Category: Burning Issues

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Context

The theme of this year’s World Water Day was ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible’. The primary focus is to draw attention to the role of groundwater in water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems, and climate change adaptation. Groundwater helps reduce the risk of temporary water shortage and caters to the needs of arid and semiarid regions, but its value has not been fully recognized in policymaking. Due to its high storage capacity, groundwater is more resilient to the effects of climate change than surface water. The international conference on ‘Groundwater, Key to the Sustainable Development Goals’ and the UN­Water Summit on Groundwater are part of global initiatives to highlight the significance of groundwater in sustainable development.

Important Facts

• Estimates: 85% of the rural and 50% of the urban population in India is dependent on groundwater for fulfilling their needs.
• With an annual groundwater extraction of 248.69 billion cubic meters (2017), India is among the largest users of groundwater in the world.
• Almost 89% of the groundwater extracted is used for irrigation and the rest for domestic and industrial use (9% and 2%).
• High water stress: India is one of 17 countries facing extremely high water stress, according to a report by the World Resources Institute.
  • According to the Fifth Minor Irrigation Census, the groundwater level in India has declined by 61 percent between 2007 and 2017. It was further observed that more than 1,000 blocks in India have become water-stressed.
• Composite Water Management Index (CWMI), 2018 by NITI Aayog: The water demand will exceed the supply by 2050. Groundwater in India depleted at 10-25 mm per year between 2002 and 2016.
  • 54 percent of India’s groundwater wells are declining.
  • It added that about 40% of India’s population possibly would have no access to drinking water by 2030.
• Extraction value: According to the Central Ground Water Board, the annual groundwater withdrawal is considered to be safe when the extraction rate is limited to below 70% of the annual replenishable recharge.
  • Available data indicate that the level of extraction for the country in 2017 was 63%, from 58% in 2004.
• Variation across regions: However, the level varied across regions. Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry have crossed the 70% mark.
  • Of 534 districts in 22 States/UTs, 202 districts had stage of extraction ranging from 71% to 385%. NITI Aayog has set the 70% extraction value as the target to be achieved by 2030.
  • Recent studies suggest that groundwater levels are declining in several parts of northern India, especially in regions of high population densities.
• Quality concern: A quantity­wise safe district may be vulnerable due to deterioration of water quality. Fluoride, iron, salinity, nitrate, and arsenic contamination are major problems.
  • As many as 335 districts reported nitrate pollution compared to 109 in 2006. A high level of nitrate affects human health.
  • Sources of nitrates are mainly anthropogenic and depend on local actions.
  • Biological contamination has also been reported from different parts of the country.

Reasons for Depletion

• Increased demand for water for domestic, industrial and agricultural needs and limited surface water resources lead to the over-exploitation of groundwater resources.
• Limited storage facilities owing to the hard rock terrain, along with the added disadvantage of lack of rainfall, especially in central Indian states.
• Green Revolution enabled water-intensive crops to be grown in drought-prone/ water deficit regions, leading to over-extraction of groundwater.
• Frequent pumping of water from the ground without waiting for its replenishment leads to quick depletion.
• Subsidies on electricity and high MSP for water-intensive crops is also leading reasons for depletion.
• Water contamination as in the case of pollution by landfills, septic tanks, leaky underground gas tanks, and overuse of fertilizers and pesticides leads to damage and depletion of groundwater resources.
• Inadequate regulation of groundwater laws encourages the exhaustion of groundwater resources without any penalty.
• Deforestation, unscientific methods of agriculture, chemical effluents from industries, and lack of sanitation also lead to pollution of groundwater, making it unusable.
• Natural causes include uneven rainfall and climate change that are hindering the process of groundwater recharge.

Impact

• Lowering of the water table: Groundwater depletion may lower the water table leading to difficulty in extracting groundwater for usage.
• Reduction of water in streams and lakes: A substantial amount of the water flowing in rivers comes from seepage of groundwater into the streambed. Depletion of groundwater levels may reduce water flow in such streams.
• Subsidence of land: Groundwater often provides support to the soil. When this balance is altered by taking out the water, the soil collapses, compacts, and drops leading to subsidence of land.
• Increased cost for water extraction: As the depleting groundwater levels lower the water table, the user has to delve deep to extract water. This will increase the cost of water extraction.

• Contamination of groundwater: Groundwater that is deep within the ground often intermingles with saltwater that we shouldn’t drink.

• Constraints in food supply: If groundwater availability faces difficulties then there will be hindrances in agricultural production leading to a shortage of food.
• Limitations to biodiversity and creation of sinkholes: Water table plays a major role in sustaining biodiversity. Often, sinkholes are created when the water table lowers. These sinkholes are dangerous for buildings and towers.

Policy challenges

• Estimation of groundwater resources: There is a lack of data available for estimation of groundwater sources and even if they are available, they are indicative and not representative.
• Crop pricing and water-intensive crops: Decisions such as cropping pattern and cropping intensity are taken independent of the groundwater availability in most areas.
  • Minimum Support Price (MSP) is also available for water-intensive crops leading to widespread cultivation of such crops.
• Energy subsidies: The challenge is to find a balance between the needs of farmers and the need to ensure the sustainable use of groundwater.
• Inadequate regulation: Lack of proper regulations and their further implementation has been one of the major challenges in managing groundwater levels in India.
• Lack of local management: There is a lack of local management of groundwater resources. Local communities have an important role to play in groundwater management and there is a need for devolution of power for local management of such resources.

Government initiatives

(1) National Water Policy (2012) by Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation. The policy advocates –

• Rainwater harvesting and conservation of water.
• Highlights the need for augmenting the availability of water through direct use of rainfall.
• Conservation of river, river bodies and infrastructure in a scientifically planned manner through community participation.

(2) Creation of a new Ministry of Jal Shakti for dealing with all matters relating to water at one place in an integrated manner.

(3) Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal): It is a Central Sector Scheme, for sustainable management of groundwater resources with community participation in water-stressed blocks.

(4) Mass awareness programs (Training, Seminars, Workshops, Exhibitions, Trade Fares and Painting Competitions, etc.) are conducted from time to time each year under the Information, Education & Communication (IEC) Scheme.

 (5) Encouraging farmers to adopt micro-irrigation techniques such as drip irrigation and micro-sprinklers.

• The government has initiated schemes like the DRIP program, more drop per crop, Krishi Sinchai Yojana to ensure economical water use practices in agriculture.

(6) Use of tensiometer: The tensiometer gives visual information about the availability of soil moisture conditions. Irrigating the field based on this information will help conserve groundwater.

Way Forward

• Routine survey at regular intervals: There should be regular assessment of groundwater levels to ensure that adequate data is available for formulating policies and devising new techniques.
• Assessment of land use pattern: Studies should be carried out to assess land use and the proportion of agricultural land falling under overt-exploited units.
  • This will help in determining suitable crop patterns in water-stressed areas.
• Changes in farming methods: To improve the water table in those areas where it is being overused, on-farm water management techniques and improved irrigation methods should be adopted.
  • Methods for artificial recharge of groundwater are also welcome.
  • Bottom-up approach by empowering the local community to become active participants in managing groundwater.
  • Creating regulatory options at the community level such as panchayat is also one among the feasible solutions.
  • Traditional methods of water conservation should be encouraged to minimize the depletion of water resources.

• Reforms in power supply subsidies for agriculture: The agricultural power-pricing structure needs to be revamped as the flat rate of electricity adversely affects the use of groundwater.
• Monitoring groundwater extraction: There should be a policy in place to monitor the excessive exploitation of groundwater resources to ensure long-term sustainability.
  • Water meters could be installed to monitor overuse.
  • There should be restrictions to cut off the access to groundwater in areas identified as “critical” and “dark zones”, where the water table is overused or very low.
  • There is a need to treat water as a common resource rather than private property to prevent its overexploitation
• Preventing groundwater pollution – Steps to minimize and control the dumping of industrial waste into surface water and underground aquifers should also be taken to prevent groundwater from getting polluted.
  • Problems and issues such as waterlogging, salinity, agricultural toxins, and industrial effluents, all need to be properly looked into.
• The synergy between Central, State and Local governments – Steps need to be taken to achieve optimum benefits of groundwater conservation schemes.
  • This can be done by ensuring coordination between all the ministries and departments of government at the Central, State, and Local levels.
• Water to be brought under Concurrent List – If water is brought under the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution, this can help in the development of a comprehensive action plan.
  • Consensus between the centre and states will result in better conservation, development and management of water, including groundwater.
• Surface water body management: Restoration of ponds, lakes and other traditional water resource structures should be an integral part of the development projects of urban and rural areas and it will substantially develop groundwater potential.
• Wastewater management: Dual sewage system for grey water and black water and promoting reuse of the recycled water in agriculture and horticulture.
  • Industries should also be encouraged to increase water use efficiency, effluent treatment, reuse of used water, zero liquid discharge, etc.
• Implementing Mihir Shah Committee (2016) recommendations: Central Water Commission and the Central Ground Water Board could be united and a national water framework with an integrated perspective developed.
  • There is also a need to work out local­level plans covering water resources in all their forms: rainwater, surface water, soil water and groundwater and the resource use sectors.

Conclusion

Groundwater depletion is becoming an alarming issue day by day. It is high time that the causes are paid attention to and appropriate measures are taken to prevent a possible water crisis in the future. Leveraging schemes like Atal Bhujal Yojana which seeks to strengthen the institutional framework and bring about behavioral changes at the community level for sustainable groundwater resource management is vital.

The new paradigm for groundwater management is a socio­ecological challenge, where localism matters. It warrants technical, economic, legal and governance remediation with space for active public participation and community regulatory options to maintain groundwater balance at the village/watershed level.

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Context

Pakistan’s opposition parties are ready to move a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan. The country is facing a recurring financial crisis and Khan is accused of mismanaging the economy.

What is the real issue?

• Anger against the govt: Pakistan’s economy was already facing a crisis that Khan has been unable to resolve. He has been accused of mismanaging the economy and the country’s foreign policy.
• Pakistan military’s stance: When Khan came to power, he had the complete support of the military. As pressure grows on Khan, Pakistan’s powerful military is said to have withdrawn support to the government.
• Support within his government: Ahead of the crucial no-confidence vote, Khan’s cabinet ministers are resigning. Khan is losing support quickly and it is unlikely that he will survive the no-confidence vote.

