Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various ports in India
Mains level: Corporatization of ports
Rajya Sabha has passed the Major Ports Authorities Bill 2020 with 88 votes for and 44 against it. The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha in September last year.
Major Ports Authorities Bill 2020: Major: Highlights
- The Bill provides for the regulation of major ports and will replace the Major Port Trusts Act of 1963, and a board of Major Port Authority for each major port will replace the current port trusts.
- The Bill will apply to the major ports of Chennai, Cochin, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Kandla, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Paradip, VO Chidambaranar and Vishakhapatnam.
Boards to replace trusts
- Under the 1963 Act, all major ports are managed by the respective Board of Port Trusts that have members appointed by the central government.
- The Bill provides for the creation of a Board of Major Port Authority for each major port.
- These Boards will replace the existing Port Trusts.
- It will have a member each from the state governments, the Railways Ministry, the defence ministry, and the customs department.
- The Bill allows the Board to use its property, assets and funds as deemed fit for the development of the major port.
Board has financial powers
- Under the 1963 Act, the Board had to seek the prior sanction of the Centre to raise any loan.
- Under the new Bill, to meet its capital and working expenditure requirements, the Board may raise loans from any scheduled bank or financial institution within India, or any financial institution outside India.
- However, for loans above 50% of its capital reserves, the Board will require prior sanction of the central government.
The board will fix rates
- At present, the Tariff Authority for Major Ports fixes the scale of rates for assets and services available at ports.
- Under the bill, which now awaits President’s accent to become a law, the Board or committees appointed by the Board will determine these rates for services that will be performed at ports.
- The services would include the access to and usage of the port assets, and different classes of goods and vessels, among others.
Punishments
- Under the 1963 Act, there are various penalties for contravening provisions of the Act.
- The penalty for setting up any structures on the harbours without permission, for example, may extend up to Rs 10,000, and the penalty for evading rates may extend up to 10 times the rates.
- Under the new Bill, any person contravening any provision of the Bill or any rules or regulations will be punished with a fine of up to Rs one lakh.
Opposition criticism
- Opposition parties had opposed the legislation terming it the move to privatize ports.
- They said that this Bill is nothing but a retraction of the Singapore model.
- When there were hue and cry that there cannot be the privatization of ports, it adopted a policy of so-called corporatization. Thereafter, it ultimately privatized its ports.
- So, corporatization is the first step. The next in the offing is privatization said the opposition.
What did the govt. say?
- The government has brought in a provision that will allow ports to take their own decisions. To change tariffs, the ports have to now approach the ministry.
- The port sector in the last six years has doubled the profit. Profit has increased, liabilities have come down. For modernization, 300 projects are ongoing.
- This Bill is not to privatize any port, but it is to ensure that our ports can properly compete with private ports.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: OTT
Mains level: Need for OTT media regulation
Online streaming providers have announced the adoption of an ‘implementation toolkit’, under the aegis of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
What is the news?
- Various OTT platforms say that this is in furtherance to the Universal Self-Regulation Code the body had introduced in September.
- The government had rejected this USRC code.
Q.What is Over the Top (OTT) media services? Critically analyse the benefits and challenges offered by the OTT media services in India.
What are OTT Media?
- An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet.
- OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content.
- The term is most synonymous with subscription-based video-on-demand (SVoD) services that offer access to film and television content.
- They are typically accessed via websites on personal computers, as well as via apps on mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets), digital media players, or televisions with integrated Smart TV platforms.
Regulating OTT
- Currently, there is no law or autonomous body governing digital content. The recent move will give the government control over OTT platforms, which were unregulated till now.
- From time to time, the government had indicated the necessity to monitor these platforms.
- In October 2019, the government had indicated that it will issue the “negative” list of don’ts for the video streaming services like Netflix and Hotstar.
- It also wanted the platforms to come up with a self-regulatory body on the lines of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority.
What is the toolkit about?
- The effort of the signatories, through this toolkit, is to also address feedback received from the ministry of information and broadcasting inter-alia, on the issues of conflict of interest and prohibited content.
The all-inclusive implementation toolkit will assist signatories in a seamless transition to self-regulation and guide them on various dimensions like:
- Relevant laws of the land which will be adhered to by the signatories
- Fair and transparent functioning of the grievance redressal mechanism, with escalation to an advisory panel with independent members
- Training programs for creative and legal teams of OCCPs to enhance the knowledge and nuances of laws that govern content
- Awareness programs for consumers to help increase understanding and use of age rating, content descriptor & parental controls
- Implementation of a detailed audit and compliance mechanism
Why such code?
- The code comes into force at a time when the government has put OTT platforms on the anvil of content regulation after a spate of complaints on the ‘sensitive’ and ‘objectionable’ nature of certain shows.
- Earlier this week, I&B minister has assured the Parliament that guidelines for the regulation of OTTs have been practically hammered out and will be implemented soon.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Critical passes and valleys along the international borders
Mains level: India-China border tensions
In the first major breakthrough in talks China’s Defence Ministry that PLA and Indian troops on the southern and northern shores of Pangong Tso began synchronized and organized disengagement.
This newscard presents a holistic report on the ground situation of Sino-India border disputes in Ladakh.
Also, try this PYQ from CSP 2020:
Q.Siachen Glacier is situated to the
(a) East of Aksai Chin
(b) East of Leh
(c)North of Gilgit
(d) North of Nubra Valley
New plan in eastern Ladakh
- As of now, the disengagement process seems restricted to the north and south banks of Pangong Tso.
- The process has started with the pulling back of certain columns of tanks from the south bank region by both sides.
- At the moment, there is no pullback of troops from the friction points and the heights they are positioned on.
- That will happen in a phased and verified manner.
Disengagement from Pangong Tso
- China will pull its troops on the north bank towards the east of Finger 8.
