SECURE SYNOPSIS: 16 JULY 2019

NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you extra points in the form of background information.

1) “Despite years of reservation, the conditions of Dalits in India still remain miserable”. In the light of some recent incidence, bring out the major reasons behind miserable condition of Dalits. Give suggestions for improvement.(250 words)

The question is in the backdrop of the recently released Article 15, which is a welcome addition to films that portray Dalit subjectivity in a nuanced manner. The answer needs to evaluate the conditions of Dalit and how they have remained unaddressed despite the affirmative action of State through reservation. In brief quote facts and represent conditions of Dalit in India. The answer must evaluate the conditions of Dalits in our society and examine their conditions with respect to the provisions of reservation and in what way reservation has mostly failed to serve the real purpose of fixing the root problems.one must suggest solutions to the problem like apart from reservation mainstreaming the community, awareness, rooting out inequalities etc. need action.

Dalits or untouchables are officially known as Scheduled Castes since the Government of India Act, 1935. Caste system, which according Dr BR Ambedkar is ordained by the Hindu religious scriptures, has placed untouchables outside the Chaturvarna system of social division and imposed oppressive and in human rules of treatment against them. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), crime against Dalits – ranging from rape, murder, beatings, and violence related to land matters increased by 29 percent from 2012 to 2014.

Despite strong laws including SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989, Untouchability Act 1955 and various constitutional provisions like Art 15(2) (no discrimination at public place), Art 17(untouchability), Art. 23(prevention of bonded labour) have been framed but have failed to this discrimination.

These laws have politically and legally emboldened the dalits but socially have failed to be realised due to lack of awareness, poor reporting, police apathy etc. It is important to address the following concerns rather than making stronger legislation which are strong enough on paper

Kind of discrimination meted out to Dalits:

Stringent laws only have never helped its cause and attitudinal change in perception toward the dalits and for Dalit toward themselves need to changed through active interventions which is well possible within the existing framework .

2) Discuss the role of fertility as a component of population dynamics. Highlight the characteristics and limitations of various measures of fertility in India.(250 words)

The question is about discussing the significance of fertility as a component of population dynamics. The question is about discussing the relevance of fertility as part of population dynamics and one must discuss the limitations of different measures of fertility. Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments. Define fertility. And quote the recent trends in fertility aspects in India. The discussion is straightforward and there is not much to deliberate, Fertility rate, average number of children born to women during their reproductive years. For the population in a given area to remain stable, an overall total fertility rate of 2.1 is needed, assuming no immigration or emigration occurs. Discuss the significance of it.

Fertility, one of the three components of population dynamics (the others being mortality and migration), holds a very important place in any population study. A positive force in population dynamics, fertility is responsible for biological replacement and continuation of human society. Fertility levels determine the age structure of a population, which in turn governs the social, economic and demographic characteristics of the population.

Various measures of fertility in India:

Fertility measures are devices to quantify the fertility performance of a population over a period of time. These measures are used to compare fertility behaviour of different populations, and to examine the trends in fertility of a population over a period of time. These measures can be grouped into two categories, viz., the direct measures and the indirect measures.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR) is one of the most commonly used measures of fertility because of its simplicity in concept and measurement. It is the ratio between the total registered live births in a population during a calendar year and the mid-year population.

CBR is only a crude measure and suffers from various limitations. Since both the numerator and denominator in the equation stated above get affected through births, CBR tends to underplay changes in fertility. Further, in the computation of CBR, total population of an area is taken in the denominator. It is, however, important to note that every individual in the population (of all ages and sexes) is not exposed to the risk of reproduction.

General Fertility Rate (GFR), an improvement over CBR, therefore, takes into account only female population in the childbearing age groups or repro­ductive span (i.e., 15 to 44 or 49 years). GFR is, thus, defined as the ratio between the total live births and number of women in the reproductive age span.

Though a refinement over CBR, GFR also suffers from certain limitations. The measure considers entire female population in the reproductive ages as a homogeneous group, whereas the fecundity of women is not uniform over the period. Thus, GFR is also a crude rate.

Age-Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR): ASFR can be worked out for single year age data as well as for broad age groups. Usually, the reproductive age span is divided into five-year age groups, numbering six or seven depending upon the upper limit of the reproductive age span.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR), refers to the total number of children a woman will produce during her childbearing age span, if she is subjected to a fertility schedule as prescribed by the age-specific fertility rates. The TFR together with the ASFR can be further used to construct several measures that are useful in the study of fertility changes

In addition to the direct measures discussed above, there are several indirect measures of fertility, which are useful particularly when data on live births are not readily available, or are not reliable. These measures arrive at estimates of fertility indirectly using data on age-sex structure, and marital status cross-classified by age and sex. Child Women Ratio and Female Mean Age at Marriage are most commonly used indirect measures. Child Women Ratio (CWR) is defined as the number of children under five years of age, per 100 women in the repro­ductive ages.

