What are the challenges in transitioning to a low-carbon economy?
Model Answer Equality and Inclusivity Public services should be accessible to all citizens, particularly marginalized groups. Services like the Midday Meal Scheme ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds receive nutritious meals, promoting educational equity. Accountability and TransparenRead more
Model Answer
Equality and Inclusivity
Public services should be accessible to all citizens, particularly marginalized groups. Services like the Midday Meal Scheme ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds receive nutritious meals, promoting educational equity.
Accountability and Transparency
Public service providers must be answerable to the public, ensuring openness in their functioning. The RTI Act empowers citizens to demand information from government bodies, fostering transparency.
Continuity
Essential services, such as health care and security, should operate without interruption. The National Health Mission ensures continuous health services in remote areas, improving accessibility to basic health care.
Adaptation (Mutability)
Services must evolve with changing technological, economic, and social conditions. The Public Distribution System (PDS), by incorporating biometric authentication, has enhanced accessibility and minimized corruption.
Responsiveness and Grievance Redressal
Public services must respond promptly to citizens’ needs and grievances. The Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) allows citizens to file complaints regarding public services.
Challenges in Public Service Delivery in India
Despite these principles, India faces several challenges in ensuring effective public service delivery:
- Digital Divide: A significant portion of the population, especially in rural and low-income areas, lacks access to digital services. According to NSSO, only 38% of India’s population is digitally literate, limiting access to online public services.
- Corruption: Corruption at various levels undermines service delivery and misuses resources. For example, the MGNREGA scheme has suffered from ghost beneficiaries, which has affected its effectiveness.
- Lack of Creativity and Innovation: Excessive bureaucratic procedures stifle innovation. The absence of digitized land records is a major reason for land disputes, which account for a significant proportion of court cases in India.
- Political Interference: Political influences often disrupt bureaucratic functioning, causing inefficiencies. For instance, the arbitrary transfer of civil servants like Ashok Khemka has impacted the delivery of services.
Conclusion
Improving public service delivery in India requires addressing these challenges through enhanced digital infrastructure, transparency, innovation, and minimizing political interference.
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Transitioning to a low-carbon economy presents several challenges for India. Here are some key challenges identified: Administrative and Socio-economic Heterogeneities: India's diverse administrative and socio-economic landscape poses challenges in implementing uniform climate and energy policies acRead more
Transitioning to a low-carbon economy presents several challenges for India. Here are some key challenges identified:
- Administrative and Socio-economic Heterogeneities: India’s diverse administrative and socio-economic landscape poses challenges in implementing uniform climate and energy policies across states and regions. The geographical distribution of costs and benefits of these policies needs to be carefully understood to ensure equitable outcomes and avoid political resistance .
- Political Economy Constraints: Devising politically feasible policies for the transition to a low-carbon economy requires a deep understanding of how these policies would impact different stakeholders. Concerns over disproportionate impacts on poor households, rising inequality, and concentrated costs on specific groups can undermine public support for climate policies .
- Technological and Infrastructural Challenges: Transitioning to clean energy technologies requires significant investments in renewable energy infrastructure, grid integration, and energy storage. Scaling up emerging technologies such as hydrogen, battery storage, and low-carbon alternatives in sectors like steel, cement, and fertilizers also poses technological and infrastructural challenges.
- Economic Implications: The shift to a low-carbon economy may have economic implications, particularly for sectors heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Balancing the need for economic growth and job creation with the imperative of reducing carbon emissions requires careful planning and policy interventions .
- Limited Evidence and Vulnerabilities: Limited evidence on the needs of those affected by the transition and existing social and economic vulnerabilities can hinder India’s ability to achieve a just and equitable low-carbon development pathway. It is crucial to identify potential transitional challenges across income groups, genders, sectors, regions, and communities to ensure an inclusive and fair transition
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