Q.8) What do you understand by Fake news. Discuss its dangers in multi-cultural and democratic country like India. What needs to be done to prevent this phenomenon?
Author: Explains
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10 Sep 2017 | Target Mains | Question 7
Q.7) According to many experts by passing Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment bill, 2016 in its present form, India has failed its children. Discuss?
Source: http://thediplomat.com/2016/08/indias-new-child-labor-law-billed-to-fail/
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/A-law-that-allows-child-labour/article14560563.ece
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10 Sep 2017 | Target Mains | Question 6
Q.6) “Transgender Rights Bill 2016 is grossly ignorant of the very issues it is attempting to address” Critically comment.
Source: http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-transgender-persons-protection-of-rights-bill-2016-4360/
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10 Sep 2017 | Target Mains | Question 4
Q.4) The government’s idea of providing proxy voting rights to NRIs is seen as a historic decision in the field of providing voting rights to its citizens. Discuss the pros and cons of this decision.
Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/government-clears-proxy-vote-move-for-nris-4779759/
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10 Sep 2017 | Target Mains | Question 3
Q.3) It is commented that Criminal defamation law have a chilling effect on freedom of expression. In the light of the above statement do you think that Criminal defamation should be amended. Critically comment.
Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/simply-put-the-what-why-of-defamation/
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10 Sep 2017 | Target Mains | Question 2
Q.2) Discuss the salient features of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016? It is considered that the bill will provide women with much needed work life balance. Critically analyse.
Source: http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-maternity-benefit-amendment-bill-2016-4370/
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10 Sep 2017 | Target Mains | Question 1
Q.1) What hurdles exist in making India a cashless economy? Discuss benefits of becoming a cashless economy and suggest how government can speed of this transformation.
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3 Sep 2017 | Target Mains | 2nd Weekly Test
Q.1) Do you think failure of SAARC can be offset by a strong BIMSTEC? Critically comment.
Source: http://www.indiaglobalbusiness.indiaincorporated.com/bimstec-viable-alternative-saarc/
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/4JsOSUC4N81BK0T7zNYecK/Why-is-Bimstec-so-important-for-India.html
The cancellation of SAARC summit at the behest of growing bilateral differences between India and Pakistan has reinvigorated the potential of BIMSTEC to take forward the geo-politic discourse in the subcontinent. The South Asian regional cooperation and coordination on various developmental projects is in limbo as fallout of SAARC failure. In this backdrop, BIMSTEC aims to bring South Asia and South East Asian connectivity to the forefront which envisages to revive the much needed sub regional cooperation in the region. It is believed that a strong BIMSTEC can offset the misgivings of SAARC in the following ways:
- BIMSTEC naturally fills the vacuum created by the inactivity of SAARC. The bilateral problems extending in SAARC have made it all the more important for India to engage in BIMSTEC nations.
- BIMSTEC could act as a natural platform to fulfill India’s “key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighborhood First’ and ‘Act East policy’
- Majority of members of BIMSTEC are the members of SAARC and India has well settled relations with them including Myanmar and Thailand too.
- BIMSTEC is home to 1.5 billion people, accounting for approximately 21 per cent of the world population, and a combined GDP of US$ 2.5 trillion. Considering the growth rate sustained by the BIMSTEC countries (around six per cent per annum), the future seems promising for these member nations.
- BIMSTEC has at last three major projects that, when finished, could transform the connectivity and coherence of the countries in the grouping:
- Kaladan Multimodal project that seeks to link India and Myanmar.( especially benefitting North East )
- Asian Trilateral Highway connecting India and Thailand through Myanmar.
- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) have signed a pact for the movement of goods and vehicles among them.
6. BIMSTEC can be leveraged along with ASEAN to stem the Chinese intrusions and dominance in the region in the interests of all nations of the grouping.
But BIMSTEC has its own challenges and SAARC its own aura-
- SAARC has a more targeted objective of South Asian cooperation and regional stability which is equally critical.
- The absence of countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Maldives in the BIMSTEC will prevent holistic development of the region. Afghan and Pakistan as critical links to the Russia and central Asian markets and west can’t be ignored either.
- India has long been accused of not taking up the leadership role in BIMSTEC initiative.
- Thailand and Myanmar are criticized for having ignored BIMSTEC in favor of ASEAN.
- Absence of permanent secretariat for very long time and lack of commitment to invest in several areas are holding BIMSTEC back.
- In the span of 20 years there have only been 3 annual meetings and 4th one is scheduled to happen this year.
- Another sub -regional grouping BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar) has posted doubts over the exclusivity of BIMSTEC grouping.
Way Forward
Though BIMSTEC is a viable alternative as a sub regional cooperation especially to counter Chinese dominance and influence but failure of South Asia is also not completely in the interest of India. Smooth working of SAARC is in the interest of south Asian countries to enhance cooperation with west Asian countries in terms of trade and investment. Failure of SAARC would increase the dominance of China in west Asia as well as in south Asia economically and militarily.Both SAARC and BIMSTEC have their own importance. Therefore, it is imperative on part of India to actively
engage and maneuver both the forums to secure good relation and cooperation with South East Asia through
BIMSTEC and with west through SAARC.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/data/last-drop-interlinking-an-idea-with-flaws/article8567203.ece
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-water-crisis-drought-marathwada-latur-water-train-2771756/
Inter Linking of Rivers refers to inter-basin water transfers between 2 or more rivers through human interventions on natural systems. India’s National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has suggested the interlinking of rivers of the country. The interlinking of rivers has two components: the Himalayan and the Peninsular. All interlinking schemes are aimed at transferring of water from one river system to another or by lifting across natural basins. The project will build 30 links and close to 3000 storages to connect 37 Himalayan and Peninsular rivers to form a gigantic South Asian water grid.Why we require interlinking of rivers?
- Large variation in rainfall and subsequent availability of water resources in space and time.
- Because of this variability of available water, floods and drought coexist in our country in same time and space. ( Kerala, T.N and South Karnataka is facing drought while Rajasthan, Gujarat , Assam reeling under floods)
However, River Linking Project involves multifaceted issues and challenges related to environmental, economic, ecological, legal, political and social costs. River Linking Project involves multifaceted issues and challenges related to environmental, economic, ecological, legal, political and social costs. It has potential for disastrous and irreversible adverse after-effects which has been comprehensively discussed below:
Ecological Costs:
- Water scientists and Environmentalists have remarked that the water flowing into the sea is not waste. It is a crucial link in the water cycle. With the link broken, the ecological balance of land and oceans, freshwater and sea water, also gets disrupted
- It is feared that diversion of water from the Brahmaputra and the Ganges, which provide 85% of the country’s fresh water flow in the dry season, would result into an ecological disaster.
Economic Costs:
- As this project is of massive estimated cost, a long term planning and a sound financial simulation are required to meet the standard for such proposals.
- The huge expenditure of the project and the maintenance costs associated with the dams, canals, tunnels, and captive electric power generation will involve huge financial burdens.
- This may generate fiscal problems that are difficult to handle.
- This certainly requires financial assistance from the private sector as well as global capital agencies.
- Mobilization of global capital may ultimately entail the risk of destroying social welfare measures.
Environmental costs
- It will result in massive diversion of forest areas and submergence of land leading to deforestation and soil- erosion. (For example The Ken-Betwa link project puts in danger over 4,100 hectares of forest land or 8% of the Panna National Park).
- There will be destruction of rivers, aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, fisheries and groundwater recharge.
- Possible downstream impacts, salinity ingress, pollution concentration, and increased methane emission from reservoirs are other adverse repercussions.
- Scientists are also of the view that river diversion may bring significant changes in the physical and chemical compositions of the sediment load, river morphology and the shape of the delta formed at the river basin.
- It could most likely create trigger points of natural disasters like landslides, earthquakes etc. as seen in case of Koyna dam and Tehri dam.
Legal costs:
- Domestic and regional geo-politics play a pivotal role on the discussions on ILR. As of now, there is no mechanism as of now to deal with matters concerning inter-basin transfers. There are also important institutional and legal issues to be sorted out.
- Each of the 30 schemes of the ILR is supposed to get through several statutory, legal and procedural steps.
Social Costs:
- Reconstruction and rehabilitation due to displacement is not an easy task as seen before.
- The construction of reservoirs and river linking canals in the peninsular component alone expect to displace more than 5, 83,000 people and submerge large areas of forest, agriculture and non- agriculture land.
- It is likely to create social unrest/psychological damage and cultural alienation due to forced resettlement of local indigenous tribal community.
Political Implications:
- Water being a state subject, the ILR plan further complicates existing water sharing and management problems between the riparian states.
