SECURE SYNOPSIS: 2 August 2021 – PuuchoIAS


 

NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you extra points in the form of background information.


General Studies – 2


 

Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

1. Explain the rationale behind the recent Juvenile Justice(Amendment) Bill 2021 and account for its key features. (250 words)

Reference:  Indian Express

Why the question:

The article explains in detail the amended provisions for adoption, offences in the new Juvenile Justice Bill.

Key Demand of the question:

One is expected to explain the rationale behind the recent Juvenile Justice(Amendment) Bill 2021 and account for its key features.

Directive:

Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Start with what the Juvenile Justice (Amendment) Bill 2021 is about.

Body:

The Act was introduced and passed in Parliament in 2015 to replace the Juvenile Delinquency Law and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2000.

 One of the main provisions of the new Act is allowing the trial of juveniles in conflict with law in the age group of 16-18 years as adults, in cases where the crimes were to be determined.

The nature of the crime, and whether the juvenile should be tried as a minor or a child, was to be determined by a Juvenile Justice Board.

The second major provision is with regards to adoption, bringing a more universally acceptable adoption law instead of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956) and Guardians of the Ward Act (1890) which was for Muslims, although the Act did not replace these laws.

Discuss other essential key features.

Conclusion:

Conclude with importance.

Introduction

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, which seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, was recently passed in Rajya Sabha.

The changes give increased powers and responsibilities to District Magistrates. This has increased protection of children at the district level, with checks and balances in place, and will also speed up the adoption processes in the country.

Body

Rationale behind the amendment:

  • The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)audit of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) in 2020, 90% of which are run by NGOs, found that 39% CCIs were not registered, even after the 2015 amendment was brought in.
  • It also found that less than 20% CCIs, especially for girls, had not been set up in some states,26% child welfare officers were not there.
  • Moreover, three-fifths have no toilets, one-tenth have no drinking water and 15% of homes don’t have provisions for separate bedsor diet plans.
  • Most of the institutions were found breaching the JJ Act regulations and children were found to be in unsanitary conditions in portacabins.
  • CCIs fall under the CWC and the state child protection units, but they had very little oversight and monitoring.
  • The new amendment is to address these concerns and see to it that no new children’s home can be opened without the sanction of the DM.
  • Rehabilitation of children is not a priorityfor childcare homes and children are reportedly kept in such institutions to get funds.

Key features:

  • Role of District Magistrates:
    • The District Magistrates have been further empowered under the Act to ensure its smooth implementation, as well as garner synergized efforts in favour of children in distress conditions.
    • It means that DMs and ADMs will monitor the functioning of various agencies under the JJ Act in every district-including the Child Welfare Committees, the Juvenile Justice Boards, the District Child Protection Units and the Special Juvenile Protection Units.
    • The DM will also carry out background checks of CWC members,who are usually social welfare activists, including educational qualifications, as there is no such provision currently.
    • The DMs are also to check possible criminal backgrounds to ensure that no cases of child abuse or child sexual abuse are found against any member before they are appointed.
    • The CWCs are also to report regularly to the DMson their activities in the districts.
  • Offences:
    • Serious offences will also includeoffences for which maximum punishment is imprisonment of more than seven years, and minimum punishment is not prescribed or is less than seven years.
    • The present Act provides that an offence which is punishable with imprisonment between three to seven years to be cognizable (where arrest is allowed without warrant) and non-bailable. The Bill amends this to provide that such offences will be non-cognizable.
  • Adoption:
    • It brings a more universally acceptable adoption law instead of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956) and Guardians of the Ward Act (1890) which was for Muslims, although the Act did not replace these laws.
    • The Act streamlined adoption procedures for orphans, abandoned and surrendered children and the existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been given the status of a statutory body to enable it to perform its function more effectively.
    • Instead of the court, the District Magistrate (including Additional District Magistrate) will now issue adoption orders.
  • Trial of juveniles:
    • It allows the trial of juveniles in conflict with law in the age group of 16-18 years as adults, in cases where the crimes were to be determined. The nature of the crime, and whether the juvenile should be tried as a minor or a child, was to be determined by a Juvenile Justice Board.
    • This provision received impetus after the 2012 Delhi gangrape in which one of the accused was just short of 18 years and was therefore tried as a juvenile.
  • Designated Court:
  • The Bill proposes that all offences under the earlier Act be tried in children’s court.

