Union Minister of Textiles interacted with the beneficiaries of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 

• The PLI scheme was conceived to scale up domestic manufacturing capability, accompanied by higher import substitution and employment generation.
• Launched in March 2020, the scheme initially targeted three industries:

1. Mobile and allied Component Manufacturing
2. Electrical Component Manufacturing and
3. Medical Devices.

• Later, it was extended to 14 sectors.
• In the PLI scheme, Domestic and Foreign companies receive financial rewards for manufacturing in India, based on a percentage of their revenue over up to five years.

Targeted Sectors:

• The 14 sectors are mobile manufacturing, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles and auto components, pharmaceuticals, drugs, specialty steel, telecom & networking products, electronic products, white goods (ACs and LEDs), food products, textile products, solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery, and drones and drone components.

Objectives of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme

• The main objectives of the PLI scheme are to comply with World Trade Organisation obligations and promote fair treatment for domestic sales and exports.
• It aims to attract foreign investments in advanced technology and core sectors, boost exports, and contribute to economic growth.
• The PLI scheme offers various benefits, including concessions on import and export duties, tax rebates, affordable land acquisition, and support for anchor investors managing new projects.
• The scheme encourages sustainable development and investments in labour-intensive sectors, making it an effective and accessible program.

Benefits of the PLI Scheme

• The PLI system is dependent on overall output.
• The advantages are further increased by their accessibility.
• It aids the anchor investors who are capable of overseeing new or existing projects as well as other investments.
• Beneficiaries of this program receive assistance with affordable land acquisition, tax rebates, and concessions on import and export duties, among other things.
• PLI also offers the advantage of reasonable product prices.

Issues with the PLI Scheme

Assembly vs. Value Addition:

• The subsidy in the scheme for Mobile and allied Component Manufacturing is paid only for finishing the phone in India, not on how much value is added by manufacturing in India, turning out that very little apart from assembly is done in India.
• So, India still imports much of what goes into the mobile phones.

1. The imports of mobile phone components — including display screens, cameras, batteries, printed circuit boards — shot up between FY21 and FY23.
2. Incidentally, these are the same two years when mobile phone exports jumped the most. 

WTO Constraints and Limited Value Addition:

• WTO rules prevent India from tying PLI subsidies to domestic value addition.
• Although India''s aspiration to make chips is sound, chips are complex components.
• The absence of significant domestic value addition likely stems from these constraints.

Vague Disbursal of Incentives:

• While an Empowered Committee has been formed to oversee the scheme and handle fund disbursement for different sectors,the process of awarding incentives lacks clarity.
• There are no well-defined criteria or standardized parameters that ministries and departments use todetermine the allocation of these incentives, raising concerns about the fairness and effectiveness of the scheme.

Lack of a Centralized Database:

• The lack of a centralized database that captures information like increase in production or exports,number of new jobs created etc. make the evaluation process an administrative complexity.
• This information ambiguity impacts transparency and can lead to malfeasance, further widening the fault lines and weakening the policy structure.

Way Forward

• The government must assess PLI''s effectiveness, considering job creation, cost per job, and reasons for limited success.
• Extending the scheme to new sectors requires understanding its limitations and addressing underlying issues.

Kolkata rape-murder case LIVE: SC to resume hearing shortly; CBI to file status report

CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is a multidisciplinary investigation agency of the Government of India that investigates corruption-related cases, economic offences, and cases of conventional crime. As India’s foremost investigative agency, it provides a centralized mechanism for high-quality investigations.

• The CBI was established by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs and later transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, currently functioning as an attached office.
• Its establishment was recommended by the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption.
• The CBI operates under the DSPE Act, 1946. It is neither a constitutional nor a statutory body.
• It investigates cases related to bribery, governmental corruption, breaches of central laws, multi-state organized crime, and multi-agency or international cases.

