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GS Paper: GS2

  • Supreme Court upholds validity of OBC quota in NEET admissions

    The Supreme Court has pronounced its decision upholding the constitutional validity of providing 27% quota to Other Backward Classes (OBC) in NEET All India Quota (AIQ) seats for UG and PG medical courses.

    What is the issue?

    • The petitioners, several NEET aspirants, had argued that since the top court had limited reservation to 50% in the Indira Sawhney judgment, the government should have first applied to the court before tinkering with the quota calculations.
    • The court further confirmed that there was no need for the Centre to have got the prior consent of the Supreme Court before introducing OBC quota in the AIQ seats under NEET.
    • The court reasoned that material affluence of certain individual members of a socially backward group or ‘creamy layer’ could not be used against the entire group to deny it the benefits of reservation.

    What is the background of this case?

    • The government introduced OBC/EWS quota before the counselling of NEET counselling.
    • The candidates applying for NEET PG were not provided any information on the distribution of the seat matrix.
    • Such information is provided by the counselling authority only after the counselling session is to begin.

    Key observations of the Apex Court

    • The SC has held that reservation is not at odds with merit.
    • It observed that ‘merit’ could not be narrowed to the limit of success in open competitive exams.
    • Merit of a person is a sum total of “lived experiences” and his or her struggle to overcome cultural and social setbacks, observed the SC.

    Why is this a landmark judgment?

    • Merit cannot be reduced to narrow definitions of performance in an open competitive examination, which only provides formal equality of opportunities , said the SC.
    • Current competencies are assessed by competent examinations but are not reflective of excellence, capability and potential of an individual.

    Major justifications for Reservations

    • Exams did not reflect how social, economic and cultural advantages that accrued to certain classes contributed to their success in them, the court noted.
    • Examinations are not a proxy for merit.
    • Merit should be socially contextualized and re-conceptualized.
    • Reservation is not at odds with merit but furthers its distributive impact, Justice Chandrachud observed.

    Constitutionality of the decision

    • The court held that the power of the State governments to provide reservations under Article 15 (4) and (5) of the Constitution was not an “exception” to Article 15 (1).
    • It enshrines the mandate that “the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth or any of them”.
    • The court held that the power of the State government to craft reservations for the OBC amplified the principle of “substantive equality” manifested through Article 15 (1).

    Implications: Victory for States

    • In a significant victory for States such as Tamil Nadu, the court confirmed their power to make “special provisions” and provide reservations in educational admissions, whether in aided or unaided institutions.
    • TN provides government jobs for the advancement of “any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the SCs and STs”.

     

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  • The Question of OBC Reservation in Local Bodies

    The latest order in Rahul Ramesh Wagh v. State of Maharashtra &Ors makes it mandatory that the principles laid down by the Supreme Court for providing reservation to OBCs in local bodies shall be followed across the country.

    Let us understand the Case

    • Maharashtra had constituted a Commission to ascertain the backwardness of OBCs in June 2021.
    • But without waiting for an empirical report, an ordinance was promulgated to amend the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads Act, Panchayat Samitis Act and the Maharashtra Village Panchayat Act.
    • They were aimed to conduct local body elections with OBC reservation.
    • This was struck down by the Supreme Court.

    The latest case arose out of the challenge made to the ordinance promulgated on the teeth of the Supreme Court judgments by the Governor of Maharashtra to conduct the local body elections by providing 27% reservation to OBCs.

    What did the SC observe now?

    • Reservation to OBCs in local body elections without empirical base can no more be sustainable in law.
    • The latest order in RR Wagh v. State of Maharashtra & others makes it mandatory that the principles laid down by the Supreme Court for providing reservation to OBCs in local bodies shall be scrupulously followed across the country.

    Which principles is the apex court talking about?

    • A five-judge Constitution Bench in the K. Krishnamurthy (Dr.) v. Union of India (2010) judgment said that barriers to political participation are not the same as barriers to education and employment.
    • Though reservation to local bodies is permissible, the top court declared that the same is subject to three conditions:
    1. to set up a dedicated Commission to conduct empirical inquiry into the nature of the backwardness in local bodies
    2. to specify the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned local body-wise
    3. such reservation shall not exceed aggregate of 50% cap of the total seats reserved for SCs/STs/OBCs taken together
    • This is famously referred as ‘Triplet Test’.

