The Basai Wetlands in Gurugram has shrunk to a quarter of its original size over the years.
Basai Wetlands
Basai wetland, located in Basai village in Gurgaon Haryana is a flora and fauna rich water body.
It lies in one of the paleochannel of the Sahibi River, a tributary of Yamuna which originates from the Aravalli range in Rajasthan and flows through the region.
Its significance
It is recognized as one of India’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is of global conservation significance.
It supports populations of several endangered, vulnerable, and threatened bird species.
It is recognized globally as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by the BirdLife International housing 20,000 birds of over 280 species including migratory birds and endangered birds.
However, it has not yet been declared a protected wetland by the Government of Haryana.
Threats
Given the accelerated expansion of the city of the future, the wetland continues to disappear under newly laid roads, modern housing constructions and other infrastructure development.
An upcoming expressway, cutting through the terrain here, has majorly impacted the flyway of thousands of migratory birds from Europe and Central Asia.
First introduced in 2019, it is a private member bill proposed by Rakesh Sinha.
The purpose of the bill was to control the population growth of India.
The proposed bill then was signed by 125 Members of Parliament (MP) and is yet to become an act of law.
It seeks to amend Article 47 by inserting article 47A to the Constitution of India. It proposes that-
The State shall promote small family norms by offering incentives in taxes, employment, education etc. to its people who keep their family limited to two children
The state shall withdraw every concession from and deprive such incentives to those not adhering to small family norm, to keep the growing population under control.
Key provisions
Penalties: The 2019 bill talked about introducing penalties for couples not adhering to the two-child policy such as debarment from contesting in elections and ineligibility for government jobs.
Two-child policy: The 2020 bill proposes to introduce a two-child policy per couple.
Incentivizing adoption: It shall incentivize adoption through various measures such as educational benefits, taxation cuts, home loans, free healthcare, and better employment opportunities.
Birth spacings: It also proposes to ensure healthy birth spacing through measures related to augmenting the availability, accessibility and affordability of quality reproductive health services.
Issues with penal provisions
Alienation: If a family was penalized for more than two children, then the third child would develop a feeling of alienation that he is an unwanted child.
Bar on Women: The biggest victim of such would be women, irrespective of religion. They would be debarred in political participation.
Selective abortions: In India, the preference for male children may lead to a greater anti-female child sex selection because parents will only have “two attempts” to have babies.
Violation of reproductive autonomy: To control and regulate the number of children a family can have is a gross violation of human rights, the right to self-determination and an individual’s reproductive autonomy.
Violation of Individual Privacy: A right to procreation is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but it comes under the ambit of Article 21, as discussed in Jasvir Singh vs State of Punjab.
Remarriage issues: A divorced person who has two children with a prior partner cannot bear a child with their next spouse.
Why need such policy?
India had a land availability of only 1.2 hectare per person, while the resources that get regenerated automatically was 0.43 only.
We are an ecological debtor. The ecological footprint which we use and the gap between their regeneration is 187%.
If this continued for 30 years, then resources would be exhausted and people would not be able to lead a dignified life.
Some people see demographic dividend in the growing population but it was being used as cheap labour globally.
Way forward
The population of India is seen as the biggest obstacle to its economic development.
It is the fall guy for governments seeking to justify their incompetence.
No legislation must be enacted unless its future impact and social effect are first completely realized.
A row over whether educational institutions can impose a strict dress code that could interfere with the rights of students has spilled in the Udupi district of Karnataka.
Don’t you think that such instances incite fear among the politically destitute minorities?
Religious Freedom in India
Article 25(1) of the Constitution guarantees the “freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion”.
It is a right that guarantees a negative liberty — which means that the state shall ensure that there is no interference or obstacle to exercise this freedom.
Restrictions on religious freedom
Like all fundamental rights, the state can restrict the right for grounds of public order, decency, morality, health and other state interests.
Over the years, the Supreme Court has evolved a practical test of sorts to determine what religious practices can be constitutionally protected and what can be ignored.
In 1954, the Supreme Court held in the Shirur Mutt case that the term “religion” will cover all rituals and practices “integral” to a religion.
The test to determine what is integral is termed the “Essential Religious Practices” test.
What is the essential religious practices test?
