Advance Tax Collections

Context:

Advance tax collections in the first half of 2023-24 have increased 20% year on year to ₹3.54 lakh crore.

• Advance tax is the amount of income tax that is paid much in advance rather than a lump-sum payment at the year-end. 

Key Facts:

• Contribution: Corporate tax accounted for ₹2.80 lakh crore and personal income tax for ₹74,481 crore.
• Collections and Refunds: Gross tax collections till September 15 this fiscal stood at ₹9.85 lakh crore. The government has issued ₹1.22 lakh crore as refunds so far this year.
• Fiscal Deficit: Government is able to meet its fiscal deficit target.
  • Set at 5.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2023-24, this already represents a slow post-covid return to normalcy.
  • The Centre’s aim is to bring it down to 4.5% by 2025-26, which would still be well above the 3% upper limit enacted in 2003.
• Final Figure: It is likely to rise a bit as it doesn’t include all payments till the second quarter’s 15 September deadline. 

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Context: 

Recently, the women’s reservation bill, also known as the Constitution (One Hundred and twenty- Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

• The bill is named as ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’.

More on News: 

• The bill was first introduced in 1996, and passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010, but hasn’t been tabled in the Lok Sabha.

Key Features of the Bill:

• Reservation in Lok Sabha: The bill mandates the reservation of one-third of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, for women. 
• Introduction of News Article: The Bill, like the 108 Constitution Amendment Bill (passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010), proposes to introduce new articles—Articles 330A and 332A—to the Constitution. 
  • These new provisions will introduce the changes for the Lok Sabha and Assemblies respectively.
  • The crucial change, however, is a proviso added to Article 334 of the Constitution. 
  • Article 334 is the sunset clause for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Anglo-Indians.
• Extension to Delhi Assembly: The bill extends its provisions to the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. 
  • One-third of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes in the Delhi Assembly are also reserved for women. 
  • One-third of the total number of seats filled by direct election in the Delhi Assembly (including those reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes) are also reserved for women.
• Applicability to State Legislative Assemblies: The amendment applies to the legislative assemblies of all Indian states. It mandates the reservation of one-third of the total seats, including those for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, for women.
• Effective Post Delimitation: The provisions related to seat reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and Delhi Assembly will be implemented after a delimitation exercise is conducted. This process will be based on relevant census figures and will last for fifteen years from the commencement of the amendment.
• Rotation of Reserved Seats: The bill allows for the rotation of reserved seats for women in the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and Delhi Assembly after each subsequent delimitation exercise, as determined by Parliament.

Evolution of Women’s Political Representation in India:

• Pre-Independence: 
  • In 1931, Key women leaders Begum Shah Nawaz and Sarojini Naidu in their letter to the British PM emphasized equality in political status and rejected preferential treatment for women.
• Momentum in the 1970s: ‘Towards Equality’ Report 
  • In response to a UN request for a report on women’s status, the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) was appointed in 1971, revealing the Indian state’s failure in ensuring gender equality.
• 1987: National Perspective Plan and Constitutional Amendments:
  • The union government formed a committee in 1987, presenting the National Perspective Plan for Women, leading to the Constitution 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts in the 1990s, mandating one-third reservation of seats for women in local and urban bodies.
• September 12, 1996: The First Women’s Reservation Bill
• • The union government introduced The Constitution (81st Amendment) Bill, aiming to reserve one-third of seats for women in Parliament and state legislatures.
  • Strong support for the Bill, but opposition from OBC MPs led to the Bill being sent to a Select Committee.
• 2008: The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill
  • The Bill sought to reserve one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha and the state legislative Assemblies, including one third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs.
  • It was referred to the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.
  • The Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha and it lapsed with the dissolution of the Lower House.

Gender Gap through Major Verticals:

• India’s Current Representation in Legislatures:
  • Lok Sabha: 14% (78) women MPs.
    • In the first Lok Sabha elections held in 1951, only 22 women MPs (4.41%) were elected out of 489 seats. 
  • Rajya Sabha: Approximately 11% women MPs.
  • State legislature:
    • The average number of women MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) across the nation is only 8%.
      • Some states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Delhi have slightly higher representation above 10%.
  • India ranks 144 out of 193 countries for women’s representation in Parliament, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s latest report.
• Women as voters in parliament:
• • In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections: According to reports, Gender gap in voter turnout reversed by 0.17 percentage points compared to a -16.71 gap in 1962.
• Registered voters increased to 438,491,517 from 397,049,094 in 2014.
• Gender ratio improved to 930 in 2018 from 908 in 2014, signifying increasing gender parity in voter turnout.
• Women as Electoral Candidates:
  • The percentage of women contesting as candidates has marginally increased from 6.11 percent from the 1999 Lok Sabha elections to only around 9 percent.

