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Q1 Amidst the new challenges the growing space industry is facing across the world; discuss the aspects necessary to be considered for India’s space vision.10M
Introduction
With the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the subsequent beginning of the space age, the progression of Space Technologies has led to the development of hundreds of applications that use satellite data, including devices for everyday use, from satellite televisions to the GPS in our cars.
Body
Emerging Trends in Global Space Sector
Growing Space-based Economy: According to a Bank of America Report, the $350 billion space market today will touch $2.7 trillion by 2050.
Plummeting Launch Cost: NASA’s space shuttle cost about $54,500 per kg; now, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 advertises a cost of $2,720 per kg. In a decade, the cost could be less than $100 per kg.
Satellite Boom: The satellite communication domain is still by far the largest services market. With ~$130 bn estimated global market for satcoms, 5 Prominent LEO operators Oneweb, Amazon, Telesat, SpaceX, and LEOsat all eyeing services from LEO markets.
Private investors are fuelling growth: Private Investors are showing active interest in the space sector The more private capital there is to fuel space ventures, the faster companies can scale and new innovations can come to market, which in turn, will fuel further growth.
E.g. Space unicorns like SpaceX, Amazon’s Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactica
Public agencies embracing commercial partnerships: Space-related activities in recent years have seen the rise of public-private partnerships. E.g. Dragon 2 (SpaceX and NASA)
Expanding applications of space technologies: Companies such as Planet, Spire Global and Iceye are using orbital vantage points to collect and analyse data to deliver fresh insights in weather forecasting, global logistics, crop harvesting, and disaster response.
Challenges
The space sector is diverse, and driven by complex dynamics that go beyond simple market forces
Space Governance
Lack of Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and Space Disaster Mitigation:
State-Centric Legal Framework
Militarisation of space
Commercial Human Spaceflight:
Laws governing the colonization of celestial bodies (Moon, Mars):
Aspects necessary to be considered for India’s space vision
a) Engagement in International Fora: The international community and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) are figuring out norms for responsible behaviour in outer space.
India’s strategy should indicate that it will not only be a participant but also a key stakeholder – it is imperative to put forward India’s concerns around ensuring unrestricted access to use of space by all nations.
b) Greater Space Situational Awareness (SSA): SSA is the awareness of the location and activities of any space object and the impact it can have.
Transparent SSA should also be a priority for India’s strategic publication, as it augments India’s capabilities across the spectrum for defence and deterrence.
c) Space Debris Mitigation: India faced international criticism for its 2019 Mission Shakti, Direct Ascent Anti-Satellite test.
Technologies like self-eating rockets, self-vanishing satellites and robotic arms to catch space debris are an area of push for ISRO.
d) Establishing A Permanent Presence in Space: ISRO has undertaken manned space flight as a key focus area, beginning with the upcoming Gaganyan
India’s future plans are ambitious. These include a landing on the Moon; the first Indian solar observatory; the first crewed orbital spaceflight mission; and installation of a modular space station in 2030. This calendar is designed to establish India as a major space-faring nation by the end of the decade. It is of strategic and scientific significance for India to highlight the value of human space flight missions as well as sustained human presence in orbit and deep space exploration.
e) Space Security: India should also focus on strategic space plan to protect its global space assets, space rescue missions, monitoring and defence against asteroids, debris management and mitigation.
Conclusion
The space environment that India faces requires us to go beyond meeting technical milestones. We need a space legislation enabling coherence across technical, legal, commercial, diplomatic and defence goals. Our space vision also needs to address global governance, regulatory and arms control issues. As space opens up our space vision needs broadening too.
Q2. How has the digital transformation of India impacted the everyday life of human beings? Discuss the steps required to ensure that a future powered by the internet is more equitable and prosperous. 10M
Introduction
Digitalization is the integration of digital technologies into everyday life. Such integration is possible by the digitization of information. The digital shifts underway are reshaping the Indian economy and society today and will continue to do so in the future. The ongoing digitalisation holds many promises to spur innovation, generate efficiencies, and improve services throughout the economy.
