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GS Paper: GS2

  • Parliamentary Committees, their leaders, and their role in law-making

    A recent revamp of the Standing Committees of Parliament could potentially worsen the relations between the government and opposition parties.

    Why in news?

    • Of the 22 committees announced, the erstwhile ruling party has the post of chairperson in only one, and the opposition party from West Bengal has none.
    • The ruling party has the chairmanship of the important committees on Home, Finance, IT, Defence and External Affairs.

    What are Committees of Parliament?

    • A Parliamentary Committee is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker, and which works under the direction of the Speaker.
    • It presents its report to the House or to the Speaker.
    • Parliamentary Committees have their origins in the British Parliament.
    • They draw their authority from Article 105, which deals with the privileges of MPs, and Article 118, which gives Parliament authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business.

    What do they do?

    • Legislative business begins when a Bill is introduced in either House of Parliament.
    • But the process of lawmaking is often complex, and Parliament has limited time for detailed discussions.
    • Also, the political polarisation and shrinking middle ground has been leading to inconclusive debates in Parliament.
    • As a result of this, a great deal of legislative business ends up taking place in the Parliamentary Committees instead.
    • The aim is to increase Parliamentary scrutiny, and to give members more time and a wider role in examining important legislation.

    What are the various Committees of Parliament?

    • Broadly, Parliamentary Committees can be classified into Financial Committees, Departmentally Related Standing Committees, Other Parliamentary Standing Committees, and Ad hoc Committees.
    • The Financial Committees include the Estimates Committee, Public Accounts Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings.
    • These committees were constituted in 1950.
    • Seventeen Departmentally Related Standing Committees came into being in 1993, when Shivraj Patil was Speaker of Lok Sabha.
    • They aimed to examine budgetary proposals and crucial government policies.

    Composition of these committees

    • The number of Committees was subsequently increased to 24.
    • Each of these Committees has 31 members — 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
    • Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose.

    How are the Committees constituted?

    • There are 16 Departmentally Related Standing Committees for Lok Sabha and eight for Rajya Sabha; however, every Committee has members from both Houses.
    • Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha panels are headed by members of these respective Houses.
    • Among the important Lok Sabha panels are: Agriculture; Coal; Defence; External Affairs; Finance; Communications & Information Technology; Labour; Petroleum & Natural Gas; and Railways.
    • The important Rajya Sabha panels include Commerce; Education; Health & Family Welfare; Home Affairs; and Environment.
    • There are other Standing Committees for each House, such as the Business Advisory Committee and the Privileges Committee.
    • The Presiding Officer of each House nominates members to these panels. A Minister is not eligible for election or nomination to Financial Committees, and certain Departmentally Related Committees.

    Appointing of chairmen

    • The appointment of heads of the Committees is also done in a similar way. By convention, the main Opposition party gets the post of PAC chairman; it is currently with the Congress.
    • Chairmanship of some key committees has been allocated to opposition parties in the past. However, this pattern has changed in the latest rejig.
    • The heads of the panels schedule their meetings.
    • They play a clear role in preparing the agenda and the annual report, and can take decisions in the interest of the efficient management of the Committee.
    • The chairperson presides over the meetings and can decide who should be summoned before the panel.

    How do they work?

    • Bills that are referred to Committees often return to the House with significant value-addition.
    • The Committees look into the demands for grants of Ministries/departments, examine Bills pertaining to them, consider their annual reports, and look into their long-term plans and report to Parliament.

    What are Ad hoc Committees?

    • Ad hoc Committees cease to exist after they have completed the task assigned to them, and have submitted a report to the House.
    • The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills.
    • Committees like the Railway Convention Committee, Committee on Food Management and Security in Parliament House Complex, etc. also come under the category of Ad hoc Committees.

    What about Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)?

    • Parliament can also constitute a JPC with a special purpose, with members from both Houses, for detailed scrutiny of a subject or Bill.
    • Also, either of the two Houses can set up a Select Committee with members from that House.
    • JPCs and Select Committees are usually chaired by ruling party MPs, and are disbanded after they have submitted their report.

    Why need all these committees?

