Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Migrants and their problems
Context
- It is very worrying that a third of the eligible voters, a whopping 30 crore people, do not vote. Among the many reasons, including urban apathy and geographical constraints, one prominent reason is the inability of internal migrants to vote for different reasons.
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What are the efforts by election commission to address the problem?
- Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants: The Election Commission had earlier formed a “Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants” to address this issue. The Committee’s report submitted in 2016 suggested a solution in the form of “remote voting”.
- All party representative: To further address this serious problem, the EC invited representatives from all recognised national and state political parties to discuss the legal, administrative, and statutory changes to resolve the issue.
- All party consensus: The discussion took place in the presence of a technical expert committee. It is important to recall that the last major decision about the voting system was the introduction of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), with the consensus of all political parties in 2010.
- Least represented group: The Constitution guarantees freedom of movement to every citizen and freedom to reside in any part of the country. However, migrant workers, especially circular or short-term migrants, constituting tens of millions of citizens are some of the least represented groups in the ballot.
- Lack of access to vote: The issue of disenfranchisement faced by migrant workers is not one arising out of deliberate denial of the right to vote, but for lack of access to vote.
- Fundamental right: The Supreme Court, in a series of cases, has conclusively interpreted the freedom to access the vote as within the ambit of Article 19(1)(a).
Problems related to migrant workers and Voting
- Large scale migration: According to the 2011 Census, the number of internal migrants stands at 450 million, a 45 per cent surge from the 2001 census. Among these, 26 per cent of the migration (117 million) occurs inter-district within the same state, while 12 per cent of the migration (54 million) occurs inter-state.
- Alienation by residency criteria: The root cause of the migrant voters’ issue is that the individual’s inalienable right to vote is conditioned by a rather strict residency qualification. As a consequence, it tends to disenfranchise the migrant population.
- 60% migrants could not vote: In the survey report, ‘Political inclusion of Seasonal Migrant Workers in India: Perceptions, Realities and Challenges’ by Aajeevika Bureau, it was found that “close to 60 per cent of respondents had missed voting in elections at least once because they were away from home seeking livelihood options”.
What is the way forward?
- Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System: Section 60(c) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 empowers the Election Commission of India, in consultation with the government, to notify “classes” of voters who are unable to vote in person at their constituencies owing to their physical or social circumstances. Once notified, the voters are eligible for the ETPB system (Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System). In the 2019 general elections, the ETPB system was accessed by 18 lakh defence personnel across the country.
- Postal ballots for migrants: In 2019, in the backdrop of a PIL before the Supreme Court, a bill was floated to extend a similar remote voting possibility to over 10 million adult NRIs in order to “boost their participation in nation-building”. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, more than 28 lakh votes were received via postal ballots.
- Migrants are also equal citizens: In the existing system, remote voting within the constituency by voting via postal ballot is available to senior citizens, people with disabilities, and Covid-affected personnel. The postal ballot voting outside the constituency is available only to service voters, persons on election duty and persons on preventive detention. The Indian migrant worker too deserves the secured right to have access to vote through some mechanism.
- Remote electronic voting machine: The Election Commission has proposed the use of remote voting for migrant workers wherein a modified version of the existing model of M3 EVMs will be placed at remote polling stations. In fact, the Electronic Corporation of India Ltd. has already developed a prototype of a Multi-constituency Remote EVM (RVM) a modified version of the existing EVM which can handle 72 constituencies in a single remote polling booth. Technical details will be available only after the crucial demonstration.
Conclusion
- Migrant workers are also the equal citizens of the country. Social-economic and structural barriers should not the hurdle in there right to vote. Election commission of India has taken the step in the right direction. However, consensus needs to be built over the voting rights of migrants.
Mains Question
Q. What are the problems faced by migrant workers in exercise of there voting rights? What is the way forward towards ensuring voting rights to migrants?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Wealth tax and present status in India
Mains level: Rationale behind wealth tax
Context
- The discourse on efficient, effective and equitable public spending often takes us into the realm of limited resources facing competing demands. India definitely needs to widen its revenue collection as well as base. In this context, it is important to discuss the need for levying a wealth tax, and levying it now.
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Why wealth needs to be taxed?
