Vision Ias CSM 2017 Test 28 Answers

VISION IAS
www.visionias.in
freeupscmaterials.org
Approach – Answer: General Studies Mains Mock Test 875 (2017)
1. Centralising recruitment through an All-India Judicial Service (AIJS) will not address the multiple
problems in the judiciary and cause new ones instead. Critically evaluate.
Approach:
 Briefly discuss the problems being faced by the judiciary.
 Discuss whether the government’s proposal of an All-India Judicial Service (AIJS) will address the
problems or further exacerbate them.
 Suggest a way forward.
Answer:
Indian Judiciary has been battling multiple issues that have affected speed, efficiency and quality of
justice. For example:
 Steady increase in number of cases reaching higher courts from lower levels, indicating substandard
justice delivery.
 In 2015, approximately 25-30 million cases were pending in various courts.
 In 2015, there were about 400 vacancies of judges in 24 High Courts. Judge-population ratio of 10.5-
11 to one million is one of the lowest in world.
 Corruption and lack of transparency in the appointment of judges.
 Issues such as large number of undertrails, long duration of resolution, inefficient and time
consuming processes etc.
In this context, All India Judicial Services (AIJS) has been proposed through which district judges will get
recruited centrally through an all-India examination and allocated to each State. The rationale of
recruitment through AIJS is based on the following grounds:
 Wide selection pool: Through AIJS, judges will be selected at the national level and thus it is
expected to make judiciary more professional and equitable leading to an improvement in the
quality of judgments.
 Reduction in vacancy: It is expected to reduce vacancies by avoiding delays in examinations and
recruitment.
 Attractive career option: Currently, the subordinate judiciary depends entirely on state level
recruitment by respective High Courts. But the brighter among the law students do not join the state
judicial services because they are not attractive. An ‘All India Service’ status with associated
privileges may change this.
 Uniform standards: The measure of uniformity in the standards for selection will improve the quality
of personnel in different High Courts, as one-third of the judges come there on promotion from the
subordinate courts.
However, the idea has been criticized for not addressing core issues and creating new ones. For example:
 It ignores the fact that Bar Council of India has mismanaged legal education and there has been a
lack of effort to improve the standard of legal education in the country.
1
www.freeupscmaterials.org
 While efforts have been taken by the Supreme Court to promote uniform pay scales across States,
pay is abysmally low when compared to the private sector.
 Trial court judges face similar problems in case of transfers and other issues as civil servants and have
even lesser avenues for growth and promotion.
 Those High court judges appointed from District cadre are already in advanced stage of their careers
and have shorter tenures than judges appointed directly from the Bar.
New problems that may arise due to AIJS:
 Being a centralised recruitment, it risks preventing the less privileged from entering judicial services.
 Also, it may be difficult for it to take into account local language, laws, practices and customs, which
vary across States.
2. The roots of the most pertinent challenges faced by Indian politics today can be traced to the lack of
intra-party democracy in candidate selection and internal elections. Discuss.
Approach:
 List down the pertinent challenges faced by the Indian politics.
 Elaborate their reasons under two sub-headings:
o Intra-party democracy in candidate selection
o Intra-party democracy in internal elections
 Conclude with ‘way-forward’.
Answer:
Political parties, especially those which are a part of the government, play a crucial role in steering the
national political discourse, spending public funds, controlling the state apparatus and thus form the
bedrock of democracy.
The challenges faced by Indian politics today can be listed as below:
 Criminalization of politics is on the rise. For e.g. the ADR report on 2014 Lok Sabha MPs showed that
34% of them face criminal charges; this digit was 30% and 24% in 2009 and 2004 respectively.
 Nepotism over intra-party democracy has led to dynasty-politics rather than merit-based politics. For
e.g. all the MPs below the age of 30 in the 15th Lok Sabha were from political families.
 Political discourse and agenda-setting is based on short-term political gains rather than on larger
social-economic issues. For e.g. farm loan waivers versus economic discipline.
 Weak opposition fails to articulate the public concerns and grievances in and outside the
Legislatures.
Main reasons for the above mentioned challenges is the lack of intra-party democracy as analysed
below:
 Lack of intra-party democracy in candidate selection
o Distribution of party tickets is largely non-transparent and non-democratic.
o Candidates for elections to various posts are selected on the basis of caste, muscle power,
funding capacity, winning ability etc. rather than on merit in their social work and public conduct.
o Criminal background of the candidates is overlooked.
o Often the political stalwarts or their wards are chosen to win from comfortable seats.
o Candidates often defect to other parties over issues related to distribution of tickets.
 Lack of intra-party democracy in internal elections
o Internal elections are not held regularly. Some parties do not hold such elections at all. For e.g.
Shiva Sena, BSP.
o Influential leaders or chiefs pre-decide the party functionaries, reducing the internal elections to
a mere charade or using ‘consensus’ to justify such appointments.
o Often the intra-party factions threaten to split apart to have their way within the party. For e.g.
the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, the SP in Uttar Pradesh.
2 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

These factors weaken the roots of democratic traditions. As has been recommended by the NCRWC,
170th Report of the Law Commission and the Election Commission itself, intra-party democracy needs to
be institutionalized. Following measures can be taken in this regard:
 Section 29 of the RPA 1951, regarding (de)registration of the parties, should be amended to bring
transparency in reporting to Election Commission of India (ECI) and empower ECI to take actions
against parties which don’t conduct internal elections properly.

 Political parties should be covered under the RTI Act to bring in transparency in their functioning.
 Intra-party regulations as enforced in other countries such as Germany, France, Belgium can be
adopted as per our needs.
 To strengthen the role of Opposition, the Shadow Cabinet concept of the UK can be emulated.
3. While the idea behind merger of autonomous bodies in India is to curb overlapping work and reduce
expenditure, it may end up doing more harm than good. Discuss.
Approach:
 Define autonomous bodies.
 Discuss how expenditure is increasing in recent times on these bodies.
 Also discuss whether merger is going to do more harm than good.
 Briefly conclude with the precautions that the government can take while merging.
Answer:
Autonomous Bodies are those bodies, which are set up by the government for a specific purpose and are
independent in day-to-day functioning, but the government has some control over them. The
government also funds them in some way.
In recent times, expenditure on these bodies has increased manifold. Currently, over Rs 70,000 crore per
annum are released for 679 of such autonomous bodies (in 1955, there were only 35 such autonomous
bodies).
Since public resources are involved, and all resources have trade-offs, the government is emphasizing the
need to review them. It established Ratan Watal Committee last year and Niti Aayog has recently been
doing review of these bodies in order to curb overlapping work and reduce expenditure. Thus, various
bodies are being merged together, such as:
 New Delhi and Pune’s three yoga and naturopathy centres, two Siddha research institutes, two Unani
medicine research institutes, three institutes of Ayurveda etc. will be merged making one institute
each in these areas.
 Similarly seven cultural centres under Ministry of Culture including the institutes on Buddhist
Studies, Himalayan Culture Studies, Higher Tibetan Studies etc. are to be merged into one body.
However, according to some experts, it may do more harm than good because it may lead to:
 Dilution of the purpose for which an autonomous organisation was originally meant. The merged
entity may be forced to play second fiddle to the organisation into which it merges. For example,
merging of Indian Council of Historical Research & the Indian Council of Philosophical Research in the
Indian Council of Social Science Research may lead to neglect of promotion of philosophy and history
as many students may not then opt for these subjects.
 Dilution of autonomy: For example, Prasar Bharati, which had earlier locked horns with the
government, could now become a part of the information and broadcasting ministry, which would
deprive it of its autonomy.
 Curbs in scientific and industrial research and innovation as premier publicly funded and more
inclusive teaching and training institutions such as CSIR, all IIMs, IITs and IGNOU are all part of this
list of central autonomous bodies. Any tinkering with these institutions may lead to deterioration of
quality here.

