GS Paper - II Model Answers (2020) - 1 | UPSC Mains Answer Writing: Practice PDF Download

Q1: “There is a need for simplification of Procedure for disqualification of persons found guilty of corrupt practices under the Representation of peoples Act”. Comment. (UPSC GS2 2020)
Ans: Section 8A of Representation of People Act 1951 provides procedure for disqualification of persons found guilty of corrupt activities and Section 123 of RPA 1951 defines the corrupt practices. Despite these sections lot of people who are guilty of corruption are getting elected to parliament and state legislatures undermining the electoral process of Indian democracy.
Procedure involved for disqualification 

• Election petition is filed against the corrupt person in High Court. 
• High Court gives the judgment, if the person found guilty then the matter is referred to President of India through Secretary General of RajyaSabha or LokSabha or State Legislature of India. 
• After this president sends the matter to Election Commission of India. (As per the provision of Constitution). 
• After analyzing the matter or verdict of High court ECI sends back its recommendation to the president 
• Finally President issues a notification for the disqualification of member guilty of corrupt practices and barred from contesting election. Need of simplification and Complexities involved in the procedure 
• Judicial process itself is time consuming. There are nearly 50 lakhs cases are pending in the High Courts. 
• Judgment often delayed and low conviction rates. 
• Election Petitions are admitted only after elections are over, so there is inordinate delay in filling election petitions in high courts. 
• It has been seen that there is delay while referring the decision of High court to president. ECI with inadequate staff delays the recommendation to president. 
• Influential people mostly manages and escape the conviction. All these process stretches the procedure and by the time president issues a notification for disqualification, the corrupt person has already served for 5 years. Ways to simplify the procedures. 
• Decisions of High courts should be directly sent to Election Commission of India which will avoid inordinate delays. 
• There is urgent need to bring reforms in ECI - providing them with adequate staff so that they can process the entire procedure faster. 
• Fast tracking the processes related to election petition by establishing Fast track courts. 
• Establish more benches of High court on a priority basis to resolve the election petition which will increase the conviction rates and will check corrupt persons entering the electoral process. 
• Amending RPA 1951 to bar the candidates even at the trial stage for corrupt practices and heinous crimes. 
• Finally, election petitions should be admitted before election. Conclusion: In the recent times Indian electoral system is facing various issues like criminalization of politics, increasing use of money and muscle power etc. because of low conviction rate of corrupt persons in politics. So, the need of hour is to reform and simplify the procedures related to disqualification of persons found guilty of corrupt practices under the Representation of peoples Act 1951.

Q2: Recent amendments to the Right to information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission. Discuss.
Ans: The objective of the RTI Act is to establish a practical regime for citizens to access information held by Public Authorities. This in turn led to increased transparency and accountability at the Public Authorities. RTI since its enactment led to many stories of defacing corrupt practices.
But The Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019 has made amendment in the status, salary and tenure of the Central Information Commissioners (CICs) and State Information Commissioners. On the account of amendments made in the RTI Act, the civil society has raised concerns regarding accountability, autonomy and independence of the Information Commission. Issues with Amendments Done in the RTI Act 

• The amendment empowers the Central government to unilaterally decide the tenure, salary, allowances and other terms of service of Information Commissioners, both at the Centre and the States. – Due to this, civil society asserts that this amendment may affect the autonomy of the information commission and force it to function as a mere department of the Central government. 
• Also, the status of the Central Information Commissioners (CICs) has been brought on par with the Election Commissioners and the status of State Information Commissioners with the Chief Secretary in the States. – However, the amendment has neglected the recommendation of the parliamentary standing committee that the Information Commissioner and CIC were to be made on par with the Election Commissioner and the Chief Election Commission, respectively. 

What are the government’s stated grounds for bringing the amendments? 

