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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 – 1
Topic: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.,
Difficulty level: Moderate
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1 and mentioned as part of Mission-2022 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about flash droughts and ways to minimise their impact.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by defining flash drought.
Body:
First, write about the various causes of the flash droughts.
Next bring out the various differences between a flash drought and a conventional drought – duration, moisture, evapotranspiration rate etc.
Next, write about the impact of flash droughts and steps that must be put in place to minimise its impact.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
Flash drought is defined in two ways, either as a short-lived yet severe event where soil moisture completely depletes or a multi-week period of rapid intensification toward drought. It is characterized by a period of rapid drought intensification with impacts on agriculture, water resources, ecosystems, and the human environment.
According to the paper published recently in Nature Communications, India is a hotspot for flash droughts and this could have major implications on the country’s crop production.
Body
Flash drought vis-à-vis Conventional drought
- Conventional droughtis caused by a decline in precipitation, while flash drought occurs when low precipitation is accompanied by abnormally high temperatures (e.g., heat waves), high winds, and/or changes in radiation. (increased evapotranspiration)
- According to the IMD, drought is a consequence of the natural reduction in the amount of precipitation for a long period of time.
- Conventional drought can occur throughout the year at any location, whereas flash drought typically occurs during warm seasons.
Measures needed to tackle flash droughts
- The need of the hour is to consider the flash-drought prediction ahead of timeusing operational meteorological forecasts from India Meteorological Department.
- This will help manage irrigation water demands and avoid considerable losses in agriculture.
- To predict the future flash droughts, usage of a Community Earth System Model which simulates the summer monsoon precipitation, sea surface temperature, role of El Nino Southern Oscillation, and air temperature over India.
- The role of greenhouse gas emissions, industrial aerosols, and land-use/land-cover change must be examined.
- The frequency of concurrent hot and dry extremesis projected to rise by about five-fold, causing an approximately seven-fold increase in flash droughts like 1979 by the end of the 21st century.
- The increased frequency of flash droughtscan have deleterious implications for crop production, irrigation demands and groundwater abstraction in India.
Way forward
- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Integrated Drylands Development Programme (IDDP) with the overall goal to strengthen resilience by working on the twin vulnerabilities of poverty and unsustainable land management in the drylands.
- The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) developed a Drought Risk Reduction frameworkthat takes an integrated development approach and provides a comprehensive framework for both higher-level and local action.
- The Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) and its partners have adopted three pillars of drought management:
- Drought monitoring and early warning systemsto determine drought status.
- Vulnerability and impact assessment to determine who and what are at risk and why.
- Mitigation, drought preparedness, and response to set out actions and measures to mitigate drought impacts and to prepare to respond to drought emergencies.
- There is a need for a more organized and common conceptual frameworkfor assessing drought risk and for analysing the “Benefits of Action and Costs of Inaction” (BACI).
- The framework is set out within the model for the overall process of developing a National Drought Management Policy, which was codified by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) in their 2014 National Drought Management Policy Guidelines.
Topic: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.,
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Class-XI NCERT: India Physical Environment.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1 and mentioned as part of Mission-2022 Secure timetable.
Key Demand of the question:
To analyse the anthropogenic causes of landslides and to account for their increase in the recent past.
Directive word:
Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Briefly introduce landslide by defining them. Give examples of some major landslides in the recent past.
Body:
Mention the natural factors behind the causes of landslides in India with a few examples. Mention the areas which are most prone to landslides. Draw a small illustrative map showing the same.
Next bring in the instances of human activity induced landslides. Bring forth the anthropogenic factors responsible for causing Landslides. Substantiate with facts and figures regarding the incidence of landslides. For eg: a 2018 report from Copernicus Publications, which states that 18% of global human-induced landslide casualties occur in India. Mention the stats from recent NCRB report on casualties from Landslides.
Reason as to why the increase in anthropogenic induced landslides is alarming and cause of concern. Give solutions to overcome the same.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type of “mass wasting,” which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity.
The Himalayas are highly prone to landslides during the monsoon season from June to September. The landslides usually occur in the altitudes between 500m to 3500m. Himalayan mountains are a result of complex geological, geomorphological and geohydrological factors.
Body
The causes of the landslides can be studied under the following heads.
