Table of Contents
Hope and Fear
• In an election year, a speech is like an omen.
• Supporters and detractors will construe it after their own fashion.
• According to PM – India was on the move, respected by all nations, free of corruption and not in the grip of a vice-like paralysis. The state was delivering every single thing India’s poor have been waiting for a long time to receive: Nutrition, roads, electricity, gas, housing, health care, minimum support prices, aircraft, airports, fibre optic cables, IITs and AIIMS, new technologies, toilets, and even an Indian citizen in space.
• Social inclusion: The poor and the marginalised were at the centre of the state’s attention. Parliament – passed legislation to empower other backward castes. Women were being empowered in every single sphere: From the sports field to the Supreme Court, from the armed forces to the kitchens. Death penalty for rapists Corruption is a thing of the past
• How did this fantasy of hope, painted in the colours of a nation marching to one tune and one purpose, completely blanket out the actual republic of fear, the lurking sense of dread that cannot be disguised by throwing some effective government schemes?
• Kashmir ??
• Silence on- demonetisation
• Any acknowledgement of the emerging republic of fear ? Fantasy world – either hop on or stay behind
A Law Past Its Sell-by Date
Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971 Abortion has been legal in India – can be provided at the discretion of a medical provider under certain conditions (upto 20 weeks of gestation) –
1. When continuation of pregnancy is a risk to the life of a pregnant woman or could cause grave injury to her physical or mental health;
2. When there is substantial risk that the child, if born, would be seriously handicapped due to physical or mental abnormalities;
3. When pregnancy is caused due to rape (presumed to cause grave injury to the mental health of the woman);
4. When pregnancy is caused due to failure of contraceptives used by a married woman or her husband **The average length of human gestation is 280 days, or 40 weeks Goals of MTP act –
1. Control the population from unintended pregnancies
2. Reduce the increasing maternal mortality because of illegal, unsafe abortions.
Issues with MTP
➢ A woman’s right to decide for herself
➢ 20 week limit is proving to be a hurdle during Foetal abnormalities Pregnancies resulting from rape When women approach doctor after 20 weeks (a phenomenon that is fairly common due to later detection of abnormalities in the foetus or shame and stigma associated with rape) – no option but to appeal to the courts and run from pillar to post for permission to terminate the pregnancy.
• MTP (Amendment) Bill, 2014, was submitted, proposing changes key amongst which were increasing the gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for rape survivors and other vulnerable women and removing the gestation limit in case of foetal abnormalities.
• In 2017, these amendments were returned to the ministry with the mandate to strengthen the implementation of the MTP Act as it stands
• Women turn to unqualified providers or adopt unsafe methods of termination.
• Unsafe abortions – 8 per cent of maternal deaths in India. 15.6 million in India in 2015 11.5 million outside health facilities.
Gaganyan: How to send an Indian into space
Where does space start? Karman line – altitude of 100 above Earth’s sea level represents the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space If India does launch the Gaganyaan mission, it will be the fourth nation to do so after the United States, Russia and China.
Q. The Karman line will be in which layer of Atmosphere?
➢ Preparations have been going on since 2004
➢ The rocket: GSLV Mk-III – 5 to 6 tonnes Now called LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) June 2017: First ‘developmental’ flight of GSLV Mk-III July 2018: First successful flight of the crew escape system
➢ Re entry
➢ Crew Escape System
➢ Astronaut training
➢ Budget – 10,000 crore
Why theatre commands is an unnecessary idea
1.Western Command Chandimandir
2.Eastern Command Kolkata
3.Northern Command Udhampur
4.Southern Command Pune
5.Central Command Lucknow
6.Army Training Command Shimla
7.South-Western Command Jaipur Murmurs on integrated military Theatre Commands, covering the Northern, Eastern and Southern territory 19 commands are administering, training, equipping and supporting the forces
• One visualises large theatre operations like Normandy landings and other World War II campaigns that involved large manoeuvring armies.
• Today – no need of manoeuvring armies due to nuclear and modern warfare.
Q. Name the naval commands and their HQs.
• There is scope to “de-brass” the military even in the current structure India is one of the fastest-growing economies of the world and promotes its image as a peace-loving, mature and a dependable power. Our neighbourhood is economically weak and depends on India for its own progress.
• Dividing the country into military theatres sounds jingoist
• Forming Theatre Commands would increase in expenditure with doubtful returns. Evaluate the efficacy of the two joint commands — Strategic Forces Command ANC (Andaman and Nicobar Command). • Flexibility in current operations – example of a strike
• A Theatre Command will not have the resources to mount such quick ops or the freedom to decide. • The air force is organised and trained to plan operations centrally to exercise the best possible choice and the execution is delegated.
• Resources and skills being limited, they are spread out geographically.
• We do not have to imitate the US or NATO structures or their drills.
• We should evolve our own ways that can swiftly achieve results at minimal cost avoiding collateral damage and losses.
• No progressive country has created Theatre Commands
• Western militaries use Theatre Commands for project their power overseas.
• After the establishment of Theatre Commands responsibility of The Air Force would remain same .
• It is not possible to triplicate or quadruplicate resources to every Theatre Command – Skilled personnel EW (electronic warfare) C4ISR (command, control, computers, communications, intelligence and reconnaissance) equipment
Conclusion
• In future wars, we expect military actions to be swift and the objectives to be met in days or weeks.
• We should focus on modernising our strategic thinking and innovate solutions to meet our challenges
• The formation of a Theatre Command at a juncture when we are lagging behind on modernisation would not be in the best interest of the nation.
Three lakh lives saved
• Report by the World Health Organization (WHO) had stated that India’s cleanliness campaign ‘had’ saved the lives of three lakh children.
• 100% implementation of the cleanliness drive by October 2019. “WHO lauds India’s commitment to accelerated coverage of safe sanitation services which, assuming 100% coverage is achieved by October 2019, could avert up to 300,000 deaths due to diarrhoeal disease and protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) since the country launched the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014.” Q. What is the IMR of India ? Household latrine coverage – 90.14%
• Odisha 60.76%, Bihar 63.32%, Goa 76.22%, Tripura 77.02%, and in Jharkhand 85.57%.
• Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh have 100% coverage
• The health impacts from improved personal hygiene and drinking water would be larger.
• The WHO statement was based on the initial results of a WHO modelling study on the health impact of the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G). Before 2014, unsafe sanitation caused an estimated 199 million cases of diarrhoea annually, with modelling showing the problem will almost be eliminated when universal use of safe sanitation facilities is achieved.
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