- Some of the ILR schemes have international implications, which may create strained relationship with neighboring countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Way forward:
NRLP has its fair share of positives and negatives. Though there are enough apprehensions over the project but they are not backed by any comprehensive scientific evidence to it. Inter basin water transfer is not a new concept. Large direct benefits of irrigation, water supply and hydropower and indirect benefits navigation, tourism, employment generation etc can be accrued in ILR program. Formation of River Basin Authority for coordinated action and subsequent building up of consensus among concerned States is prima facie needed. Legal provisions for implementation of ILR related to rehabilitation and appropriate afforestration
through CAMPA is to be concurrently addressed.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/the-cloud-seeding-myth/article17529580.ece
Cloud Seeding is an artificial technique of inducing rainfall precipitation through dispensation of chemicals namely, Sodium Chloride, Silver Iodide and Potassium Chloride amidst rain bearing clouds. With the country facing consecutive droughts, continued agrarian distress, recurrent monsoon failures as a result of climate change, global warming all threaten to make agriculture unviable today, which employs 75 percent of the workforce. In the backdrop of growing water use issues of agriculture; water conservationists and weather experts have recommended cloud seeding as a potential alternative to resolve this.
Cloud seeding has much success in tropical and semi-tropical regions such as India as seen in cloud seeding experiments of TN and Karnataka. The cloud seeding has been suggested as a solution to rising irrigation problems and is justified in following ways:
- The water resource capacity is unevenly distributed and persisting monsoon vagaries making large tracts of agricultural land still non-irrigated and dependent, cloud seeding can be a game changer to the faming distress.
- Visible results: The past cloud seeding experiments in TN and Project Varshadhari in Karnataka have yielded heavy rainfall for at least an hour.
- Scientific backing: The research by IITs has shown the increased ability of clouds to condensate in presence of aerosols.
- Easy availability of Common Salt required for cloud seeding
However, as per reports and studies the success of Cloud Seeding is not guaranteed and is an unrealistic and unsustainable solution to irrigation problems due to reasons as follows:
- Typical Conditions are required as only a certain kind of clouds can be seeded and it needs to have enough nuclei to process cloud seeding and thunder cloud development.
- This cannot be done in dry weather conditions. We can experiment cloud seeding only when the cloud is in a developing stage.
- We cannot quantify the volume of rainfall that the experiment will bring. This means in case of excess rainfall it may likely lead to flash floods and cause micro climatic disasters.
- Chemical contamination due to residues in resultant rainfall can destroy planted crops and degrade soil fertility.
- Due to flying of aircraft for long hours, high cost of Silver in Silver Iodide and usage of weather Doppler Radars, it can be a costly investment as compared to investments in water conservation, water use efficiency projects.
- Undesired results and resource wastage in case clouds shift from target area to other regions.
- Uncertainty: Difficulties in prediction of resultant rainfall due to cloud seeding makes it a non reliable alternative.
These are all reactionary approaches to manipulate the weather which may provide short term relief. Though cloud seeding is helpful in creating artificial rain, it is unrealistic and not a long term unsustainable solution to irrigation woes. It is no magic wand which will provide sufficient rainfall by itself. Increased focus on On-farm water use efficiency through rigorous implementation of PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, revival of traditional water storages and implementing institutional measures as per Mihir Shah Report on water conservation and recycling are the ways forward. Avoiding piecemeal approach, Cloud seeding should play a supporting pillar to the above long term irrigation redressal mechanism.
Source: http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-compensatory-afforestations-fund-bill-2015-3782/
Compensatory afforestation is defined as afforestation done in lieu of the diversion of forest land for non-forest use. The bill seeks to establish a permanent National Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of India and it also allows the states to establish State Compensatory Afforestation Fund.
Firstly, through this bill an institutional mechanism will be put in place which can lead to utilisation of funds in an efficient and transparent manner at the centre, state as well as union territory level, which were hitherto managed under the aegis of ad-hoc body called CAMPA
Secondly, this bill seeks to the proper devolution of funds to the states for compensatory afforestation purpose, which was a long pending demand from the states as it was only 10% of the CAMPA funds which were devolved earlier
Thirdly, this programme will lead to creation of productive assets in the rural areas and also generation of employment opportunities
Fourthly, funds for the programme will be coming from the promoters of various projects who will be utilising the forest lands for their projects. So, it will put responsibility on the promoters to make judicious use of forest resources
- Loss of biodiversity:- Since it leads to diversion of original forests, the result is fragmentation, that is, the breaking up of large forest blocks into smaller and more vulnerable patches. Fragmentation in turn leads to biodiversity loss. Moreover, non- native species planted in the name of artificial plantation often have served as a threat to even the existing ecosystem.
- Artificial vs original:– Natural ecosystems take thousands of years to develop over a place. Raising artificial plantations elsewhere such as those along the flanks of railway lines, highways, and so on can’t be supposed to have the same biodiversity value as the original ones. Often, they have a poor survival rate.
- Unavailability of land for planting new forests:- which has often led to use of CAMPA funds for purchasing forest department vehicles or repairing buildings defeating the original purpose.
- Infrastructure development:- It could have both restorative and destructive connotations. Safeguards on what kind of infrastructure CAMPA money should create need to include wildlife impact assessments.
The bill is a step in right direction however the bill needs to pay more attention towards the ecological perspective by conserving and protecting the endangered species of wildlife and trees by utilising the CAMPA funds with the creation of productive assets while having wildlife impact assessment in mind rather than producing more woods.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/education/the-heera-conundrum/article19384415.ece
With an aim to simplify and consolidate the mass of regulations and compliances that currently operate in the sector, the Central Government has proposed to do away with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) and replace them with a single body, tentatively titled Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA).
Why does India’s higher education need a reform?
- The idea to have a single higher education regulator is not a new one, but has been recommended by various committees set up by previous governments. While the National Knowledge Commission (2006) had recommended an
independent regulatory authority for higher education, the Committee on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education (2009) had also advocated an apex regulatory body by converging multiple agencies in the field of higher
education. - The TSR Subramanian committee, which had been tasked with coming up with a new education policy, too called for the scrapping of the UGC and AICTE.
- The UGC Review Committee in 2014 had also recommended the commission be replaced with an apex institution named National Higher Education Authority.
What will be HEERA’s role and function?
- HEERA is expected to eliminate the overlaps in the jurisdiction and remove irrelevant regulatory provisions.
- It will bring the regulation of both technical and non-technical higher education institutions under one umbrella.
- The way UGC and AICTE have been roundly criticized for their poor handling of higher education so far, HEERA is likely to be structured in a manner that addresses these deficiencies.
Advantages of HEERA:
- The introduction of a unified regulator for both UGC and AICTE would eliminate all overlaps in jurisdiction and also do away with regulatory provisions that may no longer be relevant.
- Sponsoring bodies of institutes of higher education would no longer be required to approach multiple authorities for clearances, which is likely to promote ease of development of institutions of higher learning.
- HEERA is also expected to have sharper teeth than the extant AICTE and UGC: the HEERA Law is likely to empower HEERA to take strict penal action against defaulting institutions.
- The multiple sets of rules and sub-regulations prescribed by UGC and AICTE, unfortunately, seem to have acted as a deterrent to the development of premier educational institutions would be done away with by setting up of a single body.
- India has separated technical and non-technical education which is “outmoded and out of sync” with the rest of the world. Having a single regulator would result in better outcomes.
- Having a single statutory body for higher education will simplify and consolidate the mass of regulations and compliances that currently operate in the sector.
Conclusion:
- The multiple sets of rules and sub-regulations prescribed by UGC and AICTE, unfortunately, seem to have acted as a deterrent to the development of premier educational institutions. There has long been a need for change in the regime governing higher education in India.
- The separation between the standards governing technical and non-technical education is seen as unnecessary and illusory. Therefore, the time is ripe for single unified authority for the regulation of higher education in the country.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/my-way-on-the-highway/article17819995.ece
The Supreme Court’s order prohibiting the sale of alcohol within 500 meters of national and State highways highlights the perils of polycentric adjudication. While our constitution mandates a separation of powers between the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary, Article 50 of the constitution clearly places policymaking firmly in the domain of the executive. For this reason the Supreme Court’s order has come under criticism. Apart from its polycentric consequences, it has been argued that banning alcohol — and micromanaging the distance from the highways where alcohol cannot be sold — is a classic example of policymaking, and that the Supreme Court has indulged in “judicial overreach”. Intentions of the SC order- positive perspective:
- The stated reason for this order is the overriding imperative of preventing road accidents due to drunken driving stressing that the apex court acted in interest of Public.
- The SC said it was acting to enforce the Right to Dignified Life under Article 21 of Indian Constitution in case of State inaction.
- India has recently ratified to the BRASILIA DECLARATION as its long term commitment towards preventing road accidents and road safety.
- The Supreme Court also said road accidents was unacceptable due to its costs in form of family sufferings.
- Based on road statistics and expert views of National Road Safety Council & Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, it was pointed to Driving under Influence of Alcohol was a major cause of road accidents
Polycentric Consequences: Perspective against the order
- Affects separation of powers: The Supreme Court’s order to ban liquor along highways and micromanage the distance between two falls under Executive’s purview and hence affects separation of powers under Article 50.
