Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: AFSPA
Mains level: Paper 2- Repealing AFSPA
Context
The killing of 14 civilians in Nagaland in a security operation has sparked debate over the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Case for repeal of AFSPA
- The repeal of AFSPA is necessary not just for restoring constitutional sanity, but also as a way of acknowledging dark history of our conduct in Nagaland.
- If the moral case for repealing AFSPA is strong, the political case points in the same direction as well.
- Need for ensuring individual dignity: The political incorporation of Nagaland (and all other areas where this law applies) will be set back if the guarantees of individual dignity of the Indian Constitution are not extended.
- Not state of exception: We often describe AFSPA in terms of a “state of exception”.
- But this theoretical term is misleading. How can a law that has been in virtually continuous existence since 1958 be described as an “exception”.
Why AFSPA is counterproductive to Army
- Distortion of choice: First, giving wide immunity to the forces can distort the choice of strategy in counter insurgency operations.
- Reduce professionalism: Second, wider immunity can often reduce rather than increase the professionalism of the forces.
- Against federalism: Third, we are constantly in the vicious circle that leads to central dominance in a way that undermines both Indian federalism and operational efficiency.
Powers and limits under AFSPA
- The Act grants extraordinarily sweeping powers to the armed forces of search, seizure, arrest, the right to shoot to kill.
- No blanket immunity: It is true that AFSPA does not grant blanket immunity.
- The SC guidelines: The Supreme Court laid down guidelines for the use of AFSPA in 1997; and in principle, unprofessional conduct, crimes and atrocities can still be prosecuted.
- But this will run into two difficulties.
- Lack of accountability mechanism: As the Jeevan Reddy Committee that advocated the repeal of AFSPA pointed out, the accountability mechanisms internal to AFSPA have not worked.
- In 2017, the Supreme Court ordered a probe into 1,528 extra-judicial killings in Manipur.
- At the least, this order seemed to suggest the problems with AFSPA were systemic.
- But there have apparently been no hearings in this case for three years.
- Lack of human empathy: At the heart of AFSPA is a profound mutilation of human empathy.
- Our discourse is a rather abstract one, balancing concepts of human rights and national security.
Conclusion
It is high time that all parties come together to repeal AFSPA. It will also be in the fitness of things if all parties got together to acknowledge the trauma in Nagaland and elsewhere. This will strengthen, not weaken, the comatose Indian constitutional project.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Monetary policy corridor
Mains level: Paper 3- Monetary policy normalisation and challenges involved in it
Context
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to maintain status quo on policy rates, with one member continuing to dissent on the “accommodative” stance of policy.
What is accommodative stance of policy?
Accommodative monetary policy is when central banks expand the money supply to boost the economy. Monetary policies that are considered accommodative include lowering the Federal funds rate. These measures are meant to make money less expensive to borrow and encourage more spending.
Overview of RBI policy measures during Covid-related lockdown
- Cut in policy rates and injection of liquidity: The RBI had moved proactively to cut the repo and reverse repo rate and inject unprecedented amounts of funds into banks and other intermediaries.
- The short-term interest rate at reverse repo level: a combination of the lower reverse repo rate and the large liquidity injection had resulted in a drop in various short-term rates down to (and occasionally below) the reverse repo rate, making it the effective operating rate of monetary policy.
- Gap between repo and reverse repo increased to 65 bps: In addition, both the repo and reverse repo rates had been cut to 4.0 and 3.35 per cent, respectively, with the gap – the “corridor” – between the rates widening from the usual 25 basis points to 65 bps.
Central bank’s role in modern monetary policy
- Determining basic overnight interest rate: A central bank’s main role in modern monetary policy operating procedures is to determine the basic overnight interest rate, deemed to be consistent with prevailing macroeconomic conditions and their economic policy objectives, in balancing the ecosystem for sustained growth together with moderate inflation.
- This is achieved through buying and selling very short-term (predominantly overnight) funds (mainly) from banks to keep a specified operating rate (the weighted average call rate in our case) very close to the policy rate.
Liquidity management: Key pillar of monetary policy normalisation
- Liquidity management: Liquidity management in the extended banking and financial system (which includes non-banking intermediaries like NBFCs, mutual funds and others) will now be the key pillar of normalisation.
- This process is the domain of RBI and not MPC.
- These operations will be conducted within RBI’s liquidity management framework.
