CONTEXT

• Following the submission of the draft National Education Policy 2019, there were protests against the three language formula.
• The controversial provision was thus revised by Dr Kasturirangan-led committee that submitted it.
• From the perspective of higher education, its main strength is that it has got its basics right — it appears to have a reasonable understanding of existing problems, and offers a plausible picture of possible solutions that may take us towards a better future. Indeed, the DNEP comes as a refreshing shock to academics long accustomed to policy documents that are rooted in a stubborn denial of basic ground realities.

Why a new education policy?

• The extant National Policy on Education, 1986 modified in 1992 required changes to meet the contemporary and futuristic needs of India’s large youth population.
• A New Education Policy is designed to meet the changing dynamics of the requirements in terms of quality education, innovation and research.
• The policy aims at making India a knowledge superpower by equipping students with the necessary skills and knowledge.
• It also focusses on eliminating the shortage of manpower in science, technology, academics and industry.
• The Draft Policy is built on the foundational pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability.

Key features

• Ministry – The committee has proposed to rename the Ministry of Human Resource Development as Ministry of Education (MoE).
• Curriculum – In school education, a major reconfiguration of the curricular and pedagogical structure was proposed.
• The policy calls for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) as an integral part of school education.
• A 5+3+3+4 curricular and pedagogical structure based on cognitive and socio-emotional developmental stages of children was proposed.

It consists of –

• 1. Foundational Stage (age 3-8 yrs): 3 years of pre-primary plus Grades 1-2
  2. Preparatory Stage (8-11 years): Grades 3-5
  3. Middle Stage (11-14 years): Grades 6-8
  4. Secondary Stage (14-18 years): Grades 9-12
• The policy also seeks to reduce the content load in the school education curriculum.
• There will be no hard separation of learning areas in terms of curricular, co-curricular or extracurricular areas.
• All subjects, including arts, music, crafts, sports, yoga, community service, etc will be part of the curricula.
• The policy promotes active pedagogy to focus on the development of core capacities and life skills, including 21st-century skills.
• RTE Act – The committee recommends Extension of Right to Education Act 2009 to cover children of ages 3 to 18 (currently, 6-14).
• Teacher education – The committee proposes for massive transformation in teacher education.
• It calls for shutting down sub-standard teacher education institutions.
• It proposes moving all teacher preparation/education programmes into large multidisciplinary universities/colleges.
• The 4-year integrated stage-specific B.Ed. the programme will eventually be the minimum degree qualification for teachers.
• Higher education – A restructuring of higher education institutions with three types of higher education institutions was proposed –

1. Type 1: Focused on world-class research and high-quality teaching
2. Type 2: Focused on high-quality teaching across disciplines with significant contribution to research
3. Type 3: High-quality teaching focused on undergraduate education

• This will be driven by two Missions -Mission Nalanda & Mission Takshashila.
• There will be re-structuring of Undergraduate programs such as BSc, BA, BCom, BVoc of 3 or 4 years duration and having multiple exits and entry options.
• Institution – A new apex body Rashtriya Shiksha Ayog is proposed.
• This is to enable a holistic and integrated implementation of all educational initiatives and programmatic interventions.
• The body will also coordinate efforts between the Centre and states.
• The National Research Foundation, an apex body, is proposed for creating a strong research culture.
• It will help build research capacity across higher education.
• The four functions of Standard Setting, Funding, Accreditation and Regulation will be separated and conducted by independent bodies.
• National Higher Education Regulatory Authority will be the only regulator for all higher education including professional education.
• The policy proposes to create an accreditation eco-system led by a revamped NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council).
• Professional Standard Setting Bodies for each area of professional education was proposed.
• UGC is to be transformed into Higher Education Grants Commission (HEGC).
• The private and public institutions will be treated on par, and education will remain a ‘not for profit’ activity.
• Besides the above, the committee also recommended several new policy initiatives for –
  1. promoting the internationalization of higher education
  2. strengthening quality open and distance learning
  3. technology integration at all levels of education
  4. facilitating adult and lifelong learning
  5. enhancing the participation of under-represented groups
  6. eliminating gender, social category and regional gaps in education outcomes
• Language – Promotion of Indian and classical languages and setting up three new National Institutes for Pali, Persian and Prakrit were proposed.
• Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation (IITI) has been recommended.
• The policy called for the proper implementation of the three-language formula (dating back to 1968) in schools across the country.
• Accordingly, students in Hindi-speaking states should learn a modern Indian language, apart from Hindi and English.
• In non-Hindi-speaking states, students will have to learn Hindi along with the regional language and English.
• The controversial three language provision was, however, dropped after protests against it in many states.

Significance of DEP

• The draft has diagnosed the problems plaguing the sector, besides providing solutions to problems right from the pre-school level to doctoral studies.
• It recognizes there is a severe learning crisis and emphasizes the need to focus on building a foundation for reading and arithmetics from Class I onwards. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), which says that 50% of Class V students were unable to even read the text meant for students three levels below, proves that Indian children have been lagging in basic learning and numeracy skills.
• The draft suggests that there should be dedicated arithmetic and reading hours every day in primary schools and advises introduction of specialized sessions to hone logical thinking and language skills.
• “The draft, for the first time, has rightly suggested solutions for early childhood and primary education. The focus on basic understanding of language and mathematics will help in improving the quality.
• Restructuring of the higher education system into Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3.: Tier 1 includes research universities focusing equally on research and teaching, Tier 2 includes teaching universities focusing primarily on teaching; and Tier 3 includes colleges focusing only on teaching at undergraduate levels. All such institutions will gradually move towards full autonomy – academic, administrative, and financial. The idea is to spread ‘research culture’ at the undergraduate level.
• The policy also talks about National Scholarship Fund to financially support students for higher education.
• Promotion of classical and regional languages have been emphasised upon.
• The policy also proposes to increase the class of compulsory education up to grade 12 (age-18).
• The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act – RTE, 2009 (represents Article 21-A of the Indian Constitution) made education, a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14.

