Directive word/s: No Directive word

Demands of the question:

The question is asking about the all challenges (not restricting to EVMs) such as transparency, accountability, trustworthiness regarding the elections in India passed by Election Commission of India.

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Talk about the history behind EVMs and present issue surrounding EVMs in two or two statements
• Give list of challenges such as EVM tampering, VVPAT counting, upholding Model Code of Conduct, Misinformation and legal challenges etc
• Conclude by saying amidst these challenges how ECI has fared well in recent Lok Sabha Elections

Answer: The idea of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was first conceived in 1977 and a prototype was developed by Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL) and they were used in for the first time in Parur assembly elections in 1982. In 1988 section 61A of representation of peoples act was amended to allow Election Commission of India (ECI) to use EVMs. However, since its inception number of petitions have been filed questioning the validity of EVMs.

Major challenges faced by ECI to prove its trustworthiness in conducting elections in India:

• Integrity and Reliability of EVMs: Over the years, Association for Democratic Reforms has been asking for open the ‘Source Code’ used in EVM to be made public. However it has been refused by ECI by stating that knowing how something works could compromise its normal operations.
• Tallying of votes between Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and EVMs: At present only 5% of VVPATs are counted chosen randomly for each assembly constituency. However there were demands for 100% cross verification of VVPATs slips. Since they are counted manually one mismatch was identified during the 2019 general elections.
• Allegations of bias in posting officials and upholding the model code of conduct: Over the years it is a common allegation made by opposition parties about the transfer officials in favour of ruling party and liberal application of model code of conduct towards the major national level politicians. Since the ‘Modal Code of Conduct’ is not enforceable in court of law, it is placed on complete discretion of ECI. Ex:  In 2019, the ECI had relaxed the campaign ban it imposed on Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for intimidating opposition party leaders
• ECI’s intervention in administrative decisions of Union and State Governments: Recently, ECI has stopped the Kerala government policy to supply kits containing rice, pulses, cooking oil etc to relieve the poor households from the impact of COVID-19.
• Questions over its independence due to appoint process of Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners: Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners are appointed by a selection committee (The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioner Act: 2023)  which is dominated by ruling party at centre, which raise a question over its independence and biased appointment process.

Notwithstanding the above limitations, the ECI has been instrumental in upholding the democratic processes in India which is evident from the recent acknowledgement by many foreign Election Commissions about the reliability of Election Commission of India because it brought eVIGIL app to check the malpractices during elections. The credibility of the ECI and integrity of the electoral process earned over years cannot be chaffed and over-ridden by contemplations and speculations.

Directive word/s: Examine: Go into the details of the issues and talk about pros and cons of the issue by giving sufficient proper evidences.

Demand of the question: Take a stance whether the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) can enforce the reservation for SCs in Minority educational institutions.

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Provide the objective behind the financial emergency provisions within the constitution of India.
• Circumstances such as financial position of India, or any part there off or credit ranking of India is in danger
• Consequences such as loss of financial sovereignty of states, reservation of bills, Executive inroads etc
• Conclude by providing the safeguard within the Indian constitution and other dimensions

Answer: National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is a constitutional body formed under the 338 of Indian constitution to safeguard the interests of scheduled caste and take appropriate measures for their socio-economic development. It also review the all constitutional and legal measures that are created for SCs and suggest correction measures to ensure their betterment. However their recommendations are not binding on the government.

Despite a constitutional body it doesn’t have any powers to enforce the reservation for SCs in minority educational institutions because of the following reasons.

• Creates a conflict between the rights and autonomy: The Indian Constitution guarantees affirmative action in the form of reservations for Scheduled Castes to ensure their social and educational upliftment. However, the application of these reservations in religious minority institutions introduces a complex interplay of constitutional rights and autonomy. 
• Implicit limitation on part of NCSC to enforce its recommendations: As per the Article 338 it is clear that the recommendations of NCSC is advisory in nature, they don’t have any effective powers to enforce its recommendations.
• Constitutional limitations: Article 15(5) of the Constitution says that minority institutions under Article 30 shall be exempt from the Constitutional reservation; this provision was inserted in 2005 by the 93rd Constitutional amendment.
• Supreme Court Rulings:  The Supreme Court in the Ashok Thakur case (2008) upheld the validity of the 93rd Amendment Act. The court said that the exemption of minority educational institutions from the ambit of reservations is constitutionally valid as such institutions are a class by themselves and cater to the special needs of minorities. Their exemption is thus not violative of the right to equality.

Moreover, it is clearly stated that in P.A Inamdar vs. State of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court held that the policy of reservation to admit students belongs to SCs does not apply to minority educational institutions. Striking a balance between the rights of minorities to maintain their religious and cultural identity and ensuring equal opportunities for SCs remains a complex challenge. It requires a nuanced approach that respects the constitutional provisions and promotes social justice and inclusion for all.

Directive word/s: No directive words

Demand of the question:

• First Part: It is asking in what circumstances financial emergency be proclaimed in India
• Second Part: It is asking about the consequences of declaration of such emergency

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Provide the objective behind the financial emergency provisions within the constitution of India.
• Circumstances such as financial position of India, or any part there off or credit ranking of India is in danger
• Consequences such as loss of financial sovereignty of states, reservation of bills, Executive inroads etc
• Conclude by providing the safeguard within the Indian constitution and other dimensions

Answer: The inclusion of a financial emergency provision in the Indian Constitution serves the purpose of addressing severe economic crises that pose a significant threat to the financial well-being of the nation. According to Article 360 of the Indian Constitution, the President is granted the authority to proclaim a financial emergency if he or she determines that the financial stability or creditworthiness of India is in jeopardy.

Circumstances for proclaiming Financial Emergency:

As per Article 360 of Indian constitution financial emergency is imposed when

• Financial stability of India or any part thereof or
• Credit of India or any part of the territory thereof is threatened

Then President of India, on the advice of council of ministers will impose of proclamation of financial emergency which has to be approved by both houses of parliament within two months with simple majority.

Note: There is no maximum period on imposition of financial emergency, once it is imposed it can be continued to any period.

Consequences of imposing financial emergency:

• Extension of Executive Authority of Union: When the financial emergency is in operation, the executive authority of union shall extends to states on financial matters
• Presidential Legislative oversight over state’s financial bills: During the financial emergency all money bills, and other financial bills are reserved for the consideration of president after they are passed by state legislature
• Reduction of salaries: President can direct the states or issue directions to reduce the salaries and allowance of all employees working under the union and also to include salaries and allowances of judges of Supreme court or High Courts
• Suspension of Fundamental Rights: During the financial emergency is in operation, the enforcement of directive principles will take a president over the fundamental rights. The declaration of financial emergency does not results in suspension of the fundamental rights.
• Promotes the Economic reforms investments: While painful, a financial emergency can lead to necessary economic reforms and restructuring that may foster long-term stability and also can lead to either capital fly or capital inflow form in/out of our country.

In State of Rajasthan v. Union of India: 1977, the Supreme Court of India had declared that actions taken under Article 360 would be subject of judicial review based on two criteria

• The presence of mala fide intentions
• The use of irrelevant or extraneous grounds.

The Constitution incorporates safeguards and limitations to ensure that the emergency is a temporary measure with the objective of preserving India’s economic stability and prosperity. Additionally, the judiciary plays a crucial role in upholding constitutional principles in this regard.

Directive Word/s: Discuss: It is a written debate going through the details of the issue (or) Provide arguments in for and against of the statements with evidence. Remember to arrive at a conclusion written in the form of ‘way forward’

Demands of the question:

• First Part: What is significance of parliamentary committees for parliamentary work.
• Second Part: Give advantages and disadvantages (or) role of Estimates committee

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Write two are three statements about the Significance of Parliamentary committee in Indian Parliament
• Significance in terms of upholding the accountability, transparency, bring the technical expertise, to eradicate/remove extravagance by the government etc
• Provide three or four statements about the role of Estimates committee such as overseeing the pre-budget estimates, administrative reforms needed and suggest policies to bring efficiency

Answer: Due to the sheer volume of information and scale of operations that the Indian Parliament is required to undertake, it is not feasible to take up all issues on the floor of the House. Thus, Parliamentary committees panels made up of MPs are constituted to deal with such situations and take up sector-specific concerns.