Pakistan has a history of political crisis

• Political instability has been endemic with the country alternating between military interventions and civilian rule.
• Inherent motives of elite class: Reforms that could have transformed the country and placed its economy on a high-growth were repeatedly postponed as they would have threatened the ruling elite’s privileges and hold on power.
  • Complicating the quest to address persistent economic, governance and security challenges was the impact of global and regional developments.
• Reasons for the political conflict in Pakistan: The political conflict in Pakistan is because of the gap between –
  1. the modern state and traditional society,
  2. between institutional design and practice and
  3. between “a ‘Western’ framework of authority and Islamic norms and practices”.
• Governance failures and the ruling elite’s resistance to reform have marked Pakistan’s political history.
• An Establishmentarian Democracy: Pakistan’s present hybrid regime is democratic only in form and not substance. There is also a long history of manipulation of elections by extra-parliamentary forces to shape outcomes.

Pakistan leaning toward a failed state

• Advance by Taliban: Concerns about stability in Pakistan became more acute when the Taliban began their advance out of Swat towards Punjab. The Taliban had come within 100 miles of Islamabad.
• A collapsed Pakistan will be a nightmare for the US and the region: The US fears that Al Qaeda could launch attacks against the US from Pakistani territory.
  • An even greater fear is that Pakistani nuclear weapons may fall into the hands of radicals. Thus, it is imperative for the US to stabilize Pakistan.
• Pakistan’s approach towards terrorism: Despite military action against the Taliban, Pakistan’s attitude towards terrorism remains ambiguous.
  • It has done precious little to bring to book the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks. Terror groups from Punjab and PoK are regarded as assets against India.
• Seeds of long-term instability have sown: The military has once again become stronger after the Swat operations although.
  • The army has about 20 per cent Pushtuns. The operations against the Taliban who are also Pushtuns may affect the morale within the army.

Failure of CPEC

• China has played the game: China will largely be benefitted by CPEC at the cost of Pakistan. Pakistan is slowly moving towards a financial doomsday.
• Negative Economic Growth of Pakistan: Almost half of the time has passed and CPEC has not been able to contribute even a single penny towards the GDP of Pakistan.
  • At the same time, Chinese debts are mounting and the re-payment of these loans and interests is causing holes in the Pakistan economy.
  • CPEC failed to generate even a single job except for casual labour for the construction of some of the projects.
• No accountability for delay/cost escalations: Except early harvest power projects, not even a single CPEC project was completed in time. Each and every project is running late with major cost escalations.
• Ceding of strategic assets: Pakistan has already ceded two islands and is in the process of ceding a few more assets including the entire Gwadar Free Trade Zone to China.
  • In mid-2020, Pakistan also gave total mining rights at its Saindak Mines to China at a throwaway price of just 350 Million USD.
• Military Aspects of CPEC: Military have been ruling the country ever since its inception in 1947 and will continue to do so.
  • Also, Pakistan is facing the wrath of US and other international powers because of its involvement in terror-related activities.
  • Pakistan needs military hardware and at this point of time, China is the only source.
• Industrial output in Chinese Hands: China is slowly acquiring Pakistani industries.
  • As such there is negative growth in the Industrial output of Pakistan in the last 5 years, handing over key industries to China will invariably put China in the driving seat of its economic growth.
  • China is never going to use it for benefit of Pakistan but will make all efforts to achieve maximum profits in the least possible time. It will put a serious strain on Pakistan’s Economy and overall GDP.
• Pakistan is fast turning into a Chinese colony: China is known for its aggressive policies and debt-trap diplomacy. Their union has created a serious impact on the foreign relations of Pakistan.
  • Recently, Pakistan lost all its rapport among the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) especially Saudi Arabia and UAE and one of the major reasons is the dirty association of China-Pakistan.

Balochistan’s Uprising

• During the British withdrawal from the Indian subcontinent, the Kingdom of Balochistan was given the choice of joining India, Pakistan, or remaining independent.
• Balochistan’s king chose to remain independent, and the country did remain independent for over a year.
• In 1948, the Pakistani government used a combination of military and diplomatic means to seize control of the region and incorporate it into Pakistan.
• The insurgency in Balochistan has been active since 1948, owing to a lack of development and the human rights violations in the province by the Pakistani military and terror groups.
• Pakistan claims that India has provided arms and intelligence to these rebel fighters.

Back to Basics: About Balochistan

• Balochistan is one of Pakistan’s four provinces. Despite being the largest province in terms of land area, it is the least populated.
• It is populated by ethnic Baloch people who can be found across modern-day Iran and Afghanistan, while Balochistan has the majority of the Baloch population.
• Balochistan is one of Pakistan’s most important areas, rich in natural gas and oil reserves.

India’s position in Balochistan

• India has always maintained a stance of not intervening in Pakistan’s or any other country’s internal affairs.
• Despite Pakistan’s repeated references to the Kashmir issue over the years, India has remained silent on the Balochistan issue.
• In 2016, however, comments about Balochistan were made in the immediate aftermath of Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations, which were dedicated to the independence of Kashmir.
• The government of India is now making an issue of annexed areas like Baluchistan should be given back to their people along with independence.
• It is now for the first time taking about such issues a bold step in the right direction, and gets their people the human rights denied to them for long. Pakistan and its Army has not dreamt of this changed India.
• By invoking Balochistan freedom struggle, PM targeted both Pakistan & China, whose CPEC depends on safe passage from Gwadar.

Area of conflict with Afghanistan

• Durand line conflict: Durand line is separating Afghanistan and Pakistan, forced by the British dividing the Pashtun people between Pakistan and Afghanistan, is not endorsed by any Afghan government including the Taliban.
• Independent Pashtunistan can also soon be a reality with areas from Afghanistan and Pakistan making up their country. The Pashtun people are Sunni Muslims.
• Independent Kurdistan freedom movement: The actions in the area for an Independent Kurdistan are also having ramifications on freedom movements of other ethnic groups divided by history.
  • The Kurds are much ahead than all other freedom movements in the area, as they are backed by oil wealth from the region under their control.
  • The Kurds are also divided into three parts: one part with Syria, the second part with Turkey and the third part with Iraq.

Shia-Sunni Divide in Pakistan

• The origin of Shia–Sunni relations can be traced back to a dispute over the succession to the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community.
• After the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 632, a group of Muslims, who would come to be known as the Sunnis, believed that Muhammad’s successor should be Abu Bakr whereas a second group of Muslims, who would come to be known as the Shia, believed that his successor should have been Ali.
• Recently, thousands of Deobandi followers seen chanting anti-Shia slogans in Pakistan, referring to the community as ‘kafir’ (non-Muslim) and calling upon the state to ban Ashura, the Shias’ main religious event to mourn the death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussain in 680 AD.
• The Pakistan government tried to contain any outbreak of violence, because Shias in Pakistan are a sizeable minority. They represent about 21% of the total Muslim population, the highest number in a country after Iran.
• Violence is inevitable: Deobandi ideology has been given a freer hand, as demonstrated by the passing of the Tahaffuz-e-Bunyad bill in July 2020 in the provincial Punjab Assembly.
  • The bill is problematic due to its lack of consensus on key religious concepts between Sunnis and Shias.
  • Pakistan has reportedly witnessed the killing of approximately 4,847 Shias in incidents of sectarian violence between 2001 and 2018. Karachi saw the targeted killing of Shia doctors and lawyers in 1999, even before 9/11.
  • The Barelvis who are known for greater sympathy with the Shias also seem to have turned against them in recent times.

The state of Pakistan’s economy

• Forex and currency crises: Pakistan has repeatedly run into macroeconomic crises- runaway inflation, current account and trade deficits, depleting foreign reserves, and currency devaluations.
• The two immediate threats to the country’s economy come from the build-up of inflationary pressures, and a payments crisis that stems from a combination of global and domestic factors.
• Foreign exchange reserves crisis: Pakistan’s Forex reserves are plummeting continuously.
• Currency devaluation: A persistently high deficit can potentially lead to an excess supply of a country’s currency in its foreign exchange market, which eventually negatively impacts the value of the currency.
• The IMF bailout: As growth fell and debt services obligations mounted, the country has been faced with a potential balance-of-payments crisis.
  • Pakistan imports most items of domestic consumption, making it more vulnerable to these pressures; the increasing debt servicing obligations have added to the pressure.
  • In exchange for a $6 billion funding package, Pakistan had to commit to structural reforms and reducing public debt. But the funding plan stalled earlier this year over issues related to reform commitments.

Pakistan Army and the State

• The army disregarded the development of the people in order to control more assets.
• In order to justify its existence, it converted Pakistan into a security-seeking State (over-emphasizing the threat from India) where a strong army was considered a necessity for the existence of the country.
• The first military coup happened early in its history — Pakistan President Iskander Mirza abrogated the Constitution and declared martial law on 27 October 1958, and appointed General Ayyub Khan as chief martial law administrator.
• After this incident, the army in Pakistan has always been in control. They have controlled defense and external affairs portfolios since then.
• The Pakistani army is essentially meant to handle external threats, but it is also involved in domestic affairs of the State.

New dynamic Pakistan has to face

• As the US withdraws its troops from Afghanistan, Pakistan is eager to build a relationship with Washington that is not tied to US stakes in Afghanistan.
• Pakistan does not want to be totally alienated from U.S. in the new geopolitical jousting between the US and China.
• How Pakistan copes with the new dynamic between the US and China as well as manages the deepening crisis in Afghanistan would be of great interest to India.

Pakistan’s approach to alliances

• Pakistan’s insecurities in relation to India meant it was eager for alliances.
•  And as the Anglo-Americans scouted for partners in the crusade against global communism, Pakistan signed a bilateral security treaty with the US and joined the South East Asia Treaty Organisation and Central Treaty Organisation in the mid-1950s.
• Rather than target Pakistan’s alliance with a West that was intensely hostile to Beijing in the 1950s, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai saw room to exploit Pakistan’s insecurities on India.
• While Pakistan’s ties with the US went up and down, its relationship with China has seen steady expansion.
• Pakistan’s relations with the US flourished after the Soviet Union sent its troops into Afghanistan at the end of 1979.
• The US and Pakistan reconnected in 2001 as Washington sought physical access and intelligence support to sustain its intervention in Afghanistan following the attacks on September 11.
• Now the US wants Pakistan to persuade the Taliban to accept a peaceful transition to a new political order in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s ability to adapt to shifting geopolitical trends

• Pakistan worries that its leverage in U.S. will diminish once the US turns its back on Afghanistan and towards the Indo-Pacific.
• Pakistan does not want to get in the Indo-Pacific crossfire between the US and China.
• It would also like to dent India’s growing importance in America’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
• India should not underestimate Pakistan’s agency in adapting to the shifting global currents.
• Pakistan has been good at using its great power alliances to its own benefit.

