• January 25, 2023

Legacy of Subhas Chandra Bose

Context

• Subhas Chandra Bose’s persona, life, disappearance, and death are all shrouded in mystery.

Key Points

• Role in Freedom Struggle:
• Bridging Communal Divide:
• Bose made an effort to heal the widening racial gap.

•  He was a charismatic figure in the Indian independence movement who encouraged many others to join the fight.
•  In a period of twenty years, he formed two governments and raised two armies, resigned from the Indian Civil Service to join the freedom movement, challenged the Congress leadership and adopted an extreme stance against the British, eluded the intelligence system to travel to Europe and Southeast Asia.
• Bose’s political activities were centred on revolutionary movements in the United Provinces, Bengal, Punjab, and Maharashtra.

• Self-sacrifice, togetherness — regardless of class or neighbourhood — and discipline are the lessons that Netaji and his army teach us.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

• Early Life:
• He was born in Cuttack, Orissa, on January 23, 1897.
• His mother Prabhavati Devi was a devout and pious woman, and his father Janaki Nath Bose was a well-known lawyer.
• He excelled in school from a young age.
• Swami Vivekananda’s teachings had a big impact on him, and as a student, he was well-known for his fervour for his country.
• His aggressive pursuit of socialist principles and drive to independence made him particularly well-known.
  • Famous Slogans:
    • “I’ll grant you freedom if you give me blood!
    • Jai Hind,”
    • The speech from Singapore by the first speaker to refer to Mahatma Gandhi as “Father of the Nation.”
    • Death: 
    • He is said to have died in 1945 when his plane crashed in Taiwan. However, there are still many conspiracy theories regarding his death.

Major Events linked to him

• 1919: He travelled to London to sit for the Indian Civil Services (ICS) test and was chosen, but he abandoned his Civil Services apprenticeship in the middle of it in 1921 to return to India because he was so distressed by the Jallianwalla Bagh tragedy.
• 1938: Upon his return, assumed control as the Indian National Congress’s elected President in Haripur and ran against unqualified Swaraj (self-governance). He advocated using force against the British, which was counterproductive to Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy.
• 1939: Re-elected as President of INC in Tripuri.
  • However, soon resigned from the presidency and formed the All India Forward Bloc, a faction within the Congress that aimed at consolidating the political left.
• 1942: travelled to Japan and assumed control of the East Asian Indian Independence Movement. He became command of the Indian National Army, a trained force of around 40,000 soldiers in Southeast Asia under Japanese occupation (Azad Hind Fauj).
• 1942: Earned the title ‘Netaji’, in Germany by the Indian soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj.

Source: TH

China’s shrinking population and India’s surging ahead

In News

• The issues & potential of China’s shrinking population and India’s surging ahead, are huge. 

More about the news

• Case of China:
• China’s population decreased from 1,412.6 million in 2021 to 1,411.8 million in 2022, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
  • India’s case:
    • India has not conducted an official headcount Census after 2011. But going by the United Nations’ projections, its population stood at 1,417.2 million in 2022 (more than China’s) and is expected to reach 1,428.6 million in 2023.

Issues with China’s declining population

• TFR is below the replacement rate:
• Decline working age population:
• The reduction in China’s population in prime working age is the country’s real crisis.
  • There will be relatively fewer people to support (those who are too young or too old) if there is a large population that is able to work and earn, and there will also be more tax revenue and savings potential from the generation of incomes.
  • As these are used to finance investments, a positive feedback loop of growth is set in motion, as it was in China.
  • However, the cycle has begun to turn around, and by 2045, it is expected that China’s proportion of the working-age population would fall below 50%.

• o China’s TFR was 1.3 births per woman, up slightly from the 1.2 in the 2010 and 2000 censuses, according to the country’s 2020 Census.

• The TFR is a problem because it is much lower than the replacement rate of 2.1.

• Starting in 2016, China formally terminated its one-child policy, which was put into place in 1980. However, that is unlikely to reverse the country’s population fall, which the UN projects would reach 1,312.6 billion in 2050, a decrease of around 100 million from the 2021 peak.

India’s potential

• TFR & replacement levels:
• Fertility rates in India, notably in rural areas, have just recently started to decline to replacement levels.

• The main causes of this decline are the expansion of education, farm mechanisation, and fragmentation of landholdings.

• The need for big families to farm the land has decreased due to smaller holdings and decreased labour requirements in agricultural operations.

• However, even with declining fertility rates, it is predicted that India’s population will only start to drop after reaching 1.7 billion in around 40 years.
  • Working age population:
    • More important is the working-age population: its share in the overall population crossed 50% only in 2007, and will peak at 57% towards the mid-2030s.

