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Judicial selection needs more than a tweak
In recent weeks, the Supreme Court of India’s collegium has been busy. New judges have been appointed to the Court on its advice and long overdue vacancies have been filled up.
Read this before proceeding:
What is the matter of concern?
Ans. Transparency in appointments
- These recommendations are seen as reflective of a new and proactive collegium.
- What ought to concern us, though, is that long-standing apprehensions about the collegium’s operation remain unaddressed: specifically, its opacity and a lack of independent scrutiny of its decisions.
- These misgivings are usually seen in the context of a battle between the executive and the judiciary.
- Less evident is the effect that the failings have on the status of the High Courts.
- Today, even without express constitutional sanction, the collegium effectively exercises a power of supervision over each of the High Courts.
No specified reasons for Exclusion
- For nearly two years, despite vacancies on the Bench, the collegium made no recommendations for appointments to the Supreme Court.
- The conjecture in the press was that this logjam owed to a reluctance amongst some of its members to elevate Justice Akil Kureshi to the Court.
- Indeed, it was only after a change in its composition that the panel recommended on August 17 a list of names for elevation. This list did not contain Justice Kureshi’s name.
- The perfunctory nature of the collegium’s resolutions means that we do not know the reasons for his exclusion.
- We also do not know why five Chief Justices, including Justice Kureshi, and several other puisne judges are now being transferred to different courts.
The public has right to know
- This is not to suggest that these decisions are unfounded. It is possible that each of the choices made is predicated on administrative needs.
- But whatever the rationale, surely the public has a right to know.
What is needed?
Ans. Striking a balance in Separation of Power
- Separation of powers is a bedrock principle of Indian constitutionalism. Inherent in that idea is the guarantee of an autonomous judiciary.
- To that end, the process of appointing and transferring judges assumes salience.
- But the question of how to strike a balance between the sovereign function of making appointments and the need to ensure an independent judiciary has long plagued the republic.
As suggested by Dr. Ambedkar
- The Constitution’s framers wrestled over the question for many days. Ultimately, they adopted what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar described as a “middle course”.
- That path stipulates the following: Judges to the Supreme Court are to be appointed by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and such other judges that he deems fit.
- Judges to the High Courts are to be appointed by the President in consultation with the CJI, the Governor of the State and the Chief Justice of that court.
- In the case of transfers, the President may move a judge from one High Court to another, after consulting the CJI.
Where does primacy rest?
Ans. In a transparent Collegium system
- In this design, there is no mention of a “collegium”.
- But since 1993, when the Supreme Court rendered a ruling in the Second Judges Case, the word consultation has been interpreted to mean “concurrence”.
- What is more, that concurrence, the Court held there, ought to be secured not from the CJI alone, but from a body of judges that the judgment described as a “collegium”.
- Thus, the Court wound up creating a whole new process for making appointments and transfers and carved out a system where notional primacy came to rest in the top echelons of the judiciary.
This procedure has since been clarified. But there is, in fact, no actual guidance on how judges are to be selected.
The NJAC and after
- In 2015, Parliament sought to undo the procedures put in place by the Court through the 99th Constitutional Amendment.
- The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), that the law created, comprised members from the judiciary, the executive, and the lay-public.
- But the Court scrapped the efforts to replace the collegium and it held in the Fourth Judges Case that judicial primacy in making appointments and transfers was an essential feature of the Constitution.
- In other words, the Court held that a body that found no mention in the actual text of the Constitution had assumed a position so sacrosanct that it could not be touched even by a constitutional amendment.
Assessing the NJAC
Ans. The NJAC was far from perfect
- There were legitimate fears that the commission might have resulted in the appointment of malleable judges.
- Therefore, it is plausible to argue that until a proper alternative is framed, the collegium represents the best solution.
- This is that allowing senior judges of the Supreme Court primacy in matters of appointments and transfers is the only practical way to guarantee the independence of the judiciary.
Promises are yet unfulfilled over transparency
- When the Court struck down the NJAC, it also promised to reform the existing system. Six years down the line those promises have been all but forgotten.
- The considerations that must go into the procedure for selecting judges is left unexplained.
- The words “merit” and “diversity” are thrown around without any corresponding debates on what they, in fact, mean.
