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There should be uniformity in the rules for granting parole
Context
- There was a huge uproar in the media when Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, a convict serving a 20-year prison sentence for raping two disciples, was seen organising an online ‘satsang’ while on a 40-day parole in October. On the other hand, S. Nalini, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, who was serving life imprisonment, was given several extensions of parole from December 2021 until her release. Lack of uniformity in parole rules does not bode well for the criminal justice system.
What is Parole and furlough?
- Short term release: Furlough and parole envisage a short-term release from custody, both aimed as reformative steps towards prisoners.
- Not a Right but a case of Specific exigency: Parole is granted to meet a “specific exigency” and cannot be claimed as a matter of right.
- Circumstances considered: Both provisions are subject to the circumstances of the prisoner, such as jail behaviour, the gravity of offences, sentence period and public interest.
Is there any specific provision pertaining to parole and/or furlough?
- No specific provision: The Prisons Act, 1894, and the Prisoners Act, 1900, did not contain any specific provision pertaining to parole and/or furlough.
- State are empowered to make such rules: Section 59 of the Prisons Act empowers States to make rules inter alia “for the shortening of sentences” and “for rewards for good conduct”.
You must know
- Since “prisons, reformatories” fall in the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, States are well within their reach to legislate on issues related to prisons.
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Parole rules are different for different states and on different case
- Suspension of sentence in Uttar Pradesh: The Uttar Pradesh rules provide for the ‘suspension of sentence’ (without mentioning the term parole or furlough or leave) by the government generally up to one month. However, the period of suspension may exceed even 12 months with prior approval of the Governor.
- Maharashtra rules: Maharashtra’s rules permit release of a convict on ‘furlough’ for 21 or 28 days (depending upon the term of sentence), on ‘emergency parole’ for 14 days, and on ‘regular parole’ for 45 to 60 days.
- Revised rules in Haryana: The recently revised rules of Haryana (April 2022) permit ‘regular parole’ to a convict up to 10 weeks (in two parts), ‘furlough’ for three to four weeks in a calendar year, and ‘emergency parole’ up to four weeks. Ram Rahim is on his regular parole.
- Rules of leaves and its extension in Tamin Nadu and the Nalini case: Though the Tamil Nadu rules of 1982 permit ‘ordinary leave’ for a period of 21 to 40 days, ‘emergency leave’ is permitted up to 15 days (to be spread over four spells). However, in exceptional circumstances, the government may extend the period of emergency leave. Till recently, Nalini was on extended emergency leave owing to her mother’s illness.
- Unlike TN, rules in Andhra Pradesh prohibit extension: Surprisingly, the Andhra Pradesh rules specifically prohibit such extension (Nalini extension) on account of the continued illness of a relative of a prisoner. They permit ‘furlough’ and parole/emergency leave up to two weeks, except that the government may extend parole/emergency leave in special circumstances.
- Odisha: Similarly, Odisha rules permit ‘furlough’ for up to four weeks, ‘parole leave’ up to 30 days and ‘special leave’ up to 12 days.
- West Bengal: West Bengal provides for releasing a convict on ‘parole’ for a maximum period of one month and up to five days in case of any ‘emergency’.
- Kerala: Kerala provides for 60 days of ‘ordinary leave’ in four spells, and up to 15 days ‘emergency leave’ at a time.
Provision of ‘Custody parole’
- Custody parole: Release of a prisoner, who is ineligible for a leave under the police escort for some hours for extreme emergency cases.
- Custody parole In Haryana: A hardcore convict, who is ineligible for any parole or furlough, may be released for attending the funeral or marriage of a close relative under police escort for a period not exceeding six hours. Haryana has a long list of ‘hardcore’ prisoners who are not entitled to be released except on ‘custody parole’ under certain conditions.
- In Tamil Nadu: In Tamil Nadu, police escort is given to a prisoner who is released on emergency leave and is dangerous to the community.
- Kerala: Similarly, in Kerala, prisoners who are not eligible for emergency leave may be granted permission for visit under police escort for a maximum period of 24 hours.
- States that do not permit such provision: Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala and West Bengal do not permit release of habitual criminals and convicts, who are dangerous to society, under Sections 392 to 402 of the Indian Penal Code.
The rules of set by the states vary in scope and content
- Furlough is as incentive: While ‘furlough’ is considered as an incentive for good conduct in prison and is counted as a sentence served.
- Parole: parole or leave is mostly a suspension of sentence. Emergency parole or leave is granted for specified emergencies such as a death, serious illness or marriage in the family. While most States consider only close relatives such as spouse, parents, son, daughter, brother and sister as close family, Kerala has a long list of more than 24 relatives in case of death and 10 in case of marriage.
- Different circumstances in different states: Though regular parole or leave is granted after serving minimum sentence (varying from one year to four years) in prison, some States include other familial and social obligations such as sowing or harvesting of agricultural crops, essential repair of house, and settling family disputes. In Kerala, a convict becomes eligible for ordinary leave after serving one-third of a year in prison if he is sentenced for one year.
- Concern raised: Despite the fact that temporary release cannot be availed of as a matter of right, the above provisions demonstrate that each State has its own set of rules which not only vary in scope and content, but may also be flouted to give favours to a few.
Conclusion
- Without any common legal framework in place to guide the States and check misuse, arbitrariness is likely to creep in, endangering the entire criminal justice system. With ‘prisons’ in the State List, this task is not feasible unless at least half of the States come together to request the Central government to legislate a common law for the country on parole and furlough.
Mains question

Q. What is parole or furlough? The entire criminal justice system in the country is in jeopardy due to lack of uniformity in rules. Discuss.

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December 6, 2022
Shortcomings in the climate justice negotiations
Context
- In the climate negotiations, areas of interest to developing countries are not covered or sparsely covered, while other areas are over-regulated. Equitable sustainable development is not even discussed. At COP27, the policy debate was no longer legitimized by science.
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Problems with the current negotiating process
- Developed countries’ national emissions of C02 from consumption: citizens in developed countries are not even aware that two-thirds of their national emissions of carbon dioxide come from their diet, transport, and residential and commercial sectors, which together constitute the major share of their GDP; the consumption sectors are not independent silos but reflect their urban lifestyles.
- Ignores urbanization and requirement of fossil fuels for developing countries: the process ignores that global well-being will also follow urbanisation of the developing country’s population, requiring fossil fuels for infrastructure and energy to achieve comparable levels.
- Requirement of Infrastructure development in developing countries: the need for vast quantities of cement and steel in developing countries for infrastructure, constituting essential emissions, as they urbanise, is not being considered.
Discussion missing on developing countries to pace up decarbonization
- Late urbanization: As late urbanisers, developing countries account for more than half the annual emissions and most emissions growth.
- Cannot afford new technologies: They cannot affordably access many of the new technologies to decarbonise quickly.
- Not having a comparable level playing field: The result is a shrinking of their policy space and human rights, endangering efforts to achieve comparable levels of well-being with those who developed earlier without any constraints.
Why the foundation of the Climate Treaty in international environmental law is questionable?
- US interpretation in Stockholm Conference on the Environment (1972): In the run-up to the Stockholm Conference, the United States Secretary of States stated that “urbanization has changed the nation with seventy five percent of its people living in the urban area. we must see ourselves not only as victims of environmental degradation but as environmental aggressors and change our patterns of consumption and production accordingly”.
- Conclusion by scientific committee set up by the US: A scientific committee concluded that “long range planning to cope with global environmental problems must take account of the total ecological burden, controlling that burden by systematic reduction in per-capita production of goods and services would be politically unacceptable. A concerted effort is needed to orient technology toward making human demands upon the environment less severe”.
- Power play on risk management but not on the technology transfer: Power play framed natural resource use around risk management rather than technology transfer and the well-being of all within ecological limits.
Why climate negotiations are seen as Differentiated common responsibility?
- Missing the objective: The objective of the Climate Treaty is to avoid a concentration of cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide, prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system and enable sustainable economic development.
- Climate agreements and initiatives: The Paris Agreement (2015) agreed to a 1.5°C global temperature goal. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2018 recommended that net emissions needed to zero out around 2050. In Glasgow, in 2021, negotiators zeroed in on coal to reduce future emissions.
- Ignored the key findings of the IPCC report: This initiative was not based on science and it ignored the key finding of the IPCC on the centrality of the carbon budget, i.e., cumulative emissions associated with a specific amount of global warming that scientifically links the temperature goal to national action.
- Carbon budget and the developing countries: Carbon budgets are robust as they can be estimated accurately from climate models. And, they are the most useful for policy as they couple the climate to the economy consistent with the science of both. The IPCC, in 2018, estimated the budget for a 50% chance of avoiding more than 1.5°C of warming to be 2,890 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (now, it is less than 400bn tonnes), raising the question on how late developers will attain comparable levels of wellbeing.
Shortcomings in Climate justice
- Climate injustice flows from the negotiations and not from the text of the Climate Treaty.
- Rejected historical responsibility and shifted the burden: The process adopted the structure of international law in a manner that rejected historical responsibility for a continuing problem, and steadily shifted the burden to China and India.
- The flaw in set agenda: The agenda was set around globalised material flows described as global warming (the symptom), and not wasteful use of energy.
- Public finance is not materialised for actual objective: Public finance is used as a means to secure a political objective, and not to solve the problem itself. The $100 billion promised at Paris along with pre-2020 commitments constituting the incentive for developing countries to agree to a global temperature goal has not materialised. And, new funding for ‘Loss and Damage’ will be from a “mosaic of solutions”, constituting a breach of trust.
- Longer term trend has been ignored: With one-sixth of the global population, the developed country share in 2035 will still be 30%. Asia’s emissions with half the world’s population will rise to 40% remaining within its carbon budget. Pressures to further reduce emissions displace their human rights.
Conclusion
- India’s thrust on LiFE (or “Lifestyle for Environment”), with the individual shifting from wasteful consumption of natural resources goes back to the original science. Consumption-based framing challenges the ‘universalism’ that has dominated the negotiations and its common path of reductions based on single models. The carbon budget formalizes a ‘diversity’ of solutions. For example, in developed countries, exchanging overconsumption of red meat for poultry can meet half the global emissions reduction required by the end of the century.
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December 6, 2022
SC offers to find solution to ‘deceitful conversions’
The Supreme Court said that- acts of charity or good work to help a community or the poor should not cloak an intention to religiously convert them as payback.

What did the SC say?
- Conversion on the basis of a voluntarily felt belief in the deity of a different faith is different from belief gained through allurement.
- The court said it would examine such veiled intentions behind religious conversions through allurement by offering food, medicines, treatment, etc.
What is Religious Conversions?
- Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others.
- It is one of the most heated issues in the society and politics which can be defined as the adoption of any other religion or of a set of beliefs by the exclusion of other i.e. renouncing one religion and adopting another.
- There are various reasons for which people do convert their religion like:
1. Voluntary Conversions i.e. conversions by free choice or because of change of beliefs.
2. Forceful Conversions i.e. conversions by coercion, undue influence or inducement.
3. Marital Conversions i.e. conversions due to marriage.
4. Conversion for convenience i.e. social mobility
Constitutional ambiguity over conversions
- The question whether ‘right to convert’ comes under the ambit of ‘right to propagate any religion’ holds fundamental importance to determine the constitutionality of anti-conversion laws.
- Article 25 talks about the term “propagate” which means to promote or transmit or merely a freedom of expression.
Why is this getting prominence in India?

Selective persecution and religious marginalization is often debated in India due to religious conversions for:
1. Ghar Wapsi
2. Inter-faith Marriages (often termed as Love Jihad)
What about Incentivised Conversions?
- There are many cases of incentivized conversions for the poor sections of society in exchange for a dignified social life.
For them, the solution lies in addressing the root issues:
1. Ending discrimination
2. Providing high-quality and free education to the poor and disenfranchised
3. Improving access and quality of free health facilities and medicines
4. Improving nourishment and
5. Providing adequate employment opportunities to all
How has Parliament handled anti-conversion bills?

After independence, Parliament introduced a number of anti-conversion bills which were not enacted for want of majority approval.
- In post-Independent India, the first Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill, 1954, which sought to enforce “licensing of missionaries and the registration of conversion.”
- This was followed by the introduction of the Backward Communities (Religious Protection) Bill, 1960, “which aimed at checking conversion of Hindus to ‘non-Indian religions’.
- Non-India religions included Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism,.
- The Freedom of Religion Bill in 1979, which sought “official curbs on inter-religious conversion.”
Conclusion
- Religious conversion gives new identity to the communities converted which in turn leads to social mobility.
- Hence, anti-conversion amount to discrimination and a violation of the right to equality.
- However, inter-faith marriages should not be pre-conditioned with religious conversion.
- This certainly raises concerns for the majority of society.
- Also mass conversions for the sake of revivalism should also not be promoted in any ways.
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December 6, 2022
Exit Polls and their Regulation in India
As voting for Gujarat elections ended, exit polls are out on the news channels.

What are Exit Polls?
- An exit poll asks voters which political party they are supporting after they have cast their votes in an election.
- In this, it differs from an opinion poll, which is held before the elections.
- An exit poll is supposed to give an indication of which way the winds are blowing in an election, along with the issues, personalities, and loyalties that have influenced voters.
- Today, exit polls in India are conducted by a number of organisations, often in tie-ups with media organisations.
- The surveys can be conducted face to face or online.
Issues with exit polls
- Accuracy: Some common parameters for a good, or accurate, opinion poll would be a sample size that is both large and diverse, and a clearly constructed questionnaire without an overt bias.
- Politicization: Political parties often allege that these polls are motivated, or financed by a rival party.
- Manipulation for popularity: Critics also say that the results gathered in exit polls can be influenced by the choice, wording and timing of the questions, and by the nature of the sample drawn.
History of exit polls in India
- In 1957, during the second Lok Sabha elections, the Indian Institute of Public Opinion had conducted such a poll.
Rules governing exit polls in India
- In India, results of exit polls for a particular election are not allowed to be published till the last vote has been cast.
- The issue of when exit polls should be allowed to be published has gone to the Supreme Court thrice in various forms.
- Currently, exit polls can’t be telecast from before voting begins till the last phase concludes.
Need of such polls
- Popular opinion: Polls are simply a measurement tool that tells us how a population thinks and feels about any given topic.
- Specific viewpoint: Polls tell us what proportion of a population has a specific viewpoint.
- Opportunity to express: Opinion polling gives people who do not usually have access to the media an opportunity to be heard.
Issues with such polls (in context of elections)
- Authenticity: Critics have often questioned their authenticity.
- Manipulation of voters: This largely manipulates voting behavior.
- Sensationalization by media: The media, on the other hand, invariably opposes the idea of a ban as seat forecasts attract primetime viewership.
- Ridiculing the public mandate: The exit polls largely disrespect public opinions inciting confusion regarding the election mandate.
Why does it persist in India?

Ans. Exercise of Free Speech
- The opposition to the ban in India is mainly on the ground that freedom of speech and expression is granted by the Constitution (Article 19).
- What is conveniently forgotten is that this freedom is not absolute and allows for “reasonable restrictions” in the same article.
Limited restrictions that we have in India
- RP Act: The Indian Penal Code and Representation of the People Act, 1951 do contain certain restrictions against disinformation.
- Restrictions on A19: While the Constitution allows for reasonable restrictions on freedom of expression, its mandate to the ECI for free and fair elections is absolute.
- Supreme Court interpretations: The Supreme Court (SC), in a series of judgments, has emphasized this requirement.
- Basic structure doctrine: It considers free and fair elections is the basic structure of the Constitution (PUCL vs Union of India, 2003; NOTA judgment, 2013).
How does it impact the election process?
- Prevalence of paid news in India: Having seen “paid news” in action, it apprehends that some opinion polls may be sponsored, motivated and biased.
- Opacity: Almost all polls are non-transparent, providing little information on the methodology.
- Propaganda: Subtle propaganda on casteist, religious and ethnic basis as well as by the use of sophisticated means like the alleged poll surveys create public distrust in poll process.
- Disinformation: With such infirmities, many “polls” amount to misinformation that can result in “undue influence”, which is an “electoral offense” under IPC Section 171 (C). It is a “corrupt practice” under section 123 (2) of the RP Act.
- Betting: The polling agencies manipulate the margin of error, victory margin for candidates, seat projections for a party or hide negative findings.
Way forward
- Independent regulator: Ideally a body like the British Polling Council would be a viable option. India could set up its own professional, self-regulated body on the same lines say Indian Polling Council.
- Mandatory disclosure: All polling agencies must disclose for scrutiny the sponsor, besides sample size, methodology, time frame, quality of training of research staff, etc.
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December 6, 2022
OBC Sub-Categorization Panel’s Report in ‘Final Stages’
After more than five years of its formation, the commission for the sub-categorization under Justice Rohini of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) is now in the final stages of finishing its task.

Why in news?
- The commission is expected to come up with a formula to further classify the nearly 3,000 caste groups and preparing a report on it.
- This is perceived as crucial development before next Lok Sabha elections.
OBCs and their sub-categorization
- OBCs are granted 27% reservation in jobs and education under the central government.
- In September 20202, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reopened the legal debate on the sub-categorization of SCs and STs for reservations.
- The debate arises out of the perception that only a few affluent communities among over 2,600 included in the Central List of OBCs have secured a major part of this 27% reservation.
Need for sub-categorization
- The argument for sub-categorization — or creating categories within OBCs for reservation — is that it would ensure “equitable distribution” of representation among all OBC communities.
- To examine this, the Rohini Commission was constituted on October 2, 2017.
- At that time, it was given 12 weeks to submit its report but has been given several extensions since, the latest one being the 10th.
- Before the Rohini Commission was set up, the Centre had granted constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
What are the Commission’s terms of reference?

It was originally set up with three terms of reference:
1. To examine the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities included in the broad category of OBCs with reference to such classes included in the Central List;
2. To work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for sub-categorization within such OBCs;
3. To take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes or communities or sub-castes or synonyms in the Central List of OBCs and classifying them into their respective sub-categories.
The fourth term of reference was added on January 22, 2020, when the Cabinet granted it an extension:
1. To study the various entries in the Central List of OBCs and recommend correction of any repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription.
Why so many extensions are being given?
- This was added following a letter to the government from the Commission on July 30, 2019.
- In process of preparing the sub-categorized central list of OBCs, the Commission has noted several ambiguities in the list as it stands now.
- The Commission is of the opinion that these have to be clarified/rectified before the sub-categorized central list is prepared.
What progress has it made so far?
- In its letter to the government on July 30, 2019, the Commission wrote that it is ready with the draft report (on sub-categorization).
- Following the latest term of reference given (on January 22, 2020) to the Commission, it is studying the list of communities in the central list.
How smooth has its work been?
- A hurdle for the Commission has been the absence of data for the population of various communities to compare with their representation in jobs and admissions.
- On August 31, 2018, then Home Minister had announced that in Census 2021, data of OBCs will also be collected, but since then the government has been silent on this.
- Many groups of OBCs have been demanding the enumeration of OBCs in the Census.
What have its findings been so far?
- In 2018, the Commission analyzed the data of 1.3 lakh central jobs given under OBC quota over the preceding five years and OBC admissions to central higher education institutions.
- The findings were: 97% of all jobs and educational seats have gone to just 25% of all sub-castes classified as OBCs; 24.95% of these jobs and seats have gone to just 10 OBC communities.
- 983 OBC communities — 37% of the total — have zero representation in jobs and educational institutions; 994 OBC sub-castes have a total representation of only 2.68% in recruitment and admissions.
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December 6, 2022
What Ambedkar said about Buddhism ‘being better than Marxism’
While his views on Buddhism being superior to other religions are well-known, Ambedkar also believed the Buddha’s path to be superior to the popular religion-rejecting philosophy, Marxism.

Marxist view of religion
- Marx saw religion as a conservative force that prevented social change by creating false consciousness.
- Marx once said- “Religion is the opium of the people. It is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of our soulless conditions.”
- The end goal of Marxism is to achieve a classless society throughout the world.
How Dr. Ambedkar compared Buddhism to Marxism?
- Ambedkar has compared Buddhism with Marxism, saying that while both strive for the same end of a just and happy society.
- The means propounded by Buddha are superior to those of Marx.
- It is just simple that Marx was modern and Buddha ancient.
- If the Marxists keep back their prejudices and study the Buddha and understand what he stood for I feel sure that they will change their attitude, Ambedkar writes.
Similarities between the two
- In showing the similarities between Buddhism and Marxism, Ambedkar first condenses the basic philosophy of both into neat bullet points.
- For Buddhism, Dr. Ambedkar lists key points:
1. The function of Religion is to reconstruct the world and to make it happy and not to explain its origin or its end;
2. That private ownership of property brings power to one class and sorrow to another;
3. That it is necessary for the good of Society that this sorrow be removed by removing its cause; and
4. All human beings are equal.
- Of Marx, he says all that is left “is a residue of fire”:
1. The function of philosophy is to reconstruct the world and not to waste its time in explaining the origin of the world;
2. That private ownership of property brings power to one class and sorrow to another through exploitation;
3. That it is necessary for the good of society that the sorrow be removed by the abolition of private property.”
How abolition of private property works under Buddhism?
- Dr Ambedkar says Buddhism’s commitment to abolishment of private property is apparent in how its ‘Bhikshus’ give up all worldly goods.
- He says the rules for Bhikhshus owning property or possessions are “far more rigorous than are to be found in communism in Russia.”
- To establish a happy and fair society, the Buddha had laid down a path for believers.
- The means adopted by the Buddha were to convert a man by changing his moral disposition to follow the path voluntarily.
Key difference: Violent means
- The means adopted by the Communists are equally clear, short and swift. They are (1) Violence and (2) Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
- It is now clear what are the similarities and differences between Buddha and Karl Marx.
- The differences are about the means. The end is common to both.
- The driving force of India’s Constitution also says Buddha was a democrat.
- As to Dictatorship, the Buddha would have none of it. He was born a democrat and he died a democrat, Ambedkar writes.
Try this PYQ:

Q. Karl Marx explained the process of class struggle with the help of which one of the following theories?

(a) Empirical liberalism.

(b) Existentialism.

(c) Darwin’s theory of evolution.

(d) Dialectical materialism.

[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”x41ztc7vwh” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

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December 6, 2022
What is First Loss Default Guarantee (FLDG) System?
Two months after the RBI issued guidelines on digital lending, banks, NBFCs and fintech players are still awaiting clarity on many aspects, including the First Loss Default Guarantee (FLDG) system.

What is FLDG System?
- FLDG is an arrangement between a fintech company and regulated entity (RE), including banks and non-banking finance companies, wherein the fintech compensates the RE to a certain extent if the borrower defaults.
- Under this, the fintech originates a loan and promises to compensate the partners up to a pre-decided percentage in case customers fail to repay.
- The bank/NBFC partners lend through the fintech but from their own books.
- FLDG helps expand the customer base of traditional lenders but relies on the fintechs underwriting capabilities.
- FLDG is also seen as a validation of the fintechs underwriting capabilities for loans disbursed.
Issues with FLDGs
- A report by an RBI-constituted working group on digital lending has laid down risks of FLDG agreements with unregulated entities.
- The other concern is that FLDG costs are often passed on to customers.
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December 6, 2022
Healthy tax collection and the challenge of effective utilization
Context
- Notwithstanding the likely slowdown in economic momentum in the second half of the year, the Union government’s tax collections are on track to surpass its budgeted target by a significant amount this year.
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The current status Union government’s tax collection
- Gross tax collections have already touched the target: Data released by the Controller General of Accounts last week shows that gross tax collections have already touched 58 per cent of the full year’s target, growing by 18 per cent in the first seven months (April-October) of the current financial year.
- Healthy growth in corporate tax collection: Under the broad rubric of taxes, direct tax collections have grown by a robust 26 per cent in the first seven months of the financial year, with healthy growth being seen across both corporate and income tax collections.
- Higher than the nominal GDP growth: While the pace of direct collections has eased during July-October when compared to the first quarter, it continues to be higher than nominal GDP growth in the second quarter.
- Healthy indirect tax collection: On the indirect tax side, GST collections continued to witness healthy growth, recording an increase of 11 per cent in November.
Memory shot in short: Types of Direct Taxes
- Income Tax: Depending on an individual’s age and earnings, income tax must be paid. Various tax slabs are determined by the Government of India which determines the amount of Income Tax that must be paid. The taxpayer must file Income Tax Returns (ITR) on a yearly basis. Individuals may receive a refund or might have to pay a tax depending on their ITR. Penalties are levied in case individuals do not file ITR.
- Wealth Tax: The tax must be paid on a yearly basis and depends on the ownership of properties and the market value of the property.
- Estate Tax: It is also called Inheritance Tax and is paid based on the value of the estate or the money that an individual has left after his/her death.
- Corporate Tax: Domestic companies, apart from shareholders, will have to pay corporate tax. Foreign corporations who make an income in India will also have to pay corporate tax.
- Capital Gains Tax: It is a form of direct tax that is paid due to the income that is earned from the sale of assets or investments
What the Healthy tax collection imply?
- Higher devolution to states: Higher tax collections at the level of the central government imply that devolution to states will be higher than the budgeted amount of Rs 8.16 lakh crore. The months of August and November have in fact witnessed double instalments as the Centre has stepped up devolution.
- States can increase fiscal expenditure: Along with the interest free loan scheme extended by the Centre, higher devolution implies that states have considerable fiscal room to increase capital expenditure. However, this has not been the case so far. Capex by states has been rather muted.
- Provides comfort to governments fiscal arithmetic: As per recent statements by revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj, the government is now hopeful of exceeding the budgeted target by nearly Rs 4 lakh crore. With its spending also likely to surpass earlier expectations by a considerable margin, higher tax collections will provide some comfort to the government’s fiscal arithmetic.
Challenges on the expenditure side
- Increased subsidy bills: On the expenditure side, the Union government is facing a massive increase in its subsidy bill.
- Spending is more than actual budget: Actual spending on the food and fertilizer subsidy and also on LPG will be significantly higher than what has been budgeted for. This is likely to make the fiscal situation challenging.
- Effective utilization is necessary: Considering that the central government has maintained the momentum on its capital spending, growing by around 60 per cent in the first seven months of the year, the overall general government fiscal impulse will depend on how effectively states are able to utilise the extra space available to them.
Conclusion
- Calls for increasing spending to support the economy during this uncertain period will only gain traction as the budget approaches. The government must however resist the temptation. It should stick to the glide path of fiscal consolidation.
Mains Question

Q. In a time of possible economic slowdown, India’s tax collection is on a healthy path. Discuss what good tax collection means for economy?

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December 5, 2022
Criminalization of Politics
Context
- The increasing trend of criminalization of politics is dangerous and has steadily been eating into the vitals of our democratic polity along with growing corruption of a humongous nature.
What is criminalization of politics?
- Criminals becomes legislators: The criminals entering the politics and contesting elections and even getting elected to the Parliament and state legislature. Criminalization of politics is the focus of public debate when discussion on electoral reforms takes place.
- Criminal nexus: It is result of nexus between politicians and criminals.
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What are the reasons for criminalization of politics
- Political control of state machinery: Increasing trend of criminalization of politics is linked to political control of state machinery, corruption, vote-bank politics and above all, loopholes in the legal system.
- Inaction from bureaucrats: We cannot expect probity and integrity from the bureaucracy if it is controlled in large measure, by criminals. Good governance gets seriously undermined when, for instance, criminals, gangsters or mafia dons, become the political bosses of bureaucrats and subvert the system to serve their interests.
- Embracing the corruption: In such a scenario, the bureaucratic system ceases to resist corruption and often embraces it to carry out the diktats of criminal political bosses and also to suit its own ends.
What are the effects of criminalization of politics?
- Hampering free and fair election: limited choice of voters to elect a candidate to parliament or state. It is against the spirit of free and fair election which is the bedrock of a democracy.
- Unhealthy democratic practice: The major problem is that the law-breakers become law-makers, this affects the efficacy of the democratic process in delivering good governance. These unhealthy tendencies in the democratic system reflect a poor image of the nature of India’s state institutions and the quality of its elected representatives.
- Circulation of black money: It also leads to increased circulation of black money during and after elections, which in turn increases corruption in society and affects the working of public servants.
- Culture of violence: It introduces a culture of violence in society and sets a bad precedent for the youth to follow and reduces people’s faith in democracy as a system of governance.
- Weakening the institutions: This is a pervasive malaise in our body politic, which is assuming cancerous proportions. As a result, the three main pillars of our democracy, namely, Parliament, judiciary and executive, get progressively weakened, and the fundamental concept of a democratic system gets subverted.
What should be done?
- Fast judicial process: Fast-tracking the judicial process will weed out the corrupt as well as criminal elements in the political system.
- Political consensus is necessary: It is high time all political parties came together and developed a consensus on keeping criminals some of them with serious charges including kidnapping, rape, murder, grave corruption and crimes against women out of the system.
- Warning by Vohra committee: The Vohra Committee set up by the Centre in 1993 sounded a note of warning saying that “some political leaders become the leaders of these gangs/armed senas and, over the years, get themselves elected to local bodies, state assemblies and the national Parliament.” This was nearly three decades ago.
Efforts by Supreme court and Executive
- Disclosure of criminal records: In 2002, the Court ruled that every candidate contesting election has to declare his criminal and financial records along with educational qualifications. It must be said that mandatory declaration of assets and existing criminal charges in self-sworn affidavits to the EC, prior to elections, has brought in some degree of transparency.
- Formation of special courts: As a follow-up to these directives, in 2017, the Union government started a scheme to establish 12 special courts for a year to fast track the trial of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs. The apex court has since then issued many directions, including asking the Centre to set up a monitoring committee to examine reasons for delay of investigation in these cases.
- Tackling the pendency of cases: The number of pending cases continues to be a matter of grave concern, so much so that the Supreme Court had been informed, as per media reports of February 2022, that the number of pending criminal cases against sitting and former MLAs and MPs had risen to close to 5,000 towards the end of December 2021.
Conclusion
- There cannot be any leniency to criminals and the corrupt in public life, especially when it comes to a range of crimes which are serious and heinous in nature. Fast tracking trials and expediting the judicial process through a time-bound justice delivery system alone can cleanse our public life and rid it of this widespread disease.
Mains Question

Q. What is the criminalization of Politics? Enlist the reasons for criminalization of politics and solution to tackle the same.

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December 5, 2022
India’s Soil conservation strategy
Context
- As soil is the basis of food systems, it is no surprise that soil health is critical for healthy food production. World Soil Day (WSD) 2022, annually observed on December 5, aligns with this.
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Theme of the World soil day
- WSD 2022, with its guiding theme, ‘Soils: Where food begins’, is a means to raise awareness on the importance of maintaining healthy soils, ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, encouraging societies to improve soil health, and advocating the sustainable management of soil.
What is soil?
- Soil is the loose material of the earth’s surface in which the terrestrial plants grow. It is usually formed from weathered rock or regolith changed by chemical, physical and biological process.
Back to basics: Composition of soils
- Mineral matter: It includes all minerals inherited from the parent material as well as those formed by recombination from substances in the soil solution.
- Organic matter: It is derived mostly from decaying plant material broken down and decomposed by the actions of animals and microorganisms living in the soil. It is this organic portion that differentiates soil from geological material occurring below the earth’s surface which otherwise may have many of the properties of a soil. (Note: The end product of breakdown of dead organic material is called humus.)
- Air and water: Normally, both air and water fill the voids in soil. Air and water in the soil have a reciprocal relationship since both compete for the same pore spaces. For example, after a rain or if the soil is poorly drained, the pores are filled with water and air is excluded. Conversely, as water moves out of a moist soil, the pore space is filled with air. Thus the relationship between air and water in soils is continually changing.
Why is soil so important?
- Healthy soils are essential for our survival: They support healthy plant growth, habitat for many insects and other organisms, It enhance both our nutrition and water percolation to maintain groundwater levels, act as a filtration system for surface water.
- Second largest carbon sink after ocean: Soils help to regulate the planet’s climate by storing carbon and are the second largest carbon sink after the oceans. They help maintain a landscape that is more resilient to the impacts of droughts and floods.
- Contribute to the economies: They also support buildings and highways and contribute to the economies of our cities. For instance, the rich, deep fertile soils of the Ganga plain especially its delta and the coastal plains of Kerala support a high density of population through agricultural prosperity.
Soil degradation and its consequences
- Main drivers of soil degradation: The main drivers contributing to soil degradation are industrial activities, mining, waste treatment, agriculture, fossil fuel extraction and processing and transport emissions. Further, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, and irrigation with contaminated wastewater are also polluting soils.
- Reasons behind the nutrient loss: The reasons behind soil nutrient loss range from soil erosion, runoff, leaching and the burning of crop residues.
- Increasing soil pollution undermines food security: Today, nutrient loss and pollution significantly threaten soils, and thereby undermine nutrition and food security globally.
- Soil degradation affects around 29% of India’s total land area: Soil degradation in some form or another affects around 29% of India’s total land area. This in turn threatens agricultural productivity, in-situ biodiversity conservation, water quality and the socio-economic well-being of land dependent communities. Nearly 3.7 million hectares suffer from nutrient loss in soil (depletion of soil organic matter, or SOM).
- Irreparable consequences: Impacts of soil degradation are far reaching and can have irreparable consequences on human and ecosystem health.
India’s Soil conservation strategy
- Five- pronged strategy: The Government of India is implementing a five-pronged strategy for soil conservation. This includes making soil chemical-free, saving soil biodiversity, enhancing SOM, maintaining soil moisture, mitigating soil degradation and preventing soil erosion.
- Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme: Earlier, farmers lacked information relating to soil type, soil deficiency and soil moisture content. To address these issues, the Government of India launched the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme in 2015. The SHC is used to assess the current status of soil health, and when used over time, to determine changes in soil health. The SHC displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms, which guide farmers to make necessary soil amendments.
- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana: Other pertinent initiatives include the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, to prevent soil erosion, regeneration of natural vegetation, rainwater harvesting and recharging of the groundwater table.
- Promoting organic farming practices under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA): In addition, NMSA has schemes promoting traditional indigenous practices such as organic farming and natural farming, thereby reducing dependency on chemicals and other agri-inputs, and decreasing the monetary burden on smallholder farmers.
- FAO’s various initiatives to support government efforts in soil conservation: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) undertakes multiple activities to support the Government of India’s efforts in soil conservation towards fostering sustainable agrifood systems.
- FAO’s collaboration on developing data analytics and forecasting tools: The FAO is collaborating with the National Rainfed Area Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) to develop forecasting tools using data analytics that will aid vulnerable farmers in making informed decisions on crop choices, particularly in rainfed areas.
FAO working with target States
- To increase capacities of farmers to farm livelihood: The FAO, in association with the Ministry of Rural Development, supports the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission’s (DAY-NRLM) Community Resource Persons to increase their capacities towards supporting on-farm livelihoods for the adoption of sustainable and resilient practices, organic certification and agri-nutri-gardens.
- Target states: The FAO works in eight target States, namely, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab, for boosting crop diversification and landscape-level planning. In Andhra Pradesh, the FAO is partnering with the State government and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to support farmers in sustainable transitions to agro-ecological approaches and organic farming.
Way ahead
- There is a need to strengthen communication channels between academia, policymakers and society for the identification, management and restoration of degraded soils, as well as in the adoption of anticipatory measures.
- These will facilitate the dissemination of timely and evidence-based information to all relevant stakeholders.
- Greater cooperation and partnerships are central to ensure the availability of knowledge, sharing of successful practices, and universal access to clean and sustainable technologies, leaving no one behind.
Conclusion
- A key component of sustainable food production is healthy soil as nearly 95 percent of global food production depends on soil. The current state of soil health is alarming and unprecedented soil degradation is a major challenge for sustainable food production. India is on track to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
Mains Question

Q. Soil is the basis of the food system, its degradation and nutrient depletion in recent years is alarming. Discuss the soil conservation strategy of India.

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December 5, 2022