Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Electoral bonds
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with electoral bonds
Context
Ever since its introduction, the electoral bond scheme has envenomed the democratic process, by destroying altogether any notion of transparency in political funding.
Issue of anonymity in electoral bond
- The electoral bond scheme is designed to allow an individual, or any “artificial juridical person”, including body corporates, to purchase bonds issued by the State Bank of India during notified periods of time.
- These instruments are issued in the form of promissory notes, and in denominations ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹1 crore.
- Once purchased, the buyer can donate the bond to any political party of their choice and the party can then encash it on demand.
Supreme Court’s opinion
- The Supreme Court has allowed the scheme to continue unabated and has denied an interim stay on its operation.
- In one such provisional order, the Court asserted that the bonds were not, in fact, anonymous.
- According to the Court, since both the purchase and the encashment of bonds are made through banking channels, all it would take for a person to glean the identity of a donor was for her to look through every corporation’s financial statement — these records, the Court said, ought to be available with the Registrar of Companies.
- What the order ignored was that there is no attendant obligation on political parties to provide details to the public on each donation received by them through electoral bonds.
- Companies are also under no obligation to disclose the name of the party to whom they made the donation.
Violation of voter’s right
- The Supreme Court has consistently held that voters have a right to freely express themselves during an election and that they are entitled to all pieces of information that give purpose and vigour to this right.
- Surely, to participate in the electoral process in a meaningful manner and to choose one’s votes carefully, a citizen must know the identity of those backing the candidates.
Electoral bond does not eliminate the role of black money in funding elections
- As affidavits filed by the Election Commission of India in the Supreme Court have demonstrated, the scheme, if anything, augments the potential role of black money in elections.
- It does so by, among other things, removing existing barriers against shell entities and dying concerns from donating to political parties.
- Moreover, even if the bonds were meant to eliminate the presence of unaccounted currency, it is difficult to see what nexus the decision to provide complete anonymity of the donor bears to this objective.
- It is for this reason that the Reserve Bank of India reportedly advised the Government against the scheme’s introduction.
Conclusion
The worries over the electoral bond scheme, however, go beyond its patent unconstitutionality. This is because in allowing anonymity it befouls the basis of our democracy and prevents our elections from being truly free and fair.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Credit to GDP ratio
Mains level: Paper 3- How to generate high growth
Context
Although the impact of Omicron is less on the economy, the loss of GDP in the last two years is high. Also note that the pre-Covid year FY20 had a low base with 4 per cent growth of GDP. Therefore, the need to focus on higher growth in the forthcoming budget and in the medium term, that is, beyond India@75, is obvious.
Challenges in creating quantity and quality of jobs in the economy
- Unemployment rate is high in both rural and urban areas;
- Decline in work participation rates, particularly for women;
- Recovery in employment is still below the levels of the pre-Covid period.
- 85 per cent of the workforce is still in informal sector.
- Lack of skill: Less than 5 per cent of India’s workforce has formal skill training.
- Need for structural change: Manufacturing and services need structural change.
- Focus on MSME sector is needed for higher employment.
Policies needed to achieve higher economic growth and jobs
1] Capital expenditure and infrastructure
- The government outlined an infrastructure project pipeline worth more than Rs 102 lakh crore and asset monetisation pipeline of Rs 6 lakh crore to be implemented in the medium term.
- Continuing focus on infrastructure and capex by the government is important as it is a key driver for the “future of India”.
2] Focus on export growth
- It is well known that rise in exports is one of the main engines of growth and also important for employment creation.
- Export growth in India has increased and is expected to reach $400 billion by the end of FY22.
- One worrying aspect of India’s export performance is the failure in expanding the share of labour intensive products in the export basket.
- Protectionist trade policy: However, one problem in recent years is that India’s trade policy has become more protectionist by increasing import tariffs.
- Join RCEP: India should also join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) for integrating our industries with the value chains in Asia.
3] Manufacturing and service sector growth
- The share of manufacturing in GDP and employment has hardly increased over time.
- Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes can improve performance.
- However, more efforts are required to improve the manufacturing sector.
- Similarly, there are a lot of opportunities for India in the service sector.
- Brand and customer centricity are important here.
- India can also think of more business in the service sector.
- Growing startups including unicorns in manufacturing and services is part of this effort.
4] Banking reforms
- Banking reforms are important as bank credit growth is a key indicator of economic growth.
- Low credit-to-gdp ration in India: Credit to GDP ratio in India is only around 55 per cent compared to 100 per cent and 150 per cent in many other countries.
- Credit should flow to all categories of economic agents like firms, households etc.
- The bad bank, a key initiative of the last budget, is yet to take shape.
- The role of fintech companies in the financial sector has increased significantly.
- They may not be able to replace banks although they are competing on payments.
- The banks also have to focus now on ESG (environment, social and governance) while giving credit.
- Big technology and digital push is also needed for banks.
5] Deal with K-shaped recovery
- The K-shaped recovery of the economy is still continuing.
- The policies have to focus on giving a push to the MSME sector, increasing investment in agriculture and rural infrastructure, a social sector push including bridging divides in health and education, social protection measures like foodgrain distribution, cash transfers, MGNREGA in rural areas, urban employment guarantee schemes etc.
- This will also create demand for the economy.
Conclusion
In the near term, fiscal policy has to play an important role in achieving the objectives of growth and jobs by expanding fiscal space while the fiscal deficit can be stabilised in the medium term. Increase in private investment may take some more time.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various articles mentioned in news
Mains level: Suspensions of MLAs in MH Assembly
The Supreme Court has set aside the one-year suspension of 12 MLAs from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
What was the case?
- A petition was filed against the suspension.
- It stated the move as “grossly arbitrary and disproportionate”.
- The challenge relied mainly on grounds of denial of the principles of natural justice, and of violation of laid-down procedure.
What did the judgment observe?
- The apex court observed the decision to suspend them for a year was ‘unconstitutional, substantively illegal and irrational’.
What did the court say about members being suspended beyond an ongoing session?
