Author: CD Staff

• The Vizag Gas Leak was an industrial accident that occurred at a chemical plant in R. R. Venkatapuram village near Gopalapatnam on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on the early morning of 7 May 2020.
• The source of the leak was a styrene plant owned by South Korean electronics giant LG.
• The leaked gas spread over a radius of about 3 kilometres affecting the nearby areas and villages. The incident had a death toll was of 12 and more than 1,000 people were affected.

What is Styrene?

• It is a flammable liquid that is used in the manufacturing of polystyrene plastics, fibre glass, rubber, and latex.
• Styrene is also found in vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke, and in natural foods like fruits and vegetables.
• According to The Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989, styrene is classified as a toxic and hazardous chemical.

What happens when exposed to styrene?

• A short-term exposure to the substance can result in respiratory problems, irritation in the eyes, irritation in the mucous membrane, and gastrointestinal issues.
• And long-term exposure could drastically affect the central nervous system and lead to other related problems like peripheral neuropathy.
• It is, likely, a carcinogenic substance that can react with oxygen in the air to mutate into styrene dioxide, a substance that is more lethal.
• However, there is no sufficient evidence despite several epidemiology studies indicating there may be an association between styrene exposure and an increased risk of leukaemia and lymphoma.

What are the symptoms?

• Symptoms include headache, hearing loss, fatigue, weakness, difficulty in concentrating etc.
• Animal studies have reported effects on the nervous system, liver, kidney, and eye and nasal irritation from inhalation exposure to styrene.

How bad is the situation in Visakhapatnam?

• It is yet unclear whether the deaths are due to direct exposure to styrene gas or one of its byproducts.
• However, hundreds of people including many children were admitted to hospitals.
• The cases are high as the gas leak was only detected at 3 am in the morning, meaning several crucial hours have been lost till safety precautions were taken.
• More fatally, the gas was leaked while people were fast asleep.

What caused the leak?

• Styrene monomer was used at the manufacturing plant to produce expandable plastics.
• The storage requirement of styrene monomer strictly mentions that it has to be below 17 degrees Celsius.
• There was a temporary and partial shutdown of the plant because of the nationwide lockdown.
• The leak occurred as a result of styrene gas not being kept at the appropriate temperature.
• This caused a pressure build-up in the storage chamber that contained styrene and caused the valve to break, resulting in the gas leakage.

Is it under control?

• The leak has been plugged and NDRF teams moved into the five affected villages and have started opening the houses to find out if anyone was stranded inside.
• The Covid-19 preparedness helped a lot as dozens of ambulances with oxygen cylinders and ventilators were readily available.
• The spread of the gas depends on wind speeds. So far it is estimated that areas within a five-kilometre radius have been affected.

What are the safeguards against chemical disasters in India?

The law in India provides protection to victims of such chemical disasters. Here’s a look at some of these provisions:

Scars from the Bhopal Gas Tragedy

• At the time of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was the only relevant law specifying criminal liability for such incidents.
• The CBI had initially charged the accused in the case under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
• Soon after the tragedy, which had killed 2,000 people, the government passed a series of laws regulating the environment and prescribing and specifying safeguards and penalties.

Some of these laws were:

1) Bhopal Gas Leak (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985, which gives powers to the central government to secure the claims arising out of or connected with the Bhopal gas tragedy. Under the provisions of this Act, such claims are dealt with speedily and equitably.

2) The Environment Protection Act, 1986, which gives powers to the central government to undertake measures for improving the environment and set standards and inspect industrial units.

3) The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, which is insurance meant to provide relief to persons affected by accidents that occur while handling hazardous substances.

4) The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997, under which the National Environment Appellate Authority can hear appeals regarding the restriction of areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

5) National Green Tribunal, 2010, provides for the establishment of a tribunal for effective and expeditious disposal of cases related to environmental protection and conservation of forests.

Trial of such cases

• The legal gains made during the Bhopal Gas Leak, and subsequently with the Delhi Oleum Leakage case, held the principle of absolute enterprise liability for hazardous substances.
• That is, any manufacturer of hazardous or inherently injurious substance was to be held liable.
• Any incident similar to the Bhopal gas tragedy will be tried in the National Green Tribunal and most likely under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• If an offence is committed by a company, every person directly in charge and responsible will be deemed guilty, unless he proves that the offence was committed without his/her knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such an offence.

India’s handling of industrial disasters suffers from systemic apathy. To respond to the currently unfolding Visakhapatnam Gas Leak effectively and sensitively, it must reflect on and learn from its inadequate handling of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. 

Why the gas leak should set off alarm bells?

Gruesome pictures and videos emerged, showing people having collapsed by the wayside.  It was reminiscent of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, considered one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.

1) No lessons learnt from Bhopal

• The judicial processing of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy took approximately 26 years to yield a penalty that was not only disproportionate but was in itself a result of a great systemic disservice to those involved.
• The present regulation imposes no-fault liability on the owner of hazardous substance and requires the owner to compensate victims of accident irrespective of any neglect or default.
• For this, the owner is required to take out an insurance policy covering potential liability from any accident.
• The government’s failure in protecting the legal rights of the gas victims is evident from the fact that years after the disaster, the registration of claimants is far from complete.
• This, however, hindered the ability of survivors to negotiate their own settlements on their own terms.
• Additionally, by the time the final judgement had been passed, most of the claimants had died.

2) Invisibility of victims

• As a result of the disorganized response on part of the state machinery, a mass evacuation programme, referred to as “Operation Faith,” was launched in Bhopal.
• This meant that a significant proportion of the affected population was moved away from the city, making it difficult and almost impossible for following up on health repercussions of the disaster.
• This invisibilisation of the survivors has become a strategy consistently employed by the state to sweep the enormity of the systemic failure that resulted in the Bhopal disaster, as well as that which succeeded it.
• Instead of working through the problem of providing medicare, both the state and city governments instead redirected their efforts towards wiping the problem away from the space.

3) Lax regulation continues

• Usually, in times of crises, governments tighten safety rules and regulations.
• But as panic over the economy mounts, governments could end up travelling in the opposite direction.
• The environment ministry has been giving clearances to industrial proposals through video conference for “seamless economic growth” during Covid-19.
• Lax regimes could become a haven for hazardous industries and sweatshops.

4) Operational security neglected

• Industries have failed to overhaul its working system urgently, especially that is tasked with safety practices.
• There are no regulatory measures to ensure safety at two ends—on-site and off-site.
• The on-site one involves all the safety of the in-house personnel and workers, and the off-site deals with ensuring the safety and well being of the habitats in the surrounding areas as well as the surrounding environment.

5) Multiple Laws with no enforcing agencies

• One of the most basic and overlooked aspects in the current time is the proper regulatory oversight.
• The regulators, like SPCBs, are limited in number.
• Add to it their inability to mount comprehensive and stringent oversight due to budgetary constraints.

6) Poor checks and monitoring

• Improper inspection and inspection report and show cause notices are not released in the public domain by state pollution control boards.
• The MoEF&CC gives the authorisation for the hazardous chemical storage, but inspection is done by factory inspector and by SPCB in case of isolated storage i.e. outside the industry.
• This is very absurd for safety considerations. Inspections are not done properly and are more of “having a look” rather than being a proper verification as per inspection checklist.
• This overtime perpetuates negligence by the safety personnel leading to accidents.

7) Low or no awareness

• Having a robust disaster management plan (DMP) is a pre-requisite for every industry. However, the availability of DMP does not suffice the purpose.
• What is needed most is to communicate the same with the local stakeholders. In the case of the Bhopal gas tragedy, we experienced how such miscommunication can lead to higher human casualties.
• The plant did have the DMP but it never informed the residents around the plant on the measures to be taken in case of any accident.
• However, looking at the current accident at Vizag, it seems that no lesson has been learnt from past accidents.

8) Judiciary has failed to relieve

• The gas leak is just yet another in the long list of such accidents that have happened until now and will happen in the future.
• So far, the NGT has issued notices to the Centre, LG Polymers India Pvt, Central Pollution Control Board and others in addition to directing LG Polymers India Pvt to pay Rs 50 crore an interim amount for damage to life.
• There are many other tragedies in the past, where the owners were not held accountable for the damage to life and were let out on bail.

9) Yet no fixation of accountability

• Fixing accountability for an accident or negligent actions is another aspect of the legal system that we often ignore.
• A suit is usually against a company involved in an accident. But, in such a situation, we let free the company employed individuals – responsible for negligent behaviour.
• In some cases, the industry does suspend or terminate their employment but that’s the maximum that it goes to.

Possible solutions

Regulatory: We do not have a strong regulatory body to ensure proper enforcement of laws and regulations related to industrial accidents. The regulators, like SPCBs,  needs to be given a revamp.

Monitoring and Reporting: Improving monitoring both inside and outside the industry and designing a proper protocol for reporting should be undertaken. Relevance must also be given to monitoring and prompt reporting of sudden events that can lead to industrial accidents.

Operational safety: In order to avert the rising number of industrial accidents, a more rational approach is required in terms of implementing the existing policies and practices properly. There are many guidelines and protocols for industrial safety that have been designed based on the outlines given in various acts and rules.

Ensuring thorough capacity building of the employees and management staff – Continually cultivate a safety standard among employees and management staff. Training employees about the importance of following safety measures as often as possible is very crucial. Supplemental training in body mechanics can reduce strain injuries, and keep employees safe during lifting and moving.

Ensuring a strict code and oversight on not taking shortcuts – Accidents happen when employees skip steps to complete a job ahead of schedule. Make sure all instructions are clear and organized to prevent undue mishaps in the workplace.

Employing the use of Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) – FMEA is a structured approach to discovering potential failures that may exist within the design of a product or process. There are various modes by which a process can fail and are called Failure modes that result in undesirable effects. However, FMEA is designed to identify, prioritize and limit these failure modes.