Way forward

  • To ensure proper implementation, the DMs will have to hold regular fortnightly meetings with all five arms – CWC, JJ Board, CCI, district child protection units and special juvenile police units.
  • Specific training in child protection rules will also have to be imparted, as DMs usually are not trained or equipped to deal with these specific laws.

 

Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

2. More politics on quota and little policy aimed at quality education is driving India to restrict the output of thoroughly trained personnel. Critically analyse. (250 words)

Reference:  Times of India

Why the question:

The article explains how Quotas don’t solve what’s really wrong with education.

Key Demand of the question:

One is to explain the politics of quota and in what way it is leading to deterioration of quality of education.

Directive:

Critically analyze – When asked to analyse, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a fair judgment.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

 Recently, the government announced 27% reservation for OBC and 10% for EWS candidates in the all-India quota for medical admissions.

Body:

Elaborate first upon the politics of quota.

Give examples where the quota system has impacted education in the country in negative manner.

Discuss its impact on skill development of human resources.

Present the case of medical education in the country. For instance, without economic growth or learning outcomes, OBC groups, sandwiched between the general category and SC/STs, were rallied on the promise of quotas.

Now, groups within the OBC quota are clashing over who benefited or lost out, and even the GoI-appointed Rohini Commission is struggling to reconcile claims.

Conclusion:

Conclude with way forward.

Introduction

Political interference and lack of critical debates is certainly the most important reason for poor outcomes in education sector. This has led to poor education system in India impacting teacher quality and student learning.

Body

Understanding Reservations

  • Reservation is the process of facilitating people in education, scholarship, and jobs etc. that were faced with historical injustice.
  • Reservation is the form of quota-based affirmative action.
  • Reservation is governed by constitutional laws, statutory laws, and local rules and regulations.
  • Reservation system in India constitutes a number of initiatives like reserving access to seats in the legislatures, to government jobs and to enrolment in higher educational institutions.

Political Interference in Reservation

  • Reservation in state services led to divisions and enmity among government employees, vitiating the atmosphere at workplace.
  • Eradication, not perpetuation of caste was the objective of the reservation policy but Caste Based Reservation only perpetuate the notion of caste in society.
  • Reservation was introduced to ensure that the historically underprivileged communities were given equal access to resources but irrespective of the economic progress they continue to remain socially disadvantaged.
  • Reservation destroys self-respect, so much so that competition is no longer on to determine the best but the most backward.
  • Reservations are the biggest enemy of meritocracy which is the foundation of many progressive countries.
  • It has become a tool to meet narrow political ends through invoking class loyalties and primordial identities.
  • The dominant and elite class within the backward castes has appropriated the benefits of reservation and the most marginalised within the backward castes have remained marginalised.

Reservation has become the mechanism of exclusion rather than inclusion as many upper caste poor are also facing discrimination and injustice which breeds frustration in the society.

Reasons behind Increasing Demands of Reservation

  • Reservation is increasingly seen as a remedy for the adverse effects of ill-thought out development policies.
  • In developed states like Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra, in spite of their economies being relatively better, three things have been worrying the people:
  • Acute agrarian distress,
  • Stagnation in employment growth and
  • Distortions in the development trajectory.
  • In this backdrop, for governments, it is easier to talk of reservation than to make a course correction.
  • Increasing reservation demands among upper castes also arising from the fear of losing privilege and the inability to cope with change
  • Upper castes have begun to feel disadvantaged especially in context of government jobs as they don’t get similar advantages like backward classes.

Measures needed:

  • The reservation benefits should flow to the vast majority of underprivileged children from deprived castes, not to a few privileged children with a caste tag.
  • High ranks official’s families, high income professionals and others above a certain income should not get the reservation benefits especially in government jobs.
  • Fair and practical ways to help needy person from each community through reservation is possible and necessary.
  • The process of reservation should filter the truly economically deprived individuals and bring them all to justice
  • Revolutionary changes in the education system at the grass-roots level is need of the hour.
  • There is also need for awareness generation because while the unreserved segments, keep on opposing the provision, the neediest sections from within the reserved segments are hardly aware about how to get benefited from the provision or even whether there are such provisions exists.
  • The radical solutions like excluding the entire creamy layer among all castes from reservation and developing their capabilities instead of offering them reservation for admission to higher education or jobs on a platter.