(A) Arbitrary Action
- The court agreed with the MLAs’ contention that the suspension has to follow the procedure laid down in Rule 53.
- It said that the suspension of a member must be preferred as a short term or a temporary, disciplinary measure for restoring order in the Assembly.
- Anything in excess of that would be irrational suspension, the court said.
- It said that Rule 53 only provides for the withdrawal of a member for the remainder of the day or in case of repeat misconduct in the same session, for the remainder of the session.
(B) Defining ‘disorderly behaviour’
- The court said that as per this rule, withdrawal of a member can only be done in case of the member’s conduct being “grossly disorderly”.
- It relied on definitions of the two words and said that the conduct has to be considered in a graded objective manner.
- It is not a punishment like expulsion but more a direction to ensure that the business of the House can be carried on smoothly, without any disruption.
(C) Violative of Fundamental Rights
- The MLAs were not given an opportunity to present their case and that the suspension violated their fundamental right to equality before the law under Article 14 of the Constitution.
- They also submitted that they were not given access to video of the proceedings of the House, and it was not clear how they had been identified in the large crowd that had gathered in the chamber.
(D) Against constitutional ethos
- It termed the one-year suspension worse than expulsion or disqualification or resignation as far as the rights of the constituency to be represented in the House are concerned.
- It would also impact the democratic setup.
(E) Immunity of the state legislature
- It also considered whether the legislature had complete immunity from judicial review in matters of irregularity of procedure.
- It ruled that procedures are open to judicial review on the touchstone of being unconstitutional, grossly illegal, irrational or arbitrary.
Legal basis of the Judgment
Ans. The bench referred to Article 190 (4) of the Constitution
- It says- if for a period of sixty days a member of a House of the Legislature of a State is without permission of the House absent from all meetings thereof, the House may declare his seat vacant.
- Under Section 151 (A) of The Representation of the People Act, 1951, “a bye-election for filling any vacancy shall be held within a period of six months from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy”.
- This means that barring exceptions specified under this section, no constituency can remain without a representative for more than six months.
What was the Assembly’s response to the judicial enquiry?
- It argued that the House had acted within its legislative competence.
- Under Article 212, courts do not have jurisdiction to inquire into the proceedings of the legislature.
- Article 212 (1) states that “the validity of any proceedings in the Legislature of a State shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure”.
- It also said that a seat does not automatically become vacant if the member does not attend the House for 60 days but it becomes vacant only if declared so by the House.
- It was submitted that the House is not obligated to declare such a seat vacant.
Why was this suspension controversial?
- manipulation: A thin majority coalition government could use such suspensions to manipulate the number of Opposition party members.
- Avoiding legislative scrutiny: With prominent members suspended, opposition will not be able to effectively participate in discussions/debates in the House fearing suspension of its members for a longer period.
- Enmity among legislators: The court pointed out that Parliament and Assemblies were becoming more and more an intransigent place.
Way forward
- A nation aspiring to be a “world leader” should debate on the welfare of its citizens rather than make Parliament/State Assemblies a stage to exchange jeers and launch personal attacks.
- The members must maintain statesmanship and not brinkmanship in the House, said the apex court.
- For becoming world leaders and self-dependent/reliant, quality of debates in the House ought to be of the highest order.
Conclusion
- Parliament or the State legislatures are no places to create a ruckus.
- It is a place where policies and laws are propounded for governing the citizenry.
- Aggression during the debates has no place in the setting of country governed by the Rule of Law.
- Even a complex issue needs to be resolved in a congenial atmosphere by observing collegiality and showing full respect and deference towards each other.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nagraj Case
Mains level: Quota in Promotions
The Supreme Court has refused to lay down the criteria for determining the inadequacy of representation for granting reservation in promotions for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates in government jobs.
What did the court held?
- The court stuck firm by the decisions of its Constitution Benches in the Jarnail Singh and M. Nagaraj case that the question of adequate representation of SC/ST communities ought to be left to the respective States to determine.
- It held ‘cadre’, and not class or group or the entire service, as the unit for the purpose of collection of quantifiable data for giving promotion quotas.
Why such decision?
- Determination of inadequate representation depends upon myriad factors of states which this Court cannot envisage.
- Laying down of criteria for determining the inadequacy of representation would result in curtailing the discretion given to the State governments.
Quota in Promotions: A timeline
What was the case?
- The Union government has been pressing for reservation in promotion proportionate to the population of SCs and STs as per a 1995 judgment by the top court in the RK Sabharwal case.
- It wants it to be left open to the Centre and states to decide on promotional avenues for SCs and STs.
- It claims that the condition regarding the collection of quantifiable data to show the inadequacy of representation of SCs/STs is “vague”.
- Advocates representing the general category have contended that the reservation cannot be for an indefinite period and that it must stop as soon as the upper ceiling has been reached.
- Further, they have emphasized that reservation in promotion should be cadre-based only after quantifiable data is collected and the creamy layer has been excluded.
Defying the need for quantifiable data
- Attorney General sought to convince the court that the roster system, based on the proportionate population of SCs/STs, has been working quite well in all government departments.
- The condition of collecting quantifiable data on inadequacy of representation of SCs/STs may not be required at all.
- He urged that there is no need to verify any further or collect quantifiable data after the roster system.
What is the Nagraj Case?
- Article 16(4A) of Indian Constitution allows reservations to SCs and STs in promotions, as long as the government believes that they are not adequately represented in government services.
- In 2006, a Constitution bench’s ruling in the M Nagaraj case made it incumbent upon the state to collect quantifiable data showing inadequacy of representation in public employment.
- This was to be done in addition to maintaining overall administrative efficiency.
Related amendments
- 77th Amendment: It introduced Clause 4A to the Constitution, empowering the state to make provisions for reservation in matters of promotion to SC/ST employees if the state feels they are not adequately represented.
- 81st Amendment: It introduced Clause 4B, which says unfilled SC/ST quota of a particular year, when carried forward to the next year, will be treated separately and not clubbed with the regular vacancies of that year to find out whether the total quota has breached the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court.
