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GS Paper: Government Scheme/Policies

  • Explained: Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs)

    The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister has announced that 80 Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs), an integral component of the Smart Cities Mission, have already been set up.

    What is the Smart Cities Mission?

    • The Smart Cities Mission aims at developing 100 cities, which were shortlisted, into self-sustainable urban settlements.
    • The mission was launched on June 25, 2015 and was projected as one aimed at transforming the process of urban development in the country.
    • Among its strategic components is ‘area-based development’, which includes city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (greenfield development), plus a pan-city initiative in which ‘smart solutions’ are applied covering larger parts of the city.

    Focus areas

    • Key focus areas of the scheme include the construction of walkways, pedestrian crossings, cycling tracks, efficient waste-management systems, integrated traffic management and assessment.
    • The scheme also assesses various indices to track urban development such as the Ease of Living Index, Municipal Performance Index, City GDP framework, Climate-Smart Cities assessment framework, etc.

    What is an Integrated Command and Control Centre?

    • The Smart Cities Mission includes setting up ICCCs for each such city as a vital step.
    • These ICCCs are designed to enable authorities to monitor the status of various amenities in real time.
    • Initially aimed at controlling and monitoring water and power supply, sanitation, traffic movement, integrated building management, city connectivity and Internet infrastructure, these centres have since evolved to monitor various other parameters.
    • The ICCCs are now also linked to the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems) network under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    • The ICCC acts of a smart city acts as a “nerve centre” for operations management. It processes a complex and large pool of data sets at an aggregated level.
    • It is the nodal point of availability of all online data and information relating to smart services included in a smart city, such as like LED street lighting, CCTV surveillance cameras, air quality sensors, etc.

    How did the ICCCs help in management of Covid-19?

    • During the pandemic, they also served as war-rooms for Covid-19 management.
    • During the peak of the first wave, when countries were struggling to figure out ways of combating the virus, the government used the ICCCs as war-rooms for managing the outbreak, with real-time surveillance and monitoring of districts across the country.
    • Converted into war-rooms, the smart cities’ ICCCs used the central data dashboard and provided information about the status of Covid-positive cases in various administrative zones of these cities, officials aware of the exercise said.
    • The war-rooms were also used for tracking people under quarantine and suspected Covid-19 cases.

    What is the current status of the Smarts Cities Mission?

    • The ambitious project, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, had an initial deadline of 2021 for the first lot of 20 smart cities out of the 100 selected.
    • Although the project was announced in 2015, the cities were selected over a period of two years between 2016 and 2018, each with a deadline of completion within five years from the time of their selection.
    • On the recommendation of NITI Aayog, the timeline was extended last year until 2023 due to delays caused by the pandemic.
    • According to current Ministry data, the SCM has so far covered over 140 public-private partnerships), 340 ‘smart roads’, 78 ‘vibrant public places’, 118 ‘smart water’ projects and over 63 solar projects.

    What next?

    • The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has begun work to finalise its recommendation for providing ICCCs as a service to states and smaller cities.
    • The Ministry aims to finalise an ICCC model and implement a pilot project across six major states — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

     

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  • Demolition drives violate international law

    Context

    Communal clashes broke out during Ram Navami processions in several parts of the country including at Khargone in Madhya Pradesh. Subsequently, the Madhya Pradesh government bulldozed the houses of those who were allegedly involved in rioting.

    Right to housing

    • Fundamental right under Article 21: The right to housing is not only a fundamental right recognised under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, it is also a well-documented right under the international human rights law framework, which is binding on India.
    • Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care.
    • Likewise, Article 11.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognises “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living condition.
    • The rights recognised under ICESCR, according to Article 4, can be restricted by States only if the limitations are determined by law in a manner compatible with the nature of these rights and solely to promote society’s general welfare.
    • Besides, international law also prohibits arbitrary interference in an individual’s right to property.
    • For instance, Article 12 of the UDHR states that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation”.
    • Article 12 also stipulates that “everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks”.
    • This same right is also provided under Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

    Protection against Forced eviction

    • According to the UN Human Rights Office, an integral element of the right to adequate housing is ‘protection against forced evictions’.
    • The UN Human Rights Office defines ‘forced evictions’ as ‘permanent or temporary removal against the will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection’.