Challenges for India:

• Focus on key areas:
• Productivity and economy:
• Climate change:
  • The footprints of many activities will be kept small due to the climate problem and other ecological imperatives.
• Democratic challenges:
• The challenges will most importantly provoke discussion, disagreement, and the need to hear from a variety of viewpoints.
• To move forward from this point, India’s democratic traditions and the power of its institutions would be required.
  • State-wise focus:
    • Much more needs to be done on this, of course, in large parts of the country, including in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, whose TFR is higher than the national average and where gender discrimination has deep social roots.
• Choice to women:
• The government should focus its attention first on educating women and granting them the right to make decisions and put population control into practise.

• A population of more than 1.4 billion people will necessitate policymakers’ unwavering attention to crucial facets of human welfare, including work, education, nutrition, healthcare, and housing.

•  Youth will need to acquire knowledge-based skills that are essential in the knowledge economy.
•  For any given per capita income, productivity levels must rise.
•  Policies to create more jobs will be required so that both men and women’s rates of labour force participation rise.

• States must make sure contraceptives are available, inexpensive, and in a variety of forms that users can use.

Way ahead

• Overall, India has a window of opportunity to harvest its “demographic dividend” well into the 2040s, just like China did from the late 1980s to up until 2015.
  • However, in order for this to happen, young people must be given real employment prospects; otherwise, the demographic dividend might easily turn into a demographic nightmare.

Source: TH

India’s new proposal for migrant voting

In News

• ECI recently put forth a new Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM) that would let local migrants cast ballots in both national and local elections.

What is RVM?

• India’s proposed new voting method, the Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM), would enable domestic migrants to participate in national and local elections.

• The Indian Election Commission is creating the RVM (ECI)

• In terms of the voting process and security system, these are comparable to the current EVMs.

• From a single remote voting booth, RVMs can manage up to 72 constituencies.

• The RVM has been upgraded to have an electronic dynamic ballot display, which will provide varied candidate lists according to the voter’s constituency number as read by a constituency card reader, in place of a fixed ballot paper sheet.

• A second digital public display unit or monitor to provide as an interface between the Ballet Unit’s (BU) display and the constituency card reader.

• The Returning Officers (ROs) of voters’ home constituencies will prepare the electronic ballot and send it to the remote RO for uploading in the Symbol Loading Unit (SLU).

The ECI has, however, not yet demonstrated a prototype of the RVM.

EVMs in India

• About:
  • In India, national and regional elections are conducted using a voting mechanism called electronic voting machines (EVMs).
  • EVMs have been used on a greater scale in India since 1992; the M3 variant, which has been in operation since 2013, is the most recent iteration.
  • The Voter Verified Paper Trail Audit (VVPAT) machine was created as a result of various political parties approaching the ECI in 2010 to devise a system to ensure that EVMs accurately recorded votes. It has been in use since mid-2017.
• Working of EVM:
  • The current EVM setup includes a Balloting Unit (BU) and a VVPAT printer, both inside the voting compartment, and a Control Unit (CU) with the Presiding Officer (PO) that totals the number of votes cast.
  • The VVPAT is connected to the Control Unit (CU), which sits with the Presiding Officer (PO) and totals the number of votes cast, on its display board
• The VVPAT, which is essentially a printing machine, prints a slip with the poll symbol and candidate name, once the voter presses the key on the BU. 
• This slip is visible to the voter on the VVPAT’s glass screen for seven seconds after which it gets dropped off in a box inside the VVPAT.
• The use of VVPATs has become universal in elections since mid-2017.

Way Forward              

• The choice to use RVM to address accessibility and convenience issues for domestic migrants who might not be able to physically travel to their polling place is a great step in the right direction.

• The ECI should seek to restore confidence in the electoral system and allay concerns about the abuse of current EVMs since there is a need to address the logistical and administrative difficulties of remote voting.

Source: TH

Good Governance

In News

• According to the Union Home Minister, “Governance Models should increase trust between the people and the government.”

More about the news

• Model of Good Governance:
  • According to the minister, the design should be such that it reaches the very last person in line.
  • It ought to be inclusive, free of corruption, open, responsible, considerate, creative, and stable.
  • It should address the underlying causes of issues and foster trust between the populace and the government.
  • A people-centered development strategy is essential for effective government.
• Different models for different situations:
  • India needed its own models as per the situational aand evaluation of the condition of people. 
  • If we try to impose an imported model from a country with a population of 2-10 crore onto a nation as diverse as ours, we are bound to fail. And for this, the thought process must start at the grassroots level and reach the top. 

