From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Military coup, Troubled neighborhood and issues of refugees crisis
Context
Twenty-one months after a military coup, which derailed a decade old experiment with limited democracy, Myanmar is struggling to cope with the consequences. People are suffering, authorities and opposition forces are locked in a cycle of violent clashes, the economy is deteriorating, and ASEAN’s mission to produce a solution has failed.
Background of Present situation in Myanmar
Violation of constitution by Military: When the Tatmadaw (military), unhappy with the victory of the Aung San Suu Kyi led National League for Democracy in the November 2020 elections, chose to violate the constitution, it acted in the belief that the people would accept its diktat, as they had done in previous decades.
Civilian opposition continues: Clearly, military junta underestimated public anger and their commitment to freedom and democracy. Even after killing over 2,300 people and imprisoning thousands, including Ms. Suu Kyi, the military still faces a rebellion. Its plan to hold an election next year stands jeopardized.
Imprisonment of Suu Kyi: Suu Kyi, 77, the most popular leader, has been sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment in multiple cases on apparently trumped-up charges. Besides, 1.1 million Rohingya, driven by military oppression to seek shelter in Bangladesh in 2017, continue to languish there. Dhaka’s efforts to arrange their safe return have failed.
Migration crisis in India and Bangladesh: Armed clashes between the military and their ethnic opponents in the border region are having a spill-over effect in Bangladesh. Dhaka continues to show restraint and a preference for diplomacy to manage the situation.
How is the response of civilian opposition against military?
National unity Government: The parallel National Unity Government (NUG) may not be recognized by any state, but it continues to receive political and financial support from abroad. It has effectively channelled popular indignation against military rule, while still being vulnerable due to the paucity of resources and the absence of a visible leader.
Support of ethnic groups to NUG: About 20 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), located in the east, north and west of Myanmar’s periphery, have divergent approaches towards the postcoup conflict. Many view it as an intra Bamar contestation, an issue of limited concern to them. Some like the Karens and Kachin’s support the NUG, while others, especially those controlled or supported by China, remain aloof.
Strong military but disunity among groups: Those operating in the Chin and Rakhine states are engaged in a fierce armed conflict with the military and have enfeebled it. But overall, due to their divergences and relative weaknesses, the EAOs are unlikely to defeat the military.
No nationwide opposition: While the opposition has performed well, it is unable to turn the tide in its favour, without a nationwide front against the Tatmadaw. National reconciliation between the military and civilian forces, and ethnic reconciliation between the majority Bamars and ethnic minorities, have been put on hold.
UN and International criticism
Criticism of coup: The UN has been forthright in criticizing the coup. It has expressed concern over continuing violence, support for a ‘democratic transition’, a release of all political prisoners and dialogue among the parties concerned.
Division among international community: However, the UN Secretary General’s special envoy has had little success in promoting peace. The UN’s failure lies in the sharp divisions within the international community on how to deal with this vexed issue.
Sanction on military: The western powers have been severely critical of the military. They have put in place several restrictive measures and imposed more sanctions. They have extended support to the NUG.
Russian support to military: On the other hand, Russia has given considerable backing to the military regime, seeing in its own isolation an opportunity to strengthen bilateral cooperation in defence and energy supplies.
China’s exploiting the opportunity: China is keeping a door open to democratic forces even while doing business with the regime and exploiting every opportunity to ensure progress on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
ASEAN’s divided response: ASEAN is divided in three ways: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore are prodemocracy; Thailand and Laos are promilitary; and Vietnam and the Philippines are ambivalent. This disunity and the Tatmadaw’s refusal to cooperate with ASEAN have led to the non-implementation of the Five Point Consensus. The upcoming ASEAN summit may provide clues on whether the grouping can forge a united stand and devise something that works better.
Refugee crisis in India: India is concerned as the postcoup conditions have adversely impacted its interests and hampered bilateral cooperation. Mega projects stand delayed. Some 50,000 refugees, as per unofficial estimates, have been camping in Mizoram.
Advocating the democracy: Meanwhile, there is an erroneous perception that India has abandoned the Myanmar people. The reality is that India proactively advocates an early restoration of democracy, the release of prisoners, and internal dialogue.
Myanmar under the shadow of India-China relations: Can India do more? It can explore the possibility of a combined mediatory role with ASEAN and likeminded neighbors. Will China have a role in such a group? India-China relations preclude that possibility.
Brokering the political settlement: Through greater unity, external players can help Myanmar in creating a suitable environment for dialogue on a political settlement. Distant countries such as Norway and Japan can play a helpful role as catalysts. But the principal responsibility to construct a solution must rest with the Myanmar elite and leadership of both camps. Through resilience and pragmatism, they crafted a way out in 2011-21. They must recreate that spirit.
Conclusion
India has been walking on tight rope on balancing national interest and restoration of democracy in Myanmar. Sooner the civil war in Myanmar ends better for India and especially for Mizoram. ‘The Golden Land’, where Lord Buddha is revered, needs to be reinspired by his teachings. Else, a prolonged, contested military rule or a failed state seems a distinct possibility.
Mains Question
Q. How situation in Myanmar is affecting the national interest of India? What is the India’s response to the military coup in Myanmar?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Child marriage issue and associated problems
Content
The steering committee of a global programme to end child marriage is on a visit to India to witness state interventions which have helped reduce the prevalence of child marriage.
What are the findings of the committee?
Increase in Child marriage as a pandemic effect: The visit by the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage team is in view of an estimated increase in number of child brides due to the pandemic. The UNFPA-UNICEF estimates that 10 million children could become child brides as a result of the pandemic globally.
Child marriages reduced in India according to NFHS-5: In India, child marriage reduced from 47.4% in 2005-06 to 26.8% in 2015-16, registering a decline of 21% points during the decade. In the last five years, it declined by 3.5% points to reach 23.3% in 2020-21, according to the latest National Family Health Survey-5 data.
What is the situation in the world?
As per the UNICEF data: The total number of girls married in childhood stands at 12 million per year, and progress must be significantly accelerated in order to end the practice by 2030 the target set out in the Sustainable Development Goals. Without further acceleration, more than 150 million additional girls will marry before they turn 18 by 2030.
Progress is Uneven and not enough: While it is encouraging that in the past decade great progress has been made in South Asia, where a girl’s risk of marrying before she is 18 has dropped by more than a third, from nearly 50% to below 30%, it is not enough, and progress has been uneven.
Dire consequences of child marriage: Rights activists and health experts say the consequences of child marriage are dire, not only because it violates children’s rights, but also because it results in more infant and maternal deaths. Children born to adolescent mothers have a greater possibility of seeing stunted growth as they have low weight at birth. According to NFHS-5, prevalence of child stunting is 35.5% in 2019-21.
Declining trend in overall child marriage: There is a growing trend for decline in the overall prevalence of child marriage, but 23.3% is still a disturbingly high percentage in a country with a population of 141.2 crore. Eight States have a higher prevalence of child marriage than the national average.
High prevalence in some bigger States: West Bengal and Bihar have the highest prevalence of girl child marriage. States with a large population of tribal poor have a higher prevalence of child marriage. West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura top the list with more than 40% of women aged 20-24 years married below 18, according to NFHS data.
Scenario in Jharkhand and Assam: In Jharkhand, 32.2% of women in the age bracket 20-24 got married before 18, according to NFHS-5; infant mortality stood at 37.9%, and 65.8% of women in the 15-19 age bracket are anaemic. Assam too has a high prevalence of child marriage (31.8% in 2019-20 from 30.8% in 2015-16).
Child marriages reduced in some states: Some States have shown a reduction in child marriages, like Madhya Pradesh (23.1% in 2020-21 from 32.4% in 2015-16), Rajasthan (25.4% from 35.4%) and Haryana.
Several States are pegged just below the national average: In Odisha, 20.5% of women were married off before 18 in 2020-21 from 21.3% in 2015-16.
States on better social indices as a result of high literacy: States with high literacy levels and better health and social indices have fared much better on this score. In Kerala, women who got married before the age of 18 stood at 6.3% in 2019-20, from 7.6% in 2015-16. Tamil Nadu too has shown improved figures with 12.8% of women in the age group 20-24 years getting married before 18 compared to 16.3% in 2015-16.
What are the laws and policy interventions?
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012: These laws aim at protecting children from violation of human and other rights.
A positive debate on raising the age of Marriage: A parliamentary standing committee is weighing the pros and cons of raising the age of marriage for women to 21, which has been cleared by the Union Cabinet. With various personal laws governing marriages in India, the government wants to amend the law, a reform that activists and agencies have said will not be enough to stop the practice of child marriage.
Various schemes: There are no of Centralised schemes like the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, which are performing better on empowering the girl children
Various initiatives by the states: States have launched many initiatives to improve the factors linked to child marriage, from education to health care and awareness programmes. For instance, West Bengal’s Kanyashree scheme offers financial aid to girls wanting to pursue higher studies, though women’s activists have pointed out that another scheme Rupashree, which provides a one-time payment of ₹25,000 to poor families at the time of a daughter’s marriage, may be counter-productive. Bihar and other States have been implementing a cycle scheme to ensure girls reach safely to school; and U.P. has a scheme to encourage girls to go back to school.
What needs to be done?
Need a multidimensional approach: According to Sandeep Chachra, ActionAid Association India, which has been working with UNICEF and UNFPA said the solution lies in empowering girls, creating proper public infrastructure and addressing societal norms.
Awareness not only about the law but also about the dire consequences on Health: Uma Mahadevan-Dasgupta, who serves in the IAS, says several thousand child marriage prohibition officers have been notified in Karnataka and 90,000 local gram panchayat members have been oriented to spread awareness on child marriage, not only that it is illegal to get a child married off before 18, but also the dangers to the child’s health and her offspring.
Focusing on the overall girl child development: They stress on an all-pronged approach to end the practice; strong laws, strict enforcement, preparing an ideal situation on the ground to ensure that the girl child girls with either or below primary level education have experienced higher levels of child marriage as data show gets an education and preferably vocational training as well so that she can be financially independent.
Schemes need better implementation: Centralised schemes like the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, which need better implementation on the ground. Various schemes by the states needs through analysis and better implementation at the grass root level.
Conclusion
Data shows that child marriage is a key determinant of high fertility, poor maternal and child health, and lower social status of women. There has been a rise in child marriages during the pandemic, but many have been prevented as well. A lot more needs to be done on factors closely linked to child marriage, including eradication of poverty, better education and public infrastructure facilities for children, raising social awareness on health, nutrition, regressive social norms and inequalities.
Question
Q. Child marriages comes with dire consequences on adolescent mothers and children born to them. Evaluate the status on prevalence of child marriages In India and how to address the situation?
op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.,Ministries & Departments Of The Government
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Issues with unscientific highway infrastructure
Context
In a March 2019 circular, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) raised the subject of premature issuance of completion certificates for national highway works. NHAI had noticed that, in certain cases, completion certificates had been issued even before the completion of works ‘up to the standards and specifications’ prescribed by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
Status of National highways and deaths
35 percent of all road deaths: NHAI is the principal organization responsible for construction of National Highways in India. National highways constitute a mere 2 percent of the country’s road network, but account for close to 35 percent of all road deaths.
Record 37 kms per day: The ministry has been taking credit for the pace at which national highways are being constructed. In the fiscal year 2021, it reached a record 37 kms per day. This has come down to 19.44 km per day in the first six months of the financial year 2022.
What was the circular issued by NHAI?
