30 January 2023

MAINS QUESTIONS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. Accurate and timely public data are necessary for evidence-based policymaking. Comment. The comment should also be highlighted in light of the problems and issues it brings. (250 words)

 Paper & Topic: GS I – Government Policies and Interventions

Model Answer:

Introduction:

• Evidence-based policy making is a two-pronged strategy that combines research with policy formulation. First, any policy judgements should be supported by reliable evidence from the design stage. Second, evaluation of implementation should be done via data gathering exercises. This necessitates having access to high-quality research, effectively utilising it, and measuring the number of changes that are solely traceable to the application of the policy in issue. It also requires being open to various policy possibilities.

Body:

The importance of timely and accurate public data in the creation of policy that is supported by evidence:

• Data can aid in the development of such political consensus by facilitating the present debate and making data accessible to the general public. They educate the general people as a result, not policymakers or decision-makers.
• Over the past 10 or so years, data-based policymaking has gained popularity in India, with numerous administrations indicating interest in creating policies based on empirical research.
• More crucial is knowledge that can be trusted.
• In a time of rising populism and political contestation, trustworthy information is crucial for well-informed policy decisions based on facts rather than emotions and fake news.
• In order for the public to regard a political system as legitimate, it must be able to successfully deliver favourable, fact-based results.
• Political decisions must be based on reliable facts if they are to be understandable, measurable, lasting, and future-proof.
• During the planning and reviewing phases of policy-making, policy ideas, regulations, and implementation plans are increasingly being analysed and reviewed based on factual information and statistical data.
• Such evidence-based monitoring is becoming more and more acknowledged as a sophisticated steering mode unto itself as a result of evolving governance structures, supranationalization, and globalisation.
• The necessity to reorganise the interaction between the political players of different institutional origins and political levels is highlighted by evidence-based policymaking, which is a powerful tool at the interface between the political and policy components of multilevel political systems.

Issues & challenges with the current data collection:

• The dissemination of the obtained data has been delayed significantly despite the use of the most recent data processing technologies. As a result, such data are less effective at influencing policy.
• The delay may also indicate less public scrutiny, which lowers accountability. For instance, the government withheld the Socio-Economic and Caste Census statistics from the public.
• Comparability issues:
• The most recent revisions made by the government to the estimated GDP made it impossible to make comparisons over time.
• The estimates’ calibre was not improved by the revisions.
• They are more politically motivated than they are driven by a desire to improve accuracy.
• Ethics: More and more data is being collected by contract workers and businesses that are for profit. It’s challenging to keep an eye on them and ensure that they remain trustworthy.
• A 2017 The Guardian story claimed that there is a global fall in public trust in official statistics, undermining public discourse and endangering democracy.
• Employment: Information on employment at the district level is lacking, as is information on circular migrant workers and the living and working circumstances of women in the workforce.
• Government statistics and post-truth politics Since 2014, in the era of post-truth politics, there have allegedly been instances of government data tampering and distortion, according to a number of political experts and academics. Politics in the post-truth era play on the emotions of the electorate while ignoring facts and policy issues.
• The selection of samples and the identification of respondents were both poor.
• Survey designs and questionnaires can contain errors.
• As an example, The RBI maintains its monetary and price level policies by employing an inflation targeting technique. Information on people’s inflation expectations is the foundation of this method. The extremely subpar mathematical skills of Indians are revealed by ASER studies, casting major doubt on the accuracy and dependability of the data.

Delays or Sporadic Release of Data:

• To verify data release, there is no set method in place.
• Delays in data publication are a persistent problem. Nevertheless, things have changed recently.

Contradictory data:

• Data discrepancy amongst government agencies is a major issue.
• The EPFO recently estimated that 3.68 million jobs had been created through November of the fiscal year 2018—a substantially larger estimate than that of other agencies—showing that there are disparities in the data regarding employment.

