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GS Paper: GS2

  • G-20

    The Jammu and Kashmir administration has constituted a committee to coordinate with the delegates of G-20 countries scheduled to participate in a meeting to be held in the Union Territory (UT) next year.

    Why such move?

    • The participation of the delegates from G-20 countries will be a major boost to the efforts of the Centre to project the situation in J&K as normal.
    • This is especially after J&K’s special constitutional position was ended in 2019.

    What is G-20?

    • Formed in 1999, the G20 is an international forum of the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
    • Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85 percent of the Gross World Product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade.
    • To tackle the problems or address issues that plague the world, the heads of governments of the G20 nations periodically participate in summits.
    • In addition to it, the group also hosts separate meetings of the finance ministers and foreign ministers.
    • The G20 has no permanent staff of its own and its chairmanship rotates annually between nations divided into regional groupings.

    Aims and objectives

    • The Group was formed with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
    • The forum aims to pre-empt the balance of payments problems and turmoil on financial markets by improved coordination of monetary, fiscal, and financial policies.
    • It seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization.

    Members of G20

    The members of the G20 consist of 19 individual countries plus the European Union (EU).

    • The 19 member countries of the forum are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.
    • The European Union is represented by the European Commission and by the European Central Bank.

    Its significance

    • G20 is a major international grouping that brings together 19 of the world’s major economies and the European Union.
    • Its members account for more than 80% of global GDP, 75% of trade and 60% of population.

    India and G20

    • India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999.

     

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  • Political crisis in Maharashtra underscores ineffectiveness of anti-defection law

    Context

    The political crisis in Maharashtra has brought focus back on the anti-defection law. By all accounts, the law has failed to shore up the stability of elected governments.

    About Anti-defection law

    • The Anti-Defection Law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution punishes MPs/ MLAs for defecting from their party by taking away their membership of the legislature.
    • It gives the Speaker of the legislature the power to decide the outcome of defection proceedings.
    • It was added to the Constitution through the Fifty-Second (Amendment) Act, 1985 when Rajiv Gandhi was PM.
    • The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

    How provisions of the law are being thwarted?

    • There are many ways to thwart provisions of the law:
    • The Speaker can sit on the defection pleas for the term of the assembly;
    • The beneficiary party can facilitate accretion of defectors to hit the magic two-thirds threshold.
    • The voters don’t seem to care about punishing the defectors either.

    Is an amendment to the law a solution?

    • Some have thus argued that the way forward is to amend the anti-defection law to fill these lacunae by mandating time-bound decisions by the Speaker and disqualifying defectors from standing for the next election as well.
    • These proposed amendments like the original law want to consolidate power without necessarily putting in the requisite politics.

    Why amendment to the law will not solve the problem

    •  Politicians are adept at subverting institutional processes for their own ends and there are many possibilities for payoff for defectors outside of elected office alone.
    • Moreover, politics has a rich history of exercise of power by proxy and the disqualified representative may simply choose to have a family member stand in their stead.
    •  The anti-defection law and proposed amendments approach the issue of defections from the prism of denying power to the defector, a framing which repeatedly comes up short in the face of a bigger and/or more punitive power.

    Way forward

    • Parties need to project power: Within this framework, if political parties want to resist defections, they must be able to project (imminent) power themselves.
    • Parties need to address organisational issues: At the same time, political parties must address organizational and ideological infirmities which have made them susceptible to mass defections in the first place.
    • Ideological clarity: Political parties need ideological clarity and the ability to attract individuals with a sense of purpose and not love for power alone.
    • This ideological depth if reflected in the party organization and its political programs will give members the ability to withstand lean periods of power.
    • Inner-party democracy: Political parties are failing to create intra-party forums where grievances can be expressed and resolved on an ongoing basis.
    • Internal mechanisms for inner-party democracy – from elections to deliberative forums – are ultimately at the discretion of the party leadership.
    • Scrap anti-defection law: Scrapping the anti-defection law would provide some institutional leverage to express intra-party dissidence and while it may be more chaotic in the short-term would lead to greater stability and political strength in the long-term.
    • Contributed to polarisation: The anti-defection law has undermined not just the very principle of representation but has also contributed to polarization in our country by making it impossible to construct a majority on any issue outside of party affiliation.
    • Avoid ceding political power to the judiciary: Political parties are repeatedly giving primacy to legal instead of political battles since these issues inevitably end up in court.
    • This repeated ceding of political power to the judiciary is a serious deviation from the democratic paradigm and must be checked.

