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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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IPCC
Mains level: Climate Change and the background for its negotiation
The Geneva-based Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will release the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report, the periodic status check that has now become the most widely accepted scientific view of the state of the Earth’s climate.
What is IPCC?
- The IPCC, an intergovernmental body was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- It was later endorsed by the UN General Assembly. Membership is open to all members of the WMO and UN.
- The IPCC produces reports that contribute to the work of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the main international treaty on climate change.
- The objective of the UNFCCC is to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-induced) interference with the climate system.”
- The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report was a critical scientific input into the UNFCCC’s Paris Agreement in 2015.
What are IPCC reports?
- IPCC reports cover the scientific, technical and socioeconomic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.
- The IPCC does not carry out original research, nor does it monitor climate or related phenomena itself.
- Rather, it assesses published literature, including peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources.
- However, the IPCC can be said to stimulate research in climate science.
The Assessment Reports
- The five previous assessment reports that have come out since the IPCC was established in 1988 have formed the basis of international climate change negotiations, and the actions of the governments.
- Their value has been globally acknowledged, and the fourth assessment report, which came out in 2007, won the IPCC the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Each of these voluminous reports, the last couple of them running into thousands of pages, have built upon the previous ones with updated knowledge and understanding of the climate system.
- The reports have presented projections for temperature rise till 2100 under different scenarios and the kind of impacts that can be expected under each of these pathways.
Key projections of the 6th Report
Apart from incorporating the latest available scientific evidence, the Sixth Assessment Report is also attempting to provide more actionable information to help governments take policy decisions.
- REGIONAL FOCUS: It is expected that this report would likely state what the scenarios for sea-level rise in the Bay of Bengal region is, not just what the average sea-level rise across the world is likely to be.
- EXTREME EVENTS: There is expected to be bigger focus on extreme weather events, like the ones we have seen in the last few weeks.
- CITIES: Densely populated mega-cities are supposed to be among the most vulnerable to impacts of climate change. The report is expected to present specific scenarios the climate change impacts on cities and large urban populations, and also implications for key infrastructure.
- SYNERGIES: IPCC is expected to present a more integrated understanding of the situation, cross-link evidence and discuss trade-offs between different options or pathways, and also likely to cover social implications of climate change action by countries.
Why it matters?
- The IPCC assessment reports have been extremely influential in directing the dialogue and action on climate change.
- The First Assessment Report led to the setting up of the UNFCCC, the umbrella agreement under which international negotiations on climate change take place every year.
- The Second Assessment Report was the basis for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that ran till last year, and the Fifth Assessment Report, which came out in 2014, guided the Paris Agreement.
- The global climate architecture is now governed by the Paris Agreement, which replaced the Kyoto Protocol from this year.
- There have been enough indications to suggest that global action was far below what was needed to keep the temperatures below 2°C, as mandated under the Paris Agreement.
- In the immediate future, the IPCC report could serve as the most important warning towards the rapidly closing window of opportunity.
Try this PYQ now:
Q.The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty drawn at:
(a) United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm,1972
(b) UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 1992
(c) World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 2002
(d) UN Climate Change Conference, Copenhagen, 2009
Post your answers here:
Back2Basics: UNFCCC
- The UNFCCC established an international environmental treaty to combat “dangerous human interference with the climate system”, in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
- It was signed by 154 states at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Quit India Movement
Mains level: Quit India Movement
The Prime Minister has greeted the nation on the eve of the anniversary of Quit India Movement Day.
Before proceeding, answer this PYQ:
Q. Quit India Movement was launched in response to:
(a) Cabinet Mission Plan
(b) Cripps Proposals
(c) Simon Commission Report
(d) Wavell Plan
Post your answers here:
About the day
- The Quit India Movement is also known as the Bharat Chhodo Andolan was launched by Mahatma Gandhi on August 8, 1942, at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
- The movement demanded an end to British rule in India.
- Since the protest was held in August, it also went on to be known as August Kranti or August Movement.
- The ‘Do or Die’ speech was etched in the hearts of Indians, and many faced the consequences of the movement.
- Every year, the day is celebrated by paying tribute to freedom fighters who laid their lives for the country.
Quit India Movement
- The movement began on August 8, 1942, with its foundations being laid back in 1939 when the Governor-general of India was Lord Lilingthow.
- In 1942, Staford Cripps was sent to India by the British Establishment to negotiate with the leaders of the All India Congress Committee for gaining their support in exchange for their freedom.
- July 1942- The Quit India Movement Resolution was passed at the Wardha Conference of All India Congress Committee.
