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  • Monetary Policy Committee Notifications

    Why policymakers prefer targeting of Retail Inflation over Wholesale Inflation?

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    The wholesale inflation in India has grown by double digits. This is the highest year-on-year increase recorded in any month since the start of the 2011-12 data series.

    Context

    • It is surprising policymakers are not looking as concerned as the inflation figures show.
    • The Finance Ministry has largely focused on the trend in retail inflation — or the inflation rate at the level of retail consumers.
    • It is not just the policymakers within the government who prefer to focus on retail inflation but also the RBI.

    Wholesale and Retail (Consumer) Inflation

    • The wholesale and retail (consumer) inflation rates are based on the wholesale price index (WPI) and the consumer price index (CPI), respectively.
    • In other words, we make two separate indices — one each for wholesale prices and retail prices — and see how the index values have gone up in a particular month as against the same month last year.
    • The percentage change is the rate of inflation.
    • The CPI-based inflation data is compiled by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (or MoSPI) and the WPI-based inflation data is put together by DPIIT.

    The tables alongside detail how the two indices — WPI and CPI — differ in their composition. There are two key differences.

    [A] Wholesale Price Index

    Component Weight (in %) Inflation rate (in %);

    Nov 2021
    All Commodities 100.00 14.23
    Primary Articles 22.62 10.34
    Fuel & Power 13.15 39.81
    Manufactured Products 64.23 11.92

    [B] Consumer Price Index

    Component Weight (in %) Inflation rate (in %); 

    Nov 2021
    General Index 100.00 4.91
    Food and beverages 45.86 2.60
    Pan, tobacco and intoxicants 2.38 4.05
    Clothing and footwear 6.53 7.94
    Housing 10.07 3.66
    Fuel and light 6.84 13.35
    Miscellaneous (services) 28.32 6.75

    A Comparison

    (1) Manufactured Goods Vs. Food Items

    • WPI is dominated by the prices of manufactured goods while CPI is dominated by the prices of food articles.
    • As such, if the year-on-year increase in the prices of food articles is subdued, as is the case at present, chances are that the overall (also called headline) retail inflation will be within reasonable bounds.
    • In WPI, if manufactured products are getting costlier at the wholesale level then that would likely spike wholesale inflation regardless of how food prices are doing at the wholesale level.

    (2) Accounting Service

    • Two, WPI does not take into account the change in prices of services. But CPI does.
    • If services such as transport, education, recreation and amusement, personal care etc. get significantly costlier, then retail inflation will rise but there will be no impact on wholesale price inflation.

    Why do policymakers prefer targeting retail inflation instead of wholesale inflation rate?

    • RBI’s limitations: RBI is the monetary authority that has little ability to control food and fuel prices. Ex: raising the repo rate (rate at which RBI lends money to banks) is unlikely to contain the price of vegetables if any disruptions have led to a sudden spike.
    • Non-commodity Inflation: Wholesale inflation does not capture price movements in non-commodity-producing sectors like services, which constitute close to two-thirds of economic activity in India.
    • Large revisions in WPI: Movements in WPI often reflect large external shocks and as such, the wholesale inflation rate is often subject to large revisions.

    Arguments in favour of CPI-based inflation targeting

    • Commodity basket: A crucial reason why CPI-based inflation could not be ignored is the fact that it has almost 57% dominance of food and fuel prices.
    • Affecting general public: Since most people use retail inflation as a way to arrive at their real earnings, and use it for wage negotiations etc., it makes more sense for policymakers,
    • Public faith: The choice of CPI establishes ‘trust’ viz., economic agents note that the monetary policy maker is targeting an index that is relevant for households and businesses.
    • Inflation affecting people: True inflation that consumers face is in the retail market. It is for this reason that almost all central banks in big economies use CPI as their primary price indicator.

    Impact of Wholesale inflation on Retail

    • The Urjit Patel committee analysed the relationship between WPI and CPI based on monthly data from January 2000 to December 2013 — a total of 14 years.
    • When they looked at the impact of an increase in WPI-food inflation on CPI food inflation, they found it to be “significant”.
    • It stated that higher food inflation in wholesale markets leads to an increase in retail food inflation “till two months”.
    • An increase in retail food inflation leads to a corresponding increase in WPI-food inflation.

