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  • New environment impact norm cuts time for public hearing

    A set of key updates to India’s Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Act has been proposed to reduce the time given to people to air objections.

    Features proposed by the amendment

    • The draft EIA notification proposes to be an update to the EIA of 2006, which specifies a “minimum of 30 days” for people to respond.
    • The current version of the update, which will likely become law in 60 days, gives a “minimum of 20 days” of notice period.
    • The public hearing process is considered a key component of the EIA. An organisation has to submit a detailed plan, as part of the EIA process that details the nature, need, potential impact and remedial measures, if their proposed infrastructure project threatens to significantly impact a region.
    • It also requires that the public-hearing process be wrapped up in 40 days, as opposed to the existing norm of 45 days.

    Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in India

    • EIA is a management tool to minimize adverse impacts of developmental projects on the environment and to achieve sustainable development through timely, adequate, corrective and protective mitigation measures.
    • The MoEFCC uses EIA Notification 2006 as a major tool for minimizing the adverse impact of rapid industrialization on the environment and for reversing those trends which may lead to climate change in long run.
    • EIA has now been made mandatory under the Environmental (Protection Act, 1986 for 29 categories of developmental activities involving investments of Rs. 50 crores and above.

    EIA stages

    1. Screening: This stage decides which projects a full or partial assessment need study.
    2. Scoping: This stage decides which impacts are necessary to be assessed. This is done based on legal requirements, international conventions, expert knowledge and public engagement. This stage also finds out alternate solutions that avoid or at least reduce the adverse impacts of the project.
    3. Assessment & evaluation of impacts and development of alternatives: This stage predicts and identifies the environmental impacts of the proposed project and also elaborates on the alternatives.
    4. EIA Report: In this reporting stage, an environmental management plan (EMP) and also a non-technical summary of the project’s impact is prepared for the general public. This report is also called the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
    5. Decision making: The decision on whether the project is to be given approval or not and if it is to be given, under what conditions.
    6. Monitoring, compliance, enforcement and environmental auditing: This stage monitors whether the predicted impacts and the mitigation efforts happen as per the EMP.

    Scope of Environmental Clearance (EC)

    • Environmental clearance is required in respect of all new projects or activities listed in the Schedule to the 2006 notification and their expansion and modernization, including any change in product –mix.
    • Since EIA 2006 the various developmental projects have been re-categorised into category ‘A’ and category ‘B’ depending on their threshold capacity and likely pollution potential.
    • They require prior EC respectively from MOEFCC or the concerned State Environmental Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs).
    • Where state level authorities have not been constituted, the clearance would be provided by the MOEFCC.

  • What is a Pandemic and various other terms?

    What is the news: The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.

    What is a pandemic?

    • Simply put, a pandemic is a measure of the spread of a disease.
    • When a new disease spreads over a vast geographical area covering several countries and continents, and most people do not have immunity against it, the outbreak is termed a pandemic.
    • It implies a higher level of concern than an epidemic, which the US Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) define as the spread of a disease in a localised area or country.
    • There is no fixed number of cases or deaths that determine when an outbreak becomes a pandemic.
    • The Ebola virus, which killed thousands in West Africa, is an epidemic as it is yet to mark its presence on other continents.
    • Other outbreaks caused by coronaviruses such as MERS (2012) and SARS (2002), which spread to 27 and 26 countries respectively, were not labelled pandemics because they were eventually contained.

    Which outbreaks have been declared pandemics in the past?

    • A major example is the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918, which killed between 20-50 million.
    • Cholera pandemics have been declared multiple times between 1817 and 1975.
    • In 1968, a pandemic was declared for H3N2 that caused about a million deaths.
    • The last pandemic declared by the WHO was in 2009, for H1N1.

    Does the declaration change the approach to the disease?

    • Describing the situation as pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the risk posed by the virus. However, the categorization as a pandemic can lead to more government attention.
    • The categorization by WHO indicates the risk of disease for countries to take preventive measures.
    • It will help improve funding by international organisations to combat coronavirus.

    Difference Between Endemic, Epidemic, Outbreak and Pandemic:

    • AN EPIDEMIC is a disease that affects a large number of people within a community, population, or region.
    • A PANDEMIC is an epidemic that’s spread over multiple countries or continents.
    • ENDEMIC is something that belongs to a particular people or country.
    • AN OUTBREAK is a greater-than-anticipated increase in the number of endemic cases. It can also be a single case in a new area. If it’s not quickly controlled, an outbreak can become an epidemic.