    Conclusion

    Anti-defection law has failed to prevent the defections and subsequent toppings of the several state government. Scrapping it could provide leverage to express intra-party dissidence.

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  • How Hanoi and New Delhi are fortifying defence ties

    Context

    The two countries recently deepened bilateral cooperation with the signing of the Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030 during the recent visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Vietnam.

    About the Joint Vision Statement

    • India and Vietnam Wednesday signed a Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030, “which will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation”.
    • Boosting the scale and scope of defence cooperation: The Joint Vision Statement is aimed at boosting the scope and scale of the existing defence cooperation between the two nations.
    • Mutual logistic support: The two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual logistics support.
    • Elevating CSP: This is the first agreement of its kind that Hanoi has entered into with any other country and elevates the standing of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) which Hanoi shares with New Delhi since 2016 (along with only Russia and China).

    Enhanced maritime cooperation

    • Both countries find convergence in their approaches towards the maintenance of stability and security of the Indo-Pacific.
    • This approach has translated into diplomatic and political support in the context of developments within the region and manifested in the form of tangible and functional cooperation instruments — the most vital being bilateral defence partnership.
    • Because of the volume of maritime trade that passes through sea lanes of communication in the Indo-Pacific and potential as well as estimated energy reserves in these waters, maritime cooperation between countries in the region have expanded exponentially.

    Emphasis on the cooperative mechanism

    • The enhanced geostrategic prominence and attendant uncertainties vis-à-vis China’s expanding and often abrasive footprints in the Indo-Pacific have resulted in an overall increase in emphasis on cooperative mechanisms and frameworks across the region.
    • Defence partnership between the two countries has been growing steadily following the signing of the Defence Protocol in 2000 and today covers extensive navy-to-navy cooperation.

    Dealing with Chinese transgression

    • Vietnam has and continues to be one of the most vocal countries with respect to China’s periodic transgressions in the South China Sea.
    • Freedom of navigation: In India, Vietnam has found an equally uncompromising partner when it comes to the question of violations of freedom of navigation and threats to sovereign maritime territorial rights as enshrined under international maritime law.
    • New Delhi has supported Vietnam’s position in the South China Sea with respect to Beijing’s destabilising actions and coercive tactics backing by reiterating the irrefutability of the UNCLOS.
    • India has also not backed down from continuing ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL)’s oil exploration project in Block 128 (which is within Hanoi’s EEZ) despite China’s protests.
    • Emphasis on naval diplomacy: It is also in the last few years that Vietnam has augmented its emphasis on naval diplomacy and strengthened its ties with the US alongside the extension of its engagement with India and other ASEAN members.
    • Despite the fact that the China factor has provided impetus to the solidification of ties, it is also important to consider that mutual cooperation is not driven solely by it.
    • Support in the rubric of Indo-Pacific: Both countries have expanded areas of collaboration and are supportive of each other’s individual and multilateral involvements within the rubric of the Indo-Pacific.

    Conclusion

    Convergences between New Delhi and Hanoi has naturally found expression in bilateral relations and the two countries are poised to develop their partnership further in the coming years.

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    Back2Basics: About UNCLOS

    • UNCLOS is sometimes referred to as the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty.
    • It came into operation and became effective from 16th November 1982.
    • It defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.
    • It has created three new institutions on the international scene :
      1. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,
      2. International Seabed Authority
      3. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

  • Democratic Backsliding in America

    Context

    With the US Supreme Court’s overturning of abortion as a constitutionally guaranteed right, America has taken another step towards democratic backsliding.

    Background of the Roe v Wade case

    • Bodily autonomy: 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”.
    • 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.
    • Recognition of states’ rights: 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.

