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GS Paper: GS3

  • Mother Nature a ‘living being’ with legal entity: Madras HC

    Holding that it is the right time to confer juristic status to ‘Mother Nature’, Justice S. Srimathy of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court invoked the ‘parens patriae jurisdiction’, and declared ‘Mother Nature’ as a ‘living being’ having the status of a legal entity.

    What is the news?

    • The Madras HC observed that ‘Mother Nature’ was accorded the rights akin to fundamental rights, legal rights, constitutional rights for its survival, safety, sustenance and resurgence in order to maintain its status and also to promote its health and well-being.

    Legal rights for nature: A backgrounder

    • The movement for legal personhood for the environment and animals began in the 1970s.
    • This concept was articulated by Christopher D. Stone in his thesis, Should Trees Have Standing.
    • In this compelling piece, the author makes an argument for the environment to have independent legal rights, much like what was granted by the judgment of the Uttarakhand High Court in 2017.
    • He highlights how the theory of rights has developed over the years and that many inanimate objects have both rights and legal duties. They can sue and be sued.

    What is the case for Madras HC’s personification of nature?

    • The Madras HC has made a personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it, in the form of the mother.
    • It observed that the court is hereby declaring ‘Mother Nature’ a ‘living being’ having the status of a legal person with all corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person, in order to preserve and conserve it.
    • The State and Central governments are directed to protect ‘Mother Nature’ and take appropriate steps in this regard in all possible ways.

    A different course: Ecological Jurisprudence

    • The onset of climate change and the potential mass extinction of species is accompanied by the gradual closing window of opportunity to take meaningful action.
    • Activists around the world are calling for anthropocentric legal and governance systems to be replaced with ecocentric ones.
    • The last 15 years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of laws based on ecological jurisprudence.
    • Ecological jurisprudence is a philosophy that sees nature not as a set of objects to be exploited but as a community of subjects (humans and non-humans) who are connected through interdependent, reciprocal relationships.

    India’s typical case

    • In 2017, the Uttarakhand HC ruled (in two separate orders) that the Ganga, the Yamuna, their tributaries, and the glaciers and catchments feeding these rivers in Uttarakhand had rights as a “juristic/legal person/living entity”.
    • In 2018, the same HC ruled that the entire animal kingdom had rights similar to that of a living person (Narayan Dutt Bhatt vs Union of India).
    • In March 2020, the Punjab and Haryana High Court passed an order declaring the Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh city a living entity, with rights equivalent to that of a person.

    Beyond Rights

    • Law is a modern human construct. It not only talks in the language of rights and duties that only humans understand but also operationalizes them in a way that can further entrench human-centeredness.
    • In most cases where nature’s rights are recognized in law, they have done so by extending to it the concept of “personhood” in other words, akin to humans and, therefore, having human rights.
    • Hence, any such movement on recognizing the rights of the rest of nature must challenge the fundamental forms of injustices, including capitalism, stateism, anthropocentrism and patriarchy.

    Significance of such status

    • These rights-based laws granting legal personhood for nature aim to shift the legal status of the natural world from being human property to living entities in their own right and subjects of law.
    • This guarantees their right to exist, thrive, evolve and maintain their natural cycles.
    • These rights are not conferred by humans; it is a recognition that these rights have always existed.
    • It lays upon humans the duty to act as guardians for the more-than-human world.

    Issues of implementation

    • Assuming that these rights are recognised, nature or any of its entity cannot represent itself in a court of law.
    • Moreover there is the issue of custodianship.

    What would account for violations?

    • The Uttarakhand court order did not mention what amounted to violation of rights of rivers.
    • In order to be able to truly exercise the rights and implement appropriate redressal, there is a need for a comprehensive definition of the actions that amount to “violation of the rights”.
    • Say, the violation of the rights of rivers may be defined as “any obstruction or impediment that disables the entity from performing its essential ecological functions”.

    Restitution and compensation

    • The New Zealand law has an extensive section lending itself to restitutive, restorative and compensatory action.
    • It acknowledged the government’s decisions and actions for more than a century that resulted in the violation of the health of the Whanganui and the rights, culture and well-being of the indigenous people living along the river.
    • Several specific examples were given, including the dismantling of traditional structures for fishing and river use, a hydroelectric project and mining.
    • Such an acknowledgment is a necessary first step towards seeking appropriate restitutive and compensatory measures.

