Schemes | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Ayushman Bharat

Mains level: Universal health coverage

Union Home Minister has rolled out the ‘Ayushman CAPF’ scheme, extending the benefit of the central health insurance programme to the personnel of all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in the country.

Who are the CAPFs?

The CAPFs refers to uniform nomenclature of five security forces in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Their role is to defend the national interest mainly against the internal threats.
They are the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

Ayushman CAPF

Under this scheme, around 28 lakh personnel of CAPF, Assam Rifles and National Security Guard (NSG) and their families will be covered by ‘Ayushman Bharat: PM Jan Arogya Yojana’ (AB PM-JAY).
For the CAPF, the existing health coverage was not comprehensive as compared to other military forces.

Do you know?

The goal of universal health coverage (UHC) as stated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs no. 3) is one of the most significant commitments to equitable quality healthcare for all.

About Ayushman Bharat

PM-JAY aims to provide free access to healthcare for 40% of people in the country.
It is a centrally sponsored scheme and is jointly funded by both the union government and the states.
It was launched in September 2018 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The ministry has later established the National Health Authority as an organization to administer the program.

Key features:

Providing health coverage for 10 crores households or 50 crores Indians.
It provides a cover of 5 lakh per family per year for medical treatment in empanelled hospitals, both public and private.
Offering cashless payment and paperless recordkeeping through the hospital or doctor’s office.
Using criteria from the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 to determine eligibility for benefits.
There is no restriction on family size, age or gender.
All previous medical conditions are covered under the scheme.
It covers 3 days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days of post-hospitalization, including diagnostic care and expenses on medicines.
The scheme is portable and a beneficiary can avail medical treatment at any PM-JAY empanelled hospital outside their state and anywhere in the country.

Note these features. They cannot be memorized all of sudden but can be recognized if a tricky MCQ comes in the prelims.

Must read:

[Burning Issue] Ayushmaan Bharat

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Wildlife Conservation Efforts

Places in news: Sundarban Biosphere Reserve

Places in news | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Sundarban Delta

Mains level: Not Much

Indian Sunderbans, which is part of the largest mangrove forest in the world, is home to 428 species of birds, a recent publication of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) States.

Sundarban Biosphere Reserve

Sundarbans is the largest delta and mangrove forest in the world.
The Indian Sunderbans, which covers 4,200 sq km, comprises of the Sunderban Tiger Reserve of 2,585 sq km is home to about 96 Royal Bengal Tigers (2020) is also a world heritage site and a Ramsar Site.
The Indian Sunderbans is bound on the west by river Muriganga and on the east by rivers Harinbhahga and Raimangal.
Other major rivers flowing through this eco-system are Saptamukhi, Thakuran, Matla and Goasaba.
Recent studies claim that the Indian Sundarban is home to 2,626 faunal species and 90% of the country’s mangrove varieties.

What is the latest research?

The scientists have listed 428 birds, some, like the Masked Finfoot and Buffy fish owl, are recorded only from the Sunderbans.
India has over 1,300 species of birds and if 428 species of birds are from Sunderbans.
The area is home to nine out of 12 species of kingfishers found in the country as well rare species such as the Goliath heron and Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

Try this PYQ:

With reference to India’s biodiversity, Ceylon frogmouth, Coppersmith barbet, Gray-chinned miniyet and White-throated redstart are–

(a) Birds

(b) Primates

(c) Reptiles

(d) Amphibians

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Right To Privacy

New WhatsApp Privacy Policy

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: The principle of purpose limitation

Mains level: Paper 2- WhatsApp privacy policy update and issue of privacy

Privacy policy update by the WhatsApp recently led to widespread protest from the user forcing company to put the update on hold. If India had made Personal Protection Bill into the law, the privacy policy update would have been illegal. The article deals with this issue.

About WhatsApp

WhatsApp’s unique blend of text, audio, and voice messaging and calling platform.
In November 2014, WhatsApp adopted the Signal protocol for end-to-end encryption after its acquisition by Facebook.
WhatsApp has two billion users worldwide, of which 400 million are in India, the largest in any country.

What the privacy policy update is about

The updated policy seeks consent from users to allow the platform to share their data with Facebook and its companies,
It means that WhatsApp would share transaction data, mobile device information, IP addresses, and other metadata on how users interact with businesses on WhatsApp.
Such sharing would be done with the user being notified before the start of a chat if the business uses Facebook to store and analyze data and the user would have the option of blocking the business.
The update would defy the principle of purpose limitation that has been the yardstick of addressing privacy concerns at a global level.

What is the principle of purpose limitation

The Indian government has also sent a strong note to WhatsApp, seeking the company’s response to 14 queries.
This note has sent a clear message to WhatsApp to not subject Indian users to greater information security risks and vulnerabilities with the consolidation of data from WhatsApp and Facebook.
In the note, the government referred to the principle of purpose limitation provisions in the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB) currently being discussed by a joint select committee.
Had the bill been passed by now, WhatsApp’s move would have been illegal.
Provisions in the bill required that every data intermediary has to take explicit permission from the user whose data would be harvested.
Even the method of data classification into sensitive personal data and critical data has been defined and their processing possibilities mentioned in the bill.

Way forward

The government should make the Personal Data Protection Bill into law so that such restrictive practices can never be introduced in the first place.
It is due to such law, WhatsApp did make an exception for its users in the European Union.
The Competition Commission of India should take note that this is a classic case of an organization using its near-monopolistic power to push through something that is not in the consumer interest.

Consider the question “What is the principle of purpose limitation in the Personal Data Protection Bill? How it can help user protect its privacy?”

Conclusion

As Digital India expands and brings in more users from the current base of 70 crores, and more take to social media for communications and business, they must be ensured a safer digital space, given that most wouldn’t be aware of the reach of the data being generated.

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A new framework around caste and the census

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Difference between SECC and Census

Mains level: Paper 2- SECC and Census data

The article suggests the ways to make the most of the data collected through Census and the SECC.

Census and issues with it

The synchronous decennial Census has evolved over time and has been used by the government, policymakers, academics, and others.
Though Census is both a data collection effort and a technique of governance, it is criticized for not being useful enough for a detailed and comprehensive understanding of a complex society.
There is a lack of depth in the Census where some issues are concerned.

