💥Mains Ready By December. Smash Mains & Smash PYQ Admissions Open
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

GS Paper: GS2

  • Idea that judges appoint judges is wrong: CJI

    The impression that “judges appoint judges” in India is wrong. It is the government which “finally appoints the judges in the name of the President of India, the head of our state”, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana said in conversation with US Supreme Court judge.

    What did the CJI say??

    • There is an impression that in India judges appoint judges. It is a wrong impression.
    • The appointment is done through a lengthy consultative process known as collegium system. Many stakeholders are consulted.

    What is Collegium System?

    • The Collegium of judges is the Indian Supreme Court’s invention.
    • It does not figure in the Constitution, which says judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President and speaks of a process of consultation.
    • In effect, it is a system under which judges are appointed by an institution comprising judges.
    • After some judges were superseded in the appointment of the CJI in the 1970s, and attempts made subsequently to effect a mass transfer of High Court judges across the country.
    • Hence there was a perception that the independence of the judiciary was under threat. This resulted in a series of cases over the years.

    Evolution: The Judges Cases

    • First Judges Case (1981) ruled that the “consultation” with the CJI in the matter of appointments must be full and effective.
    • However, it rejected the idea that the CJI’s opinion, albeit carrying great weight, should have primacy.
    • Second Judges Case (1993) introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”.
    • It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges in the Supreme Court.
    • Third Judges Case (1998): On a Presidential Reference for its opinion, the Supreme Court, in the Third Judges Case (1998) expanded the Collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues.

    The procedure followed by the Collegium

    Appointment of CJI

    • The President of India appoints the CJI and the other SC judges.
    • As far as the CJI is concerned, the outgoing CJI recommends his successor.
    • In practice, it has been strictly by seniority ever since the supersession controversy of the 1970s.
    • The Union Law Minister forwards the recommendation to the PM who, in turn, advises the President.

    Other SC Judges

    • For other judges of the top court, the proposal is initiated by the CJI.
    • The CJI consults the rest of the Collegium members, as well as the senior-most judge of the court hailing from the High Court to which the recommended person belongs.
    • The consultees must record their opinions in writing and it should form part of the file.
    • The Collegium sends the recommendation to the Law Minister, who forwards it to the Prime Minister to advise the President.

    For High Courts

    • The CJs of High Courts are appointed as per the policy of having Chief Justices from outside the respective States. The Collegium takes the call on the elevation.
    • High Court judges are recommended by a Collegium comprising the CJI and two senior-most judges.
    • The proposal, however, is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned in consultation with two senior-most colleagues.
    • The recommendation is sent to the Chief Minister, who advises the Governor to send the proposal to the Union Law Minister.

    Does the Collegium recommend transfers too?

    • Yes, the Collegium also recommends the transfer of Chief Justices and other judges.
    • Article 222 of the Constitution provides for the transfer of a judge from one High Court to another.
    • When a CJ is transferred, a replacement must also be simultaneously found for the High Court concerned. There can be an acting CJ in a High Court for not more than a month.
    • In matters of transfers, the opinion of the CJI “is determinative”, and the consent of the judge concerned is not required.
    • However, the CJI should take into account the views of the CJ of the High Court concerned and the views of one or more SC judges who are in a position to do so.
    • All transfers must be made in the public interest, that is, “for the betterment of the administration of justice”.

    Loopholes in the Collegium system

    • Lack of Transparency: Opaqueness and a lack of transparency, and the scope for nepotism are cited often.
    • Judges appointing Judge: The attempt made to replace it with a ‘National Judicial Appointments Commission’ was struck down by the court in 2015 on the ground that it posed a threat to the independence of the judiciary.
    • Criteria: Some do not believe in full disclosure of reasons for transfers, as it may make lawyers in the destination court chary of the transferred judge.

    Way ahead

    • In respect of appointments, there has been an acknowledgment that the “zone of consideration” must be expanded to avoid criticism that many appointees hail from families of retired judges.
    • The status of a proposed new memorandum of procedure, to infuse greater accountability, is also unclear.
    • Even the majority opinions admitted the need for transparency, now Collegiums’ resolutions are now posted online, but reasons are not given.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Need for one common language

    Last week, Home Minister Amit Shah suggested that states should communicate with each other in Hindi rather than English, while stressing that Hindi should not be an alternative to local languages.

    This again sparked the debate of “Hindi imposition”.

    How widely is Hindi spoken in India?

    • The 2011 linguistic census accounts for 121 mother tongues, including 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
    • Hindi is the most widely spoken, with 52.8 crore individuals, or 43.6% of the population, declaring it as their mother tongue.
    • The next highest is Bengali, mother tongue for 97 lakh (8%) — less than one-fifth of Hindi’s count (Chart 2).
    • In terms of the number of people who know Hindi, the count crosses more than half the country.
    • Nearly 13.9 crore (over 11%) reported Hindi as their second language, which makes it either the mother tongue or second language for nearly 55% of the population.

