Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pardoning powers of Governor and President
Mains level: Read the attached story
Tamil Nadu CM has written to the President requesting him to accept the State Government’s to remit the life sentences of all the seven convicts in the Ex-PM’s assassination case.
Story so far
- Tamil Nadu government had recommended to the state Governor for the remission of the rest of the sentence for all convicts and their early release.
- The Governor has then decided that the President was the competent authority to decide on the plea of remission of sentence.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Which of the following are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State?
- Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President’s rule
- Appointing the Ministers
- Reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India
- Making the rules to conduct the business of the State Government
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Pardon
- A pardon is a government/executive decision to allow a person to be absolved of guilt for an alleged crime or other legal offense as if the act never occurred.
Why need Pardon?
- Pardons can be granted when individuals are deemed to have demonstrated that they have “paid their debt to society”, or are otherwise considered to be deserving of them.
- Pardons are sometimes offered to persons who were either wrongfully convicted or who claim that they were wrongfully convicted.
- Pardons are sometimes seen as a mechanism for combating corruption, allowing a particular authority to circumvent a flawed judicial process to free someone that is seen as wrongly convicted.
Pardoning powers in India
- Under the Constitution of India (Article 72), the President of India can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment.
- A similar and parallel power vests in the governors of each state under Article 161.
[1] President
- Article 72 says that the president shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offense.
- The pardoning powers of the Indian President are elucidated in Art 72 of the Indian Constitution. There are five different types of pardoning that are mandated by law.
- Pardon: means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free. The pardoned criminal will be like a normal citizen.
- Commutation: means changing the type of punishment given to the guilty into a less harsh one, for example, a death penalty commuted to a life sentence.
- Reprieve: means a delay allowed in the execution of a sentence, usually a death sentence, for a guilty person to allow him some time to apply for Presidential Pardon or some other legal remedy to prove his innocence or successful rehabilitation.
- Respite: means reducing the quantum or degree of the punishment to a criminal in view of some special circumstances, like pregnancy, mental condition etc.
- Remission: means changing the quantum of the punishment without changing its nature, for example reducing twenty year rigorous imprisonment to ten years.
Cases as specified by art. 72
- in all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a court martial;
- in all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends;
- in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death.
[2] Governor
- Similarly, as per article 161: Governor of a State has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law.
- It must be relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends.
- Please note that President can grant pardon to a person awarded death sentence. But a governor of a state does not enjoy this power.
Nature of the Pardoning Power
- The question is whether this power to grant pardon is absolute or this power of pardon shall be exercised by the President on the advice of Council of Ministers.
- The pardoning power of the president is not absolute. It is governed by the advice of the Council of Ministers.
- This has not been discussed by the constitution but is the practical truth.
- Further, the constitution does not provide for any mechanism to question the legality of decisions of President or governors exercising mercy jurisdiction.
- But the SC in Epuru Sudhakar case has given a small window for judicial review of the pardon powers of President and governors for the purpose of ruling out any arbitrariness.
- The court has earlier held that court has retained the power of judicial review even on a matter which has been vested by the Constitution solely in the Executive.
Some traditions
- It is important to note that India has a unitary legal system and there is no separate body of state law.
- All crimes are crimes against the Union of India.
- Therefore, a convention has developed that the governor’s powers are exercised for only minor offenses.
- While requests for pardons and reprieves for major offenses and offenses committed in the UTs are deferred to the President.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cryptocurrency, Blockchain technology
Mains level: Acceptance of cryptocurrency
The cryptocurrency market saw a big correction with prices of major currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, and others crashing as much as 30% within 24 hours. This came in the backdrop of Chinese regulators announcing a crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
Try this question from our AWE initiative:
What is a cryptocurrency? What benefits and challenges do cryptocurrencies pose? (250 Words)
Crackdown on Crypto Market
- China has barred financial institutions and payment companies from providing any services related to cryptocurrency transactions.
- This means that banks and online payment channels must not offer clients any service involving cryptocurrencies, such as registration, trading, clearing, and settlement.
- China had issued such a ban in 2017 as well, but compared with the previous ban, the new rules have expanded the scope of prohibited services, and surmise that “virtual currencies are not supported by any real value”.
Other reason behind this crash: The Tesla story
- Tesla recently announced that it wouldn’t favor Bitcoin on ‘environmental’ concerns because Bitcoin mining requires electricity which is mostly generated using fossil fuels.
- However, this seems to be motivated and raises a few questions like – didn’t the Tesla management already know about Bitcoin mining before diversifying into it?
What does this fall imply?
- A crackdown by one of the world’s biggest economy notwithstanding, those in the ecosystem has termed this decline as a short-term correction.
- A nearly 40% dip in the bitcoin price from its all-time high looks dramatic but is normal in many volatile markets, including crypto, especially after such a large rally.
- Such corrections are mainly due to short-term traders taking profits.
- Long-term value investors might call these lower prices a buying opportunity.
Back2Basics: Cryptocurrencies
- A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database.
- It uses strong cryptography to secure transaction records, control the creation of additional coins, and verify the transfer of coin ownership.
- It typically does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority.
- Cryptocurrencies typically use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: EWB system in GST regime
Mains level: GST benefits
GST officers have been armed with real-time data of commercial vehicle movement on highways with the integration of the e-way bill (EWB) system with FasTag and RFID.
Why such a move?
- The integration of e-way bill, RFID, and FASTag will enable tax officers to undertake live vigilance in respect of EWB compliances by businesses and will help curb tax evasion.
- It will aid in preventing revenue leakage by real-time identification of cases of recycling and/or non-generation of EWBs.
What are E-way bills (EWB)?
- Under the GST regime, transporters should carry the eWay Bill when moving goods from one place to another when certain conditions are satisfied.
- EWBs are mandatory for inter-state transportation of goods valued over Rs 50,000 from April 2018, with the exemption to precious items such as gold
- In this system, businesses and transporters have to produce before a GST inspector the e-way bill, if asked.
- On average, 25 lakh goods vehicle movements from more than 800 tolls are reported on a daily basis to the e-way bill system.
Benefits of the move
- Tax officers can now access reports on vehicles that have passed the selected tolls without EWBs in the past few minutes.
- Also, vehicles carrying critical commodities specific to the state and having passed the selected toll can be viewed.
- Any suspicious vehicles and vehicles of EWBs generated by suspicious taxpayer GSTINs, that have passed the selected toll on a near real-time basis, can also be viewed in this report.
- The officers can use these reports while conducting vigilance and make the vigilance activity more effective.
- Also, the officers of the audit and enforcement wing can use these reports to identify fraudulent transactions like bill trading, recycling of EWBs.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: A-76 Iceberg
Mains level: Impact of climate changes on Cryosphere
A huge ice block has broken off from western Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, becoming the largest iceberg in the world and earning the name A-76.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.On the planet earth, most of the freshwater exists as ice caps and glaciers. Out of the remaining freshwater, the largest proportion:
(a) is found in the atmosphere as moisture and clouds
(b) is found in freshwater lakes and rivers
(c) exists as groundwater
(d) exists as soil moisture
A-76 Iceberg
- A-76 is the latest in a series of large ice blocks to dislodge in a region acutely vulnerable to climate change, although scientists said in this case it appeared to be part of a natural polar cycle.
- The iceberg, measuring around 170 km long and 25 km wide, with an area of 4,320 sq km is now floating in the Weddell Sea.
- Slightly larger than the Spanish island of Majorca, A-76 had been monitored by scientists since it began to separate from the Ronne Ice Shelf.
- It joins the previous world’s largest title holder A-23A — approximately 3,880 sq. km. in size — which has remained in the same area since 1986.
- A-76 was originally spotted by the British Antarctic Survey and the calving — the term used when an iceberg breaks off — was confirmed using images from the Copernicus satellite.
Note: An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Map marking of Paracel Islands
Mains level: South China Sea Row
A United States warship sailed through the Paracel Islands in the disputed South China Sea.
Paracel Islands
- The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.
- The archipelago includes about 130 small coral islands and reefs, most grouped into the northeast Amphitrite Group or the western Crescent Group.
- They are distributed over a maritime area of around 15,000 square kilometers with a land area of approximately 7.75 square kilometers.
- The archipelago includes Dragon Hole, the deepest underwater sinkhole in the world.
- It is surrounded by productive fishing grounds and a seabed with potential, but as yet unexplored, oil and gas reserves.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Magnetosphere
Mains level: Not Much
Indian Scientists have developed a theory that helps understand the complicated nature of Sun-Earth interaction’s happening in the magnetosphere
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission
- The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission is a NASA robotic space mission to study the Earth’s magnetosphere, using four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation.
- The mission is designed to gather information about the microphysics of magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence—processes that occur in many astrophysical plasma.
- Indian researchers have developed a theory that solves every bit of uncertainty regarding the conflict between the observations from MMS Mission.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Consider the following statements:
- The Earth’s magnetic field has reversed every few hundred thousand years.
- When the Earth was created more than 4000 million years ago, there was 54% oxygen and no carbon dioxide.
- When living organisms originated, they modified the early atmosphere of the Earth.
Which of the statements given above is/ are correct? (CSP 2018)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
What is the Magnetosphere?
- The magnetosphere is the region of space surrounding Earth where the dominant magnetic field is the magnetic field of Earth, rather than the magnetic field of interplanetary space.
- It is formed by the interaction of the solar wind with Earth’s magnetic field.
Findings of the Indian Researchers
- The MMS spacecraft observed negative monopolar potential (electric field potentials which can be visualized in the form of single-humped pulse-type structures).
- The scientific community suddenly recognized its importance, and publications were presented.
- However, none of the available theories could explain the characteristics of these structures due to the exotic background conditions.
- Indian theory provides a better understanding of their characteristics and sheds light on the generation of these structures.
- This has lead to the unraveling of nature’s greatest mystery that causes phenomena -plasma transport and heating of plasma- the fourth state of matter after solid, liquid, and gas.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with the bureaucracy
The second wave of Covid has exposed the inherent weakness of the bureaucracy in India. The article highlights the necessity for reforms in the way bureaucracy functions in India.
Features of traditional bureaucracy
- Preference to generalist: Weberian bureaucracy still prefers a generalist over a specialist.
- Preference to leadership of position: The leadership of position is preferred over leadership of function in the traditional bureaucracy.
- The leadership of function is when a person has expert knowledge of a particular responsibility in a particular situation.
- The role of the leader is to explain the situation instead of issuing orders.
- Every official involved in a particular role responds to the situation rather than relying on some dictation from someone occupying a particular position.
- Lack of innovation: The rigid adherence to rules has resulted in the rejection of innovation.
Covid exposed limits of traditional bureaucracy
- A generalist officer IAS and State civil service officials are deemed an expert and as a result, superior in traditional bureaucracy.
- Specialists in every government department have to remain subordinate to the generalist officers.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the weakness of this system.
- Healthcare professionals who are specialists have been made to work under generalist officers and the policy options have been left to the generalists when they should be in the hands of the specialists.
- The justification is that the generalist provides a broader perspective compared to the specialist.
Is privatisation and private sector managerial techniques an answer?
- The reform often suggested in India is new public management.
- This as a reform movement promotes privatisation and managerial techniques of the private sector as an effective tool to seek improvements in public service delivery and governance.
- But this isn’t a viable solution in India where there is social inequality and regional variations in development.
- It renders the state a bystander among the multiple market players with a lack of accountability.
- Further, COVID-19 has shown that the private sector has also failed in public service delivery.
Way forward: Collaborative governance
- The most appropriate administrative reform is the model of new public governance.
- Work together: In collaborative governance, the public sector, private players and civil society, especially public service organisations (NGOs), work together for effective public service delivery.
- As part of new public governance, a network of social actors and private players would take responsibility in various aspects of governance with public bureaucracy steering the ship rather than rowing it.
- As part of new public governance, the role of civil society has to be institutionalised.
- It needs a change in the behaviour of bureaucracy.
- Openness to reforms: It needs flexibility in the hierarchy, a relook at the generalist versus specialist debate, and an openness to reforms such as lateral entry and collaboration with a network of social actors.
- All major revolutions with huge implications on public service delivery have come through the collaboration of public bureaucracy with so-called outsiders.
- These include the Green Revolution (M.S. Swaminathan), the White Revolution (Verghese Kurien), Aadhaar-enabled services (Nandan Nilekani) and the IT revolution (Sam Pitroda).
Consider the question “What are the weaknesses of bureaucracy in India? Suggest the measures to improve the quality of public service delivery in India.”
Conclusion
New public governance is the future of governance, especially public service delivery.
Back2Basics: The Weberian Model of bureaucracy
- The classic model of bureaucracy is typically called the ideal Weberian model, and it was developed by Max Weber, an early German sociologist.
- Weber argued that the increasing complexity of life would simultaneously increase the demands of citizens for government services.
- Therefore, the ideal type of bureaucracy, the Weberian model, was one in which agencies are apolitical, hierarchically organized, and governed by formal procedures.
- Furthermore, specialized bureaucrats would be better able to solve problems through logical reasoning.
- Such efforts would eliminate entrenched patronage, stop problematic decision-making by those in charge,, impose order and efficiency, create a clear understanding of the service provided, reduce arbitrariness, ensure accountability, and limit discretion.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Poor public health infrastructure in India and its consequences
The poor public health infrastructure in India hits the poor hard. The article examines the factors responsible for poor public health infrastructure and suggests the measures to deal with it.
Poor state of health infrastructure
- World Bank data reveal the poor state of India’s health infrastructure.
- It reveals that India had 85.7 physicians per 1,00,000 people in 2017.
- In contrast, it is 98 in Pakistan, 58 in Bangladesh, 100 in Sri Lanka and 241 in Japan.
- India had 53 beds per 1,00,000 people.
- It is 63 in Pakistan, 79.5 in Bangladesh, 415 in Sri Lanka and 1,298 in Japan.
- India had172.7 nurses and midwives per 1,00,000 people in contrast to 220 in Sri Lanka, 40 in Bangladesh, 70 in Pakistan, and 1,220 in Japan.
What are the factors responsible for poor health infrastructure?
- Stagnant expenditure: Analysis by the Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA), Ashoka University, shows that health expenditure has been stagnant for years.
- Lack of expertise with states: Despite health being a state subject, the main bodies with technical expertise are under central control.
- The States lack corresponding expert bodies such as the National Centre for Disease Control or the Indian Council of Medical Research.
- Inter-State variation: States also differ a great deal in terms of the fiscal space to deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic because of the wide variation in per capita health expenditure.
- Kerala and Delhi have been close to top in years from 2011 to 2019-20.
- Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, States that have been consistently towards the bottom of the ranking in the same years.
Out-of-pocket expenditure and its impact on the poor
- Due to low levels of public health provision, the World Health Organization estimates that 62% of the total health expenditure in India is OOP, among the highest in the world.
- Some of the poorest States, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha, have a high ratio of OOP expenditures in total health expenditure.
- Impact on the poor: High ratio of OOP means that the poor in the poorest States, the most vulnerable sections, are the worst victims of a health emergency.
Way forward
1) Coordinated national plan
- The inter-State variation in health expenditure highlights the need for a coordinated national plan at the central level to fight the pandemic.
- The Centre already tightly controls major decisions, including additional resources raised specifically for pandemic relief, e.g. the PM CARES Fund.
- The need for a coordinated strategy on essential supplies of oxygen and vaccines is acute.
- The Centre can bargain for a good price from vaccine manufacturers in its capacity as a single large buyer like the European Union did for its member states.
- Centre will also benefit from the economies of scale in transportation of vaccines into the country.
- Once the vaccines arrive in India, these could be distributed across States equitably in a needs-based and transparent manner.
- Another benefit of central coordination is that distribution of constrained resources like medical supplies, financial resources can internalise the existing disparities in health infrastructure across States.
2) Form Pandemic Preparedness Unit
- There is a need for the creation of a “Pandemic Preparedness Unit” (PPU) by the central government.
- PPU would streamline disease surveillance and reporting systems; coordinate public health management and policy responses across all levels of government.
- It will also formulate policies to mitigate economic and social costs, and communicate effectively about the health crisis.
Consider the question “India has among the highest out-of-pocket expenditure in the world, which is the result of poor public health infrastructure. Examine the factors responsible for poor public health infrastructure and suggest the ways to deal with it.”
Conclusion
As and when we emerge on the other side of the pandemic, bolstering public health-care systems has to be the topmost priority for all governments: the Centre as well as States.
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