    • The time to speak on a Bill is allocated according to the size of the party in the House.
    • MPs often do not get adequate time to put forward their views in Parliament, even if they are experts on the subject.
    • Committees are small groups with relatively less demands on their time; in these meetings, every MP gets a chance and the time to contribute to the discussion.
    • Parliament has only around 100 sittings a year; Committee meetings are independent of Parliament’s calendar.

    How do discussions/ debates here differ from those in Parliament?

    • The discussions are confidential and off-camera.
    • Political Party affiliations usually do not come in the way of MPs speaking their minds in ways they are unable to do in Parliament.
    • The Committees work closely with multiple Ministries, and facilitate inter-ministerial coordination.

    How important are the recommendations of the Committees?

    • Reports of Departmentally Related Standing Committees are recommendatory in nature.
    • However, suggestions by the Select Committees and JPCs — which have a majority of MPs and heads from the ruling party — are accepted more frequently.
    • They are not binding on the government, but they do carry significant weight.
    • In the past, governments have accepted suggestions given by the Committees and incorporated them into the Bills.

    Significance of Parliamentary committees

    • Many MPs concede that “real discussions” happen inside the Committees.
    • The former US President Woodrow Wilson had observed that “Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work”.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to the Parliament of India which of the following Parliamentary Committees scrutinizes and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub rules, bylaws, etc. conferred by the Constitution or delegated by the Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?

     

    (a) Committee on Government Assurances

    (b) Committee on Subordinate Legislation

    (c) Rules Committee

    (d) Business Advisory Committee

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”siihj0de96″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • In news: Criterion for SC status

    The Supreme Court has sought the most recent position of the Union government on a batch of petitions challenging the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950, which allows only members of Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist religions to be recognised as SCs.

    The Constitution Order of 1950

    • When enacted, the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950, initially provided for recognising only Hindus as SCs.
    • It was then aimed to address the social disability arising out of the practice of untouchability.
    • The Order was amended in 1956 to include Dalits who had converted to Sikhism and once more in 1990 to include Dalits who had converted to Buddhism.
    • Both amendments were aided by the reports of the Kaka Kalelkar Commission in 1955 and the High Powered Panel (HPP) on Minorities, SCs and STs in 1983 respectively.

    What about Christians?

    • The Union government in 2019 rejected the possibility of including Dalit Christians as members of SCs.
    • This decision was rooted on the exclusion on an Imperial Order of 1936 of the then colonial government, which had first classified a list of the Depressed Classes and specifically excluded “Indian Christians” from it.

    Why are Dalit Christians excluded?

    • SC status is meant for communities suffering from social disabilities arising out of the practice of untouchability that was prevalent in Hindu and Sikh communities.
    • SC status for everyone would significantly swell the population of SCs across the country thus trivializing the purpose itself.

    Why neo-Buddhists are included in SC quota?

    • The amendment to include Buddhist converts as SCs was passed in 1990.
    • Like Dalit Buddhists, Dalits who converted to Islam or Christianity belonged to different sets of caste groups and not just one.
    • As a result of this, they cannot be categorised as a “single ethnic group”, which is required by Clause (2) of Article 341 for inclusion.

    Major concerns of including other religions

    • Sanction of untouchability: The practice of “untouchability” was a feature of Hindu religion and its branches. This would imply that India was trying to “impose its caste system” upon Christians and Muslims.
    • Undue internationalization: Allowing the inclusion of Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians as SCs could result in being misunderstood internationally.
    • Reviving casteism: Christians and Muslims of Dalit origin had lost their caste identity by way of their conversion and that in their new religious community, the practice of untouchability is not prevalent.

    Is there a case for inclusion?

    • The petitions arguing for inclusion have cited several independent Commission reports that have documented the existence of caste and caste inequalities among Indian Christians and Indian Muslims.
    • Even after conversion, members who were originally from SCs continued to experience the same social disabilities.
    • This was substantiated in the First Backward Classes Commission’s report in 1953, the HPP report on SCs, STs, and Minorities in 1983, the Mandal Commission Report, etc.
    • However, these reports do not have enough empirical evidence to support their claims.

    Why is the issue debated?

    • Non-deserving beneficiaries: The proposition that caste identity is lost upon conversion, noting that even in Sikhism and Buddhism, casteism is not present and yet they have been included as SCs.
    • Continued discrimination: The above-mentioned reports argue that caste-based discrimination continues even after conversion, hence entitling these communities to SC status.