Way Forward

  • Reservation is fair, as far as it provides appropriate positive discriminationfor the benefit of the downtrodden and economically backward Sections of the society.
  • But when it tends to harm the society and ensures privileges to some at the cost of others for narrow political ends,it should be done away with, as soon as possible.
  • The communities excluded from reservations harbour animosity and prejudiceagainst the castes included in the reservation category.
  • When more people aspire for backwardness rather than of forwardness, the country itself stagnates.
  • Meritocracy should not be polluted by injecting relaxation of entry barriers, rather than it should be encouraged by offering financial aid to the underprivileged.
  • Astrong political will is indispensable to find an equilibrium between justice to the backwards, equity for the forwards and efficiency for the entire system.

 

 


General Studies – 3


 

Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation

3. Looking at the Himalayas only through the prism of geopolitics and security concerns ignores it of its other crucial interests for humanity, comment. (250 words)

Reference:  The Hindu

Why the question:

The article highlights how the countries of the Himalayas have to look beyond geopolitics and security to protect the interest of humanity.

Key Demand of the question:

One has to explain that the Himalaya is a naturally evolved phenomenon should be understood through frameworks that have grown from within the Himalaya. Viewing the Himalayas as a space of political power is a violent choice, which actually enriched ultra-sensitivity towards territorial claims and border management.

Directive:

Comment– here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Start with importance of Himalayas first.

Body:

Discuss first how a conceptual audit of questions related to geopolitics and security concerns while talking or thinking about the Himalaya is perhaps long overdue.

Brief about the significance of Himalayas to the entire humanity.

Talk about the territorialisation of the Himalayas is still prevalent.

Discuss what should be the approach towards Himalayas; Human security cannot be effectively appreciated through the paradigm of sovereign territoriality. So, to protect the interest of humanity, the nation-states have to come together. Anthropological, historical, cultural, and ecological ones have to take privilege over the statist meaning (territoriality, sovereignty, and difference)

Conclusion:

Conclude that time has come when we need to take position between the Himalayas as a national space and as a space of dwelling, instead of avoiding our encounter with this ambivalence.

Introduction

The Himalayan mountains are one of the most sensitive as well as an important part of our environmental ecosystems. The mountains, due to its source to rivers can impact people even living far from it. In recent years due to rapid development, the ecosystem is undergoing existential threats. Being ecologically fragile, the region calls for special kinds of safeguards in order to preserve their sensitive character at a time of want of rapid development, and the need to face threats of climate change and imminent environmental damage.

Body

Himalayas through the prism of geopolitics and security concerns:

  • In a certain sense, our intellectual concerns over the Himalaya have been largely shaped by the assumption of fear, suspicion, rivalry, invasion, encroachment and pugnacity.
  • If during colonial times it was Russophobia, then now it is Sinophobia or Pakistan phobia that in fact determines our concerns over the Himalaya.
  • Within the domain of geopolitics and security, conceived by that which lies outside the Himalaya, a process that decolonial scholars such as Pauline Hountondji refers to as extroversion.
  • Ironically it is the Delhi-Beijing-Islamabad triad, and not the mountain per se, that defines our concerns about the Himalaya.
  • There is an attempt to create a national Himalaya by each of the five nations (Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, and Tibet/China) that fall within this transnational landmass called the Himalaya.

How the above view ignores it of its other crucial interests for humanity?

  • Human security cannot be effectively appreciated through the paradigm of sovereign territoriality, although state systems operating within the Himalaya have failed to devise any other framework to grapple with the issue of security.
  • More often than not, the state has dominated the agenda of defining the domain of non-traditional security (such as human rights, cases of ecological devastation, climate change, human trafficking, migration, forced exodus of people, transnational crime, resource scarcity, and even pandemics)
  • State also sets the tone of an approach to handling traditional security threats (such as military, political and diplomatic conflicts that were considered as threats against the essential values of the state, territorial integrity, and political sovereignty).
  • Interestingly enough, it has often appeared as a fact that the measures to deal with traditional security threats from outside have in fact triggered non-traditional insecurities on several fronts on the inside.

Way forward:

  • The Himalaya being a naturally evolved phenomenon should be understood through frameworks that have grown from within the Himalaya.
  • The Himalaya needs to be visualised with an open eye and taken in as a whole instead of in parts unlike the ancient parable of the efforts of the blind men in trying to understand the elephant in parts.
  • The Himalaya is a space whose history defines its geography rather than the other way round.
  • Since histories are always made rather than given, we need to be careful about what kind of Himalayan history we are trying to inject or project in the way we imagine the Himalaya.
  • Viewing the Himalaya as a space of political power and, by extension, through the coordinates of nation states epitomising differential national histories is a violent choice, which actually enriched ultra-sensitivity towards territorial claims and border management.

