The government employs several strategies to ensure the accuracy and inclusivity of census data, particularly in reaching underrepresented and marginalized communities:

1. Comprehensive Outreach and Engagement:
   • The census bureau conducts extensive outreach and engagement efforts to raise awareness about the census and encourage participation, especially in hard-to-reach communities.
   • This includes partnering with community organizations, faith-based groups, and local leaders to disseminate information and build trust.
   • Multilingual communication and materials are provided to cater to diverse language needs.
   • Census bureau staff are trained to work sensitively with underrepresented groups to address any concerns or barriers to participation.
2. Targeted Enumeration Strategies:
   • The census bureau employs specialized techniques to enumerate populations that are traditionally undercounted, such as the homeless, migrant workers, and individuals living in group quarters.
   • This includes conducting in-person visits, establishing service-based enumeration sites, and collaborating with local service providers.
   • Enumerators are hired from the local communities to improve accessibility and cultural competence.
3. Quality Assurance and Data Validation:
   • The census bureau implements rigorous quality assurance measures throughout the data collection and processing stages.
   • This includes conducting field checks, applying statistical techniques to identify and correct errors, and conducting post-enumeration surveys to assess coverage.
   • The data is further validated through cross-checking with other administrative records and surveys to ensure accuracy and completeness.
4. Continuous Improvement and Adaptation:
   • The census bureau continuously evaluates and refines its methodologies based on lessons learned from previous censuses and feedback from stakeholders.
   • This includes incorporating new technologies, adjusting outreach strategies, and updating the census questionnaire to better reflect the evolving demographics and needs of the population.
5. Transparency and Accountability:
   • The census bureau is committed to maintaining transparency in its operations and data-sharing practices.
   • It publishes detailed reports on the census methodology, data quality, and any challenges encountered during the enumeration process.
   • There are also mechanisms in place for individuals and organizations to provide feedback and raise concerns about the census process.

While ensuring the accuracy and inclusivity of census data is an ongoing challenge, the government’s comprehensive efforts demonstrate a commitment to capturing a representative picture of the nation’s population and ensuring that no community is left behind.

Food adulteration and contamination can certainly be an issue in some cases, but the assertion that half of our food is made of plastic is not supported by credible scientific evidence. Here are a few key points on this topic:

1. Rice and other grains: Rice and other common grains like wheat, corn, etc. are natural agricultural products grown from plants. They do not naturally contain or consist of any significant amounts of plastic.
2. Food safety regulations: Most countries have strict food safety regulations and standards in place to ensure that the food supply is free from harmful adulterants, including plastics. Regulatory agencies routinely monitor and test food products.
3. Isolated incidents vs. systemic issue: While there may be isolated incidents of food adulteration involving plastics or other contaminants, this does not mean that half of all food is made of plastic, which would represent an extreme and implausible scenario.
4. Lack of scientific evidence: There does not appear to be any reputable scientific studies or data that substantiate the claim that 50% of our food is plastic. Such an extraordinary claim would require very robust and verifiable evidence.

Unless you have access to credible, well-documented information from reliable sources to support this specific claim, I would caution against generalizing or spreading unverified information about the food supply being 50% plastic. It’s important to be cautious about making such strong assertions without solid evidence.

The interaction of matter and temperature generates the forces or movements inside the earth’s crust, which are known as the endogenic forces. These internal forces continuously elevate or build up parts of the earth’s surface. In general terms, the endogenic forces are mainly land building forces. Endogenic forces can be classified as those causing slow movements (diastrophic) and those causing sudden movements:

• Diastrophic forces refer to forces generated by the movement of the solid material of the earth’s crust. All the processes that move, elevate or build portions of the earth’s crust come under diastrophism. Diastrophism includes:
• Orogenic processes involving mountain building through severe folding and affecting long and narrow belts of the earth’s crust.
• Epeirogenic processes involve uplift or warping of large parts of the earth’s crust.
• Earthquakes involving local relatively minor movements.
• Plate tectonics involving horizontal movements of crustal plates.
• Sudden movements can result in volcanism, earthquakes and landslides.