Issuance of completion certificate: The circular forbade the issuance of such certificates, especially if non-completion resulted in ‘material inconveniences to users’ or affected their safety.
Likely cause of fatalities: Items such as road shoulders, road signs, markings, dressing of slopes, and road furniture were explicitly mentioned. circular was not taken with due seriousness by some authorized engineers. This negligence could have contributed to road crashes, probably resulting in fatalities.
Dereliction of duty by NHAI’s officials: The NHAI has now warned the delinquents that such behavior would be treated as a serious dereliction of duty and disciplinary action would be taken against officers issuing such certificates to incomplete road works. Additionally, the officers would be held personally liable in case of serious accidents that occur on such unfinished infrastructure.
Safety is better than pace of construction: The Minister for Road Transport & Highways stressed that it is necessary to build safer roads even if this decelerated the pace of construction.
Case study of NHAI’s road construction?
Death of Cyrus Mistry: Unfortunately, self-introspection by the NHAI in regard to safety failures and the large number of deaths on national highways was not in evidence in the aftermath of the death of Cyrus Mistry on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai national highway in September 2022.
Crash was result of poor infrastructure: In this instance, a seven-member forensic investigation team found that the car crash was the result of an infrastructure issue. The car in which Mistry was travelling happened to tragically hit a bridge that was faultily designed.
Invisible dividers: The bridge parapet was found to be protruding into the shoulder lane. Furthermore, the road with three lanes unexpectedly narrowed to a road with two lanes with a dangerous L-shaped concrete divider that had no proper paint on it.
Inadequate safety signs: Road signages were grossly inadequate, making that road stretch a ‘black spot’. This epithet is used for a road section where accidents are a frequent occurrence.
Expressways are constructed for more speed: The accident also raised issues of the excessive speed of the car that crashed. It was said that the car was travelling at a speed in excess of 100 km per hour. However, the minister himself has been in favour of higher speeds on Indian expressways and national highways. He proposed a speed limit of 140 kmph on expressways and at least 100 kmph on four-lane national highways. This, he stated, was advocated on account of considerable improvements in the quality of India’s highways that permit vehicles to go faster than in the past.
Speed limit safety needs to be revise: The minister was also critical of some judicial rulings that disallowed hiking speeds on national highways. However, in the light of certain facts repeatedly surfacing in regard to safety issues of national highways, it does appear that greater caution in regard to increasing speed needs to be taken.
Critical analysis of NHAI’s road construction and maintenance
Rains and potholes: While the government claims that they are of international standard, a recent report highlighted the plight of road travelers on national highways post India’s monsoons. The rains have left the country’s arterial network in poor shape as they have become riddled with potholes.
Higher toll but poor roads: The cited report mentioned the Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch of NH-8, which, despite a hike in toll rates, remains incomplete and terribly potholed. The reason for this sorry state of affairs was revealed in a reply by the government to a parliamentary standing committee.
Insufficient maintenance: The budgetary provision for maintenance of national highways was a mere 40 percent of their own estimated standards. Clearly, maintenance of national highways was being discounted in favour of more kilometres of road construction. The shortfall of 60 percent of maintenance money was terribly high and resulted in the resources being thinly spread, making adequate maintenance intervention highly unlikely.
Inadequate budgetary allocation: The parliamentary committee pointed out in its report titled ‘Issues related to road sector’ that the shortfall in sufficient budgetary allocation was echoed in the poor quality of national highways often witnessed across the country. The committee emphasized that the maintenance of national highways was vitally significant in regard to safety and good average traffic speeds and ought to be given high priority. The issue had been repeatedly flagged by the committee.
NITI Aayog’s acknowledgement of poor infrastructure: Similarly, NITI Aayog, in its report titled ‘Strategy for New India @75’, advised that the government should earmark 10 percent of its annual budget for maintenance of roads and highways and move towards the developed country norm of marking 40 percent of the budget for road upkeep. It is evident that if national highways are not in shape, the economy of the country and the states takes a hit.
Conclusion
It is absolutely necessary for citizens to follow road safety norms but government cannot look away from its responsibility. Scientific road construction even at the cost of slow construction rate is non-negotiable for sake of accident prevention. Safety of citizens is prior to any world record.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: implications of fossil fuel ban
Context
The President of Vanuatu, a small Pacific Island, wanted the General Assembly to adopt a universal Non-Proliferation Treaty to ban the use of fossil fuels across the world.
Why such extreme call on fossil fuel ban?
Unlikely discussion on climate change: There is a strong belief in some quarters that the next climate conference, just days away in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt this year (COP27) may not discuss climate change mitigation largely on account of the ongoing energy stress in Europe.
Ukraine conflict and rising energy demand: It is felt that the Russia Ukraine crisis and resulting global energy supply shortages have dented everyone’s ability to reduce emissions. This may be a legitimate view but the discussion on coal in the United Nations General Assembly, in September, points to an opposite possibility.
Why this demand is significant?
Vanuatu represents the strong voice of island nations: Usually, such a call by a nation whose contribution to the global energy supplies and emissions is negligible would have gone unnoticed. But Vanuatu represents a strong and vocal group of small islands developing states whose voice is heard with attention and empathy in the UN.
Endorsement from various stakeholders: More so, when it is a matter that will affect the global discourse on climate change. The small island group has gone around seeking endorsements from various quarters governments, the corporate world and civil society.
Support from Indian quarters: Interestingly, the Mayor of Kolkata, capital of one of the largest coal producing States in India, has lent his voice of support.
Similar demand of ban on coal use
Demand of coal ban on Glasgow conference: Vanuatu’s plea comes in the wake of a similar call for phaseout of coal which was made last year at the Glasgow climate conference.
From phaseout to phasedown: After strong protest by the Indian interlocutors, the language of the decision at Glasgow was toned down from phaseout to phase down of unabated coal power and inefficient fuel subsidies.
Unfair for developing countries: When India argued that a phaseout was unfair to countries that were heavily dependent on coal power in the medium term, there was consternation among climate enthusiasts. Given this background, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) may be preparing the ground to make the fossil fuel elimination a part of national climate plans at COP 27.
What will be the implications of fossil fuel ban?
No responsibility of polluting countries under UN charter: a call to end fossil fuels through a mandate in the UN has very different implications than when it is presented under the UN Climate Change Convention. A UN mandate of this nature is divorced from the legal responsibility of the polluting countries to reduce their emissions on the basis of responsibility, capability and national circumstances, as required by the Climate Change Convention.
No commitment technological and financial innovations: It also makes no provisions for technological and financial innovations that are necessary to ensure the transition.
Attempt of securitization of climate: A few months ago, a similar attempt had been made in the UN to treat the matter of climate change as that of global security and request the UN Security Council to resolve it. This was dropped because of the opposition of most of the global south, which saw in this an attempt to address climate change not through international cooperation and consensus but by imposing the wish of a select few on others.
Without sacrificing the developing economy: A plan to drastically reduce coal fired power would in fact do very little to arrest the problem of climate change globally but may create insurmountable difficulties in securing the progress of developing economies towards key sustainable development goals.
Just and equitable transition: If the transition to a world of lower emissions has to be sustainable, it must also be just and equitable.
Equal access to alternative energy: It must ensure equal access to energy and secure energy supplies to all, not just to a few. While the developed economies have full access to alternative sources of energy, because of their strength in terms of technology and resources, the developing nations are handicapped. Therefore, a just transition needs to be built on the promise that green energy and a green future will be available to all.
Promoting the philosophy LiFE: It is in this context that the call for Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UN Secretary General, jointly in India recently, assumes importance. Consumers in countries that consume at an unsustainable pace and contribute to rising emissions have a much greater responsibility to clean up the planet and support the growth of green energy.
Most vulnerable should be attended first: The world today is suffering from the adverse effects of climate change which have devastated homes and the livelihoods of large populations in various parts of the vulnerable world. Addressing these impacts and preparing the world for an uncertain future should be the priority.
Conclusion
It is high time that building climate resilient infrastructure in the developing and growing countries is given as much importance as phasing down coal and investment in energy innovations and alternative technologies.
Mains Question
Q.What will be the implication for developing countries if call on ban on fossil fuel is adopted? Explain the LiFE in the light of climate transition debate.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Assertive china and its implications on India and the world
Context
China’s 20th Party Congress concluded with hardly any surprises, and a predetermined script was implemented without any hitch. Xi Jinping was anointed President for an unprecedented third term, and all six of his acolytes made it to the powerful Politburo Standing Committee.
Why China’s 20th Party Congress is important?
Extension of tenure of Xi Jinping: Xi’s ‘core’ status has been further reinforced, and he is now set to eclipse Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, placing him next only to Mao. Mr. Xi’s Thought on ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era’ will be the Chinese Communist Party/Communist Party of China (CCP)’s guiding philosophy for the future.
Xi’s control over party: It was also evident that Mr. Xi enjoys wide, if not overwhelming, support within the Party elite, enabling him to infuse a renewed sense of purpose alongside tightening of controls over it.
High focus on national security: National security would be the key factor dictating all aspects of governance. A common theme that permeated the proceedings was affirmation of the CCP’s historical mission.
Emphasized ideological coherence: There was only a single narrative, crafted in a manner that extolled Mr. Xi’s role in revitalization of the CCP, further enhancing his cult status. Unequivocally rejected was an earlier Xi thesis of a ‘Community of Common Destiny’ which has been replaced by the belief that international public opinion was currently anti-China and also included an incitement to overthrow the existing Communist regime. To counter such disruptive philosophies, it had become necessary for the CCP to emphasize ideological coherence and internal discipline.
Avoiding the soviet style collapse: This would help to avoid the danger of a ‘Soviet style collapse’ caused by ideological laxity, corruption, divisions within the party and attempts by outsiders to foment unrest.
What are the problematic declarations at 20th party congress?
Undermining the USA: In the realm of geopolitics, the Congress declared that the objective is to effectively reduce the authority and the power of the United States.
Rejecting the Indo-pacific: This was especially true of China’s neighborhood, essentially the Indo-Pacific.
Achieving the lost glory: Also, to be eschewed by China were the vague and contradictory goals of the past, made at a time when China sought to make rapid progress in several directions.
Theory of victimhood of international conspiracy: Implicit in the proceedings was the belief that China was being deliberately denied access, and the ability, to import certain vital technological items, and in this regard, of being a victim of major international conspiracies. Earlier pragmatism was replaced by concerns about western pressures to derail China’s progress.
Possible lifelong tenure to Xi: The Party Congress is indicative of the fact that Mr. Xi is much more than a mere party ‘restorer’, and that he adheres to the belief that the CCP’s role is central to Chinese society and critical to determining China’s role in world affairs.
Raising the national strength and international influence: In terms of China’s world view, the Party Congress reiterated that the goal is to make China a modern socialist power by 2035, boost per capita income to middle income levels, and modernise the armed forces. By 2049, the 100th anniversary of the Peoples’ Republic of China, China is determined to lead the world in terms of composite national strength and international influence.
What are the implications for the world?
Premature takeover of Taiwan: one can expect that notwithstanding the level of rhetoric and assertions that this is a dangerous phase, China is unlikely to take any premature step to take over Taiwan, and thereby risk a wider conflict with the U.S. and the rest of the world at this point. Mr. Xi is far more likely to devote attention to internal matters within China, since unity within the Communist Party remains ephemeral; while dissent has been stamped out for the present, more consolidation would be necessary.
Short term conciliation with world: Consequently, one might well see China stepping back from its present confrontational posture with the U.S. and several other countries, and adopting a more conciliatory approach in the near future.
