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GS Paper: GS2

  • A new track for capital punishment jurisprudence

    Context

    A recent trend in the evolution of jurisprudence around the death penalty in India may reset judicial thinking around sentencing and have long-term ramifications in the awarding of capital punishment.

    New thinking in the jurisprudence around capital punishment

    • Capital punishment once delivered by the court of sessions (“sentencing court”) is required under law, specifically Chapter 28 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to be confirmed by the jurisdictional High Court (“confirming court”).
    • Over the last six months or so, while dealing with appeals against confirmation of the death sentence, the Supreme Court of India has examined sentencing methodology from the perspective of mitigating circumstances more closely.
    • The Court has also initiated a suo motu writ petition (criminal) to delve deep into these issues on key aspects surrounding our understanding of death penalty sentencing.
    • Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab (1980), the leading case on this point, calls for mitigating and aggravating circumstances to be balanced against each other and laid down the principle that the death penalty ought not to be awarded unless the alternative of life imprisonment is “unquestionably foreclosed”.
    • It is also an equally well-established legal principle that in a sentencing hearing, the accused must necessarily be provided with sufficient opportunity to produce any material that may have bearing on the sentencing exercise.
    • When read in conjunction with the ratio decidendi of the Bachan Singh case, it is incumbent upon the sentencing court and the confirming court to ensure that the question of reform and rehabilitation of a convicted person has been examined in detail for these courts to come to a definitive conclusion that all such options are unquestionably foreclosed.

    Lack of judicial uniformity

    •  A report by the National Law University Delhi’s Project 39A (earlier known as the “Centre on the Death Penalty”) titled ‘Matters of Judgment’ found that there is no judicial uniformity or consistency when it comes to awarding the death sentence.
    •  In the report titled ‘Death Penalty Sentencing in Trial Courts’ (also authored by Project 39A), findings reported from a study of cases involving death sentencing between 2000 and 2015 in Delhi, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have showed that courts have been lax in assessing the aspect of reformation while undertaking the sentencing exercise.
    • The Court, in Mofil Khan vs State of Jharkhand (2021), held that the “the State is under a duty to procure evidence to establish that there is no possibility of reformation and rehabilitation of the accused.
    • Undoubtedly, the onus has been placed on the State to lead evidence to show that no reformation is possible and for the sentencing courts to be satisfied that a thorough mitigation analysis was done before the death sentence is awarded.

    Mitigation investigation

    • For a complete mitigation investigation, professionals trained in psychology, sociology and criminology are required in addition to legal professionals.
    • Taking cognisance of the value of a holistic approach to mitigation investigation, the Court in Manoj & Ors vs State of Madhya Pradesh (2022) issued directions to the State to place before the court all “report(s) of all the probation officer(s)” relating to the accused and reports “about their conduct and nature of the work done by them” while in prison.
    •  The order also directs that a trained psychiatrist and a local professor of psychology conduct a psychiatric and psychological evaluation of the convict.

    Conclusion

    The intervention of the Supreme Court of India in, hopefully, framing guidelines around incorporation of a mitigation analysis and consideration of psycho-social reports of the prisoner at the time of sentencing is timely and necessary.

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  • Centre-Delhi Row heads to Constitution Bench

    The Supreme Court has referred to a Constitution Bench the battle between the Centre and the Delhi government for control over bureaucrats in the Capital.

    What is a Constitution Bench?

    • The constitution bench is the name given to the benches of the Supreme Court of India.
    • The Chief Justice of India has the power to constitute a Constitution Bench and refer cases to it.

    Constitution benches are set up when the following circumstances exist:

    1. Interpretation of the Constitution: Article 145(3) provides for the constitution of at least five judges of the court which sit to decide any case “involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation” of the Constitution of India.
    2. President of India seeking SC’s opinion: When President has sought the Supreme Court’s opinion on a question of fact or law under Article 143 of the Constitution. Article 143 of the Constitution provides for Advisory jurisdiction to the SC. As per the provision, the President has the power to address questions to the apex Court, which he deems important for public welfare.
    3. Conflicting Judgments: When two or more three-judge benches of the Supreme Court have delivered conflicting judgments on the same point of law, necessitating a definite understanding and interpretation of the law by a larger bench.
    • The Constitution benches are set up on ad hoc basis as and when the above-mentioned conditions exist.
    • Constitution benches have decided many of India’s best-known and most important Supreme Court cases, such as:
    1. K. Gopalan v. State of Madras (Preventive detention)
    2. Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (Basic structure doctrine) and
    3. Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India (OBC reservations) etc.

