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1. Improving the fiscal situationwill play an important role in ensuring inclusivegrowthinIndia.Doyouagree?Substantiate.IntroductionInclusivegrowthrefers to theeconomicgrowththat isdistributed fairlyacross thesociety and creates opportunities for all. In Indian context, stark economicinequalitiesnecessitatefiscalactionsforensuringinclusivegrowth.BodyFiscalsituationandInclusivegrowth

1. Manyeconomists argue that fiscal deficit promotes growth as it stimulatesdemand. It boosts inclusive growth as it includes increasing publicexpenditureonthepooraswellasoneducationandhealth.

2. Active public expenditure policies to increase consumption of the poor arealsoseenasmoreeffectiveinpromotinginclusivegrowthaspoorhavehighpropensitytospendwhichhasamultipliereffectontheentireeconomy.

3. Further, due to limitations of impact ofmonetary policy in fostering broadbasedgrowth,theburdenofgrowthstimulationfallsonfiscalpolicy.

4. Atthesametime,itisimportanttoconsiderthenegativeconsequencesofabulgingfiscaldeficitlikecrowdingouteffect,higherinterestrates,lowpublicsavings,highestinflationandincreaseintaxes.

Thesefactorsimpacttheprospectsof inclusivegrowthadverselythusnecessitatingfiscalprudence.Fiscalprudencecanhelpinachievingthegoalsofinclusivegrowthinfollowingmanner-1. ReducedfiscaldeficitwillhelpinachievingthegoalsofFiscalResponsibilityand

Budget Management Act, 2003 (FRBM act) thus improving macroeconomicstability. Recent reduction of Fiscal Deficit target to 3.3% of GDP from earlierannounced3.4%isastepinthisdirection.

2. Unchangedgrossmarketborrowingsandincreasedrelianceonoverseasmarketsfor borrowings, as announced recently, has helped in maintaining fiscaldiscipline.

3. Increased returns from disinvestments and dividends from RBI/financialinstitutionshasimprovedfundstransfertoprogramslikePMAYandsocialsectorschemes.

4. Multiprongedeffortsinthisregardhavehelpedinjobcreationandaugmentingofincomes.

The fiscal space created due to responsible expenditure and creative revenuegeneration policies have led to increased investment targets towards sector's likeinfrastructure( PMAY, Bharatmala and Sagarmala projects,UDAN, etc.), education(Samagrashiksha,RISE,etc.)andhealth(AyushmanBharat)alongwithsimplificationoflaborlawswhichisgivinganinclusivecharactertoIndiangrowthstory.



At the same time, recent slowdown in growth has impacted governmentexpenditure where compression of government spending has been an importantdriverofsharpdeclineineconomicgrowth.Suchaslowdownhasalsoimpactedtheprospects of inclusive growth as lack of overall economic growth hampersconsumptionandinvestmentcycles.WayForward:

1. Fiscal reforms to create enough fiscal space to increase pro-poor spendingandrevivegrowth.

2. FixingGSTNtoavoidrevenueshortfallasithasbeenamajorstumblingblockinrealizationofGSTrevenues.

3. Extending PM-KISAN type income support scheme to all citizens throughinitialrationalizationofsubsidies.

4. Increasing education, health and infrastructure spending by around 1% ofGDPeach.

5. Decreasingtaxexemptionstowardsone'swhosepublicbenefitisunclear.ConclusionFollowing increasingly prudent fiscal policies, as can be seen from recent budget,combined with a focus on rural economy, MSME sector, affordable housing andotherrelatedsectorscanhelprendertheIndiangrowthstorymoreinclusive.

2.What are your viewson the level of tax compliance in India?Whatmeasureshavebeentakenbythegovernmenttoincreasetaxcompliance?DiscussIntroductionIncreasing tax compliance is a constantworry of tax authorities around theworldandthisismorepronouncedfordevelopingcountrieslikeIndiathatseektoachievenumeroussocialandeconomicobjectivesthroughtaxcollectionandincentives.BodyTaxComplianceinIndia:

• Tax structure in India is divided into direct and indirect taxeswhere directtaxes are levied on taxable income earned by individuals and corporateentitieswhileindirecttaxesareleviedonthesaleandprovisionofgoodsandservices.

• EverytaxpayerisrequiredtoundertakecertaincomplianceslikeAnnualfilingofreturnofincome,reportofauditundertheIncomeTaxAct,etc.

• Historically, the rate of tax compliance is low in Indiawith only 36% of allindividual taxpayers in organized and unorganized sector filing tax returns(FinanceMinister).Butrecentdatashowsthisatanevenlowlevelof11.6%amongindividualtaxpayers.



• Further, only 1.5% of Indians pay income tax out of which there are largedisparitieswithinthetaxpayerstooasthebottom23%ofthe incometax iscontributed by 93% of the taxpayers. This reflects at the macroeconomiclevelwhereIndiahasalowtaxtoGDPratio.

• Recentdatafurtherthrowslightonthelowcompliancerateswherelessthan50%ofDoctorspaytaxesandonly1/3rd.oftheCA'spaytaxes.

MeasuresbyGovernmenttoincreasetaxcompliance:Age oldwisdomof Chanakya needs to guide the tax collection and compliance inIndiawhereheopinedthattaxesshouldbecollectedlikebeescollectinghoneyi.eintherightamountandwithoutinflictingpain.SuchanidealwouldhelpinimprovingtaxcomplianceandgovernmenthasundertakenfollowingmeasurestomakeIndiaataxcompliantsociety:

1. Demonetization - the act of stripping a currency unit of its status as legaltenderwhichwasundertakentocombattaxevasionvia 'blackmoney'heldoutside the formal economy. It helped in increasing formalization of theeconomyandtheconsequentscrutinizingofbankdeposits.

2. Goods and Services Tax - introductionofGST in 2017has been termed asoneofthebiggestindirecttaxreformsinthecountry.It isacomprehensivemultistage,destinationbasedtaxwhichfollowsadualmodel.Thishashelpedinreducingcompliancecostsconsiderably.

3. PAN-AadhaarLinkage -hashelpedingettingridoffakePANcards, identifytaxevaders,curbblackmoneycirculationandmakeiteasyforTaxpayerstofile returns. Further, legitimacy of returns has also been improved due tofoolproofauthenticationandverificationproceduresincorporated.

4. Project Insight -ataxtrackerbasedonbigdatawherethegovernmentwillputtousearangeofnon-traditionalbuteffectivesourcesofinformationtohelp tackle tax evasion and avoidance. This is inspired from the 'Connect'programoftheUnitedKingdom.

5. Form26ASchanges -theannualconsolidatedtaxstatementwhichisbasedonPANwhichhashelpedinsimplificationoftaxproceduresandcompliance.

6. Digitalization-promotionofdigitaltransactionsandincreasingformalizationof economy have helped in reducing the possibilities of hiding income.Further,techinterventionshavehelpedtaxpayer'sineasingcomplianceandassessments.

7. Behavioral economics - incorporation of behavioral economics andemploying social norms to nudge individuals to pay their taxes has helpedimprovecompliance.LargeScaleadvertisementsbyCBDTareefforts in thisdirection.

8. Rationalizationmeasures - incorporated through the 2018-19 budget haveempowered agencies and enforcement authorities towards greaterscrutinizingpowerswhichhavehelpedinbettercompliance.

These measures along multi- sectorial efforts on part of government are helpingtowardsthegoalofmaking Indiaataxcompliantsocietyfromanon-taxcompliantsociety.



Conclusion A healthy functioning economy is based on equal participation of all stakeholderswhere law-abidingentitiesare favored towards thegoalofmaking Indiaa low taxrate,hightaxcompliancenationwhereeachpersonpaysamoderaterateoftax.

3. Examine the significanceof aneffectiveexit policy in the greaterdiscourseofliberalizationinIndia.Whatmeasureshavebeentakenbythegovernmentonthisfront?Aretheyeffective?Criticallyexamine.IntroductionThe introduction of reforms in India and the consequent liberalization of theeconomyhasexposedtheentrepreneurstoaneverincreasingcompetition.Oneofthe important sets of policy measures since then relates to reforms in the laborsectorofwhichtheEXITpolicyremainsunaddressed.Body

• Theterm‘exit’meanstherightofanindustrialunittoclosedown.Exitpolicymeans the policy regarding the retrenchment of the surplus labor forceresultingfromrestructuringof industrialunitsandworkersdisplacedbytheclosureofsickunits.

• Exitmaybecomenecessaryduetostrategicreasons,financialconstraintsandenvironmentalchanges.Therefore,exitpolicyreferstothepolicyconcernedwiththeactiontobetakenregardingsurplusmanpowerincompanies,owingto a variety of reasons, such as, restructuring, retrenchment, closure, ortechnologicaldevelopments.

• The significance of an effective exit policy in India is due to the followingfactors:

1. Closureof sickunitswouldbebeneficial for the country’seconomy.Banks,financial institutions, stategovernmentsand thecentral governmentwouldbe freed from the burden of providing incentives, subsidies and otherconcessions to keep the sick units going, the resources so saved can beinvestedforthegrowthofhealthyunits.

2. Anexitpolicywill ensure that the legitimateduesofdisplacedworkersarepaidtothemspeedilyandsatisfactorily.Withoutsuchapolicy,theseworkershavetolosetheirdues.

3. Closure of sick units may cause temporary unemployment. But theinvestment made out of the sale proceeds would create permanentemployment.

4. Maintenance of sick units providesmore benefit to inefficient and corruptemployersresponsibleforsicknessthantotheworkers.

5. Sickunitswillultimatelyclosedownexitpolicyornoexitpolicy.



6. Several countries suchasSingapore,Malaysia,Thailandand Indonesiahavecarried out economic reformswith exit policies. The result of such policieshasbeenencouraging.AsimilarpolicywouldbebeneficialforIndia.

7. Integration of an economy with the world economy would be incompletewithout an exit policy. Indian companies would face a competitivedisadvantageintheabsenceoffreedomtoretrenchsurpluslabor.

8. In the absence of an exit policy, labor is the biggest loser. The legitimateinterestsofworkersareprotected,onlywhenthereisalegalclosureofasickunit.

Awell-laidoutexitrouteshouldbeprovidedbothintheinterestofworkersandtheeconomy. Some of the measures introduced with regards to Exit policy in Indiainclude:

1. Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS)- The most important measure is theintroduction of Voluntary Retirement Scheme(VRS). It is themost humanetechnique to provide overall reduction in the existing strength of theemployees.Itisalsoknownas‘GoldenHandshake’asitisthegoldenroutetoretrenchment.

2. NationalRenewalFund(NRF)-ThegovernmentofIndiacreatedthisfundonFebruary4,1992 toprovidea safetynet for labor.The fundwouldprovideassistance for retraining and redeployment of labor arising as a result ofmodernizationandtechnologyupgradationandalsoprovidecompensationtoworkers.

3. Scheme of Counselling, Retraining and Redeployment (CRR) of rationalizedemployeesofCentralPublicSectorUndertakings(CPSUs)-Theobjectiveandscopeoftheschemeistoprovideopportunitiesofcounselling,retrainingandredeployment to the rationalized employees of Central Public SectorEnterprises (CPSEs) rendered redundant as a result of modernization,technologyupgradationandmanpowerrestructuringintheCentralPSEs.

4. InsolvencyandBankruptcyCode2016-TheRBIisusingthistoforcebankstoget tough with defaulting promoters, forcing them to sell assets to repaydebtsandmaketheircompaniessolvent.Thisisarevolutionarychange.

• The larger question of effectiveness of thesemeasures is muddled due to

procedural deficiencies, bureaucratic red-tapism as well as legacy of thelicensepermitrajsystem.

• IBC has been a welcome exceptionwhere-in larger insolvency proceedingshave been effective while the issues of small andmedium entities remainthusaffectingtheExitmechanismandlaborissues.

• At the same time, it is important to note that Exit policy is not the idealremedy for tackling industrial sickness. It may benefit employers as theysiphonofffundsfromoldunitstonewerones.

• Tominimizetheadverseeffectsofclosureofaunitonlabor,severaloptionslike social security nets, insurance schemes and other employee benefitschemeshavebeeninplacewhichhavebeensuccessfultoanextent.

Conclusion



There is no specific policy or law dealing with exit, and the actions are governedundertheexistinglawsandregulationsasandwheretheyareapplicable.However,theexitpolicy isgradually comingunder formationand informedopinion is thatatimemaycomewhentherewillbeadequatepoliticalwilltoenactandimplementit.

4.Whatarethechallenges indevelopingworldclassport infrastructure in India?What measures have been taken by the government to upgrade the ports?Discuss.IntroductionIndiahas anextensive7,500 kmcoastlinewith12majorports and justunder200minorports,ofwhich139are functioning.Primarily, themajorportsdealwith,byvolume, 95% of India's total foreign trade. But, across the board, these ports areunderperformingbecauseofseriousinfrastructureandconnectivityproblems.BodyAccording to the NITI AAYOG, toachieve the ambitious target ofhaving a 5% share in world exportsand climb up the ranks in ease ofdoing business, India needs toaddress itsportecosystem.AlsoPortinfrastructureformsakeypartofthetradeinfrastructure.Inthisregard,thechallengesfacingindevelopmentof aworld classportinfrastructureincludethefollowing:

1. Issueswith PPPModel-Mostport PPPs impose strict limitsonwhatprivateoperatorsareallowedtodo,usuallyintermsofthetypesofcargotheyareallowedtohandle.

2. LimitedHinterlandLinkages-Inefficiencyduetopoorhinterlandconnectivitythroughrail,road,highways,coastalshippingandinlandwaterways.

3. IncoherentPolicyMeasures-PortInfrastructurehasbeenaneglectedspaceintermsofpolicyfocusduetomultiplefactors.

4. Sub-optimal Transport Modal Mix - Lack of requisite infrastructure forevacuation frommajor and non-major ports leads to suboptimal transportmodalmix.

5. Lack of adequate berthing facility, number of berths, sufficient length forproperberthingofthevesselsattheNon-MajorPortsisanotherproblem.

6. Processes and operations across India’s ports are not standardized oruniform,costsandtimeforkeyprocessesareunpredictableandthereisanunacceptablelevelofvariationacrossportsaswellaswithinports.



7. Financial constraints - Years of underinvestment have left the portinfrastructure in dismal condition especially with regards to the non-majorports.

8. Deficient dredging capacity - Draft is also a major limitation in India asterminals and ports are unable to cater to vessels beyond Panamax (Draftover13meters)sizethatareincreasinglydominatingglobaltrade.

9. Landacquisitionandenvironmentalclearancesaresomespecificchallengesforportinfrastructure.

Due to India's inadequate port infrastructure, many investors are wary of gettinginvolvedinbusinessintheregionandalsohamperstheoveralleconomicprospects,to overcome which government has taken the following measures as well as tousherintheidealofportleddevelopment:1. In2016, IndiapassedtheCentralPortAuthority(CPA)Act.Theactgrantsmore

autonomytothemajorports.2. The RevisedModel ConcessionAgreement (MCA)was released in 2016,which

includesincentivesfortheprivatesectortogetinvolvedwiththeportsthroughupdatedtariffguidelinesanddiscountedrevenueshares.

3. Thegovernmentprovidesa10-year-taxholidaytocompaniesthathelpmaintainand operate ports. If these companies undertake a port development project,thegovernmentwillhelpwithupto50%ofthecost.

4. SagarmalaProject:TheprogrammeaimstomodernizeIndia'sportssothatport-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed tocontributetoIndia'sgrowth.PortModernization&NewPortDevelopment,PortConnectivityEnhancement,Port-linkedIndustrializationandCoastalCommunityDevelopmentformthecomponentofthisProject.

5. ProjectUnnati: It has been startedby theGovernment of India to identify theopportunityareasforimprovementintheoperationsofmajorports.

6. Introduction of Port Enterprise Business System - A was tender issued by theIndianPortsAssociation(IPA)tomaintainanEnterpriseBusinessSystem(EBS)tomodernize and automate port processes for five central government-ownedports.

WayForward:

• Priority should be given on expanding capacity and improving operationalefficiency.

• Environmental clearances, Tariff norms, land acquisition etc. need to bestandardized and implemented for the port sector so as to boost foreigninvestments.

• Theregulatoryregimeshouldbemadelesscomplexandlessrigid.

Conclusion India’scargotraffichandledbyportsisexpectedtoreach1,695millionmetrictonsby 2021-22, according to a report of the National Transport Development PolicyCommittee and to capitalize on this potential, expedient development of port



infrastructure becomes vital which will further help in realizing the dream of $5trillioneconomyby2024.

5.Whatdoyouunderstandbythe ‘intensity’and ‘productivity’ofagriculture? Inthe Indian context, explain the significance of intensive cultivation and suggestmeasurestoimprovetheproductivityofcultivation.IntroductionIndia's economic security continues to be predicated upon the agriculture sectorwhereagriculturesupports50%ofthepopulation,asagainstabout75%atthetimeof independence. Inthesameperiod,thecontributionofagricultureandthealliedsector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has fallen from 61 to 17%. Such ascenariohasbeenduetotheconditionof'intensity'and'productivity'ofagricultureinIndiaBody

• Croppingintensityreferstoraisingofanumberofcropsfromthesamefieldduring one agricultural year; it can be expressed through a formula-CroppingIntensity=GrossCroppedArea/NetSownAreax100

• Thus, higher cropping intensity means that a higher proportion of the netsownareaisbeingcroppedmorethanonceduringoneagriculturalyear.Thisalsoimplieshigherproductivityperunitofarablelandduringoneagriculturalyear.

• Productivity ofAgriculture is defined as the amount of crops producedperunitland.Itcanbeexpressedinformulaicformas-Agricultureproductivity=Totalagriculturecropproduction/Totallandarea

• Productivity levels in Indian agriculture are very low as compared to theproductivitylevelsofothercountries.Intermsofglobalrank,theproductivitylevelsofIndiainmajoragriculturalcropsisverydisappointing.

