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GS Paper: GS3

  • India’s leadership in the debate on maritime security

    Context

    Indian PM recently addressed  the UNSC High-Level Open Debate on “Enhancing Maritime Security: A Case For International Cooperation”, convened by India.

    Highlights of the UNSC debate on Maritime Security

    • India’s leadership: As President of the UN Security Council for the month of August, India’s leadership in the debate on maritime security has strengthened its credentials as a key stakeholder in the maritime commons.
    • Ocean as a common heritage: Prime Minister Modi described the oceans as a common heritage for humankind and a lifeline for the future of the planet.
    • Culture, history, geography: In enunciating five principles, Mr. Modi linked free and open trade to India’s civilisational ethos.
    • He outlined a far-sighted vision rooted in India’s culture, history and geography.
    • SAGAR: The relevance of SAGAR (Security And Growth For All In The Region) was also reiterated.
    • Need for a common framework: The global community needs to develop a common framework to deal with contemporary challenges, including maritime disputes and natural disasters.

    Importance of high seas

    • Ninety per cent of global trade is conducted on the high seas, for the simple reason that it continues to be the most cost-effective mode of transport.
    • Spread of prosperity: Freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce are key to the spread of prosperity. 
    • Critical supply chains depend on the concept of mare liberum (open seas).

    Suggestions and role of India

    1) Maritime dispute settlement  based on international law

    • The Prime Minister advocated the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes on the basis of international law.
    • The importance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the legal framework governing all maritime activity needs to be emphasised.
    • India’s acceptance of the award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2014 paved the way for India and Bangladesh to put aside their maritime dispute and forge even closer ties.
    • In 2016, China summarily rejected the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in favour of the Philippines.
    • The neo-colonial concept of mare clausum (closed seas) in the South China Sea is anathema to the future of the global economy.

    2) Deling with natural disasters and maritime threats

    • Natural disasters and maritime threats posed by non-state actors have grown exponentially.
    • The global community needs to rally together to deal effectively with the ravages of cyclones, tsunami and maritime pollution.
    • First responder: India’s role as ‘first responder’ in the Indian Ocean, whether in thwarting piracy or providing relief after the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, is well-documented.
    • The Indian Coast Guard’s operational reach and capability has vastly improved in dealing with environmental hazards and piracy.
    • White shipping agreements: India now has white shipping agreements with several countries.
    • Cooperation: The Indian Navy’s state-of-the-art Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) based in Gurugram hosts officers from the United States, Japan, France, Australia and the United Kingdom.
    • Training:The Indian Navy regularly offers a large number of training slots to friendly countries.

    3) Environmental concerns

    • The oceans remain our lifeline.
    • Yet, they have been overwhelmed by plastic waste which chokes all forms of marine life.

    4) Connectivity and infrastructure

    • Connectivity: The development of connectivity and infrastructure are also a major priority.
    • There are heightened concerns today over China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
    • Openness and transparency India stands for openness and transparency in the execution of projects, based on local priorities, with in-built fiscal viability and environmental sustainability.
    • Blue Dot Network: The U.S., Japan and Australia are also promoting better standards for global infrastructure through the Blue Dot Network.

    Conclusion

    India’s natural interests stretch across both the Indian and Pacific Oceans as reflected in its inclusive Indo-Pacific vision. No doubt, India’s initiative will further the prospects for a stable and enduring maritime environment.

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  • Growth needs steps beyond reforms

    Why 1991 stands out as a watershed year in the economic history of India

    • This was the year in which the economy was faced with a severe balance of payments crisis.
    • In response, we launched a wide-ranging economic program to reform, restructure and modernize the economy.
    • The break with the past came in three important ways:
    • Dismantling of license and permit requirements: The vast network of licenses, controls, and permits that dominated the economic system was dismantled.
    • Redefining the role of the state: Changes were made by redesigning the role of the state and allowing the private sector a larger space to operate within,
    • Integration with world economy: The inward-looking foreign trade policy was abandoned and the Indian economy was integrated with the world economy and trade.

    Judging the performance of the economy after liberalisation

    • It is appropriate to look at three broad parameters to judge the performance of the economy after liberalisation — growth rate, current account deficit, and poverty reduction.