- 82nd Amendment: It inserted a proviso at the end of Article 335 to enable the state to make any provision for SC/STs “for relaxation in qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in matters of promotion to any class or classes of services or posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State”.
- 85th Amendment: It said reservation in the promotion can be applied with consequential seniority for the SC/ST employee.
Why such demand for quotas in promotion?
- The Attorney General has said that it is tough for a member of the SC/ST to reach the ‘Group A’ category jobs.
- The time has come for the apex court to firm up and draw the basis for reservation in promotions for SC/ST candidates to fill up vacancies in top jobs.
- The Bench referred to records filed before it to note that there was low representation of SC/ST category in Group A jobs.
- Instead of improving the situation in the Group A ranks, the court said, efforts are on to ensure adequate representation in Groups B and C.
- This was not fair, it remarked.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PUC Certificate
Mains level: Not Much
Delhi govt will soon make PUC certificate mandatory for fuel at filling stations.
What is PUC Certificate?
- The PUC certificate is a document that any person driving a motor vehicle can be asked to produce by a police officer in uniform authorized by the state government.
- These issue certificates if a vehicle is found complying with the prescribed emission norms.
- Since the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 came into force, PUC certificate has been made mandatory.
- A PUC certificate contains information such as the vehicle’s license plate number, PUC test reading, date on which the PUC test was conducted and the expiry date.
How is a pollution control check carried out?
- The computerized model for pollution check was developed by the Society of Indian Automobile manufacturers.
- A gas analyzer is connected to a computer, to which a camera and a printer are attached.
- The gas analyzer records the emission value and sends it to the computer directly, while the camera captures the license plate of the vehicle.
- Subsequently, a certificate may be issued if the emission values are within the limits.
Fines for non-compliance
- The test costs between Rs 60 and Rs 100.
- The validity of the test is one year for BS IV vehicles and three months for others.
- The fine for PUC violations has now gone up to Rs 10,000; it used to be Rs 1,000 for the first offence and Rs 2,000 for subsequent violations before the amendments came into force.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NeoCoV
Mains level: Not Much
NeoCov coronavirus found in bats may pose threat to humans in the future, scientists caution.
Coronavirus: A quick backgrounder
- Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to infect animals and humans.
- They are largely categorized into four genera — alpha, beta, gamma, and delta.
- Broadly speaking, alpha and beta coronaviruses commonly infect mammals such as bats and humans, while Gamma and Delta mainly infect birds.
Infecting humans: Through ‘Zoonotic Spillover’
- While animals, including bats, are generally considered as the reservoirs of coronaviruses, rarely spillover events could occur.
- It is possible for viruses that infect animals to jump to humans, a process which is known as zoonotic spillover.
- Many major infectious diseases, including COVID-19, is widely thought to be a result of spillover.
COVID-19 Pandemic
- SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, belongs to the genus of beta coronavirus.
- It is in fact the 7th type of coronavirus known to infect and cause severe disease in humans.
How does it affect humans?
- How a coronavirus latches onto special receptors on host cells depends on a key part of the virus known as its receptor-binding domain.
- The differences in the receptor-binding domain of coronaviruses are therefore what determine the type of host receptor the virus will use and thus the host that it will be able to infect.
- There are currently 4 well-characterized receptors for coronaviruses, including ACE2, which is used by SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, and DPP4 used by MERS-CoV.
What is NeoCoV?
- NeoCoV is a bat coronavirus that was first identified in 2011.
- It was identified in a species of bats known as Neoromicia, which is where the name NeoCoV was derived from.
- Commonly known as aloe bats, this species is distributed in the Afro-Malagasy region.
- NeoCoV shares an 85% similarity to MERS-CoV in the genome sequence, making it the closest known relative of MERS-CoV.
Does NeoCoV infect humans and cause high mortality?
- It is important to note that inherently, NeoCoV cannot interact with human receptors, implying that in its current form the virus cannot infect humans.
- NeoCoV does not infect humans yet and has thus not caused any deaths.
What does the preprint say and why is it important?
- The study reports that despite their similarity, MERS-CoV and NeoCoV use different receptors to infect cells.
- The bat coronavirus NeoCoV was found to use bat ACE2 receptors for efficiently entering cells.
- The interaction between NeoCoV and bat ACE2 receptors is different from what is seen in other coronaviruses that utilize ACE2.
- However, specific mutations artificially created in the receptor-binding domain of NeoCoV can enhance its efficiency to interact with human ACE2 receptors.
- These mutations have not yet been seen in NeoCov isolates from natural settings.
Conclusion
- SARS-CoV-2 is not the first coronavirus to infect humans and cause large disease outbreaks, nor is it likely to be the last.
- The study highlights that through further adaptation, coronaviruses like NeoCoV or other related viruses could potentially gain the ability to infect humans.
Way forward
- To prevent future outbreaks, it will thus be important to monitor this family of viruses for potential zoonosis while continuing research efforts on understanding the complex receptor usage of different coronaviruses.
- Genomic surveillance of human and animal viruses is, therefore, the key to understanding the spectrum of viruses, and possibly provides early warning to potential spillover events.
Try this question from CSP 2021:
Q. The term ACE2′ is talked about in the context of:
(a) genes introduced in the genetically modified plants
(b) development of India’s own satellite navigation system
(c) radio collars for wildlife tracking
(d) spread of viral diseases
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Defining formal sector
Mains level: Paper 3- Challenges of formalisation
Context
Despite efforts by the government, formalisation of economy still eludes us.
Prevalence of informality in India
- Despite witnessing rapid economic growth over the last two decades, 90% of workers in India have remained informally employed, producing about half of GDP.
- Combining the International Labour Organization’s widely agreed upon template of definitions with India’s official definition (of formal jobs as those providing at least one social security benefit — such as EPF), the share of formal workers in India stood at 9.7% (47.5 million).
- The prevalence of informal employment is also widespread in the non-agriculture sector.
- About half of informal workers are engaged in non-agriculture sectors which spread across urban and rural areas.