Significance of Parliamentary committees:

• Accountability of Executive to legislature through committees: Committees go into the details of a specific piece of information, analyse its impact on governance and then make its recommendations. Then government has to submit a “Action Taken” report for the house which specifies the action taken on those recommendations by the government.
• Promote reaching consensus between different political parties on critical legislations,  which is not possible in Parliament: During the passage of Digital Data Protection Bill went through long scrutiny under a joint parliamentary committee which provided invaluable insights over the data protection, processing, storage, rights and enforcement thus became a single most crucial legislation for growing economy in digital India.
• To get the opinions/suggestion of domain experts: To ensure quality work in the committees, experts in the field may be invited who could bring with them the necessary domain knowledge and also help introduce the latest developments and trends in that field from worldwide.
• To provide policy guidance, vision, mission and future direction to the Ministries: The mandate of these committees is to examine various legislations referred to it, the budget proposals of different Ministries, and also to do policy thinking on the vision, mission and future direction of the Ministries concerned.
• Time management: Committees help in managing the workload of the Parliament by addressing specific issues and preparing reports, thereby saving valuable time during parliamentary sessions

Role of the Estimates Committee:

• Overseeing the Budgetary Proposals: The Estimates Committee assists Parliament in overseeing pre-budget estimates of the government, and examines whether the proposed expenditure is within the limits of government policy.
• Suggestions for administrative and policy reforms: It also reports on administrative reforms needed within Ministries, and suggests policies to bring about efficiency in administration. Suggest alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in administration.
• Performance evaluation: Examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates of a budget.
• Recommendations: Based on their examination, the committee provides recommendations to the Parliament for improving the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of government expenditure.
• Suggests the forms in which the estimates shall be presented to parliament.

Despite their relevance the number of bills that are referring to the committees has been decreasing over the years. During the course of 17^th lok Sabha only 14 bills were referred to committees it was 71% in 15^th lok Sabha and 60% in 14^th lok Sabha. Hence, the Parliament could consider a compulsory referral, for the Bills that are tabled on the floor, to the appropriate committees. Arming them with more powers will help them ensure accountability from the executive instead of making them toothless tigers.

Directive word/s: Explain: Look into close details and establish key facts and important issues surrounding a topic and should provide reasons as to why the facts and issues you have identified are the most important.

Demands of the question:

• First Part: Substantiate why CAG has been consider as vital constitutional body
• Second Part: How the method and terms of his appointment and powers exercised by CAG made them so unique organisation

Structure of your answer:

Introduction: Give two or three statements about the importance of CAG by giving the observation made by Dr. B.R Ambedkar

Give three or four reasons to substantiate CAG is so vital institution such as Promoting Transparency, Financial Management, Regulatory and Propriety audit

How CAGs Oath of affirmation, method of appointment, no change in his condition of service once he/she appointed and removal and power (discretionary) made him so unique/powerful.

Answer: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the founding father of our Constitution once said that “the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is the most important officer in the Constitution of India with duties far more important than the duties even the judiciary.” Constitution of India had established few institutions which monitor the functions of three organs of a state i.e Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. One such organisation is CAG which played a very significant role in strengthening India’s democracy.

CAG is considered as such important organisation by constitutional fathers because of the following reasons.

• Financial Management: The CAG plays a crucial role in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament and State Legislatures as a ‘friend, philosopher, and guide‘ of the PAC because the main duty of CAG is to verify whether the amount mentioned in the accounts is legally available for the intended purpose and whether the expenses are align with the governing regulations.
• Regulatory Audit: When auditing the income of both the Union and State Governments, the CAG ensures that the rules and procedures thereof guarantee that revenue is assessed, collected, and allocated in accordance with the procedures established by law. The aim is to prevent any loss of revenue that should be rightfully disbursed to the government.
• Transparency: As per the principles enumerated under Article 151 of the Constitution of India, the CAG reports must be presented before both Houses of Parliament and the State Legislatures. These reports are anticipated to be thoroughly reviewed and examined by the Members of the Parliament and State Legislators. This engagement is crucial for enhancing the ethical standards, effectiveness, and transparency of governance.

CAG is become so unique in your constitutional framework because of the following reasons:

• Method of Appointment: CAG is appointed by the President of India and he takes the oath to uphold the constitution of India along with the Chief Justice of India unlike any other officer except the President of India. Hence they are placed at high pedestal in Indian constitutional scheme.
• Term of Office: He serves the office for the term of 6 years and he is not eligible for further appointment under government of India or any state. Moreover, once he is appointed he term of office or salary or any other conditions of service can’t be changed to his disadvantage. Thus he was protected constitutionally to serve independently without any biases.
• Powers and Functions:

• Environmental audit: The CAG has taken a noteworthy step by Introducing Environmental Audits, which extend beyond government spending and have a lasting impact on future generations. In its inaugural environmental audit report presented to Parliament, the CAG criticized the Environment Ministry for its shortcomings in implementing projects related to afforestation, biodiversity, conservation, pollution control, and public awareness campaigns. 
• Ensure Welfare of Citizens: While in theory India is considered a welfare state where the government is supposed to act “for the people”, the actual practice often falls short of this ideal. For instance, in a draft audit report on the KG-D6 block, the (CAG) found that the Oil Ministry and BGH had bent the rules to grant “significant benefits” to Reliance.
• Propriety Audit: The CAG’s office has the sole authority to conduct Propriety Audit in order to assess how efficiently, actively, and prudently the public funds are being used. Unlike the legal and regulatory audit, which the CAG is required to carry out, the propriety audit is done at the discretion of the CAG

The diligent efforts of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) will yield positive results when the Legislative and Executive branches work together in a timely manner. The judiciary has used various reports on its pronouncements of judgments in order to punish the wrongdoers. The Delhi High Court has recently observed, “the role of the CAG is not confined to accounts, it is beyond the routine examination of accounts, fraud detection, and instances of misfeasance. It extends to encompass inquiries into broader aspects such as “faithfulness, wisdom, and economy” concerning both government expenditure and receipts.”

Directive word/s: No directive words. It is a straight forward question

Demand of the question: Need to talk about the contradicting objective among stakeholders such as industry and government resulting into inadequate protection and prevention of degradation to the environment.

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Talk about in two or three statements about importance of protecting and preserving the environment and what led to the environmental degradation
• Write about two contradicting interests between stakeholders such as industrialists and conservationists and farmers and governments
• Write two or three statements about contradicting policies interventions such as Make in India and Sustainable Development Goals and policies between the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Environment and Forest ministry

Answer: The intricate web of policies governing diverse sectors often finds itself entangled in a discordant dance, leading to a compromised shield against environmental degradation. This phenomenon arises as conflicting interests among different sectors and stakeholders hinder the formulation and implementation of cohesive policies. The constitution of India has provided deliberate articles to conservation of environment and forests under Article 48 and 51A. However various contradicting interests of industry and conservation.

The following are the various contradictions between the stakeholders and Policy makers such as

• Conflict objects between the Economic Development and Environmental Protection: As governments are focusing on economic development to fulfil or bridge the socio economic problems of India often leading to the Environmental degradation leading to the exploitation of natural resources, deforestation and pollution. For example conflicting interests in the agricultural sector, where intensive farming practices may clash with conservation goals, exacerbate the challenge of preserving ecosystems.
• Conflicting interests among stake holders: For instance, the mining industry may push for the exploitation of natural resources, while environmentalists may oppose it, leading to a policy contradiction that can compromise environmental protection. For example, power sector has relaxed the environmental norms for state owned power generators to meet the ever increasing demand. As power sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gasses which are degrading the natural resources and environment.
• Disparities in environmental protection policies: For example, industries that contribute significantly to environmental pollution are often exempted from strict environmental regulations due to their influence over policymakers, while smaller industries that pose less of a threat to the environment are subjected to strict regulations.
• Lack of coordination between sectors: As India is rapidly developing infrastructure which naturally degrade the environment. Despite Environmental clearances has been granted to these projects the environment ministry has no role after these clearances. For example the Ministry of Environment and Forests may have policies that contradict those of the Ministry of Industry, resulting in ineffective measures to mitigate environmental degradation.