While these issues are largely understood to be community-based, there are instances in which the court has applied the test to individual freedoms as well.
In a 2004 ruling, the Supreme Court held that the Ananda Marga sect had no fundamental right to perform the Tandava dance in public streets since it did not constitute an essential religious practice of the sect.
For example, in 2016, the Supreme Court upheld the discharge of an airman from the Indian Air Force for keeping a beard.
It distinguished the case of a Muslim airman from that of Sikhs who are allowed to keep a beard.
In 2015, the Supreme Court restored the Jain religious practice of Santhara/Sallekhana (a ritualistic fast unto death) by staying an order of the Rajasthan HC.
Issues with this Test
In the first place, what constitutes the essential part of a religion is primarily to be ascertained with reference to the doctrines of that religion itself, the SC had held in the Shirur Mutt case.
So the test, a judicial determination of religious practices, has often been criticized by legal experts as it pushes the court to delve into theological spaces.
In criticism of the test, scholars agree that it is better for the court to prohibit religious practices for public order rather than determine what is so essential to a religion that it needs to be protected.
In several instances, the court has applied the test to keep certain practices out.
Precursors related to Hijab
Two set of rulings of the Kerala High Court, particularly on the right of Muslim women hold dressing according to the tenets of Islam.
In 2015, Kerala HC ruled the prescription of dress code for AIPMT exam which prescribed wearing light clothes with half sleeves not having big buttons, brooch/badge, flower, etc. with Salwar/Trouser and slippers and not shoes.
In 2016, it examined the issue more closely. It held that the practice of wearing a hijab constitutes an essential religious practice but did not quash the CBSE rule.
The court once again allowed for the “additional measures” and safeguards put in place the previous year.
A noted Parliamentarian from Hyderabad has rejected the ‘Z’ category security by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) accorded to him.
Security Provisions in India
In India, security is provided to high-risk individuals by the police and local government.
The level of security needed by any individual is decided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, based on inputs received from intelligence agencies which include the IB and R&AW.
Individuals such as PM, home minister, and other officials such as the National Security Advisor generally get security cover because of the positions they occupy.
In addition to this, persons who are believed to be under threat also receive security cover.
What is ‘Z’ Category Security?
In India, the category covers are X, Y, Y-plus, Z, Z-plus, and SPG (Special Protection Group).
X Category: The protectee gets one gunman. Protectees in the Y category have one gunman for mobile security and one (plus four on rotation) for static security.
Y Plus category: It receives the cover of two gunmen (plus four on rotation) for mobile security, and one (plus four on rotation) for residence security,
Z Category: It has six gunmen for mobile security and two (plus 8) for residence security. They get 10 security personnel for mobile security, and two (plus 8) for residence security.
Z Plus Category: It is provided by National Security Guard commandos whereas the other category of security is provided by the Delhi police or the ITBP or CRPF personnel.
What about Special Protection Group (SPG) Cover?
The SPG cover is meant only for the PM and his immediate family.
After Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own security guards in 1984, the Rajiv Gandhi government decided to create a special cadre of security personnel for the PM.
In March 1985, following the recommendations of a committee set up by the Home Ministry, a special unit was created for this purpose under the Cabinet Secretariat.
This unit, initially called the Special Protection Unit, was renamed as Special Protection Group in April 1985.
Neighbours of a golden langur habitat in western Assam’s Bongaigaon district have opposed a move by the State government to upgrade it to a wildlife sanctuary.
Kajoijana Bamuni Hill Wildlife Sanctuary
The Assam Forest Department has issued a preliminary notification for converting the 19.85 sq. km. patch of forest into the Kajoijana Bamuni Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.
It is one of the better-known homes of the golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) found only in Assam and Bhutan.
About Golden Langur
Gee’s golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), also known as simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey.
It is found in a small region of Western Assam and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan.
Long considered sacred by many Himalayan people, the golden langur was first brought to the attention of the western world by the naturalist Edward Pritchard Gee in the 1950s.
Adult males have a cream to golden coat with darker flanks while the females and juveniles are lighter.
It has a black face and a long tail up to 50 cm in length.
Its habitat
It lives in high trees and has a herbivorous diet of ripe and unripe fruits, mature and young leaves, seeds, buds and flowers.
