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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on November 18, 2024
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What are the issues faced by EPFO pensioners?
For Prelims Examination: Current events of national and international importance
For Mains Examination: GS II - Indian Polity & Governance
Context:
Nearly 78 lakh Provident Fund (PF) pensioners across the country under the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 (EPS-95) of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will receive their pension through any bank, any branch from January 1, 2025. The Union Labour Ministry cleared the proposal earlier this month for a Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS) as part of the EPFO’s ongoing IT modernisation project, the Centralised IT Enabled System
Read about:
What is a Unified Pension System?
What is Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)?
Key takeaways:
Starting January 1, 2025, nearly 7.8 million Provident Fund (PF) pensioners under the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 (EPS-95) will be able to receive their pensions from any bank branch across the country. This development comes following the Union Labour Ministry's approval earlier this month for a Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS), part of the EPFO’s broader IT modernization initiative known as the Centralised IT Enabled System.
What prompted this new arrangement?
Currently, pensioners need to transfer their Pension Payment Orders (PPO) when moving to a new location, often leading to complaints about delays and disruptions in payments. Additionally, pensioners can only access their monthly pensions through a limited number of banks approved by the EPFO in each region.
The introduction of CPPS, which has been endorsed by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, will facilitate a shift to an Aadhaar-based payment system in the next phase. This will streamline the pension initiation process, eliminating the need for in-branch verification and allowing for immediate crediting of pensions. The EPFO anticipates significant cost savings with this new system.
Will this change benefit pensioners?
While the development is generally welcomed, K.P. Babu, General Secretary of the Chennai EPF Pensioners’ Welfare Association, emphasizes that the practical impact will depend on the implementation details. Many pensioners, like other bank customers, already use ATMs for transactions due to the core banking system.
How has the announcement been received?
Many pensioners are disappointed with the Union Ministry’s decision, as they had hoped for a more favorable outcome, similar to the unified pension scheme offered to government employees, which combines features from both the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and the New Pension Scheme (NPS).
Trade unions and Members of Parliament across party lines have been advocating for an increase in the minimum pension amount of ₹1,000. Recently, BJP MP Shobhanaben M. Baraiya requested a raise to ₹7,500, including dearness allowance (DA) and medical allowance. Several pensioner associations have called for a minimum of ₹9,000 plus DA, a demand also made by trade unions during pre-Budget consultations with the Union Finance Minister.
What about applications for higher pension based on wages?
PF members and pensioners are growing increasingly concerned about the processing of their applications for pensions based on higher wages. Many had expected higher pensions following the Supreme Court’s November 2022 ruling in favor of pension payments on wages exceeding the PF ceiling. However, as of August 7, 2024, only 8,401 PPOs have been issued, and 89,235 demand notices have been sent for arrears transfer. Out of nearly 17.5 lakh online applications, about 1.5 lakh were rejected.
What is the Union government’s stance?
The government cites financial constraints for not increasing the minimum pension amount, despite raising its annual allocation for EPS-95. The government contributes 1.16% of employees’ basic wages to the Pension Scheme, along with budgetary support and 8.33% of employer PF contributions. Contributions were approximately ₹8,785 crore for 2022-23, ₹9,760 crore for 2023-24, and are projected to reach ₹10,950 crore for 2024-25. It remains to be seen how the government will address the minimum pension amount issue.
On higher wages, the EPFO initially opposed this due to concerns about fairness and fund sustainability. Despite no cash flow problems reported, there is criticism that the EPFO’s demands for old documents from pensioners are impractical.
What should be done?
To address these issues, the government should consider increasing its EPS-95 contributions and revising the PF contribution ceiling, which has remained at ₹15,000 for a decade. Additionally, implementing former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s suggestion from 2015 to offer employees the option to invest in EPF or NPS could address investment returns concerns. Since 2015, the EPFO has been investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and the restriction on EPS-95 for those joining after September 1, 2014, should be reconsidered to ensure pensions are available to all employees regardless of salary
Follow Up Question
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Discuss the key features of the Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS) introduced by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). How is this system expected to improve pension disbursement?
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Evaluate the impact of the proposed shift to a Centralised Pension Payment System on the efficiency of pension disbursement and its potential benefits for pensioners.
Will Mission Mausam improve weather forecasts?
For Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
For Mains Examination: GS II - Governance
Context:
On September 11, the Cabinet cleared a ₹2,000 crore programme called Mission Mausam to upgrade infrastructure used to make atmospheric observations. It will involve a major upgrade of instruments used by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
Read about:
What is Mission Mausam?
