the

genuine freedom movement, and political freedom would not be fruitful

without individual self-respect. He demanded that self-respect should

precede Swaraj. He took over the justice party and renamed it as

Dravida Kazhagam.

Post-independence role

The DMK was formed in 1949 by some of the ambitious followers of

Periyar under the leadership of C N Annadurai. Unlike Periyar this group

had deep seated political ambitions.




25

The DK and DMK movement, started initially as a protest against the

domination of the Brahmans in Tamilnadu, was given a new dimension

after India's Independence when the attack was directed against the

alleged domination of North India.

Main demand of the DMK was establishment of a separate Dravida Nadu

/ Dravidistan consisting of the four southern states.

The passing of the 16th constitutional amendment in 1962 which made

the advocacy of secessionism a crime made DMK change its constitution

and drop the demand for secession.

The party stance changed from the demand for secessionism to greater

state autonomy while limiting the powers of center making Indian

federalism into a bargaining federalism.

Efforts by the Indian Government to make Hindi the sole official

language after 1965 were not acceptable to many non-Hindi Indian

states, who wanted the continued use of English. The Dravida Munnetra

Kazhagam (DMK), a descendant of Dravidar Kazhagam, led the

opposition to Hindi.

To allay their fears, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru enacted the Official

Languages Act in 1963 to ensure the continuing use of English beyond

1965.

The text of the Act did not satisfy the DMK and increased their

skepticism that his assurances might not be honoured by future

administrations. As the word “English may” did not give any guarantee of

continued future usage.

As the day of switching over to Hindi as sole official language

approached, the anti-Hindi movement gained momentum in Madras

State with increased support from college students.

On 25 January, a full-scale riot broke out in the southern city of Madurai

the Congress Government of the Madras State, called in paramilitary

forces to quell the agitation; their involvement resulted in the deaths of

about seventy persons (by official estimates) including two policemen.




26

The agitations of 1965 led to major political changes in the state. The

DMK won the 1967 assembly election and the Congress Party never

managed to recapture power in the state since then.

The Official Languages Act was eventually amended in 1967 by the

Congress Government headed by Indira Gandhi to guarantee the

indefinite use of Hindi and English as official languages. This effectively

ensured the current "virtual indefinite policy of bilingualism" of the

Indian Republic.

As there is no real contradiction between regional and national identity

and as Indian national integration is based on respect to cultural

pluralism and the guiding ideal of Indian constitution being unity in

diversity the nation was able to absorb these pressures without any

violence.

Manifest Pedagogy

Personality based tangential topics

Usually when we study personalities, we focus on prelims aspects and at

the most mains question on the personality itself if it can be fitted in the

syllabus. But recent times UPSC has been asking issues in the syllabus

surrounding the personality. For example, the world history question in

CSE 2018 on indentured labor was asked because of the death of

V.S.Naipul, A Nobel laureate and Indian origin writer whose writings

deals with cultural alienation, identity dilemmas of colonial migrants.

Hence we have taken Dravidian movement as an issue because of death

of Karunanidhi.

Test yourself: Mould your thoughts

Justice Party and Self-Respect Movement exhibited alternative political

traditions with distinct proclivity to empowerment of lower classes.

Elucidate.





27

ANTIQUITES AND ART TREASURES ACT

In news

Smuggling of Indian antiquities and Preservation of historical

monuments and cultural heritage often make headlines.


Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of following from ancient to

modern times.

Art forms, Literature and Architecture

Dimensions

1. Constitutional provisions

2. International conventions

3. Legal provisions

4. New missions

5. Analysis of the limitations of legal framework.

6. Private efforts in conservation

7. INTACH

Content

Global Financial Integrity (GFI) Report says that Illegal trade of artifacts

and antiquities is one of the world’s most Profitable Criminal Enterprises

worth 6 billion dollars. Of this Indian artifacts contribute more than

30%. This huge loss of antiquities and cultural heritage presents itself as

a double jeopardy as most of the money earned from art smuggling

goes into the hands of terrorists or money launderers which undermines

the security and economic integrity of the country.

Constitutional provisions

1. States are obliged under Article 49 of the Indian Constitution to

protect monuments and places and objects of national importance.

It is part of directive principles of state policy.




28

2. It is the duty of every citizen of India under Article 51A (f) of

Indian Constitution to value and preserve the rich heritage of our

composite culture.

International conventions

1. Protection under Hague Convention (1954)

It provides for protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed

Conflict

Convention defines a Protective Sign (“Blue Shield”) to facilitate the

Identification of protected cultural property during an armed conflict

2. Protection under Geneva Convention on War

Establishes the standards of international law for the humanitarian

treatment of war.

Under Article 53 of Protection of Cultural Objects and of Places of

Worship in the Event of Armed Conflict– it provides for protection of

UNESCO world heritage sites

3. Protection under UNESCO Convention (1970) on the Means of

Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of

Ownership of Cultural Property. It is also called World Heritage

Convention.

Indian legal system for conservation and protection

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), as an attached office under

the Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, is the

premier organization for the archaeological researches and protection of

the cultural heritage of the nation.

Besides it regulate all archaeological activities in the country as per

the provisions of the

1. Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains

Act, 1958.




29

2. It also regulates Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972.

3. Indian Treasure Trove Act (1949)

The antiquities and art treasures act contains provisions for regulation

of export trade, licensing for the internal trade of antiquities and sets up

registering office for registering private antiquities and also provide

powers to central government to compulsorily acquire art treasures

with minimal compensation.

Objectives of NMMA (National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities)

Documentation and creation of suitable database on built

heritage and sites for information and dissemination to planners,

researchers etc. and for better management of such cultural

resources.

Promote awareness and sensitize people concerning the

benefits of preserving the historical and cultural aspects of built

heritage, sites and antiquities.

Extend training facility and capacity building to the concerned

State Departments, Local bodies, NGOs, Universities, Museums,

Local communities etc.

Help in developing synergy between institutions like

Archaeological Survey of India, State Departments, concerned

Institutions and NGOs to generate close interaction.

Publication and Research

Analysis of the legal framework and enforcement record

In 2013, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report found

that at least 92 centrally protected monuments of historical

importance across the country which have gone missing without a

trace.

The CAG report said that the ASI did not have reliable

information on the exact number of monuments under its

protection.

The CAG recommended that periodic inspection of each

protected monument should be done by a suitably ranked officer.




30

CAG said that since the ASI is unable to protect the country’s

museums and monuments so they should be professionally

maintained by private companies or through the public-private-

partnership (PPP) model.

The treasure trove act is too obsolete because any object worth

more than Rs.10 found hidden in soil is regarded as “Treasure”!

The act does not prescribe for enforcement division. Lack of

legal framework hinders ASI from engaging with foreign agencies

to retrieve the foreign treasures.

In what is seen as a blatantly unfair clause, the Act also empowers

the State to compulsorily acquire an art object from its owner

without any reliable assessment of a fair price.

According to the National Mission for Monument and Antiquities,

there are approximately 7 million antiquities in India. But by March

this year, only 1.3 million had been documented.

Art also gets smuggled abroad rather than being kept at home

because the present laws are drafted in a way that deters people

from building private collections.

India needs a larger cadres of art historians, conservators and

archaeologists to man important sites and museums to safeguard

and maintain heritage.

There is a need to incentivize art fairs, auctions, and art dealers will

help solve the problem by creating a thriving domestic market.

Our laws inhibit Community Participation in conservation.

Best practices and ideas

1. Community Participation will help in better conservation and

preservation.

2. Enhanced And Dedicated Policing.

3. India should learn from USA’s Operation Hidden Idol. In 2015,

Operation Hidden Idol was launched by USA’s Homeland Securities

Investigation Department to recover and repatriate looted Artifacts

and Antiquities numbering 2600 by Subhash Kapoor worth an

estimated Rs.650 Crores ($100 million).




31

4. India should work on a mission mode to recover theft of its own

artifacts by launching a policy for management of Antiquities and

make ASI accountable for it.

5. It includes checking catalogues at international auction houses,

posting news of such theft on websites, posting information about

theft in the International Art Loss Registry, sending photographs of

stolen objects electronically to dealers and auction houses and

scholars in the field.

Private participation in conservation of antiquities

Adopt a Heritage scheme by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership

with the Ministry of Culture, Archaeological Survey of India and a fourth

party called Monument Mitra (in the form of private entities).

The project plans to entrust heritage sites/monuments and other

tourist sites to private sector companies, public sector companies

and individuals for the development of tourist amenities. They

would become 'Monument Mitras' and adopt the sites. The basic

and advanced amenities of the tourist destinations would be

provided by them. They would also look after the operations and

the maintenance of the amenities.

The project would begin with 93 ASI ticketed monuments and

would be expanded to other natural and cultural sites across India.

The heritage sites are classified into various categories. The

'Monument Mitras' would take up the sites of varied visibility and

footfall as a package.

The 'Monument Mitras' would associate pride with their CSR

activities. They would also get visibility in the monument

premises and in the Incredible India website. The project aims to

develop synergy among all partners.

But far more importantly, it could bring in the much-needed

professionalism and funds required to make glorious stones and

structures of India’s past speak to us again.




32

INTACH model

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is

a non-profit charitable organization registered under the Societies'

Registration Act, 1860.

INTACH was founded in 1984 in New Delhi with the vision to

create a member organization to stimulate and spearhead heritage

awareness and conservation in India.

Since 1984, INTACH has pioneered the conservation and

protection of India's natural and cultural heritage and is today the

largest member organization in the country dedicated to

conservation.

The role of INTACH is to institutionalize the conservation of the

unprotected architectural heritage all over India. It should

accomplish this objective by establishing Local Chapters.

Among the tasks undertaken by INTACH are restoration of

monuments and their management; advocacy for heritage

property conservation; public awareness through heritage walks

and buses;[6] establishment of heritage clubs in schools; and

holding of awareness workshop for teachers of schools and

colleges and heritage walks to various unprotected sites.

After developing Raghurajpur, Orissa, a place famous for its master

‘Pattachitra’ artists and ‘Gotipua’ dance troupes as a heritage

village, which has now become a major rural tourist destination.

Manifest pedagogy

Questions related to culture have been common in UPSC, but issues

related to heritage were not much focused on. There is a possibility of

exploring issues related to heritage like tangible and intangible

heritage. Factors which have played a role in preserving the culture and

transferring it as heritage to the next generation which may include

social factors like caste, family, etc. Or Governmental initiatives post-

independence. The holistic way to handle culture and heritage is to study

aesthetics behind the culture (literature, paintings, etc.) and the

governance aspects (constitutional, legal and institutional measures to

preserve them) related to it.





33


Safeguarding the Indian art heritage is the need of the moment. Discuss

the statement suggesting innovative measures to safeguard Indian

heritage.

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

In news

125 years of swami Vivekananda’s speech at world parliament of

religions


1. Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth

century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues

2. The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important

contributors /contributions from different parts of the country.

Dimensions

1. His religious philosophy influence of Sri Ramakrishna.

2. His social reform measures.

3. Universalism.

4. Contribution to rise of nationalism.

5. His speech at world parliament of religions in Chicago.

Content

Ramakrishna

Ramakrishna Paramahansa is a priest at the Kali Temple in

Dakshineshwar in whose teachings the troubled Bengali mind found a

solace from the overarching influence of western materialism. His

philosophy of religion is based on

1. Sakta Tantra.

2. Vaishnava Bhakti.




34

3. Advaita Vedanta.

4. Complete rejection of western value system.

5. Solutions to life problems presented in terms of simple Bhakti

and the traditional Hindu way of life.

6. According to him as all religions emanated from God and had

God as the common subject, differences between them were only

apparent and superficial. Universalism a belief in the unity of

godhead and an emphasis on religions being essentially the same.

7. For Ramakrishna, God-realization was the end of human life and

knowing the Creator alone amounted to knowing His creation.

8. His path is one of Bhakti Marga.

9. He also instilled in his disciples the conception of Daridra-

Narayana from which emerged the conception of service to man is

service to god.

Swami Vivekananda

1. He is initially a western educated Brahmo Samajist in his young

age. But the Brahmo movement failed to provide solutions to his

spiritual quests.

2. He became the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna whose Bhakti appealed

to him more than the high intellectualism of Brahmos.

3. He is a proponent of Practical Vedanta which he considered as a

religion most suited to the needs of modern man. He believed in

the essential unity of man and god (Advaita).

4. He believed that it was only in selflessness and in consciously

trying to serve the larger humanity that one truly gained a

perspective on religion and God. This thought laid emphasis on the

Karma Marga of Bhagavad-Gita.

5. He reoriented the traditional Advaita of world renunciation to a

new world affirmation ideal. He searched for salvation in

selflessness.

6. Many rivers flow by many ways but they fall into the same sea. This

is the basis of Swamijis religious universalism and eclecticism.




35

Social reformer

1. In the first place he did not think man's thought could truly turn

to God unless his basic social needs had been reasonably met.

He also considered it a sin to teach spirituality to a starving man.

2. God is everywhere but he is most manifest in man. So serve man

as God. That is as good as worshipping God. He joined together

the ideals of one’s own salvation and welfare of the world.

3. There is infinite moral and spiritual potential in man. To develop

that potential is man's foremost duty in life. He declared education

to be the manifestation of divinity inherent to man.

4. The members of the Math, while striving to advance their own

spiritual lives, also nursed cholera-stricken patients and labored

to provide some relief to victims of floods and famines.

5. Arch critic of: Idolatry Polytheism Religious superstitions,

Exploitation by priests in the religious sphere.

6. He envisaged an equal role to women in society and promoted

women emancipation and empowerment.

7. He wanted a new man to emerge from the confluence of the

spiritualism of the east and materialism of west.

Contribution to nationalism

1. Swami Vivekananda contributed enormously to the strengthening

of Hindu self-pride and cultural nationalism.

2. Vedanta was all about man-making. Manliness and activism are

the gospels of swamiji for the resurgence of India.

3. Young men and women, in his vision, were to be the building

blocks of a resurgent, Vedantic India.

4. He gave the call of self-sufficiency and self-help which he

considered necessary for national regeneration.

5. He inspired a whole generation of patriots and revolutionaries.

He is considered a patron prophet by the revolutionaries of Bengal.

6. He declared the spiritual superiority of the east at world

parliament of religions regaining the spiritual essences and self-

confidence of Indians.




36

7. He declared that India needs muscles of iron and nerves of steel

to retain its lost glory and pride.

8. Subhash Chandra Bose once commented that without swami

Vivekananda there is no scope for the emergence of nationalism in

Bengal as he is the one who shook the indolent Hindu in to

action and self-sacrifice.

Manifest pedagogy

Vivekanada as a personality is not just important as part of history his

ideas and thoughts vary from religion to ethics. Keeping in mind the

recent pattern of questions where there has been dominant emphasis on

Indian culture specifically religion as a topic. This issue has been selected

for the article. His ideas on Ethics is a tangential dimension and is not

easily available as part of your readings. Something which is not easily

available can be expected as a question.


Swami Vivekananda’s approach to the problems of India are a unique

admixture of spiritualism, Social reform and national regeneration.

Comment.

INDIAN SOCIETY

MOVEMENTS FOR OPENING PUBLIC SPACES OF WORSHIP FOR

WOMEN

In news

In recent times there have been movements for opening the public

places of worship for women like Sabarimala temple, Haji Ali

Dargah and Shani Signapur.


INDIAN SOCIETY- ROLE OF WOMEN AND WOMEN ORGANISATION





37

1. Diversity

2. Social Empowerment

INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Social justice

2. State and religion-specifically Judiciary and religion

3. Fundamental Rights- Concepts + secularism

Static dimensions

1. Concept of secularism in India-positive secularism and its

importance

2. Article 25-28 and their interpretation

3. Social Movements in India- specific to the issue of women

movements

Current dimensions

1. Women’s movement for opening of places of worship

2. Indian state and its role in religion (positive secularism)

3. Concepts of Essential Religious Practices

4. Judiciary and Religion

5. State interference in religion and threat to diversity

Content

Places of worship are ‘public’ and hence must be accessible to all without

disturbing the essentials of the religion which are determined case by

case basis by the judiciary to preserve both an integrated religion and an

integrated society.

Social reform as a project shall remain incomplete if it stops at being

caste inclusive and not gender inclusive. Recently there have been

movements in this regard demanding women entry at various worship

places like Haji Ali Dargah, Shani Shignapur and Sabarimala Temple




38

along with a petition with respect to the latter being taken up by the

Supreme Court.

Arguments for the ban on entry

Ban on the entry is part of the age long tradition, culture and belief

systems which will get disturbed.

It is in consonance with the nature of deity as Ayappa is a ‘Naishtik

Brahmin’ hence only menstruating women in the age between 10

and 50 are barred.

It is protected under laws, like rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places

of Public Worship (Authorization of Entry) Rules 1965, allows a

‘religious denomination’ to ban women in the menstruating age

group.

State intervention to change anything in this regard would be too

much of an intrusion.

It is an Essential Religious Practice and hence any attempt to

change will affect the fundamentals of the religion.

Women themselves who believe in these customs do not want the

revocation.

