Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 124(2) and Article 217
Mains level: Issues with collegium system
Context
Recommendations of some judges for appointment by the collegium raises the issue of changes in the collegium system.
Background of the collegium system
- During the 1970s, the political leaning of a candidate had become a major consideration in the matter of appointment of judges.
- Therefore, it was felt that the role of the state in the appointment of judges in terms of Article 124 (2) and 217 needed to be reconsidered.
- But then, in 1982 in S P Gupta’s case, the Supreme Court bench of five judges gave its approval to the primacy of the state in the matter of appointment of judges.
- However, that judgment was overturned subsequently by a bench of nine judges.
- Primacy of CJI: It held that the provisions for consultation with the Chief Justice of India, and the Chief Justices of the high courts in Articles 124 (2) and 217 of the Constitution were introduced because of the realisation that the Chief Justice is best equipped to know and assess the worth of a candidate, and his/her suitability for appointment as a superior judge.
- Initiation of proposal by CJI: It also held that the initiation of the proposal for appointment of a judge to the SC must be made by the CJI after wider consultation with senior judges, and likewise in the case of high courts.
- Confirmation of CJI: It was also held that no appointment of any judge to the SC or any high court can be made unless it conforms with the opinion of the CJI.
- Thus, what is known as the “collegium system” was born.
- Striking down of NJAC: In 2014, the government tried to make changes to the collegium system by introducing Article 124 (A) by a constitutional amendment, and by enacting National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014.
- The SC has struck down both the amendment and the Act.
Has the collegium system succeeded?
- Nepotism: There have been cases where the nearest relative of Supreme Court judges has been appointed as a high court judge, ignoring merit.
- Ignoring the merit: Judges far lower in the combined All India Seniority of High Court judges were appointed to SC, and the reason assigned was that those selected were found more meritorious.
Conclusion
The collegium system is still the best, but it needs to weed out what is wrong in its actual working. It is hoped that the system will make course corrections in deserving cases.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Global trade in the post-COVID-19 world
Context
Past experiences suggest there is hope for global trade recovery in the post-COVID-19 world.
Impact of pandemic on the global and Indian economy
- In the last year, the devastating impact of COVID-19 pandemic has shrunk the world economy by 4.4% and global trade by 5.3%.
- Job losses in the world have been estimated to be to the tune of 75 million.
- India’s GDP contracted by 7.3% according to the National Statistical Office.
- About 10 million jobs were lost in India according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd.
- Around the world, countries have responded to pandemic-induced shortages with protectionist reactions and nationalist aspirations.
- Such a response has the potential to disrupt complex cross-border supply chains.
How economic shocks in the past laid foundation for institutional changes
- The Second World War was responsible for the creation of the Bretton Woods Institutions such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Trade Organisation (ITO) were created to help rebuild the shattered post-war economy.
- The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was negotiated in 1947 as a means to reducing barriers to international trade.
- The oil shocks of the 1970s led to the establishment of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 1974 and went on to create awareness on the need for global energy security.
- The financial crisis of 2008 led to the G20 Leaders Summit, an elevation from the G20 Finance Ministers forum in 1999.
- Increase in global trade: As a result of these developments global trade increased from a mere $60.80 billion in 1950 to $2,049 billion in 1980; $6,452 billion in 2000; $19,014 billion in 2019.
Changes in the global trade in post-Covid world
- Financial buffers due to stimulus package: Stimulus packages and forced savings in several countries in the last year have created financial buffers.
- Resilient supply chain: Global supply chains are expected to be resilient to help revive manufacturing with lower production costs, induce investments and promote technology transfers.
- Anti-dumping measures at WTO: In a post COVID-19 world, members of the World Trade Organization are expected to make rules to discipline errant nations that are known to dumping goods and erecting trade barriers through multilateral rules.
- Deeper economic integration through trade arrangements: Mutually beneficial trade arrangements that seek deeper economic integration will be entered into at the bilateral and regional levels.
- Dominance of technology: Countries that harness technology are expected to dominate international trade in future with a transformational impact on the global economy.
- Businesses will aim to harness data for innovation to remain ahead of the curve in a post-COVID-19 world.
Way forward for India
- The projections of the International Monetary Fund for India’s economic growth ahead are positive and in line with the general trends world-wide.
- Focus on value-added manufacturing: Building an ecosystem that incentivises value-added manufacturing and technology-induced finished products should form a part of our long-term strategy.
- Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) schemes, if carefully nurtured, could lead the industry on that path.
- Support MSMEs: Supporting MSMEs with cheaper input costs, including raw material and intermediate goods would help sustain them with job creation at the local level.
- Developing a synergistic relationship between the big industry and MSMEs is at the core of a successful Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- Skill upgradation: Skills upgradation to global standards should form a part of India’s strategy in a post-COVID-19 world.
Conclusion
The patterns in the past leave much hope for optimism for global trade in the post-COVID-19 crisis in the collective belief that international trade is vital for development and prosperity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Plastics Pact
Mains level: Elimination of single use plastics
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has long been at the forefront of having an India Plastic Pact.
What are Plastics Pacts?
- The Plastics Pacts are business-led initiatives and transform the plastics packaging value chain for all formats and products.
- The Pacts bring together everyone from across the plastics value chain to implement practical solutions.
- All Pacts unite behind four targets:
- to eliminate unnecessary and problematic plastic packaging through redesign and innovation;
- to ensure all plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable;
- to increase the reuse, collection, and
- recycling of plastic packaging; and to increase recycled content in plastic packaging
India Plastics Pact
- The India Plastics Pact, the first in Asia, will be launched in September at the CII Annual Sustainability Summit.