What is India Meteorological Department (IMD)?
Key takeaways:
On September 11, the Cabinet approved a ₹2,000 crore initiative named Mission Mausam aimed at enhancing infrastructure for atmospheric observations. This program will involve a significant upgrade to the instruments used by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
Objectives of the Mission
Mission Mausam aims to advance atmospheric observation capabilities to improve the accuracy of monsoon forecasts, enhance alerts for deteriorating air quality, and provide warnings for extreme weather events and cyclones. Key components of the mission include the deployment of advanced radars, satellite systems with high-performance sensors, and supercomputers. It also involves developing sophisticated earth-system models and a GIS-based automated Decision Support System for real-time data dissemination. The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will oversee the mission, which plans to acquire and install up to 60 weather radars, 15 wind profilers, and 15 radiosondes by 2026. These instruments will offer regular updates on wind speeds, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and temperature at various atmospheric levels.
Historical Context
This mission follows the earlier 'Monsoon Mission' launched in 2012. Traditionally, the IMD used statistical methods to predict monsoon performance, which often led to broad estimates and missed regional variations and drought probabilities. The Monsoon Mission introduced a novel approach, employing high-performance computing and dynamical models to simulate weather patterns and provide more accurate medium-range forecasts. These models, developed since 2004, can be adjusted for various forecasting needs, including daily weather and seasonal monsoon predictions, and can also be adapted for heatwaves, cold waves, and localized forecasts. However, this method is costly and demands sophisticated technology and equipment.
Innovations in Mission Mausam
Mission Mausam not only continues the advancement of dynamical models but also proposes ambitious plans for "weather management," including cloud seeding to alter weather conditions and attempts to control lightning. Lightning strikes are a major cause of natural deaths in India, with a significant number of fatalities recorded in recent years. The mission includes plans to set up a large ‘cloud chamber’ at IITM to study and potentially control lightning by modifying the electrical characteristics of clouds. While weather modification research has been ongoing since the 1950s and has included various experiments, managing the outcomes of cloud seeding remains a challenge. Mission Mausam aims to enhance understanding of these processes and refine weather modification techniques
Follow Up Question
1.In the context of which of the following do some scientists suggest the use of cirrus cloud thinning technique and the injection of sulphate aerosol into stratosphere? (UPSC CSE 2019)
(a) Creating the artificial rains in some regions
(b) Reducing the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones
(c) Reducing the adverse effects of solar wind on the Earth
(d) Reducing the global warming
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Answer (d)
Some scientists suggest the use of cirrus cloud thinning and the injection of sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere as techniques to reduce global warming. These methods are considered forms of geoengineering aimed at reflecting more sunlight away from Earth or altering cloud properties to influence the global climate
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The continuing distribution of the death penalty
For Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
For Mains Examination: GS II - Indian Polity & Governance
Context:
The life of the death sentence in India has been unending, and like a phoenix revives itself in different forms every now and then. The latest addition to this is the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, adopted by the West Bengal government, the reason being the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Read about:
What is Death Sentence?
History of the death penalty in India
Key takeaways:
The death penalty in India has been a persistent issue, repeatedly resurfacing in various forms. The latest development is the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced by the West Bengal government following the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. The bill aims to amend the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, specifically for West Bengal, and includes the introduction of the death penalty for rape.
Although passed unanimously by the Bengal Assembly, the State Governor raised concerns and referred it to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, for consideration. In August 2024 alone, there were several similar cases across different states, predominantly involving Dalit and Adivasi women and children. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 2022 saw 31,516 rapes in India—an average of four every hour—and 248 cases of murder linked to rape or gang rape. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh led the statistics with the highest number of rape cases.
Global Context
- As per Amnesty International's 2023 report, nearly three-quarters of the world’s countries have either abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Specifically, 112 nations have fully abolished it for all crimes, while 144 countries have moved away from its use in some capacity.
- However, 55 countries, including India, continue to retain the death penalty. In South Asia, Bhutan and Nepal have abolished it, while the Maldives and Sri Lanka have stopped using it in practice.
- India, along with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, still retains it. In 2023 alone, India recorded 120 death sentences, though no executions took place, down from 167 death sentences in 2022. By the end of 2023, 561 individuals were on death row in India, marking a steady rise from 2019’s count of 378, and the highest in two decades.
- Many prisoners on death row languish for years, some being exonerated later. Their time on death row often leads to severe physical and psychological suffering, with no state compensation.
- This suggests serious procedural flaws and systemic biases related to caste, class, and religion in the criminal justice system. Some prisoners even resort to suicide due to the inhumane prison conditions they endure, including overcrowding.