- Subverting ways to accommodate: States are now re-classifying State Highways into local roads following the Supreme Court order on the ban of liquor outlets to subvert the order for instance The Rajasthan government passed an order recently to convert a portion of their State Highway roads passing through populous areas into urban and district roads.
- Revenue Loss: Collateral consequences like lost livelihoods and a substantial hit in tourism for States such as Goa and Kerala, to name just two. Goa which has closed 30% of liquor shops and loss of revenue from state run liquor shops such as in TN’s TASMAC
- Illogical: The judgment ignores the fact that liquor need not be necessarily purchased alongside highways and that it can be purchased at other places or before starting journey.
- The Supreme Court did not seem to recognize the provision “within its jurisdiction” in Article 142 while doing complete justice.
Way Forward:
Thus, while the intentions of public interest behind Supreme Court’s directive cannot be disputed, it has in reality created polycentric consequences and its arguments under article 142 and article 21 is too far fetched. Better traffic policing like in Maharashtra, continued awareness and information dissemination about ill- effects of liquor should be promoted. Ban culture seldom works and respecting each other’s jurisdiction and Judiciary’s self correcting tendency alone can resolve the so called judicial overreach.
Q.7) Taxing agriculture income is an idea whose time has come. Critically discuss.
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/IjHS4ld7qFwApFx5NzVpXO/Why-India-should-tax-agricultural-income.html
Introduction:
- The NITI Aayog has recently re-raised an issue of taxing farm income which at present is exempted from tax under section 10 (1) of IT Act. This has also been recommended by various committees such as Y. K. Alagh, K. N. Raj, Kelkar taskforce etc.
- Farm income comprises of agricultural income as rent/revenue from land used for agricultural purposes, income derived from this land through agriculture and income derived from buildings on that land provided the building is required as a dwelling house, a store- house or other out-building and the land is not situated in any area which is comprised within the jurisdiction of a municipality or a cantonment board and which has a population of not less than 10,000.
Why Agricultural Income should be taxed?
- The economic and governance necessity of such a tax has always been apparent.
- Non-agricultural income by large land holders are being shown as agricultural income and have prevented from being taxed. This triggers the generation and circulation of black money in huge manners. This has also been proved by the Planning Commission’s study on cooperative farms which has shown that the exemption provided is being misused in large
context. - The underlying argument in the current discussion is to bring more people under the tax net to expand the tax base and also curb tax evasion because income from other sources is usually shown as agricultural income and thus evasion is easy.
- The exemption for agricultural incomes ends up benefiting medium and large farmers and agricultural companies, which was surely not the intended outcome.
- The agriculture sector has long acted as a tax shelter. Taxpayers wishing to convert black money into white money show ownership of ancestral property in villages. They are able to obtain fictitious receipts from traders of agricultural commodities as evidence that they have produced and sold agricultural produce.
- The reality in India is that the agricultural sector is hugely unequal, both in terms of land holdings and incomes. Almost 70% of farmers have marginal land holdings of below 1 hectare and a very small percentage only 0.4% holds significant lands of over 10 hectares.
- Even the proportion of agricultural households holding a decent sized plot of land which could yield a sufficient amount of income for a household, i.e., between 4 and 10 hectares is very small.
- So, just by bringing to tax the incomes of the top 4.1% of total agricultural households, at an average tax of 30%, as much as Rs. 25,000 crore could be collected as agriculture income tax. The amount that would be brought to tax as a result of plugging the tax loophole would be in addition to this direct revenue.
Criticisms:
Taxing farm income from all the farmers will not be a good idea given the present circumstances of farmers under huge debt burden and erratic nature of rainfall and farm productivity. A majority of farmers in India — nearly 60% — are small farmers, with small holdings and a small marketable surplus. Their incomes are erratic. There is no climate insurance for them when the rains fail or in the event of floods. Droughts leave them reeling just as the fury of floods. Very often, when we talk of farmers, we assume they are all men — 40% of these farmers are women who do not have patta (title deed to the land they till) and do not have Kisan Credit Cards
either. The share of agricultural products to GDP has shrunk at an alarming rate from 32% to 15% as compared to high number of workforce involved in this. Taxing will be burden on small land holding farmers who are highly dependent on agricultural products or even work outside as daily wage labourers to compensate his/her income.The widespread illiteracy among farmers will lead them to be exploited by tax authorities. Also with the dynamic nature of productivity will lead the government in difficulties to identify and monitor the bogus and real beneficiaries. Filling and paying income tax will exclude them out of many social schemes (as an automatic exclusion criterion) and also this income might not be regular or permanent which will made them more vulnerable.
Way Forward:
The need of the hour is to factor procurement policy plus pricing policy and the public distribution system before there is any talk of bringing the sector in the income tax net. Before we tax, we should aim at increasing the flow of credit, especially to those who are dependent on the rains, or in coastal and hilly areas, and aim for enhancing the quality and cost competitiveness of farm commodities to make them globally competitive. In order to make tax evasion consistently difficult, CBDT must make it mandatory for all individuals, who disclose agricultural income in excess of, say, Rs 20 lakh (limit for family Rs 40 lakh), to provide the following information in their income-tax returns: break-up of agricultural income into sale value of produce; rent from land and farm house; acres of agricultural land owned and leased with location, crops grown, yield and sale realization per acre; and details of fertilisers, seeds and pesticides purchased. Since every state has a land ceiling act, this information would ascertain if the assessee is showing
income from more land than prescribed under the act.
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/slate/what-is-ham-in-india/article9773587.ece
http://www.indianeconomy.net/splclassroom/131/what-is-hybrid-annuity-model-in-ppp/
Most of the earliest highway projects allocated through PPP mode were implemented through BOT –TOLL MODE. Under this model the private party is selected to build, maintain and operate the road based on the fact that which private bidder offered maximum sharing of toll revenue to the government. Here, all the risks- land acquisition and compensation risk, construction risk (i.e risk associated with cost of project), traffic risk and commercial risk lies with the private party. The private party is dependent on toll for its revenues. The government is only responsible for regulatory clearances. Thus in this model all the risk was borne by the Private sector.
- To solve this Problem Government Brought EPC model. EPC stands for engineering, procurement and construction. It is a model of contract b/w the government and private contractor. The EPC entails the contractor build the project by designing, installing and procuring necessary labour and land to construct the infrastructure, either directly or by subcontracting. Under this system the entire project is funded by the government rather than the PPP model where there is cost sharing. Thus it shifts all the risk from the private players to the government and is the other extreme of BOT model where all risk was borne by the private player. Even though in EPC Model the private sector was absolved of the financing Risk as whole contribution was made by the Government however it was not a sustainable model in Long run since it suffered from one inherent limitation i.e. the financial resources available with the government.
- HAM model is a Combination OF EPC model and BOT-Annuity model. Under this model. The government will provide 40 percent of the project cost to the developer to start work while the remaining investment has to be made by the developer. Thus under this model Risk is shared equally between both the parties i.e. Government and Private player and thus it resolves the problem of extreme risk borne by a single under the previous 2 models.
Key features of the HAM Model
- Under this the government will pay 40 per cent of the project cost to the concessionaire during the construction phase in five equal installments of 8% each.
- HAM is a mix of BOT Annuity and EPC models. As per the design, the government will contribute to 40% of the project cost in the first five years through annual payments (annuity). The remaining payment will be made on the basis of the assets created and the performance of the developer. Here, hybrid annuity means the first 40% payment is made as fixed amount in five equal installments whereas the remaining 60% is paid as variable annuity amount after the completion of the project depending upon the value of assets created.
- Revenue collection would be the responsibility of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI); developers will be paid in annual instilments over a specified period of time. There is no toll right for the developer.
- An important feature of the hybrid annuity model is allocation of risks between the partners—the government and the developer/investor. While the private partner continues to bear the construction and maintenance risks as in BOT (toll) projects, it is required only to partly bear the financing risk. The developer is insulated from revenue/traffic risk and inflation risk, which are not within its control.
How the adoption of this model can help in completion of stalled projects?
- In the hybrid annuity model, one need not bring 100 per cent of finance upfront and since 40 per cent is available during the construction period, only 60 per cent is required to be arranged for the long term. It would be easier for Private Players to raise the remaining 60% fund from the Market since Lending for hybrid annuity- modelled projects would be comparatively easier as there is no traffic risk associated. Lenders would be comfortable as the execution risk is less for contractors as the bidding rolls out only after 90% land is available.
- This makes it attractive and viable for the private player to invest in Highway projects as In last few years many of the highway projects were stuck due to Lack of fund availability for private players due to high NPA,s of the banks and lack of long term financing options in India. This will help in completion of stalled Projects.
Introduction:
India-Israel diplomatic relationship started since 1992 and we have moved with much pace in order to strengthening the relationship further. Since the Upgradation of relationship, defence and agriculture have been the main pillars of bilateral engagement. In recent years bilateral ties have expanded to areas such as education, science & technology, homeland security, space technology and water management etc.
