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IAS BABA
YK GIST - DECEMBER 2021 Atmanirbhar Bharat Innovative Skilling and Livelihood
ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT
Chapter 1: From Farm to Fork
The Indian agricultural sector is largely production-oriented and plays a pivotal role in the Indian economy. About 55% of the total workforce of the country is still engaged in agriculture and allied sector activities, contributing about 18% to the country’s gross value added (GVA) for the year 2019- 20.1 Despite the pandemic-led contraction in other sectors, the agriculture and allied sectors have shown a robust growth rate of 3.4% at constant prices during the year 2020-21.2 The Gross Capital Formation (GCF) in agriculture and allied sectors relative to GVA in this sector has been showing a fluctuating trend between the years 2013-2017 but consistently rising from the year 2017- 1 8 to 2019 - 20. Consumer spending in India is also expanding in 2021 post the pandemic-led contraction. The Farm to Fork Value Chain In a typical farm to fork value chain, there are various components like production, Post-Harvest Infrastructure (PHI), processing and value addition, distribution, marketing, and consumption. The role of the farmer hitherto was limited to production and the other functions in the value chain like storage, distribution, and selling of produce were taken up by intermediaries.
- With the adaption of technology and the emergence of direct-from-farm concepts, farmers are directly connecting with the markets and discovering higher margins than conventional selling to the intermediaries.
- The Government is constantly striving to strengthen the agricultural sector through various programmes and initiatives by bridging the gaps in the value chain, yet the progress of these is delayed due to various factors.
- Owing to the complex activities in the value chain, it is laborious for the farmer to manage multiple activities other than production. About 85% of the farmers in India are small and marginal farmers who hold less than two hectares of land and their exposure to education is minimal to zero. Hence, they are often ignorant of the type of interventions that are required to increase their income. Strategies that Farmers should adopt at each stage to reap higher benefits Production Phase Despite being one of the top producers of agricultural commodities across the globe, India’s performance in terms of productivity is low compared to other countries due to subsistence farming. The recommendations from NITI Aayog to improve farm productivity are classified into six broader aspects that need immediate attention to lift the economic status of millions of farm families. These are Quality Inputs, Technology, Land Fragmentation, Irrigation & Electricity, Farm Credit, and Crop Insurance.
- Initiatives like Soil Health Management under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, National Mission on Oil Seeds and Oil Palm, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), and scientific techniques like bio- stimulants are being implemented with the objectives to make agriculture more productive, sustainable, adopt comprehensive soil health management practices and to optimise utilisation of water resources on the farm.
- An increase in the agricultural credit flow has been raised to Rs 15 lakh crores, ensuring convenient access to loans at concessional rates. These programmes will facilitate access to quality inputs, micro-irrigation techniques, and farm credit which boosts farm productivity.
- Technology is massively empowering the farmers, from giving information on seeds, soil, fertilisers, weather reports, etc. through the Kisan Suvidha Portal. The use of high-quality certified seeds together with neem-coated urea and bio-stimulants has shown a phenomenal increase in the yield per hectare.
- Post-Harvest Losses (PHL) in India arise due to lack of infrastructure, limited technical know- how on good agricultural practices, asymmetrical market knowledge, and inadequate market access. o Fragmented land holdings and the inefficient post-harvest value chain cause losses to stack up progressively throughout the value chain. o Small and marginal farmers are affected by these challenges of fragmentation and value chain inefficiencies in the form of weak access to markets, low investment in agriculture, low productivity, and low income. o The high volume of losses, if reduced, can generate significant value and address food insecurity. As per the latest estimates by the High-level Dalwai Committee report , India loses approximately Rs 92650 crores on account of PHL due to rejection at the farm gate and delays in the distribution process.