    Has it always been this widespread?

    • Hindi has been India’s predominant mother tongue over the decades, its share in the population rising in every succeeding census.
    • In 1971, 37% Indians had reported Hindi as their mother tongue, a share that has grown over the next four censuses to 38.7%, 39.2%, 41% and 43.6% at last count (Chart 1).
    • This begs the question as to which mother tongues have declined as Hindi’s share has risen.
    • A number of mother tongues other than Hindi have faced a decline in terms of share, although the dip has been marginal in many cases.
    • For example, Bengali’s share in the population declined by just 0.14 percentage points from 1971 (8.17%) to 2011 (8.03%).
    • In comparison, Malayalam (1.12 percentage points) and Urdu (1.03 points) had higher declines among the mother tongues with at least 1 crore speakers in 2011.
    • Punjabi’s share, on the other hand, rose from 2.57% to 2.74%.
    • At the other end of the scale (among the 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution) were Malayalam, whose numbers rose by under 59% in four decades, and Assamese, rising just over 71% (Chart 3).

    What explains Hindi’s high numbers?

    • One obvious explanation is that Hindi is the predominant language in some of India’s most populous states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
    • Another reason is that a number of languages are bracketed under Hindi by census enumerators.
    • In 2011, there were 1,383 mother tongues reported by people, and hundreds were knocked out.
    • These mother tongues were then grouped into languages.
    • You will find that under Hindi, they have listed nearly 65 mother tongues.
    • Among them is Bhojpuri, and 5 crore people have reported Bhojpuri as their mother tongue, but the census has decided that Bhojpuri is Hindi.
    • If one were to knock out the other languages merged with Hindi, the total figure goes down to 38 crore.

    And how widely is English spoken?

    • Although English, alongside Hindi, is one of the two official languages of the central government, it is not among the 22 languages in the 8th Schedule; it is one of the 99 non-scheduled languages.
    • In terms of mother tongue, India had just 2.6 lakh English speakers in 2011 — a tiny fraction of the 121 crore people counted in that census.
    • That does not reflect the extent to which English is spoken.
    • It was the second language of 8.3 crore respondents in 2011, second only to Hindi’s 13.9 crore.
    • If third language is added, then English was spoken — as mother tongue, second language or third language — by over 10% of the population in 2011, behind only Hindi’s 57%.
    • It is still not a scheduled language in India, when it should be.

    Where is English most prevalent?

    • As mother tongue, Maharashtra accounted for over 1 lakh of the 2.6 lakh English speakers.
    • As second language, English is preferred over Hindi in parts of the Northeast.
    • Among the 17.6 lakh with Manipuri (an 8th Schedule language) as their mother tongue in 2011, 4.8 lakh declared their second language as English, compared to 1.8 lakh for Hindi.
    • Among the non-scheduled languages spoken in the Northeast, Khasi, predominant in Meghalaya, was the mother tongue of 14.3 lakh, of whom 2.4 lakh declared their second language as English, and 54,000 as Hindi.
    • The trends were similar for Mizo, and for various languages spoken in Nagaland, including Ao, Angami and Rengma.
    • Beyond the Northeastern languages, among 68 lakh with Kashmiri as their mother tongue, 2.8 lakh declared their second language as English, compared to 2.2 lakh who declared Hindi.

    Back2Basics: Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution

    • The Eighth Schedule lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
    • At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission.
    • This language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi and English, the official languages of the Union.
    • The list has since, however, acquired further significance.
    • In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.
    • As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule includes the recognition of the 22 languages.

    ‘Classical’ languages in India

    Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).

    How are they classified?

    According to information provided by the Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha in February 2014, the guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are:

    • High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
    • A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
    • The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
    • The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms o

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Care economy

    Context

    The importance of care work is now widely acknowledged and covered in various international commitments such as the SDGs. However, the investment in the care economy has not matched the pace.

    Significance of care work

    • Care work encompasses direct activities such as feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner, and indirect care activities such as cooking and cleaning’.
    • Whether paid or unpaid, direct or indirect, care work is vital for human well-being and economies.
    • Unpaid care work is linked to labour market inequalities, yet it has yet to receive adequate attention in policy formulation.
    • Paid care workers, such as domestic workers and anganwadis in India, also struggle to access rights and entitlements as workers.
    • Greater investment in care services can create an additional 300 million jobs globally, many of which will be for women.
    • In turn this will help increase female labour force participation and advance Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.
    • This year, to commemorate International Women’s Day, the ILO brought out its new report titled, ‘Care at work: Investing in care leave and services for a more gender-equal world of work’.
    • The report highlights the importance of maternity, paternity, and special care leave, which help balance women’s and men’s work and family responsibilities throughout their lives.