    Major takeaways of K. Krishnamurthy Case

    In this case, the Supreme Court had interpreted Article 243D(6) and Article 243T(6), which permit reservation by enactment of law for backward classes in local bodies respectively.

    • It held that barriers to political participation are not the same as that of the barriers that limit access to education and employment.
    • However, for creating a level playing field, reservation may be desirable as mandated by the aforementioned conditions.
    • Above articles provide a separate constitutional basis for reservation, as distinct from what are conceived under Article 15 (4) and Article 16 (4) which form the basis for reservation in education and employment.

    Reception of the Krishnamurthy Judgment

    • The Indian political class usually displays apathy to the law declared by the courts as contrary to the enacted law.
    • The 2010 judgment was not acted upon and the constitutionality of the enacted reservation was challenged.
    • This resulted in the 2021 judgment of a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.

    What can be concluded from the aspirant’s perspective?

    • Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to stall the local body elections in the wake of the judicial interference.
    • Elections, undoubtedly, must be held on time.
    • Since Judiciary does not usually interfere into Elections, States often seek to bypass the OBC reservation issues.

    Conclusion

    • Had the governments stuck to the law as mandated by Article 141 of the Constitution, this quandary wouldn’t have arisen.
    • Much of the judiciary’s time could have been saved.
    • Rule of law is not just a set of letters, but it has to be followed in spirit.

    Back2Basics: Article 141 of the Constitution

    • It stipulates that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all Courts within the territory of India.
    • Thus, the general principles laid down, by the Supreme Court are binding on each individual including those who are not a party to an order.

     

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  • What Russia really wants

    Context

    Vladimir Putin, who annexed Crimea in 2014 has now mobilised some 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border.

    How insecurity and history plays role in Russia’s actions

    • Russia, the world’s largest country by land mass, lacks natural borders except the Arctic Ocean in the north and the Pacific in the far east.
    • Its vast land borders stretch from northern Europe to Central and north east Asia.
    • The country’s heartland that runs from St. Petersburg through Moscow to the Volga region lies on plains and is vulnerable to attacks.
    • In the last two centuries, Russia saw two devastating invasions from the west — the 1812 attack by Napoleonic France and the 1941 attack by Nazi Germany. 
    • After the Second World War, Russia re-established its control over the rim land in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which it hoped would protect its heartland.
    • But the disintegration of the Soviet Union threw its security calculations into disarray, deepening its historical insecurity.

    NATO’s expansion after disintegration of the Soviet Union

    • When the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia lost over three million square kilometres of sovereign territory.
    •  In the last months of the Soviet Union, the West promised that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would not “expand an inch to the east”.
    • The United States and the United Kingdom repeated the pledge after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
    • But despite the promises, NATO continued expansion.
    • In March 1999, in the first enlargement since the end of the Cold War, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland (all were members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact) joined NATO.
    • Five years later, seven more countries — including the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all of which share borders with Russia — were taken into the alliance.
    • Russia felt threatened but was not able to respond.
    • But in 2008, when the U.S. promised membership to Georgia and Ukraine in the Bucharest summit, Russia, which was coming out of the post-Soviet retreat, responded forcefully.

    How Russia see NATO expansion as threat to its dominance on Black Sea

    • Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, all Black Sea basin countries, are NATO members.
    • Ukraine and Georgia are the other countries that share the Black Sea coast, besides Russia.
    • Russia was already feeling squeezed on the Black Sea front, its gateway to the Mediterranean Sea.
    • If Ukraine and Georgia also join NATO, Russia fears that its dominance over the Black Sea would come to an end.
    • So, in 2008, Mr. Putin sent troops to Georgia over the separatist conflict in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
    • In 2014, when the Kremlin-friendly regime of Ukraine was toppled by pro-western protesters, he moved to annex the Crimean peninsula, expanding Russia’s Black Sea coast, thereby protecting its fleet based in Sevastopol in Crimea.

