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RBI Notifications

India needs thoughtful legislation on digital currency

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Context

The dramatic changes in technology have created new challenges for the law, lawmakers, courts and lawyers to confront.

Challenges posed by technological transformation

Technology has outpaced the law, and lawmakers are being challenged by how quickly “we the people” have embraced technological transformations.
Challenges of regulation: Challenges include regulation of digital media platforms, censorship of Over The Top (OTT) streaming services, fixing accountability for procuring and deploying spyware like Pegasus, dealing with the bias within artificial intelligence etc.
Regulation of cryptocurrencies: In probably no other area are lawmakers required to appreciate science and technology than in cryptocurrency.
With 10 crore users of cryptocurrency and crypto assets in India, this ever-expanding market is almost entirely unregulated.

Practices or legislative models that have been adopted the other countries for regulation of cryptocurrencies

KYC, AML and CFT: Countries where cryptocurrencies and crypto-assets are legal have frameworks that mandate KYC (know your customer), AML (Anti-Money Laundering) mechanisms and demand adherence to CFT (Combating Financing of Terrorism) requirements.

[1] How Singapore regulates crypto-currencies?

Singapore adopted the approach which favours strong regulation rather than ban.
Common law to regulate traditional and cryptocurrencies: Singapore has the Payments Services Act, 2020 that has streamlined both traditional and cryptocurrencies under one law.
Provision for licences: The law also provides a framework to obtain licences to operate crypto businesses.

[2] How Switzerland regulates cryptocurrencies?

Switzerland has also favoured the strong regulation model overseen by an already established financial regulator.
Provision for licences: The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) that oversees the country’s financial markets mandates that all virtual asset service providers, including cryptocurrency exchanges must be licenced.
KYC, AML and CFT procedures must be strictly complied with. These are the checks on the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets that could facilitate criminal enterprise.

[3] Approach adopted by the US

Crypto exchanges to be transmitters: The US does not consider cryptocurrency to be legal tender but defines cryptocurrency exchanges to be money transmitters.
Cryptocurrencies as property: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats cryptocurrency as property for US federal taxation purposes.
Exchanges must obtain requisite licences from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and implement the standard AML and CFT requirements that have become the norm in most jurisdictions that regulate cryptocurrencies.
Revenue potential: One of the most important lessons to absorb from the US is the revenue potential of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets.

Conclusion

In India, the need of the times is thoughtful legislation and rigorous regulation of cryptocurrencies and crypto-assets that are already here and being used.

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Food Procurement and Distribution – PDS & NFSA, Shanta Kumar Committee, FCI restructuring, Buffer stock, etc.

[pib] Centre declares Soya Meal as an Essential Commodity

| Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Regulation of Essential Commodities

Mains level: Essential Commodities Act

In a bid to cool down the domestic prices of Soya Meal, Government has notified order under the Essential Commodities Act to declare ‘Soya Meal’ as Essential Commodities under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

Essential Commodities Act

The ECA, 1955 was established to ensure the delivery of certain commodities or products, the supply of which, if obstructed due to hoarding or black marketing, would affect the normal life of the people.
The list of items under the Act includes drugs, fertilizers, pulses, and edible oils, as well as petroleum and petroleum products.
The Centre can include new commodities as and when the need arises, and takes them off the list once the situation improves.
Additionally, the government can also fix the maximum retail price (MRP) of any packaged product that it declares an “essential commodity”.

How ECA works?

(1) Centre notifying stock limit holding

If the Centre finds that a certain commodity is in short supply and its price is spiking, it can notify stock-holding limits on it for a specified period.
The States act on this notification to specify limits and take steps to ensure that these are adhered to.
Anybody trading or dealing in the commodity, be it wholesalers, retailers or even importers are prevented from stockpiling it beyond a certain quantity.

(2) States can opt-out

A State can, however, choose not to impose any restrictions.
But once it does, traders have to immediately sell into the market any stocks held beyond the mandated quantity.

What happens for non-compliance?

As not all shopkeepers and traders comply, State agencies conduct raids to get everyone to toe the line and the errant are punished.
The excess stocks are auctioned or sold through fair price shops.
This improves supplies and brings down prices.

Ex: The Union Government has brought masks and hand-sanitizers under the ECA to make sure that these products, key for preventing the spread of Covid-19 infection, are available to people at the right price and in the right quality. Later this move was reverted.

What about Food Items?

(1) Items covered:

Rice, wheat, atta, gram dal, arhar dal, moong dal, urad dal, masoor, dal, tea, sugar, salt, Vanaspati, groundnut oil, mustard oil, milk, soya oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, gur, potato, onion and tomato.

(2) Price Stabilization Fund (PSF):

The government utilizes the buffer of agri-horticultural commodities like pulses, onion, etc. built under Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) to help moderate the volatility in prices.

Recent amendments to the ECA

In 2020, the EC Act was amended for the stock limit to be imposed only under exceptional circumstances such as famine or other calamities.

Exceptional circumstances: It allowed the centre to delist certain commodities as essential, allowing the government to regulate their supply and prices only in cases of war, famine, extraordinary price rises, or natural calamities.
Commodities de-regulated: The commodities that have been deregulated are food items, including cereals, pulses, potatoes, onion, edible oilseeds, and oils.

Exceptions provided:

The government regulation of stocks will be based on rising prices, and can only be imposed if there is

A 100% increase in retail price in the case of horticultural produce and
A 50% increase in retail price in the case of non-perishable agricultural food items

These restrictions will not apply to stocks of food held for public distribution in India.

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Judicial Reforms

Plea in Supreme Court seeks ‘Uniform Judicial Code’ for HCs

| Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Uniform Judicial Code

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court to implement a “Uniform Judicial Code (UJC)” for High Courts across the country to adopt a uniform set of procedures, especially for virtual courts.

What is the PIL about?

The petition urged the apex court to take appropriate steps to adopt uniform procedure for case registration, use common judicial terms, phrases and abbreviations and make the court fee uniform.
It has, alternatively, sought a direction to the Law Commission of India to prepare a report in consultation with the HC in this regard.

Why need UJC?

