Folk music traditions have long been a reflection and response to social, political, and economic changes within a society. Here are some ways in which folk music traditions reflect and respond to these changes, and how these dynamics influence the evolution of musical forms and practices:

Reflecting social changes:

1. Narrative songs: Folk songs often tell stories about everyday life, work, and social issues, reflecting the concerns and struggles of the community.
2. Lyrical themes: Songs may address social issues like poverty, inequality, war, and social justice, mirroring the concerns of the times.
3. Cultural identity: Folk music often embodies cultural heritage and identity, reflecting the values, traditions, and customs of a particular community.

Responding to social changes:

1. Activism: Folk music has been used as a tool for social activism, such as during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States or the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.
2. Community engagement: Folk music often brings people together, fostering a sense of community and solidarity in the face of social change.
3. Adaptation: Musicians may adapt traditional styles to reflect changing times, incorporating new influences and themes while maintaining core elements of the tradition.

Responding to political changes:

1. Propaganda: Folk music has been used as a means of spreading propaganda during times of war or political upheaval.
2. Resistance: Music has been used as a form of resistance against oppressive regimes or occupations.
3. Patriotism: Folk music often reflects national pride and patriotism, celebrating the values and ideals of a particular nation or culture.

Responding to economic changes:

1. Migration and displacement: Folk music often reflects the experiences of people who have migrated or been displaced due to economic or environmental factors.
2. Work songs: Songs about work and labor reflect the changing nature of employment and economic conditions.
3. Commercialization: The rise of commercial recording industries has influenced the production and dissemination of folk music, leading to new styles and hybridizations.

Influence on musical forms and practices:

1. Hybridization: Folk music often blends with other genres, such as blues, jazz, or rock, creating new styles and fusions.
2. Evolution of instruments: The development of new instruments or adaptations of traditional instruments reflects changing musical practices and technological advancements.
3. Vocal styles: Changes in vocal styles, such as the use of harmonies or solo singing, can be influenced by social and cultural shifts.
4. Orchestration: The use of accompaniment instruments, such as guitars or banjos, can be influenced by economic factors like availability or accessibility.
5. Performance settings: The way folk music is performed has changed over time, with influences from vaudeville to concert halls to online platforms.

Capitalism, as an economic system, has a complex relationship with the environment. While it can drive economic growth and innovation, it can also lead to environmental degradation and exploitation. Here are some ways in which capitalism affects the environment:

1. Resource depletion: Capitalist economies rely on the extraction and consumption of natural resources, which can lead to their depletion and degradation.
2. Pollution: Industrial activities, transportation, and consumerism generate pollution, including air, water, and soil pollution.
3. Climate change: The burning of fossil fuels for energy and transportation contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating climate change.
4. Deforestation: The demand for land for agriculture, urbanization, and infrastructure projects leads to deforestation and habitat destruction.
5. Overfishing: The pursuit of profit in fishing industries can lead to overfishing and depletion of fish populations.

Market forces play a significant role in addressing or exacerbating environmental issues:

Exacerba ting environmental issues:

1. Externalities: Market failures often result in externalities, where the costs of environmental degradation are not reflected in the market price of a product or service.
2. Profit maximization: Companies may prioritize profit over environmental concerns, leading to unsustainable practices.
3. Lack of regulation: Inadequate regulation and enforcement can allow polluters to operate without accountability.

Addressing environmental issues:

1. Market mechanisms: Economic incentives can drive innovation and investment in clean technologies, renewable energy, and sustainable practices.
2. Carbon pricing: Implementing carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems can create a financial incentive for companies to reduce emissions.
3. Green markets: Growing demand for sustainable products and services can drive industry-wide changes towards more environmentally friendly practices.
4. Corporate social responsibility: Companies may adopt environmentally responsible practices to maintain their reputation and attract socially conscious consumers.

The Indian subcontinent is one of the most earthquake prone regions of the world. In the last few decades, India has witnessed many devastating earthquakes e.g. Kashmir 2005, Gujarat 2001 and Uttarkashi 1991, which caused significant loss of human life as well as physical infrastructure.

