Category: Burning Issues

“Information is the currency of democracy.” – Thomas Jefferson

Fifteen years have passed since the Right to Information Act, 2005 was enacted.   With this Act, India took a step forward to move away from the colonial system of arbitrary government to an era of more transparent and accountable government.

What led to the introduction of RTI in India?

There has been a variety of internal and external pressures on governments to adopt RTI.

(1) Corruption and scandals

The crisis brought into the force due to lack of transparency in the working of the government.  A series of transactions were done by the government which came under the preview of the corruption.

(2) Modernization and the Information Society

The expansion of the Internet into everyday life has increased the demand for more information by the public, businesses and civil society groups. Inside the government, the need to modernize record systems and the move towards e-government has created an internal constituency that is promoting the dissemination of information as a goal in itself.

(3) International pressure

The international community has been influential in promoting access to information. The World Bank, the IMF and others have pressed countries to adopt laws to reduce corruption and to make financial systems more accountable.

(4) Wider recognition of Public Interest

• Public interest is a nebulous concept, not defined in any freedom of information laws, understandably so, as it is a very subjective concept, differing from country to country, on the basis of their governmental framework, socio-economic scenario and development complexities.
• Balancing these strategic concerns with the public interest, therefore, depends on the particular country, the genuine interest of the people accessing that information and the legitimate national interest.

The Right to Information

• RTI is an act of the parliament which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens’ right to information.
• It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
• Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply expeditiously or within 30.
• In case of the matter involving a petitioner’s life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours.
• The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.

Governing of the RTI

The Right to information in India is governed by two major bodies:

1. Central Information Commission (CIC) – Chief Information commissioner who heads all the central departments and ministries- with their own public information officers (PIO)s. CICs are directly under the President of India.
2. State Information Commissions (SIC)– State Public Information Officers or SPIOs head over all the state department and ministries. The SPIO office is directly under the corresponding State Governor.

State and CIC are independent bodies and CIC has no jurisdiction over the SIC.

(1) Central Information Commission

• The Commission consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and not more than ten Information Commissioners.
• At present (2019), the Commission has six Information Commissioners apart from the Chief Information Commissioner.
• They are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the PM as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM.
• The CIC/IC shall hold office for such term as prescribed by the Central Government or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They are not eligible for reappointment.

Power and functions

• It is the duty of the Commission to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person regarding information request under RTI, 2005.
• The Commission can order an inquiry into any matter if there are reasonable grounds (suo-moto power).
• While inquiring, the Commission has the powers of a civil court in respect of summoning, requiring documents etc.

(2) State Information Commission

• The Commission consists of a State Chief Information commissioner and ten State Information Commissioners.
• They are appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the committee consisting of the CM as Chairperson, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and a state Cabinet Minister nominated by the CM.
• They should be a person of eminence in public life and should not hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.
• Terms of service are similar to that of CIC.

Powers and functions

• The commission submits an annual report to the state government on the implementation of the provisions of this act. The state government places this report before the state legislature.
• The commission can order an inquiry into any matter if there are reasonable grounds. It has the power to secure compliance of its decisions from the public authority.
• It is the duty of the commission to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person.
• During the inquiry of a complaint, the commission may examine any record which is under the control of the public authority and no such record may be withheld from it on any grounds.
• While inquiring, the Commission has the powers of a civil court in respect of summoning, requiring documents etc.

Constitutional backing of the RTI

• The Indian constitution has an impressive array of basic and inalienable rights termed as fundamental rights contained in part-III.
• These include the right to equal protection of the laws and the right to equality before the law, the right to freedom of speech and expression also the right to life and personal liberty.
• Since RTI, is implicit in the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, it is an implied FR.
• These are backed by the right to constitutional remedies that is, the right to approach the supreme court and high court under Article 32 and 226 respectively in case of infringement of any of FRs.
• The state is not only under an obligation to respect the FRs of the citizens but also equally under an obligation to ensure conditions under which the right can be exercised.
• The objective of the right to information act is to protect these constitutional rights.

“Efficient government can not be run, by its mystic Babus but from the enlightened participation of its populace in public affairs.“

Benefits of RTI

• Greater accessibility of information: A person can seek information from any public authority in the form of copies, floppy disks, sample material etc under RTI.
• Efficient governance: RTI Act helps us in knowing the efficiency of the government functioning.RTI has become a reality consistent with the objectives of having a stable, honest, transparent and efficient government.
• Citizen’s participation: Information under RTI can be sought easily by requesting the public officer and assistant public officer in any public authority.
• Government obligation: Obtaining information from any public authority is obligatory for them.
• Maintenance of public record: Under RTI Act, it is the duty of public authorities to maintain records for easy access and to publish within 120 days the name of the particular officers who should give the information and in regard to the framing of the rules, regulations etc.
• Empowerment of Citizens: Every citizen has been empowered to be informed about anything that affects their life directly or indirectly.

Limitations to the RTI

(1) Not an absolute right

• As no right can be absolute, the Right to Information has to have its limitations.
• The RTI and Right to Privacy are, therefore, not absolute rights, both the rights, one of which falls under Article 19(l)(a) and the other under Article 21 can obviously be regulated, restricted and curtailed in the larger public interest.

 (2) Subjected to restrictions

• The RTI, being integral part of the right to freedom of speech, is subject to restrictions that can be imposed upon that right under Article 19 (2).
• The revelation of information in actual practice is likely to conflict with other public interests.
• Section 8 of the RTI Act, 2005 primarily deals with the exceptions to the said conferred right.
• The usual exemption permitting Government to withhold access to information is generally in respect of matters such as- national security, international relations etc.

(3) Limitations under the rules

• Rule 4 of RTI Act puts word limit (No. of words needed in different language is different to express the same idea) as 250 words.  Word Limit, The Hidden power of Information Officer, is the cause of rejection of application.
• Rule 16 of RTI Act 2005 stats that the proceedings pending before CIC shall abate on the death of applicant. This limitation may hide the corruption & also be misused by corrupt people which lead to murder of applicants.

(4) Only information already available on record is accessible

• The RTI Act provides access only to that information which existent and available in records of the public authorities.
• Therefore, it does not cast an obligation on the public authority to collect and collate any non available information and then furnish it to the applicant who has requested for it.

(5) Certain information may constitute contempt of court

• Any information, the disclosure of which is expressly barred by any Court of law or tribunal or, which may constitute contempt of Court under the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, cannot be released.
• Thus, where a matter is sub judice and no order or judgment has been passed by the court/tribunal, any disclosure of information pertaining to such matter is not permissible.

(6) Information causes a breach of privilege

• The Constitution of India provides some privileges to the Parliament and the State Legislature, so it is clear that such information cannot be issued by the public authority.
• Certain information cannot be disclosed, if it would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature.
• But, any information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which has taken place, occurred or happened 20 years before the date on which any request for information is made shall be provided.

(7) Information relating to Intellectual Property and trade secrets

• Any information, including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property cannot be disclosed.
• Such disclosure would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.

Challenges in exercising

(1) Information explosion

Different types of information is sought which has no public interest and sometimes can be used to misuse the law and harass the public authorities e.g. asking for desperate and voluminous information.

(2) Popular (mis)use

Some chauvinists file RTI to attain publicity. It is often used as a vindictive tool to harass or pressurize the already burdened public authorities.

(3) Rising cases of non-disclosure

Some provisions of Indian Evidence Act provide to hold the disclosure of documents.  Similar is the case with the Official Secrets Act, 1923. OSA provides that any government official can mark a document as confidential so as to prevent its publication.

(4) Limited ambit of RTI

While the office of the CJI is now under the RTI’s ambit, the CBI is exempt. The CBI, which is an agency that is often engaged in investigation of corruption cases, is today included in a list of exempt organisations in which most of the others are engaged in intelligence gathering.