Matter of Equality: Judicial equality is a matter of constitutional right, its differentiation based on the jurisdiction of courts violates the right to equality.
Different nomenclatures: All the 25 High Courts have different usage of the phrases when it comes to identifying different cases.
Diverse procedures: The PIL plea highlighted how different High Courts follow different procedures in matters pertaining to virtual courts, started during the pandemic.
Different fees: Unequal court fees in different states discriminate among citizens based on their place of birth and residence. Moreover, it promotes regionalism; hence it is a clear violation of Articles 14-15.

Way forward: Bringing in digitized Judiciary systems

The judiciary needs to develop a well-defined framework supported by an accessible platform and direct e-court system in India.
It also needs to harp on advanced infrastructure to run an e-court system that eradicates the digital divide, simultaneously upping judicial functioning.
While the digitized judicial systems give some semblance of convenience for the people who interact with the court, digitization also brings threats of intrusion etc.

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International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

How James Webb Telescope seeks to unlock Universe’s Secrets

Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: JWST

Mains level: Not Much

Today, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built, will be launched from French Guiana, on the northeast coast of South America on the European Ariane 5 rocket.

James Webb Space Telescope

JWST is a space telescope jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
It is planned to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA’s flagship astrophysics mission.
It will conduct a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology, including:

Observing some of the most distant events and objects in the universe such as the formation of the first galaxies
Detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets

How is it different from other telescopes?

JWST is much more powerful and has the ability to look in the infrared spectrum, which will allow it to peer through much deeper into the universe, and see through obstructions such as gas clouds.
As electromagnetic waves travel for long distances, they lose energy, resulting in an increase in their wavelength.
An ultraviolet wave, for example, can slowly move into the visible light spectrum and the infrared spectrum, and further weaken to microwaves or radio waves, as it loses energy.
Hubble was designed to look mainly into the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
JWST is primarily an infrared telescope, the first of its kind.

Special features of JWST

(1) Time machine in space

Powerful space telescopes, like JWST or the Hubble Telescope, are often called time machines because of their ability to view very faraway objects.
The light coming from those objects, stars or galaxies, which is captured by these telescopes, began its journey millions of years earlier.
Essentially, what these telescopes see are images of these stars or galaxies as they were millions of years ago.
The more distant the planet or star, the farther back in time are the telescopes able to see.

(2) Farthest from Earth

JWST will also be positioned much deeper into space, about a million miles from Earth, at a spot known as L2.
It is one of the five points, known as Lagrange’s points, in any revolving two-body system like Earth and Sun, where the gravitational forces of the two large bodies cancel each other out.
Objects placed at these positions are relatively stable and require minimal external energy to keep them there. L2 is a position directly behind Earth in the line joining the Sun and the Earth.
It would be shielded from the Sun by the Earth as it goes around the Sun, in sync with the Earth.

(3) Engineering marvel

JWST has one large mirror, with a diameter of 21 feet (the height of a typical two-storey building), that will capture the infra-red light coming in from the deep universe while facing away from the Sun.
It will be shielded by a five-layer, tennis court-sized, kite-shaped sunscreen that is designed to block the heat from Sun and ensure the extremely cool temperatures that the instruments are built to operate at.
Temperatures on the sun-facing side can get as high as 110°C, while the other side would be maintained at –200° to –230°C.
The extremely cold temperatures are needed to detect the extremely faint heat signals from distant galaxies.
The mirror as well as the sunscreen is so large they could not have fit into any rocket. They have been built as foldable items and would be unraveled in space.

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Swachh Bharat Mission

Meendum Manjappai Scheme

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Meendum Manjappai Scheme

Mains level: Not Much

Tamil Nadu CM has launched the ‘Meendum Manjappai’ Scheme to promote the use of cloth bags by the public and discourage the use of plastic bags.

Meendum Manjappai Scheme

This awareness campaign on using ‘yellow’ cloth bag or ‘manjapai’ as it is called in Tamil, is aimed at encouraging the people to return to the use of this eco-friendly bag and discard the plastic bags.
Manjal means turmeric in Tamil which has curative power. The manjapai was an integral part of daily life in the past.
Traditionally the manjapais were used for shopping, carrying books, ration and even cash.
The state government had enforced a ban on the production, use, storage, distribution, transportation or sale of 14 types of plastics with effect from January 1, 2019.

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RBI Notifications

What is Tokenization of Debit and Credit Cards?

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Effects Of Liberalization On The Economy, Changes In Industrial Policy and their effects on Industrial Growth

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Tokenization

Mains level: Read the attached story

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to defer the implementation of tokenization of debit and credit cards for online transactions by a further six months following representations from stakeholders.

RBI decision

RBI has also extended tokenization of Card-on-File (CoF) transactions where card details are saved by merchants — and directed the merchants not to store card details in their systems from January 1, 2022.
A CoF transaction is one in which a cardholder has authorized a merchant to store his or her Mastercard or Visa payment details, and to bill the stored account.
E-commerce companies and airlines and supermarket chains often store card details.

What is Tokenisation?

Tokenisation refers to the replacement of credit and debit card details with an alternative code called a ‘token’.
This token is unique for a combination of card, token requestor (the entity that accepts a request from the customer for tokenisation of a card and passes it on to the card network to issue a token) and the device.

Benefits of Tokenization

Transaction safety: Tokenization reduces the chances of fraud arising from sharing card details.
Easy payments: The token is used to perform contactless card transactions at point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and QR code payments.
Data storage: Only card networks and card-issuing banks will have access to and can store any card data.

How are the transactions currently processed?

There are many players involved in processing one card transaction today:

Merchant
Payment aggregator
Issuing bank
Card network

When a transaction happens on a merchant platform, the data is sent to the payment aggregator (PA).
The PA next sends the details to either the issuing bank or the card network.
Then issuing bank sends an OTP and the transaction flows back.

Which companies dominate card transactions in India?

Is the industry ready to implement this?

Not fully, that is why the RBI had to extend the deadline.
The industry currently can convert CoF into a tokenized number. However, the readiness to process the token is negligible.
About 90% of banks are ready with provisioning of token on Visa. Only 25-30% banks are ready on Mastercard.

