Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Grey hydrogen and green hydrogen
Mains level: Paper 3- Green hydrogen
Context
The ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine have led to the prices of crude oil shooting to $130/barrel. Green hydrogen is an emerging option that will help reduce India’s vulnerability to such price shocks.
Four deficiencies in Renewable Energy Technologies
- 1] Intermittent nature of RE: RE can only be generated intermittently.
- Battery technology cannot store electricity at a grid scale.
- 2] Financial viability: There are question marks on the financial viability of green power.
- In India, renewable electricity is a replacement for coal-based power, the cheapest form of energy.
- That’s a big constraint on its viability.
- Moreover, the customers of this power – the state distribution companies – are collectively insolvent.
- A business cannot prosper if its primary customers are not financially viable.
- 3] Batteries are not suitable for heavy trucks: While electric cars and two-wheelers get a lot of visibility, much of India’s oil is burnt in heavy trucks.
- Lithium batteries are not viable for trucks.
- 4] Critical minerals: Electric vehicles require large quantities of lithium and cobalt that India lacks.
- These minerals also have very concentrated supply chains that are vulnerable to disruptions.
- Large-scale investments in electric vehicles may create unsustainable dependencies for the country.
Is green hydrogen a solution?
- Intermittent hydrogen in the energy mix can help circumvent some of these problems.
- Hydrogen is an important industrial gas and is used on a large scale in petroleum refining, steel, and fertiliser production.
- As of now, the hydrogen used in these industries is grey hydrogen, produced from natural gas.
- Green hydrogen produced using renewable energy can be blended with grey hydrogen.
- This will allow the creation of a substantial green hydrogen production capacity, without the risk that it may become a stranded asset.
- Creating this hydrogen capacity will provide experience in handling the gas at a large scale and the challenges involved.
- Blending with CNG: To widen the use of green hydrogen, it can be blended with compressed natural gas (CNG), widely used as a fuel for vehicles in Delhi, Mumbai and some other cities.
- This will partly offset the need for imported natural gas and also help flag off the challenges of creating and distributing hydrogen at a national level.
- By bringing down the price of green hydrogen sufficiently, India can help unlock some stranded assets.
- The country has close to 25,000 megawatts of gas-fired power generation capacity that operates at a very low-capacity utilisation level. The high price of natural gas reduces the viability of such electricity.
- These plants could use hydrogen blended with natural gas. Hydrogen should, however, be used to generate electricity after it has served its utility in other avenue.
Way forward
- To catalyse a hydrogen economy, India needs some specialist players to execute projects as well as finance them.
- Participation of private players: Apart from government-backed players, the hydrogen economy will need private sector participation.
- India’s start-up sector, with over 75 unicorns, is perhaps the most vibrant part of the country’s economy currently.
- This ecosystem has been enabled by a mix of factors, including the presence of entrepreneurs with ideas and investors who are willing to back up these ideas
- Creation of refueling network: One challenge of using new transport fuels, whether CNG or electric vehicles, is the creation of large-scale refuelling networks.
- Bringing hydrogen vehicles on the road too soon will require the creation of yet another set of infrastructure.
- Building fleets of hydrogen-fueled vehicles for gated infrastructure can be a good starting point.
- Airports, ports and warehouses, for instance, use a large number of vehicles such as forklifts, cranes, trucks, tractors and passenger vehicles.
Conclusion
The government’s Green Hydrogen Policy sends the right signals about its intent. It now needs to ensure that investment can freely come into this space.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: One Nation One Ration Card project
Mains level: Paper 2- Policy for migrant labourers
Context
Repeated surveys have found that the incomes of migrant households continue to be lower than pre-pandemic levels, even after returning to cities.
Lack of policy for migrants
- In the wake of a nationwide lockdown, India was left shocked by the plight of migrant workers walking hundreds of kilometres.
- They became the focus of large-scale relief efforts by governments and civil society alike.
- The Government ramped up the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) project, announced the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) scheme, set up the e-Shram portal and began to draft a migration policy.
- Despite this, a cohesive migration policy guidance remains elusive.
- Contribution of migrant workers: Today, a third of the nation’s workforce is mobile.
- Migrants fuel critical sectors such as manufacturing, construction, hospitality, logistics and commercial agriculture.
- Despite clear economic and humanitarian reasoning to bring migrants back into the policy discourse, the current policy scenario is at best fragmented and at worst waning.
Structural constraints
1] Politicisation of issue and fragmented policy response
- Migration is a highly politicised phenomenon in India.
- ‘Destination States’ experience a tension between economic needs, which require migrant labour, and political needs, which promote nativist policies that impose domicile restrictions on employment and social security.
- On the flip side, the ‘sending States’ are highly motivated to serve their “own people” because they vote in their source villages.
- This fragmented policy response to internal migration follows from State-specific calculations.
- Development policy in India has bet big on rural development as an antidote to migration.
- This widespread ‘sedentary bias’ continues to influence policy even though migration is an important pathway for impoverished marginalised rural households to find economic security (and social emancipation).
2] Categorisation challenge
- Migrants are a perennially fuzzy category in policy discourse, located inside two larger categories: the unorganised worker and the urban poor.
- Even the e-Shram portal, which has made impressive progress in registering unorganised workers, has been unable to accurately distinguish and target migrants.
- Policy interventions in major urban destinations continue to conflate the urban poor with low-income migrants.
- Hence, slum development continues as the primary medium for alleviating migrant concerns, while in reality, most migrants live on worksites that are entirely out of the policy gaze.
3] Gaps in the data
- Migration policy discourse is seemingly paralysed by the now well-acknowledged failure of official datasets to capture the actual scale and the frequency of internal migration in India.
- Data systems designed to periodically record only one spatial location have posed great challenges to welfare delivery for up to 500 million people who are part of multi-locational migrant households.
- The novel coronavirus pandemic has placed a sharp focus on problems such as educating and vaccinating those children who accompany their migrant parents, or ensuring that migrant women avail maternity benefits at multiple locations.
Way forward: Strategic policy guidance by Centre and a platform for inter-State coordination
- Policy in India often emerges from the ground up, taking decades to cement into national law and standard practice.
- We have seen this in education and food security.
- State’s initiatives: In migration too, many States have initiated data projects that can track migrants and generate dynamic real-time data that aid welfare delivery.
- Maharashtra’s Migration Tracking System (MTS), Chhattisgarh’s State Migrant Workers Policy is premised on registering migrant workers at source and tracking them through phone-based outreach systems.
- Multisectoral approach: There is further need for multisectoral approaches underpinned by a strategic convergence across government departments and initiatives.
- Odisha’s Planning and Convergence Department, which offers an institutional mechanism for inter-departmental coordination, is one possible model.
- Important role of the Centre: State-level political economy constraints make the Centre’s role particularly crucial in addressing issues of inter-State migrant workers at ‘destination States’.
- The NITI Aayog’s Draft Policy on Migrant Workers is a positive step forward.