    Restoring the rim land

    • In recent years, Mr. Putin has tried to turn every crisis in the former Soviet region into a geopolitical opportunity.
    • South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the self-proclaimed republics that broke away from Georgia, are controlled by Russia-backed forces.
    •  In 2020, when protests erupted in Belarus after a controversial presidential election, Mr. Putin sent assistance to the country to restore order.
    • In the same year, Russia sent thousands of “peacekeepers” to end the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
    • Earlier this year, Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, with Mr. Putin’s backing, manufactured a migrant crisis on the Polish border of the European Union.
    • This month, when violent unrest broke out in Kazakhstan, the largest and wealthiest country in Central Asia, its leader turned to Russia for help.

    How do geopolitical circumstances favour Russia?

    • The U.S.’s ignominious withdrawal from Afghanistan has left the Central Asian republics deeper in the Russian embrace.
    • Europe is very much dependent on Russian gas, which limits its response.
    • For years, the West, the winner of the Cold War, discounted Mr. Putin.
    • Having failed to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan, NATO is unlikely to pick a war with Russia over Ukraine.

    Conclusion

    By destabilising Georgia and Ukraine and re-establishing Russia’s hold in Belarus, Caucasus and Central Asia, Moscow has effectively stalled NATO’s further expansion into its backyard.

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  • Democratise and empower city governments

    Context

    The “State Finances, Study of Budgets of 2021-22” report, correctly identify the role of the city governments in meeting the challenges the pandemic has thrown up, the report also points to the draining of resources.

    What the RBI report says about the role of local governments

    • The report highlights the frontline role played by the third-tier governments by implementing containment strategies, healthcare.
    • Due to this, their finances have come under severe strain, forcing them to cut down expenditures and mobilise funding from various sources.
    • Need for functional autonomy: The RBI further commented that the functional autonomy of civic bodies must increase and their governance structure strengthened.
    • Empowering financially: This could happen by ‘empowering them financially through higher resource availability.
    • The RBI did echo the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission report on local bodies that emphasised city governance structures and financial empowerment.
    • Limited coverage of property tax: The RBI report also highlights the limited coverage of property tax and its failure in shoring up municipal corporation revenues.
    • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data show that India has the lowest property tax collection rate in the world — i.e., property tax to GDP ratio. 

    Issues faced by city governments

    • During the pandemic, while leaders from the Prime Minister to Chief Ministers to District Magistrate were seen taking a call on disaster mitigation strategies, city mayors were found missing.
    • The old approach of treating cities as adjuncts of State governments continues to dominate the policy paradigm.
    • The general approach towards urban empowerment has remained piecemeal in India.
    • The first intervention to understand ‘the urban’ (though there are references in the Five Year plans) and plan with a pan-Indian vision took place in the 1980s when the National Commission On Urbanisation was formed with Charles Correa as its chairperson.
    • Another important intervention was in the first half of the 1990s with the Constitution 73rd and 74th Amendments. 
    • The latter refers to urban reforms — empowering urban local bodies to perform 18 functions listed in the 12th Schedule.
    • However, there is no mention of financial empowerment.
    • The only exception to the rule has been the people’s plan model of Kerala where 40% of the State’s plan budget was for local bodies (directly) with a transfer of important subjects such as planning, etc.

    How to achieve functional autonomy for city government

    • This should happen with three F’s: the transfer of ‘functions, finances and functionaries’ to city governments.
    • There are nearly 5,000 statutory towns and an equal number of census towns in India.
    • Nearly 35% of the population lives in urban centres.
    • And, nearly two-thirds of the country’s GDP stems from cities and almost 90% of government revenue flows from urban centres.
    • Before value-added tax and other centralised taxation systems, one of the major earnings of cities used to be from octroi.
    • But this source of revenue collection was taken away by the State and the central governments.
    • Instead, finance commissions recommended grants to urban local bodies based on a formula of demographic profile. 
    • In such a situation, it is difficult for the towns to sustain their ability to perform their bare minimum functions, especially with the latest Pay Commission recommendations.
    • This has resulted in burdening people more with taxes and further privatisation/outsourcing of the services of the municipalities.
    • The often-cited example is how cities in the Scandinavian countries manage their functions well — from city planning to mobility to waste management.
    • But the truth is that a chunk of the income tax from citizens is given to city governments.
    • A committee formed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to review the 74th constitutional amendment recommended that 10% of income tax collected from the cities was to be given back to them as a direct revenue grant from the central government.