• The statement of objects says “the mandate of Election Commission of India and Central and State Information Commissions are different. Hence, their status and service conditions need to be rationalised accordingly. CIC has been given the status of a Supreme Court Judge, but his judgments can be challenged in the High Courts. 
• Therefore, the amendments Have been brought to correct certain anomalies in the RTI Act. It does not dilute the Act in anyway and it was passed in a hurry in 2005. RTI Amendments would strengthen the overall RTI structure. 

Impact of Amendments Challenging Autonomy 

• In the form of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, they seek to amend Sections 13, 16, and 27 of the RTI Act which carefully links, and thereby equates, the status of the Central Information Commissioners (CICs) with the Election Commissioners and the State Information Commissioners with the Chief Secretary in the States, so that they can function in an independent and effective manner. 

Giving central overarching power 

• The deliberate dismantling of this architecture empowers the Central government to unilaterally decide the tenure, salary, allowances and other terms of service of Information Commissioners, both at the Centre and the States. 
• These amendments fundamentally weaken an important part of the RTI architecture. 
• They violate the constitutional principles of federalism, undermine the independence of Information Commissions, and thereby significantly dilute the widely used framework for transparency in India. 
• It was because of these reasons that MP Shashi Tharoor called this bill as an “RTI elimination Bill” that removes the organisation’s independence. Conclusion: The 2nd ARC held that RTI is the master key to governance. The RTI law has been a constant challenge to the misuse of power, a threat to arbitrariness, privilege, and corrupt governance. 
• These amendments may undermine the independence of Information Commissions and affect the transparency & accountability architecture in India. Therefore, in the pursuit of good governance, the RTI Act requires strengthening of the provisions rather weakening.

Q3: How far do you think cooperation, competition and confrontation have shaped the nature of federation of India? Cite some recent examples to validate your answer. (UPSC GS2 2020)
Ans: Federalism essentially means both the Centre and states have the freedom to operate in their allotted spheres of power, in coordination with each other. India is a federal system but with more tilt towards a unitary system of government. So it is sometimes considered as quasi-federal system. The nature of federalism kept changing since Independence, there exists cooperation, competition and confrontation between the federal units in India. Cooperation In cooperative federalism both Centre-State and State-State shares a horizontal relationship and cooperate in the larger public interest. Cooperation federalism has emerged as one of the principle in Indian federalism. 

• Centre - States Cooperation during COVID Pandemic and solving migrant crisis shows cooperation between Centre and states. 
• Establishment of NITI Aayog redefined the relationship between Centre and States. It enables states’ participation in the formulation and implementation of national policies. 
• Acceptance of 14th finance commission’s recommendation, which significantly enhanced devolution of finances from 32% to 42% shows the cooperation between Centre and States 
• Cooperation on implementation of various central sector schemes and centrally sponsored schemes. 
• Implementation of Goods and Services Tax where the states have given up a significant part of taxation powers shows the cooperation between Centre and states. 
• Constitution bodies like Inter-State councils (Article 263) fosters cooperation. State - State 
• Statutory bodies like Zonal Councils are established to promote interstate cooperation and coordination. It aims to establish a climate of cooperation among the states for successful and speedy execution of development projects. 
• States like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh are coordinating and cooperating on the issues of Naxalism. Competition Competition between states emerged because states are competing among themselves to attract funds and investments, to get funds from Centre and incentives from Finance commission on the basis of performance on various indicators. The idea of Competitive federalism gained significance post economic reforms of 1991. State - State
• NITI Aayog played an important role in promoting competitive federalism- ranking states on various socio-economic parameters – Health Index- Healthy States, Progressive India Report – School Education Quality Index – SDG Index – Transformation of Aspirational DistrictState wise Ease of Doing Business ranking helps to build a sense of competition among states to attract investments. 
• Swachh Bharat Ranking Systems 
• Investment Summits to attract investments To resolve the regional imbalance and inequalities between the states, competitive federalism has become an efficient tool to enhance the socio-economic development of individual states Confrontation Till 1967 after the independence there was hardly any confrontation between the federal units as there was a single party at the Centre and the states. But after 1967 there exists a massive confrontation between Centre - States and States-States Centre-States 
• Imposition of Presidents rule on the states. Misuse of Article 356 for political reasons. 
• Misuse of discretionary powers by Governor. 
• Encroachment by the Centre on the state list. For example recent Farm acts encroach upon the state list because agriculture and markets are state subjects 
• GST Compensation to States - refusal GoI of its legal commitment to compensate GST shortfall on account of lower revenue. 
• In 2019 Kerala has challenged Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 in Supreme Court - shows confrontation between Centre and states. 
• Imposition of Hindi Language on Southern States. States like Tamilnadu has consistently agitated on this matter. 
• States - States Inter-State River water sharing disputes. For example Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamilnadu, Mahanadi River dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh 
• Border disputes between states. For example Belgaum border dispute between State of Karnataka and Maharashtra. 