Positives of proposals

1.Liberal and holistic – The most overarching is the acknowledgement that all education is, and ought to be envisioned as, “liberal” and holistic.

2. Public education – There is a strong re-affirmation of the state’s commitment to public education, much needed at a time when privatisation has seemed to be the overriding objective of governments.

3. Autonomy – Also welcome is the explicit assurance that institutional autonomy is not just a polite term for financial abandonment.

4. Ad- hoc and contractual appointments – Finally, the recognition that rampant resort to ad hoc and contractual appointments has crippled higher education and must be stopped immediately will surely bring relief to teachers’ organisations agitating tirelessly on this very issue.

5.Core Vision – The core vision based on a tripartite division of higher education into teaching universities, research universities, and optimally-sized multidisciplinary undergraduate colleges is sound.

6. National Research Foundation – The diagnoses and prescriptions for the key areas of governance and regulation are workable as initial starting points, as is the plan to create a National Research Foundation separate from regulatory bodies.

Issues in the Draft Policy

• There is less consensus on the integration of foundational learning with schooling. In Europe, compulsory education only begins at the age of 6. In certain countries like Denmark, Germany and Finland, compulsory education begins at the age of 7.
• There needs to be a discussion on whether literacy and numeracy skills should be developed during the time of foundational learning.
• In the draft policy, there is no mention of how the State regulatory body will regulate the government institutions.
• A constitutional amendment is required to change the limits for compulsory schooling in the country. Also, increasing the limit on higher side i.e. up to the age of 18 is not consistent with the limits across the world. Also, it is a very expensive proposition.
• There is not enough capacity in the country to provide for teachers’ education. Also, M.Ed has been given less importance under the policy. The focus has been more on B.Ed.
• The draft lacks operational details and does not offer insights into how the policy will be funded. The centre must also ensure that the policy does not face litigation, state resistance, and operational challenges on the ground.
• Discrimination and Exclusion –
• It is deeply disappointing that the DNEP has evaded this issue, with the question of Under-Represented Groups (URGs) making no appearance outside school education.
• Caste discrimination has long been an important issue in higher education and has received intense public attention in recent times, from Rohith Vemula to Payal Tadavi.
• Moreover, national statistics unambiguously establish that Persons with Disability and Muslims are by far the leading URGs in higher education.
• Protecting public higher educational institutions from undue governmental interference
• The proposed institutional framework for higher education — with the National Education Commission chaired by the prime minister at its apex — clearly implies even more governmental control with significantly higher levels of centralisation than what is already the case.
• The DNEP should have included — but does not — a forthright proposal for dealing with this unavoidable problem.

Way Forward

• Education is a concurrent list subject. Apart from a consensus between the centre and the states, all the other stakeholders including institutions, public and academicians should also be consulted.
• Natal and prenatal studies should also be included in the country’s education system to ensure awareness about the issues related to mother and infants, considering the high MMR and IMR in the country.
• There should be a course of Masters of Teacher Education. Also, there is a need to build good teacher training institutions.
• The education policy should maintain a symbiotic relationship between the different regions of the country through the study of different languages.
• The quality of education provided in the country shall be such that it not only delivers basic literacy and numeracy but also creates an analytical environment in the country.
• It does look forward-looking, but what the final draft needs to do is differentiate between deregulation and liberalisation. The incentive for the private sector to invest, grow and stand on quality parameters needs to be clearly articulated.

 

Nitrogen Pollution

• While nitrogen is the dominant gas in the atmosphere, it is inert and doesn’t react.
• However, when it is released as part of compounds from agriculture, sewage and biological waste, nitrogen is considered reactive.
• It may be polluting and even exert a potent greenhouse gas effect.
• Nitrous oxide (N2O) is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide but isn’t as prevalent in the atmosphere.
• Other than air pollution, nitrogen is also linked to the loss of biodiversity, the pollution of rivers and seas, ozone depletion, health, economy, and livelihoods.
• Nitrogen pollution is caused, for example, by emissions from chemical fertilisers, livestock manure and burning fossil fuels.
• Gases such as ammonia (NH3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) contribute to poor air quality and can aggravate respiratory and heart conditions, leading to millions of premature deaths across the world.
• Nitrate from chemical fertilisers, manure and industry pollutes the rivers and seas, posing a health risk for humans, fish, coral and plant life.

Nitrogen: A limited necessity

• Nitrogen is essential to all life on Earth as it forms an important component of life-building and propagating biochemical molecules like proteins.
• But overuse in agriculture in the form of fertilisers and other fields have made this important element more bane than boon.
• Some of these forms of nitrogen like N₂O can have far reaching impacts for humanity.
• N₂O is 300 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Nitrogen emission in India

• NOx emissions grew at 52% from 1991 to 2001 and 69% from 2001 to 2011 in India.
• Agriculture is the largest contributor to nitrogen emissions.
• Non-agricultural emissions of nitrogen oxides and nitrous oxide were growing rapidly, with sewage and fossil-fuel burning — for power, transport and industry — leading the trend.

Nitrogen: The “new carbon” for India

• In 2017, a large team of Indian scientists had come out with The Indian Nitrogen Assessment (INA).
• India had become the third country/entity after the United States and the European Union to have assessed the environmental impact of nitrogen on their respective regions comprehensively.
• The INA shows that agriculture is the main source of nitrogen pollution in India. Within agriculture, cereals pollute the most.
• Rice and wheat take up the maximum cropped area in India at 36.95 million hectares (ha) and 26.69 million ha respectively.

Overuse of Fertilizers

• India consumes 17 Mt (million tonnes) of nitrogen fertiliser annually as per the data of the Fertiliser Association of India.
• Only 33 per cent of the nitrogen that is applied to rice and wheat through fertilisers is taken up by the plants in the form of nitrates (NO₃). This is called Nitrogen Use Efficiency or NUE.
• The remaining 67 per cent remains in the soil and seeps into the surrounding environment, causing a cascade of environmental and health impacts.

