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GS Paper: GS2

  • Representation of Women in Judiciary

    Attorney-General has told the Supreme Court that more women judges in constitutional courts would certainly improve gender sensitivity in the judiciary.

    Q.Women judges could bring a more comprehensive and empathetic perspective of gender sensitivity in the judiciary. Discuss.

    Women in Judiciary: A dismal figure

    • The Supreme Court has only two women judges as against a sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
    • There has never been a female Chief Justice. This figure is consistently low across the higher judiciary.
    • There are only 80 women judges out of the sanctioned strength of 1,113 judges in the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
    • Only two of these 80 women judges are in the Supreme Court and the other 78 are in various High Courts, comprising only 7.2% of the number of judges.
    • There are six High Courts — Manipur, Meghalaya, Patna, Tripura, Telangana, and Uttarakhand — where there are no sitting women judges.

    A short timeline

    • The first female Judge appointed in Supreme Court was Justice M. Fathima Beevi from Kerala in 1987.
    • She was later followed by Justice Sujata V. Manohar from Maharashtra in 1994 and in the year 2000, Justice Ruma Pal was appointed from West Bengal.
    • And in the year 2010, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra from Bihar was appointed.
    • In 2014, Justice Ranjana Desai from Mumbai was appointed and currently, Justice R. Banumathi from Tamil Nadu is the only woman judge in Supreme Court.

    (Note: This data might be useful for State PSCs or other exams. UPSC aspirants need not remember this.)

    What did the A-G say?

    • Improving the representation of women could go a long way towards a more balanced and empathetic approach in cases involving sexual violence.
    • Judges need to be trained to place themselves in the shoes of the victim of sexual violence while passing orders, said the AG.
    • There is a dearth of compulsory courses in gender sensitization in law schools.
    • Certain law schools have the subject either as a specialization or as an elective.

    Why need more women in Judiciary?

    • The entry of women judges into spaces from which they had historically been excluded has been a positive step in the direction of judiciaries being perceived as being more transparent, inclusive, and representative.
    • By their mere presence, women judges enhance the legitimacy of courts, sending a powerful signal that they are open and accessible to those who seek recourse to justice.
    • They could contribute far more to justice than improving its appearance: they also contribute significantly to the quality of decision-making, and thus to the quality of justice itself.
    • Women judges bring those lived experiences to their judicial actions, experiences that tend toward a more comprehensive and empathetic perspective.
    • By elucidating how laws and rulings can be based on gender stereotypes, or how they might have a different impact on women and men, a gender perspective enhances the fairness of the adjudication.

  • [pib] E-Sanjeevani Telemedicine Service

    In a landmark achievement, eSanjeevani, Health Ministry’s national telemedicine initiative today completed 9 lakh consultations.

    Although telemedicine brings with it many benefits, there are some downsides to it as well. Discuss.

    What is E-Sanjeevani?

    • Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched two variants of eSanjeevani namely – doctor to doctor (eSanjeevani AB-HWC) in the hub and spoke model and patient to doctor (eSanjeevaniOPD).
    • E-Sanjeevani OPD (out-patient department) is a telemedicine variant for the public to seek health services remotely; it was rolled out on 13th of April 2020 during the first lockdown in the country.
    • It enables virtual meetings between the patients and doctors & specialists from geographically dispersed locations, through video conferencing that occurs in real-time.
    • At the end of these remote consultations, eSanjeevani generates electronic prescriptions which can be used for sourcing medicines.
    • Andhra Pradesh was the first state to roll out eSanjeevani AB-HWC services in November 2019.

    Benefits of telemedicine

    Telemedicine benefits patients in the following ways:

    • Transportation: Patients can avoid spending gas money or wasting time in traffic with video consultations.
    • No missing work: Today, individuals can schedule a consultation during a work break or even after work hours.
    • Childcare/Eldercare Challenges: Those who struggle to find care options can use telemedicine solutions.

  • What is the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Drugmakers?

    The US drugmaker Moderna said it was applying for emergency use authorisation for its vaccine in India.

    Practice question for Mains:

    Q. What is Vaccine Nationalism? Discuss various ethical issues involved and its impact on vulnerable populations across the globe.

    Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA)

    • Vaccines and medicines, and even diagnostic tests and medical devices, require the approval of a regulatory authority before they can be administered.
    • In India, the regulatory authority is the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
    • The approval is granted after an assessment of their safety and effectiveness, based on data from trials. In fact, approval from the regulator is required at every stage of these trials.
    • This is a long process, designed to ensure that medicine or vaccine is absolutely safe and effective.
    • The fastest approval for any vaccine until now — the mumps vaccine in the 1960s — took about four-and-a-half years after it was developed.