    Gaps in the current policies

    • Bridging the gaps in current policies and service provisions to nurture childcare and elderly care services will deliver the benefits of child development, aging in dignity and independent living as the population grows older and also generate more and better employment opportunities, especially for women.
    • Maternity leave: Maternity leave is a universal human and labour right.
    • Yet, it remains unfulfilled across countries, leaving millions of workers with family responsibilities without adequate protection and support. India fares better than its peers in offering 26 weeks of maternity leave, against the ILO’s standard mandate of 14 weeks that exists in 120 countries.
    • However, this coverage extends to only a tiny proportion of women workers in formal employment in India, where 89% of employed women are in informal employment (as given by ILOSTAT, or the ILO’s central portal to labour statistics).
    • While paternity leave is recognised as an enabler for both mothers and fathers to better balance work and family responsibilities, it is not provided in many countries, including India.
    • Access to quality and affordable care services such as childcare, elderly care and care for people with disabilities is a challenge workers with family responsibilities face globally.
    • Limited implementation: While India has a long history of mandating the provision of crèches in factories and establishments, there is limited information on its actual implementation.
    • Domestic workers, on whom Indian households are heavily reliant, also face challenges in accessing decent work.
    • According to the Government’s 2019 estimates, 26 lakh of the 39 lakh domestic workers in India are female.
    • Ensure decent work for domestic workers: While important developments have extended formal coverage to domestic workers in India, such as the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act and the minimum wage schedule in many States, more efforts are required to ensure decent work for them.

    Way forward

    • Increase spending: India spends less than 1% of its GDP on the care economy; increasing this percentage would unfurl a plethora of benefits for workers and the overall economy.
    • Strategy: In consultation with employers’ and workers’ organisations and the relevant stakeholders, the Government needs to conceptualise a strategy and action plan for improved care policies, care service provisions and decent working conditions for care workers.
    • 5R Framework: The ILO proposes a 5R framework for decent care work centred around achieving gender equality. The framework urges the Recognition, Reduction, and Redistribution of unpaid care work, promotes Rewarding care workers with more and decent work, and enables their Representation in social dialogue and collective bargaining.

    Conclusion

    A human-centred and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that benefits workers, employers, and the government, requires a more significant investment in and commitment to supporting the care economy, which cares for the society at large.

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Fake news in social media

    Context

    Social media platforms have adopted design choices that have led to a proliferation and mainstreaming of misinformation while allowing themselves to be weaponised by powerful vested interests for political and commercial benefit.

    Problems created by social media and issues with response to it

    • The consequent free flow of disinformation, hate and targeted intimidation has led to real-world harm and degradation of democracy in India: Mainstreamed anti-minority hate, polarised communities and sowed confusion have made it difficult to establish a shared foundation of truth.
    • Political agenda: Organised misinformation (disinformation) has a political and/or commercial agenda.
    • Apolitical and episodic discourse in India: The discourse in India has remained apolitical and episodic — focused on individual pieces of content and events, and generalised outrage against big tech instead of locating it in the larger political context or structural design issues.
    • Problematic global discourse: The evolution of the global discourse on misinformation too has allowed itself to get mired in the details of content standards, enforcement, fact-checking, takedowns, de-platforming, etc.
    • Moderating misinformation vs. safeguarding freedom of expression: Such framework lends itself to bitter partisan contest over individual pieces of content while allowing platforms to disingenuously conflate the discourse on moderating misinformation with safeguards for freedom of expression.
    • The current system of content moderation is more a public relations exercise for platforms than being geared to stop the spread of disinformation.

    Framework to combat disinformation

    • Consider it as a political problem: The issue is as much about bad actors as individual pieces of content.
    • Content distribution and moderation are interventions in the political process.
    • Comprehensive transparency law: There is thus a need for a comprehensive transparency law to enforce relevant disclosures by social media platforms.
    • Bipartisan political process for content moderation: Content moderation and allied functions such as standard setting, fact-checking and de-platforming must be embedded in the sovereign bipartisan political process if they are to have democratic legitimacy.
    • Regulatory body should be grounded in democratic principles: Any regulatory body must be grounded in democratic principles — its own and of platforms.
    • Three approaches to distribution that can be adopted by platforms: 1) Constrain distribution to organic reach (chronological feed);
    • 2) take editorial responsibility for amplified content;
    • 3) amplify only credible sources (irrespective of ideological affiliation).
    • Review of content creator: The current approach to misinformation that relies on fact-checking a small subset of content in a vast ocean of unreviewed content is inadequate for the task and needs to be supplemented by a review of content creators itself.