However, it cannot be denied that merger would reduce duplication of structures and would lead to
efficient use of resources. But the government should ensure that special funds should be allocated to
separate entities within the merged entities, witch-hunt would not be resorted to and principles would
be properly enlisted for reviewing autonomous bodies. This may lead to enhanced operational efficiency,
better governance mechanism, streamlined expenditure and effective autonomous bodies in the
country.
4. Well-defined electoral laws and greater powers for the Election Commission of India are required as
the existing laws and mechanisms are inadequate to deal with new challenges. Analyse.
Approach:
 Discuss the new challenges being faced by Election Commission of India (ECI).
 Discuss the inadequacies in existing laws and mechanisms related to ECI.
 Discuss possible reforms.
Answer:
The success of Election Commission in its functioning cannot be undermined, yet there are many new
challenges that it is facing which may require the introduction of robust laws and devolution of greater
powers to the institute. The challenges that the commission face today include:
 Corruption & criminalization of politics.
 Lack of transparency in collection and usage of funds by political parties.
 Paid news: absence of any comprehensive definition of paid news, rising incidents of paid news and
the need for empowered regulators to monitor incidents of paid news.
 Absence of social media policy: as per ECI, paid operators run by Public Relationship firms are being
actively deployed to shape public opinion online.
 Model Code of Conduct being not enforceable by law.
 Degradation of ethics: for example, use of money power for political gains, horse trading of
MPs/MLAs, false allegations on opponents by taking undue advantage of freedom of expression.
 Financial autonomy: budget of the ECI is not charged on the Consolidated Fund of India thus making
it dependent on the government.
To tackle the above challenges, improvements can be made with respect to defining the electoral laws
clearly as well as making things enforceable by law such as:
 Making MCC a part of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 as recommended by the Standing
Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in 2013.
 Defining paid news comprehensively via wide consultation. This should cover advertisements
camouflaged as news, denial of coverage to select electoral candidates, exchanging of advertisement
space for equity stakes between media houses and corporates etc.
 Formulating an exhaustive social media policy.
 Considering lifetime ban on convicts from being elected.
 Curbs on anonymous funding of political parties.
 Use of VVPAT and greater public awareness about the functioning and safety of EVMs.
 Electoral malpractices should be declared criminal offense carrying a sentence of two years or more.
Also, there is a view to give more powers to ECI to deal with the above mentioned challenges, such as:
 Ensuring financial autonomy for ECI by introducing a constitutional amendment.
 Power to punish for its contempt, which would give the Commission the power to enforce its orders.
Reducing the limit of cash donation, which may be received by political parties and introducing electoral
bonds, which provide transparency in collection of funds is a welcome step. However, the key lies in
effective implementation of the above suggested and existing measures by ECI as well as following the
rule of law by political parties to promote the democratic ethos.

5. Privileges should be defined and delimited for the free and independent functioning of the legislatures.
In this context, discuss whether there is a need to re-examine the balance between fundamental rights
and parliamentary privileges in India.
Approach:
 Define Parliamentary privileges in brief.
 Discuss the pros and cons of delimiting and defining privileges to balance them with Fundamental
Rights.
 Give a suitable conclusion.
Answer:
Parliamentary privilege refers to rights and immunities enjoyed by Parliament as an institution and MPs
in their individual capacity, without which they cannot discharge their functions as entrusted upon them
by the Constitution.
According to Article 105, the powers, privileges and immunities of Parliament and MPs are to be defined
by the Parliament. No law has so far been enacted in this respect. In the absence of any such law, it
continues to be governed by British Parliamentary conventions.
Parliamentary privileges can be used as a tool against critics – the civil society and the media. This
endangers the fundamental right to speech and expression of these institutions and the public. It can be
corroborated from a recent incident in Karnataka, where journalists were sent to jail for breach of
privileges.
There exists compelling reasons to clearly define and delimit parliamentary privileges to balance it with
Fundamental Rights, because of the following reasons:
 To remove their vagueness, uncertainty and inscrutability.
 These Privileges may be misused to hide misdeeds like corruption and may have far-reaching
implications for a clean public life. For example, in 1998, a constitutional bench of Supreme Court in
P.V. Narasimha Rao vs. CBI held that bribe takers who had taken bribes and voted against the no-
confidence motion were immune from prosecution; but the bribe givers have no such immunity.
 It raises the issue of conflict of interest as it allows parliamentarians to become judges in their own
cause and thus violates the principle of fair trial.
However there are some concerns:
 The codification of privileges would make the privileges subject to fundamental rights and hence, to
judicial scrutiny and evolution of new privileges would become difficult.
 The codification at the present moment would leave no space for future adjustment when a new
situation may arrive.
 Legislators also argue that codification of privileges may harm the sovereignty of the Parliament.
Way Forward
The privileges should no more be allowed to remain uncertain and vague; privilege must be invoked in
rare circumstances to prevent real obstruction in legislative functioning and not in a way that sets law
makers above ordinary comment and criticism. Parliament has a duty to look carefully before making any
law, so that it doesn't harm other’s rights and uphold the Constitution ethos in true spirit.
6. The principle of accountability is an essential part of the rule of law. In this context, discuss the lacunae
in government's approach and judiciary's response to the phenomenon of extrajudicial killings in India.
Approach:
 Explain the meaning of the given statement and establish a link between accountability and Rule of
Law.
 In the context of extra-judicial killings, discuss the lacunae in the government’s approach.
 Mention correctives suggested and taken by the Judiciary to rectify the situation.
Answer:
Rule of Law is a principle of governance in which entities, including the state itself is accountable to laws
that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated. Accountability is an
essential part of Rule of Law.
Extra judicial killings
An extrajudicial killing is the killing of a person by governmental authorities without the sanction of law.
There have been allegations and instances of judicial killings by the police and the armed forces in India.
This has raised serious concerns in handling extrajudicial killings in India, which include lacunae in
government’s approach:
 Inadequate investigation of extrajudicial killing due to absence of an independent body to investigate
such complaints.
 Limited success of NHRC as guidelines outlined by NHRC are often not implemented by the
government.
 Doctrines of sovereign and official immunity which protect officials: Legal barriers for the
prosecution of public servants, including the requirement for ‘prior sanction’ from the government.
 Failure of government to ratify UN Convention against Torture and the International Convention for
the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
 Lack of adequate compensation system for the families of victims of extrajudicial killings.
 Low conviction rates and lack of transparency regarding internal disciplinary hearings in armed
forces. Judicial delays also make conviction difficult at times.
 AFSPA takes away some accountability on part of public officials in the national interest.
Judiciary’s response:
 R.S. Sodhi vs State of U.P. 1992: In this judgement, the Supreme Court held that every police
encounter must be investigated.
 In 2014, the SC provided detailed guidelines to check extra judicial killings.
o Independent investigation into encounters, by the CID or police team of another police station
under the supervision of a senior officer.
o Probe report shall be forwarded to the court concerned so that a magisterial inquiry is carried
out and a final report submitted.
o No out-of-turn promotion or instant gallantry rewards shall be bestowed on the concerned
officers soon after the occurrence.
o If an incriminating chargesheet is filed against the police officers, the trial must be concluded
expeditiously, apart from initiating disciplinary action against such officers and placing them
under suspension.
o The relatives of a victim can also approach a Sessions Court if the authorities fail to comply with
the Supreme Court directives
Recently, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI investigation into cases of suspected extra-judicial killings in
Manipur based on a PIL. Similarly, the court had last year ruled that the armed forces cannot escape
investigation for excesses even in places where they enjoy special powers under AFSPA. The court also
addressed the Centre to take note of the NHRC’s concerns and remedy the situation. By doing so, the
court has reiterated that the principle of accountability is an essential part of the rule of law.
7. Explain the rationale behind enacting the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. Discuss
how it can help in revitalizing consumer confidence in the real estate market. Also highlight the
hurdles that remain in implementing it.
Approach:
 Discuss the rationale behind enacting Real Estate Regulation Act, 2016 (RERA).
 Explain as to how it revitalizes consumer confidence in the real estate sector.
 Mention the hurdles that remain in its implementation.