    Another question: Bioregional Governance

    • Recognizing river ecosystems or other entities of nature as having rights offers the possibility of managing and governing habitats based on the ecological realities of the region.
    • It brings out the bizarre fact that the human-drawn nation state, and political lines on maps in various parts of the world have created conflict situations or disrupted ancient cultural and ecological flows and relations.
    • We need to begin reimagining governance from a bioregional governance point of view.
    • This would also mean bridging the gap between the customary ways of decision making and the current legal frameworks.
    • There is a need for more imaginative lawyers, activists and judges to help move towards an eco-centric and diverse legal framework.

    Way forward

    • There is a need for a comprehensive system to implement and protect their rights.
    • The rights can be safeguarded using the principles of custodianship.
    • The Uttarakhand High Court order named several government functionaries and a couple of independent lawyers as “parents”.
    • An alternative solution is that custodianship or guardianship be given to a body of local communities associated with the river.
    • These communities have traditional or customary rights of the river such as fisherfolk, farmers along the riverbank, and people directly engaged in river-related services.

     

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  • Managing the fiscal shock of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

    Context

    The Union Budget 2022-23 received a great deal of attention even before the financial year began due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the consequent rise in inflation. There has been considerable speculation on whether the fiscal targets will be altered due to the evolving conditions.

    Estimate of GDP

    •  The critical estimate of GDP growth assumed for this year has certainly changed, with the RBI also adjusting its earlier forecast.
    • However, the budget was conservative to begin with, assuming an 11.1 per cent growth estimate on which its revenue collection targets were based.
    • Given that real GDP growth has been scaled down by the RBI to 7.2 per cent, and as inflation has gone up, on balance, the 11.1 per cent assumption looks tenable.
    • Hence, inflation has been a positive for the government in this respect.

    Tax collection

    • Another positive that emerged last year was that overall tax collections were even more buoyant than expected.
    • From the budgeted figure of Rs 22.17 lakh crore, the revised estimates raised the target to Rs 25.16 lakh crore.
    • In comparison, actual collections have turned out to be even higher at Rs 27.07 lakh crore.
    • If this buoyancy is maintained, then the government can expect the 2022-23 target of Rs 27.57 lakh crore to be exceeded by around Rs 2.5 lakh crore (of this, around 30 per cent will go to the states).
    • This additional revenue would ideally flow from enhanced GST collections, corporate tax, and customs.
    • Central to GST collections increasing is private consumption.
    • Today, high inflation erodes the purchasing power of households, which will divert a larger portion of their incomes for necessities that have become expensive.
    • Therefore, there will be uncertainty here. 
    • Corporates did well last year as they did manage to pass on higher input costs to the consumers, especially in the second half of the year.
    • Can they do it for the second time is the question.
    • High growth in trade volumes led to the government raking in higher customs collections. W
    • ith global growth set to slow down in 2022, a similar flow is unlikely.

    Excise collection and challenges

    • The government will be watchful of excise collections as it is possible that rising fuel prices will lead to lower consumption.
    • Also, in case crude oil continues on the current path and remains in the region of $100-120/barrel, a call may have to be taken by the government on the excise duty: Once the prices of diesel and petrol remain at a new threshold, there will be a tendency for freight rates to be increased permanently.
    • This will have a secondary impact on inflation. 

    Disinvestment challenges

    • On the revenue side, the LIC disinvestment that was to happen last year will materialise this year.
    • The disinvestment has been pushed through for May, but would be of a much lower amount (around Rs 21,000 crore) than envisaged earlier.
    • It will be interesting to see if this would be a part of the Rs 65,000 crore target for this year.

    Uncertainty on the expenditure side

    • The biggest concern will be the fertiliser subsidy, which has been a volatile expenditure item.
    • Higher prices of natural gas have meant that fertilisers have been more expensive and so, the budgeted amount of Rs 1.05 lakh crore will have to be revisited.
    • With inflation already high and agriculture expected to be the bright spot again, the government cannot risk ignoring the subsidy element on fertilisers because there can be an impact on farm product prices.
    • The food subsidy will also need to be examined.
    • The present rise in food prices globally has meant that there is a good global market, especially for wheat.
    • Exports for wheat and maize might rise but can distort the procurement process.

    Interest rate and its implications for borrowing

    • The budget had assumed that interest rates would be stable.
    • However, conditions have changed quite quickly with bond yields moving up by almost 50 bps for the 10-year G-secs.
    • This will mean that the entire Rs 15.95 lakh crore of gross borrowing will have to be carried out at a higher cost.
    • This can result in an additional Rs 8,000 crore of interest if the 50 basis points increase holds through the year. There could be an upward bias if rates go up further.

