What has hasten the spread of Super bugs world over ?
-Antibiotics
Why there exists a rampant usage of antibiotics in farm industry ?
- Unregulated sale
- Over-the-Counter without prescription - Use of WHO certified ‘Critically Important’ antibiotics
- Colistin - Rise in protein demand
- To gain weight of poultry - No integrated policy on control over Antibiotics use
- BIS recommends not to use systemic antibiotics but its Voluntary
- FSSAI sets maximal residue limits for sea food but not for poultry
- Directorate General of Health Services specified withdrawal period of drugs for poultry & Livestock on packet
- Agriculture ministry recommends to prohibit antibiotics as growth promoters. Still no legislation. - Anitbiotics resistance awareness is very low in India.
- Imports on Antibiotics from China unregulated
- Herbal growth promoter feed supplements are costly and prohibit its use by smaller players.
What are the risks of Antibiotics resistance ?
- Super bugs resistant to Antibiotics.
- World will need new class of antibiotics.
- However, no new class of antibiotics hit the market since late 1980’s - Mild Infections require stronger dosage.
- Increase in Annual healthcare
- Treating fatal diseases like Sepsis, Pneumonia and TB are becoming very tough.
What are the measures needed to prohibit the Antibiotic resistance ?
- Ban OTC sale for growth promotion and mass disease prevention and only allowed for treatment of Sick animals
- Antibiotics not to be allowed in feed
- Promote herbal supplements
- Stringent control over Antibiotics from manufacturing site to user
- Veterinarians should be trained on judicious use of antibiotics
- Recommends generics to prevent gain of any incentives - Labeling System on Poultry products - Raised with/without use of Antibiotics
- National level database in public domain of antibiotics use and resistance trends in humans, animals and food chain
- Citizen Awareness
Why Banking sector is among the most vulnerable in G-20 today ?
- Insufficient Capital Adequacy. If pile of bad loans increase further, No help from bank recapitalization
- Issue of inadequate compensation to top management peers to private banks i.e. not able to retain talent.
- Failure of procedures and technology i.e. accountability -Nirav Modi & Rotomac scams
What is the way forward to reform Banking sector ?
Nayak Committee recommendations
-Dilute stake of PSBs below 50% so that freed from government constraints
IMF recommendations
-Greater participation of private sector
-Cautious reduction in SLR and assessing effectiveness of direct lending boosts capacity to support credit to economy.
What are the key features of draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2017 ?
- It seeks to replace Insecticides Act 1968
- Stated Objectives
1. Availability of Quality pesticides
2. Minimize contamination of agriculture commodities by pesticide residue
3. Creating awareness regarding safe and judicious use of pesticides - Detailed clauses for registration of new molecules i.e. tighten guidelines
- Penalties on sale of prohibited or spurious pesticides to Rs 50 Lakh and Up to 5 years from current Rs 2000 and Up to 3 years imprisonment.
- Provision to pay compensation to farmers - Under Consumer protection Act, 1986
- State Government role - Must report all cases of poisoning to centre on quarterly basis and can also ban pesticides up to 6 months. Currently Can ban up to 2 months.
What are the issues with draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2017 ?
Manufactures vs farmers
-In case of any incidents, the liability will not be on manufacturers but dealers and farmers.
-Farmers pointed out how will they be compensated at times when production fall due to use of spurious pesticide.
Adverse effect of pesticides neglected
- encourages pesticides use to increase productivity instead of promoting organic farming
-It does not keep safety as a central provision; instead it places efficacy and pest control as its primary goals
-failed to recognize pesticides have contributed significantly to the current economic and ecological crisis in agriculture.
Dealers issues
-It also states that the dealer’s license will be suspended or cancelled. Dealers complain that they do not have infrastructures to test products.
State governments
-Does not ease the powers of regulation and registration to the state governments which has been a long pending demand of many governments.
Bill does not provide for automatic review of cleared pesticides after several years of usage, and farmers and laborers will not be able to seek compensation from the consumer forum as envisaged in the bill.
What steps needed to be taken to resolve issues with draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2017 ?
- Objective of the bill should be to minimize pesticide usage and not about producing safer pesticides.
- Strengthen state governments role
1. Existing draft provides inadequate representation to states in both pesticide board and the registration committee.
2. Must have final say as they have the best understanding on the agro ecological climate, environment and soil conditions. - Any one selling without a prescription should be legally punished
- Need for a ban on advertisement of pesticides as they are by design suited to the commercial interest of the advertiser and aimed at influencing buying behavior of farmers, who are often uneducated and unaware.
Why India should prepare for Cyber warfare ?