The average group size is eight individuals, with a ratio of several females to each adult male.
It is one of the most endangered primate species of India and Bhutan.
Distribution
Its habitat is bounded on the south by the Brahmaputra River, on the east by the Manas River, on the west by the Sankosh River, in Assam and on the north by the Black Mountains of Bhutan.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Endangered
CITES: Appendix I
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
Try this question from CSP 2014:
Q. Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?
(a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda, Asiatic Wild Ass
(b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetah, Blue Bull, Great Indian Bustard
Ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda, Oxfam International presented its annual global Inequality Report titled ‘Inequality Kills’ which presented the quantum growth in wealth of a minuscule few, and the simultaneous impoverishment of millions of working people. The findings of the report remain dismal for India as well.
The report discussed India’s governance structures that promote wealth accumulation by a few and fail to provide safety nets to the rest of the population.
What is the “Inequality Kills” Report?
“Inequality Kills: The unparalleled action needed to combat unprecedented inequality in the wake of COVID-19” is a report released in January 2022 by Oxfam, a U.K.-based consortium.
The report argues for sustained and immediate action to end the pandemic, address global inequality and initiate concerted measures to tackle the climate emergency.
The central argument of the report is that inequality is a death sentence for people that are marginalized by social and economic structures and removed from political decision-making.
Constitutional Provisions to Tackle Inequality There is a constitutional mandate in India to reduce inequality – Articles 38 and 39 of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) mandate a policy path. Article 38(1): “The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of national life.” Article 39 (c): The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards ensuring that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment.
What are the key highlights of the report?
Inequality: a death sentence: The central argument of the report is that inequality is a death sentence for people that are marginalised by social and economic structures and removed from political decision making.
A new billionaire created every 26 hours since the pandemic began: The world’s 10 richest men have doubled their fortunes, while over 160 million people are projected to have been pushed into poverty.
Meanwhile, an estimated 17 million people have died from COVID-19—a scale of loss not seen since the Second World War.
Covid-19 effect: The wealth of the 10 richest men has doubled, while the incomes of 99% of humanity are worse off, because of COVID-19.
The 10 richest men in the world own more than the bottom 3.1 billion people. If the 10 richest men spent a million dollars each a day, it would take them 414 years to spend their combined wealth.
Vaccine Apartheid: It identifies “vaccine apartheid” (unequal access to vaccines between countries) and the lack of universal vaccination programs in many countries as a cause of the emergence of multiple new strains of the coronavirus that has led to the continuation of the pandemic.
Government expenditure resulting into inflation: It also demonstrates how emergency government expenditure (estimated at $16 trillion) that was meant to keep economies afloat during this crisis, inflated stock prices.
This resulted in billionaires’ collective wealth increasing by $5 trillion during the pandemic.
A 99% windfall tax on the COVID-19 wealth gainsof the 10 richest men could pay to make enough vaccines for the entire world and fill financing gaps in climate measures, universal health and social protection, etc.
What Does The Report Say About India?
Inequality of Wealth: During the Covid-19 pandemic, the report reveals –
more than half the world’s new poor are from India,
84% Indian households have suffered a loss of income,
with 4.6 crore people falling into extreme poverty
In this period, the richest 142 people have more than doubled their wealth to more than ₹53 lakh-crore.
And India’s top 10 per cent had around 45 per cent of the country’s total national wealth in 2020. Imposing tax on the rich in India can take care of vital public services like health and education.
Decline in Social Security Expenditure: As Covid continued to ravage India, the country’s healthcare budget saw a 10% decline from RE (Revised Estimates) of 2020-21.
The budgetary allocation for social security schemesdeclined from 1.5% of the total Union budget to 0.6%.
Increasing Fiscal Deficit:Lowering corporate taxes from 30% to 22% to attract investment last year (2020) resulted in a loss of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, which contributed to the increase in India’s fiscal deficit.
Imposing a 4 per cent tax on 98 wealthiest families in the country can look after –
the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for more than two years,
the Mid-Day Meal Programme for 17 years or
the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan for six years
The report also revealed that one-third of respondents with a ration was were not able to buy ration at a PDS outlet.
What are the factors of inequality?
Budgetary Decline: India is one of the few countries in the world where during the Covid pandemic the health Budget has declined — and that too by a huge 10% in 2021.