- Industries thriving without paying taxes are only the tip of the informal sector’s iceberg.
- What remains hidden are the large swathes of low productivity informal establishments working as household and self-employment units which represent “petty production”.
- To conflate the two distinct segments of the informal sector would be a serious conceptual error.
Fiscal perspective of formalisation
- Efforts to encourage formalisation: Currency demonetisation, introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), digitalisation of financial transactions and enrolment of informal sector workers on numerous government Internet portals are all meant to encourage the formalisation of the economy.
- The formal sector is more productive than the informal sector, and formal workers have access to social security benefits.
- The above-mentioned efforts are based on the “fiscal perspective” of formalisation.
- This perspective appears to draw from a strand of thought advanced by some international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, which foregrounds the persistence of the informal sector to excessive state regulation of enterprises and labour which drives genuine economic activity outside the regulatory ambit.
- Hence, it is believed that simplifying registration processes, easing rules for business conduct, and lowering the standards of protection of formal sector workers will bring informal enterprises and their workers into the fold of formality.
Issues with fiscal perspective
- Early on, in an attempt to promote employment, India protected small enterprises engaged in labour intensive manufacturing by providing them with fiscal concessions and regulating large-scale industry by licensing.
- Such measures led to many labour-intensive industries getting diffused into the informal/unorganised sectors.
- Further, they led to the formation of dense output and labour market inter-linkages between the informal and formal sectors via sub-contracting and outsourcing arrangements (quite like in labour abundant Asian economies).
- While such policy initiatives may have encouraged employment, bringing the enterprises which benefited from the policy into the tax net has been a challenge.
- Political and economic reasons operating at the regional/local level in a competitive electoral democracy are responsible for this phenomenon, too.
Role of underdevelopment
- Global evidence suggests that the view that legal and regulatory hurdles alone are mainly responsible for holding back formalisation does not hold much water.
- A well-regarded study, ‘Informality and Development’ argues that the persistence of informality is, in fact, a sign of underdevelopment.
- The finding suggests that informality decreases with economic growth, albeit slowly.
- A similar association is also evident across major States in India, based on official PLFS data.
- Hence, the persistence of a high share of informal employment in total employment seems nothing but a lack of adequate growth or continuation of underdevelopment.
Impact of pandemic
- Research by the State Bank of India recently reported the economy formalised rapidly during the pandemic year of 2020-21, with the informal sector’s GDP share shrinking to less than 20%, from about 50% a few years ago — close to the figure for developed countries.
- These findings of a sharp contraction of the informal sector during the pandemic year (2020-21) do not represent a sustained structural transformation.
- They are a temporary (and unfortunate) outcome of the pandemic and severe lockdowns imposed in 2020 and 2021.
Way forward
- Policy efforts directed at bringing the informal sector into the fold of formality fail to appreciate that the bulk of the informal units and their workers are essentially petty producers eking their subsistence out of minimal resources.
- The economy will get formalised when informal enterprises become more productive through greater capital investment and increased education and skills are imparted to its workers.
Consider the question “What are the reasons for persistent informality in India? Suggest the way to ensure the smooth transition to the formality.”
Conclusion
Policy efforts to formalise the economy will have limited results as the bulk of informal units are petty producers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Amendment to IAS cadre rules
Context
There are recent reports in the media about serious concerns of several state governments on Government of India’s proposed move to amend the IAS service rules to meet the shortage of officers at various levels at the Centre.
How does central deputation work?
- Voluntary: Under the current dispensation, officers opt for central deputation from the states voluntarily.
- The Centre then makes a selection from among these officers for posts which are vacant or are likely to be vacant in the near future.
- While doing so, it considers the suitability of the officer based on his/her past experience.
- Once the selection is finalised, orders are issued, requesting the state government to relieve the officer concerned.
- Quota for each state: Each state has a certain quota beyond which its officers are not accepted by the Centre.
Shortage of officers on central deputation
- In the last decade, there has been a gradual decline in the number of officers who opt for central deputation.
- Generally, of the total cadre strength of the states, about 25-30 per cent used to be on central deputation.
- Currently, less than 10 per cent are working in various central ministries.
- According to certain reports, in states like UP, Bihar, Odisha and Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the number is between 8 per cent and 15 per cent.
- One of the reasons for this non-availability of officers for central deputation is the inadequate recruitment more than a decade and half ago.
- But an important reason is also the comparatively better service conditions in the states.
So, what do the proposed rules seek to achieve?
- While fixing the cadre strength of states, about 40 per cent posts of senior duty are earmarked for central deputation.
- Shortage to be shared equitably: Considering that recruitments in the past were not adequate, the proposed change in rules provides for shortage to be shared equitably between the Centre and states.
- Time limit to relieve officers: Also, since vacancies need to be filled in time, there is a suggestion of a time limit in which states must respond and relieve the officer selected.
Way forward
- Respect the views of State: It has to be clearly understood that when states give the list of officers they wish to offer for central deputation, it will be the decision of the states alone.
- The Centre, if it wishes to have an officer work for it, can suggest so to the state.
- If the state does not wish to suggest his name for deputation, the Centre should respect their views, even though they have the power under cadre rules to do so.
- Improving working conditions for officers: The Centre has to realise that improving working conditions for officers at the deputy secretary and director levels is critical to the success of cadre management.
- Many of the officers at this level have concerns regarding education of their children, transport and the higher cost of living in Delhi.
- A deputation allowance for the period of deputation in Delhi could be an option.
- Non-adversarial manner: The states also have to look at this issue in a non-adversarial manner, where needs of both the Centre and the state have to be matched and met.
- The Centre should dispel fears of states about misuse of central power.
Conclusion
Proposed amendment to service rules is needed to meet shortage of personnel, but Centre must dispel states’ fears about overreach.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Banking frauds
- Poor banking governance: Most frauds show that banks did not observe due diligence, both before and after disbursing loans. Poor level of checks and balances in the banking system is one of the reason.