    Conclusion

    The longer the conflict continues the greater will be the impact. While the government has adeptly managed the fiscal numbers in the last couple of years, this year will be particularly challenging considering the nature of the shock.

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  • How to shock-proof India’s power sector

    Context

    The reports of coal-shortage induced power outages across states continue to pour in.

    Reasons for volatility in the power sector

    • Demand-supply mismatch: As economic activity resumed after the Covid-induced lockdowns, the demand-supply mismatch for commodities such as coal widened globally, leading to a surge in prices.
    • Geopolitical factors: Global supply disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict have sent coal prices touching historical highs.
    • The cost of imported coal in India is expected to be 35 per cent higher in the fiscal year 2022-23 compared to the past year.
    • Sudden rise in energy demand: Even as coal stocks available with state thermal power plants fell, India also witnessed a sudden rise in energy demand in March — the hottest in its recorded history.

    Suggestions to make the power sector resilient

    • The Ministry of Power has taken a host of measures to alleviate the crisis.
    • This includes giving directions to ensure maximum production of coal at captive mines, rationing of coal to non-power sectors, and a price cap of Rs 12 per unit on electricity traded on exchanges.
    • But we need to do more to enhance the sector’s resilience to such disruptions from exogenous factors.

    1] Create an enabling ecosystem to ensure power plants work efficiently

    • India has about 200 GW of coal-based generation capacity which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the total electricity generated in the country.
    • However, according to a CEEW assessment, a disproportionate share of generation comes from older inefficient plants, while the newer and efficient ones remain idle for want of favourable coal supply contracts or power purchase agreements.
    • Revisiting fuel allocation and supporting the priority dispatch of efficient plants could help India reduce coal demand by up to 6 per cent of our annual requirement, and set aside more coal for the proverbial rainy day.

    2] Smart assessment and management of demand

    •  Enable discoms to undertake smart assessment and management of demand.
    • We have advanced tools for medium- and short-term demand forecasting.
    • However, few discoms have embraced these to inform their procurement decisions.
    • Introducing time-of-day pricing and promoting efficient consumption behaviour would help shave peak demand and avoid panic buying in the market.

    3] Empower electricity regulators to help bring down discom losses

    • Despite two decades of sectoral reforms, the aggregate losses of discoms stand at 21 per cent (2019-20).
    • This is reflective of both operational inefficiency and poor recovery of dues from consumers, including those affiliated with state governments and municipal bodies.
    • These losses are also the reason for discoms not being able to pay the generators on time, resulting in payment delays to Coal India, which, in turn, is reluctant to supply coal on request.
    • Infuse payment discipline: Besides the ongoing initiatives like introducing smart meters and network strengthening, empowering regulators would be critical to infuse payment discipline across the supply chain of the electricity sector and to keep cost recovery as a key metric.

    Conclusion

    Given the country’s development aspirations, India’s power demand is set to rise substantially and become more variable. We need to act now for the long-term resilience of India’s power sector.

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  • Keen on lifting AFSPA from NE: PM

    The PM informed that AFSPA could be withdrawn partially from Assam, Manipur and Nagaland (from April 1) due to peaceful conditions since 2014.

    What is the news?

    • The AFSPA will now be applicable fully only in 31 districts and partially in 12 districts of four states in the Northeast Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
    • These four states together comprise 90 districts.
    • The AFSPA was completely withdrawn in Meghalaya in 2018, Tripura in 2015 and Mizoram in the 1980s.

    Immediate reasons for withdrawal

    • The Northeast has lived under the shadow of AFSPA for nearly 60 years, creating a feeling of alienation from the rest of the country.
    • The move is expected to help demilitarise the region; it will lift restrictions of movements through check points and frisking of residents.
    • Years of AFSPA regime has had psychological consequences, trauma and alienation of the people.

    AFSPA: A Backgrounder

    • The AFSPA, 1958 came into force in the context of insurgency in the North-eastern States decades ago.
    • It provides “special power” to the Armed Forces applies to the Army, the Air Force and the Central Paramilitary forces etc.
    • It has been long contested debate whether the “special powers” granted under AFSPA gives total immunity to the armed forces for any action taken by them.

    Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958

    • Armed Forces Special Powers Act, to put it simply, gives armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas.”
    • AFSPA gives armed forces the authority use force or even open fire after giving due warning if they feel a person is in contravention of the law.
    • The Act further provides that if “reasonable suspicion exists”, the armed forces can also arrest a person without warrant; enter or search premises without a warrant; and ban the possession of firearms.