    Way forward

    • 1] Cities must be treated as important centres of governance, where democratic decentralisation can bring in amazing results.
    • There will be transparency and adequate participation of the people.
    • 2] Cities should not be considered as entrepreneurship spaces where the sole driving force is to make them competitive to attract investments.
    • 3] The resources required for quantitative and qualitative data must be immediately provided to the cities to ensure a disaster risk reduction plan keeping vulnerable communities in mind.
    • 4] A piecemeal approach such as the concept of ‘smart cities’ must be shunned altogether.
    • This approach further widens the gap between different sets of people.
    • 5] Leadership in the cities must be elected for a term of five years. 
    • Likewise, the third F, i.e., functionaries, must be transferred to the cities with a permanent cadre.

    Consider the question “The functional autonomy of civic bodies must be increased and their governance structure strengthened. This could happen by ‘empowering them financially through higher resource availability’. Comment.” 

    Conclusion

    Thus, in this exercise by the RBI, the good part is that there has least been a mention of cities, with local bodies as important centres of governance.

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  • National Commission for Safai Karamcharis gets 3-year extension

    The Union Cabinet has approved a three-year extension of the tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) that was set to end on March 31.

    About National Commission for Safai Karamcharis

    • The commission was set up in 1993 under the NCSK Act 1993 for a period of three years, which has been extended since then.
    • The NCSK Act is however ceased to have effect from February 29, 2004.
    • After that, the tenure of the NCSK has been extended as a non-statutory body from time to time through resolutions.

    Why was NCSK set up?

    • The commission helps in coming up with programmes for the welfare of sanitation workers.
    • It also monitors the implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
    • Till December 31, 2021, 58,098 manual scavengers had been identified.

    Need for eliminating Manual Scavenging

    • Undignified life (all the 6 Fundamental Rights are compromised, directly or indirectly).
    • It directly perpetuates castism.
    • Modern, Secular India has no place for such “professions”.
    • It no way suits India’s rising global profile – ‘super power’ aspirations.
    • Women are mostly disprivileged since most manual scavengers are dalit women.

    What else needs to be done?

    • Though the government has taken many steps for the upliftment of the safai karamcharis, the deprivation suffered by them in socio-economic and educational terms is still far from being eliminated.
    • Although manual scavenging has been almost eradicated, sporadic instances of their deaths do occur.

    Way forward

    • There is a continued need to monitor the various interventions and initiatives of the government for welfare of safai Karamcharis.
    • The govt must strive to achieve the goal of complete mechanization of sewer/septic tanks cleaning in the country and rehabilitation of manual scavengers.

    Try this question from CSP 2016:

    Q.’Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan’ is a national campaign to:

    (a) rehabilitate the homeless and destitute persons and provide them with suitable sources of livelihood

    (b) release the sex workers from their practice and provide them with alternative sources of livelihood

    (c) eradicate the practice of manual scavenging and rehabilitate the manual scavengers

    (d) release the bonded labourers from their bondage and rehabilitate them

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”jine99bkvt” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here:[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

    Also try this question from our AWE initiative:

    Manual scavenging has been called as a worst surviving symbol of untouchability. Critically discuss the measures taken by Government to eradicate this practice? (250 W)

     

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  • Preventing genocide

    Context

    Incendiary speeches at a religious assembly include calls for the genocide of Muslims in India and can be seen as part of an ongoing pattern of targeting minorities.

    Background of the convention against genocide

    • India’s role: India has signed and ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948.
    • In 1946, Cuba, India and Panama co-sponsored General Assembly Resolution 96(I), which affirmed genocide as a ‘crime under international law’.
    • As a result of this resolution, a convention on the prohibition of genocide was drafted, which was passed by the General Assembly in 1948 and came into effect in 1951, with more than 150 states party to the convention presently.
    • Legal obligation: Legal obligations on states that are party to the convention include:
    • the obligation not to commit genocide,
    • to prevent genocide, and to punish genocide(Article I),
    • to enact legislation to give effect to the provisions of the convention (Article V);
    • to provide for effective penalties for those found guilty of criminal conduct (Article V); and
    • the obligation to try those charged with genocide in a competent tribunal (Article VI).

