Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Small saving schemes
Mains level: Read the attached story
Economists expect the Centre to raise the interest rates paid on small savings schemes for the July to September 2022 quarter.
Small Savings Scheme
- Small Savings Schemes are a set of savings instruments managed by the central government with an aim to encourage citizens to save regularly irrespective of their age.
- They are popular as they provide returns higher than bank fixed deposits, sovereign guarantee and tax benefits.
How is it managed?
- Since 2016, the Finance Ministry has been reviewing the interest rates on small savings schemes on a quarterly basis.
- All deposits received under various schemes are pooled in the National Small Savings Fund.
- The money in the fund is used by the Centre to finance its fiscal deficit.
What are the different saving schemes?
The schemes can be grouped under three heads –
- Post office deposits
- Savings certificates and
- Social security schemes
(1) Post Office Deposits
- Under this we have the savings deposit, recurring deposit and time deposits with 1, 2, 3 and 5 year maturities and the monthly income account.
- The savings account currently pays an interest of 4% per annum and can be opened individually or jointly with an initial investment of Rs 500.
- The recurring deposit that pays 5.8% a year compounded quarterly matures after 60 months from the date of opening.
- It allows investors to save on a monthly basis with a minimum deposit of Rs 100 per month.
- Investments under the 5-year time deposit up to Rs 1.5 lakh further qualifies for benefit under section 80C of Income Tax Act.
(2) Savings Certificates
- Under this, we have the National Savings Certificate and the Kisan Vikas Patra.
- The National Savings Certificate pays interest at a rate of 6.8% per annum upon maturity after 5 years. The interest that is earned is reinvested into the scheme every year automatically.
- The NSC also qualifies for tax saving under Section 80C of the income tax act.
- The Kisan Vikas Patra, which is open to everyone, doubles your one-time investment at the end of 124 months signifying a return of 6.9% compounded annually.
- The minimum investment amount is Rs 1000 while there is no upper limit.
(3) Social security schemes
- In the third head of social security schemes, there is Public Provident Fund, Sukanya Samriddhi Account and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme.
a. Public Provident Fund
- The Public Provident Fund is a popular saving option for long term goals like retirement.
- It pays 7.1% a year and qualifies for tax benefit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
- Upon maturity of the account after 15 years, it can be extended indefinitely in blocks of 5 years.
- The accumulated amount and interest earned are exempt from tax at the time of withdrawal.
b. Sukanya Samriddhi Account
- The Sukanya Samriddhi Account was launched in 2015 under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign exclusively for a girl child.
- The account can be opened in the name of a girl child below the age of 10 years.
- The scheme guarantees a return of 7.6% per annum and is eligible for tax benefit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
- The tenure of the deposit is 21 years from the date of opening of the account and a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh can be invested in a year.
c. Senior Citizen Savings Account
- And finally, the 5-year Senior Citizen Savings Account can be opened by anyone who is over 60 years to age.
- It carries an interest of 7.4% per annum payable quarterly and qualifies for Section 80C tax benefit.
- These time-tested and safe modes of investments don’t offer quick returns, but are safer when compared to market-linked schemes.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PGI-D
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Education has released the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2019 which studied 83 indicators grouped in six categories.
What is PGI-D?
- The 83-indicator-based PGI for District (PGI-D) has been designed to grade the performance of all districts in school education.
- The data is filled by districts through an online portal.
- The indicator-wise PGI score shows the areas where a district needs to improve.
- The PGI-D structure comprises a total weightage of 600 points across 83 indicators.
- They are grouped under 6 categories, viz., Outcomes, Effective Classroom Transaction, Infrastructure Facilities & Students’ Entitlements, School Safety & Child Protection, Digital Learning, and Governance Process.
- These categories are outcomes, effective classroom transaction, infrastructure facilities and student’s entitlements, school safety and child protection, digital learning and governance process.
How does the grading scale works?
- The PGI-D grades the districts into 10 grades with the highest achievable grade being ‘Daksh’, which is for districts scoring more than 90% of the total points in that category or overall.
- ‘Utkarsh’ category is for districts with score between 81-90%, followed by ‘Ati-Uttam’ (71-80%), ‘Uttam’ (61-70%), ‘Prachesta-I’ (51-60%), ‘Prachesta-II’ (41-50%) and ‘Pracheshta III’ (31-40%).
- The lowest grade in PGI-D is called ‘Akanshi-3’ which is for scores up to 10% of the total points.
Performance of the states
- Rajasthan’s Sikar is the top performer, followed by Jhunjhunu and Jaipur.
- The other States whose districts have performed best are Punjab with 14 districts in ‘Ati-uttam’ grade (scoring 71-80% on a scale of 100).
- It followed by Gujarat and Kerala with each having 13 districts in this category.
- However, there are 12 States and UTs which do not have even a single district in the ‘Ati-uttam’ and ‘Uttam’ categories and these include seven of the eight States from the North East region.
Significance
- The PGI-D will reflect the relative performance of all the districts on a uniform scale which encourages them to perform better.
- It is expected to help the state education departments to identify gaps at the district level and improve their performance in a decentralized manner.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: G7, G12, G20
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has constituted a committee to coordinate with the delegates of G-20 countries scheduled to participate in a meeting to be held in the Union Territory (UT) next year.
Why such move?
- The participation of the delegates from G-20 countries will be a major boost to the efforts of the Centre to project the situation in J&K as normal.
- This is especially after J&K’s special constitutional position was ended in 2019.
What is G-20?
- Formed in 1999, the G20 is an international forum of the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
- Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85 percent of the Gross World Product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade.
- To tackle the problems or address issues that plague the world, the heads of governments of the G20 nations periodically participate in summits.
- In addition to it, the group also hosts separate meetings of the finance ministers and foreign ministers.
- The G20 has no permanent staff of its own and its chairmanship rotates annually between nations divided into regional groupings.
Aims and objectives
- The Group was formed with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
- The forum aims to pre-empt the balance of payments problems and turmoil on financial markets by improved coordination of monetary, fiscal, and financial policies.
- It seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization.
Members of G20
The members of the G20 consist of 19 individual countries plus the European Union (EU).
- The 19 member countries of the forum are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.
- The European Union is represented by the European Commission and by the European Central Bank.
Its significance
- G20 is a major international grouping that brings together 19 of the world’s major economies and the European Union.
- Its members account for more than 80% of global GDP, 75% of trade and 60% of population.
India and G20
- India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tenth schedule
Mains level: Paper 2- Anti-defection law
Context
The political crisis in Maharashtra has brought focus back on the anti-defection law. By all accounts, the law has failed to shore up the stability of elected governments.
About Anti-defection law
- The Anti-Defection Law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution punishes MPs/ MLAs for defecting from their party by taking away their membership of the legislature.
- It gives the Speaker of the legislature the power to decide the outcome of defection proceedings.
- It was added to the Constitution through the Fifty-Second (Amendment) Act, 1985 when Rajiv Gandhi was PM.
- The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.
How provisions of the law are being thwarted?
- There are many ways to thwart provisions of the law:
- The Speaker can sit on the defection pleas for the term of the assembly;
- The beneficiary party can facilitate accretion of defectors to hit the magic two-thirds threshold.
- The voters don’t seem to care about punishing the defectors either.
Is an amendment to the law a solution?
- Some have thus argued that the way forward is to amend the anti-defection law to fill these lacunae by mandating time-bound decisions by the Speaker and disqualifying defectors from standing for the next election as well.