    Epidemic vs. Pandemic

    • A simple way to know the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic is to remember the “P” in the pandemic, which means a pandemic has a passport. A pandemic is an epidemic that travels.

    Epidemic vs. Endemic

    • An epidemic is actively spreading; new cases of the disease substantially exceed what is expected.
    • More broadly, it’s used to describe any problem that’s out of control, such as “the opioid epidemic.”
    • An epidemic is often localized to a region, but the number of those infected in that region is significantly higher than normal.
    • For example, when COVID-19 was limited to Wuhan, China, it was an epidemic. The geographical spread turned it into a pandemic.
    • Endemics, on the other hand, are a constant presence in a specific location.
    • Malaria is endemic to parts of Africa. Ice is endemic to Antarctica.

    Endemic vs. Outbreak

    • Going one step farther, an endemic can lead to an outbreak, and an outbreak can happen anywhere.
    • Last summer’s dengue fever outbreak in Hawaii is as an example. Dengue fever is endemic to certain regions of Africa, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Mosquitoes in these areas carry dengue fever and transmit it from person to person.
    • But in 2019 there was an outbreak of dengue fever in Hawaii, where the disease is not endemic. It’s believed an infected person visited the Big Island and was bitten by mosquitoes there.
    • The insects then transferred the disease to other individuals they bit, which created an outbreak.

    You can see why it’s so easy to confuse these terms. They’re all related to one another and there’s a natural ebb and flow between them as treatments become available and measures for control are put in place — or as flare-ups occur and disease begins to spread.

  • [pib] Methanotrophs: the methane-oxidizing bacteria

     

    Scientists at Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune have isolated 45 different strains of methanotrophic bacteria which have been found to be capable of reducing methane emissions from rice plants.

    What are Methanotrophs?

    • They are bacteria that metabolize and convert methane into carbon-di-oxide.
    • They can effectively reduce the emission of methane, which is the second most important greenhouse gas (GHG) and 26 times more potent as compared to carbon-di-oxide.
    • In rice fields, Methanotrophs are active near the roots or soil-water interfaces.
    • Besides methane mitigation studies, Methanotrophs can also be used in methane value addition (valorization) studies.
    • Bio-methane generated from waste can be used by the Methanotrophs and can be converted to value-added products such as single-cell proteins, carotenoids, biodiesel, and so on.

    Why rice fields?

    • Rice fields are human-made wetlands and are waterlogged for a considerable period. Anaerobic degradation of organic matter results in the generation of methane.
    • Rice fields contribute to nearly 10% of global methane emissions.
    • Very few studies in the world have focused on Methanotrophs from tropical wetlands or tropical rice fields.
    • Practically no cultures of indigenously isolated Methanotrophs from India were available.
    • Native and relevant Methanotrophs isolated from rice fields can be excellent models to understand the effect of various factors on methane mitigation.

    Must read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-indian-paddy-fields-very-high-ny-based-study/

     

  • [pib] The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020

    Parliament has passed The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 for amendments in Mines & Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015. The bill will transform the mining sector in the country boosting coal production and reducing dependence on imports.

    Acts to be amended

    • The MMDR Act regulates the overall mining sector in India.
    • The CMSP Act provides for the auction and allocation of mines whose allocation was cancelled by the Supreme Court in 2014.
    • Schedule I of the Act provides a list of all such mines; Schedule II and III are sub-classes of the mines listed in the Schedule I.
    • Schedule II mines are those where production had already started then, and Schedule III mines are ones that had been earmarked for a specified end-use.

    Features of the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 

    Removal of restriction on end-use of coal

    • Currently, companies acquiring Schedule II and Schedule III coal mines through auctions can use the coal produced only for specified end-uses such as power generation and steel production.
    • The Bill removes this restriction on the use of coal mined by such companies.
    • Companies will be allowed to carry on coal mining operation for own consumption, sale or for any other purposes, as may be specified by the central government.

    Eligibility for auction of coal and lignite blocks

    • The Bill clarifies that the companies need not possess any prior coal mining experience in India in order to participate in the auction of coal and lignite blocks.
    • Further, the competitive bidding process for auction of coal and lignite blocks will not apply to mines considered for allotment to:
    1. a government company or its joint venture for own consumption, sale or any other specified purpose; and
    2. a company that has been awarded a power project on the basis of a competitive bid for tariff.

    Composite license for prospecting and mining

    • Currently, separate licenses are provided for prospecting and mining of coal and lignite, called prospecting license, and mining lease, respectively.
    • Prospecting includes exploring, locating, or finding mineral deposit.  The Bill adds a new type of license, called prospecting license-cum-mining lease.
    • This will be a composite license providing for both prospecting and mining activities.

