01 October 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A.GS1 Related
GEOGRAPHY
1. Scientists excavate ‘ancient river’ in Uttar Pradesh
B.GS2 Related
EDUCATION
1. Kerala tops education ranking
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Govt. views grassroots development in Kashmir as biggest hope for peace
C.GS3 Related
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Green energy target lacks deadline
D. GS4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. Draft Model Tenancy Act, 2019
2. Creating jobs for young India
POLITY
1. A test for judicial review in India
2. Sikkim CM's disqualification
F. Tidbits
1. Fast-track courts in Tripura to try POCSO cases
2. Swap plastic with sapling, cloth in Assam
G. Prelims Facts
1. Eight core sectors
2. Current Account Deficit (CAD)
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS1 Related

Category: GEOGRAPHY

1. Scientists excavate ‘ancient river’ in Uttar Pradesh

B. GS2 Related

Context:

NITI Aayog, Ministry of Human Resource Development and the World Bank, alongside sectoral experts have released the report, titled ‘The Success of Our Schools-School Education Quality Index’ (SEQI). It is based on indexing of states and Union Territories on the learning outcomes for school-going children.

School Education Quality Index:

• The School Education Quality Index (SEQI) was developed to evaluate the performance of States and Union Territories (UTs) in the school education
• The School Education Quality Index assesses States on the basis of learning outcomes, access, equity and infrastructure and facilities, using survey data, self-reported data from States and third-party verification.
• Developed through a collaborative process including key stakeholders such as MHRD, the World Bank and sector experts, the index consists of 30 critical indicators that assess the delivery of quality education.
• SEQI is based on a set of indicators that measure the overall effectiveness, quality and efficiency of the Indian school education system.

Details:

• Among 20 large States, Kerala was the best performer with a score of 76.6%, while Uttar Pradesh came in last with a score of 36.4%.
• Rajasthan and Karnataka clinched the top second and third spots in the overall performance rankings.
• Among smaller States, Manipur emerged as the best performer.
• Chandigarh topped the list of Union Territories.
• Haryana, Assam and Uttar Pradesh showed the most improvement in their performance in 2016-17, in comparison to the base year of 2015-16.
  • Tamil Nadu was the top performer in access and equity outcomes.
  • Karnataka led in learning outcomes.
  • Haryana had the best infrastructure and facilities.

Concerns:

• West Bengal refused to participate in the evaluation process and has not been included in the rankings.
• The findings point out huge differences in the quality of school education across the country.

Importance of the study:

• A credible system of assessment in this regard is crucial to design necessary remedial actions.
• The index aims to bring an outcomes focus to education policy by providing States and UTs with a platform to identify their strengths and weaknesses and undertake requisite course corrections or policy interventions.
• In line with NITI Aayog’s mandate to foster the spirit of competitive and cooperative federalism, the index strives to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practices across States and UTs.
• The index recognises that school education is a subject on the Concurrent List and that State-level leadership is crucial for improving outcomes in a cost-effective manner.

Context:

The Jammu & Kashmir administration has announced polls to 316 Block Development Councils (BDC) in the State.

Concerns:

• The State is currently undergoing a widespread communications clampdown.
• Most of the political class in the state is behind bars.
• According to figures released by the Jammu & Kashmir government itself, in the Panchayat polls of 2018 itself, there are certain Panchayats that are vacant, nearly 12,776 of them.
• Panchayat polls conducted in December 2018, were boycotted by the two big regional parties — the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party.