The debate around full-scale Caste Census

Since Independence, aggregated Census data on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on certain parameters such as education have been collected.
There is a growing demand for a full-scale caste census to capture contemporary Indian society and to understand and remedy inequalities.
While others believe that this large administrative exercise of capturing caste and its complexities is not only difficult but also socially untenable.
There have been concerns that counting caste may help solidify or harden identities, or that caste may be context-specific, and thus difficult to measure.
The other concern is whether an institution such as a caste can even be captured completely by the Census.

Socio-Economic Caste Census: how it is different from Census

Following debate over full-scale caste census, the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) was conducted in 2011.
The SECC, which collected the first figures on caste in Census operations since 1931, is the largest exercise of the enumeration of caste.
Questions remain on whether the SECC is able to cover the effects of caste as an aspect of Indian social structure.
This was a distinct exercise from the Census of 2011.
The Census and the SECC have different purposes.
Since the Census falls under the Census Act of 1948, all data are considered confidential, whereas the SECC data is open for use by Government departments to grant and/or restrict benefits to households.
The Census thus provides a portrait of the Indian population, while the SECC is a tool to identify beneficiaries of state support.

Way forward

What is needed is a discussion on the caste data that already exists, how it has been used and understood by the government.
Linking and syncing aggregated Census data to other large datasets such as the National Sample Surveys or the National Family Health Surveys that cover issues that the Census exercises do not, such as maternal health, would be significant for a more comprehensive analysis.
This linking of the Census with the National Sample Survey data has been suggested in the past by scholars such as Mamta Murthi and colleagues.
Census operations across the world are going through significant changes, employing methods that are precise, faster, and cost-effective, involving coordination between different data sources.
Care must however be taken to ensure that digital alternatives and linking of data sources involving Census operations are inclusive and non-discriminatory, especially given the sensitive nature of the data being collected.
Delay in the release of data needs to be reduced.
There needs to be a closer and continuous engagement between functionaries of the Census and SECC, along with academics and other stakeholders concerned.

Consider the question “How Socio-Economic and Caste Census is different from the Census? How linking and syncing of these data with other databases could help in the governance?”

Conclusion

Data collected through both the exercises serve an important purpose in the governance of the country, however, there is scope to widen the use of data if the steps suggested here are implemented.

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Parliament – Sessions, Procedures, Motions, Committees etc

Making a Law ‘Operational’

| | Mains Paper 2: Parliament & State Legislatures

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Art. 111, Presidents assent

Mains level: Law-making process

In the ongoing stalemate between protesting farmers and the Centre, the government has repeated its offer of keeping the three contentious farm laws on hold for one to one-and-a-half years.

Bringing/removing a law

Parliament has the power to make a law and to remove it from the statute books (a law can be struck down by the judiciary if it is unconstitutional).
But the passing of a Bill does not mean that it will start working from the next day.
There are three more steps for it to become a functioning law.

Try this PYQ:

Q.Who/Which of the following is the custodian of the Constitution of India?

(a) The President of India

(b) The Prime Minister of India

(c) The Lok Sabha Secretariat

(d) The Supreme Court of India

Making a law operational

The first step is the President giving his or her assent to the Bill.
Then the law comes into effect from a particular date. President Kovind signed the three farm Bills into law within a week of their passing in September 2020.
And finally, the government frames the rules and regulations to make the law operational on the ground.
The completion of these steps determines when the law becomes functional.

Presidents’ actions

Article 111 of the Constitution specifies that the President can either sign off on the Bill or withhold his consent.
The President rarely withholds their assent to a Bill.
The last time it happened was in 2006 when President APJ Abdul Kalam refused to sign a Bill protecting MPs from disqualification for holding an office of profit.
A Bill is sent to Parliament for reconsideration if the President withholds his or her assent on it.
And if Parliament sends it back to the President, he or he has no choice but to approve it.

A curious case of date of effect

The next step is deciding the date on which the law comes into effect.
In many cases, Parliament delegates to the government the power to determine this date.
The Bill states that the law “shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act”.

Example: Parliament passed the Recycling of Ships Act in December 2019. In October 2020, the government brought Section 3 of the law into force. This section empowers the government to designate an officer to supervise all ship recycling activities in India.

Giving effect to the implementation

There are also instances when the government does not bring a law into force for many years.
Two examples are the National Environment Tribunal Act and the Delhi Rent Control Act, which Parliament passed during PM P V Narasimha Rao’s tenure.
The government never brought these laws into force, which were passed in 1995 and cleared by the President.
The NGT Act finally repealed the environmental tribunal law in 2010. And a Bill to repeal the Delhi Rent Control Act introduced in 2013 is still pending in Rajya Sabha

Rules & regulations to be made

For the law to start working on the ground, individuals need to be recruited or given the power, to administer it.
The implementing ministry also needs to finalise forms to gather information and provide benefits or services.
These day-to-day operational details are called rules and regulations. And Parliament gives the government the responsibility of making them. These regulations are critical for the functioning of law.
If the government does not make rules and regulations, law or parts of it will not get implemented.

Example: The Benami Transactions Act of 1988 is an example of a complete law remaining unimplemented. For 25 years, such properties were immune from seizure in the absence of framing relevant government rules. The law was finally repealed in 2016 and replaced with a new one.

A final word on implementation

Parliament has recommended that the government make rules within six months of passing a law.
But parliamentary committees have observed that this recommendation is being followed in breach by various ministries.
The government not only has the power to make rules but can also suppress rules made by it earlier.

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Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Produce

The Cost of Guaranteed MSP

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Issues Related To Farm Subsidies & Msp

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: MSP system

Mains level: Economics of MSP

The row over legally guaranteed MSP doesn’t seem to be settled down in near terms.

Farmers’ demand

Farmer unions protesting are raising two fundamental demands.

The first is for repealing the three agricultural reform laws enacted by the Centre.
The second is to provide a legal guarantee for the minimum support prices (MSPs) that the Centre declares for various crops every year.

Currently, there is no statutory backing for these prices or any law mandating their implementation.

Note: The MSP is now applicable on 23 farm commodities: 7 cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley), 5 pulses (chana, arhar, moong, urad and masur), 7 oilseeds (groundnut, soyabean, rapeseed-mustard, sesamum, sunflower, nigerseed and safflower) and 4 commercial crops (sugarcane, cotton, copra and raw jute).

Can MSP be made legally binding?

Yes. There are two ways it can be done.

