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Time: 45 min Date: 06-12-2021

Polity & Governance Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Syllabus: GS2/ Judiciary; Issues Related to Women

In News ● Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) condemned red tape in sexual harassment cases.

Court’s Stand ● SC held, the right against sexual harassment at the workplace is part of the

fundamental right to a dignified life (Article 21) and it takes a lot of courage for a subordinate to overcome the fear to speak up against a lewd superior.

● Hence, Courts and Government officials should try not to make the process a punishment for victims.

● At times, the court turns the legal process into punishment in cases under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2013.

○ This Act is transformative legislation, which penalises several misconducts of a sexual nature and imposes a mandate on public and private organisations to create adequate mechanisms for redressal.

Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2013

● Highlights of the Bill: ○ Define:

■ The Bill defines sexual harassment at the workplace and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints.

■ It also provides safeguards against false or malicious charges. ○ Obligation:

■ Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or branch with 10 or more employees.

■ The District Officer is required to constitute a Local Complaints Committee at each district, and if required at the block level.

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○ Complaint Committees: ■ The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for

gathering evidence. ■ The Complaints Committees are required to provide for conciliation

before initiating an inquiry if requested by the complainant. ○ Punishment:

■ Penalties have been prescribed for employers. ■ Non-compliance with the provisions of the Act shall be punishable

with a fine of up to Rs 50,000. ■ Repeated violations may lead to higher penalties and cancellation of

licence or registration to conduct business. ● Key Issues and Analysis

○ There could be feasibility issues in establishing an Internal Complaints Committee at every branch or office with 10 or more employees.

○ The Internal Complaints Committee has been given the powers of a civil court. However, it does not require members with a legal background nor are there any provisions for legal training.

○ The Bill provides for action against the complainant in case of a false or malicious complaint. This could deter victims from filing complaints.

○ Two different bodies are called the ‘Local Complaints Committee. The Bill does not clearly demarcate the jurisdiction, composition and functions of these Committees.

○ Cases of sexual harassment of domestic workers have been specifically excluded from the purview of the Bill.

○ Unlike sexual harassment legislation in many other countries, this Bill does not provide protection to men.

Laws and Measures taken in India ● Laws:

○ Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 ○ Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 ○ Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 ○ Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and

Redressal) Act, 2013 ○ Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

● Government Initiatives: ○ Nirbhaya Fund for projects for the safety and security of women

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■ One-Stop Centre Scheme to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces under one roof

■ the Scheme of ‘Universalisation of Women Helpline’ and ■ the Scheme of ‘Mahila Police Volunteers’

○ Online analytic tool for police called “Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences” to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases in accordance with Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018.

○ National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies

○ In order to coordinate various initiatives for women safety, MHA has set up a Women Safety Division.

○ MHA has issued advisories to all State Governments/UTs, advising them to ensure a thorough investigation, conducting of medical examination of rape victims without delay and for increasing gender sensitivity in Police.

● The Criminal Law (Amendment), Act 2013 was enacted for effective legal deterrence against sexual offences.

○ Further, ‘The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018’ has also been enacted making the punishment for offences like rape more stringent by including the death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years.

○ The Act also mandates the completion of investigation and trials within 2 months each.

● Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), which provides a single emergency number (112) based computer-aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress has been operationalized in 20 States/ UTs in 2018-19.

● A cyber-crime portal has been launched for citizens ○ to report obscene content. ○ Cyber Crime Forensic Labs have been set up in several States, and training

of over 3,664 personnel, including 410 Public Prosecutors and Judicial Officers in identifying, detecting and resolving cyber-crimes against women and children has been imparted.

● In order to improve investigation, steps have been taken to strengthen DNA analysis units in Central and State Forensic Science Laboratories.

○ This includes the setting up of a State-of-the-Art DNA Analysis Unit in Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh.

○ Setting up and upgrading of DNA Analysis units in State Forensic Science Laboratories in 13 States/ UTs have also been sanctioned under Nirbhaya Fund.

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● Guidelines have been notified for the collection of forensic evidence in sexual assault.