Details:

• The announcement is seen as the next step to devolution of power.
• The successful conduct of Panchayat polls in 2018, except in certain pockets of south Kashmir had two positive spin-offs.
  • The first was the unlocking of ₹2,700 crore worth of funds for Panchayats, awarded to the State under the 14th Finance Commission, that could not be disbursed earlier as there had been no local body polls in the State since 2010.
  • The second spin-off is related more to what the government wishes to accomplish in J&K, namely real devolution, empowering local bodies and bringing the administration to the grassroots.
• The government believes that holding BDC polls will provide a second layer of political leadership in the State.
• The government also hopes that these Panchayat leaders could form a level of leadership that could provide a political alternative to the current political parties and their leaders who are believed to have a vested interest in the perpetuation of a conflict economy in Jammu & Kashmir.
• Considering the fact that political activity at the Assembly level — the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly has been under suspended animation since 2018, this could help reach development programmes to the grassroots levels.
• The hope is that with money being available to elected Panchayat leaders, grassroots level development will see a fillip.
• It is opined that the upcoming winter months will see a natural trough in levels of infiltration by terrorists from across the border, as the high mountain passes will be snowed over. To have some representative body at this time, is the biggest hope for peace.

C. GS3 Related

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Green energy target lacks deadline

D. GS4 Related

E. Editorials

Context

• A draft of the Model Tenancy Act, 2019, was released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MHUA) in July 2019.

Why an Act?

• Pointing to the Census 2011 count of 1.1 crore houses lying vacant, an MHUA statement said the Model Act would bring these into the rental market, and would promote the growth of the rental housing segment
• One of the potential measures to unlock the vacant house is to bringing transparency and accountability in the existing system of renting of premises and to balance the interests of both the property owner and tenant in a judicious manner.

Objective

• The Draft Act is aimed at increasing accountability in the rental home ecosystem. It addresses factors like the need to have a formal rent agreement, how much security deposit should be paid, rate of rent increase and grounds for eviction.
• The Act aims to promote rental housing and ‘balance the interests’ of landowners and tenants.
• It covers residential and non-residential properties

Important Features

• The Model Act provides for its applicability for the whole of the State, i.e., urban as well as rural areas in the State.
• After coming into force of this Act, no person shall let or take on rent any premises except by an agreement in writing.
• A Digital Platform will be set up in the local vernacular language of the State for submitting tenancy agreement and other documents.
• According to the new draft Model Tenancy Act, 2019, security deposit has been capped to a maximum of two months’ rent in case of residential property, and a minimum of one month’s rent in the case of non-residential property.
• The draft imposes a penalty for failure to vacate a residential unit.
  • The landlord is entitled to get a compensation of double the monthly rent for two months and four times of the monthly rent thereafter if a tenant does not vacate the premises after tenancy has been terminated by order, notice or as per agreement.
  • Also, the landlord cannot hike the rent in the middle of the tenure.
• A landlord cannot cut off or withhold essential supplies or services such as electricity and water under the new Act. The property owner must give prior notice of three months before revising the rent value.
• The tenant cannot sublet a part of or the whole property to someone else.
• The draft also makes it the landlord’s responsibility to rectify structural damages and undertake measures like whitewashing walls and painting doors and windows.
• MTA stipulates a robust Grievance Redressal Mechanism comprising of Rent Authority, Rent Court and Rent Tribunal.

Significance

• It will help overhaul the legal framework vis-à-vis rental housing across the country.
• The move could provide relief for both tenants and landlords and help take some load off India’s overburdened litigation process.
• It is also expected to give a fillip to private participation in rental housing for addressing the huge housing shortage across the country.
• The Act is laudable insofar as it provides for the constitution of Rent Courts and Tribunals.
  • Thousands of rent cases clog the lower judiciary and the process is lengthy and time-consuming.
  • The Act provides for a time-bound process with dedicated courts for tenants and landlords.

Challenges

• The problem is that the jurisdiction or power of these courts to hear cases is limited to the tenancy agreement submitted to the Rent Authority.
  • On the one hand, this implies that all future tenancies that have been submitted to the Rent Authority shall be eligible to approach these courts.
  • On the other hand, older tenancies and informal tenancies will still not fall under its jurisdiction.
  • Thus, the twin problems of resolving older disputes and informal arrangements will continue.
• The Model Tenancy Act fails to take into account that a majority of tenancies in India are informal
  • These agreements are based on trust, word of mouth, and social kinship networks.
  • The model Act could, therefore, have one of two consequences:
    • either a majority of the rental agreements will continue to be unregistered thus nullifying the legislative intent of the Act, or
    • The Act might formalise existing arrangements and lead to gentrification and, consequently, an increase in rents, which is the opposite of what it sought to achieve
  • Experts warn that the Model Tenancy Act, 2019 may lose its real purpose if states do not follow the basic guidelines and dilute them.
    • This is because the Central government may lay down the basic policies but the exact rules will likely change within each state since land is a state subject.

