At an event to mark World Environment Day recently, PM mentioned India’s efforts to create ‘green jobs’.
What are ‘Green Jobs’?
‘Green jobs’ refer to a class of jobs that directly have a positive impact on the planet, and contribute to the overall environmental welfare.
Jobs involving renewable energy, conservation of resources, ensuring energy efficient means are categorised under the same.
In all, they are aimed at reducing the negative environmental impact of economic sectors and furthering the process of creating a low-carbon economy.
The idea behind a low-carbon economy or decarbonisation is fairly simple — it is about maintaining a sustainable economy.
India and ‘green jobs’
The Skill Council for Green Jobs was launched by the Union government on October 1, 2015.
Aligned to the National Skill Development Missions, it was set up to be a not-for-profit, independent, industry-led initiative.
Why need Green Jobs?
The UNEP’s 2019 Emissions Gap report dictates that it is essential for greenhouse gas emissions to reduce by 7.6% per annum between the years 2020 to 2030.
This is necessary to reach the target that was set during the Paris Agreement.
Failing to meet the same would consequently result in a failure to effectively combat global warming.
Consequently, a decarbonized economy plays a key role in ensuring a greener, safer, healthier and more sustainable planet to inhabit.
Way forward
According to the ILO, India moving to a green economy by the next decade would alone create about 3 million jobs in the renewable energy sector.
The renewable energy sector created about 47,000 new jobs in 2017 accounting for a 12% increase in just the span of a year.
For India ‘green jobs’ can prove immensely useful to the country with sectors like renewable energy, waste management, green transport and urban farming.
An integrated, systematic approach is crucial to ensuring this.
Kashmiri Hindus, locally known as Pandits, will celebrate the Zyestha Ashtami at the Mata Kheerbhawani temple at Tulmulla in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.
Kheerbhawani Temple
The temple is dedicated to the goddess Ragnya Devi.
The festival, known as Mela Kheerbhawani, is the largest gathering of Hindus in Kashmir after the annual Amarnath Yatra.
Situated 30 km from Srinagar city, it is one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites for Kashmiri Hindus.
The temple gets its name from kheer, or milk and rice pudding that pilgrims pour into the spring inside the temple complex as an offering to the goddess.
Hundreds of local Muslims, too, traditionally join the celebrations.
Legend of the festival
Legend has it that the water of the temple’s spring changes colour from white to red and black.
The colour of the water is said to predict the impending future.
If it changes to black, it is seen as inauspicious or an impending disaster.
Kashmiri Pandits say that the water had turned black before they were forced to flee Kashmir during the militancy of 1990.
Recently, two IAS officers were the subject of widespread public derision for misuse of power. A week later, the media and the public feted those who had successfully cracked the UPSC examination in order to become bureaucrats of the future.
About Indian Administrative Service
Civil Services refer to the career civil servants who are the permanent executive branch of the Republic of India.
The modern Indian Administrative Service was created under Article 312(2) in part XIV of the Constitution of India, and the All-India Services Act, 1951.
It is the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country.
As India is a parliamentary democracy, the ultimate responsibility for running the administration rests with the people’s elected representatives.
The elected executive decides the policy and it is civil servants, who serve at the pleasure of the President of India, implement it.
Article 311 of the Constitution protects Civil Servants from politically motivated vindictive action.
What makes civil services favourable in India
Most countries in the world have a cadre of professional civil servants but nowhere are new entrants to the system of government celebrated like in India.
Colonial legacy: The fact is that, 75 years after independence and 30 years after liberalisation, there is still an overhang of the all-powerful, all-pervasive state.
There are good reasons for a favourable view of the civil services.
Merit based selection: For one, candidates are selected on merit based on an open examination and interview.
Job security: Then there is the job security that comes with gaining entry.
Unless a civil servant does an extraordinary wrong, she has a job for life, and steady, time-bound promotions which ensure that everyone retires at the top irrespective of performance.
Issues with public perception
However, in the perceived strengths of the civil services lie its weaknesses.
Single exam: The single UPSC examination is treated as gospel.
But merit and competence cannot be judged by a single exam.
Permanence is a problem: The permanence of the job is a problem too.
Punishment for over-reach or misuse of power is a transfer, either from a weightier ministry to a lighter one or from high-profile capitals to geographically remote ones.
A system of limited accountability: The result is that all civil servants, never mind their ability or competence, operate in a system of limited accountability with few incentives to perform and plenty of opportunities to use and abuse their powers.
Way forward
Placing civil servant at par with other professions: The civil services system needs to be brought down from its pedestal and placed at par with every other profession like elsewhere in the world.
This will not happen via political diktat. It requires the weight of public opinion.
