PM IAS AUG 20 UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS

Syllabus:GS2/Role of Civil Services in a Democracy

Context

  • A recent advertisement to recruit 45 members laterally to posts under the aegis of the Union Service Public Commission has sparked controversy.

About the Lateral Entry

  • It refers to the practice of recruiting individuals from outside the traditional civil services (such as the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, and Indian Revenue Service) to fill senior and mid-level positions in government ministries and departments.
  • The appointments are mainly to be made for the posts of the Director, Joint Secretary and also Deputy Secretary.
  • A Joint Secretary, appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), has the third highest rank (after Secretary and Additional Secretary) in a Department, and functions as administrative head of a wing in the Department.
  • Directors are a rank below that of Joint Secretary.
  • These recruits typically come from diverse backgrounds — private sector, academia, or other specialised fields — and are brought in to infuse fresh perspectives, domain expertise, and efficiency into the bureaucracy.

Historical Context

  • Congress-Led Rule: The concept of lateral entry isn’t entirely new. During previous Congress-led governments, lateral appointments were made.
    • For instance, Dr. Manmohan Singh, who later became Prime Minister, was appointed as Financial Secretary through lateral entry.
    • Similarly, Montek Singh Ahluwalia served as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission via the same route.
  • NDA’s Approach: Under Prime Minister’s leadership, the process of lateral entry was organised and made more transparent. Experts from relevant fields are now recruited on a contractual basis through the UPSC, which aims to enhance efficiency and bring specialised skills into the bureaucracy.

UPSC’s Role

  • The UPSC plays a crucial role in lateral entry. Online applications are invited for ministries, departments, public sector undertakings, and autonomous bodies.
  • The contractual appointments are initially for three years, extendable based on performance.

Arguments in Favour

  • Specialized Talent and Expertise: Proponents argue that lateral entry brings fresh perspectives and specialised skills.
    • By tapping into talent from diverse fields—such as technology, economics, or management—the government can enhance its decision-making processes and service delivery.
  • Efficiency and Innovation: Lateral entrants can inject new ideas, improve efficiency, and drive innovation.
    • Their experience in the private sector or academia can lead to more effective policy implementation and administrative reforms.
  • Transparency and Meritocracy: When done transparently, lateral entry ensures that qualified individuals are selected based on merit rather than just exam scores. This can strengthen the meritocratic principles of the bureaucracy.
  • Shortfalls in number of Recruits: There is nearly 20% shortage of IAS officers in 24 state cadres in India. (Baswan Committee)
    • The number of appointees is insignificant to bridge the gap, especially as India faces a shortage of civil servants

Arguments Against

  • Reservation Concerns: Critics worry that lateral entry bypasses reservation policies for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
    • They fear that it might disproportionately affect representation from marginalised communities.
  • Lack of Institutional Memory: Traditional civil servants have a deep understanding of bureaucratic processes and institutional memory.
    • Lateral entrants may lack this context, leading to potential challenges in navigating complex administrative systems.
  • Risk of Political Influence: There’s a risk that lateral entrants could be politically influenced or used to further specific agendas.
    • Striking the right balance between expertise and neutrality is crucial.

Why does lateral entry sidestep reservations?

  • Single-Post Classification: When a ministry advertises a position for lateral entry, it treats it as a single vacancy. Unlike regular recruitment through the UPSC, where multiple candidates are selected for a cadre, lateral entry focuses on filling specific roles.
    • As a result, the mandatory quotas for SC/ST/OBC candidates don’t apply.
  • Upside: Proponents argue that lateral entry brings fresh perspectives, domain expertise, and efficiency. After all, sometimes you need a seasoned chef to spice up the bureaucratic curry.
  • Downside: Critics worry that this approach might sideline deserving candidates who’ve slogged through the UPSC exams.
    • They fear it could lead to a talent drain from the traditional civil services.

Conclusion and Way Forward

  • The government should first focus on the creation of in house specialisation and out of government work deputation.
  • For specialised technological upgrades where no Civil Servant is competent enough, a semi-permanent team may be created by Lateral Entry.
  • The Limited Lateral Entry with focus on upskilling the in-house teams will help create a balance between much-needed experience and technological upgrades along with smooth functioning constitutional mechanisms.
  • Lateral entry remains a contentious yet necessary reform. Striking the right balance between tradition and innovation is crucial for an efficient and responsive bureaucracy. As India continues to evolve, so must its administrative machinery.

Violence Against Healthcare Workers in India

Syllabus: GS2/Governance

Context

  • Violence against healthcare workers is a disturbingly common occurrence in India.

About

  • Statistics reveal a pattern of increasing aggression, particularly in public healthcare facilities. 
  • These incidents highlight the harsh reality that violence is more prevalent in public health facilities and disproportionately affects younger and female professionals.

What kind of Violence is faced by Healthcare Professionals?

  • According to a 2016 paper in the National Medical Journal of India, 75% of the violence against doctors is verbal, including intimidation and threats.
  • Workplace violence is mostly directed at junior doctors and residents
  • Studies also show that female medical professionals, with lesser years of experience, are objectively more at risk of being on the receiving end of both physical and verbal workplace violence.
  • The violence also happens more often in high-stake settings, such as in the emergency wing and intensive care units.