Body
Impact of Digital Transformation
Positive Impacts
E.g. E-PG Pathshala, SWAYAM (provides for an integrated platform for online courses)
E.g. Aadhar based welfare schemes, DBT, One Nation One Ration Card.
Negative Impacts
Worrying Trends Emerging from digitalization of economies and societies
Making internet more equitable and prosperous- Way Forward
PMGDISHA is a scheme to make six crore persons in rural areas, across States/UTs, digitally literate.
Google’s Internet Saathi programme –a messiah for unemployed women in rural areas
I4C Scheme act as a nodal point in the fight against cybercrime
Conclusion
Digitalization defines the path towards a smart society by providing solutions and assisting sustainable development. Integration of digital technologies have already demonstrated a myriad of benefits. Special attention should be paid to implications of unequal data access that can result in digital poverty and hence increase inequalities instead of reducing the gap.
Q3. Would you consider discipline and probity as the backbone of good governance? Give reasons for your argument. 10M
Introduction
According to the World Bank, Good governance is concerned with how power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development.
Body
8 Principles of Good Governance By United Nations
To ensure the upholding of these principles, discipline and probity are important in governance. Thus Discipline and Probity as the backbone of good governance.
Probity – It is the quality of having high moral principles and strictly following the same. It is usually regarded as being incorruptible.
Importance of probity in good governance.
Discipline in governance can be of two types: Self-discipline and Regulatory discipline.
Importance of these two disciplines in good governance.
Effectiveness also tends to use the resources of the community very effectively for maximum output.
Conclusion
For Mahatma Gandhi, Good Governance meant Sarvodaya – the concept of actions for the common good benefits to all. To achieve “Sarvodaya”, at any cost government and administration need to uphold 8 principles of good governance.
Q4. Sushma is a young, talented, and honest individual. She has got a job as a junior officer in the city municipal corporation. Her role involves verification of documents of the beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes. The city corporation is known for corruption and many officers usually ask for bribes. Being an honest individual Sushma is not ready to accept bribes and she starts doing her work with integrity and honesty. She promptly verifies all beneficiaries and this earns her a good reputation among the public. Irked by her honesty and rising popularity her colleagues try to intimidate her by being rude and arrogant. They stop speaking with her and they are very unfriendly, they complain about every small mistake in her work. Her work life is getting disturbed by such actions. She complains to her seniors but they don’t take any action. Fed up with this, Sushma wants to resign from her job. Finally, the senior officer responds by changing her job profile. Her new role is the digitization of public records, which does not involve public interactions. Sushma is upset as she feels it is a punishment for being honest rather than a solution for her complaints. Reluctantly she continues to work. Now, her colleagues are friendly towards her. She continues to work and finds major discrepancies and multiple entries on the land records which she has to digitize. She reports the issue to her seniors. They ask her to digitize only the recent entries. She comes to know that lands with a lack of clear ownership have been secretly allocated to people who have offered bribes. With no one to resolve the issue within the office, she thinks of leaking the documents to the public through social media. However, she is scared and afraid to do so.
a) Discuss the values displayed by Sushma in this situation and their importance in good governance.
b) When Sushma is not getting any support from any corner, should she wage a war on the system? Justify.
Introduction
The case study highlights how a corrupt system and senior authorities can silence the genuine work of honest public servants by transferring them into new job roles. It also discusses the values to be cultivated by the public servants in promoting good governance.
Body
Importance of these values in good governance.
Justification
Conclusion
Instead of directly publishing documents on social media, she can whistleblow the discrepancies in land records and corruption in administration to the state vigilance commission or concerned state department. This will prevent manipulation of information by the powerful officials in city corporation and bribe givers, who may otherwise manipulate the information published through social media and turn the case against Sushma itself.
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