- Natural Causes:
- Earthquakes: Himalayas are situated at the convergent plate boundary zone of two continental plates viz. Indo-Australian plate in the south and Eurasian plate in the north. Thus geologically Himalayas are highly active seismic zone and Orogenesis is still in process. The earthquakes loosen the soil, which trigger the landslides.
- Rainfall: Himalayan region receives quite heavy rainfall that leads to percolation of water in the lower layers, soil erosion, solifluction & landslides.
- Slope: The steep slopes of Himalayan Mountains are one of the major reasons of frequent landslides than any other mountain ranges in India.
- Structure: large portion of Himalayas is made up of sedimentary Rock which is more fragile.
- Anthropogenic Causes:
- Jhum Cultivation: popularly known as slash & burn type of cultivation practiced particularly in the Himalayan region.
- Deforestation & Grazing: Himalayan region is centre of huge diversity when it comes to trees & this diversity has led to indiscriminate chopping of trees. The trees help in holding the soil together, curbing the erosion and landslides to maximum extent. Increased grazing has led to wiping out of many grassland areas causing soil erosion and easy prey for landslides.
- Illegal mining & Industrial activities: The rampant commercial activities have huge impact on the sensitive zones of Himalayas. The constant blasting of rocks, increased vibrations due to drilling, boring etc. lead to loosening of rocks and soil particles in turn causing landslides when there is enough fluidity.
- Infrastructure projects: Himalayas being source of many rivers has led to construction of multipurpose dam projects like Tehri. This has affected the already fragile Himalayas. There has been increase in number of developmental projects of highways, tunnels through hills which cause stress and sheer in the surrounding regions. Example: Chenani-Nashri tunnel project.
- Unsustained Urbanization and Tourism: Increasing migration to cities has led to urban sprawl clearing the forest areas. Increased vehicular traffic, clearing of forest land to build infrastructure like roads, hotels etc. have affected the geography of the region.
- Climate change: Global warming has led to quicker melting of snow and more percolation of water within the underlying surface of hill.
The impacts of the landslides are:
- Every year, landslides in the region kill dozens of people and cause widespread damage to several villages such that they have now become almost unfit for habitation.
- They create blockades in the road network and river system, which in turn, cause floods.
- The terraced farm fields have been destroyed that cannot be easily renovated or made productive again.
- The road network remains closed for long periods causing indescribable hardship to the villagers who get their basic supplies and provisions from the neighbouring areas.
- Water sources are disrupted and choked by debris from landslides.
- The river sediment load is increased considerably, causing irregular courses and frequent breaching of the banks- resulting into unexpected floods.
- The water channels are affected from the up hillside due to which the villagers are devoid of water for irrigation purposes. This adversely affects agriculture production in the region.
The measures to control landslides are
- Structural measures:
- Stopping Jhum cultivation.
- Store Excess water in catchments areas to reduce the fury of flash floods, recharge the ground water and improve the environment. Dig runoff collection ponds in the catchments.
- Grow fuel / fodder trees in all of the common lands.
- Plantation in barren areas, especially on slopes, with grass cover is an important component of integrated watershed management programme.
- Grazing should be restricted. The grasses of industrial importance should also be planted so that there is some economic return to the farmers as well.
- Use the surface vegetative cover to protect the land from raindrop’s beating action, bind the soil particles and decrease the velocity of flowing water.
- Construction of engineering structures like buttress beams, retaining walls, geogids, nailings, anchors to stabilise the slopes.
- Non-structural measures:
- Environmental Impact Assessment of the infrastructure projects before commencing the work.
- Declaration of eco-sensitive zones where mining and other industrial activities are banned. Eco-tourism should be promoted.
- Hazard mapping of the region to identify the most vulnerable zones and take measures to safeguard it.
- Local Disaster Management force for quick relief and safety of the people affected by landslides.
- Teaching people about landslides & ways to mitigate.
- Constructing a permanent assessment team comprising scientists & geologists for better mitigation and adaptation techniques.
- Involving the local people for sustainable development of Himalayas
Conclusion
Himalayas are of vital importance to India in terms of climate, monsoon, water source and a natural barrier safeguarding the peninsula. The National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem under NAPCC is a step ahead to address a variety of issues Himalayas is facing today.
Topic: Social empowerment.
