dhyeya ias most trusted since 2003 weekly µ v + ] 1 october 2020 n issue 01 7 important issues 01...

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Weekly Current Affairs

www.dhyeyaias.com1 OCTOBER-2020 N ISSUE 01

IMPORTANT ISSUES7

Naga Conflict: Looking for Lasting Solution01

Why in News?

¡ Fresh hurdles have emerged in

the road to peace in Nagaland.

After a framework agreement

was signed in 2015 between

the Centre and the Isak-Muivah

faction of the National Socialist

Council of Nagalim, or the NSCN

(I-M), the largest of the extremist

groups in the peace process since

1997, there have been more than

100 rounds of talks and several

twists and turns.

¡ The latest involves the demand

by the NSCN (I-M) to remove

Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi as

the Centre’s interlocutor for the

23-year-old peace process and his

alleged tweaking of the original

framework agreement.

¡ The absence of R.N. Ravi, the

Nagaland Governor and the

Centre’s interlocutor for Naga

peace talks, in the recently-

held meeting of the Naga peace

process in New Delhi and the

subsequent involvement of the

Intelligence Bureau to carry the

talks further only testifies the

intractable nature of the conflict.

Introduction

¡ India’s northeastern frontier has

largely remained marginal in the

country’s popular imagination

as well as mainstream politics.

The region has witnessed

multiple crises including bloody

insurgencies, but still lacks

the emotional resonance of

the Kashmir conflict due to

geographical, cultural, and ethnic

factors.

¡ Rooted in the politics of sub-

nationalism, complexities of

regional geopolitics and the

evolving dynamics of counter-

insurgency tactics, the Naga

insurgency has defied a lasting

solution; it is an extraordinarily

complicated conflict whose

management has involved a

mix of violent response and

bargaining.

¡ But it is not negotiating table alone

where various issues pertaining

to the Naga problem are being

discussed and addressed. The

politics of its ‘resolution’ is taking

place at multiple sites.

¡ Given this complex backdrop, Mr.

Ravi’s recent letter to Nagaland’s

Chief Minister Neiphu Rio seems

to have opened a Pandora’s box.




2 OCTOBER-2020 N ISSUE 01

¡ In his widely-circulated letter, Mr.

Ravi had expressed his anguish

over the culture of extortion

and the collapse of general law

and order situation in Nagaland,

where organised armed gangs run

their own parallel ‘tax collection’

regimes.

Understanding the Conflict

¡ The British annexed Assam in

1826, and in 1881, the Naga Hills

too became part of British India.

The first sign of Naga resistance

was seen in the formation of the

Naga Club in 1918, which told the

Simon Commission in 1929 “to

leave us alone to determine for

ourselves as in ancient times”.

¡ The conflict can essentially be

brought down to an armed

revolution since 1946 for

an autonomous Naga state

constituting Nagaland and areas

of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam

and Manipur—aka the Greater

Nagalim.

¡ After British conquest in 1881,

Naga National Council (NNC) was

formed in 1946, and its extremely

influential Angami ZapuPhizo

announced the sovereign Naga

state in 1947.

¡ There were issues related to

an agreement (for 'accession')

signed between NNC and

the government ahead of

independence; later, a supposed

plebiscite, which the Centre

refused to recognise, claimed

that over 90 per cent of Naga

people supported independence

from India.

¡ The NNC resolved to establish

a “sovereign Naga state” and

conducted a “referendum” in

1951, in which “99 per cent”

supported an “independent”

Nagaland.

¡ The conflict turned violent and

the Armed Forces Special Powers

Act (AFSPA) was implemented in

1958.

¡ NNC signed the Shillong Peace

Accord in 1975, ending violence

temporarily, but breakaway

factions formed the National

Socialist Council of Nagaland

(NSCN) which refused to

recognise the Shillong Accord and

continued the conflict. The NSCN

split and split further, forming

NSCN-IM (under Isak Chishi Swu

and Thuingaleng Muivah) and

NSCN-K (under SS Khaplang).

Both Khaplang and Isak Swu have

passed away, leaving NSCN-IM

the main player in the talks.

Government Response

¡ In the early phase, the Naga

insurgents were provided with

what has come to be known as

‘safe haven’ in Myanmar. India’s

adversaries (China and Pakistan)

also provided them with vital

external support at one point of

time.

¡ A major accommodative tactic in

the form of statehood to Nagaland

in 1963 was not successful.

Thereafter, the constant pressure

from security forces coerced the

Naga National Council (NNC) to

sign the Shillong Accord of 1975,

whose offspring was the National

Socialist Council of Nagalim

(NSCN).

¡ When the NSCN split into several

factions, the Centre responded

with entering into peace

negotiations with almost each

of them. But the undesirable

outcome of these ‘ceasefires’ has

been the creation and existence of

unspoken ‘spheres of influence’.

It is these spheres that have come

under increasing scrutiny and

attack from the Centre through

the Nagaland Governor.

¡ The first olive branch was waved

by P.V. Narasimha Rao. His

government’s secret talks with the

NSCN-IM was followed by similar

interactions by the H.D. Deve

Gowda government, leading to a

ceasefire agreement concluded

by the I.K. Gujral government.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee recognised

the “unique history and the

situation of the Nagas” and

created a ceasefire monitoring

group in 2001. Manmohan Singh

offered a “non-paper proposal’’

to the NSCN-IM. And, Narendra

Modi got a framework agreement

signed.

¡ When the Centre realised that

privileging one insurgent group

could eventually distort the

contours of the final peace

accord, it subsequently enlarged

the peace process by roping

in seven other Naga insurgent

groups under the umbrella of

Naga National Political Groups

(NNPG). But another important

group, the NSCN- Khaplang,

whose cadres are reported to be

inside Myanmar, is still outside

the formal process.




Culture of Extortion

¡ Extortions in the name of taxes

have been a thorny facet of the

Naga issue. The ‘taxes’ levied

by insurgent groups are so

intricately intertwined in almost

all developmental activities

in Nagaland that any serious

discussion of the issue has been

conveniently avoided.

¡ One of the major aims of the

NSCN-IM has been to acquire

formal recognition to this informal

practice through negotiations.

¡ As the Governor has crossed the

proverbial Rubicon, the NSCN-

IM is not happy for the simple

reason that it is loath to being

branded as an ‘armed gang’ and

is vehemently opposed to the

treatment of the Naga issue as a

‘law and order’ problem.

Different Versions of Same Story

¡ Talks, fatigue and growing

impatience across the Naga

domain gave way to optimism

when Mr. Ravi was made

Nagaland’s Governor in July 2019.

His appointment was seen as a

message from New Delhi that the

solution would be found soon.

¡ As the Centre’s interlocutor, Mr.

Ravi had signed the framework

agreement in the presence

of Prime Minister Narendra

Modi. But in October 2019, he

issued a statement blaming the

“procrastinating attitude” of

the NSCN (I-M) for the delay

in a mutually-agreed draft

comprehensive settlement. He

also said the NSCN (I-M) imputed

“imaginary contents” to the

framework agreement while

referring to the government’s

purported acceptance of a ‘Naga

national flag’ and ‘Naga Yezhabo

(constitution)’ as part of the deal.

¡ Later, the NSCN (I-M) released

the contents of the framework

agreement. The outfit said Mr.

Ravi had “craftily deleted the

word ‘new’ from the original”

line that referred to “shared

sovereignty” between India and

the Naga homeland and provided

for an “enduring inclusive new

relationship of peaceful co-

existence”. The NSCN (I-M)

claimed “new” was a politically

sensitive word that defined the

meaning of peaceful co-existence

of the two entities (sovereign

powers) and strongly indicated a

settlement outside the purview

of the Constitution of India. The

group said it had refrained from

publishing the contents of the

framework agreement respecting

the “tacit understanding reached

between the two sides not to

release to the public domain for

security reasons”. But, it claimed,

Mr. Ravi took undue advantage

and started manipulating the

framework agreement to mislead

the Nagas and the Centre. The

Governor said the framework

agreement was an “acceptance

of the Indian Constitution” by the

outfit.