- Accumulation of wealth: The most compelling reason stems from evidence that there has been massive accumulation of wealth in a few hands. A small section of people has access to a large share of economic assets and resources that remain almost completely untaxed and thus unavailable for public allocation.
- Wealth without hard work: Wealth, much less than even income, has little to do with one’s education, merit or efforts; it is largely dependent on inheritance and opportunities that come with the advantages associated with belonging to one of India’s privileged classes and castes.
- Income inequality: India’s top 10% population owns 65% of the country’s wealth, while the bottom 10% owns only 6%, according to the World Inequality Database, 2022.
- Wealth of rich doubled in pandemic: An Oxfam report has highlighted how India’s richest doubled their wealth during the pandemic. This happened for a variety of reasons, including profits made on vaccines and commodity and asset price movements.
- Wealth doesn’t translate into productive resources: But the fact remains that India, despite facing grave financial and economic challenges, has no means to convert any of this growing wealth into productive resources that can generate employment opportunities and push up the incomes of multitudes, which in turn can drive demand for goods something that is needed to counter an economic drag-down.
What is the government’s attitude towards wealthy?
- Rich knows how to invest: One may argue and it is common to hear this that wealth is better left to the wealthy, as they know best how to invest. This has not been in sufficient evidence, at least in India.
- Corporate tax lowered: The government lowered the corporate tax rate significantly from 30% to 22% in 2019-20, which has continued despite the economic crises caused by the pandemic. However, this did not elicit much private investment.
History of Wealth taxation in India
- Wealth tax: Wealth tax, which is a direct tax unlike the goods and services tax or value-added tax, can take several forms, such as property tax, inheritance or gift tax and capital gains tax.
- Capital gains tax: Capital Gains tax exists in India, but applies only to transactions and hence is limited in its base.
- Estate duty: India scrapped its estate duty in 1985 and has no inheritance tax. Although the receipt of gifts is subject to income tax in the beneficiary’s hands, it has various exemptions; it is almost entirely exempt if received from within the family, including the extended family of self and spouse.
- Exemption leads to accumulation: These exemptions shrink the base significantly, as most accumulated wealth is acquired through family, and that remains outside the gift tax’s ambit. Given the cultural context of wealth inheritance, some exemptions make sense, but upper thresholds can be easily added to make it more effective.
- No wealth tax: India presently does not have any wealth tax i.e., a tax levied on one’s entire property in all forms.
- One time solidarity tax: It did not impose a one-time ‘solidarity tax’ on wealth in post-covid budgets that could have generated resources for essential public investment.
- Example of developing countries: A number of Latin American countries, including Argentina, Peru and Bolivia, have either introduced or are introducing a progressive annual wealth tax levied on the wealth gains of each year or a one-time covid ‘solidarity’ tax.
Conclusion
- Idea of wealth tax appear good on paper however; it may negatively impact the domestic and foreign investment in the country. Direct tax slab for superrich in India is already among the highest in the world. The idea of wealth taxation needs careful deliberation before implementation.
Mains Question
Q. Comment on history of wealth tax in India. why wealth tax is necessary in India? elaborate.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Marital Rape
The Supreme Court is set to begin hearing a series of petitions seeking to criminalize marital rape from March 14.
What is Marital Rape?
- Marital rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one’s spouse without her consent.
- It is no different manifestation of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
- It is often a chronic form of violence for the victim which takes place within abusive relations.
Status in India
- Historically considered as right of the spouses, this is now widely classified as rape by many societies around the world.
- In India, marital rape is not a criminal offense (as protected under IPC section 375).
- India is one of fifty countries that have not yet outlawed marital rape.
Reasons for disapproval of this concept
- The reluctance to define non-consensual sex between married couples as a crime and to prosecute has been attributed to:
- Traditional views of marriage
- Interpretations of religious doctrines
- Ideas about male and female sexuality
- Cultural expectations of subordination of a wife to her husband
- It is widely held that a husband cannot be guilty of any sexual act committed by himself upon his lawful wife on account of their mutual matrimonial consent.
Why it must be a crime?
- Associated physical violence: Rape by a spouse, partner or ex-partner is more often associated with physical violence and sexual mutilation.
- Mental harassment: There is research showing that marital rape can be more emotionally and physically damaging than rape by a stranger.
- Compulsive relationship: Marital rape may occur as part of an abusive relationship.
