MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. What do you understand by the sector coupling approach? Talk about the various ways that people might relocate to low-carbon cities to decrease the effects of climate change. (250 Words)
Paper & Topic: GS III – Environmental Conservation
Model Answer:
- Sector coupling is a concept that originated in Germany and has recently become more well-known across Europe. In the past, electrifying end-use industries like transport and heating to raise their share of renewable energy was referred to as sector coupling. The flexibility of the energy system is currently seen as needing to be increased in order to make decarbonization more economically viable. Sector coupling focuses on the entire economy as a flexible interplay of electricity generation, consumption, and storage in order to attain climate neutrality.
- Since cities produce a significant portion of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, they play a significant role in the process of global climate change.
The following strategies could be applied to the shift to low-carbon cities:
- The movement of people, goods, and logistics must be included in plans for integrated and sustainable urban mobility, as well as the consequences on the environment and human health, such as noise pollution and air quality. Along with improving quality of life and fostering safety, it also provides transport accessibility with a focus on vulnerable users (disabled people, bikers, and pedestrians).
- Smart Cities Strategies: Smart cities use data and digital solutions to enhance networks and services for citizens. These tactics are closely tied to the laws governing business, transportation, and energy.
- Development of low-carbon electricity systems: In order to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by Indian cities, attention should be paid to low-carbon electricity options, such as boosting the use of renewable energy sources and strengthening the grid, using fossil fuels prudently while considering energy security, and researching and/or promoting additional low-carbon technologies.
- Promoting adaptability in urban design will be crucial in the context of expanding metropolitan areas. This includes encouraging energy and material efficiency in structures.
This should include:
- By properly and successfully managing water, solid, and liquid waste, you may promote the provision of low-carbon municipal services.
- Encourage the creation, maintenance, and use of buildings that are climatically responsive and resilient in existing and new urban systems.
- One of the main objectives in the short, medium, and long terms is to decouple the growth of the entire economy from emissions. Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat are two programmes that aim to increase the manufacturing sector’s GDP share.
It might be a good idea to look at low-carbon options like:
- Using the “avoid, shift, improve” principle, we can reduce the demand for resources and energy while substituting renewable energy sources for fossil fuels.
- To assist the circular economy, increase recycling and material efficiency.
- Promote infrastructure and eco-friendly hydrogen technology.
- MSMEs (micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises) can expand responsibly and with little environmental impact.
- The CO2 removal technologies and related technical solutions are a new industry that is being studied globally and may one day be studied in the Indian context. For innovation, technological transfer, climate-specific financing, and capacity building, significant international help will be required.
- In cities with varying levels of urbanisation, in different national contexts, and with different institutional capacities, deliberate steps are taken to assure a transition to low-carbon energy systems. They must put their efforts into changing people’s behaviours, developing technology and innovation, boosting institutional capacity, and planning and governance. A comprehensive approach should be employed to address the root causes of energy and environmental imbalances.
Q2. Discuss the challenges that India’s social and economic institutions are encountering as a result of globalisation in this context. “The rapid development of social and economic institutions has not kept pace with the rapid growth of global markets.” (250 Words)
Paper & Topic: GS I – Globalization related issues
Model Answer:
- Globalisation is the process of spreading financial products, goods, technology, information, and jobs beyond national and cultural barriers. Globalisation encompasses the ensuing economic and social trends as well. It has applications in politics, economics, and culture. It is a complex idea. Globalisation has a much greater impact on some cultures than on others, and its impacts are very uneven.
Globalisation presents challenges for Indian social institutions:
- Organisation of the Family: The joint family, which was the pillar of traditional Indian households, has undergone major change. People who reside in cities tend to favour nuclear families in the compact flat society. We are no longer able to maintain our resolve to make the blended family harmonious.
- Festivals and social values: In India, it’s important to uphold the values of treating guests as gods, being kind and inviting, showing seniors the respect they deserve, and joyfully and communally enjoying every holiday, no matter how minor. Today, it would be challenging to notice such a vast gathering in both total darkness and strong sunlight. Individuals’ capacity to work together socially has been severely limited. When it comes to riches and status in terms of money, the link in the present age is very accommodating.
- Sector of Education: As seen by higher literacy rates and collaborations between foreign and Indian universities, globalisation has had a significant impact on the academic world. The Indian academic system is also affected by the issues caused by information technology-driven globalisation and the continually changing talent requirements of multinational corporations (MNCs).
- Women and globalisation: One of the biggest issues working women in India currently face is the dual duties that are imposed on them. Working women’s responsibilities in the home have not decreased as a result of globalisation.
- Cultural barriers: Some individuals are concerned that Indigenous cultures are in danger due to how globalisation has impacted societies. Because of the rise in uniform culture brought on by cultural homogeneity, a result of globalisation, this is the case. The politically and economically dominant society imparts cultural elements to a less powerful civilization. Argumentative people frequently make the point that civilizations are increasingly being “McDonaldized,” striving to adopt the primarily American dream.
Globalisation presents challenges for Indian economic institutions, including:
- Growing inequality: As a result of globalisation, marginalisation and exclusion for the majority of people, as well as poverty, inequality, and affluence for a small number of nations and people, have all increased. The disparity in income between various nations and peoples is growing. Assets and income are kept together more firmly. The pay split has shrunk.
- Globalisation did lead to an increase in the number of jobs in the private sector, but one drawback is that it does not provide benefits like social security or employment stability that the public sector offers.
- Impact on agriculture: India’s agricultural sector contributed significantly to global trade. The rapid globalisation and rise of MNCs have diminished the importance of agriculture and farming in India. The agricultural sector has been ignored since India’s economy was opened up in 1991, which has reduced its share of the GDP.
- Capital-intensive technology and unemployment: Globalisation forecasts that productivity gains and changes in technology will lead to more jobs and higher wages, but in recent years, these developments have actually resulted in more job losses than job creation, which has resulted in a slowdown in employment growth.
- Workforce mobility and rights: Financial and trade restrictions on a global scale are unfair, and labour rights have not been as rigorously protected as capital and property rights. This has different effects on developed and underdeveloped countries. The position of organised labour in negotiations has been eroded by the combined effects of capital mobility and worker immobility. To prevent foreign people from stealing the jobs of their own citizens, wealthier countries, for instance, have jealously guarded their borders via visa rules.
- Economic and social institutions have not evolved as swiftly as the global markets in order to foster balanced, egalitarian, and sustainable growth. Given the increasing interdependence of nations, sharing the advantages and drawbacks of globalisation is essential.
