28 Aug 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. The importance of states in space missions

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

Mains: The role of government policies, state intervention, and collaborations in achieving scientific and development goals, highlighting the case of space exploration.

Context:

The recent soft landing of Chandrayaan-3’s lander module on the moon underscores India’s scientific prowess despite economic constraints. This success prompts a closer examination of how resource-limited nations excel in space exploration.

Introduction

• India achieved a significant milestone by landing the Chandrayaan-3‘s lander module on the moon on August 23.
• India became the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the moon, after the Soviet Union, the U.S., and China.
• The accomplishment highlights India’s ingenuity and ability to achieve ambitious scientific goals at a relatively low cost.

Factors Enabling Resource-Constrained Nations’ Success

• The ability of resource-constrained economies to achieve ambitious programs raises questions about the factors driving their success.
• The Soviet Union, China, and India, despite being less economically developed, have demonstrated scientific achievements.
• Large populations and investments in science and technology are key factors contributing to success.
• These nations emphasise science and technology in their development trajectory, yielding current successes.

Role of State and Collaboration

• The UAE’s success in space exploration disproves the sole reliance on population size as a determinant.
• The “triple helix model” in the UAE, where government, private sector, and academics collaborate, plays a crucial role.
• The state’s active and capable role helps overcome financial constraints and enables the harnessing of skilled workers.
• Governments have enabled moon landings, indicating their importance in space exploration.

Balancing Resources and Development Needs

• Concerns about diverting resources from development needs to ambitious programs are valid.
• Similar concerns were raised during the Apollo moon landings, but they are now considered triumphs of human achievement.
• Space missions contribute to knowledge, attract business, and demonstrate capabilities for private players.

Role of State in Modern Economy

• The success of governments in moon landings showcases their competence and power as actors.
• Economist Mariana Mazzucatto’s work highlights how the state fosters innovation and success in economies.
• Balancing social concerns and well-defined objectives provides a roadmap for addressing global challenges.

Nut Graf: Resource-constrained nations like the Soviet Union, China, and India have achieved space exploration milestones due to factors like large populations, investment in science, and active state participation. These successes illuminate the role of collaboration, and the state’s intervention, suggesting a roadmap for addressing broader societal challenges.

E. Editorials

Category: ENVIRONMENT

1. Himalayan blunders that are ravaging the Himalayas

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

Mains: Infrastructure Projects in Himalayan regions and Environmental concerns

Context

Recent tragedies involving bridges, roads, and buildings being carried away by surging rivers in the hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh epitomize a misguided development paradigm institutionalized in an eco-fragile region. 

Infrastructure Projects and Environmental Issues

• The Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, a huge infrastructure project involving road widening, was undertaken in Uttarakhand in 2016. 
• The project has claimed lakhs of trees and acres of forest area, as well as numerous human and animal lives and the fragile Himalaya’s precious topsoil. Tonnes of mud have been created, clogging water supplies. 
• A project of more than 100 kilometers in length is required by law to get environmental approval. However, ambitious tourism initiatives and plans resulting from electoral agendas are time-bound.
• The rich forests that surround Chamba, Rudraprayag, and other lush green spots are decreasing. 
• The Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone (BESZ) features the last natural free flow of the Ganga river and was designated a protected site under the Environment Protection Act of 1986 in December 2012. 
• The approval of the BESZ monitoring committee was overseen by the majority of State authorities on the committee without any discussion or proposals. 

Violations of Rules

• The Ministry of Road Transport is just contradicting itself by expanding hill roads. These difficulties develop as a result of hill slope destabilization and the increasing deterioration of road alignments and infrastructure. 
• The Supreme Court addressed this inconsistency in a civil appeal when a Bench led by Justice R. Nariman chastised the Ministry and instructed that its own notification be implemented prospectively and retrospectively. However, the government created the justification for national security.
• While scientists have frequently stated that Uttarakhand’s Chardham temples are already overcrowded, their carrying capabilities have been raised beyond all scientific logic. 
• However, in light of Mother Nature’s recent warnings, the state governments of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have proposed a reconsideration of carrying capacity. 
• The Supreme Court, too, has formed a committee to investigate the matter, but the greater concern is whether the findings will be adopted.

Conservation of Gangotri Glacier

• Conservation of the Gangotri glacier, which is also the fastest retreating glacier, is one of the most difficult concerns for Ganga rejuvenation. With increased motor traffic and forest fires, black carbon deposits are accumulating on the glacier, hastening its melting. 
• According to a 2023 Standing Committee study on water resources, “black carbon absorbs more light and emits infrared radiation, which raises the temperature.” As a result, an increase in black carbon in the high Himalaya contributes to accelerated glacier melting.” 

