UPPSC 2021 (Mains General Studies Paper-3)

Ans: Digital India is a programme to transform India into digital empowered society and knowledge economy.

> Cradle to grave digital identity that is unique, lifelong, online and authenticable to every citizen.

> Mobile phone and Bank account enabling citizen participation in digital and financial space.

> Easy access to a Common Service Centre.

> Shareable private space on a public Cloud.

> Safe and secure Cyber-space.

> Seamlessly integrated across departments or jurisdictions.

> Services availability in real time from online and mobile platforms.

> All citizen entitlements to be available on the Cloud to ensure easy access.

> Government services digitally transformed for improving Ease of Doing Business.

> Making financial transactions above a threshold, electronic and cashless.

> Leveraging GIS for decision support systems and development.

The Digital India is transformational in nature and would ensure that Government services are available to citizens electronically.

Ans: Globalization enabled the global integration of production and markets across nations. It is said that globalisation has led to the informationization of the economy and reduced formal employment. Although informalisation has provided livelihood to many, it has not raised the living standard as was expected.

1. Decline in public employment: The most stable source of formal employment has been the public sector. Because a major focus of liberalisation is a reduction in size of the public sector. The proportion of formally employed workers fall as governments cut their work force unless.

2. Restrictive labour laws: With restrictive labour laws and lack of labour reforms after liberalisation, industries went for contract hiring. It was done in order to circumvent rigid hiring and firing provisions. This led to reduction of formal jobs and more contractual jobs of short term nature.

Informal jobs often have low productivity and of low general quality. Informal workers lack proper wages and their wages are also less. Lower wages lead to increasing inequality, which is detrimental to inclusive growth. From above it can be concluded that informal employment although provides badly needed jobs for the poor, but it harms workers’ protection, earning predictability and social benefits.

Ans: According to the World Bank, Inclusive Growth (IG) refers to ‘broad-based’, ‘shared’, and ‘pro-poor growth’. It encompasses both the pace and pattern of growth, which is considered interlinked and therefore needs to be addressed together. Inclusiveness, on the other hand, is a concept that encompasses equity, equality of opportunity, and protection in market and employment transitions and is therefore an essential ingredient of any successful growth strategy.

Rapid pace of growth is unquestionably necessary for substantial poverty reduction, but for this growth to be sustainable in the long run, it should be broad-based across sectors, and inclusive of the large part of the country’s labour force.

Thus, IG focuses on productive employment rather than income redistribution as a means of increasing incomes for excluded groups. Also, the focus is not only on incremental productive employment growth but also on productivity growth.

Growth can be ‘inclusive’ and “pro-poor”, if and only if the incomes of poor people grow faster than those of the population as a whole, i.e., inequality declines. By focusing on inequality, the inclusive growth could lead to optimal outcomes for both poor and non-poor households.

The inclusive growth approach takes a longer-term perspective, where it is important to recognize the time lag between reforms and outcomes. Inclusive growth analytics is about policies that should be implemented in the short run, but for sustainable, inclusive growth in the future.

Ans: The 2030 Agenda is universal, transformative, and rights-based. It is an ambitious plan of action for countries, the UN system, and all other actors. The Agenda is the most comprehensive blueprint to date for eliminating extreme poverty, reducing inequality, and protecting the planet.

> Core Principles Underpinning the Agenda

The 2030 Agenda embodies the following core principles:

Universality The 2030 Agenda is universal in scope and commits all countries, irrespective of their income levels and development status, to contribute towards a comprehensive effort towards sustainable development.

The 2030 Agenda seeks to benefit all people and commits to leave no one behind by reaching out to all people in need and deprivation, wherever they are, in a manner which targets their specific challenges and vulnerabilities. At the heart of the 2030 Agenda are five critical dimensions: people, prosperity, planet, partnership and peace, also known as the 5P’s. Traditionally viewed through the lens of three core elements-social inclusion, economic growth, and environmental protection the concept of sustainable development has taken on a richer meaning with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, which builds upon this traditional approach by adding two critical components: partnership and peace. Genuine sustainability sits at the core of these five dimensions.