At the same time, Intensive farming isassociatedwith the increasinguseof labor,highyieldingvarietiesofcrops,chemicaland natural fertilizers, insecticides,pesticidesandirrigation.Thesignificanceof intensive cultivation in India can beseenfromthefollowingpoints:

1. PopulationofIndia-Theextremepopulation pressure necessitatesemploying intensive cultivationon a large scale. (2011 census -1.21billionpopulationofIndia)

2. Land Fragmentation- Averageland holding size has beenconstantly on decline in India



sinceindependencewith1.1hectarebeingthepresentaveragelandholdingsize.

3. Croprotationandmixedcropping-Intensivecultivationhelpsinthesuitablearrangementofsuccessivecropsinsuchawaythatthedifferentcropsdrawnutrients in different proportions or from different strata. Mixed croppinghelpsinasimilarmanner.

4. UseofFastMaturingVarieties-Thesevarietiescanenablegrowingofmorethanone-cropwithinonegrowingseason.

5. AppropriatePlantProtection-Intensivecultivationhelpsinmeasurestouseofpesticidesand insecticides,seedtreatment,weedcontrol, rodentcontrolmeasures,etc.Thesemeasuresareeffectivewhenallthefarmersinanareataketheseupcollectively.

6. SubstantialImprovementinYield-canbeattainedthroughsoilimprovementmeasures,suchaslandleveling,sloping,contourbunding,terracing,removalofsalinityandalkalinity,etc.

7. Others-Agriculturalintensitycouldalsobeimportantwithregardstoanimalhusbandryandfisherysupplementingorcomplementingthecropsgrown.

PresentscenarioofIndianagriculturemakesintensiveagricultureanimportantpartof theagriculturegrowthstorybut itwouldbe incompletewithoutcommensurateimprovements in theproductivityof cultivation.Consequently, followingmeasurescanbeconsideredtoimprovetheproductivityofcultivationinIndia:1. ProperImplementationofLandReforms-Properimplementationoflandreforms

andlandtenuresystemcanbringuptheproductivityrateofIndianagriculture.2. Proper Education- Positive efforts have been taken by the government to

educatetheilliteratepoorfarmersaboutthenewmethodsoftechnicalfarming.3. Adequate LandWater Resources- 329million hectares of land is degraded in

India. Hence an integrated and efficient management of our land is verynecessary.

4. Package Programme- Proper implementation of ‘Package Programme (i.e.irrigation, high yielding variety seeds chemical fertilizers, modern machineriesetc.isnecessarytoincreasetheproductivityofthesoil.

5. Crop Protection- According to agricultural scientists in India nearly 5% of thetotal crop production is destroyed by different insects, pests and diseases.Maximumfarmersareignorantabouttheuseofinsecticidesandpesticides.

6. Research and Development- Government of India made Indian Council ofAgricultural Research and several Agricultural Universities to organize severalresearchanddevelopmentprogrammesfortheimprovementofcultivation.

7. FocusonInformationandCommunicationTechnology(ICT)-enabledextensionservices,which play a crucial role in supporting agricultural activities by takingresearch,technologyandknow-howtofarmerstoimproveadoption.

8. SoilandSeeds- Improvingsoilhealthandconsidering improvingtheavailabilityofcertifiedseedscanhelpproductivityimprovementmeasures.

Conclusion



Improvingagriculturalproductivityisimportantinordertoimprovefarmerincomes.Also the phenomenal benefits of focusing on improving intensity of agriculturehighlighttheneedtoprioritizepoliciesthatwillachievethemostforfarmers.Suchamulti-prongedeffortcanhelp inachievingthegoalofdoublingfarmers' incomeby2022.6. Institutional and procedural reforms alone won’t address the problems ofagriculturalmarketinginIndia.Doyouagree?Substantiate.IntroductionFarmers in India are largely unrelieved of their incessant problems. The mostpressingproblems facing the Indian farmerare thepersistently lowmarketprices.Fromonionstopotatoesandpulsestooilseeds,pricesofmostcropsaremuchbelowexpectationsandnormaltrends.Farmersarehardlyempoweredtodecidepriceoftheirproduct.BodyProblemsofagriculturalmarketinginIndia:

• Low share of farmer: The Dalwai Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Incomehaspointedoutthattheshareoffarmersinconsumer’spriceisverylow;itgenerallyvariesfrom15to40percent.

• Lackofwarehousingandstorage:Coldstorageunitsexist in lessthanone-tenth of the markets. Post-harvest losses of various commodities rangedfrom6to18percent.

• Lack of transportation facilities: Almost 40 per cent of all fruits andvegetablesare lostannually in Indiabetweenthegrowerandtheconsumermainlyduetolackofstoragefacilities,aweaktransportationsystemandbadroads.

• Lack of Uniformity in grading and standardisation: Open auction platformsexist only in two-thirds of the regulated markets. Grading facilities in lessthanone-third;electronicweigh-bridgesareavailableonlyinafewmarkets.

• LackofMarketinformation.• Inadequateresearchonmarketing.

ProblemsofAPMCAct:

• MarketSegmentation:ThemonopolyofAPMCsinagriculturemarketreduces

buyer competition in comparison to integrated markets, as it limits thegeographicalrangeofthemandis,numberofbuyersandsectorspecializationofbuyers.

• HighDegree of Intermediation and Cartelization:Missing creditmarkets sofarmers borrow from intermediaries, conditional to sale of harvest.Cartelization by traders prevents price discovery mechanisms fromfunctioninginmandis.



• High License fees and Taxes: High commission levied on both farmers andbuyerscreateartificialinflation.Finalpricetoconsumerhighbutbenefitdoesnotreachthefarmer.

Institutionalandproceduralreforms:

• ModelAPMCact:Despiteofbeingthestatesubjectcentralgovernmenthasbrought model APMC act to empower farmer to sell his product outsideAPMC.

• E-NAM: It isvirtualmarketbut ithasaphysicalmarket (mandi)at thebackend.E-NAMcreatesaunifiedmarketthroughonlinetradingplatformboth,atStateandNationallevelandpromotesuniformity.

• Minimum support price: Govt assured farmers MSP almost 150% of inputcostandannounced5%to7%increaseintheMSPforwinterseasonrecently.

• Price stabilization fund: The scheme provides for maintaining a strategicbufferof commodities for subsequent calibrated release tomoderatepricevolatilityanddiscourageshoardingandunscrupulousspeculation.

Along with Operation Green, Agriculture market infrastructure fund, AgricultureMarketing and farmer friendly index are major steps towards institutional andproceduralreformsinagriculturalmarket.However considering the urgency of agriculturalmarket reforms, there is need toapplyinnovativemeasuresalongwithinstitutionalandproceduralreforms.Needofnewthinking:

• Agriculture marketing can moved to union list or concurrent list to pushreformsasonlyhandfulofstateslikeBihar,MaharashtrabrokethemonopolyofAPMCmarkets.

• Farmer-ConsumerMarket:Thereisneedtosqueezeintermediaryshareifnoteliminate. Farmer- consumer markets specially reserved for farmers mayprovesolutionforbothinflationoffoodpricesandremunerativeprice.

• Warehousebasedsale.• Reduction input cost of farming could also solve the issue of agricultural

pricing.• Innovativewaystoreducedependenceonfluctuationsinagriculturepricing,

there is a need for the farmers contributing in solar energy generation,participationinwindenergy,installingsolarpanelsinhisfarms,etcandalsotobecomeanUrjadaatafromAnnadata.

ConclusionClimatechangeandweakeningofWTOledsystemofAgriculturetradecreatednewchallengesforagriculturemarketinginlightofwhichagriculturalmarketingserviceshave to be strengthened. There is need to bring information decimation andincreasedawarenessamongfarmersformaximumbenefits.7.Therearemanyaffluentfarmersinthecountrywhoareearningincroresfrommodernfarming.However,theyareexemptfrompayingtheincometax.Whatare



yourviewsonthis?Shouldn’tbigandaffluentfarmersbebroughtunderthenetofincometax?Substantiateyourviews.IntroductionComptrollerandAuditorGeneralofIndia(CAG)calledforgreatereffortstochecktaxevasion through claims of tax exemption on farm income in audit report of therevenuedepartment.EarlierNITIAayogproposedtheideatotaxagriculturalincomebeyond certain threshold. It has been remained issue of debate in India whetheragriculturalincomeshouldbetaxedornot.BodyThereisnotheoreticaljustificationforthecontinuedexemptionfromtheincometaxofincomederivedfromagriculture.However,thereareadministrativeandpoliticalobjectionstotheremovaloftheexemptionatthepresenttime. It isverysensitiveissueasveryideaoftaxingagricultureincomemayprovepoliticalsuicideforpopularleadershipofpoliticalparty.There is need to bring big and affluent farmers in the net of income tax asagricultural income exemption has become loophole for tax exemption andgenerationofblackmoney.Theexemptionforagriculturalincomesisbenefitingrichfarmersandagriculturalcompanies,whichwasnottheintendedoutcome.

• Evasion through Exemptions: Tax exemption was granted in hundreds ofcaseswherelandrecordswerenotavailableorproofoffarmincomewasnotavailableintermsofledgeraccountorinvoices.

• Absenceoftargetedbenefits:Inassessmentyear2014-15,nineofthetop10claimants for tax exemption of agricultural income were corporations; the10thwasastategovernmentdepartment.

• Money Laundering: Tax Administration Reform Commission report of 2014pointsout,Agriculturalincomeofnon-agriculturistsisbeingincreasinglyusedasaconduittoavoidtaxandforlaunderingfunds,resultinginleakagetothetuneofcroresinrevenueannually.

• Politicalcouragealreadyevidentassixstatescurrentlyhaveagricultural taxlegislationonthebooks—TamilNadu,Kerala,Assam,Bihar,OdishaandWestBengal—even if implementation varies substantially, from taxes not beingleviedatalltobeingleviedonlyuponincomefromplantations.

• Those who own more than 4 hectares of land form just 4% of the totalagricultural households but hold over 20% of agricultural income. Just bytaxingtheincomesofthetop4.1%ofagriculturalhouseholds,atanaverageof30%,asmuchasRs25,000crorecouldbecollectedasagriculturaltax.

• There is need tomove beyond a reflexive rejection of the very concept ofagriculturaltax.

However, theroadtotaxingagricultural incomeisnoteasyduetovariousreasonssuchas,

• FromaConstitutionalstandpoint,onlythestatesareentitledtolevythistax.



• Extent of the informality that still exists in the agricultural sector,implementation of an agricultural tax would admittedly not be easy asconcerns about accuracy and flexibility of crop specific prices and incomewithgeographicalvariation.

• Agriculture sector is already facing crisis due to various reasons likeindebtedness,uncertaintyofrainfallduetoclimatechange,pestattacksduetoincreasingmicrobialresistancealmost2000farmercommitsuicideeveryyearinIndia.

• CentreforStudyofDevelopingSocieties(CSDS),studyreport,“StateofIndianFarmers”saysthat76percentfarmerswouldprefertodosomeworkotherthan farming. Sixty-one per cent of these farmers would prefer to beemployed in cities because of better education, health and employmentavenues.

• Theverythoughtoftaxingagricultureincomecoulddemoralizefarmersandfurtherweakentheirresolvetocontinuesubsistencefarmingactivityas70%ofagriculturalhouseholdsinIndiahavemarginalholdings(under1hectare).

• The focus should on increasing farmer’s income rather than taxingmeagreincomefromagriculture.

ThereisneedtofindprudentpathasIndiahasverylowtaxtoGDPratio.

• It would be to amend the definition of ‘agricultural income’ under the taxlaws, and impose an appropriate monetary threshold after carefuldeliberationandstudy.Incomethatisnotcoveredbythisreviseddefinitioncan then be subject to income tax. This would ensure that only the high-income farmers come under the purview of taxation, and the interest ofsmallscaleandmid-scalefarmersisprotected.

• Another alternative is for the parliament to formulate amodel law for thestatestoadopt,withareasonablethresholdandslabrates,muchlikeincometax,totaxagriculturalincome.

However, there can be no easy answer to the question of whether agricultureincome should be taxed, as it would have far reaching implications, as well astechnicalandlegalchallenges.ConclusionIt’s importanttofindtherightbalancebetweenthetaxingagricultural incomeandavoidingdisincentivisingtheagriculturesector.Thecurrentfocusofthegovernmenttobringfarmersundertheformalsystembypromotingdigitaleconomyisastepintherightdirection.8.Whatrolecantechnologyplay inaddressingthechallengesof foodsecurity inIndia?Illustrate.Introduction



Foodsecuritywillremainaworldwideconcernforsometimeinfuture.InwordsofFAO,‘foodSecurityexistswhenallpeople,atalltimes,havephysicalandeconomicaccess to sufficient, safeandnutritious food tomeet theirdietaryneedsand foodpreferencesforanactiveandhealthylife.’BodyTherehasbeennosignificantjumpincropyieldinmanyareasstressingtheneedforhigherinvestmentsinresearchandinfrastructure,aswellasaddressingtheissueofwaterscarcity.Challengesoffoodsecurity:

• Availabilityoffoodgrainsataffordableprice:TotalfoodgrainproductioninIndia isestimatedat281.37million tonnesduring2018-19.Considering thecontinuous increase in the population of India,will require 333MT of foodgrains by 2050 to maintain food security. Land and water resources arelimitedhenceremainsoneofthemajorchallenge.

• Cropdiversification:Itreducedtheareaunderfoodgrainsandpulseswhereasthereisincreaseinareaunderthefruits,vegetablesandoilseeds.

• Climatechange:Climatechange isa crucial factoraffecting foodsecurity inmany regions including India. The changing climate will influence the foodgrain production in differentways. For example, deficit rainfall or flooding.Similarly,extremehighorlowtemperaturesresultinvariationsinthelengthofcropgrowingseason.

• LandandWater resourceUtilization:Themismatchbetweentheexpandingdemandforandsupplyofwateremergingandspreadingsteadilyoverspaceandtime.

• Dietary Patterns: It was reported that ever increasing human populationcoupledwiththeirchangingdietarypreferencessignificantlyincreasedglobaldemand for food and thereby generating tremendous pressure on nativevegetationandecosystems.

• Bio fuels andMedicinal plants: One of themain reasons for food securitycrisisatglobal level is thediversionofagricultural lands thatwereused forcultivatingmaizeandwheattobio-fuelandmedicinalplants.

RoleoftechnologyforfoodsecurityinIndia:One of the best ways to ensure food security in future is investing in newtechnologies thatenable farmers toconnectwith informationand institutions thatcandecreaseuncertaintyandmitigaterisk.

• ConnectivityandInformationdecimation:TheGraminKrishiMausamSevaofEarth System Science Organization-Indian Meteorological Department hasbeen successful in providing the crop specific advisories to the farmersthroughdifferentprint/visual/Radio/ITbasedmediaincludingshortmessageservice (SMS) and Interactive Voice Response Service (IVRS) facilitating forappropriatefieldlevelactions.

• Alertandrealtimeweatherforecast:Promotionofconservationfarminganddrylandagriculture,witheachvillageprovidedwithtimelyrainfallforecasts,



alongwithweather-basedforewarningsregardingcroppestsandepidemicsin various seasons, is necessary.With adoption of drought-tolerant breedsthatcouldreduceproductionrisksbyupto50%.

• Governmentinitiatives:KrishiVigyanKendraorganizesprogramstoshowtheefficacy of new technologies on farmer fields. It tests seed varieties orinnovative farmingmethods, developedby ICAR institutes. This allowsnewtechnologies to be tested at the local level before being transferred tofarmers.

• GMcropstoincreaseproduction:Geneticallymodifiedorganisms,orGMOs,are another important innovation in helping to increase agriculturalproductivityandtomeetfooddemand.

• Secure seeds and fertilisers: The concepts of integrated nutrientmanagementandintegratedpestmanagementhaveattainedsignificanceinthe context of sustaining soil fertility and environmental protection.However, the realization of crop yields may take longer under thesesustainableagriculturaltechnologies.

• Geotaggingofruralinfrastructureprojectswillhelptoreducethecorruptionand inwaymoney can be used for increasing production and ensure foodsecurity.

• Financial inclusionof farmersvia JAMtrinity:Enablingthequickandsecuretransferoffunds,mobile-bankingservicesallowproducerstoaccessmarketsmore efficiently, reduce their transaction costs, and tap into higher-valuemarketsectors.

• Theoptionsforcombiningcropcomponentwithanimalcomponentsuchasintegratedrice-fishfarmingmaybeexploredwhichwouldresultinadditionalnetreturnstothefarmerswithoutaffectingthefoodsecurity.

ConclusionGlobal Hunger Index of 2019, India ranked 102nd out of 117 countries and thisreportisquitedisturbingbecauseIndiaisoneofthelargestproducersoffoodintheworld. To achieve Sustainable development goal of ending hunger by 2030, foodsecurity in India can be achieved by paying higher attention to technology drivensolutionswithfarmerascentralpivot.9.Examinethecurrentstatus,prospectsandchallengesassociatedwiththeexportoflivestockproductsfromIndia.IntroductionAnimal Products plays an important role in the socio- economic life of India. Itensures food security, provides employment, which leads to reduction in povertyand one the major source of protein intake. Livestock product export gainssignificancefordoublingfarmer’sincomeby2022.Body



Indiahasemergedasthelargestproducerofmilkwith20.17percentshareintotalmilkproductionintheworld.Indiaaccountsforabout5.65percentoftheglobaleggproductionandalsothelargestpopulationofmulchanimalsintheworld.Currentstatusoflivestockproductexports:

• India'sexportofLivestockProductswasRs.30,632.81Croreswhich includethemajor livestockproducts likeBuffaloMeat (Rs.25168.31Crores),Sheepand Goat Meat (Rs. 790.65 Crores), Poultry Products (Rs. 687.31 Crores)accordingtodataonAPEDA.