So, how can the Act be made more effective?

1. The Act needs to focus on the upper end of the housing market in order to make a difference in the lower end of the market.

• It is known that vacancy — i.e., housing kept vacant for various reasons — is higher in the upper segments of the housing market.
• For instance, across urban India, vacancy rates in urban areas is 10.1% while in slums it is 7.3%.
• Usually what one sees is empty apartment projects in our cities, but rarely an unoccupied slum or low-income colony.
• Thus, an effective implementation of the Act in the upper segments of the housing market will allow some of these vacant houses to enter the rental market and serve to relieve the massive amount of pressure and demand on the lower segments.

2. Second, even in letter the Act needs to differentiate between commercial tenancies that attract a lot more institutional investment and residential tenancies that are largely held between individuals and households.

• The two markets are very different from each other. Even in development policy, the outcomes required of the two sectors are entirely different —
  • while commercial real estate underpins economic development,
  • Residential arrangements in urban areas offer security of tenure and access to livelihoods, health and education.
• The two cannot be dealt with in a similar manner as it would be under this Act.

3. A last but critical move will be to increase the supply of formal affordable rental housing — housing that can actually fall under the purview of the model Act.

• This requires investment on the part of the Central and State governments.
• Additionally, prior experience has shown that publicly provided rental housing will need structured efforts in management, planning and design in order to achieve its inclusive agenda.
• Thus there is a case for the Central and State governments to develop schemes for the supply of formal affordable rental housing.
• As per the experience of various countries, this could be in the form of housing built to rent for migrants, low-wage informal and formal workers, and students; rent-to-own housing for unsteady low-wage households; and even rental housing allowances/vouchers for the most marginalised in the housing market.

Way Forward

• To address the housing crisis and to ensure secure tenures for low-income households, the Act needs a wider ambit along with renewed efforts and investments.

Background

• Unemployment has been at the center of public debates in India. The government’s Periodic Labor Force Survey carried out in 2017-18 revealed that unemployment in the country reached an all-time high rate of 6.1%.

Stats

• Estimates based on official employment surveys and the Census show that in 2018, there were 471.5 million persons employed and 30.9 million unemployed in India.
• At the heart of the unemployment problem in India were young, unemployed men aged 15 to 29 years who comprised 21.1 million or 68.3% of all the unemployed in the country.

Rising numbers of job seekers

• First, the size of labour supply in India is getting a boost from the rapid expansion of the working-age population in the country — the population of 15-59-year-olds increased at the rate of 14 million a year in the 2000s.
• Second, the nature of labour supply is changing too, with increasing enrolment of young adults for education and their rising job aspirations.
  • Of all 15-29-year-old females in India, 31% had been attending schools or colleges in 2018, up from 16.3% in 2005
• Third, the size of the workforce engaged in agriculture (and allied activities) has been declining in India: from 258.8 million in 2005 to 197.3 million in 2018 (which still accounted for 41.9% of the total workforce in the country).
  • This decline has been partly due to the ‘push’ from low-productivity agriculture, which has suffered due to stagnant public investment from the 1990s onwards.
  • The decline has also been driven by the ‘pull’ of new opportunities that emerge in the towns and cities.
  • A significant number of people who are ‘employed’ according to official statistics could actually have been in ‘disguised unemployment’ in agriculture (consider a person who does no job but occasionally assists his family in cultivation). Young persons in rural areas will be increasingly keen to exit disguised unemployment in agriculture.

How have the sectors fared?