    Overturning of Roe Vs Wade case

    • The US Supreme Court on June 24 overturned a half-century-old right to abortion, granted by a 1973 Supreme Court decision in the Roe vs Wade case.
    • No nationwide right to abortion: With a 5-4 majority, the court has said that American women have no nationwide right to abortion.
    • Rather, state legislatures should decide whether women can have that right in their respective states.
    • Concerns about the life of the unbors: In the court’s opinion, the right to privacy stemming from the 14th Amendment is not relevant, for abortion concerns not only the pregnant woman but also the life of the unborn.
    • Not mentioned in the 1787 constitution: Moreover, the court said, abortion is neither “enumerated” as a right in the original 1787 constitution nor is it consistent with American history and tradition.
    • Taking away the right once granted: In a democracy, can a right once granted be taken away?
    • As the world’s oldest surviving democracy, the United States has figured prominently in this debate.
    • With the overturning of Roe vs Wade, this debate has now become wider.

    Was the right to abortion constitutionally justified?

    • Protection of liberty and privacy: The 1973 court decision allowing the right to abortion was based on the 14th Constitutional Amendment (1868).
    • Even though abortion was not mentioned in the 1787 US Constitution, abortion’s defence was derived from the 1868 Amendment
    • This Amendment, the court said, allowed protection of liberty and privacy, something the state could not impinge upon.
    • Not absolute right: The 1973 court also argued that this right was not absolute, limited as it would be by considerations of “protecting potential life”.

    Issues with the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade case

    • 1] No constitution can anticipate the evolution of rights:  Abortion was not mentioned in the 1787 constitution, nor explicitly in the 1868 amendment.
    • That is because women were not autonomous political agents at that time.
    • Until they were given the right to vote in 1920, they were not a constitutional category in the US, as was true virtually everywhere in the world.
    • Women are autonomous agents today. Norms change; rights evolve.
    • 2] Ignores rape and incest:  As the court’s dissent note puts it, this majority decision ignore rape and incest.
    • If abortion as a right is dissolved, women can be forced to give such unwanted births.
    • The majority decision of the court is silent on this important matter.
    • 3] Against the right to participate equally in economic and social life: Having a child is not simply a deeply moral obligation to the unborn.
    • It is also a decision that affects “the ability of women to participate equally in (the nation’s) economic and social life”.
    • These words are from a later decision, known as Casey (1992), when the US Supreme Court added the concept of “undue burdens” to support the idea of abortion.
    • 4] Right over body ignored: Men don’t have to deal physically with pregnancy, whereas the foetus grows inside a woman’s body for nine months.
    •  If men have the right over their bodies, which can’t be taken away by the government,then women should also have autonomy over their bodies as well.
    •  Maternity must be a voluntary choice.
    • There is no going back to the notion of rights as they were viewed in the 18th century — unequal, unneutral, unbalanced.

    Conclusion

    Typically, as they evolve and deepen, democracies allow the arc of rights to broaden further, not retreat. After this judgment in the US, the stakes have become much higher and the democratic challenges bigger.

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  • Upper House, a question

    Context

    This article seeks to re-articulate a question pertaining to the composition of the Council of States.

    Historical background and CAD over the issue of second chamber

    • Lokanath Misra led the charge against a federal second chamber in the Constituent Assembly stating that there was not need for the second chamber and also that it will not serve any useful purpose.
    • Shibban Lal Saksena, was equally emphatic: He said that as per their experience, the Upper House acts as a clog in the wheel of progress.
    • They were not the only ones who had concerns. Other members expressed them too in different contexts during the Constituent Assembly debate on draft Article 67.

    Issues with the role of Rajya Sabha

    • Unable to protect the interest of the States: Article 1(1) of the Indian Constitution states “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”
    • Therefore, the primary responsibility of a Council of States would be to protect the interests of the states vis a vis the Union.
    • There is hardly any empirical evidence that substantiates that the Rajya Sabha has measured upto the task ever since it came into existence on April 3r 1952.
    • No focus on states: From 1952 to 2003, at least there was a veneer of a state focus when it was mandatory that any citizen desirous of contesting a Rajya Sabha election had to be an elector from that particular state.
    • By amending Section 3(1) of the Representation of People’s Act 1952 and doing away with the domicile requirement, the Government removed this fig leaf also in 2003.
    •  A five-judge bench did not uphold tha challenge to this judgement.
    •  This amendment and the subsequent judgment buried the earlier practice of individuals entering the Rajya Sabha from anywhere based upon rather dodgy but still some form of domicile credentials.
    • All states do not have bicameral legislature: Twenty-four states have unicameral legislatures, that is, only one legislative body, and only six states are bicameral.
    • If the bulk of the states can make do with one House why not the Centre?
    • Rajya Sabha as continuous house argument: It is also argued that the Rajya Sabha is a continuous House as opposed to the Lok Sabha that gets mandatorily dissolved every five years if not sooner.
    • That can be fixed with a simple amendment to Article 83 (2) that should state that “Lok Sabha would remain in existence till the time its successor body/house is not constituted.
    • Article 83 (1) would stand deleted and consequential amendments can be carried out to other parts of the Constitution.