- It can be expected to boost demand for recycled content, investments in recycling infrastructure, jobs in the waste sector, and beyond.
- The first Plastics Pact was launched in the U.K. in 2018.
- The India Plastics Pact is supported by WRAP (UK based NGO), which supports many Pacts globally.
- This association will ensure access to expertise and knowledge from different Pacts worldwide.
Key provisions of the pact
- Pact will support the Extended Producer Responsibility framework of the government and improve solid waste management as envisioned in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
- Integral to the Pact’s framework is the involvement of the informal waste sector crucial to post-consumer segregation, collection and processing of plastic waste.
- While the India Plastics Pact will be active in India, it will link globally with other Plastics Pacts.
How would this work?
- The Plastics Pact is a network of initiatives that bring together all key stakeholders at the national or regional level to implement solutions towards a circular economy for plastics.
- Each initiative is led by a local organization and unites governments, businesses, and citizens behind the common vision with a concrete set of ambitious local targets, for example in the following areas:
- Eliminate unnecessary and problematic plastic packaging through redesign and innovation
- Move from single-use to reuse where relevant
- Ensure all plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable
- Increase the reuse, collection, and recycling or composting of plastic packaging
- Increase recycled content in plastic packaging
Benefits offered
- Many Indian businesses and organizations have expressed an interest in signing up to the Pact.
- Deeper and long-lasting benefits will be felt across the supply chains of these businesses, most of which comprise MSMEs.
- The Pact will encourage the development and maturing of the entire plastics production and management ecosystem.
- Apart from benefits to society and the economy, delivering the targets will drive the circularity of plastics and help tackle pollution. They will lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Why need such pact?
- Of the many sustainability challenges that impact societies, climate change and plastic waste have a special significance.
- A 2019 report by the Center for International Environmental Law suggests that by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic could reach over 56 gigatonnes, 10-13% of the remaining carbon budget.
- However, viewed from the angle of livelihoods, post-consumer segregation, collection and disposal of plastics make up about half of the income of 1.5- 4 million waste-pickers in India.
Way forward
- For India, the solution must be multi-pronged, systemic, and large scale, to create a visible impact.
- The India Plastics Pact focuses on solutions and innovation.
- Members’ accountability is ensured through ambitious targets and annual data reporting.
- The Pact will develop a road map for guidance, form action groups composed of members, and initiate innovation projects.
Try answering this PYQ:
Q. In India, ‘extended producer responsibility’ was introduced as an important feature in which of the following? (CSP 2019)
(a) The Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998
(b) The Recycled plastic (Manufacturing and Usage) Rules, 1999
(c) The e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011
(d) The Food Safety and Standard Regulations, 2011
Post your answers here:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: De-criminalization of Politics
The Supreme Court has directed the political parties to publish the criminal history if any, of their election candidates on the homepage of their party websites under the caption ‘candidates with criminal antecedents’ within 48 hours of their selection.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following statements:
- According to the Constitution of India, a person who is eligible to vote can be made a minister in a State for six months even if he/she is not a member of the Legislature of that State.
- According to the Representation of People Act, 1951, a person convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to imprisonment for five years is permanently disqualified from contesting an election even after his release from prison.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2020)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here:
Criminalization of politics: Indian Case
- The criminalization of politics has become a headache for the Indian democracy and it is a harsh reality now.
- Criminalization of politics in India includes political control of the police, state money, corruption, weak laws, lack of ethics, values, vote bank politics and loopholes in the function of the election commission.
- Deep down, it’s a large nexus of police, money, corrupt bureaucracy, casteism, religion and the drawbacks of functioning in the election commission.
On a serious note
- The Supreme Court has warned Parliament that the nation is losing patience with the advent of criminals in politics even as it imposed fines on major political parties for covering up from voters the criminal past of the candidates.
- Cleansing the polluted stream of politics is obviously not one of the immediate pressing concerns of the legislative branch of government.
- The court said it did not take political parties much time to flout its February 2020 judgment, which had directed them to prominently publish the criminal antecedents.
What was the Feb 2020 Judgment?
The Supreme Court earlier in Feb 2020 had ordered political parties to publish the entire criminal history of their candidates for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
- Reasons for nomination: It has also asked for the reasons that goaded them to field suspected criminals over decent people.
- Publication of records: The information should be published in a local as well as a national newspaper as well as the parties’ social media handles.
- 48hr time frame: It should mandatorily be published either within 48 hours of the selection of candidates or less than two weeks before the first date for filing of nominations, whichever is earlier.
- Contempt for non-compliance: It also ordered political parties to submit compliance reports with the Election Commission of India within 72 hours or risk contempt of court action.
- No escape: The judgment is applicable to parties both at Central and State levels.
Immediate Reason
- The immediate provocation is the finding that 46% of MPs have criminal records.
- The number might be inflated as many politicians tend to be charged with relatively minor offences —“unlawful assembly” and “defamation”.
- The real worry is that the current cohort of Lok Sabha MPs has the highest (29%) proportion of those with serious declared criminal cases compared to its recent predecessors.
Why are such tainted candidates inducted by political parties?
- Popularity: Such candidates with serious records seem to do well despite their public image, largely due to their ability to finance their own elections and bring substantive resources to their respective parties.
- Vested interests: Some voters tend to view such candidates through a narrow prism: of being able to represent their interests by hook or by crook.
