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GS Paper: GS2

  • Rape laws are being misused today: Justice BN Srikrishna

    Retired Supreme Court judge Justice BN Srikrishna has said that there is a blatant misuse of rape laws in the country.

    What did Justice BN Srikrishna say?

    • Lesser convictions: Statistics show that even after the amendment of rape laws, there have been less number of convictions.
    • Need for objective analysis: It is time that rape cases be looked at in a very objective manner.
    • Authencity of women’s claims needs to be checked: We need to question — is the woman really subjected to cruelty and atrocities? Otherwise, in the general course of things, the accused is presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty should apply.
    • Tilt of such laws is always against the men: However, in rape cases, whatever the woman says is treated as the gospel truth. But that is not the intention of the law. It is not the way to empower women.

    Various laws for the protection of women

    • Various special laws relating to women include:
    1. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
    2. Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
    3. Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986
    4. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013
    5. Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

     Alleged rape cases these days

    • False accusations: Justice BN Srikrishna said that, sometimes some innocent men are being falsely accused of rape and later getting acquitted.
    • Consensual sex is later cried as rape: There are many cases either in a consensual relationship or in co-habitation for a long time, there is a disagreement and the woman cries rape.
    • Tool to preserve honour: There are instances where a secret affair is going on, people get to know of it and in order to come out of the ignominy of it, she cries rape, Justice Srikrishna said.

    Issues with such alleged rape cases

    • Whenever the man is accused of rape, he gets arrested, newspapers carry it on the front page.
    • But when there is an acquittal, it is not carried in the same way. This is terrible.
    • The balance is always tilted in favour of women in such cases.

    Various sexual crimes in India

    • Sexual Abuse/ Molestation/ Rape: Rape is one of the most common crimes in India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, one woman is raped every 20 minutes in India.
    • Marital Crimes: In India, marital rape is not a criminal offense.  India is one of fifty countries that have not yet outlawed marital rape.
    • Forced Marriage: Girls are vulnerable to being forced into marriage at young ages, suffering from a double vulnerability: both for being a child and for being female.
    • Trafficking and forced prostitution: Human trafficking, especially of girls and women, often leads to forced prostitution and sexual slavery.
    • Online abuse: Women are regularly subject to online rape threats, online harassment, cyber-stalking, blackmail, trolling, slut-shaming and more.
    • Harassment at the workplace: Sexual harassment at workplace, mostly comprising of indecent remarks, unwanted touches, demands for sex, and the dissemination of pornography.

    Various initiative to protect women

    The Government has taken a number of initiatives for the safety of women and girls, which are given below:

    • Nirbhaya Fund for projects for the safety and security of women
    • One-Stop Centre Scheme to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces under one roof
    • Online analytic tool for police called “Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences” to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases in accordance with Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018.
    • National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies.

    Way ahead

    • Breaking the cycle of abuse will require concerted collaboration and action between governmental and non-governmental actors including educators, health-care authorities, legislators, the judiciary and the mass media.
    • Gender-based violence, an especially violent crime like rape, is a multifaceted problem.
    • Although the incorporation of stringent laws and stricter punishments are important to deter people from committing such crimes, the solution to this is much more than just promulgation.
    • Education of both men and women will lead to change in attitudes and perceptions.
    • It is a mammoth task. We are just doing bits and pieces. A way ahead is obscure but in our sphere with concrete and pronounced steps.

     

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  • What is the Five Eyes (FYEY) Alliance?

    The annual Raisina Dialogue in Delhi held this year by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will host intelligence agency chiefs of several countries.

    What is the conference about?

    • The conference is modelled on the lines of the annual Munich Security Conference and Singapore’s Shangri-La dialogue.
    • It is expected to bring together heads and deputy heads of the top intelligence and security organisations from more than 20 — mostly Western countries and their allies.
    • Intelligence chiefs and deputies from Australia, Germany, Israel, Singapore, Japan and New Zealand are among those expected to attend the conference.
    • The meet is held on the sidelines of the “Five eyes alliance” of the U.S., U.K., Canada, New Zealand and Australia, who coordinate on terrorism and security issues.

    What is the Five Eyes Alliance?