Counter Arguments

Traditions, culture and belief system need to be based on

principles of humanism and gender parity is the basic principle of

humanism.

Nature of deity being argued goes against the fundamental

understanding of God as an entity who is all encompassing and

universal.

Women being allowed in other temples of the same deity and not

this temple is basing too much on the physical form and not the

essential oneness.

Laws are subject to judicial scrutiny, which determines their validity

on the basis of ‘reasonableness’ which is further informed by

human progress and modernity and laws violating Fundamental

Rights, in this case Article 15, are subject to judicial scrutiny.




39

India follows the model of positive secularism and under Article

25(2)(b), State can make laws with respect to religion and temples

for ‘social reform’.

Allowing women won’t stop the cult of deity but will rather

reinforce it and hence it cannot be an Essential Religious Practice.

Women who believe in this practice are a product of social

conditioning of patriarchy which makes them believe that it is for

their good.

Need of the Hour:

With the petition lying with the judiciary it can take two stands:

1. A conservative reading, where in it might test the constitutionality

of the laws like Rule 3(b) and read it down.

2. A progressive reading where in along with constitutionality of laws,

it deals with questions of Religion, patriarchy and Role of

State.What is required is the second reading which will take the

movement beyond symbolic importance.

Essential Religious Practices (ERP)

Concept of ERP has been in news for months. SC’ decision that

“Tandava” dance is not an essential religious Practice of Anand Margis,

issues like whether Female Genital Mutilation constitutes an ERP.

Mosques are part of ERP of Islam, as ban on women entry into public

places is an ERP has made ERP an important issue.

ERP- these are practices followed by a religion which are considered

essential for the existence of the religion.

There is no agreement as to who determines what ERP of a particular

religion is. The religious heads say it is decided by the people who follow

it. But, recent SC judgments have proved that it is the state or specifically




40

Judiciary which determines what is ERP. And when the SC is determining

what constitutes ERP, it is basing its decisions on constitutional principles

and values which is termed the “constitutional morality” by Dr.

Ambedkar. So in all the above issues it is basically a tussle between

Constitutional Morality and Customary Morality (Hence the essay on this

topic!)

If a practice violates constitutional morality it is struck down.

State or Judiciary in such case has the constitutional mandate to

intervene.

1. Article 25(2) (b)

2. Judiciary as the guardian of the constitution

There are criticisms that state intervention in issues like temple entry are

harming the diversity of India. But, diversity has value when it is based on

principles of equality and liberty. When equal opportunities are denied

to a group it may lead to violent social movements. Hence, diversity

becomes a strength if it is managed well and it is the responsibility of

State and Judiciary. The recent SC judgment on Sabarimala sends a

message that though we are diverse groups in terms of culture, we are

united by a document of consensus called the Constitution of India.

Manifest Pedagogy

Inductive Learning

Inductive learning is the clubbing of similar issue, finding common

themes and generalizing them to make a broad topic. Religion as an

issue has made its presence in many issues like Sabarimala, Anand Marg

Sect, Female Genital Mutilation and section 377. All can be clubbed

together as all issues have one common theme Societal Morality Vs

Constitutional Morality and hence it was asked as an essay topic in

Mains-2018, Customary Morality cannot be guide to modern life.





41


1. What is an Essential Religious Practice? Do you think it strengthens

diversity of India? Substantiate your argument with recent issues in

news.

#METOO

In news

After the issue of sexual harassment was raised in Hollywood with

the Weinstein Scandal, the Indian version of #Metoo kicked off with

the allegations of sexual harassment against Nana Patekar.


1. Role of women and women organizations

2. Social empowerment

3. Social justice

4. Social history of India

5. Gender Ethics

Static dimensions

1. Women movements in India

2. Sexual violence as a topic in general

3. Constitutional provisions, policies, acts and schemes against sexual

harassment

Current Dimensions

1. #MeToo origins

2. Nature of the movement

3. #MeToo – criticisms

4. #MeToo as new social movement

5. #MeToo as 4th wave of feminism

6. #MeToo as an elitist movement

7. What is the future of #MeToo




42

Content

#Metoo as fourth wave of feminism

Feminist movements around the world have been classified in 4 waves

and #Metoo is considered as part of fourth wave. 4th wave of feminism

began in 2008 and continues till date. Its main focus is on sexual

harassment, misogyny and assault against women.

What are the other 3 waves of feminism?

1st wave: 1900-1950

1. Its focus was on women suffrage, political candidacy and to an

extent on property rights.

2. Its main focus was inequality in public life.

3. Rights demanded were, first political and later economic

4. Private life like family was kept out of its ambit.

2nd wave: 1960-80s

1. The focus moves to private institutions like family.

2. The famous call given under this is personal is political which

means that personal arena like family is also considered a political

area for struggle.

3. Issues of patriarchy are brought up.

4. Reducing inequalities in sex, family, work place and reproductive

rights are considered it priority areas.

3rd wave: 1990-2008

1. The focus here is on individualism and diversity

2. Individualism issues deals with question of what it means to be a

Feminist.

3. Diversity issue deals with making feminist movement more

inclusive like less Eurocentric bringing post-colonial perspectives

through issues of race and colour.

4. Lack of cohesion was a major criticism against the movement.




43

#MeToo as a Social Movement

Social movement are sudden abrupt social changes. Social changes are

gradual. Social movements have been classified as old and new social

movements.

New Social Movements began in 1960s in USA when students across

USA and Europe protested US hegemony and actions in Vietnam War.

Is #MeToo a New Social Movement?

It has certain features of a new social movement.

1. Women irrespective of race, religion, caste and country subscribe

to the idea hence it is based on an identity- identity of being a

women.

2. It focuses on post material issues like dignity of women and not on

material rights like property rights.

3. The techniques of protest are new like naming and shaming on

digital media.

4. It is led by intellectuals and not attached to any parties, classes or

caste.

5. It is based on the idea of new left and existentialism which

valorizes the spirit of liberty.

But it is not a movement in the complete sense as it is not inclusive and

the social base is limited.

It is not an inclusive movement

It is not an inclusive movement as the social issues and groups included

are not broad based

1. It is dominated by the urban women

2. Among the urban women it is restricted to upper and middle

classes

3. Even among these sections it is further restricted to tech savvy

groups




44

4. It excludes relatively deprived groups with in women groups like

Dalit and tribal women

5. It focuses only on cis-genders and terminologies which are

heteronormative. It leaves out transsexuals and homosexuals.

6. It deals with specifically one issue of women i.e., sexual

harassment. It leaves out many other issues faced by women out of

its narrative.

What next?

#Metoo movement though non inclusive has been revolutionary and

progressive. But what after this?

We will get the answer once we look at the central drawbacks of the

entire movement. The movement does not follow the due process. And if

this is analyzed we will get what is to be done next.

Due process in this case is the extent to which state intervention is

required to address sexual harassment issues. For example issues like

staring at women, though by definition definitely constitutes sexual

harassment, does it really need state intervention? If yes what kind of

punishment should be given? Rather than inviting state intervention

(which is not to deny that staring is sexual harassment) in such cases a

different narrative is to be built by society a narrative based on gender

parities, gender sensitivity and gender inclusivity and this in all

constitutes the due process and the future of the #Metoo movement.

Manifest pedagogy

Thematic study questions on issues related to women are omnipresent in

UPSC papers. Though explicitly mentioned in society under the topic

“role of women and women organizations” questions related to women

are asked in all four papers ranging from history (role of women in

freedom movement as part of dormant history) to ethics (gender ethics).

The right way to prepare for such topics is to ignore paper wise

classification and study issues related to women linking with all

disciplines. This saves your time and your time is precious.





45

Test Yourself: Mould your thoughts

Social movements unlike social change do not necessarily follow the due

process. Critically analyze the statement in the context of recent #MeToo

movement and suggest measures to bring due process in #MeToo

movement.

Naxalism

In news

Government of India's actions against Naxalism in recent times

Placing in Syllabus

Paper 1:

Poverty and Developmental Issues

Paper 2:

Government policies and interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre

and States.

Issues relating to development

Centre – State Relations

Paper 3:

Linkages between development and spread of extremism.

Various security forces and agencies and their mandate.

Static Dimensions

1. Naxalism, ideological basis, comparison with other terms

2. History and spread of Naxalism in India




46

3. Initiatives by earlier government against Naxalism

4. Various provisions made by the government for tribal

5. Naxalism is a social problem

6. Naxalism as a security issue

7. Naxalism and international linkages

Current dimension

Initiatives by the present government to tackle Naxalism

Content

Definitions of Naxalism and other related terms:

Naxalism:

Naxalism signifies a particular kind of militant and violent armed struggle

by the peasants and tribal who accept Maoist ideology.

Insurgency:

It is a violent struggle of a group of people who refuse to

accept their government's power or it is an occasion when

a group of people attempt to take control of their country by force.

Terrorism:

Terrorism is, in the broadest sense, the use of intentionally indiscriminate

violence as a means to create terror among masses of people; or fear to

achieve a religious or political aim. It is used in this regard primarily to

refer to violence against peacetime targets or in war against non-

combatants.

History

History has seen many instances of violence and appraisals of

labours, peasant classes, etc. against the elite ruling class.




47

The ideological basis is being works of Marx and Engels which is

commonly known as Communism/Marxism.

Later supported by Lenin and Mao Zedong

Revolutionary struggle of the downtrodden classes against the

exploitative ruling/capitalist class

Naxalism can be equated to Maoism creating fear, denying

democracy and development of tribal people.

Evolution of Naxalism in 4 phases:

Phase 1: Pre 1967 - CPI and Maoists

1920s: CPI introduced communist revolution in India.

By 1940s they took control of All Indian Trade Union Congress.

Early 1940s: Politically cornered because of their oppositions to

Quit India Movements.

1962: Indo - Sino war: CPI’s difference on whom to support: India

(Pro-USSR) & China (Socialist).

1964 : Hence, it resulted in a split into

Parent faction renamed as Pro-Soviet.

Other faction - CPI (Marxist)/CPI (M).

Phase 2

1967 : Naxalite Movement began in 3 police areas – Naxalbari,

Khoribari and Phansidewa (Darjeeling district, WB)

Late 1967 : Left wing Extremism (LWE) from the whole country

founded "All India Coordinated Committee" in Kolkata

1968 : Committee renamed as "All India Coordinated Committee

of Communist Revolutionaries" (AICCCR)

4 ideological aims of AICCCR:

Protracted people's war in line with Mao's teachings.

Adapting guerrilla warfare techniques.

Establishment of rural revolutionary base areas.

Encircling cities and abstaining from parliamentary elections.

1969: CPI Marxist - Leninist (ML) was founded by AICCCR.

It followed Maoist ideology.




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Soon, Naxalites spread into West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Andhra

Pradesh.

Main followers were peasants and adivasis (tribals) who were being

exploited and discriminated. From state authorities and

unemployed youth.

1970 to mid-1971: Peak of violent Naxal activities.

1971: Joint Operation of Police and Army in West Bengal, Bihar and

Odisha.

1972: Charu Mazumdar death in custody

1975: Emergency: Serious blow to Naxal movement.

Phase 3: Post emergency, the movement rose again in more violent

form and wider base was created. The strategy of 'protracted war'

was updated.

1980: CPI (ML) was converted into People's War Group (PWG)

Base in AP

Heavy casualties to police personnel

1992: PWG banned in AP (but continued its activities)

Simultaneously, Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) started

operating in Bihar.

It resulted in the movement to grow at a steady pace across many

parts in India.

Phase 4:

2004:

Significant development: Merger of PWG and MCCI into CPI (M).

Over 13 LWE groups were operating in India.

CPI (M), a major LWE outfit, after its emergence, Naxal violence was

on the rise.

Hence, PM's declaration

2005:

PM declares Naxalism as the biggest internal security challenge in

India.




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Naxalite activities in "Red Corridor" (mineral rich region – East

India) - Narrow contiguous strip of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and

Odisha

Peak of Maoist movement in Nepal: Naxal influence was seen from

"Tirupati to Pashupati".

2010:

Biggest incident – In Dantewada (Chattisgarh), 76 CRPF armed

personnel were killed. It exhibited the extent of strategic planning,

skills and armament of Naxalites.

2013

LWE made International headlines killing 27 (Including politicians)

in Sukma (Chattisgarh).

Spread today :

1/3rd geographical spread of India; Approximately 20 states (7

states worst affected – West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chattisgarh,

Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharshtra).

Mostly in Dandakaranya region (Chattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra

and Andhra Pradesh).

Golden Corridor stretch (Pune to Ahmedabad) i.e. ideological

spread to Bhils and Gonds.

Also present in Upper Assam + Arunachal Pradesh (Along River

Lohit).

CPI (M) is a major LWE outfit in India today and is the reason for

violence, deaths of civilians and security forces. It is included in

Schedule of Terrorist Organisations and outfits under UAPA (1967).




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Spread of Naxalism:

Maoists spread their ideology very systematically and in a phased

manner as follows:

1. Preparatory phase: Detailed survey of new areas identifying

important people, public issues on which masses can be mobilised.

2. Perspective phase: Mobilisation through frontal organizations

staging demonstration against Government or administration

based on local public grievances.

3. Guerrilla phase: converting the public movement into violent

guerrilla warfare.

4. Base phase: Establishment of their base and change the guerrilla

zone into a liberated zone.

5. Liberated phase: Establishment of people's Government.




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Naxalism as a Challenge to India

1. Administrative hurdles in dealing with LWE.

2. Poor infrastructure, lack of communication and shortage of trained

manpower are key problem to fight Maoists.

3. Absence of administration in these areas causing Maoists to

virtually run a parallel Government - Local panchayat leaders are

forced to resign and Maoists hold regular Jan Adalat.

4. Poor coordination among Central and State Police Forces and lack

of professionalism.

5. Inter-state boundaries are fissures which are exploited by Maoists.




52

6. Differences in policies among states with respect to surrender, talks

and capture etc.

Eg: Operation Greyhound (AP) – Naxalism is almost eliminated in the

state but they escaped to neighbouring state – Chattisgarh, Maharashtra

and Odisha.

If the Operation was co-ordinated with all states (support), then the

escape could have been prevented.

7. Recruited tribals have built-in advantage over the police forces.

They possess more resources and greater mobility in the region.

8. State Police Forces are poorly equipped and trained while Central

Forces lack commitment and motivation.

Solutions:

Government’s actions:

Post 2006, after PM’s declaration of Naxalism as India's biggest Internal

Security threat, many new steps were taken:

Creation "Naxal Management division" - a separate division in

Home Ministry.

Deal in areas of security, development, administration and public

perception in a holistic manner

Public awareness etc.

Expert committee headed by D. Bandopadhyay by Planning Commission

in 2006

It underscored the Political, Economic, Social and Cultural

discrimination faced by SC/ST across the country.

Lack of empowerment of local communities is the main reason for

spread of Naxalism.

State bureaucracy failed miserably with respect to governance in

affected areas.

Recommended tribal friendly land acquisition and rehabilitation

policy.




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Security related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme :

Funds for expenditure related to insurance, training, operational

needs of security forces, rehabilitation of surrendered LWE cadres,

infra for village defence committee and publicity material.

Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) :

Approved in 11th Plan - Rs. 500Cr for special infrastructure in

affected areas - mobility, road, weapons, etc.

To cater to critical infrastructure gaps, which can't be covered

under existing schemes.

Central Scheme for assistance to civilian victims/family of victims of

terrorists, communal and Naxal violence, 2009: It earmarked Rs.3 lakh

as relief amount.

Integrated Action Plan (IAP) :

By Planning Commission

Accelerated development in 88 selected tribal and backward

districts.

Its aim was to provide public infrastructure and services.

30Cr to each district through District level committee, comprising

o District Magistrate – The head

o SP

o District Forest Officer

Construction of schools, Anganwadis, drinking water facilities,

minor irrigation projects, health care centres, etc.

Road Requirement Plan for extremist affected areas Phase 1: 2009

For improvement of road connectivity in 8 extremely affected

states = Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand,

Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

7300 Cr project




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Scheme of Fortified Police Stations

Sanctioned 400 police stations in 9 affected states.

2 Cr per police station.

Civic Action Program (CAP)

Financial grants sanctioned to CAPs

In development affected states

It is a successful scheme - building bridge between local

population and security forces

It is a program Ministry of Home Affairs, focussing on "individual-

oriented" approach over "Project-oriented" approach.

Central Reserve Police force and BSF are responsible for

development projects costing 20Cr per annum on welfare schemes.

Roshni Scheme

Under Ministry of Rural Development

It focusses on Skill Development.

It targets nearly 50,000 rural men and women, mostly tribal.

It covers Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) on priority

basis.

It is operational in 24 worst affected LWE districts.

ARC Recommendations

Capacity building of security forces :

Protection to personnel responsible for implementation of

development programmes, public institutions such as schools,

transport, stations etc.

Training, reorientation and sensitizing police and paramilitary

personnel to the root causes of the disturbances to tackle in with

sensitivity.

Special trained task forces on the pattern of the Greyhounds in

Andhra Pradesh.




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Strengthening the local police station in terms of being more

cost effective.

Capacity building of administrative institutions :

Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers

(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

Land Rights to the extent of 4 hectares per Forest Dwelling

Scheduled Tribe (FDST) nuclear family.

Flexibility in administrative and judicial dispute settlement and

grievance redressal at the earliest.

Capacity building of Government Personnel :

Incentive and reward to performing officers, better emoluments,

recognition of their service and retention of residential

accommodation and education of their children in the State

headquarters, if so desired.

Better training on empathy and conflict resolution programs with

tribal facets and tribal culture study as its primary.

Capacity buildingof Local Bodies :

PESA, 1996 - welcome initiative for ensuring grass-roots

management of community affairs.

Capacity building of Civil society :

In some cases, the ‘NGO’ may even be a ‘front’ for the extremists

themselves.

While there may be some ‘black sheep’ among these

organisations, there is little doubt that they have the potential to

act as a bridge between the extremists and the government and in

educating the people about the futility of violence and preventing

aggravation of the situation by ventilating public grievances within

the legal-democratic framework




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Cutting the source of finance of Naxalites :

Naxalite raise their fund through extortion, illegal mining operation

etc. and there exist a vast nexus of contractor-transporter-

extremist .This has to be curtailed

One way to ensure that development funds do not reach the

extremists is by entrusting these works temporarily to

organisations like the BRO and other governmental agencies which

can execute these works directly. This is recommended as a purely

temporary measure and not to stifle local private entrepreneurship.

Manifest Pedagogy

Naxalism as a topic has both security and social dimensions. It has

international linkages as well so the questions could be interlink age of

all three sections for the holistic coverage of the topic Naxalism should

be studied as a Social problem along with all the initiatives by the

government to tackle Naxalism. Some tangential aspects like

constitutional provisions for the tribals to tackle Naxalism could also be

expected in the exam.


Briefly outline various provisions made for tribals and tribal areas in the

Constitution of India. Do you think they provide adequate governance

frame work to tackle Naxalism in India? Substantiate.





57

GEOGRAPHY

Andaman and Nicobar

Islands In News

The government has chosen 10 islands in Lakshadweep and

Andaman and Nicobar for their holistic development in the first

phase of work being done by newly constituted Island Development

Agency (IDA).

Placing it in Syllabus

Salient features of Indian physical Geography and distribution of

Key natural resources

Environment and disaster management

Security Issues

Andaman and Nicobar profile

Location:

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie between 6“ 45’ N and 13° 30’ N

latitudes and 90° 20’ E and 93° 56’ E longitudes.

Area:

A total area of landmass of these islands is approximately 8249 Sq. Km.

and coastline is about 2000 km. The land area of the Andaman Islands

is 6340 sq km and that of Nicobar is 1953 sq km.




58

Physiography:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands constitute the physiographic

continuation of the mountain ranges of Naga and Lushai Hills and

Arakan Yoma of Burma through Cape Negrais to the Andaman and

Nicobar Islands and South-east of Sumatra (Achin Head). The chains of

these islands are summits of submerged mountain ranges projecting

above the sea level running north to south.

The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago lie in a crescent shape that

stretches from cape Negrais of Myanmar to Banda Arc of Sumatra

(Indonesia) about 1200 km away from east coast of Indian mainland

and situated in the southernmost portion of the Bay of Bengal of the

Indian Ocean.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are broadly divided into two groups,

separated by the Ten Degree Channel.

The Andaman group consists of 324 islands of which 20 are inhabited.

The Main part of the group is collectively known as the Great Andamans

comprising of five closely adjoining Islands, North Andaman,

Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Baratang and Rutland Island, all

separated by narrow channels. The southernmost island of the Andaman

group is the Little Andaman which is separated by a strait called Duncan

passage. The highest peak in the whole of the archipelago is Saddle

Peak (732.12 m) in North Andaman.

The Nicobar group comprises 24 islands of which 13 are inhabited.

The Indira Point is the southernmost boundary of India and is about

144 km from Achin Head of Sumatra. Great Nicobar is the longest of the

Nicobar group. Other notable islands of the group are Car Nicobar,

Choura, Camorta, Trinket, Nancowry and Little Nicobar. Car Nicobar

is the Capital of the Nicobar group of islands. It is a coral island and has

a shape more or less like that of Australia with a land area of 127 sq. km.




59

Volcanism in Andamans

Barren Island volcano is an active andesitic volcano located 135 km

ENE of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. It is

the northern most volcano in the Indonesian arc. The volcano is

associated with the subduction of the Indian Plate beneath the

Burmese Plate along the Andaman Trench.

As per Geological Survey of India (GSI), Narcondum islands are

dormant andesitic volcanoes in the Andaman group.

Baratang island eruption is considered as the mud volcanic eruption

(mud volcano).

Corals of Andaman and Nicobar:

Much of the coral reefs of Andaman and Nicobar islands are fringing

reefs. Important regions where corals are distributed in Andaman and

Nicobar islands- North Reef Island, Mahatma Gandhi Marine

National Park, Rani Jhansi Marine National Park, Smith island, Ross

island, Avis island, Lamia Bay, Harmindar Bay, Campbell island,

Cinque Island, Nancowry group of Islands

Geology:

Geologically, the rock types in the Andaman and Nicobar group of

Islands include metamorphic rocks, sedimentaries and an igneous suite

of rocks called ophiolites. Metamorphic rocks include quartzite, schist,

amphibiolite of pre-cambrian era. Sedimentary rocks include sandstone,

shale, and limestone. And also the coralline rocks.

Climate:

The climate is monsoon tropical climate. Because of its latitudinal

location and maritime effects the extremes of the climate are unknown.

The average temperature varies between 23°c to 32°c. The average

annual rainfall recorded is around 318 cm. The islands receive rainfall

both from south-west and north-east monsoon with dry seasons

extending from Jan to April.




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Vegetation:

Nearly 86.93% of total area is forested. Important types of forest include

Tropical Evergreen vegetation, Moist Deciduous vegetation and

mangrove vegetation. Shoal Bay in South Andaman, Austrin Creek in

Mayabunder, Yerrata and Rangat Bay in Middle Andamans etc. are

important mangrove sites.

Agriculture:

Paddy is the most important crop especially cultivated in Andaman

Islands. Apart from rice, cashew nut, areca nut, coconut, banana,

sweet potato, vegetables, rabi pulses etc. are other important crops

Minerals:

As such the island has deposits of limestone. Some deposits of iron-ore

can be found and is considered as potential for hydrocarbons.

Island Development Agency

Constituted: 2017

Chairman: Home Minister

Other Members: Cabinet secretary, Home Secretary, Secretary (MoEF-

Environment, Forest and Climate change), Secretary (Tourism) and

Secretary(Tribal Welfare)

Areas: Holistic development in the project islands after giving due

consideration to unique maritime and territorial biodiversity of the

islands.

Description:

IDA discusses and decides the policies and programmes for the

integrated development of the Islands, and reviews the progress of

implementation and impact of the programmes of the development.




61

The recent and second meeting of IDA was held in November 2017. It

reviewed concept development plans and detailed master plans for

holistic development of 10 islands, 5 in Andaman & Nicobar islands

(Smith, Ross, Aves, Long and Little Andaman) and 5 in Lakshwadeep (

Minicoy, Bangaram, Suheli, Cherium and Tinnakara ).

Prominent conservation sites include:




62

Tribes of Andaman and Nicobar:

Manifest Pedagogy

Why was this topic chosen?

Andaman and Nicobar islands was in news for different reasons.

1. Island development authority was formed in 2017 (Governance)

2. Issue of invasive species on the islands was a prominent

(Environment)

3. India for the first time has invited a foreign country (Japan) to

invest on the islands. This was a break from the earlier stand of

non-interference in the region (International Relations)

4. Centre relaxes Andaman's Restricted Area Permit conditions

specified for foreign tourists (Economy Tourism)





63

OUMUAMUA

Zipping into our solar system from above, an interstellar now known

as Oumuamua, or 1I/2017 U1 swung around the Sun and shot away

again.


1. Geography: Origin of universe and various space phenomena

2. Awareness in the fields of Space

Static dimensions

1. Celestial bodies esp. Comets and Asteroids

2. Space observation

Current dimensions

1. Telescopes in space observation

2. Alien probe speculation

Content

‘Oumuamua means “scout” or “messenger” in Hawaiian.

Astronomers used the Spitzer Space Telescope for over 30 hours of

observations of ‘Oumuamua in the infrared.

Some observations and inferences on Oumuamua

The object known as 1I/2017 U1 (and nicknamed ‘Oumuamua)

was traveling too fast (54 miles per second) to have originated in

our solar system. Comets and asteroids from within our solar

system move at a slower speed, typically an average of 12 miles

per second.

‘Oumuamua entered our solar system from the rough direction

of the constellation Lyra, but it’s impossible to tell where it

originally came from. Thousands of years ago, when ‘Oumuamua

started to wander from its parent planetary system, the stars were




64

in a different position so it’s impossible to pinpoint its point of

origin. It could have been wandering the galaxy for billions of

years.

‘Oumuamua is headed back out of our solar system and won’t be

coming back. It’s rapidly headed in the direction of the

constellation Pegasus and will cross the orbit of Neptune in about

four years and cover one light year’s distance in about 11,000

years.

It is seen as a speck of light through a telescope, but its unique

rotation leads us to believe that it’s elongated like a cigar, about

10 times longer than it is wide.

A rapid response observing campaign allowed us to watch as

‘Oumuamua got an unexpected boost in speed. The acceleration

slightly changed its course from earlier predictions.

Unusual variations in the comet’s brightness suggest it is rotating

on more than one axis.

Comets in our solar system kick off lots of dust and gas when

they get close to the sun, but ‘Oumuamua did not, which led

observers to consider defining it as an asteroid. It could be

giving off gases that are harder to see than dust, but it’s impossible

to know at this point.

The discovery of an interstellar object has been anticipated for

decades. The space between the stars probably has billions and

billions of asteroids and comets roaming around independently.

Scientists understood that, inevitably, some of these small bodies

would enter our own solar system. This interstellar visit by

‘Oumuamua reinforces our models of how planetary systems form.

After January 2018, ‘Oumuamua' was no longer visible to

telescopes, even in space. But scientists continue to analyze the

data gathered during the international observing campaign and

crack open more mysteries about this unique interstellar visitor.

Because ‘Oumuamua' is the first interstellar object ever

observed in our solar system, researchers caution that it’s

difficult to draw general conclusions about this newly-

discovered class of celestial bodies. Observations point to the

possibility that other star systems regularly eject small comet-like




65

objects and there should be more of them drifting among the

stars.

Manifest Pedagogy

Inter-disciplining

The studies on origin of universe, space phenomena, celestial bodies and

their observations are of prime importance for Prelims. Usually these are

studied under Science & Technology, but there has been an inter-

disciplining trend like IR or even economic issues being asked in

geography. For eg., Indus Water Treaty, an IR topic was asked in

geography. The above topic was chosen to give a peek to the students

into this inter-disciplinary trend.

Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN)

In News

UDAN phase 3

Placing it in Syllabus

Paper 2: Economic Geography (Not mentioned exclusively in syllabus)

Paper 3: Infrastructure - Airports

Static Dimensions

1. Role of transport

2. Role of airways

3. Regional Development

Current Dimensions

1. UDAN scheme as an enabler of regional development

2. Tourism and trade

3. Urbanization and industrialization





66

Content

Role of Transport

Transportation is a non-separable part of any society. It exhibits a very

close relation to the style of life, the range and location of activities and

the goods and services which will be available for consumption.

Advances in transportation has made possible changes in the way of

living and the way in which societies are organized and therefore have a

great influence in the development of civilizations.

Transport plays an important role in the development of industry and

agriculture. The aim of all economic activities involving movement of

goods and men is to transform things in their present forms/ places and

time to more highly desired forms, places and time preferences.

It is the function of transport to bridge the gap between producers

and consumers so that goods and services may be exchanged in time

for their mutual benefit. A developed transport system helps large-scale

production and mass distribution with accompanying regional

specialization and division of labor. The economic utilization of

different types of resource would completely be impossible to carry of

one place to another place without transport system. Exchanges of

goods that which we call trade, is totally dependent on the availability of

transport networks.

Role of airways in India

In big country as India where major industrial and commercial centers

are scattered and far apart and where transport services must contend

with a variety of terrain and climatic conditions, air transport has a big

role to play. It offers savings in time that cannot be matched by any

other mode of transport over long distances. The role played by the air-

transport in the development of international trade and tourism is

becoming increasingly important. Besides this contribution, aviation is a

must for a country's national defence and political security. It is in the

interest of a nation to possess excellent civil fleets which can serve their

commerce and industry during peace time and at the same time remain




67

available for immediate conversion to defence purposes during the time

of national emergency.

Regional Connectivity Scheme

As the Indian economy grows, consumption-led growth in populated

metros is expected to spill over to hinterland areas. This is also expected

to be on account of factors of production (land, labor, etc.) becoming

costlier in the densely populated metro cities. In this scenario, air

connectivity can provide required impetus to the economic growth of

regional centers (towns / cities).

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India released the

National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 (NCAP 2016).

One of the key objectives of NCAP 2016 is to “establish an integrated

eco-system which will lead to significant growth of civil aviation

sector, which in turn would promote tourism, increase employment

and lead to a balanced regional growth”.

The scheme provides a unique opportunity to take flying to the masses

by way of fiscal incentives, infrastructure support, procedural

simplifications and monetary subsidies.

The scheme has been launched to provide connectivity to un-served

and underserved airports of the country through revival of existing air-

strips and airports. This is the first of its kind scheme and will be

implemented for a period of 10 years.

UDAN (“Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik”) scheme will make flying easier

and affordable for the common man. It aims to stimulate regional

connectivity through a market-based mechanism. UDAN network will

cover the whole country. Accordingly, 24 airports in the western region,

17 airports in the northern region, 11 in the southern region, 12 in east

and 6 in north-eastern parts of the country are proposed to be

connected under UDAN.




68

The scheme is expected to have positive effects on the economy in

terms of employment and investment. The scheme will also promote

tourism and balanced regional growth.

The Regional Air Connectivity Scheme, or UDAN (“Ude Desh Ka Aam

Naagrik”) attempts to reduce the financial burden on operators by:

1. Having central or state bodies grant concessions in taxes and

tariffs

2. Introducing a Viability Gap Funding (VGF) corpus to bridge the gap

between expenditure and revenue

3. Revival of un-served or under-served airports/ routes, including

routes connecting Agatti and Leh

4. Cost-effective security solutions by Bureau of Civil Aviation Security

(BCAS) and State Governments

The potential RCS airports have been identified on the basis of the

following parameters:

1. At least 150 km distance from the nearest operational airport (with

a few exceptions)

2. Demographic profile, industrial profile, likely passenger demand

and market potential

3. Tourism potential of the airport and its hinterland

4. Quality of existing runway and terminal

5. Need for additional land acquisition and capital investments

6. Connectivity with and competition from other modes of transport

like highways and railways

UDAN scheme will help in better regional development by integrating

and connecting the hilly and mountainous regions of North-east and

Western Himalayan states. Airways are preferred mode for connecting

areas of difficult terrain. Promotion of tourism in these states will help in

generating employment opportunities and economic development.

UDAN will help in growth of tier 2 and tier 3 cities by saving the issues of

congestion of class 1 cities. Tier 2 cities will emerge as attractive

destinations for investment. Integrated mode of transportation where




69

each mode is complementary to each other will help in better regional

development.

UDAN scheme has been divided into:

Phase 1 of the scheme was launched in 2017. Six airports of North-east

will be opened under UDAN the airports of North-east include- Shillong,

Dimarpur, Imphal, Silchar, Aizawl and Agartala were connected. 128 new

regional fixed-wing routes from 70 airports, including 27 currently well

served metro airports and 43 regional were awarded to 5 fixed-wing

airlines on 27 April 2017. Five airlines are Air Odisha, Air Deccan, Turbo

Megha Airways, Alliance Air and SpiceJet.

UDAN 2 (Phase 2) will connect 43 airports and helipads with priority to

the North-East and the hill states. States with maximum number of

airports and helipads which will see activation under UDAN 2 scheme.

These states are Uttarakhand (15 airports), Uttar Pradesh (9 airports),

Arunachal Pradesh (8 airports), Himachal Pradesh (6 airports), Assam (5

airports) and Manipur (5 airports).Some of the cities that would now be

connected include Kargil, Darbhanga, Kasauli, Bokaro, Dumka, Hubli,

Kannur and Pakyong, among others.

Udan 3 – The bidding process for phase 3 is underway. The priority in

this phase is connecting tourist destinations. Routes for auction in this

phase will include popular tourist destinations such as Mahabodhi

temple in Bihar, Ajanta and Ellora in Aurangabad and Hampi in

Karnataka and others. The Ministry of Tourism has identified 12 tourist

hotspots to connect under the scheme. The centre also intends to

operate seaplanes in the phase. The government porposes to connect

recently unveiled Statue Of Unity at Sardar Sarovar Dam, Sabarmati

Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand and Nagarjuna

sagar In Telangana through seaplanes.

