General Studies Paper 2

Context: Japan looks forward to supporting India’s clean energy transition by including India in the Asia Energy Transition Initiative (AETI).
Japan’s AETI, launched in 2021, initially supported the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries towards achieving net zero emissions, including financial assistance of USD 10 billion for renewable energy.

What are the Major Highlights of India Japan Clean Energy Cooperation?

• The Clean Energy Partnership between India and Japan was published in March 2022.
  • It would work on the agenda covered in the India-Japan Energy Dialogue 2007 and will subsequently expand into areas of mutual benefit.
• India and Japan have taken over the presidentship of  G20 and G7,
  
  • In the context of environmental sustainability, India’s Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) is one of the most important priorities during the G20 presidency.
  • Also, the Feed-in Premium (FiP) scheme by the government of Japan was implemented in April 2022 and is expected to improve the country’s energy transition.
• Japan has set a goal of becoming net-zero by 2050, and the government issued an interim report on Clean Energy Strategy in May 2022.
  • India has also set an ambitious target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.
• The Indian subcontinent’s massive renewable energy potential can boost green hydrogen   (GH2) production and immense potential for a GH2 economy.
  • Nepal and Bhutan also have surplus hydropower potential,  and green hydrogen electrolyzers can tap this in countries like India and Bangladesh.
• Events like the India-Japan Environment week would help create a roadmap to integrate variable renewable energy into the system through technological, institutional, and personnel cooperation.

What is Clean Energy Transition?

• About:
  • Clean energy transition refers to the shift from traditional fossil fuel-based energy sources, (such as coal, oil, and natural gas) to cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy that have a lower impact on the environment.
  • This transition is driven by the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigate the effects of climate change,  and address other environmental and public health concerns associated with the use of fossil fuels.
• Clean Energy Sources:
  • Clean energy sources include renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydro, geothermal,  and biomass energy,  as well as energy storage technologies like batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.

Status of India -Japan Bilateral Relations:

• Defense Ties: India-Japan Defence and Security partnershiphas evolved over the years from bilateral and multilateral exercises including Dharma Guardian and Malabar And welcoming the participation of Japan for the first time in the xercise.  MILAN exercise.

  Health-Care:In view of the similarities and synergies between the goals and objectives of India’s AYUSHMAN Bharat Programme and Japan’s AHWIN, both sides had been consulting with each other to identify projects to build the narrative of AHWIN for AYUSHMAN Bharat.
  Investment and ODA:India has been the largest recipient of the Japanese Official Development Assistance(ODA) Loan for the past decades. Delhi Metro is one of the most successful examples of Japanese cooperation through the utilization of ODA.

  India’s Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC)project is funded by a soft loan provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency under Special terms for economic partnership (STEP).

General Studies Paper 2

• Context: Women from rural India are adopting clean energy-based livelihood technologies(from solar refrigerators to silk-reeling machines) to catalyse their businesses and transform women’s livelihoods at the grassroots.

What is the potential of clean technologies for women’s livelihoods?

• A recent Council on Energy, Environment and Water study has shown that out of the 13,000 early adopters of clean tech appliances, more than 80% are women.
• Renewable energy­ powered technologies provide an additional advantage to women farmers and microentrepreneurs by enhancing income opportunities through mechanisation. They also free women from several gender assigned manual activities that are laborious.
• By 2030, India is expected to see 30 million women ­owned MSMEs,employing around 150 million people. Renewable energy livelihood technologies have the potential to transform rural livelihoods, with women at the core of this transition.

Challenges in scaling up these accomplishments:

• Novelty and a high starting price of these technologies
• Perceived as high-risk purchases, especially by women users
• The relatively lower risk appetite of rural women due to socioeconomic reasons
• Limited avenues to avail financing
• Lack of established market linkages
• Limited mobility/networks of women outside their villages

Way ahead:

• Leverage the experience of early women adopters.
• Organise hyperlocal events and demos – create spaces for women to network, and become aware.
• Enable easy finance to purchase products. Financiers should consider the technologies themselves as collateral while easing the loan application process.
• Ensure adequate after-sales services and buy-backs.
• Support backwards and forward market linkage– finding and connecting producers to consumption hubs in urban areas.
• Collectivising women or establishing business models that enable them to sell to an intermediary can ensure a regular revenue stream.
• Enable policy convergence.Efforts towards promoting livelihoods for women from State rural livelihood missions, agriculture departments, etc., must be converged.
• Leveraging the reach of government institutions is imperative.
• Conclusion:Similar to how it takes a village to raise a child, a village of politicians, investors, financiers, and technology promoters, is required to fully realise the potential of rural women and clean technologies.