Way Forward

• Despite the democratic elections in Pakistan, the military wields real power in the country. This holds true, especially on matters of defense, national security and foreign policy.
• Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), consisting for personnel from Pakistan Armed Forces, is often accused of supporting and training separatist militant groups operating in India.
• Thus, a strong political reform in Pakistan, one that focuses on the welfare of the Pakistani nationals is vital to improving its relations with India.
• There is a need to focus on trade to revive the economy for Pakistan. It need to understand that China is present only for its economic gains and accordingly steps need to be taken.
• Solutions of the problem of mass illiteracy and economic inequities and the imperatives of national integration and national security will determine the degree of political stability, or instability in Pakistan in future.
• Support from the IMF and friendly countries like Saudi Arabia, China, and the UAE will only provide some breathing room in the short term to its shattered economy.
• Promoting manufacturing by creating a more investment-friendly environment, broadening its tax base, and encouraging innovation and modernization in export-led industries are just some of the most urgent measures the government can take to address the growing fiscal and current account deficit.
• It is essential for Pakistan to do away with supporting terrorism and terrorist activities as the people of Pakistan are becoming the main victims of their policies.

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Context

Recently, the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 passed by Parliament. The Act was earlier amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into:

1. North Delhi Municipal Corporation
2. South Delhi Municipal Corporation
3. East Delhi Municipal Corporation

The Bill seeks to unify the three corporations.

What are the key features of the Bill?

(1) Unification of Municipal Corporations in Delhi:

• The Bill replaces the three municipal corporations under the Act with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

(2) Powers of the Delhi government:

• The Act as amended in 2011 empowers the Delhi government to decide various matters under the Act.
• These include:

1. Total number of seats of councillors and number of seats reserved for members of the Scheduled Castes,
2. Division of the area of corporations into zones and wards,
3. Delimitation of wards,
4. Matters such as salary and allowances, and leave of absence of the Commissioner,
5. Sanctioning of consolidation of loans by a corporation, and
6. Sanctioning suits for compensation against the Commissioner for loss or waste or misapplication of Municipal Fund or property

• Similarly, the Act mandates that the Commissioner will exercise his powers regarding building regulations under the general superintendence and directions of Delhi government.
• The Bill instead empowers the central government to decide these matters.

(3) Number of councilors:

• The Act provides that the number of seats in the three corporations taken together should not be more than 272.
• The 14^th Schedule to the Act specifies 272 wards across the three Corporations.
• The Bill states that the total number of seats in the new Corporation should not be more than 250.

(4) Removal of Director of Local Bodies:

• The Act provides for a Director of Local Bodies to assist the Delhi government and discharge certain functions which include:

1. Coordinating between Corporations,
2. Framing recruitment Rules for various posts, and
3. Coordinating the collecting and sharing of toll tax collected by the respective Corporations.

• The Bill omits this provision for a Director of Local Bodies.

(5) Special officer to be appointed by the central government:

• The Bill provides that the central government may appoint a Special Officer to exercise powers of the Corporation until the first meeting of the Corporation is held after the commencement of the Bill.

(6) E-governance system for citizens:

• The Bill adds that obligatory functions of the new Corporation will include establishing an e-governance system for citizen services on anytime-anywhere basis for better, accountable, and transparent administration.

(7) Conditions of service for sweepers:

• The Act provides that a sweeper employed for doing house scavenging of a building would be required to give a reasonable cause or a 14 day notice before discontinuing his service.
• The Bill seeks to omit this provision.

What is the need for this unification?

1. Creating compact municipalities in Delhi to provide more efficient civic services to the public has not been achieved.
   1. Instead, owing to inadequacies in resources and uncertainty in fund allocation and release, the three corporations have been facing huge financial hardships.
   1. This was making it difficult for them to maintain the civic services in Delhi at the desired levels.
2. Trifurcation of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi was uneven in terms of territorial divisions and revenue generating potential.
   1. As a result, there was a huge gap in the resources available to the three corporations compared to their obligations.
   1. It says that the gap has grown, leading to delay in the payment of salaries and retirement benefits which have resulted in frequent strikes.

What are the concerns, if enacted?

• New delimitation exercise: Reducing the number of seats means a new delimitation exercise will have to be conducted, which experts say will take at least three months, but is more likely to take six months.
• Bureaucratization: Appointing a Special Officer means that until the elections are concluded, the Centre will likely appoint an officer to run the corporation.
  • The Bill also does away with the provision of appointing a Director of Local Bodies by the Delhi government.
• Central hegemony: The other significant change is the replacement of the word “government” with “Central government” in all places.
  • The bill hence seeks to curtail the powers of the elected govt of New Delhi by introducing central hegemony.

But this is not the first time that there is a political tussle between the Delhi government and the center. There are various issues earlier which are important from the exam point of view. Let us discuss them.

Jurisdictional conflict in the running of Delhi

• Delhi Government had accused Lieutenant Governor (LG) of referring the decisions of an elected government to President and thus causing hurdles in governance 
• The Centre, which appoints the L-G, contends that “for any Centrally administered territory and especially Delhi responsibility is on the Union Government”.
• Also, Delhi, being a Union territory, does not have a cadre of officers of its own and is part of a common cadre shared with other UTs. Thus, the elected government of Delhi has less control over its officers.

Supreme Court on Delhi Governance Structure

•  Supreme Court view: Delhi Lieutenant Governor cannot act independently and must take the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.
• All decisions by Delhi’s council of ministers must be communicated to the L-G but that does not mean his concurrence is required.
• Except for issues of public order, police and land, the Lieutenant Governor is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

• The LG has no independent authority to take decisions except in matters under Article 239 or matters outside the purview of the government.
• L-G cannot act as an obstructionist and can refer issues to the President when there is the difference of opinion on any matter (Article 239AA(4)). 
  • This should happen only in exceptional matters and not as a general rule
• The government need not obtain LG concurrence in every issue of day-to-day governance. The national capital enjoys a special status and is not a full state.

Government of National Capital Territory (GNCT) of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021

The Act defines the responsibilities of the elected government and the L-G along with the “constitutional scheme of governance of the NCT” interpreted by the Supreme Court in recent judgments regarding the division of powers between the two entities.

Provisions of the GNCT of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2021

• It amended the Sections 21, 24, 33 and 44 of the 1991 Act.
• States that the “government” in the National Capital Territory of Delhi meant the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi.
• It gives discretionary powers to the L-G even in matters where the Legislative Assembly of Delhi is empowered to make laws.
• It seeks to ensure that the L-G is “necessarily granted an opportunity” to give her or his opinion before any decision taken by the Council of Ministers (or the Delhi Cabinet) is implemented.
• It bars the Assembly or its committees from making rules to take up matters concerning day-to-day administration, or to conduct inquiries in relation to administrative decisions.

Way Forward

Greater transparency, improved governance, and more efficient delivery of civic service

• According to Article 239AA of the Constitution of India, the Parliament has the power to amend or form laws on any matter formulated by the Delhi Assembly.
• At the time when the MCD was trifurcated, the expectation was that it would lead to Delhi’s progress. It was thought that the services provided by the MCDs will improve and there will be welfare of its workers. But, the result was unsatisfactory in the last 10 years.
• The Bill has been introduced for greater transparency, improved governance and more efficient delivery of civic service for the people of Delhi, and also to ease the financial crisis faced by MCDs at present.

Delhi cannot be unitary

• What distinguishes Delhi from other federal districts is sheer size. Its population would subsume the populations of the above-mentioned cities.
• Its closest peer is Mexico City. In a significant development, Mexico City was upgraded from federal district to the country’s 32nd state in 2016.
• This was driven by the desire to provide more responsive government for residents.

Decentralization of decision-making is important

• There are alternative ways in which both the central government as well as state authorities can partake jointly in the management of the city.
• This might be achieved by a two-tier metropolitan authority.

Control over police

• Control over-policing has been a major point of contention in Delhi.
• With the lone exception of Abuja, in other federal districts, the local governments have jurisdiction over at least some aspects of policing.

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Context

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the progress of the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants, including Kashmiri Pandits, during a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha in Jammu.  According to the Home Ministry, only 17% of the proposed accommodation for Kashmiri Pandits has been completed in the past seven years under the Prime Minister’s Development Package announced in 2015. The Government stated that the construction of all transit accommodation units will be completed by 2023.

About Kashmiri Pandits

• The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community.
• They belong to the Pancha (five) Gauda Brahmana groups from the Kashmir Valley. They are the only remaining Kashmiri Hindu community native to Kashmir.
• The Kashmiri Pandits originally lived in the Kashmir Valley before the growth of Islamic militancy in the valley and had been a favoured section of the population of the valley during Dogra rule (1846–1947). 
• 20 percent of them left the valley as a consequence of the 1950 land reforms,and by 1981 the Pandit population amounted to 5 percent of the total population.
• Many of the refugee Kashmiri Pandits have been living in abject conditions in refugee camps of Jammu. The government has reported on the terrorist threats to Pandits still living in the Kashmir region.

Row over the movie

• Hype of oppression: The thrust of the movie is how the intensity of the oppression or killing of the Pandits in the Kashmir Valley was totally underplayed in the media and how insensitive the political and intellectual elites of the country were.
• Accusation of being far ‘Right’: The narrative has been challenged by professional film reviewers and India’s so-called liberal/secular elites, who dominate leading educational institutions and national media.
• Fiction being sensationalized: For them, the movie is doctored, staged and faked.

Why liberals objecting to the film?

• Ignorance of minorities: They say that films has shown a limited side; it has ignored how many more Muslims have died too and how the insurrection – movement or insurgency has been due to mis-governance and wrong decisions.
• ‘Human Rights’ of the terrorists: These liberals have always projected the Indian military as aggressor and Kashmiris as underdogs fighting for their human rights.
• Decline in empathy: In fact, under the influence of these liberals, some important national dailies have now even stopped using the term “terrorists” altogether; instead, they now prefer to use the word “militants”.

Plight of the Pandits

• Political correctness of the genocide: The movie puts paramount importance in being politically correct at the cost of obfuscating truth, conveying indifference, and showing a lack of empathy. 
• Long deserved sensationalization of the issue: It brings plight that Kashmir Hindus also didn’t share their experiences as much, sometimes in a bid to move on, and other times expecting ridicule or indifference by the liberals.
• Movie revitalized the wounds of past: The movie is perceived as a watershed moment whereby having provided a powerful visual glimpse of the actual genocide in most truthful form.
• Spark for mainstream discussion: The subject that was taboo is now in the mainstream and people are comfortable with hearing and reconciling with the truth when the world considered India as a villain in Kashmir.

The run-up: 1980s to 1990

• Political instability: Sheikh Abdullah had died in 1982, and the leadership of the National Conference passed on to his son Farooq Abdullah, who won the 1983 election.
  • But within two years, the Centre broke up the NC, and installed dissident Ghulam Mohammed Shah as Chief Minister. This led to huge disaffection and political instability.
• Militancy: The Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) stepped up its activities, and the hanging of the militant leader Maqbool Bhat in 1984 added to the sense of foreboding.
• Religious interventions: In 1986, after the Rajiv Gandhi government opened the Babri Masjid locks to enable Hindus to offer prayers there, ripples were felt in Kashmir too.
  • In Anantnag, there was a series of attacks on Hindu temples, and shops and properties of Kashmiri Pandits, blamed on separatist and secessionists.
• The rigged election of 1987 after which Abdullah formed the government was a turning point at which militants took the upper hand.
  • The 1989 submission to the JKLF set the stage for the next decade.
  • Pandits had begun to be targeted. Eminent persons of the community were being shot dead.

