Digital Agri Mission, Emigrants, Climate Financing and more

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Govt & Politics

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: GS-III: Agriculture

What’s the ongoing story- In a push to the rural and agriculture sector under Modi 3.0, the Centre is set to announce big ticket initiatives as part of its first 100-day agenda, which include a Rs 2,800 crore Digital Agriculture Mission.

Prerequisites:

— What is the Digital Agri Mission?

— What is the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi?

Key takeaways:

— The Indian Express has learnt that the Digital Agriculture Mission will pave the way for creation of a nationwide farmers registry, crop sown registry, and georeferencing of village maps.

— A budgetary allocation of Rs 28,00 crore has been made for the mission and it will be rolled out over the next two years (till 2025-26). The launch of the mission was initially planned in 2021-22 but due to Covid-19 outbreak, it could not be rolled out nationally, said a source.

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— One of the components of the mission is to create a farmers’ registry, in which every farmer will be given a unique ID, the sources said.

— As per the sources, a pilot project has been undertaken across 6 districts — Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, Beed in Maharashtra, Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, and Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu.

— The mission also envisages a crop sown registry. This will have a record of crops sown by a farmer on his land. It will help better planning and estimation of crop production.

Points to Ponder:

— How digital integration is going to transform agriculture?

— What is the current status of digitalisation in India?

— What are the challenges associated with it?

— What government measures need to be taken to overcome it?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2017)

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1. The nation-wide ‘Soil Health Card Scheme’ aims at expanding the cultivable area under irrigation.

2. enabling the banks to assess the quantum of loans to be granted to farmers on the basis of soil quality.

3. checking the overuse of fertilizers in farmlands.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Mains

How does e-Technology help farmers in production and marketing of agricultural produce? Explain it. (UPSC CSE 2023)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Challenge for farm sector: How to share growth gains

Front

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

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Mains Examination: GS-I, II, III: Human geography, Government policies, International Relations

What’s the ongoing story- Significant rise in student migration, indications of saturation in international migration, increase in the number of returning emigrants, growth in female emigration and surge in remittance to Kerala after the Covid-19 pandemic are some of the highlights of the Kerala Migration Survey (KMS) 2023.

Prerequisites:

— Who are international migrants?

— What is the difference between migrant and emigrant?

— Which are the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)?

— Death of Indian migrant workers in Kuwait

Key takeaways:

— The report of the KMS-2023, by the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD)-Thiruvananthapuram, was presented Friday at the Loka Kerala Sabha.

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— The study said the number of emigrants from Kerala is estimated to be 2.2 million, closely aligning with the 2.1 million recorded in the KMS 2018. This stability in international migration over the last five years is interesting given the overall declining trend observed over the past decade in the previous rounds of KMS.

— The global Malayali diaspora is estimated to be 5 million, whereas the Malayali diaspora outside Kerala but within India is estimated at 3 million.

— The KMS 2023 shows that students constitute 11.3 percent of total emigrants from Kerala, indicating that a growing number of younger individuals are choosing to emigrate, particularly for education abroad.

— The proportion of female emigrants increased from 15.8 per cent in 2018 to 19.1 per cent in 2023. Female migration has further seen a shift from GCC countries to Europe and other Western nations as destination countries, accounting for 40.5 per cent.

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— Two out of five households in Kerala were found to have non-resident Keralites, indicating the significant presence of migration experiences within the economy and society.

For Your Information:

— According to the Ministry of External Affairs data, nearly 8.8 million Indians live and work in the Gulf. The money they send back home makes for more than a fourth of the diaspora’s annual remittances.

— Many are recruited through the visa sponsorship, or kafala system, which binds workers to their employers, severely limiting the capacity of the migrants to seek better housing or occupational safety improvements. Fear of loss of employment or deportment prevents most from complaining about the quality of working or living conditions.

— The problem also is that India deals with migration through a 40-year-old Emigration Act, which leaves the migrant worker at risk.

Points to Ponder:

— What is the migration status from other states?

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— What is the need for comprehensive data on international migration?

— What are the push and pull factors for migration?

— What are the steps taken by India to ensure good working conditions and protection of Indian migrant workers?

Post Read Question:

Consider the following statements.