Conclusion
Strategic initiatives to provide migrants safety nets regardless of location as well as bolster their ability to migrate safely and affordably must keep up the momentum toward migrant-supportive policy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Right to equality
Mains level: Paper 2- Marital rape exception issue
Context
Justice M. Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court on March 23, 2022, in the case of Hrishikesh Sahoo vs State of Karnataka, pronounced the end of the marital rape exception.
Background of the case
- This judgment was a result of a unique case where a woman had filed a criminal complaint of rape against her husband due to the repeated acts of sexual assault she had to face.
- Marital rape exception to Section 375: The police registered her complaint under Section 376 notwithstanding the marital rape exception, a charge sheet was filed and the Sessions Judge took cognisance and framed charges under Section 376.
- This led to the husband approaching the High Court seeking to quash the criminal proceedings.
- In a nuanced and far-reaching judgment, Justice Nagaprasanna refused to quash the charge of rape against the husband.
Violation of rights of woman
- Violation of the right to equality: Justice Nagaprasanna held that if a man, being a husband is exempted for his acts of sexual assault, it would destroy women’s right to equality, which is the very soul of the Constitution.
- Discrimination: He held that the Constitution recognises and grants equal status to women, but the exception to marital rape in the IPC amounts to discrimination because a wife is treated as subordinate to the husband.
- The Constitution considers marriage as an association of equals and does not in any sense depict women to be subordinate to men and guarantees women the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 the right to live with dignity, personal liberty, bodily integrity, sexual autonomy, right to reproductive choices, right to privacy, right to freedom of speech and expression.
- n Independent Thought vs Union of India (2017), the Supreme Court of India diluted it and removed the exception to marital rape to a wife not below 15 years and made it 18 years.
Historical roots of the principle of exception
- The exception to marital rape in common law was due to the dictum by Chief Justice Matthew Hale of Britain in 1736 where he argued that by marriage, a woman gave up her body to the husband and was accepted as an enduring principle of common law, due to which a husband could not be guilty of raping his wife.
- This was therefore translated into criminal codes, including the Indian Penal Code which India adopted.
- This principle has now been completely abolished.
- In the United Kingdom, in 1991, the exception to marital rape was done away with in the case of R. vs R. The House of Lords held that where the common law rule no longer represents what is the true position of a wife in present-day society.
- The court held that a husband’s immunity as expounded by Chief Justice Matthew Hale no longer exists.
Conclusion
The Karnataka High Court, by holding that the exception to marital rape in Section 375 is regressive and in violation of the constitutional guarantee of equality, has now truly pronounced the death knell of the marital rape exception.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: COP26
Mains level: Paper 3- Power generation tariff issue
Context
We need to shift to a two-part tariff for solar and wind to incentivise private investments.
Background of power generation tariff in India
- The two-part tariff has been in vogue since 1992.
- It applies to thermal and hydro generation.
- 1] Fixed component: The first part is a fixed component – the cost that a generator incurs.
- This is not linked to the amount of power generated.
- 2] Variable component: The second part varies with the quantum of generation.
- It does not apply to renewable generation — solar, wind, and also nuclear.
- Under the two-part formula, the variable cost is calculated on the basis prescribed by the regulatory commissions.
- This is based on the cost of fuel — coal or gas or lignite — as the case may be.
- The fixed cost is also determined by regulatory commissions and it has a graded payment system depending on the extent to which the plant would be in a position to generate.
- The point here is that when a generator is in a position to generate, it gets to recover the fixed cost (or some part of it), irrespective of whether it actually generates power.
Single-part tariff for nuclear, wind and solar
- In contrast, solar and wind generation and also nuclear are still governed by a single-part tariff.
- The single-part tariff applies to nuclear power stations for various reasons including the fact that given the technology, a nuclear generator does not usually increase/decrease the generation at a quick tempo, but maintains a steady stream.
- In any case, nuclear power accounts for only about two per cent of the entire generation, so let’s leave it aside.
- On the other hand, solar and wind generation account for about 10 per cent of the generation today and going by the statement delivered during COP26 in Glasgow, we want to ramp it up to 50 per cent by 2030.
Issues with single-part tariff for wind
- Must run status: The renewable sector has been given a “must run” status.
- This means that any generation from renewables needs to be dispatched first.
- The problem is that “must run” runs counter to the basic economic theory that in order to minimise total cost, dispatch should commence from the source offering the cheapest variable cost and then move upwards.
- With a single-part tariff, whenever the renewable generator is asked to back down for maintaining grid balance, it is paid nothing.
- With a single part tariff for renewable generation, the entire cost is variable and at Rs 2.5 per unit for solar generation, it is not the cheapest source.
- There are several NTPC coal-fired pit head plants whose variable costs are far lower, for example, Simhadri (Rs 1.36), Korba (Rs 1.36), Sipat (Rs 1.43).
- For the older solar plants, the tariff could be well above Rs 3 per unit and for wind-based generation, it is even higher, averaging around Rs 4.5 per unit.
- Therefore, the SLDCs often flout the principle of “must run”, since the distribution companies would save money by asking the renewable generator to back down while keeping the tap on for a coal-based generation.
Solution
- Two-part tariff for solar: The solution to this problem is to apply a two-part tariff for solar and wind generators as we do for hydro plants today.
- Lowest variable cost: The overriding principle is that the percentage allocated as variable cost should ensure that renewable generation has the lowest variable cost so that there is no violation of the “must-run” principle.
- At the same time, the fixed cost component should not be kept so high that it hurts the consumers.
- A fine balance between the proportion of the fixed and variable costs will have to be maintained.
- It would also ensure a certain minimum return to developers even if they are not generating during certain hours, as in the case of coal and hydro plants.
- Proper environment: If we are serious about having a renewable generating capacity of 450-500 GW by 2030, we need to create a proper environment and ensure adequate returns to invite fresh investments into renewable generation.
Conclusion
The switch from a single to a two-part tariff structure for renewables has to be made right now as we are at the cusp of ramping up our renewable generation and it takes time for matters to get streamlined as we have seen in the past.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Criticism of AFSPA
Context
The Centre on Thursday significantly reduced the footprint of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958 in the Northeast, withdrawing it entirely from 23 districts in Assam; and partially from seven districts in Nagaland, six districts in Manipur, and one district in Assam.
Background of AFSPA
- AFSPA was adopted in 1958 during the early days of the Naga uprising to apply to what was then the state of Assam and the union territory of Manipur.
- The counterinsurgency campaigns against the Nagas were counterproductive.
- In the following decades, as new states were formed in Northeast India, AFSPA was amended to accommodate the names of those states.
Provision under AFSPA, 1958
- AFSPA allows civilian authorities to call on the armed forces to come to the assistance of civil powers.
- Sweeping powers to armed forces: Once a state — or a part of a state — is declared “disturbed” under this law, the armed forces can make preventive arrests, search premises without warrants, and even shoot and kill civilians.
- Approval of central government for legal action: Legal action against those abusing these powers requires the prior approval of the central government — a feature that functions as de facto immunity from prosecution.
Issues with AFSPA
- Critics charge that it effectively suspends fundamental freedoms and creates a de facto emergency regime.
- In 2012, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court to investigate as many as 1,528 cases of fake encounters that allegedly occurred in the state between 1979 and 2012.