Series of events
- Mahatma Gandhi delivered his speech at Mumbai’s Gowalia Tank Maidan, also called August Kranti Maidan, on 08th August 1942.
- Gandhi Ji was arrested and jailed at Pune’s Aga Khan Palace and his wife Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu and secretary Mahadev Desai.
- Many other senior members of the Indian National Congress were also arrested, including Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad, and were kept in the Yerwada Jail.
- The British Government banned the Congress Committee declaring it an unlawful association.
- Aruna Asaf Ali, popularly known as the ‘Grand Old Lady’ of the Independence Movement, hoisted the National Flag at Mumbai’s Gowalia Tank Maidan.
- This event was followed by an uproar among the people and the emergence of several young leaders such as Ram Manohar Lohia, JP Narayan, SM Joshi, and others who continued to fuel the fire of the movement throughout India during the period of World War II.
Causes of the Movement
- Involvement of India in World War II without prior consultation with the leaders: The Indian Nationalists were disgruntled with the Governor-General of India, Lord Linlithgow, as he brought India to the verge of World War II without consulting them.
- Failure of Cripps Mission: The British sent Stafford Cripps to India to gain the cooperation of India, which failed because the Cripps Mission offered India not complete freedom but the Dominion Status to India, along with the partition. After the failure of Cripps Mission, the Indian Nationalist Leaders knew that the Britishers were in no mood to amend the Constitution before the end of World War II.
- Shortage of essential commodities: There was widespread discontent due to the shortage of essential commodities and rising prices of salt, rice, etc., and commandeering of boats in Bengal and Orissa. There were fears that the Britishers would follow a scorched earth policy in Assam, Bengal, and Orissa in reaction to the advancement of the Japanese. The Economy also shattered as a result of World War II.
- Prevalence of anti-British sentiment: The sentiments were widely anti-British, and the masses were demanding complete independence from the British Government.
- Centralization of many small movements: The Ground for the movement was already prepared by various associated and affiliated bodies of the Congress, like Forward Bloc, All India Kisan Sabha, and others. They were leading the mass movements on a much more radical level for more than two decades. The also channelized many militant outbursts, which were happening at several places in the country.
Phases of Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement can be viewed in three phases from its inception to end. The phases are as follows:
- First phase: The first phase or the inception of the movement had no violence. It began with civil disobedience, boycotts, strikes that the British Government quickly suppressed. Almost all members of the Congress Committee, including Gandhiji, were arrested and kept in Jail till 1945 without any trial.
- Second phase: In its second phase, the movement shifted to the countryside. The second phase of the movement took a violent and aggressive turn. Any building or offices which were the symbol of the colonial authority was attacked and distracted. Communication systems, railway stations & tracks, telegraph poles and wires were also targeted.
- Third and last phase: In the last phase of the movement, there was the formation of many independent national or parallel governments in the isolated pockets of the country, such as Ballia, Satara, Tamluk, etc.
Successes
- Women empowerment: Aruna Asif Ali hoisted the national flag on the Gowalia tank maidan; Usha Mehta, on the other hand, helped set up the underground radio station to spread awareness about the movement.
- Rise of future leaders : This movement also gave some future prominent leaders such as Biku Patnaik, Aruna Asif Ali, Ram Manohar Lohia, Sucheta Kriplani, J.P. Narayan, etc. These leaders were helping the movement through underground activities.
- Rise of nationalism: A greater sense of unity and brotherhood emerged due to the Quit India Movement. Many students dropped out of schools and colleges, people gave up their jobs and withdrew money from the banks.
Failure of the movement
The movement did not have the support of many organizations of the country itself.
- The Britishers were supported by the Princely States, British Indian Army, Indian Civil Services, Viceroy’s Council (which had Indians in the majority), All India Muslim League, Indian Imperial Police.
- The Hindu Mahasabha, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) & Muslim League also opposed the Quit India Movement.
- Many Congress members like C Rajagopalachari resigned from the provincial legislature as they did not favor Mahatma Gandhi’s idea.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Commsision for Women
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Central Government has nominated Smt. Rekha Sharma, as Chairperson of the National Commission for Women for another term of three years.
National Commission for Women
- The NCW is the statutory body generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women.
- It was established on 31 January 1992 under the provisions of the Indian Constitution as defined in the 1990 National Commission for Women Act.
- The first head of the commission was Jayanti Patnaik.
Constitutional provision
- The Indian Constitution doesn’t contain any provision specifically made to favor women intrinsically.
- Article 15 (3), Article 14 and Article 21 protect and safeguard women. They are more gender-neutral.
