– Growth with equity is good news for national security

– What seven decades of freedom have taught us

– Technology in a global village

– Limits to dissent in democracy

– Mass Communication and national security

(Each question carries 2 marks- Total 10 marks)

‘Understanding India’s North-East – A Reporter’s Journal’ is an enormously empathetic book about a region & people that have been neglected severely. It tells stories of isolation, unrest, cultural diversity dangerous politics, ethnic strife, the violation of rights, and, significantly, hope.

She vigorously advocates the need to understand the situation from a historical perspective. While writing about the disillusioned youth In the region who have either affiliated themselves with underground groups or have surrendered and joined local Politicians Of the mafia, she says, I understood where they are coming from and what had brought them to this pass. ‘An intensified struggle for power between the insurgent groups and factions has led to murderous attacks and purges on those they consider traitors or dissidents.’

After pages that describe violence, isolation and a situation that seems to have spun out of control, she claims the reader with some success stories. One of the most inspiring demonstrations of this approach is seen In Nagaland For instance, In the Phek district of Nagaland, villages like Chizami are working out a model of development that is rooted in their traditional wisdom and is vitally relevant to the region too. The 2018 Assembly election is a remarkable demonstration of society taking a stand against electoral corruption and commitment to democratic values.

Yet another story Rupa Chinai narrates is that of Tyka village in Karbi Anglong district in Assam inhabited by a 350-strong tribal community called the lengthy. The village produces a variety of turmeric that is rated among the best in the world. Tyka’s residents involved five neighboring

villages in order to pool in their land resources to make 1000 hectares. The result was the formation of something akin to a cooperative ‘I’ their turmeric directly to the Spices Board based in Kochi.

Answer the following questions:

I. What are the different aspects of life and culture of people of North-Eastern India touched

upon by the author In the book ‘Understanding India’s North-East – A Reporter’s Journal’?

Il. From the book what do we know about the administrative acumen of some of the communities of the Region?

Ill. What pattern can you discern, from the passage above, about a section of the misguided youth of the Region?

IV. What, according to you, should be Government’s main concern with regard to the Region, as made out from the passage above?

V. How would you describe the approach of the author to the subject of the book?

With the present Indian population of over 130 crores, the number of vaccines required to immunize the entire population would be about 310-acre doses (3.1 billion doses) or 218.5 crore doses for the 18+ adult population, allowing about 15% process losses. This is not an easy task. Specific suggestions for the Government to announce a policy to urgently ramp up production of vaccines and Improve related R&D are as follows:

I. The existing public sector undertakings (PSUs) and state-owned enterprises be revived and assisted to ramp up vaccine production.

II. The use of the Integrated Vaccine Complex at Chegalpattu be handed over to Tamil Nadu Government with clear provisions allowing the state governments. PSUs and state-owned enterprises for contractual manufacturing of COV1D-19 vaccines using the facility.

III. Compulsory licenses or appropriate legislation be issued where required for interested parties to start production of COVID-19 vaccines.

iv. The conventionally used march-in rights. available to the Government of India/ICMR be

used to ensure technology transfer and handholding by Bharat Biotech to PSUs, state-owned enterprises, and other units to enable them to produce vaccines for domestic use.

v. Indian companies that are planning to manufacture Sputnik V be assisted, as required, for scaling up.

vi. SLI, Astra Zeneca, and Novavax be persuaded to expand manufacturing in India through joint

ventures or other collaborations with suitable public and private sector entities both for domestic use and export, especially for the Covax facility. Research on new vaccine development strategies and the development of multiple vaccines be enabled and encouraged across research laboratories, the public sector, and private sector institutions. Genomic surveillance is increased appreciably and linked to viral efficacy and epidemiological studies so that vaccines are constantly checked for efficacy against variants of concern enabling collaborative modification across manufacturers, as required, especially in view of emerging variants and for different demographics such as children.