💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (July Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Archives: News

  • Animal Husbandry, Dairy & Fisheries Sector – Pashudhan Sanjivani, E- Pashudhan Haat, etc

    Anti-methanogenic feed supplement ‘Harit Dhara’

    8 July 2021 | | Science and Technology
    Mains GS3: GS3-16.Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology

    An Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institute has developed an anti-methanogenic feed supplement ‘Harit Dhara’.

    Harit Dhara

    • Harit Dhara is prepared using condensed and hydrolysable tannin-rich plant-based sources abundantly available in the country.
    • It changes the composition of the volatile fatty acids that are the end-products of rumen fermentation (along with hydrogen and CO2).
    • It roughly costs Rs 6/kg and it is to be fed only to animals aged above three months having fully functional rumen.
    • When given to bovines and sheep, it not only cuts down their methane emissions by 17-20%.
    • It also results in higher milk production and body weight gain.

    Why it is significant?

    • Belching cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats in India emit an estimated 9.25 million tonnes (mt) to 14.2 mt of methane annually, out of a global total of 90 mt-plus from livestock.
    • And given methane’s global warming potential – 25 times of carbon dioxide (CO2) over 100 years, making it a more potent greenhouse gas – that’s cause for concern.
    • An average lactating cow or buffalo in India emits around 200 litres of methane per day, while it is 85-95 litres for young growing heifers and 20-25 litres for adult sheep.
    • Feeding Harit Dhara can reduce these by a fifth.

    How is methane produced by the cattles?

    • Methane is produced by animals having rumen, the first of their four stomachs where the plant material they eat – cellulose, fibre, starch and sugars – gets fermented or broken down by microorganisms prior to further digestion and nutrient absorption.
    • Carbohydrate fermentation leads to the production of CO2 and hydrogen.
    • These are used as substrate by archaea – microbes in the rumen with structure similar to bacteria – to produce methane, which the animals then expel through burping.
    • Harit Dhara acts by decreasing the population of protozoa microbes in the rumen, responsible for hydrogen production and making it available to the archaea for reduction of CO2 to methane.
    • Tropical plants containing tannins – bitter and astringent chemical compounds – are known to suppress or remove protozoa from the rumen.

    Need for India

    • The 2019 Livestock Census showed India’s cattle population at 193.46 million, along with 109.85 million buffaloes, 148.88 million goats and 74.26 million sheep.
    • Being largely fed on agricultural residues – wheat/paddy straw and maize, sorghum or bajra stover – ruminants in India tend to produce 50-100% higher methane than their industrialized country counterparts.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following:

    1. Carbon monoxide
    2. Methane
    3. Ozone
    4. Sulphur dioxide

    Which of the above are released into atmosphere due to the burning of crop/biomass residue?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2, 3 and 4 only

    (c) 1 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Back2Basics: CO2 equivalents

    • Each greenhouse gas (GHG) has a different global warming potential (GWP) and persists for a different length of time in the atmosphere.
    • The three main greenhouse gases (along with water vapour) and their 100-year global warming potential (GWP) compared to carbon dioxide are:

    1 x – carbon dioxide (CO2)

    25 x – methane (CH4) – I.e. Releasing 1 kg of CH4into the atmosphere is about equivalent to releasing 25 kg of CO2

    298 x – nitrous oxide (N2O)

    • Water vapour is not considered to be a cause of man-made global warming because it does not persist in the atmosphere for more than a few days.
    • There are other greenhouse gases which have far greater global warming potential (GWP) but are much less prevalent. These are sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and perfluorocarbons (PFCs).
    • There are a wide variety of uses for SF6, HFCs, and PFCs but they have been most commonly used as refrigerants and for fire suppression.
    • Many of these compounds also have a depleting effect on ozone in the upper atmosphere.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    Discrete Auroras on Mars

    8 July 2021 | Prelims Only | Science and Technology
    Mains GS3: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

    The UAE’s Hope spacecraft, which is orbiting Mars since February this year, has captured images of glowing atmospheric lights in the Red Planet’s night sky, known as discrete auroras.

    What causes an Aurora on Earth?