Installation of a proper alert system – This is one of the most essential components of the immediate response protocol and can really help prevent higher rates of fatalities and/or damage.

NDMA guidelines for Industrial chemical disasters

National chemical disaster management guidelines drawn up by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) are as follows:

• The NDMA guidelines for chemical safety call for harmonization of regulations like land use policy, standardization of national codes and practices and stringent enforcement of safety practices through audits and an inspection system.
• Industrial units using hazardous chemicals as raw materials will be required to have onsite and offsite emergency plans in place and put them to test by organizing regular mock drills.
• Given that coordination between the individual units and the local administration is crucial to the management of chemical disasters, the guidelines spell out a key role for the latter.
• This includes strengthening of state and district mechanisms for accurate and timely dissemination of warning of potentially hazardous gas leaks and chemical spills, GIS-based technologies, and ensuring testing of emergency plans through mock exercises, besides creating awareness and education.
• The guidelines call upon the industries handling hazardous chemicals to share resources and enter into mutual aid agreements.
• According to the NDMA, medical preparedness including creation of trained medical first responders, facilities for fast detection and decontamination, mobile hospitals/mobile teams and hospital disaster management plans need to be amalgamated with the preventive strategies to safeguard industrial processes and procedures.

Way Forward

Ensuring public safety, a comprehensive safety audit of all the industries should be taken up and a Standard Operating Procedure should be enforced.

• Preventing these tragedies is not a one man’s act. It will take the combined effort of competent authorities, the private sector, and society to prevent tragic environmental events from happening.
• Apart from the regular inspections, one must maintain safety processes internally to help prevent and/or reduce the frequency of natural gas leaks.
• Most of all, it is important to adhere to environmental norms. Taking environmental safety and public health risks seriously and promoting do-no-harm industrial development can make a big difference.
• There is a clear need to promote clean development that innovatively addresses potential negative impacts on the environment.
• To prevent future environmental disasters, all sectors could also do more to integrate environmental emergency preparedness and response activities into strategies and sustainable development programs.
• Some measures include: Developing policies to ensure that industries operate in accordance with technical and safety standards and allocating resources for risk assessment and monitoring.
• These measures could make a big difference in people’s health and wellbeing and avoid future tragedies.

 

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References

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/vizag-gas-leak-what-is-styrene-gas/

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/how-visakhapatnam-gas-leak-sets-off-alarm-bells-in-more-ways-than-one/articleshow/75648391.cms

https://www.epw.in/engage/article/gas-leaks-industrial-disasters-reflecting-indias

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Back2Basics: The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

• It occurred on the cold wintry night in the early hours of 3 December, 1984.
• At around midnight, the chemical reaction started in the Union Carbide (India) Limited factory that culminated in the leakage of deadly Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas from one of the tanks of the factory.
• As a result, a cloud of gas gradually started descending and enveloping the city in its lethal folds. And the city and lakes turned into a gas chamber.
• In the tragedy around 3000 lives of innocent people were lost and thousands and thousands of people were physically impaired or affected in several forms.

What is Methyl Isocyanate?

• Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) is a chemical that is used in the manufacture of polyurethane foam, pesticides, and plastics.
• It is handled in liquid form which can be easily burned and explosive. It evaporates quickly in the air and has a strong odour.
• Its molecular formula is CH3NCO or C2H3NO and its molecular weight is approx. 57.05 g/mol.
• It is used in the production of pesticides, polyurethane foam, and plastics.

 

During the Second World War, when the Luftwaffe (German air force) was wreaking havoc over London with its incessant bombing attacks, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill took cognizance of the heavy casualties and economic devastation. While he was briefed on the casualties and economic collapse, he asked, “Are the courts functioning?” When told that the judges were dispensing justice as normal, Churchill replied, “Thank God. If the courts are working, nothing can go wrong.”

 

 

Context

• Covid-19 has brought almost the entire world to a near-standstill, and India’s justice delivery system — rarely known for its speed even in the best of times — is no different.
• Official data shows that while the institution of new cases, both in the higher judiciary and subordinate judiciary, has come down since the beginning of the nationwide lockdown on 25 March, the disposal rate has also been severely affected due to the forced closure of courts.
• The judiciary has come under immense pressure to innovate during this pandemic so as to balance public health concerns with access to justice.

Background

• Our Judicial system has been the nation’s moral conscience, speaking truth to political power, upholding the rights of citizens, mediating Centre-state conflicts, providing justice to the rich and poor alike, and on several momentous occasions, saving democracy itself.
• Despite its achievements, a gap between the ideal and reality has been becoming clear over the years.
• The justice del­ivery is slow, the appointment of judges is mired in controversy, disciplinary mechanisms scarcely work, hierarchy rather than merit is preferred, women are severely under-represented, and constitutional matters often languish in the Supreme Court for years.
• As Justice Chelameswar said in his dissent in the NJAC judgment, the courts must reform, so that they can preserve.

Inherent Issues with Indian Judiciary

The Constitution of India, through its Preamble, has guaranteed to its citizens ‘Justice’—economic, political and social. But even after 70 years of independence, achieving substantive justice for the vast majority of the citizens has remained a distant dream. In the specific area of justice delivery system, India is faced with several problems relating to large backlogs and pendency of cases.

Despite the independence of the judiciary from the executive and legislative bodies, the Indian judicial system faces a lot of problems. The major issues that the system faces are:

• The pendency of cases.
• Corruption.
• Lack of transparency (particularly in the appointment of judges).
• Under trials of the accused.
• Lack of information and interaction among people and courts.

1) Pendency of cases

• India’s legal system has the largest backlog of pending cases in the world – as many as 30 million pending cases. Of them, over four million are High Court cases, 65,000 Supreme Court cases.
• This number is continuously increasing and this itself shows the inadequacy of the legal system.
• And also due to this backlog, most of the prisoners in India’s prisons are detainees awaiting trial.
• It is also reported that in Mumbai, India’s financial hub, the courts are burdened with age-old land disputes, which act as a hurdle in the city’s industrial development.

What led to the under-performance of Indian Judiciary?

The issue of heavy arrears pending in the various courts of the country has been a matter of concern since the time of independence. The primary factors contributing to docket explosion and arrears as highlighted by Justice Malimath Committee report are as follows:

• Population explosion
• Litigation explosion
• Hasty and imperfect drafting of legislation
• Plurality and accumulation of appeals (Multiple appeals for the same issue)
• Inadequacy of judge strength
• Failure to provide adequate forums of appeal against quasi-judicial orders
• Lack of priority for disposal of old cases (due to the improper constitution of benches)

2) Corruption in judiciary

• Like any other institution of the Government, the Indian judicial system is also allegedly corrupt.
• There is no system of accountability. The media also do not give a clear picture on account of the fear of contempt.

3) Lack of transparency

• Another problem facing the Indian judicial system is the lack of transparency. It is seen that the Right to Information (RTI) Act is totally out of the ambit of the legal system.
• Thus, in the functioning of the judiciary, the substantial issues like the quality of justice and accountability are not known properly.
• In the recent past, there have been many debates regarding the Collegium system and the new system that the government wanted to introduce for the appointment of judges, the NJAC.

4) Hardships of the undertrials

• Right to a speedy trial is an integral part of the principles of fair trial and is fundamental to the international human rights discourse.
• In Indian jails, most of the prisoners are undertrials, which are confined to the jails until their case comes to a definite conclusion.
• In most of the cases, they end up spending more time in the jail than the actual term that might have had been awarded to them had the case been decided on a time and, assuming, against them.
• Plus, the expenses and pain and agony of defending themselves in courts is worse than serving the actual sentence. Undertrials are not guilty till convicted.

5) No interaction with society

• It is very essential that the judiciary of any country should be an integral part of the society and its interactions with society must be made regular and relevant.
• Lack of faith in a fair and swift judicial system creates a low-trust society.
• The rule of law and trust are central to enable people in large societies, who do not personally know each other, to live together peacefully and collaborate.

Impact of Coronavirus

 

1) Decline in cases

Don’t go by the number of reduced cases … just imagine the scale of burden on Indian Judiciary due to reduced disposal rate!

• With only limited benches presiding over select matters daily, cases pending before constitution benches have been put on the back burner.
• In the entire month of April, 82,725 cases were filed in India’s courts, while 35,169 cases were disposed of.
• Compare this to 2019, when the average number of cases filed per month was around 14 lakh (total number of cases 1.70 crores), while the average number disposed of per month was 13.25 lakh.
• In all, there are about 3.23 crore cases pending in the 19,683 subordinate courts in the country, of which 90 lakh are civil cases and 2.32 crore are criminal cases
• The situation in the high courts’ is no better. Currently, there are over a total of about 48.16 lakh cases including civil and criminal cases.

2) The new normal of Social Distancing

• Accessibility is a core function of justice – the quality of adjudication in a courtroom is of little utility to potential litigants if they cannot access it.
• All courts, including the Supreme Court, high courts and district courts, have been operating in a highly restricted manner.
• Most courts have already decided to persist with the restricted functioning until at least 17 May.

3) Judicial appointments stalled

• The process of appointment of judges too has been impacted by Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown.
• Even before Covid-19, over 35 per cent posts in high courts were vacant — out of 1,079 sanctioned posts, 201 permanent ones and 184 additional judges’ positions were yet to be filled.
• But now, the appointment of over 120 high court judges is pending with the Supreme Court Collegium, while 50-odd fresh recommendations have been made by the various high court collegiums.

4) Quasi-judicial bodies have stopped working

• What is also perplexing is how proceedings in over a dozen tribunals have come to a grinding halt during the lockdown despite these judicial bodies being equipped with video conferencing infrastructure.
• The central zonal bench of the National Green Tribunal had been hearing matters through video conferencing for nearly two years but stopped functioning since the lockdown.
• The public will have to pay a huge price for this stalemate as the NGT had stayed work on some key government-funded projects.
• With proceedings now on hold, cost escalation for these projects would eventually be passed on to common citizens.