- These proposed amendments like the original law want to consolidate power without necessarily putting in the requisite politics.
Why amendment to the law will not solve the problem
- Politicians are adept at subverting institutional processes for their own ends and there are many possibilities for payoff for defectors outside of elected office alone.
- Moreover, politics has a rich history of exercise of power by proxy and the disqualified representative may simply choose to have a family member stand in their stead.
- The anti-defection law and proposed amendments approach the issue of defections from the prism of denying power to the defector, a framing which repeatedly comes up short in the face of a bigger and/or more punitive power.
Way forward
- Parties need to project power: Within this framework, if political parties want to resist defections, they must be able to project (imminent) power themselves.
- Parties need to address organisational issues: At the same time, political parties must address organizational and ideological infirmities which have made them susceptible to mass defections in the first place.
- Ideological clarity: Political parties need ideological clarity and the ability to attract individuals with a sense of purpose and not love for power alone.
- This ideological depth if reflected in the party organization and its political programs will give members the ability to withstand lean periods of power.
- Inner-party democracy: Political parties are failing to create intra-party forums where grievances can be expressed and resolved on an ongoing basis.
- Internal mechanisms for inner-party democracy – from elections to deliberative forums – are ultimately at the discretion of the party leadership.
- Scrap anti-defection law: Scrapping the anti-defection law would provide some institutional leverage to express intra-party dissidence and while it may be more chaotic in the short-term would lead to greater stability and political strength in the long-term.
- Contributed to polarisation: The anti-defection law has undermined not just the very principle of representation but has also contributed to polarization in our country by making it impossible to construct a majority on any issue outside of party affiliation.
- Avoid ceding political power to the judiciary: Political parties are repeatedly giving primacy to legal instead of political battles since these issues inevitably end up in court.
- This repeated ceding of political power to the judiciary is a serious deviation from the democratic paradigm and must be checked.
Conclusion
Anti-defection law has failed to prevent the defections and subsequent toppings of the several state government. Scrapping it could provide leverage to express intra-party dissidence.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNCLOS
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Vietnam defence ties
Context
The two countries recently deepened bilateral cooperation with the signing of the Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030 during the recent visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Vietnam.
About the Joint Vision Statement
- India and Vietnam Wednesday signed a Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030, “which will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation”.
- Boosting the scale and scope of defence cooperation: The Joint Vision Statement is aimed at boosting the scope and scale of the existing defence cooperation between the two nations.
- Mutual logistic support: The two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual logistics support.
- Elevating CSP: This is the first agreement of its kind that Hanoi has entered into with any other country and elevates the standing of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) which Hanoi shares with New Delhi since 2016 (along with only Russia and China).
Enhanced maritime cooperation
- Both countries find convergence in their approaches towards the maintenance of stability and security of the Indo-Pacific.
- This approach has translated into diplomatic and political support in the context of developments within the region and manifested in the form of tangible and functional cooperation instruments — the most vital being bilateral defence partnership.
- Because of the volume of maritime trade that passes through sea lanes of communication in the Indo-Pacific and potential as well as estimated energy reserves in these waters, maritime cooperation between countries in the region have expanded exponentially.
Emphasis on the cooperative mechanism
- The enhanced geostrategic prominence and attendant uncertainties vis-à-vis China’s expanding and often abrasive footprints in the Indo-Pacific have resulted in an overall increase in emphasis on cooperative mechanisms and frameworks across the region.
- Defence partnership between the two countries has been growing steadily following the signing of the Defence Protocol in 2000 and today covers extensive navy-to-navy cooperation.
Dealing with Chinese transgression
- Vietnam has and continues to be one of the most vocal countries with respect to China’s periodic transgressions in the South China Sea.
- Freedom of navigation: In India, Vietnam has found an equally uncompromising partner when it comes to the question of violations of freedom of navigation and threats to sovereign maritime territorial rights as enshrined under international maritime law.
- New Delhi has supported Vietnam’s position in the South China Sea with respect to Beijing’s destabilising actions and coercive tactics backing by reiterating the irrefutability of the UNCLOS.
- India has also not backed down from continuing ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL)’s oil exploration project in Block 128 (which is within Hanoi’s EEZ) despite China’s protests.
- Emphasis on naval diplomacy: It is also in the last few years that Vietnam has augmented its emphasis on naval diplomacy and strengthened its ties with the US alongside the extension of its engagement with India and other ASEAN members.
- Despite the fact that the China factor has provided impetus to the solidification of ties, it is also important to consider that mutual cooperation is not driven solely by it.
- Support in the rubric of Indo-Pacific: Both countries have expanded areas of collaboration and are supportive of each other’s individual and multilateral involvements within the rubric of the Indo-Pacific.
Conclusion
Convergences between New Delhi and Hanoi has naturally found expression in bilateral relations and the two countries are poised to develop their partnership further in the coming years.
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Back2Basics: About UNCLOS
- UNCLOS is sometimes referred to as the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty.
- It came into operation and became effective from 16th November 1982.
- It defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.
- It has created three new institutions on the international scene :
-
- International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,
- International Seabed Authority
- Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian Tricolor
Mains level: Honor of our national flag and national anthem
The Centre has reached out to manufacturers and e-commerce sites to boost the availability of the Tricolour, according to officials aware of the programme.
Why in news?
- The Centre is set to launch a large-scale campaign to encourage Indians to fly the National Fag at their homes to mark the 75th Independence Day.
- The aim of the campaign was to inspire people, rather than carry out a distribution drive.
How is it made possible?
- In order to facilitate the campaign, the Union Home Ministry had last year amended the Flag Code, which earlier only allowed hand-woven or hand-spun flags to be made.
- It has now allowed flags to be polyester and machine-made.
Do you know?
Earlier, the display of the national flag was governed by the provisions of The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
What is the Flag Code of India?
- The Flag Code of India is a set of laws, practices and conventions that apply to the display of the national flag of India.
- The Code took effect from 26 January 2002 and superseded the “Flag Code-India” as it existed earlier.
- It permits the unrestricted display of the tricolour, consistent with the honour and dignity of the flag.
The Flag Code of India has been divided into three parts:-
- First Part: General Description of the National Flag.
- Second Part: Display of the National Flag by members of public, private Organisations & educational institutions etc.
- Third Part: Display of National Flag by Union or State Governments and their organisations and agencies.
Disposing of the national flag
- A/c to the Flag Code, such paper flags are not to be discarded or thrown on the ground after the event.
- Such flags are to be disposed of, in private, consistent with the dignity of the flag.
Hoisting the national flag is a fundamental right
- The bench headed by Chief Justice of India V. N. Khare said that under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, citizens had the fundamental right to fly the national flag on their premises throughout the year.
- However, it provided that the premises do not undermine the dignity of the national flag.
About Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act
- The law, enacted on December 23, 1971, penalizes the desecration of or insult to Indian national symbols, such as the National Flag, the Constitution, the National Anthem, and the Indian map, as well as contempt of the Constitution of India.
- Section 2 of the Act deals with insults to the Indian National Flag and the Constitution of India.
Do you know?
Article 51 ‘A’ contained in Part IV A i.e. Fundamental Duties asks:
To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem in clause (a).
Back2Basics: Story of our National Flag
(1) Public display for the first time
- Arguably the first national flag of India is said to have been hoisted on August 7, 1906, in Kolkata at the Parsee Bagan Square (Green Park).
- It comprised three horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green, with Vande Mataram written in the middle.
