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GS Paper: GS2

  • Aadhaar, no standout performer in welfare delivery

    Context

    Aadhaar-based biometric authentication did not reduce PDS leakages, finds Jharkhand-based empirical study

    What was the rationale behind Aadhaar?

    • What did the UIDAI’s report say? Aadhaar has curtailed leakages of government subsidies. Through Aadhaar, savings worth ₹90,000 crores have accrued to the government– UIDAI’s2017-18 annual report.
    • Plugging the leakages in the schemes: When Aadhaar was conceived a decade ago, the rationale postulated was: India spends nearly three trillion rupees a year across several core welfare programmes such as Public Distribution System (PDS), LPG, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act etc.
      • Huge leakage due to duplications: Roughly 30-40% of this three trillion is lost in leakages.
      • Leakages are largely due to ‘ghost’ and ‘duplicate’ beneficiaries using fake identities to avail these benefits; a unique identity biometric scheme can eliminate these leakages and vastly improve efficiency in welfare delivery.
    • Improve welfare delivery efficiency: In fact, the former Union Minister, Arun Jaitley, even renamed the Aadhaar Bill to ‘Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services’ Bill, making it amply clear that Aadhaar’s primary, if not sole purpose, was to improve welfare delivery efficiency.

    What are the findings of study?

    • How was the study carried out?
      • Use of RCT and sample of 15 million people: They conducted a scientifically designed study of the PDS system in Jharkhand covering 15 million beneficiaries using the technique of randomised control trials (RCT).
      • In the study, one set of beneficiaries went through the Aadhaar-based biometric authentication while the other group used the old system of procuring their ration.
    • The results were then compared to see if Aadhaar-based biometric authentication had any impact in reducing leakages.
    • What were the findings of the study?
    • No measurable benefit: The study concluded that Aadhaar-based biometric authentication had no measurable benefit.
      • No reduction in leakages: Aadhaar-based biometric authentication did not reduce leakages due to elimination of ghosts and duplicates, as widely perceived.
    • Increase in transaction costs for beneficiary: On the other hand, they found that Aadhaar-based biometric authentication increased transaction costs for beneficiaries.
      • 17% extra cost: That is, to claim ration worth ₹40, beneficiaries in the Aadhaar system incurred an additional ₹7 of costs than those in the old system, because of multiple trips to authenticate themselves and the opportunity cost of time spent.
      • This is a whopping 17% extra cost burden of the value of the benefit they were entitled to receive.
    • Type 1 error of exclusion: To make matters worse, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication also introduced what empirical scientists call Type I error of exclusion.
      • Aadhaar authentication falsely rejected genuine PDS beneficiaries who were then denied their ration supplies.
      • The study finds that nearly 10% of legitimate beneficiaries were denied their ration either because they did not have their Aadhaar linked to their ration card or due to an exclusion error.
    • Summary of the finding: In summary, the study states that there was-
      • No direct impact of Aadhaar in reducing leakages.
      • 2. It denied ration to 10% of genuine beneficiaries and increased costs by 17% to those that were forced to get their ration using Aadhaar.
      • Pain with no gain: They conclude that Aadhaar authentication for PDS in Jharkhand caused “some pain with no gain”.

    What premises were wrong about Addhaar?

    • No testing of empirical belief: There was a widespread belief among the policy elite that ghosts and duplicates were the scourge of India’s welfare delivery and that Aadhaar would eliminate this.
      • But this belief was never empirically tested.
      • Based on this belief, an entire story was concocted about improving welfare efficiency by eliminating ghosts and duplicates with Aadhaar and a whole new law was enacted to this effect.
    • The pilot project not carried out: Many studies now establish that ghosts and duplicates are not the significant cause of leakages.
      • It would have been better to have undertaken a robust pilot project of scale to test the belief about ghosts and duplicates, before embarking on it nationwide.

    Conclusion

    In a sociologist’s world and in a liberal society, a policy that could run the risk of denying welfare to just a few people, putting their lives at risk, is not worth implementing regardless of how many millions it benefits.

     

     

     

     

  • Explained: Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)

     

     

    Recently the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs has announced that a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will be established by the first week of April.

    What is the Central Consumer Protection Authority?

    • The authority is being constituted under Section 10(1) of The Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
    • The Act replaced The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, and seeks to widen its scope in addressing consumer concerns.
    • The CCPA, introduced in the new Act, aims to protect the rights of the consumer by cracking down on unfair trade practices, and false and misleading advertisements that are detrimental to the interests of the public and consumers.

    Why need CCPA?

    • The new Act recognizes offences such as providing false information regarding the quality or quantity of a good or service, and misleading advertisements.
    • It also specifies action to be taken if goods and services are found “dangerous, hazardous or unsafe”.
    • The CCPA will have the powers to inquire or investigate into matters relating to violations of consumer rights or unfair trade practices suo motu, or on a complaint received, or on a direction from the central government.

    What can the possible structure of CCPA be?

