Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 239A
Mains level: Paper 2- Structural flaws in the composition of legislature of UTs
There are structural flaws in the provisions of the composition of legislature and the relationship between the council of ministers and the Administrator in the UTs.
Pattern in the resignations of MLAs
- Recently, the resignations of MLAs from the Puducherry Assembly led to the fall of government there.
- The same had happened in 2019 in Karnataka.
- Resigning from the membership of the House is every member’s right.
- But according to Article 190 of the Constitution, the resignation should be voluntary or genuine.
- If the Speaker has information to the contrary, he or she is not obliged to accept the resignation.
- But there is by now a familiar pattern to the resignations of Members of the Legislative Assembly.
- Such resignations invariably lead to the fall of the government.
Purpose of providing legislature to UTs
- The Constitution-makers/ Parliament provided a legislature and Council of Ministers to some of the UTs to fulfil the democratic aspirations of the people of these territories.
- There was a realisation that the administration of these territories directly by the President through the administrators under Article 239 does not meet the democratic aspirations of the people.
- The creation of a legislature and a Council of Ministers is logical and in consonance with the policy of the state to promote democracy.
Structural issues with legislature in UTs
1) Nomination of members and issues with it
- A closer look at the relevant provisions in the Constitution reveals that this professed aim has often been sought to be defeated by the Union.
- Article 239A was originally brought in, in 1962, to enable Parliament to create legislatures for the UTs.
- A legislature without a Council of Ministers or a Council of Ministers without a legislature is a conceptual absurdity.
- Similarly, a legislature that is partly elected and partly nominated is another absurdity.
- The issue of nomination of members to the Puducherry Assembly had raised a huge controversy.
- The Government of Union Territories Act provides for a 33-member House for Puducherry of whom three are to be nominated by the Central government.
- So, when the Union government nominated three BJP members to the Assembly without consulting the government, it was challenged in the court.
- Finally, the Supreme Court (K. Lakshminarayanan v. Union of India, 2019) held that the Union government is not required to consult the State government for nominating members to the Assembly and the nominated members have the same right to vote as the elected members.
- There is provision for nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha [Article 80 (i)(a)].
- But clause (3) of the Article specifies the fields from which they will be nominated.
- But in the case of nomination to the Puducherry Assembly, no such qualification is laid down either in Article 239A or the Government of Union Territories Act.
- This leaves the field open for the Union government to nominate anyone irrespective of whether he or she is suitable.
- As things stand, the law invites arbitrariness in dealing with the nomination of members to the UT legislature.
2) Administrator’s powers
- The administrator has the right to disagree with the decisions of the Council of Ministers and then refer them to the President for a final decision.
- The President decides on the advice of the Union government.
- So, in effect, it is the Union government which finally determines the disputed issue.
- Although in NCT of Delhi v. Union of India (2019), the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had said that the administrator should not misuse this power.
- The bench also said that the Administrator should use it after all methods have failed to reconcile the differences between him/her and the Council of Ministers.
- As a matter of fact, such conflicts between the administrator, who is the nominee of the President, and the elected government is inherent in the constitutional arrangement created for the UTs.
Consider the question “The conflicts between the administrator, who is the nominee of the President and the elected government is inherent in the constitutional arrangement created for the UTs. Comment.”
Conclusion
Experience shows that the UTs having legislatures with ultimate control vested in the central administrator are not workable. So far as the conspiratorial resignation by legislators to bring down their own government is concerned, the political class will have to get the better of the predatory instincts of political parties through constitutional or other means.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: 73rd and 74th Amendments
Mains level: Paper 3- Decentralisation and its relationship with human capital
The article argues for recognising the correlation between human capital and decentralisation in India.
Low human capital indicators
- In the World Bank’s Human Capital Index, the country ranked 116th.
- The National Family Health Survey-5 for 2019-20 shows that malnutrition indicators stagnated or declined in most States.
- The National Achievement Survey 2017 and the Annual Status of Education Report 2018 show poor learning outcomes.
- In addition, there is little convergence across States.
- India spends just 4% of its GDP as public expenditure on human capital:1% and 3% on health and education respectively— one of the lowest among its peers.
Initiatives to address these issues
- Investing in human capital through interventions in nutrition, health, and education is critical for sustainable growth.
- The National Health Policy of 2017 highlighted the need for interventions to address malnutrition.
