Daily Practice Sheet 11 January 2021

  • January 11, 2021
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPS
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Daily Practice Sheet 11 January 2021

By

Santosh Sir

All 6 Prelims qualified

4 CSE Mains qualified

If I can do it, you can too

Daily Prelims Topic

  • Expenditure budget
  • Lithium reserve in India
  • Gas pipeline from Kochi to Bengaluru
  • Black Box in flight
  • Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency/Economy regulations
  • Pre-pack Insolvency scheme
  • Vanadium reserves in Arunachal
  • Inverted Duty Structure
  • Excise Duty
  • Black Box

Daily Mapping

  • Latin America-Lithium Triangle
  • Lithium reserves in India- Marlagalla-Allapatna region of Karnataka’s Mandya district

Daily Facts

Agriculture landholding

Area under agriculture has been shrinking — it reduced from159.5 million hectares (mn ha) in2010-11 to 157mnhain2015-16—but the number of operational holdings has been rising (increased from 138.3 million to about 146million).This reflects in the falling average landholdings’ size of farmers, which has come downfrom1.2ha to about1.08ha.

Oil Imports:

India imported 228.6 MT of crude oil worth $120 billion in 2018–19, which made it the third-largest oil importer in the world in terms of value

Daily Mains Mantra

NEWSPAPER

GS 1: History

1. What was New Deal post-Great Economic crisis of 1929? What were the factors that led to need of New deal and examine its role on American economy and global economy? [Reference: Indian Express]

2. The Aligarh Movement marks a of modern India. Comment. [Reference: The Hindu]

GS 2: Polity

1. What do you understand by rule of law? Is Indian constitution based on rule of law? Is rule of law a reality in India? [Reference: The Hindu]

GS 2: IR

1. India shift to electric mobility will need a reorientation of its foreign policy also. [Reference: The Hindu]

GS 3: Economy

1. Discuss various issue plaguing Indian agriculture. Is recent three farm laws sufficient to bring farmers out of crisis. Also give structural reforms needed. [Reference: Indian Express]

Approach: 

Introduction:

Highlight the distress Indian agriculture is facing with low GVA and high workers share.

Body:

Discuss various structural issues of Indian agriculture from farm gate to market i.e

  • Land fragmentation or lack of land reforms
  • Input costs high for marginal farmers and monsoon dependency
  • Poor access to credit
  • Lack of post-harvest infrastructure leading to losses
  • Poor modernization
  • Low productivity
  • Market issues and poor bargaining chip of farmers
  • Subsidy regime and regulations inhibiting growth

Now in brief in two to line what is focus of three farm laws and show how it is just one aspect of reforms. Then suggest reforms needed in other areas.

  • Land consolidation
  • Productivity increase
  • Diversification and lowering labour pressure on agriculture
  • Subsidy reforms
  • Investment in agriculture

Conclusion:

End on a high for refocus on agriculture in recent times which augurs well for an agrarian and rural economy of India.

2. Critically examine the need of FCI procurement policy in aftermath of three farms bills passed. [Reference: Financial Express]

Approach:

Introduction

Food Corporation of India is the primary organisation for ensuring food security despair critical role the looming crisis of hunger and starvation during the covid-19 primary duty is to undertake purchase to transport distribute and sell food grains

Body

  1. Functional challenges

The food corporation of India faces numerous challenges

Operationally expensive inefficient and corrupt

Lack proactive liquidation policy and a vast buffer of food grains and no place to store them

FCI conducts open and procurement which means a government will by any quantity

The current system of liquidation of excess stocks through open market sales screen or true export market is extremely Ad-Hoc and slow

  1. Farm bills and the new norm for FCI
    • With the advent of the new farm reforms and the central government proclaiming that MSP will stay the financial burden of FCI will continue
    • The procurement cost to the farmers in states like Punjab haryanamadhya Pradesh chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh are given a margin higher than 50 % of cost
    • Whether form in APMC act the need for FCI to pay the commission agents are are taken away
    • Earlier gunny bags a procured crore rate contract fixed by the jute commissioner on the basis of tariff commission formula
    • Huge stock of unused grains are a burden of FCI with the conditions of harvest clear then the procurement guidelines are needed to redefine the the standards
    • Earlier the full form of APMC act the commission the market different for different state hence a change in MSP was needed now with a single market access by apmc act help fCI to procure at common rate which needs new policy guidelines
    • New reforms allows private sector players to take part in contract bases with the farmers power FCI can tie up with private parties to handle the huge stock of of food grains
    • New essential commodities act allows application of act under exceptional circumstances a new guidelines to FCI for procurement at such extreme situation is needed
    • FCI must the model procurer for the farmer producer organisation that are encouraged to emerge after the farm bills
    • Guidelines for laying a ppp or a special purpose vechile between FCI and farmer producer organisation and private play corporates are needed hence the guidelines has to be addressed by the new procurement policy
    • New policy for implementing the the recommendations of Shanta Kumar committee essential after the new bills

Conclusion

(Give the recommendations of Shanta Kumar committee)

FCI needs to act as a guardian for the farmers  in case of any e option cost in the contract by private players and and sure them getting the income, which makes the policy an urgent need

3. Setting international standards and conformity standards as part of regulations can propel India’s Atma Nirbhar strategy with pushing up export. In this context discuss challenges in current regulations for standard setting for manufacturing and how conformity with international standard will help. [Reference: Financial Express]

4. What do you understand by easy monetary policy? Explain quantitative easing in this context. Examine the risks involved. [Reference: The Hindu]

Daily Ethics:

1. What do you understand by trust? How can government build trust? [Reference: The Hindu]

 

Daily Practice Sheet