- Poor monitoring: Lack of technology and fraud monitoring agencies to detect frauds makes the problem more complex. There is an absence of an effective mechanism to monitor the credit flow. Flawed risk-mitigation design, which creates an excessive focus on credit or market risks, but focuses less on operational risks also leading to more breaches.
- Technological backwardness: Excessive dependence on manual supervision, at both external and internal levels makes it impossible to manually control and supervise the sheer volume of transactions.
- Immoral behaviour: The disintegrating moral fibre of Indian businessmen, bankers and other white-collar professionals, nepotism in internal committees of banks, unnecessary political interventions lead to increased frauds.
- Political interference: The political pulls and pressures on investigating agencies, and long-drawn processes of legal system act less as a deterrent.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Anti-dumping duty, Countervailing Duty
Mains level: Read the attached story
India has initiated an anti-dumping probe against imports of a certain type of tiles, used for covering the floors in residential and commercial buildings, from China, Taiwan and Vietnam following a complaint by domestic players.
Why in news?
- Countries start anti-dumping probes to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.
- The dumping has caused material injury to the domestic players. If established, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) would recommend an anti-dumping duty on these imports.
- As a countermeasure, they India would impose these duties under the multilateral regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
What is Dumping?
- Dumping is a process wherein a company exports a product at a price that is significantly lower than the price it normally charges in its home (or its domestic) market.
- This is an unfair trade practice which can have a distortive effect on international trade.
- Anti dumping is a measure to rectify the situation arising out of the dumping of goods and its trade distortive effect.
What is Anti-Dumping Duty?
- An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.
- In order to protect their respective economy, many countries impose duties on products they believe are being dumped in their national market.
- In fact, anti-dumping is an instrument for ensuring fair trade and is not a measure of protection per se for the domestic industry.
- Such ‘dumped’ products have the potential to undercut local businesses and the local economy.
- Anti-dumping duties provide relief to the domestic industry against the injury caused by dumping.
Mechanism in India
- The Department of Commerce recommends the anti-dumping duty, provisional or final.
- The Department of Revenue in Finance Ministry acts upon the recommendation within three months and imposes such duties.
WTO and Anti-Dumping Duties
- The WTO operates a set of international trade rules, including the international regulation of anti-dumping measures.
- It does NOT intervene in the activities of companies engaged in dumping.
- Instead, it focuses on how governments can—or cannot—react to the practice of dumping.
- In general, the WTO agreement permits governments to act against dumping if it causes or threatens material injury to an established domestic industry.
Issues with such duties
- Anti-dumping duties have the potential to distort the market.
- In a free market, governments cannot normally determine what constitutes a fair market price for any good or service.
Back2Basics:
Countervailing duty (CVD)
- Countervailing duty (CVD) is a specific form of duty that the government imposes in order to protect domestic producers by countering the negative impact of import subsidies.
- CVD is thus an import tax by the importing country on imported products.
- To make their products cheaper and boost their demand in other countries, foreign governments sometimes provide subsidies to their producers.
- To avoid flooding of the market in the importing country with these goods, the government of the importing country imposes a countervailing duty, charging a specific amount on import of such goods.
How does it work?
- The duty nullifies and eliminates the price advantage (low price) enjoyed by an imported product when it is given subsidies or exempted from domestic taxes in the country where they are manufactured.
- It raises the price of the imported product, bringing it closer to its true market price.
- In this way, the government is able to provide a level playing field for domestic products.
CVD and India
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) permits the imposition of countervailing duty by its member countries.
- In India, the CVD is imposed as an additional duty besides customs on imported products when such products are given tax concession in the country of their origin.
Who imposes countervailing measures in India?
- The countervailing measures in India are administered by the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), in the commerce and industry ministry’s department of commerce.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: America COMPETES Act
Mains level: US Visa policies and its impact for Indians
The US has unveiled the Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act of 2022 that proposes to open up new vistas for talented individuals from across the world with a new start-up visa.
What is the COMPETES Act?
- The bill provides $52 billion to encourage more semiconductor production in the US, and $45 billion for grants and loans to improve supply chain resilience and manufacturing, among other programs.
- It also includes funding to address social and economic inequality, climate change, and immigration.
- For instance, it provides an exemption for STEM PhDs from the green card cap and creates a new green card for entrepreneurs.
- The bill also authorizes $600 million a year to construct manufacturing facilities to make the US less reliant on solar components made in Xinjiang, China.
Key provisions in the Act
- The Act amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to create a new classification of “W” non-immigrants for entrepreneurs with an ownership interest in a start-up entity.
- It seeks to establish procedures for foreign nationals with an ownership interest in a start-up entity to self-petition for lawful permanent resident status as an immigrant entrepreneur.
- The bill exempts from the numerical limits on immigrant visas certain foreign nationals (and the spouses and children of such aliens) who have earned a doctoral degree in STEM.
Implications for Indians
- It would mean more opportunities in the US for Indian talent, and for skilled workers.
- Every year, the US administration issues 85,000 H-1B work permits.
- Every year, Indians and Indian companies corner a lion’s share of the H-1B work permits issued that year.
- With this new category, Indian professionals will likely have a better shot at opportunities that the Act is likely to provide.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SSLV, PSLV, GSLV
Mains level: Commercial space activities in India
The new chairman of the ISRO Dr S Somanath has indicated inauguration of indigenous new launch rockets, called the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
What is SSLV?
- The SSLV is a small-lift launch vehicle being developed by the ISRO with payload capacity to deliver:
- 600 kg to Low Earth Orbit (500 km) or
- 300 kg to Sun-synchronous Orbit (500 km)
- It would help launching small satellites, with the capability to support multiple orbital drop-offs.
- In future a dedicated launch pad in Sriharikota called Small Satellite Launch Complex (SSLC) will be set up.
- A new spaceport, under development, near Kulasekharapatnam in Tamil Nadu will handle SSLV launches when complete.
- After entering the operational phase, the vehicle’s production and launch operations will be done by a consortium of Indian firms along with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).