Challenges ● Unreported Cases

○ Crimes against Women remain mostly unreported globally. ○ Fear of societal shame is a big reason for under-reporting. ○ NFHS 4 showed that 1 in every 3 women faced some kind of violence but

only 1.5% of them have reported it to Police ● Less Sensitized Police Personnel: Police are the first person to encounter the

Victim or accused. ● Pending Cases: Cases relating to crimes against women have the most backlog,

close to 89.6%. The conviction rate is also very low. ● Time-Bound Investigations: Laidback behaviour of the investigating authorities

in a time-bound way is a major roadblock. ● Making Laws without proper implementation

○ Just making the laws will not work, needs to be checked for its proper implementation.

○ Unnao case proves that making laws is not sufficient, its proper implementation is necessary

● Gender Disparity: Discriminatory gender norms and stereotypes coupled with prevalent patriarchy leads to crimes against women.

● Female infanticide and Sex-selective Abortions: Even in Modern India, daughters are still considered an economic burden.

● Awareness and education about Women right ○ This is the most difficult challenge to overtake. ○ Everyone should be aware of their rights. When giving education to young

children, this should be kept in mind. ○ The barrier of inequity needs to be broken at lower levels.

● Trafficking and forced prostitution ○ It is so prevalent all over the world. ○ People are trafficked to different states and even countries in the bait of jobs

and later are forced to do manual work or even worse prostitution. ● Online Abuse and harassment

○ As the internet become an increasingly important part of human existence to make their voices heard, a woman’s inability to feel safe online is an impediment to her freedom.

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○ Women are regularly subject to online rape threats, online harassment, cyber-stalking, blackmail, trolling, slut-shaming and more.

● Data and statistics ○ Proper statistics and data is missing to reach the exact numbers. ○ Even the numbers already present are not enough to have a stringent policy

with effective implementation.

Way Ahead ● Fasttrack courts need to resolve these sexual harassment cases on a priority basis. ● Red tapism must be avoided in such sensitive cases.

Sources: TH

Polity and Governance Demand for ‘Greater Tipraland’ Syllabus: GS 2/Government Policies & Interventions/Issues Arising out of their Design & Implementation

In Context ● Recently, the demand has grown louder to carve out a separate state of 'Greater

Tipraland' for the indigenous communities in Tripura Article 2 and 3 of the Constitution.

Demand for ‘Greater Tipraland’ About:

● The new demand seeks to include every tribal person living in an indigenous area or village outside the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) under the proposed model.

● However, the idea doesn’t restrict to simply the Tripura tribal council areas but seeks to include ‘Tiprasa’ of Tripuris spread across different states of India like Assam, Mizoram etc. as well, even those living in Bandarban, Chittagong, Khagrachari and other bordering areas of neighbouring Bangladesh.

● It also proposes dedicated bodies to secure the rights of the Tripuris and other aboriginal communities living outside Tripura.

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● Historical Background of Demand: ○ Tripura was a kingdom ruled by the Manikya dynasty from the late 13th

century until the signing of the Instrument of Accession with the Indian government on October 15, 1949.

■ The demand mainly stems from the anxiety of the indigenous communities in connection with the change in the demographics of the state, which has reduced them to a minority.

■ It happened due to the displacement of Bengalis from erstwhile East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971.

● From 63.77 per cent in 1881, the population of the tribals in Tripura was down to 31.80 per cent by 2011.

● In the intervening decades, ethnic conflict and insurgency gripped the state, which shares a nearly 860-km long boundary with Bangladesh.

● The call of Greater Tipraland’ rose due to unfulfilled demands of revising NRC in Tripura and opposition to CAA in the past.

● Immediate cause: ○ The churn in the state’s politics with the rise of TIPRA Motha and the

Assembly polls due in early 2023 are the two major reasons behind the development.

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Major Reasons for Rise in demand for Separate state ● Economic backwardness of sub-regions within large states has also emerged as

an important ground on which demands for smaller states are being made ● Linguistic and cultural reasons, which were the primary basis for creating new

states in the country, have now become secondary in most of these cases.

Initiatives to Address the Issue ● The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTADC) was formed

under the sixth schedule of the Constitution in 1985 to ensure development and secure the rights and cultural heritage of the tribal communities.

○ The TTADC, which has legislative and executive powers, covers nearly two-thirds of the state’s geographical area.

○ The council comprises 30 members of which 28 are elected while two are nominated by the Governor.