Impact on businesses

If the industry isn’t ready, several business models would be impacted.

E-mandates (recurring payments) will stand ineffective from 1 July.
Card EMIs account for 25% of online e-commerce sales. That option will no longer be available.
Cashbacks/discount offers by banks will be impacted, too.
A user may not be able to use Mastercard saved cards on a merchant platform to make a transaction and will have to enter the card details every time a transaction is made.
This could be the same for some Visa cards.

Way forward

The new system is a much bigger disruption to the way digital payments will henceforth be processed.
Integration of systems and the ability to process is one part.
The industry also needs to test the performance and success rate of the tokenization solution.

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Women Safety Issues – Marital Rape, Domestic Violence, Swadhar, Nirbhaya Fund, etc.

Maharashtra govt.’s Shakti Bill

| Governance | Mains Paper 2: Laws, Institutions & Bodies Constituted For The Vulnerable Sections

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Need of stringent laws for women safety

The Maharashtra government’s Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, on crimes against women and children has recommended capital punishment in rape cases.

Why have stringent laws have consistently failed to instill any fear in rapists? Discuss.

Shakti Act: Key Provisions

Capital punishment: It proposes stringent punishment including the death penalty and heavy fines for the culprits.
Fast-track trial: Special police teams and separate courts will be set up for investigation and trial of cases against women and children.
Jail term: The perpetrators if found guilty will be punished with imprisonment for life for not less than ten years but may extend to the remainder of natural life or with death in cases which have characteristics of being heinous in nature.
Compensation: A sum of Rs 10 lakh will be given to an acid attack victim for plastic surgery and facial reconstruction and the amount will be collected as fine from the convict.
Rapid investigation: The investigation shall be completed within a period of 15 working days from the date of registration of an offence. This can be extended by 7 days.
In-camera investigation: Some cases will be tried in-camera for the recording of evidence of victims and witnesses who are vulnerable.

Why in news?

(1) Covering acid-attacks

Politicians in Maharashtra have recommended increasing the quantum of punishment for acid attack cases under section 326A of IPC to at least 15 years that may extend to the remainder of a convict’s natural life.
The expenditure of plastic surgery and face reconstruction operations for the victim will be taken care of from the monetary fine to be charged on the accused.

(2) Social media accountability

The panel has also increased the punishment under the IPC section 175A for failure to share data for probe by social media platforms, internet providers.
Also, under Pocso Act, the data must be within three days at the pain of penalty.

(3) Curb on false complaints

Punishment will be increased for false complaints and for giving wrong information to a public servant.
The provisions under the bill are being made more stringent to punish the culprits and set deterrence.
However, it is also necessary that the innocent are saved and so severe punishment is required against people filing false or wrongful complaints.
The committee has also scrapped the provision of not giving anticipatory bail to people making wrongful or false complaints.

(4) Covering trans-persons

Under section 354E, which provides for punishment for any act of intimidating woman and insulting her modesty, the category of offenders has been increased to cover men, women and even transgender persons.

Limitations of stringent laws

Despite several laws, incidences of rapes continue unabated.
In fact, now we hear cases of extreme brutality.
The general perception is that since the laws have been made more stringent, so the rapists resort to extreme measures in a bid to destroy the evidence.

Way forward

What we need is better policing, making public spaces safer for women, ensuring round-the-clock surveillance of isolated areas, and deployment of police at all strategic points.
Prevention and not punishment is the solution and that requires concerted efforts on part of all the stakeholders.
It is not harsher punishments that will deter. It is the fear of being caught and not being spared.

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Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

Who was P.N. Panicker?

PIB | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: P.N. Panicker and his contribution

Mains level: Not Much

The President of India has recently unveiled the statue of Shri P.N. Panicker at Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram.

P.N. Panicker (1909-1995)

Puthuvayil Narayana Panicker is known as the Father of the Library Movement of Kerala.
June 19, his death anniversary, has been observed in Kerala as Vayanadinam (Reading Day) since 1996.
In 2017, PM has declared June 19, Kerala’s Reading Day, as National Reading Day in India.
The following month is also observed as National Reading Month in India

Contributions

Panicker led the formation of Thiruvithaamkoor Granthasala Sangham (Travancore Library Association) in 1945 with 47 rural libraries.
The slogan of the organization was ‘Read and Grow’.
Later on, with the formation of Kerala State in 1956, it became Kerala Granthasala Sangham (KGS).
He traveled to the villages of Kerala proclaiming the value of reading.
Grandhasala Sangham won the ‘Krupsakaya Award’ from UNESCO in 1975.
It became the Kerala State Library Council, with an in-built democratic structure and funding.

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Electoral Reforms In India

Electoral reform is welcome, but shouldn’t be selective

op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Representation Of People's Act

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: ECI and SECs

Mains level: Paper 2- Electoral reforms

Context

The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill that seeks to link the electoral rolls with the Aadhaar database has been passed by both the Houses of the parliament.

Three electoral reforms

A wide range of electoral reform proposals has been pending with the government, several of them for over two decades.
The three reforms — common electoral rolls for Vidhan Sabha and panchayat elections, extending the qualifying date for registration of young new voters, and linking of Aadhaar with electoral rolls — taken up by the Union Cabinet on December 15 are, therefore, significant.

[1] Common electoral rolls

For years, the ECI has been advocating a common electoral roll for all elections.
Currently, separate electoral rolls are maintained for elections to the Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and local government bodies (panchayats or municipal).
Role of ECI and SECs: There are two types of election management bodies in the country — the ECI that conducts the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections and SECs that conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
The process for making electoral rolls is laid down in the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The SECs have the option of either adopting the electoral rolls created by the ECI or preparing such rolls on their own.
Most prefer to use the rolls prepared by the ECI.
Some states, however, develop their rolls independently.
These are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Considering that a voter for all three tiers of elected bodies is the same, why is it that she finds her name missing from one of the rolls, mostly the panchayat rolls?
This is particularly surprising when the officials responsible for making both these rolls are the same.
A common electoral roll is thus a logical solution.

