·       The theme for India’s Chairmanship is ‘BRICS @ 15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus’.

1. Reform of the Multilateral System

2. Counter Terrorism

3. Using Digital and Technological Tools for achieving SDGs

4. Enhancing People to People exchanges.

1.Non-Food Grains Left Out: Although all food-grains including wheat, rice, jowar, bajra and maize have gained from the revolution, other crops such as coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds were left out of the ambit of the revolution.

2.Regional Disparities: It has so far affected only 40 percent of the total cropped area and 60 per cent is still untouched by it. The most affected areas are Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh in the north and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the south. It has hardly touched the Eastern region, including Assam, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa and arid and semi-arid areas of Western and Southern India.

3.Excessive water consumption: Punjab is a major wheat- and rice-cultivating area, and hence it is one of the highest water depleted regions in India.

4.Health Hazards: The large-scale use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides such as Methomyl, Phorate, Triazophos and Monocrotophos resulted in resulted in a number of critical health illnesses including cancer, renal failure, stillborn babies and birth defects.

·       To introduce transparency in India’s fiscal management systems.

·       To ensure intergenerational equity in fiscal management.

·       To achieve fiscal sustainability necessary for long-term macroeconomic stability.

·       To remove fiscal impediments in the effective conduct of monetary policy.

·       To ensure prudent debt management consistent with the fiscal sustainability through limits imposed on the central governments’ borrowings, debt and deficits.

·       The Act’s long-term objective is for India to achieve fiscal stability and to give the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) flexibility to deal with inflation in India.

GDI, together with the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), was introduced in 1995 in the Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Program

The GDI is the ratio of the HDIs calculated separately for females and males using the same methodology as in the HDI. It is a direct measure of gender gap showing the female HDI as a percentage of the male HDI.

The GDI shows how much women are lagging behind their male counterparts and how much women need to catch up within each dimension of human development. It is useful for understanding the real gender gap in human development achievements and is informative to design policy tools to close the gap

1. The objective of the mission is to study the dynamic nature of the sun’s outer most layers, the corona and the chromosphere.
2. To collect data about Coronal Mass Ejections (CME).
3. It will study on origin of solar storms and their path through the interplanetary space from the Sun to the Earth.
4. The studies will also focus on collection of information for space weather prediction.

These departments work in silos, and the data across departments is not updated properly.  Hence, discrepancies are often noted in land records.  In the past, surveys to update land records have not been undertaken or completed, and maps have not been used to establish actual property boundaries on the ground.  Therefore, in several records, the property documents do not match the position on the ground.

GIS can help to establish the actual land boundaries, the types of crops grown, the exact land area and thereby help in cleansing the land records before they are digitized.

1)       Accurate positioning

2)       Reduces fuel use on sea, land and in the air by up to 15 to 21 percent

3)       Smart traffic management, early response to accidents, disasters etc.

4)       Pre-requisite for driverless cars

5)       Increased economic opportunities – food delivery apps, cab services etc.

1)       Climate Change – It is a well-accepted fact that climate change is the main factor contributing to the accelerated glacier retreat observed in the Himalayas.

2)       Encroachments – The increasing population pressure and intensified greed of human beings push them to usurp the forests, mountain regions and even ecological sensitive areas. These are the major factors contributing to the habitat loss of various flora and fauna.

3)       Poaching – Various species of fauna are being hunted for commercial purpose, illegal trade, smuggling, man-animal hunting and even retaliation. Poaching is a major threat to wildlife in the region.

4)       Infrastructure Development – The competition to develop economy, increasing urbanization, attaining energy security, connecting remote areas intrudes massively in the natural ecosystem of the Himalayan region

Current Status of Ramsar site in India:

1.India currently has 47 Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites) which makes India having the highest number of Ramsar sites in South Asia.

2.Haiderpur Wetland in Uttar Pradesh has been added as the 47th Ramsar Site in December 2021.

3. Currently, two wetlands of India are in Montreux record, which is maintained as part of Ramsar list: Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) and Loktak Lake (Manipur).

·       To establish India as a global leader in solar energy, by creating the policy conditions for its diffusion across the country.

·       Mission anticipates achieving grid parity by 2022 and parity will coal based thermal power by 2030.

·       To adopt a 3-phase approach from 2010 to 2022.

