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India has taken the first step to generate digital birth certificates, which will be an all-encompassing document that can be used for admission to educational institutions, jobs, passports or Aadhaar, voter enrolment, registration of marriage, and others.
This will “avoid multiplicity of documents to prove date and place of birth”, according to the Registration of Births and Deaths Amendment Bill, 2023.
The Bill proposes to make it obligatory for States to register births and deaths on the Centre’s Civil Registration System portal, and to share the data with the Registrar General of India, which functions under the Union Home Ministry.
It said a centralised register “would help in updating other databases resulting in efficient and transparent delivery of services and social benefits.”
The Bill would “insert provisions for digital registration and electronic delivery of certificate of births and deaths for the benefit of public.” The new rules will apply to all those born after the Bill becomes law.
It proposes to “collect Aadhaar numbers of parents and informant, if available, for birth registration”. It will also “facilitate registration process of adopted, orphan, abandoned, surrogate child and child of single parent or unwed mother”.
No-trust motion against Modi govt. admitted in LS (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The stage is set for a high-profile clash between the Opposition and the Treasury benches, as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday admitted a no-confidence motion against the Modi government, which was moved by the Congress’s Deputy Leader in the House Gaurav Gogoi in a bid to force the Prime Minister to speak in Parliament on the Manipur conflict.
Admitting the motion, Mr. Birla informed the Lok Sabha that he would schedule a debate after consulting leaders of all parties. Sources said the Speaker had convened a meeting of floor leaders of all parties.
When the Lok Sabha reconvened at noon, after a brief disruption during the Question Hour, the Speaker informed the House that he had received a notice from Mr. Gogoi, “expressing a want of confidence in the Council of Ministers under Rule 198”.
Asking the Assam MP to seek the permission of the House to move the motion, Mr. Birla took a head count of members backing the motion.
It is mandatory to have the backing of at least 50 MPs for a no-trust motion to be admitted. Congress Parliamentary Party chair Sonia Gandhi, the National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, and the DMK’s T.R. Baalu were among those who stood up for the count.
Editorial
Shedding more light on the debt dilemma (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The elevated levels of India’s fiscal deficit and public debt have been a matter of concern for a long time in India. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, debt levels were among the highest in the developing world and emerging market economies.
The pandemic pushed the envelope further and relative to GDP, the fiscal deficit in 2020-21 increased to 13.3% and the aggregate public debt to 89.6%.
As the economy recovered after the pandemic, the deficit and debt ratios have receded to 8.9% and 85.7%, respectively.
The projections show that even without any serious disruptions to the economy, the debt level is unlikely to return to the pre-pandemic trajectory in the medium term.
With elections to a number of States scheduled in 2023 and with the general election for 2024, the electoral budget cycle could push the debt ratio further.
And, there can be serious questions about its sustainability unless targeted interventions are made to reduce the debt burden, which may not be politically easy with elections on the horizon.
The debt-dynamics equation states that when there is no primary deficit (fiscal deficit in the year excluding the past legacy of interest payments), if the growth rate of GDP exceeds the effective interest rate paid on government bonds, the overall debt will decline.
However, what is missed in these discussions are the distortions caused by financial repression to keep the interest rates on government borrowing low to reduce the cost.
The statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) requires the banking system to hold 18% of their demand and time liabilities in government securities. Besides, the RBI intervenes in the market through open market operations around the time when government borrowing is taken up to keep the interest rates on government borrowing repressed.
When the interest rate on government debt is lower than the growth of GDP, the debt may decline but the financial market gets distorted.
The SCO is a success story that can get better (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
On July 4, 2023, India successfully hosted the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The world witnessed another “SCO moment”.
Leaders of the SCO member-states signed the New Delhi Declaration, and issued the statements on countering radicalisation and exploring cooperation in digital transformation.
The summit granted Iran full SCO membership, signed the memorandum of obligations of Belarus to join the SCO as a member-state, and adopted the SCO’s economic development strategy for the period until 2030. These significant outcomes have demonstrated the vitality of the “SCO family”.
Our world, our times and history are changing in ways like never before. The world is grappling with geopolitical tensions, an economic slowdown, energy crises, food shortage and climate change.
These challenges require the joint response of all countries. The major risks to world peace and development are power politics, economic coercion, technology decoupling and ideological contest.
The central questions revolve around unity or split; peace or conflict; cooperation or confrontation. The international community must answer them.
Over the years, the SCO has been committed to becoming a community with a shared future for mankind, firmly supporting each other in upholding their core interests, and synergising their national development strategies and regional cooperation initiatives.
Member-states have carried forward the spirit of good neighbourliness and friendship, and built partnerships featuring dialogue instead of confrontation, and cooperation instead of alliance.
The SCO has been a guardian of and contributor to regional peace, stability and prosperity. These achievements manifest the common aspirations of all countries so that there is peace, development and win-win cooperation.
Opinion
Measuring well-being in India (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
There has been euphoria over India’s economic growth accelerating to 6.1% in the March quarter, as it confirmed that the country remains one of the fastest growing emerging economies.
