Current Affairs by Abhishiekh Saxena Sir

Model Answer

Question #1. How far will SVAMITVA (Survey of villages and mapping with improvised technology in village areas) scheme be helpful in strengthening the rural economy of the country? Discuss.

Approach:

•   Introduce by giving a brief overview of SVAMITVA scheme (30 Words)
•   Enumerate the benefits of SVAMITVA scheme (50 Words)
•   Enumerate the challenges of the scheme (50 Words)
•   Way Forward and Conclusion (20 Words)

Hints:

SVAMITVA (Survey of villages and mapping with improvised technology in village areas) scheme is a new initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. It aims to provide rural people with the right to document their residential properties so that they can use their property for economic purposes. It uses drone technology to demarcate land boundaries.

Benefits of the scheme

•   Centre-State Collaboration: It is a government model that needs to be emulated in other sectors of the economy.
  • The model has a structure where the centre takes the responsibility of being the nodal authority and then functions after consultation with the revenue departments of the state governments taking the help of the state panchayati raj depts.
•   Ownership rights and benefits due to it: Property cards are distributed under this scheme to the respective owners, which gives the villagers ownership rights over their properties.
  • It will help to reduce property disputes in rural areas.
  • It will enable the villagers to avail bank loans easily.
•   Effective Planning: It will help the government for effective planning of the infrastructure programmes in the villages.
•   Minimal Errors: Since drone technology and satellite mapping is used to demarcate property, the boundaries of the individual property will be done without any errors.
•   Tax Collection: The records of land ownership created in the villages under this scheme will help in the collection of tax, make new building plans and issuance of permits.

Challenges in implementation

•   Access to Data: To what extent the data collected will be shared with various layers of government and state departments.
  • To what extent the data will be monetised or should be monetised.
  • The private sector companies that are offering drones for surveillance and data collection, will the data be shared with these companies too or not.
•   Data Protection: India, still as a country is far away from having proper fool-proof data protection laws and without such law in place, collection of data and its misuse will always remain a challenge for such an ambitious scheme.
•   Bringing Maximum Villages under Surveillance within Projected Time: Issues with bringing the villages under surveillance is a challenge as the pace of bringing villages under coverage cannot be pushed to increase after a certain point.
  • Moreover, different places have different acts and rules and the notice period varies from state to state from a minimum of 10 days in Uttarakhand to a maximum of 9 months for Punjab.

Way Forward:

•   The data collected will be under State Government, which can use it for various welfare policies
•   To ensure that the collected data is secure, the Union Government should bring in Data protection law.

Conclusion

The scheme would provide immense benefits to the village households, the gram Panchayat, the states, and other sectors of the economy provided dedicated center-state collaboration is done and the scheme is implemented effectively throughout the nation.

Question #2. What are the major bottlenecks in rapid adoption of Electric Vehicles in India? Elaborate on various initiatives taken by the government to promote the electric vehicle sector in India?

Approach:

•   Introduce by giving a brief definition of EVs and their market in India (25 Words)
•   Briefly enumerate how adoption of EVs will be beneficial for India .Enumerate the bottlenecks faced in adoption of EVs (70 Words)
•   List the steps taken by Government (30 Words)
•   Conclusion (25 Words)

Hints:

An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. The Indian automotive industry is the fifth largest in the world and is slated to be the third largest by 2030. With the demand shifting to environment friendly vehicles, the Electric vehicle market will rise in India.

Benefits of adoption of EVs;

•   Energy : Utilize the relative abundance of renewable energy resources present in the country
•   Manpower : Utilization of skilled manpower in the technology and manufacturing sectors
•   Exports : Become a global champion in electric vehicle technology
•   Environment: Help in achieving the targets of the Paris Agreement, reducing pollution and will contribute to the overall well-being of its citizens.

Bottlenecks in adoption of EVs:

•   Insufficient charging infrastructure: In 2019, there were only 650 charging stations in India as against over 0.3 million in China. Lack of sufficient charging infrastructure is one of the primary reasons why customers often refrain from purchasing EVs.
•   High costs: Along with the range anxiety (kms/charge), another major concern among the potential customers is the current high price of EVs.
  • As compared to lower-end (internal combustion engine) ICE cars, electric cars in the same segment tend to be more expensive.
  • This is mainly because of the higher cost of technology used in the EVs, which constitutes a substantial portion of the cost, not leaving much scope for other features usually available in premium cars.
•   Limited options: Since it is still a budding industry in India, customers have a very limited range of products to choose from. Increased investment in the sector will make it more competitive in due time and this will help create further demand.
•   Lower mileage: Since the industry is young, there is immense scope for R&D. As of today, EVs in India are not cost competitive to an average customer as internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles prove to be more cost effective.
•   Higher dependency on imports: Reliance on imports of battery as well as other components is also one of the factors adding to the cost of EVs in India.
•   Grid challenges: Another concern is regarding the price of charging EVs at private charging stations once EVs become mainstream. So, increasing methods of power generation are necessary to meet that growth in demand.

Steps taken by the Government:

•   National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 (NEMMP): It was launched in 2013 by the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) as a roadmap for the faster manufacture and adoption of EVs in India.
•   FDI: 100 percent foreign direct investment is allowed in this sector under the automatic route.
•   Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) II scheme to make electric two-wheelers more affordable.
•   Multiple production-linked incentive schemes intend to create a local manufacturing ecosystem to support goals around greater adoption of electric mobility transport.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the scope of India’s EV market growth rests on availability of capital for original equipment manufacturers, battery manufacturers, and charge point operators as well as improvements to infrastructure and diversified options for consumers. The favourable policies of the Government will help in attracting industry investments and make EV adoption a more viable proposition for the consumer market.