General Comprehension (UPSC) (Part-VI)

1. State should have some institutions to ensure its appropriate role in a digital society.

2. State should ensure that private parties do not violate the citizens' right to privacy.

3. Digital economy is not compatible with the idea of not violating the citizens' privacy.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

In India, the current focus on the right to privacy is based on some new realities of the digital age. A right is a substantive right only if it works in all situations, and for everyone.

A right to free expression for an individual about her exploitation, for instance, is meaningless without actual availability of security that guarantees that private force cannot be used to thwart this right.

The role of the State, therefore, is not just to abstain from preventing rightful free expression, but also to actively ensure that private parties are not able to block it.

One of the biggest ironics around water is that it comes from rivers and other wetlands. Yet it is seen as divorced from them. While water is used as a resource, public policy does not always grasp that it is a part of the natural ecosystem.

Efforts at engineering water systems are thus efforts at augmenting water supply rather than strengthening the capacities of ecological systems.

Asset allocation is the most important investment decision we will ever make, and sadly, most of us do not give that decision the : importance it deserves. We are adamant about seeking predictability with our future. We tend to thing of investing in risky assets as extremely volatile and value cording.

We also dislike fluctuating returns and the loss of control of investment. We think our money is best left idle, unproductive but safe. There is no asset that is risk-free. We could lose our jobs, our homes can lose value, our banks can go bankrupt, our bonds can default, the government can collapse and companies we chose fondly may cease to exist.

But we cannot live life assuming that all these extreme events are waiting to happen, and all at the same time. All these extreme forms of risks we know will not manifest at the same time.

1. Biotechnology regulation is an evolving process.

2. Participation of people is needed in policy decisions regarding biotechnology regulation.

3. Biotechnology regulation should take into account socio-economic aspects in decision-making.

4. Wider involvement of political executive in biotechnology regulation improves its effectiveness in dealing with the country's trade policies and international obligations.

Which of the above assumptions are valid?

Although most of the Genetically Modified (GM) crops cultivated now are genetically engineered for a single trait, in future, crops genetically engineered for more than one trait will be the norm. Thus, biotechnology's role in agriculture and the regulation of the same cannot be understood solely in the context of the current generation of GM crops.

Instead, there is a need to take a comprehensive look, taking into account various aspects, including socio-economic impacts, so that the potential of the technology can be harnessed while minimizing negative impacts.

Given the importance of biotechnology in developing varieties that can help in climate change mitigation and adaptation, not using biotechnology as a part of the climate change action plan. Domestic regulation of biotechnology cannot be viewed in isolation of trade policy and obligations under various international treaties and conventions.

Although most of the Genetically Modified (GM) crops cultivated now are genetically engineered for a single trait, in future, crops genetically engineered for more than one trait will be the norm. Thus, biotechnology's role in agriculture and the regulation of the same cannot be understood solely in the context of the current generation of GM crops.

Instead, there is a need to take a comprehensive look, taking into account various aspects, including socio-economic impacts, so that the potential of the technology can be harnessed while minimizing negative impacts.

Given the importance of biotechnology in developing varieties that can help in climate change mitigation and adaptation, not using biotechnology as a part of the climate change action plan. Domestic regulation of biotechnology cannot be viewed in isolation of trade policy and obligations under various international treaties and conventions.

Bank credit to the industrial sector has started shrinking. Its decline has been a serious concern as credit growth is essential to revive investment. The problem's origins lie in the incomplete reforms of the last 25 years.

An institutional change that should have followed the 1991 reforms should have been setting up of a resolution corporation for banks. In a market economy with booms and busts, banks should be allowed to be set up and to fall.

Today, we cannot shut down banks because there is no proper system to shut them down. Weak loss-making banks continue to need more capital.

India has tremendous potential for solar energy. We all realize that we have to stop burning fossil fuels to meet our energy needs. But certain renewable resources are still going through their cost curves and learning curves to get required amount of output.

The Indian Government has strongly committed to its targets of reducing emissions by 33 percent by 2030, and towards this it has initiated a strong push towards a gas-based economy and has also invested heavily in renewable energy. However, business housed are wary of investing too heavily in renewable energy at a time when the technology is not yet ready.

1. Governments often provide inefficient and costly subsidies for technologies that may not be ready in the near future.

2. India's commitment of reducing emissions by 33% by 2030 shall be on the basis of gas-based economy.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

India has tremendous potential for solar energy. We all realize that we have to stop burning fossil fuels to meet our energy needs. But certain renewable resources are still going through their cost curves and learning curves to get required amount of output.

The Indian Government has strongly committed to its targets of reducing emissions by 33 percent by 2030, and towards this it has initiated a strong push towards a gas-based economy and has also invested heavily in renewable energy. However, business housed are wary of investing too heavily in renewable energy at a time when the technology is not yet ready.

1. Genome editing does not require the transfer of genes from one plant to another.

2. Through genome editing, the chosen genes can be altered precisely in a manner akin to the natural process that helps plants to adapt to the environmental factors.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Genome editing is different from genome modification. Genome editing typically involves finding the part of a plant genome that could be changed to render it less vulnerable to disease, or resistant to certain herbicides, or to increase yields, Researchers use 'molecular scissors' to dissect the genome and repair it, which is a process that occurs naturally when plants are under attack from diseases and can throw up new mutations that enable the plant to survive future attacks.

This evolutionary process can effectively be speeded up now that it is possible to examine plant genomes in detail in laboratories, and create mechanisms through which the relevant genes can be altered very precisely.

Many people understand the connection between solid waste management and health in terms of the consequences of unattended heaps of dry garbage which become home for flies and other vermin. However, there is another aspect that is not well-understood, that is.

What happens when unscientific solid waste management combines with poor drainage and dumping of untreated sewage into drain which are meant to carry storm water during rains. The result is choked drains which are full of stagnant water breeding mosquitoes, resulting in the spread of water-borne diseases.