- There are two sources of liquidity additions:
- (i) Exogenous: which are largely due to inflows of foreign currency funds and outflows of currency in circulation (cash) from the banking sector.
- (ii) Voluntary or endogenous: which is the result of the creation of base money by RBI through buying and selling of bonds, thereby injecting or extracting rupee funds.
How RBI is managing liquidity surplus?
- Stopped GSAP and OMOs: Post the October review, RBI had stopped buying bonds under the Govt Securities Asset Purchase (GSAP) and done negligible Open Market Operations (OMOs), thereby stopping addition of voluntary liquidity injection into the system, our own version of “tapering”.
- Union government balances with RBI, arising from cash flow mismatches between receipts and expenditures, has hybrid characteristics and also impacts liquidity.
- Use of reverse repo window: RBI has used the reverse repo window to absorb almost all this liquidity surplus from banks.
- Allowed repaying TLRTOs: It has again allowed banks the option to prepay the outstanding borrowings from the Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTROs), thereby potentially extracting another Rs 70,000 crores.
How RBI is managing interest rate in the policy normalisation process
- Increased rates and closed the gap between repo and reverse repo: RBI – post the October review – has gradually guided short-term rates up with a sure hand from near the reverse repo rate to close to the repo rate.
- It has shifted its liquidity absorption operations from the predominant use of fixed rate reverse repos (FRRR) into (largely) 14-day variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auctions to guide a rise in interest rates.
- Since early October, these rates had steadily moved up in a smooth and orderly fashion up to 3.75-3.9 per cent.
- The VRRR rates moving up have also resulted in various short-term funding interest rates like 90-day Treasury Bills, Commercial Papers (CP) and banks’ Certificates of Deposits (CD) moving up from the reverse repo rate or below in September to 3.5 per cent and higher since December.
- The OMO and GSAP operations have also helped in managing medium- and longer-term interest rates in the yield curve.
Way forward
- There is a likelihood of further additions to exogenous system liquidity.
- Other instruments to absorb surpluses: There might consequently be a need for other instruments to absorb these surpluses apart from VRRR auctions.
- Liquidity surplus of non-banking intermediaries: Managing liquidity surpluses of the non-banking intermediaries, especially mutual funds, will be another challenge since they do not have direct access to VRRR operations.
Consider the question “Since the onset of the Covid-related lockdowns, RBI had moved proactively to cut the repo and reverse repo rate and inject unprecedented amounts of funds into banks and other intermediaries. In this context, what are the challenges in monetary policy normalisation as RBI plans to absorb the excess liquidity and increase the interest rates ?”
Conclusion
The shift to the tightening phase, with hikes in the repo rate, is likely towards the late months of FY23, with shifts “if warranted by changes in the economic outlook”.
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Back2Basics: Monetary Policy Corridor
- The Corridor in monetary policy of the RBI refers to the area between the reverse repo rate and the MSF rate.
- Reverse repo rate will be the lowest of the policy rates whereas Marginal Standing Facility is something like an upper ceiling with a higher rate than the repo rate.
- The MSF rate and reverse repo rate determine the corridor for the daily movement in the weighted average call money rate.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ken-Betwa Interlinking Project
Mains level: River interlinking and associated issues
The Union Cabinet has approved the funding and implementation of the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project at the 2020-21 price level.
Ken-Betwa Interlinking Project
- The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for the interlinking of rivers.
- Under this project, water from the Ken River will be transferred to the Betwa River. Both these rivers are tributaries of the river Yamuna.
- The project is being managed by India’s National Water Development Agency (NWDA), under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
- Implementation of the project
- Phase-I: Daudhan dam complex and its appurtenances like Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa link canal and Power houses
- Phase-II: Lower Orr dam, Bina complex project and Kotha Barrage
Utility of the Project
- Irrigation: The project is slated to irrigate 10.62 lakh hectares annually, provide drinking water supply to 62 lakh people and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power.
- Water supply: The project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved Bundelkhand region, spread across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
- Agricultural boost: The project is expected to boost socio-economic prosperity in the backward Bundelkhand region on account of increased agricultural activities and employment generation.
- Addressing Rural Distress: It would also help in arresting distress migration from this region.
Many hurdles
- Submergence of critical wildlife habitat: The project will partly submerge the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and affect the habitat of vultures and jackals.
- Clearance: After years of protests, it was finally cleared by the apex wildlife regulator, the National Board for Wildlife, in 2016.
- Water sharing disputes: Then UP and MP could not agree on how water would be shared, particularly in the non-monsoonal months.
