27 June 2023

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. Examine critically how India’s political fundraising system has benefited from electoral bonds in becoming more transparent and sanitary.

Paper & Topic: GS II – Election-related issues

Model Answer:

• An electoral bond is a way to finance donations to political parties. In India, corporations and people can buy and provide political parties these financial instruments, which are comparable to promissory notes. The political parties can then redeem the bonds. With the intention of providing transparency and eradicating the country’s political fundraising system, they were established in 2018 as a component of an electoral bond program.

The following are advantages of using electoral bonds:

Several provisions, such as the following, encourage political fundraising transparency, including:

• Only political parties that are registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and that received at least 1% of the vote in the most recent general election are qualified to receive electoral bonds.
• Additionally, a registered bank account is the only way for an eligible political party to redeem its electoral bonds.
• The given bonds have a 15-day expiration date, and the donor must finish the bank’s necessary KYC procedure.
• Electoral bonds’ main objective is to reduce the widespread political corruption that occurs during elections. In addition to outlawing political fundraising from sham and illegal sources, it aims to significantly alter the entire election financial structure.
• Fight the threat of black money: The purchase is only available through a small number of banks, and only checks and electronic payments are accepted. Consequently, electoral bonds function as an alternative to monetary donations and aim to counteract the threat of “black money.”
• Maintains donors’ anonymity: The electoral bond program provides anonymity because the bonds are not named after their donors. To prevent political opponents from threatening or harassing funders, this becomes essential.

Electoral bonds have raised a number of concerns, including:

• The changes made by the Finance Act 2017 have an effect on how financially transparent political parties are because they do not need them to include bond contributors’ names and addresses in their yearly contribution reports to the Election Commission. This will significantly affect the financial transparency of political parties and fundamentally alter how the public views political donations.
• Political parties are not allowed to disclose donations obtained through electoral bonds, which is against the people’s “Right to Know.” The electorate won’t be aware of who, what, or how much has been giving to each party as a result. Before the introduction of electoral bonds, political parties were obligated to disclose the names and addresses of all of their contributors who paid more than Rs 20,000. The change increases the political class’s lack of responsibility and violates the “Right to Know” of the general public.
• There is no longer a 7.5% cap on corporate donations, allowing for unlimited, undeclared contributions to political parties. The RBI and the Election Commission both raised their deep concerns and objections regarding the prospect that these bonds could be utilized to let shell corporations remit money under the pretense of obtaining foreign investment.
• Political parties are employing electoral bonds improperly, which encourages the use of illegal finances. Political parties are adopting post-election bond schemes more and more. The total number of political parties in India increased from 1500 in 2017 to 2,858 in 2021. Most of these groups won’t ever run for government, and some of them might participate in money-laundering operations or merely abuse their power to convert illegal monies to legal ones.
• Fostering crony capitalism: According to a poll by the Association for Democratic Reform (ADR), corporations rather than private individuals are purchasing these bonds, with 93.95% of the total amount of bonds obtained being in the denomination of Rs. 1 crore.
• offshore contributions: To permit the acceptance of contributions from foreign corporations, the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act was revised. This could lead to foreign firms influencing Indian policies because it would allow for unfettered foreign financing of Indian political parties.
• Transparency and accountability have been at the forefront of electoral reforms since only free and fair elections can secure the advancement of Indian democracy. Given the concerns expressed regarding electoral bonds, further measures such as state funding of elections, auditing of political party accounts, and expanding the authority of the election commission should be considered.

Q2. Examine the main findings of India’s first national water body census. Show the various threats that the country’s water supplies face.

Paper & Topic: GS I – Water Conservation

Model Answer:

• The Jal Shakti ministry has published India’s first water bodies census report, which provides a comprehensive record of the country’s ponds, tanks, lakes, and reservoirs. The census covers more than 2.42 million water bodies in states and union territories. According to the census, water bodies are places where water collects due to ice melt, streams, springs, rain, or drainage from residential or other areas. Storage of water that has been diverted from a river, stream, or Nala is included.

The primary findings of the national water body census are:

• 72% of all the water bodies that were examined for the water spread area had a water spread that is less than 0.5 hectares, which is a fairly small area. Therefore, the vast majority of India’s water bodies are less than one hectare in size.
• Regional differences in water bodies: Drier states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan tend to have larger, publicly owned water bodies. In the wettest areas of the country, such as Kerala, West Bengal, and states in the northeast, more than 75% of the water bodies are privately owned.
• As part of water conservation efforts, Maharashtra is the state and union territory that constructs the most bodies of water.
• West Bengal has the most ponds and reservoirs, according to the census.
• 42 million water bodies were counted in the census, 2.9% of which were in urban areas and 97.1% of which were in rural regions.
• Variability in water body use: The two main uses of water bodies in drier states are agriculture and groundwater replenishment. In states with more rainfall, domestic use and pisciculture are more prevalent.
• Many water bodies were marked as “not in use,” which indicates that the bulk of them have never been repaired or revived despite the present desire in doing so.
• Encroachment on water bodies: 1.6% of the water bodies reported in the census had been overrun, and more than 95% of these were in rural regions. In Uttar Pradesh, there were over 40% of the water bodies that were being encroached upon.

Following are some threats to the country’s water resources:

• India’s unplanned urbanization and rapid population growth have harmed urban water bodies. As a result, they face a variety of difficulties, such as encroachment, sewage dumping, illogical tourism, and a lack of an administrative structure.
• Links between increasing population and pollution: Public utilities like waste disposal systems have not kept pace with the population growth. As a result, the bulk of India’s water bodies are being harmed by pollution.
• Climate change: The water crises and climate change are closely related. Due to harsh weather, water is becoming more scarce, unstable, and contaminated. Water resources are being impacted by increased flooding, rising sea levels, melting ice caps, wildfires, and droughts as a result of climate change.
• Illegal mining: The lake suffers greatly from illegal mining for quartzite and other building materials on the watershed and bed of the lake. For instance, reckless sand mining from the catchment of Vembanad Lake has resulted in a decrease in the lake’s water level.
• Tourism activities that weren’t planned: Using rivers to entice people has evolved into a threat to waterways. For instance, the Tso Morari and Pangong lakes in Ladakh have been polluted as a result of unplanned and unregulated tourism.
• Encroachment is a serious issue for urban water systems. As more people move to metropolitan areas, there is less land that is available. As a result, water bodies are now invading. Waterbodies that have been encroached upon include Charkop Lake in Maharashtra and Deepor Beel in Guwahati.
• India already has a water shortage, thus it is critical in this circumstance to save and safeguard water resources. Water bodies have cultural and biological significance, operate as a buffer against climate fluctuation, and assist assure the security of food and water. Thus, India’s first national water census is a positive move, and conducting similar studies every five to ten years can greatly enhance our understanding of the nation’s water resources.