What happened on January 19, 1990?

• Governor’s rule imposed: Matters came to a head on January 19. By then, the Farooq Abdullah government had been dismissed and Governor’s Rule imposed.
• No option but to leave the valley: According to accounts published by many Kashmiri Pandits, there were threatening slogans over loudspeakers from mosques, and on the streets.
• Speeches were made extolling Pakistan and the supremacy of Islam, and against Hinduism. The Kashmiri Pandit community decided to leave.

The Gawkadal Massacre

• The flight – In January 20, the first stream began leaving the Valley with hastily packed belongings in whatever transport they could find.
• The massacre – In January 21, the CRPF gunned down 160 Kashmiri Muslim protesters at the Gawkadal Bridge, the worst massacre in the long history of the conflict in Kashmir.
• Effect – The two events (the flight of the Pandits and the Gawkadal massacre) took place within 48 hours, but for years, neither community could accept the pain of the other, and in some ways, still cannot.

How many Pandits left?

• According to some estimates, notably by the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), of 75,343 Kashmiri Pandit families in January 1990, more than 70,000 fled between 1990 and 1992 and continued until 2000.
• The KPSS has placed the number of Kashmiri Pandits killed by militants from 1990 to 2011 at 399, the majority during 1989-90.
• Some 800 families have remained in the Valley through these three decades.

Role of the administration

• Role of Governor: The other contentious question about the exodus is the role played by the administration, and more specifically that of the J&K Governor, Jagmohan.
• The Kashmiri Muslim view of the exodus is that he encouraged the Pandits to leave the Valley and thus gave a communal colour to what was until then a non-religious Kashmiri cause.
• The Kashmiri Hindu view is that the Kashmiri Muslims, with whom they had lived amicably for centuries,  drove them out with a vengeance in a frenzy of Islamism that they could not have imagined even months earlier.
• The truth, many commentators have concluded, may have been somewhere in the middle.

Present Status of Kashmiri Pandits

• Home Ministry data: Several Kashmiri migrants reside at existing transit accommodation at Vessu (Kulgam), Mattan (Anantnag), Hawl (Pulwama), Natnusa (Kupwara), Sheikhpora (Budgam) and Veerwan (Baramulla) in the Kashmir Valley other than the camps in Jammu.
• Various organizations came forward: Following the migration of the Kashmiri Pandit community, various socio-political organizations have sprung up to represent the cause of the displaced community.
  • These organizations are involved in rehabilitation of the community in the valley through peace negotiations, mobilization of human rights groups and job creation for the Pandits.
• More than 60,000 families are registered as Kashmiri migrants including some Sikh and Muslim families.Most families were resettled in Jammu, NCR and other neighbouring states.
• 2020 parliamentary panel report: There are 64,827 registered migrant families in J&K — 60,489 Hindu families, 2,609 Muslim families and 1,729 Sikh families.
  • Out of the 64,827 families, 43,494 are registered in Jammu, 19,338 in Delhi and 1,995 families are settled in other States and Union Territories.
• Many of those who did return under a government job scheme, they live in migrant colonies and do not have basic amenities like a ration card or even a voter ID card.

The question of return

• Those who had means rebuilt their lives elsewhere in the country — Delhi, Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad have Pandit populations, also Jaipur and Lucknow — or went abroad.
• The fleeing Pandits did not think they would never return to the Valley. But as the situation in Kashmir spiraled into a full-blown militancy, return began to look remote if not impossible.
• Successive governments have promised that they will help this process, but the situation on the ground in Kashmir has meant this remains only an intention.
• There is an acute realization in the community that the Valley is no longer the same that they left behind in 1990.
• In many cases, their properties were either immediately vandalised or sold quickly by the owners to Kashmiri Muslims. Many fell into disrepair.
• Now, Kashmiri Muslims see the return of Pandits as essential, but reject the idea of their settlement in secured camps as a replication of Israel-like Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Steps taken by Government

• ‘The Jammu And Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection And Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997’
  • It provides that any person who is an unauthorized occupant or recipient of any usufruct of any immovable property of the migrant shall pay to the migrant the compensation in such a manner as may be determined by the District Magistrate.
• Announcement of various relief packages by respective governments
  • As of 2016, a total of 1,800 Kashmiri Pandit youths have returned to the valley since the announcement of Rs. 1,168-crore package in 2008 by the UPA government.
• Prime Minister’s Development Package announced in 2015, had approved the creation of 3,000 government jobs for Kashmiri migrants.

• So far, 1,739 migrants have been appointed and 1,098 others selected for the jobs.
• A similar package for migrants was announced by the UPA government in 2008 under which 2,905 jobs had been filled out of the 3,000 jobs approved.
• 6,000 transit accommodation units were announced in 2015 for the members who were to be provided jobs by the J&K administration at a cost of Rs 920 crore.

Way forward

• Punitive actions on terror: The first thing that would deliver justice to exiled Hindus would be to try and punish terrorists’ organizations for the crimes they committed against humanity.
• Rehabilitation and re-settlement: The second and longer-term should be the effort of reconciliation, rehabilitation and inclusion.
• Vajpayee doctrine:  The doctrine, ‘Insaniyat, (humanity), Jamhuriyat (Democracy) and Kashmiriyat (identity of the Kashmir people). This largely came to be known as the Vajpayee doctrine.
• Cosmopolitan inclusive smart city: The way forward for achieving that is to set up a cosmopolitan inclusive smart city where Indians of all origins including the evicted Kashmiri Hindus can build their lives and homes.
• Learning from the past: This will put the chapter of annihilation and extermination behind us. It is a humongous undertaking but we can take inspiration from the past, when the Mauryans established the city of Srinagar two thousand years ago.

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Context

• After a prolonged court case in Ahmedabad Serial Blast Case 2008, a special court pronounced the punishments for the convicted, with 38 given death penalty.
• This is the highest number ever given death sentence in any ruling in India.
• On July 26, 2008, a series of 21 bomb blasts hit Ahmedabad within a span of 70 minutes, killing 56 people and injuring over 200.

Hence the debate surrounding capital punishments has once again started. With the increasing strength of the human rights movement in India, the existence of capital punishment is questioned as immoral.

What is Capital Punishment?

• Capital punishment, sometimes called death penalty, is execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law for a criminal offense.
• It should be distinguished from extrajudicial executions carried out without due process of law.
• The term death penalty is sometimes used interchangeably with capital punishment, though imposition of the penalty is not always followed by execution, because of the possibility of commutation to life imprisonment.

When is it awarded?

• The term “Capital Punishment” stands for most severe form of punishment.
• It is the punishment which is to be awarded for the most heinous, grievous and detestable crimes against humanity.
• While the definition and extent of such crimes vary, the implication of capital punishment has always been the death sentence.

Historical Background

• Capital punishment is an ancient sanction.  There is practically no country in the world where the death penalty has never existed.
• History of human civilization reveals that during no period of time capital punishment has been discarded as a mode of punishment.
• Capital punishment for murder, treason, arson, and rape was widely employed in ancient Greece under the laws of Draco, though Plato argued that it should be used only for the incorrigible.
• The most terrible form of public beheading still persists in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Countries (and surprisingly, it is one of the most cherished public event).
• Pakistan has death penalty even for the juveniles.

Capital Punishment in India

• Article 21 ensures the Fundamental Right to life and liberty for all persons.
• It adds no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.
• Capital punishment is an integral part of the Indian criminal justice system.
• The Indian Penal Code (IPC) provides that only in following offences, capital punishment could be awarded:

1. Murder (s.302),
2. Abetment of suicide by a minor, insane person or intoxicated person (s.305),
3. Threatening or inducing any person to give false evidence resulting in the conviction and death of an innocent person (s.195A),
4. Perjury resulting in the conviction and death of an innocent person (s.194),
5. Treason, for waging war against the Government of India (s.121),
6. Abetment of mutiny actually committed (s.132),
7. Attempted murder by a serving life convict (s.307(2)),
8. Kidnapping for ransom (s.364A),
9. Dacoity [armed robbery or banditry] with murder (s.396),
10. Criminal conspiracy (s. 120 B),
11. Death penalty is also provided under the following special and local laws:

1. Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (as amended in 2004)
2. Defence and Internal Security of India Act, 1971
3. Defence of India Act, 1971
4. Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987
5. Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Prevention) Act, 1985, as amended in, 1988
6. Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA)
7. Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002, (POTA)
8. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
9. Explosive Substances Act, 1908 (amended in 2001)
10. Arms Act, 1959 (amended in 1988)
11. Laws relating to the Armed Forces, for example the Air Force Act 1950, the Army Act 1950 and the Navy Act 1950 and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force Act 1992
12. Various states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra) have control of Organised Crime Acts which entail the death penalty.

Special factors on the death penalty jurisprudence in India

(a) Increase in Sexual Offences

• The report on death penalty published by NLU Delhi shows that the rate of awarding capital punishment to the offences of rape with murder is much higher than other offences.
• There is no doubt that rape is one of the most heinous crimes.

(b) Sedition and waging War against India

• India has seen many cases of treason, terrorism and seditious activities.
• It is in fact the most vulnerable state for such crimes.

Judicial observations related to Death Penalty

The Supreme Court has always said that the death sentence should be given rarely.

Judgments against:

(a) Mithu vs State of Punjab (1983):

• The Supreme Court ruled that the mandatory death penalty is unconstitutional.
• It struck down Section 303 in the IPC, which entailed a mandatory death sentence for a person who commits murder while serving a life term in another case.
• The Supreme Court ruled Section 303 violated Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life) since an unreasonable distinction was sought to be made between two classes of murders.

(b) State of Punjab vs Dalbir Singh (2012):

• Similarly, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory death penalty as punishment for crimes under Section 27 (3) of the Arms Act, 1959, was unconstitutional.

(c) Channulal Verma vs State of Chhattisgarh (2018):

• In Channulal, the Supreme Court, through Justice Kurian Joseph noted that the time was appropriate to review the constitutionality of the death penalty and take into consideration reformative aspects of punishment

Judgments in favour:

• In Jagmohan Singh vs State of UP’ (1973), then in ‘Rajendra Prasad vs State of UP’ (1979), and finally in ‘Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab’ (1980) the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutional validity of the death penalty.
• It said that if capital punishment is provided in the law and the procedure is a fair, just and reasonable one, the death sentence can be awarded to a convict.
• This will, however, only be in the “rarest of rare” cases, and the courts should render “special reasons” while sending a person to the gallows.