- Besides the harvesting losses, a significant proportion of post-harvest losses are due to decay, diseases, and pests. o These challenges can be targeted with proper storage infrastructure and efficient crop protection practices. Fruits and vegetables, due to their perishability and short shelf life, need a different storage infrastructure than those used for grains, wheat, and sugar. o Developing storage infrastructure can be broadly divided into warehouses and integrated cold-chains as they also bring efficiency in demand-supply management and farmers can hold on to their produce when there is surplus supply in the market. o As a key stakeholder in facilitating the required infrastructure, the Central Government is implementing Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) to holistically address the gaps in post-harvest infrastructure. o The Government is promoting scientific storage facilities for individual farmers, groups of farmers/growers, registered FPOs in rural areas through the scheme of “ Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) ”, which is a sub-scheme of Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM) and Gramin Bhandaran Yojana (GBY). Conclusion The low per capita income of farmers – especially small and marginal farmers – is a major reason for agrarian distress. Doubling of farmer’s income needs intervention at every node of the value chain.
- Processing near the farmgate can improve the value-addition of agriculture produce, ensure remunerative prices for farmers, and minimise losses.
- Increased participation from the organised private sector combined with the hub and spoke model for processing activities can become a viable and efficient model to expand direct engagement between the industry and small and marginal farmers.
- Indian farmers have traditionally followed certain practices. By integrating the post-harvest management methods, farmers will overcome the distressed selling by utilising storage and processing facilities which can yield higher returns. Right from increasing the Total Factor Productivity and increasing the cropping intensity to diversification towards high-value crops and improving the terms of trade for the farmers are a must to cumulatively achieve the desired goal.
PRELIMS ORIENTED MCQ
Q1: With reference to chemical fertilizers in India, consider the following statements: a) At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered by the Government. b) Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas. c) Sulphur, which is a raw material for phosphoric acid fertilizer is a by-product of oil refineries. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? a) 1 only b) 2 and 3 only c) 2 only d) 1, 2 und 3 Solution: b Q2: With reference to pulse production in India, consider the following sentences:
**1. Black gram (Urad) can be cultivated as both Kharif and rabi crop.
- Green gram (Moong) alone accounts for nearly half of pulse production.
- In the last three decades, while the production of kharif pulses has increased, the production** of rabi pulses has decreased Which of the above statements is/are correct? a) 1 only b) 2 only c) Both 1 and 2 d) None Solution: a Q3: The black cotton soil of India has been formed due to the weathering of a) Brown forest soil b) Fissure volcanic rock c) Granite and schist d) Shale and limestone Solution: b
Chapter 2: GI-TAGGING OF RURAL PRODUCTS
Geographical indications are intellectual property rights which confers a sign to particular product from definite geographical origin and assure about its exclusive quality. The GI tag distinguishes the original product from other products in the market which helps in fetching premium price especially from the developed countries. The GI tags are of great significance as they boost exports and promote economic prosperity of the producer thereby leading to sustainable development.
- It is a sign on products having a unique geographical origin and evolution over centuries with regard to its special quality or reputed attributes.
- It is a mark of authenticity and ensures that registered authorized users or at least those residing inside the geographic territory are allowed to use the popular product names.
- GI tag in India is governed by Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999.
- It is issued by the Geographical Indications Registry (Chennai).
- Standardization- GI tag set certain expected standards for products so quality get assured for marketing purpose and easy to export. The Challenges
- Challenges of Middlemen: The benefit of the GI registered tribal product, in many cases, accrues not to the artist but to traders or middlemen.
- Issue of duplicate and fake products : Traditional hand-woven designs are often duplicated and sold at a lower price through mass production, which deprives the tribes of their legitimate income. A case in point is the GI registered unique hand-woven embroidery and textile designs made by the Toda tribe of the Nilgiris.
- Challenges of Marketing and brand promotion: The GI tag enhances the value—in terms of sales and profits—of only those products which are known, are already profitable The Way Forward India has huge potential for GI tag use as Indian diversity and its cultural richness provide many unique products; we need more information dissemination on it and same time speedy action on request for GI tag.