- Somehow, amidst all of this, we have arrived at a consensus that enveloping a veil over the process of selection is essential to judicial autonomy, and that there is no legitimate reason why the public ought to know how judges are chosen and transferred.
Way forward
- It is clear that we have come a long way from a time when Chief Justices of High Courts declined invitations to the Supreme Court, because they valued the work that they were already entrusted with.
- Restoring High Courts to that position of prestige must be seen as essential to the process of building trust in our Constitution.
- Achieving this will no doubt require more than just a tweak in the process of appointments.
Conclusion
- It is clear is that the present system and the mysteries underlining the decision-making only further dilute the High Courts’ prominence.
- At some point we must take seriously the task of reforming the existing scheme because the status quo is ultimately corrosive of the very institutions that it seeks to protect.
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Why the SAARC meeting was cancelled
A meeting of foreign ministers from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, which was set to be held in New York has been cancelled.
About SAARC
- The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia.
- Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- The SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population and 4.21% (US$3.67 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2019.
- The SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
- The organization promotes development of economic and regional integration. It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006.
- The SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the European Union.
Formation of SAARC
- After the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the security situation in South Asia rapidly deteriorated. In response, the foreign ministers of the initial seven members met in Colombo in 1981.
- At the meeting, Bangladesh proposed forming a regional association that would meet to discuss matters such as security and trade.
- While most of the countries present were in favour of the proposal, India and Pakistan were sceptical.
- Eventually, both countries relented and in 1983 in Dhaka, joined the other five nations in signing the Declaration.
What has SAARC done so far
- Despite its lofty ambitions, SAARC has not become a regional association in the mould of the European Union or the African Union.
- Its member states are plagued by internal divisions, most notably the conflict between India and Pakistan.
- This in turn has hampered its ability to form comprehensive trade agreements or to meaningfully collaborate on areas such as security, energy and infrastructure.
- The 18th and last SAARC summit was held in 2014 with Pakistan scheduled to host the 19th summit in 2016.
- Many nations pulled out of the summit, citing fears of regional insecurity caused by Pakistan and a lack of a conducive environment for the talks.
Limited success to count
- Despite these setbacks, SAARC has achieved a modicum of success.
- It has provided a platform for representatives from member countries to meet and discuss important issues, something that may have been challenging through bilateral discussions.
- India and Pakistan for example would struggle to publicly justify a meeting when tensions between the two are particularly high, but representatives from both countries could come together under the banner of SAARC.
- The bloc has also made some headway in signing agreements related to climate change, food security and combatting the Covid-19 crisis.
- It has the potential to do far more but that is contingent upon cooperation on key issues between member states.
Why was the recent meet cancelled?
Ans. Pakistan’s insistence to include the Taliban
- The member states are unable to agree upon the participation of Afghanistan, with Pakistan and India in particular at loggerheads over the issue.
- After Pakistan objected to the participation of any official from the previous Ghani administration, SAARC members reportedly agreed to keep an “empty chair” as a symbolic representation of Afghanistan.
- However, Islamabad later insisted that the Taliban be allowed to send its representative to the summit, a notion that all of the other member states rejected.
- After no consensus could be formed, Nepal, the ‘host’ of the summit, officially cancelled the meeting.
Why did countries object?
Ans. Taliban is not a legitimate govt
- The Taliban has not been recognised as the official government of Afghanistan by any SAARC countries barring Pakistan.
- Several top Taliban leaders are blacklisted by the US and/or designated as international terrorists.
- Senior leaders who are not blacklisted are known for supporting terrorist activities or affiliating with terrorist organisations.
- Allowing Taliban to represent Afghanistan in SAARC would legitimise the group and serve as a formal recognition of their right to govern.
- Apart from Pakistan, which has close ties to the Taliban, particularly its violent subgroup, the Haqqani Network, none of the other SAARC members recognise the Taliban.
Why nations should not recognize the Taliban?
- PM Modi has referred to the Taliban as a non-inclusive government, warning other nations to think before accepting the regime in Afghanistan.
- SAARC members are deeply aware of the threat of spillover terrorism from Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, with Bangladesh in particular, concerned with the effect it may have on extremism.
- Developments in Afghanistan could lead to uncontrolled flow of drugs, illegal weapons and human trafficking.
Conclusion
- With Pakistan headfast in its support for the Taliban and the rest of SAARC weary to acknowledge the group, any future summit is unlikely until the issue has been resolved.