What is a “Rarest of Rare” Case?

• The principles of what would constitute the “rarest of rare” were laid down by the top court in the landmark judgment in ‘Bachan Singh’.
• Two prime questions, the top court held, may be asked and answered:

1. First, is there something uncommon about the crime which renders the sentence of imprisonment for life inadequate and calls for a death sentence?
2. Second, are there circumstances of the crime such that there is no alternative but to impose the death sentence even after according maximum weightage to the mitigating circumstances which speak in favour of the offenders?

Avenues available to a Death-Row Convict

• Confirmation by HC: After a trial court awards the death penalty, the sentence must be confirmed by a High Court. The sentence cannot be executed till the time the High Court confirms it, either after deciding the appeal filed by the convict, or until the period allowed for preferring an appeal has expired.
• Review Petition: If the High Court confirms the death penalty and it is also upheld by the Supreme Court, a convict can file a review petition.
• Curative Petition: If the review petition is rejected, the convict can file a curative petition for reconsideration of the judgment.
• Mercy Petition: Under Article 72 of the Indian Constitution, the President shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or remissions of punishments or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any convicted person.

Debate over Death Penalty

Arguments in favor:

• Forfeiture of life: Supporters of the death penalty believe that those who commit murder, because they have taken the life of another, have forfeited their own right to life.
• Moral indignation of the victim: It is a just form of retribution, expressing and reinforcing the moral indignation not only of the victim’s relatives but of law-abiding citizens in general.
• Highest form of Justice: For heinous crimes such as the Nirbhaya Gangrape Case, no other punishment could have deterred the will of the convicts.
• Deterrent against crime: Capital punishment is often justified with the argument that by executing convicted murderers, we will deter would-be murderers from killing people.
• Proportional punishment: The guilty people deserve to be punished in proportion to the severity of their crime.
• Prevailing lawlessness: The crimes we are now witnessing cannot be addressed by simple punishments. We are seeing horrific attacks on women, young girls, minority communities and Dalits etc.
• Prevention of crime is non-existent: Despite of stringent regulations, it is certainly visible that some crimes can never be prevented in our society.

Arguments against:

• Eye for an eye: Reformative justice is more productive, that innocent people are often killed in the search for retribution, and that “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
• Deterrence is a myth: Death penalty is not a deterrent to capital crimes state that there is no evidence to support the claim that the penalty is a deterrent.
• Political tool of suppression: The authorities in some countries, for example Iran and Sudan, use the death penalty to punish political opponents.
• Reverence for life’ principle: Death penalty is an immoral punishment since humans should not kill other humans, no matter the reasons, because killing is killing.
• Stigma against killing: With the introduction of lethal injection as execution method, medical professionals participate in executions. Many professionals have now refused to administer such deaths.
• Skewed justice systems: In many cases recorded by Amnesty International, people were executed after being convicted in grossly unfair trials, on the basis of torture-tainted evidence and with inadequate legal representation.
• Discriminatory nature: The weight of the death penalty is disproportionally carried by those with less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds or belonging to a racial, ethnic or religious minority.  
• Penalizing the innocents: The risk of executing the innocent precludes the use of the death penalty. Our colonial history has witnessed many such executions.

Other issues with such executions

(a) Socio-Economic Factors

• The recent statistics shows that the death row prisoners in India are more from the backward classes of the society.
• The death row prisoners belong to backward classes and religious minorities and the majority of convicts’ families are living in adjunct poverty.
• These people who are backward both in economic and social respects, are not in a position to here expensive lawyers and get proper representation in the Court.

(b) Delayed Execution

• The law provides for a long process before the execution of the convicts actually takes place.
• The unexplained delay in execution can be a ground for commutation of death penalty, and an inmate, his or her kin, or even a public-spirited citizen could file a writ petition seeking such commutation.
• Their trials are often cruelly forced to endure long periods of uncertainty about their fate.

Way forward: Law Commission recommendations on death penalty

The Law Commission of India in its 262^nd Report (August 2015) recommended that:

• Death penalty be abolished for all crimes other than terrorism related offences and waging war.
• Measures such as police reforms, witness protection scheme and victim compensation scheme should be taken up expeditiously by the government.  
• It felt that time has come for India to move towards abolition of the death penalty. However the concern is often raised that abolition of death penalty for terrorism-related offences and waging war, will affect national security.

Further, the Commission sincerely hopes that the movement towards absolute abolition will be swift and irreversible

Conclusion

• The society is in uproar today as crime is constantly on the rise.
• Law enforcement structures are struggling to meet the expectations of the civil society.
• In a rapidly antipathic society, our legal structures need to send a strong message to enforce the idea that punishment will be “consequential” and commensurate to the crime.

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Context

Recently, Chief Election Commissioner in an interview said the Election Commission is ready to hold simultaneous elections on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘One Nation One Election’.

What are simultaneous polls?

• Currently, elections to the state assemblies and the Lok Sabha are held separately — that is whenever the incumbent government’s five-year term ends or whenever it is dissolved due to various reasons.
• This applies to both the state legislatures and the Lok Sabha. The terms of Legislative Assemblies and the Lok Sabha may not synchronize with one another.
• For instance, Rajasthan faced elections in late 2018, whereas Tamil Nadu will go to elections only in 2021.
• But the idea of “One Nation, One Election” envisages a system where elections to all states and the Lok Sabha will have to be held simultaneously.

Simultaneous polls in India

• India had concurrent elections for the first two decades.
• Starting from the first general elections of free India in 1951 and the next three cycles of elections, the country witnessed concurrent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
• Exceptions to these were a few states like Kerala where a mid-term election was held in 1960 on the premature dissolution of the Assembly.
• In Nagaland and Pondicherry where the Legislative Assembly was created only after the 1962 general elections.

End of the era

• The fourth Lok Sabha constituted in 1967 was dissolved prematurely in 1971 ahead of its normal term resulting in a mid-term Lok Sabha election.
• This was the beginning of the end of simultaneous elections in India.
• Extension of the term of Lok Sabha during the National Emergency declared in 1975 and the dissolution of Assemblies of some States after the 1977 Lok Sabha election further disturbed this cycle.
• Currently, there are at least two rounds of Assembly general elections every year.

Making simultaneous elections a reality

• Sections 14 and 15 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, empower the Election Commission to notify elections any time during the last six months of the term of the House and not earlier than that.
• Therefore, if the terms of the Houses are expiring within a window of three to four months, it would be legally possible to hold elections simultaneously to constitute the new Houses.
• In other words, to contemplate simultaneous elections, we need, as a starting point, a situation where the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies of all States and UTs have their terms ending together.

Synchronizing the terms of the Houses

• Both the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies (ordinarily) have a term of five years.
• Article 83 of the Constitution provides for the tenure of Lok Sabha. Identical provisions are present in Article 172(1) regarding the term of the Legislative Assemblies.

There is no duplication of work in preparing the electoral rolls for the two elections and hence no extra labor or expenditure is involved on this count.

What is required?

• This necessarily calls for either extending the terms of several of the Houses or curtailing of terms or a combination of both, that too by two to three years in some cases.
• For enabling such curtailing or extension of the term, the relevant Articles of the Constitution mentioned above will have to be suitably amended.

Why Simultaneous Elections?

Two seemingly relevant factors in favour of simultaneous elections as opposed to separate elections are:

1. Effort saving: Simultaneous elections reduce labour, time and expenditure in the conduct of elections; and
2. Instances of pause in governance are addressed if elections are conducted in one go instead of staggered elections.

[1] How is effort saving possible?

• Electoral roll: Polling stations for Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections are the same. So is the electoral roll.
• Labour: There is no duplication of work in preparing the electoral rolls for the two elections and hence no extra labour or expenditure is involved on this count.
• Logistics: In the conduct of elections, all logistic arrangements are replicated for the two elections when the same drill can cater to both the elections if held together.
• Security: This will also mean saving in terms of human resources. Another area of saving in simultaneous elections would be in the deployment of the Central Police Force.

[2] Governance pause can be avoided

• Instances of pause in governance is due to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
• MCC is a set of behavior guidelines for candidates and political parties that comes into operation from the date election is announced by the Election Commission.
• A crucial part of the MCC is the restrictions on the party in power.  If all elections are held together, the restrictions under MCC will be through in one go.

[3] Help reduce campaign expenses

• Simultaneous elections can bring considerable savings in the election propaganda campaign expenditure for the political parties.
• Given that political funding is a major factor in the increasing menace of corruption, the move to reduce campaign expenditure is a welcome initiative.

[4] Voter turnout

• A nationwide election could push up the voter turnout since a once-in-five-years event is bound to attract more enthusiastic participation across all sections.
• Frequent elections can bring in the election-fatigue factor at least among some sections of electors.
• The simultaneous elections help address the fatigue element and the usually observed urban apathy in voting. Better electors’ participation will further add to the credibility of the election.

[5] Financial costs of conducting elections

• The costs of conducting each assembly or parliamentary election are huge and, in some senses, incalculable.
• Directly budgeted costs are around Rs 300 crore for a state the size of Bihar.
• But there are other financial costs, and incalculable economic costs.
• The costs of the millions of man-hours used are not charged to the election budget.
• The economic costs of lost teaching weeks, delayed public works, badly delivered or undelivered welfare schemes to the poor have never been calculated.

[6] Visible and invisible costs of repeatedly deploying security forces

• There are also huge and visible costs of deploying security forces and transporting them, repeatedly.
• A bigger invisible cost is paid by the nation in terms of diverting these forces from sensitive areas.

Exceptions to this debate: Local Bodies’ Elections

• The local bodies’ elections have not been considered for the analysis here.
• This is for the reason that the elections to local bodies cannot be clubbed with the proposed simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha.

Why?

• The elections to local bodies are conducted under the superintendence, direction, and control of a different constitutional authority, namely, the respective State Election Commission.
• Holding local bodies’ elections along with the other elections will require the team of the same polling officials to report to and take instructions from two different authorities simultaneously.
• There is a distinct set of polling stations too for local bodies’ elections.
• Further, the litigation forum before which these elections can be challenged is different.

Challenges in ensuring simultaneous elections in India:

[1] Synchronizing the Houses

• Bringing the terms of all the Houses to sync with one another necessarily calls for either extending the terms of several of the Houses or curtailing of terms or a combination of both.
• This may be by two to three years in some cases.
• For this, relevant Articles of the Constitution will have to be suitably amended.

[2] Midterm dissolution cannot be controlled

• Even if the terms of the Houses are in sync as a one-time measure, we will still need an adequate legal safeguard in place to avoid mid-term dissolution and protect the simultaneous elections cycle.
• This can be a tough task in conventionally fragile states with smaller assemblies with coalitions.