• Eventhough,India’sbuffalomeatexportsfell8.7percentin2018-19fromayear ago to the lowest level in six years still India is the world’s biggestexporterofbuffalomeat.

• India'sExportofDairyproductswas1.13 lacMTtotheworld,majorexportlocationswereTurkey,UAE,Egypt,Bangladesh.

• Leather sector is known for its consistency inhighexportearningsand it isamongthetoptenforeignexchangeearnersfortheCountry.

• Theexport of footwear, leather and leather products from India reached avalueofUS$5.69billionduring2018-19.

• India’s seafood export earned Rs 45,106.89 crore in 2017-18 with frozenshrimpandfishcontinuingtodominatetheexportbasket.

• Wool exports (woolen yarn, fabrics, and made ups) stood at US$ 185.96millionduring2017-18andUS$120.36millionbetweenApr-Oct2018.

Prospectslivestockproductexports:

• The demand for Indian buffalomeat in internationalmarket has sparked asudden increase in themeat exports. Buffalomeat dominated the exportswith a contribution of over 89.08% in total Animal Products export fromIndia.

• Inthe2018Budget,theDepartmentofAnimalHusbandrymadeaprovisionto allocate $383 million for establishment of an ‘Animal HusbandryInfrastructure Development Fund’. The fund supports small and marginalfarmers, includingentrepreneurs,byhelpingtogetbetterremunerationfortheirproducebymeetingtheirworkingcapitalrequirementtomodernizeorset-upanewinfrastructure.

• Creation of ‘Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund’with anet outlay of $1.5 billion to benefit 9.5 million farmers in about 50,000villages.

• NationalDairyPlan (NDP)phase-1 throughtheNationalDairyDevelopmentBoard for breed improvement, artificial insemination, and fodderdevelopment.

• Creationof a special Fisheries andAquaculture InfrastructureDevelopmentFund is in pipeline; the fish production target is 15MMT by 2020 and 20MMTbyMarch2023.

Challengesassociatedwithlivestockproductexports:

• Though,SupremeCourtsuspendedthenationwidebanonsaleofcattle forslaughter,revivaloftheideamighthurtthelivestocksector.



• GovernmentdecidedtobantheexportoflivestockfromallseaportsinthecountryforanindefiniteperiodatatimewhentheexportoflivestockfromIndiahasboomedfromRs69.30crorein2013-14toRs527.40crorein2016-17.

• China, which accounts for more than half of Indian shipments of buffalomeat,hasbeenbuyinglessinthelastfewmonths.

• There are concerns raised by China over foot andmouth disease infectionamongIndianbuffalos.

• Indiscriminateandextensiveuseofantibioticsinpoultryrearingneedstobestrictlymonitoredtoreducetheincidenceofdrugresistanceinthefoodweb.There are allegations on poultry sector of for spreading superbugs in theworld.

• India decided to stay out of RCEPbut free trade agreementwith countrieslikeNewZealandcouldhavethreatenedIndia’sdairysector.

ConclusionThere is need to develop dedicated institutional mechanism for pursuing marketaccess,tacklingbarriersanddealingwithsanitaryandphytosanitaryissuesandstrivetodouble India’sshare inworld livestockproductexportby integratingwithglobalvaluechains.Farmersshouldgetbenefitofexportopportunitiesinoverseasmarket.10. Do you think a National Land Use Policy should be formulated urgently?Substantiateyourviews.IntroductionTheNationalLandUsePolicyisnecessarytoachieveimprovementoflivelihood,foodandwatersecurity,andbestpossiblerealizationofvariousdevelopmentaltargetssoas to ensure sustainable development of India. There was draft National landutilizationpolicyformedin2013.BodyTo ensure optimal utilization of the limited land resources in India for addressingsocial,economicandenvironmentalconsiderationsandtoprovideaframeworkfortheStates to formulate their respective landutilizationpolicies incorporatingstatespecificconcernsandpriorities.NecessityofNationalLandUsePolicy:

• Unregulatedlanduseshifts:thenetsownareasinthecountryhaveincreasedfrom 41.8% to almost 51%, the forest areas have increased from 14.2%to almost 23%, and the areas under non-agriculture uses, which includeindustrialcomplexes,transportnetwork,mining,heritagesites,waterbodiesand urban and rural settlements has also increased, since 1950. Theseincreasesof landuseasabovehaveledtoreductionof landuseelsewhere.



Duringthesameperiod,the“otherareas”thatincludebarren&un-cultivableland, other uncultivated land excluding fallow land and fallow lands havedrasticallydecreasedbynearlyhalf.

• Reduction in per capita uses of land resources: Protection of agriculturallands from landuseconversions soas toensure food securityand tomeetconsumptionneedsofagrowingpopulationandtomeetlivelihoodneedsofthedependentpopulation.

• Urbanizationdemands:According to theworldpopulationprospectsby theUnitedNations,55%populationofIndiawillbeurbanbytheyear2050.Thedemandfornon-farmlandusewillincreasefurtherinfuture.Thereisaneedfor appropriate land utilization and management strategy and land useplanning to cater to thegrowingurbanizationneeds. There is scope for re-densification, proper augmentation of land under municipal corporations,PSUs.

• Meeting industrialization demands: The industrial development occupies alot of land. The industrial development is associated with supportivedevelopmentwhichalsorequiresconsiderableamountsofland.

• Protectionofsocialinterests:Toidentifyandprotectlandsthatarerequiredto promote and support social development, particularly of tribalcommunitiesandpoorsectionofsocietyfortheirlivelihood.

• Protection of heritage: To preserve historic and cultural heritage byprotecting, places/sites of religious, archaeological, scenic and touristimportance.

• Protectinglandsundernaturalresourcesandecosystemservices:Topreserveandconserve landsunder importantenvironmental functionssuchas thosedeclared as National Parks, Wild Life Sanctuaries, Reserved Forests, EcoSensitive Zones, etc. and guide land uses. To preserve the areas of naturalenvironmentanditsresourcesthatprovidesecosystemservices.

As there is continuous stress on land resource in India as around 17% of worldpopulationhasonly2.4%ofworldlandarea.

• Nearly 30% of its land area in India, as much as the area of Rajasthan,MadhyaPradeshandMaharashtraputtogether,hasbeendegradedthroughdeforestation,over-cultivation,soilerosionanddepletionofwetlands.

• This land loss is not onlywhittling away India’s gross domestic product by2.5% every year and affecting its crop yield, but also exacerbating climatechange events in the country which, in turn, are causing even greaterdegradation.

• Recognition of the customary tenure of indigenous people who haveknowledge about local ecosystems like forests, and involving them in thedecision-makingandgovernancecanhelpadvancetheeffortsagainstclimatechange.“Insecurelandtenureaffectstheabilityofpeopleandcommunities”tofightclimatechange,saidtheIPCCreport.

• An ongoing case in the Supreme Court of India also threatens to evict 2millionforestdwellerfamilieswhoseForestRightsclaimshavebeenrejected.Currently, 21 state governments are in the process of reviewing all therejectedclaims.



• Land pollution due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers, biocides(pesticides, insecticides and herbicides), polluted liquids and solids fromurban and industrial areas, forest fires, water-logging and related capillaryprocesses,leaching,drought.

DetailedNational land utilization policy could help to do away all aforementionedissuesregardinglanduseinIndia.ConclusionThereisurgentneedtoformulateNationallandusepolicywithperspectiveof‘NewIndia’ to minimize land use conflicts or negative environmental impacts. Forimplementation of land utilization policy, all concerned at different levels, viz.national, state, regional and local should suggest a general implementationframeworkandundertakecapacitybuilding.11.Howarereusablerocketschangingthespaceexplorationindustry?Illustrate.Introduction The space industry is in the middle of a widespread transformation, as the lastdecade has seen a number of young companies begin to seek to profit throughdevelopment of a reusable launch system. Today’s rockets are one shotwonders.Theyburnupfuel inafewminutesandsplashdownintoterrestrialoceans,havingputtheirpayloadontherighttrajectory.This iswastefulandthat iswhyscientistshavedreamtofbuildingreusable launchvehicleswhichwouldhelp infuturespaceexploration.Body

• Theholygrailofrocketlaunchersisaconceptreferredtoasthesinglestageto orbit (SSTO) vehicle. The idea is to use a reusable launch vehicle (RLV)which has the capability to deliver a payload to orbit, re-enter the Earth’satmosphereand land,where itcanthenberefuelled.Theprocesscanthenberepeatedwithashortturnaround.

• Reusablelaunchvehiclesreducecostbyallowingspaceagenciestoshaveoffthe expense of the recovered stage for every subsequent launch. Thesereusablerocketshavedrasticallycutlaunchcosts—from$200millionto$60million—and the figure is projected to come down to $5 million.Governmentstoohavetakennoteofthetrend.

• According to noted billionaire, Elon Musk, “If one can figure out how toeffectivelyreuserocketsjustlikeairplanes,thecostofaccesstospacewillbereduced by asmuch as a factor of a hundred. A fully reusable vehicle hasnever been done before. That is the fundamental breakthrough needed torevolutioniseaccesstospace.”

• NASA’s Space Shuttle typified this paradigm for many decades, but it wasSpaceX's Falcon9 rocket that really popularised it. It showed that reusable



rockets didn’t have to be as large as the Space Shuttle and didn’t requireinfrastructureatthatscaleeither.Sincethen,manyspaceagencies–publicandprivate–havebeenpursuingtheirownreusablelauncherprogrammes.

• InMay this year, the IndianSpaceResearchOrganisation successfully flighttested its ‘Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator’ (RLV-TD)fromtheSatishDhawanSpaceCentre(SDSC)inSriharikota,AndhraPradesh.Thiswingedcraft,with itsdistinctivetwintail-fins, is intendedasakeysteptoward the space agency’s goal of creating a reusable launch vehicle thatcouldcutlaunchcostsbyasmuchasnine-tenths.

• Advances in reusable rockets, loweredper-launch costsandminiaturizationofsatellitesareopeningupbusinessopportunitieswhichcanmaketheglobalspaceindustrytogeneraterevenueof$1.1trillionormorein2040,upfromthecurrent$350billion,accordingtoarecentreport.

• TheIdeaofexploitingcelestialresourcesisolderthananyspaceexplorationprogramme. As of now near Earth asteroids (NEA) appear to be suitablecandidates for first mining incursion outside the planet. In this regard,reusablerocketswouldprovidethewherewithaltoachievethisgoal.

• With SpaceX, Boeing, Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin all inching closer tomakinghistoryasthefirstprivatelyfundedcompaniestolaunchcommercialpassengers into space, reusable rockets will surely make 2020 the Year ofCommercialSpaceTravel.Here,developingreusablerocketsisaboutmakingspacetourismareality.

• Individualsandenterprisesflushwithfundsarethekeyplayersinthepresentspace race.Theyarebettingona future inwhich space ismoreaccessible,enjoyable and exploitable, and public trips toMars and back are a reality.Manyhavetermedthisasthedawnoftheentrepreneurialspaceage.

• FollowingaresomeofthebenefitsoradvantagesofReusableRocket:o Costforlaunchingbecomesmuchcheaperasitreducesmaterialcost

duetoreusability.o Someofthereusablerocketsusekerosene(ofrocketgradetype)as

fuelwhichdonotgenerateharmfulchlorineasexhaust.Thishelpstoprotecttheenvironment.

o Effectively we can reuse rockets similar to airplanes, hence spacetravelwillbecomecheapertoagreaterextent.

• Ultimately,reusablerocketswillmakeitpossibleforhumanstoexploredeepspace,andcoloniseotherplanets. SpaceX recentlyunveiledadesign for itsInterplanetaryTransportSystem(ITS)-asystemthatinvolvesusingreusablerocketstopropelspaceshipsfilledwithhundredsofpassengerstoMars.

ConclusionSpaceeconomynowincludeseverythingfromlaunchandsatellites(bothhardwarefor data sourcing and software for data analytics and applications), industrials(extractives andmanufacturing), logistics (situational awareness, debrismitigation,on-orbit servicing), biospheres (habitats and life support systems), interplanetary(deep space technologies), information and research, and media and education



wherereusablerocketswouldformthebedrockofmakinghumansamultiplanetarycivilizationinthenearfuture.12. India has produced someof themost talented engineers that theworld hasseen.Canyoudiscussthecontributionsmadebyatleastthreesuchengineers?Introduction Indianengineersarerenownedfortheirresearchandskillsworldwide.Engineeringin India can be traced to ancient civilizations. Engineers of ancient India wereresponsible for designing everything from complex water supply and drainagesystemsusedbytheextinctHarappaandMohenjoDarocivilizations.ThisisreflectedtillpresentdaywithextensivecontributionfromIndiansinengineeringfield.Body

• Thecountryisundergoingindustrializationandworkingtowardsself-relianceinalmosteverysphere.TheIndiangovernmentrightlydeservesfullcreditforadvancingmeaningfulresearchofengineeringandscienceinIndia.

• India ishome to someof thebestengineeringcolleges in theworld.Theseinclude College of Military Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology,National Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Space Science andTechnology,amongothers.

• Moderninitiativeslike‘MakeinIndia’and‘SkillsIndia’areprovidingagreatplatform for developing the industrial base of this country by promotingindigenoustechnologiesandresearchaswellasadvancedskills requiredbyforeign companies and other organizations that are eyeing investments inthiscountry.

• Accordingtoareportpublishedbyglobalresearcherandpublisher,Elsevier,institutional collaboration in India accounted for 46 percent of impressiveresearch and scholarly output while 16 percent was through tie-ups withforeignuniversities,companies,andotherorganizations.

India has producedmany eminent engineers since ages, some of them can be asseenbelow:

1. Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya - was an Indian engineer, scholar, statesmanandtheDiwanofMysorefrom1912to1918.HeisarecipientoftheIndianRepublic'shighesthonour, theBharatRatna, in1955.HewasknightedasaKnight Commander of the British Indian Empire by King George V for hiscontributionstothepublicgood.Everyyear,onhisbirthday,September15iscelebrated as Engineer's Day in India. He is held in high regard as a pre-eminent engineer of India. He was the chief engineer responsible for theconstructionof theKrishnaRajaSagaradam inMysoreaswell as the chiefdesignerofthefloodprotectionsystemforthecityofHyderabad.

2. E Sreedharan - He is known as the MetroMan of India. Hewas a retiredIndian Engineering Service (IES). He has done a lot to improvepublic



transport in India.He receivedhis secondaryeducationatBasel EvangelicalMission Higher Secondary School. He completed his Civil Engineering fromthe Government Engineering College, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh known asJNTUK.Commonlyknownasthe‘MetroMan,’MrShreedharanisthemost-renownedcivilengineerIndiahasproducedinthepastfewdecades.Hisworkwith the Delhi Metro, the Kolkata metro, and many more metro projectsacrossthecountryarewelldocumented,makinghismonikerawell-deservedone.

3. APJAbdulKalam-HeisknownasthemissilemanofIndia.Healsoservedasthe11thPresidentofIndiafrom2002to2007.APJAbdulKalamwasbornon15 October 1931 at Rameswaram on Pamban Island, then in the MadrasPresidency.Hegraduated fromtheMadras InstituteofTechnology in1960.ThenhejoinedtheAeronauticalDevelopmentEstablishmentoftheDefenceResearch and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist. Kalam diedon27July2015whiledeliveringalectureon”CreatingaLivablePlanetEarth"attheIndianInstituteofManagementShillong.

4. SatishDhawan -He is knownas the fatherofexperimental fluid dynamicsresearch in India.Dhawanwasborn in Srinagaron25 September1920.HegraduatedfromUniversityofthePunjabinLahore(nowPakistan)wherehecompleted a Bachelor of Science in Physics andMathematics, a Bachelor'sdegree inMechanical Engineering. To honour hisworks in rural education,remote sensing and satellite communications satellite launch centre atSriharikota,AndhraPradeshwasrenamedtheSatishDhawanSpaceCentre.

5. VinodDham-HeisknownastheFatherofPentiummicroprocessorchip,avery popular term in the computerworld. Vinod is also co-inventor of theflashmemory technology,popularly knownas SD cardswidelyused inUSBdrives, digital cameras, and many other storage devices. He holds agraduationdegreeinElectricalEngineeringfromDelhiCollegeofEngineering.PresentlyVinodisfoundingMDofIndo-USVenturePartners,aninvestmentcompanywithafocusoninvestinginIndiancompanies&start-upsofvariedsectors.HeisoneofthetopengineersinIndia

But at the same time, a recent survey carried out byAspiringMinds has revealedthatonly7%ofengineeringgraduatesinIndiaareemployed.Accordingtothissamereport,only3%ofengineersinIndiahavethesuitableskillsrequiredtogetajobincoresectorsofengineering.Around1.5millionengineersinIndiaarereleasedeveryyearfromvariouscollegesbutmostofthemsimplydonothavetheskillsrequiredtobeemployed.ConclusionItisveryunfortunatethattheUSimportsmostoftheengineersfromIndiawhenourowncountryisfacingthecrisisofqualityandskills.Today,themarketislookingforqualification along with certification. So, it becomes important for engineeringinstitutions(especiallyprivateinstitutions)tocreatequalityengineersinsteadofjustgivingawaycertificates.Today’s Indianeedsanengineer likeVisvesvaraya todrive



thistransformationwiththesameclarity,dynamismandcouragetospeaktruthtopower.13. Examine the factors that are responsible for lesser number of patentsregistered by Indian universities/ institutions. What measures can be taken toaddressthesame.Suggest.IntroductionUniversities and patents benefit each other. Patents help universities to improvetheir ranking, establish an innovation ecosystem, incubate knowledge-based start-ups, earn additional revenue and measure research activity. In this regard, Indiaspentjust0.7%ofitsgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)in2016-17onR&D.Meanwhile,Japan,theUSandChinaspent3.2%,2.8%and2.1%,respectively,in2017,accordingtotheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(OECD).Body

• Patentsoccupyaprominentpositionas global indicators for rankingof theworldeconomies.Ingeneral,thereisadirectrelationbetweentheeconomyandthepatentregimeofanation.Patentisanexclusiveandterritorialrightgrantedbyregionalornationalgovernment.

