GS Paper 3

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Approach Answer: General Studies Mains Mock Test 700 (2015)

All the questions are compulsory and carry 12.5 marks each.

1. How has the process of liberalisation, which has otherwise led to high economic growth, affected the

employment rate and the nature of employment in India?

Approach:

Briefly describe how the liberalisation has led to high economic growth in India.

Analyse the effect of liberalisation on the employment rate and the nature of employment in India both in organised and unorganised sectors.

Bring out both positive and negative effects.

Answer:

The process of liberalization, which began in 1990s is seen as a milestone in the economic history of India. Since the liberalization, the economic condition gradually started improving and today India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with an average yearly growth rate of around 6-7 per cent.

Theoretically, acceleration in GDP growth of a labour-abundant country characterised by the market regime should push employment growth rate as well. However the impact of liberalisation on growth of employment in India is not as per the expectations.

A comparative analysis of GDP growth rate and employment growth rate is given below:

It is clear from the above table that even though the liberalisation process has resulted in higher economic growth, the growth in employment rate has declined.


Even during the high economic growth phase of 2005-12, employment growth rate was just 0.4% with the addition of just 13 million jobs. There has been continuous decline in employment elasticity as well. It declined sharply from 0.3 during 2000-05 to 0.05 during 2005-12.

Most of the new jobs were located in the informal sector with low earnings and no social protection resulting in casualization of jobs.

In the economy as a whole, the worker-population ratio declined in the 1990s for men and women in rural and urban areas in most age groups in the range 5-59.

Amongst the young school participation has increased as child and youth labour have declined.

There is an across the-board improvement in the growth rate of labour productivity and wages and it is estimated that average per capita earnings per annum increased.

However the liberalization process has mainly benefited the top 10 per cent of wage earners who now make 12 times more than the bottom 10 per cent, up from a ratio of six in the 1990s.

As per the NSSO data, only 18% of working people have regular wage salary employment. Roughly 30% are casual labourers, dependent on daily or periodic renewal of job opportunities. The remaining 52% are self-employed. Most of them are in agriculture, working as helpers in family owned businesses without salary.

Employment share of public sector has gradually reduced as the public sector withdrew from many areas. A healthy growth rate in employment has been registered in the private sector.

The liberalisation and globalisation process brought in more technological upgrades in manufacturing sector which increased the mechanisation and reduced the employment.

In case of service sector, the employment growth has not matched the growth in GDP contribution. The sector presently contributes nearly 55% of total GDP but has employed a mere 27%. The problem of skill development enabling labour migration to services remains inadequately addressed.

The conditions of employment in unorganised sector have not improved. The middlemen and employer continue to enjoy the benefits derived from their labour.

In the Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings for 2013, India was ranked 119th among 177 countries, putting India in the category of mostly unfree countries. The report clearly states that although there is improvement in labour freedom, it is offset by declining scores in other areas. Further, the report states that corruption is endemic throughout the economy and is becoming more serious.

2. Discuss the importance of unorganised sector in the Indian economy. Examine the measures taken by

the government to overcome the challenges faced by the unorganized sector in the country.

Approach:

The answer should start with a general definition of unorganised sector. Statistical references are required to highlight its importance- contribution to employment, GDP, exports and downstream industries. Second part should begin with the challenges faced. The government initiatives mentioned must be specific and in consonance with the challenges mentioned. Examining requires evaluation of the potential of these initiatives against requirements. The answer should conclude with further steps required. The answer has been kept long for greater understanding; the student should exercise discretion in selecting for answer writing.

Answer:

Unorganised sector constitutes a pivotal part of the Indian economy. Various estimates (National Account Statistics, National Commission for Employment in Unorganised Sector, National Economic Census, etc.) suggest that about 90 per cent of workforce outside agriculture and 50 per cent of GDP are accounted for by this sector. Contribution to exports is also estimated around 40 per cent. According to NSSO, there are about 57.7 million non-corporate business units outside construction sector, mostly unregistered and self-employment units.

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A majority of these operate in the rural areas, where the government finds it difficult to provide non-farm jobs. Also, a high proportion of socially and economically underprivileged sections of the society are concentrated in the informal economic activities. NSSO survey says that two-thirds of enterprises in this sector are owned by SCs, STs and OBCs.

The high growth witnessed in Indian economy in past two decades has been accompanied by increasing informalisation. There are now greater interlinkages between formal and informal economic activities. From providing finished goods for assembly line productions to e-waste collection and reprocessing, the unorganised sector is now deeply intertwined with the formal economy.

However, there are major hurdles that this sector faces. Apart from definitional problems, there are following challenges:

Access to finance- with most of the 57.7 million units unregistered, banks, perhaps rightly, do not finance them. Lack of institutional credit means exploitation by usurious moneylenders.

Access to technology partly because of limited finance and partly due to inertia. This hampers productivity and renders the enterprise uncompetitive.

Lack of skilled workforce

Managerial competence

Vulnerability of informal labour

Market uncertainty

Apart from these, lack of proper infrastructure poses greater difficulty due to the inability of unorganised sector to access costly means of transport and logistics.

Various commissions such as NCEUS (National Commission for Employment in Unorganised Sector) have deliberated on the definitional aspects as well as other challenges faced by the sector. However, lack of proper data for this hugely diverse sector makes the diagnosis difficult and prescription even harder to implement. Recognising the importance of this sector, the government has tried to address these challenges. Some of the initiatives have been examined below:

Setting of MUDRA bank with a corpus of 20,000 Cr. and a credit guarantee fund of 3,000 Cr. It will refinance the last mile financers - micro-finance institutions - which provide credit to the sector. However this model carries a financial risk. Also, it requires millions of these private financial intermediaries to be registered and integrated into the new architecture.

Skill India initiative for skilling of new entrants and existing labour force. However, the program is still falling way short of desired target of 50 million skilled workers each year.

Social sector schemes such as Atal Pension Yojana aim to provide pension cover to workers in unorganised sector. This will require mobilisation of almost 10cr. beneficiaries into the network.

Setting up of venture capital and technology upgradation fund and establishing a network of technology centres around the country. Also, technology upgradation is being encouraged through tax rebates.

Dedicated e-commerce portal with the help of National Small Scale Corporation has been launched to provide wider market coverage.

The government programs are ambitious in nature but their success depends upon implementation and not just on targets. As such, it requires scaling up of execution. Jan Dhan accounts and AADHAR ids would be instrumental in achieving the above targets. In future, skill development programs can be offered not only for labours but also for entrepreneurs in a structural way such as at ITIs. Also, government would have to invest in R&D for this sector, including analysing changing consumer tastes and marketing of products.

Only recently has the potential of this sector been recognised and documented. For achieving a double-digit growth of Indian economy, it is imperative that the unorganised sectors needs are met in a sustainable manner and it moves gradually towards the formal economy.

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3. "Labour reforms are often cited as the key to unlock the potential of Indian economy." In this context

discuss the importance of labour reforms in India. Enumerate the measures taken by the government

recently in this regard.

Approach:

Briefly elaborate the statement.

Discuss the need of labour reforms in India, the present issues and the benefits arising out of labour reforms.

Bring out the various measures taken by the government recently with regard to labour reforms in India.