    Why in news now?

    • A 2018 Constitution bench decision interpreting Article 239AA had not dealt with an aspect having a bearing on the dispute over services, CJI agreed.
    • The proceedings have their genesis in the Delhi HC judgment of August 4, 2017, whereby it held that for the purposes of administration, the L-G was not bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in every matter.
    • On appeal, the SC on February 15, 2017, referred the matter to decide on the interpretation of Article 239AA.

    What is the 2018 Judgment all about?

    • By a majority decision in July, 2018, the Constitution bench upheld the respective powers of the state Assembly and the Parliament.
    • It said that while the CoM must communicate all decisions to the L-G, this does not mean that the L-G’s concurrence is required.
    • In case of a difference of opinion, the L-G can refer it to the President for a decision.
    • The L-G has no independent decision-making power but has to either act on the ‘aid and advice’ of the CoM or is bound to implement the decision of the President on a reference being made.
    • The bench, which limited itself to the interpretation of Article 239AA, left individual issues to be decided by regular benches.

    When power tussle began

    • Subsequently in 2019, a two-judge bench of the SC dealt with some individual issues arising from the power tussle between the Centre and the NCT government.
    • It ruled that the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi government cannot investigate corruption cases against central government officials.
    • The power to appoint commissions under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, would be vested with the Centre and not the Delhi government, the judgment said.

    Issue over control of administrative services

    • The judges, however, differed on who should have control over administrative services.
    • This was challenged again in the SC where the Centre contended that the two judges could not take a decision on the question.
    • The 2018 Constitution bench judgment had not interpreted the expression “insofar as any such matter as applicable to Union Territories” appearing in Article 239AA.
    • The Centre has urged SC CJI Ramana to refer the matter to a five-judge Constitution bench so that the question of law can be settled before the dispute over who has control over services can be looked into.

    Back2Basics: Article 239AA

    • Article 239AA granted Special Status to Delhi among Union Territories (UTs) in the year 1991 through the 69th Constitutional Amendment.
    • It provided a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers responsible to such Assembly with appropriate powers.
    • That’s when Delhi was named as the National Capital Region (NCT) of Delhi.
    • As per this article – Public Order, Police & Land in NCT of Delhi fall within the domain and control of Central Government which shall have the power to make laws on these matters.
    • For remaining matters of State List or Concurrent List, in so far as any such matter is applicable to UTs, the Legislative Assembly shall have the power to make laws for NCT of Delhi.

     

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  • Highlights of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 5 Part: II

    The Total Fertility Rate (TFR), the average number of children per woman, has further declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level between National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4 and 5.

    What is NFHS?

    • The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
    • The IIPS is the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the NFHS.
    • NFHS was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with supplementary support from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
    • The First National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1) was conducted in 1992-93.

    Objectives of the NFHS

    The survey provides state and national information for India on:

    • Fertility
    • Infant and child mortality
    • The practice of family planning
    • Maternal and child health
    • Reproductive health
    • Nutrition
    • Anaemia
    • Utilization and quality of health and family planning services

    Modifications in NFHS 5

    NFHS-5 includes new focal areas that will give requisite input for strengthening existing programmes and evolving new strategies for policy intervention. The areas are:

    • Expanded domains of child immunization
    • Components of micro-nutrients to children
    • Menstrual hygiene
    • Frequency of alcohol and tobacco use
    • Additional components of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
    • Expanded age ranges for measuring hypertension and diabetes among all aged 15 years and above.

    Highlights of the NFHS 5 Part-II

    (a) Fertility Rate

    • There are only five States — Bihar (2.98), Meghalaya (2.91), Uttar Pradesh (2.35), Jharkhand (2.26) Manipur (2.17) —which are above replacement level of fertility of 2.1.

    (b) Institutional Births

    • The institutional births increased from 79% to 89% across India and in rural areas around 87% births being delivered in institutions and the same is 94% in urban areas.
    • As per results of the NFHS-5, more than three-fourths (77%) children aged between 12 and 23 months were fully immunised, compared with 62% in NFHS-4.
    • The level of stunting among children under five years has marginally declined from 38% to 36% in the country since the last four years.
    • Stunting is higher among children in rural areas (37%) than urban areas (30%) in 2019-21.