    • Auroras are caused when charged particles ejected from the Sun’s surface — called the solar wind — enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
    • These particles are harmful, and our planet is protected by the geomagnetic field, which preserves life by shielding us from the solar wind.
    • However, at the north and south poles, some of these solar wind particles are able to continuously stream down, and interact with different gases in the atmosphere to cause a display of light in the night sky.
    • This display, known as an aurora, is seen from the Earth’s high latitude regions (called the auroral oval), and is active all year round.

    Where are they observed on Earth?

    • In the northern part of our globe, the polar lights are called aurora borealis or Northern Lights and are seen from the US (Alaska), Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
    • In the south, they are called aurora australis or southern lights and are visible from high latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.

    So, how are Martian auroras different?

    • Unlike auroras on Earth, which are seen only near the north and south poles, discrete auroras on Mars are seen all around the planet at night time.
    • Unlike Earth, which has a strong magnetic field, the Martian magnetic field has largely died out.
    • This is because the molten iron at the interior of the planet– which produces magnetism– has cooled.
    • However, the Martian crust, which hardened billions of years ago when the magnetic field still existed, retains some magnetism.
    • So, in contrast with Earth, which acts like one single bar magnet, magnetism on Mars is unevenly distributed, with fields strewn across the planet and differing in direction and strength.
    • These disjointed fields channel the solar wind to different parts of the Martian atmosphere, creating “discrete” auroras over the entire surface of the planet as charged particles interact with atoms and molecules in the sky– as they do on Earth.

    Why is it important to study them?

    • Studying Martian auroras is important for scientists, for it can offer clues as to why the Red Planet lost its magnetic field and thick atmosphere– among the essential requirements for sustaining life.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Which region of Mars has a densely packed river deposit indicating this planet had water 3.5 billion years ago?

    (a) Aeolis Dorsa

    (b) Tharsis

    (c) Olympus Mons

    (d) Hellas

    Back2Basics:

    Hope Orbiter

    • The Hope Probe, the Arab world’s first mission to Mars, took off from Earth in July last year, and has been orbiting the Red Planet since February.
    • The primary objective of the mission is to study Martian weather dynamics.
    • By correlating the lower atmosphere and upper atmosphere conditions, the probe will look into how weather changes the escape of hydrogen and oxygen into space.
    • By measuring how much hydrogen and oxygen is spilling into space, scientists will be able to look into why Mars lost so much of its early atmosphere and liquid water.
    • It is expected to create the first complete portrait of the planet’s atmosphere.
    • With the information gathered during the mission, scientists will have a better understanding of the climate dynamics of different layers of Mars’ atmosphere.

    Mars

    • Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury.
    • In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the “Red Planet”.
    • The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars’s surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye.
    • Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.
    • The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period, as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane, is similar.
    • Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

  • Cyber Security – CERTs, Policy, etc

    New online platform maps Pegasus spread

    8 July 2021 | Prelims Only | Internal Security
    Mains GS3: Cyber Security

    An online database about the use of the spyware Pegasus was recently launched by the Forensic Architecture, Amnesty International and the Citizen Lab to document attacks against human rights defenders.

    What is Pegasus?

    • Last year, one of the biggest stories that broke into cyberspace was WhatsApp’s reports that 1,400 of its users were hacked by Pegasus, a spyware tool from Israeli firm NSO Group.
    • All spyware do what the name suggests — they spy on people through their phones.
    • Pegasus works by sending an exploit link, and if the target user clicks on the link, the malware or the code that allows the surveillance is installed on the user’s phone.
    • A presumably newer version of the malware does not even require a target user to click a link.
    • Once Pegasus is installed, the attacker has complete access to the target user’s phone.

    Why is Pegasus dangerous?

    • What makes Pegasus really dangerous is that it spares no aspect of a person’s identity. It makes older techniques of spying seem relatively harmless.
    • It can intercept every call and SMS, read every email and monitor each messaging app.
    • Pegasus can also control the phone’s camera and microphone and has access to the device’s location data.
    • The app advertises that it can carry out “file retrieval”, which means it could access any document that a target might have stored on their phone.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

  • GI(Geographical Indicator) Tags

    [pib] Export of GI certified Bhalia Wheat

    8 July 2021 | PIB | Agriculture
    Mains GS3: Major Crops & Cropping Patterns

    In a major boost to wheat exports, the first shipment of Geographical Indication (GI) certified Bhalia variety of wheat was exported today to Kenya and Sri Lanka from Gujarat.

