GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

Context:

The issue of question paper leaks in examinations, highlighted by a recent incident during constable recruitment in Uttar Pradesh, amidst the discussion surrounding the enactment of the Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act of 2024.

Legislative Measures and Challenges:

• The Act: The enactment of the Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act introduces severe penalties for cheating in exams, including imprisonment and fines.
• Low conviction: Despite existing legislation in many states, convictions for cheating have been scarce, indicating challenges in enforcement and effectiveness of punitive measures.
• Loopholes: The attributes of a good exam, including reliability, validity, and objectivity, are compromised due to loopholes in examination processes and lack of accountability.

Role of National Testing Agency (NTA) and Technological Challenges:

• NTA but with challenges: The establishment of the NTA represents a step towards a more scientific and professional approach to exam conduct, but challenges persist in maintaining integrity.
• Cyber threats: Transitioning exams online was intended to mitigate risks associated with paper-based exams, but it has introduced new challenges, including vulnerability to cyber threats and inadequate testing of technology.
• Alternative approaches: Exploring alternative approaches such as reducing the significance of exams in selection processes and incorporating long-term performance assessments can help mitigate the desperation to cheat.

Need for Innovation and Special Investigation Agency:

• The solution: Addressing the issue of organized cheating requires innovative approaches, including reducing the importance of exams in selection criteria and designing systems with multiple inputs.
• Agency: Proposal for the creation of a special investigation agency to swiftly investigate examination offences and bring culprits to justice.
• Fool-proof system: Emphasizing the importance of a robust, fool-proof, and innovative examination system to ensure fairness and reliability in exams.

Context:

On March 1, International Waste Pickers Day, commemorating the murder of waste pickers in Colombia in 1992, sheds light on the plight of informal waste workers globally and their indispensable yet marginalized role in waste management systems.

Informal Waste Pickers:

• Issues: Informal waste pickers, essential yet overlooked in waste management systems, face systemic marginalization, lacking recognition, representation, social security, and legal protection.
• Hurdles: Globally, they constitute 0.5%–2% of the urban population, often comprising women, children, elderly, and disabled individuals living in poverty, facing violence and sexual harassment.
• Hazardous working conditions and other challenges: In India, nearly 1.5 million informal waste pickers, including half a million women, endure hazardous working conditions, health issues, and caste-based discrimination, exacerbated by private sector involvement in waste management.

Challenges and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR):

• EPR: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in India, aimed at enhancing plastic waste management, risks displacing informal waste pickers by diverting waste from the informal sector.
• Issue in EPR: While EPR guidelines identify stakeholders, including producers and citizens, they overlook informal waste pickers and their organizations, disregarding their role in waste management.
• Struggle: Despite contributing up to 60% of plastic recycling globally, waste pickers struggle for recognition and decent livelihoods, facing health hazards from plastic fumes and microplastics.

Plastic Treaty and Just Transition:

• Integration: As India grapples with rising plastic waste generation, waste pickers' traditional knowledge can strengthen EPR implementation, necessitating a re-evaluation of EPR norms to integrate informal waste workers into the legal framework.
• Just transition: The proposed UN resolution to end plastic pollution by 2024 must ensure a just transition for waste pickers, recognizing their pivotal role in sustainable recycling.
• Required measures: Addressing the challenges faced by waste pickers is imperative for successful plastic management and achieving sustainable waste practices, emphasizing the need for inclusive policies and social recognition.

Context:

The National Statistical Office (NSO) has released the second advance estimates of national income for the ongoing financial year (2023-24), projecting a growth rate of 7.6 percent for the Indian economy.

Growth Estimates and Factors:

• NSO's second advance estimates indicate a higher GDP growth rate of 7.6 percent for the current financial year, surpassing the initial estimate of 7.3 percent, with gross value added (GVA) projected to grow at 6.9 percent.
• Discrepancies between GDP and GVA growth rates may stem from fluctuations in net taxes on products, as evident in the third quarter data, where GVA growth was 6.5 percent, contrasting with GDP growth at 8.4 percent.
• Analysts highlight concerns over the sustainability of a surge in net taxes on products, while revisions in previous data reveal a decline in value added from 8.2 percent in the first quarter to 6.5 percent in the third quarter.

Sector-wise Performance:

• Agricultural sector growth is subdued, estimated at 0.7 percent for 2023-24, contrasting with the industrial sector's growth of 9 percent, driven by manufacturing and construction.
• Manufacturing sector, previously contracting, is expected to grow at 8.5 percent, reflecting improvements in industrial production, while construction sector growth is pegged at 10.7 percent.
• Services sector experiences a mild deceleration, with segments like trade, hotels, transport, communication, financial services, and public administration showing slower growth rates.

Consumption and Investment Trends:

• Consumption remains lackluster, despite overall economic growth, with private spending growing modestly at 3.5 percent in the third quarter and projected to grow at 3 percent for the full year.
• Investment activity presents a more positive outlook, growing at 10.2 percent for the year, suggesting optimism in business sentiment and economic expansion.
• NSO's latest estimates imply a potential slowdown in the fourth quarter, forecasting a GDP growth rate of 5.9 percent, prompting questions about the sustainability of growth momentum and factors influencing economic performance.