    Conclusion

    Social media cannot be wished away. But its structure and manner of use are choices we must make as a polity after deliberation instead of accepting as them fait accompli or simply being overtaken by developments along the way.

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Why central services cannot be exempted from reservation for disabled

    Context

    In a case that the SC is currently hearing, the petitioner has challenged a notification issued by the Department of Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities (Department).

    About the notification

    • The impugned notification exempts all categories of posts in the Indian Police Service, the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Police Service, as well as the Indian Railway Protection Force Service from the mandated 4 per cent reservation for persons with disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 [RPwD Act].

    Issues with the notification

    1] Against combat and non-combat classification

    • On the same day as the issuing of the impugned notification, the Department also issued another notification exempting from the purview of reservation under the RPwD Act posts only of “combatant” nature in the paramilitary police.
    • This classification between combat and non-combat posts was premised on a clear recognition of the fact that persons with disabilities are capable of occupying non-combat posts in the central forces.
    • The Department has offered no justification as to why this classification would not hold good as regards the services covered in the impugned notification.

    2] Against the identification of posts suitable for reservation for the disabled

    • The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had identified a range of ministerial/civilian posts as being suitable for reservation for the disabled.
    • The impugned notification goes against this identification exercise, by virtue of its blanket character.
    • Further, on November 22, 2021, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs released Draft Accessibility Standards/Guidelines for built infrastructure under its purview (police stations, prisons and disaster mitigation centres) and services associated with them.
    • These Draft Standards state that the police staff on civil duty could be persons with disabilities.

    3] Exercise of power

    • As per the RPwD Act, the grant of any exemption has to be preceded by consultation with the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.
    • However, the office of the chief commissioner has been lying vacant for many years, with the secretary in the Department officiating in that role.

    Conclusion

    This case presents the SC with the opportunity to rule that the disabled are not a monolithic entity. Every disabled person is different, and it is unfair to paint all disabled people with the same broad brush, based on a stereotypical understanding of what they can do.

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • BRICS and the creation of a multipolar world

    Context

    The current crisis in Ukraine will consolidate BRICS as the group will make further efforts to become a real alternative to the West to create a real multipolar world.

     BRICS’ efforts to change world economic system

    • The group was brought together by geopolitical rather than economic considerations and this can be seen in the strategic interests shared by Russia and China.
    • Inclusion of non-Western states in international financial institutions: BRICS is actively involved in the efforts to change the world economic system by increasing the number of non-Western states in international financial institutes.
    • The BRICS countries decided to create the $100 billion BRICS Development Bank and a reserve currency pool worth over another $100 billion to offer an alternative to countries in the non-Western world when it comes to choosing the sources of funding for development or coping with serious economic crises.

    Consequences of Ukraine crisis for BRICS

    •  It demonstrates that the West has not abandoned the idea of a unipolar world and will continue building it up by drawing into its foreign policy orbit issues it calls “international” or even “common to mankind.”
    • Many non-Western states look at this as a new wave of colonialism.
    • This will increase the desire of non-Western countries to enhance their coordination and perhaps the current conflict is already showing signs in this respect.
    • The BRICS states are different in many respects and their disagreements with the West are rooted in different historical and political circumstances.
    • The current crisis in Ukraine will consolidate BRICS as the group will make further efforts to become a real alternative to the West to create a real multipolar world.
    • RIC controls 22 per cent of the global GDP and 16 per cent of global exports of goods and services.
    • The fallout from Russia’s alienation from the G-8 group of nations, raises the prospect that — tactically at least — Russia, India, and China might be playing their own triangular integrationist card within BRICS at Moscow’s initiative.
    • Eurasian integrationist core: This will create a north Eurasian integrationist core within BRICS, whichever way Moscow’s relations with the US and Europe play out.

    Implications for India

    • Both the Asian giants — India and China — may stand to reap the “best of both worlds” as the Ukraine imbroglio plays out.
    • Investment: This could mean greater industrial and energy cross investments between Russia and India as well as between Russia and China.
    • Additionally, the proposed arrangement for rupee-ruble cross currency pairing could result in settlement of payments in non-dollar currencies with more countries looking at India’s sovereign Financial Messaging Systems (SFMS), while also remaining connected with a central system like SWIFT.
    • Dedicated payment mechanism: This should also anchor India’s quest to build a dedicated payment mechanism for energy-related payments and settlements as a long-haul measure.
    • This could change the contours of the global payments landscape and benefit the rupee immensely.

    Spotlight on India

    • As the war progresses, New Delhi has been receiving a stream of high-profile visitors from around the world.
    • This has included delegations from the US, Australia and Japan, India’s partners in the Quad.
    • The foreign minister of Greece has also been to India and the Israeli prime minister is scheduled to visit soon.
    • Even traditional rival China is making overtures to India at this time, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit.
    • Another suitor is Russia, which is now also becoming a supplier of discounted crude oil to India as Moscow recoils from sanctions enforced by western consumers of its natural gas.

