Hello and welcome to Daily News simplified where we take up important articles of the day from the newspaper and discuss them in detail as per the demands of civil services exam articles covered today are displayed on your screen and their notes in PDF and Word format are provided in the
Description box down below without further Ado let us begin now let us start our discussion with the first article of the day and it appeared in page 11 of today’s Hindu now recently the French government has announced that the practice of wearing a buyer would be banned in state-run
Schools as it violated the principle of lysite now this move has met with criticism by many and it has been said that it brings another instance of life being used as a tool of Oppression rather than assimilation now the topic of secularism is important from GS paper to perspective as it deals
With Indian constitution and its significant provision further GS paper 2 syllabus also mentions comparison of Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries further this topic is also important from Maine’s perspective as you can see a question appeared in Mains of the year 2018 on how the Indian concept of
Secularism is different from Western model of secularism further secularism also appeared in the prelims of the Year 2021 where a question appeared on exact constitutional status of India which existed on 26th of January 1950. now before discussing what is lyside we will first understand what is the principle called secularism
Then we will discuss the French derivative of secularism which is also known as Lai site and in this regard we will compare French secularism with that of Indian secularism before ending today’s discussion we will discuss the comparison between Indian as well as Western model of secularism hence let us start off our today’s
Discussion by discussing what is secularism now the idea of secularism it seeks to achieve a secular society and a secular society is the one which is without any interreligious or inter-religious domination as this Society it makes religion a personal affair now secularism it follows three principles the first principle in this regard is
Called separation Principle as there is a need to separate religious institutions and state institutions further there needs to be no domination of religion in the public sphere the second principle in this regard is called Freedom principle as in a secular society there should be a freedom to
Practice one’s Faith or belief and it should be done without harming others belief additionally this also need to be a freedom to change your personal belief or not to have any belief which is based on one’s own conscience whereas the third important principle of secularism is that of equality as this
Principle favors no advantage or disadvantage of having or not having any religious belief in the public sphere hence you can see that secularism diminishes the influence of religious institutions and symbols in public lives hence innovate can be said that secularism is a Doctrine which commands distinct independent exclusive as well
As separate spheres of both state as well as religion hence in this regard there needs to be no overlapping between State as well as religion now this means two things first is that there should be no State interference in a phase of religion further there should be no religious
Interference in Affairs of the state now after we have discussed what is secularism let us discuss its French derivative which is also known as lysite it was initially coined in the 19th century and it can be understood as a formal separation between church and the state
As the concept of lyside it involves the complete removal of religious values from the public sphere and it replaces religious values with that of secular values such as Liberty equality as well as fraternity now the underlying goal of lysite is to implement the provisions of tolerance as well as help assimilation of people
And as per this principle the matters of religion it needs to be confined to the public sphere hence lysine it envisages an important role of the state in ensuring that the Affairs run according to the principle of lysite now the idea of life it emerged following the French Revolution in the
Year of 1789. however this idea it took a concrete shape in form of the law of 1905 and this is when the state-run secular schools were established in France as the law of 1905 it guarantees freedom of conscience as well as it guarantees freedom of worship except when it
Clashes with the public order now this law of 1905 it also states that the Republic of France will neither pay nor subsidize any form of workship hence we can say that this principle it separates the church and state in a strict sense now after we have discussed
The idea that is let us discuss the challenges that are faced in its implementation now initially the implementation of lysite was smooth as it was not seen as problematic for most part of 20th century and this was because France in earlier part of 20th century it was a homogeneous society
However in 1950s and 60s France witnessed a large-scale influx of immigrants who came from decolonized North Africa and these population they were predominantly from Muslim countries such as Tunisia Morocco and Algeria and this led to a large-scale change in demographics of French society now there are two question that comes
With implementation of lysite in French society now the first question it pertains to the question of assimilation of people from diverse background in French society whereas the second section they feel that France should let religious identities dissolve into a more Diversified practices and identities as it will ensure integration
However this integration it also comes into conflict with original principle of lysita itself hence in this regard let us discuss how Indian secularism is more important in dealing with the heterogeneous society that is Indian Society now Indian secularism it does not envisage a strict separation between both religion as well as politics
As Indian state it does not associate with any religion whereas Indian state it honors all faith in an equal manner also Indian state it permits freedom of practicing any religion and it takes into consideration the religious Sentiments of Indian people now the word secularism it was not originally mentioned in the Constitution
However with 42nd Amendment Act of their 1976 the word secular was added into the Preamble of Indian constitution further there are many Provisions in the Indian constitution that highlight that Indian constitution in itself is a secular Constitution now the first important provision in this regard is the Preamble of Indian