(5) Threats to whistleblowers

There are rising cases of intimidation, threat and murders of RTI activists. There are no safeguards against the victimisation of the person who makes the complaint.

(6) Legacy issue of Pendency and backlogs

A recent study by NGO Satark Nagrik Sangathan has pointed out that more than 2.2 lakh cases are pending at the Central and States ICs. Maharashtra had the highest number of pending appeals, with over 59,000 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh (47,923) and the CIC (35,653).

Significance of RTI

• The RTI Act, 2005 did not create a new bureaucracy for implementing the law. Instead, it tasked and mandated officials in every office to change their attitude and duty from one of secrecy to one of sharing and openness.
• RTI has been seen as the key to strengthening participatory democracy and ushering in people-centred governance.
• Access to information has empowered the poor and the weaker sections of society to demand and get information about public policies and actions, thereby leading to their welfare.
• It showed an early promise by exposing wrongdoings at high places, such as in the organisation of the Commonwealth Games, and the allocation of 2G spectrum and coal blocks.

Way Forward

It is well recognized that RTI is pathbreaking, but has not proved sufficient, to improve governance in its capacity due to various shortcomings.  We need to improvise a lot on various parameters as discussed under:

Speedy disposal: The increasing backlog of cases is exacerbated by the fact that most Commissions are functioning at reduced capacity. The government must ensure the timely appointment of chiefs and members of ICs.

Prioritization of cases: There should be a prioritization of cases dealing with information related to life and liberty. Information regarding matters like food distribution, social security, health and other priority issues should be proactively disclosed.

Digitalization: Governments should put in place a mechanism for online filing of RTI applications and bring all authorities under one platform.

Reducing technicalities: The technicalities of filing an RTI application should be more simplified. The literacy rate of rural India is quite low and thus they find it quite difficult to comply with the procedural.

Protecting whistleblowers: There is an urgent need to protect the whistle blowers who are targeted or attacked so easily. The impending bill should be passed or else an ancillary strict measure should be taken in this regard.

Final words from ARC reports:

The report of the second Administrative Reforms Commission entitled, “Right to Information – Master Key to Good Governance” recommends that the Official Secrets Act, 1923, should be repealed, as it is incongruous with the regime of transparency in a democratic society. This recommendation should be adhered to.

Conclusion

• In spite of the above-discussed deficiencies and apprehensions, the RTI has unquestionably proved to be one of the significant milestone and a major step towards ensuring the participatory and transparent development process in the country.
• Currently, the RTI Act in India is passing through a decisive phase, much more needs to be done to facilitate its growth and development.  
• The stricter implementation of this law not only depends on the political will but also on active civil societies.
• Mere protest against the lack of implementation of this law alone is not sufficient, one needs to encourage this initiative taken, for the law to grow and mature.
• A lot more needs to be done to usher in accountability in governance, including protection of whistleblowers, decentralization of power and fusion of authority with accountability at all levels.

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References

https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/147275/11/11_%20chapter-7.pdf

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-concerted-attack-on-rti/article32846738.ece

https://cic.gov.in/sites/default/files/Neeraj%20assignment-converted.pdf

https://www.civilsdaily.com/burning-issue-rti-amendment-bill/

The CRISPR-Cas9 system has revolutionized genetic manipulations and made gene editing simpler, faster and easily accessible to most laboratories.

To its recognition, this year, the French-American duo Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna have been awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize for chemistry for CRISPR.

Gene editing using CRISPR technology

• The CRISPR is an acronym for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, developed in the year 2012
• CRISPR has made gene editing very easy and simple, and at the same time extremely efficient.
• The technology works in a simple way — it locates the specific area in the genetic sequence which has been diagnosed to be the cause of the problem, cuts it out, and replaces it with a new and correct sequence that no longer causes the problem.
• The technology replicates a natural defence mechanism in some bacteria that use a similar method to protect it from virus attacks.

Working of CRISPR

• An RNA molecule is programmed to locate the particular problematic sequence on the DNA strand.
• A special protein called Cas9, often described in popular literature as ‘genetic scissor’, is used to break and remove the problematic sequence.
• A DNA strand, when broken, has a natural tendency to repair itself. But the auto-repair mechanism can lead to the re-growth of a problematic sequence.
• Scientists intervene during this auto-repair process by supplying the desired sequence of genetic codes, which replaces the original sequence.
• It is like cutting a portion of a long zipper somewhere in between and replacing that portion with a fresh segment.
• Because the entire process is programmable, it has remarkable efficiency and has already brought almost miraculous results.

A promising technology for the future: With many Applications

The gene-editing technology has opened up a vast window of opportunity.

1. Human health: In the last six years, the tool has enabled scientists to edit human DNA in a dish and early-stage clinical trials are being attempted to use the tool to treat a few diseases, including inherited disorders/diseases and some types of cancer.
2. Agricultural productivity: The tool is being extensively used in agriculture. It is being tried out in agriculture primarily to increase plant yield, quality, disease resistance, herbicide resistance and domestication of wild species.

How safe is CRISPR?

• Last year, a study by Stanford University, U.S., found that the CRISPR-Cas9 system introduces unexpected off-target (outside of the intended editing sites) effects in mice.
• There is a growing fear that the CRISPR system is being prematurely rushed for clinical use lingers.
• Some researchers have highlighted that CRISPR-Cas9-edited cells might trigger cancer.
• Another study found that both the mouse and the human gene-edited cells suffered from large DNA deletions far from the intended editing sites.

Issues with CRISPR

The many potential applications of CRISPR technology raise questions about the ethical merits and consequences of tampering with genomes. 

1) Ecological dis-equilibrium: An introduced trait could spread beyond the target population to other organisms through crossbreeding. Gene drives could also reduce the genetic diversity of the target population. There is a danger that CRISPR’s affordability and efficiency could run roughshod over long‐standing and valid concerns about the generation and release of GMOs.

2) Threats to species: There is another, potentially much more dangerous and controversial, application of CRISPR, namely to potentially eradicate disease by eradicating disease vectors and invasive species. Such methods could effectively destroy an entire species and could have significant environmental consequences.

3) Germline editing concerns: Making genetic modifications to human embryos and reproductive cells such as sperm and eggs is known as germline editing. Since changes to these cells can be passed on to subsequent generations, using CRISPR technology to make germline edits has raised a number of ethical concerns.

4) Biosafety concerns: It is not unreasonable to think that, in the wrong hands, CRISPR could be used to make dangerous pathogens even more potent. There exist some concerns about the accidental or deliberate release of GE microorganisms or viruses into the environment.

5) Regulatory bypass: Editing the genomes of crops and trees is not new, and debates over the pros and cons of genetically modified (GM) plants have gone on for decades. What makes CRISPR different from other methods of agricultural genetic engineering is that it no longer requires the insertion of foreign DNA into the plant. Hence traditional GM crops/organisms would no longer classify as transgenic.

Ethical concerns

• In November 2018, a Chinese researcher in Shenzen created an international sensation with his claim that he had altered the genes of a human embryo that eventually resulted in the birth of twin baby girls.
• This was the first documented case of a ‘designer babies’ being produced using the new gene-editing tools like CRISPR.

1) Safety

Due to the possibility of off-target effects (edits in the wrong place) and mosaicism (when some cells carry the edit but others do not), safety is of primary concern.

2) Informed Consent

Some people worry that it is impossible to obtain informed consent for germline therapy because the patients affected by the edits are the embryo and future generations. Bioethicists also worry about the possibility of obtaining truly informed consent from prospective parents as long as the risks of germline therapy are unknown.

3) Justice and Equity

As with many new technologies, there is concern that genome editing will only be accessible to the wealthy and will increase existing disparities in access to health care and other interventions. Some worry that taken to its extreme, germline editing could create classes of individuals defined by the quality of their engineered genome.

