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Questions of the UTM01 Test :-
- The nation can progress only if the Union and State Governments walk shoulder to shoulder. Inter-State Council is one of the most significant platforms for strengthening Centre-State and Inter-State relationship. Discuss. What further steps need to be taken to strengthen the Inter-State Council?
- National Human Rights Commissions (NHRCs) have become prominent actors in the national,regional and international human rights arena. Critically examine the role of NHRC in curbing Human Rights violations in the country.
- Recently the Supreme Court had requested the Central government to consider the possibility of establishing a National Court of Appeal (NCA) which has elicited mixed reactions from the legal community. Do you think an intermediary like NCA will be a solution to reduce judicial backlog or suggest any alternative measures?
- Elections in India have become a continuous process and political parties with stakes in various states are constantly preparing for one election or the other. Discuss the problems associated with frequent elections and suggest a way forward.
- Judiciary, in recent years is increasingly being criticized for actively encroaching upon the powers of legislative and executive authorities. The judiciary must retain a fine balance between Judicial Activism and Judicial Over-reach. Elucidate.
- Recently the Chief Justice of India criticized the actions of the Centre over the matter of appointments of judges in the higher judiciary and for trying to bring the entire judiciary to a grinding halt. The legislature and the Judiciary must work together to formulate the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges to higher judiciary. Discuss.
- Smart Cities Mission aims to improve the quality of life of the average urban citizen. However according to few experts, it is necessary to make cities liveable first before making them smart.Discuss in light of problems associated with urban areas in India.
- What do you understand by ‘Lobbying’? Do you think Lobbying should be legalised in India?
- Even after a quarter of a century of their enactment, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are yet to achieve their full potential. Do you agree? Discuss in light of various issues associated with PRIs in India and suggest measures.
- India has too many children but too little childhood. In light of this statement analyze the various legal and policy related loopholes in Indian context and suggest a way forward.
- What do you understand by judicial accountability? Discuss and suggest a way forward to inculcate judiciary accountability in Indian jurisprudence.
- Critically analyse IPC Section – 377 in light of the recent developments with respect to LGBT rights and comment on the judicial judgements pertaining to it.
- The union cabinet has recently cleared draft Surrogacy (Regulation) bill, 2016, which bans commercial surrogacy in India and allows altruistic surrogacy to a qualified set of couples. Critically analyse provisions of the bill and put forth your views on surrogacy.
- Life Exists, therefore it has a right to exist ; Death exist, therefore it has a right to exist too .In light of this statement analyse the legal entanglement surrounding Euthanasia in India.
- Critically comment on right to privacy vis-à-vis various judicial pronouncements surrounding the Aadhaar card and the various provisions of the act pertaining to it?
- What do you understand by rights based approach? Do you think it is helping India better itself to be a more just and inclusive society. Analyse with examples and list out the benefits of this approach, if any.
- What do you understand by pressure group ?Discuss their role in a vibrant democracy?
- Supreme Court had recently upheld criminal defamation. However parties in power in various states are constantly found to be misusing this provision to settle political score or suppress any voice of dissent. In light of this discuss defamation and comment on whether it should be criminal or civil.
- Discuss the role and functions of Medical Council of India and the various issues surrounding it and suggest a way forward.
- Discuss the recommendations of Lodha committee on reforming BCCI. Do you think the similar set of recommendations should be extended to other sports governing bodies to bring transparency and accountability to sports administration in India.
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UPSCTREE Team
Recent Posts
- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)