Conflicts are likely to happen: There are, of course, certain red lines any attempt at provocation within the ‘First Island Chain’, or encouraging Taiwan to seek independence or break away from China are certain to lead to a conflict, irrespective of how it would adversely affect China’s 2049 plans and objectives.
Border incursion will rise: In India’s case, further skirmishes between the two countries along the several thousand kilometres of the undefined land border is to be expected.
Conflicts in Indian ocean: China is unlikely to embark on an open conflict with it anywhere else in the Indian Ocean region. This could alter, if India were to pursue a more aggressive policy in support of the West’s ‘open seas policy’ in waters in China’s vicinity.
Prime target in west vs China battle: India is, however, likely to be a principal target of Chinese wrath in the next few years. As India’s economic fortunes steadily improve even as China’s declines, the perception conflict will become more intense.
China’s progress at the cost of India: Moreover, if India is seen as a major recipient of western technology, the kind being denied to China, China would make it a point to use its economic, rather than military muscle, to deter India’s progress. For China to achieve greatness by 2049, subduing India economically, and reducing its image in the eyes of the world would be critically important.
Conclusion
China’s middle kingdom complex, unjustified assertion, paranoic claims on borders and seas and wolf warrior diplomacy is against the international rules and order. China has challenged the USA’s hegemony and entire international system without any tangible punishment. India has to choose its options carefully without compromising national security and ambitions.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NFHS report findings
Mains level: NFHS, Estimating poverty in India
Context
The recent release of the National family health survey (NFHS) data for 2019-21 allows for a detailed analysis of the progress in the reduction of absolute poverty and related determinants like nutrition.
Poverty estimation in India
Planning Commission Expert Group (1962): It formulated the separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas at ₹20 and ₹25 per capita per year respectively.
VM Dandekar and N Rath (1971): They made the first systematic assessment, based on National Sample Survey (NSS) data. They suggested providing 2250 calories per day in both rural and urban areas.
YK Alagh Committee (1979): It constructed a poverty line for rural and urban areas on the basis of nutritional requirements and related consumption expenditure.
Lakdawala Committee (1993): It suggested that consumption expenditure should be calculated based on calorie consumption as earlier. State specific poverty lines should be constructed. It asked for discontinuation of scaling of poverty estimates based on National Accounts Statistics.
Tendulkar Committee (2009): The current official measures of poverty are based on the Tendulkar poverty line, fixed at daily expenditure of ₹27.2 in rural areas and ₹33.3 in urban areas is criticized by many for being too low.
How poverty is estimated under NFHS?
Multidimensional poverty index: The NFHS surveys are part of a multinational attempt to provide estimates of a multidimensional poverty index. Its computation rests on estimates of poverty according to 10 different indicators:
Nutrition
Child mortality
Years of schooling
School attendance
Cooking fuel
Sanitation
Drinking water
Electricity
Housing
Assets
The deprivation index: the deprivation index for each indicator is the per cent poor (deprived) according to that indicator. The aggregation of the 10 indicators into one index involves legitimate issues of weighting, but individual components do not suffer from this drawback.
Multidimensional poverty declined: at a compounded annual average rate of 4.8 per cent per year in 2005-2011 and more than double that pace at 10.3 per cent a year during 2011-2021.
Declining child mortality: There are some issues with the 2011 child-mortality data, but for each of the 10 components of the MPI index, the rate of decline in 2011-2021 is considerably faster than in 2005-2011.
Average decline in overall indicators: The average equally weighted decline for nine indicators was 1.9 per cent per annum in 2005-2011 and a rate of 16.6 per cent per annum, more than eight times higher in 2011-2021.
Consumption inequality decline: Every single household survey or analysis has shown that consumption inequality declined during 2011-2021. This is consistent with the above finding of highly inclusive growth during 2011-2021.
What are the efforts behind inclusive growth and reduced poverty?
A major factor behind the inclusive nature of growth during 2011-2021 is the focus of government policies on each of the individual indicator’s indicative of a dignified standard of living. A direct impact of this dedicated fiscal push is that slow-moving variables such as housing, access to cooking fuel, sanitation, etc, have witnessed a remarkable increase.
Swachh Bharat Mission: The government’s Swachh Bharat mission in 2014-2021 constructed over 110 million toilets even if some were without easy access to water, many were.
Saubhagya Yojana: Similarly, close to one-third of Indians were deprived of electricity till as recently as 2014. It was only after a dedicated push (Saubhagya Yojana) that India managed to electrify every village, and eventually households. Electricity deprivation declined by a 28.2 per cent rate post-2014; between 2005 and 2011, the rate of decline was close to zero.
Jan Dhan Yojana: Another example is the Jan Dhan Yojana which made financial inclusion a reality in India, especially for women.
Ujjwala Yojana: On access to modern cooking fuel (through the Ujjwala Yojana), deprivation was nearly halved from 26 per cent to 14 per cent in just five years. The previous halving (2005/6 to 2015/16) took 10 years.
Awas Yojana: The affordable housing scheme (Awas Yojana) has meant that less than 14 per cent are now deprived, compared to thrice that number in 2011/12.
Jal Jeevan Mission: More recently, government has embarked on an ambitious project of ensuring universal access to piped water under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Rural piped water coverage was a little less than 17 per cent in 2019, but is now well above 54 per cent and expected to at least be near, if not meet, the 100 per cent target by 2024.
Conclusion
Extreme poverty in India is surely on decline but pandemic have pushed people again back to the poverty. Pandemic have put the break on inclusive growth of people. Government must realize these and plan accordingly.
Mains Question
Q. Analyze the data of NFHS for poverty estimation in India? How government policies have helped to reduce the extreme poverty in India?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Read the attached story
Context
On October 31, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court noted that the two-finger test is a sexist medical practice that re-victimizes and re-traumatizes rape survivors. The Court also issued directions to the Union and state governments to implement the 2014 guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for health providers in sexual violence cases.
The two-finger test involves the medical examiner inserting their two fingers into the vagina of a survivor to note the presence or absence of the hymen and the so-called laxity of the vagina.
What is the expert doctor’s opinion?
Misogynistic belief: While a hymen can be torn and its orifice may vary in size for many reasons unrelated to sex, the origin of the two-finger test lies in the misogynistic belief that a torn hymen is an indication that the survivor is habituated to sex and therefore, cannot be raped or is more likely to make false claims about being raped.
What is the law against such infringement of bodily privacy?
SC prohibited test in Rajesh v. State of Haryana 2013 case: “Medicalization of consent” where women’s bodies are given precedence over their voices. Recognizing this as an invasion of privacy and a violation of a survivor’s dignity, the Supreme Court prohibited the test in Lillu at Rajesh v. State of Haryana (2013).
Guidelines for medico-legal care for survivors of sexual violence: Shortly after, in March 2014, taking forward the recommendations of the Justice J S Verma Committee Report, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare issued guidelines for medico-legal care for survivors of sexual violence. These guidelines explicitly prohibited the two-finger test and discussed the need for training medical examiners to respond to the needs of the survivors in a sensitive and non-discriminatory manner.
Why the practice of two finger tests still persists?
Lack of political will: Nearly eight years since the guidelines were issued, the two-finger test still remains a reality. Its prevalence is a reflection of the complete lack of political will to address the issue.
No pan-India comprehensive review: While fragmented pieces of narratives and research indicate that the two-finger test continues in rape cases to date, it is incumbent upon the executive to undertake a comprehensive pan-India review to assess the nature and extent of the problem.
Change in format and unclarity: The changed format (introduced after the passing of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013) of the medico-legal certificate used by doctors in rape cases did not require them to make a note of the finding of the two-finger test. However, according to the lawyers, this did not mean that the test was not happening anymore. Some says they it was no longer being recorded as such but was still being conducted.
Poor medical infrastructure: The continued existence of the two-finger test is a result of the overall poor state of forensic medicine infrastructure in India.
Lack of awareness: Lack of awareness amongst the medical community about the unscientific nature of the two-finger test.
What is the opinion of the court?
Government must enforce the protocol: The Court commenting on the sorry state of affairs and issuing directions to the government on enforcement of the protocol including the emphasis on workshops and the medical school curriculum is significant.
Holding a person, a guilty of misconduct: The Court took a step further by holding a person conducting the two-finger test on a rape survivor guilty of misconduct. It is unclear if the Court was making a reference to professional misconduct on part of the medical examiner.
What should be the way forward?
Caregiving to victim: Medical practitioners must see themselves as caregivers when handling sexual violence cases.
Awareness about legal system: Medical practitioners should be made to understand as their role in the criminal legal system, specifically towards rape survivors.
Training of medical examiners: The training in medical school must prepare medical examiners for their role in the justice system.
Police should play an active role: The institution of police should be sensitized on the continued use of the two-finger test in rape cases.
Modules on sexuality: Training and workshops designed for doctors needs to include modules on sexuality and discrimination.
Conclusion
Two finger test is further traumatizing the victim of rape. Despite the directives of courts years ago and unscientific nature, two finger test continues. Women empowerment is not only about the earnings and livelihood its also about the right to privacy and dignity of life.
Mains Question
Q. What is two finger tests? what is the law against the two-finger test? give the reasons for continuation of two finger test?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Biosphere reserves, WNBR,
Mains level: Issues of concerns and efforts of conservation, India's efforts in biodiversity conservation
Context
November 3 will be the first ‘The International Day for Biosphere Reserves’, to be celebrated beginning 2022. The World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) was formed in 1971, as a backbone for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and living in harmony with nature.
What is biosphere reserve?
Protected area: A biosphere reserve is an area of land or water that is protected by law in order to support the conservation of ecosystems, as well as the sustainability of mankind’s impact on the environment.
Serves as a Platform to study: They are places that provide local solutions to global challenges. Biosphere reserves include terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. Each site promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.
Learning places for sustainable development: Biosphere reserves are ‘learning places for sustainable development’. They are sites for testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity.
Biodiversity conservation programs are carried out: To carry out the complementary activities of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, biosphere reserves are traditionally organized into 3 interrelated zones, known as: the core area, the buffer zone, and a transition zone or ‘area of cooperation.
The core purpose: The purpose of the formation of the biosphere reserve is to conserve in situ all forms of life, along with its support system, in its totality, so that it could serve as a referral system for monitoring and evaluating changes in natural ecosystems. Each reserve aims to help scientists and the environmental community figure out how to protect the world’s plant and animal species while dealing with a growing population and its resource needs.
What is the process of recognition as Biosphere reserve?
All biosphere reserves are internationally recognized sites on land, at the coast, or in the oceans.
Governments alone decide which areas to nominate. Before approval by UNESCO, the sites are externally examined.
If approved, they will be managed based on a plan, reinforced by credibility checks while remaining under the sovereignty of their national government.
Worldwide: There are 738 biosphere reserves in 134 countries, including 22 transboundary sites.
In India:
Presently, there are 18 notified biosphere reserves in India. Ten out of the eighteen biosphere reserves are a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, based on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme list.
In India, the first biosphere reserve was designated by UNESCO in 2000, namely, the blue mountains of the Nilgiris stretching over Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
You must know- UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme
The MAB programme is an intergovernmental scientific programme.
It aims to establish a scientific basis for enhancing the relationship between people and their environments.
It combines the natural and social sciences with a view to improving human livelihoods and safeguarding natural and managed ecosystems.
It promotes innovative approaches to economic development that are socially and culturally appropriate and environmentally sustainable.
What is World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)?