The functions of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are:

• To investigate the cases of corruption, bribery, and misconduct of Central Government employees.
• To investigate the cases relating to infringement of fiscal and economic laws, that is, breach of laws concerning export and import control, customs and central excise, income tax, foreign exchange regulations and so on.
• To investigate serious crimes, having national and international ramifications, committed by organized gangs of ‘professional criminals’.
• To coordinate the activities of the anti-corruption agencies and the various State Police Forces.
• To take up any case of public importance for investigation at the request of a State Government.
• To maintain crime statistics and disseminate criminal information.

Challenges are Faced by the CBI

• Political Interference: The Supreme Court of India has criticised the CBI by calling it a "caged parrot speaking in its master''s voice", due to excessive political interference in its functioning.
• It has often been used by the government of the day to cover up wrongdoing, keep coalition allies in line and political opponents at bay.
• Delayed Investigations: It has been accused of enormous delays in concluding investigations - For example, the inertia in its probe against the high dignitaries in Jain hawala diaries case [of the 1990s].
• Loss of Credibility: Improving the image of the agency is one of the biggest challenges till now as the agency has been criticised for its mismanagement of several cases involving prominent politicians and mishandling of several sensitive cases like Bofors scandal, Hawala scandal, Sant Singh Chatwal case, Bhopal gas tragedy, 2008 Noida double murder case (Aarushi Talwar).
• Lack of Accountability: CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act, thus, lacking public accountability.
• Acute shortage of personnel: A major cause of the shortfall is the government''s sheer mismanagement of CBI''s workforce, through a system of inefficient, and inexplicably biased, recruitment policies - used to bring in favoured officers, possibly to the detriment of the organisation.
• Limited Powers: The powers and jurisdiction of members of the CBI for investigation are subject to the consent of the State Govt., thus limiting the extent of investigation by CBI.
• Restricted Access :Prior approval of Central Government to conduct inquiry or investigation on the employees of the Central Government, of the level of Joint Secretary and above is a big obstacle in combating corruption at higher levels of bureaucracy.

Suggested Measures to Enhance Autonomy of CBI

• Increasing Staff Strength– The staff strength of the CBI should be increased to provide it with more human resources.
• Increasing Resources– Increasing the financial resources of the CBI and improving the agency’s infrastructure can help it function more effectively.
• Increasing Jurisdiction– The CBI’s investigative powers across Union, State, and Concurrent lists could be enhanced to give it more teeth.
• Other Measures– administrative empowerment, increased accountability, etc.

Earthquake of magnitude 4.2 hits Andaman Islands

Earthquake

Earthquakes are sudden and violent shaking of the ground, caused by the release of energy from the Earth''s crust. This energy release creates seismic waves that travel through the Earth’s surface.

Causes:

• Plate Tectonics: Earth''s lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates. When these plates interact, stress builds up along faults. When the stress exceeds the strength of the rocks, it is released as an earthquake.
• Faults: Cracks in the Earth''s crust where the movement occurs. The sudden slip along these faults releases energy, causing seismic waves.
• Magma Movement: Magma rising through the crust can cause volcanic earthquakes by fracturing rocks and building pressure.
• Mining: Excavation can induce seismic activity by changing stress distributions.
• Reservoir-Induced Seismicity: Large reservoirs behind dams can alter stress in the Earth''s crust, potentially causing earthquakes.
• Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking): Injecting fluids into the earth to extract resources can cause minor seismic activity.

Tectonic Plates and Faults

• Lithosphere: The rigid outer layer of the Earth, divided into several major and minor plates.
• Major Plates: Include the Pacific Plate, North American Plate, Eurasian Plate, African Plate, South American Plate, Indo-Australian Plate, and Antarctic Plate.
• Divergent Boundaries: Plates move away from each other, creating new crust (e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ridge).
• Convergent Boundaries: Plates collide or move towards each other, leading to subduction (one plate going under another) or continental collision (e.g., Himalayas).
• Transform Boundaries: Plates slide past each other horizontally (e.g., San Andreas Fault).
• Normal Faults: Caused by stretching forces, where the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall.
• Reverse (Thrust) Faults: Caused by compressive forces, where the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall.
• Strike-Slip Faults: Horizontal movement along the fault line (e.g., San Andreas Fault).