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Wastewater Treatment in India
Sewage treatment plants (STPs) in India are able to treat a little more than a third of the sewage generated per day, according to the latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
What is Wastewater?
Wastewater is used water from any combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff/ stormwater, and any sewer inflow or sewer infiltration.
In everyday usage, wastewater is commonly a synonym for:
- Sewage also called domestic wastewater or municipal wastewater which is wastewater that is produced by a community of people.
- Industrial wastewater, water-borne waste generated from a variety of industrial processes, such as manufacturing operations, mineral extraction, power generation, or water and wastewater treatment.
- Cooling water, released with potential thermal pollution after use to condense steam or reduce machinery temperatures by conduction or evaporation
- Leachate, precipitation containing pollutants dissolved while percolating through ores, raw materials, products, or solid waste
- Return flow, carrying suspended soil, pesticide residues, or dissolved minerals and nutrients from irrigated cropland
- Surface runoff, the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil.
- Urban runoff, including water used for outdoor cleaning activity and landscape irrigation in densely populated areas created by urbanization
- Agricultural wastewater, generated from confined animal operations
Wastewater in India
- India generated 72,368 MLD (million litres per day) whereas the installed capacity of STPs was 31,841 MLD (43.9 per cent), according to the report.
Treatment facilities available
- Of this installed capacity, developed and operationalized capacity was 26,869 MLD (84 per cent).
- Of the total operationalised capacity, 20,235 MLD (75 per cent) was the actual utilised capacity.
- In other words, out of total 72,368 MLD sewage generated every day, only 20,235 MLD is treated.
Skewed distribution
- Five states and Union Territories (UT) — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka — account for 60 per cent of the total installed treatment capacity of the country.
- These, along with five other states and UTs — Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan — alone constitute 86 per cent of the total installed capacity.
- Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland have not installed sewage treatment plants.
- There are states like Bihar which do have a small installed capacity of STPs. But on the operational front, they score a zero.
- Chandigarh ranks first in terms of total sewage generated to what is actually treated. It generates 188 MLD of sewage and has an operational capacity to treat 271 MLD.
Major issue: Reuse of sewage
- The reuse of treated sewage is an issue which hasn’t assumed much importance in the policy planning of many state governments.
- Treated sewage water can be reused for horticulture, irrigation, washing activities (road, vehicles and trains), fire-fighting, industrial cooling, toilet flushing and gardening.
- The proportion of the reuse of treated sewage is maximum in Haryana (80 per cent) followed by Puducherry (55 per cent), Delhi (50 per cent), Chandigarh (35 per cent), Tamil Nadu (25 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (20 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (5 per cent).
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WHO tightens Global Air Quality norms
The World Health Organisation (WHO) in its first-ever update since 2005 has tightened global air pollution standards.
Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) 2021
- WHO announces limits for six pollutant categories —particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and 10, ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO).
Air quality standards in India
- India aligns with the WHO guidelines only in the case of ozone and carbon monoxide, as these have not changed. But both NO2 and SO2 guidelines are tighter than the current Indian standard.
- The move doesn’t immediately impact India as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) don’t meet the WHO’s existing standards.
- The government has a dedicated National Clean Air Programme that aims for a 20% to 30% reduction in particulate matter concentrations by 2024 in 122 cities, keeping 2017 as the base year.
Significance of WHO’s AQG
Ans. It sets the stage for eventual shifts in policy
- WHO move sets the stage for eventual shifts in policy in the government towards evolving newer stricter standards.
- This will soon become part of policy discussions — much like climate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions keep getting stricter over time.
- Once cities and States are set targets for meeting pollution emission standards, it could lead to overall changes in national standards.
Challenges for India
- The current challenge in India is to meet its national ambient air quality standards in all the regions.
- The hard lockdown phases during the pandemic have demonstrated the dramatic reduction that is possible when local pollution and regional influences can be minimised.
- This has shown that if local action is strengthened and scaled up at speed across the region, significant reduction to meet a much tighter target is possible.
- The influence of geo-climatic attributes is quite pronounced in all regions of India, which further aggravates the local build-up of pollution.
- This is further worsened due to the rapid proliferation of pollution sources and weak air quality management systems.
- India may require a more nuanced regional approach to maximise benefits and sustain air quality gains.