Answer:

The real development of any country depends on the productive activities of labour force. With one of the largest labour force in the world, India has a great potential for growth and development. However due to many inherent issues and challenges, India has failed to reap the true potential of its labour force.

The need of labour reforms in India can be explained as:

Indias labour force was estimated to be about 490 million, or 40 % of the population, but 93 % of this force was in the unorganised sector. These workers are most likely to be not covered by most labour laws.

The primary policy challenge is to increase the employability of our labour force. And to shift labour from agricultural to non-agricultural jobs (where there is a projected need for 120 million skilled hands), along with social security measures.

The law on minimum wages and its implementation urgently needs reforms. There is no definition of minimum wages in the law. The penalties prescribed for violations of this law are absurdly low. Minimum wage boards are not re-constituted in time and minimum wages are revised after a considerable time lag.

Labour flexibility measures, especially in respect of hire and fire and contract labour, have caused industrial unrest and violence at many locations.

The Trade Unions Act, 1926, merely provides for voluntary registration of trade unions and not for recognition of trade unions, which is more relevant for collective bargaining.

The introduction of self-certification in some states and sectors, relaxation in inspections in several states, high person-power deficits and multiple tasks of inspectorates in the labour department have weakened the inspection regime. Labour inspections and conviction rates have significantly declined in the post-reform period.

Due to the inadequate number of judicial bodies and judicial officers, there are delays in dispensation of justice. These are costly not only for the workers but also for the employers.

From the perspective of market, India has a multitude of restrictive labour laws and these have been found to adversely affect economic performance of manufacturing firms.

The Industrial Disputes Act (IDA) requires firms employing more than 100 workers to seek permission from their respective state governments in order to retrench or lay off workers.

Restrictive labour regulations make labour adjustments by firms very difficult and lead to rigidities in the Indian labour market. Since these laws apply to registered firms above a certain threshold of employment size they encourage firms to stay informal and small.

The industrial relations is a concurrent subject and the state governments have been able to make their own amendments to the IDA. Also the implementation of labour laws lies with the states. This has resulted in variation in labour-market rigidity across states.

Restrictive regulations raise effective labour costs and constrain the scale of production as the laws apply to firms above a certain threshold level of employment. This prevents firms from reaping economies of scale and being competitive in the world market.

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These laws also discourage firms from employing a large number of permanent workers, and hence they tend to employ more casual or contract workers, who have limited incentive to learn on the job and acquire firm-specific skills.

Some of the important measures taken by the government recently with regard to labour reforms in India are:

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram: The programme seeks to improve employability, skill development and other conveniences for labour. The five components of the programme are:

A dedicated Shram Suvidha Portal An all-new Random Inspection Scheme Universal Account Number Apprentice Protsahan Yojana Revamped Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana

The recently passed Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014 makes various changes to the Apprentices Act 1961 to make apprenticeship more responsive to youth and industry. The bill seeks to provide apprenticeship training to non- engineering graduates and diploma holders, and new trades, including IT-enabled services, would be included in the scheme, allowing more employers to participate in training and employment of such workers.

The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2014 aims to bring several changes in provisions of overtime, better working conditions, overnight work for women, adequate safeguard and transport facilities.

The labour ministry has recently proposed changes to the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, for easier retrenchment of workers in the National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs).

Even though many reforms have been made with respect to welfare of labour, very few measures have been taken to liberalise the labour laws in India. The pending second generation labour reforms should ensure reforms in both the aspects i.e. benefiting labour as well as the investors.

4. What are Offshore Rupee Bonds? Giving examples, discuss their benefits with regards to mobilisation

of resources for domestic sector. Also, comment on their role in internationalisation of Indian Rupee.

Approach:

The definition should clearly explain the meaning of all the three terms Offshore, Rupee and bonds. Giving examples of IFC (Masala bonds), or Railway finance corp. bonds, benefits such as alternate and cheaper source of finance, increasing foreign investor base, hedging, etc. can be provided. Internationalisation through greater offshore trading should be mentioned. The role of retaining investor confidence must be emphasised.

Answer:

Offshore Rupee Bonds (ORBs) are debt instruments offered in capital markets outside India and are denominated in Indian rupees (meaning that the principal amount is linked to exchange rate of rupee). They are offered and settled in dollars to raise Indian rupees from international investors. The issuer converts bond proceeds from dollars into rupees in the domestic (Indian) market and uses them to finance its requirements in India. As such, the currency risk in these bonds resides with the investor. The investor base in these bonds is much wider than the FIIs, which invest in the Indian markets.

ORBs have been issued in past by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with a maturity upto seven years. The latest issue is called Masala Bonds which have a maturity of 10 years and are the first ORBs to be listed on London Stock Exchange. They are named so because masala is a globally recognised term that invokes culture and cuisine of India. Similar bonds are proposed to be offered by Indian Railway

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Finance Corporation and Asian Development bank. Reserve Bank of India has also allowed Indian corporates to issue ORBs. There are several benefits of ORBs, such as

Bringing liquidity and depth to offshore rupee market

Crowding in foreign investors to invest in rupee bonds and fund domestic investment

Paving the way for an alternative source of funding for Indian Companies

As currency risk is borne by the investor, the cost of borrowing as compared to External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) comes down for the investor as there is no need for hedging.

The cost of borrowing has also been lesser than government bonds in domestic markets.

It has been estimated that domestic corporates are likely to raise $30 billion in ECBs this fiscal year, while their Offshore Bond issues are likely to be $6 billion. In the next fiscal year, the bond issuances are likely to be $12 billion, but the quantum of ECBs will remain stagnant at $30 billion. However, the cost of funds for Indian companies will significantly depend on their ratings, which will be lesser than AAA rated Masala bond.

Internationalisation of the currency has two essential features:

A state where exporters from other countries (such as Oil companies in Saudi Arabia) agree to take payments in rupees, and

Where currency risks in international borrowings are borne by lenders rather than borrowers in India.

At the heart of internationalisation lies stability and confidence in the currency which makes it acceptable for cross-border transactions. Internationalisation is desired because countries that can borrow in their own currency are less susceptible to international crises. Please note that internationalisation is different from capital account convertibility, which means that domestic and foreign assets can be freely exchanged.

ORBs are a significant step towards internationalisation of rupee - they are international borrowings with

currency risk at lenders' side. The Masala bonds were well received by foreign investors, notwithstanding

the fact that rupee is still not fully convertible. ORBs are launch pad to sell strength of rupee to overseas

investors as listing on foreign bourses will provide visibility and set benchmarks for yields in future

issuances. Views on rupee will now be partially formed offshore, albeit in a very small way as ORBs will

be subject to caps on external commercial borrowings. They could also increase demands for similar

products as liquidity of these bonds rises. This also shows the confidence of international investors in

Indian economy and rupee. This will require the government and the central bank to impart stability and

confidence in the rupee internationally. Critical elements such as fiscal policy, current account balances

and inflation have to be benchmarked to best standards to retain investor confidence in rupee. Putting

these elements on a firm footing will be essential requirement for rupee internationalisation.

5. Despite being an efficient and cheap means of transport, railway has consistently lost its share of

freight to road transport. Enumerate the reasons for the same. How far can the high-speed freight

corridor help in addressing this issue?