• Patents in India are governed by the Indian Patents Act, 1970. The biggestchangehappenedwiththeamendmentsintheearly2000stomakethelawcompliant with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IntellectualPropertyRights(TRIPS).

• India witnessed significant changes in IPRs since the introduction of theNational IPR Policy in 2016. In this context, while the disposal rates hasincreased, the filing rate forpatentshasnot changed significantly. In2016-17, the Patent Office reported a dip of 3.2% in filing compared to thepreviousfinancialyear.

• Asuniversitiesformthebedrockofinnovationecosystem,theyfaceastrangehuman resources problem: despite the policy push to havemore IP, IndiasimplydoesnothaveenoughIPprofessionalsinthecountry.

• ThedearthofIPprofessionalsisduetothelegal-centricapproachwherelawschoolsandcollegesaretheonlyinstitutionswhichmandateteachingthesesubjects,whichisoneofthereasonswhythesupplyofIPprofessionalsisnotkeepingpacewithdemand.

• PoorinfrastructureandlimitedresourceshavecreatedahugebacklogwhichareconstrainingthehighereducationalinstitutesabilitytobringinadynamicIPRecosystem.

• The lackof IPprofessionals toteach IPwasoneof thereasonsthatvariouscommitteescouldnotsuggestthemandatoryintroductionofIPcoursesinalltechnicalinstitutes.

• India has a poor patent agent density, with only about 2,000 registeredpatent agents currently in practice. The last time when the Patent Office



conductedthepatentagentexam,in2016,around2,600candidatestookit,apaltrynumberifonelooksattheambitiousgoalssetbytheIPRPolicy.

• AnotherproblemisthatresearchersinIndiatendtofocusonpublishingtheirwork in journals instead of patenting them. Many consider emphasis onresearch papers publishing as counterproductive to patenting. One reasonwhyresearchersareshyofpatentingtheirideasinIndiaisthetimetakentogetapatentwhichin2017wasonanaverage64monthstograntapatent.

• AkeyfactordrivingpatentfilingsintheUSisindustryfundingofresearchinuniversities, which totalled $4.2 billion in 2016, according to the NationalScienceFoundation.Thebenefitsof industry-academiacollaborationcannotbeoverstated—StanfordUniversitywas instrumental in the riseof SiliconValley.ThisaspectismissingincontextofIndia.

• Patent filings andgrants in India aredominatedby foreignapplicants: theyfiled two-thirds of patent applications in 2018-19, and got four-fifths ofgrants,accordingtotheOfficeoftheControllerGeneralofPatents,DesignsandTradeMarks.

To overcome these shortcomings, the following can be some of the measurestowardsaddressingthechallengesofIPRinIndianUniversities/Institutes:

1. The number of patents applied for, granted and commercialised byuniversitiesandinstitutes isfactoredin intheNational InstitutionalRankingFramework (NIRF) rankings which clearly reveals that the top rankedengineeringinstitutesinIndiaarealsotheleadingfilersofpatents.

2. TheAllIndiaCouncilforTechnicalEducation(AICTE)modelcurriculumforitsmember institutions should lay emphasis on the need for IPR education intechnicalinstitutes.

3. The path to patents is paved with research and funding. While Indiancompanies, including startups, universities and research institutes need todirecttheirattentiontowardsgeneratingmorepatentsifIndiahastoemergeasahubofinventiveness,italsocallsforincreasedspendingonresearchanddevelopment (R&D)where Indiahas targeted tomore thandouble itsR&Dexpendituretoatleast2%ofGDPby2022.

4. Fine-tuningthepatentagentexaminationtocatertothegrowingIPneedsofthe country can be a successful way to build a band of professionals andcreatecareeropportunities

5. Inabiggerpushtowardscreatingentrepreneurialuniversities,theUniversityGrants Commission (UGC) should ask all universities in India to set upIntellectualProperty(IP)Centres.

6. Further,thesecanbesomemoremeasures-a.Awarenesscreationb.PatentInformationCentres(PICs)c.IPRCellsinUniversitiesd.TrainingprogrammesConclusionWith the advances in China and the US are making in communications, artificialintelligence and healthcare technology, India cannot afford to sit on the sidelines,



andtheonlywayforthecountrytogetinontheactionistorampupitsR&Deffortsandengenderacultureofpatentinginitsuniversitiesandinstitutes.14.Spaceisthenextbigfrontieroftechnologicalrevolution.Doyouagree?Whatarethosecurrenttrendsthatindicatetowardsahighlysophisticatedandadvancedfutureofspacetechnology?Explain.IntroductionSpacetechnologyhasbeenoneofthedefiningforcesofthe20thand21stcentury.The Soviet launch of Sputnik in October 1957 and the ensuing space race to themoon came to symbolize countries demonstration of their prowess and globalinfluence.Thesebrightmoments,includingtheApollomoonlanding,wereevidenceofspacetechnologieslightingaclearpathtothefutureandinrecenttimes,itisonthecuspofagreattechnologicalrevolution.Body

• Sincethedaysofitsheroicendeavors,spaceengineeringhasmaturedintoaseriesofinterconnectedtechnologiesthatdeliverexcitingnewspacesciencemissions which in the present times are rendering great technologicaladvancementinspaceaswellasuseonearth.

• By democratizing access to space-based resources, we can create a morehumane and just world. But realizing these benefits requires overcomingcomplextechnical,legal,politicalandregulatorychallenges.

• Present times is seeing a wave of start-ups driving dramatic and ongoingreductions in launch costswith innovations such as reusable boosters. ThesecondisthedevelopmentofNanosatsthataredramaticallysmaller,lighterand less expensive to build and launch than those typically used bygovernmentsorindustry.

• Space is stepping up to the connectivity challenge posed by the fourthindustrial revolution.Oneof thedriving forcesof this changehasbeen theintroductionofnext-generationhigh-throughputsatellite(HTS)systems.HTSwill enhance the end user experiencemuch like the terrestrial move fromdial-uptobroadbandaccess.

• Spaceisquicklybecomingaplacewheretheindustriesthatpowerourglobaleconomywillconductbusiness.Likeanymajorchange,thissharingeconomyinspacefacesmajorlegal,regulatoryandtechnicalhurdles.

• Further, this change is being led by private enterprises unlike earliergovernmental efforts, which makes it conducive to exponential growth inlightofunlimitedresourcesthatthespaceeconomyprovides.

• Space industry leading the technological revolution is evident from earlierprecedentwhentechnologiesdevelopedforApolloandothermissionshadaspillovereffectonvariousindustriesintheworld.Inpresenttimes,reusablerocketshelpinrevolutionizingtransportationonearthisonesuchexample



• Atthesametime,therewillalsobeneedformechanismstotrackandcontrolsatellites to prevent their being used for criminal or terrorist purposes, aswell as finding ways to safely destroy failed satellites so they don’t causedamagetoothersatellitesorspacevehicles.

Following can be considered as some of the current trends that indicate a highlysophisticatedandadvancedfutureofspacetechnology:

1. Theglobalminingindustryhastumbledinrecentyearsfromamarketvalueof more than $1.6 trillion in 2010, to $714 billion in 2016, but this maychangequicklyonce the“global”definitionofmining is transformedby theemerging space resource industry. Space resources can be extracted fromcelestialbodies,mostnotablyasteroidsandtheMoon.

2. Miniaturizationoftechnologyhasenabledarangeofspacecraftsizes,suchasthe 100kg small satellites used for the Disaster Monitoring Constellation,whichconsistsofacoordinatedgroupofindividualsatellites.Thereareevencompact 30x10x10cm CubeSats, satellites weighing a few kilograms, whichcancarryarangeofdifferentpayloads.

3. The ability to fabricate large, lightweight structures directly in orbit couldhaveahugeimpactonspacetechnology,gettingaroundtheriskyhurdleoflaunchingdelicatestructuresfromtheground.

4. Spirit and Opportunity were the two successful Mars rovers that helpedhumanswithmany discoveries onMars andwere advanced enough to becontrolled from the Earth. Both of these rovers exceeded their 90-dayexpected lifetime by several years making them one of NASA’s mostsuccessful inventions. Present missions are building upon these like Mars2020mission.

5. Militaryand intelligencepersonnelhavereliedonsatellitedata foryears tokeeptabsonothernationsandgoings-onaroundtheglobe,butitwaslargelyclassified or otherwise restricted from the private sector. Now, looserregulationsandlowercostsareallowingcompaniestousethatsamekindofinformation for a variety of business reasons, such as near-real-timegeospatialdatavisualizationsofhousingconstructionandotheractivitywhenplanningnewstorelocations.

6. Space habitats will be launched from Earth initially, but as the resourcesupply chain expands and metals from asteroids and the Moon becomeavailable,thissectorwillalsocometorelyonresourcessourcedfromspace.

7. Intoday’smedia-richenvironmenttheconceptofartificialintelligenceishardtomiss,butitsroleinourspace-basedsystemsiseasytooverlook.Infact,forsome applications, it is already embedded. This will further help in thedevelopmentofAI.

ConclusionIn the last few years, it has become clear that there is enormouspotential to notonly help bridge the technological shortcomings but to also create themeans fornew space based technological dividends. As with other cases in the newtechnological Revolution, these benefits coincide with the latest innovations insoftware, data processing and other booming sectors and it will be from the



combinations of those pieces that the really innovative solutions will emerge tofurtheradvancehumancivilizationintospace.15. What do you understand by Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual PropertyRights (TRIPs) agreement?What are its implications for India? Explain with thehelpofsuitableexamples.IntroductionTheTRIPSAgreement,whichcameintoeffecton1January1995,istodatethemostcomprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property. The areas ofintellectualpropertythatitcoversare:copyrightandrelatedrights(i.e.therightsofperformers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations);trademarksincludingservicemarks;geographical indications, includingappellationsof origin; industrial designs; patents including the protection of new varieties ofplants; the layout-designs of integrated circuits; and undisclosed informationincludingtradesecretsandtestdata.Body

• The TRIPs (Trade Related Intellectual Property) regime has emerged as thebasicframeworkforensuringintellectualpropertyrightsacrosstheworld.Itis not the universal Intellectual property law. But it provides a basicframework. Everymember ofWTO should include TRIPs provisions in theirdomesticintellectualpropertylegislations.

• ThethreemainfeaturesoftheAgreementare:o Standards- In respect of each of the main areas of intellectual

property covered by the TRIPS Agreement, the Agreement sets outthe minimum standards of protection to be provided by eachMember.

o Enforcement.Thesecondmainsetofprovisionsdealswithdomesticproceduresandremediesfortheenforcementofintellectualpropertyrights.TheAgreementlaysdowncertaingeneralprinciplesapplicabletoallIPRenforcementprocedures.

o Dispute settlement. The Agreement makes disputes between WTOMembers about the respect of the TRIPS obligations subject to theWTO'sdisputesettlementprocedures.

• Theintellectualpropertyrightsregimeofthecountryhasbeenmodifiedbyanumber of legislation since 1995. For India, the WTO’s TRIPs agreementbecame binding from 2005 onwards as the country has got a ten-yeartransition period (1995-2005) to make the domestic legislation compatiblewithTRIPs.

• Here, India has got additional five-year transition period because of nothavingproductpatent regime incritical sector likepharmaceuticals.Hence,existing laws were amended and fresh legislations were introduced duringthisperiod.



• Different amendments to the variousexistingActs- PatentAmendmentAct(2005), the Copyright Amendment Act (2010), were made to strengthendomestic legal frameworktofulfill theharmonizationwiththeWTO’sTRIPSagreement. Similarly, anumberof fresh legislationsweremade toupgradethecountry’sintellectualpropertyregime.

• Amongall theprovisionsof theWTOagreement, theone relating toTradeRelatedIntellectualPropertyRights(TRIPs)haspossiblybeenthemostwidelydebatedinthecountry.Therearereasonswhythishasbeenso.

o First,becauseprovisionsinTRIPsrelatetothecountry’sPatentLawsandhaveaveryseriousbearingonmajorareasofthecountry’swellbeing–health,agriculture,research,etc.

o Second, because India has been particularly fortunate among alldeveloping countries in having a very liberal Patents regime since1970thatpromotedthecountry’sinterests.

o Third, because in the initial stages of the “Uruguay Round” ofnegotiations under the aegis of the then General Agreement onTariffs and Trade (GATT), which finally led to the formation of theWorldTradeOrganisation (WTO), Indiahadbeenextremely vocal inopposingtheinclusionofPatentlawsinthenegotiations.

• India moved from a process patent system to a product patent system in2005.Thepatentlawisoneofthesevenintellectualpropertylawsprotectedunderthisagreement.ProductPatentisthegrantingofpatenttothe‘final’productirrespectiveoftheprocessusedforobtainingtheproduct.Onceyouobtain apatenton theproduct, thenone is precluded frommanufacturingthatproduct,eventhoughwithadifferentprocess.

• Theexistenceofprocesspatentsunderthe1970IndianPatentsActresultedinarobustgrowthofdomesticpharmaceuticalindustryinIndia.Atthesametime,historyalsoshowsadecline inthebusinessof foreignpharmaceuticalcompaniesinIndia.

• WiththecomingoftheTRIPsAgreement,disputeshavearisenwithregardtothe protection of pharmaceutical patents. TRIPs does not provide for theretrospectivepatenting in Indiaof drugs that are alreadyon themarketorcoveredbyexistingpatentapplicationselsewhere.

• The major changes made in the Indian Patent Act would have significantimpact. The market would increasingly become technology driven. Indianfirmswouldhavetocompeteinthenewscenario.

• The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy 2016 was adopted inMay2016asavisiondocumenttoguide futuredevelopmentof IPRs in thecountry.It’sclarioncallis“CreativeIndia;InnovativeIndia”.

ConclusionThemajorchangesintroducedintheIndianPatentActthatwererequiredtomeetIndia’s obligations to international agreements and treaties. The new Patents Act(PatentsAmendmentAct2005)hascreatedastrongpatentsysteminIndia.Overallthe present system has increased the scope of patenting and provides stringentsafeguardstothepatentee.



16.Whataretherecentsetbackstoglobalclimatechangenegotiations?Whatcanbeitspossibleimplications? Introduction AUNreportreleasedlastmonthwarnedthattheworldiscurrentlyheadedtowarda3.2degreestemperaturerisebytheendofthecentury,highlightingtheimpendingdangerofclimatechangeforworldwhererecentlyfightagainstclimatechangehasseensomeserioussetbackswhichmayaggravatethefragilesituationfurther. Body

• The UNFCCC entered into force in 1994. Its objective is to stabilize theconcentrationsofgreenhousegasesintheatmosphereatalevelthatwouldpreventdangerousanthropogenicinterferencewiththeclimatesystem.TheKyoto Protocol, which requires a limited number of developed countryParties to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions up to 2020, wasadoptedundertheConventionin1997.

• Inorder toaddressclimatechangemorebroadly, theParisAgreementwasnegotiated and adopted in 2015. The goals of the Paris Agreement are toholdtheincreaseinglobalaveragetemperaturetowellbelow2°Cabovepre-industrial levels, topursueeffortsto limitthis increaseto1.5°C,to increasethe ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and tomakefinance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gasemissionsandclimate-resilientdevelopment.

• Under the Paris Agreement, Parties regularly communicate their NationallyDetermined Contributions (NDCs) as part of the global response to climatechange; theambitionof these contributionshas to increaseover time.TheParis Agreement also provides for a global stocktake which assesses thecollective progress of all Parties towards achieving the goals of theagreement.

• In the previous climate change conference in Katowice in December 2018,the rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement were largelydefined. These include the information that Parties shall provide whencommunicatingtheirNDCs,guidanceforaccountingforNDCs,guidelinesforreportingonmitigation,adaptationandsupporttodevelopingcountries,andrulesfortheglobalstocktake.

• However, agreement on some aspects is still pending, such as commontimeframesforNDCsordetailedprovisions for thereportingofgreenhousegasemissions,mitigationactionsandsupport.Mostimportantly,Partiesstillhave to agree on the rules for voluntary cooperation between Parties,includingtheuseofinternationalcarbonmarketmechanisms.

• One of the most serious setbacks in recent times seem to be theannouncementin2017ofUSAtowithdrawfromParisAgreement.Inlightof



thefactthattheUnitedStateswasthefirstmajoreconomythatratifiedtheParisAgreementin2016andisalsothelargestgreenhousegasemitter,itwillhave serious consequences on the effectiveness of global climate changenegotiations.

• In addition, the United States cut its contributions to the UNFCCC processand its support to developing countries in the area of climate changemitigation and adaptation. As a consequence, activities under the UNFCCCsuchasreviewsorcapacitybuildinghadtobescaleddown.

• Inlightofthis,itwillnotbeeasyforthecountrytokeepitspromisesintact.For example, India's participation in the agreement was conditional uponreceiving financial aid from developed countries to reduce its carbonfootprints.Indiaaccountsforfourpercentofglobalemissionsand,atParis,itpromised“toreduce itscarbonfootprintby35percentfromits2005 levelsby2030.”

• Furthermore,therecentUNclimatetalksinMadridendedinstalemate,withthenegotiationsrunningtwodaysovertimeascountriessquabbleoverrulesforanewglobalcarbontradingmarket.Thetalks,knownasCOP25,ranfor14daysandsetarecordforthelongest-everclimatenegotiations,butfailedtoproduceanyagreementontradingincarboncredits.

• ThefailureofCOP25toagreeonthecarbonmarketruleswillcomplicatethetask facing theUK,which takesover thepresidencyof thenextUNclimatetalksinGlasgownextyear.Almost200countriesfailedtoagreeunanimouslyonArticle6oftheParisAgreementrulebookconcerningthecarbonmarketssystem,

• If China dominates future negotiations, the ongoing tensions between thetwo nations will have a significant impact on India’s place in suchnegotiations.Tomeet its solar targets, IndianeedsaroundUSD100billion,and this sector has enormous potential for foreign investments. Thesechallengeswillbetheresultofthefailureofnegotiations.