Regulation in India

• In India, several rules, guidelines, and policies are notified under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 to regulate genetically modified organisms.
• The above Act and the National Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research involving human participants, 2017, by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the Biomedical and Health Research Regulation Bill implies regulation of the gene-editing process.
• This is especially so in the usage of its language “modification, deletion or removal of parts of heritable material”.
• However, there is no explicit mention of the term gene editing.

Way forward

• CRISPR technology continues to mature, and existing systems are being engineered to contain innovative capabilities.
• The potential benefits of such revolutionary tools are endless.  Currently, this is difficult because many international laws discourage or ban such research and/or inhibit its funding for certain types of investigation.
• Thus, wide spread and reliable data about benefits and risks are unavailable.
• Going forward, many support establishing an organization that will decide how best to address the aforementioned ethical complexities.
• Many countries have advocated for the development of an international and interdisciplinary “global observatory for gene editing.”
• However we must not forget that the risk cannot be justified by the potential benefit.

Conclusion

• Genetic ‘determinism’ holds that the DNA sequence is the prime cause of all human traits, normal and abnormal (health and disease). We should do away with this idea, very first.
• It will take years before the CRISPR system is ready for prime time and clinical use.
• An important issue in its research is that benefits must be greater than risks. Here greater attention needs to be placed on risks, since they may damage living beings or the environment.
• Concerning its regulation, it is time for our policymakers to come up with a specific law or put out guidelines for conducting gene-editing research giving rise to modified organisms.
• The principle of solidarity and consideration of the public good deserve far greater consideration in making sure that these rapid advances become shared benefits for all. This should be our ultimate goal.

Try this question from our AWE initiative:

Explain the utility of CRISPR-Cas9 as an important gene-editing tool. What are the concerns related to the use of technology? 10 marks

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References

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/nobel-prize-in-chemistry-for-crispr-technology

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/scissoring-the-dna-the-hindu-editorial-on-2020-nobel-prize-for-chemistry/article32806854.ece

https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.15252/embr.201541337

http://www.bu.edu/khc/files/2018/10/CRISPR-Ethics-reading.pdf

The altercation between technology giant Google and fintech major Paytm has brought the global debate around app store monopolies to India.

• Paytm has been at odds with Google ever since the tech giant removed its apps.
• Earlier this month, Paytm announced the launch of its Android Mini App Store to support Indian developers to take their innovative products to the masses.
• Now this move has brought Google and Apple’s duopoly over being the only marketplaces for applications on their mobile operating systems into question.

The Beginning of Row

• Paytm received communication from Google that their ‘Paytm Cricket League’ feature violated Google Play Store’s policies.
• Hence, the payments and financial services app Paytm was temporarily removed from the Google Play Store.
• Paytm in turn, removed the cashback component of the feature in an effort to meet the Play Store policy requirements.
• And the app was back within a few hours.
• According to Google, the features were akin to promoting gambling. Paytm has now blamed Google for not offering a level-playing field.
• The issue escalated after Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) asked for clarity from the Google on what is allowed on the Play Store for the fantasy sports industry.

Surpassing Google’s monopoly: What is the Mini Apps store?

• Mini apps are a custom-built mobile website that gives users app-like experience without having to download them, which would greatly benefit millions of citizens to save their limited data and phone memory.
• From an infrastructure perspective, the Mini App store will enable small developers and businesses to set up low-cost, quick-to-build mini-apps which can be built using HTML and JavaScript technologies.
• For those joining the platform, Paytm will provide a listing, distribution of these mini-apps within our app without any charges.

The ‘Price’ of getting listed on Google Play Store

The row has brought to the fore Google’s Play Store monopoly and its power to pull down apps that it feels violates its rules.

• Google’s Android OS currently commands over 90 percent share of the Indian smartphone market.
• Among the primary reasons is the market dominance of Google’s Android Operating System (OS), which comprises the Play Store.
• There is a growing sentiment among many Indian startup founders is that Google is abusing its dominant market position to squeeze revenues out of startups and imposing hard conditions on them.
• This is in order to avail the benefits of being listed and discoverable on the Play Store.

The major concerns of the Indian startup community are:

(1) Billing System:

• Google has declared its intention to start billing apps for in app purchases, such as subscriptions, virtual coins and other special paid features.
• This is done with objective to enforce the 30 percent commission it seeks from apps on Play Store.

(2) Dominance

• Google’s dominance in the Operating System (OS) market and by extension, its app store, has led to arbitrary imposition of rules or restrictions.
• Simply put, for many startups, the cost of being outside of the Play Store’s network is too prohibitive.

(3) Conflict of interest

• Google being the platform for apps in India via its Play Store is also only opportunist player in the app ecosystem.
• It is allegedly hindering others ability to acquire new customers through the “dominance” of their country’s digital ecosystem.
• Google has a hammerlock on the Android ecosystem in India and this monopoly means companies like Paytm have to rely on Google playing fair with its rivals.

(4) National security

• There is a risk for Indian startups if the US does to the Indian startup ecosystem, what it did to Huawei.
• This could be a national security issue in turn for India.

(5) Unfair trade practices

• Google was found guilty of abuse of dominant position and unfair trade practices by the European Commission for its strict and biased user policies.
• It is already under investigation by the Competition Commission of India after an unidentified party complained the company was “unfairly” promoting Google Pay in India.

Making the monopolist accountable: A not-so-feasible option

• Taking on a giant like Google in the Indian courts involves the hefty court and legal fees, and the battle will be incredibly long drawn.
• It’s very easy to show that Google is dominant. But under the Competition Act, one has to show that what Google is doing is unfair trade practice or it’s an abuse of dominance.
• Indian developers might have to fight a concurrent case in the US court as well which will indecisively rule in favor of the Google.

Way forward

• Google’s presence in India’s digital ecosystem is only set to increase with the internet giant planning to invest $10 billion in the country over the next five to seven years.
• All of this places a heavy responsibility on Indian regulatory authorities to implement tough oversight measures to ensure Google and other players don’t steam-roll the competition in India.
• Presently it is upto the regulators to ensure ‘app neutrality’ in India.
• A possible viable option for startup founders are other indigenous app stores like that of Indus OS, a Samsung-backed third-party store, has over 100 million monthly active users.

Conclusion

• These days, there is a growing demand within the political sphere regarding data localization in India. Foreign firms are mandated to store payments information of users locally in India.
• And India is not even that open anymore. It has also banned more than 200 Chinese apps in recent months. But with Google’s case, there can be no leap forward.
• Policymakers need to wake up to obvious conflicts of interest in the internet domain which need to be regulated with a measure of sophistication.
• Regulators need to stay ahead of the curve, as the country pivots decisively towards a digital economy.

References

https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/the-inside-story-of-how-paytm-google-fiasco-unfolded/story/417052.html

https://www.thequint.com/explainers/explainer-paytm-mini-app-store-google-android-play-store-meity-indian-startups

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/controversy-over-google-and-paytm-underlines-the-challenge-policymakers-face/article32679063.ece

• The Parliament has passed new versions of three labour codes — Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020, Code on Social Security Bill, 2020 and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code Bill, 2020.
• The Code on Social Security 2020, which received the Presidential Assent on 28 September 2020, subsumes major regulations relating to social security, retirement and employee benefits.

What is Social Security?

• Social security is “any government system that provides monetary assistance to people with an inadequate or no income”.
• It refers to the action programs of an organization intended:
• to promote the welfare of the population through assistance measures guaranteeing access to sufficient resources for food and shelter and
• to promote health and well-being for the population at large and potentially vulnerable segments such as children, the elderly, the sick and the unemployed

Why need Social Security?