(1) To force private buyers to pay it

In this case, no crop can be purchased below the MSP, which would also act as the floor price for bidding in mandi auctions.
There’s already a precedent: In sugarcane, mills are required by law to pay growers the Centre’s “fair and remunerative price” – UP and Haryana fix even higher “state advised prices” – within 14 days of supply.
In no other crop is the compulsion to pay the government-announced MSP thrust on the private trade/industry.

(2) The government itself buying the entire crop that farmers offer at the MSP

Various govt agencies such as the Food Corporation of India, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, and the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) do procure a large chunk of commodities on MSP.

But how much produce can the government procure at MSP?

The MSP value of the total production of the 23 crops worked out to around Rs 10.78 lakh crore in 2019-20.
Not all this produce, however, is marketed. Farmers retain part of it for self-consumption, the seed for the next season’s sowing, and also for feeding their animals.
The marketed surplus ratio for different crops is estimated to range differently for various crops.
It ranges from below 50% for ragi and 65-70% for bajra (pearl millet) and jawar (sorghum) to 75% for wheat, 80% for paddy, 85% for sugarcane, 90% for most pulses, and 95%-plus for cotton, soyabean etc.
Taking an average of 75% would yield a number of just over Rs 8 lakh crore.
This is the MSP value of production that is the marketable surplus — which farmers actually sell.

So, is this MSP money paid out of the government’s pocket?

Not really!

To start with, one must exclude sugarcane from the calculations. The onus for paying cane MSP, as earlier pointed out, lies on sugar mills and not the government.
Secondly, the government is already procuring many crops – especially paddy, wheat, cotton, and also pulses and oilseeds.
Thirdly, government agencies don’t have to buy every single grain that comes to the market. Mopping up even a quarter or third of the market arrivals is usually enough to lift prices.
Fourth, the crop bought on government account also gets sold. While such sales in wheat and paddy – which are distributed at super-subsidized rates under the National Food Security Act.
This entails heavy losses, but those are far less in the remaining MSP crops. The revenues realized from sales would partly offset the expenditures from MSP procurement.

All in all, the additional fiscal outgo, from the government undertaking the maximum required procurement for guaranteeing MSP to farmers, may not be more than Rs 1-1.5 lakh crore per year.

So, is the MSP system all okay?

Nope!

The government undertaking to buy at MSP is definitely better than forcing private players. Their going out of business would ultimately hurt farmers most.
However, even assured government MSP-based procurement is fraught with problems.
The coverage of MSPs today does not extend to fruits, vegetables, and livestock products that together have a 45% share in the gross value of the output of India’s agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector.
The value of milk and milk products alone is more than that of all cereals and pulses combined.

Limitations for govt.

Extending MSP to all farm produce and guaranteeing it through law is hugely challenging, fiscally and otherwise.
It also explains why economists increasingly are in favor of guaranteeing minimum “incomes” rather than “prices” to farmers.
One way to achieve that is via direct cash transfers either on a flat per-acre (as in the Telangana government’s Rythu Bandhu scheme) or per-farm household (the Centre’s PM Kisan Samman Nidhi) basis.

Back2Basics:

(1) Rythu Bandhu Scheme

Under Rythu Bandhu, the Telangana government gives every beneficiary farmer Rs 4,000 per acre as “investment support” before every crop season.
The objective is to help the farmer meet a major part of his expenses on seed, fertilizer, pesticide, and field preparation.
The scheme covers 1.42 crore acres in the 31 districts of the state, and every farmer owning land is eligible.

(2) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi

Under this program, vulnerable landholding farmer families, having cultivable land up to 2 hectares, will be provided direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year.
This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three equal installments of Rs. 2,000 each.
Around 12 crore small and marginal farmer families are expected to benefit from this.

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Climate Change Negotiations – UNFCCC, COP, Other Conventions and Protocols

India’s Draft Arctic Policy

| Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Climatic Change

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Arctic Council

Mains level: Exploration of the Arctic

India has unveiled a new draft ‘Arctic’ policy that and is committed to expanding scientific research, “sustainable tourism” and mineral oil and gas exploration in the Arctic region.

Note: Five Arctic littoral states — Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Russia and the USA (Alaska) — and three other Arctic nations — Finland, Sweden and Iceland — form the Arctic Council (estd. 1996).

Try mapping them.

Caution: India became an Observer in the Arctic Council for the first time in 2013. And, India isn’t a full-time observer.

India at the Arctic

India launched its first scientific expedition to the Arctic in 2007 and set up a research station ‘Himadri’ in the international Arctic research base at Ny-Ålesund in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway.
It has two other observatories in Kongsforden and Gruvebadet. Himadri is manned for about 180 days a year.
Since its establishment, over 300 Indian researchers have worked in the station. India has sent 13 expeditions to the Arctic since 2007 and runs 23 active projects.

Draft ‘Arctic’ policy

The draft policy discusses the importance of understanding the impact of climate change in the Arctic region and its connection with India’s monsoon, which is crucial for its economy.
India also proposes to focus on vast resources of the Arctic region including hydrocarbons, minerals and renewable power to ensure its energy security.
The policy is cautious in framing its involvement in the Arctic as “common heritage of mankind” but its priorities are similar to that of other non-Arctic states.
This policy roadmap draft rides on five pillars:

Science and research activities,
Economic and human development cooperation,
Transportation and connectivity,
Governance and international cooperation, and
National capacity building.

Nodal bodies

The Goa-based National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research to lead scientific research and act as a nodal body.
It would thus coordinate among various scientific bodies to promote domestic scientific research capacities by expanding earth sciences, biological sciences, climate change and space-related programmes, dove-tailed with Arctic imperatives.

Why study arctic?

The Arctic is home to almost four million inhabitants, of which approximately one-tenth are considered as indigenous people.
Climate change has meant that seasons in the Arctic influence tropical weather.
The Arctic influences atmospheric, oceanographic and biogeochemical cycles of the earth’s ecosystem.
The loss of sea ice, ice caps, and warming of the ocean and atmosphere would lower salinity in the global oceans.
This could increase the temperature differential between land and oceans in the tropical regions, dry subtropical areas and increase precipitation at higher latitudes.
Arctic research will help India’s scientific community to study melting rates of the third pole — the Himalayan glaciers.