·       Other than energy and ecological security the Solar mission will also has the advantage of permitting the decentralized distribution of energy, thereby empowering people at the grassroot level.

·       Objectives:

a)      To conserve and augment the State’s rich medicinal plant resource in its natural habitat.

b)      To establish a quality certification regime

c)      To develop agro-techniques of traded species and encourage organic cultivation of commercially important species on private lands.

d)      To document the available knowledge on ethno medicinal plants.

·       Policy Principles and Strategies

1)      Conservation of Wild Gene Pool in the Forest and Community Land Gene Banks

2)      Documentation of Diversity and Status of Medicinal Plants

3)      Augmentation of the Wild Medicinal Plant Resources

4)      Establishment of Medicinal Plant Education Parks

5)      Standardization of agro-techniques for priority species

6)      Organic Cultivation of medicinal plants

Geographical Indications are part of the intellectual property rights that comes under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

Himachal Pradesh has nine GI Tags latest being Himachali Kala Zeera and Himachali Chulli Oil.

Himachali Kala Zeera or Kinnauri Kala Zeera is a small, grassy and perennial plant with medical and spice uses and is growing wild in the dry temperature regions of Himachal Pradesh especially in overall districts of Kinnaur. It is superior and different from other Kalazeera over its unique aroma, chemical composition and taste.

Himachali chulli Oil

Chulli also known as Wild Apricot, Chulu, Share or Zardalu, mostly used for making Ghanti (a local liquor) and some handmade products, is grown as wild in many parts of Himachal Pradesh namely, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Chamba, Sirmour, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti. The leftover stones or pits after the processing is thrown as waste which is otherwise used as a good source of edible oil which is rich in polysaturated fatty acids like linoleic and oleic acid which is of adequate nutritional and pharmaceutical importance.

Chamba Rumal

The Rumal is a Persian word for handkerchief, a square piece of cloth, and the term Chamba Rumal is associated with for the embroidered work done on the hand spun ‘khaddar’ or a fine muslin cloth, which is in square and oblong format. Chamba Rumal is a pictorial craft that represents unique embroidery, which originated and flourished during 17th –18th centuries in Chamba town in the State of Himachal Pradesh. The Chamba Rumal derives its inspiration from Paintings in their general layout and themes, there is a predominance of figures of deities, especially of Vishnu in his different forms.

Kangra Painting

Kangra art is the visual expression of a cultural movement with roots in a great spiritual upsurge. The principal centre of Kangra paintings was Kangra Valley where the artists worked under the patronage of the hill Rajas of Guler, Kangra and Nurpur. The new arrivals mingled with the local artists and were greatly influenced by the atmosphere of the hills and adopted themes of eternal love between Radha and Krishna. Verdant greenery of the landscape, brooks, springs were the recurrent images on the miniatures.

1)      To create awareness about IPRs, especially patents, in the State and neighbouring region of this centre and enable patent searches using modern search software for the Universities, industry, government departments and R&D institutions in the State and around.

2)      To facilitate universities, industry, government departments and R&D institutions for patent filing and searches, GI registration, Copyrights, Industrial design, Electronic circuit copyrights, New Plant Varieties NPV’s) etc. Building up capacity of subject specific patent landscaping in selected universities of the State

3)      To create Intellectual Property Cells in the universities specifically in Govt. Universities/Institutes of the Higher Education.

4)      To analyze the patent information on a regular basis and start technology scan studies involving IPCU’s and other academic /management institutes/ laboratories under the programme to suggest new programmes for R&D based on such information.

5)      Training and capacity building in post patent filing activities i.e technology valuation & audit, technology licensing and technology transfer & commercialization

1)      Insurance Services

2)      Passport Services

3)      Premium Collection Services of Insurance Companies like LIC, SBI, ICICI Prudential, AVIVA DHFL and Others

4)      E-Nagrik & E- District Services {Birth/ Death Certificate etc.}

5)      Pension Services

6)      Aadhar Printing and Enrollment

7)      PAN Card

8)      Electoral Services

9)      State Electricity and Water Bill Collection Services

10)  Digitize India

11)  CyberGram

12)  Services of Department of Post

Benefits:

1)      Better dissemination of information at the remotest corner

2)      Saving time and cost

3)      Reduction in response time

4)      Virtual extension counters for the government

5)      A platform for people to interact with each other

(i)                  hold significant numbers of one or more globally threatened bird species,

(ii)                be one of a set of sites that together hold a suite of restricted-range species or biome-restricted species and

(iii)               have exceptionally large numbers of migratory or congregatory birds.