    Way forward

    • The apex court in cases like Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab, Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan, and recently in the famous Puttaswamy vs Union of India has laid down the principle that the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution must be read and interpreted in a manner which would enhance their conformity with international human rights law.
    • It is high time that the judiciary acted and imposed necessary checks on the unbridled exercise of power by the executive.

    Conclusion

    The bulldozing of the houses of the alleged rioters amounts to forced eviction and arbitrary interference with an individual’s home.

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  • Upholding the right to repair

    Context

    Apple recently announced that consumers will have the right to purchase spare components of their products, following an order of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States, which directs manufacturers to remedy unfair anti-competitive practice and asks them to make sure that consumers can make repairs, either themselves or by a third-party agency. The momentum is, however, not so strong in India.

    Challenges in repairing of electronic goods

    • Repairing is becoming unreasonably expensive or pretty much impossible because of technology becoming obsolete.
    • Incompatibility: Companies avoid the publication of manuals that can help users make repairs easily.
    • No repair manual: The absence of repair manuals means that manufacturers hold near-monopoly over repair workshops that charge consumers exorbitant prices.
    • Incompatibility: Manufacturers have proprietary control over spare parts and most firms refuse to make their products compatible with those of other firms.
    • Planned obsolescence results in products breaking down too soon and buying a replacement is often cheaper and easier than repairing them.
    • Big companies often deploy mechanisms that practically forbid other enterprises to repair their products.
    • Digital warranty cards, for instance, ensure that by getting a product from a “non-recognised” outfit, a customer loses the right to claim a warranty.

    Right to repair

    • The rationale behind the “right to repair” is that the individual who purchases a product must own it completely.
    • This implies that apart from being able to use the product, consumers must be able to repair and modify the product the way they want to.
    • Monopoly on repair processes infringes the customer’s’ “right to choose” recognised by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. 
    •  In Shamsher Kataria v Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (2017), for instance, the Competition Commission of India ruled that restricting the access of independent automobile repair units to spare parts by way of an end-user license agreement was anti-competitive.

    International practices

    • Many countries have taken initiatives, adopted policies and even tried to enact legislation that recognise the “right to repair” to reduce electronic waste.
    • Some jurisdictions offer limited scope for exercising the right to repair.
    • For instance, under the Australian Consumer Law consumers have a right to request that certain goods be repaired if they break too easily or do not work properly.
    • The Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act, 2012 requires automobile manufacturers to provide spare parts and diagnostics to buyers and even independent third-party mechanics.
    • The UK also introduced the path-breaking “right to repair” in 2021 that makes it legally binding on manufacturers to provide spare parts.

    Way forward

    • Well-drafted legislation will not only uphold the right to repair but may aid in striking a much-needed balance between intellectual property and competitive laws in the country.

    Conclusion

    If people want to fix things in a timely, safe and cost-effective way, whether by doing it themselves or taking it
    to a service centre of their choice, providing access to spare parts and information is imperative.

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  • [pib] SVANidhi se Samriddhi Program

    The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ program in additional 126 cities across 14 States/ UTs.

    About PM SVANidhi Scheme

    • The Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme is aimed at benefiting over 50 lakh vendors who had their businesses operational on or before March 24 2020.
    • It is a Central Sector Scheme.
    • The scheme was announced by Finance Minister as a part of the economic package for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.
    • The loans are meant to help kick-start activity for vendors who have been left without any income since the lockdown was implemented on March 25.
    • The scheme was valid until March 2022.

    What is SVANidhi se Samriddhi Program?

    • SVANidhi se Samriddhi program was started to provide social security benefits to street vendors for their holistic development and socio-economic upliftment.
    • Quality Council of India (QCI) is the implementing partner for the programme.
    • Under the program, socio-economic profiling of PMSVANidhi beneficiaries and their families is conducted to assess their eligibility for 8 Government of India’s welfare schemes and facilitate sanctions of eligible schemes.

