TOPIC : GS 2 Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
Diversity and Inclusivity
 What is the news?
Indian Institute of Management admitted with disabilities is Instructive
- India has a diverse population , certain social structure have prevented thousands of individual from realizing their potential and the country benefitting from skill and talent
- The government tried constitutional and statutory provisions for reservation quotas, but as organization the world over have realized , such efforts to enhance equity and diversity need to be matched by genuine inclusion
- IIM have admitted students with Disabilities ( Equal opportunities , protection of rights and full participation ) Act 1995 was introduced
Background
In a push towards greater inclusivity in 2009, with generous support from Mphasis, with IIMB set ups a dedicated office of Disability Services to act as nodal support point for students with disability, in an effort to study individual needs of each student and provide the required accommodation
Modified Approach
- Inclusivity also means rethinking the conventional notions of fairness in the examinations
- Giving a student with serious visual impairment an examination paper based on graphs is an unfair evaluation of understanding of fundamental concepts an institute may wish to impart
- The IIMB ‘s efforts have been recognized by prestigious NCPEDPMphasis universal design award for pioneering work in promoting accessibility and universal design with equality and dignity for students with disabilities
- Institute is committed to all forms of diversity and inclusivity – IIM Bangalore has good record in both complying with government mandated admission quotas SC,ST and OBC candidates to the flagship two year postgraduate programmes
Other dimensions
- IIMB is applying the same integrated approach that it followed for the students with disability to their dimensions of diversity
- It is balancing the addressal of two laws – the central Educational institute ( Reservation in Teachers’ cadre) act 2019 and Indian Institute of Management Act 2017 for recruitment of faculty
- The latter recognizes IIM as institutions of National Importance which must aspire for global standards Â
- While the institute has been successful in hiring four excellent faculty members from the SC and ST categories over the last year
- There is a serious shortage of qualified candidates from reserved categories in certain areas and disciplines, which impedes hiring efforts.
- While an obvious step is to focus on the admission of high potential students from reserved categories to doctoral programmes, alumni discussions reveal that doctoral studies are often not the first preference for students of merit from these communities.
- Their priority is to rapidly ascend the ladder of economic stability, for which a reliable pathway is the MBA degree.
- Given this insight, IIMB launched the S. Ramaswamy PreÂdoctoral Programme in 2019. This internally funded academic and mentoring initiative selects around 10 candidates from underÂprivileged categories every year and helps them prepare for admission to doctoral studies.
Way forward
As a globally ranked institution committed to excellence in management and entrepreneurship, IIMB continues to strive for a multiÂdimensional and integrated approach to diversity and inclusion.Â
Mains question
Reservation to disabilities offer key insights into providing equitable opportunities to all . Examine
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/diversity-and-inclusivity/article34193384.ece
TOPIC: GS 2 India and its Neighborhood- Relations.
Polarization in times of dispossession
What is the news?
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva has passed another resolution on Sri Lanka, as wartime accountability continues to haunt the state for over a decade
- Sri Lanka’s prospects in Geneva swing according to geopolitical interests at any given time reflecting a vote this time with 22 in favour, 11 against and 14 abstaining.
- In 2015, a resolution was cosponsored by Sri Lanka and unanimously adopted with overwhelming international support.
- . Indeed,
- Sri Lanka in the following years was even considered an exception by some for its attempts at reconciliation when the world at large was getting increasingly polarized, as Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump would show
China and Economic factor
- Sri Lanka’s increasing economic dependence on China has offended India and many Western countries, with the latter pushing for greater scrutiny of the deteriorating human rights situation.
- In recent weeks is a devastating economic crisis that has been ravaging the everyday lives of the people. Sri Lanka’s woes are a consequence of liberalizing trade and capital flows over four decades ago
- Its dependence on imports, and looming external debt payments, both without adequate foreign earnings, have pushed the economy over the cliff into a depression
- Keeping Sri Lanka at boiling point, particularly with talk of external and internal enemies, has been one strategy to deflect the people’s attention from their economic distress.
- The tremendous physical destruction, economic setbacks and the abominable loss of human life and suffering of Tamils during the protracted war have not got the necessary reckoning within the country
Authoritarian Rule and Minorities
- The Tamil and Muslim minorities have also turned to Geneva as the space to engage the government has shrunk with growing authoritarian rule
- As geopolitical rivalries exacerbate external relations, what will come of the recent moves in Geneva for the longÂsuffering people, and particularly the minority communities under constant attack by the state
- The Sinhala and Tamil nationalists either claim to save war heroes from international prosecution or find justice for war victims.