Way Forward

¡ Centre must keep in mind that

most of the armed insurgencies

across the world do not end

in either total victory or

comprehensive defeat, but in a

grey zone called ‘compromise’.

¡ It has become even more urgent

in view of China’s unusually

aggressive behaviour in Ladakh.

One need not forget that

some high-profile NSCN-IM

commanders are reported to

have fled last year to China’s

Yunnan province to seek Beijing’s

support.

Q. Explain the backdrop of Nagaland insurgency and what issues are holding the peace process.

General Studies Paper- II

Topic: ¾ Indian Constitution- historical

underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments,

significant provisions and basic structure.

Topic: ¾ Functions and responsibilities of

the Union and ihe States, issues

and challenges pertaining to the

federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.





Autonomous Bodies: Need to Streamline02

Why in News?

¡ The Union textile ministry recently

abolished the All India Handicrafts

Board, Handloom Board and the

Power Loom Board in consonance

with the government’s vision of

minimum government, maximum

governance.

Background

¡ The ministry also changed the

status of the eight Textile Research

Associations to “approved

bodies”, instead of the earlier

“affiliated bodies”. Thereafter, the

government withdrew the officials

of the ministry of textiles from the

governing bodies of these textile

associations.

¡ It is a step in achieving leaner

government machinery.

¡ In the 2016 Union Budget speech,

then finance minister Arun

Jaitley announced that a task

force has been constituted for

rationalisation of human resources

in various ministries. He also

contemplated a comprehensive

review and rationalisation of

autonomous bodies.

¡ There is a Committee for Review

of Autonomous Bodies (ABs),

chaired by Ratan Watal. The

committee’s interim report is

not in the public domain. Media

reports and comments on what

the committee has recommended,

even in the interim, are therefore

premature.

Autonomous Bodies

¡ Ministries and departments

frame policies and ensure

their implementation. They

are supported by a number

of organisations such as

autonomous bodies, statutory

bodies, subordinate and

attached offices, and affiliated

organisations, etc. Their mode of

establishment and funding, and

functional autonomy differs.

¡ Autonomous Bodies are set up

whenever it is felt that certain

functions need to be discharged

outside the governmental

set up with some amount of

independence and flexibility

without day-to-day interference

of the Governmental machinery.

¡ These are set up by the Ministries/

Departments concerned with the

subject matter and are funded

through grants-in-aid, either

fully or partially, depending on

the extent which such institutes

generate internal resources of

their own.

¡ These grants are regulated by

the Ministry of Finance through

their instructions as well as the

instructions relating to powers

for creation of posts and etc.

¡ They are mostly registered as

societies under the Societies

Registration Act and in certain

cases they have been set up as

statutory institutions under the

provisions contained in various

Acts.

¡ Thus, the three basic features of

autonomous bodies are:

¡ First, they are set up by the

government for a specific

purpose.

¡ Second, it is independent in

day-to-day functioning, but

the government has some

control over them.




¡ Third, the government

funds them in some way —

revenue expenditure, capital

expenditure, or both.

Significance of Autonomous Bodies

¡ The autonomous bodies are part

of the institutional reefs that have

accumulated over the years since

independence. These autonomous

institutions occupy prime positions

in the interfaces between the state

and edges of the market. They

include some of the key channels

for publicly funded scientific and

industrial research and innovation,

both premier and more inclusive

teaching and training institutions,

and sectoral initiatives to develop

and deepen market infrastructure

in areas that will be important

for creating more geographically

dispersed employment.

¡ The Council of Scientific and

Industrial Research, all of the

Indian Institutes of Management,

the Indian Institutes of Technology,

the Indira Gandhi National Open

University, the National Productivity

Council, and Central Tool Rooms in

various smaller cities are all part

of the list of central autonomous

bodies. The autonomous bodies

should function well.

¡ The breadth of the autonomous

institution category, from the

University Grants Commission

and All India Council for Technical

Education to some of the institutions

they oversee, gives wide scope for

wielding these powers in the very

sectors where there are already a

number of contentious ongoing

conversations.

¡ They are engaged in diverse

activities, ranging from formulating

frameworks for policies, conducting

research, and preserving the

cultural heritage, etc. Institutes

imparting technical, medical

and higher education fall in this

category.

¡ These ABs employ a sizeable

number of people as well.

¡ These Autonomous Bodies have

specialised committees such as

the purchase committee, works

committee, finance committee,

with nominated ministry officials.

¡ These Autonomous Bodies are

audited by the Comptroller and

Auditor General (CAG), and the

annual report is presented in the

Parliament every year.

¡ The apex administrative body of

ABs is called governing council or

governing body and is chaired by

the minister or the secretary of the

respective ministry.

Concerned Issues

¡ Policy Alignment

¡ Since these bodies are funded

by taxpayer’s money, it is

argued that they should follow

the policies of the government

and be accountable the way the

government departments are.

Others claim that they being

“autonomous” have the right

to make their own financial and

administrative policies.

¡ The exact count of Autonomous

Bodies is not known, with

estimates ranging from 400 to

650 plus. Then, Autonomous

Bodies employ a considerable

number.

¡ For example, the Indian Council

of Agricultural Research, an

Autonomous Bodies under

the ministry of agriculture, has

almost 17,000 employees.

¡ Most of the Autonomous Bodies

receive money from the Central

Government by way of grants-

in-aid (GIA). Since 2016-17,

the Union budget accounts for

the GIA figures to Autonomous

Bodies separately. As per

statement no. 24, 2017-18

(revised estimates), the amount

disbursed to autonomous/

grantee bodies was Rs 799.55

billion, which, in 2019-20, was

increased to Rs 943.84 billion.

¡ Lacks Uniformity in Recruitment

¡ Unlike the government and

PSUs, in which the recruitment

rules are uniform and the

recruitment is done by a

centralised body such SSC,

UPSC and the Public Enterprise

Selection Board, there is no such

body for Central Autonomous

Bodies recruitments.

¡ As a result, the mode of

recruitment and recruitment

rules differs for each of these

bodies, sometimes even across

ABs within the same ministry.

¡ Accountability Issue

¡ In place of Senior Ministry

Officials, Junior officials attend

meeting who lack jurisdiction

to take meaningful decisions.

Also, Some Autonomous Bodies

are audited by CAG whereas

many are done by chartered

accountants.





Q. Critically discuss the role of Autonomous Bodies in government’s functioning.


Topic: ¾ Appointment to various

Constitutional posts, powers,

functions and responsibilities

of various Constitutional

Bodies.

Topic: ¾ Important aspects of

governance, transparency and

accountability, e-governance-

applications, models, successes,

limitations and potential;

citizens charters, transparency &

accountability and institutional

and other measures.

¡ Need for Revitalisation

¡ Need of Proper Definition

¡ A legal framework to describe

an Autonomous Bodies should

be drawn up, which defines

the boundaries of its working,

its autonomy, and the various

policies that it must follow.

¡ Number Rationalisation

¡ Autonomous Bodies that have

outlived the cause for which

they were established may need

to be closed or merged with

a similar organisation or their

memorandum altered as per the

new charter.

¡ Uniformity

¡ In order to bring about

uniformity in the policies, a

task force needs to be set up

under a pan-Indian agency such

as SSC or UPSC to streamline

the recruitment rules, salary

structure, allowance and perks

paid to employees, and mode of

recruitment.