- Supreme Court appointed a three-member commission to inquire into the first six of the 1,528 cases in the petition.
- Its interim judgment of July 2016 said that “there is some truth in the allegations, calling for a deeper probe”.
- In the court’s view, AFSPA clearly provided the context for these killings.
Demand for changes and repeal
- When the Supreme Court pronounced AFSPA constitutional in 1997, it also recommended some changes.
- Among them was the stipulation that a “disturbed area” designation be subjected to review every six months.
- In some parts of Northeast India, AFSPA is now routinely extended every six months. But there is little evidence that any meaningful review occurs at those times.
- In 2004, the then central government set up a five-member committee under former Supreme Court Justice Jeevan Reddy, which submitted its report in 2005 recommending the repeal of AFSPA, calling it “highly undesirable”, and saying it had become a symbol of oppression.
- Subsequently, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by Veeerapa Moily, endorsed these recommendations.
Conclusion
One must welcome the government’s announcement to reduce the number of such areas. But not to consider the repeal of this law, which is now almost as old as the Republic, is a missed opportunity to reflect on why this law has or has not been successful, and to learn from this history and strengthen the foundation of our democracy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: BIMSTEC
Mains level: Paper 2- BIMSTEC -challenges and opportunities ahead
Context
The fifth summit of the regional grouping, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), held virtually in Colombo on March 30, has advanced the cause of regional cooperation and integration.
Colombo package
- Economic challenges: Representing a fifth of the world’s population that contributes only 4% of the global GDP, can this multilateral grouping trigger accelerated economic development?
- It was clear that BIMSTEC first needed to strengthen itself — by re-defining its purpose and rejuvenating its organs and institutions.
- The eventual result is now seen in the package of decisions and agreements announced at the latest summit.
Achievement of Colombo Summit
- 1] Adoption of Charter: Adopted formally, it presents BIMSTEC as “an inter-governmental organization” with “legal personality.”
- BIMSTEC’s purposes: Defining BIMSTEC’s purposes, it lists 11 items in the first article.
- Among them is acceleration of “the economic growth and social progress in the Bay of Bengal region”, and promotion of “multidimensional connectivity”.
- The grouping now views itself not as a sub-regional organisation but as a regional organisation whose destiny is linked with the area around the Bay of Bengal.
- 2] Reduction in the sectors of cooperation: The second element is the decision to re-constitute and reduce the number of sectors of cooperation from the unwieldy 14 to a more manageable seven.
- Each member-state will serve as a lead for a sector: trade, investment and development (Bangladesh); environment and climate change (Bhutan); security, including energy (India); agriculture and food security (Myanmar); people-to-people contacts (Nepal); science, technology and innovation (Sri Lanka), and connectivity (Thailand).
- 3] Adoption of the Master Plan for Transport Connectivity: the summit participants adopted the Master Plan for Transport Connectivity applicable for 2018-2028.
- It was devised and backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
- It lists 264 projects entailing a total investment of $126 billion.
- Projects worth $55 billion are under implementation. BIMSTEC needs to generate additional funding and push for timely implementation of the projects.
- 4] Signing of three new agreements: Finally, the package also includes three new agreements signed by member states, relating to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, cooperation between diplomatic academies, and the establishment of a technology transfer facility in Colombo.
Challenges
- The pillar of trade, economic and investment cooperation needs greater strengthening and at a faster pace.
- Absence of FTA: Despite signing a framework agreement for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2004, BIMSTEC stands far away from this goal.
- Lack of legal instruments: The need for expansion of connectivity was stressed by one and all, but when it comes to finalising legal instruments for coastal shipping, road transport and intra-regional energy grid connection, much work remains unfinished.
- There needs to be mention of the speedy success achieved in deepening cooperation in security matters and management of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
- Focus more on new areas: BIMSTEC should focus more in the future on new areas such as the blue economy, the digital economy, and promotion of exchanges and links among start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
- Step up the personal engagement of political leadership: The personal engagement of the political leadership should be stepped up.
- The decision taken in Colombo to host a summit every two years is welcome if implemented.
- Greater visibility: BIMSTEC needs greater visibility.
- India’s turn to host the G20 leaders’ summit in 2023 presents a golden opportunity, which can be leveraged optimally. Perhaps all its members should be invited to the G20 summit as the chair’s special guests.
- Simplify the groupings name: The suggestion to simplify the grouping’s name needs urgent attention.
- The present name running into 12 words should be changed to four words only — the Bay of Bengal Community (BOBC).
- It will help the institution immensely. Brevity reflects gravitas.
Conclusion
BIMSTEC is no longer a mere initiative or programme. The question to address is whether it is now capable of tackling the challenges facing the region.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CBI
Mains level: Paper 2- Reforms in investigative bodies
Context
The image of the institution of police is regrettably tarnished by allegations of corruption, police excesses, lack of impartiality and close nexus with the political class.
Police and investigation agencies need social legitimacy
- The police and investigative agencies may have de-facto legitimacy, but as institutions, they are yet to gain social legitimacy.
- Police should work impartially and focus on crime prevention. They should also work in cooperation with the public to ensure law and order.
- The CBI possessed immense trust of the public in its initial phase.
- But with the passage of time, like every other institution of repute, the CBI has also come under deep public scrutiny.
- The need of the hour is to reclaim social legitimacy and public trust.
Issues affecting the system and causing delay in trial
- Lack of infrastructure, lack of sufficient manpower, inhuman conditions, especially at the lowest rung, lack of modern equipment, questionable methods of procuring evidence, officers failing to abide by the rule book and the lack of accountability of erring officers.
- Then there are certain issues that lead to delays in trials.
- They are: Lack of public prosecutors and standing counsels, seeking adjournments, arraying hundreds of witnesses and filing voluminous documents in pending trials, undue imprisonment of undertrials, change in priorities with the change in the political executive, cherry-picking of the evidence, and repeated transfers of officers leading to a change in the direction of the investigation.
Way forward
- Break the nexus with political executive: The first step to reclaim social legitimacy and public trust.is to break the nexus with the political executive.
- Reform of the police system is long overdue in our country.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs has itself recognised the glaring need for the same in the “Status Note on Police Reforms in India”.
- Comprehensive law: Our investigative agencies still do not have the benefit of being guided by a comprehensive law.
- Independent and autonomous investigative agency: The need of the hour is the creation of an independent and autonomous investigative agency.
- Umbrella organisation: There is an immediate requirement for the creation of an independent umbrella institution, so as to bring various agencies like the CBI, SFIO, and ED under one roof.
- This body is required to be created under a statute, clearly defining its powers, functions and jurisdictions.
- Such a law will also lead to much-needed legislative oversight.
- Separation of prosecution and investigation: One additional safeguard that needs to be built into the scheme, is to have separate and autonomous wings for prosecution and investigation, in order to ensure total independence.
- Annual audit of performance: A provision in the proposed law for an annual audit of the performance of the institution by the appointing committee will be a reasonable check and balance.
- Strengthening state investigative agencies: There is no reason why state investigative agencies, which handle most of the investigations, cannot enjoy the same level of credibility as that of the national agency.