Approach:

Enumeration of factors, behind the declining share of railways, like price differentials, investment in roads as compared to railways, last mile connectivity, etc. is required. In the second part the benefits of Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) should be linked to regaining the share of railways in freight- the gap between existing capacity and requirements can be utilised to highlight the same. The candidate must

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not fall for undermining roadways for railways. An integrated approach, mentioning the complementarities of the two should form the conclusion.

Answer:

The Indian railways market share in freight movement, which was once 90 percent has now come down to nearly 30 percent. With most of the freight traffic being lost to roads, this has affected railways finances and its ability to invest in infrastructure.

The major reasons for declining share are:

Lack of capacity. Most of the freight traffic is carried between metro cities. The railway lines in these routes are already over-utilised, leading to shift of freight to roads.

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Lack of investment in infrastructure. The major source of revenue for railways is budgetary allocation generated through cross-subsidisation of passenger traffic. Lack of investment from other sources like bonds and private institutions has compromised the ability of railways to invest further. On the other hand, private participation through PPP mode has been an important factor to develop Highways along major production centres.

Service Delivery - Effective Freight rates, Speed and Frequency. Even though railways costs are cheaper on per kilometre basis, the additional costs incurred due to slow movement and delays add to overall costs. The average speed of a goods train has come down to about 25Km/hr. The road sector on the other hand is competitive and offers better services and service quality.

Last mile connectivity provided by roads is not possible for railways which are linear and point-to-point.

According to a study by RITES, Indian railways discontinued the small and wagonload traffic in 1980s in order to concentrate on end-to-end transport of single commodity trainloads. While this resulted in significant growth of freight traffic by rail, the share of road transport in total freight traffic started increasing at a faster rate. This is reflected in steep drop of railway share in 90s.

Assuming an economic growth of 7-9 percent, freight traffic is expected to grow 6-7 times and passenger traffic about 15-16 times over the next two decades (according to Report of National Transport Development Policy Committee, 2014). As such, investments in High speed freight corridors are necessary to realise this potential. Currently, the government is developing two dedicated freight corridors (DFC) the Eastern and Western DFC. Overall the government plans to develop six high capacity, high-speed corridors along the Golden Quadrilateral and its diagonals. It can address some of the above constraints in the following manner:-

It requires huge investment in capacity building - it has been estimated that with the establishment of DFC, 55-70 percent of the existing freight traffic of the Indian Railways will move to it.

This decongestion will lead to easier and speedier movement of goods and passengers. The creation of additional capacity is expected to guarantee efficient, reliable, safe and economical options for carriage of goods to its customers, helping the railways to regain some of its lost share.

Also, the DFC will provide non-discriminatory access to qualified private operators, unlike CONCOR (Container Corporation of India), which was accused of discrimination such as prohibition of transport of ores and minerals by private operators.

Simultaneously, new passenger trains can then be added to the Indian Railways network without affecting movement of goods.

Overall, the road and rail network must complement each other. The high speed freight corridors will

only be linear projects running through proposed industrial regions and connecting major production

and consumption centres to ports. They will be serviced by feeder roads, railways and waterways, which

will provide hinterland connectivity. Seamless integration of modes of transport at network hubs will be

a challenge to ensure fast movement. Therefore, an integrated development of all means of transport is

necessary to realise the potential economic growth.

6. Food processing industry needs a fillip in the form of better logistics, access to credit, technology

indigenisation and implementation of food safety laws. Discuss.

Approach:

Briefly introduce the potential of food processing industry in India.

Explain the need for the development of better logistics, access to credit, technology indigenisation and implementation of food safety laws in order to exploit the complete potential of food processing industry.

The given issues can be discussed under separate headings along with the suggestions.

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Answer:

Food and food products are the biggest consumption category in India, with spending on food accounting for nearly 21% of Indias GDP. But the overall processing level is just 10% in India whereas it has reached nearly 80% in some developed countries. Its share in exports of processed food in world trade is just 1.5%.

Some of the major constraints to food processing industry are: inadequate logistics, access to credit, technology indigenisation and implementation of food safety laws.

Need for better logistics

The national highways are highly strained by low capacity and high traffic volumes, leading to delays in transit.

Rail freight network suffers due to lack of last mile connectivity, inefficiency, low availability of wagons, lack of private participation etc.

The dependence on manual labour and low technology usage affects turnaround times at ports, including cost.

There is an urgent need to develop dedicated freight corridors in rail, supplemented by concretised dual carriageways for the State and national highways.

There is a need to support development of organised strategic logistics hubs and incentivise operators in setting up end-to-end logistics and warehousing.

Access to credit

The Government should establish a national bank, on the lines of NABARD, or extend the scope of NABARD, to lend credit to food processing industries.

This will ensure speedy disbursal of funds to the food processing sector, which is always grappling with the issue of lack of access to credit from banks.

State governments should play a catalytic role in partnership with banks, financial institutions, technical and management institutions and farmers groups, so that small and unorganised players become globally competitive.

Technology Indigenisation

Most R&D institutions have not been able to develop innovative products, processes and machinery of a global stature. The key reasons for this are segregation of academics from applied research, inadequate industry interface, low commercial orientation and lack of collaborative efforts with global peers.

Technology is still being imported for the establishment of large-scale, exported-oriented units for production of items such as even banana paste, concentrates of various fruit juices, sorting, cleaning, washing, waxing and packaging of raw fruits and vegetables.

In order to achieve global standards and self-sufficiency there is an urgent need for technology indigenisation in food processing industry.

Implementation of Food Safety Laws

The Government should ensure enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) in spirit, including increasing radically the number of trained inspectors and state-of-the-art lab facilities.

Given the objective of the FSSA and the mandated transparency, it is important that: food authorities, scientific panels and scientific committees must be given defined tasks with specified objective of rule-making; public and industry participation at an early date.

In order to increase the exports of processed foods, there is a need for enforcing strict safety standards as per the global requirements. There have been many incidents of rejection of Indian food products due to safety concerns.

The National Mission on Food Processing is an important initiative of the government, which aims to overcome the above constraints and reap the potential of food processing sector in India.

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7. Agricultural marketing in India is the weakest link in the agricultural economy. In this context discuss

the problems of agricultural marketing in India. How far can setting up of national markets help in

addressing these problems?

Approach:

The answer should start with a very brief introduction of agricultural marketing. The next part should discuss the major problems besetting the agricultural marketing. The answer should also discuss the possible advantages of setting up a national market. The answer should end with the challenges to setting up such a market.

Answer:

Agricultural marketing involves many operations and processes through which the food and raw materials move from the cultivated farm to the final consume. Agriculture provides goods for consumption and exports and manufacturing sectors. The suitable marketing system can be instrumental to give proper reward or return to the efforts of the tiller of the soil. However, presently in Indian agricultural economy, agricultural marketing is the weakest link due to the following reasons:

There is no organized and regulated marketing national system for marketing the agricultural produce. Farmers have to face many hardships and overcome several hurdles to get a fair and just price.

Presence of multiple channels of procurement and distribution eat away the pockets of both farmers and consumers.

At present there is no free flowing to agricultural produce across states. For example, different states have different tax structure, ranging from 5 percent to 14 percent, which they levy in APMC mandis. This leads to price variation and thus hampers trade across states.

The exploitative nature of APMCs regulation, which force the farmers to sell their produce at the sub-optimal price levels. The provision of APMCs empowers the state to impose the mandi fee on buyers even if the trade is done outside of market without utilizing any infrastructure of the committee.