    (c) Decision making

    • The extent to which married women usually participate in three household decisions (about health care for herself; making major household purchases; visit to her family or relatives) indicates that their participation in decision-making is high, ranging from 80% in Ladakh to 99% in Nagaland and Mizoram.
    • Rural (77%) and urban (81%) differences are found to be marginal.
    • The prevalence of women having a bank or savings account has increased from 53% to 79% in the last four years.

    (d) Rise in obesity

    • Compared with NFHS-4, the prevalence of overweight or obesity has increased in most States/UTs in NFHS-5.
    • At the national level, it increased from 21% to 24% among women and 19% to 23% among men.
    • More than a third of women in Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, AP, Goa, Sikkim, Manipur, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Punjab, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep (34-46 %) are overweight or obese.

     

    Also read

    National Family Health Survey- 5 Part: I

     

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  • Absence of Roe v Wade won’t just impact the US

    Context

    The leak of an initial draft majority opinion of the US Supreme Court voting to overturn the decision in Roe v Wade has sent shockwaves across liberal and conservative quarters alike, globally.

    Background of the Roe v Wade case

    • Right to abortion: While locating the right of privacy within the guarantee of personal liberty enshrined in the fourteenth amendment of the American constitution, Roe embodies a supervening constitutional right to abortion emanating from this right of privacy.
    • The right to abort was held to be a constitutionally protected right within the right of privacy.
    • Roe, the 1973 outcome of an unmarried woman’s crusade for bodily autonomy, had declared overbroad, and consequently unconstitutional, a provision of the Texas Penal Code which permitted only those abortions that were “procured or attempted by medical advice to save the life of the mother”.
    • The decision simultaneously recognised the state’s interest in protecting the life of the foetus as also the life of the mother. 
    • Roe is not only relevant as a progressive trailblazer for reproductive rights in the United States but is also fundamental to constitutional jurisprudence globally for the interpretative tools it employed.

    Implications of overturning Roe v Wade

    • Political considerations vs judicial responsibility: The overturning of Roe is more than the mere abdication of the judicial responsibility to protect individual rights — it signals a dangerous trend of courts making long-standing determinations of legal rights based on transient political considerations.
    • Incursion into women’s right to abort: It would also mean legitimisation of state incursions into women’s right to abort and consequently their right to bodily autonomy and liberty, in addition to forcing them to move to states with enabling laws to procure abortions, leading to issues of access and affordability of abortions.
    • While the impact of Roe’s absence would most profoundly be felt in the US, it is likely to embolden conservative anti-abortion voices across the world.
    • Limits of judicial activism: It will inevitably also raise fundamental questions on the limits of judicial activism aimed at protecting the rights of persons and classes, which do not find explicit mention within a country’s constitutional framework.
    • Possibility of a conservative approach to abortion cases: In 2021, the abortion laws in India underwent substantial changes, with the introduction of the Medical Termination for Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021 which, in addition to destigmatising pregnancies outside marriage by introducing the nomenclature of “any woman or her partner”, also increased the upper gestational limits within which pregnancies are legally terminable.
    • The Act, however, carries ambiguities and leaves room for both judicial and executive interpretation.
    • As cases of subjective determination arise, the Indian judiciary will be called upon to reconcile the right to privacy recognised in Puttaswamy with the permissible limits of abortion in the Act.

    How does Roe v Wade apply in the Indian context?

    • In KS Puttaswamy v Union of India, Justice Chandrachud referred to Roe and Planned Parenthood while reading the right to privacy into the existing framework of constitutionally protected fundamental rights subject to “just, reasonable and fair” restrictions.
    • Recognising derivative rights: In the lifetime of the Indian Supreme Court, recognising derivative rights within the existing framework of fundamental rights has been regularly witnessed — be it rights during arrest and detention, the right to express one’s sexual and gender identity, or rights against harassment at the workplace, to cite a few.
    • Setback to transformative constitutionalism: In the Indian context, the overturning could be seen as a setback to the celebrated doctrine of transformative constitutionalism, which sees the Indian Constitution as a “living document” that moulds, adapts and responds to changing times and circumstances.

    Conclusion

    The likelihood of the overturning of Roe leading to more conservative approaches to judicial interpretation in abortion rights cases, cannot be ruled out.

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  • The challenge for Middle Powers like India, France and Germany

    Context

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to European capitals should help both sides acquire a better understanding of each other’s security concerns. Whether it will fundamentally alter equations remains to be seen.

