DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. Children in particular are severely affected by disasters and pandemics in their daily lives. Elucidate. (250 Words)
Paper & Topic: GS I – Social Issues
Model Answer:
Introduction:
- Children go through a dreadful social, emotional, and academic struggle that some proponents and experts claim may have repercussions similar to those of a storm or other disaster. Children are impacted in unimaginable ways by disasters and pandemics.
- In terms of their health, social, and material well-being, the poorest kids—like those who are homeless or in foster care—are the ones that suffer the most. When schools are closed, isolated, or socially isolated, children are more likely to experience poor nutrition, be exposed to domestic violence, worry and stress more, and have less access to crucial family and care services.
Body:
Responses of kids to natural disasters and pandemics:
Learning loss:
- Since school closures have made it harder for kids to access an education as well as a primary source of shelter and food, the likelihood of child abuse has increased.
- Due to the pandemic, more children are being compelled to work and eat on the streets in some countries, which increases the risk of infection and exploitation.
The difficulties of digital learning:
- Widespread digitalization mitigates the educational loss brought on by school closures, while the poorest kids are less likely to live in homes that are suitable to learning with internet access.
- Increased unsupervised online internet use has also made problems with sexual exploitation and cyberbullying worse.
Kidnapping and trafficking:
- Between April 2020 and June 2021, while the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the country, 9,000 children were prevented from being trafficked for labour, according to statistics acquired by the non profit Bachan Bachao Andolan (BBA), which Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi founded.
- The most children were saved (3,183) in Uttar Pradesh, then in Telangana (2,805), Andhra Pradesh (593), Rajasthan (430), and Gujarat (333).
kidnapping children:
- In addition to the kidnapping of women, there are also many kidnappings of children. Many of the victims are compelled into labour in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
- Orphaned children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, including forced begging and child labour, as well as trafficking. In these circumstances, there is also a greater chance that older children will skip class to assist their younger siblings.
Child Marriage:
- One in three child brides worldwide, according to a new UNICEF report, are from India.
- India has also been warned about the increase in underage weddings caused by COVID-19’s opponents.
Children working:
- The coronavirus pandemic is causing children to drop out of school and go to work in farms and factories, adding to India’s already severe problem with child labour.
- Children are seen as a temporary replacement for migrant labourers who left metropolitan regions for their rural homes during the lockdown, which created employment vacancies.
When a child loses a parent:
- Parental loss can have a significant negative impact on a child’s cognitive, social, and emotional development.
- It has a detrimental effect on children’s mental health, including issues with anxiety, despair, and sleep. It frequently worsens a family’s financial status as well, which affects the academic performance and dropout rates of the children.
- The most recent COVID-19-related orphanhood statistics, which put the total number of orphaned children at above 19 lakh, were published in the Lancet and India is horrified by them.
The misuse of drugs:
- Drug use is more prevalent among school-dropped kids, and teens who experience parental loss engage in riskier sexual behaviours.
Sexual abuse:
- Activists claim that the virus is also causing the formation of other complicated situations. Children in the less affluent sectors of society have been negatively impacted by the epidemic in many ways since last year. For instance, because they were unprotected, children in slums have been sexually assaulted.
Moving forward:
- A comprehensive child protection strategy, set of guidelines, and action plan must be created in order to protect children from the numerous risks posed by the crisis and epidemic.
- Together with a variety of organisations, volunteers, and civil society organisations, this must be successfully accomplished.
- All public, assisted, and private school/systems must adhere to the same, unambiguous policy regarding learning and education throughout the pandemic, and this policy must take into account the best interests of all children.
- The Village Child Protection Committee Programme of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme must be successfully implemented in cooperation with educators and civil society organisations.
- This committee’s duties include providing access to services, keeping an eye out for and avoiding violations such child abuse, child marriage, child trafficking, and child labour, as well as spreading awareness of children’s rights.
- Governments should actively seek out those in need by using the Covid-19 database of the deceased, which provides addresses and contact information. This approach has been adopted by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), a division of the Delhi government.
- All frontline personnel, including sanitation workers, ASHA employees, and other critical workers, must provide specific child care protection for children of migrant workers.