Conclusion

The need of the hour is to consider the Himalaya as a space that is deeply embedded in human subjectivities, we can possibly come out of the grip of a national absolute space, which is actually necessary if we are to address the concerns of trade, commerce, community, ecology and environment — issues which are no less important when we are to think of securing livelihoods, cultures and the environment in the Himalaya.

 

Topic: Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.

4. “Sectarian tribalism has been the bane of the North-eastern States”, in this context discuss the Assam-Mizoram Border and explain how it has unleashed latent regionalism recently. (250 words)

Reference:  Business Standard

Why the question:

On 26 July, a violent confrontation took place between police and residents on the Assam-Mizoram border. Thus the question.

Key Demand of the question:

Discuss the Assam-Mizoram Border and explain how it has unleashed latent regionalism recently.

Directive:

Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Start with the facts related to the recent conflict that occurred between these two States.

Body:

The answer body must have the following aspects covered:

Provide first brief background of the question; Recent border clashes on the Assam-Mizoram Border and Assam-Meghalaya border point to the failure of central and state governments to solve the boundary issue.

Explain in what way Assam-Mizoram violence is an outcome of the central government trying too hard to ‘integrate’ distinct northeastern states, which has unleashed latent regionalism.

Discuss the reasons behind such conflicts.

Conclusion:

Conclude with suggestions and solutions to solve the issue.

Introduction

The violent clashes on the Assam-Mizoram border in Lailapur recently are a result of the continuing confrontation between the two states. There is a 164.6-km inter-state border that separates Assam and Mizoram, with the three Assam districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj sharing a border with Kolasib, Mamit and Aizawl districts of Mizoram.

Further, the boundary between Mizoram and Assam follows naturally occurring barriers of hills, valleys, rivers and forests, and both sides have attributed border skirmishes to perceptional differences over an imaginary line.

Body

The boundary issue between present-day Assam and Mizoram dates back to the colonial era when inner lines were demarcated according to the administrative needs of British Raj.

  • The Assam-Mizoram dispute stems from two notifications passed under British era.
    First, notification of 1875 that differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar.
  • Second, notification of 1933 that demarcates a boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur.

Reasons behind the Assam-Mizoram border dispute and Inter-State Border Tensions

  • The fault lines created by Britishers in boundary demarcation are still unaddressed. They created boundaries as per their commercial interests. In the process, sensitivities of local communities regarding land were either ignored or suppressed.
  • The border dispute can trace its origins to the demarcation of Lushai Hills from the Cachar plains by the British in 1875. The British had drawn the boundary in consultation with Mizo chiefs.
  • But in 1933, the boundary between Lushai Hills and the then princely state of Manipur was demarcated. It said the Manipur boundary began from the trijunction of Lushai Hills, Cachar district of Assam, and Manipur state.
  • The Mizos do not accept this demarcation and point to the 1875 boundary, which was drawn in consultation with their chiefs.
  • In the decades after Independence, states and UTs were carved out of Assam based on the 1933 line.
  • This includes Nagaland (1963), Arunachal Pradesh (UT 1972, formerly NEFA), Meghalaya (UT 1972), and Mizoram (UT 1972).
  • There has been a proliferation of political conversations that target migrants and “outsiders”. This shrinks the space and scope for fluid borders and fixes the identities of people as per the region, to realize its cultural and economic potential.
  • Last year, volunteers of a Mizo student body started putting up checkpoints reportedly on the Assam side of the border.
  • They alleged that the descendants of the Lushai tribes were being denied their rightful home through increased encroachment by the Bangladeshi immigrants.
  • These checkpoints even prevented Assam government forest officials from carrying out their routine movements.
  • The events point to a failure of the constitutional machinery, empowered to de-escalate tensions at the border.
  • The presence of central paramilitary forces should have helped maintain the peace, but it didn’t happen.
  • Further, both the states are ruled by allies of the central government. However, the political leadership failed to preserve peace in the region.
  • Economic competition for land, engendered by a lack of non-farm jobs across the Northeast regionis also enhancing bitterness among states.
  • Other issues that complicate the situation on the border include the transportation of illegal drugs that travel via Mizoram to Assam and other parts of the country.

Implications of Violent conflict

  • Augments Trust Deficit: It hinders the probability of Interstate cooperation in the future due to enhanced trust deficit. This is testified by competing claims on the issue.
  • Assam says Mizoram police fired on Assam cops with light machine guns. Mizoram says that Assam police overran a police duty post in its territory.
  • Increases Hatred in masses: Such instances tend to increase feelings of animosity between the residents of Mizoram and Assam.
  • Inclination towards China: China will be watching these fights with relish. The state which feels more betrayed can be manipulated by China for its vested interests.
  • Domino Effect: If prudent action is not taken and violators are not duly punished, then such clashes will be seen on other disputed borders in the northeast region.