     

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  • What is OPEC+?

    Oil prices rose about 1%, as OPEC+ members agreed to its deepest cuts to output since the 2020 COVID pandemic, despite a tight market and opposition to cuts from the United States and others.

    What is OPEC+?

    • The non-OPEC countries which export crude oil along with the 14 OPECs are termed as OPEC plus countries.
    • OPEC plus countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
    • Saudi and Russia, both have been at the heart of a three-year alliance of oil producers known as OPEC Plus — which now includes 11 OPEC members and 10 non-OPEC nations — that aims to shore up oil prices with production cuts.

    Why is OPEC+ slashing production?

    • Oil prices skyrocketed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
    • The cut made recently is the biggest of its kind since 2020 when OPEC+ members slashed outputs by 10 million bpd during the Covid-19 pandemic.
    • The reductions would boost prices and be extremely beneficial for the Middle Eastern member states, to whom Europe has turned for oil after levelling sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine.
    • OPEC+ members are concerned that a faltering global economy would reduce the demand for oil, and the cuts are seen as a way to protect profits.

    Concerns for India

    • Even after importing cheap Russian oil, India has not seen any cut in fuel prices.
    • Rising oil prices are posing fiscal challenges for India, where heavily-taxed retail fuel prices have touched record highs, threatening the demand-driven recovery.
    • India imports about 84% of its oil and relies on West Asian supplies to meet over three-fifths of its demand.
    • As one of the largest crude-consuming countries, India is concerned that such actions by producing countries have the potential to undermine consumption-led recovery.
    • This would hurt consumers, especially in our price-sensitive market.

     

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  • Is Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022 Flawless?

    Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022Context

    • Keeping an eye on the telecommunication regulatory framework Supreme Court issued substantive legal reform on surveillance laws in India. Union government has published the Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022 to replace the Telegraph Act, 1885.

    Background

    • Over two decades ago, allegations of surveillance against politicians led to a CBI inquiry and report against V P Singh’s government. The allegations revealed that imaginary reasons were given for ordering phone tapping without authorization.
    • Last years, many publications reported that phones of several dozen Indian journalists, lawyers and human rights activists had been compromised using an invasive Israeli-developed malware called Pegasus.

    Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022What is Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022?

    • The draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 is an attempt by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to consolidate various legislations presently governing the telecommunication landscape in India.
    • The Bill seeks to replace three laws, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950.
    • The new regulatory framework is to bring the law at par with technological advancements and remove obsolete provisions from the colonial era laws.

    What are the current laws governing communication surveillance in India?

    Communication surveillance in India takes place primarily under two laws:

    • Telegraph Act, 1885: It deals with interception of calls.
    • Call interception:Under Section 5(2) of this law, the government can intercept calls only in certain situations.
    • For sovereignty:They include the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or public order, or for preventing incitement to the commission of an offense.
    • Free speech restrictions:These are the same restrictions imposed on free speech under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
    • Exceptions for journalists:A provision in Section 5(2) states that even this lawful interception cannot take place against journalists.
    • Information Technology Act, 2000: It was enacted to deal with surveillance of all electronic communication, following the Supreme Court’s intervention in 1996.
    • Electronic surveillance:Section 69 of the IT Act and the IT (Procedure for Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring, and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009 were enacted to further the legal framework for electronic surveillance.
    • Data interception:Under the IT Act, all electronic transmission of data can be intercepted.
    • Section 69 of the IT Act adds another aspect that makes it broader — interception, monitoring, and decryption of digital information “for the investigation of an offense”.

    Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022How the loopholes in the current system breaching the Data Privacy?

    • No comprehensive data Protection Law:
    • No comprehensive data protection law leaving ambiguities over several laws.
    • A comprehensive data protection law to address the gaps in existing frameworks for surveillance is yet to enact.
    • Unaccountable, opaque exercise of surveillance:
    • The Telegraph Act contains broad and excessive powers of interception and surveillance of communications carried out through any telegraph.
    • The surveillance power is principally contained under Section 5(2), and has resulted in an unaccountable, opaque and unconstitutional exercise of surveillance that has led to accusations across the political spectrum.
    • Less transparency:
    • Ministry of Home Affairs refuses to disclose even aggregate data on the number of surveillance orders issued by it each year illegally gathered evidence is being sought to prosecute people.
    • For instance, the Bombay High Court about three years ago noted in a case that premier investigating agencies such as the CBI have used, interception orders (that) neither have sanction of law nor issued for legitimate aim.

    Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022Key features of the Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022

    • Broad Definitions:
    • The Bill introduces a broad definition of ‘telecommunication services’.
    • It now includes internet-based services, in-flight and maritime connectivity, interpersonal communications services, machine to machine communication services, and over-the-top (OTT) based communication services that are made available to users by telecommunication
    • KYC and caller id requirements:
    • The Bill requires licensed entities to ensure that they identify the persons to whom they provide telecommunication services.
    • The Bill places an obligation on telecommunication service providers to do this through a ‘verifiable mode’, as prescribed by the government.
    • Licensing, registration, and authorization:
    • Under the Bill, four types of permissions are identified – license, registration, authorization and assignment.
    • While the Bill does not differentiate between the four types of permissions, it clarifies that a license is only required for providing telecommunication services or operating telecommunication networks
    • Wide ranging powers of Central Government:
    • The Bill includes wide-ranging powers for the central and state governments in the event of a public emergency or in interest of public safety.
    • These powers include taking temporary possession of any telecommunication services, suspension of transmission in cases of public emergency, interception/detainment/disclosure of messages, suspension of communications, or otherwise transmit certain announcements for public safety and national security purposes.
    • User protection and duties: User has been declared as an important policy objective of the Government. It places a duty on users to not furnish false information, suppress material information or impersonate others when proving identity to avail telecommunication services.
    • Offences and penalties: Any offence under the Bill may be punished with a fine, imprisonment, suspension of telecommunication services or a combination of the above. For companies, the employees who were responsible for the conduct or the business relating to the offence at the time the offence was committed will be punished.
    • Dispute resolution mechanism: The Bill provides for the right of appeal before the appellate authority. It also creates an enabling provision for the Central Government to set up an alternate dispute resolution mechanism such as arbitration, mediation or other processes of dispute resolution

    What are Concerns over the Draft Telecommunication bill, 2022?

    • Regulatory overlaps:The broad of the definition of ‘telecommunication services’ include OTT communication platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal among others, may potentially lead to regulatory or jurisdictional overlaps.
    • Unchecked use of State powers:The Bill gives broad powers to the central government in prescribed situations without any accompanying checks and balances. The Bill empowers the central and state government to intercept messages in the interest of public safety and emergency without the providing clearly defined guardrails for it.
    • Undefined National security: The term, national security is left undefined and does not match constitutional precedent or text which instead uses the phrase,in the interests of the security of state
    • Users Less choice in the privacy and security of their digital footprint:
    • Power to prescribe standards under Clause 23, which may result in regulations as recently issued by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) that have resulted in the closure of servers or services by leading, global VPN providers such as Proton and TunnelBear.
    • All of this practically means that users will have less choice in the privacy and security of their digital footprint, as these powers will lead to requirements to locally register and host data, and comply with requirements to identify users (KYC requirements).

    Conclusion

    • There should be some reasonable basis or some tangible evidence to initiate or seek approval for interception by State authorities. Any digression from the ethical and legal parameters set by law would be tantamount to a deliberate invasion of citizens.

    Mains Question

    Q. Any deviation from the moral and legal parameters set by the law would amount to a deliberate attack on citizens. In this context discuss the data privacy of citizens in the era of massive expansion of internet and mobile usage.

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  • District formation in India

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the DownToEarth.

    What are Districts?

    • India’s districts are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj.
    • They generally form the tier of local government immediately below that of India’s subnational states and territories.
    • A district is headed by a Deputy Commissioner/ Collector, who is responsible for the overall administration and the maintenance of law and order.
    • The district collector may belong to IAS (Indian Administrative Service).
    • Districts are most frequently further sub-divided into smaller administrative units, called either tehsils or talukas or mandals, depending on the region.

    How are new districts carved?