- Proactive State Governments : States should try to identify traditional products, which incorporate the knowledge and skills of the scheduled tribes, and strive to get GI tag for such products
- Effective Implementation of GI Provisions : Any infringement of GI provisions, such as cases of proliferation of duplicate and fake products, should be dealt severely.
- Inclusive GI Tag recognition: There is a need to upgrade the GI Act, 1999, and make it more inclusive and responsive to ground realities so that more products are GI registered.
- Civil Society Support: It is also critical that NGOs and corporates support the branding and marketing of GI products. In fact, the credit for establishing Araku Valley coffee as an international brand owes essentially to the marketing efforts of an NGO and select corporates.
- Enterprise-facilitating platform such as a chamber of commerce, governmental help desk or a voluntary organisation dedicated to GI must be constituted. This would help connect the buyer with the original seller/tribal, thereby helping in reducing the exploitative gap between owner and seller within the GI ecosystem
- Legal Support: The inclusion of legal support services within the chamber of commerce and voluntary organisations also helps protect the rights of tribes. Recent GI Tags – Bhalia Wheat
- The wheat has high protein content
- It is sweet in taste.
- The crop is grown mostly across Bhal region of Gujarat which includes Ahmadabad, Anand, Kheda, Bhavanagar, Surendranagar, Bharuch districts. Madurai Malli
- It is the Jasmine flower, known for its strong and powerful, mysteriously attractive & seductive fragrance.
- Because of its place of origin, it is known as Madurai Malli.
- It is mainly cultivated in the district of Madurai and the neighboring places of Madurai like Theni, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar and Dindigul.
- It was given GI recognition in 2013.
- GI protection prevents producers of similar flowers in other regions from using the specific tag and helps growers in the specific region preserve their identity in the local and global market
- Madurai has emerged as a major market for the malligai grown in its neighbourhood, and has evolved into the ‘jasmine capital’ of India. MattuGulla
- MattuGulla is a variety of brinjal that has Geographical Indication (GI) tag
- Known for its unique taste, MattuGulla is grown in Mattu, Kaipunjal and Uliyargoli villages of Udupi district inKarnataka
- About 200 farmers cultivate this rare variety of brinjal on about 120 acres of land from October to June.
- The speciality of MattuGulla, besides its taste, is that it has less seed and more pulp Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting and Telangana’s Telia Rumal Sohrai Khovar
- It is a traditional and ritualistic mural art.
- It is practised by local tribal women during local harvest and marriage seasons.
- Local, naturally available soils of different colours are used.
- It is mainly practiced in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand. Telia Rumal: This cloth involves intricate handmade work with cotton loom displaying a variety of designs and motifs in three particular colours — red, black and white. Alibaug White Onion
- Alibaug, is a coastal town, just south of Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra
- Local farmers have preserved the seed for over two centuries. The onion is also mentioned in a government gazette published in 1883.
- The soil of Alibaug taluka has low sulphur content.
- The onions have low pungency, sweet taste, ‘no tear’ factor, low pyruvic acid, high protein, fat and fibre content, besides high antioxidant compounds (quercetin).
- It boosts immunity, helps with insomnia, blood cleaning, blood pressure and heat-related ailments. Assam’s Rice Wine Judima
- This wine is made from rice and a certain herb.
- It is the first beverage from the north-eastern region to earn this label.
- Judima is intrinsic to the social and cultural life of the Dimasas.
- The GI tag for the drink came 14 years after the ginger of the adjoining Karbi Anglong district received its geographical indication.
- A week ago, Manipur saw two of its indigenous products get the GI tag. o These were the Tamenglong orange and Hathei chilli grown in the hills. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED)
- A national-level apex organization, came into existence in 1987
- Objective: To provide good price of the ‘Minor Forest Produce (MFP) collected by the tribes of the country.
- It functions under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India.
- TRIFED has its Head Office at New Delhi and has a network of 13 Regional Offices located at various places in the country.
o It also includes functional tap connection to Schools , Anganwadi centres, GP buildings, Health centres, wellness centres and community buildings
- The programme will also implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting.