    No legislation enacted by India

    • Since signing the Genocide Convention and ratifying it, to date India has not enacted any legislation in accordance with Article VI of the Genocide Convention.
    • At the outset, India is in violation of its international obligation to criminalise genocide within its domestic law per Articles V, VI and VII, and to take all means to ensure the prevention of genocide.
    •  Indian domestic law shows that there are no comparable provisions for the prosecution of any mass crimes, least of all genocide.
    • Indian Penal Code provisions relating to rioting, unlawful assembly and ‘promoting enmity between different groups’ do not embody the basic elements of the crime of genocide, which is against a collectivity or a group, with the specific intent to cause its destruction.
    • These also do not pertain to another key aspect of the Genocide Convention – that of prevention, and creating the conditions in which such hate speech and other associated acts are not allowed to flourish.

    Significance of the Gambia’s proceedings before the ICJ against Myanmar

    •  The Gambia has initiated proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar on the basis of the Convention.
    • The ICJ, relying on a previous case of Belgium v. Senegal, stated, “It follows that any State party to the Genocide Convention, and not only a specially affected State, may invoke the responsibility of another State party with a view to ascertaining the alleged failure to comply with its obligations erga omnes partes, and to bring that failure to an end.”

    Conclusion

    It is more imperative than ever that international legal protections against genocide are incorporated in domestic legislation. Furthermore, the fact that India has international legal obligations under the Genocide Convention which it is not adhering to must be rectified.

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  • Making sense of Pakistan’s new national security policy

    Context

    The national security policy statement issued last week by the government of Pakistan acknowledges the need for change.

    Why does it matter for India?

    • India’s stakes in a stable Pakistan are higher than anyone else in the world.
    • Therefore, Delhi must pay close attention to the internal debates within Islamabad on the imperatives of major change in Pakistan’s national direction.
    • But as critics in Pakistan insist, the policy offers no clues on how to go about it.
    • The classified version probably has a clear strategy on how to accelerate economic growth, build national cohesion, and revitalise its foreign and security policies.

    Overview of India’s transformation after 1990s

    • The crises that Pakistan confronts today are quite similar to those Delhi faced at the turn of the 1990s.
    • Economic challenge: India’s post-Independence old economic model was on the verge of collapse.
    • Political instability: The era of massive domestic political mandates was over and weak coalitions government were in place.
    • Challenges in International relations: The Soviet Union, India’s best friend in the Cold War, fell off the map and the Russian successor was more interested in integrating with the West.
    • India found that its political ties with all other major powers — the US, Europe, China and Japan — were underdeveloped at the end of the Cold War.
    • Pakistan, meanwhile, was running proxy wars in India even as it mobilised international pressures against Delhi on Kashmir.
    • Within a decade, though, India was on a different trajectory.
    • . Its reformed economy was on a high growth path.
    • India was hailed as an emerging power that would eventually become the third-largest economy in the world and a military power to reckon with.
    • Delhi also cut a deal with Washington to become a part of the global nuclear order on reasonable terms.
    • This involved a series of structural economic reforms, the recasting of foreign policy, and developing a new culture of power-sharing within coalitions and between the Centre and the states.

    The economic transformation of Bangladesh

    • The economic transformation of Bangladesh has been equally impressive.
    • Since Sheikh Hasina returned to power in 2009, Bangladesh focused on economic development, stopped support to terrorism, and improved ties with the larger of its two neighbours — India. 
    • As a result, Bangladesh’s economy in 2021 (GDP at $350 billion) is well ahead of Pakistan ($280 billion).

    How Pakistan missed the opportunity

    • Pakistan chose a different path.
    • Having ousted the Soviet superpower from Afghanistan in the late 1980s, Pakistan was ready to apply the model of cross-border terrorism to shake Kashmir loose from India and turn Afghanistan into a protectorate.
    • Supporting jihadi groups was seen as a low-cost strategy to achieve Pakistan’s long-standing strategic objectives in the neighbourhood.
    • These grand geopolitical obsessions left little bandwidth for the much-needed economic modernisation of Pakistan.
    • Islamabad, which relentlessly pursued parity with Delhi, now finds that the Indian economy at $3.1 trillion is more than 10 times larger than that of Pakistan.