Dynamic network of cooperation: The WNBR, an amazing network of sites of excellence, is a unique tool for cooperation through sharing knowledge, exchanging experiences, building capacity and promoting best practices.
Fosters harmonious integration of people and nature: Its members are always ready to support each other. It fosters the harmonious integration of people and nature for sustainable development through participatory dialogue; knowledge sharing; poverty reduction and human well-being improvements; respect for cultural values and society’s ability to cope with change – thus contributing to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
A tool to develop sustainable approach: The Network is one of the main international tools to develop and implement sustainable development approaches in a wide array of contexts
The principle of Living with harmony: The best concept for ‘Living in Harmony with Nature’ that exists in the United Nations system, is the WNBR, making these places more important today than ever before, where humans are thriving and relearning how to live with nature.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Role of SPCB
Mains level: Issues faced by SPCB and Suggested Solutions to making it effective
Context
In the fight against air pollution in the Indo Gangetic Plain, there are several important protagonists, none more so than India’s frontline environmental regulators, the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), and the Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in the Union Territories. There is no future with clean air in which the SPCB’s do not perform at the highest level possible.
know about State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB)
Constituted under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974: The SPCBs were initially constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, the SPCB mandate was expanded to include air quality management.
New responsibility without capacity: Subsequently, several new environmental regulations added to their roles and functions. Unfortunately, this enhanced mandate has not been matched with increased capacity and capability in the Boards. As environmental indicators such as air quality and water quality worsen in many parts of the country, the Boards are evidently failing to effectively discharge their statutory mandate.
Poor performance of SPCBs: Over the years, several reports that have been published, including those by the parliamentary standing committee and government committees, have identified reasons for the poor performance of the SPCBs.
Experts are excluded from composition: The composition of SPCBs is a matter of serious concern as important stakeholders and those with crucial expertise are missing in most States. Boards are multimember bodies headed by a chairperson and a member secretary. Their decisions and policies guide the day-to-day functioning of the organisation.
Conflict of interest: Over 50% of the Board members across the 10 SPCBs and PCC studied represent potential polluters: local authorities, industries, and public sector corporations. They are subject to the SPCB’s regulatory measures, and their overwhelming presence raises fundamental questions around conflicts of interest.
SPCBs Does not meet the statutory requirement: At the same time, scientists, medical practitioners, and academics constitute only 7% of the Board members. What is even more worrying is that most Boards do not meet the statutory requirement of having at least two Board members who have knowledge of, and experience in, air quality management.
SPCB’s leadership and uncertain tenure: The chairperson and the member secretary do not enjoy a long, stable, and fulltime tenure. In many States, persons in these two posts hold an additional charge in other government departments. Data also show that several chairpersons and member secretaries have held their posts for less than a year. For example, the shortest tenure for a chairperson has been 18 days (Chhattisgarh) and 15 days for a member secretary (Haryana and Uttar Pradesh).
Short tenure with multiple roles: With the focus of the leadership of SPCB spread thin across multiple roles and their tenures being short, often they do not even have the time to understand their mandate fully before they are moved out. In such a scenario, long term policy planning, strategic interventions and effective execution aimed at reducing air pollution substantially are extremely difficult.
Problem of Understaffing: The SPCBs are critically understaffed. At least 40% of all sanctioned posts are vacant across nine SPCBs/PCCs for which there is data. Vacancy levels in technical positions are as high as 84% in Jharkhand, and over 75% in Bihar and Haryana. An inadequate staff strength forces the Boards to recast their priorities among their various functions.
Less regulatory scrutiny: Less staff strength also means weaker regulatory scrutiny and poor impact assessment. For example, given their workload, engineers in Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have less than a day to inspect, evaluate and decide on each consent application. With Board staff running on empty, this is clearly an unsustainable situation.
What are the recommendations for effective SPCBs?
Addressing Leadership and human resource needs: Strengthening manpower at the SPCBs will not only require hiring new resources, but also training existing staff by leveraging institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, NEERI, and others. These in-service training programs would also serve as an incentive for staff both new and existing.
Better Pay structures: The Pay structure need to be revised to align with sectoral norms to ensure that SPCBs are not regularly losing trained manpower to industry and other sectors.
Modern infrastructure: The infrastructure of PCBs also needs to be improved along with manpower i.e., facilities such as adequate computers, improved lab facility etc. The instruments used for monitoring are not maintained properly or outdated. Sometimes labs are also not equipped enough to do the necessary analysis.
Expert should lead the SPCBs: It is imperative for their effective functioning that States should nominate to leadership positions, individuals of technical expertise and distinguished service such that effective decision making can be carried out.
Providing the fixed tenure: They should be appointed for a fixed tenure and in full-time roles, with the sword of removal or termination not hanging over their heads.
Reduction is composition for effective functioning: The size of the boards themselves may also be reduced to aid in effective functioning, with preference in membership given to technical experts, as is the international best practice. These moves would ensure that the Boards function effectively as independent agencies, as envisioned in their foundational legislation.
Read the basics-Air pollution
Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.
Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases and are important sources of morbidity and mortality.
Conclusion
Given the scale and causes of air pollution in India, multidisciplinary expertise is needed to tackle it; there must also be an explicit focus on health while designing air pollution policy. The lack of expertise and skewed representation of stakeholders on the Boards can only be a hindrance to effective policy making.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Basics of ASHA workers
Mains level: Strengthening ASHA and basic medical facilities
Context
One of the biggest issues facing rural health services is lack of information. ASHA workers are the first respondents even when there is lack of access to medical aid are threatened with violence and abused on the number of occasions while handlining the prospected patients in COVID19 pandemic.
Evolution of “ASHA” you may want to know
The ASHA programme was based on Chhattisgarh’s successful Mitanin programme, in which a Community Worker looks after 50 households.
The ASHA was to be a local resident, looking after 200 households.
The programme had a very robust thrust on the stage-wise development of capacity in selected areas of public health.
Many states tried to incrementally develop the ASHA from a Community Worker to a Community Health Worker, and even to an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM)/ General Nurse and Midwife (GNM), or a Public Health Nurse.
Who are ASHA workers?
ASHA workers are volunteers from within the community who are trained to provide information and aid people in accessing benefits of various healthcare schemes of the government.
The role of these community health volunteers under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was first established in 2005.
They act as a bridge connecting marginalized communities with facilities such as primary health centers, sub-centers and district hospitals.
Qualifications for ASHA Workers
ASHAs are primarily married, widowed, or divorced women between the ages of 25 and 45 years from within the community.
They must have good communication and leadership skills; should be literate with formal education up to Class 8, as per the programme guidelines.
Involved in Awareness programs: They go door-to-door in their designated areas creating awareness about basic nutrition, hygiene practices, and the health services available. They also counsel women about contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections.
Ensures Mother and child health: They focus primarily on ensuring that pregnant women undergo ante-natal check-up, maintain nutrition during pregnancy, deliver at a healthcare facility, and provide post-birth training on breast-feeding and complementary nutrition of children.
Actively involved in Immunization programs: ASHA workers are also tasked with ensuring and motivating children to get immunized.
Providing medicines and therapies: Other than mother and childcare, ASHA workers also provide medicines daily to TB patients under directly observed treatment of the national programme. They also provide basic medicines and therapies to people under their jurisdiction such as oral rehydration solution, chloroquine for malaria, iron folic acid tablets to prevent anemia etc.
Tasked with Screening tests: They are also tasked with screening for infections like malaria during the season. They also get people tested and get their reports for non-communicable diseases. They were tasked to quarantine the covid 19 infected patients in the pandemic.
Informing the birth and death in respective areas: The health volunteers are also tasked with informing their respective primary health center about any births or deaths in their designated areas.
What are the challenges that ASHA workers face?
Lack of communication threating the job of ASHA Workers: One of the biggest issues facing rural health services is lack of information.
Lack of resources burdening the ASHA works job: Another area of concern is the lack of resources. Over the years, with the closest hospital being 9 km away and ambulances taking hours to respond, ASHA workers had to take multiple women in labour to the hospital in auto rickshaws.
Poor medical health facilities: Medical facilities are understaffed and lack adequate equipment for various basic procedures like deliveries. Simple tests, like for sickle cell anemia and HIV, cannot be conducted in no of respective areas of ASHA workers.
Low wages according to the job they do: The initial payment used to be paid was Rs 250 a month in 2009. Since ASHA’s unionized and agitated for a living wage. Thirteen years on, they earn around Rs 4,000 a month. It is simply not enough to sustain a family of four.
Covid 19 disruptions added to the existing problems: Low wages forcing ASHA’s to work two or more jobs. In the pandemic, no of women lost their husband or the means of earnings and had to revert to farming. Weather fluctuations disrupting the farm produce leaving no of ASHA’s the sole earner for the family. Those who don’t have land are living in miserable conditions.
Delayed payments reduce the morale: Payments are also delayed by months, Desperation for work leaves us unable to focus on the groundwork we do.
What can be done to improve the work conditions of ASHA workers?
Improving the communication channels: Channels of communication between the government and the rural population need to be robust. A deadly pandemic makes the value of these channels obvious but in order to get people on board, information needs to be sent out much more effectively and in a hands-on manner. ASHA workers play a crucial role in aiding this effort. ASHA’s can’t do this alone. They need new systems to ensure the dissemination of life-saving information in remote areas.
ASHA’s should have fixed income: ASHA’s should have a fixed income, giving them the stability in a job where they spend between eight to twelve hours daily.
Role needs to be formalized ensuring the dignity: ASHA’s are recognized as “volunteers” currently. Their role needs to be formalized. Recognizing them as workers provides dignity and protection, and helps them to be taken seriously, by the state, the gram panchayat responsible for the disbursal of funds, and patients.
Recognizing and awarding their role will empower and motivate ASHA’s further: For people in villages, ASHA’s have become lifelines. They have led innumerable immunization drives and are everybody’s first call in a medical emergency. They have labored to build trust and serve as a bridge with the state. Examples shows recognition gives some leverage to circumvent the system and seek funds for people in my community.
Conclusion
ASHA’s are lifelines of rural primary healthcare, they are playing critical role on no of fronts ensuring the basic health of India. A better, stronger India is possible if ASHA’s are enabled to serve people. Giving them due recognition would serve this end, along with making rural India’s needs medical or otherwise a priority.
Mains Question
Q. For the villagers, ASHA has been a lifeline in the last few years. Acknowledge the problems they face on a daily basis and suggest solutions to raise their morale for the primary health of the village community and the nation as a whole.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Economic indicators and related facts
Mains level: Indias Growth story, Status of Growth drivers amidst the challenge of slowing economies
Context
As the COVID-19 pandemic fades and hopes to rise for nations and societies to return to some kind of normalcy, there is effort all around to take stock of where we stand and what our prospects look like. A look back over the last few years at how India performed in terms of its economy.
Present situation of India’s economic growth
Mixed growth story: One group of experts argues, India’s growth story is more mixed. In 2021-22, its GDP growth was 8.7%, which was among the highest in the world. This is good but, against this, we must offset the fact that much of this is the growth of climbing out of the pit into which we had fallen the previous year.
IMF reduced the growth forecast: In 2020-21, India’s growth was minus 6.6%, which placed the country in the bottom half of the global growth chart. For 2022-23, the International Monetary Fund has cut India’s growth forecast to 6.1%.
Structural assessment of India’s growth
Rising inequality and high unemployment: Most of India’s growth is occurring at the top end, with a few corporations raking in a disproportionate share of profits, and unemployment is so high, it is likely that large segments of the population are actually witnessing negative growth.
