Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for March 12, 2024. If you missed the March 11, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here

FRONT PAGE

No passport, no visa: Rules eased for seeking citizenship under CAA

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-A Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who entered India before December 31, 2014, can now seek Indian citizenship without producing a valid passport of these countries or a valid visa from India, according to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, (CAA) rules notified on Monday.

• What is the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019?

• What is the current status of Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019?

• What are the concerns associated with Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019?

• What were the Indian ideas and rules of citizenship in the Constitution before the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019?

• “The CAA had evoked widespread protests across the country”-why?

• Do You Know-The CAA presumes that members of these communities who entered India faced religious persecution in these countries. It stipulates that any member of these communities who entered India, legally or illegally, from the three countries before December 31, 2014 shall be eligible for Indian citizenship. The law has also reduced the period of citizenship by naturalisation from 11 years to five years.

The rules have virtually done away with the centrality of requiring a passport of Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan and a residential permit issued by India. Instead, birth or educational institution certificate; “identity document of any kind”; “any licence or certificate”; “land or tenancy records”, or “any other document” issued by these countries, which proves the applicant was their citizen, would suffice as proof of citizenship.

Any document that shows that “either of the parents or grandparents or great-grandparents of the applicant is or had been a citizen of one of the three countries” is also acceptable. Importantly, these documents will be admissible even beyond their validity period.

Earlier, the applicants required a copy of a valid foreign passport along with a copy of valid residential permit; a copy of bank challan in original amounting to Rs 1,500; an affidavit from self (applicant) and two affidavits from two Indians testifying to the character of the applicant; two newspaper cuttings of different dates or of different newspapers notifying his/ her intention to apply for citizenship among other documents.

The government has also done away with the requirement of producing a certificate from an educational institution that the applicant knows one of the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Now, a declaration to that effect and being able to speak the language will be enough. Similarly, to prove that the applicant entered India before December 31, 2014, a list of 20 documents has been given, any of which would be admissible.

These include a valid visa, residential permit issued by FRRO, slip issued by Census enumerators in India, driving licence, Aadhaar card, ration card, any letter issued by the government or court, Indian birth certificate, land or tenancy records, registered rent agreement, PAN card issuance document, document issued by Centre, state, PSU or bank, certificate issued by an elected member of any rural or urban body or officer thereof or a revenue officer; post office account; insurance policy; utility bills; court or tribunal records; EPF documents, school leaving certificate; academic certificate; municipality trade licence; and marriage certificate.

The government has also tweaked the process of grant of citizenship in a manner that state governments would have limited participation in the process. This could deal with the possibility of state governments opposed to the legislation trying to stall the implementation of the law.

Earlier, citizenship applications were made to the district collector, who is under the administrative control of the state government. The new rules provide for an empowered committee and a district level committee to be instituted by the Centre for receiving and processing the applications, which are to be submitted electronically.

The empowered committee would be headed by a director (census operations), with the deputy secretary or above officer of the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau, the FRRO, state informatics officer of the National Informatics Centre, postmaster general of the state, as members.

There would also be two invitees to the committee: a representative from the office of principal secretary (home) or additional chief secretary (home) of the state government or Union Territory concerned; and a representative of the Railways’ jurisdictional divisional railway manager.

• “CAA violates Article 14 of the Constitution”-Comment

• What is Section 6A of citizenship Act?

• What are the questions surrounding Section 6A?

• What does NRC mean?

• What is NPR?

• NRC, NPR and CAA-know the difference

• Is NPR connected to NRC?

• Who are ‘Citizens’?

• Citizens and Aliens-compare and contrast in terms of civil and political rights

• What are those rights and privileges that the Constitution of India confers on the citizens of India and denies the same to aliens?

• The Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribes five ways of acquiring citizenship-Know them in detail

• The Citizenship Act, 1955, prescribes three ways of losing citizenship-What are they?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????CAA: issues in the legal challenge to the citizenship law

PM hails first test of Agni-5 with multiple warhead technology

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-INDIA ON Monday successfully tested a new-age Agni-5 ballistic missile equipped to carry multiple warheads, each of which is capable of hitting a separate target. The test marks a long-awaited upgrade of India’s missile system and significantly enhances its strike capability, including the nuclear option.

• What are Agni-5 missiles?

• What is MIRV technology?

• Agni-5 missile-Know the key features and specifications

• For Your Information-Agni is a long-range missile developed indigenously by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO. The family of Agni missiles has been in the arsenal of the Indian armed forces since the early 1990s. This latest variant of the missile is equipped with what is known as MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle) technology, first developed at least five decades ago but in possession of only a handful of countries.

