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  • Government Budgets

    Fiscal management during a pandemic

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Government Budgeting

    Context

    The fiscal deficit for the year 2022-23 is higher than what was recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission. However, if we consider the direction of consolidation, it is towards a reduction in the fiscal deficit.

    The budget focuses on capital investment

    • This year’s Union budget projects an increase in capex by Rs 3.14 lakh crore, as compared to the budgeted numbers of the previous fiscal.
    • Given the economy’s savings-investment profile and macroeconomic uncertainties due to the pandemic, private and household investments are likely to be reactive to the general economic environment.
    • Achieving sustainable recovery: For the government, making capital investment in such uncertain times assumes a much higher priority and is equally indispensable for achieving a strong and sustainable recovery from the pandemic.
    • Increasing share of government: As per National Accounts data, gross fixed capital formation by the general government (Centre and states) has shown an increase as a percentage of GDP from 3.48 in 2011-12 to 3.82 in 2019-20, while other sectors, particularly households, the share fell from 15.75 per cent to 11.39 per cent during the same period.
    • The fiscal stance taken in the post-pandemic budgets for higher capital spending, including the budget of 2022-23, is likely to further enhance the general government share in overall capital formation. 
    • Important role of the States: it is also important to recognise that two-thirds of the general government’s capital expenditure is undertaken by states and in this context, the announcement of the Rs 1 lakh crore interest-free loans to the states to increase public investment has been a significant step.
    •  Since states taken together have a higher share in the country’s public capital spending, effective absorption of this additional borrowing facility will be critical for higher public investment.

    Three broad trends on Fiscal Consolidation

    • 1] Increase in taxes: The increase in taxes by Rs 5.71 lakh crore between 2020-21 (the first year of the pandemic) and 2022-23 shows that the fiscal challenges have eased, but remain present as we navigate economic recovery in uncertain times.
    • 2] Reduction in revenue deficit: Between 2020-21 and 2022-23 (BE), the reduction in revenue deficit has been substantial — from 7.3 per cent to 3.8 per cent of GDP.
    • 3] Revenue deficit dominates fiscal deficit: Compositionally, revenue deficit continues to be more than 55 per cent of the fiscal deficit and the management of such a deficit has few important considerations for revenue expenditure, that is, interest payments and allocation under various centrally sponsored and central sector schemes.
    • Role of CSS in revenue deficit: Aggregate allocation under centrally sponsored and central sector schemes (CSS) as per the 2022-23 (BE) is Rs 3.83 lakh crore and the interest payment cost of the Union government is Rs 9.56 lakh crore.
    • Beyond scheme-wise allocations, it is also important to consider CSS allocation as an issue of macro-fiscal management issue at the Union and state level, especially when it is contributing to the high revenue deficit of the central government and binding state resources for matching contribution, thereby increasing states’ deficit.

    Understanding the direction of fiscal consolidation

    • The fiscal deficit for the year 2022-23 is higher than what was recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
    • However, if we consider the direction of consolidation, it is towards a reduction in the fiscal deficit.
    • Though in the medium-term, the fiscal story is about supporting recovery, it is also true that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to fiscal consolidation and debt sustainability. 

    Conclusion

    The direction of fiscal consolidation rather than a specific quantified path in an unprecedented time like this is probably the most appropriate consideration.

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  • Labour, Jobs and Employment – Harmonization of labour laws, gender gap, unemployment, etc.

    What is E-SHRAM Portal?

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    Over 2 crore people who have signed up for the Centre’s portal for unorganised sector workers hold a Graduate Degree.

    E-Shram

    • On August 26, 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) launched the E-Shram, the web portal for creating a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW), which will be seeded with Aadhaar.
    • It seeks to register an estimated 398-400 million unorganized workers and to issue an E-Shram card.

    Issues with E-Shram

    (A) Time constraints

    • Long process: Given the gigantic nature of registering each worker, it will be a long-drawn process.
    • No gestation period: The Government has not mentioned a gestation period to assess its strategy and efficiency.
    • No hasty process: Employers are or required their workers to register even. While the Government can appeal to them, any penal measure will hurt the ease of doing business.