India is curious about it

• The Indian government is leading a resolution on nitrogen pollution in the UNEA in Nairobi that starts from this March 11.
• This is a historic event as India has never pushed for a resolution of such importance at any UN congregation before.
• And this has happened because India can now leverage its own nitrogen assessment and its strong support to South Asian and other regional assessments with a more inclusive approach.
• This would lead a process for faster global consensus and a more realistic programme of action.

How Nitrogen turned into pollutant from nutrient how it is affecting health and environment?

• Nitrogen is an inert gas that’s necessary for life. But we’re changing it into forms that are harmful, overloading the environment with it, and throwing the natural nitrogen cycle out of whack.
• Nitrogen compounds running off farmland have led to water pollution problems around the world, while nitrogen emissions from industry, agriculture and vehicles make a big contribution to air pollution.
• Over 80% of the nitrogen in soil is not utilised by humans. While over four-fifths of the nitrogen is used to feed livestock, only about six per cent reaches humans in case of non-vegetarian diet, as compared to the 20% that reaches the plate of a vegetarian.
• Nitrogen becomes a pollutant when it escapes into the environment and reacts with other organic compounds. It is either released into the atmosphere, gets dissolved in water sources such as rivers, lakes or groundwater, or remains in the soil. While it might lead to favourable growth of species that can utilise this nutrient, nitrogen as a pollutant is often detrimental to the environment and health.

 

Effects on health:

According to the World Health Organization, nitrate-contaminated drinking water can cause reduced blood function, cancer and endemic goiters. Surplus inputs of nitrogen compounds have been found to cause soil acidification. The lowering pH, as a result of the acidification, can lead to nutrient disorders and increased toxicity in plants. It may also affect natural soil decomposition.

 

Nitrogen pollution has a significant impact on the environment:

• It creates of harmful algal blooms and dead zones in our waterways and oceans; the algae produce toxins which are harmful to human and aquatic organisms (and indirectly affects fisheries and biodiversity in coastal areas).
• Contamination of drinking water. 10 million people in Europe are potentially exposed to drinking water with nitrate concentrations above recommended levels. This can have an adverse effect on human health.
• Food Security: Excessive nitrogen fertiliser application contributes to soil nutrient depletion. As the world needs to feed an ever growing population loss of arable land is major global problem.
• The release of Nitrous Oxide is essentially a greenhouse gas which is harmful to the environment.

About South Asian Nitrogen Hub (SANH)

• The South Asian Nitrogen Hub (SANH) is a major international research programme to tackle the challenge that nitrogen pollution poses in South Asia.
• The SANH will be established with funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under its Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
• 18 Indian research institutions are part of a group of 50 which have received £20 million funding from the United Kingdom Government.
• The SANH will study the impact of the different forms of pollution to form a coherent picture of the nitrogen cycle.
• In particular, it will look at nitrogen in agriculture in eight countries – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives.
• Its recommendations will support cleaner and more profitable farming, as well as industrial recycling of nitrogen, fostering development of a cleaner circular economy for nitrogen.

What are the challenges ahead?

• Nitrogen is crucial to food production in India, however, its excessive usage in agriculture has put us under serious risk.
• We cannot produce sufficient food to feed the entire nation without nitrogen, but at the same time, we cannot keep releasing a higher amount of nitrogen due to its polluting effects.
• Thus the challenge is to optimally utilize the nitrogen while reducing its negative impacts.

What is the way forward?

• Since the issue of nitrogen pollution starts to gain global attention, there have been innovations seeks to improve its efficiency by optimizing usage.
• A simpler method of minimizing nitrogen application in soil is Precision farming where small quantities of nitrogen are administered routinely rather than applying large doses uniformly across the field.
• Zero Budget Natural Farming which involves usage of locally available materials such as cow dung and cow urine to increase soil productivity and plant growth.
• Also, tablets and coated forms of nitrogen, when applies at the root level = release nutrients slowly to the crops.
  • Notably, Bangladesh has managed to improve the efficiency of nutrient uptake by plants by applying fertilizers through tablets.
  • A similar initiative has been taken in India with neem-coated urea.
• These methods combined with the organic fertilizers and optimal timing of application, sowing, and watering, have shown marked improvement over traditional efficiencies of nitrogen.

Developed regions such as the US and Europe have published detailed reports regarding nitrogen usage and pollution. However, India is nowhere near aggregating something similar to its own. Thus the Nitrogen pollution is the problem of improper management rather than inability. The costs of abating nitrogen pollution would be much lesser than the benefits to health and the environment.

 

Model Code of Conduct

What is MCC?

These are the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for conduct of political parties and candidates during elections mainly with respect to speeches, polling day, polling booths, election manifestos, processions and general conduct.

Aim: To ensure free and fair elections.

When it comes into force?

• The Model Code of Conduct comes into force immediately on announcement of the election schedule by the commission.
• Election Commission (EC) has announced that Model Code of Conduct comes into force immediately in states where legislative assemblies have been dissolved prematurely.
• The Code remains in force till the end of the electoral process.

Restrictions imposed under MCC

The MCC contains eight provisions dealing with general conduct, meetings, processions, polling day, polling booths, observers, the party in power, and election manifestos.

I. For Governments

• As soon as the code kicks in, the party in power whether at the Centre or in the States should ensure that it does not use its official position for campaigning.
• Hence, no policy, project or scheme can be announced that can influence the voting behaviour.
• The code also states that the ministers must not combine official visits with election work or use official machinery for the same.
• The ruling government cannot make any ad-hoc appointments in Government, Public Undertakings etc. which may influence the voters.
• Political parties or candidates can be criticised based only on their work record and no caste and communal sentiments can be used to lure voters.

II. For Political Parties

• The party must also avoid advertising at the cost of the public exchequer or using official mass media for publicity on achievements to improve chances of victory in the elections.
• The ruling party also cannot use government transport or machinery for campaigning.
• It should also ensure that public places such as maidans etc., for holding election meetings, and facilities like the use of helipads are provided to the opposition parties on the same terms and conditions on which they are used by the party in power.