Objectives
- The objective of the NCW is to represent the rights of women in India and to provide a voice for their issues and concerns.
- The subjects of their campaigns have included dowry, politics, religion, equal representation for women in jobs, and the exploitation of women for labor.
- They have also discussed police abuses against women.
Composition of National Commission for Women
The Commission shall consist of:
- A Chairperson, committed to the cause of women, to be nominated by the Central Government.
- five Members to be nominated by the Central Government from amongst persons of ability, integrity and standing who have had experience in law or legislation, trade unionism, management of an industry potential of women, women’s voluntary organizations (including women activist), administration, economic development, health, education or social welfare;
- Provided that at least one Member each shall be from amongst persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively;
Powers of NCW
- Provide consultation on all major policy matters that affect women.
- Issuing summons for the examination of documents and the witnesses.
- It has the power to make any public record.
- Receiving evidence on affidavits
- Discovery and production of documents
- Summoning and enforcement
Functions of the NCW
- Presentation of reports: Table reports should be submitted to the Central Government every year. When the commission feels it’s appropriate. The reports upon the functioning and working of the safeguards.
- Investigation and Examination: There should be proper investigation and examination made under the Constitution and other laws. This is related to the protection of the rights of women.
- Review of laws: Constantly all laws are reviewed and scrutinized. And necessary amendments and alterations are made to meet the needs of the current world.
- Cases of Violation: Ensure there is no violation against women and taking due care of such cases.
- Suo Motu Notice: It takes care of complaints and also suo motu matters about the deprivation of rights of women. Implementation of laws favoring the welfare of women.
- Evaluation: Assessing the development and the progress of the women community under the Center and State level.
- Special studies and investigation: To understand the limitations in the system and curb it with strategic plans and mechanisms.
Powers of the NCW
- Not concrete powers: The NCW is only recommendatory and has no power to enforce its decisions. Often it takes action only if the issues are brought to light.
- Legal powers: Commission lacks constitutional status, and thus has no legal powers to summon police officers or witnesses.
- Less funding: NCW’s functions are dependent on the grants offered by the central government. Financial assistance provided to the Commission is very less to cater to its needs.
- Political interference: It does not have the power to choose its own members.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Major Dhyan Chand
Mains level: Promotion of sports in India
The PM has announced that the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award will now be named after Major Dhyan Chand.
Despite being a trillion population, what ails India’s limted success (not failure) at the Olympics in your opinion?
Spark the debate!
Who was Dhyan Chand?
- Quite simply, he was the first superstar of hockey, considered a wizard or magician of the game.
- He was the chief protagonist as India won three consecutive Olympic hockey gold medals — Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932, and Berlin 1936.
- He is said to have wowed the watching public with his sublime skills, intricate dribbling and gluttonous scoring ability.
- During those tournaments, there was no team that could compete with India — and most of the matches saw huge victory margins.
- India beat hosts the Netherlands 3-0 in the 1928 final, the US were thrashed by a scarcely-believable margin of 24-1 in the 1932 gold medal match, while Germany went down 8-1 in the 1936 decider.
- In all, Dhyan Chand played 12 Olympic matches, scoring 33 goals.
Legends associated with Dhyan Chand
- It is said that once his sublime skill and close control of the ball aroused such suspicion that his stick was broken to see whether there was a magnet inside.
- During the 1936 Berlin Games, Adolf Hitler offered him German citizenship and the post of Colonel in his country’s Army, a proposition the Indian ace refused.
Why does the name evoke such emotion?
- Dhyan Chand played during India’s pre-independence years, when the local population was subjugated and made to feel inferior by the ruling British.
- Hence, seeing an Indian dominating the Europeans in a sport invented by them evoked a lot of pride in them.
- There has been a long-running campaign arguing that Dhyan Chand be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest honour.
- Before Independence and for some years after that, hockey was the only sport in which India consistently excelled at the international and Olympic stage.
- In fact, starting from Amsterdam 1928, India won seven of the eight hockey gold medals at the Games.
- Apart from K D Jadhav’s wrestling bronze at Helsinki 1952, India had to wait until Atlanta 1996 and tennis player Leander Paes for an Olympic medal in a sport other than hockey.
Why is the renaming of the award significant?
- The eight gold medals in hockey have often been termed as the millstone around the necks of the subsequent generation of players.
- The modern game is an altogether different sport from the one played in Dhyan Chand’s era.
- The Europeans and Australians have become much more proficient over the decades, while the change of surface has put a premium on fitness, speed, stamina, and physical strength.
- India had not managed to get into the top four at the Olympics since the boycott-affected Moscow Games in 1980.