    Conclusion

    New Delhi is basking in its well-deserved spotlight with well-crafted diplomacy. India could be looking at a new dawn.

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • What caused Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis?

    Context

    Sri Lanka’s ruling Rajapaksa family is facing mounting public anger, calls for resignations and political defections amidst the island’s worst economic crisis in its post-independence history.

    Reasons for the crisis

    • 1] Overnight switch to organic farming and import ban on fertiliser: There was the decision to ban fertiliser imports and switch overnight to organic farming.
    • The decision was reversed after sustained farmer protests but not before damage had already been done to crop yields.
    • 2] Then, precious foreign exchange was wasted in propping up the rupee while imposing controls on key imports that led to shortages and price rise.
    • 3] For several months, as the crisis deepened with rolling power-cuts and shortages of essentials, the government refused to seek IMF assistance.
    • It has now relented on the IMF, but Sri Lanka’s economic distress has been prolonged and deepened by this indecision.

    Contradictions in the Sri Lanka’s politics

    • While the immediate causes of popular anger are explicable, the crisis also reveals a more enduring contradiction at the foundation of Sri Lanka’s politics.
    • Sinhala nationalist-inspired policies: What this crisis shows is that Sinhala nationalist-inspired policies are no longer financially or politically viable.
    • Hardline approach toward Tamils: The Rajapaksas first rode to power in September 2005 on the wave of Sinhala nationalist antipathy against the then-ongoing Norwegian-mediated peace process with the LTTE.
    • Upon his election as president, Mahinda expanded the military and launched a full-frontal military offensive that ended with the LTTE’s total defeat and destruction in May 2009.
    • After the war, instead of seeking a political settlement with the Tamils, Mahinda Rajapaksa unrolled a de-facto militarised siege of the Tamil-speaking areas and population.
    • Assertive foreign policy: The hardline approach to the Tamils and their demands was also linked to a new, more assertive foreign policy.
    •  The government turned away the long-established pattern of alignments with Western states and India.
    • Mistrust of India: There is a long-standing mistrust of India amongst Sinhala Buddhist nationalists who see it as the source of historic Tamil invasions.
    •  The Rajapaksas translated this sentiment into policy, pushing back against Indian attempts to forge closer economic ties and a constitutional settlement of the Tamil question.
    • Ties with China: In place of these ties, the Rajapaksas ostentatiously set out to forge new alliances, principally with China.
    • The Rajapaksas also bet on a new geo-political optimism.
    • They believed that with China’s rise, Sri Lanka’s location on east-west trade lanes would become a prized asset.
    • They were confident that in the global competition for power triggered by China’s rise, international actors would be compelled to seek Sri Lanka’s favour for fear of “losing” it to the other side.
    • With this geo-political calculus in mind, they assuredly rebuffed Western and Indian demands.
    • None of the great powers who were supposed to be competing for Sri Lanka’s favour have stepped up to offer a bailout, although the sums are quite small by global standards.
    • The bid for total sovereign autonomy has crash-landed and yet the alternatives are also politically difficult.

    More leverage to international actors

    • The irony of Sri Lanka’s push for total sovereign autonomy is that it has given international actors more leverage than they had before.
    • Going to the IMF will require concessions on human rights and good governance to secure preferential access to European markets.
    • At the same time, Indian bilateral assistance has conditionalities on clearing controversial investments.

    Way forward

    • Push non-reversible changes: International actors who really want to help Sri Lanka should use this leverage to push for tangible and non-reversible changes in the treatment of Tamils and Muslims whatever leadership emerges in Colombo.
    • Eemilitarisation and normalisation of relations with the Tamils and Muslims: The crisis can serve as a reality check for the Sinhala nationalist leadership and electorate. The model of economic and political governance they have pursued is unsustainable, and the alternatives must be faced.
    • The most pressing of these is the demilitarisation and normalisation of relations with the Tamils and Muslims.
    • Sinhala political attention can perhaps then be turned to the other pressing failures of governance that have brought Sri Lanka to this state.

    Conclusion

    The Rajapaksas may be the principal protagonists of this crisis but the underlying script they have followed is a Sinhala Buddhist one and until Sri Lanka finds a new script it cannot find peace or stability.

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Fulfilling the potential of the Bay of Bengal community

    Context

    The celebrations to mark the 25th year of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) have been accompanied by the announcement of several new initiatives.

    Important outcome of BIMSTEC Summit

    The summit had several important outcomes: Expanding the grouping’s agenda, deepening cooperation between the member countries and planning systematically for consistency and coherence.