    1) Growth rate after 1991

    • Between 1992-93 and 2000-01, GDP at factor cost grew annually by 6.20%.
    • Between 2001-02 and 2010-11, it grew by 7.69% and the growth rate between 2011-12 and 2019-20, was 6.51%.
    • Best growth rate: The best performance was between 2005-06 and 2010-11 when showing clearly what the potential growth rate of India was.
    • This is despite the fact that this period included the global crisis year of 2008-09.

    2) Foreign reserves

    • BoP: The balance of payments situation had remained comfortable.
    • Most of the years showed a small deficit.
    • The exceptions were 2011-12 and 2012-13 when the current account deficit exceeded 4%. This was taken care of quickly.
    • Forex reserves: Foreign exchange reserves showed a substantial increase and touched $621 billion as of last week.
    • The opening up of the external sector, which included liberal trade policy, market-determined exchange rate, and a liberal flow of external resources, has greatly strengthened the external sector.

    3) Poverty ratio

    • Going the Tendulkar expert group methodology, the overall poverty ratio came down from 45.3% in 1993-94 to 37.2% in 2004-05 and further down to 21.9% in 2011-12.
    • The post-reform period up to 2011-12 did see a significant reduction in poverty ratio because of faster growth supplemented by appropriate poverty reduction programmes such as the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Extended Food Security Scheme.
    • With the decline in growth rate since then and with negative growth in 2020-21, this trend must have reversed, i.e. the poverty rate may have increased.

    Way forward

    • Growth requires more than reforms. Reforms are, in the words of economists, only a necessary condition. It is not sufficient.
    • Need to increase investment: It is the decline in investment rate of nearly five percentage points since 2010-11 that has led to the progressive decline of the growth rate.
    • Reforms supplemented by a careful nurturing of the investment climate are needed to spur growth again.
    • Reform agenda must continue: First of all, there is a need to move in the same direction in which we have been moving in the past three decades.
    • Policymakers should identify the sectors which need reforms in terms of creating a competitive environment and improving performance efficiency.
    • From this angle, we need to take a relook at the financial system, power sector, and governance. Centre and States must be joint partners in this effort.
    • Second, in terms of government performance, there should be an increased focus on social sectors such as health and education.

    Conclusion

    Growth and equity must go together. They must not be posed as opposing considerations. They are truly interdependent. It is only in an environment of high growth, equity can be pushed aggressively.

     

  • Vehicle Scrappage Policy, 2021

    The launch of India’s vehicle scrapping policy or the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Programme (VVMP) seeks to usher in a new age of what it means to own and use an automobile in India.

    Vehicle Scrappage Policy: Key Features

    • Fitness testing: The government plans to set up between 450-500 automated vehicle fitness testing stations across India on a PPP basis. Private vehicles – which are over 20 years old – will have to undergo fitness tests, at an estimated cost of Rs 300-400 per test.
    • Scrappage: A total of 60-70 vehicle scrapping centers will also be built, situated no further than 150-200 kilometers away from any location in India.
    • Green Tax: Vehicles that pass the automated tests will be subjected to a ‘green tax’, which will see owners shell out an additional 10 percent to 25 percent of road tax at the time of the renewal of the vehicle’s fitness certificate, along with re-registration fees.
    • Penalties: Those who choose to drive a vehicle that has failed the automated test will face substantial penalties, and such vehicles could also be impounded.
    • Choice of owners: The scrappage policy leaves the choice of scrapping to the owner of the vehicle, with Gadkari saying the automated tests will place emphasis on vehicle fitness, and not its age.

    Implementation plan

    • The implementation of the vehicle scrappage policy in India is still some time away.
    • Initially, it will be heavy commercial vehicles that will need to undergo fitness tests starting 1 April, 2023.
    • Fitness tests will be made mandatory for all other types of vehicles from 1 June, 2024, in a phased manner.

    Why need such policy?

    • Clean mobility: More than one crore vehicles on India’s roads contribute greatly to rising pollution levels, as well as their tendency to be less fuel-efficient towards the end of their life.
    • Reducing oil import: The promotion of clean mobility necessitates a reduction in the country’s fuel import bills, and a reduction in emissions is a pressing need at this time.
    • Road safety: Such vehicles are also inherently unsafe and can be a threat to their occupants as well as other road users.
    • Consumer benefits: Scrapping an old vehicle and replacing it with a new one will bring substantial monetary benefits for motorists, in addition to reducing emissions and enhancing fuel efficiency.