■ Also, out of the 60 Assembly seats in the state, 20 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

Challenges in Creation of New States ● Setting up various institutions, government offices, universities, hospitals, etc.

require huge sums of money, therefore, the new state might end up depending on the Union for funds, which may or may not be available.

● Different statehood may lead to the hegemony of the dominant community/ caste/ tribe over their power structures.

○ This can lead to the emergence of intra-regional rivalries among the sub-regions.

Way Forward ● There should be certain clear-cut parameters and safeguards to check the

unfettered demands. ● It is better to allow democratic concerns like development, decentralisation and

governance rather than religion, caste, language or dialect to be the valid bases for conceding the demands for a new state.

Constitutional Provisions for the formation of new States ● Article 2 of the Constitution deals with the admission or establishment of new

states. ○ “Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new States on

such terms and conditions, as it thinks fit,”. ● Article 3 assigns to Parliament the power to enact legislation for the formation

of new States. ● Parliament may create new States in a number of ways, namely by

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○ Separating territory from any State ○ Uniting two or more States ○ Uniting parts of States ○ Uniting any territory to a part of any State.

● Parliament’s power under Article 3 extends to increasing or diminishing the area of any State and altering the boundaries or name of any State.

○ This process is called the reorganisation of the states. ○ The basis of reorganisation could be linguistic, religious, ethnic or

administrative. ● A bill calling for the formation of new States may be introduced in either House

of Parliament only on the recommendation of the President. ● Such a bill must be referred by the President to the concerned State Legislature

for expressing its views to Parliament if it contains provisions that affect the areas, boundaries or name of that State.

Source: IE

International Relations Stopgap Funding Bill Syllabus: GS 2/International relations

In News ● The US President has signed a bill that will fund the government avoiding the risk

of a shutdown with reference to coronavirus vaccine mandates.

About ● Current issue: The issue revolves around Biden’s vaccine rules.

○ The debate is over coronavirus vaccine mandates at a time when there are concerns about the potential spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country.

○ The Biden administration sees vaccinations as the quickest way to end a pandemic that has killed more than 780,000 people in the US.

● Both chambers of Congress passed the legislation: to avoid a short-term shutdown of the government.

What is a Stopgap Funding Bill? ● It means that the government does not run out of its existing funds meant to run

federal programs.

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● When Congress fails to fund the government, a government shutdown is declared and all non-essential services are stopped.

How does federal funding expire? ● The appropriation acts provide the budget authority: to obligate and expend

funds from the US Treasury for specific purposes. ○ In other words, appropriation acts give different federal agencies a legal

basis to withdraw money from the US Treasury. ○ These appropriation acts are signed into law by the President.

● These funds have a specific deadline: These annual appropriations are available for a specified fiscal year and after the year ends, these funds can no longer be used to address new obligations.

○ In other words, after the specified deadline, the funds expire.

What does a government shutdown mean? ● Meaning: A government shutdown happens when Congress fails to fund the

government, in which case the Government stops all non-essential services, while essential services such as the armed forces and police departments etc. continue to function.

○ Services such as border protection, medical care, air traffic control, law enforcement and maintenance of power grids are classified as essential activities.

● Halt in operations: During a government shutdown, many federally run operations will halt. Some organizations may still stay open by running on cash reserves, but once these funds run out, they will also close.

● Scope of shutdown: While shutdowns can also occur within the state, territorial, and local levels of government, the term "government shutdown" is usually used to refer to the federal government.

● Disagreement: Typically, such a shutdown is a result of a disagreement between the president and Congress about full-year or interim funding, as a result of which certain activities and programs of the government may need to stop.

● The longest government shutdown: happened under the Trump administration when the government was shut down for 35 days between December 2018 and February 2019.

○ This shutdown arose from a dispute over the border wall funding.

Impact of government shutdown on public ● On various sectors of the economy: Government shutdowns have resulted in

furloughs for several hundred thousand government employees, required cessation or reduction of government activities and affected various sectors of the economy.

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● Other government programs: such as social security and Medicare, health and human services and national parks may be affected.

● Effect on the private sector: As the government operations slow or stop altogether, the effects may also spread to businesses in the private sector.