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Banking Sector Reforms

Tighter regulatory framework for NBFCs

DOMR | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Mobilization Of Resources

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NBFCs and their regulations

Mains level: Not Much

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has suggested a tougher regulatory framework for the non-banking finance companies’ (NBFC) sector to prevent the recurrence of any systemic risk to the country’s financial system.

Try this PYQ:

Which of the following can be said to be essentially the parts of Inclusive Governance?

Permitting the Non-Banking Financial Companies to do banking

Establishing effective District Planning Committees in all the districts

Increasing government spending on public health

Strengthening the Mid-day Meal Scheme

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 3 and 4 only

(c) 2, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

What are NBFCs?

Nonbank financial companies (NBFCs) are financial institutions that offer various banking services but do not have a banking license.
An NBFC in India is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by a government or local authority, or other marketable securities.
A non-banking institution that is a company and has principal business of receiving deposits under any scheme or arrangement in one lump sum or in installments is also an NBFC.

What is the difference between banks & NBFCs?

NBFCs lend and make investments and hence their activities are akin to that of banks; however, there are a few differences as given below:

NBFC cannot accept demand deposits
NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue cheques drawn on itself
The deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in the case of banks

What are the new RBI regulations?

The regulatory and supervisory framework of NBFCs will be based on a four-layered structure — the base layer (NBFC-BL), middle layer (NBFC-ML), the upper layer (NBFC-UL), and the top layer.
If the framework is visualized as a pyramid, at the bottom of the pyramid will be those where least regulatory intervention is warranted.
It can consist of NBFCs currently classified as non-systemically important NBFCs.
Moving up, the next layer may comprise NBFCs currently classified as systemically important NBFCs (NBFC-ND-SI), deposit-taking NBFCs (NBFC-D), HFCs, IFCs, IDFs, SPDs, and CICs.
The regulatory regime for this layer shall be stricter compared to the base layer.
The next layer may consist of NBFCs identified as ‘systemically significant’.
This layer will be populated by NBFCs having a large potential of systemic spill-over of risks and the ability to impact financial stability.

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Coronavirus – Economic Issues

[pib] Shramshakti Portal

PIB | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Laws, Institutions & Bodies Constituted For The Vulnerable Sections

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Shramshakti Portal

Mains level: Welfare of the migrant workers

The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs has launched the “ShramShakti” Portal.

Earlier we had ONORC move, now a repository for migrant workers. Keep a tab on all such updates for the welfare of migrant workers.

Shramshakti Portal

It is a National Migration Support Portal.
It will record various data including demographic profile, livelihood options, skill mapping, and migration pattern.
It would effectively help in the smooth formulation of state and national level programs for migrant workers.

Why need such a portal?

Migrants all over the country had to face after the lockdown was announced due to the pandemic caused by a coronavirus.
The migration of the tribal population is distress-driven and the migrants are exposed to difficult and unsafe conditions.
Sometimes they face trafficking or wage harassment issues including many occupational hazards at the workplace.
The lack of real-time data of migrants was the biggest challenge for governments in formulating effective strategies and policy decisions for the welfare of migrant workers at both source and destination states.

Benefits of the portal

The tribal migration repository would be able to successfully address the data gap and empower migrant workers who generally migrate in search of employment and income generation.
It would also help the government for linking the migrant population with the existing Welfare Scheme- under Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

A move for tribals

Tribal migrant workers often have low awareness about their rights and entitlements and ways to access services and social security in source and destination areas.
With this, they will be able to demand and access services, rights, and entitlements related to livelihood and social security at their village before migration, as well after migration at destination towns and cities.

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Death Penalty Abolition Debate

Mercy petition

| Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Power of the President to pardon under Article 72

Mains level: Paper 2- Delay in carrying out death penalty and issues associated with it

The article highlights the issue of delay in carrying out the dealth penalty and issues associated with it.

Review of India’s position on the death penalty

The delay in carrying out the death penalty is one of the reasons to review India’s position on capital punishment.
The debate on the efficacy of the death penalty in reducing crime has been going on for several decades.
A few years ago, the issue of abolishing capital punishment was raised in the Rajya Sabha but was rejected by a voice vote.
The then Minister of State for Home Affairs stated that the government was not contemplating abolition of the death penalty.
In 2015, the Law Commission of India proposed abolishing the death penalty and sought the comments of States and Union Territories on the subject.
India figures among the 56 nations in the world that have retained the death penalty.

Issue of delay in carrying out the punishment

The prolonged detention of death row convicts in prison is not just inhuman but also against the canons of justice.
The delay coupled with long years of solitary confinement leads to immense psychological trauma.
It is small wonder that the courts tend to take a lenient view and reduce the sentence when such cases of prolonged years of detention come before them.
A time frame needs to be fixed for the President to dispose of mercy petitions.
Delays in investigations, court hearings, and administrative steps to be taken after the final verdict need to be inquired into, and responsibility fixed.

Consider the question “Against the backdrop of delay in carrying out the dealth penalty in India, take the review of India’s position on the abolition of death penalty.”

Conclusion

With the changing time, we must change and so do the way we punish people. Capital punishment should be abolished in the country and until then, the inordinate delays in carrying out punishment should be avoided.

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Important Judgements In News

Defending liberty against selective prosecution

op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Article 14 and selection of prosecution

Mains level: Paper 2- Selective prosecution and its impact on personal liberty

The article examines the issue of selective prosecution and Indian judiciary’s approach toward it. It also highlights the importance of recent Goswami case.

Selective prosecution: Form of abuse of state power

Recently the case involving bail application of a T.V. anchor brought to the fore issue of selective prosecution.
The illegal selection of accused based on grounds prohibited by the Constitution is called “selective prosecution”.
In case of selective prosecution, the police and enforcement agencies selectively target political and ideological opponents of the ruling dispensation to interrogate, humiliate, harass, arrest, torture and imprison.
It is one of the oldest, most pernicious and widespread forms of abuse of state power.

How it is illegal: Two independent legal issues

1) Exercise of prosecutorial discretion

The applicable legal standard is that while the police and prosecutors in common law jurisdictions enjoy vast discretion in deciding who they may pursue and who they may spare.
However, the choice of accused must not be based on grounds that violate Constitutional rights, including the Article 14 right to equal protection of the law.
The accused should not be selected, either explicitly or covertly, on constitutionally prohibited grounds.