III. Campaigning

• Holding public meetings during the 48-hour period before the hour fixed for the closing of the poll is also prohibited.
• The 48-hour period is known as “election silence”.
• The idea is to allow a voter a campaign-free environment to reflect on events before casting her vote
• The issue of advertisement at the cost of public exchequer in the newspapers and other media is also considered an offence.
• Mosques, Churches, Temples or any other places of worship should not be used for election propaganda. Bribing, intimidating or impersonation of voters is also barred.

Importance of MCC

• • Despite the fact that it emerged as a moral code for voluntary adherence, over the years the MCC has acquired ‘supplementary legality’
  • Since the MCC itself does not have the force of law, it is enforced through executive decision-making.
  • It remains, therefore, ambiguous and uneven as far as the modality of implementation and certainty of execution, are concerned.
  • Since 1991, the Model Code has come to be seen as an integral part of elections.
  • It was also during this period that the MCC experienced its passage from an ‘agreed set of dos and don’ts’ among political parties, to a measure directed at restraining the party in power.
  • James Lyngdoh, the CEC of India from 2001 to 2004, describes this transition as ‘pitching into the party in power’.

Effects of Application of MCC

1. The present code contains guidelines for general conduct of political parties and candidates (no attack on private life, no appeal to communal feelings, discipline and decorum in meetings, processions, guidelines for party in power – official machinery and facilities not to be used for electioneering, prohibition against Ministers and other authorities in announcing grants, new schemes etc.).
2. Ministers and those holding public offices are not allowed to combine official visits with electioneering tours.
3. Issue of advertisements at the cost of public exchequer is prohibited.
4. Grants, new schemes / projects cannot be announced. Even the schemes that may have been announced before the MCC came into force, but that has not actually taken off in terms of implementation on field are also required to be put on hold.
5. It is through such restrictions that the advantage of being in power is blunted and the contestants get the opportunity to fight on more or less equal terms.

What if violated?

• The ECI can issue a notice to a politician or a party for alleged breach of the MCC either on its own or on the basis of a complaint by another party or individual.
• Once a notice is issued, the person or party must reply in writing either accepting fault and tendering an unconditional apology or rebutting the allegation.
• In the latter case, if the person or party is found guilty subsequently, he/it can attract a written censure from the ECI — something that many see as a mere slap on the wrist.
• However, in extreme cases, like a candidate using money/liquor to influence votes or trying to divide voters in the name of religion or caste, the ECI can also order registration of a criminal case under IPC or IT Act.
• In case of a hate speech, a complaint can be filed under the IPC and CrPC; there are laws against the misuse of a religious place for seeking votes, etc.

Using powers under Art. 324

• The Commission rarely resorts to punitive action to enforce MCC, there is one recent example when unabated violations forced EC’s hand.
• During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the EC had banned a leader and now party president from campaigning in order to prevent them from further vitiating the poll atmosphere with their speeches.
• The Commission resorted to its extraordinary powers under Article 324 of the Constitution to impose the ban.
• It was only lifted once the leaders apologised and promised to operate within the Code.

Legal status of conduct. In what way can the MCC be made more effective?

• The Model Code of Conduct does not a have a statutory backing and it is more a consensus driven code arrived at after consultation with all political parties to ensure free and fair elections and to see that the ruling party does not misuse its dominant position.
• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice recommended in its 2013 report that statutory status be accorded to the MCC.
• The committee held that most of the stipulations of the MCC are already contained in various laws and are therefore enforceable like the violation of secrecy of voting, causing enmity among communities, the prohibition of public meetings 48 hours prior to the conclusion of polls, besides other offences, are covered by the Representation of People Act, 1951.
• Besides, impersonation at voting, offering inducements to voters, or accepting gratification to do something they never intended, amount to bribery under the Indian Penal Code.
• On the basis of the above, the Standing Committee contends that the MCC as a whole could not be construed merely as voluntary in its application. Furthermore, since most of its provisions are enforceable, the remaining stipulations in the MCC should also be accorded statutory backing.
• Another reason for the above recommendation by the Standing Committee is the absence of an immediate appeal mechanism against the decision of the returning officer to cancel the nomination of a candidate. In this case, the decision can only be challenged in the High Court after the announcements of election results.

What if given Statutory Backing?

• Both the ECI and several independent experts, believe that giving statutory backing to the MCC would only make the job of the Commission more difficult.
• This is because every alleged offence will then have to go to an appropriate court, and right up to the Supreme Court.
• Given the flaws of our legal system, election petitions filed decades ago are still pending before many High Courts — it is anybody’s guess what that situation might lead to.

The logic against Legal status to MCC

1. The decision making power will go to the Judiciary and thus the swiftness, expedition and promptness in dealing with the cases of violation of MCC will be gone.
2. If the model code of conduct is converted into a law, this would mean that a complaint would lie to the police/Magistrate. The procedures involved in judicial proceedings being what they are, a decision on such complaints would most likely come only long after the election is completed.
3. The legal codification of these norms would be a potential nightmare, exposing the entire electoral process to needless litigation. The broad objectives of MCC are best achieved by oversight of an impartial election watchdog.

Way Forward

• In the past, successive ECIs have elicited compliance by public censure and invoking sections of the IPC and the Representation of the Peoples Act.
• Elections have become the site of unprecedented display of money, muscle and technology as power.
• Its concentration in any party gives it extraordinary and unfair advantage in electoral competition.
• The ECI must guard against ceding the space which it has extracted and affirmed by innovatively enhancing the residuary powers given to it in Article 324 of the Constitution of India.

What is Nyay

• This would be a flat transfer of ₹6,000 a month to identified poor households.
• There has been little word on how the Congress expects to finance NYAY.
• A ballpark estimate of the fiscal expenditure, to transfer ₹72,000 every year to the poorest 20% of the approximately 25 crore Indian households, would be ₹3.6 lakh crore.
• This is twice the estimated amount set aside for food subsidy and five times that for fertilizer subsidy in the 2019-20 Union Budget.

