What to Read in The Hindu Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1: ​​​Assuaging concerns

Context

Motorists deserve assistance in adapting to ethanol-blended fuel.

Introduction

Ethanol blending in petrol, pioneered by nations like the U.S. and Brazil, is gaining momentum in India as a tool for import substitution, price savings, and environmental benefits. While the technology for safe use is established, challenges remain in efficiency, durability, food security, and consumer choice, demanding a balanced, transparent policy approach.

Background and Rationale for Ethanol Use

• Ethanol blending in fuel has long been promoted globally, especially in the S.and Brazil, where blending levels range from 5% to 100%.
• The practice began as a response to the oil shocks of the 1970s.
• Ethanol has been positioned as carbon neutral, adding environmental appeal.
• In India, the main driving factors are:
  • Import substitutionto reduce crude oil dependency.
  • Lower fuel pricesfor consumers.
• Government estimates: 20% ethanol blending (E20)could save $10 billion annually.
• The Indian strategy relies on:
  • C-heavy molasses(not used in sugar production).
  • Broken ricethat would otherwise spoil in storage.
  • Increased maize acreage and productivity(less water-demanding crop).
• This approach is designed to reduce food security risks, but once the ethanol economy is entrenched, food stocks may lose priorityin times of shortage.
• Import savings can be offsetby the continued $10 billion forex outgo on imported fertilizers.

Technical and Operational Downsides

• Efficiency penalty: Ethanol has lower energy content than petrol.
• Material durability issues: Can corrode fuel handling systems.
• Compatibility evidence:
  • Vehicles meeting Euro 2, S. Tier 1, or India BS 2norms (since 2001) can handle up to E15 without major issues.
  • Closed-loop fuel control systemsin BS 2 vehicles help manage efficiency loss and reduce corrosion risks.
• Since 2023, all new vehicles in India are E20-ready, but concerns remain for older vehicles.
• Consumer choice is absent— E20 fuel is rolled out without alternatives.
• Earlier claims of price reductionsare not visible at fuel stations.

Policy and Industry Transparency Gaps

• India has adopted two ethanol-specific fuel standardsand plans to introduce E27, following Brazil’s lead.
• Government research claims no harmfrom higher ethanol use.
• Gaps in transparency:
  • Automakers rarely disclose the ethanol compatibilityof older models.
  • Some models sold just five years agowere limited to E5.
• Recommendations:
  • Full disclosureby manufacturers on past and present models.
  • Clear guidance on mitigation measuresfor vehicles not designed for higher blends.
  • Government supportfor related insurance claims.
• Policy credibilitydepends on transparency between government, manufacturers, and consumers.

Conclusion

India’s ethanol economy promises energy savings, farm income support, and reduced oil imports. However, unresolved issues in vehicle compatibility, price transparency, and food stock priorities risk undermining its gains. A sustainable path requires clear communication, industry accountability, and policy safeguards to ensure that economic, environmental, and consumer interests remain aligned.

 

Editorial 2: Reviving civic engagement in health governance

Context

As States deliver health care to doorsteps, communities must be engaged as active partners in shaping health systems.

Introduction

The ‘Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam’ scheme in Tamil Nadu, launched in August 2021, and Karnataka’s Gruha Arogyascheme, introduced in October 2024 and expanded statewide by June 2025, aim to bring health care directly to the doorsteps of individuals with non-communicable diseases. Similar initiatives are being implemented in several other States, marking important progress in proactive health care delivery. However, these efforts also raise a critical question: while the system increasingly reaches citizens where they live, to what extent are citizens themselves able to access, participate in, and influence health governance at various formal levels?

The subject of citizen engagement

• Expanded Health Governance: Once solely government-led, health governance now involves civil society, professional bodies, hospital associations, and trade unions, functioning through both formaland informal social processes shaped by power dynamics.
• Value of Public Engagement: Essential for affirming self-respect, countering epistemic injustice, and upholding democratic valuesby enabling citizens to shape decisions affecting their health and health-care services.
• Impact of Inclusion: Inclusive participationboosts accountability, challenges elite dominance, and reduces corruption; without it, governance risks becoming oppressive and unjust.
• Benefits of Engagement: Fosters collaborationwith frontline workers, improves service uptake, enhances health outcomes, and builds mutual trust between communities and providers.
• NRHM Initiatives: The National Rural Health Mission(2005) institutionalised public engagement via Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) and Rogi Kalyan Samitis, designed for inclusivity and supported by untied funds for local initiatives.
• Urban Participation Platforms: Include Mahila Arogya Samitis, Ward Committees, and NGO-led committeesaimed at civic participation.
• Implementation Gaps: In some areas, these committees are non-existent, while in others they face ambiguous roles, infrequent meetings, underutilised funds, poor intersectoral coordination, and entrenched social hierarchies.

Where the problem lies

• Mindset Problem: A major challenge in India’s health systemis the prevailing attitude toward public engagement, where communities are often seen as passive recipients rather than active participants.
• Target-Driven Approach: Programme success is measured through target-based metrics(e.g., number of “beneficiaries” reached) with little attention to implementation quality or community experience.
• Language Matters: The term “beneficiaries”frames citizens as objects of intervention, not as rights-holders or co-creators of health systems.
• Policy-Practice Gap: Although the National Health Missionpromotes bottom-up planning through community involvement in Programme Implementation Plans, meaningful engagement remains rare.
• Medical Dominance: Health governance spacesare led mainly by medical professionals trained in western biomedical models, often without formal public health administration training.
• Leadership Structure: Promotions are largely based on seniority, reinforcing a medicalisedand hierarchicalsystem disconnected from community realities.
• Resistance to Engagement: Scholarly researchlinks resistance to fears of increased workload, accountability pressures, regulatory capture by dominant interests, and imbalances in governance power.
• Alternative Voices: In the absence of inclusive engagement platforms, citizens turn to protests, media campaigns, and legal actionto express demands.
• Unmet Need: These alternative actions reflect a deep needfor participation, voice, and accountability in India’s health governance.

The need for a shift

• Mindset Shift: Governance actors must undergo a fundamental change in perspective, recognising that community engagementis not just a tool to meet programme targets but a means to respect agency and dignity.
• Beyond Instrumentalism: Viewing people solely as a means to achieve health outcomesis reductive and undermines their participatory rights.
• Process Importance– Participatory processes hold equal value to the outcomes they aim to achieve.
• Empowerment: Actively empower communitiesby sharing health rights information, fostering civic awareness, reaching marginalised groups, and equipping citizens with knowledge, tools, and resources for effective participation in health governance.
• Early Engagement: Start civic educationearly to build a culture of active health governance participation.
• Marginalised Inclusion: Make intentional effortsto engage excluded or vulnerable populations in decision-making processes.
• System Sensitisation: Train health system actorsto move beyond blaming poor awareness as the sole cause for low health-seeking behaviour and health-care utilisation.

Conclusion

Focusing too narrowly risks shifting blame onto individuals, further marginalising already vulnerable groups, while overlooking the deeper structural factors driving health inequities. Real progress demands that health professionals treat communities as active partners rather than passive beneficiaries, working together to tackle root causes. Public engagement platforms are an essential first step, but they must be strengthened, sustained, and made genuinely impactful.