     

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  • Electoral Reforms In India

    Election Commission

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    The “informal interaction” of the CEC and two other Election Commissioners with the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary has raised questions about the neutrality of the Commission, especially when elections to crucial States are around the corner.

    About Election Commission of India

    • The ECI is a constitutional authority whose responsibilities and powers are prescribed in the Constitution of India under Article 324.
    • In the performance of its functions, the Election Commission is insulated from executive interference.
    • It is the Commission that decides the election schedules for the conduct of elections, whether general elections or by-elections.
    • ECI decides on the location of polling stations, assignment of voters to the polling stations, location of counting centers, arrangements to be made in and around polling stations and counting centres and all allied matters.

    Litigations against EC

    • The decisions of the Commission can be challenged in the High Court and the Supreme Court of India by appropriate petitions.
    • By long-standing convention and several judicial pronouncements, once the actual process of elections has started, the judiciary does not intervene in the actual conduct of the polls.

    Issues with PMO meeting

    • Executive interference: ECs are expected to maintain distance from the executive — a constitutional safeguard to insulate the commission from external pressure and allow it to continue as an independent authority.
    • Violating official channels: The EC’s communication with the Government on election matters is through the bureaucracy — either with its administrative ministry — the Law Ministry or the Home Ministry.
    • Breach of protocol: The Law Ministry spells the fine print on law for the country and is expected not to breach the constitutional safeguard provided to the commission to ensure its autonomy.

    Recent incidence of criticisms

    Ans. Partiality in Elections

    • Over the last couple of years, several actions and omissions of the commission have come in for criticism.
    • Nearly 66 former bureaucrats in a letter addressed to the President, expressed their concern over the working of the Election Commission.
    • They felt was suffering from a credibility crisis, citing various violations of the model code of conduct during the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

    Importance of ECI for India

    • Conduction of Election: The ECI has been successfully conducting national as well as state elections since 1952.
    • Electoral participation: In recent years, however, the Commission has started to play a more active role to ensure greater participation of people.
    • Discipline of political parties: It had gone to the extent of disciplining the political parties with a threat of derecognizing if the parties failed in maintaining inner-party democracy.
    • Upholds federalism: It upholds the values enshrined in the Constitution viz, equality,
      equity, impartiality, independence; and rule of law in superintendence, direction, and control over electoral governance.
    • Free and fair elections: It conducts elections with the highest standard of credibility, freeness, fairness, transparency, integrity, accountability, autonomy and professionalism.

    Issues with ECI

    • Flaws in the composition: The Constitution doesn’t prescribe qualifications for members of the EC. They are not debarred from future appointments after retiring or resigning.
    • No security of tenure: Election commissioners aren’t constitutionally protected with security of tenure.
    • Partisan role: The EC has come under the scanner like never before, with increasing incidents of breach of the Model Code of Conduct in the 2019 general elections.
    • Political favor: The opposition alleged that the ECI was favoring the ruling party by giving clean chit to the model code of conduct violations made by the PM.
    • Non-competence: Increased violence and electoral malpractices under influence of money have resulted in political criminalization, which ECI is unable to arrest.

     

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  • Mother and Child Health – Immunization Program, BPBB, PMJSY, PMMSY, etc.

    Risks of mandatory Iron Fortification

    Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    Many things have been said about the necessity for mandatory iron fortification of foods in India.

    Iron fortification

    • Iron fortification of food is a methodology utilized worldwide to address iron deficiency.
    • A critical problem in some food fortification programs is the lack of bioavailability of iron compounds.

    Why need iron fortification?

    Ans. Prevalence of Anaemia

    • Iron deficiency anaemia is due to insufficient iron.
    • National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 provides insights into anaemia prevalence in the country, indicating that 57.2% of women ages 15 to 49 are anaemic, up from 49.7% in NFHS-4.
    • Without enough iron, the body can’t produce enough of a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen (hemoglobin).
    • Severe anemia during pregnancy increases your risk of premature birth, having a low birth weight baby and postpartum depression.
    • Some studies also show an increased risk of infant death immediately before or after birth.