- Revengeful nature: Furthermore, marital rape is rarely a one-time event, but a repeated if not frequent occurrence.
- Obligation on women: In the case of marital rape the victim often has no choice but to continue living with their spouse.
Violation of fundamental rights
- Marital rape is considered as a violation of FR guaranteed under Article 14 of the Indian constitution which guarantees the equal protection of laws to all persons.
- By depriving married women of an effective penal remedy against forced sexual intercourse, it violates their right to privacy and bodily integrity, aspects of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.
Problems in prosecuting marital rape
- Lack of awareness: A lack of public awareness, as well as reluctance or outright refusal of authorities to prosecute is common globally.
- Gender norms: Additionally, gender norms that place wives in subservient positions to their husbands, make it more difficult for women to recognize such rape.
- Acceptability of the concept: Another problem results from prevailing social norms that exist.
Present regulations in India
- Indian Penal Code criminalizes rape in most cases, although marital rape is not illegal when the woman is over the age of 18.
- However, until 2017, men married to those between 15 and 18 could not be convicted of rape.
- Marital rape of an adult wife, who is unofficially or officially separated, is a criminal offence punishable by 2 to 7 year in prison; it is not dealt by normal rape laws which stipulate the possibility of a death sentence.
- According to the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act (2005), other married women subject to such crime by their husband may demand for financial compensation.
- They also have the right to continue to live in their marital household if they wish, or may approach shelter or aid homes.
However, marital rape is still not a criminal offense in this case and is only a misdemeanor.
Arguments against criminalization
- Subjective: It is very subjective and intricate to determine whether consent was acquired or not.
- Prone to Misuse: If marital rape is criminalized without adequate safeguards it could be misused like the current dowry law by the dissatisfied wives to harass and torture their Husbands.
- Burden on Judiciary: It will increase the burden of judiciary which otherwise may serve other more important causes.
Way forward
- Sanctioning marital rape is an acknowledgment of the woman’s right to self-determination (i.e., control) of all matters relating to her body.
- In the absence of any concrete law, the judiciary always finds it difficult to decide the matter of domestic rape in the absence of solid evidence.
- The main purpose of marriage is procreation, and sometimes divorce is sought on the ground of non-consummation of marriage.
- Before giving a final interpretation, the judiciary must balance the rights and duties of both partners.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Expected Loss-based Approach
Mains level: Debt management
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a framework for the adoption of an expected loss-based approach for loan provisioning by banks.
What is Loan-Loss Provision?
- The RBI defines a loan loss provision as an expense that banks set aside for defaulted loans.
- Banks set aside a portion of the expected loan repayments from all loans in their portfolio to cover the losses either completely or partially.
- In the event of a loss, instead of taking a loss in its cash flows, the bank can use its loan loss reserves to cover the loss.
- Since the bank does not expect all loans to become impaired, there is usually enough in the loan loss reserves to cover the full loss for any one or a small number of loans when needed.
- An increase in the balance of reserves is called loan loss provision.
- The level of loan loss provision is determined based on the level expected to protect the safety and soundness of the bank.
And what is the expected loss-based approach?
- Under this practice, a bank is required to estimate expected credit losses based on forward-looking estimations, rather than wait for credit losses to be actually incurred before making corresponding loss provisions.
- As per the proposed framework, banks will need to classify financial assets (primarily loans, including irrevocable loan commitments, and investments classified as held-to-maturity or available-for-sale) into one of three categories — Stage 1, Stage 2, or Stage 3.
- This depends upon the assessed credit losses on them, at the time of initial recognition as well as on each subsequent reporting date, and make necessary provisions.
- Stage 1 assets are financial assets that have not had a significant increase in credit risk since initial recognition or that have low credit risk at the reporting date. For these assets, 12-month expected credit losses are recognised and interest revenue is calculated on the gross carrying amount of the asset.
- Stage 2 assets are financial instruments that have had a significant increase in credit risk since initial recognition, but there is no objective evidence of impairment. For these assets, lifetime expected credit losses are recognised, but interest revenue is still calculated on the gross carrying amount of the asset.
- Stage 3 assets include financial assets that have objective evidence of impairment at the reporting date. For these assets, lifetime expected credit loss is recognised, and interest revenue is calculated on the net carrying amount.