Benefits of India-Israel Relation:
- Since 1991, with the break-up of Soviet Union and end of Cold War, Indo-Israel relations have improved substantially.
- Defence sector has been guiding light in the development of relations.
- From Buyer-Seller relationship, today India and Israel are moving towards Joint production of defense equipment, which dove tails well into India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and attaining strategic independence in defense equipment.
- Relations are diversified to also include agriculture, Nano-technology, space research and an understanding on counter-terrorism.
- These above reasons and huge good will that India generates among Israeli population makes one to call them strategic partners and natural allies.
Criticisms to deepening ties between India and Israel:
However, India should continue its Multi-vectored approach towards its diplomacy and build multiple alliances and resist the temptation to call Israel as its natural ally because of the following reasons:
- Iran, the Israel’s natural enemy is the only possible land route to India to reach the resource rich Central Asia in case the situation in Afghanistan goes against Indian interests.
- Presence of huge Muslim population in India requires it to maintain good relations with Arab world, which opposes Israel.
- India needs the help of Saudi Arabia as much as Israel to counter terrorism and also for fulfilling its energy security.
- Human right violations of Israel in Gaza and west Bank might become a head-ache for India, which is so far a principle supporter of Palestine cause.
- Our economy is heavily dependent on the oil & petroleum from the Islamic nations of west Asia. Millions of Indians work and send back billions of dollars to India as remittances. We have a lot of goodwill among these Islamic nations generated over the decades, which was visible during Operation Raahat – evacuation of Indians from Yemen. Over emphasis on Indo-Israel relationship may jeopardize relations with other Arab nations.
- India’s shifting stand in UN on Human Rights violation in Palestine can damage its image as non-aligned country and country who always stood along weak countries for their just demand. If India wants its permanent seat in UNSC, it needs to have consistent stand against human rights violations.
Conclusion:
- Given the circumstances India have (surrounding with the hostile neighbours) a reliable defence partner is always in benefit of India which Israel has proved on time to time.
- However, there are many positive outcomes of deepening ties with Israel, but diplomacy with surrounding nations have to be handled very carefully and with utmost importance as India will need other nations also in order to have strategic cooperation and also to secure its energy security.
https://thewire.in/131341/parliament-state-assembly-simultaneous-elections-democracy/
Recently, the concept of simultaneous election in India has been reinitiated which entails for holding elections for Lok Sabha (Lower House) and State Legislative Assemblies together which was in practice prior to 1967. The idea behind this is to curb policy paralysis, improvement in governance and to more extent limit the exchequers’ burden. The topic is a hot issue for debate and involves various points to discuss.
Merits for holding Simultaneous Elections:
It will have similar period for imposition of Model Code of Conduct during which the developmental activities are put on hold and the time afterwards can be used for strengthening governance and also more concentration will bring more stability in governance. This Model Code of Conduct also effects the functioning of bureaucracy, which can also be taken care of.
Elections in India are thought to be a big-budget exercise. Simultaneous election will limit the Expenditure. This savings can be utilized in other developmental activities.
Simultaneous Elections will improve law and order problem as frequent elections tend to disrupt the normal public life and affect the functioning of essential services. Frequent elections lead to frequent disruption of road traffic by political rallies and also lead to noise pollution.
It is evident that crucial manpower is often deployed on election duties for a prolonged period of time. If simultaneous elections are held, then this manpower would be made available for other important tasks.
Are there any compelling reasons for India for conducting simultaneous elections?
No, we don’t see any compelling reasons for conducting simultaneous election in India at present because:-
India’s elections are neither as expensive as it is thought to be nor does it have to be as disruptive to national governance as it is made out to be.
Over a five-year cycle, the government incurs a total of Rs 8000 crore for all elections. This works out to roughly Rs 1,500 crore every year or a paltry Rs 20 per voter per year.
To put this in context, India’s annual GDP is Rs 150 lakh crore. Every single year, India’s public sector companies alone lose 20 times more money than it costs to keep India a vibrant electoral democracy (as more fund for political parties are collected from corporate). This notion that the government can save enormous sums of money to help lift millions out of poverty by holding simultaneous elections is plain outlandish.
MCC by election commission regulates the party in power and restricts certain capital expenditure projects of an incumbent government once elections are called. Moreover, it is noted here that if MCC is in force in one state, the other states are free to launch developmental activities as we are planning more devolution of funds to the states (14th Finance commission recommendation and also claimed by the NITI Aayog). There is no holding of developmental activities across India with frequent election, then why simultaneous election is being thought.
However, simultaneous election also involves some challenges:
If both the elections are held together for instance in 2019, what will happen to the assemblies elected in 2017 and 2018? Will they be dissolved?
This will take the states power granted under Article 172 (1) of the constitution that allows an elected state government to recommend dissolution of the assembly and call for elections.
Under a simultaneous elections regime, the state will be beholden to the Union government for elections to its state, which goes against the very grain of political autonomy to states under our federal structure.
According to Article 85 and Article 174, elections to Lok Sabha and Legislative assemblies have to be held within six months (respectively) of dissolving either of them. So how can it be feasible if elections are held only at fixed durations?
Now, when the multi party democracy is a reality, it shows the polycentric voter diversity. How can there be simultaneous elections when there are different parties at the Centre, State, and local bodies?
Conclusion:
Election brings the governed and the people who govern closer to each other. Hence, any trampling with the process which can possibly clutter the voter’s choice is unwarranted and lead to a deficit of democracy.
The challenges in the present system are genuine. However, there are other possible solutions which can be tried. As several political thinkers have said, “Indian democracy is a unique case of a successful functional democracy with a vast diversity” .The highlight of this diversity is the choice and opinion. Hence, any amendments to the democracy’s largest festival should not be fraught with damaging the democracy itself.
Ethics Questions
At a time, when we notice cases of communal disturbance, it is essential the children from the beginning are inculcated with values of secularism and cultural integration. The best way of teaching them is through inculcating ethics of national integration, involving them in religious matters of various faiths by celebrating festivals. The schools should plan a suitable curriculum, organise debates and symposiums and take students for visits to religious places of different faiths. It is important to teach them against cynicism and self centeredness. If they realize from beginning positive faiths of various communities, they won’t develop hatred against a particular religion.
The merit lies in fact that the children, in schools are not too much familiar with communal tensions and if they are taught values of secularism and cultural integration at right time, it will be good in the longer run. Having a good set of values will not allow them to get affected by people who try to disintegrate society on thin lines of communalism.
(a) What are the various options available to ‘X’?
(b) Suppose ‘X’ comes to you with all his options, what suggestion you would give him along with justifications.
Y has wrong intentions of adding the ingredients to the baby food. He merely wants to earn more money and for doing so, he is ready to compromise with health of children. The various options before X are-
- He can request MD and tell him it is unethical and can harm children. The company may lose its credibility if the news comes in public.
- He can ask chemist not to dilute the ingredients and try to convince him that it is wrong. The chemist may however go to the MD and tell about him.
- He can inform the Independent Director (representing the interest of consumer) directly or through some member. It is possible that the board after coming to know about the situation will look into the matter.
There are various options available to X. Disclosing the matter might pose a threat to his job. However, if he keeps mute on the issue, it is liable to bring bad name to the enterprise.
- He should first try to convince his boss that it is unethical to carry such wrong practice just to earn more money.
- He can go to the chemist and seek his cooperation in ensuring that the important ingredients in the food are not diluted.
- Even it the above options do not bring fruitful results, the last resort should be to have enough sacrifice capacity for the good of the children even if it involves quitting job. Just to save his job, he should not compromise with the life of the children otherwise he would also be equally responsible for supporting the MD in his wrong deeds.
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[Answers + Video Explainers] 27 Aug 2017 | Target Mains | 1st Weekly Test
Video Explainers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNtb_vIq3FA
https://www.thequint.com/india/2017/08/25/key-points-of-right-to-privacy-judgment
A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty” and is inherently protected under Article 21 enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution overruling its own eight-judge Bench and six-judge Bench judgments of M.P. Sharma and Kharak Singh cases delivered earlier.
Significance of the landmark Judgment:
- An ordinary man not just a citizen, but anyone, whether an Indian national or not, can move the constitutional courts of the land under Articles 32 and 226, respectively, to get justice in case of violation of fundamental right.
- The court emphasized upon personal, informational and digital privacy. It cleared the air on the amorphous nature the concept of privacy.
- The judgment of the SC by overruling it earlier verdict shows evolution of our judiciary with changing time.
- It will directly impact food choices, beef bans and any such restrictions that is intrinsic to choice and privacy
- The nine-judge Bench’s judgment gains international significance as privacy enjoys a robust legal framework internationally, though India has remained circumspect.
Bearing over Statutes/Bills/Laws:
- The landmark judgment declaring right to privacy a fundamental right would have bearing in matters relating to “Cattle and Livestock Sale Rules” that bans beef sale and restricts food choice that may be struck down.