- Believed to have been designed by freedom activists Sachindra Prasad Bose and Hemchandra Kanungo, the red stripe on the flag had symbols of the sun and a crescent moon, and the green strip had eight half-open lotuses.
(2) In Germany
- In 1907, Madame Cama and her group of exiled revolutionaries hoisted an Indian flag in Germany in 1907 — this was the first Indian flag to be hoisted in a foreign land.
(3) During the Home Rule Movement
- In 1917, Dr Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak adopted a new flag as part of the Home Rule Movement.
- It had five alternate red and four green horizontal stripes, and seven stars in the saptarishi configuration.
- A white crescent and star occupied one top corner, and the other had Union Jack.
(4) Final version by Pingali Venkayya
- The design of the present-day Indian tricolour is largely attributed to Pingali Venkayya, an Indian freedom fighter.
- He reportedly first met Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa during the second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), when he was posted there as part of the British Indian Army.
- Years of research went into designing the national flag. In 1916, he even published a book with possible designs of Indian flags.
- At the All India Congress Committee in Bezwada in 1921, Venkayya again met Gandhi and proposed a basic design of the flag, consisting of two red and green bands to symbolise the two major communities, Hindus and Muslims.
(5) During Constituent Assembly
- On July 22, 1947, when members of the Constituent Assembly of India, the first item on the agenda was reportedly a motion by Pandit Nehru, about adopting a national flag for free India.
- It was proposed that “the National Flag of India shall be horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (Kesari), white and dark green in equal proportion.”
- The white band was to have a wheel in navy blue (the charkha being replaced by the chakra), which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Current account deficit
Mains level: Read the attached story
The data for the country’s current account balance for the fourth quarter of FY 2021-22 shows a decrease in the deficit to 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) from 2.6% of GDP in Q3 FY 2021-22.
What is Current Account Deficit (CAD)?
- A current account is a key component of balance of payments, which is the account of transactions or exchanges made between entities in a country and the rest of the world.
- This includes a nation’s net trade in products and services, its net earnings on cross border investments including interest and dividends, and its net transfer payments such as remittances and foreign aid.
- A CAD arises when the value of goods and services imported exceeds the value of exports, while the trade balance refers to the net balance of export and import of goods or merchandise trade.
Components of Current Account
Current Account Deficit (CAD) =
Trade Deficit + Net Income + Net Transfers
(1) Trade Deficit
- Trade Deficit = Imports – Exports
- A Country is said to have a trade deficit when it imports more goods and services than it exports.
- Trade deficit is an economic measure of a negative balance of trade in which a country’s imports exceeds its exports.
- A trade deficit represents an outflow of domestic currency to foreign markets.
(2) Net Income
- Net Income = Income Earned by MNCs from their investments in India.
- When foreign investment income exceeds the savings of the country’s residents, then the country has net income deficit.
- This foreign investment can help a country’s economy grow. But if foreign investors worry they won’t get a return in a reasonable amount of time, they will cut off funding.
- Net income is measured by the following things:
- Payments made to foreigners in the form of dividends of domestic stocks.
- Interest payments on bonds.
- Wages paid to foreigners working in the country.
(3) Net Transfers
- In Net Transfers, foreign residents send back money to their home countries. It also includes government grants to foreigners.
- It Includes Remittances, Gifts, Donation etc
How does Current Account Transaction takes place?
- While understanding the Current Account Deficit in detail, it is important to understand what the current account transactions are.
- Current account transactions are transactions that require foreign currency.
- Following transactions with from which component these transactions belong to :
- Component 1 : Payments connection with Foreign trade – Import & Export
- Component 2 : Interest on loans to other countries and Net income from investments in other countries
- Component 3 : Remittances for living expenses of parents, spouse and children residing abroad, and Expenses in connection with Foreign travel, Education and Medical care of parents, spouse and children
What has been the recent trend?
- In Q4 FY 2021-22, CAD improved to 1.5% of GDP or $13.4 billion from 2.6% of GDP in Q3 FY 2021-22 ($22.2 billion).
- The difference between the value of goods imported and exported fell to $54.48 million in Q4FY 2021-22 from $59.75 million in Q3 FY2021-22.
- However, based on robust performance by computer and business services, net service receipts rose both sequentially and on a year-on-year basis.
- Remittances by Indians abroad also rose.
What are the reasons for the current account deficit?
- Intensifying geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions leading to crude oil and commodity prices soaring globally have been exerting upward pressure on the import bill.
- A rise in prices of coal, natural gas, fertilizers, and edible oils have added to the pressure on trade deficit.
- However, with global demand picking up, merchandise exports have also been rising.
How will a large CAD affect the economy?
- A large CAD will result in demand for foreign currency rising, thus leading to depreciation of the home currency.
- Nations balance CAD by attracting capital inflows and running a surplus in capital accounts through increased foreign direct investments (FDI).
- However, worsening CAD will put pressure on inflow under the capital account.
- Nevertheless, if an increase in the import bill is because of imports for technological upgradation it would help in long-term development.
Should a widening CAD worry policymakers?
- Data shows the trade deficit widened to $24.29 billion in May 2022 from $6.53 billion a year ago.
- Merchandise exports in May 2022 rose by 20.55% over May 2021, while merchandise imports rose by 62.83%.
- However, if increasing imports is accompanied by an expansion in industrial production, it is a sign of economic development.
- Immediately after the covid-19 lockdown, after a long time, the country experienced a current account surplus.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: VPN, Cert-In
Mains level: Cyber security challenges for India
On April 28, Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) passed a rule mandating VPN (virtual private network) providers to record and keep their customers’ logs for 180 days.
What is VPN?
- VPN describes the opportunity to establish a protected network connection when using public networks.
- It encrypts internet traffic and disguise a user’s online identity.
- This makes it more difficult for third parties to track your activities online and steal data.
- The encryption takes place in real time.
How does a VPN work?
- A VPN hides your IP address by letting the network redirect it through a specially configured remote server run by a VPN host.
- This means that if you surf online with a VPN, the VPN server becomes the source of your data.
- This means your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and other third parties cannot see which websites you visit or what data you send and receive online.
- A VPN works like a filter that turns all your data into “gibberish”. Even if someone were to get their hands on your data, it would be useless.
Why do people use VPN?
- Secure encryption: A VPN connection disguises your data traffic online and protects it from external access. Unencrypted data can be viewed by anyone who has network access and wants to see it. With a VPN, hackers and cyber criminals can’t decipher this data.
- Disguising whereabouts: VPN servers essentially act as your proxies on the internet. Because the demographic location data comes from a server in another country, your actual location cannot be determined.
- Data privacy is held: Most VPN services do not store logs of your activities. Some providers, on the other hand, record your behaviour, but do not pass this information on to third parties. This means that any potential record of your user behaviour remains permanently hidden.
- Access to regional content: Regional web content is not always accessible from everywhere. Services and websites often contain content that can only be accessed from certain parts of the world.
- Secure data transfer: If you work remotely, you may need to access important files on your company’s network. For security reasons, this kind of information requires a secure connection. To gain access to the network, a VPN connection is often required.
What does the new CERT-IN directive say?
- VPN providers will need to store validated customer names, their physical addresses, email ids, phone numbers, and the reason they are using the service, along with the dates they use it and their “ownership pattern”.
- In addition, Cert is also asking VPN providers to keep a record of the IP and email addresses that the customer uses to register the service, along with the timestamp of registration.
- Most importantly, however, VPN providers will have to store all IP addresses issued to a customer and a list of IP addresses that its customers generally use.