Status of IBA in HP

Himachal Pradesh has an area of 0.71 million ha (l2.87%) under the protected area network, that comprises two national parks and 32 wildlife sanctuaries, covering 0.14 million ha and 0.57 million ha respectively. The Great Himalayan National Park and the Pin Valley National Park have been identified as lBAs, and of the 32 wildlife sanctuaries, 24 are IBAs.

Ex -Bandli Wildlife Sanctuary
Chail Wildlife Sanctuary
Churdhar Wildlife Sanctuary
Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary

1. Job creation

·       The schemes of Government of India like Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana and Rural Employment Generation Program, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act etc are projected towards sustainable development and is somewhat related to SDG 1.

2. Good health and well being

·       Inclusive growth targeted with bare minimum facilities such as good health, well-being and education leads to inclusive growth meeting the objectives of inclusiveness and sustainability together.

·       The schemes of Government of India such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (ABPMJAY), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Mid Day Meal aim at inclusive and sustainable development and related to SDG 2, 3 and 4.

3. Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth

·       This can be done by promoting development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.

4. Improved infrastructure

·       Industrialisation, innovation and infrastructure are deeply interconnected not only among themselves but with all other SDGs. SDG 9 has found a niche as a prerequisite for maximising the efficiency and effectiveness of all the other SDGs. Goal 1 (No Poverty), which aims to eliminate poverty across all areas, is achievable by expanding industries which would enhance opportunities of livelihood, provide financial stability, and expand the skill set of people thus making them less vulnerable to exploitation.

·       Promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrialization related to SDG 9.

·       India is projected to add 416 million urban dwellers between 2018 and 2050. The Government of India’s Smart Cities Mission, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) are working to address the challenge of improving urban spaces. The prime minister’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana aims to achieve housing for all by 2022.

5. Environment and climate change

·       Climate change and poor environment conditions are some of the factors which hamper the concept of inclusive growth meeting the objectives of inclusiveness and sustainability together.

·       The Government of India has come up with plans such as National Action Plan on Climate Change to address this issue directly, as well as a National Mission for Green India. This related to SDG 13.

Status of Wind Energy in India:

o   According to the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), the total wind energy potential is 302 GW at a 100-meter hub height

o   India’s electricity generation from wind reached 39.2 gigawatts (GW) a year in March 2021, fourth highest wind installed capacity in the world. An addition of another 20 GW over the next five years is expected to happen soon.

o   The compound annual growth rate for wind generation has been 11.39% between 2010 and 2020, and for installed capacity, it has been 8.78%.

o   More than 95% of commercially exploitable resources are located in seven states: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Contribution of Wind Energy in India:

Need of launching EOS:

Earth Observation Satellites of ISRO has been successfully able to establish many operational applications in the country. Both at Central and State level, there are large number of users who utilise space-based inputs for various purposes. Some of the prominent applications are:

§  Agricultural Crops Inventory

§  Water Resources Information System

§  Ground Water Prospects

§  Forest Working Plans

§  Biodiversity and Coral Mapping

§  Potential Fishing Zones

§  Ocean State Forecasts

§  Rural Development

§  Urban Development

§  Monitoring of Glacial Lakes and Water Bodies

§  Location based Services using NavIC constellation

§  Cyclone and Floods Mapping & Monitoring

§  Landslide Mapping & Monitoring

§  Agricultural Drought

§  Forest Fire monitoring

§  Earthquakes

§  Extreme Weather Monitoring

§  Experimental Forecasts

Structure of Biosphere Reserve

§  Core Areas:

o   It is the most protected area of a biosphere reserve. It may contain endemic plants and animals.

o   They conserve the wild relatives of economic species and also represent important genetic reservoirs having exceptional scientific interest.

o   A core zone is a protected region, like a National Park or Sanctuary/protected/regulated mostly under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is kept free from human interference.