• Furthermore,Authoritativesurveysofthemitigationpledgesadoptedtodatebydifferentcountriesstronglysuggestthatthesewillfallfarshortofwhatisrequired to achieve the 2°C goal if the present state of deadlock betweencountriesiscontinued.

• While thedevelopedcountriesarebentondiluting theNorth-Southdivide,citing the growing economic and political clout of developing nations,developingcountrieslikeIndiainsistonretainingequity.Thisisevidentfromthemultipleroundsofnegotiationsatinternationalforums.

Conclusion Thus, recent developments at the international level have renewed claims thatcooperation would be more effective under a less formal approach, driven bydecisions taken at the national level, with greater flexibility to accommodatedomestic circumstances and priorities while also effectively addressing the globalneeds.



17.WhatmeasureshastheIndianGovernmenttakentoaddressclimatechange? WhatfurtherrolecanIndiaplayintheglobaleffortstowardsmitigatingclimate change?Suggest. Introduction Indiahastheworld’ssecondlargestpopulationandfourthlargesteconomy,whereclimatechangeisnomoreanenvironmentalconcern.Ithasemergedasthebiggestdevelopmental challenge for the planet. Its economic impacts, particularly on thepoor,make it amajor governance issue aswell. Such a scenario has necessitatedmomentouseffortsfromIndiatotackletheglobalmenacewhilealsoprioritisingitsdevelopmentalneeds. Body Over several decades India has pursued policies and publicly funded programsfocusedonenergyconservationanddeploymentofrenewableenergytechnologiesto fight climate change. This has beenbackedby legislation, regulation and tariffsarrangements.Someoftheseare:

• IndiaratifiedtheUnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange(UNFCCC)in1993andtheKyotoProtocolin2002.

• In June 2008, India announced its National Action Plan on Climate Change(NAPCC). The Action Plan effectively pulls together a number of thegovernment’s existing national plans on water, renewable energy, energyefficiency,agricultureandothers–bundledwithadditionalones–intoasetofeightmissions.ThePrimeMinister’sCouncilonClimateChangeisinchargeoftheoverallimplementationoftheplan.Theplandocumentelaboratesona unique approach to reduce the stress of climate change and uses thepoverty-growthlinkagetomakeitspoint.

• Underthe2015ParisAgreement,Indiasetthreemajorgoalstobeachievedfortheperiodbetween2020and2030—increasetheshareofnon-fossilfuelsto 40% of the total electricity generation capacity, to reduce the emissionintensity of the economy by 33 to 35% by 2030 from 2005 levels, and tocreate additional carbon sink of 2.5 -3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalentthroughadditionalforestandtreecover.

• Indiahasemergedasagloballeaderinrenewableenergy,whereinvestmentstopthoseintofossilfuel.AfteradoptingitsNationalElectricityPlan(NEP)in2018,Indiaremainsontracktooverachieveits“2˚Ccompatible”ratedParisAgreementclimateactiontargets.

• Since 2010, the Indian Government has doubled the coal tax three times,reaching400rupeespertonne(aroundUSD3.2pertonne)ofcoalproducedandimportedinthe2016–2017budget.

• Ontransport, theFasterAdoptionandManufacturingofElectricVehicles inIndia scheme came into effect in April 2019, and provides incentives to



purchaseelectricvehicles,whilealsoincludingprovisionstoensureadequatecharginginfrastructure.

• ThemaininstrumenttoincreaseenergyefficiencyinindustryisthePerform,Achieve and Trade (PAT) Mechanism, which is implemented under the'National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency’. PAT resembles anemissions trading scheme (ETS) and has been in place since 2012. Thescheme is currently in its second phase (2016–2019). PAT differs fromtraditionalcap-and-tradesystemsasitsetsintensity-basedenergytargets

• Rural Electrification Policy, 2006: The policy promotes renewable energytechnologieswheregridconnectivityisnotpossibleorcost-effective.

• EnergyConservationBuildingCode,2006:Thisregulatorycodeisdesignedtoensureenergyefficiencyinallbuildingswithabove500kVAconnectedloadorair-conditionedfloorareaover1000squaremetres.

India’s future role in the global efforts towardsmitigating climate change can beseenfromthefollowingpoints:

1. In 2007, then Indian Prime Minister Singh pledged that India’s per capitaemissionswould never exceed those of the developedworld.Meeting thispledgedoesnotrequireanyemissionsreductionscomparedtocurrentpolicyprojectionsupto2030.

2. Despite the negative trend in the power sector due to coal, India’s ParisAgreement target is within the range of what is considered to be a “2°Ccompatible” fair share of the global effort. Further, India could become aglobalclimateleaderwitha“1.5̊Ccompatible”ratingifitabandonsplanstobuildnewcoal-firedpowerplants.

3. The Government is in the process of implementing carbon pricingmechanisms to encourage energy efficiency in industry. A pilot system forsmall tomedium enterprises is expected soon. This can form the basis forglobalcarbonpricingmechanism.

4. Thegovernment isalsoattemptingtoharnessthepotentialofoff-gridsolarPVpumps tonotonlyprovide reliableelectricity forpumpsets,butalso toprovideadditionalincomegenerationopportunitiesforfarmers.

5. Indiahassaidthatitwillfinaliseitslong-termplanstrategiesfordevelopmentthat result in lower levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasemissionsby2020.Indiaalsosaidthatitwill increaseitsclimatepledges,ornationallydeterminedcontributions(NDCs),undertheParisAgreement.

6. The IndianGovernment is considering long-termgrowthstrategiesover theperiod2030–2045thatwouldresultinadecouplingofcarbonemissionsfromeconomicgrowth.

Conclusion ClimateChangehasemergedasoneofthemostseriousenvironmentalconcernsofourtimes,whichisaglobalphenomenonwithdiverselocalimpacts.TheNewDelhiDeclarationshouldprovideuswitha soundbasis forglobal cooperation, reflectingtheconsensusthataddressingthechallengeofclimatechangeasanintegralpartofachievingsustainabledevelopmenttocreateabetterworldforallourpeople.



18.WhataretheexistingthreatstothemountainecosysteminIndia?Discuss. Suggestasustainablestrategytomaintaintheecologicalintegrityofmountains. Introduction Mountain ecosystems are an important source of biological diversity, along withwater and mineral resources where mountains are ecosystems with a distinctidentity just like the flood plains, deltas, mangroves, wetlands, and deserts.Mountain ecosystems are particularly fragile, subject to both natural andanthropogenicdriversofchange.Therefore,theireffectivemanagementisnotonlyimportantformountaincommunities,butalsoforasizeableproportionoftheglobalpopulation. Body

• Ecosystemsareoffundamentalimportancetoenvironmentalfunctioningandsustainability, and they provide many goods and services critical toindividuals and societies. Beyond their common characteristics of highrelative relief and steep slopes, mountains are remarkably diverse andgloballyimportantascentresofbiologicaldiversity.

• Recent scientific opinion led by the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) is that global climate change is happening and will presentpractical challenges to local ecosystems. The analysis and predictionsshowing an increase in the magnitude of climate change with altitude (intermsofbothtemperatureandvariationinprecipitation).

• Ecosystems in themountains are being impaired and destroyed by a widevarietyofhumanactivities.Thesurvivaloftheecosystemsandwildlifeinthemountains is being threatened by human activities like timber harvesting,intensivegrazingbylivestock,andagriculturalexpansionintoforestland.

• Rapid and unsustainable economic and population growth in themountainous regions is imposing increasing stress on the naturalenvironment.Asaresult,environmentaldeteriorationinmountainsisdrivenby numerous factors, including deforestation, overgrazing by livestock, andthe cultivation ofmarginal soils leading to soil erosion, landslides, and therapidlossofhabitatandgeneticdiversity.

• Forestecosystemsarestressedbyhabitatchangeandfragmentation,whichoccursashumanssubdivideforestplotsintoeversmallerandmoreisolatedsections.

• Pollution can also stress forest trees, especially in urban, industrial, andheavily populated areas. Non-native fungal diseases and insect pests canseverely stress forests and cause the effective extinction of previouslydominanttreesandthreatenothers.

• Species in high altitude areas – especially in the transition zone betweensubalpine and alpine – aremore vulnerable to climate change. In addition,



theregion’swetlandsarebeingaffectedbytheerraticweatherobservedinmanypartsoftheregion.

• Invasive species that outcompetenative species and synergistically interactwithclimatechangetothreatennativeorganisms.Further,synergisticactionbetween commercial harvesting and climate change will have detrimentalimpactsonsubtropicalandtemperatetimberforests.

• Environmental contamination-Nutrient enrichment fromagricultural runoffcould act synergistically with various factors due to increasing changes inbiodiversitytoenhanceeutrophicationinfreshwatersystems.

Propermanagementofmountainresourcesandthesocio-economicdevelopmentofpeople need immediate action. There is need to develop land use planning andmanagement for mountain fed watersheds. Further, the government should giveopportunities and following canbeadopted tomaintain theecological integrityofmountains:

1. Promote erosion controlmeasures that are low in cost, simple and can beeasilyused;Enhanceforestmanagementpolicyfortheprotectionofnaturalforests (control and stop deforestation and ecological damage), preventdesertificationprocesses,andmixed-usestrategies.

2. Offer people incentives to conserve resources and use environmentallyfriendly technologies inmountainousecosystems,help them tounderstandwhatissustainabledevelopmentinmountainsandinvolvetheminresourcemanagement;

3. Provide informationonalternative livelihoods involving, forexample,crops,livestock, poultry, beekeeping, fisheries, village industries, markets andtransport;

4. Create protected areas to save Biodiversity (wild genetic resources); Adoptintegratedecosystemplanning,monitoring, andmanagementof vulnerableecosystems.

5. Identify hazardous areas that are most vulnerable to erosion, floods,landslides, earthquakes, snow avalanches and other natural hazards anddevelopearlywarningsystemsanddisasterresponseteams;

6. Identify mountain areas threatened by air pollution from neighbouringindustrialandurbanareas;

7. Create centres of informationonmountain ecosystems, including expertiseonsustainableagricultureandconservationpracticeswherepeoplecanturnforhelpinlearningaboutsustainablemountaindevelopment.

Conclusion Maintainingresilienceinmountainecosystemsistheprimaryobjectiveofadaptationstrategies for protecting wildlife and habitats. Activities that conserve biologicaldiversity,reducefragmentationanddegradationofhabitat,andincreasefunctionalconnectivity among habitat fragments will increase the ability of mountainecosystems to resist anthropogenic environmental stresses, including climatechange.



19.IdentifythemostpollutedstretchesoftheGangaanditstributaries.Whatarethefactorscontributingtothemassivepollutionalongthesestretches?Discuss. Introduction TheGangarisesonthesouthernslopesoftheHimalayanrangesfromtheGangotriglacierat4,000mabovemeansealevel.ItoccupiesauniquepositionintheculturalethosofIndia. It isoneofthelargestwaterdrainsoftheworld,denselypopulatedandiscriticalformillionsofpeople’shealth,prosperity,andspiritualitylivinginthenorthern part of India.While the severity of ecological stress is clear since sometime, the diversity and sheer immensity of the Ganga tributary system makesgeneralizationdifficult. Body In the recent past, due torapid progress incommunications andcommerce,therehasbeenaswift increase in the urbanareasalongtheriverGanga. As a result, the river is nolonger only a source ofwater but is also a channel,receiving and transportingurbanwastesawayfromthetowns. Today, one third ofthe country's urbanpopulationlivesinthetownsoftheGangabasin.

• Thepurityofthewaterdependsonthevelocityandthedilutioncapacityoftheriver.AlargepartoftheflowoftheGangaisabstractedforirrigationjustas itenterstheplainsatHaridwar.Fromthereitflowsasatrickleforafewhundred kilometres until Allahabad, from where it is recharged by itstributaries.

• TheGangareceivesover60percentofitsdischargefromitstributaries.Thecontributionofmostof thetributaries tothepollution load issmall,exceptfromtheGomti,DamodarandYamunarivers.

• Data fromthepast threeCPCBreports,carryingwaterpollutionmonitoringfigures on different stretches during 2002-17, shows that the number ofpollutedriverstretchesinthecountryincreasedfrom121in2009to302in2015andfurtherto351in2018.

• WithregardstoGanga,onlyoneofitsfivepollutedstretchesisinthecriticalcategorywheretheBODlevel ismorethan30mg/l.Thisstretchwasfound



whereVaruna river, aminor tributary,meetsGanga inVaranasi. Theotherpolluted stretches includeHaridwar-Sultanpur, Kannauj-Kanpur (UP),Buxar-Bhagalpur(Bihar)andTribeni-DiamondHarbour(WestBengal).

TheprincipalsourcesofpollutionoftheGangarivercanbecharacterisedasfollows:

1. Domesticandindustrialwastes-Ithasbeenassessedthatmorethan80percent of the total pollution load (in terms of organic pollution expressed asbiochemicaloxygendemand (BOD)) arises fromdomestic sources, i.e. fromthesettlementsalongtherivercourse.

2. Solidgarbagethrowndirectlyintotheriver.3. Non-point sourcesofpollution fromagricultural run-off containing residues

ofharmfulpesticidesandfertilisers.4. Animalcarcassesandhalf-burnedandunburnedhumancorpsesthrowninto

theriver.5. Defecationonthebanksbythelow-incomepeople.6. Massbathingandritualisticpractices.7. Due to over-abstraction of water for irrigation in the upper regions of the

river,thedryweatherflowhasbeenreducedtoatrickle.8. Rampantdeforestationinthelastfewdecades,resultingintopsoilerosionin

thecatchmentarea,hasincreasedsiltdepositswhich,inturn,raisetheriverbedand leadtodevastatingfloods intherainyseasonandstagnantflow inthedryseason.

• Cleaning of river Gangawas started under Ganga Action Plan (GAP). GAP-I

was launched in 1985 followed by GAP-II in 1993 with the objective ofimproving the water quality of river Ganga. These schemes were latermergedwithotherschemesofNationalRiverConservationPlan(NRCP).

• GovernmentofIndiaissupplementingtheeffortsofthestategovernmentsinaddressing the pollution of river Ganga by providing financial assistance tothe states. Namami Gange Programme is an umbrella programme whichintegratespreviousandcurrentlyongoinginitiativesbyenhancingefficiency,extracting synergies and supplementing themwithmore comprehensive &bettercoordinatedinterventions.

Conclusion RiverGangahas captured Indian’s imagination since time immemorial. The river isbelieved bymillions of Indians to have the capacity to wash away one’s sins andpurifythelivingandthedead.SuchisthepoweroftheGangathateveryregioninIndiahasitsownsmallGanga.TheseshowcasetheneedtosafeguardandpreservethefragileecosystemoftheriverGangaanditstributaries. 20. What are the manmade factors leading to the melting of ice in the Arcticregion? Do you think exploration of the Arctic region for resources isenvironmentally sustainableinthelongrun?Comment.



Introduction Accordingtoarecentstudy,thesteadymeltofglacialicearoundtheworldislargelydue to man-made factors, such as greenhouse-gas emissions and aerosols wherehumanshavecausedroughlyaquarteroftheglobe'sglaciallossbetween1851and2010, and about 69 percent of glacial melting between 1991 and 2010.Consequently, the arctic region has been themost affected regionwith regard tomeltingofice. Body

• Arcticseaicehasbeenrapidlydecliningsincesatellitesfirststartedtrackingitin1979,andaccording toNASA, roughly13.3percentof the icedisappearseverydecade.Further,aircurrentsthatareapartofEarth'snaturalvariabilityhaveplayedasignificantroleinmeltingtheice,whichhelpsexplainwhytheearliermodelshaveunderestimatedthemelting.

• Inthisregard,themanmadefactorsformeltingoficeinthearcticregioncanbeseenfrombelow:

a) Burningoffossilfuels-Theburningoffossilfuelshasresultedinthebuild-upofgreenhousegasesintheenvironmentthusinfluencingthewarmingtrendbecausetheytrapheat intheatmosphere.Researchshowsthatglaciers/icecover are capable of absorbing about 20%of heat from the sun, reflectingback the remaining80%.The increase in temperatures is causingmoreandmoreglaciersandicecovertomelt,consequently,thisendsupexposingtheearthunderneath.

b) Oil andgasdrilling - Theoil andgasextractionprocessalsoemitMethane,whichisthemainconstituentinnaturalgas.Plus,thegasismoredamagingtotheenvironmentthancarbondioxide,lockinginheatmoreefficientlyandescalatingglobalwarming.Inrecenttimes,theseindustrieshaveincreasedinarcticregion.

c) Deforestation - Trees play a very important function in balancing theecosystemandtheoverallcoolingoftheplaner.Perhaps,thatiswhytheyarecalled the planet’s “natural fans”. So, cutting down trees to create morespace for human activities is actually proving detrimental to theenvironmentalbalanceintheregion.

d) Icebreakingships-Duringthemonthsofsummer,icebreakingshipsheadtothe north into theArcticOcean, breaking through the ice at sea, the shipsendupleavingtrailsofopenwaters.TheArcticseaiceisabletoreflectmostof the heat thus aiding in keeping the Arctic and the rest of the NorthernHemispherecool.

• A recent study found that if the world warms 2 degrees Celsius overpreindustrialtimes—theloftygoalslaidoutintheParisclimateagreement—there is still a 39 percent chance that the Arctic summer sea ice willdisappear.Further,very little industrialdevelopmenthas takenplace in theArcticregionandtherearefearsabouttheimpactontheenvironmentif–asexpected–humanuseacceleratesfast.



• As the Arctic warms, increased political interest in the region is occurring,driven by the belief that it will become accessible to greater commercialactivity.Globalwarming is openingup theArcticOcean to transit by ships,whichcancuteast-westvoyagetimesbyone-third.Warmerweatherallowsoilandminingcompaniestotapintopreviouslyinaccessiblenewreserves.

• Themeltingofsea ice isprogressivelyopeningopportunitiestonavigateonroutes through Arctic waters. This could considerably shorten trips fromEuropetoPacific,saveenergy,reduceemissions,promotetradeanddiminishpressure in the main trans-continental navigation channels. But concernsregardingthissuchasdriftice,lackofinfrastructureandenvironmentalrisks,neverthelessstillremain.

• The impact of oil and gas exploration in the Arctic region include threatslikenoise pollution, water dispersal in the drilling phase and the actualdrillingprocesswhichcanreleaseoilandchemicals intothewater.Further,thetransportofoilandgasintheArcticregionbytankerandpipelineposessevereproblemsofenvironmentimpacts.

• Long-lasting consequences often persist through industrial waste, tailings,and environmental contaminants. At sea, oil spills are the largest potentialenvironmentalthreat.Theyaredifficulttocontrolandcanspreadover100s–1000sunnoticeablyharmingtheecosystems.

• Arctic ecosystems are simple in structure, but often have long food chainswhichlinkbothterrestrialandmarineecosystems.Here,Anumberofspeciescanbeaffectedby therise in temperatureand its results.This ranges fromfish stock in theArcticOceanwhich is sensitive to the ocean temperature,even small can result in major shifts in the geographical locations andproductivityinthestock.

• Another factor that can magnify the problem is the lack of emergencyresponsecapabilityformitigatingpollutionandsavinglivesintheeventofanaccident. Hence, the opening up of new opportunities becomes a hugechallengetothearcticcommunitiesinbothpositiveandnegativeways.

Conclusion The arctic environment is largely unspoiled but human actions including globalwarmingarehavinga rapid impact.Thereare fears thatdiminishingarctic sea ice,which isoneof theEarth'swaysofdeflectingheat fromthesun, isshrinking.Onlythrough approaching the tasks collaboratively will it be possible to find lastingsolutions, so international cooperation becomes essential in having a sustainablearcticenvironmentinthefuture. 21.Examinetheadverseimpactsofexcessivesandminingontheriverecosystem. Introduction Sandmining is apractice that is used toextract sand, fromvariousenvironments,such as beaches, inland dunes and dredged from ocean beds, and river beds of



deltaicregions.Today,demandforsandandgravelcontinuestoincrease.By2020,1.4billion tonnesof sandwill be required in India. Sandmining is thusa lucrativebusiness and fuels illegal extraction. Illegal and unscientific sandmining is turningouttobeoneofthebiggestecologicaldisastersinmodernIndia. Body

• Sandisvitalforsustenanceofrivers.Riversupportsanextraordinaryarrayofspecies,manyofwhichareunder threatdue tohabitatdestruction.Duringthe past 3-4 decades, river systems of the world have been alteredsignificantly due to indiscriminate sand mining. Sand mining has manydeleteriousdirectandindirecteffectsonthephysical,chemicalandbiologicalenvironmentsofriversystems.

• Excessive sand mining can alter the river bed, force the river to changecourse, erode banks and lead to flooding. It also destroys the habitat ofaquatic animals and micro-organisms besides affecting groundwaterrecharge.

• Depletion of sand in the streambed and along coastal areas causes thedeepeningofriversandestuaries,andtheenlargementofrivermouthsandcoastalinlets.Itmayalsoleadtosaline-waterintrusionfromthenearbysea.The effect of mining is compounded by the effect of sea level rise. Anyvolumeofsandexportedfromstreambedsandcoastalareasisalosstotheriverecosystem.

• Sandminingdisturbstheequilibriumofariverchannelbecauseitinterceptsmaterial load moving within a dynamic system and triggers an initialmorphologicalresponsetoregainthebalancebetweensupplyandtransport.Channel widening causes shallowing of the streambed, producing braidedflow or subsurface inter-gravel flow in riffle areas, hinderingmovement offishbetweenpools.

• It is now widely realized that, in spite of the short term benefits, theindiscriminate sand mining from the rivers is detrimental to these lifesustaining systems, in the long run.Moreover, theeffectsof instreamsandmining may not be visible immediately because it requires continuousmonitoringandtakesadecadeormoretosurfaceandpropagatetheeffectsalongtheriverchannelinmeasurableunits.

• Mining which leads to the removal of channel substrate, resuspension ofstreambed sediment, clearance of vegetation, and stockpiling on thestreambed,will haveecological impacts. These impactsmayhaveaneffectonthedirectlossofstreamreservehabitat,disturbancesofspeciesattachedto streambed deposits, reduced light penetration, reduced primaryproduction,andreducedfeedingopportunities.

• Sand-and-gravelmining in stream channels can damage public and privateproperty. Channel incision caused by gravel mining can undermine bridgepiersandexposeburiedpipelinesandotherinfrastructure.

• Apart from threatening bridges, sandmining transforms the riverbeds intolarge and deep pits; as a result, the groundwater table drops leaving thedrinking water wells on the embankments of these rivers dry. Bed



degradation from instreammining lowers the elevation of streamflow andthefloodplainwatertablewhichinturncaneliminatewatertable-dependentwoody vegetation in riparian areas, and decrease wet periods in riparianwetlands.

• The problem is serious in the case of the rivers in the southwest coast ofIndia,especially inKerala,where the riversare smallwith limited riverbedresources.Atthesametime,theminingofsandisontherisetomeetitseverincreasingdemandintheconstructionsector.

• Guidelineson theextractionof sand say that theamountof sand removedshould be in proportion to its replenishment rate and river width. Miningfromabraidedchannelwithawidefloodplainwillhavelessimpactthanfromanarrowchannel.Manualminingispreferredovertheuseofmachinesbutenforcementandmonitoringoftheseguidelinesremainweak.

• A few states are exploring options like manufactured sand, produced bycrushingofrocksandquarrystones,tomeettheever-increasingdemandoftheconstructionindustry.Thenewsandminingframeworksuggeststheuseofgeo-fencing,andGPS-enabledtransportationtocheckillegalmining.Pricecontrol, the involvement of women self-help groups and regular audits ofsandreserveshavealsobeenrecommended.

Conclusion Sandsustainstheriversandthepercolationofwatertofaroffdistancesbothforthegrowthoftreestosustaindrinkingwaterandraisecultivation.Itisalmostalifelineto thehumanexistence.Thenation is toadvance industrially andeconomicallybythe proper development and exploitation of these resources. It has to berememberedthatthesandonceremovedcannotbereplacedinthenextgenerationasittakescenturiesforreplacement. 22.Odisha’spromptnessandeffectivenessinmitigatingcyclonesmakesitamodel statedisastermanagement.Elucidate. Introduction Learning its lessons from the super-cyclone of 1999which claimed 10,000 lives inOdisha, theeastern statehas,over theyears,emergedasa rolemodel indisasterpreparedness.Withdecadesofpositiveinterventionbythegovernment,civilsocietygroups, and NGOs, the state has received praise from numerous national andinternationalorganization’s,includingtheUnitedNations. Body

• In the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, one of the worst cyclones to hit India’seastern coastline, Odisha had proved it is one of the most disaster-readystates intheworld. InpreparationforCycloneFani,Odishacarriedout‘one



ofthebiggesthumanevacuationsinhistory,’withmorethanamillionpeopleevacuatedinto9,000sheltersin24hours.

• According to UN, Odisha's zero casualty approach to managing extremeweathereventsisamajorcontributiontotheimplementationoftheSendaiFramework(fordisasterriskreduction)andthereductionoflossoflifefromsuchevents.

• TheOdishaStateDisasterManagementAuthority (OSDMA)wasestablishedin1999,muchbeforetheDisasterManagementActwaspassedin2005,andthe National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was constituted in2001. OSDMA was the first disaster management authority centerestablishedinIndia,orperhapstheworld,givenitsscaleofoperations.

• Eventoday,Odisha,alongwithAssam,Gujarat,andBihararetheonlystateswith active State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs). These stateshave their own offices,management, and staff. Inmost states, SDMAs arestill being run out of the State Revenue Department Office, which is atemporaryarrangement

Evenmore recently, CycloneBulbul in 2019 highlighted howOdisha hasmastereddisastermanagement–withlessonsforotherdisaster-pronecitiesandstates.Inthisregard,lessonsindisasterreliefforthecountryinclude:

1. Resilient infrastructure (cyclone shelters) - The Odisha State DisasterMitigation Authority (OSDMA), a constituent of the state government,designed some 800multipurpose cyclone and flood shelters in the coastaldistricts in association with the Institute of Information Technology (IIT)Kharagpur.

2. Autonomous disaster-management authority - The Odisha DisasterManagement Authority (ODMA) was set up as an autonomous body tocombat emergency situations during disasters. It has proven to be highlyeffectiveasthestateisnolongerdependentoncentralgovernmentandcanactquickly.

3. Technology-MillionsofSMSmessagesweresentoutbyLocationBasedAlertSystem (LBAS) and Group Based Alert System (GBAS) to warn people. The"SATARK" (System for Assessing, Tracking and Alerting Disaster RiskInformation based on Dynamic Risk Knowledge) of Odisha State DisasterManagementAuthority(OSDMA)haswontheITExcellenceAward,2019forits innovative conception by using information technology in the field ofdisastermanagement.

4. Preparedness-OdishahasrecentlyimplementeditsambitiousEarlyWarningDissemination System (EWDS). Using the mechanism, OSDMA can activatesirens across 122 towers operational across the state’s 480 km coastline,alertingthepopulationatthepressofasinglebutton.

5. EmpoweringCommunity-Empoweringthecommunityhasbeenabiggame-changer.All vulnerable regions inOdishahave activeCycloneManagementCentre’s,whicharecommunity-basedorganizationswith the localSarpanchas the president. Community is the first point of contact for rescue andpreparedness.Odishahasmanaged to create a senseof communityduringsuch disasters that other states can also emulate. Cyclone evacuation is a



social process, and people’s decision to evacuate depends on how theyperceivetheriskfromthewarningmessage.

6. Future preparedness - Odisha has raised 20 units of Odisha Disaster RapidAction Force (ODRAF), comprised of highly trained personnel with multi-disaster tackling capabilities. They are trained in tackling floods, buildingcollapses,cyclones,biologicalandnucleardisasters.Odishaplanstocreateanetwork of weather forecasting Doppler radars across the state. Odisha’sfocus in disaster management and risk reduction now includes a broaderrangeofpotentialhazards,includingtheimpactsofclimatechange.

Atthesametime,theGovernmentofOdishacertainlyneedstothinkaboutinvestingincreatingsaferhousingespecially inthecoastal regions,and increatingelectricalsystems that are underground. This will not only help minimize the need forevacuation, but also save on the systematic investments that are made whenhouseholdassetsarelostduringadisaster. Conclusion Disaster is dynamic, and with the climate change situation, the intensity andfrequencyofdisastersischanging.Inthefuture,suchextremeeventsarepredictedtohitcoastalareaswithmoreintensityduetoclimatechange,andthisnecessitatesthatgovernmentsaddresssocio-economicproblemsalongwithcycloneadaptationprogrammestomakedisastermanagementmoreeffective. 23.Whatarepublichealthdisasters?Whatarethemostcommonmeasuresto Addresssuchdisasters?Explain. Introduction Peopleacrosstheworldarefacedwithawideanddiverserangeofrisksassociatedwith Public health disasters. These comprise infectious disease outbreaks, naturalhazards, unsafe food and water, chemical and radiation incidents, antimicrobialresistance,theeffectsofclimatechange,andothersourcesofrisk. Body: Developmentssuchasclimatechange,unplannedurbanization,populationgrowth,migration and state fragility are increasing the frequency, severity and impacts ofmanytypesofpublichealthdisastersthroughouttheworld. India has faced many public health disasters in recent cases of Nipah, Zika,ChikungunyaandAvianInfluenzaoutbreakalongwithJapaneseEncephalitisamongchildreninBihar. MostcommonresponsetoPublicHealthdisaster:



• RiskAssessment:Amulti-disciplinarycentralteamfromtheNationalCentrefor Disease Control to investigate and respond, in close coordination withstategovernmentofficials.

• Emergencypreparedness:Syndromicsurveillanceenhancement.Hospitalandcommunity surveillance strengthening. Involvement of national testinglaboratories likeNational Institute of Virology conducted laboratory testingtoconfirmandruleoutcases.

• Response and Recovery: Specific guidelines such as case definitions;guidelinesforhospitalinfectionpreventionandcontrol;guidelinesforsamplecollectionand transportation; clinicalmanagementguidelines for suspectedand confirmed cases; guidelines for safe disposal of dead bodies; andinformation for the general public and for health care personnel. Riskcommunication messages to the community, public, partners and otherstakeholders.

• Training and capacity building for health care personnel in the followingareas: sample collection and transportation; safe disposal of dead bodies;contact tracing; hospital waste management; hospital infection preventionandcontrol;andtheuseofpersonalprotectiveequipment.

• Multisectoral andmultidisciplinary approach: The government coordinationamongstall relevantsectors includingzoonoses,wildlife,animalhusbandry,humanhealth,clinicians,pulmonologists,neurologists,biologistsandprivatesector.

• DiseaseSurveillancesystemwithcommoncontrolroom:TheStrategicHealthOperations Centre (SHOC) at the National Centre for Disease Control tomonitortheoutbreak.

Themanagementoftheserisksisvitaltoprotectpeople’shealthfromemergenciesandhealth disasters, to ensure local, national and global health security, to attainUHCandtobuildtheresilienceofcommunities,countriesandhealthsystems. Conclusion Preparedness measures are necessary to deal in emergencies of public healthdisasters. It is important for implementing the SDGs, including the pathway toUniversalHealthCoverageandtarget3dto“strengthenthecapacityofallcountries,inparticulardevelopingcountries,forearlywarning,riskreductionandmanagementofnationalandglobalhealthrisks.”24.Areyouawareoftheterm‘urbannaxal’?Isitamererhetoricorithassome substance?Criticallycomment. Introduction ThephraseofUrbanNaxals,whichisnotclearlydefined,islooselyattributedtothepeoplewithnaxalitebentofmindresidinginurbanareasandworkingasactivists,supportersandprotectorsoftheideologywhiletheactiveNaxalsbattleitoutinthe



junglesandvastswathesofMaoist-dominatedareas.But in recent times,anybodyraising strong questions against the government is being perceived as an urbannaxal,whichisaveryseriousmalice. Body

• Theconceptof“urbanNaxalism”referstoanoldMaoistsstrategy tofocuson urban centres for leadership, organisemasses, build a united front andengage in military tasks such as providing personnel, material andinfrastructure.

• A 2004 Communist Party of India (Maoist) document titled “UrbanPerspective” elaborates on this strategy with one of the most importantfocus areas being on gaining leadership from urban areas. In relation, thesecurityestablishmentbelievesthatwithageingleadershiptheMaoistshavebeenlookingatcitiesandtownsforleaders.

• TheroleoftheUrbanMovementwithinthemilitarystrategyoftheMaoistshas beenbest explainedbyMao Tse Tung thus: “the final objective of therevolution is the capture of the cities, the enemy’s main bases and thisobjectivecannotbeachievedwithoutadequateworkinthecities”.

• The security establishment add that the CPI (Maoist) give immenseimportance to its ‘urban movement’ not just for the leadership, but forproviding supplies, technologies, expertise, informationand logistic supportbyovergroundactivists.

• The main focus of the Maoists’ urban work is to organise the masses,including theworking class, students,middle class employees, intellectuals,women, dalits and religiousminorities. It explains the need to create frontorganisationsforextendingthereachoftheorganisation.

• Another key point is that while focussing on the organised sector, it alsohighlightstheneedtomobilisetheunorganisedsegmentaswell.Itaddsthatthe urban movement should involve sending cadres to the countryside,supplying arms and ammunition, infiltrating enemy ranks and sabotageactions.

• Here,theMaoistsseemtobeactingonalong-termperspectiveplan.Intheirschemeofthings,theyhopetogaincontrolovertheworkingclassmovementanduseitappropriatelyatalaterstagewhentheirsocalledNewDemocraticRevolutionadvancesandfurthers.

• Intheimmediatetoshort-term––accordingtoaninternaldocumentoftheCPI(Maoist)––theobjectiveistogaincontroloverkey(strategic)industriessuchascommunication,oilandnaturalgas,coal,transport,power,defenceproduction,etcwithaview to inflicting ‘damage’on thestate’s capacity tofight the rebels, either through organising sabotage activities or bringingproductiontoahalt.

• But at the same time, over thepast fewyears, some commentators in thecountryhavebeenfrequentlyusingtheterm“UrbanNaxal”tolabelanyone–fromacademicstoactivists–whoquestionsthepoliciesofthestateorareperceived to be anti-establishment. These commentators say that these



activists are covertly aiding thosewho areworking to break India, such asNaxalitesandKashmiriseparatists.

• According to the present narrative, ‘Urban Naxals’ are a group of peopletrying to destroy all that is Indian by encouraging “Breaking India” forcessuch as the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and foreign-fundedChristian missionaries. It does not matter that there is little evidence tosupportanysuchclaim.

• ThedemonisationofactivistsismoredangerousinIndiabecausetheStateisseentobeusingsuchrhetorictojustifyitsexcesses.Inthiscontext,manyLeft-leaning activists have been wrongly linked with Naxals, while most ofthemareananathematotheinsurgents.

• Suchanapproach is in turn leading to giving an upper hand to insurgentsas it perpetuates amyth about their spread andmight, something that isessential for an undergroundwarrior and also pushes students, academics,etctowardstheircauseduetoconstanthoundingas“urbannaxals”.