Answer:
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) was passed by the Parliament in March
2016 and came into effect from May 2017. RERA seeks to bring clarity, fair practices and avoid delays that
would protect the interests of buyers. It imposes penalties on errant builders, as builders often sell
projects to investors without the approval of plans, unauthorized increase in Floor Area Rate, bad quality
of construction, projects stuck in litigation etc.

RERA can revitalize consumer confidence in the real estate market through provisions such as:
 Transparency: The regulator’s website should have the necessary public disclosure of details related
to each project. Thus, consumer can find out whether the builder has necessary regulatory
approvals.
 Financial accountability: Project developers will now be required to deposit at least 70% of their
funds, including land cost, in a separate escrow account to meet the cost of construction.
 Penalties for violation: A provision for imprisonment of up to 3 years in case of promoters and 1 year
in case of agents and buyers for the violation of orders of the appellate tribunals.
 Consumer protection: A clear definition of carpet area and buyers being charged for the carpet area
and not super built-up area. Further, developers can’t ask more than 10 per cent of the property’s
cost as an advanced payment booking amount.
 Quality: The builders would also be responsible for fixing structural defects for five years after
transferring the property to a buyer.
 Time bound dispute redressal: Appellate tribunals will adjudicate cases and regulatory authorities
will dispose complaints within 60 days.
Hurdles in implementation
 As of May 2017, only 13 States and Union Territories have notified rules under the Act.
 Its success hinges on faster regulatory approvals through single window system, digitization of land
records etc.
 Builders, real estate agents and government bodies need to be made aware of the regulations.
 Developers should be able to collate the documents, have necessary approvals and also need to
relook at the relationships with different vendors and third parties.
 Watering down of the Act: Various states, such as Gujarat have made certain changes in the Act by
not including existing projects or making changes in the punishment for non-completion of projects
among other things.
The Centre should ensure that the spirit of RERA remains intact and it does not become a toothless Act.
8. Moving the subject of water from state list to concurrent list will solve the issues related to governance
of water resources. Comment.
Approach:
 Give a brief introduction about the subject of water as mentioned in the Constitution of India.
 Give reasons as to why it should be shifted to the Concurrent list and whether doing so would help in
solving issues related to governance of water resources.
Answer:
Water is mentioned under Entry 17 of the State List in the Indian Constitution. It includes water supplies,
irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments and storage. However, it is explicitly made subject to
the provisions of Entry 56 in the Union List, which enables the Union to deal with inter-State rivers.
Of-late, several issues related to governance of water management have been rising. Thus, a suggestion
has been mooted, for moving water from the State List to the Concurrent List because of following
reasons:

 Integrated approach: For proper water management, a river basin approach and consideration of
water as a hydrological unit requires a greater role for the Central Government.
 Water crisis has become a national concern: Reduced accessibility to safe water and rights based
concerns were not a major concern while formulating the Constitution, as it is today. There are
serious concerns now relating to rapid depletion of aquifers, arsenic and fluoride contamination etc.

Impact of climate change: Climate change and its impact on water resources is inevitable. To tackle
this, coordinated action is required at both national and international levels.
 Handling multiplicity of principles, rules & institutions: There is need for a comprehensive and
uniform legislative framework at the national level to harmonize various aspects of water use,
particularly life support. .
 Over-dependence on the States: The Central Government has come up with two model laws for
better water management (National Water Framework bill and Ground Water Model bill), but it can
be enforced only if the States decide to adopt them.
 Rising inter-state water disputes: Most major rivers of India are inter-state in nature and thus inter-
state river dispute is a major issue in Indian polity. For example, the prolonging Cauvery water
dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and Punjab-Haryana over Sutlej are examples of the
same.
 International disputes: India also has major river disputes with Pakistan, Bangladesh and China and
state issues often derail the talks with other countries. For example, Teesta dispute between
Bangladesh and India is pending due to the Centre’s inability to bring West Bengal on the same table.
 Populist policies adopted by the states have led to mindless exploitation: Supply of municipal water
at low rates along with no policy on groundwater usage at the state level. This also shows the low
priority given to water management.
 Expertise: The Center is currently better equipped for water expertise such as research, technical
know-how, human resources. The state level water agencies are often poorly funded and
mismanaged.
 Easier international finances: International institutes like the World Bank find it easier to deal with
the centre.
Thus, rational utilization of water resources requires it to be placed under the Concurrent List and then
framing the appropriate legislation. This has been recommended by many committees in the past as well
as Ashok Chawla committee recently. However, there are also valid arguments against such a move:
 It goes against the spirit of cooperative federalism.
 River water is best managed at local level and thus transferring water in Concurrent list violates the
principle of subsidiarity.
To deal with inter-state river dispute, the Centre is already equipped with Article 262 and Entry 56 of
the Union List of the Constitution.
Thus, any decision in this regard should be made by developing political consensus, in the spirit of
cooperative federalism. Rather than an act of centralization, it should be seen as a development
imperative.
Inclusion of water as a subject in theConcurrent List is just a step in right direction, but not a sufficient
condition to solve water issues. Successful water governance will require other reforms such as
participative governance involving center, state and local community.
9. Give an account of the areas of potential conflict in the relationship between the political executive
and civil servants. Also discuss why a healthy working relationship between the two is critical for good
governance.
Approach:
 Briefly introduce with nature of relationship between political executive and civil servants.
 Discuss the areas of potential conflict between them.
 Also discuss why a healthy relationship is required between the two.
Answer:
In India, the relationship between political executive and civil servants is based on the principle of civil
service anonymity and ministerial responsibility. The power is exercised through elected representatives
who hold ministers accountable and in turn, civil servants are accountable to Ministers. Thus, civil
servants and Ministers work together.
Areas of potential conflict

