15 Feb 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. The Palk Bay fisheries Conflict: A tale of competing livelihoods and a depleted catch
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. NHA to integrate caste census databases
2. There is Constitutional impropriety, Says NC
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. LIC’s Road to the IPO
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Zooming in on the potential of India’s geospatial sector
GOVERNANCE
1. Incorrect Diagnosis, Correct Remedy
F. Prelims Facts
1. ISRO puts 3 satellites into orbit aboard PSLV C-52
G. Tidbits
1. Inflation edges past 6% in January
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. The Palk Bay fisheries Conflict: A tale of competing livelihoods and a depleted catch

Syllabus: India and its Neighbourhood – Relations

Mains: Fishermen Conflict between India and Sri Lanka

Context: The fishermen of India and Sri Lanka are in conflict on how to share the fish resource in the narrow Palk Strait which separates the two countries.

Background:

• India and Sri Lanka had agreed to divide the Strait with an imaginary boundary line in the 1970s —the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
• But Indian fishermen are frequently arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for “poaching” or engaging in “illegal” fishing activity in Sri Lankan waters. 

What are the Issues?

• Bottom trawling:
  • The main contention between the fishermen on either side is with “bottom trawling”, the fishing method used by fishermen from Tamil Nadu.
  • The Sri Lankan fishermen started voicing concern about depleting catches, owing to incessant trawling by the Indian fishermen. 
• Growing Human Cost: There is a growing human cost of the conflict as Indian fishermen were allegedly attacked. 
• Demand to stop bottom trawling: Tamil Nadu is yet to agree to the chief demand of northern Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen to stop bottom trawling to restore trust between the fishermen on both sides.

Know more about India Sri Lanka Fishermen Issue in CNA dated Dec 23, 2021.

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Zooming in on the potential of India’s geospatial sector

Syllabus: Space Technology

Mains: Impacts of deregulation of the geospatial sector for Indians and the challenges faced by the sector.

Context:

On 15th February 2021, the government decided to completely deregulate the geospatial sector for Indians. The article discusses the impact of this landmark decision and identifies the bottlenecks so that the geospatial sector works at its full potential.

Background:

• The geospatial ecosystem of India is very strong with the Survey of India (SoI), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), remote sensing application centres (RSACs), the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in particular, and all ministries and departments, in general, using geospatial technology.
• However, the full benefits of the geospatial sector are yet to be passed on to the general public and the contribution of the geospatial sector to the GDP is not very noticeable.

Major events after the declaration of deregulation:

• The declaration of deregulation guidelines created a huge hubble-bubble. Many of the media reports projected the growth of the geospatial market to be around Rs. 1 lakh crores by 2029 with a 13% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR).
• The most remarkable event in 2021 was the oversubscription of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of MapmyIndia.
• Another important event that took place after the declaration was the launching of a city mapping program by Genesys International in India. 
• These kinds of energetic actions by investors for the geospatial sector were not experienced before the introduction of new guidelines. Hence, the new guidelines played an important role.
• The government has done its part and the industry is functioning positively. But, a question arises whether the geospatial sector is realizing its full potential or not?

Key Issues:

Some of the major issues in the geospatial sector are as follows:

Lack of market: 

• One of the biggest challenges is the lack of a market for geospatial services in India. There is no demand for geospatial services and products are also not up to India’s potential and size.
• This is because of the lack of awareness among the potential government as well as private users.

Lack of skilled manpower:

• The geospatial industry faces the challenge of the lack of skilled manpower.

Lack of data:

• Another hurdle in the way of the geospatial industry is the lack of foundational data, especially at a high resolution.
• There is a lack of clarity regarding data sharing and collaboration. This leads to the prevention of co-creation and maximization of assets.

No ready to use solution:

• There is no ready-to-use solution specifically created to resolve the problems of India.
• We can say that the restrictive data policies of the previous years were creating major issues but, even as we are celebrating the anniversary of the new guidelines, most people are unaware of them. 
• There is a lot of confusion across government departments, and private industry. Hence, these issues should be addressed.  