Social security expenditure has declined from an already low 1.5% in 2020-21 to 0.6% of the Union Budget in 2021-22. People are deprived of the most basic services and entitlements and are unable to survive.
Inequality in Salaries and Allowances: Social security pensions, for the elderly, for the disabled, and widows have been frozen at ₹200-₹300 a month for almost 15 years. However, in contrast, there has been an increment in the salaries and pensions of the policymakers.
The increase for one crore central government employees and pensioners has cost the exchequer more than the total social security pension budget for 3.3 crore beneficiaries.
Unavailability of Subsidized Food grain: The priority list of households under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) has been frozen in absolute numbers, based on a percentage determined from the 2011 Census.
In the last 11 years, population increases amounting to approximately 10 crore eligible beneficiaries have been kept out.
Therefore, approximately 12% legally entitled people — even children of existing “priority households” — cannot get subsidized foodgrain.
Unequal Access to Education: The pandemic has also produced a generation of children who have forgotten what formal education is. Many teenagers from poor households have already joined the workforce.
In this period, there has been a 6% cut in the education Budget. Relying on online teaching, accompanied by Budget cuts, amounts to the institutionalization of endemic multidimensional poverty.
How does the report propose to rectify global inequality?
The “Inequality Kills” report proposes far-reaching changes to structures of government, economy, and policymaking to fight inequality.
It urgently asks for “vaccine recipes” to be made open source so that every qualified vaccine manufacturer can manufacture them.
In doing so the report asks for monopolies over vaccines held by pharmaceutical giants and anchored in place through the World Trade Organisation, to end.
The report then asks for governments to “claw” back the wealth from billionaires by administering solidarity taxes higher than 90% especially on the billionaires that have profited during and because of the pandemic.
In addition to this, the report asks for permanent cancellation of tax havens, progressive taxation on corporations and an end to tax dodging by corporations.
The report then suggests that all of this regained wealth be redirected towards building income safety nets, universalising healthcare for everyone, investing in green technologies and democratising them, and, investing in protecting women from violence.
Finally, the report advocates for redistributing power along with wealth by strengthening workers’ unions, boosting political representation of marginalised groups, and asserting human rights.
Change rules and shift power in the economy and society: Governments must rewrite the rules within their economies that create such colossal divides, and act to pre-distribute income, change laws, and redistribute power in decision-making and power in the economy.
That includes ending sexist laws, including those which mean that nearly 3 billion women are legally prevented from having the same choice of jobs as men.
It must include tackling the barriers to representation for women, racialized groups, and working-class people. Women still make up only 25.5% of parliamentarians globally.
Implications of inequality
Crime and violence: The report identifies higher inequality with more crime and violence and less social trust.
Impact on marginalized: The brunt of inequality and the violence is borne, for instance, by women across the world, Dalits in India, Black, Native American and Latin persons in the US and indigenous groups in many countries.
Victimization of women: Pointing to the example of women, the problem runs a lot deeper as 13 million women have not returned to the workforce and 20 million girls are at risk of losing access to education.
Inequality causes a wide range of health and social problems, from reduced life expectancy and higher infant mortality to poor educational attainment, lower social mobility and increased levels of violence and mental illness.
Societal breakdown: It further leads to a societal breakdown in trust, solidarity and social cohesion, reducing people’s willingness to act for the common good.
For instance, social conflict among the social groups in India, like Patidar unrest and Jaat Andolan.
Denial of basic services: Due to the prevailing inequality in digital access, the digital solutions offered for providing basic services such as health and education face failure.
Environmental degradation: Greater inequality can lead to more rapid environmental degradation because low incomes lead to low investment in physical capital and education
The gap between the top 1% and the bottom 50% is wider for India than the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and France.
What is the pattern of inequality over the years?
During Independence– In the Nehruvian years and after that too, a bid was made to battle the basic absence of social democracy in India, but it remained confined to States and regions.
The Five Year plans contributed to reducing the share of the top 10% who had 50% of the income under colonial rule to 35%-40% in the early decades after Independence.
During economic reforms– Since the mid-1980s, deregulation and liberalisation policies have led to the top 1% majorly profiting from economic reforms whereas the growth among low- and middle-income groups has been relatively slow.