Benefits of common electoral rolls

Tackling stuffing voters: A common experience has been the stuffing of bogus voters in the panchayat/municipal rolls.
Corrupt practices are proportionately higher in PRI polls.
Avoid the involvement of teachers in the non-teaching work: The process of making electoral rolls is usually done by the schoolteachers.
Their involvement in non-teaching work takes its toll.
Cost-saving: A common electoral roll will obviate the need for deploying them repeatedly, besides saving enormous costs.

Suggestions for preparation of common electoral rolls

Issue joint instructions: The ECI and SECs can issue joint instructions for preparing the common rolls. The roll-making machinery stays the same.
Pilot studies may be conducted in random constituencies to identify the discrepancies between two sets of rolls and their reasons.

What are the constitutional and legal changes required?

Amendment in Article 243K and 243ZA: The SECs derive their powers to supervise local body elections from Articles 243K and 243ZA of the Constitution.
Changes in State laws: All state governments would have to change their electoral laws to adopt ECI electoral rolls for local elections.

[2] Eligibility date of new voters

According to Section 14(b) of the Representation of People Act of 1950, only those who have turned 18 on or before January 1 of the year are to be registered.
This implies that all those who turn 18 between January 2 and December 31 of a year must wait till the next year.
This technicality results in the exclusion of a large section of 18-year-olds.

Suggestion by ECI on eligibility date

The ECI had sent a letter to the Law Ministry on November 4, 2013, which recommended the issuing of a voter card to an individual ideally on their 18th birthday, or updating voter rolls every month or quarter.
A committee of the Ministry of Law and Justice under Sushil Kumar Modi has proposed quarterly cut-off dates for voter registration — January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1.

[3] Aadhar linking

The proposal to link electoral rolls with Aadhaar was first mooted by the ECI in 2015 but work on it had to be stopped when the Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar cannot be used except voluntarily for beneficiary-oriented schemes.
Benefits of linking: The linking will help in identifying duplicate voters, something that ECI has been desperately attempting for years using various “de-duplication” software with limited success.

Consider the question “What are the concerns with linking of Aadhar and electoral rolls? Suggest the way forward.”

Conclusion

Any progress in addressing the vexed issue of electoral reform — even in a piecemeal manner — is welcome. The time has, however, come for the government to consider the 40-plus pending proposals, instead of selectively going for some reforms.

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Electoral Reforms In India

In electoral reform bill’s passing, a missed opportunity

op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Representation Of People's Act

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Paper 2- Linking Aadhar with electoral roll

Context

The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed in the Lok Sabha recently. It seeks to link electoral rolls with the Aadhaar ecosystem.

What are the concerns with linking of Aadhar with electoral roll?

[1] Aadhar is not proof of citizenship

Aadhaar is not meant to be a citizenship proof but only a digital identity for all residents.
Residence of 182 days can make even a non-citizen eligible for an Aadhaar ID.

[2] Aadhar is not address proof

According to public statements by several government functionaries, Aadhaar was only meant to be identity proof but not address proof.
Electoral roll is based on Aadhar: In contrast, the RER clearly stipulates address to be a key index for electoral rolls.
Different enrollment process: Moreover, the enrolment processes for voters’ lists and Aadhaar are completely different.
Whereas Aadhaar enrolment is based on production of existing documents and the “introducer system”, voter enrolments involve physical verification and “house visits” by a registration officer or representative.

[3] No audit report on the efficacy of Aadhaar deduplication or on the authenticity of the Aadhaar database

Even the Supreme Court accepted the Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) claims on the integrity of the Aadhaar database at face value without any scrutiny.
Risk of exclusion error: Using Aadhaar to clean the electoral rolls involved the risk of disenfranchisement, especially of the marginalised communities.
It is to be noted that there is ample publicly documented evidence of large-scale exclusion in PDS and welfare disbursal due to Aadhaar.

[4] Conflict of interest

UIDAI is under government control: Maintenance of the voters’ lists is a primary responsibility of the ECI, which is an independent constitutional body, whereas Aadhaar is a government instrument and UIDAI is under government control.
Since the ECI has no control on either enrolment or deduplication in Aadhaar, it appears inappropriate — and a potential conflict of interest — to use Aadhaar for electoral rolls.
In particular, since Aadhaar is directly used for disbursal of welfare and direct benefit transfers, linking it with voter ID may provide a direct method for the government to influence and manipulate voters.

[5] Risk of profiling and targeting of voters

Aadhaar is a ubiquitous ID that is used in a variety of applications.
Linking it with the voter ID will open up avenues for profiling and targeting of voters.
No audit for purpose limitation: This is of particular concern because neither the UIDAI nor the ECI have publicly audited architectures for purpose limitation and protection against insider attacks.
While profiling using public data is not illegal according to current laws, both the electorate and Parliament need to clearly understand the risks of such profiling.
It is far easier to win elections through digital analysis of electoral rolls than through attacking the electronic voting process, especially when election results are available at booth-level granularity
Both privacy and integrity of the electoral rolls are of paramount importance in the digital age, and the clear tension between the two makes the problem challenging.

Way forward

Use of cryptography: The RER of 1960 clearly opted for transparency as a means to the integrity of the electoral rolls, thereby ensuring that all additions and deletions can be publicly audited.
However, with the possibility of digital processing of electoral data, the risks associated with such complete transparency have increased manifold.
Yet, there are several modern techniques from cryptography and computer science that may help mitigate the risks by enabling both privacy and public auditability.

Consider the question “The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 enable the linking of electoral rolls with the Aadhaar ecosystem. What are the objectives of such linking and concerns raised against it?”

Conclusion

An electoral reforms bill at the onset of 2022 needed to explore and address these issues head-on.

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Women Safety Issues – Marital Rape, Domestic Violence, Swadhar, Nirbhaya Fund, etc.

Karnataka’s Anti-Conversion Legislation

| Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Communalism, Secularism, Regionalism

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Articles 25, 26

Mains level: Religious conversions isses

Amid opposition, the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, was introduced in the Assembly.

What is the Bill about?

The Bill envisages stringent provisions for forced or induced conversions.
The government wants to prohibit conversion by:

Misrepresentation
Force
Allurement
Fraudulent means
Marriage
Coercion and undue influence

Key features of the Bill

(1) Filing of Complaints

Complaints of conversions can be filed by family members of a person who is getting converted, or any other person who is related to the person who is getting converted, or any person associated with the person getting converted.