Broaden the selection criteria: The system must be manned by capable, competent individuals. This cannot be decided on the basis of one exam.
Remove the job permanency: The underperforming officers need to be separated which cannot happen when the job is for life.
It may sound radical for India’s civil services but that is the way the rest of India and the world function, including the UK from where we inherited the structure.
Conclusion
If we can make these changes in the civil services, India will get the government it needs for the 21st century.
The military takeover in Myanmar on February 1, 2021 and its aftermath have seen an adverse impact on India’s Act East policy.
What happened in Myanmar?
The 2021 coup occurred in the aftermath of the general election on 8 November 2020, in which the NLD won 396 out of 476 seats in parliament, an even larger margin of victory than in the 2015 election. The military’s proxy party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, won only 33 seats. The Army claimed the results of the election were rigged and did not acknowledge the results.
On February 3 2021, Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest under charges for breaking COVID-19 laws. Additional charges included importing and using radio and communication devices from her security team which is prohibited in Myanmar and require clearances from intelligence agencies.
Aung San Suu Kyi received an additional criminal charge for violating the National Disaster Act on 16 February, and two additional charges for violating communications laws and an intent to incite public unrest on 1 March.
Events of the Myanmar Coup
By March 31st 2021, at least 520 civilians have been killed by military or police forces and at least 3070 pope. At least three members from the NLD have died in police custody
About 400 elected parliament members were placed under house arrest. Following the coup, the NLD arranged for the MPs to remain housed in the complex until 6 February.
When the Myanmar ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, condemned the coup by the military, he was fired from his post the following day.
Civil resistance efforts have emerged within the country, in opposition to the. Numerous acts of civil disobedience labour strokes, military boycott campaign, and formal recognition of the election results by elected officials
Since the onset of the coup, residents in urban centres such as Yangon staged cacerolazos, striking pots and pans in unison every evening as a symbolic act to drive away evil, as a method of expressing their opposition to the coup.
India’s stance regarding the Myanmar Coup
Ever since the protests started, there have been reports of defections from the Myanmar Police Force. On March 11, 2021, 11 officers crossed the India-Myanmar border into the state of Mizoram with their families. The Myanmar government reached out to India to extradite them, with the Indian government replying that they would make a decision regarding that matter.
The Assam Rifles were given orders to tighten security along the India–Myanmar border. From 10 March, the border has been closed after 48 nationals from Myanmar have crossed it.
Officially, the Indian government has expressed its deepest concern regarding the developing situation in Myanmar. While supporting a smooth and transitional process towards democracy, it is also concerned that the instability in Myanmar may affect the northeastern states.
Look East Policy
In order to recover from the loss of the strategic partner -USSR (end of the Cold war 1991), India sought to build up a relationship with the USA and allies of the USA in Southeast Asia.
In this pursuit, former Prime minister of India P V Narasimha Rao launched Look East policy in 1992, to give a strategic push to India’s engagement with the South-East Asia region, to bolster its standing as a regional power and a counterweight to the strategic influence of the People’s Republic of China.
Difference Between Look East and Act East:
Look East:
Look East policy focused on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries + Economic Integration.
India became a dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1996 and summit level partner in 2002.
In 2012 the relationship got up-graded into a Strategic Partnership.
The time when India launched the Look East Policy in 1992, India’s trade with ASEAN was USD 2 billion. After signing the Free Trade Agreement in 2010 with ASEAN, the trade has grown to USD 72 billion (2017-18).
India is also an active participant in several regional forums like the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) etc.
Act East:
Act East Policy focused on ASEAN countries + Economic Integration + East Asian countries + Security cooperation.
Prime minister of India highlighted 4C’s of Act East Policy.
Culture
Commerce
Connectivity
Capacity building
Security is an important dimension of India’s Act East Policy.
In the context of growing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, securing freedom of navigation and India’s own role in the Indian Ocean is a key feature of Act East Policy.
In pursuance of this, India has been engaged under the narrative of Indo-pacific and informal grouping called Quad.
Impact on Act East policy
With the present dispensation in Myanmar, the Act East policy is going nowhere.
Impact on outreach: This has not only stymied New Delhi’s initiatives in terms of land outreach towards the vibrant economies of South East Asia, but has retarded development in the Northeast.
Pragmatism demands that an ambitious policy that had fired the aspirations of the Northeast does not become a casualty to the inertia of policymakers.
There seems to be a full-bodied recalibration exercise among insurgent groups operating from the Sagaing Division and Chin State in Myanmar.
In the north, the ULFA which was until recently in a submissive mood and had declared three back-to-back unilateral ceasefires has suddenly turned belligerent.