Conclusion Naxalmovementisnotanentirelyinternalsecurityissue.Thefactorsforitsspreadarestillpresenteveninurbanareas,whichneedtobecontrolled.Atthesametime,topaintovertandpeacefulpolitical rebellionsasNaxalism isbad tactic, apoliticalandmoralblunder,whichshouldbeavoided.Rather,thegovernmentshouldfocusoncurtailingthepropagandaoftherealMaoists. 25.Howcan skill developmentandpromotionof rural entrepreneurshipaddressthe challengeofNaxalisminthetribalpocketsofIndia?Examine. Introduction TheMaoistproblemhasbeenidentifiedbymanyexpertsandleaders,includingthePrimeMinister,as themost serious internal security challenge that thecountry isfaced with. In this regard, improved governance and effective implementation ofdevelopment schemes, in the form of skill development, can help overcome thechallengeofNaxalism. Body

• TheMaoist/Naxalmovement in India is among the longest andmost lethalhomegrown insurgencies that theworld has seen.While theorigin of Left-WingExtremism(LWE)inIndiagoesbacktotheTelanganapeasantrebellion(1946-51),themovementtooktheyoungrepublicbystormin1967.

• Itwasformedtofightforthecauseofpeasantsandthelandless,thearmedmilitia launched a series of daring attacks, assassinations and bombingstargeting landlords, upper-caste leaders andpoliticians. Themovementhasseen many periods of ups and downs where its spread across IndiaprogressivelyincreasedintothetribalregionsofcentralIndia.



Map - Currentspread of CPI-Maoist

• Toaddress issuesofeducationandemployment inMaoistaffectedregions,the Ministry of Skills Development & Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) launchedtwonewschemes,namely,‘SkillDevelopment in47LWEaffecteddistricts’and ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)’ for creatinginfrastructure and providing employment linked skill training to youth inaffectedareas.

• Further, undertaking “Skill Development Programme”, which includes in-house training, aimed at equipping tribal youth to acquire the necessaryknowledge,skillandproficiencyintheoperationofMine/Planttohelptheminseekingemploymentcanhelpinattractingtheyouth.

• Paying appropriate stipend during the period of the programme and offerfree/subsidized breakfast, lunch, uniforms, tool kits, etc along withestablishment of ITI/ Polytechnic Colleges exclusively for tribal youthproviding entire infrastructure facilities, including residential quarters andhostelbuildings forstudents, todevelop local talentsuitingtotheneedsoftheindustry.

• Thesemeasures can help towards leaning away the tribal youth from theclutches of naxalites as many analysts have shown that in the absence ofviable employment opportunities, youth tend to take up arms. Also tribalyouthformthefoot soldiersofNaxal/Maoistmovementwhere ideologicalmotivationsareminimum.

• SuchanapproachcanbeseentohavesucceededinAndhraPradeshwherethe core component of the counter-insurgency strategywaswhat is called“winninghearts andminds”: cuttingdown the influenceof theMaoistsbyundertaking development and good-governance measures to address thegrievances of the civilian population sympathetic to the insurgent cause,includingthetribalcommunities.

• TheAndhraPradeshstatesucceededinstampingoutleft-wingextremismbycombiningpoliceactionwithsocio-economic programmes implementedbyaneffectiveservicedeliverymechanism.

• In present times too, at the national level such an approach has helped incontrollingtheNaxalmovement.Thechartclearlyshowsit.



Chart - Rapid decline inMaoist-relatedfatalities

Conclusion After many years of indifference, half-steps and ad hoc measures, both India’scentral and state governments have found their foothold against the Maoistinsurgencythatatitspinnaclemayhaveseemedinvincible.ThisseemstohavebeenpossibleduetoIndianstate’scombinedbothpopulation-centricandenemy-centricapproaches in dealing with the Maoist insurgency where skilling tribal youth isplayinganimportantrole. 26.TheChina-Pakistanaxis isageo-strategicandsecurityheadachefor India.Doyouagree?Substantiate. Introduction: ThenaviesofChinaandPakistanheldtheirsixthbilateralnavalexercise, titledSeaGuardians-2020,inthenorthernArabianSea.Suchmilitaryexercisesareexpectedtostrengthensecuritycooperationbetweenthetwocountries,whoarealready“ironbrothers.” The growing bonhomie between China-Pakistan is beyond symbolismrequireIndiatoadoptmorevigilantandcautiousapproach. Body: The China-Pakistan axis has many underlying principles explained by SamuelHuntingtonassinic-islamistallianceofpowerandculturealongwithtraditionalanti-Indiasynergies. ChallengesposedbyChina-Pakistanaxisatgeostrategichorizon:

• China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: China is using Indian land area illegallyoccupied by Pakistan violating sovereignty of India. Though China alwaysmaintainedJammuandKashmirisabilateralissue,Indiahasconcernsoverthe internationalization of the Kashmir issue, reflected in criticism ofremovalofarticle370.

• StringofPearls:GwadarportofPakistancanbecomeoutpost forPLAnavyeventually alongwithmassive port development surrounding India in Sri-



Lanka, Bangladesh.Growing influence of China in the IndianOceanmajorcauseofworryforIndia.

• AfghanistanPeaceprocess:ChinaandPakistanworkinginclosecooperationto bring Taliban to table and exclude India from the political solution inAfghanistan, which will undermine Indian efforts, infrastructure andinvestmentsinAfghanistan.

• Threats to Indian interests overseas: China consistently blocking India’smembership inNuclear SupplierGroupat thehasteofPakistan, first time‘informalconsultations’onIndia-Pakistandisputeafter1971duetoChineseinitiative.

Securityheadache: • Nuclear terrorism:ChinaandPakistanbeingnuclear stateson thenorthern

and western border make India country with one of the most hostileneighborswithPakistan, IndiahasunresolvedKashmir issueandwithChinaIndiadonothavemutuallyagreedboundarysettlement. Itnecessities Indiatodevelopresilientsecurityapparatus.

• Proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Punjab: Pakistan hascontinuously tried to destabilize India internally, with support toseparatists.

• Moral support and Training to North-east militancy groups and Left wingextremism: China in the post provided safe havens, arms and training tonortheastmilitantgroupsandmoralsupporttoleftwingextremism.

• RadicalizationandFundamentalism:Pakistanhasbeenthecenterof Islamicfundamentalismand terrorismof theworld. It has indulged inmany terrorattacks on Indian cities and China supported Pakistan in UN repeatedlyreflectedinrepeatedtechnicalholdtodesignateJeMheadMassodAzharasterroristwhoeventuallydeclaredsowithconsistentdiplomaticefforts.

IndianresponsetoChina-PakistanAxis:

• Indiahas takenstrongactionagainstbothChinaandPakistan in the recentpastwithborderstand-offwithChinaindock-lamandsurgicalstrikeandairstrikeinPakistan.

• IndiarefusedtoparticipateinBeltandRoadInitiativeofChinabecomingtheonlymajoreconomy.

• IndiaincreasedStrategicrelationshipwithUSreflectedinthedevelopmentofQuadtocounterChina.

• India’sproactivediplomacyinWestAsiahasdentedsupporttoPakistanfromIslamicworld.

However, India has experienced the similar challenge in the US-Pakistan axis formorethanfivedecadewhicheventuallybecameblurwiththeconsistenteffortsofIndiandiplomacy,economicmightandchangingglobalorder. Conclusion: India cannot have idealistic view of China as if the economic interest in Indiawilldominate the geostrategic and security ambitions vis-e-vis relationshipwith India.



Indianapproach shouldbe todevelopmoredeep relationshipwithChina tomakePakistanmore responsible stateandat the same time focusonbuildingeconomicpowerandstrategicalliancesacrosstheglobetoincreasedeterrence. 27.Thegiants in the fieldof internetandsocialmedia likeGoogle,Amazon,andFacebooketcarebasedoutofIndia.HowdoesitposeasecuritythreattoIndia? Introduction: Socialmedia has emerged as one of the national security concern in India duringAssam riots andmass exodus of northeast Indian frommajor Indian cities to therecent violent student protests and mob lynching incidents in India. It has beenobserved that foreign base of internet and social media giants pose challenge toefficientmonitoringanddeterrenceagainstsecuritythreatstoIndia. Body: IndiahasfacedmanysecurityissueswiththeuseofSocialMediainrecentpastlikerioting, lynching, recruitment for terror organization and radicalization byfundamentalgroup. SecuritythreatsduetooutofIndiaInternetandSocialMediagiants:

• Indian laws are ill-equipped to deal with social media giants due to theirlocation. At most India can only censure the giants and ask cooperation,takinghastystepstobansuchmultinationalslikeChinawaywilldentIndia’simageasvibrantdemocracyandliberaleconomy.

• Indianeitherhas technology infrastructurenorsufficientablemanpowertocategoriesprivate,sensitivedataofIndiansandcontroloutwardflow.

• Indian data highways are outward directed due to exponential increase ofsocialmedia usewithmore than one billionmobile phones and increasingdigital inclusion create threat of profiling Indian citizen data for variouspurposeslikeeconomicandsocialbehaviorofIndiabyforeigncountry.

• MajorComplicatingFactors tosecurethenetworksandMediaMuchof thehardware and software that make up the communications ecosystem issourcedexternally.

• EndtoEndencryptionusedinphonestosendandreceivemessages,restrictsthegovernment’sabilitytomonitorandincreasesthethreatofterrorismandcrimesoftrafficking,smuggling.

• Open source intelligence creation for foreign intelligence networks withoptimalprocessing.

However,Indiahastakenvariousmeasurestoincreasesurveillanceandmonitoringsuchas–NationalIntelligenceGrid(NATGRID),NationalCyberCoordinationCentre(NCCC) of India. It has also appointed BN Srikrishna Committee to review dataprotectioninIndia. NeedtofollowprincipleofDataLocalization:



• AsperBNSrikrishnacommitteerecommendation,Personaldatawillneedtobestoredonservers locatedwithin India,andtransfersoutsidethecountrywill need to be subject to safeguards. Critical personal data, however, willonlybeprocessedinIndia.

• Crossborder transferofdatamustbesubject tomodelcontractclausesonthelinesofGeneralDataProtectionRegulationofEU.

Conclusion: There is need to increase digital literacy of Indians and increase awareness aboutpotential threatsposedbycybersecuritytoboth individualandnationasawhole.Indiashouldfocusitsenergyondevelopmentofcriticaltechnologiestomonitordataflowandbecomepioneerinnewtechnologydevelopmentwitheconomiccapacitytoestablishitsownsocialmediaandinternetgiants. 28.Whatrolecanthemediaplayinstrengtheningtheinternalsecurityecosystem? Suggest. Introduction Internal security, a subset of national security, is concerned with threats andchallengesemanatingfromwithinacountryandhasthepotentialtothreatenpublicorder and national security. It has beenwell documented thatmassmedia posesinternal security challenges throughvariousmeans suchas terrorismwhichmakesfutureofnationuncertain. Body “Themediaisthemostpowerfulentityonearth.Theyhavethepowertomaketheinnocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power, because theycontrolthemindsofthemasses.” —MalcolmX1,anAfricanAmericanHumanRightsActivist.

• India faces intense internal turbulence and disturbances due to rebellionmovements,ethnicconflictsandreligiousfundamentalism.AccordingtotheIndian Constitution, “Public Order” and “Police” figure as entries 1 and 2respectively in theStateList in theSeventhSchedulewhereas theunionorcentralgovernmentcanexercisesimilarpowersonlyintheUnionTerritories.

• Our Constitution emphasizes an active and independent media which ishighly maintained on the ideals of freedom of speech and expression ascontainedinArticle19oftheIndianframework,andwhichallowstheIndianjournalists to be spontaneous activists in the overall governance of thecountry.

• Mediaroleininternalsecuritycanbeanalyzedfromtheprismofnews,viewsand issues. How it presents them to the populace can help either instrengtheningorweakeningthebasicsof internalsecurity. Intheglobalized



world ithas tostrikeabalancebetweenpeople's right toknowontheonesideandnationalsecurityandsocialethicsontheother.

• The Indian media also continues to provide channels of communication,helpingtoeducate,informandexchangeinformationbetweenthepublicanditsGovernment.Thus,theabilitytoinfluencetheattitudesandbehaviourofcountriesandtheirpolicieshashelpedtheGovernmenttoinitiateitsnationalstrategicgoalsthroughanintegrated,coordinatedandcombinedmediathatactsasatoolandchannelforinformationdisseminationandenlightenment.

• Themainstream Indianmedia reflects the distinct differences of its peopleandthoughtsbysupportingandcateringtotwotypesofmediaoutletsandaudience: theEnglish languagemedia and thenon-English languagemedia,including various newspapers, magazines and television channels, therebyupholdingthedifference inexpressionandperspectivesof itsmulti-culturalpopulation,andshowcasingthetrueessenceofIndia.

• To elaborate on the relation between media and its role in safeguardingnational security there are a number of exampleswhere Indianmedia hasportrayed an effective role in providing information to the public, andconfirmingtheactionsofthegovernmentontheissuesofnationalsecurity.In August 1999, Pakistan Navy’s Naval Air Arm Breguet Atlantique patrolplanewasshotdownbytheIndianAirforceforviolatingIndianairspaceasitwasflyingclosetotheIndianborderofftheRannofKutchinGujarat.

• In this case, the Indian media’s support for its country and the timelyinformation that it provided to the domestic and international audience,helpednotonlytheIndianpublicbutalsotheforeignmediagraspthegroundsituation,whichinturn,influencedthejudgmentoftheICJagainstPakistan.

• Further, many times, the media has brought out the reports of lapses ingovernments preparedness related to internal security and thus bringingaccountability.InIndia,themediahasplayedagreatroleinhighlightingtheissuesofhumanrightsviolationbysecurityforces,absenceoflatestarmsandtechnologies with police forces and thus creating a public opinion againstsuchlapses.

• IthashelpedinbuildingresilienceagainstanykindofeffortsbyISIStospreadrootsinIndiabycreatingapopularopinionagainstit.

• It has helped by giving a space for the dis-heartened people to vent theiranger.Thisalternativehashelpedinmaintenanceoflawandorderinagreatway.

• The Indian media’s role in influencing national and international publicopinionbyanalyzingandprovidingcoverageofworldwideeventshasgrownimmenselyduetothe24x7concept.Ithashelpedthemediaandjournaliststo play a greater role in influencing high level national and internationaldecision-making.

• But, in recent times because of proliferation of news channels and theirrivalrywithanotherforTRPinstancesofyellowjournalism,disseminationofunverified news and one sided information by some unscrupulous newschannelshaveemerged.Suchactionsofmediahavenegativeimpactonlongterminternalsecurity.



Conclusion In the 21st century, the States need to deal with other States and a variety ofsupranationalandNon-Stateactors.Itis,thereby,importantthatthemediaandtheinstitutions of security work together to educate the public, to understand thenationalsecuritypolicy,andalsoholdpolicymakerstoaccount. 29.Doyouthinkleftwingextremismhasgotfurtherstrengthenedbytheuseof Socialmedia?Criticallyexamine. Introduction AnumberofLeftWingExtremistoutfitshavebeenoperatingincertainremoteandpoorly connected pockets of the country for a few decades now. The Maoistinsurgency doctrine glorifies violence as the primary means to overwhelm theexistingsocio-economicandpolitical structures.This threathasamplified in recenttimesduetotheadventofsocialmedia. Body

• Turning away from their ancient method of handwritten letters andprehistoriccommunicationsystem, theLeftWingExtremists (LWE)arenowbecoming tech savvy. They are using social networking sites and moderncommunication systemsmore effectively so that they can reachout to thecommon people particularly to the urban and semi-urban population- theareawheretheLWEswanttoincreasetheirdomination.

• According to intelligence reports, the naxal groups are taking advantage ofcommunication channels which have become more sophisticated over aperiodoftime.Frommobilephones,terroristshavemovedontotheuseofsatellite phones, spoofed IDs and coded transactions over e-mail and chatsessions. Voice over Internet Protocol is also being extensively used tocommunicateacrosstheborder.

• LWE’shavebeenusingFacebookasanactivetoolforthepropagationoftheirideologies. This is an important observation as it goes on to show thatNaxaliteshavestartedusingtheInternetasamediumofpropagation.Thisisquiteworrisomeastheynowhaveaccesstoauserbaseofover400millionInternet users in India, which accounts for about 35% of the Indianpopulation.

• However, thereare severalother tools that LWEsuse to communicateandcoordinatebetterinanorderlyfashion.ThroughtheuseofencryptedinstantmessagingappssuchasSkypeorWhatsapp,theycansecurelycommunicatewith their fellow comrades regarding their plans and strategies for thebattlefieldwithoutbeingeasilytracked.

• Alternatively,theLWEscouldalsousedigitalmarketingstrategytosowfearamongst thepeople, somethingsimilar to the ISIS terroristgroup. ISISusedprovocative twitter hashtag campaign (#AllEyesOnISIS) to give an air of



inevitability to the loomingdestructionandatrocities as theymarched intothe Iraqi city of Mosul. Naxalites, in a similar fashion, can use similarprovocative,choreographedvideostocreateawayof intimidationandfearamongstthegeneralaudience.

• Inabid to reachout to commonpeople -particularly those living inurbanand semi-urbanareas - theRed rebelsaremakinguseof socialnetworkingsitesandtheinternet.ItisimportantforNaxalitestocreatetheircontentinthe English language to grab the attention of the urban and educatedpopulation.

• Atthesametime,Naxalsuseofthe internethasprovidedanalibiforotherforces inimical to causes of social justice to slander progressive thinkingactivists and people. Also, the reach and effectiveness of Naxals in use ofsocialmediahasbeendoubtedbymanyexperts.

