Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Parliamentary Committess
Mains level: Not Much
A recent revamp of the Standing Committees of Parliament could potentially worsen the relations between the government and opposition parties.
Why in news?
- Of the 22 committees announced, the erstwhile ruling party has the post of chairperson in only one, and the opposition party from West Bengal has none.
- The ruling party has the chairmanship of the important committees on Home, Finance, IT, Defence and External Affairs.
What are Committees of Parliament?
- A Parliamentary Committee is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker, and which works under the direction of the Speaker.
- It presents its report to the House or to the Speaker.
- Parliamentary Committees have their origins in the British Parliament.
- They draw their authority from Article 105, which deals with the privileges of MPs, and Article 118, which gives Parliament authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business.
What do they do?
- Legislative business begins when a Bill is introduced in either House of Parliament.
- But the process of lawmaking is often complex, and Parliament has limited time for detailed discussions.
- Also, the political polarisation and shrinking middle ground has been leading to inconclusive debates in Parliament.
- As a result of this, a great deal of legislative business ends up taking place in the Parliamentary Committees instead.
- The aim is to increase Parliamentary scrutiny, and to give members more time and a wider role in examining important legislation.
What are the various Committees of Parliament?
- Broadly, Parliamentary Committees can be classified into Financial Committees, Departmentally Related Standing Committees, Other Parliamentary Standing Committees, and Ad hoc Committees.
- The Financial Committees include the Estimates Committee, Public Accounts Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings.
- These committees were constituted in 1950.
- Seventeen Departmentally Related Standing Committees came into being in 1993, when Shivraj Patil was Speaker of Lok Sabha.
- They aimed to examine budgetary proposals and crucial government policies.
Composition of these committees
- The number of Committees was subsequently increased to 24.
- Each of these Committees has 31 members — 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
- Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose.
How are the Committees constituted?
- There are 16 Departmentally Related Standing Committees for Lok Sabha and eight for Rajya Sabha; however, every Committee has members from both Houses.
- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha panels are headed by members of these respective Houses.
- Among the important Lok Sabha panels are: Agriculture; Coal; Defence; External Affairs; Finance; Communications & Information Technology; Labour; Petroleum & Natural Gas; and Railways.
- The important Rajya Sabha panels include Commerce; Education; Health & Family Welfare; Home Affairs; and Environment.
- There are other Standing Committees for each House, such as the Business Advisory Committee and the Privileges Committee.
- The Presiding Officer of each House nominates members to these panels. A Minister is not eligible for election or nomination to Financial Committees, and certain Departmentally Related Committees.
Appointing of chairmen
- The appointment of heads of the Committees is also done in a similar way. By convention, the main Opposition party gets the post of PAC chairman; it is currently with the Congress.
- Chairmanship of some key committees has been allocated to opposition parties in the past. However, this pattern has changed in the latest rejig.
- The heads of the panels schedule their meetings.
- They play a clear role in preparing the agenda and the annual report, and can take decisions in the interest of the efficient management of the Committee.
- The chairperson presides over the meetings and can decide who should be summoned before the panel.
How do they work?
- Bills that are referred to Committees often return to the House with significant value-addition.
- The Committees look into the demands for grants of Ministries/departments, examine Bills pertaining to them, consider their annual reports, and look into their long-term plans and report to Parliament.
What are Ad hoc Committees?
- Ad hoc Committees cease to exist after they have completed the task assigned to them, and have submitted a report to the House.
- The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills.
- Committees like the Railway Convention Committee, Committee on Food Management and Security in Parliament House Complex, etc. also come under the category of Ad hoc Committees.
What about Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)?
- Parliament can also constitute a JPC with a special purpose, with members from both Houses, for detailed scrutiny of a subject or Bill.
- Also, either of the two Houses can set up a Select Committee with members from that House.
- JPCs and Select Committees are usually chaired by ruling party MPs, and are disbanded after they have submitted their report.
Why need all these committees?
- The time to speak on a Bill is allocated according to the size of the party in the House.
- MPs often do not get adequate time to put forward their views in Parliament, even if they are experts on the subject.
- Committees are small groups with relatively less demands on their time; in these meetings, every MP gets a chance and the time to contribute to the discussion.
- Parliament has only around 100 sittings a year; Committee meetings are independent of Parliament’s calendar.
How do discussions/ debates here differ from those in Parliament?
- The discussions are confidential and off-camera.
- Political Party affiliations usually do not come in the way of MPs speaking their minds in ways they are unable to do in Parliament.
- The Committees work closely with multiple Ministries, and facilitate inter-ministerial coordination.
How important are the recommendations of the Committees?
- Reports of Departmentally Related Standing Committees are recommendatory in nature.
- However, suggestions by the Select Committees and JPCs — which have a majority of MPs and heads from the ruling party — are accepted more frequently.
- They are not binding on the government, but they do carry significant weight.
- In the past, governments have accepted suggestions given by the Committees and incorporated them into the Bills.
Significance of Parliamentary committees
- Many MPs concede that “real discussions” happen inside the Committees.
- The former US President Woodrow Wilson had observed that “Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work”.
Try this PYQ:
Q.With reference to the Parliament of India which of the following Parliamentary Committees scrutinizes and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub rules, bylaws, etc. conferred by the Constitution or delegated by the Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?
(a) Committee on Government Assurances
(b) Committee on Subordinate Legislation
(c) Rules Committee
(d) Business Advisory Committee
Post your answers here.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: SC status and related issues
The Supreme Court has sought the most recent position of the Union government on a batch of petitions challenging the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950, which allows only members of Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist religions to be recognised as SCs.
The Constitution Order of 1950
- When enacted, the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950, initially provided for recognising only Hindus as SCs.
- It was then aimed to address the social disability arising out of the practice of untouchability.
- The Order was amended in 1956 to include Dalits who had converted to Sikhism and once more in 1990 to include Dalits who had converted to Buddhism.
- Both amendments were aided by the reports of the Kaka Kalelkar Commission in 1955 and the High Powered Panel (HPP) on Minorities, SCs and STs in 1983 respectively.
What about Christians?
- The Union government in 2019 rejected the possibility of including Dalit Christians as members of SCs.
- This decision was rooted on the exclusion on an Imperial Order of 1936 of the then colonial government, which had first classified a list of the Depressed Classes and specifically excluded “Indian Christians” from it.
Why are Dalit Christians excluded?
- SC status is meant for communities suffering from social disabilities arising out of the practice of untouchability that was prevalent in Hindu and Sikh communities.
- SC status for everyone would significantly swell the population of SCs across the country thus trivializing the purpose itself.
Why neo-Buddhists are included in SC quota?
- The amendment to include Buddhist converts as SCs was passed in 1990.
- Like Dalit Buddhists, Dalits who converted to Islam or Christianity belonged to different sets of caste groups and not just one.
- As a result of this, they cannot be categorised as a “single ethnic group”, which is required by Clause (2) of Article 341 for inclusion.
Major concerns of including other religions
- Sanction of untouchability: The practice of “untouchability” was a feature of Hindu religion and its branches. This would imply that India was trying to “impose its caste system” upon Christians and Muslims.
- Undue internationalization: Allowing the inclusion of Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians as SCs could result in being misunderstood internationally.
- Reviving casteism: Christians and Muslims of Dalit origin had lost their caste identity by way of their conversion and that in their new religious community, the practice of untouchability is not prevalent.
Is there a case for inclusion?
- The petitions arguing for inclusion have cited several independent Commission reports that have documented the existence of caste and caste inequalities among Indian Christians and Indian Muslims.
- Even after conversion, members who were originally from SCs continued to experience the same social disabilities.
