Author: Explains

Why in news?

• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade banned the use of imported petcoke as fuel.
• Use of Petcoke is allowed only for cement, lime kiln, calcium carbide and gasification industries when used as the feedstock or in the manufacturing process on actual user condition

Why this relaxation?

1. The decision to modify its ban was largely due to the government’s submissions that petcoke is used as an ingredient and not as fuel in the cement industry
2. The sulphur is mostly absorbed in the process of cement-making
3. Hence the Court has relaxed its ban on the use of petroleum coke (petcoke) and allowed cement and limestone industries to use it

About Petcoke

• Petcoke is an exceptionally polluting form of carbon which is banned in several countries due to its severe toxicity.
• Petroleum coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining.
• It is categorized as a “bottom of the barrel” fuel as it is essentially residual waste material which is obtained after refining coal to extract lighter fuels like petrol.
• Petcoke is abundantly used in India in several manufacturing industries such as cement, steel and textile and it is generated in vast quantities by refineries as it is significantly cheaper that coal, has high calorific value and is easier to transport and store.

Composition

• Petcoke is over 90 percent carbon and emits 5 to 10 percent more carbon dioxide. (CO₂) than coal on a per-unit-of-energy basis when it is burned.
• Petcoke has a higher energy content therefore it emits between 30 and 80 percent more CO₂than coal per unit of weight.
• The difference between coal and coke in CO₂production per unit energy produced depends upon the moisture in the coal (increases the CO₂ per unit energy – heat of combustion) and volatile hydrocarbon in coal and coke (decrease the CO₂ per unit energy).

What it is used for?

• High-grade petcoke which is low in sulphur and heavy metals can be used to make electrodes for the steel and aluminum industry.
• But the majority of petcoke manufactured globally, approximately 75-80%, is of a much lower grade, containing higher levels of sulphur and heavy metals and is used solely as fuel.
• In recent years, petcoke is also being used in captive power generation plants in India

Implications

Health hazards

• While vehicular fuels like petrol and diesel contain 50 parts per million (PPM) of sulphur oxide, furnace oil contains 23,000 PPM and petcoke contains a whopping 74,000 PPM of sulphur content which is released into the atmosphere as emissions.
• Petroleum coke is a source of fine dust, which can get through the filtering process of the human airway and lodge in the lungs. They can cause serious health problems.
• Apart from sulphur, petcoke also releases a cocktail of other toxic chemicals such as nitrous oxide, mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel, hydrogen chloride and greenhouse gases (GHG) which contribute to global warming.
• Petcoke is much more potent than coal and causes greater harm to the environment and health.
• According to a 2015 report published by The Lancet Commission, 8 residents of Delhi die each day as a result of air pollution. Delhi has been ranked as India’s most polluted city and is also among the world’s most critically polluted cities.
• As per the report, India has topped the list of pollution related deaths in 2015 with a staggering 2.5 million deaths due to pollution. The report also revealed that only a handful of cities in India comply with the air quality standards prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board and identified that the primary cause behind increasing air pollution as fossil fuels.
• Petcoke has a deleterious effect on the respiratory system and particulate matter can get embedded in lung tissues, causing serious long term health hazards.

Environmental implications

• Petcoke is an extremely stable fuel which means there is little risk of combustion during transportation, but due to its high carbon content when it does combust it releases up to 10% more CO2 per unit of energy that normal coal. That’s higher than almost any other energy source in existence and makes petcoke a huge contributor to the creation of greenhouse gases.
• Increased pollution controls are required during petcoke combustion to capture the excess sulphur found in low grade petcoke. The heavy metal content of petcoke has also left many worried, both at the effects of releasing it into the air when petcoke is burned, and the implications it has for the local environment during storage.

India’s carbon tax model and its impact on industry

• The reason for the petcoke menace in the recent years can be directly attributed to the Central Government’s inherently flawed carbon tax policy.
• Carbon tax was introduced in India in 2010 and has since its inception been fraught with complications due to its improper structuring and pervasive maladministration.
• Among the many intrinsic loopholes in the carbon tax policy is its questionable coverage. Unlike many other jurisdictions such as Australia, the scope of India’s carbon tax is myopically restricted to coal, thereby excluding other forms of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitting fuels like petcoke and furnace oil; many of which have a deeper impact on the environment and health than coal.
• The main objective of carbon tax is to mitigate negative externalities of fossil fuels on the environment, and act as a pigouvian tax, logic dictates that it should be applicable on all sources of carbon emissions
• Although petcoke is much more harmful than coal both from an environmental and health perspective, there is no tax or cess levied on the use or production of petcoke.
• In order to circumvent the current carbon cess of Rs 400 per metric tonne on coal, cement and steel manufacturers have been heavily relying on petcoke, thereby increasing carbon emissions and air pollution.
• While India witnessed a decrease in coal imports by 20 million tonnes last year, petcoke imports doubled exceeding 10 million tonnes.