    (B) Pandemic hides

    • Considering the estimated 380 million workers as the universe of registration — debatable as the novel coronavirus pandemic has pushed lakhs of workers into informality.

    (C) Data security

    • Privacy: One of the vital concerns of e-portals is data security, including its potential abuse especially when it is a mega-sized database.
    • No national framework yet: There are also media reports pointing out the absence of a national architecture relating to data security.
    • Local server issues: It has been reported that in some states such as Maharashtra, the server was down for a few days.

    (D) Structural issue

    • Aadhaar seeding: Many workers will not have an Aadhaar-seeded mobile or even a smartphone. Aadhaar-seeding is a controversial issue with political overtones, especially in the North-eastern regions.
    • Eligibility: There are several issues concerning the eligibility of persons to register as well as the definitional issues.
    • Exclusion: By excluding workers covered by EPF and ESI, lakhs of contract and fixed-term contract workers will be excluded from the universe of UW. Hazardous establishments employing even a single worker will have to be covered under the ESI, which means these workers also will be excluded.
    • No benefits for the aged: The NDUW excludes millions of workers aged over 59 from its ambit, which constitutes age discrimination.

    (D) Complex identities of workers

    • Migration: Many are circular migrant workers and they quickly, even unpredictably, move from one trade to another.
    • Mixed work: Many others perform formal and informal work as some during non-office hours may belong to the gig economy, for example as an Uber taxi or a Swiggy employee. They straddle formal and informal sectors.
    • Gig workers: Even though MOLE has included gig workers in this process, it is legally unclear whether the gig/platform worker can be classified first as a worker at all.

    (E) Other impediments

    • Dependence on States: The central government will have to depend on the state governments for this project to be successful.
    • Lack of coordination: In many States, the social dialogue with the stakeholders especially is rather weak or non-existent. The success of the project depends on the involvement of a variety of stakeholders apart from trade unions.
    • Corruption: There is also the concern of corruption as middle-service agencies such as Internet providers might charge exorbitant charges to register and print the E-Shram cards.

    Benefits: No immediate carrot

    • Workers stand to gain by registration in the medium to long run.
    • But the instant benefit of accident insurance up to ₹0.2 million to registered workers is surely not an attractive carrot.
    • The main point of attraction is the benefits they stand to gain during normal and crisis-ridden periods such as the novel coronavirus pandemic now which the Government needs to disseminate properly.

    Way forward

    • E-Shram is a vital system to provide hitherto invisible workers much-needed visibility.
    • It will provide the Labour Market Citizenship Document to them.
    • The govt should go one step further for triple linkage for efficient and leakage-less delivery of all kinds of benefits and voices to workers/citizens: One-Nation-One-Ration Card (ONOR), E-Shram Card (especially bank account seeded), and the Election Commission Card.
    • Last but not least, registrations cannot be a source of exclusion of a person from receiving social assistance and benefits.

     

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

    Delinking Depsang from the ongoing Ladakh border crisis is worrying

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Context

    In a recent television interview, the Indian Army Chief, General M.M. Naravane, argued that “out of the five or six friction points (in Ladakh), five have been solved”.

    Friction points in Ladakh

    • ‘Friction point’ are the points of Chinese ingress into hitherto India-controlled territory in Ladakh, where this control is exercised by the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) through regular patrols to the claimed areas.
    • These ‘friction points’ are Depsang, Galwan, Hot Springs, Gogra, North bank of Pangong Tso, Kailash Range and Demchok.
    • By asserting that only one of the friction points is remaining to be resolved —  Hot Springs or PP15, Army Chief implicitly ruled out Depsang as an area to be resolved.
    • This attempt to delink the strategically important area of Depsang from the ongoing Ladakh border crisis is worrying.