Need for a change

The pandemic has been changing many aspects of our life and forcing us to innovate or embrace the novel changes. The judiciary is not immune to this change. The time is ripe for the adoption and popularization of online court. But there were several attempts at the adoption of technology in the working of courts even before the pandemic. Time has now come to adopt these technological frameworks on a wider scale.

Alternatives to conventional courts in practice:

• The Online courts where the judge is physically present in the courtroom but the lawyer or litigant is not.
• This is the present arrangement, except that now the courtroom is the residential office of the judge, due to the lockdown.
• And the Virtual courts(VC) where there is no judge, lawyer or litigant and a computer takes a decision based on the inputs of the litigant.

1) Online Courts

• Amid this pandemic, a few district judges have taken a step forward and recorded the statement of parties in cases of divorce by mutual consent.
• As of now, several such cases, including those involving NRIs, are dealt with through VC in online courts.
• Punjab and Haryana judges have gone even further ahead. The online courts record the expert evidence of doctors from PGIMER through VC.
• This has freed the doctors from time-consuming trips to the courts and has resulted in savings of several crores for the exchequer.
• The SC hearings use the VIDYO App hosted by the National Informatics Centre. Some platforms like Zoom, WhatsApp, and WebEx are being used in some high courts.

2) Virtual courts

• A virtual court is a unique contribution of the eCourts Project.
• A pilot virtual court was launched in August 2018 in Delhi for traffic offences and it has been a great success.
• Virtual courts have been successfully tried out in Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• The virtual court system has the potential of being upscaled and other petty offences attracting a fine such as delayed payments of local taxes or compoundable offences can also be dealt with by virtual courts.
• This will ease the burden on conventional courts and therefore must be strongly encouraged.

The Supreme Court support for video conferencing

The outbreak of coronavirus or COVID-19 in several countries including India has necessitated immediate adoption of measures to ensure social distancing to prevent transmission of the virus.

• A bench headed by CJI SA Bobde said that every high court would be authorised to determine the modalities suitable to the temporary transition to the use of video conferencing technologies.
• All measures taken by the courts, to reduce the need for the physical presence of all stakeholders within court premises and to secure the functioning of courts in consonance with social distancing guidelines and best public health practices shall be deemed to be lawful, said the bench.
• The top court directed that district courts in each state shall adopt the mode of video-conferencing prescribed by the concerned high court.
• The concerned courts shall maintain a helpline to ensure that any complaint in regard to the quality or audibility of feed shall be communicated during the proceeding or immediately after its conclusion.
• The bench directed that courts shall duly notify and make available the facilities for video-conferencing for such litigants who do not have the means or access to such facilities.
• Until appropriate rules are framed by the high courts, video conferencing shall be mainly employed for hearing arguments whether at the trial stage or at the appellate stage.

The only option lies in technology

• One way to retain access for most litigants as quarantine, self-isolation and social distancing are being implemented to avoid contracting the deadly virus, is by using technology.
• Some jurisdictions abroad have the facility to operate online courts and even telephone hearings for non-substantive issues.
• The importance of allowing technology within the judicial process is already recognised in studies conducted by Indian legal analysts.
• For instance, DAKSH’s white paper series on a next-generational justice platform moots the idea of re-calibrating the Indian judicial system through a natively digital platform.

Various issues with these courts

• Unfamiliarity with the medium of communication is the major issue. Judges are simply not used to consciously facing a camera generally and in particular while hearing a case.
• Similarly, lawyers find it difficult to comfortably argue while seated.
• Some technical problems in conducting online hearings have also surfaced. The bandwidth is not adequate or stable enough. The picture sometimes breaks or gets frozen and the voice often cracks.
• Consultations are also a problem: Lawyers occasionally need to consult their client or the instructing advocate; judges also need to consult each other during a hearing.

Lack of a unified portal

• The Supreme Court initially instructed litigants to use an app called Vidyo. There have been instances of using Whatsapp, Google and Zoom video conferencing tools.
• These apps raise obvious security and sovereignty questions when used for judicial proceedings.
• A public function as critical as adjudication cannot rely on third-party proprietary software.
• The National Informatics Centre will have to create a platform that includes features such as videoconferencing and e-filing.
• This will benefit not just the judiciary but all other components of the justice system – such as the police, prisons and lawyers – and provide more people more justice more speedily.

Conclusion

• As a matter of fact, the present system of justice is totally out of place and out of time and tune with democratic procedures and norms that please only a certain section of the society with vested interests.
• Therefore, there is an immediate need to restructure the entire judicial system to make it answerable to the needs of a democratic, progressive society.
• The judiciary has a golden opportunity to envisage a justice delivery system that could function unhindered at all levels during any emergency.
• The online court is one of a number of related justice modernization needs. It may cost several billion and look a massive sum to commit at a time of austerity, but if it succeeds it will save several more billions.
• This saving will be made by eliminating many of the costs of running a paper-based system using rented premises which look more like shop windows and craft workshops than actual courtrooms.

The inherent issues can be addressed with some simple measures like:

• For pendency, time-limits should be prescribed for all cases based on priorities. So setting time-standards is essential and it will vary for different cases, and also for different courts depending on their disposal-capacity. Alternative disputes resolution  (ADR) mechanisms should be promoted for out of court settlements.
• To imbibe transparency, a thorough understanding of the principle of independence of the judiciary and ensuring its accountability is the sole prerogative of the Supreme Court itself. The judiciary should come up with its own solution for transparent functioning and judicial appointments.
• To make trials speedy, the judiciary must scrutinize the sensitivity of a particular case before taking up for hearing. Fast track courts must be established for varieties of cases.

Way Forward

• Necessity is the mother of invention – once Covid-19 is contained, the judiciary will be presented with an opportunity to reform the justice system to better serve a public that will desperately need it.
• The legislative underpinning of the courts’ modernization should begin boldly and immediately.
• First and foremost, it needs to massively increase the number of leaders and innovators who are addressing issues of law and justice.
• The coronavirus crisis has encouraged courts around the world to find innovative ways of delivering justice. Courts and their users must ‘seize the moment’.
• We urgently need a set of new laws and procedural rules for the online courts.
• We have to create more awareness and understanding and also create platforms and spaces that invite and enable changemakers to come together, dialogue and collaborate to create effective solutions.
• We must use technology and new media to create a citizens movement by equipping citizens with the knowledge, resources and tools to put pressure on the system to change.
• The rapidly evolving field of “legal tech” enables us to use emerging technologies like digitization, process automation, data and analytics, AI to completely reimagine how a 21st century, the citizen-centric legal system should work.

 

 

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References

https://theprint.in/judiciary/how-lockdown-has-hit-judiciary-in-numbers-april-cases-fall-to-82k-from-14-lakh-avg-in-2019/413666/

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-coronavirus-parliament-judiciary-lockdown-6367368/

https://theprint.in/opinion/corona-is-a-wake-up-call-for-indian-courts-they-arent-equipped-to-function-in-a-crisis/389224/

https://www.bloombergquint.com/law-and-policy/how-indian-courts-are-adapting-in-the-times-of-covid-19

https://scroll.in/article/958271/the-coronavirus-pandemic-is-an-unfortunate-opportunity-for-indias-judicial-system-to-modernise

https://indiankanoon.org/doc/32424520/

https://www.magzter.com/article/News/Outlook/Higher-Resolution

As India embarks on its journey of 5 trillion Economy, the importance of Infrastructure cannot be undermined. PM Modi in his Independence Day speech 2019 had highlighted this aspect by allocating ₹100 lakh crore for infrastructure projects over the next 5 years.

The latest move- ‘National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)’. NIP will help to augment infrastructure and create jobs in the country. The government task force on NIP in its report has projected total investment of Rs 111 lakh crore in infra projects over 5 years.

The emphasis would be on ease of living: safe drinking water, access to clean and affordable energy, healthcare for all, modern railway stations, airports, bus terminals and world-class educational institutes.

 

What is the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)?

• NIP includes economic and social infrastructure projects.
• During the fiscal years, 2020 to 2025, sectors such as Energy (24%), Roads (19%), Urban (16%), and Railways (13%) will amount to around 70% of the projected capital expenditure in infrastructure in India.
• It has outlined plans to invest more than ₹102 lakh crore on infrastructure projects by 2024-25, with the Centre, States and the private sector to share the capital expenditure in a 39:39:22 formula.

Why the infra sector is given more emphasis these days?

• Slowdown due to the pandemic is a good time to catch up on infrastructure capacity and increase the expenditure.
• Infrastructure spending is a critical component of the fiscal stimulus as it has multiplier effects on the economy and job creation.
• Quality infrastructure is important not only for faster economic growth but also to ensure inclusive growth.
• Lack of adequate infrastructure not only holds a lack of economic development, but it also causes additional costs in terms of time, effort and money of the people for accessing essential social services.

Key benefits of NIP

• Economic: Well-planned NIP will enable more infra projects, grow businesses, create jobs, improve ease of living, and provide equitable access to infrastructure for all, making growth more inclusive.
• Government: Well-developed infrastructure enhances the level of economic activity, creates additional fiscal space by improving the revenue base of the government, and ensures the quality of expenditure focused on productive areas.
• Developers: Provides a better view of project supply, provides time to be better prepared for project bidding, reduces aggressive bids/ failure in project delivery, ensures enhanced access to sources of finance as a result of increased investor confidence.
• Banks/financial institutions (F1s)/investors: Builds investor confidence as identified projects are likely to be better prepared, exposures less likely to suffer stress given active project monitoring, thereby less likelihood of NPAs.

