21 April 2023

• Governance: Civil Services Day, observed on 21 April, marks Sardar Patel's 1947 address to the first IAS batch. The Mission Karmayogi programme for civil service capacity building was discussed.
• Economy: Indian Space Policy 2023 formally notified; private entities can now build satellites, ground stations and launch vehicles under IN-SPACe regulation.
• Critical minerals: India assessed 22 critical minerals including lithium, cobalt, graphite and gallium, with China dominating supply chains.
• Environment: Animal Birth Control Rules 2023 notified, superseding the 2001 rules. India has 1.5 crore stray dogs and over 20,000 annual rabies deaths.
• Science: EMIC plasma waves detected at the Maitri Antarctic Station; biomass pellet co-firing policy updated.

GS area: Polity (Governance, Public administration)

21 April is observed as Civil Services Day, marking the date in 1947 when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the first batch of IAS officers and called the civil services the "steel frame" of India's administrative machinery.

• The civil services structure: India has three All India Services: IAS, IPS and IFS (Indian Forest Service). Central Services (Group A and B) cover specialised functions. State civil services operate below the All India Services in state administration.
• Mission Karmayogi: The National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building, launched in 2020. It shifts training from rule-based compliance to role-based competency development. The iGOT (Integrated Government Online Training) platform is its digital delivery mechanism.
• Lateral entry: The government has introduced lateral entry appointments at Joint Secretary and Director levels to bring private sector and professional expertise into government. This has been controversial, with critics arguing it bypasses the seniority and reservation structure of the IAS.
• CPGRAMS: Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System handles citizen complaints against government departments. It is one of the transparency tools mandated for all central ministries.
• Cooperative federalism ideal: The 21 April occasion is used to discuss the civil services' role in implementing cooperative federalism, where union and state governments collaborate rather than compete.
• Patel's legacy: Patel is credited with integrating 562 princely states into the Indian Union between 1947 and 1950, using civil service machinery as the administrative backbone.

Static linkage: Public administration, governance reform, civil services.

GS area: Science and Technology (Space)

The Indian Space Policy 2023 was formally notified in April 2023, completing the process briefed throughout the month.

• Three-pillar architecture (recap for MCQ clarity):
  • ISRO: Research, development, technology creation and transfer.
  • NSIL: Commercial production of launch vehicles and satellite services.
  • IN-SPACe: Single-window regulatory authority for all non-government entities.
• Private rights confirmed: Non-Government Entities may build satellites, establish ground stations, launch vehicles and engage in space resource recovery. All require IN-SPACe authorisation.
• Target: Increase India's space economy share from 2 per cent to 10 per cent by 2040. Current global space economy: approximately $550 billion.
• Launch vehicle production: ISRO will transfer PSLV technology to NSIL, which will contract private companies for production. This frees ISRO to focus on GSLV Mk III, the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, and future heavy-lift systems.
• Spacecom Policy: A separate Space Communication Policy 2020 already allows private entities to obtain spectrum for satellite communication. The 2023 Space Policy layers on top of it for the full space activity lifecycle.

Static linkage: ISRO, space economy, science and technology governance.

GS area: Economy (Minerals, Energy transition), International Relations

India assessed 22 minerals as critical, including antimony, cobalt, gallium, graphite, lithium, nickel and niobium.

• Definition of critical minerals: Minerals essential for clean energy transitions, defence applications and digital infrastructure, where supply is concentrated in a few countries (primarily China).
• China's dominance: China controls 60 per cent of global lithium processing, 80 per cent of cobalt processing, 60 per cent of rare earth element production and nearly all global processing of gallium and germanium.
• India's domestic reserves: India has some deposits (cobalt in Odisha, nickel in Odisha and Rajasthan, lithium recently found in J&K) but the quantities are uncertain and processing capacity is largely absent.
• Minerals Security Partnership (MSP): A US-led grouping of 13 countries (including India) to diversify critical mineral supply chains away from China. Member countries share geological data and coordinate investment in third-country mineral projects.
• G7 Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance: Targets reducing import dependence on China through investment in Africa, South America and Australia.
• Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957: India's primary mining law. Until recently, atomic minerals (like lithium) were reserved for government mining only. A 2021 amendment opened lithium and other atomic minerals to private exploration.
• Deep-sea mining: India has reserved a 75,000 sq km area in the Central Indian Ocean Basin under the International Seabed Authority for polymetallic nodule exploration, which contain nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese.

Static linkage: Mining policy, energy transition, critical minerals, India's mineral resources.

GS area: Polity (Governance, Animal welfare)

The new Animal Birth Control Rules 2023 supersede the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules 2001.

• India's stray dog problem: 1.5 crore stray dogs. Over 300 human deaths from dog attacks in five years. Approximately 20,000 rabies deaths annually, the highest of any country.
• The ABC approach: Sterilise and vaccinate stray dogs rather than culling. Mass culling has been shown to be ineffective: dogs breed faster than culling rates and new dogs migrate into vacated territories. Sterilisation stabilises populations.
• New categories: The 2023 Rules create a "community animal" classification for street dogs that have been sterilised and vaccinated. Resident welfare associations in urban areas are responsible for community animal care.
• Combined programme: The new Rules make the anti-rabies vaccination component mandatory alongside sterilisation. The 2001 Rules allowed them to be separate; the combination is more effective.
• Legal basis: Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) assists local bodies in implementation.
• Ethical concerns: Courts have questioned the ethics of leaving sterilised dogs on streets where they may still pose hazard risks. The Rules do not provide rehabilitation or shelter facilities.

Static linkage: Animal welfare legislation, public health, urban governance.

GS area: Economy (Agriculture, Food security), International Relations

India's G20 Agriculture working group launched the MAHARISHI Initiative: Millets And OtHer Ancient Grains International ReSearcH Initiative.

• Timing: 2023 is the International Year of Millets, declared by the UN General Assembly on India's proposal. India is the world's largest millet producer.
• MAHARISHI secretariat: Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad. Technical support from ICRISAT and CGIAR centres.
• What it does: Pooling research on millets, sorghum, teff and other ancient grains for climate-resilient, nutritious food systems. Member countries share germplasm, agronomic data and processing technologies.
• Millets and nutrition: Millets are rich in iron, calcium and zinc compared to rice and wheat. They are drought-tolerant and grow in poor soils with minimal inputs. Finger millet, pearl millet, sorghum and foxtail millet are the main Indian types.
• Domestic consumption: India's millet consumption has fallen over decades as subsidised rice and wheat under the PDS displaced them. The government is reintroducing millets into ICDS rations and midday meals.

Static linkage: Agriculture policy, food security, International Year of Millets.

• Parvatmala Pariyojana: National Ropeways Programme for mountainous states (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, J&K, Northeast) announced in Budget 2022-23. Over 250 ropeway projects planned over five years in PPP mode.
• EMIC plasma waves: Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron waves were identified at India's Maitri Station in Antarctica. These magnetospheric waves affect "killer electrons" in Earth's radiation belts, with implications for satellite operations.
• Global Unicorn Index: India had 68 unicorns, third globally after the US (666) and China (316). BYJU's at $22 billion was the highest-valued Indian unicorn at that time.