    Significance of Depsang

    • Depsang is an enclave of flat terrain located in an area the Army classifies as Sub-Sector North (SSN), which provides land access to Central Asia through the Karakoram Pass.
    • The Army has always identified Depsang plains as where it finds itself most vulnerable in Ladakh, devising plans to tackle the major Chinese challenge.
    • SSN’s flat terrain of Depsang, Trig Heights and DBO — which provides direct access to Aksai Chin — is suited for mechanised warfare but is located at the end of only one very long and tenuous communication axis for India.
    • China, in turn, has multiple roads that provide easy access to the area.
    • This leaves SSN highly vulnerable to capture by the PLA, with a few thousands of square kilometres from the Karakoram Pass to Burtse, likely to be lost.
    • Nowhere else in Ladakh is the PLA likely to gain so much territory in a single swoop.
    • SSN lies to the east of Siachen, located between the Saltoro ridge on the Pakistani border and the Saser ridge close to the Chinese border.
    • On paper, it is the only place where a physical military collusion can take place between Pakistan and China — and the challenge of a two-front war can become real in the worst-case scenario.
    • If India loses this area, it will be nearly impossible to launch a military operation to wrest back Gilgit-Baltistan from Pakistan.

    Dangers of delinking Depsang

    • Invalidation of Indian claims: The biggest danger of delinking Depsang from the current border crisis in Ladakh, however, is of corroborating the Chinese argument, which invalidates the rightful Indian claim over a large swathe of territory. 
    • In sparsely populated areas like Ladakh, with limited forward deployment of troops, the only assertion of territorial claims is by regular patrolling. 
    • By arguing that the blockade at Y-junction predates the current stand-off — a ‘legacy issue’ that goes back years — the Chinese side can affirm that Indian patrols never had access to this area and thus India has no valid claim on the territory.

    Conclusion

    As was demonstrated by China in the aftermath of the 1962 War, there should be no holding back in painstakingly asserting one’s claims when it comes to safeguarding the territory.

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  • ISRO Missions and Discoveries

    Chandrayaan-3 set for launch in August

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    ISRO plans to execute the Chandrayaan-3 mission in August this year.

    What is Chandrayaan-3 Mission?

    • The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a follow-up of Chandrayaan-2 of July 2019, which aimed to land a rover on the lunar South Pole.

    Chandrayaan-2: A quick recap

    • Chandrayaan-2 consisted of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon.
    • The Orbiter would watch the moon from a 100-km orbit, while the Lander and Rover modules were to be separated to make a soft landing on the moon’s surface.
    • ISRO had named the Lander module as Vikram, after Vikram Sarabhai, the pioneer of India’s space programme, and the Rover module as Pragyaan, meaning wisdom.

    Utility of the Orbiter

    • The Orbiter part of the mission has been functioning normally. It is carrying eight instruments.
    • Each of these instruments has produced a handsome amount of data that sheds new light on the moon and offers insights that could be used in further exploration.

    Inception of Chandrayaan 3

    • The subsequent failure of the Vikram lander led to the pursuit of another mission to demonstrate the landing capabilities needed for the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission proposed in partnership with Japan for 2024.

    Its design

    • The lander for Chandrayaan-3 will have only four throttle-able engines.
    • Unlike Vikram on Chandrayaan-2 which had five 800N engines with a fifth one being centrally mounted with a fixed thrust.
    • Additionally, the Chandrayaan-3 lander will be equipped with a Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV).

    Back2Basics: Chandrayaan-1 Mission

    • The Chandrayaan-1 mission was launched in October 2008 was ISRO’s first exploratory mission to the moon, in fact to any heavenly body in space.
    • The mission was designed to just orbit around the moon and make observations with the help of the instruments onboard.
    • The closest that Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft came to the moon was in an orbit 100 km from its surface.

     

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  • Forest Conservation Efforts – NFP, Western Ghats, etc.

    [pib] Definition of Forest in India

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has informed about the criteria used to define forest in India.

    Defining Forests universally

    • As per the Conference of Parties (CoP) 9-Kyoto Protocol, the forest can be defined by any country depending upon the capacities and capabilities of the country.
    • Forest- Forest is defined structurally on the basis of
    1. Crown cover percentage: Tree crown cover- 10 to 30% (India 10%)
    2. Minimum area of stand: area between 0.05 and 1 hectare (India 1.0 hectare) and
    3. Minimum height of trees: Potential to reach a minimum height at maturity in situ of 2 to 5 m (India 2m)

    India’s definition of Forests

    The definition of forest cover has clearly been defined in all the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) and in all the International communications of India.