• India has a very basic social security system catering to a fairly small percentage of the country’s workforce.
• Traditionally, Indians relied on their extended families for support in the event of illness or other misfortunes.
• However, due to migration, urbanization, and higher social mobility, family bonds are less tight and family units much smaller than they used to be.

Social Security System in India

• India’s social security system is composed of a number of schemes and programs spread throughout a variety of laws and regulations.
• Keeping in mind, however, that the government-controlled social security system in India applies to only a small portion of the population.
• Furthermore, the social security system in India includes not just an insurance payment of premiums into government funds (like in China), but also lump sum employer obligations.

Generally, India’s social security schemes cover the following types of social insurances:

• Pension
• Health Insurance and Medical Benefit
• Disability Benefit
• Maternity Benefit
• Gratuity

While a great deal of the Indian population is in the unorganized sector and may not have an opportunity to participate in each of these schemes, Indian citizens in the organized sector (which include those employed by foreign investors) and their employers are entitled to coverage under the above schemes.

Code on Social Security 2020

The 3 bills which were passed are

1. Industrial Relations Code, 2020
2. Code on Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020 &
3. Social Security Code, 2020

All the labour laws (29 in number) being amalgamated into 4 labour codes are :

Name of the Code	Amalgamated laws
Wage Code	4 laws – The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
IR Code	3 laws – The Trade Unions Act, 1926 The Industrial Employment (Standing orders) Act, 1946 The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
OS Code	13 laws – The Factories Act, 1948 The Plantations Labour Act, 1951 The Mines Act, 1952 The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 The Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958 The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976 The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 The Cine-Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981 The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996
Social Security Code	9 laws – The Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923 The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 The Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959 The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981 The Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996 The Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008

Here are the key features of these bills:

 (A) Social Security Code, 2020

• The facility of ESIC would now be provided in all 740 districts. At present, this facility is being given in 566 districts only.
• EPFO’s coverage would be applicable to all establishments having 20 workers. At present, it was applicable only on establishments included in the Schedule.
• Provision has been made to formulate various schemes for providing comprehensive social security to workers in the unorganised sector.
• A “Social Security Fund” will be created on the financial side in order to implement these schemes.
• Work to bring newer forms of employment created with the changing technology like “platform worker or gig worker” into the ambit of social security has been done in the Social Security Code.
• Provision for Gratuity has been made for Fixed Term Employee and there would not be any condition for minimum service period for this.
• With the aim of making a national database for unorganised sector workers, registration of all these workers would be done on an online portal and this registration would be done on the basis of Self Certification through a simple procedure.

 (B) Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020

• Free health checkup once a year by the employer for workers which are more than a certain age.
• A legal right for getting Appointment Letter given to workers for the first time.
• Cine Workers have been designated as Audio Visual Worker so that more and more workers get covered under the OSH code. Earlier, this security was being given to artists working in films only.

(C)  Industrial Relations Code, 2020

Efforts made by the Government for quickly resolving disputes of the workers include:

• Compulsory facility for Helpline for redressal of problems of migrant workers.
• Making a national database of migrant workers.
• Provision for the accumulation of one day leave for every 20 days worked when work has been done for 180 days instead of 240 days.
• Equality for women in every sphere: Women have to be permitted to work in every sector at night, but it has to be ensured that provision for their security is made by the employer and consent of women is taken before they work at night.
• In the event of the death of a worker or injury to a worker due to an accident at his workplace, atleast 50 % share of the penalty would be given. This amount would be in addition to Employees Compensation.
• Provision of “Social Security Fund” for 40 Crore unorganized workers alongwith GIG and platform workers and will help Universal Social Security coverage
• Occupational Safety & Health Code to also can now over cover workers from IT and Service Sector.
• 14 days notice for Strike so that in this period amicable solution comes out.

Now let’s look up at the various loopholes of these Bills one by one:

A. The Code on Social Security, 2020

1. No robust entitlements:

• To begin, the Code does not emphasise social security as a right, nor does it make reference to its provision as stipulated by the Constitution.
• In addition, it does not stipulate a clear date for enforcement, which will leave millions of workers vulnerable without clear social protections.

2. No universalization

• A model scheme covering the issues such as education, health, social security, pensions and other benefits which can assure a dignified life for workers.
• It is essential that social security protections be made universal for the entire Indian workforce, i.e. that such protections be universal.
• Instead of this, the Code makes arbitrary categorizations that will leave millions of working poor out of its protections. While the Code defines multiple categories, most definitions are ambiguous.

3. Migrant workers find NO special mention

• Interstate migrant workers should have been mentioned as a separate category with the establishment of a sizable Welfare Fund with contributions by sending and receiving states and employers.
• Given the particular distress faced by such workers in the last few months, there are no provisions established for migrant workers who face very specific vulnerabilities.
• There is not even a provision for the portability of social security which takes into account their continuous movement within the country.
• There is no consideration for unemployment protection for unorganised workers, which is particularly important at times of great recession and crisis.

4. Pro-employer

• Finally, the Code makes it easier for employers to flout legally required social protection for workers.
• For instance, there is no stringent penalty for non-contribution of Provident Fund dues by employer/contractor.
• As an effective deterrent and policy tool to ensure timely payment of dues, penal provisions should be incorporated for large employers who have the capacity to pay regular Provident Fund contributions.

B. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

1. Ignores key economic activities

• The Code excludes many branches of economic activities, most notably, the agriculture sector which employs more than 50% of total working population of India.
• Further, the employees in other unorganised sectors such as small mines, hotels & eating places, machinery repairs, construction, brick kilns, etc find no mention.
• Also those employed as informal workers in organized sectors, including new and emerging sectors such as IT and IT enabled services, digital platforms, e-commerce, have also not found coverage under the Code.

2. Ambiguous occupational safety

• It is appalling that the Code has got away by not fixing any responsibility on employers with respect to safety and health.
• It does not specify even minimum standards for Occupation Safety and Health, or daily and weekly working hours and everything has been delegated to the Central government to be stipulated through notification.
• A minimum Occupation Safety and Health standard should have been specified in the Code itself.

3. Issue of fair treatment

• The Code does not contain any provisions for equal treatment for contract labour that perform work of a similar nature as that of permanent workers in the same establishment.
• Contract labour that is engaged in similar work in the same establishment should have been treated on par with permanent workers in the matter of wages and other conditions of employment.

C. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020

1. Restrictions on ‘Freedom of Association’

• The definition of strike has been broadened to include “the concerted casual leave on a given day by fifty percent or more workers employed in an industry”.
• This constrains workers’ ability to participate in collective bargaining processes and demonstrations.
• Beside this, there are several restrictions made on right to strike – workers will be subject to penal sanctions for the mere fact of organizing or participating in a peaceful strike.
• Imposing such sanctions on strikes that are justified amounts to a grave violation of the principles of freedom of association.

2. Definitional issues

• The definition of “industry” includes terms like “charitable”, “philanthropic”, “social”, etc. which are undefined and can be misused.
• A manufacturer of sanitary pads or toilet paper, for instance, may claim to be a social activity and therefore not an industry.
• The change in the definition of “wage” is either the result of muddled thinking or made with malicious intent.
• It will have the effect of reducing retrenchment compensation, subsistence allowance etc., which is deplorable.

3. Fixed-term contracts

• There is an institutionalization of “fixed term contracts” as tenure of employment.
• Workers employed on a fixed term basis may be terminated on the completion of their contract, even while there is an actual need for their services.
• In other words, they may be terminated from service without any just and reasonable cause. This will further create instability and massive labour market unrest.
• The fixed term employment does not guarantee the right to receive notice or wages in lieu of notice prior to the termination of services.

