24 August 2023 : The Hindu Editorial Notes PDF
The Hindu Editorial
24-August-2023
Daily Current Affairs For UPSC ,The Hindu Editorial Summary
1. Needed, a well-crafted social security net for all
Topic: GS3 – social security
Current State of Social Security in India:
- Around 53% of the salaried workforce lacks social security benefits in India.
- This means they lack access to provident funds, pension, health care, and disability insurance.
- Only 1.9% of the poorest 20% of India’s workforce has access to any social security benefits.
- Gig workers, about 1.3% of India’s active labor force, rarely have access to social security benefits.
- India’s social security system is ranked poorly, at 40 out of 43 countries, by Mercer CFS in 2021.
Lack of Attention to Social Security:
- India’s policymakers have neglected social security despite policy announcements.
- Budgetary allocation and utilization for social security have been limited.
- Various social security schemes have remained underutilized, leading to moribund outcomes.
Comparative Analysis with Other Countries (Brazil):
- Brazil’s General Social Security Scheme covers income loss due to various factors.
- Brazil’s system covers accidents, disabilities, illness, family burdens, and even imprisonment.
- Unemployment insurance and health care are part of the system, with National Treasury backing if needed.
Informal Sector Workers in India:
- Around 91% (475 million) of India’s workforce operates in the informal sector.
- Informal sector workers lack access to social security.
- The Code on Social Security (2020) primarily addressed formal enterprises, leaving out informal workers.
Proposed Steps for India:
- Expansion of EPFO System for Formal Workers:
- Expand employer and employee contributions under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for formal workers.
- Partial Contributions for Informal Workers:
- Elicit partial contributions from informal workers with meaningful income.
- Encourage informal enterprises to formalize and contribute.
- Government Support for Unemployed and Low-Income:
- Government intervention for unemployed, low-income, and vulnerable workers.
- Estimated Cost and Reforms:
- Estimated cost for providing social protection to the poorest 20% is ₹1.37 trillion.
- Reforms needed for expanded coverage, benefit portability, and simplification.
- Recent Progress and Challenges:
- The Code on Social Security (2020) aimed at urban and rural poor, gig workers, etc.
- e-Shram platform enabled enrolment but placed burden on informal workers.
- Employer involvement could have formalized relationships and registration.
- Support for Financing Social Security:
- Push for pan-India labor force card and expand existing schemes.
- Loosen restrictions on benefit portability and registration.
- Focus on Domestic and Migrant Workers:
- Special attention to domestic workers and their unpredictable job status.
- Expand coverage for migrant workers and address discrimination.
- Strengthening Existing Schemes:
- Strengthen existing schemes like EPF, ESI, and NSAP with budgetary support.
- Address administrative complexities and overlapping areas of authority.
- Raising Awareness:
- Promote awareness about social security benefits among workers.
- Leverage organizations like Self-Employed Women’s Association for campaigns.
Conclusion:
- India should consolidate social security schemes and provide universal coverage.
- Given on-demand jobs and job insecurity, equitable growth and social security are crucial.
Mains question: Â What are the key challenges faced by India’s social security system in extending coverage to the informal workforce? Briefly outline potential strategies that could enhance the effectiveness of the system and provide equitable protection to all categories of workers.
2. Chandrayaan-3 signals the launch of India’s time in space exploration
Topic: GS3 – Science and technology.
 Historic Achievement:
- India is only the fourth country in history to have soft-landed a spacecraft on the moon.
- The Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down in the moon’s South Polar region, a first for any country.
- The success of Chandrayaan-3 is a major achievement for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and a sign of India’s growing space capabilities.
- The mission will help scientists to better understand the moon’s geology and composition.
- It will also pave the way for future Indian missions to the moon, including a human mission.
Implications of the Chandrayaan-3 landing:
- The success of Chandrayaan-3 shows that ISRO has learned from the failure of the Chandrayaan-2 mission.
- It also puts India in a strong position to participate in the Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led initiative to return humans to the moon by 2025.
- The landing is a major boost for India’s space program and will help to attract more investment in the sector.
Scientific Exploration:
- Chandrayaan-3 includes a rudimentary rover to study moon’s South Pole area.
- Scientific data from Chandrayaan-3 crucial for soil, subsoil, and air characterization.
- India’s technological edge should drive more ambitious missions and scientific research.
ISRO’s Future Trajectory:
- Chandrayaan-3’s success boosts ISRO’s confidence for ambitious missions.