Slowdown in previous years: What makes India’s growth story worrying is that the slowdown began much before the COVID19 pandemic. It began in 2016, after which, for four consecutive years, the growth rate each year was lower than in the previous year. Growth in 2016-17 was 8.3%. After that it was, respectively, 6.9%, 6.6%, 4.8%, and minus 6.6%.
Status of unemployment: India’s unemployment rate is high. In October, it stood at 7.8%. However, what is really worrying is youth unemployment. According to International Labour Organization (ILO) data, collated and presented by the World Bank, India’s youth unemployment, that is, from among people aged 15 to 24 years who are looking for work, the percent that does not find any, stands at 28.3%.
Know the basics-What is Unemployment?
Definition: Unemployment is a phenomenon that occurs when a person who is capable of working and is actively searching for the work is unable to find work.
Those who are excluded: People who are either unfit for work due to physical reason or do not want to work are excluded from the category of unemployed.
Unemployment rate: The most frequent measure of unemployment is unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is defined as a number of unemployed people divided by the number of people in the labour force.
Labour Force: Persons who are either working (or employed) or seeking or available for work (or unemployed) during the reference period together constitute the labour force.
Other perspectives on Indian economy
The latest GDP numbers suggest: For Q1 FY2022–23 suggest that economic growth is on a healthy track. Consumers, after a long lull, have started to step out confidently and spend private consumption spending went up 25.9% in Q1.
On the production side: the contact-intensive services sector also witnessed a strong rebound of 17.7%, thanks to improving consumer confidence.
Healthy agriculture sector: The only sector that consistently performed well throughout the pandemic, remained buoyant.
Industrial growth: Industrial growth boosted from accelerating growth in construction and electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services sectors.
Manufacturing is not doing well: A sector that has not yet taken off sustainably is manufacturing, which witnessed modest growth of 4.5% in Q1. Higher input costs, supply disruptions, and labor shortages due to reverse migration have weighed on the sector’s growth. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) data on nonfinancial firms, surging raw material costs have stressed the profitability and margins of companies.
High inflation: The biggest worry is that of high inflation (which has persisted for way too long) and all the challenges that come along with it. Inflationary environments increase the costs of doing business, impact profitability and margins, and reduce purchasing power. In short, inflation thwarts both supply and demand. Central banks’ monetary policy actions, in response to rising inflation, can impede credit growth and economic activity, thereby intensifying the probability of a recession in a few advanced nations.
Rising current account deficit: The other challenge is the rising current-account deficit and currency depreciation against the dollar. While a rebounding domestic economy is resulting in higher imports, moderating global demand is causing exports to slow. The US dollar’s unrelenting rise and global inflation are further causing India’s import bills to rise.
Declining forex: The RBI had to intervene to contain volatility and ensure an orderly movement of the rupee. The RBI’s intervention is leading to a drawdown in foreign exchange reserves. Consequently, the import cover from reserves has reduced to nine months from a high of 19 months at the start of 2021 (although, it remains above the benchmark of three months).
The economy’s growth drivers are improving
Exports: Exports, the first growth driver are slowing down and are likely to moderate along with the probable global economic slowdown.
Government spending: Government spending, the second driver, is already at an elevated level, thanks to the pandemic, and the government will likely focus on its prudence in utilizing limited resources. The good news is the share of capital expenses is going up even as the government is reducing revenue expenses. Multiplier effects of this spending will aid in growth in income, assets, and employment for years to come. Strong tax revenues may support further capital spending in the future.
Capital expenditure: According to experts, prospects for capex investments the third growth driver by companies are brighter. Sustained demand growth may be the most-awaited cue for a sustained push for investment.
Consumer demand: Consumer Demand, the fourth, and perhaps the most important, growth driver has improved significantly in recent quarters. However, spending has not grown sustainable despite improving consumer confidence. For instance, retail sales are growing but the pace is patchy, and auto registrations have remained muted. We expect that receding pandemic fears and the upcoming festive season could give a much-needed boost to the consumer sector.
Conclusion
Indian economy should not be looked from isolation. It is very much integrated in global economy. Pandemic, Ukraine war, US- China trade war have given a successive shock to global and Indian economy. Despite that Indian has done well than rest of the world. Our focus should be on curbing inequality, not to allow people to descend into extreme poverty and employment generation.
Mains Question
Q. Analyse the present economic macro-indicators of Indian economy. What are the challenges for growth story of India in the context of global uncertainty?
op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution - historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure,Representation Of People's Act
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CAA
Mains level: Indian origin tamils, Debate over granting citizenship
Context
The Supreme Court of India has now posted the 232 petitions challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) to be heard on December 6, 2022. However, there is another issue linked to the subject, i.e., the unresolved status of Indian origin Tamils who repatriated from Sri Lanka.
Present status of Sri Lankan refugees in India
For over four decades, Indian origin Tamils have been classified as stateless persons, based on technicalities. Nations High Commission for Refugees, “Comprehensive Solutions Strategy for Sri Lankan Refugees”, there are around 29,500 Indian origin Tamils currently living in India.
As Indentured plantation workers: Indian origin Tamils were brought in as indentured labourers to work in plantations. They remained mostly legally undocumented and socially isolated from the native Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhalese communities due to the policies of the British.
Denied citizenship led to stateless population: After 1947, Sri Lanka witnessed rising Sinhalese nationalism, leaving no room for their political and civil participation. They were denied citizenship rights and existed as a ‘stateless’ population, numbering close to 10 lakhs by 1960.
Bilateral pacts granted citizenship: As an ethnolinguistic minority without voting rights, this resulted in a double disadvantage till the two national governments addressed this issue. Subsequently, under the bilateral Sirimavo-Shastri Pact (1964) and the Sirimavo-Gandhi Pact (1974), six lakh people along with their natural increase would be granted Indian citizenship upon their repatriation.
Civil wars forcing to seek asylum in India: The Sri Lankan civil war resulted in a spike in Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian origin Tamils together seeking asylum in India. This resulted in a Union Ministry of Home Affairs directive to stop the grant of citizenship to those who arrived in India after July 1983.
Focus on Refugee welfare and rehabilitation: The focus of the Indian and Tamil Nadu governments shifted to refugee welfare and rehabilitation. The legal destiny of Indian origin Tamils has been largely intertwined with that of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, and both cohorts have been relegated to ‘refugee’ status.
Classified as Illegal migrants as per the CAA 2003: Indian origin Tamils who arrived after 1983 came through unauthorized channels or without proper documentation and came to be classified as ‘illegal migrants’ as per the CAA 2003. This classification has resulted in their statelessness and blocking of potential legal pathways to citizenship.
How to overcome the problem of statelessness?
While constitutional courts have not had an occasion to deal with the question of statelessness, there have been two recent judgments (Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, Justice G.R. Swaminathan), taking these issues head on.
Judgment on P. Ulaganathan vs Government of India (2019): The status of citizenship of Indian origin Tamils at the Kottapattu and Mandapam camps came up for consideration. The court recognized the distinction between Indian origin Tamils and Sri Lankan Tamils and held that a continuous period of statelessness of Indian origin Tamils offends their fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The court further held that the Union Government has implied powers to grant relaxation in conferring citizenship and prescribed that a humanitarian approach, shorn of the rigors of law, should be adopted.
Abirami S. vs The Union of India 2022: Statelessness is something to be avoided. The court further held that the principles of the CAA, 2019, which relaxes the conditions for citizenship for Hindus from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, would also apply to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. As such, these judgments have provided categorial judicial guidance to the Union of India on how to utilize an expanded and liberal interpretation of the CAA, 2019 to overcome statelessness.
Supreme Court (Committee for C.R. of C.A.P. and Ors. vs State of Arunachal Pradesh 2015): An undertaking made by the Government of India with respect to grant of citizenship inheres a right in the stateless or refugee population. As such, India has made repeated undertakings, through the 1964 and 1974 pacts, which have created a legitimate expectation among the Indian origin Tamils and would entitle them to be granted citizenship.
Obligatory International customary law: The situation of statelessness of Indian origin Tamils is ‘de jure’, created from the failure in implementing the 1964 and 1974 pacts. De jure statelessness is recognized in international customary law. Therefore, India has an obligation to remedy the situation.
How other nations deals with statelessness situation?
United States: Remedying statelessness is not a novel process in law. While dealing with a similar situation, in 1994, the United States enacted the Immigration and the Nationality Technical Corrections Act to retroactively grant citizenship to all children born to an alien father and citizen mother.
Brazil: Through the Constitutional Amendment No. 54 of 2007 retroactively, Brazil granted citizenship to children under jus sanguinis, which was earlier stripped by an earlier amendment, i.e., Constitutional Amendment No. 3 of 1994.
What India can do?
Any corrective legislative action by the Government of India to eliminate statelessness should necessarily include retroactive citizenship for Indian origin Tamils.
Conclusion
India has provided the one of largest refuge to people in the world including Tibetan, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi. Despite not being a signatory to UN refugee convention. any decision of granting citizenship has to be based on national interest rather than emotional connect.
Mains Question
Q. What are rules for granting the citizenship to foreigner in India? What are the hurdles in Tamil Sri Lankan getting their citizenship? How can Sri Lankan Tamil get citizenship by applying the rule of intelligible differentia under article 14?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: freedom of speech and Issues associated with regulating social media platforms
Context
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) on October 28. In June 2022, MeitY had put out a draft of the amendments and solicited feedback from the relevant stakeholders. The draft generated considerable discussion and comment on the regulation of social media in India.
Regulating SMI’s: World over, governments are grappling with the issue of regulating social media intermediaries (SMIs).
Addressing the issues of SMI controlling the free speech: Given the multitudinous nature of the problem the centrality of SMIs in shaping public discourse, the impact of their governance on the right to freedom of speech and expression, the magnitude of information they host and the constant technological innovations that impact their governance it is important for governments to update their regulatory framework to face emergent challenges.
Placing obligations on SMI: In a bid to keep up with these issues, India in 2021, replaced its decade old regulations on SMIs with the IT Rules, 2021 that were primarily aimed at placing obligations on SMIs to ensure an open, safe and trusted internet.
What are the proposed amendments?
Draft amendments in June 2022, the stated objectives of the amendments were threefold.
Protecting the constitutional rights: there was a need to ensure that the interests and constitutional rights of netizens are not being contravened by big tech platforms,
Grievance redressal: to strengthen the grievance redressal framework in the Rules,
To avoid the dominance: that compliance with these should not impact early-stage Indian start-ups.
This translated into a set of proposed amendments that can be broadly classified into two categories.
Additional obligation on SMI: The first category involved placing additional obligations on the SMIs to ensure better protection of user interests.
Appellate mechanism: The second category involved the institution of an appellate mechanism for grievance redressal.
What are the additional obligations placed on social media intermediaries?
Users need to comply with rules of platforms(intermediaries): The original IT Rules, 2021 obligated the SMIs to merely inform its users of the “rules and regulations, privacy policy and user agreement” that governed its platforms along with the categories of content that users are prohibited from hosting, displaying, sharing etc. on the platform. This obligation on the SMIs has now been extended to ensuring that its users are in compliance with the relevant rules of the platform.
Prevent the prohibited content: Further, SMIs are required to “make reasonable” efforts to prevent prohibited content being hosted on its platform by the users.
SMIs have to respects rights under constitution: Second, a similar concern arises with the other newly introduced obligation on SMIs to “respect all the rights accorded to the citizens under the Constitution, including in the articles 14, 19 and 21”. Given the importance of SMIs in public discourse and the implications of their actions on the fundamental rights of citizens, the horizontal application of fundamental rights is laudable.