    • The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
    • These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.
    • The origins of the FVEY can be traced to informal secret meetings during World War II between British and American code-breakers.
    • It was started before the US formally entered the war, followed by the Allies’ 1941 Atlantic Charter that established their vision of the post-war world.

    Back2Basics: Munich Security Conference

    • The Munich Security Conference is an annual conference on international security policy that has been held in Munich, Bavaria, Germany since 1963.
    • It brings together heads of state, diplomats and business leaders from the world’s leading democracies for three days of meetings and presentations.
    • It is the world’s largest gathering of its kind.
    • Over the past four decades the MSC has become the most important independent forum for the exchange of views by international security policy decision-makers.

     

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  • What is different now in communal violence in India

    Context

    India has a long history of communal violence. Just how similar or different are the recent episodes? And what kind of dangers do they pose to the polity and society?

    What is different this time?

    • Religious processions: It should first be noted that such processions have historically been some of the largest triggers for communal riots.
    • Such processions can be, and have been, intensely political, often morphing from the religious to the communal.
    • Communalism Vs. Religiosity: Communalism in South Asia has always been distinguished from religiosity.
    • Religiosity may be about deeper meanings of life, but communalism is about a coercive assertion of power or a bloody search for retribution, often historically construed and presented.
    • Thus, it is not the coexistence of religious processions and riots that is surprising today.
    • What is different this time? Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti are not the principal religious processions touching off riots.
    • Eroding neutrality of state: The second difference that in the past, processions might have caused riots, but the state rarely gave up the principle of neutrality in dealing with them.
    • When a state either explicitly favours a community or looks away when a particular community is hounded, intimidated and attacked, it is no longer a riot, but a pogrom.
    • The rapidly eroding religious neutrality of the government in several states is one of the most alarming political developments.
    • In recent months, there have been spectacles of calls to murder in Dharam Sansads (religious assemblies).
    • Such speech is criminally liable. India’s Constitution prohibits speech that endangers “public order”.
    • In the past, it was invariably hard to find clear evidence of who led the riots.
    • The riot leaders now openly proclaim call for violence.
    • Such leaders are either not punished, or are merely given a slap on the wrist and some of them are even celebrated as heroes and rewarded with high office.
    • New research on vigilantism makes it clear that vigilantism, especially lynchings, cannot flourish unless the state provides impunity to vigilante groups.

    Conclusion

    Even though India has a long history of communal violence the recent episodes of violence are different and pose grave dangers to the polity and society.

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  • NITI Aayog gets a new Vice-Chairman

    The government has appointed Suman K. Bery as the vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog following the resignation of Rajiv Kumar.

    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.

     

    Also read:

    [Burning Issue] Niti Ayog – A critical Analysis

     

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  • What laws govern tapping a phone; what are the checks in place?

    A lady IPS officer is facing an FIR in Mumbai for allegedly tapping the phones of a Rajya Sabha MP in Maharashtra.

    How are phones tapped in India?

    • In the era of fixed-line phones, mechanical exchanges would link circuits together to route the audio signal from the call.
    • When exchanges went digital, tapping was done through a computer.
    • Today, when most conversations happen through mobile phones, authorities make a request to the service provider.
    • The service provider is bound by law to record the conversations on the given number and provide these in real time through a connected computer.

    Who can tap phones?

    • The State Police have the powers to tap phones.
    • Ten Central agencies are authorised to do so: Intelligence Bureau, CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Narcotics Control Bureau, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, National Investigation Agency, R&AW, Directorate of Signal Intelligence, and the Delhi Police Commissioner.
    • Tapping by any other agency would be considered illegal.

    What laws govern this?

    • Phone tapping in India is governed by The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
    • Section 5(2) says that “on the occurrence of any public emergency, or in the interest of the public safety”, phone tapping can be done by the Centre or states.
    • It can be done in the interest of “public safety”, “sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of an offence”.
    • There is an exception for the press: “press messages intended to be published in India of correspondents accredited to the Central Government or a State Government shall not be intercepted or detained, unless their transmission has been prohibited under this sub-section”.
    • The competent authority must record reasons for tapping in writing.

    Who authorises phone tapping?

    • Rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2007, says phone tapping orders “shall not be issued except by an order made by the Secretary to the GoI in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    • It can be authorised by the Secretary to the State Government in-charge of the Home Department in the case of a State Government.
    • The order has to be conveyed to the service provider in writing; only then can the tapping begin.