- The proposed Central law for the umbrella investigative body can be suitably replicated by the states.
- Ensure women’s representation: An issue that needs addressing at this stage is the representation of women in the criminal justice system.
- Often, women feel deterred in reporting certain offences due to a lack of representation.
- Relations with community: Relations between the community and police also need to be fixed.
- This is only possible if police training includes sensitisation workshops and interactions to inspire public confidence.
Consider the question “The police and investigative agencies may have de-facto legitimacy, but as institutions, they are yet to gain social legitimacy. In the context of this, examine the challenges faced by the police and the investigative agencies in India and suggest ways to help them gain social legitimacy.”
Conclusion
It is imperative for the police and the public to work together to create a safe society. Ultimately the police must remember that their allegiance must be to the Constitution and the rule of law and not to any person.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IPCC
Mains level: Paper 3- Vulnerability to climate change and ways for adaptation
Context
The footprint of the Covid-19 pandemic across the sectors of the economy has instilled a new reckoning for resilience and sustainability on the economic, social and environmental (ESG) front.
IPCC reports suggest adaption for resilience
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its latest report on climate impacts, vulnerability and adaptation last month.
- The report suggests that adaptation to climate impacts in the near to medium term can help communities and ecosystems become resilient against the threats from current and future levels of warming.
- Ecosystem-based adaptation, for instance, is recommended for taking care of communities and social well-being, while restoring forests, lands and marine ecosystems.
- The report details the variability in projected climate impacts and the vulnerabilities that can be expected across regions the world over due to differences in the range of warming, geographical location, demographics and the unique biophysical, social and cultural contexts.
- Cost-effective adaptation: It depends on a host of enablers on which global partnerships need to deliver.
- Enablers include international cooperation, inclusive technology, financial flows, knowledge sharing and capacity building, with institutions and innovations to support policy development and on-ground implementation.
Gaps in the literature, acknowledge the uncertainties in climate science
- The IPCC has been consistently drawing attention to the lack of adequate science from and on developing countries.
- These countries have in turn been asking for the inclusion of what is broadly termed as “grey literature” or non-peer-reviewed literature in the IPCC process.
- Good science encompasses the formal and the informal, theory and empiricism, the traditional along with the modern.
- It relies on evolution through acknowledging the gaps and unknowns, the negatives and positives of past knowledge.
- The understanding of adaptation finance, adaptation costing, and mapping of climate impacts and adaptation needs of communities in geographically remote locations, for instance, could improve with suitable sourcing of information.
Way forward
- Sustainable development, inclusive of climate resilience, calls for an ensemble approach — one that places contextually appropriate emphasis on tackling climate change impacts and development needs in a world with growing challenges.
- The pathway to be adopted is one of an integrated risk assessment approach, where solutions are interventions that impact the immediate, near and medium-term outcomes for developing economies.
- Striking the right balance is at any time a choice driven as much by enablers (capabilities, lifestyles and values, financial flows, technical know-how) as by constraints (warming levels, poverty, inequality, lack of health and education).
Conclusion
The pandemic highlighted the need for balance in nature-people relationships, even as it tested the ability of the developing world.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Identification of Prisoners Act 1920
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with the Criminal Procedure(Identification) Bill
Context
The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs introduced the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022.
Purpose of the introduction of the Bill
- The Bill aims to replace the Identification of Prisoners Act 1920 that has been in need of amendment for several decades.
- The criticism and the need for amendment was predominantly in respect of the limited definition of ‘measurements’ as under that Act.
- Back in the 1980s, the Law Commission of India (in its 87th Report) and the Supreme Court of India in a judgment titled State of U.P. vs Ram Babu Misra had nearly simultaneously suggested the need to amend the statute.
What are the issues with the provisions in the Bill?
1] Definition of ‘measurement’ includes analysis of the data
- The definition of measurements is not restricted to taking measurements, but also their “analysis”.
- The definition now states “iris and retina scan, physical, biological samples and their analysis, behavio[u]ral attributes including signatures….”
- It goes beyond the scope of a law that is only designed for taking measurements and could result in indirectly conferring legislative backing for techniques that may involve the collection of data from other sources(For instance, using facial recognition).
- At present there are extensive facial recognition technology programmes for “smart policing” that are deployed all across the country.
- Such experimental technologies cause mass surveillance and are prone to bias, impacting the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable in India.
2] Power of the police and prison officials widened
- The existing law permits data capture by police and prison officers either from persons convicted or persons arrested for commission of offences punishable with a minimum of one year’s imprisonment.
- Parallel powers are granted to judges, who can order any person to give measurements where it is in aid of investigation.
- While the judicial power is left undisturbed, it is the powers of the police and prison officials that are being widened.
- The law removes the existing — albeit minimal — limitation on persons whose measurements could be taken.
- It is poised to be expanded to all persons who are placed under arrest in a case.
- Here, the proposed Bill also contains muddied language stating that a person, “may not be obliged to allow taking of his biological samples”.
3] Storage and retention of data for a long period
- The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shall for a period of 75 years from the date of collection maintain a digital record, “in the interest of prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of any offense”.
- The provision permits the NCRB to, “share and disseminate such records with any law enforcement agency, in such manner as may be prescribed”.
- The NCRB already operates a centralised database, namely the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), without any clear legislative framework.
- The existence of such legislative power with a technical framework may permit multiple mirror copies and parallel databases of the “measurements” being stored with law enforcement, beyond a State Police department which will be prosecuting the crime and the NCRB which will store all records centrally.
- For instance, in response to a Standing Committee of Parliament on police modernisation, Rajasthan has stated that it maintains a ‘RajCop Application’ that integrates with “analytics capabilities in real-time with multiple data sources (inter-department and intra-department)”.
- Similarly, Punjab has said that the “PAIS (Punjab Artificial Intelligence System) App uses machine learning, deep learning, visual search, and face recognition for the identification of criminals to assist police personnel.
- Hence, multiple copies of “measurements” will be used by State government policing departments for various purposes and with experimental technologies.
- This also takes away the benefit of deletion which occurs on acquittal and will suffer from weak enforcement due to the absence of a data protection law.
- The end result is a sprawling database in which innocent persons are treated as persons of interest for most of their natural lives.
Conclusion
To protect individual autonomy and fulfil our constitutional promises, the Supreme Court of India pronounced the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy judgment, reaffirming its status as a fundamental right. The responsibility to protect it falls to each organ of the government, including the legislature and the union executive.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tenth Schedule
Mains level: Paper 2- Exemptions to anti-defection laws
Context
In its verdict in the Goa MLAs case, Bombay High Court has misread the 10th schedule of the Constitution, which was meant to prevent horse trading among legislators.
Understanding the Paragraph (4) of Tenth Schedule
- Paragraph (4) is an exception to the Tenth Schedule’s main provisions.
- It operates only when the defectors’ original political party has merged with the party to which they have defected and two-thirds of the members of the legislature belonging to that party have agreed to the merger.
- Under this provision, the merger of the original political party has to take place first, followed by two-thirds of the MLAs agreeing to that merger.
- The basic premise of the February 25 judgment is that sub-paragraph (2) is distinct from the parent paragraph, and a factual merger of the original political party is not necessary.
