MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. What are the main obstacles to tackling poverty and related concerns using digital solutions? Illustrate.
GS I – Poverty-related issues
Introduction:
As SDG 1 aims to end poverty in all of its forms worldwide, reducing poverty has become a global priority.
Body:
- Digital divide: There is still a significant disparity between those who utilise and those who do not use e-government, even in the age of science and technology. services. In truth, the bulk of the population in India lives below the poverty line and is not provided for by the government. services. In contrast, a certain percentage of people use government e-services extensively. The benefits of e-governance would only be equally utilised, however, if this gap could be closed.
- Use of the local tongue: Information must be accessible in the language that the general public finds most comfortable, which is typically the native tongue. Transliteration from English into other languages is already possible because to technology like GIST and language software.
- Information: The accuracy of information released digitally is debatable given how frequently rules, regulations, and standards change.
- Communication: Lack of interpersonal interaction between stakeholders and governmental entities might leave many of them dissatisfied and ignored.
- Internet infrastructure is a prerequisite for Internet literacy and is needed to link computers and users to the Internet. Without this infrastructure, e-governance is a remote service. This infrastructure consists of actual gear, transmission media, and software.
- Gender gap: Women continue to lag behind. Men are 90% more likely than women to own a mobile phone. Even among women who own smartphones, none have internet connectivity.
- Burden on the poor: Digital “solutions” introduce more red tape for all sick people seeking these treatments without punishing the offenders. Patients will also have to navigate digital work in addition to traditional tasks. Platform- and app-based solutions have the potential to completely exclude the poor or further restrict their access to scarce healthcare resources.
Conclusion:
- Therefore, if these issues are thoroughly addressed, it would not only contribute to the success of e-governance but also ensure improvement in governance outcomes with a view to bettering the provision of public services to citizens. Less corruption, more transparency, greater convenience, income growth, and cost savings are the outcomes.
Q2. What are the main findings from the current urbanisation trend in India? What potential difficulties might they bring about in the future? Analyse.
GS I – Urbanization related issues
Introduction:
- Urbanisation is the process of more people moving into urban areas. Urbanisation, which results in an increase in the population of cities and the size of urban areas, is mostly caused by people moving from rural to urban areas.
Body:
Urbanisation trends:
- India’s percentage of the population living in urban areas rose from 17.6% in 1951 to barely 23.7% in 1981 and 27.8% in 2001.
- India is among the bottom thirty countries on the list of nations classified according to their levels of urbanisation, which is consistent with its low per capita GDP.
- According to the 2011 Census of India, there were 1210 million people living in India, with a 31.1% urbanisation rate.
- Ten States—Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Kerala—comprise more than 75% of the nation’s urban population.
Potential difficulties:
- Excessive Population Pressure: While the rural-urban migration quickens the pace of urbanisation, it also places an excessive amount of population pressure on the public services already in place.
- Approximately 13.7 million slum dwellings in the nation are home to 65.49 million people, which results in overcrowded slums.
- Inadequate Housing: Of all the social issues caused by urbanisation, the housing issue is the most upsetting.
- Weak Regulations by Umbrella authority: States have not operationalized the umbrella authority to regulate transportation and other concerns, even though they effectively retain control over urban development over local administrations.
- Mass transit costs are high: It is true that the current paradigm of “exclusionary urbanisation” renders Metro and bus services unaffordable for the majority of people.
- Lack of protection against hazards and disasters in the areas of environmental safety, pollution, racial conflicts, violence, and exploitation.
- Financial devolution: From their already extremely low levels, practically all of the key financial empowerment metrics for urban local governments in India are showing signs of deterioration.
- Problems Caused by Pandemics: The Covid-19 pandemic has made life even worse for slum and urban poor inhabitants. Slum dwellers’ capacity to make a living was greatly hampered by the abrupt adoption of total Covid lockdown.