    • The proposed authority will be a lean body with a Chief Commissioner as head, and only two other commissioners as members — one of whom will deal with matters relating to goods while the other will look into cases relating to services.
    • It will be headquartered in the NCR of Delhi but the central government may set up regional offices in other parts of the country.
    • The CCPA will have an Investigation Wing that will be headed by a Director General.
    • District Collectors too, will have the power to investigate complaints of violations of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and false or misleading advertisements.

    What kind of goods and food items in particular, can be classified as “dangerous, hazardous or unsafe”?

    • This is not specified in the notification of the Act.
    • Regarding food, an official said the CCPA will ensure that all standards on packaged food items set by regulators such as the FSSAI are being followed.

    What will the CCPA do if any goods or services are found not meeting these standards?

    Under Section 20 of The Consumer Protection Act, the proposed authority will have powers to:

    1. recall goods or withdrawal of services that are “dangerous, hazardous or unsafe;
    2. pass an order for refund the prices of goods or services so recalled to purchasers of such goods or services and
    3. discontinuation of practices which are unfair and prejudicial to consumer’s interest

    Penalties:

    For manufacture, selling, storage, distribution, or import of adulterated products, the penalties are:

    1. If injury is not caused to a consumer, fine up to Rs 1 lakh with imprisonment up to six months;
    2. If injury is caused, fine up to Rs 3 lakh with imprisonment up to one year;
    3. If grievous hurt is caused, fine up to Rs 5 lakh with imprisonment up to 7 years;
    4. In case of death, fine of Rs 10 lakh or more with a minimum imprisonment of 7 years, extendable to imprisonment for life.

    How will it deal with false or misleading advertisements?

    • Section 21 of the new Act defines the powers given to the CCPA to crack down on false or misleading advertisements.
    • The CCPA may order investigation that any advertisement is false or misleading and is harmful to the interest of any consumer, or is in contravention of consumer rights.
    • If dissatisfied, the CCPA may issue directions to the trader, manufacturer, endorser, advertiser, or publisher to discontinue such an advertisement, or modify it in a manner specified by the authority, within a given time.

    Penalties:

    1. The authority may also impose a penalty up to Rs 10 lakh, with imprisonment up to two years, on the manufacturer or endorser of false and misleading advertisements.
    2. The penalty may go up to Rs 50 lakh, with imprisonment up to five years, for every subsequent offence committed by the same manufacturer or endorser.
    3. CCPA may ban the endorser of a false or misleading advertisement from making endorsement of any products or services in the future, for a period that may extend to one year.
    4. The ban may extend up to three years in every subsequent violation of the Act.

    What other powers will the CCPA have?

    • While conducting an investigation after preliminary inquiry, officers of the CCPA’s Investigation Wing will have the powers to enter any premise and search for any document or article, and to seize these.
    • For search and seizure, the CCPA will have similar powers given under the provisions of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
    • The CCPA can file complaints of violation of consumer rights or unfair trade practices before the District, State, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
    • It will issue safety notices to alert consumers against dangerous or hazardous or unsafe goods or services.

    Also read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/five-new-rights-you-get-as-a-consumer/

  • Still no finality, the third time round

    Context

    There are indications that the new Bodo accord does not spell closure of the statehood movement by Bodo groups.

    Power-sharing experiment under the Sixth Schedule

    • Sixth Schedule expected as a panacea: The experiment of power-sharing and governance under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution was expected to be the panacea of the ethno-nationalist identity questions in the Northeastern States.
    • Complexities of exclusion: Euphoria, as well as anger over the third Bodo Accord, have, however, held the mirror reflecting the complexities of exclusion of communities in such ethnocentric power-sharing and governance model.

    Specifics of the new Accord

    • The new Accord was signed by the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU), United Bodo People’s Organisation and all the four factions of the insurgent outfit- National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) with Delhi and Dispur on January 27.
      • It promises more legislative, executive and administrative autonomy under the Sixth Schedule to Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) and expansion of the BTC territory in lieu of statehood.
    • The Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD), the autonomous region governed by BTC, will be known as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) after demarcation of the augmented territory.