Back2Basics: River Interlinking in India
History
- The idea of interlinking of rivers in the Indian subcontinent is atleast 150 years old.
- During the British Raj in India, Sir Arthur Cotton, a British general and irrigation engineer, first suggested linking the Ganga and the Cauvery for navigational purposes.
- K.L. Rao’s Proposal (1972), which had 2640 km long Ganga – Cauvery link as its main component involved large scale pumping over a head of 550 m.
- The Central Water Commission, which examined the proposal, found it to be grossly under estimated and economically prohibitive.
Capt. Dastur Proposal (1977)
It envisaged the construction of two canals:
- 4200 km Himalayan Canal at the foot of Himalayan slopes running from the Ravi in the West to the Brahmaputra and beyond in the east
- 9300 km Garland Canal covering the central and southern parts
Beginning of implementation
- The Indian Rivers Inter-link aims to link India’s rivers by a network of reservoirs and canals and so reduce persistent floods in some parts and water shortages in other parts of India.
- The idea to link rivers got a shot in the arm with the establishment of the National Water Development Agency in 1982 by then PM Indira Gandhi.
- The Inter-link project was split into three parts:
- Northern Himalayan rivers inter-link component
- Southern Peninsular component
- Intrastate rivers linking component
Objectives of inter-linking
- Connect the Himalayan and peninsular rivers via a network of canals so that
- Excess water from one channel can be diverted to another which has an inadequate flow
- Flood moderation in the Ganga-Brahmaputra system
- Hydropower generation through excess water
Prospects of River inter-linking
- Engineering challenges: This is one of the most daring feats of engineering attempted in the history of mankind.
- Ecosystem challenges: It is a reimagining of the entire aquatic ecosystem of a country as large and diverse as India.
Advantages offered by river inter-linking
- Flood control and mitigation: Problems related to flood control, irrigation, limiting droughts and boosting farm output—can be sorted out by linking the country’s rivers.
- Economic boost: Potential benefits to transport infrastructure through navigation, as well as to broadening income sources in rural areas through fish farming.
Issues with such projects
- Migration: It will lead to massive displacement of people
- Topography change: Since the Ganga basin topography is flat, building dams would not substantially add to river flows.
- Inundation: The transfer of such enormous amounts of water will inundate forests and land for reservoirs.
- Seismic hazards: The weight of billions of liters of water can have seismic implications in the Himalayan region.
- Financial expense: River inter-linking is an expensive business from building the link canals to the monitoring and maintenance infrastructure.
- Political will: Implementation of the project not only needs a huge financial capital but also political support both is scarce commodities as of now.
- Consensus building for land acquisition: Another important issue is building consensus among states and Land acquisition.
- Ecological feasibility: Once the project is implemented it would lead to large-scale displacement of people and animals.
Criticisms of such projects
- Bad Science: Such projects are built on bad science and an outdated understanding of water systems and water management.
- Human determinism: Such projects go in contravention with natural process thereby generating more scope for threat than any opportunity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Law Commission of India
Mains level: Role of Law Commission in Legal Reforms
The Government has informed the Supreme Court that the appointment of Chairperson and Members of the 22nd Law Commission of India is under consideration.
Why in news?
- The setting up of the 22nd Law Commission was constituted by the Government on February 21, 2020.
- However, no progress has been made in the appointments till date.
- The Government invoked the ‘doctrine of separation of power’, which says that one arm of governance should not encroach into that of another.
Issues over appointment
- The last chairman of the law commission was retired Supreme Court judge, Justice B.S. Chauhan, who completed his tenure on 31 August 2018.
- Subsequently, the Commission has not been reconstituted.
- In February 2020, the Government of India announced its intention to reconstitute the Commission with no visible progress.
About Law Commission
- Law Commission of India is a currently-defunct executive body established by an order of the Government of India.
- The Commission’s function is to research and advise the GoI on legal reform, and is composed of legal experts, and headed by a retired judge.
- The commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.
- The last chairman of the Commission retired in August 2018, and since then, it has not been reconstituted.
Colonial Background
- The first Law Commission was established during colonial rule in India, by the East India Company under the Charter Act of 1833.
- It was then presided by Lord Macaulay.
- After that, three more Commissions were established in pre-independent India.
Post-Independence functioning
- The first Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 for a three-year term.
- Since then, twenty-one more Commissions have been established.