    Bhalia Wheat

    • The GI certified wheat has high protein content and is sweet in taste.
    • The crop is grown mostly across Bhal region of Gujarat which includes Ahmadabad, Anand, Kheda, Bhavanagar, Surendranagar, Bharuch districts.
    • The unique characteristic of the wheat variety is that grown in the rainfed condition without irrigation and cultivated in around two lakh hectares of agricultural land in Gujarat.
    • The Bhalia variety of wheat received GI certification in July, 2011.
    • The registered proprietor of GI certification is Anand Agricultural University, Gujarat.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Which of the following has/have been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status?

    1. Banaras Brocades and Sarees
    2. Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma
    3. Tirupathi Laddu

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)

    • The World Intellectual Property Organization defines a GI as “a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin”.
    • GIs are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, handicrafts, industrial products, wines and spirit drinks.
    • Internationally, GIs are covered as an element of intellectual property rights under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
    • They have also covered under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

  • WTO and India

    [pib] Authorised Economic Operators

    8 July 2021 | PIB | Economics
    Mains GS3: GS3-12.Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth

    Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has inaugurated the online filing of Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) T2 and T3 applications.

    Who are Authorised Economic Operators?

    • The AEO concept is one of the main building blocks within the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards (SAFE).
    • The latter is part of the future international Customs model set out to support secure trade.
    • The growth of global trade and increasing security threats to the international movement of goods have forced customs administrations to shift their focus more and more to securing the international trade flow and away from the traditional task of collecting customs duties.
    • Recognizing these developments, the World Customs Organization, drafted the WCO Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate global trade (SAFE).
    • In the framework, several standards are included that can assist Customs administrations in meeting these new challenges.
    • Developing an Authorized Economic Operator programme is a core part of SAFE.

    AEOs in India

    • AEO is a voluntary programme.
    • It enables Indian Customs to enhance and streamline cargo security through close cooperation with the principal stakeholders of the international supply chain viz. importers, exporters, logistics providers, custodians or terminal operators, customs brokers and warehouse operators.

    Back2Basics: World Customs Organization (WCO)

    • WCO is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
    • The WCO is noted for its work in areas covering international trade facilitation, customs enforcement activities, combating counterfeiting in support of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), drugs enforcement, illegal weapons trading, integrity promotion, and delivering the sustainable capacity building to assist with customs reforms and modernization.
    • The WCO represents 179 Customs administrations that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade.
    • As the global centre of Customs expertise, the WCO has the tools and expertise to assist implementation of all legal, policy, procedural, technological, and human resource aspects related to trade facilitation.
    • The WCO maintains the international Harmonized System (HS) goods nomenclature and administers the technical aspects of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

  • Vacancies send a wrong signal

    7 July 2021 | | Governance
    Mains GS2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    Context

    For months on end, top slots in important government agencies like NHRC, CBI, Election Commission, NCERT etc remain vacant affecting the governance.

    Vacancies in various agencies

    • The post of the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission was kept vacant until June this year.
    • The post of the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had been vacant since February until the recent appointment.
    • The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) retired on April 12 leaving just two members in the Commission. 
    • The Centre appointed the new Election Commissioner in June.
    •  Of the 40 Central universities across the country, nearly half are without regular Vice-Chancellors.
    • Officers holding additional charges exist in various ministries, commissions and departments.

    Impact of vacancies

    • Vacancies have had a deleterious effect on governance.
    •  Delays in promotions and appointments affect the organisations.
    • Vacancies also tend to demoralise the officials who await promotions after vacancies arise.
    •  Delays in important appointments send a wrong signal to the nation.
    • Elections Commission was functioning only with two members for several months, in case of a disagreement on any issue between the two of them, a solution would have become difficult.