§  Buffer Zone:

o   The buffer zone surrounds the core zone and its activities are managed in this area in the ways that help in the protection of the core zone in its natural condition.

o   It includes restoration, limited tourism, fishing, grazing, etc; which are permitted to reduce its effect on the core zone.

o   Research and educational activities are to be encouraged.

§  Transition Zone:

o   It is the outermost part of the biosphere reserve. It is the zone of cooperation where human ventures and conservation are done in harmony.

o   It includes settlements, croplands, managed forests and areas for intensive recreation and other economic uses characteristics of the region.

Role of Biosphere Reserve

§  Conservation:

o   Managing Biosphere Reserve’s genetic resources, endemic species, ecosystems, and landscapes.

o   It may prevent man-animal conflict eg. death of tiger Avni who was shot dead when she turned man-eater

o   Along with the wildlife, culture and customs of tribals are also protected

§  Development:

o   Promoting economic and human growth that is sustainable on a sociocultural and ecological level. It seeks to strengthen the three pillars of sustainable development: social, economic and protection of the environment.

§  Logistic support:

o   Promoting research activities, environmental education, training and monitoring in the context of local, national and international conservation and sustainable development.

§  Acid rain is caused by atmospheric pollution from acidic gases such as sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen emitted from the burning of fossil fuels.

§  It is also recognized that acidic smog, fog, mist, move out of the atmosphere and settle on dust particles which in turn accumulate on vegetation as acid depositions. When rain falls, the acid from these depositions leak and form acid dews.

CAUSES OF ACID RAIN

• SO_x (Sulphur oxides) – Fossil fuel burning, power plants, smelting of metal sulphide ores, industrial sources, industrial production of sulfuric acid in metallurgical, chemical and fertiliser industries volcanoes, seas and oceans, decomposition of organic matter.

• NO_x (Nitrogen oxides – NO, NO₂ and N₂O) – Fossil fuel burning, lightning, biomass burning, forest fires, oceans, power plants.

HARMFUL EFFECTS OF ACID RAIN

Effects on humans

• Bad smells, reduced visibility; irritation of the skin, eyes and the respiratory tract.
• Some direct effects include chronic bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema and cancer.

Effects on soil

• The exchange between hydrogen ions and the nutrient cations like potassium and magnesium in the soil cause leaching of the nutrients, making the soil infertile.
• An increase in ammonia in the soil due to a decrease in other nutrients decrease the rate of decomposition. The nitrate level of the soil is also found to decrease.

Effects on aquatic life

• Eggs or sperms of fish, frogs and other aquatic organisms are sensitive to pH changes.
• Acid rain kills their gametes affecting the life cycles and productivity
• Acidic lake waters may kill microbes and turn them unproductive.

Effect on terrestrial life

• Acid rain damage cuticle of plant leaves and reduces photosynthesis.
• Acidic medium promotes leaching of heavy metals like aluminium, lead and mercury. Such metals when percolate into ground water affect soil micro flora/fauna.

Effect on buildings, monuments and materials

• Limestone and marble are destroyed by acid rain. Smoke and soot cover such objects. They slowly dissolve/flake away from the surfaces because of acid fumes in the air.
• Many buildings/monuments such as Taj Mahal in Agra have suffered from acid rain (Marble Cancer).

Benefits of soil health card scheme

·       The soil health card scheme will properly examine the farmer’s soil and accordingly give them a formatted report so that they can decide upon which types of crops to be cultivated for more income.

·       The appointed authorities will regularly monitor the soil and provides a report to the farmer once in every 3 years. The farmers will also be regularly updated about their soil data.

·       The government will also employ professionals to help the farmers in adopting remedial measures under the scheme.

·       With the help of Soil Health Card Scheme, the farmers can plan the future of their crops as well as land.

·       The government keeps the account on, that the same individual conducts soil analysis for a farmer to enhance the effectiveness of the scheme.

·       The SHC gives the farmers a clear idea of which nutrients is lacking in their soil. Thus, in which crops they should invest.

Challenges associated with soil health card scheme

·       Many farmers are unable to understand the content, hence unable to follow the recommended practices.