- Most of these undertrials are from marginalized communities, comprising the majority of India's incarcerated population.
On Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC)
- While the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (replacing the Indian Penal Code) introduced some positive changes, it also expanded the list of crimes punishable by death from 12 to 18.
- This shift towards a harsher punishment regime for sexual offenses has not resulted in a significant improvement in women’s safety. In 2023, most death sentences handed out by sessions courts involved murder linked to sexual violence.
- Public outrage over sexual violence, especially when victims are killed, often leads to demands for the death penalty, with perpetrators being dehumanized and referred to as “monsters” or “beasts.”
- This rhetoric creates a narrative that distances the perpetrators from society, justifying their execution as a form of vengeance. Such responses often invoke concepts of family, community, and national honor, sidelining the victim’s agency and preferences.
- Meanwhile, everyday violence against women—whether public or domestic—continues to be normalized and tolerated, and disturbingly, searches for videos of such crimes often trend online.
- The Justice Verma Committee argued that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent for crimes like sexual assault, but the Union Cabinet disregarded these recommendations.
- If the death penalty fails to meet its intended goal, the focus should shift from punitive measures to dismantling the carceral approach to sexual violence through abolitionist feminism.
- There is a need to foster a human rights-based discourse, particularly in a society where public opinion on the death penalty is influenced by cultural and religious beliefs.
- An abolitionist feminist movement should reject both the death penalty and life imprisonment without parole as solutions to sexual violence, and instead address the social and cultural causes that lead to violence against women and children.
- Additionally, structural reforms are necessary, including redistributing land and wealth to marginalized communities and increasing their representation in public and private institutions.
- A focus on improving public education and healthcare is also critical. Governments and society must offer targeted support to rape survivors and their families, ensuring access to education, employment, healthcare, and resources for siblings of survivors.
Addressing Complex Issues
- To combat sexual violence effectively, procedural and institutional reforms must center on the needs of victims. Policies like "educate the son, protect the daughter" should be implemented to dismantle patriarchal notions of honor tied to women's bodies.
- Ignoring these deeper issues will make abolitionist movements seem out of touch and imposed from above.
- The death penalty often serves as a convenient escape from state accountability, as it allows governments to avoid addressing the systemic issues within the police, judiciary, and support systems for survivors. Research into whether the socio-religious background of judges influences their decisions to impose the death penalty is also needed.
- India is once again striving for social change through legal reforms aimed at protecting rape survivors and holding the state accountable.
- However, it is essential to examine how laws related to contracts, family, labor, and property disproportionately affect women and children from oppressed castes and marginalized communities. These laws often exacerbate inequalities in wealth, knowledge, and power.
- Abolishing the death penalty and creating a safer environment for women and children are complex, intertwined goals. These issues require critical engagement with the law and an open discussion about caste, religion, and gender-based violence.
- Public and judicial awareness campaigns are needed to dispel the myth that the death penalty reduces violence against women and children. Instead of focusing on punitive measures, efforts should prioritize bringing gender equity from the private sphere into the public domain
- India’s Constitution functions smoothly in conjunction with the executive and legislative branches. However, for the judiciary to wield democratic authority effectively, it must maintain a high degree of independence.
- This independence, though, can become problematic or undemocratic without constitutional checks, including rules of proper conduct and accountability. Without such safeguards, the judiciary could become arrogant in its power.
- In this context, Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia’s remarks on the need for balancing judicial accountability with independence during an event at the Supreme Court on Independence Day must be reconciled with Law Minister Salman Khurshid’s views on judicial propriety.
- Ensuring harmony among the three branches of government is essential for upholding the Constitution. Establishing clear guidelines for judicial behavior is crucial to prevent the judiciary from overstepping and to ensure it remains dignified and restrained.
- The Constitution outlines three key branches—the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. The executive, led by the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers, is responsible for implementing laws and policies, operating under the rule of law.
- Parliament and state legislatures create the laws. When the executive or legislature acts arbitrarily or against constitutional provisions, the judiciary has the authority to intervene and issue directives under Article 143.
- The judiciary, which protects citizens' fundamental rights, holds a position of preeminence among the three branches but must also act within the framework of the Constitution.
- Felix Frankfurter emphasized that judges, like any other individuals or institutions, are not above criticism. While they are entrusted with justice, they are not immune from human flaws and can sometimes misuse their power. Therefore, criticism of the judiciary should be open and honest to remind judges of their public responsibility.