Need for a relook at Act East policy: In this background, a fresh look needs to be taken at both the furtherance of the Act East policy and the security matrix that governs the Northeast.
Suggestions
1] Opening a new axis of land-sea connectivity
Promoting trade and commerce: Favourable bilateral relations with Bangladesh offer an opportunity for opening a new axis of land-sea connectivity for promoting trade and commerce with Southeast Asia.
Upgrade land routes: There is a need to upgrade the multitude of land routes to the seaports of Mongla and Chittagong in Bangladesh, from Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
The key land linkages from the Northeast are — Agartala via Akhaura, Dawki (Meghalaya) via Tamabil, Sutarkandi (Assam), and Srimantapur (Tripura) via Bibir Bazar.
Exploit shared river connectivity: In addition, there is a need to use inland water transport (IWT) to exploit the shared river connectivity of the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers.
2] Continued engagement with Myanmar
The land gateway to South East Asia does not seem likely in the near future.
But there should be no dilution in our initiatives to ensure that peace and stability return to Myanmar at the earliest.
For this, there is a need for continued engagement, both formal and informal, with the warring factions in Myanmar.
3] Develop appropriate infrastructure
Appropriate infrastructure such as container depots, cold storage facilities and seamless highways will have to be developed on a war footing.
Indian manufactured goods will have to be transported to the rail/roadheads in the Northeast like Guwahati for ready access to the seaports of Bangladesh.
4] Integrated defence zones
To make ineffective the strike capability of the insurgent groups there is a need to create “integrated defence zones”.
These should be jointly manned by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) and the Indian Army/Assam Rifles
To enthuse dynamism and empower the Assam Rifles, there is a need to retain its current structure of being officered by the Indian Army, as it ensures systemic command and control.
This force needs to be mandated to undertake intelligence operations for greater transparency of the events within Myanmar and further the national strategy.
Conclusion
The Act East policy is intertwined with India’s Northeast policy. Let not the dismal scenario of Myanmar impede our vision for the actualisation of our ambitious Act East to go East, as alternates exist. To that end, there is a need to ensure the continued economic development of Northeastern states.
India’s one million Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) volunteers have received World Health Organization’s Global Health Leaders Awards 2022.
Background of the ASHA program
In 1975, a WHO monograph titled ‘Health by the people’ and then in 1978, an international conference on primary health care in Alma Ata (in the then USSR and now in Kazakhstan), gave emphasis for countries recruiting community health workers to strengthen primary health-care services that were participatory and people centric.
Soon after, many countries launched community health worker programmes under different names.
India launched the ASHA programme in 2005-06 as part of the National Rural Health Mission.
The biggest inspiration for designing the ASHA programme came from the Mitanin (meaning ‘a female friend’ in Chhattisgarhi) initiative of Chhattisgarh, which had started in May 2002.
The core of the ASHA programme has been an intention to build the capacity of community members in taking care of their own health and being partners in health services.
Each of these women-only volunteers work with a population of nearly 1,000 people in rural and 2,000 people in urban areas, with flexibility for local adjustments.
A well thought through and deliberated program
The ASHA programme was well thought through and deliberated with public health specialists and community-based organisations from the beginning.
1] Key village stakeholders selected: The ASHA selection involved key village stakeholders to ensure community ownership for the initiatives and forge a partnership.
2] Ensure familiarity: ASHAs coming from the same village where they worked had an aim to ensure familiarity, better community connect and acceptance.
3] Community’s representative: The idea of having activists in their name was to reflect that they were/are the community’s representative in the health system, and not the lowest-rung government functionary in the community.
4] Avoiding the slow process of government recruitment: Calling them volunteers was partly to avoid a painfully slow process for government recruitment and to allow an opportunity to implement performance-based incentives in the hope that this approach would bring about some accountability.
Contribution of ASHA
It is important to note that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, ASHAs have made extraordinary contributions towards enabling increased access to primary health-care services; i.e. maternal and child health including immunisation and treatment for hypertension, diabetes and tuberculosis, etc., for both rural and urban populations, with special focus on difficult-to-reach habitations.
Over the years, ASHAs have played an outstanding role in making India polio free, increasing routine immunisation coverage; reducing maternal mortality; improving new-born survival and in greater access to treatment for common illnesses.
Challenges
Linkages with AWW and ANM: When newly-appointed ASHAs struggled to find their way and coordinate things within villages and with the health system, their linkage with two existing health and nutrition system functionaries — Anganwadi workers (AWW) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) as well as with panchayat representatives and influential community members at the village level — was facilitated.
This resulted in an all-women partnership, or A-A-A: ASHA, AWW and ANM, of three frontline functionaries at the village level, that worked together to facilitate health and nutrition service delivery to the community.