    What are the Special Powers?

    The ‘special powers’ which are spelt out under Section 4 provide that:

    (a) Power to use force, including opening fire, even to the extent of causing death if prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more persons or carrying arms and weapons, etc are in force in the disturbed area;

    (b) Power to destroy structures used as hide-outs, training camps, or as a place from which attacks are or likely to be launched, etc;

    (c) Power to arrest without warrant and to use force for the purpose;

    (d) Power to enter and search premises without a warrant to make arrest or recovery of hostages, arms and ammunition and stolen property etc.

    What are the Disturbed Areas?

    • A disturbed area is one that is declared by notification under Section 3 of the AFSPA.
    • As per Section 3, it can be invoked in places where “the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”.

    Who can declare/notify such areas?

    • The Central Government or the Governor of the State or administrator of the Union Territory can declare the whole or part of the State or Union Territory as a disturbed area.
    • A suitable notification would have to be made in the Official Gazette.

    Presently active ‘Disturbed Areas’

    • AFSPA is currently in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, 3 districts of Arunachal Pradesh, and areas falling within the jurisdiction of 8 police stations in Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam.
    • In Jammu and Kashmir, a separate law Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 has been in force.

    AFSPA: Is it a License to Kill?

    While the operation of the Section has been controversial in itself, it has attracted much criticism when actions have resulted in the death of civilians.

    • Power to kill: Section 4 of the Act granted officers the authority to “take any action” even to the extent to cause the death.
    • Protection against prosecution: This power is further bolstered by Section 6 which provides that legal can be instituted against the officer, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government.

    Supreme Court’s Observations over AFSPA

    • These extra-judicial killings became the attention of the Supreme Court in 2016.
    • It clarified that the bar under Section 6 would not grant “total immunity” to the officers against any probe into their alleged excesses.
    • The judgment noted that if any death was unjustified, there is no blanket immunity available to the perpetrator(s) of the offense.
    • The Court further noted that if an offense is committed even by Army personnel, there is no concept of absolute immunity from trial by the criminal court constituted under the CrPC.

    Constitutionality of AFSPA

    • Attempts have been made to examine the constitutionality of the Act on the grounds that it is contravention to the:
    1. Right to Life and Personal Liberty (Article 21) and
    2. Federal structure of the Constitution since law and order is a State subject

    Recommendations to repeal AFSPA

    (1) Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy Commission

    • The 2004 Committee headed by Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, the content of which has never officially been revealed by the Government, recommended that AFSPA be repealed.
    • Additionally, it recommended that appropriate provisions be inserted in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (UAPA) instead.
    • It also recommended that the UAPA be modified to clearly specify the powers of the armed forces and paramilitary forces and grievance cells should be set up in each district where the armed forces are deployed.

    (2) ARC II

    • The Administrative Reforms Commission in its 5th Report on ‘Public Order’ had also recommended that AFSPA be repealed.
    • It recommended adding a new chapter to be added to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967.
    • However, the recommendation was considered first and then rejected.

    Other issues with AFSPA

    (1) Sexual Misconduct by Armed Forces

    • The issue of violation of human rights by actions of armed forces came under the consideration of the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law (popularly known as Justice Verma Committee) set up in 2012.
    • It observed that- in conflict zones, legal protection for women was neglected.

    (2) Autocracy

    • The reality is that there is no evidence of any action being taken against any officer of the armed forces or paramilitary forces for their excesses.

    Caution given by the Supreme Court

    A July 2016 judgment authored by Justice Madan B. Lokur in Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association quoted the “Ten Commandments” issued by the Chief of the Army Staff for operations in disturbed areas:

    1. Definite circumstances: The “power to cause death is relatable to maintenance of public order in a disturbed area and is to be exercised under definite circumstances”.
    2. Declaration preconditions: These preconditions include a declaration by a high-level authority that an area is “disturbed”.
    3. Due warning: The officer concerned decides to use deadly force on the opinion that it is “necessary” to maintain public order. But he has to give “due warning” first.
    4. No arbitrary action: The persons against whom the action was taken by the armed forces should have been “acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area”.
    5. Minimal use of force: The armed forces must use only the “minimal force required for effective action against the person/persons acting in contravention of the prohibitory order.”
    6. Empathy with perpetrators: The court said that: the people you are dealing with are your own countrymen. All your conduct must be dictated by this one significant consideration.
    7. People friendliness: The court underscored how the Commandments insist that “operations must be people-friendly, using minimum force and avoiding collateral damage – restrain must be the key”.
    8. Good intelligence: It added that “good intelligence is the key to success”.
    9. Compassion: It exhorted personnel to “be compassionate, help the people and win their hearts and minds. Employ all resources under your command to improve their living conditions”.
    10. Upholding Dharma (Duty): The judgment ended with the final Commandment to “uphold Dharma and take pride in your country and the Army”.