 Violation of neutrality principle: Many civil servants are seen as affiliated to one or the other
political party.
 Advisory role of civil servants in policy making: Civil servants have to make a trade-off between
opposing goals such as long-term social payoffs versus short term political gain for the political
executive.
 Interference in the statutory roles of the civil servants: Senior functionaries, both in the civil
services as well as elected representatives, put pressure on civil servants, which leads to friction
between them.
 Principle of subsidiarity is not followed: By this principle power should be delegated, but due to
ministerial responsibility, there is an increasing tendency in government departments to centralize
authority and interfere in decision making.
 Appointments/Transfers and postings of civil servants: Arbitrary and questionable methods of
appointments, promotions and transfers of officers by political superiors also leads to corrosion of
the moral basis of independence of civil servants.
An attempt should be made to maintain a healthy working relationship between Ministers and civil
servants as it is critical for good governance because of the following reasons:
 Efficient utilisation of limited resources is possible only if civil servants are able to give objective and
impartial advice to their Ministers without the peril of being humiliated or penalized.
 Effective implementation: Implementation is the achilles heel for Indian administrative system. If
political-will gets combined with civil servant’s determination, outcomes of the schemes would be on
expected lines.
 Rapid socio-economic development: Ease of doing business and smooth economic activities can be
ensured by integrity and coordination on part of civil servants and ministers.
 Less instances of policy failure: Public policy cycle is continuous and requires close cooperation
between the prerogative of political executive and expertise of permanent executives.
 Achievement of strategic national priorities will need trust and good working relationship between
the two and upholding of constitutional values. It will also act as a unifying force in vast and
culturally diverse nation such as ours.
The relationship between ministers and civil servants should be one of mutual dependence. The
parliamentary democracy shall flourish only if both ministers and civil servants endeavour to understand
each other's point of view, objectives and requirements. In India's case, this is essential because it has
embarked on the reforms process.
Thus, steps such as establishing autonomous board for appointment, postings and transfer of civil
servants, clear division of responsibility, adopting framework in which responsibility and accountability is
well defined etc. should be undertaken.
10. Despite their location in the non-political domain of civil society, NGOs have ended up playing a key, if
indirect, role in India's politics. Comment.
Approach:
 Introduce by defining Non-Government Organisations (NGOs).
 Discuss the role played by NGOs in Indian society in short.
 Discuss the role (direct/ indirect) played by NGOs in Indian politics.
 Give appropriate examples, wherever necessary.
 Conclude on the basis of above points.

Answer:
NGO is defined as a non-profit private organization that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote
the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services or undertake community
development.
Task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and
humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to governments, advocate and monitor policies and
encourage political participation through provision of information.
Some NGOs also work for the empowerment of people by mobilizing them on some public issues and
thus graduating from a ‘welfare’ approach. Such NGOs are said to influence politics, in the following
ways:
Some NGOs have engaged in popular mobilization against proposed projects, like Kundalkulam nuclear
project, POSCO plant, Narmada Bachao Andolan etc. Spearheading movements to provide justice for
people affected by such projects has made NGOs serve as a crucial reference point for political parties
and other social movements.
 Some NGOs are working directly in political sphere:
o Instead of representing people or problems of their constituency, representative form of
democracy has created caste and religion as political constituency. In such a scenario, some
NGOs fill this gap.
o Some NGOs are continuously working for electoral reform.
o Some NGOs are fighting legal battles for upholding the Constitution and law, and safeguarding
the rights of the people, like People’s Union for Civil Liberties.
o Many NGOs are providing public services to people at grassroots level, making them enjoy the
popular support.
 Many NGOs are actively advocating policy changes for the benefit of the common good, like
Greenpeace. Their advocacy affects policy decisions, and thereby they are said to play a political role.
The blurring of the boundaries between NGOs and movement groups, and between NGOs and the state,
is just one of many factors that has allowed NGOs to enter gradually and often indirectly, into the domain
of electoral politics.
However, many NGOs have been found to be guilty of financial irregularities and working against the
national interest, which needs to be rectified. Democratic decentralization has provided an opportunity
for NGOs to enter into the political domain. But in the end it’s the developmental agenda of the NGOs
which is the quintessential feature that aligns it with the politics.
11. Magnitude of India’s urbanisation is not unusual but the pattern is. In this context, examine the issues
in the governance of cities in India. Also suggest the reforms required to make Indian cities dynamos of
competitive sub-federalism.
Approach:
 Briefly, explain the magnitude and pattern of urbanisation in India.
 List the issues in the governance of cities in India and elaborate them.
 Suggest the reformative steps required to make Indian cities dynamos of competitive sub-federalism.
 Conclude your answer.
Answer:
Urbanization defines the trajectory of development. In India, urbanisation is rapidly on the rise as 31.16
percent of population lives in urban areas. According to United Nations report, India is expected to add
an extra 300 million new urban residents by 2050. The magnitude of urbanization in India is usual and in
line with transition phase seen in a developing country. However, the pattern of urbanization is
haphazard and lopsided marked with severe governance deficit.