Prospects Of NYAY

• An unconditional transfer of a specified minimum income support to the poor will go a long way in helping address immediate needs related to health, education and indebtedness.
• A large section of the targeted poor would include landless workers and marginal farmers in rural areas, and unemployed youth in families engaged in menial labour in urban areas.
• Besides shoring up income to meet such basic needs and pushing wages upwards, the transfer scheme can help spur demand and consumption in rural areas in particular.

Challenges in the scheme

• There are disincentives inherent in the scheme as well.
• A section of the beneficiaries could withdraw themselves from employment.
• this could be mitigated by the expected overall spur in demand in the economy through consumption, and by the rise in real wages consequent to the shrinking of the labour market.

The idea of a minimum income guarantee (MIG) has caught up with political parties. With the promise of the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) by the Congress party, it is clear that the MIG is going to be a major political issue for the coming general election.

What is MIG?

• A MIG requires the government to pay the targeted set of citizens a fixed amount of money on a regular basis.

Income guarantee schemes at present

• A limited version of the MIG in the form of the PM KISAN Yojana is already being implemented by the NDA government at the Centre.
• State governments in Odisha and Telangana have their own versions of the MIG.

Concerns regarding such income guarantee scheme

• Is there a case for additional spending of such a large sum on the poor? The answer is yes.
• Can government finances afford it? No.
• Even if the government can mobilise the required sum, is the scheme a good way of spending money on the poor? No.

The situation of the marginalised section

A.Situation of farmers

• Many landless labourers, agricultural workers and marginal farmers suffer from multi-dimensional poverty.
• Benefits of high economic growth during the last three decades have not percolated to these groups.
• Welfare schemes have also failed to bring them out of destitution.
• They have remained the poorest of Indians.

B.Workers

• Contract and informal sector workers in urban areas face a similar problem.
• Due to rapid mechanisation of low-skill jobs in the construction and retail sectors, employment prospects for them appear increasingly dismal.

Problems faced by the marginalised section

• These groups are forced to borrow from moneylenders and adhatiyas (middlemen) at usurious rates of 24-60% per annum.
• For instance, for marginal and small farmers, institutional lending accounts for only about 30% of their total borrowing.
• The corresponding figure for landless agricultural workers is even worse at 15%.

The relevance of Additional Government spending

• There is a strong case for direct income transfers to these groups.
• The additional income can reduce their indebtedness and help them get by without falling into the clutches of the moneylender.

Constraints due to limited finances

• However, the fiscal space is limited.
• No government can afford it unless several existing welfare schemes are converted into direct income transfers, or the fiscal deficit is allowed to shoot up way above its existing level, 3.4% the GDP.

Effects of income guarantee

1. Positives

A.On Poverty–

• On the one hand, income transfers will surely reduce income inequalities and help bring a large number of households out of the poverty trap or prevent them from falling into it in the event of shocks such as illness or death of an earner.
• The poor spend most of their income, and a boost in their income will provide a boost to economic activities by increasing overall demand.

B. On workers

• In principle, the income supplement can come in handy as interest-free working capital for several categories of beneficiaries such as fruit and vegetable vendors and small artisans, and promote their businesses and employment.

C. On health and education

• Studies show that even a small income supplement can improve nutrient intake at high levels of impoverishment.
• Besides, it can increase school attendance for students coming from poor households.
• This would mean improved health and educational outcomes, which in turn will make the working population more productive.
• Moreover, with a modest income support the risk of beneficiaries opting out of the workforce will also be small.
• Besides, a moderate income support can be extended to a larger set of poor households. For the lowest 40% (about 10 crore households), income is less than their consumption expenditure.

2.Negatives-

• On the other hand, large income transfers can be inflationary, which will hurt the poor more than the rich.
• At the same time, large cash transfers can result in withdrawal of beneficiaries from the labour force.
• A MIG can also provide legitimacy to the state’s withdrawal of provisions of the basic services.

Identifying beneficiaries

• The SECC along with the Agriculture Census of 2015-16 can help identify a larger set of poor based on verifiable criteria; namely, multidimensional poverty, landlessness and the marginal farmer.
• Together, these criteria cover the bottom 40%, approximately 10 crore households.
• Drawing upon the experiences with the poor-centric welfare schemes such as MNREGA, Saubhagya and Ujjwala and PM-KISAN, datasets can be prepared and used to update the list of needy households.
• For these 10 crore households, to start with, the scheme will require ₹1.5 lakh crore per annum.
• Nonetheless, the required amount is beyond the Centre’s fiscal capacity at the moment.
• Therefore, the cost will have to be shared by the States. Still the scheme would have to be rolled out in phases, as was done for MGNREGA.

Way Forward

• All considered, no income transfer scheme can be a substitute for universal basic services
• The direct income support to the poor can deliver the intended benefits only if it comes as a supplement to the public services such as primary health and education.
• This means that direct transfers should not be at the expense of public services for primary health and education.
• Moreover, universal health and life insurance are equally important, and so is the case with crop insurance.
• Each year, medical shocks and crop failures push many families into the poverty trap.
• The scope of Ayushman Bharat needs to be expanded to include outdoor patient treatments. The PM Fasal Bima Yojana can be made more comprehensive by providing free and wider insurance coverage.

 

CONTEXT

India has tested the Anti-Satellite System(A-SAT) from Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, an island off the coast of Odisha.

• The test was named as Mission Shakti.
• It has successfully destroyed a live satellite in the Low Earth Orbit(an altitude of 300 km).
• With this test India is now in the league of three countries after the U.S., Russia, and China to have such technology.

What Is ASAT?

• It is missile-based system to attack moving satellites.
• It is of 2 kinds— based on launching from the ground or from planes.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has -developed Anti-satellite (ASAT)completely indigenously.