What does this mean for VPN providers?
- VPN services are in violation of Cert’s rules by simply operating in India.
- That said, it is worth noting that ‘no logs’ does not mean zero logs.
- VPN services still need to maintain some logs to run their service efficiently.
Does this mean VPNs will become useless?
- The Indian government has not banned VPNs yet, so they can still be used to access content that is blocked in an area, which is the most common usage of these services.
- However, journalists, activists, and others who use such services to hide their internet footprint will have to think twice about them.
Why such move?
- Crime control: For law enforcement agencies, a move like this will make it easier to track criminals who use VPNs to hide their internet footprint.
- Curbing dark-net activities: Users these days are shifting towards the dark and deep web, which are much tougher to police than VPN services.
Back2Basics: Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN)
- CERT-IN is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing. It strengthens the security-related defense of the Indian Internet domain.
- It was formed in 2004 by the Government of India under the Information Technology Act, 2000 Section (70B) under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GST Compensation Cess
Mains level: Success and limitations of the GST regime
The Centre has extended the time for levy of GST compensation cess by almost four years till March 31, 2026.
What is the news?
- The Goods and Services Tax (Period of Levy and Collection of Cess) Rules were notified in 2022 by the Finance Ministry.
- The levy of cess was to end on June 30 but the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister decided to extend it till 2026.
What is GST?
- GST, being a consumption-based tax, would result in loss of revenue for manufacturing-heavy states.
- GST launched in India on 1 July 2017 is a comprehensive indirect tax for the entire country.
- It is charged at the time of supply and depends on the destination of consumption.
- For instance, if a good is manufactured in state A but consumed in state B, then the revenue generated through GST collection is credited to the state of consumption (state B) and not to the state of production (state A).
Compensation Cess under GST regime
- Due to the consumption-based nature of GST, manufacturing states like Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu feared a revenue loss.
- Thus, GST Compensation Cess or GST Cess was introduced by the government to compensate for the possible revenue losses suffered by such manufacturing states.
- However, under existing rules, this compensation cess will be levied only for the first 5 years of the GST regime – from July 1st, 2017 to July 1st, 2022.
- Compensation cess is levied on five products considered to be ‘sin’ or luxury as mentioned in the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017 and includes items such as- Pan Masala, Tobacco, and Automobiles etc.
Alternatives to prevent losses
- The input tax credit can help a producer by partially reducing GST liability by only paying the difference between the tax already paid on the raw materials of a particular good and that on the final product.
- In other words, the taxes paid on purchase (input tax) can be subtracted from the taxes paid on the final product (output tax) to reduce the final GST liability.
Distributing GST compensation
- The compensation cess payable to states is calculated based on the methodology specified in the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017.
- The compensation fund so collected is released to the states every 2 months.
- Any unused money from the compensation fund at the end of the transition period shall be distributed between the states and the centre as per any applicable formula.
Significance of GST compensation
- States no longer possess taxation rights after most taxes, barring those on petroleum, alcohol, and stamp duty were subsumed under GST.
- GST accounts for almost 42% of states’ own tax revenues, and tax revenues account for around 60% of states’ total revenues.
- Finances of over a dozen states are under severe strain, resulting in delays in salary payments and sharp cuts in capital expenditure outlay amid the pandemic-induced lockdowns and the need to spend on healthcare.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.Consider the following items:
- Cereal grains hulled
- Chicken eggs cooked
- Fish processed and canned
- Newspapers containing advertising material
Which of the above items is/are exempt under GST (Goods and Services Tax)?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Salmonella Typhi
Mains level: Not Much
The bacteria causing typhoid fever is becoming increasingly resistant to some of the most important antibiotics for human health.
What is the news?
- The largest genome analysis of Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) also shows that resistant strains — almost all originating in South Asia — have spread to other countries nearly 200 times since 1990.
- The researchers noted that typhoid fever is a global public health concern, causing 11 million infections and more than 1,00,000 deaths per year.
- Antibiotics can be used to successfully treat typhoid fever infections, but their effectiveness is threatened by the emergence of resistant S. Typhi strains.
What is Salmonella Typhi?
- Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) are bacteria that infect the intestinal tract and the blood.
- It is usually spread through contaminated food or water.
- Once S. Typhi bacteria are eaten or drunk, they multiply and spread into the bloodstream.
- The disease is referred to as typhoid fever. S. Paratyphi bacteria cause a similar, but milder illness, which comes under the same title.
- Paratyphoid has a shorter duration, generally, than typhoid.
- Typhi and S. Paratyphi are common in many developing countries where sewage and water treatment systems are poor.
How does it spread?
- Salmonella Typhi lives only in humans.
- Persons with typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract.
- Symptoms include prolonged high fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, abdominal pain, and constipation or diarrhoea.
- Some patients may have a rash. Severe cases may lead to serious complications or even death.
- Typhoid fever can be confirmed through blood testing.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Corals, Coral Bleaching
Mains level: Not Much
Scientists have recorded four species of corals for the first time from Indian waters. These new species of azooxanthellate corals were found from the waters off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
What are Azooxanthellate Corals?
- The azooxanthellate corals are a group of corals that do not contain zooxanthellae and derive nourishment not from the sun but from capturing different forms of planktons.
- They are deep-sea representatives with the majority of species being reported from depths between 200 metres and 1,000 metres.
- They are also reported from shallow waters unlike zooxanthellate corals that are restricted to shallow waters.
Which are the news species found?
- Truncatoflabellum crassum, T. incrustatum, T. aculeatum, and T. irregulare under the family Flabellidae were previously found in Japan, the Philippines and Australian waters.
- Only T. crassum was reported with the range of Indo-West Pacific distribution.
Significance of the discovery
- Most studies of hard corals in India have been concentrated on reef-building corals while much is not known about non-reef-building corals.
- These new species enhance our knowledge about non-reef-building solitary corals.
Back2Basics: Coral Reefs
- Corals are marine invertebrates or animals not possessing a spine.
- Each coral is called a polyp and thousands of such polyps live together to form a colony, which grows when polyps multiply to make copies of themselves.
- Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system stretching across 2,300 km.
- It hosts 400 different types of coral, gives shelter to 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc.
- Corals are of two types — hard coral and soft coral:
- Hard corals, also called hermatypic or ‘reef building’ corals extract calcium carbonate (also found in limestone) from the seawater to build hard, white coral exoskeletons.
- Soft coral polyps, however, borrow their appearance from plants, attach themselves to such skeletons and older skeletons built by their ancestors. Soft corals also add their own skeletons to the hard structure over the years and these growing multiplying structures gradually form coral reefs. They are the largest living structures on the planet.
How do they feed themselves?
- Corals share a symbiotic relationship with single-celled algae called zooxanthellae.
- The algae provides the coral with food and nutrients, which they make through photosynthesis, using the sun’s light.
- In turn, the corals give the algae a home and key nutrients.
- The zooxanthellae also give corals their bright colour.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Eco-sensitive Zones (ESZs)
Mains level: Read the attached story
Farmers in Kerala continue to protest across several high ranges of the state against the Supreme Court’s recent order to establish 1-km Eco-Sensitive Zones around all protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and national parks.
What are the Eco-sensitive Zones (ESZs)?
- Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas notified by the MoEFCC around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
- The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.
- They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.
How are they demarcated?
- The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 does NOT mention the word “Eco-Sensitive Zones”.
- However, Section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall be carried out or shall not, subject to certain safeguards.
- Besides Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 states that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of certain considerations.