    Conclusion

    It would be instructive to keep in mind that the Basic Structure doctrine enunciated by the Supreme Court in Re: Kesvananda Bharti holds parliamentary democracy to be basic structure, not bicameralism.

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  • Caution in buying Russian cruide

    Context

    This week the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times both reported on India emerging as a major buyer of Russian oil.

    Background of rising fuel prices due to Ukraine crisis

    • A significant fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been the rising cost of petroleum.
    • In response to the invasion, Western countries, including the United States and Europe, have imposed an array of sanctions against Russia.
    • Reduced purchases from Russia: Europe and the United States have seen the price of oil steadily rise after they reduced their purchases from Russia.
    • For now, Russia has been able to mitigate the impact of sanctions by selling crude, oil and coal at reasonable prices in greater volumes to newer bulk buyers like India, to combat Europe trying to wean itself off Russian crude.

    Why India increased purchase of Russian oil

    • India has chosen a different route.
    • Cope with rising fuel prices: We are the third-largest importer and consumer of oil in the world and have increased our purchase of Russian oil to cope with rising oil prices elsewhere.
    • We are also refining crude oil or turning it into products like jet fuel and diesel and selling it to Europe and other nations.
    • Curb inflation: Importing Russian crude also helps us curb inflation that has been made worse by rising fuel prices.
    • Halting the fall of the rupee: Procuring discounted Russian oil is an effort by the government to bring down prices and halt the decline in the value of the Indian rupee.
    • India’s behaviour is governed by our best interest, which is the most important element of any astute foreign and economic policy.

    Issues with purchasing oil from Russia

    • The European Union has announced a ban against insuring ships carrying Russian oil, to commence this December.
    • Insurance ban: Countries like India, China and Turkey that are increasing their oil purchases from Russia have six months to find a work-around to the insurance ban by using non-European insurance companies.
    • European companies own most of the ships carrying Russian oil to India.
    • These insurance sanctions will impact the companies that own these ships as well.
    • Dependence for batteries: Apart from geopolitical changes in the world indicating the rise of China, there is a major change: Electric vehicles and electric batteries substituting for non-renewable resources like petroleum and diesel.
    • India cannot afford to be dependent on an unhindered supply of electric batteries from China, given geopolitical considerations and border disputes between the two nations.

    Way forward

    • To weather the new electric era that will no doubt be dotted with territorial wars and national security concerns, India would do well to preempt shortages in the arena – by putting in place factories which will build the electric batteries that will power our futures.
    • What the invasion of Ukraine has taught us is that we need to be more self-reliant and have in-house energy sources.

    Conclusion

    India needs to factor in the implications of comprehensive western sanctions as it increases its purchase of discounted Russian oil.

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  • Issues with use of NMMS app in NREGA

    Context

    The National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) app seeks to improve citizen oversight and increase transparency in NREGA works. This causes significant difficulty for NREGA workers.

    About NMMS app

    • National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) App  was launched by the Minister of Rural Development on May, 21 2021.
    • The National Mobile Monitoring App is applicable for the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers for all the States/ Union Territories.
    • This app is aimed at bringing more transparency and ensure proper monitoring of the schemes.
    •  The main feature of the app is the real-time, photographed, geo-tagged attendance of every worker to be taken once in each half of the day. 
    • The app helps in increasing citizen oversight of the programme.