The income of the bottom 50% in India grew at the rate of 2.2% per year between 1951 and 1981, but that the growth rate remained exactly the same over the past 40 years.
Post-2014– India seems to have got into a phase of an even greater reliance on big business and privatisation to fix economics and the latest World Inequality Report concludes that the bottom 50% share has gone down to 13%.
What flaws can be attributed to this?
Moving away from secularisation-The Union government’s now-stated policy to prioritise members of one religion and one language, has severe economic consequences widening the income inequality.
Reverse modernisation– By choosing to reverse the idea of modernisation, linking religion firmly into the public sphere, trying to unmake the modernity, we may be setting ourselves on a narrow path that nations in the world have already arrived at.
One size nation– The quick descent into a one size nation does not fit its much diversity. The state is now fanning systems and principles to further inequalities.
Denial of equality– B.R. Ambedkar had issued a grim warning in 1949 that if we continue to deny social and economic inequality for long, we could blow up the structure of political democracy.
What are the different forms of inequality prevalent in India?
Income and wealth inequality, as mentioned above in the findings of the World Inequality Report.
Digital inequality: According to National Sample Survey (2017), only 6% of rural households and 25% of urban households have a computer. Only 17% in rural areas and 42% in urban areas have access to internet.
Social inequality: It is the differential access to wealth, power, and prestige. Social inequality may exist on gender, race, age, ethnicity, religion, and kinship. This form of inequality is widely prevalent in India.
What are the reasons behind high inequality in India?
The slow economic and GDP growth: GDP growth has been rather slow since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and has completely lost its momentum since the start of 2017. For a relatively poor country such as India, the most durable and dependable way to reduce inequality is to increase the size of GDP.
Lack of digital access: Poor households are not able to afford devices to ensure digital access for their children. Most of the rural students could not access online classes, due to lack of devices, shared devices, inability to buy “data packs”, etc.
Increased penetration of technology and industrialization: Some experts argue that as technology is skill biased, so those who are able to use technology experience an increase in productivity and wages compared to their less-skilled counterparts.
The increase in productivity leads to the spread of technology, which, in turn, creates a higher demand for skilled workers. This self-reinforcing cycle increases wealth and income inequality.
Large numbers of the labor force work in sectors with low productivity. Consider agriculture. It provides 53 per cent jobs, while contributing only 17% to the GDP
Way Forward
Multi-Pronged Approach to Tackle Inequality: Programs such as the National Food Security Act must receive the quantum of allocations needed.
Also, the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) has estimated that approximately ₹2,64,000 crore will be needed to guarantee 100 days work for currently active job cards.
The social security pensioners need to be protected from hunger, sickness and poverty. The election season offers an opportunity to fetch the basic rights of the unorganized and vulnerable people.
Gains from Tax: All the governments should immediately tax the gains made by the super-rich during this pandemic period.
Increasing the Reach of Basic Necessities: Given the growing inequality in India, the direction that public policy should now take is evident, there is a need to spread health and education far more widely amidst the population.
By ensuring universal access to public funded high quality services like Public health and education, social security benefits, employment guarantee schemes, inequality can be reduced to a great extent.
Employment Generation: The labor-intensive manufacturing sector of India has the potential to absorb millions of people who are leaving farming while the service sector tends to benefit the urban middle class.
The fiscal deficit for the year 2022-23 is higher than what was recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission. However, if we consider the direction of consolidation, it is towards a reduction in the fiscal deficit.
The budget focuses on capital investment
This year’s Union budget projects an increase in capex by Rs 3.14 lakh crore, as compared to the budgeted numbers of the previous fiscal.
Given the economy’s savings-investment profile and macroeconomic uncertainties due to the pandemic, private and household investments are likely to be reactive to the general economic environment.
Achieving sustainable recovery: For the government, making capital investment in such uncertain times assumes a much higher priority and is equally indispensable for achieving a strong and sustainable recovery from the pandemic.
Increasing share of government: As per National Accounts data, gross fixed capital formation by the general government (Centre and states) has shown an increase as a percentage of GDP from 3.48 in 2011-12 to 3.82 in 2019-20, while other sectors, particularly households, the share fell from 15.75 per cent to 11.39 per cent during the same period.