    What happens in an emergency?

    • In unavoidable circumstances, such an order may be issued by an officer, not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the GoI, who has been authorised by the Union Home Secretary, or the State Home Secretary.
    • In remote areas or for operational reasons, if it is not feasible to get prior directions, a call can be intercepted with the prior approval of the head or the second senior-most officer of the authorised law enforcement agency at the central level, and by authorised officers, not below the rank of Inspector General of Police, at the state level.
    • The order has to be communicated within three days to the competent authority, who has to approve or disapprove it within seven working days.
    • If the confirmation from the competent authority is not received within the stipulated seven days, such interception shall cease.
    • For example, during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, the authorities had no time to follow the complete procedure, and so a mail was sent to the service provider by the Intelligence Bureau.

    What are the checks against misuse?

    • The law is clear that interception must be ordered only if there is no other way of getting the information.
    • The directions for interception remain in force, unless revoked earlier, for a period not exceeding 60 days.
    • They may be renewed, but not beyond a total of 180 days.
    • Any order issued by the competent authority has to contain reasons, and a copy is to be forwarded to a review committee within seven working days.
    • At the Centre, the committee is headed by the Cabinet Secretary with the Law and Telecom Secretaries as members.
    • In states, it is headed by the Chief Secretary with the Law and Home Secretaries as members.
    • The committee is expected to meet at least once in two months to review all interception requests.

    What if misuse occurs?

    • When the Review Committee is of the opinion that the directions are not in accordance with the provisions referred to above it may set aside the directions.
    • It may order for destruction of the copies of the intercepted message or class of messages.
    • Under the rules, records pertaining to such directions shall be destroyed every six months unless these are, or are likely to be, required for functional requirements.
    • Service providers too are required to destroy records pertaining to directions for interception within two months of discontinuance of the interception.

    Is the process transparent?

    • There are multiple provisions aimed at keeping the process transparent.
    • Directions for interception are to specify the name and designation of the officer or the authority to whom the intercepted call is to be disclosed.
    • The directions have to be conveyed to designated officers of the service providers in writing by an officer not below the rank of SP or Additional SP or equivalent.
    • The officer is expected to maintain records with details of the intercepted call.
    • The designated nodal officers of the service providers are supposed to issue acknowledgment letters to the security/law enforcement agency within two hours on receipt of an intimation.
    • They are to forward every 15 days a list of interception authorisations received to the nodal officers of the security and law enforcement agencies for confirmation of authenticity.
    • It makes the service providers responsible for actions of their employees.
    • In case of unauthorised interception, the service provider may be fined or even lose its licence.

     

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  • India extends duration of $400 mn Currency Swap to SL

    India has extended the duration of a $400 million currency swap facility with Sri Lanka which it had concluded with the island nation in January this year.

    What are Currency Swaps?

    • A currency swap, also known as a cross-currency swap, is an off-balance sheet transaction in which two parties exchange principal and interest in different currencies.
    • Currency swaps are used to obtain foreign currency loans at a better interest rate than could be got by borrowing directly in a foreign market.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. What are Currency Swaps? Discuss the efficacy of Currency Swap Agreements for enhancing bilateral cooperation in Indian context.

    How does it work?

    • In a swap arrangement, RBI would provide dollars to a Lankan central bank, which, at the same time, provides the equivalent funds in its currency to the RBI, based on the market exchange rate at the time of the transaction.
    • The parties agree to swap back these quantities of their two currencies at a specified date in the future, which could be the next day or even three months later, using the same exchange rate as in the first transaction.
    • These swap operations carry no exchange rate or other market risks, as transaction terms are set in advance.

    Why does one need dollars?

    • FPIs investors look for safer investments but the current global uncertainty over COVID outbreak has led to a shortfall everywhere in the global markets.
    • This has pulled down foreign exchange reserves of many small and developing countries.
    • This means that the government and the RBI cannot lower their guard on the management of the economy and the external account.

    Benefits of currency swap

    • The absence of an exchange rate risk is the major benefit of such a facility.
    • This facility provides the flexibility to use these reserves at any time in order to maintain an appropriate level of balance of payments or short-term liquidity.
    • Swaps agreements between governments also have supplementary objectives like the promotion of bilateral trade, maintaining the value of foreign exchange reserves with the central bank and ensuring financial stability (protecting the health of the banking system).