• Between 2005 and 2012, construction had been the major source of employment in India, absorbing men who exited agriculture in rural areas, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
  • New employment opportunities in construction created in rural India amounted to 18.9 million between 2005 and 2012, which fell sharply to 1.6 million between 2012 and 2018.
• The size of the manufacturing workforce in India declined by one million between 2012 and 2018, with micro and small firms in the informal sector suffering severe setbacks.
• At the same time, some segments of the services sector, especially education and professional, business and allied services recorded acceleration in employment growth after 2012.
• Even from 2005 to 2012, job creation in industry, construction and services in India (at the rate of 6.3 million a year) was inadequate to absorb the increase in potential job seekers into these sectors (at the rate of 14.2 million a year).

What should the Govt do?

• As a result of the above-referred factors, there has been a significant increase in India in the supply of potential workers for the non-agricultural sectors. These are 15-59-year-olds who are not students nor engaged in agriculture. If provided the relevant skills, they could possibly work in industry, construction and services.
• To tackle this, action will be needed on multiple fronts including investments in human capital, revival of the productive sectors, and programmes to stimulate small entrepreneurship.
• Any long-term solution to the problem of unemployment to which the slowing growth of the economy is related must start with agricultural production.
  • Factors like land degradation involving loss of soil moisture and nutrients, and the drop in the water table, leading to scarcity which raises the cost of cultivation.
  • So we would need expertise of agricultural scientists to confirm what exactly is responsible for this state. Added to this intelligent governance, resource deployment and change in farmer behavior is a must to revamp the plaguing Agricultural Sector.
• The unstable agricultural sector has not elicited an adequate economic policy response.
  • It is now time to draw in the public agricultural institutes and farmer bodies for their views on how to revive the sector.

Conclusion

• If the country is unable to make effective use of the strengths of its young women and men now, it can perhaps never do so.
• Within the next two decades or so, India’s population will gradually start getting older, and the demographic asset can become a demographic liability if suitable investment is not made in the human resource.

Introduction:

Please read it here under the editorial section ‘Supreme Court of UK: Suspending Parliament was unlawful’.

BYJU’S CNA Dated 25th Sep 2019

Context

• The United Kingdom Supreme Court in its judgment has decided that the prorogation of parliament by the Queen of England, acting on the advice of the Privy Council, was unlawful on the grounds of parliamentary sovereignty and democratic accountability.
• By doing so, the U.K. Supreme Court asserted its majesty in the constitutional framework and functioned as the true guard.

Similar instances in India

• There have been at least two key executive actions in 2019 that have undermined parliamentary processes: Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections and the Bills passed around Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
• The Constitutional (One Hundred and Third) Amendment Act 2019 providing reservation for Economically Weaker Sections was brought for consideration of Parliament in less than 48 hours from the time the decision was taken by the Centre. By doing so, the government ensured that there was insufficient time for Parliament scrutiny.

Violation of rules

• The Monsoon Session of Parliament was originally scheduled to end on July 26 but was extended to August 7 by the government.
  • On August 5, the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 was suddenly introduced to the ‘Parliamentary List of Business’.
  • When the Rajya Sabha convened, Home Minister Amit Shah, moved the Statutory Resolution proposing to nullify all clauses in Article 370 apart from Clause (1). Copies of the Bill and the Resolution were not provided to MPs until it was presented by the Home Minister.
• The conventional practice is that legislative documents are provided at least a few days before they are tabled. This is done for the MPs to understand the contents of the legislation, seek views and formulate their positions better.
• The manner in which both these Bills were introduced in Parliament was also in direct violation of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.
  • In Rajya Sabha, specifically, Rule 69 talks about ‘Motions after Introduction of Bills’ and ‘Scope of Debate’.
  • According to the proviso of Rule 69, there is discretion given to the Chairman in exceptional situations.
  • But, every discretionary power does require that the Chairman must exercise it judiciously and with proper application of mind.
  • There has been no cogent or detailed explanation given by those presiding our Houses of Parliament as to why the government has been allowed to flout parliamentary rules and convention on more than one occasion.

Issue Area

• Such actions of the government in Britain and India have revealed a complete disregard for established parliamentary processes. This has placed democratic institutions in the peril of being weakened.

