Gros Domestic Product (GDP) is the sum total of value of goods and services created within the geographical boundary of a country in a particular year. It is usually taken as an indicator of the well-being in the context of per capita income suggesting the prosperity of the people. It may indicate more income and capacity to buy more goods and services among the people. However, there are some limitations of using GDP as an indicator of economic welfare of a country:

• Uneven Distribution of GDP: If the GDP of the country is rising, the economic well being may not rise as a consequence. This is because the rise in GDP may be concentrated in the hands of very few individuals or firms. For the rest, the income may in fact have fallen. In such cases, the welfare of the entire country cannot be reflected in per capita GDP.
• Non-monetary exchanges or non-marketed activities: Many activities in an economy are not evaluated in monetary terms. For example, the domestic work that women perform at home is not paid for. Barter exchanges that take place in the informal sector are not registered as part of the economic activity. In developing countries, where many remote regions are underdeveloped, these kinds of barter exchanges are common occurrences, but they are generally not counted in the GDPs of these countries. Since these exchanges are not counted in the GDPs, there occurs underestimation of GDP. Hence, GDP calculated in the standard manner may not give us a clear indication of the productive activity and well-being of a country.
• Externalities: Externalities refer to the benefits (or harms) a firm or an individual causes to another for which they are not paid (or penalized). Externalities do not have any market in which they can be bought and sold. For example, the output of a refinery is the amount of oil it refines. The value added of the refinery will be counted as part of the GDP of the economy. But in carrying out the production the refinery may also be polluting the nearby river. This may cause harm to the people who use the water of the river. Hence their well-being will fall. In this case, the GDP is not taking into account such negative externalities. Therefore, if we take GDP as a measure of welfare of the economy we shall be overestimating the actual well-being. There can be cases of positive externalities as well. In such cases, GDP will underestimate the actual well-being of the economy.

In addition to this, GDP also does not take into account economic inequality, loss of jobs and opportunities and level of health and education and quality of choices in an economy. Therefore, new concepts like Gross National Happiness (GNH), Human Development Index (HDI) and the Social Progress Index (SPI) are often discussed as the better alternative to assess the well-being of society.

The input-intensive agriculture involves various types of agriculture with a high level of input and output per unit of agricultural land area. It is characterized by a low fallow ratio, higher use of inputs such as capital and labour and high crop yields per unit land area. It helps in getting high crop yield on smaller land due to inputs like fertilizers, HYV seeds, machines etc. It is more efficient and it makes it easier for farmers to supervise the crops and also helps in raising their income levels. In India, input-intensive farming can be seen in Kerala, West Bengal, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other regions like Haryana, Punjab, UP, Bihar as well. However, the practice of input-intensive agriculture in India needs to be overhauled due to various reasons:

• Environmental impact: This type of farming involves numerous types of agro-chemicals, including chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides etc., which leads to eutrophication of water bodies, bioaccumulation and biomagnification, and biodiversity loss. It also leads to:
  • Increase in soil erosion due to constant furrowing by machinery
  • Use of artificial agro-chemicals adversely affects the soil pH, CEC, soil structure, soil texture and soil organisms.
  • Traditional varieties of seeds and their genetic resources faced extinction due to introduction of hybrid varieties.
• Capital intensive: Given the need of high capital investment, large-scale farmers benefit while small-scale farmers who are short of capital often fall under huge debt.
• Animal cruelty: Intensive farming is highly criticized and thought to be cruel to the animals as it involves the use of various chemicals, growth hormones and excess crowding on a small space and thus unhygienic conditions leading to infections and other diseases.

In this context, Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) has become important. It is based on the ecological principle of minimal use of external agents and involves the process of stimulating soil microorganism. It also ensures optimum nutrient availability through processes like nitrogen fixation. It involves the process of biological pest control methods and also biodiversity through the process of synergetic and symbiotic conditions.

This method is gaining prominence because of its significance in

• Providing Food security: SOFI Report 2021 stated that the number of persons facing moderate to severe food insecurity in India has increased by about 9.7 crore in the last 2 years. The increase in production required to meet this demand will need to be achieved with less water, less labour, and less land, and without adversely affecting the environment.
• Tackling climate change: Agriculture production is estimated to decrease by 10-20% by 2050 because of climate change. Adoption of LEISA based practices can help cut GHG by promoting sustainable agriculture and reducing reliance on non-renewable and unsustainable inputs, particularly environmentally harmful ones.
• Protecting indigenous knowledge and empowering local communities: It acknowledges the right of local communities to control, manage and benefit from natural resources. Thus using the expertise of farmers and tapping the most viable indigenous knowledge and practices and ecologically friendly technologies in a given ecological and socio-cultural setting.
• Efficient use of water resources: It would lead to sustainable water management practices and reduce water pollution as is seen in case of input-Intensive agriculture farms discharging large quantities of agrochemicals, drug residues and pesticides in water bodies.

Thus, adoption of LEISA should be promoted as it aims at making optimal use of locally available natural and human resources becoming economically feasible, ecologically sound, culturally adapted and socially just.