    These schemes include:

    1. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana,
    2. PM Suraksha Bima Yojana,
    3. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana,
    4. Registration under Building and other Constructions Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act (BOCW),
    5. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana,
    6. National Food Security Act (NFSA) portability benefit – One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC),
    7. Janani Suraksha Yojana, and
    8. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).

     

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  • [pib] Fortification of Rice

    The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved supply of fortified rice in all States and Union Territories (UTs) by 2024 in a phased manner.

    What is the news?

    1. National Food Security Act (NFSA)
    2. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
    3. Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman-PM POSHAN [erstwhile Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM)] and
    4. Other Welfare Schemes (OWS)

    Phases of implementation

    The following three phases are envisaged for full implementation of the initiative:

    1. Phase-I: Covering ICDS and PM POSHAN in India all over by March, 2022 which is under implementation.
    2. Phase-II: Phase I above plus TPDS and OWS in all Aspirational and High Burden Districts on stunting (total 291 districts) by March 2023.
    3. Phase-III: Phase II above plus covering the remaining districts of the country by March 2024.

    What is Fortification?

    • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has explicitly defined fortification.
    • It involves deliberate increasing of the content of essential micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health.

    Types of food fortification

    Food fortification can also be categorized according to the stage of addition:

    1. Commercial and industrial fortification (wheat flour, cornmeal, cooking oils)
    2. Biofortification (breeding crops to increase their nutritional value, which can include both conventional selective breeding, and genetic engineering)
    3. Home fortification (example: vitamin D drops)

    How is fortification done for rice?

    • Various technologies are available to add micronutrients to regular rice, such as coating, dusting, and ‘extrusion’.
    • The last mentioned involves the production of fortified rice kernels (FRKs) from a mixture using an ‘extruder’ machine.
    • It is considered to be the best technology for India.
    • The fortified rice kernels are blended with regular rice to produce fortified rice.

    How does the extrusion technology to produce FRK work?

    • Dry rice flour is mixed with a premix of micronutrients, and water is added to this mixture.
    • The mixture is passed through a twin-screw extruder with heating zones, which produces kernels similar in shape and size to rice.
    • These kernels are dried, cooled, and packaged for use. FRK has a shelf life of at least 12 months.
    • As per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the shape and size of the fortified rice kernel should “resemble the normal milled rice as closely as possible”.
    • According to the guidelines, the length and breadth of the grain should be 5 mm and 2.2 mm respectively.

    But why does rice have to be fortified in the first place?

    • India has very high levels of malnutrition among women and children.
    • According to the Food Ministry, every second woman in the country is anaemic and every third child is stunted.
    • Fortification of food is considered to be one of the most suitable methods to combat malnutrition.
    • Rice is one of India’s staple foods, consumed by about two-thirds of the population. Per capita rice consumption in India is 6.8 kg per month.
    • Therefore, fortifying rice with micronutrients is an option to supplement the diet of the poor.

    What are the standards for fortification?

    • Under the Ministry’s guidelines, 10 g of FRK must be blended with 1 kg of regular rice.
    • According to FSSAI norms, 1 kg of fortified rice will contain the following: iron (28 mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125 microgram), and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram).
    • Rice may also be fortified with zinc (10 mg-15 mg), vitamin A (500-750 microgram RE), vitamin B-1 (1 mg-1.5 mg), vitamin B-2 (1.25 mg-1.75 mg), vitamin B-3 (12.5 mg-20 mg) and vitamin B-6 (1.5 mg-2.5 mg) per kg.

    Does fortified rice have to be cooked differently?

    • The cooking of fortified rice does not require any special procedure.
    • The rice needs to be cleaned and washed in the normal way before cooking.
    • After cooking, fortified rice retains the same physical properties and micronutrient levels as it had before cooking.

    What is India’s capacity for fortification?

    • At the time of the PM’s announcement last year, nearly 2,700 rice mills had installed blending units for the production of fortified rice.
    • India’s blending capacity now stands at 13.67 lakh tonnes in 14 key states, according to figures provided by the Ministry.
    • FRK production had increased rapidly from 7,250 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes within 2 years.