- The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones (NDZs).
Defining its boundaries
- An ESZ could go up to 10 kilometres around a protected area as provided in the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002.
- Moreover, in the case where sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, are beyond 10 km width, these should be included in the ESZs.
- Further, even in the context of a particular Protected Area, the distribution of an area of ESZ and the extent of regulation may not be uniform all around and it could be of variable width and extent.
Activities Permitted and Prohibited
- Permitted: Ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, use of renewable energy sources, and adoption of green technology for all activities.
- Prohibited: Commercial mining, saw mills, industries causing pollution (air, water, soil, noise etc), the establishment of major hydroelectric projects (HEP), commercial use of wood, Tourism activities like hot-air balloons over the National Park, discharge of effluents or any solid waste or production of hazardous substances.
- Under regulation: Felling of trees, the establishment of hotels and resorts, commercial use of natural water, erection of electrical cables, drastic change of agriculture system, e.g. adoption of heavy technology, pesticides etc, widening of roads.
What is the recent SC judgment that has caused an uproar in Kerala?
- On June 3, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court heard a PIL that sought to protect forest lands in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, but was later expanded to cover the entire country.
- In its judgment, the court while referring to the 2011 guidelines as “reasonable”, directed all states to have a mandatory 1-km ESZ from the demarcated boundaries of every protected area.
- It also stated that no new permanent structure or mining will be permitted within the ESZ.
- If the existing ESZ goes beyond 1-km buffer zone or if any statutory instrument prescribes a higher limit, then such extended boundary shall prevail, the court, as per the Live Law report, said.
Why are people protesting against it?
- There is a high density of human population near the notified protected areas.
- Farmer’s groups and political parties have been demanding that all human settlements be exempt from the ESZ ruling.
- The total extent of the wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala is eight lakh acres.
- If one-km of ESZ is demarcated from their boundaries, around 4 lakh acres of human settlements, including farmlands, would come within that purview.
Try this PYQ
With reference to ‘Eco-Sensitive Zones’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- Eco-Sensitive Zones are the areas that are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
- The purpose of the declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones is to prohibit all kinds of human activities, in those zones except agriculture.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Abortion rights in the US
Context
With the US Supreme Court’s overturning of abortion as a constitutionally guaranteed right, America has taken another step towards democratic backsliding.
Background of the Roe v Wade case
- Bodily autonomy: Roe, the 1973 outcome of an unmarried woman’s crusade for bodily autonomy, had declared overbroad, and consequently unconstitutional, a provision of the Texas Penal Code which permitted only those abortions that were “procured or attempted by medical advice to save the life of the mother”.
- Right to abortion: While locating the right of privacy within the guarantee of personal liberty enshrined in the fourteenth amendment of the American constitution, Roe embodies a supervening constitutional right to abortion emanating from this right of privacy.
- The right to abort was held to be a constitutionally protected right within the right of privacy.
- Recognition of states’ rights: The decision simultaneously recognised the state’s interest in protecting the life of the foetus as also the life of the mother.
- Roe is not only relevant as a progressive trailblazer for reproductive rights in the United States but is also fundamental to constitutional jurisprudence globally for the interpretative tools it employed.
Overturning of Roe Vs Wade case
- The US Supreme Court on June 24 overturned a half-century-old right to abortion, granted by a 1973 Supreme Court decision in the Roe vs Wade case.
- No nationwide right to abortion: With a 5-4 majority, the court has said that American women have no nationwide right to abortion.
- Rather, state legislatures should decide whether women can have that right in their respective states.
- Concerns about the life of the unbors: In the court’s opinion, the right to privacy stemming from the 14th Amendment is not relevant, for abortion concerns not only the pregnant woman but also the life of the unborn.
- Not mentioned in the 1787 constitution: Moreover, the court said, abortion is neither “enumerated” as a right in the original 1787 constitution nor is it consistent with American history and tradition.
- Taking away the right once granted: In a democracy, can a right once granted be taken away?
- As the world’s oldest surviving democracy, the United States has figured prominently in this debate.
- With the overturning of Roe vs Wade, this debate has now become wider.
Was the right to abortion constitutionally justified?
- Protection of liberty and privacy: The 1973 court decision allowing the right to abortion was based on the 14th Constitutional Amendment (1868).
- Even though abortion was not mentioned in the 1787 US Constitution, abortion’s defence was derived from the 1868 Amendment
- This Amendment, the court said, allowed protection of liberty and privacy, something the state could not impinge upon.
- Not absolute right: The 1973 court also argued that this right was not absolute, limited as it would be by considerations of “protecting potential life”.
Issues with the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade case
- 1] No constitution can anticipate the evolution of rights: Abortion was not mentioned in the 1787 constitution, nor explicitly in the 1868 amendment.
- That is because women were not autonomous political agents at that time.
- Until they were given the right to vote in 1920, they were not a constitutional category in the US, as was true virtually everywhere in the world.
- Women are autonomous agents today. Norms change; rights evolve.
- 2] Ignores rape and incest: As the court’s dissent note puts it, this majority decision ignore rape and incest.
- If abortion as a right is dissolved, women can be forced to give such unwanted births.
- The majority decision of the court is silent on this important matter.
- 3] Against the right to participate equally in economic and social life: Having a child is not simply a deeply moral obligation to the unborn.
- It is also a decision that affects “the ability of women to participate equally in (the nation’s) economic and social life”.
- These words are from a later decision, known as Casey (1992), when the US Supreme Court added the concept of “undue burdens” to support the idea of abortion.
- 4] Right over body ignored: Men don’t have to deal physically with pregnancy, whereas the foetus grows inside a woman’s body for nine months.
- If men have the right over their bodies, which can’t be taken away by the government,then women should also have autonomy over their bodies as well.
- Maternity must be a voluntary choice.
- There is no going back to the notion of rights as they were viewed in the 18th century — unequal, unneutral, unbalanced.
Conclusion
Typically, as they evolve and deepen, democracies allow the arc of rights to broaden further, not retreat. After this judgment in the US, the stakes have become much higher and the democratic challenges bigger.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 89
Mains level: Paper 2- Role of Rajya Sabha
Context
This article seeks to re-articulate a question pertaining to the composition of the Council of States.
Historical background and CAD over the issue of second chamber
- Lokanath Misra led the charge against a federal second chamber in the Constituent Assembly stating that there was not need for the second chamber and also that it will not serve any useful purpose.
- Shibban Lal Saksena, was equally emphatic: He said that as per their experience, the Upper House acts as a clog in the wheel of progress.
- They were not the only ones who had concerns. Other members expressed them too in different contexts during the Constituent Assembly debate on draft Article 67.
Issues with the role of Rajya Sabha
- Unable to protect the interest of the States: Article 1(1) of the Indian Constitution states “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”
- Therefore, the primary responsibility of a Council of States would be to protect the interests of the states vis a vis the Union.
- There is hardly any empirical evidence that substantiates that the Rajya Sabha has measured upto the task ever since it came into existence on April 3r 1952.
- No focus on states: From 1952 to 2003, at least there was a veneer of a state focus when it was mandatory that any citizen desirous of contesting a Rajya Sabha election had to be an elector from that particular state.
- By amending Section 3(1) of the Representation of People’s Act 1952 and doing away with the domicile requirement, the Government removed this fig leaf also in 2003.
- A five-judge bench did not uphold tha challenge to this judgement.
- This amendment and the subsequent judgment buried the earlier practice of individuals entering the Rajya Sabha from anywhere based upon rather dodgy but still some form of domicile credentials.