Issues in governance
 Poor governance capacities
o The involvement of multiple authorities leading to overlapping of functions.
o Fragmentation of responsibility and service delivery across a large number of institutions.
o Lack of uniformity in the implementation of e-governance initiatives leading to unavailability of

basic information.
 Infrastructure deficits
o Productive urbanisation requires efficient public services delivery. But every Indian city lacks
basic facilities. For e.g. lack of water and power supply, public transport, education, healthcare
etc.
o Development of infrastructure requires funds but ULB’s have a poor record in raising sufficient
resources.
 Inadequate finances
o ULBs are responsible for the development of urban areas, but there is lack of devolution of
functional and financial powers. Some states have not even allowed the municipalities to levy
property taxes.
o Due to poor property tax collection, the property tax potential remained unexploited across
ULB’s.
o Then there are problems of low coverage, low tax rates, low collection efficiency and lack of
indexation of property values, making property tax a non-buoyant source of revenue.
 ULBs in India are not equipped to generate reliable data which will enable monitoring at the micro
level — the basis for arriving at relevant macro-level policy choices.
 Lack of accountability measures by which the ULBs can be held accountable for their performance.
 Lack of adequate quantity and quality of capable functionaries available to ULBs.
 Lack of planned development leads to haphazard growth, which in turns leads to proliferation of
slums and associated problems.
Suggested reforms
 State government needs to cede power and share resources with local bodies. Here, State Finance
Commissions should also play a vital role by allocating more resources.
 Ensure efficient collection of existing tax base by adopting the latest satellite based techniques to
map urban properties in order to tap the full potential of property tax.
 Regular and reliable fiscal and economic performance database linked with grants to local bodies
could help in ensuring transparency.
 NITI Aayog should also compile actual comparative indices of municipalities’ performance annually.
 The ULBs should be provided with capable manpower in adequate numbers, by creating an
independent specialised cadre.
 There should be an annual audit of the performance of ULBs, along with regular organisation of
Ward Sabhas for increasing accountability.
 Any development plan should include all aspects of infrastructure development to make it viable
providing services to every section and sector.
 Initiatives like Swachhta Dashboards: platform that show information on cities across the country
based on their cleanliness.

 Promoting financing options like municipality bonds.
Way Forward
The government should devolve more powers and provide sufficient resources to local bodies; also put
proper checks and balances to ensure transparency and accountability, thereby, enabling cities to
become an effective instrument for competitive federalism and competitive sub-federalism.
12. Social boycott should be treated as a criminal offence, rather than being considered as just another
form of social evil plaguing the Indian society. Examine.
Approach:
 Explain what social boycott means.
 Give reasons for treating it as a criminal offence and not just a social evil.
 Briefly touch upon why is it not sufficient to tackle social boycott.
Answer:
Social boycott is a deliberate isolation of an individual, collectively by the other members of the
community, which involves:
 Prevention or obstruction from observing any social or religious custom or usage or ceremony.
 Prevention from taking part in a social, religious or community function, meeting etc.
 Challenging the freedom of individuals in the name of jati panchayats, religion, customs etc.
Recently, the passage of the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention,
Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016, has given a legal backing against the practice of social boycott,
thereby, criminalizing social boycott with penal provisions rather than seeing it as just another form of
social evil.
It needs to be treated as a criminal offence because:
 It upholds the ideals of constitution such as right to equality under Article 14 and non-discrimination
under Article 15. It would help the aggrieved people to avail legal remedies against boycott more
freely.
 It will arrest the abuse of power by the elite section and will contribute towards curbing social evils,
such as honour killing, in the garb of caste panchayat diktats or rituals.
 It may help in promoting inter-caste marriages.
 It is the duty of the state to use its authority to protect and promote individual dignity and right to
life and avoid instances like naked parading, ostracizing etc.
 It would curb violence based on social divisions.
 It would help in providing rehabilitation and protection to victims and witnesses.
 It would lead to an end of parallel judicial systems such as Gavkis in Maharashtra and khap panchayat
in Haryana as people will pose more faith in the state machinery.
 With a legal provision, the police would be more responsible to keep a close watch on any situation
that can arise and thus inspire confidence among the people.
Challenges
 Social boycott is usually based on oral diktat, thereby difficult to prove in a court of law.
 Social boycott is a socio-cultural issue, which can’t be resolved merely by legal mechanism.
Laws are firefighting instruments and may not be enough to prevent practices. For example, laws against
social ills such as child marriage, child labour etc. have had a limited role in curbing these practices. Thus,
laws must be accompanied by awareness generation, interventions for attitudinal and behavioral
changes through mass mobilization, along with positive involvement of the civil society organisations,
media and citizenry.
13. Human Trafficking in India has emerged as a serious issue, which calls for understanding the
complexity of the problem and devising an effective strategy to combat it. Discuss.
Approach:
 Introduce by defining human trafficking.
 Discuss the issue of human trafficking in India along with the complexities involved with this
problem.
 Mention the steps taken to tackle the above problem.
Answer:
Human trafficking is the third largest organized crime after drugs and the arms trade across the globe.
According to the United Nations – “trafficking is any activity leading to recruitment, transportation,
harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or a position of vulnerability”. Close to
80% of human trafficking across the world is done for sexual exploitation and the rest is for bonded labor.
India is considered as the hub of human trafficking in Asia with almost 20,000 women and children
victims of it in 2016, a rise of nearly 25% from the previous year. According to the Ministry of Women
and Child Development 19,223 women and children were trafficked last year against 15,448 in 2015.
To understand the problem of human trafficking we need to understand the basic intertwined factors
behind it. For example:
 Poverty: Kids, especially girls, mostly from poorer regions are sold in faraway states of India for
sexual exploitation and to work as bonded labour by agents who lure their parents with education,
better life, and money for these kids.
 Porous borders & poor bilateral coordination: Porous borders coupled with lack of bilateral
mechanism to handle trafficking makes neighbours like Bangladesh and Nepal and border states of
India the prominent areas of human trafficking.
 Double victimisation: Cross-country trafficking leads to double victimisation of trafficked persons as
they don’t have their documents, which makes them illegal migrants in the host country.
 Illegal trading: Another cause of trafficking is the illegal organ trade or drug trade racket in which
gullible and innocent people get trapped.
 Indebtedness: To support their family or to fulfil their debt obligations to moneylenders, members
are forced to work for them
 Impact of disasters: Disasters leads to loss of stability and earning opportunities for many families.
Various agents take advantage of such situation to traffic affected persons as they are most
vulnerable to false promises in hope of better life.
 Lack of skills and job opportunities forces them to take up such offers.
To combat the problem of human trafficking, a lot of measures have been taken by the state machinery
as well as by the NGOs to rehabilitate the victims of human trafficking. Some of the initiatives are:
 Article 23 of the Indian Constitution explicitly prohibits and criminalises human trafficking and forced
labour.
 Trafficking in Human Beings or Persons is prohibited under the Constitution of India under Article
23(1). The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) is the premier legislation for prevention of
trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 has come into force wherein Section 370 of the Indian Penal
Code has been substituted with Section 370 and 370A IPC, which provide for comprehensive
measures to counter the menace of human trafficking.
 Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 is a special law to protect children
from sexual abuse and exploitation.
 There are other specific legislations enacted relating to trafficking in women and children:
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006; Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976; Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986; Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994; apart from

specific Sections in the IPC, e.g. Sections 372 and 373 dealing with selling and buying of girls for the
purpose of prostitution.
 State Governments have also enacted specific legislations to deal with the issue. (e.g. The Punjab
Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2012).
 Along with the government trafficking is prevented by the efforts of local NGOs such as Maiti Nepal
on the Nepalgunj side and Dehat Prahari Project in India.