No fixed salary to ASHAs: Among the A-A-A, ASHAs are the only ones who do not have a fixed salary; they do not have opportunity for career progression.
These issues have resulted in dissatisfaction, regular agitations and protests by ASHAs in many States of India.
Way forward
The global recognition for ASHAs should be used as an opportunity to review the programme afresh, from a solution perspective.
1] Higher remuneration: Indian States need to develop mechanisms for higher remuneration for ASHAs.
2] Avenues for career progression: It is time that in-built institutional mechanisms are created for capacity-building and avenues for career progression for ASHAs to move to other cadres such as ANM, public health nurse and community health officers are opened.
3] Extend the benefits of social sector services: Extending the benefits of social sector services including health insurance (for ASHAs and their families) should be considered.
4] Independent and external review: While the ASHA programme has benefitted from many internal and regular reviews by the Government, an independent and external review of the programme needs to be given urgent and priority consideration.
5] Regularisation of temporary posts: There are arguments for the regularisation of many temporary posts in the National Health Mission and making ASHAs permanent government employees.
Conclusion
The WHO award for ASHA volunteers is a proud moment and also a recognition of every health functionary working for the poor and the underserved in India. It is a reminder and an opportunity to further strengthen the ASHA programme for a stronger and community-oriented primary health-care system.
The finance ministry said the Rs 6,000-crore National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) or bad bank is expected to take over the first set of non-performing accounts of banks next month.
What is a Bad Bank?
A bad bank conveys the impression that it will function as a bank but has bad assets to start with.
Technically, it is an asset reconstruction company (ARC) or an asset management company that takes over the bad loans of commercial banks, manages them and finally recovers the money over a period of time.
Such a bank is not involved in lending and taking deposits, but helps commercial banks clean up their balance sheets and resolve bad loans.
The takeover of bad loans is normally below the book value of the loan and the bad bank tries to recover as much as possible subsequently.
Bad Banks to be established
The NARCL-IDRCL structure is the new bad bank.
The National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) has already been incorporated under the Companies Act.
It will acquire stressed assets worth about Rs 2 lakh crore from various commercial banks in different phases.
Another entity — India Debt Resolution Company Ltd (IDRCL), which has also been set up — will then try to sell the stressed assets in the market.
How will the NARCL-IDRCL work?
The NARCL will first purchase bad loans from banks.
It will pay 15% of the agreed price in cash and the remaining 85% will be in the form of “Security Receipts”.
When the assets are sold, with the help of IDRCL, , the commercial banks will be paid back the rest.
If the bad bank is unable to sell the bad loan, or has to sell it at a loss, then the government guarantee will be invoked.
The difference between what the commercial bank was supposed to get and what the bad bank was able to raise will be paid from the Rs 30,600 crore that has been provided by the government.
Will a bad bank resolve matters?
From the perspective of a commercial bank saddled with high NPA levels, it will help.
That’s because such a bank will get rid of all its toxic assets, which were eating up its profits, in one quick move.
When the recovery money is paid back, it will further improve the bank’s position.
Meanwhile, it can start lending again.
Why do we need a bad bank?
The idea gained currency during Rajan’s tenure as RBI Governor.
The RBI had then initiated an asset quality review (AQR) of banks and found that several banks had suppressed or hidden bad loans to show a healthy balance sheet.
However, the idea remained on paper amid lack of consensus on the efficacy of such an institution.
ARCs have not made any impact in resolving bad loans due to many procedural issues.
While commercial banks resume lending, the so-called bad bank, or a bank of bad loans, would try to sell these “assets” in the market.
Good about the bad banks
The problem of NPAs continues in the banking sector, especially among the weaker banks.
The bad bank concept is in some ways similar to an ARC but is funded by the government initially, with banks and other investors co-investing in due course.
The presence of the government is seen as a means to speed up the clean-up process.
Many other countries had set up institutional mechanisms such as the Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) in the US to deal with a problem of stress in the financial system.
Back2Basics: NARCL
NARCL has been incorporated under the Companies Act and has applied to Reserve Bank of India for license as an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC).
NARCL has been set up by banks to aggregate and consolidate stressed assets for their subsequent resolution.
Public Sector Banks will maintain 51% ownership in NARCL.
The NARCL will acquire assets by making an offer to the lead bank.
Once NARCL’s offer is accepted, then, IDRCL will be engaged for management and value addition.
President Kovind inaugurated the Sant Kabir Academy and Research Centre Swadesh Darshan Yojana and paid tribute to the Bhakti saint, Kabir at Maghar, his resting place in Uttar Pradesh.