    Issues with the use of the app

    • While such an app may be useful in monitoring the attendance of workers who have fixed work timings, in most States, NREGA wages are calculated based on the amount of work done each day, and workers do not need to commit to fixed hours.
    • Disproportionately affects women: NREGA has historically had a higher proportion of women workers (54.7% in FY 2021-22) and has been pivotal in changing working conditions for women in rural areas.
    • Due to the traditional burden of household chores and care work on women, the app is likely to disproportionately affect women workers.
    • Lack of stable network: There are challenges of implementation with the NMMS as well.
    • A stable network is a must for real-time monitoring; unfortunately, it remains patchy in much of rural India.
    • NREGA Mates impacted: The app has adversely impacted NREGA Mates as well.
    • The role of a Mate was conceptualised as an opportunity to empower local women to manage attendance and work measurement in their panchayat.
    • To be a Mate, one needs to have a smartphone.
    • This new condition disqualifies thousands of women who do not own smartphones from becoming Mates.
    • Erosion of transparency:  The app claims to “increase citizen oversight” by “bringing more transparency and ensuring proper monitoring of the schemes, besides potentially enabling processing payments faster”.
    • With no physical attendance records signed by workers anymore, workers have no proof of their attendance and work done.
    • No clarity provided on corruption: While ostensibly the NMMS’s focus on real-time, geo-tagged attendance could be one way of addressing this corruption, the MoRD has not provided much clarity on either the magnitude of this corruption or the manner in which the NMMS addresses it.
    • No parameters: There are no parameters established to assess the app’s performance, either on transparency, or on quicker processed payments.

    Way forward

    • Social audits: Social audits are citizen-centric institutions, where the citizens of the panchayat have a direct role and say in how NREGA functions in their panchayat.
    • Audits have worked well in the past, allowing the local rights holders to be invested in decisions, and hold the administration accountable themselves.

    Conclusion

    The NMMS has very clear problems that will make it increasingly difficult for workers to continue working under NREGA, eroding the right to work that underwrites the NREGA Act.

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  • US Supreme Court overturns Abortion Right

    In a significant curtailment of women’s rights, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a 1973 landmark decision giving women in America the right to have an abortion before the foetus is viable outside the womb — before the 24-28 week mark.

    What is Roe vs. Wade Case: Upholding the Right to Abortion

    • Roe, short for Jane Roe, is the pseudonym for a Texas woman who in 1970 sought to have an abortion when she was five months pregnant.
    • Texas then had ban on abortions except to save a mother’s life. The case then went to the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS).
    • The 7-2 majority opinion of the SCOTUS written in 1973, paved the way for the recognition of abortion as a constitutional right in the US considering foetal viability.

    [Foetal viability is the point at which a foetus can survive outside the womb, at the time considered to be around 28 weeks, but today is closer to 23 or 24 weeks owing to advances in medicine and technology.]

    Right to Abortion Judgment: Key takeaways

    Based on the Roe vs Wade case, the framework of regulations that applied towards the right to abortion:

    1. Almost no limitations could be placed on that right;
    2. Only limitations to abortion rights that were aimed at protecting a woman’s health were permitted; and in the third trimester,
    3. State governments had greater leeway to limit the right to abortion except for cases in which the life and health of the mother were endangered.

    What is the debate?

    The abortion debate is the ongoing controversy surrounding the moral, legal, and religious status of induced abortion.

    The sides involved in the debate are the self-described “pro-choice” and “pro-life” movements.

    1. Pro-choice emphasizes the woman’s choice whether to terminate a pregnancy.
    2. Pro-life position stresses the humanity of both the mother and foetus, arguing that a fetus is a human person deserving of legal protection.

    Why is the judgement overturned?

    • Foetuses feel the pain: If the foetus is beyond 20 weeks of gestation, gynaecs assume that there will be pain caused to the foetus.
    • Biblical gospel: The Bible does not draw a distinction between foetuses and babies. By the time a baby is conceived, he or she is recognized by God.
    • Abortions cause psychological damage: Young adult women who undergo abortion may be at increased risk for subsequent depression.
    • Abortions reduce the number of adoptable babies: Instead of having the option to abort, women should give their unwanted babies to people who cannot conceive. Single parenthood is also gaining popularity in the US.
    • Cases of selective abortion: Such cases based on physical and genetic abnormalities (eugenic termination) is overt discrimination.
    • Abortion as a form of contraception: It is immoral to kill an unborn child for convenience. Many women are using abortion as a contraceptive method.
    • Morality put to question: If women become pregnant, they should accept the responsibility that comes with producing a child. People need to take responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences.
    • Abortion promotes throwaway culture: The legalization of abortion sends a message that human life has little value and promotes the throwaway culture.
    • Racial afflictions: Abortion disproportionately affects African American babies. In the US, black women are 3.3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion.