Conclusion

• The government needs to work more to recognise that focusing on economic growth without redistribution of wealth leads to jobless growth and socially unaccountable prosperity.
• Every law has to aim to maintain the best possible balance between competing interests and should try to give as much comfort to the weaker of the two sides, as much possible in the larger interest of our nation.
• Ultimately these laws will be as good as their implementation, mere letters of law have no meaning.
• The government has to ensure that they are implemented with honesty and integrity, then only the country will be able to achieve the desired goal of speeding up economic growth and unleashing the untapped potential of thousands and thousands of our industries, businesses and entrepreneurs to take the nation to new heights.

References

https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/code-social-security-2020

https://www.financialexpress.com/money/the-code-on-social-security-2020-how-will-this-new-labour-code-benefit-employees-workers/2098269/

https://scroll.in/article/973877/why-the-new-labour-codes-leave-workers-even-more-precariously-poised-than-before

Context

• Despite the global decline in crude oil prices over the last month and buying of cheap Russian crude oil, the retail prices of Petrol and Diesel in India have remained high. These increased prices have also caused high inflation in India, leading to an increase in key policy rates by RBI.
• In this context, in this edition of the burning issue, we will study Global fuel dynamics and how it impacts India’s energy security.

Global fuel dynamics

• Oil generates revenue for countries with enough oil reserves to produce more oil than they consume. Not surprisingly, events such as unrest in oil-producing regions, new oil field discoveries, and advances in extraction technology profoundly affect the oil industry.
• Global production of oil and other petroleum liquids averaged 95.6 million barrels per day in 2021. The top producing country group was OPEC (31.7 million b/d) followed by OECD (31.0 million b/d).
• The top three producing countries were the United States (18.9 million b/d), Saudi Arabia (10.8 million b/d), and Russia (10.8 million b/d).
• The average Brent crude oil spot price declined to USD100/bbl in August from USD112/bbl in July. Brent crude oil prices have sunk by over USD20/bbl after peaking in June, pressured by tightening monetary policies and demand concerns in China
• Global liquids demand saw a slight increase in August to 99.4 MMb/d, but remained below June’s 100 MMb/d.
• Benchmark Brent crude oil prices dipped to USD100/bbl in August – the lowest in the past six months. Elevated inflation levels, rate hikes by major central banks, and concerns about a slowdown in the Chinese economy have impacted oil and fuel demand, leading to a price decline.
• Natural gas accounts for 32% of primary energy consumption in the United States, the world’s largest producer. Russia is the second biggest producer, and also has at least 37 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, the most in the world.
• Also, there was a steep rise in the international prices of natural gas triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war disrupting global supplies

Why crude oil prices were high till last month?

(1) Limited Supply

• Major oil-producing countries had cut oil production amid a sharp fall in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The Russian-Ukraine war has disrupted the supply chains. Also, sanctions on Russia, Iran and Venezuela by the US have reduced supplies of crude in international markets leading to price rises.
• In early October 2022, OPEC agreed to cut back on oil production to increase prices.

(2) Revival of Demand

• The production and rollout of vaccines for Covid-19 and the rising consumption post the Covid lockdowns last year have both led to a revival in international crude oil prices.

(3) Geopolitical reasons

• Geopolitical tension has risen between Russia, which is the second largest oil producer in the world, and neighbouring Ukraine.
• In January, there were drone attacks on oil facilities in UAE, another major oil producer.
• An outage on a major oil pipeline linking Saudi Arabia and Turkey further added to the pressures.

Impacts of Global fuel dynamics on the Energy Security of India

• Energy security of India is threatened– Sanctions on Iran & Russia and the reduction of oil production by OPEC have caused prices of Crude oil to sour to record high levels, making it unbearable for the economy and common man, thus negatively impacting the energy security of India.
• Current Account Deficit: The increase in oil prices will increase the country’s import bill, and further disturb its current account deficit (excess of imports of goods and services over exports). According to estimates, a one-dollar increase in crude oil price increases the oil bill by around USD 1.6 billion per year.
• Inflation: The increase in crude prices could also further increase inflationary pressures that have been building up over the past few months. This will decrease the space for the monetary policy committee to ease policy rates further.
• Fiscal Health: If oil prices continue to increase, the government shall be forced to cut taxes on petroleum and diesel which may cause a loss of revenue and deteriorate its fiscal balance.The revenue lost will erode the government’s ability to spend or meet its fiscal commitments in the form of budgetary transfers to states, payment of dues and compensation for revenue shortfalls to state governments under the goods and services tax (GST) framework.

Recent fall in crude oil prices

• For the first time since early February, international crude benchmark Brent went below $90 a barrel last week. This level was last seen before Russia invaded Ukraine. The recent decline came amid expectations of weaker global demand and US dollar strength.
• Also, Global energy demand is softening, especially in China, where crude oil imports fell 9.4% last month compared to a year ago, as the country’s zero-Covid policy has led to full or partial lockdowns in more than 70 cities since late August.
• US Fed has been increasing the policy rate aggressively causing the Dollar to appreciate vis-à-vis other currencies and outflow of capital thus generating fears of a global recession and thus reducing the demand for oil in the future.
• India is buying Russian crude in defiance of Western, especially US pressure, to isolate the country economically and financially. India is buying Russia’s flagship Urals grade at discounts of as much as $35 a barrel on prices before the war

But why fuel prices are still high in India?

• Indian refiners are not passing on the cost savings derived from declining crude oil prices since last month.
• Petrol was deregulated in June 2010 and diesel in November 2014. Since then, the government does not pay oil firms any subsidy to compensate them for losses they might incur on selling fuel at rates below cost.
• The three biggest oil retailers in India posted a combined net loss of Rs 18,480 crore in the June quarter.
• No revision of fuel prices by oil marketing companies is to recover the losses that state-owned fuel retailers incurred in keeping the fuel prices unchanged when international oil prices surged to multi-year highs.

Current Energy scenario in India

• Indian Government aims to increase energy in India and reduce energy poverty, with more focus on developing alternative sources of energy, particularly nuclear, solar and wind energy.
• India attained 63% overall energy self-sufficiency in 2017.
• The primary energy consumption in India grew by 10.4% in CY2021 and is the third biggest with a 6% global share after China and USA.
• The total primary energy consumption from coal (452.2 Mtoe; 45.88%), crude oil (239.1 Mtoe; 29.55%), natural gas (49.9 Mtoe; 6.17%), nuclear energy (8.8 Mtoe; 1.09%), hydro-electricity (31.6 Mtoe; 3.91%) and renewable power (27.5 Mtoe; 3.40%) is 809.2 Mtoe (excluding traditional biomass use) in the calendar year 2018.
• In 2018, India’s net imports are nearly 205.3 million tons of crude oil and its products, 26.3 Mtoe of LNG and 141.7 Mtoe coal totaling 373.3 Mtoe of primary energy which is equal to 46.13% of total primary energy consumption. India is largely dependent on fossil fuel imports to meet its energy demands – by 2030.

Challenges to Energy security in India

• India, with 17% of the world’s population, has just 0.8% of the world’s known oil and natural gas resources.
• India’s domestic production is not sufficient to meet its demand. As a result, India already imports 80% of its crude oil needs. Without new and substantial domestic discoveries, imports will continue to increase.
• Problems of diversification of energy sources for India arise from the political volatility, and geopolitics of the regions from where India imports its energy products like the Persian Gulf region, and countries like Russia, Iran, etc.
• The low share of natural gas usage in India. natural gas currently provides only 8% of India’s primary energy supply despite the fact that 50% of that gas comes from domestic sources, onshore and offshore. Today, oil accounts for 36% of the country’s primary energy use. This figure is set to rise both in absolute and in percentage terms.
• Private sector’s Cold response to Government initiatives and policies such as HELP and mine auctions.
• India currently does not have a holistic National energy policy but is divided into a national electricity policy, renewable energy policy, etc. leading to a lack of coherency in all energy sectors and ministries.