India’s vulnerability to earthquakes

• Huge area prone to Earthquake: An Earthquake Disaster Risk Index (EDRI), prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), showed that about 56% area of India is vulnerable to moderate to major earthquakes where about 82% of the population live. About 12% of the land is liable to severe earthquake shaking.
• Geographical location: The reasons for high magnitude earthquakes in India are hidden in the tectonic setting of India. The Indian plate is pushing against the Eurasian plate at a rate of approximately 45 mm/year and rotating slowly anticlockwise. The entire Himalayan Region is considered to be vulnerable to high intensity earthquakes as it lies at the boundary of two converging plates.
• Human-induced seismicity: Vulnerability to earthquakes increases due to several human actions such as
  • Construction of unscientific dams, mining, water reservoir impoundment and power projects in areas prone to earthquakes.
  • Inadequate attention to earthquake resistant construction standards in vulnerable areas. For instance, the proposed Pancheshwar dam project on the India-Nepal border is a large-scale project in the geologically sensitive Himalayan area.
• Indirect vulnerabilities: The earthquakes also have some serious and far-reaching consequences. For example, earthquakes are also responsible for landslides, soil liquefaction and other calamities in the affected areas.

Measures for better resilience to earthquakes

• Earthquake zone blueprint: There is a need to prepare a vulnerability map of the country based on different intensities of earthquakes. The vulnerability risk information should be disseminated among the people and they should be educated about the ways and means of minimising the adverse impacts of disasters.
• Monitoring and identifying the gaps in the existing seismic risk assessment methods: Establishing earthquake monitoring centres (seismological centres) for regular monitoring in the vulnerable areas. Use of Geographical Positioning System (GPS) can be of great help in monitoring the movement of tectonic plates.
• Prioritizing Action Plan: Prioritize the cities and regions based on the severity of risk for implementing mitigation programs using the EDRI model. There is a need for formal training among professionals in earthquake-resistant construction practices.
• Earthquake-proof planning and design of buildings: Make it mandatory to adopt earthquake-resistant designs in the vulnerable areas. There should be proper monitoring and enforcement of earthquake-resistant building codes and town planning by-laws.
• Technological solution: The new technological solution must be adopted to make houses earthquakes resilient as well as predicting patterns of earthquake occurrences.
• Periodical drills & awareness: Disaster like earthquakes cannot be preempted and hence people should be ready to handle any kind of situation. This is possible if periodic drills and mock exercises are conducted. People’s participation, cooperation and awareness are the key to success.

Unlike other disasters, it is not possible to prevent the occurrence of earthquakes; hence, the only Olution to minimise loss of lives and properties is effective disaster preparedness and mitigation gainst them. It is thus necessary to empower communities to ensure the seismic safety of the built mvironment by encouraging the use of simple, easy and affordable technical solutions and stitutional arrangements.

Energy efficiency essentially means using a lesser amount of energy while producing a given amount of output. For example, incandescent lights used to transform only a maximum up to 10% of electrical energy to useful light, whereas LED light converts at least 25% of the energy input into visible light energy.

Need for promoting energy efficiency in India

• High demand for energy: A growing population and rising aspirations of a growing middle class is driving the demand for energy resources in India. One unit of energy saved at the consumption level reduces the need for fresh capacity creation by 2 times to 2.5 times.Therefore, energy efficiency plays a crucial role in ensuring energy access.
• Energy Security: India meets its energy demands majorly from oil and coal; 80% of which is imported. This necessitates saving energy for reducing import dependence that increases the vulnerability of the country’s economy to global geopolitical and economic risks.
• Cost considerations: High costs of electricity hinders the competitiveness of basic Indian industries in the global market. Energy efficiency measures are therefore not only important to save money on electricity bills but also improve ease of doing business.
• Environmental pollution: A focus on energy efficiency is also necessary to reduce the heavy pollution- especially air pollution- caused by the industry and transport sector.
• Combating climate change: Energy efficiency is central to achieve India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets to lower the emissions intensity of GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels.

