05 July 2023

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. Evaluate the claim that “India’s growing population, if not leveraged adequately, can translate from a demographic dividend to a demographic burden.” critically.

Paper & Topic: GS I – Population/Urbanization related issues

Model Answer:

• According to the UN Population Fund’s (UNFPA) annual State of the World Population Report, a demographic dividend is “the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, particularly when the share of the working-age population is larger than the non-working-age share of the population.” It is anticipated that India’s population would surpass China’s by the middle of this year.

How India’s growing population can present a demographic opportunity

• Contribution to economic expansion: Given the present circumstances, there is a huge demographic opportunity that may raise per capita GDP by 43% by the year 2061. Economic growth may benefit from a bigger percentage of people who are capable of contributing constructively to the economy.
• Women’s empowerment: Lower fertility rates and longer lifespans provide conditions for increased female empowerment as women have more time to forgo their conventional domestic responsibilities and pursue jobs.
• Because there will be fewer dependents and less demand for the resources that would have been required to sustain the dependents, an economy will save more when there is a demographic dividend. This is a crucial advantage of the demographic dividend since it makes it possible to save money that would have been spent on supporting the dependents.
• Increased investment in human capital: Better health and educational outcomes are achieved as a result of healthier women, less financial stress at home, and parents’ ability to commit more resources per child.
• The number of people who are working age increases the labour supply, but it is unclear to what extent this increase depends on how well the economy can absorb and use the new workers.

If not properly leveraged, India’s demographic dividend could turn into a demographic burden in the following ways:

• According to the CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy), only 40% of the labour force that is capable of working is actually employed or seeking job, and India experiences persistent youth unemployment, which is the case even for those with advanced educational credentials. This is due to the fact that job growth has lagged behind GDP growth.
• Natural resource stress: A growing population places additional pressure on essential resources including land, water, food, and energy and leads to new problems.
• Informal economy: Nine out of ten Indian workers labour in the unorganised sector, which poses a serious challenge to policymakers because these individuals are typically overlooked by the system and are more vulnerable to exploitation.
• According to the most recent World Bank data, women’s engagement in the workforce is declining: in 2021, women made up 23% of the workforce, down from over 27% in 2005, whereas women made up roughly 32% and 34.5% of the workforce in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, two neighbours.
• Regional variations within the country: India’s potential for a demographic dividend varies depending on the population mix of each state, for instance, Kerala’s population is ageing while Bihar’s workforce is anticipated to expand till 2051.

Moving forward:

• Investments in education may both boost general economic growth and enable citizens to actively participate in it through greater production, employment, and pay.
• As skilling activities over the previous ten years have not kept pace with population growth, creating a significant skills gap, the emphasis should be on expanding skilling and reskilling, which would further lead to the creation of jobs.
• investments in women and children made through the implementation of future-focused laws and programmes.
• A federal approach to governance reforms is now necessary to address new issues like urbanisation, migration, ageing, skilling, and skilling.
• The population structure of India shows that there are more opportunities for a demographic dividend than a burden, so the country must focus on the essential mechanisms that turn a demographic surplus into a financial advantage.

Q2. Describe the many art forms found during the excavations of the Indus Valley Civilization and their significance for understanding the socio-religious practises of the time.

Paper & Topic: GS I – Indian Culture

Model Answer:

• A bronze-age civilization called the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) developed in the Indian subcontinent’s north-western corner. In the second part of the third millennium BCE, the IVC’s art forms first appeared, and some examples are sculptures, seals, pottery, jewellery, terracotta figurines, and more. These findings are important because they shed light on the thoughts, lives, and religious convictions of those who produced these pieces of art.

The following types of art were found during the excavations:

• Stone Statues: Two male stone statues have been discovered at Harappan sites. One is a soapstone bust of a bearded man, and the other is a torso composed of red sandstone.
• Bronze statues: The most notable example is the bronze statue of a woman known as the “Dancing Girl,” which can be found in all of the Indus Valley Civilization’s major cities.
• Clay sculptures: The Indus Valley people also produced clay sculptures, the mother goddess sculptures being the most notable. Toy carts with wheels, rattles, whistles, birds, and other creatures are also shown in terracotta.
• Seals: The majority of the seals are made of steatite, but some have also been found to be made of agate, copper, terracotta, and faience. Although there are many other subjects represented on seals, their amazing animal carvings, such as unicorn bulls, rhinoceroses, tigers, elephants, bison, and buffalo, are what make them so famous.
• The Indus Valley pottery is generally made of exceedingly fine wheel-crafted goods, and plain pottery is more common than decorated pottery.

Understanding historical socioreligious practises through art is important:

• Nature and animal worship: Seals found during the excavation provided evidence for the veneration of both humped and regular bulls, as well as pipal trees, which are inferred from currencies from the Indus region. Thus, worship of a higher force represented by nature was widespread at this period.
• The discovery of clay statues of mother goddesses, the veneration of Pashupati, a type of male god, and some historians’ allegations that the statue of the dancing girl depicts a Hindu goddess are all indications that idol worship was practised by people in the Indus Valley civilization.
• Seals as amulets: In the excavation, numerous rectangular-shaped seals with images of gods and goddesses as well as certain mantras were discovered. Such amulets were worn by the Indus people as defence against evil forces. Numerous scenes with mythological or religious significance can be seen on the seals.
• Based on the evidence that has been unearthed and the Indus people’s reverence for the Mother Goddess, it can be said that the traditional family was an integral aspect of Indus Valley civilization, which can be classified as being mainly matriarchal.
• The Indus Valley’s inhabitants may have been aware of contemporary fashion trends, including various hairstyles, the prevalence of beards, women’s decoration, the use of cinnabar as a cosmetic, and knowledge of lipstick and face paint, according to archaeological discoveries. For instance, some sculptures show standing women accessorised with jewels, while others show guys with beards.
• The excavation at Mohenjo-Daro shows that people there used wheat and barley and were aware that drinking animal milk was beneficial to their health. Large godowns were also present, and wealthier people utilised them to store their grain. Additionally, excavations provided some insight into their food and farming practises.
• Because of their outstanding creative senses and vivid imaginations, the artists of that era had a variety of living styles that continue to have an impact on us now. Numerous examples of artistic activity have been found in Indus Valley excavation sites, which also offer important insights into the society, religion, and economy of the time.