MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. The cornerstone of developing strong character qualities in society is value-based learning. Discuss.
GS IV – Ethics-related issues
Introduction:
- Acquiring knowledge and refining critical and logical thinking skills are the two main goals of education. Contrarily, values are persistent characteristics or norms of behaviour that direct people’s actions. Education inherently involves the instillation of values. The goal of a value-based education is to provide pupils the moral compass they need to be successful in the outside world. Value education helps students think critically and realistically so they can grow into good citizens and people with great character traits.
Students are taught values through:
- Knowledge and details found in books about notable figures like Gandhiji and the Buddha.
- Instructors have a crucial role in shaping students’ ethical behaviour by acting as role models for them in the classroom. Values including respect, discipline, integrity, dedication, responsibility, self-esteem, truthfulness, and tolerance are instilled through teacher-student contact and relationships.
- Values like sharing, caring, compassion, and cooperation are developed through peer-to-peer interaction and a variety of extracurricular activities offered in schools and colleges.
Why does society’s foundation for character traits come from values-based education?
- Encourages dependability: Education centred around principles instills virtues like accountability, empathy, and honesty.
- Promotes a thoughtful mindset: Value-based education offers an effective setting for imparting and developing a wide range of intellectual, social, and interpersonal abilities. It promotes thoughtful and motivating qualities and dispositions. Students can be developed to be good global citizens by helping them discover their greatest self and helping others.
- Feeling of fulfilment: Despite not having as much success in life or the workplace, a person with strong moral principles will be happy regardless of their level of achievement. For example, selflessness means operating without regard to one’s own interests or motivations. As the saying goes, “Nishkaam Karma”—do your duty and refrain from looking for rewards. Through contentment, it makes life happier.
- Self-development: Value-based education helps pupils form a stable sense of who they are. They get the ability to assume greater accountability for their own education. They grow in logical confidence. Through calm and quietude within a framework founded on values, they become articulate and capable of speaking freely and effectively.
- The minimum and maximum standards of behaviour in public life are determined by human values that are taught and promoted via education. An example of this would be if someone saw an accident happen on the road; their empathy and compassion would tell them to transport the injured person to the hospital.
- Value-based education is seen as the answer to all of society’s major issues, including drug abuse, crimes against women, adolescent misbehaviour, and so on. Nelson Mandela once observed, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Through value-based education, we can help children grow into strong, moral adults who can use their knowledge to further the common good in an era where moral values are severely lacking in society.
Q2. In order to achieve the objectives of Atma Nirbhar Bharat, India must become a defence industry leader. Examine.
GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Introduction:
- The Prime Minister of India used to believe that innovation is essential and had to come from home. Innovation cannot come from imported items, which emphasises the value of independence, particularly in the defence industry.
Self-reliance is important in order to realise the vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat for the following reasons:
- Strategic Autonomy: India’s defence industry’s self-sufficiency will bolster the nation’s strategic autonomy and foster growth within its defence and aerospace sectors.
- Reducing Imports: In the most recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute study, India is ranked third in the world for military spending. However, just over 30% of India’s defence hardware is produced domestically.
- 5 trillion $ Economy: India cannot become a 5 trillion $ economy unless it becomes self-sufficient in the defence sector.
- Security: India is now coping with a number of security-related concerns, including territorial disputes with China and Pakistan, militancy in J&K, and insurgencies in the Northeast. It is obvious that relying on imports cannot jeopardise the security demands of 1.4 billion people.
- Boost to Private Sector: The government’s prohibition on the import of certain goods and export authorization will help the private sector undergo a metamorphosis.
- Hostile neighbours: India has recently fought wars with China and Pakistan since gaining its independence. As a result, India has gained valuable experience from these conflicts, including the necessity of developing a powerful defence force and the fact that self-sufficiency is a prerequisite for doing so.
- Indo-Pacific: Independence is essential for serving as a net security provider in this area.
- The government could take into consideration the following reform recommendations in order to overcome the obstacles and encourage self-reliance in defence production:
- Assistance to the Private Sector: In order to establish a defence industrial base, the government had to think about providing more and more secure defence contracts to the private sector in India. Helping the private sector with its design, manufacturing, and research and development is essential to being self-sufficient.
- Investment: A shortage of funding has caused a number of defence projects to go unfinished. To guarantee sufficient funding for the three forces in relation to personnel costs, the Indian government had to take into consideration reexamining the defence budget allocation. Furthermore, it is imperative that longer-term, higher capital investments be made in defence production as well as research and development.
- Decision-Making: The Ministry of Defence should think about reorganising the decision-making process in order to address the decision-making obstacles that defence procurement faces. To promote more inclusive and effective decision-making in defence procurement, representatives from the three forces ought to be included.
- Overcoming Red Tapism and Corruption: To cut down on red tape and corruption in defence procurement, the Defence Capital Acquisition Authority, an outside agency, should be established outside the Ministry of Defence, following the expert committee’s report that was recently founded. The company will oversee every aspect of the defence purchase process, including the legal, financial, technical, and costing aspects, and it will assign specialists to each phase. Several nations, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and France, have embraced a similar concept.
- Research and Development: It is imperative that 25% of the defence R&D budget be allocated to startups, universities, and the private sector. India need top-notch research facilities and institutes that can help produce cutting-edge research, in addition to DRDO, CSIR, and IITs.
- Defence Universities: To address the demand for competent human resources, defense-focused universities must be formed.
To date, India has accomplished a number of significant milestones in its quest to become an independent nation:
- Ballistic Capabilities: Of the four countries with effective ballistic missile defence systems, India is one.
- Elite List: Of the approximately twenty-four countries that currently operate aircraft carriers, only five—the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China—have the capacity to construct their own carriers. With the construction of the first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, India has now entered this list.
- Light Combat Aircraft & Helicopters: The Indian Air Force has introduced Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, produced by state-run aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), and Light Combat Helicopters, dubbed Prachand, in a significant defence indigenization move.
- Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs): In 2015, the Indian Army received the Akash Weapon System. This is a short-range, supersonic surface-to-air missile system that was created domestically. It can take on a broad spectrum of aerial threats, including UAVs, helicopters, and aeroplanes.
- Naval Designing: The four ships of Project 28 are examples of the esteemed tradition of naval designers, having been designed in-house by the Directorate of Naval Design, New Delhi.
- Intermediate Support Vessels (ISVs): In keeping with the “Made in India” campaign, three ISVs, designated T-48, T-49, and T-50, were commissioned into the Indian Navy. Of the ISVs, fourteen were constructed locally.
- Better Exports: Over the previous year, defence exports increased by an astounding 54.1%. Furthermore, exports increased 334% over the previous five years, according to Ministry of Defence official data.
- In addition to bravery and courage, new weapons, advanced cyber security, and state-of-the-art reconnaissance skills will be necessary in future conflicts. India must coexist with two of its adversarial neighbours in addition to numerous others who take advantage of the China card. The current imperative is a strong defence procurement policy supported by advanced research and development that enhances indigenous manufacturing capabilities. This will have a significant impact on India’s worldwide outreach in terms of security and peace.