1. In 2022, India remained the top remittance destination, receiving more than USD 111 billion.

2. India is the origin of the largest number of international migrants in the world with large diasporas living in the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

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Kuwait fire: It’s time we stop invisibilising migrant workers

Explained

No outcome in Bonn: why money is key to climate action

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Environment

Mains Examination: GS-III: Environment

What’s the ongoing story- A climate meeting in Bonn, Germany, has failed to make much headway on the crucial issue of defining a new climate finance goal. By the end of 2024, countries have to finalise a new sum of money — above the existing figure of $100 billion per year — that the developed world must mobilise for the developing countries to help them fight climate change.

Prerequisites:

— What is the role of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)?

— What is the 2015 Paris Agreement?

— What is the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)?

Key takeaways:

— Money is central to climate action. It is needed not just for facilitating mitigation or adaptation works — mundane tasks of collecting and reporting climate data, mandatory under the 2015 Paris Agreement, also require substantial sums of money, especially in developing and poor countries, where there is a large capacity gap for this kind of work.

— Under the international climate architecture set by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), rich and developed countries are obliged to provide money to developing countries to fight climate change. This is because the rich and developed countries are primarily responsible for causing climate change.

— In 2009, the developed countries promised to mobilise $100 billion every year from 2020 towards this purpose. A report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a grouping of rich countries, two weeks ago claimed that this $100 billion target had been met for the first time in 2022.

— The 2015 Paris Agreement says that developed countries must periodically increase this sum after 2025, considering the rapidly growing requirements for climate finance. The increased target, or the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), for the post-2025 period, is to be finalised this year.

— According to the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement, only the countries listed in Annexure 2 of UNFCCC — 25 of them and the European Economic Community — are responsible for providing climate finance to developing countries. The listed countries, however, have been trying to shift the responsibility to others as well.

— NCQG is the biggest thing on the climate change agenda this year. An agreement on this has to happen at COP29. The $100 billion figure was not a negotiated outcome.

For Your Information:

— According to a 2021 analysis by the UNFCCC standing committee, developing countries require at least $5.8 trillion by 2030 to meet their needs mentioned in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — an outline for their efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This means they require around $600 billion every year, which is much lower than the amount promised by developed countries.

— NCQG is a convoluted way to describe the new amount that must be mobilised by developed countries every year from 2025 onward to finance climate action in developing countries. This new amount has to be higher than the $100 billion that developed countries, collectively, had promised to raise every year from 2020, but had failed to deliver.

Points to Ponder:

— What are India’s Initiatives regarding Climate Finance?

— What is the status of India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)?

— What are the challenges related to climate financing?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

With reference to the Agreement at the UNFCCC Meeting in Paris in 2015, which of the following statements is/are correct? (UPSC CSE 2016)

1. The Agreement was signed by all the member countries of the UN, and it will go into effect in 2017.

2. The Agreement aims to limit the greenhouse gas emissions so that the rise in average global temperature by the end of this century does not exceed 2ºC or even 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels.

3. Developed countries acknowledged their historical responsibility in global warming and committed to donate $ 1000 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries to cope with climate change.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Mains

Describe the major outcomes of the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

What is climate finance — and why developing countries need it

How much should developed countries pay for climate action?

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: International Relations

What’s the ongoing story- Leaders of seven countries in India’s neighbourhood — Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles — attending the swearing-in of the new government. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar were not invited.

Prerequisites:

— What is India’s neighbourhood first policy?

— What is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)?

— What is I2U2?

— What is the International North South Transit Corridor (INSTC)?

— India’s bilateral relationship: with Pakistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Seychelles & Mauritius.

Key takeaways:

— Leaders of seven countries in India’s neighbourhood — Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles — attending the swearing-in of the new government. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar were not invited.

— India will have to be nimble in its diplomacy in the neighbourhood, and be unilaterally generous without insisting on reciprocity.

— Pakistan: Modi has responded that “security” — that is, countering Pak-backed terrorism — is India’s priority. New Delhi’s policy line for the last nine years has been that “terror and talks can’t go together”. The series of terror attacks in J&K over the last few days have put paid to any potential build-up of public opinion in favour of a possible engagement.

— NEPAL: Ties with Nepal present a delicate challenge…The decision to put the unilaterally redrawn borders of Nepal on the national currency suggests this will continue. New Delhi will have to work hard to regain the trust of the Nepali people that took a blow after the economic blockade of 2015.

— The Indian relationship with the US has bipartisan support and is not expected to be impacted by the outcome of the November presidential elections. Defence and cutting edge tech will drive ties going forward.