    1] Finalisation of charter

    • The Bay of Bengal Community was launched in 1997. But its charter, finalised last week, was more than two decades in the making.
    • The 20-page document adopted at the fifth BIMSTEC Summit articulates the purpose, principles and legal standing of the organisation.
    • It also delineates the process to admit new members – this requires the consensus of the members.
    •  The emphasis on consensus is important, given the sensitivities of the member countries.
    • One important provision in the charter is to keep regular meetings on track and provide enough scope to the BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee to keep the process energised.

    2] Development on connectivity issues

    • Amongst the important decisions is the one related to the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity.
    • The region requires seamless connectivity through multi-modal channels that improve links within and amongst the member countries.
    • These channels should be in sync with the regulatory frameworks of the member countries.
    • There are proposals to extend the trilateral highway project between Thailand, Myanmar and India to Laos and Cambodia. Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal have also evinced interest in the project.
    • Digitisation has enhanced cooperation in customs regulations and facilitated and improved cargo clearance procedures. All this will surely enhance investment linkages and improve regional trade.

    3] A systemic approach to streamline the evolution of BIMSTEC.

    • Establishing an Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) for formulating a vision document for the region will help in articulating the aspirations of the collective.
    • EPGs have been quite useful in the EU and ASEAN.
    • For instance, the ASEAN-India Eminent Persons Group (AIEPG) was constituted in 2005 after the Eighth ASEAN-India Summit.
    • Its recommendations still guide the grouping’s work.
    • In 2011, the EU constituted an EPG  to suggest a roadmap to address the challenges arising from the resurgence of intolerance and discrimination in Europe.

    4] MoU for legal assistance and mutual cooperation

    • The MoU for legal assistance in criminal matters and additional MoUs for mutual cooperation between diplomatic academics and training institutes would help in creating an ecosystem of deeper knowledge-related cooperation.
    • The technology transfer facility proposed in Colombo is likely to augment these efforts.

    India’s leading role

    • India has promised $1 million to set up a Secretariat in Dhaka.
    • India has identified several other areas where it will support the collective.
    • Delhi will provide a $3 million grant to the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate, promote collaboration between industries and start-ups, and launch programmes that will help in the adoption of international standards and norms.
    • Agricultural trade analysis: Delhi has also suggested a regional value chain based agricultural trade analysis – this will be conducted by the RIS.
    • The Asian Development Bank and the New Delhi-based ICRIER have stewarded awareness programmes on trade facilitating measures in the member countries.
    • Support to Sri Lanka and Nepal: The pandemic has created fresh challenges and aggravated old ones in the countries of the region, particularly Sri Lanka and Nepal.
    • India’s support to these countries, especially in financial matters, could help in reducing undesirable external intervention in the region.

    Way forward

    • Need for FTA: The early completion of the regional free trade agreement could provide a fillip to the organisation’s efforts.
    • Promote research on cultural and civilisation linkages: Besides economic links, the Bay of Bengal countries share a cultural and civilisational legacy.
    • The role of institutions like Nalanda University in promoting research on cultural and civilisational linkages and improving the adoption of sustainable practices would be equally significant.

    Conclusion

    The collective’s fifth summit that concluded in Colombo showcased member nations’ resolve to facilitate connectivity and security and enhance the prosperity of the region.

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • No Fundamental or Absolute Right to receive Foreign Donations: Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court upheld amendments introducing restrictions in the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) while holding that no one has a fundamental or absolute right to receive foreign contributions.

    What is FCRA?

    • The FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect internal security.
    • First enacted in 1976, it was amended in 2010 when a slew of new measures was adopted to regulate foreign donations.
    • The FCRA is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations.
    • It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA.
    • The registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.

    Why was FCRA enacted?

    • The FCRA sought to consolidate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by individuals, associations or companies.
    • It sought to prohibit such contributions from being used for activities detrimental to national interest.

    What was the recent Amendment?

    • The FCRA was amended in September 2020 to introduce some new restrictions.
    • The Government says it did so because it found that many recipients were wanting in compliance with provisions relating to filing of annual returns and maintenance of accounts.
    • Many did not utilise the funds received for the intended objectives.
    • It claimed that the annual inflow as foreign contributions almost doubled between 2010 and 2019.
    • The FCRA registration of 19,000 organisations was cancelled and, in some cases, prosecution was also initiated.

    How has the law changed?

    There are at least three major changes that NGOs find too restrictive.