(2) Punishment and fines

The offense of conversion is cognisable and non-bailable and will attract a jail term of three to five years and a fine of ₹25,000 for people found violating the law.
There is a jail term of three to 10 years, and a fine of ₹50,000 for people converting minors, women and persons from the SC and ST communities.
The Bill also envisages a compensation of ₹5 lakh to victims of forced conversions.

Do you know?

Odisha was the first State to enact anti-conversion legislation, the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967. Madhya Pradesh enacted the same the following year.

What about willful conversion?

Prior information: After the law comes into force, any person intending to convert to another religion will have to inform the district magistrate at least thirty days in advance.
Due inquiry of purpose: The person executing the conversion must also give a notice one month in advance, following which an inquiry will be conducted by the district magistrate through the police to establish the real intent of conversion.
Defying the conversion: Not informing the district magistrate will lead to the conversion being declared null and void.

Impact of non-conformance

Not informing authorities will carry a prison term of six months to three years for persons who are converted and one year to five years for the persons carrying out the conversions.
After getting converted, the person has to again inform the district magistrate within 30 days after conversion and must appear before the district magistrate to confirm his/her identity.

What happens once the Conversion is held valid?

Post conversion, the district magistrate has to inform revenue authorities, the social welfare, minority, backward classes and other departments of the conversion.
These authorities will, in turn, take steps with respect to the entitlements of the person in terms of reservations and other benefits.

How many states have enacted the legislation?

Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have laws restricting religious conversion.
Penalties for breaching the laws can range from monetary fines to imprisonment, with punishments ranging from one to three years of imprisonment and fines from ₹5,000 to ₹50,000.
Some of the laws provide for stiffer penalties if women, children, or members of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) are being converted.
Some other States, including Manipur, are reportedly “considering similar laws.”

How has Parliament handled anti-conversion bills?

After independence, Parliament introduced a number of anti-conversion bills which were not enacted for want of majority approval.

In post-Independent India, the first Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill, 1954, which sought to enforce “licensing of missionaries and the registration of conversion.”
This was followed by the introduction of the Backward Communities (Religious Protection) Bill, 1960, “which aimed at checking conversion of Hindus to ‘non-Indian religions’ .
Non-India religions included Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism,.
The Freedom of Religion Bill in 1979, which sought “official curbs on inter-religious conversion.”

Religious conversion: A Constitutionality check

Indian Constitution aspires toward tolerance of all religions and guaranteed that each person was “equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion” (Article 25).
This formulation did not come without dispute; the word “propagate” was one of the most contested in the whole of Indian Constitution.

Core issue: Prevalence of Inter-faith Marriage

India has the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which can be used by inter-faith/inter-community couples to get married.
The Act, however, requires an advance notice of 30 days to the magistrate before a couple is able to register their marriage.
When the parties are from different faiths, communities or castes, such a public notice can be, and has been, a great source of danger and harm from their family/community members.
Consequently, the only option exercised by the inter-faith couples is for one of them to convert to the religion of the other and get married.

Issues with such laws

The anti-conversion laws have been challenged on the ground that innocent persons were being booked under these Acts.

Patriarchal dominance: It is widely presumed that such conversions involve ‘coercion’ or ‘deceit’, and hence, Hindu women ought to be ‘protected’ from the danger of conversion.
Targeting minorities: These laws target Muslims and quoted instances of such inter-faith couples having been harassed by militant activists and state government authorities.
Freedom of Conscience: Women, it is clear, are being treated in a paternalistic way which assumes that they need protection at the cost of their right to make reasoned decisions about changing faith or choosing a friend or life partner.

What about Incentivised Conversions?

There are many cases of incentivized conversions for the poor sections of society in exchange for a dignified social life.

For them, the solution lies in addressing the root issues:

Ending discrimination
Providing high quality and free education to the poor and disenfranchised
Improving access and quality of free health facilities and medicines
Improving nourishment and
Providing adequate employment opportunities to all

Conclusion

Clearly, anti-conversion laws amount to discrimination and a violation of the right to equality.
However, inter-faith marriages should not be pre-conditioned with religious conversion. This certainly raises concerns for the majority of society.
Instead of pursuing this disastrous course, the government could work towards removing impediments to inter-faith marriages and eradicating the social stigma attached to such marriages.
The couples who wish to enter into an inter-faith alliance are enabled and protected.

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Banking Sector Reforms

RBI proposes new norms for Capital Requirement for Banks

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Basel III norms

Mains level: Read the attached story

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to replace existing approaches for measuring minimum operational risk capital requirements of banks with a new Basel-III standardized approach.

What are Capital Requirements of a Bank?

Capital requirements are standardized regulations in place for banks and other depository institutions that determine how much liquid capital must be held of a certain level of their assets.
They are set to ensure that banks and depository institutions’ holdings are not dominated by investments that increase the risk of default.
They also ensure that banks and depository institutions have enough capital to sustain operating losses (OL) while still honoring withdrawals.

Why need such a requirement?

An angry public and uneasy investment climate usually prove to be the catalysts for capital requirements provisions.
This is essential when irresponsible financial behavior by large institutions is seen as the culprit behind a financial crisis, market crash, or recession.

What are the risks for a Bank?

There are many types of risks that banks face.

Credit risk
Market risk
Operational risk
Liquidity risk
Business risk
Reputational risk
Systemic risk
Moral hazard

What is Operational Risk?

‘Operational risk’ refers to the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events.
This has been defined by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision I as the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events.
This definition includes legal risk, but excludes strategic and reputational risk.

Pros of Capital Requirements

Ensure banks stay solvent, avoid default
Ensure depositors have access to funds
Set industry standards
Provide way to compare, evaluate institutions

Unwanted consequences of such move

Raise costs for banks and eventually consumers
Inhibit banks’ ability to invest
Reduce availability of credit, loans

Back2Basics: Basel Accords

They refer to the banking supervision Accords (recommendations on banking regulations)—Basel I, Basel II and Basel III—issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).
They are called the Basel Accords as the BCBS maintains its secretariat at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland and the committee normally meets there.
These are a set of recommendations for regulations in the banking industry.
India has accepted Basel accords for the banking system.