General Studies Paper 2

• Context: Only 4 per cent(just 1 in 4 children)of children aged 0-15 years are shielded by social protection, leaving the remaining 73.6 per cent exposed to poverty, exclusion and multidimensional deprivations, noted a new United Nations (UN) report titled – More than a billion reasons: The urgent need to build universal social protection for children.

Need for Social Protection:

• Social protection policies are powerful tools for alleviating poverty for children and their families at risk of falling into poverty and helping all children deprived of key services.
• Social protection can also shield children from other major risks, such as child labour   and forced labour.

Key findings of the report:

• 4 billion Children in this world need adequate social protection.
• Nearly 1.77 billion children aged 0-18 years lack access to a child or family cash benefit, a fundamental pillar of a social protection system
• Regional disparities
• One billion children live in multidimensional poverty without access to education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water.
• Gender disparity
• Children with disabilities or living in a household with a family member with a disability are more vulnerable to poverty

Stats on India in the report:

• The report stated that 31 states in India had implemented the national ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme.  So far, only 4,302 children have received support from the scheme.

Recommendations given to achieve universal social protection for children:

• Provide a comprehensive range of benefits that supports children and families through a life-cycle approach.
• Authorities are advised to provide child benefits through national social protection systems that also connect families to crucial health and social services, such as free or affordable quality childcare.
• Increase budget allocation for children: Ensure sustainable and equitable financing of social protection systems
• Build social protection systems that are rights-based, inclusive, gender-responsive, informed by social dialogue and able to effectively respond to multiple shocks and crises, and that can therefore deliver for children and families.
• Guarantee access to decent work and adequate employee benefits.
• Ensure that social protection systems are adapted to developments in the world of work to enhance economic security for parents, caregivers and their families.

• Conclusion: Following the above recommendations will help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of achieving substantial social protection coverage by 2030.

General Studies Paper 3

• Context: The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Ember has recently released a report titled “Indian States’ Energy Transition“. The report highlighted the glaring inequality in the Clean Energy Transition of States. As per the report, Karnataka now has the best-equipped power systems to convert its electricity system from fossil-powered to renewable energy sources, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. On the other hand, Bihar, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh did the worst.

What is a clean electricity transition? 

• This refers to the shift from fossil-based power production and consumption to renewable energy sources by transforming the electricity sector through innovative policies, efficient technologies, and greener market pulls while ensuring reliable supply with effective closed-loop systems in place.
• An effective clean electricity transition requires a timely switch towards a clean power-fuelled, economically feasible, politically viable, and secure system that can create value for business and society.

What are the report’s key highlights on the Clean Energy Transition of States? 

• The report analyses 16 states that account for 90 percent of India’s yearly power demand. Theirscores were calculated based on states’ performance on four major dimensions. Such as Decarbonisation, Performance of the Power System, Readiness of the Power Ecosystem, and Policies and Political

Karnataka: 

• Karnataka ranks first in all four dimensions of the clean energy transition.
• The state fared the best in decarbonizing its power sector and has the highest share of renewables in its power supply mix (48%).
• Only Delhi’s power sector’s emission intensity of GSDP is lower than that of Karnataka (2.2 kgCO2eq/Rs1,000).
• Haryana has the lowest installed capacity of older, more polluting coal power plants.

Maharashtra:

• It has the biggest power demand in India and was found to be in the mid-range. This is mostly because the state is slow to use renewable energy and can’t shut down older, more polluting coal power plants.
• Its renewable energy share (11%) is lower than most other states.
• Chhattisgarh has the highest emissions intensity of GSDP (43 kgCO2eq/ Rs1,000). Its renewable energy share in the power supply mix (1%) is better than only Bihar.

Bihar, UP, and West Bengal:

• These states must work more to improve their clean energy transition performance.
• These states should maximize their renewable energy generation potential, and at the same time increase commitment to moving away from fossil fuels-based electricity.

What is the need for the Clean Energy Transition of states? 

• India’s clean electricity transition requires all states and Union Territories to transform their power sectors. More specifically,progress in states with high power demand is not only crucial but also urgent for India’s power sector to achieve a clean electricity transition.
• The transition needs Indian states to work together and take the lead to fight the problems that make it hard to reach India’s goals, such as fulfilling Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), India’s net-zero commitments, and the implementation of the ambitious climate action at the national level.

What are the challenges faced by states in their clean energy transition?