- Destabilizing other electors: Others do not seek to punish these candidates in instances where they are in contest with other candidates with similar records.
A harsh reality
- The NN Vohra committee’s report on the criminalization of politics discussed how criminal gangs flourish under the care and protection of politicians.
- Many times the candidates themselves are the gang leaders.
- This protection is paid back to them during elections through capital investment in election spending and voter support.
Need for clean politics
- Upholding morality: It is extremely important that the people who enter the field of politics have a clear image and high moral character.
- Ensuring rule of law: A leader with criminal character undoubtedly tends to undermine the rule of law.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ujjwala Scheme
Mains level: Not Much
Prime Minister has launched the second phase of the Ujjwala gas connection scheme for the poor and said it would provide the biggest relief to lakhs of migrant worker families in the country.
Ujjwala 2.0
- Under Ujjwala 2.0 migrant workers would no longer have to struggle to get address proof documents to get the gas connections, Mr. Modi said.
- Now migrant workers would only be required to submit a self-declaration of their residential address to get the gas connection.
- Along with a deposit-free LPG connection, Ujjwala 2.0 will provide the first refill and a hotplate free of cost to the beneficiaries.
About the PM Ujjwala Yojana
- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in 2016, with the aim to provide Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to five crore women members of below poverty line (BPL) households in the first phase.
- he scheme was expanded in April 2018 to include women beneficiaries from seven more categories (SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most backward classes, tea garden, forest dwellers, Islands).
- In the second phase the target was expanded to eight crore LPG connections.
Significance of Ujjwala 2.0
- LPG infrastructure has expanded manifold in the country due to the Ujjwala scheme.
- In the last six years, more than 11,000 new LPG distribution centres have opened across the country.
- The LPG coverage in India is now very close to becoming 100 per cent.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NMEO-OP
Mains level: Oilseeds and India
The Centre has increased the financial outlay for the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).
About NMEO-OP
- National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) was implemented during the 12th Five Year Plan, to expand the oil palm areas and increase the production of edible oils.
- It was later merged with the National Food Security Mission.
- NMEO-OP aims to resolve to allow India to be independent or self-reliant in edible oil production.
- Through this mission, more than ₹11,000 crores will be invested in the edible oil ecosystem.
- The government will ensure that farmers get all the needed facilities, from quality seeds to technology.
- Along with promoting the cultivation of oil palm, this mission will also expand the cultivation of our other traditional oilseed crops.
Why such a mission?
- India is one of the major oilseeds growers and importers of edible oils.
- India’s vegetable oil economy is the world’s fourth-largest after the USA, China & Brazil.
- The oilseed accounts for 13% of the Gross Cropped Area, 3% of the Gross National Product, and 10% value of all agricultural commodities.
- During the last few years, the domestic consumption of edible oils has increased substantially and has touched the level of 18.90 million tonnes in 2011-12 and is likely to increase further.
- A substantial portion of our requirement of edible oil is met through the import of palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia.
- It is, therefore, necessary to exploit domestic resources to maximize production to ensure edible oil security for the country.
Alternative sources
- Oil Palm is comparatively a new crop in India and is the highest vegetable oil yielding perennial crop.
- With quality planting materials, irrigation, and proper management, there is a potential of achieving 20-30 MT Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) per ha after attaining the age of 5 years.
- Therefore, there is an urgent need to intensify efforts for area expansion under oil palm to enhance palm oil production in the country.
- Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs), like Sal, Mahua, Simarouba, kokum, Olive, Karanja, Jatropha, Neem, Jojoba, Wild Apricot, Walnut, tung etc. are cultivated/grown in the country under different agro-climatic conditions.
- These TBOs are also good sources of vegetable oil and therefore need to be supported for cultivation.
Try answering this PYQ:
Q.An objective of the National Food Security Mission is to increase the production of certain crops through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner in the identified districts of the country. What are those crops?
(a) Rice and wheat only
(b) Rice, wheat, and pulses only
(c) Rice, wheat, pulses, and oilseeds only
(d) Rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables
Post your answers here:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Operation Greens Scheme
Mains level: Not Much
The Union Minister of Food Processing Industries has provided useful information regarding the Op Greens Scheme.
Operation Greens Scheme
- Ministry of Food Processing Industries launched the Operation Greens scheme in November, 2018.
- The scheme aims for integrated development of the Tomato, Onion, and Potato (TOP) value chain.
- It aims to promote Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs), agri-logistics, processing facilities and value addition etc. in identified production clusters.
- Under the scheme, state-wise funds are not allocated as the scheme is demand-driven and projects are approved as per scheme guidelines on the basis of applications received for setting up of projects in eligible production clusters.
Objectives:
- To enhance value realization of TOP farmers
- Reduction in post-harvest losses
- Price stabilization for producers and consumers and
- Increase in food processing capacities and value addition etc.
Key provisions
- Short term intervention by way of providing transportation and storage subsidy @ 50% and
- long term intervention through value addition projects in identified production clusters with Grant-in-aid @ 35% to 70% of eligible project cost subject to maximum of Rs. 50 crore per project
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: One Nation One Ration Card
Mains level: Paper 2- Labour law reforms in issues in implementation
Context
The central government has deferred the possible date of implementation of labour codes to October 1, 2021, prolonging the wait before employers and workers could enjoy the benefits extended by the labour codes.
Labour law reforms: Key provisions
- The government enacted the Code on Wages in August 2019 and the other three Codes, viz., the Industrial Relations Code, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code and Code on Social Security (CSS) in September 2020.