    Factors that explain change in Pakistan’s policy

    • Diminishing role in geopolitics: In the past, Pakistan had much success in pursuing a foreign policy that not only balanced India with the support of the West, but also carved out a large role for itself in the Middle East and more broadly the Muslim world.
    • Today, barring the United Kingdom, Pakistan’s equities in the West have steadily diminished.
    • Weakened ties in the Middle East: Meanwhile, it has weakened its traditionally strong ties in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
    • Weakened ties with the US: Although its all-weather ties with China have gone from strength to strength, the unfolding conflict between Washington and Beijing has put Pakistan in an uncomfortable strategic situation.
    • Pakistan’s support for violent religious extremism has also begun to backfire.
    • A permissive environment for terrorism has now attracted severe financial penalties from the international system.

    India’s changed approach towards Pakistan

    • Delhi, which was prepared to make concessions on Kashmir in the 1990s and 2000s, has taken Kashmir off the table and is ready to use military force in response to major terror attacks.
    • Delhi’s attitude towards Islamabad now oscillates between insouciance and aggression.
    • Unlike in the past, the West is no longer pressuring India to accommodate Pakistan on Kashmir.
    • The US is eager for India’s support in balancing China in the Indo-Pacific.

    Conclusion

    All these shifts together have compelled Pakistan to rethink its policies.  There is no guarantee that the change will be definitive and for the good. But if it is, Delhi should be prepared to respond positively.

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  • In news: Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956

    Karnataka CM has said irrigation projects are bogged down by river water sharing disputes and asked the Centre to ‘revisit the Inter-State River Water Disputes (IWRD) Act since the law is creating more disputes than resolving them’.

    About IWRD Act

    • The IWRD Act, 1956 aims to resolve the water disputes that would arise in the use, control and distribution of an interstate river or river valley.
    • Article 262 of the Indian Constitution provides a role for the Central government in adjudicating conflicts surrounding inter-state rivers that arise among the state/regional governments.
    • This act is confined to states of India and not applicable to union territories.
    • Only concerned state governments are entitled to participate in the tribunal adjudication and non-government entities are not permitted.

    Jurisdictions over Rivers

    • River waters use / harnessing is included in states jurisdiction.
    • However, Union government can make laws on regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river valleys to the extent such water resources are directly under its control when expedient in the public interest.
    • When union government wants to take over a interstate river project under its control by law, it has to take approval of the riparian states’ legislature assemblies before passing such bill in the Parliament per Article 252 of the constitution.
    • When public interest is served, President may also establish an interstate council as per Article 263 to inquire and recommend on the dispute that has arisen between the states of India.

    Resolution of disputes

    • Dispute resolution is a layered process, as mandated by the ISWD Act.
    • After receiving a complaint from a state, the Union government first tries to mediate. It is only when negotiations fail that the Centre is required to form a tribunal to adjudicate the dispute.
    • If a State Government makes a request regarding any water dispute and the Central Government is of opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, then a Tribunal is constituted.

    Constitution of Tribunal

    • Whenever the riparian states are not able to reach amicable agreements on their own in sharing of an interstate river waters, section 4 of IRWD Act provides for a Tribunal.
    • The tribunal shall not only adjudicate but also investigate the matters referred to it by the central government and forward a report setting out the facts with its decisions.
    • The tribunal responsibility is not limited to adjudication of issues raised by the concerned states and but investigation of other aspects such as water pollution, water quality deterioration, flood control etc.

    Time-frame for dispute resolution

    • The tribunals have been allotted three years to arrive at a final decision, extendable by two years.
    • The 2002 Amendment to the ISWD Act specified a one-year limit on the timeline allowed to carry out the process of dispute resolution.

    Active tribunals in India

    • Ravi & Beas Water Tribunal (1986) – Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan
    • Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal II (2004) – Karnataka, Telangana, Andra Pradesh, Maharashtra
    • Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (2010) – Goa,Karnataka, Maharashtra
    • Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal (2010) – Andra Pradesh & Odisha
    • Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal (2018) – Odisha & Chattisgarh

    Need for the IWRD Act

    • Major inter-state river basins: India has 25 major river basins, with most rivers flowing across states.
    • Equitable distribution of water: As river basins are shared resources, a coordinated approach between the states is necessary for the preservation, equitable distribution and sustainable utilization of river water.
    • Hydro-politics: Much recently, interstate rivers in India have become sites of contestations, fuelled by conflicting perceptions of property rights, flawed economic instruments for food security.
    • Sustainability: This has led to a lack of an integrated ecosystems approach, and the prevalence of reductionist hydrology for water resource development.