    Concerns over iron fortification

    Ans. Fear of diabetes and heart ailments

    • Iron increases the risk for many non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension and even high blood cholesterol.
    • A US based survey shows that high ferritin level had a four-fold higher risk of having diabetes.
    • The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey of Indian adolescents to resulted in such scary outcomes.
    • There was a clear and significant risk for each of these conditions as serum ferritin increased.

    India’s vulnerability

    Ans. India is world capital of diabetes and hypertension

    • No less than 50% of Indian children, aged 5-19 years, already had a biomarker of either high blood sugar or high blood lipids, even when thin or stunted.
    • Thus, the risk of chronic disease is already very high in our children.
    • Thus mandatory cereal fortification has severe hazards for India.

    Why mandatory fortification is not a feasible option?

    • Occurrence of deficiencies: We do not even know if anaemia is as rampant to warrant such mandatory measures.
    • Manipulating food choices: When mandatory fortification is enforced in parts of the population that do not need this, it removes their choice of foods, or autonomy.
    • Morbidities due to excess: It could even be unethical if the risk of other morbidities is increased.
    • No successful example: Rice fortification has not been shown to work in a combined analysis.

    Conclusion

    • Food fortification is not a magic bullet.
    • It should be viewed as a complementary strategy for the prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies.
    • As dietary patterns and deficiency states change, monitoring and periodic evaluation will be essential in helping to make necessary changes.

     

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    After 50 years, Gharials return to Beas Conservation Reserve

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

    Gharial ( Gavialis gangeticus ) have been successfully reintroduced the in the Beas River of Punjab where it had become extinct half a century ago.

    One may often get confused between the Mugger, Gharial and the Saltwater Crocodile. Note the differences about their IUCN status, habitat (freshwater/saltwater) etc..

    Gharials

    • The Gharial is a fish-eating crocodile is native to the Indian subcontinent. They are a crucial indicator of clean river water.
    • Small released populations are present and increasing in the rivers of the National Chambal Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Son River Sanctuary.
    • It is also found at the rainforest biome of Mahanadi in Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary, Orissa.
    • Gharials are ‘Critically Endangered’ in the IUCN Red List of Species.
    • The species is also listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

    Into the wild

    • A major chunk of gharials in India is found in the Chambal River, which has about 1,000 adults.
    • The Ghaghara acts as an important aquatic corridor for gharials in Uttar Pradesh. The river is a major left-bank tributary of the Ganges.
    • Like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar too is releasing gharials in the Valmiki Tiger Reserve as part of restocking the wild population. Unlike crocodiles, gharials do not pose any danger to humans.

    Ambitious project in Punjab

    • The gharial reintroduction in the Beas Conservation Reserve is an ambitious programme of the Punjab government.
    • The reptiles were commonly sighted in the Beas River till the 1960s but later became extinct.

    Back2Basics:

    Mugger

    • The mugger is a marsh crocodile which is found throughout the Indian subcontinent.
    • It is a freshwater species and found in lakes, rivers and marshes.
    • IUCN Status: Vulnerable

    Saltwater Crocodile

    • It is the largest of all living reptiles.
    • It is found along the eastern coast of India.
    • IUCN Status: Least Concerned

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    60th Goa Liberation Day

    | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Goa hosts PM for the celebration of its 60th liberation day.

    Goan Liberation

    • An important port for trade and military operations, Goa was ruled by the Portuguese for more than 450 years.
    • Historically, revolts against Portuguese rulers and their policies were recorded in the 18th and 19th century too.
    • On June 18, 1946, the movement of Goa’s liberation gathered momentum after socialist leader Dr Ram Manohar Lohia plunged himself into the freedom movement with many young Goans.
    • The day is now observed as Goa Revolution Day.

    Freeing from Portuguese Rule

    • Even as India became independent on August 15, 1947, Goa continued to be under Portuguese rule 14 years after that.
    • After independence, the calls for Goa’s Liberation again gathered steam.
    • After multiple agitations by freedom fighters, India made peaceful attempts for Goa’s liberation through diplomatic channels.
    • However, as a last resort, the Indian government then led by PM Nehru, sent in its armed forces to the coastal state after which the Portuguese surrendered and Goa was liberated on December 19, 1961.
    • This moment also marked the exit of the Portuguese (the first-comers), the last of the European colonizers to leave India.