    Exceptions for emergency

    • In emergency situations, like the current one, regulatory authorities around the world have developed mechanisms to grant interim approvals.
    • However, there should sufficient evidence to suggest a medical product is safe and effective.
    • Final approval is granted only after completion of the trials and analysis of full data; until then, EUA allows the medicine or the vaccine to be used on the public.

    What is the process of getting a EUA in India?

    • India’s drug regulations do not have provisions for a EUA, and the process for receiving one is not clearly defined or consistent.
    • Despite this, CDSCO has been granting emergency or restricted emergency approvals to Covid-19 drugs during this pandemic — for remdesivir and favipiravir in June, and itolizumab in July.

    Associated risks

    • The public has to be informed that a product has only been granted a EUA and not full approval.
    • In the case of a Covid-19 vaccine, for example, people have to be informed about the known and potential benefits and risks.

    Not a compulsion

    • There has been an ongoing debate over whether people have the option of refusing to take the vaccine.
    • Incidentally, no country has made vaccination compulsory for its people.
    • Initially, all vaccines are likely to be deployed on emergency use authorizations only. Final approval from may take several months, or years.

  • Geopolitical turbulence in the Middle East and consequences for Indian subcontinent

    Three broad trends emerging from the Middle East and its implication for the region have been discussed here.

    Growing vulnerability of Iran and implications for subcontinent

    • The brazen murder of a top Iranian nuclear scientist highlights the Islamic Republic of Iran’s growing strategic vulnerabilities.
    • This geopolitical turbulence in the Middle East has major consequences for the subcontinent.
    • Whether they want to or not, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh must deal with three broad trends that define the new Middle East.

    3 Trends in the Middle East

    1) Iran’s growing isolation

    •  The Trump administration and the Republicans, Israel and the Gulf Arabs have a shared interest in preventing the next US President from renewing nuclear diplomacy with Iran and ending Tehran’s isolation.
    • The assassination of Fakhrizadeh is about achieving that political objective.
    • If Iran retaliates vigorously, it will invite an all-out confrontation with Israel and the US.
    • Holding back will expose Iran’s weakness and sharpen internal divisions between pragmatists who want to engage the US and the hardliners.
    • The frequent attacks on high-profile Iranian targets indicate hostile penetration of its society such that domestic opponents of the regime are now willing to collaborate with foreign security agencies, including Israel’s Mossad.
    •  Iran’s internal political weakness is compounded by the massive economic pain imposed by the Trump administration through sanctions.
    • Iran has much goodwill in South Asia, but India and its neighbours have no desire to get sucked into Tehran’s conflicts with the Arabs or the US.

    2)  Transformation of Arab relations with Israel

    • The fear of Iran has been driving Gulf Arabs to embrace Israel.
    • In the last few months, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have normalised ties with Israel.
    • There is speculation of an impending normalisation of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
    • Pakistan’s Prime Minister has talked of pressure, apparently from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, on recognising Israel.
    • If Pakistan recognises Israel, Bangladesh would not want to be left behind.
    • Economic and technological collaboration with Israel will give Bangladesh’s economy and foreign policy a big boost.
    • For Israel, having Bangladesh and Pakistan, two of the world’s largest Islamic nations, recognise it would be a great ideological and political bonus
    • An India that proclaims the virtues of engaging all sides in the Middle East can’t grudge the same privilege for Israel in South Asia.

    3) Rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Turkey

    • While Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE want to return the Middle East towards political and religious moderation, the once secular Turkey has become the new champion of political Islam.
    • Turkey’s contestation with Saudi Arabia is already having an impact on India and Pakistan.
    • Turkey is now hostile to India and has joined Pakistan in taking up the Kashmir question at international forums.
    • For Pakistan, this seemed a useful counter to the Gulf Arabs, who were ramping up strategic ties with India.
    • However, UAE and Saudi Arabia have the option to put massive costs on the Pakistani economy that can’t be plugged by Turkey or Malaysia.

    Conclusion

    Although India has made some important adjustments to its engagement with the Middle East in recent years, Delhi can’t take its eyes off the rapid changes in the region.

  • Recalibrating India-Nepal ties

    The article suggests the need for a relook at the India-Nepal ties in the changing geopolitical circumstances. 