    Conclusion

    • Despite demands by civil society groups and human rights activities, none of the recommendations have not been implemented to date.

     

     

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  • ECGC to seek RBI nod for payment in forex to exporters

    ECGC Ltd., the government enterprise that provides export credit insurance, will soon approach the Reserve Bank of India for approval to deal in foreign currency for the benefit of exporters.

    What is ECGC?

    • ECGC is an acronym for Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd.
    • It is a government owned export credit provider.
    • It is under the ownership of Ministry of Commerce and Industry and is based in Mumbai.
    • It provides export credit insurance support to Indian exporters.
    • Its topmost official is designated as Chairman and Managing Director who is a central government civil servant under ITS cadre.
    • The GoI had initially set up Export Risks Insurance Corporation (ERIC) in July 1957.
    • It was transformed into Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation Limited (ECGC) in 1964 and to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India in 1983.

    Functions of ECGC

    • ECGC provides a range of credit risk insurance covers to exporters against loss in export of goods and services as well.
    • It offers guarantees to banks and financial institutions to enable exporters to obtain better facilities from them.
    • It provides Overseas Investment Insurance to Indian companies investing in joint ventures abroad in the form of equity or loan and advances.

    Facilities by ECGC

    • It offers insurance protection to exporters against payment risks.
    • It provides guidance in export-related activities.
    • It makes available information on different countries with its own credit ratings.
    • It makes it easy to obtain export finance from banks/financial institutions.
    • It assists exporters in recovering bad debt.
    • It provides information on the creditworthiness of overseas buyers.

    Why need export credit insurance?

    • Payments for exports are open to risks even at the best of times.
    • The risks have assumed large proportions today due to the far-reaching political and economic changes that are sweeping the world.
    • An outbreak of war or civil war may block or delay payment for goods exported. Ex. Ukraine War.
    • Economic difficulties or balance of payment problems may lead a country to impose restrictions on either import of certain goods or on transfer of payments for goods imported. Ex. Sri Lankan Crisis.
    • In addition, the exporters have to face commercial risks of insolvency or protracted the default of buyers.
    • Export credit insurance is designed to protect exporters from the consequences of the payment risks, both political and commercial, and to enable them to expand their overseas business without fear of loss.

     

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  • [pib] MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification Scheme

    The  Union Ministry for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has launched the MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification Scheme.

    MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification Scheme

    • This Scheme is an extensive drive to enable and facilitate MSMEs adopt Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED) practices.
    • It aims motivate and incentivize them for ZED Certification while also encouraging them to become MSME Champions.
    • Through the ZED Certification, MSMEs can reduce wastages substantially, increase productivity, enhance environmental consciousness, save energy, optimally use natural resources, expand their markets, etc.

    Components of the scheme

    • Under the Scheme, MSMEs will get subsidy as per the following structure, on the cost of ZED certification:
    1. Micro Enterprises: 80%
    2. Small Enterprises: 60%
    3. Medium Enterprises: 50%
    • There will be an additional subsidy of 10% for the MSMEs owned by Women/SC/ST Entrepreneurs OR MSMEs in NER/Himalayan/LWE/Island territories/aspirational districts.
    • In addition to above, there will be an additional subsidy of 5% for MSMEs which are also a part of the SFURTI OR Micro & Small Enterprises – Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) of the Ministry.
    • Further, a limited purpose joining reward of Rs. 10,000/- will be offered to each MSME once they take the ZED Pledge.

    Back2Basics: Zero Defect Zero Effect Scheme

    • Launched in 2016 by the Ministry of MSME, the ZED scheme is an integrated and comprehensive certification system.
    • The scheme accounts for productivity, quality, pollution mitigation, energy efficiency, financial status, human resource and technological depth including design and IPR in both products and processes.
    • Its mission is to develop and implement the ‘ZED’ culture in India based on the principles of Zero Defect & Zero Effect.
    • ZED principles include:
    1. Zero Defect: Zero non-conformance or non-compliance
    2. Zero Effect: Zero wastage, liquid discharge, solid waste; zero pollution

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  • Tackling the inflation

    Context

    Expectations that commodity and oil prices would cool down in 2022 as the pandemic ebbed were belied by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which exacerbated existing pressures. Fresh lockdowns in China are also extending the pandemic-induced supply-chain bottlenecks.