Let’s revise them:

[1] Basel I

In 1988, BCBS introduced capital measurement system called Basel capital accord, also called as Basel 1.
It focused almost entirely on credit risk. It defined capital and structure of risk weights for banks.
The minimum capital requirement was fixed at 8% of risk-weighted assets (RWA).
RWA means assets with different risk profiles.
For example, an asset backed by collateral would carry lesser risks as compared to personal loans, which have no collateral. India adopted Basel 1 guidelines in 1999.

[2] Basel II

In June ’04, Basel II guidelines were published by BCBS, which were considered to be the refined and reformed versions of Basel I accord.
The guidelines were based on three parameters, which the committee calls it as pillars:
Capital Adequacy Requirements: Banks should maintain a minimum capital adequacy requirement of 8% of risk assets.
Supervisory Review: According to this, banks were needed to develop and use better risk management techniques in monitoring and managing all the three types of risks that a bank faces, viz. credit, market and operational risks.
Market Discipline: This need increased disclosure requirements. Banks need to mandatorily disclose their CAR, risk exposure, etc to the central bank. Basel II norms in India and overseas are yet to be fully implemented.

[3] Basel III

In 2010, Basel III guidelines were released. These guidelines were introduced in response to the financial crisis of 2008.
A need was felt to further strengthen the system as banks in the developed economies were under-capitalized, over-leveraged and had a greater reliance on short-term funding.
Also the quantity and quality of capital under Basel II were deemed insufficient to contain any further risk.
Basel III norms aim at making most banking activities such as their trading book activities more capital-intensive.
The guidelines aim to promote a more resilient banking system by focusing on four vital banking parameters viz. capital, leverage, funding and liquidity.

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Indian Army Updates

Indian Army inducts Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicle (AERV)

Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Indigenization Of Technology

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicles (AERV)

Mains level: Not Much

The first batch of next-generation indigenously designed Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicles (AERV) was inducted by the Indian Army.

About AERV

AERV is indigenously designed and developed by DRDO and manufactured by the Pune unit of Bharat Electronics Limited.
It has more than 90% indigenous content.
It is a versatile BMP-IIK amphibious Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV) fitted with instruments for water reconnaissance, land reconnaissance, navigation, and data backup.

Unique capabilities of AERV

AERV is capable of measuring soil bearing capacity on riverbanks.
It works to determine if they are motorable for military vehicles on Go-No Go basis (critical parameters for bridge laying), dry and wet gaps in day and night conditions, slopes and height of river banks or canals.”
AERVs can navigate terrain using Military Grid Coordinate System, measure and plot underwater beds and water currents of rivers or canals.
They can store data from various instruments on Control Console for further analysis and decision-making.

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Wildlife Conservation Efforts

Reintroduction of African Cheetahs in India

Species | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Asiatic Cheetah

Mains level: Wildlife re-introduction Program

Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was all prepped to welcome the African cheetahs — a project that has been a decade in the making — this year. The project has now been postponed, as the new coronavirus variant of concern omicron prompted travel restrictions.

Confused over Leopard and Cheetah?

The most common difference between these two animals is the patterns on their coat. At first glance, it may look like they both have spots, but in actual fact, a leopard has rosettes which are rose-like markings, and cheetahs have a solid round or oval spot shape.

About Asiatic Cheetah

Cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal was declared extinct in India in 1952.
The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.
It was expected to be re-introduced into the country after the Supreme Court lifted curbs for its re-introduction.
From 400 in the 1990s, their numbers are estimated to have reached to 50-70 today, because of poaching, hunting of their main prey (gazelles) and encroachment on their habitat.

Why reintroduce Cheetahs?

Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognized as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.
The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been extirpated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times.
India now has the economic ability to consider restoring its lost natural heritage for ethical as well as ecological reasons.

Why was the project halted?

The court was worried whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favorable climate as far as the abundance of prey is concerned.
Those who challenged the plan argued that the habitat of cheetahs needed to support a genetically viable population.

Try this PYQ:

Q. Consider the following:

1. Black necked crane

2. Cheetah

3. Flying squirrel

4. Snow leopard

Which of the above are naturally found in India?

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(c) 2 and 4 only

(b) 1, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Post your answers here:

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J&K – The issues around the state

Impact of Reorganisation Act on Ladakh’s autonomy

op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Federalism

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Article 370

Mains level: Paper 2- J and K issue

Context

The article deal with the impact of the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019 on Ladakh’s autonomy or participatory democracy.

What has changed?

Hill Councils: The Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil read along with the framework of J&K’s special status and its bicameral legislative system gave Ladakh autonomy and participatory democracy.
The Hill Councils had the powers over land in Ladakh while the majority of the bigger concerns regarding land remained protected under Article 370 and J&K’s robust land protection laws.
Power to recruit the officers: Gazetted officers were recruited through the State Public Service Commission.
The District Service Selection Board made recruitments at the district level.
But today, there is no Public Service Commission in Ladakh and the Hill Councils’ power to make recruitments at the district level has also been affected by the Lieutenant Governor (LG)’s presence.
No law to protect the jobs: Technically, there also exists no law in Ladakh now that protects the land or even the jobs.
Loss of representation: the Reorganisation Act has taken away the six seats of the Members of Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council and wakened the functioning of the Hill Councils.
The only elected representation from Ladakh outside of Ladakh is a lone MP.

Conclusion

Steps need to be taken to address the issues related to the lack of representation in Ladakh in the wake of the passage of the Reorganisation Act of 2019.

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India is keeping an eye on Central Asia

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Paper 2- India's relations with Central Asian countries

Context

The government is inviting the leaders of the five Central Asian countries — Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — as guests for Republic Day on January 26.