Other problems include- the inadequate storage facility of food grains, improper transportation, problems of packaging facility and cold storage facility etc.

Thus, the 2013-14 Economic Survey calls for creation of a national common agriculture market by removing restrictions and bottlenecks for free trade. It further said that the country was in an anomalous situation of being largely self-sufficient in foodgrains, yet registering high food inflation. This may due to the plethora of interventions by the government, which actually served as barriers to trade. Such a market can address the above challenges in the following ways:

Creating a national market would do away the trade barriers, and thus there would easy flow of produce across the states. Removing market distortions will create greater competition in markets, promote efficiency, growth.

National market, if created, would lead to the creation of much needed infrastructural facilities, like storage and transportation facilities which are the big hurdles in the present scenario.

It would override the APMCs committees thereby their exploitative regulations.

It may prune down the unnecessary intermediaries, thereby increasing efficiency, and ensuring fair price both to the producers and the consumers.

However, agriculture is a State subject and thus all the States have set up Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) to regulate the marketing of agricultural commodities. To implement this initiative, consensus among the states and the center is necessary. In fact, the 2015-16 Budget has proposed the setting up of a national agriculture market if the states themselves do not reform their agricultural markets (APMCs).

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8. Animal rearing is a key livelihood and risk mitigation strategy for tribals and small and marginal

farmers, particularly across the rainfed regions of India. Substantiate. Also, discuss some strategies to

realize the potential of this sector.

Approach:

Briefly discuss the scope of the sector.

Bring out its significance for tribals and small and marginal farmers.

Discuss steps that need to be taken to realize the potential of the sector.

Answer:

Livestock have been an integral component of Indias agricultural and rural economy. Livestock contribute over 1/4th to the agricultural GDP and about 5% of the countrys GDP and engage about 9% of the agricultural labor force. The livestock sector has been growing faster than crop sector.

Its growth has special significance for small and marginal farmers, landless laborers and tribals and farmers in rain-fed areas as they are more dependent on livestock for supplementing incomes and generating gainful employment. To elaborate:

In India, livestock wealth is much more equitably distributed than wealth associated with land. About 70 per cent of the livestock market in India is owned by 67 per cent of the small and marginal farmers and by the landless. Thus, growth of the livestock sector would reduce poverty more than growth of the crops sector.

Distribution patterns of income and employment show that rural poverty is less in states where livestock accounts for a sizeable share of agricultural income as well as employment.

The small ruminants and poultry livestock provide livelihood support to the poor underprivileged landless, and marginal farm households as there upkeep cost is low and are source of milk, eggs and meat.

Rain-fed regions face uncertain and erratic weather conditions which negatively impact crop productivity and wage labor in the agriculture sector. Animals are natural capital, which can be easily reproduced to act as a living bank with offspring as interest, and an insurance against income shocks of crop failure, natural calamities and climate change.

Tribals have community controlled lands which provide them large pastures for their animals. Moreover tribals are still engaged in subsistence agriculture. Thus, livestock is a good source of income and support to them.

In the light of immense potential of the sector in providing inclusive economic growth to the rural folks, government has come up with several projects. Yet, the sector has shown a decline in recent years. Following steps can be taken to improve the potential of the sector:

Livestock producers, including traditional pastoralists and smallholders, are both victims of natural resource degradation and contributors to it. Corrective action related to environmental protection, ecosystem services, community led interventions and through incentives for private investment should be taken.

Improving livestock-related technologies for livestock feed, breeding, processing, technical manpower and infrastructure.

Frequent outbreak of diseases and poor productivity should be tackled with improved focus on animal health and outreach of veterinary services.

Development of a better paying markets for livestock and commercialization of livestock.

Livestock sector did not receive the policy and financial attention commensurate to its contribution. Systematic implementation of loans and insurance schemes particularly in remote areas is needed.

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9. What is precision farming? How does it help in soil fertility management? Given its high costs, suggest

some measures to make it economically viable in India.

Approach:

Clear definition of precision farming should be provided it essentially involves GPS/ Satellite systems for monitoring etc. It should not be confused with other techniques of increasing farm production like chemical control, fertilizer, irrigation techniques, etc. Soil management should highlight testing for chemical composition, water availability, colour codes (use of Soil Health Cards), etc. For viability, private leasing of services, cooperative farming, government subsidies, etc. can be examined.

Answer:

Precision farming is a crop management technique based on observing, measuring and responding to inter and intra-field variability in crops with the help of modern means like satellite data and information systems. Since crops vary both spatially and temporally, every patch on the field has different requirements at different times. Precision farming ensures adding right amount of treatment (like water, fertiliser, pesticide, etc.) at the right time and right location in a field.

Essential features:

With use of technologies like Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS), more and accurate data can be collected and decisions to optimise crop output can be made more scientific.

Typically, the GPS and GIS devices are mounted on tractors or sprayers so that exact mapping of the entire field is done.

Next, to assist in implementation of the decision, modern equipment supporting Variable Rate Technology (VRT) controlling rate of dispersion of say, water and chemicals, based on information gained from remote sensors, is used.

It should be noted that there are several scientific farming methods like laser planning of land, chiseling, minimum tillage, weed control, drip and sprinkler irrigation, etc. However, the concept of precision farming is outside the domain of these techniques. It necessarily involves satellite based observations and information systems.

Role in Soil Fertility Management

With the use of GPS, the farm can be divided into small and equal sub-divisions and soil can be collected from each of these. This is known as Grid Sampling.

Samples are tested in a modern soil laboratory for about 17 parameters including physical and chemical characteristics of soil and recorded.

Using the results, a composite colour coded chart can be prepared. The sub-divisions on the field can be marked based on colour codes and compared with the colour chart or a Soil Health Card.

The colour coded map of the field can be stored on the on-board computer of the tractor/ equipment.

The soil fertility can then be balanced and maintained through use of Variable rate technology, supplying nutrients to the field based on colour codes of sub-divisions.

In a similar manner, other variables of soil fertility such as texture and water content can be maintained using suitable equipments.

Economic Viability in India

Precision farming involves large initial investment in modern equipments. There are several ways to make it economically viable in India:

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Establishment of farm machine leasing agencies in rural areas. Such agencies already exist for leasing out harvesters and trained man power to use them.

Creating R&D base and a huge pool of engineers, scientists and agriculturalists to develop various components of technology like robots and drones.

ICAR scientists, industries and farmers can work together to develop machinery and establish leasing agencies.

Corporate Social Responsibility funds can be channelled towards Precision Agriculture activities.

Even though the savings can be significant, the small farm holding size in India makes it difficult to reap the returns to scale. To overcome this, cooperative leasing in of equipments and development of smaller robotic equipments is necessary. The village panchayats and government extension agencies would have to take lead in this regard.

10. The scope of Land reforms needs to be widened beyond the mere activity of redistribution of land and

fixing land ceilings to a systemic restructuring that undertakes reforms in the sector of energy and

water. Discuss.

Approach:

The answer should first explain the inadequacy of the current land reforms to make farming more productive and viable. Then it should illustrate the need for a multipronged approach, which includes building requisite infrastructure and distribution of services, with focus on irrigation and electricity, to develop the agricultural sector.