Projects included

 

• The report contains recommendations on general and sector reforms relating to key infrastructure sectors for implementation by the Centre and states.
• Sectors such as energy (24%), roads (18%), urban (17%) and railways (12%) amount to around 71% of the projected investments.
• The projects will also be spread across sectors such as irrigation, mobility, education, health, water and the digital sector.

Major constraints in implementation

The major implementation constraints that will be faced possibly in future are:

• Availability of funds for financing large projects
• Lengthy processes in land acquisition and payment of compensation
• Environmental concerns
• Time and cost overruns due to delays in project implementation and procedural
• Delays and lesser traffic growth than expected to increase the riskiness of the projects
• Stalled or languishing projects and a shortfall in funds for maintenance

Highlights of the task forces’ report

Components of Infrastructure Vision 2025

The Taskforce has proposed certain goals, strategies and standards under its Infrastructure Vision 2025. Following are the components of the vision.

(a) Affordable and clean energy

• Ensuring 24×7 power availability;
• Reduce pollution through green and clean renewable energy and environment-friendly fuel for transportation.

(b) Digital Services

• Providing access for all.
• 100% population coverage for telecom and high-quality broadband services for socio-economic empowerment of every citizen;
• Digital payments and e-governance Infrastructure for delivery of banking and public services

(c) Quality Education:

• World-class educational institutes for teaching and research, technology-driven learning meeting GER target of 35 by 2025 as per the draft National Education Policy, 2019.

(d) Convenient and efficient transportation and logistics

• Roads: Enhanced road connectivity to remotest areas and trunk connectivity through expressways, major economic corridors, strategic areas and tourist destinations. Extensive charging and on-road traction infrastructure for electric vehicles.
• Rail: World-class stations and fully integrated rail network with inter-modal connectivity to remote regions and close to nil accidents.
• Air: Airport and related infrastructure to enable international and regional connectivity so as to achieve passenger and cargo traffic on the vision of NCAP 2016. Air connectivity to all Tier II and most Tier III cities.
• Ports: Port and Waterway infrastructure focused on reducing logistics time and cost for foreign and domestic trade as per the Sagarmala National Perspective Plan 2016.
• Metro-connectivity: Urban mobility MRTS and bus connectivity within 800 metres of homes in more than 50 cities. High standards of living for citizens by providing metro connectivity in at least 25 cities.

(e) Housing and water supply for all

• Housing for all by 2022 PMAY negligible slum population.
• All households to have piped water meeting national standards by 2024.
• Wastewater recycling and treatment.

(f) Agriculture infrastructure:

• Increased irrigation and micro-irrigation coverage;
• Integrated agro logistics systems from farm gate to end consumers storage, processing and packing, transportation, market and digital infrastructure for agriculture produce.

(g) Good health and well being

• Superior healthcare facilities, electronic health records infrastructure.
• Superior accessible primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare infrastructure facilities across India to meet NHP 2017 goals.
• Medical para medical education infrastructure meeting manpower needs by 2020 and CHVs by 2025 as per IPHS norms.

Major area of focus

• According to the report, India would need to spend $4.51 trillion on infrastructure by 2030 to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025.
• Of the Rs 111 lakh crore, the plan suggests spending 24 per cent in the energy sector, 18 per cent in roads, 17 per cent in urban infrastructure, 12 per cent in railways, and the rest on airports, agriculture and food processing infrastructure, industrial infrastructure, among others.
• Healthcare, clubbed with the social sector, ranks alongside ports and airports.
• The biggest allocations go to power, roads, railways, irrigation, urban and rural infrastructure.
• The report allocated Rs 3.93 lakh crore to social infrastructure, including higher and school education, health and family welfare, sports and tourism. That’s higher than Rs 3.56 lakh crore proposed in the interim report.

Here are other highlights of the report:

Financing

• The report suggests forming a steering committee in the Department of Economic Affairs for raising financial resources for infrastructure projects
• It recommends setting up a well-capitalized credit enhancement fund to improve the rating of projects to easy investments by institutional investors in infrastructure through capital market instruments
• Channeling resources from the pension and insurance sector into the infrastructure bond market
• Strengthening the municipal bond market in India
• Developing infrastructure financing institution IIFCL as a development finance institution in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India
• The monetisation of assets by government departments and public sector entities to reduce the debt burden and invest in asset creation

Monitoring

• Creation of a tool to monitor projects under development
• A steering committee of lenders and equity investors to monitor compliances, resource mobilization and design
• An empowered committee for clearance of large projects

Health sector

It suggests:

• Scaling up India’s medical devices and diagnostic equipment manufacturing under “Make in India” initiative
• Exploring public-private partnership in medical education
• Use of tele-consultation which will link tertiary care institutions to district and sub-district hospitals which provide secondary care facilities

Various issues with the report

Issue of Finance

• The report of the Task Force recommends diversifying financing sources, along with strengthening the existing means.
• The report also suggested for efficient monitoring of project execution and enhancing the execution capacity of private sector participants.
• It said that necessary steps or initiatives need to be undertaken in order to solve the challenge of stressed assets faced by banks by encouraging usage of innovative mechanisms such as loan securitization, InvITs, etc and increased participation of Infrastructure debt funds (IDFs), DFIs, among others.

Neglecting health sector

• While the Covid-19 pandemic has bared inadequacies in India’s healthcare, a task force preparing a fresh infrastructure spending road map has lowered allocation to the sector from what is recommended in the interim report.
• It suggested spending of Rs 1.51 lakh crore in five years ending March 2025 on health and family welfare, according to the final report submitted on April 29.
• That’s lower than 1.5 per cent of the overall Rs 111 lakh crore infrastructure spending target.
• The task force’s allocations contrast with its suggestions on improving healthcare infrastructure at the time when COVID-19 is uprooting various inadequacies.

No measure to address Economic slowdown

• With India already grappling with an economic slowdown and job losses, COVID-19 has struck at the most inopportune time.
• The countrywide lock down had to be neutralized with some sort of stimulus package. This is where the task force report remains silent.

Conclusion

• Infrastructure development is the key to economic growth and well-being of the country’s people, as it will propel economic growth, improve quality of life contribute to GDP nationally.
• Capacity creation and expansion in important segments like roads and highways, power, railways, renewable sector, ports, airports, metros etc, is a must for delivering impressive results.
• The current buoyancy has not just confined to urban areas but also extended to rural areas and improving the quality of life for the masses.
• Over the period, formalization of the economy has taken place and any growth now onwards once NIP is in place will be more sustainable, rather than a boom-and-bust process.
• Therefore, massive infrastructure development through NIP is a sure way of achieving the government’s $5 trillion economy target.
• This is will give a boost to several sectors, create new jobs directly and indirectly, and eventually boost the commercial market, thereby propelling the country’s economic growth.

Way Forward

• A country’s level of human and economic development is closely related to its levels of achievement in physical and social infrastructure.
• While physical infrastructure is an important determinant of domestic production, good social infrastructure is vital for human development as well as economic progress through better educated, better skilled, and healthier citizens.
• Striking a balance between the two is the real challenge for any government in action.
• Translating the government’s vision to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2023-24 may be a formidable task, but is achievable.
• This should, in the long term address all the issues which are either way hurdled with infrastructural inadequacies.

 

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References

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/national-infrastructure-pipeline-nip/

https://www.bloombergquint.com/economy-finance/taskforce-on-infrastructure-cuts-healthcare-allocation-in-final-report

164.100.117.97 › userfiles › DEA IPF NIP Report Vol 1

The outbreak and spread of COVID-19 has created multiple challenges for the entire world. Apart from primary challenges like containing the spread of the virus and treating infected patients, there are rising political issues such as the blame game between US and China, crumbling role of WHO and questions about the future world order. Amid this entire crisis, India has been playing an important role as reflected in the praises being heaped on our PM from worldwide, paving way for stronger future partnerships. This also creates an opportunity for India’s so-called “medical diplomacy” which is already growing at an unprecedented scale.

Background

• The spread of COVID at lightning speed has exposed the void in collective leadership at the global level.
• The contemporary global order and institutions have proved to be hegemonic exercises meant to deal with isolated political and military crises but failed to serve humanity at large.
• To top it all, the worst nativist tendencies of the global leaders are visible in the face of this major crisis.
• The fact that UNSC took so long to meet (that too inconclusively) to discuss the pandemic is a ringing testimony to the UN’s insignificance.
• In this global chaos, India’s handling of the pandemic and its bilateral moves, shows India’s mettle to awaken the conscience of the superpowers and catalyse collective global action.

The World on its knees (credits COVID-19)

Fall of WHO

• WHO is under criticism for giving China too much benefit of the doubt at the beginning of this pandemic.
• At the center of public outrage, WHO is now being mimicked as “Chinese Health Organisation” even as it is at the forefront of fighting its worldwide spread.
• The largest contributor to WHO’s finance, the US has halted its funding making WHO a paper organisation.

The Trumplomacy

• The US decision to suspend contributions to the WHO is an extraordinary act of moral abdication and international vandalism at a time when the world desperately needs to find means of working together.
• From unnecessary trade war to an increasingly desperate coronavirus war, US and China are trapped in a blame game with no easy way out.
• Weakened economically and politically after COVID-19, U.S.’s capacity to play a critical role in world affairs is diminishing.

EU woes

• The EU, the most progressive post-national regional arrangement, stood clueless when the virus spread like wildfire in Europe.
• Its member states turned inward for solutions: self-help, not regional coordination, was their first instinct.
• These regional institutions haven’t fared any better in the past as well.
• Europe, in the short and medium-term, will prove incapable of defining and defending its common interests, let alone having any influence in world affairs.

