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GS Paper: GS2

  • USTR takes India off developing country list

     

    The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has published a notice, amending lists of developing and least-developed countries that are eligible for preferential treatment with respect to countervailing duties (CVD) investigations.

    New classification by US

    • To harmonise U.S. law with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) Agreement, the USTR had, in 1998, come up with lists of countries classified as per their level of development.
    • These lists were used to determine whether they were potentially subject to U.S. countervailing duties. The 1998 rule is now “obsolete” as per the USTR notice.
    • Countries not given special consideration have lower levels of protection against a CVD investigation.
    • A CVD investigation must be terminated if the offending subsidy is de minimis (too small to warrant concern) or if import volumes are negligible.
    • The de minimis thresholds and import volume allowance are more relaxed for developing and least-developed countries.

    Criteria set by US

    • The USTR used the following criteria to determine whether a country was eligible for the 2% de minimise standard:

    (1) Per capita Gross National Income or GNI

    (2) share of world trade

    (3) other factors such as Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) membership or application for membership, EU membership, and Group of Twenty (G20) membership.

    Delisting India

    • India was, until February 10, on the developing country list and therefore eligible for these more relaxed standards. It has now been taken off of that list.
    • India, along with Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam were taken off the list since they each have at least a 0.5% share of the global trade, despite having less than $12, 375 GNI (the World Bank threshold separating high-income countries from others).
    • India was taken off the list also because — like Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa — it is part of the G20.
    • Given the global economic significance of the G20, and the collective economic weight of its membership (which accounts for large shares of global economic output and trade), G20 membership indicates that a country is developed a/c to USTR.

  • Riding on data for mobility

    Context

    Data-based governance can assist in reducing traffic congestion, as illustrated by a pilot study in Hyderabad.

    How the Digital revolution is transforming lives

    • Seamless and efficient interaction: The digital revolution has made interactions between humans and machines, and among citizens, governments and businesses, seamless and efficient.
    • Helping efficient delivery of services: Today, e-governance enables and empowers citizens to directly engage with the state, thereby eliminating barriers in the delivery of public services.
    • The next wave of transformation: The next wave of transformation in digital governance is at the intersection of data and the public good.
      • Data as a strategic asset: The key to this transformation lies in incorporating data as a strategic asset in all aspects of-
      • Policy.
      • Planning.
      • Service delivery and-
      • Operations of the government.

    Transportation system improvement by leveraging Digital revolution

    • Loss caused by the congestion
      • Congestion caused an estimated $24 billion to the four metro cities in India in 2018.
      • Given the limited land resources available, the key to solving congestion lies in improving the efficiency of existing transportation systems.
    • How can Digital revolution help tackle the problem?
      • An efficient transportation system would help ease congestion, reduce travel time and cost, and provide greater convenience.
      • How it will work? Data from multiple sources such as-
      • CCTV cameras.
      • Automatic traffic 
      • Map services and-
      • Transportation service providers could be used.
    • Results of the previous studies
      • London example: A study by Transport for London estimates that its open data initiative on sharing of real-time transit data has helped add £130 million a year to London’s economy by improving productivity and efficiency.
      • Results from China: In China, an artificial intelligence-based traffic management platform developed by Alibaba has helped improve average speeds by 15%.

    Hyderabad Open Transit Data portal

    • Hyderabad Open Transit Data, launched by Open Data Telangana, is the country’s first data portal.
      • What does it do? It publishes datasets on bus stops, bus routes, metro routes, metro stations, schedules, fares, and frequency of public transit services.
    • The objective of the portal: The objective is to empower start-ups and developers to create useful mobility applications.
      • The datasets were built after an intensive exercise carried out by the Open Data Team and Telangana State Road Transport Corporation to collect, verify and digitise the data.
    • Collaboration with the private sector: Hyderabad has also begun collaborating with the private sector to improve traffic infrastructure.
      • MoU with Ola Mobility Institute: One such partnership followed a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Telangana government and Ola Mobility Institute.
      • Monitoring the quality of roads in the city: Under this collaboration, Ola has developed a tool, Ola City Sense, to provide data-based insights that can monitor the quality of Hyderabad’s roads and identify bad quality patches.
      • Other areas in which the data is used: The information thus given is useful not only for carrying out road repairs, it also helps officials take initiatives to improve road safety, monitor quality of construction, and study the role of bad roads in causing congestion.
    • A pilot project to prioritisation of repairs: A pilot was implemented in a municipal zone to gauge the efficacy of the data in supporting road monitoring and prioritisation of repairs.
      • The early results of this pilot project were encouraging. The dashboard helped city officials plan the pre-monsoon repair work and budget for repairs last year.