Need for the Bill:  

• Impact of Women’s Representation:
  • Studies suggest that a higher proportion of women in national parliament correlates with passing and implementing gender-sensitive laws.
  • Female representation in local councils (e.g., village councils) has shown to increase participation and responsiveness to various community concerns, including infrastructure, sanitation, and water.
• Addressing Patriarchy in Political Parties: Affirmative action is crucial to counter the inherent patriarchal nature of political parties, ensuring fair representation for women.
• Importance of Women’s Representation: Higher representation of women in Parliament is essential to drive effective discussions and policy-making on women-specific concerns.
  • India ranks 127 out of 146 countries on the Global Gender Gap 2023, highlighting the existing gender disparities.
• Slow Progress in Political Empowerment: Despite slight gains, political empowerment for women remains slow, with women constituting only about 15% of parliamentarians.
• Addressing Societal Challenges: More women in decision-making roles are essential to tackle pressing issues such as crimes against women, skewed sex ratios, and low nutrition levels.

Benefits of Women’s Participation in Local Self-Governance:

• Increased Representation and Empowerment: Their is a substantial increase in women’s representation due to the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, which mandated 33.3% reservation for women in PRIs. 
  • Out of the total 1.3 lakh Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) representatives in Bihar, over 71,000 are women. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, out of the 9.1 lakh representatives, 3,04,638 are women. 
  • This increase in representation has empowered women to take an active part in local governance, allowing them to contribute meaningfully to their communities.
• Focus on Development Priorities: Women leaders often prioritize essential public services such as healthcare, education, and sanitation. 
  • Research shows that constituencies reserved for women leaders have a higher delivery of civic facilities (drinking water, schools, health centres, fair price shops).
• Role Models and Inspiration: The women in leadership positions become role models for other women and girls, inspiring them to participate in public life. 

Challenges in women’s participation in India’s electoral landscape:

• Structural Norms and Gender Discrimination: Women’s limited political voice and representation stem from long-standing structural norms and deep-rooted gender discrimination present in Indian society. 
  • These norms create barriers for women to fully participate in the political arena.
• Societal Prejudices and Political Party Practices: Societal prejudices against women are perpetuated within political parties. These prejudices influence the allocation of seats and the hierarchy within political parties, limiting women’s access to key positions and opportunities to contest elections.
• Lack of Authority and Influence: Women often lack positions of authority and influence within political networks. This lack of influence diminishes their ability to shape policy decisions and have a meaningful impact within the political sphere.
• Dynastic and Celebrity Backgrounds: Women from dynastic and celebrity backgrounds might have more visibility and recognition, giving them an advantage over others. 
• Sarpanch-patism: Recently, the Supreme Court raised the concern that the Men often wielding the actual power behind elected women who remain “faceless wives and daughters-in-law” in grassroots politics.

Way forward for women’s political empowerment in India:

• Implement the Women’s Reservation Bill: Actively revive and pass the bill to reserve 33% of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. This will provide a solid legal framework for promoting gender parity.
• Ensure Inclusive Allocation of Party Tickets: Encourage political parties to allocate a significant number of party tickets to women, focusing on merit and potential rather than tokenism or dynastic considerations.
• Promote Gender Mainstreaming: Advocate for gender mainstreaming within legislatures, drawing lessons from successful practices in countries like Cuba, Mexico, Rwanda, and New Zealand. This involves integrating a gender perspective into all policies and programs.

Conclusion: 

India must carefully plan seat reservations for women to boost their representation in legislatures. Reservation is vital but needs to be coupled with broader investment in empowering women’s leadership, both politically and socially.

News Source: The Indian Express

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Context:  

• Artificial Intelligence has potential to revolutionise India’s healthcare model, making it a global leader in AI-driven healthcare solutions and healthcare more accessible and affordable.

More on News:

• India is now the world’s diabetes capital with over 100 million diabetics individuals and millions having hypertension, and youth are succumbing to heart attacks, cancer, respiratory issues, depression and more.
• The Indian healthcare AI industry is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40 per cent from 2019 to 2025, according to a NASSCOM analysis.
• While India is already one of the leading destinations for patients seeking care abroad, there is adequate headroom for growth.

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About Artificial Intelligence:

• According to NITI Aayog, “AI refers to the ability of machines to perform cognitive tasks like thinking, perceiving, learning, problem solving and decision making.”
• AI uses various technologies such as computer vision, audio processing, cognitive robotics, speech analytics, language processing and machine learning techniques to derive AI-based solutions.
• AI has the capability to help human beings contribute more effectively to society and also helps bring in more timely, accurate and fast solutions. 
• It has an immense potential to transform the healthcare landscape of India. 