    New India-EU equation

    • As “Middle Powers”, countries like France, Germany and India should seek policy space for themselves and not be forced into taking positions by the Big Powers — the United States, China and Russia.
    • The EU is understandably concerned about Russian aggressiveness in Europe.
    •  ndia is equally concerned about Chinese aggressiveness in Asia. 
    • Even after Russia has sought to tear down the post-Cold War security structure in Europe, India has stayed the course in its equations both with Russia and the European Union.

    Division of national and group agenda and its implications for India

    • While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the context in which Modi visited Europe and the head of the European Union visited India, the fact is that the agenda at bilateral meetings with individual European countries has generally been very different from the agenda that the EU prefers to focus on.
    • While individual European nations, especially Germany and France, focus on their own strategic and business interests, including defence equipment sales, the EU retains the remit for negotiating trade and investment rules.
    • Problem for India: This division of national and group agendas has often posed a problem for India because individual countries cannot offer bilateral market access in exchange for bilateral defence deals.
    • So the French will sell Rafale jets in the name of strategic partnership but they cannot offer a trade and investment deal that Brussels will not allow Paris to strike with India.
    • While the EU and G7 may now wish to derisk, if not decouple, from aggressively rising China, how much they would be able to do in this regard and what they would be willing to do to help a slowly rising India remains to be seen.

    Way forward

    • For India’s part, it is not clear at the moment how much and what it can unilaterally offer Europe beyond the promise of standing up to China or reducing dependence on Russia.
    • Challenge for the three middle powers lies in combine their “strength and stability” to ensure “peace and tranquillity” in their respective neighbourhoods.
    • If middle powers like Brazil, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa and others can work together they may well be able to impose some discipline on the three big powers — China, Russia and the US.

    Conclusion

    At a time when big powers lurking behind in seeking to stabilise and shape the global order middle powers need to act to balance the influence exerted by the big powers.

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  • Panel notifies new J&K Assembly Constituencies

    The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission has notified the new boundaries, names and number of Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, paving the way for the first-ever Assembly election in the Union Territory.

    What is Delimitation and why is it needed?

    • Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time.
    • The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
    • This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
    • The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
    • Aside from changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in a change in the number of seats in a state.

    How is it carried out?

    • Under Article 82, the Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after every Census.
    • Article 170 provides that States also get divided into territorial constituencies as per Delimitation Act after every Census.
    • Once the Act is in force, the Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission.
    • The first delimitation exercise was carried out by the President (with the help of the Election Commission) in 1950-51.
    • The Delimitation Commission Act was enacted in 1952.
    • Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.
    • There was no delimitation after the 1981 and 1991 Censuses.

    Delimitation in J&K

    • Assembly seats in J&K were delimited in 1963, 1973 and 1995.
    • Prior to August 5, 2019, carving out of J&K’s Assembly seats was carried out under the J&K Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • Until then, the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India.
    • However, the delimitation of the state’s Assembly was governed by the J&K Constitution and J&K Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • There was no census in the state in 1991 and hence no Delimitation Commission was set up by the state until 2001 census.

    Why is it in the news again?

    • After the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019, the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the newly-created UT would be as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
    • On March 6, 2020, the government set up the Delimitation Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, which was tasked with winding up delimitation in J&K in a year.
    • As per the J&K Reorganization Bill, the number of Assembly seats in J&K would increase from 107 to 114, which is expected to benefit the Jammu region.

    Next step: Assembly polls

    • With the final order now notified, all eyes will be on the EC and the Union government regarding the timing of Assembly elections.
    • Though mainstream parties in the Valley have criticised the report, it is likely that this will make space for political engagement in the UT.

    What changes have been made?

    • ASSEMBLY: The Commission has increased seven Assembly seats — six in Jammu (now 43 seats) and one in Kashmir (now 47). It has also made massive changes in the structure of the existing Assembly seats.
    • LOK SABHA: The Commission has redrawn the boundaries of Anantnag and Jammu seats. Jammu’s Pir Panjal region, comprising Poonch and Rajouri districts and formerly part of Jammu parliamentary seat, has now been added to Anantnag seat in Kashmir. Also, a Shia-dominated region of Srinagar parliamentary constituency has been transferred to Baramulla constituency, also in the Valley.
    • KASHMIRI PANDITS: The Commission has recommended provision of at least two members from the community of Kashmiri Migrants (Kashmiri Hindus) in the Legislative Assembly.
    • Seats for POK migrants: It has also recommended that Centre should consider giving representation in the J&K Legislative Assembly to the displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, who migrated to Jammu after Partition.