- JJM focuses on integrated demand and supply-side management of water at the local level.
- The Mission is based on a community approach to water. It looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority. o It promotes and ensure voluntary ownership among local community by way of contribution in cash, kind and/ or labour and voluntary labour.
- Parent Ministry: Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti
- Funding Pattern : The fund sharing pattern between the Centre and states is 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States, 50:50 for other states, and 100% for Union Territories.
- Four-tier implementation & monitoring of the scheme at National, State, District & village level. The following components are supported under JJM
- Development of in-village piped water supply infrastructure to provide tap water connection to every rural household
- Development of reliable drinking water sources and/ or augmentation of existing sources to provide long-term sustainability of water supply system
- Wherever necessary, bulk water transfer , treatment plants and distribution network to cater to every rural household
- Technological interventions for removal of contaminants where water quality is an issue
- Retrofitting of completed and ongoing schemes to provide FHTCs at minimum service level of 55 lpcd;
- Greywater management. (Grey water — wastewater from kitchen sinks, showers and laundry fixtures)
- Support activities , i.e. Information Education & Communication (awareness of water conservation), Human Resource training, development of utilities, water quality laboratories, water quality testing & surveillance, R&D, knowledge centre, capacity building of communities, etc. A crucial component: Unburdening lives of rural women According to a report by the National Commission for Women, on an average, a rural woman in Rajasthan walks over 2.5 km to reach a water source. This is probably an underestimate, but the bottomline is that our women and girls spend a significant proportion of their time on fetching water. With women playing a leadership role in managing their community’s water resources, minus the drudgery of walking for miles to fetch water for their families, the Jal Jeevan Mission will provide a massive fillip to the ease of living for women, and they will no longer be beasts of burden. Functioning of the mission:
- Jal Jeevan Mission adopts an end-to-end approach which implies that not only taking care of water resources is important but taking care of water conservation, augmentation of existing water resources, and then providing tap water supply is also very important.
- If more tap water is provided to the household, then naturally the amount of greywater or used water will be more. So, Jal Jeevan Mission has made greywater treatment and its reuse in forestry, agriculture, horticulture, or in the local industries one of the essential components of the mission.
- Therefore, all three aspects are taken care of under the Jal Jeevan Mission: o The source of water and its sustainability, o The operation maintenance and providing tap water supply to each and every household, and
o The treatment of the greywater or used water,
- There is a Water Quality Management Information System as well which is a dedicated one- stop information portal that provides information about the quality of water. Jal Jeevan Mission emphasizes that each local village should be able to test the quality of water not only at the source but also at the delivery points.
- For that purpose, the National Jal Jeevan Mission with the help of states is giving training to at least five women in one village, implying out of the 6 lakh villages, 30 lakh women will be trained. So far, 6 lakh women have been trained and they are assigned the task of testing the tap water quality which they get at their village level.
- Focus is now being given to getting the 2023 water quality labs in the country accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). All these labs are now open to the public at a very nominal cost. Now, the public can go there and test the tap water quality supplied to them. Challenges involved:
- Bigger states have bigger challenges. In water scheme though focus is village level scheme but many times support is not available very close to the villages. So, for that, there is provision of multi village scheme. Example is Rajasthan.
- Also, in the Ganga belt, water quality issues are present in the form of impurity (arsenic, sulfur, etc.) contamination or other water quality issues and hence, providing water to households in these areas does take time.
- But the states have taken this mission very seriously and they are doing their best to provide water to each household. Way Forward:
- Be it at the water conservation level, or greywater treatment, or the operation and maintenance level, all the level require the community involvement as the main focus of the Jal Jeevan Mission is the community. Therefore, without community involvement it is not possible to successfully achieve the target.
- Earlier, all the programs were basically engineering-based programs so, most of the stress was on creating engineering water infrastructure. But this time, the emphasis is on service delivery not on infrastructure creation. Service delivery has its own challenges such as supplying adequate water, maintaining the sources, etc. Hence, all these aspects should be taken care of.