    • The forest cover is defined as ‘all land, more than one hectare in area, with a tree canopy density of more than 10 percent irrespective of ownership and legal status.
    • Such land may not necessarily be a recorded forest area. It also includes orchards, bamboo and palm’.

    Classification of forest cover

    In ISFR 2021 recently published has divided the forest cover as:

    1. Inside Recorded Forest Area: These are basically natural forests and plantations of Forest Department.
    2. Outside Recorded Forest Area: These cover mango orchards, coconut plantations, block plantations of agroforestry.

    Back2Basics: Forest Classification in India

    The Forest Survey of India (FSI) classifies forest cover in 4 classes.

    • Very Dense forest: All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density of 70% and above.
    • Moderately dense forest: All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density between 40% and 70%.
    • Open forests: All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density between 10% and 40%.
    • Scrubs: All forest lands with poor tree growth mainly of small or stunted trees having canopy density less than 10%.

     

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Places in news: Godavari Estuary in Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS)

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Godavari Estuary in Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is facing due ignorance despite meeting all nine criteria of Ramsar Convention.

    Godavari Estuary

    • The estuary, including 235.70 sq. km Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), is one of the rarest eco-regions on the earth.
    • It is also home to India’s second-largest mangrove cover after the Sundarbans.
    • The CWS is inhabited by 115 endangered fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus), Olive Ridley turtles, Indian smooth-coated otter, and saltwater crocodiles.

    What are the nine criteria laid out by Ramsar Convention?

    • Criterion 1: “it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region.”
    • Criterion 2: “it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.”
    • Criterion 3: “it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.”
    • Criterion 4: “it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions.”
    • Criterion 5: “it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds.”
    • Criterion 6: “it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.”
    • Criterion 7: “it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity.”
    • Criterion 8: “it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.”
    • Criterion 9: “it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non-avian animal species.”

    Back2Basics: Ramsar Convention

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

     

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  • Artificial intelligence technologies have a climate cost

    op-ed snap | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Context

    While there is an allure to national dreams of economic prosperity and global competitiveness, underwritten by AI, there is an environmental cost.

    Issues with AI

    • Unfair race for dominance in AI:  A few developed economies possess certain material advantages right from the start, they also set the rules.
    • They have an advantage in research and development, and possess a skilled workforce as well as wealth to invest in AI.
    • Inequality in terms of governance: We can also look at the state of inequity in AI in terms of governance: How “tech fluent” are policymakers in developing and underdeveloped countries?
    • What barriers do they face in crafting regulations and industrial policy?
    • At the same time, there is an emerging challenge at the nexus of AI and climate change that could deepen this inequity.

    Climate impact of AI

    • The climate impact of AI comes in a few forms: The energy use of training and operating large AI models is one.
    •  In 2020, digital technologies accounted for between 1.8 per cent and 6.3 per cent of global emissions.
    •  In November 2021, UNESCO adopted the  In November 2021, UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, calling on actors to “reduce the environmental impact of AI systems, including but not limited to its carbon footprint.” , calling on actors to “reduce the environmental impact of AI systems, including but not limited to its carbon footprint.”

    Inequitable access to resources

    • Both global AI governance and climate change policy (historically) are contentious, being rooted in inequitable access to resources.
    • Developing and underdeveloped countries face a challenge on two fronts:
    • 1] AI’s social and economic benefits are accruing to a few countries.
    • 2] Most of the current efforts and narratives on the relationship between AI and climate impact are being driven by the developed West.

    Way forward

    • Assess technology-led priorities: Governments of developing countries, India included, should also assess their technology-led growth priorities in the context of AI’s climate costs.
    •  It is argued that as developing nations are not plagued by legacy infrastructure it would be easier for them to “build up better”.

    Consider the question “How Artificial Intelligence technologies could transform the world as we know it? What are the concerns with it?