Energy policy in India

• In this context, in 2017, NITI Aayog published a draft National energy policy (NEP) with four key objectives of Access at affordable prices, Improved security and Independence, Greater Sustainability and Economic Growth.
• The draft NEP proposes actions to meet the objectives in such a way that India’s economy is ‘energy ready’ in the year 2040.

Some Draft NEP proposals for the Energy Sector

• India has nearly 3.17 million square km of sedimentary area, out of which only 19% has been moderate to well-explored. To quickly appraise the entire sedimentary area, there is a need to offer geological data to prospective Exploration and Production (E&P) companies.
• Setting up of 90-day consumption requirement of strategic and commercial storage, both for crude and petroleum products through innovative private investment strategies is needed.
• To increase the penetration of natural gas, a National Gas Grid would have to be rolled out throughout the country.
• There is a need to migrate the existing hydrocarbon regime (both Nomination and PSCs) to the emerging framework of market-determined prices and marketing freedom. However, this cannot be done overnight and needs to be achieved in gradual phases.
• OMCs have done a commendable job in maintaining petroleum supplies throughout the country. The next step in this direction is to encourage competition through the entry of the private sector in a big way, to raise efficiency and consumer satisfaction levels.

India’s Quest for Energy Security: The Steps Taken

• To promote oil and gas production at the domestic level, the Indian Government has been taking several steps which range from encouraging Indian companies to increase their domestic activities and widening its engagement with multinational companies, broadening opportunities for them to participate in oil and gas exploration in India.
• In this context, Govt has launched an Open licensing and acreage policy under the Hydrocarbon exploration and licensing policy (HELP) in 2017. The HELP marked an important transition from regulation to liberalization of India’s E&P sector; it is a very significant upstream reform of the fiscal regime.
• Also, to stimulate the investments and development in the exploration of hydrocarbon sources of energy, some of the steps have focussed on regulatory changes, a transparent gas pricing policy and redevelopment of uneconomical assets.
• The domestic efforts have also seen a concerted focus on exploring various alternative sources of energy that are infinite, renewable and environment-friendly. The government has given a massive push in this regard in energy production through solar energy, wind power, hydroelectricity power, and biomass, and nuclear energy.
• Since two-thirds of India’s oil imports come from one single region, that is, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, India is following in the footsteps of other major oil-importing economies and making significant efforts to obtain supplies from sources outside the Gulf.
• In addition, the possibility of disruption from unseen political instability, religious extremism, terrorism, and threats to supply lines have pushed India to look for new hydrocarbon destinations abroad.
• India has taken steps to diversify its hydrocarbon exploration in the regions of Latin America, Africa, the Caspian Basin, Russia and the waters of the Indo-Pacific region.
• In support of the OALP, the government launched the National Data Repository in June 2017. It is a comprehensive archive of geo-scientific data for E&P activities. By allowing companies to access the data through an e-platform and consult relevant information, the government helped the interested parties in making bidding decisions.
• Discovered Small Field Policy was launched in 2016 to tap unmonetized small oil/gas discoveries in India, Discovered Small Field provides an easy and low-risk investment option for interested parties to encourage E&P activities.

Way forward

• Reinforce its oil emergency response policy to adapt it to the expected strong growth in oil consumption, with increased dedicated emergency stocks and procedures, including demand restraint measures and a proper analysis of risks by using oil disruption scenarios.
• Enhance international engagement by India on global oil security issues.
• Strengthen the regulatory oversight of the sector, non-discriminatory access to oil transport and the level-playing field in the mid-and downstream oil sector.
• Further, promote the diversification of oil sources and reduce India’s high oil import dependence by enhancing exploration and production activities and the development of alternative sources, such as biofuels.
• Foster the creation of a liquid market for natural gas in India, gradually moving from gas allocation and multiple pricing regimes to the creation of a gas hub, so that domestic gas and LNG imports can be used most efficiently and competition can flourish.
• Strengthen and clarify the roles and responsibilities of the regulatory supervision of natural gas market activities (upstream, midstream and downstream) to ensure a non-discriminatory access regime to pipeline capacity so that both LNG imports and new gas discoveries can find their way to markets and investment in gas transport and storage is encouraged.
• Ensure gas is treated on a level playing field with other fuels for taxation and is included under the GST, as the country strives to increase the share of gas in the total energy supply.

Conclusion

• Nation has achieved a lot in the energy sector in recent years which has propelled it to become one of the largest economies in the world.
• But to continue on this growth path, India’s energy policy needs to be pursued more inclusively in its domestic and international settings to address its fast-growing energy demand in a competitive geo-political environment.

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against 3 ordinances promulgated by the Centre back in June this year.  After the Monsoon Session of Parliament began this week, the government has introduced three Bills to replace these ordinances.

What are these ordinances?

1. The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020;
2. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020; and
3. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (It is the Bill replacing the third that has been passed in Lok Sabha)

Let us study their key features:

(1) The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020

• Trade of farmers’ produce: The Ordinance allows intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers’ produce outside: (i) the physical premises of market yards run by market committees formed under the state APMC Acts and (ii) other markets notified under the state APMC Acts.  Such trade can be conducted in an ‘outside trade area’, i.e., any place of production, collection, and aggregation of farmers’ produce including (i) farm gates, (ii) factory premises, (iii) warehouses, (iv) silos, and (v) cold storages.
• Electronic trading: The Ordinance permits the electronic trading of scheduled farmers’ produce (agricultural produce regulated under any state APMC Act) in the specified trade area. The following entities may establish and operate such platforms: (i) companies, partnership firms, or registered societies, having permanent account number under the Income Tax Act, 1961 or any other document notified by the central government, and (ii) a farmer producer organisation or agricultural cooperative society.
• Market fee abolished: The Ordinance prohibits state governments from levying any market fee, cess or levy on farmers, traders, and electronic trading platforms for the trade of farmers’ produce conducted in an ‘outside trade area’.

(2) The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020

• Farming agreement: The Ordinance provides for a farming agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce.  The minimum period of an agreement will be one crop season, or one production cycle of livestock.  The maximum period is five years, unless the production cycle is more than five years.
• Pricing of farming produce: The price of farming produce should be mentioned in the agreement.  For prices subjected to variation, a guaranteed price for the produce and a clear reference for any additional amount above the guaranteed price must be specified in the agreement.  Further, the process of price determination must be mentioned in the agreement.
• Dispute Settlement: A farming agreement must provide for a conciliation Board as well as a conciliation process for settlement of disputes.   If the dispute remains unresolved by the Board after thirty days, parties may approach the Sub-divisional Magistrate for resolution.  Parties will have a right to appeal to an Appellate Authority (presided by collector or additional collector) against decisions of the Magistrate.  Both the Magistrate and Appellate Authority will be required to dispose of a dispute within thirty days from the receipt of application.  They may impose certain penalties on the party contravening the agreement.

(3) The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020

• Regulation of food items: The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 empowers the central government to designate certain commodities (such as food items, fertilizers, and petroleum products) as essential commodities.  The Ordinance provides that the central government may regulate the supply of certain food items including cereals, pulses, potatoes, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils, only under extraordinary circumstances. These include (i) war, (ii) famine, (iii) extraordinary price rise and (iv) natural calamity of grave nature.
• Stock limit: The Ordinance requires that the imposition of any stock limit on agricultural produce must be based on price rise.  A stock limit may be imposed only if there is: (i) a 100% increase in the retail price of horticultural produce; and (ii) a 50% increase in the retail price of non-perishable agricultural food items.

