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Journalism of Courage
UPSC Essentials of The Indian Express takes you through some inspiring case studies from the area of Governance and Civil Services which not only highlight the problem but also focus on award-winning solutions. The following case study is framed from a success story recognised at The Indian Express Excellence in Governance Awards.
Relevance: For Essays, Governance, and Ethics section of Mains examination as case studies and example-fodder for answers. Candidates will find it useful for framing replies in interviews/ personality tests. This particular case study is relevant to questions related to Internal Security. Moreover, to remain motivated, and inspired and create role models, such real-life stories should be read, noted, and applied.
Fighting against Naxal violence has been one of the major points to ponder while talking about Internal Security in our country. According to Deeptiman Tiwary of The Indian Express, “Trouble in Chhattisgarh started after Maoists began to be smoked out of Andhra Pradesh in the early 2000s. It was also the time when the Maoist movement went through a transformation from being a struggle against a class enemy (landlords) to a tribal movement against the state. It was also a different kind of challenge since Maoists had made strongholds in areas that had not even been mapped, let alone be administered. Between 2018 and 2020, Chhattisgarh has accounted for 45% of all incidents in the country and 70% of security personnel deaths in such incidents.” While understanding the severity of the issue, it is obvious to ask for solutions and ideas to tackle such problems. Can a good governance and development approach provide answers? What can a civil servant do?
In Bastar, one of the most backward districts of the country, the youth have traditionally struggled for employment opportunities, a problem made worse by Left Wing Extremism.
In 2021, the district administration launched Think-B. This Bastar-based start-up incubator promises to mentor the district’s youth and encourage them to come up with out-of-the-box entrepreneurial ideas.
Since its launch, Think-B has coached many batches of promising young entrepreneurs and held more than 10 outreach programs in schools and colleges across the district. Among the 15 start-ups that came up in a year are Zillusion Studios Pvt Ltd, a virtual reality company for surgeons to practice their job, and Mom’s Food Services, a tiffin service that sells home-cooked food across Bastar.
IAS Rajat Bansal’s leadership turned adversity into opportunity. The efforts exemplified a basic tenet — that good governance is simply about an idea that touches the lives of the common woman and man. In a conversation with Manas Srivastava of The Indian Express during the Excellence in Governance Award ceremony, Bansal said LWE wasn’t a big hurdle and there was not any backlash. The reason behind no resistance was that the mission was to empower the locals for local development. Right from the beginning he believed that issues like LWE could be handled from a development perspective. Collaboration with stakeholders is important for a civil servant to achieve this goal. Think-B is the most suitable example for it. IAS, according to Bansal is a job that gives the maximum opportunity to have a maximum impact on society. For fighting against Naxal violence via development, he was awarded The Indian Express Excellence in Governance Award in the ‘Start Up & Innovations’ category.
Naxalism, among many other factors, is closely related to developmental issues. In this context, suggest a few steps which can be applied at the grass root level.
JUST FYI: About The Indian Express Excellence in Governance Awards:
The Indian Express Excellence in Governance Awards attempts to identify and recognise the excellence in innovations at the district level by rewarding the spirit of the district. The Indian Express started the Excellence in Governance Awards (EIGA) in 2019. The Indian Express launched its second edition this year. The Indian Express Excellence in Governance Awards celebrate best practices across a range of 18 categories : Healthcare to Gender & Inclusion; Skill Development to innovative education, energy to agriculture, Start ups and innovation to E-Governance As many as 400 entries poured in from 182 districts in 29 states for the awards. PWC, the knowledge partner for the awards, conducted a thorough check on the parameters of impact on public, sustainability, problem solving and people participation for all the entries.
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