2) Merit of the case filed

When the choice of accused runs contrary to the Constitution, the entire criminal proceeding is vitiated, irrespective of the determination of the second issue, viz., whether the accused are convicted or acquitted on the charges brought against them.
Once the proceedings fail under the first issue, there is no legal basis to proceed to the second issue., i.e., trial on the merits of the case.
The theory is that the Constitution cannot be violated to uphold the law — such an approach would spell doom for the Constitution.
The selective prosecution claim must be adjudicated as a threshold issue, with the prosecution being quashed at the outset of the criminal case if the claim is justified.
In the context of this discussion, the constitutionally prohibited ground we are confronting in India is the political or ideological affiliation of the accused.
It is an arbitrary ground that violates the Article 14 guarantee of equal protection of the law.

Approach of judiciary

Our courts have not recognised selective prosecution as an independent claim.
This is because courts assume that lawfulness of prosecution can only be taken up after the trial, if the accused is acquitted.
The 2018 Report of the Law Commission on ‘Wrongful Prosecution (Miscarriage of Justice): Legal Remedies’ discusses remedies for wrongful prosecution available only if and after the accused is acquitted.
Remedy after acquittal comes far too late, well after a brutal and long drawn out criminal justice process that upends the lives of the victims.
Also, the right against selective prosecution cannot be extinguished by conviction.
Separate from post-acquittal actions for wrongful prosecution (which will still be available), the claim of selective prosecution is a threshold issue that is required to be adjudicated at the outset of criminal proceedings even during the investigation stage irrespective of the merit of the charges.

Importance of Goswami case

The case provides a much needed and long awaited legal opening to strengthen the recognition and use of the selective prosecution claim in India to counter politically coloured prosecution.
The judgment says, “Courts should be alive to the needof ensuring that the law does not become a ruse for targeted harassment ”.
The Goswami judgment also quotes the 2018 Supreme Court holding in Romila Thapar v. Union of India that, “[T]he basic entitlement of every citizen who is faced with allegations of criminal wrongdoing is that the investigative process should be fair. This is an integral component of the guarantee against arbitrariness under Article 14 and of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.”

Consider the question “How selective prosecution could threten the liberty of person? How Indian judiciary approaches the issue of selective prosecution and what are the issue with the approach adopted by the judiciary?”

Conclusion

To strengthen the protection of civil liberty, equality and democracy, it is time our courts — at all levels — recognise selective prosecution as a threshold constitutional defence against the abuse of police and prosecutorial power.

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Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Produce

Getting it wrong on India’s level of agricultural support

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Issues Related To Farm Subsidies & Msp

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: OECD

Mains level: Paper 3- Issue of negative support given to farmers as per OECD methodoloy

As per the OECD methodology, Indian farmers received negative support of Rs. 1.62-lakh crore in 2019, which implies that the government is taxing the farmers. But there are pitfalls in the methodology. The article explaines them.

The issue of support given to the farmers

Many media reports, based on data by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have stated that the support provided to Indian agriculture is extremely low or negative, and, therefore, net taxed.
The OECD has estimated that Indian farmers received negative support to the extent of minus ₹2.36-lakh crore and minus ₹1.62-lakh crore in 2010 and 2019, respectively.
Surprisingly, the negative support of minus ₹1.62-lakh crore as estimated by the OECD was higher than the total budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Agriculture at ₹1.09-lakh crore in 2019.

Issues with the OECD estimates

Expenditure on the PM-KISAN, the National Food Security Mission, crop insurance, input subsidies such as fertilizer and electricity, are some of the measures covered under the 2019 OECD estimates.
However, the expenditure related to the operation of minimum support price and general services is not covered by it.
Despite the overall negative support, the expenditure of the Central and State governments on agriculture has increased substantially since 2000.
This support increased from ₹1.61-lakh crore to ₹3-lakh crore, between 2015 to 2019, registering 85% growth.
The massive negative market price support to the producers of different products has resulted in the total negative producer support, overshadowing the increase in the budgetary support over the years.

Market Price Support as per OECD methodology

The market price support of a commodity is calculated by multiplying its total production with the gap between the domestic price and international prices in a relevant year.
This methodology assumes that in case there is no government intervention in the agriculture market, then the domestic and international price of a product will converge, resulting in no gap in prices.

Why there is a focus on the price gap in OECD methodology

The OECD assumes government interventions lead to a gap between the international and domestic prices.
However, even if the government does not implement any program, the gap can still arise due to domestic and international factors.
Changes in supply and demand conditions in the domestic and international market due to shocks, depressed international prices due to subsidies given by other countries, among other factors, can generate a gap.

3 Consequence of OECD’s Market Price Support methodology

1) If the domestic price for a product is less than its international price, then support for that product would be negative.
2) A negative market price support for a product in one year can turn into huge positive support in another year on account of the relative movement of domestic and international prices.
3) Even if in a particular year, the government does not provide any additional support compared to a previous year, the level of support calculated by the OECD can change.
This will arise if there is a change in either the gap between the domestic price and international price for a commodity, or its production, in the two years.
Given the unpredictability in the inherent data, the total support can move from huge negative to huge positive.

Concerns for India

For India, the negative support as a percentage of the total value of agriculture production has substantially reduced in recent years.
It is possible that support to Indian farmers in the near future becomes one of the highest in the world due to pitfalls in the OECD methodology.
This might set alarm bells ringing, particularly in the developed countries, which may aggressively question India’s support measures.

Consider the question “As per the OECD methodology, net support provided by Indian government to its farmers is negative for the year 2019. However, India’s expenditure on agriculture is consistently rising. What explains this conundrum? What are the concerns for India in the price support method of OECD?”

Conclusion

Rather than being swayed by the OECD numbers suggesting negative support, farmers, policymakers, and other stakeholders need to understand the pitfalls and limitations in the underlying methodology. This will help in providing a more correct perception of the level of support to agriculture in India.

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Judicial Reforms

TN Governor to decide on Ex-PM assassin Pardon

| Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution - historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Pardoning powers of Governor and President

Mains level: Capital punishment

Tamil Nadu Governor would take a decision as per the Constitution in the next three or four days on the plea for release filed by A.G. Perarivalan, who is undergoing life imprisonment for the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

Give your personal views in favour and against Capital Punishment in the comment box.

What is the news?