Mission Shakti

• While Mission Shakti may have targeted an object in outer space, India has long developed the ability to intercept incoming missiles.
• In 2011, a modified Prithvi missile mimicked the trajectory of a ballistic missile with a 600-km range.
• The DRDO-developed Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Interceptor Missile successfully engaged an Indian orbiting target satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in a ‘Hit to Kill’ mode.
• The interceptor missile was a three-stage missile with two solid rocket boosters.

What are low earth orbit satellites?

• The Indian satellite that was shot down was a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite.
• These are satellites roughly at an altitude of 2,000 kilometres from the earth and that’s the region where the majority of satellites are concentrated.

ASAT through history

• ASAT is the technological capability to hit and destroy satellites in space through missiles launched from the ground.
• ASAT weapon systems have a long history and were a product of the Cold War hostilities between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• They came back into popular currency after China conducted an anti-satellite missile test on Jan 2007.
• The target was a Chinese weather satellite — the FY-1C – that sailed at an altitude of 865 km. (537 mi).
• A year later, the US launched ‘Operation Burnt Frost,’ the code name to intercept and destroy a non-functioning satellite named USA-193.

Why target satellites?

• Satellites are extremely critical infrastructure of any country these days. A large number of crucial applications are now satellite-based.
• These include navigation systems, communication networks, broadcasting, banking systems, stock markets, weather forecasting, disaster management, and military applications etc.
• Destroying a satellite would render these applications useless.
• It can cripple enemy infrastructure, and bring it down on knees, without causing any threat to human lives.

The Significance of the test

• Ministry of External Affairs describes it as a ‘credible deterrence’ against attacks on India’s growing number of space assets.
• Although only three other countries, the U.S., Russia, and China, have previously demonstrated this capability, it is possible to surmise that countries with long-range missiles could do the same with equal effectiveness.
• But India, surely, is staking a forward claim as a space weapons power.

1. A message to the world

• While the government has conceded that India has long had ASAT capabilities, this is the country’s first demonstration to the world.
• It has shown that it is capable of bringing down a satellite, and disrupting communication.
• Because the test was carried out on a satellite placed in the low-earth orbit, one might question whether India can hit any satellite.
• Targeting satellites in the higher orbits, however, is only a matter of scale of powering the rockets enough to go deeper in the space.

2. It might propel Arms Race in the neighbourhood

• This might lead to its none-too-friendly neighbour Pakistan into a competitive frenzy.
• Also, in the absence of a credible threat to India’s space assets from China or any other country with Anti-Satellite missile capabilities, whether the ‘deterrence’ sought to be achieved by this test would lead to a more stable strategic security environment is not certain.

3.Concerns with the timing of test and elections

• But, within India, the timing of the test, when the country is already in election mode, does raise concerns whether this was aimed at the domestic constituency.
• The Election Commission is now seized of the question whether the Prime Minister might have violated the Model Code of Conduct.
• If it does find the timing amiss, the government could be in for some serious embarrassment.

4.The problem of space debris

• Anything launched into the space remains in space, almost forever, unless it is specifically brought down or slowly disintegrates over decades or centuries.
• Satellites that are past their life and are no longer required also remain in space, orbiting aimlessly in some orbit.
• According to the NASA, there were 19,137 man-made objects in space that were large enough to be tracked.
• These included active and inactive satellites, rockets and their parts, and other small fragments.
• A satellite that is destroyed by a missile disintegrates into small pieces, and adds to the space debris.
• The threat from the space debris is that it could collide with the operational satellites and render them dysfunctional.

Outer Space Treaty of 1967

• The Outer Space Treaty, to which India is a signatory, prohibits countries from placing into orbit around the Earth “any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction”.
• Among its principles, it bars states party to the treaty from placing weapons of mass destruction in Earth orbit, installing them on the Moon or any other celestial body, or otherwise stationing them in outer space.
• The moon and other celestial bodies shall be used by all state parties to the treaty exclusively for peaceful purposes, says the treaty.

Indian stance on Claims Of violating Space Treaty

• There are at least four more multilateral treaties that deal with specific concepts agreed to in the Outer Space Treaty. None of these, however, prohibits the kind of test that India carried.
• India believes in peaceful use of the common outer space that belongs to humanity.
• India is not in violation of any international law or treaty to which it is a party or any national obligation.
• The MEA said the A-SAT test was not directed against any country and that India plans to play a role in future in drafting global laws on prevention of arms race in outer space.
• As is mandatory for any missile test, India did issue a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to airline authorities across the world informing them about an impending missile test.
• MEA reiterated India’s support of Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) in the Conference on Disarmament “where it has been on the agenda since 1982.

Present global space architecture

• There is no global regulatory regime to address the growing militarisation in space.
• Last year, at the UN Disarmament Commission, India expressed concern about the “weaponisation” of outer space, and sought collective action to secure space-based assets.
• In this regulatory vacuum, India has legitimate reasons to develop deterrence for the security of its space-based assets.

Need For formulating Space Programme

• India is assiduously putting in place a space military architecture.
• That is precisely why the government should articulate much more clearly the doctrinal aspects of the space programme, as well as the deterrence sought to be achieved by it.
• India must communicate its peaceful intentions just as it showcases its capabilities, so as to contribute to a better understanding among countries it hopes to deter and thereby reduce the chances of wrong inferences being drawn in crisis situations.
• After all, missiles are but one aspect of space warfare.
• There are other, less visible but equally effective methods to incapacitate satellites that are being developed and are of equally serious concern.

 

Context:

• Recently, opposition parties discussed future course of action on the issue of alleged tampering of EVMs. They raised their concern regarding EVMs with Election Commission.
• Credibility of EVMs were questioned in the previous General elections of Parliament and State Assemblies.

About:

Out of 120 democratic countries only 25 have experimented with or used electronic voting machines to elect their governments. It indicates that EVM is not a dominant choice globally for recording votes in elections.