Seismic Waves and Measurement

• Primary Waves (P-Waves):

Characteristics: Fastest waves, travel through solids and liquids.

Movement: Compressional, moving particles in the same direction as the wave.

• Secondary Waves (S-Waves):

Characteristics: Slower than P-waves, travel only through solids.

Movement: Shear, moving particles perpendicular to the direction of the wave.

• Surface Waves:

Love Waves: Move horizontally, causing horizontal shearing of the ground.

Rayleigh Waves: Roll along the ground, creating an elliptical motion.

Measurement Tools:

• Seismograph: An instrument that records the amplitude, frequency, and duration of seismic waves.
• Richter Scale: Developed by Charles F. Richter, measures the amplitude of seismic waves, logarithmically related to the earthquake’s magnitude.
• Moment Magnitude Scale (Mw): Provides a more accurate measure of the total energy released by an earthquake, especially useful for larger events.
• Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale: Measures the intensity and impact of an earthquake at specific locations, based on observed effects.

Earthquake-Prone Regions

• Ring of Fire: A major area in the Pacific Ocean basin characterized by frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to tectonic plate boundaries.
• Himalayan Belt: Region of intense seismic activity due to the ongoing collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate, forming the Himalayan mountain range.
• Mid-Atlantic Ridge: A divergent boundary running down the centre of the Atlantic Ocean, creating new oceanic crust and associated with frequent seismic activity.

Impacts of Earthquakes

Structural Damage:

• Buildings: Collapse or severe damage to buildings and infrastructure, often exacerbated by poor construction practices.
• Infrastructure: Bridges, roads, and utilities may be damaged or destroyed.
• Casualties:
• Loss of Life: Direct impact from building collapses and secondary effects like fires and landslides.
• Injuries: Resulting from structural failures and debris.

Secondary Effects:

• Landslides: Triggered by ground shaking, can bury communities and infrastructure.
• Tsunamis: Underwater earthquakes can generate large waves, causing flooding and destruction along coastlines.
• Fires: Gas lines and electrical infrastructure damaged during the quake can lead to fires.

Economic Impact:

• Reconstruction Costs: High expenses related to rebuilding damaged infrastructure and housing.
• Economic Disruption: Loss of productivity and economic activities due to damage.

Earthquake Preparedness and Mitigation

• Building Codes:

• Seismic Design: Incorporation of earthquake-resistant features in building design, such as flexible structures and reinforced materials.
• Retrofitting: Upgrading existing buildings to improve their seismic resilience.

• Early Warning Systems:

• Seismic Networks: Monitoring networks that detect initial seismic waves and provide alerts to reduce damage and casualties.
• Public Alert Systems: Dissemination of earthquake warnings through various channels.

• Public Awareness:

• Education Programs: Training people on how to prepare for and respond to earthquakes, including “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” drills.
• Emergency Plans: Developing and practicing emergency response plans.

• Land Use Planning:

• Zoning Regulations: Avoiding construction in high-risk zones and enforcing land-use policies to minimize earthquake damage.

Global and National Initiatives

• Global Seismic Monitoring Networks:

• USGS: United States Geological Survey provides real-time earthquake data and research.
• EMSC: European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre offers earthquake alerts and information.

• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):

• India: Responsible for disaster preparedness, response planning, and implementation of strategies to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.

• International Cooperation:

• Research and Resources: Collaborative efforts between countries to improve earthquake forecasting, share technology, and provide disaster relief.

Siddaramaiah slams Governor for not granting permission to prosecute former BJP ministers and Kumaraswamy

Governor-

The Governor of State is the highest office of the State under the constitutional framework of India. The office of the Governor of State has been envisaged as having dual roles:

• The Nominal Executive Head or Titularor Constitutional Head of the State Executive, as well as
• An agent of the Central Government.