- Universal minimum wage: The codes would extend universal minimum wages and social security, enable enhanced industrial safety and the provision of social security to gig workers, among other things.
- Recognition of trade unions: The Industrial Relations Code provides for recognition of trade union(s) by employers, a labour right that eluded workers for seven decades.
- Flexibility to employers: Employers celebrated the extension of tremendous flexibility to them, even those unasked, such as relief from framing standing orders for most firms.
- The central government has deferred the possible date of implementation to October 1, 2021.
Issues in implementation
- State’s have not issued draft rules: Major States such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi have not issued the draft rules under any codes.
- Even though the Code on Wages was enacted in August 2019, it was only in March 2021 that the central government notified the constitution of an advisory committee.
- Safety concerns persist: Industrial safety continues to be a grave concern even after the enactment of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.
- Lack of clarity on the determination of minimum wage: On June 3, 2021, the government announced an expert committee with a tenure of three years to advise on minimum wages.
- Then, on July 12, 2021, the government announced that the wage index’s base year would be shifted from 1965 to 2019 to use the revised wage index to determine minimum wages.
- The Government seems to be facing difficulty regarding the implementation of minimum wages.
Conclusion
Despite the gazetting of four Codes, age-old laws are in force. That reflects poorly on the governance abilities of the governments.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Oil recovery rate
Mains level: Paper 3- Balancing the energy needs dependent on fossil fuel and environmental concerns
Context
The spread and speed of the destruction caused by climate change in recent weeks present our new Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas with a policy dilemma. The article offers five policy suggestions to deal with the dilemma.
Energy dilemma facing India
- The events of the past month all over the world have caught even the most alarmist of climate scientists by surprise.
- These events brought into sharp relief the reality that there was no option of denying the consequential implications of the use of fossil fuels.
- However, the dilemma India faces lies in the fact that the Indian economy is heavily dependent on fossil fuels and there is no end in sight to this dependence.
- Further, India imports approximately 85 percent of its crude oil requirements and is exposed to the volatility of the international oil market.
Five policy changes needed
1) Reduce emphasis on domestic exploration
- Not easy to locate and difficult to develop: A review of the public sector’s exploration and production (EP) track record suggests that whilst India may well be sitting on substantial hydrocarbon reserves, these reserves are not easy to locate and, even when located, difficult to develop and produce on a commercial basis.
- The government has often compounded this economic challenge by placing administrative limits on marketing by companies and their pricing freedom.
- High risk and structural softness in the market: The fundamental point is that EP in India is a high-risk activity, and this risk is even greater today because of the longer-term structural softness of the petroleum market.
- The resources earmarked for exploration can be deployed more productively elsewhere.
2) Increase productivity of producing fields
- The ONGC needs to allocate increasing resources to improving the productivity of its producing fields.
- Low oil recovery rate: The average oil recovery rate in India was around 28 percent that is, for every 100 molecules discovered, only 28 were monetized.
- This number did not compare well with the global average of around 45 percent for fields of comparable geology.
- Use technology: The application of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology offers a relatively low-risk avenue for increasing domestic production.
3) Increase strategic reserves
- We hold currently strategic reserves equivalent to 12 days of imports.
- The government has approved plans to increase this buffer to 25 days.
- By comparison, China, the EU, South Korea, and Japan hold between 70-100 days of reserves.
- A significant portion of our oil imports came from the Middle East, predominantly Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran.
- This region faces deep political and social fault lines and there is no knowing when our supply lines might get ruptured.
- We would, therefore, be well-advised to build contingency safeguards.
4) Restructure and reorganize public sector petroleum companies
- Consolidate upstream assets: In the first instance, the upstream assets should be consolidated under ONGC (the upstream assets of BPCL, IOC, HPCL, and GAIL should pass onto ONGC) and GAIL should be unbundled into a public utility gas pipeline company
- Diversify: Thereafter, these companies should be encouraged to look beyond hydrocarbons to build an “energy” enterprise.
- The restructuring will help cut back the “avoidable” costs of intra public sector competition.
- It will also reduce the inefficiencies of “sub-scale” operations.
- It will provide a focused platform for balancing the shorter-term need to provide secure and affordable hydrocarbons with the medium and longer-term imperative of developing clean energy.
5) Avoid siloed thinking
- The petroleum minister should not see his responsibility through the siloed prism of oil and natural gas.
- He should broaden the aperture and become the progenitor of the energy transition.
Conclusion
The dilemma referred to in the opening sentence will be easier to resolve our priorities are set within the framework of clean energy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CRPD
Mains level: Paper 2- Ensuring the dignity of persons with disability
Context
Twenty years ago on August 6 in Erwadi in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram, a fire broke out in a thatched shelter, engulfing 43 chained people who had psychosocial disabilities.
Legal provision for the persons with disabilities
- India ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007.
- The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was enacted in 2016.
- The Mental Healthcare Act (MHCA) was enacted in 2017.
Failure of the states
- Sates have failed to uphold the human rights of people with disabilities in general and those with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities in particular.
- Only eight states/UTs — Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Odisha, Kerala, and West Bengal — have framed rules for implementation of MHCA.
- Unless we implement the law in letter and spirit, the Global Mental Health Movement will remain a mere buzzword and the CRPD-reliant MHCA will remain a law only on paper.
Violations of rights in private asylums
- Private asylums survive because of their close proximity to faith-based healing centres.
- Because mental health conditions carry a high stigma, caregivers flock to these faith-based facilities in the hopes of finding a cure.