    How can a beneficiary distinguish between fortified rice and regular rice?

    • Fortified rice will be packed in jute bags with the logo (‘+F’) and the line “Fortified with Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12”.

    Advantages offered

    • Health: Fortified staple foods will contain natural or near-natural levels of micro-nutrients, which may not necessarily be the case with supplements.
    • Taste: It provides nutrition without any change in the characteristics of food or the course of our meals.
    • Nutrition: If consumed on a regular and frequent basis, fortified foods will maintain body stores of nutrients more efficiently and more effectively than will intermittently supplement.
    • Economy: The overall costs of fortification are extremely low; the price increase is approximately 1 to 2 percent of the total food value.
    • Society: It upholds everyone’s right to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger

    Issues with fortified food

    • Against nature: Fortification and enrichment upset nature’s packaging. Our body does not absorb individual nutrients added to processed foods as efficiently compared to nutrients naturally occurring.
    • Bioavailability: Supplements added to foods are less bioavailable. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of a nutrient your body is able to absorb and use.
    • Immunity issues: They lack immune-boosting substances.
    • Over-nutrition: Fortified foods and supplements can pose specific risks for people who are taking prescription medications, including decreased absorption of other micro-nutrients, treatment failure, and increased mortality risk.

    Back2Basics: Public Distribution System (PDS)

    • The PDS is an Indian food Security System established under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
    • PDS evolved as a system of management of scarcity through the distribution of food grains at affordable prices.
    • PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and State Governments.
    • The Central Government, through the Food Corporation of India (FCI), has assumed the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation, and bulk allocation of food grains to the State Governments.
    • The operational responsibilities including allocation within the State, identification of eligible families, issue of Ration Cards and supervision of the functioning of FPSs etc., rest with the State Governments.
    • Under the PDS, presently the commodities namely wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene are being allocated to the States/UTs for distribution.
    •  Some states/UTs also distribute additional items of mass consumption through PDS outlets such as pulses, edible oils, iodized salt, spices, etc.

    Mid-Day Meal Scheme

    • The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal program in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
    • It is a wholesome freshly-cooked lunch served to children in government and government-aided schools in India.
    • It supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government-aided, local body, and alternate innovative education centers, Madarsa and Maqtabs.
    • The program has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995.
    • The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013.

    The scheme aims to:

    1. avoid classroom hunger
    2. increase school enrolment
    3. increase school attendance
    4. improve socialization among castes
    5. address malnutrition
    6. empower women through employment

     

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  • Privacy concerns in the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022

    Context

    The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs introduced the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022.

    Purpose of the introduction of the Bill

    • The Bill aims to replace the Identification of Prisoners Act 1920 that has been in need of amendment for several decades.
    • The criticism and the need for amendment was predominantly in respect of the limited definition of ‘measurements’ as under that Act.
    • Back in the 1980s, the Law Commission of India (in its 87th Report) and the Supreme Court of India in a judgment titled State of U.P. vs Ram Babu Misra had nearly simultaneously suggested the need to amend the statute.

    What are the issues with the provisions in the Bill?

    1] Definition of ‘measurement’ includes analysis of the data

    • The definition of measurements is not restricted to taking measurements, but also their “analysis”.
    • The definition now states “iris and retina scan, physical, biological samples and their analysis, behavio[u]ral attributes including signatures….”
    • It goes beyond the scope of a law that is only designed for taking measurements and could result in indirectly conferring legislative backing for techniques that may involve the collection of data from other sources(For instance, using facial recognition).
    • At present there are extensive facial recognition technology programmes for “smart policing” that are deployed all across the country.
    • Such experimental technologies cause mass surveillance and are prone to bias, impacting the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable in India.

    2] Power of the police and prison officials widened

    • The existing law permits data capture by police and prison officers either from persons convicted or persons arrested for commission of offences punishable with a minimum of one year’s imprisonment.
    • Parallel powers are granted to judges, who can order any person to give measurements where it is in aid of investigation.
    • While the judicial power is left undisturbed, it is the powers of the police and prison officials that are being widened.
    • The law removes the existing — albeit minimal — limitation on persons whose measurements could be taken.
    • It is poised to be expanded to all persons who are placed under arrest in a case.
    • Here, the proposed Bill also contains muddied language stating that a person, “may not be obliged to allow taking of his biological samples”.