Difficulty level: Easy
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
Reports suggest that more child marriages have been noticed during the Covid pandemic. However, data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS4) in 2015-16 shows that even before Covid, one in four girls in India was being married before 18.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the causes of child marriage and measures needed to end it.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate 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:
Begin by giving a statistic related to incidence of child marriages in India and how it has worsened during the pandemic.
Body:
First, write about the various causes leading to Child marriages in India – Poverty, trafficking, lack of education and awareness etc.
Next, mention how a combination of Legislation, education and government action can help curb this menace.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
Child marriage usually refers to a social phenomenon practiced in some societies in India, where a young child (usually a girl below the age of fifteen) is married to an adult man. A second form of practice of child marriage is that in which the parents of the two children (the girl and boy) arrange a future marriage.
Recent analysis by UNICEF points out that one in three of the world’s child brides live in India. It has also warned India against the increase in child marriages owing to the adversaries of COVID-19.
Body
The factors that encourage its subsistence are usually a combination of poverty, the lack of education, continued perpetration of patriarchal relations that encourage and facilitate gender inequalities, and cultural perspectives that encourage the phenomenon to thrive.
Factors leading to continued prevalence of child marriage in India
- Lack of education:A big determinant of the age of marriage is education. Around 45% of women with no education and 40% with primary education married before the age of 18, according to NFHS-4.
- Seen as a Burden:Economically, child marriages work as mechanisms that are quick income earners. A girl child is seen as a leeway to a large dowry, to be given to her family upon her marriage.
- Poverty: In terms of economic status, women from poor households tend to marry earlier. While more than 30% of women from the lowest two wealth quintiles were married by the age of 18, the corresponding figure in the richest quintile was 8%.
- Social background:Child marriages are more prevalent in rural areas and among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
- Trafficking: Poor families are tempted to sell their girls not just into marriage, but into prostitution, as the transaction enables large sums of money to benefit the girl’s family and harms the girl. There is apathy towards their girls and the money by selling their girls is used for the benefit of their sons
Measures to curb child marriage
Education
- It is one of the most effective strategiesto protect children against marriage.
- When girls are able to stay in school an attitudinal change can also occur towards their opportunities within the community.
Congregating child protection workers:
- One way of keeping a check on child marriages during the pandemicwould be to ensure that there is a strong cohort of child protection workers among essential health workers.
- India has a robust system of grassroots workerswho have done commendable work in ensuring that health and other social security services reach people on in these dire times.
- If such workers were incorporated into the system, they couldkeep a check on girl children at risk of early marriage and take steps to avert these.
- This could be in the form of awareness counsellingand helping some benefits reach the family concerned.
Gender sensitization programs:
- Gender training programs should be spread throughout the district for police and NGOs. Government of India along with organizations like UNICEF and NGOs should make the efforts for the implementation of the convergent national strategy, which includes:
Law enforcement:
- Capacity-building on laws, support mechanisms such as a child marriage telephone hotlineshould be implemented in true letter and spirit. E.g.: Odisha Child Marriage Resistance Forum.
Girls’ empowerment:
- Imparting Life skills, protection skills, higher education and employment opportunitiesshould be ensured to each and every girl child.
- Primary and secondary education for girls should be promoted.
Community mobilization:
- Working with influential leaders, oaths and pledges, counselling, folk and traditional media.
- Government’s partnerships with civil society organizations and communitiesare key to supporting community mobilization efforts and mindset changes and partnerships with the media are very important for raising awareness of child marriage.
Promoting convergence:
- programs and sectors at all levels should be converged, in particular with education and social protection schemes and programmes.
- Government of India has already enacted laws like Child marriage prohibition act 2006 and started many initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojanato incentivize the people to give equal treatment to their daughters as their sons.
Incentives:
- Conditional Cash Transfer schemesaddresses issues more towards the individual rather than the household, which is the focus of the government.
- Certain national schemes, is, related to maternity benefits and the survival and education of the girl child which addresses the problem of child marriage directly or indirectly. E.g.: Dhanalakshmi, Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent girls (SABLA)
- CCTs have benefits of legal protection of the marriage as well as ensuring education of girls.
Conclusion
Transformative and well-resourced measures that increase access to education, health and overall girl’s empowerment will not just help in eliminating child marriage but also lead to the long-term positive health and education outcomes thus help India reach its SDG targets by 2030.
