13 February 2023

• Security: Parliamentary committee data revealed that India built 6,806 km of roads in China border areas between 2014 and 2022, nearly double the pace of the 2008-2014 period. Indian forces have lost access to 26 of 65 patrolling points along the LAC since 2020.
• Urban finance: urban local bodies' own revenue comprises only 47 per cent of total revenue. Property tax, the primary own-revenue source, provides just 29 per cent of ULB revenue.
• Culture: Dayananda Saraswati's 200th birth anniversary. The reformer founded the Arya Samaj in 1875 and was the first to articulate "India for Indians" as a political slogan (1876).
• Education: SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) recorded 3 crore enrolments, with 2.4 crore earning course credits.

GS area: Internal Security, International Relations

A Parliamentary Committee review of border infrastructure and patrolling rights along the Line of Actual Control carried significant findings:

• Road construction pace: India built 6,806 km of roads in China border areas between 2014 and 2022. This is nearly double the 3,417 km built in the preceding six years (2008-2014). The acceleration reflects the strategic imperative after the Galwan Valley clash of 2020.
• Patrolling point loss: Indian forces lost access to 26 of 65 traditional patrolling points along the LAC since 2020. These are positions where Indian patrols would regularly operate. Obstruction by Chinese forces has prevented Indian access.
• Infrastructure projects: roads, tunnels and bridges being constructed in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Border Roads Organisation (BRO): the primary agency for border road construction. Operates under the Ministry of Defence. Has been given enhanced powers and financial autonomy to accelerate projects.
• Strategic rationale: in mountainous terrain, road access determines troop mobilisation speed and logistics supply. China had historically maintained a road advantage along the LAC.

Static linkage: Internal Security (India-China border, LAC, BRO).

GS area: Polity (local governance), Economy

The urban local body (ULB) finance data from this period is a regular UPSC source:

• Own revenue share: ULBs' own revenue (taxes and fees they collect) forms only 47 per cent of total ULB revenue. The rest comes from grants from state and central governments.
• Property tax: the most important own-revenue source. Contributes approximately 29 per cent of ULB revenue. In most Indian cities, property tax collection is well below potential because of outdated valuations, poor collection mechanisms, and political resistance to revision.
• World Bank assessment: India needs $840 billion in urban infrastructure investment over 15 years to meet its urbanisation needs. At current ULB revenue levels, this gap cannot be bridged without massive state-level transfers.
• 74th Constitutional Amendment: mandates devolution of 18 functions to ULBs (listed in the Twelfth Schedule). In practice, most states have not fully devolved either functions or matching finance.
• 141 municipal corporations: experienced revenue declines exceeding 25 per cent in FY21, a compound shock from the COVID-19 disruption.

Static linkage: Polity (74th Amendment, local governance, urban finance).

GS area: History (Modern India), Social Reform

12 February 2023 marked the 200th birth anniversary of Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883):

• Arya Samaj: founded by Dayananda Saraswati in 1875 in Bombay (Mumbai). A Hindu reform movement based on the authority of the Vedas. It rejected idol worship, caste discrimination, and child marriage.
• Shuddhi movement: Arya Samaj organised reconversion ceremonies (Shuddhi) for those who had converted to other religions. This was controversial and contributed to communal tensions.
• "India for Indians" (1876): Dayananda Saraswati is credited with being the first to use this slogan, anticipating the Swadeshi movement by three decades.
• Non-hereditary caste: he rejected hereditary caste based on birth, arguing that social position should reflect merit and conduct.
• Key text: Satyarth Prakash (Light of Truth), his principal text, laid out the Arya Samaj philosophy.
• Legacy: the Arya Samaj established a network of DAV (Dayanand Anglo-Vedic) schools and colleges that became important educational institutions across north India.

Static linkage: History (modern India, social reform movements, 19th century).

GS area: Education, Governance

SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) is India's national MOOC platform:

• Enrolments: 3 crore students enrolled. 2.4 crore earning course credits (transferable to university degrees under UGC credit-transfer framework).
• Operator: Ministry of Education, implemented by nine coordinators for different course types (technical, management, law, social sciences, etc.).
• Credit transfer: UGC rules allow students to transfer SWAYAM credits (up to 40 per cent of course requirements in some programmes) to their degree. This bridges formal and informal learning.
• DIKSHA: a separate platform for school teachers' training. Distinct from SWAYAM, which focuses on higher education.
• Relevance: India needs to dramatically expand higher education capacity without proportionate investment in physical infrastructure. SWAYAM is the answer to the access problem for tier-2 and tier-3 city students.

Static linkage: Education (SWAYAM, NEP 2020, higher education access).

GS area: Economy (trade, exports)

The Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme was discussed in the context of Budget 2023-24 export promotion priorities:

• MAI: an export promotion scheme under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Provides financial assistance for studies, surveys, and marketing activities in target export markets.
• Coverage: market studies, pilot projects, publicity campaigns in export markets, capacity building.
• Design: government-business partnership. The Ministry co-funds activities that private exporters and export promotion councils design for specific markets.
• Relation to the Budget: the Budget 2023-24 continued support for export promotion through MAI and the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme.

Static linkage: Indian Economy (export promotion, trade policy).

GS area: Science and Technology

A meteorite that fell in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in August 2022 was classified as an aubrite:

• Date of fall: 17 August 2022 in Diyodar, Banaskantha district, Gujarat.
• Classification: aubrite (also called enstatite achondrite). A rare type of stony meteorite that formed in a reducing environment. Less than 100 known worldwide.
• Significance: India's first confirmed aubrite in 170 years. Previous one was the Bustee aubrite (Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, 1852).
• What aubritic composition tells us: they are thought to originate from asteroids that formed close to the Sun in a very oxygen-poor environment, giving insights into early solar system chemistry.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (space, meteoritics).

• MIIRA: Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness, launched during India's G20 Presidency. Promotes millets as a climate-resilient global food security crop and coordinates international millet research.
• Article 105 (Parliamentary Privileges): freedom of speech in Parliament and immunity from legal proceedings for statements made during parliamentary duties. The Speaker/Chairman can expunge defamatory words from the record.
• Justice S. Abdul Nazeer: retired Supreme Court judge appointed as Governor of Andhra Pradesh shortly after retirement. Raised questions about the "cooling off period" norm for recently retired judges in executive positions.