- World moves from era of Cold War to Code War
1. Damage to physical or digital infrastructure - water system or electric grid
2. Interference in political affairs - leaks and espionage
3. Targeted cyber attacks coming from adverse nation states - China
- Stuxnet, which damaged the Iranian centrifuge facility at Natanz is an example
4. Absence of clarity - Never be certain about the capability of the other side and Chances of success if we launch a cyber counter-strike.
5. Push towards greater digital dependence with Demonetization for cashless system, Aadhaar and the wider platforms such Digital India and Smart Cities will push things further along.
6. India is not even a signatory to some of the basic international frameworks on cybersecurity like the Convention of Cybercrime of the Council of Europe which not only European nations but Japan, US, South Africa have become signatories to, except India.
7. Indian laws are not in tandem with the ever-changing global cyberspace. - to deal with issues like cyber-espionage, data theft and so on.
- Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000) is the sole law that deals with cyberspace in India and was passed way back in 2000
How India can prepare for Cyber Warfare ?
- Critical cyber infrastructure needs to be defended and the establishment of National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre(NCIIPC) is a good step in this direction
- Individual ministries and private companies must put procedures in place to honestly report breaches.
- The upgrading of the Defence Cyber Agency to a Cyber Command must be implemented at the soonest.
- Secure India from acts of state and non-state actors, including protocol for grievance redressal in international forums.
- Computer emergency response team (CERT)must be strengthened and aligned with military and foreign affairs operations.
- Joint task force between the government and key technology players will be crucial.
- government should push for the creation of global charter of digital human rights.
- national gold standard should be created, which ensures that Indian hardware and software companies adhere to the highest safety protocols
- Impart cybercrime investigation training and technological know-how to the various law enforcement agencies.
- international cybersecurity cooperation
what are potential of following technologies in education ?
Artificial intelligence
-Personalisation
1.adapt to each student’s individual learning needs and can target instruction based on their strengths and weaknesses
-Tutoring
1.Virtual teaching assistants can be used to answer many frequently asked questions
-With AI teachers could analyse students’ abilities, interests and potential through education profiles
-Meaningful and immediate feedback to students
Virtual reality and Augmented reality
-Virtual reality cannot show the real world, but it creates completely virtual one, as with video games
-Augmented Reality enables users to see the real world with virtual objects, places, and contexts. Thus, AR does not replace the reality, but augment it
-In short blasts of 10 or 12 minutes, VR changes the way student experiences a subject & better understanding of concepts
-Helps one visualize almost accurately
Big data
-One-to-one tutoring platforms leverage Big Data and learning analytics to provide tutors with real-time feedback about their students’ performances, strengths and weaknesses.
-Big Data can save us hours upon hours of time and effort when it comes to realizing goals
what are potential demerits of following technologies in education ?
- psychological need of a child. It cannot teach empathy-harm children’s social development
- High costs remain a challenge
- Addiction To The Virtual World
- Privacy- gain access to even more personal data, which they collect, store, and cross-reference.
- Schools may have a tendency to gather more data than they need and conflicting results can make it difficult to prioritize the information
need for technological advancements to be synergized with traditional way of teaching to have quality education
Explain the Current banking system crises ?
- Rise in NPAs
- Moral hazards within banks eg-PNB fraud
- Public sector banks lacks professionalism
- Political pressure forces to lend to NPA
What actions GoI has already taken to address the issue of banking crises ?
- Recapitalization
- Bank Board Bureau
- Mission Indradhanush
- Bankruptcy Code
What measures are needed to overhaul the Current banking system crises ?
-RBI new framework for resolution of stressed assets
1.Mandatory update of NPA above Rs 5 crore on weekly basis
-Corporate governance
1.Acceptance of the Kotak committee recommendations
2.PJ Nayak committee on corporate governance
i.e.
government banks brought under the Companies Act rather than Bank Nationalisation Act as that would allow them to improve their performance and create good governance structure at the board level
-IMF suggestions
1.restructuring of PSBs
2. further empowering RBI over PSBs, increasing the supervisory resources of insurance regulator IRDAI, and enhancing SEBI’s oversight of capital markets and financial market infrastructure.
3.consider privatizing weak public sector banks (PSBs) by selling their viable assets rather than merging them with stronger banks,
-RBI requires reform
1.Two deliverables: Price stability and soundness of banks.
-Review of NPA’S/Restructured advances via Asset Reconstruction Company
-Improving credit risk management
1.sensitivity analysis and contingency planning
-Enforce accountability i.e. loaning decisions taken at higher level
How India aims to balance energy demands along with environment ?