Ans: The technological missions in India was initiated in 1987 by the Rajiv Gandhi led Congress government. Rajiv Gandhi had chosen his close aid Sam Pitroda to lead the Mission. The mission had the task to cover five critical areas which were considered very important for the development of the Indian economy and society.

The sixth goal of Dairy Production was added in the succeeding years. The Specific Goals of the Technology mission was

Drinking Water: The drinking water mission identified 100,000 problem villages. Research was done, using geo-hydrological mapping, to determine where to drill new wells, increasing water sources.

> Technology Missions in Agriculture and Horticulture

> National Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture

> Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States

> National Horticulture Mission

> National Mission on Oilseeds and Palm Oil

> Technology Mission on Coconut

The Mission was launched to converge & synergize all the efforts through integration of existing programs & address the problems and bridge the gaps through appropriate programs in mission mode to ensure adequate, appropriate, timely & concurrent action to make coconut farming competitive & to ensures reasonable returns.

Ans: Infrastructure provisioning requires massive investments, often over a prolonged duration of time, coupled with procedural delays and returns expected after a long period of investment. Consequently, given the high

fiscal requirements, particularly of large-scale infrastructure development projects, public investments alone may not be sufficient to fund infrastructure development in Uttar pradesh.

Given the budgetary constraints of the government, private financing for infrastructure provisioning through PPPs has become imperative. However, partnership agreements between the public and the private sector have their own challenges and issues. International experience suggests that in order to maximise benefits from PPPs, they must be executed in an environment of: a clear and stable policy and regulatory framework with strong legal protection for investors; an efficient oversight and dispute resolution mechanism; an effective public sector capacity to manage and implement PPP contracts; allocation of appropriate PPP arrangement to a particular project; and lastly, adequate risk-sharing between the public and the private sector The state intends to expand selfemployment opportunities for people, particularly for women and youth, through skill training and entrepreneurship to address poverty and vulnerability. The state government is committed to supporting technology, research and innovation and will create a policy environment conducive to industrial diversification and growth.

Ans: Uttar Pradesh is an agrarian economy where 47% of the population is directly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Even though the share of agriculture in overall GSDP has dropped to only 12% in TE 2017-18, agriculture still remains an important sector because the income of a substantial section of the workforce still comes from this sector.

UP is blessed with the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains and, given the size of the state’s geographical area, it is a significant contributor to the food security of the nation. About 28% of India’s wheat and 12% of rice is produced by the state. Sugarcane is also produced in large quantities, accounting for 44% of the country’s total production. However, farm distress is prevalent in the state. Given the enormous size of the state, its four regions namely-Western region, Eastern region, Central region and Bundelkhand. There is large variation in the agricultural performance in these regions of the state. Western UP is the most progressive region in terms of its contribution to value of output from agriculture and allied activities while Bundelkhand lags far behind. Milk is the most important sector contributing significantly to UP’s agricultural growth and it has the potential to enhance farmers’ income in future.

Ans: Disaster Management (or Emergency Management) is the discipline of  dealing with and avoiding risks.

 It is related to rescue even before any possible disaster arises. Most important purpose of this is to mitigate human loss. That also includes the development of information technology system; mobilization of resource for necessary action, assessment of disaster and issuance of a warning and to the people through media, radio etc. transporting the people in a safe place in case of disaster occurrence etc.

This is one of the important phases which depends on the level of predisaster management phase. The process of quick action and the help of the victims of the disaster-prone areas, transporting them in safe areas are the base of this. In this, food, clothing and health facilities are also provided to the people.

In this particular phase, redevelopment and reconstruction of affected areas are done. Also, the administration is bound to help affected people by providing them with employment or compensation.

Ans: The first is that insurgency represents the struggle of the weak- an act of desperation against a materially superior ruling power. The asymmetric nature of the internal conflict compels the insurgent movement to use all means available to alter the balance of power in its favour.