    Unchanging perspective on of each other

    • Many in Nepal continue to equate being anti-India with being nationalistic.
    • Politicians and political parties whip up such sentiment especially before an election.
    • Prime Minister K.P. Oli won the 2017 election partly because he projected himself as someone who stood up to India during the blockade.
    • He again whipped up nationalistic sentiments when he got the Nepal map amended to add new territory.
    • India continues to think that by providing aid and development projects in Nepal, it can win Nepali hearts.
    • But despite pouring billions of rupees into Nepal over decades, it has still not been able to do so.
    • Therefore, it needs to reflect on what it is not doing right.

    India’s aid Vs Chines aid to Nepal

    • Two issues are important to understand here.
    • First, all aid to Nepal from countries other than India and China go through the Plans of the Government of Nepal.
    • Indian aid is seen in Nepal as a favour bestowed on a constituency it wants to garner support from rather than a contribution to Nepal’s planned development.
    • Second, India competes with China in providing aid outside government budgets.
    • And China picks up projects of visibility and strategic location.
    • Chinese involvement in Nepal has increased since the April 2015 earthquake and Nepal is surely an area of strategic influence in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

    People-to-people ties

    •  In the past two decades, two significant changes have happened.
    • 1)  Indian workers in Nepal constitute a big part of the workforce and send about $3 billion to India every year.
    • In terms of remittances to India, Nepal ranks eighth.
    • So, the Government of India needs to keep in mind that many households in India are being run with remittances from Nepal.
    • 2) Nepalis have migrated in the past 20 years to more than a hundred countries; India is not the only country that Nepalis rely on for jobs or education.
    • This is a new Nepal comprising young people with global aspirations.
    • Meanwhile, Nepal needs to plan how it engages with the youth in mainland India for whom Nepal is just like Bangladesh or Myanmar.

    Consider the question “The unchanging perspective of each other in both countries calls for the recalibration of India-Nepal ties. Examine the factors that India should consider while having a relook at its ties with Nepal”

    Conclusion

    There are some fundamentals that we simply cannot forget: geography will not change, the border will remain open as millions of livelihoods on both sides depend on it, and China is going to be a big global player with varied interests in the neighbourhood. Therefore, the India-Nepal relationship has to be recalibrated.

  • India and the OIC

    India has hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for making factually incorrect and unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir.

    What is OIC?

    • The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second-largest inter-governmental organisation after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
    • The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
    • OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.

    India’s relationship with OIC

    • At the 45th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
    • In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistan’s behest.
    • Then Agriculture Minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was dis-invited upon arrival in Morocco after Pakistan President Yahya Khan lobbied against Indian participation.

    Recent developments

    • In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a “guest of honour”.
    • Then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addressed the Inaugural Plenary.
    • This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
    • Pakistan had opposed the invitation to Swaraj and it boycotted the plenary after the UAE turned down his demand to rescind the invitation.

    What is the OIC’s stand on Kashmir?

    • It has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir and has issued statements criticizing India.
    • These statements over the last three decades became an annual ritual, of little significance to India.
    • Last year, after India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir, Pakistan lobbied with the OIC for their condemnation of the move.
    • To Pakistan’s surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both top leaders among the Muslim countries — issued nuanced statements, and were not as harshly critical of New Delhi as Islamabad had hoped.
    • Since then, Islamabad has tried to rouse sentiments among the Islamic countries, but only a handful of them — Turkey and Malaysia — publicly criticised India.

    How has India been responding?

    • India has consistently underlined that J&K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India.
    • The strength with which India has made this assertion has varied slightly at times, but never the core message.
    • It has maintained its “consistent and well known” stand that the OIC had no locus standi,
    • This time, India went a step ahead and said the grouping continues to allow itself to be used by a certain country “which has a record on religious tolerance, radicalism and persecution of minorities”.

    OIC members and India

    • Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have looked up significantly in recent years.
    • The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbours, Bangladesh and Maldives.
    • Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir but play along with OIC.

    What lies ahead with OIC?

    • India now sees the duality of the OIC untenable, since many of these countries have good bilateral ties and convey to India to ignore OIC statements.
    • But these countries sign off on the joint statements which are largely drafted by Pakistan.
    • South Block feels it is important to challenge the double-speak since Pakistan’s campaign and currency on the Kashmir issue has hardly any takers in the international community.

  • Swasthya Sathi Health Insurance Scheme

    West Bengal CM has recently extended the Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme to cover the entire population of the state.

    Do you know?