    Need to change the process for appointment of Election Commissioners

    • The appointment of Elections Commissioners is done by the Centre.
    • The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court demanding the appointment of Election Commissioners by a committee, as is done in the case of appointment of the Director of the CBI.
    • The 255th Report of Law Commission had recommended that Election Commissioners be appointed by a high-powered committee. 
    • The high-powered committee is headed by the Prime Minister has two members – the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
    • However, if the Prime Minister decides on a candidate and the CJI consents, the Opposition leader’s dissenting note carries no weight.
    • There is a need, therefore, to expand the high-powered committee to include at least two more members of eminence with proven integrity for the selection process

    Way forward

    • A time frame needs to be worked out to announce top appointments at least a month in advance.
    • Political considerations need to be pushed to the back seat for a clean and honest administration.

    Conclusion

    Considering the impact vaccines have on governance, we need to devise a mechanism to avoid such vacancies for such a long duration.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

  • Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

    Mental health care in India

    7 July 2021 | op-ed snap | Governance
    Mains GS2: Government Scheme/Policies

    Context

    Recently, a High Court suggested that homeless persons with health conditions be branded with a permanent tattoo, when vaccinated against COVID-19.

    Issue

    • In many countries, persons with severe mental health conditions live in shackles in their homes, in overcrowded hospitals, and even in prison.
    • On the other hand, many persons with mental health issues live and even die alone on the streets.
    • Three losses dominate the mental health systems narrative: dignity, agency and personhood.
    • Issues with the laws: Far-sighted changes in policy and laws have often not taken root and many laws fail to meet international human rights standards.
    • Many also do not account for cultural, social and political contexts resulting in moral rhetoric that doesn’t change the scenario of inadequate care.
    • There is also the social legacy of the asylum, and of psychiatry and mental illness itself, that guides our imagination in how care is organised.

    Way forward: A responsive care system

    • We must understand mental health conditions for what they are and for how they are associated with disadvantage.
    • These situations are linked, but not always so, therefore, not all distress can be medicalised.
    • Adopt WHO guidelines: Follow the Guidance on Community Mental Health Services recently launched by the World Health Organization.
    • The Guidance, which includes three models from India, addresses the issue from ‘the same side’ as the mental health service user and focuses on the co-production of knowledge and on good practices.
    • Drawn from 22 countries, these models balance care and support with rights and participation.
    • Open dialogue: The practice of open dialogue, a therapeutic practice that originated in Finland, runs through many programmes in the Guidance.
    • This approach trains the therapist in de-escalation of distress and breaks power differentials that allow for free expression.
    • Increase investment: With emphasis on social care components such as work force participation, pensions and housing, increased investments in health and social care seem imperative.
    • Network of services: For those homeless and who opt not to enter mental health establishments, we can provide a network of services ranging from soup kitchens at vantage points to mobile mental health and social care clinics.
    • Small emergency care and recovery centres for those who need crisis support instead of larger hospitals, and long-term inclusive living options in an environment that values diversity and celebrates social mixing, will reframe the archaic narrative of how mental health care is to be provided.

    Conclusion

    Persons with mental health conditions need a responsive care system that inspires hope and participation without which their lives are empty. We should endeavour to provide them with such a responsive care system.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

  • Fresh stirrings on federalism as a new politics

    7 July 2021 | op-ed snap | Polity
    Mains GS2: Federalism

    Context

    • Several issues such as vaccine wars, debates over the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the fracas over West Bengal’s Chief Secretary, and the pushback against controversial regulations in Lakshadweep have once again brought into focus the idea of federalism.
    • The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, since taking office, has begun to craft an ideological narrative on State rights, by re-introducing the term Union into the public discourse and pushing back against increased fiscal centralisation

    Lack of political consensus among States for genuine federalism

    • Federalism in India has always had political relevance, but except for the States Reorganisation Act, federalism has rarely been an axis of political mobilisation.
    • Fiscal and administrative centralisation persisted despite nearly two decades of coalition governments.
    • Rather than deepen federalism, the contingencies of electoral politics have created significant impediments to creating a political consensus for genuine federalism.

    Three challenges in deepening federalism among States

    1) Tendency to equate federalism as against nationalism

    • The grammar of development and nationalism, which has mass electoral appeal is used to undermine federalism.
    • Slogans such as ‘one nation, one market’, ‘one nation, one ration card’, ‘one nation, one grid’ symbolise development and nationalism while leaving little space for federalism.
    • In this context, federalism as a principle risks being equated with regionalism and a narrow parochialism that is anti-development and anti-national.