     

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  • Postal ballot for NRIs being contemplated

    Chief Election Commissioner, during a recent visit to South Africa and Mauritius, urged Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to register as overseas electors and told them that a proposal on postal ballots for NRIs was being contemplated by the Election Commission of India.

    Why in news now?

    • CECs interactions with NRIs came after Union Law Minister informed the Lok Sabha in March that the government was exploring the possibility of allowing online voting for NRIs.
    • The ECI had written to the Law Ministry in 2020 proposing that NRIs be allowed to vote through postal ballots, following which the matter has been under consideration by the government.
    • The ECI at present allows NRIs to register as overseas electors as long as they have not acquired the citizenship of another country.
    • They have to reach their respective polling booths to cast their votes in person on voting day.

    Classification of Overseas Indians

    Overseas Indians, officially known as Non-resident Indians (NRIs) or Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), are people of Indian birth, descent or origin who live outside the Republic of India:

    (A) Non-Resident Indian (NRI)

    • Strictly asserting non-resident refers only to the tax status of a person who, as per section 6 of the Income-tax Act of 1961, has not resided in India for a specified period for the purposes of the Act.
    • The rates of income tax are different for persons who are “resident in India” and for NRIs.

    (B) Person of Indian Origin (PIO)

    Person of Indian Origin (PIO) means a foreign citizen (except a national of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Iran, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and/or Nepal), who:

    • at any time held an Indian passport OR
    • either of their parents/grandparents/great-grandparents were born and permanently resident in India as defined in GoI Act, 1935 and other territories that became part of India thereafter provided neither was at any time a citizen of any of the aforesaid countries OR
    • is a spouse of a citizen of India or a PIO.

    (C) Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)

    • After multiple efforts by leaders across the Indian political spectrum, a pseudo-citizenship scheme was established, the “Overseas Citizenship of India”, commonly referred to as the OCI card.
    • The Constitution of India does not permit full dual citizenship.
    • The OCI card is effectively a long-term visa, with restrictions on voting rights and government jobs.

     

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  • Maldives bans ‘India Out’ Campaign

    Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih issued a decree banning the ‘India Out’ campaign, now led by former President Abdulla Yameen, terming it a “threat to national security”.

    The India-Out Campaign

    • Maldivian protesters recently demanded the Solih administration to ‘stop selling national assets to foreigners’, implying India.
    • ‘India Out’ campaign in Maldives had started sometime last year as on-ground protests in the Maldives and later widely spread across social media platforms under the same hashtag.
    • It is not related to people-to-people conflict (Indian diaspora) but is discontent on close relationship between Maldivian government & India.

    Causes for the anti-India sentiments

    • Political instability: The anti-India sentiment is nearly a decade old and can be traced back to when Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom became president in 2013. He used anti-India sentiments for his political mobilization and started tilting China.
    • Controversy over helicopter gift: Two Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALF) that were given by India to the Maldives for ocean search-and-rescue operations. Opposition tried to portray this as military presence in the country.
    • Confidential agreements: Most agreements being signed between the Ibrahim Solih government and India are backdoor and has not been publicly discussed in the Maldives Parliament.
    • Alleged interference in domestic politics: India being a big neighbour, there are unsubstantiated perceptions & allegations on Indian Diplomats stationed in Maldives interfering in Domestic affairs.

    Restoration of ties

    • Ibrahim Mohamed Solih who became President in 2018 has restored Maldives close ties with India.

    India-Maldives Relations: A backgrounder

    • India and Maldives are neighbors sharing a maritime border.
    • Both nations established diplomatic relations after the independence of Maldives from British rule in 1966.
    • India was one of the first nations to recognize Maldives’ independence.
    • Since then, India and Maldives have developed close strategic, military, economic and cultural relations.
    • Maldivians generally regard Indians and India as a friend and trusted neighbor in the field economic, social and political.