- Need to relook at water-guzzling sugarcane —with a value chain that sucks is terrible in terms of subsidies at various stages
- Need to reimagine the public health engineering department (PHED) as not just a technical body but also as a public utility that oversees water entitlements as well as pricing of such entitlements is a goal. Digital sensors could facilitate remote monitoring of household water supply and quality, and eliminate tedious meter readings.
- This devolution can be incentivised by GoI, linked to milestones state governments and gram panchayats must reach, and hand-held by NGOs. For instance, JJM could tie up with the skill development ministry to train village women to measure turbidity and quality.
- On the lines of the Swachh Bharat Mission, extensive information, education and communication will be needed to create a jan andolan for water management. The ongoing Jal Shakti Abhiyan will help in creating awareness about the importance of integrating source sustainability and water reuse with the provision of household water supply.
- The empowerment of capacity building of the local village communities is very important. With the involvement of not only Ph.D. engineers but also the local people, the challenges will be met.
Chapter 4: Self-reliance in Energy Sector
India’s Renewable Energy
- In the last 6 years, India’s installed Renewable Energy (RE) capacity has increased by over two and a half times and stands at more than 141 Giga Watts (including large Hydro).
- The installed solar energy capacity has increased by over 15 times, and stands at 41.09 GW.
- During the last 7 years, over USD 70 billion investments has been made in RE in India. o India allows 100% FDI through the automatic route in energy sector.
- Renewable Energy Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board (REIPFB) Portal has also been developed to provide one-stop assistance and facilitation to the Industry and Investors for development of projects and bringing new investment to the Renewable Energy sector in India.
- Several members from the Industry have voluntarily declared RE goals and committed to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Renewable 100% (RE100) and Science based targets (SBTs).
- Rules are being framed for a ‘green tariff’ policy that will help electricity Distribution Companies (Discoms) supply electricity generated from clean energy projects at a cheaper rate as compared to power from conventional fuel sources.
- The government is promoting Green Hydrogen with obligations for Fertilizers and Refining industries (Green Hydrogen Purchase obligations). Measures taken by government that accelerated the progress in renewable sector:
- Waiver of inter-state transmission charges for the sale of solar and wind power
- The renewable purchase obligation (RPO) trajectories for states
- Focus on maintaining the sanctity of contracts
- Permitting FDI in the renewable sector Challenges w.r.t Renewable Energy
- Vulnerable to Weather Conditions: While conventional power plants—that are coal-based or large hydro—have the ability to vary the generation as per need, renewable generation is more at the mercy of nature. Nor are the buyers who are focused on commercial considerations keen to purchase renewable power.
- Challenges of Market Intervention: Given the seasonality and intermittency of renewable power, it is not easily susceptible to market intervention.
- Weak participation in electricity exchanges: Most renewable power generation companies in India are committed to selling their power to consumers—mostly discoms and a few third- party consumers under the long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), with little prospect of excess generation to be offered on the exchange and the inability to schedule power supply Major Initiatives A. Launch of the `one world, one sun, one grid’ initiative at the COP 26 Climate Meet in Glasgow Envisioning a global ecosystem of interconnected renewable energy green grids Challenge: Solar energy is totally clean and sustainable. Challenge is that this energy is only available during the daytime and is dependent on the weather. ‘One Sun, One World & One Grid’ is the solution to this problem. Through a worldwide grid, clean energy can be transmitted to anywhere & anytime It will –
- Reduce storage needs
- Enhance the viability of solar projects
- Reduce carbon footprints and energy cost
- Bring together a global coalition of governments, international financial and technical organisations, legislators, power system operators and knowledge leaders to accelerate the construction of the new infrastructure needed for a world powered by clean energy
Main areas of work of the initiative will be:
- Investing in solar, wind, storage and other renewable energy generation in locations endowed with renewable resources for supporting a global grid
- Building long-distance cross-border transmission lines to connect renewable energy generators
- Developing and deploying cutting edge techniques and technologies to modernise power systems
- Supporting the global transition to zero emission vehicles through incorporating the role of electric vehicles to help improve grid flexibility
- Attracting investment into solar mini-grids and off-grid systems to help vulnerable communities gain access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy
- Developing innovative financial instruments, market structures for solar grid infrastructure. B. Green Grids Initiative Objective: Trading energy from sun, wind and water across borders to deliver more than enough clean energy to meet the needs of everyone on Earth.
