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IASbaba’s TLP 2016 [16th February]: UPSC Mains GS Questions [HOT]: Synopsis
1. The troika of Make in India, Start Up India and Skill India must not constitute isolated strategies. Rather they should form a common greater flow of ideas which mix and match readily to achieve the goal of rapid, inclusive and sustainable growth. Discuss.
Synopsis:
Introduction:
State the facts: – only 2% of country’s labor has skill certification.
Unemployment rate is rising with 92.8% of workers being informal.
Population today is more than 1 billion.
Low literacy, poor conditions of living, low standards of living, poor health conditions; pollution, inequality, poverty etc. are some of the fundamental problems.
Write briefly about the objectives of Make-in-India, Start-up-India and Skill-India.
Body:
Why there is a need for integration
- MII excessively focuses on it and electronics.
- Policies are disjoint and piecemeal approach to address the problems.
- SUI is uni-dimensional focusing only on IT sector leaving behind other sectors like medicine, agriculture, biotechnology etc.
- SI addressing only low skill section
- There is a need of reverse brain drain in the country.
How will the integration benefit the country?
Complimentary roles: That is, skill India can benefit better human resource to be employed for MII and also an incentive for SUI. Also SUI can benefit MII etc.
Better coordination, less time consuming, easy processing, mutual success.
Conclusion:
Write 2-3 lines emphasizing on integration of the three programmes.
Best Answer: Sandesh
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2. The absence of women from the start up ecosystem in India is a worrisome sign for the economic empowerment of women. What strategies should be adopted to address the existing gender asymmetry? Discuss.
Current scenario
Total women participation in workforce is very low; startups currently are totally male dominated
Only 6% of all startups are by women
Some women run start ups like YourStory, LimeRoad and POPxo are there but their number is abysmally low compared to their male counterparts.
This is due to various reasons,
- Patriarchal society
- Lack of education and vocational skill,
- Lack of funding, difficulty in availing loans,
- No institutional support to build and guide in business expansion,
Measures to curb this gender asymmetry in entrepreneurship:
- Promoting girl education with a special emphasis on higher education and entrepreneurship skills.
- Facilitating easy credit facilities with specialized financial institutions like Mahila Banks.
- Providing window services for supporting in startup procedures especially suiting the women needs.
- Further empowering and strengthening Self Help Groups and cooperative societies with incentives for women.
- Conducing awareness programmes with the help of civil society and NGOs to kill stereotyped mindsets in the society.
- Ensuring safety and security to women at all levels to give voice to take strong stand in hardships.
- Giving special attraction to women in skill development to foster the present day commercial benefits through skill India mission
- Higher incentives for women in establishing MSMEs, and providing cheap and liberal termed loans.
- Reasonable political empowerment to women would pave way for mending policies and programmes to include women interests.
- Tax breaks for women enterprises,
- No capital gains tax on VC and ACs who invest in women startups
- Special fund by government to promote women entrepreneurs
Best answer: Paul
Women in India has always seen as a gender which is suitable for domestic and care work and not a contributor to the mainstream economic activities . Thanks to the patriarchal mindset. Unfortunately this trend is also continuing and is visible in the startup ecosystem where the number of woman entrepreneurs is abysmally low.
But, it should be understood that gender and development are intricately related. Economic development of women is so far the best possible way to empower and emancipate women , and this In turn will further the economic development of the country by their active participation in labor force . Economic empowerment and independence of women can have far reaching effects. It can change the gender equations both inside and outside the house, helping them to overcome the fear of helplessness and powerlessness.
Thus, it is high time we need to address the gender asymmetry in the economic activities. Following steps should be taken immediately to address the issue
1) Legal and institutional support (nodal agency for their economic participation)
2) Schemes to incentivize their participation (tax and other incentives for instance)
In the long run
1) Programs to increase the number of women who take up higher education and technical education (schemes like Pragati and Udaan are steps in the right direction)
2) Vocational training to women
3) Creation of a environment which enable them to pursue entrepreneurship (safety, encouragement, rewards)
4) And educating the society to change their mindset and value the organizational skills of women and provide them freedom to contribute towards economic growth of the country
Development will be endangered if it’s not engendered
3. A massive fire broke out in the Make in India event recently. What precautions should be taken to prevent fire hazards? What are the mitigative measures for fire accidents? Discuss.
Recently, massive fire broke out at the Make in India event at Girgaum Chowpatty area in Mumbai. The main reason stated is short circuit. However, this episode raises serious questions about our disaster preparedness.
First let us understand about the Fire Triangle—Heat, Oxygen and Fuel. A fire needs the above three elements to start. A key strategy is to remove one or more of the above components. The risk assessment should detail on all 3 elements to minimize the risk of a fire starting/spreading.
Some precautions which can be taken to prevent fire hazards are:
- Safety of electrical equipments should be ensured
- No smoking signs put up at appropriate places
- Metal storage for flammable chemicals
- Safety data sheets which provide useful information on chemicals, handling, storage and emergency measures
- Clearly defined escape routes
- Installation of fire extinguishers at suitable locations
Despite taking precautionary measures, it may not be possible to completely prevent fire hazards from happening. Hence, to reduce the severity of the after effects of such incidents, suitable mitigation measures are necessary. Let us look at some mitigation measures.
Mitigation Measures:
- Proper rescue and evacuation from the place of the occurrence of fire
- Quick response from Fire Safety personnel
- Periodic mock drills to create awareness among the public
- Suitable rehabilitation provided to the worst affected people
- Medical Emergency teams should act swiftly in ensuring the safety of the affected and thereby preventing loss of lives
- Public address systems should be effectively utilized to reduce panic situation
Thus, by properly blending both precautionary and mitigation measures, we can greatly reduce the adverse impacts of a fire hazard and thereby prevent the loss of lives and property.