The MIRV can target multiple targets that can be hundreds of kilometers apart with a single missile. This Agni, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, has a range of more than 5,000 km, making it a long-range missile, and is aimed mainly at thwarting the challenge from China.

As of now, the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom are known to have MIRV-equipped missiles. These missiles can be launched from land or from sea from a submarine. While Pakistan is developing such a missile system, Israel too is suspected to either possess the missile or be developing it.

Agni-5 has been successfully tested multiple times since 2012. In December 2022, a successful flight test of Agni-5 was undertaken off the coast of Odisha.

Medium to Intercontinental versions of Agni missile systems 1 to 5 have varying ranges — starting from 700 km for Agni-1 to 5000 km and above for Agni-5. In June 2021, DRDO successfully tested Agni P, a canisterised missile with a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 km. This means that the missile can be launched from road and rail platforms, making it easier for it to be deployed and launched at a quicker pace.

India announced the development of Agni V in 2007, and Avinash Chander, the architect of the Agni programme who went on to head the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was quoted as saying that the next Agni variant “would be a multiple warhead missile with a capacity to carry four to 12 warheads.”

The integration of MIRV technology is a long-awaited upgrade for the Agni family of short, medium and intercontinental range ballistic missiles indigenously developed by the DRDO. Agni missiles are the main land-based delivery systems for India’s nuclear weapons.

Developed in the 1990s, the first-generation Agni missiles were deployed in the armed forces in the mid-2000s. Agni-1 to Agni-IV missiles have ranges between 700 to 3,500 km and can carry single payloads weighing between 12 and 40 kilotons. Agni-5, the version that has been equipped with MIRV technology, can travel more than 5,000 km, and can potentially enter the intercontinental range as well, considered to be 5,500 km and above.

Agni-5 has been tested several times since 2012, with new features and capabilities. Its previous flight happened in December 2022, when its night-time capabilities were tested, among other things. Meanwhile, DRDO has also been developing Agni-P missiles, which are modernised versions of the short-range Agni-1 and Agni-2 variety. This missile was tested twice in 2021, and on both occasions there was the expectation that it would be integrated with MIRV technology.

The acquisition of MIRV technology by India was keenly awaited after China developed it in the last decade. With Pakistan also claiming to have tested a missile with this technology, integrating this in Agni missiles had become an imperative. The next generation Agni-6 missile, currently under development, is also expected to be equipped with MIRV.

The development was significant enough for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to himself tell the nation about it, much like he had done five years earlier when DRDO had successfully carried out an anti-satellite test, an equally notable technological achievement that put India among a handful of nations with the capability to strike at an enemy’s space-based assets, such as satellites.

Monday’s test was carried out from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha, which hosts India’s integrated missile test range. “Various telemetry and radar stations tracked and monitored multiple re-entry vehicles. The mission accomplished the designed parameters,” DRDO said in a statement.

• What was the latest test for?

• Who undertook the test?

• Prithvi, Trishul, Aakash, Nag and Agni-Compare and Contrast

• Do You Know-The name Agni originates from Sanskrit word for fire and is taken in the context of Agni being one five primary elements or Panch Mahabhutas. Others being Prithvi (Earth), Aapa (Water), Wayu (Air), Akash (Space). Of these names, Prithvi and Akash have been given to missiles developed by the DRDO.

• What is ballistic missile?

• What is the difference between a missile and a ballistic missile?

• Cruise Missiles and Ballistic Missiles-How Are They Different?

• The missile research and development in India happens under which organisation?

• What is the history of missile technology in India?

• What kind of missiles does India have?

• Which of India’s missile systems are most important?

• What about hypersonic technology?

• What makes India good in missile technology?

• Where do China and Pakistan stand compared to India?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????One missile, many weapons

EXPRESS NETWORK

First batch of Indian military personnel leaves Maldives: Reports

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The first batch of Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives manning a helicopter gifted by India have departed from the island nation after handing over the operations of the chopper to an Indian civilian crew, the Maldivian media reported on Monday.

• Indian military personnel in Maldives-Why?

• How many Indian troops are in the Maldives?

• Why Indian troops in Maldives?

• Why the Maldives Govt set a March 15 deadline for India to withdraw its military personnel from the country?

• What is the context behind the request and how does it figure in the larger India-Maldives ties?

• India and Maldives Bilateral Relations-Know the Historical Background

• How are things between India and the Maldives now?

• Why Maldives is Geo-Strategically Important to India?