    The emergence of the faultlines in the new Accord

    • What went wrong in the previous Accord? The previous Bodo Accord signed by the erstwhile insurgent outfit, Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) with Delhi and Dispur on February 10, 2003, led to the creation of the BTC as a new experiment of territorial autonomy under the Sixth Schedule.
      • No assent by the Governor to any BTC legislation: The constitutionally mandated legislative power of the BTC has been reduced to a farce as the Assam Governor has not given assent to any of the legislation passed by the BTC Legislative Assembly.
    • Intensification of demand for Kamatapur State: Bodo groups have suspended their statehood movement.
      • The new Bodo Accord has triggered the intensification of the movement for Kamatapur State by organisations of the Koch-Rajbongshi community.
      • Overlapping territory: The territory of the demanded Kamatapur State overlaps with the present BTAD, proposed BTR and demanded Bodoland.
    • Demand for ST status: Clamour for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status by the Koch-Rajbongshis, Adivasis and several other non-ST communities has also grown.
    • Faultlines over ST status: Deeper ethnic faultlines in an ethnocentric power-sharing model will become exposed when the Koch-Rajbongshis and the Adivasis are granted ST status, as promised by the government.
      • For, the reservation of seats of BTC is for the STs and not exclusively for the Bodos.
      • The new accord has no clear answer to such critical questions.
      • In BTAD, the ST communities account for 33.50% of the total population and the Bodos account for over 90% of the ST population in the BTAD.
      • The ST populations are an overwhelming majority in territories overseen by nine other autonomous councils under the Sixth Schedule in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
    • Minority governing majority: Such a demographic composition in the BTAD has allowed the space for political mobilisation of other non-Bodo communities.
      • It also allowed the articulation of the campaign that the BTC is a faulty model as it allows the minorities to govern the majorities.
      • Exclusion demand: The organisations of these communities have been demanding exclusion of villages with less than 50% Bodo population from the BTAD.
    • Counter argument by Bodos: Bodo organisations have a counter-argument that non-Bodo is a political identity construction articulated to capture power in the BTAD by certain political forces.
    • The new accord promises to increase the current strength of BTC to 60 from 40 but “without adversely affecting the existing percentage of reservation for tribal[s]”.
    • Constitutional provision for dealing with such situations: Sub-paragraph 2 of the first paragraph of the Sixth Schedule provides that, “If there are different Scheduled Tribes in an autonomous district, the Governor may, by public notification, divide the area or areas inhabited by them into autonomous regions.”
      • However, constitutional amendments were made following the previous Bodo Accord to ensure that this provision shall not apply in respect of the BTAD.
    • What could be the solution to the present situation? The provision of setting up regional autonomous councils under the Sixth Schedule can be explored to create the space for communities aggrieved by exclusion from the power-sharing model of BTC.

    Provision of commission

    • The new accord promises to appoint a commission by the Assam government.
      • What the commission will deal with? It will look into the demands for inclusion of villages with ST majority and contiguous to the BTAD, and exclusion of villages which are contiguous to non-Sixth Schedule areas and have majority non-ST population.
      • However, the core area of the BTAD will continue to have many villages with majority non-ST population which were included for contiguity.

    Evaporating of euphoria over the accord

    • Failure in uniting the four factions: Euphoria among the Bodos over the accord is also fast evaporating with efforts to unite all the four factions of NDFB having turned futile.
      • The factions are divided into two camps.
      • The new accord will be the pivot of political mobilisation in the BTAD during the forthcoming BTC elections due in April.
    • Revival in homeland demand: A shift in the political equilibrium in the BTC resulting from a likely expansion of the ST list in Assam has the potential to keep the Bodos out of power in the BTC and push Bodo organisations to revive their homeland demand

    Conclusion

    Peace will continue to be fragile in Assam’s Bodo heartland until an all-inclusive power-sharing and governance model is evolved under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule.

     

     

     

     

  • Debating water quality

    Context

    The competitive politics of Delhi election has brought the issue of drinking water to centre stage.

    Controversy over BIS water status report

    • Politicising of the report: The controversy started with the release of the BIS report for 21 major Indian cities, in keeping with the objectives of the ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’.
      • The mission aims to provide safe piped water to all households by 2024.
      • The fact that drinking water in Delhi was ranked the most unsafe, as the samples failed in 19 out of 28 parameters, was challenged by the Government of Delhi and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
    • Compilation of information on the existing status: The study is scheduled to cover all districts in the country within a year. Supply of potable water obviously requires first compilation of information on the existing status
    • Water as an urgent concern: The fact that water should be treated as an urgent concern for public health and the ecosystem of the country cannot be denied.
    • Imperceptible threat: The threats to human health due to poor water quality, except when they appear as an epidemic, are largely imperceptible.
      • This generally subjects the population to subtle health problems without its knowledge or consent.

    Pollution and water crisis in India

    • Pollution contributing to water crisis: India is on the throes of a severe water crisis, not only because of a gradual reduction in per capita availability of water due to a rising population but also because of rising and unchecked pollution in the country’s rivers and water bodies.
      • It is a fact which is mostly overlooked in the deliberations on water resources management.
    • Only 30% sewage treatment capacity in major cities: As per published estimates of the Central Pollution Control Board, the country has a treatment capacity of only about 30% of sewage generated in the major cities.
      • Not to talk of other urban and rural areas where the sewage finds its way to local water bodies or rivers without treatment.

    Impending water stress in the country

    • NITI Aayog report: A 2018 Report of the NITI Aayog has observed that currently, 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress.
      • The report also states that about two lakh people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water.
    • Demand twice the supply by 2030: The crisis is only going to get worse.
      • By 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people.
    • High methane in Yamuna water in Delhi: For the water coming from the Yamuna released from Haryana, the DJB has to often stop the supply for a few days if the concentration of methane goes up beyond a certain level.
      • This is because the tri-chloromethane that may be produced during the disinfection process is highly carcinogenic.
      • The effect may surface on human health not immediately but over a period of time.

    The capital’s high pollutant load and need for improvement in governance

    • Contributing 50% pollutant: Delhi, which constitutes less than 1% of the total catchment of the Yamuna, contributes more than 50% of total pollutant load in the river.
      • Delhi has 7,000 km of sewer line as on date, against a requirement of 24,000 km.
      • The 17 sewage treatment plants being operated by the DJB are able to take care of not more than 30% of sewage treatment.
    • There is no sewerage system at all for over 45% of the population in unauthorised and even regularised colonies and rural areas.
    • As of now, there are 18 major drains carrying sewage, garbage and industrial effluents into the Yamuna.
    • Solid waste dumping in Yamuna: It is not only the untreated sewage water and industrial effluents, but also the solid wastes and construction material discharged by individuals, companies and municipal bodies that have caused the suffocation of the Yamuna.
      • Also, floodplains have been encroached upon by settlements.
    • Challenge of supplying quality water: Ensuring the supply of quality drinking water is not only expensive, but it also needs improvement in governance.
      • It needs technical knowledge on measurement and regulation of water quality.
      • It is not the fault of the DJB or the Delhi government alone that they have not been able to ensure a 100% supply of quality water to the citizens of Delhi.
      • Given the constraints they face, especially those concerning the water resources management and laws in the country.

    Conclusion

    The Jal Jeevan Mission, even if it has not been so far structured, conceptualised and funded adequately, has begun the important work of gathering information on the scale and scope of the problem and making it available in an open and transparent manner. The best outcome is that the competitive politics of the Delhi election has ensured a political debate on water quality.

     

     

     

  • When a court pronounces a verdict, without giving reasons

    Context

    In a highly unusual move, a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court resorted to a non-speaking order as it ruled affirmatively on the preliminary issue arising out of the Sabarimala review petition.

    Departure from norms

    • The importance of a ‘reasoned decision’ in a constitutional democracy committed to the rule of law, is self-evident.
      • Its importance cannot be overstated and this curious departure from the norm merits close analysis.
    • Time and again, the Supreme Court has unequivocally endorsed and underlined the requirement of giving reasons in support of the order.
      • The SC has often chastised subordinate institutions for their failure to supplement their orders with reasons.

    Importance of ‘reasoned decision’

    • The juristic basis for the ‘reasoned decision’: The juristic basis for this has also been explored in a number of cases.
    • In various decisions, the court has ruled that speaking orders promote-
      • Judicial accountability and transparency.
      • Inspire public confidence in the administration of justice; and
      • Introduce clarity and minimise the chances of arbitrariness.
    • Quotes from various judgements: In addition to being a “healthy discipline for all those who exercise power over others”, recording of reasons has been described by the Supreme Court as the “heartbeat of every conclusion”; the “life blood of judicial decision making”; and a cherished principle of “natural justice”.
    • The Madhya Pradesh Industries Ltd case: In this case Justice Subba Rao K. stated:
      • “The condition to give reasons introduces clarity and excludes or at any rate minimises arbitrariness;”
      • “… it gives satisfaction to the party against whom the order is made; and it also enables an appellate or supervisory court to keep the tribunals within bound… Speaking order will at its best be reasonable and at its worst be at least a plausible one.”

    Devaluation by the SC and implications

    • Implicit rules: The need for a court to provide an intellectual substrate for its decisions is also implicit in the expression “pronounce judgment” in Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
      • According to settled decisions, the same signifies “judicial determination by reasoned order”.
    • However, when it came to applying the principle to its own verdict, the apex court has inadvertently devalued the importance of concurrent reporting of reasons.
      • The court seems to have downplayed the fact that it may be coming across as inarticulate at best and indecisive at worst.
    • Undermining integrity: Besides undermining institutional integrity, a decision’s authority as a binding precedent is also potentially compromised by this omission.

    Culture of justification

    • The term “transformative constitutionalism” has recently found currency in constitutional adjudication (Navtej Joharand Joseph Shine).
      • The Supreme Court is yet to articulate a comprehensive theory of the concept but it has been fleshed out in other jurisdictions.
    • From authority to justification: For example, Pius Langa, former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, argued that “transformative constitutionalism” entails a transformation of legal culture from one “based on authority” to the one “based on justification”.
    • Karl Klare (the scholar who coined the term) posited that it may be legitimately expected of constitutional adjudication to “innovate and model intellectual and institutional practices appropriate to a culture of justification”.

    Conclusion

    In light of the above, it can be concluded that the practice of issuing non-speaking orders and giving post-hoc rationalisations later is an anathema to the principle of constitutional governance. Duty to give reasons is an incident of the judicial process and constitutional justice should not be a matter of afterthought.

     

     

     

  • Explained: Assam-Mizoram Boundary Dispute

     

    Assam is at the centre of a fresh inter-State border row in the northeastern region. The Mizoram government has sought the revision of the boundary with Assam, based on the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) of 1873 and the Inner Line of the Lushai Hills Notification of 1993.

    Background

    • Since 1962 most of the state borders of states carved out of Assam were divided following the myopic vision of the Central government.
    • On ground these borders still do not run in sync with the tribal territories and identities, creating repetitive conflicts in the region and disturbing its peace.
    • Assam finds itself at the center of all the conflicts since most of the neighboring states were carved out of its territory since independence.
    • This was done to consolidate the Indian Union at the time by catering to the aspirations of the local tribes and including them in the mainstream by giving them independent statehoods.

    What is the dispute?

    • Mizoram shares a 123-km border with southern Assam and has been claiming a 509-square mile stretch “occupied” by the neighbouring State.
    • Mizoram used to be the Lushai Hills district of Assam before being made a Union Territory in 1972 and a State in 1987.
    • Both States have been disputing an extensive stretch of this boundary.

    About Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation

    • The Inner Line Regulations, commonly referred to as the Inner Line Permit system (ILP), first gained legal effect through the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
    • At present the BEFR continues to apply, but only in present-day Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.
    • It had been lifted in the whole of Assam, as well as the entirety of present-day Meghalaya.
    • The BEFR allows Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland not to let non-resident Indians in without an inner-line permit for a temporary stay.

    Present status of ILP

    • The Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958 is the modern embodiment of the ILP.
    • This Order was passed in furtherance of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
    • The Order defined the ‘inner line’ throughout present-day India starting from Jammu and Kashmir and ending at Mizoram.
    • This inner line is different from the one envisioned in the Bengal Frontier Regulations.
    • This line represents the furthest point up to the international border where a foreigner can visit on the strength of a visa alone.

  • Cop out in Delhi

    Context

    Political parties across the spectrum escape the blame for continuing to use the police as an instrument to further their political agenda.

    The backdrop of violence in protest against CAA in Delhi

    • The culmination of dithering by police: It was the culmination of weeks of dithering and selective action on the part of the Delhi Police in dealing with those agitating against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
    • No preventive action is taken: No preventive action appears to have been taken, and when the national capital was rocked by agitators in different areas the police appeared to have been caught by surprise.
    • Hesitation in acting against the rioters: There appeared to be hesitation on the part of the police in taking firm action against the rioters who continued to be on the rampage, destroying public and private property.
      • There was a disturbing scene of a rioter openly brandishing his firearm at a policeman.

    Disturbing patterns in the Police actions

    • Delhi Police- The extremes of action and inaction: The Delhi Police is the best-resourced police in the country.
      • It is looked upon as a model by state police forces across the country. Its response, in fact, shows a disturbing pattern.
      • There have been extremes of action and inaction.
      • Forcible entry: In Jamia Millia Islamia, the police is alleged to have entered the campus forcibly and roughed up students after their march against the CAA turned violent.
      • Inexplicable delay: In JNU, there was an inexplicable delay in responding to violence by a group of outsiders within the campus.
    • Bengal Police-Turning blind eye to rioters’vandalism: In West Bengal, with Mamata Banerjee leading the charge against the CAA, the message to the police was clear.
      • They turned Nelson’s eye to rioters’ vandalising government and private property; the Eastern Railways alone suffered a loss of Rs 72.19 crore.
    • Uttar Pradesh Police- Excesses committed during protests.
      • In UP, where over 20 people were killed, the Allahabad High Court has called for a detailed report on the alleged police excesses.
    • Karnataka Police- Over-zealousness.
      • In Karnataka, the High Court has blamed the Mangaluru police of “over-zealousness” in dealing with the anti-CAA protests.
    • Party bias in the Police actions: Police response invariably reflects the bias of the ruling party.
      • The partisan police response to situations, which were strikingly similar, has caused dismay and consternation among the people.
      • One must get to the root of the problem.

    Observations and the Supreme Court guidelines

    • National Police Commission observation: The National Police Commission recorded as far back as 1979 that “the present culture of the police system appears a continuation of what obtained under the British regime when the police functioned ruthlessly as an agent for sustaining the government in power”.
      • In such a situation, the Commission went on to say, “police find it difficult to play their lawful role and make their performance acceptable to the people at large”.
    • The Supreme Court directions: The Supreme Court issued a set of six directions in 2006 to state governments with a view to transforming the ethos and working philosophy of the police.
      • Setting up the State Security Commission: The SC’s most important direction was about setting up of a State Security Commission with a view to insulate the police from external pressures.
      • It is true that several states have enacted laws purportedly in compliance with the Supreme Court’s orders.
      • Recommendation not supported in letter and spirit: But these acts, as their critical examination reveals, violate the letter and spirit of the judicial directions. The old order continues for all practical purposes.
    • The Justice Dhingra Committee report on anti-Sikh riots: In its recently released report on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the report slammed the Union government and the Delhi Police.
      • It observed that a large number of crimes remained unpunished for the simple reason that there was “lack of interest shown by the police and by the authorities in handling these cases as per law or to proceed with the intention of punishing the culprits”.
      • The effort of the police and the administration “seems to have been to hush up the criminal cases concerning riots”.

    Way forward

    • Implement the recommendations of NPC: It is unfortunate that the NPC recommendations have not been acted upon even after the Supreme Court’s directions. No wonder, in the recent agitation in different states, the police have acted in the manner they did.
    • Interference of the political parties need to be reduced: The police are, no doubt, to blame for not being able to function in an objective and impartial manner. There is definitely a failure of leadership also. The political leadership need to ensure the autonomy of the police.
    • Role of media: The media cannot escape its responsibility for treating the police as a convenient punching bag from time to time and not taking up the cause of police reforms as aggressively as it should be doing.
    • Introspection by the Supreme Court: The Supreme Court would also need to introspect as to why the implementation of its directions has been so ineffective.

  • More psychological than an empowering voter option

    Context

    The recently-concluded Delhi Assembly elections were the 45th Assembly polls since the inception of the none of the above (NOTA) option in 2013. And Delhi, although mostly urban, is widely regarded as the microcosm of India.

    NOTA in Delhi

    • Delhi’s preference to NOTA is less than the national average.
    • From 0.63% in 2013, Delhi polled 0.39% of those favouring NOTA in 2015, a statistically significant reduction indeed.
      • It now increased to 46% in 2020; again statistically significant.
    • While 96% of the constituencies had a reduced percentage of NOTA votes in 2015 than 2013, the NOTA percentage has increased in 71% constituencies this year.
    • In the Lok Sabha elections, Delhi polled 0.47% and 0.52% of those favouring NOTA, in 2014 and 2019, respectively.
    • Takeaway: Roughly one in 200 voters of Delhi opted for NOTA in the last six to seven years, with relatively larger support for NOTA in reserved constituencies.

    Gujarat and Maharashtra examples

    • Interestingly, in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections, despite being 1.8%, NOTA got more votes than any political party other than the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (except the Independents).
    • Again, in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election, NOTA became a runner-up in two constituencies – Latur (Rural) and Palus-Kadegaon.
    • Do these cases mark any significant shift in the voter mindset?

    Essence and scope of NOTA

    • Not a right to reject: In 2013, India became the 14th country to institute negative voting through NOTA.
      • However, it is not a “right to reject”.
    • Toothless option: NOTA in India is a toothless option.
      • Former Chief Election Commissioner of India S.Y. Quraishi, had observed in an article: “Even if there are 99 NOTA votes out of a total of 100, and candidate X gets just one vote, X is the winner, having obtained the only valid vote. The rest will be treated as invalid or ‘no votes’.”
    • Not right to select: NOTA enfeebles the electorate as it does not empower to “select” either.
    • Democratic means to express resentment: Certainly NOTA provides democratic means to express resentment anonymously rather than boycotting the polls outright.
      • A group of women activists in Kerala out on the road urging people not to elect any candidate if no woman was present in the fray.
      • A youth group in Tamil Nadu that campaigned for NOTA as a protest vote against corruption.
    • Pleas to extend the scope of NOTA: There have been pleas to extend the scope of NOTA.
      • Recommendation of re-elections: In 2018, a former CEC, T.S. Krishnamurthy, has recommended holding elections again in those constituencies where the victory margin is less than the total numbers of NOTA.
      • Right to reject in place of NOTA: A PIL has been filed in Madras High Court seeking the full right to reject in place of NOTA.

    Cases of extending the scope of NOTA

    • Maharashtra SEC order: In June 2018, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) issued an order that said:
      • “If it is noticed while counting that NOTA has received the highest number of valid votes, the said election for that particular seat shall be countermanded and a fresh election shall be held for such a post.”
    • NOTA as a fictional candidate in Haryana: In November 2018, the SEC of Haryana went a step further and issued an order where NOTA is treated like a “fictional candidate” in municipal polls from December 2018.
      • If NOTA gets the maximum vote, none of the “real” candidates will be declared elected, and the elections will be cancelled and held afresh.
      • What is more, the candidates securing votes less than NOTA would be barred from contesting in that re-election.
    • Example from Indonesia: Interestingly, in Makassar, Indonesia, the only candidate in the 2018 election for mayor received 35,000 less votes than NOTA, which forced a repeat election in 2020.

    The optimism expressed by the Supreme Court on NOTA

    • The SC’s anticipation: While introducing NOTA, the Supreme Court anticipated that “there will be a systemic change and the political parties will be forced to accept the will of the people and field candidates who are known for their integrity.”
      • Thus, its percentage should either increase to enforce the political parties to field candidates with “integrity”.
      • Or NOTA percentage should consistently decrease if the electorates feel that the system has achieved the desired level of cleansing.
    • No increase or decrease in NOTA votes: In contrast, the share of NOTA votes in India remained around a meagre level of 1% on an average; 1.11% in the 2014 Lok Sabha, and 1.08% in 2019, if we consider constituency-wise averages.
    • What this represents? This perhaps represents a confused state of mind of the electorate. Has the perceived cynicism of Indian voters regarding the right to reject been exaggerated?

    Would NOTB- None of The Below more advantageous?

    • Last option disadvantage? Is NOTA, as the last button of all EVMs in the country, a psychological issue as far as the electorates are concerned?
    • First position on ballot advantage: A 2004 article in The Journal of Politics, have discussed the possible advantage of the first position in the ballot, at least in the U.S. context.
    • NOTB instead of NOTA: Although there is no such concrete study to gauge the Indian voter’s mindset, one wonders whether using NOTB (‘none of the below’) instead of NOTA- with such an option as the first on the electronic voting machine — might produce a significantly different outcome or not.
      • An experiment, after changing the rule suitably, can be attempted, at least.

    Conclusion

    Extending the scope of NOTA by empowering it with the right to reject along with other changes like placing NOTA at the top of EVM would help in making the election process clean and fair.

     

     

     

     

  • Rights, duties and the Constitution

    Context

    At an International Judicial Conference 2020 this weekend, the Chief Justice of India, S.A. Bobde, drew attention to the Constitution’s Fundamental Duties chapter.

    The logic of duties

    • Wide range of duties: The first thing to note is that as citizens, there exists a wide range of duties that bind us in everyday life.
      • Duties towards the state and individual: These duties are owed both to the state and to other individuals.
    • Legal duties: We have a legal duty to pay our taxes, to refrain from committing violence against our fellow-citizens, and to follow other laws that Parliament has enacted.
      • Breach of these legal duties triggers financial consequences (fines), or even time in jail.
    • Following the duties is price for living in the society: At any given time, therefore, we are already following a host of duties, which guide and constrain how we may behave.
      • This is the price that must be paid for living in society, and it is a price that nobody, at least, in principle, objects to paying.
    • Self-contained whole: Our duties and the consequences we bear for failing to keep them, therefore, exist as a self-contained whole.
      • Co-existence and sacrifice: The peaceful co-existence requires a degree of self-sacrifice, and that if necessary, this must be enforced through the set of sanctions.

    The logic of rights

    • Understanding the logic through history: Rights, on the other hand, follow a different logic entirely. This is a logic that is best understood through history.
      • Two concerns: At the time of the framing of the Indian Constitution and its chapter on Fundamental Rights, there were two important concerns animating the Constituent Assembly.
      • Treatment as subjects: The first was that under the colonial regime, Indians had been treated as subjects.
      • Their interests did not count, their voices were unheard, and in some cases — for example, the “Criminal Tribes”- they were treated as less than human.
      • Holocaust example: Apart from the long and brutal history of colonialism, the framers also had before them the recent example of the Holocaust, where the dignity of more than six million people had been stripped before their eventual genocide.
    • The first role of fundamental rights chapter: To stand as a bulwark against dehumanisation.
      • Dignity and equality guaranteed: Every human being no matter who they were or what they did had a claim to basic dignity and equality that no state could take away, no matter what the provocation.
      • Unconditional right: One did not have to successfully perform any duty, or meet a threshold of worthiness, to qualify as a rights bearer. It was simply what it meant to be human.
    • Second role of the fundamental rights: To stand against the hierarchy.
      • Removing the subordination and degradation: The axes of gender, caste and religion had all served to keep masses of individuals in permanent conditions of subordination and degradation.
      • Equalising and democratising: Through guarantees against-
      • Forced labour.
      • Against “untouchability”.
      • Against discriminatory access to public spaces, and others.
      • Fundamental rights were meant to play an equalising and democratising role throughout society, and to protect individuals against the depredations visited on them by their fellow human beings.
    • Significance of the above two roles
      • Transformative purpose: The twin principles of anti-dehumanisation and anti-hierarchy reveal the transformative purpose of the fundamental rights chapter.
      • The recognition that true democracy could not exist without ensuring that at a basic level, the dignity and equality of individuals were protected, both from the state as well as from social majorities.
      • Rise from subject to citizen: It was only with these guarantees could an individual rise from the status of subject to that of the citizen.
      • And, as should be clear by now, it was only after that transformation had been wrought, that the question of duties could even arise.
    • Importance of the language of the duty:
      • The language of duties can play an important role in a society that continues to be divided and unequal.
      • In such a society, those who possess or benefit from entrenched structural and institutional power (starting with the state, and going downwards) certainly have a “duty” not to use that power to the detriment of those upon whom they wield it.
      • That is precisely what the guarantees against “untouchability”, forced labour, and discriminatory access in the Constitution seek to accomplish.

    Issue of conflating duties and rights

    • The problem lies in the conflation of rights and duties.
    • In that context, it is always critical to remember Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s words in the Constituent Assembly (which were also cited by the CJI in his speech): that the fundamental unit of the Constitution remains the individual.
    • If the position of the individual and the Constitution’s commitment to combating hierarchy is kept in mind, then the language of duties can be understood in its proper context.
    • Chances of duties leading to unpleasant consequences: Without the moral compass of rights and their place in the transformative Constitutional scheme the language of duties can lead to unpleasant consequences.
      • It can end up entrenching existing power structures by placing the burden of “duties” upon those that are already vulnerable and marginalised.
    • The constitution is about rights: It is for this reason that, at the end of the day, the Constitution, a charter of liberation, is fundamentally about rights.

    Conclusion

    It is only after guarantee to all the full sum of humanity, dignity, equality, and freedom promised by the Constitution, that we can ask of them to do their duty. Perhaps, then, it is time to update Hind Swaraj for the constitutional age: “real duties are the result of the fulfilment of rights”.

  • Poverty and its measurement

    US President recently praised India for having lifted “over 270 million people out of poverty” in “a single decade”, and said that “12 Indian citizens are lifted out of extreme poverty every single minute of every single day”.

    What is poverty?

    • Poverty can be defined as a condition in which an individual or household lacks the financial resources to afford a basic minimum standard of living.
    • Economists and policymakers estimate “absolute” poverty as the shortfall in consumption expenditure from a threshold called the “poverty line”.
    • The “depth” of poverty indicates how far the poor are below the poverty line.

    Defining the poverty line

    • The official poverty line is the expenditure incurred to obtain the goods in a “poverty line basket” (PLB).
    • Poverty can be measured in terms of the number of people living below this line (with the incidence of poverty expressed as the head count ratio).

    Committees for poverty estimates

    • Six official committees have so far estimated the number of people living in poverty in India — the working group of 1962; V N Dandekar and N Rath in 1971; Y K Alagh in 1979; D T Lakdawala in 1993; Suresh Tendulkar in 2009; and C Rangarajan in 2014.
    • The government did not take a call on the report of the Rangarajan Committee; therefore, poverty is measured using the Tendulkar poverty line.
    • As per this, 21.9% of people in India live below the poverty line.

    Poverty Line Basket (PLB)

    • The PLB comprises goods and services considered essential to a basic minimum standard of living — food, clothing, rent, conveyance, and entertainment.
    • The price of the food component can be estimated using calorie norms or nutrition targets.
    • Until the 1990s, the calorie norms method was used — it was based on the minimum number of calories recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for a household of five members.
    • However, this method does not consider the different food groups that are essential for health — this is why the Tendulkar Committee targeted nutritional outcomes.
    • The Lakdawala Committee assumed that health and education is provided by the state — therefore, expenditure on these items was excluded from the consumption basket it proposed.
    • Since expenditure on health and education rose significantly in the 1990s, the Tendulkar Committee included them in the basket.
    • As a result of revisions to the basket and other changes in the method of estimation, the percentage of people living below the poverty line in 1993-94 rose from 35.97% to 45.3%.

    Issues with PLB

    • The PLB has been the subject of much debate. The 1962 group did not consider age and gender-specific calorie requirements.
    • Expenditure on health and education were not considered until the Tendulkar Committee — which was criticized for setting the poverty line at just Rs 32 per capita per day in urban India (and at Rs 27 in rural India).
    • And the Rangarajan Commission was criticized for selecting the food component arbitrarily — the emphasis on food as a source of nutrition overlooks the contribution of sanitation, healthcare, access to clean water, and prevalence of pollutants.

    Why are poverty numbers important?

    • Poverty numbers matter because central welfare schemes like Antyodaya Anna and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana use the definition of poverty given by the NITI Aayog or the erstwhile Planning Commission.
    • The Centre allocates funds for these schemes to states based on the numbers of their poor.
    • Errors of exclusion can deprive eligible households of benefits.

    Alternate measures of poverty: The MPI

    • In 2011, Oxford University researchers Sabina Alkire and James Foster devised the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) to capture poverty using 10 indicators.
    • These indicators include nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, ownership of assets, and access to proper house, electricity, drinking water, sanitation, and clean cooking fuel.
    • Poverty is measured in terms of deprivation in at least a third of these indicators.
    • The MPI is a more comprehensive measure of poverty because it includes components that capture the standard of living more effectively.
    • However, uses “outcomes” rather than expenditure — the presence of an undernourished person in the household will result in it being classified as “poor”, regardless of the expenditure on nutritious food.

    MPI measures of India

    • In 2015-16, 369.546 million (nearly 37 crore) Indians were estimated to meet the deprivation cut-off for three or more of the 10 indicators.
    • While the overall headcount multidimensional poverty ratio in 2015-16 was 27.9%, the number was 36.8% for rural and 9.2% for urban India.
    • There were wide variations across states — poverty was the highest for Bihar (52.5%), followed by Jharkhand (46.5%), Madhya Pradesh (41.1%), and Uttar Pradesh (40.8%).
    • It was the lowest for Kerala (1.1%), Delhi (4.2%), Punjab (6.1%), Tamil Nadu (7.3%) and Himachal Pradesh (8.1%).

    So what is the current “level” of poverty in India?

    • The National Statistical Office (NSO) Report on Household Consumer Expenditure for 2017-18 was junked in 2019 — so there are no data to update India’s poverty figures.
    • Even the MPI report published by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative used data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey, figures for which are available only until 2015-16.
    • Social scientists used data from a leaked version of the consumer expenditure data to conclude that the incidence of poverty in India increased from 31.15% to 35.1% between 2011-12 and 2017-18.
    • The absolute number of poor people also increased from 270 million to 322.22 million over the same period, which translates to 52 million more poor people in six years.