- This does not square with the content, context and thrust of paragraph (4), which contemplates the factual merger of the original political party — in this case, the INC.
- The court’s view — the merger of the 10 MLAs of the Congress Legislative Party with the BJP should be regarded as the Congress itself merging with the BJP — goes against the letter and spirit of the Tenth Schedule, paragraph (4) in particular.
Process for the merger: 2 conditions need to be satisfied
- 1] Merger alone is not enough: The opening words of sub-paragraph (2) — “for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph” — clearly mean that to exempt a member from disqualification on account of defection, and for considering this member’s claim that he has become a member of the party with which the merger has taken place, a merger of two political parties alone is not enough.
- 2] Not less than 2/3 members should also agree: Not less than two-thirds of the members should also agree to such a merger.
- The lawmakers made it tough for potential defectors to defect.
- The words “such merger” make it clear beyond any shadow of doubt that the merger of the original political party has to take place before two-thirds of the members agree to such a merger.
- The members of the legislature cannot agree among themselves to merge as the court has said, but they can agree to a merger after it takes place.
Conclusion
The anti-defection law was designed to eliminate political defection. However, the judgment of the Bombay HC seems to assume that paragraph (4) of the 10th schedule is meant to facilitate defection. This judgment is likely to open the flood gates to defection. The Supreme Court must intervene quickly.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: Exit and Opinion Polls in India
Every election season, we find television channels flooded with opinion polls and subsequently exit polls after the casting of votes.
What are Opinion Polls?
- Opinion polls are similar to surveys or an inquiry designed to gauge public opinion about a specific issue or a series of issues in a scientific and unbiased manner.
- This term has got wide recognition for assessing outcomes of elections in India.
- In most democracies, opinion and exit polls are common during elections.
- In India, the ECI allows the dissemination of the exit poll results half an hour after the end of polling on the last poll day.
How are they conducted?
- Interviewers/reporters ask questions of people chosen at random from the population being measured.
- Responses are given, and interpretations are made based on the results.
- It is important in a random sample that everyone in the population being studied has an equal chance of participating.
- Otherwise, the results could be biased and, therefore, not representative of the population.
Need of such polls
- Popular opinion: Polls are simply a measurement tool that tells us how a population thinks and feels about any given topic.
- Specific viewpoint: Polls tell us what proportion of a population has a specific viewpoint.
- Opportunity to express: Opinion polling gives people who do not usually have access to the media an opportunity to be heard.
Issues with such polls (in context to elections)
- Authenticity: Critics have often questioned their authenticity.
- Manipulation of voters: This largely manipulates the voting behavior.
- Sensationalization by media: The media, on the other hand, invariably opposes the idea of a ban as seat forecasts attract primetime viewership.
- Ridiculing the public mandate: The exit polls largely disrespect public opinions inciting confusion regarding the election mandate.
Why does it persist in India?
Ans. Exercise of Free Speech
- The opposition to the ban in India is mainly on the ground that freedom of speech and expression is granted by the Constitution (Article 19).
- What is conveniently forgotten is that this freedom is not absolute and allows for “reasonable restrictions” in the same article.
Limited restrictions that we have in India
- RP Act: The Indian Penal Code and Representation of the People Act, 1951 do contain certain restrictions against disinformation.
- Restrictions on A19: While the Constitution allows for reasonable restrictions on freedom of expression, its mandate to the ECI for free and fair elections is absolute.
- Supreme Court interpretations: The Supreme Court (SC), in a series of judgments, has emphasized this requirement.
- Basic structure doctrine: It considers free and fair elections is the basic structure of the Constitution (PUCL vs Union of India, 2003; NOTA judgment, 2013).
Examples of restrictions
- Restrictions are imposed in many countries, extending from two to 21 days prior to the poll — Canada, France, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, to name a few examples.
- In India, all political parties too have opposed these polls, demanding a ban — except when they are shown as winning.
Why does the ECI feel that opinion polls interfere with free and fair elections?
- Prevalence of paid news in India: Having seen “paid news” in action, it apprehends that some opinion polls may be sponsored, motivated and biased.
- Opacity: Almost all polls are non-transparent, providing little information on the methodology.
- Propaganda: Subtle propaganda on casteist, religious and ethnic basis as well as by the use of sophisticated means like the alleged poll surveys create public distrust in poll process.
- Disinformation: With such infirmities, many “polls” amount to misinformation that can result in “undue influence”, which is an “electoral offense” under IPC Section 171 (C). It is a “corrupt practice” under section 123 (2) of the RP Act.
- Betting: The polling agencies manipulate the margin of error, victory margin for candidates, seat projections for a party or hide negative findings.
Call for a ban in India
- The demand for a ban on opinion polls is not new.
- At all-party meets called by the Election Commission in 1997 and 2004, there was unanimous demand for a ban.
- The difference of opinion was only on whether the ban should apply from the announcement of the poll schedule or the date of notification.
Moves by ECI
- In 1998, the ECI issued guidelines that were challenged in the SC.
- A five-judge Constitution Bench asked the ECI how it would enforce these decisions in the absence of a law.
- Realizing its weakness, the ECI withdrew the guidelines.
- Unfortunately, this left the constitutionality of the issue
Way forward
- Independent regulator: Ideally a body like the British Polling Council would be a viable option. India could set up its own professional, self-regulated body on the same lines say Indian Polling Council.
- Mandatory disclosure: All polling agencies must disclose for scrutiny the sponsor, besides sample size, methodology, time frame, quality of training of research staff, etc.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-UK FTA
Context
In May last year, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Boris Johnson announced their shared vision for a transformative decade for the India-United Kingdom partnership. These words have now been made real.
Transforming India-UK partnership
- Doubling bilateral trade: The two leaders had declared their ambition to more than double bilateral trade by 2030, which totalled over £23 billion in 2019.
- Reduce barriers to trade: They directed their governments to take rapid steps to reduce barriers to trade.
- FTA: The groundwork necessary to begin work on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) had to be prepared by the end of 2021.
- Both governments have already taken action; for example, unlocking the export of British apples to India and enabling a greater number of Indian fisheries to export shrimp to the U.K.
- The big next step was the launch of FTA negotiations last month.
Trade relations at present
- Bilateral trade: The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at 15.5 billion USD in 2019-20. India has engaged with the UK in sectors like pharma, textiles, leather, industrial machinery, furniture, and toys.
- Britain is among the top investors in India and India is the second-biggest investor and a major job creator in Britain. Recently, the Serum Institute of India has announced setting up its research facilities in the UK.
- Indian Diaspora: Around 1.5 million people of Indian origin live in Britain. This includes 15 Members of Parliament, three members in Cabinet, and two in high office as Finance and Home Ministers.
- India is already a big investor in the U.K. — especially in dynamic sectors such as fintech, electric vehicles, and batteries.
- India has an extraordinary opportunity to transform its economy and society in the next 30 years, as it hits its demographic sweet spot, at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region where half the world’s people live and 50% of global economic growth is produced.
Benefits of FTA
- A U.K.-India trade agreement will stimulate growth and employment in both countries.