- The judgment will have a crucial bearing on the government’s Aadhaar scheme that collects personal details, biometrics to identify beneficiaries for accessing social benefits and government welfare scheme.
- The court has observed that one’s sexual orientation is undoubtedly an attribute of privacy. It reopens the debate and rights of LGBT communities may finally get recognized by SC through striking down of IPC Section 377.
- This calls for robust Data security, protection and regulatory mechanism for important data of the citizens collected by both private and public authorities. The IT Act 2000 also will have restructuring to incorporate changing dynamics of data sharing.
- The Human DNA profiling with the dangers of data leakage and misuse will have implications due to this judgment.
- Right to terminate life under euthanasia can have negative fallout along with rise of suicides and abortion if recognized as arbitrary private decisions.
- Other negative consequences could include “Aadhaar” covering 99% population, if struck down, could cost exchequer heavily and the striking down of Aadhaar Act on grounds of privacy violations could curtail DBT, welfare scheme benefits.
By declaring right to privacy as a new freedom and clear fundamental right it has opened up plethora of hopes and aspirations of Indian citizens as a whole and protects them from arbitrary intrusions of their personal space. While it has negative fallouts, rationally demarcated restrictions on this freedom and a properly regulated robust data protection law to support the judgment is the need of the hour.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/why-indias-nsg-entry-is-no-big-deal/article8737568.ece
http://www.orfonline.org/research/india-can-do-without-nsg-membership-says-expert/
Hints:
Introduction:
Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) is a 48 member multi-lateral grouping, deals with the control of nuclear materials and technology, founded in response to India’s nuclear test in the year 1974.
The group has a set guidelines pertaining to items that are especially designed for nuclear use and the export of dual-use items (materials and technologies) which are considered as a guarantee for the country to procure and supply nuclear materials and technology. India thinks joining the group will pave its way for supplying some of its technologies and other nuclear items to other countries.
However, some expert thinks that joining NSG will be a futile exercise as India has already being recognized by some of powerful countries like US, Japan and Australia etc. as a peaceful user of nuclear items and can deal with the technologies and other items without any hassle and obstacles.
Why it seems to be a futile exercise?
Critics argue that as India had already got a clean NSG waiver in 2008; all these efforts to gain entry into the club will be a futile as it would not make any material difference because No foreign nuclear reactor supplier is waiting for India to get a NSG membership. However, non NSG somewhere obstructs India from openly dealing with other nations and also keeps away from making rules.
China’s backing to Pakistan for NSG membership similar to India gaining its membership will be a serious concern for many as Pakistan’s terrible proliferation record which many nations fear.
In fact, a long list of deal-breaker challenges hamper progress of foreign companies selling their hi-tech reactors — nuclear liability issue, Japan’s distaste for nuclear (both GE and Westinghouse are today Japanese-owned), local opposition and pricing. ‘NSG membership’ has never shown up in the list.
Energy from India-built nuclear plants is much cheaper. For GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse-Toshiba, the liability issue is a big risk, and if they factor the risk in costs, their energy will also be pricey.
However,
- NSG membership is an assertion of right and joining it mean participating in the rules making of NSG. This will give India a chance to expose Pakistan’s terrible proliferation record and may block Pakistan forever. However, this will mount tension between India and Pakistan or India and China for Nuclear access.
- The 2008 waiver with USA made India eligible to receive advanced nuclear technologies that could be used to enrich uranium and/or reprocess plutonium. This has helped India a lot. However, such access is restricted to American technologies. Membership to the NSG will essentially increase India’s access to state-of-the-art technology from the other 47 members of the Group, as well.
- NSG membership also means India can begin to commercially produce nuclear power equipment, which it can then even sell to other countries. With access to state-of-the-art nuclear technologies, it can maximize its production benefits. However, the other nuclear haves nations are already in engagement with such countries and will prove less fruitful for India.
- Access to technology and being allowed to produce nuclear equipment will give a boost to the Make in India programme announced by our PM. That will boost economic growth in India, create more jobs and even lead to a whole new IT-industry segment that India can leverage.
- Most of the energy is generated from Coal which is unclean due to CO2 emissions. NSG membership can help India in shifting to clean Nuclear Energy and will also help India in its commitment to climate change.
- On grant of membership, India will have a say in the group’s decisions. India could also play a more pro active and constructive role in blocking illegal nuclear trades between China, Pakistan, North Korea etc.
Conclusion:
However, India must further build on the theme that dwell on India’s “strong record” in dealing with the challenges of arms proliferation and its contribution to global non-proliferation and nuclear security efforts.
India must demonstrate its readiness and resolute to achieve global nuclear non-proliferation goals and show a certain degree of transparency with its strategic weapons programmes, to bolster the case for its full membership in the multilateral non-proliferation groupings.
Source: http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/YJFZYlzt2IN3lkOlljLjfO/Why-India-needs-a-uniform-civil-code.html
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/Now-is-not-the-moment/article14486438.ece
The recent hearing of Supreme Court declaring the discriminatory practice of instant Triple Talaq as unconstitutional, a clear message that personal law can no longer be privileged over fundamental rights is established. The main ground on which the practice has been struck down is that this form of Talaq is arbitrary in the sense that the marital tie can be broken capriciously and whimsically by a Muslim man without any attempt at reconciliation so as to save it. This important judgment with its positive spillovers of gender justice provides a clear gateway to reinvigorating the debate of UCC and its implementation in near future.
In fact, the Uniform Civil Code(UCC) envisages uniformity in personal laws cutting across all religions, caste and creed pertaining to personal laws like polygamy, triple Talaq, Nikah Halala in case of Muslims; dowry, property rights and bigamy in case of Hindus; and divorce and property rights among Christians.
Need for Uniform Civil Code:
- First, a secular republic needs a common law for all citizens rather than differentiated rules based on religious practices.
- It will promote national integration and uniformity in laws across gender, caste and religions.
- It will fall along constitutional principles (DPSP, Article 44) towards achieving gender justice and equality, as envisaged by our constitution makers.
- There is a second reason why a uniform civil code is needed: gender justice. The rights of women are usually limited under religious law, be it Hindu or Muslim. The practice of triple talaq is a classic example.
- It will uphold human rights and provide a common legal procedure on violation.
Impediments to its implementation:
- There is no one personal law which is complete and just in itself. The apprehension that concepts alien to its socio-religious practices will march one after another if change in legislation is permitted in one field.
- Opposition from orthodox sections of various religions could lead to protests, separatist tendencies on grounds of alleged state interference in personal and religious space.
- Inordinate delays due to much litigation in court challenging UCC, may prolong its implementation.
- The diversity of our country and its multitude of customs and usages present a hindrance and a single framework accommodating all will not be an easy solution.
- Many experts believe it directly conflicts with the Right to religious freedom guaranteed in the constitution under Article 25 and 26 for pursuing various aspects of the religion.
- There is no concrete draft of how an ideal UCC should be that assuages the fears of other religious minority groups.
Way forward:
- The government will have to work hard to build trust, but more importantly, make common cause with social reformers rather than religious conservatives, an obvious political challenge in assuaging fears.
- The Government in coordination with all stakeholders must take up reforms in each personal law through independent initiatives, and bring separate aspects such as marriage, adoption, succession and maintenance into a uniform civil code in stages.
- The civil law in Goa—derived from the Portuguese Civil Procedure Code of 1939—could be a useful starting point for a national debate.
The underlying principle should be that constitutional law will override religious law in a secular republic. The dynamics of social transformation through the instrument of law from diverse civil code to uniformity shall be gradual. The government should draft a uniform civil code with widespread multi stakeholder discussions and a comprehensive review of several other laws in the context of gender justice. That is important in the context of the above judgment.
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/hnytasM4zVTEWmQnt1fc1N/Replacing-food-with-cash.html
The government is likely to scrap public distribution scheme (PDS) system and transfer money directly to the accounts of poor beneficiaries after getting encouraging results from Haryana and Puducherry. This move has been supported as well as criticized by many economists.
Arguments in favour of substituting PDS grain transfers with cash- PDS prone to corruption and leakage: Proponents of substituting PDS grain transfers with cash argue that PDS is an inefficient mode of transfer of subsidies, prone to enormous leakages into the black market, and high waste in costs of transferring subsidies in the form of food transfers. They argue that replacing food with direct cash transfers would greatly reduce corruption and leakages.
- Better targeting: It would enable the poor to access goods currently denied them by a PDS beset by corruption.
- More choice for Consumers: It would enable people to buy better quality food of their choice from the open market and not be restricted to items sold in the PDS, which are often inferior in quality and limited in range.
- Will Reduce Wastage: Providing subsidies directly to the poor, it is further argued, would both bypass brokers as well as reduce the waste and holding costs of storing grains in government silos. The amount of grain actually required for India’s buffer stock needs could be held in better-quality warehouses, eliminating waste and rotting.