·       Numbers of soil samples per unit area are not based on soil variability

·       Lack of Coordination among agricultural extension officers and farmers

·       Microbial activity, moisture retention activity is essential but missing in SHC

·       The soil health card is more focused on chemical nutrient indicators; among physical and biological properties only soil color is included. Some important indicators like cropping history, water resources (soil moisture), slope of soil, depth of soil, color of soil, soil texture (bulk density), Micro-biological activity etc. are not included

·       Inadequate soil testing infrastructure

Ethical issues involved in biotechnology:

1) Stem Cell Research – Use of stem cells is one of the most controversial issue of biotechnology. Creating new lines from embryonic stem cells is akin to abortion, and the destruction of any embryo for research purposes is an ethical violation.

2) Designer Babies – they are children enhanced through gene manipulation to meet certain mental, physical, and emotional demands of parents. It is akin to playing with nature of newborn.

3) Protecting Human Subjects in Clinical Trials – People will often try anything in order to help combat illness or disease — especially when there is no known cure. How do scientists protect their subjects when they are unsure of the results or side effects of any study?

4) Privacy – as scientists become adept at deciphering a person’s genetic composition, it is increasingly likely that compromising information about a person’s future health is going to become available. This creates enormous problems. For instance, it may become possible to know that a 5-year-old is going to develop serious heart disease later in life, but does a prospective employer have the right to know that? How will this knowledge affect the individual’s ability to obtain a job, insurance, or a mortgage? Should such information be available to insurers and others?

Social issues involved in the use of biotechnology:

1) Bioterrorism – Governments are worried terrorists will use biotechnology to create new Superbugs, infectious viruses, or toxins for which we have no cures.

2) Harm to the environment – This concern is perhaps the most widely cited by those opposed to GMOs. It is very difficult to predict what will happen in an ecosystem where a new organism has been introduced — whether genetically modified or not.

3) Affordability – The use of genetic information to create medicine contributes to the rising cost of drugs, and shifts attention away from designing affordable drugs available for mass production.

4) Widening Inequalities – the high cost of bio therapeutics will be afforded only by the rich class and the benefits of this technology will not reach to the masses. This will give rise to another dimension on inequality in healthcare.

§  During the last few years, the services sector of the state has performed significantly well and emerged to be a major contributor to the economic growth of the state.

§  It registered a growth of 7.7 per cent in 2019-20 over the previous year. The GVA of service sector as per FRE for the year 2019-20 is estimated at ₹46,568 crore as against ₹43,220 crore in 2018-19.

§  The sector-wise growth is as under:

§  IT Industry – Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has established a centre in Shimla. The total number of students registered in IT education subjects is 80,861. The IT department along with the other state departments is delivering 51 online applications and citizen centric services in the state.

§  Tourism Developments – Tourism remains the main source of revenue generation and employment in the State.

§  Banking – The State of Himachal Pradesh has well developed Banking sector and Financial Institutions. Up to September, 2016, the state had a network of 2,061 and more than 80% branches are functioning in rural areas.

Financial Inclusion initiatives in Himachal Pradesh:

Basic bank accounts – Banks in the State have covered all the households with at least one Basic Saving Deposit Account of each household under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana. Out of a total 16.03 lakh PMJDY accounts, banks have opened 13.09 lakh accounts in rural areas and 2.94 lakh accounts in urban areas. Banks have issued RuPay Debit Cards to 13.16 lakh PMJDY account holders and covered more than 82 per cent of PMJDY accounts.

Universal Social Security Initiatives – in the 2^nd phase of PMJDY, Government of India has launched three Social Security Schemes namely Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojna as a comprehensive social security initiative targeted mainly at the poor and underprivileged. These schemes are being implemented throughout the state.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) – As on September, 2020, banks in Himachal Pradesh have sanctioned fresh loans to the tune of `304.18 crore to 20,317 new micro entrepreneurs under the Scheme in the current financial year 2020-21.

Stand-Up India Scheme – Banks have sanctioned `94.23 crore to 494 new enterprises set up by SC/ST and Women entrepreneurs under the scheme up to September, 2020.

Financial Awareness and Literacy Campaigns – Banks are conducting financial Literacy campaign through the Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs) and through its Bank Branches in Himachal Pradesh.

Performance of Khadi and Village Industries:

Planning & Resources – Inadequate linkage between production and sales strategies has resulted in accumulation of stocks, low return on investment, non-performing asset build-up, low production and shrinking employment opportunities. Co-ordination among implementing agencies at various levels is lacking.