● Loss of Business: Businesses such as hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality services that cater to the visitors of U.S. national parks and monuments, will lose business during a shutdown.

● Effect on Banks: Banks, while not government-controlled, are not able to access the information they need to process loan applications during government shutdowns.

Source: IE

Internal Security

‘Assam Rifles’ Dual Control Structure Syllabus: GS 3/Internal Security, Defence

In News ● Killing of over a dozen civilians in Mon district of Nagaland saw angry crowds

vandalise camps of Assam Rifles in the district.

Background ● Issue over the control: Both MHA and MoD have wanted full control of the force

for a long time. ● Proposal: It was in 2013 that MHA first made a proposal to take operational

control of the Assam Rifles and merge it with the BSF. ○ The current plan is to merge Assam Rifles with the ITBP.

● The Indian Army: has actually been pushing for not only total control of Assam Rifles but also operational control over ITBP, which guards the Sino-Indian border and is currently engaged in a standoff with the Chinese PLA in eastern Ladakh.

Assam Rifles ● Central armed police forces: Assam Rifles is one of the six central armed police

forces (CAPFs) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

○ The other forces being the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Sashastra Seema BAL (SSB).

● Role: It is tasked with the maintenance of law and order in the North East along with the Indian Army and also guards the Indo-Myanmar border in the region.

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● It has a sanctioned strength: of over 63,000 personnel and has 46 battalions apart from administrative and training staff.

Contributions of Assam Rifles ● Oldest paramilitary force: Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force raised way

back in 1835 in British India with just 750 men. ● Two World Wars: Since then, it has gone on to fight in two World Wars, the Sino-

Indian war of 1962 and used as an anti-insurgency force against militant groups in the North East.

○ In World War I, the force was awarded seventy-six gallantry medals including seven Indian Order of Merit awards and five Indian Distinguished Service Medals for its contribution in Europe and the Middle East during the conflict.

○ In World War II, after the lightning Japanese advance in 1942, the Assam Rifles fought a number of Independent actions behind enemy lines as the task of rear-area defence and rear-guard often fell to them during the Allies retreat into India.

● Cachar Levy: Raised as a militia to protect British tea estates and their settlements from the raids of the NE tribes, the force was first known as Cachar Levy.

● Assam Frontier Force: It was reorganised later as Assam Frontier Force as its role was expanded to conduct punitive operations beyond Assam borders.

● Contribution: Given its contribution in opening the region to administration and commerce, it came to be known as the “right arm of the civil and left arm of the military”.

● Post-Independence role: ○ Conventional combat role: The Post-Independence role of the Assam Rifles

continued to evolve ranging from conventional combat role during Sino-India War 1962, operating in a foreign land as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka in 1987 (Op Pawan) to peacekeeping role in the North-Eastern areas of India.

○ Most awarded paramilitary force: It remains the most awarded paramilitary force in both pre- and post-independent India.

What makes it unique? ● Dual control structure: It is the only paramilitary force with a dual control

structure. ○ While the administrative control of the force is with the MHA, its

operational control is with the Indian Army, which is under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

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○ This means that salaries and infrastructure for the force is provided by the MHA, but the deployment, posting, transfer and deputation of the personnel is decided by the Army.

○ However, being a Central Armed Police force under MHA, its recruitment, perks, promotion of its personnel and retirement policies are governed according to the rules framed by the MHA for CAPFs.

● Ranks: All its senior ranks, from DG to IG and sector headquarters are manned by officers from the Army.

○ The force is commanded by Lieutenant General from the Indian Army. ● On the lines of the Indian Army: The force is the only central paramilitary force

(CPMF) in the real sense as its operational duties and regimentation are on the lines of the Indian Army.

Issues ● Two sets of demands: This has created two sets of demands from both within the

Assam Rifles and by MoD and MHA for singular control over the force by one ministry.

● Perks and benefits: A large section within the force wants to be under the administrative control of the MoD, as that would mean better perks and retirement benefits which are far higher compared to CAPFs under MHA.

● Retirement: However, Army personnel also retire early, at 35, while the retirement age in CAPF is 60 years.

● Promotions: CAPF officers have recently been granted non-functional financial upgradation (NFFU) to at least financially address the issue of stagnation in their careers due to a lack of avenues for promotion.