- Will reduce fiscal deficit: Cash transfers would help reduce fiscal deficit by curbing expenditures earmarked for the PDS that are siphoned off through corruption, as well as avoiding substantially higher costs of transferring food rather than cash.
Arguments against
- Not leakage proof: It is problematic to assume that cash transfers would in themselves bring about drastic reductions in corruption and leakages in welfare programmes, as there is nothing intrinsic to cash transfers which renders them less vulnerable to leakages. Irregularities are empirically found to be high in existing cash transfer programmes. Cash transfers of old-age pensions are at least as notorious for corruption and leakages as the PDS.
- PDS performing better: Studies confirm that many states have been able to reform PDS and significantly reduce leakages, as much as some states have reformed pension transfers. Clearly, the difference between the corruption or probity of delivery of welfare programmes is not dependent on whether cash or food is delivered, but on political and administrative will and capacities, and public vigilance and organization.
- Misuse of Cash: It is also possible for people to spend cash transfers not on more nutritious food, as proponents suggest, but instead on non-food items, which would decrease the amount of household money left for buying food. There are significant gendered differences of choice here. Research confirms that culturally decisions relating to cash in households tend to be made by men, who may or may not spend the money on food. Decisions relating to food are made by women in almost all cultures, and therefore food rather than cash in a household is more likely to end up as food in a child’s stomach.
- Weak Banking Infrastructure: There are also worries about how genuinely inclusive of people in remote rural regions is India’s banking system. Fair price shops exist in three of every four villages, and are therefore generally accessible. According to one survey, average distance to the nearest bank branch is between 6.5km to 10km. Distances would be much longer in remote regions, entailing high additional costs of transport and time.
- A shield against Inflation: Another advantage of PDS over cash transfers from the perspective of the poor is that PDS supplies rations at a constant price, irrespective of the fluctuations in market prices. This therefore provides a shield against inflation, a benefit that cash transfers cannot match.
- Ensures stable income for Farmer’s: it is a mistake to view PDS only as a means to transfer subsidies to poor households. PDS costs need to be measured against its other goals as well. PDS requires the government to procure food from farmers. The government builds up stocks of grains which are also useful for price stabilization. Indeed, the guarantee of minimum support price purchase by the government for wheat and rice is the most important instrument for the protection of farmers’ income in India, and this would become unfeasible if the government could not offload a lot of this grain back through the PDS.
- Cash transfer leading to exclusion: In areas where pilot programme has been launched There were issues in transfers, as results show as high as 50 per cent of those entitled did not receive the full or part cash transfer, especially due to issues in linking of bank accounts with Aadhaar and ration cards.
Way Forward:
Certainly, DBT is a novel idea and it could certainly reduce leakages and corruption of PDS system has proven its record in LPG case where Government saved rs 14000 crore due to better targeting and elimination of ghost beneficiaries
However, DBT in food subsidy is an idea which has many flaws as mentioned above. PDS system itself is flawed and it needs to be eliminated.
Therefore, instead of cash transfer Government should give food coupons as this will solve the problem of misuse of cash for buying non-food things and it will also give poor people choice to buy food from the retailer of their choice. Food coupon amount should be periodically revised so that it takes into account the current inflation. Thus what we require is a system which is somewhere in between the present inefficient PDS system and the proposed DBT system.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/Why-a-%E2%80%98bad-bank%E2%80%99-is-tricky/article15477841.ece
Introduction:
Due to ever increasing twin balance sheet problem and the rising difficulty to tackle it by any other means, the Government has proposed an another reform as a last resort i.e. Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency (PARA) for the rehabilitation of the Public Sector Banks and Companies who are facing such crisis.
It is to be a centralized approach where the Agency will take charge of the assets of the worst affected Public Sector Undertakings and try to reduce their debt to a large extent.
Criticisms:
Under this approach, the Public Assets Rehabilitation Agency will purchase the loans of the over-indebted infrastructure and steel firms. Then it will try to work out using several methodologies, one of them being the professional assessment of value-maximizing strategy to come to a conclusion as to how these debts can be paid and written off.
This requires a huge amount of investment in the projects which can be done only through fulfillment of capital requirements by the government. However, given the circumstances, Capital Markets, Corporations, and other private investors will not be agreeing to invest.
Many critics argue that PARA in reality does not provide any new means to solve this problem. It actually suffers from certain major loopholes which cannot be ignored:
Problem of disposal: It has somehow been ignored that the PARA will face the same problem as that of banks in disposing of these debts. Although it may be having some methodologies to do it, it requires huge finance to do this. There is not even much market for stressed assets owing to the reason as many sectors are currently plagued with overcapacity. So, it cannot really resort to selling these assets to a large extent.
Operational discrepancies: Many critics have pointed out that PARA proposes a very unclear method. The methods proposed are only a slight variation of the old ones like the ARC. They failed because of these mechanisms. So adopting them again can lead to a continuation of the problem.
One size fit all policy not feasible: In India, the issue of NPAs and corporate bankruptcy differ from bank to bank and corporation to corporation and hence, a one size fit all policy will not be feasible from overcoming such problems. Also, it will require the agreements from banks and corporation to shed their bad loans which draws certain percentage of it to the PARA.
However, setting up of PARA like institution has certain advantages also:
By taking away bank’s debt, it releases the bank of a huge amount of its financial burden. It has two major benefits:
Reduction in burden on banks: By taking away these bad debts, the PARA shoulders the responsibility of all the debts. This reduces the burden on the banks to find ways to get back their bad debts. The PARA particularly concentrating on this task can do it more effectively than these banks. Thus, banks can think of utilizing their human resources in focusing on other important activities than debt restructuring.
Restoring financial health: By buying these debts, it recapitalizes the bank. Once this is done, banks with greater capital can now focus on making new loans.
Concentration on one Agency: Since the bad debts are all now concentrated in one agency, it is easier to find a true estimate and address it step by step.
Conclusion:
However, with various discrepancies this new institution seems to provide a new ray of hope to overcome from NPAs like situation and somewhat liberate to the corporation also. Till now it has been proved that the earlier such methods did not bring fruitful result, and hope that the new agency may liberate from such problems so it’s worth to have the experience of this also.
Since, the coin has both side, concerning both the aspects, we should try to minimize the negative aspects and focus more on its benefits and positive sides which will bear the fruitful result.
Hence, we should give PARA a chance to come into operation and at least start its task so that the ongoing problems can be assessed in a better way and some other way out could be thought.
The year 2016 witnessed agitation for reservation by many castes like Jats, Kapus, Patidars and Marathas. All these communities are dominant castes. The concept of Dominant caste was given by M.N Srinivas who held that a caste is dominant when it is numerically higher than the other castes. And it has significant control over land.
To some extent it is correct to say that rural Agrarian crisis is motivating Dominant Landed castes in most parts of India to agitate for Reservation There is tremendous amount of Farmer distress in Countryside in last few years due to agrarian crisis. Since most of these communities are landed agrarian caste, they are facing the brunt of agriculture slowdown. Rise in farm input costs, stable food prices in the last two decades, despite some episodes of price explosion Has led to dip in there farm income The average size of landholding at the national level has come down from 2.28 hectares in 1970-71 to 1.16 ha in 2010-11,which is making agriculture unviable. The process of marginalization of farm holdings might have contributed to the recent demand of Marathas and Patidars (also known as Patels) to be included in the other backward classes (OBC) category so that they could shift away from agriculture. Another source of rural distress in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, in particular, has been the crisis in sugar and most of sugar farmers are either JATS or Marathas.
However it is not just Agrarian crisis which is motivating these communities to ask for reservation there are other factors also which are motivating them to agitate for Reservation these include
- Crippled urban economy-India’s growth in last 2 decades is led by increase in productivity and therefore number of jobs created in the private sector is much less, which means that dominant caste who are turning away from agriculture has very less opportunities to get job in private sector and thus only option left for them is government jobs, however there general status is making the competition tough for them, Therefore they are asking for reservation.
- Resentment against other OBC communities-Most of the other middle caste like Kunbi,Yadav,Gujjar,Reddy”s,and saini are in OBC category.The social,economic and political disparity between these groups and JATS,Patidars and Maratha and Kunbi has significantly decreased in last few decades. Due to reservation the representation of the above mentioned caste in government jobs has increased significantly in last few years in comparison to the dominant caste, which has made this dominant caste envy of these other OBC community and therefore motivated them to demand for reservation. It can also be said that the demands are a result of resentment among the dominant castes against the hitherto backward classes which witnessed growth due to reservation provision and consequently threatened the former’s dominant status.
- Political support-Most of this dominant caste are electorally and politically very powerful in that state, and they get support from opposition parties for vote bank politics. This political support and there strong position makes it difficult for the state government to ignore their demands, which has motivated them to ask for quota since it is very likely that there demand are accepted as happened in the recent Jat agitation.
Thus a combination of factors are motivating the dominant castes to demand for Reservation.