    • Prohibition of fund transfer: An amendment to Section 7 of the Act completely prohibits the transfer of foreign funds received by an organisation to any other individual or association.
    • Directed and single bank account: Another amendment mandates that every person (or association) granted a certificate or prior permission to receive overseas funds must open an FCRA bank account in a designated branch of the SBI in New Delhi.
    • Utilization of funds: Fund All foreign funds should be received only in this account and none other. However, the recipients are allowed to open another FCRA bank account in any scheduled bank for utilisation.
    • Shared information: The designated bank will inform authorities about any foreign remittance with details about its source and the manner in which it was received.
    • Aadhaar mandate: In addition, the Government is also authorised to take the Aadhaar numbers of all the key functionaries of any organisation that applies for FCRA registration or for prior approval for receiving foreign funds.
    • Cap on administrative expenditure: Another change is that the portion of the receipts allowed as administrative expenditure has been reduced from 50% to 20%.

    What is the criticism against these changes?

    • Arbitrary restrictions: NGOs questioning the law consider the prohibition on transfer arbitrary and too heavy a restriction.
    • Non-sharing of funds: One of its consequences is that recipients cannot fund other organisations. When foreign help is received as material, it becomes impossible to share the aid.
    • Irrationality of designated bank accounts: There is no rational link between designating a particular branch of a bank with the objective of preserving national interest.
    • Un-ease of operation: Due to Delhi based bank account, it is also inconvenient as the NGOS might be operating elsewhere.
    • Illogical narrative: ‘National security’ cannot be cited as a reason without adequate justification as observed by the Supreme Court in Pegasus Case.

    What does the Government say?

    • Zero tolerance against intervention: The amendments were necessary to prevent foreign state and non-state actors from interfering with the country’s polity and internal matters.
    • Diversion of foreign funds: The changes are also needed to prevent malpractices by NGOs and diversion of foreign funds.
    • Fund flow monitoring: The provision of having one designated bank for receiving foreign funds is aimed at making it easier to monitor the flow of funds.
    • Ease of operation: The Government clarified that there was no need for anyone to come to Delhi to open the account as it can be done remotely.

    What did the Supreme Court observed now?

    • The apex court reasoned that unbridled inflow of foreign funds may destabilise the sovereignty of the nation.
    • The petitioners have argued that the amendments suffered from the “vice of ambiguity, over-breadth or over-governance” and violated their fundamental rights.
    • But the court countered that the amendments only provide a strict regulatory framework to moderate the inflow of foreign funds into the country.
    • Free and uncontrolled inflow of foreign funds has the potential to impact the socio-economic structure and polity of the country.
    • No one can be heard to claim a vested right to accept foreign donations, much less an absolute right, said the verdict.

    Supreme Court’s assessment of Foreign Funds

    • Philosophically, foreign contribution (donation) is akin to gratifying intoxicant replete with medicinal properties and may work like a nectar.
    • However, it serves as a medicine so long as it is consumed (utilised) moderately and discreetly, for serving the larger cause of humanity.
    • Otherwise, this artifice has the capability of inflicting pain, suffering and turmoil as being caused by the toxic substance (potent tool) — across the nation.

    Way forward

    • The court said charity could be found at home. NGOs could look within the country for donors.
    • Fundamental rights have to give way in the larger public interest to the need to insulate the democratic polity from the “adverse influence of foreign contributions”.
    • The third-world countries may welcome foreign donations, but it is open to a nation, which is committed and enduring to be self-reliant.
    • An unregulated inflow of foreign donations would only indicate that the government was incapable of looking after its own affairs and needs of its citizens.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • [pib] Fortification of Rice

    The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved supply of fortified rice in all States and Union Territories (UTs) by 2024 in a phased manner.

    What is the news?

    1. National Food Security Act (NFSA)
    2. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
    3. Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman-PM POSHAN [erstwhile Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM)] and
    4. Other Welfare Schemes (OWS)

    Phases of implementation

    The following three phases are envisaged for full implementation of the initiative:

    1. Phase-I: Covering ICDS and PM POSHAN in India all over by March, 2022 which is under implementation.
    2. Phase-II: Phase I above plus TPDS and OWS in all Aspirational and High Burden Districts on stunting (total 291 districts) by March 2023.
    3. Phase-III: Phase II above plus covering the remaining districts of the country by March 2024.

    What is Fortification?

    • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has explicitly defined fortification.
    • It involves deliberate increasing of the content of essential micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health.

    Types of food fortification

    Food fortification can also be categorized according to the stage of addition:

    1. Commercial and industrial fortification (wheat flour, cornmeal, cooking oils)
    2. Biofortification (breeding crops to increase their nutritional value, which can include both conventional selective breeding, and genetic engineering)
    3. Home fortification (example: vitamin D drops)

    How is fortification done for rice?

    • Various technologies are available to add micronutrients to regular rice, such as coating, dusting, and ‘extrusion’.
    • The last mentioned involves the production of fortified rice kernels (FRKs) from a mixture using an ‘extruder’ machine.
    • It is considered to be the best technology for India.
    • The fortified rice kernels are blended with regular rice to produce fortified rice.