- Private players take advantage of their vulnerabilities, forcing such persons with psychosocial issues to be grouped together and chained in these shelters.
- Chaining in any way or form is outlawed under Section 95 of the MHCA.
Way forward
- Human right approach: We must work to ensure that the human rights approach to disability is integrated into mental health systems, education, law, and bureaucracy.
- We move away from pathologisation, segregation, and a charity-based approach.
Conclusion
Implementation of rights of the persons with disability needs implementation in letter and spirit and human rights based approach.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Plastics Pact
Mains level: Paper 3- Plastic waste challenge
Context
The India Plastics Pact, the first in Asia, will be launched in September at the CII Annual Sustainability Summit.
Issue of plastic waste
- A 2019 report by the Center for International Environmental Law suggests that by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic could reach over 56 gigatonnes, 10-13% of the remaining carbon budget.
- Connection with livelihood: Viewed from the angle of livelihoods, post-consumer segregation, collection and disposal of plastics make up about half of the income of 1.5- 4 million waste-pickers in India.
- For India, the solution must be multi-pronged, systemic, and large scale, to create a visible impact. The Plastics Pacts model offers such a solution.
About Plastics Pacts model
- Business-led initiative: The Plastics Pacts are business-led initiatives and transform the plastics packaging value chain for all formats and products.
- The Pacts bring together everyone from across the plastics value chain to implement practical solutions.
- Integral to the Pact’s framework is the involvement of the informal waste sector crucial to post-consumer segregation, collection and processing of plastic waste.
- All Pacts unite behind four targets:
- 1) To eliminate unnecessary and problematic plastic packaging through redesign and innovation.
- 2) To ensure all plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable.
- 3) To increase the reuse, collection, and recycling of plastic packaging.
- 4) To increase recycled content in plastic packaging.
- It is active in a number of countries including the U.K., South Africa, and Australia.
- The first Plastics Pact was launched in the U.K. in 2018, by WRAP, a global NGO based in the U.K.
- It is now being brought to India by CII and WWF India.
Advantages
- Economic advantage: It can be expected to boost demand for recycled content, investments in recycling infrastructure, jobs in the waste sector, and beyond.
- Support EPR framework: The Pact will support the Extended Producer Responsibility framework of the government and improve solid waste management as envisioned in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
- The India Plastics Pact focuses on solutions and innovation.
- Plastic production and management development: The Pact will encourage the development and maturing of the entire plastics production and management ecosystem.
- Drive circulatory of plastic: Apart from benefits to society and economy, delivering the targets will drive the circularity of plastics and help tackle pollution.
Conclusion
The India Plastics Pact will benefit society, the economy and the environment.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Need for maritime cooperation
A week into India’s United Nations Security Council (UNSC) presidency, PM Modi has outlined a five-point framework for maritime security debate at UNSC.
Maritime Security
- Maritime security is one of the latest buzzwords of international relations.
- Major actors in maritime policy, ocean governance and international security have in the past decade started to include maritime security in their mandate or reframed their work in such terms.
- Core dimensions of maritime security involves the concept of blue economy, food security and the resilience of coastal populations.
- A secure maritime environment provides the precondition for managing marine resources.
Threats to maritime security
Need for an agenda
- In today’s economy, the oceans have an increased importance, allowing all countries to participate in the global marketplace.
- More than 80 percent of the world’s trade travels by water and forges a global maritime link.
- About half the world’s trade by value, and 90 percent of the general cargo, are transported in containers.
- Many countries have invested significant resources in maritime infrastructure, trade, energy supply chains, cargo movements and processes.
- China, undeniably a continental country, claims sovereignty over all of the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters.
5-point agenda for enhancing maritime cooperation
[1] Removal of barriers to legitimate maritime trade:
- Global prosperity depends on the active flow of maritime trade. Any hindrance in maritime trade can threaten the global economy, PM said.
- Maritime trade has always been part of the civilizational ethos of India.
- PM termed this principle as ‘SAGAR’ Security and Growth for All in the Region.
[2] Resolution of maritime disputes peacefully in accordance with international law:
[3] Fight threats from natural disasters, non-state actors:
- PM said the Indian Navy has been patrolling to counter piracy in the Indian Ocean since 2008.
- It is enhancing the common maritime domain awareness of the region through our White Shipping Information Fusion Centre.
- India has provided support for hydrographic surveying and training of maritime security personnel to several countries.
[4] Conservation of marine resources:
- Our oceans directly impact our climate. Hence, it is very important that we keep our maritime environment free of pollutants like plastic waste and oil spills.
- We also need to take joint steps against over-fishing and marine poaching, PM said.
- He also emphasized the need for increased mutual cooperation in Ocean Science research.
[5] Promoting responsible maritime connectivity:
- PM said it is well understood that the creation of infrastructure is necessary to boost maritime trade.
- He advocated for appropriate global norms and standards to ensure that such infrastructure projects are carried out as per the fiscal sustainability and absorption capacity of the host countries.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)
Mains level: Assessing Climate Change impact
According to the IPCC’s Report (AR6), the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is losing its stability.
What is AMOC?
- The AMOC is a large system of ocean currents.
- It is the Atlantic branch of the ocean conveyor belt or Thermohaline circulation (THC), and distributes heat and nutrients throughout the world’s ocean basins.
- AMOC carries warm surface waters from the tropics towards the Northern Hemisphere, where it cools and sinks.
- It then returns to the tropics and then to the South Atlantic as a bottom current. From there it is distributed to all ocean basins via the Antarctic circumpolar current.