- The initiative was endorsed by more than 80 countries.
- The ISRO has developed an application that could compute the potential solar energy at any point on earth and help decide if it would be suitable for solar energy installations.
- A Ministerial Steering Group will work towards accelerating the making of large solar power stations and wind farms in the best locations, linked together by continental-scale grids crossing national borders. o The Ministerial Steering Group includes France, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, and will also have representatives from Africa, the Gulf, Latin America and Southeast Asia. C. Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM)
- GTAM is an alternative new model introduced for selling off the power by the renewable developers in the open market without getting into long term PPAs
- Transactions through GTAM will be bilateral in nature with clear identification of corresponding buyers and sellers, there will not be any difficulty in accounting for Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).
- Positive Start to GTAM: The green market commenced trade on August 21 and in about just 90 days of commencement of trade, the market has achieved a cumulative traded volume of over 400 million units reflecting the confidence of the initiative.
- More Options under GTAM: The green market has now launched two more options—daily and weekly, to facilitate the market participants in buying renewable energy from three- hours to 11-days ahead. This will further strengthen the market and allow participants to buy green energy through contracts available for trade in all the segments. Significance and benefits of GTAM initiative:
- Benefit to Producer: GTAM platform will benefit renewable energy producers by providing access to pan- India market. The green market will ultimately encourage green generators to adopt multiple models of sale and trading.
- Benefit to Buyer: It will benefit buyers of Renewable Energy through competitive prices and transparent and flexible procurement.
- Incentivises State Governments: It would lessen the burden on Renewable Energy-rich States and incentivize them to develop RE capacity beyond their own RPO.
- Strengthens RE Market: With robust value proposition such as transparency, competitive prices, flexibility, and payment security and financial savings that the exchange market offers, a pan-India green market has the potential to make the renewable energy market robust by increasing the number of participants in the sector.
- Seriously monitor the quality of jobs that the ‘green’ investments are creating as merely being a renewable energy project does not guarantee a job that is well-paying, has scope of skill and income enhancement, is safe from occupational hazards, promotes collectivism amongst workers and provides the social safety net required for leading a dignified life. Lack of transparency, accountability, and social participation in the decision-making processes related to clean energy transition: As per several ground reports, the processes of land acquisition pertaining to various solar projects and wind projects in various parts of the country has been evasive of public concerns and lacks public participation.
- Locals are hardly aware of even the basic distinction between any private project and public project, especially when the entity acquiring their land is the State.
- In many instances, this information asymmetry has been used by the private parties to voice down, sometimes using the force of law and local police, any dissent or resistance which came up while the land acquisition or project construction was being done.
- Similarly, in case of public utility lands, the ‘public’ which was utilising such land for livelihood, agriculture, and other purposes is hardly informed and consulted before acquiring their lands. Often, the locals are cheated on by being given promises of preference in jobs but without any written assurance for the same by the renewable energy companies. Thus, with the motive of profiteering on any cost, the green energy projects seem to be treading the same path that various exploitative industries and capitalists have been treading for a long time now. The Way Forward – To truly make the energy transition a ‘just’ one, unbiased, inclusive and rigorous
- Each and every stakeholder must introspect, drop their respective biases, come clean about their own motives and then listen carefully to the concerns of each other so that the dialogue does not become a war of words, but a constructive and forward-looking strategy- making process. This will actuate the optimal usage of one of the most important and often overlooked pillar of the just transition framework – social dialogue.