- Lower barriers coupled with greater regulatory certainty would incentivize new small and medium-sized enterprises to export their goods and services.
- An agreement also means Indian and British consumers see improvements in the variety and affordability of products.
- Strategic reasons: The British Government’s Integrated Review of our overseas policy, describes the world we are in; messier, with the more geostrategic competition.
- It is one in which two dynamic democracies such as India and the U.K. need to work closely together to promote open economies.
Consider the question “Colonial prism has long distorted the perception of India-UK relation. However, both the countries stand to gain by finding a fresh basis for sustaining bilateral relations. Comment.”
Conclusion
An FTA would mark a new way of working between the U.K. and India. It gives a new framework within which the two countries can grow and flourish together, putting the colonial economic relationship where it belongs — in the history books.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FRBM Act
Mains level: Paper 3- Fiscal consolidation
Context
The fiscal deficit for the year 2022-23 is higher than what was recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission. However, if we consider the direction of consolidation, it is towards a reduction in the fiscal deficit.
The budget focuses on capital investment
- This year’s Union budget projects an increase in capex by Rs 3.14 lakh crore, as compared to the budgeted numbers of the previous fiscal.
- Given the economy’s savings-investment profile and macroeconomic uncertainties due to the pandemic, private and household investments are likely to be reactive to the general economic environment.
- Achieving sustainable recovery: For the government, making capital investment in such uncertain times assumes a much higher priority and is equally indispensable for achieving a strong and sustainable recovery from the pandemic.
- Increasing share of government: As per National Accounts data, gross fixed capital formation by the general government (Centre and states) has shown an increase as a percentage of GDP from 3.48 in 2011-12 to 3.82 in 2019-20, while other sectors, particularly households, the share fell from 15.75 per cent to 11.39 per cent during the same period.
- The fiscal stance taken in the post-pandemic budgets for higher capital spending, including the budget of 2022-23, is likely to further enhance the general government share in overall capital formation.
- Important role of the States: it is also important to recognise that two-thirds of the general government’s capital expenditure is undertaken by states and in this context, the announcement of the Rs 1 lakh crore interest-free loans to the states to increase public investment has been a significant step.
- Since states taken together have a higher share in the country’s public capital spending, effective absorption of this additional borrowing facility will be critical for higher public investment.
Three broad trends on Fiscal Consolidation
- 1] Increase in taxes: The increase in taxes by Rs 5.71 lakh crore between 2020-21 (the first year of the pandemic) and 2022-23 shows that the fiscal challenges have eased, but remain present as we navigate economic recovery in uncertain times.
- 2] Reduction in revenue deficit: Between 2020-21 and 2022-23 (BE), the reduction in revenue deficit has been substantial — from 7.3 per cent to 3.8 per cent of GDP.
- 3] Revenue deficit dominates fiscal deficit: Compositionally, revenue deficit continues to be more than 55 per cent of the fiscal deficit and the management of such a deficit has few important considerations for revenue expenditure, that is, interest payments and allocation under various centrally sponsored and central sector schemes.
- Role of CSS in revenue deficit: Aggregate allocation under centrally sponsored and central sector schemes (CSS) as per the 2022-23 (BE) is Rs 3.83 lakh crore and the interest payment cost of the Union government is Rs 9.56 lakh crore.
- Beyond scheme-wise allocations, it is also important to consider CSS allocation as an issue of macro-fiscal management issue at the Union and state level, especially when it is contributing to the high revenue deficit of the central government and binding state resources for matching contribution, thereby increasing states’ deficit.
Understanding the direction of fiscal consolidation
- The fiscal deficit for the year 2022-23 is higher than what was recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
- However, if we consider the direction of consolidation, it is towards a reduction in the fiscal deficit.
- Though in the medium-term, the fiscal story is about supporting recovery, it is also true that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to fiscal consolidation and debt sustainability.
Conclusion
The direction of fiscal consolidation rather than a specific quantified path in an unprecedented time like this is probably the most appropriate consideration.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Aksai Chin
Mains level: Paper 2- Border conflict with China
Context
In a recent television interview, the Indian Army Chief, General M.M. Naravane, argued that “out of the five or six friction points (in Ladakh), five have been solved”.
Friction points in Ladakh
- ‘Friction point’ are the points of Chinese ingress into hitherto India-controlled territory in Ladakh, where this control is exercised by the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) through regular patrols to the claimed areas.
- These ‘friction points’ are Depsang, Galwan, Hot Springs, Gogra, North bank of Pangong Tso, Kailash Range and Demchok.
- By asserting that only one of the friction points is remaining to be resolved — Hot Springs or PP15, Army Chief implicitly ruled out Depsang as an area to be resolved.
- This attempt to delink the strategically important area of Depsang from the ongoing Ladakh border crisis is worrying.
Significance of Depsang
- Depsang is an enclave of flat terrain located in an area the Army classifies as Sub-Sector North (SSN), which provides land access to Central Asia through the Karakoram Pass.
- The Army has always identified Depsang plains as where it finds itself most vulnerable in Ladakh, devising plans to tackle the major Chinese challenge.
- SSN’s flat terrain of Depsang, Trig Heights and DBO — which provides direct access to Aksai Chin — is suited for mechanised warfare but is located at the end of only one very long and tenuous communication axis for India.
- China, in turn, has multiple roads that provide easy access to the area.
- This leaves SSN highly vulnerable to capture by the PLA, with a few thousands of square kilometres from the Karakoram Pass to Burtse, likely to be lost.
- Nowhere else in Ladakh is the PLA likely to gain so much territory in a single swoop.
- SSN lies to the east of Siachen, located between the Saltoro ridge on the Pakistani border and the Saser ridge close to the Chinese border.
- On paper, it is the only place where a physical military collusion can take place between Pakistan and China — and the challenge of a two-front war can become real in the worst-case scenario.
- If India loses this area, it will be nearly impossible to launch a military operation to wrest back Gilgit-Baltistan from Pakistan.
Dangers of delinking Depsang
- Invalidation of Indian claims: The biggest danger of delinking Depsang from the current border crisis in Ladakh, however, is of corroborating the Chinese argument, which invalidates the rightful Indian claim over a large swathe of territory.
- In sparsely populated areas like Ladakh, with limited forward deployment of troops, the only assertion of territorial claims is by regular patrolling.
- By arguing that the blockade at Y-junction predates the current stand-off — a ‘legacy issue’ that goes back years — the Chinese side can affirm that Indian patrols never had access to this area and thus India has no valid claim on the territory.
Conclusion
As was demonstrated by China in the aftermath of the 1962 War, there should be no holding back in painstakingly asserting one’s claims when it comes to safeguarding the territory.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: AI
Mains level: Paper 3- Climate cost of AI
Context
While there is an allure to national dreams of economic prosperity and global competitiveness, underwritten by AI, there is an environmental cost.
Issues with AI
- Unfair race for dominance in AI: A few developed economies possess certain material advantages right from the start, they also set the rules.
- They have an advantage in research and development, and possess a skilled workforce as well as wealth to invest in AI.