Remove the content within 72 hours: SMIs are now obligated to remove information or a communication link in relation to the six prohibited categories of content as and when a complaint arises. They have to remove such information within 72 hours of the complaint being made. Given the virality with which content spreads, this is an important step to contain the spread of the content.
Ensuring the accessibility of services: SMIs have been obligated to “take all reasonable measures to ensure accessibility of its services to users along with reasonable expectation of due diligence, privacy and transparency”.
Provide content in all scheduled language: In this context, the amendments also mandate that “rules and regulations, privacy policy and user agreement” of the platform should be made available in all languages listed in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.
What is the grievance appellate committee (GAC)?
Composition of GAC: The government has instituted Grievance Appellate Committees (GAC). The committee is styled as a three-member council out of which one member will be a government officer (holding the post ex officio) while the other two members will be independent representatives.
Complaint within 30 days: Users can file a complaint against the order of the grievance officer within 30 days.
Online dispute resolution: The GAC is required to adopt an online dispute resolution mechanism which will make it more accessible to the users.
What are the concerns associated with GAC?
Confusion over GAC and High courts: It is unclear whether this is a compulsory tier of appeal or not, that is will the user have to approach the grievance appellate committee before approaching the court. The confusion arises from the fact that the press notes expressly stated that the institution of the GAC would not bar the user from approaching the court directly against the order of the grievance officer. However, the final amendments provide no such indication.
Apprehensions about appointment by central government: While this makes the inhouse grievance redressal more accountable and appellate mechanism more accessible to users, appointments being made by the central government could lead to apprehensions of bias in content moderation.
GAC doesn’t have enforcement power: Further, the IT Rules, 2021 do not provide any explicit power to the GAC to enforce its orders.
Overlapping jurisdiction of courts and appellate: if users can approach both the courts and the GAC parallelly, it could lead to conflicting decisions often undermining the impartiality and merit of one institution or the other.
Conclusion
Across the world, social media regulation is need of an hour. Fake news, protests, riots are fuelled by social media outrage on petty things. However, government should not usurp the unaccountable power of in the name social regulation. Power of government should also be scrutinized by parliamentary committee.
Mains Question
Q. How social media can disrupt the law-and-order situation? Social media intermediaries have become the master regulators of free speech. Explain. critically analyze the new draft recommendations of IT rules 2021.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GM Mustard
Mains level: GM crops, advantages and risks associated with it
Context
The recent clearance by the government for the release of GM Mustard Hybrid DMH 11 based on the recommendations of GEAC under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change is a bold decision in the best interest of our farmers and the nation.
What are Genetically modified organisms (GMO)
Changes in genetic material: GMOs can be defined as organisms (i.e., plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination
Transfers of genes: It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between nonrelated species.
GM foods: Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods
GM Mustard: GM mustard crop was introduced, which was later withdrawn. There is a raging debate going on advantages and disadvantages of GMOs. For a long time, further study was requested by farmers, environmentalist on GMO crops.
Benefits to producers and consumers: GM foods are developed and marketed because there is some perceived advantage either to the producer or consumer of these foods. This is meant to translate into a product with a lower price, greater benefit (in terms of durability or nutritional value) or both. Initially GM seed developers wanted their products to be accepted by producers and have concentrated on innovations that bring direct benefit to farmers (and food industry generally)
Improves crop protection: One of the objectives for developing plants based on GM organisms is to improve crop protection.
Insect Resistance: Some GMO foods have been modified to make them more resistant to insects and other pests. This means the amount of pesticide chemicals used on the plants are reduced, so their exposure to dangerous pesticides is also reduced
Develops stronger Crop: Another benefit that GM technology is believed to bring about is that crops can be engineered to withstand weather extremes and fluctuations, this means that there will be good quality and sufficient yields even under a poor or severe weather condition
Provides Environment Protection: GM crops often requires less time, tools and chemicals, and may help with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion and environmental pollution
More Nutritious Foods: According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), some GM foods have been engineered to become more nutritious in terms of vitamin or mineral content.
More economic benefits: Larger production leading to increased farm income, reduced poverty, low food prices and thus reduced hunger and malnutrition. Besides new food products are also included, diversifying food varieties
What is the risk associated with GMO?
Contamination of genes: GMOs contaminate forever. GMOs cross pollinate and their seeds can travel far and wide.
Irreversible changes in gene pool: It is impossible to fully clean up our contaminated gene pool.
More herbicides in our food: Genetic engineering allows plants to survive high doses of weed killers, resulting in higher herbicide residues in our food.
Super weeds and super bugs: GMO crops are creating ‘super weeds’ and ‘super bugs,’ which can only be killed with more toxic poisons.
Why there was necessity to grant approval for GM Mustard?
To meet our current challenges: Over-exploitation of natural resources (soil, water, biodiversity), declining factor productivity, urgency to achieve sustainable development goals, especially ending poverty and hunger, and addressing timely the adverse effects of climate change the best option is scientific innovations and their scaling.
The adoption of GM food crops is in our broader national interest: Genetically modified maize, soybean, cotton, tomato and canola are grown across the world and the area currently under GM crops is about 200 m ha. Besides India, these have been grown for many years in the US, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and China.
To meet the existing deficit in edible oils: India is currently importing around 13 million tonnes at a cost of Rs 1.17 lakh crore to the exchequer. Interestingly, of this, 2.0-2.5 mt soybean oil and 1.0-1.5 mt canola oil is already GM. Hence, we are consuming GM oil already, besides, the 1.5 mt of GM cotton oil produced domestically.
Associated health benefits: It is scientifically proven that the consumption of refined oil does not allow any protein to enter the human system. Thus, the consumption of GM oil is completely safe from a health point of view.
High yields to farmers: A major concern of our farmers is that yields of mustard are low and have stagnated for a long time at around 1,260 kg/ha, much lower than the global average of 2,000 kg/ha. Yields of canola in Canada, China and Australia are almost three times higher than in India since they use GM hybrid technology. Mustard is a very important oilseed crop, grown in 6.0 -7.0 million hectares, mostly in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Thus, the government’s decision to allow the production of GM Mustard hybrids will go a long way in increasing our yields, while reducing the use of pesticides.
What else needs to be done?
Providing enabling environment: The Department of Agriculture (DoA) and ICAR need to move forward fast and provide an enabling environment to test the available seed of Hybrid DMH 11 in the current rabi season.
Encourage public-private partnership: This needs to happen on several farmers’ fields in the mustard belt. It must also encourage public-private partnerships to produce quality seeds to cover more area next year.
Encouraging further innovation: Also, scientists at ICAR institutes must be encouraged to develop new GM Mustard hybrids on a mission mode. Allowing the production of GM Soybean and GM Maize going forward will also be a positive step, increasing both the productivity and profitability of these crops and doubling farmers’ income.
Conclusion
The decision to remove the unscientific ban on GM crops reflects the determination of the government to move towards Atmanirbhar Bharat. It also meets the aspirations of our scientific community and farmers can derive the benefits of innovative technology.
Mains Question
Q. How GM mustard crop are different from conventional crops? What are the benefits and risks of adopting the GM mustard crop?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: prevalence of superstitions, associated problems and preventive laws
Context
The brutal murders of two women as part of “ritualistic human sacrifices” in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala have left the country in shock. Chilling details of the killings have sparked a debate about the prevalence of superstitious beliefs, black magic and sorcery in Kerala. In the absence of a comprehensive law to counter such acts, the call for a strict anti-superstition law has grown louder.
What is Superstition?
Superstition is an irrational belief usually founded on ignorance or fear and characterized by obsessive reverence for omens, charms etc. It is a notion, act or ritual that derives from such belief.
What is Witchcraft?
Black magic is also known as Witchcraft is usage of supernatural power for evil and selfish purposes and to perform malicious practices to destroy someone physically or mentally or financially.
Black magic makes humans victims of baseless fears, reverses fortunes and confusions.
What is the status of such killings in India?
As per the 2021 report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), six deaths were linked to human sacrifices, while witchcraft was the motive for 68 killings.
In 2020, India saw 88 deaths due to witchcraft and 11 died as part of human sacrifices.
The maximum number of witchcraft cases were reported from Chhattisgarh (20), followed by Madhya Pradesh (18) and Telangana (11). Kerala saw two cases of human sacrifice, the NCRB report states.
No central law: In India, there is no central law that exclusively deals with crimes related to witchcraft, superstition, or occult-inspired activities. In the absence of a nationwide legislation, a few States have enacted laws to counter witchcraft and protect women from deadly ‘witch-hunting’.
Anti-superstition Laws enacted by the states
Bihar: Bihar was the first State to enact a law to prevent witchcraft, identification of a woman as a witch and “eliminate torture, humiliation and killing of women.” The Prevention of Witch (Daain) Practices Act came into force in October 1999. Anyone who identifies a person as a “witch” and acts to aid this identification can face a jail term of up to three months, or a fine of ₹1,000, or both.
Jharkhand: A similar law was passed in Jharkhand in 2001 the Prevention of Witch (Daain) Practices Act.
Chhattisgarh: Even though Chhattisgarh is one of the worst-affected States in terms of witchcraft-related crimes, the State enacted the Chhattisgarh Tonahi (witch) Pratadna Nivaran Act only in 2005. As per the law, a person convicted for identifying someone as a witch can be sentenced to up to three years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine
Odisha: Following the directions of the Odisha High Court to frame a law to deal with rising cases of witch-hunting in the State, the Odisha Prevention of Witch-Hunting Bill was passed by the Assembly in 2013. The bill provides penalties for a witch doctor, or a person claiming to be a black magician
Maharashtra: In Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013 was passed after the murder of anti-superstition activist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar.
Rajasthan: The state of Rajasthan enacted the Rajasthan Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act in 2015 to “provide for effective measures to tackle the menace of witch-hunting and prevent the practice of witchcraft.
Assam: The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act, 2015, which received the President’s assent in 2018, prohibits witch hunting completely. The law states, no person shall identify, call, stigmatize, defame or accuse any other person as witch by words, or by signs or indications or by conducts or actions or any other manner or instigate, aid or abet such an act or commit witch hunting.
Karnataka: The latest law was passed in Karnataka where the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, 2017 came into effect in January 2020. The law bans several practices related to black magic and superstition, like forcing a person to walk on fire at religious festivals and the practice of piercing rods from one side of the jaw to the other.
Conclusion
States governments are doing their best to criminalize the rituals of human sacrifices by enacting stringent laws. There is need to have a concrete nationwide anti-superstition law and as a society every individual should be made a stakeholder in awareness against human sacrifices based on witchcraft and rituals.
Mains Question
Q. What is Superstition? Are there any anti-superstition laws in India that criminalizes the rituals such as human sacrifices and witch-hunting? Discuss.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Constitutional provisions related to the Governor
Mains level: Issues related to office of governor
Context
A tweet put out recently by the office of the Kerala Governor evoked nationwide attention for all the wrong reasons. It said: “the statements of individual Ministers that lower the dignity of the office of the Governor can invite action including withdrawal of pleasure”. the Governor sent a letter to the Kerala CM asking him to act against the State Finance Minister, who, according to the Governor, had “ceased to enjoy” the Governor’s “pleasure”. The Chief Minister declined to do so.
Who is a Governor?
Parallel to President: The Governors of the states of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the President of India at the Central level.
Nominal head: The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the Chief Ministers of the states and her/his councils of ministers.