- Similarly, India will also position its forces at its permanent base near Finger 3.
- Similar action will be taken by both the parties in the south bank area as well.
- Both sides have also agreed that the area between Finger 3 and Finger 8 will become a no-patrolling zone temporarily, till both sides reach an agreement through military and diplomatic discussions to restore patrolling.
- Further, all the construction done by both sides on the north and south banks of the lake since April 2020 will be removed.
Why is this area important?
- The north and south banks of Pangong Tso are two of the most significant and sensitive regions when it comes to the current standoff that began in May 2020.
- What makes the areas around the shores of the lake so sensitive and important is that clashes here marked the beginning of the standoff.
- It is one of the areas where the Chinese troops had come around 8 km deep west of India’s perception of the Line of Actual Control.
- China had positioned its troops on the ridgeline connecting Fingers 3 and 4, while according to India the LAC passes through Finger 8.
Take a glimpse of all friction points along Indian borders:
India is at an advantage
- Further, it is in the south bank of the lake that Indian forces in an action in late August had gained a strategic advantage by occupying certain peaks, outwitting the Chinese.
- Indian troops had positioned themselves on heights of Magar Hill, Mukhpari, Gurung Hill, Rezang La and Rechin La, which were unoccupied by either side earlier.
- Since then, the Chinese side had been particularly sensitive as these positions allowed India to not only dominate Spanggur Gap.
- It is a two-km wide valley that can be used to launch an offensive, as China had done in 1962, they also allow India a direct view of China’s Moldo Garrison.
Why has this taken so long?
- Since September, China has insisted that India first pull its troops back from the south bank of Pangong Tso, and the Chushul sub-sector.
- However, India has been demanding that any disengagement process should include the entire region, and troops should go back to their April 2020 positions.
- However, it seems that for now, both sides have agreed to first disengage from the Pangong Tso area only.
Principles of disengagement
In military and diplomatic discussions with China India expects a solution to the issue on the basis of three principles:
- LAC should be accepted and respected by both parties.
- Neither party should attempt to change the status quo unilaterally.
- All agreements should be fully adhered to by both parties.
Does this mean that the standoff is resolved?
- There are still some outstanding issues that remain regarding deployment and patrolling on LAC.
- The Pangong Tso region is just one of the friction areas. There are other friction points, all north of the Pangong Tso, where the troops have been face-to-face since last year.
- The situation in Depsang Plains continues to be a concern.
- Both sides agree that complete disengagement under bilateral agreements and protocols should be done as soon as possible.
- After the talks so far, China is also aware of our resolve to protect the sovereignty of the country.
Need for confidence building
- Two of the main stumbling blocks in finding a permanent resolution are lack of trust and no clarity on intent.
- Any permanent resolution will include first, disengagement of troops from the frontlines from all friction points.
- Then de-escalation will entail sending the troops from the depth areas to their original bases.
- Both sides have around 50,000 troops in the region, along with additional tanks, artillery and air defence assets.
Conclusion
- A resolution has to include sending these troops and military equipment where they came from on both sides.
- But neither side had been willing to take the first step to reduce their troop or military strength, as it does not trust the other side.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Seaweed Mission
Mains level: Seaweed economy
TIFAC has unveiled a Seaweed Mission for commercial farming of seaweeds and its processing for value addition.
Note the species of edible seaweeds mentioned in the newscard.
Seaweed Mission
The Mission envisages the following activities:
- establishing model demonstration farms over one hectare for the cultivation of economically important seaweeds in nearshore and onshore along the Indian coast
- Kappaphycus all over Indian coast
- Gracilaria dura in Gujarat
- Gracilariaverrucosa in Chilika Lake (Odisha)
- Ulva Linza or Ulva prolife rain Chilika Lake (Odisha)
- Ulva Lactuca or Ulva fasciata or Ulva indica all over India coast
Proposed Sites: Gujarat / Tamil Nadu / Andhra Pradesh / Odisha / Karnataka
Seaweed production in India
- Out of the global seaweed production of ~ 32 million tons fresh weight valued around 12 billion US dollars. China produces ~57 %, Indonesia ~28% followed by South Korea.
- India is having a mere share of ~0.01-0.02%.
- Despite several advantages, commercial seaweeds cultivation has not been taken place in the country at an appropriate scale, as being practised in South-East Asian countries.
- By an estimate, if cultivation is done in ≈10 million hectares or 5% of the EEZ area of India, it can provide employment to ~ 50 million people.
- Seaweed cultivation also enhances ocean productivity, abates algal blooms and sequesters millions of tons CO2.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SAKSHAM portal
Mains level: MSMS sector and its job potential
The Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) has launched SAKSHAM, a dynamic job portal for mapping the skills of Shramiks.
The name SAKSHAM closely leans towards HRD, Employment and Entrepreneurship developments. Make a note of it. It can create confusion while revision.
SAKSHAM
- SAKSHAM is an acronym for Shramik Shakti Manch.
- The portal with the demand and supply data uses an algorithm and AI tools, for geospatial information on demand and availability of Shramiks, and also provides analysis on skill training programmes of Shramiks.
- It would directly connect Shramiks with MSMEs and facilitate placement of blue-collar jobs.
- The pilot portal originally initiated with two districts is now being launched as an all India portal.
Key features
- A dynamic job portal – an opportunity for Shramiks and MSMEs
- Facilitate the creation of 10 lakh blue-collar jobs
- Direct connect between Shramiks and MSMEs, no middleman in between
- Minimise migration of Shramiks – job opportunity in proximate MSMEs
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Glacial burst
Mains level: Paper 3- Floods in Uttarakhand and steps need to be taken to deal with such disasters
The article discusses the factors that could explain the cause of the recent flash floods in Uttarakhand and suggest the immediate steps to deal with such disasters.