    Challenges for central banks

    • Systemically important central banks that viewed the consistent uptick in inflation as transitory — caused by post-pandemic supply shocks — are now finding it hard to bottle the genie.
    • Inflation in the time of weak growth: What central banks like even less is having to deal with rising inflation in times of weak growth.
    • Because the primary tool they have to fight it — the interest rate hike — can be recessionary.

    Inflation in India

    • CPI inflation averaged 6.3 per cent in the January-March 2022, above the RBI’s target range of 2-6 per cent.
    • The RBI forecasts inflation for April-June at 6.3 per cent.
    • One more quarter over the 6 per cent mark, and the central bank would owe the government an explanation.
    • Factors driving inflation: Fiscal 2021-In fiscal 2021, inflationary pressures came largely from food and, to some extent, core which excludes fuel and food.
    • Fiscal 2022- In fiscal 2022, crude prices hardened to emerge as the new driver. Core inflation firmed up further.
    • But the drop in food inflation offset this, so overall inflation was lower at 5.5 per cent compared with 6.2 per cent the previous year.

    Understanding inflation in fiscal 2023

    • What makes this fiscal worrying is, all three-fule, food and core are firmly pointing in the same direction — up.
    • Fuel inflation, in double digits for a year now, shows no signs of easing.
    • Energy prices have risen sharply across the board — from crude oil to coal and natural gas.
    • The cut in excise duties on petrol and diesel in November 2021 is insufficient to bring down fuel inflation, in the event crude prices stay above $90 per barrel this fiscal.
    • Food inflation: Food is the most volatile component and biggest mover of CPI inflation, given that it occupies 39 per cent weight in the average consumption basket.  
    • On the positive side, India looks set to enjoy a fourth successive year of normal monsoon and still has good buffer stocks of rice and wheat.
    • What is certain, though, is the rising cost of food production.
    • Prices of fertilisers, pesticides, diesel and animal feed are all surging.
    • Already pricey edible oils are set to get even costlier, with Indonesia’s recent ban on refined palm oil exports adding pressure.
    • No wonder then, food inflation is expected to rise.
    • Core inflation: Core inflation, a barometer of demand pressures, will continue to climb despite an environment of weak demand due to the persistence of supply shocks.
    • For producers, the bump-up in international prices across energy and metal commodities since the war has brought more pain.
    • But a weak and uneven demand recovery means producers had limited ability to pass on cost pressures to consumers.
    • Such pass-through has been partial, at best.
    • For most goods, CPI inflation has been much lower than the corresponding WPI last fiscal.
    • The pattern of recovery is also uneven across different segments, with contact-intensive services lagging formal manufacturing.
    • But contact-based services will catch up sooner or later, as restrictions become a thing of the past.
    • The last time we saw such broad-basing of inflationary pressures was after the Global Financial Crisis.
    • The difference this time around is consumer demand, which remains weak and will limit the extent of pass-through.

    Conclusion

    Forecasting inflation in such uncertain times is fraught with risk. The RBI has predicted ~5.7 per cent consumer inflation this fiscal, while professional forecasters see it at 5.6 per cent. The odds currently favour a higher inflation print, and a rate hike in June.

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  • State of (un)employment in India

    Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that India’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) has fallen to just 40% from an already low 47% in 2016.

    What is LFPR?

    • Before understanding LFPR, we need to define the labour force itself.
    • According to the CMIE, the labour force consists of persons who are of age 15 years or older, and belong to either of the following two categories:
    1. are employed
    2. are unemployed and are willing to work and are actively looking for a job
    • There is a crucial commonality between the two categories — they both have people “demanding” jobs.
    • This demand is what LFPR refers to. While those in category 1 succeed in getting a job, those in category 2 fail to do so.
    • Thus, the LFPR essentially is the percentage of the working-age (15 years or older) population that is asking for a job; it represents the “demand” for jobs in an economy.
    • It includes those who are employed and those who are unemployed.
    • The Unemployment Rate (UER), which is routinely quoted in the news, is nothing but the number of unemployed (category 2) as a proportion of the labour force.

    What is the significance of LFPR in India?

    • Typically, it is expected that the LFPR will remain largely stable.
    • As such, any analysis of unemployment in an economy can be done just by looking at the UER.
    • But, in India, the LFPR is not only lower than in the rest of the world but also falling. This, in turn, affects the UER because LFPR is the base (the denominator) on which UER is calculated.
    • The world over, LFPR is around 60%. In India, it has been sliding over the last 10 years and has shrunk from 47% in 2016 to just 40% as of December 2021.
    • This shrinkage implies that merely looking at UER will under-report the stress of unemployment in India.
    • Recent trend suggests that not only that more than half of India’s population in the working-age group is deciding to sit out of the job market, but also that this proportion of people is increasing.

    How is it under-reported?

    • Imagine that there are just 100 people in the working-age group but only 60 ask for jobs — that is, the LFPR is 60% — and of these 60 people, 6 did not get a job. This would imply a UER of 10%.
    • Now imagine a scenario when the LFPR has fallen to 40% and, as such, only 40 people are demanding work. And of these 40, only 2 people fail to get a job.
    • The UER would have fallen to 5% and it might appear that the economy is doing better on the jobs front but the truth is starkly different.
    • The truth is that beyond the 2 who are unemployed, a total of 20 people have stopped demanding work.
    • Typically, this happens when people in the working-age get disheartened from not finding work.

    So, what is the correct way to assess India’s unemployment stress?

    • When LFPR is falling as steadily and as sharply as it has done in India’s case, it is better to track another variable: the Employment Rate (ER).
    • The ER refers to the total number of employed people as a percentage of the working-age population.
    • By using the working-age population as the base and looking at the number of people with jobs, the ER captures the fall in LFPR to better represent the stress in the labour market.

    ER trends in India

    • If one looks at the ER data (Chart 1), it becomes clear that while India’s working-age population has been increasing each year, the percentage of people with jobs has been coming down sharply.
    • Looking at the absolute numbers makes the stress even more clear.
    • In December 2021, India had 107.9 crore people in the working age group and of these, only 40.4 crore had a job (an ER of 37.4%).
    • Compare this with December 2016 when India had 95.9 crore in the working-age group and 41.2 crore with jobs (ER 43%).
    • In five years, while the total working-age population has gone up by 12 crore, the number of people with jobs has gone down by 80 lakh.

    Why is India’s LFPR so low?

    • The main reason for India’s LFPR being low is the abysmally low level of female LFPR.
    • According to CMIE data, as of December 2021, while the male LFPR was 67.4%, the female LFPR was as low as 9.4%.
    • In other words, less than one in 10 working-age women in India are even demanding work.
    • Even if one sources data from the World Bank, India’s female labour force participation rate is around 25% when the global average is 47%.

    Why do so few women demand work?

    • One reason is essentially about the working conditions — such as law and order, efficient public transportation, violence against women, societal norms etc — being far from conducive for women to seek work.
    • The other has to do with correctly measuring women’s contribution to the economy.
    • There are methodological issues in formally capturing women’s contribution to the economy since a lot of women in India are exclusively involved within their own homes.
    • Lastly, it is also a question of adequate job opportunities for women.

    How do people who leave the labour force survive?

    • Households with more than one working member often witness this phenomenon.
    • The fall in the LFPR since 2016 has been accompanied by a fall in the proportion of households where more than one person is employed.
    • The fall in LFPR has largely been the result of the additional person employed in a typical household losing a job.

     

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  • State Taxes on Fuels

    PM has said that fuel prices were too high in some States ruled by other parties and they were not passing on the benefits of the Centre’s excise duty cut to the people.

    Why are states reluctant?

    • The reluctance to reduce excise duty and VAT on fuel stems from the fact that it constitutes an important source of revenue for both the Union government and the states.
    • Excise duty on fuel makes up about 18.4 per cent of Centre’s gross tax revenues.
    • Petroleum and alcohol, on an average, account for 25-35 per cent of the own tax revenue of states

    Present taxation of Fuels

    What is Excise Duty?

    • Excise duty is a form of tax imposed on goods for their production, licensing and sale.
    • It is the opposite of Customs duty in sense that it applies to goods manufactured domestically in the country, while Customs is levied on those coming from outside of the country.
    • At the central level, excise duty earlier used to be levied as Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duty, etc.
    • Excise duty was levied on manufactured goods and levied at the time of removal of goods, while GST is levied on the supply of goods and services.

    Purview of excise duty

    • The GST introduction in July 2017 subsumed many types of excise duty.
    • Today, excise duty applies only on petroleum and liquor.
    • Alcohol does not come under the purview of GST as exclusion mandated by constitutional provision.
    • States levy taxes on alcohol according to the same practice as was prevalent before the rollout of GST.
    • After GST was introduced, excise duty was replaced by central GST because excise was levied by the central government.
    • The revenue generated from CGST goes to the central government.

    Types of excise duty in India

    Before GST, there were three kinds of excise duties in India.

    (1) Basic Excise Duty

    • Basic excise duty is also known as the Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT).
    • This category of excise duty was levied on goods that were classified under the first schedule of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.
    • This duty applied on all goods except salt.

    (2) Additional Excise Duty

    • Additional excise duty was levied on goods of high importance, under the Additional Excise under Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957.
    • This duty was levied on some special category of goods.

    (3) Special Excise Duty

    • This type of excise duty was levied on special goods classified under the Second Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.
    • Presently the central excise duty comprises of a Basic Excise Duty, Special Additional Excise Duty and Additional Excise Duty (Road and Infrastructure Cess) on auto fuels.

    Present taxation of Fuels

    • Currently, taxes on petroleum products are levied by both the Centre and the states.
    • While the Centre levies excise duty, states levy value-added tax (VAT).
    • For instance, VAT on petroleum products is as high as 40% in Maharashtra, contributing over ₹25,000 crores annually.
    • By being able to levy VAT on these products, the state governments have control over their revenues.
    • When a national GST subsumed central taxes such as excise duty and state levies like VAT on July 1, 2017, five petroleum goods – petrol, diesel, ATF, natural gas and crude oil – were kept out of its purview.

     

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  • Centre enhances Subsidy for Non-Urea Fertilizers

    With urea and fertilizer prices shooting up in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Union Cabinet approved an enhancement in subsidies on non-urea fertilisers for the upcoming Kharif crop, to ₹60,939 crore.

    What is the news?

    • The government fixes the retail price of urea and subsidises producers based on the difference between costs and the fixed selling price.
    • It pays a subsidy to non-urea fertiliser makers on the basis of nutrient-based rates.
    • The increase in the prices of Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and its raw material is in the range of about 80%.

    Fertilizer Subsidy in India

    • Subsidy as a concept originated during the Green Revolution of the 1970s-80s.
    • Fertiliser subsidy is purchasing by the farmer at a price below MRP (Maximum Retail Price), that is, below the usual demand-and-supply-rate, or regular production and import cost.

    How is the subsidy paid and who gets it?

    • The subsidy goes to fertiliser companies, although its ultimate beneficiary is the farmer who pays MRPs less than the market-determined rates.
    • From March 2018, a new so-called direct benefit transfer (DBT) system was introduced, wherein subsidy payment to the companies would happen only after actual sales to farmers by retailers.
    • With the DBT system, each retailer — there is over 2.3 lakh of them across India — now has a point-of-sale (PoS) machine linked to the Department of Fertilizers’ e-Urvarak DBT portal.

    How does this system work?

    • A popular example of how this system works is that of the neem coated urea fertiliser.
    • Its MRP (Maximum Retail Price) is fixed by the government at Rs. 5922.22 per tonne.
    • The average cost of domestic production is at Rs 17,000 per tonne. The difference is footed by the centre in the form of subsidy.
    • This fertiliser has high Nitrogen content and is cheaper than usual fertilizers.
    • While this may be perceived as a good thing, excess of Nitrogen can disrupt the NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) balance in the soil.

    What about non-urea fertilizers?

    • The non-urea fertiliser is decontrolled or fixed by the companies.
    • The non- urea fertilizers are further divided into two parts, DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) and MOP (Muriate of Phosphate).
    • The government pays a flat per tonne subsidy to maintain the nutrition content of the soil, and ensure other fertilizers are economical to use.

    Issues with such subsidies

    • A flawed subsidy policy is harmful not just for the farmer, but to the environment as well.
    • Indian soil has low Nitrogen use efficiency, which is the main constituent of Urea.
    • Consequently, excess usage contaminates groundwater.
    • The bulk of urea applied to the soil is lost as NH3 (Ammonia) and Nitrogen Oxides. The WHO has prescribed limits been breached by Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
    • For human beings, “blue baby syndrome” is a common side ailment caused by Nitrate contaminated water.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Q.What are the advantages of fertigation in agriculture? (CSP 2020)

    1.Controlling the alkalinity of irrigation water is possible.
    2. Efficient application of Rock Phosphate and all other phosphatic fertilizers is possible.
    3. Increased availability of nutrients to plants is possible.
    4. Reduction in the leaching of chemical nutrients is possible.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:
    (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

    (b) 1,2 and 4 only

    (c) 1,3 and 4 only

    (d) 2, 3 and 4 only

     

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