Background:

• India is the world leader in the use of EVMs.
• The Election Commission has been conducting all elections through EVMs since 2001.
• The Indian EVM is a direct recording device, which is a stand-alone machine.
• The Election Commission has clarified several times that Indian EVMs don’t talk to any machine outside its own system – be it through wired network, internet, satellite, and WiFi or bluetooth.
• The EVM is not connected to server, so cyber hacking of Indian EVMs is not possible unless an authorised person acts with malafide intention.
• In 2014, a whopping 55.38 crore people cast their votes in EVMs in the parliamentary elections.

Arguments that are in favour of Paper Ballot

Following arguments question the EVM system and support Paper ballot.

• We invariably come across reports of malfunctioning EVMs.
• The only way an EVM can be tampered with is by physically opening it up and replacing the chipset inside it. The chipset used is non-reprogrammable and data is ‘burnt’ into the device. So, today it is possible to replace the chip if we have access to EVMs
• On the VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) front too, there are reports of malfunctioning. Also, as per the rules, paper ballots and VVPAT machines are not counted until the Returning Officer asks for it.
• The outcome of the recent Uttar Pradesh civic polls suggests that tampering could be happening.
• Oldest democracy, US, still uses paper ballot system for the presidential elections as Americans feel safer in using paper ballots as compared to electronic voting machines.

However, there are problems with paper ballot.

• Transporting them and guarding them is a problem.
• Ballot boxes can be captured.

Arguments in support of significance of EVMs

• EVMs led to a significant decline in electoral fraud, particularly in politically sensitive States as rigging elections became extremely expensive.
• Research has shown a link between luminosity and growth rate, suggesting that EVMs contribute to development.
• EVMs empowered those from the weaker sections of society who were victims of political or electoral violence. In particular, women, lower castes, and those less educated were more likely to participate in the electoral process when EVMs were used.
• EVMs made the electoral process more competitive.
• There has been a significant decline in the incidence of re-election, and winning margins have reduced dramatically.

However, this does not imply that we lower our guards. The very idea of democracy is based on trust and belief in the fairness of the electoral process where the losing party lives to fight another day. Any erosion of this trust and belief would be an irreversible process with an uncertain outcome.

EVM challenge: Forensic Lab test for EVMs

• Throughout these years, the Election Commission has denied all the claims of EVM tampering and in 2017, it got a scientific proof to back up its claim.
• In May, the Bombay High Court had ordered an examination of EVMs from the ‘Parvati constituency in Pune’.
• The order was issued to rule out tampering during elections to Maharashtra legislative assembly in 2014.
• One control unit, one ballot unit and two batteries were sent to the lab. An EVM comprises a control unit and a ballot unit.
• As per the report received from the lab, the machine is a stand-alone, non-networked, one-time programmable unit, which is neither computer controlled externally nor could be connected internally or to any network.
• The report was made public after being submitted to the high court.
• The Election Commission had also thrown open EVM hackathon challenge to prove that the machines are incorruptible. But no political party showed interest.

How the world has dealt with EVMs:

USA: 

• The US is the oldest modern democracy in the world but it does not have a uniform voting system.
• Several states continue to use ballot papers, while others have shifted to electronic voting.
• A critical point in electronic voting experiment in the US has been that its voting machines are connected to a server and operate using the internet. This makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
• In the last presidential election, some invisible Russian hand was suspected in influencing voters’ choice.

Germany:

• Electronic voting was introduced in 2005 in the largest democracy of Europe.
• Germany imported voting machines to conduct its elections from a private company in the Netherlands.
• The machines were later reported to have several layers of deficiencies.
• In 2009, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany held that the use of electronic voting machines in elections was unconstitutional and observed that such a practice lacked transparency.

Estonia:

• Became the first country to enact a law making electronic voting using the internet mandatory in 2005.
• Estonia claims to have conducted the first internet-based national election in 2007. It went for three days.

Latin America:  

• Brazil and Venezuela have been using electronic voting on a large scale quite successfully.

Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)

• • Following a PIL by Subramanian Swamy, Supreme Court asked EC to introduce VVPAT.
  • VVPAT is a slip generated in a printer-like a machine attached to EVM and flashes voter’s choice of candidate and party. Generated slip is shown for a few seconds to the voter to cross check before it falls into a sealed drop box which can be opened during counting. Under VVPATs, initially, election results are announced based on the recording of votes given by EVMs. If the election results are disputed, then the votes recorded under Paper Trail System shall be counted and announced. If there is any discrepancy between the two results, then the result given by VVPAT will prevail over the EVMs.
  • The Supreme Court has supported the EC endeavour to use VVPATs in a phased manner to usher in more transparency in voting.

When the solution became the problem: The controversy over failing VVPATs –

• Reports emerged of large-scale malfunctioning of the voter-verifiable paper audit trail machines during by-elections to four Lok Sabha and ten State Assembly seats.
• The malfunctioning was so widespread that the Election Commission ordered re-polls in 73 booths of the Kairana parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh, 49 booths in the Maharashtra seat of Bhandara-Gondiya and one booth in the Nagaland Lok Sabha seat.
• The chief election commissioner blamed the malfunction of the VVPAT machines on excessively hot weather and exposure of sensors to light.
• This is rather worrying, because when the trials for VVPATs were conducted in 2011 and 2012, they were subjected to extreme weather conditions.
• The second reason provided by the CEC—the inexperience of the staff, who were handling these machines for the first time—seems more plausible.
• It is important to mention that it was precisely to remove the last remnants of doubts regarding EVMs that VVPAT machines were introduced, after an all-party meeting in 2010.
• In fact, in 2013, the Supreme Court of India appreciated the EC’s initiative to introduce VVPATs and directed the government to provide adequate funds for the same.
• However, the government delayed sanctioning the funds for over three years, which has almost jeopardised the production of the required number of VVPAT machines to fulfil the EC’s commitment last year in an affidavit to the Supreme Court that it would provide the machines at every polling station during the 2019 general election.

Corrective measures taken by EC:

• The new VVPATs are to have sensors with hoods over them to protect from direct exposure to light.
• Humidity resistant paper will be obtained for use in humid areas. The decision was made by the Electronics Corporation of India, one of the two state-owned companies that manufacture VVPATs.