Answer:

Land reforms in India have been undertaken with the objective of achieving social equity in access to land and improving farm productivity to make agriculture economically more viable. Both the targets have met with only little success. One of the many reasons for their failure has been a compartmentalised approach to land reforms adopted in the country. The overall target of robust agricultural growth can only be achieved when land reforms are increased in scope from a mere redistribution exercise to an activity to improve inherent productivity and farming capability. Provision of infrastructure in form of electricity and water supply would be crucial for this.

Indian agriculture is now characterised by low viability and high vulnerability. High input costs and lesser realisation of final costs make agriculture less viable. Smaller size of landholdings, about 63 percent with less than 1 hectare, constrains the use of mechanised farm inputs to increase production. Also, in cases where land distribution has taken place, the land is often of poor quality, making economic viability even more challenging. Vagaries of monsoon, with about 2/3rd of total area dependent on rainfall for agriculture, lend high vulnerability to agriculture. Apart from it, exposure to volatile markets also increases vulnerability.

To address these issues, comprehensive agricultural reforms are required. Structural reforms include development of irrigation infrastructure and access to continuous power; institutional reforms include making available modern scientific inputs and data, along with modernisation of agricultural marketing methods and provision of insurance cover.

Following reforms in irrigation and energy sector can be considered for national rural development:

Rationalizing water charges, improving collection rates and reforms in irrigation financing in order to make state irrigation departments financially self-sufficient.

Improvements in irrigation systems by organizing farmers to take up operation and management responsibilities.

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Flood irrigation systems, which are wasteful as well increase salinity and water logging should be replaced by more efficient drip and sprinkler irrigation with government support.

Institution of a system of water rights and modernization of irrigation agencies to make them more autonomous and accountable.

Rationalisation of energy pricing flat rate system should be disbanded to disincentivise over extraction from ground.

Jyotigram scheme of Gujarat, where electricity to farm tube wells is provided only for certain part of the day, which achieved considerable success, should be tailored to all India level after incorporating local agricultural requirements.

To address theft, High Voltage Distribution Systems (HVDS), which use Direct Current for transmission can be installed (as is being done in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh). These require initial high investment, but are efficient and will almost eliminate theft through technical barriers to tapping of power lines.

The movement from agriculture to other economic activities in past has been because of push from agriculture rather than a pull from the other activity. To make agriculture sustainable, it must continue to grow at least at 4 percent when national growth is 6-7 percent. It must be made economically attractive as well as sustainable to pursue as an occupation in order to sustain food security of the nation. Widening the scope of land reforms to energy and water sector would help meet these requirements.

11. What are the reasons for under-representation of women in science in India? How does it affect the

prospect of holistic development of the nation? Suggest some measures which should be taken to

tackle the above problem.

Approach:

Enlist the reasons for under-representation of women in science in India.

Discuss its implications over overall development of India.

Write measures to increase participation of women.

Answer:

The under-representation of women in science is a global reality and in India too, very few women could take up doctoral studies and research. The women constitute only 15.6% of total manpower employed in R&D establishment.

Reasons:

Social conditioning of Indian families dictates soft disciplines for girls like home science and life sciences.

Studying science is privilege of urban women and those from financially sound and education-oriented families.

Traditional mindset and security concerns hinders women moving out of home city

Fears of not getting suitable match for highly qualified and educated girls restrain their educational growth.

Family and marriage liabilities force them to drop out after post-graduation or PhD

Problems faced by women researchers and scientists - non-cooperative male colleagues, gender discrimination in rules and practices, sexual overtures and lack of facilities discourage others.

The skewed female-to-male representation in science has deleterious effect on the holistic development of a nation.

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Social: Women in different spheres of scientific research can bring in a different perspective on critical social issues such as hunger, poverty. Development of appropriate drinking water and sanitation technologies could progress much faster by engaging more women.

Science: By disallowing participation of half the population in the field of science, a huge pool of talent is getting unutilized productively. They can bring in the much-needed human touch to science and engineering research.

Economic: The womens business council report makes the point that while women need work, work also needs women. Equalizing the labor force participation rates through adequate education and training could increase GDP growth enormously.

Though, there is increased proportion but it is restricted to only few science disciplines like life sciences but job-oriented fields like engineering, management are grossly under-represented. We need more women in science at all levels and in every field of science.

Therefore, it is very much required to promote women in research and science. Certain ways can be adopted:

Traditional notion of society that women are suitable for soft disciplines has to be dispensed with through awareness.

The successful examples of Anandibai Joshi, Janaki Ammal, kalpana chawla should be made known to people through radio programmes, chapters in school books etc.

Design policies that allow women to resume their research career after a break

Grievance redressal cell in each institutions, improve security and law enforcement

Promote women education through scholarship schemes and affirmative actions.

12. How do Regenerative Medicines work? Discuss the initiatives taken by the Government of India to

develop this field. What are the ethical issues that arise in the use of regenerative medicines?

Approach:

Answer the question in three parts:

Explain how Regenerative medicines work.

Enumerate the steps taken by the government to develop this field in India.

Discuss various ethical issues in clinical use of these therapies (emphasize on the ethical concerns peculiar to this field instead of explaining general clinical ethical issues).

Answer:

Regenerative Medicine is a field devoted to the development of treatments for repair, replacement or enhancement of biological function that has been lost due to injury, disease, or aging. Stem cells are a core feature in the development of these medicines.

In organ transplants, instead of replacing the diseased organ by a donor, regenerative medicines create organs from pluripotent stem cells. This organ created in cultured medium is replaced with old one.

Many of the regenerative therapies begin with the particular patient's own cells. For example, a patient's own skin cells may be collected, reprogrammed in a laboratory to give them certain characteristics, and delivered back to the patient to treat his or her disease.

Stem cells have the ability to develop through a process called differentiation into many different types of cells, such as skin cells, brain cells and lung cells. Stem cells are a key component of regenerative medicine, as they open the door to new clinical applications.

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Initiatives taken by the Government:

Pre-clinical studies- Government has initiated pre-clinical studies in this field. A number of animal models for various human diseases have been developed at AIIMS, New Delhi; National Centre for Cell Science, Pune and Asian Healthcare Foundation, Hyderabad.

Clinical Research- Various pilot, multi-investigators clinical trials have been conducted using autologous adult stem cells to determine the safety and efficacy of these cells. A pilot clinical study has been initiated on treatment of large segmental bone defects on children using scaffold.

Human Resource Development- A number of students and young researchers have been trained at training Centre supported jointly by Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore to provide training for both embryonic and adult stem cells. Several Indian scientists/clinical researchers have been trained in reputed international laboratories and now they have joined back to carry out research in this area at various institutions in the country.

Infrastructure- Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine has been established at Bangalore with state of art laboratories for research in the field. Clean room facilities established in medical schools around India for conducting stem cell research and developing the medicines for future projects.

Ethical Issues in the use of regenerative medicines:

One of the common ethical issues in regenerative medicine is progress in 'componentation' (being treated as parts) of the human body. 'Componentation' of the human body represents a preliminary step toward commodification of the human body. The 'componentation' of the human body, regardless of the degree of regenerative medicine's contribution to it, is considered as a challenge to the traditional view of human bodies and the abstract value of "Human Dignity".