Endogenic forces are also known as ‘constructive forces’ as they create relief features on the surface of the Earth. Following are some of the landforms created by endogenic forces:

• Structural plains: These plains are formed by the uplift of a part of the sea floor or continental shelf. These are located on the borders of almost all the major continents. Example: Great Plains of the USA.
• Continental plateau: Plateaus formed by the upliftment or extensive spreading of lava on the Earth’s surface. They are bordered on all sides by plains or oceans, forming away from the mountains. An example of a continental plateau is the Antarctic Plateau or Polar Plateau in East Antarctica.
• Fold Mountains: When the sedimentary rocks are subjected to compressional forces for millions of years, they get bent into up and down folds, which lead to the formation of anticlines and synclines. Such Earth movements occur from time to time and lift the folds to a considerable height which result into the formation of Fold Mountains, such as the Himalayas in Asia, the Alps in Europe, the Rockies in North America, and the Andes in South America.
• Block Mountains: When the forces of tension act on the rocks, they create faults in them. When the land between the two almost parallel faults is raised above the adjoining areas, it creates block mountains. Example: The Vosges in France; Black Forest Mountain in Germany.
• Rift Valley or Graben: When a block between two normal faults is depressed, the valley formed in the faults is known as Rift Valley or Graben. Example: East African Rift, the Baikal Rift Valley, the West Antarctic Rift, and the Rio Grande Rift, Narmada rift valley.
• Volcanic Mountains: Volcanic Mountains are formed when molten rock (magma) deep within the earth, erupts, and piles upon the surface. Magna is called lava when it breaks through the earth’s crust. When the ash and lava cools, it builds a cone of rock. Rock and lava pile up, layer on top of layer. Examples: Mount St. Helens in North America, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, Mount Kea and Mount Loa in Hawaii.
• Intermontane Plateau: The intermontane plateaus form either bordering the fold mountain range or are partly or fully enclosed by Fold Mountains. Vertical movements raise these extensive landforms of nearly horizontal rocks to thousands of meters above sea level. Example, the Plateau of Tibet, surrounded by The Himalayas, Karakoram, Kunlun, Tien Shan.

The landforms created by the endogenic forces often further undergo change leading to new modifications due to changes in climatic conditions and vertical or horizontal movements of landmasses.

Kautilya wrote in the Arthashastra that a state could be at risk from four different kinds of threats – internal, external, externally-aided internal, and internally-aided external. In the era of information and the digital age, both internal and external security threats are interrelated and cannot be seen in isolation from each other. India’s national security challenges make it imperative for the country to develop a technology-centric intelligence cadre, and nurture this cadre’s capabilities.

Rising Security Challenges

Internal Threats and Challenges

1. The internal security of the country presents a dismal scenario. We have a fractured landscape. Terrorist groups, indigenous and trans-national, are trying to destabilise the country.
2. There is a separatist movement in J&K fuelled by Pakistan. The northeast has multiple insurgencies. A vast swathe of Central India is in a state of turmoil due to Maoist violence.
3. Besides, the State has to contend with communal problems, caste tensions, inter-state disputes including those over sharing of river waters, illegal migrations from the East, and regional movements over a host of issues.
4. Huge diversity in geographical regions, ethnicity, religions, and languages coupled with social discrimination, inequality in human development indices (HDI), lack of inclusive growth, and mass unemployment among the youth make India vulnerable to internal armed conflicts.

External Threats and Challenges

1. Two neighbours of India—China and Pakistan—are not just the principal source of its external security threats, but are also nuclear-armed states who share a deep friendship.
2. The territorial disputes and external threats on our sub-continent are a result of its unique geostrategic location, its neighbourhood, its history, and the Partition.
3. Security of India’s long and porous coastline, offshore islands, exclusive economic Zone, and sea lines of communications in the Indian Ocean is another major external security challenge.

Hybrid Warfare: Emerging threat

1. It generally refers to the use of unconventional methods as part of a multi-domain warfighting approach. These methods aim to disrupt and disable an opponent’s actions without engaging in open hostilities.
2. Recently, a Chinese data company-Zhenhua has harvested information on millions of people, allegedly on behalf of Beijing’s intelligence services, possibly engaging in early stages of ‘hybrid warfare.

Govt Efforts wrt Intelligence apparatus:

1. Natgrid: The formation of an intelligence database designed to consolidate and make searchable data gathered by existing security and law enforcement agencies, will prove to be a vital link in India’s intelligence infrastructure.
2. Cctns: The Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and System (CCTNS) is an initiative of the MHA, to facilitate storage, transfer, and sharing of data and information between police stations.
3. Cert-In: It is responsible for the protection of cyber systems and it provides specific steps and countermeasures to patch the existing vulnerabilities and strengthen the security of these websites.

Need For Reforms In India’s Intelligence Apparatus

1. The paradigm shift in the nature of the security challenges facing the country lends urgency to the need for reforms in the country’s intelligence apparatus.
2. Currently, Decisions of national security are taken in individual silos rather than cross-domain exchange as subjects are interrelated.
3. There is opacity in the functioning of Intelligence agencies for instance there is no credible external audit that happens.
4. Substantial reforms are needed to improve the collection, processing, and dissemination of intelligence on a real-time basis.