Steps taken to solve the dispute

  • An agreement between Mizoram and Assam was signed to maintain the status quo in the no-man’s land in the border area.
  • In 2006, SC ordered a three-member Local Commission headed by a retired SC judge to demarcate all the boundaries between Assam, Nagaland, and Arunachal. It also attempted mediation between 2010 and 2013 – all to no avail.
  • In mid-July 2021, the Union home secretary had convened a meeting of chief secretaries of both states and the concerned police chiefs.
  • In the meeting, all issues were discussed with the help of maps, photos, videos, and satellite images of the region.
  • A roadmap was agreed upon to maintain the status quo and withdraw forces away from the border.

Suggestions

  • There is no sure-shot and quick solution possible to the border disputes between various states without a spirit of give and take, and a civic engagement brokered by the Union government. 
  • For this to happen, governments should, first, try to stop violence of any kind and restrain partisans engaging in such activity in their respective States.
  • The whole stretch of reserve forests has to be freed of encroachments from either side.
  • The state leaders must nurture the peace, put in place institutional mechanisms to prevent breakdowns, and negotiate a way out of long-standing disputes.
  • The Home Ministry must ensure that the Assam-Mizoram border situation should first be subject to de-escalation and then return to the status quo.
  • The Constitution’s mechanisms for addressing inter-state disputes should be duly used. This includes activating an Inter-State Council (Article 263) or asking the Supreme Court to adjudicate (Article 131).
  • Further, a time-bound court-monitored commission involving local communities in joint demarcation exercises should be announced.

Conclusion

Sectarian tribalism has been the bane of the North-eastern States, with underdevelopment acting as a catalyst in complicating knotty issues over land and other issues in the region. The North-eastern states must realize that they share a collective destiny. They should be sensitive to and accommodative of each other’s interests so that the entire region can prosper.

 

Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

5. Central banks across the world have increased their attention to digital currencies. In this context examine the implications and limitations of introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency in India. (250 words)

Reference:  The Hindu

Why the question:

The Reserve Bank of India is likely to soon kick off pilot projects to assess the viability of using digital currency to make wholesale and retail payments to help calibrate its strategy for introducing a full-scale central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Key Demand of the question:

Examine the implications and limitations of introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency in India.

Directive:

Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must look into the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Start with the context of the question.

Body:

The answer body must have the following aspects covered:

Discuss first the need for Central Bank Digital Currency in India.

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is nothing but a digital version of so-called “fiat money”.  Fiat money is the regular currency a country uses, as established and regulated by its government.  CBDC is a digital payment instrument that is denominated in a national currency.

Discuss the pros and cons.

Conclusion:

Conclude suitably.

Introduction

A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), or national digital currency, is simply the digital form of a country’s fiat currency. Instead of printing paper currency or minting coins, the central bank issues electronic tokens. This token value is backed by the full faith and credit of the government.

The Reserve Bank of India is likely to soon kick off pilot projects to assess the viability of using digital currency to make wholesale and retail payments to help calibrate its strategy for introducing a full-scale central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Body

According to the Bank for International Settlements, more than 60 countries are currently experimenting with the CBDC. There are few Countries that already rolled out their national digital currency. Such as,

  • Swedenis conducting real-world trials of their digital currency (krona)
  • The Bahamasalready issued their digital currency “Sand Dollar” to all citizens
  • Chinastarted a trial run of their digital currency e- RMB amid pandemic. They plan to implement pan-china in 2022. This is the first national digital currency operated by a major economy.

Need for a CBDC:

  • The growth of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum etc has raised challenges to fiat currencies.
  • Along with their other vulnerabilities made the central bank of each country explore the possibility of introducing their own digital currencies.
  • A 2021 BIS survey of central banks, which found that 86% were actively researching the potential for such currencies, 60% were experimenting with the technology, and 14% were deploying pilot projects.
  • The need for inter-bank settlement would disappear as it would be a central bank liability handed over from one person to another.