Major reforms undertaken
- The First Law Commission under Macaulay Itsuggested various enactments to the British Government, most of which were passed and enacted and are still in force in India.
- These include the Indian Penal Code (first submitted in 1837 but enacted in 1860 and still in force), Criminal Procedure Code (enacted in 1898, repealed and succeeded by the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973), etc.
- Thereafter three more Law Commissions were established which made a number of other recommendations the Indian Evidence Act (1872) and Indian Contract Act (1872), etc. being some of the significant ones.
Role in legal reforms
The Law Commission has been a key to law reform in India.
- Its role has been both advisory and critical of the government’s policies
- In a number of decisions, the Supreme Court has referred to the work done by the commission and followed its recommendations.
- The Commission seeks to simplify procedures to curb delays and improve standards of justice.
- It also strives to promote an accountable and citizen-friendly government that is transparent and ensures the people’s right to information.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Theory of Justice
Mains level: Principle of Justice
This newscard is an excerpt of the original article published in TH.
Note: This article is of extreme theoretical nature. But it leaves scope for many vague questions for prelims as well as mains where most of us go clueless.
Two principles of Justice
- The concept, so-called, of “two principles of justice”, is synonymous with the name of John Rawls, a highly influential American liberal political philosopher of the last century.
- The concept of two principles forms an encapsulation of the core principles of:
- Freedom and equality embodied in the constitutions of any contemporary liberal democratic society
- As such, they have acquired pre-eminence in a wide range of academic disciplines and in the arena of public policymaking.
What are the two principles?
- The first of Rawls’ two principles says that every citizen has the same claim to a scheme of equal basic liberties, which must also be compatible with those of every other citizen.
- It enumerates an extensive list of basic civil and political rights, including a person’s freedom of conscience, expression and association; the right to a basic income; and the right to exercise the franchise.
- Their resonance with the practical world of politics needs no emphasis; consider the chapter on fundamental rights in any constitution.
- The second of Rawls’ two principles grapples with the underlying inequalities of social and economic institutions.
How can these be reasonably justified to free and equal citizens?
- In order to be morally defensible, the institutions must satisfy two conditions.
- First, they must guarantee fair equality of opportunities for competition to positions of public office and employment.
- Second, social and economic inequalities must be arranged in a manner that they work to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society.
- This latter postulate is Rawls’ famous “difference principle”.
Significance of this principle
- The political significance of Rawls’ two principles of justice obtains equally in the relative weight and primacy he assigns to their different components.
- Between them, the first principle is accorded absolute priority over the second.
- That is to say, the primacy of the equal basic liberties of citizens is non-negotiable in a democratic society.
- The entitlement of each to the various liberties is as critical as they are universal and non-discriminatory.
- Within the second principle, the first part takes precedence over the second.
- In other words, public institutions could not appear legitimate in the eyes of citizens unless everybody could reasonably expect to enjoy the fruits of fair equality of opportunities.
Try this question from CSP 2020:
Q. One common agreement between Gandhism and Marxism is
(a) The final goal of a stateless society
(b) Class struggle
(c) Abolition of private property
(d) Economic determinism
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ambergris
Mains level: Not Much
The Crime Branch in Pune and seized 550 grams of ambergris, also known as ‘floating gold’.
What is Ambergris?
- Ambergris, which means gray amber in French, is a waxy substance that originates from the digestive system of the protected sperm whales.
- It is incorrectly referred to as ‘whale vomit’.
- It is produced in the gastrointestinal tract of some of the sperm whales for the passage of hard, sharp objects that are ingested when the whale eats large quantities of marine animals.
Why is it so expensive?
- Investigating agencies from across India who have seized ambergris in the recent past estimate its value to be somewhere between Rs 1 to 2 crores per kilogram, depending on the purity and quality.
- Being extremely rare contributes to its high demand and high price in the international market.
Its uses
- Traditionally, ambergris is used to produce perfumes that have notes of musk.
- While there are records of it being used to flavor food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco in some cultures in the past, it is rarely used for these purposes presently.
Legalities and recent cases of seizure in India
- While there is a ban on possession and trade of ambergris in countries like the USA, Australia and India, in several other countries it is a tradable commodity.
- In the Indian context, the sperm whales are a protected species under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and possession or trade of any of its by-products, including Ambergris is illegal.
- It has been observed that the gangs smuggling the ambergris procure it from coastal areas and ship it to destination countries via some other countries with whom India has comparatively less stringent sea trade.
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