• Under utilisation: Renewable energy-rich states are not utilizing their renewable energy generation potential. Potential hurdles, such as land conflict, technology upgrades, and lack of transmission infrastructure, could come in the way of the clean energy transition of states.
• For instance, even the top performer Karnataka has utilized only 11% of its total renewable energy potential.
• Ignoring other possibilities: While the states are focusing on large-scale renewable power projects, mainly utility-scale solar, they are ignoring other possibly viable options, such as rooftop solar, small hydel plants, etc.
• Different priorities between the centre and states: The national (central) government and sub-national (state) governments in India often have different priorities with respect to the energy sector. For example,
• The Centre’s perspective is informed by macroeconomic stability, economic growth and geostrategic issues. On the other hand, states are driven more by local and state-level concerns. Further, the State’s political-economic realities are affected by factors such as energy access, affordability, local jobs and economies.
• Energy Transition at the State Level and Fiscal Impact: Many coal-producing states naturally rely heavily on fossil fuels for revenues as they benefit from both coal-related royalties from mining but also tax revenues from sales of oil and natural gas.
• The transition and its impact on the state’s employment:  As the country moves away from fossil fuels, there will be negative effects on jobs all along the value chain. This includes employment across mining, transport and storage, processing and manufacturing, and trade.
• What steps have been taken by the Indian states towards the clean energy transition?
  

Initiatives of the central government to facilitate clean energy transition of states

• Intra-State Transmission System – Green Energy Corridor Phase-II for laying the infrastructure for connecting electricity generated from renewables with the power grid in seven states. This scheme would receive 33% central financial assistance. This is crucial to create green market mechanisms for inter- and intra-state renewable energy trading.
• The scheme for“Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects” has a target of generating 40GW capacity by March 2024. So far, the central government has sanctioned 50 solar parks with a combined capacity of 33.82GW in 14 states.
• Progressive policies like net metering, banking of power and feeder segregation are implemented under the ‘Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan Yojana (KUSUM)’ scheme.
• The green day ahead market (GDAM): The Power Ministry has launched GDAM to enable India to achieve green targets and facilitate the integration and expansion of green energy in an efficient, competitive, sustainable, and transparent manner.
• The government has permitted foreign direct investment up to 100 per cent under the automatic route and has wavered Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges and losses for the inter-State sale of solar and wind power for projects.
• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA), as of November 2020, has financed more than 2,700 renewable energy projects in India with cumulative loan disbursements to the tune of ₹ 57,000 crore.

Initiatives of state governments to facilitate clean energy transition

• The Interstate Clean Energy Procurement Program (ICEPP)was launched in India by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). ICEPP will help eight Indian states build up their clean energy infrastructure by giving public procurement officials training on best value and life-cycle cost analysis. USTDA is funding ICEPP through its Global Procurement Initiative (GPI).
• Various states also have many initiatives. Such as,
• Rajasthan: Rajasthan Wind Solar Hybrid Policy 2019 and Rajasthan Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 helped accelerate the capacity addition.
• Karnataka: It was the first southern state in India to notify a renewable energy policy, the Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy 2009-14 to harness green, clean, renewable energy sources for environmental benefits and energy security. Recently, the state released the Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy 2022-2027.
• Tamil Nadu has a dedicated solar energy policy 2019 and EV Policy 2019
• Several states have announced their EV Policy to complement the national scheme and to address state-specific needs.

What should be done to ensure the clean energy transition of states? 

• In order to enhance the state’s clean energy transition, the “Indian States’ Energy Transition” report has recommended the following,
• Focus on offshore wind energy: India has the potential to generate 140GW of electricity from offshore wind along its 7,600km coastline. However, there is a need to develop local supply chain, logistics and port infrastructure to utilise offshore wind’s full potential.
• Pay attention to coal plants: State energy departments need to closely monitor their coal plants and retire older plants, unless needed as peaker plants during high-demand months.
• Increase green market participation of states: States need to focus on increasing participation in green market mechanisms like GDAM, GTAM, open access, corporate PPAs etc. In addition, states also need to focus on innovative bilateral financial markets mechanisms like Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPA) and Contracts for Difference (CfD).
• Introduce private sector participation: The introduction of private sector participation and competition shall bring more capital and management expertise into the electricity sector. This will help enhance operational efficiency, and increase accessibility and affordability.
• Focus on feeder segregation: Reliable state-level data on feeder segregation needs to be made available for more robust analysis. States with large agriculture loads need to focus more on feeder segregation.
• Develop a circular approach: States need to develop a holistic and circular approach towards handling solar panel, battery, and electric vehicle waste. This is even more crucial as India sets up new manufacturing units under the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme.
• The other recommendations include, a) Data transparency and availability at the state level needs an enhancement for robust analysis, b) Robust transmission infrastructure is necessary to better evacuate renewables at the state level, c) Initiatives like ‘Time of Day tariff’ and ‘Direct Benefit Transfer’ need more focus for state-level implementation in addition to regular tariff revisions by the state regulators.

General Studies Paper 2

• Context: Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)   licence of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR).
• CPR (not-for-profit society), along with Oxfam India and the Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF), was surveyed by the Income Tax department earlier.

What is the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act?