What makes Uttarakhand vulnerable
- Days after a glacier burst in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand caused flash floods, the scientific community is still struggling to understand what triggered the disaster.
- Uttarakhand is located in the midst of young and unstable mountains and is subject to intense rainfall.
- For years experts have voiced their fears about an impending disaster due to climate change, rapid and indiscriminate construction activities, and the subsequent ecological destruction in the region.
- Studies have shown that widespread settlements, farming, cattle grazing and other anthropogenic activities could destroy the natural barriers that control avalanches and floods, thereby enhancing the possibilities of a glacial lake outburst flood.
- The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment Report (2019) had pointed out that one-third of the Hindu Kush Himalaya’s glaciers would melt by 2100 and potentially destabilise the river regime in Asia, even if all the countries in the region fulfilled their commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Possible causes of the current glacial outburst
- The current glacier burst was loosely attributed to erosion, a build-up of water pressure, an avalanche of snow or rocks, landslides or an earthquake under the ice.
- A rock mass, weakened from years of freezing and thawing of snow, may have led to the creation of a weak zone and fractures leading to a collapse that resulted in flash floods.
Issue of construction activity
- Experts and activists have incessantly asked for scrutiny into the construction of hydroelectric power projects in Uttarakhand.
- There have also been allegations about the use of explosives in the construction of dams and other infrastructure.
- In 2014, an expert committee led by Dr Ravi Chopra, instituted to assess the role of dams in exacerbating floods, provided hard evidence on how haphazard construction of dams was causing irreversible damage to the region.
7 Immediate steps
- 1) Investing in resilience planning, especially in flood prevention and rapid response.
- 2) Climate proofing the infrastructure such as by applying road stabilisation technologies for fragile road networks and strengthening existing structures like bridges, culverts and tunnels.
- 3) Strengthening embankments with adequate scientific know-how
- 4) Reassessing development of hydropower and other public infrastructure.
- 5) Investing in robust monitoring and early warning system.
- 6) Establishing implementable policies and regulatory guidelines to restrict detrimental human activities, including responsible eco- and religious tourism policies.
- 7) Investing in training and capacity building to educate and empower local communities to prevent and manage risks effectively.
Consider the question “What are the factors that make Uttarakhand vulnerable to natural disasters? Suggest the measures to prevent and deal with the disasters”
Conclusion
India needs to urgently rise up to the challenge by applying innovative and inclusive solutions that support nature and marginalised communities, to restore and rebuild a resilient future for Uttarakhand.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- MTP (Amendment) Bill and issues with it
The article discusses the provision of the medical board in the MTP (Amendment) Act and issues with it.
Proposal of medical board
- The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill (‘MTP Bill’) passed in the Lok Sabha is scheduled to be tabled for consideration in Rajya Sabha.
- The Act prescribes the setting up of medical boards in every state and Union territory (UT), consisting of a gynaecologist, paediatrician, radiologist or sonologist and any other members as proposed by that state or UT.
- Each board will be responsible for diagnosing substantial foetal abnormalities that necessitate termination of pregnancy after a 24-week gestation period.
- Medical boards are a form of third-party authorisation and were not envisaged in the MTP Act, 1971.
Issues with the proposal
- In the context of the current healthcare budgetary challenges, this proposal to set up infrastructure across the country to regulate medical termination of pregnancies is both financially unsound and practically impossible.
- India’s healthcare system has neither the financial investment nor the infrastructure to sustain the operation and functioning of medical boards in every state and UT.
- Due to the weak healthcare infrastructure in the country, it would be practically impossible to constitute these boards with the requisite specialists.
- Even where they are set up, the accessibility of such boards for pregnant persons, especially those living in rural areas, remains a major challenge.
- More importantly, subjecting people to multiple invasive examinations is a grave violation of their rights to privacy and dignity.
- Requiring pregnant persons to navigate a bureaucratic web of authorisation will inevitably lead to delays and thereby impede access to safe and legal abortion services.
Poor public financing and privatisation of healthcare
- At 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2019-20 India’s current level of public financing of health is one of the lowest in the world
- This has meant that most health expenditure in the country is out of pocket (OOP) — borne by patients themselves.
- OOP expenditure on healthcare is recorded at 58.7 per cent as per the National Health Accounts in 2016-17.
- The central government has preferred to incentivise private players to set up or offer services, instead of building infrastructural and professional capacity.
- Privatisation drives up costs of care and the handing over of public facilities to the private sector can have catastrophic consequences.
- They additionally remain non-accountable to state authorities in terms of affordability or transparency for instance, through Right to Information enquiries, or to uphold fundamental rights like non-discrimination in treatment or employment, or even the fundamental right to health.
- The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO)’s 75th report shows that less than 20 per cent of the population is covered by health insurance in India.
- According to the National Health Profile 2017, India has only one doctor for roughly 10,200 people in the public sector.
Consider the question “Discsss the changes made by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill and the challenges its provision could face.”
Conclusion
Poor public health infrastructure and absence of specialists across the country have meant that most abortions do not happen in the public sector, but at private centres or at home. With overwhelming shortfalls in specialist availability, especially in rural and scheduled areas, it would be impossible to constitute boards with requisite specialist representation as contemplated under the MTP Bill.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Foreign policy challenges India faces
The article explains the various choices India faces in the geopolitical landscape shaped by emergence of two Asian giants.
New challenges and hard choices on geopolitical front
- As it moves to becoming the third largest economy in the world, India needs to have a clear-eyed world view and strategy as it makes hard choices.
- It needs to reject the developing country regional mindset that has shaped India’s national aims and foreign policy.
- We have a “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Russia which provides more than three-quarter of India’s military equipment and a “comprehensive global strategic partnership” with the U.S.