- As ultimate interpreters of the Constitution, judges must be both knowledgeable in law and culturally aware. Their role is pivotal in upholding constitutional values and laws, but concerns about the appointment process remain. Technically, the President appoints judges, though the decision originates from the Cabinet.
- The Constitution’s Preamble enshrines fundamental principles: India is to be a socialist, secular, democratic republic committed to ensuring justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. However, the process for selecting judges and ensuring they embody these principles is not always clear.
- If the selection process is not transparent or principled, there is a risk that judges may come from the elite classes, leaving the working class without representation in governance.
- Winston Churchill acknowledged this issue in Britain, where courts were perceived to be biased in cases involving class conflict, even though they commanded respect in other matters. India faces similar challenges, where social justice often remains a mere promise.
- The introduction of the collegium system, established by a narrow Supreme Court decision, has further complicated the selection of judges. The collegium, which selects judges without a clear constitutional mandate, operates with little transparency or public involvement.
- There is no formal investigation into the backgrounds or qualifications of those selected, leading to concerns about the quality of judicial appointments.
- In response to these concerns, the Union Law Minister has proposed replacing the collegium with a commission. However, important questions remain about the commission’s structure, accountability, and guiding principles. A constitutional amendment that addresses these issues is necessary and can only be achieved through legislative action.
- A judicial selection commission must be of the highest caliber, led by individuals of equal standing to the Prime Minister or Supreme Court judges, with the Chief Justice of India as its chair. The commission must investigate the character, biases, and affiliations of potential appointees through an independent body, rather than relying on government-controlled agencies. Public input in the process is also essential.
- The commission must remain independent, aligned with constitutional values, and free from political or corporate influence. It should operate without fear or favor and be immune to legal challenges, with removal procedures overseen by a tribunal of senior judges. Ultimately, the people of India must have a voice in this process to ensure the judiciary serves the nation’s best interests
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Answer (A)
The correct answer is A. the power of the Judiciary to pronounce upon the constitutionality of laws and executive orders. In India, judicial review refers to the judiciary's authority to evaluate the constitutionality of legislative acts and executive orders. If a law or order is found to be inconsistent with the Constitution, the judiciary can declare it invalid |
Google, the prominent American tech giant known primarily for its search engine, recently lost a legal battle initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2020, which accused the company of operating as an illegal monopoly. A U.S. District judge ruled earlier this month that Google had indeed exploited its market dominance to prevent competitors from freely offering their services.
Why Was Google Accused?
- Google is often pre-installed as the default search engine on most new phones, laptops, and other electronic devices. The company also spends billions annually, sharing its advertising revenue with manufacturers like Apple and Samsung, to ensure it remains the default search option on their devices.
- For instance, in 2022, Google paid Apple around $20 billion to secure its position as the default search engine on Safari, Apple’s browser. Additionally, Google has made similar payments to browser providers like Mozilla.
- This practice benefits Google significantly while disadvantaging other search engine providers, as users tend to stick with the pre-set search engine rather than switching to alternatives.
Is Google Truly a Monopoly?
- Google's overwhelming market presence, with over 90% of the global search engine market, has led to accusations that it functions as a monopoly, leveraging its dominant position to dictate terms to business partners and users alike. Critics argue that this power allows Google to exert significant influence over regulators and laws, far more than smaller companies could.
- However, some, including the judge who ruled against Google, contend that having a large market share does not automatically make a company a harmful or illegal monopoly. They argue that, despite Google's size, no legal barriers prevent competitors from entering the market with better products.
- Historical examples, such as Microsoft's decline in the search engine market following Google's rise, suggest that Google's dominance may not be permanent. Additionally, the potential entry of competitors with superior offerings could keep Google in check, limiting its ability to misuse its market power.
- Supporters of Google also argue that there is nothing inherently wrong with the company sharing ad revenues with manufacturers like Apple and Samsung. They liken this to a business purchasing prime real estate for better visibility, noting that Google’s competitors are also free to pay for such privileges. Google maintains that its market-leading position is due to the quality of its service, not merely its financial ability to pay for default status.
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Answer (A)
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is a statutory body established under the Competition Act, 2002. Its primary role is to enforce competition laws in India and ensure that markets remain competitive, preventing practices that could harm competition, such as monopolies, cartels, and abuse of dominant positions
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| Subject | Topic | Description |
| History | Modern Indian History | Company rule and Crown rule 1773 - 1947 |
| History | Modern Indian History | Fall of Mughals |
| History | Modern Indian History | Establishment of British rule in India |
| History | Modern Indian History | Economic Policies of the British |
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