• About:
  • FCRA was enacted during the Emergency in 1976  amid apprehensions that foreign powers were interfering in India’s affairs by pumping money into the country through independent organisations.
  • The law sought to regulate foreign donations to individuals and associations so that they functioned in a manner consistent with the values of a sovereign democratic republic.
• Amendments:
  • An amended FCRA was enacted in 2010 to “consolidate the law” on utilisation of foreign funds,and “to prohibit” their use for “any activities detrimental to national interest”.
  • The law was amended again in2020, giving the government tighter control and scrutiny over the receipt and utilisation of foreign funds by NGOs.
• Criteria:
  • The FCRA requires every person or NGO seeking to receive foreign donations to be:
    • registered under the Act
    • to open a bank account for the receipt of the foreign funds in State Bank of India,Delhi
    • to utilize those funds only for the purpose for which they have been received and as stipulated in the Act.
  • FCRA registrations are granted to individuals or associations that have definite cultural, economic, educational, religious, and social programmes.
• Exceptions:
  • Under the FCRA, the applicant should not be fictitious and should not have been prosecuted or convicted for indulging in activities aimed at conversion through inducement or force, either directly or indirectly, from one religious faith to another.
  • The applicant should also not have been prosecuted for or convicted of creating communal tension or disharmony.
    • Also, should not be engaged or likely to be engaged in the propagation of
  • The Act prohibits the receipt of foreign funds by candidates for elections, journalists or newspaper and media broadcast companies, judges and government servants, members of legislature and political parties or their office-bearers, and organisations of a political nature.
• Validity:
  • FCRA registration is valid for5 years, and NGOs  are expected to apply for renewal within six months of the date of expiry of registration.
  • The government can also cancel the FCRA registration of any NGO if it finds that the NGO is in violation of the Act, if it has not been engaged in any reasonable activity in its chosen field for the benefit of society for two consecutive years, or if it has become defunct.
  • Once the registration of an NGO is cancelled, it is not eligible for re-registration for three years.
• FCRA 2022 Rules:
  • In July 2022, the MHA effected changes to FCRA rules  which increased the number of compoundable offences under the Act from 7 to 12.
  • The other key changes were exemption from intimation to the government for contributions less than Rs 10 lakh – the earlier limit was Rs 1 lakh— received from relatives abroad, and increase in time limit for intimation of opening of bank accounts.

General Studies Paper 2

• Context: The pandemic has put at risk the decade’s progress in building human capital, including the improvements in health, survival rates, school enrollment, and reduced stunting.

About Human Capital

• Meaning:
  • It consists of the knowledge, skills,and health that people accumulate over their lives, enabling them to realize their potential as productive members of society.
    • Research indicates that human capital investments have high economic returns.
  • Need of Human Capital:
    • The last few years have ushered in a harsh new reality where crises are the norm rather than the exception, examples being pandemics, economic slumps, extreme weather events, etc.
    • The knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate their human capital is a critical source of the resilience that countries rely on for recovery.
  • South Asia’s human capital:
    • With nearly half its population under the age of 24and over one million young people set to enter the labour force every month until 2030, the region could reap an enviably high demographic dividend.
    • To strengthen resilience and protect the well-being of future generations, governments across South Asia need to take urgent policy action and invest in human capital.

Issues & challenges

• Shortcomings:
  • South Asia is home to over one-third of the world’s stunted children.
  • And a child born in the region today can, by the age of 18, expect to attain only 48% of their full productive potential.
    • If the quantity and quality of South Asia’s human capital were to improve, regional GDP per worker could double.
  • Lack of resources & monetary support:
    • These numbers are alarming but will be hard to shift without more resources.
    • South Asian governments on average spend just 1% of GDP on health and 2.5% on education.
      • In comparison, the global average is 5.9% on health and 3.7% on education.
    • Impacts of COVID 19:
      • Extreme poverty:
        • The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed an additional 35 million people across South Asia into extreme poverty.
      • Learning poverty
        • Learning poverty,or the inability to read and understand a simple text by age 10.
        • While around the world, on average, schools remained closed for in-person learning between 2020 and 2022 for 141 days, in South Asia they were shut for 225 days.
        • Coupled with ineffective remote instruction, this increased South Asia’s learning poverty from 60% to 78%.
        • The poorest and most vulnerable people fell further behind. For example, in Bangladesh, the poorest students lost 50% more in terms of learning than the richest students.
        • Several countries still show little to no signs of recovery, and South Asia’s students could lose up to 14.4% of their future earnings.