Vehicle details
(A) Dimensions
- Height: 34 meters
- Diameter: 2 meters
- Mass: 120 tonnes
(B) Propulsion
- It will be a four stage launching vehicle.
- The first three stages will use Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based solid propellant, with a fourth terminal stage being a Velocity-Trimming Module (VTM).
SSLV vs. PSLV: A comparison
- The SSLV was developed with the aim of launching small satellites commercially at drastically reduced price and higher launch rate as compared to Polar SLV (PSLV).
- The projected high launch rate relies on largely autonomous launch operation and on overall simple logistics.
- To compare, a PSLV launch involves 600 officials while SSLV launch operations would be managed by a small team of about six people.
- The launch readiness period of the SSLV is expected to be less than a week instead of months.
- The SSLV can carry satellites weighing up to 500 kg to a low earth orbit while the tried and tested PSLV can launch satellites weighing in the range of 1000 kg.
- The entire job will be done in a very short time and the cost will be only around Rs 30 crore for SSLV.
Significance of SSLV
- SSLV is perfectly suited for launching multiple microsatellites at a time and supports multiple orbital drop-offs.
- The development and manufacture of the SSLV are expected to create greater synergy between the space sector and private Indian industries – a key aim of the space ministry.
Back2Basics:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PLIS
Mains level: Paper 3- Food processing industry in India
Context
One of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables in the world to boost processed food in large quantities, India has formulated a unique Production-Linked Incentive Scheme (PLIS) which aims to incentivise incremental sales.
Progress made so far
- A sum of ₹10,900 crore has been earmarked for the scheme.
- Beneficiaries have been obliged to commit a minimum investment while applying for the scheme.
- Under Category 1, firms are incentivised for incremental sales and branding/marketing initiatives taken abroad.
- Assuming the committed investment as a fixed ratio of their sales and undertaking execution of at least 75% of the projects, the sector is likely to witness at least ₹6,500 crore worth of investment over the next two years.
- New alternatives are being explored which have immense potential in replacing the staples of rice and wheat in the form of Nutri-cereals, plant-based proteins, fermented foods, health bars and even fresh fortified foods for pets.
- By welcoming the new brands in the category, PLIS aims to create an enabling ecosystem for innovation in both food products and processes.
Way forward
1] Improve infrastructure
- A study in the United States concluded that a 1% increase in public infrastructure increased the food manufacturing output by 0.06% in the longer run (https://bit.ly/3rOeE0l).
- This correlation holds good for India too as a higher investment is being concentrated in States such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
- These States as reported by the Good Governance Index 2020-21, ranked among the highest in the ‘Public Infrastructure and Utilities’ parameter with ‘Connectivity to Rural Habitations’ showing the highest improvement.
2] Improve profitability in export
- For the exports market, it is now established that sales promotion is positively related to increased sales volume, but inversely related to profitability.
- To bridge this gap, of the 13 key sectors announced under the PLIS, the ‘Food Processing PLIS’ earmarks a dedicated Category 3 for supporting branding and marketing activities in foreign markets.
- This ensures that India’s share of value-added products in the exports basket is improved, and it may leverage on its unique geographical proximity to the untapped markets of Europe, the Middle East/West Asia, Africa, Oceania and Japan.
3] Access to credit
- The access of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to finance is a perennial problem in the country, predominating due to a lack of proper credit history mechanism for MSMEs.
- Smart financing alternatives such as peer-to-peer (P2P) lending hold potential for micro-food processors.
- Access to working capital has in theory been addressed by the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), a platform for facilitating the financing/discounting of trade receivables of MSMEs through multiple financiers.
Conclusion
With growing populations, changing food habits and unrestricted use of natural resources, nations must come together and lay out a road map for a common efficient food value chain.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Issues with rapid transition to green energy
Context
Europe’s push for renewable energy at the cost of conventional fuel may end up causing a global food crisis.
Consequences of fuel shortage in Western Europe
- Since August 2021, Western Europe has faced a problem with renewable energy – the wind doesn’t always blow when needed and the sun doesn’t always shine.
- Commodity markets across the world operate on a balance of demand and supply — even seemingly “small” changes in either side of a few percentage points can push the prices up or down sharply.
- High energy bills: Higher gas prices have pushed up energy bills for households and are expected to impact household spending and consumption as well.
- High urea prices: Natural gas is used to produce urea – if gas prices go up, fertiliser also becomes expensive.
- Some poor and middle-income countries are already starting to face problems of fertiliser availability — there are reports from several Indian states as well.
- High food prices: The impact of expensive fertiliser will be felt some months down the line as expensive fertiliser and reduced harvests push up food prices.
- India is relatively less affected as the share of natural gas in the country’s energy mix is low but will still face problems due to high food prices.
- In 2007-08, when oil prices were high, there was a push to use “biofuels” led by the US and Europe.
- The effects of the 2008 food price crisis were felt around the world, especially by the poor.
Lessons for India
- Cheap and reliable energy sources should not be abandoned until the alternatives have been stringently stress tested.
- India will be especially hard hit if oil prices spike as it imports close to 1.4 billion barrels of oil annually.
Consider the question “What are the inherent dangers in rapid transition to the green energy? Suggest the way forward for India.”
Conclusion
A blind push to shut down traditional sources of energy and move to less reliable “clean” energy can have second and third order effects.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Contingency Fund of India
Mains level: Not Much
The government has tweaked spending norms for Contingency Fund of India, allowing 40% of the total corpus to be placed at disposal of the Expenditure Secretary.
What are the proposed changes?
- Budget 2021-22 proposed to enhance the Contingency Fund of India from ₹500 crore to ₹30,000 crore through Finance Bill.
- An amount equivalent to 40 per cent of the Fund corpus shall be placed at the disposal of the Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure.
- This would serve the purpose of meeting unforeseen expenditure.
What is Contingency Fund of India?
- Contingency is a negative event which may occur in future, like recession or pandemic.
- The Constitution has a provision for a contingency fund. Its corpus is always kept intact.
- Article 267 of the Constitution mandates formation of a corpus under Contingency Fund of India to deal with any emergency situation.