    Conclusion

    • The willingness of the government to apply data-based insights: The Hyderabad project and the pilot demonstrated the willingness of government departments to apply data-based insights for better decision making.
      • This could also serve as a model for other cities to emulate.
    • Making the departments data-centric: The Hyderabad example also shows that governments can make their departments data-centric by-
      • Institutionalising data collection.
      • Building technology platforms.
      • And helping the departments develop the capacity to handle the insights generated from the data.
      • Smart cities as a starting point: Command and control centres under the ‘smart cities’ initiative can be an ideal starting point.
      • Data security and privacy: Such interventions, however, also need to address genuine concerns around data security and privacy.

     

     

  • Nutrition and the Budget’s fine print

    Context

    There are well-equipped schemes to address the malnutrition, plugging the policy gaps is the problem.

    Nutrition and hunger in India

    • Global Hunger Index rank 102: A few months ago, the Global Hunger Index, reported that India suffers from “serious” hunger, ranked 102 out of 117 countries.
    • Only one-tenth of children getting proper diet: Just a tenth of children between six to 23 months are fed a minimum acceptable diet.
    • Urgency reflected in the budget: The urgency around nutrition was reflected in the Union Finance Minister’s Budget speech, as she referred to the “unprecedented” scale of developments under the scheme for Holistic Nutrition, or POSHAN Abhiyaan, the National Nutrition Mission with efforts to track the status of 10 crore households.
    • The Economic Survey notes that “Food is not just an end in itself but also an essential ingredient in the growth of human capital and therefore important for national wealth creation”.
    • How malnutrition affects? Malnutrition affects cognitive ability, workforce days and health, impacting as much as 16% of GDP (World Food Programme and World Bank).

    Addressing Nutrition through Agriculture

    • Multiple dimension of malnutrition: There are multiple dimensions of malnutrition that include-
      • Calorific deficiency.
      • Protein hunger.
      • Micronutrient deficiency.
    • Addressing the issue through Agriculture: An important approach to address nutrition is through agriculture.
      • The Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh which was launched in 2019 is a recent attempt to bridge this gap.
      • The krishi kosh was launched by Ministry of Women and Child Development along with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
      • Existing schemes can well address India’s malnutrition dilemma. Following is the analysis of budgetary allocation and expenditure in the previous year.

    First- Calorific deficiency

    • The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme provides a package of services including-
      • Supplementary nutrition.
      • Nutrition and health education.
      • Health check-ups and
      • Referral services addressing children, pregnant and lactating mothers and adolescent girls, key groups to address community malnutrition, and which also tackle calorific deficiency and beyond.
      • Underutilisation of funds: For 2019-20, the allotment was ₹27,584.37 crore but revised estimates are ₹24,954.50 crore, which points to an underutilisation of resources.
      • Which area needs the emphasis: The allocation this year is marginally higher, but clearly, the emphasis needs to be on implementation.
    • Mid-Day Meal Scheme: Another pathway to address hunger is the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, to enhance the nutrition of schoolchildren.
      • Here too, the issue is not with allocation but with expenditure.
      • The 2019-20 Budget allocation was ₹11,000 crore and revised estimates are only ₹9,912 crores.

    Second-Protein Hunger

    • Contribution of pulses: Pulses are a major contributor to address protein hunger.
      • Underutilisation of funds: A scheme for State and Union Territories aims to reach pulses into welfare schemes (Mid-Day Meal, Public Distribution System, ICDS) has revised estimates standing at just ₹370 crores against ₹800 crore allocation in the 2019-20 Budget.