Constitution itself as the Preamble it professes to secure all its citizen Liberty of thought expression belief Faith as well as Worship in addition to guaranteeing equality of status and of opportunity to Indian citizens also Indian constitution has article 14 and this article it provides equality to all its citizens
Further Article 15 it prohibits any discrimination on grounds of religion race caste sex or place of birth also important is the article 16 which provides equality of opportunity in matters of public employment irrespective of religion raised as well as caste sex descent place of birth or residence or any one of them
Additionally Indian constitution also provides for guaranteeing of freedom of religion to all persons in article 25 to 28. also article 29 and 30 they provide for exclusive rights to minorities including religious minorities in order to protect their interest further article 51a it obligates all citizens to promote Harmony and spirit
Of common Brotherhood in addition to value and preserve the rich Heritage of our composite culture hence we can say that Indian constitution is a secular Constitution now Indian secularism it aims to achieve certain objectives the first objective is to protect the religious freedom of all its citizens by making the state responsible for
Protection of religious freedom further Indian secularism it also avoids imposition of any particular religion from the state upon the rest of people additionally Indian secularism it also prohibits religious prosecution of individuals by ensuring that the state equally supports and protects all its citizens further Indian secularism also prevents domination of one religion over
Another as well as protects discrimination within the same religion hence we can say that it avoids any form of discrimination in Social political and economic spheres further Indian secularism also favors developing tolerance rather than isolation from people having different religious faiths now after we have discussed significant features of both French and Indian
Secularism let us compare what are differences between Indian as well as Western notion of secularism now we can safely say that Indian model of secularism it differs from the Western model of secularism as unlike West India sees no clear divide between religion as well as state now in terms of nature of secularism
Indian secularism favors sarv dharam sambhav which means mutual respect for all religions additionally Indian secularism it also favors which means religious neutrality towards all religion whereas on the other hand the nature of Western secularism is anti-religious now in terms of scope of Indian secularism state is seen as a critique
And it can intervene in matters of religion when religion violates principle of equality or it causes communal disharmony for example Indian constitution explicitly bans the practice of untouchability as it goes against the principle of equality further Indian constitution also prohibits religion-based gender discrimination and banning the principle
Of triple talaq is a step in this direction hence Indian secularism it promotes idea of equality as well as communal Harmony while on the other hand Western form of secularism it envisages no State interference hence in terms of public sphere religion as well as state they are completely separated
Hence this was all for today’s discussion on Indian as well as Western secularism now moving on to the next article of the day which appeared in page 16 of today’s Hindu newspaper now this article is on cbdcs which are Central men digital currencies and this article highlights that these
Cbdcs they can make payments across borders more efficient now the topic of cbdc is important from GS paper 3 perspective as it deals with inclusive growth and issues arising out of it and these cbdcs they will help in financial inclusion further this topic is also important from Maine’s perspective as you can see
A question appeared in 2021 means on cryptocurrency and its effect on Indian Society further the topic of cbdc’s it appeared in prelims of their 2023 as well where you can see it asked us to consider following statements regarding Central Bank digital currencies hence in the scope of our today’s
Discussion on Central Bank digital currency we will first describe why is there a need for such cbdcs further we will also discuss challenges that may arise in adoption of digital currencies in India in addition to a suggestive way ahead so as to what measures are needed in order
To adopt cbdcs in a more efficient and inclusive manner hence let us start off our today’s discussion by discussing why is there a need for cbdcs now the RBI it defines cbdc as a legal tender which is issued by a central bank but in digital form
Now the Indian currency that is rupee it exists in physical form in terms of currency notes however RBA has further added cbdc’s to it as cbdc they’re packed against our country’s fiat currency and it adds digital form to the existing physical form that are currency notes now there are many reasons which favors
Introduction of cbdc the first is that there is a need to reduce cash management costs as currently there are significant costs that are incurred in printing money as well as distribution of money all across the country as in the year 2020 and 21 RBI spent more than 4 900 crore rupees in cash
Distribution and physical cash management apart from this there is significant environmental social as well as governance costs that are associated with currency management and cbdc it helps reduces these operational costs such as printing money their storage as well as their transportation another rationale for introduction of cbdc is to further the cause of
Digitization in the Indian economy as it will help achieve the goal of less cash economy as cbdc they will further the cause of digital payment given they are easy to use as they come with Sovereign guarantee which is provided by the Central Bank of our country further cbdc will also help improve our
Cross-border transactions as cbdc they make these cross-border transactions more instantaneous and it will help overcome key challenges that relates to time zones exchange rate differences as well as regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions additionally cbdc also favors Financial inclusion as there are many features that are related to cbdcs for example