- The development of a monitoring system and ongoing audits are required to keep track of the welfare of children in child care institutions and juvenile homes. Children residing in these facilities must have access to regular medical checks as well as counselling services.
- To help children affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is providing tele-counselling through SAMVEDNA (Sensitising Action on Mental Health Vulnerability through Emotional Development and Necessary Acceptance). This is an excellent step.
- Abuse of young infants is prohibited by Article 39 of the Constitution. Orphans who have lost both of their parents, been abandoned, or been turned in must therefore not be neglected and left to face an uncertain future as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. They must be taken care of by the authorities charged with responsibility under the JJ Act.
Conclusion:
- Children are a significant resource for the nation, and the future of the nation will be impacted by their growth and development. The major objectives of adoption are the welfare of the child and the restoration of his or her right to a family.
Q2. Think about how technology has increased the legitimacy of elections. What efforts may be implemented to provide a level playing field for all candidates during the Indian election process? 250 Words
Paper & Topic: GS I – Election-related issues
- Model Answer:
- Introduction:
- In electoral democracies, free and fair elections translate voter preferences into a political mandate that forms the basis for governing. More accurate and efficient voting procedures support democratic institutions.
- The scale of the most recent general election in India is proof of how EVM technology lowers electoral fraud and speeds up voting. In the 542 parliamentary constituencies, a record-breaking 67 percent of the approximately 900 million registered voters cast ballots.
Body:
Elections in India were hampered by technology:
- Use of EVMs: Using EVMs involved more than just switching out paper ballots and sturdy ballot boxes with electronic voting machines. Everyone went through a paradigm shift, including the political parties, candidates, and voters.
- With the introduction of EVMs, booth capture in the traditional sense of the phrase lost its appeal.
- Local muscle power was inadequate to guarantee that physically capturing a polling place would result in votes being cast in a certain candidate’s favour.
- In the past, the entire election process—from cleaning the vote boxes to counting the results—took a full 24-hour day.
- VVPAT: A new technological device called the VVPAT (Voter-verified Paper Audit Trail) machine has been deployed to increase stakeholder confidence.
- The candidate’s emblem is displayed on the VVPAT machine’s screen once the voter presses the button on the EVM to cast their ballot.
- e-EPIC: Users can now download their e-EPIC cards online, especially recently registered voters.
- The fact that extra forms of identification are accepted on election day to make sure that nobody gains from exercising their right to vote is another problem.
- De-duplication software: The electoral roll has been cleared using de-duplication software across all constituencies.
- Someone repeatedly using the same name used to be the cause of election fraud.
- With the aid of the proper software, the voter photo from the election roll has been cropped.
- This ensures that no fictitious votes will be cast on election day.
- Linking Aadhar to EPIC: The electoral roll’s and the election process’s overall integrity would be better protected by linking the two databases.
- Election staff: The National Informatics Centre’s software thoroughly randomises the poll worker database to ensure that the identify of the polling station where any polling staff will be deployed is obscured.
- By doing this, any intimidation or provoking of the poll workers is covered up.
- There is enough diversity within a voting party so that no official comes from the same division, region, or class.
- Only the effective application of technology has permitted such finesse.
- Using the Cvigil app, citizens can submit their complaints right away. They are able to upload photos and videos they take. The software is open-source.
Election fairness will increase if there are level playing fields:
- Independent candidates and smaller parties have less access to internet party websites, web channels, and podcasts than larger parties do.
- In this context, the election commission may suggest particular instructions.
- supplying tiny political parties with sufficient resources to take advantage of technology.
- reducing the digital divide between urban and rural populations, and obtaining equitable access to all political information.
- People with impairments can cast ballots and run for office using assistive technologies.
- Digital voting has the ability to involve everyone’s voice in the political process because it stimulates more participation.
Conclusion:
- Free and fair elections serve as the cornerstone of every healthy democracy. But holding free and fair elections is easier said than done. In a large and diverse country like India, it is significantly more difficult and complicated. Throughout the entire process, there are significant labour and material logistics issues. Elections must be free and fair, and everyone in the game must have an equal chance to vote. Accurately reflecting voter sentiment should be the main objective of the entire electoral process. This is now made possible by technology, but before this can be regarded as truly fair, technology must be accessible to everyone.