The court noted in its short order that the Solicitor General submitted that the application filed by the petitioner Perarivalan under Article 161 of the Constitution.
The TN State Cabinet had earlier made the recommendation to remit the life sentences of seven convicts, including Perarivalan in September 2018.
The new turn of events when the Additional Solicitor General for the Centre, had argued recently that the pleas for pardon and release should go to the President instead of the Governor.

What does Pardon mean?

A pardon is a government/executive decision to allow a person to be absolved of guilt for an alleged crime or other legal offense as if the act never occurred.

Why need a Pardon?

Pardons can be granted when individuals are deemed to have demonstrated that they have “paid their debt to society”, or are otherwise considered to be deserving of them.
Pardons are sometimes offered to persons who were either wrongfully convicted or who claim that they were wrongfully convicted.
Pardons are sometimes seen as a mechanism for combating corruption, allowing a particular authority to circumvent a flawed judicial process to free someone that is seen as wrongly convicted.

What does Article 161 say?

Article 161 of the Constitution provides the Governor with the power to remit or commute the sentence of any prisoner.
The Governor’s decision will be subject to judicial review by the constitutional courts.

Supreme court’s observations

The Constitution Bench in 2015, in a majority decision, had held that the States cannot unilaterally remit the sentences of life convicts in cases investigated by a Central agency under a Central law.
The assassination case was probed by the CBI.
In compliance with the 2015 verdict, the Tamil Nadu government wrote to the Centre in 2016, proposing the grant of remission to the convicts. The State wanted the Centre to concur.
After a wait of over two years, the Centre rejected the State’s proposal, saying this was an unparalleled act in the annals of crimes committed in this country.

Arguments in Perarivalan’s petition seeking pardon

Perarivalan had been pleading for release citing that he was 19 when he was arrested.
He was the only male child of his parents, there were no records of criminal antecedents, and that he had excellent conduct in his entire prison life.
His petition also cited UG and PG degrees, and that he was the university topper, Gold medalist in diploma in DTP, and that he completed more than eight diploma and certificate courses during his prison term.
His probation officer gave a report about lapses in recording his confession statement that handed out maximum punishment in his case.

Basis of his innocence

Perarivalan cannot be called innocent before the law as he continues to be a convicted prisoner serving imprisonment.
He was accused of having bought two battery cells for Sivarasan, the LTTE man who masterminded the conspiracy.
He was sentenced to death based on this crucial confession statement.

Significance of the convicts’ release

The release of seven convicts is a demand raised by not only the ruling party of TN but the main opposition too.
All TN politicians voiced that the judiciary should be able to reform and let them live as good citizens to uphold the high values of reformatory justice and restitution.

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

China builds a new village in Arunachal Pradesh

| International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood - Relations

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: McMahon Line

Mains level: India-China border tensions

Satellite images show that China has constructed a new village in Arunachal Pradesh, around 4.5 kilometres inside of the de facto border on the Indian side.

Indian and Chinese soldiers have confronted each other in their deadliest clash in decades in Ladakh last year and the earlier one in Doklam. Now another front has been opened up by China in Arunachal.

This year could face another ugliest standoffs and skirmishes.

Location of the village

The village, located on the banks of the River Tsari Chu, lies in the Upper Subansiri district.
It is an area that has been long disputed by India and China and has been marked by armed conflict.
Sources in the defense ministry have said that Beijing has, for years, maintained an army post on this territory, and the various constructions by the Chinese have not happened suddenly.

Background of the story

China’s June 1959 operation known as the Longju incident reportedly accused Indian troops of occupying some places in Tibet and colluding with Tibetan rebels.
In August same year, the PLA clashed with the Indian personnel of the 9 Assam Rifles.
Two Indian soldiers were killed in action and the issue was finally resolved through diplomatic channels. Both sides withdrew from the area on August 20, 1960.
And the Assam Rifles then did not re-occupy the post.
In the late 1990s however, China established a company level post 3 kilometers inside the Indian Territory. Since then, the area remains contested to this day.

India and Arunachal

Arunachal Pradesh (called South Tibet in China) is a full-fledged state of India.
India’s sovereignty over the area is internationally recognized and its residents have not shown any inclination to leave India.
The majority of the international maps acknowledge the area to be an Indian Territory.
China has some (pre-) historical claims through its ownership of Tibet, but the people and geography primarily favor India.

Back2Basics: Chinese claim over Arunachal Pradesh

When the new Peoples Republic of China was formed in February 1912 after the abdication of the Qing emperor, the Tibetans asserted their independence.
They forced the Chinese troops based in Lhasa to return to the mainland-via India. A year later, Tibet declared independence from China.
In order to ensure that the unrest did not spread to India and assert their boundaries, the ruling British convened a tripartite meeting at Shimla with Tibetan and Chinese delegates to define the border.
The meeting gave China suzerainty over most of Tibet, and the boundary defined in this treaty was later known as the McMohan line.

Chinese reluctance

The essential dispute is over China’s refusal to acknowledge the McMohan Line as the border between the two nations, and staking claim to large tracts of land as a contiguous part of Tibet.
However, it laid claim to the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh.
In the 16th century, the most important heritage of the state – Tawang Monastery was built. This is one of the most important sites for Tibetan Buddhists.
China never recognized Tibet’s independence nor the 1914 Simla convention.
In 1950 China completely took over Tibet. Thus, according to their version, the Tawang region belongs to them.
It especially wants to hold on to the monastery as that is a leading center of Tibetan Buddhism in India.

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Air Pollution

What is Nitrogen-Use Efficiency (NUE)?

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NUE, Nitrogen's GHG potential

Mains level: Nitrogen pollution

A group of Indian scientists have found a way to improve crops by reducing wastage of nitrogen fertilizers applied to them.

Try this PYQ:

Q.Which of the following adds/add nitrogen to the soil?

Excretion of Urea by animals

Burning of coal by man

Death of vegetation

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

Nitrogen-Use Efficiency

NUE is calculated as a ratio between nitrogen used and harvest: A higher number denotes low wastage.
With the efficiency on the decline, farmers use more fertiliser in the hope of raising yield. This in turn worsens NUE.
Crops generally use up 30 per cent of nitrogen fertilizer applied; the rest seeps into the environment, harming health and adding to climate change.
Researchers were able to identify phenotypes or visibly identifiable features that determine the efficiency with which cultivated rice varieties (cultivars) use nitrogen.
This efficiency is known as nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE).
Cereals consume over 69 per cent of nitrogen fertilizers in India; rice tops the list with 37 per cent, followed by wheat (24 per cent).