They offer offline functionality they can be universally accessed across all devices as well as their compatible with multiple devices and these features they make Financial Services more accessible to underbanked and unbanked population who live in remote areas further cbdc also safeguards the trust of Common Man in the National currency
And they are more secure when you compare them with private cryptocurrency as currently there has been unabated use of cryptocurrencies and which brings threat to our country’s monetary policy objectives further these private cryptocurrencies they are also volatile in nature which makes them unreliable to use as a payment option
And in this regard cbdc they can fulfill the demand for secured and a stable digital currency as it is currently backed by the Central Bank of our country however despite many important features cbdc also has potential challenges that comes in between the adoption of digital currency all across the country
What are these challenges let us take a look in the next slide the first challenge which is associated with use of Central Bank digital currency it relates to the potential cyber threats as cbdc ecosystem it phases similar risk of cyber attacks as the current payment system is exposed to
Further with lower financial literacy levels in our country and the increase in digital payment related frauds it may also spread to cbdcs further there’s also a threat to individual privacy as use of cash is associated with anonymity whereas with rise of digital payments it leaves digital trails and thereby it
Threatens the lawful or legitimate preference that are associated with cash use anonymity further there are challenges that are associated with levels of Technology preparedness as currently India has a low level of Technology adoption and this may limit the reach of cbdcs and it will further add to the existing
Inequalities that are there in terms of accessing Financial products and services also India will have a large number of elderly population in the coming future and these population they’re not really comfortable with the use of digital banking facilities further cbdc also brings with it an impact on availability of bank credit as
With popularity of cbdc’s people may then begin withdrawing their money from their bank accounts hence this will reduce the level of intermediation that is offered by Banks currently and it will further affect their ability to create credit and this in long term will increase the cost of credit which goes against the
Growth principle of our Indian economy further there are also challenges that are associated with settling of cross-border transactions as without proper collaboration and common framework the ability of policy makers to track cross-border flows will be severely limited hence now we have discussed challenges that are associated with use of Central
Bank digital currencies let us take a look at suggestive way ahead so as to what needs to be done in order to make the Central Bank digital currencies more inclusive now the first need to improve the implementation of cbdc framework is to have a robust regulatory framework in
India as before adopting this technology there is a need for a flexible framework as this flexible framework it will incorporate Dynamic learning in design of cbdcs further there’s a need to ensure high standards of cyber security and there’s a need to make parallel efforts in the field of financial literacy as they are
Essential in dealing with cbdcs at an all India level further there’s a need to assure privacy of an individual as it is essential to consider the way the privacy of an individual is respected and the data which is associated with use of cbdc it needs to be further protected
Also important in this regard is the bis principles as Bank of international settlements it has given a few principles that needs to be considered before implementation of a central bank digital currency these include Do no harm principle as cbdc’s they should not interfere with public policy objectives further they
Should not prevent Banks from performing their monetary stability mandate additionally there’s also need for a coexistence principle as cbdc as they need to be used alongside and in complement with existing forms of money such as physical cash also there’s a need for Innovation as well as efficiency as cbdc’s they should
Promote Innovation and competition as this will increase the overall efficiency and accessibility of the country’s payment system hence with a robust regulatory framework ensuring high standards for cyber security and maintaining financial literacy in addition to privacy and following design principles will help make cbdc’s more inclusive as well as
Increase their adoption in a wide scale manner hence this was all for today’s discussion on Central Bank digital currency now moving on to the next article of the day which appeared in page 9 of today’s Hindu newspaper now this article reports that out of 9.5 crore Pradhan mantri ujjwala yojana
Households almost 1.18 crore they brought no cylinder refills in the last Financial year while on the other hand almost 1.5 crore households they just brought one cylinder refill now the topic of Pradhan mantri ujjwala yojana is important from GS paper to perspective as it deals with government policies and
Interventions for development of various sectors and issues that are arising out of their design and implementation further government schemes such as Pradhan mantri jandhan yojana it also appeared in the mains of the year 2016. hence Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana is also important from Maine’s perspective additionally Pradhan mantri kaushal
Vikas yojana it found itself in the prelims of the year 2018. hence important government schemes they are also important from prelims perspective hence in the scope of our today’s discussion on Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana we will first discuss the main features of Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana then we will discuss its performance
With respect to a CAG audit as well as the scope of today’s article before concluding today’s discussion we will take a look at suggestive Way Forward as to what measures are needed in order to implement this scheme in a more Equitable manner hence let us start off our today’s
Discussion by discussing what is a Pradhan mantri or July yojana now the Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana it was launched in the year of 2016. and this scheme it was brought by Ministry of petroleum and natural gas and this scheme it intends to provide LPG connection to women of BPL households