Suggestions

• Quality over quantity:
  • Well-designed and implemented interventions can make a difference if governments act fast.
  • Recent evidence suggests that even simple and low-cost education programmes can lead to sizable gains in skills.
  • Examples:
    • In Bangladesh, for example, attending a year of additional pre-school through two-hour sessions significantly improved literacy, numeracy, and social-development scores.
    • In Tamil Nadu, six months of extra remedial classes after school helped students catch up on about two-thirds of lost learning linked to 18 months of school closures.
    • In Nepal, government teachers ran a phone tutoring programme that helped increase students’ foundational numeracy by 30%.
  • Given the high returns to human capital, the huge losses inflicted by the pandemic, and the region’s vulnerability to a variety of shocks, even with constrained government budgets, scaling up these interventions should be a no brainer.
• Acting before crisis:
  • Globally, countries that have systems in place to support individuals and families before a crisis strikes, can better protect their citizens during the crisis.
• Interdependent focus:
  • The health, education, and skills people acquire at various stages of their lives, build and depend on each other.
  • To be effective, human development systems must recognise and exploit these overlapping connections. In other words, they should be agile, resilient and adaptive.

Way ahead

• A robust human development system would not only mitigate the damage but also help ensure lives and livelihoods are protected.
• It could provide the resilience South Asia needs to prosper in an increasingly volatile world.

General Studies Paper 2

• Context: The challenges that civil society organisations (CSO) in India face are new and enduring.

About the Civil Society Organizations in India

• About:
  • India has a long history of civil society based on the concepts of daana(giving) and seva (service).
  • Civil society organization (CSO)or non-governmental organization (NGO) are the organizations that are voluntary in spirit and without profit-making objectives—have been active in cultural promotion, education, health, and natural disaster relief.
• Data on NGOs:
  • Today, about 5 million NGOs work in India(i.e., nonprofit, voluntary citizens’ groups organized on a local, national, or international level).
    • According to a survey conducted by Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA),
      • 5% of NGOs are engaged in religious activities,
      • while 21.3% work in the area of community and/or social service.
      • About one in five NGOs works in education,
      • while 17.9% are active in the fields of sports and culture.
      • Only 6.6% work in the health sector.

About Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA)

• Background: 
  • The FCRA was enacted during the Emergency in 1976 amid apprehensions that foreign powers were interfering in India’s affairs by pumping money into the country through independent organisations.
  • These concerns were, in fact, even older; they had been expressed in Parliament as early as in 1969.
• Aim: 
  • The law sought to regulate foreign donations to individuals and associations so that they functioned in a manner consistent with the values of a sovereign democratic republic.

FCRA regulations for the Civil Society Organizations in India

• Tighter control:
  • The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act was amended by the current government in 2020, giving the government tighter control and scrutiny over the receipt and utilisation of foreign funds by NGOs. 
• Designated FCRA account: 
  • All NGOs seeking foreign donations have to open a designated FCRA account at the SBI branch.
  • The NGOs can retain their existing FCRA account in any other bank but it will have to be mandatorily linked to the SBI branch in New Delhi.
• Only banking channels allowed:
  • Foreign contribution has to be received only through banking channels and it has to be accounted for in the manner prescribed.
• OCI or PIO: 
  • Donations are given in Indian rupees by any foreign source including foreigners of Indian origin like OCI or PIO cardholders” should also be treated as foreign contributions.
• Sovereignty and integrity: 
  • It requires NGOs to give an undertaking that the acceptance of foreign funds is not likely to prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India or impact friendly relations with any foreign state and does not disrupt communal harmony.

Challenges & criticisms

• Related to FCRA regulations:
  • No voice for NGOs:
    • FCRA laws are criticised for throttling voice of NGOs and ending the scope for popular global causes such as environmental issues, ensuring rights for forest dwellers or capacity building of most marginalised.
    • Advocacy-based institutions are most likely to be hit by new laws.
  • Joblessness in SCOs:
    • Thousands working in the social sector, particularly in grassroots organisations, have already been rendered jobless as the ban on sub-granting has caused resource starvation for these organisations.
  • Draining of resources:
    • There are also talks doing the rounds that civil society should collectively challenge the new laws.
    • But most of them are wary of fighting this long battle legally as many of them who have lost their licenses have already drained their resources and are finding it difficult to pay the pending salaries of their staff.
  • Challenge of localisation:
    • In the current scenario, the prominent challenge is localisation. The initiation of the fight for rights is strongly rooted in the factors at the local level. It requires local leadership.
  • Other Challenges:
    • No depiction of vulnerable children:
      • Recently, the government has warned CSOs against using representative visuals for fundraising activities concerning development issues such as malnutrition.
      • The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) issued a directive to non-profits not to depict vulnerable children.
      • So, every new directive is a new challenge for civil society.
    • Structural deficiencies:
      • Many CSOs need to ramp up clear governance structures and policies. Without these structures, it can be difficult to maintain accountability and ensure that resources are used effectively.
      • Many CSOs lack the skills and resources to create and maintain professional management systems.
    • Societal misinterpretations:
      • CSOs often face misconceptions about their role in society. They are the targets of political interference and manipulation, which can limit their ability to operate.