    Conclusion

    It may be worth thinking through what “solutions” would truly work for the unique social and economic contexts of the communities in our global village.

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  • Judicial Reforms

    Comprehensive Amendment of Criminal Laws

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    The Central government has initiated the process for comprehensive amendment of criminal laws in India in consultation with all stakeholders

    Criminal Laws in India

    Indian criminal laws are divided into three major acts:

    1. Indian Penal Code, 1860: It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law.
    2. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: CrPC defines the rules with which substantive laws can be enforced.
    3. Indian Evidence Act, 1872: It contains a set of rules and allied issues governing the admissibility of evidence in the Indian courts of law.

    Other laws

    Besides these major acts, special Criminal Laws are also passed by the Indian Parliament which includes:

    • Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act
    • Prevention of Corruption Act
    • Food Adulteration Act
    • Dowry Prohibition Act
    • The Defence of India Act, etc.

    Issues with these laws

    • Colonial ideas prevail in the code.
    • Some laws don’t reflect the aspirations of India’s liberal Constitution
    • It does not recognize the individual agency of citizens of free India
    • Too many laws promote patriarchal attitudes, biased against women
    • Sedition laws are misused by the state
    • Tech crimes, cyber crimes, sexual offenses need to be defined
    • Risk of excessive policing, which leads to harassment of people.
    • Need to harmonize statute books with court rulings, which have often expanded the rights of people.
    • Some provisions are disadvantageous for the underprivileged who are trapped in jail for long but favour the powerful, who get bail very easily
    • Influence of media trials on the judiciary while using the IPC.

    Why amend them?

    • The evolution of criminal laws is a continuous process.
    • They need to be made in accordance with the contemporary needs and aspirations of people.
    • Malimath Committee has called for reform in India’s criminal justice system.

    Progress made to date

    • The entire procedure is a long-drawn-out one and no time limit can be fixed or given for this legislative process.
    • Legislation of such laws is a complex and lengthy exercise given the spectrum of divergent views of stakeholders.
    • The Home Ministry is seeking suggestions from various stakeholders and judicial luminaries in this regard.

     

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  • Judicial Appointments Conundrum Post-NJAC Verdict

    What is Collegium System?

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana has recommended to the Centre the names of six judicial officers for appointment as judges of the Delhi High Court.

    What is Collegium System?

    • The Collegium of judges is the Indian Supreme Court’s invention.
    • It does not figure in the Constitution, which says judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President and speaks of a process of consultation.
    • In effect, it is a system under which judges are appointed by an institution comprising judges.
    • After some judges were superseded in the appointment of the CJI in the 1970s, and attempts made subsequently to effect a mass transfer of High Court judges across the country.
    • Hence there was a perception that the independence of the judiciary was under threat. This resulted in a series of cases over the years.

    Evolution: The Judges Cases

    • First Judges Case (1981) ruled that the “consultation” with the CJI in the matter of appointments must be full and effective.
    • However, it rejected the idea that the CJI’s opinion, albeit carrying great weight, should have primacy.
    • Second Judges Case (1993) introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”.
    • It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges in the Supreme Court.
    • Third Judges Case (1998): On a Presidential Reference for its opinion, the Supreme Court, in the Third Judges Case (1998) expanded the Collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues.

    The procedure followed by the Collegium

    Appointment of CJI

    • The President of India appoints the CJI and the other SC judges.
    • As far as the CJI is concerned, the outgoing CJI recommends his successor.
    • In practice, it has been strictly by seniority ever since the supersession controversy of the 1970s.
    • The Union Law Minister forwards the recommendation to the PM who, in turn, advises the President.

    Other SC Judges

    • For other judges of the top court, the proposal is initiated by the CJI.
    • The CJI consults the rest of the Collegium members, as well as the senior-most judge of the court hailing from the High Court to which the recommended person belongs.
    • The consultees must record their opinions in writing and it should form part of the file.
    • The Collegium sends the recommendation to the Law Minister, who forwards it to the Prime Minister to advise the President.