Constitutional Provisions Related to Governor of State

• Articles 153-167 in Part VI of the Indian Constitution deal with the State Executive. They also contain some key provisions related to the Governor of State.
• The constitutional provisions mentioned under these articles deal with matters related to the appointment, qualifications, powers, functions, and other aspects related to the office of the Governor of State.

Appointment of Governor of State

The Governor of State is appointed by the President of India by warrant under his hand and seal. Thus, the Governor is neither directly elected by the people nor indirectly elected by a specially constituted electoral college as is the case with the President of India.

Powers and Functions of the Governor

Executive Powers

1. Appointment Powers

• Chief Minister: Appoints the Chief Minister who must be the leader of the majority party or coalition in the state legislature.
• Council of Ministers: Appoints other ministers based on the advice of the Chief Minister.
• State Officials: Appoints key state officials, such as:
• State Election Commissioner
• Vice-Chancellors of State Universities
• Advocate General of the State

2. Law and Order

• Responsible for ensuring the maintenance of law and order in the state.
• May recommend President''s Rule (Article 356) if there is a breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state.

3. Administration

• Oversees the administration and implementation of state laws.
• Can dissolve the State Legislative Assembly (Article 174).

Legislative Powers

1. Summoning and Proroguing

• Summoning: Summons the state legislature (both Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, if applicable) to meet.
• Proroguing: Postpones the sessions of the state legislature.

2. Addressing the Legislature

• Delivers the annual address at the commencement of the first session of the state legislature each year. This address outlines the government’s policies, programs, and priorities.

3. Assent to Bills

• Assent: Must give assent to bills passed by the state legislature for them to become law.
• Withholding Assent: Can withhold assent, or return the bill with a request for reconsideration.
• Reserving Bills: Can reserve certain bills for the President''s consideration if they are of national importance or affect the relations between the center and the state (Article 200).

Judicial Powers

1. Pardoning Powers
• Can grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or commutations of sentences under Article 161. This power is used to show clemency and to reduce the severity of a punishment.

Emergency Powers

1. State Emergency (Article 356)

• Can recommend the imposition of President’s Rule in the state if the state government cannot function according to the Constitution.
• This can occur if there is a breakdown of law and order or if the government is not able to function effectively.

2. Financial Emergency (Article 360)

• Though primarily a central responsibility, the Governor plays a role in the financial management and can advise on economic matters.

Issues

• There are numerous examples of the Governor’s position being abused, usually at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre. The process of appointment has generally been the cause behind it.
• In several cases, politicians and former bureaucrats identifying with a particular political ideology have been appointed as the Governors by the Governments. This goes against the constitutionally mandated neutral seat and has resulted in bias, as appears to have happened in Karnataka and Goa.
• Recently, the Governor of Rajasthan has been charged with the violation of the model code of conduct. His support of the ruling party is against the spirit of non-partisanshipthat is expected from the person sitting on constitutional posts.
• Due to such incidents, negative terms like an agent of the Centre, Puppet and rubber stampsare used to describe a governor of the state.
• Governor’s discretionary powersto invite the leader of the largest party/alliance, post-election, to form the government has often been misused to favour a particular political party.
• The Governors Committee (1971) laid down the responsibility on the governor to see that the administration of the State does not breakdown due to political instability and he must send a regular report about the political situation of the State.
• However, the imposition of President’s rule (Article 356) in case of breakdown of constitutional machinery in a State has been frequently misused by the central government.
• Governor’s work is bound by the aid and advice of his council of ministers, this has brought down the significance of the office to a mere rubber stamp.
• This is reflected in TB. Pattabhi Sitaramayya (a former Governor of Madhya Pradesh) observation that he had no public function to perform except making the fortnightly report to the President.
• The arbitrary removal of the Governor before the expiration of his tenure has also been an important issue in the recent past.
• The Governor cannot be removed on the ground that he is out of sync with the policies and ideologies of the Union government or the party in power at the Centre. Nor can he be removed on the ground that the Union government has lost confidence in him.