• For Your Information-Location and maritime security: Maldives’ proximity to the west coast of India (barely 70 nautical miles from Minicoy and 300 nautical miles from India’s West coast), and its location at the hub of commercial sea-lanes running through the Indian Ocean (particularly the 8° N and 1 ½° N channels) imbues it with significant strategic importance to India. Maldives is one of the key elements in India’s maritime security calculus. The security scenario in India’s periphery in the Indian Ocean is very much linked to the maritime strength of Maldives.

Defence: This is the reason why India invests on Maldives’ security by training its defence forces. Estimates suggest that almost 70 per cent of Maldives’ defence training is done by India — either on the islands or in India’s elite military academies. India has trained over 1,500 Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) personnel in the past 10 years. The Indian Navy has given aircraft and choppers to the Maldivian defence forces for aerial surveillance, and have trained their personnel on how to land vertically in the islands. India also wants to set up a coastal radar system in Maldives, with a view to keep an eye on the activities in the Indian Ocean.

China: The Chinese have also worked their way in, in the past 15 years. Maldives opened its embassy in that country in 2009, and China opened its embassy as recently as 2011. But with investments into projects, especially since President Xi Jinping came to power and pushed the Belt and Road Initiative, Male has been actively wooed by the Chinese. India is obviously concerned at the expanding Chinese footprint there. While Mohamed Nasheed first started the engagement with China, Abdulla Yameen took it up several notches during his term from 2013-2018. Muizzu, who was a minister in Yameen’s government, is seen as carrying forward his mentor’s policies. So, from a purely strategic perspective, India needs Maldives on its side to secure its maritime periphery, keep an eye on the Indian Ocean, and check the influence of China in its neighbourhood.

• India and Maldives-What are the Major issues in Bilateral Relations?

• Political developments in the Maldives in the last few years-Know in detail

• ‘The String of Pearls’, Maldives and India-Connect the dots

• What Steps India has taken in the recent years to ensure friendly relations with Maldives?

• Why the two countries need each other?

• What is at stake?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Muizzu asks India to withdraw troops by March 15: Why are Indian soldiers in Maldives?

????Maldives, India, China: history shapes the present

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

EC’s hour of reckoning

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Ashok Lavasa writes: In March last year, when the Supreme Court ordered the constitution of a selection committee for the Election Commission of India (ECI) with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) as a member, there were no vacancies in sight in the ECI. Just over a year later, and three months after Parliament passed a law excluding the CJI from the committee, there are two vacancies in the ECI and the time to test the law and its spirit is here.

• “The Indian Constitution provides for many institutions that form the spine of our democracy”-Analyse the statement with regard to the Election Commission of India.

• “Parliament exercises checks on the government through its legislative jurisdiction and the courts scrutinise laws passed by the legislature and examine the legality of the government’s decisions”-Discuss

• Two institutions perform a function that is not directly related to government action-Know in detail

• The ECI’s vital function is to ensure what?

• What prompted the government to equate the CEC and ECs with the Cabinet Secretary (sections 10 and 15 of the original Bill)?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Explained: The new process for picking Election Commissioners, why it was brought in

????PM-led committee to meet on March 14 to select two ECs

THE IDEAS PAGE

Moving to a better count

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-C Rangarajan, S Mahendra Dev writes: The survey will lead to fresh poverty estimates. It will also have implications for inflation and monetary policy

• What are the three issues discussed by authors?

• “The HCES 2022-23 has undergone some changes as compared to the previous surveys in consumption expenditure”-Discuss

• “Examining the changes in poverty using the new information on consumption expenditure”-What is the new information on consumption expenditure?

• Do You Know-The poverty lines for 2011-12 based on Expert Group (Tendulkar) methodology were Rs 816 and Rs 1,000 per capita per month respectively for rural and urban areas. An SBI report has estimated poverty ratios in 2022-23 by updating poverty lines. The new updated poverty line is Rs 1,622 in rural areas and Rs 1,929 in urban areas. According to this SBI report, poverty in rural areas declined from 25.7 per cent in 2011-12 to 7.2 per cent in 2022-23 while in urban areas it declined from 13.7 per cent to 4.6 per cent. Using the shares of the rural and urban populations, the total poverty ratio based on the Tendulkar committee methodology comes to 6.3 per cent.

The poverty line for 2011-12 based on Expert Group (Rangarajan) methodology was Rs 972 and Rs 1,407 per capita per month respectively for rural and urban areas. Using CPI, we updated the poverty line which is Rs 1,837 for rural and Rs 2,603 for urban areas in 2022-23. As Table 1 shows, the poverty ratio for rural areas declined from 30.9 per cent in 2011-12 to 12.3 per cent in 2022-23. For urban areas, it declined from 26.4 per cent in 2011-12 to 8 per cent in 2022-23. It may be noted that the poverty ratio derived from the Expert Group (Rangarajan) method is 71 per cent higher in rural areas and 74 per cent higher in urban areas than that derived by using the Expert Group (Tendulkar) method. The overall poverty ratio under the Rangarajan methodology for 2022-23 will be 10.8 per cent. While the poverty ratio is higher under our methodology, the order of decline in percentage points between the two periods is the same under both methodologies in rural areas. But in urban areas, the decline in our methodology is higher.