    Why has the exercise been controversial?

    • Jammu vs. Kashmir: Concerns had been expressed over how the delimitation process may end up favoring the Jammu region over Kashmir in terms of the seats.
    • Under-representation of Ladakh: Arguments have been made on how Ladakh has been underrepresented, with demands for statehood/sixth schedule.
    • Non-proportionate reservations: It is argued that seats for STs should’ve been divided in both Jammu province & Kashmir province, as the ST population is almost equal.
    • Frozen till 2026: Constituency boundaries are being redrawn only in J&K when delimitation for the rest of the country has been frozen until 2026. The last delimitation exercise in J&K was carried out in 1995.
    • Issue over reorganization: Again, political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have been pointing out that the Delimitation Commission is mandated by the Reorganisation Act, which is sub judice.

     

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  • President has no role to play in Perarivalan’s plea: SC

    The Supreme Court has disagreed with the Central government’s suggestion that the court should wait till the President took a call on former PM’s assassination case convict A.G. Perarivalan’s mercy plea referred to him by the Tamil Nadu Governor for a decision.

    Why in news now?

    • The Bench of the Supreme Court said that the Centre had missed the obvious question posed by the court by a mile.
    • The pertinent question was whether the Governor had, in the first place, the authority to refer the mercy plea to the President.
    • Under Article 161 of the Constitution, the Governor was bound by the aid and advice given by the TN Council of Ministers in September 2018.
    • The Governor prima facie had no authority to transfer the mercy plea to the President.

    What does Pardon mean?

    • A pardon is a government/executive decision to allow a person to be absolved of guilt for an alleged crime or other legal offense as if the act never occurred.

    Why need a Pardon?

    • Pardons can be granted when individuals are deemed to have demonstrated that they have “paid their debt to society”, or are otherwise considered to be deserving of them.
    • Pardons are sometimes offered to persons who were either wrongfully convicted or who claim that they were wrongfully convicted.
    • Pardons are sometimes seen as a mechanism for combating corruption, allowing a particular authority to circumvent a flawed judicial process to free someone that is seen as wrongly convicted.

    What does Article 161 say?

    • Article 161 of the Constitution provides the Governor with the power to remit or commute the sentence of any prisoner.
    • The Governor’s decision will be subject to judicial review by the constitutional courts.

    Supreme court’s observations

    • The Constitution Bench in 2015, in a majority decision, had held that the States cannot unilaterally remit the sentences of life convicts in cases investigated by a Central agency under a Central law.
    • The assassination case was probed by the CBI.
    • In compliance with the 2015 verdict, the Tamil Nadu government wrote to the Centre in 2016, proposing the grant of remission to the convicts. The State wanted the Centre to concur.
    • After a wait of over two years, the Centre rejected the State’s proposal, saying this was an unparalleled act in the annals of crimes committed in this country.

    Arguments in Perarivalan’s petition seeking pardon

    • Perarivalan had been pleading for release citing that he was 19 when he was arrested.
    • He was the only male child of his parents, there were no records of criminal antecedents, and that he had excellent conduct in his entire prison life.
    • His petition also cited UG and PG degrees, and that he was the university topper, Gold medalist in diploma in DTP, and that he completed more than eight diploma and certificate courses during his prison term.
    • His probation officer gave a report about lapses in recording his confession statement that handed out maximum punishment in his case.

    Basis of his innocence

    • Perarivalan cannot be called innocent before the law as he continues to be a convicted prisoner serving imprisonment.
    • He was accused of having bought two battery cells for the LTTE man who masterminded the conspiracy.
    • He was sentenced to death based on this crucial confession statement.

    Significance of the convicts’ release

    • The release of seven convicts is a demand raised by not only the ruling party of TN but the main opposition too.
    • All TN politicians voiced that the judiciary should be able to reform and let them live as good citizens to uphold the high values of reformatory justice and restitution.

    Back2Basics: Pardoning Powers in India

    • Under the Constitution of India (Article 72), the President of India can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment.
    • A similar and parallel power vests in the governors of each state under Article 161.