    Benefits for a vehicle owner

    • Once the vehicle has been scrapped, the owner will receive anywhere between four to six percent of their old vehicle’s ex-showroom price, and a scrappage certificate.
    • This will make the individual eligible for a road tax rebate of 25 percent, a registration fee waiver and a discount of five percent of a new vehicle’s ex-showroom cost, offered by the vehicle manufacturer.
    • This will essentially make a new vehicle cheaper for someone who has scrapped their old vehicle, with potential discounts in the range of Rs 30,000 (for a car costing Rs 6 lakh) to Rs 50,000 (for a car costing Rs 10 lakh).

    What are the other positives?

    • Investment and Employment: The policy will attract investment of over Rs 10,000 crore, and generate 50,000 jobs in the country.
    • Recycling: Proper recycling of raw materials obtained from the scrapping will help reduce the import of materials such as aluminium, copper, steel and more.
    • Vehicle price control: With the potential to recycle up to 99 percent of materials used in a vehicle, raw material costs are estimated to drop by as much as 40 percent.
    • Transition to EVs: There’s also a possibility to derive materials needed for local production of lithium-ion batteries from scrapping older vehicles, which could help drive the growth of the EV business.
    • Circular Economy: A circular economy depends on reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling of resources to create a closed-loop system, minimizing the use of resources, generation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions.
    • Demand boost: Globally, a scrappage policy has been followed by a boost in demand in the auto manufacturing sector, especially in Europe and the US.

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  • Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021

    The Environment Ministry has notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, which prohibits identified single-use plastic items which have low utility and high littering potential by 2022.

    What is the new Amendment?

    • Pollution due to single use plastic items has become an important environmental challenge confronting all countries.
    • The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities shall be prohibited with effect from the 1st July, 2022:
    1. ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene [thermocol] for decoration
    2. plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers
    • The thickness of plastic carry bags has been increased from fifty microns to seventy-five microns and to one hundred and twenty microns with effect from the 31st December, 2022.

    Extended Producer Responsibility

    • The plastic packaging waste shall be collected and managed in an environmentally sustainable way through the Extended Producer Responsibility of the Producer, importer and Brand owner (PIBO), as per Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.
    • For effective implementation the Guidelines for EPR being brought out have been given legal force through Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021.

    Plastic waste in India

    • As much as 3.3 million metric tonnes of plastic waste was generated in India in 2018-19, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report 2018-19.
    • This roughly translated to 9,200 tonnes a day (TPD).
    • The total municipal solid waste generation is 55-65 million tonnes; plastic waste is approximately 5-6 per cent of the total solid waste generated in the country.
    • Goa has the highest per capita plastic waste generation at 60 grams per capita per day, which is nearly double of what Delhi generates (37 grams per capita per day).

    The problem

    • Only nine percent of the plastic waste produced between 1950 and 2015 was recycled globally, according to a study by researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and others.
    • Out of the nine per cent, only 10 per cent was recycled more than once; 12 per cent was incinerated, and 79 per cent ended up in landfills or oceans and other water bodies.
    • There are reports suggesting a huge gap between the demand and supply of plastics; we are being sold plastics at a much higher rate than we need.
    • Recycling is a rather benign word used by plastic manufacturers.
    • Most plastics that we claim can be recycled in India are rather down-cycled to some other material.
    • A classic example is that of PET bottles being recycled to t-shirts.

    Way forward

    • Managing plastic waste requires effective knowledge, not only among those who produce the plastic but also among those who handle it.
    • Brand owners, consumers, recyclers and regulatory authorities need to take long strides in ensuring that we first invent the total amount of plastic waste that we generate by means of proper calculations.
    • The second step would be to identify the avenues where the use of plastic can be minimized.
    • Third, the brand owner and manufacturer should try and understand the fates a plastic packaging material would meet after its purpose of packaging has been served.
    • Last, as consumers, we should ensure that all plastic waste leaving our homes is segregated and is not contaminated with food waste.

     

  • Four new Wetlands added to Ramsar list

    Four more wetlands from India get recognition from the Ramsar Secretariat as Ramsar sites.

    What are Wetlands?

    • A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail.
    • The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other landforms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil.

    Significance of Wetlands

    • Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control, and climate regulation.
    • They are, in fact, are a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands that help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.
    • They provide many societal benefits: food and habitat for fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species; water quality improvement; flood storage; shoreline erosion control; economically beneficial natural products for human use; and opportunities for recreation, education, and research, etc.

    Which are the new sites added to the Ramsar List?

    • Thol and Wadhwana from Gujarat and
    • Sultanpur and Bhindawas from Haryana

    With this, the number of Ramsar sites in India are 46 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,083,322 hectares.

    (1) Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary

    • Bhindawas WLS, the largest wetland in Haryana is a human-made freshwater wetland.
    • Over 250 bird species use the sanctuary throughout the year as a resting and roosting site.
    • The site supports more than ten globally threatened species including the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, and Black-bellied Tern.

    (2) Sultanpur National Park

    • Sultanpur NP from Haryana supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory and local migratory waterbirds at critical stages of their life cycles.
    • More than ten of these are globally threatened, including the critically endangered sociable lapwing, and the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Saker Falcon, Pallas’s Fish Eagle and Black-bellied Tern.

    (3) Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary

    • Thol Lake WLS from Gujarat lies on the Central Asian Flyway and more than 320 bird species can be found here.
    • The wetland supports more than 30 threatened waterbird species, such as the critically endangered White-rumped Vulture and Sociable Lapwing, and the vulnerable Sarus Crane, Common Pochard, and Lesser White-fronted Goose.

    (4) Wadhvana Wetland

    • Wadhvana Wetland from Gujarat is internationally important for its birdlife as it provides wintering ground to migratory waterbirds, including over 80 species that migrate on the Central Asian Flyway.
    • They include some threatened or near-threatened species such as the endangered Pallas’s fish-Eagle, the vulnerable Common Pochard, and the near-threatened Dalmatian Pelican, Grey-headed Fish-eagle and Ferruginous Duck.

    Back2Basics: Ramsar Convention

    • The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (better known as the Ramsar Convention) is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
    • It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem.
    • The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
    • Traditionally viewed as a wasteland or breeding ground of disease, wetlands actually provide fresh water and food and serve as nature’s shock absorber.
    • Wetlands, critical for biodiversity, are disappearing rapidly, with recent estimates showing that 64% or more of the world’s wetlands have vanished since 1900.
    • Major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing, water diversion for dams and canals, and infrastructure development are considered to be some of the main causes of loss and degradation of wetlands.

  • Places in news: Ningbo Port

    China has partially shut down the world’s third-busiest container port, the Ningbo Port, after a worker there tested positive for Covid-19.

    Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan

    • This port is the busiest in the world in terms of cargo tonnage.
    • It handled 888.96 million tons of cargo in 2015.
    • The port is located in Ningbo and Zhoushan, on the coast of the East China Sea, in Zhejiang province on the southeast end of Hangzhou Bay, across which it faces the municipality of Shanghai.
    • The port is at the crossroads of the north-south inland and coastal shipping route, including canals to the important inland waterway to interior China, the Yangtze River, to the north.
    • The port consists of several ports which are Beilun (seaport), Zhenhai (estuary port), and old Ningbo harbour (inland river port).

    What is the potential impact of the closure?

    • Despite the diversion of shipments to other terminals, experts are anticipating a backlog of consignments with average wait times being expected to rise.

    How is it likely to affect global trade?

    • In the aftermath of Covid-19, global supply chains have remained fragile mainly on account of closures and lockdowns that affected both the manufacturing and the logistical segments of the chain.
    • This has not only resulted in a growing backlog of shipments but has also caused freight charges to go up as demand outgrew the supply.
    • Extended closure of one of the biggest terminals at the third-busiest port in the world could further exacerbate the stress in global trade.

  • How e-RUPI can transform government’s welfare schemes

    Context

    Recently e-RUPI was launched by the Prime Minister.

    About e-RUPI

    • It is a digital prepaid, purpose, and person-specific payment utility. 
    • Built on the UPI platform, e-RUPI is easy to scale by the issuer.
    • At the point of presence, the verification code received by the beneficiary is shared with the service provider to authenticate and authorize the transaction: Contactless, real-time payment, and online settlement of funds into the service provider’s bank account.
    • Fourteen leading banks have already integrated it with their systems.
    • e-RUPI is almost custom-designed for school voucher programs.
    • The efficacy of these programs is well established in many countries. 

    Advantages

    The adoption of e-RUPI in various government programs will enhance business efficiency, simplicity, transparency, and accountability in these programs.

    1) e-RUPI can make cash transfer purpose and person-specific

    • Policymakers have debated whether direct cash transfers deliver benefits more efficiently than in-kind transfers like the Public Distribution System (PDS) and fertilizers.
    • e-RUPI could break the policy logjam with the following advantages:
    • 1) It will make cash transfers purpose- and person-specific.
    • 2) Freeing them from dependence on bank accounts.
    • 3) Providing visibility from the time of issue until redemption.

    2) e-RUPI can make PDS more efficient

    • The inefficiency of PDS is rooted in high overhead costs, leakages, exclusion, and inefficiencies.
    • A food-specific e-RUPI voucher will allow beneficiaries to buy rations from an outlet of their choice.
    • It will also help promote the One Nation, One Ration Card.
    • The move will also help in removing price distortion and the redemption of the voucher at market price by merchants within and outside the PDS network.

    3) Streamline fertilizer subsidy

    • e-RUPI will enable farmers to buy fertilizer at nominal prices with direct credit of the subsidy amount into the account of the authorised dealers.
    • As far back as 2011, a task force on direct transfer of subsidies on kerosene, LPG and fertilisers headed by Nandan Nilekani had suggested a roadmap for direct cash transfer of fertiliser subsidies in a phased manner.
    • The e-RUPI will allay apprehensions about creating an IT infrastructure, managing nearly 3,00,000 fertilizer sale points, the collapse of dealer network due to liquidity squeeze in the event of subsidy payments getting delayed, and a complex system of timely credit of subsidy into an estimated 129 million Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of farm households.

    4) Basic income support

    • The Covid-19 pandemic has revived interest in Universal Basic Income (UBI).
    • The lockdowns to contain the pandemic exposed the poor to acute distress, due to loss of means of livelihood.
    • e-RUPI can mitigate their stress by rapidly distributing food and cash vouchers at scale.

    5) Ayushman Bharat

    • In the Ayushman Bharat healthcare initiative beneficiaries can be given e-RUPI vouchers of designated value tenable at empanelled healthcare facilities, providing them portability and facility choice.
    • The service provider will benefit from the immediate payment.

    Way forward

    • Ownership agency: The Aadhaar experience suggests ownership must vest with a specific agency.
    • Make distribution and acceptance compatible: Making the distribution and acceptance of e-RUPI incentive-compatible is recommended, as demonstrated by the popularisation of prepaid telephony by the telecom industry.
    • Light regulation and competition promotion: Light regulation and the opening of e-RUPI to the competition will spur innovation and adoption.
    • All banks, small and big, NBFCs, non-bank PPI issuers, and telcos may be allowed to issue it later.

    Conclusion

    e-RUPI opens up a world of opportunities to the government, people, and businesses to provide, avail, and pay for services seamlessly.

  • General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Amendment Bill, 2021

    The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Amendment Bill, 2021, was recently passed by both houses of parliament.

    What is the amendment?

    • The Bill seeks to amend the General Insurance Business (nationalization) Act, 1972.

    What is the GIB Act?

    • The 1972 Act set up the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC).
    • The businesses of the companies nationalized under the Act were restructured in four subsidiary companies of GIC: (i) National Insurance, (ii) New India Assurance, (iii) Oriental Insurance, and (iv) United India Insurance.
    • The Act was subsequently amended in 2002 to transfer the control of these four subsidiary companies from GIC to the central government, thereby making them independent companies.
    • Since 2000, GIC exclusively undertakes the reinsurance business.

    Answer this PYQ:

    Microfinance is the provision of financial services to people of low-income groups. This includes both the consumers and the self-employed. The service/ services rendered under micro-finance is/are: (CSP 2011)

    1. Credit facilities
    2. Savings facilities
    3. Insurance facilities
    4. Fund Transfer facilities

    Select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 1 and 4 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”dq8yt6bg6b” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here: [/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    Key highlights of the Amendment Bill

    • Government shareholding threshold: The Act requires that shareholding of the central government in the specified insurers (the above five companies) must be at least 51%.  The Bill removes this provision.
    • Change in definition of general insurance business: The Act defines general insurance business as fire, marine or miscellaneous insurance business.
    • Transfer of control from the government: The Bill provides that the Act will not apply to the specified insurers from the date on which the central government relinquishes control of the insurer.
    • Notifying terms and conditions: The Bill provides that schemes formulated by the central government in this regard will be deemed to have been adopted by the insurer.
    • Liabilities of directors: The Bill specifies that a director of a specified insurer, who is not a whole-time director, will be held liable only for certain acts.

    Significance of the bill

    • De-regulation: The move is part of the government’s strategy to open up more sectors to private participation and improve efficiency.
    • Capital infusion: Privatization will bring in more private capital in the general insurance business and improve its reach to make more products available to customers.
    • Insurance coverage: This will enhance insurance penetration and social protection to better secure the interests of policyholders and contribute to faster growth of the economy

    Concerns of the opposition

    • The Opposition is of the view that privatization will be detrimental to the interests of the public.
    • They wanted a proper discussion on the pros and cons of the Bill rather than passing it in a hurry.
    • They wanted an expert committee of the Cabinet to study the impact before passing the legislation.
    • They are worried about large-scale employee layoffs and short-term investors entering and exiting these entities once the Act comes into force.

    Also read:

    [Burning Issue] Divestment of LIC

  • What is the Sovereign Right to Taxation?

    Scrapping the retrospective levy is believed to provide clarity to investors by removing a major source of ambiguity on taxation laws, the government has stressed the need to establish its “sovereign right to taxation”.

    Defining a Tax

    • A document on the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation website quotes the definition of tax as a “pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property owners to support the government; a payment exacted by legislative authority”.
    • It states that a tax “is not a voluntary payment or donation, but an enforced contribution, exacted pursuant to legislative authority”.

    The ‘sovereign right to taxation’

    • In India, the Constitution gives the government the right to levy taxes on individuals and organizations but makes it clear that no one has the right to levy or charge taxes except by the authority of law.
    • Any tax being charged has to be backed by a law passed by the legislature or Parliament.

    Taxation in India

    • Taxes in India come under a three-tier system based on the Central, State, and local governments and the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution puts separate heads of taxation under the Union and State list.
    • There is no separate head under the Concurrent list, meaning Union and the States have no concurrent power of taxation, as per the document.

    Back2Basics:

    Taxation in India: Classification, Types, Direct tax, Indirect tax

  • Common survey to count India’s elephant and tiger populations

    From December, India will move to a system that will count tigers and elephants as part of a common survey.

    Common survey for elephants and tiger

    • Given that 90% of the area occupied by elephants and tigers is common, and once estimation methods are standardized, having a common survey can significantly save costs.
    • The tiger survey is usually held once in four years and elephants are counted once in five years.
    • According to the most recent 2018-19 survey, there were 2,997 tigers in India while in the last count in 2017, there were 29,964 elephants in India.

    Answer this PYQ:

    With reference to Indian Elephants, consider the following statements :

    1. The leader of an elephant group is a female.
    2. The maximum gestation period can be 22 months.
    3. An elephant can normally go on calving till the age of 40 years only.
    4. Among the States in India, the highest population is in Kerala.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

    (a) 1and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 4 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1,3 and 4 only

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”8fqs423tt2″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here: [/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    Why need a common survey?

    • Based on sightings in camera traps and indirect estimation methods, tiger numbers are computed.
    • Elephant numbers largely rely on States directly counting the number of elephants.
    • In recent years, techniques such as analyzing dung samples have also been deployed to estimate birth rates and population trends in elephants.

    About All India Tiger Estimation

    • The tiger count is prepared after every four years by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) provides details on the number of tigers in the 18 tiger reign states with 50 tiger reserves.
    • It is conducted by the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the State Forest Departments.
    • The entire exercise spanned over four years is considered to be the world’s largest wildlife survey effort in terms of coverage and intensity of sampling.
    • Over 15, 000 cameras are installed at various strategic points to capture the movement of tigers.
    • This is supported by extensive data collected by field personnel and satellite mapping.

     

    Back2Basics: Asian Elephants

    • Asian elephants are listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
    • This has been done as most of the range States except India have lost their viable elephant populations due to loss of habitat, poaching, etc.
    • Current population estimates indicate that there are about 50,000-60,000 Asian elephants in the world.
    • More than 60% of the world’s elephant population is in India.