- On the basis of NITI Aayog’s National Nutrition Strategy, the Poshan Abhiyaan was launched, as part of the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Scheme.
- The latest Union Budget has announced a ‘Mission Poshan 2.0’ and the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan has been the Centre’s flagship education scheme since 2018.
Relation between decentralisation and human capital
- International experience suggests that one reason why these interventions are not leading to better outcomes may be India’s record with decentralisation.
- Globally, there has been a gradual shift in the distribution of expenditures and revenue towards sub-national governments.
- These trends are backed by studies demonstrating a positive correlation between decentralisation and human capital.
Issues with decentralisation in India
1) Letting states decide the way of empowerment
- The 73rd and 74th Amendments bolstered decentralisation by constitutionally recognising panchayats and municipalities as the third tier.
- The Amendment also added the Eleventh and Twelfth schedules containing the functions of panchayats and municipalities.
- These include education, health and sanitation, and social welfare for panchayats, and public health and socio-economic development planning for municipalities.
- However, the Constitution lets States determine how they are empowered.
- In effect, three tiers of government are envisaged in the Constitution it divides powers between the first two tiers — the Centre and the States
- This has resulted in vast disparities in the roles played by third-tier governments.
2) Centralised nature of fiscal architecture
- While the Constitution assigns the bulk of expenditure responsibilities to States, the Centre has major revenue sources.
- To address this vertical imbalance, the Constitution provides for fiscal transfers through tax devolution and grants-in-aid.
- In addition, the Centre can make ‘grants for any public purpose’ under Article 282 of the Constitution.
- While fiscal transfers that are part of tax devolution are unconditional, transfers under grants-in-aid or Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) can be conditional.
- Therefore, the increase in the States’ share of tax devolution represents more meaningful decentralisation.
- Despite some shifts towards greater State autonomy in many spheres, the centralised nature of India’s fiscal architecture has persisted.
- Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) have formed a sizeable chunk of intergovernmental fiscal transfers over the years, comprising almost 23% of transfers to States in 2021-22.
- But its outsized role strays from the intentions of the Constitution.
- There are issues in the design of CSSs as well, with the conditions being overly prescriptive and, typically, input-based.
- Against this, international experience reveals that schemes with output-based conditions are more effective.
- Moreover, CSSs typically have a cost-sharing model, thereby pre-empting the States’ fiscal space.
3) Lack of fiscal empowerment
- Third-tier governments are not fiscally empowered.
- The collection of property tax, a major source of revenue for third-tier governments, is under 0.2% of GDP in India, compared to 3% of GDP in some other nations.
- The Constitution envisages State Finance Commissions (SFCs) to make recommendations for matters such as tax devolution and grants-in-aid to the third tier.
- However, many States have not constituted or completed these commissions on time.
Solution
- The Centre should play an enabling role, for instance, encouraging knowledge-sharing between States.
- For States to play a bigger role in human capital interventions, they need adequate fiscal resources.
- To this end, States should rationalise their priorities to focus on human capital development.
- The Centre should refrain from offsetting tax devolution by altering cost-sharing ratios of CSSs and increasing cesses.
- Concomitantly, the heavy reliance on CSSs should be reduced, and tax devolution and grants-in-aid should be the primary sources of vertical fiscal transfers.
- Panchayats and municipalities need to be vested with the functions listed in the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules.
Consider the question “There is a positive correlation between decentralisation and human capital. This in part explains India’s low human capital indicators. In light of this, examine the issues with the decentralisation in India and suggest the measures to deal with it.”
Conclusion
Leveraging the true potential of our multi-level federal system represents the best way forward towards developing human capital.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNHRC
Mains level: Sri Lanka at the UN Rights Council
Sri Lanka is facing another UNHRC resolution for its war crimes that took place during the military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
UNHRC report on Sri Lanka
- The report warned that Sri Lanka’s failure to address human rights violations and war crimes committed in the past had put the country on a “dangerous path”.
- It rose that this could lead to a “recurrence” of policies and practices that gave rise to the earlier situation.
- It flagged the accelerating militarization of civilian governmental functions, a reversal of important constitutional safeguards, political obstruction of accountability, intimidation of civil society, and the use of anti-terrorism laws.
- The shrinking space for independent media and civil society and human rights organisations are also themes in the report.
Try this question:
Q.The triangulation in the ties between Sri Lanka, China and Pakistan is an emerging threat in the Indian Ocean Region. Discuss.
The Resolution 30/1
- The resolution 30/1 launched in 2015 deals with promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.
- It extended an opportunity to make good on its promises for justice and offered extensive support to accomplish that objective.
Sri Lanka’s intention
- It is more than Sri Lanka has failed to – and doesn’t intend to — take the necessary, decisive, and sustainable steps necessary to achieve domestic justice and reconciliation.
- Sri Lanka has officially sought India’s help to muster support against the resolution, which it has described as “unwanted interference by powerful countries”.
Where India comes in
- The UNHRC is scheduled to hold an “interactive” session on Sri Lanka where the report was to be discussed, and member countries were to make statements. India is expected to make a statement too.
- Country-specific resolutions against Sri Lanka have regularly come up at the UNHRC in the last decade.
- New Delhi voted against Sri Lanka in 2012 and abstained in 2014. It was spared the dilemma in 2015 when Sri Lanka joined resolution 30/1.
- With elections coming up in Tamil Nadu, and PM declaring on a recent visit that he was the first Indian leader to visit Jaffna, Sri Lanka has begun reading the tea leaves.
- Whichever way it goes, the resolution is likely to resonate in India-Sri Lanka Relations and for India internally, in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Puducherry, President's Rule
Mains level: Presidents' Rule
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal by the Home Ministry to dissolve the Puducherry Assembly and impose President’s Rule in the Union Territory.
Try this question from CSP 2017:
Q.Which of the following is not necessarily the consequences of the proclamation of the President’s Rule in a State?
- Dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly
- Removal of the Council of Ministers in the State
- Dissolution of the local bodies
Select the correct answer using the code given below
(a) 1 & 2 only
(b) 1 & 3 only
(c) 2 & 3 only
(d) 1, 2 & 3
What is President’s Rule?
- President’s rule is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct central government rule in a state.
- This is achieved through the invocation of Article 356 of the Constitution by the President on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers.
- Under Article 356, this move can be taken “(1) If the President, on receipt of the report from the Governor of the State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution…”
How long President’s Rule can last?
- A proclamation of President’s Rule can be revoked through a subsequent proclamation in case the leader of a party produces letters of support from a majority of members of the Assembly and stakes his claim to form a government.
- The revocation does not need the approval of Parliament.
- Any proclamation under Article 356 —which stands for six months — has to be approved by both Houses in the Parliament session following it.
- This six-month time-frame can be extended in phases, up to three years.
Conditions for Prez Rule
- Where after general elections to the assembly, no party secures a majority, that is, Hung Assembly.
- Where the party having a majority in the assembly declines to form a ministry and the governor cannot find a coalition ministry commanding a majority in the assembly.
- Where a ministry resigns after its defeat in the assembly and no other party is willing or able to form a ministry commanding a majority in the assembly.
- Where a constitutional direction of the Central government is disregarded by the state government.
- Internal subversion where, for example, a government is deliberately acting against the Constitution and the law or is fomenting a violent revolt.
- Physical breakdown where the government willfully refuses to discharge its constitutional obligations endangering the security of the state.
Notable judgements: The S.R. Bommai Case
Bommai v. Union of India (1994) was a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India, where the Court discussed at length provisions of Article 356 of the Constitution of India and related issues.
- The judgement attempted to curb blatant misuse of Article 356 of the Constitution of India, which allowed the President’s rule to be imposed over state governments.
- Article 356 (1) has been deliberately drafted in a narrow language by the Founding Fathers so that political parties in the Centre does not misuse it to subvert federalism, it had noted.
- The President has to be convinced of or should have sufficient proof of information with regard to or has to be free from doubt or uncertainty about the state of things indicating that the situation in question has arisen.
- The court had stated that although the sufficiency or otherwise of the material cannot be questioned, the legitimacy of inference drawn from such material is “certainly open to judicial review”.
What was its verdict?
- The judgment had explained that in a multi-party political system, chances are high that the political parties in the Centre and the State concerned may not be the same.
- Article 356 cannot be used for the purpose of political one-upmanship by the Centre.
- Hence there is a need to confine the exercise of power under Article 356[1] strictly to the situation mentioned therein which is a condition precedent to the said exercise,” the court had said.
Fouling factors
The imposition of President’s Rule in a state would be improper under the following situations:
- Where a ministry resigns or is dismissed on losing majority support in the assembly and the governor recommends imposition of President’s Rule without probing the possibility of forming an alternative ministry.
- Where the governor recommends imposition of President’s Rule without allowing the ministry to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly.
- Maladministration in the state or allegations of corruption against the ministry or stringent financial exigencies of the state.
- Where the state government is not given prior warning to rectify itself except in case of extreme urgency leading to disastrous consequences.
- Where the power is used to sort out intra-party problems of the ruling party.
Back2Basics: Puducherry
- Puducherry is a union territory formed out of four territories of former French India, namely Pondichéry (Pondicherry; now Puducherry), Karikal (Karaikal), Mahé and Yanaon (Yanam), excluding Chandannagar.
- It is named after the largest district, Puducherry.
- The areas of Puducherry district and Karaikal district are bound by the state of Tamil Nadu, while Yanam district and Mahé district are enclosed by the states of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, respectively.
- It is entitled by a special constitutional amendment act of 1962 to have an elected legislative assembly and a cabinet of ministers, thereby conveying partial statehood similar to the UT of Delhi.
- It is administered by a Lieutenant Governor.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sun’s Rotation
Mains level: Not Much
Scientists at Kodaikanal Solar Observatory have estimated how the Sun has rotated over a century from data extracted from old films and photographs that have been digitized.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following phenomena:
- Size of the sun at dusk
- Colour of the sun at dawn
- Moon being visible at dawn
- Twinkle of stars in the sky
- Polestar being visible in the sky
Which of the above are optical illusions?
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 3, 4 and 5
(c) 1, 2 and 4
(d) 2, 3 and 5
Sun’s Rotation
- The Sun rotates around an axis that is roughly perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic; the Sun’s rotational axis is tilted by 7.25° from perpendicular to the ecliptic.
- It rotates in the counterclockwise direction (when viewed from the north), the same direction that the planets rotate (and orbit around the Sun).
- The Sun’s rotation period varies with latitude on the Sun since it is made of gas.
- Equatorial regions rotate faster than Polar Regions.
- The equatorial regions (latitude = 0 degrees) rotate in about 25.6 days. The regions at 60 degrees latitude rotate in about 30.9 days. Polar Regions rotate in about 36 days.
Key observations of the study
- The Sun rotates more quickly at its equator than at its poles.
- Over time, the Sun’s differential rotation rates cause its magnetic field to become twisted and tangled.
- The tangles in the magnetic field lines can produce strong localized magnetic fields.
- When the Sun’s magnetic field gets twisted, there are lots of sunspots.
- The sunspots which form at the surface with an 11-year periodicity are the only route to probe the solar dynamo or solar magnetism inside the Sun and hence measure the variation in solar rotation.
Benefits offered
- This estimation would help study the magnetic field generated in the interior of the Sun, which causes sunspots and results in extreme situations like the historical mini-ice age on Earth (absence of sunspots).
- It could also help predict solar cycles and their variations in the future.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ICOLD
Mains level: NA
The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) Symposium was inaugurated by the Minister for Jal Shakti.
What is the news?
- ICOLD in collaboration with Central Water Commission (CWC) has organised a Symposium on “Sustainable Development of Dams and River Basins”.
- The symposium is being organised to provide an excellent opportunity to Indian Dam Engineering Professionals and Agencies to share their experiences, ideas and latest developments.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
Dam: Lake River
(a) Govind Sagar: Satluj
(b) Kolleru Lake: Krishna
(c) Ukai Reservoir: Tapi
(d) Wular Lake: Jhelum
About ICOLD
- The ICOLD is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the sharing of professional information and knowledge of the design, construction, maintenance, and impact of large dams.
- It was founded in 1928 and has its central office in Paris, France.
- It consists of 100 member national committees which have a total membership of about 10,000 individuals.
- The official languages of the commission are English and French.
Key initiatives: World Register of Dams
For the purpose of inclusion in the World Register of Dams, a large dam is defined as any dam above 15 metres in height OR any dam between 10 and 15 metres in height that meets at least one of the following conditions:
- the crest length is not less than 500 metres
- the capacity of the reservoir formed by the dam is not less than one million cubic metres
- the maximum flood discharge dealt with by the dam is not less than 2 000 cubic metres per second
- the dam had especially difficult foundation problems
- the dam is of unusual design
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