Topic: population and associated issues
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
The data in NFHS 2019-21, the fifth in the survey series, shows the fertility rate at 1.6 per cent in urban areas and 2.1 in rural India.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the causes of falling TFR and the challenges it poses.
Directive word:
Critically analyze – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them 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 balanced judgment on the topic.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context from the NFHS-5 data.
Body:
First, write about the factors that have contributed to declining TFR are: Higher education, increased mobility, late marriage, financial independence among women and overall prosperity.
Next, possible challenges that the falling TFR may lead to.
Conclusion:
Conclude by suggesting solutions to the challenges.
Introduction
Total fertility rate (TFR) indicates the average number of children expected to be born to a woman during her reproductive span of 15-49 years. The data in NFHS 2019-21, the fifth in the survey series, shows the fertility rate at 1.6 per cent in urban areas and 2.1 in rural India.
Body
Reasons for falling fertility rate:
- Higher education, increased mobility, late marriage, financially independent women, overall prosperity are all contributing to a falling TFR.
- It goes below 2 in both urban and rural areas, where girls complete schooling and reduces further as they pass college.
- Bihar, with the highest TFR of 3.2, had the maximum percentage of illiterate women at 26.8%, while Kerala, where the literacy rate among women is 99.3%, had among the lowest fertility rates.
- Increased focus on family planning by use of Contraceptives, increased tubectomies and relatively lesser vasectomies have also contributed to the reducing TFR.
- Urbanization, reduced joint family system, increasing nuclear and single-parent families, higher cost of living in urban areas and higher wages have discouraged aspiring parents to reduce the number of kids.
- Working people in urban areas want better pay, implying that they have to reduce the number of children so as to increase the time they spend at their workplace.
- As more cities come up, people move for jobs and employment tenure gets shorter, TFR may fall further.
Decreasing fertility rate and its challenges:
- The decrease in fertility and the associated decrease in the dependency ratio, in turn lead to an increase in the share of the population concentrated in the working ages and hence in the ratio of the working age to the non-working age population.
- Dependency ratio:
- The proportion of workers rises sharply, even as the proportion of dependants falls. In many countries, the ratio of workers to dependents goes up, giving a huge boost to per capita income.
- India will see a significant rise in working age adults India’s dependency ratio that is the number of dependents to working people is low at 0.6, compared with the developed countries. That ratio is going to decline further with fertility rates continuing to fall.
- For the next few decades India will have a youthful, dynamic and productive workforce than the rest of the world.
- A demographic trend where the proportion of persons aged 15-24 in the population increases significantly compared to other age groups which paired with limited employment opportunities may contribute to increased poverty, hunger, malnutrition, poorer health, lower educational outcomes, child labour, unsupervised and abandoned children, and rising rates of domestic violence.
- Education constraints:
- There are serious problems with Indian higher education. These include a shortage of high quality faculty, poor incentive structures, lack of good regulation
- India is home to the world’s largest concentration of illiterate people in the world
- Health:
- At the primary level, there are also serious problems with health and nutrition that impact the effectiveness of education and the capacity for learning.
- In future large proportion of older working aged people who face longer periods of retirement, accumulate assets to support themselves.
Way forward:
- Health and education parameters need to be improved substantially to make the Indian workforce efficient and skilled.
- Enhance, support and coordinate private sector initiatives for skill development through appropriate Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models; strive for significant operational and financial involvement from the private sector
- Focus on underprivileged sections of society and backward regions of the country thereby enabling a move out of poverty; similarly, focus significantly on the unorganized or informal sector workforce.
- Measures should have pan Indian presence and not just concentrated in metropolitan cities as most of the workforce is likely to come from the rural hinterland.
- Investing in people through healthcare, quality education, jobs and skills helps build human capital, which is key to supporting economic growth, ending extreme poverty, and creating more inclusive societies
- New technology could be exploited to accelerate the pace of building human capital, including massive open online courses and virtual classrooms
- Policymakers should have a greater incentive to redouble their efforts to promote human capital so that it can contribute to economic growth and job creation
Value addition
Findings from NFHS-5
- NFHS-5 finds that there has been a significant increase in current use of any modern contraceptive method, which stands at 56.5 per cent in 2019-21 against 47.8 per cent in 2015-16. The share of condoms is 9.5 per cent against 5.6 per cent in 2015-16.