The lack of a harmonized approach allows gaps in environmental protection, leaving ecosystems vulnerable to pollution, habitat loss, and climate change impacts. As a result, the environment becomes a casualty in the struggle for policy supremacy, necessitating a revaluation and integration of diverse interests to achieve a more effective shield against environmental degradation.

Directive Word/s: Explain: Look into close details and establish key facts and important issues surrounding a topic and should provide reasons as to why the facts and issues you have identified are the most important.

Demand of the question: Need to explain the role of local level/community level healthcare interventions to achieve ‘Health for All’ in India.

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: What is the need for the government at all level to provide health facilities to its citizens
• Explain the role of local level health care facilities such as focuses on prevention, early detection, role of ASHA workers, affordability, to reduce out of pocket expenditure etc
• Conclude by providing some suggestions how better can we improve the health facilities as gross root level such as infrastructure gaps, training, doctor to patient ratio etc

Answer: Since during the independence movements the constitutional father had adopted welfare model of a state for India considering the prevailing socio-economic and poverty in India. As part of this they have included Article 47 into the directive principles of state policy to raise the level of nutrition, quality of life and to improve public health. Moreover, the Supreme Court of India in Paramanad Katara v. Union of India: 1989 declared that “Right to Health” is fundamental right enumerated as part of Article 21 of Indian Constitution.

Role of Primary Health Care Facilities to ensure ‘Health of All’ in India include:

• To improve the Institutional Health Deliveries: One of the major reasons for higher child mortality and maternal mortality is less institutional deliveries. Here the primary health care facilities by encouraging institutional deliveries and ensuring prenatal and postnatal check ups they help reduce maternal and infant mortality rates (IMR).
• Primary nodes for effective monitoring of communicable diseases: As we seen during the COVID-19 pandemic how these primary health centres acted as a centres of first level defence to prevent the spread and for better treatment at local level. Hence it is possible to detect the spread of any communicable disease at community level with these primary health facilities.
• ASHA workers acts as a link between the community and health facilities: ASHAs have made extraordinary contributions towards enabling increased access to primary health-care services; i.e. maternal and child health including immunisation and treatment for hypertension, diabetes and tuberculosis, etc., for both rural and urban populations, with special focus on difficult-to-reach habitations. They have played a crucial role in making India polio free, increased immunisation and basic health services.
• They promote efficiency and equity: Public health facilities focuses on efficiency and equity and affordability whereas the private health facilities focus on efficiency and profit not on the affordability.
• Reduces out of pocket expenditure: Average Indian spending around 47.1% of their total earnings to meet their basic health needs. Strengthening these primary health facilities can further reduces the out of pocket expenditure for health care and life many more people from poverty line.

Notwithstanding the aforesaid benefits offered by primacy health care facilities (or) community health facilities, they suffer from structures deficiencies such as poor infrastructure facilities such as poor equipment, skilled human resource difficulties and less doctor to patient ratio (WHO recommended 1:1000, however India had just 1:834) and creating awareness and removing about the negative perceptions about public health facilities has to be removed to ensure ‘Health for All’ in India.

Directive word/s: Explain: Look into close details and establish key facts and important issues surrounding a topic and should provide reasons as to why the facts and issues you have identified are the most important

Demand of the question:

• The questions is asking about the importance of data in decision making, in data driven policy making, batter implementations and efficient resource management and many more which are integral to E-governance.

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Give definition of E-governance and give its significance in the present digitalised world and talk about how data helps in E-governance
• Talk about the importance of data/information in policy making, monitoring and course correct in its implementation, better resource allocation, promotes transparency, citizen engagement etc
• Also provide some limitations with data such as data protection, processing, storage, user information security etc
• Conclude by saying the importance of comprehensive data protection law, awareness  among citizen are way forward for effective E-governance in India.

Answer: E-governance is about transforming the way governments work and reinvent people’s participation in the democratic process. e-Governance provides a platform to integrate solutions and services between Government-to-Citizens (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B) and Government-to-Government (G2G), empowering both the government and the citizen like never before.

As data is a new fuel in the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is lead by information and communication technologies, it is vital in decision making, proper utilisation of resources and for better informed decision making process.

‘Use Value’ of information can be better understood from the below perceptions

• Data Driven Decision Making/Policy making: Key inputs in the form of data will help in better policy formulation and decision making. For example, India being the largest Mobile internet users with 80 crore users can help the government to form Personal Digital Data Protection Bill.
• Real-time monitoring of Programmes and Projects: By using the data feed by users in the system while getting the services, governments can monitor the programme and projects in real time. For example during the COVID19 time, Co-Win app provided the real time information about vaccination throughout its entire life cycle.
• Citizen Centric Services: The use value of information in e-governance is evident in the design and delivery of services that are responsive to citizen needs. Understanding user preferences and behaviours enables governments to provide personalized and accessible services. For example: Online filling for income tax and return application completely made online.
• Efficient Resource Allocation: By getting the accurate, timely and reliable information from public institutions will help the government for better resource allocation and use resources for productive works. For example, Buffer stocks at Food Corporation of India will help government to decide Minimum Support Price (MSP) and to regulate the commodity prices at market level.
• Facilitate inclusive governance: E-governance bridge the gap between the government and the citizens by providing information about the different welfare measure and other citizen centric initiatives thus pave the way for inclusive governance and promotes transparency.

Notwithstanding the above advantages with the E-governance there are unresolved issues surrounding the information/data such as

• Lack of regulatory measures over data: India being the largest contributor to data, lacks comprehensive data policy. However it is in the process of making “Justice Sri Krishna Committee” recommendations on personal data a reality through “Digital Personal Data Protection Bill”
• Data Quality and Reliability: Since Indian economy majorly depend on Agriculture and MSMEs, the data about these sector not being regular and not reliable, impedes the decision making process in India.
• Privacy and Security Concerns: Safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring data privacy is essential to build trust in e-governance systems. Governments must implement robust cybersecurity measures to protect citizen data.
• Capacity Building: Building the capacity of government officials and citizens to effectively use e-governance tools and platforms is crucial for maximizing the use value of information.

Data governance is aligned with the country’s values and priorities, and that it supports, rather than undermines, the development of a secure, more egalitarian, and trustworthy digital future for all. In this, India has a unique opportunity to develop and implement a data governance regime that can become a model for other countries.

Key word/s: Discuss: It is a debate by going through the details of the issue (or) giving a case in favour and against of the topic backed up by evidence. We have to arrive at a conclusion and write as a ‘way forward’.

Demand of the questions:

• How India and Israel diversified their relations in terms of depth means bi-lateral relations into Strategic Partnership level and diversity means from Agriculture, water resource management, Science & technology, Security and People to People relations etc

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Give two or three statements about the from initial India’s stance to establishment of bi-lateral relations to recent Prime Ministers visit to Israel
• Explain the depth in relations in terms of promotion of relations into Strategic partnership level and formation of I2U2 and India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor
• Acquired diversity in terms of cooperation in agriculture, water management, Science and Technology, Defence and Cyber Security and Terrorism.
• Conclude by saying the areas where we can do better and India’s double stance between Arab’s and Israel position should be take a concrete shape

Answer: The creation of Israel as an independent sovereign state was a product of Western guilt. The Balfour declaration provided a basis for the formation of Israel in Palestine. Gandhi and Nehru both were against the partition on religious basis and thus voted against the 1947 United Nations Resolution for the creation of two states. Till 1992, India’s policy towards Israel was influenced by domestic sentiments and anti-imperialistic ideologies. However in 1992, India officially launched diplomatic relations as a result of end of cold war. And in 2017, the first ever Indian Prime Minister has visited Israel which changed the relations between the two countries.

India-Israel relations over the years had acquired the strategic depth which can be evident from the:

• De-hyphening of relation from Arab sentiments: India is able to de-hyphen its national interests with the ideological support to Arabs thus able to maintain approach with individual countries of the region.
• Establishment of I2U2 Forum: It is a multilateral partnership between India, Israel, UAE and USA in trade and economic cooperation as all these countries tries to diversify their relations and align with Indo-Pacific policy
• India-Middle East Economic Corridor: Post liberalisation of relations between UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel the comprehensive connectivity project has been mooted which further to counter the Chinese’s rapid advancements with its One China Policy and Belt and Road initiative.