Conclusion
- Air pollution is a threat to health in all countries, but it hits people in low- and middle-income countries the hardest.
- WHO’s new Air Quality Guidelines are an evidence-based and practical tool for improving the quality of the air on which all life depends.
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22nd September 2021 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions
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[Yojana Archive] Reforms in the civil Services
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Context
- Civil Service is vital for the government to function.
- It’s regarded as the ‘steel frame’ of administration in India from colonial days.
- The colonial legacy of civil service continues amidst the fast-changing era of globalization.
- It is therefore, indispensible that civil service reforms are carried out as a part of good governance.
- A reboot and re-orientation of it is needed to ensure effective service delivery.
Civil Services in India: A backgrounder
- Civil Services refer to the career civil servants who are the permanent executive branch of the Republic of India. It is the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country.
- As India is a parliamentary democracy, the ultimate responsibility for running the administration rests with the people’s elected representatives.
- The elected executive decides the policy and it is civil servants, who serve at the pleasure of the President of India, implement it.
- However, Article 311 of the constitution protects Civil Servants from politically motivated vindictive action.
Evolution of Civil Services
Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra gives seven basic elements of the administrative apparatus- Swamin (the ruler), Amatya (the bureaucracy), Janapada (territory), Durga (the fortified capital), Kosa (the treasury), Danda (the army), and Mitra (the ally). The higher bureaucracy consisted of the mantrins and the amatyas. While the mantrins were the highest advisors to the King, the Amatyas were the civil servants.
Medieval India: During the Mughal era, the bureaucracy was based on the mansabdari system. The mansabdari system was essentially a pool of civil servants available for civil or military deployment.
Colonial India: The big changes in the civil services in British-India came with the implementation of Macaulay’s Report 1835. The report recommended that only the best and brightest would do for the Indian Civil Service to serve the interest of the British Empire.
Post-Independence: Indian civil services system retained the elements of the British structure like a unified administrative system such as an open-entry system based on academic achievements, permanency of tenure.
Post partition: When India was partitioned following the departure of the British in 1941, the Indian Civil Service was divided between the new dominions of India and Pakistan. The Indian remnant of the ICS was named the Indian Administrative Service, while the Pakistani remnant was named the Pakistan Administrative Service.
Classification of Services
- The modern Indian Administrative Service was created under Article 312(2) in part XIV of the Constitution of India, and the All-India Services Act, 1951.
- Constitution has not elaborated the types and categories of services. As per the Constitution, the services are categorized into the followings categories:
- All India Services (AlS)
- State Services
- Local and Municipal Services.
- There are four groups of central, services Central Services Group A(Indian Foreign Service, Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Indian Statistical Service etc.), B (Central Secretariat Service, Geographical Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India etc.), C & D.
- The highest personnel strength among the entire civil services system in India is with Central Secretariat Service and Indian Revenue Service (IT and C&CE).
Latest Developments
- The Govt. of India approved the formation of the Indian Skill Development Service in 2015, Indian Enterprise Development Service in 2016.
- Further, the Cabinet of India approved merging all civil services under Indian Railways into a single Indian Railways Management Service as part of structural reform in the sector in 2019.
- Also the lateral entry of professionals in Civil Services has begun.
Our discussion: Civil Service Reform
- Civil Service Reform is a deliberate change effort by the government to improve its capacity to effectively and efficiently execute policies.
- The purpose of ‘reform’ is to reorient the Civil Services into a dynamic, efficient, and accountable apparatus for public service delivery built on the ethos and values of integrity, impartiality, and neutrality.
- The reform is to raise the quality of public services delivered to the citizens and enhance the capacity to carry out core government functions, thereby, leading to sustainable development.
Why need CS reforms?
- Accelerated change globally
- Globalization
- Technological advances
- greater decentralization
- social activism
- Economic Reforms
What are the various bottlenecks of Indian Civil Services?
- Poor capacity building
- Inefficient incentive systems that do not appreciate upright and outstanding civil servants but reward the corrupt and the incompetent
- Outdated rules and procedures that restrict the civil servant from performing effectively
- Systemic inconsistencies empanelment in promotion
- Lack of adequate transparency and accountability procedures
- no safety for whistleblowers
- Arbitrary and whimsical transfers: insecurity in tenures impedes institutionalization
- Political interference and administrative acquiescence
- Dominance of few elite services in promotions, work allocations, and assignments
Structural Issues
Generalist Vs Specialist: Civil Services was designed to deliver certain core functions: Law and Order; Government programs and realizing Governments’ orders. However, changes/Causes/Reasons mentioned above led to change in the role of the state.