More about Governance

• Governance:
• Good Governance:
  • It ensures that corruption is reduced, minorities’ opinions are taken into consideration, and the voices of those in society who are most vulnerable are heard throughout decision-making.
  • It adheres to the rule of law and is participative, consensus-oriented, responsible, transparent, responsive, effective, and efficient.
  • It also adapts to the requirements of society, both now and in the future.
• Challenges:
  • Politicisation of bureaucracy: The political dominance on bureaucracy goes unchallenged by the bureaucracy. On the contrary, many bureaucrats willingly or meekly submitted to this dominance because of this, good governance has suffered
  • Lack of ethics and fairness: Both the general public and those in powerful positions are affected by the lack of ethics and justice in government. Today’s government employees are accustomed to receiving “nice” postings as a favour from their political superiors.
  • Corruption: Economic development was shown to be most hampered by corruption. The public’s confidence in its government is damaged by corruption. Additionally, it endangers economic growth, distorts competition, and threatens market integrity.
  • Other challenges include:
    • Criminalization of Politics
    • Gender Disparity
    • Delay in Justice
    • Low levels of Awareness of the Rights and Duties of Citizens etc.
    • The rising gap between urban and rural areas, 
    • The use of technology is critical in engendering good governance. 

•  “Governance” is not a brand-new idea. As old as human civilisation itself.
• It is the procedure for making decisions and the method through which decisions are carried out (or not implemented).
• The term “governance” can be applied in a variety of situations, including corporate, national, international, and municipal governance.

Source: TH

Reassigning of Goods and Services Tex (GST) to States

In News

• In order to resolve the fiscal imbalance between the Union and State governments, the Union government must redistribute the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to the States.

About

• Major Economic Changes in Recent Past: 
  • The Union government’s divisible taxes increased from two to all of the Union levies, so expanding the base of tax money that would be distributed to the States.
  •  Laws governing fiscal responsibility were put into place to limit the States’ budget imbalances. States may directly borrow from the market within the Union government’s set borrowing restrictions.
  • Grants for the Plan were withdrawn as a result of the dissolution of the Union Planning Commission.
  • The GST was implemented in 2017.
• Concerns:
  • These changes have considerably altered the States’ revenue structure. 
  • States have little revenue autonomy and are more dependent on the Union government. 
  • The vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI) ratio increased to 0.594 from 0.530, indicating that only 40% of the State’s own expenditure is financed by their own revenue.

Goods and Services Tax (GST)

• About:
  • The GST is a harmonised tax on commodities across the country. 
  • Individual States have little power to unilaterally change this tax. 
• Dual Structure:
  • The Union and State governments concurrently levy GST on commodities with 50% as Central GST (CGST) and 50% as State GST (SGST). 
  • There is an Integrated GST (IGST) on inter-State trade, so that 50% of it goes to the final destination State. 

Challenges

• Disparity Amongst Centre & States:
• Increasing vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI):
  • For the last three Finance Commissions (2005-06 to 2020-21), the VFI ratio shows an increasing trend. 
  • For the latest period of 2015-16 to 2020-21, the ratio was 0.530, which means that only 47% of the States’ own expenditure was financed by their own revenue in that period. 
• Veto for Union Government:
  • The Union government is granted a veto by the GST Council, allowing it to impose its preferences on the States..

• The Union government has more taxing authority than the States, but the States are given more control over spending than the Union government.
• A vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI) between the Union and State governments results from this.
• A horizontal fiscal imbalance among the States is caused by an unbalanced revenue base and unequal expenditure requirements between the States.

Way Ahead

• Reassigning of Tax Powers:
• The Union government has the sole authority to impose an excise tax on petroleum goods, while the States have the sole authority to impose an excise tax and a sales tax on alcoholic beverages. The GST applies to all other goods.
  • The full GST might be delegated to the States by including the CGST and the excise tax on petroleum products.
  • All goods, including petroleum products, need to fall within the GST.
    • Harmonisation of GST:
    • Removing Veto Power of the Union government:
      • The veto power of the Union government should be removed. 
      • Then, the GST Council will truly become a body by the States to settle tax issues among themselves, with the Union government facilitating the arrival of consensus among the States on tax issues. 
      • This may once again require some constitutional amendments. 
• Benefits of Reassignment:
  • The assignment of excise duty on petroleum products to the States will hasten the process of integrating taxes on petroleum products into GST and remove the cascading effects of the current excise duty on petroleum products. 
  • This will reduce the tax potential of the States, but higher buoyancy of GST should compensate for this revenue loss. 
  • The positive aspect of this reassignment of tax will be the increase in the tax revenue of the States. 
  • This will also improve accountability of the States to their people on fiscal matters.
• Addressing horizontal fiscal inequality:
• The Union government should effect equalisation transfers to address the issue of horizontal fiscal inequality. 
• The revenue surplus of the Union government after this tax reassignment should be enough to provide for this equalisation transfer to the States.