Measures to be taken:

It is a well-known fact that these issues cannot be resolved overnight and formulation of guidelines alone will not solve the problems. But, India needs to take certain measures to address these issues aggressively:

Awareness among the users:

• There is a need to publish the entire policy document so that the government and private users are aware of the whole thing.

Availability of data:

• The data available with the government departments should be unlocked and emphasis should be laid on data sharing. 
• An open data sharing protocol should be established so that data sharing can be encouraged and facilitated.
• A Geoportal should be established so that all the public-funded data will be made available as a service model with no or minimal charges.
• There is a need to generate foundation data across the country. This should include the Indian national digital elevation model (InDEM), data layers for cities, and data of natural resources. 

Solution templates:

• Start-ups and solution developers should be engaged to build solution templates for various business processes across departments. 
• Technology and solutions at the local level should be promoted and competition should be encouraged to achieve quality output.

Data storage:

• According to the guidelines, high accuracy data should not be stored in overseas clouds. Hence, there is a need to establish a geospatial data cloud locally. 
• For example, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change can provide a complete package of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications like the working plan, wildlife corridor mapping, social forestry, etc. 
• National Organizations such as SOI and ISRO should be delegated with the responsibility of regulation and all the projects concerned with the scientific significance and security of the country.

No competition among entrepreneurs and National Organizations:

• There should be no competition between the national organizations and the business entrepreneurs as the latter remains in a disadvantaged position.

An Academic Program:

• India does not have strata of core professionals in geospatial technology although there are many persons who are trained in geospatial either through master’s program or on-the-job training.
• There should be a bachelor’s program in geospatial in the Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology. 
• Apart from that, there should be a separate university for geospatial courses. 
• Such programs and courses will promote research and development in the country that are important for the development of technologies and solutions at the local level.

Way Forward:

• The geospatial sector in India is in the right position for investment. The discussion on issues and solutions are required to make the sector realize its true potential.
• It is expected that by the 10th anniversary of deregulation of the geospatial sector, India should have achieved the projected market size and the Indian entrepreneurs should be competing globally.

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. Incorrect Diagnosis, Correct Remedy

Syllabus: Role of civil services in a democracy

Prelims: Article 312 of the Indian Constitution

Mains: Impact of amendments in IAS (Cadre) Rules on Centre-state relations

Context:

The Centre has proposed amendments to 6(1) of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) (Cadre) Rules of 1954 in order to exercise greater control in the central deputation of IAS officials.

What are the IAS (Cadre) Rules?

• A unique feature of All India Services -Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) — created under the AIS Act, 1951, is that the members of these services are recruited by the Central Government and are placed under various State Cadres. 
• It is incumbent upon the members of service to serve both under the State and the Centre. To ensure the service of IAS officers at the Centre, suitable provisions have been made under the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954. 
• The actual number of officers to be deputed to the Central Government shall be decided by the Centre in consultation with the State Government concerned.

Background:

• The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has recently proposed changes in the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954, which will take away the states’ power to override the Centre’s request for seeking officers on central deputation.
• This move was taken because the number of officers available under central deputation is not sufficient to meet the Centre’s requirement and there is a shortage of mid-level IAS officers, especially Deputy Secretaries and Directors.
• States like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal were not forwarding the names of even the willing IAS officers to the centre. But, other states rules including the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states were also not meeting the obligations.
• There are simpler, more effective solutions to the shortage of officers rather than the proposed amendments that will be discussed.

Causes of Shortage:

The causes of shortage are discussed below:

Reduction in annual recruitment:

• The first and foremost cause of the shortage is the reduction in the annual recruitment of IAS officers post-1991 (from 140-160 to just 50-80). There was a misguided notion that the government will have a reduced role due to economic liberalization. 
• This did not happen and it took approximately 20 years for the government to correct this mistake and bring back the annual recruitment to the pre-1991 level. 
• As of January 1, 2021, the shortage of IAS officers stood at 23%. There should be an increase in the annual recruitment of IAS officers to around 200 for a few years as a short-term solution.