- Clean Energy
1. Solar power - price of batteries coming down, ISA
2. Targets of Paris agreement
3. EV
4. Offshore Wind energy i.e. Windmills on coast
5. Nuclear power plants - Increase Efficiency
1. Bharat Stage standards - 2016, GOI move to BS-6 from BS-4
2. Energy rating labels must provide information about an appliance’s energy consumption for user informed decision
i. e. BEE (Bureau of energy efficiency) regularizes these labels - Offset the environmental loss
1. striving towards the goal of 33%forest cover
Whats are the concerns associated with GOI approach to cleaner energy ?
- Draft national energy policy
1. Despite existing coal plants are running at low efficiencies, still relies on coal power to sustain the nation’s base load requirement to meet rising energy demand.
2. Ministry of Coal continues to push its ambitious targets to raise coal production to 1.5 billion tonnes by 2020
3. fails to highlight gradual substitution of internal combustion engines with electric vehicles. - Solar energy equipment manufacturing is still costly
1. Solar Panels - Off shore win energy would still take time to materialize as high cost
- Compensatory afforestation act largely criticized as its leading to deforestation and loss of rights to forest dwellers.
A recent report submitted to the union government has pointed out that the Make in India initiative has failed to demonstrate its true potential due to various reasons. With special focus on defence indigenisation efforts, examine why Make in India has failed to live upto its potential.
Background
-Make In India - Defense Indegnisation at heart of programme
Why Make In India failed
-Factor costs i.e.land, labor, electricity, transport, capital and others
-Low investment in R&D
-Demonetization/GST made credit difficult from banks
Concerns
-Only assembling rather than building it
-Naval Design Bureau has progressed to achieve best ships in world but still weapons/sensors largely imported
-Procedural delays
1.About 52 months while laid down 18-25 months stipulated in Defense procurement policy
-Still buying Rafale rather than technology transfer
Measures
-Monitoring delay of each scheme under defense procurement policy and assigned to specific office under MoD
-Indegnisation of Critical Technologies as no one will shared
-Inter services prioritization based on budgetary projections
-Placing moratorium on imports.
Conclusion
-Need Made In rather than Make In India
What are the objectives of the National Action Plan for Dairy Development: Vision-2022? In the light of government’s sustained efforts towards conservation of native breeds through Rashtriya Gokul Mission and lobbying by certain groups against crossbred cows, examine critically if it’s feasible to achieve objectives of National Action Plan for Dairy Development: Vision-2022.
Background
-India working on creating additional milk processing infrastructure to double the dairy farmers’ income by 2022
Objectives of National action plan for diary development
-Fill gaps in infrastructure to handle increased milk production and doubling the farmers income
1.Milk processing infrastructure for value-added products
-Enhance outreach of dairy cooperatives
Concerns
-Rashtriya Gokul Mission that aims to raise the productivity of indigenous and nondescript cattle by creating “super elite” population of indigenous .Questions raised whether the milk production would be increased due to this step alone.
-grown by just 3.74 per cent between 1992 and 2012
1.one-third expansion in country’s in-milk bovine population between 2015-16 and 2023-24 is not feasible.
- constraints with respect to fodder, feed and water resources
-State governments enacted stringent laws against cattle slaughter making it virtually impossible to dispose of unproductive animals.
-Action Plan talks of enhancing artificial insemination (AI) coverage but there is no clarity on how to be achieved.
-already facing surplus situation in milk powder and have been priced out of the world market. There is no market If output were really to touch 300 mt
-Lobbying for no cross breeding with foreign varieties to preserve indigenous breeds by spreading false news like cancer causing etc.
Way forward
-National Bovine Productivity Mission
1.creation of e Pashuhaat portal - important role in linking milk producers and breeders for indigenous breeds
Conclusion
-targets need to be more practical
Is the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) an all-encompassing solution for power sector woes? Critically evaluate its performance.
Background
-UDAY launched in 2015 and is aimed at reviving electricity distribution companies (discoms),
1.financial turnaround and revival of Power Distribution companies(DISCOMs) and ensures sustainable permanent solution
2.allows DISCOMs in selected states to convert their debt into state bonds as well as roll out number of measures to improve efficiency at power plants
3.Improve operational efficiency by swapping of coal linkages, monitoring technical and commercial losses , smart metering in states
Performance
-improvement from 22 per cent to 15 per cent in Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C or distribution) losses by FY19
-Discoms finances are disciplined by immediate reduction in interest cost
Concerns
-stuck projects remaining sizable and threat of bad loans looming large,questions are being raised about efficacy of UDAY scheme
-discoms utilized funds to clear balance-sheet without much attempt to improve efficiency
-Over and above prevailing maladies in distribution system rising share of renewable energy (RE) is increasing the average cost of supply, as it is displacing consumption of low-cost coal.
-Bonds issued are essentially held by same entities that had lent funds to State electricity boards (SEBs).