Towards Reforms In The Country’s Intelligence Apparatus

1. Legal Status

1. A prerequisite is to pass specific legislation that would give India’s intelligence community a statutory basis and a charter, and provide it with institutional levels of accountability.

2. Recruitment, Deputation, Promotion, Training

1. India needs to have an open and separate direct recruitment mechanism for different intelligence agencies by using the existing mechanism of the Union Public Service Commission;
2. A lateral entry program of a few years can be offered to domain experts who work closely with intelligence agencies. This is one way to attract young technical talent.
3. The CIA and FBI ran the Cybersecurity Talent initiative which included two-year placements. Similarly, in the UK, the GCHQ has started a cyber programme for high school students.

3. Technology Upgrade

1. India’s intelligence agencies must act as venture capitalists and take ownership in the companies they will nurture and support. For example, In-Q-Tel is the CIA’s venture arm and has been investing in young companies since 1999.
2. The US NSA has also experimented with the same. More recently, the famed Israeli spy agency, Mossad, has launched an incubator, inviting applications from all over the world (in select technology areas).
3. A dedicated unit on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) must be created to collect and analyse the vast volumes of data that are now publicly available in the open domain. Commercial sensors and the internet have made this possible and it can often prove to be a treasure trove for intelligence operations.

4. Coordination Of Intelligence

1. Appointing a National Intelligence Coordinator/Director of National Intelligence to bring about better inter-agency coordination, to remove overlaps and duplications, end turf wars, and ensure better utilisation of national resources.
2. The Department of Atomic Energy, BARC, ISRO, DRI, the Economic Offences Wing, Department of Science & Technology, etc – should appoint intelligence liaison or nodal officers to interact on a regular basis with main intelligence agencies.
3. Heads of Mission of Indian legations abroad should be kept in the broad loop of the operational initiatives of intelligence agencies.

5. Accountability

1. Strengthen financial accountability of intelligence agencies; annual reports to go to Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) or NSA.
2. Providing for an in camera audit of Secret Service Funds;
3. Creating a separate intelligence ombudsman for IB, R&AW & NTRO;

It is absolutely necessary that the security architecture of the country is overhauled with appropriate institutional changes so that it is able to effectively deal with the emerging challenges which are going to confront us in the coming years. India has to use all instruments of its national power like political, economic, diplomatic, military, etc., in a coordinated manner to address its security concerns.

The Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 estimated that mental health disorders, including work- related stress and burnout, affected approximately 197 million people in India. According to an NSSO report, most employees in India work for more than 48 hours a week higher than the ILO’s prescribed time limit.
The high levels of work-related stress, long working hours, work-life imbalance, and incidents of workplace harassment contribute to adverse physical and mental health affecting overall well-being and productivity of the employees. To address such issues, there is an urgent need to formulate policies promoting a safe and nurturing workplace environment by engaging all stakeholders.
Ethical issues that should be considered while formulating the policies:

• Unethical sales practices to attain unrealistic targets: Organizations set targets like monthly sales figure or product production number, which seem unrealistic and unattainable. It puts undue pressure on employees, who are often trained to execute unethical sales practices as witnessed recently in case of a leading organisation in India’s ed-tech sector.
  • The policies should be formulated in a manner that should address these issues without compromising the organisational aim of profit making and growth potential.
• Discrimination and harassment: Laws require organizations to provide equal employment opportunity and recruit diverse workforce, without bias towards any race, ethnicity, gender, disability etc.
  • However, harmless colour jokes, group mentality such as non-inclusion of women in social gatherings are some of the subtle forms of discrimination that are prominent. Policies should address such issues through building personal values and moral fostering.
• Balancing rights with duties: Long working hours hamper productivity and quality of one’s work. For certain jobs, such as hospitals, overwork can raise the number of accidents that can lead to loss of life. However, such a situation poses a challenge in terms of balancing the right of the patient for treatment and a health service provider’s physical and mental health.
• Toxic workplace culture: Organizations helmed by unethical leadership are plagued by a toxic workplace culture. Leaders manipulating sales figures and data or pressuring employees often disrespect and bully their employees. The practice of hiring employees for “cultural fit,” can become a smokescreen for discrimination, resulting in ethical issues and legal ramifications.
• Occupational hazard: Activities such as mining, foundries and metallurgical industries etc. are physically daunting and pose risk to life. In this regard, ethical guidance and conduct needs to be factored in the legal responsibilities of stakeholders such as employers, trade unions, social security institutions, insurance companies etc.

Creating and sustaining an ethical workplace culture takes time, effort, and patience. Core values such as integrity, empathy, transparency etc. can help build an ideal workplace culture fostering good behaviour. Such measures along with limited working hours, providing a nurturing environment, regular psychological evaluations etc. can boost productivity and improve work culture.