    3] Storage and retention of data for a long period

    • The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shall for a period of 75 years from the date of collection maintain a digital record, “in the interest of prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of any offense”.
    • The provision permits the NCRB to, “share and disseminate such records with any law enforcement agency, in such manner as may be prescribed”.
    • The NCRB already operates a centralised database, namely the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), without any clear legislative framework.
    • The existence of such legislative power with a technical framework may permit multiple mirror copies and parallel databases of the “measurements” being stored with law enforcement, beyond a State Police department which will be prosecuting the crime and the NCRB which will store all records centrally.
    • For instance, in response to a Standing Committee of Parliament on police modernisation, Rajasthan has stated that it maintains a ‘RajCop Application’ that integrates with “analytics capabilities in real-time with multiple data sources (inter-department and intra-department)”.
    • Similarly, Punjab has said that the “PAIS (Punjab Artificial Intelligence System) App uses machine learning, deep learning, visual search, and face recognition for the identification of criminals to assist police personnel.
    • Hence, multiple copies of “measurements” will be used by State government policing departments for various purposes and with experimental technologies.
    • This also takes away the benefit of deletion which occurs on acquittal and will suffer from weak enforcement due to the absence of a data protection law.
    •  The end result is a sprawling database in which innocent persons are treated as persons of interest for most of their natural lives.

    Conclusion

    To protect individual autonomy and fulfil our constitutional promises, the Supreme Court of India pronounced the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy judgment, reaffirming its status as a fundamental right. The responsibility to protect it falls to each organ of the government, including the legislature and the union executive.

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  • Old Pension Scheme vs New Pension Scheme

    Many states are trying to restore Old Pension Scheme and discontinue the National Pension System (NPS).

    What is the Defined Pension Benefit Scheme (old)?

    • The scheme assures life-long income, post-retirement.
    • Usually the assured amount is equivalent to 50% of the last drawn salary.
    • The Government bears the expenditure incurred on the pension.
    • The scheme was discontinued in 2004.

    What is the National Pension System (NPS)?

    • The Union government under PM Vajpayee took a decision in 2003 to discontinue the old pension scheme and introduced the NPS.
    • The scheme is applicable to all new recruits joining the Central Government service (except armed forces) from April 1, 2004.
    • On the introduction of NPS, the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 was amended.

    Features of NPS

    • It is a scheme, where employees contribute to their pension corpus from their salaries, with matching contributions from the government.
    • The funds are invested in earmarked investment schemes through Pension Fund Managers.
    • At retirement, they can withdraw 60% of the corpus, which is tax-free and the remaining 40% is invested in annuities, which is taxed.
    • It can have two components — Tier I and II.
    • Tier-II is a voluntary savings account that offers flexibility in terms of withdrawal, and one can withdraw at any point of time, unlike Tier I account.
    • Private individuals can opt for the scheme.

    What were the changes introduced in 2019?

    • In 2019, the Finance Ministry said that Central government employees have the option of selecting the Pension Funds (PFs) and Investment Pattern in their Tier-I account.
    • The default pension fund managers are the LIC Pension Fund Limited, SBI Pension Funds Pvt. Limited and UTI Retirement Solutions Limited in a predefined proportion.

    Who is the regulatory authority?

    • The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is the regulator for NPS.
    • PFRDA was set up through the PFRDA Act in 2013 to promote old age income security by developing pension funds to protect the interest of subscribers to schemes of pension funds.

    What is the subscriber base?

    • As on February 28, there were 22.74 lakh Central government employees and 55.44 lakh State government employees enrolled under the NPS.

    Why in news now?

    • In Feb, Rajasthan CM announced restoration of the old pension scheme for the government employees, who joined the service on or after January 1, 2004.
    • The announcement meant that the National Pension System (NPS) would be discontinued in the State.
    • The center had maintained that restoration of the old system would cause an unnecessary financial burden on the government.