    Issues with IRWD Act

    • Centre’s dilemma: Since river water falls within the ambit of State Subjects, its governance remains confined to the limits of the state political discourse.
    • Interference of Judiciary: The apex court has limited the role of the tribunals to quantification and allocation of water between riparian states, and its own role is to be an interpreter of the awards and agreements.
    • Colonial award: The history of colonial rule has led to the creation of asymmetries between states, and the present water disputes stem from the reproduction of this imperial and colonial power relation.
    • Structural issues: Various operational characteristics of the tribunals as problematic, since they do not adhere to any established system.
    • Operational issues: For instance, the sittings are not routine, the functioning is outside the regular court system, and day-to-day or week-to-week hearings are few and far in between.

    Why this has become a sensitive topic?

    • Associated ethnicity: At the state level, river water is politically perceived as part of the larger issue of “regional sharing of resources,” which is linked with the ethnic and cultural identity of the state and its people.
    • Matter of autonomy: The political narrative around river disputes is subsumed within the question of regional rights, and any possibility of water sharing is seen as a compromise or infringement on the regional autonomy of a state.
    • Identity politics: Hence, the political narrative around the river disputes jumps to a larger scale of identity politics.

    Way forward

    • For such dispute resolution, all other recourses such as mediation and conciliation must remain viable options.
    • These should operate simultaneously along with adjudication and political consensus among the riparian states.
    • Directly approaching the Supreme Court may result in adversarial outcomes, with the conflict reaching a point of no return.

     

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  • How Republic Day tableaux are designed and selected

    Recently, West Bengal’s tableau for the Republic Day parade was rejected without assigning any reasons or justifications.

    Who manages the R-Day Parade?

    • The Defence Ministry is the responsible authority for the Republic Day parade and the celebrations.
    • Around September, it invites all the states, the UTs, Central Government departments, and a few constitutional authorities to participate in the parade through tableaux.

    Managing Tableaux

    • The Defence Ministry shares the basic guidelines about what all the tableaux can or should include.
    • The tableaux of two different states/ UTs cannot be too similar, as the tableaux, together, should showcase the diversity of the country.
    • The tableaux cannot have any writing or use of logos, except for the name of the state/ UT/ department, which should be written in Hindi on the front, English on the back, and a regional language on the sides.
    • The Ministry also asks the participants to use eco-friendly material for the tableaux, and avoid the use of plastic or plastic-based products.

    How are the tableaux selected?

    • The selection process is elaborate and time-consuming.
    • The Defence Ministry constitutes an expert committee of distinguished persons from fields like art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography, etc.

    Process of selection

    (1) Submission of sketches

    • First, the submitted sketches or designs of the proposals are scrutinised by this committee, which can make suggestions for any modifications in the sketch or design.
    • The sketch should be simple, colourful, easy to comprehend and should avoid unnecessary detail.
    • It should be self-explanatory, and should not need any written elaboration.

    (2) Music and Visuals

    • If there is a traditional dance involved with the tableau, it should be a folk dance, and the costumes and musical instruments should be traditional and authentic.
    • The proposal should include a video clipping of the dance.

    (3) 3D Models

    • Once approved, the next stage is for the participants to come up with three-dimensional models for their proposals.
    • These are again examined by the expert committee for final selection, taking in view several criteria.
    • In making the final selection the committee looks at a combination of factors, looking at the visual appeal, impact on the masses, idea/ theme of the tableaux, degree of detail involved.

    Do they have to be of a particular size?

    The Defence Ministry provides each participant with one tractor and one trailer, and the tableau should fit on that.

    • The ministry prohibits use of any additional tractor or trailer, or even any other vehicle to be part of it.
    • However, the participant can replace their ministry-provided tractor or trailer with other vehicles, but the total number should not be more than two vehicles.
    • The tractor has to be camouflaged in harmony with the tableau’s theme, and the ministry stipulates a distance of around six feet between the tractor and the trailer for turning and manoeuvering.
    • The dimensions of the trailer on which the tableau will be placed is 24 feet, 8 inches long; eight feet wide; four feet two inches high; with a load-bearing capacity of 10 tonnes.
    • The tableaux should not be more than 45 feet long, 14 feet wide and 16 feet high from the ground.