A Backgrounder: Long awaited APMC reforms

• Agricultural markets in India are mainly regulated by state Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) laws.  APMCs were set up with the objective of ensuring fair trade between buyers and sellers for effective price discovery of farmers’ produce.
• APMCs can:
• regulate the trade of farmers’ produce by providing licenses to buyers, commission agents, and private markets,
• levy market fees or any other charges on such trade, and
• provide necessary infrastructure within their markets to facilitate the trade

Issues with the APMCs

• The Standing Committee on Agriculture (2018-19) identified some issues includes: (i) most APMCs have a limited number of traders operating, which leads to cartelization and reduces competition, and (ii) undue deductions in the form of commission charges and market fees.
• Traders, commission agents, and other functionaries organise themselves into associations, which do not allow easy entry of new persons into market yards, stifling competition.
• The Acts are highly restrictive in promotion of multiple channels of marketing (such as more buyers, private markets, direct sale to businesses and retail consumers, and online transactions) and competition in the system.
• During 2017-18, the central government released the model APMC and contract farming Acts to allow restriction-free trade of farmers’ produce, promote competition through multiple marketing channels, and promote farming under pre-agreed contracts.

Why were the ordinances promulgated?

• The Ordinances collectively seek to-
• facilitate barrier-free trade of farmers’ produce outside the markets notified under the various state APMC laws
• define a framework for contract farming and
• impose stock limits on agricultural produce only if there is a sharp increase in retail prices
• The three Ordinances together aim to increase opportunities for farmers to enter long term sale contracts, increase the availability of buyers, and permits buyers to purchase farm produce in bulk.

Causes of nationwide dissent

(1) No consultation with stakeholders

• The attempt to pass the Bills without proper consultation adds to the mistrust among various stakeholders including State governments.
• The ruling government could have waited for the Parliament session, held discussions with all political parties before arriving at a decision.
• Farmer organisations see these Bills as an attempt to weaken the APMCs and eventual withdrawal of the Minimum Support Prices (MSP).

(2) Issue over trade and MSP guarantee

• While farmers are protesting against all three ordinances, their objections are mostly against the provisions of the first.
• Their concerns are mainly about sections relating to “trade area”, “trader”, “dispute resolution” and “market fee” in the first ordinance.
• In effect, existing mandis established under APMC Acts have been excluded from the definition of trade area under the new legislation.
• According to the ordinance, any trader with a PAN card can buy the farmers’ produce in the trade area.
• In the present mandi system, arhatiyas (commission agents) have to get a licence to trade in a mandi.
• Critics view the dismantling of the monopoly of the APMCs as a sign of ending the assured procurement of food grains at minimum support prices (MSP). To the Centre’s ‘one nation, one market’ call, critics have sought ‘one nation, one MSP’.

(3) Legacy concerns

• The Bills gives no assurance to the poor, small and marginal farmers of India (constituting over 85 per cent of India’s farmers) of protection of their interests, their livelihoods, and their future.
• Critics argue that such legislation will let the farmers falling into the clutches of the monopolistic big corporates.
• Lofty recommendations have been made several times in the past, including by the Swaminathan Committee, which suggested the removal of the mandi tax, creation of a single market and facilitating contract farming
• However, no efforts have taken place for implementing these basic reforms over the years.

(4) Fear of food insecurity

• Punjab CM, on the easing of regulation of food items, said, it would lead to exporters, processors and traders hoarding farm produce during the harvest season, when prices are generally lower, and releasing it later when prices increase.
• This could undermine food security since the States would have no information about the availability of stocks within the State.

(5) Constitutional issues raised

• Since agriculture and markets are State subjects – entry 14 and 28 respectively in List II – the ordinances are being seen as a direct encroachment upon the functions of the States and against the spirit of cooperative federalism enshrined in the Constitution.
• The Centre, however, argued that trade and commerce in food items is part of the concurrent list, thus giving it constitutional propriety.
• The bills invite valid opposition: one, infraction of the states’ right to decide on intra-state commerce in agriculture, and two, officer-led dispute settlement outside the ambit of judicial review.

What are the promising features of these bills?

• The new legislations would create an ecosystem where farmers and traders would enjoy the freedom of choice in the sale and purchase of agri-produce.
• It would also promote barrier-free interstate or intrastate trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under the state agricultural produce marketing legislations.
• The bills would also open up more choices for farmers, reduce marketing costs and help them in getting better prices.
• At the same time, it would also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices and consumers of regions with shortages, lower prices.
• The bill has also proposed an Electronic Trading Transaction Platform to ensure seamless electronic trade and the farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their products under this Act.
• Interestingly, the bill aims for ‘One India, One Agriculture Market’ and also creates additional trading opportunities outside the APMC market yards to help farmers get remunerative prices due to the additional competition.
• The new laws are not shutting down APMC mandis, nor are they implying that MSPs will not be functional.
• This would supplement the existing Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement system, which also provides a stable income to farmers.

Still, why are the farmers fuming?

There has been bipartisan consensus over the last two decades or so—both the UPA and the NDA governments have tried and failed to convince state governments to reform APMC Acts, notwithstanding periodic manifesto promises and model APMC Acts.

They failed with all approaches, trying to link financial support to agriculture based on reforms. The present crisis created the perfect window to usher in these transformative reforms.

People on both sides of the divide are saturated with such reformative measures and have arrived at the commonsensical benefits that would be ushered in as well as the risks.

What lies ahead

• Accelerating research and academic excellence can bring in the ‘best in class’ technologies and can multiply farmers’ incomes.
• As far as the commission agents are concerned, the governments should work on a clear roadmap to modernize them by facilitating them in providing value-added services. They could be leveraged to set-up grading and sorting, warehousing, cold chains and food processing infrastructure. This way, it is a win-win-win for the state government, farmers and the commission agents.
• Soil health improvement and water conservation measures should be the top priority for the governments to enhance farm productivity.
• Similarly, by diversifying into high-value crops such as vegetables and fruit, India could become the food- processing hub for the world. Farmers have to be made part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (FaME—Farmers as Micro-Entrepreneurs).

Conclusion

• A lot of the success of these bills depends on trust and consensus. In the end, what will determine the results of this latest set of reforms will be their implementation.
• There is genuine uncertainty over what private procurement will mean. Will it mean greater corporate power over farmers, possibly unhealthy monopolies or duopolies? Will they be harder to negotiate with than a state monopoly?
• Leveraging the reforms and moving forward rather is the most feasible solution than to protest amid the pandemic.
• What farmers need and are asking for is legally guaranteed remunerative prices. If the Bills are perceived of good intent, then the government should not shy away from a proper parliamentary scrutiny of all its details.
• Political parties that are opposing these Bills should coordinate better keeping farmers’ interests in the forefront, and not their party politics.

References

Agricultural Sector and Marketing Reforms – eNAM, Model APMC Act, Eco Survey Reco, etc.

https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/farmers-produce-trade-and-commerce-promotion-and-facilitation-bill-2020

https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-the-farm-bills-and-quandary/360640

https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/article31951413.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/explainer-why-are-the-agriculture-bills-being-opposed/article32618641.ece

In view of the pandemic and a truncated Monsoon Session, Parliament has said no to Question Hour and curtailed Zero Hour. The opposition MPs have criticised the move, saying they will lose the right to question the government. A look at what happens in the two Houses during Question Hour and Zero Hour:

What is Question Hour?

• It is during this one hour that Members of Parliament ask questions of ministers and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries.
• The questions that MPs ask are designed to elicit information and trigger suitable action by ministries.

And what is Zero Hour?

• While Question Hour is strictly regulated, Zero Hour is an Indian parliamentary innovation.  The phrase does not find mention in the rules of procedure.
• The concept of Zero Hour started organically in the first decade of Indian Parliament, when MPs felt the need for raising important constituency and national issues.
• During the initial days, Parliament used to break for lunch at 1 pm. Therefore, the opportunity for MPs to raise national issues without an advance notice became available at 12 pm and could last for an hour until the House adjourned for lunch.
• This led to the hour being popularly referred to as Zero Hour and the issues being raised during this time as Zero Hour submissions.