    2) Lack of federal principles

    • Pratap Bhanu Mehta has pointed out that over the decades, federal principles have been bent in all kinds of ways to co-produce a political culture of flexible federalism.
    • Federalism in this rendition is reduced to a game of political upmanship and remains restricted to a partisan tussle.
    • Claimants of greater federalism often maintain silence on unilateral decisions that affect other States.
    • For instance, the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory, the notification of the NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021 hardly witnessed protests by States that were not directly affected by these.

    3) Economic and governance divergence among states

    • Across all key indicators, southern (and western) States have outperformed much of northern and eastern India.
    • This has resulted in a greater divergence rather than expected convergence with growth.
    • This has created a context where collective action amongst States becomes difficult as poorer regions of India contribute far less to the economy but require greater fiscal resources to overcome their economic fragilities.
    • These emerging tensions were visible when the 15th Finance Commission (FC) was mandated to use the 2011 Census rather than the established practice of using the 1971 Census.
    • This, Southern states feared, risked penalising States that had successfully controlled population growth by reducing their share in the overall resource pool.
    •  With the impending delimitation exercise due in 2026, these tensions will only increase.

    Way forward

    • A politics for deepening federalism will need to overcome a nationalist rhetoric that pits federalism against nationalism and development.
    • Reclaim fiscal federalism:  Weak fiscal management has brought the Union government on the brink of what economist Rathin Roy has called a silent fiscal crisis.
    • The Union’s response has been to squeeze revenue from States by increasing cesses.
    • Its insistence on giving GST compensation to States as loans (after long delays) and increasing State shares in central schemes.
    • Against this backdrop, both sub-nationalist sentiments and the need to reclaim fiscal federalism create a political moment for a principled politics of federalism.
    • Sharing burden with poorer States: On the fiscal side, richer States must find a way of sharing the burden with the poorer States.
    • An inter-State platform that brings States together in a routine dialogue on matters of fiscal federalism could be the starting point for building trust and a common agenda.
    • Overcome isolationist tendency: The politics of regional identity is isolationist by its very nature.
    • An effort at collective political action for federalism based on identity concerns will have to overcome this risk.
    • Finally, beyond principles, a renewed politics of federalism is also an electoral necessity.

    Consider the question “Federalism in India has always had political relevance, but it has rarely been an axis of political mobilisation. What are the factors responsible for this? Suggest the way forward for the states to overcome these factors.” 

    Conclusion

    A renewed politics of federalism would require immense patience and maturity from regional parties. It remains to be seen whether they up to the task.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

  • Interstate River Water Dispute

    Water wars of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

    7 July 2021 | | Polity
    Mains GS2: Federalism

    An ongoing jala jagadam (fight over water resources), as it has been described by regional media, once again drew the police forces of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana into a tense standoff over release of water from the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir.

    Krishna River Dispute

    • Both states have disagreements over the sharing of the Krishna River water continue to shape politics in the region.
    • AP alleges that Telangana has been drawing Krishna water from four projects — Jurala, Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar, and Pulichintala without approvals from the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB).
    • The KRMB an autonomous body that was set up after the bifurcation of the state, to manage and regulate the waters in the Krishna basin.

    What is the issue?

    • The water that is used for power generation, Andhra says, is being wasted by releasing it into the Bay of Bengal, even as farmers in the Krishna delta ayacut are yet to begin sowing of the kharif crop.
    • Telangana says it would continue with the hydropower generation to meet its requirements of power.
    • At the same time, it has taken strong exception to the irrigation projects of the Andhra Pradesh government, especially the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project (RLIP), which it claims is illegal.
    • Telangana has called for a 50:50 allocation of water from the Krishna River.

    How is the water split between the states currently?

    • After Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh, the two states agreed to split the water share 66:34 on an ad hoc basis until the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-2 decided the final allocation.

    Why is Telangana making the big hydel push?

    • The Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project that was inaugurated in 2019 requires a huge amount of power to draw water from the Godavari River.
    • Also, the Telangana government says that it needs hydel energy to power its Nettempadu, Bheema, Koilsagar and Kalwakurthy lift irrigation projects.
    • Despite protests by Andhra, the Telangana CM has chosen to operate all hydel power stations at full capacity because hydel power is cheaper, and imposes a smaller burden on the already stretched state budget.

