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GS Paper: GS2

  • Comparing the mandates of election commissions of India and the U.S.

    In the recently concluded presidential election in the U.S., the delay in announcing the result and issue of denial of the election results by the incumbent has brought into focus the role played by flaws in the Americal democratic system in the conduct of the election. This article compares the powers of the elections bodies in the U.S. and India.

    Powers of ECI

    • Indian Constitution has given the ECI enormous power to be exercised during the course of elections, and strictly on other election-related matters.
    • By virtue of being the custodian of the electoral roll, all matters related to keeping the roll updated, fall under the ECI’s domain.
    • Even the higher judiciary does not interfere during the course of the election process.
    • Our Constitution’s fathers decided to limit the role of the judiciary in India to the post-election period, when election petitions may be filed.
    • This was done to avoid the impeding of the election process and delay election results interminably.

    Comparing the powers

    • The U.S. Federal Election Commission has a much narrower mandate than its Indian equivalent-Election Commission of India.
    • The Federal Election Commission was established comparatively recently — 1975, with the special mandate to regulate campaign finance issues.
    • As a watchdog, it is meant to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the law regarding campaign contributions, and oversee public funding of the presidential election.
    • The Federal Election Commission is led by six Commissioners.
    • These six posts are supposed to be equally shared by Democrats and Republicans, and too have to be confirmed by the Senate.
    • This leads to decision making divided on partisan lines.

    What India can learn From the election process in the U.S.

    • In the 2016 U.S. election, almost a quarter of the votes counted arose from postal and early balloting.
    • In India we have confined postal ballots to only a few categories, of largely government staff (for example those on election duty) as well as the police or armed forces.
    • In these difficult times of the novel coronavirus pandemic, we need to widen this base to include all senior citizens and anyone else who may find it convenient to cast their vote early.

    Consider the question “Powers of the Election Commission of India are wider when compared with its counterpart in the U.S. In light of this, compare the powers of the two bodies and how these wide powers have enabled smooth power transfers in India.” 

    Conclusion

    In its functioning, Election Commission of India has broad powers as compared to its counterpart in the U.S. which has helped India see a smooth power transfer from the first election in India in 1951-52 and every single election since.

  • Chabahar Rail Project

    An Iranian diplomat in an interview has said that Tehran now hopes that New Delhi will help facilitate equipment for the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line under a line of credit promised to it in 2018.

    Try this question

    Q. Discuss the strategic and economic significance of Chabahar Port and Rail Project for India.

    Recent controversy

    • The Iranian government in July had decided to proceed with the construction of this project on its own, citing delays from the Indian side in funding and starting the project.

    The Chabahar Rail Project

    • It is a 628 km Chabahar-Zahedan line, which will be extended to Zaranj across the border in Afghanistan.
    • The entire project would be completed by March 2022.
    • It was meant to be part of India’s commitment to the trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan to build an alternate trade route to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

    Why did Iran omit India from the project?

    • Despite several site visits by engineers, and preparations by Iranian railways, India never began the work, ostensibly due to worries that these could attract U.S. sanctions.
    • The U.S. had provided a sanctions waiver for the Chabahar port and the rail line to Zahedan, but it has been difficult to find equipment suppliers and partners due to worries they could be targeted by the U.S.
    • India has already “zeroed out” its oil imports from Iran due to U.S. sanctions.

    India’s reluctance with Iran

    • Looking at the whole aspects of relations, when it comes to politics, there has been a great common understanding and shared interests.
    • But when it comes to economic and trade relations, it has been subject to some limits and restrictions, which are hampered by the various sanctions imposed.
    • The US had put pressure directly or indirectly on the relations, although that has not been the will of both sides.

    The contentious partnership with China

    • Iran and China are close to finalising a 25-year Strategic Partnership which will include Chinese involvement in Chabahar’s duty-free zone, an oil refinery nearby, and possibly a larger role in Chabahar port as well.
    • The cooperation will extend from investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and upgrading energy and transport facilities, to refurbishing ports, refineries and other installations.
    • It is also rumoured that the Chabahar port will be leased to China surpassing India.
    • Iran had proposed a tie-up between the port at Gwadar and Chabahar last year and has offered interests to China in the Bandar-e-Jask port 350km away from Chabahar, as well as in the Chabahar duty-free zone.

