MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. Although the Right to Information (RTI) Act is regarded as a sunshine law, it is not without difficulties. Examine the statement while highlighting the modifications made by the RTI (Amendment) Act 2019.
GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Introduction:
- The parliament passed the Right to Information (RTI) Act, granting residents the right to timely requests for information from public offices. RTI is regarded as “sunshine legislation” since it has replaced the culture of secrecy in government offices with one of openness and disclosure.
The RTI Act fulfils the function of sunshine laws in the following ways:
- Through the establishment of a grievance redressal procedure, a public information officer in every public agency, and a set time limit for information provision, RTI has institutionalised openness.
- In addition to preventing RTI petitions from becoming an administrative burden, proactive disclosures made possible by suo moto disclosures under Section 4 of the RTI have increased transparency in public offices.
- A more engaged populace with the ability to hold government entities responsible for providing entitlements like public services, pensions, scholarships, and so on has been made possible by RTI.
- RTI has aided in exposing corruption, including the 2G and Adarsh Society scams.
- Civil society organisations now have more momentum to hold the government accountable for improving the lives of the impoverished by being transparent about its spending and results thanks to RTI.
Notwithstanding RTI’s positive effects as a sunshine law, the Act nonetheless faces the following difficulties:
- Because the RTI (Amendment) Act 2019 subjects the terms of Central and State ICs’ offices to Union executive regulations rather than legislative restrictions, it has weakened their independence.
- The Act grants the federal government the authority to announce tenure and salary changes, which could result in the arbitrary termination, postponement, or allure of pay adjustments. The ICs may become more politicised as a result.
- Federal spirit is violated when SICs are under central government control. It might turn SICs from watchdogs for transparency into handmaidens of the centre.
- Due to PIOs’ rejection of information, there are a lot of appeals pending before the ICs. ICs are frequently observed to be sympathetic to the officials. Decisions made by the CIC are still not being enforced because of legal challenges.
- It is difficult to protect whistleblowers. Since the Act’s passage in 2005, more than 85 RTI advocates have died, according to the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
- The RTI’s section 8’s national security exception is frequently applied as a general standard to deny requests for information. Additionally, pointless requests often overload government agencies, making it difficult for them to complete routine administrative tasks.
- The administrative culture of secrecy has changed as a result of RTI, but considerable work needs to be done to maintain the culture of transparency. The 2nd ARC proposed that public officials take an oath of transparency, and that government intervention in transparency be limited to protect institutional autonomy.
Q2. Despite having the ability to completely change the nation’s agricultural environment, the horticulture industry faces a number of obstacles. Analyse.
GS III – Indian Agriculture related issues
Introduction:
Context:
- A subset of agriculture known as horticulture is concerned with the growing, harvesting, and selling of fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs, and exotic plants, among other things. In India, horticulture makes up 17% of the 140 million hectares of arable land. Additionally, horticulture crops account for 30% of India’s agricultural GDP.
The changing agricultural landscape and the role of horticulture:
- Rewarding and income-accelerating: According to the Ashok Dalwai Committee, horticulture has the potential to double farmer income. Crops used in horticulture are highly productive, need little input, and have a high market value.
- India leads the globe in the production of ginger, bananas, mangoes, and a variety of other fruits and vegetables, which is a boost to the food processing business. Thus, employment possibilities in both the farm and nonfarm sectors can be created by connecting horticulture with the food processing industry.
- Simple for inexperienced farmers: Gardening is very simple for inexperienced individuals. It can meet the needs of the nation’s population, which is largely made up of unskilled and semiskilled workers who want to leave the agricultural sector. Therefore, it can be quite helpful in reducing poverty.
- High output: Since 2012–2013, the nation’s production of fruits and vegetables (306.8 million tonnes) has surpassed that of food grains (279.5 million tonnes). This suggests that horticulture is becoming an increasingly significant economic factor in the expansion of India’s agricultural industry.
Premium exports:
- Compared to food grain exports, horticulture crops account for a larger portion of export revenue.
- However, the horticulture industry faces a number of difficulties, including:
- Agricultural Policy: Horticulture has remained less appealing to farmers because of the policy’s ongoing bias towards grain production, which includes measures like free power and minimum support prices.
- Inadequate infrastructure: Fruit and vegetable waste is increased when there is poor cold chain storage, electricity, and transportation.
- Outdated technology: To extend product shelf life, the horticulture industry requires a variety of technologies, such as irradiation devices. In the Indian scenario, this is absent.
- High price fluctuations: Compared to food grains, horticulture has two major challenges: fluctuating crop prices and high initial input costs.
- Inadequate market intelligence: The farmers’ ability to make money is restricted by the lack of appropriate price discovery procedures.
- Phytosanitary conditions: Inadequate phytosanitary practises during fruit production lower horticulture’s potential for export.
- Programmes like the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme attempt to address some of the issues stated above. However, a more comprehensive strategy encompassing infrastructural development, technical innovation, and coordinated agricultural policy is required to realise the promise of the horticulture industry in modernising Indian agriculture.