Problems in West Asia

• In West Asia, both Saudi Arabia and Iran are set to face difficult times.
• The oil price meltdown will aggravate an already difficult situation across the region.
• There may be no victors, but Israel may be one country that is in a position to exploit this situation to its advantage.
• Israel could exploit this situation to strengthen its control over Palestine (benefiting from its dependency) and crush the Hamas.

Looming global depression

• Neoliberal economic globalization may face a major beating in the wake of the pandemic and signs of the global recession are eminent.
• The pre-existing structural weakness of the global order will further feed states’ protectionist tendencies fueled by hyper-nationalism.

The Great Strategist: China

• China is seeking to convert its ‘failure’ into a significant opportunity. This is Sino-centrism at its best, or possibly its worst for the world.

 Point in Case

• China has surprisingly accelerated its movements in the South China Sea.
• It plans using its manufacturing capability to its geo-economic advantage.
• There are enough reports of China’s intentions to acquire financial assets and stakes in banks and companies across the world amid crisis.
• Shares in HDFC: India seems to have woken up only recently to this threat after the Peoples’ Bank of China acquired a 1% stake in India’s HDFC.

Taking advantage of RCEP and Belt and Road Initiative

• Restricting hostile takeovers may not be adequate to checkmate China.
• It is poised to dominate the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
• It will enable China to exploit market access across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, East Asian nations, Australia and New Zealand.
• Together with its Belt and Road Initiative, China is ostensibly preparing the way for a China-centric multilateral globalization framework.

India steps in as a Leader

• India has been proactive at both the domestic level – the steps taken to tackle the crisis at home — and the diplomatic level — India’s assistance to other countries, especially in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), amid the pandemic.
• Despite the existing domestic challenges emanating out of the pandemic, India has decided to render possible help to countries like the US, a few European, African, and Latin American countries, as well as countries in the Middle East by providing medicines and sending medical professionals.

What steps did India take?

• The first element of India’s medical diplomacy includes issuing speedy clearances for the export of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine – seen as useful in the treatment of patients suffering from the novel coronavirus – at the last count to 55 countries.
• The second element includes dispatch of Indian military doctors teams to countries like Nepal, the Maldives and Kuwait to help local administrations draw up plans to combat the spread of this pandemic.

India and IOR

1) Early evacuations

• One of the first steps taken by India was to evacuate citizens of different countries along with its own citizens from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the first COVID-19 outbreak.
• Those evacuated as compassionate cases includes citizens from IOR countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Maldives, South Africa, and Madagascar.
• India not only evacuated these people but also quarantined them in India as a precautionary measure before sending them to their respective countries.

2) Supply of essential medicines

• India has emerged as a major supplier of medicines to different countries worldwide in the fight against COVID-19.
• As part of that effort, India was the first responder to Mauritius and Seychelles.
• Accordingly, India sent a consignment of life-saving drugs, including hydroxychloroquine, to Mauritius and Seychelles.

3) Settling the neighbourhood irritants

• In the past few months, India’s relations were strained to owe to Iran and Malaysia’s criticisms of India on CAA issue.
• However, recently India and Iran cooperated with each other in order to evacuate Indians stranded in Iran.
• Apart from this, India has sent a wheat consignment to Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar port.
• With respect to Malaysia, India has agreed to supply anti-malarial drugs, indicating an improvement in bilateral relations.

India and Middle-East

• While the current Indian government has been placing immense importance on promoting its “Neighborhood First” policy, it is simultaneously strengthening overall cooperation with its “extended neighbours.”
• This is where the Middle Eastern countries come to the fore.

Extending the cooperation

• India’s cooperation with this region has become more comprehensive, moving beyond the oil-energy trade to include military-security ties, maritime cooperation, strategic oil reserves, joint energy exploration projects, and mutual investments.
• India has dispatched a team of 15 doctors and healthcare professionals to assist the efforts of the Kuwaiti government in its fight against the pandemic.
• Jordan, UAE and Oman are some of the countries to whom India has supplied hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).
• Apart from the above-mentioned Arab countries, India has also provided medical-related and humanitarian assistance to Israel, which is one of its largest arms suppliers.

India and SAARC

• India has assumed leadership of the South Asian charge against COVID-19.
• India has backed to set up an emergency fund to fight the rapid spread of Covid-19 pandemic and has pledged $10 million toward this emergency fund.

India and US

• India lifted the ban on HCQ, displaying its ability to rise above politics despite Trump’s consistent politicization of COVID-19 response efforts.

The thought behind Indian Diplomacy

1) Acting in-principle with Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

• At this crucial juncture when almost every part of the globe is engulfed by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, India has taken a step forward by providing medical assistance to some of its international partners.
• Precisely, India has been propagating the ancient Sanskrit dictum Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, meaning “the world is one family.”
• Such goodwill reflects the evolving nature of the Indian foreign policy, and this has gradually been acknowledged by other countries.

2) India chose collaboration over confrontation

• Crises bring out the best and worst in individuals, and the same appears to be the case for nation-states.
• While rivals China and the US engage in a high-profile war of words amidst the COVID-19 crisis, India has chosen the approach of collaboration over confrontation.
• This approach also provided India with an opportunity to address the irritants in its ties with countries, most notably Iran and Malaysia.

3) Being the global pharmacy

• India is often dubbed “the pharmacy of the world” that produces 70 per cent of the world’s HCQ.
• The Indian pharma industry is the world’s third-largest drug producer by volume and the country’s market manufactures 60 per cent of vaccines globally.

4) Addressing the ‘threat everywhere’

• Covid-19 does not respect borders – even closed ones – and its continued transmission anywhere poses a threat to health everywhere.
• If the pandemic worsens, intensive international cooperation will be required to get expertise and resources to where they are needed the most – especially as the disease takes root in impoverished countries in the Global South.

5) Occupying the vacuum generated

• The COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity for India. This entire crisis has put the focus on China from different quarters.
• At present, more and more countries in the world have an unfavourable opinion about China.
• On the other hand, India has been nimble-footed enough to take this opportunity and build up goodwill, which could result in elevated status in the post-COVID-19 period.

Conclusion

• History teaches us that the collective action needed to address this crisis will not just emerge spontaneously – it must be built painfully, step by step, by countries that trust one another and are able to look beyond their own immediate interests.
• Indian diplomacy has been often accused as a response to the transactional discussions. However, India is making genuine sacrifices to show international solidarity and not to monger profits.
• India’s foreign policy has instilled this principle in letter and spirit and is acting accordingly because of even the smallest contribution matters.

Way ahead

• The new world order is on the way. The spread of concepts like “before corona” and “after corona” will become commonplace.
• Far-reaching changes can be anticipated in the realm of geo-economics and geopolitics.
• India is gearing up itself for the emerging challenges on various fronts.
• The effort and message are clear: India’s careful diplomacy reflects a balance between the country’s values and interests.
• The Indian act of generosity has turned the world attention towards India and is sure to open doors towards deeper ties around the world in the near future.

 

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References

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/covid-19-and-the-crumbling-world-order/

https://www.civilsdaily.com/burning-issue-world-health-organization-who-and-coronavirus-handling/

https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/indias-indian-ocean-diplomacy-in-the-covid-19-crisis/

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-deep-void-in-global-leadership/article31200881.ece

Background

• Reservation in India is a system of affirmative action by the State that provides representation for historically and currently disadvantaged groups in Indian society in education, employment and politics.
• It was envisaged to help address social disparities and economic backwardness of certain sections of the population within a few decades.
• But gradually, amendments have been made, and there is no review of the list nor has reservation come to an end. Instead, there is a demand to increase them.
• Now it is very tough for any elected government to have the political will to meet the challenges that arise from the reservation.

Reservation being an all-time contested issue is a less inevitable topic for mains. However, we can expect some of the thought triggering questions such as – “Reservation is hardly capable of striking a balance between social inclusion and merit. Critically comment. (250 W)”

OR

Essay topic like- “Meritocracy is unrealized without an egalitarian society” are ready to raid your mind.

Present context

• Recently, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has held it unconstitutional to provide 100% reservation for tribal teachers in schools located in Scheduled Areas across the country.
• The Bench was answering a reference made to it in 2016 on whether 100% reservation is permissible under the Constitution.
• The principal grounds cited are mainly found in a 1992 judgment of a nine-judge Bench in Indra Sawhney vs Union of India.

Yet again in the news

• Since 1992, governments—both the Centre and the states—have been liberal in their interpretation of “extraordinary situation”, and have used various legal provisions to protect policies that breached the 50% cap.
• For instance, some states have used the Schedule IX shield to protect state laws that expanded reservation beyond 50%. (A Tamil Nadu law that provides 69 per cent reservation in the state is part of the Schedule.)
• Maharashtra recently enacted legislation to give reservation benefits to Marathas.
• On the other hand, the Centre created a 10% quota for people from economically “weaker” sections (defying the sole criteria of socio-economic backwardness).

What is the present case?

• The Supreme Court has overruled the Andhra Pradesh government’s decision in 1988 to provide a 100% reservation to Scheduled Tribes for teacher posts in Scheduled Areas.
• The notification to provide a 100% reservation to Scheduled Tribes (STs) for teacher posts in Scheduled Areas was issued by then governor of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
• The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution dealing with the administration of Scheduled Areas vests the Governor with legislative and administrative powers.

Note: We shall not indulge in dicussing the pros and cons of reservations. Numerous politicians and forged bhakts are there to brainstorm them.

Why did AP bring such a provision?

• The scheduled areas are treated differently from the other areas in the country because they are inhabited by ‘aboriginals’ who are socially and economically rather backwards and special efforts need to be made to improve their condition.
• Therefore, the whole of the normal administrative machinery operating in a state is not extended to the scheduled areas.
• Then AP govt. observed that there was chronic absenteeism among teachers who did not belong to those remote areas where the schools were located.

