Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for February 29, 2024. If you missed the February 28, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here

FRONT PAGE

Interim unity govt, common voter list: Law panel readies report on simultaneous polls

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- From making express provisions for simultaneous polls, prescribing a common electoral roll to formation of a unity government in case a government falls before the end of its five-year tenure, the Law Commission of India has worked out three major Constitutional amendments to set the ball rolling for the ‘One Nation, One Election’ project in 2029.

• “The Law Commission of India has worked out three major Constitutional amendments to set the ball rolling for the ‘One Nation, One Election’ project in 2029”-What are the proposals?

• The 22nd Law Commission, headed by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, is set to recommend the addition of a new chapter on what?

• Which Part of the Constitution deals with elections?

• For Your Information-The 22nd Law Commission, headed by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, is set to recommend the addition of a new chapter on simultaneous polls in the Constitution. Currently, Part XV of the Constitution deals with elections. It prescribes the role of the Election Commission and for elections to be based on adult suffrage among other aspects. The Commission is likely to recommend insertion of a new chapter, Part XVA, that would make provisions for simultaneous polls.

While the law panel has not submitted its report to the government, it has made detailed presentations of its likely recommendations before the high-level committee, headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind, to “examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections” to Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.

In September last year, The Indian Express reported that the Commission was mulling framing tentative timelines for simultaneous polls in 2024 and 2029. With 2024 elections round the corner, the recommendations will now be for 2029. The Commission’s report is likely to suggest synchronising assembly elections in two stages in the next five years before all states can go to polls simultaneously with the next Lok Sabha elections in 2029.

While the term of the Commission comes to an end in August, the government Tuesday appointed Justice Awasthi as one of the three judicial members of the Lokpal. Once he takes over as a Lokpal member, it is learnt that Justice Awasthi is likely to demit office as Chairperson of the law panel. Sources said, “Elections for states will have to be held collectively in two election cycles over the next five years. The term of some may have to be extended while it may have to be curtailed for others through the

Constitutional amendment. Then 2029 can be the third election cycle where the Centre, all states, municipal and panchayat elections can be held together.” One of the key concerns on simultaneous polls was tackling situations where the mandate results in a hung assembly or when a government falls midway when a no-confidence vote is instituted.

Sources said that a second Constitutional amendment would deal with “sustainability of simultaneous polls” which would address these concerns. It is learnt that the Law Commission’s prescription is to first attempt setting up an all-party “unity” government if a government falls during its five-year tenure. “If that is not possible, then the alternative would be holding elections only for the term remaining before another cycle of simultaneous polls can be held,” sources said. Contesting elections only to form a government for a short term, sources pointed out, could be a disincentive for political parties to bring down a government.

“This is only a stop-gap measure to ensure that the cycle of simultaneous polls is not broken,” sources said. The third Constitutional amendment to be recommended by the law panel would specifically deal with a common voter list. Currently in many states, the voter list for the panchayat and municipal elections is different from the one used for Parliament and assembly elections. While the State Election Commissions (SECs) supervise municipal and panchayat elections, the Election Commission conducts polls to the offices of the President and Vice President, and to Parliament, state assemblies and legislative councils.

• What is “one nation, one election”?

• What are the arguments around holding simultaneous elections?

• But when elections were first held in independent India, where they not simultaneous to begin with?

• Has the idea of simultaneous polls been explored before?

• When and how did the idea of simultaneous Lok Sabha, Assembly and local body polls come up?

• How exactly will holding Lok Sabha and Assembly polls together help?

• What have political parties said? What is the system in other countries?

• What will happen if India does decide on simultaneous elections?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:  

????The 360° UPSC Debate | Does India Need Simultaneous Elections?

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

We, the consumers

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-Ashwini Deshpande Writes: How do Indians divide their consumption expenditure across categories? How many are below the poverty line? How has the picture changed over time? Answers to such questions have always been drawn from the quinquennial consumption expenditure surveys. After a decade-long hiatus, a factsheet based on the revamped and much awaited Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) for 2022-23 has been released.

• Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) for 2022-23-What are the key highlights of the report?

• 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

• For Your Information-There are three major changes that make the current survey non-comparable with its predecessors. First, the earlier rounds had one single questionnaire to cover expenditure on all items. The new HCES has three separate surveys on food items, consumable and service items and durable goods respectively. Second, the HCES involved multiple separate visits to households.