The Economic survey 2016-17 highlighted lack of population dynamics currently taken into consideration by policymakers when it showed that Welfare spending in India suffers from misallocation – the districts with the most poor are the ones that suffer from the greatest shortfall of funds in social programs. We need to account for demographic dynamics in our policy.

3) The double burden of undernutrition and obesity needs to be tackled as part of India’s national nutrition strategy. Discuss (250 words)

 The question is about discussing the issues of undernutrition and overnutrition and significance of Nation nutrition strategy to consider the two aspects on a mission mode so as to resolve the double burden.  The answer has to deliberate on the causes of the double burden of obesity and undernutrition. Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments. Define what you understand by under and over nutrition. Discuss first the significance of nutrition on the health of an individual and in what way it is an important component in deciding the growth and development of the country. Then move on to explain the importance of dealing with the two alarming issues in the Nation nutrition strategy.

According to WHO, Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. The term malnutrition covers 2 broad groups of conditions. One is ‘undernutrition’—which includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals). The other is overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer). The scale of malnutrition in India constitutes a public health crisis, which not only violates a fundamental right of humanity, but also undermines significant advances made in economic, social, and cultural indicators.

India is home to one of the largest populations of malnourished children in the world. One cannot build a strong building on a weak foundation.

According to M S Swaminathan, to promote nutrient value food production, a multi-pronged strategy involving academic institutions, government, scientists and farmers should be evolved. Boosting nutrition levels across the country is one of the biggest low hanging fruit in the Indian public policy sphere.

4) Examine how ‘smart grids’ can be a solution to India’s power woes. Discuss the challenges and issues involved in its implementation.(250 words) 

The question is to examine the concept of smart grids. The answer must discuss the concept of smart grids, the challenges and issues involved in implementing the same and in what way it can address the power woes of the country. Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we have to look into the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications. Discuss in brief the current power scenario of the country with some statistical data. Explain that Smart grid (SG) is emerging as a new facet of power industry. It incorporates numerous advanced technologies to deal issues prevailing with conventional electric networks. Though capable to resolve many of these issues, SG is still facing challenges in deployment. These challenges are associated with adaption of emerging technologies, socio-economic issues, lack of policies and awareness. Conclude with what needs to be done and how the concept can be put to use effectively to deal with the power problems of the country.

Smart grid is an electricity grid that is used to deliver electricity using two way technology to enable communication between consumers and utility. Smart grid manages electricity demand in a reliable, efficient and sustainable manner. In May 2015, Government approved the National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) -an institutional mechanism for planning, monitoring and implementation of policies and programs related to Smart Grid activities.

Challenges and issues involved in its implementation:

Indian utilities are still lagging far behind when compared to other countries. Smart Grids will play a vital role to help utilities in accomplishing this mission. So, the utilities will need to invest heavily in new hardware, software, business process development, and staff training. Further  there  would  be  high  investment  in home  area  networks  and  smart appliances by  the  customers.  Achieving the broader view of Smart Grid will require complex task prioritization and right set of policies and regulations to be in place.

5) Infrastructure is the backbone of India Economy. Discuss the measures taken by the government to boost infrastructure development in the recent Budget. (250 words)

Infrastructure is a key driver of the overall development of Indian economy. It is seen that investments in infrastructure equal to 1% of GDP will result in GDP growth of at least 2% as infrastructure has a “multiplier effect” on economic growth across sectors. The recent headway made in developing transport infrastructure will prove to be the biggest enabler for growth.

If  proper  effort  is  made  in  expanding  education,  health  facilities,  and  physical infrastructure and improving their quality by increasing budgetary allocation and improving governance, it will go a long way in reducing poverty, improving human development, and reviving and sustaining high rates of economic growth in India.

6) Untreated waste water poses a threat to both human health and the aquatic ecosystems. Explain the statement with examples.(250 words)

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. Wastewater can originate from a combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff or storm water, and from sewer inflow or infiltration. The 2017 United Nations’ Water Development Programme’s World Water Development Report (WWDR) notes that more than 80% of the world’s wastewater — over 95% in some least developed countries — is released into the environment untreated. The National Green Tribunal has directed 18 States and 2 Union Territories to submit their respective action plans on utilisation of treated wastewater to reduce pressure on the groundwater resources across the country.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 specifically focuses on water and sanitation, with Target 3 addressing water quality, but the availability of water is a cross-cutting issue upon which every aspect of development hinges. Put simply, water is life, and without a sustained commitment to improving and benefiting from effective wastewater management, that precious resource, and the billions of lives it nourishes, is in peril.

Source: Insightsonindia.com

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