    Arguments in favour for Abortion Rights

    • Upholding individual conscience and decision-making:  The US Supreme Court has declared abortion to be a fundamental right guaranteed by the US Constitution.
    • Reproductive choice empowers women: The choice over when and whether to have children is central to a woman’s independence and ability to determine her future.
    • Foetal viability occurs post-birth:  Personhood begins after a foetus becomes “viable” (able to survive outside the womb) or after birth, not at conception. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby.
    • No proof of foetal pain: Most neuroscientists believe that the cortex is necessary for pain perception. The cortex does not become functional until at least the 26th week of a foetus’ development.
    • Preventing illegal abortions: Access to legal, professionally-performed abortions reduces maternal injury and death caused by unsafe, illegal abortions.
    • Mother’s health: Modern abortion procedures are safe and do not cause lasting health issues such as cancer and infertility.
    • Child’s health: Abortion gives pregnant women the option to choose not to bring fetuses with profound abnormalities to full term.
    • Prevents women’s exclusion: Women who are denied abortions are more likely to become unemployed, to be on public welfare, to be below the poverty line, and to become victims of domestic violence.
    • Reproductive choice protects women from financial disadvantage: Many women who choose abortion don’t have the financial resources to support a child.
    • Justified means of population control: Many defends abortion as a way to curb overpopulation. Malnutrition, starvation, poverty, lack of medical and educational services, pollution, underdevelopment, and conflict over resources are all consequences of overpopulation.

    Way forward

    • A search for the middle path perhaps the right of a woman to choose what to do with the foetus has to be balanced with the right of the foetus to survive.
    • It is only that a foetus does not have the ability to exercise an option while the person who carries it does.
    • Rather than banning abortion, lawmakers must focus on counselling, employment security, social welfare, and financial support to persuade pregnant women to give birth to their children.
    • We must achieve some degree of protection for the unborn by obtaining voluntary recognition of personal responsibility and respect for the personhood of the unborn.

    Back2Basics: Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

    • Abortion in India has been a legal right under various circumstances for the last 50 years with the introduction of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971.
    • The Act was amended in 2003 to enable women’s accessibility to safe and legal abortion services.
    • Abortion is covered 100% by the government’s public national health insurance funds, Ayushman Bharat and Employees’ State Insurance with the package rate for surgical abortion.

    The idea of terminating your pregnancy cannot originate by choice and is purely circumstantial. There are four situations under which a legal abortion is performed:

    1. If continuation of the pregnancy poses any risks to the life of the mother or mental health
    2. If the foetus has any severe abnormalities
    3. If pregnancy occurred as a result of failure of contraception (but this is only applicable to married women)
    4. If pregnancy is a result of sexual assault or rape

    These are the key changes that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, has brought in:

    1. The gestation limit for abortions has been raised from the earlier ceiling of 20 weeks to 24 weeks, but only for special categories of pregnant women such as rape or incest survivors. But this termination would need the approval of two registered doctors.
    2. All pregnancies up to 20 weeks require one doctor’s approval. The earlier law, the MTP Act 1971, required one doctor’s approval for pregnancies upto 12 weeks and two doctors’ for pregnancies between 12 and 20 weeks.
    3. Women can now terminate unwanted pregnancies caused by contraceptive failure, regardless of their marital status. Earlier the law specified that only a “married woman and her husband” could do this.
    4. There is also no upper gestation limit for abortion in case of foetal disability if so decided by a medical board of specialist doctors, which state governments and union territories’ administrations would set up.

     

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  • Parameswaran Iyer will be new NITI Aayog CEO

    Parameswaran Iyer, a senior official who helmed the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, will be the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NITI Aayog.

    What is the news?

    • Iyer replaces Amitabh Kant, who completes his term in the office on June 30.
    • Kant was appointed CEO of the National Institutions for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog on February 17, 2016, for two years.
    • He got three extensions during his tenure.

    Do you know?

    Under Mr. Kant, the NITI Aayog helped the Centre launch several programmes such as Digital India and Make in India.

    What is NITI Aayog?

    • The NITI Aayog serves as the apex public policy think tank of the GoI.
    • It was established in 2015, by the NDA government, to replace the Planning Commission which followed a top-down model.
    • It advises both the centre and states on social and economic issues.
    • It is neither a constitutional body nor a statutory body but the outcome of an executive resolution. It was not created by the act of parliament.