However in 2018 the scope of this scheme was expanded as now women who fall under three category they have become eligible to achieve benefit under Pradhan mantri or July yojana now there are three categories of beneficiaries the first that the woman should be eligible as per the socio-economic car census 2011 list
Further a woman can also be a beneficiary of Pradhan mantri awas yojana she can be from schedulecast schedule time or most backward class communities or can be a tea garden worker or an island dweller further if a woman does not fall under either of these two categories she is
Further eligible to achieve benefits under Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana and she can claim her benefits by providing a 14 point declaration in order to be a beneficiary also this scheme provides a cash assistance of 1600 rupees as this cash assistance it covers security deposit for cylinder pressure regulator LPG hose domestic gas consumer
Card inspection installation and demonstration charges additionally all Pradhan mantri ujola yojana beneficiaries they are provided with first LPG refill as well as gas stove free of cost along with their deposit free Connection by the oil marketing companies further consumers under pmug they are also given an option to purchase gas
Stove and refills on an easy monthly installment with zero interest and this Emi will be recovered through LPG subsidy which is provided to the beneficiaries however many studies such as that of CAG report as well as RTI application they have highlighted that Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana has not been able to
Ensure sustained usage of LPG Connection by poor family and they alternatively have turned towards solid fuels hence in this regard let us discuss the performance of Pradhan mantri ojwala yojana it faces affordability challenges as between January of their 2018 and March of their 2023 India has witnessed
An 82 percent increase in the price of LPG cylinders as in January 2018 the price of LPG cylinder was about 495 rupees whereas in the year 2023 it has increased to 903 rupees hence this is brought forward the affordability challenge with respect to LPG cylinders also this increase in cost of LPG has
Made non-clean Alternatives such as agriculture residue and firewood cheaper than subsidized LPG in many parts of the country also the implementation of Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana it faces certain leakages as the identification of BPL household is based currently on socio-economic cost census data however a CAG report it has found cases
Of mismatch in names of beneficiaries and the SEC data as there are differences of about 12.5 lakh beneficiaries also the CAG data is found that 1.9 lakh connection has been released in names of men hence this signifies a certain amount of leakages with respect to Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana
Additionally there has been instances of lack of sustenance of LPG connections as one in nine beneficiaries that is 1.18 crore people they have not refilled their LPG cylinders in the past one year whereas about 1.5 crore people they have only refilled their LPG connection for the first time
Hence this highlights that there has been lack of sustain use of LPG among the pmo July yojana beneficiaries also this scheme faces reliable access challenges as Distributors they have a financial disincentive in focusing areas which have low demands and sporadic refills and this it results into poor services in remote areas
Also India’s bottling capacity it is not sufficient to cater this sustained rise in demand hence it brings with it access challenges with respect to LPG cylinders also important in this regard is significant Behavior change challenges as sustained use of LPG has been slow and this is because people they have
Preferences for food which are cooked in traditional Chulas hence it brings with it several negative behavior challenges that are associated with use of LPG in the country also there are other residential energy requirements in an Indian household which includes preparation of cattle feed water heating Etc and these residential energy
Requirements they are fulfilled currently by solid fuels such as agriculture waste as well as firewood and hence this debtors the use of LPG hence after we have discussed the lack of performance in the Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana let us discuss a suggestive Way Forward so as to what
Measures needs to be undertaken in order to better the implementation of Pradhan mantri or July yojana now the first suggestion in this regard is there’s a need to address barriers which are associated with continued use of LPG as there is a need to provide increased but a tapering level of subsidies
As the subsidy to begin with they can be at high levels and this high level of subsidy it will encourage LPG adoption however this subsidy it also needs to be tapered off in coming years further addressing barriers can also include reduction of LPG consumption bill as there’s a need to increase the
Efficiency of LPG stoves by more than 10 percent and this can be done by introducing mandatory standards and labeling for LPG stores and Expediting the market transformation to use of efficient stoves additionally there is a need to improve delivery services of LPG cylinders as there’s a need to incentivize the
Distribution so that rural distribution can be increased further there’s also need to bring public accountability for LPG distribution and this can be done by making the performance of Distributors and oil marketing companies publicly available further there’s a need to make subsidy regime of LPG more targeted as the
Subsidi net of LPG currently it is very wide and covers about 85 percent of Indian LPG consumers hence there’s a room for improving the targeting of subsidy regime and the savings that are result of this reduced subsidy it can be channelized to provide financial support to poor beneficiaries
Also important in this regard is the need to tackle behavioral issues as currently there’s a need for a lot more research which is needed to understand behaviors and social cultural barriers which prevent LPG uptake further context-specific strategies it is needed to bring behavioral change in the Indian Society
Hence it will be crucial to make the effective use of LPG in rural areas hence by addressing barriers that are associated with continued use improving delivery services of LPG cylinders making the subsidy regime more targeted and tackling behavioral issues can help improve the implementation of Pradhan mantri ojula yojana
Hence this was all for today’s discussion on Pradhan mantri ujjula yojana
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