- Discuss the major elements that make India self-reliant. What are the major obstacle that India needs to address?
Context:
- Now India is focusing on self-reliant due to the worse condition by pandemic
- Addressing the nation on the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised the necessity of a self-reliant India.
Little About:
- The need raised because the absence of domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPE) when COVID-19 struck, but India initiated and quickly ramped up PPE production.
- M. Narendra Modi stated the need is to improvement in quality and domestic supply chains going forward.
- India will have to make major course changes in development strategies.
- Much has changed since the self-reliance model of the Nehruvian era, so a perspective for Indian self-reliance in science and technology (S&T) and industry in a globalised world is long overdue.
Background:
India after independence:
- India’s after independence by state-run heavy industries and strategic sectors in the decades then independence had placed India ahead of most developing countries.
- In the 1970s and 80s, however, India did not tried to modernise these industries to climb high in technological ladder.
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- The private sector’s near-monopoly conditional approach in non-core sectors in a protected market.
- No effort to modernise light industries or develop contemporary consumer friendly products.
- India was neglected the concept of self-reliance and embarked on liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation in 1991.
Major Concerns:
- The concerns are associated with India’s approach.
Unrecognised backward policy of India:
- The low productivity, poor quality and low technology, and has been globally uncompetitive are the characteristics of India’s industrial ecosystem.
- The third industrial revolution India has completely missed out on the comprising electronic goods, micro-processors, personal computers, mobile phones and decentralised manufacturing and global value chains.
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- India still imports large volumes of smartphones, solar photovoltaic cells and modules despite the huge domestic demand conditions.
- The lack of focus on indigenous R&D may have resulted in India lagging behind the U.S., Europe and China in many of the modern technologies.
Ignored PSUs:
- The inefficient and sluggish public sector undertakings for the competitive globalised scenario.
- No efforts have been made to either grant real autonomy to the PSUs or help them transition to new technological directions.
The Research and Development:
- The undermined or abandoned efforts (in photovoltaics, semiconductors and advanced materials) of Nascent research and development (R&D).
- Currently, most R&D in India is conducted by PSUs, and small but rising proportion of private sector R&D is by foreign corporations in information technology and biotechnology/pharma.
Private sector:
- It has displayed little interest in heavy industries and has shown no appetite for technology upgradation.
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- With entry of foreign corporations, most Indian private companies retreated into technology imports or collaborations.
Decadence of FDI:
- Inviting foreign direct investment and manufacturing by foreign majors bring new technologies into India’s industrial ecosystem, avoiding the need for indigenous efforts towards self-reliance.
- Adding only manufacturing facilities in India is no guarantee of absorption of technologies (the ability to independently take them to higher levels).
- The foreign companies have guarded commercially significant or strategic technologies in off-shore manufacturing bases.
The COVID-19 crisis:
- The absence of domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPE) due to COVID-19 struck highlighted the drawbacks in India’s approach.
Global experience:
- The experience and achievements in other countries in Asia could act as a guide to India’s further steps.
The success gainers:
- From 1970s and 80s countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong took huge technological and industrial strides.
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- South Korea has climbed up the technology ladder and value chains in electronic goods, consumer durables, automobiles, micro-processors, personal computers and heavy machinery as an emerging as a global powerhouse in manufacturing and also indigenously developed technologies.
- Taiwan developed technologies and manufacturing capacities in robotics and micro-processors, while Singapore and Hong Kong adapted advanced technologies in niche areas.
- China has advanced from low-end mass manufacturing to a dominant role in global supply chains with recent shifting to advanced manufacturing and has set itself a target of becoming a world leader by 2035 in 5G, supercomputing, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles, biotech/pharma and other technologies of the ‘fourth industrial revolution’.
- The self-reliant capabilities were enabled, by planned state investments in R&D including basic research (3-5% of GDP), technology and policy support to private corporations, infrastructure and, importantly, education and skill development (4-6% of GDP).
Laggards:
- Countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam have focused on off-shore manufacturing lower down the value chain and without the thrust on self-reliance.
Way ahead:
- Need to improve quality and domestic supply chains going forward for which India will have to make major course changes in development strategies.
- Indian self-reliance in science and technology (S&T) and industry in a globalised world is can change India’s scenario.
Domestic boost-up:
- Need for resolute indigenous endeavour in R&D, by removing reliance on foreign technology induction through FDIs.
- Need for large-scale concerted endeavours across various domains.
- Although India lags behind many countries in niche technologies, yet self-reliant capabilities in electric and fuel cell vehicles, electricity storage systems, solar cells and modules, aircraft including UAVs, AI, robotics and automation, biotech/pharma and others are well within reach.
- The disinclination of most of the private sector towards R&D, significant government reinvestment in PSUs and R&D is essential for self-reliance.
- There needs to be significant government reinvestment in public sector undertakings and R&D.
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- State-funded R&D, including in basic research, by PSUs and research institutions and universities needs to be scaled-up significantly, well above the current level of 1% of GDP.
Role for private sector:
- Though PSUs would be given their distinctive place in the revamped R&D ecosystem, private sector delivery-oriented R&D could also be supported, linked to meaningful participation in manufacturing at appropriate levels of the supply chain.
Focus on education:
- India’s meagre public expenditure on education needs to be substantially ramped up, including in skill development.