- All states do not have bicameral legislature: Twenty-four states have unicameral legislatures, that is, only one legislative body, and only six states are bicameral.
- If the bulk of the states can make do with one House why not the Centre?
- Rajya Sabha as continuous house argument: It is also argued that the Rajya Sabha is a continuous House as opposed to the Lok Sabha that gets mandatorily dissolved every five years if not sooner.
- That can be fixed with a simple amendment to Article 83 (2) that should state that “Lok Sabha would remain in existence till the time its successor body/house is not constituted.
- Article 83 (1) would stand deleted and consequential amendments can be carried out to other parts of the Constitution.
Conclusion
It would be instructive to keep in mind that the Basic Structure doctrine enunciated by the Supreme Court in Re: Kesvananda Bharti holds parliamentary democracy to be basic structure, not bicameralism.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Purchasing Russian oil
Context
This week the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times both reported on India emerging as a major buyer of Russian oil.
Background of rising fuel prices due to Ukraine crisis
- A significant fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been the rising cost of petroleum.
- In response to the invasion, Western countries, including the United States and Europe, have imposed an array of sanctions against Russia.
- Reduced purchases from Russia: Europe and the United States have seen the price of oil steadily rise after they reduced their purchases from Russia.
- For now, Russia has been able to mitigate the impact of sanctions by selling crude, oil and coal at reasonable prices in greater volumes to newer bulk buyers like India, to combat Europe trying to wean itself off Russian crude.
Why India increased purchase of Russian oil
- India has chosen a different route.
- Cope with rising fuel prices: We are the third-largest importer and consumer of oil in the world and have increased our purchase of Russian oil to cope with rising oil prices elsewhere.
- We are also refining crude oil or turning it into products like jet fuel and diesel and selling it to Europe and other nations.
- Curb inflation: Importing Russian crude also helps us curb inflation that has been made worse by rising fuel prices.
- Halting the fall of the rupee: Procuring discounted Russian oil is an effort by the government to bring down prices and halt the decline in the value of the Indian rupee.
- India’s behaviour is governed by our best interest, which is the most important element of any astute foreign and economic policy.
Issues with purchasing oil from Russia
- The European Union has announced a ban against insuring ships carrying Russian oil, to commence this December.
- Insurance ban: Countries like India, China and Turkey that are increasing their oil purchases from Russia have six months to find a work-around to the insurance ban by using non-European insurance companies.
- European companies own most of the ships carrying Russian oil to India.
- These insurance sanctions will impact the companies that own these ships as well.
- Dependence for batteries: Apart from geopolitical changes in the world indicating the rise of China, there is a major change: Electric vehicles and electric batteries substituting for non-renewable resources like petroleum and diesel.
- India cannot afford to be dependent on an unhindered supply of electric batteries from China, given geopolitical considerations and border disputes between the two nations.
Way forward
- To weather the new electric era that will no doubt be dotted with territorial wars and national security concerns, India would do well to preempt shortages in the arena – by putting in place factories which will build the electric batteries that will power our futures.
- What the invasion of Ukraine has taught us is that we need to be more self-reliant and have in-house energy sources.
Conclusion
India needs to factor in the implications of comprehensive western sanctions as it increases its purchase of discounted Russian oil.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Use of NMMS app and issues
Context
The National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) app seeks to improve citizen oversight and increase transparency in NREGA works. This causes significant difficulty for NREGA workers.
About NMMS app
- National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) App was launched by the Minister of Rural Development on May, 21 2021.
- The National Mobile Monitoring App is applicable for the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers for all the States/ Union Territories.
- This app is aimed at bringing more transparency and ensure proper monitoring of the schemes.
- The main feature of the app is the real-time, photographed, geo-tagged attendance of every worker to be taken once in each half of the day.
- The app helps in increasing citizen oversight of the programme.
Issues with the use of the app
- While such an app may be useful in monitoring the attendance of workers who have fixed work timings, in most States, NREGA wages are calculated based on the amount of work done each day, and workers do not need to commit to fixed hours.
- Disproportionately affects women: NREGA has historically had a higher proportion of women workers (54.7% in FY 2021-22) and has been pivotal in changing working conditions for women in rural areas.
- Due to the traditional burden of household chores and care work on women, the app is likely to disproportionately affect women workers.
- Lack of stable network: There are challenges of implementation with the NMMS as well.
- A stable network is a must for real-time monitoring; unfortunately, it remains patchy in much of rural India.
- NREGA Mates impacted: The app has adversely impacted NREGA Mates as well.
- The role of a Mate was conceptualised as an opportunity to empower local women to manage attendance and work measurement in their panchayat.
- To be a Mate, one needs to have a smartphone.
- This new condition disqualifies thousands of women who do not own smartphones from becoming Mates.
- Erosion of transparency: The app claims to “increase citizen oversight” by “bringing more transparency and ensuring proper monitoring of the schemes, besides potentially enabling processing payments faster”.
- With no physical attendance records signed by workers anymore, workers have no proof of their attendance and work done.
- No clarity provided on corruption: While ostensibly the NMMS’s focus on real-time, geo-tagged attendance could be one way of addressing this corruption, the MoRD has not provided much clarity on either the magnitude of this corruption or the manner in which the NMMS addresses it.
- No parameters: There are no parameters established to assess the app’s performance, either on transparency, or on quicker processed payments.
Way forward
- Social audits: Social audits are citizen-centric institutions, where the citizens of the panchayat have a direct role and say in how NREGA functions in their panchayat.
- Audits have worked well in the past, allowing the local rights holders to be invested in decisions, and hold the administration accountable themselves.
Conclusion
The NMMS has very clear problems that will make it increasingly difficult for workers to continue working under NREGA, eroding the right to work that underwrites the NREGA Act.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MRTP Act
Mains level: Abortion rights debate
In a significant curtailment of women’s rights, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a 1973 landmark decision giving women in America the right to have an abortion before the foetus is viable outside the womb — before the 24-28 week mark.
What is Roe vs. Wade Case: Upholding the Right to Abortion
- Roe, short for Jane Roe, is the pseudonym for a Texas woman who in 1970 sought to have an abortion when she was five months pregnant.
- Texas then had ban on abortions except to save a mother’s life. The case then went to the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS).
- The 7-2 majority opinion of the SCOTUS written in 1973, paved the way for the recognition of abortion as a constitutional right in the US considering foetal viability.
[Foetal viability is the point at which a foetus can survive outside the womb, at the time considered to be around 28 weeks, but today is closer to 23 or 24 weeks owing to advances in medicine and technology.]
Right to Abortion Judgment: Key takeaways
Based on the Roe vs Wade case, the framework of regulations that applied towards the right to abortion:
- Almost no limitations could be placed on that right;
- Only limitations to abortion rights that were aimed at protecting a woman’s health were permitted; and in the third trimester,
- State governments had greater leeway to limit the right to abortion except for cases in which the life and health of the mother were endangered.
What is the debate?
The abortion debate is the ongoing controversy surrounding the moral, legal, and religious status of induced abortion.
The sides involved in the debate are the self-described “pro-choice” and “pro-life” movements.
- Pro-choice emphasizes the woman’s choice whether to terminate a pregnancy.
- Pro-life position stresses the humanity of both the mother and foetus, arguing that a fetus is a human person deserving of legal protection.
Why is the judgement overturned?
- Foetuses feel the pain: If the foetus is beyond 20 weeks of gestation, gynaecs assume that there will be pain caused to the foetus.