    Delhi, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal have not implemented the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

    Swasthya Sathi

    • The scheme was launched in West Bengal in 2016.
    • It is a basic health cover for secondary and tertiary care up to Rs five lakh per annum per family.
    • It is quite popular among rural and economically deprived sections of the state’s population.

    Highlights of the expanded scheme

    • Every family, every citizen irrespective of the age group will be included in this scheme
    • This is a basic health cover for secondary and tertiary care up to Rs 5 lakh per annum per family
    • The scheme is completely funded by the state government
    • To cover the entire population of the state, each and every family will be given one smart card to avail the benefits under this scheme, where they will get cashless treatment
    • All state-run and private hospitals are going to come under the Swasthya Sathi
    • The card will be issued to the female guardians of families

  • Killing of Iranian nuclear scientist and its implications

    The assassination of Iran’s nuclear scientist has implication for the future of JCPOA and the peace and the stability of the region. The article explains why.

    Context

    • Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the Iranian scientist who led Iran’s nuclear weapons programme until it was disbanded, was assassinated last week.

    JCPOA and U.S. Presidential election’s link with the

    • Assassinations in which Israeli hands were suspected had stopped after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed.
    • The U.S. withdrew from the agreement when Trump became the U.S. President.
    • In retaliation of the withdrawal, Iran began enriching uranium and stockpiling it beyond JCPOA limits.
    • With that, the strategy of targeted assassinations seems to be back.
    • This strategy has assumed urgency with the election of Joe Biden in the U.S., who has expressed his desire to return to the JCPOA.

    Understanding the Israel link

    • Israel government is apprehensive that Mr. Biden will imperil Israel’s nuclear monopoly in West Asia.
    • The assassination of Fakhrizadeh appears to be part of a larger Israeli plan in conjunction with Saudi Arabia to force the U.S. into taking military action against Iran.
    • An Israeli-Saudi nexus on this issue, when combined with President Trump’s, could culminate in a major military strike on Iran before he leaves office.

    Win-win situation for Israel

    • If the Iranian government launches revenge attacks Mr. Netanyahu would be able to persuade the U.S. to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
    • If Iran shows restraint, Israel would have shown up the Iranian regime as weak while augmenting anti-American feelings in the country.
    • That anti-American feeling would make it difficult for the Biden administration to resume negotiations with Tehran on reviving JCPOA.

    Conclusion

    The fallout of the assassination, while benefiting Israel, will add to the instability in the region.

  • Is allowing Ayurvedic doctors to perform surgery legally and medically tenable?

    The Central Council of Indian Medicine, a statutory body set up under the AYUSH Ministry has allowed postgraduate (PG) Ayurvedic practitioners to receive formal training for a variety of general surgery, ENT, ophthalmology and dental procedures.

    Debate over Ayurvedic surgeries

    • The Indian Medical Association (IMA) decrying it as a mode of allowing mixing of systems of medicine by using terms from allopathy.
    • The debate revolves Ayurveda doctors allowing  ‘Shalya’ (general surgery) and ‘Shalakya’ (dealing with eye, ear, nose, throat, head and neck, oro-dentistry) to perform 58 specified surgical procedures.
    • The AYUSH Ministry has clarified that the ‘Shalya’ and ‘Shalakya’ postgraduates were already learning these procedures in their (surgical) departments in Ayurvedic medical colleges as per their training curriculum.

    Broader issue

    • The broader issue is the feasiblity of short-term training equip them to conduct surgeries and if this dilutes the medicine standards in India.
    •  As such, the postgraduate Ayurvedic surgical training is not short-term but a formal three-year course.
    • Whether the surgeries conducted in Ayurvedic medical colleges and hospitals have the same standards and outcomes as allopathic institutions requires explication and detailed formal enquiry, in the interest of patient safety.

    Why such a move?

    • The shortage and unwillingness of allopathic doctors, including surgeons, to serve in rural areas is now a chronic issue.
    • The government has tried to address this by mechanisms such as rural bonds, a quota for those who have served in rural service in postgraduate seats.
    • However, it would probably still continue to fall short of enough trained specialists in rural areas.

    Are there any restrictions on Ayurveda practitioners?

    •  As of now, no such restriction exists that limits non-allopathic doctors, including those doing Ayurvedic surgical postgraduation, to rural areas.
    • They have the same rights as allopathic graduates and postgraduates to practise in any setting of their choice.

    Is it sensible to allow Ayurvedic surgeons to only assist allopathic surgeons, rather than perform surgeries themselves?

    • The AYUSH streams are recognised systems of medicine, and as such are allowed to independently practise medicine.
    • They have medical colleges with both undergraduate and postgraduate training, which include surgical disciplines for some systems, such as Ayurveda.
    • There is, however, a difference in approach in the systems of medicine, and hence models, which allow for cross-pathy.

    Various risks associated

    • An apprenticeship model for Ayurvedic surgeons working with allopathic surgeons might fall into a regulatory grey zone.
    • It might require re-training Ayurvedic practitioners in the science of surgical approaches in modern medicine.
    • Even then, there might be a limit to what they are allowed to do. Any such experiment can put patient safety in peril, and hence, will need careful oversight and evaluation.

    Can this lead to substandard care?

    • Many patients prefer to receive treatment exclusively from AYUSH providers, while some approach this form of treatment as a complement to the existing allopathic treatment they are receiving.
    • For invasive procedures, like surgery, the risk element can be high.

    A matter of rights

    • Patients have a right to know and understand who their surgeon would be, what system of medicine they belong to, and their expertise and level of training.
    • There should not be a difference in quality of care between urban and rural patients — everyone deserves a right to quality and evidence-based care from trained professionals.

    Way forward

    • We need to explore creative ways of addressing this gap by evidence-based approaches, such as task-sharing, supported by efficient and quality referral mechanisms.
    • The advent of mid-level healthcare providers, such as Community Health Providers in many States, is also an opportunity to shift some elements of healthcare (preventive, promotive, and limited curative) to these providers, while ensuring clarity of role and career progression.

  • Linking Aadhaar to residence for targeted aid

    The article suggests the provision for a safety net with geographic targeting in case of disasters as most disasters are location specific.

    Safety net in the U.S.

    • The US Congress enacted in March a Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to sends $1,200 to each individual below the income threshold of $75,000.
    • Nonetheless, as The Washington Post reported, even in October, millions of households were yet to receive their stimulus payments.
    • The tax authorities who were charged with disbursing the funds had no way of knowing how to send the cheques.
    • But the poor had to cross several hurdles to get this money and the computer system did not make it easy for them to register their claim.

    Safety net in India and issues with it

    • In contrast to U.S., 23 per cent of Indians living in Delhi-NCR received a payment of Rs 500 in their Jan Dhan accounts within three weeks of the lockdown being declared.
    • Farmers registered for PM-KISAN also received Rs 2,000 in their accounts immediately.
    • However, there were some issues for example, recipients of PM-KISAN were not amongst the poorest households, nor were these the households that were most affected by the COVID-related lockdown.
    • The PM-Kisan Yojana applies to landowners, thereby excluding agricultural labourers as well as the urban informal sector workers who were most affected by the lockdown.
    • Similarly, for the PMJDY payment, BPL and non-BPL households record similar receipt transfers.

    Twin challenges in designing social safety nets

    • Unless a registry containing data about individuals and their bank accounts exists, money cannot be transferred expeditiously.
    • 1) Registries based on specific criteria (for example, identified BPL households) may not identify individuals most vulnerable to crises.
    • 2) Factors that contribute towards alleviating poverty may differ from the ones that push people into it — indicating the challenge of targeting welfare beneficiaries in response to shocks.
    • About 40 per cent of the poor in 2012 were pushed into poverty by special circumstances and would not have been classified as being poor based on their 2005 conditions.
    • Such exclusion errors can get magnified in the event of large-scale disasters when using pre-existing databases, since many people are likely to fall into poverty from an economy-wide negative shock, leading to coverage errors.

    Way forward

    • Recent estimates from the World Bank suggest that 88 to 115 million people could slide into poverty in 2020.
    • These observations suggest that in a disaster response situation, we cannot rely on registries based on individual characteristics to identify beneficiaries.
    • Most disasters are geographically clustered.
    • If there is a way for us to set up social registries that identify individuals, their place of residence, and their bank accounts, these linkages can be used to transfer funds to everyone living in the affected area quickly.
    • Aadhaar linkages of individuals and bank accounts already exist.
    • If residential information in the Aadhaar database can be efficiently structured, this would allow for geographic targeting.
    • Issue of violation of individual privacy can be addressed by providing that such social registries store only basic information such as location, instead of more sensitive identifiers.

    Consider the question “Disasters underscores the importance of social safety nets. However, designing a social safety net that identifies and reach the vulnerable suffers from several challenges. What are these challenes. Suggest ways to address these challenges.” 

    Conclusion

    As we try to disaster-proof future welfare programmes, these are some of the considerations that deserve attention.