UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 3 : Questions on challenges in renewable energy and limitations of regulating gig workers (Week 137)

QUESTION 2

The recent nationwide gig workers’ strike has brought to the forefront issues of labour rights in the digital economy. Discuss the challenges and limitations of regulating gig workers under India’s existing labour laws.

QUESTION 1: India has achieved significant solar and wind capacity; however, integrating renewable energy remains challenging. Discuss the structural and institutional barriers in distribution and market design that constrain the effective utilisation of renewable energy in India’s power sector.

Relevance: This question is relevant to GS-3 as it moves beyond renewable capacity targets to examine systemic issues in India’s power sector, such as DISCOM finances, tariff structures, and market design. It helps evaluate whether institutional reforms are aligned with India’s energy transition and climate commitments.

Note: This is not a model UPSC answer. It only provides you with a thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— India’s renewable energy transformation is no longer limited by its ability to create clean energy generation capacity.

— Solar and wind installations have surpassed 180 gigawatts, making renewable energy one of the most cost-effective sources of new power. Instead, the shift is hampered by the pressing need for adjustments in distribution and market design. The question now is whether the electricity grid can use the green electrons it already generates as efficiently as possible.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

Structural and institutional barriers

— Distribution businesses (discoms) are at the centre of India’s sustainable energy transformation. Improving their operational performance is so crucial. National aggregate technical and commercial losses remain about 16%, and numerous discoms continue to experience cost under-recovery despite programs such as UDAY and RDSS. These programs have correctly concentrated on modernising distribution infrastructure, supporting smart metering, and increasing capacity, but financial and operational stress remain prevalent.

— This dilemma becomes more significant as renewable penetration increases. Variability grows, peak demand becomes more expensive to serve, and balancing and forecasting become critical system activities. However, discom incentives remain primarily focused on volumetric electricity sales rather than total system efficiency.

— In several states, discoms recover a considerable share of their income from commercial and industrial clients that pay tariffs considerably over cost, subsidising households and agriculture that pay below-cost prices. When these high-paying customers invest in energy efficiency, rooftop solar, or open access, discoms lose their highest-margin sales while continuing to serve subsidised customers, putting a burden on their budget.

— Discoms confront significant, fixed costs, ranging from network operations and maintenance to capacity payments under long-term power purchase agreements. When energy efficiency or behind-the-meter solar cuts consumption, these expenses do not go away.

— Rooftop solar transforms the economics of discoms’ most important consumers. Net metering, when permitted, credits exported solar electricity at or near the retail tariff, even though that pricing frequently includes network costs and cross-subsidies. Consumers make fewer purchases during the day while the sun is out, while continuing to rely on the grid at night. Unless tariff design changes, discoms will effectively become backup suppliers without being adequately compensated for their services.

— Wholesale market reform is essential for both attracting investment and reducing renewable curtailment by improving the scheduling and trading of power across the country.

Conclusion:

— Tariff reform must be combined with smart technologies that enable demand to adapt automatically, such as smart thermostats for cooling, smart charging stations for electric vehicles, and smart plugs and switches for appliance automation. Without automation, we are effectively asking households to become real-time energy managers, which is unrealistic.

— India’s renewable issue is also geographical. Renewable resources are unevenly distributed between states, and demand is concentrated in urban areas. Although the physical grid permits power to be transported between regions, the market design remains fragmented.

(Source: Energy transition will need more than chasing the sun and harnessing the wind)

Points to Ponder

Read more about renewable energy

Read about challenges in implementing green energies

Related Previous Year Questions

How can India achieve energy independence through clean technology by 2047? How can biotechnology can play a crucial role in this endeavour? (2025)

With growing energy needs should India keep on expanding its nuclear energy programme? Discuss the facts and fears associated with nuclear energy? (2018)

QUESTION 2: The recent nationwide gig workers’ strike has brought to the forefront issues of labour rights in the digital economy. Discuss the challenges and limitations of regulating gig workers under India’s existing labour laws.

Relevance: This question is relevant as it links the emerging digital economy with traditional labour law frameworks, highlighting gaps in social security, worker classification, and collective bargaining. It is important for GS-3 to assess policy readiness for regulating platform-based work amid rising informality and technological change.

(Credit: Pixabay)

Note: This is not a model UPSC answer. It only provides you with a thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— India’s rapidly growing Gig and Platform workforce has emerged as a key driver of the new economic ecosystem, fuelled by young demography, technology usage, and rising urbanisation.

— For the first time, the Code on Social Security, 2020 (SS) officially recognises Gig workers and Platform workers, bringing them into the scope of social security and legal protection.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

Challenges and limitations of regulating gig workers

Lack of typical labour status

— Gig workers on sites such as Zomato, Blinkit, and Swiggy are designated as “delivery partners” or independent contractors, not employees.

Denial of fundamental labour rights and social security

— They do not automatically receive social security, job security, or other statutory benefits that official employees do. While contemporary rules (such as the Code on Social Security) designate platform workers and establish a fund, their implementation and reach are limited and ambiguous.

Unstable work

— These frameworks are not well-suited to gig work’s task-based, algorithm-mediated paradigm with erratic hours and fluctuating profits, which leaves holes in protections against arbitrary deactivation, erratic income, and a lack of guaranteed work.

Algorithmic control and technological opacity

— Work distribution, rewards, and deactivation are decided by platform algorithms. Because algorithmic management transparency is not covered by labour rules, employees have no legal way to challenge decisions that impact their pay or engagement.

Conclusion:

— By providing legal recognition, portable social security benefits, a dedicated welfare fund, and a national registration framework, the enhanced provisions provide essential safeguards for gig and platform workers, empower them with portable rights, and transform informal work into a secure, recognised, and sustainable livelihood.

(Source: The gig economy is designed to fragment labour, absorb disruption and sustain extraction, http://www.pib.gov.in)

Points to Ponder

Read more about labour codes

Read more about gig economy and its contribution

Related Previous Year Questions

Discuss the merits and demerits of the four ‘Labour Codes’ in the context of labour market reforms in India. What has been the progress so far in this regard? (2024)

“Success of ‘Make in India’ programme depends on the success of ‘Skill India’ programme and radical labour reforms.” Discuss with logical arguments. (2015)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 136)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 135)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 136)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 135)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 136)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 135)

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