¡ Changes in Functioning

¡ To ensure the participation of

ministry officials, committee

meetings of similar Autonomous

Bodies should be held together

so that the appropriate

authorities could provide

meaningful suggestions.

¡ Performance Audit of Autonomous

Bodies

¡ CAG had done an exhaustive

performance audit of

autonomous scientific bodies

in 2016, highlighting the gaps

in their performance. Such a

theme-based audit should be

done for other Autonomous

Bodies as well.

Way Forward

¡ All these years on, these

Autonomous Bodies have remained

the one official forum however

watered down, where the voices

and views of different stakeholders

could be expressed directly.They

bring diversity and can shape the

government policies in a more

inclusive way.

¡ There is an urgent need to define

them properly, bring uniformity

in their policies, facilitate senior

officials’ attendance in their

meetings, and seek independent

audits.




China’s Hybrid Warfare and Related Concerns03

Why in News? ¡ The Government of India decided

to set up an “Expert Committee” under the National Cyber Security Coordinator in the National Security Council Secretariat

after a report revealing that the Chinese company Zhenhua

Data Information Technology Co. Limited is monitoring over Indian

individuals and organisations in its global database of foreign targets.

¡ The committee will study the reports, evaluate their implications, assess any violations of law, and submit its recommendations within 30 days.

Introduction ¡ Over the past decade, the rapid

evolution of Internet technology, cheap phones, and cheaper data,

has transformed the lives of urban

and rural Indians in ways that now

seem irreversible.

¡ With smartphones becoming

ubiquitous, technology improving

accessibility, and with probably the

cheapest data in the world (Rs 6.5

per GB), almost every phone is a

data device today.

¡ Huge emphasis on digitisation of government services by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, and the

demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in November

2016, have turned mobile phones

into almost a KYC device that is

linked to the individual and her/his

identity: Aadhaar authentication is facilitated by the mobile phone;

instant transfer of funds between

bank accounts is enabled via UPI.

¡ Now, three out of four smartphones

sold in India during April-June this

year, were Chinese brands; in the

previous quarter, four out of five phones sold were Chinese. Most

phones also come pre-installed

with Facebook, Google, YouTube,

and many other social media

platforms.

¡ Inadequate information technology (IT) security laws in place as the

data monitoring by Zhenhua cannot

be covered under the Information Technology Rules, 2011, under

the IT Act, 2000, as it only covers

personal data and not information available freely or accessible in the

public domain.

¡ These rules also do not impose any

conditions on the use of personal data for direct marketing etc.

¡ India is yet to have a data protection law for protecting the privacy of individuals and national security.

¡ Though it emphasizes on data

collection by consent which is not done by Zhenhua, the law is

impossible to enforce in a foreign

jurisdiction.

Data Harvesting in India ¡ Zhenhua Data has collected

information on about 2.5 million key individuals and over 650,000

organisations, from countries across the world.

¡ There are thousands of individuals

in India, along with their network

of families and associates tracked

across multiple social media platforms. The Indian database includes prominent people —

ministers, businesspersons,

entrepreneurs, defence personnel,

bureaucrats and diplomats,

scholars and researchers, scientists and academics.

¡ India has banned 224 Chinese

apps including TikTok, CamScanner

and PUBG. In the US, TikTok may

soon change hands. What is at the

centre of such actions in India and the West is fear at the app level,

and also at the pipe level (with

companies such as Huawei and

ZTE), that personal data may be

compromised and may find their way into Chinese servers.

¡ In May 2020, Xiaomi was accused

of secretly harvesting information on what users are doing on their

phones and is sending the data to

remote servers. The remote severs

were in Singapore and Russia but

the web domains they hosted were

registered in Beijing

¡ Xiaomi is a leading smartphone

vendor in India with a market

share of 30%, as per Counterpoint

Research.

¡ This isn’t the first instance when the Chinese company has been

accused of unauthorised data

access. In 2014, cybersecurity firm F-Secure had found Xiaomi phones

silently sending information like stored phone numbers, exchanged

text messages and IMEI number

of a handset to a remote server

in China. Xiaomi later attributed the issue to a loophole in cloud

messaging system and fixed it.

Key Findings

¡ Zhenhua monitors the digital

footprint of its targets using





Q. The incident of data harvesting by China has opened glaring loopholes in India’s cyber security. Explain how data harvesting can be a national threat and dire need for India’s data protection laws.


Topic: ¾ Bilateral, regional and global

groupings and agreements

involving India and/or affecting

India's interests.

Artificial Intelligence tools across

social media platforms, maintains

an information library, which

includes content not just from

news sources, forums, but also

from papers, patents, bidding

documents, even positions of recruitment.

¡ The database of the company

called Overseas Key Information Database (OKIDB) has entries from

the USA, UK, Japan, Australia,

Canada, Germany and the UAE as

well.

¡ Its targets include individuals and

institutions in politics, government, judiciary, art and sports, business,

technology, media, and civil society.

¡ Link to Chinese Government

and Intelligence: The Company

counts the Chinese government,

intelligentsia and military among

its clients. However, the Chinese

government has denied having

asked the company to collect or

provide data, information and intelligence stored within other

countries’ territories for the

Chinese government.

¡ This information can be used for strategic and intelligence services

of China for hybrid warfare.

¡ Concept of Hybrid Warfare

¡ It refers to using non-military

tools to achieve dominance or

damage, subvert or influence. These tools include information pollution, perception management and propaganda.

¡ In 1999, Unrestricted Warfare, a

publication by China’s People’s Liberation Army, talked about hybrid warfare and the need for

a shift in the arena of violence

from military to political, economic and technological.

¡ There have been many recent

reports on China’s attempts to collect sensitive military, intelligence or economic

information in the USA and Europe through social media.

¡ It involved a combination of activities, including disinformation, economic manipulation, use of proxies and insurgencies, diplomatic pressure etc.

Issues ¡ The recent Indo-China conflict

due to clashes at the Line of

Actual Control and later banning

of Chinese apps by India has led

to exponential increase in tension between the two countries. In this

scenario, the information assets of Zhenhua can give a strategic

leverage to China over India.

¡ Companies are subject to

regulation, and can be held accountable or asked questions by elected legislatures. In contrast, a

Chinese company, from an opaque

authoritarian set-up, mining big

data in a more open democratic system doesn’t have similar checks

and balances.

¡ Also, propaganda —

misinformation, disinformation and fake news — has always been

a big item on the agenda when

countries go to war. But what big

data allows now is to customise

data for millions instantly, making

rapid response possible.

¡ The chances of striking gold —

actionable intelligence — multiply as the data pool grows. And the

chances of even a fraction of the Overseas Key Information Database — already 5 billion

pieces of information and counting — yielding what is called “useable

data” is motivation enough to keep invested in the project.

Way Forward ¡ The governments should establish

a process to develop a national approach of self-assessment and

threat analysis. Institutionalizing a process regarding threat and

vulnerability information will enhance hybrid warfare early

warning efforts, assist resiliency efforts, and may even have a deterrent effect.

¡ National governments should coordinate a coherent approach

amongst themselves to

understand, detect and respond to

hybrid warfare to their collective interests.

¡ Multinational frameworks should be developed to facilitate

cooperation and collaboration across borders.

¡ There is pressing need for

personal data protection laws and a dedicated campaign to spread

awareness about cyber privacy for

the users.




Three Agriculture Reform Acts and Controversial Provisions04

Why in News?

¡ Members of several farmer

outfits in Punjab, Haryana and

western Uttar Pradesh staged

demonstrations to protest against

the Centre’s agriculture-related

ordinances and to demand their

immediate withdrawal.