    Composition of NITI Aayog

    • The Prime Minister of India is the chairperson/chairman of the NITI Aayog.
    • The PM appoints one Vice-Chairperson, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister.
    • It includes the Chief Ministers of all the states and Union territories.
    • It has Regional Councils for looking after contingencies in regional areas. It is convened and chaired by the Prime Minister of India and includes concerned chief ministers and Lt. Governors.
    • The Prime Minister nominates Personalities with skilled knowledge, who are experts in particular domains as special invitees.
    • There are full-time members who hold the rank of ministers.
    • There is a maximum of two Part-time members who are invited from leading organisations, universities, and research centres.
    • The Prime Minister also appoints one Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who holds the rank of a Secretary.

    Aims, Agenda, and Objectives of NITI Aayog

    The purpose with which NITI Aayog was formed in place of the Planning Commission was a far-sighted vision. It was important to boost the development of India in the emerging global scenario. The objectives are:

    • To generate a platform for national development, sectors and strategies with the collaboration of states and centre.
    • To boost the factor of cooperative federalism between the centre and the states. For national development, it is necessary for both wings to work in synergy.
    • To develop such mechanisms which work at the ground root level for progressive growth. A nation develops when its regions and states develop.
    • To work on long term policies and strategies for long-term development. To set up a system for monitoring progress so that it can be used for analysing and improving methods.
    • To provide a platform for resolving inter-departmental issues amicably.
    • To make it a platform where the programmes, strategies, and schemes can be monitored on a day to day basis, and it could be understood which sector needs more resources to develop.
    • To upgrade technological advancements in such a manner that focus can be made on iNITIatives and programmes.
    • To ensure India’s level and ranking at the worldwide level and to make India an actively participating nation.
    • To progress from food security towards nutrition and standardised meals and focus on agricultural production.
    • To make use of more technology to avoid misadventures and corruption in governance.
    • To make the working system more transparent and accountable.

    NITI Aayog – Seven Pillars of Effective Governance

    • NITI Aayog works on principles like Antyodaya (upliftment of poor), inclusion (to include all sections under one head), people participation, and so on.
    • NITI Aayog is a body that follows seven pillars of governance. They are:
    1. To look after pro-people agenda so that the aspirations and desires of no one are compromised.
    2. To respond and work on the needs of citizens.
    3. Make citizens of the nation involve and participate in various streams.
    4. To empower women in all fields, be it social, technical, economic, or other.
    5. To include all sects and classes under one head. To give special attention to marginalised and minority groups.
    6. To provide equal opportunity for the young generation.
    7. To make the working of government more accountable and transparent. It will ensure less chance of corruption and malpractices.

     

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:

    In India, which of the following review the independent regulators in sectors like telecommunications, insurance, electricity, etc.?

    1. Ad Hoc Committees set up by the Parliament
    2. Parliamentary Department Related Standing Committees
    3. Finance Commission
    4. Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission
    5. NITI Aayog

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2

    (b) 1, 3 and 4

    (c) 3, 4 and 5

    (d) 2 and 5

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”42v0aebojc” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answer here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Pakistan’s Economic Crisis and the IMF Challenge

    Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have been depleting during the last one year and is heading towards a default risk as Sri Lanka did.

    Pakistani economy is said to have been crippling since the discontinuance of US ‘military’ aid which it had used

    What is the news?

    • The Pakistani rupee has been on free fall; from 150 in April 2021 to 213 against the dollar on 21 June, an all-time low.
    • This would mean high oil and electricity prices, to outrage the people who are already to the streets due to ousted PM Imran Khan.
    • The government-International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks have remained complicated.

    Options available for Pakistan

    • Pakistan is under deep Balance of Payment (BoP) crisis (as was India in 1991).
    • Pakistan has exhausted all credit options as SL did.
    • Even the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is at standstill.
    • Even the Saudi’s and so called ‘caliphate’ of Turkey has not come to Pakistan’s rescue.

    Only option left: IMF bail out

    • The immediate future of Pakistan’s economy would depend on IMF resuming its support.
    • Despite an intense discussion between the two, there has not been a consensus until now.

    What is IMF bail-out?