- Gulf Stream, a part of the AMOC, is a warm current responsible for mild climate at the Eastern coast of North America as well as Europe.
What happens if AMOC collapses?
- Colder Europe: Without a proper AMOC and Gulf Stream, Europe will be very cold.
- Rainfall decline: Modelling studies have shown that an AMOC shutdown would cool the northern hemisphere and decrease rainfall over Europe.
- El-Nino trigger: It can also have an effect on the El Nino.
- Cooling of Atlantic: AMOC collapse could bring about large, markedly different climate responses: a prominent cooling over the northern North Atlantic and neighboring areas.
- Weaker thermohaline: Freshwater from melting Greenland ice sheets and the Arctic region can make circulation weaker as it is not as dense as salt water and doesn’t sink to the bottom.
Has the AMOC weakened before?
- AMOC and THC strength has always been fluctuating, mainly if you look at the late Pleistocene time period (last 1 million years).
- The extreme glacial stages have seen weaker circulation and slowdown in AMOC, while the glacial terminations have shown a stronger AMOC and circulation.
- AMOC has been relatively stable until the late 19th century.
- With the end of the little ice age in about 1850, the ocean currents began to decline, with a second, more drastic decline following since the mid-20th century.
Why is the AMOC slowing down?
- Climate models have long predicted that global warming can cause a weakening of the major ocean systems of the world.
- Last month researchers noted that a part of the Arctic’s ice called “Last Ice Area” has also melted.
- The freshwater from the melting ice reduces the salinity and density of the water. Now, the water is unable to sink as it used to and weakens the AMOC flow.
Influence of Indian Ocean
- Another study suggested that the Indian Ocean may also be helping the slowing down of AMOC.
- As the Indian Ocean warms faster and faster, it generates additional precipitation.
- With so much precipitation in the Indian Ocean, there will be less precipitation in the Atlantic Ocean, leading to higher salinity in the waters of the tropical portion of the Atlantic.
- This saltier water in the Atlantic, as it comes north via AMOC, will get cold much quicker than usual and sink faster.
- This acts as a jump start for AMOC, intensifying the circulation.
Now try this:
Q.With reference to Ocean Mean Temperature (OMT), which of the following statements is/are correct? (CSP 2020)
- OMT is measured up to a depth of 26ºC isotherm which is 129 meters in the south-western Indian Ocean during January-March.
- OMT collected during January-March can be used in assessing whether the amount of rainfall in monsoon will be less or more than a certain long-term mean.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here:
Back2Basics: Ocean Currents
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Government e-Marketplace
Mains level: Not Much
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) system has resulted in a 10% savings in public procurement costs in five years.
Government e-Marketplace
- GeM is an online platform for public procurement in India by various Government Departments / Organizations / PSUs.
- The initiative was launched on August 9, 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with the objective to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers.
- It is owned by GeM SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) which is a 100 per cent Government-owned, non-profit company under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries
- GeM aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement.
- It provides the tools of e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users achieve the best value for their money.
- The purchases through GeM by Government users have been authorized and made mandatory by Ministry of Finance.
Note: The government has made it mandatory for sellers on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal to clarify the country of origin of their goods when registering new products.
Advantages for Buyers
- Offers rich listing of products for individual categories of Goods/Services
- Makes available search, compare, select and buy facility
- Enables buying Goods and Services online, as and when required.
- Provides transparency and ease of buying
- Ensures continuous vendor rating system
- Up-to-date user-friendly dashboard for buying, monitoring supplies and payments
- Provision of easy return policy
Advantages for Sellers
- Direct access to all Government departments.
- One-stop shop for marketing with minimal efforts
- One-stop shop for bids / reverse auction on products / services
- New Product Suggestion facility available to Sellers
- Dynamic pricing: Price can be changed based on market conditions
- Seller friendly dashboard for selling, and monitoring of supplies and payments
- Consistent and uniform purchase procedures
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PM-DAKSH Scheme
Mains level: Various initiaitves for Skilling India
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the ‘PM-DAKSH’ Portal and ‘PM-DAKSH’ Mobile App.
About PM-DAKSH Scheme
- The PM-DAKSH stands for Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana.
- It is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment from the year 2020-21.
- Under this scheme, eligible target group are being provided skill development training programmes on (i) Up-skilling/Re-skilling (ii) Short Term Training Programme (iii) Long Term Training Programme and (iv) Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP).
- These training programs are being implemented through Government Training Institutes, Sector Skill Councils constituted by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and other credible institutions.
PM-DAKSH Portal/App
- Any person can get all the information related to skill development training at one place by visiting the ‘PM-DAKSH’ Portal.
- Also, with just one click, one can get information about skill development trainings happening near him/her and he/she can easily register himself/herself for skill training.
Some of the features of this portal are as follows:
- Availability of all information related to skill development at one place for Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Safai Karamcharis.
- Facility to register for the training institute and program of their interest.
- Facility to upload desired documents related to personal information.
- Facility to register the attendance of the trainees through face and eye scanning during the training period.
- Monitoring facility through photo and video clip during training etc.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Rural Development has taken several measures for the successful implementation of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) Gram Panchayats.
Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)
- SAGY is a village development project launched in October 2014, under which each Member of Parliament will take the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019.
- SAGY aims at instilling certain values in the villages and their people so that they get transformed into models for others.