What are the benefits of this approach?
- The forward-looking expected credit losses approach will further enhance the resilience of the banking system in line with globally accepted norms.
- It is likely to result in excess provisions as compared to shortfall in provisions as seen in the incurred loss approach.
What is the problem with the incurred loss-based approach?
- The incurred loss approach requires banks to provide for losses that have already occurred or been incurred.
- The delay in recognising expected losses under an “incurred loss” approach was found to exacerbate the downswing during the financial crisis of 2007-09.
- Faced with a systemic increase in defaults, the delay in recognising loan losses resulted in banks having to make higher levels of provisions which ate into the capital maintained precisely at a time when banks needed to shore up their capital.
- This affected banks’ resilience and posed systemic risks.
- Further, the delays in recognising loan losses overstated the income generated by the banks which, coupled with dividend payouts, impacted their capital base
Which banks are covered under this approach?
- The proposed norms are for all scheduled commercial banks, excluding regional rural banks.
- Regional rural banks and smaller cooperative banks (based on a threshold to be decided based on comments) are proposed to be kept out of the framework.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: World Economic Forum
Mains level: Not Much
The World Economic Forum has begun its annual summit in Davos, Switzerland,
World Economic Forum (WEF)
- Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WEF is an international not-for-profit organization, focused on bringing the public and private sectors together to address the global political, social, and economic issues.
- It was founded in 1971 by Swiss-German economist and Professor Klaus Schwab in a bid to promote the global cooperation on these most pressing problems.
- The first meeting of WEF was held more than five decades ago in Davos, which has been the home of the annual gathering almost ever since, also becoming the shorthand for the event.
Tap to read more about important reports published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
WEF partners
- The WEF is largely funded by its partnering corporations.
- These are generally global enterprises with an annual turnover greater than $ 5 billion.
- For these corporations, the WEF provides a platform “to shape the future, accessing networks and experts to ensure strategic decision-making on the most pressing world issues.”
- Partners range from Apollo Tyres to Apple – they can be from any industry, as long as they wish to engage using WEF’s platforms.
- WEF also partners with public subsidies.
Why are the summits held at Davos?
- Sometimes described as Europe’s highest town, Davos has been the venue for the WEF’s annual meeting every year since its inception – with one exception.
- Davos, a ski resort, and the annual host of WEF’s meeting is a quaint town located on the lap of the Swiss Alps.
- In many ways, it is a surprising choice for a meeting of global economic giants and geopolitical leaders.
- The meeting was held in New York in 2002 in a gesture of solidarity following the 9/11 attacks.
Who are the attendees and what actually happens in Davos?
- Typically, Davos attracts global business executives and policymakers – and it’s strictly invite-only.
- Usually attending will be the sitting U.S. president, top EU and UN leaders, business leaders and entrepreneurs, academics, heads of NGOs and charities, the media, activists and even some celebrities.
- Donald Trump, Jens Stoltenberg, Ursula von der Leyen, Greta Thunberg, Elton John and many other high-profile names have all previously attended Davos.
- The conference includes hundreds of discussions, keynote speeches and panels, and all-important networking sessions, usually behind closed doors in five-star hotels.
- CEOs and investors seize the opportunity for face-to-face deal-makings.
Davos 2023: What’s on this year’s agenda?
- This year’s annual meeting in Davos will take place January 16–20, 2023.
- The theme is “cooperation in a fragmented world” and within that are five sub-themes, including the energy and food crises, inflation, technology for innovation, social vulnerabilities and geopolitical risks.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Shukrayaan I
Mains level: Not Much
ISRO said that it is yet to receive approval from the Indian government for the Venus mission and that the mission could as a result be postponed to 2031.
Shukrayaan I: Venus Orbiter Mission
- Shukrayaan-I is a planned orbiter to Venus by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus.
- The idea was born in 2012; five years later, ISRO commenced preliminary studies after the Department of Space received a 23% hike in the 2017-2018 budget.
- The orbiter, depending on its final configuration, would have a science payload capability of approximately 100 kilograms (220 lb) with 500 W available power.
- The launch will involve GSLV Mark II.
Expected launch
- ISRO had originally hoped to launch Shukrayaan I in mid-2023 but cited the pandemic when it pushed the date to December 2024.