- This was substantiated in the First Backward Classes Commission’s report in 1953, the HPP report on SCs, STs, and Minorities in 1983, the Mandal Commission Report, etc.
- However, these reports do not have enough empirical evidence to support their claims.
Why is the issue debated?
- Non-deserving beneficiaries: The proposition that caste identity is lost upon conversion, noting that even in Sikhism and Buddhism, casteism is not present and yet they have been included as SCs.
- Continued discrimination: The above-mentioned reports argue that caste-based discrimination continues even after conversion, hence entitling these communities to SC status.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Click Chemistry
Mains level: Read the attached story
Scientists Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on for discovering reactions that let molecules snap together to create desired compounds and that offer insight into cell biology.
What the scientists worked on?
- Sharpless came up with the term ‘Click Chemistry’ and worked extensively on it,
- Meldal came up with a special chemical structure called ‘Triazole’ which has many significant applications, and
- Bertozzi took the next step of developing click reactions that could work inside living organisms — ‘bioorthogonal’ reactions take place living systems without interfering with native biochemical processes.
What is Click Chemistry?
- Chemists often try to recreate complex chemical molecules found in nature, and this has applications, among other things, in the field of medicine – how to target and block pathogens in cells.
- However, this process can be complicated and time-consuming.
- Instead of trying to wrangle reluctant carbon atoms into reacting with each other, Barry Sharpless encouraged his colleagues to start with smaller molecules that already had a complete carbon frame.
- If chemists choose simple reactions – where there is a strong intrinsic drive for the molecules to bond together – they avoid many of the side reactions, with a minimal loss of material.
Applications of click chemistry
- Meldal through his experiments came up with the useful chemical structure called triazoles, whch are stable and are found in pharmaceuticals, dyes and agricultural chemicals.
- He also found that the reaction he used could bind together numerous different molecules.
- Bertozzi, using the work of Sharpless and Meldal, came up with an efficient and innovative method to map glycans, which are carbohydrate-based polymers made by all living organisms.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ECLGS Scheme
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Finance has raised the credit limit for airlines under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), making them eligible for a sum equivalent to 100% of their outstanding debt, up to a maximum of ₹1,500 crore.
Boost for Aviation sector
- Earlier, airlines were eligible to borrow up to 50% of their credit outstanding up to ₹400 crore.
- This is the second time the government has liberalized the scheme for the aviation sector.
- The scheme introduced for medium and small enterprises during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was extended till March 2023 and its guarantee cover expanded by ₹50,000 crore to ₹5 lakh crore.
What is ECLGS?
- Under the Scheme, 100% guarantee coverage to be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested MUDRA borrowers.
- The credit will be provided in the form of a Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility.
- The Scheme would be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL Facility during the period from the date of announcement of the Scheme to 31.10.2020.
Aims and objectives
- The Scheme aims at mitigating the economic distress faced by MSMEs by providing them additional funding in the form of a fully guaranteed emergency credit line.
- The main objective is to provide an incentive to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), i.e., Banks, Financial Institutions (FIs) and NBFCs to increase access to, and enable the availability of additional funding facility to MSME borrowers.
- It aims to provide a 100 per cent guarantee for any losses suffered by them due to non-repayment of the GECL funding by borrowers.
Salient features of ECGLS
- The entire funding provided under GECL shall be provided with a 100% credit guarantee by NCGTC to MLIs under ECLGS.
- Tenor of the loan under Scheme shall be four years with a moratorium period of one year on the principal amount.
- No Guarantee Fee shall be charged by NCGTC from the Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) under the Scheme.
- Interest rates under the Scheme shall be capped at 9.25% for banks and FIs, and at 14% for NBFCs.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Opec+
Mains level: Global fuel dynamics
Oil prices rose about 1%, as OPEC+ members agreed to its deepest cuts to output since the 2020 COVID pandemic, despite a tight market and opposition to cuts from the United States and others.
What is OPEC+?
- The non-OPEC countries which export crude oil along with the 14 OPECs are termed as OPEC plus countries.
- OPEC plus countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
- Saudi and Russia, both have been at the heart of a three-year alliance of oil producers known as OPEC Plus — which now includes 11 OPEC members and 10 non-OPEC nations — that aims to shore up oil prices with production cuts.
Why is OPEC+ slashing production?
- Oil prices skyrocketed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The cut made recently is the biggest of its kind since 2020 when OPEC+ members slashed outputs by 10 million bpd during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The reductions would boost prices and be extremely beneficial for the Middle Eastern member states, to whom Europe has turned for oil after levelling sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine.
- OPEC+ members are concerned that a faltering global economy would reduce the demand for oil, and the cuts are seen as a way to protect profits.
Concerns for India
- Even after importing cheap Russian oil, India has not seen any cut in fuel prices.
- Rising oil prices are posing fiscal challenges for India, where heavily-taxed retail fuel prices have touched record highs, threatening the demand-driven recovery.
- India imports about 84% of its oil and relies on West Asian supplies to meet over three-fifths of its demand.
- As one of the largest crude-consuming countries, India is concerned that such actions by producing countries have the potential to undermine consumption-led recovery.
- This would hurt consumers, especially in our price-sensitive market.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Quantum Technology
Mains level: Quantum Technology applications
Context
- The Nobel Prize committee decided to honour three scientists Alain Aspect of France, John Clauser of the US, and Anton Zeilinger of Austria for their work in domain quantum physics.
What is the contribution of these three scientists?
- Together, these three have made seminal contributions to not just the foundations of quantum theory but also to efforts that have now enabled the possibility of a wide range of applications.
- Their experiments have conclusively established that the ‘entanglement’ phenomenon observed in quantum particles was real, not a result of any ‘hidden’ or unknown forces.
What is the Significance of this Discovery?
- Wide applications: It could be utilised to make transformative technological advances in computing, hack-free communications, and science fiction-like concept of ‘teleportation’.
What is Quantum Theory?
- Subatomic level: Quantum theory is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles.It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.
- Different from conventional physics: Quantum mechanics differs from classical physics in that energy, momentum, angular momentum.
- Planck’s assumption: In 1900, Planck made the assumption that energy was made of individual units, or
- Albert Einstein’s theory : In 1905, Albert Einstein theorized that not just the energy, but the radiation itself was quantized in the same manner.
- Louis de Broglie theory: In 1924, Louis de Broglie proposed that there is no fundamental difference in the makeup and behaviour of energy and matter; on the atomic and subatomic level either may behave as if made of either particles or waves. This theory became known as the principle of wave-particle duality: elementary particles of both energy and matter behave, depending on the conditions, like either particles or waves (wave-particle duality).
- Heisenberg proposed: In 1927, Werner Heisenberg proposed that precise, simultaneous measurement of two complementary values – such as the position and momentum of a subatomic particle – is impossible. Contrary to the principles of classical physics, their simultaneous measurement is inescapably flawed; the more precisely one value is measured, the more flawed will be the measurement of the other value. This theory became known as the uncertainty principle, which prompted Albert Einstein’s famous comment, “God does not play dice.”
What is Entanglement?
- Entanglement was another of several weird properties exhibited by these tiny particles. Two particles, having ‘interacted’ with each other at some stage, were found to have got ‘entangled’ in a way that the behaviour of one produced an instantaneous reaction in the other even if the two were no longer connected in any way and were separated by very large distances.
- The entanglement property to open up new technological possibilities. first time that it was possible to ‘teleport’ the quantum states of a particle to another location without the particle moving anywhere and without a medium.
What is Superposition?
- It’s a phenomenon where, a particle exists simultaneously at multiple locations, known as superposition. The chance of finding the particle at any given place was dictated by probabilistic calculations, and once it was found, or observed, at one location, it ceased to exist at all other places.
What was the Einstein’s assessment?
- Special theory of relativity: Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity prohibited any signal from travelling faster than the speed of light. The seemingly instantaneous communication due to entanglement had the danger of further unravelling the foundations of physics.
- Spooky behaviour: Einstein describes the strange behaviour by quantum particles as ‘spooky’.
- Speed of light: One major concern of Einstein, that entanglement allows for transmission of information at speeds faster than light, was not entirely accurate.When an operation is performed on one of the entangled particles, there is an instantaneous reaction in the other.
- Communication problem: There is no way for the observer at the other end to know the reaction has happened. The observer has to be made aware of the operation having been performed, and this happens only through classical communication channels limited by the speed of light restriction.
Conclusion
- The entanglement property is now being utilised to build the next generation of computers, called quantum computers, which exploit the quantum behaviour of particles to overcome challenges considered as unsurmountable. It is being used to create secure communication algorithms that would be immune to hacking.
Mains Question
Q.What is the quantum theory? How it is different from classical theory of physics? How entanglement property is used in various applications?
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: India china friction points
Mains level: Border security
Context
- The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), scheduled in October, promises to deliver important outcomes, which will impact not just China but affairs of other nations, neighbour and beyond. A look into India-china Relationship as china has always been hostile towards its neighbours.
Background of Indo-China Relations
- 1950
- India and China established diplomatic relations on 1st April 1950.
- India was the first non-socialist country to establish relations with the People’s Republic of China and the catchphrase ‘Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai’ became famous.
- 1955
- Both countries attended the Asian-African Conference in which 29 countries participated in Bandung, Indonesia and jointly advocated the Bandung Spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation.
- It has led to the decolonisation of the whole of Asia and Africa and to the formation of a Non-Aligned Movement as the third Way between the Two Blocs of Superpowers.
- The First NAM Summit Conference took place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1961.
- 1962
- The border conflict led to a serious setback in bilateral relations.
- 1976
- China and India restored ambassadorial relations and bilateral ties improved gradually.
- 1988
- Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China, initiating the process of normalization of bilateral relations.
- The two sides agreed to look forward and develop bilateral relations actively in other fields while seeking a mutually acceptable solution to boundary questions.
Areas of Cooperation between India and China
1.Political Relations between India and China
- In 1993, Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the India-China Border Areas was signed to bring stability and substance in bilateral ties.
- In 2008, two countries have also extended their strategic and military relations.
- MoU was signed to open an additional route for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La.
- India and China have also established a High Level Dialogue Mechanism on Counter Terrorism and Security
- To facilitate exchanges between Indian states and Chinese provinces, States/Provincial Leaders Forum was established
2.Commercial and Economic Relations between Indo-China
- China will establish two Industrial Parks in India and expressed their intention to enhance Chinese investment in India
- India extended e-visa facility to Chinese nationals
- Trade and Economic Relationship are shaped through various dialogue mechanism
- Joint Economic Group led by the Commerce Ministers of both sides
- Strategic Economic Dialogues led by the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog and the Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission of China
3.Cultural Relations between India and China
- India and China have entered into an agreement on co-production of movies
- Yoga is becoming increasingly popular in China. China was one of the co-sponsors to the UN resolution designating June 21 as the International Day of Yoga
4.Education Relations between India and China
- India and China signed Education Exchange Programme (EEP), which is an umbrella agreement for educational cooperation between the two countries.
- Chinese students are also annually awarded scholarships to study Hindi at Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, to learn Hindi
5.Indian Community
- Presently around 35,500 Indians are staying in China, students and working professional form a major part of it.
- PICFA” Pondicherry India China friendship association is an NGO dedicated for developing people-to-people relation between India and China in areas of education, culture and tourism.
What are the recent anti- India moves by China?
- China continues to stake its claim to Arunachal Pradesh as Southern Tibet.
- Beijing recently renamed 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, following the six it had done in 2017.
- China justifies the renaming as being done on the basis of its historical, cultural and administrative jurisdiction over the area — these old names existed since ancient times which had been changed by India with its “illegal occupation”.
- On January 1, 2022, Beijing’s new land border law came into force, which provides the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with full responsibility to take steps against “invasion, encroachment, infiltration, provocation” and safeguard Chinese territory
What is the present situation of Indo-China relations?
- Troops in Ladakh: We have been on tenterhooks since the sanguinary Galwan clash of 2020, and borne a heavy cost for the “mirror-deployment” of 50,000-60,000 additional troops in Ladakh.
- LAC negotiations: Sino-Indian diplomatic parleys having been suspended, the task of LAC negotiations has been foisted on local military commanders.
- Truce for SCO: The 16th successive commanders’ meeting would have seen yet another futile conclusion, but for compulsions of the impending Shanghai Cooperative Organisation, which apparently led to a modest breakthrough. Consequently, the third round of troop disengagement and the creation of another buffer zone has taken place in Siachen, this time in the area of Gogra-Hot Springs.
- Bilateral Trade: The India-China trade is on course to cross USD 100 billion for the second consecutive year as it has gone up to USD 67.08 billion in the first half of this year amid a big surge of Chinese exports.
- “According to the statistics of Chinese competent authorities, bilateral trade volume between China and India stood at USD 125.66 billion in 2021.China remains the largest trade partner of India and for the first time the bilateral trade exceeded USD 100 billion in 2021.
Issue of concerns in India-China relations:
- Belt Road Initiative: India has objected this, since its inception on grounds of violating its sovereignty pointing to China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
- India’s support to China on global issues has not led to Beijing’s reciprocation for instances: China opposed India’s permanent membership to UN Security Council and entry into NSG.
- India faces trade imbalance heavily in some favor of China. In 2017-18, trade deficit has gone wide to US$62.9 billion in China’s favor.
- Two countries failed to resolve their border dispute and steadily established military infrastructure along border areas Indian media outlets have repeatedly reported Chinese military incursions into Indian territory
- China has expressed concerns about Indian military and economic activities in the disputed South China Sea. Same way India is also concerned about rising Chinese activities in Indian Ocean.
- China’s strong strategic bilateral relations with Pakistan and other neighboring countries like Nepal and Bhutan is cause of concern as these countries act as buffer states.
What are the options for India to learn from the past and see what lies ahead in India-China relations?
- Inevitable Race: The prevailing tension on the China-India border is a symptom of the broader strategic competition between the two Asian neighbors.
- Quad grouping: Immediately after the clashes, India leaned toward the Quad a grouping of the United States, Australia, Japan, and India with multiple summit meetings and other engagements. Until that point, India was unwilling to refer to the Quad as the Quad, instead using the cumbersome India-Australia-Japan-United States grouping.
- Equal seriousness: Both sides should treat the military escalation in eastern Ladakh with equal seriousness.
- Armed coexistence: Even after the resolution of the present standoff in eastern Ladakh, both sides may be in a prolonged period of armed coexistence as a new normal. As the forces on both sides are likely to be relatively balanced, it would be advantageous for both to return to the agreements and understandings from 1993 onward and improve upon them. Clarifying the LAC is a crucial step in this effort.
- Address trade imbalance: India has flagged the unsustainable trade imbalance at the front and centre of the relationship, and this has gone unaddressed. China will need to work on resolving the trade deficit with India. At any rate, decoupling will happen selectively, in the same way and for the same reasons that China is choosing to decouple from the United States. A balanced trade and economic relationship might lay a solid foundation for future relations, given the size of both economies.
- Dialogue is necessary: Better understanding of each other’s regional initiatives through open dialogue is important to build trust. The Indo-Pacific vision is as much a developmental necessity for India as the BRI may be to China. Part of building trust must be an open discussion on each other’s intentions in key regions South Asia and the northern Indian Ocean and East Asia and the western Pacific as well as respect for each other’s special positions in the western Pacific and northern Indian Oceans.
- Protect the core interest: The two sides would need to accommodate the legitimate interests of the other side on key partnerships: China’s with Pakistan and India’s with the United States. These may not be desirable, but in the current circumstances neither will give up its partners, and both India and China could talk through a modus vivendi on the red lines of concern.
Conclusion
- The two countries are standing at a crossroads, and this might be the final chance to take the path to coexistence of cooperation and competition. If not, a new phase of antagonistic rivalry may be starting, with the countries sliding into possible confrontation as the strategic periphery of China collides with the strategic backyard of India in the Indian Ocean region.
UPSC Mains Question
Q.India and China are the two Asian giants aspiring for regional supremacy and global influence, clash is unavoidable. Discuss how India and china can coexist together.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Right to Privacy
Mains level: Cyber security,Right to privacy,Technology
Context
- Keeping an eye on the telecommunication regulatory framework Supreme Court issued substantive legal reform on surveillance laws in India. Union government has published the Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022 to replace the Telegraph Act, 1885.
Background
- Over two decades ago, allegations of surveillance against politicians led to a CBI inquiry and report against V P Singh’s government. The allegations revealed that imaginary reasons were given for ordering phone tapping without authorization.
- Last years, many publications reported that phones of several dozen Indian journalists, lawyers and human rights activists had been compromised using an invasive Israeli-developed malware called Pegasus.
What is Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022?
- The draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 is an attempt by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to consolidate various legislations presently governing the telecommunication landscape in India.
- The Bill seeks to replace three laws, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950.
- The new regulatory framework is to bring the law at par with technological advancements and remove obsolete provisions from the colonial era laws.
What are the current laws governing communication surveillance in India?
Communication surveillance in India takes place primarily under two laws:
- Telegraph Act, 1885: It deals with interception of calls.
- Call interception:Under Section 5(2) of this law, the government can intercept calls only in certain situations.
- For sovereignty:They include the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or public order, or for preventing incitement to the commission of an offense.
- Free speech restrictions:These are the same restrictions imposed on free speech under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
- Exceptions for journalists:A provision in Section 5(2) states that even this lawful interception cannot take place against journalists.
- Information Technology Act, 2000: It was enacted to deal with surveillance of all electronic communication, following the Supreme Court’s intervention in 1996.
- Electronic surveillance:Section 69 of the IT Act and the IT (Procedure for Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring, and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009 were enacted to further the legal framework for electronic surveillance.
- Data interception:Under the IT Act, all electronic transmission of data can be intercepted.
- Section 69 of the IT Act adds another aspect that makes it broader — interception, monitoring, and decryption of digital information “for the investigation of an offense”.
How the loopholes in the current system breaching the Data Privacy?
- No comprehensive data Protection Law:
- No comprehensive data protection law leaving ambiguities over several laws.
- A comprehensive data protection law to address the gaps in existing frameworks for surveillance is yet to enact.
- Unaccountable, opaque exercise of surveillance:
- The Telegraph Act contains broad and excessive powers of interception and surveillance of communications carried out through any telegraph.
- The surveillance power is principally contained under Section 5(2), and has resulted in an unaccountable, opaque and unconstitutional exercise of surveillance that has led to accusations across the political spectrum.
- Less transparency:
- Ministry of Home Affairs refuses to disclose even aggregate data on the number of surveillance orders issued by it each year illegally gathered evidence is being sought to prosecute people.
- For instance, the Bombay High Court about three years ago noted in a case that premier investigating agencies such as the CBI have used, interception orders (that) neither have sanction of law nor issued for legitimate aim.
Key features of the Draft Telecommunications Bill, 2022
- The Bill introduces a broad definition of ‘telecommunication services’.
- It now includes internet-based services, in-flight and maritime connectivity, interpersonal communications services, machine to machine communication services, and over-the-top (OTT) based communication services that are made available to users by telecommunication
- KYC and caller id requirements:
- The Bill requires licensed entities to ensure that they identify the persons to whom they provide telecommunication services.
- The Bill places an obligation on telecommunication service providers to do this through a ‘verifiable mode’, as prescribed by the government.
- Licensing, registration, and authorization:
- Under the Bill, four types of permissions are identified – license, registration, authorization and assignment.
- While the Bill does not differentiate between the four types of permissions, it clarifies that a license is only required for providing telecommunication services or operating telecommunication networks
- Wide ranging powers of Central Government:
- The Bill includes wide-ranging powers for the central and state governments in the event of a public emergency or in interest of public safety.
- These powers include taking temporary possession of any telecommunication services, suspension of transmission in cases of public emergency, interception/detainment/disclosure of messages, suspension of communications, or otherwise transmit certain announcements for public safety and national security purposes.
- User protection and duties: User has been declared as an important policy objective of the Government. It places a duty on users to not furnish false information, suppress material information or impersonate others when proving identity to avail telecommunication services.
- Offences and penalties: Any offence under the Bill may be punished with a fine, imprisonment, suspension of telecommunication services or a combination of the above. For companies, the employees who were responsible for the conduct or the business relating to the offence at the time the offence was committed will be punished.
- Dispute resolution mechanism: The Bill provides for the right of appeal before the appellate authority. It also creates an enabling provision for the Central Government to set up an alternate dispute resolution mechanism such as arbitration, mediation or other processes of dispute resolution
What are Concerns over the Draft Telecommunication bill, 2022?
- Regulatory overlaps:The broad of the definition of ‘telecommunication services’ include OTT communication platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal among others, may potentially lead to regulatory or jurisdictional overlaps.
- Unchecked use of State powers:The Bill gives broad powers to the central government in prescribed situations without any accompanying checks and balances. The Bill empowers the central and state government to intercept messages in the interest of public safety and emergency without the providing clearly defined guardrails for it.
- Undefined National security: The term, national security is left undefined and does not match constitutional precedent or text which instead uses the phrase,in the interests of the security of state
- Users Less choice in the privacy and security of their digital footprint:
- Power to prescribe standards under Clause 23, which may result in regulations as recently issued by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) that have resulted in the closure of servers or services by leading, global VPN providers such as Proton and TunnelBear.
- All of this practically means that users will have less choice in the privacy and security of their digital footprint, as these powers will lead to requirements to locally register and host data, and comply with requirements to identify users (KYC requirements).
Conclusion
- There should be some reasonable basis or some tangible evidence to initiate or seek approval for interception by State authorities. Any digression from the ethical and legal parameters set by law would be tantamount to a deliberate invasion of citizens.
Mains Question
Q. Any deviation from the moral and legal parameters set by the law would amount to a deliberate attack on citizens. In this context discuss the data privacy of citizens in the era of massive expansion of internet and mobile usage.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UAPA
Mains level: Terror designation in India
A total of 10 members of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other proscribed outfits have been designated as terrorists by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
What is Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA)?
- The UAPA is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
- Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India
- It is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004.
- It was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, “terrorist act” was added to the list of offences.
Designation of Terrorists
- The Centre had amended UAPA, 1967, in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.
- Before this amendment, only organisations could be designated as terrorist outfits.
- Section 15 of the UAPA defines a “terrorist act” as any act committed with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security, or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country.
- The original Act dealt with “unlawful” acts related to secession; anti-terror provisions were introduced in 2004.
Who makes such designation?
- The UAPA (after 2019 amendment)seeks to empower the central government to designate an individual a “terrorist” if they are found committing, preparing for, promoting, or involved in an act of terror.
- A similar provision already exists in Part 4 and 6 of the legislation for organizations that can be designated as a “terrorist organisations”.
How individuals are declared terrorists?
- The central government may designate an individual as a terrorist through a notification in the official gazette, and add his name to the schedule supplemented to the UAPA Bill.
- The government is not required to give an individual an opportunity to be heard before such a designation.
- At present, in line with the legal presumption of an individual being innocent until proven guilty, an individual who is convicted in a terror case is legally referred to as a terrorist.
- While those suspected of being involved in terrorist activities are referred to as terror accused.
What happens when an individual is declared a terrorist?
- The designation of an individual as a global terrorist by the United Nations is associated with sanctions including travel bans, freezing of assets and an embargo against procuring arms.
- The UAPA, however, does not provide any such detail.
- It also does not require the filing of cases or arresting individuals while designating them as terrorists.
Removing the terrorist tag
- The UAPA gives the central government the power to remove a name from the schedule when an individual makes an application.
- The procedure for such an application and the process of decision-making will is decided by the central government.
- If an application filed by an individual declared a terrorist is rejected by the government, the UAPA gives him the right to seek a review within one month after the application is rejected.
- The central government will set up the review committee consisting of a chairperson (a retired or sitting judge of a High Court) and three other members.
- The review committee is empowered to order the government to delete the name of the individual from the schedule that lists “terrorists”, if it considers the order to be flawed.
- Apart from these two avenues, the individual can also move the courts to challenge the government’s order.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: District formation
Mains level: Not Much
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the DownToEarth.
What are Districts?
- India’s districts are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj.
- They generally form the tier of local government immediately below that of India’s subnational states and territories.
- A district is headed by a Deputy Commissioner/ Collector, who is responsible for the overall administration and the maintenance of law and order.
- The district collector may belong to IAS (Indian Administrative Service).
- Districts are most frequently further sub-divided into smaller administrative units, called either tehsils or talukas or mandals, depending on the region.
How are new districts carved?
- The power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing districts rests with the State governments.
- This can either be done through an executive order or by passing a law in the State Assembly.
- Many States prefer the executive route by simply issuing a notification in the official gazette.
Does the Central government have a role to play here?
- The Centre has no role to play in the alteration of districts or creation of new ones. States are free to decide.
- The Home Ministry comes into the picture when a State wants to change the name of a district or a railway station.
- The State government’s request is sent to other departments and agencies such as the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Intelligence Bureau, Department of Posts, Geographical Survey of India Sciences and the Railway Ministry seeking clearance.
- A no-objection certificate may be issued after examining their replies.
Why create districts?
- A district enjoys multiple benefits in terms of endowments from the government for local administration and development.
- The formation of districts leads to the development of infrastructure, including transportation, telecommunication, water, sanitation, health, education and power facilities.
- A good infrastructure attracts potential investors and investments.
- New businesses and industries emerge and existing ones expand.
- This generates employment opportunities for the citizens in and around the district.
Challenges
- The question that arises is what limits a state to declare each place a district.
- The answer lies in the cost associated with the formation of a district.
- A district requires installing administrative offices and deploying officers and public servants.
- This adds to the burden on the government exchequer.
Way forward
- It is also essential to consult the local people who are the end beneficiaries of the decision to understand their aspirations and win their confidence.
- This will potentially mitigate the issues and conflicts between people and government and thereby satisfy the people’s needs at large, which is essential for inclusive growth of state and nation.
Conclusion
- In sum, any political change regarding the formation of a district in a state comes with its own advantages and challenges.
- Thus, the government and policymakers must mull over the decision and perform a cost-benefit analysis before district formation.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cisgenders
Mains level: Abortion rights debate
In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional to distinguish between married and unmarried women while allowing abortion when the foetus is between 20-24 weeks.
What is the news?
- Going a step further, the court said the term ‘woman’ in the judgment included persons other than cisgender women.
What is cisgender?
- The term cisgender is used to define people whose gender identity and expression match the identity assigned to them at birth.
- When a child is born, it is assigned a gender identity based on its physical characteristics.
- Many believe that gender is a social construct, and growing up, the child may or may not confirm to the birth identity.
- For transgender people, their sense of gender identity does not match the one assigned to them at birth.
- Thus, a cisgender woman is a person who was assigned female at birth and continues to identify as a woman.
- On the other hand, a child assigned female at birth can feel it identifies more authentically as a man as it grows up.
Use of gender-inclusive vocabularies in official documents
- Before India’s Supreme Court used ‘cisgender’ in the context of reproductive rights, last year in June, the US government had replaced the word ‘mothers’ with ‘birthing people’.
- Those who advocate the use of ‘birthing people’ say it is not just women who give birth.
- Transmen — a person assigned the female gender at birth but who identifies as a man – and genderqueer people – who identify as neither man nor woman – also give birth.
Why the word cisgender is important?
- If there are ‘transgender’ people, there should be a word for those who are not.
- Giving a label to only one section of the population, especially when that is in the minority, implies that the others are default, ‘normal’, and only that section needs to be labelled.
- Having distinct words for transgender and cisgender people denotes that both are equally valid, neutral experiences, with neither being an aberration.
- Also, cis and trans are not the only gender identifiers in use.
- There are many other terms, such as gender-queer, gender fluid and gender variant.
- Some also choose not to use the traditionally gender-tied pronouns of he/she/her/his, and go for they/them.
Criticism of the term
- Some people, including those working on trans rights, feel terms like ‘cisgender’ belong in the realm of gender theory alone.
- They feel that their usage can be counterproductive – people are less likely to grasp a message if they have to look up the individual words that make up the message.
- Others feel that ‘cisgender’ as a counter to ‘transgender’ is restrictive – reinforcing a binary of genders that many choose to reject.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ponniyin Selvan
Mains level: Not Much
In all the buzz around the Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan: 1 or PS1, a fictional period drama, a point of focus has been the Chola dynasty that the film is based on.
Why in news?
- A notable actor has spoke about the progressiveness of the Chola era.
- He mentioned the architectural marvels and temples, the social setup of the time, and how cities were named after women.
Behind the name- PS1
- The fictional account of the Chola kingdom appeared in a weekly journal in the early 1950s and garnered popularity.
- These were later compiled into a novel called ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, which became the inspiration for the movie, whose second part is due for release in 2023.
Who were the Cholas?
- The Chola kingdom stretched across present-day Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka around 9th to 12th century AD.
- The dynasty was founded by the king Vijaylaya, described as a “feudatory” of the Pallavas.
- Despite being a relatively minor player in the region among giants, Vijaylaya laid the foundation for a dynasty that would rule a major part of southern India.
Might of the Cholas
(1) Defense
- One of the biggest achievements of the Chola dynasty was its naval power, allowing them to go as far as Malaysia and the Sumatra islands of Indonesia in their conquests.
- The domination was such that the Bay of Bengal was converted into a “Chola lake” for some time.
(2) Economy
- While the extent of this domination is disputed, the Cholas had strong ties with merchant groups and this allowed them to undertake impressive naval expeditions.
- In general, even merchant guilds, which had close ties to the court, had to hire their own guards because roads could be dangerous.
(3) Culture
- Another feature is how the practice of building grand temples, common to the dynasties of the region around this time, was ramped up in an unprecedented way by the Cholas, according to Kanisetti.
- The grand Brihadeeswara temple of Thanjavur, built by the Cholas, was the largest building in India in that period.
- Additionally, artworks and sculptures were commissioned by Chola kings and queens, including the famous bronze Nataraja idols.
Women under the Cholas
- The role of women in the royal family is being brought to focus given their impact on public life.
- But that is not to suggest that ordinary women wielded equal power as men.
- The royal women’s proximity to male power was valued, rather than women in general.
Local annexations
- When the Chola King Rajadhiraja came to power in 1044, he was able to “subdue” Pandyan and Kerala kings, and presumably to celebrate these victories performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice.
- The Chola rulers sacked and plundered Chalukyan cities including Kalyani and massacred the people, including Brahmans and children.
- They destroyed Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of the rulers of Sri Lanka.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: International Day of Non-Violence
Mains level: NA
The International Day of Non-Violence event, held at the UN headquarters in New York, saw a life-size hologram of Gandhi displayed.
International Day of Non-Violence
- Every year, since 2007, the day is observed on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
- Iranian Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, in January 2004, first proposed the idea of dedicating a day to non-violence, around the world.
- In 2007, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution to commemorate October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence, with the core objective to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness.”
What does the term “non-violence” stand for?
- The UN defines the term as a rejection of the use of physical violence in order to achieve social or political change.
- The UNGA resolution reaffirms the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence and establishes a desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.
- The theory emphasises that the power of rulers depends on the consent of the populations, and non-violence therefore seeks to undermine such power through withdrawal of the consent and cooperation of the populace.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various Schemes
Mains level: Malnutrition, under-nutrition and micro-nutrition.
Context
- Under the free breakfast scheme of Tamil Nadu Government, children in government schools from Class I to Class V will get nutritious breakfast provided in their schools every morning. The scheme is aimed at encouraging more children to continue to come to school and help prevent dropouts in primary level.
CM’s Breakfast Scheme
- The scheme covers around 1.14 lakh students in 1,545 schools which include 417 municipal corporation schools, 163 municipality schools and 728 taluk and village panchayat-level schools.
- The inauguration of the scheme marks an important milestone in the State’s history of providing free meals to school students.
- Morning Breakfast: Under the morning breakfast scheme, every student is to be provided a cooked meal of 150-500 grams breakfast with sambar with vegetables. With a budget outlay of Rs33.5 crore in the initial phase, the new scheme caters to 1,14,095 primary school students from1,545 government schools.
- Micronutrients deficiency: School administration will serve hot breakfasts to schoolchildren by 8:30 am before their classes begin. Students will be served upma, kichadi or Pongal from Monday to Friday, while rava kesari or semiya kesari will be added to the menu on Fridays.The local millets available in the area will also be part of the menu for at least two days a week.
- Aim of the scheme: The scheme mainly aims to help students attend school hunger free and improve their nutritional status.
What do the Critics of the scheme argue?
- Freebies: The scheme stands at the confluence of three socio-political developments: a fierce but murky political debate on freebies.
- Mid-day meal scheme: There was no need to supplement the existing mid-day meal scheme. But going by the content of the scheme, it seems unlikely that it will bring any substantial or sustained improvements in the above mentioned aspects of nutrition, especially since T.N. is already doing well in this regard.
- Populism: This is just a populist scheme by state government for vote bank politics.
- Questionable outcomes: Though the scheme has the potential to ensure that children attend classes hunger free, reliable and representative data on what proportion of them attend school without having breakfast regularly is scarce. Though the State acknowledges that students tend to skip breakfast because of the school timing and their financial situation, it is important to identify which among these is the significant contributor. The present approach does not distinguish between the two.
What the Defenders of the scheme argue?
- Positive outcomes: Studies from other countries suggest that free breakfast schemes might help increase educational outcomes through a likely increase in school attendance and improved concentration on studies.
- On freebies: The freebie debate strategically deploys fiscal burden as a potent tool to possibly constrain States from discharging this responsibility.
Why feeding children in school is important?
- Welfare state: The States have a responsibility to promote welfare and minimise inequalities in income as well as in facilities and opportunities among individuals and groups (Article38).
- Global Food Security Index: The welfare responsibility of the States remains undiminished, especially since India is ranked 71out of 113 countries on the Global Food Security Index.
- Global Hunger Index: India ranked 101 out of 116countries on the Global Hunger Index.
- Human development index: 132 out of 191 countries on the Human Development Index. India’s mean years of schooling stood at just 6.7 years in 2020-21.
- Inequality: Additionally, India has among the highest levels of inequality in education. This responds closely with the rising wealth inequality, as brought out by the recent Credit Suisse report.
- Stunting and wasting: Malnourishment in children (stunting, wasting and underweight) under 5 years has reduced as per National family health survey-5 (2019-21) from 38.4% to 35.5%, 21.0% to 19.3% and 35.8% to 32.1% respectively as compared to NHFS-4 (2015-16). However present scenario is not good as compare to other developing nations in south Asia.
What are the different Existing Scheme?
- The Midday Meal Scheme: The Midday meal is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
- The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centres, Madrasa supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour.
- Serving 120 million children in over 1.27 million schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, the Midday Meal Scheme is the largest of its kind in the world.
- PM-POSHAN: The name of the scheme has been changed to PM-POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) Scheme, in September 2021, by MoE (Ministry of Education), which is nodal ministry for the scheme.
- The Central Government also announced that an additional 24 lakh students receiving pre-primary education at government & government-aided schools would also be included under the scheme by 2022.
Conclusion
- India’s spending in human development enhancing welfare schemes has been very dismal. There is an urgent need for implementing innovative and effective welfare schemes to address the disruptions caused by the pandemic in the education and nutrition sectors and strengthen these sectors.
Mains Question
Q.Malnutrition, under-nutrition and micro-nutrition requires a different approach. Distinguish and suggest the existing policy gaps to address them.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mediation Bill
Mains level: Scope of Mediation Bill
Context
- The Mediation Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December20, 2021,with the Parliamentary Standing Committee being tasked with a review of the Bill. The committee’s report to the Rajya Sabha was submitted on July 13, 2022. In its report, the Committee recommends substantial changes to the Mediation Bill, aimed at institutionalising mediation and establishing the Mediation Council of India.
What is mean by mediation?
- Mediation: Mediation is a process wherein the parties meet with a mutually selected impartial and neutral person who assists them in the negotiation of their differences.
- Brings Parties Together: Parties can save and sometimes rebuild their relationship like during a family dispute or commercial dispute.
- Very Convenient: The parties can control the time, location, and duration of the proceedings to large extent. Scheduling isn’t subject to the convenience of courts
Why does India need mediation?
- No separate law: While there is no standalone legislation for mediation in India, there are several statutes containing mediation provisions,such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908,the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996,the Companies Act, 2013, the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
- Supreme Court mandate: The Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court of India describes mediation as a tried and tested alternative for conflict resolution.
- Being an international signatory: As India is a signatory to the Singapore Convention on Mediation (formally the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation), it is appropriate to enact a law governing domestic and international mediation.
- Promote mediation: The Bill aims to promote, encourage, and facilitate mediation, especially institutional mediation, to resolve disputes, commercial and otherwise.
- Mandatory Mediation: The Bill further proposes mandatory mediation before litigation. At the same time, it safeguards the rights of litigants to approach competent adjudicatory forums/courts for urgent relief.
- Confidentiality: The mediation process will be confidential and immunity is provided against its disclosure in certain cases.
- Legally binding: The outcome of the mediation process in the form of a Mediation Settlement Agreement (MSA) will be legally enforceable and can be registered with the State district or taluk legal authorities within 90days to ensure authenticated records of the settlement.
- Mediation Council of India: The Bill establishes the Mediation Council of India and also provides for community mediation.
- Services of Mediator: If the parties agree, they may appoint any person as a mediator. If not, they may apply to a mediation service provider to appoint a person from its panel of mediators.
- Disputes where no mediation required: The Bill lists disputes that are not fit for mediation (such as those involving criminal prosecution, or affecting the rights of third parties). The central government may amend this list.
- Time bound process: The mediation process must be completed within 180 days, which may be extended by another 180 days by the parties.
