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1. Why should creating more jobs be a priority for the government? Discuss some reasons for the slow pace of job creation in India.(GS 3)

Live Mint-1 | Live Mint-2

Why should creating more jobs be a priority for the government ?

  • India has a great demographic opportunity because it will have a growing population in an ageing world.
  • It also risks social turmoil in case there are not enough jobs for the growing labour force.
  • Employment in the formal sector has fallen since 1997. More and more people are being pushed into either lowest-end self-employment; or the most unprotected and casualised wage employment.
  • To reduce income gap between rich and poor.
  • To broaden tax base and increasing revenue productivity of income tax are possible only when job creation is the priority of government.
  • Extremist ideology can easily exploit jobless people.
  • helps in SDG’s attainment.

Some reasons for the slow pace of job creation in India are :-

  • Traditionally public sector, manufacturing, IT/ITeS and Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) used to be the largest employment generators but of late these sectors have been hiring far less, leading to overall waning demand for trained hands.
  • Secondly, the domestic jobs market is very slow in adopting unconventional sources of employment such as personal and social service.
  • The Telegraph reported that one possible reason for jobless growth could be that companies are relying on automation and digital processes. Seven big IT firms, including Infosys, Wipro and Cognizant, are planning to lay off 56,000 engineers this year.
  • Recent initiatives like ‘Startup India’ and ‘Skill India’ are “crucial but insufficient” to link GDP growth with job growth.
  • Experts have cited slow growth of capital formation as another reason for unemployment. The Economic Times previously reportedthat private sector capital formation grew at a mere two percent in Financial year 2017 over  financial year 2016
  • Inflexible labour laws, that make firing difficult, ensure that employers prefer more automation to more hires. This is happening not only in manufacturing, but high-quality service industries like IT too.
  • Not adequate investment in infrastructure has been the main reason of slow job creation
  • Still many depend on agriculture.
  • Informalisation of the economy is more in India.

However with government’s recent focus on self employment,skill development India is string to create jobs.


2. What is Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) TB? Why is TB diagnosis in children complicated?(GS 3)

The Hindu

MDR TB :-

  • It means that the TB bacteria that a person is infected with, are resistant to at least two of the most important TB drugs, isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RMP). If bacteria are resistant to certain TB drugs this means that the drugs won’t work. Other drugs then need to be taken by the person if they are to be cured.
  • MDR/RR-TB means patients with MDR-TB as well as any other patient with TB resistant to rifampicin.
  • Globally in 2015 there were about 480,000 people estimated to have become ill with MDR-TB. In addition there were an estimated additional 100,000 people who had rifampicin TB (RR-TB).  So the total number of people estimated to have had MDR/RR-TB was 580,000 in 2015 .
  • MDR-TB accounts for about 3.3% of new TB cases.

Why is tuberculosis complicated in children :-

  • In 2016, the proportion of children among new TB patients reported was 6%. Absence of appropriate samples coupled with decentralised capacity to get good samples from children to test for TB remains a challenge in paediatric TB case detection
  • children were more prone to primary MDR infection as they were in close contact with their parents and grandparents, who would have been infected.
  • poor sensitivity of tests like the Acid fast bacilli (AFB) smear.
  • TB in children is often missed or overlooked due to non-specific symptoms and difficulties in diagnosis. This has made it difficult to assess the actual magnitude of the childhood TB epidemic, which my be higher than currently estimated.
  • Also, an RNTCP survey in India, found that 9% of children with TB were already resistant to rifampicin, before they started treatment.
  • Other reasons are:
    • Difficulties with access to TB diagnosis and care
    • Clinical similarities with other common childhood diseases
    • Children treated for TB outside of national TB programs (NTPs)
    • A lack of routine recording and reporting of childhood TB cases by age and outcome by some NTPs.
  • Equally as diagnostic uncertainty is very common in children treated for TB, This can result in over diagnosis particularly for pulmonary TB.
  • With children, even if they have been diagnosed, they will often be smear negative, and will not be included in reports.
  • Diagnosing TB in children is difficult as children are less likely to have obvious symptoms of TB, and samples such as sputum are more difficult to collect from young children. Even when sputum can be collected, it may have very few TB bacteria in it (paucibacillary smear-negative disease).

3. “There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.” Examine.(GS 4)

  • Liberty is the state of of being where man is free from any physical and mental bondage which is exploitative in nature.
  • Liberty leads to enthusiam as:
    • It gives human being complete freedom of thought and expression
    • bring him/her closer and in sync with his/her conscience
    • It gives him/her right over his/her mind and body which is not enjoyed in slavery
  • Liberty gives the freedom to act and in some cases can lead to acts of bravery for instance Malala and other liberals strive for child education despite pressure and threats to their life as well.
  • Many nationalist leaders are today remembered by the heroic acts performed by them for the attainment of liberty.
  • Rise of M K Gandhi from South Africa is also one of the classical example where the Suppression of liberty by Britishers has led to the rise of bravery and heroism which further helped in freedom of India.
  • Even the constitution of India puts some restrictions on freedom keeping in mind the public interest and public order.
  • However excess of liberty can lead to chaos and confusion like in the case of Kashmir separatist , Khalistan agressors etc have breeded militancy in name of liberty.

 

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