Viability of a CBDC:

  • An official digital currency would reduce the cost of currency management while enabling real-time payments without any inter-bank settlement.
  • India’s fairly high currency-to-GDP ratio holds out another benefit of CBDC — to the extent large cash usage can be replaced by CBDC, the cost of printing, transporting and storing paper currency can be substantially reduced.
  • As the currency in digital form, it can provide an efficient way for financial transaction. Further, digital currency also solves the challenges with Cash and coins. Cash and coins require expenses in storage and have inherent security risks like the recent heist in the RBI currency chest.
  • There are about 3,000 privately issued cryptocurrencies in the world. According to IMF, the key reason for considering national digital currency is to counter the growth of private forms of digital money.
  • There is a possibility of these companies going bankrupt without any protection. This will create a loss for both investor and creditor. But the National Digital currency has government backing in case of any financial crisis.
  • As the state-backed digital currency can provide investor/consumer protection, the private can confidently invest in the associated infrastructure without any doubts over its regulation. This will improve the services to people.
  • The national digital currency will be regulated by the RBI. So, there will be less volatility compared to other digital currencies.
  • Current RBI’s work on inflation targeting can be extended to national digital currency also. Since India is planning to ban other cryptocurrencies, the RBI can better regulate digital and fiat currency. Thus, upgrading to digital currency and balancing the macroeconomic stability.
  • With the introduction of CBDC in a nation, its central bank would be able to keep a track of the exact location of every unit of the currency, thereby curbing money laundering.
  • Criminal activities can be easily spotted and ended such as terror funding, money laundering, and so forth

Concerns posed:

  • India is already facing many cyber security threats. With the advent of digital currency, cyberattacks might increase and threaten digital theft like Mt Gox bankruptcy case.
  • According to the Digital Empowerment Foundation in 2018 report, around 90% of India’s population is digitally illiterate. So, without creating enough literary awareness introduction of digital currency will create a host of new challenges to the Indian economy.
  • Introduction of digital currency also creates various associated challenges in regulation, tracking investment and purchase, taxing individuals, etc.
  • The digital currency must collect certain basic information of an individual so that the person can prove that he’s the holder of that digital currency. This basic information can be sensitive ones such as the person’s identity, fingerprints etc.

Conclusion:

There are crucial decisions to be made about the design of the currency with regards to how it will be issued, the degree of anonymity it will have, the kind of technology that is to be used, and so on. There is no doubt that the introduction of National Digital currency prevents the various threats associated with the private-owned cryptocurrencies and take India the next step as a digital economy. But the government has to create necessary safeguards before rolling out. India needs to move forward on introducing an official digital currency.

 

Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

6. What do you understand by carbon border tax? Also, assess the advantages and disadvantages that India is likely to face with the imposition of this tax. (250 words)

Reference:  The Print

Why the question:

At the recent G-20 ministerial meeting on environment and climate change in Italy, developing countries, including India, are expected to raise their concerns over the European Union’s (EU’s) recent proposal on the first of its kind “Carbon Border Tax”.

Key Demand of the question:

Discuss the concept of Carbon Tax and assess the advantages and disadvantages that India is likely to face with the imposition of this tax.

Directive:

Assess – When asked to ‘Assess, we must look into the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Start with definition of Carbon border Tax.

Body:

A carbon border tax is a tax on carbon emissions imposed on imported goods from countries with less strict climate policies. It aims to create a level playing field between imports and domestic production.

The main purpose of the EU’s proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is to address “carbon leakage” — when companies decamp to places with cheaper pollution costs and looser climate regulations.

Discuss its key features. Explain its impact for India. India, along with other developing countries, has long opposed the EU’s proposed carbon border tax. In April, it issued a joint statement with the BASIC bloc — Brazil, South Africa, India and China — calling CBAM “discriminatory“. The concern is that the border tax will ramp up prices of their goods in Europe and shrink demand.

Conclusion:

Conclude with what should be the way forward.

Introduction

‘Carbon border tax’ can be defined as a penalty tax to discourage import of carbon-intensive goods such as steel, aluminium, cement, fertilizers and electricity via carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). The aim is to help slash the EU’s overall greenhouse gas emissions 55% below 1990 levels by 2030.

The EU Commission is pushing for the world’s first carbon border tax on imported goods. It plans to levy the tax in a phased manner from 2026.