    • The power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing districts rests with the State governments.
    • This can either be done through an executive order or by passing a law in the State Assembly.
    • Many States prefer the executive route by simply issuing a notification in the official gazette.

    Does the Central government have a role to play here?

    • The Centre has no role to play in the alteration of districts or creation of new ones. States are free to decide.
    • The Home Ministry comes into the picture when a State wants to change the name of a district or a railway station.
    • The State government’s request is sent to other departments and agencies such as the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Intelligence Bureau, Department of Posts, Geographical Survey of India Sciences and the Railway Ministry seeking clearance.
    • A no-objection certificate may be issued after examining their replies.

    Why create districts?

    • A district enjoys multiple benefits in terms of endowments from the government for local administration and development.
    • The formation of districts leads to the development of infrastructure, including transportation, telecommunication, water, sanitation, health, education and power facilities.
    • A good infrastructure attracts potential investors and investments.
    • New businesses and industries emerge and existing ones expand.
    • This generates employment opportunities for the citizens in and around the district.

    Challenges

    • The question that arises is what limits a state to declare each place a district.
    • The answer lies in the cost associated with the formation of a district.
    • A district requires installing administrative offices and deploying officers and public servants.
    • This adds to the burden on the government exchequer.

    Way forward

    • It is also essential to consult the local people who are the end beneficiaries of the decision to understand their aspirations and win their confidence.
    • This will potentially mitigate the issues and conflicts between people and government and thereby satisfy the people’s needs at large, which is essential for inclusive growth of state and nation.

    Conclusion

    • In sum, any political change regarding the formation of a district in a state comes with its own advantages and challenges.
    • Thus, the government and policymakers must mull over the decision and perform a cost-benefit analysis before district formation.

     

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  • Abortion Right extends to the Cisgenders: SC

    In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional to distinguish between married and unmarried women while allowing abortion when the foetus is between 20-24 weeks.

    What is the news?

    • Going a step further, the court said the term ‘woman’ in the judgment included persons other than cisgender women.

    What is cisgender?

    • The term cisgender is used to define people whose gender identity and expression match the identity assigned to them at birth.
    • When a child is born, it is assigned a gender identity based on its physical characteristics.
    • Many believe that gender is a social construct, and growing up, the child may or may not confirm to the birth identity.
    • For transgender people, their sense of gender identity does not match the one assigned to them at birth.
    • Thus, a cisgender woman is a person who was assigned female at birth and continues to identify as a woman.
    • On the other hand, a child assigned female at birth can feel it identifies more authentically as a man as it grows up.

    Use of gender-inclusive vocabularies in official documents

    • Before India’s Supreme Court used ‘cisgender’ in the context of reproductive rights, last year in June, the US government had replaced the word ‘mothers’ with ‘birthing people’.
    • Those who advocate the use of ‘birthing people’ say it is not just women who give birth.
    • Transmen — a person assigned the female gender at birth but who identifies as a man – and genderqueer people – who identify as neither man nor woman – also give birth.

    Why the word cisgender is important?

    • If there are ‘transgender’ people, there should be a word for those who are not.
    • Giving a label to only one section of the population, especially when that is in the minority, implies that the others are default, ‘normal’, and only that section needs to be labelled.
    • Having distinct words for transgender and cisgender people denotes that both are equally valid, neutral experiences, with neither being an aberration.
    • Also, cis and trans are not the only gender identifiers in use.
    • There are many other terms, such as gender-queer, gender fluid and gender variant.
    • Some also choose not to use the traditionally gender-tied pronouns of he/she/her/his, and go for they/them.

    Criticism of the term

    • Some people, including those working on trans rights, feel terms like ‘cisgender’ belong in the realm of gender theory alone.
    • They feel that their usage can be counterproductive – people are less likely to grasp a message if they have to look up the individual words that make up the message.
    • Others feel that ‘cisgender’ as a counter to ‘transgender’ is restrictive – reinforcing a binary of genders that many choose to reject.

     

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  • International Day of Non-Violence event at UN

    International

    The International Day of Non-Violence event, held at the UN headquarters in New York, saw a life-size hologram of Gandhi displayed.