○ But Army personnel also get one rank one pension which is not available to CAPFs.

● National security: Army has argued that giving the control of the force to MHA or merging it with any other CAPF will confuse the force and jeopardise national security.

Significance ● Comprehensive and integrated approach: MHA has argued that all the border

guarding forces are under the operational control of the ministry and so Assam Rifles coming under MHA will give border guarding a comprehensive and integrated approach.

● Functioning: MHA sources say that Assam Rifles continues to function on the pattern set during the 1960s and the ministry would want to make guarding of the Indo-Myanmar border on the lines of other CAPFs.

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● Coordination with Army: Army is of the opinion that the Assam Rifles has worked well in coordination with the Army and frees up the armed forces from many of its responsibilities to focus on its core strengths.

● A military force: It has also been argued that Assam Rifles was always a military force and not a police force and has been built like that.

Source: IE

Indian Economy Services Sector In India Syllabus: GS 3/Indian Economy & Related Issues/Growth & Development/Employment

In News ● India’s services sector activity expanded at the second-fastest pace in more than

a decade during November, driven by a sustained rise in new work and improvement in market conditions.

Service Sector in India ● The service sector is the largest and fastest-growing sector in India and has the

highest labour productivity. ● India’s services sector covers a wide variety of activities such as trade, hotel and

restaurants, transport, storage and communication, financing, insurance, real estate, business services, community, social and personal services, and services associated with construction.

● India has a significant presence in the services sector exports. It remained among the top ten trading countries in commercial services in 2019 accounting for 3.5 per cent of world services exports.

○ Share of the services sector accounted for 54% of the total GVA in FY21.

Image Courtesy: indiabudget.gov

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● Potential (Sub Sector-wise Details ) ○ Tourism Sector:

■ The tourism sector is a major engine of economic growth that contributes significantly in terms of GDP, foreign exchange earnings and employment.

■ The tourism sector in India had been performing well with Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) growing at 14 per cent to 10.04 million and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) at 19.1 per cent to US$ 27.31 billion in 2017.

■ India ranked 23rd in the world in terms of international tourist arrivals in 2019, falling slightly from the 22nd position in 2018.

■ The country accounts for 1.23 per cent of the world’s international tourist arrivals and 4.97 per cent of Asia & Pacific’s international tourist arrivals.

■ India ranks 12th in the world and 7th in Asia & Pacific in terms of tourism foreign exchange earnings, accounting for over 2 per cent of the world’s tourism foreign exchange earnings.

○ Ports, Shipping and Waterways Services: ■ Ports handle around 90 per cent of export-import cargo by volume

and 70 per cent by value in India. ○ The consistent growth of around 6 per cent was maintained in

overall port traffic between 2015-16 and 2018-19. ● Space:

○ India’s space programme has grown exponentially in the past six decades, expanding from simple mapping services in the 1960s to many diversified uses including- design and development of a series of launch vehicles and related technologies, satellites and related technologies for earth observation, telecommunication & broadband, navigation, meteorology and space science, R&D in space sciences, & most recently, planetary exploration.

● India spent about US$ 1.8 billion on space programmes in 2019-20 and in June 2020, GOI opened up the Space sector enabling the participation of the Indian private sector in the entire gamut of space activities.

● Logistics & Transportation ○ India’s natural coastline and vast river network give it a

competitive edge in providing transportation and logistics services, both domestically and internationally.

● IT-BPM/ Fintech:

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○ The Indian IT-BPM industry has been the flag-bearer of India’s exports over the last 20 years.

○ Over the last decade, the industry grew by 102 per cent reaching US$ 190.5 billion in revenues in 2019-20.

○ Software & Engineering Services has witnessed a consistent growth each year, constituting a share of 21 per cent in the sector and US$ 40.2 billion in revenue in 2019-20.

● Other services:

○ Media & Entertainment (animation, gaming, dubbing), Education (online platforms such as MOOC), and Sports (IPL, IFL, Sports Management), Legal/ Paralegal services, Risk management and advisory functions, etc. are areas that can lead to an immense contribution of service industry in the Indian economy.

