30 September 2023

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. India wants to be a developed country by 2047. This is an aspirational aim. Talk about the problems and obstacles that need to be overcome in order to succeed.

GS III – Economy-related issues

Introduction:

• The Honourable Prime Minister made a plea on Independence Day for “Panch Parn,” or five promises for the ensuing 25 years, one of which is for India to become a developed country.
• India wants to become a developed nation by 2047. It has an open economy, a dynamic democracy, a demographic dividend, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Nonetheless, there are obstacles along the way.

Concerns that require attention:

• Poverty and hunger: According to the Tendulkar Committee, over 40% of Indians live below the poverty line, ranking 101st out of 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index of 2021. Therefore, we must ensure that the demographic dividend does not turn into a demographic catastrophe.
• Education and skill development are in appalling conditions: according to the Skill India Report, just 45% of students are employable, and Indian colleges do not rank among the top 100 in the world. Knowledge, creativity, and enlightened minds are what India needs to change its socioeconomic circumstances.
• Bureaucratic obstacles: India’s Ease of Doing Business ranking remains at 63rd. Red tape, corruption, and other problems still plague the Indian economy.
• Regional inequality: According to the Oxfam report “Killing Inequality,” only 10% of Indians own 57% of the country’s wealth, with the poorest 50% owning only 13%. Further disparities in growth based on gender, caste, geography, and region would necessitate an inclusive strategy.
• Climate change and disasters: according to Germanwatch 2020, India is the sixth most vulnerable nation to climate extremes. Natural disasters like tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts cost the country $87 billion in 2020.
• With about 55% of workers employed in the primary sector—agriculture and related industries—only accounts for 15–16% of the GDP. It leads to a problem of low income together with seasonal and covert unemployment. Therefore, it would be very difficult to handle the issues of farmers’ income, agricultural production, and climate-resistant agriculture.
• India must grow in the geopolitical context of rising protectionism and deglobalization. Therefore, in order to reach international markets and supply chains for improved trade and commerce, one must be proactive. India’s diplomacy will be put to the test by political instability in Afghanistan, the Ukraine crisis, and China’s assertiveness, among other issues.
• Development in these areas is hampered by security concerns, the existence of naxalism along the Red Corridor, insurgency in J&K, and secessionist activities in the Northeast. Generally, India’s GDP was lost to violence at a rate of 9–10% PPP.
• But India has advanced significantly since gaining its independence. It has grown from accounting for only 4% of the global GDP in the 1940s to being the third largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). enabling 270 million individuals to escape poverty via empowerment in the past ten years. and at the same time setting an example for environmental rehabilitation across the globe. The two most notable examples are the ambitious pledge made under the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) and the leading global solar alliance. In order to complete the shift from a developing to a developed economy, we must overcome the following obstacles:
• Long-range planning and vision: as the 2nd ARC reports have shown, government must move its emphasis from the horizontal thinking of a five-year period to one that is 25 years and longer. For the union and state governments to advance jointly in the direction of growth, cooperation is a need.
• Resource mobilisation: To improve the socioeconomic status of society, India must guarantee FDI inflows in addition to governmental and private investments in a variety of economic sectors, including the manufacturing, primary, and social sectors like health and education.
• Sustainable development: It’s important to strike the correct balance between environmental preservation and economic growth. Thus, innovation, R&D development, and technology improvements would be necessary to transition to a green economy, achieve carbon neutrality, and accomplish the SDGs all at the same time.
• As stated in the Indian Constitution’s Preamble, inclusivity is the task of ensuring social, political, and economic justice for all through equitable and inclusive development. The government’s motto, “Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, and sabka prayas,” is truly realised.
• Infrastructure is a necessary condition for development; it must be accessible, economical, and effective for everyone. It is imperative to make significant investments in digital, social, and transportation infrastructure as well as physical infrastructure.
• Resilience and adaptation: India must make its people, economy, and infrastructure adaptable to climate change in the face of global warming, climate change, and natural catastrophes, among other challenges.
• Despite the obstacles, the governmental, commercial, and civil society sectors working together will accelerate India’s progress towards its goal of being a developed country by 2047.