Conclusion

The EC’s role in ensuring the people’s faith in democracy is paramount. The loss of public faith in democracy and its protector institutions spells nothing but disaster. But one must have no doubt that EVMs have made India the proud global leader in the field of elections. After the introduction of VVPATs, our system is now full proof.

 

NITI Aayog –CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Introduction:

• The Government had replaced Planning Commission with institution NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India).  The reason had mentioned that specific to the planning process, there is a need to separate as well as energize the distinct ‘process’ of governance from the ‘strategy’ of governance.
• An important evolutionary change from the past will be replacing a centre-to-state one-way flow of policy by a genuine and continuing partnership with the states.  
• The institution must have the necessary resources, knowledge, skills and, ability to act with speed to provide the strategic policy vision for the government as well as deal with contingent issues.

Background

Objectives and Opportunities

NITI Aayog will aim to accomplish the following objectives and opportunities:

• An administration paradigm in which the Government is an “enabler” rather than a “provider of first and last resort.”
• Progress from “food security” to focus on a mix of agricultural production, as well as actual returns that farmers get from their produce.
• Ensure that India is an active player in the debates and deliberations on the global commons.
• Ensure that the economically vibrant middle-class remains engaged, and its potential is fully realized.
• Leverage India’s pool of entrepreneurial, scientific and intellectual human capital.
• Incorporate the significant geo-economic and geo-political strength of the Non-Resident Indian Community.
• Use urbanization as an opportunity to create a wholesome and secure habitat through the use of modern technology.
• Use technology to reduce opacity and potential for misadventures in governance.

Structure and Composition of NITI Aayog

Arguments that support NITI Aayog relevance:

• The NITI Aayog was formed to bring fresh ideas to the government. Its first mandate is to act as a think tank.
• It can be visualised as a funnel through which new and innovative ideas come from all possible sources — industry, academia, civil society or foreign specialists — and flow into the government system for implementation.
• Initiatives like Ayushmaan Bharat, our approach towards artificial intelligence and water conservation measures, and the draft bill to establish the National Medical Commission to replace the Medical Council of India have all been conceptualised in NITI Aayog, and are being taken forward by the respective Ministries.
• Acted as an Action Tank:
  • NITI Aayog acted as an action tank rather than just a think tank. By collecting fresh ideas and sharing them with the Central and State governments, it pushes frontiers and ensures that there is no inertia, which is quite natural in any organisation or institution.
• NITI Aayog also works to cut across the silos within the government. For example, India still has the largest number of malnourished children in the world. NITI Aayog is best placed to achieve this convergence and push the agenda forward in the form of POSHAAN ABHIYAAN.
• NITI Aayog is also bringing about a greater level of accountability in the system.
  • • NITI Aayog has established a Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office which collects data on the performance of various Ministries on a real-time basis. The data are then used at the highest policymaking levels to establish accountability and improve performance.
    • This performance- and outcome-based real-time monitoring and evaluation of government work can have a significant impact on improving the efficiency of governance.
• Using such data, it has also come up with performance-based rankings of States across various verticals to foster a spirit of competitive federalism.
• NITI Aayog plays an important role in being the States’ representative in Delhi, and facilitate direct interactions with the line ministries, which can address issues in a relatively shorter time.

 Improving innovation:

• The Atal Innovation Mission, which is also established under NITI Aayog, has already done commendable work in improving the innovation ecosystem in India.
• It has established more than 1,500 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across the country and this number is expected to go up to 5,000 by March 2019.
• It has also set up 20 Atal Incubation Centres for encouraging young innovators and start-ups.

Arguments against for the NITI Aayog:

• NITI Aayog cannot transform a deeply unequal society into a modern economy that ensures the welfare of all its citizens, irrespective of their social identity.
• It has no role in influencing public or private investment.
• It does not seem to have an influence in policymaking with long-term consequences. For instance, demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax.
• If it is a think-tank, it has to maintain a respectable intellectual distance from the Govt. of the day.
• Instead, we see uncritical praise of the Govt-sponsored schemes/programmes.
• It is not able to answer specific questions like, why 90% are working in the unorganised sector? and more over as on date, more and more informalisation is taking place in the organised sector.
• Labour force participation rate of women is also declining, when neighbours like Bangladesh are registering an increase.
• NITI Aayog is supposed to be a think tank. This implies that while generating new ideas, it maintains a respectable intellectual distance from the government of the day.

Some of the Questions need to be answered:

• How can a country like India transform itself with new ideas and strategies if it doesn’t have a paradigm of planning for development? How can it lift its poor?
• How can we ensure that every working member of the Indian population has a decent job with at least a minimum wage and social/employment security? 
• Why doesn’t it occur to the political leadership to ask why more than 90% of those in the workforce slog in the unorganised sector in small farms and tiny non-farm establishments with two-thirds of the total being working poor?
• Why don’t they ask why more than half the workers in the organised sector end up as ‘insecure’ or ‘informal’ labour?
• Why is the labour force participation rate of women so low and declining when neighbours like Bangladesh have registered an increasing trend?
• Why do the Dalits and Adivasis continue to be at the bottom of the ladder in every conceivable social and economic indicator of well-being?
• Why do regional, gender and other inequalities based on social identity keep increasing?

 Way Forward:

• If NITI Aayog is to implement such a strategy within a planning framework in India, two major changes in governance structures are needed.
• First, planning will have to become more decentralised, but within a five-year plan framework.
• Second, the bureaucracy will need to change from generalist to specialist, and its accountability will have to be based on outcomes achieved, not inputs or funds spent.
• NITI Aayog should spell out how these reforms will be implemented.
• If it succeeds, NITI Aayog could emerge as an agent of change over time and contribute to the government’s agenda of improving governance and implementing innovative measures for better delivery of public services.
• With its unique and vibrant work culture, NITI Aayog remains an integral and relevant component of the government’s plans to put in place an efficient, transparent, innovative and accountable governance system in the country.