    Back2Basics: India-Iran Partnership over Chabahar Port

    • In 2016, India signed a deal with Iran entailing $8 billion investment in Chabahar port and industries in Chabahar Special Economic Zone.
    • The port is being developed as a transit route to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
    • India has already built a 240-km road connecting Afghanistan with Iran.
    • All this were expected to bring cargo to Bandar Abbas port and Chabahar port, and free Kabul from its dependence on Pakistan to reach the outer world.
    • Completion of this project would give India access to Afghanistan and beyond to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Europe via 7,200-km-long multi-modal North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

  • UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ)

    In a significant victory for India at the United Nations, Indian diplomat Vidisha Maitra was elected to the U.N. Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).

    Try this PYQ:

    Which one of the following is not related to the United Nations?
    (a) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
    (b) International Finance Corporation
    (c) International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
    (d) Bank for International Settlements

    About UN- ACABQ

    • It is a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly. The 193-member Assembly appoints members of the Advisory Committee.
    • ACABQ consists of 16 members appointed by the Assembly in their individual capacity.
    • Members are selected on the basis of broad geographical representation, personal qualifications and experience.

    Its functions

    • ACABQ ensures that fund contributions to the U.N. system are put to good effect and that mandates are properly funded.
    • It examines, on behalf of the General Assembly, the administrative budgets of the specialised agencies and proposals for financial arrangements with such agencies; and to consider and report to the General Assembly on the auditors’ reports on the accounts of the UN and of the specialised agencies.

    Why is the seat given to India?

    • India has a stellar record of bringing professional auditing experience to the U.N. and contributing outstanding professionals to U.N. bodies.
    • With India’s rising obligations in both assessed as well as voluntary contributions to the U.N., India holds key responsibility of administrative and budgetary management of U.N.

    Significance of the move

    • The victory gives a strong display of support by U.N. member states for India.
    • It comes as India gets ready to sit in the U.N. Security Council as a non-permanent member for a two-year term beginning January 2021.

  • Taxes and the fundamental rights

    The article deals with the issue of a petition challenging the imposition of 5% GST on mobility aids used by disabled citizens.

    Background

    • The petitioner, in Nipun Malhotra vs. Union of India, argued in Supreme Court that the tax imposed on mobility aids used by disabled citizenswas patently discriminatory.
    • A decision to impose a tax, the Court said, was a matter of policy over which the judiciary ought not to ordinarily interfere.
    • In adjourning the case, it suggested that the petitioner exhaust his options by submitting his grievances to the GST Council, which is the governing body responsible for determining which products are taxed, and at what rate.

    Should the Courts test the legitimacy of the tax

    • It might be keen to ensure that the judiciary does not sit on judgment over matters that fall within the domain of legislative and executive competence.
    • There is nothing inherently distinct about taxing laws; they are in no way plenary and unamenable to judicial review.
    • Quite to the contrary, taxes have a direct bearing on how society is arranged.
    • The nature and rate of tax imposed on a product can impinge both on a person’s freedom and on a person’s right to be treated with equal care and concern.
    • Therefore, it ought to be well within an independent judiciary’s province — as the top courts in Canada and Colombia, among others, have recently held — to examine whether or not an imposition of a tax violates a fundamental right.

    Why government impose tax on mobility aids?

    • Until the advent of the GST, mobility aids were almost entirely immune from indirect taxes.
    • In virtually every State, exemptions were granted on the payment of value-added-tax on such goods.
    • However, under GST 18% tax was imposed on these devices and subsequently reduced to 5%.
    • The government claims that it cannot relieve mobility aids from taxation, because to do so will disincentivise domestic manufacturers.
    • Domestic manufacturers can claim “input tax credit” on taxes paid on raw material in the process of manufacturing when it remits the levy collected from the eventual purchaser of the product.
    •  The State’s argument is that in the absence of a levy of GST on the final product, the manufacturer will be burdened with input taxes.
    • Since it cannot claim any credit for those taxes paid, the prices of the final product would have to be concomitantly higher.
    • As a result, the manufacturer will be placed in a relative position of disadvantage to foreign makers.

    Issues with the government’s argument

    • This argument, though, suffers from at least two fallacies. First, a reading of the various notifications issued by the GST Council shows that many other products that are essential to human needs are exempt from tax.
    • Second, that the grant of an exemption in cases such as these would disentitle manufacturers from claiming input tax credit is a matter of legislative design.