What are the Reasons for the Violence?

  • The perpetrators of violence are family members or relatives of the patient in 82.2% of cases, as per a paper published in PLoS ONE in 2020. 
  • Often, patients or their relatives turn to violence because the healthcare system hasn’t met their expectations.
  • Some perpetrators become violent over concerns of the patient’s condition, such as actual or perceived deterioration of their condition or doubts about the wrong treatment being administered. 
  • Some others become violent due to issues such as high payment dues and protracted waiting times. Doctors aren’t responsible for either. 

Impact of Violence

  • Psychological Impact: Being on the receiving end of verbal or physical violence has an immense psychological impact. 
    • Some studies have reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression in doctors who have faced violence from patients or their kin.
  • Effect Rural Healthcare: India has a skewed doctor-patient ratio, doctors often decide to operate in resource-abundant settings for their own security. This in turn affects rural healthcare.
  • Effect of Quality of Healthcare: After experiencing violence, doctors wish to stop offering emergency services, refer patients sooner to more specialists, and over-investigate symptoms and prescribe more tests. 

Present Scenario of Legal Protection to Healthcare Professionals

  • No central law existed to safeguard healthcare workers nationwide. 
  • As of 2020, 19 States had implemented their statutes, each with varying provisions. Other States and Union Territories had no laws at all.
    • This lack of uniformity meant protection is inconsistent. 
    • Among States, Kerala and Karnataka now provide their healthcare workers with the most robust legal protections in India. 
  • Challenges in enacting a Central law: A central law has not been enacted because public health is a State subject, and VAHCW is primarily a public health-related issue. 
  • While the concurrent list allows for a central law, the central government has not prioritised this issue, leaving it to the States to manage.

Way Ahead

  • Strengthen the System: To eliminate this ‘threat’, we must spend more money to strengthen the system from the grassroots level, such as reducing long waiting periods for treatment. 
    • The availability and accessibility of medicines, tests, and financial aid for those in need will greatly reduce their stress, instead of leaving them to hold their physicians responsible for it.
  • Policy and Institutional Measures: Installing CCTV cameras and metal detectors at hospital entrances to deter relatives from carrying weapons are workable, but they are currently easier to realise in private settings and not at public facilities.
    • Ensuring that there are counselors to help patients and relatives in times of high emotional distress can eliminate any miscommunication regarding a patient’s condition and treatment. 
    • In addition, a robust security system and not allowing more than a few relatives by a patient’s bedside may also be important.
  • After the West Bengal incident, the Central Government has declared that it will form a high-level committee to review the 2019 bill tabled in parliament for making the Central Act for protection of healthcare workers.
  • Until a central law becomes a reality, these State-level reforms represent a significant step forward in safeguarding those who dedicate their lives to caring for others.

Third Voice of Global South Summit

Syllabus: GS2/ International Relations

Context

  • PM Modi addressed the inaugural session of the third Voice of the Global South Summit (VOGSS).

Background

  • India hosted the inaugural Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS) in January 2023, and the second edition in November 2023.
    • Both the sessions were held virtually.
  • The theme of the 3rd Voice of Global South Summit is “An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future”.

What is Global South?

  • The term “Global South” was coined by Carl Oglesby, an American political activist, in 1969. 
    • He used the term to describe countries suffering from political and economic exploitation by developed nations of the Global North.
  • In the simplest sense, Global South refers to the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania. 
  • Most of these countries, where 88 per cent of the world population livesexperienced colonial rule and historically lagged in achieving substantial levels of industrialisation.
  • According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Global South countries typically exhibit lower levels of development, higher income inequality, rapid population growth, agrarian-dominant economies, lower quality of life, shorter life expectancy, and significant external dependence.
  • According to a World Bank report, “the gross domestic product (GDP) of the South, which represented about 20 percent of world GDP between the early 1970s and the late 1990s, doubled to about 40 percent by 2012.”

India as the voice of Global South

  • India, with its history of a leading role in the Non-Aligned Movement and G77 through the Cold War, has taken a considerable lead in assuming a leadership role and representing the collective interests of the Global South countries.
  • During the G20 Summit in Delhi in 2023, India succeeded in its efforts to induct the African Union as a permanent member of the major economic bloc.
    • The expansion, the first since the formation of G20 in 1999, allows the African countries to voice their economic concerns directly to the world’s most influential countries.
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, India distributed around 163 million doses across 96 countries under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ humanitarian drive between January 2021 and February 2022. 
  • India’s digital public assets like UPI, RuPay, and India stack, which are supporting such a large portion of the Indian population, can be a powerful instrument for the digital transformation of other developing and emerging countries.

Challenges

  • India’s own past experience with the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group-77 developing nations points to the real difficulty of uniting the Global South in pursuit of common goals. 
  • The twin crises produced by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine have had a devastating and disproportionate impact on the Global South.
  • Possible neglect of Africa: In the rise of Asia, the continued neglect of Africa has been questioned as well.
  • Many developed nations in the Global North have objected to China and India’s exclusion from the Global South, given their increasing industrialisation.