Body

Background:

  • In March 2021, the EU Parliament had adopted a resolution to implement a ‘Carbon Border Adjusted Mechanism’ (CBAM), pertaining to which proposed that goods entering the EU would be taxed at the borders.
  • The E.U. proposal still needs to be negotiated among the 27 member countries and the European Parliament before becoming law.
  • If the E.U. tax is well-received, it could set the standard for similar border adjustments. If not, it could inflame global tensions over international commerce.
  • It aims to ‘incentivize’ greener manufacturing around the world and to protect European industries from outside competitors who can manufacture products at a lower cost as they are not charged for their carbon emission during the manufacturing processes.
  • So, the carbon border tax is an indirect attempt to force emerging economies, including India, to adopt cleaner (non-fossil fuel-based) practices to manufacture goods.
  • The 27 EU member states have much stricter laws to control GHG emissions. It has an ‘Emissions Trading System’ that limits how much GHG individual industrial units can emit; those that fail to cap their emissions can buy ‘allowances’ from those who have made deeper cuts.
  • This makes operating within the EU expensive for certain businesses, which, the EU authorities fear, might prefer to relocate to countries that have more relaxed or no emission limits. This is known as ‘carbon leakage’ and it increases the total emissions in the world.

Impacts on India:

  • As per data from the commerce ministry, India’s third-largest trading partner, the EU accounts for 11.1% of India’s total global trade.
  • By increasing the prices of Indian-made goods in the EU, this tax would make Indian goods less attractive for buyers and could shrink demand.
  • The tax would create serious near-term challenges for companies with a large greenhouse gas footprint–and a new source of disruption to a global trading system already impacted by tariff wars, renegotiated treaties, and rising protectionism.
  • A levy of $30 per metric ton of CO2 emissions could reduce the profit for foreign producers by about 20% if the price for crude oil remained at $30-40 per barrel.

Long term impacts on India:

  • The carbon tax mechanism may spur adoption of cleaner technologies.
  • But without adequate assistance for newer technologies and finance, it would amount to levying taxes on developing countries.
  • It is currently unclear how the EU would assess emissions of an imported product.
  • There are many small businesses that will face difficulty in quantifying their emissions.
  • And the additional costs will be passed on to the consumers, eventually.
  • Also, possibly, the tax could discourage sectors and industries that are already adopting cleaner technologies.
  • In that case, it becomes another procedural and compliance hassle, and prove to be counterproductive.

Way forward:

  • The EU is a market that India needs to nurture and protect. Currently, India has surplus in both trade and services with the EU.
  • India should talk to the EU bilaterally to ensure that its exports with the latter are protected either through an Free Trade Agreement or by other means and if there are adjustments and standards that India needs to meet then it should look forward to fulfilling it.
  • India is not an exporter of cement or fertilizers to the EU and on steel and aluminium too, it is relatively smaller than other countries.
  • India is not the target of this policy of the EU, the target is Russia, China and Turkey which are large emitters of carbon and major exporters of steel and aluminium to the EU.
  • There is little reason for India to be at the forefront of the opposition. It should rather talk directly to the EU and bilaterally settle the issue.
  • China has always followed the policy of ‘Keep Preparing While Protesting’.
  • It is talking about protesting against the carbon border tax. But side by side, it has already started its own carbon trading system also claiming it to be the largest.
  • If the EU in future imposes this tax, India will be badly affected by it if it doesn’t set up its own carbon trading system.
  • India shall not be caught off guard in 2026 if the tax is imposed, it shall prepare for the best as well as the worst.
  • India may not have a carbon trading system but its energy taxes if converted into carbon equivalents would rank as very high.
  • India already has measures of climate change mitigation in the country, it just needs to convert them, devise them in ways which are compatible with important markets of India.
  • The BASIC countries and other significant developing countries shall follow the policy of collective persuasion at the global meetings for finding alternatives for climate change mitigation rather than implementing such a policy.

Conclusion

A mechanism like Carbon Border Tax for charging imported goods at borders may spur adoption of cleaner technologies. But if it happens without adequate assistance for newer technologies and finance, it would rather become disadvantageous for the developing countries. As far as India is concerned, it must assess the advantages and disadvantages that it is likely to face with the imposition of this tax and talk to the EU with a bilateral approach.

 

Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

7. Account for the role of traditional ecological practices as a sustainable solution to climate change problem. (250 words)

Reference:  Times of India  

Why the question:

The article highlights the importance of leveraging traditional lo-tech innovations to fight climate change.

Key Demand of the question:

Account for the role of traditional ecological practices as a sustainable solution to climate change problem.

Directive:

Account – Weigh up to what extent something is true. Persuade the reader of your argument by citing relevant research but also remember to point out any flaws and counter- arguments as well. Conclude by stating clearly how far you are in agreement with the original proposition.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Start with the context of the question.