Employment – about 80% of the additional employment was created in this sector in last 10 years. However, a large proportion of the employment opportunities is part time.

Cost of Job Creation/Maintenance – Average investment for job creation in the Khadi sector is Rs. 27, 259/FTE job. The annual public cost of maintaining a job created is Rs. 4979/FTE job. In the Village Industries sector, the investment for job creation is Rs. 43,366/FTE job. The annual maintenance cost is Rs. 2158. The public (delivery) cost works out to 182% of wage payment in the Khadi sector and 50% of the wage payment in the Village Industries sector.

Profile of Beneficiaries & Impact – The annual per capita income of the beneficiary households (workers) is Rs. 5655 and the earnings from KVIC programme constitute 52.71%. The income of an average village industries worker’s family is 70% more than that of a khadi worker’s family. The relatively low income of khadi workers’ families is because of the dominance of part-time employment in this sector. More than two-thirds of the sample households (workers) originally belonged to the families below the Poverty Line. Of these poor households, about 71% have actually crossed the poverty line with the help of additional income from the KVIC programme.

NITI Aayog is based on the 7 pillars of effective governance –

(1) Pro-People

(2) Pro-Activity

(3) Participation

(4) Empowering

(5) Inclusion of all

(6) Equality

(7) Transparency

Functions of NITI Aayog:

1)      To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in the light of national objectives.

2)      To foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms.

3)      To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government.

4)      To ensure that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy.

5)      To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress.

6)      To design strategic and long term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and monitor their progress and their efficacy.

7)      To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international like-minded Think Tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.

8)      To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system.

9)      To offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.

10)  To maintain a state-of-the-art Resource Centre, be a repository of research on good governance and best practices in sustainable and equitable development as well as help their dissemination to stake-holders.

11)  To actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the identification of the needed resources so as to strengthen the probability of success and scope of delivery.

12)  To focus on technology upgradation and capacity building for implementation of programmes and initiatives.

Performance of NITI Aayog:

Achievements

I.            The Aayog has helped promote reforms in the states.

II.            It has formulated a model land-leasing law which many states have adopted.

III.            It is working to bring about major reforms in agricultural marketing.

IV.            It identifies and spreads the best practices across states through regular interactions with state officials.

V.            The Aayog has taken the initiative to identify numerous sick Public Sector units for closure.

VI.            Creation of a vibrant innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country through Atal Innovation Mission.

VII.            It also organises the Transforming India lecture series featuring high-profile speakers

VIII.            NITI Aayog monitors and implements the globally accepted Sustainable Development Goals.

IX.            Restructuring the working of institutions like Medical Council of India, UGC and AICTE.

X.            NITI Aayog is engaged in outcome-based monitoring with states in sectors such as healthcare, education and water supply

Challenges Remaining

1. It has no role in influencing public or private investment.
2. It does not seem to have influence in policymaking with long-term consequences. For instance, demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax.
3. If it is a think-tank, it has to maintain a respectable intellectual distance from the Govt. of the day. Instead, we see uncritical praise of the Govt-sponsored schemes / programmes.
4. It is not able to answer specific questions like, why 90% are working in unorganised sector? and more over as on date, more and more informalisation is taking place in the organised sector.
5. Like planning commission, it’s also a non-constitutional body which is not responsible to parliament.
6. Being only a think-tank, resource allocation will be handled by finance ministry, where no say of states is present.
7. Financial independence of Niti Ayog is still under question.
8. People’s participation has not provided enough attention in the administrative structure of Niti Aayog

1.      It should garner independent expertise and capacity to analyse governance or development challenges in a non-partisan manner

2.      Create a repository of best practices for dealing with implementation challenges, based on case studies from around the world.

3.      Identify structural bottlenecks and devise ways to overcome them in crucial sectors like education, health, infrastructure etc.

4.      Strengthening public institutions, banking system, regulatory environment and management of natural resources.

5.      NITI Aayog should make evaluations of the flagship programmes being run by the Government and help in delivering those programmes on ground.

Geospatial technology allows us to make informed decisions based on the importance and priority of resources most of which are limited in nature. Geospatial technology may be used to create intelligent maps and models that may be interactively queried to get the desired results.