- The uptake of female sterilisation has gone up to 38 per cent against 36 per cent in 2015-16.
- The uptake of injectable contraceptives, introduced in 2017, remains abysmally low at 0.6 per cent.
- The increase in female sterilisation shows that the onus of family planning remains with women, with men not participating in the process and “shrugging responsibility.
- The quality of care in family planning has shown significant improvement with 62 per cent of current users reporting that they received information on side effects from service providers. This has increased from 46 per cent in the last survey.
- The number of women who have a bank account they operate themselves has increased significantly from 53 per cent in 2015-16 to 79 percent, the data show.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The recent Allahabad High Court verdict that a penetrative sexual assault on a 10-year-old boy by an offender did not amount to an aggravated form of the crime appears to be per incuriam, that is, a ruling handed down without due regard to the law and facts.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the impact of recent rulings of various higher courts on POCSO act and the need to enhance the scope of the act.
Directive word:
Critically comment – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary. When ‘comment’ is prefixed, we must express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by writing about the aims and objectives of POSCO act and its features in brief.
Body:
Firstly, mention the various issues with the act in the light of recent rulings – aggravated assault, skin to skin contact etc.
Next, mention other issues with the act – hurdles to historical abuse, lack of sensitivity, delayed reporting and lack of evidence to advance prosecution.
Next, write about the need to expand the scope of the act to end child abuse.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing a way forward.
Introduction
Over the last nine years, India has sought to “protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography” through the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). But POCSO has not been without controversy or deficiency. The recent Allahabad High Court verdict that a penetrative sexual assault on a 10-year-old boy by an offender did not amount to an aggravated form of the crime appears to be per incuriam, that is, a ruling handed down without due regard to the law and facts.
Body
Implications of judgement
- The Allahabad High Court’s view that a particular act amounting to a penetrative sexual act does not attract the punishment prescribed for its aggravated form will have on lower courts trying similar cases.
- The Supreme Court’s broader interpretation of the POCSO Act seems to be an error correction made by the High Courts that narrowly interpretated the words ‘touch’, ‘physical contact’ and ‘skin to skin contact’.
- In this regard, the verdict in Sonu Kushwaha vs State of U.P. has to be reviewed as it seems to be based on an error of law.
Need to expand and for better implementation of POCSO act
- According to the National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) data of 2016, the conviction rate in POCSO cases is 29.6% while pendency is as high as 89%. The prescribed time period of two months for trial in such cases is hardly complied with.
- As per the NCRB data of 2016, less than three per cent of child rape cases that came up before the courts ended in convictions.
- The appalling lack of infrastructure and manpower in the criminal justice system.
- Most districts continue to try cases of child sexual abuse in regular sessions courts, designated as special courts for the sake of compliance
- Investigations are regularly botched up by an understaffed, poorly trained, overburdened police force which has little to no forensic support.
- The fact that the ordinance reduces the time given to the police to file a charge sheet, and to the court to decide appeals against sentencing, displays a complete lack of understanding about the issues on the ground.
- Given the unavailability or unreliability of age-related documents in most parts of the country, reliance is placed on ossification tests to prove the age of the victim in cases under the POCSO.
Reforming POCSO Act
- There is an urgent need to reform and revise our laws to account for various developments such as recent ruling of Allahabad court.
- Problems related to implementation of POCSO Act such as lack of adequate special courts, lack of sensitization for investigators and prosecutors in dealing with child victims, poor rate of convictions etc. need to be resolved urgently.
- The Supreme Court direction to set up special courts within 60 days of the order in each district having more than 100 pending cases under the act must be complied with urgently.
- Fast track courts and Special trial courts (already in provision of POCSO Act) to provide justice at the earliest to the victims. Instead of death penalty, a combination of heavy financial penalty, life imprisonment with no provision of parole can act as deterrent.
- Awareness and sensitization of people is equally important to prevent the crime itself.
- Providing sex-education to children, which is neglected in India. This makes them more aware of the various protective laws like POCSO, good touch-bad touch etc.
- Orientation programme and intensive courses may also be organized for police personnel and forensic experts for building their capacities in their respective roles on a regular basis.