- Inequality in terms of governance: We can also look at the state of inequity in AI in terms of governance: How “tech fluent” are policymakers in developing and underdeveloped countries?
- What barriers do they face in crafting regulations and industrial policy?
- At the same time, there is an emerging challenge at the nexus of AI and climate change that could deepen this inequity.
Climate impact of AI
- The climate impact of AI comes in a few forms: The energy use of training and operating large AI models is one.
- In 2020, digital technologies accounted for between 1.8 per cent and 6.3 per cent of global emissions.
- In November 2021, UNESCO adopted the In November 2021, UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, calling on actors to “reduce the environmental impact of AI systems, including but not limited to its carbon footprint.” , calling on actors to “reduce the environmental impact of AI systems, including but not limited to its carbon footprint.”
Inequitable access to resources
- Both global AI governance and climate change policy (historically) are contentious, being rooted in inequitable access to resources.
- Developing and underdeveloped countries face a challenge on two fronts:
- 1] AI’s social and economic benefits are accruing to a few countries.
- 2] Most of the current efforts and narratives on the relationship between AI and climate impact are being driven by the developed West.
Way forward
- Assess technology-led priorities: Governments of developing countries, India included, should also assess their technology-led growth priorities in the context of AI’s climate costs.
- It is argued that as developing nations are not plagued by legacy infrastructure it would be easier for them to “build up better”.
Consider the question “How Artificial Intelligence technologies could transform the world as we know it? What are the concerns with it?
Conclusion
It may be worth thinking through what “solutions” would truly work for the unique social and economic contexts of the communities in our global village.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman
Mains level: Paper 2- Low allocation for social sector
Context
India continues to rank poorly in various global indices that reflect the quality of life, human capital or human development in the country. In this context, it was expected that the current Budget would see an expansion in government spending on the social sector.
Need for greater spending on social sector
- In Human Development Index, India ranks 131 out of 189 countries and on the Global Hunger Index, it ranks 101 out of 116 countries.
- The pandemic over the last two years has had a severe impact on the health, education and food security of the poor and informal sector workers.
- The country has been experiencing increasing inequality over the last couple of decades.
Marginal increase in allocation for school education
- In the budget, the government announced that it will expand its ‘one class, oneTVchannel’ scheme instead of announcing enhanced allocations for schools the government announced that it will expand its ‘one class, oneTVchannel’ scheme instead of announcing enhanced allocations for schools so that they can reopen with vigour.
- The budget for school education at ₹63,449 crore is a slight improvement over last year’s ₹54,873 crore (2021-22 budget estimates, BE) and a mere increase of 6% in nominal terms compared to 2020-21 BE of ₹59,845 crore.
- After rechristening the school mid-day meal scheme as Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman, simply called PM Poshan, the allocation for the scheme has reduced from ₹11,500 crore last year to ₹10,233 crore this year.
Low allocation for health
- Despite repeated statements about strengthening the public health system, the overall budget for the Department of Health and Family Welfare at ₹83,000 crore has gone up by only 16% over the BE for 2021-22 and by less than ₹1,000 crore compared to the RE for 2021-22, which is ₹82,921 crore.
- However, by including water and sanitation in the budget for health, there is an increase being shown in health spending as a proportion of GDP.
- Also, even though the budget for the Jal Jeevan Mission has increased from ₹50,000 crore to ₹60,000 crore, only 44% of the allocated funds to the Department of Water and Sanitation for 2021-22 has been spent as on end December 2021.
No indication of plan to extend the PMGKAY
- 60% of the population are covered by ration cards currently under the National Food Security Act.
- Those who were eligible benefited from the additional free foodgrains that they have been given under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
- However, the food subsidy (BE) for 2022-23 at ₹2.06 lakh crore is only enough to cover the regular NFSA entitlements.
- The indication is that there is no plan to extend the PMGKAY.
- The food subsidy RE for 2021-22 is ₹2.86 lakh crore.
Other schemes
- Budgets for important schemes such as Saksham Anganwadi, maternity entitlements and social security pensions are around the same as the allocations for last year.
- The allocation for MGNREGA at ₹73,000 crore also does not reflect the increased demand for work or thethe pending wages of ₹21,000 crore.
Continued negligence
- The resources allocated for crucial government schemes in the fields of health, education, nutrition, and social protection have remained stagnant or show negligent increase.
- In fact, the budgets for these schemes have been declining in real terms since 2015.
- The World Social Protection Report 2020-22, brought out by the International Labour Organization, shows that the spending on social protection (excluding health) in India is 1.4% of the GDP, while the average for low-middle income countries is 2.5%.
Conclusion
This continued negligence does not bode well for inclusive development in India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CAA
Mains level: Paper 2- Pendency of important cases
Context
Unless the Court strives in every possible way to assure that the Constitution, the law, applies fairly to all citizens, the Court cannot be said to have fulfilled its custodial responsibility.
Landmark judgments
- In the last few years, the Indian Supreme Court has delivered some judgments of far-reaching consequence.
- It declared the right to privacy a fundamental right; decriminalized consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex; recognized transgender persons as the third gender; and outlawed triple talaq.
- These decisions shore up the belief in republican values like liberty and equality reified in our Constitution.
Important cases pending in the Supreme Court
- Constitutionality of CAA: Many petitions were filed before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, that provides non-Muslim communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan a fast-track route to Indian citizenship.
- More than two years later, the matter continues to languish in the apex court.
- Dilution of Article 370: Innumerable petitions have been filed challenging the Presidential Order of August 5, 2019, that effectually diluted Article 370 of the Constitution.
- To date, the court has done precious little to decide this vexed question of law.
- Constitutionality of 103rd amendment: Petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Constitution(One Hundred and Third Amendment)Act,2019 that provides reservations in public educational institutions and government jobs for economically weaker sections are also languishing in the Supreme Court.
- Challenges to the electoral bond scheme: The Supreme Court has failed to accord proper hearing in the last four years to the constitutional challenge to the electoral bonds scheme.
Conclusion
Unless the Court strives in every possible way to assure that the Constitution, the law, applies fairly to all citizens, the Court cannot be said to have fulfilled its custodial responsibility”.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- P5 joint statement on nuclear weapons
Context
The leaders of five nuclear-weapons States — the US, Russia, China, the UK, and France, also known as the P5 issued a joint statement on preventing nuclear war and avoiding the ongoing global arms race.
Overview of the P5 statement
- It is not a binding resolution and reiterates some of the core obligations of the NPT.
- The P5 statement reaffirms that a “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought” because of its “far-reaching consequences”.
- The statement also expresses a commitment to the group’s Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) obligations and “to prevent the unauthorized or unintended use of nuclear weapons”.
- Declaring that an arms race would benefit none and endanger all, the P5 have undertaken to:
- (1) work with all states to create a security environment more conducive to progress on disarmament with the ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
- (2) continue seeking bilateral and multilateral diplomatic approaches to avoid military confrontations, strengthen stability and predictability, increase mutual understanding and confidence”.
- (3) pursue “constructive dialogue with mutual respect and acknowledgment of each other’s security interests and concerns”.
Bold action on 6 measures
- Bold action on six fronts is necessary.