- Escalating attacks on the land rights of minorities, an unprecedented protest march from Pottuvil in the southÂeast to Polihandy in the north mobilised sections of the minorities
India Approach
- India’s vote at the Council was closely watched, given New Delhi’s frustration with Colombo, particularly after it reneged on the East Container Terminal projectat the Colombo Port, and the impending Tamil Nadu elections          Â
- India abstaining on resolution was considered a betrayal by the narrow Tamil nationalistlobby, campaign seeks to move Sri Lanka’s justice question from Genevato the InternationalÂ
Criminal Court
- India in its oral intervention did insist that Provincial Council elections should be held and openly expressed its support to the Tamils of Sri Lanka for equality, justice, dignity and peace.
Way forward
The resolution has been forthright in highlighting the ongoing human rights abuses and places
the spotlight on the state of democracy in Sri Lanka. It is democratic struggle within Sri Lanka, rather than advocacy in Geneva, that will put an end to this dangerous trajectory of polarization and dispossession
Mains Question
Srilanka ‘s tragic political history is in many ways a consequence of failure of its political elite . Critically examine
PRELIMS PUNCHERS
- National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is a government regulatory agency that controls the prices of pharmaceutical drugs in India. It is as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers as an independent Regulator for pricing of drugs and to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices. The NPPA regularly publishes lists of medicines and their maximum ceiling prices.
The National pharmaceutical and pricing authority(NPPA) under its program called “Consumer awareness, publicity and price monitoring” has set up 12 Price monitoring and resource units in various States and UTs. It has planned to set up such units in all 36 states and UTs for better outreach of NPPA in the states as these units will help the NPPA and State drug controller to ensure the accessibility of drugs at affordable prices.
Source : https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1609670
- Central Scrutiny Centre
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs virtually launched Central Scrutiny Centre (CSC) and Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority’s (IEPFA) Mobile App — two tech-enabled initiatives by Ministry of Corporate Affairs. These initiatives leverage to strengthen the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digitally empowered India’. The Central Scrutiny Centre will scrutinize certain Straight Through Process (STP) Forms filed by the corporates on the MCA21 registry and flag the companies for more in-depth scrutiny.
Ministry of Corporate affairs has established a Central Scrutiny Centre, which will primarily scrutinize the filings made by the users under straight through processes, identify the data quality issues and irregularities, communicate the same to the concerned Registrar of Companies so that corrective steps can be taken to restore authenticity and correctness of data and it can be seamless shared with other regulators, if required.
Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1707511
- International Intellectual Property Index
It is released by US chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy centre. The Index evaluates the IP framework in each economy across 50 unique indicators which industry believes represent economies with the most effective IP systems. The indicators create a snapshot of an economies overall IP ecosystem and span nine categories of protection: patents, copyrights, trademarks, design rights, trade secrets, commercialization of IP assets, enforcement, systemic efficiency, and membership and ratification of international treaties. India ranked 40 among 53 global economies on the latest annual edition of the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index
- Ophiorrhiza recurvipetala
Researchers of western Assam’s Bodoland University have recorded a new plant species that may go a long way in fighting cancer. The species, named Ophiorrhiza recurvipetala, has been found at 675 metres above mean sea level in central Assam’s Dima Hasao district. It has been classified under the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, to which the plant yielding coffee belongs.
Recurvipetala means petals curved back .Ophiorrhiza is a predominantly herbaceous genus distributed from eastern India to the West Pacific from South China to northern Australia. In India, 47 species and nine varieties have been recorded and among them 21 species and one variety are from the northeast. The Ophiorrhiza recurvipetala is a perennial herb with a maximum height of 60 cm and is branched. It yields a creamy white flower.
PRELIMS QUESTION
Qn 1. Consider the following statement regarding to Central Scrutiny Centre
- It is a tech-enabled initiative by Ministry of Home affairs
- These initiatives leverage to strengthen the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digitally empowered India’.
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only      (b) 2 only
(c).Both      (d). None of above
Answer: B
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs virtually launched Central Scrutiny Centre (CSC) and Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority’s (IEPFA) Mobile App — two tech-enabled initiatives by Ministry of Corporate Affairs. These initiatives leverage to strengthen the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digitally empowered India’. The Central Scrutiny Centre will scrutinize certain Straight Through Process (STP) Forms filed by the corporates on the MCA21 registry and flag the companies for more in-depth scrutiny
Ministry of Corporate affairs has established a Central Scrutiny Centre, which will primarily scrutinize the filings made by the users under straight through processes, identify the data quality issues and irregularities, communicate the same to the concerned Registrar of Companies so that corrective steps can be taken to restore authenticity and correctness of data and it can be seamless shared with other regulators, if required.
- International Intellectual Property Index is released by
- WIPO
- IMF
- INSEAD
- US chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy centre
Answer : D
It is released by US chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy centre. The Index evaluates the IP framework in each economy across 50 unique indicators which industry believes represent economies with the most effective IP systems. The indicators create a snapshot of an economies overall IP ecosystem and span nine categories of protection: patents, copyrights, trademarks, design rights, trade secrets, commercialization of IP assets, enforcement, systemic efficiency, and membership and ratification of international treaties. India ranked 40 among 53 global economies on the latest annual edition of the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index