30 May 2024

GS 3 : Science and Tech

The State of Scientific Research in India:

• Growth of Universities: The number of universities in India increased from 760 in 2014 to 1,113 in 2021. Despite this growth, many universities lack essential resources such as instrumental access, sophisticated labs, and access to scientific literature.
• I-STEM Initiative: The I-STEM initiative aims to bridge the resource gap by cataloguing all publicly funded research facilities nationwide and making them available to researchers based on need.

The Issue of Access to Scientific Literature:

• One Nation, One Subscription (ONOS): The ONOS proposal aims to make scientific journals universally available to all publicly funded institutions in India. However, the cost of accessing these commercial journals is high, with Indian institutions spending an estimated ?1,500 crore annually.
• Limited Reach of Subscription: The benefits of this expenditure are reaped by only a few top institutes, leaving many others without access to crucial scientific literature.
• Negotiations with Publishers: The government is currently negotiating with five major commercial publishers who dominate the market to implement ONOS.

Open Access and its Implications:

• Shift Towards Open Access (OA): A significant portion of scholarly articles is now available via OA, which provides free online access to articles. The fraction of OA publications globally increased from 38% in 2018 to 50% in 2022.
• International Push for OA: Major countries like the U.S. and the European Union, as well as philanthropic funding sources such as the Wellcome Trust, have mandated OA for the research they fund.
• Questioning the Need for ONOS: Given the increasing availability of free content, the necessity and efficiency of paying for a unified, costly subscription like ONOS is being questioned.

Challenges and Solutions:

• Long-term Preservation of Content: A recent study found that approximately 28% of academic journal articles with DOIs appear entirely unpreserved, suggesting a risk of these research papers vanishing from the Internet.
• Green Open Access: This practice allows authors to deposit a version of their work in a university repository, making it freely accessible to everyone globally. Indian funding agencies have mandated green OA for a long time, but enforcement has been lacking.
• Self-reliance in Scientific Publishing: To become self-reliant, India needs to improve its own journal system, with no burden of payment to authors or readers. With its capabilities in digital technology, India should also become a pioneer for the global south by creating and sharing digital public infrastructure for low-cost, high-quality scientific publishing. 

GS 2 – Governance – Government policies – Issues arising out of their design & implementation.

Around 36% of India’s population is living in cities and by 2047 it will be more than 50%. The World Bank estimates that around $840 billion is required to fund the bare minimum urban infrastructure over the next 15 years.

About AMRUT Scheme

• It is a flagship urban development scheme launched by the Government of India in June 2015.
• The mission is being operated as a Central Sponsored Scheme.
• Aim: To provide basic urban infrastructure to improve the quality of life in cities and towns.
• Objectives:  

• Ensure that every household has access to a tap with an assured water supply and a sewerage connection.
• Increase the green areas in the cities.
• Reduce pollution by promoting public transport and constructing facilities for non-motorized transport.

• Funding: It is divided among States/UTs in an equitable formula in which 50:50 weightage.
• The Mission covers 500 cities including all cities and towns with a population of over one lakh with notified Municipalities.
• Revenue Set Aside for the Scheme:

• AMRUT 1.0: Total outlay was ₹50,000 crore for five years from FY 2015-16 to FY 2019-20.
• AMRUT 2.0: Total outlay is ₹2,99,000 crore, with a central outlay of ₹76,760 crore for five years, starting from October 1, 2021.

Conclusion of the article: The need to take a balanced approach combining holistic urban planning, enhanced city participation, empowerment of local bodies, nature-based solutions, climate-responsive strategies, and a strong public health focus is essential for sustainable urban development.

GS 3: Indian Economy

Introduction:

• S&P Global Ratings revised India’s outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’. The agency maintained its long-term unsolicited foreign and local currency sovereign credit rating at ‘BBB-’ and short-term rating at ‘A-3’.
• This revision is underpinned by expectations of continued policy stability, deepening economic reforms, and significant infrastructure investment, which S&P believes will sustain India’s long-term growth prospects.

Conditions for Rating Upgrade:

• Fiscal and Monetary Improvements

• S&P indicated that it might raise India’s ratings if fiscal deficits narrow significantly, leading to a reduction in general government debt to below 7% of GDP on a structural basis.
• India’s weak fiscal settings have been a major vulnerability. An improvement in the central bank’s monetary policy effectiveness and credibility, resulting in lower inflation, could also lead to a rating upgrade.

• Fiscal Consolidation Path

• S&P acknowledged that India’s economic recovery post-COVID-19 has enabled the government to outline a gradual path to fiscal consolidation.
• Increased public investment in infrastructure is expected to boost economic growth, which, coupled with fiscal adjustments, could alleviate the country’s weak public finances.

Growth Projections and Fiscal Challenges:

• Economic Recovery and Growth Rates

• India’s economy has shown a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with an average real GDP growth of 8.1% annually over the past three years, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.
• S&P expects this momentum to continue, with GDP growth projected at around 7% annually over the next three years. This growth is likely to moderate the debt-to-GDP ratio despite ongoing fiscal deficits.

• Long-Term Prospects and Risks

• Continued policy stability, economic reforms, and infrastructure investment are expected to sustain India’s long-term growth. S&P suggests that cautious fiscal and monetary policies that reduce debt and interest burdens while enhancing economic resilience could lead to a higher rating within the next 24 months.

• Potential Downside Risks

• S&P cautioned that India’s outlook could be downgraded to stable if there is a weakening in the political commitment to maintaining sustainable public finances, which would signify a deterioration in the country’s institutional capacity.