•  Only to settle income on a destination basis, the Union government should continue to collect IGST.
•  This will guarantee that the GST is consistent amongst States. GST will continue to be levied in the manner decided by the GST Council.
• The Constitution’s State List II should be amended to include commodity taxation, with the proviso that commodity taxation shall continue to be uniform.

Source: TH

National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA)

In News

Auditors of 1,000 large listed companies in India will have to file transparency reports with the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) in the specified format, from the current financial year

• It will improve the credibility of auditors and boost investor confidence in them.

About National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA)

• It was constituted in 2018 by the Government of India under Sub Section (1) of section 132 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• Objectives:    To continuously improve the quality of all corporate financial reporting in India.
• Source: FE

• Functions and Duties: recommend that businesses implement accounting and auditing standards for the Central Government’s approval;
•  Track and enforce adherence to auditing and accounting rules;
•  Supervise the level of service provided by the professions involved in ensuring compliance with such requirements and offer suggestions for ways to raise the standard of service;
• Carry out any additional tasks or obligations that may be related to or essential for the aforementioned tasks and obligations.

Exoplanets

In News

• The first brand-new exoplanet has been found by the James Webb Space Telescope, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
• The planet is known as LHS 475 b and is around the same size as Earth.
• Located just 41 light-years away, the planet orbits very close to a red dwarf star and completes a full orbit in just two days.

What are Exoplanets?

• Exoplanets are planets outside of our solar system that revolve around other stars.

• In the 1990s, the first exoplanets were found.

• More than 5,000 exoplanets have been found so far, according to NASA.

• Exoplanets exist in a wide range of sizes. They could be as huge as Jupiter-sized gas giants or as little and rocky as the Earth.
• They are also renowned for having a range of temperatures, from scalding hot to bitterly cold.

• Importance of Studying Them: Researching exoplanets helps us learn more about other solar systems while also helping us comprehend the genesis of our own planetary system.

• This aids researchers in determining whether a newly discovered world is habitable or not.

Source:IE

UNSC sanctions committee blacklists Lashkar’s MaKKi

In News

• Abdul Rehman Makki, the deputy leader of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba located in Pakistan, has been added to the UN’s list of international terrorists.
• Makki was included to the UN Security Council’s Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee’s list of people and organisations that are subject to an asset freeze, travel ban, and an arms embargo.

About UNSC Sanctions Committee

• Any UN member state may propose adding the name of a terrorist or terror organisation to a compiled list that is maintained by the Committee and has ties to Al Qaeda and ISIS under the 1267 committee, which was established in 1999 and amended in 2011 and 2015.

• In accordance with the rules, a listing that has been proposed will be added to the list using a “no objections” procedure. If any member of the Committee, which is made up of all members of the UN Security Council, places a hold on the listing or expresses an objection in full, the listing will not be added to the list.

Source:TH

Kalashnikov AK-203 Assault Rifles

Tags: GS 3 Defence

In News

• A joint venture between India and Russia has began producing Kalashnikov AK-203 assault guns in India.

AK-203 Assault Rifles

• About:
• Developed By: 
• Significance:
• The Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited complies fully with DAP (Defence Acquisition Procedure) 2020 and the Made in India programme of the Indian government.

• India is the first nation to begin manufacturing the renowned brand’s AK-200 series assault rifles.
• The first batch of 7.62 mm Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles was created at the Korwa Ordnance Factory in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.
• · The first batch of 5,000 AK-203 rifles, out of 6,01,427 that would be produced over a ten-year period for a total of Rs 5,124 crore.

• o In order to produce AK-203 assault weapons, India and Russia inked an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) in February 2019.
• For this, a joint venture was established between Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) in India and Concern Kalashnikov and Rosonboron Exports in Russia.

• It intends to guarantee complete localization of the AK-203 rifle production in India.

• The action will provide the Indian armed forces more firepower.

India-Russia Defence cooperation

• The strategic partnership between India and Russia is based in large part on defence cooperation. The Programme for Military Technical Cooperation that the two nations signed serves as its foundation.

• Current bilateral projects between India and Russia include the local production of T-90 tanks and Su-30-MKI aircraft, the supply of Kamov-31 and Mi-17 helicopters, the MiG-29-K aircraft, the upgrade of MiG-29 aircraft, and the delivery of Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher Smerch.

• The only aircraft carrier used by India, INS Vikramaditya, is similarly Russian in origin.

• Both nations have worked together to create and manufacture supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles in India.

• Joint drills involving the two armed forces are known as “INDRA.”

Source: BS