The rise of AI and automation presents both significant benefits and challenges for society when it comes to the potential displacement of large segments of the workforce. Striking the right balance requires a multifaceted approach:

1. Investing in Workforce Retraining and Upskilling:
   • Governments, employers, and educational institutions should collaborate to develop comprehensive retraining and upskilling programs to help displaced workers transition to new roles and industries.
   • These programs should focus on equipping workers with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an increasingly automated and technology-driven job market.
   • Investment in lifelong learning and continuous skills development can help workers adapt to the evolving job landscape.
2. Fostering Job Creation in Emerging Sectors:
   • Policymakers should identify and support the growth of new industries and sectors that are poised to create jobs in the face of automation.
   • Encouraging the development of industries such as renewable energy, biotechnology, and data analysis can help generate employment opportunities in the long run.
   • Incentivizing entrepreneurship and small business development can also contribute to job creation in emerging markets.
3. Implementing Robust Social Safety Nets:
   • Governments should strengthen social safety nets, including unemployment benefits, job search assistance, and income support programs, to provide a cushion for workers displaced by automation.
   • These measures can help mitigate the immediate financial and social impacts of job losses, ensuring that displaced workers have the resources to retrain, find new employment, or transition into retirement.
4. Encouraging Public-Private Collaboration:
   • Fostering partnerships between government, industry, and educational institutions can facilitate the development of tailored training programs and job placement initiatives.
   • By aligning the needs of businesses with the skills and aspirations of workers, these collaborations can help bridge the gap between technological advancements and workforce development.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is India’s largest Central Armed Police Force which functions under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It came into force under the aegis of the Central Reserve Police Force Act in 1949.

The members of this force perform multifarious nature of jobs, such as:

• Maintenance of law and order: The CRPF’s primary role lies in assisting the states/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order.
• Counter-insurgency force: By its original mandate, the CRPF was meant to be a reserve force, however, over the years, it has become India’s primary counter-insurgency force, especially in major theatres of internal struggle in India like the Kashmir valley, the Red Corridor and the North-East.
• Ensuring the safety of the democratic Institutions: One of the roles of the CRPF is guarding vital Central government installations such as airports, powerhouses, All India Radio stations, residences of Governors and Chief Ministers, nationalized banks, and other government establishments in insurgency-affected states.
• Security arrangements during elections: Besides the above-mentioned duties, the role of the CRPF in the general elections, held repeatedly during the past few years, has been very significant specifically for the troubled region of J&K, states of North-East, etc.
• Disaster Management: It also undertakes rescue and relief operations at the time of natural calamities.

Considering the various roles performed by the CRPF, it encounters multiple challenges:

• Leadership issues: The CRPF is headed by IPS officers, and this has led to enormous resentment among officers of the CRPF cadre who believe their exclusion from the top ranks in their own force is discriminatory and unfair.
• Lack of research: In spite of having hundreds of battalions and lakhs of personnel, the CRPF is yet to have its own research wing.
• Political interventions: There are issues of political interventions in transfers and postings, gross mismanagement of funds, disciplinary issues, etc. This lack of operational autonomy of the force makes it difficult to ensure impartial action and fair play and thus impedes the efficiency of the force.
• Rising suicide issues: The dramatic changes in weather conditions, security conditions, etc., coupled with a lack of basic facilities like proper accommodation, fewer leaves, etc. results in debilitating stress for the officers leading to rising incidences of suicides among the CRPF personnel.
• Individual postings: Unlike in the Army, where the unit moves as a whole, postings in the CRPF are done individually and every three years. This gives rise to unworkable situations wherein the CRPF soldiers take time to familiarise themselves with their new colleagues, the operational environment, and deployment duties.

In light of the above issues, steps like cadre management, ensuring operational autonomy of the force, engagement of domain experts, periodic counseling to reduce the stress level, etc. are required for effective internal security and to adequately address the issues faced by the CRPF personnel.

Monetary policy refers to the policy of the central bank about the use of monetary instruments under its control. As the Central Bank, the RBI implements monetary policy through the following tools.

A. Quantitative tools:

• Legal reserve ratio: Commercial banks are required to keep a certain amount of cash reserves known as SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) and CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) with the RBI.
• Repo and reverse repo rate: Repo and reverse repo are the rates at which commercial banks borrow (or sell) money by selling (or borrowing) their securities to the RBI to maintain day-to-day liquidity, respectively.
• Open Market Operations (OMOs): These include both, outright purchase and sale of government securities, for injection and absorption of durable liquidity, respectively.
• Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS): Surplus liquidity of a more enduring nature arising from large capital inflows is absorbed through the sale of short-dated government securities and treasury bills.

B. Qualitative tools: These are also known as selective instruments of the RBI’s monetary policy.

• Rationing of credit: RBI limits the credit amount to be granted for particular sectors and commercial banks.
• Change in Marginal Requirement: Changing the margin requirement leads to a change in the loan size. This instrument is used to encourage the credit supply for the necessary sectors and avoid it for unnecessary sectors.
• Moral suasion: Moral suasion refers to the suggestions to commercial banks from the RBI that help in restraining credits in the inflationary period. RBI applies pressure on the Indian banking system without taking any strict action. Other than maintaining the money supply in the market through the above tools, RBI acts as a banker to the government as well as other commercial banks.
• Banker to commercial banks: The Reserve Bank is the only institution that can issue currency. When commercial banks need more funds to be able to create more credit, they may go to market for such funds or go to the Central Bank. The Central Bank provides the funds through various instruments such as Liquidity Adjustment Facility and Marginal Standing Facility.
• Banker to the government:
  • Under the RBI Act, of 1934, RBI acts as the banker and debt manager to the Central Government as well as all state governments except Sikkim.
  • It is entrusted with the management of remittance, exchange, and banking transactions in India including floating of loans and managing them, and providing Ways and Means Advances to the Governments. Thus, RBI plays a key role in managing and monitoring the monetary policies affecting commercial and personal finance, as well as the banking system.