Today's Headlines - 19 August 2023
New non-poor emerging in India
GS Paper - 3 (Economy)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day address that in the first five-year term of his government, “13.5 crore of my fellow poor brothers and sisters have broken free from the chains of poverty and entered the new middle class”. The 13.5-crore number cited by the PM appears in the second National Multidimensional Poverty Index report that was published by Niti Aayog on 17 July 2023 (Some highlights in chart). The first such report was published in 2021.
What is the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)?
The national MPI measures deprivations across the three dimensions of health and nutrition, education, and standard of living.
Within health, it tracks three variables: nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, and maternal health.
In education, it tracks two variables: years of schooling, and school attendance. And in standard of living, it tracks seven variables such as sanitation, drinking water, bank account, etc.
The index is based on the methodology used by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to construct the Global MPI. OPHI and UNDP are technical partners in the formulation of the national index.
But India’s MPI is not exactly the same as the Global MPI. For instance, India’s MPI has 12 variables, while the Global MPI has 10. The two additional variables in India’s MPI are maternal health and bank account.
How does this reduce poverty?
It must be noted that this is a multidimensional poverty index and, as such, is not comparable to India’s traditional and official way of estimating poverty.
However, the Global MPI 2023 report, which too was released in July, states that 415 million people in India moved out of poverty between 2005-06 and 2019-21.
The Global MPI pegs India’s poverty ratio at 16.4% as against 14.96% in Niti Aayog’s MPI. This difference is on account of the two additional metrics, and some differences in definitions.
Does the reduction in poverty add to India’s middle class?
There is no official definition of the middle class in India. It is, therefore, difficult to say whether those who escape poverty necessarily join the middle class, or to what extent.
Estimates of India’s middle class provided by private research organisations peg the middle class at income levels that are considerably higher than those of the people who are coming out of poverty.
For instance, in a report, ‘The rise of India’s middle class’, published in July, People Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE) divided all households into four categories: Destitutes, Aspirers, Middle Class and Rich. “…Households which are classified as Middle Class have an annual income in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 lakh (at 2020-21 prices),” the report said. Destitute households were those with an annual income less than Rs 1.25 lakh.
According to PRICE’s survey, as of 2021, out of a population of 1,416 million, 196 million Indians were categorised as ‘Destitutes’, 432 million were the ‘Middle Class’, and 732 million were ‘Aspirers’.
#upsc #news #headline #nonpoor #emerging #india #economy #primeminister #Narendramodi #Independenceday #poverty #middle #nitiaayog #multidimensional #poverty #MPI #index #nutrition #education #bankaccount #OPHI #UNDP #methodology #oxford #sanitation #middle #class #india #research #consumer #destitude #population #price #survey #annualincome #middleclass #aspires #UNDP #technical #MPI
New non-poor emerging in India
GS Paper - 3 (Economy)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day address that in the first five-year term of his government, “13.5 crore of my fellow poor brothers and sisters have broken free from the chains of poverty and entered the new middle class”. The 13.5-crore number cited by the PM appears in the second National Multidimensional Poverty Index report that was published by Niti Aayog on 17 July 2023 (Some highlights in chart). The first such report was published in 2021.
What is the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)?
The national MPI measures deprivations across the three dimensions of health and nutrition, education, and standard of living.
Within health, it tracks three variables: nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, and maternal health.
In education, it tracks two variables: years of schooling, and school attendance. And in standard of living, it tracks seven variables such as sanitation, drinking water, bank account, etc.
The index is based on the methodology used by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to construct the Global MPI. OPHI and UNDP are technical partners in the formulation of the national index.
But India’s MPI is not exactly the same as the Global MPI. For instance, India’s MPI has 12 variables, while the Global MPI has 10. The two additional variables in India’s MPI are maternal health and bank account.
How does this reduce poverty?
It must be noted that this is a multidimensional poverty index and, as such, is not comparable to India’s traditional and official way of estimating poverty.
However, the Global MPI 2023 report, which too was released in July, states that 415 million people in India moved out of poverty between 2005-06 and 2019-21.
The Global MPI pegs India’s poverty ratio at 16.4% as against 14.96% in Niti Aayog’s MPI. This difference is on account of the two additional metrics, and some differences in definitions.
Does the reduction in poverty add to India’s middle class?
There is no official definition of the middle class in India. It is, therefore, difficult to say whether those who escape poverty necessarily join the middle class, or to what extent.
Estimates of India’s middle class provided by private research organisations peg the middle class at income levels that are considerably higher than those of the people who are coming out of poverty.
For instance, in a report, ‘The rise of India’s middle class’, published in July, People Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE) divided all households into four categories: Destitutes, Aspirers, Middle Class and Rich. “…Households which are classified as Middle Class have an annual income in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 lakh (at 2020-21 prices),” the report said. Destitute households were those with an annual income less than Rs 1.25 lakh.
According to PRICE’s survey, as of 2021, out of a population of 1,416 million, 196 million Indians were categorised as ‘Destitutes’, 432 million were the ‘Middle Class’, and 732 million were ‘Aspirers’.
