UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 3 : Questions on Challenges faced by the Indian agricultural sector and NITI Aayog’s findings on cancer (Week 55)

QUESTION 2

Examine the challenges faced by the Indian agricultural sector in ensuring equitable sharing of growth gains among all stakeholders and analyse the role of government policies and institutional mechanisms in addressing these challenges.

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse.

— Underlining keywords gives you an edge over other candidates and enhances presentation of the answer.

— Using flowcharts/tree-diagram in the answers saves much time and boosts your score. However, it should be used logically and only where it is required.

Way forward/ conclusion

— The ending of the answer should be on a positive note and it should have a forward-looking approach. However, if you feel that an important problem must be highlighted, you may add it in your conclusion. Try not to repeat any point from body or introduction.

— You may use the findings of reports or surveys conducted at national and international levels, quotes etc. in your answers.

Self Evaluation

— It is the most important part of our Mains answer writing practice. UPSC Essentials will provide some guiding points or ideas as a thought process that will help you to evaluate your answers.

THOUGHT PROCESS

You may enrich your answers by some of the following points

QUESTION 1: Discuss the significance of NITI Aayog’s recent findings on cancer diagnosis in India. Explain the primary challenges identified in the report and their implications for the healthcare system.

Introduction:

— Early detection of cancerous cells is considered to be critical for increasing the likelihood of survival. This need is acknowledged by government initiatives in India, such as the National Programme for the Prevention and Control of Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke, and Cancer.

— After cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancer is the second most common cause of death worldwide. When compared to patients in high-income nations, cancer patients in low- and middle-income countries—including India—generally have a worse diagnosis due to factors such as uneven access to inexpensive curative services, delayed identification, and comparatively low cancer awareness.

Body:

Recent Findings

— As per official protocol, there are three distinct methods of screening for the three cancers:

(i) Oral visual examination for oral cancer;

(ii) Visual inspection with acetic acid for cervical cancer (under this, the cervix is examined after the application of 3-5% acetic acid); and

(iii) Clinical breast examination (CBE) for breast cancer for the people in the age-group 30-65 years.

— In recent years, India has done well in piloting low-tech approaches to cancer screening that can be delivered at scale by community-level workers.

— The NITI Aayog team also found that the HWC staff had limited or no knowledge of the fact that the screening for hypertension and diabetes needed to be done on an annual basis.

Challenges

— The Niti Aayog assessment identified “huge gaps” in the performance of these health and wellness centres (HWCs). According to the research, less than 10% of these centres have completed one cycle of screening for noncommunicable diseases, such as cancer.

— Breast cancer screening is carried out by training beneficiaries on how to self-examine. The provision for cervical cancer screening has yet to be operationalised. Screening for oral cancer is done on a case-by-case basis, based on tobacco consumption and any other obvious symptoms. The survey indicated that there is currently a significant gap in cancer screening efforts.

— The report also flagged that although NCD screening was underway at most facilities, yearly screening was still largely absent.

Conclusion:

— The report said that it was in accordance with standards as envisaged in the operational guidelines. All basic devices such as stethoscope, BP apparatus (digital), weighing scale (adult and infant), clinical thermometer (oral and digital) were available and functional. Medicines and diagnostic tests were available free-of-cost in all the visited facilities.

— The gaps in cancer screening are noteworthy, especially given the government’s emphasis on cancer prevention and early detection. The government has announced plans to “expand existing health services focusing on the prevention and reduction of anaemia, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and osteoporosis, ensuring a healthy life for women.”

(Source: Niti Aayog report finds ‘huge gap’ in cancer screening at Ayushman centres by Harikishan Sharma, Niti Aayog’s alarm bells on cancer detection: C the signs)

Points to Ponder

AI and Robotics in Healthcare

Cancer diagnosis by AI based approaches

National Programme for the Prevention and Control of Cancer

Related Previous Year Question

Introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI). How does AI help clinical diagnosis? Do you perceive any threat to privacy of the individual in the use of AI in healthcare? (2023)

QUESTION 2: Examine the challenges faced by the Indian agricultural sector in ensuring equitable sharing of growth gains among all stakeholders and analyse the role of government policies and institutional mechanisms in addressing these challenges.

Body:

— There are various challenges faced by the Indian agricultural sector in ensuring equitable sharing such as:

(i) The climate is irreversibly changing for the worse, and we are witnessing the onset of irregular weather events that will have an impact on crop output and lives.

(ii) The World Trade Organisation will not change, and we will have to live with its unfairness. For many years, the United States has purposefully undermined the dispute-resolution process.

(iii) The large number of small land holdings (85 per cent of total arable land) fundamentally limits the scope for primary producers to eke out a life of dignity from their profession.

(iv) The global priority to ensure low food prices for consumers is easiest achieved by artificially driving down farm-gate prices which makes farming environmentally unsustainable and economically unremunerative.

(v) Aquifers are being depleted to the point that it will become unprofitable to extract water for irrigation in food basket regions due to the unquenchable demand for water for agriculture.

Role of government policies and institutional mechanisms in addressing these challenges

— Investments in agricultural research and extension services have stayed below the level of inflation. Therefore, increasing agricultural research investments will help address the challenge.

— Agriculture markets are inherently unfair. Agriculture is a state subject, where the states do not work in tandem with national objectives. There is a need to establish co-ordination between state and central governments.

— The public distribution system’s provision of grains at free or astronomically low rates keeps driving down farm-gate pricing, making primary farming an unappealing and unprofitable career. Input subsidies, such as the skewed fertiliser subsidy, encourage the careless use of fertilisers, which has an adverse effect on both human and environmental health.

— The key challenge is not just to improve agricultural productivity, which is simply more output from a given level of inputs, but to ensure that the productivity gains can be sustained and broadly shared.

(Source: Challenge for farm sector: How to share growth gains by Ajay Vir Jakhar)

Points to Ponder

Indian agriculture productivity

Green revolution

Difference between small, marginal and large land holdings

Related Previous Year Questions

What are the main bottlenecks in upstream and downstream process of marketing of agricultural products in India? (2022)

What are the present challenges before crop diversification? How do emerging technologies provide an opportunity for crop diversification? (2021)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 53)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 54)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 54)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 53)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 53)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 54)

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