Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Economy

Topic: Growth Development and Inclusion

Issue: Indian Economy – Growth

Context: Interview of Dr Arvind Panagariya, the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission.

Synopsis:

• “7% growth has shown for almost 20 years now. It’s time the economy realised its full potential to 10%.”
• Reforms Suggested:
  • Lower tariffs: Many of the tariffs are still high which hinder the building up of the supply chains.
  • The four labour codes have to be implemented.
  • Commitment of the government on privatisation, both the Public Sector Undertakings and the banks.
  • Continue to make India a friendlier place to do business.
• There is a need to bring down the workforce in agriculture from 45% to 30% in the next 15 years.

Prelims Connect:

Privatization: The transfer of ownership, property or business from the government to the private sector is termed privatization.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus: GS-II

Subject: Polity

Topic: Elections and RPA

Tags: #Money_bill #electoral_bonds

Issue: Electoral bonds

Context: The electoral bonds judgement (ADR & Anr v UOI 2023) did not address the issue of using the money bill route to bring in the laws that introduced the electoral bonds.

Synopsis:

• The Electoral bonds scheme was introduced by the Finance Act, 2017, a money bill under Article 110 of the constitution.
• Several amendments were made to acts like Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 through the money bill route.
• Several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the abuse of Article 110 of the constitution.

+1 Advantage:

Statement:

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, in 2018 had termed the government’s use of money bill route a “subterfuge” and “fraud on the Constitution”.

Article 110 (Definition of Money Bills)

• A bill consisting of matters under Article 110 is considered a money bill.
• The Speaker of Lok Sabha certifies a bill as a money bill.
• A money bill need not be passed by Rajya Sabha.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus: GS-II

Subject: Polity

Topic:  Citizenship

Issue: Aadhaar

Context: UIDAI to issue a clarification that those relying on the Aadhar for age may do so after undertaking a “risk based assessment”.

Synopsis:

• The UIDAI, asked all agencies to delete aadhaar from the list of acceptable documents for verifying a person’s date of birth.
• Aadhaar cards now come with a prominent disclaimer that they are “a proof of identity, not of citizenship or date of birth”.

Aadhaar:

• Aadhaar is a unique 12-digit identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to all residents of India.
• Proof of identity: It’s linked to an individual’s biometric and demographic information, including their name, address, date of birth, and fingerprint or iris scan.

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)

• Established in 2009 by a Gazette notification as a body attached to the Planning Commission.
• Became a statutory authority under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
• Responsibilities
  • Aadhaar enrolment and authentication,
  • Developing the policy and procedures related.

The security of identity information and authentication records of individuals.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-II

Subject: Society and Social Justice

Topic: Social empowerment and welfare

Issue: Caste Census

Context: Jharkhand CM Champai Soren has given green signal for the caste based survey in the state.

Caste Census:

Enumerating the population based on their caste and sub-caste alongside other demographic details.

History:

• Introduced in 1881 and continued till the 1931 census.
• Independent India’s governments stopped full caste enumeration on the apprehension that
• it would strengthen caste divisions and perpetuate the caste system.
• Even the OBC reservation, which was based on the Mandal Commission report, was extended from the caste/community-wise population figures of the 1931.

+1 Advantage:

Bihar Caste census:

• The Bihar government conducted a two-phase caste based survey in 2023.
• However a case was filed on the grounds that only the Union government can undertake a census, as per Entry 69 (Census) of Union List of the Seventh Schedule and Census Act,1948.
• The Patna High Court upheld the validity of the survey, and held that the state government is competent to conduct caste-based surveys.

Statement (can also be used in sub-categorization of SCs topic)

“There is equality only among equals. To equate unequals is to perpetuate inequality.” – B.P Mandal Commission.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Science and technology

Topic: Bio-Technology

Issue: Genomes

Context: Ancient DNA (aDNA) studies powered by genomic techniques are providing unprecedented insights into the genetic makeup of our ancestors.

Synopsis:

• By examining sequences of aDNA, researchers can identify genetic abnormalities.
• Researchers have identified instances of high disease risk and calcified heart vessels in ancient individuals.
  • suggesting that cardiovascular disease has been prevalent in human populations for millennia.
  • Also reveal information about the diets and lifestyles of ancient humans.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Science and technology  

Topic: Emerging Technologies

Issue: Sora

Tags: #openai,#sora

Context: OpenAI has unveiled Sora, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) model.

Sora: it is an AI tool capable of producing near-flawless one-minute videos based on text prompts.

• Sora utilizes diffusion-based techniques to generate high-quality images and videos.
• It involves adding noise to data and then reversing the visual data back to its original state.
• Sora generates high-definition videos that resemble cinematic quality, demonstrating superior performance in video creation.

        Limitations

• The legality of using unlicensed data for AI training purposes remains unresolved.

Furthermore, the potential for misuse of Sora to spread misinformation raises ethical concerns.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Economy

Topic: Fiscal policy and Budgeting

Issue: New Instrument of Service

Context: government received approval from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to revise the financial limits for ‘New Service’ and ‘New Instruments of Service.

• ‘New Service’ is the expenditure arising from new policy decisions not previously brought to Parliament’s notice.
• ‘New Instrument of Service’ means a significant expansion of existing policies.

 Synopsis:

• With a growing GDP and budget size, upward revisions in financial limits are deemed necessary for efficient governance.
• There is a need for simplification in the process to facilitate easy adoption by ministries.
• This would improve decision-making speed and scheme implementation pace.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus: GS-I

Subject: Society and Social Justice

Topic: Issues of women

Issue: Surrogacy

Single Women Reproductive Rights:

• The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021, permits only married couples or only a woman who is a widow or divorcee to have children through surrogacy.
• It does not allow a single, never-married woman to use surrogacy for having children.
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, did not contain any reference to single women.
• Single women face inequalities in reproductive rights including the right to access surrogacy, fertility treatment etc.
• The law needs to ensure equality and enhance the reproductive rights of single women in contemporary India today.

Syllabus: GS- III

Subject: Economy

Topic: Agriculture and Allied

Issue: Minimum Support Price

Context: Farmers protest at Delhi’s border.

Increasing the farmer’s Income:

• The future of Indian agriculture’s potential and farmers’ incomes lies more in livestock, fisheries, and horticulture.
• the biggest agricultural produce of India is milk, and its value exceeds the value of paddy, wheat, all pulses, and sugarcane combined.
• Livestock and horticulture together constitute more than 50 per cent of agri-produce.
• their growth is much higher (5 to 8 per cent) than the growth in cereals (1.8 per cent) over the last two decades.
• these commodities need a well-integrated value chain approach.
• There is a need provide farmers access to the best markets not only in India but across the world.
• The fundamental problem of today’s agri-food policies is that they are highly tilted towards consumers at the cost of farmers.

Syllabus: GS-II

Subject: International Relations

Topic: India’s relations with major powers

Issue: India – USA

Context: The annual Munich Security Conference.

• The anti-imperial and the nativist approaches to foreign policy in India are being transformed now.
• This has been done by engaging western countries in strategic level commitments like QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Forum).