- Biblical gospel: The Bible does not draw a distinction between foetuses and babies. By the time a baby is conceived, he or she is recognized by God.
- Abortions cause psychological damage: Young adult women who undergo abortion may be at increased risk for subsequent depression.
- Abortions reduce the number of adoptable babies: Instead of having the option to abort, women should give their unwanted babies to people who cannot conceive. Single parenthood is also gaining popularity in the US.
- Cases of selective abortion: Such cases based on physical and genetic abnormalities (eugenic termination) is overt discrimination.
- Abortion as a form of contraception: It is immoral to kill an unborn child for convenience. Many women are using abortion as a contraceptive method.
- Morality put to question: If women become pregnant, they should accept the responsibility that comes with producing a child. People need to take responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences.
- Abortion promotes throwaway culture: The legalization of abortion sends a message that human life has little value and promotes the throwaway culture.
- Racial afflictions: Abortion disproportionately affects African American babies. In the US, black women are 3.3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion.
Arguments in favour for Abortion Rights
- Upholding individual conscience and decision-making: The US Supreme Court has declared abortion to be a fundamental right guaranteed by the US Constitution.
- Reproductive choice empowers women: The choice over when and whether to have children is central to a woman’s independence and ability to determine her future.
- Foetal viability occurs post-birth: Personhood begins after a foetus becomes “viable” (able to survive outside the womb) or after birth, not at conception. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby.
- No proof of foetal pain: Most neuroscientists believe that the cortex is necessary for pain perception. The cortex does not become functional until at least the 26th week of a foetus’ development.
- Preventing illegal abortions: Access to legal, professionally-performed abortions reduces maternal injury and death caused by unsafe, illegal abortions.
- Mother’s health: Modern abortion procedures are safe and do not cause lasting health issues such as cancer and infertility.
- Child’s health: Abortion gives pregnant women the option to choose not to bring fetuses with profound abnormalities to full term.
- Prevents women’s exclusion: Women who are denied abortions are more likely to become unemployed, to be on public welfare, to be below the poverty line, and to become victims of domestic violence.
- Reproductive choice protects women from financial disadvantage: Many women who choose abortion don’t have the financial resources to support a child.
- Justified means of population control: Many defends abortion as a way to curb overpopulation. Malnutrition, starvation, poverty, lack of medical and educational services, pollution, underdevelopment, and conflict over resources are all consequences of overpopulation.
Way forward
- A search for the middle path perhaps the right of a woman to choose what to do with the foetus has to be balanced with the right of the foetus to survive.
- It is only that a foetus does not have the ability to exercise an option while the person who carries it does.
- Rather than banning abortion, lawmakers must focus on counselling, employment security, social welfare, and financial support to persuade pregnant women to give birth to their children.
- We must achieve some degree of protection for the unborn by obtaining voluntary recognition of personal responsibility and respect for the personhood of the unborn.
Back2Basics: Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act
- Abortion in India has been a legal right under various circumstances for the last 50 years with the introduction of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971.
- The Act was amended in 2003 to enable women’s accessibility to safe and legal abortion services.
- Abortion is covered 100% by the government’s public national health insurance funds, Ayushman Bharat and Employees’ State Insurance with the package rate for surgical abortion.
The idea of terminating your pregnancy cannot originate by choice and is purely circumstantial. There are four situations under which a legal abortion is performed:
- If continuation of the pregnancy poses any risks to the life of the mother or mental health
- If the foetus has any severe abnormalities
- If pregnancy occurred as a result of failure of contraception (but this is only applicable to married women)
- If pregnancy is a result of sexual assault or rape
These are the key changes that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, has brought in:
- The gestation limit for abortions has been raised from the earlier ceiling of 20 weeks to 24 weeks, but only for special categories of pregnant women such as rape or incest survivors. But this termination would need the approval of two registered doctors.
- All pregnancies up to 20 weeks require one doctor’s approval. The earlier law, the MTP Act 1971, required one doctor’s approval for pregnancies upto 12 weeks and two doctors’ for pregnancies between 12 and 20 weeks.
- Women can now terminate unwanted pregnancies caused by contraceptive failure, regardless of their marital status. Earlier the law specified that only a “married woman and her husband” could do this.
- There is also no upper gestation limit for abortion in case of foetal disability if so decided by a medical board of specialist doctors, which state governments and union territories’ administrations would set up.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NITI Aayog
Mains level: Read the attached story
Parameswaran Iyer, a senior official who helmed the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, will be the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NITI Aayog.
What is the news?
- Iyer replaces Amitabh Kant, who completes his term in the office on June 30.
- Kant was appointed CEO of the National Institutions for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog on February 17, 2016, for two years.
- He got three extensions during his tenure.
Do you know?
Under Mr. Kant, the NITI Aayog helped the Centre launch several programmes such as Digital India and Make in India.
What is NITI Aayog?
- The NITI Aayog serves as the apex public policy think tank of the GoI.
- It was established in 2015, by the NDA government, to replace the Planning Commission which followed a top-down model.
- It advises both the centre and states on social and economic issues.
- It is neither a constitutional body nor a statutory body but the outcome of an executive resolution. It was not created by the act of parliament.
Composition of NITI Aayog
- The Prime Minister of India is the chairperson/chairman of the NITI Aayog.
- The PM appoints one Vice-Chairperson, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister.
- It includes the Chief Ministers of all the states and Union territories.
- It has Regional Councils for looking after contingencies in regional areas. It is convened and chaired by the Prime Minister of India and includes concerned chief ministers and Lt. Governors.
- The Prime Minister nominates Personalities with skilled knowledge, who are experts in particular domains as special invitees.
- There are full-time members who hold the rank of ministers.
- There is a maximum of two Part-time members who are invited from leading organisations, universities, and research centres.
- The Prime Minister also appoints one Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who holds the rank of a Secretary.
Aims, Agenda, and Objectives of NITI Aayog
The purpose with which NITI Aayog was formed in place of the Planning Commission was a far-sighted vision. It was important to boost the development of India in the emerging global scenario. The objectives are:
- To generate a platform for national development, sectors and strategies with the collaboration of states and centre.
- To boost the factor of cooperative federalism between the centre and the states. For national development, it is necessary for both wings to work in synergy.
- To develop such mechanisms which work at the ground root level for progressive growth. A nation develops when its regions and states develop.
- To work on long term policies and strategies for long-term development. To set up a system for monitoring progress so that it can be used for analysing and improving methods.
- To provide a platform for resolving inter-departmental issues amicably.
- To make it a platform where the programmes, strategies, and schemes can be monitored on a day to day basis, and it could be understood which sector needs more resources to develop.
- To upgrade technological advancements in such a manner that focus can be made on iNITIatives and programmes.
- To ensure India’s level and ranking at the worldwide level and to make India an actively participating nation.
- To progress from food security towards nutrition and standardised meals and focus on agricultural production.
- To make use of more technology to avoid misadventures and corruption in governance.
- To make the working system more transparent and accountable.
NITI Aayog – Seven Pillars of Effective Governance
- NITI Aayog works on principles like Antyodaya (upliftment of poor), inclusion (to include all sections under one head), people participation, and so on.
- NITI Aayog is a body that follows seven pillars of governance. They are:
- To look after pro-people agenda so that the aspirations and desires of no one are compromised.
- To respond and work on the needs of citizens.
- Make citizens of the nation involve and participate in various streams.
- To empower women in all fields, be it social, technical, economic, or other.