- Dialogues are required to hear the historically unheard voices from the ground – each stakeholder should come together on a platform and collectively shape the facets of energy transition.
Chapter 5: Police Reforms
The history of Police in India is characterised by trials, errors, vicissitudes, imperatives of an imperial government, changing priorities, and changing context. India, after Independence, retained the basic structure of police organisation, though the nature of policing did change. Police as an institution, as it exists today, has evolved over several centuries, tracing its roots to the long-gone period. It acts as an independent administrative institution in India, however, developed only during the British colonial period, which to a great extent was an amalgamation of various features prevalent during the Medieval ages and some borrowed from the British structure of law and order. The present Police System structurally and functionally owes its existing structure to the various Acts and Enactments promulgated by the colonial rulers. Police as being a part of the administrative machinery of the State to protect life and property came into existence with the inception of civilized society. It was considered the primary tool of the state/ruling class. The ‘police’ connotes a system of administration or regulation, but the word is now generally used to indicate the organised body of civil officers in a place whose particular duty is the preservation of law and order. The present Police System structurally and functionally owes its existing structure to the various Acts and Enactments promulgated by the colonial rulers. The Indian State has retained, consolidated, and expanded the inherited police structure.
Ancient Period: Intricately concurrent with the institutions of religion, community, and ethics.
- There are several references in ancient texts of India which indicate the existence of a specialised unit to deal with the detection of crime and offences against the State.
- We get glimpses of a city police organisation in the Arthashastra of Kautilya.
- Police was an important functionary for maintenance of peace which was a necessary pre- condition for the general welfare.
- The indigenous Police System in India was organised on the basis of land tenure and also on the collective responsibility of the village community. Medieval Period: Muslim rule in North India began in the twelfth century and the Police System evolved slowly but steadily as the area of conquered territories under them expanded.
- The centre of power and political activity was the Sultan.
- Faujdar, being the head of the criminal justice delivery system at the provincial level, was entrusted to maintain its peace and security.
- Kotwal was the magistrate, head of the police
- Chowkidar was responsible for the village peace and order under the local landholder or the village headman. The chowkidars were maintained by the villages themselves and were paid remuneration out of the share of the crops. The Colonial Period: As the grip of the British tightened over the Indian territory, issues of security of trade and property necessitated some kind of police arrangements. Through various trials and error, the British perfected a Police System which served them throughout their colonial rule in India.
- Warren Hastings, in 1772, established criminal courts as a measure to suppress and prevent violent crime.
- In 1792, Lord Cornwallis, “took police administration out of the hands of the large landowners (the zamindars) and established in their place a police force responsible to agents of the Company. Districts were divided into parts and over each, a police official, known as a Darogha, was placed. …The kotwal remained in charge of police administration in the towns.”
- These reforms however did not yield desired results. It was the great widespread movement against the British rule by many sections of the Indian society in 1857 that made the British realise the imperative need for a regularised institution to control the vast lands that they had conquered. “The formation of ‘civil’ police forces was intended to lessen somewhat by the 1850s had come to be seen as a dangerous reliance on the army for internal policing”
- The excessive dependence on the army was expensive as well. So a police force was conceptualised that could ‘develop a sense of fear of authority in the entire population and could serve as the first line of defence.”
- A Police commission was appointed in 1860. The purpose of the Commission was to reorganise the police department, to make it more effective and efficient. The Commission recommended the abolition of the military police and the establishment of the single uniform civil police force which would be under the provincial government. It resulted in the enactment of the Police Act (Act V) of 1861. It is the basic foundation of the present-day Indian Police. The Police Act, 1861 A bill passed on 16 March 1861, came into force as the Indian Police Act on 22 March 1861. The police commission of 1860 established the following principles of police organization: (1) Military police were to be eliminated and policing was to be entrusted to a civil constabulary; (2) Civil police were to have their own separate administrative establishment headed by an inspector-general in every province; (3) The inspector-general was responsible to the provincial government as the superintendent was to the civilian collector; and
Systems (CCTNS) project and e-Prisons project, which have been made operational in all the States/Union Territories.