To combat the problem of human trafficking we need to respond to the social weaknesses that make
victims of human trafficking vulnerable to exploitation, such as gender inequalities, underemployment,
family conflicts etc.
14. A weak teacher education system is at the core of India’s problems in school education. Evaluate. In
this context, also enumerate the recommendations of the High-Powered Commission on Teacher
Education constituted by the Supreme Court of India.
Approach:
 Explain the significance of teacher education in the scheme of school education.
 Evaluate its shortcomings in present scenario in India.
 Enumerate the recommendations of the Verma Commission on Teacher Education.
Answer:
Teacher education or teacher training refers to the professional development of teachers which includes
equipping them with the knowledge, attitudes, expertise and skills required by them and improving their
performance. Therefore, it is natural that quality of school education directly depends on the quality of
teacher education.
To deal with this issue, a statutory body viz National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) was
established in 1993 to regulate teacher education system in India. With the setting of NCTE, there was a
large scale increase in the number of Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs). It also prepared the National
Curriculum Framework of Teacher Education but not much improvement was seen in the quality of
teacher education.
Shortcomings of Teacher Education System
 Focus is on the quantity of teachers rather than their quality.
 Corruption in granting licenses to TEIs by NCTE which has resulted in poor quality of output from
these institutes.
 Lack of training infrastructure and even in the existing ones, close to 90% of the teacher training
institutes lie in the private sector where standards of training are low.
This weak and corrupt TE system is at the core of India’s problems in school education.
Impacts on Education system
 Declining rate of learning outcomes in our schools as shown by the successive ASER reports. Also, in
the Programme for International Student Assessment, India was ranked almost at the bottom.
 Shortage in number of trained professionals: There are almost 6.6 lakh teachers in the country who
need training. Shortage also impacts the desired pupil-teacher ratio impinging quality of education.
 Resistance in adopting new technology or methodology as is seen from failure of Continuous
Comprehensive Evaluation as well as lack of adoption of new technologies using ICT in the teaching
process.
 Education system would find it difficult to produce efficient workers in future with the emerging
challenges such as automation etc. where assembly line kind of jobs will be in less demand.
 Poor research outcomes: Because such teachers do not cooperate with the researchers.

It was in this context that Supreme Court (SC) established a high-powered commission in 2011 under
Justice J.S. Verma to review the TE system.
Recommendations of Commission
 Increase public investment in teacher education system.

Transparent procedure of pre-entry testing of candidates to pre-service teacher education programs.

 New TEIs must be set-up in multi-disciplinary academic environment.
 Make Teacher education as a part of higher education to introduce the necessary rigour and
exposure to various integral disciplines.
 Teacher education programs must be aligned with National Curriculum Framework 2009 to make it
more relevant.
 Set-up expert academic body at national level for continuous analysis and reform of the teacher
education programs.
 Focus should also be on in-service teacher education by strengthening the existing infrastructure and
making periodic in-service training compulsory for teachers.
 Functioning of NCTE should be reformed by increasing its accountability; increasing tenure of
Chairperson; reforming appointment procedure for members of NCTE etc.
The commission’s recommendations were accepted by the Union Government and included a complete
overhaul of the TE system. However, the changes are happening at a glacial pace due to inadequate
financial and human resources as well as ownership of majority of dysfunctional TEIs by people with
significant political capital. Thus, these roadblocks need to be removed for expeditious implementation
of these recommendations.
15. It has been argued that the recent order of the Supreme Court to prevent the misuse of Section 498A
institutionalises the prejudices and rehabilitates the myths, which the women’s movement in India has
battled over decades. Discuss.
Approach:
 Give a brief explanation of Section 498A of IPC and elaborate the recent Supreme Court order
regarding this particular section.
 Assess the directives passed by the SC.
 Analyze its impact on women and their rights in India.
Answer:
IPC Section 498A states that "whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman,
subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to
three years and shall also be liable to fine." Such an offence is cognizable, non-compoundable and non-
bailable. It is deemed as ‘the anti-dowry law’.
In Rajesh Sharma and Ors vs State of UP case (2017), the SC laid down directions to prevent misuse of
Section 498A against a husband or his relatives. The guidelines are based on following observations by
the SC:
 The law has been misused by wives and relatives and thus has violated the basic human rights of
men.
 The court relied on NCRB data of 2005, 2012 and 2013 of the number of people arrested, convicted
and acquitted and concluded that since conviction rate is low, most cases registered under 498A are
false.
 Seizure of passports and issuing of interpole notices were seen as problematic.
In lieu of these observations, the court provided following guidelines:
 Cognizable offences have been turned into non-cognizable offences.
 Special rules for bail of husbands have been created.
 The provisions of the Passport Act have been altered.
However, there are serious issues with the judgment as it institutionalizes the myth of most cases being
frivolous under section 498A. This can be understood from the following points:
 The NCRB data does not depict reality as there can be various reasons for acquittal, for e.g. poor
investigation, settlement through mediation etc.

 The court did not co-relate data from other sources like NFHS-3, women’s studies centers, etc. which
paint a different picture regarding the issue.
 The judgment states that a ‘Family Welfare Committee’ drawn from members of society has to be
constituted in each district. However, this is virtual privatization of policing function and delays
investigation. Moreover, committee members can be unqualified and biased.
 There is already a bias against women in law enforcement agencies, i.e. a preconception that
disgruntled wives are misusing the law.
 Low conviction rate exists across the board, isolating crimes against women seems illogical.
Impact of the judgement on women and their rights
 The law was passed in 1980s due to high number of dowry deaths. Earlier, the accused were
immediately arrested and had the onus of burden to prove their innocence. However, the revised
order is a step back as many safeguards have been introduced for the accused. This will deter women
from taking legal recourse during instances of harassment.
 The SC unconsciously restores and legitimizes the construct that a woman rushes into litigation and
criminal prosecution; however, generally women are weighed down by gender relations and often
tolerate violence.
 The changed provision w.r.t. the passport will make it easier for accused husbands and NRIs to
abscond.
 The importance of the law is undeniable in India's patriarchal social structure. Dowry remains
unchecked and is often practiced despite implementation of Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Hence,
some of the recent orders may weaken the grounds for genuine victims. Thus, the law must retain its
progressive bias in favour of wronged women, without inadvertently wronging men.
16. As strategic interests between India and US continue to converge, defence has emerged as a major
area of cooperation between the two. Discuss the significance and possible implications of this
development.
Approach:
 Enumerate the areas of convergence between India and US.
 Discuss increasing cooperation in defence between the two.
 Highlight the significance and implications of the increasing cooperation in defence.
Answer:
India and US share common values of democracy and liberalism. The two countries have in recent times
overcome “hesitations of history” and increased convergence on common issues. Both have several
shared goals, objectives and inheritance to a rule-based international order, peace and shared
prosperity:
 Security of global commons: Freedom of navigation and security of sea trade, security of airspace,
unfettered use of cyber space and weapons-free outer space.
 Opposition to terrorism: Usage of stern language against Pakistan and designation of Hizb-ul-
Mujahideen leader, as Specially Designated Global Terrorist by USA shows convergence with India in
tackling terrorism.
 Strategic alignments over situation in Afghanistan, North Korea, Pakistan, India's membership in
UNSC, humanitarian relief, rapidly growing influence and presence of China in Indian Ocean and
Indo-Pacific region
 Respect for international law: Both reiterate the need to resolve territorial and maritime disputes
peacefully and in accordance with international law
 Economic convergence: Indian investments totalling USD 15 billion are creating jobs in 35 US States,
while India is seeking US investments in infrastructure and technology.
 Acceptance of India as a responsible Nuclear power: Indo-US Civil Nuclear deal and support for
India’s membership at NSG.

Above shared values and interests, and their abiding commitment to global peace and security, is
resulting into defence as major area of cooperation:
 Designation of India as a Major Defence Partner: It will give India "license-free access to a wide
range of dual-use technologies".
 Support to US in Indian Ocean region: India lent support to US to join as an Observer in Indian
Ocean Naval Symposium etc.
 Signing of logistic support agreement LEMOA to avail access to each other’s military facilities for
various logistical supports during ports calls, joint military exercises, military training, disaster relief
operations, humanitarian operations etc.
 Deepening military exchange for strategic and regional cooperation through Malabar naval
exercises, intelligence sharing, operational-level counterterrorism cooperation, strengthening
information exchange on terrorist groups and terror financing etc.
 Greater collaboration on defence trade, technology and innovation: USA has emerged as the
second largest supplier of sophisticated equipment to India after Russia. There are possibilities of tie-
up between Lockheed Martin and Tata group to locally manufacture F16 aircraft giving impetus to
Make in India initiative.
 Strong support for India’s membership to Missile Technology Control Regime.
The deepening defence collaboration and cooperation indicates greater trust and synergy. It would
strengthen India’s security capabilities on field as well as in manufacturing. This would also enhance
dialogue as well as outcomes regarding all other aspects of India-US ties.
However, this cooperation has certain impediments and challenges needing attention:
 Indigenization of defence manufacturing as very recently US government assured Congress of not
relocating any factories to India, blocking any transfer of technology and expertise.
 Though critical of Pakistan, USA continues to be its largest donor.
 Non-aligned stance of India in global security.
 Relations with Russia may be jeopardized as it may be overtaken by USA as larger defence exporter.
Russia has increased its engagements with Pakistan and China.
Benefits of cooperation notwithstanding India must seek definite actions from US over its concerns.
Further, it should reduce its reliance on a single superpower, which follows realpolitik and diversify its
strategic engagements to safeguard its interests in long terms.
17. India's contribution to peacekeeping missions of the United Nations has remained steadfast despite
changes in the nature, form and variety of UN peace keeping missions. Examine.
Approach:
 Give a brief introduction about UN peacekeeping missions.
 Discuss changes in the nature of these operations and India’s contributions despite changing nature.
 Briefly mention the arising challenges and their remedy.
Answer:
UN peacekeeping is a unique and dynamic instrument to help countries make transition from conflict to
peace. Effective and efficient UN peace operations are essential to building peace and security in failing
or failed states.
In the past two decades, there have been fundamental changes in nature, form and variety of peace
operations such as:
 Most conflicts in post-Cold War world are intra-state or internal in nature, rather than inter-state.
For ex- conflict in Somalia, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Liberia etc.
 Internal conflicts are more complex due to involvement of non-state actors such as militias, rebel
groups etc.
 Peacekeeping mandates have become wide-ranging including Disarmament, Demobilisation and
Reintegration (DDR) of warring groups, provision of humanitarian relief, assistance in post-conflict

reconstruction, facilitation of elections, training and development of indigenous institutions and
forces.
 Peace operations are no longer exclusively military-led. A multiplicity of actors are involved in
modern Peackeeping Operations – NGOs, humanitarian agencies, police, civilian administrators,
electoral and constitutional experts etc.
India’s steadfast support to peacekeeping
As one of the founding members of UN, India’s contribution to maintenance of international peace and
security has been second to none. India provides commanders, armed military contingents, military
observers, staff officers, Indian Air Force attack and utility helicopters etc. to many UN missions. India is
largest cumulative troop contributor, having provided almost 200,000 troops in nearly 50 UN
peacekeeping missions over past six decades.
India’s participation in peacekeeping is influenced by a number of factors such as our national interests,
principles of peacekeeping, bilateral relations, regional equations, public perception in host country,
domestic national sentiment, viability of mission, potential for professional enrichment and exposure to
our armed forces, operational issues like command and control, and the risk factor.
However, concerns have been raised about India’s peacekeeping missions:
 Recently special investigation by UN observed that 2200 Indian troops stationed in South Sudan
suffer from lack of quality protective equipment owing to faulty procurement process.
 Shortage of support both in terms of troops and money.
 Not being a permanent member of UNSC, India does not have a say in making decisions on
peacekeeping.
 India faces security shortages to meet internal threats. There is a growing sentiment as to why India
should contribute to UN when we have our own problems.
These concerns need redressal through greater national and international budgetary support,
streamlining procurement process, better training to deal with stress and isolation, switching of troops
regularly etc. Also, it must be acknowledged that India’s contribution to peacekeeping missions is not just
an ideological compulsion but in interest of India’s strategic interests and global presence. Hence, India’s
commitment to UN peacekeeping must continue unwaveringly and resolutely.
18. India's partnership with Africa is an amalgam of African development priorities as well as India’s
development objectives. Discuss. Also highlight the initiatives taken by India in this context.
Approach:
 Discuss the African development priorities and explain how India’s development objectives can help
Africa to meet those priorities.
 Discuss initiatives taken by India in the context of Africa’s development.
Answer:
African development priorities are reflected in the “Common African Position (CAP) on the post-2015
Development Agenda” and the “Africa Agenda 2063”. These recognize rising trends in Africa - such as
population growth and the youth bulge, urbanization, climate change and inequalities. They bring out
the importance of prioritizing structural transformation for inclusive and people-centered development
in Africa.
African development priorities inter-alia includes:
 Development of adequate policy space and productive capacities, notably through infrastructure,
science, technology development, transfer and innovation.
 Addressing the challenges posed by climate change, desertification and land degradation, drought,
loss of biodiversity sustainable natural resource management
 Ensuring peace and security