This generally entails resorting to a protracted campaign of guerrilla warfare, some of the earliest examples of which can be found in the Near East during the Bronze Ages. In the first Jewish Revolt (66-73 B.C.), and the Arab Revolt (1916-18) one finds the same pre-historic form of warfare materialise, albeit with a much clearer ideological element.

Insurgency is not a contemporary phenomenon but a constant feature of human history. For thousands of years, groups united around political grievances and ideals have emerged to challenge the established ruling order. Political movements have harnessed feelings of exclusion, discrimination and insecurity with the aim of not only capturing the state but in some cases radical social transformation.

While the military dimension of insurgency cannot be ignored, it remains a smaller element of a political process. To seize and maintain political power, the insurgent must persuade and mobilize the masses in its favour.

Ans: Social Media in recent times has become synonymous with Social Networking sites such as Facebook or Micro Blogging sites such as Twitter. The advantages of Social media are so many but they are posing threat to Internal Security in various forms like Cyber Terrorism, Fraud, crime, spreading violence, etc.

> According to the Cisco 2013 Annual Security Report, the highest concentration of online security threats are on mass audience sites, including social media.

> The rapid spread of false information through social media is among the emerging risks identified by the World Economic Forum in its Global Risks 2013 Report.

> National Security is of prime importance for any nation to maintain peace and harmony. Nations face numerous internal security challenges and Social Media act as the platform for that. Social media is not a security threat in itself but the users of these services can pose threats by their anti-social endeavours.

In a globalised society, media becomes a lethal weapon against the enemy, and the populace as well. Information, as an element of soft power, is a strategic instrument within the context of grand strategy. There should be judicious use of social media.

Ans: In 2020, the Indian government increased the outlay for Digital India to $477 million to boost AI, IoT, big data, cybersecurity, machine learning and robotics. In the 2019 Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government would offer industry-relevant skill training for 10 million youth in India in technologies like AI, Big Data and robotics.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) recently launched a new version of its portal, version 3.0, MCA 21, which will leverage data analytics, AI, and ML, to simplify regulatory filings for companies. The idea behind the revamp is to promote ease of doing business and compliance monitoring.

Jointly developed by MeitY and NASSCOM in June 2020, the Indian government launched a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) portal, India Al is slated as a central hub for everything. The portal will act as a one-stop-shop for all AI-related developments and initiatives in India.

NRF, an autonomous body under the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, has been established to boost research across segments, including AI. On 3rd March 2021, while addressing a webinar on effective implementation of Union Budget 2021 provisions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Fifty thousand crore rupees have been allocated for this. This will strengthen the

governance structure of the research related institutions and will improve linkages between R&D, academia and industry.”

Additionally, policy-level initiatives by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and programmes around AI by NASSCOM and Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) have laid the groundwork for future disruption and created a roadmap for AI in India.

Ans. Cybercrime may be defined as “Any unlawful act where computer or communication device or computer network is used to commit or facilitate the commission of a crime”.

Most cybercrime falls under two main categories:

> Criminal activity that targets computers.

> Criminal activity that uses computers.

> Cybercrime that targets computers often involves malware like viruses. Cybercrime that uses computers to commit other crimes may involve using computers to spread malware, illegal information or illegal images. Cybercrimes include monetary crimes as well as non-monetary offences. The crimes result in damage to persons, computers, or governments.

1. Cyber Bullying: form of harassment or bullying inflicted through the use of electronic or communication devices such as computers, mobile phones, laptops, etc.

2. Cyber Grooming: Cyber Grooming is when a person builds an online relationship with a young person and tricks or pressures him/ her into doing a sexual act.

3. Online Job Fraud: Online Job Fraud is an attempt to defraud people who are in need of employment by giving them false hope/ promise of better employment with higher wages.

A cybercrime complaint can be filed using the National Crime Reporting Portal of India.

This portal is an initiative of the Government of India to facilitate victims/ complainants to report cybercrime complaints online.