According to estimate in India at least 5% of the population lives with a mental illness, which translates to over 50 million people. Nearly half of those with severe mental disease aren’t treated and of those with less severe versions, nearly 9 in 10 go uncared .
Stigma attached to mental ailments is the main reason why the society is struggling to address the problem .According to a survey done by the Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF) Bangalore 80 per cent people felt it was stigma that prevented them from seeking treatment. 85 per cent thought mental illness was made worse by stigma. Even in metro cities, less than half of the people affected by psychiatric disorders receive adequate treatment. Mental illness in India continues to be shrouded in an air of secrecy and guilt.”Recent passing of Mental Healthcare bill could be a possible solution to above problems as it has provisions like:
- The Bill states that every person would have the right to specify how he would like to be treated for mental illness in the event of a mental health situation. An individual will also specify who will be the person responsible for taking decisions with regard to the treatment, his admission into a hospital. Thus it provides autonomy and empowerment to the Patient to take their own decisions.
- It permits involuntary hospitalization only in exceptional circumstances.
- It mandates a range of services and bans the use of electro-convulsive therapy without anesthesia and prohibits its use in minors. Thus the Bill attempts to protect human rights of the mentally ill.
- In a much-needed change, the bill has adopted a medicalised approach to attempted suicide, treating it as the outcome of severe stress. The bill rightly blocks the application of the Indian Penal Code section that criminalizes it. A duty is also cast on the authorities to care for and rehabilitate such individuals.
- It puts the onus of responsibility on the state for training mental health professionals and providing access to public healthcare
- It requires insurance companies to provide health cover for people with mental illness and this will significantly reduce the cost of treatment for the Mental patients. This will also motivate more mental health patients to seek treatment
- It tries to provide checks and balances to ensure the dignity of the mentally ill.
But there are a few issues which also needs to be addressed –
- Social determinants of mental health e.g. poverty and social exclusion are ignored in the bill.
- Role of family in treatment is not addressed in this bill
- With health budget going down and budget for mental health treatment just 1% of the total health budget, implementation of provisions of the bill in the right spirit will be a challenge for State Government.
- It does not acknowledge the roles of counselors who are equally important as psychiatrists .Role of counselors needs to be enhanced if stigma associated with Mental healthcare needs to be taken care of.
Conclusion:
Though it is a step in the right direction but certain issues in the bill needs to be addressed. Reliable and free professional counselling must be widely offered. For too long, mental health treatment in India has existed with the colonial legacy of large asylums and degrading confinement. Many who are held in such places have nowhere else to go, as families facing stigma have abandoned them. These issues needs to be addressed by the bill only than it could be said that this Legislation will end the stigma associated with mental illness.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/on-hiv-aids-bill-legally-enabling/article18082488.ece
The stigma of having HIV or AIDS in India remains intense, despite having the worlds third-largest population of people with either. Some places even simply turn away people with HIV or AIDS.
How will HIV bill end the social Discrimination faced by the AIDS patients
- This law makes all sort of discrimination criminal, it also eases the process by which people living with HIV or AIDS get access to treatment. Even if it cannot do away with the stigma itself, the law offers a clear legal recourse and should loom large as a threat for insurers and hospitals that don’t recognise the evils of turning down or discriminating against people with HIV or AIDS.
- Under the bill, it is a legally punishable offence to deny a person living with HIV/AIDS insurance on the ground of the disease that lowers the immunity. In such a case, the insurer will have to part with a fine of Rs 10000
- It also guarantees protection against discrimination in the field of education, employment, access to housing and healthcare.
- It prohibits all acts of discrimination against HIV-positive people, or those living with such people. It also lists various grounds on which discrimination against HIV positive persons and those living with them is prohibited.
- The bill ensures that an HIV person below the age of 18 years has the right to reside in a shared household and enjoy the facilities of the household.
- The most crucial step is that it recognizes the right of a person to keep his health status confidential.
- According to the Bill, each state will appoint an ombudsman to inquire into complaints related to the violation of the act and the provision of health care services. Also, cases relating to HIV positive persons shall be disposed of by the court on a priority basis.
However, it is only half the battle won. The various issues unaddressed are –
- It does not guarantee ART treatment as the legal right of the patient implying that a person who is denied treatment cannot drag the Government to the court. It essentially dilutes an important part of the bill
- Insurance industry is allowed to use actuarial calculations for charging HIV infected people , which might make it non affordable. Proper capping of the actuarial pricing is much needed and is to be monitored by the Ombudsman.
Way Forward
Proper capping of the actuarial pricing is much needed and it needs to be monitored by the Ombudsman. The amendment to the bill is progressive on various fronts and the government’s effort must be appreciated. At the same time, the biggest fallacy plaguing PLHIV is the parochial mindset of our society.. The Government must undertake a nationwide sensitization program . The bill addresses many of the concerns of the HIV infected people and ensures their rights, however the real success depends on the implementation.
Source: http://arthapedia.in/index.php?title=Public_Debt_Management_Agency_(PDMA)
- Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) is a specialized independent agency that manages the internal and external liabilities of the Central Government in a holistic manner and advises on such matters in return for a fee.
- In other words, PDMA is the Investment Banker or Merchant Banker to the Government. PDMA manages the issue, reissue and trading of Government securities, manages and advises the Central Government on its contingent liabilities and undertakes cash management for the central government including issuing and redeeming of short term securities and advising on its cash management.
Why there is need for PDMA?
- Fragmented jurisdiction in public debt management: Currently the central Bank or RBI manages the market borrowing programmes of Central and State Governments. On the other hand, external debt was managed directly by the Central Government. Establishing a debt management office would consolidate all debt management functions in a single agency and bring in holistic management of the internal and external liabilities.
- It is considered as an internationally accepted best practice that debt management should be disaggregated from monetary policy, and taken out of the realm of the central bank. Most advanced economies have dedicated debt management offices. Several emerging economies, including Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and South Africa, have restructured debt management in recent years and created an independent agency for the same.
The sources of these conflict of interest in RBI managing the Government debt, as listed out in the 2008 report of the Government are as under:
- There is a severe conflict of interest between setting the short term interest rate (i.e. the task of monetary policy) and selling bonds for the government. If the Central Bank tries to be an effective debt manager, it would lean towards selling bonds at high prices, i.e. keeping interest rates low. This leads to an inflationary bias in monetary policy.
- Where the Central Bank also regulates banks, as in India, there is a further conflict of interest. If the Central Bank tries to do a good job of discharging its responsibility of selling bonds, it has an incentive to mandate that banks hold a large amount of government paper. This bias leads to flawed banking regulation and supervision, so as to induce banks to buy government bonds, particularly long-dated government bonds. Having a pool of captive buyers undermines the growth of a deep, liquid market in government securities, with vibrant trading and speculative price discovery. This, in turn, hampers the development of the corporate bond market – the absence of a benchmark sovereign yield curve makes it difficult to price corporate bonds.
- If the Central Bank administers the operating systems for the government securities markets, as the RBI currently does, this creates another conflict, where the owner/ administrator of these systems is also a participant in the market.
Challenges/issues related to PDMA
- The size and dynamics of government market borrowing has a much wider influence on interest rate movements and systemic liquidity. An autonomous PDMA, driven by specific objectives exclusively focusing on debt management alone, may not be able to manage this complex task involving various trade-offs. It may even be compelled to issue more short term debts and enlarge the space for foreign investors making economy more vulnerable to the risk of capital flight.
- It may not be true that what has been practiced in some other countries would come true for India. The institutional arrangements for debt management must take into view the country specific context and requirements. The experience of debt management offices in the Euro area (especially Greece, Portugal and Ireland) has been less than satisfactory and has resulted in creating financial instability in the entire Euro Zone.
- This agency should be independent. Proposed agency is under the supervision of central government.
- State debts are managed by RBI. PDMA under central government have implication for federal structure of India.
Source: http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ky2TV2vS2grHtjQXz2IIXN/Indias-manufacturing-opportunity.html
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-why-are-private-sector-companies-not-investing-2231479
Even though Government has taken several steps in Recent Years Like Make in India, passing of Bankruptcy law, Labor law reforms, FDI liberalization to ease the Process of Doing Business in India and give a boost to Industrial Sector still the recent data shows that The IIP has fallen to a 10-year-low in the first five months of the current fiscal from April to August. It is a negative 0.27 per cent, the lowest since 2007-8. This is even lower than the level reached during the Lehman crisis of 2009.
Reasons behind this trend
- Demand is not in a comfortable trajectory: Demand is the major factor to attract the industrial investment and for the growth of the industrial sector at the faster rate. Private final consumption is growing at 7%-8%. This is not lucrative for the Indian economy because we have lot of potential to grow faster.
- Over-leveraged Private Sector in India: Thus they do not have resources to initiate new investment.
- Industries are still not phasing out capacity shortage which is why they are still not investing. Capacity utilization is not as expected.
- The continuing slump in global demand .
- Slow growth in Agriculture which Converts into lack of demand for industrial Goods.