This field shares same ethical concerns as the conventional therapies. The problem of irrevocable changes in the patient used for clinical trials. The problem of consent of the patients when brought for testing the new technologies.

13. What are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)? Discuss the opportunities and challenges that have arisen

with the private use of UAVs on the rise.

Approach:

Describe the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drone) technology.

Enumerate the Opportunities of UAVs in civilian sector.

Discuss the Challenges emerging from their civilian use.

Answer:

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, which is an aircraft with no pilot on board. UAVs can be remote controlled aircraft (e.g. flown by a pilot at a ground control station) or can fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic automation systems. UAVs are currently used for a number of missions, including reconnaissance and attack roles.

Aside from defence utilities, plenty of opportunities for civilian drone usage exist, and it is likely that well see those unfold in coming years.

Opportunities in Civilian Sector:

Disaster management: Tracking of cyclones, floods, epidemics and range of disasters is easily possible with the use of UAVs. Hurricanes are recurrent phenomena in North Atlantic oceans, American authorities successfully used UAVs to track the movement of cyclones and their threat

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perception by directly placing UAVs into storms. UAVs act as aerial eye for search and rescue operations worldwide.

Conservation and protection of environment: Tracking of migratory birds, endangered species, anti-poaching mechanisms can easily employ UAVs for better management of their activities in preventing destruction of wildlife.

Uses in agriculture: The precision agriculture movement uses technology to monitor fields, increasing yields and saving money. Precision applications of pesticides, water, or fertilizers, which drones can help by identifying exactly where such resources are needed and delivering them there, is better for the environment and for a farmer's bottom line.

Commercial applications: Goods and service delivery is possible with the help of UAVs. E-commerce and package delivery platforms are using UAVs in American and European cities.

Law enforcement and firefighting: Law & order agencies are using UAVs for surveillance and vigilance purpose. Crowd, traffic and riots can be managed well with aerial surveillance from UAVs. Firefighters from France use UAVs in fire events for better management.

Challenges of Civilian use:

Regulatory challenges: o The challenge is regarding the structure of the ATC (Air Traffic Controller) and the network of

ground-based radars that are currently not equipped to track all kinds of drones, especially small and micro drones. Drones flying below 1,000 feet pose a challenge in this regard. So tracking movement of drones is difficult with current systems.

o The second challenge lies in the physical and electronic identification of drones. The current aircraft numbering system is inadequate to accommodate the vast variety. Since drones are increasingly becoming part of a networked environment, it is critical to give each drone a unique electronic code, akin to an Internet protocol address, for quick, easy and clear identification.

o There are practically no standards for the manufacture of small and micro-drones, resulting in UAVs with an exceptionally high failure rate. So standardizing their quality and construction is major policy challenge for governments.

Privacy and Security challenges: Use of drones for vigilance and surveillance has potential to invade the personal space and privacy of civilian population. Aerial imagery can be counterproductive in not worked out with due care.

14. With growing concerns w.r.t. global climate change and energy security, biofuels have been gaining

popularity. What are the advantages of using biofuels? Discuss the implications of biofuel expansion

on food security, social welfare and environment in the context of India.

Approach:

Briefly elaborate the statement on biofuels gaining popularity.

Bring out the various advantages of using biofuels.

Write about the implications of biofuel expansion on food security, social welfare and environment in the context of India.

Answer:

Biofuels are fuels produced directly or indirectly from organic material biomass including plant materials and animal waste. Biofuels have been in usage from the beginning of 20th century itself. But discoveries of huge petroleum deposits kept petrol and diesel cheap for decades, and biofuels were largely forgotten. However, with the recent rise in oil prices, along with growing concern about global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions, biofuels have been regaining popularity.

Various advantages of using biofuels are:

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Biofuels produce less greenhouse gases overall than fossil fuels when they are burned.

Since plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, crops grown for biofuels should suck up about as much carbon dioxide as comes out when these fuels are burnt.

Whereas oil is a limited resource that comes from specific materials, biofuels can be manufactured from a wide range of materials including crop waste, manure, and other by-products. This makes it an efficient step in recycling.

Biofuels are alternative sources to fossil fuels - allowing for greater fuel security for countries with little or no oil reserves of their own.

Biofuels may not produce any particulates, such as soot and other fine particles.

Because biofuels are produced locally, biofuel-manufacturing plants can employ hundreds or thousands of workers, creating new jobs in rural areas.

Biofuel production will also increase the demand for suitable biofuel crops, providing economic stimulation to the agriculture industry.

Presently, Indias position in the global biofuel map is not very prominent. However, the country has ambitious plans to expand the biofuel sector, though cautiously. Implications of biofuel expansion on food security, social welfare and environment are as follows.

Implications on food security:

There are strong apprehensions that as more and more land is brought under biofuel crops, food prices would increase substantially affecting poor consumers particularly those from low-income countries like India.

Using valuable cropland to grow fuel crops could have an impact on the cost of food and could possibly lead to food shortages.

Even though India is food self-sufcient in terms of food production, almost 50% of children and practically the same number of women suffer from protein calorie malnutrition. Therefore, any large-scale biofuel programme has to ensure that it does not compromise with the nations food and nutritional security.

Implications on Social welfare:

Huge sums of outlays for subsidies on biofuels essentially means a shift of money away from the poor and vulnerable who end up spending more on food due to increased food prices, with little left for energy, even though cheaper.

However, diversion of forest and wasteland for cultivation of energy plantations may cause a conict with pastoral livelihoods.

The promotion of biofuel development has potential for creating employment opportunities for the rural poor, promoting local level entrepreneurship and enhancement of womens participation.

Local institutions like Joint Forest Management (JFM) committees, self-help groups (SHGs) and panchayats can play an important role in involving village communities in bio-fuel programmes.

Implications on environment:

In some countries large areas of land are being used for biofuel crops. Such practice in India can result in loss of habitat and the extinction of some species of animals and plants.

Massive quantities of water are required for proper irrigation of biofuel crops as well as to manufacture the fuel, which could strain local and regional water resources.

While biofuels may be cleaner to burn, there are strong indications that the process to produce the fuel - including the machinery necessary to cultivate the crops and the plants to produce the fuel - has hefty carbon emissions.

To refine biofuels to more efficient energy outputs, and to build the necessary manufacturing plants to increase biofuel quantities, a high initial investment is often required.

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15. What do you mean by eco-tourism? Discuss the need for developing eco-tourism in the light of

increasing tourist activities in ecologically sensitive areas of India.

Approach:

Introduce the answer by explaining the concept of ecotourism.

Write briefly about the increasing tourist activities in ecologically sensitive areas of India.

Then discuss the need for developing eco-tourism in these areas in order to maintain the balance between tourism and conservation of ecology.

Note: Do not write general content on tourism. Also, there is no need to compare eco-tourism with general tourism or bring out the distinction between the two.

Answer:

Ecotourism means management of tourism and conservation of nature to maintain balance between the requirement of tourism and ecology on one hand and needs of local communities on the other. Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means that those who implement, participate in and market ecotourism activities should adopt the following ecotourism principles:

Minimize physical, social, behavioral, and psychological impacts.

Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.

Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.

Generate financial benefits for both local people and private industry

Design, construct and operate low-impact facilities.

Many of the Indian natural tourist destinations come under the ecologically sensitive areas such as protected areas, tiger reserves, important bird areas, elephant corridors etc.

In recent times, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of tourists, both domestic and international, visiting these ecologically sensitive areas. This creates a need for developing eco-tourism in these ecological areas due to the following reasons:

Eco-tourism endeavors to encourage and support the diversity of local economies for which the tourism-related income is important. With support from tourists, local services and producers can compete with larger, foreign companies and local families can support themselves.

Ecotourism is labour extensive sector and is becoming one of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry.

By increasing capacity building opportunities, ecotourism is also an effective vehicle for empowering local communities to fight against poverty and to achieve sustainable development.

Ecotourism raises the local awareness about the value of biological resources, increasing local participation in the benefits of biodiversity conservation.

The balanced approach of ecotourism helps in a sustainable growth of tourism. Through new sources of jobs and incomes, it generates revenues toward conservation of biologically rich areas.

By recognizing the importance of protecting biological diversity, ecotourism raises the appreciation for biological resources and leads to better conservation practices.

Providing positive attitude and experience among the travelers.

The Government should work upon its policies and involve locals to participate actively in it. Tourist should be made aware of Dos and Donts such as carrying back all non-degradable litter and cutting of noise pollution.

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16. What is eutrophication? Analyse how cultural eutrophication is different from natural eutrophication.

List the measures to control the phenomenon of eutrophication.

Approach:

In the introduction, write what is Eutrophication.

Explain how eutrophication is a natural phenomenon. Then write about Cultural eutrophication, which is nothing but artificial eutrophication by human activities. Explain how it is different from natural eutrophication.

List the various measures to control eutrophication.

Answer: Eutrophication is the enrichment of a terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem by the addition of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus that results in a superabundant growth of plants, algae, or other primary producers. It can be a natural process (natural eutrophication) or result from human activity (cultural eutrophication).

Difference between natural and cultural Eutrophication

1. In natural eutrophication nutrient are introduced from the natural environment around the body of water e.g. dead aquatic and nearby terrestrial plants, dead fish, waste from all the living organisms, runoff etc. Cultural eutrophication means any eutrophication that occurs due to human activities eg industrial waste, sewage dumping, and increased runoff in areas with poor erosion control due to human development etc.

2. Natural eutrophication is a slow process whereas process of cultural eutrophication depends on the degree to which excess nutrients are dumped into the water supply.

3. Very large natural bodies of water do not experience eutrophication on a measurable level due to their exceptionally low bio-load compared to the volume of water. These natural redistributions over time help keep the maximum amount of land mass healthy and productive as possible whereas cultural eutrophication can be catastrophic. High levels of nutrients may cause a massive algae bloom, which places a huge bio-load on the area in a relatively short amount of time. The algae block a large percentage of the sunlight that naturally filters down through the water, which may in turn kill many plants and animal life in the water body.

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Some of the important measures to control eutrophication are:

Controlling application amount and timing of fertilizer

Planting vegetation along streambeds to slow erosion and absorb nutrients

Controlling runoff from farmlands

Uprooting and removal of macrophytes in eutrophic lakes

Removing the sediment entirely, thus both taking away the internal source of nutrients and deepening the lake

Ultrasonic irradiation to control algal blooming

Use of Calcium hydroxide to neutralize low pH values in streams and lakes in areas where acidic rain has a significant impact

Use of biological controls such as the process of denitrification uses specialized bacteria that convert nitrates to harmless molecular nitrogen

Enforceable standards for major point-source discharges and high-risk non-point sources

17. Technology is an indispensable tool in disaster management. Explain the role of GIS in context of the

above statement giving recent examples from India.

Approach:

In the introduction, discuss about increasing usage of technology in disaster management. Then, discuss how GIS can assist in different types of disaster and in different stages of disaster management. Include examples from India only. Example: cyclone management in Odisha.

Answer:

Technology has considerably enhanced the potential of mankind to manage the disasters. For instance, exact prediction of Phailin cyclone considerably reduced the loss of life and property. Similarly technologies are today extensively used in prediction and protection from other disasters like tsunami, earthquakes. In this regard Geographic Information System (GIS) is turning out to be an excellent tool for disaster management. GIS is an effective, economic and efficient tool for storing, manipulating, and presenting spatial and geographic data in an integrated manner.

It can assist in Disaster Management in following ways:

PRE DISASTER PHASE

It can assist the disaster managers in vulnerability mapping. For example it can be used to map the areas vulnerable to earthquakes and classify them under various zones. For example it is used to Indian ocean region to identify the areas vulnerable to earthquake and tsunami.

It can also assist in developing alternate routes to shelters, camps, and important locations in the event of disruption of normal surface communication

In case of disasters like floods and tsunamis, GIS can help in identifying locations likely to remain unaffected or remain comparatively safe. Then routes and signboards can be placed guiding the public to such safe locations in the event of hazards. . For Example: GIS has been used in Odisha against cyclones. For example: it has been used in the identification of location for construction of multipurpose cyclone shelters.

Locations suitable for construction of shelters, godowns, housing colonies, etc. can be scientifically identified by using information regarding landforms, nature of disasters, etc.

Areas where no construction should be taken up or existing habitations require relocation, could be identified by using vulnerability data which can be created using GIS.

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DURING DISASTER

It can be used for planning of rescue and evacuation operations. In Sikkim GIS was useful in search and rescue operations in areas affected by landslides.

GIS can also be used to identify the areas where the disaster is likely to spread. It can act as a warning system and thus it can help in controlling the further spread of disaster.

POST DISASTER

Accessibility of data through GIS can assist in rehabilitation by identifying the most damaged area. For example, it was used in earthquake region of Gujarat.

It is also useful in post-disaster reconstruction works. New houses can be constructed in the less vulnerable areas.

18. Transnational security threats posed by non-state actors in the IOR have considerably risen in recent

years. What are the threats and challenges posed by them? Explain the need for cooperation between

the States and associated maritime agencies.

Approach:

Enlist the threats from the non-state actors in the Indian Ocean region.

Discuss challenges to the stability and security of littoral countries from non-state actors.

Emphasis on the need for co-operation in light of the current global security environment.

Answer:

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has emerged as the worlds major energy and trade route. The IOR littorals are concerned about the insecurities in the region due to various non-state actors. In the current global security environment, they threats pose a grave challenge to national and international stability

Threats posed by non-state actors:

Piracy, terrorist activity, drug trafficking, human trafficking and arms smuggling are major threats from the non-state actors in region. Lawlessness and failure of state apparatus in various rim countries fuels the activity of non-state actors in the region.

Challenges posed by non-state actors:

Maritime Sovereignty- Armed robberies and piracy along the Strait of Malacca and Gulf of Aden close to the coastlines challenges the sovereignty of littoral countries. Island nations and small islands face persistent threat of attacks from non-state actors.

Challenges to freedom of navigation- The Indian Ocean sea lanes of communications (SLOCs) are vitally important to the interests of regional and extra-regional actors. Freedom of navigation to facilitate trade and permit the legitimate passage of warships and other activities, like scientific research, studies and conservation faces challenges due the activities of non-state actors.

The Straits of Malacca and the Hormuz Strait are the most important strategic chokepoint in the IOR as they constitute the major global oil export passage-way The security of these oil arteries is integral to the security of energy supplies for the oil-importing countries. Any non-state activity along these points challenges the energy security of the South and South-East Asian nations.