● FDI in Service Sector: ○ India improved its position from 12th in 2018 to 9th in 2019 in the list

of the world’s largest FDI recipients according to the latest World Investment Report 2020 by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

○ FDI into India recorded an almost 17 per cent jump during April-September 2020 over the corresponding period last year, despite the global slowdown, the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown measures and supply chain disruptions.

Challenges ● Impact of the pandemic:

○ India’s Services sector witnessed a significant setback during the COVID-19 pandemic mandated lockdown particularly sub-sectors such as tourism, aviation, and hospitality.

● During the first half of the financial year 2020-21, the services sector contracted by almost 16 per cent.

○ This decline was led by a sharp contraction in all sub-sectors particularly ‘Trade, hotels, transport, communication & services related to broadcasting.

● Impact of Demonetization: Demonetization, temporarily impacted the services sector as in the case of other sectors.

● Employment in Services: Employment has not kept pace with the share of the sector in gross domestic product and has not produced the number or quality of jobs needed.

● Lack of Policy: There is no policy leading to inclusive growth, and multiple, uncoordinated governing bodies adversely affect the growth of the sector.

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○ Many regulations are outdated, and there are restrictions and barriers to foreign direct investment.

● Domestic Regulations and Services Trade Restrictiveness ● Market Access Barriers: There are many market access barriers in India’s trading

partner countries. ○ Some of them for major services include Visa issues in different countries

for Professionals; licensing of professional service suppliers.

Government Initiatives ● Structural reforms: The year 2020-21 witnessed many significant structural

reforms. ○ The space sector was opened up, telecom related regulations were removed

from the IT-BPO sector, and consumer protection regulations were introduced for e-commerce.

● Health Sector: In October 2021, the Prime Minister of India approved the establishment of 157 new medical colleges to boost the accessibility of affordable health treatments among citizens.

○ The Government of India has set up 1,50,000 Ayushman health and wellness centres to provide affordable treatment of diseases like cancer, diabetes etc and check-up at the primary level.

○ In October 2021, the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission was launched by the government, to strengthen the critical healthcare network across India in the next four to five years.

■ It aims to tackle this deficiency. The aim is to strengthen the critical healthcare network from village to block to the district to the regional and national level in the next 4-5 years.

● Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme: In October 2021, the government launched a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to boost the manufacturing of telecom and networking products in India.

○ It will help in reducing India’s dependence on other countries for the import of telecom and networking products.

● Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship: Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship launched phase II of the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship, a two-year-long fellowship conceived to create opportunities for young, dynamic individuals to contribute to enhancing skill development at the grassroots.

● PMKVY 3.0: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) launched the third phase of its flagship scheme PMKVY 3.0 in January 2021.

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○ PMKVY 3.0 will be implemented in a more decentralised structure with greater responsibilities and support from States/UTs and Districts by incorporating the learnings from PMKVY 1.0 and PMKVY 2.0.

● National Broadband Mission: The government of India has launched the National Broadband Mission with an aim to provide Broadband access to all villages by 2022.

● BharatNet project. : The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has started pre-bid meetings with various stakeholders to implement the public-private partnership model (PPP) for the BharatNet project.

● Real Estate: Some of the recent policy measures taken by the Government include Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY- Urban), Smart Cities Mission, Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), relaxation of conditions to claim tax incentive for affordable housing projects, and the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 and introducing Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016 (RERA)

● International Collaboration: In September 2021, India and the UK joined the 11th Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) to discuss the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) opportunities in services.

○ India and Australia agreed to broad-base cooperation in the spheres of the digital economy and cyber-enabled critical technologies, noting the need to strengthen the security of critical information infrastructure such as 5G telecom networks.

○ In April 2021, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has started accepting pre-orders for the beta version of its Starlink satellite internet service in India for a fully refundable deposit of US$ 99.

■ Currently, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is screening the move and more developments will be unveiled soon.

Way Forward ● India should closely look into the development of the service industry, given the

potential and need for sustained large scale investment. Investments typically have a long gestation period.

○ However, once the infrastructure is created, linkages to the rest of the economy provide significant multiplier effects.

● Reforms in Domestic regulations are important both for domestic production and export of services.

○ However domestic regulations should not act or be used as restrictive trade barriers.

● The market access restrictions need to be negotiated in the WTO and bilateral meetings.

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● There is a need for further efforts to enhance both unskilled/semiskilled employment and skilled and quality employment in the services sector.