- Depreciation of Chinese Yuan is making Indian
Ethics Questions
(a) What are the various options before you?
(b) Examine the merits and demerits of each option and choose the option which you would adopt, giving reasons.
The various leakages in the public distribution system (PDS) through collusion between distributors and through black marketing pose a serious condition. In the above case, the various options before the district level officer are-
- Officials from one sectors be deputed to other sectors and be asked to make surprise checks.
- It is important to carefully assess the stage at which leakage is occurring. This is possible through GPS tracking of the system. GPS signals on the top of vehicles intended to carry the good grains and other essential items will help to track the leakage at correct stage. However, it requires technological investment to make the whole system function properly and also it should be done only on pilot bases.
- A roster of vigilance committee be made and rotated every three months.
- The appropriate option to ensure that there is a reduction in the leakages, direct transfer of subsidy in the account of the beneficiaries can be the choice. But, it requires opening up of bank accounts of all beneficiaries and is a cumbersome procedure. But once in functioning properly, it will be effective in the longer run.
Thus, the best course of option is to carry out the investigation so that the guilty can be punished, it is essential to carry out GPS tracking of the vehicles and the direct transfer of money in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries will reduce the corruption and make the system effective.
Q.12 What are the seven principles of public life? Why they have become so relevant in present situation? (150 words) (10 Marks)
There are various integral principles of public life which help a civil servant to perform his duties efficiently and effectively. In this regard, seven principles of public life were recommended by a committee headed by Lord Nolan during prime minister ship of John Major in 1994. They are
(1) Selflessness – Public Servants should perform their actions only in public interest and not in their own, family, friend, interest.
(2) Integrity – Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation that may come in their performance of duty.
(3) Objectivity – Decisions should go strictly on merit in accordance with facts, rules, procedures etc.
(4) Accountability – Holders of public offices are accountable for their actions and decisions to set out institutions and should be prepared for scrutiny.
(5) Openness – They should be as open as possible for their decisions and actions. Every decision should be based on reason.
(6) Honesty – Public Servants should be honest and they should declare any private interest relating to their public duty.
(7) Leadership – They should promote and support these principle by setting examples and through leadership traits.
These principles have become very significant in view of erosion of standards in public life. Today, the values have declined in governance, as a result, the effect is corruption and poor governance. It is important to imbibe these principles in the life of a public servant. They need to be imbibed with values such as honesty, integrity, selflessness and accountability.
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Part 3 | Important Cash Crops and Plantation Crops in India
A) Important Cash Crops
Under cash crops, those commercial crops are included which are produced by farmers mainly to earn money. The cash crop is often not consumed by the farmer himself. Some important cash crops have been discussedbelow in detail:
1. Sugarcane
- Geographical Conditions of Growth:
- It is a tropical as well as sub-tropical crop.
- Sugarcane in North India is of the sub-tropical variety and has low sugar content. Also sugar factories have to remain shut in winter seasons in North India. Also, sugarcane juice begins to dry up because of the long dry season in north India.
- Sugarcane in South India is of the tropical variety and high sugar content and high yield.
- It grows well in hot and humid climate with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and an annual rainfall of 75-100cm.
- Medium and heavy soils where irrigation facilities are available are ideal for its cultivation.
- It can be grown on a variety of soils and needs manual labour from the time of sowing to harvesting.
- It is a long maturing crop planted between February and April. Harvesting begins in October and November.
- It is a soil-exhausting crop and thus needs regular application of manure or fertilisers.
- It is a tropical as well as sub-tropical crop.
- Important Producing Areas:
- India is considered the original homeland of sugarcane and has the largest area under sugarcane in the world.
- India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.
- The major sugarcane producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.
2. Cotton
- India is believed to be the original home of the cotton plant.
- It is also one of the most important industrial crops of India.
- Geographical Conditions of Growth:
- Cotton grows well in the drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau. It can also be grown on alluvial and red soils.
- It requires high temperature (20-35°C), light rainfall (50 to 80cm) or irrigation, 210 frost free days and bright sunshine for its growth. Clear sky during the picking season is ideal.
- It is a Kharif crop and requires 6-8 months to mature.
- Important Producing Areas:
- India is the fourth largest producer of cotton in the world. China, USA and Pakistan grow more cotton than India.
- Cotton is cultivated in about 45% of the total sown area in the country.
- The major cotton producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
- Important Varieties: India produces both short staple (Indian) cotton and long staple (American) cotton. American Cotton is called ‘Narma’ in the north-western part of the country.
3. Jute
- It is also known as the golden fibre and is India’s major cash crop.
- Jute fibre is obtained from the inner bark of the jute plant.
- It is used in making gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other artefacts. Jute cultivation in India has recently suffered due to reduced demand as a result of increasing competition with artificial fibre and packaging material.
- Geographical Conditions of Growth:
- It is a soil-exhausting crop like sugarcane and lowers soil fertility rapidly. It thus grows well on the well drained fertile soils in the flood plains where the soils are renewed every year.
- High temperatures (24°C to 35°C), heavy rain (125 – 200cm) and low plain land are favourable conditions for the cultivation of jute.
- Important Producing Areas:
- West Bengal (largest producer in India), Bihar, Assam, Orissa and Meghalaya.
- India is the largest producer of jute in the world.
- Important Varieties: Mesta
4. Tobacco
- Tobacco was brought to India by the Portuguese.
- Uses: Its leaves are used in making cigarettes, cigar, beedi etc. Its stem is used as potash fertilizer and its powder as an insecticide.
- Geographical Conditions of Growth:
- It requires temperatures of 15°C to 40°C and rainfall of about 50cm or irrigation facilities. More than 100cm of annual rainfall and frost is harmful for the crop.
- Fertile soils with good drainage are ideal as it is an exhaustive crop
- Important Producing Areas:
- Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.
- More than 1/3rd tobacco of the country is produced by Andhra Pradesh alone.
- Important Varieties: Nicotina Tabacum and Nicotina Rustics. Virginia tobacco used for making cigarettes and Dale Crest varieties are grown in Andhra Pradesh.
5. Oilseeds
- Main oilseeds produced in India include groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesasmum (til), soyabean, castor seeds, linseed, and sunflower.
- Uses – Most of these are edible and used as cooking mediums. Some of these are also used as a raw material in the production of soaps, ointments and cosmetics.
- Geographical Conditions of Growth:
- Most oilseeds are grown as dry crops or in association with other crops e.g. mustard is grown with wheat.
- Important Producing Areas:
- India is the largest producer of oilseeds in the world. About 20% of the world’s oilseed producing area is in India.
- Different oilseeds are grown covering approximately 14% of the total cropped area of the country.
- Major oilseed producing areas are the plateau of Malwa, Marathwara, Gujarat, dry areas of Rajasthan, Telangana and Rayalseema regions of Andhra Pradesh.
- Madhya Pradesh ranks first (31%) in the total oilseeds production and is followed by Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- The smaller oilseeds are grown mainly in the north (Gujarat, MP, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana) and the larger seeds in the south mainly Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. A list of particular oilseeds and their producing states:
- Coconuts – The southern coastal region in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
- Castor seed – Gujarat
- Linseed – Chhattisgarh
- Soya beans – Madhya Pradesh
- Mustard and rapeseeds – Rajasthan
- Sunflower – Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh
B. Important Plantation Crops
1. Tea
- It is an important beverage crop introduced in India initially by the British.
- Geographical Conditions of Growth and Production:
- The tea plant grows well in tropical humid and subtropical humid climates endowed with deep and fertile well-drained soils, rich in humus and organic matter.
- 150cm summer rain and 21°C to 27°C daily temperature are needed for its cultivation.
- Tea bushes require warm and frost-free climate all through the year.
- Frequent showers evenly distributed over the year ensure continuous growth of the tender leaves.
- Tea is often cultivated on the hill slopes so that there is no waterlogging in its roots.
- Its leaves are to be plucked several times in a year, so availability of abundant and cheap labour is essential for its cultivation.
- Important Producing Areas:
- Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Apart from these, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura are also tea producing states in the country.
- India is the leading producer as well as exporter of tea in the world. 28% tea of the world is produced here.
2. Coffee
- Geographical Conditions of Growth:
- Coffee is a tropical plantation crop.
- 16° – 28°C temperature, 150-250cm rainfall and well-drained slopes are essential for its growth.
- It grows on hilly slopes at the height of 900-1800m.
- Low temperature, frost, dry weather for a long time and harsh sunshine are harmful for its plants.
- Coffee plants grow better in the laterite soils of Karnataka in India.
- Important Producing Areas:
- India contributes about 4% of the world’s total coffee production. It ranks 6th in the world in coffee production.
- The coffee plant was grown for the first time on the Baba Budan Hills (Karnataka) in India.
- At present, more than half of the total coffee production in India is produced by Karnataka alone, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- Important Varieties: The Arabica variety initially brought from Yemen is produced in the country.
- Geographical Conditions of Growth: