Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Triple Test
Mains level: OBC quota in local body polls
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court quashed the state government’s draft notification on urban local body elections and ordered that the polls be held without reservation for OBCs.
Precursor to the news
- The Uttar Pradesh government had issued a draft notification for the reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in urban local body elections.
Why did the HC strike the draft down?
- The verdict comes on the back of PILs challenging the state’s OBC reservation draft.
- It was alleged that it was prepared without following the “triple test” formula prescribed by the Supreme Court.
- The Court said that OBC reservation in local body polls cannot be provided until conditions mandated in the “triple test” are complied with.
What’s the Triple Test formula?
- A five-judge Constitution Bench in the K. Krishnamurthy (Dr.) v. Union of India (2010) judgment said that barriers to political participation are not the same as barriers to education and employment.
- While deciding on the legality of OBC reservations in Maharashtra local body elections in March 2021, the Supreme Court set out a three-layered test – also called triple test.
- This is something that State governments have to follow to provide reservations-
- Step 1: States must set up a dedicated commission to examine backwardness in local bodies.
- Step 2: they must determine the size of the quota for communities on the basis of data collected by the commission.
- Step 3: These reservations, combined with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes quotas, cannot exceed 50% of the total seats in the local body.
What did the court observe now?
- Reservation to OBCs in local body elections without empirical base can no more be sustainable in law.
- The latest order in RR Wagh v. State of Maharashtra & others makes it mandatory that the principles laid down by the Supreme Court for providing reservation to OBCs in local bodies shall be scrupulously followed across the country.
Major takeaways of K. Krishnamurthy Case
In this case, the Supreme Court had interpreted Article 243D(6) and Article 243T(6), which permit reservation by enactment of law for backward classes in local bodies respectively.
- It held that barriers to political participation are not the same as that of the barriers that limit access to education and employment.
- However, for creating a level playing field, reservation may be desirable as mandated by the aforementioned conditions.
- Above articles provide a separate constitutional basis for reservation, as distinct from what are conceived under Article 15 (4) and Article 16 (4) which form the basis for reservation in education and employment.
Reception of the Krishnamurthy Judgment
- The Indian political class usually displays apathy to the law declared by the courts as contrary to the enacted law.
- The 2010 judgment was not acted upon and the constitutionality of the enacted reservation was challenged.
- This resulted in the 2021 judgment of a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.
What about other states?
- In 2021, OBC reservations in local bodies were set aside in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh too on similar grounds by courts.
- Earlier this year, the Karnataka and Patna high courts have set aside notifications reserving seats for OBCs in municipal elections in Bengaluru and Bihar.
- In May this year, the top court, however, allowed local body polls with OBC reservation in Madhya Pradesh after it proved compliance to the triple test formula.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Delimitation of constituencies
Mains level: Not Much
The Election Commission is set to begin the delimitation exercise of Assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam using census figures of 2001.
Why discuss this?
- The last delimitation of constituencies in Assam was done on the basis of census figures of 1971 by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976.
What is Delimitation?
- 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.
Why is it needed?
- 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.
How is delimitation carried out?
- Delimitation is carried out by an independent Delimitation Commission (DC).
- Under Article 82, the Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after every Census.
- Once the Act is in force, the Union government sets up a DC made up of a retired Supreme Court judge, the Chief Election Commissioner and the respective State Election Commissioners.
Terms of reference for DC
- The Commission is supposed to determine the number and boundaries of constituencies in a way that the population of all seats, so far as practicable, is the same.
- The Commission is also tasked with identifying seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; these are where their population is relatively large.
- All this is done on the basis of the latest Census and, in case of difference of opinion among members of the Commission, the opinion of the majority prevails.
Implementation
- The draft proposals of the DC are published in the Gazette of India, official gazettes of the states concerned and at least two vernacular papers for public feedback.
- The Commission also holds public sittings.
- After hearing the public, it considers objections and suggestions, received in writing or orally during public sittings, and carries out changes, if any, in the draft proposal.
- The final order is published in the Gazette of India and the State Gazette and comes into force on a date specified by the President.
How often has delimitation been done in the past?
- The first delimitation exercise in 1950-51 was carried out by the President (with the help of the Election Commission).
- The Constitution at that time was silent on who should undertake the division of states into Lok Sabha seats.
- This delimitation was temporary as the Constitution mandated redrawing of boundaries after every Census. Hence, another delimitation was due after the 1951 Census.
- Pointing out that the first delimitation had left many political parties and individuals unhappy, the EC advised the government that all future exercises should be carried out by an independent commission.
- This suggestion was accepted and the DC Act was enacted in 1952.
- DCs have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.
Why postponed till 2026?
- There was no delimitation after the 1981 and 1991 Censuses.
- Although the freeze on the number of seats in Lok Sabha and Assemblies should have been lifted after the 2001 Census, another amendment postponed this until 2026.
- This was justified on the ground that a uniform population growth rate would be achieved throughout the country by 2026.
- So, the last delimitation exercise — started in July 2002 and completed on May 31, 2008 — was based on the 2001 Census and only readjusted boundaries of existing Lok Sabha and Assembly seats and reworked the number of reserved seats.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Naegleria fowleri
Mains level: Not Much
South Korea reported its first case of infection from Naegleria fowleri or “brain-eating amoeba”.
What is Naegleria fowleri (Amoeba)?
- Amoeba is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopods.
- Naegleria is an amoeba, a single-celled organism, and only one of its species, called Naegleria fowleri, can infect humans.
- It was first discovered in Australia in 1965 and is commonly found in warm freshwater bodies, such as hot springs, rivers and lakes.
- So far, Naegleria fowleri has been found in all continents and declared as the cause of PAM in over 16 countries, including India.
How does it infect humans?
- The amoeba enters the human body through the nose and then travels up to the brain.
- This can usually happen when someone goes for a swim, or dive or even when they dip their head in a freshwater body.
- In some cases, it was found that people got infected when they cleaned their nostrils with contaminated water/ vapour/ or aerosol droplets.
- Once Naegleria fowleri goes to the brain, it destroys brain tissues and causes a dangerous infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).
What are the symptoms of PAM?
- The CDC says the first signs of PAM start showing within one to 12 days after the infection.
- In the initial stages, they might be similar to symptoms of meningitis, which are headache, nausea and fever.
- In the later stages, one can suffer from a stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations, and even coma.
- The infection spreads rapidly and on average causes death within about five days.
How its spread is linked to climate change?
- With the rising global temperatures, the chances of getting Naegleria fowleri infection will go up as the amoeba mainly thrives in warm freshwater bodies.
- The organism best grows in high temperatures up to 46°C and sometimes can survive at even higher temperatures.
- Various recent studies have found that excess atmospheric carbon dioxide has led to an increase in the temperature of lakes and rivers.
- These conditions provide a more favourable environment for the amoeba to grow.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nuralink
Mains level: Nuralink and its applications and testing issues
Context
- Elon Musk’s medical company, Neuralink, has been accused of causing needless suffering and death to around 1,500 animals in just short few years. Sources indicate that animal testing is proceeding too swiftly, which results in unnecessary suffering and death for the animals.
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What Is Neuralink?
- A device to be inserted in brain: Neuralink is a gadget that will be surgically inserted into the brain using robotics. In this procedure, a chipset called the link is implanted in the skull.
- Insulated wires connected to electrodes: It has a number of insulated wires connected from the electrodes that are used in the process.
- Can be operated by smartphones: This device can then be used to operate smartphones and computers without having to touch it.
- Neurons of the Brain: The brain consists of neurons that transmit signals to cells in the body including muscle, nerve, gland and other neuron cells.
- Functions of each part of the brain: Every neuron is made up of three parts called the dendrite, the soma (cell body) and the axon. Each of this part has its own function. The dendrite receives the signals. The soma processes these signals. The axon then transmits the signals to the other cells.
- Neurotansmitters: The neurons are connected to one another by the synapses which release neurotransmitters. These chemical substances are then sent to another neuron cell’s dendrite causing the flow of current across the neurons.
How Does Neuralink Work?
- Electrodes can read electric signals: The electrodes that are part of the Neuralink will read electrical signals that are produced by several neurons in the brain. The signals are then outputted in form of an action or movement.
- Implanted directly in the brain: According to the company’s website, the device is implanted directly in the brain because placing it outside the head will not detect the signals produced by the brain accurately
What Does Neuralink Do?
- To operate encephalopathy: Neuralink can be used to operate encephalopathy.
- People with paralysis can be operated: It can also be used as a connection between the human brain and technology. This means that people with paralysis can easily operate their phones and computer directly with their brain.
- It will help people to communicate: Its main purpose is to help people to communicate through text or voice messages.
- Wide applications: Neuralink can also be utilised to draw pictures, take photographs and do other activities.appliactions
Conclusion
- Though the Neuralink innovation pushing the boundaries of neural engineering, cruelty over the animals cannot be ignored.
Mains question
Q. What is Neuralink? What is the science behind the human brain and what the neuralink will do?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Russia Ukraine war, India-Russia relations
Context
- Russia marks two anniversaries the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Union and the 31st anniversary of its dissolution. Following the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917, the Soviet Union was proclaimed on December 30, 1922. Until its dissolution on December 26, 1991.
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- Special Strategic Partner: Vladimir Putin’s Russia continues to be valued as the heir to the Soviet Union and as a special strategic partner.
- Ukraine war has not affected the ties: Putin’s aggression against Ukraine and his brutal bombing of its civilian population, which Moscow claims is an integral part of Russia, has hardly made a dent in the way the Indian political classes think about the crisis.
- Russia as anti-imperialist: On the left and centre of the Indian political spectrum, the Soviet Union has been viewed purely through the ideological lens of progressive politics nationalist, internationalist, communist and anti-imperialist. That lens, however, is detached from the history of Russia and the continuing struggles for its political soul.
- Russia as best friend forever: Within the strategic community, the conviction that Russia is India’s “best friend forever” leaves little room for a nuanced view of Russia’s domestic and international politics.
Understanding Russia’s behaviour through Russian History
- The Bolshevik Revolution: It is initially sought to destroy the Russian Orthodox Church, eventually leveraged it in the deification of the Soviet state and lent a religious colour to the claim of Russian exceptionalism.
- Alliance with orthodoxy: Putin has taken the alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church to a higher level. For the Russian nationalists today, the effort to take back Ukraine is a “holy war”.
- Limited sovereignty to other communist state: After the Second World War, Soviet Russia insisted that fellow communist states had only “limited sovereignty” and Moscow had the right to intervene to keep them on the straight and narrow path of socialism and prevent their destabilisation. The military invasions in Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1968), and Afghanistan (1979) were motivated by this impulse.
- Russia has not given up Imperialist tradition: In claiming that Ukraine has no sovereignty of its own, Putin is merely following that imperial tradition as well as the conviction that Ukraine, Belarus and Russian-speaking people everywhere are part of the “Russkiy Mir” or the “Russian world”.
- Mao’s characterization of Russia: After he broke from the Russian communists, Mao began to characterise Russia as an “imperial power”. Mao had not forgotten the persistent tension between the Chinese and Russian empires.
Analyzing Russia’s internal politics
- Weak federalism by Lenin: The founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin warned against the dangers of “great Russian chauvinism”. He insisted on structuring a federal polity with the right of various nationalities to secede.
- Strong soviet by Stalin: Stalin, however, turned Russian federalism into a hollow shell and erased the difference between the “Soviet Union” and “Soviet Russia”.
- Putin refuse to recognize Ukraine: Putin denounced Lenin for giving a separate identity to Ukraine. “Modern Ukraine”, Putin said, “can with good reason be called ‘Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s Ukraine’.”
- Stalling the democratic process: The enduring autocratic impulse in Moscow that is rooted in the stalled democratic revolution. Traditionally, the Russian fear of disorder has left the population to put great faith in strong leaders.
- Centralising tendency: The frequent but unsuccessful efforts at political liberalisation have left a fertile ground in Russia for centralising power under leaders like Putin and increasing the chances of grave miscalculation.
What should be the India’s approach towards Russia?
- Not directly criticize Russia: Although it has been reluctant to directly criticise Russian aggression, official India is not blind to the fact that Putin’s “special military operation” has gone horribly wrong.
- Taking note of changing world order: India will inevitably find ways to adjust to the tectonic shifts in the world order triggered by Putin’s misadventure.
- Learning from Putin’s mistake: The Indian political and strategic communities must come to terms with the many complex factors that have contributed to Putin’s egregious errors in Ukraine.
Conclusion
- To understand how the war in Ukraine might play out and its longer-term consequences for India, India’s discourse must pay greater attention to the turbulent history of Russia and its troubled relations with its Central European neighbours.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: AVGC-ER
The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) Promotion Task Force report has proposed a national AVGC-Extended Reality Mission with a budget outlay to be created for integrated promotion and growth of the sector.
What is AVGC?
- While the etymology of the word surrounds everything to do with Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics, the overarching term is an umbrella for all the sub-sectors that are contributing to India’s digital economy.
- This includes-
- Animation Studios
- VFX Studios
- Game Development Studios
- Platforms
- Hardware Manufacturers
- Software developers
- Virtual Production Studios and many more entities
- The sector saw immense growth with technological adoption as is, but it witnessed steep uptake with the onset of the pandemic.
Why focus on the AVGC sector?
- Emerging sector: The global AVGC industry amounts to $800 billion, and the Indian AVGC sector is brimming with the potential to bag up to 5 percent of the global share ($40 billion).
- India’s IT prowess: India today contributes about $2.5-3 billion of the estimated $260-275 billion worldwide AVGC market.
- Skilled workforce availability: According to industry experts, the Indian market which currently employs about 1.85 lakh AVGC professionals, can witness a growth of 14-16% in the next decade.
- Employment generation: Not only does the sector contribute significantly to the economy, it also creates an abundance of employment opportunities for several skilled sectors, with over 160,000 jobs that it could provide yearly.
Key recommendations by the task force
The report has also recommended-
- “Create in India” campaign with an exclusive focus on content creation
- Establishment of AVGC accelerators and innovation hubs in academic institutions
- Democratizing AVGC technologies by promoting subscription-based pricing models for MSME, Start-ups and institutions;
- Indigenous technology development through incentive schemes and Intellectual Property creation; and
- Setting up a dedicated production fund for domestic content creation from across India to promote the country’s culture and heritage globally.
- Memorandum of Cooperation with developed global AVGC markets — U.S., Japan, South Korea, Germany etc.
Way forward
- Policy vision: Because of the wide range of sub-sectors that are amass under AVGC’s wide umbrella, there is a need for a broad vision to help further incubate this industry.
- Up-skilling: There is a requirement for not only financing and resource allocation for the sector, but also education and talent development.
- Collaboration: Gaming, VFX, and animation markets in the likes of the US or South Korea, for instance, has been heavily incubated, and are thus at the crest of the wave on a global scale today.
Conclusion
- If it gets the correct atmosphere to grow in–especially one that covers all the bases under it, the Indian AVGC sector has the capacity to become the zenith of Digital India and the hallmark of the ‘Brand India’ dream that PM envisages.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pralay Missile
Mains level: Tactical weapons and their battle significance
The Defence Ministry has decided to deploy indigenously developed surface-to-surface ‘Pralay’ ballistic missiles near India’s borders with China and Pakistan.
What are Tactical Missiles?
- Generally, short-range missiles are termed tactical while long-range missiles are termed strategic.
- A missile which is used to destroy tactical targets of enemy like bunkers, mortar position, artillery position etc. is tactical missile.
- Battlefield missiles are tactical while long-range missiles targeting bigger targets like cities are termed strategic.
- Features of these missiles include-
- Versatile range: Tactical missiles fills the gap between long range rockets and short range ballistic missiles , and have range mainly about 100 to 200 kms .
- Very high precision and accuracy: These missiles are highly accurate, and can destroy small steady and moving targets with high accuracy.
About ‘Pralay’ Missile
- Pralay is a Hindi word which means “apocalypse” or “to cause great destruction” or “damage”.
- The Pralay missile project was sanctioned in 2015 and is a derivative of the Prahaar missile programme, which was first tested in 2011.
- Developed by the DRDO, the ‘Pralay’ ballistic missile is a canisterised tactical, surface-to-surface, and short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) for battlefield use.
- It can hit targets from a distance of 150 to 500 km and is extremely difficult to intercept by enemy interceptor missiles.
- Pralay is powered by a solid fuel rocket motor and is a high explosive preformed fragmentation warhead that weighs somewhere between 350 kg to 700 kg.
- It also accounts for its Penetration-Cum-Blast (PCB) and Runaway Denial Penetration Submunitions (RDPS).
Unique features of Pralay
- Precise targeting: The missile is designed to destroy enemy radar, communication installations, command centres and airfields.
- Quasi Ballistic Trajectory: It means the object takes a low curved path after being shot.
- Stealth features: Pralay has the ability to evade any anti-ballistic missile (ABM) interceptors by performing mid-air manoeuvres by using a manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle.
- Destruction capability: When a high-explosive warhead, like the one Pralay missile is equipped with, explodes, its pieces are thrown at a high speed which can inflict heavy damage.
What makes Pralay lethal?
- The Indian missile can be compared to China’s Dong Feng 12 and the Russian Iskander missile that has been used in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
- The US Army is in the process of increasing the range of a similar short-range ballistic missile called the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).
- What makes Pralay deadly is that it is a quasi-ballistic weapon, which means that while it has a low trajectory and is largely ballistic, it can manoeuvre in flight.
- Unlike intercontinental ballistic missiles that exit the Earth’s atmosphere, short-range ballistic missiles stay within it.
What lies ahead?
- Pralay, along with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, will form the crux of India’s planned Rocket Force — a concept that was envisaged by former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the late General Bipin Rawat.
- Only conventional missiles would come under the planned Rocket Force as and when it’s ready, while nuclear weapons would continue to be under the ambit of the Strategic Forces Command.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Denotified Tribes, SEED Scheme
Mains level: Mainstreaming of marginalized DNTs
A Parliamentary panel has pulled up the Centre over the “very slow” process to categorize over 260 Denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes (DNTs) under either the SC/ST/OBC lists.
Why in news?
- The government officials also pointed ‘delay’ in the approval of benefits under the SEED (Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs) scheme launched in February this year.
- There is a scheme in place with proper budgetary outlay, but there is no whereabouts of targeted beneficiaries for it. Imagine how ironical this is.
Who are the DNTs?
- The term ‘De-notified Tribes’ stands for all those communities which were once notified under the Criminal Tribes Acts, enforced by the British Raj between l87l and I947.
- These Acts were repealed after Independence in l952, and these communities were “De-Notified”.
- The DNTs (of whom most are the medieval period Banjaras) are the most neglected, marginalized, and economically and socially deprived communities.
- Most of them have been living a life of destitution for generations and still continue to do so with an uncertain and gloomy future.
- More than 10 crore Indians from over 1,400 communities are either denotified, nomadic or semi-nomadic.
About SEED Scheme
- It has been formulated for families having income from all sources of Rs.2.50 lakh or less per annum and not availing any such benefits from similar Scheme of Centre Government or the State Government.
- The Scheme will be implemented through a portal, developed by the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment.
- Post verification, the funds will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries in their account.
- The other implementing agencies are Ministry of Rural Development, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and National Health Authority (NHA).
Components of the scheme
The Scheme will have the following four components:
- Free Coaching: A component of free Coaching for DNT Students has been envisioned for the educational empowerment of these communities. It seeks to enable them to appear in competitive examinations/ admission to professional courses like medicine, engineering, MBA, etc. for obtaining an appropriate job in the Public/Private Sector.
- Health Insurance: Members of these communities are likely to have little or no access to medical facilities and other benefits available under the mainstream health policies.This would ensure a health insurance cover of Rs.5 lakhs per family per year for families as per norms of “Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
- Livelihood Initiatives: The decline of traditional occupations of DNT/NT/SNT communities has exacerbated their poverty. A focus to support livelihood generation for these communities was required.
- Financial support for Housing: Considering the shortage of houses for DNTs, it has been proposed to earmark a separate outlay for PMAY to support specific importance in providing houses only for DNTs living in rural areas.
Why was such scheme launched?
- DNTs are ignored communities: They escaped the attention of our developmental framework and thus are deprived of the support unlike Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
- Most deprived section: Historically, these communities never had access to private land or homeownership.
- Ecological contribution: These tribes used forests and grazing lands for their livelihood and residential use and had “strong ecological connections.
Status of DNT’s identification
- Anthropological Survey of India study: AnSI had submitted reports on categorisation of 48 DNT communities so far. Further, the AnSI is finalising studies on 161 communities and is expected to finish studying the remaining communities (about 70) by the end of 2022.
- Idate Commission: It had categorised 1,262 communities under SC/ST/OBC lists and 267 communities were left uncategorised.
Why is there such delay?
- Slow response from states: Officials cannot begin processing the applications for the SEED scheme unless the State and district-level reviews are completed.
- Duplication of communities: There is inaccurate categorization/duplication of communities which leading to hiccups in the approval process.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Geoglyphs
Mains level: Prehistoric Rock Art
Experts and conservationists have raised concerns over the proposed location for a mega oil refinery in Barsu village of Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district.
What are geoglyphs?
- Geoglyphs are a form of prehistoric rock art, created on the surface of laterite plateaus.
- They are made by removing a part of the rock surface through an incision, picking, carving or abrading.
- They can be in the form of rock paintings, etchings, cup marks and ring marks.
Ratnagiri’s geoglyphs
- Clusters of geoglyphs are spread across the Konkan coastline in Maharashtra and Goa, spanning around 900 km.
- Porous laterite rock, which lends itself to such carving, is found on a large scale across the entire region.
- Ratnagiri district has more than 1,500 pieces of such art, also called “Katal shilpa,” spread across 70 sites.
- The figures depicted in the geoglyphs include humans and animals such as deer, elephant, tiger, monkey, wild boar, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, cattle, pig, rabbit, and monkey.
- Moreover, they also include a high number of reptilian and amphibian creatures such as tortoises and alligators, aquatic animals such as sharks and sting rays, and birds like peacocks.
Why are they significant?
- Tourism potential: Ratnagiri’s prehistoric sites are among three Indian attractions that may soon become World Heritage Sites. The other two include Jingkieng Jri, the living root bridge in Meghalaya, and Sri Veerabhadra Temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Lepakshi.
- Evolution of art: The geoglyph clusters also are examples of advanced artistic skills, showing the evolution of techniques of etching and scooping in rock art.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PRASAD Scheme
Mains level: Religious tourism development
President of India inaugurated ‘PRASAD’ project at the tourism facilitation centre in the pilgrim town of Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh.
About Srisailam
- The temple at Srisailam is the ancient and sacred place of South India.
- The presiding deity of the place is Brahmaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy in natural stone formations in the shape of Lingam.
- It is listed as one of the twelve Jyotirlingams existing in the country.
Development with PRASAD scheme
- The pilgrim town will get a pilgrim complex, amenities centres, an amphitheatre, sound and light show, digital intervention, parking areas among others.
- There is total outlay of ₹48.03 crore under the PRASAD project.
Back2Basics: PRASAD Scheme
- PRASAD stands for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).
- It is 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Tourism Ministry.
- Provisions under the scheme include-
- Tourism Promotion and Tourist Ecosystem
- Vocational Training for Tourists and Hospitality Business
- Hunar se Rozgar tak (HSRT) and earn while you learn programs
- Improving Tourist Infrastructure
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Research and development and Research Intensity
Context
- US, has retained its global leadership for almost a century since World War I thanks to the culture of innovation backed by a solid base of research and development (R&D). China is challenging the leadership of US based on technology and innovation. If India wants to be a Vishwa guru it must invest in R&D.
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Innovation and missing R&D Investment
- Engine of growth: Innovation is rightly recognized as an engine for economic growth.
- Atal innovation Mission: In 2016, the government launched the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) to create an ecosystem to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
- Actual spending is less: All these are steps in the right direction, but the foundation of all this lies in how much India actually spends on R&D, both in absolute terms as well as a percentage of its GDP, in relation to other G20 countries.
- Sustainable Target: SDG Target 9.5 calls upon nations to encourage innovation and substantially increase the numbers of researchers as well as public and private spending on R&D. Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) is the proposed aggregate to quantify a country’s commitment to R&D.
What is the scenario of Global Investment in R&D?
- Institute for Statistics (UIS): According to UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS) latest report, the G20 nations accounted for 90.6 per cent of global GERD (current, PPP$) in 2018.
- Increased spending on R&D: Global R&D expenditure has reached a record high of about 2.2 trillion current PPP$ (2018), while Research Intensity (R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP) has gradually increased from 1.43 per cent in 1998 to 1.72 per cent in 2018.
- Investment in PPP terms is inaccurate: Though looking at spending in PPP terms is a reasonable metric for welfare measurement in the economy, when it comes to technological prowess in high-end activities of R&D, it all boils down to measuring hard currency in US dollars.
- G20 leader in investment: The G20 countries, accounting for 86.2 per cent of the global GDP and over 60 per cent of the global population in 2021, are the leaders in every way.
- USA spends the Highest: The US leads the G20 by spending $581.6 billion on R&D followed by the European Union ($323 billion), and China ($297.3 billion) in 2018.
- India spends negligible amount: India lags way behind with a paltry R&D expenditure of only $17.6 billion in 2018. In terms of their relative shares in G20 R&D expenditure, the US is way ahead with 36 per cent, followed by the EU (20 per cent), and China (18 per cent). India’s share is less than 1 per cent of G20 R&D expenditure in dollar terms.
Linkages between Research Intensity and Expenditure on R&D
- Percentage to GDP: While the absolute expenditure on R&D provides a sense of scale, their percentage to the respective GDP provides the research intensity (RI).
- South Korea Highest RI: It is interesting to note that in 2018 for which the latest information is available, South Korea has the highest RI at 4.43 per cent, followed by Japan (3.21 per cent), Germany (3.09 per cent), the US (2.83 per cent), France (2.19 per cent), China (2.14 per cent) and EU (2.02 per cent). India is ranked 17th in the G20, with a RI of 0.65 per cent (see infographics).
- Example of Israel: One of the non-G20 countries is Israel, which, while having an R&D expenditure of just $18.6 billion, a population of only 9.3 million and a per capita income of around $51,430, has the highest RI of over 5 per cent. No wonder, Israel is known as a land of innovations, be it in defence or agriculture.
What India can learn from Israel?
- Innovation growth and competition: The innovation system in Israel is a fundamental driver of its economic growth and competitiveness.
- Active role of government: The government has played an important role in financing innovation, particularly in SMEs, and in providing well-functioning frameworks for innovation, such as venture capital (VC), incubators, strong science-industry links, and high-quality university education.
- India can emulate Israel: Israel builds a strong case to show that despite being a smaller nation, sustainable growth can be achieved by prioritising investments in R&D. A lesson India can learn.
Mains Question
Q. What is difference between investment in R&D and research intensity? What is the missing part in India’s R&D and innovation ecosystem?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India-EU FTA
Context
- The third round of negotiations of the India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement concluded recently. The two sides are also negotiating an investment protection agreement (IPA), which will contain investment protection standards and an independent mechanism to settle disputes between investors and states under international law.
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Why EU is seeking Investor Protection Agreement?
- Regulatory troubles in India: Notwithstanding the laudable intent of the government to welcome them, foreign investors in India have often got into numerous regulatory troubles with the state.
- Investors have sued India: Several foreign corporations like Vodafone, Cairn Energy, Nissan, White Industries, Telenor, Nokia, Vedanta have sued India to enforce the rights guaranteed to them in bilateral investment treaties (BITs). This is the main motivation behind the EU seeking an IPA with India.
- India’s past of unilaterally changing the laws: EU investors can rely on Indian law for protection. But Indian law can be unilaterally changed to the detriment of the investor.
- Slow Judicial process: The Indian judiciary is agonisingly slow in resolving disputes. Thus, the longing for protection under international law.
- Non-justiciable tax regulations: India wants to push taxation measures outside the scope of the treaty by making tax-related regulatory measures non-justiciable. The EU has difficulty accepting this proposition given the recent history of India’s tax-related investment disputes with Vodafone, Cairn Energy, and Nissan.
- Two tier court system: The EU’s investment proposal to India talks of creating a two-tier court-like system with an appellate mechanism and tenured judges to resolve treaty disputes between investors and the state.
- EU’s proposal of MIC: This proposal is connected to the EU’s stand internationally for creating a multilateral investment court (MIC), negotiations for which are going on at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The MIC is aimed at overcoming the weaknesses of the current arbitration-based system of settling investor-state disputes.
- Lack of clarity from India’s side: India’s position on creating an investment-court-like system is unknown. India hasn’t publicly contributed to the ongoing negotiations at UNCITRAL towards establishing a MIC.
What is the issue of MFN and FET?
- EU wants the MFN status: The EU’s investment proposal contains a most favoured nation (MFN) provision to ensure that EU investors do not face discrimination vis-à-vis other foreign investors.
- India don’t want to include MFN: On the other hand, India’s position is not to include the MFN provision in its investment treaties because of the apprehension that foreign investors will use the MFN clause to indulge in disruptive treaty shopping. The solution to such disruptive treaty shopping is to negotiate for a qualified MFN provision and not exclude it altogether.
- Fair equitable treatment: EU investment proposal contains what is known as a fair and equitable treatment (FET) provision, which is missing in the Indian 2016 Model BIT.
- Making the state liable: The FET provision protects foreign investors, for example, by making the states liable if it goes back on the specific assurances made to an investor to induce investments on which the investor relied while making the investment.
Why IPA is need of the hour?
- FDI is stagnant: Overall FDI to India has stagnated for the past decade at around 2 per cent of the GDP. In the case of the EU, while its share in foreign investment stock in India increased from €63.7 billion in 2017 to €87.3 billion in 2020, this is way below the EU foreign investment stocks in China (€201.2 billion) or Brazil (€263.4 billion).
- Negative Impact of BIT terminations: Recent research shows that India’s decision to unilaterally terminate BITs has negatively impacted FDI inflows to India.
- IPA needed to attract FDI: India needs the IPA with the EU to attract FDI for achieving the aspirational milestone of becoming a $10-trillion economy by 2030.
Conclusion
- India needs to put its own house in order. India should review the 2016 Model BIT, as has also been recommended by the Parliament’s standing committee on external affairs.
Mains Question
Q. What is the investor protection scheme and why EU wants to include IPA in Free Trade Agreement with India? what are the hurdles in FTA between EU and India?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Linking PHC with UHC, India's G20 presidency and healthcare agenda
Context
- Health needs to be a central agenda for the G20 2023. It has been one of the priority areas for G20 deliberations since 2017, when the first meet of health ministers of G20 countries was organised by the German presidency. The G20 now has health finance in its financial stream and health systems development in the Sherpa stream.
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Background: Prioritizing Health
- An annual G20 meeting of health ministers and a joint health and finance task force reflects the seriousness the subject has gained.
- The Berlin Declaration 2017 of the G20 health ministers provided a composite approach focusing on pandemic preparedness, health system strengthening and tackling antimicrobial resistance.
- The Covid-19 pandemic gave added urgency to pandemic preparedness and the Indonesian presidency in 2022 made it the major focus. The Indian presidency needs to advance these agendas.
Global community engagement to strengthen Health systems
- Universal Health Coverage (UHC): The concept of UHC was born in the 2000s to prevent catastrophic medical expenditures due to secondary and tertiary level hospital services by universalizing health insurance coverage.
- UHC as a strategy to ensure healthcare for all: The UHC has been the big global approach for health systems strengthening since 2010, also adopted in 2015 as the strategy for Sustainable Development Goal-3 on ensuring healthcare for all at all ages.
- Limited impact of UHC: However, the limited impact of this narrow strategy was soon evident, with expenditures on outdoor services becoming catastrophic for poor households and preventing access to necessary healthcare and medicines, while many unnecessary/irrational medical interventions were being undertaken.
What are the new approaches developed to strengthen healthcare system?
- Highlighted the need to prioritise primary healthcare (PHC): In 2018, the Astana Conference organised by WHO and UNICEF put out a declaration stating that primary healthcare (PHC) is essential for fulfilling the UHC objectives.
- Combined UHC- PHC approach: In 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted the combined UHC-PHC approach as a political declaration.
- World bank report on benefits of PHC services during pandemic: The World Bank published a report in 2021, “Walking the Talk: Reimagining Primary Health Care After COVID-19”. The dominant hospital-centred medical system is becoming unaffordable even for the high-income countries, as apparent during the 2008 recession and subsequently.
What is PHC-with-UHC approach?
- It means strengthening primary level care linked to non-medical preventive action (food security and safety, safe water and air, healthy workspaces, and so on)
- It works through whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches, and extending the “PHC principles” to secondary and tertiary care services.
- This could be the most cost-effective systems design the comprehensive game changer that global health care requires.
What is to be strengthened, what initiatives can be applied and how?
- Making health central to development in all sectors: Health in all policies, one health (linking animal and human health for tackling antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic diseases), planetary health, pandemic preparedness.
- Health systems strengthening: Designing PHC-with-UHC for diverse contexts. Conceptualised as a continuum of care from self-care in households to community services, to primary level para-medical services and first contact with a doctor, services provided as close to homes as possible, affordable and easily deliverable.
- Appropriate technologies to be adopted as a norm: By strengthening health technology assessment, ethics of healthcare, equitable access to pharmaceutical products and vaccines, integrative health systems using plural knowledge systems rationally.
- Health and healthcare from the perspective of the marginalised: Gendered health care needs, Health care of indigenous peoples globally, occupational health, mental health and wellbeing, healthy ageing.
- Easy access to health knowledge for all: decolonization and democratization of health knowledge, with interests and perspectives of low-middle-income countries (LMICs), prevention and patient-centred healthcare.
- India has several pioneering initiatives that can contribute to the PHC-with-UHC discussion:
- National Health mission and dedicated health facilities: Lessons from the National Health Mission for strengthening public health delivery; the HIV-control programme’s successful involvement of affected persons/communities and a complex well-managed service structure.
- Democratized health knowledge: Pluralism of health knowledge systems, each independently supported within the national health system.
- Certified Health personnel: Health personnel such as the ASHAs, mid-level health providers and wellness centres, traditional community healthcare providers with voluntary quality certification;
- R&D and widely acknowledged pharmaceutical capacity: Research designed for validation of traditional systems; pharmaceutical and vaccines production capacity;
- Digital health as an example: Developments in digital health; social insurance schemes and people’s hospital models by civil society.
Conclusion
- What is required is the drafting of PHC-with-UHC (a PHC 2.0) with a broad global consensus and commitment to a more sustainable and people-empowering health system. Pursuing such an agenda would involve much dialogue within countries, regions and globally. India should use its presidency to draft a model policy focusing on primary healthcare that commits to a universal, affordable, inclusive and just healthcare system
Mains Question
Q. What is Primary HealthCare and Universal healthcare integrated approach? What steps are necessary to further strengthen sustainable healthcare system? Discuss how India can contribute to it under its G20 presidency?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Right to Repair
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Food and Consumer Affairs Minister introduced a host of new initiatives, including a right to repair portal.
Right to Repair portal
- On the ‘right to repair’ portal, manufacturers would share the manual of product details with customers so that they could either repair by self, by third parties, rather than depend on original manufacturers.
- Initially, mobile phones, electronics, consumer durables, automobile and farming equipments would be covered.
What is Right to Repair?
- It refers to proposed government legislation that would allow consumers the ability to repair and modify their own consumer products (e.g. electronic, automotive devices).
- The idea behind “right to repair” is in the name: If you own something, you should be able to repair it yourself or take it to a technician of your choice.
- People are pretty used to this concept when it comes to older cars and appliances, but right-to-repair advocates argue that modern tech, especially anything with a computer chip inside, is rarely repairable.
The Right to Repair movement aims for:
- Easy repair: The device should be constructed and designed in a manner that allows easy repairs
- Access to critical components: End users and independent repair providers should be able to access original spare parts and tools (software as well as physical tools) needed to repair the device at fair market conditions
- No technical barriers: Repairs should by design be possible and not hindered by software programming
- Proper communication: The repairability of a device should be clearly communicated by the manufacturer.
How did it came to existence?
- The average consumer purchases an electronic gadget, knowing that it will very quickly become obsolete as its manufacturer releases newer and more amped up version.
- As your device grows older, issues start to crop up — your smartphone may slow down to a point where it is almost unusable, or your gaming console may require one too many hard resets.
- When this happens, more often than not, you are left at the mercy of manufacturers who make repairs inaccessible and an inordinately expensive affair.
Why is such right significant?
- Exorbitant repair price: Often, manufacturers reduce the durability of the product, compelling consumers to either repurchase the product or get it repaired at exorbitant prices affixed by the manufacturers.
- Lifespan enhancement: The goal of the movement is to increase the lifespan of products and to keep them from ending up in landfills.
- Against planned obsolescence: The electronic manufacturers are encouraging such culture so that devices are designed specifically to last a limited amount of time and to be replaced.
- Scarcity of natural resources: Obsolescence leads to immense pressure on the environment and wasted natural resources.
- Mitigating climate change: Manufacturing an electronic device is a highly polluting process. It makes use of polluting sources of energy, such as fossil fuel.
- Boost to repair economy: Right to repair advocates also argue that this will help boost business for small repair shops, which are an important part of local economies.
Issues with obsolete devices
- Unfair trade practice: For manufacturers, either of these options is a win-win case, because high-priced repairs, as well as new sales, mean more profits.
- High cost to consumers: This often led to higher consumer costs or drive consumers to replace devices instead of repairing them.
- Generation of E-waste: The global community is concerned over the continuously growing size of the e-waste stream.
- Recyclability: Up to 95% of raw materials used to produce electronic devices can be recycled, while the vast majority of newly produced devices use little to none recycled material due to the higher cost.
Why do electronic manufacturers oppose this movement?
Large tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla, have been lobbying against the right to repair.
- IPR violations through reverse engineering: Their argument is that opening up their intellectual property to third party repair services.
- Threats to device safety: Amateur repairers could lead to exploitation and impact the safety and security of their devices.
- Personal data security: Tesla, for instance, has fought against right to repair advocacy, stating that such initiatives threaten data security and cyber security.
- Sheer casualization: Tech giant has allowed repairs of its devices only by authorised technicians and not providing spare parts or DIY manuals on how to fix its products.
Right to Repair in India
The ‘right to repair’ is not recognised as a statutory right in India, but certain pronouncements within the antitrust landscape have tacitly recognized the right.
- Necessary consumer right: Monopoly on repair processes infringes the customer’s’ “right to choose” recognised by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
- Acknowledgment by agencies: Consumer disputes jurisprudence in the country has also partially acknowledged the right to repair.
- Upholding Competition: In Shamsher Kataria v Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (2017), for instance, the Competition Commission of India ruled that restricting the access of independent automobile repair units to spare parts as anti-competitive.
- Part of consumer welfare: The CCI observed that the practice was detrimental to consumer welfare.
- Laws for recycle: The e-waste (management and handling) rules addresses not only to handle the waste in an environmentally friendly manner, but also has laid down rules about its transportation, storage and recycling.
Way forward
- Avoiding blanket waiver: While necessary clauses to maintain the quality of the product can be included, a blanket waiver should be avoided.
- For instance, the quality assurance clause can be incorporated for use of company-recommended spare parts and certified repair shops.
- Making available the repair manual: Making repair manuals available to certified business owners could go a long way in balancing the rights of consumers and manufacturers.
- Sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect IP rights: Manufacturers can sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect the IP with certified repairers/businesses.
- Alloting certification/license: Further, the lack of certification/licensing of repair workers is seen as a reflection of their lack of skills.
- Insert right to repair in Consumer protection Act: The ‘right to repair’ can be said to be implicit in Section 2(9) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
- Reparability parameter: The product liability clause under Section 84 can be amended and expanded to impose product liability concerning various reparability parameters of the product.
- Duration of product liability: The duration of imposing product liability may vary depending on the product and its longevity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bomb Cyclone
Mains level: Not Much
Bomb cyclone continued to unleash havoc as the death toll due to weather-related incidents in the United States mounted to 34 and has left millions without power.
What is Bomb Cyclone?
- A bomb cyclone is a large, intense mid-latitude storm that has low pressure at its center, weather fronts and an array of associated weather, from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation.
- It becomes a bomb when its central pressure decreases very quickly—by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
- When a cyclone “bombs,” or undergoes bombogenesis, this tells us that it has access to the optimal ingredients for strengthening, such as high amounts of heat, moisture and rising air.
Why is it called a bomb?
- Most cyclones don’t intensify rapidly in this way.
- Bomb cyclones put forecasters on high alert, because they can produce significant harmful impacts.
Its etymology
- The word “bombogenesis” is a combination of cyclogenesis, which describes the formation of a cyclone or storm, and bomb, which is, well, pretty self-explanatory.
- This can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters.
- The formation of this rapidly strengthening weather system is a process called bombogenesis, which creates what is known as a bomb cyclone.
How does it occur?
- Over the warmer ocean, heat and moisture are abundant.
- But as cool continental air moves overhead and creates a large difference in temperature, the lower atmosphere becomes unstable and buoyant.
- Air rises, cools and condenses, forming clouds and precipitation.
Where does it occur the most?
- The US coast is one of the regions where bombogenesis is most common.
- That’s because storms in the mid-latitudes – a temperate zone north of the tropics that includes the entire continental US – draw their energy from large temperature contrasts.
- Along the US East Coast during winter, there’s a naturally potent thermal contrast between the cool land and the warm Gulf Stream current.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Orans, Sacred grooves
Mains level: Not Much
Oran Bachao Yatras are taking place in Rajasthan for the protection of orans or sacred groves facing the threat of destruction due to the land being allotted for renewable energy infrastructure and high-tension power lines.
What are Orans?
- Orans are Community Conserved Areas protected for their sacred values.
- They include woodlots, pastures, orchards, sacred groves, and habitats usually centered around sources of water such as natural springs, rivulets, or artificially constructed ponds.
- Additionally, there is usually a shrine dedicated to a local deity at the heart of an Oran.
- Their traditional boundaries are based on landmarks or geographical milestones established by indigenous and agro-pastoral communities associated with them.
- Orans are usually defined by a strong community-territory relationship and a well-functioning governance system.
Reasons for the Yatra
- Named after local deities and medieval warriors, orans hold religious and social significance as small forest patches in the middle of the mighty Thar desert.
- Orans also form the natural habitat for India’s most critically endangered bird, the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, which is also the State bird of Rajasthan.
- GIBs have died during the last few years because of collision with power lines, making this the most significant threat to the majestic birds.
Back2Basics: Sacred Grooves
- Sacred groves of India are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community.
- It usually consists of a dense cover of vegetation including climbers, herbs, shrubs and trees, with the presence of a village deity and is mostly situated near a perennial water source.
- Sacred groves are considered to be symbols of the primitive practice of nature worship and support nature conservation to a great extent.
- The introduction of the protected area category community reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 has introduced legislation for providing government protection to community-held lands, which could include sacred groves.
Historical references
- Indian sacred groves are often associated with temples, monasteries, shrines, pilgrimage sites, or with burial grounds.
- Historically, sacred groves find their mentions in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, from sacred tree groves in Hinduism to sacred deer parks in Buddhism for example.
- Sacred groves may be loosely used to refer to natural habitat protected on religious grounds.
- Other historical references to sacred groves can be obtained in Vrukshayurveda an ancient treatise, ancient classics such as Kalidasa’s Vikramuurvashiiya.
- There has been a growing interest in creating green patches such as Nakshatravana
Regulation of activities in Sacred Grooves
- Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches.
- Other forms of forest usage like honey collection and deadwood collection are sometimes allowed on a sustainable basis.
- NGOs work with local villagers to protect such groves.
- Traditionally, and in some cases even today, members of the community take turns to protect the grove.
Threats to such grooves
- Threats to the groves include urbanization, and over-exploitation of resources.
- While many of the groves are looked upon as abode of Hindu deities, in the recent past a number of them have been partially cleared for construction of shrines and temples.
Total grooves in India
- Around 14,000 sacred groves have been reported from all over India, which act as reservoirs of rare fauna, and more often rare flora, amid rural and even urban settings.
- Experts believe that the total number of sacred groves could be as high as 100,000.
- They are called by different names in different states:
- Sarna in Bihar
- Dev Van in Himachal Pradesh
- Devarakadu in Karnataka
- Kavu in Kerala
- Dev in Madhya Pradesh
- Devarahati or Devarai in Maharashtra
- Lai Umang in Maharashtra
- Law Kyntang or Asong Khosi in Meghalaya
- Kovil Kadu or Sarpa Kavu in Tamil Nadu
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Purse seine fishing
Mains level: Not Much
The Centre has told the Supreme Court that a ban imposed by certain coastal States on purse seine fishing, which is known to disadvantage endangered species, is not justified.
Purse seine fishing
- It uses a large vertical net to surround dense shoals of pelagic or midwater fish in the open ocean, and then draws in the edges like tightening the cords of a drawstring purse.
- A vertical net ‘curtain’ is used to surround the school of fish, the bottom of which is then drawn together to enclose the fish, rather like tightening the cords of a drawstring purse.
- It is deployed widely on India’s western coasts,
What is the issue?
- This mode of fishing is prohibited by Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Odisha, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Andaman and Nicobar Islands in their respective territorial waters of up to 12 nautical miles.
- However, states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, and West Bengal have not imposed any such ban on purse seine fishing.
Why states are divided over this?
- In some States, it is linked to concerns about the decreasing stock of small, pelagic shoaling fish such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies and trevally on the western coasts.
- The scientific community argues that climatic conditions, including the El Nino phenomenon, are responsible for the declining catch of such fish in the last ten years.
- Fishermen using traditional methods have placed the blame squarely on the rise of purse seine fishing.
- They fear a further fall in the availability of these small fish if the ban is lifted.
How does the Centre see this plan?
- The Fisheries Department of the Union government has recommended the lifting of the ban on purse seine fishing.
- The expert panel has said that this mode of fishing has “per se has not resulted in any serious resource depletion so far, given the available evidence”.
- It recommended purse seiners to fish in territorial waters and the Indian Exclusive Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) subject to certain conditions.
Way ahead
- There should be a national management plan on purse seine fisheries.
- Partial ban in some states may put fishermen at disadvantage in other states.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Appointment of judges of SC and HC's
Mains level: Issues with the appointment of judges of SC and HC's and judicial reforms
Context
- Recently, there has been confrontation between the Centre and judiciary on the interpretation of Article 124 (2) and 217 (1) of the Constitution.
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Provisions related to the appointment of judges to the supreme court and high court
- Article 124 (2): It highlights that every judge of the Supreme Court will be appointed by the president after consultation with such of the judges (in particular, the chief justice) of the Supreme Court and of the high courts in the states as necessary.
- Article 217 (1): Similarly, for high courts, Article 217 (1) highlights that every judge of a high court will be appointed by the president after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the governor of the state, and the chief justice of the high court.
- Judicial independence and Collegium system: Judicial interpretation in SP Gupta vs Union of India (1981), The Supreme Court Advocates-on Record Association vs Union of India (Second Judges case) (1993) and Article 143(1) vs Unknown (Third Judges Opinion) (1998) has further evolved the principle of judicial independence and led to a collegium system for recommending judges.
- Role of central government: Currently, the Centre can accept or reject recommendations made by the collegium system however, if a recommendation was reiterated, the government was obliged to accept it.
- More recently established consensus has given way to a stalemate, as the Centre stalls recommendations reiterated by the Collegium.
- The Supreme Court pulled up the government for not following timelines laid down in the Second Judges Case.
- The Standing Parliamentary Committee on Law and Personnel has also highlighted its disagreement with the Department of Justice that the time for filling vacancies cannot be indicated.
What will be the impact of this tussle?
- Decline in the capacity of India’s judicial system: The net effect of this historic tussle between the independent judiciary and overweening Centre has been a decline in the capacity of India’s judicial system
- Vacancies in higher judiciary: There were approximately three vacancies (of 34) in the Supreme Court, along with about 381 (of 1,108) vacancies for judges in the high courts.
- In lower judiciary: The lower judiciary had about 5,342 (of 24,631) seats vacant, accounting for 20 per cent of its capacity.
- Impact on judicial efficiency: Such vacancies, particularly in the high courts of Bombay, Punjab & Haryana, Calcutta, Patna and Rajasthan are bound to have an impact on judicial efficiency (with about four crore cases pending, as of August 2022)
A study: Process of appointment of judges in other countries and by political institutions
- In Italy: Here, appointments to the Constitutional Court are made by the president, the legislature and the Supreme Court, with each entity allowed to nominate five judges.
- In US: Supreme Court justices are nominated (for life) by the president and then approved by Senate via a majority vote. Whereas, the state governor appoints state judges based on recommendations provided by a merit commission.
- In Germany: The German Constitutional Court is appointed by the Parliament (each House gets four appointments in each of the Court Senates) with a supermajority vote (2/3). Naturally, this can lead to a partisan judiciary.
- In Iraq: All judges are graduates of a Judicial Institute, with all applicants undergoing written and oral tests, along with an interview with a panel of judges.
- In Japan: The Supreme Court Secretariat controls lower-level judicial appointments, along with their training and promotions.
- Judicial elections to enhance the accountability of judiciary: Judicial elections have also been utilised to enhance the accountability of the judiciary a variety of states in the US using elections for judicial appointments to the State Supreme Courts.
- Judicial councils: Other countries have experimented with judicial councils (often comprising of existing judges, representatives of the Ministry of Justice, members of the bar association, laymen etc)
Appointments through Judicial Commission
- Centres push Judicial Commission: for Recently, the Centre pushed for judicial appointments to be conducted via a Judicial Commission (National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014).
- Supreme court says collegium system open to greater transparency: The Supreme Court struck down the NJAC Act (2014) with a 4:1 majority, while highlighting that it was open to greater transparency in the collegium system in particular, making the collegium more transparent, fixing eligibility criteria for appointing judges and debating whether an empowered secretariat was required to appoint judges.
In this scenario what are suggested reforms?
- Empower secretariat to select and recommend candidates: The Collegium system can continue; however, a secretariat may be empowered to select and recommend candidates, with the Executive continuing to hold power to appoint judges.
- Greater representation of our society in the judiciary: The secretariat could be staffed with current judges, members of the bar association, representatives of the law ministry and laymen and should push for greater representation of our society in the judiciary. There were only three women and two SC judges in the Supreme Court.
- New Court of appeal: Beyond judicial appointments, there is a clear need for having a new Court of Appeal (refer PIL by V Vasanthakumar). The Supreme Court was never intended to be a regular court of appeal against orders in high courts (Bihar Legal Society vs Chief Justice of India, 1986) the Supreme Court should not be hearing bail applications.
- Federal court of Appeal: Instead, as recommended by the Law Commission, we need to have a Federal Court of Appeal, with branches in major metros.
- Transform Supreme court into constitutional court: The Supreme Court should be transformed into a Constitutional Court (via a constitutional amendment) doing this would mean fewer cases (about 50, anecdotally) being kept pending at the highest level.
- Defined retirement age for all judges: There need a push for a defined retirement age, say 65, for all judges, whether at a high court or Supreme Court level post retirement, there should also be a mandatory cooling off period for judges to be nominated to roles in government.
Conclusion
- Judicial independence continues to be important for the health of India’s democracy. A credible and impartial system of appointing judges is necessary to achieve judicial independence. Any appointment must ensure judicial accountability, fostering a judiciary which, at an individual and systemic level, is independent from other branches of government.
Mains Question
Q. What is the process of appointment of Supreme Court and High Court Judges? What is the Government’s position on the appointment of judges? What measures are suggested for judicial appointments?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Context
- Among the various disadvantages we poorly equipped to support people with disabilities about access to parliament. It is time to make the physical and digital interface of parliament and other buildings more disabled-friendly.
What are the common suggestions about disabled friendly parliament?
- Accessibility Committee: To attend to the access needs of the disabled.
- Providing sign language: For interpretation for Parliamentary proceedings.
- Audit of website: Ordering an accessibility audit of Parliament’s websites.
- Disable friendly facilities: In December 2015, the Government of India launched the Accessible India Campaign (AIC) to make the built environment, ICT ecosystem and transport facilities more disabled-friendly.
- Lack of enforcement: A strong enforcement mechanism is unfortunately absent in the AIC, led by people with disabilities and accessibility professionals, to ensure that ambitious milestones are set and pursued to their meaningful conclusion.
Recommendations of report by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
- Make every building accessible: A report by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, titled “Beyond Reasonable Accommodation” points out, the requirement to make every new building accessible before it is granted an Occupancy Certificate.
- Integration of laws: The relevant provisions of the Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India, 2021 must be integrated into local bye-laws and state planning laws.
- Sensitivity about compliance: Municipal authorities must have the know-how and sensitivity to gauge compliance with the norms to make the built environment accessible and access to competent accessibility professionals who can provide appropriate inputs at every stage.
- Professions to enforce compliance: The list of empanelled professionals maintained by municipal authorities must also consist of accessibility professionals, and this requirement must be codified in model building bye-laws and the National Building Code.
What parliament can do?
- Accessibility committee: Parliament must set up an accessibility committee urgently that must be tasked with delivering recommendations in a time-bound fashion on making every aspect of the Parliamentary process more disabled-friendly.
- Taking cue from supreme court: The constitution of an Accessibility Committee by the Supreme Court recently may be a good reference point for Parliament.
What can centre and states do?
- Accessibility criteria in procurement: Central and state level procurement laws and policies must incorporate accessibility criteria in public procurement of physical, digital and transport infrastructure.
- Accessible tenders and documents: These must be replicated in agreements between procurement agencies and bidders/contractors. In addition, tender documents must set out applicable accessibility standards.
Conclusion
- Disable people suffers from structural disadvantage at every stage of governance including building infrastructure. Parliament should start from itself to give larger message of about sensitivity towards disabled friendly buildings.
Mains Question
Q. Explain the limitations of accessible India campaign? Suggest the way towards more disable friendly buildings in India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: India-China Border issues, friction points
Context
- A week after the clash in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, convening of the 17th round of India-China corps commander-level talks at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point in eastern Ladakh is a positive development. But unfortunately, it does not inspire confidence about Chinese intentions vis a vis the Line of Actual Control.
- Disengagement at Gogra Hot springs in last round of talks: The last round of talks was held in July, and in September, the government announced that the two sides had finished disengaging at Gogra Hot Springs, as had been agreed in the 16th round.
- Beijing reluctant for further rounds of talks: Beijing appeared reluctant to accede to Delhi’s push for another round,
- No return to the status quo: China signals that there is nothing more to discuss about the situation in eastern Ladakh, and certainly not a return to the status quo that existed before its incursions in April-May 2020.
What is outcome of the latest round of talks and the current status?
- No mutually acceptable resolution on remaining issues: A joint statement that the two sides agreed to keep talking through military and diplomatic channels toward a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest suggests that there was no outcome from this round. It is also not clear if the remaining issues have been agreed upon by both sides.
- India facing an altered status quo: Apart from the fact that India now faces an altered status quo and that the PLA is rapidly building war-like infrastructure on its side, for India, the remaining issues are the presence of Chinese troops in the Depsang plains, and intrusions in the Demchok area.
- Tensions seems manageable but situation is unpredictable: The sector-wise compartmentalisation makes the tensions seem manageable, but the reality appears to be that there is no predicting which part of the 3,500 km of the line will flare up suddenly, as it did recently.
- Situation is very serious: Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar flagged the seriousness of the situation when he told Parliament that the Indian deployment at the LAC is at its highest level.
- Despite the advanced surveillance, no clarity on Army’s preparedness: From the short statement by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, it is unclear how prepared the Army was for the transgression at Tawang, despite the advanced Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance devices that have reportedly been installed in that area.
Why China has opened new front in Tawang?
- Status quo along the boundary not only limited to the Western Sector: China has traditionally been active in areas close to Ladakh given the significance of the Xinjiang-Tibet region in its domestic narrative. However, with its sights on an ageing Dalai Lama, and the issue of his succession, Beijing will want to bring into focus its claims on Tawang, and the rest of Arunachal Pradesh.
- Huge investment in infrastructure in eastern sector: China has invested in infrastructure in the Eastern Sector over many years. This includes rail, road, and air connectivity, better telecommunications, as well as improved capacity to station and supply troops and artillery.
- Centrality of the boundary issue in the India-China relationship: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has repeatedly asserted that it is no longer possible to separate the boundary question from the overall relationship and that peace and tranquillity on the LAC is the key to restoring relations. However, China is likely to keep up the pressure on the ground along the LAC, even as they continue to suggest that the two countries look beyond the differences, much like Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s comments during his March 2022 visit when he claimed that the two sides need to “inject more positive energy” into the relationship.
Way ahead
- Delhi should make a push for talks at the diplomatic level even as it ramps up military preparedness.
- Whatever the facts on the ground and regardless of how the tensions will unfold, the government would be well advised to take the Opposition parties into confidence at the earliest.
- A wide political consensus is what the country needs when confronted with tensions at the borders and it is the government’s task and responsibility to build it.
Conclusion
- Delhi should make a push for talks at the diplomatic level even as it ramps up military preparedness. Whatever the facts on the ground and regardless of how the tensions will unfold, the government should take the Opposition parties into confidence at the earliest. A wide political consensus is what the country needs when confronted with tensions at the borders
Mains Question
Q. China has opened new front in the eastern sector. Even after the commander level talks multiple times, frictions between the two continues at LAC. Discuss.
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