    Major irritants in ties

    • Political Instability: India’s major concern has been the impact of political instability in the neighborhood on its security and development.
    • Increasing radicalization: In the past decade or so, the number of Maldivians drawn towards terrorist groups like the Islamic State (IS) and Pakistan-based jihadist groups has been increasing.
    • Inclination towards terror: Radicalism in the island nation has increased the possibility of Pakistan-based terror groups using remote Maldivian islands as a launch pad for terror attacks against India and Indian interests.
    • Chinese affinity: China’s strategic footprint in India’s neighborhood has increased. The Maldives has emerged as an important ‘pearl’ in China’s “String of Pearls” construct in South Asia.

    Recent gestures by India

    [1] 2014 Malé drinking-water crisis

    • In the wake of a drinking water crisis in Malé in December 2014, following collapse of the island’s only water treatment plant, Maldives urged India for immediate help.
    • India came to rescue by sending its heavy lift transporters like C-17 Globemaster III, Il-76 carrying bottled water.

    [2] 2020 Covid-19 crisis

    • During the COVID-19 crisis of 2020, India extended help to Maldives in the form of financial, material and logistical support.
    • Also, the IAF airlifted 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines and hospital consumables to Maldives, as part of ‘Operation Sanjeevani’.

    [3] Greater Male Connectivity Project

    • India has recently announced the signing of a $500-million infrastructure project for the construction of the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP).
    • This infrastructure project, the largest-ever by India in the Maldives, involves the construction of a 6.74-km-long bridge and causeway link.

    Why is Maldives significant for India?

    • Increasing maritime cooperation: As maritime economic activity in the Indian Ocean has risen dramatically in recent decades, the geopolitical competition too in the Indian Ocean has intensified.
    • Toll Gate in Indian Ocean: It is situated at the hub of commercial sea-lanes running through the Indian Ocean. More than 97% of India’s international trade by volume and 75% by value passes through the region.
    • Naval cooperation: Maldives is an important partner in India’s role as the net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.
    • Important SAARC member: Besides, Maldives is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC).
    • People To People Contact: There is a significant population of Maldivian students in India. They are aided by a liberal visa-free regime extended by India. There is also medical tourism.
    • Major destination for Tourists: Tourism is the mainstay of the Maldivian economy. The country is now a major tourist destination for some Indians and a job destination for others.

    Conclusion

    • There is a significant Indian diaspora in the Maldives. Innumerable Indians work across the hospitality, education, and health-care sectors of the Maldives economy.
    • India must use its Diaspora more extensively for strengthening its relations.

     

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  • Freebies model of Governance

    Context

    Against the backdrop of promises of freebies in Punjab, this article deals with the harm caused by such freebies to the economy, life quality and social cohesion in the long run.

    Macroeconomic stability of the Union and the States

    • India is a Union of states. It is not a confederation of states.
    • The Union is indestructible.
    • The Union, therefore, is integral to both the Centre and the states.
    • The strength of the Centre lies in the strength of the states.
    • Therefore, the macroeconomic stability of the Union is contingent on the macroeconomic stability of both the Centre and states.

    The complex issue of freebies

    • There is great ambiguity in what “freebies” mean.
    • Merit goods Vs. Public goods: We need to distinguish between the concept of merit goods and public goods on which expenditure outlays have overall benefits.
    • Examples of this are the strengthening and deepening of the public distribution system, employment guarantee schemes, support to education and enhanced outlays for health, particularly during the pandemic.
    • All over the world, these are considered to be desirable expenditures.
    • Freebies could be expensive? It’s not about how cheap the freebies are but how expensive they are for the economy, life quality and social cohesion in the long run.

    Issues with the culture of competitive freebie politics

    1] It affects macroeconomic stability

    • Freebies undercut the basic framework of macroeconomic stability.
    • The politics of freebies distorts expenditure priorities.
    • Outlays are being concentrated on subsidies of one kind or the other.
    • Illustratively, in the case of Punjab, while estimates vary, some have speculated that the promise of freebies might cost around Rs 17,000 crore.
    • As we know, the debt-to-GDP ratio of Punjab is already at 53.3 per cent for 2021-22, which would worsen on account of these new measures.

    2] Distortion of expenditure priorities

    • Take, for instance, the change to the new contributory pension scheme from the old scheme, which had a fixed return.
    • Rajasthan announced that it would revert to the old pension scheme.
    • This decision is regressive as the move away from the old scheme was based on the fact that it was inherently inequitable.
    • The pension and salary revenues of Rajasthan amount to 56 per cent of its tax and non-tax revenues.
    • Thus, 6 per cent of the population, which is made up of civil servants, stands to benefit from 56 per cent of the state’s revenues.
    • Intergenerational inequality: This is fraught with dangers not only of intergenerational inequality, but also affects the broader principles of equity and morality.