To resolve the confrontation issues, there is a urgent need to implement the recommendation of Sarkaria and Punchi Commission in letter and Spirit. A diverse and large country like India requires a proper balance between the federal units which will help in realizing various socio-economic developmental goals.

Q4: The judicial system in India and UK seem to be converging as well diverging in recent times. Highlight the key points of convergence and divergence between the two nations in terms of their judicial practices.
Ans: The Indian Constitution has established an Integrated Judicial system adopted from Government of India of 1935 which enforces both Central as well as state laws. Features of Judicial system has been adopted from countries like UK and USA. India is synthesis of both, that is, the American principle of judicial supremacy and British principle of Parliamentary supremacy.
Divergence 

• UK Judicial system follows Procedure established by law. In UK the judiciary does not look into the fairness of the laws. Basically they cannot review the acts made by the Parliament. Whereas Indian Judicial system also followed Procedure established by law till Meneka Gandhi Case, after the case India is following due process of law. So Judicial review with Indian judiciary is far much wider than that available to Judiciary of UK. 
• Jury System still exists in UK but not in India 
• Judicial Appointments - In India judges are appointed by collegium system ( opaque process) while in UK there is a judicial appointment commission( transparent process) 
• Act of sedition is no longer valid in UK but sedition act is often used in India. 
• Similarly Contempt of Court proceedings are rare in UK while it is often used in India 
• Remedy of Special leave petition (SLP- Article 136) of Supreme Court is available in India and not in UK. Convergence 
• Integrated judiciary mechanism both in India and UK 
• Judicial Independence prevalent in the both countries 
• Efforts are being made in both countries for Alternate resolution of disputes 
• Efforts were made by the Indian Government to introduce some form of judicial accountability by enacting National Judicial Appointment commission Act but was declared null and void by the Supreme Court as it was violating the basic structure of constitution. 
• There exists similar instruments of writ petitions in both countries to uphold the rule of law. 

Hence, both countries UK and India should learn and adapt best global practices associated with judicial system.

Q5: ‘‘Once a Speaker always a speaker’! Do you think this practice should be adopted to impart objectivity to the office of the speaker of Lok Sabha? What could be its implication for the robust functioning of parliamentary business in India? (UPSC GS2 2020)
Ans: Speaker holds important position in the Indian parliament. Speaker is the head of the LokSabha and its representative. Speaker is vested with vast, varied and vital responsibilities. But in the recent times it has been seen that the role of speaker has been severely criticized because of various issues.
Issues 