Recent developments in Indian Space Programme and Geospatial Technology:

§  The Cartosat satellites are earth observation satellites, used mainly for large-scale mapping of the Earth through high-resolution cameras.

§  It also helps to detect changes in natural geographical or man-made features. As their cameras can `look back and forth’ in an angle to generate continuous spot images.

§  The Earth-observation satellites also include the Resourcesat and RISAT series, the Oceansat series.

o   The Resourcesat and RISAT series of satellites, for example, provide images and data that are needed for land and water resources applications.

o   The Oceansat series and the SARAL satellite, meanwhile, produce data on the oceans.

o   The satellites like INSAT 3D, INSAT-VRR or Megha Tropiques study the atmosphere.

Recent Examples Of Earth Observation Satellites Launched by ISRO

EOS – 01

It is an earth observation satellite.

EOS-01 is nothing but another Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) that will work together with RISAT-2B and RISAT-2BR1 launched last year. Henceforth all the earth observation satellites would be called EOS-series.

Applications

Land and forest mapping and monitoring, mapping of resources like water or minerals or fishes, weather and climate observations, soil assessment, geospatial contour mapping are all done through earth-observation satellites.

Cartosat 3

Cartosat-3 is an earth-observation remote sensing satellite which will replace Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) series.

The imageries are used for urban and rural infrastructure planning, coastal land use and regulation, utility management such as monitoring road networks, water grids or distribution, creation of land use maps, disaster management.

Issues in Geospatial Technology

·       Expensive to build and operate

·       Measurement uncertainty can be large.

·       Resolution is often coarse.

·       Data interpretation can be difficult.

§  ISRO is doing a tremendous job of developing state-of-the-art satellites and equipping them with sensors that are generating data for the country.

§  However, these satellites and sensors can only be of great value once they are integrated with other data feeds based on the requirements of end-users.

§  Several countries, for example, are now using cloud and cloud-based computing strategies for agile decision-making.

§  Depending on the end-user (civil or military), policymakers in India need to develop a strategy to use space and non-space data to keep abreast with such developments, and make sure we are not left behind in the race to extract crucial insights.

Environmental Concerns in Tourism Policy of Himachal Pradesh:

1)      Large Scale Deforestation – forests are being cleared for construction of hotels, motels and transportation. Deforestation results in loss of habitat, which threatens the biodiversity of the region. Also, deforestation increases the risk of landslides.

2)      Waste Generation – tourism has led to humongous waste generation, which is a serious issues especially due to inadequate waste disposal and management system. The problem is particularly serious in Dharamshala.

3)      Pollution – large tourist buses, cars, three wheelers have increased beyond the capacity of the towns and cities of Himachal Pradesh. This has led to increased air pollution with potentially damaging consequences for local ecosystem and community health.

4)      Degradation of natural environment – unenforced development planning has facilitated sprawling hotel developments, especially in upper Dharamshala, Mcleodganj, Dharmkot areas. It is causing congestion, sewage pollution and has degraded the natural landscape of the region.

5)      Depletion of natural resources – particularly water is of great concern. The water outage in Shimla few years back is a glaring example. The unregulated increase in hotels to accommodate ever increasing tourist footfall has caused severe water shortages in summer months.

6)      Climate Change – tourism directly contributes to climate change through carbon emissions produced by transportation and accommodation, energy usage, construction and services and products that support tourists.

Potential Role of Heritage Tourism in growth of tourism in Himachal Pradesh

The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the US defines heritage tourism as “…traveling to experience the places, artefacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past, and can include cultural, historic and natural resources”.

Himachal Pradesh is blessed with a lot of heritage sites, both natural and cultural.

§  There are 40 monuments in Himachal Pradesh, which are designated as the monuments of national importance. Some of them are Ganesh Temple, Champa Devi Temple in Champa; Kangra fort, Masroor Temple in Kangra; Viceregal Lodge in Shimla; Ardhnarishwar Temple in Mandi; Tabo Monestary in Lahaul; Gauri Shankar temple in Kullu.

§  Besides, there are stone age places in Bilaspur and Kangra districts.

§  The Indian National Trust has identified 372 heritage buildings in Shimla and surrounding areas.

§  The buildings under the heritage category include some of the brilliant examples of British architecture – Chalet Day School, Gaiety Theatre, Gorton Castle etc.