Similar offices: Governors exist in the states while Lieutenant Governors or Administrators exist in union territories including National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Non-local appointees: Few or no governors are local to the state that they are appointed to govern.
Important Constitutional Provisions related to Governor
Article 153: It requires a governor to be appointed for every state in India.
Article 154: Vests the executive power of the State in the Governor
Article 155: Appointment of the Governor
Article 156: Term of Office of Governor
Article 157: Qualifications for appointment as Governor
Executive functions of Governor include
An important function of the Governor is to appoint the Chief Minister of the State.
Other ministers are also appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister.
The ministers including the Chief Minister hold office during the pleasure of the Governor.
The Governor has the constitutional right to know the decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administrative affairs of the State and the proposals for legislation.
Bound by the principle: The function of the appointed Governor is always subject to the policies of the elected government, and not vice-versa. This is a foundational theory of India’s constitutional democracy.
Contradictory Aid and advise and Discretion: Article 163(1) says that the Council of Ministers must aid and advise the Governor. However, according to Article 163(2), the Governor can act in his discretion in certain matters as permitted by the Constitution
Discretion still bounds by cabinet decision: Governor is generally bound by the Cabinet decision except when he has a legitimate right to invoke his discretion, say, for example, in deciding on sanction to prosecute a cabinet minister or in his decisions as Administrator of a Union Territory, as per the orders of the President of India, etc.
Apparatus of interaction: There are no provisions laid down for the manner in which the Governor and the state must engage publicly when there is a difference of opinion. The management of differences has traditionally been guided by respect for each other’s boundaries.
Issues of “Pleasure” of Governor
Constitution Bench judgment of Supreme court in Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab (1974) case:
In Shamsher Singh, for the purpose of comparison, the Supreme Court extracted Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s introductory statement made on November 4, 1948, in the Constituent Assembly, which said: “The President of the United States is not bound to accept any advice tendered to him by any of his secretaries. The President of the Indian Union will be generally bound by the advice of his Ministers. He can do nothing contrary to their advice nor can he do anything without their advice. The President of the United States can dismiss any Secretary at any time. The President of the Indian Union has no power to do so, so long as his Ministers command a majority in Parliament”.
The same principles apply to the Governors as well, since the Union Minister also holds the office “during the pleasure of the President” as in Article 75(2) of the Constitution.
“Withdrawal of pleasure”, without advice from the Council of Ministers, as indicated by Raj Bhavan is a misconception.
Historical background of Article 264:
The draft Constitution, prepared by the Constitutional Adviser in October 1947, contained Article 126, according to which, “Governor’s Ministers shall be chosen and summoned by (the Governor) and shall hold office during his pleasure”.
This Article, which was made part of the draft of the erstwhile Article 144, was discussed at length in the Constituent Assembly.
The general discretion with the Governor was taken away, and the Cabinet was given the authority to rule. Amendment to the draft Article 144 moved by B.R. Ambedkar resulted in the present constitutional scheme of Articles 163 and 164.
According to the Scholar Subhash C. Kashyap:
The words ‘during pleasure’ were, always understood to mean that the ‘pleasure’ should not continue when the Ministry had lost the confidence of the majority.
the moment the Ministry lost the confidence of the majority, the Governor would use his ‘pleasure’ in dismissing it.
Conclusion
During the deliberations in Constituent Assembly Debates,1949, H.V. Kamath asked if there was any guarantee against abuse of power by the Governor. The immediate reaction by P.S. Deshmukh, another prominent member was: “the guarantee is the Governor’s wisdom and the wisdom of the authority that will appoint the Governor”
Mains Question
Q. What is the role of Rajbhavans in the state government’s day to day business. Analyze the constitutional mandate of the governor’s pleasure and accountability of ministers.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Green Financing, India's Net Zero 2070 objective
Context
Climate finance, or Green Money, remains a critical bottleneck for India in its journey towards the Net Zero 2070 objective and to create a resilient system through climate adaptation and mitigation. The challenge is daunting to make a climate transition for a nation of 1.4 billion people with increasing aggregate national income and individual wealth inequality.
What is the Present arrangement of external financing for climate change
Estimated cost: Finances for climate change were to be channelized through multi-tiered systems in the form of national, regional, and international bodies. It has been estimated that India will need $15 trillion to finance its Net Zero journey.
Concessional loans: In most cases, small amounts flowing now into the developing component of the G20 nations are actually in the form of concessional loans rather than grants.
Technological support from developed countries: There is no doubt that India will need international financial commitments and technological support from developed countries, who have been erratic with their promised deliveries so far.
Green finance is a phenomenon that combines the world of finance and business with environment friendly behavior. It may be led by financial incentives, a desire to preserve the planet, or a combination of both.
In addition to demonstrating proactive, environment friendly behavior, such as promoting of any business or activity that could be damaging to the environment now or for future generations.
Green financing through domestic market
Status of Green Bonds: As for domestic financial sources, according to an RBI Bulletin from January 2021, green finance in India is still at the nascent stage. Green bonds constituted only 0.7% of all the bonds issued in India since 2018, and bank lending to the non-conventional energy constituted about 7.9% of outstanding bank credit to the power sector as of March 2020.
Provision of Green loans: The report also mentioned that the development of green financing and funding of environment-friendly sustainable development is not without challenges, which may include false compliance claims, misuse of green loans, and, most importantly, maturity mismatches between long-term green investments and relatively short-term interests of investors.
What are the challenges to green financing?
No assessment of climate finance risk: Research report indicates that banks in India, like in many parts of the world, are not prepared to adapt to climate change; and have not yet factored in any climate-related financial risks into their day-to-day decision-making. Some of the criteria used to assess the banks include a commitment to phase out investments in coal, disclosing and verifying direct and indirect emissions, issuing green loans, financing climate mitigation, and Net Zero targets for different types of emissions and their implementation plans.
Lack of enthusiasm among bankers: The report is also critical that none of the 34 banks have tested the resilience of their portfolios in the face of climate change. Yet, the bankers’ noise around the green finance topic is euphorically loud, without action.
No standard definition of green financing: These banks and financial institutions are also not geared up for financing green transition. India faces the big challenge of “how to define green”, as there is no uniform green definition and green taxonomy.
Poor debt market for green finance: The green money is generated through largely debt-based products (green bonds, climate policy performance bonds, debt for climate swaps, etc.), while the fund deployment occurs through debt-based, equity-based, and often, insurance-based instruments, apart from grants and loans. However, the Indian market lacks the depth of its debt markets or the heft of the bond markets.
Lack of green data governance: There is an inherent problem with “green data governance” that entails tracking the entire data-chain of a green financing initiative.
Unviable green projects: Like many other private sectors funding, the banks look at rates of return that do not really often make financing “public goods” as viable investments. They are even apprehensive about financing projects with long gestation periods with uncertain returns.
What is way forward for green financing?
Considering social cost of carbon: An economic return alone might not be sufficient to induce green financing. A more holistic rate of return, considering the social cost of carbon, will be appropriate.
Return on green investment should include social returns: A longer time horizon will be needed for the cost-benefit analysis and the estimation of the return on investment. This is because, for climate-related projects, the returns increase over time. The extent to which the particular project could result in CO2 reduction and, eventually reduction in the social cost of carbon need to be assessed. As an example, India intends to reduce 1 billion Tonnes of CO2. The present social cost of CO2 (SCC) is $86/tonne. Therefore, the sheer economic gain is to the tune of $86 billion, or 2.1% of the current Indian GDP. Social cost saving is a public good and is enjoyed by all businesses, including the financial institutions.
Applying the green taxation: Hence, for a stronger business case for climate finance, experts propose to include in its Return-on-investment calculations the cost-benefit returns of the project through NPVSCC20 the Net Present Value of Social Cost of Carbon over 25 years of the project, a time period that compares well with tenor of infra and sovereign bonds. As an incentive, the government could introduce taxation sops for using NPVSCC25.
You may want to know about Net Zero
Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with remaining emissions re-absorbed by oceans/ forests.
China, US, EU and India contribute 75% of total GHG emissions
However, per capita GHG emissions for US, EU and China are7,3 and 3 times of India
India has set target to achieve net zero emissions by 2070.
Conclusion
The way India finances its journey to Net Zero 2070 could very well be a framework for other nations, for it would need to have contours of social inclusion, economic flexibility, and sustainable financing, while keeping in mind the political compulsions, as well as serving the demographic requirements of creating and sustaining livelihood in decades to come.
Mains Question
Q. Green financing is the most crucial part of achieving Net zero target. Comment. What are the India’s efforts to finance its climate action goals?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Issues over Capital punishment
Context
CJI, Justice Lalit had displayed unique sensitivity to the plight of the condemned ‘death row prisoners’ in Anokhi Lal vs State of M.P. (2019), Irfan vs State of M.P., Manoj and Ors vs State of M.P. (May 2022) and impart corrections in the form of creative directions/guidelines.
What is capital punishment?
Capital punishment, sometimes called death penalty, is execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law for a criminal offense.
It should be distinguished from extrajudicial executions carried out without due process of law.
The term death penalty is sometimes used interchangeably with capital punishment, though imposition of the penalty is not always followed by execution, because of the possibility of commutation to life imprisonment.
Bachan Singh case: In Jagmohan Singh vs State of UP’ (1973), then in ‘Rajendra Prasad vs State of UP’ (1979), and finally in ‘Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab’ (1980) the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutional validity of the death penalty.
Punishment according to fair procedure: It said that if capital punishment is provided in the law and the procedure is a fair, just and reasonable one, the death sentence can be awarded to a convict.
Rarest of rare case: This will, however, only be in the “rarest of rare” cases, and the courts should render “special reasons” while sending a person to the gallows.
What is “rarest of rare” case?
The principles of what would constitute the “rarest of rare” were laid down by the top court in the landmark judgment in ‘Bachan Singh’.
Two prime questions, the top court held, may be asked and answered:
First: is there something uncommon about the crime which renders the sentence of imprisonment for life inadequate and calls for a death sentence?
Second: are there circumstances of the crime such that there is no alternative but to impose the death sentence even after according to maximum weightage to the mitigating circumstances which speak in favor of the offenders?
Why existing guidelines are problematic?
Arbitrary sentencing: There has long been a judicial crisis in death penalty sentencing on account of unprincipled sentencing, arbitrariness and worrying levels of subjectivity. The crisis has been acknowledged by the Supreme Court, the Law Commission of India, research scholars and civil society groups.
Crime-centric nature: Death penalty sentencing has been, by and large, crime-centric. This approach goes against the requirements imposed on sentencing judges by the Supreme Court in Bachan Singh (1980).
Nature of crime a dominant consideration: An important reason for the breakdown is that factors relating to the crime the nature of the crime and its brutality are often dominant considerations, and there is barely any consideration of mitigating factors.
Little discussion on mitigating factors: There has been very little discussion on bringing the socioeconomic profile of death row prisoners as a mitigating factor into the courtroom.
What are new guidelines through recent judgement?
Considering Potential mitigating circumstances: The focus here is on reframing ‘Framing Guidelines Regarding Potential Mitigating Circumstances to be Considered While Imposing Death Sentences’, a decision authored by the three judge Bench (the current CJI and Justices Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia, September 19, 2022).
Seeking remedies beyond Legislative and judicial limitation: Such a reference to a larger Bench would constitute yet another step in the direction of death penalty sentencing justice reform such as the legislative limitation flowing from Section 354(3) in the Code of Criminal Procedure; judicial limitation flowing from the ‘rarest of rare’ case; and ‘oral hearing’ after all the remedies to the condemned are exhausted.
