Governance GS Paper II by Abhishiekh Saxena

Model Answer

Question #1. “Women are the worst sufferers during pandemics; at the same time, they contribute the most during such difficult times”. In this light discuss the contribution of the women SHGs in the fight against Covid-19. (150 words)

Approach

1. Introduce briefly how a woman SHGs is an important entity. (20 words)
2. Briefly describe how women are the biggest suffers in times of crisis. (30 words)
3. Elaborate on the Role played by women in general and women SHGs in particular during Covid-19. You can write about their pivotal role in ramping up mask production, plugging medical supply disruptions etc. You can quote a case study or example. (80 words)
4. Conclusion (20 words)

Hints

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are informal associations of people (Generally women) who choose to come together to find ways to improve their living conditions. They act as important agents of change to act as collective voice to further group interests.

Covid-19 pandemic has adversely impacted society, everyone has been touched by its adverse effects on almost all facets of life, be it livelihood, social interactation, finance etc. Women have been further greater sufferers, as they are already in need of empowerment and remain vulnerable due to persisting gender inequity concerns, especially for the developing world.

Supply chain disruptions have led to impact on their menstrual and reproductive health. Women comprise a huge chunk of frontline workers in the form of nurses, caregivers etc. The ASHA cadre at the forefront in hinterland comprise mostly of women.

SHGs at the Front

Yet in times of crisis women have risen to the occasion to contribute to India's fight against Covid-19.Indian self-help groups (SHGs) dominated by women have contributed towards the production of masks, sanitizers, and protective gear to meet the burgeoning demands of the health sector. The DeendayalAntyodayaYojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), established under the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, has within its ambit 69 million women employed in approximately 7 million SHGs. This movement—which started 15 years ago and was aimed at providing livelihoods to poor rural women—has been an invaluable resource in these tough times.

These SHGs have contributed in holistically addressing economic and social needs that have emerged at the community level during the Covid-19 outbreak. The SHGs have consolidated their efforts to work on issues like social distancing, use of masks, quarantine, and psycho-social issues of migrants, care of elderly population, mental health, and well-being, amongst others. Women in these SHGs are creating awareness in the local communities by means such as telephone calls, wall writings, pamphlets, social media, etc.

About 20,000 SHGs produced over 19 million masks and 100,000 litres of sanitiser all over India. Since the production is decentralised, these items have been delivered to the masses without having to undergo the logistics of transportation. SHGs have also initiated work related to the provision of rations or cooked food to poor and vulnerable families using the Vulnerability Reduction Fund or with support from state governments and the local administration.

In Tamil Nadu, each PDS shop has been stationed with two SHG volunteers to ensure that people in the queue maintain adequate distance. In Odisha, rural women organised in these SHGs produced more than 1 million cotton masks for police personnel and healthcare workers. In Kerala, an SHG named Kudumbashree is helping dispel fake news through its network of WhatsApp groups with more than 100,000 women as members. These platforms are specifically leveraged to disseminate urgent and authentic information regarding the pandemic. It is also involved in running 1,300 kitchens across Kerala and are providing food to those who are bedridden or under quarantine. The MahilaArthikVikasMahamandal (MAVIM) and the numerous women SHGs operating under it played a crucial role in combating the socio-economic impact of the pandemic in rural Maharashtra.

Women in SHGs are also working as bank correspondents, referred to as ‘bank sakhis’. Even during such distressing times, they are helping with the distribution of pension, providing door-to-door service to remote communities to access their account credits from direct benefit transfers.

A lot of SHGs responsible for creating livelihoods have prevented families from going down to abject poverty, when the male counterparts had to migrate back to villages due to loss of jobs in the cities because of the lockdowns and reduced economic activity.

The SHGs have truly emerged as agents of change not just to counter the traditional challenges of gender-bias, financial inclusion and empowerment etc, but also against an unprecedented challenge like Covid-19. They have yet again proved the need to further and foster such organisations for multi-dimensional benefit of the society and country. The contribution of SHGs has proven again that women can excel and even race ahead men when called for.

Question #2. National Policy on Electronics and Production Linked Incentive scheme is a perfect template to harmonise and bridge the gap between policy and its execution. Analyse. (150 words)

Approach

1. Brief introduction about an often found lag between policy and its implementation.(20 words)
2. Capture philosophy behind harmonisation of Electronics Policy and PLI scheme.(30 words)
3. Analyse the major postulates of the policy and PLI scheme and establish their sync. Also mention examples and ESDM manufacturing clusters coming up. Provide a way forward. (80 words)
4. Conclusion (20 words)

Hints

The true test of a policy is not just in its formulation, but more so in execution, in letter and spirit. Often, the policies are made with a lot of grandstanding carrying lofty vision, but the execution remains sub-standard. India has witnessed a similar journey with most of its policies. However The National policy on Electronics (NPE2019) and schemes like Production Linked Incentive (PLI), may be an exception and can act as template for other policy interventions.

A policy doesn't work in isolation, rather it needs supporting elements in terms of harmonization with other policies and schemes, belonging to the same/allied domain. This sync helps in efficient execution of the policy and narrows the gulf between the Policy and its implementation.

The National Policy on Electronics envisages to put India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) by encouraging and driving capabilities in the country for developing core components, including chipsets, and creating an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally.

• Creation of ecosystem for globally competitive ESDM sector by promoting domestic manufacturing and export in the entire electronics system value-chain.
• Providing incentives and support for manufacturing of core electronic components.
• Providing special package of incentives for mega projects which are extremely high-tech and entail huge investments, such as semiconductor facilities display fabrication, etc.
• Formulation of suitable schemes and incentive mechanisms to encourage new units and expansion of existing units.

A scheme envisaged for a variety of sectors which fits in for the NPE2019 is PLI scheme. The scheme for large scale electronics manufacturing (PLI for electronics), the scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) and The modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme, all complement the NPE2019.

Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing

The scheme proposes a financial incentive to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in the electronics value chain including electronic components and semiconductor packaging. Under the scheme, electronic manufacturing companies will get an incentive of 4 to 6% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India and covered under target segments, to eligible companies over a period of next 5 years. The scheme shall only be applicable for target segments namely mobile phones and specified electronic components. The government estimates that with the PLI scheme, domestic value addition for mobile phones is expected to rise to 35-40% by 2025 from the current level of 20-25% and generate additional 8 lakh jobs, both direct and indirect. It is an outcome- and output-oriented scheme where incentives will be paid only if the manufacturers make the goods.

The harmonization achieved in the above mentioned Policy and Schemes is an example of sync between idea (Policy) and execution. The export of mobile phones from India grew by a massive 250 per cent year-on-year in the April-June quarter of FY22, thanks to the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. This is a break from the silo-driven approach taken hitherto and paves way for complementarity driven approach where one scheme supports the various policy initiatives. Other components of PLI like Food Processing etc are on the roll-out stage to benefit their respective sectors.

The Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme is in line with National Policy for Electronics (NPE), 2019 to make India a global hub for mobile and component manufacturing. A lot of global giants (Like Apple, Samsung etc) have established or are in the process of establishing their manufacturing units in India. It includes not only assembly, but manufacture of microchips, Display units and processors.

The holistic approach to policy formulation and execution is the key to efficient, effective and economical way to realize the policy vision on the ground. The harmony in various policies, schemes and programs help them work across purposes rather than cross-purposes. The success of NPE2019 and PLI scheme can well act as a template for future initiatives to emulate and improvise upon.