MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. Discuss the drawbacks of measuring poverty only in terms of money. In what ways does a multifaceted approach offer a more thorough comprehension of poverty?
GS I – Poverty-related issues
Introduction:
- A complicated issue that has an impact on many facets of people’s life is poverty. The complete scope and severity of people’s deprivations may not be fully captured by measuring poverty just on the basis of income or consumption.
Although monetary indicators like consumption or income are frequently employed to measure poverty, they have a number of drawbacks:
- Narrow Focus: They only address the financial resources component of poverty. However, poverty has several facets, including a dearth of resources such as social support, healthcare, education, and sanitation.
- Arbitrary Lines: In a particular setting, assumptions and comparisons are used to establish poverty lines. This may fail to account for regional variations in the cost of living or major deprivation suffered by those outside the line.
- Household Unit Bias: They evaluate poverty based on the assumption that resources are distributed equally among households. Individual differences are disregarded, particularly the susceptibility of women, children, and the elderly in households.
- Static Image: While monetary measurements offer a moment in time, they frequently fall short of capturing the dynamic character of poverty and its cyclical effects on people’s lives and communities.
- Accounting for Subsistence Economies Is Difficult: In traditional economies where bartering and self-sufficiency are important, it is difficult for monetary metrics to adequately represent poverty.
- Ignores Social Exclusion: The emphasis on money ignores the social aspects of poverty, such as prejudice, a lack of agency, and restricted access to opportunities.
Benefits of a Multifaceted Strategy:
On the other hand, a multifaceted perspective provides a more comprehensive knowledge of poverty:
- Broader Scope: It provides a more complex picture of deprivation by taking into account a number of factors like living standards, health, education, and sanitation.
- Capturing Vulnerability: It allows for focused interventions by identifying people and groups who are at risk of becoming impoverished due to a variety of deprivations.
- Diversity Recognition: It leads to more equal policy responses by acknowledging the variability of poverty across settings, social groupings, and geographic areas.
- Dynamic Understanding: It captures the intricate and dynamic nature of poverty by monitoring changes over time in a number of variables.
- Taking Social Exclusion Into Account: It looks at political and social aspects that lead to poverty and offers remedies that go beyond only creating revenue.
Multidimensional measure examples include:
- The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which uses 10 variables encompassing the three primary categories of health, education, and living conditions, is one example of a multidimensional approach to poverty.
- The MPI can be modified or added to in accordance with the availability and usefulness of new indicators to better suit various situations and nations.
- For example, the National MPI of India now includes the following two new indicators: bank accounts and maternal health.
- Policymakers and practitioners can use the MPI to track changes in poverty over time, identify the most disadvantaged regions and groups, and allocate resources more effectively.
- Although financial indicators are useful, they can only provide part of the story about poverty. A multifaceted approach offers a more thorough understanding of poverty and directs the creation of efficient treatments to address its actual complexity by taking into account many facets of deprivation and vulnerability.
Q2. In what ways may community involvement at the local level strengthen internal security protocols and foster resistance to radicalization and extremism?
GS III – Internal security-related issues
Introduction:
- The term “local community involvement” describes the involvement and participation of local actors, including women, children, civil society organisations, and other vulnerable groups. It also refers to religious groups. One of the most important strategies for preventing and combating violent extremism and radicalization that result in terrorism is local community involvement (P/CVERLT).
Participation from the local population can improve internal security measures by:
- Locals are frequently the first to discover suspicious activities, behavioural changes in others, or possible recruitment attempts. They are the eyes and ears on the ground. Early intervention is made possible by the speedy conveyance of this information through open channels of communication with security and law enforcement organisations.
- Developing rapport and trust: Frequent communication between members of the community and security officers promotes trust and encourages people to voice concerns without worrying about retaliation. This cooperative method establishes a network of watchfulness.
- Resolving the fundamental causes: Community involvement can reveal the underlying problems that lead people to become radicalised, such as poverty, a lack of opportunities, or social marginalisation. Recruitment can be stopped by addressing these issues through social programmes, educational initiatives, and economic development.
- Fostering counter-narratives: Open discussion among local authorities, religious institutions, and youth groups can encourage critical thinking and the ideals of tolerance, diversity, and amicable dispute settlement. This disproves radical narratives and gives people the tools they need to fight radicalization.
- Creating connections between diverse groups: Interfaith discussions, community gatherings, and cultural exchange initiatives strengthen social ties by creating a feeling of shared identity and belonging. This lessens social isolation and undercuts extremists’ strategies of division.
- Communities can be empowered through training programmes that provide participants the knowledge and abilities to spot and reject extremist propaganda, set up watch groups, and assist those who could be at risk of radicalization. This encourages a feeling of collective ownership and accountability for security.
- The JnK region’s Village Defence Committees (VDC), which were founded in 1995, were crucial in the fight against militancy. The VDGs have received recognition for their dedication to upholding national security and fostering public confidence. Recognising their importance, the JnK LG has announced plans to bring back VDCs.