Kabir and the Bhakti Movement
The Bhakti movement, which began in the 7th century in South India, had begun to spread across north India in the 14th and the 15th centuries.
The movement was characterized by popular poet-saints who sang devotional songs to God in vernacular languages.
Most of the preaching were meant for abolishing the Varna system and promoting Hindu-Muslim unity.
They emphasized an intense emotional attachment with God.
Who was Sant Kabir?
One school within the Bhakti movement was the Nirguni tradition and Sant Kabir was a prominent member of it.
In this tradition, God was understood to be a universal and formless being.
Many of the saints of the Bhakti movement came from the ranks of the lower to middle artisanal classes.
Kabir was an alleged ‘low caste’ weaver (Julaha), Raidas was a leather worker and Dadu a cotton carder.
Their radical dissent against orthodoxy and rejection of caste made these poet-saints extremely popular among the masses and their ideology of egalitarianism spread across India.
His life
He was born in Varanasi and lived between the years 1398 and 1448, or till the year 1518 according to popular belief.
He was from a community of ‘lower caste’ weavers of the Julaha caste, a group that had recently converted to Islam.
He learned the art of weaving, likely studied meditative and devotional practices under the guidance of a Hindu guru and grew to become an eminent teacher and poet-singer.
Kabir’s beliefs were deeply radical, and he was known for his intense and outspoken voice which he used to attack the dominant religions and entrenched caste systems of the time.
He composed his verses orallyand is generally assumed to be illiterate.
His literary works
Kabir’s compositions can be classified into three literary forms – dohas (short two liners), ramanas (rhymed 4 liners), sung compositions of varying length, known as padas (verses) and sabdas (words).
There are myriad legendary accounts on the other hand, for which there exists less of a factual historical basis.
Kabir’s critique of religion and caste
Kabir is in modern times portrayed as a figure that synthesized Islam and Hinduism.
While he did borrow elements from different traditions, he very forcefully proclaimed his independence from them.
He did not only target the rituals and practices of both Hinduism and Islam, but also dismissed the sacred authority of their religious books, the Vedas and the Quran.
He even combined Allah and Ram in his poems.
He sought to eradicate caste distinctions and attempted to create an egalitarian society, by stressing the notion that a Bhakt (devotee) was neither a Brahmin nor an ‘untouchable’ but just a Bhakt.
Kabir’s legacy
Kabir’s own humble origins and his radical message of egalitarianism fostered a community of his followers called the Kabir Panth.
A sect in northern and central India, many of their members are from the Dalit community.
All regard Kabir as their guru and treat the Bijak as their holy scripture.
The Bijak contains works attributed to Kabir and is argued by historians to have been written in the 17th century.
Several of Kabir’s verses and songs form a vital part of the Guru Granth Sahib.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:
Q.Consider the following statements:
1.Saint Nimbarka was a contemporary of Akbar.
2.Saint Kabir was greatly influenced by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”tgyb8v05uq” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
Ten antiquities (sculptures) retrieved from Australia and the United States were handed over to the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Some of the returned antiquities, and how they had gone missing:
(1) Dvarapala:
Retrieved in 2020 from Australia, this stone sculpture belongs to the Vijayanagar dynasty dating to the 15th-16th century.
He is holding a gada in one hand and has another leg raised up to the level of his knee.
The sculpture was burgled from Moondreeswaramudayar Temple, Tiruneveli in1994.
(2) Nataraja:
Retrieved in 2021 from the US, this image of Nataraja, a depiction of Shiva, in his divine cosmic dance form, is in tribhanga posture, standing on the lotus pedestal.
It is dateable to the 11th-12th century. Possibly, ananda tandava or the Dance of Bliss is portrayed here.
The sculpture was burgled from the strong room of Punnainallur Arulmigu Mariyamman Temple, Thanjavur, in 2018.
(3) Kankalamurti:
Retrieved in 2021 from the US, Kankalamurti is depicted as a fearsome aspect of Lord Shiva and Bhairava.
The sculpture is four-armed, holding ayudhas such as damaru and trishula in the upper hands and a bowl and a trefoil shaped object, as a treat for the playful fawn, in the lower right hand.
The idol is dateable to the 12th-13th century, and was stolen from Narasinganadhar Swamy Temple, Tirunelveli in 1985.
(4) Nandikeshvara:
Retrieved in 2021 from the US, this bronze image of Nandikeshvara is dateable to the 13th century.
It is shown standing in tribhanga posture with folded arms, holding an axe and a fawn in the upper arms, with his forearms in namaskara mudra.
This sculpture was stolen from Narasinganadhar Swamy Temple, Tirunelveli, in 1985.