India-Israel relations over the years has diversified in many ways as

• Cooperation in Agriculture: Israel’s advanced agricultural technologies, particularly in areas such as drip irrigation, water management, and crop protection, are being integrated into Indian farming practices which can be implemented in India amidst depleting ground water resources and impact of climate change on agriculture.
• Water management: Israel has pioneered in advanced techniques for water recycling and desalination of salt water. India has been actively seeking those technologies to be adopted in India to meet growing water demand in India.
• Science and Technological Cooperation: Both Israel and India were pioneers in star-up ecosystems which are jointly working on various domains including cyber security with the launching of INDO-ISRAEL R&D Programme.
• Defence & security: India has become one of the largest buyer of Israel platforms and India buying Haroon UAVs from Israel for surveillance purpose and other platform for espionage purpose.
• Cooperation at UN against Terrorism: Both are actively supporting the stance against the terrorism and Israel is supporting the India’s claim for UNSC Permanent seat.

Despite these growing strategic relations, there are areas such as India’s stance on Palestine and ongoing conflict in Gaza strip and disproportional usage of force against the innocent people by Israel became gray areas between the two countries which hindering their cooperation.

Key word/s: Discuss: It is a debate by going through the details of the issue (or) giving a case in favour and against of the topic backed up by evidence. We have to arrive at a conclusion and write as a ‘way forward’.

Demands of the question:

• Need to explain the strategic significance for India to join Ashgabat Agreement.
• What are the advantage and disadvantage for India to join it which clear cut evidences.

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Talk about Ashgabat agreement its objective and member countries in two or three statements
• Write two or three points about the strategic importance of central Asia for India such as balancing the growing Chinese influence, to tap into the strategic mineral of Central Asia etc
• Significance of this project such as to connect to Eurasia via Central Asia, to converge Look West policy with Connect Central Asia policy, to eliminate the dependency on Pakistan for imports and exports etc
• Gray Areas in the project and betterments that needs to be adopted in India’s relations with Central Asia

Answer: Ashgabat agreement was instituted in April 2011 to establish an international multimodal transport and transit corridor between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. The Agreement was first signed by Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Oman and Qatar on 25 April 2011. While Qatar subsequently withdrew from the agreement in 2013, Kazakhstan and Pakistan joined the grouping in 2016. The Ashgabat Agreement came into force in April 2016. Its objective is to enhance connectivity within the Eurasian region and synchronize it with other regional transport corridors, including the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

Strategic importance of Central Asia to India’s Diplomacy:

• To balance out the growing influence of China: China has already made inroads into the Central Asia to tap into the strategic resources of it through its ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative. However, India has been trying hard to enter into central Asia but can’t make it because of its geographical limitations. Hence projects like Ashgabat Agreement and International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) will fill that limitation for India
• To Tap into the Strategic Minerals of Central Asia: India has been aggressively pushing for Green transition which require strategic rare earth minerals which India lacks, hence it is looking for sources, one such cheap and reliable supply can be possible through central Asia. Hence it is utmost importance for India to be part of this project

Other Significant objects behind joining Ashgabat Agreement include:

• Connect to Eurasia via Central Asia: The major objective for India to any connectivity agreement in Central Asia is to connect to Eurasia and further to Europe to diversify its trade and ensure its energy security through multiple energy sources.
• To prevent the terrorism emanating from Afghanistan: India has actively promoting the socio-economic development of Afghanistan to prevent the entry of state sponsored terrorists from entering to India.
• To make use of the existing connectivity projects to promote trade with Eurasia: Its accession to the Ashgabat Agreement would enable India to utilise the existing transport and transit corridor to facilitate trade and commercial interactions with the Eurasian region. Further, this would synchronise with India’s efforts to implement the INSTC for enhanced connectivity.
• To converge Look West and Connect Central Asian Policies of India: To realise the full potential of both Look West and Connect Central Asia policies connectivity plays an important role and more so the Chabahar port which will become a gate way for these policies of India.
• To Synchronise India’s led International North South Transport Corridor: The Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan (ITK) railway line will be the major route under the Ashgabat Agreement. It had become operational in December 2014 and has also been included as part of the India-funded INSTC. Therefore, the Ashgabat Agreement and INSTC will be easily synchronized.

Despite these grand objective in mind, India’s contribution to these projects is very minimal as India’s less financial muscles compared with China, and recent decision of Iran to drop India from Chabahar rail project and growing tensions in West Asia and re-emergence of Taliban to power became a major hurdles for the successful execution of this project.

Directive word/s: Examine: Look into details of an issue and establish key facts and important issues surrounding a topic. And you should also given reasons why the facts and issues you identified are most important.

Demands of the question:

• Give details about the issues between the Lt. Governor and Delhi government that led the 2018 judgement by Supreme Court.
• Examine various other issues such as ‘over services’, ‘Training of Teachers’, ‘Discretionary powers exercised by Lt. Governor etc and their status

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Give two or three statements about the establishment of Delhi as a UT with legislative powers, brief description of the current tussle (July 2018)
• Talk about major concerns involved in this case such as ‘separation of powers’, ‘Discretionary powers of governor’, constitutional provisions related to National Capital Territory etc
• Conclude by saying various other issues between the two constitutional offices and the way forward to bring development to the people of Delhi.

Answer: During the State Reorganisation carried out in 1956, Delhi was Union Territory being governed by an administrator. But in 1989, by the recommendations of Balakrishanan committee, Delhi was accorded Statehood through 69^th Constitutional Amendment Act which provided for Legislative Assembly and Council of Ministers.

Since then there are various issues surfacing and the recent one is about the Lt. Governor involvement in day to day administration and his involvement over services in National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD).

In the Govt of NCT of Delhi vs. Union of India: 2018: The Supreme Court has ruled that Lt. Governor was bound by ‘aid and advice’ of council of ministers headed by Chief Minister of Delhi except on mater relating to Land, Law and Order and Police. This judgement restored the power of council of minister in day to day administration of Delhi.

The major issues involved in this case include:

• Limitations on Lt. Governors power: Lt. Governor should not be required to reserve any decision of the Delhi government for consideration of President merely based on his personal opinion which effects the day-to-day administration of Delhi. Thus it placed the limitation on the discretionary powers of governor over the governance of NCTD.
• Separation of Powers: Union government is not empowered to exercise executive power on every matter, the state government has the power to legislative on all matters on state and concurrent list as per Article 239AA (4) and it also highlights the Lt. Governor role to act on the ‘aid and advice’ of council of ministers. Thus this judgement uphold one of the basic principle of Indian Constitution i.e Separation of powers.
• Control over services: Central government through a notification gave all powers in matters of officials to Lt. Governor, however the subject of ‘Public Service Commission’ and ‘Services’ are items under the state list. By taking away this right from states then what kind of governance the elected government will run? Why should we have a state government in first place?
• Political dynamics: The political tussle between the Lt. Governor and the elected government is often influenced by the larger political dynamics at the central and state levels, which may not be entirely resolved by the judgment
• Bypassing the elected government: There have been instances when governors found to give orders to state officials directly or visit public offices without informing the state governments. This is against his/her constitutional mandate as he is only a nominal head and expected to act on the advice of the COM in the state.

Despite this clear judgement by the Supreme Court, the tussle between the Lt. Governor and elected government has never been ended as the central government often by-passing the judgments by amending the constitution and status. In this case the union government amended the Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Act: 2021 was passed and made it mandatory for council of ministers to obtain the opinion of LG before any executive action on matters specified by LG. And moreover this amendment defined the term ‘Government of Delhi’ as ‘Government of Lieutenant Governor’.

The flaw lies not with the identity of the individual who occupies the post, but in the design of the Constitution itself. If we want to put an end to the continuous misuse of the Raj Bhavan for partisan political ends in a manner that threatens both federalism and democracy, we have to rethink the role of the Governor in the constitutional scheme. Clearly specify the rules governing government-formation in the Constitution itself. And also implement the recommendations of Sarkaria Commission and Punchhi commission recommendations with regards to his appointment and his discretionary powers.