Mitigating factors are important: Justice Ravindra Bhat did not stop at paying lip service to ‘rarest of rare’ case limitation, but also required the sentencing court to take the trouble of balancing the aggravating factors and mitigating factors, as per the full Bench ruling.
The following observations of the Court are significant: “It is also a fact that in all cases where imposition of capital sentence is a choice of sentence, aggravating circumstances would always be on record, and would be part of [the] prosecutor’s evidence, leading to conviction, whereas the accused can scarcely be expected to place mitigating circumstances on the record, for the reason that the stage for doing so is after conviction.
Granting real and meaningful opportunity: The three judge Bench decision seems to have gone beyond sentencing incongruities when it observes: “This court is of the opinion that it is necessary to have clarity in the matter to ensure a uniform approach on the question of granting real and meaningful opportunity, as opposed to formal hearing to the accused/convict on the issue of sentence.”
Conclusion
Free, fair and transparent opportunity has been given to accused while awarding the death sentence. Supreme court of India has rightly laid down the guidelines through judgement for sentencing the capital punishment to prevent the arbitrary use and misuse of capital punishment.
Mains Question
Q. What are the issues with death penalty guidelines in India? What are the new guidelines by SC regarding capital punishment?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Telecom Spectrum
Mains level: Spectrum policy, auctions, Digital divide, issues and Solutions
Context
It is widely acknowledged that spectrum policy in India has had ups and downs, regretfully more downs than ups. Despite the recognized failure, India hosts 800 million internet users and host the second-largest telecommunications network in the world. We wonder what might have been achieved with a more reasonable and transparent spectrum policy.
Background
On September 22, the government released the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 seeking to replace the colonial era Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
The draft bill compares spectrum to aatma: “In a way, spectrum is similar to aatma, like aatma, spectrum too does not have any physical form, yet it is omnipresent.” And yet there is one immutable difference in this material world. While the value of aatma is inestimable, spectrum has always had a banal price tag associated with it.
The draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 is an attempt by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to consolidate various legislations presently governing the telecommunication landscape in India.
The Bill seeks to replace three laws, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950.
The new regulatory framework is to bring the law at par with technological advancements and remove obsolete provisions from the colonial era laws.
What is mean by Spectrum?
In physics, it’s a word that describes the distribution of something, like energy or atomic particles
Spectrum refers to the invisible radio frequencies that wireless signals travel over. Devices such as cell phones and wireline telephones require signals to connect from one end to another.
These signals are carried on airwaves, which must be sent at designated frequencies to avoid any kind of interference. The frequencies we use for wireless are only a portion of what is called the electromagnetic spectrum.
The Union government owns all the publicly available assets within the geographical boundaries of the country, which also include airwaves.
With the expansion in the number of cell phones, wireline telephone and internet users, the need to provide more space for the signals arise from time to time.
The status of Spectrum policy in India?
Host the second largest telecommunications network despite of failures:
It is widely acknowledged that spectrum policy in India has had ups and downs, it has for the most part failed to capitalize on the ubiquity of the electromagnetic spectrum to provide meaningful connectivity to all citizens.
Despite the recognized failure, we boast of a billion plus mobile subscribers, 800 million internet users and host the second-largest telecommunications network in the world.
Ineffective access widening space of digital divide:
The intent of the draft bill is to correct past sins so that the benefits of spectrum and technology are better shared, and the quality of access improved for everybody.
In other words, since effective access to spectrum has remained a significant barrier to facilitating meaningful connectivity for Indians.
Spectrum’s potential is huge but with technical limitations:
The draft bill rightly refers to the spectrum as having the characteristics of a public good. It is also an inexhaustible resource. But while spectrum per se is not depletable, there are technical limitations to its optimum utilization at a given point in time.
Consequently, it is viewed as a scarce natural resource and what’s more, expensive auctions have made the spectrum dear and arguably exclusionary.
High cost of spectrum acquisition:
Since 2010, the government has consistently used auctions for spectrum allocation and in only one of the seven auctions held since then, the government was successful in selling 100 per cent of the available spectrum. One reason for this lukewarm response, barring the 2010 auction, is the high cost of spectrum acquisition.
High cost of auctions leading to revenue loss for the government:
Due to the high reserve price, the most recent auction witnessed spectrum being sold at the reserve price, effectively rendering the basis of an auction moot.
If almost all spectrum was sold at its reserve price, and a significant amount goes unsold, it implies that the price was too high, to begin with. It also implies a loss of revenue for the government for spectrum unsold is spectrum squandered.
Finally, it results in areas being underserved or unserved affecting quality and quantity.
High network charges by operators impacts compromising equal distribution and quality:
According to one estimate, at 7.6 per cent of their aggregate revenue, spectrum cost in India is amongst the most expensive in the world.
Since network operators incur a significantly higher cost for spectrum compared to other emerging markets, the ability to invest in network upgradation and infrastructure is severely impacted, resulting in uneven distribution of service and poor quality to boot.
What Could be the fresh approach?
Acknowledging and addressing the issues:
It must be recognized that the spectrum needs to be combined with other infrastructure to enable service delivery.
The cost of deploying other infrastructure in remote areas is nearly twice as much, while revenue opportunities are far lower, damaging if not destroying the prospects of rural businesses. Plugging the digital divide, therefore, needs a fresh approach.
Correcting the cost of spectrum and boosting investment:
Since licences and spectrum are typically assigned for service areas that are, for the most part, identified by state boundaries.
Since operators predominantly cater to urban markets, the spectrum in remote areas remains under- or in places un-utilized due to a lack of investment in allied infrastructure.
Reviving the old and executing the fresh provisions enshrined in draft bill for equitable sharing:
The draft bill incorporates practical provisions on the spectrum such as use it, share it, or lose it – an awaited policy that, however, needs innovative support to be successful. The idea of “niche operators” providing services including to telecom operators and manufacturers, introduced in 2005, needs revival in this regard.
If licensed operators are unable to utilise the assigned spectrum, the same could be given to local entrepreneurs who understand the needs of rural customers and are better placed to develop a more effective business case more quickly than the larger telcos. Active promotion of the idea of niche operators might just jolt operators out of their lethargy towards rural services.
Adopting innovative methods:
Alternatively, the government may explore innovative methods of spectrum access such as a non-competitive licensing framework for certain specific use cases.
Canada, for instance, has initiated consultations on a non-competitive local licensing framework in the 3900-3980 MHz Band and portions of the 26, 28 and 38 GHz bands to inter alia facilitate broadband connectivity in rural areas.
Emphasizing on Transparency and enhancing healthy competition:
The government should build an ecosystem that inspires trust so that transparency in assignment can be secured at a reasonable price for operators with strict service obligations without the phantasm of auctions.
At the same time, there should be no unsold spectrum. Niche operators should be invoked to engender competition, and government could yet collect revenue for itself.
Conclusion
The telecom is no longer an end in itself. It exists for user industries much more than ever before. The spill over benefits are far greater than what the sector commands within. Thus, to state the obvious, the vision that is “Digital India” can never be realized if affordable broadband connectivity remains only within the reach of a few.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Global Hunger Index, NFHS report
Mains level: Issues with GHI parameters
Context
The fountainhead is a 16-year-old German and Irish organization, which measures and ranks countries on a hunger index at the global, regional, and national levels, but not at the sub-national level where some Indian states fare better. The Global Hunger Index’s (GHI) stated aim is to reduce hunger around the world. But its methodology focuses disproportionately on less than five-year-old’s.
Mixing the hunger and nutrition: In common parlance, hunger and nutrition are two different things. Hunger is associated with food scarcity and starvation. It produces images of emaciated people holding empty food bowls.
Wrong data collection methods: GHI uses childhood mortality and nutrition indicators. But its preamble states “communities, civil society organizations, small producers, farmers, and indigenous groups shape how access to nutritious food is governed.”
Irony of food grain availability: This suggests that GHI sees hunger as a food production challenge when, according to the FAO, India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of grain and the largest producer of milk; when the per capita intake of grain, vegetables and milk has increased manifold. It is, therefore, contentious and unacceptable to club India with countries facing serious food shortages, which is what GHI has done.
Data according to the latest National Family Health Survey Report
Comparative state level data collection: The sensational use of the word hunger is abhorrent given the facts. But there is no denying that in India, nutrition, particularly child nutrition, continues to be a problem. Unlike the GHI, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) does a good job of providing comparative state-level data, including the main pointers that determine health and nutrition.
Crucial health parameters included: NFHS provides estimates of underweight, (low weight for age), stunting (low height for age) and wasting (low weight for height). These conditions affect preschool children (those less than 6 years of age) disproportionately and compromise a child’s physical and mental development while also increasing the vulnerability to infections.
Undernourishment is included: Undernourished mothers (attributable to social and cultural practices,) give birth to low-birth-weight babies that remain susceptible to infections, transporting their handicaps into childhood and adolescence. NFHS includes undernourishment parameter.
Why nutrition is the best indicator of health?
Link between nutrition and disease: There are links between the nutritional status of young children with the post-neonatal phase when children suffer from acute respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases. Sanitation and hygiene require much more work.
Diet and food intake is important: Professor V Subramanian at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health writes, “There is a need to declutter the current approaches to child undernutrition by keeping it simple. I advise against a disproportionate focus on anthropometry (body measurements); instead, the need is to have a direct engagement with actual diet and food intake.”
How to overcome the child nutrition challenge?
Improving the breast feeding: The first child nutrition challenge relates to breastfeeding. The WHO and UNICEF recommend that breastfeeding should be initiated within the first hour of birth and infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months. According to NFHS 5, in India, the percentage improvement of children who were exclusively breastfed when under six months, rose from 55 per cent in NFHS 4 to 64 per cent in NFHS 5. That is progress, but it is not enough. By not being breastfed, an infant is denied the benefits of acquiring antibodies against infections, allergies and even protection against several chronic conditions.
Better nutritional practice: The second issue relates to young child feeding practices. At root are widespread practices like not introducing semi-solid food after six months, prolonging breastfeeding well beyond the recommended six months and giving food lacking in nutritional diversity. NFHS 5 shows that the improvement has been marginal over the last two reports and surprisingly, states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assam, UP and Gujarat are at the tail end.
Continuation of nutrition programmes: Almost one dozen nutrition programmes have been under implementation since 1975. Several more have been added of late, but most beneficiaries of these food distribution programmes are kids attending anganwadis or schools, adolescents, and pregnant and lactating mothers. This must continue but new-Borns, infants, and toddlers need attention too. Monitoring weight is an indicator, not a solution.
States must be encouraged: States should be urged to examine the NFHS findings to steer a new course to improve the poshan practices for the youngest and the most vulnerable sections of society.
Better child rearing practices: Helping mothers to better the lives of their infants and toddlers right inside the home by measuring and demonstrating how much diet, food intake and child-rearing practices matter.
Conclusion
We should lose no more time over the GHI rankings, which are distorted and irrelevant. India has successfully overcome much bigger problems reduced maternal and child mortality, improved access to sanitation, clean drinking water and clean cooking fuel. Our focus should be on nutrition rather than hunger.
Mains Question
Critically analyze the India’s hunger problem in light of Global Hunger Index. What are initiatives of Government of India to overcome hunger and nutrition challenge?
Context
Historical background of 
Context
What are the proposed amendments?
What is the grievance appellate committee (GAC)?
Context
Advantages of 
Why there was necessity to grant approval for GM Mustard?
What else needs to be done?