Loopholes in carbon tax policy

• India’ carbon tax policy has always been weak and riddled with inefficiencies; however, post-GST it has become positively redundant.
• Earlier, proceeds from the carbon cess used to be accumulated in an earmarked non-lapsable fund known as the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF).
• The NCEF was supposed to be used for funding clean energy projects and encourage industries to shift from fossil fuels to clean energy.
• Currently, China and India are the leading consumers and importers of petcoke in order to catalyze rapid industrialization and economic growth.
• Since 2014, China has steadily been decreasing its dependence on petcoke by shifting to cleaner alternatives. India continues to increase its consumption of petcoke and other non-carbon fossil fuels.

Gobar Dhan Scheme: Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources-Dhan

Introduction

The PM called for educating people about the utilization of Cattle Dung for converting into more valuable fuel thus improving the lives of villagers.

Objectives

1. Make farmers more self-reliant by generating an alternate source of income.

2. Generate wealth and energy from cattle and other waste.

3. To make villages clean.

Key Features and Benefits

There are a number of benefits that the government aims by implementing the Gobar Dhan Yojana.

Dung fuel – The government has announced that it shall be making best use of Solid waste excreted out by the cattle. The dung can be transformed into a type of Bio fertilizer that can be used by the villagers for fuelling up their stoves at the homes. The fuel can be used as a subsidy for CNG and LPG.

Villagers Advantage – Under he new scheme the government aims at making the life of villagers much better. This will also educate the people not to defecate in the open places. This helps in maintaining hygiene factor.

Income generation – In present time farmers are merely dependent on their crop yields for generating income. With the implementation of the scheme the farmers will be able to generate better ways for income. As the farmers just have to make use of animal waste so it is obvious that farmers don’t need investment amounts in purchasing basic raw materials.

115 districts selected – The government has made a selection of over 115 districts for implementation of the scheme. Besides the government has also made it clear that with implementation of the scheme in these villages, it shall try and improve the facilities as well including infra structure.

Compost – Under the scheme the government has also made it clear that farmers will be able to make use of easily available Compost fertilizer for their farm lands. The government will educate farmers to help set up their own compost plants.

Infrastructure development – Under this scheme the government aims at improving the available infrastructure to help promote development for the villages so the overall GDP of the country global wise could be much better. Under the scheme the government will ensure that it has made use of better techniques for development process.

Power generation –Under the scheme the government has ensured to generate fuel in the form of Biogas. Besides the government has also stated that the Biogas can further be used for generating electricity for the villages due to availability of surplus amount of dung.

Invite Corporate sectors– The government has also stated that with the development of the scheme and generation of cheaper form of fuel the corporate sectors may be interested in investing their money in the rural areas.

Clean India – The scheme has been launched by the government in accordance to the movement run by Gandhiji on his anniversary in 2014. Under the drive the government had made the idea of transforming waste into something useful has been implemented in the scheme.

Husbandry – In present time the husbandry of animals is one business that is very much common within villages. But with this the dung is usually wasted as it is not used up completely. Under the scheme the government will offer people with an opportunity to generate income by selling dung to the authorities.

Long term plans – In present time the nation is standing 6th in place for Bio gas manufacturing. Even with increasing vehicles on the streets over 95 percent of vehicles demand more fuel. This means that the country needs more fuel to run the vehicles. With its ever increasing economy the country aims at generating better fuel opportunities by 2022.

Challenges

• Aggregation of cattle waste and maintaining a regular supply to plant operators becomes imperative.

1. The Biogas plants that were constructed was not able to keep up, both in terms of production as well as speed, leading to inefficiencies and losses.
2. The Biogas plants that are being planned to be constructed should have better technology which sustains, upscales and is widely accepted by farmers and women in rural areas.
3. Adequate training should be provided to the workers.

• India is dealing with a deficient fodder for our cattle. Fodder production for the cattle need to be enhanced

1. Farm Mechanization may pose challenges to the population of the cattle as the machines will replace the cattle.
2. This might lead to ignorance on the part of the cattle’s master.

