The attendance of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and his Election Commissioner (EC) colleagues at an āinformalā meeting with the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister has brought renewed focus on the independence and impartiality of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Need for changes in the appointment process
The changes in the appointment process for ECs can strengthen ECIās independence, neutrality and transparency.Ā
The appointment of ECs falls within the purview of Article 324(2) of the Constitution, which establishes the institution.
Article 324(2) contains a āsubject toā clause which provides that both the number and tenure of the ECs shall be āsubject to provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament, be made by the President.ā
Apart from enacting a law in 1989 enlarging the number of ECs from one to three, Parliament has so far not enacted any changes to the appointment process.
In 1975 itself, the Justice Tarkunde Committee recommended that ECs be appointed on the advice of a Committee comprising the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Opposition Leader and the Chief Justice.
This was reiterated by the Dinesh Goswami Committee in 1990 and the Law Commission in 2015.
The 4th Report (2007) of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission additionally recommended that the Law Minister and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha be included in such a Collegium.
Violation of Article 14 and 324: Three Writ Petitions, with one pending since 2015, are urging the Supreme Court to declare that the current practice of appointment of ECs by the Centre violates Article 14, Article 324(2), and Democracy as a basic feature of the Constitution.
Precedent does exist in the case of Rojer Mathew v South Indian Bank Ltd, to argue against the Executive being the sole appointer for a quasi-judicial body.
The Supreme Court had recognised that āElection Commission is not only responsible for conducting free and fair elections but it also renders a quasi-judicial function between the various political parties including the ruling government and other parties.”
In such circumstances, the executive cannot be a sole participant in the appointment of members of Election Commission as it gives unfettered discretion to the ruling party.
Way forward
Establishing a multi-institutional, bipartisan committee for fair and transparent selection of ECs can enhance the perceived and actual independence of ECI.
Such a procedure is already followed with regard to other Constitutional and Statutory Authorities such as the Chief Information Commissioner, Lokpal, Vigilance Commissioner, and the Director of the Central Bureau of Intelligence.
Consider the question “What is the procedure for the appointment of Election Commissioners? What are the issues with this procedure? Suggest the way forward.”
Conclusion
ECIās constitutional responsibilities require a fair and transparent appointment process that is beyond reproach, which will reaffirm our faith in this vital pillar of our polity.
Countries like Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea have already shown us how demographic dividend can be reaped to achieve incredible economic growth by adopting forward-looking policies and programmes.
The window of demographic opportunity
With falling fertility (currently 2.0), rising median age (from 24 years in 2011, 29 years now and expected to be 36 years by 2036), a falling dependency ratio (expected to decrease from 65% to 54% in the coming decade taking 15-59 years as the working age population), India is in the middle of a demographic transition.
This provides a window of opportunity towards faster economic growth. India has already begun to get the dividend.
As fertility declines, the share of the young population falls and that of the older, dependent population rises.
If the fertility decline is rapid, the increase in the population of working ages is substantial yielding the ādemographic dividendā.
The smaller share of children in the population enables higher investment per child.
Therefore, the future entrants in the labour force can have better productivity and thus boost income.
With the passage of time, the share of the older population rises and that of the working age population begins to fall and hence the dividend is available for a period of time, āthe window of demographic opportunityā.
Need for forward-looking policies
Without proper policies, the increase in the working-age population may lead to rising unemployment, fueling economic and social risks.
This calls for forward-looking policies incorporating population dynamics, education and skills, healthcare, gender sensitivity, and providing rights and choices to the younger generation.
Lessons for India
Countries like Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea have already shown us how demographic dividend can be reaped.
Ā There are important lessons from these countries for India.
1) NTA data: The first is to undertake an updated National Transfer Accounts (NTA) assessment.
Using NTA methodologies, we find that Indiaās per capita consumption pattern is way lower than that of other Asian countries.
A child in India consumes around 60% of the consumption by an adult aged between 20 and 64, while a child in China consumes about 85% of a prime-age adultās consumption.
The NTA data for India needs to be updated to capture the progress made on such investments since 2011-12.
2) Invest more in children and adolescents: India ranks poorly in Asia in terms of private and public human capital spending.
It needs to invest more in children and adolescents, particularly in nutrition and learning during early childhood.
3) Make health investments: Health spending has not kept pace with Indiaās economic growth.
The public spending on health has remained flat at around 1% of GDP.
Evidence suggests that better health facilitates improved economic production.
Hence, it is important to draft policies to promote health during the demographic dividend.
4) Make reproductive healthcare services accessible on a rights-based approach: We need to provide universal access to high-quality primary education and basic healthcare.
The unmet need for family planning in India at 9.4% as per the latest National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) is high as compared to 3.3% in China and 6.6% in South Korea, which needs to be bridged.
Ā 5) Bridge gender differentials in education: The gender inequality of education is a concern.
In India, boys are more likely to be enrolled in secondary and tertiary school than girls. This needs to be reversed.
6) Increase female workforce participation:Ā As of 2019, 20.3% of women were working or looking for work, down from 34.1% in 2003-04.
New skills and opportunities for women and girls befitting their participation in a $3 trillion economy is urgently needed.
It is predicted that if all women engaged in domestic duties in India who are willing to work had a job, female labour force participation would increase by about 20%.
7) Address the diversity between StatesWhile India is a young country, the status and pace of population ageing vary among States.
Southern States, which are advanced in demographic transition, already have a higher percentage of older people.
These differences in age structure reflect differences in economic development and health ā and remind us of Statesā very different starting points at the outset of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda.
But this also offers boundless opportunities for States to work together, especially on demographic transition, with the north-central region as the reservoir of Indiaās workforce.
8) Governance reform: A new federal approach to governance reforms for demographic dividend will need to be put in place for policy coordination between States on various emerging population issues such as migration, ageing, skiling, female workforce participation and urbanisation.
Conclusion
In India, the benefit to the GDP from demographic transition has been lower than its peers in Asia and is already tapering. Hence, there is an urgency to take appropriate policy measures.
The buzzword across the globe for the 21st century is Innovation which is considered to be the primary driver of progress.
Incentivising innovation and intellectual property creation is important for Indiaās future growth prospects.
Making all these considerations, the Ministry of Educationās innovation cell has recently released the third edition of Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021.
What is Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)?
ARIIA ranking classifies participating institutions into two major categories; technical and non-technical.
It is developed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Ministryās Innovation Cell.
It aims to systematically rank all major higher educational institutions and universities in India.
Highlights of ARIIA 2021
In the technical ranking IIT Madras has been recognised as the Most Innovative Educational Institute in India.
This is the third time that IIT Madras has secured the first rank. IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi were placed at the second and third ranks respectively.
Out of total of 3551 HEIs registered, 1438 institutions including all IITs, NITs, IISc, etc. participated in this exercise.
Why discuss innovation?
Academic nature: For the longest of time in India, innovation was either tucked away in the R&D centres of government enterprises, academia and the MNEs.
Situational constraints: Quiet often it was around unorganised markets in the form of the cheap Jugaad.
Rise of Unicorns: With over 35 Unicorns (and counting), India has become the third-largest hub of Unicorns globally, something that is not even remotely replicable by others in similar class of economies.
Pitch for Indigenization: Introduced at the beginning of the 2020s, the āVocal for Localā credo is symbolic of a nation that is beginning to believe in its own self-worth.
Unleashed potential: From ISROās groundbreaking low-budget streaks to India being a frontrunner in the Covid vaccine development, Indiaās ability to innovate is beginning to make a lasting impact on the world.
Global acknowledgement: The Global Innovation Index indicates India has been consistently outperforming other economies. Indiaās ranking has gone up from 81 (2015) to 48 (2020).
For a better India
The once stereotypical attitude of āchalta haiā is giving way to the newfound zeal around āhow to make things work better.
This is the question that Indian entrepreneurs are applying to the products and services landscape of new India.
Why does India need innovation?
Heterogeneity of users: With the hard metrics of innovation ecosystem in place, what really acts as the magic ingredient is the vast and heterogenous user segments in India that are hungry for novel solutions.
Capable institutions: This combination of strong capabilities and categories ripe for disruption makes India a fertile ground for new innovations.
Youth: India is also a young country. While population growth is under control, it is still growing at two per cent per year in population.
Being later than never: Technology is clearly the biggest area of transformation in India. India has some advantages in this area from being a ālate moverā, which has enabled it to leapfrog the competition in many cases.
Hurdles to Innovation in HEIs
Low gross enrolment ratio is a major challenge in India towards the introduction of innovation in education
Inadequate quality of education and infrastructure that is requisite to boost innovation
Lack of funds for state-run Universities
Faculty crunch and severe shortage of teaching staff and poor facilities
Stagnant academic syllabus in institutions other than IITs/NITs
Decline in research standards due to lack of infrastructure
Limited institutional support- While India has the scientific talent, we do not have the deep pockets and the enabling ecosystem that drives most of the innovation in the West.
Structural lacunae
Lack of incubation centres: In terms of world-class manufacturing, India still lags behind.
Limited policy successes: Even though the government has an initiative in place to encourage companies under Make In India/ Vocal for Local, it hasnāt had any major victories in terms of attracting big players.
Weaker IPR regime: The lack of funding support in the country forces innovators in India to park their IP rights outside the country.
Significance of Innovation in Higher Education
Competition: The ranking system of ARIIA facilitates a healthy competitive environment among institutions to expand the purview of innovation.
Formative years of students: This ecosystem would inspire young students to put forth their ideas in their formative years.
Quality enhancement: ARIIA will exert a large emphasis on the quality of innovation and will make an attempt to examine the influence of the innovations nationally and internationally.
Social applications: The innovation in education has a far-reaching impact on human development for productivity, research and improved value chain interaction across different spheres of the economy.
Way forward
In todayās knowledge-driven economy, innovation is the primary driver of progress. And, a large reservoir of entrepreneurial energy in India waiting to be tapped lies in these HEIs.
For innovation to flourish, ideas must be funded and taken to market. The HEIs are the right place to invest in for innovations.
It is by investing in breakthrough ideas and embracing entrepreneurship as an economic model of growth that India will be able to unleash the power of innovation to ensure a better life for its billion-plus citizens.
Conclusion
We must build the credibility of Indian innovation within our borders and convince people that the quality of research done in India is at par with the best in the world.
This can be done by promoting more innovations in HEIs.
Everything that has a value in life is a product of consistency ā Health, Fitness, Wealth, Relationships and Your UPSC Aspiration as well. Choosing consistency is better than chasing perfection. Nobody can be perfect, but everyone can stay consistent.
Choosing to be a UPSC Aspirant means you have signed up for a roller-coaster of emotions for a period of 1-2 years. Not all days are going to be the same, that is for sure. Some days youāre extremely motivated and positive, and on other days, you might find yourself questioning EVERYTHING about your preparation! It is absolutely normal. This is something extremely inevitable. Even the best of the toppers can have the worst days during the preparation phase simply because it is an extremely long and often a lonely process.
Itās fine to be inconsistent for a short while. Maybe a day or two in the initial phase. But don’t make it a habit. Regular inconsistency wonāt fetch you the desired result. But what exactly is inconsistency?
What did Aspirants say made them Inconsistent 1-on-1 Free Counselling Session?
Last month, we had counselled about 4000 aspirants and found out the major reasons why are in inconsistent in their UPSC preparation. Here are few of the responses we received (we have withheld names to respect their privacy) ā
1. “I am inconsistent because my thoughts don’t line up with my actions. I like the idea of being an IAS officer, but I am unable to study for it.”
2. “There are days when I brood about the competition and think do I really stand a chance? That’s what keeps me studying for many days together.”, shared another
3. “I am a working professional and I am unable to find time to study for weeks together.”
4. “I am unable to make a timetable that can do justice to both my pace and the vast syllabus of UPSC”
5. “This is my third attempt. The thought of repeating the same cycle of studies and reading those dreary books once again keeps me from staying consistent.”
6. “I feel burnt out. There are days I put in so much effort studying for UPSC that I won’t feel like the next day.”
7. “Social Media. I get distracted often.”
8. “The preparation makes me feel lonely. Sometimes I wish I had a well-wisher who could pull me out of my inconsistent ways.”
What we could understand from this is that self-doubt kills enthusiasm to prepare for UPSC. And fear of failure stops you from staying consistent. It’s important to inculcate consistency as a UPSC aspirant as consistency leads to habits. Habits lead to action and action makes you successful.
Inconsistency is the frenemy of every UPSC aspirant ā they look like your friend at first, but they are your enemy in disguise. It doesn’t even let you achieve 10% of your actual potential. You know that you are capable of so many things if you stopped being inconsistent.
Keeping this in mind, we have launched our mentorship program this week. The highlight of our free 1-on-1 sessions would be to suggest ways that can help you stay focused during your long preparation journey for UPSC.
How does 1-on-1 Mentorship fights inconsistency in UPSC Preparation?
Our philosophy behind MENTORSHIP is to get you out of this Snooze cycle. This ensures that you are the BEST VERSION of yourself in this journey. If you are under the impression that mentorship is weekly calls you attend, then you are mistaken, my friend. Trust us, your mentor will be your āFRIEND, PHILOSOPHER AND GUIDEā.
TO EACH THEIR OWN ā Every aspirant is different. Their strengths and weaknesses are different. Their time availability is also different. Identifying this is important so you donāt end up making unrealistic targets and lose momentum. Your mentor will make sure you start slow but remain consistent to build your confidence. Making your schedule structured based on our experience of working with 2500+ students is our first priority.
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS ā When you see yourself grow, it becomes easier to motivate yourself to push boundaries. Tracking your progress can happen in many ways like mentorship calls or chat sessions or by regular tests. The idea is to ensure that you donāt go off track in your preparation, and even if you do, we have your back.
EVOLUTION ā A constant guidance is important to bring consistency to your UPSC preparation. Guidance is not about clearing your doubts or asking you to study when you donāt. It is also about the evolution of your preparation. This is where you and your mentor work as a team. A constant effort to PLAN AND BUILD UP YOUR ABILITY to learn in a faster and more efficient way.RECEIVE PERSONAL GUIDANCE FOR UPSC (REGISTER HERE)
TALK IT OUT ā The biggest hurdle in achieving your highest level of consistency is the emotional part. Every now and then, you. surround yourself with negative thoughts, you feel scared and depressed. Instead of resolving these emotional issues, you avoid them as it seems like a waste of your precious time. You have to understand that ignoring emotional troubles does not solve them. What your doing is building an emotional time bomb that may burst a week before your mains or prelims! This is where your MENTOR AS A FRIEND comes in. All our mentors have been through this journey. We understand your fears and anxieties. So, TALK IT OUT.
Donāt let inconsistency keep you away from your dreams.
Fill up the SAMANVAYA form given below. Let us know your problems and we will find a solution to it, just like our students say ā TOGETHER WE CAN AND WE WILLā.
How has Civilsdaily Mentorship, helped Aspirants become Toppers?
The most difficult challenge faced by EVERY candidate is inconsistency. Be it inconsistency in studies, answer-writing practice, covering the syllabus, or revision, every candidate finds it difficult to cope with. Buthow do successful candidates manage to FIGHT Inconsistency so consistently?
In UPSC 2020, Civilsdaily helped 80+ students secure ranks in their exams. In the top 100, every 3rd ranker was a Civilsdaily student.
A very recent success story would be Vishwa Shah, student of Civilsdaily Mentor, Sukanya Ma’am. Vishwa has cleared the GPSC exam to become the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Gujarat. He has penned a thank-you note yesterday. Heartiest Congratulations to Vishwa!
One of our other Civilsdaily Student, Shubham Nagargojecleared the exams in 2020 to become an IPS Officer. Shubham was gracious enough to let us know how he felt about Civilsdaily Samanvaya Guidance under Parth sir.
To know how all of them cleared the exam with our mentorship, visit the UnherdPodcast.
Now that results are announced for UPSC 2021 Prelims, out of 15 out of 25 students of Santhosh Gupta sir have been recommended to Mains. One such student, Rahul expresses his gratitude and extends his appreciation.
Most of our Mentors like Sudhanshu sir, Sajal sir, Santhosh sir, Pravin sir, Parth Verma sir and Sukanya Maāam were UPSC aspirants themselves and have attended UPSC Mains more than five times and UPSC Interview more than twice. Hence their mentorship is always a blend of the best test series, comprehensive notes and current affairs knowledge.
All of them dedicate their time weekly to give 1-on-1 mentorship to every student where they discuss last weekās performance and next weekās approach.
Be it Telegram, Whatsapp or Habitiat channels, they are always available and clear student’s doubts in a turnaround time of 24 Hours.
Why Civilsdaily Mentors are the GPS for Your UPSC-CSE Preparation
Remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel and if you want to get out of the tunnel you have to follow the direction of the light! Our mentorsā give you direction which is divided into daily modules. All you have to do is study and complete them on time.
As every year passes by, we donāt get confident by the previous yearsā performance and become laidback. Instead, we become more hungry to convert all our students into toppers.
How are Current Civilsdaily Students Gearing up for UPSC-CSE 2022?
Initially, our Civilsdaily student Smriti wasnāt confident about Prelims when she began her preparation. Though she had joined Civilsdaily in 2020, she started studying for UPSC-CSE back in 2019. At that time, Smriti had enrolled in multiple institutes. Though, most of these institutes had promised a personal mentor, she was unable to get in touch with them on a daily basis. Also those mentors never scheduled test-series on a weekly basis. Hence, despite preparing for a year, Smriti had scored only 35 marks out of 200 in her first test series by Civilsdaily.
She then started writing 20-25 test series over the course of UAP 2021 and in her last test, her scores have drastically improved. She now scores in the range of 130-135 marks in prelimsā and 110+ in mainsā papers.
In Smritiās own words she describes her Samanvaya Mentorship Experience to be ā
āOur parents provide us financial and emotional support, friends provide us moral support and the right mentor gives you logistic and logical support for UPSC. There are days when I felt I wonāt be able to compete against lakhs of aspirants. Thatās when my mentor, Ravi sir reminded me of my improvement and encouraged me that I can crack it with the same consistency. We need someone, who tells us we are performing well especially when we cannot see that ourselves. The mentorship at Civilsdaily helped me become mentally stronger as a person. In other institutes, mentors are allotted only for doubt resolution. But at Civilsdaily, I am getting end-to-end mentorship via value added notes, classes, test series and detailed evaluation.”
Similarly our another Civilsdaily student, Ashishsums up his Samanvaya experience with Civilsdaily mentor,Pravin Sir, “Because of Pravin sirās support, I am able to understand a topic in lesser time.ā
This is how Pravin sir evaluates Ashish’s Mains Test Series every week. After every test series evaluation, Pravin sir schedules a 1 hour call to discuss how Ashish can improve his marks and the sources he can refer for key topics.
It’s Your Turn Get the Free 40 Min Counselling Session By a CD Mentor
Civilsdaily mentors are so dedicated, consistent and focused for your UPSC goal, that you will eventually become focused into turning your dreams to reality.
At the core of Civilsdaily UPSC mentorship, lies the fact that each one of you will have a unique journey while preparing for the exam. Some will get through on the first attempt without much effort while others will take both more time and more effort.
We want to understand you better to help you optimize your journey so you can focus on the right things and not waste time on the wrong ones. We are asking you to tap into the valuable experiences of mentors who underwent the same grind and realize the pitfalls and understand the shortcuts to make it.
In the first counselling session, we will understand your weaknesses. We then help you to stick to one plan or strategy throughout your preparation. We will then follow up with you on a daily basis to check if you are right on track. To get an idea of how your 1st 1-on-1 mentorship will look like, watch this sample video ā
GS-1Ā Ā Population and associated issues, poverty, and developmental issues
GS-2Ā Ā Constitution of Indiaāhistorical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure; Representation of People’s Act
GS-3Ā Ā Indian Economy
GS-4Ā Ā Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentorās Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Ā Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11thĀ October is uploaded on 11th October then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th October is uploaded on 13th October, then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentorās schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.Ā
From the design plan to the implementation, various aspects of the built environment have been covered under the new guidelines for universal accessibility recently drafted by the Centre.
What is Universal Accessibility?
Universal Accessibility can be defined as the conditions for easy access.
It would allow any individual (even those whose mobility, communicative ability, or understanding is reduced) to access and enjoy a place, product, or service, and to do so freely and independently.
Why is universal accessibility important?
Universal design is so important because if a space is accessible, usable, and convenient for everyone regardless of age or ability, it’s inclusive for all.
An accessible school, library, community centre, govt office or park means everyone can participate fully in their community.
What are the new guidelines?
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) released the Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India 2021.
Drafted by a team of the IIT-Roorkee and the National Institute of Urban Affairs of the MoHUA, the revised guidelines aim to give a holistic approach.
Earlier, the guidelines were for creating a barrier-free environment, but now they are focusing on universal accessibility.
Key highlights
Ramps: The guidelines provide the gradient and length of ramps ā for example, for a length of six metres, the gradient should be 1:12. The minimum clear width of a ramp should be 1,200 mm.
Beyond PwDs: While making public buildings and transport fully accessible for wheelchair users is covered in the guidelines, other users who may experience temporary problems have also been considered. For instance, a parent pushing a childās pram while carrying groceries or other bags, and women wearing saris.
Women friendly: Built environment needs for accessibility for women should consider diverse age groups, diverse cultural contexts and diverse life situations in which women operate. Diverse forms of clothing (saris, salwar-kameez, etc.) and footwear (heels, kolhapuri chappals, etc.) require a certain orientations.
Accessibility symbols: The guidelines call for accessibility symbols for PwD, family-friendly facilities and transgender to be inclusively incorporated among the symbols for other user groups.
Targeted authorities: The guidelines are meant for State governments, government departments and the private sector, as well as for reference by architecture and planning institutes.
Policy measures for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)
India is a signatory to the UN Convention the Right of Persons with Disabilities, which came into force in 2007.
The āAccessible India Campaign’ (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) was launched in 2015 to enable Persons with disabilities to gain universal access, equal opportunity for development.
The Union Minister for Social justice and Empowerment has also launched the āSugamya Bharat Appā to complain for ease accessibility for PwDs.
India has its dedicated the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which is the principal and comprehensive legislation concerning persons with disabilities.
Back2Basics: Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan
Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is a program that is set to be launched to serve the differently-able community of the country.
The flagship program has been launched on 3 December 2015, the International Day of People with Disabilities.
The program comes with an index to measure the design of disabled-friendly buildings and human resource policies.
The initiative also in line with Article 9 of the (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) which India is a signatory since 2007.
The scheme also comes under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 for equal Opportunities and protection of rights which provides non-discrimination in Transport to Persons with Disabilities.
The Supreme Court has said that suspension from the Legislative Assembly for a year is āworseā than expulsion, as it affects the Right of a constituency to remain represented in the House.
What is the case?
Few MLAs from Maharashtra have challenged their one-year suspension from the Legislative Assembly for allegedly misbehaving with the presiding officer.
Suspending MLAs: A fact check
Each state has their individual rules for the conduct of assembly. These rules provides for the suspension of MLAs.
Under Rule 53 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rules, 1960, only the Speaker has the power to suspend MLAs indulging in unruly behavior.
Therefore, the motion to suspend cannot be put to vote as this would allow the Government to suspend as many Members of Opposition as it sees fit.
Constitutional ground behind this suspension
The Court referred to Article 190 (4) of the Constitution which says that if for a period of 60 days, a member of a House, without its permission, is absent; the House may declare his or her seat vacant.
Suspension of MLAs beyond this period would lead to their disqualification.
What did the Supreme Court observe?
Suspension of the MLAs would amount to punishing the constituencies as a whole.
Each constituency has equal amount of right to be represented in the House, observed the court.
The apex court observed that any state cannot create a constitutional void, a hiatus situation for any constituency.
It said the House cannot suspend a member beyond 59 days.
India has appealed against a ruling of the World Trade Organisationās (WTO) trade dispute settlement panel on domestic sugar subsidies, stating that the panel had committed ācertain errors of lawā in its report.
What is the case?
Indiaās Minimum Selling Price system for Sugarcane was brought to notice to the WTO by Brazil, Australia and Guatemala.
What was the complaint against India?
Australia, Brazil, and Guatemala said Indiaās domestic support and export subsidy measures appeared to be inconsistent with various articles against WTOās:
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM)
Article XVI (which concerns subsidies) of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT)
Domestic Support: All three countries complained that India provides domestic support to sugarcane producers that exceed the de minimis level of 10% of the total value of sugarcane production.
Various subsidies: They also raised the issue of Indiaās alleged export subsidies, subsidies under the production assistance and buffer stock schemes, and the marketing and transportation scheme.
Notifying support: Australia accused India of āfailingā to notify its annual domestic support for sugarcane and sugar subsequent to 1995-96, and its export subsidies since 2009-10.
Indiaās reply to WTO panel
India rejected the panelās findings as āerroneousā, āunreasonedā, and ānot supported by the WTO rulesā.
It argued that the requirements of Article 3 of the SCM Agreement are not yet applicable to India.
It has a phase-out period of 8 years to eliminate export subsidies under the agreement.
India also argued that its mandatory minimum prices are not paid by the governments but by sugar mills, and hence do not constitute market price support.
Backgrounder: Sugarcane Pricing in India
Who determines Sugarcane prices?
Sugarcane prices are determined by the Centre as well as States.
The Centre announces Fair and Remunerative Prices which are determined on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and are announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is chaired by Prime Minister.
The State Advised Prices (SAP) are announced by key sugarcane producing states which are generally higher than FRP.
Minimum Selling Price (MSP) for Sugar
The price of sugar is market-driven & depends on the demand & supply of sugar.
However, with a view to protecting the interests of farmers, the concept of MSP of sugar has been introduced since 2018.
MSP of sugar has been fixed taking into account the components of Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane and minimum conversion cost of the most efficient mills.
Basis of price determination
With the amendment of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966, the concept of Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) of sugarcane was replaced with the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)ā of sugarcane in 2009-10.
The cane price announced by the Central Government is decided on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
This is done in consultation with the State Governments and after taking feedback from associations of the sugar industry.
What is FRP?
FRP is fixed under a sugarcane control order, 1966.
It is the minimum price that sugar mills are supposed to pay to the farmers.
However, states determine their own State Agreed Price (SAP) which is generally higher than the FRP.
Factors considered for FRP:
The amended provisions of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 provides for fixation of FRP of sugarcane having regard to the following factors:
a) cost of production of sugarcane;
b) return to the growers from alternative crops and the general trend of prices of agricultural commodities;
c) availability of sugar to consumers at a fair price;
d) price at which sugar produced from sugarcane is sold by sugar producers;
e) recovery of sugar from sugarcane;
f) the realization made from the sale of by-products viz. molasses, bagasse, and press mud or their imputed value;
g) reasonable margins for the growers of sugarcane on account of risk and profits.