- 1) Chart a path for nuclear disarmament: That member states should chart a path forward on nuclear disarmament.
- 2) Transparency and dialogue: They should agree to new measures of “transparency and dialogue”.
- 3) Address nuclear crises: They should address the “simmering” nuclear crises in the Middle East and Asia.
- 4) Strengthen global bodies: They should strengthen the existing global bodies that support non-proliferation, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
- 5) Peaceful use of nuclear technology: They should promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
- 6) Elimination of nuclear weapons: they should remind “the world’s people that eliminating nuclear weapons is the only way to guarantee that they will never be used.
Peace education and the right to peace
- Peace is necessary for rights, freedom, equality, and justice, and for that reason, we need what Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. called “education in the obvious”— namely, peace education.
- This is required at multiple levels, ranging across the planetary, global, supranational, regional, national, and local levels of social cognition and action.
- UN Resolution 39/11 (November 12, 1984) proclaims that the peoples of our planet have a sacred right to peace and equally solemnly declares that the “preservation of the right of peoples to peace and the promotion of its implementation constitute a fundamental obligation of each State”.
- The subsequent UN Resolution 53/243 B, declaring a program of action for a culture of peace (1999) also owes a great deal to Gandhi’s legacy and mission.
Conclusion
The statement is politically significant given the unimaginable danger posed by the 13,000 nuclear weapons currently believed to be held by a handful of countries, and the growing specter of loose nukes, which may be deployed by armed terrorist groups for nefarious purposes.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Adapting to geopolitical and geoeconomic changes
Context
As India returns to a high growth path after a slowdown in the last decade, its geopolitical salience in the world will continue to rise.
India’s growth story
- Today, India’s GDP is $3.1 trillion and could cross, according to some estimates, $8 trillion by the end of this decade.
- India’s total trade, which was about $38 billion in 1991-92, is expected to touch $1.3 trillion this year.
- This is about 40 percent of India’s GDP and underlines the fact that India is more deeply tied to the world than ever before.
- The world itself is in a geo-economic churn making the transition to $8 trillion a challenging one.
Geo-economic and geopolitical changes in the global order
Geo-economic changes
- It was Edward Luttwak, the well-known American strategist, who triggered a global discourse on the idea of geoeconomics in a seminal article in 1990 amidst the end of the Cold War.
- Using economic dominance for political gain: The rapid economic rise of China in the last three decades and Beijing’s success in leveraging its growing economic clout for political gain is widely seen as a classic example of geoeconomics.
- Economic interdependence: Luttwak’s warning against illusions of economic interdependence and globalization have been borne out by major changes in US-China relations in recent years.
- The dramatic expansion of economic interdependence between China and America over the last four decades — what some called “Chimerica” — was the principal evidence for the thesis that geopolitics and ideology no longer mattered.
- Chimerica was held up as an efficient economic fusion that underscored the virtues of economic globalization.
- However, economic nationalism has re-emerged in both countries today.
- The US is also strengthening domestic research and industrial capabilities to compete more effectively with China.
- China too has adopted the economic strategy of “dual circulation” that focuses on strengthening domestic capabilities and reducing exposure to external factors.
How geopolitical and geoeconomic changes are influencing India’s free trade policies
- At the end of 2019, India has walked out from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) suggesting that the costs of joining a China-centered regional economic order are unacceptable.
- Deepening engagement with complementary economies: India’s move towards free trade agreements with countries like Australia, Britain, UAE, and Israel.
- Domestic orientation: Much like the US and China, India is now taking a number of initiatives to promote domestic manufacturing in a range of sectors under the banner of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
Way forward for India
- Until now, India had the luxury of treating its foreign, economic, and strategic policies as separate domains.
- An integrated approach to policies: Adapting to the current global geo-economic churn demands that Delhi finds better ways to integrate its financial, trade, technological, security, and foreign policies.
- Above all India needs a strategy that can respond to the imperatives of building domestic capabilities, developing geo-economic partnerships, and constructing geopolitical coalitions with like-minded countries.
Consider the question “How the current geo-political and geo-economic policies are shaping India’s trade policies? Suggest the approach India need to adapt to the structural changes taking place in the global order?”
Conclusion
India’s selective trade arrangements and the policies to promote domestic manufacturing have drawn much criticism. While those arguments must continue, they must be related more closely to the structural changes in the international economic order.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Health Authority
Mains level: Paper 2- Health system transformation
Context
After decades of low government expenditure on health, the Covid pandemic created a societal consensus on the need to strengthen our health system.
Steps to strengthen our health system
- The Fifteenth Finance Commission recommended greater investment in rural and urban primary care, a nationwide disease surveillance system extending from the block-level to national institutes, a larger health workforce and the augmentation of critical care capacity of hospitals.
- The Union budget of 2021 reflected these priorities in a proposed Pradhan Mantri Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY) to be made operational over six years, with a budget of Rs 64,180 crore.
- Broader vision of health: The Finance Minister also projected a broader vision of health beyond healthcare by merging allocations to water, sanitation, nutrition and air pollution control with the health budget.
- Under the Ayushman Bharat umbrella the Digital Health Mission was launched in September 2021.
- The Health Infrastructure Mission, launched in October 2021, was a renamed and augmented version of the PMASBY.
- These missions join the two other components of Ayushman Bharat launched in 2018.
- The Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) component is nested in the National Health Mission (NHM) while the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) is steered by the National Health Authority (NHA).
Way forward
- While much of the following needs to be done by the states, the Centre should incentivise and support such efforts by the states.
- Link synergically: Primary healthcare services under the CPHC and linkage with water, sanitation, nutrition and pollution control programmes will strengthen the capacity of the health system for health promotion and disease prevention.
- The budget of 2022 must not only fund these missions adequately but indicate how they will link synergically while functioning under different administrative agencies.
- Allocate more funds: The NHM received only a 9.6 per cent increase in the 2021 budget.
- PMJAY did not see an increase in allocation last year, because its utilisation for non-Covid care declined sharply in the previous year.
- More importantly, limiting cost coverage to hospitalised care reduces the PMJAY’s capacity to significantly lower out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on health, which is driven mostly by outpatient care and expenditure on medicines.
- Focus on Digital Heath Mission: The Digital Health Mission can enhance efficiency of the health systems in a variety of ways.
- These include better data collection and analysis, improved medical and health records, efficient supply chain management, tele-health services, support for health workforce training, implementation of health insurance programmes, real time monitoring and sharper evaluation of health programme performance along with effective multi-sectoral coordination.
- Improve the skill and number of healthcare workers: We need to increase the numbers and improve the skills of all categories of healthcare providers.
- While training specialist doctors could take time, the training of frontline workers like Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) can be done in a shorter time.
- Upgrade district hospitals: District hospitals need to be upgraded, with greater investment in infrastructure, equipment and staffing.
- In underserved regions, such district hospitals should be upgraded to become training centres for students of medical, nursing and allied health professional courses.
Conclusion
The expanded ambit of health, as defined in last year’s budget, must continue for aligning other sectors to public health objectives. The Union budget of 2022 can add further momentum to our health system transformation.
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