- India’s relationship with the U.S.-led Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), where the others are military allies, has rightly been cautious, as U.S. President Joe Biden sees China as a ‘strategic competitor’ rather than a ‘strategic rival’.
- Realism dictates that India does not need to compromise on its strategic autonomy.
- India faces two sides of the China conundrum: Defining engagement with its neighbour which is consolidating an expanding BRI while remaining involved with the strategic, security and technological concerns of the U.S.
China’s dominance in financial sphere
- In the financial sphere, there is the real possibility of the Chinese renminbi becoming a global reserve currency or e-yuan becoming the digital payments currency.
- China is the world’s largest trading economy.
- It could soon become the world’s largest economy.
- China has stitched together an investment agreement with the EU and with most of Asia.
- Relative attractiveness will determine when the dollar goes the way of the sterling and the guilder.
- China, facing technological sanctions from the U.S., may well put in the hard work to make this happen soon.
China: Partner, competitor, and economic rival
- Some form of the EU’s China policy of seeing the emerging superpower as a partner, competitor, and economic rival depending on the policy area in question is going to be the global norm.
- This broad perspective is also reflected in India’s participation in both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, designed to resist the spread of Western interests, and in the U.S.-led Quad, with its anti-China stance.
- Within the United Nations, India’s interests have greater congruence with China’s interests rather than the U.S.’s and the EU’s.
- Sharing the COVID-19 vaccine with other countries distinguishes India, and China, from the rest.
India’s engagement with the U.S.
- The congruence between India and the U.S. lies in the U.S.’s declared strategic objective of promoting an integrated economic development model in the Indo-Pacific as a credible alternative to the BRI, but with a caveat.
- Instead of an alternate development model, India should move the Quad towards supplementing the infrastructure push of the BRI in line with other strategic concerns in the region.
- For example, developing their scientific, technological capacity and digital economy, based on India’s digital stack and financial resources of other Quad members, will resonate with Asia and Africa.
India’s role in global governance
- Another area where India can play a ‘bridging role’ is global governance.
- President Xi Jinping’s “community with shared future for mankind”, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “climate justice” and asking how long India will be excluded from the UN Security Council, challenge the frame of the liberal order without providing specific alternatives.
- With respect to digital data, India has recently expressed that there must be reciprocity in data sharing, and this is the kind of ‘big idea’ for sharing prosperity that will gain traction with other countries.
India’s growing influence
- India’s recent policies are gaining influence at the expense of China and the West, and both know this trend will accelerate.
- The steps to a $5 trillion economy, shift to indigenous capital military equipment, and a new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy underline impact, capacity and interests.
- ASEAN remains keen India re-join its trade pact to balance China.
- It is being recognised that India’s software development prowess could shape a sustainable post-industrial state different to the U.S. and China model.
Consider the question “Examine how India’s foreing policy priorities and its role in global governance is shaped by China’s rise.”
Conclusion
As in the historical past, Asia is big enough for both Asian giants to have complementary roles, share prosperity and be independent of each other and of the West.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Rail Plan in the Budget
Mains level: Paper 3- National Rail Plan
The Budget unveiled the National Rail Plan 2030.
Key provision in the Budget for railways
- First, there is a National Rail Plan (NRP) for 2030.
- Second, the Western dedicated freight corridor (DFC) and the Eastern DFC will be commissioned by June 2022.
- Parts of DFC will be in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
- Third, there will be an East Coast corridor (Kharagpur to Vijaywada), an East-West corridor (Bhusaval to Kharagpur/Dankuni) and a North-South corridor (Itarsi to Vijayawada).
- Fourth, all broad-gauge routes will be electrified by December 2023.
- Fifth, there will be safety and passenger amenity measures.
National Rail Plan provisions
- The NRP is meant to increase the share of railways in freight, rectifying the pre-Independence and post-Independence bias
- It also aims to develop capacity that will cater to demand in 2050.
- It provides for mapping of the existing railway network on a GIS platform.
- The primary value addition of the NRP is an analysis of the existing network, with expected additions (such as the National Infrastructure Pipeline) also built in.
- NRP bases decision making on objective criteria.
Pricing and cross-subsidy issue
- In 2018-19, as per the NRP, India’s operating ratio (OR) was 0.59 for freight and 1.92 for passenger traffic.
- The problem is low passenger fares and artificially high freight rates required to cross-subsidise those.
- This is not the complete picture since normally, freight and passenger trains share common sections of track and passenger trains are given preference over goods trains in getting a path (route from point A to point B).
- Therefore, the average speed of a freight train is 24 km/hour — average speed is a surrogate indicator.
- A superior indicator is transit time — the time taken for a consignment to reach from one point to another.
Need for decreasing the cost and increasing the average speed
- Indian Railways has a system of HDN and HUN identification for the present network.
- HDNs are high-density routes.
- HUNs are highly-used networks with multiple origins and destinations and no clear single haul corridor.
- HUNs are primarily for passengers.
- For freight, HDNs are important.
- HDNs and HUNs carry 80 per cent of the traffic and there are sections where capacity utilisation is more than 100 per cent.
- With traffic increasing, capacity utilisation will worsen.
- If the intention is to increase rail share in the total freight carried to 44 per cent, the average speed must increase and costs must decline.
- With the Western and Eastern DFCs, both should happen.
Consider the question “What are the factors responsible for preventing the railways from realising its contribution in the development of the country. How far will the National Rail Plan help railways deal with these factors?”
Conclusion
The implementation of the NRP will help railways deal with the issues faced by it.
Back2Basics: Operating Ratio
- The operating ratio shows the efficiency of a company’s management by comparing the total operating expense of a company to net sales.
