The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 12th August 2025 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Assuaging Concerns

Why is it news?

 Motorists need help adjusting to fuel that has been blended with ethanol. 

Introduction

Ethanol blending in petrol, which has been successfully implemented in countries like the U.S. and Brazil, is now gaining traction in India. This shift aims to reduce import dependence, lower prices, and achieve environmental benefits. While the technology for safe usage is available, there are ongoing challenges related to efficiency, durability, food security, and consumer choice. These issues require a careful and transparent policy approach.

Background and Rationale for Ethanol Use

• Global Promotion: Ethanol blending in fuel has been widely promoted around the world, particularly in the U.S. and Brazil, where blending levels vary from 5% to 100%.
• Historical Context: The practice of ethanol blending began as a response to the oil crises of the 1970s. Ethanol is marketed as carbon neutral, enhancing its environmental appeal.
• India's Driving Factors: In India, the primary motivations for ethanol blending are:
• Import Substitution: Reducing dependence on crude oil imports.
• Lower Fuel Prices: Making fuel more affordable for consumers.

Government Estimates: It is estimated that 20% ethanol blending (E20) could save India $10 billion annually.

Indian Strategy: The strategy for ethanol production in India involves:

• C-heavy Molasses: Using molasses not required for sugar production.
• Broken Rice: Utilizing broken rice that would otherwise spoil in storage.
• Increased Maize Acreage: Expanding maize cultivation and productivity, as maize is less water-intensive.

This approach aims to mitigate food security risks. However, once the ethanol economy is established, food stocks may become less prioritized during shortages. It is also important to note that the savings from reduced imports could be counterbalanced by the ongoing $10 billion expenditure on imported fertilizers.

Technical and Operational Downsides

• Efficiency Penalty: Ethanol has a lower energy content compared to petrol, which affects overall efficiency.
• Material Durability Issues: Ethanol can corrode fuel handling systems, leading to potential durability problems.
• Compatibility Evidence:Vehicles that meet Euro 2, U.S. Tier 1, or India BS 2 norms (since 2001) can generally handle up to E15 (15% ethanol) without significant issues.
  • Closed-Loop Fuel Control: Vehicles meeting BS 2 standards benefit from closed-loop fuel control systems, which help manage efficiency loss and reduce corrosion risks.
• E20-Ready Vehicles: Since 2023, all new vehicles in India are designed to be E20-ready. However, concerns persist regarding the compatibility of older vehicles with higher ethanol blends.

Reviving Civic Engagement in Health Governance

Why in News?

 As States deliver health care to doorsteps, communities must be engaged as active partners in shaping health systems. 

Introduction

The ‘ Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam. scheme in Tamil Nadu, launched in August 2021, and Karnataka’s Gruha Arogya scheme, introduced in October 2024 and expanded statewide by June 2025, aim to bring health care directly to the doorsteps of individuals with non-communicable diseases. Similar initiatives are being implemented in several other States, marking important progress in proactive health care delivery. However, these efforts also raise a critical question: while the system increasingly reaches citizens where they live, to what extent are citizens themselves able to access, participate in, and influence health governance at various formal levels?

The subject of citizen engagement

• Expanded Health Governance: Health governance has evolved from being solely government-led to involving civil society, professional bodies, hospital associations, and trade unions. This shift occurs through both formal and informal social processes influenced by power dynamics.
• Value of Public Engagement: Public engagement is crucial for affirming self-respect, combating epistemic injustice, and upholding democratic values. It empowers citizens to shape decisions that impact their health and health-care services.
• Impact of Inclusion: Inclusive participation enhances accountability, challenges elite dominance, and mitigates corruption. Without inclusion, governance risks becoming oppressive and unjust.
• Benefits of Engagement: Engaging communities fosters collaboration with frontline workers, improves service uptake, enhances health outcomes, and builds mutual trust between communities and providers.
• NRHM Initiatives: The National Rural Health Mission (2005) institutionalized public engagement through Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) and Rogi Kalyan Samitis. These initiatives are designed for inclusivity and supported by untied funds for local projects.
• Urban Participation Platforms: Urban areas have platforms like Mahila Arogya Samitis, Ward Committees, and NGO-led committees aimed at promoting civic participation in health governance.
• Implementation Gaps: There are gaps in the implementation of these committees. In some areas, they are non-existent, while in others, they face issues such as unclear roles, infrequent meetings, underutilized funds, poor intersectoral coordination, and entrenched social hierarchies.

Where the problem lies

• Mindset Problem: The prevailing attitude in India’s health system views public engagement as a challenge, perceiving communities as passive recipients rather than active participants.
• Target-Driven Approach: Success is measured through target-based metrics, focusing on the quantity of “beneficiaries” reached rather than the quality of implementation or community experience.
• Language Matters: The term “beneficiaries” frames citizens as objects of intervention, undermining their status as rights-holders and co-creators of health systems.
• Policy-Practice Gap: Despite the National Health Mission’s promotion of bottom-up planning, meaningful community engagement in Programme Implementation Plans remains rare.
• Medical Dominance: Health governance is predominantly led by medical professionals trained in western biomedical models, often lacking formal public health administration training.
• Leadership Structure: Promotions are based on seniority, reinforcing a medicalized and hierarchical system disconnected from community realities.
• Resistance to Engagement: Resistance to public engagement is linked to fears of increased workload, accountability pressures, regulatory capture by dominant interests, and imbalances in governance power.
• Alternative Voices: In the absence of inclusive engagement platforms, citizens resort to protests, media campaigns, and legal actions to express their demands.
• Unmet Need: These alternative actions reflect a deep need for participation, voice, and accountability in India’s health governance.

The need for a shift

• Mindset Shift: Governance actors must fundamentally change their perspective, recognizing community engagement as a means to respect agency and dignity, rather than just a tool to meet programme targets.
• Beyond Instrumentalism: People should not be viewed solely as a means to achieve health outcomes; this undermines their participatory rights. Participatory processes are equally important as the outcomes they aim to achieve.
• Empowerment: Communities should be actively empowered by sharing information about health rights, fostering civic awareness, reaching out to marginalized groups, and equipping citizens with knowledge and resources for effective participation in health governance.
• Early Engagement: Civic education should begin early to cultivate a culture of active participation in health governance.
• Marginalized Inclusion: Efforts should be made to intentionally engage excluded or vulnerable populations in decision-making processes.
• System Sensitisation: Health system actors need training to understand that low health-seeking behaviour and health-care utilization are not solely due to poor awareness.

Conclusion

Narrowly focusing on individual blame risks further marginalizing vulnerable groups and neglecting the structural factors driving health inequities. Genuine progress requires health professionals to view communities as active partners, collaborating to address root causes. Strengthening, sustaining, and making public engagement platforms genuinely impactful is crucial for effective health governance.