[3] EVM related expenses

• One aspect that could offset the savings would be the doubling of expenses on electronic voting machines (EVMs).
• Considering that the incidental recurring expense in the storage and security of the EVMs will also be a considerable amount.
• The overall expenditure in holding elections may not see any substantial dip on account of simultaneous elections.

Arguments against the idea

• National and state issues are different, and holding simultaneous elections is likely to affect the judgment of voters.
• Since elections will be held once in five years, it will reduce the government’s accountability to the people. Repeated elections keep legislators on their toes and increases accountability.
• When an election in a State is postponed until the synchronized phase, President’s rule will have to be imposed in the interim period in that state.
• This will be a blow to democracy and federalism.

Way forward

• We need an adequate legal safeguarding place to avoid mid-term dissolution and protect the simultaneous elections cycle.
• For maintaining the electoral cycle, some countries have legal provisions to the effect that for a ‘no-confidence motion’.
• Their proposed resolution also contains a constructive ‘vote of confidence in an alternative government to continue with the tenure.

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Context

Tobacco is a silent killer in our midst that kills an estimated 1.35 million Indians every year.

Status of Tobacco Consumption in India

• According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, India has the second-largest number (268 million) of tobacco users in the world and of these 13 lakh die every year from tobacco-related diseases.
• Ten lakh deaths are due to smoking, with over 2,00,000 due to second-hand smoke exposure, and over 35,000 are due to smokeless tobacco use.
• About 27 crore people above the age of 15 years and 8.5% of school-going children in the age group 13-15 years use tobacco in some form in India.
• India bears an annual economic burden of over ₹1,77,340 crore on account of tobacco use.
• Tobacco use is known to be a major risk factor for several non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic lung diseases.
• Nearly 27% of all cancers in India are due to tobacco usage.

Socio-Economic Burden of ‘Tobacco’

• In India, over 1.3 million deaths are attributable to tobacco use every year amounting to 3500 deaths per day, imposing a lot of avoidable socio-economic burden.
• In addition to the death and diseases it causes, tobacco also impacts the economic development of the country.
• Smokers face a 40-50% higher risk of developing severe disease deaths from Covid-19.
• As per the WHO study titled “Economic Costs of Diseases and Deaths Attributable to Tobacco Use in India”, it has been estimated that the economic burden of diseases and deaths attributable to use of tobacco in India was as high as approx 1% of GDP.

Measures towards tobacco control in India

• India adopted the tobacco control provisions under WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
• Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003:
  • It replaced the Cigarettes Act of 1975 (largely limited to statutory warnings- ‘Cigarette Smoking is Injurious to Health’ to be displayed on cigarette packs and advertisements. It did not include non-cigarettes).
  • The 2003 Act also included cigars, bidis, cheroots, pipe tobacco, hookah, chewing tobacco, pan masala, and gutka.
• Promulgation of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Ordinance, 2019: Which prohibits Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement of e-Cigarettes.
• National Tobacco Quitline Services (NTQLS): Tobacco Quitline Services have the potential to reach a large number of tobacco users with the sole objective to provide telephone-based information, advice, support, and referrals for tobacco cessation.
• mCessation Programme: It is an initiative using mobile technology for tobacco cessation.
  • India launched mCessation using text messages in 2016 as part of the government’s Digital India initiative.

How do the price and taxation of tobacco matter?

• Although not a communicable disease like SARS-CoV-2, the tobacco epidemic — as the World Health Organisation characterizes it — has some definitive solutions that can reduce the death toll.
• Research from many countries around the world including India shows that a price increase induces people to quit or reduce tobacco use as well as discourages non-users from getting into the habit of tobacco use.
• There is overwhelming consensus within the research community that taxation is one of the most cost-effective measures to reduce the demand for tobacco products.
• There has been no significant tax increase on any tobacco product for four years in a row.
• This is quite unlike the pre-GST years where the Union government and many State governments used to effect regular tax increases on tobacco products.
• As peer-reviewed studies show, the lack of tax increase over these years has made all tobacco products increasingly more affordable.
• The absence of a tax increase on tobacco has the potential to reverse the reduction in tobacco use prevalence that India saw during the last decade and now push more people into harm’s way.
•  It would also mean foregone tax revenues for the Government.
• High and increasing tax rates provide a profitable opportunity for tax evasion and encourage growth in illegal trade.

What is the Taxation Scenario of Tobacco in India?

• Ever since the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation in 2017, there has been no significant tax increase on any tobacco product.
• There was only a minor increase in the National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) during the Union Budget 2020-21 which only had the effect of increasing cigarette prices by roughly 5%.
• The Union Budget 2022-23 was an excellent but lost opportunity for the Government of India to buck this trend and significantly increase either excise duties or NCCDs.
• No significant tax increase on any tobacco product for four years in a row has made all tobacco products increasingly more affordable.
• More affordable tobacco products could attract new users especially among the youth.
• It would also mean foregone tax revenues for the Government especially at a time when the Government of India is looking forward to increasing the share of public spending on health

The decline in Tobacco Consumption

• The prevalence of tobacco use has decreased by six percentage points from 34.6% in 2009-10 to 28.6% in 2016-17.
• Under the National Health Policy 2017, India has set an ambitious target of reducing tobacco use by 30% by 2025.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

• Governments adopt and implement the tobacco control provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
• It is the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of the WHO.
• It was adopted by the World Health Assembly (apex decision making body of WHO) on 21^st May 2003 and entered into force on 27^th February 2005.
• It was developed in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic and is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health.
• The FCTC’s measures to combat tobacco use include:

1. Price and tax measures.
2. Large, graphic warnings on tobacco packages.
3. 100% smoke-free public spaces.
4. A ban on tobacco marketing.
5. Support for smokers who want to quit.
6. Prevention of tobacco industry interference.

Way Forward

(1) Opportunities in Budget

• The government should take a considerate view of public health and significantly increase excise taxes — either basic excise duty or National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) — on all tobacco products.

• Fixing an excise tax of at least ₹1 per stick of bidis while aiming for a significant increase in the excise tax of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.
• Taxation should achieve a significant reduction in the affordability of tobacco products to reduce tobacco use prevalence and facilitate India’s march towards sustainable development goals.

(2) Role of GST Council

• There is absolutely no public health rationale why a product as harmful as a bidi does not have a cess levied on it under the GST or why the specific cess applied on cigarettes has remained unchanged for four years in the face of increasing inflation.

• GST Council meetings must strive to keep public health ahead of the interests of the tobacco industry and significantly increase either the GST rates or the GST compensation cess rates applied on all tobacco products.
• The aim should be to arrest the increasing affordability of tobacco products in India and also rationalise tobacco taxation under the GST.

(3) Tobacco Control Laws

• It is scientifically established that if a person is kept away from tobacco till the age of 21 and above, there is a very high probability that he/she will remain tobacco-free for the rest of their life.
• The experts have urged the government to increase the legal age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 by amending the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.
• Also, imposing a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising and banning sale of single sticks of cigarettes/bidis would go a long way in preventing children and youth from initiating tobacco use.
• At least 14 countries (Ethiopia, Guam, Honduras, Japan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Palau, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda, and the U.S.) have now increased the minimum age to 21 for buying tobacco products.
• At least 86 countries have banned the sale of single stick cigarettes to control their easy accessibility and affordability to youth.

(4) Educating Children

• The role of teachers is most crucial in creating awareness among children and their parents about harm due to tobacco use and for shaping the attitude of children in this regard.
• The more and the sooner awareness is created among children about harms due to tobacco use, the better will be the outcomes in terms of reduction in the prevalence of tobacco use among children and consequently among adults.
• Harmful effects of tobacco use should be incorporated in school curricula at various levels starting right from the primary school level.

Conclusion

The aim should be to arrest the increasing affordability of tobacco products in India and also rationalize tobacco taxation under the GST.

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Context

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put global commodity markets in a tizzy. It is now threatening to push up farming costs and send food prices soaring. Food inflation in India may thus soon enter doubledigit territory. Let’s takes a look at the impact and other aspects of the issue.

Household budget hit

If the conflict in Ukraine worsens, India could end up exporting more wheat, thereby pushing retail prices higher.

Back to basics: How is inflation measured?

1. In India, inflation is primarily measured by two main indices — WPI and CPI, which measure wholesale and retail-level price changes, respectively.
2. The CPI calculates the difference in the price of commodities and services such as food, medical care, education, electronics etc. which Indian consumers buy for use.
3. On the other hand, the goods or services sold by businesses to smaller businesses for selling further is captured by the WPI.
4. In India, both WPI and CPI are used to measure inflation.

Current Trend of Inflation in India

• The average headline Consumer Price Index-Combined (CPI-C) inflation in India moderated to 5.2 per cent in 2021-22 (April-December) from 6.6 per cent in the period of 2020-21.
• The CPI inflation remained range bound as food prices eased considerably due to the supply management response by the Government.

(1) Food Inflation

• Food inflation remained benign this span.
• While seasonality plays a significant role in the case of vegetables, random shocks like untimely rains also have an impact on their availability and prices.
• Proactive measures were taken to contain the price rise in pulses and edible oils that reported high inflation reflecting the impact of imported inflation in these commodities.
• Reduction in central excise and subsequent cuts in VAT by most States has also helped ease petrol and diesel prices.

(2) Wholesale Inflation

• Wholesale inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI), after remaining very benign during the previous financial year on account of pandemic induced weakening of economic activity.
• This was attributable to the pick-up in economic activity, sharp increase in international prices of crude oil and other imported inputs, and high freight costs.

Issues: Divergence if figures

• The consequent divergence between CPI-C and WPI inflation during the year remained a subject of debate.
• This divergence can be explained by factors such as variations due to base effect, difference in scope and coverage of the two indices, their price collections, items covered and difference in commodity weights.
• Further, WPI is more sensitive to cost-push inflation led by imported inputs.
• With the gradual waning of base effect in WPI, the divergence in CPI-C inflation and WPI inflation is also expected to narrow down.

Global Inflation

• In 2021, inflation picked up globally as economic activity revived with opening-up of economies.
• The surge in energy, food, non-food commodities, and input prices, supply constraints, disruption of global supply chains, and rising freight costs across the globe stoked global inflation during the year.
• Crude oil prices also witnessed an upswing due to increased demand from recovering economies and supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+).

A global comparison

• Advanced Economies include 40 economies and Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) include 156 economies as per IMF classification.
• In comparison to many EMDEs and advanced economies, consumer price inflation in India remained normal range bound in the recent months.
• As against this, inflation in USA touched 7.0 per cent in December 2021, the highest since 1982, driven largely by second hand vehicles and energy.
• While in the UK it hit a nearly 30 years high of 5.4 per cent in December 2021 mainly on account of rising food prices.