    International Day of Non-Violence

    • Every year, since 2007, the day is observed on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
    • Iranian Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, in January 2004, first proposed the idea of dedicating a day to non-violence, around the world.
    • In 2007, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution to commemorate October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence, with the core objective to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness.”

    What does the term “non-violence” stand for?

    • The UN defines the term as a rejection of the use of physical violence in order to achieve social or political change.
    • The UNGA resolution reaffirms the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence and establishes a desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.
    • The theory emphasises that the power of rulers depends on the consent of the populations, and non-violence therefore seeks to undermine such power through withdrawal of the consent and cooperation of the populace.

     

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  • The Mediation Bill,2021: Needs And Concerns

    MediationContext

    • The Mediation Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December20, 2021,with the Parliamentary Standing Committee being tasked with a review of the Bill. The committee’s report to the Rajya Sabha was submitted on July 13, 2022. In its report, the Committee recommends substantial changes to the Mediation Bill, aimed at institutionalising mediation and establishing the Mediation Council of India.

    What is mean by mediation?

    • Mediation: Mediation is a process wherein the parties meet with a mutually selected impartial and neutral person who assists them in the negotiation of their differences.
    • Brings Parties Together: Parties can save and sometimes rebuild their relationship like during a family dispute or commercial dispute.
    • Very Convenient: The parties can control the time, location, and duration of the proceedings to large extent. Scheduling isn’t subject to the convenience of courts

    MediationWhy does India need mediation?

    • No separate law: While there is no standalone legislation for mediation in India, there are several statutes containing mediation provisions,such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908,the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996,the Companies Act, 2013, the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
    • Supreme Court mandate: The Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court of India describes mediation as a tried and tested alternative for conflict resolution.
    • Being an international signatory: As India is a signatory to the Singapore Convention on Mediation (formally the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation), it is appropriate to enact a law governing domestic and international mediation.

    What are the Key features of the Mediation bill?

    • Promote mediation: The Bill aims to promote, encourage, and facilitate mediation, especially institutional mediation, to resolve disputes, commercial and otherwise.
    • Mandatory Mediation: The Bill further proposes mandatory mediation before litigation. At the same time, it safeguards the rights of litigants to approach competent adjudicatory forums/courts for urgent relief.
    • Confidentiality: The mediation process will be confidential and immunity is provided against its disclosure in certain cases.
    • Legally binding: The outcome of the mediation process in the form of a Mediation Settlement Agreement (MSA) will be legally enforceable and can be registered with the State district or taluk legal authorities within 90days to ensure authenticated records of the settlement.
    • Mediation Council of India: The Bill establishes the Mediation Council of India and also provides for community mediation.
    • Services of Mediator: If the parties agree, they may appoint any person as a mediator. If not, they may apply to a mediation service provider to appoint a person from its panel of mediators.
    • Disputes where no mediation required: The Bill lists disputes that are not fit for mediation (such as those involving criminal prosecution, or affecting the rights of third parties). The central government may amend this list.
    • Time bound process: The mediation process must be completed within 180 days, which may be extended by another 180 days by the parties.

    MediationWhat are the Concerns over the bill?

    • Mandatory provision: According to the Bill, pre-litigation mediation is mandatory for both parties before filing any suit or proceeding in a court,whether or not there is a mediation agreement between them.
    • Monetary punishment: Parties who fail to attend pre-litigation mediation without a reasonable reason may incur a cost. However,as per Article 21 of the Constitution,access to justice is constitutional right which cannot be fettered or restricted. Mediation should just be voluntary and making it otherwise would amount to denial of justice.
    • Clause 26: According to Clause26 of the Bill, court annexed mediation, including pre-litigation mediation, will be conducted in accordance with the directions or rules framed by the Supreme Court or High Courts. However, the Committee objected to this. It stated that Clause26 went against the spirit of the Constitution.In countries that follow the Common Law system, it is a healthy tradition that inthe absence of statutes, apex court judgments and decisions carry the same weight. The moment a law is passed however, it becomes the guiding force rather than the instructions or judgments given by the courts. Therefore, Clause 26 is unconstitutional.
    • Lack of international enforceability: Bill considers international mediation to be domestic when it is conducted in India with the settlement being recognised as a judgment or decree ofa court. The Singapore Convention does not apply to settlements that already have the status of judgments or decrees. As a result, conducting cross border mediation in India will exclude the tremendous benefits of worldwide enforceability.