Significance of Central Asian region for India

Return of Taliban in Afghanistan: The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has made Central Asia a region where great contestations for influence are unfolding.
There is a growing awareness that for leveraging influence in Kabul and harvesting that influence in the form of material gains, a firm footing in Central Asia is a prerequisite.
Economic dimension: Given the vast untapped mineral wealth of the region encompassing the five Central Asian countries and Afghanistan — estimated to be worth a few trillion dollars — there is a significant economic dimension to the unfolding saga.
Geopolitical angle: Washington hopes to create in Central Asia a vector of its Indo-Pacific strategy to contain China and Russia. At the same time, governments in Moscow and Beijing are circling the wagons.

Suggestions for India

India needs to work on an intricate network of relationships with the regional states while remaining mindful of the “big picture”.
Delhi’s non-aligned mindset needs to be turned into a strategic asset to navigate its long-term interests.
India’s membership of the BRICS and SCO will help.
Cooperation of Russia and China: The deepening of the traditional Indo-Russian mutual understanding has injected dynamism into Delhi’s regional strategy on the whole.
It is bound to have a calming effect on India’s tensions with China.
Delhi cannot have an effective Central Asia strategy without the cooperation of these two big powers.
Regional connectivity: India can use the card of regional connectivity to stimulate partnerships.
The time may have come to reopen the files on the TAPI and IPI gas pipeline projects. Both involve Pakistan.
Normalisation of India-Russia ties: Russia is well-placed to act as guarantor and help build both these pipelines, while China too will see advantages in the normalisation of India-Pakistan ties.

New geoeconomic partnership

Recently concluded third meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue in Delhi served a purpose to sensitise the Central Asian interlocutors that it attaches primacy to geoeconomics.
But India will have a challenge on its hands to flesh out the “4Cs” concept that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar presented at the event — commerce, capacity enhancement, connectivity, and contact being the four pillars of a new geoeconomic partnership.
The key areas are transit and transport, logistics network, regional and international transport corridors, free trade agreements, manufacturing industry and job creation.
They ought to be front-loaded into India’s Central Asian strategy.
Certainly, the EAEU integration processes must be speeded up.

Consider the question “With changing geopolitical scenario, India’s stake in Central Asia has drastically increased. In the context of this, examine India’s outreach efforts toward the region and the challenges it faces in it.”

Conclusion

A host of new possibilities open up if India’s initiative on Central Asia runs on a parallel track with an improvement in relations with China.

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What rising inequality means

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Inclusive Growth & Issues

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Paper 3- Rising inequality and its implications

Context

In the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic, evaluating the state of inequality serves as an eye-opener on the income/wealth divides prevailing across regions.

Income and wealth inequality in the world

The top 10% of the global population share 52% of the total income, while the bottom half survives with a mere 8.5% of it.
This leaves the 40% in the middle with 40% of the income.
This distribution shows the tendency of a rising middle class with lower disparity in income, but it also shows that the status of the poor is worsening day by day.
Inequality of wealth: In terms of wealth, the top 10% of the global population own 76% of the total wealth, while the bottom 50% share a mere 2%.
Some additional features of this exposition of inequality also relate to imbalance of women’s share in income as well as the ecological inequities indicated by the differential carbon emission levels.

Factors responsible for rising inequality

[1] Absence of effective measures of redistribution

Inequality varies across regions. It is moderate in Europe and sharp in Africa.
The top 10% have an income share of 36% in Europe vis-à-vis the top 10% with a share of 58% of the total income in West Asia and North Africa.
Measures for redistribution: This disparity shows that worsening inequalities are avoidable with appropriate measures in place.

[2] The absence of measures discouraging undue accumulation

Kuznet’s curve not follower everywhere: While there is an argument in literature that inequalities are a manifestation of the average level of income, as explained by the Kuznets’ theory, the prevailing pattern across countries does not follow the same.
Average income level is poor predictor of inequality: The average income levels seem to be poor predictors of the levels of inequality, with high-income countries such as the U.S. having higher levels of inequality as against countries such as Sweden, which have moderate levels of inequality.
Similar contradictions are also seen when we contrast middle-income nations such as Brazil, India and China as against Malaysia and Uruguay.
Hence, emerging inequalities are not necessarily an outcome of rising levels of income in the post-liberalisation era, but a depiction of poor redistributive policies towards discouragement of accumulation by governments with due sensitivity towards inequalities.

How inequality hurts government finances

This prevailing pattern of wealth concentration and differential levels of income around the world has also resulted in rich nations having poor governments.
Such a situation has two underpinnings: one, governments have a limited capacity to act on inequality aversion measures and two, private interests overshadow the distributional fairness of wealth.

Way forward

Focus also needs to be placed on reducing disparities in capability domains like education and differential endowments (tangible and intangible) that have the potential to sustain inequalities.

Consider the question “How rising income and wealth inequality could harm us in various ways? What are the factors responsible for the rising inequality? Suggest the way forward.”

Conclusion

The rising levels of income and wealth need to be addresses by policy measures and reducing disparity in capacity domains.

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Roads, Highways, Cargo, Air-Cargo and Logistics infrastructure – Bharatmala, LEEP, SetuBharatam, etc.

How the new Warehousing Policy will transform India’s logistics

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Not much

Mains level: Logistcs and Supply chain management in India

In order to reduce transportation and logistic cost, the union government along with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is working on warehouse policy.

What are Warehouses?

A warehouse is a building for storing goods.
Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc.
They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, towns, or villages.

Objectives of the New Warehousing Policy

Logistics boost: The new policy is aimed at improving logistics throughout the country.
Supply chain management: The modern warehouses will house cold-storage chains and will be able to store all kinds of cargo—wet and dry.
De-congesting cities: These facilities are expected to come up outside city centres so that large trucks carrying the cargo do not need to enter the city to unload their goods.
Fuel efficiency: This will also help boost bulk carrying capacity and save fuel.
Curbing air pollution: The idea is to minimize pollution and traffic congestion in major cities.

Who will frame and implement the policy?

NHAI: The policy will be framed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It will also be the implementing agency.

How?

Through Land Banks: There are land banks along the highways and expressways of the country with the NHAI.
PPP mode: Tenders will be floated for such land parcels, inviting private players to develop warehousing zones in PPP mode on a revenue-sharing basis or for a fixed fee.

What will be the impact on logistic costs?