    Cons of NPS

    • Forfeiture of pension: The NPS scheme was created by the Government of India, in order to stop all the defined pension related benefits that it gave to its employees.
    • Withdrawal restrictions: NPS restricts all kinds of withdrawals, before the subscriber reaches the age of 60 years.
    • No tax benefits: The NPS corpus, which the subscriber can use for buying annuity or for drawing pensions, is taxable, when the schemes matures.
    • Limit on investment: The subscriber cannot invest more than 50% of his or her total investment in the NPS account, towards the equities.
    • No guarantee: While NPS is a government scheme, the corpus is created according to the returns, which are generated under the corporate bonds, government securities, and equity.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Who among the following can join the National Pension System (NPS)?

    (a) Resident Indian citizens only

    (b) Persons of age from 21 to 55 only

    (c) All-State Government employees joining the services after the date of notification by the respective State Governments

    (d) All Central Governments Employees including those of Armed Forces joining the services on or after 1st April 2004

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”2nr2jt9g7y” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • SC backs Centre’s OROP scheme

    The Supreme Court has upheld the Centre’s one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme for the armed forces.

    What is the news?

    • The Supreme Court has ruled that there was “no constitutional infirmity” in the way the government had introduced ‘one rank, one pension’ (OROP) among ex-service personnel.
    • The scheme, notified by the Defence Ministry on November 7, 2015, was challenged by Indian Ex-Service Movement, an association of retired defence personnel.

    What is OROP Scheme?

    • OROP means that any two military personnel retiring at the same rank, with the same years of service, must get an equal pension.
    • While this might appear almost obvious, there are several reasons why two military personnel who may have retired at the same rank with the same years of service, may get different pensions.

    Need for the scheme

    Military personnel across the three services fall under two categories, the officers and the other ranks.

    • Early age of retirement: The other ranks, which are soldiers, usually retire at age 35.
    • No benefits from pay commissions: Unlike government employees who retire close to 60, soldiers can thus miss out on the benefits from subsequent pay commissions.
    • Salary based pension: And since pensions are based on the last drawn salary, pensions too are impacted adversely.
    • Ranks based discrimination: The age when officers in the military retire depends upon their ranks. The lower the rank, the earlier they superannuate.
    • Liability against the sacrifice: It was argued that early retirement should not become an adverse element for what a soldier earns as pension, compared with those who retire later.

    Earlier pension mechanism

    • From 1950 to 1973, there was a concept known as the Standard Rate of Pension, which was similar to OROP.
    • In 1974, when the 3rd Pay Commission came into force, certain changes were effected in terms of weightage, additional years of notion service, etc., with regard to pensions.
    • In 1986, the 4th Pay Commission’s report brought further changes.
    • What ultimately happened was that the benefits of the successive pay commissions were not passed to servicemen who had retired earlier.
    • Pensions differed for those who had retired at the same rank, with the same years of service, but years apart.

    Demand for OROP

    • Ex-servicemen demanded OROP to correct the discrepancy.
    • Over the decades, several committees looked into it.
    • The Brig K P Singh Deo committee in 1983 recommended a system similar to Standard Rate of Pension, as did Parliament’s standing committees on defence.
    • The Narendra Modi government notified the current OROP scheme in November 2015, and it was made applicable from July 1, 2014.

    Issues with OROP

    • During the OROP protests of 2013-15, it was argued repeatedly that meeting the demand would be financially unsustainable.
    • Because soldiers retire early and remain eligible for pension for much longer than other employees, the Defence Ministry’s pension budget is very large, impacting capital expenditure.
    • The total defence pensioners are 32.9 lakh, but that includes 6.14 lakh defence civilian pensioners.
    • The actual expenditure of the Defence Ministry on pensions was Rs 1.18 lakh crore in 2019-2020.
    • The Defence Ministry’s pension-to-budget ratio is the highest among all ministries, and pensions are more than one-fifth of the total defence budget.
    • When the late Manohar Parrikar was Defence Minister, it was estimated that a one-time payout of Rs 83,000 crore would be needed to clear all past issues.