Q2. There are divergent opinions regarding the continuation of the caste system in our culture. Draw attention to the moral dilemmas raised.

GS I – Social issues

Introduction:

• A social stratification known as the caste system is typified by endogamy, hierarchy, and heredity. Its origin is thought to have started with the Vedic Varna system. The diversified nature of Indian civilization, encompassing various religions, castes, philosophies, and ideologies, gives rise to differing perspectives regarding the caste system.

These are a few examples of the divergent viewpoints prevalent in today’s society:

• Affirmative mindset; they support the continuation of the caste system and think it is a good idea. They contend that maintaining social order in our society requires class stratification. Order is brought to society through clearly defined roles and responsibilities among groups, as was the case in the Varna system, which was based on the division of labor/occupation.
• Reformist mindset; they hope that the caste system will eventually change and disappear. because it has developed into a harmful phenomenon that leads to violence and crime against people from lower castes. Like our social reformers Rajaram Mohan Roy and BR Ambedkar, they exhibit a of reason and a scientific temperament.
• Attitude of indifference; caste is unimportant to certain individuals. Businesses and entrepreneurs who are highly driven by productivity and profitability place a premium on a person’s skill set. As a result, in the face of talent, ability, knowledge, etc., the caste system is useless. Their point of view is well supported by the example of our Honourable President Draupadi Murmu.
• Discriminatory attitude; it is founded on the ideas of filth and purity, with the idea that the lower castes originated at the foot of the master. Since the upper caste descended from higher organs, they developed an unreasonable prejudice against lower castes, which in turn gave rise to untouchability customs.
• Brotherhood-mindedness; intelligent, well-read young who base their decisions on reason and science view all people as equals, regardless of their caste or religion. Cohabitation in educational institutions, workplaces, and colleges is evidence of this.

The caste system gives rise to a variety of beliefs and attitudes that give rise to many ethical dilemmas in our society:

• Incidents where members of the higher class kill members of the lower caste in the guise of defending their caste’s dignity demonstrate a lack of compassion and tolerance. The most heinous examples include the recent claims of a 9-year-old student being killed for sharing a pitcher of water at school or the murdering of daughters in the name of honour killing for marriages between different castes.
• It is typical for lower caste men and women to be compelled to engage in cruel jobs like rag picking and manual scavenging. According to Kantian philosophy, it is incompatible with the idea of human dignity, which states that no one should be viewed as a means rather than an end in and of themselves.
• It demonstrates a lack of constitutional morality when someone is denied their right to equality and freedom due to social norms and practises. In Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, it is customary to abstain from eating meals prepared by members of lower castes during Mid Day Meal schools.
• Discrimination and untouchability practises undermine the self-respect and dignity of people from lower castes. Consequently, this undermines their right to personal life and liberty as stipulated in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, leading to a deficiency in social and national unity.
• Political parties’ politicisation of caste for narrow goals and purposes is a reflection of “politics without principles.” Among Gandhi Ji’s seven sins, this is one of them.
• Apathy in governance is also to blame for lower caste members’ low socioeconomic and educational standing. The Indian Constitution’s Article 46 outlines the government’s obligation to guarantee the advancement of the economic and educational interests of the weaker groups.
• Sanskritization practises, in which members of lower castes attempt to rise through the caste system by copying the behaviours of upper caste members, are feeble and empty.
• Individuals must practise scientific temperance as required by the constitution, and society must modify its attitudes by looking to leaders like Our Honourable President to lead by example. Only then will caste prejudice be eliminated in India. This would bring about the necessary transition in caste systems, along with the concurrent uplift of the lowest castes and classes through the concepts of Sarvodaya and Antyodaya through state machinery.