- An operating ratio that is decreasing is viewed as a positive sign, as it indicates that operating expenses are becoming an increasingly smaller percentage of net sales.
OR = (Operating Expenses + Cost of Goods Sold)/ Net sales
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Division vote
Mains level: Not Much
Parliament saw the first instance of division voting in times of the pandemic, with Major Ports Authorities Bill 2020 passed in Rajya Sabha as members voted through slips in view of social distancing norms in place.
What is the news?
- The Bill provides for the regulation of major ports and will replace the Major Port Trusts Act of 1963, and a board of Major Port Authority for each major port will replace the current port trusts.
- The Opposition has charged that the Bill is aimed at privatization of ports.
- Opposition members said the legislation would adversely affect states’ rights.
What is Division Voting?
- A motion is a binary question raised in Parliament for a decision to be taken by MPs.
- A division is a type of voting which records how each MP voted on a motion.
- There are three methods of holding a Division i.e.
- By operating the Automatic Vote Recorder
- By distributing ‘Ayes’ and ‘Noes’ slips in the House and
- By members going into the Lobbies
- However, the method of recording of votes in Lobbies has become obsolete ever since the installation of Automatic Vote Recording machine.
- This procedure has not been used for the last two decades
Not a usual practice
In spite of the advantages offered by division, it is not the default method of voting in Parliament.
- The division is only mandated for a set of motions which require a special majority of the house to be passed.
- For example, constitutional amendment bills have to be passed by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the House “present and voting”.
- To ensure that this condition is fulfilled, a division is called for. On other occasions, individual MPs have to ask for a division.
- During the term of the last Lok Sabha (2014-19), voting by division was held only on 108 occasions. Only half of these were asked for by MPs, the other half related to constitutional amendment bills.
What is the preferred method?
- The preferred method for making decisions in Parliament is through a voice vote.
- In this method, MPs orally convey their agreement or disagreement to a motion.
- It clubs the individual decisions of MPs in one loud chorus of “Ayes” or “Noes”.
- Being an oral vote, it does not put on parliamentary record the stand of political parties and individual MPs on contentious political issues.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Breach of Priviliges in Legislation
Mains level: Parliamentary control
An MP has issued a breach of privilege notice against an MP from Bengal in the Lok Sabha.
Try this PYQ:
Q.With reference to the Parliament of India, which of the following Parliamentary Committees scrutinizes and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws etc. conferred by the constitution of delegated by the Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?
(a) Committee on Government Assurances
(b) Committee on Subordinate Legislation
(c) Rules Committee
(d) Business Advisory Committee
What is the news?
- The accused MP has cast some aspersions with respect to the conduct of a judge.
- The question is whether the conduct of a judge can be discussed on the floor of the House or not.
- Article 121 of the Constitution does not allow allegations to be levelled against a sitting or a former judge.
Breach of Privilege
- The powers, privileges and immunities of either House of the Indian Parliament and of its Members and committees are laid down in Article 105 of the Constitution.
- Article 194 deals with the powers, privileges and immunities of the State Legislatures, their Members and their committees.
- Parliamentary privilege refers to the right and immunity enjoyed by legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties.
What constitutes a breach of this privilege?
- While the Constitution has accorded special privileges and powers to parliamentarians and legislators to maintain the dignity and authority of the Houses, these powers and privileges are not codified.
- Thus, there are no clear, notified rules to decide what constitutes a breach of privilege, and the punishment it attracts.
- Any act that obstructs or impedes either House of the state legislature in performing its functions, or which obstructs or impedes any Member or Officer of such House in the discharge of his duty, or has a tendency, directly or indirectly, to produce such results is treated as a breach of privilege.
- It is a breach of privilege and contempt to print or publish libel reflecting on the character or proceedings of the House or its Committees or on any member of the House for or relating to his character or conduct as a legislator.
Procedure followed in cases of an alleged breach
- The Legislative Assembly Speaker or Legislative Council Chairman constitutes a Privileges Committee consisting of 15 members in the Assembly and 11 members in the Council.
- The members to the committee which has quasi-judicial powers are nominated based on the party strength in the Houses.
- The Speaker or Chairman first decides on the motions.
- If the privilege and contempt are found prima facie, then the Speaker or Chairman will forward it to the Privileges Committee by following the due procedure.
- At present, there is no Privileges Committee in either House of the state legislature.
- The Committee will seek an explanation from all the concerned, will conduct an inquiry and will make a recommendation based on the findings to the state legislature for its consideration.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Crude oil prices dynamics
Mains level: India's oil import bill
The price of Brent crude crossed the $60 per barrel mark after over a year on the back of oil-producing countries maintaining production cuts due to lockdowns.
What is Crude Oil?
- Petroleum also known as crude oil and oil is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid found in geological formations beneath the Earth’s surface.
- It is commonly refined into various types of fuels.
- Components of petroleum are separated using a technique called fractional distillation, i.e. separation of a liquid mixture into fractions differing in boiling point by means of distillation, typically using a fractionating column.
- It consists of naturally occurring hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and may contain miscellaneous organic compounds.
- The name petroleum covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that are made up of refined crude oil.
Why has the price of crude oil risen sharply?
- Major oil-producing countries had cut oil production last year amid a sharp fall in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- However oil-producing countries have continued to limit production despite an increase in prices with Saud Arabia cutting its own oil production by 1 million barrels per day to strengthen crude oil prices.
- Expectations of strong improvements in demand with the global rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine have also put upward pressure on crude oil prices according to experts.
How will this impact India?
- The rise in the price of Brent crude will lead to an increase in India’s import bill.
- India imports of 80 per cent of its crude oil requirements and the average price of Indian basket of crude oil has already risen to $54.8 barrel for January.
- The upward move in crude prices will also put upward pressure on petrol and diesel prices across the country which is already at all-time highs.