What is the Conflict?

• Contestation about post-Cold War central European territoriality and resurrecting a burnished Russian past is at the core of the Ukraine crisis.
• Ukraine and Russia share hundreds of years of cultural, linguistic and familial links.
• For many in Russia and in the ethnically Russian parts of Ukraine, the shared heritage of the countries is an emotional issue that has been exploited for electoral and military purposes.
• As part of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was the second-most powerful Soviet republic after Russia, and was crucial strategically, economically and culturally.
• The balance of power in the region, Ukraine being a crucial buffer between Russia and the West, Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership and Russian interests in the Black Sea accompanied by the protests in the Ukraine are the major causes of the ongoing conflict.

How will the Russia-Ukraine conflict impact India?

• The war in the Black Sea region, which is both a production and trade hub, has pushed prices of crude oil, wheat, corn, cooking oil, and fertilizers to new highs.
• Recently, crude prices touched a high of $139 per barrel, the highest since 2008.
• Global wheat prices have shot up 91% year-on-year (y-o-y), while corn prices rose by 33% y-o-y.
• As India is acutely dependent on imports of edible oil and fertilizers, consumers may see prices of these soaring to painful levels.
• Besides, an impending shortage of fertilizers in the country ahead of the Kharif planting season can lead to unrest in rural areas.

Can government grain stocks shield consumers?

• As on mid-February, the central stock of grains comprising rice and wheat was a staggering 54 million tonnes (mt), a surplus of more than 30 mt.
• It is more than what is required for the country’s public distribution system (PDS).
• With a record harvest of wheat set to hit the markets later this month, the government can liquidate its wheat stocks to keep prices in check.
• However, if global prices rise further and the conflict in Ukraine worsens, India could end up exporting more wheat, thereby pushing retail prices higher.
• Together with higher edible oil and fuel prices, food inflation could touch double-digit highs.

How will the price rise affect the farming community?

• Farmers can now expect prices at a premium to the minimum support prices (MSPs) announced by the government.
• Wholesale wheat prices are now higher than the MSP, while mustard prices, at ₹7,000 per quintal, are already 40% higher than the MSP and may cross the ₹10,000 mark.
• However, steep prices of inputs will add to the cost.

What is the impact of high crude prices?

• Historic data show a close correlation between a rise in crude oil and food prices.
• Crude prices impact food prices more than even food production. Crude prices are hovering in the $120-130 per barrel range.
• Even if this were to cool down to the $100-110 level, it would impact fertilizer prices and shipping costs significantly.
• High crude prices also lead to diversion of food crops to produce biofuels, thus pushing up crop prices.
• India has not raised fuel prices since November and a significant hike is expected soon.

What measures can the government take?

• Other than liquidating its public stock of grain, the government can restrict exports to keep cereal price inflation in check.
• As for edible oil, import duties have already been reduced significantly.
• Retail food inflation, which rose to a 13-month high of 5.4% in January, is likely to rise further.
• To ensure that the hunger situation does not get worse, it can expand PDS and enrol many more households.
• On the fertilizer front, the government may have to secure supplies from Canada, Israel, and China.

The overall impact of the Conflict?

• The Russia-Ukraine crisis will send cooking gas, petrol and other fuel bills soaring for Indian households and businesses. Higher oil prices add to freight/transportation costs.
• Depending on how long global oil prices remain elevated, the tensions could raise questions on the RBI’s credibility in making inflation projections and upset the government’s budget calculations, particularly fiscal deficit.
• The surge in crude oil prices will lead to an increase in India’s oil import bills, and gold imports could jump back up, keeping the rupee under pressure.
• India’s imports of petroleum products from Russia are only a fraction of its total oil import bill and, thus, replaceable.
• However, getting alternative sources for fertilisers and sunflower oil may not be as easy.
• Exports to Russia account for less than 1% of India’s total exports, but exports of pharmaceuticals and tea could face some challenges, as will shipments to CIS countries. 
• Freight rate hikes could make overall exports less competitive, too.

Way Forward

• It is important to reform the grain-management-cum-food-subsidy system to release precious resources for growth of agriculture.
• This should be combined with taking giant strides to raise productivity and producing more nutritious food while protecting the environment.
• The paradox of Indian policy making can be judged by looking at the Union budget for the 2022-23 which provides more than Rs 2 lakh crore for food subsidy while agri-research and development gets a paltry Rs 8,500 crore.
  • It is well-known that agri-R&D gives a much higher return in terms of promoting growth with competitiveness, and reduces poverty by making food cheaper and controlling food inflation.
  • Hence India should focus more on agri-research and development.
• On the fiscal side, the Government, which has been conservative in its revenue assumptions in the Budget, has the room to pre-emptively cut domestic fuel taxes to nip inflationary expectations, stoke faltering consumption levels and sustain India’s fragile post-Covid-19 recovery through this global churn.
• Buffer stock of pulses have been used to tackle price volatility of these commodities. Pulses from the buffer were used very effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic for supplying @ 1 kg per household per month free of cost to approx.

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Context

The war between Russia and Ukraine is not only being fought on the ground, but also in cyberspace. Cyberattacks on state-owned digital assets, including websites and banking services, have gradually increased in both frequency and sophistication, beginning with Distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks before escalation with the use of complex wiper malware and ransomware.

What has happened in Ukraine so far?

• Ukraine has been one of the primary targets of Russia since 2020. The recent spate of attacks started in mid-January and knocked out websites of the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of education.
• The attacks have intensified in the last few weeks and now, banks in Ukraine are being targeted.
• DDoS attacks disrupt online services by overwhelming websites with more traffic than their server can handle.

What is cyberwarfare?

• Another front of war: Cyberwarfare has emerged as a new form of retaliation or passive aggression deployed by nations that do not want to go to actual war but want to send a tough message to their opponents.
• A cyber-attack can maliciously disable computers, steal data, or use a breached computer as a launch point for other attacks.
• Cybercriminals use a variety of methods to launch a cyber-attack, including malware, phishing, ransomware, denial of service, among other methods.
• Case with India: In 2020, Gothic Panda and Stone Panda, two China-based hacker groups, targeted media and critical infra companies in India with large-scale attacks amid the border stand-off between India and China.
• For many countries, cyberwarfare is a never-ending battle as it allows them to constantly harass and weaken geopolitical rivals.

What do cyber attackers target?

Cyberattacks happen because organizations, state actors, or private persons want one or many things, like:

• Business financial data
• Clients lists
• Customer financial data
• Customer databases, including personally identifiable information (PII)
• Email addresses and login credentials
• Intellectual property, like trade secrets or product designs
• IT infrastructure access
• IT services, to accept financial payments
• Sensitive personal data
• US government departments and government agencies

When Did Cyber Warfare Start?

• Cyber warfare began in 2010 with Stuxnet, which was the first cyber weapon meant to cause physical damage. Stuxnet is reported to have destroyed 20% of the centrifuges Iran used to create its nuclear arsenal.
• Then, between 2014 and 2016, Russia launched a series of strategic attacks against Ukraine and the German parliament.
• During the same period, China hacked 21.5 million employee records, stealing information from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
• In 2017, the WannaCry attack impacted upwards of 200,000 computers in 150 countries. The attack targeted Windows computers with ransomware.
• The NotPetya attack originated in Ukraine, destroyed files, resulting in more than $10 billion in damage.

Why do cyber-attacks happen?

• In addition to cybercrime, cyber-attacks can also be associated with cyber warfare or cyberterrorism, like hacktivists.
• Motivations can vary, in other words. And in these motivations, there are three main categories: criminal, political and personal.
• Criminally motivated attackers seek financial gain through money theft, data theft or business disruption.
• Personally motivated, such as disgruntled current or former employees, will take money, data or a mere chance to disrupt a company’s system.
• Socio-political motivated attackers seek attention for their causes. As a result, they make their attacks known to the public—also known as hacktivism.
• Other cyber-attack motivations include espionage, spying—to gain an unfair advantage over competitors—and intellectual challenge.

Which countries are behind state-backed cyberattacks?

• Russia is one of the top perpetrators of state-backed cyberattacks.
• According to an October 2021 report by Microsoft Corp., Russia accounted for 58% of state-backed attacks worldwide, followed by North Korea (23%), Iran (11%), and China (8%).
• North Korea is said to have built a cyber-army of 7,000 hackers.

Which companies are targeted and why?

• State-backed cyberattacks are usually carried out to steal state secrets, trade deals and weapons blueprint, or target large multinationals to steal their intellectual property (IP) and use it to build local industry.
• Cryptos are also on the radar now. North Korean hackers reportedly stole cryptos worth $400 million in 2021.
• However, when states launch cyberattacks on other states as a result of worsening of geopolitical relations, the target is usually critical infrastructure firms to disrupt economic activity.

How often is India targeted?

• Such cyberattacks rose 100% bet-ween 2017 and 2021, according to a global study by Hewlett-Packard and the University of Surrey.
• In 2019, the administrative network of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was hit by a malware attack by North Korea-backed Lazarus Group.
• China-backed hackers were believed to be behind a power outage in Mumbai in 2020.
• According to Black Lotus Labs, Pakistan-based hackers targeted power firms and one government organization in India in early 2021 using Remote Access Trojans.

What are common types of cyber-attacks?

Common types of cyber-attacks are:

(1) Backdoor Trojan

• A backdoor Trojan creates a backdoor vulnerability in the victim’s system, allowing the attacker to gain remote, and almost total, control.
• Frequently used to link up a group of victims’ computers into a botnet or zombie network, attackers can use the Trojan for other cybercrimes.

(2) Cross-site scripting (XSS) attack

• XSS attacks insert malicious code into a legitimate website or application script to get a user’s information, often using third-party web resources.

Denial-of-service (DoS)

• DoS and Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks flood a system’s resources, overwhelming them and preventing responses to service requests, which reduces the system’s ability to perform.
• Often, this attack is a setup for another attack.

(3) DNS tunnelling

• Cybercriminals use DNS tunnelling, a transactional protocol, to exchange application data, like extract data silently or establish a communication channel with an unknown server, such as a command and control (C&C) exchange.

(4) Malware

• Malware is malicious software that can render infected systems inoperable. Most malware variants destroy data by deleting or wiping files critical to the operating system’s ability to run.

(5) Phishing

• Phishing scams attempt to steal users’ credentials or sensitive data like credit card numbers.
• In this case, scammers send users emails or text messages designed to look as though they’re coming from a legitimate source, using fake hyperlinks.

(6) Ransomware

• Ransomware is sophisticated malware that takes advantage of system weaknesses, using strong encryption to hold data or system functionality hostage.
• Cybercriminals use ransomware to demand payment in exchange for releasing the system. A recent development with ransomware is the add-on of extortion tactics.