This portal caters for all types of cybercrime complaints including complaints pertaining to

> online Child Pornography (CP),

> Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM),

> sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (CP/RGR) content and

> other cybercrimes such as mobile crimes, online and social media crimes, online financial frauds, ransomware, hacking, cryptocurrency crimes and online cyber trafficking.

Ans: Make in India initiative was launched in 2014 with the primary goal of making India a global manufacturing hub, by encouraging both multinational as well as domestic companies to manufacture their products within the country. It also seeks to facilitate job creation, foster innovation, enhance skill development and protect intellectual property.

> India has witnessed shifting of its workforce from agriculture to services, bypassing the manufacturing sector. At the same time, share of agriculture in employment still accounts for almost 50% of overall employment contributing to a mere 17-18 % to the GDP. ●

> Further, in the recent decades, the manufacturing sector has been very slow in capturing the share in employment and has lost it to the services sector.

> Movement of labour from manufacturing and agricultural to services may not be a positive trend for India. For example, movement to lowskill and low-income services such as security guards and local delivery personnel etc. will not benefit India in raising the income levels and labour productivity at an aggregate level in the long run.

> While Make-in-India is trying to focus on improving the country’s manufacturing base with a special focus on labour-intensive sectors, data shows that labour productivity growth still lags behind those of other developing Asian economies.

> According to a FICCI report, India has around 5.5 million people enrolled in vocational courses, while the number stands at 90 million in China which clearly demonstrates a huge gap in availability of ‘readily-employable’ workforce. So for India to become a manufacturing hub like China, it has to leverage the unskilled labour market.

> The creation of a dedicated Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to restructure the vocational training structure in India has been an important and positive step to make the government’s masterplan about ‘Make in India’.

So, to develop India into a global manufacturing hub, it is important that the government not just focuses on developing India into an attractive business destination, but also as a global powerhouse of skilled workforce.

Ans: The Uttar Pradesh government presented a budget of Rs 550270.8 crore for the year 2021-22.

> The state budget has included new schemes of Rs 27598.4 crores. The state government has allocated Rs 140 crores for overall development of Ayodhya and Rs 101 crores for airport in the city.

> The government has allocated Rs 2000 crore for new airports in Jewar, Chitrakoot and Sonbhadra. Under MukhyaMantriKanyaSumangal Yojana, the government allocated Rs 1,200 crore to give tablets to girl students. For the Gorakhpur Expressway, the budget has allocated Rs 750 crore.

> For the Purvanchal Expressway and Bundelkhand Expressway, the government allocated Rs 1,107 crore and Rs 1,492 crore, respectively. Rs 7,200 crore for land acquisition of Ganga Expressway

> Project and Rs 489 crore for construction work. In view of doubling farmers’ income by the year 2022, an outlay of Rs 100 crore proposed for AtmaNirbharKrishakSamanvitVikas Yojana in the year 2021-22. The state budget has also proposed a plan to set up Model Career Centre in 12 other districts of the state.

The state budget has also proposed ‘Mukhyamantri Pravasi Shramik Udyamita Vikas Yojana’ – a new scheme of Rs 100 crore to be launched with the aim of providing employment and selfemployment to the migrant workers coming from other states. The budget has allocated Rs 50 crore for vaccination scheme towards prevention of Covid-19. Rs 1073 crore made for creating diagnostic infrastructure for primary health care facilities. Rs 425 crore made for Urban Health and Arogya Centres have also been announced in the state budget. The budget has also proposed Rs 23 crore for National Digital Health Mission.

Ans: A situation where an individual is actively looking for a job but is unable to find it is unemployment. It is a major criterion to measure the economy’s health i.e. growth and development. The unemployment rate is the main outcome that indicates the situation in the country.

> This situation is when the number of employed individuals is more than needed.

> This is common in agricultural sectors.

> Even the unorganized sector of India faces the same problem.

> Seasonal Unemployment

> This type of unemployment is according to different seasons of the year.

> An example would be farmers working in harvest season only.