    MediationConclusion

    • In order to enable a faster resolution of disputes,the Bill should be implemented after discussion with stakeholders and resolve the issues in an amicable manner. It’s a good opportunity for India to become an international mediation hub for easy business transactions.

    Mains Question

    Q.Address the key concerns in the mediation bill 2021 and how India can become the centre of international dispute resolutions.Discuss.

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  • Ayushman Bharat scheme

    ayushman bharat

    India has completed four years of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the world’s largest public health insurance programme.

    What is Ayushman Bharat?

    • Ayushman Bharat is National Health Protection Scheme, which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
    • It was launched in September 2018 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
    • It is a centrally sponsored scheme and is jointly funded by both the union government and the states.
    • It has subsumed the on-going centrally sponsored schemes – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).

    Features of the scheme

    • It will have a defined benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.
    • Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.
    • It will be an entitlement based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database.
    • The beneficiaries can avail benefits in both public and empanelled private facilities.
    • To control costs, the payments for treatment will be done on package rate (to be defined by the Government in advance) basis.

    India’s health expenditure post Ayushman Bharat

    Ans. India’s public healthcare spending is still among the lowest in the world.

    • Total health expenditure declined to 3.2% of GDP in 2018-19 from 3.3% in 2017-18, while the government’s health expenditure (centre and state) as a percentage of GDP fell from 1.35% to 1.28% in the same period.
    • National health estimates showed the Centre’s share decreasing to 34.3% in 2018-19 from 40.8% in the previous year, while that of states rose from 59.2% to 65.7%.
    • Out-of-pocket spending as a percentage of total health expenditure declined to 48.2% in 2018-19, though it is significantly higher than the world average of 18.1% in 2019

    What about health insurance penetration?

    Ans. Retail health insurance covers a meagre 3.2% of the country’s population.

    • With a population of 1.36 billion, India is the world’s second most populous country, and is expected to surpass China soon.
    • Launched in 2018 to provide universal health coverage, AB-PMJAY, takes care of the bottom 50% of the population of approximately 700 million individuals.
    • The top 20% of the population is covered through social and private health insurance.
    • Therefore, about 30% of the population, or about 400 million, is “the missing middle”— they don’t have any financial protection for health emergencies.

    Why is sound healthcare important for the economy?

    • Covid-19 exposed the economic consequences of poor healthcare. Higher out-of-pocket healthcare spending hits savings and consumption.
    • In the work space, poor health impacts physical and mental abilities, increase turnover and lead to lower productivity.
    • Data shows that 7% of India’s population is pushed into poverty every year due to healthcare costs.

    Way forward

    • Healthcare management and disease prevention should be the focus, along with an all-encompassing healthcare system, including OPD.
    • The government also needs to pay attention on healthcare cover for “the missing middle” population.
    • As a pilot, states may allow the authority already implementing the AB-PMJAY scheme in the state to cover the missing middle.

     

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  • Live-streaming of Court: Definitely A Great Move

    CourtContext

    • On September 27, the Supreme Court enabled the live streaming of the hearing of cases.
    • A full court of all Supreme Court judges under the leadership of Chief Justice U U Lalit took the unanimous decision to live-stream constitutional bench proceedings. Justice Chandrachud, the Chairperson of the Supreme Court’s E-committee and the driving force behind the live streaming initiative, began the hearing in his courtroom by announcing,”We are virtual”.

    Background

    • The Court’s original decision by the bench of the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud on September 27, 2018, allowing the live telecast of important proceedings paved the way for this outcome. They had held that the live-streaming of court proceedings is in the public interest.
    • Their vision had the full support of Chief Justices M V Ramana and U U Lalit.

    What is live-streaming technology?

    • At its core, streaming content is meant to help people attend events, expos, and experiences they cannot attend in person.
    • Live streaming technology is how videos are streamed over the internet, live, in real-time, as they are being recorded.
    • Live streaming technology is the internet’s response to live television broadcasts, with the most popular being news shows and sports.

    What is Live-streaming of the court?

    • Live streaming of court is that its proceedings that the people can watch on their mobiles and computers.All courtrooms function under camera glare.