As data collection methodologies, both these changes are welcome because it is well-known that respondent fatigue with long questionnaires in a single sitting leads to poorer responses. Shorter and more focused questionnaires elicit more precise answers. However, these changes have implications for comparability — these are likely to yield higher estimates compared to previous rounds.

To check for the magnitude and direction of this upward bias, ideally the HCES should have chosen a subset of households to which the older survey with its single-visit design should have been administered. A comparison between the older and revised methodologies would have given us the magnitude of the difference. The third difference between HCES and earlier rounds relates to imputed values for items received or consumed free of cost through various social welfare programmes. These items range from staples like rice, wheat to footwear, laptops, and motorcycles. We can’t assess the validity of this until unit-level price and quantity data are released.

• How has the distribution of consumption expenditure changed over the decade?

• What about inter-caste differences?

• “The release of the survey findings, however limited, is a welcome development”-Comment

• 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

????Per capita Monthly Household Consumption Expenditure more than doubled during 2011-12 to 2022-23

THE IDEAS PAGE

AI and Asimov’s warning

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Bibek Debroy , Aditya Sinha Writes: From democracy to arms race, artificial intelligence poses significant risks. The world urgently requires a robust global AI governance body to ensure that AI advancements serve humanity.

• “Isaac Asimov’s classic I, Robot (1950) insightfully explored the ethical and moral implications of robotics and artificial intelligence”-What exactly he said?

• “AI’s unpredictable nature”-What is your take?

• “The lack of a unified global framework for overseeing AI, coupled with the absence of national-level regulatory measures, poses a significant risk to national security and sovereignty”-Discuss

• For Your Information-According to the Authors, AI is reshaping traditional notions of sovereignty, challenging the power dynamics between states, private technology companies, and individuals. As AI systems become more autonomous, they are creating new digital spaces that are not governed by traditional laws or state control. These digital spaces, defined by code and data, can be seen as new forms of sovereignty where power is wielded by those who control the AI systems.

The emergence of AI has ushered in a new era of digital sovereignty, fundamentally altering the concept of territorial sovereignty. This transition impacts how nations control their digital domains and AI technologies. Countries lacking in AI development and regulation may find themselves reliant on more advanced nations, risking their sovereignty across sectors like defence, infrastructure, and healthcare. Additionally, the rise of AI shifts power from states to private tech companies and individuals who dominate these digital spaces. Though these entities don’t possess traditional sovereignty, their influence challenges state authority and could reshape global political dynamics.

AI has the potential to significantly impact democracy, particularly when leveraged by foreign powers. It can be used to manipulate information and influence public opinion, which is a critical aspect of democratic societies. For example, AI can generate disinformation and misinformation at scale, which can trigger tensions and even electoral-related conflict and violence. Such AI-driven false information can spread biases or opinions that do not represent public sentiment, thereby affecting the democratic process negatively.

Moreover, foreign powers can utilise AI to conduct influence campaigns that are more sophisticated and less detectable. These campaigns can exacerbate divisions within societies, seed nihilism about the existence of objective truth, and weaken democratic systems from within. The borderless nature of AI makes it difficult to control or regulate, and as AI technology becomes more advanced, it could be used by authoritarian regimes, terrorist groups, and organised crime groups to cause great harm.

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), often termed “killer robots”, present a profound threat to national security and sovereignty, raising critical ethical and technical challenges. From a technical standpoint, LAWS, equipped with advanced AI algorithms, can independently search for, identify, and engage targets without human intervention. This capability poses a risk of unintended escalation in military conflicts, as these systems might act based on pre-programmed criteria, lacking human judgement and context awareness, potentially leading to indiscriminate or erroneous targeting. Moreover, the risk of hacking or malfunctioning of these systems could result in catastrophic incidents, undermining national security.

Ethically, the deployment of LAWS challenges the fundamental principles of humanitarian law and responsibility. The absence of human oversight in the decision-making process of life and death raises significant moral questions about accountability. The principle of distinction, a cornerstone of international humanitarian law, mandates the differentiation between combatants and non-combatants. LAWS, reliant on algorithms for decision-making, may lack the nuanced understanding necessary to make these distinctions, risking civilian lives and violating international norms.

The proliferation of LAWS could lead to an arms race, destabilising international peace and security. As these weapons become more accessible, the barrier to entering conflicts lowers, potentially leading to increased warfare and undermining national sovereignty. The lack of regulation and control over LAWS also presents a threat to the global order, as non-state actors might acquire and use these systems for terrorism or insurgency. This autonomy undermines deterrence theory, which relies on rational human actors to maintain balance and avoid conflict through the threat of retaliation. The unpredictability of LAWS disrupts this balance, potentially leading to uncontrolled escalations. Furthermore, the prospect of an arms race in autonomous weapons technology threatens global stability as nations prioritise technological advancement over diplomatic and strategic equilibrium.