    • Bailout is a general term for extending financial support to a company or a country facing a potential bankruptcy threat.
    • When a country asks the IMF for a loan, the country is facing a major economic crisis.
    • In particular, it does not have enough foreign currency (‘dollars’) to pay for imports and the repayments on its loans. In short, the country cannot pay its international bills. So, it need a bailout.
    • The IMF will give the country an aid, which is ‘cash’ in the sense that it does not have to be spent on a particular project. This money can be used to pay its bills.
    • But, the IMF will impose certain conditions. The basic condition is to spend less – both domestically and internationally.
    • This belt-tightening is not easy – people lose jobs, prices rise, etc. And, one has to repay the loan.
    • These conditions are necessary to ensure that the money is being spent where it is supposed to.

    Pakistan and IMF: A track record

    • Pakistan’s relationship with the IMF has remained complicated. It sees conditions laid as a breach of sovereignty.
    • Though Islamabad has been negotiating with the IMF repeatedly, there has been an economic nationalism, mostly jingoistic, against approaching the IMF in recent years.
    • Imran Khan, the former PM made statements and fuelled the sentiments against the IMF.
    • After becoming the PM in 2018, he preferred approaching friendly countries (China and Saudi Arabia) and avoiding the IMF.
    • The new government is now back to the IMF; it expects the IMF to release the payments, expand the support programme, and give a longer rope to repay.

    Conditions laid out by IMF for recent bail-out

    • The IMF is willing to support Pakistan but has some conditions regarding macroeconomic reforms.
    • It wants Pakistan to be transparent about its debt situation, including what Islamabad owes to China, as a part of the CPEC.
    • Terror-financing in Pakistan is the most favored type of investment!
    • The IMF may agree to support after a few more promises by the government.
    • But the relief may be less than what Pakistan would hope for.

    A vicious cycle

    • Since its inception, Pakistan has spent more years inside an IMF programme than outside of it.
    • Every leader took the money, imposed massive hardships on the population through austerity and demand suppression and then reneges on its commitment through a patchy implementation.
    • Radical fanaticism and anti-India sentiments are successful tools of public appeasement.

    Will Pakistan pursue macroeconomic reforms?

    • In Pakistan, budgets have remained populist.
    • The economic governance declined due to corruption, lack of financial institutions’ independence, and the export decline.
    • The subsidies in the energy sector — fuel, oil and electricity — remain high to appease the public.
    • With the present coalition government facing elections, they are less likely to take any further bold decisions.

    Will “friendly countries” support Pakistan without preconditions?

    • Saudi Arabia and China have been supporting Pakistan. MBS has already pulled his hands.
    • Riyadh’s support is not unconditional.
    • It can ask Pakistan “to return the money at any time if the two countries have divergent views regarding their relationship or ties with a third country, or some other issue.”
    • China has been another significant source for Pakistan. Islamabad has been regularly seeking loans from China within and outside the CPEC projects.
    • However, since the attack on Chinese citizens by Baloch Fighters, China appears to have been disgusted with Pakistan.
    • CPEC is also at a standstill.

    FATF clearance is no panacea

    • During the latest Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting, there was an understanding that Pakistan has met its requirement.
    • The FATF has agreed to explore the possibilities of removing Pakistan from the grey list.
    • However, even when Pakistan was on the grey list, the IMF had been holding talks with Islamabad.
    • The big two — China and Saudi Arabia — were not constrained by Pakistan’s listing in the FATF.
    • So, the relaxation is less likely to open gates for big investments.

    Will Pakistan go the Sri Lankan way?

    • The situation was similar in Sri Lanka — the falling value of rupee, declining foreign exchange reserves, differences with the IMF, and rising fuel prices.
    • All of them led to public protests in Sri Lanka against the government.
    • The economic and energy crises in Pakistan have not snowballed into a political storm as it had happened in Sri Lanka.
    • The dope of “threats to Religion” works effectively there.

    Conclusion

    • The experiment of Pakistan (as a separate nation) has failed on various fronts.
    • To conclude, Pakistan’s economic and energy situation is serious and demands bold decisions.
    • The situation will worsen in the short term before it gets better, but this has been Pakistan’s history in the last 75 years.
    • With a relief from the IMF, after a protracted negotiation, a few band-aids, and the US intervention, Islamabad may muddle through this time as well, until the next crisis.

     

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