(7) Zero-day exploit

• Zero-day exploit attacks take advantage of unknown hardware and software weaknesses. These vulnerabilities can exist for days, months or years before developers learn about the flaws.

What can cyber-attacks do?

• If successful, cyber-attacks can damage enterprises.
• They can cause valuable downtime, data loss or manipulation, and money loss through ransoms. Further, downtime can lead to major service interruptions and financial losses. For example:

• DoS, DDoS and malware attacks can cause system or server crashes.
• DNS tunnelling and SQL injection attacks can alter, delete, insert or steal data into a system.
• Phishing and zero-day exploit attacks allow attackers entry into a system to cause damage or steal valuable information.
• Ransomware attacks can disable a system until the company pays the attacker a ransom.

How cyber-attacks can be reduced?

• Organizations can reduce cyber-attacks with an effective cybersecurity system.
• Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting critical systems and sensitive information from digital attacks, involving technology, people and processes.
• An effective cybersecurity system prevents, detects and reports cyber-attacks using key cybersecurity technologies and best practices, including:

1. Identity and access management (IAM)
2. A comprehensive data security platform
3. Security information and event management (SIEM)
4. Offensive and defensive security services and threat intelligence

What are recent Cyber Attacks in news?

(1) Russia/Ukraine conflict

• Check Point Research (CPR) has released information on cyber-attacks that have been seen in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• In the first three days of battle, cyber-attacks on Ukraine’s government and military sector increased by an astounding 196%. The number of cyber-attacks on Russian businesses has climbed by 4%.
• Phishing emails in East Slavic languages grew sevenfold, with a third of those malicious phishing emails being sent from Ukrainian email addresses to Russian receivers.

(2) SolarWinds Sunburst Attack

• The world is now facing what seems to be a 5th generation cyber-attack – a sophisticated, multi-vector attack with clear characteristics of the cyber pandemic.
• Named Sunburst by researchers, this is one of the most sophisticated and severe attacks ever seen.
• The attack has been reported to impact major US government offices as well as many private sector organizations.
• This series of attacks was made possible when hackers were able to embed a backdoor into SolarWinds software updates.
• Over 18,000 companies and government offices downloaded what seemed to be a regular software update on their computers, but was actually a Trojan horse.

(3) HermeticWiper malware

• This was named after the false digital certificate used to sign the file, which is issued under the name of a company named Hermetica Digital Ltd.
• This is wiper malware which means it is designed to wipe the hard drives or system storage of the systems it infects.
• The malware used against Ukrainian targets misused legitimate drivers of popular disk management software to corrupt data on the infected machine.
• The wiper was used to target Ukrainian organisations.
• Due to this attack, customers of Privatbank, Ukraine’s largest state-owned bank, and Sberbank, another state-owned bank reported problems with online payments and the banks’ applications.
• The hosting provider for Privatbank and the Ukrainian army were among the attackers’ targets.

Way forward

• The need to be aware of the nature of the cyber threat and take adequate precautionary measures, has become extremely vital.
• New technologies such as artificial intelligence, Machine learning and quantum computing, also present new opportunities.
• Pressure also needs to be put on officials in the public domain to carry out regular vulnerability assessments and create necessary awareness of the growing cyber threat.
• It is time that cybersecurity as a specialised discipline becomes an integral component of any IT syllabus being taught within our university systems as well as outside.
• Coordination among CERTs of different countries. Ensure that vulnerable sections of our society do not fall prey to the evil designs of cyber criminals.
• Need for India to move on from IT security to cyber security.
• Organisations that are hit by cyber-attacks must inform law enforcement immediately instead of worrying about their reputations.
• Important to have crisis management plans so that it helps to react in a given situation.
• A dedicated industry forum for cyber security should be set up to develop trusted indigenous solutions to check cyber-attacks.

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Context

Latin America is generally understood to consist of the entire continent of South America in addition to Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean whose inhabitants speak a Romance language such as Spanish, Portuguese, and French.

History of Indo-Latin American Ties

• India’s ties with certain Latin American nations are longstanding and Mexico was the first Latin American country to recognize India after its independence in 1947.
• When Fidel Castro ousted the Batista regime in Cuba in 1959, India was one of the first countries to recognize the new government, set-up an embassy in Havana and establish diplomatic relations.
• However, relations between India and Latin America did not gather momentum throughout most of India’s post-independence history.
• India and Latin American nations were both colonies of European powers. After achieving independence, both adopted socialist policies, which did little to enhance relations.
• Many Latin America and the Carribbean (LAC) countries joined the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
• India also supported LAC countries against United States (US) interventions in the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral gatherings, but this did not address the deficit in relationship.

Why does Latin America Matter?

• Energy demand is rising: In a view of India’s growing demand for energy and its interest in seeking overseas investments, Latin America attracts New Delhi’s interest. After all, the region is rich in extractive resources.
• Important markets: Given that three G20 economies, i.e. Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina are in Latin America, Indian businesses are keen to tap its expansive market.
  • During the last two decades, India’s trade with Latin American countries has grown substantially and its investments are diversified in sectors such as Information Technology (IT) and manufacturing.
  • Moreover, the region has emerged as an important market for the Indian pharmaceutical and automobile industries.
• China’s emergence in the region: Analysts within India’s strategic community are of the view that China is fast emerging as Latin America’s economic and strategic partner, and that India must begin expanding its own footprint in the region.
• India’s Soft Power is making difference: To its advantage, India’s status as a rising power, its economic growth, as well as its soft power in the form of its cultural and civilizational practices such as yoga have gained traction in Latin America.

Why Indo-Latin American Ties did not grow?

• Relations between India and Latin America did not gather momentum owing mainly to the geographical distance between the two regions, and differing domestic and international priorities.
• Thousands of miles away, Latin America played a small role in New Delhi’s strategic and geopolitical considerations.
• There has also been a lack of cultural, linguistic and diaspora connections between the two regions in the past.

Current Trade Relations with the LAC Region

• Following liberalisation of the Indian economy, Latin American governments and their private sectors saw opportunities in India’s growing market.
• Indian industries also discovered that some, middle-income countries of Latin America offered better markets than those of North America and Western Europe.
• Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Panama are currently India’s top ten trading partners in the LAC.
• There has been an upward swing in the relations between India and Mexico after Prime Minister’s visit to Mexico in June 2016, when both countries decided to upgrade bilateral relations to the level of ‘strategic partnership’.
• India is currently Mexico’s ninth most important global trading partner, after the US, India is Mexico’s largest supplier of automobiles.
• Brazil has historically been the cornerstone of India’s relations with Latin America, but recently there is a dip in bilateral trade.
• However, India has invested billions of dollars in Brazil’s hydrocarbon reserves and crude imports.

Significance of Indo-Latin American Ties

• India also exports a billion dollars’ worth of generic medicines to Latin America, which has helped these countries reduce the cost of healthcare.

• The entry of Indian generic pharmaceuticals in Latin America over the last two decades has also put pressure on local and multinational companies to reduce their prices.
• Latin American firms have invested about a billion dollars in India in areas such as soft drinks, multiplexes, theme parks, and auto parts.
• Latin American software firms have also established development and delivery centres in India, employing over a thousand Indian software engineers
• Latin America has also emerged as a key contributor to India’s energy security.
  • India now imports 20% of its crude oil from Brazil, Columbia, Mexico and Venezuela
  • In 2012, India overtook China as the largest Asian buyer of Venezuelan oil.
• India also constitutes one of the largest suppliers of IT services to Latin America
  • Over 35,000 Latin Americans are employed in Indian IT companies operating in the region
  • New Delhi is also actively promoting official policies intended to further expand Indian IT services in Latin America.

Countering Chinese Expansion in the Region

• Although India has steadily expanded its footprint in Latin American countries over the past several years, it is still dwarfed by China’s immense presence in the region.
• Many Latin Americans governments resent Chinese imports, which flood their markets at the cost of local businesses. They are also worried by their growing dependence on Chinese investments.
• By contrast, India’s modest trade and investments are welcomed with virtually no opposition. This gives New Delhi an unexpected, long-term competitive advantage over China.

India’s interests in Latin America

(1) Economic

• Latin America is also very rich in minerals such as copper, lithium, iron ore, gold and silver. It gives India an opportunity to increase investments for their extraction as well as for their imports at cheaper rates.
• India’s exports to Latin America increased by 9.6% in 2018-19 (April to March) reaching $13.16 billion from $12 billion in 2017-18.

(2) Strategic 

• The region is very important for India in order to achieve its global ambitions such as in order to pursue its membership of the UNSC, the NSG and at various other negotiations like climate change, terrorism, trade, etc
• India is cooperating with Brazil at platforms like BRICS, IBSA which has provided an alternative platform for developing countries and reduces their dependence on existing institutions controlled by west.

(3) Energy security

• Currently India sources 15% of its crude oil from Latin America countries.
• Latin America is also an important partner in the India led International Solar Alliance.

(4) Food security

• Latin America region is five times that of India and only has half as much population.
• India is importing pulses and oil seeds from many of African and Southeast Asian countries at very high costs.

Why India should expand ties with Latin American countries

• Growth prospect: With a collective GDP of more than $6 trillion, and a combined population of more than 600 million, half of which is under the age of thirty, Latin America constitutes a dynamic, growing and resource-rich part of the world with huge economic prospects for India.
• Food Security: Latin America can also contribute towards food security. The region is five times the size of India and has only half the population. India is currently importing pulses and oilseeds from other countries at high costs.
• Cheaper imports: Latin America is also very rich in minerals such as copper, lithium, iron ore, gold and silver, and could give India an opportunity to increase investments for their extraction as well as for their import at cheaper rates.

Way Forward

• Bringing India and Latin America together will require effective institutional framework as well as businesses and people-to-people networks.
• India must also promote Latin American studies, invest in shipping industries, and conclude preferential trade agreements and free trade agreements at the earliest.
• Latin American languages must be encouraged in India to incentivise Indian professionals to take jobs in these countries, and to promote trading ties.
• The commerce ministry should revive its ‘Focus:LAC’ programme, which has previously helped encourage and support Indian exporters to explore business opportunities in the region.

Conclusion

• Latin America is being increasingly considered as an important investment destination due to its growing industrial and manufacturing strength.
• India offers immense opportunities for collaboration, trade and investment for partner countries from Latin America. Latin American nations have long been seeking more diplomatic representation from India.
• Despite recent improvements on many fronts, however, both India and the LAC countries face some formidable challenges.
• They still have some of the highest inequality indices in the world, as well as serious deficiencies in infrastructure, technology, innovation and competitiveness.
• India and the LAC region could approach these challenges as opportunities to forge new partnerships to promote growth and development through increased trade and investment.

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