Conclusion Consideringthepowerandreachofsocialmedia,publicmovementseveninthepasthavebeenstrengthenedandtheir reachhastranscendedgeographicalboundaries.While this might be put to some good use it might also be misused which issomethingtothinkabout.Naxalites’violentapproachhasnotbeenefficientintheirstruggletobeheard.Theiruseofsocialmediacanultimatelybeaturninggroundforthemtocreateamoreorganizedandcoordinatedmovementtoreachtheirgoals. 30.Hasdemonetizationbeenabletomakeadentinterroristfunding?Critically Examine. Introduction The central government had demonetized the high-value denomination notes in2016withobjectivestoeliminateblackmoney,curbinfusionandcirculationoffakenotes,createdeterrencetothefundingofterrorandleft-wingextremism,facilitatethe transition of the non-formal economy into a formal economy and boostdigitalization. Body

• The finance of terrorism in India follows a hybrid model, which includesterrorfundingfromwithinandbeyondthecountry’sborders.Terroristshaveemployedavarietyofformalandinformalchannelstofundtheiractivities.

• Sinceillegallyheldcashformsthemajorchunkofterroristfunding,aftertheDemonetization, most of the cash held with the terrorists turnedworthless.DemonetizationalsoledtoinstantextinguishmentofPak-printedhighqualityfakeIndiancurrencynotes.Italsoadverselyaffectedthehawalaoperators.

• While hawala cash transfers to terrorists and separatist elements based inKashmir,whichweremostly indenominationofRs500andRs1,000,have



come to an abrupthalt,Maoist groups, particularly in states likeBihar andJharkhand, are at pains to "convert" the extortion money that has beenstockedaspilesofcash.

• Thebiggercasualtyintermsofsheervolumeoffunds,however,isLeft-wingextremism. Intercepts of recent conversations among CPI(Maoist) leadersbased inBiharand Jharkhandshowthemdiscussing the fearof losing theirpilesofcashcollectedthroughextortionand'levy'.

• Thefinancialhitlikelytobetakenbyaterroristgroupiscloselylinkedwithitscashreserves,theabilitytoretainliquidityinabusinesswhereterrorgroupschoosetoinvestandtheeaseofreconvertingtheseassetsintoliquidmoney.

• Groups in Northeast India and the CPI (Maoist) operating in the Naxalaffected areas of the country are likely to be hit the most, as a largeproportion of their financial reserves aremore likely to have been held ascash. Further, investments in property will become relatively difficult toliquidateinordertorecreatefundsfororganizationalsupportmechanisms.

• In contrast, Pakistan and J&K based terror groups, while impacted, will beable to recuperate faster, as they are financed by the Pakistani state, richdonorsinWestAsia,voluntarycollectionsinPakistan,FICNordrugmoney.

• Noneofthesecanbeimpactedinthelongtermandtotheextentthatterrororganizations are unable to sustain themselves. However, the impact willcertainly be felt in the immediate and midterm future, wherein, the cashavailableforsustainingactivitieslikecivildisobedienceinKashmirValley,willbesuckedoutoftheterroreconomy.

• Twoofthemostvulnerablesectorsthathavetraditionallybeenexploitedforparking crime proceeds and black money is the property, and gems andjewelry market. These sectors have also been used for the temporaryinvestment of terror funds. Unless transactions are made transparent andreflectrealmarketvalue,blackmoneyandterrorfundswillcontinuetofindtheirwayintothesebusinesses.

• TheobjectiveofDemonetizationislinkedwithremovingunaccountedwealth(blackmoney), criminal proceeds (which is different fromblackmoney), aswellasFICNandIndiancurrencyhoardedanddistributedbyterroristgroups.There are different estimates of the percentage of cash within the overallshare of each of these three categories. However, irrespective of thepercentageofcash,itiscertainthatremovingamajorportionofcashalonewillnotresolveanyofthesechallenges.

• There is a need to take interlinked steps and it is only the sum of theseindividual initiativesthatcanimpactthelargerfightagainstthefinancingofterrorism.

Conclusion Demonetizationwasanimportantstepinthefightagainstthefinanceofterrorism.However, it should neither be the first nor the last, if the interlinked threats ofcorruption, crime and the finance of terrorism have to be controlled. Thesemustalsonotbeaddressedsimplywithindepartmentalandministerialsilos. Instead,anall-ofgovernmentapproachisimperativeifeachofthesechallengesistobemet.



31. Critically evaluate the institutional framework established to thwart cybersecuritythreatsinIndia. Introduction The digital economy today comprises 14-15% of India’s total economy, and istargetedtoreach20%by2024. Indiahasmorethan120recognized ‘datacenters’and clouds. These factors clearly necessitate a robust institutional framework tothwartcybersecuritythreatsandsecurethenationalcyberspace. Body

• Withmoreinclusionofartificialintelligence(AI),machinelearning(ML),dataanalytics, cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT), cyberspace willbecome a complex domain, giving rise to issues of a techno-legal nature.Sectors such as healthcare, retail trade, energy and media face advancedpersistentthreats(APTs).

• Further, incidents relating to data leakage, ransomware, ATM/credit cardsdenial of service, diversion of network traffic intrusion in IT systems andnetworksusingmalwarearealsoonrise.AttacksonembeddedsystemsandIoThavealsoregisteredasharpincreaseoflate.

• Currently, the Information Act, 2000 is the primary law for dealing withcybercrimeanddigitalcommerceinthecountry.TheActwasfirstformulatedin2000,andthenwasrevised in2008andcame into forceayear late.TheInformation Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2008 amended a number ofsectionsthatwererelatedtodigitaldata,electronicdevicesandcybercrimes.

• In this regard, the Government has taken several steps to prevent andmitigatecybersecurityincidents.Thesemeasuresandtheiranalysisinclude:

1. Establishment of National Critical Information Infrastructure ProtectionCentre (NCIIPC) for protection of critical information infrastructure in thecountry. Inadequate cyber security professionals available to partner withNCIIPCtocoverthewholesectorisoneofthemajordrawbacks.

2. All organizations providing digital services have been mandated to reportcybersecurityincidentstoCERT-Inexpeditiously.MorecoherenceisneededinCERToperationsforgreatereffectively.

3. CyberSwachhtaKendra (BotnetCleaningandMalwareAnalysisCentre)hasbeen launched for providing detection of malicious programmes and freetools to remove suchprogrammes. The reachof this initiativehasbeenanissuewhichneedstobetackledexpeditiously.

4. Issue of guidelines for Chief Information SecurityOfficers (CISOs) regardingtheir key roles and responsibilities for securing applications / infrastructureandcompliance.

5. Provisionforauditofthegovernmentwebsitesandapplicationspriortotheirhosting, and thereafter at regular intervals. Such measures need to beregularizedandinstitutionalized.



6. Empanelment of security auditing organizations to support and auditimplementationofInformationSecurityBestPractices.

7. Conducting cyber security mock drills and exercises regularly to enableassessment of cyber security posture and preparedness of organizations inGovernmentandcriticalsectors.

8. Conductingregulartrainingprogrammesfornetwork/systemadministratorsand Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) of Government and criticalsector organizations regarding securing the IT infrastructure andmitigatingcyber-attacks.

9. Further, the Government has launched the online cybercrime reportingportal,www.cybercrime.gov.in toenablecomplainants toreportcomplaintspertainingtoChildPornography/ChildSexualAbuseMaterial,rape/gangrapeimageriesorsexuallyexplicitcontent.

10. Also,TheCentralGovernmenthasrolledoutaschemeforestablishmentofIndian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to handle issues related tocybercrimeinthecountryinacomprehensiveandcoordinatedmanner.

Theconceptof‘activecyberdefense’isgenerallybeingadoptedtoaddressthenewchallenges. Examples of this are EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).Theglobalmulti-stakeholdermodelofinternetgovernanceisshowingcracks.Inthisregard,followingstepcanbeconsideredinIndia-

• One, a concise ‘National Cyber security Strategy’ that sets clear, top-downdirections to enhance the cyber resilience for the ecosystem that includesgovernment, public and private sectors, the citizenry, and also addressesinternationalcyberissues.

• Two, a separate ‘Cyber security Policy’ based on principles laid down in‘strategy’.Itmustbeoutcome-based,practicalandgloballyrelevant,aswellas based on risk assessment and understanding of cyber threats andvulnerabilities.

Conclusion AccordingtotheNationalCyberSecurityCoordinator, India isatnumber23of theUN Global Cyber security Index (GCI) 2017. Thus, an accountable national cybersecurityapparatusmustprovideclearmandatesandbeempoweredadequately. Itmust be able to supervise and enforce policies across India, including policiesregulatedbyindependentregulators.32.WhatistheGoldenCrescent?WhatchallengesdoesitposeforIndia?Discuss. Introduction South Asia is wedged between the world's two largest areas of illicit poppycultivation,commonlyreferredtoastheGoldenCrescentandtheGoldenTriangle.Here, the 'Golden Crescent' comprises the opium producing areas of South-West



Asia,includingAfghanistanandpartsofPakistan'sNorth-WestFrontierProvinceandBaluchistanwhichposesgravechallengetoIndia’sstability. Body GoldenCrescentposesthefollowingchallengesforIndia:

1. On Socio-Political Fabric of society- Drug trafficking undermines the socio-economicandpoliticalstabilityandsustainabledevelopment.

2. LossofHumanCapital-Drugtraffickingaffectvaluablehumanlives,resultinloss of economic advantage to country and loss productive year of manypersonsaroundthecountry.

3. Health issues- It creates unnecessary health problems like growingprevalenceofHIV/AIDSamongpeople.

4. ThreattoNationalSecurity-Involvementofvariousterroristgroupandtheirconnection in drug trafficking leads to threat to national security andsovereigntyofthestatesbythewayofNarcoterrorism.

Inthisregard,somerecentstepstakenbyIndiatoovercometheaboveinclude:

1. LegislativemeasurebyenactingNarcoticsDrugsandPsychotropicsubstancesAct 1985 and Prevention of Illicit Trafficking of Narcotics Drug andPsychotropicSubstancesAct1988

2. India is signatory toall threeUNConventionsnamely,SingleconventiononNarcoticsDrugs 1962, the 1971Un convention on Psychotropic Substancesand 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Trafficking of Narcotics Drugs,Psychotropicsubstancestocurbdrugmenace.

3. Ensuring the physical security of the borders and coasts by strengtheningPatrollingandsurveillance.

Conclusion Drugtrafficking,organizedcrime,MoneyLaunderingandterrorismare interrelatedactivities so need Multi-pronged approach, can be handled by synchronizing andcoherenceamongdomestic lawsofneighboring countries todeterdrug traffickersandalsofortranslationalexchangeofcriminals. 33. Is there any nexus between left wing extremism and terrorism in India?Critically analyze. Introduction India is among the worst victims of terrorist violence. The country has sufferedmassive casualties amongst civilians as well as security forces, besides colossaldamagetoprivateandpublicpropertyduetoterroristincidences. Body



• Terrorismcanbedefinedastheillegaluseofforceorviolenceagainstpeopletocreateawaveofterrortoachievespecificpoliticalorsectorialobjective.

• OntheOtherhandLeftWingExtremismseenasnecessary internalsecurityissue in which people uprising against their own government overdevelopmentalandlandrelatedissues.

In India, for the development of Left wing extremism followingreasons areresponsible

• Landrelatedfactors1. Evasionoflandceilinglaws2. Existenceofspeciallandtenures3. Lackoftitletopubliclandcultivatedbylandlesspoor.4. Nonregularizationoftraditionallandrights

• GovernanceRelatedFactors1. Corruption and poor provisions/non provisions of non-essential public

servicesincludingprimaryhealthcareandeducation2. Misuseofpowersbypoliceandviolationofthenormsoflaws.3. Perversionofelectoralpolitics

• DisplacementandforcedEvictions1. Evictionfromtraditionallyusedbytribal.2. Displacement caused by mining, irrigation and power projects without

adequatearrangementsforrehabilitation.• LivelihoodRelatedCauses

1. Lackoffoodsecurity-corruptioninthePublicDistributionsystem2. Deprivationoftraditionalrightsincommonpropertyresources.

Apartfromtheabovefactor,formationofFRONTORGANISATIONtofacilitatemassmobilization in semi urban and urban areas through ostensibly democraticmeansconsideredasterroristactionagainstIndia.MostoftheFrontorganizationareledbywell-educated intellectualswith the firm belief in theMaoist Insurgency doctrine.TheseIdeologiesfunctionsasmaskstocovertheviolentnatureoftheCPI(Maoist)Ideology. TheCPI(Maoist)alsohaveastrategicgame-plantocreatea‘UNITEDFRONT’withalllike-mindedinsurgent/terroristoutfitsinIndia.Manyoftheseoutfitsaresupportedby external forces inimical to India and CPI (Maoist) consider such alliance asStrategicAssets. In anutshell, theCPI(Maoist) themain LWEoutfit in India, aims tooverthrow theexistingdemocraticstatestructurewithviolenceastheirprimaryweaponandmassmobilizationandStrategicUnitedFrontsas complementary componentsandplanstousherinsocalled‘NEWDEMOCRATICREVOLUTION’inIndia. Conclusion



AnIdeologybasedviolenceandannihilationisdoomedtofallinademocracywhichofferslegitimateforumsofgrievanceredressal.TheGovernmentisoptimisticabouteradicating the LWE problems through the strategic vision like DevelopmentandImprovementingovernanceandPublicperceptionmanagementetc. 34.WhatisCERT-in?Whatisitsmandate?Whatarethebottlenecksinitseffectivefunctioning?Comment. Introduction: InthewrittenreplytoParliamentbyMeity,aspertheinformationreportedtoandtracked by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) 3,13,649 cybersecurity incidentswere reportedduring theyear2019 tillOctober,whichhighlightthegrowthofcyberincidentreportinginthecountry. Body: CERT-in is the national nodal agency with the objective of securing Indian cyberspace.CERT-inprovidesincidentpreventionandresponseservicesaswellasSecurityqualitymanagementservices. MandateofCERT-in: Inthe InformationTechnologyamendmentact,2008,CERT-inhasbeendesignatedto serve as the national agency to perform the following functions in the area ofcybersecurity:

• Collection,analysisanddecimationofinformationoncyberincidents.• Forecastsandalertsofcybersecurityincidents.• Emergencymeasureforhandlingcybersecurityincidents.• Coordinationofcyberincidentsresponseactivities.• Issueguidelines,advisoriesandvulnerabilitynotesandwhitepapersrelating

to information security practices, procedures, prevention, response andreportingofcyberincidents.

Andsuchotherfunctionrelatingtocybersecurityasmaybeprescribed. Bottleneckineffectivefunctioning:

• CERT-in does not impose any obligation on government entities to reportcyber incidents unless they come under any of the expressions serviceproviders,datacenters,intermediariesorbodycorporate.

• Thiswouldmean that if thedatakeptwith theRegistrarGeneral&CensusCommissioner of India is hacked in a cyber-incident, then there is nostatutoryobligationundertheCERTRulesonittoreporttheincident.

• There has been delay in acknowledgement of cyber security incident inKudankulamNuclearPowerplant.

• CERTRulesprovideforamandatoryobligationtoreportthecyberincidentslisted therein, the Rules themselves do not provide for any penalty fornoncompliance.



• Thereis lackof legalobligationtoreporttothedatasubjectswhosedataisstolenorisputatriskduetothesaidbreach.

However, itdoesnotmeanthat therearenoconsequences fornoncompliance,asunder the parent legislation i.e. the IT Actmentions the appropriate penalties fornoncompliance. Conclusion: Cyberincidentshaveseriousconsequencesforsocieties,nations,andthosewhoarevictimized by them. The theft, exploitation, exposure or otherwise damage ofprivate, financial,orothersensitivepersonalorcommercialdataandcyber-attacksthatdamagecomputersystemsarecapableofcausinglastingharm. 35.WhatisthemandateoftheNationalSecurityGuard(NSG)?WhatmakesNSGanelitesecurityagency?Discuss. Introduction: The National Security Guard (NSG) is an elite counter-terrorism unit under theMinistryofHomeAffairs. Itwas raised followingOperationBlueStar,AkshardhamTemple attack and the assassination of Indira Gandhi, for combating terroristactivitieswithaviewtoprotectstatesagainstinternaldisturbances. Body: MandateofNationalSecurityGuard:

• NSG, under the existing constitutional framework, can be deployed by theCentralgovernmentonlyattherequestoftheconcernedStates.TheForceisnot designed to supplant the function of the State police forces and otherparamilitaryforcesoftheUnionofIndia.

• Themain tasksof theNSGareneutralizationof specific terrorist threats inanygivenareaorpointbyengagingtheterroristwithswiftaction.

• Tohandlehijacksituationsbystormingtheaircraft.• Ithasalsocreatedaninformationcentre/researchanddocumentationWing

to amass informationon various terrorist groups, their strategies,weaponsandtactics.

• The NSG also trains personnel from various State police and paramilitaryorganizationtodealwithanti-terroristoperations,andbombdetectionanddisposal.

• Itmaintainscontinuousliaisonwithvariousinstitutionsinthecountrydealingwithanti-terroristtraining.

EliteSecurityForce:

• Deputationist force:Multi service recruitment through IndianArmy,Centralarmedpolice force and state police forcewithworld class zero error forcestandards.



• InternationalStandard:TheNSGwasmodeledon thepatternof theSASofUnitedKingdomandGSG-9ofGermany.

• Taskorientedforce:Counterterrorismandanti-hijackinghasbeenthemainfocusfortheNSG.ThediversionofNSGtoVIPprotectionremovedrecently.

• SpecializedTraining:RigoroustrainingensureallpersonneloftheForceareextremelyphysicallyfit,perfectinshootingskills,havetherequisitetechnicalskillsandarehighlymotivated,aggressiveandmentallyalertatalltimes.

• Foreign collaboration: The National Security Guard has conductedinternational exchanges and joint training with foreign Special Forces,including those from Germany, Russia, United States, France, Israel andAustralia.

However,therewerequestionsover lackofterrain informationtoNSGindifferentgeographies led todelay inconclusionofoperation inPathankotAttack.Therearealso issueswith the intelligence and coordination among stakeholders in counter-terroroperation. Conclusion: A Force like the NSG is indispensable in view of the growing terrorist violence indifferentforms.Infuture,thedependenceontheNSGislikelytoincreasewithlongtermcomprehensivepolicyagainstterrorism.

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