    Contribution of T.B. Cunha

    • Cunha (1891-1958) was a prominent Indian nationalist and anti-colonial activist from Goa.
    • He is popularly known as the “Father of Goan nationalism”, and was the organiser of the first movement to end Portuguese rule in Goa

    What was ‘Operation Vijay’?

    • Perhaps the first tri-service operation of the Indian armed forces, Operation Vijay was about the liberation of the Portuguese territories of Goa, Daman and Diu.
    • It was a 36-hour military operation that started on December 18, 1961 and concluded on December 19, 1961.
    • While the army advanced into Goa from the North and the East, the Indian Air Force bombed the Portuguese airbase at Dabolim.
    • The Indian Navy was tasked with preventing hostile action by Portuguese warships, securing access to the Mormugao harbour, and securing the Anjadip island off Karwar.
    • By the evening of December 19, 1961, Portuguese Governor General Vassalo De Silva had signed the document of surrender after Indian armed forces.

    What happened after the liberation of Goa?

    • Goa was annexed into the Indian Union and was the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu.
    • In 1967, however, the question of whether the state should merge with Maharashtra or not was answered through a plebiscite in which the majority of the Goan people voted against a merger.
    • It continued to remain a Union Territory until 1987 when it was accorded statehood.
    • Goa became India’s 25th state even as Daman and Diu continue to be UTs.

     

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  • Climate Change Impact on India and World – International Reports, Key Observations, etc.

    What is Irrecoverable Carbon?

    National Parks/WS | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Important Geophysical Phenomena

    Researchers have identified and mapped 139 gigatonnes (Gt) of “irrecoverable carbon” in some of the world’s major forests and peatlands — including the Amazon and the Congo — to avoid catastrophic climate change.

    What is Irrecoverable Carbon?

    • The concept of ‘irrecoverable carbon’ was introduced in 2020.
    • All kinds of ecosystems — lush rainforest, muddy peatland, shady mangroves — contain eons of stored carbon, captured by photosynthesis.
    • Per square kilometer, the forests are among the most effective carbon stores in the world; but they’re also some of the most difficult to restore.
    • If destroyed, these ecosystems could take decades or centuries to regenerate.
    • In other words, the 139 gigatons of carbon contained in these areas are effectively irrecoverable if released due to anthropogenic activities.
    • Once released in air, it can be recovered but would take centuries to fully recover or naturally reintegrate.

    What is the new research?

    • In the new study, researchers have identified and mapped carbon reserves that are “manageable, are vulnerable to disturbance” and cannot be recovered by 2050.
    • They held study of peatlands of the Congo Basin and Northern Europe; and in North America, the mangrove swamps of the Everglades and old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest.
    • 2050 has been set as the deadline for taking global carbon emissions to net zero in order for Earth to avoid warming at 1.5-2 degrees celsius above the pre-industrial levels.
    • To mitigate such a warming scenario, it is imperative to conserve the ecosystems with 139 Gt carbon.

    Key findings

    • Amazon is the biggest carbon sink on earth, holding 31.5 Gt irrecoverable carbon.
    • Brazil has the second-largest irrecoverable carbon reserves, after Russia that holds 23 per cent of the total irrecoverable carbon outlay in the world.
    • The second-largest reserve of carbon, at 132 Gt, comprise the islands of Southeast Asia, with their equatorial rainforests.
    • The Congo basin is the third-largest hotspot of irrecoverable carbon with over 8 Gt of carbon reserves, according to the study.
    • Australia, which has become a hotspot for wildfires, is home to 2.5 per cent of the world’s carbon reserve along its coastal mangroves and forests in the southeast and southwest.

    Why conserve these forests?

    • These regions are already being ravaged by wildfires and exploited for resources by mining and oil industries.
    • Since 2010, agriculture, logging and wildfire have caused emissions of at least 4 Gt of irrecoverable carbon.

     

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  • What is Nord Stream Pipeline?

    Prelims Only | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests

    Germany has warned about severe consequences for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany if Moscow attacked Ukraine.

    Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

    • It is a system of offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
    • It includes two active pipelines running from Vyborg to Lubmin near Greifswald forming the original Nord Stream, and two further pipelines under construction running from Ust-Luga to Lubmin termed Nord Stream 2.
    • In Lubmin the lines connect to the OPAL line to Olbernhau on the Czech border and to the NEL line to Rehden near Bremen.
    • The first line Nord Stream-1 was laid and inaugurated in 2011 and the second line in 2012.
    • At 1,222 km in length, Nord Stream is the longest sub-sea pipeline in the world, surpassing the Langeled pipeline.