Directive Word/s: Discuss: Going into the details of the issue by giving carefully selected evidence to make a case for and against a topic. Remember to arrive at a conclusion and write it as a ‘way forward’.

Demands of the question:

• First Part: Whether you are in agreement with the given statement or not i.e ‘tribunals curtail the jurisdiction of ordinary courts’.
• Second part: Talk about constitutional validity and competency of tribunals in India

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Talk about the importance of Tribunals in India with statistics about vaccines in judiciary and provide quicker justice delivery
• I have taken a view against the given statements because of increasing pending of cases/vacancies, need of diverse filed expertise, less litigation cost etc
• Constitutional validity under Article 323A and 323B etc. And competency is achieved through, dominated by judicial members, and availability of further appeal process
• Conclude by saying the problems related to its independence & accountability, vacancies, competence of both judicial and administrative members

Answer: Tribunals are judicial or quasi-judicial institutions established by law. They intend to provide a platform for faster adjudication as compared to traditional courts, as well as expertise on certain subject matters. Pendency of cases in courts is one of the key challenges faced by the judicial system. As of October 5, 2024 there are 11 Lakh cases pending for more than 30 years in different High Courts of India. As of October 5, 2024 there are 82433 pending cases in the Supreme Court.  The Law Commission of India (2017) noted that pendency in courts leads to delays in the administration of justice, thereby, impacting efficiency of the judicial system.   Further, it noted that in certain technical cases, the traditional courts need expert knowledge for adjudication which is the basis for the creation of special tribunals to ease the pressure on courts and bring outside expertise into the judicial process.

Tribunals have not taken over the jurisdiction of normal courts but they are made as subordinate in some cases as substitute to high courts in India.

• Tribunals are created as substitute and subordinate to High courts: In the former case, appeals from the decisions of the tribunals lie directly with the Supreme Court. For example appeals against the Securities Appellate Tribunal directly lie in Supreme Court of India and in later case appeal lie with High Courts. For example appeals filed under Copyrights Act: 1957
• Composition of Tribunals: The presence of expert members along with the judicial members is the key feature of tribunal which distinguishes it from traditional courts. Only members with judicial experience can be considered to be appointed as chairmen of the tribunal and members having any specialised knowledge could become members of tribunals.
• Functions within the contour of legislation created it: All tribunals works within the strict  boundaries creating these tribunals and they do not have the power to direct the government to legislate any policy or take any legislative measure on their own.
• Quick delivery of justice: One of the major objective of creating tribunals was to ensure quicker justice delivery to the parties which is a one of basic fundamental right.

Constitutional validity of tribunals:

• Initially when the constitution was adopted they do not part of it, however, in 1976 through 42^nd constitutional amendment act Article 323A and 323B has been inserted which provided a constitutional status to these institutes. In S.P Sampath Kumar vs. Union of India and others: 1986: The Supreme Court of India declared that it is valid for Parliament to create alternative institutions to High Courts with jurisdiction over certain matters provided that the alternative body has same efficacy to that of the High Courts.
• They can decide the constitutional validity of any statutory provision: In 1997, the Supreme Court of India in L. Chandra Kumar vs. Union of India case has declared that such a tribunal has the power to decide constitutional validity of any statutory provision within its scope. However it can’t decide the constitutional validity of their parent statue.

Competence of Tribunals: Competence of tribunals is one of the key issue which led the government to abolish around 9 tribunals in 2021. They are

• Independence from Executive: As a quasi-judicial body, whether they have same degree of independence to that of High Courts as central government has been active role in appointment of members thus taking away the power away from the judiciary itself which is against the ‘independence of Judiciary’
• Not able to provide quicker judgements: One of the key purposes of tribunals is to reduce the workload of courts, so that there is quicker disposal of cases.  However, even some tribunals face the issue of a large backlog of cases.  For example, as of March 15, 2023, the central government industrial tribunal cum-labour courts had 7,312 pending cases; as of February, 2023, the Armed Forces Tribunal had 18,829 pending cases; and as of January, 2021, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal had 91,643 pending cases.
• Vacancies: The standing committee on Personal, Public Grievances, Law and Justice has noted that several tribunals have more vacancies which make them dysfunctional. As of now, there are 23 posts vacancies out of 34 sanctioned strength in judicial and administrative members of Armed Forces Tribunals.

Overall, while tribunals play a vital role in India’s justice system by providing specialized expertise and faster resolution of disputes, there is ongoing debate and discussion about the need for reforms to address challenges related to their efficiency, independence, accountability, and accessibility.

Directive word/s: Examine: Look into details of an issue and establish key facts and important issues surrounding a topic. And you should also give reasons why the facts and issues you identified are most important.

Demands of the question:

• Need to explain the basic principles such as democratic policy, federal system, independent judiciary, fundamental rights, rule of law etc and compare those basic principle existed between India and USA

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Give one or two statements about why India has adopted Democratic form of government and also say USA is the oldest and model to all federal polity
• Provide common principles i.e Constitution & Preamble, Separation of powers, Independent judiciary, fundamental rights, rule of law, federal system etc
• Conclude by giving two or three unique features of Indian democratic form such as strong central tilt, directive principles, and fundamental duties

Answer: India under the colonial rule for about two centuries had experienced the democratic form of government and more so Indian educated classes and political leaders are influenced by British parliamentary system and liberal democracy which is fulfilling the aspiration of Indian people who are so diverse in terms of religion, casts, culture and languages. Thus India become the biggest democratic political system where as the USA is the oldest democratic country.

Basic tenets between India and USA political systems include:

• Written constitution and Preamble: USA political system was run based on the oldest written constitution whereas India constitution is also based on world’s lengthiest constitution. Indian constitution has adopted the inclusion of preamble from the USA constitution which outlined the major objectives that both political systems are trying to achieve.
• Separation of powers: India doesn’t follow the strict separation of power as executive was drawn from legislature, who are in turn responsible to the people of India through parliament. Whereas in USA, president is not drawn from Congress but he has elected by separate electoral college and he is not responsible for congress and hold office for a term of 4 years.
• Independent Judiciary: India fallows a unified judicial system where all federal cases are under exclusive jurisdiction of Supreme Court and it acts as guardian of fundamental rights whereas in USA there are dual courts one is federal court which deal with federal issues and each state has its own courts to trail cases.
• Rule of Law: Both countries have written constitutions ensuring the rule of law and guaranteeing fundamental rights to their citizens. Both the countries are republican and provide adult franchises to the citizens
• Fundamental Rights: In the US there is a Bill of Rights, while India has incorporated Fundamental Rights in its Constitution. However, the American Constitution has provided additional human rights, that are not explicitly found in the Indian Constitution. The American Constitution follows the principle of due process of law; on the other hand, India has a procedure established by law that gives wide discretionary power to the legislature to restrict liberty. In the Maneka Gandhi case, the Supreme court did not use the word due process but held that the procedure established by law must be fair, just, and equitable. 
• Federal form of government: Since, India has a federal type of constitution, establishing dual polity, having two-tiers government. All the powers, functions, and duties of the government are divided amongst central and state level, without interfering in others functioning. Whereas USA is federal policy formed by an agreement between the constituent units.

Notwithstanding the above common tenets between the India and USA, India has acquired a special status by incorporating some other features, which we can’t find in USA political system. They are

• Directive principles of state policies: These are some of the ideals which states should keep in mind while formulating policies to ensure the socio economic and political development of India.
• Fundamental duties: In USA there are no obligation on its citizens to uphold some principles, but India through 42^nd constitutional amendment act has included these duties to make citizens to aware of their duties towards the state.
• Quasi-Federal form: Despite India is considered as federal form of government, in some matters or emergencies constitutional makers adopted a strong tilt towards centre with respect to financial allocations, and to meet some political exigencies.

Though the US and Indian political systems are similar in many respects, yet they are the product of their unique history and socio-economic milieu, and varying political culture. However, they should cooperate with each other on many fronts to provide hope to humanity which is facing numerous challenges. According to Dr. B R Ambedkar, the Indian Constitution was conceived with many outstanding features in the world like America but was adopted in the Indian sense.  Despite the difference, both the systems worked successfully and have effectively and preserved national independence with a different history and challenges.

Directive word/s: Discuss: Going through the details of the issue by carefully giving evidence in support and against of the issue and arrive at a conclusion and write as a way forward.