    Way forward

    • Parliament can find other ways to ensure that domestic manufacturers are granted credit for the taxes that they pay on inputs.
    • A decision taken on exempting goods from taxation is a matter of classification.
    •  Given that the classification rests on a state of disability, it must be seen, on any sensible consideration of our equality jurisprudence, as, at least facially, inequitable.
    • The onus must, therefore, rest on the government to show the Court that it had cogent reasons for treating these goods as distinct from other commodities that are exempt from tax.
    • A failure to discharge this onus ought to render the levy illegitimate.
    • The GST Council can take a leaf out of the books of Canada and Australia, and grant a complete exemption on the levy imposed on mobility aids.

    Conclusion

    It is time we recognised that an unreasonable levy can deeply compromise fundamental human needs. To free taxing statutes from the ramparts of the Constitution is to risk the entrenching of inequality.

  • Sharing Indo-Pacific vision in the region

     Where do we geographically place the Indo-Pacific?

    • Term “Indo-Pacific” has come into prominence in the past decade.
    • India has used it in joint statements with a series of partner countries, including but not limited to the United States, Australia, France, Indonesia, Japan, and of course the United Kingdom.
    • It figures in meetings with our ASEAN and has helped advance the Quad consultations.
    • Indian Foreign Ministry has recently set up an Indo-Pacific Division as well as an Oceania Division a sign of India’s commitment to this critical geography.
    • This has encouraged other countries to perceive and define the region in its full extent.
    • For India, the Indo-Pacific is that vast maritime space stretching from the western coast of North America to the eastern shores of Africa.
    • Today, more and more countries are aligning their definition of the Indo-Pacific with Indias.

    Historical background

    • During the Cold War, the Indo-Pacific was divided into different spheres of influence and military theatres.
    • Whether it was the monsoon winds– or our maritime and trading history, we found it impossible to see the Horn of Africa and the Straits of Malacca on the other as disconnected.
    • The first for this is that the Indian peninsula, which thrusts into the Indian Ocean and gives us two magnificent coasts and near limitless maritime horizons to both our east and our west.
    • Monks and merchants, culture and cargo have travelled from India on those waters, to our east, west and south.
    • India’s great religious traditions, such as Buddhism, spread far and wide in the Indo-Pacific.
    • These experiences are our past and are our future; these experiences determine our concept of the Indo-Pacific.

    Why is the Indo-Pacific crucial?

    • The interconnectedness of the Indo-Pacific is finally coming into full play.
    • A motivating factor is the region’s emergence as a driver of international trade and well-being.
    • The Indo-Pacific ocean system carries an estimated 65 per cent of world trade and contributes 60 per cent of global GDP.
    • Ninety per cent of India’s international trade travels on its waters.
    • For us, and for many others, the shift in the economic trajectory from the Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific has been hugely consequential.
    • The rise of China and the imperative for a global rebalancing have added to the mix.
    • A rules-based international order is achievable only with a rules-based Indo-Pacific.

    India’s Indo-Pacific strategy

    • India’s Indo-Pacific strategy was enunciated in 2018 as the SAGAR doctrine.
    •  SAGAR is an acronym for “Security and Growth for All in the Region”.
    • This aspiration depends on securing end-to-end supply chains in the region; no disproportionate dependence on a single country; and ensuring prosperity for all stakeholder nations.
    • An Indo-Pacific guided by norms and governed by rules, with freedom of navigation, open connectivity, and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states, is an article of faith for India.
    • Using this Initiative, India plans to support the building of a rules-based regional architecture resting on seven pillars. These are:1) Maritime security
      2) Maritime ecology
      3) Maritime resources
      4) Capacity building and resource sharing
      5) Disaster risk reduction and management
      6) Science, technology and academic cooperation
      7) Trade connectivity and maritime transport
    • We have sought to strengthen security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific by becoming a net security provider – in the Gulf of Aden.
    • Sharing what we can, in equipment, training and exercises, we have built relationships with partner countries across the region.
    • In the past six years, India has provided coastal surveillance radar systems to half a dozen nations – Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
    • All of these countries also use Indian patrol boats, as do Mozambique and Tanzania.
    •  Mobile training teams have been deputed to 11 countries.
    • Located just outside New Delhi, the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region has enhanced maritime domain awareness among partner countries.
    • India has also promoted and contributed to infrastructure, connectivity, economic projects and supply chains in the region.

    Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief

    • Notable humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) missions in the Indo-Pacific in recent years have included Operation Rahat in Yemen in 2015.
    • Whether it was the cyclone in Sri Lanka in 2016 or deaths and large-scale displacement of people that occurred in Madagascar in January this year, Indian assistance and an Indian ship have never been far away.
    • The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)is intrinsic to India’s regional and global commitment to taking on climate change.

    Conclusion

    Whatever the navigation map, the fact that the Indo-Pacific is the 21st century’s locus of political and security concerns and competition, of growth and development, and of technology incubation and innovation is indisputable.

  • State coverage ratios under NFSA

    The government has initiated the process of ascertaining the new State/UT-specific coverage ratios for rural and urban areas under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).

    Try this question:

    Q.In the ongoing crisis, maintaining the level of food security has become one of the most essential needs. In light of the above statement, critically examine the priority areas for maintaining food security in the country. Suggest measures to make accessibility and availability of food easier for all. (250W)

    National Food Security (NFS) Act

    • The NFS Act, 2013 aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people.
    • It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013.
    • It converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the GoI.
    • It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme and the Public Distribution System (PDS).
    • Further, the NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements.
    • The Midday Meal Scheme and the ICDS are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach about two-thirds of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas).
    • Under the provisions of the bill, beneficiaries of the PDS are entitled to 5 kilograms per person per month of cereals at the following prices:
    1. Rice at ₹3 per kg
    2. Wheat at ₹2 per kg
    3. Coarse grains (millet) at ₹1 per kg.
    • Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals.

    Why such a move?

    • At present, NFSA covers up to 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of the urban population in the country.
    • Based on this, state-wise coverage under NFSA was determined by the erstwhile Planning Commission—now NITI Aayog.
    • It was done by using the National Sample Survey Household Consumption Expenditure Survey data for 2011-12.
    • Since then, the state-wise coverage ratio has not been revised.

    Statewise data

    • Currently, Manipur has the highest coverage in rural areas across the country (88.56 per cent), while Andaman & Nicobar Islands has the lowest (24.94 per cent).
    • Manipur is followed by Jharkhand (86.48 per cent), Bihar (85.12 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (84.25 per cent).
    • In urban areas too, Manipur has the maximum coverage ratio (85.75 per cent), while Andaman & Nicobar Islands has the lowest (1.70 per cent).
    • In urban areas, Manipur is followed by Bihar (74.53 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (64.43 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (62.61 per cent).

  • Equity in education matters

    Fairness and inclusiveness are two important aspects of education system. Growing shift toward digital education in India has implications for these two aspects. The article suggests ways to make the education system fair and inclusive.

    Knowledge economy in India

    • The new National Education Policy (NEP) as well as other factors have lately brightened up education landscape in India..
    • The rise of education technology (ed-tech) incorporating VR, AR, ‘gamification’, 3D immersive learning, etc, is contributing to the knowledge economy’s potential for large market size, calling for requisite policy support.

    Barriers to equity in education

    • The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) defines two dimensions of equity in education.
    • First is “fairness”, which means ensuring that personal and social circumstances do not prevent students from achieving their academic potential.
    • The second is “inclusion”, which means setting a basic minimum standard for education that is shared by all students regardless of their background.
    • The barriers that make equity difficult to foster in India are varied and complex.

    Loss of learning during Covid pandemic

    • The latest Annual State of Education Report (ASER) reveals that 20% of rural students lacked textbooks.
    • Only one in ten students had access to online classes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
    • The Survey provides a glimpse into the levels of learning loss that students in rural India, particularly in states like Bihar, West Bengal, UP, and Rajasthan, are suffering, resulting in sharp digital divides in education.
    • Unless remedied with urgency, the digital split may disrupt learning, and jeopardise our hard-won gains resulting in large scale school drop-outs, particularly of adolescent girls.

    How to remove barriers to equity?