A historical backgrounder

• The right to question the executive has been exercised by members of the House from the colonial period.
• The first Legislative Council in British India under the Charter Act, 1853, showed some degree of independence by giving members the power to ask questions to the executive.
• Later, the Indian Council Act of 1861 allowed members to elicit information by means of questions.
• However, it was the Indian Council Act, 1892, which formulated the rules for asking questions including short notice questions.
• The next stage of the development of procedures related to questions came up with the framing of rules under the Indian Council Act, 1909, which incorporated provisions for asking supplementary questions by members.
• The Montague-Chelmsford reforms brought forth a significant change in 1919 by incorporating a rule that the first hour of every meeting was earmarked for questions. Parliament has continued this tradition.

How is Question Hour regulated?

• Parliament has comprehensive rules for dealing with every aspect of Question Hour.
• And the presiding officers of the two houses are the final authority with respect to the conduct of Question Hour.
• For example, usually Question Hour is the first hour of a parliamentary sitting.

What kinds of questions are asked?

• Parliamentary rules provide guidelines on the kind of questions that can be asked by MPs.
• Questions have to be limited to 150 words. They have to be precise and not too general.
• The question should also be related to an area of responsibility of the Government of India. Questions should not seek information about matters that are secret or are under adjudication before courts.
• It is the presiding officers of the two Houses who finally decide whether a question raised by an MP will be admitted for answering by the government.

How frequently is Question Hour held?

• The process of asking and answering questions starts with identifying the days on which Question Hour will be held.
• At the beginning of Parliament in 1952, Lok Sabha rules provided for Question Hour to be held every day. Rajya Sabha, on the other hand, had a provision for Question Hour for two days a week.
• A few months later, this was changed to four days a week. Then from 1964, Question Hour was taking place in Rajya Sabha on every day of the session.

How does Parliament manage to get so many questions answered?

• To streamline the answering of questions raised by MPs, the ministries are put into five groups.
• Each group answers questions on the day allocated to it. For example, in the last session, on Thursday the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Labour, Housing, and Youth Affairs and Sports were answering questions posed by Lok Sabha MPs.
• This grouping of ministries is different for the two Houses so that ministers can be present in one house to answer questions.
• MPs can specify whether they want an oral or written response to their questions. They can put an asterisk against their question signifying that they want the minister to answer that question on the floor.
• These are referred to as starred questions. After the minister’s response, the MP who asked the question and other MPs can also ask a follow-up question.
• Seasoned parliamentarians choose to ask an oral question when the answer to the question will put the government in an uncomfortable position.

How do ministers prepare their answers?

• Ministries receive the questions 15 days in advance so that they can prepare their ministers for Question Hour.
• They also have to prepare for sharp follow-up questions they can expect to be asked in the House.
• Government’s officers are close at hand in a gallery so that they can pass notes or relevant documents to support the minister in answering a question.
• When MPs are trying to gather data and information about government functioning, they prefer the responses to such queries in writing.
• These questions are referred to as unstarred questions. The responses to these questions are placed on the table of Parliament.

Are the questions only for ministers?

• MPs usually ask questions to hold ministers accountable. But the rules also provide them with a mechanism for asking their colleagues a question.
• Such a question should be limited to the role of an MP relating to a Bill or a resolution being piloted by them or any other matter connected with the functioning of the House for which they are responsible.
• If the presiding officer allows, MPs can also ask a question to a minister at a notice period shorter than 15 days.

Have there been previous sessions without Question Hour?

• Parliamentary records show that during the Chinese aggression in 1962, the Winter Session was advanced.
• The sitting of the House started at 12 pm and there was no Question Hour held. Before the session, changes were made limiting the number of questions.
• Thereafter, following an agreement between the ruling and the Opposition parties, it was decided to suspend Question Hour.

Why did the government cancel the Question Hour?

• The delay in holding the monsoon session due to consistent lockdowns has halted the passing of several bills and financial grants due to budgetary overlays.
• The limited consultation with Opposition leaders, the dismissive approach to Question Hour without bearing better fruits is one of the decisive factors for the termination of this session.
• The continued practice of pushing forward bills without committee scrutiny and the use of ordinances for issues that are not emergencies that require executive action all add to this impression.

Why is the Question Hour necessary?

• The Question Hour has deepened the parliamentary accountability of government.
• The Government is put on its trial during the Question Hour and every Minister whose turn it is to answer questions has to stand up and answer for his or his administration’s acts of omission and commission.
• Through the Question Hour the Government is able to quickly feel the pulse of the nation and adapt its policies and actions accordingly.
• It is through questions in the Parliament that the Government remains in touch with the people in as much as members are enabled thereby to ventilate the grievances of the public in matters concerning the administration.
• Questions enable Ministries to gauge the popular reaction to their policy and administration.
• Questions bring to the notice of the Ministers many loopholes which otherwise would have gone unnoticed.
• Sometimes questions may lead to the appointment of a Commission, a Court of Inquiry or even Legislation when matters raised by Members are grave enough to agitate the public mind and are of wide public importance.

Though not enough productive

• The Rajya Sabha’s research wing has pulled out statistics from the last five years which reveal that nearly 60% of the time allotted for the hour has been lost due to disruptions.
• Between 2015-19, Rajya Sabha held a total of 332 sittings.
• Out of the 332 hours available for Question Hour (one hour per sitting), only 133 hours and 17 minutes were spent raising questions and obtaining oral replies from the concerned Ministers.

Criticisms of the move

• The move to hold parliament session with question hour seems to be guided by the view that Parliament is a forum transaction of government business.
• The latest move downplays Parliament’s role as a platform for the people’s representatives to ask questions and the Opposition to hold the government to account.
• Importance of zero hour and question has become very crucial at this juncture, as in in the name of controlling the Covid pandemic, the executive is appropriating more powers, So many guidelines, rules and regulations have been issued without the sanction of Parliament.
• There has been greater tendency on the part of the Government to short circuit debate and deliberation.

Way forward

• One can imagine innumerable ways in which proceedings in Parliament could be modified to reduce the necessity to touch surfaces and to maintain social distance.
• The pressing need is for the parliamentarians and the ministers to re-configure themselves.
• One of the recommendations made by Justice Chagla was that “in a parliamentary form of Government, Parliament should be taken into confidence by the Minister at every stage, and all the relevant materials must be placed before it.”
• Hence there can be no way ahead without holding the very instruments of democratic functioning.

Conclusion

• Asking questions is the very essence of democracy.  National parliaments do not dispense with questions even at the time of war.
• Democracy is judged by the debate it encourages and sustains. The government in a democracy performs to honour its manifesto and the Opposition questions to underscore its own.
• The questions are asked from civil society platforms, the mass media, community gatherings and ultimately within the highest temple of democracy, the legislature itself.
• If questions are disallowed in Parliament, many more will be asked outside it. If the questions can lead to greater unity of national purpose, the government will do itself and the nation a great injustice by attempting to stifle them.
• Cancelling Question Hour erodes constitutional mandate of parliamentary oversight over executive action. However, it is a test of time which will prove the efficacy of this decision in the coming future.

References

https://www.prsindia.org/media/articles-by-prs-team/expert-explains-what-are-question-hour-and-zero-hour-and-why-they-matter

https://www.bloombergquint.com/opinion/what-a-parliament-session-without-question-hour-would-mean

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/60-of-question-hour-lost-due-to-disruptions/article32515906.ece

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/parliament-session-coronavirus-question-hour-6582129/

https://www.livelaw.in/columns/importance-of-question-hour-in-a-parliamentary-democracy-162728