Demands of the question:

• How Finance Commission is constituted, here talk about the provisions in Article 280 of Indian Constitution led to the formation of finance commission.
• Need to talk about the terms of references made to the 16^th finance commission and need to talk about the hurdles before the 16^th finance commission

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Talk about Article 280 (1) (2) about the formation of finance commission and give its objectives in two or three statements.
• Give 4 or 5 terms of references such as Vertical and Horizontal devolution of funds between the centre and states, measures to augments the consolidated fund of funds to fund local bodies and financial arrangements to finance disaster management
• Conclude by providing issues in formula and actual allocations and concerns of developed states and increasing share of cesses and surcharges etc

Answer: The Finance Commission is a constitutional body that was formed under Article 280 of Indian constitution by the President of India to recommend how tax revenues collected by the centre are distributed among the Union and the States. The commission consists of one chairperson and four other members. However the recommendations of the commission are not binding on the government.

Major Terms of References (ToR) of 16^th Finance Commission include:

• The distribution of net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the states and also the allocation of shares of such proceeds between the states under the Article 280(3) of Indian constitution.
• The principles which should govern the grants in aid of the revenues of the states out of the consolidated fund of India under Article 280(3)
• Sums to be paid to the states by way of grand in aid of their revenues under the Article 275
• The measures needed to augment the consolidated fund of a state to supplement the resources of the Panchyat and Municipalites based on the recommendations made by the State Finance Commission.
• Review the present arrangements of financing Disaster Management Initiatives with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act: 2005

In case of earlier Finance Commissions, quite a number of other clauses were included in the ToR, reflecting the provision under clause (d) of Article 280 of the Constitution which refers to ‘any other matter in the interests of sound finance’. No specific matter has been referred to the 16th Finance Commission under this clause. However, since this phrase is part of the Constitution, it should be open to the Commission to consider any matter relating to central and state finances in the interest of sound finance.

Moreover, the commission is free to determine the scope of its work, approach and methodology, free to chose census year for state wise population without any direction from the Union government.

Notwithstanding the above recommendations, there are some challenges that 16^th finance commission has to look into they are

• Constitution has provided greater financial powers to Union, where states were given more responsibility such as implementing welfare measures such as education, health care, nutrition etc. However their share in the net proceed of taxes is minimal compared to their responsibilities.
• Mismatches in the recommendations of Finance Commission to the actual allocations. For example the 15^th finance commission recommended 41% of funds, but the actual allocations were about 38%.
• What portion of the Centre’s overall tax revenues should be considered as part of the divisible pool out of which the States are funded. It is believed that cesses and surcharges, which do not come under the divisible pool and hence not shared with the States, can constitute as much as 28% of the Centre’s overall tax revenues in some years, causing significant revenue loss for States.
• Developed states complaining that they receiving less amount what they are contributing. For example Tamil Nadu receives only 29 paise for every one rupee they contribute whereas Bihar receives ₹7 rupees for every one rupee they contribute.

By considering the recent clashes between the Kerala led opposition party ruled state government and the union over the barrowing issue, the finance commission has to look into these concerns and device a plan that should consider all the parameters and state fiscal positions.

Directive word/s: Assess: Evaluate the nature of something by persuading the reader with relevant data. You can also bring out the counter arguments as well. Conclude by stating how far are you in agreement with the original proposition.

Demands of the question:

• First Part: What is the importance of Panchayat raj system in India/ Why we need rural local self governing institutions in India
• Second Part: Provide list of revenue sources for Panchayats and explain how they helpful in  financing development projects

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Talk about the Gandhi’s vision of self governing institutions and the 73^rd and 74^th constitutional amendment acts
• Provide details such as Decentralisation of governance, Socio-Economic Development, Social Justice and others
• Different revenue sources such as own revenue sources (taxes, fees, rents etc) and non tax revenues (property tax, cesses, additional stamp duty etc), grant in aid from centre and states etc

• Conclude by providing ways how can be better increase the revenue sources for Panchayats like more devolution of powers, partnership with external stack holders etc.

Answer: What is the progress and development for a government? It is when the government ensures that even the last man sitting in the remote corner of last row should have access to the benefits of the plan. This is why the autonomous rural local governments existence is required. These local governing institutions were first initiated by British in Madras province in 1884, however the vision of Gandhiji was given shape through 73^rd and 74^th constitutional amendment act in 1992 with the establishment of three tier governance structure in India.

Significance of Panchayat system in India:

• Democratic Decentralisation: Democracy means rule of the people. But the representatives at national and state level were not in a position to meet all aspirations of people. In order to ensure the voices of people are heard loud and clear, decentralisation of democratic institutions are necessary which is realised through Panchayat Raj institutions.
• Socio-Economic Development: Panchayats are responsible for the implementation of various government schemes and programmes, contributing to the development of healthcare, education, sanitation and infrastructure.
• Social Justice: The 73^rd and 74^th constitutional amendment made a mandatory provision that one third of seats are reserved for women i.e women for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Thus it promotes the social justice and women political empowerment.
• Ideal platform to resolves the issues: For seemingly trivial and easily resolvable issues, the villages did not have to seek the assistance of the State or the Central governments. Grama sabhas could and can be the platform to resolve such issues.

Financial position of Panchayat Raj Institutions:

• Panchayats earn only 1% of their revenue through taxes and majority of revenues are provided by centre and states in the form of grants in which 80% of revenue is from central and 15% is from state governments in the form of grants.
• On average each Panchayat earned just ₹21,000 from its own tax revenues and ₹ 73,000 from non-tax revenues. Whereas the grants from central government amounted to approximately ₹ 17 lack per Panchayat and state government grants around ₹ 3.25 lacks.

Various revenue avenues for Panchayat raj institutions include:

• Own source of revenues: Local taxes on property, revenue form common property resources
• Grant in aid from the centre and the state government provide certain amount as grants which forms the major portion of revenue for the local self governing institutions.
• Discretionary or scheme based grants: For implementing union government will provide the financial resources which forms the part of total revenues.
• Profits from local enterprises: where the local government owns an enterprise, any profits from that enterprise would accrue to the local government. This is still a significant revenue source for local governments in China but not in many other countries, although local governments in many countries, such as Pakistan and Uganda, own markets which are operated as commercial enterprises, and some countries also have municipal water enterprises.
• Fees for permits and licenses: There the prime purpose is to regulate an activity, rather than to raise revenue; the costs are normally limited to the cost of administration/enforcement
• Barrowings: Even the local government can barrow from banks, governments, donars and even rise the bonds to meet their expenditure.

Way out for Panchayat to raise their revenues include:

• Financial independence: Due to high dependence on Centre and State for their funds, most Panchayats are suffer from interference from top tier systems of governance i.e centre and states through their conditions and limitation on expenditure.
• Creating a right environment for raise revenues at gross root level: Panchayats are expected to establish a conducive environment for taxation by implementing appropriate financial regulations. This includes making decisions regarding the tax and non-tax bases, determining their rates, establishing provisions for periodic revisions, defining exemption areas, and enacting effective tax management and enforcement laws for collection
• Promote entrepreneurship in collaboration with private players: Gram sabhs needs to be promote entrepreneurship and foster partnerships with private players to enhance the effectiveness of revenue generation.
• Ethical dilemma among elected representatives: Elected representative often feel that imposing taxes would alter their popularity adversely. Hence there is a need to educate elected representatives and the public on the significance of raising revenue to develop Panchayats as ‘self-governing institutions’. 

The Panchayat system serves as the backbone of India’s local governance, empowering communities and driving grassroots democracy, decentralization, and socio-economic development. To maximize their impact, Panchayats must not only rely on government grants but also proactively explore diverse financing sources such as local taxes, user charges, public-private partnerships, CSR funds, and community contributions.

Direct word/s: Argue your case: Take a stand on the given statement whether your are in support or against and give sufficient evidences in support of your stand.