— Economic and political ties with European countries such as France and Germany have improved, and the UK has been keen to conclude a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. India and the EU too are keen to conclude an FTA to the mutual benefit of their economies.

— India’s ties with Russia are being tested by the war in Ukraine. India is likely to skip the June 15-16 peace conference in Switzerland at the highest level, given that Russia will not be in the room. But India is expected to be represented at an official level, and to emphasise on dialogue and diplomacy.

Points to Ponder:

— What are the significance and challenges of India’s neighbourhood first policy?

— How India’s foreign policy has evolved since 2014?

— What are the basic tenets of India’s foreign policy?

Post Read Question:

Consider the following countries:

1. Italy

2. Germany

3. USA

4. Canada

5. UAE

6. Saudi Arabia

How many of the above-mentioned countries form part of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)?

(a) Only two

(b) Only three

(c) Only four

(d) Only five

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor: Significance and Prospects for India

Explained: 7 countries whose leaders will attend Modi’s swearing today

Economy

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economy

Mains Examination: GS-III: Economy

What’s the ongoing story- As many as 47 per cent of urban Indians said either themselves or someone in their family have been a victim of financial frauds in the last three years, said a survey.

Prerequisites:

— What is financial fraud?

— What are the different types of online frauds?

Key takeaways:

— Among the urban Indians who have experienced financial fraud in the last 3 years, 43 per cent experienced fraud with their credit card while 30 per cent experienced fraud via UPI transactions, the survey conducted by LocalCircles said.

— The study shows that the RBI, UPI and banks issuing credit cards need to put in place more safeguards to help prevent such financial frauds, it said.

— For UPI, increased consumer awareness is critical. In addition to these steps, there is also a strong need to sensitise local police stations so staff their can guide citizens to file an online complaint within minutes as opposed to the current scenario where majority of the staff even in urban India is not capable of guiding a victim of online financial fraud, the survey said.

— LocalCircles said the credit card data of Indian consumers is easily available for sale by thousands of data vendors across India. With personally identifiable information like PAN card, Aadhaar, mobile number, email and address easily available in databases for sale and credit cards details available with mobile number, email or address being common, anyone with knowledge of spreadsheets can join these databases to profile individuals.

Points to Ponder:

— What is the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)?

— What are the RBI guidelines against digital fraud protection?

— What is the Digital Payments Intelligence Platform?

— What initiatives have been taken by the government in this regard?

Post Read Question:

A.P. Hota committee is related with

(a) increasing the farmer’s income

(b) rise in crime against women

(c) regarding digital public infrastructure platform

(d) improving the status of micro-financing institute

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Payment frauds rise by 70.64% to Rs 2,604 crore in October-March period

RBI plans new digital platform to check payment fraud risks

The Editorial Page

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international significance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Governance

What’s the ongoing story- Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes: One plausible interpretation of the election is that sooner or later every political party and leader, no matter how powerful, discovers that governing India, and bringing about a structural transformation of its economy, is difficult.

Prerequisites:

— Election verdict of Lok Sabha election 2024

— What is the MGNREGA Scheme?

Key takeaways:

— “Political parties have typically tried to craft electoral coalitions through two instruments. The first is government “schemes”… They are thought of as schemes that can be implemented in mission mode. They create a one-shot intervention that is often necessary (think MGNREGA, free distribution of gain, building toilets, roads)… The second instrument is Identity politics.”

— “But from a political point of view, they suffer from two limitations. Once institutionalised, the voter asks: What next?”

— “The second political limitation is the economic effects of the scheme. At India’s level of poverty, many of these schemes make economic sense. But the structural transformation of the Indian economy to produce good jobs is still slow.”

— “Sooner or later, the structural obduracy of Indian governance and the economy, will mug every political party. Structural transformation requires “the slow boring of hard boards”, to use Max Weber’s phrase. Mission mode interventions, or charismatic leadership, will not cut it.”

— “Identity politics also face the same challenge. Identity issues also have a mission mode manifestation. But again, the same limitations apply. After you have achieved a set of mission mode goals, then what?”

Points to Ponder:

— What is the role of welfare schemes in securing political power?

— What are the key welfare schemes launched by the center and state government?

Post Read Question:

‘Despite the implementation of various programmes for eradication of poverty by the government in India, poverty is still existing’. Explain by giving reasons. (UPSC CSE 2018)

The Idea Page

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources

What’s the ongoing story- Debraj Mookerjee writes: “The first problem is the NEP’s structure itself. The credit-based eight-semester format seeks to create a standardised interoperable and mobility-based higher education ecosystem, where students can transfer their credits theoretically anywhere.”