    CourtWhy Live-streaming of court is so important?

    • Instilling Faith in the Judiciary: Enabling the ordinary people of the country to view, without any barrier, the workings of the highest court of the land will go a long way in instilling faith in the judiciary.
    • Empowering the masses: It will enable the legal system to deliver on its promise of empowering the masses.Important step toward developing an informed citizenry.
    • Respect to Rule of Law: The decision will enable people to understand the importance of the rule of law.It will help people appreciate that the judiciary is firm in protecting the rights of the impoverished, historically marginalised and disempowered sections of society. Potential to build a culture of respect for the rule of law.
    • Living up the expectation of Constitution: Live-Streaming of Court proceedings is manifested in public interest. Public interest has always been preserved through the Constitution article 19 and 21.
    • More transparency: It will encourage the principle of open court and reduce dependence on second-hand views. It will effectuate the public’s right to know. This would inspire confidence in the functioning of the judiciary as an institution and help maintain the respect that it deserved as a co-equal organ of the state.
    • Raise the quality and standards of the legal profession: Lawyers will be better prepared to appear before the court and they will be mindful of not making irresponsible remarks. An inclusive approach to public scrutiny could nudge and enable lawyers to take the justice delivery mechanisms more seriously than they may have in the past.
    • Level playing field: It also creates a level playing ground for the younger members of the legal profession as their preparedness and intellectual prowess will be apparent to all.
    • Academic help: Watching courtroom proceedings,actual arguments by lawyers and searching questions by judges  could inspire law students to take up this relatively neglected field.Law faculty members and legal researchers will be motivated to work on new areas of scholarship and research relating to the functioning of the judiciary and legal profession.
    • Easy accessibility reducing the obstacle of distance: With live-streaming, the litigants will no longer have to come to Delhi to witness proceedings of their case which would be just a click away.
    • Strengthening Democracy: Transparency and accessibility of the process of justice delivery will strengthen the country’s democracy

    CourtWhat are the Concerns around live-streaming of court?

    • Contempt of court: Video clips of proceedings from Indian courts are already on YouTube and other social media platforms with sensational titles and little context, such as “HIGH COURT super angry on army officer”.
    • Disinformation and sensationalism: There are fears that irresponsible or motivated use of content could spread disinformation among the public.
    • Unnecessary activism: With the advent of social media, every citizen became a potential journalist. Study shows that justices behave like politicians when given free television time, they act to maximize their individual exposure
    • Internet connectivity: Internet connectivity issues and the need for a well-equipped space where lawyers can conduct their cases are some of the major problems requiring attention.
    • Awareness and training: Judges, court staff and lawyers are not well-versed with digital technology and its benefits. The need of the hour is for them to be made aware of these and receive adequate training.

    CourtWhich countries live-stream their court hearing?

    • Internationally,constitutional court proceedings are recorded in some form or the other.
    • United States: The Supreme Court of the United States streams its hearings in audio format at the end of each week.The US top court publishes hearings on its website and Oyez of all cases. Oyez is a multimedia judicial archive of the Supreme Court of the United States’ proceedings.
    • Brazil: The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil live streams hearings of all cases in video format on television.
    • UK: The UK Supreme Court live streams hearings of all cases in video format on its website.
    • Canada: The Canadian Supreme Court also live streams hearings of all its cases in video format on its website.
    • Australia: The Australian Supreme Court streams hearings of its full-court cases on its website with a delay of about a day. Meanwhile, the High Court of Australia (HCA) does not live-stream its proceedings.
    • China: In China,court proceedings are live-streamed from trial courts up to the Supreme People’s Court of China.

    Conclusion

    • The chief justices (past and present) and the judges of the Supreme Court deserve to be congratulated for enabling a path-breaking and democratic decision that allows the people of India to be able to watch the live proceedings of the Constitutional Bench.The distinguished jurist, Oliver Holmes,famously observed,“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” The judges of the Supreme Court of India have ensured that we are indeed moving in the right direction.

    Mains Question

    Q.Adoption of technology will radically change the field of law and transform the judiciary. What will be the role of courts, judges, politicians,media and citizens of the country regarding live streaming of court proceedings. Discuss

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