Also read SECURE Himalaya project.

Way Forward

Regulation is a relatively straightforward answer to all of the ongoing and pressing issues that the hills confront in the ongoing argument between the environment and hill development. The only practical and sustainable answer is to widen highways to an intermediate width with little environmental damage. If decreasing a few meters of road width helps assure the preservation of the Ganga’s sole pristine length and the protection of the Himalaya, then we must make serious attempts to change the plan. Greed, along with deceptive political, bureaucratic, and real estate lobbies, is ruining the Himalayan forests and rivers, as well as the lives of local residents. 

Nut Graf: The Himalayan area of India is being devastated by greed outweighing necessity, as well as the efforts of manipulative political, bureaucratic, and real estate lobbies.

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. The state of scholarships for minorities

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

Mains: Concerns with reduced budget of scholarships for minorities

Background

• To investigate the social, economic, and educational condition of Muslims in India, the UPA administration established the Sachar Committee. 
• In its Strategy Document-2018, the Niti Aayog emphasizes the need of affirmative action in improving the socioeconomic position of religious minorities, notably Muslims.

Need of scholarships for religious minorities

• Religious minorities number more than 30 crore people in India. Under Section 2(C) of the National Commission for Minorities Act of 1992, six faiths have been notified. 
• Muslims are the largest religious minority among them, although facing challenges in a variety of sectors. 
• Their participation in paid employment is limited, and much labor in the informal sector, which is defined by poor wages, insufficient social security, and horrible working conditions.
• The Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee was constituted to look into the social, economic, and educational standing of Muslims in India. According to the Sachar Committee, the Muslim minority is being disregarded in virtually every facet of development.

Welfare Schemes for Minorities

• The Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme was one of the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ initial central sector schemes. 
• The Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme sought to provide minority students with access to high-quality higher education by awarding scholarships ranging from ₹2,300 and ₹15,000.
• The Scholarship Scheme based on Merit and Means targeted professional and technical courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. 
• The Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) is a central sector initiative that gives financial support to research scholars from institutions approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for a period of five years. 
• Padho Pardesh was established to give greater possibilities for higher education overseas to students from economically disadvantaged minority populations. 
• The Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) established the Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship for deserving ladies to pursue upper secondary education. 
• The Naya Savera project was developed separately to give free coaching to minority students for admission to technical and professional degrees as well as competitive tests. 
• The plan was allocated 30 crore in the Union Budget 2023-24, however the Centre has subsequently canceled the scheme, claiming that the New Education Policy 2020 does not support coaching activities. 

Reduction in budget of schemes

• The Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) identified a “declining trend” in the proportion of total budget expenditure allocated to minorities in its 2022 report. The CBGA determined that the distribution of funding for the fiscal year 2022-23 did not correspond to proportionate representation of minorities. 
• According to the most recent Ministry of Minority Affairs data, beneficiaries of the first six central educational initiatives stated above fell by roughly 7% between 2019 and 2022. 
• The current distribution of cash for the Ministry’s initiatives reflects the decrease in minority students receiving educational help. 
• The budget allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs has been lowered by 38% this fiscal year compared to 2022-23. 
• While the government spent 1,350 crore on pre-matric scholarships in 2021-22, it spent 400 crore on the post-matric plan.
• One of the few programmes that witnessed an increase in the number of participants between 2019 and 2021 was the merit-cum-means scholarship for professional and technical degrees, which also saw budget decreases this year. 

Necessity of the educational aid

• According to the Ministry of Education’s All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), 2020-2021, Muslim students lag well behind other populations in terms of higher education enrollment. 
• As the Niti Aayog stated in its Strategy Document-2018, affirmative action is critical to improving the socioeconomic situation of religious minorities, notably Muslims, who continue to fall behind the rest of the population in various categories. 
• There is a large discrepancy in education accessibility between Muslims and the broader population, with Muslim enrolment reducing as one advances in education. 
• Experts are concerned that eliminating scholarships and reducing the scope of others, such as the pre-matric scholarship and the Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship, will harm the community and reduce enrolment rates, which are already low.

Conclusion 

Niti Aayog has proposed increasing pre-matric, post-matric, and merit-based scholarships, as well as MANF and national abroad scholarships, by 15% each year beginning in 2019-20. It also suggested increasing the number of scholarships for minority females by 10% each year.

Nut Graf: In recent years, the Centre has canceled two significant educational projects for religious minorities, reduced the scope of another, and steadily reduced investment on several Ministry of Minority Affairs programmes.