Counterclaims followed in quick succession drawing attention to fall in private consumption, high inflation, rise in poverty, and income and wealth inequality.
The rhetoric on either side has continued with growing intensity. What is missed in this debate, however, is that income is a narrow measure of well-being, as argued by Amartya Sen (1999), Angus Deaton (2008), and others.
Although Sen and Deaton differ in their approach, they concur that we must look beyond income to measure well-being.
A close scrutiny of the relationship between life satisfaction and income based on Gallup World Poll (GWP) Surveys confirms a positive relationship between them with a slightly stronger effect in developed countries.
But it is intriguing that growth of income has a negative effect on life satisfaction. It is plausible that there is a “threshold” income effect beyond which increases in income do not matter, or that there is no long-run relationship between the two. But this awaits empirical validation.
Trust in government represents the confidence of citizens in the actions of a “government to do what is right and perceived fair”. Citizen expectations influence trust in government.
If citizens’ expectations rise faster than the actual performance of governments, trust and satisfaction could decline. These changes in expectations may explain more the erosion of political support rather than real government performance.
Besides, citizens’ trust towards government is influenced by whether they have a positive or negative experience with service delivery. A negative experience has a much stronger impact on trust in government than a positive one (OECD, 2013).
Our analysis of the relationship between life satisfaction is based on GWP Surveys for India in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Life satisfaction is measured as suffering, struggling, and thriving. The measures of affluence used are income per capita and its growth.
Explainer
The changing contours of Delhi (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s decisions on economic development, growth, and related planetary boundary challenges have become all the more significant as it was declared the most populous country in the world, overtaking China just a few months ago. Additionally, India’s capital city Delhi is en route to becoming the world’s most populous urban agglomeration overtaking Tokyo by 2028.
The nation’s 1.4 billion citizens, who are increasingly concentrated in cities, and have a young median age of 28.2 , need appropriate economic development planning that is both equitable and sustainable.
The engines of India’s growth are the economies of its mega city-regions. While national and State-level policies are vital to the country’s economic development, they are not enough to meet the needs of such city-regions. A case in point is the Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR), whose extended urban agglomeration straddles several State and city jurisdictions, including Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Noida.
The expansion of the agglomeration has been greatly aided due to it being the national capital as well as various infrastructure investments such as the metro rail networks extending from the core to the periphery, and the proactive investments made by the contiguous States.
However, the peripheral contiguous cities are categorised separately in the economic and population Censuses. Being rapidly urbanising suburbs, they lag behind the core of the Delhi National Capital Territory (Delhi-NCT) in terms of infrastructure. (see infographic)
Delhi-NCR has the highest concentration of jobs and people in the country, and generated a GDP of $370 billion in 2015.
Its challenges include increasing land and infrastructure costs, growing income inequality, poor air quality, land and water pollution, the lack of natural resources, and institutional coordination barriers.
In our recently released report, the ‘Morphology of Delhi National Capital Region’s Economic Geography and its Implications for Planning’, a study of sector-wise evolution of jobs in Delhi-NCR from liberalisation in 1991 up to 2013–14 shows that the core-periphery spatial system is in transition.
News
UNESCO endorses banning smartphones in schools (Page no. 12)
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has warned against an uncritical rush toward embrace of digital products in educational settings, noting that “there is little robust evidence on digital technology’s added value in education” and that “a lot of the evidence comes from those trying to sell it”. It cited the example of how “Pearson funded its own studies, contesting independent analysis that showed its products had no impact”. At the same time, there was ample evidence of a negative link between excessive screen time and a child’s educational performance and emotional stability, it said.
The UN body’s Global Education Monitoring Report, 2023, titled “Technology in education: a tool on whose terms?”, has endorsed banning smartphones in schools in situations where “technology integration does not improve learning or if it worsens student well-being”. It highlighted that “mere proximity to a mobile device was found to distract students and to have a negative impact on learning in 14 countries, yet less than one in four have banned smartphone use in schools”. It also cited research studies to point out that “banning mobile phones from schools improves academic performance, especially for low-performing students”.
Detailing the rationale for restricting smartphone usage for children, the report cited a study of young people between the ages of two and 17 which “showed that higher screen time was associated with poorer well-being; less curiosity, self-control and emotional stability; higher anxiety; and depression diagnoses”.
Business
India’s space industry can reach $100 bn by 2040: Arthur D. Little (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s space industry is expected to touch $40 billion by 2040 and with the right strategies could tap into a $100 billion market opportunity, consulting firm Arthur D. Little observed in a report titled “India in Space: A $100 billion industry by 2040”.
The Indian space industry is on the cusp of a major transformation with increasing government expenditure on space, rapidly growing investment in the country’s private space sector, and government policies encouraging commercial space ventures.
India presents a very lucrative market with many opportunities for private players, and the Indian Space Research Organisation is a great ambassador for India.
The consulting firm suggests India should encourage satellite Internet services, leverage its strengths in satellite and launch vehicle manufacturing, and develop capabilities in high-potential sectors while exploring space tourism and ‘green space.’
“India can position itself as a global powerhouse in the space industry, driving innovation... and international collaborations.”