    (1) President

    • Article 72 says that the president shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.
    • The pardoning powers of the Indian President are elucidated in Art 72 of the Indian Constitution. There are five different types of pardoning which are mandated by law.
    1. Pardon: means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free. The pardoned criminal will be like a normal citizen.
    2. Commutation: means changing the type of punishment given to the guilty into a less harsh one, for example, a death penalty commuted to a life sentence.
    3. Reprieve: means a delay allowed in the execution of a sentence, usually a death sentence, for a guilty person to allow him some time to apply for a Presidential Pardon or some other legal remedy to prove his innocence or successful rehabilitation.
    4. Respite: means reducing the quantum or degree of the punishment to a criminal in view of some special circumstances, like pregnancy, mental condition etc.
    5. Remission: means changing the quantum of the punishment without changing its nature, for example reducing twenty-year rigorous imprisonment to ten years.

    (2) Governor

    • As per Article 161, the Governor of a State has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law.
    • It must be relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends.
    • Please note that President can grant pardon to a person awarded death sentence. But a governor of a state does not enjoy this power.

     

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  • Tamil Nadu NEET Exemption Bill sent to Home Ministry

    The CM informed the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly that Governor has forwarded the NEET exemption Bill to the Union Home Ministry to be sent to the President of India for his assent.

    What is the TN Bill about?

    • The Bill exempts medical aspirants in Tamil Nadu from taking NEET examination for admission to UG degree courses in Indian medicine, dentistry and homeopathy.
    • Instead, it seeks to provide admission to such courses on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination, through “Normalization methods”.
    • The aim of the Bill is to ensure “social justice, uphold equality and equal opportunity, protect all vulnerable student communities from being discriminated”.
    • It seeks to bring vulnerable student communities to the “mainstream of medical and dental education and in turn ensure a robust public health care across the state, particularly the rural areas”.

    Why TN is against NEET?

    • Non-representative: TN opposes because NEET undermined the diverse societal representation in MBBS and higher medical studies.
    • Disfavors the poor: It has favored mainly the affordable and affluent sections of the society and thwarting the dreams of underprivileged social groups.
    • Exams for the elite: It considers NEET not a fair or equitable method of admission since it favored the rich and elite sections of society.
    • Healthcare concerns: If continued, the rural and urban poor may not be able to pursue medical courses.

    Can any state legislate against NEET?

    • Admissions to medical courses are traceable to entry 25 of Concurrent List, Schedule VII of the Constitution.
    • Therefore, the State can also enact a law regarding admission and amend any Central law on admission procedures.

    Why is it going for President’s assent?

    • The question is not whether the State government can amend a law falling under the Concurrent List.
    • The question is whether the State government can exempt Section 10D of the IMC Act, which is a parliamentary law that falls under the Central List (Entry 66).
    • Moreover, the Supreme Court has also upheld NEET as a requirement.
    • Mere statistics highlighting that a majority of the stakeholders do not want NEET in Tamil Nadu is not an answer for exempting the examination.

    Again, it is State and Centre are at crossroads

    • Normally, a Bill requires assent from the Governor to become a law. Stalin’s contention is that this Bill deals with education, which is a Concurrent List subject.
    • Admissions to medical courses fall under Entry 25 of List III, Schedule VII of the Constitution, and therefore the state is competent to regulate the same.
    • Yet, as far as matters relating to the determination of standards for higher education are concerned, the central government has the power to amend a clause or repeal an Act.
    • So, just the passing of the Bill doesn’t enable the students to get exempted from writing NEET.
    • Already, Union Higher Education Secretary has held that if any State wants to opt out of the exam, it has to seek permission from the Supreme Court.

    Options for Tamil Nadu

    • Data is necessary only when there is power to legislate on the subject concerned.
    • Since the Bill, which will become an Act only after the President’s nod, will come into effect only from the next academic year, the battle for and against the NEET requirement will continue in courts.
    • Hopefully, the courts will determine the legality and have a definite solution to the question of medical admissions within the next year.
    • Till such time, students who wrote NEET will fill the seats under the State quota.

     

    Also read:

    Bill assent, a delay and the Governor’s options

     

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  • Civil Registration System Report, 2020

    The Civil Registration System (CRS) report 2020 was released at least a month before its schedule.

    What is Civil Registration System (CRS)?

    • The CRS collates data on all births and deaths registered with local authorities across India.
    • The CRS report is released by the Registrar-General of India.
    • It releases its report around 18 months after a year ends.