Background

¡ According to a gazette notification,

the President gave assent to

three bills (on 27th September

2020): The Farmers' Produce

Trade and Commerce (Promotion

and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 (FPTC),

The Farmers (Empowerment and

Protection) Agreement of Price

Assurance and Farm Services Bill,

2020(FAPAFS), and The Essential

Commodities (Amendment) Bill

2020.

¡ The Farmers' Produce Trade

and Commerce (Promotion and

Facilitation) Bill, 2020 aims to

permit the sale of agricultural

produce outside the mandis

regulated by the Agricultural

Produce Marketing Committees

(APMC) constituted by different

state legislations.

¡ The Farmers (Empowerment

and Protection) Agreement

of Price Assurance and Farm

Services Bill, 2020, provides for

contract farming.

¡ The Essential Commodities

(Amendment) Bill 2020

deregulates the production,

supply, distribution of food items like cereals, pulses, potatoes, onion and edible oilseeds.

¡ The move comes at a time when farmers, particularly those in Punjab and Haryana, are protesting against the three Bills.

¡ The current reforms completely bypass the state governments and weaken their ability to regulate agricultural markets even though it is a state subject.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020

¡ Main provisions –

¡ The new legislation will create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce.

¡ It will also promote barrier-free

inter-state and intra-state trade

and commerce outside the

physical premises of markets

notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations.

¡ The farmers will not be charged

any cess or levy for sale of their

produce and will not have to

bear transport costs.

¡ The Bill also proposes an

electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically.

¡ In addition to mandis, freedom to do trading at farmgate, cold

storage, warehouse, processing

units, etc.

¡ Farmers will be able to engage

in direct marketing thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realization of

price.

¡ Doubts –

¡ Procurement at Minimum

Support Price will stop.

¡ If farm produce is sold outside

APMC mandis, these will stop

functioning.

¡ What will be the future of





government electronic trading

portal like e-NAM?

¡ Clarification –

¡ Procurement at Minimum

Support Price will continue,

farmers can sell their produce

at MSP rates, the MSP for Rabi

season will be announced next

week

¡ Mandis will not stop functioning,

trading will continue here as

before. Under the new system,

farmers will have the option

to sell their produce at other

places in addition to the mandis.

¡ The e-NAM trading system will

also continue in the mandis.

¡ Trading in farm produce

will increase on electronic

platforms. It will result in greater

transparency and time saving.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020

¡ Main provisions –

¡ The new legislation will

empower farmers for engaging

with processors, wholesalers,

aggregators, wholesalers,

large retailers, exporters etc.,

on a level playing field. Price

assurance to farmers even

before sowing of crops. In case

of higher market price, farmers

will be entitled to this price over

and above the minimum price.

¡ It will transfer the risk of market

unpredictability from the farmer

to the sponsor. Due to prior

price determination, farmers

will be shielded from the rise

and fall of market prices.

¡ It will also enable the farmer

to access modern technology,

better seed and other inputs.

¡ It will reduce cost of marketing

and improve income of farmers.

¡ Effective dispute resolution

mechanism has been provided

for with clear time lines for

redressal.

¡ Impetus to research and new

technology in agriculture sector.

¡ Doubts –

¡ Under contract farming, farmers

will be under pressure and they

will not be able to determine

prices.

¡ How will small farmers be able

to practice contract farming,

sponsors will shy away from

them?

¡ The new system will be a

problem for farmers.

¡ In case of dispute, big companies

will be at an advantage.

¡ Clarification –

¡ The farmer will have full power

in the contract to fix a sale price

of his choice for the produce.

They will receive payment

within maximum 3 days.

¡ 10000 Farmer Producer

organizations are being formed

throughout the country. These

FPOs will bring together small

farmers and work to ensure

remunerative pricing for farm

produce.

¡ After signing contract, farmer

will not have sought out traders.

The purchasing consumer will

pick up the produce directly

from the farm.

¡ In case of dispute, there will

be no need to go to court

repeatedly. There will be local

dispute redressal mechanism.

Reforms and Fault Lines

¡ Projected as historic reforms, the

government promises freedom to

the farmers from the “villainous and

exploitative” Agricultural Produce

Marketing Committee (APMC)

mandis and from the middlemen

who charge commission from trade

in these mandis.

¡ Most farmers would agree that

the functioning of the mandis is

inefficient, opaque, politicised and

often controlled by cartels.

¡ The attempt to reform the

functioning of the mandis is not

new and has been in process for

the last two decades, starting from

2001 when the expert committee

on agricultural marketing

submitted its report. Since then,

three different model APMC acts

have been proposed by previous

governments (in 2003, 2007, and

2013) and in 2017 by the current

government, none of which led to

the kind of protests that have been

witnessed over the last two weeks.

¡ Rather than welcoming the

freedom from mandis, this time

farmers are on the streets fighting

for restoring the primacy of

the mandis in agricultural trade

primarily because APMC mandis

are an essential part of the

agricultural trading ecosystem.

¡ While they may have a

confrontationist attitude to the

functioning and administration




General Studies Paper- III

Topic: ¾ Issues related to direct and

indirect farm subsidies and

minimum support prices;

Public Distribution System-

objectives, functioning,

limitations, revamping; issues

of buffer stocks and food

security; Technology missions;

economics of animal-rearing.

Topic: ¾ Food processing and related

industries in India- scope and

significant; location, upstream

and downstream requirements,

supply chain management.

Q. Write a short note on the three ordinances passed during the pandemic in relation to agricultural reforms and explain farmers’ concern relating to them which has led to protests.

of mandis, they also share a

symbiotic relationship with the

middlemen and the mandis

extending beyond matters of

transaction in agricultural produce.

The middlemen are a source of

information, inputs, and sometimes

credit without collateral.

¡ Out of 36 states and union

territories, 18 states have already

enacted reforms allowing for

establishment of private market

yards/private markets, 19 states

have enacted reforms allowing

for direct purchase of agricultural

produce from agriculturists by

processor/bulk buyer/bulk retailer/

exporter, 20 states have enacted

contract farming acts.

¡ Kerala and Bihar do not have

APMC mandis and Tamil Nadu has

a different system.

¡ Most states have exempted levy

of taxes and fees on sale of fruits

and vegetables. Most of these

reforms were enacted by the

state governments and rules were

framed with farmers welcoming

these changes, even though the

changes were suggested by the

Centre.

¡ Most farmers realise that the FTPC

Bill is not about delivering on the

promise of freedom to farmers

but freedom to private capital

to purchase agricultural produce

at cheaper prices and without

any regulation or oversight by

the government. Farmers fear

that this will eventually lead to

shifting of trade from regulated

APMC mandis to private markets

without any commitment to

investment in infrastructure and

regulation from government.

¡ With unequal and differentiated

terms of engagement, the decline

and disappearance of the APMC

is only a matter of time.

¡ These fears are compounded

by the contract farming bill and

amendments in the essential

commodities act which are

perceived as favoring private

capital.

Way Forward

¡ While the Opposition has echoed

farmers in alleging that the new

legislation will benefit only

big farmers and hoarders, the

government said the provisions

will be beneficial to all: farmers,

consumers and traders.

¡ Almost all agriculture experts and

economists were batting for these

reforms in the agriculture sector.

¡ The Centre was also persuading

states to implement the Model

APMC Act, 2002-03. But the states

did not fully adopt it.

¡ Therefore, the Centre had to

adopt the ordinance route. It will

lead to helping farmers realize

a better price. Expert says this is

very forward-looking legislation

and it is a win-win situation

for all farmers, consumers and

entrepreneurs.





Another Afghan-Taliban Peace Talk and India05

Why in News?

¡ On September 12, the much

awaited intra-Afghan talks

between the Taliban and the

Afghan High Council for National

Reconciliation opened in Doha,

Qatar, 19 years after the 9/11

attacks on the United States

(US) that stunned the world and

marked the beginning of the US

war in Afghanistan against al

Qaeda and the Taliban, its local

sponsors.

¡ The initiation of intra-Afghan

talks was a key element in the

US-Taliban peace deal signed in

Doha on February 29 between

the US Special Representative

for Afghanistan Reconciliation,

Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, and

the Taliban deputy leader, Mullah

Abdul Ghani Barader.

Background

¡ The Taliban or Taleban, who refer

to themselves as the Islamic

Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), are

a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist

political movement and military

organization in Afghanistan

currently waging war (an

insurgency) within that country.

Since 2016, the Taliban's leader is

Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada.

¡ The hardline Islamic Taliban

movement has proved to be

a formidable fighting force in

Afghanistan and a major threat to

its democratic government.

¡ The group that was removed from

power by a US-led invasion in 2001

has gradually regained its strength

and now controls and influences

more territory than at any point

since that time.

¡ The attention of the world was

drawn to the Taliban in Afghanistan

following the attacks on the World

Trade Center in September 2001.

The Taliban were accused of

providing a sanctuary to Osama Bin

Laden and the al-Qaeda movement

who were blamed for the attacks.

¡ On October 7, 2001, a US-

led military coalition invaded

Afghanistan and by the first week

of December the Taliban regime

had collapsed. Many senior Taliban

leaders reportedly took refuge in

the Pakistani city of Quetta, from

where they guided the Taliban. But

the existence of what was dubbed

the "Quetta Shura" was denied by

Islamabad.

¡ Pakistan was also one of only three

countries, along with Saudi Arabia

and the United Arab Emirates

(UAE), which recognised the

Taliban when they were in power

in Afghanistan.

¡ The Taliban's ideology has

been described as combining

an "innovative" form of sharia

Islamic law based on Deobandi

fundamentalism and the militant

Islamism and Salafi jihadism of

Osama bin Laden with Pashtun

social and cultural norms known

as Pashtunwali as most Taliban are

Pashtun tribesmen.

¡ The Pakistani Inter-Services

Intelligence and military are

widely alleged by the international

community and the Afghan




government to have provided

support to the Taliban during

their founding and time in power,

and of continuing to support the

Taliban during the insurgency.

Pakistan states that it dropped all

support for the group after the 11

September attacks.

US-Taliban Agreement

¡ US has signed a peace agreement

with Taliban (Afghan government

not a signatory) in March 2020.

¡ US will draw down to 8,600 troops

in 135 days from the present 14000

troops and all troops will be out

within 14 months.

¡ The alliance and its partners in

Afghan security mission, known as

“Resolute” (which consists of 17000

troops from 39 countries), would

reduce their military presence in

the country in recognition of the

new agreement.

¡ Taliban will not allow any of its

members, other individuals or

groups, including al-Qaeda, to use

the soil of Afghanistan to threaten

the security of the US and its allies

(which does not include India).

¡ UN sanctions on Taliban leaders to

be removed.

¡ Up to 5,000 imprisoned Taliban and

up to 1,000 prisoners from “the

other side” held by Taliban “will be

released” by March 10 — which is

when intra-Afghan negotiations are

supposed to start, in Oslo. Still it is

an unresolved issue by September

2020. Taliban still claims that not all

prisoners are released till now.

¡ Taliban would engage with Kabul

government directly from March

10 to find a lasting solution to the

civil war as a part of Intra-Afghan

Negotiations.

¡ The agreement states ceasefire will

be simply “an item on the agenda”

when intra-Afghan talks start, and

indicate actual ceasefire will come

with the “completion” of an Afghan

political agreement.

¡ The US is now hurrying to end

that war with a forced marriage

between two incompatibles

— a western-style presidential

Islamic democracy backed by the

international community, and

medieval fundamentalist Islamist

militants — in time for President

Donald Trump to take home most

American troops in Afghanistan just

before the presidential elections.

After two decades, the Taliban see

themselves as having won this war.

Talk Show

¡ The Taliban delegation at the talks

calls itself the Islamic Emirate of

Afghanistan, the name of its 1996-

2001 government. It does not

recognise the Afghan government,

whose negotiators are referred to

as the Islamic Republic delegation.

¡ In any case, the Taliban delegation

seems more government-like

than the government’s, whose

composition reflects the pulls and

pressures on President Ashraf

Ghani.

¡ A report by the US Special

Inspector General for Afghanistan

Reconstruction (SIGAR) issued in

July covering the second quarter

of 2020 assessed that “The Taliban

is calibrating its use of violence to

harass and undermine the ANDSF

[Afghan National Defense and

Security Forces] and [the Afghan

government], but remain at a level

it perceives is within the bounds

of the agreement, probably to

encourage a US troop withdrawal

and set favourable conditions for a

post-withdrawal Afghanistan.” The

report expressed scepticism about

whether the Taliban had cut ties

with al Qaeda and stated that “the

Islamic State-Khorasan maintains

the ability to conduct mass casualty

attacks”.

¡ A UN Analytical Support and

Sanctions Monitoring Team report

concerning the Islamic State and

al Qaeda (also issued in July)

concluded that “Al Qaeda in Indian

Subcontinent continues to operate

under the Taliban umbrella in

Nimroz, Helmand and Kandahar

provinces” with reportedly 400-

600 fighters in the country.

Pakistan’s Influence

¡ In late August, a delegation led by

the Taliban’s political office head

and the chief negotiator of the

February deal with the US, Mullah

Abdul Ghani Baradar, came to

Pakistan. While little was revealed

about the details of his meetings

with Pakistani officials, it is believed

he was pressed to get started with

intra-Afghan talks.

¡ With many of the Taliban

leadership council living in

Pakistan, Islamabad has been

pressed by Washington to use its

influence to push negotiations

forward. Pakistani Prime Minister

Imran Khan has repeatedly said he





Q. Afghan-Taliban peace talks are protracted peace talks where major global powers have limited interests. India needs to evolve its foreign policy towards the peace talks and engage as a regional power. Discuss.


Topic: ¾ Bilateral, regional and global

groupings and agreements

involving India and/or affecting

India's interests.

wants peace talks started and that

a military solution for Afghanistan is

impossibility.

Facilitators with Limited Interest

¡ For the US, the peace talks provide

US President Donald Trump an exit

opportunity weeks before his re-

election bid.

¡ The European Union has made it

clear that its financial contribution

will depend on the security

environment and the human rights

record.

¡ China can always lean on Pakistan

to preserve its security and

connectivity interests.

¡ For Russia, blocking the drug supply

and keeping its southern periphery

secure from extremist influences is

key.

¡ That is why no major power is taking

ownership for the reconciliation

talks, but merely content with being

facilitators.

India’s Evolving Policy

¡ India, which has a long relationship

with Afghanistan and its people, has

been an onlooker in the process. The

reason is that Pakistan, its ability to

deliver the Taliban to the talks table,

was more valuable to the US than

anything India, with its suspicion of

Taliban as a proxy of the Pakistan

Army and ISI, could offer. India has

so far said it will not engage with the

Taliban until they enter the political

mainstream.

¡ Addressing the opening session of

the Doha meeting, India’s External

Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar

reiterated that the peace process

must be “Afghan led, Afghan owned

and Afghan controlled” but Indian

policy has evolved from its earlier

hands-off approach to the Taliban.

¡ Speaking to Indian media a few

months ago on separate occasions,

both Ambassador Khalilzad

and Russian Special Envoy to

Afghanistan Ambassador Zamir

Kabulov bluntly pointed out that if

India had concerns regarding anti-

India activities of terrorist groups,

it must engage directly with the

Taliban. In other words, if India

wanted to be invited to the party,

it must be prepared to get up and

dance.

Way Forward

¡ In general, it could be said that

India’s aim should be to continue to

have the ability to be represented in

Afghanistan for a long time to come.

A “degree of stability and security”

allowing India to be engaged in

Afghanistan.

¡ India should consider appointing a

special envoy dedicated to Afghan

reconciliation. The envoy can ensure

that Indian views are expressed

at every meeting, broaden

engagement with the Afghan

government and other political

actors, and reach out to certain

Taliban representatives.




Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana : An Introduction06

Why in News?

¡ Prime Minister Narendra Modi

has launched the Rs 20,050 crore

‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada

Yojana’ (PMMSY) in 21 states,

including Bihar that will help

double fisheries exports, create

more employment opportunities

and boost income of farmers.

¡ Through a video conference, the

Prime Minister also launched

the mobile app ‘e-Gopala’ as

well as several initiatives linked

to studies and research in

fisheries production, dairy, animal

husbandry and agriculture in Bihar.

Background

¡ Fisheries and aquaculture are an

important source of food, nutrition,

employment and income in India.

The sector provides livelihood to

more than 20 million fishers and

fish farmers at the primary level and

twice the number along the value

chain. Fish being an affordable

and rich source of animal protein,

is one of the healthiest options to

mitigate hunger and malnutrition.

¡ The Gross Value Added (GVA) of

fisheries sector in the national

economy during 2018-19 stood at

Rs 2,12,915 crores (current basic

prices) which constituted 1.24%

of the total National GVA and

7.28% share of Agricultural GVA.

The sector has immense potential

to double the fishers and fish

farmers’ incomes as envisioned by

government and usher in economic

prosperity.

¡ Fisheries sector in India has shown

impressive growth with an average

annual growth rate of 10.88%

during the year from 2014-15 to

2018-19. The fish production in

India has registered an average

annual growth of 7.53% during last

5 years and stood at an all-time high

of 137.58 lakh metric tons during

2018-19. The export of marine

products stood at 13.93 lakh metric

tons and valued at Rs.46,589 crores

(USD 6.73 billion) during 2018-19.

¡ The scheme intends to address

critical gaps in fish production and

productivity, quality, technology,

post-harvest infrastructure and

management, modernization

and strengthening of value chain,

traceability, establishing a robust

fisheries management framework

and fishers’ welfare. It would also

address issues like low productivity

in inland Aquaculture, disease,

sustainability of marine fisheries,

sanitary and phyto-sanitary matters

that impact the competitiveness of

India’s exports along with global

bench marking.

About the Scheme

¡ PMMSY is a flagship scheme

for focused and sustainable

development of fisheries sector

in the country with an estimated

investment of Rs. 20,050 crores

for its implementation during a

period of 5 years from FY 2020-21

to FY 2024-25 in all States/Union

Territories, as a part of ‘Aatma

nirbhar Bharat’ package.

¡ The investment of Rs. 20,050 crores

under PMMSY is the highest ever in

the fisheries sector.

¡ Out of this, an investment of about

Rs 12340 crores is proposed for

beneficiary-oriented activities

in marine, inland fisheries and

aquaculture and about Rs 7710

crores investment for fisheries

infrastructure.

¡ PMMSY scheme primarily focuses





on adopting ‘Cluster or Area

based approaches’ and creation

of fisheries clusters through

backward and forward linkages.

Special focus will be given for

employment generation activities

such as seaweed and ornamental

fish cultivation.

¡ It emphasizes on interventions for

quality brood, seed and feed, special

focus on species diversification,

critical infrastructure, marketing

networks etc.

Scheme Objectives

¡ PMMSY aims at enhancing fish

production by an additional 70

lakh tonne by 2024-25, increasing

fisheries export earnings to

Rs.1,00,000 crore by 2024-25,

doubling of incomes of fishers and

fish farmers, reducing post-harvest

losses from 20-25% to about 10%

and generation of additional 55

lakhs direct and indirect gainful

employment opportunities in

fisheries sector and allied activities.

¡ This scheme will improve the

current framework of the chain

from ranch entryway to retail

outlet.

¡ PMMSY will expand the

development of food preparing

part in the nation.

¡ It will build GDP, employment and

venture.

¡ This Scheme will help in decreasing

the gigantic wastage of horticulture

items.

¡ It will help in giving better costs to

ranchers and twofold their salary.

¡ Saddling of fisheries potential

in an economical, capable,

comprehensive and evenhanded

way.

¡ Improving fish creation and

efficiency through development,

heightening, broadening and

beneficial use of land and water.

¡ Modernizing and reinforcing

of meriting chain – post-reap

the executives and quality

improvement.

¡ Multiplying fishers and fish

ranchers earnings and age of work.

¡ Improving commitment to

Agriculture GVA and fares.

¡ Social, physical and financial

security for fishers and fish

ranchers.

¡ Active fisheries management and

administrative structure.

Implementation Strategy

¡ PMMSY will be implemented as

an umbrella scheme with two

separate Components namely (a)

Central Sector Scheme (CS) and (b)

Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).

¡ Under the Central Sector Scheme

Component an amount of Rs. 1720

crores has been earmarked. Under

the Centrally Sponsored Scheme

(CSS) Component, an investment

of Rs. 18330 crores has been

envisaged

¡ Majority of the activities under the

Scheme would be implemented

with active participation of States/

UTs.

¡ ‘Cluster or area-based approach’

would be followed with requisite

forward and backward linkages and

end to end solutions.

¡ Thrust will be given for infusing

new and emerging technologies

like Re-circulatory Aquaculture

Systems, Biofloc, Aquaponics,

Cage Cultivation etc. to enhance

production and productivity,

quality, productive utilization

of waste lands and water for

Aquaculture.

¡ Special focus on Coldwater fisheries

development and expansion of

Aquaculture in Brackish Water and

Saline Areas.

¡ Youth would be engaged in fisheries

extension by creation of 3347 Sagar

Mitras in coastal fisher village

¡ Collectivization of fishers and

fish farmers through Fish Farmer

Producer Organizations (FFPOs)

to increase bargaining power of

fishers and fish farmers.

¡ Activities like Mariculture, Seaweed

cultivation and Ornamental

Fisheries having potential to

generate huge employment will be

promoted.

¡ Aqua parks as hub of fisheries

Other Inaugurations Related To Fisheries Sector

¾ Establishment of Fish Brood Bank at

Sitamarhi,

¾ Establishment of Aquatic Disease Referral Laboratory at Kishanganj.

¾ Inaugurate one-unit fish feed mill at Madhepura under Blue Revolution.

¾ Inaugurate two units of ‘Fish on

Wheels’ assisted at Patna under

Blue Revolution.

¾ Inaugurate the Comprehensive

Fish Production Technology Centre at

Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Central Agricultural

University, Pusa, and

Bihar.




Q. Explain the features and significance of ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’ and highlight its role in increasing farmers’ wealth as well as its contribution to food security.

and aquaculture activities with

assured, affordable, quality inputs

under one roof, post-harvest

infrastructure facilities, business

enterprise zones, logistic support,

business incubation centers,

marketing facilities etc.

¡ Focused attention would be

given for fisheries development

in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh,

Islands, Northeast, and Aspirational

Districts through area specific

development plans.

¡ Annual Livelihood support for

fishers during ban/lean period

would be provided.

Impact of the PMMSY

¡ The scheme will have the following

impact on the overall community

of fisheries in India:-

¡ The scheme will help in enhancing

fish production from 137.58 lakh

metric tons (2018-19) to 220 lakh

metric tons by 2024-25.

¡ The scheme will sustain average

annual growth of about 9% in fish

production

¡ The scheme will help in boosting

an increase in the contribution of

GVA of the fisheries sector to the

Agriculture GVA from 7.28% in

2018-19 to about 9% by 2024-25.

¡ The scheme will double export

earnings from Rs.46,589 crores

(2018-19) to about Rs.1,00,000

crores by 2024-25.

¡ The scheme will improve

productivity in aquaculture from

the present national average of

3 tonnes to about 5 tonnes per

hectare.

¡ The scheme will decrease the post-

harvest losses from the reported

20-25% to about 10%.

¡ The scheme will help in the

improvement of domestic fish

consumption from about 5-6 kg to

about 12 kg per capita.

¡ The scheme will create about

55 lakh direct and indirect

employment possibilities in the

fisheries sector along with the

supply and value chain.

E-Gopala App

¡ E-Gopala App is a comprehensive

breed improvement marketplace

and information portal for direct

use of farmers. At present no

digital platform is available in the

country for farmers managing

livestock including buying and

selling of disease free germplasm

in all forms (semen, embryos, etc);

availability of quality breeding

services (Artificial Insemination,

veterinary first aid, vaccination,

treatment etc) and guiding farmers

for animal nutrition, treatment

of animals using appropriate

ayurvedic medicine/ethno

veterinary medicine.

¡ There is no mechanism to send

alerts (on due date for vaccination,

pregnancy diagnosis, calving

etc) and inform farmers about

various government schemes

and campaigns in the area.

The e-Gopala App will provide

solutions to farmers on all these

aspects.

Way Forward

¡ Focus on agriculture and allied

activities, is important not just

for economic benefits but also for

social benefits and taking the fruits

of development to the masses.

Thus promoting growth in rural

areas and linking them with global

supply chains.


Topic: ¾ Government policies and

interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

General Studies Paper- III

Topic: ¾ Indian Economy and

issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.





Mission Karmayogi : National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building07

Why in News?

¡ Dubbed as the biggest

bureaucratic reform initiative,

the Union Cabinet has approved

‘Mission Karmayogi’ - National

Programme for Civil Services

Capacity Building (NPCSCB), a

new capacity-building scheme for

civil servants aimed at upgrading

the post-recruitment training

mechanism of the officers and

employees at all levels.

Introduction

¡ Capacity of civil services plays

a vital role in rendering a wide

variety of services, implementing

welfare programs and performing

core governance functions.

¡ A transformational change in civil

service capacity is proposed to be

affected by organically linking the

transformation of work culture,

strengthening public institutions

and adopting modern technology

to build civil service capacity

with the overall aim of ensuring

efficient delivery of services to

citizens.

¡ The fundamental focus of the

reform is the creation of a ‘citizen

centric civil service’ capable of

creating and delivering services

conducive to economic growth

and public welfare. Accordingly,

‘Mission Karmayogi’ shifts

the focus from “Rule based

training to Role based training”.

Greater thrust has been laid on

behavioural change.

¡ The NPCSCB has been so designed

that it remains entrenched in

Indian Culture and sensibilities

while drawing learning resources

from the best institutions and

practices from across the world.

The Programme will be delivered

by setting up an Integrated

Government Online Training-

iGOT-Karmayogi Platform.

¡ A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)

will be set up as Section 8 – Not

for Profit Company which will own

and manage the iGOT-Karmayogi

platform. The SPV will own all

Intellectual Property Rights on

behalf of the Government of

India.

¡ An appropriate monitoring and

evaluation framework will also

be put in place for performance

evaluation of all users of the

iGOT-Karmayogi platform so as to

generate a dashboard view of key

performance indicators.

¡ The iGOT model was tried

successfully during Covid situation

for training health professionals.

More than 12.73 lakh health

workers completed 17.66 lakh

courses of varied durations within

a span of 3 months.

Salient Features

¡ NPCSCB has been carefully

designed to lay the foundations

for capacity building for Civil

Servants so that they remain

entrenched in Indian Culture

and sensibilities and remain

connected, with their roots,

while they learn from the best

institutions and practices across

the world.

¡ The Programme will be delivered

by setting up an Integrated

Government Online Training-

iGOTKarmayogiPlatform. .

¡ The core guiding principles of the

Programme will be:

¡ Supporting transition from

‘Rules based to Roles based’

HR Management. Aligning work

allocation of civil servants by

matching their competencies to

the requirements of the post;

¡ To emphasize on ‘on-site

learning’ to complement the

‘off-site’ learning;

¡ To create an ecosystem of shared

training infrastructure including

that of learning materials,

institutions and personnel;

¡ To calibrate all civil service

positions to a Framework

of Roles, Activities and

Competencies (FRACs) approach

and to create and deliver

learning content relevant to

the identified FRACs in every

Government entity;

¡ To make available to all civil

servants, an opportunity

to continuously build and

strengthen their behavioral,

functional and domain

competencies in their self-

driven and mandated learning

paths;




¡ To enable all the Central

Ministries and Departments

and their organizations to

directly invest their resources

towards co-creation and sharing

the collaborative and common

ecosystem of learning through

an annual financial subscription

for every employee;

¡ To encourage and partner

with the best-in-class learning

content creators including

public training institutions,

universities, start-tips and

individual experts; and

¡ To undertake data analytics in

respect of data emit provided

by iGOT- Karmayogi pertaining

to various aspects of capacity

building, content creation,

user feedback and mapping of

competencies and identify areas

for policy reforms.

Capacity Building Commission

¡ It is also proposed to set up a

Capacity Building Commission,

with a view to ensure a uniform

approach in managing and

regulating the capacity building

ecosystem on collaborative and

co-sharing basis.

¡ The role of Commission will be as

under-

¡ To assist the PM Public Human

Resources Council in approving

the annual capacity building

plans.

¡ To exercise functional

supervision over all central

training institutions dealing with

civil services capacity building.

¡ To create shared learning

resources, including internal

and external faculty and

resource centers.

¡ To coordinate and supervise

the implementation of the

capacity building plans with the

stakeholder departments.

¡ To make recommendations on

standardization of training and

capacity building, pedagogy

and methodology.

¡ To set norms for common mid-

career training programs across

all civil services.

¡ To suggest policy interventions

required in the areas of HR

Management and Capacity

Building to the Government.

Six Pillars & Institutional Framework

¡ Mission Karmayogi will have the

following six pillars:-

¡ Policy Framework,

¡ Institutional Framework,

¡ Competency Framework,

¡ Digital Learning Framework

(Integrated Government Online

Training Karmayogi Platform

(iGOT-Karmayogi),

¡ electronic Human Resource

Management System (e-HRMS),

and

¡ Monitoring and Evaluation

Framework.

¡ For implementation and

monitoring of the programme,

following institutional framework

has been approved:

¡ Prime Minister’s Public Human

Resource Council (PMHRC):

A Council comprising of

select Union Ministers, Chief

Ministers, eminent public HR

practitioners, thinkers, global

thought leaders and Public

Service functionaries under the

Chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime

Minister will serve as the apex

body for providing strategic

direction to the task of Civil

Services Reform and capacity

building.

¡ Cabinet Secretariat Coordination

Unit: It will monitor the

implementation of NPCSCB,

align stakeholders and provide

mechanism for overseeing

capacity building plans.

¡ Capacity Building Commission–

It will be set up for functional

supervision of training

institutions and facilitate in

preparation of annual capacity

building plans.

¡ Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV, an

autonomous company) under

Section 8 of the Companies Act,

2013 – It will own and operate

all the digital assets created

for NPCSCB on behalf of the

Government of India.

¡ Programme Management Unit

(PMU) - It will provide Program

Management and Support

services to the Department.

¡ The training of Civil Servants

at various Academies will be

restructured to include optimum

use of the digital learning platform

of iGOT.





iGOT-KARMAYOGI

¡ iGOT-Karmayogi platform brings

the scale and state-of-the-art

infrastructure to augment the

capacities of over two crore

officials in India.