New Challenges: Cyber security, complex business, trade, legal aspects are some of the major emerging threats.
Recent Reforms
(1) Mission Karmayogi
- It is aimed at better services delivery to the public.- “governance, performance, and accountability”. lt promises a shift from rules to roles, silos to coordination, interdisciplinary movements, and a continuous capacity building exercise.
- The focus of the reform is the creation of a ‘citizen-centric civil service’ capable of creating and delivering services conducive to economic growth and public welfare.
- Accordingly, Mission Karmayogi shifts the focus from “Rule-based training to Role-based training”. Greater thrust has been laid on behavioral change.
(2) National Programme for Civil Service Capacity Building:
- It aims for learning resources from the best institutions and practices from across the world while retaining Indian sensibilities and culture.
- The mid-career training will now be available to all government staff instead of the top officers alone, and their profile and assessment will be continuous.
- If there is a need for some special appointment, then authorities can do so by looking at the profile of the officers with the help of technology instead of depending on perceptions.
Key features of the new Reforms
- ‘Rules based’ to ‘Roles based’ HR Management
- Aligning work allocation of civil servants by matching their competencies to the requirements of the post.
- To emphasize on ‘on-site learning’ to complement the ‘off-site’ learning.
- To create an ecosystem of shared training infrastructure including that of learning materials, institutions and personnel.
- To calibrate all Civil Service positions to a Framework of Roles, Activities and Competencies (FRACs) approach and to create and deliver learning content relevant to the identified FRACs in every Government entity.
- To make available to all civil servants, an opportunity to continuously build and strengthen their Behavioural, Functional, and Domain Competencies in their self-driven and mandated learning paths.
- To enable all the Central Ministries and Departments and their Organizations to directly invest their resources towards co-creation and sharing the collaborative and common ecosystem of learning through an annual financial subscription for every employee.
- To encourage and partner with the best-in-class learning content creators including public training institutions, universities, start-ups, and individual experts.
Way forward
- Civil Service Reforms should realign the outdated structure and culture of the services and forgo its colonial hangover aiming to raise the quality and sensitivity of services to the citizens that are essential for sustainable economic and social development.
- Rationalization and harmonization of service is the need of the hour.
Conclusion
- Capacity augmentation of Civil Servants plays a vital role in rendering a wide variety of services, implementing welfare programs, and performing core governance functions.
- A transformational change in Civil Service Capacity is proposed to be affected by organically linking the transformation of work culture, strengthening public institutions, and adopting modern technology to build civil service capacity with the overall aim of ensuring efficient delivery of services to citizens.
- The future of the country cannot be progressive without a reformed bureaucracy.
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Streak Daily Compilation of Questions & Videos – Sep 22, 2021
Maintaining consistency is one of the biggest issues faced by IAS Aspirants. Streak’s initiative is to help Aspirants in their day-to-day preparation. You can follow the monthly, weekly, and daily timetables and continue this streak until you find yourself on the final list.
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Daily Study Plan with Answer Writing Challenge || STREAK FREE INITIATIVE FOR UPSC IAS – by Ravi Ranjan
UPSC PRELIMS-2021 || Current Affairs Based Most Probable Questions on Geography – by Sukanya Rana
Q1) With respect to India’s Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976, consider the following statements:
- Exclusive Economic Zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial waters, and the limit of such zone is two hundred nautical miles from the baseline.
- Under the law, all foreign ships including warships shall enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial waters of India.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2Q2) Strait of Kerch connects black sea with which of the following sea?
a. Mediterranean Sea
b. Sea of Azov
c. Aegean Sea
d. Sea of CreteQ3) Consider the following statements
1. India is the second-largest producer of wheat in the world.
2. Some of the important winter crops are wheat, barley, mustard and peas.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Q4) Which of the following statement(s) is/ are correct with respect to Unicorn Blackhole?
- It is roughly three times the mass of Sun found in milky way galaxy.
- It is type of stellar mass black hole, which is formed by the gravitational collapse of a single star.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2