Healthcare Sector in India:

• Indian healthcare is known as one of the largest sectors, both in terms of employment and revenue generation opportunities.
• As per the NASSCOM report, the market size of healthcare industry in India was valued at $372 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 20% from 2023 to 2030.
• AI expenditure in India is expected to reach $11.78 billion by 2025 and add $1 trillion to India’s economy by 2035, as per a World Economic Forum report. The AI in Healthcare Market is projected to grow from $14.6 Billion in 2023 to $102.7 Billion by 2028.
• The pandemic not only pushed rapid advancements in technology but also propelled the AI related investment in the Indian medical and healthcare start-ups.
• Union Budget 2023-24: The healthcare sector has been allocated INR 89,155 crore to undertake all the new-age research and innovation-based healthcare initiatives on a massive scale. 
  • The government has also encouraged several industry players to invest in research and development in the priority areas including innovative technologies in healthcare.

Potential of AI in Healthcare:

• Medical imaging: AI in MRI and CT imaging is the new boon in the radiology segment which allows deep learning of every organ of the body under scan.
  • For instance, the AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in Delhi has created a technology that uses artificial intelligence to detect oral cancer in its early stage.
• Analysis of Electronic Health Records (EHRs): Using this technology, it is possible to identify patients who are at a high risk of developing chronic diseases. 
  • For instance, Apollo Hospitals teamed up with Microsoft to create an AI-powered cardiovascular disease risk score.
• Addressing the Healthcare Crisis: A report on the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence by the NITI Aayog showed that shortage of qualified healthcare professionals and non-uniform accessibility to healthcare across the country prevails. 
• • For example, India has only 64 doctors available per 1,00,000 people compared to the global average of 150. 
• Reduce Out of Pocket Expenditure: According to the Economic Survey 2022-23, almost half of all health spending in India is still paid by patients themselves directly at the point of treatment. 
  • According to Harvard, using AI to make diagnoses may reduce treatment costs by up to 50% and improve health outcomes by 40%
  • According to research by Accenture, AI might save the Indian healthcare sector $4.4 billion by 2025.

Significance of Integrating AI in Healthcare:

• Accuracy in Patient Treatment: AI-powered Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions can minimise human error, streamline workflows, and ensure more accurate patient treatment.
• Early Diagnosis of Diseases: AI algorithms can be utilised in wearable devices, such as smartwatches or fitness trackers, to continuously monitor vital signs, collect health data, and identify patterns or anomalies.
  • By analysing this data in real time, AI-powered smart devices can alert users and healthcare providers about potential health risks or early signs of diseases.
• Promoting Medical Value Travel (MVT): India has emerged as a global MVT hub, particularly in the fields of oncology, orthopaedics, and robotic surgery.
  • MVT is gaining strategic importance given its ability to create employment as well as earn foreign exchange.
• Precision Medicines: By using AI algorithms and patient data, tailor made treatment plans or personalised treatments for individuals can improve efficiency and efficacy.
• Quick Disease Prediction: Additionally, AI can help predict disease outbreaks, analyse health-care data, and optimise treatment plans, expediting health-care procedures, and revolutionising drug discovery ultimately making health care more personalised and effective.
• Healthcare Management: AI optimises hospital and healthcare facility operations by predicting patient admissions, managing bed allocations, and streamlining supply chain logistics.
  • Chatbots and virtual assistants enhance patient engagement and streamline administrative tasks. 

Challenges of Integrating AI in Healthcare:

• Blind spots in data collection: Lack of access to reliable data is one of the main problems. To be trained efficiently, AI systems require a lot of high-quality data. 

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• • In India, there are not many EHRs that are standardised, and the data is frequently jumbled and unfinished.
• Biases: There are AI models that use audio data to diagnose diseases such as Alzheimer’s. If these models are not trained with a wide range of accents, their outputs can be biased.
  •  For example, an AI algorithm created in Canada used speech samples from only Canadian English speakers, putting English speakers of other accents in the country at a disadvantage. 
• Privacy: Sensitive healthcare data may be jeopardised since AI systems must be educated on enormous volumes of data. Therefore, protecting healthcare data and guaranteeing that it is only used for specific purposes is a challenging task.
• Misuse: The linking of health data with other systems will create new avenues for discrimination. 
  • For example, health insurance data can be leveraged by banks to evaluate eligibility for loans which could lead to discrimination in patient treatment.
• Ethical Issues- Accountability and Transparency: Determining liability in cases of AI-driven medical errors can be challenging. Is it the responsibility of the healthcare provider, the AI software developer, or a combination of both? A Comprehensive Legal framework must define liability and accountability.
• Cultural Acceptance: While AI offers remarkable capabilities, the expertise, intuition, and compassion of healthcare professionals which make a critical difference remain indispensable. 
  • For example,an AI system may be able to allocate a patient to a particular care centre based on a specific diagnosis. However, it may not account for patient economic restrictions or other personalised preferences.