• Role of speaker has been criticized for favoring political parties and remaining biased to the party in majority as speaker are usually elected to the house on a political party’s ticket. So there exists a political liability on the speaker to favor his party and he/she does not able maintain impartiality 
• Discretionary power of speaker in case of declaration of bill as money bill. For example this power came under criticism when Aadhar bill was introduced as money bill in LokSabha. 
• In recent times, role of speaker has been questioned for disqualification of MLAs under the Antidefection law. 
• Less time is allotted to opposition members in the house to debate and discuss. Possible reasons for biasness exists because speaker belongs to ruling party - he works under a fear and favor of the ruling party. Unlike, in UK the speaker is strictly a nonparty man. There is a convention that speaker has to resign from his party and remain politically neutral. 
• So there is need to adopt the principle of Once a Speaker always a speaker in order to infuse greater objectivity and impartiality in the functioning of parliamentary business in India. India should adopt the UK system - Speaker should resign from his party and be political neutral. But this is not the only reform required. 
• Other reforms like: 
• Power of Disqualification under Anti-defection law should be transferred to Election Commission of India. 
• Power to declare a bill as money bill should be decided by a committee of parliament. This will bring transparency and objectivity in the process. 
• Implications It will lead to more comprehensive discussions and debates in the parliaments. 
• It will lead to objective interpretation of issues rather than subjective interpretation. 
• Balanced emphasis to the opposition parties -by giving greater opportunity in voicing their concerns on government policies and actions 
• Ultimately it will bring more credibility to the institution of speaker. 

The speaker enjoys great honour, high dignity and supreme authority within the house. Thus impartiality of the office is very important to make the parliamentary democracy work in true sense.

Q6: In order to enhance the prospects of social development, sound and adequate health care policies are needed particularly in the fields of geriatric and maternal health care. Discuss. (UPSC GS2 2020)
Ans: Over the past decade, healthcare services available in India have increased dramatically. The doctorto-population ratio in India is 1:2148. The infant mortality rate is 64 per 1,000 live births. The overall mortality rate has declined from 27.4 in 1991 to 8 per 1,000 populations in 2002, and life expectancy at birth has increased from 37.2 years to 60.6 years over the same time period. India is going through a demographic transition with a fall in fertility rate and increase in life expectancy.
A positive side of this is rise in working class thereby decrease in dependency ratio. Soon, we will face another challenge with a rapid increase in the number of aged and the associated health and social issues, as large bulk of population will move from working ages to old ages, thereby increasing the old age dependency.
Need and significance of health care policies for social development of the nation 

• Health system strengthening: Important issues that the health systems must confront are lack of financial and material resources, health workforce issues and the stewardship challenge of implementing pro-equity health policies in a pluralistic environment. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) launched by the Government of India is a leap forward in establishing effective integration and convergence of health services and affecting architectural correction in the health care delivery system in India. 
• Health promotion: Stopping the spread of STDs and HIV/AIDS, helping youth recognize the dangers of tobacco smoking and promoting physical activity. These are a few examples of behaviour change communication that focus on ways that encourage people to make healthy choices. 
• Public health policy: Identification of health objectives and targets is one of the more visible strategies to direct the activities of the health sector. In India, we need a road map to “better health for all” that can be used by states, communities, professional organizations and all sectors. 
• Living conditions: Safe drinking water and sanitation are critical determinants of health, which would directly contribute to 70-80% reduction in the burden of communicable diseases. 
• Urban planning: Provision of urban basic services like water supply, sewerage and solid waste management needs special attention. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in 35 cities works to develop financially sustainable cities in line with the Millenium Development Goals, which needs to be expanded to cover the entire country. 
• Reducing the impact of climate change and disasters on health: Thermal extremes and weather disasters spread of vector-borne, food-borne and water-borne infections, food security and malnutrition and air quality with associated human health risks are the public health risks associated with climate change. India’s “National Action Plan on Climate Change” identifies eight core “national missions” through various ministries, focused on understanding climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy and natural resource conservation.

Current health care policies related to geriatric and maternal health care 

• For Elderly people – Integrated Programme for Older Persons (IPOP): Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is a nodal agency for the welfare of elderly people. The main objective of the scheme is to improve the quality of life of older persons by providing basic amenities like shelter, food, medical care and entertainment opportunities, etc. – RashtriyaVayoshri Yojana (RVY): This scheme is run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. 
• This is a central sector scheme funded from the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund. Under the RVY scheme, aids and assistive living devices are provided to senior citizensbelonging to BPL category who suffer from age-related disabilities such as low vision, hearing impairment, loss of teeth and locomotor disabilities. 

Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS): 

• Under this scheme, financial assistance is provided to person of 60 years and above and belonging to family living below poverty line as per the criteria prescribed by Government of India. Central assistance of Rs 200 per month is provided to person in the age group of 60-79 years and Rs 500 per month to persons of 80 years and above. – Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY): This scheme is run by the Ministry of Finance. 
• The Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) was first launched in 2003 and then relaunched in 2014. Both are social security schemes for senior citizens intended to give an assured minimum pension on a guaranteed minimum return on the subscription amount. – VayoshreshthaSamman: Conferred as a National award, and given to eminent senior citizens & institutions under various categories for their contributions on International day of older persons on 1st october. 
• For Maternal health care – LaQshya – Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative: This program focuses on Public Health facilities to help. They will be assisted by helping them improve their maternity operation theatres, and help augment the quality of care in labour rooms. 
  • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): This Maternity Benefit Program is implemented in all districts. On fulfilling certain conditions, the beneficiaries would receive Rs 5,000 in 3 instalments. Cash benefits would be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. 
  • Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY): This scheme is completely sponsored by the Government of India. JananiSuraksha Yojana comes under the National Health Mission. 
  • Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA): This program was launched with the objective of detecting and treating cases of anaemia. 

India has made striking progress in health standards in the post-independence era. Still, many feel that the budgetary resources for the health sector should be increased. International developments in information technology need to be utilized at the national level in an attempt for health data documentation.
The sustained efforts to control the country’s population and the political will to march towards the millennium development goals in health will help India to make a significant impact in the international health scene.

Q7: Institutional quality is a crucial driver of economic performance. In this context suggest reforms in Civil Service for strengthening democracy. (UPSC GS2 2020)
Ans: Institutional quality in a democracy determines how successful the government machinery adheres to the principles of public service, rule of law, and social justice. One such institution is the Civil Services, which acts as a link between the Government & Citizenry and strengthens democracy.
Importance of the Civil Services 

• Basis of Government: There can be no government without administrative machinery. 
• Implementing Laws & Policies: Civil services are responsible for implementing laws and executing policies framed by the government. 
• Stabilising Force: Amidst political instability, the civil service offers stability and perfomance. While governments and ministers can come and go, the civil services is a permanent fixture giving the administrative set up a sense of stability and continuity. 
• Instruments of Social Change & Economic Development: Successful policy implementation will lead to positive changes in the lives of ordinary people. It is only when the promised goods and services reach the intended beneficiaries, a government can call any scheme successful. The task of actualising schemes and policies fall with the officers of the civil services. However, there are many challenges faced by civil services, which act as a roadblock in the path of democracy 
• Status Quoist: As instruments of public service, civil servants have to be ready for change. The common experience, however, is that they resist changes as they are wedded to their privileges and prospects and thereby, have become ends in themselves. For example, the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution have envisaged democratic decentralization. However, due to the reluctance on the part of the civil servants to accept the changes in control and accountability, the intended vision has not been achieved. 
• Rule-Book Bureaucracy: By the rule book bureaucracy, it meant mainly following the rules and laws of the book without taking care of the actual needs of the people. Due to rule book bureaucracy, some civil servants have developed the attitude of‘ bureaucratic behavior’, which evokes issues like red-tapism, the complication of procedures, and the maladapted responses of ‘bureaucratic’ organizations to the needs of the people. 
• Political Interference: The political representative for the sake of fulfilling the populist demand, influences the functioning of administrative officials. Hence, an administrative official has to adhere to the will of the political master. This interference sometimes leads to issues like corruption, arbitrary transfers of honest civil servants. Also, this led to substantial inefficiency where the vital positions are not held by the best officers and ultimately this can lead to institutional decline. Civil Services Reforms for economic performance and strengthening democracy. 
• Prompt Delivery of Services: Every department should seek to simplify their processes to cut administrative delays and ensure participatory feedback mechanisms for efficient service delivery. 
• Reducing Discretion & Enhancing Accountability Mechanism: There is an inherent need to set key responsibility/focus areas and progressively reduce discretionary aspects to evaluate civil servants.Online Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) should be instituted in all central and state cadres.Also, as suggested by many committees, there is a need to develop benchmarks to assess the performance of officers and compulsorily retire those deemed unable to meet the benchmarks. 
• Incorporation of Code of Ethics: As suggested by 2nd ARC, along with streamlining of code of conduct rules, there is a need to inculcate ethical underpinning in the civil servants by implementing Code of Ethics.This will sensitize civil servants to problems of people and help in the resolution of ethical dilemmas, which tend to emerge frequently in the public sphere. 
• De-politicization of bureaucracy: the bureaucrats’ primary purpose of providing non-partisan and efficient administration. So training in how to remain non- partisan need to be inculcated. Checking the Politicians – bureaucrats – Businessman nexus: The nexus was borne out of license quota raj where politicians and bureaucrats had discretionary power over allocation of natural resources in the country. This led to this unholy nexus and crony capitalism. It has undermined the democratic credentials of the country. So there is need of creation of check and balance