Demands of the question:

• First Part: Give advantages of having all these commission under the one umbrella commission
• Second Part: Talk about the negative implication of having all these commissions under single commission

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Talk about two or three commissions such as National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Women, National Commission for SCs/STs and their role in protecting the vulnerable sections
• Given four or five advantages of having a single commissions i.e better resource utilisation, more visibility and efficiency, Cost effectiveness, holistic approach etc
• Provide three or four challenges such as requires constitutional amendments, derailing focus, inadequate representation and loss of specialization

Answer: Constitutional makers have been created some fourth bench institutions for specific purposes to such as for the welfare of the vulnerable sections of the society such as Scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and physically disable persons. However over the period of time in their implementations we found overlapping in their functions and powers and jurisdiction as many of these problems have an interconnection, which put forth the demand for a holistic umbrella organisation with the name “Human Rights Organisation”.

Arguments in favour of the umbrella organisation:

• Greater utilisation of resources: As many crimes and discriminations which are faced by these vulnerable sections often involves the jurisdiction of multiple organisations. Once we brought them under a single organisation will results in better resource utilisation of man power, financial resources etc. For example: Recent rape and murder in West Bengal can involve the jurisdiction of National Commission for Women and National Human Rights Commission.
• Streamlined Functioning: As functions of these organisations are to uphold the dignity and equal status of these vulnerable sections which may not require separate organisation for a specific problem faced by them. For example a physically disabled women requires the support from National Commission for Disabled Persons and being a women support from National Commission for Women.
• Holistic Approach: Bringing all these organisations under one umbrella will give the government a holistic view about the different problems faced by different sections and find ways to holistically resolve their issues which are interconnected in nature.
• Avoids overlapping of jurisdiction: If is often seen in some cases that one organisation despite having resources to address the issue were unable to do so because of their jurisdictional issues, bring them under one umbrella could resolve this issue and provide better safeguards to the victims.

Notwithstanding the aforesaid advantages, they are some critical issues that need to be addressed. They are

• Requires Constitutional Amendments: All most every organisation has been formed under specific constitutional provisions dedicated to them. Any merger would require a wide range of amendments which would generate resentment from various groups.
• Not able to uphold the constitution as fourth bench institutions: Fourth bench institutions are those institutions that are required for effective governance and administration of the complex country like India. However they are failing to uphold their constitutional mandate. For example in Abdul Sathar vs.The Principle Secretary of Govt of Tamil Nadu, in which the full bench of the Madras High Court gave a landmark judgement that the recommendations of the state human right commissions are binding on the government.
• Loss of Focus and Specialisation: Each commission is specialized in addressing the specific issues of the vulnerable section it represents. Merging these commissions into an umbrella Human Rights Commission may result in a loss of specialization, which may adversely affect the effectiveness of their work.
• Inadequate representation of various sections: It is often know fact that the problems of physically disabled people are back burnt in many cases. If an umbrella organisation is setup then their representation will further reduce and problems will remain unresolved.
• Delay in justice/support to vulnerable sections: Having a single entity will increase the bureaucratisation thereby making it difficult to access the services offered by government as it involves passing of approvals over many layers.

While consolidation may enhance efficiency and visibility, it risks diluting the specialized focus and diverse representation that cater to the unique challenges faced by each vulnerable group. A potential solution could involve retaining specialized commissions while fostering enhanced coordination, cooperation, and information-sharing within a broader human rights framework. This approach would ensure that the specific needs of each vulnerable section are met while addressing the issues of overlapping jurisdictions and duplication of functions.

Directive word/s: No directive word (or) Straight forward question

Demands of the question:

• First part: Need to talk about the gaps in the human development policies in India
• Second part: Need to talk about the interconnection between the lack of availability of food and human development with relevant examples

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Talk about the status of hunger in India with some key statistics and give some initiatives of government of India to address the human development in India
• Give four or five critical gaps in human development policies of the govt such as not focus on Nutrition, over emphasis on Health and Education, implementation and infrastructure gaps
• Give two or three points about the interconnection between the Nutrition and Human Development such as cognitive abilities, Poverty and Human Development, climate change and human development

Answer: As per the Food Security and Nutrition in the World report published by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the number of undernourished people in India in 2019-21 stood at 224.3 million i.e 16% of 1.4 billion people. As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) around 1/3rd of children under 5 are underweight and stunted and 67% of children are anaemic.

Moreover United Nations Human Development Index measures human development in terms of health, knowledge and standard of living, however it didn’t consider the nutritional standards which had a bigger role in human development.

Government of India over the years has taken several measures such as National Health Mission, Mid-day meals scheme, Sarva Sikha Abhiyan, National Rural Livelihood mission etc.

However they are unable to yield good results to bring changes in human development because of the following reasons. They are

• Low budgetary allocations on key social indicators such as Health and Education: Over the years, India’s health expenditure as percentage of GDP is hovering around 1.4% which is below most of the South Asian countries and for education it is stood at 3.1% which half of budget recommended by Kothari commission.
• Gender disparity: Between their first and fifth birthdays, girls in India and Pakistan have a 30% to 50% greater chance of dying than boys as per the Human Development Index report, which shows the huge gender discrimination prevalent in India society. This disparity is also reflected in labour force participation rate among women which further makes them vulnerable.
• Top-down approach: Globally many countries who able to decentralise expenditure and revenue towards lower levels of government are able to performing better in Human Development Indicators. However, in India majority of taxes are assigned to union and major responsibility was assigned to states, leading to failures of these initiatives.
• Narrow perception of nutrition: Governments at all levels in India have a wrong perception of nutrition as providing sufficient grains through PDS will fill the gap of nutrition, but they didn’t realise the importance of micro nutrients and other necessary items. This perception is also prevalent among citizens of this country.
• Infrastructure and implementation gaps: Despite number of programmes to address the human development issues, improper implementation because of corruption, less coordination among departments and human resources gaps are not giving the desired results.

Interconnection between the Nutrition and Human Development:

• Impact on cognitive abilities: As less recognised fact is that nutrition have a direct impact on cognitive and learning abilities of humans. Thus insufficient nutrition could have impact the present and future workforce in terms of their cognitive abilities and learning abilities, thus impact the economic growth of the country.
• Poverty and Human development: As growing out of pocket health expenditure, growing income inequality, skill gap, digital divide pushing the poor further into poverty not bring the Human development in the country
• Climate Change: As climate change has impacting the poor more than anyone else, hence it would have disproportionate impact on development indicators.

Focusing solely on the lack of food availability as the main cause of hunger risks overshadowing the role of ineffective human development policies in perpetuating the problem. A comprehensive approach that addresses the interconnectedness of food availability, education, health, social protection, and infrastructure development is essential to tackle hunger and malnutrition in India effectively.

Directive word/s: No directive words. It is a straight forward question

Demands of the question:

• First Part: It is asking about the limitations in Cititzen Charters
• Second Part: Suggest measures for greater effectiveness and adaptation of Citizen charters

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Write two or three statements about what are citizen charters and their importance in promoting transparency and accountability in governance
• Write four or five limitation of citizen charters such as clarity and precision in standards and commitments, organisational presence, Instituting charter mechanisms etc
• Give two or three suggestions to improve the effectiveness of citizen charters such as empowering citizens through education, sensitisation of work force about the mission and vision document of the department etc

Answer: Citizen’s Charters are prepared by government departments in order to ensure transparency and accountability, with commitments towards quality and time frame for service delivery. The charters will promote the responsible and accountable governance, improvements in service delivery and improvement in public trust in public institutions and also help in enhance the competence and capability of organisations.

The major limitations and mitigation measures in citizen charters:

• Clarity and precision in standards and commitments: It is often recognised that poorly drawn vision and mission statements as well as standards and commitments which are incorporated in charter document. The programme will gain meaning only when the organisations have their clear vision and mission to be clearly laid down in citizen charters

• Suggestion to make it more effective: Every employee of the organisation has a clear understanding either through training or regular interactions that organisational vision and missions. This will have positive change on the service delivery

• Organisational Presence of Charters: Charter presence in the organisation’s activity map is crucial to the success of the programme. It is important to not only integrate the Charter into the day-to-day activities of the organisation but also make it a live and growing document which serves as a guide for employees and which is used to assess the performance of the employees too. However the existing charter is mere a ritualistic document with little resources, fiancés and humans.

• Suggestion: Make it a habit among the employs to treat/consider the charter as part of their day to day activity which would help for the self evolution of their efforts.