Government Steps for Integrating AI in Healthcare: 

The government of India has also created a national digital health infrastructure to implement the digital health systems across the country, which includes:

• Healthlocker: Digital national health database backed with cloud-based storage system which serves as a single source of health data for the nation.
• Personal Health Records (PHR): Allow data to be available for citizens and for medical research purposes.
• Digi Doctors: A digital directory of doctors along with their name, specialisation, qualifications, number of years of experience.   
• Coverage and claims digital platform.
• National health analytics platform.
• Unique digital health ID for each citizen.

Way Forward: 

• Boosting investments: AI integration into healthcare requires critical investments in the workforce, infrastructure, regulatory mechanisms, stakeholders, and business models.
• Promoting Telemedicine: Incorporating AI with telemedicine platforms can extend quality healthcare access to rural and underserved areas.
• Research & Development: Government must also invest in public and private organisations like NITI Aayog, Tata Institute of Healthcare, Apollo Hospitals, etc. to facilitate the research being done to integrate AI-based solutions into healthcare.
• Ensuring Data Security: Digital transformation success is not possible without security thus safeguarding of patient data against breaches or data loss and ensuring robust data security is the need of the hour. 
• Data Standardisation: Promoting the standardisation of healthcare data formats by encouraging EHRs and interoperability between different healthcare systems and providers. 

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Conclusion: 

India stands at a pivotal moment in its health-care journey. By reimagining its health-care model, the country can position itself as the global destination for medical value travel, a powerhouse in AI-driven health-care solutions. To achieve this vision, India must prioritise community health, foster public-private partnerships, and invest in innovation and research. 

News Source: The Hindu

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• The recent cyberattacks on the Delhi Police website before the G20 summit is another reminder of the persistent and escalating dangers to digital security. 

Report by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In):

• Between 2020 and 2022, India averaged 1.3 million cybersecurity incidents a year.
• Almost 67% of Indian government and essential service entities reported a 50% increase in disruptive cyberattacks in 2022-23. 

About CERT-In (Computer Emergency Response Team):

• Nodal ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• It is the nodal agency which deals with cybersecurity threats like hacking and phishing.

Study by Future Crime Research Foundation:

• Online fraudsters are widely targeting Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions and carry out unauthorized transactions, making it the most prevalent form of online financial fraud during 2020-23
• The top 10 districts accounted for 80 percent of the overall cybercrime in India.

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Subject: GS-3 Indian Economy 

Context:

• MSMEs are the backbone of the Indian economy, but they need support to succeed in exporting. Reforms and e-commerce can help MSMEs overcome challenges and achieve export success.

Role of MSME Sector In Indian Economy:

• The share of MSME Gross Value Added (GVA) in India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has displayed a fluctuating trend over the last three years (Refer-Graph).
• However, the share of MSME manufacturing output in the overall Indian manufacturing output remained relatively stable (Refer-Graph).

• The share of MSME products in India’s total exports experienced a decline over the past three years. While in the fiscal year 2019-20, they constituted 49.4% of India’s exports, the share decreased to 45.0% in 2020-21 and further to 43.6% in 2021-22.
• 
• Today, India’s share in global merchandise exports is around 2 percent, and less than 1 percent of MSMEs are exporters.
• The MSME sector has been a significant source of employment in India providing 110 million jobs. (Udyam Registration Portal).

Challenges for MSMEs in Exporting:

• MSMEs and the Global Market:

• • • India’s domestic market accounts for only about 2 percent of the global market size for these industries.
    • However, to address the global market, India must aim for at least a 10 percent share of the global trade.

• Integration with ‘E-commerce’ platforms for MSMEs

• • The rise of e-commerce platforms means MSMEs can now compete in the global arena.
  • However, India’s current e-commerce exports stand at a modest $2 billion, a mere 0.5 percent of our merchandise exports.

• Small Scale (Dwarfism) of MSMEs:
  • It is nearly impossible for a typical small business to first find customers abroad, and then navigate the logistical, financial and compliance complexities of the export sector.
  • However, 85 percent of MSMEs are classified as “dwarfs” — older than 10 years but still smaller than 100 employees.