Sardar Patel considered the civil service “the steel frame of government machinery” as its main intent is to strengthen the administrative capacity to perform important government functions. However, without adequate reforms, this steel frame may start to get corrosion and may collapse. Therefore, in order to deal with present-day challenges and strengthen democracy, there is a need to carry out Civil services reforms in a holistic way.

Q8: “The emergence of Fourth Industrial Revolution (Digital Revolution) has initiated eGovernance as an integral part of government”. Discuss (UPSC GS2 2020)
Ans: Unlike the other three industrial revolutions, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is just not driven by technology only. It is about the convergence of physical, digital and biological spheres where technologies with the purpose of creating an inclusive growth environment come together helping every stakeholder to harness this change and progression. Since the digital world is important to facilitate the reach of physical and biological worlds, e-Governance has become an integral part of the government.
The impact on government 

• The Digital India campaign has taken the telecom data accessibility to the nook and corner of the villages of India. In the past four-and-a-half years, the government has taken the initiative to strengthen the country’s telecom infrastructure by investing six times more than before in this infrastructure. 
• While there were only 70 million people in India with a digital identity in 2014, today more than 120 million people of India have Aadhar card, their digital identity. 
• India is going to achieve the goal of connecting all the 2.5 lakh panchayats in the country with optical fiber. 
• Today India is reckoned as one of the world’s largest digital infrastructure countries. Unique interfaces like Aadhaar, unified payment interface i.e. UPI, e-sign, e-national agricultural market ie ENAM, government e-market place i.e. GEM, digi-locker are helping India become a technology leader through Artificial Intelligence. 
• India has already developed a national strategy to prepare for the development of AI research based robbers eco system in India. Following the vision of inclusive growth “sabkasath, sabkavikas”, the government has now given a call of “Artificial Intelligence for all”. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) confronts governments with a good news, bad news scenario. 
• As the physical, digital, and biological worlds continue to converge, new technologies and platforms will increasingly enable citizens to engage with governments, voice their opinions, coordinate their efforts, and even circumvent the supervision of public authorities. 
• Simultaneously, governments will gain new technological powers to increase their control over populations, based on pervasive surveillance systems and the ability to control digital infrastructure. 
• On the whole, however, governments will increasingly face pressure to change their current approach to public engagement and policymaking, as their central role of conducting policydiminishes owing to new sources of competition and the redistribution and decentralization of power that new technologies make possible. What Can Be Done by Goverment? Governments need to address four key areas if they hope to harness the full potential of 4IR. 
• First, governments must cultivate as full an understanding of the future as possible, knowing what the opportunities and risks ahead are, as well as what their applications would be to the world, to individual countries, and to the specific workings of government.  
• Second, they need to ensure their countries have the infrastructure in place to benefit from the enormous advantages of technological change, and they need to address the risks of cybersecurity —whether criminally or politically motivated. Government needs to be an enabler of change, even if it does not itself seek to “pick winners” or manage the market. 
• Third, they must develop an understanding of the potential impact of change on the role of government, the relationship between individual citizens and companies, and other organizations, in the future. 
• Fourth, governments need to maintain a social cohesion in an era of potentially major disruption, such as instability in the labor market and significant changes in wealth distribution. 