However, as mentioned above, the data on consumption expenditure in 2022-23 is not strictly comparable to earlier surveys. The comparable data would have probably given much higher poverty figures under the Rangarajan Committee methodology, particularly for urban areas. The above estimates are tentative and we can have better analysis once the unit-level data is released.

• “Alarming difference between the aggregate private consumption expenditure given by the NSSO and the figure provided by the National Accounts Statistics (NAS)”- How do the data from these two differ?

• “Implications of the HCES 2022-23 for the Consumer Price Index (CPI)”-Know in detail

• Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23-Know the key highlights

• The data gathered in Consumer Expenditure Survey reveals what?

• What is Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE)?

• Consumer Expenditure Survey and Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE)-Connect the dots

• How has the share of spending on food in India changed over the last 20-odd years?

• Do You Know-The data from the HCES, conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), shows the share of food in the average monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) dipped to 46.4% in 2022-23 for rural India, from 52.9% in 2011-12, 53.1% in 2004-05, and 59.4% in 1999-2000. A similar, but not as sharp, drop was recorded for urban India too — from 48.1% in 1999-2000, to 40.5% in 2004-05, 42.6% in 2011-12, and 39.2% in 2022-23

As a percentage of your total consumption spending, if you spend less on food, it means you have more money for other things — from consumer durables to clothing and footwear, petrol or diesel for your vehicle, and even for entertainment. In other words, you can aspire for more.

Between 1999-2000 (National Sample Survey 55th round) and 2022-23, the share of expenditure on food has gradually declined for both urban and rural households. However, it is for the first time that expenditure on food has fallen to less than 50 per cent of the total consumption expenditure in rural India, and to less than 40 per cent in urban India. This is remarkable.

The share of food in consumption expenditure in rural India was as high as 59.4 per cent in 1999-2000, it hovered around 50 per cent levels through the first decade of the new millennium, and in 2022-23, it stood at 46.38 per cent. In urban India, the share of food in the average monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) has fallen to 39.17 per cent in 2022-23 from 48.06 per cent in 1999-2000.

• Within foods, what are Indians now consuming?

• Is there a need to review the inflation basket? What do the average MPCE data show?

• For Your Information-Inflation is calculated based on the changes in the price levels of items in a large basket. These items must ideally reflect what you and I consume — and our consumption patterns may vary depending on whether we live in a city or a village. For accurate calculation of inflation, the basket of goods should represent the consumption expenditure pattern of households, be it urban or rural.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation, also called retail inflation, is currently based on a basket that was decided in 2012. But over the last 11 years, as the latest Household Consumption Expenditure (HCE) Survey 2022-23 shows, a lot has changed.

For example, the CPI (Rural) basket assigns a weightage of 12.35 per cent to ‘cereals and products’. But as mentioned above, the latest HCE Survey shows rural households spend just 4.91 per cent on cereals (and cereal substitutes). Again, the share of expenditure on food in rural households is 46.38 per cent, according to the Survey. But food in the CPI (Rural) basket has a weightage of 54.18 per cent — much higher than what a rural consumer now spends.

Similarly, in the CPI (Urban) basket, food has a weightage of 36.29 per cent; the HCE Survey shows the share of urban household expenditure on food is higher, at 39.17 per cent. In urban households, the spends on pan, tobacco and intoxicants, and entertainment are 2.43 per cent and 1.58 per cent respectively. But the weightage for these two items in the CPI (Urban) basket is 1.36 per cent and 2.04 per cent respectively.

The share of spending on rent has increased both for rural and urban households to 0.78 per cent and 6.56 per cent respectively. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decides to increase or decrease the policy rate (repo rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks) based on retail inflation — and this has an impact on growth. A lower interest rate will help economic growth by facilitating loans at lower rates. But if the RBI is guided by wrong data, it will most likely delay any action on interest rates.

• What does the difference between imputed and non-imputed average MPCE data show?

• Which states have a lower standard of living compared with the national average?

• Why Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) is important?

• Why Consumer Expenditure Survey is helpful?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????NSSO consumer survey indicates poverty down to 5 per cent: NITI CEO

????Consumption survey: 5 questions

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