Way Forward

1. Incentivize Behavioral Change: Cattles are considered important and the fact that the gobar can be utilized and become a source of income needs to be ingrained in the minds of the farmers. This will not just generate additional income, but will reduce the pains of gobar disposal, thereby leading to the communities becoming swacchh.

2. Generating wealth from waste in rural areas will require the involvement of all actors and sectors.

3. Investments from the private sector and local entrepreneurs will be needed.

4. Panchayats and village communities will have to play key roles to leverage the animal and organic waste that goes into water bodies, dumping sites and landfills.

5. Informal sanitation service providers can be integrated into the system by training and licensing them.

6. Political will and strong public demand for cleaner, healthier living environments should definitely drive the way ahead.

Possible Questions

What are the salient features of the Gobar Dhan Scheme? Can it effectively contribute to the desired goals it has set out to achieve? Discuss.

Why in News?

The Union cabinet recently approved Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill to confiscate assets of those who flee the country and refuse to return after committing frauds in excess of Rs. 100 crore.

Who is a fugitive economic offender?

Fugitive economic offender is a person who has an arrest warrant issued in respect of a scheduled offence and who leaves or has left India to avoid criminal prosecution, or refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution.

How someone is declared a ‘fugitive economic offender’?

According to the draft law, officials, referred to as directors or deputy directors under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, can file an application to a Special Court for a declaration that they are a fugitive economic offender. This application should

1. Give the court the reasons for why it should declare the person a fugitive offender
2. Provide information about the current whereabouts of the person
3. Provide a list of properties believed to be the proceeds of the crime
4. Provide a list of properties which the government believes should be confiscated and,
5. Provide a list of other persons who may have some interest in those properties.

As soon as such an application is filed, the government can attach (meaning prevent the trading or selling of) any properties mentioned in it for 180 days. Once the application is done, the Special Court will send a notice to the person and anyone else who has interests in the attached property.

Existing laws related to fugitive economic offenders:

The existing laws under which such fugitive economic offenders are tried include:

1. Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act (RDDBFI),
2. Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, (SARFESI) and
3. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Why there is a need for a new law?

1. There have been several instances of economic offenders fleeing the jurisdiction of Indian courts in fear of proceedings.
2. Under the existing laws, banks have failed to recover the dues in the past three years.
3. The absence of such offenders from Indian courts has several consequences

• It hampers investigation in criminal cases
• It wastes precious time of courts of law
• It undermines the rule of law in India.

Highlights of the Bill:

1. To deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law.
2. Applicable in value of offences over Rs 100 crore.
3. Empowers Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under finance ministry to file an application in special court for the declaration of fugitive economic offender for confiscation of their assets.
4. As soon as such an application is filed, the government can attach any properties mentioned in it for 180 days.
5. Once the application is done, the Special Court will send a notice to the person and anyone else who has interests in the attached property. The notice to the person involved will require them to appear at a specific place and time no less than six weeks from the date of the notice. If they refuse to appear for up to six weeks, the Special Court can take up the case and label the person a fugitive economic offender.
6. Once a fugitive economic offender has been declared, the government can confiscate the “proceeds of the crime”, even if it is not owned by the fugitive offender, and any other properties they own as well.
7. Confiscation of other  property belonging to such offender in India and abroad, including benami property.
8. Disentitlement of the fugitive economic offender from defending any civil claim; and
9. An Administrator will be appointed to manage and dispose of the confiscated property under the Act.

Challenges with the bill

Violation of the Indian Constitution:

• Under the new law, there will be blanket ban on offenders contesting the confiscation of their properties through civil suits.
• An absolute ban violates justice, equality and in result the Indian Constitution.

Violates the principle of innocent unless proven guilty:

• The bill allows selling the property without trial = violation of the settled principle under the Constitution that one is considered innocent unless proven guilty.

Not easy to find buyers:

• Assets confiscated by enforcement agencies and courts are termed as distressed properties, and seldom find buyers.
• A case in point is Sahara’s Amby Valley, which despite efforts by Bombay high court’s official liquidator has been unable to find suitable buyers for almost a year.

Way forward

1. The blanket disentitlement from pursuing or defending any civil claim under the law should be clarified and made reasonable.
2. To avoid failed attempts at the sale the bill should provide for

• time limits for disposal and encashment of property,
• separate limits for movable-immovable property and running business, and
• Quick disposal of property which would lose its value over time.

Practice Question

1. Who are fugitive economic offenders and how they are declared as such? Do you think that the fugitive economic offenders law would help solve the problem of economic offences in India?