1 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 2_2 SOCIAL JUSTICE, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Q1. Discuss the new reality of India-Nepal relations in the context of strengthening ties between Nepal and China. What steps India should take to maintain a positive relationship with Nepal? (150 words, 10 marks) Approach: Start with basic principles of India Nepal relation Mention some areas of cooperation What are the Challenges in India Nepal relations Discuss China factor in India and Nepal relations Measures needed to be taken by India India Nepal relations: The relation between India and Nepal was founded on the age-old connection of history, culture, tradition and religion; these relations are close, comprehensive and multidimensional and are pronounced more in political, social, cultural, religious and economic engagement with each other. It was based on the principles of peaceful coexistence, sovereign equality, and understanding of each other’s aspirations and sensitivities. Areas of cooperation: India and Nepal have open borders which allow free flow of people and goods between the two countries. Some of the major areas of cooperation are Development of infrastructure projects Water resource management Transport corridors like BBIN Security and border management Multilateral and regional fora like SAARC and BIMSTEC Disaster management and humanitarian aid Bilateral industrial investments Tourism and cultural development Challenges in India Nepal relations Internal Security is a major concern for India; Indo-Nepal border is virtually open and lightly policed which is exploited by terrorist outfits and insurgent groups from North Eastern part of India eg. supply of trained cadres, fake Indian currency. Overtime trust deficit has widened between India-Nepal because of the Indian reputation for delaying implementation of various projects. Nepal over the years has witnessed chronic political instability, including a 10-year violent insurgency, damaging Nepal’s development and economy. The recent political tussle over the Nepal constitution and economic blockade strained the India-Nepal relations. There is anti-India feeling among certain ethnic groups in Nepal which emanates from the perception that India indulges too much in Nepal and tinkers with their political sovereignty. The establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and China and its growing influence in Nepal has resulted in declining traditional leverage of India in Nepal. China factor in India and Nepal relations: Nepal is strategically located between India in the south and China in the north. Though Nepal’s relation with India is much closer than China, the economic prospects from China gaining more importance. Nepal shows a policy departure by balancing between India and China for its progress. The projects like Trans-Himalayan railway by China was warmly welcomed by Nepal. Nepal also acceded to the Belt and Road Initiative of China. The economic feasibility of these projects of connecting Nepal to Chinese ports remains uncertain. For China engaging with Nepal gives it additional access point to South Asia. Measures needed to be taken by India: The prospects of easing the bilateral relations de pe nd on India’s overall capacity to challenge China and political will to address its own controversial approaches towards Nepal. In practical terms, India is not in a suitable position to challenge the economic
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1 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
GENERAL STUDIES
PAPER – 2_2
SOCIAL JUSTICE, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Q1. Discuss the new reality of India-Nepal
relations in the context of strengthening
ties between Nepal and China. What steps India should take to maintain a positive
relationship with Nepal?
(150 words, 10 marks)
Approach:
Start with basic principles of India
Nepal relation
Mention some areas of cooperation
What are the Challenges in India Nepal relations
Discuss China factor in India and Nepal relations
Measures needed to be taken by India
India Nepal relations:
The relation between India and Nepal was
founded on the age-old connection of history,
culture, tradition and religion; these relations are close, comprehensive and
multidimensional and are pronounced more
in political, social, cultural, religious and economic engagement with each other. It was
based on the principles of peaceful
coexistence, sovereign equality, and understanding of each other’s aspirations and
sensitivities.
Areas of cooperation:
India and Nepal have open borders which allow free flow of people and goods between
the two countries. Some of the major areas of
cooperation are
Development of infrastructure projects
Water resource management
Transport corridors like BBIN
Security and border management
Multilateral and regional fora like
SAARC and BIMSTEC
Disaster management and
humanitarian aid
Bilateral industrial investments
Tourism and cultural development
Challenges in India Nepal relations
Internal Security is a major concern
for India; Indo-Nepal border is virtually open and lightly policed
which is exploited by terrorist outfits
and insurgent groups from North
Eastern part of India eg. supply of trained cadres, fake Indian currency.
Overtime trust deficit has widened between India-Nepal because of the
Indian reputation for delaying
implementation of various projects.
Nepal over the years has witnessed
chronic political instability, including a 10-year violent insurgency,
damaging Nepal’s development and
economy.
The recent political tussle over the
Nepal constitution and economic
blockade strained the India-Nepal relations.
There is anti-India feeling among certain ethnic groups in Nepal which
emanates from the perception that
India indulges too much in Nepal and tinkers with their political sovereignty.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and China
and its growing influence in Nepal has
resulted in declining traditional leverage of India in Nepal.
China factor in India and Nepal relations:
Nepal is strategically located between India in
the south and China in the north. Though Nepal’s relation with India is much closer
than China, the economic prospects from
China gaining more importance. Nepal shows a policy departure by balancing
between India and China for its progress. The
projects like Trans-Himalayan railway by China was warmly welcomed by Nepal. Nepal
also acceded to the Belt and Road Initiative of China. The economic feasibility of these
projects of connecting Nepal to Chinese ports
remains uncertain. For China engaging with Nepal gives it additional access point to South
Asia.
Measures needed to be taken by India:
The prospects of easing the bilateral relations depend on India’s overall capacity to
challenge China and political will to address
its own controversial approaches towards Nepal. In practical terms, India is not in a
suitable position to challenge the economic
2 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
might of China. Some of the steps that India
can take to maintain positive relations with Nepal are
Respecting the Sovereignty of Nepal
Timely completion of the infrastructure projects
Non-reciprocal attitude towards Nepal
Development of strong people to
people relations through cultural projects
Accepting the Chinese factor and cooperating with the reality
Conclusion: India has to stick to the principles of non-
interference and peaceful co-existence are respected and a high level of political
engagement with Nepal. The recent initiatives
like the development of Buddhist tourist circuit and 2+1 approach of the relation
between India and China with Nepal is the
right step in the direction. Thus the role of China in Nepal has become a reality, for a
positive relation India has to cooperative
rather confrontation which causes more harm than good.
Q2. How far do you agree with the view
that the presence of Indians diaspora in
the world has given the much-desired fillip to India’s relations with other countries?
(150 words, 10 marks)
Approach:
How Indians diaspora in the world pushing for India's interests abroad.(with examples)
Diaspora's role in shaping India's foreign
policy
The 2015 International Migration Report
estimated that 16 million Indians lived abroad, according to UN World Migration
Report (2018) Indian diaspora is the world's
largest. India was the world's largest recipient of remittances in 2016 having received $62
billion. However, the importance of Diasporas does not end with remittances alone but
extends to knowledge transfer, the sharing of
resources, acting as unofficial Indian ambassadors and pushing for India's
interests abroad.
However, as for the diaspora's role in shaping
and furthering India's foreign policy goals, it
is unclear to the extent of their engagement. Nevertheless, as more people of Indian origin
take up larger roles in politics, business and
entertainment abroad, they will be more likely
to not only invest in India but also help
further India's interests.
Two good examples are Antonio Costa, the
Portuguese Prime Minister, and Leo Varadkar, Ireland's Prime Minister. Both
belong to the Indian diaspora and come from
two economically strong countries that can trade with India. Portugal has already signed
MOUs with India in science and technology,
double taxation avoidance, space, trade and investment. Further, the two countries have
agreed to create a joint science fund of four
million Euros where they will collaborate in science research projects.
As for Ireland and other countries like the
Netherlands with a large Indian diaspora,
they are more likely to support India in her bid to join the United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) and the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG). This will be even more likely with enough pressure from the diaspora.
India can also benefit from the diaspora in North America in achieving her space,
defence and security goals. Groups like the
United States India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), Friends of India,
Canada India Foundation (CIF) and Canada
India Business Council (CIBC), are already actively pushing for India's interests. Take for
example the recent passing of the American
defence budget in June 2017, totaling $US621 billion, where Indian-American
Congressman Ami Bera, stressed in his
amendment for "advanced defence cooperation between our two nations".
India needs delicate balancing between its
relationships with Saudi Arabia, Israel and
Qatar as it has interests engaged with all three countries. Currently, India enjoys a
favourable relationship with the three
countries, perhaps to an extent due to the presence of the diaspora.
Indians in the Middle East are known to be honest and hard workers. This "soft power"
asset may have helped in convincing Saudi
Arabia that India is and will remain a long-term trading partner despite Modi pursuing
stronger ties with Israel.
Smaller but equally important ways in which
the Indian community abroad helps further
India's foreign policy goals is by helping in the return of stolen artefacts. The Indian
Pride Project for example successfully lobbied to bring back the famous Nataraja from
3 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
Australia, and sandstone Yakshi from the
United States.
However, the support of the diaspora is
neither automatic nor continuous. They have been critical of bureaucratic procedures in
India among other issues. The Canadian
politician, Jagmeet Singh, for example, has been very critical of the treatment of minority
groups in India. Yet, the diaspora can help
further India's interests and have risen to the occasion when India needed them. Moreover,
the expectations of the diaspora, in return for
their help from the Indian government is varied. While those from countries like
Australia, the US and Canada demand dual citizenship and easier routes to invest in
India, immigrants in the Gulf states require
more help in day-to-day survival, and people of Indian origin in countries like Fiji, Kenya
and Trinidad and Tobago look to India for
cultural ties. The government will have to continue to work with these diaspora groups
separately to fully benefit from the
complementary relationship shared between the diaspora and its home country, focusing
on his flagship programs like ‘Make in India’,
while also playing a larger role in the Indian space programme and in the expansion of
trade, defence and security ties.
Q3. What do you understand by the term
social justice? How has social justice been
guaranteed through the Directive Principle of State Policy?
(150 words, 10 marks)
Approach:
Define social justice
Discuss several aspects of Social Justice
Discuss several provisions of the
Directive Principle of State Policy which provides Social Justice
What Is Social Justice?
Social justice is a political and philosophical concept which holds that all people should
have equal access to wealth, health, well-
being, justice, and opportunity.
It follows the principle that all individuals and groups are entitled to
fair and impartial treatment.
It attempts to prevent human rights abuses.
It is based on notions of equality and equal opportunity in society.
It focuses on the full and equal
participation of all citizens in the economic, social and political aspects
of the nation.
Social justice can also refer to advantages and disadvantages
distributed in a society.
It derives its authority from the codes
of morality in each culture and differs from culture to culture.
United Nation’s objectives of social
justice policies include social, economic and cultural rights,
including the right to an adequate
standard of living; right to work and equal pay for equal work; right to
education; and right of minorities to enjoy their own religion, language and
culture.
How has social justice been guaranteed
through the Directive Principle of State
Policy (DPSP)?
The constitution framers wanted to firmly
establish social justice in India and to achieve their goal they envisioned the Directive
Principles and included them in the
Constitution though they are non-justiciable. Through the successful implementation of the
Directive Principles India seeks to secure an
egalitarian society. The framers of the constitution were not satisfied with only
political justice, their aim was to ensure
people social and economic justice; and so they sought to combine political justice with
social and economic justice.
The DPSP has three main categories, namely
socialistic, Gandhian and liberal democratic In their humanistic and welfare thrust, the
categories sometimes overlap each other.
The socialistic principle (Articles 37, 39, 41,
42 and 43) direct the State to provide for:
adequate means of livelihood to all citizens:
distribution of material resources for common good or all;
avoidance of concentration of wealth and means of production in the hands
of the few;
right to work; equal pay for equal work to both men and women;
living wages for all workers, protection of workers, especially children;
humane conditions of work and
maternity relief;
right to education and public
assistance, etc.
4 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
The Gandhian provisions under Articles 40, 43, 46, 47 and 48 direct the State to
organize village Panchayats,
promote cottage industries in rural areas;
provide economic and educational upliftment to scheduled castes,
scheduled tribes and weaker sections of the population;
introduce prohibition of liquor and
drugs;
protect animal wealth and ban cow
slaughter .
The liberal democratic directives (Articles 44,
45, 48, 50 and 51) direct the State to provide:
free and compulsory education for
children up to 14 years of age;
introduce uniform civil code;
separate the judiciary from the executive;
organize agriculture and animal
husbandry on modern lines;
protect historical monuments, and
promote international peace .
In their totality these directives constitute an agenda of comprehensive social revolution.
Q4. Senior citizens are the powerhouse of experience and knowledge, but many of
them feel neglected and unwanted in the
twilight years of their life. Suggest some measures to enable them to live a
respectable life with economic self-
sufficiency. (150 words, 10 marks)
Approach:
How wisdom of an experienced elderly person can be a strong guiding force
for the untrained, fresh minds.
Discuss socio-economic problems of Senior citizens.
Suggest some way forward to enable them to live a respectable life with
economic self-sufficiency.
The elderly have knowledge, patience and a
life full of experiences behind them. While the
young generation is more active physically, energetic and enthusiastic. The young
generation can’t be expected to be self-driven
with not much exposure to the upheavals of life unlike their predecessors, thus making
them more vulnerable to troubles and
mistakes. The wisdom of an experienced elderly person can be a strong guiding force
for the untrained, fresh minds. The
mechanics of experience, vision and guidance combined with relentless energy can bring
positive and much desired results eventually.
This is what is required at the moment.
Once a person reaches a certain age, he/she
and those around automatically assume that the person has become useless and slowly
authority starts shifting from that person
thus making one feel more helpless and dependent on others. It is sad indeed that the
elderly are left on their own by their children
and the society which is also very disturbing from the psychological point of view. They feel
useless, neglected and liable.
As per the 52nd round of the National
Sample Survey Organization, nearly half of the elderly are fully dependent
on others, while another 20 percent
are partially dependent for their economic needs.
About 85% of the aged had to depend on others for their day to day
maintenance. The situation was even
worse for elderly females.
The elders living with their families
are largely contingent on the economic capacity of the family unit for their
economic security and well-being.
Elderly often do not have financial protection such as sufficient pension
and other forms of social security in
India.
The single most pressing challenge to
the welfare of older person is poverty, which is a multiplier of risk for abuse.
Also due to their financial dependence, elderly persons are most
vulnerable to infections have low
priority for own health.
Migration of younger generation, lack
of proper care in the family,
insufficient housing, economic hardship and break-up of joint family
have made the old age homes seem
more relevant even in the Indian context.
Way forward:
It is important to understand the social aspects concerning aged in the
country as they go through the
process of ageing. Increased life expectancy, rapid urbanization and
lifestyle changes have led to an
emergence of varied problems for the elderly in India.
5 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
It must be remembered that
comprehensive care to the elderly is possible only with the involvement
and collaboration of family,
community and the Government. India should prepare to meet the
growing challenge of caring for its elderly population.
All social service institutions in the
country need to address the social challenges to elderly care in order to
improve their quality of life.
There is a need to initiate requisite and more appropriate social welfare
programmes to ensure life with dignity for the elderly. In addition, there is
also a need to develop an integrated
and responsive system to meet the care needs and challenges of elderly in
India.
Without government’s interest and support, media’s backing and
involvement of the private sector, this issue like all others, will remain
unresolved.
A separate colony for the Senior Citizens in all the cities of the country
with all the basic facilities of life including a Hospital, Shopping
Centre, Club, Golf Club, Park etc.
within its premises. (No need for old homes anymore in their pathetic and
deplorable states)
Government/Private Sector sponsored projects and setups to provide
employment opportunities and work
facilities to the senior citizens in Offices, Factories and any other
financial earning opportunities etc.
Some services like Medical facilities,
education for those who want to study
with online facilities,Telephone/Mobile facilities, Exclusive transportation
facilities, Sponsored recreational
activities etc should be provided at reasonable cost.
Media should play its important role in educating the society in this respect
etc.
Senior Citizens are equally useful to the
society in every way. Old age doesn’t mean
that their potential or talent has drifted away. They are very much like their successors and
in some cases, better. It is up to society to
realize their value.
Q5. Explain the essence of “Indo-Pacific”
as a geopolitical framework. What are the implications for India of China's presence
in the Indo-Pacific region?
(150 words,10 marks)
Approach:
Explain the “Indo-Pacific” concept
How it acts as a centre of gravity of
the world’s economic, political and strategic interests
Implications for India of China's presence in the Indo-Pacific region
The Indo-Pacific region is an emerging geostrategic and geo-economic concept that
has been gaining significance in the field of
economic, defence and security studies. It is the geographical connotation of the area
which covers the Eastern Coast of Africa
through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean.
It, in fact, represents the centre of gravity of the world’s economic, political and strategic
interests. It is rich in natural resources,
especially hydrocarbons which fuel the industrial engines of the world’s economies.
The established and emerging powers are
competing over these resources. In recent years, with the global economic power shift, it
has swiftly emerged as a centre of international trade and investments. It indeed
embodies a large market which is defined by
nearly half of the world’s population. This is obvious from the economic issues currently
dominating the regional politics.
The “Indo-Pacific” idea was originally
conceived in 2006-07 for a more constructive
geopolitical amalgamation of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific regions,
including for coping with the growing
comprehensive power of China.
Implications for India of China's presence
in the Indo-Pacific region:
India’s relationship with the South-East and East Asian countries is very
traditional. It has revived this
traditional relationship through its LEP in the early 1990s, and recently
through ‘Act East Policy’ under the
Modi government.
India’s engagements with the two vital
sub-regions of Asia have been enhanced at economic, defence,
politico-diplomatic and strategic
levels.
It currently conducts its bilateral
relationship at the level of ‘strategic partnership’’ with Indonesia, Vietnam,
Japan, South Korea, China and
6 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
Australia. India’s strategic
relationship with the ASEAN and the US has dramatically developed over
the last one decade.
There is also an India–Japan–Australia–US quadrilateral and India–
Japan–US trilateral partnership.
India’s strategic partners in the region
not only seek to further strengthen
their ties with India on a wide range of issues, including trade and
investment, defence, maritime
security, science and technology and disaster management, but also urge
India to play a more proactive role in
the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
The US, in particular, considers India
as a ‘linchpin’ in its rebalancing strategy towards the region. It is
perceived that strengthening the
relationship between the world’s largest democracies will help promote
regional peace and stability as they
share common values, interests as well as common security challenges in
the twenty-first century.
Through India’s Look East Policy (LEP) and the US’ rebalancing strategy, the
two countries have further built a new synergy in their regional relationship.
There is, however, concern that ‘the
Indian Ocean Region could witness a major military surge by China,
turning it into an arena of great power
competition in Asia.’
China has rapidly developed its
relationship with Indian Ocean rim countries, which is perceived as a
‘string of pearls’ strategy, to contain
emerging India. In response to the Chinese strategy, India has sought to
further improve its naval and security
cooperation with the South-East and East Asian countries, including
Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, etc.
However, India’s strategic leverage,
particularly in East Asia, is not comparable with that of China’s
growing clout in the Eastern Indian
Ocean. China has recently gained its influence in the region by funding
huge maritime infrastructure projects
such as Hambantota in Sri Lanka and Gwadar in Pakistan.
These infrastructural facilities currently may be for commercial
purposes but have a considerable
scope for military applications’.
China’s ability to put India under
strain in the Indian Ocean is a growing factor shaping the broader
dynamic of Asian security.
In addition, the rise of non-traditional security threats, maritime boundary
claims and Great Power competition over resources has further broadened
the security challenges for India.
In this rapidly changing geostrategic and geo-
economic landscape of the Indo-Pacific,
India’s future prosperity and overall security lies in its ability to effectively connect to the
two regions, as well as maintaining peace and
stability in it.
Q6. How far do you agree with the view that Death penalty in cases of rape leading
to the victim's death or her being left in a
persistent vegetative state is a right step to protect women from sexual violence in
India.
(150 words, 10 marks)
Approach:
You can start with the recent
judgments and reforms which involving Death penalty in cases of
violence against women.
Discuss unfairness/fairness of imposing the death penalty
You can mention about various official organisations which opposed the use
of the death penalty
You can suggest some alternative measures to curb sexual violence
against women.
The landmark reforms to India's sexual
violence laws in 2013, expanded the definition of rape and also introduced the
death penalty in cases of rape leading to the
victim's death or her being left in a "persistent vegetative state", and rape by
repeat offenders.
When the Supreme Court upheld the death
sentences of four men convicted of the brutal
gang-rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi in December 2012, several political
parties and media stations celebrated the
verdict. But what's been lost in the din is the futility and unfairness of imposing the death
penalty in cases involving violence against
women.
Convictions in cases of sexual violence, however, continue to be rare. More than
34,000 rapes were reported in 2015, but the
7 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
conviction rate was only 21.3%. The use of
the death penalty in India has been flawed and arbitrary.
A 2006 study of Supreme Court judgements on the death penalty by
Amnesty International and the People's Union for Civil Liberties
revealed that the imposition of death
sentences was like a "lethal lottery", disproportionately affecting those with
little wealth or influence.
The Supreme Court has itself admitted that the punishment - meant
to be restricted to those "rarest-of-
rare" cases where the convicted person is deemed to be incapable of
reform - has been inconsistently handed out.
Over the past four years, various offici al organisations have also opposed the use of
the death penalty, including in cases of rape.
The Justice Verma Committee - set up
after the Delhi rape case to review
sexual violence laws in the country - recommended that the death penalty
not be used in cases of sexual violence, calling it "a regressive step in
the field of sentencing and
reformation".
In 2015, the Law Commission of India
recommended the abolition of the
death penalty for most crimes, including sexual violence, stating that
the punishment was not a greater
deterrent to crime than life imprisonment.
A study by the National Law University of Delhi of all death row
prisoners in India showed that three -
quarters of them were from religious minority groups and marginalised
caste groups.The study also brought
to light a range of structural deficiencies in the way the justice
system treated death row prisoners.
Women's rights groups protested against the
government's decision to introduce the death penalty for certain cases of sexual violence
even before it was finally enacted into law.
However, these appeals, as well as the Verma Committee's recommendations, have been
ignored.
The temptation of courts to use the death
penalty to send a "strong message" to the
perpetrators ignores the deep-rooted, structural causes of sexual violence.
Justice will remain elusive for victims until
and unless there is an end to endemic problems that plague the criminal justice
system.These include flawed investigations,
protracted delays in trials, failure to provide adequate compensation and protection,
paternalistic and discriminatory attitudes in
police stations and courts, and an almost complete failure to implement laws that
address caste-based sexual violence.
Offences such as marital rape are not even
recognised as crimes - a fact repeatedly
raised earlier this month during a review of India's human rights record at the UN
Human Rights Council. When most sexual offences are not even
reported to the police, it is naive to believe
that executions will somehow curb violence against women.
Four years ago, the pressure on the government led to reforms that provided an
opportunity to increase women's access to
justice.
However, invoking the death penalty does
nothing to improve access to justice or to secure convictions.
The Supreme Court's repeated justification invoking the "collective conscience" of "the
community" to impose death sentences is
deeply flawed, as judges are not mandated to represent perceptions of the community's
opinions.
This highly discretionary standard, which
seemingly assuages "public outrage", ignores the public outrage directed at the state's
failure to ensure access to, and certainty of,
justice in all cases of sexual violence.
So instead of hiding behind the death
penalty, India needs to take real measures to protect its women from violence.
Q7. Discuss the implications of rising tension between Iran and the USA on
India. What measures India should take for
protecting its energy security and interest in West Asia.
(150 words, 10 marks)
Approach:
In brief provide recent developments in US-Iran relations as context.
Mention implications of rising tension on India.
8 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
What measures India can take to
secure its strategic interest
Provide Conclusion based on
arguments provided.
The US pulled out of a nuclear deal alleging it
defective at its core, setting off the escalation between these two countries. The US has
imposed economic sanctions to squeeze
Iranian Economy. Recently there is attack on US drones and oil tankers. All these incidents
have caused war like situation in West Asia.
Implications on India:
1. Economy: Rising tension will affect the supply of Oil to India and inflationary
pressure on Indian Economy will increase. There is concern regarding
the job security of Indian diaspora
living in these west asia countries. 2. Energy Security: India is dependent
on imports for its almost 80% of oil
needs. such tensions in the strait of hormuz can disturb oil and natural
gas supplies to India . So it will
threaten the energy security of the Country.
3. Connectivity with Central Asia: With
India wanting to make inroads into central Asia through Chabahar port,
international north south corridor ,
ashgabat agreement , Iran has substantial role to play for India’s
connectivity with Central Asia.
Turmoil in Iran will affect the India’s Central Asia Policy. Central Asian
Country can be potential supplier of Energy sources to India.
4. Afghanistan: to maintain trade and
ties with Afghanistan in which huge investment has been made by India .It
needs the support of Iran as envisaged
under chabahar port to overlook Pakistan hostility.
Measures By India:
1. Diversification of Energy Sources :
India should diversify its oil energy demand to different countries like the
USA and different African Countries.
India should diversify its energy basket and more focus on exploitation
of renewable energy.
2. Alliance with like minded countries like Japan and China which are also
dependent on West Asia for oil supply.
3. Promotion of Buffer stocks as it act as strategic oil reserve and tackle the oil
crisis for temporary period.
4. Promoting the policy of equal distance
with US and Iran : As both the countries are important for strategic
interest of India. So, diplomatic
channel should remain open for negotiation with both the countries.
Way Forward:
India should adopt the policy of equal
distance between US and Iran. Along with this India should diversify its energy sources.
Q8. Do you think PM Kisan is a step in the right direction towards mitigating India’s
severe agrarian distress? What are the challenges for the implementation of PM
Kisan scheme?
(150 words,10 marks)
Approach:
In brief highlight severe agrarian
distress in India and reason for
introduction of PM kisan.
Write about Merits of PM KISAN and
its limitations. Write whether it is a right step towards mitigating India’s
severe agrarian distress.
What are the challenges for implementation of PM KISAN
Provide Conclusion based on arguments provided.
The grim picture of agrarian distress can be highlighted by increased number of farmers’
suicides. The major causes of the agrarian
crisis are: unfinished agenda in land reform, quantity and quality of water, technology
fatigue, access, adequacy and timeliness of institutional credit, and opportunities for
assured and remunerative marketing.
Adverse meteorological factors add to these problems.
To provide immediate relief to farmers PM
KISAN scheme (an income support scheme of Rs.6000/- per year in three equal
instalments) was introduced by Government
of India.
Merits of PM KISAN
The merit of cash transfers over loan
waivers and subsidies lies in their potential greater efficiency in enabling
poor households to directly purchase
the required goods and services as well as enhance their market choices.
Across countries, producer support for farmers are quite high; the reason
farming is supported in a lot of
9 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
countries is that the risk-return trade-
off is bad in the sector. The recent OECD study which talks about
producers support in India is quite
low. Therefore, this constituent required support and here is defini tely
a case for supporting in a way that
does not create distortion.
The other important benefit of this
scheme is in terms of making farmers credit worthy as financial institutions
have assured cash flow for this
vulnerable section(farmers).
PM KISAN’S limitation in solving agrarian
crisis
The Agrarian crisis is not just of low incomes in agriculture. The genesis of
the current crisis lies in the faulty and
ad hoc export-import policy, lack of infrastructure and cartelization and
collusion in agricultural markets,
which have prevented farmers from realizing the market prices for
agricultural produce
Landless labourers are not being covered under PM-KISAN
Cash transfer is neither a substitute for the structural reforms needed in
agriculture, nor does it adequately
compensate the farmers for the risks and uncertainty of crop cultivation
In the absence of proper tenancy records, it will also benefit the
absentee landlords.
It is no substitute for the lack of investment in agriculture, which has
declined at 2.3% per annum in real terms.
By taking away precious fiscal
resources, it makes the farmer more vulnerable to both market as well as
non-market induced risks.
Implementation issues in PM KISAN
While cash transfers to households may appear simple, the scheme
requires significant implementation capabilities. In a country where a
majority of the States have incomplete
tenancy records and land data are not digitised (for instance, in Jharkhand,
Bihar, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu),
identification of beneficiaries is daunting.
the scheme may end up benefiting only those who hold land titles and
not the small, marginal or tenant
farmers who are the most vulnerable.
the current top-down, rushed
approach of the government ignores governance constraints and is
therefore likely to cause hindrance to
its success.
Way Forward
An alternative bottom-up strategy and well-
planned implementation mechanism would allow weaknesses of PM KISAN to be
identified and rectified at the local level. The
most effective modalities can then be scaled nationally and to ensure success. Also, there
is a requirement to focus on crop insurance,
better irrigation and subsidized seed and fertilizers.
Q9. Do you think that the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has lost its sheen in
today’s world? Give reasons to support
your opinion. (150 words, 10 marks)
Approach:
In brief write about NAM
Write why there is debate around the
relevance of NAM
Provide arguments whether it is
relevant or not with reasons to
support your opinion
Provide Conclusion based on
arguments provided.
The Non-Aligned Movement is a Movement of
countries representing the interests and priorities of developing countries. The
Movement has its origin in the Asia-Africa
Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955. Non-Aligned Movement was formed
during the Cold War as an organization of
States that did not seek to formally align themselves with either the United States or
the Soviet Union, but sought to remain
independent or neutral.
With the disintegration of the USSR and the end of the cold war in 1991, non alignment,
both as an international movement and as
the core of India’s Foreign Policy, lost some earlier relevance and effectiveness. However,
non alignment retained some core values and
enduring idea, after the end of the cold war it started giving more importance to economic
ideas.
NAM is still relevant today. This is because
of the following reasons:
10 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
NAM was based on the principle that
decolonised countries share a historical affiliation and can become
powerful if they all come together.
This affiliation is still relevant.
NAM stressed on the idea that it is not
necessary for small and poor countries in the world to follow any
powerful country if they are able to
follow any independent foreign policy.
NAM is also based on the value of
democratizing the international system by thinking about an
alternative world order to address
several issues such as poverty and existing inequalities.
With the emergence of neo colonialism ( use of economic, political, cultural or
other pressure to influence former
colonies), many newly independent nations were unable to take concrete
decisions in the economic fields due to
the pressure exerted by the powerful nations and organisations like the
World Bank, WTO, IMF etc. Under
such circumstances, NAM came forward to help these countries in
trying to assert their economic rights.
USA off late has emerged as a powerful nation. NAM has immense
potentialities and experience to prevent the dominating of USA over
countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thus, NAM still remains an important and
powerful force which aims at achieving
international peace, disarmament and economic development. Non-Alignment has
not lost its relevance rather it has stood the
test of time. It has served the useful purpose of protecting and preserving the interest of
the Third World countries well in the past, so
it is also expected to serve their interest well in the future to come.
Q10. What is the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty? Why India has been
reluctant to join CTBT? Also, mention what benefits India can accrue by joining
CTBT?
(150 words, 10 marks)
Approach:
In brief write about CTBT
Why India has not joined CTBT?
What Benefits India can accrue by
joining CTBT
Provide Conclusion based on arguments provided.
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Organisation (CTBTO)
It is a multilateral treaty that bans all
nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all
environments.
It was adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly in 1996 and opened
for signature. So far, 184 countries have signed the treaty and 168 of
them have also ratified it (most
recently Ghana on 14 June 2011).
The CTBT will come into force when
all the 44 countries which possess nuclear capability and research
reactors agree to sign and ratify it. It
was opened for signature in 1996 but is yet to come into force because eight
countries have not signed or ratified it
as yet. India, North Korea and Pakistan have neither signed nor
ratified the treaty whereas China,
Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States have signed but have not
ratified the treaty.
Why India has not joined CTBT?
Divides the world permanently into
nuclear "haves and have-nots”, as it
favors the nuclear power states, who have already achieved sophistication
in nuclear technology and have little
utility in testing further. Whereas other countries’ programs would be
stopped at the nascent stage itself.
No time frame mentioned to dismantle existing nuclear weapons and is silent
on complete nuclear disarmament. India’s principled opposition drew
from its emphasis on universal and
complete nuclear disarmament in a time-bound manner. India has
traditionally believed this to be the
end goal with the test ban just being a path to get there. But CTBT did not
insist on a complete disarmament clause, acknowledging that it was a
“complex issue.”
Does not address India’s security concerns- as India faces threats from
hostile neighbourhood. E.g. as a party
to the CTBT, India would be waiving the possibility of testing and
developing its own nuclear weapons
whereas China would be able to retain its arsenal as per the NPT. This was
compounded by the fear of nuclear collusion between China and
Pakistan.
11 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
Hinder India’s strategic nuclear
program development- for scientific development and energy needs given
its growing population and
requirement of clean energy
Benefits India can accrue by joining CTBT
Strategic Interests- By joining CTBT,
India can get easy entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group as well as strengthen
its claim to the UN Security Council.
May help end the nuclear race in Asia- especially in India's neighbourhood,
as it may lead to a follow up by Pakistan too (Pakistan has already
joined CTBT as an observer).
Gain access to data from the International Monitoring System-
which uses advanced technologies like hydro acoustics, infrasound,
radionuclide and can help India in
areas such as disaster management, plane crash sites, mining and
exploration.
Become a part of international scientific community- which comes
together under the aegis of the CTBTO and help India tap into numerous
scientific cooperation with the world.
India believes its security would be enhanced,
not diminished, in a world free of nuclear
weapons. With the changing geopolitics, India can reacquaint itself with today’s global
nuclear test ban, while making an important
contribution to the multilateral verification regime under the CTBTO.
Q11. After the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, India
withdrew the Most Favoured Nation (MFN)
status accorded to Pakistan. What are the implications of the government’s move?
(250 words, 15 marks)
Approach:
What is the Most Favoured Nation
(MFN) treatment?
Discuss some background of India-Pak relations and MFN
Import tariff increased to 200% how it impact the trade between both nations
Potential for trade retaliation by Pakistan
What is the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment?
MFN is a status or treatment given by
one country to another in trade matters under the WTO. It means that
the recipient country of MFN will
nominally get equal trade advantage as the ‘most favoured nation’ by the
country granting the treatment.
MFN under WTO actually means non-
discrimination and it doesn’t mean
any special treatment to a specific country.
Under the WTO agreements, countries cannot normally discriminate between
their trading partners. If special
favour is granted to a particular country, it should be extended to all
other WTO members. The MFN is so
important that it is the first article of the GATT, which governs trade in
goods.
Though the MFN status says the receiving country is the most favoured
by the issuing country; the meaning is slightly different. Actually, what the
MFN meant is that the receiving
country will not be treated disadvantageously by the issuing
country in trade matters compared to
other countries.
So, when India extends MFN to
Pakistan, it is a promise to consider Pakistan in an equal footing with
other trade partners (read – tariff on
imports will be reduced).
India-Pak relations and MFN India and Pakistan have great trade
potentials. But trade among the two is not
much because of political issues. India has given MFN status to Pakistan in 1996 – one
year after the establishment of the WTO. But
Pakistan has not reciprocated by returning the status to India. Though a cabinet decision
was made on granting MFN status to India in
2011, Pakistan has not proceeded further.
Reasons, why Pakistan was not ready to reciprocate,:
1. Since Pakistan has a big trade deficit in its trade with India, granting MFN
to India may widen that trade deficit
because of the potential increase of imports from India.
2. Fear of political backlash – the
meaning of MFN and it's granting to India may bring negative political
returns in Pakistan.
12 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
In 2012, Pakistan brought a negative list ie.,
a list indicating items that should not be imported from India. Earlier, there was a list
that mentioned the items that can be
imported from India. The negative list means that all items except those mentioned in the
list can be imported. From the trade angle, a
negative list is more trade promoting. Hence, Pakistan put a small step forward in trade
engagement with India by bringing the
negative list. Still, it is not equal to the granting of reciprocal MFN.
Besides; to reduce the risk of the term MFN, Pakistan introduced a concept approach
called Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) which is near to MFN. Islamabad
promised to grant NDMA to India though no
action was taken further.
India withdraws MFN status to Pakistan:
The Government has withdrawn the
MFN status given to Pakistan after the
Pulwama terrorist attack that has taken the life of 40 jawans.
Here, the MFN status withdrawal is actually withdrawal of lower import
duty given to imports from Pakistan.
Hence, India can increase the tariff on imports from Pakistan. Already, the
government has raised tariffs to 200%
as a follow up to the removal of MFN status.
The extent of its implication is more applicable to India’s imports from
Pakistan which is meager of around
half a billion (488 million in 2017-18).
Import tariff increased to 200% The government raised customs duty on all
import items from Pakistan to 200%. Hence,
the imports from Pakistan is going to be negligible.
The freshly introduced 200% tariff is well above the MFN rate of 32.8% for agricultural
goods and 10.7%, for non-agricultural items.
Though the MFN rate is much lower, India
can still adopt a much higher bound rate (maximum rate on imports under WTO rules)
of 113.5% on agricultural products and of
34.6% on non-farm products.
According to the government statement, the
raising of the import tariff is as per the security interest provision of the Foreign
Trade Act. The Foreign Trade (Development
and Regulation) Act allows the government to
prohibit, restrict or regulate the import or
export of goods on various grounds. Since the tariff is raised on security grounds, there is
no need for India to furnish any information
or to make any disclosures about the rationale for the tariff imposition.
Potential for trade retaliation by Pakistan
Sometimes, Pakistan, in a retaliatory move
may bring some trade measures including raising the tariff on India’s exports or
increasing the number of goods in the
negative list etc. In that case, India’s exports to Pakistan may come down. For 2017-18,
India’s exports to Pakistan was around $1.9 billion.
Table: India-Pakistan trade in 2017-18
Exports to Pakistan (US
$ billion)
Imports from Pakistan (US
$ billion)
Trade balance for
India
1.924 0.488 Source: RBI
database on
Indian Economy
The consequent decline in India’s export to
Pakistan may adversely affect some of
Pakistan’s industries that depends on Indian raw materials like cotton and chemicals. At
the same time, exports from India through
third countries (specifically, the gulf countries) and illegal channels will go up.
In conclusion, with Pulwama, there will come a trade disengagement between the two
neighbours.
Q12. India’s participation in the mega-
trade agreement, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), has long
been debated. Discuss India's concerns for
joining the agreement. Why India wants strict rules of origin to be included under
this agreement?
(250 words, 15 marks)
Approach:
Give a brief introduction about RECP.
Mention India’s Concerns for joining the agreement
Provide reasons why India want strict rules of origin to be included
Provide Conclusion based on
arguments provided.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an ASEAN-centered
13 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
proposal for a regional free trade area. It
includes the ten ASEAN member states and those countries which have existing FTAs
with ASEAN — Australia, China, India,
Japan, Republic of Korea and New Zealand. RCEP aims to boost trade by eliminating most
of tariff and non-tariff barriers.
Importance of RCEP for India
The RCEP will provide a boost to India’s Act East policy and will also
influence the economic stature of India among the other South Asian
countries.
India’s trade with the RCEP group of countries as a percentage of its total
trade has increased over the past decade.
The greater economic integration with
the countries of SouthEast Asia and East Asia achieved through RCEP,
India will have access to vast regional
markets of these countries thereby helping its economy.
India can leverage advantage in areas such as ICT, IT-enabled services,
healthcare, and education services.
RCEP would help in expanding into these markets along attracting greater
FDI into these areas.
India’s Concerns for joining the agreement:
India’s trade deficits with nations have always widened after signing free -
trade-agreements (FTAs) with them, citing the cases with ASEAN, Japan,
Korea, and Singapore, most of which
are RCEP nations.
It has also been pointed out that
India’s vulnerable agriculture and dairy sectors, which are not in a
position to compete with Australia and
New Zealand, will be exposed to the vagaries of global trade.
Indian manufacturing is not
competitive enough to face the vagaries of a free trade regime.
Even after 27 years of liberalisation, inefficiency prevails due to a host of
unimplemented reforms in the
product and factor markets.
On the factor side, labour market
reforms are incomplete. Labour productivity in manufacturing is still
one of the lowest in the world with
spatially fragmented labour laws are escalating the costs of doing business.
Given this, Indian industry is hardly
in a position to compete in the level-playing ground in a free-trade region.
India apprehends that, given its $60-billion trade deficit with China, the
RCEP demand to reduce tariffs on 90
per cent of the traded goods to zero will have a disastrous effect on its
already struggling MSME sector.
India is especially apprehensive about Chinese goods swamping its market,
forcing domestic producers to cut production or shut down.
India has expressed its reservations
over inclusion of e-commerce in the RCEP talks.
The RCEP draft is opposed to data localisation, while India fears the
monopoly power of digital giants
which includes the likes of Tencent and Alibaba.
India has been insisting that any adoption of an agreement on trade in
goods cannot be adopted without
simultaneously adopting agreements on services and investments and any
agreement on trade in goods without
simultaneous agreement on services trade and investment will only harm
India's interests.
India’s demand for strict rules of origin:
India wants strict rules of origin to prevent Chinese goods from flooding
the country through member countries that may have lower or no
duty levels.
Chinese garments are making their way into India through the duty-free
route under the South Asia Free Trade Pact and the Duty-Free Quota-Free
window from Bangladesh. The
Chinese are already taking advantage of our liberal rules of origin with
neighbouring least developed
countries including Bangladesh
Rules of origin help to ensure integrity
and sanctity of tariff differentiation.
Way Forward RCEP as mega trade deal will improve the
trade among the member countries but
concern of India like opening up of service sector and strict rule of origin should also be
addressed.
14 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
Q13. India has criticized the slow pace of
UN Security Council reform process and opaque methodologies, non-attribution of
assertions and obfuscation of references
by the member states which are blocking the early reform of the UN. What
constitutes the UN Security Council
reform? Also, explain why reforms are needed in the UN Security Council?
(250 words,15 marks)
Approach:
In brief write about UNSC reform process and overall debate associated
it
What constitutes the UN Security
Council reform
Explain why reforms are needed in the
UN Security
Provide Conclusion based on arguments provided.
India has criticized the slow pace of UN
Security Council reform process and opaque methodologies, non-attribution of assertions
and obfuscation of references by the member
states which are blocking the early reform of the UN. Since 1993, the UN General
Assembly has hotly debated Council reform
but has not been able to reach an agreement, primarily due to “institutional inertia”.
Five sets of issues have been identified by the General Assembly. These are
1. Categories of membership
2. The question of the veto 3. Regional representation
4. Size of an enlarged Council and its working methods and
5. The Security Council-General Assembly
relationship
Why reforms are needed? • Changed Geopolitics: The Security Council's
membership and working methods reflect a
bygone era. Though geopolitics have changed drastically, the Council has changed
relatively little since 1945, when wartime
victors crafted a Charter in their interest and awarded "permanent" veto-wielding Council
seats for themselves.
• Reforms Long Overdue: It was expanded only once in 1963 to add 4 non-permanent
members. Although the overall membership
of the UN has increased from 113 to 193 but no change in the composition of the UNSC
happened.
• Inequitable economic and geographical
representation: While Europe is over represented, Asia is under represented. Africa
and South America have no representation at
all. • Crisis of legitimacy and credibility: Stalled
reform agenda and various issues including
its Interventions in Libya and Syria in the name of responsibility have put the credibility
of the institution in jeopardy.
• North South Divide: The permanent UNSC membership of portrays the big North-South
divide in the decision making of security
measures. For instance, there is no permanent member from Africa, despite the
fact that 75% of its work is focused on Africa. • Emerging issues: Issues such as
transnational threats, deepening economic
interdependence, worsening environmental degradation also call for effective multilateral
negotiations based on consensus yet all
critical decisions are still being taken by the veto-wielding permanent members of the
Security Council.
In the current circumstances it has become
crucial for the UNSC to reform itself and
uphold its legitimacy and representativeness in the world. However, for that to happen
political will, especially of P-5 nations and
strong consensus among all the nations is the need of the hour.
Q14. The recently concluded general elections to the 17th Lok Sabha has
registered a higher number of women
members in Parliament as compared to the 16th Lok Sabha general elections.
Although this is an encouraging sign, there is much more needed to be done towards
achieving the goal of women
empowerment in India. Discuss. (250 words, 15 marks)
Approach:
Start answer by providing data about
increased number of elected female MPs
Write about steps/measures that can be taken to further women
empowerment.
Provide Conclusion based on arguments provided.
The 17th Lok Sabha has the highest number
of women MPs. Women’s representation has
steadily increased in the Lok Sabha. In the first-ever election, only 5% of the House
consisted of women. Now, that has increased
to 14%. This is still a low number given that
15 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
it is not near proportional representation. The
U.S. has 32% lawmakers, while neighbouring Bangladesh has 21%. But still it is an
encouraging sign.
Although increasing the number of women
legislators is a part of empowering women but
there are many other things which we need to do for achieving the goal of women
empowerment in India.
Various Measures that can be taken for
Women Empowerment: 1. Provide the ticket to education: clean
water. Girls in poor communities often miss school
because of a lack of clean water in the ir
village. Instead of attending class, millions of girls and women around the world spend 200
million hours each day fetching water that is
often dirty and dangerous to their health. By providing clean water/tapped water in their
house we can open the door to education for
a young girl. And nothing can empower them more than education.
2. Support girls and women in crisis. Millions of girls are subjected to abuse, child
labor, trafficking, child marriage, and other
offenses. Protecting girls and women by equipping skilled, local staff to offer training,
education, counseling, medical care, small
business loans, and other programs that reach women and girls as well as boys —
helping to end cycles of gender-based
violence.
3. Mentor a girl close to home. A growing poverty rate, poor-performing
schools, and teen violence make it tough to
be a girl growing up in the society. Reach out and influence the life of a young girl in your
own community by volunteering as a tutor or
mentor. One way to establish a mentorship is through Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
4. Invest in a small business owner. Up to 87% of the poorest households in India
do not have access to credit, and up to 380
million people are in need of microfinance services, especially women. Unfortunately,
women do not have access to many business
and educational opportunities that men do. Through microloans, women in India are able
to start businesses and develop economic
security. Women learn new skills creating economic development and sustainability, a
network of support, and financial independence in their lives.
5. Ensuring equal wages and non-
discrimination based on gender, especially in higher level management
6. Investing in health, menstruation hygiene
and nutritional support especially to adolescent and lactating mothers.
7. Prevention of sexual violence against
women and improving the criminal justice system.
8. Political Empowerment of Women
The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the
Constitution of India have provided some
special powers to women for reservation of seats (33%). ‘The New Panchayati Raj’ is the
part of the effort to empower women at least at the village level. More such steps are
needed at State and National levels. There is
need for the consensus from different political parties on women reservation bill which being
debated for quite a long time.
Empowering women needs to be about more
than economics and requires changing the
power dynamics and other cultural factors that repress women. So that they can make
decisions about their life and mobility, control
their money and have access to information, transport, tools and land.
Q15. Despite India’s outstanding growth in the last two decades, low pay and wage
inequality remain serious obstacles
towards achieving inclusive growth. In this context how a well-designed minimum
wage system can be a potent tool for
protecting workers and alleviating poverty. (250 words,15 marks)
Approach:
In brief write about present Minimum Wage System
Issues in current minimum wage system
Some policy recommendations for an effective design of minimum wages system
Provide Conclusion based on arguments
provided.
The Indian Minimum Wage System has been
quite a debated and dynamic issue. India was one of the first developing countries to
introduce minimum wages with the
enactment of the Minimum Wages Act way back in 1948.
Despite India’s outstanding growth in the last two decades, low pay and wage inequality
remain serious obstacles towards achieving inclusive growth which can be seen in terms
of Growing inequality, different minimum
16 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
wage across states, gender discrimination in
wages and plight of workers and their safety.
Issues in current minimum wage system: 1. Complex minimum wage system in India
The present minimum wage system in India is extremely complex with 1,915 minimum
wages defined for various scheduled job
categories for unskilled workers across various states.
2. The lack of uniform criteria for fixing the minimum wage rate.
In some states or in specific scheduled employments, minimum wages are linked to
the cost of living, through a variable dearness
allowance (VDA) whereas other states do not include the VDA component. All this affects
the level and variation of wage rates that can
be observed across and within States.
3. Minimum Wages Act does not cover all
wage workers.
One in every three wage workers in India has
fallen through the cracks and is not protected by the minimum wage law (ILO,
2018).
Some major vulnerable categories – such as domestic workers – are presently covered only
in 18 States and Union Territories. Further,
the revision of minimum wage rates has often been delayed (Anant and Sundaram, 1998).
4. Reflection of gender discrimination through minimum wage provisions
While the Minimum Wages Act does not
discriminate between women and men, an
analysis of minimum wages for different occupations shows persistence of systematic
bias.
5. Lack of compliance with the minimum
wage act
International experience has shown that
relatively simple systems are more effective
and usually complex systems are least effective. So from above discussion we can
say that there is a need for a well-designed
minimum wage system.
Some policy recommendations for an
effective design of minimum wages system are as follows:
Simplification and Rationalization:
Rationalisation of minimum wages as
proposed under the Code on Wages Bill needs to be supported. This code amalgamates the
Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of
Wages Act, 1936, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
into a single piece of legislation.
The definition of wages in the new legislation should subsume the present situation of 12
different definitions of wages in different
Labour Acts.
Setting a National Floor Level Minimum
Wage Central Government should notify a “national floor minimum wage” that can vary across the
five geographical regions. Thereafter, states
can fix the minimum wages, which shall not be less than the “floor wage.” This would
bring some uniformity in the minimum wages
across the country and would make all states almost equally attractive from the point of
view of labour cost for investment as well as
reduce distress migration.
Criteria for setting minimum wage Further, the Code on Wages Bill should
consider fixing minimum wages based on
either of the two factors viz; (i) the skill category i.e. unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled
and highly skilled; and (ii) the geographical
region, or else both.This key change would substantially reduce the number of minimum
wages in the country.
For instance, Madhya Pradesh has notified minimum wages based on just four skill
levels of unskilled, semiskilled, skilled and highly skilled across occupations and regions.
The state has just four basic minimum wages
for the four skill categories.
Coverage
The proposed Code on Wages Bill should
extend applicability of minimum wages to all
employments/ workers in all sectors and should cover both the organized as well as
the unorganized sector.
Regular adjustment
A mechanism should be developed to adjust minimum wages regularly and more
frequently, similar to countries like
Montenegro, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Uruguay, and Costa Rica, where the
minimum wage adjustment takes place every six months (ILO, 2014). A dashboard needs to
be set up by the Ministry of Labour &
17 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
Employment, which shows the date of the
last revision in the minimum wage adjunct to the mandated period. This would enable
dissemination of information and increased
transparency in the system.
Role of Technology
Use of a variety of online, mobile phone and
networking technologies have the potential to
facilitate the collection and analysis of labour statistics, assist with the dissemination of
information about labour laws and policies,
reduce costs and improve transparency. A national level dashboard can be created at
the Centre with access to the state governments whereby the states can regularly
update the notifications regarding minimum
wages. This portal must be made available at
Common Service Centres (CSCs), rural haats
etc., with the required mass media coverage so that the workers are well-informed and
their bargaining skills and decision-making
power are strengthened.
Grievance Redressal
There should be an easy to remember toll-free
number for anybody to register his grievance
on non-payments of the statutory minimum wages.
This number should be given wide publicity
to make people aware of this avenue for grievance redressal.
Swift action should be taken against the
offenders and this action should be flashed on the dashboard without going into specific
details. The impression of action being taken would act as a deterrent to employers to flout
the statute.
To sum up, the world of work is in a churn as
technology is heralding major
transformations both in the workplace as well as in work and employment relations. The
impact is being felt both in the developed and
developing countries. For India, undergoing a delayed structural and demographic
transition, the challenges posed by the
technology driven changes are enormous. Expanding decent employment to young
aspirants in the labour market is a major
concern. Establishing an effective minimum wage system that will lead to inclusive growth
is therefore an urgent necessity.
Q16. ‘India considers the Central Asian
countries as part of its 'extended and strategic neighborhood’. In light of the
statement, Highlight the importance of
Central Asia for India. Also, highlight the
challenges which may hamper the cooperation between India and Central
Asia.
(250 words, 15 marks)
Approach:
You can start with historical
background of India-Central Asian relationship.
You can also highlight the importance
of Central Asia in general.
Try to give equal weightage to the
Importance as well as challenges.
Keep the answer crisp and divide the
words equally to every point.
India’s engagement with Central Asia has evolved over a period of two decades. In the
initial years, India relied on rekindling old
civilisational links with the region that laid the groundwork for building trust and
goodwill. The idea was to ensure goodwill and
project India’s sincerity in its engagement with the region with the intention of
augmenting its trade ties. However, lack of a
focused approach towards the region, coupled with strained relations among the Central
Asian states inhibited the economic potential
of ties between the two sides.
A politically, geographically and economically
integrated Central Asia is important for India to achieve its goal of ‘connecting’ with the
region. It also provides an opportunity to
invest in several hydro-electric power projects and other such ventures that cannot be
implemented without the cooperation of two regional states.
SIGNIFICANCE OF CENTRAL ASIA FOR INDIA
1. Location: its geographical location, with Russia to the north; China and Mongolia to
the east; India , Pakistan , Iran and
Afghanistan to the south; Turkey and Georgia to the west. Close relations with them could
benefit in several ways:
It would counterbalance Pakistan from using the Islamic card against
India in Islamic fora.
It would provide opportunities for
constructing oil and natural gas
pipelines in the future.
2. Cultural Linkages: Relations between India and Central Asia are ancient and
civilisational.
18 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
India has been connected closely with Central
Asia through the Silk Route from circa 3rd century BC till 15th century AD when the sea
route from Europe to India was discovered.
The Silk Route connected India with Central Asia not only for transportation of goods and
wares like silk, textiles, spices etc but was an
effective channel of exchange of thoughts, ideas, religion and philosophy. Buddhism
travelled over this route from India to Central
Asia and from there to West China in contemporary Xinjiang region. India can use
this soft power again to increase its influence
in the region.
3. Security: Afghanistan poses a rising challenge for these countries as well as India.
Withdrawal of US and Nato forces as well as
changes in national leadership in Afghanistan in 2014 has increased violence and
turbulence in the country. Talks between
Afghanistan, Pakistan, USA and China to persuade the Taliban to enter into
negotiations with Kabul are drifting aimlessly.
It is necessary to evolve an inclusive regional solution for ensuring peace in Afghanistan.
For this, India and Central Asia need to
collaborate with other regional powers like Russia, Iran, China and Pakistan as also with
USA and EU to promote security and stability
in Afghanistan. To ensure this the Indian Air Force is operating Farkhor Air Base in
collaboration with the Tajikistan Air Force.
4. Trade and Industry: Significant
opportunities exist for Indian companies to
undertake projects for building infrastructure related to rail network, roads, highways,
power stations, transmission lines, renewable energy, nuclear power etc in these countries.
Several areas present excellent opportunities
for enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation. In addition to oil and gas,
information technology, pharmaceuticals and
textiles, areas like higher education, space, civil nuclear energy, small and medium
business, power generation, food processing
and agriculture present rich potential for deeper engagement. Signing of the Chabahar
agreement with Iran resurrected India's
Connect Central Asia Policy by opening up new trade routes, bypassing Pakistan. Those
agreements, besides providing India a
gateway to landlocked Central Asian republics, have also offered these countries
an access to warm waters via the port of
Chabahar to maximise their economic gains. Also International North-South Transport
Corridor (INSTC), a multi modal transportation established in 12 SEP 2000 in
St. Petersburg, by Iran, Russia and India for
the purpose of promoting transportation
cooperation among the Member States will prove to be game changer if materialized.
5. Energy Security: Besides reinvigorated strategic and economic ties with Central Asia,
an enhanced bilateral equation with Iran and
India's membership to the SCO will enhance India's energy security goals by diversifying
its energy needs from West Asia. Notably,
Central Asian states, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and
Uzbekistan are rich in energy resources.
India's SCO membership could now play a bigger role in ensuring greater energy
cooperation between energy producers and consumers by linking Central Asia and South
Asia. In addition this club can seek
investments to boost their hydrocarbon and petrochemical sector in which India can play
a significant role.
Challenges in India-Central Asia
Relationship
1. Lack of Direct Access: The unstable
situation in Afghanistan and a highly
problematic India-Pakistan relations have deprived India from the benefits
of relations with Central Asia. The
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI) would be a game-
changer if it materializes.
2. Chinese Presence: Unlike India, China shares long borders with three Central
Asian states. China, due to its growing
military, economic, and defense cooperation with Central Asia, has
become a threat to India’s ambitions in the region. Some analysts says
that India might find itself isolated in
a perceived strategic triangle of China-Pakistan-Russia, who might have a
common position on certain issues.
3. Regional Imbalances and Extremism: Religious extremism, fundamentalism
and terrorism pose challenges to these
societies and to regional stability. Central Asian republics face se rious
threat from illegal drug trade
emanating from Afghanistan. The modern version is being played out
even today. Russia, China, US,
Turkey, Iran, Europe, EU, Japan, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan have
substantial security and economic
stakes in the region. 4. New Delhi needs to remove the myth
prevailing in Eurasia that India is opposed to any connectivity projects.
India must tell countries in the region
19 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
that its objection to joining China’s
BRI scheme relates to the violation of India’s sovereignty. India is not
opposed to projects passing through
non-disputed areas such as Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan
and India (TAPI) pipeline project.
India has yet to translate its aspirations in
Central Asia into reality. For the Connect
Central Asia policy to succeed, it is important that it is realized in practice and not just
present on paper. If India manages to do that,
India’s profile will rise not just in Central Asia but also in the international system. Once
implemented properly, the Connect Central Asia policy could be a game changer for India.
Q17. School education in India has limitations in ensuring equitable,
inclusive, quality “education for all”. How
far do you agree recent draft education policy would achieve the goal of “school
effectiveness”? What other viable
measures you suggest? (250 words,15 marks)
Approach:
Highlight reasons for the failure of equal opportunities and equitable -
quality learning outcomes
What are the reforms provided in the new Draft Education Policy
Suggest some way forward.
As per the ASER 2018 report, there is a
gradual improvement in both basic literacy and numeracy for class 3 students, from
2014 to 2018. On the other hand, it also
shows that 1 out of 4 children leaving class VIII are without basic reading skills.
Multiple reasons could be attributed to the failure of equal opportunities and equitable -
quality learning outcomes:
Inadequate public funding in the
sector added with underutilization of resources, at present allocation by
centre and state remains close to 3 %
of GDP, while A/T WB world average in this regard is 4.7 % of GDP.
Disproportionate focus on school infrastructure as opposed to learning
outcomes.
Discrimination based on caste, ethnicity, gender led to dropouts eg.
Overall retention rate in elementary school is 70.7 % whereas amongst
Scheduled tribes is 50.1% (Economic
Survey 2018-19) .
Curriculum being outdated and
lacking futuristic environment which
constraints overall personality development.
Limited options for vocational education in the school system.
Policy lacunae and non-adherence to acts like RTE, recent survey by civil
society highlight only 8% schools
adhere to complete provisions of RTE.
Economic backwardness makes
children more vulnerable due to family
issues, employability, poor outcomes. Eg. Global education monitoring
report 2016 states that poor children are 4 times more vulnerable.
Inadequate support and counseling
are given to children in school regarding lifetime opportunity and
career.
The Draft Education Policy provides for
reforms at all levels of education from school
to higher education. The Policy seeks to address the challenges of: (i) access, (ii)
equity, (iii) quality, (iv) affordability, and (v) accountability faced by the current education
system. It seeks to increase the focus on early
childhood care, reform the current exam system, strengthen teacher training, and
restructure the education regulatory
framework. It also seeks to set up a National Education Commission, increase public
investment in education, strengthen the use
of technology and increase focus on vocational and adult education, among
others.
Positives of draft policy can be viewed
through its objectives and recommendations
to improve equal opportunities and equitable learning outcomes:
1. Early childhood education: The Policy emphasizes the criticality of the early
years and aims to ensure quality early childhood care and education for all
children between 3-6 years by 2025
with significantly increased investment and new initiatives.
2. Foundational literacy and numeracy: There will be special attention paid to
early language and mathematics in
Grades 1-5. The Policy aims to ensure that every student in Grade 5 and
beyond must achieve foundational
literacy and numeracy by 2025. A National Tutors Programme
20 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
(comprising peer tutors) and a
Remedial Instructional Aides Programme (drawing instructors from
the community) will be launched.
3. Curriculum and pedagogy: A new developmentally-appropriate
curriculum and pedagogical structure
for school education based on principles of brain development and
learning has been developed based on
a 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 design. There will be equal emphasis on all subjects -
science, social sciences, arts,
languages, sports, mathematics - with the integration of vocational and
academic streams in school. 4. Universal access: The Policy aims to
achieve 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio
for all school education by 2030 through various measures.
5. Equitable and inclusive education:
The Policy has several concerted initiatives to ensure that no child
loses any opportunity to learn and
excel because of the circumstances of birth or background. Special
education zones will also be set up to
focus on this. 6. Enhancing Transparency and
accountability: Teachers will be
recruited through robust, transparent processes, promotions will be merit-
based, multi-source periodic
performance appraisals will happen and progression paths to become
educational administrators or teacher
educators will be available. 7. School Governance: Schools will be
organized into school complexes (cluster of 10-20 public schools) - this
will be the basic unit of governance
and administration that will ensure availability of all resources -
infrastructure, academic (e.g.
libraries) and people (e.g. art and music teachers) - along with a strong
professional teacher community. Eg.
Rajasthan initiated reforms has improved outcomes in terms of
retention, teacher vacancy.
8. Improving governance: Regulation and operations of schools will be carried
out by separate bodies to eliminate
conflicts of interest. There will be clear, separate systems for
policymaking, regulation, operations
and academic matters.
It does look forward-looking, but what the policy needs to do is differentiate between
deregulation and liberalization. The incentive
for the private sector to invest, grow and
stand on quality parameters needs to be clearly articulated.
What is recommended is the doubling of public funding to 6% of the GDP.
This is desirable but does not appear feasible in the near future given the
most of the additional funding has to
come from the states.
While establishing new institutes for
Pali, Prakrit, Persian appears to be a
novel idea, rather existing institutions like Central Institute of Indian
Languages in Mysuru be strengthened
and perhaps even upgraded to a university.
Language issues have to be handled sensitively in view of their emotional
overtones, as witnessed recently.
Protests are often made without understanding the spirit of the text.
Sexual abuse was another issue of ponderance that was ignored.
According to Delhi Police, around 60%
of child abuse cases reported in Delhi are incidents from schools.
There is less consensus on the integration of foundational learning
with schooling. In Europe, compulsory
education only begins at the age of 6. In certain countries like Denmark,
Germany and Finland, compulsory
education begins at the age of 7.
The NEP draft proposes ‘support staff’
to handle general administration and
“any non-teaching tasks”. While this is a welcome move, particularly in
schools where there is presently no administrative staff, it should be
noted that having support staff alone
may not suffice. It is crucial, therefore, to clearly define non-teaching tasks to
include work such as recordkeeping
and data management, and simultaneously expand the role of
clerical staff to incorporate the same.
While most technology-related points were about technology in education,
the policy vaguely addresses education about technology.
A constitutional amendment is
required to change the limits for compulsory schooling in the country.
Also, increasing the limit on higher
side i.e. up to the age of 18 is not consistent with the limits across the
world. Also, it is a very expensive
proposition.
There is not enough capacity in the
country to provide for teachers’
21 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
education. Also, M.Ed has been given
less importance under the policy. The focus has been more on B.Ed.
Way forward:
Revamped governance system to improve monitoring and
accountability.
Gearing system towards learning outcomes, remediation measurement,
individual tracking, reducing mental
stress.
Education is a concurrent list subject.
Apart from a consensus between the centre and the states, all the other
stakeholders including institutions,
public and academicians should also be consulted.
International examples can be learnt to improve outcomes in school
education eg. OECD 10 steps to equity
in education, cooperative learning and teamwork in co-teaching in Finland.
There is need to conduct a robust and
timely survey to have more accurate data for programme implementation
eg. NAS to be made annual.
There is a need to add more recurrent
seminars, presentation over moral
education to create morally responsible human being.
There is a need to prioritise implementation as much as, if not more than, developing new
policies. It should encourage states to
constitute outcome-focused programme management to learn from the systemic
approach taken by some states like Himachal in delivering textbooks to 6 lacs student
before the start of the academic year.The
effective school system is prerequisite in achieving the goal of SDG 4 and creating and
harnessing demographic dividend which
leads to the development of the nation.
Q18. Self-help group (SHG) approach is one
of the most effective strategies for alleviating rural poverty but it has not
been able to achieve the desired
objectives. Discuss the challenges faced by SHGs and suggest measures for achieving
its objective.
(250 words,15 marks)
Approach:
In the introduction, in brief write
about SHGs, their working and cite few success stories highlighting how
SHGs can help in poverty alleviation
Mention Challenges before SHG
Measures to achieve the objectives of SHGs
Provide Conclusion based on arguments provided.
Self Help Groups (SHGs) have become the
vehicle of change in the rural areas, transforming the lives of the marginalized.
SHGs have facilitated the process of micro
credit for the rural women folk thus improving their bargaining power in day-to-
day decision making of the household, and
finally in the community.
The few success stories like that of The
Women's Initiative Network (WIN) project in the Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts of
Kerala, Kudumbashree in kerala, SHGs in
Ratnagiri district of maharashtra; shows how SHGs groups can be useful in poverty
alleviation and empowerment.
Despite its success in few pockets, the growth
of SHG has been skewed.
Challenges before SHG:
The inability of the SHG-members to
explore innovative options for
livelihood opportunities or economically beneficial projects
Dominance of patriarchal mentality across rural societies often creates
obstacles for women to join SHG or to
take up income generating assignments/projects outside home.
Because of lack of proper communication, very often rural
banks cannot reach the geographically
isolated or remote villages of our nation which discourages formation of
SHGs in such villages due to lack of
funding-sources or financial assistance.
Incidences of misappropriation of
funds by SHG-members very often reported which maligns the spirit and
ideology of SHG formation.
Measures to achieve its objectives:
1. Capacity building of SHG members:
Government should focus on capacity
building of SHG members as many of the SHGs. A network of capacity
building institutions should be set up
to strengthen and develop SHGs. 2. Equitable distribution of SHGs: Most
of the SHGs are concentrated in the
22 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
southern region. Penetration of SHGs
in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh is very low. So there is a requirement of
improving the penetration of SHGs in
backward areas. 3. Simplify the process of giving loans,
i.e. reduce the number of questions to
important non repetitive ones. 4. Provide gender sensitization training
to bank staff so that they are
sensitized to the needs of rural clients especially women.
5. An integrated approach is required for
meeting overall credit needs of a poor family in terms of backward linkages
with technology and forward linkages with processing and marketing
organizations.
6. We can learn from best practices and successful rural credit program
around the world like that of Grameen
bank of bangladesh, the MC2 Model, the village banking Model, and the
SKS-microfinance model.
Few steps like e-shakti initiative of NABARD,
MUDRA scheme, Stand up scheme, interest
subvention scheme are welcome steps in this regard. There is further requirement of
capacity building and empowerment of SHGs
for rural poverty alleviation and economic growth of rural areas.
Q19. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is a path-breaking step
towards “Universal Health Coverage” and
aims to overcome drawbacks of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). Critically
comment. (250 words,15 marks)
Approach:
Background and objective of Pradhan
Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)
Drawbacks of Rashtriya Swasthya
Bima Yojana(RSBY)
How PM-JAY would be catering to
such drawbacks
Constraints in PM JAY which need to
be overcome to achieve the overall
objective of UHC
As per NSSO 2013-14 data, near to 1/3rd
death do not seek medical attention in India. Lancet report puts India on 162nd out of 195
countries based on death rates of 32 disease.
In this background PM- JAY is launched with an objective of:
Attaining coverage of at least 75 % of
the population with publicly financed health insurance by 2022-23.
Reduce by 50 % the proportion of households facing catastrophic health
expenditure from the current levels.
It aims to cover 10.74 crore families at the bottom two quintiles with INR 5
lakh cover each year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
PM JAY is an entitlement based scheme targeting beneficiaries based on latest SECC
data and creating purchasing capacity among
poor.
RSBY, launched in 2009, a state funded
health insurance schemes for unorganized and BPL households making inclusive health
sector with upto INR 30,000 with annual
payment of INR 30. There have been constraints with earlier
public health insurance schemes coupled
with healthcare delivery system, which have failed to address the issue of inclusive health.
There has been inadequate focus on comprehensive preventive care and
primary care in the past.
Lack of adequate data hinders
targeted strategy and led to exclusion errors.
Since outpatient care, drugs,
diagnostics are not covered under several government insurance
schemes, people often delay seeking
care until they are severely ill. Economic hardship led to catastrophic
health expenses, 63.5 % is outpatient care out of total OOPE (out of the
pocket expenditure.)(NSSO 2013-14)
State-funded schemes also do not seem to go well eg. Andhra near 60%
are uninsured and faces catastrophic
expenses.
Inadequate focus on primary health
care infrastructure, though expanded with the launch of NHM 2005,
however, there continues to be a
shortfall in several areas, eg. “Rural Health Stats 2016”- no. of PHC and
CHC stagnated over 3 decades.
Non-revision of several schemes whereas, inflation and increasing
demand led a significant increase in hospitalization cost, eg. RSBY has
been not revised for 10 years, and
hospitalization cost increased by 300%.
23 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
There has been a lack of transparency
and accountability, lack of monitoring and tussle between hospitals and
insurers over delayed payments,
frauds etc. led to failure.
Regional disparity, shortage of
personnel and lack of necessary supplies.
How PM-JAY would be catering to such drawbacks:
Costing: Will be shared between the centre and states on 60:40 basis and
also led to much lower premium outgo: expected PM JAY- 1,110 /
family, RSBY – 1,765 for average
claim of INR 20,000.
Primary healthcare: HWCs component
of Ayushman Bharat would complement insurance scheme.
Bringing transparency and portability:
IT system has been implemented for beneficiary identification, hospital
empanelment, and transaction
management, preventing malpractices and enabling transparency.
Enhancing Accountability: Time bound payment to minimize tussle
with private sector eg. 15 days (within
state) and 30 days (outside state).
Better and quality outcomes:
Empanelment after physical verification, mandating to obtain
within one year NABH pre-entry level
accreditation and performance linked outcomes would further enhance
quality service delivery.
Capacity building and training: Frontline health service professionals-
Aarogya Mitra to facilitate provision of treatment to beneficiaries. Nationwide
team of master trainers being trained
who in turn will train Aarogya mitra and CSC operators.
Affordability and inclusiveness: There
will be more coverage and opening of health facilities (pvt sector) will be
more in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. It will reduce catastrophic health expenses
in India.
Improving governance through revamped institutions: NHA is
mandated to roll out scheme and
leveraging of local and community level systems like CSC and VLE would
make it more targeted.
However, there are constraints in PM JAY
which need to be overcome to achieve the overall objective of UHC :
Budgeting: Lower budget allocation in
already low public health expenditure eg. Allocation is even lower than sugar
industry however claims ratio of
insurers serving state health insurance has surpassed 100 %
NSSO.
Data unavailability: Lack of adequate
data on health profile would be
challenging for both insurers and regulators eg. CAG report(2017) shows
that 18% of health facilities did not
even report basic infra data in HMIS portal
Private sector: To get private sector to participate in region where essentially
required eg backward areas, delayed
payments, unsustainable premium and frauds which led to insurer to
refuse to pay.
Limited healthcare domain: Not including outpatient care, drugs
remains a challenge.
Govt needs to formulate robust
mechanism for package rates eg. WB
packaged rates were refused.
“Coverage erosion” pattern- when
costs escalate package covered may be shrunk and caps on co-payments and
coverage.
Way Forward:
It's important to place emphasis on public healthcare and creating
healthcare regulations.
More emphasis may be given to
preventive care rather than on curative to prevent and minimize loss
due to NCDs, accidents, injuries, etc.
Improving nutritional status, the inclusion of pre-natal and natal
education in formal education system.
Thai model with excellent Social Health Insurance coverage which led
to OOPE down to 18% may be followed.
Health being a state subject needs to be covered in a way by improving governance,
promoting cooperative federalism, with more
targeted approach. In order to achieve “Universalization of healthcare” as per
William Bhoore committee and to achieve
SDG 2,3, concrete structural and institutional reforms is required.
Q20. Critically analyze whether the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act
(FCRA) is hindering the growth and functioning of NGOs in India. Suggest
24 GS Paper 2_2 Answer Key
measures for improving the growth of
NGOs. (250 words,15 marks)
Approach:
In brief write about NGOs and their role in society
Provide context by writing about
cancellation of registrations of about 20000 NGOs under FCRA
Write how FCRA can be facilitator and hindrance to growth and functioning
of NGOs
Provide Conclusion based on arguments provided.
NGOs are typically value-based organizations
which depend, in whole or in part, on
charitable donations and voluntary service. In recent times, under Foreign Contribution
Regulation Act (FCRA) licences of about
20,000 non-profit government organisations (NGOs) were cancelled. In many NGO there is
an issue of accountability and transparency.
These are both the dimension of FCRA regarding growth of voluntary Sector.
FCRA as facilitator of NGOs:
Implementation of FCRA provision bring transparency in foreign funding.
As there are allegations that many
foreign funded NGO are involved in Anti India Activity. As for example,
Public Health Foundation of India
(PHFI) lobbied with parliamentarians and the media on matters related to
tobacco control.
Many NGOs are involved in anti India activity. An Intelligence Bureau report
to the prime minister’s office has warned against a range of NGOs,
suggesting they pose a threat to the
economy, and that they have collectively cost India 2-3 percent of
its GDP. So, Provisions under FCRA
will help in removing those NGO which are involved in Anti India
Activity. In this way it will provide the
credibility to NGOs and good for growth of Voluntary sector.
Implementation of FCRA will help in fixing the accountability of NGO
regarding development activities.
Many NGOs do have agendas that further the interests of their funders,
while others are driven by the
particular causes they speak for. They are not meant to take the large view
and harmonise interests.
FCRA as hindrance to NGOs
1. There are many bureaucratic hurdles
for NGOs regarding enrollment, their
annual returns, and income and expenditure statements, receipts and
payment account, balance sheet for
every fiscal. For all these purposes NGOs getting foreign funding have to
take permission from the Ministry of
Home Affairs. So it hinders the NGOs from getting affiliation from respective
ministry.
2. There are also allegations that those NGOs which are providing alternative
policy are repressed by the government under FCRA provisions.
Measure for Growth of NGOs
1. The implementation of a strategic framework is essentially important in
the management of an NGO. The
endorsement of such a framework brings in professionalism and internal
control mechanisms, which further
makes the organization’s performance more effective.
2. There is need to bolster public
confidence in the voluntary sector by opening it up to greater public
scrutiny.
3. The Government should encourage all relevant Central and State
Government agencies to introduce
pre-service and in-service training modules on constructive relations
with the voluntary sector.
Conclusion
So there is a requirement that foreign funding
NGOs should ensure the compliance towards
the provisions of FCRA for better transparency and accountability. Along with
that Government should also protect and
promote the interests of those NGOs which are working for the betterment of the country.