    What is the solution to the disagreement, then?

    • Telangana wants the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-2 to permanently settle the water dispute.
    • In the meantime, it wants the KRMB to convene a full-fledged board meeting on a mutually agreed date this month to address its grievances against Andhra Pradesh.

    What political factors are at play behind the dispute?

    • The two CMs have maintained cordial relations and have even met on several occasions to discuss long-standing issues arising out of the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh.
    • Critics have, however, alleged that the two CMs are fanning regional sentiments purely for political gains.

    Back2Basics: Interstate (River) Water Disputes (ISWDs)

    • These are a continuing challenge to federal water governance in India.
    • Rooted in constitutional, historico-geographical, and institutional ambiguities, they tend to become prolonged conflicts between the states that share river basins.
    • India has 25 major river basins, with most rivers flowing across states.
    • As river basins are shared resources, a coordinated approach between the states, with adequate involvement of the Centre, is necessary for the preservation, equitable distribution and sustainable utilization of river water.
    • Within India’s federal political structure, inter-state disputes require the involvement of the Union government for a federal solution at two levels: between the states involved, and between the Centre and the states.
    • The Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (IRWD Act) was enacted under Article 262 of the Constitution of India on the eve of reorganization of states to resolve the water disputes that would arise in the use, control and distribution of an interstate river or river valley.
    • Article 262 of the Indian Constitution provides a role for the Central government in adjudicating conflicts surrounding inter-state rivers that arise among the state/regional governments.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

  • Legislative Council in States: Issues & Way Forward

    West Bengal to set up Legislative Council

    7 July 2021 | | Polity
    Mains GS2: Parliament & State Legislatures

    The West Bengal Assembly has passed a resolution to set up Legislative Council with a two-thirds majority.

    What is a State Legislative Council?

    • The SLC is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral state legislature; the lower house being the State Legislative Assembly.
    • As of Jan 2020, 6 out of 28 states have a State Legislative Council. These are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh The latest state to have a council is Telangana.

    Why need another house?

    • The Legislative Council has three main functions: to represent the people, to legislate and to scrutinise the executive government as a ‘House of review’.
    • The Legislative Council provides an alternative and complementary system of representation to that of the Legislative Assembly.

    Creation and abolition

    • According to Article 169, the Parliament can create or abolish the SLC of a state if that state’s legislature passes a resolution for that with a special majority.
    • The existence of an SLC has proven politically controversial.
    • A number of states that have had their LCs abolished have subsequently requested its re-establishment; conversely, proposals for the re-establishment of the LC for a state have also met with opposition.

    Its composition

    • The size of the SLC cannot be more than one-third of the membership of the State Legislative Assembly.
    • However, its size cannot be less than 40 members.
    • These members elect the Chairman and Deputy Chairman from the Council.

    MLCs are chosen in the following manner:

    • One third are elected by the members of local bodies such as municipalities, gram panchayats, Panchayat samitis and district councils.
    • One third are elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State from among the persons who are not members of the State Legislative Assembly.
    • One sixth are nominated by the Governor from persons having knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, arts, the co-operative movement and social services.
    • One twelfth are elected by graduates of three years’ standing residing in that state.
    • One twelfth are elected by teachers who had spent at least three years in teaching in educational institutions within the state not lower than secondary schools, including colleges and universities.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The Legislative Council of a State in India can be larger in size than half of the Legislative Assembly of that particular State.
    2. The Governor of a State nominates the Chairman of Legislative Council of that particular State.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) Only 1

    (b) Only 2

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    Powers and functions

    • The Constitution of India gives limited power to the State Legislative Council.
    • The State Legislative Council can neither form nor dissolve a state government.
    • The State Legislative Council also have no role in the passing of money bills.
    • But some of the powers it has is that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the State Legislative Council enjoy the same status as Cabinet Ministers in the state.

    Issues with LC

    • It was argued that a second House can help check hasty actions by the directly elected House, and also enable non-elected persons to contribute to the legislative process.
    • However, it was also felt that some of the poorer states could ill afford the extravagance of two Houses.
    • It has been pointed out that the Councils can be used to delay important legislation and to park leaders who have not been able to win an election.

    Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor

Join the Community

Join us across Social Media platforms.