Nitrogen Pollution: the reason behind

Agriculture leads to 70 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions in India.
Of this, 77 per cent is contributed by fertilizers, mostly urea, according to the Indian Nitrogen Assessment published in 2017.
This greenhouse gas (GHG) is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
It has replaced methane as the second-largest component of GHG emissions from Indian agriculture in the past 15 years.

Must read:

[Burning Issue] Nitrogen Pollution in India

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Indian Ocean Power Competition

[pib] Exercise Kavach

Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Exercise Kavach

Mains level: NA

A large scale all-services exercise ‘Exercise Kavach’ will be conducted next week under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), the only Joint Forces Command of the country.

All-time generic question seeking ‘match the pairs’ can be asked from the news as such. Click here for more exercises.

Exercise Kavach

The tri-services exercise aims to fine-tune joint war-fighting capabilities and SOPs towards enhancing operational synergy in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.
This exercise would involve assets of Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard.
The exercise involves synergized application of maritime surveillance assets, coordinated air and maritime strikes, air defence, submarine and landing operations.
Concurrently Joint Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) exercise involving various technical, electronic and human intelligence from three services will be conducted.
The ISR exercise will validate the capabilities of intelligence gathering from space, air, land and sea-based assets/ sensors, its analysis and sharing to achieve battlefield transparency.
It would carry out amphibious landing operations, air landed operation, helicopters-borne insertion of Special Forces from sea culminating in tactical follow-on operations on land.

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Policy Wise: India’s Power Sector

True empowerment of the electricity consumer

op-ed snap | | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: SERC

Mains level: Paper 3- The Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020

The article examines the various provisions of the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 and analyses whether or not these Rules will empower the consumers.

Empowering electricity consumers

The Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 was promulgated in December to deal with the problems faced by the consumers.
The enactment of consumer-centric rules does spark public debate that brings the rights of consumers to the fore.
the Rules lay an emphasis on national minimum standards for the performance parameters of DISCOMs. without urban-rural distinction.
They also reiterate the need for automatically compensating consumers.

Let’s analyse the changes introduced by the new Rule and issues with them

Supply quality issue

Many States have not been able to provide quality supply, especially to rural and small electricity consumers.
Provisions similar to made in the new Rule already exist in the Standards of Performance (SoP) regulations of various State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs).
It is not because of a lack of rules or regulations that quality supply is not provided; rather, it is on account of a lack of accountability systems to enforce them.
Unfortunately, neither these rules nor past efforts address these accountability concerns.
Guarantee of round the clock supply is a provision that the Rules emphasise, which might be missing in State regulations.
It is difficult to enforce since the availability of power supply is inadequately monitored even at 11 kV feeders, let alone at the consumer location.
This highlights not only the need for implementation of existing provisions in letter and spirit but also amending them with strong accountability provisions.

Weakening of existing provision

The Rules, in few cases, dilute progressive mechanisms that exist in State regulations.
For example, the Rules say that faulty meters should be tested within 30 days of receipt of a complaint.
Compared to this, regulations t in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, respectively, say that such testing needs to be conducted within seven days.
A similar observation can be drawn from the suggested composition of the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum.
The Rules say that the forum — constituted to remedy complaints against DISCOMs should be headed by a senior officer of the company.
This is a regressive provision that would reduce the number of cases that are decided in favour of consumers.

Lack of clarity on net-metering

The Rules guarantee net metering for a solar rooftop unit less than 10 kW.
However, there is no clarity if those above 10 kW can also avail net metering.
This could lead to a change in regulations in many States based on their own interpretations.
The possible litigation that follows would be detrimental to investments in rooftop solar units, and would discourage medium and large consumers to opt for an environment-friendly, cost-effective option.

Way forward

SERCs should assess the SoP reports of DISCOMs and revise their regulations more frequently.
SERCs should organise public processes to help consumers raise their concerns.
DISCOMs could be directed to ensure automatic metering at least at the 11 kV feeder level, making this data available online.
The Forum of Regulators — a central collective of SERCs — could come up with updated model SoP regulations.
Central agencies have taken proactive efforts to ensure regular tariff revision.
They could also support independent surveys and nudge State agencies to enforce existing SoP regulations.
The central government could disburse funds for financial assistance programmes based on audited SoP reports.

Consider the question”What are the problems faced by the electricity consumers in India? Will the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 help consumers to deal with the existing issues?”

Conclusion

The governments, DISCOMs and regulators need to work jointly and demonstrate the commitment and the will power to implement existing regulations. It is not yet late to recognise this and initiate concerted efforts to truly empower consumers.

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Tax Reforms

Digital Service Tax could be an interim solution to cyber tax conundrum

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Equalisation levy

Mains level: Paper 3- Digital Service Tax as an interim solution to the challenge of taxing digital companies doing business internationally

Business models of digital companies challenge the conventional basis of taxation in which the fixed place of business formed the basis. Digital Service Tax could provide a basis to deal with the challenge. The article deals with this issue.

Equalisation levy and issues with it

Equalisation levy seeks to tax payments made for online advertising services to a non-resident business by residents in India.
India is amongst the first to have implemented such levy.
It is predominantly applicable to US companies since the market for digital services is dominated by US-based firms.
Any company that has a permanent residence in India is excluded since it is already subject to tax in India.
In March 2020, India expanded the scope of the existing equalisation levy to a range of digital services that includes e-commerce platforms.
Such levy can result in over-taxation since the company will not be able to claim any credit for tax paid on Indian sales.
Such an approach is often viewed as contrary to the ethos of international agreements.

Issue of taxation of digital companies

The agenda to reform international tax law so that digital companies are taxed where economic activities are carried out was formally framed within the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting programme.
Worried they might cede their right to tax incomes, many countries have either proposed or implemented a digital services tax (DST).
However, the proliferation of digital service taxes (DSTs) is a symptom of the changing international economic order.
Countries such as India which provide large markets for digital corporations seek a greater right to tax incomes.
The core problem that the international tax reform seeks to address is that digital corporations, unlike their brick-and-mortar counterparts, can operate in a market without a physical presence.
The current basis for taxing in a particular jurisdiction is a notion of fixed place of business.