- Future plans include electric-powered satellites, quantum communications, human space flight, reusable launch vehicles, planetary habitation, and interplanetary communications.
- Private sector involvement crucial for innovation, lowering costs, and accelerating development.
Conclusion:
- Chandrayaan-3’s success places ISRO in a leadership position for future space endeavors.
- ISRO poised to lead the way in the commerce of space, with a focus on lower launch costs, increased launch cadence, and private sector contributions.
Mains question: Â Discuss the significance of Chandrayaan-3’s successful moon landing for India’s space exploration program, considering its historical achievements, strategic implications, scientific objectives, and its role in shaping future space missions.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/on-the-moon-over-the-moon/article67227908.ece
3. The U.K.-India relationship is alive with opportunity
Topic: GS2 – International relations
Introduction:
- The UK and India have a thriving trading relationship, which was worth £36 billion in 2022.
- India is the UK’s second largest source of investment projects and the UK’s sixth largest investor in India.
- The UK and India are launching a £1.5 million marketing campaign to showcase the tremendous bond between our countries and build on the continuous exchange of people, ideas and culture.
The UK-India trade relationship:
- The UK and India share a thriving trading relationship, which was worth £36 billion in 2022.
- India is the UK’s second largest source of investment projects and the UK’s sixth largest investor in India.
- There are 618 UK companies in India with a combined turnover of around $50 billion employing about 466,640 people directly as of 2021.
- The UK and India are negotiating an ambitious Free Trade Agreement, which could boost our bilateral trading relationship even further.
The UK-India cultural relationship:
- The UK and India have a strong cultural relationship, which is evident in our shared love of Bollywood.
- The UK is one of Bollywood’s largest audiences outside of India, and has featured in some of Bollywood’s iconic films.
- A vibrant Indian diaspora of over 1.6 million people makes a significant contribution across all walks of life in the UK.
The UK-India marketing campaign:
- The UK is launching a £1.5 million marketing campaign to showcase the tremendous bond between our countries and build on the continuous exchange of people, ideas and culture.
- The campaign aims to stimulate interest and demand for UK goods and services, increase the UK’s ability to grow their business through trade with India, and attract new Indian inward investment.
Conclusion:
- The UK and India have a strong and mutually beneficial relationship, which is founded on shared values and interests.
- The UK is committed to deepening this relationship and working with India to address shared challenges and seize new opportunities.
Mains question: Â Â Discuss the economic and cultural dimensions of the UK-India relationship. How can these dimensions be leveraged to further strengthen the relationship?
4. Can AI be ethical and moral?
Topic: GS3 – Science and technology
Introduction:
- AI and machines are increasingly being used in decision-making processes in governance worldwide.
Ethical challenges:
- Adoption of AI tools allows analysis of complex patterns, forecasting, and informed recommendations.
- Biases inherent in AI and data can lead to skewed outcomes, presenting challenges in integrating AI into governance.
- Immanuel Kant’s ethical philosophy emphasizes autonomy and moral duty, posing concerns about moral reasoning when delegating decisions to algorithms.
- Isaac Asimov’s ‘Three Laws of Robotics’ highlights challenges in codifying ethics into AI systems.
Increasing importance of AI – and ethics:
- Despite challenges, AI is becoming integral to governance decisions in various countries.
- Ensuring ethical and moral AI decisions in governance presents complex challenges.
- Programming ethics into AI is more difficult than tasks like playing chess due to the complexity of human moral reasoning.
Accountability of mistakes by AI:
- James Moore’s classification identifies four categories of machine agents related to ethics.
- Creating artificial moral agents (AMAs) is complex and involves distinct levels of ethical decision-making.
- Technological limitations and bounded ethicality prevent artificial agents from fully replacing human judgment.
- Bounded ethicality – Bounded ethical decision-making in machines could lead to immoral behavior similar to human moral disengagement.
- The delegation of decisions to AI systems raises questions about accountability and responsibility.
- Challenges arise in determining who is accountable if AI-driven decisions result in immoral or unethical outcomes.
- Punishing AI systems is problematic as they lack emotional experiences or guilt.
- Developing and integrating ethics into machines and AI requires cautious and thoughtful approaches.
Conclusion:
- The use of AI in decision-making is complex and raises ethical challenges.
- It is important to carefully consider the ethical implications of using AI before deploying it in real-world applications.
Mains question: Â The use of AI in governance is increasing, but it raises ethical challenges. Discuss the ethical challenges of using AI in governance and suggest ways to address them.
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