    Why is the pipeline controversial?

    • The US believed that the project would increase Europe’s dependence on Russia for natural gas.
    • Currently, EU countries already rely on Russia for 40 percent of their gas needs.
    • The project also has opponents in eastern Europe, especially Ukraine, whose ties with Russia have seriously deteriorated in the aftermath of the Crimean conflict in 2014.
    • There is an existing land pipeline between Russia and Europe that runs through Ukraine.
    • The country feels that once Nord Storm 2 is completed, Russia could bypass the Ukrainian pipeline, and deprive it of lucrative transit fees of around $3 billion per year.
    • Ukraine also fears another invasion by Russia once the new pipeline is operational.

     

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  • Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

    The challenge of achieving 9.5% growth rate

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    The National Statistical Office (NSO) released the second quarter gross value added (GVA) and gross domestic product (GDP) numbers on November 30, 2021, indicating the pace of economic recovery in India after the two COVID-19 waves.

    Strong growth momentum required to exceed pre-COVID-19 levels

    • The real GVA for the first half of 2021-22 at ₹63.4 lakh crore has remained below the level in the first half of 2019-20 at ₹65.8 lakh crore by (-)3.7%.
    • This difference is even larger for GDP which at the end of first half of 2021-22 stood at ₹68.1 lakh crore, which is (-) 4.4% below the corresponding level of GDP at ₹71.3 lakh crore in 2019-20.
    • As the base effect weakens in the third and fourth quarters of 2021-22, a strong growth momentum would be needed to ensure that at the end of this fiscal year, in terms of magnitude, GVA and GDP in real terms exceed their corresponding pre-COVID-19 levels of 2019-20.
    • Domestic demand including private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) in the first half of 2021-22 remains below its corresponding level in 2019-20 by nearly ₹5.5 lakh crore.
    • This indicates that investment as well as consumption demand have to pick up strongly in the remaining two quarters to ensure that the economy emerges on the positive side at the end of 2021-22 as compared to its pre-COVID-19 level.

    Annual growth prospects

    • Required rate in second half of 2021-22: To realise the projected annual growth at 9.5% for 2021-22 given both by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), we require a growth of 6.2% in the second half of 2021-22.
    • This will have to be achieved even as the base effect weakens in the third and fourth quarters since GDP growth rate in these quarters of 2020-21 was at 0.5% and 1.6%, respectively.
    •  Thus, achieving the projected growth rate of 9.5% is going to be a big challenge.

    What should be the policy to achieve higher growth rate

    • Fiscal support: The policy instrument for achieving a higher growth may have to be a strong fiscal support in the form of government capital expenditure.
    • The Centre’s gross tax revenues have shown an unprecedented growth rate of 64.2% and a buoyancy of 2.7 in the first half of 2021-22.
    • The Centre’s incentivisation of state capital expenditure through additional borrowing limits would also help in this regard. According to available information, 11 States in the first quarter and seven States in the second quarter qualified for the release of the additional tranche under this window.
    • Even as Central and State capital expenditures gather momentum, high frequency indicators reflect an ongoing pick-up in private sector economic activities.

    Robust growth in Centre’s gross tax revenue

    • The growth in the Centre’s GTR in the first half of 2019-20 was at 1.5% and there was a contraction of (-)3.4% for the year as a whole.
    • In the face of such weak revenues, the Central government could not mount a meaningful fiscal stimulus in 2019-20 even as real GDP growth fell to 4.0%.
    • In contrast, the government is in a significantly stronger position in 2021-22 since the growth in GTR in the first half is 64.2% and the full-year growth is expected to be quite robust.

    Conclusion

    Thus, the key to attaining a 9.5% real GDP annual growth in 2021-22 lies in the government’s ongoing emphasis on infrastructure spending as reflected in the government’s capital expenditure.

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  • Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Produce

    Tackling agricultural reforms after farm laws repeal

    op-ed snap | Agriculture | Mains Paper 3: Agriculture and related issues

    Context

    In the run-up to the repeal of the three farm laws, the potential cost of MSP to the taxpayers became a matter of debate.