    • To remove these barriers we need to look at several aspects like monetary resources, academic standards, academic content and support.
    • Apart from inequality in internet access and access to devices, even the quality of connection and related services and subscription fees exacerbate the digital divide.
    • For education to be availed as a social good, access at an affordable cost and reasonable quality is a precondition.
    • The availability of content in vernacular languages is yet another issue.
    • In digital education along with demand-side issues, supply-side issues need fixing, such as training of teachers in ICT, new learning devices and handling the evolved curriculum.
    • Teachers and academic institutions need to ensure that the content they are using is lucid, appropriate, fact-based and relevant.
    • Access to education loans from banks and financial institutions are a great support in the cause of education, particularly higher education.
    • Education is on the Concurrent List. A cooperative and collaborative spirit will thus be critical to realise the goals.
    • The Centre has a task well cut for building consensus on NEP2020.

    Consider the question “Fainess and inclusiveness are two important dimensions of equity that should be pursued by any education system. However, push towards digital educations threatens these two dimensions of the education system in India. Comment” 

    Conclusion

    With strong corporate commitment, states’ support, backed by strong policy push and intent by the Centre, and value addition by other stakeholders, the roadblocks on the path of equity and inclusiveness in education, though daunting, could be addressed.

    Source-

    https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/equity-in-education-matters/2121998/

  • Back in news: Kartarpur Corridor

    Pakistan has decided to transfer the management of the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara from a Sikh body to a separate trust, saying it runs against the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.

    Try this PYQ:

    Consider the following Bhakti Saints:

    1. Dadu Dayal
    2. Guru Nanak
    3. Tyagaraja

    Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?

    (a) 1 and 3

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 2

    Kartarpur Corridor

    • The Kartarpur corridor connects the Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Narowal district of Pakistan with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in India’s Punjab province.
    • The first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, founded Kartarpur in 1504 AD on the right bank of the Ravi River. The name Kartarpur means “Place of God”.
    • The corridor is being built to commemorate 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism on 12th November 2019.

    About Guru Nanak

    • Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539) also referred to as Baba Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.
    • He advocated the ‘Nirguna’ form of Bhakti. He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims.
    • He appointed one of his disciples, Angad, to succeed him as the preceptor (guru), and this practice was followed for nearly 200 years.
    • The fifth preceptor, Guru Arjan, compiled his hymns along with those of his four successors and also other religious poets, like Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir, in the Adi Granth Sahib.

  • The next administration will also pursue ‘America First’

    The voting trend in the U.S. presidential election indicates significant support for the policies pursued by President Trump. This could impact the policies the next administration pursues.

    Why U.S. election matters for the world

    • The world still has need for American leadership.
    • It remains the world’s largest net provider of global public goods.
    • It is the lynchpin of the global multilateral system.
    • If Joe Biden wins, it is possible that America will re-engage with dignity and restore mutual respect in its relations with allies and partners, beginning with the trans-Atlantic alliance.
    • However, the Trump Americans, who are the new political base, will still shape American policy irrespective of who the president is.

    ‘America first’ is here to stay

    • The American people believe that their education, employment and retirement have been impacted by the immigration, outsourcing and liberal trade policies of past administrations.
    • Trump America does not want more migrants, it will not support the outsourcing of jobs at the cost of their own.
    • It wants a fair deal on trade that does not allow cheaper imports to put small American businesses out of business.
    • Even a Biden administration cannot return America back to the days of open borders and free trade.
    • It might relax some categories of work-visas, but it cannot return to the time when outsourcing was the preferred option for American companies.
    • It might re-engage with the World Trade Organisation but it cannot tear down the trade barriers that Trump has erected in the name of Make in America.

    Foreign policy of next administration

    • The Trump Americans do not wish to spend any more taxpayer dollars on foreign wars and they want their boys and girls to come home.
    • They think America’s allies are not carrying their weight and are unfairly living off American contributions.
    • They want their allies and partners to take greater responsibility for peace and security.
    • Biden’s supporters hope that he can reverse the abdication of American global leadership and renew alliances, but as president he may find it difficult to go against the Trump Americans on issues like China, Iran and climate change, without endangering the Democratic Party’s long-term interests.
    • And if Trump is re-elected as the president, it will only be because of his core voter base and it will strengthen his resolve.

    Implications for the world

    • Whether or not America withdraws from the world, American leadership, as we know it, might be over.
    • America will become more transactional and less generous.
    • Common values like democracy or multipolarity may be of lesser importance in America’s scheme of things.
    • Whether it is Trump or Biden, the Sino-US relationship will remain complicated and rivalrous.
    • Whether it is Trump or Biden, the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran cannot be restored.
    • Whether it is Trump or Biden, American troops will soon be gone from Afghanistan.
    • There will be less willingness to consider emerging economies as deserving beneficiaries of concessional arrangements.
    • A Biden presidency might also mean a more critical look at the record of not just authoritarian states but also democracies on issues like labour, environment and non-proliferation.