No 100% quota permissible

• The apex court held that it is an obnoxious idea that tribals only should teach the tribals.
• Merit cannot be denied in toto by providing reservation observed the judgement.
• Citizens have equal rights, and the total exclusion of others by creating an opportunity for one class is not contemplated by the founding fathers of the Constitution of India.

Constitutionality check: ‘Failed’

• The Supreme Court concluded that reservation in the case violated Articles 14 (equality before law), 15(1) (discrimination against citizens) and 16 (equal opportunity) of the Constitution.
• The Court ruled that the Governor’s powers under para 5 of Schedule V are subject to the fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution.
• It observed that in this case, “there were no such extraordinary circumstances to provide a 100 per cent reservation in Scheduled Areas”.
• The court also took note of a Presidential Order issued in 1975 under Article 371-D (Special provisions for Andhra Pradesh) of the Constitution, which said employment to people in the state were limited to only their districts.

Other legal loopholes

• Paragraph 5(1) of Schedule V empowers the Governor to issue a notification directing that any central or state law may not apply to a scheduled area or shall apply to the area with modifications and exemptions.
• The then Andhra Pradesh Governor had cited this provision.
• The government order had also cited Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Service Rules 1996, which provides for 6 per cent reservation for Scheduled Tribes in the State.
• But the bench ruled that Para 5(1) of Schedule V does not allow modification of Rules.

Invoking Indra Sawhney judgment: The 50% Cap

• The court referred to the famous Indra Sawhney judgment (Mandal case- Indra Sawhney v. Union of India 1992), which caps reservation at 50%.
• The court held that a 100% reservation is discriminatory and impermissible.
• Among others, it recognized socially and economically backward classes as a category and recognized the validity of the 27 per cent reservation.
• The concept of ‘creamy layer’ gained currency through this judgment. Those among the OBCs who had transcended their social backwardness were to be excluded from the reservation.

Significance of the present judgement

• The verdict quashing the 100% quota is not against affirmative programmes as such, but caution against implementing them in a manner detrimental to the rest of society.
• However, the solution for drafting only members of the local tribes was not a viable solution.
• As the Bench noted, it could have come up with other incentives to ensure the attendance of teachers.
• Another aspect that the court took into account was that Andhra Pradesh has a local area system of recruitment to public services.
• Thus, the 100% quota deprived residents of the Scheduled Areas of any opportunity to apply for teaching posts.

Why so much confusion persists over ‘reservation’ after several Judgements?

• There are many other reservation-related judgements where the SC has either read down its earlier judgments or has completely side-stepped these.
• A fair share of the blame, however, must rest with the SC itself in 1994, in Ajay Kumar Singh SC ruled on reservations at the highest levels of education, which Indra Sawhney proscribes.
• For instance, SC in 2018 upheld one part of the Nagaraj judgment saying that reservations can’t be allowed to affect efficiency negatively while in another judgment.
• It is necessary to liberate the concept of efficiency from a one-sided approach which ignores the need for and the positive effects of the inclusion of diverse segments of society on the efficiency of administration.
• Unless the apex court lays down its opinion with some degree of certitude, the reservation will likely continue in perpetuity.

What is the remedy for such a situation?

• B.R. Ambedkar observed during the debate in the Constituent Assembly on the equality clause, that any reservation normally ought to be for a “minority of seats”.
• This is one of the points often urged in favour of the 50% cap imposed by the Court on the total reservation, albeit with some allowance for relaxation in special circumstances.
• It is still a matter of debate whether the ceiling has innate sanctity, but it is clear that wherever it is imperative that the cap be breached; a special case must be made for it (as TN and MH did).
• Such a debate should not divert attention from the fact that there is a continuing need for a significant quota for STs, especially those living in areas under the Fifth Schedule special dispensation.

Way Forward

• The reservation policy was introduced only for a temporary timeframe until equality reigns amongst all bases of discrimination.
• However, the policy of reservation has been continuing for over six decades now and continues to expand. Since, Reservation is necessary to provide equality, equity, and diversity in society.
• The Indra Sawhney judgement started a new era of reservation in India. But actual work of social upliftment is still incomplete.
• The present system seeks to elevate a section or decelerates another regardless of merit to bring them all on the same level.
• Still, it is the only prerogative for social upliftment of marginalized sections.
• There is a need for rationalizing the policy so that a balance can be established between social mobility and merit.

 

 

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Back2Basics: What are Fifth Schedule Areas?

• The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the administration and control of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes in any state except the four states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram (ATM²).

Who can declare an area to be Scheduled Area?

• The President is empowered to declare an area to be a scheduled area.
• He can also increase or decrease its area, alter its boundary lines, rescind such designation or make fresh orders for such re-designation on an area in consultation with the governor of the state concerned.

Administration of Scheduled Areas

• The executive power of a state extends to the scheduled areas therein. But the governor has a special responsibility regarding such areas.
• The executive power of the Centre extends to giving directions to the states regarding the administration of such areas.

Role of Governor

• He has to submit a report to the President regarding the administration of such areas, annually or whenever so required by the President.
• The Governor is empowered to direct that any particular act of Parliament or the state legislature does not apply to a scheduled area or apply with specified modifications and exceptions.
• He can also make regulations for the peace and good government of a scheduled area after consulting the tribes advisory council.

The Tribes Advisory Council

• Each state having scheduled areas has to establish a tribes’ advisory council to advice on welfare and advancement of the scheduled tribes.

States having Scheduled Areas

• At present, 10 States namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana have Fifth Schedule Areas.
• Tribal habitations in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir have not been brought under the Fifth or Sixth Schedule.

Also read:

Ninth Schedule of the Indian Constitution

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References

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/no-100-quota-for-scheduled-areas/

https://theprint.in/judiciary/no-rhyme-or-reason-for-100-reservation-why-sc-quashed-2000-andhra-order-for-st-teachers/407217/

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/no-100-quota-the-hindu-editorial-on-overzealous-reservation/article31427747.ece

 

 

 

Context

• Major Port Authorities Bill 2020 was recently introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Shipping.
• The Bill aims to replace the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.
• It seeks to provide for regulation, operation and planning of Major Ports in India and to vest the administration, control and management of such ports upon the Boards of Major Port Authorities.
• This will empower the Major Ports to perform with greater efficiency on account of full autonomy in decision making and by modernizing the institutional framework of Major Ports.

Background

Ports in India

• India is the sixteenth largest maritime country in the world, with a coastline of about 7,517 km. The Indian Government plays an important role in supporting the ports sector.
• According to the Ministry of Shipping, around 95 per cent of India’s trading by volume and 70 per cent by value is done through maritime transport
• India has 12 major and 205 notified minor and intermediate ports.
• The Indian ports and shipping industry plays a vital role in sustaining growth in the country’s trade and commerce.
• It has allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 100 per cent under the automatic route for port and harbour construction and maintenance projects.
• It has also facilitated a 10-year tax holiday to enterprises that develop, maintain and operate ports, inland waterways and inland ports.

Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020

Key features of the Bill include:

Jurisdiction

• The Bill will apply to the major ports of Chennai, Cochin, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Kandla, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Paradip, V.O. Chidambaranar, and Vishakhapatnam.

Major Port Authorities Board

• Under the 1963 Act, all major ports are managed by the respective Board of Port Trusts that have members appointed by the central government.
• The Bill provides for the creation of a Board of Major Port Authority for each major port.
• These Boards will replace the existing Port Trusts.

Composition of Board

• The Board will comprise of a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson, both of whom will be appointed by the central government on the recommendation of a selection committee.
• Further, it will include one member each from

(i) the respective state governments,

(ii) the Railways Ministry,

(iii) the Defence Ministry, and

(iv) the Customs Department

• The Board will also include two to four independent members, and two members representing the interests of the employees of the Major Port Authority.

Powers of the Board

• The Bill allows the Board to use its property, assets and funds as deemed fit for the development of the major port.
• The Board can also make rules on:

(i) declaring the availability of port assets for port-related activities and services,

(ii) developing infrastructure facilities such as setting up new ports, jetties, and

(iii) providing exemption or remission from payment of any charges on any goods or vessels.

Fixing of rates

• Currently, the Tariff Authority for Major Ports, established under the 1963 Act, fixes the scale of rates for assets and services available at ports.
• Under the Bill, the Board or committees appointed by the Board will determine these rates.
• They may determine rates for:

1. services that will be performed at ports,
2. the access to and usage of the port assets, and
3. different classes of goods and vessels, among others.

• Such fixing of rates will not be with retrospective effect and must be consistent with the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002, or any other laws in force, subject to certain conditions.

Financial powers of the Board

• Under the 1963 Act, the Board has to seek the prior sanction of the central government to raise any loan.
• Under the Bill, to meet its capital and working expenditure requirements, the Board may raise loans from any:
• scheduled bank or financial institution within India, or
• any financial institution outside India that is compliant with all the laws.
• However, for loans above 50% of its capital reserves, the Board will require prior sanction of the central government.

Corporate Social Responsibility

• The Bill provides that the Board may use its funds for providing social benefits.
• This includes the development of infrastructure in areas such as education, health, housing, and skill development.

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects

• The role of the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) has been redefined. The Bill defines PPP projects as projects taken up through a concession contract by the Board.
• For such projects, the Board may fix the tariff for the initial bidding purposes.
• The appointed concessionaire will be free to fix the actual tariffs based on market conditions, and other conditions as may be notified.
• The revenue share in such projects will be on the basis of the specific concession agreement.

Adjudicatory Board

• The Bill provides for the constitution of an Adjudicatory Board by the central government.
• This Board will replace the existing Tariff Authority for Major Ports constituted under the 1963 Act.
• It will consist of a Presiding Officer and two members, as appointed by the central government.
• Functions of the Adjudicatory Board will include:
• certain functions being carried out by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports,
• adjudicating on disputes or claims related to rights and obligations of major ports and PPP concessionaires, and
• reviewing stressed PPP projects.