    How does the extrusion technology to produce FRK work?

    • Dry rice flour is mixed with a premix of micronutrients, and water is added to this mixture.
    • The mixture is passed through a twin-screw extruder with heating zones, which produces kernels similar in shape and size to rice.
    • These kernels are dried, cooled, and packaged for use. FRK has a shelf life of at least 12 months.
    • As per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the shape and size of the fortified rice kernel should “resemble the normal milled rice as closely as possible”.
    • According to the guidelines, the length and breadth of the grain should be 5 mm and 2.2 mm respectively.

    But why does rice have to be fortified in the first place?

    • India has very high levels of malnutrition among women and children.
    • According to the Food Ministry, every second woman in the country is anaemic and every third child is stunted.
    • Fortification of food is considered to be one of the most suitable methods to combat malnutrition.
    • Rice is one of India’s staple foods, consumed by about two-thirds of the population. Per capita rice consumption in India is 6.8 kg per month.
    • Therefore, fortifying rice with micronutrients is an option to supplement the diet of the poor.

    What are the standards for fortification?

    • Under the Ministry’s guidelines, 10 g of FRK must be blended with 1 kg of regular rice.
    • According to FSSAI norms, 1 kg of fortified rice will contain the following: iron (28 mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125 microgram), and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram).
    • Rice may also be fortified with zinc (10 mg-15 mg), vitamin A (500-750 microgram RE), vitamin B-1 (1 mg-1.5 mg), vitamin B-2 (1.25 mg-1.75 mg), vitamin B-3 (12.5 mg-20 mg) and vitamin B-6 (1.5 mg-2.5 mg) per kg.

    Does fortified rice have to be cooked differently?

    • The cooking of fortified rice does not require any special procedure.
    • The rice needs to be cleaned and washed in the normal way before cooking.
    • After cooking, fortified rice retains the same physical properties and micronutrient levels as it had before cooking.

    What is India’s capacity for fortification?

    • At the time of the PM’s announcement last year, nearly 2,700 rice mills had installed blending units for the production of fortified rice.
    • India’s blending capacity now stands at 13.67 lakh tonnes in 14 key states, according to figures provided by the Ministry.
    • FRK production had increased rapidly from 7,250 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes within 2 years.

    How can a beneficiary distinguish between fortified rice and regular rice?

    • Fortified rice will be packed in jute bags with the logo (‘+F’) and the line “Fortified with Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12”.

    Advantages offered

    • Health: Fortified staple foods will contain natural or near-natural levels of micro-nutrients, which may not necessarily be the case with supplements.
    • Taste: It provides nutrition without any change in the characteristics of food or the course of our meals.
    • Nutrition: If consumed on a regular and frequent basis, fortified foods will maintain body stores of nutrients more efficiently and more effectively than will intermittently supplement.
    • Economy: The overall costs of fortification are extremely low; the price increase is approximately 1 to 2 percent of the total food value.
    • Society: It upholds everyone’s right to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger

    Issues with fortified food

    • Against nature: Fortification and enrichment upset nature’s packaging. Our body does not absorb individual nutrients added to processed foods as efficiently compared to nutrients naturally occurring.
    • Bioavailability: Supplements added to foods are less bioavailable. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of a nutrient your body is able to absorb and use.
    • Immunity issues: They lack immune-boosting substances.
    • Over-nutrition: Fortified foods and supplements can pose specific risks for people who are taking prescription medications, including decreased absorption of other micro-nutrients, treatment failure, and increased mortality risk.

    Back2Basics: Public Distribution System (PDS)

    • The PDS is an Indian food Security System established under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
    • PDS evolved as a system of management of scarcity through the distribution of food grains at affordable prices.
    • PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and State Governments.
    • The Central Government, through the Food Corporation of India (FCI), has assumed the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation, and bulk allocation of food grains to the State Governments.
    • The operational responsibilities including allocation within the State, identification of eligible families, issue of Ration Cards and supervision of the functioning of FPSs etc., rest with the State Governments.
    • Under the PDS, presently the commodities namely wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene are being allocated to the States/UTs for distribution.
    •  Some states/UTs also distribute additional items of mass consumption through PDS outlets such as pulses, edible oils, iodized salt, spices, etc.

    Mid-Day Meal Scheme

    • The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal program in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
    • It is a wholesome freshly-cooked lunch served to children in government and government-aided schools in India.
    • It supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government-aided, local body, and alternate innovative education centers, Madarsa and Maqtabs.
    • The program has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995.
    • The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013.

    The scheme aims to:

    1. avoid classroom hunger
    2. increase school enrolment
    3. increase school attendance
    4. improve socialization among castes
    5. address malnutrition
    6. empower women through employment

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)