    Issue of MSP

    • Large variation: Experts and agricultural economists quoted numbers about the cost of MPS.
    • There is a large variation in the quoted numbers.
    • The enormity of the variance in estimates is astounding.
    • No consensus on the number of beneficiaries of MSP: There is also a dissonance between the NSSO data and the administrative data on the number of farmers who enjoy MSP.
    • No consensus on a formula to calculate MSP: Further, there is no consensus on the formulae for the calculation of MSP.

    Suggestions on land reforms

    [1] Reduce high domestic prices

    • That India is an agri-surplus country.
    • That domestic prices of agri-commodities are often higher than in the international market and therefore, there is a need to bring them down.
    • How to achieve cost reduction: Cost reduction can happen either by creating efficiencies by plugging leakages or, by cost-cutting — including reducing farmers’ margins.
    • In the recently-reached understanding with the farmers, the government has agreed to constitute a committee on MSP.
    • Hopefully, a formula can be arrived at by which costs of domestic agricultural produce can be reduced while ensuring a “remunerative price” for the farmers.

    [2] Protecting landholdings

    • There is also a need to protect landholdings.
    • Farmers’ fears in this regard are not exaggerated.
    • Under the erstwhile laws, orders of payment made by an SDM/Collector could be recovered as “arrears of land revenue”.
    • While agricultural lands were protected from such recovery, non-agricultural (immovable and movable) assets appeared to be fair game.
    • Further, circumstances such as sustenance and payment of debts could force a farmer to sell their agricultural landholdings.
    • Large-scale loss of landholdings could lead to their consolidation in the hands of a few.
    • This could have the impact of turning the clock back, reminiscent of the Zamindari system.

    [3] Need to reconsider the dispute resolution mechanism

    • The government should also reconsider the dispute resolution mechanism provided in the erstwhile laws.
    • In an MSP driven regime, the government is likely to be a party in any potential dispute.
    • Conflict of interest: There will be a direct conflict of interest since the SDM/Collector is an arm of the government.
    • Land records are within the jurisdiction of the patwari and tehsildar, who report to the SDM/Collector.
    • Fast track courts: It would be advisable to think in terms of fast-track courts, and remove the provision of recovery through arrears of land revenue.
    • It would also be advisable to have only one dispute resolution mechanism for all farm laws.

    [4] Avoid over-corporatisation without the creation of the requisite efficiencies

    • We should not ask our farmers to brave corporatisation without levelling the playing field and enough jobs in the non-agricultural sector.
    • Over-corporatisation without the creation of the requisite efficiencies could lead us to become heavily import-dependent, killing the benefits of the Green Revolution.

    Conclusion

    Perfunctory reforms and those that don’t work for all constituents — corporates as well as farmers — could have long-term deleterious effects for not only the agricultural sector, but the economy as a whole.

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  • Electoral Reforms In India

    Issues with summoning CEC, EC to PMO

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    Context

    The Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners were summoned by the PMO to attend a meeting with the Principal Secretary to the PM.

    Why the meeting raises questions?

    • The PMO summoning or “inviting” not just the CEC but the full bench is in violation of the Constitution, irrespective of how important or urgent the issue.
    • Violation of the principle of distancing from executive: When a person is appointed as CEC or EC, that person has to resign from his executive post in order to adhere to important constitutional principle of distancing from the executive/government.
    • The executive could appoint a person to these posts but could not order them, or remove me because of the constitutional scheme of things.
    • Violation of independence: An independent ECI is a gift of the Constitution to the nation. Free and fair and credible elections are sine qua non of the EC.
    • The Supreme Court has repeatedly stressed this point, calling it part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
    • Violation of warrant of precedence: The CEC is very high in the warrant of precedence — ninth, while the PS to PM is 23rd.
    • How can such a high constitutional functionary be summoned to attend a meeting with an officer, howsoever high and mighty?
    • It raises suspicions:  A meeting of the PS to the PM, formal or informal, online or in the PMO or ECI, just before elections raises unnecessary suspicions.

    Conclusion

    This incident is a transgression that should not happen again. The distance of an arm’s length in interactions between institutions envisaged in the Constitution is sacrosanct. It should not only be maintained but also “seen” to be maintained.

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