Lessons for India

• The principle of judicial duty stands reiterated: “… the courts have the responsibility of upholding the values and principles of our constitution and making them effective: And it is their particular responsibility to determine the legal limits of the powers conferred on each branch of government, and to decide whether any exercise of power has transgressed those limits.”
• In habeas corpus writ petitions challenging the detentions of political leaders and others in Kashmir, the Supreme Court refused to examine the legality of the matter immediately.
  • On the constitutional questions that have been raised by the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, the court does not seem to think this is a matter urgent enough for a swift hearing. It has scheduled a hearing for October.
  • Regardless of the merits of the petitions, the Court did not show much sense of urgency in dealing with them.
  • A Court conscious of its constitutional duties would have given a decision either ways, at least in the habeas corpus petitions, by now. The approach of the Supreme Court in these matters has unfortunately been evasive
• Another remarkable feature of the UK Courts’ hearing was its openness and transparency.
  • The hearings were completely live streamed. The written submissions of the parties were uploaded in the website.
  • Also, important updates about the case were announced through the official twitter handle of the UK Supreme Court.
  • This is a significant gesture underlining the democratic nature of the Court. It sends out a warm signal that the Court is not an elitist or exclusivist institution which shuns public participation. Encourage public engagement with judicial process makes it more meaningful.
  • In India, the Supreme Court had given green signal for live streaming of court proceedings in its September 2018 decision. Live-streaming of court proceedings will effectuate the “public right to know” and bring in more transparency in judicial proceedings, the court said. Even after a year, the decision has not seen implementation.

Conclusion

• As the highest constitutional court, the Supreme Court has the discretion to decide what matter needs its urgent attention.
• But this discretion must be exercised with public good as the driving force. In this, the UK court has set an example that the Indian judiciary would do well to emulate.

Context

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has cut short, the disqualification term of Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang.
• It has reduced Golay’s disqualification period from six years to one year, making him eligible to contest the bypolls.

Background

• Tamang was convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act for misappropriating ₹9.50 lakh in the purchase of milch cows for distribution in 1996-97.
• His one-year prison term was upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court. He went to jail and was released on August 10, 2018.
  • The disqualification of Mr. Tamang began on August 10, 2018 — the day he completed a year’s jail term in the case.
  • It was to end on August 10, 2024.

Section 8 of Representation of People’s Act 1951:

Section 8 deals with Disqualification of representatives on conviction for certain offences. It states that:

• Section 8 (1): A person convicted of an offence punishable under certain acts of Indian Penal Code, Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002, etc. shall be disqualified, where the convicted person is sentenced to
  • In case of only fine – for a period of six years from the date of such conviction;
  • In case of imprisonment – from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.
• Section 8 (2): A person convicted for the contravention of—(a) any law providing for the prevention of hoarding or profiteering; or (b) any law relating to the adulteration of food or drugs; or (c) any provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
• Section 8 (3): A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years [other than any offence referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)] shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.

Current Scenario

• He had not contested the Assembly election in the 2019 but took oath as chief minister on May 27 following his party’s narrow victory over the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF).
• In order to continue in office beyond six months, he must get elected to the Assembly by then.
• But the EC, reduced the period of six years to one year and one month. In other words, his disqualification ended on September 10.

How EC can reduce the period?

Section 11 of Representation of People’s Act 1951:

• Section 11 deals with the removal or reduction of the period of disqualification.
  • The Election Commission may, for reasons to be recorded, remove any disqualification or reduce the period of any such disqualification.
  • It is an extraordinary power vested with the ECI, with the understanding that socio-economic-political factors may, in certain peculiar circumstances, warrant that the general disqualification prescribed by statutory rule can be removed/reduced.

What was the argument of Mr. Tamang?

• His main argument was that the law prevailing at the time of his offence entailed disqualification only if the sentence was for a term of two years or more; and that the amendment in 2003, under which any conviction under the anti-corruption law would attract the six-year disqualification norm, should not be applied to him.