> The agricultural laborers in India face this problem every year.

> This is a situation that arises when the employment opportunities available don’t match with an Individual’s skill.

> An example would be the availability of a bank manager post but the individual only possesses marketing skills.

> This may be because of a lack of education or training in India.

> This is common in a capitalist economy and thus not a case in India.

> This is a citation when the employment increases in a recession and falls during the growth of the economy.

1. Integrated Rural Development Programme, an initiative to create employment opportunities in rural areas. This became official in 1980 intending to provide full employment.

2. Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment was another focusing on youth. The aim was to help unemployed rural youth from age of 18 till 35 years to adopt skills for self-employment opportunities. Though the emphasis was on SC/ST Youth and Women of the rural areas.

3. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is a 2005 scheme for creating employment. The schemes make sure to provide 100 days of paid employment to individuals from families willing to do unskilled labor-intensive work. The Right to work act comes under this scheme.

Ans: Uttar Pradesh, described as the heartland of India, falls under the influence area of the first two of India’s dedicated freight corridors – Western Corridor running between Delhi & Mumbai and Eastern Corridor running between Ludhiana and Kolkata, connecting it with remote parts of the country. Uttar Pradesh has several locally specialised business clusters such as sports items in Meerut, brassware in Moradabad, perfumes in Kannuaj, leather in Kanpur, shoes in Agra, embroidered sarees in Varanasi, carpet in Bhadohi, chikan work in Lucknow etc.

The State is amongst the most popular tourist destinations in India with the presence of Taj Mahal, Buddhist places of pilgrimage such as Sarnath and Kushinagar and prominent Hindu pilgrimage places such as Prayagraj and Varanasi. The state was ranked first and third in terms of domestic and foreign tourist arrival, respectively, in 2019.

> In 2017/18, Uttar Pradesh had the largest number of estimated MSMES in the country at 8.99 million (a 14.20% share).11 Within the MSME sector, the state’s contribution to the total exports from India is 44% in handicrafts, 39% in carpets, and 26% in leather goods. 12 Several of these MSME clusters face severe challenges in remaining competitive in an increasingly globalized economy.

> They need strategic interventions aimed not only at infrastructure upgrade but also in terms of access to modern technology, markets, finance, and skills. While both the national and the state governments have announced several schemes to benefit MSMEs, stakeholder consultations revealed that nearly 30% of MSME units have failed to avail these benefits owing to limited reach or lack of awareness about such schemes.

Ans: Economies across the world plunged into deep contractions in the April-June quarter of 2020. For India, the fall in real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the quarter was the record lowest at 23.9 percent, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) calling it “historic technical recession”. The contraction continued in the second quarter at -7.5 percent. If this “technical” recession persists in the third quarter of this fiscal year, it could turn into a full-fledged recession – the fourth since independence, first since liberalization, and possibly the worst in history.

> The COVID-19 pandemic is an external shock. For India, however, the downward slide started even before the pandemic caused a massive economic fallout. The lower panel diagram of excludes the GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2020-21. The trendline tells the story: since Q1 of 2018-19, quarterly GDP growth rate (change over the same quarter in previous year) has been sliding downward. The last quarter of 201920 saw a growth rate of 3.1 percent, less than the 4.3 percent of the last quarter in 2012-13.

> To revive activities in specific sectors with both backward and forward linkages and multiplier effects on growth, the RBI has introduced on-tap targeted long-term repo operations (TLTRO) with tenures of up to three years for a total amount of up to INR 1 lakh crore, at a floating rate linked to policy repo rate. Liquidity availed by the banks under this scheme must be deployed in corporate bonds, commercial papers and non-convertible debentures issued by entities in the growth-oriented sectors.

> The liquidity availed by these TLTROS can also be utilised to extend bank loans to the growth-oriented sectors. The banks which have raised funds under earlier TLTROS will be given option of reversing these transactions before maturity. This is done to ensure smooth and seamless credit operation by the banks.