Signs of no remedy
- The government had hiked central taxes on petrol and diesel by Rs 13 per litre and Rs 11 per litre in 2020 to boost revenues amid lower economic activity.
- The increase in taxes had prevented consumers from getting the benefit of low fuel prices as international prices crashed during the first quarter of last fiscal.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various labour laws
Mains level: 4-day work and its benefits
The Centre under its new labour codes would soon provide an option for organisations to allow their employees to work for four days in a week.
What is the news?
- The proposed new labour codes could provide companies with the flexibility of four working days in a week.
What does this mean?
- The working hour’s limit of 48 hours for a week will remain unchanged.
- This implies that there will be long working hours if the working days are reduced.
- Having a reduced number of working days does not mean a cut in paid holidays.
- Therefore, when the new rules will provide the flexibility of four working days, it would imply three paid holidays.
Roll out of the proposal
- The Ministry of Labour and Employment is likely to complete the process to finalise the rules for four labour codes soon.
- The provision of flexibility to have reduced working days of four days in the labour code rules will mean that companies will not require prior government nod to enact it.
Why such a move?
- The well-being of employees improves with less workload. Working parents can spare more time for the childcare.
- It helps the economy and the environment since power and fuel consumption is reduced.
Ahead of Labour reforms
- The ministry is in the final phase of amalgamating 44 central labour laws into four broad codes.
- The four Codes include- Code on Wages, Industrial Relations, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) and Social Security Codes.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Monsoon Mission
Mains level: Determinants of Indian Monsoon
Under the National Monsoon Mission (NMM), Ministry of Earth Sciences has developed the state-of-the-art weather and climate prediction models, which are now in operational use.
Tap to read about the mechanism of Indian Monsoon System at:
The Southwest Monsoon Season (Jun – Sep) | Part 1
National Monsoon Mission (NMM)
- Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) had launched NMM in 2012 with a vision to develop a state-of-the-art dynamical prediction system for monsoon rainfall on different time scales.
- The responsibility of execution and coordination of this mission is vested to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
- Climate Forecast System (CFS) of USA has been identified as the basic modelling system for the above purpose, as it is one of the best among the currently available coupled models.
Targets of NMM
- Development of a seamless prediction system using monsoon mission model, on different time scales, like Seasonal (for whole Monsoon season), extended-range (upto 4 weeks), short-range prediction (up-to 5days).
- Initiate and coordinate the working partnership between Indian and foreign institutes to develop a system for prediction of extremes and climate applications
- Develop and implement the system for climate applications having social impacts (such as agriculture, flood forecast, extreme events forecast, wind energy, etc.
- Advanced data assimilation system for preparing high-quality data for model predictions.
Achievements of NMM during the last 3 years
- Setting up of an advanced prediction system for Seasonal prediction; Extended range prediction and Very high-resolution Short-range prediction.
- Commissioning of a Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) for short and medium-range prediction at 12km.
- The Cyclone track and intensity prediction has also shown a steady improvement over the last three years.
- The operationalization of Monsoon Mission dynamical model (MMCFS) to prepare operational seasonal forecast of monsoon rainfall and temperatures during the hot and cold weather seasons over India.
- Development of an algorithm to monitor and predict the Monsoon Intra-seasonal Oscillations (MISO) and Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) on the extended range.
- Development of an index to predict the genesis and evolution of tropical cyclones and other cyclonic disturbances over the north Indian Ocean.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Shahtoot Dam
Mains level: India-Afghan relations
India and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to build the Shahtoot Dam in Kabul to provide drinking water facility in the Afghan capital.
Try this question from prelims 2020:
Consider the following pairs
| Sr. |
River |
|
Flows into |
| 1. |
Mekong |
— |
Andaman Sea |
| 2. |
Thames |
— |
Irish Sea |
| 3. |
Volga |
— |
Caspian Sea |
| 4. |
Zambezi |
— |
Indian Ocean |
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2 and 4 only
Shahtoot Dam
- It is a proposed dam in the Kabul river basin, one of the five river basins in Afghanistan.
- This project will provide drinking, irrigation and Environmental water for Kabul province.
- The dam will provide potable water to more than 2 million residents of Kabul, in addition to the irrigation of 4000 hectares of land in the district of Charasiab and Khairabad.
- The dam will also provide water for irrigation to nearby areas, rehabilitate the existing irrigation and drainage network and help in flood protection and management efforts.
- The project is expected to produce electricity for the region.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with the Bombay High Courts Judgement in POCSO Act
The recent Bombay High Court judgement has raised controversy for its interpretation of certain Section of the POCSO Act. The article deals with this issue.
Object of the POCSO Act
- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was enacted in 2012 especially to protect children (aged less than 18) from sexual assault.
- The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Act admitted that a number of sexual offences against children were neither specifically provided for in extant laws nor adequately penalised.
- The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by India in 1992, also requires sexual exploitation and sexual abuse to be addressed as heinous crimes.
Issues with Bombay High Court’s Judgement
- The Bench acquitted a man under the POCSO Act found guilty of assault on the grounds that he groped his victim over her clothes and there was no skin-to-skin contact between them.
- As this judgment was likely to set a dangerous precedent, the apex court stayed the acquittal.
- Section 7 of the POCSO Act, along with other things, says that whoever with sexual intent touches the breast of the child is said to commit sexual assault.
- Whereas Section 8 of the Act provides minimum imprisonment of three years for sexual assault.
- Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) lays down a minimum of one year imprisonment for outraging the modesty of a woman.
Difference between IPC and POCSO
- The difference between POCSO and IPC, as far as the offence of sexual assault is concerned, is two-fold.
- One, the definition of ‘assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty’ given in the IPC is generic.
- Whereas in POCSO, the acts of sexual assault are explicitly mentioned such as touching various private parts.