- The Government also implemented Special Central Assistance (SCA) scheme to undertake development interventions in Left-Wing-Extremism (LWE) districts.
- Additionally, focus is also laid on upgradation of police wireless and other infrastructure.
- This Scheme also includes centrally sponsored sub-schemes of ‘Assistance to States for Modernisation of Police’ and ‘Assistance to States for Special Projects /Programmes for upgrading Police Infrastructure’ to assist State Governments in modernisation of their police forces.
- The second vertical of SRE comprises sub-schemes of Security Related Expenditure (SRE) for Jammu & Kashmir, North Eastern States, and LWE affected States as well as Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS).
- One of the major aims of the Scheme was to bolster the Government’s ability to address challenges faced in different theatres such as areas affected by LWE, Jammu and Kashmir and North East effectively, and undertake development interventions which will catalyse in improving the quality of life in these areas and help combat these challenges effectively at the same time.
- To combat Left Wing Extremism, the Government, in 2015, had approved ‘National Policy and Action Plan’, which includes a multi-pronged approach covering areas of security, development, ensuring rights and entitlements of tribals/local communities, and perception management. The steadfast implementation of the Policy and Action Plan has resulted in decline of LWE related violence and geographical spread of LWE influence.
INNOVATIVE SKILLING AND LIVELIHOOD
Chapter 6 : Skilling for Future: Reaping Demographic Dividend for
AtmaNirbhar Bharat
India has one of the youngest populations in an ageing world.
- By 2020, the median age in India will be just 28. Demographics can change the pace and pattern of economic growth.
- While China’s spectacular growth has already benefited from a demographic dividend, India is yet to do so.
- Working age population is projected to grow by roughly 9.7 million per year during the decade 2021-31 and 4.2 million per year between 2031-41. The coming decades are a window of opportunity for Indiato leapfrog into a $5 trillion economy by transforming its human capital into a highly skilled workforce for the national and global market. Vocational Education can be the game changer Vocational Education can be defined as the education that is based on occupation and employment. Vocational Education is also known as career and technical education (CTE) or technical and vocational education and training (TVET). The nodal agency for granting the recognition to the I.T.I. is NCVT, which is under the Ministry of Labour, Govt. of India. Objectives of vocational training
- Enhance the employability of youth through demand driven competency based modular vocational courses.
- Maintain their competitiveness through provisions of multi-entry multi-exit learning opportunities and vertical mobility/ interchangeability in qualifications.
- Fill the gap between educated and employable.
- Reduce the dropout rate at the secondary level. Vital for our country because
- Demographic Dividend: India has 65% of its youth in the working age group. Efficient utilization of these population would promote saving and investment rate
- Meet employer need of skills: The latest India skill Report indicates that only about 47% coming out of educational institutions are employable.
- A useful vocational education in agriculture, coupled with access to the formal economy for finance and marketing, could raise the quality of life. AGRI-UDAAN programme to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture is a step in the right direction.
- Prepare workers for a decent livelihood: this improves India’s ranking in HDI
- Low-skilled and repetitive jobs are bound to be eliminated by robots and artificial intelligence under the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This scenario is forcing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions to evolve continuously and sustainably to remain relevant in the future. World class productivity and quality
- For Make in India – It give big opportunity for MNCs to come to India
- Export of skilled workforce to aging developing countries o The study titled ‘Global Talent Crunch’ highlighted that India would have a talent surplus of around 245.3 million workers by 2030 at a time when the Asia-Pacific region itself would face a talent deficit of 47 million workers. Major Initiatives by Government SANKALP: Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion
- An outcome-oriented centrally sponsored programme of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) with a special focus on decentralised planning and quality improvement.
- It focuses on the overall skilling ecosystem covering both Central & State agencies.