Need for cooperation:

Unfortunately, despite a shared heritage of colonial subjugation, common maritime threats and an increasing dependence on seaborne trade for their existence, the IOR has witnessed minimal

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maritime bonding amongst its littorals. While these commonalities and drivers should have encouraged a strong sense of supra-regional cohesion and identity, issues about the sea have regrettably not been given the importance they deserve.

The IOR is noted for its complex sub-regional geopolitical and geostrategic associations, each with its own vested interest. Cooperation occurs mostly in the spheres of economy and trade, rather than in security, and is largely hampered by distrust and lack of interaction. The task of ensuring the security of waterways, especially of strategic chokepoints in the IOR, is beyond the capacity of a single littoral state.

Much can be gained from cooperative regional approach that promotes consultation, not confrontation. In such circumstances, navies can contribute towards enhancing maritime security, providing humanitarian assistance and limiting security challenges. Regional cooperation can therefore be a force multiplier and is desirable in the vast and relatively poorly policed Indian Ocean. To work together, these nations, who have vested interest in maritime security, would need to defeat these threats and challenges.

The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and Milan are consultative and cooperative efforts, which can be used to find commonality regarding the growing asymmetric threat.

Multilateral naval exercises such as the Komodo 2014 should bolster future efforts of IOR nations to counter the challenges. It is imperative to continue combined international efforts to tackle the non-state actors challenges at sea. The fight against these challenges is a multilateral endeavour that requires global cooperation and resolve.

19. Cyberspace, like outer space, is unbounded and equally accessible to all. In this context, evaluate the

merits and demerits of having a body like the United Nations to govern it. Also, comment on the role

that India has played so far in reforming internet governance structures.

Approach:

The introduction should reflect clear understanding of the current governance structure. Discuss multilateral approach arguments- democratisation v/s centralisation and multiple governments exercising control. Mention the independent position taken by India regarding multilateral approach with participation of multiple stakeholders.

Answer:

Cyberspace is virtual space of all IT systems linked at data level on a global scale. The basis for cyberspace is the Internet as a universal and publically accessible connection and transport network. Currently, the Internet is governed largely by three non-profit institutions- ICANN (International Commission for Assigned Names and Numbers), IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) and the Internet Society. ICANN is the body that manages Critical Internet Resources (CIRs), such as Domain Name Servers (DNS). These, along with private companies like Verisign, which own .com and .net domains, are incorporated under Californian laws and all the edits they make are audited and approved by the US Department of Commerce (US-DoC). This political oversight by US gives it unilateral power over control of Internet. As Internet has grown and spread across the globe, many countries question as to why the US should have outsize influence over how internet is run.

Cyberspace governance comprises of both issues the public policy aspects, i.e. freedom, privacy, access and human rights, as well as technical aspects, i.e. management of CIRs. Even though states have laws regarding the former, their implementation will depend on if the states have access to manage of CIRs. In this regard, various models of management of CIRs or, more specifically, the oversight of ICANN have been put forward by different countries. This process has gained currency due to abuse of position by the US as exposed by Edward Snowden.

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Countries like Russia and China, which exercise large degree of control over their domestic internet access, have proposed multilateral oversight through International Telecommunications Union (ITU) of the United Nations.

Merits:

Democratisation of oversight mechanism, with representations of various governments.

Making nation-States capable to exercise their sovereign right, as per Geneva declaration, to formulate internet public policy with the power to enforce it.

Curtailing the power of non-state actors to make public policy decisions via technical governance.

Making use of International Law to extract accountability from ICANN, rather than US specific laws which it is subject to currently.

Demerits:

Erosion of bottom-up processes- states represent their interest as States (like security and defence) and not as interest of their Citizens. Geo political meddling in a multipolar world will lead to fragmentation of internet.

Inter-governmental oversight will slow down the advancement and decision making process. With limited understanding of internet architecture and requirements, and threat of veto powers, the hard work of technical community would be vulnerable to be overturned.

With ITU dominated by telecom service providers, net-neutrality, if not the growth of internet itself, would be under serious threat.

The institutions meant to enforce international law are only remotely accessible, slow and ineffective. ICANN under the oversight of various countries will make it even less accountable to grievances of individual users.

It can be seen that demerits for having a multilateral body like the UN far outweigh the merits. Upending the fundamentals of the multilateral model is likely to balkanize the Internet at best and suffocate it at worst.

Role played by India in reforming Internet governance structure:

India has been critical of the unilateral control enjoyed by the United States and has advocated for a democratic, transparent and inclusive arrangement for running the medium. Earlier, the Indian position was for a multilateral approach, but lately, it has changed to a multi stakeholder approach involving civil society and private organisations, so that national governments are held accountable to other stakeholders and vice-versa. Along with proposing a UN Committee for Internet Related policies (UN-CIRP), another demand has been that traffic originating and terminating in a country should stay within that country, rather than routing through servers located under foreign jurisdictions. Even though it has argued for making current system of IP address allocation by ICANN as fair, just and equitable, its (ICANN) relationship with CIRP, absence of clear definitions, composition of governing body and precise role of stakeholders is still shrouded in ambiguity.

20. Although insurgency groups are present in both Kashmir and the North-east, their nature and model of sustenance are entirely different. Analyse. Also, compare the linkages between organised crime and terrorism in both these areas.

Approach:

Mention the identity based nature of conflict tribal v/s religious in the two areas. Comparison of the relationship between organised crime and terrorism should follow from presence (in NE) and absence (in Kashmir) of parallel governments, kidnapping and extortion, percolation of government funds to terrorists, etc. should be mentioned. Role of external factors should also be mentioned.

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Answer:

Insurgency is a violent rebellion against a constituted authority, where those taking part are not recognised as belligerents. The parameters to differentiate the nature of insurgencies roll back to their originating factors and the targets desired. Differences in models of sustenance can be gauged by (i) structures which support them, such as external state and non-state assistance, (ii) sympathy of locals, mostly through propaganda, and most importantly, (iii) access to sound financial resources. Both J&K and North-east India have witnessed insurgency during larger part in post-independence period; however, there are certain differences in its nature and model of sustenance.

Difference in Nature

While conflicts in North-east have their origin in distinct tribal identities, the one in Kashmir is based on religious identity.

Perceived alienation from the mainland has been an important factor in case of north-east, but there is no such element in Kashmir.

Conflicts in North-east range from insurgency for secession (in Nagaland) to insurgency for autonomy (Karbi-Anglong), from sponsored terrorism (ULFA, NDFB) to ethnic clashes (Meities v/s Nagas) and to conflicts generated as a result of continuous inflow of migrants from across the border as well as from other states. Conflict in Kashmir, on the other hand, is instigated and sponsored from across the border, with an overt demand for independence and a tacit understanding for uniting with Pakistan.

Guerrilla tactics are an important element in case of north-east militants. In Kashmir, however, the attacks are more overt with an intention to keep alive the separatist cause by flaring up anti-India sentiments.

Difference in model of sustenance

With extremely weak governance structures in the north-eastern states (Nagaland and Manipur in particular), the insurgents mostly run parallel governments through extortion, kidnappings and keeping people under constant fear. In Kashmir, the governance structures are

GS Paper 3

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