Manifest Pedagogy

Geography has been one section which has seen highly dynamic

questions in recent times. Even Geography optional has seen path

breaking questions. In general studies topics like Indus Water Treaty (IR),





70

IRNSS (S&T) have been asked in Geography which could never be

visualized in Geography earlier. Keeping pace with this changing pattern

Manifest 11 has picked regional Connectivity scheme, traditionally a

topic of Economy, as part of Geography.

Even though the features of the topic remain the same, the answer

should be written from regional dimension. Geography is centered on

the study of a region, hence impact of a scheme on different parts of

country should be stressed upon. Other infrastructural initiatives such as

Sagarmala, Bharatmala, Railway Freight Corridors etc. are also important

in this regard.


Transport infrastructure and its impact on regional development is

paramount. In light of this statement examine the impact of UDAN

scheme?

Manifest IAS – Who Are We? By now you might have understood that our approach towards UPSC is

different from the traditional market way of preparing. This approach has

been developed and perfected by our team of esteemed faculty with

diverse backgrounds ranging from Delhi University to BITS Pilani. This

approach has emerged by closely observing the UPSC way for over a

decade both as aspirants then as the faculty members of institutes such

as Insights on India and M.Puri IAS. And this approach has now

developed as our Vision and Mission at Manifest IAS.

Vision and Mission

Our Vision is to facilitate Civil Services Preparation the Civil Service Way.

In this mad rush of institutions, mentors and test series somewhere

aspirants have lost the UPSC aspects in preparation and it has become

“the institute’s way of preparing “which is inherently faulty. We aim to

change this and bring the UPSC way.




71

Our Missions

1. CONCEPT BASED LEARNING AND TEACHING: Learn the

concepts first and answer the questions. Do not discover concepts

through questions.

2. DECODING: Decode UPSC syllabus for aspirants

3. CUSTOMISATION: Readings according to syllabus and not

books standardized by market

4. ACCULTURIZATION: Sculpt the thought process of aspirants

to develop “Civil Services Discretion”

Civil Service Discretion in preparation is

Read and understand the readings the “UPSC way”

Consolidating them into notes for quick reference

5. MOULDING: Using your notes to answer questions. Not

writing what you know but what UPSC demands.

6. INTERLINKING AND INTERDISCIPLINING: This is the last stage

of linking subjects like international relations with geography,

geography with economy and so on according to the demands of

UPSC.




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73

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

CBI VS CBI

In news

Allegations of corruption against Special Director, Rakesh Asthana

by a whistleblower Satish Sana, subsequent removal of CBI Director,

Alok Verma by CVC and issues related to it.


1. Statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies

2. Governance - transparency and accountability

3. Ethics - institutions and integrity

Static dimensions

1. CBI- formation, composition, appointment, powers and functions.

2. Its role in transparency and accountability.

3. Declining role of CBI.

Current dimensions

1. Legal framework governing CBI and issues related to it.

2. Independence and autonomy of CBI.

3. POCA issue of prior consent in CBI.

4. Institutions and their importance in Indian political system.

5. Whistle blowers Act.

Content

Establishment of CBI

CBI was set up in 1963 by a resolution of Ministry of Home Affairs

(MoHA) under the Prime Ministership of Lal Bahadur Shastri. Delhi

special police establishment (DPSE), set up in 1941, is merged with CBI. It

was later transferred to Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and




74

Pensions (MoPPP). It is not a statutory body. It derives its powers from

DSPE Act, 1946.

The CBI is the main investigating agency of the Central Government. It

plays an important role in preventing corruption and maintaining

integrity in administration. It also provides assistance to the Central

Vigilance Commission.

Composition

The CBI is headed by a Director, an IPS officer with a rank of

Director General of Police. The director is selected based on the

CVC Act 2003, and has a two-year term.

He is assisted by a special director or an additional director.

Additionally, it has a number of Joint Directors, Deputy Inspector

Generals, Superintendents of Police and all other usual ranks of

police personnel.

Appointment

The amended DPSE Act empowers a committee to appoint the director

of CBI. The committee consists the following people:

Prime Minister – chairperson

Leader of Opposition – member

Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court Judge recommended by

the Chief Justice – member

Jurisdiction, powers and restrictions

The legal powers of investigation of the CBI are derived from the DSPE

Act 1946, which confers powers, duties, privileges and liabilities on the

Delhi Special Police Establishment (CBI) and officers of the Union

Territories.

The central government may extend to any area (except Union

Territories) the powers and jurisdiction of the CBI for investigation,

subject to the consent of the government of the concerned state. Under




75

the act, the CBI can investigate only with notification by the central

government.

Functions:

The CBI being a Union subject may investigate:

Cases of corruption, bribery and misconduct of the Central

government employees.

Cases relating to infringement of fiscal and economic laws.

However, such cases are taken up either in consultation with or at the

request of the department concerned.

Serious crimes committed by organized gangs of professional

criminals, having national and international ramifications.

Coordinates the activities of the anti-corruption agencies and the

various state police forces.

Takes up, on the request of a state government, any case of public

importance for investigation.

Maintains crime statistics and disseminating criminal information.

Provision of Prior Permission

The CBI is required to obtain the prior approval of Central Government

before conducting any enquiry or investigation into an offence

committed by officers of rank of Joint Secretary and above in Central

Government and its authorities.

State’s Consent

The High Courts and the Supreme Court have the jurisdiction to order a

CBI investigation into an offence alleged to have been committed in a

state without the state's consent.

The court clarified this is an extraordinary power which must be

exercised sparingly, cautiously and only in exceptional situations.




76

POCA issue of prior consent in CBI

The power of superintendence over the CBI lies with the central

government save for the cases of corruption under POCA 1988 in which

the superintendence rests with the CVC.

The CBI had acquired a high reputation and won the confidence of the

people for its motto: Industry, Impartiality and Integrity. But never

before has any major rift — this time between the top two in the agency,

the Director and the Special Director — played out in the open.

And never before has the agency registered a serious case of corruption

against its own Special Director, for allegedly accepting bribes

amounting to crores from someone under investigation.

A gradual decline

1. The CBI’s decline has been gradual. The first setback came in the

Rajiv Gandhi era, with the single directive requiring the CBI to take

prior permission of the government before initiating an inquiry

against “decision-making-level officers”.

2. The Supreme Court, in Vineet Narain and Others v. Union of India

(1997), apart from passing several orders to uphold the integrity of

the CBI, the CVC and the Enforcement Directorate, quashed the

Single Directive as unconstitutional.

3. But the political class brought the directive back in the CVC Act of

2003, which was again set aside by the court.

4. The government got the corruption law amended in the last

monsoon session of Parliament, requiring the CBI to take prior

approval for initiating investigation against all categories of

government servants.

Whistle Blowers Act, 2011

This issue is dealt here because of the act of whistleblowing by Satish

Sana against Asthana.

Features of the act:




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The Act seeks to protect whistle blowers, i.e. persons making a

public interest disclosure related to an act of corruption, misuse of

power, or criminal offense by a public servant.

Any public servant or any other person including a non-

governmental organization may make such a disclosure to the

Central or State Vigilance Commission.

Every complaint has to include the identity of the complainant.

The Vigilance Commission shall not disclose the identity of the

complainant except to the head of the department if he deems it

necessary. The Act penalizes any person who has disclosed the

identity of the complainant.

The Act prescribes penalties for knowingly making false

complaints.

Need of the hour

1. The CBI came into existence through a Government of India

resolution. Even today, the agency continues to function under the

archaic Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946, for its

powers of investigation and jurisdiction.

2. In pursuance of the orders passed by the court in the Vineet Narain

case, the CVC Act of 2003 was passed, and later, the Lokpal Act.

Both these Acts partly deal with the powers and functions of the

CBI, including providing some much-needed safeguards.

3. But till date, the CBI does not have an Act of its own, although the

need for a Comprehensive Act has been felt for a long time now.

4. The Estimates Committee of Parliament, under Jaswant Singh, had

recommended that the CBI should be given statutory status and

have legal powers to investigate cases with inter-State

ramifications.

5. Implementation of Santhanam Committee recommendation:

Amendment of Article 311 of the Constitution in such a manner

that the judicial process in corruption cases could be simplified and

expedited.

6. Implementation of Lokapal Act and Lokayuktas Act in right spirit.

Yet, while providing some safeguards to the CBI, the CVC Act also

created impediments. It vested in the CVC the “superintendence” of the




78

DPSE (and thus the CBI) in relation to investigation under the Prevention

of Corruption Act, 1988.

For the remaining areas, the act left the “superintendence” to the

government. So, the “superintendence” over the CBI is something which

is shared today between the CVC and the government.

Thus, while the answerability for the CBI’s functioning is with the

government, the power of “superintendence” in corruption cases lies

with the CVC. The present crisis owes a lot to this diarchic arrangement

in the CVC Act.

Manifest pedagogy

It is a highly politicized issue. Political issues are not asked in UPSC as

bureaucracy is expected to be neutral. But in these politicized issues,

analytical issues related to Constitution, Policy, Ethics etc. are deduced

and asked as question. For example, the tussle between the Lieutenant

Governor of Delhi and the Chief Minister though a highly politicized one

had Constitutional (Constitutional Amendment 69 and Federalism)

aspects to which were asked twice in the exam. So such issues required

perspicacity to look beyond the issues.

In the issue of CBI, Corruption and lack of ethics is an immediate issue.

When we look beyond the issue, we can deduce the topic of Institutions

and their importance in India as these are institutions time and again

that their institutional autonomy (RBI, Judiciary, ECI, and now CBI) is

under threat in India.

Some Food for Thought on the topic of Institutions

Institutions are systems functioning on the basis of rules, regulations and

principles. These rules are confined to prevent confusion and misuse.

Personalities on the other hand work within these framework. They run

them, they add value to it. They have to follow the rules, regulations and

principles.





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Human beings are falliable. They can make mistakes. They may become

authoritative. The rules of institutions moderate the arbitrary expressions

of power of human beings.

Indian Political System made of Institutions like Parliament, Judiciary, and

President etc. The importance of Institutions in India:

a) Check authoritative rule of personalities.

b) Bring about the rule of law and avoid rule of human beings.

c) Bring about procedural correctness in achieving an action.

d) Establish checks and balances system for effective diffusion of power.

e) Institutions are integrated systems which function of principles of

autonomy and independence

The drawbacks of too many institutions are Institutional inertia, red-

tapism effectively lead to slow development.


A separate law is required to restore the credibility of CBI, which is in

limbo due to multiple interpretations about the legal framework

governing it. Critically comment.

Higher education reforms under the new regime

In news

Many reforms in Higher Education in India are recommended and

are being implemented. Also, new bodies are constituted in the

sector.


Development and management of social sector / service relating to

health, education and human resources




80

Static dimensions

Higher education in India: Problems and Solutions

1. Governance related issues

2. Autonomy issues

3. Funding, infrastructure and international collaboration

Current dimensions

Reforms in higher education in the new regime and their effectiveness

1. Higher Education Commission of India (HECI)

2. Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

3. Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN)

4. Institutions of Eminence (IOE)

5. Impact of globalization on Higher Education in India

Content

Higher Education Commission of India

(Repeal of University Grants Commission) Act 2018

This Act is applicable for all higher educational institutions established,

under any Act of the Parliament excluding Institutions of National

Importance so notified by the Government, Act of State Legislature and

to all Institutions Deemed to be Universities so notified by the

Government.

The Commission has many functions inter alia to promote the quality

of academic instruction, maintenance of academic standards and the

autonomy of higher educational institutions. It ensure maintenance

of academic standards in the Higher Education system in the Country

and for pursuance of which it specifies learning outcomes, laydown

standards of teaching, assessment and research, evaluate the yearly

academic performance.




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Here are the key differences between the proposed Higher Education

Commission of India from the present University Grants Commission:

Powers UGC HECI

Financial It disburses grants to Central

institutions out of its funds.

It will not have any financial

powers.

Academic

Promotes and coordinates

university education and

determine and maintain

standards of teaching,

examination and research.

It will specify standards for grant

of authorization to a university of

higher educational institution to

commence its academic

operations.

Inspection

UGC conducts periodic

inspections.

No inspections.

Action on

bogus

institutions

It terminates affiliations or

withholds grants to universities

for violations of its regulations.

It will be empowered to penalize

or even shut down sub-standard

institutions.

Composition

Has a Chairman, a Vice-

Chairman, and 10 members.

It shall comprise a Chairperson, a

Vice-Chairperson, and 12

members.

Regular staff

The UGC appoints its own staff.

The same will apply to the HECI

as well. The present staff of UGC

will be re-trained to work on fully

digital mode — without physical

files — at HECI.

Rashtriya Uchhchatra Shiksha Abhiyan

Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013 aims at

providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational

institutions.




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The central funding (in the ratio of 60:40 for general category

States, 90:10 for special category states and 100% for union

territories) would be norm based and outcome dependent.

The funding to states would be made on the basis of critical

appraisal of State Higher Education Plans, describing equity,

access and excellence in higher education.

Objectives

To improve the overall quality of state institutions

To create a facilitating institutional structure for planning and

monitoring at the state level, promoting autonomy in State

Universities and improving governance in institutions.

To ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher

educational institutions

To create an enabling atmosphere for research and innovations.

To correct regional imbalances in access to higher education

To improve equity and inclusion in higher education by including

minorities, SC/ST and women.

Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN)

Govt. of India approved a new program titled Global Initiative of

Academic Networks (GIAN) in Higher Education

To tap the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs

internationally.

To encourage their engagement with the institutes of Higher

Education in India.

To augment the country's existing academic resources, accelerate

the pace of quality reform.

To evaluate India's scientific and technological capacity to global

excellence.

It facilitates participation of high quality international academicians for

delivering short-term courses and programs in Indian institutions.




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Initially 500 international faculties will be engaged in conducting courses

and later in subsequent years 1000 faculties would be engaged under

GIAN throughout India.

The courses under GIAN will vary in duration from one to three weeks

depending on the subject and will be free for students of the host

institution and available at nominal fee for others.

These courses will be webcasted live for students across the country

through web portal of IIT Kharagpur.

Institutes of Eminence (IoE)

Eligibility

Only higher education institutions, currently placed in the top 500 of

global rankings or top 50 of National Institutional Ranking Framework

(NIRF), are eligible to apply for eminence tag. The private Institutions of

Eminence can also come up as Greenfield ventures provided sponsoring

organization submits convincing perspective plan for 15 years.

The scheme of IoE was rolled out by University Grants Commission

(UGC). It aims to help 20 higher education (10 public and 10 private)

institutions from country break into top 500 global rankings in 10 years,

and then eventually break into top 100 over time.

UGC (Declaration of Government Educational institutions as

Institutions of Eminence) Guidelines, 2017 are:

1. Multi-disciplinary and have both teaching and research.

2. Reasonably good mix of domestic and foreign students.

3. Good proportion of foreign or foreign qualified faculty.

4. Student amenities comparable with that of globally reputed

institutions.

5. Reasonably large owned campus with adequate space for

expansion.

Attributes of IOEs that will separate them from other universities:




84

1. Free from most UGC regulations which are binding on other

universities.

2. Free to fix their own curriculum.

3. Can admit 30 per cent of foreign students on merit

4. They can recruit foreign faculty up to 25 per cent of its faculty

strength

They shall be free to enter into academic collaborations with other

institutions of India. The ultimate objective is for these Institutions of

Eminence to acquire global standing in a few years. However, institutions

based on a list of negative countries prepared by the External Affairs and

Home ministries will be exceptions.

Manifest pedagogy

Consolidation

Education is one topic on which every year there have been questions.

Such topics require comprehensive preparation by consolidating all

issues at one place because inter disciplinary questions might be asked.

Below is an example along with the answer for such questions. The

answer given is a model to mould your answer writing skills.

Test yourself: Mould your thought

Critically examine the impact of Globalization on Higher Education

in India. Do you think Institutions of Eminence (IoE) initiative

addresses these issues?

Globalization is a meta-event which has impacted every sector and

every region of the world, which came officially as a phenomenon post

1991. Education as a sector has been impacted both positively and

negatively.

Positive impacts of globalization on the higher education

Eased the entry of foreign institutions and promoted integration

with local institutions.





85

Knowledge sharing through integrated networks of

communication among universities facilitated by incoming

technology.

Teachers are exposed to new techniques and technologies of study

Negative impacts of globalization on new education

Huge privatization of higher education and education losing social

focus.

Universities focusing on subject which are market-driven and which

support the industries.

Commercialization of education by private players reduces the

opportunities for poor.

The percentage of people pursuing higher education is abysmally

low, which is deteriorated further by commercialization.

A desperate attempt to meet market needs has taken the focus

away from research and development, which is one of the prime

reasons that Indian universities do not find a place in top global

rankings.

Commercialization of education has had worse effects on

vulnerable groups like women, differently abled, SCs and STs.

Lack of good universities locally has led moving of talent pruned

by schools to outside countries which sets the foundation for brain

drain.

Market driven approach has impacted humanities subjects in

general.

