01 August 2023

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. Research output in India is remains subpar, despite the fact that Indians flourish as inventors overseas. Identify the reasons behind India’s poor research output. What steps can be taken to fix this? (250 Words)

GS III – Science and Technology

• In its Economic Survey of India 2017–18, the government looks into the problem of subpar academic output and the obstacles stopping India from growing in the so-called sunrise sectors.

Reasons for the lack of research output include:

Funding:

• When compared to other large countries, where GERD to GDP ratios range from 1.5% to 3%, India’s GERD, which totals 0.6% of GDP, is quite low.

Vacancies:

• According to UGC, there are 2,457 open Assistant Professor positions out of 9,878 total.
• There are reportedly roughly 2 lakh patents that need to be reviewed because of a staffing shortage.
• Lack of peer-reviewed scientific journals: The 2017–18 Economic Survey found that India’s share of global research publications has been growing at a rate that is much faster than the global average. This is in line with the NSTMIS study. Although the researchers publish their papers in bogus publications, “the fundamental engine of their fast expansion is ‘the requirement caused by increased concentration on the number of research papers’ for employment in institutions.
• Lack of integration of research in higher education: India’s universities only make up a pitiful 4% of R&D.
• With the exception of a few essential universities and significant national institutions, most colleges no longer serve as a viable source of meaningful employment and India’s state universities and central universities have poor facilities.
• Other contributing factors include low healthcare and education spending, political meddling in higher education, and, in particular, a dearth of translational research.

Alternatives to this issue:

• The federal and state financing environments for research, technology, and innovation are growing, and infrastructure expenditure is on the rise.
• Increasing the private sector’s involvement in R&D through improved incentive mechanisms, such as increased financial support, company tax breaks, and flexible governmental procurement procedures.
• Adding more academic staff, etc.
• The number of Indian scientists returning to work in India has increased over the last five years, albeit the numbers are still tiny. This will enable us to send more scientists home. There is a growing anti-immigrant mentality, pulling on the Indian diaspora.
• By placing few restrictions on the reuse of research output and infrastructure, this would promote improved resource utilisation while also ensuring a continuous flow of knowledge between knowledge producers and knowledge users. Access to scientific data, information, expertise, and resources for all citizens of the nation as well as for everyone who interacts with the Indian STI ecosystem on an equal partnership basis.
• Developing partnerships with foreign research institutions to foster knowledge exchange, such as the Study in India Programme (2019), which seeks to enrol international students in Indian higher education institutions.
• Guest academics from India are also welcomed.
• To encourage the best students to pursue research, the researcher stipends should be increased.
• the expansion of research output in cutting-edge areas including nanotechnology, biotechnology, 5G, artificial intelligence, etc.

Conclusion:

• The new Education Strategy aims to divide universities into those that are better suited for research and those that are more focused on awarding degrees. Many of these challenges are addressed in the new Science, Technology, and Innovation(STI) Policy unveiled by the Ministry of Science and Technology, including free access to scientific data and setting goals for developing an ecosystem with improved funding and private sector participation.

Q2. Talk about the problems with internal security caused by the porous Indo-Myanmar border and the free movement policy.

GS III – International Issues

• Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh are the four states that make up the 1,643 km long border between India and Myanmar. Strong links between ethnic groups and families exist in the area. The free movement policy was designed to encourage local trade and business while allowing tribes living on either side of the border to travel up to 16 km into the other country without a visa.

Although the local population benefits from the free movement arrangement, it has also led to a number of internal security concerns, such as:

• Border insurgency: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) are just a few of the insurgent organisations that have established camps in Myanmar’s Sagaing Division, Kachin State, and Chin State.
• Illegal migration: Conflict with the native population has increased as a result of the influx of tribal people from Myanmar. For example, one of the main issues in the ongoing ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kukis in Manipur is the influx of Kuki-Chin people into India from Myanmar.
• The India-Myanmar border poses a serious security risk due to widespread gun running, which includes the supply of arms to Indian insurgent groups from the black markets of Southeast Asia and rebel groups based in Myanmar as well as the transit of weapons from China through Myanmar to the Indian border.
• Due to the “Golden Triangle’s” proximity to Myanmar, the border between India and Myanmar is susceptible to the trafficking of heroin and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) made in Myanmar, which are then brought into India via the states of Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland.
• The security institutions are concerned about the free movement regime because it allows Indian rebels to enter Myanmar freely and establish safe havens there. Another FMR provision that allows tribal members to carry the head load has also been abused to smuggle in illegal goods like drugs, firearms, and other contraband.
• The border between India and Myanmar is more vulnerable due to its geography, which is characterised by tall mountains, wide river systems, and dense vegetation. The lack of roads, communication lines, and other border security infrastructure has a negative impact on policing because it makes it difficult for border security forces to m

India-Myanmar border:

To solve the aforementioned issues, the following steps can be taken:

• Regarding the free movement regime, India and Myanmar should have a clear plan, and India’s Myanmar strategy should take the desires of the people of the North-east region into account.
• The emphasis should be on revising the free movement regime and making informal trade into formal trade by focusing on infrastructural development at Land Custom Stations (LCSs) and integrated check posts (ICP).
• More staff must be stationed around-the-clock to monitor the frequency of trader movement, locals, and people hauling local head loads.
• Access points under strict supervision, with enough security officers on duty.
• Due to the challenging and severe terrain, extensive fence of the Indo-Myanmar border is not feasible. Therefore, selective fencing in specific locations is crucial.
• India should increase genuine engagement with Myanmar in order to manage security challenges effectively. The border between India and Myanmar is not just open or unprotected; rather, it is a reflection of the ties that exist between the transborder communities on a physical, racial, linguistic, cultural, and brotherly level.
• Fundamental human rights and civil liberties.