Prerequisites:

— What is the New Education Policy (NEP)?

— What are the recent amendments in the NEP?

— What is the credit-based standardised protocol?

Key takeaways:

— “As a result of the credit-based system (where the structure determines the content and not vice versa, as it ought to be) syllabi in all disciplines have been stunted. Instead of the five units per paper students were earlier taught in my subject (for example), they are now taught three.”

— “Even the chapters prescribed have been truncated in many instances. There is a poem by Walt Whitman named ‘Passage to India’. It has 255 lines across 13 sections. Earlier, we were required to teach the entire poem; under the NEP syllabus, just 68 lines across 4 sections have been prescribed.”

— “Unfortunately, having to study a truncated core syllabus is not the biggest problem with NEP pedagogy. The bigger problem is one of dilution.”

— “The purpose of higher education is to develop the ability to engage in critical thinking in one’s chosen field of inquiry and expertise. The adjuncts to knowledge gathering do not need to be formalised into prescribed pedagogy. By diluting the core content and breadth of the subject chosen for study by an honours student, NEP is causing the lowering of standards in domain-centric knowledge dispensation and absorption.”

For Your Information:

— An NEP is a comprehensive framework to guide the development of education in the country.

A new NEP usually comes along every few decades. India has had three to date. The first came in 1968 and the second in 1986, under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi respectively; the NEP of 1986 was revised in 1992 when P V Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister. The third is the NEP released in 2020.

— In a significant shift from the 1986 policy, which pushed for a 10+2 structure of school education, the new NEP pitches for a “5+3+3+4” design corresponding to the age groups 3-8 years (foundational stage), 8-11 (preparatory), 11-14 (middle), and 14-18 (secondary).

Points to Ponder:

— How do we design universities that facilitate students into becoming producers (albeit in the smallest of orbits) of knowledge?

— What are the major initiatives under NEP?

— What are the challenges in the NEP?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

National Education Policy, 2020 is based on the recommendation of which of the following committee?

(a) Kasturirangan committee

(b) Sapru Committee

(c) PK Mohanty Committee

(d) KV Kamath Committee

Mains

How have digital initiatives in India contributed to the functioning of the education system in the country? Elaborate on your answer. (UPSC CSE 2020)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Explained: India’s National Education Policy, 2020

Express Network

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental Ecology, and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation.

Mains: GS-I, GS-II, GS-III: Important Geophysical Phenomena, Climate Change Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Government Policies & Interventions.

What’s the ongoing story- The mortality and economic costs of heatwaves have remained widely under-reported, Professor Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said recently.

Prerequisites:

— What are heatwaves?

— How heatwaves are declared in India?

Key takeaways:

— “Water-related hazards are the main reported cause of human casualties and economic losses in Asia. However, mortality and the economic cost of heatwaves is widely under-reported,” said Saulo.

— This year, India has been experiencing unprecedented heatwave conditions which commenced as early as March, which even affected areas outside the core heatwave zone, like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh(12 days), Kerala (5 days).

— “The recent heatwaves in India not only had a major impact on human health, but also on education, water resources, agriculture, energy and labour productivity.”

— The maximum temperatures recorded in many areas across northwest and northern India not only broke all previous records but saw newer localities reporting 50 degrees Celsius on multiple occasions.

For Your Information:

— Heatwaves are not defined by high temperatures. They are defined by abnormalities in temperature. For example, a place that normally sees a temperature of 40 degree Celsius during summer is not said to be experiencing a heatwave even if the temperature rises to 42 or 43 degrees. On the other hand, another location would be said to be facing a heatwave even at 35 degrees if its normal temperature during that time is 27 or 28 degrees.

Points to Ponder:

— What is the impact of heatwaves on food security and human health?

— How is India adapting to heatwaves?

— What is the urban heat island effect?

Post Read Question:

Consider the following statements:

1. Heatwaves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July.

2. Heatwaves need not be considered till the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40°C for Plains and at least 30°C for Hilly regions.

3. A severe heatwave is declared when the departure from normal is more than 6.4 degrees Celsius.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) Only 1

(b) Only 2

(c) All three

(d) None

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Explained: The criteria for heatwaves, how climate change is affecting it