Institutions of Eminence (IoE) scheme:

The scheme under the union human resource development ministry aims

to project Indian institutes to global recognition. How the scheme

addresses adverse effects of globalization?

Promotion of 10 ‘Public Institutions’ under it through financial

assistance and greater autonomy will bring social focus back to

higher education.

Greater autonomy, less political interference provides right

academic environment.




86

Academic collaborations being allowed in such institutions with

top 500 in the world ranking institutions without permission of

UGC which shall promote Research and Development.

Quality improvement will reverse students drain.

Making them world class institutions will in turn attract students

from various countries

To address the issues of globalization in higher education, institute of

eminence scheme is a right but first step, which should be accompanied

by comprehensive reforms in higher education is to include institutional

reforms.

Judiciary, Constitution and recent judgements

In news

The role of judiciary with respect to interpreting Constitution has

made news in the recent times in issues like Section 377, Section

497, Sabarimala Temple entry, Prohibition of bursting of crackers.


1) Indian Constitution

2) Judiciary

Static dimensions

1) Concept of Judicial Review

2) Judiciary and Federalism

3) Judiciary and Religion

4) Judiciary and Constitution

5) Contempt of Court




87

Current dimensions

1) Judiciary-Governance of Elites and Populism

2) Judicial decrees and the issue of their implementation

3) Originalist Vs Evolutionary/Living tree views and the concept of

Transformative Constitution

Content

SC in giving its decisions on issues like Sabarimala temple entry, sec 497,

sec 377 and prohibition of bursting of crackers has taken on an active

role. The judgements and its impacts are covered almost everywhere. But

out of these issues there are certain tangential issues which are given in

the current dimensions above.

In all the above issues there are aspects like

1) Role of Judiciary in interpreting Constitution

2) Originalist Vs Evolutionary view

By the Constitution of India, Judiciary generally, specifically SC is

considered the guardian of the Constitution. It is given the power of

judicial review, one of the functions of which is to examine the

Constitutionality of laws made. In interpreting the Constitution judges at

times follow certain doctrines and at the times their discretion based on

their experiences and expertise.

Through their discretion judges can take an Originalist or an evolutionary

view of a particular issue or an article or a particular clause in an article.

Originalist view

1) Here the judge interprets the article or clause as it was intended by

the Constitutional makers

2) For such a judge, Originality of the Constitution matters




88

For instance, an Originalist view would view Article 17 as abolition of

Untouchability only under the confines of caste and not gender as it was

not intended by the Constitutional makers.

Advantages of Originalist views

Preserve’s the sanctity of the Constitution

Checks the arbitrary discretionary powers of the judges

Disadvantages

It makes the Constitution stagnant and impervious to change with

changing times.

Citizens may become discontented with the Constitution and it may lead

to social movements and revolutions.

Evolutionary/Living Tree view

1) In this case the judge interprets the clause as it means today

2) It goes beyond the meaning intended by the framers

For instance, an evolutionary interpreter would view “Untouchability in a

broader sense which may also include discrimination or seclusion of

women during the period of menstruation. Hence Sabarimala issue

under such a reading finds place not only under articles like 14, 15, 25 -

28 but also under article 17.

Such a view expands the scope of article 17 and opens the door for

further reforms which may traditionally be not considered as part of

article 17.Such a Constitution is called Transformative Constitution.

Transformative Constitution has two meanings:

1) The Constitution changes with time, according to rising aspirations

2) Social change in the country is led by the Constitution. That is

Constitution is responsible for the transformation of the society.




89

The idea of transformative constitution got a huge fillip in Navtej Singh

Johar vs UOI case of 2018 (section 377) in which two doctrines were

used.

Doctrine of progressive realization of rights – certain rights cannot be

given at a point of time and can only be progressively realized like

economic rights under DPSP. Under the above case sexual orientation as

a right though not visualized by constitutional framers but is included

today as the constitution is considered a progressive document.

Doctrine of Non-retrogression or Non-regression

According to this a right given cannot be taken back or reversed. The

decision of Section 377 being declared unconstitutional cannot be

reversed. This ensures that the progress of the constitution as a

document cannot be challenged.

These two doctrines make constitution of India truly transformative.

Advantages of Evolutionary/Living Tree view/ Transformative Constitution

1) Constitution will be a living document

2) It gets more inclusive over time

3) Constitution-the fundamental law of the land becomes harbinger of

change

4) Transformative Constitution, acts as a safety valve by bringing

peaceful change and preventing violence.

Disadvantages

1) Discretionary powers of judges may be used to alter the Constitution

completely.

2) It may lead to Judicial Despotism.

3) Constitutional change may not necessarily lead to transformation in

the society .For instance, though parts of sec 377 were struck down and




90

now it may guarantee State protection but the attitude of people may

need not necessarily change.

Judiciary, Intellectual Elitism and Populist issues

Judiciary is an institution of the learned who are trained in the specifics

of law. Parliament and executive on the other hand are representatives of

the people. The nature of the institutions being different, their decision

making and factors determining them are different.

Parliament and executive who are answerable to public in their

Constituency (vote bank) do not usually take any decision which does

not appeal to the popular imagination. This takes an ugly form when the

popular imagination is anti-legal, anti-institutional and anti-minority.

Example: Ban on women entry into Sabarimala, sec 377 etc. We hardly

see Parliament taking any initiatives on these issues.

Judiciary on the other hand is not bound by the popular opinion and is

accountable to the Constitution. So in recent times, Judiciary has taken a

strong stand over the above issues. At times the decisions may not be

acceptable to the popular imagination like the removal of ban on temple

entry for women, the sudden ban on bursting of crackers which did not

go well with the manufacturers as livelihood was not given sufficient

time to be addressed. Judiciary is today accused of being elitist and

removed from popular will. This has opened up the debate of Populisms

Vs Judiciary, which may be asked in different ways in the exam.

In the above issues the lack of implementation mechanism for court

orders as a topic crops up which can be linked to Contempt of Court.

Contempt of Court has a base in the constitution of India in Article 129

(Court of Record) and Article 142 (enforcement of court decrees). It also

has a statutory backing through Contempt of Court Act of 1971.

Civil contempt: Under the Contempt of Courts Act of 1971, civil

contempt has been defined as wilful disobedience to any judgment,

decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or wilful breach

of an undertaking given to a court.




91

Criminal contempt: Under the Contempt of Courts Act of 1971, criminal

contempt has been defined as the publication (whether by words,

spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise)

of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which:

Scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the

authority of, any court, or Prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere

with the due course of any judicial proceeding, or Interferes or tends to

interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of

justice in any other manner.

Sometimes it is a wilful disobedience like the disobedience of the people

to court order in Sabarimala issue and at times it is out of ignorance like

the decision of striking down of section 66A of IT Act 2008 in Shreya

Singhal Vs UOI case of 2015 which has not been sufficiently publicized.

Some of the factors for the latter are

There exists no official method for sharing information about important

decisions, even those of constitutional import with the lower branches of

administration.

Even the statute with regard to the decision like the Indian penal code is

not immediately changed.

This lack of effective communication with the executive branch of the

state hinders effective implementation of a judicial decisions.

The bureaucrats who are not legal experts will not integrate a court

decision immediately in their administration leading to injustice to the

public.

Judiciary and Federalism

Judiciary under its Original Jurisdiction (Article 13), is given the function

to manage federalism as it has the Original and Exclusive power to deal

with Central-State disputes. It uses various doctrines to manage

federalism.




92

Recently this issue was in news when Tamil Nadu demanded different

timings to burn crackers owing to different culture in South and

respecting Federalism, Judiciary allowed it. It can be read in the context

of importance of role of judiciary in managing federalism.

Manifest Pedagogy

Tangential aspects of popular issues

Questions in UPSC on polity have mostly focused on polity and

governance and less on constitution as a document in itself. The issue

dealt above has brought these often neglected aspects like importance

of constitution, constitutionalism role of Judiciary in maintaining the

constitution and the readiness of general public to accept constitution as

a fundamental document by derecognizing diversities, to the fore.

Questions could be expected on these tangential issues.


Constitutionalism and populism need not necessarily go hand in hand.

Discuss the statement in the context of recent judgement on Sabarimala

temple entry for women by the Supreme Court. Do you think India is

ready for Constitutional Theocracy?

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

India - Japan Relations

In news

Tokyo Summit (13th India-Japan Summit): Modi’s visit to Japan


International relations - Bilateral





93

Static dimensions

1. India-Japan relationship - Summit diplomacy

2. Strategic co-operation since 1991.

Current dimensions

Increasing strategic co-operation between India and Japan under the

new regime

Content

History of the Annual Summit

Manmohan Singh Visited Japan in 2006 during which Indo-Japan Global

and Strategic Partnership was signed. It has 5 pillars of cooperation:

1. Political

2. Defence and security

3. CEPA

4. Science and tech initiatives

5. People to people, multilateral and Regional Cooperation

After this visit, Annual Summit Level Dialogue was initiated.

It makes the meetings between two countries regular. After the first

summit in 2006, Strategic cooperation gets a solid footing which began

in 2000 under A.B.Vajpayee government as part of Look East Policy-2.

Recent initiatives under the new regime

1. Indo-Japan Civil Nuclear Agreement

2. Japan’s involvement in many infrastructural projects (Industrial and

Transport corridors)

3. Japan is the First country to be invited to invest in Andaman and

Nicobar Islands. It has made a modest beginning with 15 MW

diesel Power Plant.

4. Both countries are cooperating in ASIA-AFRICA growth Corridor

which is considered to an alternative to OBOR.




94

5. Malabar Exercises

6. Formation of QUADRILATERAL

7. 2+2 Dialogue

Initiatives under the recent 13th Annual Summit

Defence

1. The countries announces the start of negotiations on an

Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement, a logistics-sharing pact

that would allow Japanese ships to get fuel and servicing at Indian

naval bases. Once signed, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force will

be able to secure access to Indian naval facilities in the Andaman

and Nicobar islands, which are strategically located close to the

western Malacca Straits, a choke point for much of Japan and

China’s trade and fuel imports.

2. A new Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue, termed 2+2, was

also announced to supplement an already formidable array of

bilateral dialogue mechanisms that include the Annual Defence

Ministerial Dialogue, Defence Policy Dialogue and the National

Security Advisers Dialogue.

Economy

1. The two countries have agreed to a Bilateral Swap Arrangement

that would allow their central banks to exchange local currencies

for up to $75 billion. This is substantially more than the $30 billion

currency swap arrangement announced between China and Japan.

2. 57 Japanese companies have committed to investing 320 billion

yen in India, which is expected to create at least 3,000 new jobs.

Importance of the Currency Swap Agreement

1. Currency swap typically involves the exchange of interest and

sometimes of principle in one currency for the same in another

currency. Interest rates are exchanged at fixed rates through the

life of the contract.




95

2. It was an important measure in improving the confidence in Indian

Market.

3. It would enable the availability of agreed amount of capital to India

4. It would also bring down the cost of capital for Indian entities while

accessing the foreign capital markets.

5. It would also give a boost to the internationalization of Indian

Rupee.

Reasons for increasing cooperation between India and Japan

1. Rise of China as a threat to Japan

2. US is no longer a reliable partner after the coming of Trump

3. India’s rising economic status post 1991

4. India’s clean record with respect to nuclear proliferation

5. India as a rising regional power

6. Compatibility between the two countries with respect to

Demographics- rising skilled professionals in India and falling

population in Japan.

Manifest Pedagogy

The issue of Indo-Japan has to be analysed as part of Act East policy of

the present regime, which is a continuation of Look East policy. Active

initiatives towards ASEAN, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, APEC must be

studied under Act East. Also, comparison of India and East Asian

relations with respect to China may be the other angle which could be

explored. Moreover, growing protectionism after Trump also aligns

India’s relations with other important powers. In this context, US role in

East Asia and India’s response to it could be asked.

We will be covering the bilateral and multilateral issues comprehensively

by updating the same articles to avoid multiple readings. One has to

refer the updated sections. The updated document will be an add-on in

the same link.





96


There has been a steep rise in Strategic Cooperation between India and

Japan. Do you agree? Substantiate. Also account for such a rise in

strategic areas. Also account for such a rise in strategic co-operation.

China-Pakistan relations

In news

15 new agreements signed between China and Pakistan


India and its bilateral relations.

Static dimensions

China- Pakistan relations since independence and its impact on India

Current dimensions

1. Recent China-Pak relations and its impact on India

2. Policy of hyphenation (India-Pakistan relation hyphenated with

china)

Content

China and Pakistan recently signed 15 agreements and memorandum of

understandings (MoUs) for co-operation in diverse fields, including

poverty alleviation, agriculture and transfer of electronics. China would

also help Pakistan to modernize the metrological department in the

country while both countries would also extend cooperation in the field

of higher education.

China-Pak relations: a brief history

China-Pak relations is an all-weather friendship which has been growing

over years.




97

1965- China supports Pakistan and calls India the aggressor

1970’s development of USA-China-Pakistan axis

1980’s onwards china support to nuclear developments in Pakistan.

CPEC

The most overt friendship overture between china and Pakistan is the

development of CPEC (china Pakistan economic corridor) as part of

OBOR (one belt one road). The $64 billion project, which is the part of

Beijing’s most ambitious foreign economic initiative -- One Belt One

Road -- aims to connect northwest China (kashghar) to Pakistan's south-

western Gwadar port through a network of roads, railways, optical fibres

and pipelines to transport cargo, oil and gas.

There are a total of three corridors in the project the western corridor,

central corridor and eastern corridor.

Analysis

Advantages to China

Economic opportunities

Gets shortest route to Indian Ocean.

It’s a gateway to Central Asia and West Asia.

Facilitate quicker movement of Chinese worker and machinery to

Africa.

Development of Xinjiang to curtail ethnic conflict.

Interest of Pakistan

Economic development

Power deficit could be reduced

Gwadar up-gradation projects like developments of airport and

connecting it to interior of Pakistan.

Strategic advantages – Integration of POK




98

Concerns (China-Pakistan)

Possible ethnic tensions between Han Chinese and Ughirs of

Xinjiang and The Baluchis and Punjabis of Pakistan.

The threat of extremism in POK, Gilgit-Baltistan and Xinjiang

Indian Concerns

Issue of sovereignty (POK)

Chinese presence as a security threat

Possible infiltration in the guise of labour movement and

employment

India has three options

To join the project

Not to join the project

Develop alternatives

In light of above concerns India decided not to join CPEC and explore

alternative options like project MAUSAM, project Spice Route, Asia Africa

growth corridor with Japan.

The most pragmatic stance would be to in the project as developing

alternatives at this stage for India is not feasible and not joining would

not stop the project as part of the project has already been initiated.

Following are the concerns if India joins the project:

Compromise with sovereignty

Fear of the possible implications of this on other disputed

territories of India

But joining it has the following advantages

India being part of the growth process and part of Globalisation

2.0 (china’s OBOR)

India can regulate movement of Non state actors with its presence

in the region




99

China as a strategic threat in the region could be nullified through

Co-operation and eternal Vigilance in the region.

Economic prosperity in the region will have Collateral effect in

neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir and will facilitate people to

people contact realising the concept of “soft border” (de regulated

border as propounded by Man Mohan Singh)

India even after joining can still maintain its position on POK as an

integral part of India.

Manifest Pedagogy

Hyphenated Countries

India’s relationship with certain countries has been affected by a third

country called the hyphenated country like Indo – US by Pakistan. Indo –

South Asia by China. Questions of these kinds are tougher to answer as it

requires overall understanding of global politics. This topic was chosen

to give a peek into how such topics should be handled.


China and Pakistan have entered into an agreement for development of

an economic corridor. What threat does this pose for India’s security?

Critically examine. (UPSC CSE Mains 2014 Paper 3).

ECONOMY

Regulation of payments and settlements in India

In news

Payments Regulator & RBI autonomy and section 7

Placing in the syllabus

Paper 3- EFFECTS OF LIBERALIZATION ON THE ECONOMY-Financial

Sector Reforms





100

Static Dimensions

1. Payments and settlements systems Act ,2007

2. Instruments-UPI,QR codes, mobile wallets etc

3. Cashless Economy or Digital Economy

4. Functions of RBI

5. Regulatory bodies in Financial Sector-SEBI,FSLRC etc

6. Vision for Payments ecosystem by RBI

Current Dimensions

1. Payment regulation

2. RBI vs Government

Autonomy of RBI with respect to Payments

Contingency Reserves of RBI

Section 7

3. Prompt Corrective action

4. Issue of RBI autonomy in General

Content

The major issues of debate which emerged in the recent times with

respect to RBI are

The finance ministry sent three different letters to the RBI in the past few

weeks on issues of

1. Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) dilution in general and withdrawal

of PCA for Public Sector Banks (PSB)

2. The second point of friction is governments insistence that RBI go

soft on power companies defaulting on loan repayments

3. The governor's opinion on RBI's capital reserves for providing

liquidity (siegniorage)




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Payments Regulation

The Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007, set up by the RBI,

provides for the regulation and supervision of payment systems in India

and designates the apex institution (RBI) as the authority for that

purpose and all related matters. To exercise its powers and perform its

functions and discharge its duties, the RBI is authorized under the Act to

constitute a committee of its central board, which is known as the Board

for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems

(BPSS).