    (Republic Day celebrations from this year will start on January 23 instead of January 24 to include the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.)

     

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  • Domestic and geopolitical risks India faces in 2022

    Context

    Risks in 2022 could be both domestic and geopolitical, with many precepts that the world has been accustomed to being at risk. Democracy itself could face serious headwinds this year.

     Challenges to democracy

    • The world has recently seen the rise of authoritarian rulers in many countries.
    • What is worrisome is that democratic tenets which have been under attack in recent years appear set to face more onslaughts this year.
    • The United States, which was widely viewed as a major bulwark for democracy, appears to have developed certain pathological infirmities.

    Geopolitical challenges and risks

    [1] Disruption by China

    • The role of China is possibly the most disrupting one, given the challenge it poses to the existing international order.
    • Militarily, China is openly challenging U.S. supremacy in many areas, including ‘state-of-the-art weaponry’ such as hyper-sonic technology.
    • China is now threatening Taiwan, which could well become one of the flashpoints of conflict in 2022.
    • The dip in China’s economic profile in the past year and more could also lead to new tensions in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022.

    [2] Russia-Ukraine conflict

    • The other major risk of a war in 2022, stems from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine — the latter being backed by the U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces.
    • During the past three decades, NATO has expanded its reach almost a 1,000 miles to the east in violation of an earlier tacit understanding.
    • Russia appears determined that Ukraine should be the ‘last frontier’ and, if need be, ensure this through military force.
    • The situation has grave possibilities and could result in a series of cyclical outcomes with considerable damage potential.

    [3] Instability in the vast region

    • Unrest in Kazakhstan: The current unrest in Kazakhstan, which till recently was one of the more stable Central Asian nations, is perhaps symptomatic of what is in store.
    • Recent events in Kazakhstan demonstrates a sharper cleavage between the U.S.-led West and its principal opponents, Russia and China.
    • This is not a good sign for the world already wracked by a series of coups or internecine strife as in Ethiopia, Libya and certain regions of West Asia and North Africa.

    [4] Return of Taliban and security implications for India

    • Shift in balance of power: Of particular significance to India is that the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has led to a material shift in the balance of power in India’s periphery.
    • Developments in Afghanistan have fuelled the ambitions of quite a few ‘anti-state militant groups’ across the region.
    • Even in Pakistan, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has become energised and is enlarging its sphere of action to other parts of Asia, notably Kazakhstan.
    • This will have an unsettling effect across large parts of Asia.
    • New evidence suggests that on India’s eastern flank, viz. Indonesia, a resurgence of radical Islamist activities is taking place.
    • The Jemaah Islamiyah has reportedly become more active in Indonesia.

    [5] India’s border issue with China

    • The most serious issue that India confronts today is how to deal with a China that has become more confrontational.
    • India’s membership of the Quad still rankles as far as China’s psyche is concerned, and during 2022, may well result in China embarking on new adventurist actions at many more points on the Sino-Indian border compelling India to react.
    • Additionally, India will need to determine how best to respond to China’s provocations.
    • Strengthen military posture: India would need to strengthen its military posture, both as a means to deter China and also to convince India’s neighbours that it can stand up to China.

    Challenges ahead for India

    • Challenge in Central Asia: Diplomatically, in 2022, India may find itself vulnerable in dealing with the turmoils which have occurred in two areas of strategic interest to it, viz. Central Asia and West Asia.
    • Challenge in West Asia: In West Asia, the challenge for India is how to manage its membership of the Second Quad (India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the U.S.) with the conflicting interests of different players in the region.
    • Limits to balancing: There is a limit to the kind of balancing act that India can perform, whether it be with regard to buying S-400 missile systems from Russia, risking potential sanctions from Washington under Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) or manoeuvering between the Arab States, Israel, Iran and the U.S. in West Asia.

    Conclusion

    Facing a host of unprecedented challenges, India’s leaders and diplomats must not only take stock of the dangers that exist but also be ready on how to manage the risks that are well evident.

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