- Optimal launch windows from Earth to Venus occur once around every 19 months.
- This is why ISRO has ‘backup’ launch dates in 2026 and 2028 should it miss the 2024 opportunity.
- But even more optimal windows, which further reduce the amount of fuel required at liftoff, come around every eight years.
Other missions to Venus
- The US and the European space agencies have Venus missions planned for 2031 — referring to VERITAS and EnVision, respectively.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: JSWT, Exoplanets, Goldilock Zone
Mains level: Not Much
NASA has announced that the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered its first new exoplanet LHS 475 b.
LHS 475 b
- The exoplanet LHS 475 b is roughly the same size as Earth.
- Located just 41 light-years away, the planet orbits very close to a red dwarf star and completes a full orbit in just two days.
Red Dwarf Stars
- As mentioned before, the newly discovered exoplanet orbits around a red dwarf star.
- Such types of stars are the most common and smallest in the universe.
- As they don’t radiate much light, it’s very tough to detect them with the naked eye from Earth.
- However, as red dwarfs are dimmer than other stars, it is easier to find exoplanets that surround them.
- Therefore, red dwarfs are a popular target for planet hunting.
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What are Exoplanets?
- Exoplanets are planets that orbit other stars and are beyond our solar system.
- According to NASA, to date, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been discovered.
- Scientists believe that there are more planets than stars as each star has at least one planet orbiting it.
- Exoplanets come in a host of different sizes. They can be gas giants bigger than Jupiter or as small and rocky as Earth.
- They are also known to have different kinds of temperatures — boiling hot to freezing cold.
Significance of exoplanets study
- Studying exoplanets not only broadens our understanding of other solar systems but also helps us piece together information about our own planetary system and origin.
- However, the most compelling reason to learn about them is to find extraterrestrial life.
- Researchers emphasize on determining if exoplanets are solid or gaseous or even has water vapour in the atmosphere.
- This helps scientists determine if a discovered world is habitable or not.
- Another important element of the study is finding out the distance between an exoplanet and its host star.
Do you know?
If an exoplanet is too close to the star, it might be too hot to sustain liquid water. If it’s too far, it might only have frozen water. When such a planet is at a distance that enables it to have liquid water, it is said to be in the “Goldilocks zone”.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Stupa Art
Mains level: Not Much
The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered two 1200-year-old miniature votive stupas during landscaping activities near Sarai Tila mound on the premises of ‘Nalanda Mahavihara’, a world heritage site in Nalanda district.
What has ASI found?
- The stupas, carved from stone, depict Buddha figures.
- These two votive stupas (offered in fulfillment of a vow) were discovered by the ASI officials during landscaping near Sarai Tila mound within the premises of ‘Nalanda Mahavihara on January 4.
- These, carved from stone depicting Buddha figures, must be around 1200 year old.
What are Stupas?
- The Sanskrit word stupa signifies “heap, mound, and pile” and is derived from the root ‘stup’ “to pile up.”
- The ashes of Buddha collected were divided into eight parts and stupa was erected on them.
- The legend of relic sharing has been imagined latter on, after the establishment of relic worship and stupa.
- This belief was raised only when the Buddha was considered as a God, a Chakravartin.
Types of Stupa
- Buddha himself distinguished three kinds of stupa (Chaitya): (i) Sariraka, (ii) Paribhogika and (iii) Uddesika (according to Mahaparinibbanasutta).
- Beside all these, there are also the sculpted, engraved painted stupas intended to procure merit for the donors.
- Mostly stupa is containing a relic, that the stupa must have been considered from ancient times as a substitute of the Buddha.
- In Buddhist history, the Buddha was considered to be a Chakravartin, a universal monarch.
How votive stupas were erected?
- As his ashes were no longer available, they were replaced by his written law –i.e. factitious body of the Buddha (Niramanakaya), the relic stupas contain the spiritual relics (Dharama Sarira) and the body of law (Dharamakaya) of these represented as Buddha.
- These stupas erected over relics are called Sariraka Stupas.
- Other stupas called Paribhogika were erected over objects used by the Buddha, such as his bowl, girdle, clothes etc.
- Others called Uddesika(votive) were raised over places which were made famous by the presence of Buddha (Buddha’s presence). These are commemorative stupas.
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