- The later generations may have felt out of touch with the golden years, about which one could only read in books or listen to in tales of the protagonists and those who witnessed the heroics.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Flag
Mains level: Honor of our national flag and national anthem
Ahead of Independence Day, the Centre has urged all citizens not to use a national flag made up of plastic and asked states and Union Territories to ensure strict compliance with the flag code.
Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act
- The law, enacted on December 23, 1971, penalizes the desecration of or insult to Indian national symbols, such as the National Flag, the Constitution, the National Anthem, and the Indian map, as well as contempt of the Constitution of India.
- Section 2 of the Act deals with insults to the Indian National Flag and the Constitution of India.
Do you know?
Article 51 ‘A’ contained in Part IV A i.e. Fundamental Duties asks:
To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem in clause (a).
Other provisions
- Section 3.22 of The Flag Code of India, 2002 deals with laws, practices and conventions that apply to the display of the national flag.
- Section 3.58 says: On occasions of State/Military/Central Paramilitary Forces funerals, the flag shall be draped over the bier or coffin with the saffron towards the head of the bier or coffin.
- The Flag shall not be lowered into the grave or burnt in the pyre.
Try this
Q.The national motto of India, ‘Satyameva Jayate’ inscribed below the Emblem of India is taken from:
(a) Katha Upanishad
(b) Chandogya Upanishad
(c) Aitareya Upanishad
(d) Mundaka Upanishad
Answer this PYQ here:
Use of flag in funerals
- The flag can only be used during a funeral if it is accorded the status of a state funeral.
- Apart from police and armed forces, state funerals are held when people who are holding or have held the office of President, Vice-President, PM, Cabinet Minister, or state CM pass away.
- The status of a state funeral can be accorded in case of death of people not belonging to the armed forces, police or the above-mentioned categories by the state government.
- Then too, the national flag can be used.
Disposing of the national flag
- A/c to the Flag Code, such paper flags are not to be discarded or thrown on the ground after the event.
- Such flags are to be disposed of, in private, consistent with the dignity of the flag.
Back2Basics:
Story of our National Flag
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dara Shikhoh and his legacy
Mains level: Secular polity in Medieval India
The final resting place of Mughal prince Dara Shikoh remains a mystery, with the Archaeological Survey of India saying it has not located the grave within the Humayun’s Tomb complex.
Dara Shikoh
- Dara Shikoh, who was Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s son and expected heir, was killed on the orders of his brother Aurangzeb in 1659 after losing the war of succession.
- He was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
- Dara was designated with the title Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba (Prince of High Rank) and was favored as a successor by his father and his older sister, Princess Jahanara Begum.
- In the war of succession which ensued after Shah Jahan’s illness in 1657, Dara was defeated by his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin (Aurangzeb).
- He was executed in 1659 on Aurangzeb’s orders in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.
His legacy
- Dara was a liberal-minded unorthodox Muslim as opposed to the orthodox Aurangzeb.
- He authored the work The Confluence of the Two Seas, which argues for the harmony of Sufi philosophy in Islam and Vedanta philosophy in Hinduism.
- It was Dara Shikoh who was responsible for making the Upanishads available to the West as he had them translated.
- He had commissioned a translation of Yoga Vasistha.
- A great patron of the arts, he was also more inclined towards philosophy and mysticism rather than military pursuits.
- The course of the history of the Indian subcontinent, had Dara Shikoh prevailed over Aurangzeb, has been a matter of some conjecture among historians.
Q.Who among the following Mughal Emperors shifted emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to album and individual portrait?
(a) Humayun
(b) Akbar
(c) Jahangir
(d) Shah Jahan
Answer this PYQ here:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CHAPEA Mission
Mains level: Not Much
NASA is seeking applications for its new mission called the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA), which is related to Mars.
CHAPEA
- The mission is set to begin in 2022 and will give four successful applicants the chance to live and work in a 1,700 square-foot module that is created by a 3D printer and is called the Mars Dune Alpha.
- The simulated quarters include a kitchen, areas for medical, recreation, fitness, work, crop growth, a technical work area and two bathrooms.
- This habitat will simulate what it feels like to carry out missions on Mars including resource limitations, equipment failure, communication delays and any other environmental stressors.
- The crew will be expected to perform simulated spacewalks, scientific research and use virtual reality and robotic controls and exchange communications.
What is the purpose of this mission?
- The habitat in which the crew members will stay will be as Mars-realistic as possible.
- The results from this analog mission will provide scientific data that will help in validating the systems that will be used for actual missions to Mars and also help in solving problems for spaceflight research.