Suggestions

• For government:
  • The governments should also realise that some of its prominent acts or laws, such as the Right to Information Act, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the National Food Security Act, among others, will remain relevant if the foundations of civil society are strong.
    • Any attempt to disturb civil society will be tantamount to diluting these laws.
  • Any stringent measures would also adversely impact the monitoring of the implementation of various government schemes, such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, etc.
• For NGOs:
  • Alternate ways of funding:
    • Post new FCRA laws, many organisations have already started looking up to local resource mobilisation (LRM)and are largely focused on corporate funding through corporate social responsibility (CSR).
  • Charitable funding:
    • Civil society should explore how to encourage more collective giving, a form of charitable giving where groups pool their donations to create larger funds to tackle problems.
  • Utilizing technology:
    • There is increasing awareness that increased use of data and digital technology can make charities stronger and even better at what they do.

Way ahead

• The collectivisation of national-level forums for supporting marginalised communities through the articulation of their needs, empowering identity or voices and deconstructing the old arrangements that have failed in performance and ideation is the way forward.

General Studies Paper 2

• Context: According to the Annual Status of Education Report 2022   report, government schools saw a sharp rise in enrolment for the first time in 16 years; basic literacy levels of children have taken a big hit, with their reading ability as compared to numeracy skills worsening much more sharply and dropping to pre-2012 levels.
• Government schools in many states are predominantly attended by children from vulnerable social groups,where girls’ education is often treated as a formality for marriage prospects. In addition to funding issues, there is a need to improve governance in schools and renovate dilapidated facilities due to Covid-19
• As ASER 2023 confirms, boys and girls of elementary school-going age have all come back to schools, but the current education system is failing them. However, it is possible to make learning attractive for children with little effort.
• While a lot has been done to improve the schools on the supply side with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and subsequent efforts, there is a need for rejuvenating and re-imagining learning in schools.

Issues with the Functioning of Government Schools:

• Poor Infrastructure:
  • Many government schools lack basic facilities such as proper classrooms, clean drinking water, toilets, libraries, and playgrounds. This affects the overall quality of education provided to the students.
• Lack of Trained Teachers:
  • A significant number of government schools do not have well-trained and qualified teachers. This results in poor quality of teaching and a lack of enthusiasm among students.
• Outdated Curriculum:
  • The curriculum followed by many government schools is outdated and does not provide relevant skills required in the current job market. This results in a lack of employability among students.
• Inadequate Funding:
  • Many government schools suffer from inadequate funding, which affects their ability to provide basic facilities and attract well-qualified teachers.
• Lack of Accountability:
  • There is often a lack of accountability among school administrators and teachers in government schools. This results in poor quality of education and a lack of motivation among students.
• Poor Teacher-Student Ratio:
  • The teacher-student ratio in government schools is often low, resulting in inadequate attention given to individual students.
    • According to a report, India has nearly 1.2 lakh schools with just one teacher each.
    • The  Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act2009 in its Schedule lays down Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) for both primary and upper primary schools.
    • At primary level the PTR should be 30:1 and at the upper primary level it should be 35:1.

Constitutional Provisions and Laws related to Education in India:

• Constitutional Provisions:
  • Part IV of Indian Constitution,Article 45 and Article 39 (f) of Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP), has a provision for state-funded as well as equitable and accessible education.
  • The 42^ndAmendment to the Constitution in 1976 moved education from the State to the Concurrent List.
    • The education policies by the Central government provides a broad direction and state governments are expected to follow it. But it is not mandatory, for instance Tamil Nadu does not follow the three-language formula prescribed by the first education policy in 1968.
  • The 86^thAmendment in 2002 made education an enforceable right under Article 21-A.
    • Article 21Aof the Constitution makes it obligatory on the State to provide free and compulsory education to children between the age of 6 and 14 years.
  • Related Laws:
    • Right To Education (RTE) Act, 2009aims to provide primary education to all children aged 6 to 14 years and enforces education as a Fundamental Right.
      • It also mandates 25% reservation for disadvantaged sections of the society.
    • Government Initiatives:
      • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid Day Meal Scheme, National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning, PRAGYATA, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao,PM SHRI Schools

Way Forward:

• Making Local Government Responsible with Funds:
  • Local governments and women’s collectives should be given the responsibility for elementary schools with funds and functionaries.
  • They must be authorised to fill any vacancy by rationalisation or recruiting a community volunteer who has cleared the Teacher Eligibility Test.
  • The devolved funds should be sufficient to meet the needs for basic learning and support. The school should become a community institution rather than be a government entity, whichcan draw on voluntarism/donations and get the support of gadgets to ensure healthy learning outcomes.
• Training Teachers:
  • All teachers and teacher educators (block and cluster coordinators, State/District resource persons)should be trained in the use of gadgets and course material that can facilitate learning.
  • Every classroom must have a large TV and a good sound system to provide online lessonsthat supplement what is taught in class.
• Utilising SHGs:
  • The Mid-Day Meal responsibility must be handed over to the village level  Self-Help Group (SHG)  of women.
  • The  Panchayat and School Management Committee shall be the supervisors of the SHG.
  • Teachers should not have any role in the Mid-Day Meal scheme, except teaching.
• Developing Public Libraries:
  • Public libraries should be developed where youths in the village can study and prepare for jobs and admissions to good institutions.
  • Such community institutions attract volunteers.
    • Karnataka has done outstanding work on strengthening its public libraries and this has gains for school learning outcomes as well.
  • Using Innovating Methods:
    • Sound boxes, video films, play-way learning items, indoor and outdoor sports, cultural activities for learning on a scale can be used.
    • With support from Integrated Child Development Services,toys-based learning in early childhood can be started.
      • The  New Education Policy 2022 mandates a continuum from ages 3 to 8 to ensure this important early beginning in life.
    • Healthcare Management:
      • The school leadership should take responsibility for the nutrition challenge as too many committees can weaken concerted efforts.
      • It is important to assign accountability for the well-being of children to field functionaries such as Aanganwadi Sevikas,  Ashas, Auxiliary Nurse Midwifes (ANMS), and Panchayat Secretaries.
      • Collaborating with the local government is crucial for effective healthcare management and to make a positive impact.
    • Promoting Community Campaigns:
      • There should be community campaigns and regular school level interactions with parents.
      • Teachers must build a relationship with every household to ensure children’s care and learning.
      • The Nipun Bharat Mission  to ensure oral and written literacy and numeracy, should become a people’s movement like the Total Literacy Campaign.

General Studies Paper 1

• Context: The destruction caused by earthquakes in Turkey should be alarming for us as the geologists have warned of a probable massive earthquake in the Himalayan state.

India’s Vulnerability:

• Earthquakes are a prominent danger in India’s disaster profile which has caused huge loss of life and material.
• India has seen some of the greatest earthquakes in the last century.
• Nearly 58 percent of the Indian landmass is vulnerable to earthquakes.
• Frequent tremors:
  • In recent period earthquakes in different parts of India, albeit of small magnitudes, have occurred. Few experts warn that frequent tremors were a matter of concern in the subcontinent, where several areas are prone to major seismic activities.
  • Whereas, acccording to others, India is witnessing micro tremors regularly which, in turn, is helping release tectonic stress and offering protection from the possibility of a devastating event.

India’s earthquake preparedness

• Seismic Zones:
  • Earthquake-prone areas of India have been identified on the basis of 3 factors, namely
    • Scientific inputs related to seismicity.
    • Earthquakes occurred in the past.
    • Tectonic setup of the region.
  • Based on these conditions, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) divided the country into four seismic zones, viz. Zone II, Zone III, Zone IV and Zone V.

• India’s policy on earthquake preparedness: 
  • Currently, India’s policy on earthquake preparedness operates primarily at the scale of structural details.
  • Guided by the National Building Codes, this includes specifying dimensions of the structural members — columns, beams, etc. — and details of the reinforcements that join these elements together.
  • While scientifically sound, this view on earthquake preparedness is criticised for being myopic.
• National Seismic Risk Mitigation Programme (NSRMP):
  • It is aimed at reducing the vulnerability of communities and their assets to natural disaster by taking appropriate mitigation measures and to strengthen the capacity of national and state entities to effectively plan for and respond to earthquakes.
• Delhi High Court’s recent action:
  • Recently Delhi High Court has asked the state government to file a status report and action plan on the structural safety of buildings in Delhi.

Issues & Challenges

• Shortcomings of India’s policy on earthquake preparedness:
  • The policy ignores the buildings that were constructed before such codes were published in 1962.
    • Such buildings form a large part of our cities.
  • It assumes infallibility in the processes of enforcement— relying only on penalisation and illegalities.
  • It treats earthquakes as a problem of individual buildings considering that they exist and behave in complete isolation from their urban context.
    • The truth is that buildings exist in clusters and in the event of an earthquake, behave as a system.
    • They collapse on nearby buildings and on the abutting streets — damaging buildings that might have otherwise survived and blocking evacuation routes.