India had realised the importance of energy rationing long back, evident from the launch of the Energy Conservation Act in 2001. Overall, various energy efficiency measures have translated into savings worth INR 89,000 crores (approximately) in 2018-19 and contributed in reducing 151.74 Million Tonnes of CO2 emission in India. This has been made possible due to various government efforts such as:

• National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) under NAPCC: It aims to strengthen the market for energy efficiency by creating a conducive regulatory regime and fostering innovative business models. It includes market based mechanisms like Perform Achieve and Trade scheme, Energy Efficiency Financing Platform for raising finance etc.
• Promotion of Electric Vehicles National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP): The government has launched the scheme namely Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles (FAME India) under NEMMP 2020 in the Union Budget for 2015-16.
• Capacity Building of DISCOMS: Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana was launched in 2015 with the objective of capacity building of DISCOMs and promoting energy conservation programme.
• Promotion of Energy Efficient LED Bulbs – UJALA scheme: It aims to promote efficient use of energy at the residential level, enhance the awareness of consumers about the efficacy of using energy efficient appliances.
• Standards and Labeling: The Bureau of Energy Efficiency initiated the Standards and Labeling programme for equipment and appliances in 2006 to provide the consumer an informed choice about the energy savings.

By urgently and fully adopting an energy energy effici efficient lifestyle, India can build a positive momentum towards transformation of the energy system that will achieve the common climate change and sustainable development goals.

India’s external sector has undergone significant liberalization since the economic reforms of 1991, but there is still room for improvement to boost its competitiveness in the global arena. Here are some ways in which India can accomplish a more robust external sector:

1. Trade Liberalization:
   • Further reduction of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to facilitate greater market access for Indian exports.
   • Negotiation of free trade agreements and comprehensive economic partnerships with key trading partners to enhance market access.
   • Simplification of export-import procedures and regulations to reduce the cost of doing business.
2. Enhancing Export Diversification:
   • Promoting the export of high-value-added and technology-intensive products, beyond traditional sectors like textiles and agriculture.
   • Incentivizing the development of new exportable products and services, including in the digital and knowledge-based industries.
   • Providing targeted support and infrastructure for emerging export sectors, such as renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and engineering goods.
3. Improving Logistics and Infrastructure:
   • Investing in the development of world-class logistics infrastructure, including ports, airports, roads, and railways, to enhance the efficiency and connectivity of the supply chain.
   • Modernizing and digitizing customs and border management systems to reduce clearance times and transaction costs.
   • Promoting seamless multimodal transportation and integrated logistics solutions to improve the movement of goods.
4. Enhancing Competitiveness:
   • Fostering a business-friendly environment with stable and transparent policies, efficient regulatory frameworks, and ease of doing business.
   • Investing in research and development to drive innovation and technological upgradation across industries.
   • Promoting skill development and training programs to build a skilled workforce that can meet the demands of the global market.
5. Strengthening Trade Facilitation:
   • Simplifying export-import procedures and documentation requirements to reduce the administrative burden on businesses.
   • Implementing digitalization and automation in trade processes to enhance efficiency and transparency.
   • Providing comprehensive trade information, advisory services, and export promotion assistance to small and medium enterprises.
6. Exploring New Markets and Diversifying Export Destinations:
   • Identifying and tapping into emerging markets, such as Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, to diversify India’s export portfolio.
   • Leveraging India’s geopolitical and cultural connections to strengthen trade and investment ties with these regions.
   • Encouraging the participation of Indian businesses in global value chains and international trade networks.
7. Promoting Sustainable and Responsible Trade Practices:
   • Aligning India’s trade policies and practices with global sustainability standards and environmental commitments.
   • Incentivizing the adoption of green technologies, circular economy principles, and sustainable production methods among Indian exporters.
   • Enhancing the competitiveness of India’s exports through sustainable and socially responsible business practices.