-Interest received lower by at least 4-6 per cent; this means that there is loss of income. Intuitively, it can be seen that every ₹1 lakh crore of UDAY bonds issued involves loss of up to ₹6,000 crore for banks and FIs that have lent money to them.
Way forward
-dedicated PPAs( power purchase agreement)and supply of low-cost fuel
1.To address NPA issue, discoms need to sign more of medium- and long-term Power purchasing agreements, with differentiated procurement strategy for base load and peak load.
2. improvements on the coal side already imminent
Does proper implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 act as an obstacle to economic growth? Critically comment.
Background
-landmark legislation
No, it is not an impediment to economic growth because
-land ownership
-livelihood of people and promote sustainable forest management
1.reverse migration
2.Minor forest produce, selling bamboo, tribal art and handicrafts along with integration with TRIFED
3.Sikkim adopted the Integrated Organic Farming Systems (IOFS) i.e use of local resources, effective recycling of farm waste for productive purposes, community-led local systems for water conservation, organic farming etc
challenges
-Land and forest rights are not effectively given to the targeted
1.Individual rights more & very less community rights
-Delay in granting rights
1.verification process requires coordination of number of authorities from different departments
-Lack of financial resources
1.social benefits such as academics, health etc
-In some cases locals were encouraged to deforest areas, for growing food & plantations
Way forward
-government need to understand potential of FRA to address rural distress
-state governments bring amendments to their forest law, especially laws related to minor forest produce
What is grid parity? What are the merits and demerits of central grid? Do you think micro-grid is the way forward for rural and remote communities in India? Discuss.
Grid parity
-When an alternative form of energy generates power at levelized cost of electricity that’s equal to or less than price of buying power from the electric grid.
-One of most important things energy analysts look at when determining how economically viable an alternative energy form is.
Central Grid
-interconnected system of local and regional grids to provide continuous supply of electricity in whole country.
Merits
-relief to power deficit regions
-better management of demand, ensuring the stability of the electricity grid
-lower tariffs
Demerits
- reliability cannot be assured.
1.Despite central grid, problems of load shedding and power outages
-Distribution – the link between power generation plants and the end users is a complex
1.one fourth of India’s population still lacks access to the grid
-Does not offer fault isolation capability so whole grid have to be shut down to rectify faults.
-Transmission losses increase over long distances
-Due to location, Price differences arise
Micro grid
- small-scale localized power generation and distribution network, capable of operating independently or in conjunction with the main grid.
Micro grid is the way forward for rural communities
-way to provide reliable supply of power, with additional benefit of reducing demands upon conventional distribution network
1.potential to support main grid by exporting surplus power.
2.Typically micro-grids use power from combination of sources
3. can help reduce GHGs by facilitating use of low-carbon energy sources such as solar and wind
- cost of energy storage equipment is falling
1.communities where cost of connection to conventional power distribution networks is prohibitive, micro grids which incorporate energy storage offer cost competitive way of providing power.
-Modular nature make them easy to install and run in remote and hard to access locations.
-catalyst to realize the vision of power-for-all in India.
-In event of calamity, they are self-sufficient and can provide resilient power backups.
-In India, micro-grids are increasingly being used in commercial or industrial parks that consider these an extension of captive power localized source of power or at least mixed with back-up power
Concerns
- Private entrepreneurs investing in village micro-grids
1.Mera Gao Power in Uttar Pradesh and Mlinda Foundation in West Bengal
2.But heavily subsidized by government. This makes it hard for investors to be sure of return.
Way forward
-Mix
1.International Solar Alliance will provide boosts
Despite two measures - demonetization & GST, India has made slow progress towards formal economy. discuss reasons & measures to formalize economy ?
Intro
-Formal sector - regular wages & recognized as tax payer
-90% informal workforce
Why formalize
-Measurement of economy
-Enhanced tax collection with wide tax base & tax consolidation i.e. group of companies as single entity for tax purposes
-Working regulations preventing exploitation
-Better access to credit
-Skill & education will be more emphasized
Measures
-Financial Inclusion i.e. access to formal credit, banking facilities & financial knowledge
1.Jan Dhan Yojana
2.Bank Mitras i.e. Banking Correspondents
3.Priority sector lendings
4.Lead Bank scheme i.e. “area approach” for targeted and focused banking. Districts had been assigned to different banks i.e. lead banks
-Improve Quality of Human Capital
1.SSA
2.SWAYAM i.e. life long learning opportunities from online archives
3.Skill India
-Robust Infrastructure
1.Rail-Road-Electricity
- Labor laws
1.Overlapping & outdated laws must be removed
2.focus on ease of doing business through simplified laws
Conclusion
-Arjun SenGupta committee i.e. Inverse relationship between growth & informal sector