- any institution housing children or coming in regular contact with children, including schools, creches, sports academies or any other facility for children must ensure a police verification and background check on periodic basis of every staff.
- Measures to protect their physical and virtual identity should be in place.
- To safeguard their emotional and mental wellbeing, prevention and protection from sexual offences and reporting mechanisms, including Childline helpline services through toll free number – 1098.
Conclusion
At the very least, the Union government must frame guidelines to direct effective and purposeful prosecution in cases which are not covered by the POCSO. With growing international jurisprudence around these issues, and in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, India must revise its legal and procedural methods related to POCSO Act.
Additional information: Background
- The recent Allahabad High Court verdict that a penetrative sexual assault on a 10-year-old boy by an offender did not amount to an aggravated form of the crimeappears to be per incuriam, that is, a ruling handed down without due regard to the law and facts.
- The offence that was proven in the trial, and endorsed without demur by the High Court, involved the child being made to perform an oral sexual act.
- The Court agrees that it was a “penetrative sexual assault” as defined by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, as the accused had put his member into the victim’s mouth.
- However, it did not amount to “aggravated penetrative sexual assault”, a crime punishable with a minimum prison term of 10 years that can go up to life.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
There has been great chatter about a V-shaped recovery for quite a while, ever since the first lockdown following the novel coronavirus pandemic. The recovery we see today is more K-shaped than V-shaped, with various groups and industries recovering much more rapidly than their counterparts.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the uneven economic impact of covid pandemic suggest measures to rectify it.
Directive word:
Comment– here we must express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context of K shaped recovery.
Body:
First, write about the uneven impact of the pandemic and substantiate it with facts.
Next, bring out the implications of uneven impact on India.
Next, write about urgent practical measures that must be taken to rectify it and achieve inclusive growth.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus last year led to mass havoc, fuelling a global health and economic crisis, the death of millions, lockdown of industries, large-scale job cuts, and catastrophic income shocks. Across the globe, millions have been pushed into poverty. India is no exception to this.
Post pandemic, there is undeniably some type of recovery, but one can hardly label it V-shaped. The recovery we see today is more K-shaped than V-shaped, with various groups and industries recovering much more rapidly than their counterparts.
Body
Economic ravages of the pandemic on different socio-economic groups
- In pre-Covid times, around 35 per cent (265 million people) of the rural population was poor.
- However, this number is expected to rise to roughly 381-418 million, with the total headcount ratio reaching 50.9-55.87 per cent in 2021-22.
- Under the same levels of contractions, urban India expects 36 to 46 million additional people to fall under poverty, with the total headcount ratio reaching 39.08- 42.4 per cent.
- Across social categories, a higher percentage of people from marginalised groups are expected to fall into poverty than the other groups.
- Over five million or 50 lakh people lost their jobs in October, according to a Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report.
- Many of those who lost their jobs during this period are likely economically insecure and abstain from non-essential purchases.
- Across major occupations, self-employed agriculture, non-agriculture, and casual labourers bear the highest impact in rural areas. In urban areas, casual labourers disproportionately bear the brunt of the crises.
- The ongoing farm distress, rural indebtedness, lack of infrastructures, small, marginal scattered landholdings, adverse terms of trade, and corporatisation of agriculture contribute to vulnerability for such labourers in rural areas.
- In the urban area, it is mostly the informal nature of jobs, depressed earnings, and little to no social security that place the casual workers at the brink of vulnerability.
Measures needed:
- Immediate support package will need to quickly reach both the existing and new poor.
- The identification of poor and vulnerable groups is need of the hour.
- there is a need for safety nets including cash transfers. The informal workers and other vulnerable sections including MSMEs have been dealt back-to-back blows in the last 13 months due to the first and second waves.
- India should consider fixing a universal basic income in the post-Covid period through a combination of cash transfers, expansion of MGNREGA, and introduction of an urban employment guarantee scheme
- Employment generation for the masses:
- A large fiscal stimulus along with intermediate informal employment insurgency through MGNREGA and other employment generation programmes are urgent to rein the adverse impact of covid-19 on the welfare of the masses.
- The Development Financial Institution (DFI)for funding long-term infrastructure projects is being established.
- A boost to infrastructure investment, including in rural areas, can lift the economy out of the Covid-19 induced slowdown.