    Third-micronutrient deficiency

    • Horticulture Mission: The Horticulture Mission can be one of the ways to address micronutrient deficiency effectively, but here too implementation is low.
      • Revised estimates for 2019-20 stand at ₹1,583.50 crores against an allocation of ₹2,225 crores.
    • National Millet Mission: In 2018-19, the Government of India launched a national millet mission which included renaming millets as “nutri-cereals” also launching a Year of Millets in 2018-19 to promote nutritious cereals in a campaign mode across the country.
      • This could have been further emphasised in the Budget as well as in the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) which includes millets.
      • Under-utilisation of funds: The NFSM strains to implement the allocation of ₹2,000 crores during 2019-20, as revised expenditures stand at ₹1,776.90 crore.
      • Need to sustain the momentum: As millets have the potential to address micronutrient deficiencies, the momentum given to these cereals needs to be sustained.

    POSHAN Abhiyan and issues involved

    • 72% expenditure on technology: The National Nutrition Mission which is a major initiative to address malnutrition, had 72% of total expenditure going into “Information and Communication Technology.
      • Misplaced focus: The focus of the bulk of the funding has been on technology, whereas, actually, it is a convergence that is crucial to address nutrition.
      • Under-utilisation of funds: Only 34% of funds released by the Government of India were spent from FY 2017-18 to FY 2019-20 till November 30, 2019.
      • Limiting the possibility of an increase in the allocation: With underspending, allocations for subsequent years will also be affected, limiting the possibility of increasing budgets and the focus on nutrition schemes.

    Agriculture-nutrition link

    • The agriculture-nutrition link is another piece of the puzzle.
    • Link not explicitly mentioned: While agriculture dominated the initial Budget speech, the link between agriculture and nutrition was not explicit.
      • Why the link is important: The link is important because about three-fifths of rural households are agricultural in India (National Sample Survey Office, 70th round)
      • The malnutrition rates, particularly in rural areas are high (National Family Health Survey-4).
      • Need for greater emphasis: Agriculture-nutrition linkage schemes have the potential for greater impact and need greater emphasis.

    Way forward

    • Focus: Focus on nutrition-related interventions, beyond digitisation.
    • Bring all departments in one place: Intensify the convergence component of POSHAN Abhiyaan, using the platform to bring all departments in one place to address nutrition.
    • Nutrition based activities by farmer-producer: Direct the announcement to form 10,000 farmer producer organisations with an allocation of ₹500 crores to nutrition-based activities.
    • Youth schemes: Promotion of youth schemes to be directed to nutrition-agriculture link activities in rural areas.
    • Emphasis on fund allocation: Give explicit emphasis and fund allocation to agriculture-nutrition linked schemes.
    • Early disbursement and utilisation of funds: Ensure early disbursement of funds and optimum utilisation of schemes linked to nutrition.

    Conclusion

    Nutrition goes beyond just food, with economic, health, water sanitation, gender perspectives and social norms contributing to better nutrition. This is why the implementation of multiple schemes can contribute to better nutrition.

     

  • Medical Devices (Amendment) Rules, 2020

    The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified changes in the Medical Devices Rules, 2017 to regulate medical devices on the same lines as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

    Medical Devices (Amendment) Rules, 2020

    • These rules are applicable to devices intended for internal or external use in the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of disease or disorder in human beings or animals” (as notified by the ministry).
    • It requires online registration of these devices “with the Central Licensing Authority through an identified online portal established by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation for this purpose.
    • Among the information that the manufacturer has to upload are “name & address of the company or firm or any other entity manufacturing the medical device along with name and address of manufacturing site.
    • It also need to upload certificate of compliance with respect to ISO 13485 standard accredited by National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies or International Accreditation Forum.
    • This would mean that every medical device, either manufactured in India or imported, will have to have quality assurance before they can be sold anywhere in the country.
    • After furnishing of the above information a registration number will be generated. Manufacturer shall mention the registration number on the label of the medical device.

    What are the items covered under the new Rules?

    • A large number of commonly used items including hypodermic syringes and needles, cardiac stents, perfusion sets, catheters, orthopaedic implants, bone cements, lenses, sutures, internal prosthetic replacements etc are covered under the new rules.
    • For some items such as sphygmomanometers (used to monitor blood pressure), glucometers (to check blood sugar), thermometers, CT scan and MRI equipment, dialysis and X-ray machines, implants etc, different deadlines for compliance have been set.
    • For example for the first three, it is January 2021, for the others it is April next year. For ultrasound equipment, it is November 2020.

    Is this a sudden move?

    • This has been in the offing for some time now.
    • In October last year, the ministry had circulated copies of the then proposed notification for public comments following recommendations of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), which is the highest technical body for these decisions and has experts among its members.
    • In April last year, the DTAB had recommended that all medical devices should be notified as “drugs” under the drug regulation law to ensure they maintain safety and quality standards.
    • The notification makes it clear that the government has issued it in consultation with the DTAB.

    Why was the move required?

    • For much of the last one year, the health sector has been at the centre of attention following revelations about faulty hip implants marketed by pharma major Johnson & Johnson.
    • This has caused major embarrassment to the government, too, as it exposed the lack of regulatory teeth when it came to medical devices.
    • The matter dragged on, exposing the regulatory loopholes until finally the company agreed in court to pay Rs 25 lakh each to the 67 people who had had to undergo revision surgeries because the implants were defective.
    • That is really where the discussion started about regulation of medical devices.

    What are the penal provisions under Indian law?

    • There are various penal provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 for various kinds of offences. Manufacture or sale of substandard items is punishable with imprisonment of at least 10 years, which may extend to imprisonment for life.
    • There is also a provision for fine that will “not be less than Rs 10 lakh rupees or three times value of the confiscated items”.

  • Novel Coronavirus renamed as COVID-19 by WHO

    The World Health Organization (WHO) gave an official name to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The death toll from the virus has now crossed 1,000 and the disease has infected tens of thousands of people, the majority of them in China.

    COVID-19

    • The disease will be called “COVID-19”; the “CO” stands for coronavirus, “VI” for virus and “D” for disease.
    • The coronavirus itself is called “nCoV-2019”.

    WHO nomenclature

    • The WHO, in consultation with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has identified best practices for naming new human diseases.
    1. These best practices apply to a new disease:
    2. That is an infection, syndrome, or disease of humans;
    3. That has never been recognised before in humans;
    4. That has potential public health impact; and
    5. Where no disease name is yet established in common usage
    • Names that are assigned by the WHO may or may not be approved by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) at a later stage.
    • The ICD, which is also managed by the WHO, provides a final standard name for each human disease according to standard guidelines that are aimed at reducing the negative impact from names while balancing science, communication and policy.

    Terms to avoid

    • The agreed best practices include advice on what the disease names should not include, such as geographic location (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Spanish Flu, Japanese encephalitis).
    • Disease names should not include people’s names (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Chagas disease), the species or class of animal or food (swine flu, monkeypox etc.), cultural or occupational references (miners, butchers, cooks, nurses etc.) and terms that incite “undue fear” such as death, fatal and epidemic.
    • The use of names such as “swine flu” and “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome” has had “unintended negative impacts” by stigmatising certain communities and economic sectors.

    Terms to include

    • The best practices include using generic descriptive terms such as respiratory diseases, hepatitis, neurologic syndrome, watery diarrhoea.
    • They include using specific descriptive terms that may indicate the age group of the patients and the time course of the disease, such as progressive, juvenile or severe.
    • If the causative pathogen is known, it should be used as part of the disease name with additional descriptors such as the year when the disease was first reported or detected.
    • The names should also be short (rabies, malaria, polio) and should be consistent with the guidelines under the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) Content Model Reference Guide.
    • As per the WHO, “severe” should be used only for those diseases that have a very high initial case fatality rate. “Novel” can be used to indicate a new pathogen of a previously known type
    • In the case of the novel coronavirus, “recognizing that this term will become obsolete if other new pathogens of that type are identified”, the WHO has now changed its name.

  • ‘2 Billion Kilometers to Safety’ campaign

     

    The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has announced a new global campaign urging people worldwide to cover the total distance travelled by refugees each year – 2 billion kilometers – by running, jogging or walking.

    About the campaign

    • The “2 Billion Kilometers to Safety” campaign vies to encourage people to support refugees by championing individual acts of solidarity.
    • The goal is to acknowledge the resilience and strength of refugees.
    • It calls on the public to show their solidarity with refugees by running, walking or cycling to collectively cover two billion kilometers.
    • Participants can use their fitness apps or the campaign website to log the kilometers and contribute to the global total.

    Distance covered by refugees 

    • UNHCR traced the journeys of refugees around the world and calculated that, collectively, people forced to flee travel approximately two billion kilometers every year to reach the first point of safety.
    • This is roughly the distance that separates Earth from somewhere between the planets Saturn and Uranus.
    • According to UNHCR estimates, Syrian refugees travelled over 240 kilometers each to reach Turkey.
    • South Sudanese refugees travelled more than 640 kilometers to reach Kenya. Rohingya refugees from Myanmar travelled approximately 80 kilometers to reach Bangladesh.

  • Six years on, Lokpal is a non-starter

    Context

    More than six years after the Lokpal law received the President’s assent, the institution of the Lokpal is yet to play any significant role in tackling corruption in the country.

    Delay in appointment

    • Five-year delay in appointment: For more than five years, the chairperson and members of the Lokpal were not appointed.
      • LoP issue: The government claimed that since no one could be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) after the 2014 general election, the committee responsible for selecting members of the Lokpal could not be constituted.
      • This malady could have been easily remedied by either recognising the leader of the single largest party in Opposition in the Lok Sabha as the LoP, or by amendment as was done for the selection committee of the CBI Director.
      • However, neither recourse was taken.

    Truncated appointment committee

    • Special invitee: The leader of the largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha was invited for meetings of the selection committee as a ‘special invitee’.
      • Which he declined on grounds that it was mere tokenism.

    Non-starter

    • More than 10 months later, however, evidence suggests that the Lokpal is a non-starter.
    • No rules prescribing the form: Till date, the government has not made rules prescribing the form for filing complaints to the Lokpal.
    • No rules regarding asset disclosure: The Central government has also failed to formulate rules regarding asset disclosure by public servants.
    • In order to ensure independent and credible action on allegations of corruption, the Lokpal was empowered under the law to set up its own inquiry wing headed by a Director of Inquiry and its own prosecution wing headed by a Director of Prosecution.
    • The Inquiry and prosecution wing not set up yet: The inquiry and prosecution wings of the anti-corruption ombudsman are yet to be set up.
      • The Lokpal has also not appointed the Director of Inquiry or Prosecution.
      • Regulations for inquiry and investigation not made: Regulations which the Lokpal was obligated to make under the law are yet to be made, including those specifying the manner and procedure of conducting preliminary inquiry and investigation.
    • Legal veracity of the decisions uncertain: Since necessary procedures to operationalise the law are yet to be put in place, the legal veracity of the decisions of the Lokpal could potentially be challenged in a court of law.

    Conclusion

    The failure to operationalise the Lokpal in an effective manner lays bare the lack of will of the government. It took nearly half a century for the Lokpal law to be enacted from the time the need for the oversight institution was first articulated. The government must act to have an effective, independent and empowered Lokpal.

  • SC uphold changes in SC/ST Atrocities Law

     

    The Supreme Court has upheld the SCs/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act of 2018, which nullified it’s own controversial March 20, 2018 judgement.  Earlier judgment had diluted the original 1989 legislation, saying they were using its provisions to file false criminal complaints against innocent persons.

    Why such ruling?

    • The 2018 Act had nullified a March 20 judgment of the Supreme Court, which allowed anticipatory bail to those booked for committing atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes members.
    • The original 1989 Act bars anticipatory bail.
    • The Supreme Court verdict saw a huge backlash across the country. Several died in ensuing protests and property worth crores of rupees was destroyed.
    • The government reacted by filing a review petition in the Supreme Court and subsequently amended the 1989 Act back into its original form.
    • The government had enacted the Amendments, saying the SCs and STs continued to face the same social stigma, poverty and humiliation which they had been subjected to for centuries.

    Why was the SC/ST Act enacted?

    • Since crimes against SCs and STs are fundamentally hate crimes, the Rajiv Gandhi enacted the Act in 1989.
    • It gave furtherance to the provisions for abolition of untouchability (Article 17) and equality (Articles 14, 15).

    Why it was amended?

    • The Bench reasoned that human failing and not caste is the reason behind the lodging of false criminal complaints.
    • The Supreme Court condemned its own earlier judgment, saying it was against “basic human dignity” to treat all SC/ST community members as “a liar or crook.”
    • Caste of a person cannot be a cause for lodging a false report, the verdict observed.
    • Members of the SCs and STs, due to backwardness, cannot even muster the courage to lodge an FIR, much less, a false one, the judgment noted.

    The Subhash Kashinath Mahajan case

    • Mahajan was Director of Technical Education in Maharashtra.
    • Two non-SC officers had made an adverse entry on the character and integrity of a Dalit employee, whom Mahajan in 2011 denied sanction for prosecution against those officers.
    • The denial was challenged on the ground that the state government and not the director was the competent authority.
    • The apex Court held that safeguards against blackmail are necessary as by way of rampant misuse, complaints are largely being filed against public servants with oblique motive for the satisfaction of vested interests.

    In what manner had the 2018 judgment diluted provisions for arrest?

    ANTICIPATORY BAIL

    • In section 18 of the Act, Parliament had laid down that the provision of anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the CrPC of 1973 will not be available to an accused under the Act.
    • The provision of anticipatory bail was introduced for the first time on the recommendation of 41st Law Commission in 1973.
    • It is a statutory right, not part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, and thus there is no fundamental right to anticipatory bail.
    • In the 2018 judgment, the Court laid down safeguards, including provisions for anticipatory bail and a “preliminary enquiry” before registering a case under the Act.
    • While review the Bench said Section 18 was enacted to instil a sense of deterrence and relied on Kartar Singh (1994) in which the court had held that denial of anticipatory bail does not violate Article 21.

    FIR

    • The court had observed that “liberty of one cannot be sacrificed to protect another”, and the “Atrocities Act cannot be converted into charter for exploitation or oppression by unscrupulous persons or by police for extraneous reasons”.
    • He ordered that neither is an FIR to be immediately registered nor are arrests to be made without a preliminary inquiry by an SSP.
    • An arrest can only be made if there is “credible” information and police officer has “reason to believe” that an offence was committed.
    • In the review judgment, Justice Mishra said public servants already have a remedy in false cases under CrPC Section 482 and can get such FIRs quashed by High Courts.
    • He rejected the need of an SSP’s approval for arrest.

    PERMISSION

    • In 2018, the court had said that even if a preliminary inquiry is held and a case registered, arrest is not necessary, and that no public servant is to be arrested without the written permission of the appointing authority.
    • The court extended the benefit to other citizens and said they cannot be arrested without the written permission of the SSP of the district.
    • In review the court said that the decision on arrest is to be taken by the investigating authority, not the appointing authority.

    Were other provisions diluted?

    • The court had observed that interpretation of Atrocities Act should promote constitutional values of fraternity and integration of the society.
    • This may require ‘check on false implication of innocent citizens on caste lines’.
    • Observing that the law should not result in caste hatred, the court overlooked the fact that the Act had to be enacted due to caste hatred.
    • The review judgment said that such riders for registering a report are wrong and it would give an advantage to upper castes whose complaints can be registered without any such inquiry.

    How frequently do SCs/STs face atrocities?

    • A crime is committed against an SC every 15 minutes. Six SC women are raped every day on an average.
    • Between 2007 and 2017, there was a 66 per cent growth in crimes against SCs.
    • Data from the National Crime Record Bureau, which the 2018 judgment was based on, showed cases of rape of SC women had doubled in 10 years.

    Assist this newscard with:

    [Burning Issue] SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act

  • Private Members Bill

    A member in Rajya Sabha appeared to abandon his plan of introducing a private member’s Bill on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a code that would be applicable to all religious communities in personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.

    Private Member’s Bill

    • A private member’s Bill is different from a government Bill and is piloted by an MP who is not a minister. An MP who is not a minister is a private member.
    • Individual MPs may introduce private member’s Bill to draw the government’s attention to what they might see as issues requiring legislative intervention.

    Difference between private and government Bills

    • While both private members and ministers take part in the lawmaking process, Bills introduced by private members are referred to as private member’s Bills and those introduced by ministers are called government Bills.
    • Government Bills are backed by the government and also reflect its legislative agenda.
    • The admissibility of a Private Bill is decided by the Chairman in the case of the Rajya Sabha and the Speaker in the case of the Lok Sabha.
    • Before the Bill can be listed for introduction, the Member must give at least a month’s notice, for the House Secretariat to examine it for compliance with constitutional provisions and rules on legislation.
    • While a government Bill can be introduced and discussed on any day, a private member’s bill can only be introduced and discussed on Fridays.

    Has a private member’s bill ever become a law?

    • No private member’s Bill has been passed by Parliament since 1970.
    • To date, Parliament has passed 14 such Bills, six of them in 1956.
    • In the 14th Lok Sabha, of the over 300 private member’s Bills introduced, roughly four per cent were discussed, the remaining 96 per cent lapsed without a single dialogue.
    • The selection of Bills for discussion is done through a ballot.

  • Arsenic Contamination

    As the geography of arsenic contamination spreads, there is an urgent need for governments to reorient mitigation measures. That’s because the focus till now has only been on drinking water, but new research says arsenic has contaminated our food chain.

    Arsenic contamination of water

    • Arsenic contamination in groundwater is one of the most crippling issues in the drinking water scenario of India.
    • According to the latest report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), 21 states across the country have pockets with arsenic levels higher than the BIS stipulated permissible limit of 0.01 milligram per litre (mg/l).
    • The states along the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river basin — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam — are the worst affected by this human-amplified geogenic occurrence.
    • In India, arsenic contamination was first officially confirmed in West Bengal in 1983.
    • Close to four decades after its detection, the scenario has worsened.
    • About 9.6 million people in West Bengal, 1.6 million in Assam, 1.2 million in Bihar, 0.5 million in Uttar Pradesh and 0.013 million in Jharkhand are at immediate risk from arsenic contamination in groundwater.

    Effects of arsenic poisoning

    • Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water can cause cancer in the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney. It can also cause other skin changes such as thickening and pigmentation.
    • The likelihood of effects is related to the level of exposure to arsenic and in areas where drinking water is heavily contaminated, these effects can be seen in many individuals in the population.
    • Increased risks of lung and bladder cancer and skin changes have been reported in people ingesting arsenic in drinking water at concentrations of 50 µg/litre, or even lower.

    Affecting food

    • Recent research says arsenic contamination in groundwater has penetrated the food chain.
    • It eventually causes photo-accumulation of arsenic in the food crops, especially in the leaves, can emanate from contaminated water sprayed on them.
    • Yet the focus remained on drinking water, and the affected regions became the primary stake-holder in the mitigation approach.

    Way forward

    • Mitigation measures — that are currently focused on drinking water — must have a more comprehensive approach to ensure arsenic-free water for drinking and agricultural products.
    • That means that the government must check for arsenic in water used for agricultural produce.
    • Both the Union and state governments must work toward facilitating research that can investigate the accumulation of arsenic in crops and addressing the agricultural concerns of the affected regions.
    • They must watch out for arsenic percolation in the food chain and the possibilities of biomagnification.
    • The government needs to also conduct a larger study on the arsenic contamination of our food chain and its health impacts to understand its spatial spread through the agricultural supply chain.