Suggestions & way ahead

• Earthquake preparedness needs to act at the scale of building details and cities.
  • Cities:
    • At the scale of cities, the problem is more complex, massive, and unattended.
      • None of the urban renewal programmes — including the latest Smart Cities Mission — have devised an urban policy for earthquake preparedness.
    • Bulding details:
      • At the scale of building details, we need to create a system of retrofitting existing structures and enforcing seismic codes with more efficiency.
    • Need of a policy:
      • We must look at Earthquake preparedness in the realm of policy and not just as legal enforcement. Such a policy should include two measures:
        • First,to create a system of tax-based or development rights-based incentives for retrofitting one’s building up to seismic codes.
        • Such a system of incentives will enable the growth of an industry around retrofitting and will generate a body of well-trained professionals and competent organisations.
      • Second, by ensuring better enforcement of seismic codes through a similar model.
        • A step forward in this direction was the National Retrofitting Programme launched in 2014.
        • Under the programme, the Reserve Bank of India directed banks to deny loans for any building activity that does not meet the standards of earthquake-resistant design.
      • Urban-level policy:
      • An urban-level policy should start with surveys and audits that can generate earthquake vulnerability maps showing parts of the city that are more prone to serious damage.
      • This should follow following criteria:
        • The percentage of vulnerable structures in the area;
        • The availability of evacuation routes and distances from the nearest open ground;
        • Density of the urban fabric; and
        • Location of nearest relief services and the efficiency with which these services can reach affected sites.
      • Using such maps,enforcement, incentives, and response centres can be proportionally distributed across the urban terrain.
      • Utilizing Urban platforms:
      • Programmes like the ongoing Urban 20 meetings are an excellent opportunity for international knowledge exchange on earthquake preparedness.

Global examples

• Cases like that of Japan and San Francisco are good examples of their Earthquake Preparedness.
  • Japan:
    • Japan has invested heavily in technological measures to mitigate the damage from the frequent earthquakes that it experiences.
    • Skyscrapers are built with counterweights and other high-tech provisions to minimise the impact of tremors.
    • Small houses are built on flexible foundations and public infrastructure is integrated with automated triggers that cut power, gas, and water lines during earthquakes.
  • San Francisco:
    • Another of the world’s famous earthquake-prone cities San Francisco was devastated by an earthquake in April 1906.

• • • • The city saw more than 3,000 deaths and massive destruction of property.

Following the disaster, San Francisco implemented policy changes similar to Japan’s and when the next major earthquake hit in 1989, the city recorded just 63 casualties.

General Studies Paper 2

Context: Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change expressed that India and Denmark can jointly demonstrate the feasibility of achieving ambitious climate and sustainable energy goals during the ‘India-Denmark: Partners for Green and Sustainable Progress Conference’ in New Delhi.

• Since the launch of the Green Strategic Partnership in 2020, the bilateral cooperation is focused on promoting green and sustainable development.

What is Green Strategy Partnership?

• The Green Strategic Partnership is a mutually beneficial arrangement to advance political cooperation, expand economic relations and green growth, create jobs, and strengthen cooperation on addressing global challenges and opportunities;  with a focus on an ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
• Danish companies with niche technologies and expertise have offered to help India in meeting its air pollution control targets, including in the key area of tackling the problem of burning crop stubble.
• Other key points under the partnership include dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and cooperation in water efficiency and water loss.
• The creation of India-Denmark energy parks in areas with large numbers of Danish firms and an India-Denmark skill institute to train Indian manpower has been proposed.
• The Green Strategic Partnership will build on an existing Joint Commission for Cooperation and existing joint working groups.

State of India Denmark Cooperation:

• Background:
  • The diplomatic relations between India and Denmark,  established in September 1949, are marked by regular high-level exchanges.
  • Both countries share historical links, common democratic traditions and a shared desire for regional, as well as international peace and stability.
  • Bilateral relations were elevated to the level of “Green Strategic Partnership”during the Virtual Summit held in 2020.
• Commercial and Economic Relations:
  • Bilateral trade in goods and services between India and Denmark has grown by 78%, from USD 2.8 billion in 2016 to USD 5 billion in 2021.
  • The major export items from India to Denmark are textiles, apparels and yarns related, vehicles and components, metal goods, iron and steel, footwear, and travel goods.
  • Major Danish exports to India are medicinal/pharmaceutical goods, power generating machinery, industrial machinery, metal waste and ore, and organic chemicals.
• Cultural Exchange:
  • India’s 75^thIndependence Day was celebrated in Copenhagen with a great enthusiasm with a flag hoisting ceremony and vibrant Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, attended by a large number of the diaspora.
  • Important streets and public places have been named after Indian leaders which include the Gandhi Plaene (Gandhi Park), Copenhagen and a Nehru Road near Aarhu University in Aarhus.
• Intellectual Property Cooperation:
  • The MoU signed in 2020 aims at increasing IP co-operation between the two countries by way of, exchange of information and best practices on processes for disposal of applications for patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and Geographical Indications, and cooperation in the field of protection of Traditional Knowledge.
  • It will be a landmark step forward in India’s journey towards becoming a major player in global innovation and further the objectives of the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy, 2016.

Way Forward

• India and Denmark must cooperate in multilateral fora like the World Trade Organization, International Solar Alliance, Arctic Council to advance democracy and human rights and promote a rule-based multilateral system.