The fiscal stance taken in the post-pandemic budgets for higher capital spending, including the budget of 2022-23, is likely to further enhance the general government share in overall capital formation.
Important role of the States: it is also important to recognise that two-thirds of the general government’s capital expenditure is undertaken by states and in this context, the announcement of the Rs 1 lakh crore interest-free loans to the states to increase public investment has been a significant step.
Since states taken together have a higher share in the country’s public capital spending, effective absorption of this additional borrowing facility will be critical for higher public investment.
Three broad trends on Fiscal Consolidation
1] Increase in taxes: The increase in taxes by Rs 5.71 lakh crore between 2020-21 (the first year of the pandemic) and 2022-23 shows that the fiscal challenges have eased, but remain present as we navigate economic recovery in uncertain times.
2] Reduction in revenue deficit: Between 2020-21 and 2022-23 (BE), the reduction in revenue deficit has been substantial — from 7.3 per cent to 3.8 per cent of GDP.
3] Revenue deficit dominates fiscal deficit: Compositionally, revenue deficit continues to be more than 55 per cent of the fiscal deficit and the management of such a deficit has few important considerations for revenue expenditure, that is, interest payments and allocation under various centrally sponsored and central sector schemes.
Role of CSS in revenue deficit: Aggregate allocation under centrally sponsored and central sector schemes (CSS) as per the 2022-23 (BE) is Rs 3.83 lakh crore and the interest payment cost of the Union government is Rs 9.56 lakh crore.
Beyond scheme-wise allocations, it is also important to consider CSS allocation as an issue of macro-fiscal management issue at the Union and state level, especially when it is contributing to the high revenue deficit of the central government and binding state resources for matching contribution, thereby increasing states’ deficit.
Understanding the direction of fiscal consolidation
The fiscal deficit for the year 2022-23 is higher than what was recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
However, if we consider the direction of consolidation, it is towards a reduction in the fiscal deficit.
Though in the medium-term, the fiscal story is about supporting recovery, it is also true that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to fiscal consolidation and debt sustainability.
Conclusion
The direction of fiscal consolidation rather than a specific quantified path in an unprecedented time like this is probably the most appropriate consideration.
Over 2 crore people who have signed up for the Centre’s portal for unorganised sector workers hold a Graduate Degree.
E-Shram
On August 26, 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) launched the E-Shram, the web portal for creating a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW), which will be seeded with Aadhaar.
It seeks to register an estimated 398-400 million unorganized workers and to issue an E-Shram card.
Issues with E-Shram
(A) Time constraints
Long process: Given the gigantic nature of registering each worker, it will be a long-drawn process.
No gestation period: The Government has not mentioned a gestation period to assess its strategy and efficiency.
No hasty process: Employers are or required their workers to register even. While the Government can appeal to them, any penal measure will hurt the ease of doing business.
(B) Pandemic hides
Considering the estimated 380 million workers as the universe of registration — debatable as the novel coronavirus pandemic has pushed lakhs of workers into informality.
(C) Data security
Privacy: One of the vital concerns of e-portals is data security, including its potential abuse especially when it is a mega-sized database.
No national framework yet: There are also media reports pointing out the absence of a national architecture relating to data security.
Local server issues: It has been reported that in some states such as Maharashtra, the server was down for a few days.
(D) Structural issue
Aadhaar seeding: Many workers will not have an Aadhaar-seeded mobile or even a smartphone. Aadhaar-seeding is a controversial issue with political overtones, especially in the North-eastern regions.
Eligibility: There are several issues concerning the eligibility of persons to register as well as the definitional issues.
Exclusion: By excluding workers covered by EPF and ESI, lakhs of contract and fixed-term contract workers will be excluded from the universe of UW. Hazardous establishments employing even a single worker will have to be covered under the ESI, which means these workers also will be excluded.
No benefits for the aged: The NDUW excludes millions of workers aged over 59 from its ambit, which constitutes age discrimination.
(D) Complex identities of workers
Migration: Many are circular migrant workers and they quickly, even unpredictably, move from one trade to another.
Mixed work: Many others perform formal and informal work as some during non-office hours may belong to the gig economy, for example as an Uber taxi or a Swiggy employee. They straddle formal and informal sectors.