(5) Four-armed Vishnu:
Retrieved in 2021 from the US, dateable to the 11th century, and belonging to the later Chola period.
The sculpture has Lord Vishnu standing on a padma pedestal holding attributes such as shankha and chakra in two hands; while the lower right hand is in abhaya mudra.
It was stolen from Arulmigu Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Ariyalur, in 2008.
(6) Goddess Parvati:
Retrieved in 2021 from the US, the image depicts a Chola-period sculpture dateable to the 11th century.
She is shown holding a lotus in the left hand whereas the right is hanging down near her kati.
This sculpture was also stolen from Arulmigu Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Ariyalur in 2008.
(7) Standing child Sambandar:
Retrieved in 2022 from Australia. Sambandar, the popular 7th-century child saint, is one of the Muvar, the three principal saints of South India.
The sculpture is dateable to the 11th century.
The legend goes that after receiving a bowl of milk from Goddess Uma, the infant Sambandar devoted his life to composing hymns in praise of Lord Shiva.
The sculpture displays the saint’s childlike quality, while also empowering him with the maturity and authority of a spiritual leader.
It was stolen from Sayavaneeswarar Temple, Nagapattinam, between 1965 and 1975.
The country’s response to its burden of malnutrition and growing anaemia has to be practical and innovative.
What is malnutrition?
Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients.
The term malnutrition covers 2 broad groups of conditions.
One is ‘undernutrition’—which includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals).
The other is overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer).
What are the root causes of malnutrition in India?
The following three deficits are the root cause of malnutrition in India.
1) Dietary deficit
There is a large dietary deficit among at least 40 per cent of our population of all age groups, shown in— the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau’s Third Repeat Survey (2012), NFHS 4, 2015-16, the NNMB Technical Report Number 27, 2017.
Our current interventions are not being able to bridge this protein-calorie-micronutrient deficit.
The NHHS-4 and NFHS-5 surveys reveal an acute dietary deficit among infants below two years, and considerable stunting and wasting of infants below six months.
Unless this maternal/infant dietary deficit is addressed, we will not see rapid improvement in our nutritional indicators.
2) Information deficit at household level
We do not have a national IEC (information, education and communication) programme that reaches targeted households to bring about the required behavioural change regarding some basic but critical facts.
For example, IEC tells about the importance of balanced diets in low-income household budgets, proper maternal, child and adolescent nutrition and healthcare.
3) Inequitable market conditions
The largest deficit, which is a major cause of dietary deficiency and India’s chronic malnutrition, pertains to inequitable market conditions.
Such market conditions deny affordable and energy-fortified food to children, adolescents and adults in lower-income families.
The market has stacks of expensive fortified energy food and beverages for higher income groups, but nothing affordable for low-income groups.
The vicious cycle of malnutrition
Link with mother: A child’s nutritional status is directly linked to their mother.
Poor nutrition among pregnant women affects the nutritional status of the child and has a greater chance to affect future generations.
Impact on studies: Undernourished children are at risk of under-performing in studies and have limited job prospects.
Impact on development of the country: This vicious cycle restrains the development of the country, whose workforce, affected mentally and physically, has reduced work capacity.
Marginal improvement on Stunting and Wasting
The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) has shown marginal improvement in different nutrition indicators, indicating that the pace of progress is slow.
This is despite declining rates of poverty, increased self-sufficiency in food production, and the implementation of a range of government programmes.
Children in several States are more undernourished now than they were five years ago.
Increased stunting in some states: Stunting is defined as low height-for-age.
While there was some reduction in stunting rates (35.5% from 38.4% in NFHS-4) 13 States or Union Territories have seen an increase in stunted children since NFHS-4.
This includes Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Kerala.
Wasting remains stagnant: Wasting is defined as low weight-for-height.
Malnutrition trends across NFHS surveys show that wasting, the most visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition, has either risen or has remained stagnant over the years.
Prevalence of anaemia in India
What is it? Anaemia is defined as the condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal.
Consequences: Anaemia has major consequences in terms of human health and development.
It reduces the work capacity of individuals, in turn impacting the economy and overall national growth.
Developing countries lose up to 4.05% in GDP per annum due to iron deficiency anaemia; India loses up to 1.18% of GDP annually.
The NFHS-5 survey indicates that more than 57% of women (15-49 years) and over 67% children (six-59 months) suffer from anaemia.
Way forward
1] Increase investment:
There is a greater need now to increase investment in women and children’s health and nutrition to ensure their sustainable development and improved quality of life.
Saksham Anganwadi and the Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) 2.0 programme have seen only a marginal increase in budgetary allocation this year (₹20,263 crore from ₹20,105 crore in 2021-22).