Penalties

• Under the 1963 Act, there are various penalties for contravening provisions of the Act.
• For example, (i) the penalty for setting up any structures on the harbours without permission may extend up to Rs 10,000, and (ii) the penalty for evading rates may extend up to 10 times the rates.
• Under the Bill, any person contravening any provision of the Bill or any rules or regulations will be punished with a fine of up to one lakh rupees.

Why need corporatization?

• Indian state-owned ports or major ports (12 in number) account for around 55% of maritime cargo traffic in the country.
• Currently, most major port trusts in India carry out terminal operations as well, resulting in a hybrid model of port governance.
• The involvement of the port authorities in terminal operations leads to a conflict of interest and works against objectivity.
• But, they still have to adhere to a tariff and policy regime that has its roots in the 1960s.

Significance of the Bill

• Privatized ports operate under a much more liberal regime and are under the control of state governments.
• They are operationally more efficient and are crucially developed better linkages to the hinterland to enable smooth traffic flows.
• The bill aims at decentralizing decision making and to infuse professionalism in governance of major ports.
• It would help to impart faster and transparent decision making benefiting the stakeholders and better project execution capability.
• The Bill is aimed at reorienting the governance model in central ports to the landlord port model in line with the successful global practice.
• This will also help in bringing transparency in operations of Major Ports.

 

 

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References

https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=200153.

https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/major-port-authorities-bill-2020

https://www.ibef.org/industry/ports-india-shipping.aspx

 

 

What would happen once lockdown in India is lifted?

• India faces a similar choice as that of Goldilocks with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the timing of when to ease out the nationwide lockdown.
• Ease it out too early, and the disease could rapidly spread, wiping out the hard-won gains from the 21-day quarantine.
• Ease out too slow, and the continued lockdown could wreak havoc on India’s economy, potentially causing permanent damage and losing more lives from economic hardship than from the disease.

 

 

What then is the right time to ease out the lockdown? This question can be answered after studying this Burning Issue.

 

Context

• The so-called sudden outbreak of a novel Coronavirus that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan has rocked the world. Now, infections have been confirmed in almost every country.
• With crumbling health infrastructure due to overburden, India’s preparedness for handling this epidemic has become a major challenge.
• The world along with India being no exception has responded with extraordinarily aggressive measures such as phased lockdowns, Bhilwara Model, Pathanamthitta Model, Taiwan model etc.
• The success of these models is attributed to various best practices which are were implemented days before the thought of nationwide lockdown was incepted.

An old African proverb says, “An ant can kill an elephant.” This effectively seems true in the current COVID-19 context. While the contagion is ravaging economies, people and livelihoods globally, governments — rich and poor — are gasping for an effective coping strategy.

There are handfuls of success stories of “Coronavirus Slayers” who have been courageously fighting the pandemic and have emerged successful.

 

Various models for COVD-19 containment

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(Indian Models)

1) The Bhilwara Model

• Rajasthan’s Bhilwara could have become the corona epicentre for the country had it not followed a stringent strategy, courtesy to IAS officer Tina Dabi (AIR 1, 2015) and her pro-active team.
• The “Bhilwara model” of tackling COVID-19 cases involves, simply, “ruthless containment”.

What is this ‘ruthless containment’ model about?

• It refers to the steps taken by the administration in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district to contain the disease, after it emerged as a hotspot for coronavirus positive cases. It can be summarized as-

1. District isolation
2. Aggressive screening in the city and rural parts
3. Quarantine and isolation wards
4. Rigorous monitoring

What were the earliest measures adopted?

• The measures taken by the state govt. included imposing a curfew in the district which also barred essential services, extensive screening and house-to-house surveys to check for possible cases.
• It went for detailed contact tracing of each positive case so as to create a dossier on everybody they met ever since they got infected.

What did the administration do as part of the containment strategy?

• The administration backed up the surveys by imposing a total lockdown on the district, with the local police ensuring strict implementation of the curfew.
• Intense contact tracing was carried out of those patients who tested positive, with the Health Department preparing detailed charts of all the people whom they had met since being infected.
• The state took the help of technology, using an app to monitor the conditions of those under home quarantine on a daily basis along with keeping a tab on them through GIS.
• The patients were treated with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), Tamiflu and HIV drugs.

Groundwork

• Within three days of the first positive case, the district health administration in Bhilwara constituted nearly 850 teams and conducted house-to-house surveys at 56k houses and of 280k people.
• Thousands were identified to be suffering from influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms and were kept in-home quarantine.

Success:

Bhilwara which was the first district in Rajasthan to report the most number of COVID cases has now reported only one positive case since March 30.

 

2) The Agra Model

• Agra was the first identified cluster in India and continues to have one of the highest district-wise caseloads.
• The “Agra model” followed a localised yet massive combing operation for contacts, carried out by the district administration and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme personnel.
• It worked on war front with devised electronic survey including smart city control centre, drones, CCTVs etc.

Various measures taken

• The State, District administration and frontline workers coordinated their efforts by utilizing their existing Smart City Integrated with Command and Control Centre (ICCC) as War Rooms.
• Under the cluster containment and outbreak containment plans, the district administration identified epicentres, the delineated impact of positive confirmed cases on the map and deployed a special task force as per the micro plan made by the district administration.
• The hotspots were managed through an active survey and containment plan.
• The area was identified within a radius of 3 Km from the epicentre while 5 Km buffer zone was identified as the containment zone.

Massive scale of monitoring

• In the containment zone, Urban Primary Health Centres were roped in.
• Health workers including ANMs/ASHA/AWW reached out to 9.3 lakh of people through household screening.
• Additionally, effective and early tracking of first contact tracing was thoroughly mapped.

Success:

The Agra model is important because it has proved effective in areas of high case density, which are being referred to as “hotspots”. Agra was also the earliest reference to community transmission.

 

3) The Pathanamthitta or Kerala Model

• Use of technology has been the hallmark of the Pathanamthitta model in Kerala.
• The district saw its first cases in early March when a three-member Italy-returned family ended up infecting several relatives while socializing with them. The count would eventually go up to 16.

How it differs from Agra Model?

• Border sealing and contact tracing happened here too.
• But more than just screening contacts, every person who had entered the district was screened and a database created so that they could be easily reached at short notice.

Self-reporting by people

• Graphics were created showing the travel route of the positive cases and publicized.
• This helped in self-reporting. As people realized from the route map that they had indeed come in contact with a COVID-19 positive person, many walked up to be screened or treated.

Intensive use of technology

• Those under quarantine were checked daily on phone thorough a call centre even as 14 teams of health workers monitored some 4,000 people who had entered the district before its sealing.
• There was also an app — Corona RM — designed by a few engineering students.
• Those under home quarantine were monitored through this app as their whereabouts could be tracked and if they broke quarantine that could be immediately detected through the use of GP.

Success:

The growth of new cases has slowed down in Kerala, with six of the last 10 days witnessing a single-digit rise. This success of Kerala is being attributed to its “prompt response” to its past “experience (of Nipah) and investment” in health emergency preparedness.

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Global Successes

 

1) Taiwan Model of Total Healthcare Management

• Located less than 150 kilometres from the original viral source – China – Taiwan has seen far fewer cases of the coronavirus in the past month, with a much lower infection rate.
• It is also worth noting the practices utilized by Taiwan’s hospitals as they seek to curb the virus and protect patients and medics.

Following were the not so exceptional measures which helped Taiwan authorities contain coronavirus:

Smaller staff groups

• One of the early steps taken was the reduction of the workgroup sizes within medical facilities.
• This reduces the risk of a community spread within the hospital emerging from infected patients being treated.

Traffic control in hospitals

• Hospitals were establishing separate entrances and exits for in- and out-patients to help prevent the spread of infection via regular hospital traffic.
• In effect, hospital entry began to resemble airport customs, with visitors passing through a temperature checkpoint and showing IDs before admittance.

Maintaining a high bed-per-capita ratio

• Many countries have found that they do not have nearly enough hospital beds to care for patients suffering from a highly infectious disease like COVID-19.
• In response, Taiwan has nearly 1,000 negative pressure isolation rooms (an isolation technique used in hospitals to prevent cross-contamination from room to room) available, with the capacity to add significantly more through room reconfigurations.
• This is a remarkably high number, given the relatively small population of the island, and speaks to the country’s preparedness and advanced medical infrastructure.

Best public health policy

• Finally, Taiwan has benefited greatly from the close coordination between its hospitals and the central government.
• Within the country’s nationalized healthcare system, every citizen and resident is assigned a health card, embedded with a computer chip reflecting their identity and medical history.

Success:

As the global total of infections has neared 700,000, with over 30,000 deaths, Taiwan’s count stood at 300, with only 5 deaths.

 

2) Prolonged, total lockdown: The Wuhan model

Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, and the geographic origin of the coronavirus have had the longest and most comprehensive lockdown of any region in the world, for a staggering 76 days, starting on 23 January and ending on 8 April.

Actual strategy

• In January, China effectively shut down Wuhan and placed its 11 million residents in effective quarantine — a move it then replicated in the rest of Hubei province, putting 50 million people in mass isolation.
• Across the rest of the country, residents were strongly encouraged to stay at home.

Mass mobilization

• At least 42,000 doctors and medical personnel were sent to Hubei province to shore up the province’s health services.

Masks and checks

• In cities, it quickly became necessary to wear a mask as apartment blocks, businesses and even parks barred entry without one.
• Widespread mask use may have helped slow the spread of the disease, “particularly when there are so many asymptomatic virus carriers

Success:

China had 22 consecutive days (till yesterday) of one new case or less per day, before the lockdown was lifted.

