General Studies – II
Judiciary
1) The Supreme Court of India verdict on manner of choosing election panel is a boost to the independence of Election Commission of India. Explain (200 Words)
Refer - The Hindu
General Studies – III
Economy
2) Clean energy solutions are transforming rural India at the grassroots level. Do you agree with this view? Comment(200 Words)
Refer - The Hindu
Energy
3) In the coal sector, a single window e-auction system could simplify price discovery and link it to better quality of services. Discuss (200 Words)
Refer - Business Line
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 2 years
KEY POINTS
· The Supreme Court of India verdict taking away the power to appoint members of the Election Commission of India (ECI) from the sole domain of the executive is a major boost to the independence of the election watchdog.
· The government’s argument that the existing system was working well and there was no vacuum was quite weak.
· The convention now is that the Prime Minister chooses a name from among a database of high-ranking civil servants and advises the President to make the appointment.
· However, a relevant question is whether the presence of the CJI in the selection panel is the only way in which an institution’s independence can be preserved.
· There is no clear proof that the independence of the Central Bureau of Investigation Director, who is appointed by a panel that includes the CJI, or his nominee, has been preserved or enhanced.
· Further, the CJI’s presence may give pre-emptive legitimacy to all appointments and affect objective judicial scrutiny of any error or infirmity in the process.
· On its part, the government will be well-advised to enact a law but not one that seeks to preserve the current convention to get around the verdict that is in tune with the spirit of the Court’s emphasis on the ECI’s independence.
KEY POINTS
· A recent Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) study has shown that out of the 13,000 early adopters of clean tech livelihood appliances, more than 80% are women.
· DRE-powered technologies provide an additional advantage to women farmers and microentrepreneurs by enhancing income opportunities through mechanisation.
· Because of their novelty and high starting price, DRE appliances are perceived as high-risk purchases, especially by women users with a relatively lower risk appetite due to socio-economic reasons.
· At an event in Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, more than 200 women booked seven appliances on the spot, including solar sewing machines and multi-purpose food processors.
· For example, Samunnati Finance, a financier in the agri-value chain, availed an 80% first-loan default guarantee to support six women-led FPOs in Andhra Pradesh that purchased 100-kg solar dryers.
· Women often struggle with established market linkages because of their limited mobility and networks outside their villages.
· Multiple Ministries are working towards promoting livelihoods for women from State rural livelihood missions, horticulture and agriculture departments, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, to the Ministry of Textiles.
· Much like it takes a village to raise a child, scaling the impact of clean energy solutions on women’s livelihoods needs a village of policymakers.
KEY POINTS
· The Coal Ministry recently put in place the mechanism of single e-auction for sale of coal instead of the sector-specific window.
· SHAKTI policy is a transparent way of allocating coal to power plants, including the stressed ones.
· In addition, an Inter-Ministerial Committee has been constituted to monitor augmentation of coal supply and power generation capacity.
· The Ministry has been actively engaging with various Central/State government agencies both for starting new coal mines and for boosting production in the currently operational mines.
· The e-auction will hinge on CIL and SCCL meeting the coal linkage requirements against existing linkages so that supplies to power and non-power sectors at the existing contracted prices are not disrupted, according to a Coal Ministry statement.
· But the challenge of logistics still remains. In the “past few years logistics have improved and coal evacuation has become smoother but still not optimum enough.
· There are advantages in single window mode agnostic auction. It provides a level-playing field for all sectors of the economy;uniformity of bid price irrespective of sector and mode of supply.
· While these are happening for easing the stress on the sector, logistics and financing are a big issue for the sector.
PANDI SANTHOSH RAJA S 2 years
KINDLY REVIEW
IAS Parliament 2 years
Good attempt. Keep Writing.