Additionally, 32% of funds released under POSHAN Abhiyaan to States and Union Territories have not been utilised.
2] Adopt outcome oriented approach on the nutrition programme
India must adopt an outcome-oriented approach on nutrition programmes.
It is crucial that parliamentarians begin monitoring needs and interventions in their constituencies and raise awareness on the issues, impact, and solutions to address the challenges at the local level.
Direct engagement: There has to be direct engagement with nutritionally vulnerable groups and ensuring last-mile delivery of key nutrition services and interventions.
This will ensure greater awareness and proper planning and implementation of programmes.
This can then be replicated at the district and national levels.
3] Increase awareness and mother’s education
With basic education and general awareness, every individual is informed, takes initiatives at the personal level and can become an agent of change.
Various studies highlight a strong link between mothers’ education and improved access and compliance with nutrition interventions among children.
4] Monitoring
There should be a process to monitor and evaluate programmes and address systemic and on the ground challenges.
A new or existing committee or the relevant standing committees meet and deliberate over effective policy decisions, monitor the implementation of schemes, and review nutritional status across States.
Conclusion
We must ensure our young population has a competitive advantage; nutrition and health are foundational to that outcome.
Recently, a mega congregation organized by a community at Deoband in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, passed a resolution against the proposed Uniform Civil Code.
It went on to say that it would be in contravention of not only the Constitution of India but also Shariayat, which is the religious law regulating the particular society in the country.
What is the news?
The resolution claimed that their religious laws on issues like marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc. have not been created by some society, community, group or person… but they are heavenly orders.
They are part of their religious directive, and any changes to them or attempts to stop someone from following them is a clear interference with the religion.
This would go against the guarantee of freedom to practice and propagate religion given in section 25 of the Constitution.
The question is: The subject has been a matter of debate for years, but whether it is feasible in India or not? Given the diversity India is known for, how doable is the idea of bringing about uniformity? What are the challenges in doing so?
What is a Uniform Civil Code?
A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is one that would provide for one personal civil law for the entire country.
This would be applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
Basis for UCC
Article 44, one of the Directive Principles of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
These, as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable (not enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.
Personal Laws And Uniform Civil Code: Timeline
# British period During the British Raj, Personal laws were first framed mainly for Hindu and Muslims citizens.
# Start of 20th Century In the beginning of the twentieth century, the demand for a uniform civil code was first put forward by the women activists. The objective behind this demand was the women’s rights, equality and secularism.
# 1940 – The Idea of Uniform Civil Code is born The idea of Uniform Civil Code was tabled by the National Planning Commission (NPC) appointed by the Congress. There was a subcommittee who was to examine women’s status and recommends reforms of personal law for gender equality.
# 1947 – Question of UCC as a Fundamental Right UCC was sought to be enshrined in the Constitution of India as a fundamental right by Minoo Masani, Hansa Mehta, Amrit Kaur and Dr. B.R Ambedkar.
# 1948 – Constitution Assembly debated UCC Article 44 of the Indian Constitution i.e. Directive Principles of State Policy sets implementation of uniform civil laws which is the duty of the state under Part IV.
# 1950 – Reformist Bill passed Reformist bills were passed which gave the Hindu women the right to divorce and inherit property. Bigamy and child marriages are outlawed. Such reforms were resisted by Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
# 1951 – Dr. Ambedkar Resigns Dr. Ambedkar resigned from the cabinet in 1951 when his draft of the Hindu Code Bill was stalled by the Parliament.
# 1985 – Shah Bano Case In this case, a divorced Muslim woman was brought within the ambit of Section 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 by the Supreme Court in which it was declared by the Apex court that she was entitled for maintenance even after the completion ofiddatperiod.
# 1995- Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India In this case, Justice Kuldip Singh reiterated the need for the Parliament to frame a Uniform Civil Code, which would help the cause of national integration by removing contradictions based on ideologies. Therefore, the responsibility entrusted on the State under Article 44 of the Constitution whereby a Uniform Civil Code must be secured has been urged by the Supreme Court repeatedly as a matter of urgency.
# 2000 – Supreme Court advocates UCC The case of Lily Thomas v. Union of India (2000),where the Supreme Court said it could not direct the centre to introduce a UCC.
# 2015 – The Debate lives through The apex court refused to direct the government to take a decision on having a UCC.
# 2016 – Triple Talaq Debate When PM asked the Law Commission to examine the issue.
# 2017 – Ruling of the Triple Talaq case Triple Talaq (Talaq -e- biddat) was declared unconstitutional on August 22, 2017.