These values include:
- Adopting people’s participation as an end in itself – ensuring the involvement of all sections of society in all aspects related to the life of village, especially in decision- making related to governance
- Adhering to Antyodaya – enabling the “poorest and the weakest person” in the village to achieve well being
- Affirming gender equality and ensuring respect for women
- Guaranteeing social justice
- Instilling dignity of labour and the spirit of community service and voluntarism
- Promoting a culture of cleanliness
- Living in consonance with nature – ensuring a balance between development and ecology
- Preserving and promoting local cultural heritage
- Inculcating mutual cooperation, self-help and self-reliance
- Fostering peace and harmony in the village community
- Bringing about transparency, accountability and probity in public life
- Nurturing local self-governance
- Adhering to the values enshrined in the Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties of the Indian Constitution
Identification of an Adarsh Gram
- A Gram Panchayat would be the basic unit.
- It will have a population of 3000-5000 in plain areas and 1000-3000 in hilly, tribal and difficult areas.
- In districts where this unit size is not available, Gram Panchayats approximating the desirable population size may be chosen.
- The MP would be free to identify a suitable Gram Panchayat for being developed as Adarsh Gram, other than his/her own village or that of his/her spouse.
- Lok Sabha MP has to choose a Gram Panchayat from within his/her constituency and Rajya Sabha MP a from the rural area of a district of his/her choice in the State from which he/she is elected.
- Nominated MPs may choose a Gram Panchayat from the rural area of any district in the country.
- In the case of urban constituencies, (where there are no Gram Panchayats), the MP will identify a Gram Panchayat from a nearby rural constituency.
- The newly elected MPs will have the option to select the GP of their choice.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Definition of Minority
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Minority Affairs has provided some useful information about various initiatives for minorities.
A very interesting fact found in the article is that Minorities are identified by the States and not the Centre!
Defining a minority community
- The Central has notified minority communities at the national level in consultation with various stakeholders under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), Act,
- The six communities notified as minority communities under Section 2(c) of the NCM Act, 1992 are Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Parsis, and Jains.
- Notification of any community-specific to a State as a minority community within a State comes under the purview of the State
- Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution provide for the protection of interest of minorities which includes linguistic minorities also.
Who are linguistic minorities?
- Linguistic Minorities are group or collectivities of individuals residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language or script of their own.
- The language of the minority group need not be one of the twenty-two languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
- In other words, linguistic minorities at the State level mean any group or groups of people whose mother tongues are different from the principal language of the State, and at the district and taluka/tehsil levels, different from the principal language of the district or taluka/tehsil concerned.
- The linguistic minorities are therefore identified by the respective States/UTs.
- The State/UT wise, broad linguistic profile is available in the 52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities(CLM).
National Commission for Minorities
- The Government has already enacted the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992 to constitute a National Commission for Minorities.
- The NCM receives petitions/grievances from the aggrieved persons and the said petitions/grievances being received by Commission.
- They are dealt with by calling for reports from the concerned authorities under the Union and State Governments.
- On receipt of the reports, the Commission makes appropriate recommendations to the respective authorities for redressal of the grievances.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: AICTE
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues of technical education in India
Context
This year, AICTE approved the closure of 63 engineering colleges across the country.
Deterioration of quality
- Tweaking with curriculum: Private entrepreneurs took the lead to meet the growing demand of the country in technical education in the mid-Eighties, but with little idea of the subject.
- Subjects like materials, applied physics and thermodynamics which forms the building blocks of engineering became dispensable.
- Because they were both tough to teach for the teachers and tough to pass for the students.
- Expansion: This softening of subjects coupled with unfettered expansion in the early and mid-2000s, resulted in real dilution of the overall standards in the country.
- Lack of adequate number of teachers, lack of quality in those available, inability of the management to make adequate investments in a dynamic environment, lack of employment opportunities, shelf life of skills coming down with every technology-related intervention and a constant experimentation with curriculum have all been the bane of quality in technical education.
Issues
- Engineering education suffers from regulatory gaps, poor infrastructure, lack of qualified faculty and the non-existent industry linkage that contributed to the abysmal employability of graduates from most of these institutes.
- No linkage with Industry: Not a single industry body, be it CII, FICCI or ASSOCHAM has managed to effectively inform the education planners on the growth in different employment sectors.
- No independent body to suggest AICTEC: The government also has not taken any tangible steps to set up an independent body to advise AICTE on this vital aspect.
- Excessive changes: A constant fiddling with the curriculum, reducing total credits, giving multiple choices in the name of flexibility, dispensing with mathematics and physics at the qualification level, teaching in local languages may all be good arguments, but one must assess their utility and their effect on technical education in the long run.
Way forward
- Proactive: Rather than being reactive, institutions must proactively define the practicing elements of education.
- Investment in teaching: The corrective measures for these shortfalls are technology intensive, are experiential, and need investments in teaching.
- Quality assurance body: The ultimate measure of performance is embedded in quality assurance.
- The need of the hour is to create a truly autonomous quality assurance body at an arms-length from the government, manned by eminent persons both from the industry as well as academia.
Conclusion
The education paradigm is staring at a large shift and technical education cannot remain immune to that change.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ISDS
Mains level: Paper 3- Issue of retrospective taxation
Context
A bill introduced in Parliament last week aims to nullify the 2012 amendment in the Income Tax Act which made the income tax law retroactively applicable on indirect transfer of Indian assets.
Issue of taxation as a sovereign right of the state
- Several Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) tribunals have recognised the fundamental principle that taxation is an intrinsic element of the state’s sovereign power.