    Implications for India

    • President Trump has been good for India in terms of foreign policy, less so in terms of economic policy.
    • But Delhi should equally be prepared for the Trump administration to ratchet up pressure on trade and to tighten rules on immigration.
    • With Biden, India and the US might return to a more balanced re-engagement on trade and immigration, but should be prepared for a more accommodative policy on both Pakistan and China than Trump’s.

    Conclusion

    Whoever is the next occupant of the White House, the way Americans voted on November 3 will shape American policy and politics for years to come.

  • What is General Consent accorded to the CBI?

    Kerala has decided to withdraw the general consent accorded to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to operate in the state voluntarily.

    Try answering this:

    Q. Why the CBI is called as “a caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice”? Critically comment.

    General Consent

    • Unlike the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is governed by its own NIA Act and has jurisdiction across the country, the CBI is governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.
    • This makes consent of a state government mandatory for conducting an investigation in that state.
    • There are two kinds of consent: case-specific and general.
    • Given that the CBI has jurisdiction only over central government departments and employees, it can investigate a case involving state government employees or a violent crime in a given state only after that state government gives its consent.

    When is Consent needed?

    • General consent is normally given to help the CBI seamlessly conduct its investigation into cases of corruption against central government employees in the concerned state. Almost all states have given such consent.
    • Otherwise, the CBI would require consent in every case.
    • For example, if it wanted to investigate a bribery charge against a Western Railway clerk in Mumbai, it would have to apply for consent with the Maharashtra government before registering a case against him.

    What does withdrawal mean?

    • It means the CBI will not be able to register any fresh case involving a central government official or a private person stationed in these two states without getting case-specific consent.
    • Withdrawal of consent simply means that CBI officers will lose all powers of a police officer as soon as they enter the state unless the state government has allowed them.

    Under what provision has general consent been withdrawn?

    • Section 6 of the Act says nothing contained in Section 5 shall be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise powers and jurisdiction in any area in a State, not being a Union Territory or Railway, area, without the consent of the Government of that State.
    • In exercise of the power conferred by Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, the government can withdraw the general consent to exercise the powers and jurisdiction.

    Does that mean that the CBI can no longer probe any case in the two states?

    • The CBI would still have the power to investigate old cases registered when general consent existed.
    • Also, cases registered anywhere else in the country, but involving people stationed in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal would allow CBI’s jurisdiction to extend to these states.
    • There is ambiguity on whether the agency can carry out a search in either of the two states in connection with an old case without the consent of the state government.

    Why such a move by the States?

    • If a state government believes that the ruling party’s ministers or members could be targeted by CBI on orders of the Centre, and that withdrawal of general consent would protect them.
    • This is a debatable political assumption.
    • CBI could still register cases in Delhi which would require some part of the offence being connected with Delhi and still arrest and prosecute ministers or MPs.
    • The only people it will protect are small central government employees.

    Legal Remedies for CBI

    • The CBI can always get a search warrant from a local court in the state and conduct searches.
    • In case the search requires a surprise element, there is CrPC Section 166, which allows a police officer of one jurisdiction to ask an officer of another to carry out searches on his behalf.
    • And if the first officer feels that the searches by the latter may lead to loss of evidence, the section allows the first officer to conduct searches himself after giving notice to the latter.

    Back2Basics: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

    • Origins of CBI can be traced back to the Special Police Establishment (SPE) set up in 1941 in order to cases of bribery and corruption in War & Supply Department of India during World War II.
    • The need of a Central Government agency to investigate cases of bribery and corruption was felt even after the end of World War II.
    • So, DSPE (Delhi Special Police Establishment) Act, 1946 was brought that gave legal power of investigating cases to CBI.
    • CBI is not a statutory body as it is not established by an Act of the Parliament.
    • CBI investigates cases related to economic crimes, special crimes, cases of corruption and other high-profile cases.
    • CBI comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
    • CBI is exempted from Right to Information (RTI) Act similar to the National Investigating Agency (NIA), National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid), etc.