Logistics cost-saving: Warehousing zones will help cut India’s logistics cost, which is 14%-16% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to 8%-10% of GDP in China and 12%-13% in the US.
Establishment of MMLPs: The warehousing zones and multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) are being set up by the NHAI.
FMCG sector boost: This will help Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms, steel and cement makers stock inventory near major hubs.

How will MMLPs aid warehousing policies?

Integration of multi-modal transport includes the development of 35 MMLPs.
The MMLPs are aimed at fostering inter-modal connectivity through dedicated railway lines and access from highways to provide connectivity to an airport or a seaport or an inland waterway terminal.
The aim is to:

Remove deficiencies related to logistics
Draw the associated costs down, and
Strategically integrate highway projects and other connectivity initiatives

Why such move?

Ans. E-commerce boom

The e-commerce sector has been driving the demand for logistics and warehousing across global markets.
It has emerged as the most prominent driver of Indian warehousing market volumes along with the third party logistics sector.
This sector’s share in transactions has grown from 18% in FY17 to 31% in FY21.
The Indian market is on the verge of its next phase of growth with domestic groups such as Tatas and Reliance entering the business.
Thus far, Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. have driven the market.

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J&K – The issues around the state

Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission

| Polity | Mains Paper 2: Representation Of People's Act

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Delimitation of constituencies

Mains level: Jammu and Kashmir after reorganization

The J&K Delimitation Commission has proposed to increase six seats for the Jammu division and one for the Kashmir division evoking sharp reactions from the regional parties.

What is Delimitation and why is it needed?

Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time.
This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
Aside from changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in a change in the number of seats in a state.

Delimitation in J&K

Assembly seats in J&K were delimited in 1963, 1973 and 1995.
Prior to August 5, 2019, carving out of J&K’s Assembly seats was carried out under the J&K Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
Until then, the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India.
However, the delimitation of the state’s Assembly was governed by the J&K Constitution and J&K Representation of the People Act, 1957.
There was no census in the state in 1991 and hence no Delimitation Commission was set up by the state until 2001 census.

Why is it in the news again?

After the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019, the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the newly-created UT would be as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
On March 6, 2020, the government set up the Delimitation Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, which was tasked with winding up delimitation in J&K in a year.
As per the J&K Reorganization Bill, the number of Assembly seats in J&K would increase from 107 to 114, which is expected to benefit the Jammu region.

Factors considered during Delimitation

The number of districts had increased from 12 to 20 and tehsils from 52 to 207 since the last delimitation.
The population density ranged from 29 persons a square km in Kishtwar to 3,436 persons a square km in Srinagar.
The remoteness of the place, inaccessibility etc are also considered during the exercise.

What’s new?

Ans. Reserved constituencies for SC/STs

For the first time, in Jammu and Kashmir, nine seats are proposed to be allocated for Scheduled Tribes out of 90 seats on the basis of population.
Seven seats are proposed for Scheduled Castes.

Concerns raised over Delimitation

Jammu vs. Kashmir: Concerns had been expressed over how the delimitation process may end up favoring the Jammu region over Kashmir in terms of the seats.
Under-representation of Ladakh: Arguments have been made on how Ladakh has been underrepresented, with demands for statehood/sixth schedule.
Non-proportionate reservations: It is argued that seats for STs should’ve been divided in both Jammu province & Kashmir province, as the ST population is almost equal.

Do not forget to answer this PYQ in the comment box:

Q.With reference to the Delimitation Commission, consider the following statements:

The orders of the Delimitation Commission cannot be challenged in a Court of Law.

When the orders of the Delimitation Commission are laid before the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly, they cannot affect any modifications in the orders.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Post your answers here:

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Civil Aviation Sector – CA Policy 2016, UDAN, Open Skies, etc.

UDAN scheme

Schemes | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: UDAN Scheme

Mains level: Aviation infrastructure in India

PM launched the UDAN scheme nearly five years back with the aim to take flying to the masses. However, many routes have launched by airlines have been discontinued.

UDAN Scheme

The Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme is a low-cost flying scheme launched with the aim of taking flying to the masses.
The first flight under UDAN was launched by the PM in April 2017.
It is also known as the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) as it seeks to improve air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities through revival of unused and underused airports.

Working of the Scheme

Airlines are awarded routes under the programme through a bidding process and are required to offer airfares at the rate of ₹2,500 per hour of flight.
At least 50% of the total seats on an aircraft have to be offered at cheaper rates.
In order to enable airlines to offer affordable fares they are given a subsidy from the govt. for a period of three years.

Present status of working

A total of nine rounds of bidding have taken place since January 2017.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has set a target of operationalizing as many as 100 unserved and underserved airports and starting at least 1,000 RCS routes by 2024.
So far, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has awarded 948 routes under UDAN, of which 403 routes have taken off that connect 65 airports.
Out of the total 28 seaplane routes connecting 14 water aerodromes, only two have commenced.

Issues with the working

Discontinuance: In reality, some of the routes launched have been discontinued as most of the routes awarded under UDAN are not active.
On-paper Ambitions: UDAN was expanded to provide improved connectivity to hilly regions and islands through helicopters and seaplanes. However, they mostly remain on paper.
The reasons include:

Failure to set up airports or heliports due to lack of availability of land
Airlines unable to start flights on routes awarded to them or finding the routes difficult to sustain
Adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Various challenges

Lack of funds: Many small airlines await infusion of funds, to be able to undertake maintenance of aircraft, pay rentals to lessors, give salaries to its staff, etc.
Maintenance issue: Many players don’t have more than one or two planes and they are often poorly maintained. New planes are too expensive for these smaller players.
Availability of pilots: Often, they also have problems with the availability of pilots and are forced to hire foreign pilots which costs them a lot of money and makes the business unviable.
Competition: Only those routes that have been bagged by bigger domestic players such as IndiGo and SpiceJet have seen a better success rate.

Way forward

The govt offers subsidies for a route for a period of three years and expects the airline to develop the route during this time so that it becomes self-sufficient.
Airlines need an extension of the subsidy period for their operational continuity.
Due to the rise in COVID cases, travel restrictions and passenger safety too needs to be taken into consideration in the loss-making of such airlines.

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