○ The Skill India initiative could be further dovetailed for services sector employment

Source: TH

Facts In News Biodiversity and Environment

Project RE-HAB Syllabus: GS 3/Species in News /Conservation

In News ● Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched Project RE-HAB at

Village Mornoi in Goalpara district of Assam which severely grapples with elephant-human conflicts.

About Project RE-HAB ● Under Project RE-HAB, “Bee-fences” are created by setting up bee boxes in the

passageways of elephants to block their entrance to human territories. ● The boxes are connected with a string so that when elephants attempt to pass

through, a tug or pull causes the bees to swarm the elephant herds and dissuade them from progressing further.

○ It is scientifically recorded that elephants are annoyed by the honey bees. ● Project RE-HAB is a sub-mission of KVIC’s National Honey Mission.

○ The Honey Mission is a programme to increase the bee population, honey production and beekeepers’ income by setting up apiaries.

● Achievement: ○ Project RE-HAB has been a great success in Karnataka and so it has been

launched in Assam with greater efficiency and better technological know-how.

■ In just 6 months, this project has reduced elephant attacks by over 70%.

● Benefits ○ It will thwart elephant attacks in human habitations using honeybees and

thus reducing the loss of lives of both humans as well as elephants. ○ It will also help in maintaining a balance in nature, along with the

conservation of biodiversity.

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○ It is being extremely cost-effective as compared to various other measures such as digging trenches or erecting fences without causing any harm to the animals.

Source: PIB

Indian Economy National Energy Conservation Awards Syllabus: GS 3/Energy/Mobilisation of Resources In Context

● The awardees of the National Energy Conservation Awards would be felicitated on 14th December 2021.

○ This year, a new award - National Energy Efficiency Innovation Awards (NEEIA) is also institutionalized.

○ It is to recognize “Innovative Energy Efficiency Technologies” and instil a sense of competition to motivate industries & sectors to develop innovative energy efficiency efforts in their units.

About National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) ● It was initiated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power

for the first time on December 14 1991, which is celebrated as “National Energy Conservation Day” throughout the country.

● Every year on 14th December, these Awards are given by eminent dignitaries of the Government of India to the energy-intensive units of various sectors of the Indian economy for their exceptional achievements in reducing specific energy consumption.

● This scheme has motivated industries and other establishments to adopt energy efficiency measures.

Significance ● It promotes newer technologies, ideas, and paves the way for the adoption of

these innovations by larger groups which will help in creating new employment opportunities.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) ● It is a statutory body and was established on 1st March 2002 under the provision

of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. ● It will assist in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation

and market principles with the primary objective of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

Source: PIB

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Physical Geography Mount Semeru Syllabus: GS 1/Volcanic Activity

In News Recently, Indonesia’s Mount Semeru spewed more ash, forcing rescuers to suspend the search for survivors as aerial images.

● The last time it erupted was in December 2020, forcing thousands of residents to take shelter.

About Mount Semeru ● The 3,676-meter (12,060-feet) mountain in Lumajang district is the highest volcano

on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java. ○ Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, is prone to

earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.

About Pacific Rim’s “Ring of Fire” region ● Pacific Rim’s “Ring of Fire” region is also called the Circum-Pacific Belt, it is a

path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.

Pic Courtesy- Geology.

● It traces boundaries between several tectonic plates—including the Pacific, Cocos, Indian-Australian, Nazca, North American, and Philippine Plates.

● It is home to about 75 per cent of the world’s volcanoes and about 90 per cent of its earthquakes.

● In the realm of Ring of Fire, the tectonic plates overlap at convergent boundaries which results in subduction zones.

● Here, the plate which is below at the convergent boundary is pushed down, or subducted, by the plate above.

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○ As the rock is subducted, it melts and becomes magma. The abundance of magma so near to Earth’s surface gives rise to conditions ripe for volcanic activity.

Volcanism ● It is the eruption of magma onto the surface of the Earth. It is a phenomenon

associated with the surface discharge of molten rock, pyroclastic fragments, or hot water and steam, including volcanoes, geysers, and fumaroles.

● A volcano is a vent or fissure in Earth’s crust through which lava, ash, rocks, and gases erupt.

Source: TH