Way forward

To overcome the challenge, countries suggested that a new basis to tax, say, the number of users in a country.
The EU and India were among the advocates of this approach.
In 2018, India introduced the test for significant economic presence in the Income Tax Act.
However, the proposal of a revised nexus was not supported widely.
Moreover, to give effect to a new system would require bilateral renegotiation of tax treaties that supersede domestic tax laws.
Meanwhile, the OECD continued to work to find commonalities among a range of solutions.
In its current form, the solution is too complex to administer and proposes to allocate residual profit — a term that has no economic definition.
It would also require political consensus on multiple issues, including sensitive matters such as setting up of an alternative dispute resolution process comparable to arbitration.
This can increase the compliance burden.
The US has expressed its preference to apply this measure on a safe harbour basis, which can limit the companies to which it may be applicable.

Consider the question “Digital corporations can operate in a market without a physical presence. The current basis for taxing in a particular jurisdiction is a notion of fixed place of business. In light of this, examine the challenges in taxing the digital companies and how India is dealing with such a challenge?”

Conclusion

As countries calibrate their response to competing demands for sovereignty to tax, DST is an interim alternative outside tax treaties. It possesses the advantage of taxing incomes that currently escape tax and creates space to negotiate a final, overarching solution to this conundrum.

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Aadhaar Card Issues

Supreme Court dismisses Aadhaar Review Petition

| Polity | Mains Paper 2: Parliament & State Legislatures

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Money Bill , Art 110

Mains level: Aadhaar-Money Bill Issue

The Supreme Court, in a majority view (4:1), dismissed a series of petitions seeking a review of its 2018 judgment upholding the Lok Sabha Speaker’s certification of Aadhaar law as a Money Bill and its subsequent passage in Parliament.

Try this PYQ:

Consider the following statements:

Aadhaar card can be used as a proof of citizenship or domicile.

Once issued, Aadhaar number cannot be deactivated or omitted by the Issuing Authority.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Backgrounder

The review petitions had highlighted how the Aadhaar Act was passed as a Money Bill by superseding the Rajya Sabha. It was called a “fraud on the Constitution”.
The review petition had argued that the Aadhaar Act clearly did not fall within the ambit of Article 110 (1) of the Constitution, which restricted Money Bills to certain specific fields only.

What is a Review Petition?

Article 137 of the Constitution provides that subject to provisions of any law and rule made under Article 145 the Supreme Court of India has the power to review any judgment pronounced (or order made) by it.
Thus the binding decision of the Supreme Court/High Court can be reviewed in the Review Petition.

Aadhaar Case: Two questions for review

Two questions had come up for review regarding the five-judge Aadhaar Bench’s judgment in 2018.
One, whether the Speaker’s decision to declare a proposed law as Money Bill was “final” and cannot be challenged in court.
The second, whether the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 was correctly certified as a ‘Money Bill’ under Article 110(1) of the Constitution.

What is the majority Judgment?

On the first question, the majority judgment in 2018 said the Speaker’s decision could be challenged in court only under “certain circumstances”.
On the second, it concluded that the Aadhaar Act was rightly called a Money Bill.

Back2Basics: Money Bill

A Bill is said to be a Money Bill if it only contains provisions related to taxation, borrowing of money by the government, expenditure from or receipt to the Consolidated Fund of India.
Bills that only contain provisions that are incidental to these matters would also be regarded as Money Bills.
A Money Bill may only be introduced in Lok Sabha, on the recommendation of the President as per Article 110 of the Constitution.
Then, it is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations. Following this, it may be sent to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations, which Lok Sabha may reject if it chooses to.
If such recommendations are not given within 14 days, it will be deemed to be passed by Parliament.

How is a Money Bill different from a financial bill?

While all Money Bills are Financial Bills, all Financial Bills are not Money Bills.
For example, the Finance Bill which only contains provisions related to tax proposals would be a Money Bill.
However, a Bill that contains some provisions related to taxation or expenditure, but also covers other matters would be considered as a Financial Bill.

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Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

What is Section 32A of IBC?

| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: IBC

Mains level: Read the attached story

The Supreme Court has held that the bidders for a corporate debtor under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) would be immune from any investigations being conducted either by any investigating agencies.

Q.Examine the impact of various amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and suggest further improvements in the IBC.

Backgrounder: IBC

IBC was enacted on May 28, 2016, to effectively deal with insolvency and bankruptcy of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals, in a time-bound manner.
It has brought about a paradigm shift in laws aimed to maximize the value of assets, providing a robust insolvency resolution framework and differentiating between impropriety and business debacle.
The predominant object of the Code is the resolution of the Corporate Debtor.
It has been amended four times to resolve problems hindering the objectives of the Code.

What is Section 32A?

In cases involving property of a corporate debtor, Section 32A covers any action involving attachment, seizure, retention, or confiscation of the property of the corporate debtor as a result of such Proceedings.
It provides immunity to the corporate debtor and its property when there is the approval of the resolution plan resulting in the change of management of control of the corporate debtor.
This is subject to the successful resolution applicant being not involved in the commission of the offense.

What were the challenges?

Since the IBC came into being in 2016, the implementation of the resolution plan of several big cases has been delayed because of various challenges mounted by its own agencies and regulators.
For example, a debt-laden company, admitted into insolvency in 2017, owes more than Rs 47,000 crore to banks and other financial institutions.
After a prolonged bidding battle, another won the rights to take over it with a bid of Rs 19,700 crore.
However, before it could move to take over, the ED/SEBI swooped in, and attached assets worth Rs 4,000 crore citing alleged fraud in a bank loan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Observations made by the SC

In its judgment, the apex court upheld the validity of Section 32.
It said it was important for the IBC to attract bidders who would offer reasonable and fair value for the corporate debtor to ensure the timely completion of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).
Such bidders, however, must also be granted protection from any misdeeds of the past since they had nothing to do with it.
Such protection, the court said, must also extend to the assets of a corporate debtor which will help banks clean up their books of bad loans.
The apex court has, however, also said that such immunity would be applicable only if there are an approved resolution plan and a change in the management control of the corporate debtor.

Significance of SC’s intervention

With the Supreme Court upholding the validity of Section 32 A will give confidence to other bidders to proceed with confidence while bidding on such disputed companies and their assets.

Must read

[Burning Issue] Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

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