Body:

First explain the idea of traditional lo-tech innovations; these innovations are based on diverse ecological understanding of indigenous communities. Give examples such as the root bridges of Meghalaya or the Kerala’s kuttanad system.

Explain the importance of such site-specific technologies to deal with sea level rise, food scarcity, water shortages, etc. Locally developed tech will mitigate these challenges.

Discuss about adaptability, flexibility and explain how to integrate with natural systems and only indigenous technology can help us achieve it.

Conclusion:

Conclude that we cannot solve climate change with the same approach that created the problem. We need to move from polluting technology to nature-based science and the bridge enabling this important step is indigenous technological innovation.

Introduction

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) describes indigenous and other traditional knowledge of local resources. As a field of study in anthropology, TEK refers to “a cumulative body of knowledge, belief, and practice, evolving by accumulation of TEK and handed down through generations through traditional songs, stories and beliefs. It is concerned with the relationship of living beings (including human) with their traditional groups and with their environment.”

Body

Importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge:

  • The rapid rise in the world’s population and our ever-growing dependence on fossil fuel-based modes of production has played a considerable role in the growing concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere.
  • As a result, global temperatures are increasing, the sea level is rising and precipitation patterns are changing, while storm surges, floods, droughts and heat waves are becoming more frequent and severe.
  • Subsequently, agricultural production is decreasing, freshwater is becoming more scarce, infectious diseases are on the rise, local livelihoods are being degraded and human well-being is diminishing.
  • Although indigenous peoples’ “low-carbon” traditional ways of life have contributed little to climate change, indigenous peoples are the most adversely affected by it.
  • This is largely a result of their historic dependence on local biological diversity, ecosystem services and cultural landscapes as a source of sustenance and well-being.
  • Indigenous peoples, however, are not mere victims of climate change.
  • Comprising only four per cent of the world’s population (between 250 to 300 million people), they utilize 22 per cent of the world’s land surface. In doing so, they maintain 80 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity in, or adjacent to, 85 per cent of the world’s protected areas.
  • Indigenous lands also contain hundreds of gigatons of carbon — a recognition that is gradually dawning on industrialized countries that seek to secure significant carbon stocks in an effort to mitigate climate change.
  • With collective knowledge of the land, sky and sea, these peoples are excellent observers and interpreters of change in the environment.
  • The ensuing community-based and collectively-held knowledge offers valuable insights, complementing scientific data with chronological and landscape-specific precision and detail that is critical for verifying climate models and evaluating climate change scenarios developed by scientists at much broader spatial and temporal scale.
  • Moreover, indigenous knowledge provides a crucial foundation for community-based adaptation and mitigation actions that sustain resilience of social-ecological systems at the interconnected local, regional and global scales.

Case studies of TEK:

  • Kerala’s kuttanad system:
    • it’s like the Dutch polder-dike arrangement, with a polder or lake lower than sea level and a dike or barrier which keeps the water out. This helped the Dutch make low-lying lands agricultural.
    • Kerala’s kuttanad is similar — it allows saltwater in where shrimp is farmed. When the monsoon comes, this changes to a freshwater system which grows crops.
    • For people trying to mitigate sea level rises on land, this is an important innovation. Kerala’s technology is better than the Dutch because it deals with an intense weather system like the monsoon.
  • Meghalaya’s living root bridge system:
    • This region has some of the highest rainfall in the world.
    • When the monsoon comes, the rivers rushing by take out all the bridges, except for the living root bridges grown by the Khasi and Jaintia people.
    • These are built out of rubber fig trees planted near rivers by the community.
    • They train the trees to grow across rivers and then, using bamboo scaffolding, they weave their secondary root systems together — after some years, you get a living root bridge.
    • There are about 30 such bridges today and the Living Bridge Foundation is doing great work teaching people how to keep this technology alive.
  • Philippines’ rice terrace aquaculture:
    • It is made by the Ifugao people in Banaue.
    • These fields are sloped at 80 degrees, so they’re near vertical.
    • These are thousands of years old and incredibly biodiverse, supporting birds, aquatic and terrestrial life, including humans, through the growing of rice.
    • They’re acknowledged by UNESCO as some of the most important habitats on Earth.

Conclusion

Traditional ecological knowledge has the potential to play a vital role in indigenous climate change assessment and adaptation efforts, as well as make important contributions to the climate change efforts of federal agencies, institutions, and organizations at local, national, and international levels. Many indigenous groups, agencies, and organizations are taking steps to facilitate the incorporation of TEK into various climate change initiatives.


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