- It is placed at the disposal of the President of India.
- Government cannot withdraw funds from it without authorization of the Parliament.
- And the corpus has to be replenished with the same amount later.
Management of the fund
- The fund is held by the Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of the President of India and it can be operated by executive action.
- The fund can be increased through a Finance Bill when Parliament is in the session.
- Or through Ordinance if the House is not in session and situation warrants.
- Withdrawal from the fund takes place with the approval of the Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs, in terms of the Contingency Fund of India Act, 1950.
- An amount equivalent to 40% of the corpus has now been placed at the disposal of the Expenditure Secretary.
- All further Contingency Fund releases beyond this limit will require the approval of the Expenditure Secretary in addition to the Economic Affairs Secretary’s approval.
Back2Basics:
Consolidated Funds of India
- The provision for this fund is given in Article 266(1) of the Constitution of India.
- The government meets all its expenditure from this CFI.
- It receives money from:
- Direct and indirect taxes Loans taken by the Indian government
- Returning of loans/interests of loans to the government by anyone/agency that has taken it
- The government needs parliamentary approval to withdraw money from this fund.
- Each state has its own Consolidated Fund of the state with similar provisions.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General of India audits these funds and reports to the relevant legislatures on their management.
Public Account of India
- All other public money (other than those covered under the Consolidated Fund of India) received by or on behalf of the Indian Government are credited to this account/fund.
- It is constituted under Article 266(2) of the Constitution.
- This is made up of:
-
- Bank savings account of the various ministries/departments
- National small savings fund, defense fund
- National Investment Fund (money earned from disinvestment)
- National Calamity & Contingency Fund (NCCF) (for Disaster Management)
- Provident fund, Postal insurance, etc.
- Similar funds
- The government does not need permission to take advances from this account.
- Each state can have its own similar accounts.
- CAG makes audit of all the expenditure from the Public Account of India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Padma Awards
Mains level: National Honours
The central government has announced the names of Padma awardees for this year.
What are Padma awards?
- The Padma awards are the highest civilian honor of India after the Bharat Ratna.
- They are announced every year on the eve of Republic Day.
- The awards are given in three categories:
- Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service)
- Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and
- Padma Shri (distinguished service)
- The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
Note: During the years 1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997, Padma awards were not announced.
Who are the awardees?
- The awards are given in certain select categories which include Art, Social Work, Public Affairs, Science & Engineering, Trade & Industry, Medicine, Literature & Education, Civil Service and Sports.
- Awards are also given for propagation of Indian culture, protection of human rights, wild life protection among others.
Its constitution
- The PADMA Awards were instituted in 1954 along with Bharat Ratna.
- At that time only Padma Vibhushan existed with three sub-categories – Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg and Tisra Varg.
- These were subsequently renamed as Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri vide Presidential Notification issued on January 8, 1955.
Particulars of the awards
- The awardees do not get any cash reward but a certificate signed by the President apart from a medallion which they can wear at public and government functions.
- The awards are, however, not a conferment of title and the awardees are expected to not use them as prefix or suffix to their names.
- A Padma awardee can be given a higher award only after five years of the conferment of the earlier award.
Terms of awarding
- Not more than 120 awards can be given in a year but this does not include posthumous awards or awards given to NRIs and foreigners.
- The award is normally not conferred posthumously.
- However, in highly deserving cases, the Government could consider giving an award posthumously.
Who is eligible for Padma awards?
- All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards.
- However, government servants including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these awards.
- The award seeks to recognize works of distinction and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements or service in all fields of activities and disciplines.
- According to Padma awards selection criteria, the award is given for “special services” and not just for “long service”.
- It should not be merely excellence in a particular field, but the criteria has to be ‘excellence plus’.
Who nominates the awardees?
- Any citizen of India can nominate a potential recipient.
- One can even nominate one’s own self. All nominations are to be done online where a form is to be filled along with details of the person or the organisation being nominated.
- An 800-word essay detailing the work done by the potential awardee is also to be submitted for the nomination to be considered.
- The government also writes to various state governments, governors, Union territories, central ministries and various departments to send nominations.
Who selects the awardees?
- All nominations received for Padma awards are placed before the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year.
- The Padma Awards Committee is headed by the Cabinet Secretary and includes Home Secretary, Secretary to the President and four to six eminent persons as members.
- The recommendations of the committee are submitted to the Prime Minister and the President of India for approval.
- The antecedents of the selected awardees are verified using the services of central agencies to ensure nothing untoward has been reported or come on record about them.
- A final list is then prepared and announced.
Is the recipient’s consent sought?
- There is no provision for seeking a written or formal consent of the recipient before the announcement of the award.
- However, before the announcement, every recipient receives a call from the Ministry of Home Affairs informing him or her about the selection.
- In case the recipient expresses a desire to be excluded from the award list, the name is removed.
Try this question from CSP 2021
Q.Consider the following statements in respect of Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards
- Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards are titles under the Article 18(1) of the Constitution of India.
- Padma wards, which were instituted in the year 1954, were suspended only once.
- The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of five in a particular year.
Which of the above statements are not correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), 2021
Mains level: Corruption and money laundering
The 2021 Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International places India 85th on a list of 180 countries, one position above last year.
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
- The CPI is an index which ranks countries “by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.”
- The CPI generally defines corruption as an “abuse of entrusted power for private gain”.
- The index is published annually by the non-governmental organisation Transparency International since 1995.
- The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people.
- It uses a scale of 0 to 100 to rank CPI, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
What kind of corruption does the CPI measure?