    Significance of the 2020 Report

    • The 2020 report was released at least a month before schedule.
    • Such data can be of significance during a pandemic as possible covid-19 deaths may not have been categorized as such in official records.
    • The CRS can help us reach an estimate by using the “excess deaths” approach.
    • It is the difference between the total number of deaths registered in a pandemic year and the number of deaths that normally take place in a year.

    Why was the data released ahead of schedule?

    • India and the WHO are locked in a tussle over the latter’s excess death estimates that would give a sense of pandemic-linked fatalities globally in 2020-21.
    • India has reportedly stalled WHO’s efforts to release the data, claiming flawed methodology.
    • WHO is set to release its estimates today, a possible reason that India released CRS data early.

    Why is India contesting the WHO approach?

    • One key objection by India is that WHO has classified it as a Tier 2 country and hence used a different modelling process to estimate excess deaths from that used for Tier 1 countries.
    • WHO says all countries that made available their full all-cause mortality data for the pandemic period were classified as Tier 1.
    • India is in Tier 2 because it didn’t share official data with WHO.
    • Hence, alternative data and modelling methods had to be adopted, adjusting for factors such as income levels, covid-19 reporting rates, and test positivity rates.

    What does the 2020 data show?

    (a) Covid deaths

    • The CRS report for 2020 has recorded deaths of 8.12 million Indians, 6.2% more than 2019.
    • Normally, an unusual increase in deaths would be linked to the pandemic. However, in India, not all deaths are registered.
    • Thus, a rise could simply be because of more families getting deaths registered.
    • The CRS for 2021, which saw more Covid deaths, may not be out until next year.

    (b) Improvements in sex ratio

    • Highest Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) based on registered events has been reported by Ladakh (1,104) followed by Arunachal Pradesh (1,011), A&N Islands (984), Tripura (974), and Kerala (969).
    • The lowest sex ratio was reported by Manipur (880), followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (898), Gujarat (909), Haryana (916) and Madhya Pradesh (921).

     

     

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  • India-Germany relations

    Context

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Berlin for the sixth Indo-German Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) is significant for its timing and substantial results.

    Strategic and economic importance of India-German ties

    • The timing of the IGC, which Germany chose not to delay, showed outreach to India and the Indo-Pacific.
    • Impact of pandemic on economy: The pandemic hit German economy and sanctions on Russia will further dent its prospects.
    • The country requires new markets for trade and investment.
    • India is an important partner in this regard due to its sustained economic growth and market size.
    • Ukraine crisis: The Ukraine crisis created an urgency to engage with India as part of Germany’s fledgling Indo-Pacific policy.

    Opportunities for India

    • As Germany does the reassessment of China’s role in world affairs it creates an opportunity for India.
    • The Bundestag will discuss the situation of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang on May 7.
    • Any departures from China will bring business engagement to India.
    • Germany and India do not have a traditional strategic partnership.
    • It is a green partnership based on trade, investment, technology, functional collaboration, skill development, and sustainability.
    • There are several initiatives like the Indo-German energy forum, environmental forum, partnership on urban mobility, skill development and science and technology.
    • The biggest gain from the IGC has been the Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) establishing the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership.
    • This will raise the quality and quantum of the existing partnership between the two countries.
    • Germany is reaching out with new and additional financing of €10 billion to fund green projects in India under public, private and PPP models.
    • To support this, a ministerial segment is being introduced under the IGC.
    • The IGC is the only such format that India has with any country.
    • Another significant development is the JDI on Triangular Development Cooperation for projects in third countries.
    • This will provide avenues to work together in the Indo-Pacific, Africa and beyond.
    • The Indo-German Education Partnership, which the German Bundestag passed in 2016 as a New Passage to India, has borne fruit — from about 4,000 students in 2015, there are nearly 29,000 Indian students in Germany.
    • The Indo-German Science and Technology Centre has made valuable contributions.
    • Now, under the energy partnership, the Green Hydrogen Task Force will develop a Green Hydrogen Roadmap.
    • This will attempt to take R&D to the level of commercialisation.
    • The JDI on migration and mobility is an important step taken during this IGC.

    Conclusion

    A new period is reflecting new priorities in view of crises like the pandemic, the economic downturn and now, Ukraine. The German response to India as evidenced through the IGC has been promising. Both sides may justifiably call it a defining moment in the Indo-German partnership.

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