What are the Concerns over the bill?
- Mandatory provision: According to the Bill, pre-litigation mediation is mandatory for both parties before filing any suit or proceeding in a court,whether or not there is a mediation agreement between them.
- Monetary punishment: Parties who fail to attend pre-litigation mediation without a reasonable reason may incur a cost. However,as per Article 21 of the Constitution,access to justice is constitutional right which cannot be fettered or restricted. Mediation should just be voluntary and making it otherwise would amount to denial of justice.
- Clause 26: According to Clause26 of the Bill, court annexed mediation, including pre-litigation mediation, will be conducted in accordance with the directions or rules framed by the Supreme Court or High Courts. However, the Committee objected to this. It stated that Clause26 went against the spirit of the Constitution.In countries that follow the Common Law system, it is a healthy tradition that inthe absence of statutes, apex court judgments and decisions carry the same weight. The moment a law is passed however, it becomes the guiding force rather than the instructions or judgments given by the courts. Therefore, Clause 26 is unconstitutional.
- Lack of international enforceability: Bill considers international mediation to be domestic when it is conducted in India with the settlement being recognised as a judgment or decree ofa court. The Singapore Convention does not apply to settlements that already have the status of judgments or decrees. As a result, conducting cross border mediation in India will exclude the tremendous benefits of worldwide enforceability.
Conclusion
- In order to enable a faster resolution of disputes,the Bill should be implemented after discussion with stakeholders and resolve the issues in an amicable manner. It’s a good opportunity for India to become an international mediation hub for easy business transactions.
Mains Question
Q.Address the key concerns in the mediation bill 2021 and how India can become the centre of international dispute resolutions.Discuss.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ayushman Bharat
Mains level: Success of India's health policies
India has completed four years of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the world’s largest public health insurance programme.
What is Ayushman Bharat?
- Ayushman Bharat is National Health Protection Scheme, which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
- It was launched in September 2018 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- It is a centrally sponsored scheme and is jointly funded by both the union government and the states.
- It has subsumed the on-going centrally sponsored schemes – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).
Features of the scheme
- It will have a defined benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.
- Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.
- It will be an entitlement based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database.
- The beneficiaries can avail benefits in both public and empanelled private facilities.
- To control costs, the payments for treatment will be done on package rate (to be defined by the Government in advance) basis.
India’s health expenditure post Ayushman Bharat
Ans. India’s public healthcare spending is still among the lowest in the world.
- Total health expenditure declined to 3.2% of GDP in 2018-19 from 3.3% in 2017-18, while the government’s health expenditure (centre and state) as a percentage of GDP fell from 1.35% to 1.28% in the same period.
- National health estimates showed the Centre’s share decreasing to 34.3% in 2018-19 from 40.8% in the previous year, while that of states rose from 59.2% to 65.7%.
- Out-of-pocket spending as a percentage of total health expenditure declined to 48.2% in 2018-19, though it is significantly higher than the world average of 18.1% in 2019
What about health insurance penetration?
Ans. Retail health insurance covers a meagre 3.2% of the country’s population.
- With a population of 1.36 billion, India is the world’s second most populous country, and is expected to surpass China soon.
- Launched in 2018 to provide universal health coverage, AB-PMJAY, takes care of the bottom 50% of the population of approximately 700 million individuals.
- The top 20% of the population is covered through social and private health insurance.
- Therefore, about 30% of the population, or about 400 million, is “the missing middle”— they don’t have any financial protection for health emergencies.
Why is sound healthcare important for the economy?
- Covid-19 exposed the economic consequences of poor healthcare. Higher out-of-pocket healthcare spending hits savings and consumption.
- In the work space, poor health impacts physical and mental abilities, increase turnover and lead to lower productivity.
- Data shows that 7% of India’s population is pushed into poverty every year due to healthcare costs.
Way forward
- Healthcare management and disease prevention should be the focus, along with an all-encompassing healthcare system, including OPD.
- The government also needs to pay attention on healthcare cover for “the missing middle” population.
- As a pilot, states may allow the authority already implementing the AB-PMJAY scheme in the state to cover the missing middle.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Live streaming of courts proceedings
Context
- On September 27, the Supreme Court enabled the live streaming of the hearing of cases.
- A full court of all Supreme Court judges under the leadership of Chief Justice U U Lalit took the unanimous decision to live-stream constitutional bench proceedings. Justice Chandrachud, the Chairperson of the Supreme Court’s E-committee and the driving force behind the live streaming initiative, began the hearing in his courtroom by announcing,”We are virtual”.
Background
- The Court’s original decision by the bench of the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud on September 27, 2018, allowing the live telecast of important proceedings paved the way for this outcome. They had held that the live-streaming of court proceedings is in the public interest.
- Their vision had the full support of Chief Justices M V Ramana and U U Lalit.
What is live-streaming technology?
- At its core, streaming content is meant to help people attend events, expos, and experiences they cannot attend in person.
- Live streaming technology is how videos are streamed over the internet, live, in real-time, as they are being recorded.
- Live streaming technology is the internet’s response to live television broadcasts, with the most popular being news shows and sports.
What is Live-streaming of the court?
- Live streaming of court is that its proceedings that the people can watch on their mobiles and computers.All courtrooms function under camera glare.
- Instilling Faith in the Judiciary: Enabling the ordinary people of the country to view, without any barrier, the workings of the highest court of the land will go a long way in instilling faith in the judiciary.
- Empowering the masses: It will enable the legal system to deliver on its promise of empowering the masses.Important step toward developing an informed citizenry.
- Respect to Rule of Law: The decision will enable people to understand the importance of the rule of law.It will help people appreciate that the judiciary is firm in protecting the rights of the impoverished, historically marginalised and disempowered sections of society. Potential to build a culture of respect for the rule of law.
- Living up the expectation of Constitution: Live-Streaming of Court proceedings is manifested in public interest. Public interest has always been preserved through the Constitution article 19 and 21.
- More transparency: It will encourage the principle of open court and reduce dependence on second-hand views. It will effectuate the public’s right to know. This would inspire confidence in the functioning of the judiciary as an institution and help maintain the respect that it deserved as a co-equal organ of the state.
- Raise the quality and standards of the legal profession: Lawyers will be better prepared to appear before the court and they will be mindful of not making irresponsible remarks. An inclusive approach to public scrutiny could nudge and enable lawyers to take the justice delivery mechanisms more seriously than they may have in the past.
- Level playing field: It also creates a level playing ground for the younger members of the legal profession as their preparedness and intellectual prowess will be apparent to all.
- Academic help: Watching courtroom proceedings,actual arguments by lawyers and searching questions by judges could inspire law students to take up this relatively neglected field.Law faculty members and legal researchers will be motivated to work on new areas of scholarship and research relating to the functioning of the judiciary and legal profession.
- Easy accessibility reducing the obstacle of distance: With live-streaming, the litigants will no longer have to come to Delhi to witness proceedings of their case which would be just a click away.
- Strengthening Democracy: Transparency and accessibility of the process of justice delivery will strengthen the country’s democracy
What are the Concerns around live-streaming of court?
- Contempt of court: Video clips of proceedings from Indian courts are already on YouTube and other social media platforms with sensational titles and little context, such as “HIGH COURT super angry on army officer”.
- Disinformation and sensationalism: There are fears that irresponsible or motivated use of content could spread disinformation among the public.
- Unnecessary activism: With the advent of social media, every citizen became a potential journalist. Study shows that justices behave like politicians when given free television time, they act to maximize their individual exposure
- Internet connectivity: Internet connectivity issues and the need for a well-equipped space where lawyers can conduct their cases are some of the major problems requiring attention.