- Healthcare facilities
- an aggressive vaccination programmeand improving the healthcare facilities in both rural and urban areas is needed.
- Reducing the health crisis can lead to an economic revival.Vaccine inequality between urban and rural areas has to be reduced.
- As rural areas have poor health infrastructure, more efforts are needed to reach the rural areas for vaccination.
- The crisis can be used as an opportunity tocreate universal healthcare facilities for all, particularly rural areas. Other states can learn from Kerala on building health infrastructure.
- Multilateral global institutions must support the developing nations:
- Oxfam is calling on world leaders to agree on an Emergency Rescue Package of 2.5 trillion USD paid for through the immediate cancellation or postponement of 1 trillion in debt repayments, a 1 trillion increase in IMF Special Drawing Rights (international financial reserves), and an additional 500 billion in aid.
- An effective response in support of poor and vulnerable households will require significant additional fiscal resources.
- Providing all the existing and new extreme poor with a cash transfer of $1/day (about half the value of the international extreme poverty line) for a month would amount to $20 billion —or $665 million per day over 30 days.
- Given that impacts are likely to be felt by many non-poor households as well and that many households are likely to need support for much longer than a month, the sum needed for effective protection could be far higher.
- Decision-makers need timely and policy-relevant information on impacts and the effectiveness of policy responses.
- This can be done using existing, publicly available data to monitor the unfolding economic and social impacts of the crisis, including prices, service delivery, and economic activity, as well as social sentiment and behaviours.
- In addition, governments can use mobile technology to safely gather information from a representative sample of households or individuals.
- Phone surveys can collect information on health and employment status, food security, coping strategies, access to basic services and safety nets and other outcomes closely related to the risk of falling (further) into poverty.
Conclusion:
This pandemic is as much a social and economic crisis as it is a humanitarian one. A well-designed fiscal stimulus package, prioritising health spending to contain the spread of the virus and providing income support to households most affected by the pandemic would help to minimise the likelihood of a deep economic recession and poverty experienced by the vulnerable population.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Work culture, Quality of service delivery,
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude by Lexicon Publications.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4 and part of ‘Abstract Thursdays’ in Mission-2022 Secure.
Key Demand of the question:
To debate on the which type of leadership style is best – one which invokes fear or the one which invokes affection.
Directive:
Debate – 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 agree with the original proposition.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by mentioning the role of leadership in improving efficiency and moral culture.
Body:
First, write about the pros and cons of a leader who is feared. Cite examples.
Next, write about the pros and cons of a leader who is loved. Cite examples.
Conclusion:
Conclude by stating you opinion on the type of leadership that is best according to you.
Introduction
Leadership can be defined as the ability of the management to make sound decisions and inspire others to perform well. It is the process of directing the behaviour of others towards achieving a common goal. In short, leadership is getting things done through others.
A true leader should know their limits and mustn’t give into overconfidence or impulsiveness. Their role is of immense value as they bring stability, ensuring that the company works together collectively, despite disruptive changes
Body
A Leader who is feared
- Leaders that are feared are perceived to wield more power by the people.
- They are figures of authority who often give out harsh punishments and very little rewards.
- When employees are motivated by fear, they’re more likely to push themselves to be efficient and avoid error, to avoid being punished.
- However, while it can improve performance, fear creates a shaky relationship between leaders and the people.
- It results in decreased creativity and productivity. Therefore, a culture of fear can inhibit learning and development.
- For instance, Adolf Hitler
A Leader who is loved
- Leaders that are loved focus on taking care of their employees, creating a stronger leader – follower bond.
- This kind of relationship brings forth a culture of respect in the society.
- Additionally, it makes people feel valued, which can help in creating a healthy society and boost the productivity of an individual.
- However, this also results in leaders having decreased disciplinary power over the society.
- It makes people less likely to listen to their leaders or respect their authority.
- In some cases, they may start slacking off and foregoing rules.
Conclusion
A strong ethical leader has four important characteristics – Values, Vision, Voice and Virtue. Leaders need to strike a good balance between the two to be good leaders because going from one extreme to the next can prove detrimental to the country. And the talk of fear and love only scratches the surface of this broad subject. It also calls for a high level of awareness, prudence in making decisions, and dedication, among other things. A good leader should also lead with purpose.
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