MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. Discuss the elements that determine where in the world the industries that manufacture electrical chipsets are located. What obstacles must India overcome to build the same?
GS IV – Infrastructure related issues
Introduction:
- An integrated circuit known as a “Data Flow Management System” houses a collection of electronic components called a chipset, which controls the data flow between the CPU, memory, and peripheral devices in a computer system. It is an essential component of many industries seeking automation, including telecommunications, electronics production, automotive manufacturing, display units, etc.
The following factors determine where electric chipset manufacture is located:
- Forward linkage supply chain: To guarantee continuous consumption of the manufactured capacity, integration with the laptop, mobile phone, and vehicle industries is essential. Huge forward connectivity exists between economies such as South Korea, Japan, and China.
- Backward Linkage: The production of semiconductor chips uses components like rare earth metals and pricey metals like gold and silver.
- Skilled labour force: A sizable number of highly qualified electronics engineers are needed.
- Research and development capacity: The sector is very competitive, with chipsets getting smaller and faster all the time.
- Capital investment: Including both production capability and research and development. The manufacture of semiconductors is a capital-intensive industry.
- Large home market: As a result, countries like China, the USA, and India are perfect places to establish these kinds of manufacturing facilities.
- Trade barriers: A substantial portion of the inputs and outputs used in the semiconductor sector are supplied from and sent to the United States, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan, among other places. Such sourcing is disrupted by trade obstacles. For example, limited imports from Taiwan during the lockdown hurt the Indian industry.
- Local Manufacturing Agglomeration: Key places with these components supporting supply chains are Silicon Valley, USA.
- A steady, high-quality supply of electricity is necessary to run the sector.
- Government policy includes things like taxes and customs fees along with credit rates, subsidies, and other incentives.
The difficulties of producing semiconductors in India:
- Establishing fabs requires an investment of $5 billion to $10 billion due to its capital-intensive nature.
- insufficient funding and benevolent government regulations.
- Government clearances: Both the government and the technology provider must grant their approval.
- Intellectual property: Outside of India, the majority of the global study in this area has been conducted. In an industry that is moving so quickly, this is a major setback.
- The geopolitical environment affects the development of new factories.
- requirements for infrastructure, such as access to seaports and airports.
- The financial help is little because setting up a semiconductor fabrication facility, or fab, can cost several billions of dollars. In this contrast, the amount of budgetary help that is now anticipated is negligible.
- Handling Water Demand: Chip fabrication plants are also incredibly energy-hungry devices that need millions of litres of clean water in addition to a very steady power source.
- Dependency on imports for raw materials: A lot of the materials used in these chips, such as gold, silver, and lithium, are imported.
Opportunities in India:
- Back-end supply chains: India produces a number of gases and minerals that are used in the worldwide semiconductor supply chain.
- Human resources: We also have top-notch universities that can turn out highly qualified engineers for the semiconductor industry.
- Growth rate: The semiconductor market is expanding quickly, with a $1 trillion valuation expected this decade. India can grow quickly, from its current $27 billion to $64 billion by 2026.
- Mobiles, wearables, IT, and industrial components are the top segments in the Indian semiconductor business, accounting for over 80% of the industry’s revenues in 2021. Domestic manufacturing has already begun to ramp up.
- Together with the more current Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) plan, the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme has been essential in establishing India as a resilient, egalitarian, and efficient centre for design and production. The recent decision by the Union Cabinet to allocate ₹76,000 crore towards the advancement of a “semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem” signifies the recognition of the critical role that integrated circuits, often known as chips, play in contemporary economies.
Q2. India’s human resource development depends on the cognitive, social, and emotional growth of children, all of which are facilitated by early childhood education. Enumerate the actions that must be taken in this regard to advance and enhance early childhood care and education.
GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Introduction:
- Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is critical for young children’s early cognitive, social, and emotional development, as the National Education Policy, 2020 has lately emphasised. The National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) reports that just 13.6% of children are registered in pre-primary schools, despite the fact that the enrollment rates for children aged 6 to 14 in India is around 100%. As such, an alt is required in this respect.
India’s system of early childhood care and education:
- ECCE is required for the millions of young children living in low-income homes, and there are around 1.4 million anganwadis of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) throughout India.
- A private creche and childcare system is something that only wealthy families can afford.
- Workplace child care: The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act of 2017 encourages more women to enter the workforce. It mandated that businesses employing more than fifty people provide on-site child care, with the employers covering the costs. Following notification by the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MLE), businesses had three months to install creches on their property.
- By giving the kids a safe, secure, and engaging environment, the National Crèche Scheme makes guarantee that women pursue meaningful employment.
Deficits in the current state of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE):
- Curriculum that fails to address children’s developmental needs
- insufficiently skilled and educated teachers.
- inadequate teaching methods.
- The majority of early childhood education is currently provided by private preschools and anganwadis.
Suggested actions:
- Rules for parents and teachers of children up to three years old: An activity-based early childhood education (ECCE) framework that is meaningful and well-designed must be implemented. It must acknowledge the realities on the ground and allow for autonomy in order to fit the local context and environment.
- Educational framework for children aged three to six: In India, pre-primary education must follow a defined framework. The 5-3-3-4 Design is used in the national education policy. The first five years comprise the foundational stage, which consists of Classes 1 and 2 and three years of pre-primary education.
- Extension of the midday meal programme to younger children: research shows that the midday meal programme in India has proven successful in providing children with a healthy diet. With 35% of children in India stunted, children attending preschools need extra nutrition and health supervision.
- Building a million classrooms and hiring a million nursery instructors and assistants will cost a huge sum of money in terms of infrastructure development, hiring, and teacher training.
- Promotion and Regulation of the Private Sector: It is necessary to promote and regulate the unregulated private creche system that is present in the major cities.
Enhance the Anganwadi system in preparation for its use:
- cutting back on anganwadi personnel’ regular duties, such surveys.
- Giving proper training: A large number of anganwadi aides have completed their matriculation studies. Helpers can be reclassified as childcare professionals with training and an extra reward.
- boosting current wages for employees and repurposing it as a part-day childcare to help low-income moms support themselves.
- The current system ignores newborns and toddlers and is most effective for the age range of three to six years. In light of this circumstance, the National Education Policy, 2020 offers several significant proposals, including developing an ECCE framework and implementing a 5-3-3-4 curriculum design. This is a critical first step in the proper path.