Way Forward for MSMEs: 

• E-commerce platforms can match small businesses with customers, and handle logistics and even compliance.
• Create a “green channel” for e-commerce exports to expedite Customs clearance. This will help MSMEs to get their products to market faster.
• Allow “exporter” and “product owner” to be separate entities. This will let aggregators work much more easily with small enterprises.
• Streamline the rules of financial regulation for exports. Reduce the burden on MSMEs and give them the flexibility to price their products dynamically.
• Implement a one-stop trade portal that brings together all information and processes related to exporting, and places it into a single, streamlined workflow. This will make it easier for MSMEs to comply with all government regulations.

Source: Business Standard

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Subject: GS-1 Arts and Culture

Context:

• The Sacred ensembles of the Hoysala, which includes three temples (temples of Halebid, Belur, and Somanathapura)  in Karnataka, will be India’s 42nd UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala have been on UNESCO’s Tentative list since April 2014.
• On 17 September 2023, Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan, the university town in West Bengal, was also included as India’s 41st world heritage site.

About Hoysala Architecture: 

• The Hoysala temples in Hassan district, Karnataka, are architectural masterpieces built in the 12th-13th centuries.
• They attest to the creativity and skill of the Hoysala artists and architects.
• The Hoysala temples have a basic Dravidian form but show strong influences of the Bhumija, Nagara, and Karnataka Dravida styles.
• The Hoysala temples are known for their intricate carvings, geometric pillars, and star-shaped ceilings.
• Hoysala temples are also known for their beautiful sculptures of deities, animals, and mythical creatures.
• The Hoysala used soft soapstone for their structures as they were found suitable for intricate carvings. 

Hoysaleswara Temple (Halebid)

• • Location of Hoysala temples: Banks of Dwarasamudra tank in Halebid, Karnataka 
  • Built-in: In the 12th century, the temple was built by Ketamalla, during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire.

• Architecture of :

• • One of the largest temples dedicated to Lord Shiva in South India
  • Garuda Pillars:  Another interesting object in the temple complex is the rare Garuda Sthamba.

The Chennakeshava temple:

• • Location: the main temple in the complex at Belur (Hassan district),
  • Built-in: It was constructed by King Vishnuvardhana in the 12th century to commemorate his victory over the Cholas.

• Architecture: 

• • There are more than 80 Madanika sculptures in the temple, dancing, hunting, and standing under canopies of trees.
  • The Garbhagriha is stellar in shape and its zigzag walls make the figures of 24 forms of Vishnu look different at different times of the day due to light.
    

The Keshava Temple:

• • Location:  Somanathapura village (Mysore district).
  • Built-in: It was built in A.D 1268, by Somanatha a Dandanayaka under the Hoysala king Narashima III.

• Architecture:

• • It has 3 sanctums on the West, South and North to Keshava, Venugopala and Janardhana, all connected.
  • The temple itself occupies the middle of the rectangular courtyard surrounded by 64 cells each with pillars in front, forming an appropriate cloistered setting.

Owing to its combination of 3 shrines, the temple plan is in the shape of a cross, with its sole entrance on the east.

Source: PIB

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Context:

• The SHREYAS scheme has benefited more than 21,000 SC students since its inception in 2014. Over 2300 crore rupees have been allocated for the scheme during this period.

About  SHREYAS scheme:  

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

• SHREYAS scheme has four sub-schemes:

• Free Coaching Scheme for SCs and OBCs: 

• • • This scheme provides coaching to economically disadvantaged SCs and OBCs candidates for competitive and entrance examinations.
    • The ratio of SC: OBC students is 70:30 and 30% of seats are reserved for females in each category. (3500 seats available).

• Top-Class Education for SCs: 

• • • SHREYAS Scheme aims at recognizing and promoting quality education amongst students belonging to SCs, by providing full financial support.
    • SHREYAS scheme provides scholarships to SC students for pursuing studies beyond the 12th class in top-ranked educational institutions in India. Such as IITs, NITs, AIIMs, IIMs etc.

• National Overseas Scheme for SCs: 

• • • This scheme provides financial assistance to SC students for pursuing master’s and Ph.D. level courses abroad. (Presently 125 slots are available).
    • Under SHREYAS scheme, total tuition fees, maintenance and contingency allowance, visa fees, to and fro air passage, etc. are provided to the awardees.

• National Fellowship for SC Students: 

• • SHREYAS scheme provides fellowship to SC students for pursuing M.Phil/Ph.D. degrees in  Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences India by the University Grant Commission(UGC).

Source: PIB

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