Short notes
Context:
- India’s focus on self-reliance
- PM Modi’s prime attention to make India self-developer.
Little About:
- Need raised because of absence of domestic production
- Need to improve quality and supply chain
- India need’s major strategic reforms
- Need to change according to time
Background:
India after independence:
- After Independence strategy
- In technology India didn’t climbed as expected
- Private sector’s near =monopoly approach
- No production of consumer friendly product
- India’s negligence about the concept of self-reliance
Major Concerns:
- Related to India’s approach
Unrecognised backward policy of India:
- Less-developed Indian industrial ecosystem
- Negligence of third revolution
- Dependence on imports
- Lack of focus on Indigenous production
Ignored PSUs:
- inefficient and sluggish public sector undertakings
- less efforts to make it productive
The Research and Development:
- The undermined or abandoned efforts
- Make wider and stronger scope
Private sector:
- little interest in heavy industries
Decadence of FDI:
- inviting new technology through FDI
- change perspective about technology
The COVID-19 crisis:
- absence of domestic production realised
Global experience:
- Work as guide
The success gainers:
- From 1970s and 80s many country progressed
- South korea, Taiwan and china are successful examples
Laggards:
- Countries personal interest
Way ahead
- Need to improve quality and supply chain
- India’s steps to be self-reliance country
Domestic boost-up:
- Need for resolute indigenous endeavour in R&D
- Urgency of large-scale plan
- Need of significant government reinvestment
Role for private sector:
- Collaborative work need of the time
Focus on education:
- needs to be substantially ramped up, including in skill development.
- The current situations indicating the need to reform the courts. Discuss?
Context:
- To make judiciary more efficient there is need to revamp procedural law in the judiciary.
The pandemic crisis:
- The functioning of courts and tribunals have affected by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.
- Via video conferencing judiciary has limited its work to hearing urgent matters.
- Some suggestions to use this as an opportunity to improve IT infrastructure of courts so that they can move to video conference hearings as the norm.
- To make the above suggestions relevant, there is a need for revamping procedural law in the judiciary.
The present system:
Subordinate courts:
- In subordinate civil courts and High Courts, a significant time of daily proceedings is taken up by cases where only adjournments are sought for procedural matters like filing of replies.
Supreme Court:
- Article 136 of the Constitution enables people to file a petition seeking leave to appeal a decision of any judicial or quasi-judicial authority.
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- The Supreme Court grants leave to appeal if the petition raises a question of law of general public importance, or if the judgment appealed against is especially perverse, which would require interference from the Court.
- The provision has been abused over the years to burden the SC
- Reports show that SLPs (Special Leave Petitions) comprise about 60-70% of the Supreme Court’s docket. Out of this, 80-90% of SLPs are dismissed, which means only 10-20% of such cases raise important questions of law. This takes up a lot of time of the Court.
To improve functioning of the judiciary:
Subordinate courts:
- To enable more efficient usage of court’s time, a system need to change.
- Listing should be before the court only in cases requiring urgent interim intervention from the court,
- After verification of urgency by a judicial officer or a judge upon oral or written application.
- After the end of crisis courts reopen, only a limited number of cases which require arguments can be posted. This will ensure that court rooms are not crowded.
The Supreme Court:
Reduction of appeals:
- The Supreme Court Rules, 2013 should amend provisions pertaining to Special Leave Petitions (SLPs).
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- The SC must do away with immediate oral hearing of SLPs.
- The Supreme Court Rules could be amended to provide for a structure of pre-hearing of SLPs.
- To assist the Court regarding the SLPs, a cadre of judicial research assistants made up of qualified lawyers should be created.
- The research assistants can go through each SLP and cull out the important questions of law as envisioned in Article 136.
- The Court may or may not allow applications for oral hearings based on whether such questions of law merit its attention. Only such SLPs in which oral hearing is permitted should be listed for hearing.
- SLPs in which no questions of law are raised, or frivolous ones are raised, should be dismissed without oral hearing and upon imposition of costs.
- These measures will ensure that only meritorious SLPs get judicial attention and will deter people from filing frivolous SLPs.
The process of appeals:
- Even in cases of statutory appeals, and appeals where leave is granted in SLPs, the Court should do away with the system of filing reply to the appeals and every case can be decided based on records of the subordinate courts.
- Appeals can be dwelled upon by judges and their research assistants in chamber, and only such appeals should be granted detailed hearings where the judges require clarifications.
- These mechanisms will ensure that the Supreme Court moves away from an oral hearing-based system to a written submission-based one.
Short Summary
Context:
- make judiciary more efficient there is need to revamp procedural law in the judiciary
The pandemic crisis:
- Courts functioning have affected
- Video-conferencing is an alternate
- It’s an opportunity to serve better
The present system:
Subordinate courts:
- Article 136
- Supre court’s power
To improve functioning of the judiciary:
Subordinate courts:
- System need reforms
- Listing like work by court
- Verification of urgeny
- Post- COVID-19 planning
The Supreme Court:
Reduction of appeals:
- The Supreme Court Rules, 2013 rules
- immediate oral hearing
- Special Leave Petitions related work and study
The process of appeals:
- Court should do away with the system of filing reply to the appeals
- Appeal hearings and the judges require clarifications
- Supreme Court moves away from an oral hearing-based system that the measures will insure.
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