RBI Vision for Payments

Vision-2018 focuses on four strategic initiatives viz., responsive

regulation, robust infrastructure, effective supervision and customer

centricity.

Responsive Regulation

Robust Infrastructure

Effective Supervision.

Customer Centricity

The broad contours of Vision-2018 revolve around the 5 Cs:

Coverage – by enabling wider access to a variety of electronic

payment services

Convenience – by enhancing user experience through ease of use

and of products and processes

Confidence – by promoting integrity of systems, security of

operations and customer protection

Convergence – by ensuring interoperability across service

providers

Cost – by making services cost effective for users as well as service

providers




102

Payments Regulation: RBI Vs Government

Case against RBI

Regulation must maintain a level playing field within the

payments industry between the public sector and the private

sector, and between bank and non-bank players.

Regulation should encourage independent payment system

providers, which are not linked to payment participants,

thereby minimising moral hazard through conflict of interest.

It is important that the payments regulator does not run any

payment systems. Presently, RBI runs real time gross settlement

(RTGS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), which are

payment systems. It is therefore necessary that RTGS and NEFT be

spun off from RBI.

Encourage innovation in payments regulation and supervision,

by recognising that this is a fast-changing technology enabled

business. Bring in relevant expertise into the regulatory body

in order to improve the regulation and supervision of this

industry. Instead, it would be desirable to draw the majority

membership of the Board from people who have had direct

familiarity with payment processes or allied businesses such as

BPOs, technology companies or banks.

RBI representation on this Board should be confined to the

Governor (as Chairman) and the Deputy Governor in charge of

Payments.

The Payments Regulator would need actively to sponsor the

constitution of a Payments Council, a body which would be

representative of payment system providers and users of

payment systems. Regulations would be issued by the

Payments Regulator which would define the role which the

Council would play in advising the payments regulator on

industry standards and other related matters.

For example, the UK government formed the UK Payments Council in

2007, which represents payment systems providers and user groups. The

Council thereby constitutes a consultative mechanism engaging all




103

stakeholders with an interest in payment systems. The European

Payments Council operates in a similar manner.

All payment system providers should be governed by one

consistent legislative framework. (Stock exchanges and clearing

houses are presently outside the ambit of Payments in India).

A system of 'proportionate regulation' would be helpful,

allowing nascent businesses to adapt technology solutions

without undue regulatory intervention, while requiring

systemically important businesses to submit to stronger

regulatory oversight.

Case for RBI

Payments should remain with RBI. As the very nature of payments is

completely integrated with money market and payments being:

Sub-set of currency

Underlying bank account for payment systems

Dual regulation over such instruments will not be desirable.

Payment system is bank-dominated

The Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) must remain with the

Reserve Bank and headed by the Governor, Reserve Bank of India. It

may comprise 3 members nominated by the Government and RBI

respectively, with a casting vote for the Governor to ensure smooth

operations of the Board.

Debates on RBI Autonomy

Traditionally, it is quite natural for the government and the central bank

to be at loggerheads with each other. This can be explained by the

inflation growth dynamics. Here, the former is concerned with high

growth and the latter is concerned with controlling inflation.

However, in India these issues took an ugly turn with the government

demanding certain privileges from the RBI over and above its mandate:




104

1) Request for higher dividend from RBI to cover up fiscal deficit will

lead to balance sheet maintenance concerns.

2) Governments insist that public sector banks lend more to NBFCs to

manage their liquidity crisis.

3) Dilution demand for the current framework of Prompt Corrective

Action standards for recovery of NAPs.

4) The lack of regulatory mechanism for Public Sector Banks and Powers

vested with RBI in this regard including appointment decisions of board

members and chairpersons.

5) Leaving out key aspects of financial intermediation such as payments

ecosystem outside the ambit of the RBI.

6) Dictating orders to RBI as under section 7 which is over bearing on

the inference of the RBI.

Contingency reserves

The RBI keeps a large reserve of cash in its money jar (contingency

reserves and surplus with RBI), which the government is looking to dip

its fingers into, financial analysts and economists say. The government

may be of the view that the RBI's large reserve cash, if it is sitting idle,

may be put into use. But the RBI is called the "lender of last resort" for a

reason -- it may need its reserves to step in if a crisis threatens to bring

down the entire financial system.

SECTION 7

The central government for the first time in 83 years have issued RBI

Section 7 Act, 1934.

1. Section 7(1) of the RBI Act says: "The Central Government may

from time to time give such directions to the Bank as it may, after




105

consultation with the Governor of the Bank, consider necessary in

the public interest."

2. Section 7(2) gives the government powers to entrust the running

of the RBI to its board of directors.

Recently the government has issued statements on section 7 of RBI act

showing that it has the power of veto over RBI decisions. Thus

underlining that the RBI’s autonomy is tempered by its accountability to

government. Section 7 is certainly available to the more powerful side;

but just as the weapon is a deterrent never to be used, so is Section 7.

The need of the hour is to settle the differences through deliberation.

Manifest pedagogy

In prelims UPSC may focus on conceptual issues such as Contingency

Reserves, dividend payments to government, Section 7, Prompt

Corrective Action and functions of RBI in general. In Mains, questions

regarding autonomy and independence of the institutions and desired

changes which are a cause of conflict may be touched upon.


Briefly explain the rise of alternative payment instruments in India. Also,

highlight the key issues involved in governing the Payments Regulation

in India.

Exporter Woes

In news

A combination of higher input costs, tariff uncertainty, IGST refund

woes leads to export contraction in September, the first time in six

months.

Placing in Syllabus

Paper 3: Government Budgeting & Export Import Policy under

Liberalisation





106

Static Dimensions

1. Generalised system of Preferences

2. Relation between depreciation and exports

3. Effect of capital goods on exports

4. GST

Current Dimensions

1. Exporters’ speculation on GSP

2. Deprecating rupee

3. Lack of government support

4. New protectionism

Content

What is Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)?

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a U.S. trade program

designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by

providing preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products from 129

designated beneficiary countries and territories. GSP was instituted on

January 1, 1976, by the Trade Act of 1974.

US withdraws GSP benefits:

1. Withdrawal of benefits is part of the 94 products on which the US

has revoked GSP benefits for all countries and is not a major

portion of India’s $5.6 billion exports through duty-free entry of

1,937 products to the US under GSP.

2. Indian government further deferred by 45 days tit-for-tat

retaliatory tariffs against 29 American products to counter the US

move to unilaterally raise import duties on Indian steel and

aluminium products

3. US President Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation on

Tuesday, leading to the removal of these products from the

privilege beginning 1 November. These are products that have




107

gained competitiveness as their imports under GSP are more than

50% of the total import of the product by the US.

4. Trade relationships between India and the US have soured under

the current US administration, with Trump unilaterally raising tariffs

on steel and aluminium imports from India and challenging its

export subsidy regime at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

India has also dragged the US to the WTO on higher steel and

aluminium tariffs and has threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs

worth $240 million on US imports.

Impact

The growing protectionist policies have led to deeper cooperation

between India and China. The products covered aren't cover agricultural

goods and dairy. The Chinese also hit out with punitive tariffs on soya

meal imports from US. This has given opportunity for China and India to

come closer and open up their respective markets.

India has also after a gap of 7 years gained access to China’s rice,

rapeseed oil and soya bean markets.

Although, the latest negotiations with the USTR (Trade Representative)

has suggested that India could be successful to get a waiver for

continuing Oil imports from Iran as a result of its significant progress

made to curb imports thus far.

Lack of Government Support

1. Lack of coordination between Ministry of Commerce and

exporters, where the ministry insists that India is still eligible for

GSP benefits but exporters claim that these have not been received

since December 2017.

2. Lost Orders- as uncertainties over tariffs and India’s continuing

status under special treatment GSP of USA have resulted in shifting

of orders to Sri Lanka and other south East Asian nations.




108

IGST Refunds

Under GST, IGST is a tax levied on all Inter-State supplies of goods

and/or services and will be governed by the IGST Act. IGST will be

applicable on any supply of goods and/or services in both cases of

import into India and export from India.

Note: Under IGST,

Exports would be zero-rated.

Tax will be shared between the Central and State Government.

Here zero rated is denoting goods or services that are taxable for VAT,

but with a tax rate of zero.

Hence, exporters would be eligible for full refund of IGST for the value of

exports.

IGST refunds have not been taken into consideration for exporters

having verticals across different states. The center is of the view that such

entities are receiving input tax credit whereas exporters are feeling let

down by comparison to those companies which are located in the same

states.

Rupee Depreciation

Traditionally, exports should increase with depreciation of the Rupee as

exports would be incentivized. However, there are various issues with

respect to deemed net benefits for exporters:

1. Increase In Input Costs

2. Higher costs of capital goods i.e. Machinery and Oil which negates

the gains from depreciating rupee

3. Higher cost of inputs as most goods are processed using global

supply chains.

For Ex: Mobile exports from India would need capital inputs as well as

modular parts such as silicon mother boards which are often imported.




109

Exporters are also facing pressure from clients demanding discounts

because of the fall in value of currencies in Africa and Asia vis-a-vis to US

dollar.

Manifest pedagogy

Practical linkages with theory

In the above issue concepts like depreciation, protectionism etc. need to

be clear before applying it to Indian scenario. The right ways of studying

the discipline would be basic theoretic concepts first and then applying it

to India. In this way even if the aspirant doesn’t know the current news,

concepts could be used to frame a general answer.

Test yourself: Mould your Thoughts

What has been India’s approach to encourage exports in era of

protectionist policies in USA? Do you think the current delay in Exporter

Refunds is hampering these initiatives?

Ease of Doing Business

In news

India climbs 23 places in World Bank Rankings to 77 out of 190

countries.


Paper 2:

Important International Institutions

Paper 3:

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

their effects on industrial growth.





110

Static Dimensions

1. Ease of Doing Business Index- World bank

2. Ease of Doing Business as part of LPG Reforms

Current Dimensions

1. Recent report and India’s Ranking and its impact

2. Improvements in Various indicators and areas where improvement

is required

Content

World Bank publishes annually the rankings of 190 countries on the basis

of the following indicators.

Indicators

1. Dealing with construction permits

2. Starting a business

3. Enforcing Contracts

4. Trading across borders

5. Getting credit

6. Getting electricity connection

7. Registering property

8. Paying taxes

9. Resolving insolvency

10. Protecting minority investors

11. Labour market regulation

India saw a massive jump in the parameter “dealing with Construction

Permits” to 52nd position from 181 last year. This was due to:

(a) Reducing time for processing permit applications

(b) Streamlining procedures

(c) Improving transparency

(d) Passing of Real Estate Regulation Authority Act by the parliament

etc…




111

India saw a similar improvement in the “Trading across borders”

section to 80th position from 146 largely due to:

(a) Reducing the time and cost to export and import through various

initiatives

(b) Implementation of electronic sealing of containers

(c) Upgrading of port infrastructure

(d) Allowing electronic submission of supporting documents with

digital signatures under its NATIONAL TRADE FACILITATION ACTION

PLAN 2017-2020.

(e) Agreeing to the World trade organizations Trade Facilitation

Agreement (TFA).

India became the top ranked country in South Asia for the first

time and also was 3rd among BRICS nations.

India has jumped 53 places in the last 2 years (A performance only

matched by Bhutan and Djibouti). With 13 reforms between them,

China and India are among the top 10 improvers. Djibouti and

India are the only economies to make the list of top 10 improvers

for the second consecutive year in the 190 country ranking.

India is seeking to reach the 30th position by 2020 according to

an “OUTPUT-OUTCOME FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT” prepared

by the government.

Manifest Pedagogy

Rather than focusing on the specific report, UPSC may ask it as part of

overall reforms in the post liberalisation era and also ask you to

comment upon their recent impact on attracting FDI, business

sentiments. Also, for prelims, UPSC may ask about the indicators or

publisher of the report.


Briefly outline the success of reforms mentioned in the recent Ease of

Doing Business report of the World Bank about India. Do you think it

substantively represents India’s progress? Give reasons





112

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Package

In news

A series of measures designed to help small businesses by giving

them access to quick finance and sparing them the rigours of

complying with some labour laws.

Placing in Syllabus

Industrial Development Policies

LPG reforms and their impact on MSMEs

Static Dimensions

1. MSMEs and their contribution to Indian Economy

2. Priority Sector Lending

3. MUDRA Yojana

Current Dimensions

1. Package for MSMEs credit- Loan up to 1 Cr in 59 Min.

2. Changes in Labour Laws

3. Demonetisation and GST

4. Competition from large players (Ex: Walmart-Flip kart)

Content

MSMEs form a significant base of Industrial Output (40%) and contribute

roughly 40% to total exports. They are critical for regional development

and are drivers of job creation in Manufacturing and services sector.

What is an MSME?

The Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are defined in India

under the MSMED Act 2006 on the basis of capital investment made in

plant and machinery, excluding investments in land and building.




113

Recently the Cabinet has approved a draft which proposes to change the

definition of MSMEs. The highlights of the proposal are:

OLD (Investment in

Plant & Machinery) Proposal (Revenue)

MICRO <25 lakhs < 5 cr.

SMALL 25 lakhs - 5 cr. 5cr. – 75 cr.

MEDIUM 5 cr. – 10 cr. 75 cr. – 250 cr.

It does away with investment criterion and instead proposes to

define MSMEs on the basis of annual sales turnover

There is no distinction between manufacturing and service unit.

What was the need to redefine MSMEs?

The definition was frozen in 2006. After 12 years, with continued

erosion of value of Rupee, the thresholds have become impractical.

Adjusting for inflation would have required to enhance the limit by

2-3 times. Many sectors where MSMEs have substantial share such

as Pharmaceuticals, Auto-component, and Food processing among

others have been demanding a many-fold increase in the

investment limit needed to be compliant of the new mandatory

and industrial standards. The de-minimis investment exceeded at

least five crore even if one had low turnover.

The investment based definition creates an uneven field for older

enterprises vis-a-vis new enterprises. Setting up a unit to produce a

product today would require several times more investment than

the one set-up ten or twenty years ago to produce the same

product with similar quantity. What could be a micro unit because

of historical investment figures, would become medium or large if

set up today. It becomes a barrier for new entrants. To prove that a

unit fell in a specific category, the MSMEs ran around CAs to certify

the value of plant and machinery. It is alleged that many large




114

enterprises also under-reported the investment, got CA certificate

and partook in the Public Procurement ear-marked for MSMEs.

Therefore, change in criterion of defining MSMEs has been considered

using Turnover as the basis.

The advantages of having such a definition could be:

The Turn-over based criterion resolves many of the ills of earlier

regime. It is transparent, as authorities could always cross check

the turnover through platforms such as GSTN. No CA certificate

would be required.

Levels the field for new and old enterprises as the comparison is

not between historical investments and current investments but

between current turnovers.

After inflation adjustment the definition of small enterprise on the

basis of investment would have been Rs.15Cr today. Keeping

turnover five times the investment, a very conservative figure, we

have Rs.75 Cr as a threshold which is what is proposed in the new

definition.

Disadvantages

There are few sectors where investment is low but turnover is high

for example gems and jewellery units, units producing Aluminum

conductor steel-reinforced cable (ACSR) among others. Many of

the units have been under small category owing to investment

criteria but having high turnover ranging from Rs.100 Cr to Rs.30

Cr They enjoyed benefits under Public Procurement Policy for

MSMEs which mandates 20% set-aside for Micro and Small Units in

all central government purchases. Suddenly, the reserved pie of the

cake is out of their reach. The PPP for MSE would not be available

for units having more than Rs.75 Cr annual turnover.

Another criticism about the new definition is that India still does

not take into account the number of people employed. Globally,

the two most important elements used to define MSMEs remain

turnover and employment. The practice of underreporting number

of people employed is widespread especially in smaller units to




115

remain below the threshold of 10 employees to save on very high

social security and compliance costs. Lack of labour reforms has

exacerbated the situation. Adding such a criteria would have led to

more paper work and corruption.

Impact of Package

For nearly two years, the MSME sector has borne the brunt of the

government’s policy measures. With demonetisation first and then the

haphazard implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), the

MSME sector had been left cash-strapped.

This year has been particularly bad for the sector with loans being tough

to come by. This is because 11 of the 21 public sector banks are facing

lending restrictions as they are under the Reserve Bank of India’s prompt

corrective action (PCA) framework. With a financing requirement of

nearly Rs.4.5 lakh crore over the next two year, it was assumed that the

non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) will step up into the space left

vacant. However, in the aftermath of the meltdown of the biggest NBFC

in the country, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), the

entire industry is strapped for cash.

Key Highlights of the package:

Loans up to 1 Cr in under an Hour: These loans can be accessed

through a link on the GST portal.

Further, all GST-registered MSMEs would get a 2% interest

subvention for fresh and incremental loans. And for exporters who

receive loans in the pre-shipment and post-shipment period, there

would be an increase in interest rebate to 5% from the existing 3%.