    Challenge to OROP

    • The petitioners contended that the principle of OROP had been replaced by ‘one rank multiple pensions’ for persons with the same length of service.
    • They submitted that the government had altered the initial definition of OROP and, instead of an automatic revision of the rates of pension.
    • Under this, any future raising of pension rates would be passed on to past pensioners — the revision would now take place at periodic intervals.
    • According to the petitioners, this was arbitrary and unconstitutional under Articles 14 and 21.

    What has the SC ruled now?

    • The court did not agree with the argument that the government’s 2015 policy communication contradicted the original decision to implement OROP.
    • It said that “while a decision to implement OROP was taken in principle, the modalities for implementation were yet to be chalked out.
    • The court also said that while the Koshyari Committee report furnishes the historical background of the demand, and its own view on it, it cannot be construed as embodying a statement of governmental policy.
    • It held that the OROP policy “may only be challenged on the ground that it is manifestly arbitrary or capricious”.

     

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  • 13% reduction in air pollution deaths due to UJJAWALA Scheme

    Greater penetration and usage of LPG as a cooking fuel is estimated to have prevented at least 1.5 lakh pollution-related premature deaths in the year 2019 alone, according to the first independent impact assessment of the government’s flagship Ujjwala program.

    About the PM Ujjwala Yojana

    • Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in 2016, with the aim to provide Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to five crore women members of below poverty line (BPL) households in the first phase.
    • he scheme was expanded in April 2018 to include women beneficiaries from seven more categories (SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most backward classes, tea garden, forest dwellers, Islands).
    • In the second phase the target was expanded to eight crore LPG connections.

    Why was this scheme launched?

    • Indoor air pollution is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children.
    • Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country.
    • This measure has empowered women and protected their health. It reduced drudgery and the time spent on cooking.
    • It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.

    Ujjwala 2.0

    • Under Ujjwala 2.0 migrant workers would no longer have to struggle to get address proof documents to get the gas connections.
    • Now migrant workers would only be required to submit a self-declaration of their residential address to get the gas connection.
    • Along with a deposit-free LPG connection, Ujjwala 2.0 will provide the first refill and a hotplate free of cost to the beneficiaries.

    Significance of Ujjwala 2.0

    • LPG infrastructure has expanded manifold in the country due to the Ujjwala scheme.
    • In the last six years, more than 11,000 new LPG distribution centres have opened across the country.
    • The LPG coverage in India is now very close to becoming 100 per cent.

     

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  • Caste-based NREGS Wages Payment System

    Parliament’s Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has asked the government to roll back the system of caste-based wages, under which NREGS workers are paid based on whether they belong to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, or Others.

    Back in news: MGNREGA

    What is the caste-based payment system?

    • Last year, the Rural Development Ministry sent an advisory to states asking them to take necessary action for payment of wages to NREGS workers according to their categories — SC, ST, and Others.
    • Under the new system, if 20 individuals (say, six SCs, four STs and 10 others) work together at a site under MG-NREGA, a single muster roll would be issued.
    • But payment would be done by issuing three separate Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs), one for each of the three categories.
    • Due to this, some beneficiaries started complaining that despite working at the same site and registering on the same muster roll, they were getting their wages at different times depending on their categories.
    • Beneficiaries in the ‘Others’ category, which includes the ‘General’ and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories, especially complained of delays.

    What was the earlier system of payment?

    • The Rural Development Ministry notifies wage rates for states and Union Territories under Section 6(1) of The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.
    • Until 2020-21, the wages were being paid to NREGS beneficiaries through a single funds transfer order.
    • In other words, if 20 beneficiaries, including SCs, STs and Others work at a site under MGNREGA, all received their wages at the same time, through a single muster roll and a single funds transfer order.

    Why was the system of caste-based wage payment introduced?

    • According to the Ministry, the system of category-wise payment of wages was introduced to “accurately reflect on the ground flow of funds to various population groups”.
    • Last year, a process of “streamlining” of the new system was taken up.

     

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