    3] Increases social inequality

    • The issue of intergenerational equity leads to greater social inequalities because of expenditure priorities being distorted away from growth-enhancing items.

    4]  It affects the environment

    • When we talk of freebies, it is in the context of providing, for example, free power, or a certain quantum of free power, water and other kinds of consumption goods.
    • This distracts outlays from environmental and sustainable growth, renewable energy and more efficient public transport systems.

    5]  The distortion of agricultural priorities

    • The depleting supply of groundwater is an important issue to consider when speaking of freebies pertaining to free consumption goods and resources.

    6] Effect on the future of manufacturing

    • Lower the quality of competitiveness: Freebies lower the quality and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector by detracting from efficient and competitive infrastructure enabling high-factor efficiencies in the manufacturing sector.

    7] Subnational bankruptcy

    • Freebies bring into question market differentiation between profligate and non-profligate states and whether we can have a recourse mechanism for subnational bankruptcy.

    Way forward

    • The race to the bottom implies government deregulation of markets and business.
    • We must strive instead for a race to efficiency through laboratories of democracy and sanguine federalism where states use their authority to harness innovative ideas and solutions to common problems which other states can emulate.

    Consider the question “What are the challenges in dealing with the competitive freebies politics? What are its drawbacks?”

    Conclusion

    The economics of freebies is invariably wrong. It is a race to the bottom. Indeed, it is not the road to efficiency or prosperity, but a quick passport to fiscal disaster.

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  • The Delhi MCA Act and the spirit of federalism

    Context

    Recently, both Houses of Parliament passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, to unify the trifurcated Delhi Municipal Corporations.

    Background of the trifurcation

    • The split-up was first proposed in the 1987 Balakrishnan Committee Report which was bolstered in the 2001 Virendra Prakash Committee Report.
    • The proposal finally took shape in 2011 and the law to trifurcate was enacted.
    • A seven-member Delhi Legislative Assembly Panel was set up in 2001 to study the recommendations and suggest modalities.
    • Trifurcation in 2011: The proposal finally took shape in 2011 and the law to trifurcate was enacted.

    Changes introduced by the amendment

    • The law provides that the power to determine the number of wards, extent of each ward, reservation of seats, number of seats of the Corporation, etc. will now be vested in the Central government. 
    • The number of seats of councillors in the Municipal Corporations of Delhi is also to be decided now by the Central government.
    • By exercising that very power, the number of councillors to the Municipal Corporations of Delhi has been reduced from 272 to 250.
    • The Central government has also taken over powers from the State to decide on matters such as ‘salary and allowances, leave of absence of the Commissioner, the sanctioning of consolidation of loans by a corporation, and sanctioning suits for compensation against the Commissioner for the loss or waste or misapplication of municipal fund or property

    Issues with the changes made

    • The Central government’s line is that the amendment has been passed as in Article 239AA of the Constitution, which is a provision that provides for special status to Delhi.
    • No consultation with Delhi govt.-The large-scale changes by the Central government has been done without any consultation with the Delhi government.
    • Not in line with  Part IXA of the Constitution:  Part IXA specifically states that it will be the Legislature of the State that will be empowered to make laws concerning representation to the municipalities.
    • Part IXA is a specific law while Article 239AA is general law: The argument of the Centre that Article 239AA can be applied over and above Part IXA of the Constitution does not hold good as the latter is a specific law that will override the general law relatable to Article 239AA.
    • Against the federalism: In State of NCT of Delhi vs Union of India judgment the Supreme Court held, “The Constitution has mandated a federal balance wherein independence of a certain required degree is assured to the State Governments.”
    • It was made clear that the aid and the advice of the State government of Delhi would bind the decision of the Lieutenant General in matters where the State government has the power to legislate.
    • No doubt, the amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 will lead to further litigation on the aspect of a sharing of powers between the State of NCT of Delhi and the Central government.

    Conclusion

    The interference of the Centre in matters such as municipal issues strikes a blow against federalism and the celebrated Indian model of decentralisation.

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