 

3) No lockdown, rapid testing: South Korea Model

• As countries across the world used their state machinery to impose partial or complete lockdowns, South Korea decided to follow a different route.
• A week since the coronavirus started spreading in their neighbouring country, China, the government responded quickly and ordered all the factories to start producing testing kits en masse.
• Within two weeks, South Korea was producing more than 1,00,000 testing kits per day.
• Furthermore, the government used all its resources to and had carried out over 2,50,000 tests.
• This allowed the government to gather data, monitor the spread and treat/isolate the infected individuals.
• South Korea also used surveillance footage, drone images, credit card activities, etc. to trace the contacts of the infected individuals and put them into isolation.

Success:

By acting quickly, South Korea tackled the COVID-19 crisis effectively while keeping its economy up and running. When a third of the world’s population is living under a lockdown, the relative normality of Seoul feels surreal.

 

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All these models have something in common. Guess what?

• Capacity to contain a virus outbreak depends on the ability to identify cases and contacts in the community on clinical criteria while ensuring smart surveillance on travellers; isolate and identify the causative virus; treat severe cases while counselling mild cases.
• Dealing with pandemics required a multi-pronged approach which all models did rather than solely focussing on discovering a vaccine.
• The WHO’s mantra to tackle COVID i.e. “test, trace, isolate, treat” is the key.
• All these models have followed this strategy either way in their letter and spirit, with exemplary efficiency.

How is India responding?

• Health Infrastructure has been described as the basic support for the delivery of public health activities.
• However, current health infrastructure in India paints a dismal picture of the healthcare delivery system in the country.
• Public health experts believe that India is ill-equipped to handle such emergencies. It is not prepared to tackle health epidemics, particularly given its urban congestion.
• The healthcare administration in crowded cities like Agra, Pathanamthitta and Bhilwara have busted this myth.
• The willingness and effectiveness with which doctors and medical officials in India are working is a testament to the country’s rational and humane approach to the pandemic.

Way Forward

• The aerial spread of the pandemic can be contained with an efficient response which combines effective public health, microbiological, clinical and communication responses.
• In general, hospital services have quickly geared up to treat severe cases in urban areas but rural healthcare needs a step up.
• Effective risk communication to the general public needs to be circulated to prevent panic and provide advice on precautionary measures.
• Central and state health agencies must act in tandem and so are the public and private healthcare facilities.
• The media too must help in increasing awareness without triggering panic through community counselling.

 

 

International organisations are important for the UPSC exam. International Relations (IR) is a crucial segment of the UPSC syllabus and every year, questions are asked based on international organisations in the UPSC prelims and mains exams. We have covered the most important organisations in various articles and Burning Issues. This article focuses on the recent issues that have plagued the World Health Organization. 

 

Context

• US President Donald Trump has lashed out at the WHO by declaring he would “hold” their funding, and then said the decision is still under consideration.
• Trump accused WHO to be China-centric and that it got every aspect of the coronavirus pandemic wrong.
• US, however, isn’t the only one criticizing the WHO. Several leaders, columnists, and others have also criticised the WHO’s handling of China — where the virus had originated.

A brief history of the WHO

World Health Organization

• The WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.
• It is part of the U.N. Sustainable Development Group.
• The WHO Constitution, which establishes the agency’s governing structure and principles, states its main objective as ensuring “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.”
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with six semi-autonomous regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.

Its establishment

• The WHO was established in 7 April 1948, which is commemorated as World Health Day.
• The first meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the agency’s governing body, took place on 24 July 1948.
• The WHO incorporated the assets, personnel, and duties of the League of Nations’ Health Organisation and the Office International d’Hygiène Publique, including the International Classification of Diseases.
• Its work began in earnest in 1951 following a significant infusion of financial and technical resources.

Composition of WHA

• The WHA, composed of representatives from all 194 member states, serves as the agency’s supreme decision-making body.
• The WHA convenes annually and is responsible for selecting the Director-General, setting goals and priorities, and approving the WHO’s budget and activities.
• The current Director-General is Tedros Adhanom, former Health Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, who began his five-year term on 1 July 2017.

Mandate of the WHO

 

• The WHO’s broad mandate includes advocating for universal healthcare, monitoring public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies, and promoting human health and well being.
• It provides technical assistance to countries, sets international health standards and guidelines, and collects data on global health issues through the World Health Survey.
• Its flagship publication, the World Health Report, provides expert assessments of global health topics and health statistics on all nations.

Focus areas

• The WHO has played a leading role in several public health achievements, most notably the eradication of smallpox, the near-eradication of polio, and the development of an Ebola vaccine.
• Its current priorities include communicable diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis; non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
• It also focuses on a healthy diet, nutrition, and food security; occupational health; and substance abuse.

Achievements

• Some of the WHO’s biggest achievements came in its early days.
• In 1958, the erstwhile United Socialist Soviet Republic, or USSR, had proposed a WHO-led smallpox eradication programme. The disease was still endemic by 1966, especially in Africa and Asia.
• The next year, in 1967, the WHO began its Intensified Eradication Program that focused on mass vaccinations, and it proved to be a huge success.
• By 1980, small pox was declared as eradicated from the world — the only disease to be classified this way.

Other successes

• In 1978, the WHO adopted the Declaration of Alma-Ata, calling on “urgent and effective national and international action to develop and implement primary health care throughout the world”.
• The declaration was considered historic for identifying the role and necessity of primary healthcare in assuring health facilities for all.
• The WHO has played a central role in global immunisation programmes against polio, measles and tetanus, among others.

Financing of WHO

• The WHO relies on assessed and voluntary contributions from member states and private donors for funding.
• It started off with $5 million and 51 member countries — all of whom signed its constitution.
• Now, it has 194 member countries, with a budget of $4.8 billion.
• The US is currently the biggest financial contributor to the WHO and has been its active member for many decades.

Handling of novel coronavirus pandemic

• In December 2019, the WHO’s China office was informed about cases of pneumonia of unknown cause detected in the Wuhan city of Hubei province.
• Ever since, the WHO has worked to inform the world about the illness — called the novel coronavirus — and even earned the praise of global health experts initially for its transparent and swift approach.
• It was the WHO that announced a global emergency due to the spread of the virus and later declared it a pandemic.
• It is raising $675 million to find a cure and spread awareness about the illness.

Why is WHO under Criticism?

1) Some unanswered questions

• Questions were raised when WHO director praised China for the speed with which detected the outbreak and its commitment to transparency.
• China has a history of keeping its data under wraps and it is said to have even concealed the extent of the outbreak during the early stages.
• The WHO surprisingly maintained that masks only need to be used by those with symptoms, and travel bans are “ineffective” in curbing the spread of the virus.

2) Affinity with China

• The WHO can certainly be criticized for giving China too much benefit of the doubt at the beginning of this pandemic.
• The WHO is now being called “Chinese Health Organisation” even as it is at the forefront of fighting its worldwide spread.
• Despite the criticism, the WHO has pledged to keep fighting against the current pandemic.

3) Delayed response

• They accuse the WHO of simply reporting virus statistics given to them by the Chinese government, even though we now know China widely underreported and even tried to hide the extent of the virus.
• For example, in mid-January, the WHO repeated that China said human-to-human transmission of the virus hadn’t been proved.
• The WHO waited weeks to declare a public health emergency and only declared it a pandemic March 11, later than many countries would have preferred.

4) Trump being Trump

• The US is trying to deflect the blame away from this catastrophe back onto China.
• This fight between the US and China, with the world’s leading health organization in the middle, is a distraction.

Some of its failures:

• It has come under fire in recent years for its heavy bureaucratic framework, which has led to inefficiencies, inertia, and even “over-reactions”.
• During the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic, the WHO was accused of overplaying the dangers of the virus and aligning with pharmaceutical interests.
• As a consequence, member states bought billions of doses of vaccines that ultimately remained unused, leading to wastage of resources and money.
• The organisation later admitted having failed in communicating about it properly.
• During the Ebola outbreak in 2013-2015, the WHO failed to sound the alarm over the virus, despite knowing about it. Thousands of lives were lost before the WHO could act.

Why has WHO failed?

• The WHO’s sprawling structure is an outcome of a vague mandate and global power imbalance.
• WHO is facing the biggest pandemic in human history. For all the responsibility vested in the WHO, it has little power.
• Unlike international bodies such as the WTO, the WHO, which is a specialised body of the UN, has no ability to bind or sanction its members.
• Its annual operating budget, about $2bn in 2019, which is smaller than that of many university hospitals and split among a wide array of public health and research projects.
• At the same time, the international order on which the WHO relies is fraying, as aggressive nationalism becomes normalized around the world.

Conclusion

• Whatever the causes of this disaster are, it is clear that the WHO has failed in its duty to raise the alarm in time.
• This shortfall of WHO is failure indicative of a deeper malaise: the global institutional framework is a pawn in the hands of the great powers, cash-strapped.
• While the focus has been on what happened between China and the WHO, in epidemiological terms the crisis has moved on.
• The WHO is battling against a breakdown in international cooperation that is far beyond its capacity to control.
• States have been turning away from international institutions for a long time. And WHO has relied on the often unspoken norms of international collaboration that underlie it.

Way forward

• The new world order is on the way. The spread of concepts like “before corona” and “after corona” will become commonplace.
• The global institutional architecture of the 1940s cannot help humanity face the challenges of the 2020s.
• India as a nation has an important say for fundamental reforms in the UN System, including the WHO to make it more transparent, competent, and accountable.
• Nothing less than a new social contract between states and the international system can serve the purpose.

 

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References

https://theprint.in/theprint-essential/all-about-who-the-global-health-watchdog-attacked-as-chinese-health-organization/397998/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/08/why-exactly-is-president-trump-lashing-out-world-health-organization/

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/apr/10/world-health-organization-who-v-coronavirus-why-it-cant-handle-pandemic

https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/donald-trump-versus-the-world-health-organization-35319

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization