Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India's participation in summit for democracy
Context
On December 9 and 10, US President Joe Biden will host a virtual “summit for democracy”, which will bring together leaders of 100 countries, civil society and private sector representatives.
Challenges to India’s democratic image
- India categorised as partly free: The US-based Freedom House’s “Freedoms of the World” index categorises India as only “partly free”; the Swedish V-Dem calls India an “electoral autocracy”.
- Others lump India with Hungary, Turkey and the Philippines, where authoritarian leaders rule the roost.
- Factors affecting India’s image: Rights violations in Kashmir, suspension of internet services in Kashmir, the conflation of political dissent with the colonial-era crime of sedition, the use of anti-terrorism laws to silence critics, the failure of the state to ensure freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, the anti-Muslim amendments to citizenship laws have all but shredded India’s democratic image.
Agenda of the summit
- The agenda of the summit holds contemporary resonance in India.
- Three broad themes: According to the State Department, the summit will convene around three broad themes — defending democracy against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights.
- Leaders will be “encouraged” to announce “specific actions and commitments” to meaningful domestic reforms and international initiatives that advance the summit’s goals.
Why India’s contribution to the agenda will be scrutinized closely
- Cultural relativisms: One theme that emerges from these observations is that of cultural relativism — the “Indianness of India’s democracy”— “as India becomes ever more democratic, democracy will become ever more Indian in its sensibilities and texture”.
- Role of civil society: A second theme is the role of civil society.
- It has been accused of “defaming” or bringing harm to India, as espoused most recently in statements by the National Security Adviser, who also called them “the new frontier of a fourth-generation war”.
- Ensuring democratic rights: Another noticeable theme is around the responsibility for ensuring democratic rights.
Challenges for India
- India has to reconcile the paradox inherent in submitting to international gaze at a global assembly where it is apparently required to make commitments adhering to “western” standards of democracy while claiming there is an Indian model.
- In March this year, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar dismissed global standards and international metrics of democracy as rubbish.
- For perspective, this is what China says too.
- When President Biden brought up Beijing’s human rights record, President Xi Jinping told him there was no “uniform model” of democracy, and that dismissing other “forms of democracy different from one’s own is itself undemocratic.
- The summit may intensify these differences, particularly because the host has no shining credentials either.
- If democracy-building was never the US goal in Afghanistan, as Biden declared, why make the unfreezing of Afghan assets overseas conditional to the Taliban turning democratic and inclusive overnight?
Conclusion
India’s expected participation in the summit will come against a rather bleak backdrop of relativism, misinformation, confusion, obfuscation and polarisation on issues of democracy, civil society and rights.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cryptocurrencies
Mains level: Paper 3- Lessons for regulation
Context
The fact that crypto exchanges successfully managed to signal legitimacy for their services and offer these tokens to a mostly-uninformed public for over a year provides lessons on how the government and sectoral regulators may need to act before the game gets out of hand.
Regulating the technology innovation
- Technology innovation typically remains a step ahead of regulatory frameworks, which are designed with current practices in mind.
- Problems occur when these innovations push the envelope beyond accepted codes of social and ethical behaviour.
- Digital lending apps: The joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on a proposed data privacy law that recently released its controversial report has pointed to dubious “digital” lending apps proliferating on the Android platform.
- Blockchain technology, of which cryptos are a part, is an innovation that can facilitate transactions across assorted functions.
Issues with unregulated cryptocurrencies in India
- Some estimates show that over 15 million Indians have invested in cryptos, many of whom live in Tier-II or Tier-III towns.
- But crypto exchanges in India have pushed the boundaries of this invention.
- Important disclaimer not communicated properly: They have been advertising aggressively across media platforms often announcing important disclaimers at warp speed.
- These provisos were supposed to communicate that cryptos are neither currencies nor strictly “assets”, and that these trading platforms are not truly “exchanges”, that crypto values are not determined by the usual dynamics governing other income-yielding assets, and that investing in cryptos was an exceedingly risky proposition.
- In the meantime, with advertising overload stimulating viewer interest, many scam crypto issuers and exchanges have sprung up in attempts to separate the gullible from their savings.
Regulation challenges and how government is tackling it
- The government has now stepped in, seized with the political perils of speculative investments turning sour.
- Unfortunately, sectoral regulators, such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi), were unable to step in and act earlier because they are governed by specific Acts which do not mention cryptos as a category that needs regulation.
- Need for enabling clauses: This episode provides a valuable lesson on how these Acts should perhaps include some enabling clauses that allow financial sector regulators to intervene whenever any intermediary tries to sell a financial service or any new innovative financial service poses the risk of disrupting financial stability.
- Two important documents have recently been released which discuss entry norms into formal banking, both further strengthening RBI’s hands.
- Think-tank Niti Aayog’s paper on licensing digital banks recommends an evolutionary path for digital banks that’s RBI-regulated at all stages: first a restricted licence, then a regulatory sandbox offering some relaxations, and finally a “full-stack” digital banking licence.
- Simultaneously, RBI has accepted some of the suggestions of its internal working group and modified a few to make entry norms stricter, but has maintained silence on the entry of private sector corporate houses into banking.
- The JPC’s concerns over unregulated digital lending have also focused attention on an RBI-appointed committee’s report on digital lending, given that multiple fintech-based online lenders have mushroomed during the pandemic.
Conclusion
This highlights the need for principle-based regulations, rather than rule-based regulations, to allow for flexibility and adaptability in a fast-changing technology environment.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gini
Mains level: Paper 2- Analysing NHFS-5 data
Context
The release of the NFHS data (and the Niti Aayog’s study on developing a multi-dimensional index of poverty — MPI) has led to a considerable amount of discussion, and justifiably so.
Understanding the progress and development: MPI
- The MPI is an Oxford-based initiative that develops an exclusive broadly non-monetary living standard index of poverty.
- MPI indices are the third in the series of global studies on poverty.
- Global studies on poverty: Global studies started with the World Bank’s income/consumption-based measure of absolute poverty.
- The UN expanded the monetary index adding health and education indicators via the Human Development Index (HDI).
Evolution of poverty over time
- Like with the other poverty indices (World Bank and HDI), most information and useful policy analysis comes via a study of the inter-temporal evolution of poverty.
- Regional inequality: Ajit Ranade acknowledges that regional inequality has existed for some time, but he argues that poverty incidence across Indian states even as per the MPI is astoundingly unequal.
- T N Ninan talks about the simultaneous existence of Africa’s Sahel region and the Philippines in India.
- He finds that the two Indias are not getting any closer.
- Indeed, India’s development trajectory has not been uniform, but the regional imbalance of development cannot be viewed at a fixed point in time.
Analysing the NHFS data
- A detailed examination of the summary statistics reported in the NFHS data (large and small states of India for the two years 2015-16 and 2019-21), reveals the opposite result.
- Convergence: The analysis reveals remarkable convergence in living standards, a convergence possibly unparalleled in Indian history and in the space of just five years.
- NFHS reports the averages for all states, and for 131 variables, for two years 2015-16 and 2020-21.
- Seventeen of these 131 welfare indicators are used to construct indices under four classifications.
- Improvement in lives of girls/women: The first classification concerns itself with the improvement in the lives of girls/women (five indicators, for example, sex ratio, fertility, female education).
- Housing conditions: The second bucket consists of housing conditions (three indicators, for example, improved sanitation, clean fuel).
- Children’s welfare: The third list consists of children’s welfare (four indicators such as adequate diet, stunting)
- Women’s welfare: The fourth classification includes women’s empowerment (five indicators, for example, owning a house, less spousal violence).
- Given that Niti Aayog’s report primarily relies on the NFHS-4, these findings can be used as the baseline scenario to evaluate the delta — that is, the per cent change in indicators between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5.
- The table reports the results for several states.
- Seventeen indicators imply a maximum possible score of 1,700.
- Kerala performs the best with an aggregate index of 1,300 in NFHS-5 — a very small 1.5 per cent increase from its 2015-16 value.
- In contrast, Bihar increases its index by 56 per cent.
- Punjab does better than Tamil Nadu and today has a higher index – 1,240 versus 1,178 in 2020-21.
- UP (along with Rajasthan and MP) performs the best — a 60 plus per cent increase in the welfare index, more than five times the increase in the rich states.
Major findings from the NHFS data
- Convergence: Higher improvement by less developed states is evidence in support of catch-up, which suggests that regional imbalances are reducing, and in some indicators, rapidly so.
- States such as UP, Bihar and Jharkhand are fast approaching similar standards for select indicators as some of the “developed” states.
- Result of targeted intervention: This acceleration in catch up is no coincidence, but rather an outcome of an approach that involves targeted interventions to improve developmental outcomes.
- The approach was not just limited to sanitation, proper fuel or electricity — interventions that are targeted to an individual household — but also to the holistic development of an entire region.
Consider the question “What does NHFS-5 data reveal about the inequality in India?”
Conclusion
India has been, and was, not one but several Indias. What is remarkable about its recent history is the rapid process of uneven change — where progress is considerably higher for the poorer states — the convergent, and inclusive pattern of development. That is the real story behind the NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 numbers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Unresolved constitutional cases and their implications
Context
As 2021 draws to a close, a look at the Supreme Court of India’s docket reveals a host of highly significant constitutional cases that were long-pending when the year began, and are now simply a year older without any sign of resolution around the corner.
How delay in judicial process matters differently for the State and individual?
- While the violation of rights — whether through executive or legislative action — is relatively costless for the state, it is the individual, or individuals, who pay the price.
- Making the Constitution effective: Consequently, a Constitution is entirely ineffective if a rights-violating status quo is allowed to exist and perpetuate for months, or even years, before it is finally resolved.
- This point, of course, is not limited to the violation of rights, but extends to all significant constitutional questions that arise in the course of controversial state action.
- Missing the accountability: Issues around the federal structure, elections, and many others, all involve questions of power and accountability, and the longer that courts take to resolve such cases, the more we move from a realm of accountability to a realm of impunity.
- The longer such cases are left hanging without a decision, the greater the damage that is inflicted upon our constitutional democracy’s commitment to the rule of law.
Significant cases that are unresolved
[a] Challenge to the dilution of Article 370
- There is the constitutional challenge to the Presidential Orders of August 5, 2019, that effectively diluted Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, and bifurcated the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, controlled by the Centre.
- It raises the question of whether the Centre can take advantage of an Article 356 situation in a State — a time when no elected government and Assembly is in existence — to make permanent and irreversible alterations in the very structure of the State itself.
- Implications for federal structure: The answer will have important ramifications not just for Jammu and Kashmir but for the entire federal structure:
- India has a long history of the abuse of Article 356 to “get rid of” inconvenient State governments, and a further expansion of the power already enjoyed by the Centre will skew an already tilted federal scheme even further.
- Power of the Parliament to alter convert State into UT: The case also raises the question of whether, under the Constitution, the Union Legislature has the authority not simply to alter State boundaries (a power granted to it by Article 3 of the Constitution), but degrade a State into a Union Territory.
- If it turned out that the Union Legislature does have this power, it would essentially mean that India’s federal structure is entirely at the mercy of Parliament.
[2] Constitutional challenge to the electoral bond scheme
- Opaque and structurally biased: The electoral bonds scheme authorises limitless, anonymous corporate donations to political parties, making election funding both entirely opaque to the people, as well as being structurally biased towards the party that is in power at the Centre.
- Impact on integrity and right of the citizens to informed vote: In numerous central and State election cycles in the last four years, thousands of crores of rupees have been spent in anonymous political donations, thus impacting not only the integrity of the election process but also the constitutional right of citizens to an informed vote.
- However, other than two interim orders, the Supreme Court has refused to accord a full hearing to the constitutional challenge.
[3] Other significant cases
- Statutory basis of the CBI: As far back as 2013, the Gauhati High Court held that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was not established under any statutory authority.
- This verdict was immediately stayed when it was appealed to the Supreme Court, but in the intervening years, it has never been heard.
- Challenge to the CAA: More recently, constitutional challenges to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), filed in the immediate aftermath of the legislation’s enactment, remain unheard.
- Challenge to the UAPA: The challenges to the much-criticised Section 43(D)(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which makes the grant of bail effectively impossible, and is responsible for the years-long incarceration of several people.
- The challenge to Section 43(D)(5) is perhaps the case that most directly affects civil rights, as the section continues to be applied on a regular basis.
Implications of the delay
- Favouring one party: The Supreme Court’s inaction is not neutral, but rather, favours the beneficiaries of the status quo.
- In other words, by not deciding, the Court is in effect deciding — in favour of one party — but without a reasoned judgment that justifies its stance.
- Impact on accountability: Judicial evasion of this kind is also damaging for the accountability of the judiciary itself.
- The Court’s inaction plays as significant a role on the ground as does its action, there is no judgment — and no reasoning — that the public can engage with.
- Impact on the rule of law: For obvious reasons, this too has a serious impact on the rule of law.
Consider the question “What are the implications of the delay in deciding the constitutionally significant cases? Suggest the way forward.”
Conclusion
The current CJI has been on record stressing the importance of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. One way of demonstrating that in action might be to hear — and decide — the important constitutional cases pending before the Court.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: AFSPA
Mains level: Human Rights and National Security dichotomy
The death of at least 14 civilians in Nagaland as a result of the action of the Indian Army has brought back into focus the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 [AFSPA].
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 ‘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:
- Right to Life and Personal Liberty (Article 21) and
- 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:
- 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”.
- Declaration preconditions: These preconditions include a declaration by a high-level authority that an area is “disturbed”.
- 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.
- 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”.
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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”.
- Good intelligence: It added that “good intelligence is the key to success”.
- 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”.
- 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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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NPK fertilizers
Mains level: Fertilizer subsidies in India
An unprecedented spike in natural gas prices and other raw materials is set to inflate the fertilizer subsidy bill by a whopping 62% or ₹50,000 crores to ₹1,30,000 crore this fiscal.
Fertilizer Subsidy in India
- Fertilizer 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.
- Subsidy as a concept originated during the Green Revolution of the 1970s-80s.
How does it work?
- Fertilizer subsidy ultimately goes to the fertilizer company, even though it is the farmer that benefits.
- Before 2018, companies were reimbursed after the material was dispatched and received by the district railhead or designated godown.
- 2018 saw the beginning of DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer), which would transfer money directly to the retailer’s account.
- However, the companies will be paid only after the actual sale to the farmer.
- 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.
What about non-urea fertilizers?
- Decontrolled system: The non-urea fertilizer 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).
Issues with such subsidies
- Flawed subsidy policy: This is harmful not just to the farmer, but to the environment as well.
- No permanent remedy: Indian soil has low Nitrogen use efficiency, which is the main constituent of Urea.
- Excessive use: Consequently, excess usage contaminates groundwater.
- Emission: The bulk of urea applied to the soil is lost as NH3 (Ammonia) and Nitrogen Oxides causing emissions.
- Health hazards: For human beings, “blue baby syndrome” is a common side ailment caused by Nitrate contaminated water.
Post your answers in the comment box for 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
Post your answers here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Snail Physella Acuta
Mains level: Not Much
A tiny snail with a striking, pellucid golden-yellow shell found in the Edappally canal in Kochi has been flagged as an invasive species that could play havoc with native ecosystems.
Snail Physella Acuta
- First described by J.P.R. Draparnaud in 1805, Physella acuta is considered native to North America but is now found in all continents except Antarctica.
- The snail was first reported in India in the early 1990s.
- It is believed to have reached Kerala through the aquarium trade, a major vector for invasive species.
- In Kerala, the snail had made its home in a highly polluted reach plagued by high sedimentation, untreated sewage, commercial effluents, construction wastes and a thick growth of invasive aquatic weeds.
Threats posed
- This snail plays host to worms that can cause food-borne diseases and skin itches in humans.
- Moreover, its rapid growth rate, air-breathing capability, and tolerance to pollution make it a potential competitor to native fauna.
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