    For High Courts

    • The CJs of High Courts are appointed as per the policy of having Chief Justices from outside the respective States. The Collegium takes the call on the elevation.
    • High Court judges are recommended by a Collegium comprising the CJI and two senior-most judges.
    • The proposal, however, is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned in consultation with two senior-most colleagues.
    • The recommendation is sent to the Chief Minister, who advises the Governor to send the proposal to the Union Law Minister.

    Does the Collegium recommend transfers too?

    • Yes, the Collegium also recommends the transfer of Chief Justices and other judges.
    • Article 222 of the Constitution provides for the transfer of a judge from one High Court to another.
    • When a CJ is transferred, a replacement must also be simultaneously found for the High Court concerned. There can be an acting CJ in a High Court for not more than a month.
    • In matters of transfers, the opinion of the CJI “is determinative”, and the consent of the judge concerned is not required.
    • However, the CJI should take into account the views of the CJ of the High Court concerned and the views of one or more SC judges who are in a position to do so.
    • All transfers must be made in the public interest, that is, “for the betterment of the administration of justice”.

    Loopholes in the Collegium system

    • Lack of Transparency: Opaqueness and a lack of transparency, and the scope for nepotism are cited often.
    • Judges appointing Judge: The attempt made to replace it with a ‘National Judicial Appointments Commission’ was struck down by the court in 2015 on the ground that it posed a threat to the independence of the judiciary.
    • Criteria: Some do not believe in full disclosure of reasons for transfers, as it may make lawyers in the destination court chary of the transferred judge.

    Way ahead

    • In respect of appointments, there has been an acknowledgment that the “zone of consideration” must be expanded to avoid criticism that many appointees hail from families of retired judges.
    • The status of a proposed new memorandum of procedure, to infuse greater accountability, is also unclear.
    • Even the majority opinions admitted the need for transparency, now Collegiums’ resolutions are now posted online, but reasons are not given.

     

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  • J&K – The issues around the state

    Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission likely to get another extension

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Representation Of People’s Act

    The J&K Delimitation Commission is likely to get a second extension of its term this month.

    What is Delimitation and why is it needed?

    • Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time.
    • This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
    • The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
    • Aside from changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in a change in the number of seats in a state.

    Delimitation in J&K

    • Assembly seats in J&K were delimited in 1963, 1973 and 1995.
    • Prior to August 5, 2019, carving out of J&K’s Assembly seats was carried out under the J&K Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • Until then, the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India.
    • However, the delimitation of the state’s Assembly was governed by the J&K Constitution and J&K Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • There was no census in the state in 1991 and hence no Delimitation Commission was set up by the state until 2001 census.

    Why is it in the news again?

    • After the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019, the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the newly-created UT would be as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
    • On March 6, 2020, the government set up the Delimitation Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, which was tasked with winding up delimitation in J&K in a year.
    • As per the J&K Reorganization Bill, the number of Assembly seats in J&K would increase from 107 to 114, which is expected to benefit the Jammu region.

    Factors considered during Delimitation

    • The number of districts had increased from 12 to 20 and tehsils from 52 to 207 since the last delimitation.
    • The population density ranged from 29 persons a square km in Kishtwar to 3,436 persons a square km in Srinagar.
    • The remoteness of the place, inaccessibility etc are also considered during the exercise.

    Concerns raised over Delimitation

    • Jammu vs. Kashmir: Concerns had been expressed over how the delimitation process may end up favoring the Jammu region over Kashmir in terms of the seats.
    • Under-representation of Ladakh: Arguments have been made on how Ladakh has been underrepresented, with demands for statehood/sixth schedule.
    • Non-proportionate reservations: It is argued that seats for STs should’ve been divided in both Jammu province & Kashmir province, as the ST population is almost equal.

    Do not forget to answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.With reference to the Delimitation Commission, consider the following statements:

    1. The orders of the Delimitation Commission cannot be challenged in a Court of Law.
    2. When the orders of the Delimitation Commission are laid before the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly, they cannot affect any modifications in the orders.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

     

    Post your answers here:

     

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