Additional problems include data accuracy and quality:

• The commerce secretary stated in 2011 that the misrepresentation of some commodities and data entry errors led to an increase in India’s export estimates for the months of April through October of US$9.4 billion.
• It has also been questioned if the Index of Industrial Production is accurate.
• Privacy issues brought on by government data collection techniques, according to allegations that the NSS purposely misrepresented home usage.

Moving ahead:

• Only if administrative data is accompanied by rigorous independent study and analyses will data-driven politics be accepted seriously. Civil society is essential in empowering citizens with valuable information through demystifying and spreading information.
• It is important to make the most of institutions like the ISI, the Indian Agricultural Statistics Scientific Institute, and other educational and research institutions.
• Include the private sector as well:
• The private sector’s smaller, tech-savvy companies might make a big contribution to data collection enabled by technology.
• In statistical ecosystems around the world, universities, research centres, and governmental organisations from countries including China, South Africa, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States work together.
• Scholars from various domains should be incorporated when producing samples and questionnaires.
• Include the most important conclusions from research done by survey design specialists and cognitive anthropologists.
• a robust administrative framework is required for surveys in order to ensure the validity and dependability of data collection.

Conclusion:

• It is absolutely necessary to make sure that the data generation opportunities provided by new digital technologies are integrated into a strong framework of public data production and use. Digital data collection tools must be employed in order to enhance data collection and processing capabilities. The government should place a high priority on timely and reliable public data as well as the adoption of cutting-edge data processing technology in order to assure the value of the data collected.

Q2. Space debris poses a threat to astronauts on space stations, other spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, and launch vehicles travelling to higher orbits. Describe the significance of a space debris reduction agreement (250 words)

 Paper & Topic: GS III – Science and Technology

Model Answer:

Introduction:

• Space garbage is the collective term for the large number of abandoned, artificially created objects in orbit, particularly those in Earth orbit. The fragments that remain after their erosion, disintegration, and impact make up this substance. Currently, 128 million particles smaller than 1 cm, 900,000 particles between 1 and 10 cm, and 34,000 particles larger than 10 cm exist in Earth orbit, according to the European Space Agency.

Body:

 Causes:

• Sources of space debris include defunct spacecraft, used rocket stages, misplaced tools, boosters, and weapons, among others.
• Since objects in orbit are straying out of control and endangering astronauts and satellites, space debris is now a severe issue.

There must be a Space Debris Mitigation Treaty:

• Space debris poses a global threat to the continued use of space-based technologies that enable crucial activities such as communication, transportation, weather and climate monitoring, and remote sensing.
• Space is a commons, hence any nation’s decision to test an anti-satellite weapon and generate tonnes of garbage in the process is unpunishable.
• More anti-satellite weapon testing events have led to an increase in space debris.
• Space debris puts active satellites, unmanned spacecraft, and spaceships in danger.
• In terms of space law, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 is referred to be the “Magna Carta.” However, its regulations are too broad to adequately handle the complex problems brought on by space debris.
• international space station The ISS uses whipple shielding to protect itself against small debris, but some components—most notably its solar panels—are challenging to shield.
• The Kessler Syndrome, also known as the Kessler Effect, is a threat in which a piece of debris breaks off and collides with another, setting off a chain reaction that might contaminate an entire satellite orbit.
• Even if the majority of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, larger objects can still reach the earth unharmed. According to NASA, one piece of debris has been observed returning to Earth on average every day for the previous 50 years.

Moving ahead:

• Building conventional bridges by spacefaring nations might be advantageous.
• The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was negotiated during an earlier space competition with little input from China, has to be updated immediately.
• Specifically, provisions that guarantee nations permanent property rights on their spacecraft may make it more difficult to clean up debris.
• All nations’ assistance must be aggressively sought after by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) and United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (CUPOS) (UNCOPUOS).
• Debris-mitigation guidelines like IADC, notably the necessity to state which country is in charge of end-of-mission planning, should become commonplace as more countries sign on.
• If satellite operators want to address the space debris issue, orbital-use fees may be beneficial.