• Instituting charter mechanisms: It is important to institute mechanisms for ensuring their effective delivery hence clearly defined programme instruments and mechanisms for delivery must be incorporated into the charter document.

• Suggestion: Institution of Information Facilitation Counters, Information Management systems, rules and procedures for rapid delivery/resolution of grievances and mechanism for analysing the grievances to take preventive measures etc are needed.

• Inclusive and participatory: It is important to address the poverty of participation which marks the Charter programme from its conception and evaluation. Lack of participation of both employees at the cutting edge level and citizen’s accounts for the failure of the programme to either deliver a meaningful results.

• It requires a commitment from the organisation to create a space from public participation and public accountability  of organisation. This can be done by defining the standards, setting up of mechanisms for their realisation, monitoring, review and evolution of charter documents.

• Visibility and Communication: Charter visibility to the public is crucial to its effectiveness in as much as it enables the citizen’s to shape expectations and demands as well as provide suggestions in terms of the Charter framework.

• Proactive approach to publicise the Charter commitments through media as well display boards in the all office premises has been neglected by most organisations. This needs to be taken up at a scale that takes the Charter right upto the level of actual service users. Charter has to be addressed in local languages and local Political parties and administrative institutions should be effectively used for the purpose.

Even though the Citizen’s Charter Programme is a limited programme of reforming administration by redefining its approach to the people as participants as well as the recipients of the policies, programmes and administration for their delivery, if well-conceived and effectively implemented, the programme can indeed help to unlock (a) the organisational potential for delivery and (b) the organisational capacity to win public trust and further make room for other far-reaching reforms in administration.

Directive word/s: No directive word

Demands of the question: Need to provide the key problems faced by WTO and to provide reforms that need to be brought to solve those problems, particularly that effecting the India’s interests

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Write about the objective behind the formation of WTO and talk about present trade war between various countries like USA-China etc.
• Major problems faced by WTO: Such as Non Functioning of Appellate body, Peace clause over Agriculture Subsidies, Fisheries and issues over IPR etc
• Provide reforms such as reforming Appellate body, early conclusion of treaty over fisheries and agriculture subsidies and reforming compulsory licensing of IPR etc

Answer: WTO was created in 1995 with an objective of helping member countries to use trade as a means to raise living standards, create jobs and improve people’s lives. However, in recent time we see some disturbing trade wars between USA and China and India and China as pertaining to dumping and trade distorting practises of China.

The major problems and associated reforms required to make WTO an effective organisation:

• WTO’s Appellate Body: It is like a Supreme Court of WTO to resolve the complex global trade disputes and to uphold the freedom of trade and free and fair marker access to all countries. It is a seven member body and required 3 members to form a quorum to adjudicate any dispute. However from last 4 years it is functioning only with 1 members thus making the whole disputes resolution of WTO in-effective.

Reform: The deadlock was created by USA has to be addressed by all countries by negotiations and make efforts to appoint other judges to make it more effective.

• Definition of ‘Developing Country’: Despite there is no definition under WTO to be a developed or developing country. It is a self declaration made by countries themselves. Special and Differential Treatment (S&D) provisions providing some relaxations to developing countries such as longer time for implementing agreements and commitments. However in recent times, USA has been alleging India and China has to recognised as developed countries.

Reform: WTO has to devise a clear cut guidelines about the recognition of states as developed and developing countries on par with IMF and other international organisations.

• Peace clause over Agriculture subsidies: Under the Peace clause developed countries are allowed to provide 5% of as aggregate measure of support and developing countries can provide up to 10%. If these limits exceeds then member nation can use peace clause to avoid any proceedings. However, many countries are criticizing India of its MSP policy for distorting trade.

Reform: India and many developing countries desire for an early conclusion of peace clause to safeguard its agriculture subsidies and ensure food security. Hence it is high time for WTO to conclude treaties for Agriculture and fisheries subsidies

• Neglected obligations: The US and the EU are hesitant to meet their existing WTO obligations, such as reducing agriculture subsidies, and instead prioritize pushing for e-commerce rules that benefit their own industries.

Reform: The US and the EU are hesitant to meet their existing WTO obligations, such as reducing agriculture subsidies, and instead prioritize pushing for e-commerce rules that benefit their own industries.

Key areas of reform include the dispute settlement system, reducing trade costs, and modalities of negotiations. India should call for systemic reform in these crucial areas to ensure the WTO’s functioning benefits all its members, particularly developing countries.

Directive word/s: No directive words. It is a straight forward question

Demand of the question:

• First part: Impacts of USA withdrawn from US-Iran nuclear deal impacts the Indian national interests
• Second part: Need to give your suggestions, on how India can overcome these difficulties.

Structure of your answer:

• Introduction: Give two or three statements about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (US-Iran nuclear) deal and its importance and why USA is pulling out itself from the deal
• Talk about the impacts of it on India such as Energy security, trade relation with Central Asia via Chabahar port, Regional Stability and Balancing out of growing Chine’s influence
• India’s response includes diversifying its energy sources, Exception for Chabahar port from USA sanctions, Iran’s strategic location its role in fight against Talibans and bring down terrorism and rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia etc

Answer: Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or US-Iran nuclear deal is a treaty signed by Iran and USA along with Russia, France, UK, China and Germany to bring the Uranium enrichment programme of Iran and make use of it for civilian purposes. However, the US government under President Trump has decided to come out of the deal as they felt that Iran is not living up to its promise. This has global ramifications in Economic, Geostrategic, bi-lateral and security implication for various countries.

Impact of USA-Iran nuclear deal on Indian interests:

• Raising oil import cost and foreign currency reserves: At the time of these tensions, Iran was the third largest oil supplier to India. Any tensions in West Asia will be immediately felt in increasing oil prices. Any increase in oil prices can have impact on India’s import bill and its foreign currency reserves.
• Chabahar port project: India is early looking to connect to Afghanistan and Central Asia as part of its “Connect Central Asia” policy. Chabahar port will act as a gate way to India to connect to central Asia. Any US sanctions could slow or even bring these plan to a halt depending on how strictly they are implemented.
• International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC): Beyond Chabahar, India has been a founder of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) since it was ratified in 2002. It starts from Iran and aims to cut right across Central Asia to Russia over a 7,200-km multi-mode network, cutting down transportation and time taken by trade by about 30%. Plans for INSTC sped up after the JCPOA was signed in 2015 and sanctions on Iran were lifted. New U.S. sanctions will affect these plans immediately, especially if any of the countries along the route or banking and insurance companies dealing with the INSTC plan also decide to adhere to U.S. restrictions on trade with Iran.
• Impact on bilateral trades: International agreements were signed by states, not by the prevailing governments or regimes. This could also impact all agreements India is negotiating both bilaterally and multilaterally with the U.S., and the government will have to choose its future course factoring in the new U.S. behaviour, especially after Mr. Trump withdrew from the U.N. Climate Change treaty (Paris Accord) and many other international agreements.
• Strategic impact: Off-late China and Russia were pushing for inclusion of Iran into Shangi Cooperation Organisation (SCO). If it becomes a reality then India will be seen as Anti-American and will run counter to some of the government other initiatives with these countries such as USA, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Israel.

India’s Response to the aforesaid challenges:

• Diversifying Oil Imports: Off-late India has diversified its energy basket and reducing its dependency from West Asia and increasing its imports from Russia and South American countries.
• India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC): G20 countries has been negotiating the introduction of alternatives to connect major economic powerhouses of the world with the larger markets such as India. IMEC will act a shock observer for India to Chabahar project.
• Negotiating multiple Free Trade Agreements: As countries around the world are becoming looking inwards in terms of trade particularly post COVID-19, India has been negotiating multiple free trade agreements to reduce dependency on USA or major western powers.
• Investing in diplomatic skills: To balance out the contradicting interests in SCO and QUAD, India has been working with other likeminded countries such as Japan, Australia to persuade the QUAD that any expansion of SCO would never impact India-USA relations or creating any Anti-USA blocks.

India’s relations with Iran are complex and go beyond geopolitical and geo-economic considerations. The ongoing US-Iran Nuclear Pact Controversy can have significant implications for India’s national interests. India’s response to the situation should be measured and diplomatic, keeping in mind its own interests and the need for regional stability.