Gig workers: Even though MOLE has included gig workers in this process, it is legally unclear whether the gig/platform worker can be classified first as a worker at all.
(E) Other impediments
Dependence on States: The central government will have to depend on the state governments for this project to be successful.
Lack of coordination: In many States, the social dialogue with the stakeholders especially is rather weak or non-existent. The success of the project depends on the involvement of a variety of stakeholders apart from trade unions.
Corruption: There is also the concern of corruption as middle-service agencies such as Internet providers might charge exorbitant charges to register and print the E-Shram cards.
Benefits: No immediate carrot
Workers stand to gain by registration in the medium to long run.
But the instant benefit of accident insurance up to ₹0.2 million to registered workers is surely not an attractive carrot.
The main point of attraction is the benefits they stand to gain during normal and crisis-ridden periods such as the novel coronavirus pandemic now which the Government needs to disseminate properly.
Way forward
E-Shram is a vital system to provide hitherto invisible workers much-needed visibility.
It will provide the Labour Market Citizenship Document to them.
The govt should go one step further for triple linkage for efficient and leakage-less delivery of all kinds of benefits and voices to workers/citizens: One-Nation-One-Ration Card (ONOR), E-Shram Card (especially bank account seeded), and the Election Commission Card.
Last but not least, registrations cannot be a source of exclusion of a person from receiving social assistance and benefits.
ISRO plans to execute the Chandrayaan-3 mission in August this year.
What is Chandrayaan-3 Mission?
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a follow-up of Chandrayaan-2 of July 2019, which aimed to land a rover on the lunar South Pole.
Chandrayaan-2: A quick recap
Chandrayaan-2 consisted of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon.
The Orbiter would watch the moon from a 100-km orbit, while the Lander and Rover modules were to be separated to make a soft landing on the moon’s surface.
ISRO had named the Lander module as Vikram, after Vikram Sarabhai, the pioneer of India’s space programme, and the Rover module as Pragyaan, meaning wisdom.
Utility of the Orbiter
The Orbiter part of the mission has been functioning normally. It is carrying eight instruments.
Each of these instruments has produced a handsome amount of data that sheds new light on the moon and offers insights that could be used in further exploration.
Inception of Chandrayaan 3
The subsequent failure of the Vikram lander led to the pursuit of another mission to demonstrate the landing capabilities needed for the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission proposed in partnership with Japan for 2024.
Its design
The lander for Chandrayaan-3 will have only four throttle-able engines.
Unlike Vikram on Chandrayaan-2 which had five 800N engines with a fifth one being centrally mounted with a fixed thrust.
Additionally, the Chandrayaan-3 lander will be equipped with a Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV).
Back2Basics: Chandrayaan-1 Mission
The Chandrayaan-1 mission was launched in October 2008 was ISRO’s first exploratory mission to the moon, in fact to any heavenly body in space.
The mission was designed to just orbit around the moon and make observations with the help of the instruments onboard.
The closest that Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft came to the moon was in an orbit 100 km from its surface.
Godavari Estuary in Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is facing due ignorance despite meeting all nine criteria of Ramsar Convention.
Godavari Estuary
The estuary, including 235.70 sq. km Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), is one of the rarest eco-regions on the earth.
It is also home to India’s second-largest mangrove cover after the Sundarbans.
The CWS is inhabited by 115 endangered fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus), Olive Ridley turtles, Indian smooth-coated otter, and saltwater crocodiles.
What are the nine criteria laid out by Ramsar Convention?
Criterion 1: “it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region.”
Criterion 2: “it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.”
Criterion 3: “it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.”
Criterion 4: “it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions.”
Criterion 5: “it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds.”
Criterion 6: “it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.”
Criterion 7: “it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity.”
Criterion 8: “it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.”
Criterion 9: “it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non-avian animal species.”
Back2Basics: Ramsar Convention
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (better known as the Ramsar Convention) is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem.
The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
Traditionally viewed as a wasteland or breeding ground of disease, wetlands actually provide fresh water and food and serve as nature’s shock absorber.
Wetlands, critical for biodiversity, are disappearing rapidly, with recent estimates showing that 64% or more of the world’s wetlands have vanished since 1900.
Major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing, water diversion for dams and canals, and infrastructure development are considered to be some of the main causes of loss and degradation of wetlands.