- Awareness and training: Judges, court staff and lawyers are not well-versed with digital technology and its benefits. The need of the hour is for them to be made aware of these and receive adequate training.
Which countries live-stream their court hearing?
- Internationally,constitutional court proceedings are recorded in some form or the other.
- United States: The Supreme Court of the United States streams its hearings in audio format at the end of each week.The US top court publishes hearings on its website and Oyez of all cases. Oyez is a multimedia judicial archive of the Supreme Court of the United States’ proceedings.
- Brazil: The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil live streams hearings of all cases in video format on television.
- UK: The UK Supreme Court live streams hearings of all cases in video format on its website.
- Canada: The Canadian Supreme Court also live streams hearings of all its cases in video format on its website.
- Australia: The Australian Supreme Court streams hearings of its full-court cases on its website with a delay of about a day. Meanwhile, the High Court of Australia (HCA) does not live-stream its proceedings.
- China: In China,court proceedings are live-streamed from trial courts up to the Supreme People’s Court of China.
Conclusion
- The chief justices (past and present) and the judges of the Supreme Court deserve to be congratulated for enabling a path-breaking and democratic decision that allows the people of India to be able to watch the live proceedings of the Constitutional Bench.The distinguished jurist, Oliver Holmes,famously observed,“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” The judges of the Supreme Court of India have ensured that we are indeed moving in the right direction.
Mains Question
Q.Adoption of technology will radically change the field of law and transform the judiciary. What will be the role of courts, judges, politicians,media and citizens of the country regarding live streaming of court proceedings. Discuss
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)
Mains level: India's manufacturing sector slowdown
India’s manufacturing sector experienced its slowest expansion in September since June, the S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) indicated, with the index easing to 55.1 from August’s 56.2.
PMI improves
- A PMI reading above 50 indicates an increase in firms’ activity levels, and September marked the 15th straight month of growth in manufacturing activity.
Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)
- PMI is an indicator of business activity — both in the manufacturing and services sectors.
- It is a survey-based measure that asks the respondents about changes in their perception of some key business variables from the month before.
- It is calculated separately for the manufacturing and services sectors and then a composite index is constructed.
- The PMI is compiled by IHS Markit based on responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers.
How is the PMI derived?
- The PMI is derived from a series of qualitative questions.
- Executives from a reasonably big sample, running into hundreds of firms, are asked whether key indicators such as output, new orders, business expectations and employment were stronger than the month before and are asked to rate them.
How does one read the PMI?
- A figure above 50 denotes expansion in business activity. Anything below 50 denotes contraction.
- Higher the difference from this mid-point greater the expansion or contraction. The rate of expansion can also be judged by comparing the PMI with that of the previous month data.
- If the figure is higher than the previous month’s then the economy is expanding at a faster rate.
- If it is lower than the previous month then it is growing at a lower rate.
What are its implications for the economy?
- The PMI is usually released at the start of the month, much before most of the official data on industrial output, manufacturing and GDP growth becomes available.
- It is, therefore, considered a good leading indicator of economic activity.
- Economists consider the manufacturing growth measured by the PMI as a good indicator of industrial output, for which official statistics are released later.
- Central banks of many countries also use the index to help make decisions on interest rates.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nobel Prize, Neanderthal, Hominins, Denisovians
Mains level: Not Much
Swedish scientist Svante Paabo won the Nobel Prize in medicine for his discoveries on human evolution that provided key insights into our immune system and what makes us unique compared with our extinct ancestors.
Svante Paabo: His work, explained
- Svante Paabo’s seminal discoveries provide the basis for exploring what makes us uniquely human.
- Hominins refer to the now-extinct species of apes that are believed to be related to modern humans, as well as modern humans themselves.
- Paabo found that gene transfer had occurred from these now extinct Hominins to Homo sapiens following the migration out of Africa around 70,000 years ago.
- This ancient flow of genes to present-day humans has physiological relevance today, for example affecting how our immune system reacts to infections.
- Paabo established an entirely new scientific discipline, called paleogenomics that focuses on studying the DNA and genetic information of extinct hominins through reconstruction.
What is the relation between evolution and biology?
- Paabo’s discoveries have established a unique resource, which is utilized extensively by the scientific community to better understand human evolution and migration.
- We now understand that archaic gene sequences from our extinct relatives influence the physiology of present-day humans.
How did Paabo establish the linkage?
- Paabo extracted DNA from bone specimens from extinct hominins, from Neanderthal remains in the Denisova caves of Germany.
- The bone contained exceptionally well-preserved DNA, which his team sequenced.
- It was found that this DNA sequence was unique when compared to all known sequences from Neanderthals and present-day humans.
- Comparisons with sequences from contemporary humans from different parts of the world showed that gene flow, or mixing of genetic information among a species, had also occurred between Denisova and Homo sapiens – the species of modern-day humans.
- This relationship was first seen in populations in Melanesia (near Australia) and other parts of South East Asia, where individuals carry up to 6% Denisova DNA.
- The Denisovan version of the gene EPAS1 confers an advantage for survival at high altitudes and is common among present-day Tibetans.
What are the challenges in carrying out such research?
- There are extreme technical challenges because with time DNA becomes chemically modified and degrades into short fragments.
- The main issue is that only trace amounts of DNA are left after thousands of years, and exposure to the natural environment leads to contamination with DNA.
Back2Basics: Neanderthal Man
- Neanderthals were humans like us, but they were a distinct species called Homo Neanderthalensis.
- Together with an Asian people known as Denisovans, Neanderthals are our closest ancient human relatives. Scientific evidence suggests our two species shared a common ancestor.
- Current evidence from both fossils and DNA suggests that Neanderthal and modern human lineages separated at least 500,000 years ago. Some genetic calibrations place their divergence at about 650,000 years ago.
- The best-known Neanderthals lived between about 130,000 and 40,000 years ago, after which all physical evidence of them vanishes.
- They evolved in Europe and Asia while modern humans – our species, Homo sapiens – were evolving in Africa.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: LCH Prachanda
Mains level: Not Much
The indigenous Light Combat Helicopter LCH-Prachand was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF).
LCH- Prachand
- The LCH has been designed as a twin-engine, dedicated combat helicopter of 5.8-ton class, thus categorized as light.
- It features a narrow fuselage and tandem — one behind the other — configuration for pilot and co-pilot. The co-pilot is also the Weapon Systems Operator (WSO).
- While LCH inherits many features of the ALH-Dhruv, it mainly differs in tandem cockpit configuration, making it sleeker.
- It also has many more state-of-art systems that make it a dedicated attack helicopter.
Features, the significance of LCH
- LCH has the maximum take-off weight of 5.8 tonnes, a maximum speed of 268 kilometers per hour, range of 550 kilometers.
- It has endurance of over three hours and service ceiling the maximum density altitude to which it can fly — of 6.5 kilometres.
- LCH is powered by two French-origin Shakti engines manufactured by the HAL.
Combat capabilities
- The helicopter uses radar-absorbing material to lower radar signature and has a significantly crash-proof structure and landing gear.
- A pressurised cabin offers protection from nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) contingencies.
- With these features, the LCH has the capabilities of combat roles such as destruction of enemy air defence, counter-insurgency warfare, combat search and rescue, anti-tank, and counter surface force operations.
Why need indigenous LCH?
- It was during the 1999 Kargil war that the need was first felt for a homegrown lightweight assault helicopter that could hold precision strikes in all Indian battlefield scenarios.
- This meant a craft that could operate in very hot deserts and also in very cold high altitudes, in counter-insurgency scenarios to full-scale battle conditions.
- India has been operating sub 3 ton category French-origin legacy helicopters, Chetak and Cheetah, made in India by the HAL.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Why