Ans: India has been hit by terrorism since a long time, like, 1993 Bombay blasts, attack on Parliament in 2011, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Pathankot attacks etc. In view of such attacks it becomes imperative for India to check this

rising menace, for which the following steps can be taken: Ensure co-ordination among the intelligence and security agencies to check infiltration of terror activity.

Empowering and engaging with civil society and local communities can help in countering radicalization and to stop the spread of violent extremism. Given the important role of educational establishments in promoting the values of non-violence, peaceful coexistence and tolerance, education must feature prominently in counter radicalization programs.

> Acute corruption should be understood not as a failure or distortion of government but as a functioning system in which ruling networks use selected levers of power to capture specific revenue streams. This effort often overshadows activities connected with running a state.

> Such systematic corruption evokes indignation in populations, making it a factor in social unrest and insurgency.

> It contributes to other international security threats, such as symbiotic relationships between states and transnational organized crime networks, facilitation for terrorist organizations, permeable international security regimes, and acute economic disruptions.

> Corruption does not fuel these threats alone. It combines with other risk factors, such as ethnic, religious, or linguistic rifts in a population or severe economic disparities, to increase the likelihood of a security challenge.

Ans: Civil Defence aims at saving life, minimising damage to the property and maintaining continuity of industrial production in the event of an hostile attack.

1. To make sure that the public is warned of danger and provided with instructions on how to avoid hazards.

2. Advice people to protect themselves by either evacuating the area or remain and take shelter.

3. Organizing immediate relief to the survivors.

4. Support emergency services

> Rescue operations

> Firefighting

> Law enforcement

> Medical care

> Public works repair

> Provision of voluntary Food, Shelter and Clothing.

5. Assist in recovery operations

> Clearance of Debris

> Restoring utility services

> Managing relocations centers

At present, there are civil defence units in 15 districts of UP, with the addition of new units in nine more districts all the divisional headquarters and municipal corporations in the state will be covered. During the recent protests in the state against the new citizenship law, civil defence volunteers assisted their respective district administration in ensuring that rumours are not spread, Shukla said.

The volunteers were given the responsibility to disseminate correct information on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act by distributing handouts to people. The role of civil defence volunteers is “very important”, as they generally get the first information whenever any accident or disaster takes place. The participation of volunteers plays an important role in any public health initiative. They not only help the administration in a wide range of works, but also do better to change the perception of the people, which is much needed, as the number of Covid-19 cases is going up exponentially now.

Ans: Cyber Dome project is a technological research and development centre of Kerala Police Department, conceived as a cyber centre of excellence in cyber security, as well as technology augmentation for effective policing. It envisages as a high tech public-private partnership centre of collaboration for different stakeholders in the domain of cyber security and handling of cyber crimes in a proactive manner.

India has witnessed a 457% rise in cybercrime incidents under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 from the year 2011 to 2016.

> The project can help in preventing cyber crimes through development of a cyber threat resilient ecosystem in the country to defend against the growing threat of cyber attacks. To effectively tackle cybercrime, the Government has collaborated with private sector and academia to conform rapidly changing technology world.

> The Cyberdome will act as an online police patrol. Through its Anti-Cyber Terror Cell and a cybersecurity training unit, its officers will generate intelligence on various cyber threats in near real time and track fugitives online by monitoring their online activities, including social networking sites.

> Cyberdome in collaboration with the RBI, Banks, payment gateways and other wallet groups can tackle financial fraud.

> Through its ransomware school, CyberDome can understand, analyse and mitigate ransomware infections, create standard operating procedures to

deal with ransomware, creating awareness among the public as well as government departments about ransomware and its precautionary steps.

> The Cyberdome is expected to enable sleuths to obtain vital leads in cases of cyber-related offences using advancements in the field of information technology.

Cyberdome has made successful propaganda war against online games such as Blue Whale. Of late, Cyberdome has launched a covert cyber-surveillance and infiltration programme to crack down on child pornography. Thus, Cyberdome project has great potential to control internet crimes and must be replicated at the national level.

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