- ‘Sexual assault’ in POCSO specifically excludes rape which requires penetration; otherwise the scope of ‘sexual assault’ under POCSO and ‘outraging modesty of a woman’ under the IPC is the same.
- Two, whereas the IPC provides punishment for the offence irrespective of any age of the victim, POCSO is specific for the protection of children.
- Higher punishment is provided under POCSO not because more serious allegations of sexual assault are required but because the legislature wanted punishment to be more deterrent if the victims are children.
Conclusion
In the absence of any specific provision in the POCSO Act which requires skin-to-skin touch as a mandatory element of an offence, any interpretation which dilutes protection to children must be declared ultra vires.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Judicial scrutiny of the laws
Mains level: Paper 2- Need for strict scrutiny of the laws by the Parliament
Farmers’ protests against the farm laws and staying of implementation of these laws by the judiciary have once again brought into focus the process followed in the passage of laws by the parliament. This article highlights the importance of parliamentary committees.
Need for introspection on the role of parliament
- The Supreme Court’s order on the farm laws staying their implementation crossed the line of separation between the legislature and judiciary.
- The order should trigger introspection in Parliament.
- Since 2019, the constitutionality of statutes passed by it, like the abrogation of Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act and recently the farm laws, has been challenged before the SC.
- The highest lawmaking body should be asking itself whether it rigorously scrutinises the constitutionality of bills.
Three mechanisms to examine the constitutionality
- Parliament has three mechanisms for examining whether a government bill adheres to constitutional principles.
- First, any member of the Parliament can oppose the introduction of a bill by stating that it initiates legislation outside the legislative competence of the Parliament.
- Second, MPs also get an opportunity to discuss a bill’s constitutionality while debating it in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
- But on both these occasions, the strength of the argument does not determine the legislative outcome.
- The Parliament’s decision depends on the numbers that the treasury and opposition benches command on the house floor.
- Third, the opportunity for probing a bill’s constitutionality arises when a parliamentary committee is examining it.
Advantages of scrutiny of the bill by parliamentary committee
- The most important opportunity of the above mentioned three opportunities is scrutiny by the parliamentary committee.
- In the past too, the parliamentary committees have subjected the bills to strict scrutiny on the issue of constitutionality.
- For example, the committee examining the land acquisition bill 2011 was concerned about the bill infringing upon the state governments’ power.
- Similarly, during the deliberations on the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016, the joint committee explicitly asked the government whether the bill would violate the spirit of Articles 14 and 25 of the Constitution.
- The committee process also has the advantage of drawing on constitutional expertise outside of the law ministry.
- The government has also fielded the attorney general to appear before parliamentary committees.
Weakness of parliamentary committee process
- Our parliamentary committee process has a fatal flaw.
- Government bills do not automatically go to committees for examination.
- Ministers get an option to refer their bill to a select committee, they often don’t exercise this option.
- While countries like Sweden and Finland pass their bills through two parliamentary committees.
- One committee looks at the technical aspects of a proposed law, and a specialised committee focuses on a bill’s constitutional validity.
Consider the question “Several laws passed by the government have been challenged before the judiciary on the ground of unconstitutionality. This highlights the importance of strict scrutiny of the bills by the Parliament. In light of this, examine the role played by the parliamentary committees in the scrutiny of the bills.”
Conclusion
Lack of robust scrutiny processes weakens Parliament’s image as the highest legislative institution and encourages judicial encroachment on its powers. After all, lawmaking should not be a mechanical stamping of the government’s legislative proposals but their careful examination by the Parliament.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: How dams exacerbate disasters
Mains level: Paper 3- Role of dams in exacerbating disasters
The article explains the link between the disasters in the Uttarakhand and the construction of dams.
How dams exacerbate disasters
- The use of explosives has repeatedly been questioned for dam construction, and the construction of other infrastructure projects, such as roads, in the fragile Himalayan State.
- Other than this, deforestation takes place when dams are constructed.
- The construction material that is supposed to be dumped on separate land is often dumped into the rivers.
The Chopra Committee report after Kedarnath flood
- The Chopra Committee report of 2014 brings more clarity on how dams exacerbate a disaster such as floods.
- Its report mentions how dams exacerbated the 2013 deluge, mainly as riverbeds were already raised from the disposed muck at the dam construction sites.
- The report presents evidence to prove that dams are not only damaged in floods, they also cause immense damage in downstream areas.
- This is because as floodwaters damage a barrage, they increase the destructive capacity of the water that flows downstream of the barrage.
- In an affidavit submitted on December 5, 2014 in the Supreme Court, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change acknowledged the adverse impact of dams in the 2013 floods.
Impact of climate change and threat of earthquakes
- Himalayan glaciers are receding and disintegrating as a result of climate change, and the snow cover in the Himalayas is also thinning.
- Research shows an increase in number and volume of glacial lakes as a result of of increased temperatures.
- For dams, this means rapid increase or decrease in the reservoir water level.
- It also means that the projections on the life of a dam reservoir may not stand due to erratic events, such as floods, that could rapidly fill a reservoir with muck and boulders brought along with the floods.
- In terms of earthquake risk, Uttarakhand lies in Seismic Zone-IV (severe intensity) and Seismic Zone-V (very severe intensity).
- Ignoring this, many dams have been constructed in zones that are under high risk of witnessing severe earthquakes.
Consider the question “Examine the role played by the dams in exacerbating the disasters in the Himalayan states”
Conclusion
It is clear that dams worsen disasters, and for this to be ignored by the State authorities is unfortunate.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Flash floods
Mains level: Flood management
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the Indian Express.
What are Flash floods?
- A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions.
- It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, tropical storm, or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields.