 Promoting responsive and accountable global governance architecture, including through the full
and equitable representation of African countries in international financial and economic institutions
The above development priorities are in sync with India’s developmental objectives like eradication of
poverty, reducing inequality, skill development, employment creation, promoting participative growth
and countering climate change. The amalgam of Africa’s development priorities and India’s development
objectives is reflected in changing dynamics of India’s engagement with Africa, focusing on trade,
investment, official development assistance, capacity building activities and the Diaspora.
Initiatives taken by India
 India’s contribution towards peacekeeping operations (PKOs) in various parts of Africa since the
1960s has been highly appreciated.
 Indo-African trade has reached over 70 billion dollars. India is now a major source of business
investments in Africa. Many African countries enjoy duty free access to the Indian market.
 MoU between India and the African Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) for capacity
building programmes in the field of rural development.
 Apart from various high level visits, multilateral engagement is ensured through India Africa Forum
Summit. India has committed 7.4 billion dollars in concessional credit and 1.2 billion dollars in grant
since the first India-Africa Summit in 2008.
 India is creating 100 capacity building institutions, and developing infrastructure, public transport,
clean energy, irrigation, agriculture and manufacturing capacity across Africa.
 Economic engagement with African countries has increased in the last two decades with a large
number of public and private sector companies from India investing in Africa.
 Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC), in partnership with Japan
 International Cooperation- at WTO regarding food stocking limits, UN governance reforms, Solar
Alliance etc.
19. Comment on the role of International Court of Justice in upholding the values of international law. In
this context, also highlight the association of India with the ICJ over the years.
Approach:
 Introduce with explanation about ICJ.
 Discuss how ICJ upholds values of international law.
 Discuss India’s association with it.
Answer:
International Court of Justice is principal judicial wing of United Nations with seat in Hague, Netherlands.
It aims at establishing peace, stability and international security through upholding values of
international law while performing its dual role such as
Give advisory opinion on legal questions: Although these are consultative in nature and non-binding but
certain instruments or regulations can provide in advance that the advisory opinion shall be binding.
Settle legal disputes submitted to it by states: While settling legal disputes between states, it upholds
global law with respect to various issues be it land frontiers, maritime boundaries, territorial sovereignty,
violations of humanitarian law, hostage taking, the right of asylum, economic rights etc. Court’s decision
binds only the parties to that particular issue and to the extent members accept Court’s jurisdiction. It
said to uphold international law as it follows procedure given in statute and Rules of Court under it. It has
the important and noble role of determining existing law and rendering justice between States, thus,
strengthening rule of law at international level.
However, ICJ’s role has limitations as well. It could not force the states into practice of the law or punish
the states in case any violation of international law occurs. It only involves disputes involving states and
not private enterprises and individuals in violation of global law. Further through exclusion of its
jurisdiction which is permitted under its statute, states limit its effectiveness in dealing with international
disputes. For example, its recent judgment over South China Sea has been rejected by China as non-
binding.
India’s association with ICJ
India is a de facto member of ICJ being the member of UN, and India has been associated with ICJ since
its inception as the founding member of ICJ. India has also been sending its judges to ICJ. India’s
representation in ICJ bench has added weight to its image and also facilitated ICJ’s judgments in favor of
India.
India had declared in 1974, the matters in which it accepts the jurisdiction of ICJ. It does not accept ICJ
jurisdiction when dispute is:
 with the government of any State which is or has been a Member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
 related to or connected with facts or situations of hostilities, armed conflicts, individual or collective
actions taken in self-defence.
 included in exception as declared by Indian Parliament.
India has been party to total six cases of which four have been with Pakistan. India has received favorable
judgment in most cases including the latest one involving Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case where India
succeeded in staying the executing of its retired naval officer. Although ICJ involvement comes from the
fact that Pakistan is in violation of Vienna convention, Indian step to involve third party in a dispute with
Pakistan may open up a pandora’s box. The ICJ may be flooded with other similar cases involving both
the countries.
However, as in past, India has reached out to ICJ this time also as a last resort and an urgent measure.
20. In view of the focus on trans-regional economic corridors and changing regional geo-politics and geo-
economics, critically discuss the idea of an Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor.
Approach:
 Briefly discuss about trans-regional economic corridors.
 Discuss the idea of an Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor with changing regional geo-politics and geo-
economics.
 Discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with the idea of Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor.
Answer:
In contemporary world, the forces of globalization are leading to growing interconnections between
nations, sub-regions and across regions. Regional integration is sought to be achieved through creation
of economic corridors. It is a medium to attract investments and generate economic activity.
Various initiatives of trans-regional economic corridors have been taken up, such as:
 One-belt-one-road intiative of China to link the country with Central & Southeast Asia, Indian Ocean
region, Middle East, Africa and Europe.
 Japan has been involved in developing strategic corridors in South and Southeast Asia.
 Trans-Himalayan economic corridor and BCIM corridor.

 Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor envisioned by the United States to connect Indian and Pacific Oceans
through South and Southeast Asian littorals.
The Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor is being hailed as the ‘New Silk Road’. The Prime Minister of India
highlighted that there would be an effective role for three C’s – culture, commerce and connectivity.
This approach to link the Indian and Pacific oceans is driven with a focus on the geo-political shifts that
are influencing the region.

 The changing political and economic landscape of Myanmar, post 2011, which is pivotal for this
project.
 The engine of global economic growth has shifted eastwards which necessitates a new approach to
this region.
 The project is very much in sync with the US’ Asia Pivot, Japan’s PQI (Partnership for Quality
Infrastructure) and India’s Act East Policy.
 Indonesia seeks to transform itself into the global maritime fulcrum linking its eastern and western
maritime extents.
There is a significant opportunity to link the Corridor into the larger web of regional economic integration
initiatives that are already taking shape. It has the potential of transforming the prospects for
development and investments as well as for trade and transit between the economies of South and
Southeast Asia. It could provide India an opportunity to demonstrate a new leadership in trade that
benefits India in an increasingly integrated region. However there are challenges to the realization of
Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor:
 The growth of the economies of both South and Southeast Asia are crucial.
 As per ADB report about US $ 73 billion is needed for linking south and Southeast Asia.
 Connectivity across regions and even intra-regional connectivity is far below optimal levels.
 US is becoming more inward looking in recent past.
 Security challenges in Myanmar.
 With the growing military capabilities of China, there is also concern about `the rights of passage’
and `the freedom of navigation’.
The Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor is still at a very nascent stage. It is important that geo-politics and
wrangling between great powers does not relegate this vision to the sidelines.
Copyright © by Vision IAS

All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior permission of Vision IAS


Vision Ias CSM 2017 Test 28 Answers

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Vision Ias CSM 2017 Test 28 Answers

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

VISION IAS

Approach – Answer: General Studies Mains Mock Test 875 (2017)

2 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

against parties which don’t conduct internal elections properly.

3 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

4 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

6 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

of construction, projects stuck in litigation etc.

7 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

Areas of potential conflict

9 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

10 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

o Lack of uniformity in the implementation of e-governance initiatives leading to unavailability of

11 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

13 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

on the Nepalgunj side and Dehat Prahari Project in India.

14 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

Transparent procedure of pre-entry testing of candidates to pre-service teacher education programs.

investigation, settlement through mediation etc.

India’s membership at NSG.

Reintegration (DDR) of warring groups, provision of humanitarian relief, assistance in post-conflict

 Ensuring peace and security

20 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

are influencing the region.

Copyright © by Vision IAS

21 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

You might also like