In the end, We need to shape a future that works for all of us by putting people first and empowering them. In its most pessimistic, dehumanized form, the Fourth Industrial Revolution may indeed have the potential to “robotize” humanity and thus to deprive us of our heart and soul. But as a complement to the best parts of human nature—creativity, empathy, stewardship—it can also lift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of destiny. It is incumbent on us all to make sure the latter prevails.

Q9: Critically examine the role of WHO in providing global health security during the COVID-19 pandemic (UPSC GS2 2020)
Ans: World health oraganiation was established in 1948 to work for Global public health security ,But the COVID-19 pandemic has put a sharp focus on the functioning of World Health Organisation (WHO), a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) responsible for global health management. From the start of the outbreak, the organisation has been at the centre of many controversies.
The World Health Organization (WHO), role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic 

• Helping countries to prepare and respond: WHO has issued COVID-19 Strategic Prearedness and Response Plan, which identifies the major actions countries need to take, and the resources needed to carry them out. 
• Providing accurate information, busting dangerous myths: The internet is awash with information about the pandemic, some of it useful, some of it false or misleading. In the midst of this “infodemic”, WHO is producing accurate, useful guidance that can help save lives. 
• Ensuring vital supplies reach frontline health workers: Personal protective equipment is essential to ensure health professionals are able to save lives, including their own. WHO has shipped more than million items of personal protective equipment and diagnostic teststo 126 countries, in all regions, and more are being sourced Issues that have plagued the World Health Organization.
• The first relates to the sharing of data during the COVID outbreak. The organisation only relied on Chinese government for data about the outbreak and did not pay heed to information that came from other sources, leading to mischaracterisation about the severity of the virus in the early days of its spread.
• Second the current pandemic shows that many countries including the developed and developing ones lack national health capacities to deal with infectious diseases despite being signatories to IHR (2005). Likewise, it also reveals the dearth of visionary leadership in WHO. The transnational corporations and pharmaceutical companies often influence the organisation’s decisions vis-a-vis affordable global health solutions. 
• Finally, the three-tier structure of the WHO further complicates its ability to coordinate international cooperation. Each regional office acts as a sphere of influence in which they elect their own Director. These self-governing regional offices make decision making difficult for Geneva and the success of policy outcomes is mostly dependent on the relationship between them. 

Way forwad/Reforms needed in WHO 

• Strong sanctions: Unable to assert authority, WHO has to rely on soft power strategies to gain countries’ cooperation, leading to many of the criticisms the organization receives. The International Health Regulations currently mandate that governments report any “public health emergencies of international concern” and cooperate with WHO to take action, but WHO has no legal ability to enforce this. The regulations must be reformed to include enforceable sanctions against countries that fail to comply with their mandate. 
• Narrow mandate: WHO’s mandate must be clarified and narrowed. The organization has a very broad scope — in theory, all activities that can improve the health of all populations worldwide are under its purview. Instead, WHO should focus primarily on activities where it can bring the most added values. 
• Increased untied funding: Many experts have pointed to WHO’s limited budget, which is less than the budget of many major U.S. hospitals, as the main culprit for its current failings. The share of unearmarked funding is also ridiculously low, with membership dues representing less than 20% of the agency’s total budget. 
• Open governance: Alongside its budget, the governance of WHO must also be reformed to facilitate the inclusion of alternative voices, such as from the civil society, and to better channel the influence of private philanthropists. 