The data sources used to compile the CPI specifically cover the following manifestations of public sector corruption:
- Bribery
- Diversion of public funds
- Officials using their public office for private gain without facing consequences
- Ability of governments to contain corruption in the public sector
- Excessive red tape in the public sector which may increase opportunities for corruption
- Nepotistic appointments in the civil service
- Laws ensuring that public officials must disclose their finances and potential conflicts of interest
- Legal protection for people who report cases of bribery and corruption
- State capture by narrow vested interests
- Access to information on public affairs/government activities
The CPI does NOT cover:
- Citizens’ direct perceptions or experience of corruption
- Tax fraud
- Illicit financial flows
- Enablers of corruption (lawyers, accountants, financial advisors etc)
- Money-laundering
- Private sector corruption
- Informal economies and markets
Highlights of the 2021 Report
- The top-performing countries were Denmark, Finland and New Zealand — all having a corruption perceptions score of 88 — followed by Norway, Singapore and Sweden, all of them scoring 85.
- In contrast, the worst-performing countries were South Sudan with a corruption perceptions score of 11, followed by Syria (13), Somalia (13, Venezuela (14) and Afghanistan (16).
India’s performance
- In 2021, India ranked 86th with the same CPI score of 40.
- The report highlighted concerns over the risk to journalists and activists who have been victims of attacks by the police, political militants, criminal gangs and corrupt local officials.
- Civil society organizations that speak up against the government have been targeted with security, defamation, sedition, hate speech and contempt-of-court charges, and with regulations on foreign funding.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chakmas and Hajongs
Mains level: Not Much
In Arunachal Pradesh, the Chakma and Hajong people are feeling heat since the State government decided to conduct a special census in December 2021.
What is the news?
- The North-Eastern States have had a history of being paranoid about outsiders outnumbering the indigenous communities and taking their land, resources and jobs.
- The threat from “non-locals” in a specific area has also been perceived to be from communities indigenous elsewhere in the region.
- This has often led to conflicts such as the recent attacks on non-tribal people in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong or an Assam-based group’s warning to a fuel station owner in Guwahati against employing Bihari workers.
Who are the Chakmas and Hajongs?
- The Chakmas and Hajongs of Arunachal Pradesh are migrants from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.
- Displaced by the Kaptai dam on the Karnaphuli River in the 1960s, they sought asylum in India.
- They settled in relief camps in the southern and south-eastern parts of Arunachal Pradesh from 1964 to 1969.
- A majority of them live in the Changlang district of the State today.
- Mizoram and Tripura have a sizeable population of the Buddhist Chakmas while the Hindu Hajongs mostly inhabit the Garo Hills of Meghalaya and adjoining areas of Assam.
Why was a special census of the two communities planned?
- The Arunachal Government has cited to resolve the protracted issue of racial antagonism.
- It seeks to rehabilitate the Chakma-Hajongs in other States.
- The census plan was however dropped after the Chakma Development Foundation of India petitioned the PMO.
Issues with the census
- Chakma organizations said the census was nothing but racial profiling of the two communities because of their ethnic origin and violated Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
- It is against Article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, ratified by India.
What is their citizenship status?
- Members of the two communities had been settled in Arunachal Pradesh six decades ago with a rehabilitation plan, allotted land and provided with financial aid depending on the size of their families.
- Although local tribes claim the population of the migrants has increased alarmingly, the 2011 census says there are 47,471 Chakmas and Hajongs in the State.
- They are granted citizenship by birth under Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, after having been born before July 1, 1987, or as descendants of those who were born before this date.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Spot-billed Pelicans
Mains level: NA
A nematode infestation has led to mass mortality of spot-billed pelicans (Pelicanus philippensis) at Telineelapuram Important Bird Area (IBA) in Andhra Pradesh.
Spot-billed Pelicans
- The spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) or grey pelican is a member of the pelican family.
- It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia.
- It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes.
- The breeding population of these pelican species is limited to India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
- In the non-breeding season they are recorded in Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
Conservation status
- IUCN status: Near Threatened
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule IV (Hunting prohibited but the penalty for any violation is less compared to the first two schedules)
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GST Council
Mains level: Paper 2- Working of Constitution
Context
A republic is made robust and kept alive by its people. In its current form, the Indian republic marks 73 years of maintaining a dynamic balance.
Directly elected representation
- It is to the credit of our people that today we have a pyramidal three-layered elected representative system that governs us.
- This system today has over 3 million elected representatives (a million of them women), over 4,000 elected to the state legislatures and over 500 in the Parliament.
- This scale of directly elected representation, perhaps, can be seen nowhere else in the world.
Moral and spiritual basis of the Constitution
- In Pilgrimage to Freedom, K M Munshi writes, “our Constitution has a moral background — to secure justice for every section of our society; as also a spiritual basis — to preserve and protect all religions in the exercise of their functions”.
- The challenges continue in securing justice for every section of our society.
- The Backward Classes, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the poor across all categories clamour for better opportunities and affordable justice.
- What Munshi calls the spiritual basis of our Constitution in having to preserve and protect all religions is also seen under stress.
- When the right to practise one’s religion is denied or threatened, the silence of the thinking public or the media weakens that constitutionally embedded protection.
Challenges posed by social media
- Through the power of technology and its capacity to broadcast at mass scale, an otherwise useful tool, social media, has become a challenge and sometimes a threat to one or several of the rights enshrined in our Constitution.
- Curtailing them to protect the rights of citizens is seen as trampling upon the right to free speech.
- Without any action, the damage caused to social harmony by such rampant false news can result in people losing faith in the Constitution itself.
Constitution as a living, dynamic process
- Our Constitution is the most amended of all constitutions in the world.
- If there are more than 100 amendments made to the Constitution, there are more than 1,500 laws that have been repealed because they have outlived their times.
- These deadwood laws, by remaining on paper, occasionally became a weapon in the hands of rent-seekers.
- Their removal, as a part of administrative reform, has kept the role of the executive transparent and accountable.
- That the Constitution is always evolving is best exemplified by the 101st amendment which rolled out the Goods and Services Tax.
- his amendment brought in a unified indirect tax regime by subsuming most of the indirect taxes of the Centre and the states.
- Yet to complete five full years, the GST Council has stood the test of challenging times even in its initial years.
- It augurs well for cooperative federalism.
Conclusion
Our Constitution has served us well in these seven decades. Several republics in the post-imperial era have rejected their earlier constitutions and tested new ones. It is the people who can keep the republic robust and alive.
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