The integration of AI into cybersecurity represents a dual-edged sword, where its potential for sophisticated cyberattacks directly threatens national security and sovereignty. AI-enhanced methods, such as advanced persistent threats and spear phishing, can penetrate and disrupt critical national infrastructures, undermining the stability and functioning of a state. Such disruptions not only pose immediate security risks but also threaten the economic and social well-being of nations. These threats extend beyond physical borders, as cyberattacks can originate from any location, making safeguarding national interests in the increasingly interconnected digital world challenging. The implications for national security are profound, requiring nations to reassess their cybersecurity strategies and invest in advanced defences. Safeguarding against these AI-enhanced threats is crucial for maintaining national sovereignty, ensuring that states retain control over their critical infrastructure, information systems, and the democratic processes that define their governance.

• Why world urgently requires a robust global AI governance body?

• How is artificial intelligence (AI) currently governed?

• What are the use of AI in different areas?

• Is Artificial Intelligence a Human-stein Monster?

• ‘AI is not intelligence and idea that AI will replace human intelligence is unlikely’-Comment

• Why AI regulation is needed?

• If Regulated then what should be the limit?

• If regulated, then what are the risks associated with regulating AI?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????The 360° UPSC Debate: Should Artificial Intelligence Be Regulated?

ECONOMY

India, South Africa block investment deal at WTO

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interest

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- India on Wednesday blocked an attempt by some World Trade Organization (WTO) members to get the China-inspired investment pact in the development agenda of the 13th Ministerial Conference, which will ensure that it is unlikely to be part of the final outcome document.

• What exactly India blocked at the 13th Ministerial Conference?

• What is ‘Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD)’?

• Why South Africa joined India?

• India-South Africa-Know bilateral relations

• For Your Information-India’s relations with South Africa go back centuries and have a powerful emotional component. It is here that Mahatma Gandhi began his political career, and over the decades of the 20th century, India stood solidly behind the ANC’s struggle against apartheid.

According to the official note on India-South Africa relations on the website of India’s High Commission in Pretoria, India was the first country to sever trade relations with the apartheid government, and subsequently imposed a complete — diplomatic, commercial, cultural and sports — embargo on South Africa. India worked consistently to put the issue of apartheid on the agenda of the UN, NAM and other multilateral organizations and for the imposition of comprehensive international sanctions against South Africa. The African National Congress (ANC) maintained a representative office in New Delhi from the 1960s onwards.

India actively worked for the AFRICA Fund to help sustain the struggle through support to the frontline states. In March 1997, during the visit of President Mandela to India, the two countries signed the historic Red Fort Declaration for Strategic Partnership between India and South Africa.

• How is India-South Africa Bilateral trade and investment?

• What is the WTO and the Ministerial Conference

• For Your Information-The World Trade Organization is the only international organization that deals with the rules of trade between countries. Founded in 1995, the WTO is run by its 164 members, and according to its rules, all decisions are taken through consensus and any member can exercise a veto. Its aim is to promote free trade, which is done through trade agreements that are discussed and signed by the member states. The WTO also provides a forum for countries to negotiate trade rules and settle economic disputes between them. The Ministerial Conference is the WTO’s top decision-making body and usually meets every two years. All members of the WTO are involved in the MC and they can take decisions on all matters covered under any multilateral trade agreements.

• “The public stockpiling of food grain is the longest pending issue”-Why?

• What is India’s stand?

• ‘Peace clause’ agreed during the Bali ministerial in 2013-What was that?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:  

????‘Permanent solution for public stockholding top priority for India’

EXPLAINED

The importance of creating India’s genetic map

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General Science and Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nanotechnology, bio-technology.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The government’s Genome India initiative on Tuesday (February 27) announced the successful sequencing of 10,000 whole genomes of healthy persons from across the country, creating a genetic map of the population. Researchers from 20 science institutes across the country helped in collecting the blood samples, sequencing the genome, developing a methodology, and storing the data.

• What is the Genome India project?

• What is a genome, how is it sequenced?

• How does studying the genetic makeup of the country help?

• How long did the project take?

• What do you understand by the term ‘Genome’?

• How Genome and Gene differ from each other?

• Why is genomic sequencing important?