- CHAPEA is not the only analog mission, there are others including Aquarius/NEEMO, Concordia, Desert RATS, and HESTIA.
- Analog missions are required because not all experiments can be carried out in space because resources and money are limited.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Absorption Spectroscopy
Mains level: Not Much
Researchers from IIT Madras and IISER Kolkata have developed a method to detect minute quantities of chemicals in solution using Absorption Spectroscopy.
Note: These days there has been a rise in questions from biology (rather cell biology in particular).
Absorption Spectroscopy
- Absorption spectroscopy is a tool to detect the presence of elements in a medium.
- Light is shone on the sample, and after it passes through the sample is examined using a spectroscope.
- Dark lines are seen in the observed spectrum of the light passed through the substance, which correspond to the wavelengths of light absorbed by the intervening substance and are characteristic of the elements present in it.
- In usual methods, about a cubic centimeter of the sample is needed to do this experiment.
- In the method developed here, minute amounts of dissolved substances can be detected easily.
- Usually in absorption spectroscopy, the principle used is that light because of its wavelike nature, shows diffraction patterns, that is, dark and light fringes, when it scatters off any object.
Studying small objects
- A related concept called the Abbe criterion sets a natural limit on the size of the object being studied.
- According to this criterion, the size of the observed object has to be at least of the order of the wavelength of the light being shone on it.
- If one wants to perform absorption spectroscopy using visible light, namely, blue, green and red, the wavelengths [of these colours] are about 400 nm, 500 nm and 600 nm, respectively.
What has Indian researchers achieved?
- In the method used by the researchers here, tiny, nano-sized particles that can absorb light being shone on them and re-emit red, blue and green light were employed.
- The particles emit electric fields that are analogous to how a tiny magnet would give off magnetic lines of force – this is called a dipole, and the particle is like a tiny mobile phone’s antenna.
- This dipole generates an electromagnetic field depending upon the quantum properties of the erbium dopants in the glass.
- The absorption leaves a gap in the reflected light, which is what is observed and used to analyse the nature of the absorbing material.
Applications of this technology
- There are many potential applications.
- Small molecules almost ten-millionth of an mm in diameter can be detected while these pass the emission region of the glass particle.
- The future is to use it to measure individual molecules, see absorption spectroscopy of a single DNA or protein molecule.
Try this
Q.Which of the following statements are correct regarding the general difference between plant and animal cells?
- Plant cells have cellulose cell walls whilst animal cells do not.
- Plant cells do not have plasma membranes unlike animal cells which do.
- Mature plant cell has one large vacuole whilst an animal cell has many small vacuoles.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer this PYQ here:
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Issue of retrospective taxation
Context
With the government proposing to repeal the ‘retrospective tax’ amendment introduced in the Union Budget 2012-13, a 14-year-story has come to an end.
Background of retrospective tax
- In 2007 Vodafone acquired Hutchison Essar, the telecom company, for $11 billion. But the deal did not take place in India.
- Yet, Vodafone was slapped with a huge income tax demand in India.
- The Supreme Court rule in favour of Vodafone and said that the Indian authorities could not tax a deal executed in Cayman Islands.
- This verdict led to the 2012 amendment in the Income Tax Act, to the effect that if an Indian asset was held by a foreign company and an acquirer bought this holding company, such a transaction was deemed to be taxable in India because the underlying asset was located in India.
- More importantly, this change was made retrospectively from 1962.
- Now, the government has introduced The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to undo this insidious provision from the Finance Bill, 2012.
- The government will not raise tax demands in any such case if the transaction occurred before 28 May 2012.
- The tax on the indirect sale of assets located in India still stays on the statute books, but it is fully visible to and understood by any parties looking to enter into such a transaction.
Why repeal of retrospective taxation is a good move?
- Resolution of case the cases: This will potentially help resolve 17 cases in which income tax demand had been raised, including two high profile cases—Cairn and Vodafone.
- Visibility and stability: The government is putting to rest the concept of retrospective taxation and is also creating visibility and stability for the future.
- Predictability: The most important aspect of any tax regime is its predictability and this decision helps bring that.
- Honouring the rule of law: It also reiterates India’s commitment to honour the rule of law and treaties.
- Build confidence: Apart from the various reform measures and incentives being offered, the sanctity of contracts is a key factor that any investing entity will look at when deciding on expanding business operations in India.
- The government’s move would help build confidence and provide a fillip to Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Conclusion
As the post-covid recovery picks up, focus needs to be on the future rather than keeping a sword of uncertainty for the past dangling on potential investors. Such a decision needs political capital and ownership, which comes through strongly in this case.
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