Cadre Review:

• There is a lack of cadre review. This is the process or exercise through which the centre and states jointly designate certain strategic posts in the states as the Cadre Posts and onboard them exclusively as IAS officers. 
• It is very shocking that in states such as Tamil Nadu, posts like Commissioner of Disciplinary Proceedings, Commissioner of Archaeology, and Commissioner of Museums have been designated as cadre posts.
• There is a need for a proper cadre review so that states will release many IAS officers from non-strategic posts and will resolve the issue of shortage.

Direct Recruitment:

• The third cause is the discontinuance of the direct recruitment of officers to the Central secretariat service group B since 2000, and extreme delay in regular promotions of officers from the ranks in the Central Secretariat due to prolonged litigation since 2011. 
• These officers used to hold a sizeable number of Deputy Secretary/Director level posts in the Central Secretariat.

Non-utilization of services:

• The centre is not fully utilizing the services of officers that have been appointed to the IAS by promotion or selection from the State Civil Services.
• Around 2,250 officers within the age bracket of 35-55 years with immense field experience remain state-bound.
• The government should make it mandatory for these officers to work for at least 2 years on the central deputation as Deputy Secretary/Directors immediately after their appointment to the IAS and their training at Mussoorie.
• Their next promotion in their state cadre should be based on completing this mandatory time period of Central deputation.
  • Officers, more than 50 years of age should be exempted from this.
• This will lead to solving the issue of shortage of Deputy Secretary/Director-level officers at the Centre in one stroke.

Administrative barriers:

• There are many administrative barriers imposed by the Central government itself such as highly restrictive conditions, perverse incentives, annual lapsing of offer lists, long debarment periods, compulsory cooling-off periods, etc.
• Expecting directly recruited IAS officers to work for at least two years as Deputy Secretaries/Directors between nine and 16 years of service for empanelment as joint Secretaries at the Centre is unwise because this is precisely the phase when they are working in posts with good job content, power, prestige and perks. 
• So, a large number of them do not go on Central deputation and fail to get empanelled as Joint Secretaries, which automatically eliminates them from future empanelment as Additional Secretaries and Secretaries.

Proposed Solution:

Mandatory Central Deputation:

• It is suggested that directly recruited IAS officers should mandatorily serve at least three years on Central Deputation between nine and 25 years of service. 
• Their promotion to the post of Principal Secretary grade in their respective state cadres should be subjected to completion of this mandatory period.
• This will lead the IAS officers to opt for the Central deputation at their convenience and the centre will also have the benefit of an adequate supply of Deputionists.

Direct Selection:

• The centre should directly choose the Joint Secretaries, Additional Secretaries, and Secretaries from among the IAS officers who are at the equivalent level or grades in state governments through a process of selection in the same way it selects Deputy Secretaries/Directors.
• This will enable the availability of a larger and better pool of talent to the centre and also provide the officers to use their experiences gained at the state level in the services of the Central government.

Way Forward:

• The shortfall in CDR obligations is not a problem that the Cabinet Secretary cannot solve by having a constructive dialogue with all the Chief Secretaries, or the Prime Minister cannot solve by holding a meeting with all the Chief Ministers. 
• The Inter-State Council constituted under Article 263 of the Constitution is the institution meant specifically for handling such Centre-State situations.
• The proposed amendments are not necessary to resolve the problem of shortage. The centre should think about the alternatives.
• The principle of cooperative federalism and interests of national unity should be promoted and protected.

G. Tidbits

1. Inflation edges past 6% in January

• India’s retail inflation accelerated past the 6% mark in January to hit 6.01%.
• This has breached the central bank’s tolerance threshold for consumer price inflation for the first time since June 2021. Retail inflation was 5.66% in December 2021.
• The Consumer Food Price Index spiked significantly from 4.05% in December to 5.43% in January, with rural India again reporting a sharper rise. 

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which of the following statements is/are correct with respect to the Central Bureau 
of Investigation (CBI)?

1. When a state gives general consent to the CBI for probing a case, the agency is not required to seek fresh permission every time it enters that state in connection with investigation.
2. Withdrawal of consent, if any, by a State Government can be effected prospectively and retrospectively.