• How does genomic sequencing work?

• Where does the data for genomic surveillance come from?

• What are the three steps to genome sequencing?

• What are the advantages of genome sequencing?

• Do You Know-Nearly two decades ago, when scientists published the map of the human genome for the first time, it was hailed as a breakthrough. That was incomplete, however: about 8% of the human DNA was left unsequenced. Now, in a series of papers published in Science, a large team has accounted for that 8%, completing the picture of the human genome for the first time.

A complete human genome makes it easier to study genetic variation between individuals or between populations. A genome refers to all of the genetic material in an organism, and the human genome is mostly the same in all people, but a very small part of the DNA does vary between one individual and another. By constructing a complete human genome, scientists can use it for reference while studying the genome of various individuals, which would help them understand which variations, if any, might be responsible for disease.

The genetic sequence made available in 2003 from the Human Genome Project, an international collaboration between 1990 and 2003, contained information from a region of the human genome known as the euchromatin. Here, the chromosome is rich in genes, and the DNA encodes for protein. The 8% that was left out was in the area called heterochromatin. This is a smaller portion of the genome, and does not produce protein.

There were at least two key reasons why heterochromatin was given lower priority. This part of the genome was thought to be “junk DNA”, because it had no clear function. Besides, the euchromatin contained more genes that were simpler to sequence with the tools available at the time.

Now, the fully sequenced genome is the result of the efforts of a global collaboration called the Telomere-2-Telomere (T2T) project. The invention of new methods of DNA sequencing and computational analysis helped complete the reading of the remaining 8% of the genome.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Explained: The complete human genome, and what it tells us

Row over Karnataka Bill: what changes it proposed to how temples are taxed

Syllabus:

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

Main Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Karnataka temple Bill controversy: The Karnataka government’s attempt to tweak the law that governs taxation of Hindu temples was stymied in the Legislative Council, where the primary Opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), holds a majority. The Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Legislative Assembly on February 19 and passed on February 22. However, it was rejected two days later in the Legislative Council.

• Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2024-Know the highlights

• What is the rationale behind the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2024?

• What’s the amendment in Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2024?

• Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997 and Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2024-Compare and contrast

• How has temple funding differed across govts?

• What changes were proposed for the taxation of Karnataka’s temples?

• For Your Information-The Bill was meant to amend multiple provisions in the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997. The first and the most contentious was that it intended to divert “10% of the gross income of institutions whose gross annual income exceeds Rs 1 crore” to a common pool for the maintenance of temples, instead of the existing “10% of the net income of institutions whose gross annual income exceeds Rs 10 lakh”.

Net income is calculated based on the profits of the temple after accounting for its expenses, whereas gross income simply refers to the total amount of money the temple makes. In addition, the Bill dedicated 5% of the income of institutions earning between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore to the common pool, changing the previous income bracket from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

If the recent amendments had been passed, they would have generated an extra Rs 60 crore, from 87 temples with incomes of over Rs 1 crore and 311 temples with income over Rs 10 lakh. Section 19 of the Act lists the purposes for which the common fund may be utilised, including religious studies and propagation, temple maintenance, and other charitable causes. The Congress government had said the enhanced funds would be used to grant aid to lower income temples, provide terminal benefits to ailing priests, and provide scholarships to children from families of priests.

• What were the criticisms against the amendments?

• Did the Bill propose any other changes?

• How is temple revenue handled in other states?

• For Your Information-Telangana’s approach shares similarities with the Karnataka model. Under Section 70 of the Telangana Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987, the Commissioner in charge of administration of religious institutions can create a “Common Good Fund”.

Religious institutions making more that Rs 50,000 annually are required to pay 1.5% of their annual income to the state government. After the government is repaid for expenses it has incurred under the Telangana Act, the commissioner can direct the remaining funds to the Common Good Fund. These funds are utilised for the maintenance and renovations of temples, veda-pathasalas (religious schools) and for the establishment of new temples.

Kerala employs an entirely different system, where temples are often managed by state-run Devaswom (temple) Boards. The state has five autonomous Devswom Boards that manage over 3,000 temples. These boards are run by nominees appointed by the ruling government, who are often politicians.

Each Devaswom Board has a budget allocated by the state government and is not required to share revenue figures. The state has also enacted separate laws for each Devaswom board (besides Travancore and Cochin which are governed by the same Act), which deal with the administration and management of temples under their aegis.

• What is the political significance of temple funding?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:  

????Karnataka govt mulls second attempt to get temple Bill passed

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