- To include all sects and classes under one head. To give special attention to marginalised and minority groups.
- To provide equal opportunity for the young generation.
- To make the working of government more accountable and transparent. It will ensure less chance of corruption and malpractices.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:
In India, which of the following review the independent regulators in sectors like telecommunications, insurance, electricity, etc.?
- Ad Hoc Committees set up by the Parliament
- Parliamentary Department Related Standing Committees
- Finance Commission
- Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission
- NITI Aayog
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 1, 3 and 4
(c) 3, 4 and 5
(d) 2 and 5
Post your answer here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Mains level: Paper 3- Transparency in RBI's policy making
Context
Modern inflation targeting central banks are often bound by explicit statutory mandates. Critics have argued that the RBI ignored its statutory inflation targeting duty.
Why transparency and predictability of the central bank is important?
- Prior to the 1990s, central banks preferred secrecy.
- Surprising market: The common wisdom was that the efficacy of monetary policy depended on taking markets by surprise.
- This belief started changing gradually with the adoption of inflation targeting.
- Influencing the inflation expectations: Targeting inflation required central banks to influence households’ and firms’ decisions.
- Thus emerged the need for central banks to be transparent and predictable.
Independence with accountability of the Central bank
- There was growing international recognition that central banks as monetary authorities should enjoy a relatively higher degree of independence from governments.
- In a democratic polity, this could only be expected in exchange for increased accountability.
- As a result, regulatory governance gradually emerged as a relevant consideration for independent central banks over the last three decades.
Regulatory governance at the RBI
- The regulatory governance discourse in India came into the focus with the report of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission in 2013.
- Like a state, regulators usually enjoy significant legislative, executive and judicial powers and should be subject to appropriate accountability mechanisms.
- These should include internal separation of powers; a well-structured regulation making process overseen by the board, through public consultation and cost-benefit analysis; duty to explain its actions to regulated entities and public at large; regular reporting requirements; and judicial review.
- Based on these recommendations, the Ministry of Finance released a handbook in 2013 for voluntary adoption of these enhanced governance standards by all financial sector regulators.
- These developments turned the spotlight on the RBI’s regulatory governance.
Reasons for the criticism of the RBI
- Targeting exchange rate: The central bank appears to have ventured into uncharted legal territory by possibly targeting the exchange rate instead of inflation.
- Regulatory governance issues: Separately, critics have also highlighted broader regulatory governance challenges at the RBI.
- For instance, its alleged use of informal nudges to restrict a foreign player’s access to the Indian payment ecosystem goes against an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
- Such criticisms underline an urgent need to improve the credibility of the central bank’s rule of law quotient.
- Least responsive in legislative function: A 2019 research paper found the central bank’s legislative functions to be the least responsive in comparison to three other regulators – SEBI, TRAI and AERA.
- RBI’ss consultation papers usually presented only one solution and did not offer merits and demerits of multiple possible solutions.
Implications of weak regulatory governance: Judicial scrutiny
- Weak regulatory governance resulted in weak regulations, inviting judicial scrutiny.
- Changes in master circular: In 2019, the Supreme Court effectively rewrote RBI’s master circular on wilful defaulters to provide additional procedural safeguards to borrowers.
- Striking down of crypto ban: In 2020, the court struck down an RBI circular that sought to ban its regulated entities from dealing or settling in virtual currencies.
- The court found that the RBI had neither adduced any cogent evidence of the likely harm, nor had it considered any less intrusive alternative before issuing the circular.
RRA 2.0 suggestions for the RBI
- The recent report of the Regulations Review Authority 2.0 (RRA) offers useful suggestions to improve the central bank’s regulation-making process.
- The RBI had set up the Review Authority 2.0 (RRA) in April 2021 to streamline its regulations.
- Skill improvement in regulatory drafting: RRA has advocated for skill development in regulatory drafting inside the RBI.
- Public consultation: To improve regulatory governance at the RBI, RRA suggested that its regulatory instructions should be issued only after public consultation, except if they are urgent or time sensitive.
- They must contain a brief statement of objects and reasons clearly explaining the rationale behind their issuance.
- Although much softer than the FSRLC standards, RRA nevertheless signal a progressive step forward.
Conclusion
The RBI should heed these recommendations. It should ideally hardcode the suggested principles into a secondary legislation that is binding on itself. That would be the best way to signal that the central bank takes regulatory governance and rule of law seriously.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Soil Health Card
Mains level: Paper 3- Soil degradation
Context
A key element of sustainable food production is healthy soil because nearly 95 per cent of global food production depends on soil. The current status of soil health is worrisome.
The threat posed by soil degradation
- The challenge to food security: Soil degradation on an unprecedented scale is a significant challenge to sustainable food production.
- About one-third of the earth’s soils is already degraded and alarmingly, about 90 per cent could be degraded by 2050 if no corrective action is taken.
- Soil degradation in India: While soil degradation is believed to be occurring in 145 million hectares in India, it is estimated that 96.40 million hectares — about 30 per cent of the total geographical area — is affected by land degradation.
- The FAO’s latest ‘State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture’ says: “…soil pollution is also an issue. It knows no borders and compromises the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.
- Globally, the biophysical status of 5,670 million hectares of land is declining, of which 1,660 million hectares (29 per cent) is attributed to human-induced land degradation, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s ‘State of Land, Soil and Water’ report.
Cause of the problem
- Use of agrochemicals: The excessive or inappropriate use of agrochemicals is one cause of the problem.
- The global annual production of industrial chemicals has doubled since the beginning of the 21st century, to approximately 2.3 billion tonnes.
- Extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides led to the deterioration of soil health and contamination of water bodies and the food chain, which pose serious health risks to people and livestock.
- Salination: Another challenge comes from salinisation, which affects 160 million hectares of cropland worldwide.”
About Soil Health Card Scheme
- Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme is promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
- An SHC is meant to give each farmer soil nutrient status of his/her holding and advice him/her on the dosage of fertilizers and also the needed soil amendments, that s/he should apply to maintain soil health in the long run.
- SHC is a printed report that a farmer will be handed over for each of his holdings.
- It will be made available once in a cycle of 2 years, which will indicate the status of soil health of a farmer’s holding for that particular period.
- The SHC given in the next cycle of 2 years will be able to record the changes in the soil health for that subsequent period.
- Under the programme as of date, soil health cards have been distributed to about 23 crore farmers.
- The scheme has not only helped in improving the health of the soil, but has also benefited innumerable farmers by increasing crop production and their incomes.
Progress made so far on soil restoration
- India is well on course to achieving the restoration of 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
- A study conducted by the National Productivity Council in 2017 on this programme revealed that there has been a decrease in the use of chemical fertilisers in the range of 8-10 per cent as a result of the application of fertilisers and micro-nutrients as per the recommendations on the soil health cards.
- Overall, an increase in crop yields to the tune of 5-6 per cent was reported as a result.
- First organic state in the world: “A Healthy Planet for Healthy Children’’ published by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and the World Future Council highlighted success stories from various countries — including Sikkim in India, which became the first organic state in the world.
Way forward
- Natural farming: Several studies have established that natural farming and organic farming are not only cost-effective but also lead to improvement in soil health and the farmland ecosystem.
- Agro-ecological practices: With the threat to food security looming large globally, the need of the hour is to adopt innovative policies and agro-ecological practices that create healthy and sustainable food production systems.
Conclusion
The time has come for collective global action involving governments and civil society to reverse the alarming trend of soil degradation.
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