MSMEs with a turnover above Rs.500Cr would be brought on to

the Trade Receivables e-Discounting System(TReDS) where

entrepreneurs would be able to access credit from banks based on

their upcoming receivables.

Public sector companies have been asked to procure 25% of their

total purchases from MSMEs and of this 3% should be from

MSMEs promoted by women entrepreneurs.




116

To improve the ease of doing business for MSMEs, clusters would

be formed, initially for pharmaceutical sector MSMEs.

Regulations with regard to labour laws have been relaxed;

inspections would be done through a computerised random

allotment.

Environmental clearance has been simplified.

However, creditworthiness and market linkage of MSMEs is still a

concern and outright approval without adequate due diligence could

open a Pandora’s Box for future health of banking sector in India.

Manifest pedagogy

As MSME is a key focus area for Central and State governments

especially after demonetisation and GST, it has particular relevance.

Moreover, the recent proposals with respect to definition, and their

concerns after key events such as entry of Amazon and Flipkart and

online sale of medicines etc. may be focused upon.


Highlight the benefits and drawbacks of the recent changes in policies

for the MSMEs sector in India? Do you think the recent package for

MSMEs will address these challenges?

Health Insurance

In news

All health conditions arising after the inception of a health

insurance policy should be covered and cannot be permanently

excluded

Placing in Syllabus

Paper 2: Poverty and Health

Paper 3: Planning and mobilisation of Resources




117

Static Dimensions

1. Health infrastructure in India

2. Relationship between poverty and healthcare

3. Health Insurance penetration in India

4. Lifestyle changes and health

Current Dimensions

1. Increase in incidence of Lifestyle diseases

2. Launch of Ayushman Bharat

3. Health Insurance committee recommendations

Content

In India, the increased medical costs are the biggest concerns among the

individuals. Moreover, the kind of lifestyles people prefer nowadays can

ultimately lead to several health issues and turnout in augmented

expenditure on hospital bills. Opting for an optimum health insurance

plan helps in maintaining the uncertainties and instabilities by offering a

financial steadiness that’s difficult to find anywhere else. Also, it’s always

a wise choice to have you and your family covered for any medical

emergencies that may knock your door anytime in the future.

What is Health Insurance?

Health Insurance is basically a contract between the insurer and the

policyholder wherein the insurance company pays for the medical

expenses incurred by the life insured. In this case, the policyholder is

either eligible for the cashless treatment or the insurer provides a

reimbursement for the medical expenses under the policy at one of the

selective network hospitals. One additional pros of opting to health

insurance are that you can also get tax deductions on the premiums paid

towards the health insurance under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act,

1961.




118

What are the options for Health Insurance Plans in India?

Medical insurance plans can be categorized broadly into different types.

The various types of Health Insurance Plans include individual plans,

maternity insurance plans, family floater health plans, personal accident

covers, plans for senior citizens, critical illness insurance plans and group

or insurance plans.

One of the best things about health insurance plan in India is that it can

be personalized as per the individual’s requirement. Here, the insured

person can make the choice whether he or she wants to go with a plan

that covers critical illnesses, maternity expenses, accident-related

expenses, outpatient expenses or a combination of all.

The Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) - It

will give ₹5 lakh of health cover to 500 million people for free.

Forty per cent of India’s population will be insured immediately.

The quality of healthcare that has been assured is excellent.

Typically, schemes for the poor are watered-down versions of what

paying customers get. In this case, though, the cover being offered

is substantially superior to regular mediclaim insurance. The sum

assured is more than what most have. The cover includes many

items typically excluded in standard mediclaim: pre-existing

diseases, mental health conditions, food and internal congenital

diseases, among others.

Eligible persons can walk into a hospital with their Aadhaar card

number and be treated. The network of hospitals being created will

be larger than what insurers have today. There are stringent

service-level agreements: a pre-approval is required for all non-

emergency cases but if the request is not addressed within 12

hours, then the treatment is considered approved. The treatment is

cashless, which means that patients do not need to pay and can

opt to be treated anywhere in the country.

Implementation of such scale and benefit is bound to face

obstacles, the most substantial of which is for it to be economically

sustainable. At the moment, hospitals are unhappy because, in

their view, package rates fixed by the government are loss-making.




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For example, the proposed cost of a coronary artery bypass graft

(CABG) is about ₹90,000. The Central Government Health Scheme

(CGHS) rates for this in Delhi are above ₹1.1 lakh and private

hospitals routinely charge above ₹3 lakh.

The scheme encourages hospitals to maintain certain minimum

standards. The compensation to hospitals is 10% higher if they are

NABH accredited and a minimum technology standard has been

specified for hospitals to be eligible for this scheme.

The most meaningful impact, though, will be on the confidence of

the poor and lower income groups that have this insurance.

Concerns and Recommendations

All health conditions acquired after policy inception, other than those

that are not covered under the policy contract (such as infertility and

maternity), should be covered under the policy and cannot be

permanently excluded. This is among the key recommendations of a

committee appointed to look into standardisation of exclusions under

health insurance policies. The panel has submitted its report to the

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.

Thus, exclusion of diseases contracted after taking the policy such as

Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, AIDs/HIV infection, morbid obesity, etc., cannot

be permitted. Exclusions for specific disease conditions are incorporated

as permanent exclusions in the policy wordings. This result in many

claims becoming not payable for diseases being contracted even after

the policy has been incepted. Specific cases were highlighted where

claims were repudiated when the policy has been in force for 6-7 years.

Manifest pedagogy

Health as a subject need to be studied from two perspectives,

1. Health as science

2. Health governance

The above issue dealt comes under health governance which includes all

initiatives made by the government in health sector. Health insurance is





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one of the initiatives. Comparative questions like, whether Ayushman

Bharat is an improvement over RSBY could be expected.


Is health insurance alone a panacea for health management in India? Do

you think Ayushman Bharat is an adequate scheme for public healthcare

in India?

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Chandrayaan – 2

In news

Scale down test for lander of Chandrayaan-2.



2. Indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Static dimensions

1. Chandrayaan – 1

2. Technology and payloads of Chandrayaan 1 and 2.

Current dimensions

1. Indigenization of technology

2. India’s space prowess through recent missions

Content

What is scale down test?

The Lander Actuator Performance Test (LAPT) is one of the crucial

tests required to be demonstrated for a successful soft and safe landing




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of Vikram (Chandrayaan-2 Lander). To carry out this test, an LAPT

module which is a scaled down version of Vikram with all the required

hardware was realised for testing in Earth environment. The reason for

the scaling down is to compensate the effect of Earth’s gravity as

compared to Moon’s gravity. To carry out this test, a special test facility

was erected at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri.

Chandrayaan – 1

Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to Moon, was launched successfully

on October 22, 2008 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. The spacecraft was

orbiting around the Moon for chemical, mineralogical and photo-

geologic mapping of the Moon.

Information received from Moon:

1. Its morphology

2. Its surface age

3. Composition of Lunar Surface

4. Magmatic and exogenic water

There are many events which are running up to the launch of

chandrayaan-2. Even the cryogenic engine test was done for its launch.

Chandrayaan – 2

Chandrayaan-2, India's second mission to the Moon is a totally

indigenous mission comprising of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover. After

reaching the 100 km lunar orbit, the Lander housing the Rover will

separate from the Orbiter. After a controlled descent, the Lander

(Vikram) will soft land on the lunar surface at a specified site and deploy

a Rover.

The instruments on the rover will observe the lunar surface and send

back data, which will be useful for analysis of the lunar soil.

The other payloads will collect scientific information on lunar

topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and

signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.




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What prompted indigenous mission comprising of an Orbiter,

Lander and Rover?

Initially, ISRO planned to partner with Russia to perform Chandrayaan-2.

The two agencies signed an agreement in 2007 to launch the orbiter and

lander in 2013. Russia later pulled out of the agreement. The Russian

lander's construction was delayed after the December 2011 failure of

Roscosmos' Phobos-Grunt mission to the Martian moon of Phobos.

Other events in the recent past:

ISRO successfully tests Cryogenic Engine (CE-20) for GSLV Mk-III /

Chandrayaan-2 Mission.

The upper stage of GSLV MK-III vehicle is powered by Cryogenic Engine

(CE)-20, which operates on gas generator cycle using LOX (Liquid

Oxygen) / LH2 (Liquid Hydrogen) propellants combination.

Manifest Pedagogy

The launch being planned in 2019, the questions may appear in both

Prelims and Mains. In prelims UPSC may ask the place of launch, type of

engine and fuel, name of the lander of Chandrayaan – 2 and its payloads

or the names of important Exploration Missions around the world.


What are the objectives of Chandrayaan – 2? How this mission will

enhance India’s position in global space capabilities?

5G Technology

In news

A variety of operators across globe have announced 5G trials and

network launches.





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1. Science and Technology- developments and their applications and

effects in everyday life.

2. Awareness in the field of IT

3. Physical Infrastructure

Static dimensions

1. Electromagnetic spectrum

2. Generations of Mobile communications

Current dimensions

1. Technology in 5G

2. Advantages and risks involved in 5G

3. India’s readiness to 5G

Content

5G is put on trial in UK in October, 2018. Vodafone has made the first 5G

holographic call. In 2018, US telecoms giant Verizon and Korean Telecom

(KT) held what they said was the world's first live hologram international

call over the two companies' trial 5G networks.

What is 5G holographic call?

High-speed 5G networks could lead to big changes, through applications

like holographic call, in how we use our mobile phones, allowing us to

enjoy virtual reality on-the-go, interactive live broadcasts, and even

project holograms from our handsets.

Through hologram calling, one can meet a person in a remote area in a

real size in real time virtually.

Technology:

5G is the fifth generation of cellular mobile communications.




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5G can include lower frequencies, from 600 MHz to 6 GHz. However, the

speeds in these lower frequencies are only modestly higher than new 4G

systems, estimated at 15% to 50% faster.

It succeeds the 4G (LTE/WiMax), 3G (UMTS) and 2G (GSM) systems.

Comparison from 1G to 5G:

Generation/

Features

1G 2G 3G 4G 5G

Evolution

Year 1970-1984 1980-1999 1990-2002

2000-

2010

2010-

onwards

Bandwidth 2Kbps 14.4- 64kbps 2 - 200Mbps 1Gbps

1Gbps

and

higher

Standards AMPS/NMT/TACS TDMA/CDMA/GSM WCDMA/CDM

A-2000

Single

Unified

Standard

Single

Unified

Standard

Multiplexing

Techniques FDMA TDMA /CDMA WCDMA CDMA CDMA

Switching

Techniques Circuit Circuit

Packet except

circuit for air

interface

Packet Packet

Handoff

Techniques Horizontal Horizontal Horizontal

Horizontal

and

Vertical

Horizontal

and

Vertical




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Advantages of 5G:

1. 5G performance targets include high data rate (100 times the

speed of 4G), reduced latency, energy saving, cost reduction,

higher system capacity and massive device connectivity.

2. In addition to simply providing faster speeds, they predict that 5G

networks will also need to meet the needs of new use-cases such

as the Internet of Things as well as broadcast-like services and

lifeline communications in times of disaster.

3. It will be used for training and simulations in sectors like

engineering and healthcare.

Challenges:

1. 5G will also bring a cost to consumers. It requires a compatible

handset, and the first 5G-enabled smartphones are expected in

2019. Much more investment will be needed in mobile phone

towers and antennae.

2. With the slow pace of network rollout so far, it is likely consumers

will end up upgrading to a new 5G phone well before 5G becomes

widely available in the next couple of years.

3. Media companies delay investing in new applications or simply

charge us extra to access the latest 5G content.

4. Many people may not be able to afford the first 5G-ready handsets

or accompanying equipment like VR glasses. There is a risk it could

widen the digital divide in the short term.

5. It is sceptical that everyone will start wearing VR headsets in the

street.

Scenario in India:

Premium smartphones capable of delivering 5G speeds will be available

in India by late 2019 or early 2020, in line with global availability, making

their way faster to the country than any previous generation.

Considering the readiness of India in terms of Technology Transfer,

economic viability and affordability for research on 5G, we may have to

wait and see the positives and negatives of it. With the encouraging




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factors like demand, demography and entrepreneurship opportunities

India may have to bite the bullet at early stages to achieve long term

benefits of the technology.

Manifest Pedagogy

The topic can lead to prelims questions on the new terms like

‘Holographic call’. The question is not just expected because of events

around the world, but also governmental focus on 5G under the ‘New

Digital Communications Policy – 2018’. The applications in governance

and the question on digital divide are the focus areas in this issue.


What are the features of 5G technology? Compare 5G with its

predecessors. How will 5G technology widen or bridge the digital divide

across the world and in India?

Parker Solar Probe

In news

Parker solar probe becomes closest-yet spacecraft to sun on October

29, 2018.


Science and Technology- developments and their applications and

effects in everyday life.

Awareness in the fields of Space

Static Dimensions

1. Solar Probe missions

2. Science of Sun

3. Effect of solar winds on Earth’s space environment





127

Current Dimensions

1. ISRO, NASA and other space agencies’ launches.

2. Exploration of planets and stars

Content

Parker Solar Probe was launched on August 12, 2018.

Parker Solar Probe is alive and well after skimming by the Sun at just 15

million miles from the sun’s surface. This is far closer than any

spacecraft has ever gone. The spacecraft will repeatedly break its own

records, with a final close approach of 3.83 million miles (6.2 million

km) from the sun’s surface, well within the orbit of Mercury, expected in

2024.

The previous record was set by Helios B in 1976 which held the record

of 26.55 million miles (43 million km) from the sun’s surface.

This has exposed the spacecraft to intense heat and solar radiation in a

complex solar wind environment. The spacecraft is shielded by carbon-

composite shield, which will need to withstand temperatures outside

the spacecraft that reach nearly 2,500 F (1,377 C).

It will provide close-up observations of the sun and helping us

understand phenomena that have puzzled scientists for decades.

Flying into the outermost part of the Sun's atmosphere, known as the

corona, for the first time, Parker Solar Probe will

Revolutionize our understanding of the corona.

Expand our knowledge of the origin and evolution of the solar

wind.

Enhance our ability to forecast changes in Earth's space

environment that affect life and technology on Earth.

Parker Solar Probe will carry instrument suites designed

To study




128

Magnetic fields

Plasma

Energetic particles

And to image the solar wind.

Parker Solar Probe was designed to take care of itself and its precious

payload during this close approach, with no control from Earth.

The Parker Solar Probe team periodically measures the spacecraft’s

precise speed and position using NASA’s Deep Space Network, or

DSN.

Why do we study Sun?

To learn more about stars, which have liveable planets like Earth

throughout the universe.

To understand how life on Earth developed.

To learn about less familiar ways like solar winds, which affect Earth.

Disturbances in the solar wind shake Earth's magnetic field and pump

energy into the radiation belts, part of a set of changes in near-Earth

space known as space weather.

To learn more about causes of space weather – and how to predict it and

protect our satellites.

The solar wind also fills up much of the solar system, dominating the

space environment far past Earth. As we send spacecraft and astronauts

further and further from home, we must understand this space

environment just as early seafarers needed to understand the ocean.

India’s Probe - Aditya-L1 mission

The Aditya-1 mission was conceived as a 400kg class satellite carrying

one payload, the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) and was

planned to launch in an 800 km low earth orbit.




129

A Satellite placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1)

of the Sun-Earth system. Therefore, the Aditya-1 mission has now been

revised to “Aditya-L1 mission”.

The project is approved and the satellite will be launched during 2019 –

2020 timeframe by PSLV-XL from Sriharikota.

Aditya-1 was meant to observe only the solar corona - outer layers of

the Sun, extending to thousands of km above the disc (photosphere).

Aditya-L1 with additional experiments can now provide observations of

Sun's Photosphere (soft and hard X-ray), Chromosphere (UV) and

corona (Visible and NIR).

Manifest Pedagogy

Along with the missions of ISRO, one has to keep track of launches of

NASA, SpaceX etc. Comparisons between the missions with same

objectives are the fodder for Prelims. The mission details are of

significance importance for Mains. The facts and findings of the mission

are to be noted and revised often.

Exploration missions and their names corresponding to the countries

have been traditionally asked in Prelims but importance of exploration

missions, their relevance to the society and importance for the country

has rarely been explored in Mains. It is only in recent times such

questions have been asked (Juno Mission). The best way to handle such

topics would be to look at both geographical and technological aspects

of the mission.


What are exploration missions? Discuss the importance of Parker Solar

Probe as an exploration mission?




130

Tiangong-2

In news

The new space station — ‘Tiangong-2’ or ‘Heavenly Palace’ in

Chinese — was unveiled.


1. Science and Technology- developments


Static dimensions

1. International Space Station (ISS)

2. Tiangong – 1

Current dimensions

1. China’s dominance in space

2. Deep space exploration

Content

The first elements of the International Space Station (ISS) were sent up to

Earth’s orbit 20 years ago, and the station has been occupied by humans

every day for 18 of those years.

Currently, the ISS is the only operating station for space crafts in

orbit. But that could change very soon.