Take a glimpse of the series of disasters in Uttarakhand
Chamoli example
- Flash flood incident in Uttarakhand is another warning of the dangers that a Himalayan state like Uttarakhand faces from natural processes like landslides, snow avalanches cloudbursts or lake bursts.
- As we saw in 2013 in the same state, such processes can trigger much bigger disasters and cause massive destruction.
- But it is possible to work towards minimising the threat of such incidents and reduce their impact.
Role of glacial lakes
- There are over 1,000 glaciers in Uttarakhand. Almost all of them are receding. Most of the glaciers also have debris cover.
- When glaciers retreat due to rising temperatures, the snow melts but the debris remains. This debris aids in the formation of lakes.
Cause: Retreat of glaciers
- Glaciers have reduced considerably in mass and surface area since the little ice age period.
- This has led to the formation of a large number of glacial lakes all across the Himalayas.
- Many of these high-altitude lakes are potentially dangerous, because of their potential to cause flash floods in the event of a breach.
How big is the threat?
- Over the years, the frequency of formation of these lakes has increased.
- But despite that, there are not many GLOF (glacial lake outburst flood) events happening in Uttarakhand.
- Not as many as in Sikkim, for example. This is because Uttarakhand has very steep slopes, and the water manages to find a way out.
What should be done?
(a) Coherent research
- There are a lot more glaciologists and others who are working in the area and generating data.
- Multiple scientific groups and institutions are involved. But there is no coherent output. Lots of data are being generated but not being put to good use.
- There has to be one agency dedicated to the job.
(b) Monitoring
- The first step in tackling the threat from these glacial lakes is to start monitoring them and the glaciers more actively and regularly.
- There is a need to monitor every glacier. Glaciers in one basin do not have remarkably different properties.
- Relying only on satellites and remote sensing is not going to be enough.
- What is required is a consolidated state of glaciers in India, with the ability to zoom in on any of them and track the changes happening year by year.
(c) Planning
- Construction-related activities in the state might not have a direct link to Chamoli incident, but these are not entirely benign.
- The Himalayas are very young mountain systems, and extremely fragile and a minor change in orientation of the rocks can be enough to trigger landslides.
- It is important to include glaciers in any environment impact assessment for major projects such as the construction of dams.
- The entire catchment areas should be made part of the impact assessment.
(d) Mitigation
- If we monitor the glaciers regularly, it would enable us to identify the lakes that need mitigation solutions.
- Several structural and geotechnical measures can be applied, and there are successful examples where the threat from these lakes has been reduced.
- It is possible to construct channels for the gradual and regulated discharge of water from these lakes, which will reduce the pressure on them, and minimise the chances of a breach.
- At the same time, it also reduces the volume of water that goes into the flash flood. Also, alarm systems can be set up at the lakes that will warn the community downstream whenever an overflow happens.
Way forward
- It is not possible to completely prevent these kinds of incidents. But their potential to cause destruction can certainly be minimized.
- Scientists can find a way to let the lake waters slowly drain at the nearby river at a regulated rate so that there is no flooding, and the pressure on the lake does not become unbearable.
- Such solutions can be applied in Uttarakhand, and some work is being done.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dams in Uttarakhand
Mains level: Risks posed by Hydel projects
The flash flood that claimed several lives in Chamoli has caused Uttarakhand’s hydroelectric projects (HEPs) to be scrutinized closely.
Q.How do hydropower projects pose geological and topographical threats to the ecosystem? (150W)
Why Hydropower in Uttarakhand?
- Uttarakhand has a tricky relationship with electricity.
- With a landscape that’s inhospitable to thermal power grid lines and with people too poor to pay for electricity, micro and mini hydro-electric power projects were seen as the answer.
- Between the government’s long-standing ‘power for all’ objective, and environmentalists pushing for a cleaner, renewable energy, setting up dozens of hydel power plants seemed ideal.
Impacts of HEPs
Limitless quarrying, deforestation, stopping the flow of rivers, and mushrooming of hydropower projects have made the Himalayas unstable.
- Existing and under-construction hydro-power projects in Uttarakhand have led to several deleterious environmental impacts (Char Dham Committee).
- Among the significant impacts are on the river ecosystem, forest and terrestrial biodiversity, geological environment and social infrastructure.
- More than seven years later, some experts believe that over-exploitation of rivers and rampant damming for hydroelectric projects (HEPs) could be one of the big factors responsible for the Chamoli disaster.
- The ‘river-bed profile’ across the major HEPs of Uttarakhand has changed significantly, suggesting the possibility of disasters in future.
The Kedarnath floods
- Between June 13 and 17, 2013, Uttarakhand had received an unusual amount of rainfall.
- This led to the melting of the Chorabari glacier and the eruption of the Mandakini river.
- The floods affected large parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Western Nepal.
- The heavy rainfall caused massive flash floods and landslides resulting in the death of residents and tourists as well as extensive damage to property.
- Over 5,000 people were killed in the floods
Construction still persists
- Neglecting all warnings of the experts, rampant construction was carried out in the sensitive zones even after the 2013 Kedarnath deluge.
- Notably, two dozen hydropower plants of Uttarakhand were rejected by the Supreme Court after the expert panel report.
HEPs in Uttarakhand
The rivers and basins in the state are dotted with 43 micro hydel projects. Some of them are:
Alarms have been raised earlier
- The Kedarnath expert committee had warned about the excessive exploitation of vulnerable regions and the need to re-study and re-evaluate the HEPs of Uttarakhand.
- The report also objected to HEPs at an altitude of over 2000 metres.
- The report pointed out that the potential threat of landslide, cloudburst, subsidence, flash floods has increased tremendously in the past few years and many critical zones need immediate attention.
- The study also mentioned that a lot of anthropogenic pressure due to different activities related to HEPs was alarming and needed checks.
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