Unless a strong democratic coalition of countries emerges to push for these reforms, they are unlikely to happen. But a wider reflection on the role of WHO is necessary to ensure that the next time a public health threat emerges, the world has a strong global health agency to confront it. Because the question is not whether another threat will emerge after COVID-19, but when.

Q10: ‘Indian Diaspora has a decisive role to play in the politics and economy of America and European Countries’. Comment with examples. (UPSC GS2 2020)
Ans: The Indian Diaspora is estimated to be second largest in the world and has a diversified global presence. The Diaspora, estimated at over 25 million, is spread across more than 200 countries with a high concentration in regions such as the Middle East, the United States of America, Malaysia, and South Africa.
The Indian Diaspora has not only increased in numbers but has been gaining universal recognition for the unique contributions to its host countries, be it skilled and semi-skilled work force in the Gulf region or technocrats and educated professionals of Indian origin. Members of the Indian Diaspora do play a significant role in mobilizing political support for in their country of residence on issues of vital concerns to India.
Its role in the politics and economy of America and European Countries 

• Economic Front 
  • Indian Diaspora is one of the richest minorities in many developed countries, this helped them to lobby for favourable terms regarding India’s interests. 
  • The migration of less-skilled labour has also helped in bringing down disguised unemployment in India. 
  • Migrants’ remittances have positive systemic effects on the balance of payments. Remittances of $70-80 billion help to bridge a wider trade deficit. 
  • The migrant workers facilitated the flow of tacit information, commercial and business ideas, and technologies into India. 
  • In Europe region, many Indians are working in private sector of countries like UK, Germany and France and Norway. Thus contributing in their economies. 

Political Front 

• Many people of Indian origin hold top political positions in many countries, in the US itself they are now a significant part of Republicans and Democrats, as well as the government. 
• Indian Diaspora is not just a part of India’s soft power, but a fully transferable political vote bank as well. 
• It played in turning around doubting legislators into voting for the India-U.S. nuclear deal. 
• On political front, Indians hold position in many countries of Europe like England, Germany and Even in recent time in Norway also. Some examples Indian Diaspora has a decisive role to play in the politics and economy of America and European Countries. 
• India was the world’s top remittance recipient with $79 billion in 2018. The top positions held by people of Indian origin in IBM, Microsoft, Google, Deloitte, Adobe, Palo Alto Networks etc. have a profound impact on global economic output and have decisive implications for how their contribution to this output influences the political dynamics not only in America and European countries but also across the world. 
• When Donald Trump attended the ‘Namaste Trump’ event in Gujarat, he had 4.4 million Indian Americans in mind impacting the political and economic arena, considering that there were candidates like TulsiGabbard and Kamala Harris. 
• Rishi Sunak who became chancellor is referred to as a “possible Britain’s future prime minister” by many. 
• There are over 2 lakh Indians in Italy playing a part in dairy, agricultural and domestic service sectors. Indian Diaspora is instrumental in public healthcare delivery in the EU. 
• Recently, in Ireland, there has been substantial demand for skilled healthcare workers. These are some tangible reflections of India’s soft power. 

Conclusion

• In the past couple of decades, the overseas community has grown into an energetic and confident Diaspora over 25 million strong that has given India a presence in many parts of the world. A successful, prosperous and politically influential Diaspora is an asset to India, for it acts as a vibrant bridge between two countries, adding sustenance to their bilateral relations. 
• It is not a one-way interaction that benefits only one side; both India and the Diaspora have something to gain from the connection, in real as well as intangible terms. 
• Maintaining the bonds between India and the people of Indian origin is an emotional need for overseas Indians; it has economic advantages for India and helps in good bilateral relations between India and the country where the overseas Indian are domiciled. 
• India and its Diaspora can enrich each other in a spirit of mutual interest. The Indian Diaspora is like a mass of variegated strands with differing forms and textures, each with its own needs and expectations.