China revealed some life-sized replicas of components going into a

space station of its own making. The new station — ‘Tiangong-2’ or

‘Heavenly Palace’ in Chinese — was unveiled.

The 60-tonne orbiting lab will feature a 17-meter (55 foot) core

module, which forms the station’s backbone and hub.

The core module for the Chinese station is expected to launch as early as

2020. This module is much smaller than that of the International




131

Space Station (ISS), which is the size of a football field counting its solar

panels. The

Chinese station is also roughly one-fifth the mass of the ISS. While

the space station will technically belong to China, it would be open to

astronauts from any UN countries, unlike the ISS today.

China is not one of the international partners in the ISS project, and

no Chinese astronauts have been aboard it. The country sent up a

prototype space station in 2011, the Tiangong-1, which ended with more

than a few scientific takeaways for this second attempt.

China’s second run at having a space station in orbit could have

implications for space agencies worldwide. The ISS is set to be retired in

2024, after which Tiangong-2 will likely be the only space station in orbit.

Assembly is expected to be completed around 2022, with a 10 year

lifespan.

Three astronauts will be permanently stationed to run scientific

experiments.

It will act as a stepping-stone for deep-space exploration.

Tiangong-1

The Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011, with an intended

service span of two years. After the last crew departed the module in

June 2013, it was put into sleep mode. It was intended that it would

remain in orbit for some time, allowing China to collect data on the

longevity of key components before being commanded to gradually re-

enter the atmosphere. Finally it burned up in the Earth's atmosphere

during an uncontrolled re-entry, but it orbited until 2nd April, 2018.

International Space Station (ISS)

The International Space Station -- a collaboration between the United

States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan - has been in operation

since 1998 but is due to be retired in 2024.




132

The International Space Station is a unique scientific platform that

enables researchers from all over the world to put their talents to work

on innovative experiments in the microgravity environment which could

not be done anywhere else. Although each space station partner has

distinct agency goals for station research, each partner shares a unified

goal to extend the resulting knowledge for the betterment of humanity.

We may not know yet what will be the most important discovery gained

from the space station, but we already have some amazing

breakthroughs.

Manifest Pedagogy

The details of ISS, Tiangong – 1 and 2 are of significance for both Prelims

and Mains.

Space station is an indicator of the dominance in the outer space. After

ISS, Tiangong – 2 is such an instrument to showcase the dominance. It

will consequences on global politics too. Issues of space weaponization

have been in news. UPSC may inter-discipline IR and Science and

Technology and ask questions related to it. Below is an example.


What is the significance of unveiling of Chinese Tiangong-2? Discuss its

impact on global politics?

India's first indigenous ballistic missile submarine

In news:

India's first indigenous ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), the INS

Arihant, had completed its first deterrent patrol.

Placing it in syllabus:

1. Science and Technology- developments.

2. Indigenization of technology and developing new technology.




133

Static dimensions:

1. Nuclear Triad

2. Nuclear Security Doctrine

3. Nuclear Command Authority

4. Stealth Technology

Current dimensions:

1. INS Arihant

2. India’s defence/naval/submarine capabilities

Content:

After the successful patrol by India's first indigenous ballistic missile

submarine (SSBN), the INS Arihant, India has officially entered the triad

of its nuclear capabilities – on land, air, and sea.

Features of INS Arihant:

Feature Details

Displacement 6000 tonne

Speed Submerged: 24 knots

Surfaced: 15 knots

Test depth 350m

Men

Capacity 95-100 officers and men

Sensors used USHUS sonar Panchendriya (The first indigenously

developed sonar system for submarines)

The submarine’s exterior is uneven and the hull is placed on a mat

covered with tiles. The tiles help in absorbing sound waves and provide

stealth capability to the submarine.




134

A strategic deterrent patrol is one where an SSBN with a full complement

of nuclear-tipped missiles sails towards its intended area of deployment

and within range of an adversary's targets.

In case of an attack by a nuclear-armed adversary, India's Nuclear

Command Authority (NCA) can order the submarine to launch its

weapons.

Deterrent patrols are meant to dissuade a potential nuclear-armed

adversary from launching a nuclear first strike. Once a submarine sails

out into the deep ocean, it is extremely difficult to detect, track and

destroy, making it the most survivable platform of the nuclear triad that

consists of aircraft-dropped and ground-fired nuclear missiles.

All five permanent members of the UN Security Council deploy their

SSBNs on deterrent patrols. The robustness of the deterrent is decided

by missile ranges, number of weapons and, most critically, the ability to

have one platform on continuous patrol. China was the last entrant into

this club with its SSBN making its first deterrent patrol as recently as

December 2015.

The Nuclear Command Authority (NCA)

The NCA comprises of an Executive Council and a Political Council. The

Chairman of the Political Council is the Prime Minister. The Executive

Council is chaired by the National Security Advisor (NSA).

It is the sole body which can authorise the use of nuclear weapons.

The order will be passed via a sophisticated Extremely Low Frequency

(ELF) communication system.

Nuclear Triad

A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure that consists

of land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines

and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles.




135

The triad becomes effective when you have a submarine operational at

all times, and that would require a fleet of four such vessels at the very

least.

INS Arihant was inducted into service in August 2016.

Three other SSBNs are being built under the Defence Research and

Development Organisation's Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project

in Vizag.

Stealth technology

To understand stealth technology, we need to know about the basic

working principle of a radar. A radar sends out electromagnetic waves,

which reflect on an obstruction and return. This signal is processed in

order to determine the exact position, size and direction of target. This

spoils the element of surprise of the attacking party.

Stealth technology works on the principle of eliminating radar

reflections. This can be done by either

Absorbing radio waves (RAM coatings)

Deflecting radio waves (Shaping of the surfaces)

The radio waves are electromagnetic waves of varying frequencies. The

methods of deflection and absorption of EM waves complement each

other in order to create a stealth aircraft/ship.

Naval Stealth:

The most widely spread misconception of stealth warships is that they

are invisible to radar and are as stealthy as stealth aircraft. Stealth ships

are in fact very much visible on radar. But the difference is that the ships

would be detected at the same distance, but will appear with a much

smaller blip on the radar and the enemy will not know the difference

between these warships and smaller merchant ships. Naval stealth is

mainly to appear smaller and blend in with other ships and boats.




136

Nuclear Security Doctrine

The essential purpose of any nuclear doctrine is to codify a country's

beliefs and principles to guide action and ensure uniformity of “thought

and action” during peace and war. In other words, the nuclear

doctrine conveys the underlying conditions about nuclear weapons use

to the adversary in an unambiguous manner.

India had made its Nuclear Doctrine in 2003 and the characteristics of

India's Nuclear Doctrine are as follows;

1. The basic principle of India's nuclear doctrine is "No First

Use". According to this policy, nuclear weapons will only be used in

retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian Territory or on Indian

forces anywhere.

2. India needs to build and maintain a Credible Minimum Deterrent.

This includes;

3. Sufficient and survivable nuclear forces to inflict unacceptable

damage to the enemy.

4. Nuclear Forces must be operationally prepared at all times.

Effective Intelligence and Early Warning Capabilities.

1. Communication of Deterrence Capability to the enemy.

2. If a country invades India by nuclear missile, its retaliation will be

this much massive and terrible that the enemy experience an

unacceptable damage and would not be able to recover easily.

3. The right to take nuclear action against the enemy will only be

taken by the elected representatives of the people, i.e. the political

leadership of the country, although the cooperation of the Nuclear

Command Authority will be necessary.

4. Nuclear weapons will not be used against non-nuclear state.

5. If there is any chemical or biological attack against India or Indian

security forces, then India will keep the option of nuclear attack

open in its response.

6. A continuance of strict controls on export of nuclear and missile

related materials and technologies, participation in the fissile




137

material Cut-off Treaty negotiations and continued observance of

the moratorium on nuclear tests.

7. India will continue to support the global initiative to create

a nuclear free world and will push forward the idea of

discrimination free nuclear disarmament.

Manifest pedagogy

The questions on the defence carriers, warheads, weapons and

equipment appear in the Prelims. In mains, the questions on defence

capabilities, doctrines and policies appear. One can list all facts

separately and revise for prelims and the write-ups can be used for

comprehensive mains coverage.


What is a nuclear triad? Do you think with this India is moving towards

Credible Minimum Deterrence? Explain.

ENIVRONMENT AND DISASTER

MANAGEMENT

Green Crackers

In news

Ban on sale of crackers except green crackers. The debates and

discussions are going on what is a green cracker, the research on

that and the laws governing the explosives.

Placing it in the syllabus

Paper 2:





138

Judiciary

Paper 3:

Environmental pollution and degradation

What is a Green Cracker?

According to an affidavit filed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests

and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in the Supreme Court on August 21 this

year, ‘green crackers’ are less polluting, with lower emission levels.

Static dimensions:

1. Science behind crackers

2. Supreme Court’s role in environmental activism

Current dimensions:

1. Science behind green crackers.

2. Child labour in firecracker industry.

3. Judiciary – Intellectual elitism Vs. Populist issues

4. Right to religion and the reasonable restrictions.

5. Judicial decrees, Diversity of India (Festivals) and its effect on

federalism

Content

Green crackers operate on a technology called Safe Water and Air

Sprinklers (SWAS). When a material absorbs water, it generates heat,

which aids the bursting of crackers. In a green cracker, a reactant such as

aluminium absorbs the water, generating a lot of heat, which enables the

explosion. Then the same water also acts as a dust suppressant.

Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) is the licensing

body for firecracker industry.

Research on green crackers:




139

The MoEF&CC had commissioned a team from the Council of Scientific

and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering

Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, to conduct research on

‘green crackers’. The study began around June-July this year. There is

one team working on the chemical formulation for ‘green crackers’, and

another on sound monitoring.

Supreme Court’s Ruling:

There are no definitive pollution standards for the industry to adhere to.

The Supreme Court asked the MoEF&CC and affiliated bodies to come

up with solutions. The court also ordered a ban on the use of barium

salts in cracker manufacturing, and also a ban on using series or joint

crackers (garlands/laris) on the ground that these caused noise pollution

and generated way too much garbage. These decisions by the court

were based on suggestions from the MoEF&CC.

Apprehensions about the research:

1. Some chemicals available at laboratory grade cannot be replicated

at the industry grade.

2. Whether a cracker is ‘green’ or not is determined by its emission

levels. Theoretically, magnesium has lower emission levels but

NEERI has not yet shared the actual figures with the industry.

3. MoEF&CC suggested the use of ‘green crackers’ or SWAS, but

without mentioning either the status of the research or a timeline.

4. 60% of the firecrackers need barium but the court has banned it

considering the MoEF&CC’s assertion that barium nitrate only

gives an attractive colour to the crackers. Anything that emits light

needs barium, while something that only explodes does not need

barium. Barium added to aluminium gives off white light. When

PVC [polyvinyl chloride] powder is added to barium, it lends a

green colour to that light. A ban on barium effectively means a ban

on flower pots, chakraas, pencils, sparklers, and aerial fireworks.

5. The funding issues and IPR issues.




140

Manifest Pedagogy

The questions on chemicals may appear in the CSE Prelims. As far as the

mains linkage is concerned, the topic can be clubbed with environmental

degradation, environmental governance, role of judiciary in it and its

impact on popular imagination and federalism. These issues will be taken

in the upcoming weeks.


What are green crackers? How do they differ from other crackers? Will

the green crackers address the environmental concerns holistically?

INTERNAL SECURITY

Directorate of Enforcement

In news

The ED made it to the headlines for its continuous actions against

politicians and scam accused.

Placing in the syllabus

Paper 3: Money laundering and its prevention.

Static Dimensions

1. Role and mandate of Enforcement Directorate

2. Key features of Money Laundering

3. Features of FEMA

4. International Treaties against Terror Financing

Current Dimensions

1. Fugitive Economic offenders Act, 2018

2. Activism of ED





141

Content

Directorate of Enforcement is a specialized financial investigation

agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance,

Government of India, which enforces the following laws: -

Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 (FEMA)

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)

Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018

Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling

Activities Act, 1974(COFEPOSA)

Cooperation to foreign countries

Organisational Setup

The Directorate of Enforcement, with its Headquarters at New Delhi is

headed by the Director of Enforcement. There are five Regional offices at

Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Delhi headed by Special

Directors of Enforcement.

Key Terms

Money laundering

Money laundering is essential for criminal organizations who wish to

use illegally earned money effectively. Dealing in large amounts of illegal

cash is inefficient and dangerous. The criminals need a way to deposit

the money financial institutions, yet they can only do so if the money

appears to come from legitimate sources.

There are three steps involved in the process of laundering

money: placement, layering and integration. Placement refers to the act

of introducing "dirty money" (money obtained through illegitimate,

criminal means) into the financial system in some way. Layering is the act

of concealing the source of that money by way of a series of complex

transactions and bookkeeping tricks. Integration refers to the act of

acquiring that money in purportedly legitimate means.




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FEMA: The main objective of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)

is to facilitate external trade and payments and for promoting the

orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in

India. FEMA deals with provisions relating to procedures, formalities,

dealings, etc. of foreign exchange transactions in India. The transactions

relating to foreign exchange have been classified under FEMA into two

main categories, viz., (1) Current Account Transaction, (2) Capital Account

Transaction.

PMLA: The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 [PMLA] mandates

that the investigation of the offence of money laundering be linked to

the Scheduled Offences investigated by the concerned Central or State

Law Enforcement Agencies. The scheme of PMLA thus necessitates inter-

agency coordination to take effective action against persons who are

found by the Law Enforcement Agencies to be involved in criminal

activity. Such action under PMLA entails attaching and confiscating

tainted assets, and prosecuting persons/entities for the offence of

money laundering.




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Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND) under the Department of

Revenue, Ministry of Finance is the central national agency responsible

for receiving, processing, analysing and disseminating information

relating to suspect financial transactions to enforcement agencies and

foreign FIUs.

Fugitive Economic Offenders: A fugitive economic offender is an

individual who has committed some specified offence(s) involving an

amount of one hundred crore rupees or more and has absconded from

India or refused to come back to India to avoid or face criminal

prosecution in India.

A Fugitive Economic Offender is a person declared so by a 'Special Court'

set up under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act (PMLA), 2002,

against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of any of the

economic offences provided in the schedule to Fugitive Economic

Offenders Bill, 2018 and who has left India so as to avoid criminal

prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal

prosecution.

Other provisions under the Act:

1. making an application before the special court for a declaration that

an individual is a fugitive economic offender;

2. attachment of the property of a fugitive economic offender and

proceeds of crime;

3. issue of a notice by the special court to the individual alleged to be a

fugitive economic offender;

4. confiscation of the property of an individual declared as a fugitive

economic offender or even the proceeds of crime;

5. disentitlement of the fugitive economic offender from defending any

civil claim; and

6. appointment of an administrator to manage and dispose of the

confiscated property under the act.

Analysis




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1. The act bars an FEO from filing and defending civil claims before it.

This might compromise with article 21 where right to life also

includes the right to access justice.

2. The confiscation of property particularly the property collectively

owned by shareholders or creditors (secured and unsecured) and

whether the central government will share the sale proceeds to these

shareholders is a matter of concern.

3. The act does not require the authorities to obtain search warrants,

this is not in line with the provisions of CRPC 1973. It might lead to

planting of evidence and harassment.

4. The act leads to immediate confiscation of property which is

different from all other earlier provisions which have two year time

gap after proclamation as absconder. Leading to punishment

without proper trail in few cases.

COFEPOSA: In the era of 1970 to 1980 , when smuggling activities were

at the top and the Foreign Exchange of India was at the lowest position,

the Government of India passed “ COFEPOSA, 1974”. But in this

liberalized era the Act has lost its significance.

The Act gives wide powers to the executive to detain a person on mere

suspicion of smuggling. This Act has been criticized by various Human

Right activists and organizations for being draconian. The Act has given

special protection by including the same in the 9th schedule to the

Constitution of India.

International Co-Operation: In response to mounting concern over

money laundering, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money

Laundering was established by the G-7 Summit in Paris in 1989 to

develop a co-ordinated international response. One of the first tasks of

the FATF was to develop Recommendations, which set out the measures

national governments should take to implement effective anti-money

laundering programmes. India is an active member of the FATF.

Government of India is committed to tackle the menace of Money

Laundering and has always been part of the global efforts in this

direction. India is signatory to the following UN Conventions, which deal

with Anti Money Laundering / Countering the Financing of Terrorism:




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1. International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of

Terrorism (1999)

2. UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000)c

3. UN Convention against Corruption (2003).

Manifest Pedagogy

National Herald case, the Vijay Mallya scam, PNB scam involving

diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi etc are in news

which have brought up the issue of redefining the role of security

agencies and their mandate both in India and International arena

(Interpol). UPSC may directly ask the role and implementing agencies in

mains and issues like Red Corner Notice by Interpol may be focused on

in prelims.


Money laundering and foreign exchange regulation would be futile

without international cooperation. Critically examine the statement

highlighting various Agreements and Conventions on these issues.



MANIFEST 11 · 2019-05-24 · manmade disaster can be seen in the international relations and...

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