UCC vs. Right to Freedom of Religion
Article 25 lays down an individual’s fundamental right to religion
Article 26(b) upholds the right of each religious denomination or any section thereof to “manage its own affairs in matters of religion”
Article 29 defines the right to conserve distinctive culture
Reasonable restrictions on the Freedom of Religion
An individual’s freedom of religion under Article 25 issubject to “public order, health, morality” and other provisions relating to FRs, but a group’s freedom under Article 26 has not been subjected to other FRs.
In the Constituent Assembly, there was division on the issue of putting UCC in the fundamental rights chapter. The matter was settled by a vote.
By a 5:4 majority, the fundamental rights sub-committee headed by Sardar Patel held that the provision was outside the scope of FRs and therefore the UCC was made less important.
Minority Opinion in the Constituent Assembly
Some members sought to immunize Muslim Personal Law from state regulation.
Mohammed Ismail, who thrice tried unsuccessfully to get Muslim Personal Law exempted from Article 44, said a secular state should not interfere with the personal law of people.
B Pocker Saheb said he had received representations against a common civil code from various organisations, including Hindu organisations.
Hussain Imam questioned whether there could ever be uniformity of personal laws in a diverse country like India.
B R Ambedkar said “no government can use its provisions in a way that would force the Muslims to revolt”.
Alladi Krishnaswami, who was in favour of a UCC, conceded that it would be unwise to enact UCC ignoring strong opposition from any community.
Gender justice was never discussed in these debates.
Enacting and Enforcing UCC
Fundamental rights are enforceable in a court of law.
While Article 44 uses the words “state shall endeavour”, other Articles in the ‘Directive Principles’ chapter use words such as “in particular strive”; “shall in particular direct its policy”; “shall be obligation of the state” etc.
Article 43 mentions “state shall endeavour by suitable legislation” while the phrase “by suitable legislation” is absent in Article 44.
All this implies that the duty of the state is greater in other directive principles than in Article 44.
What are more important — fundamental rights or directive principles?
There is no doubt that fundamental rights are more important.
The Supreme Court held in Minerva Mills (1980): Indian Constitution is founded on the bed-rock of the balance between Parts III (Fundamental Rights) and IV (Directive Principles).
To give absolute primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution.
Article 31C inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, however, lays down that if a law is made to implement any directive principle, it cannot be challenged on the ground of being violative of the FRs under Articles 14 and 19.
What about Personal Laws?
Citizens belonging to different religions and denominations follow different property and matrimonial laws which are an affront to the nation’s unity.
If the framers of the Constitution had intended to have a UCC, they would have given exclusive jurisdiction to Parliament in respect of personal laws, by including this subject in the Union List.
“Personal Laws” are mentioned in the Concurrent List.
Various customary laws
All Hindus of the country are not governed by one law, nor are all Muslims or all Christians.
Muslims of Kashmir were governed by a customary law, which in many ways was at variance with Muslim Personal Law in the rest of the country and was, in fact, closer to Hindu law.
Even on registration of marriage among Muslims, laws differ from place to place.
In the Northeast, there are more than 200 tribes with their own varied customary laws.
The Constitution itself protects local customs in Nagaland. Similar protections are enjoyed by Meghalaya and Mizoram.
Even reformed Hindu law, in spite of codification, protects customary practices.
Why need UCC?
UCC would provide equal status to all citizens
It would promote gender parity in Indian society.
UCC would accommodate the aspirations of the young population who imbibe liberal ideology.
Its implementation would thus support the national integration.
Hurdles to UCC implementation
There are practical difficulties due to religious and cultural diversity in India.
The UCC is often perceived by the minorities as an encroachment of religious freedom.
It is often regarded as interference of the state in personal matters of the minorities.
Experts often argue that the time is not ripe for Indian society to embrace such UCC.
These questions need to be addressed which are being completely ignored in the present din around UCC.
Firstly, how can uniformity in personal laws are brought without disturbing the distinct essence of each and every component of the society.
Secondly, what makes us believe that practices of one community are backward and unjust?
Thirdly, has other uniformities been able to eradicate inequalities which diminish the status of our society as a whole?
Way forward
It should be the duty of the religious intelligentia to educate the community about its rights and obligations based on modern liberal interpretations.
A good environment for the UCC must be prepared by the government by explaining the contents and significance of Article 44 taking all into confidence.
Social reforms are not overnight but gradual phenomenon. They are often vulnerable to media evils such as fake news and disinformation.
Social harmony and cultural fabric of our nation must be the priority.
Conclusion
The purpose behind UCC is to strengthen the object of “Secular Democratic Republic” as enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution.
This provision is provided to effect the integration of India by bringing communities on a common platform on matters which are at present governed by diverse personal laws.
Hence UCC should be enforced taking into confidence all the sections of Indian society.