- The ISDS tribunals have also held that whenever a foreign investor challenges states’ taxation measures, there is a presumption that the taxation measures are valid and legal.
- For instance, an ISDS tribunal in Renta 4 v. Russia said that when it comes to examining taxation measures for BIT breaches, the starting point should be that the taxation measures are a bona fide exercise of the state’s public powers.
What are the limits on the taxation rights of a Country under BITs
- The two most used BIT provisions to challenge a state’s taxation measures are expropriation and the fair and equitable treatment provision.
- 1) Expropriation: In the context of expropriation, one of the key ISDS cases that explained the limits on the state’s right to tax is Burlington v. Ecuador.
- In this case, the tribunal held that under customary international law, there are two limits on the state’s right to tax.
- First, the tax should not be discriminatory.
- Second, it should not be confiscatory.
- 2) Fair and equitable treatment: In the context of the fair and equitable treatment provision, foreign investors have often challenged taxation measures as breaching legal certainty, which is an element of the fair and equitable treatment provision.
- Although legal certainty does not mean immutability of legal framework, states are under an obligation to carry out legal changes such as amending their tax laws in a reasonable and proportionate manner.
So, what happened in Cairn Energy v. India case?
- The tribunal in Cairn Energy v. India said that taxing indirect transfers is India’s sovereign power and the tribunal would not comment on it.
- Legal certainty: The tribunal said that India’s right to tax in the public interest should be balanced with the investor’s interest of legal certainty.
- The tribunal held that the public purpose that justifies the application of law prospectively will usually be insufficient to justify the retroactive application of the law.
- India argued that the 2012 amendment was to ensure that foreign corporations who use tax havens for the indirect transfers of underlying Indian assets pay taxes.
- However, the tribunal held that this objective could be achieved by amending the income tax law prospectively, not retroactively.
- The tribunal did not rule against retroactivity of tax laws per se but against the retroactive application that lacked public policy justification.
Way forward
- Carving out taxation from BITs: India in its 2016 Model BIT carved out taxation measures completely from the scope of the investment treaty.
- Nonetheless, carving out taxation measures from the scope of the BIT does not mean that states are free to do as they please.
- India should exercise its right to regulate while being mindful of its international law obligations, acting in good faith and in a proportionate manner.
- ISDS tribunals do not interfere with such regulatory measures.
Conclusion
In sum, the debate never was whether India has a sovereign right to tax, but whether this sovereign right is subject to certain limitations. The answer is an emphatic ‘yes’ because under international law the sovereign right to tax is not absolute.
Back2Basics: Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) tribunal
- ISDS is a mechanism included in many trade and investment agreements to settle disputes.
- Settling these investor disputes relies on arbitration rather than public courts.
- Under agreements which include ISDS mechanisms, a company from one signatory state investing in another signatory state can argue that new laws or regulations could negatively affect its expected profits or investment potential, and seek compensation in a binding arbitration tribunal.
- The system only provides for foreign companies to sue states, not the other way around.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CERC
Mains level: Paper 3- Issues with aging out old power plants based on age
Context
As part of the Union Budget address for 2020-21, the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said that the shutting down of old coal power plants, which are major contributors to emissions, will aid the achievement of India’s Nationally Determined Contributions.
Advantages of shutting down old coal power plants
- The availability of under-utilized newer and presumably more efficient coal-based capacity means that shutting down older inefficient plants would lead to improved efficiencies, reduced coal usage, and hence, cost savings.
- It would be uneconomical for old plants to install pollution control equipment required to meet the emission standards announced by the Environment Ministry, and hence it would be better to retire them.
Why the decision needs finer scrutiny?
- Some old plants are cost-effective: There are also several old plants, which generate at lower costs, such as plants at Rihand, Singrauli, and Vidhyanchal (Madhya Pradesh).
- Locational advantage: This may be due to locational advantage rather than efficiency, as older plants are likely to be located closer to the coal source, reducing coal transport costs.
- Not cost-effective: Savings in generation cost from shutting down plants older than 25 years would be less than ₹5,000 crore annually, which is just 2% of the total power generation cost.
- Not effective in reducing coal consumption: Savings in coal consumption by replacing generation from plants older than 25 years with newer coal plants are also likely to be only in the 1%-2% range.
- Economical even after installing pollution control equipment: There are some old plants that may continue to be economically viable even if they install pollution control equipment as their current fixed costs are very low.
Important roles played by old thermal power plants
- A significant part of power supply: Plants older than 25 years makeup around 20% of the total installed thermal capacity in the country and play a significant role in the country’s power supply.
- Supporting renewable: To support the growing intermittent renewable generation in the sector, there is an increasing need for capacity that can provide flexibility, balancing, and ancillary services.
- Old thermal capacity, with lower fixed costs, is a prime candidate to play this role until other technologies (such as storage) can replace them at scale.
- Political economy risk: There is also a political economy risk, as aggressive early retirement of coal-based capacity, without detailed analyses, could result in real or perceived electricity shortage in some States, leading to calls for investments in coal-based base-load capacity by State-owned entities.
Way forward
- Nuanced analysis needed: Instead of using age as the only criteria, a more disaggregated and nuanced analysis needs to be used.
- Constraint related to renewable and increasing demand: We also need to take into account aspects such as intermittency of renewables, growing demand, and the need to meet emission norms, to make retirement-related decisions.
Conclusion
It may be prudent to let old capacity fade away in due course while focusing on such detailed analysis and weeding out the needless capacity in the pipeline, to derive long-term economic and environmental benefits.
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