Concerns

• The Election Commission (EC)’s order reducing the period of Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang’s disqualification from electoral contest is morally wrong and a dangerous precedent that may end up reversing the trend towards decriminalising politics.
• The EC decision also goes against the grain of a series of legislative and judicial measures to strengthen the legal framework against corruption in recent years
• The apex court has described corruption as a serious malady and one impinging on the economy.
  • In 2013, the protection given to sitting legislators from immediate disqualification was removed.
  • Further, common sense would suggest that disqualification should be more strictly applied to those convicted for corruption.
  • Legislators handle public funds, and there is good reason to keep out those guilty of misusing them. The EC has failed to execute orders and prevent corruption.

Conclusion

• The EC is already battling a perception that its actions are partisan.
• Its order in favour of Mr. Tamang, coming just a day after the BJP struck an alliance with the SKM for bypolls, is bound to further strain its credibility.

F. Tidbits

• In Tripura, around 350 cases lodged under the POCSO Act are awaiting final disposal by courts.
• Many cases are as old as four years. Complaints are mainly about sexual abuse and hostility.
• To address the problem, the Tripura government has designated several courts as first-track courts to try pending proceedings under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
• Special court has been set up and nine more across districts have been designated for the purpose.
• Five such courts have been set up to try cases of crimes against women.

• In Bongaigaon district in Western Assam,  an innovative scheme is launched where a sapling and a cloth bag are being given in exchange for a kilogram of plastic.
• The ‘plants for plastic’ campaign is launched to encourage the people to collect and remove plastic from their houses, commercial establishments and educational institutions.
• This system is making a strong statement against plastic pollution.
• The “barter system” is expected to promote an array of cloth bags to be made exclusively by women self-help groups (SHGs).
• Saplings for the exchange offer are being provided by the Social Forestry wing of the State’s Forest Department.

G. Prelims Facts

• Eight Core Industries/ Sectors are electricity, steel, refinery products, crude oil, coal, cement, natural gas and fertilizers.
• Core industry can be defined as the main industry which has a multiplier effect on the economy.
• These core industries are considered as main or key industries of the economy and serve as the backbone of all other industries.
• These eight core sectors constitute 40.27% of Index of Industrial Production.

What’s in News?

• Coal, crude oil, natural gas, cement, and electricity industries have recorded negative growth.
• The output of India’s eight infrastructure sectors has contracted for the first time in more than four years in August 2019. It declined by 0.5% during the month.

• Current Account Deficit  CAD is one of the key indicators of an economy’s health and measures the difference between the value of the goods and services a country imports and the value of its exports.
• A current account deficit occurs when a country spends more on imports than it receives on exports.
• A trade deficit occurs when a country’s imports exceed its exports.
• The current account deficit is a broader trade measure that encompasses the trade deficit along with other components.

What’s in News?

• Data released by the Reserve Bank of India shows that India’s current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $14.3 billion or 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during April-June quarter from 2.3% during the same period a year ago.

H. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

Q1. Which of the following tribe/s is/are NOT classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal 
Groups (PVTG)s?

1. Saharia
2. Galo
3. Sentinelese

Choose the correct option:

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. 1 and 2 only
d. 3 only

See

Q2. Consider the following statements:

1. Centaurs are celestial bodies located between Jupiter and Neptune.
2. The Centaurs have highly unstable orbits around the sun.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q3. Consider the following statements:

1. Hambantota port is a deep-water port on the Western Coast of Sri Lanka.
2. India has a long term lease on Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Election Commission of India:

1. It is an autonomous constitutional authority.
2. It is responsible for getting conduct the elections of President, Vice President and Municipal Corporations.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. With India’s ambitious goal to achieve renewable energy target of 450 GW (Giga Watts), policy gaps hobbling the renewable energy sector must be addressed. Discuss the challenges facing the renewable energy sector in India. (15 Marks, 250 Words).
2. With the unemployment figures in India at an all-time high, it is time India takes concrete measures to take advantage of the demographic dividend which will otherwise turn into a demographic liability. Analyse the statement. (15 Marks, 250 Words).

Read previous CNA.

October 1st, 2019 CNA: –Download PDF Here