Conclusion

  • The recent resurgence of the Global South reflects the evolving geopolitical landscape and the growing influence of developing nations in global affairs. 
  • It is a platform to give voice to the needs and aspirations of those who have been unheard till now at a time when global governance and financial institutions formed in the last century have been unable to fight the challenges of this century.
  • The world should respond to the priorities of the Global South, recognise the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities for global challenges, respect sovereignty of all nations, rule of law and reform international institutions like the United Nations. 

Justice Hema Committee Report

Syllabus: GS2/Governance/Social Issues

Context

  • The Justice Hema Committee report exposed pervasive sexual exploitation and rights violations against women in the Malayalam film industry. 

About

  • Five years ago, the report was submitted to the Kerala government.
  • The committee identified at least 17 forms of exploitation experienced by women working in 30 different categories within the industry.
    • Key issues included the casting couch, lack of basic amenities, and threats against filing complaints.
  • The committee confirms the rumoured existence of the practice of “casting couch” in the industry. 

Background

  • The three-member committee, consisting of retired High Court Justice K. Hema, former actress Sharada, and retired IAS officer K.B. Valsala Kumari, was established in response to a demand from the Women in Cinema Collective. 
  • This demand followed the abduction and sexual assault of a leading female actor in 2017—a case that remains in trial, with prominent actor Dileep listed as the eighth accused.

Major Concerns

  • Producers are warned by the industry’s “power group” not to cast actors who fall out of favour with them. 
  • Even the release of movies can be prevented as the Film Chamber of Commerce has to issue NOC. 
  • The report highlights the lack of changing rooms or toilet facilities on the set, especially in outdoor locations, leading to urinary infection for many women. 
  • Junior artists are in some cases “treated worse than slaves” with work extending up to 19 hours. 
  • The lack of a written contract is exploited by some to deprive the actors and technicians of even the remuneration promised orally. 
  • Another alarming finding is that many men assume that women willing to perform intimate scenes on-screen are also willing to do so off-set, reflecting a lack of professionalism and understanding of the craft among men in the industry.

Way Ahead

  • The release of the Justice Hema Committee report marks a critical moment for the Malayalam film industry, as it confronts long standing issues of exploitation and gender inequality. 
  • The findings call for urgent attention from civil society and industry leaders to address and rectify these deep-seated problems.
  • The Hema Committee report recommends setting up a civil court-like tribunal to deal with serious issues faced by women employed in the Malayalam film industry.

Project to Address Microplastic Contamination in Food

Syllabus:GS3/ Environment 

In News 

  • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched a project to address microplastic contamination in food.

About the project 

  • Project Title: “Micro-and Nano-Plastics as Emerging Food Contaminants: Establishing Validated Methodologies and Understanding the Prevalence in Different Food Matrices.”
  • Collaborating Institutions:CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (Lucknow)
    • ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (Kochi)
    • Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani)

Objectives:

  • Develop and validate methods for detecting micro and nano-plastics in food.
  • Assess the prevalence and exposure levels of microplastics in various food products in India.

About Microplastics

  • Microplastics originate from various sources, including the fragmentation of larger plastic debris, synthetic fibers from clothing, and microbeads in personal care products. 
  • The FAO has reported microplastics in common food items like sugar and salt, highlighting the need for more data on health implications.

Status in India 

  • In India, the problem is exacerbated by widespread plastic use and inadequate waste management systems. 
  • Urban areas, where plastic consumption is high, and rural regions, often affected by poor waste disposal practices, both contribute to the distribution of microplastics
  • India, with its vast population and rapid industrial growth, faces numerous environmental challenges. 

Impact and Concerns 

  • Environmental : India’s diverse ecosystems, from the Himalayas to coastal regions, are increasingly affected by microplastics.
    •  In marine environments, these particles are ingested by marine life, leading to physical harm and potential transfer of toxins through the food chain.
    • Freshwater systems, including rivers and lakes, also suffer from microplastic contamination, impacting aquatic species and potentially affecting water quality for human consumption.
  • Human Health Concerns: Microplastics can enter the human body through contaminated water and food, and their small size allows them to potentially penetrate cells and tissues. 

Regulatory and Mitigation Efforts

  • India has taken some steps to address the issue of microplastics. 
  • The government has implemented bans on single-use plastics and introduced regulations for waste management. 
  • Additionally, there are ongoing efforts to promote alternative materials and improve recycling processes. 
  • However, enforcement and compliance remain challenges, and the need for comprehensive policies and public awareness is crucial.

Conclusion and Way Forward 

  • Microplastics represent a significant environmental and health challenge for India. While there are efforts underway to combat the problem, more robust measures are needed to effectively address the sources and impacts of microplastics.
  •  Through increased awareness, improved regulations, and innovative solutions, India can make progress towards mitigating this pressing issue and safeguarding its ecosystems and public health
  •  Public education campaigns can help raise awareness about the impact of microplastics and encourage more sustainable practices. Collaborative efforts involving government agencies, businesses, and communities will be vital in tackling this complex issue.

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