¡ The platform is expected to

evolve into a vibrant and world-

class market place for content

where carefully curated and

vetted digital e-learning material

will be made available. Besides

capacity building, service matters

like confirmation after probation

period, deployment, work

assignment and notification of

vacancies etc. would eventually

be integrated with the proposed

competency framework.

Financial Implications

¡ To cover around 46 lakh Central

employees, a sum of Rs.510.86

crore will be spent over a period

of 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-

25. The expenditure is partly

funded by multilateral assistance

to the tune of USD 50 million. A

wholly owned Special Purpose

Vehicle (SPV) for NPCSCB will be

set up under Section 8 of the

Companies Act, 2013.

¡ The SPV will be a “not-for-

profit” company and will own

and manage iGOT-Karmayogi

platform. The SPV will create

and operationalize the content,

market place and manage key

business services of iGOT-

Karmayogi platform, relating to

content validation, independent

proctored assessments and

telemetry data availability.

¡ The SPV will own all Intellectual

Property Rights on behalf of

the Government of India. An

appropriate monitoring and

evaluation framework will also

be put in place for performance

evaluation of all users of the

iGOT-Karmayogi platform so as to

generate a dashboard view of key

performance indicators.

Way Forward

¡ Mission Karmayogi aims to

prepare the Indian Civil Servant

for the future by making him

more creative, constructive,

imaginative, innovative,

proactive, professional,

progressive, energetic, enabling,

transparent and technology-

enabled.

¡ Empowered with specific role-

competencies, the civil servant

will be able to ensure efficient

service delivery of the highest

quality standards.


Topic: ¾ Important aspects of

governance, transparency and

accountability, e-governance-

applications, models, successes,

limitations and potential;

citizens charters, transparency &

accountability and institutional

and other measures.

Q. Indian bureaucracy is long due in having a fundamental reform. Is ‘Mission Karmayogi’ the right answer? Also, explain the mission and the vision behind it.




Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 202001

IMPORTANT BRAIN BOOSTERS7

1. Why in News? ¾ Parliament passed the Foreign Contribution

(Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020, making it mandatory for office bearers of Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide their Aadhaar numbers while registering among other changes.

¾ The Bill will amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.

2. Key Amendments

¾ The Bill regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution by individuals, associations and companies. Foreign contribution is the donation or transfer of any currency, security or article (of beyond a specified value) by a foreign source.

¾ A registered person must accept foreign contribution only in a single branch of a scheduled bank specified by them. However, they may open more accounts in other banks for utilisation of the contribution. The person may open another FCRA account in any scheduled bank of their choice for keeping or utilising the received contribution. ''FCRA Account'' which shall be opened in such branch of the State Bank of India at New Delhi.

¾ Person who receives foreign contribution must use it only for the purpose for which the contribution is received. Further, they must not use more than 50% of the contribution for meeting administrative expenses. The Act reduces this limit to 20%.

¾ Every person who has been given a certificate of registration must renew the certificate within six months of expiration. Now, government may conduct an inquiry before renewing the certificate to ensure that the person making the application:

is not fictitious or benami,

has not been prosecuted or convicted for creating communal tension or indulging in activities aimed at religious conversion, and

has not been found guilty of diversion or misutilisation of funds, among others conditions.

¾ Certain persons are prohibited to accept any foreign contribution. These include: election candidates, editor or publisher of a newspaper, judges, government servants, members of any legislature, and political parties, among others. Amendment adds public servants (as defined under the Indian Penal Code) to this list.

¾ Foreign contribution cannot be transferred to any other person unless such person is also registered to accept foreign contribution. The term ‘person’ under the Act includes an individual, an association, or a registered company.

¾ The amendment has added that the government may also restrict usage of unutilised foreign contribution for persons who have been granted prior permission to receive such contribution. This may be done if, based on a summary inquiry, and pending any further inquiry, the government believes that such person has contravened provisions of the Bill.

¾ Government may suspend the registration of a person for a period not exceeding 180 days. Now such suspension may be extended up to an additional 180 days.

3. Significance of the Amendments ¾ FCRA is a law for national and internal security, aimed

to ensure that foreign funds do not dominate the political and social discourse in India.

¾ The Act prohibits foreign contribution for any activities that pose a danger to national interest.

¾ Nityanand Rai, the minister of State for Home, said in the House that the legislation was an attempt to bring transparency. He added that the amendments were in the interests of NGOs that wanted to do good work.

¾ Advocates of the Bill say misguided environmental concerns and agenda-based activism have put brakes on several key developmental projects, and that many such NGOs involved in these protest movements are recipients of foreign funding.

4. Dismayed Response ¾ The NGOs argue that the Bill is a warning by the

government to fall in line or face the consequences. ¾ According to the International Commission of Jurists

(ICJ), the legislation fails to comply with “India’s international legal obligations and constitutional provisions to respect and protect the rights to freedom of association, expression, and freedom of assembly”.

¾ The ICJ added that the provisions of the Bill will impose “arbitrary and extraordinary obstacles” on the capacity of human rights groups and other members of civil society to carry out their work.





1. Why in News?

¾ A temple constructed by Emperor Ganapati Deva, a mighty ruler of Kakatiya dynasty, in Dharanikota near present Andhra Pradesh capital Amaravathi has been converted into an abode of local goddess Balusulamma (Goddess Durga).

¾ The Archaeological Survey of India is an Indian government agency attached to the Ministry of Culture that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural monuments in the country.

2. Neglect Over the Years ¾ The presiding deity at this 13th century temple was Kakati Devi, the

tutelary deity of Kakatiya rulers.

¾ Due to ravages of time and for no upkeep, the presiding deity got damaged.

¾ The villagers of Dharanikota, who had no knowledge about the hoary past of the temple, installed Balusulamma idol and started worshipping.

¾ Unfortunately, neither the shrines sanctified by her ardent royal devotees nor her venerated images have so far been brought to light.

¾ People of the land as well as scholars are lamenting this unpleasant aspect.

3. Architectural Significance ¾ The ceiling of the temple bears decorations of lotus medallions and no sikhara on its

top. These architectural features are totally akin to their counterparts found in shrines at Hanamkonda and Warangal fort etc., - the original home land of Kakatiya dynasty.

¾ The goddess is gracefully seated in Padmasana with eight hands. Her facial physiognomic features are oval, distinguished with slender cheeks, wide open eyes, an elongated nose and closed tender pair of lips. She has eight hands and poses eight different special attributes. Her lower right hand is benevolently blessing the devotees.

¾ This is a very rare and unique image possessed with best iconographical illustrations of the Kakatiya sculptures and pointing towards a most distinguished cult deity.

¾ With passage of time, when patrons became extinct the shrine was neglected and unpreserved, the idol rolled out from its original place in the sanctum and mutilated.

¾ Currently, the idol is placed in a small shelter on the southern side of the temple, locally known as Gollabhama Gudi.

4. About Kakatiya Dynasty ¾ The Kakatiyas were powerful rulers of large parts of Deccan for almost 300 years (c.950–

1323 ce).

¾ Their capital was Orugallu, now known as Warangal. It was eventually conquered by the Delhi Sultanate. First they were attacked and defeated by Alauddin Khalji for plunder, then again they were subdued by Ulugh Khan (son of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq) and was renamed as Sultanpur.

¾ Before Orugallu, Hanamakonda was their capital.

¾ It was Kakatiya Dynasty which mined the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond.

¾ Italian traveller Marco Polo visited during the reign of Rudramadevi, the female ruler of

dhyeya ias most trusted since 2003 weekly µ v + ] 1 october 2020 n issue 01 7 important issues 01...

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