#upsc #news #headline #nonpoor #emerging #india #economy #primeminister #Narendramodi #Independenceday #poverty #middle #nitiaayog #multidimensional #poverty #MPI #index #nutrition #education #bankaccount #OPHI #UNDP #methodology #oxford #sanitation #middle #class #india #research #consumer #destitude #population #price #survey #annualincome #middleclass #aspires #UNDP #technical #MPI
#upsc #news #headline #private #rockets #3D #printed #engines #emerging #technology #chennai #spacetech #agnikul #cosmos #rocket #developed #launchpad #flight #suborbital #company #hyderabad #skyroot #indian #commence #integration #aerospace #vikram #privatespace #industry #vehicle #agnilet #agnibaan #LEO #payloads #earth #orbit #diameter #mass #cryogenic #supercold #kerosene #dhawan #superalloy #globally #economy #indiannationalspacepromation #authorisationcenter #satellite #market #research #ISRO #NASA #scientificmisssion
Today's Headlines - 11 September 2023
National Strategy for Robotics
GS Paper - 3 (Emerging technology)
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has invited public comments as well as inputs from stakeholders on the draft "National Strategy for Robotics" (NSR). The strategy is aimed at "strengthening all pillars in the innovation cycle of robotic technology, while also providing a robust institutional framework for ensuring the effective implementation of these interventions. Presently, in terms of annual industrial installations, India ranks 10th globally as per the World Robotics Report, 2022.
What's in the draft?
The draft NSR proposes a policy framework for the implementation of robotics in various sectors, with the aim of making India a global robotics leader by 2030.
It also builds upon the mandates of the Make in India 2.0 plans, which identify robotics as one of the 27 sub-sectors to further enhance India's integration in the global value chain.
The draft has so far identified manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and national security as the four core sectors to prioritise robotics automation.
According to the current draft, MeitY will serve as the nodal agency for robotics, with a two-tier institutional framework to facilitate the implementation of the NSR.
The implementation will be directly undertaken under MeitY's 'National Robotics Mission' or the NRM.
The draft also proposes fiscal and non-fiscal interventions by the NRM, for upscaling innovation in robotics.
These interventions will be specifically aimed at developing funding mechanisms for robotics start-ups as well as promoting exports.
Major recommendations of the draft NFR
First and foremost, the NFR has recommended the creation of a robust regulatory framework, led by the Robotics Innovation Unit (RIU), an independent agency that will function under MeitY as a part of India AI.
The NFR also proposes the implementation of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in Robotics.
The CoEs will be categorised under foundational and applied research. The NFR suggests that for application-based research, CoEs should enlist private sector intervention in priority sectors to help with experimental prototyping, as well as small-volume production for the initial phase of commercialisation.
The current draft also lays out clear plans for providing advisory support to start-ups, harnessing the research potential of higher education institutes, and the development of robotics industrial zones.
Why is the NFR needed?
Besides the aim of integrating robotics into the identified sectors, the draft also points out that "there is a general lack of adoption and growth of the robotics ecosystem in India."
The primary challenges are high import dependence, costly hardware components, and insufficient investments in research and development.
Robots consist of numerous complex and minute parts that need precise knowledge and skills for assembling.
The current state adoption of robotics in the country is "too ambitious, keeping in mind the lack of skilled resources, technical expertise impeding the growth of the robotics ecosystem in the country.
#upsc #headine #news #national #strategy #robotics #emerging #technology #ministry #technology #NSR #world #makeinindia #sectors #global #chain #policy #framework #Meity #pillars #cycle #healthcare #agriculture #security #implementation #draft #fiscal #nonfiscal #mechanisms #RIU #hardware #components #ambitious #resourses #technical #ecosystem
National Strategy for Robotics
GS Paper - 3 (Emerging technology)
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has invited public comments as well as inputs from stakeholders on the draft "National Strategy for Robotics" (NSR). The strategy is aimed at "strengthening all pillars in the innovation cycle of robotic technology, while also providing a robust institutional framework for ensuring the effective implementation of these interventions. Presently, in terms of annual industrial installations, India ranks 10th globally as per the World Robotics Report, 2022.
What's in the draft?
The draft NSR proposes a policy framework for the implementation of robotics in various sectors, with the aim of making India a global robotics leader by 2030.
It also builds upon the mandates of the Make in India 2.0 plans, which identify robotics as one of the 27 sub-sectors to further enhance India's integration in the global value chain.
The draft has so far identified manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and national security as the four core sectors to prioritise robotics automation.
According to the current draft, MeitY will serve as the nodal agency for robotics, with a two-tier institutional framework to facilitate the implementation of the NSR.
The implementation will be directly undertaken under MeitY's 'National Robotics Mission' or the NRM.
The draft also proposes fiscal and non-fiscal interventions by the NRM, for upscaling innovation in robotics.
These interventions will be specifically aimed at developing funding mechanisms for robotics start-ups as well as promoting exports.
Major recommendations of the draft NFR
First and foremost, the NFR has recommended the creation of a robust regulatory framework, led by the Robotics Innovation Unit (RIU), an independent agency that will function under MeitY as a part of India AI.
The NFR also proposes the implementation of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in Robotics.
The CoEs will be categorised under foundational and applied research. The NFR suggests that for application-based research, CoEs should enlist private sector intervention in priority sectors to help with experimental prototyping, as well as small-volume production for the initial phase of commercialisation.
The current draft also lays out clear plans for providing advisory support to start-ups, harnessing the research potential of higher education institutes, and the development of robotics industrial zones.
Why is the NFR needed?
Besides the aim of integrating robotics into the identified sectors, the draft also points out that "there is a general lack of adoption and growth of the robotics ecosystem in India."
The primary challenges are high import dependence, costly hardware components, and insufficient investments in research and development.
Robots consist of numerous complex and minute parts that need precise knowledge and skills for assembling.
The current state adoption of robotics in the country is "too ambitious, keeping in mind the lack of skilled resources, technical expertise impeding the growth of the robotics ecosystem in the country.
#upsc #headine #news #national #strategy #robotics #emerging #technology #ministry #technology #NSR #world #makeinindia #sectors #global #chain #policy #framework #Meity #pillars #cycle #healthcare #agriculture #security #implementation #draft #fiscal #nonfiscal #mechanisms #RIU #hardware #components #ambitious #resourses #technical #ecosystem