Options:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both
4. None

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a
Explanation:

• The CBI is governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPEA) which makes the CBI a special wing of Delhi Police and thus its original jurisdiction is limited to Delhi.
• For other matters, the CBI needs the consent of the state government in whose territorial jurisdiction, the CBI has to conduct an investigation.
• When a state gives general consent to the CBI for probing a case, the agency is not required to seek fresh permission every time it enters that state in connection with investigation or for every case. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
• Withdrawal of consent, if any, by a State Government can be effected prospectively and not retrospectively. Further, in the cases which are referred by the Constitutional Courts, the entry of CBI cannot be denied by that State as these do not require the consent of the State. Hence Statement 2 is not correct.

Q2. Consider the following statements:

1. Gambling and betting is a State subject.
2. Gambling Legislations can impose a ban on ‘Games of skill’ and not on ‘Games of chance’.

Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both
4. None

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation:

• Betting and gambling can be found in part II of the State list. They have been mentioned in detail in the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution. In other words, this simply means that the state government can exercise full control over betting and gambling practices in its state. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
• India mainly puts the games into two broad categories to differentiate them. The two categories are that the game is either a Game of Chance or a Game of Skill. 
  • Game of chance: Games of chance are all those games that are played randomly. These games are based on luck and can be played without prior knowledge or understanding. For instance, dice games, picking a number, etc. Such games are considered illegal in India.
  • Game of skill: Games of skill are all those games that are played based on a person’s prior knowledge or experience of the game. Such games are considered legal by most of the Indian states.
• The Gambling Legislations exclude ‘games of skill’ from the purview of gambling and hence doesn’t attract the penal provisions. Hence Statement 2 is not correct.

Q3. The festival of Medaram Jatara is celebrated in the State/Union Territory of

1. Telangana
2. Kerala
3. Tamil Nadu
4. Puducherry

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

• Medaram Jathara is a festival of tribal origin in Telangana held every two years at Medaram Village of Tadvai Mandal. 
• This Jathara has been declared as a State Festival in 1998. 
• It commemorates the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law. 
• It is believed that after Kumbh Mela, the Medaram Jathara attracts the largest number of devotees in the country.
• Medaram is a remote place in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dandakaranya, the largest surviving forest belt in the Mulugu.
• It is a festival with no Vedic or Brahmanic influence.
• Hence Option A is correct.

Q4. With reference to Lassa fever, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The Lassa virus is named after a town in Malaysia where the first case was discovered.
2. The fever is spread by Bats.
3. Human-to-human transmission is possible.

Options:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 3 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. None

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation:

• Lassa fever is caused by a virus that is found in West Africa. It was first discovered in 1969 in Lassa. So it is called Lassa fever. Hence Statement 1 is not correct.
• It is an animal-borne, or zoonotic, acute viral illness. 
• Lassa fever is caused by infection with the Lassa virus. The virus is spread by a rat that lives in large numbers in west, central, and east Africa. Hence Statement 2 is not correct.
• The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces. Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevention and control measures. Hence Statement 3 is correct.

Q5. With reference to Chausath Yogini Temple situated near Morena, consider the following
 statements:

1. It is a circular temple built during the reign of the Kachchhapaghata Dynasty.
2. It is the only circular temple built in India.
3. It was meant to promote the Vaishnava cult in the region.
4. Its design has given rise to a popular belief that it was the inspiration behind the Indian Parliament building.

Which of the statements given above are correct? PYQ (2021)

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 4
4. 2, 3 and 4

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c
Explanation:

• The Chausath Yogini temple in Mitaoli village (Madhya Pradesh) was built by the Kachchhapaghata king Devapala. 
• It is said that the temple was the venue of providing education in astrology and mathematics based on the transit of the Sun.
• This circular temple is one among the very few such temples in India. It is externally circular in shape with a radius of 170 feet and within its interior part, it has 64 small chambers. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
• It is not the only circular temple built in India. Hence Statement 2 is not correct.
• This is a yogini temple dedicated to sixty-four yoginis. Hence Statement 3 is not correct.
• Many of these curious visitors have compared this temple with the Indian parliament building (Sansad Bhawan) as both are circular in style. Many have drawn conclusions that this temple was the inspiration behind the Sansad Bhawan. Hence Statement 4 is correct.