    Non-exclusive reconnaissance permits holders to get other licenses

    • Currently, the holders of non-exclusive reconnaissance permit for exploration of certain specified minerals are not entitled to obtain a prospecting license or mining lease.
    • Reconnaissance means preliminary prospecting of a mineral through certain surveys.
    • The Bill provides that the holders of such permits may apply for a prospecting license-cum-mining lease or mining lease.   This will apply to certain licensees as prescribed in the Bill.

    Transfer of statutory clearances to new bidders

    • Currently,upon expiry, mining leases for specified minerals (minerals other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) can be transferred to new persons through auction.
    • This new lessee is required to obtain statutory clearances before starting mining operations.
    • The Bill provides that the various approvals, licenses, and clearances given to the previous lessee will be extended to the successful bidder for a period of two years.

    Reallocation after termination of the allocations

    • The CMSP Act provides for the termination of allotment orders of coal mines in certain cases.
    • The Bill adds that such mines may be reallocated through auction or allotment as may be determined by the central government.
    • The central government will appoint a designated custodian to manage these mines until they are reallocated.

    Prior approval from the central government

    • Under the MMDR Act, state governments require prior approval of the central government for granting reconnaissance permit, prospecting license, or mining lease for coal and lignite.
    • The Bill provides that prior approval of the central government will not be required in granting these licenses for coal and lignite, in certain cases.
    • These include cases where: (i) the allocation has been done by the central government, and (ii) the mining block has been reserved to conserve a mineral.

    Advance action for auction

    • Under the MMDR Act, mining leases for specified minerals (minerals other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) are auctioned on the expiry of the lease period.
    • The Bill provides that state governments can take advance action for auction of a mining lease before its expiry.

    With inputs from PRS India

  • Sahyadri Megha

    The University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga (K’taka) has developed ‘Sahyadri Megha’, a new red variety of paddy that is resistant to blast (a fungal disease) and rich in nutrients.

    Sahyadri Megha

    • It is a red variety of paddy that is resistant to blast disease and rich in nutrients.
    • It was developed under the hybridization breeding method by cross-breeding the best among the ‘Jyothi’ variety with that of ‘Akkalu’, a disease-resistant and protein-rich paddy variety.
    • The new variety will be notified under the Indian Seed Act 1966 shortly after which it will become part of the seed chain.

    Key features

    • The protein content in it is 12.48%, higher than the other red rice varieties grown.
    • The yield per hectare from ‘Sahyadri Megha’ is around 65 quintals, substantially higher than other red paddy varieties.
    • It is a medium-term paddy that can be grown when there is a delay in the onset of monsoon. It can be harvested after 120 days of sowing.

  • [Prelims Spotlight] Important Socio-Religious Movements and Newspapers and Journals related with the Freedom Struggle

     

    Prelims Spotlight is a part of “Nikaalo Prelims 2020” module. This open crash course for Prelims 2020 has a private telegram group where PDFs and DDS (Daily Doubt Sessions) are being held. Please click here to register.

    13th March 2020

     

    Important Socio-Cultural Reform movements

     

    1. Brahmo Samaj

    • Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833) founded the Brahmo Sabha in August 1828; it was later renamed Brahmo Samaj.
    • The Samaj was committed to “the worship and adoration of Eternal, Unsearchable, Immutable Being who is the author and Preserver of the Universe”.
    • Prayers, Meditations and reading of the Upanishads were to be the forms of worship and no forms of a graven image, statute or sculpture, carvings, paintings, picture, portraits etc were to be allowed in the Samaj buildings, thus underlining the Samaj’s opposition to idolatry and meaningless rituals.
    • The long-term agenda of Brahmo Samaj was to Purify Hinduism and to preach monotheism.
    • This long-terms agenda was based on twin pillars of reason and Vedas and
    • The Samaj kept its emphasis on human dignity, opposition to idolatry and criticism of social evils such as Sati.
    • Maharishi Debendranath Tagore gave a new life to the movement when the joined it in 1843.
    • The Samaj supported widow remarriage, women’s education, the abolition of polygamy improvement in ryots’ condition and temperance.
    • When Keshub Chandra Sen was made the acharya by soon after he joined it, the Samaj experienced another phase of energy, vigour and eloquence. He was instrumental in popularising the movement.
    • After Keshab Chandra Sen was dismissed from the Brahmo Samaj owing to his radical reforms he founded Brahmo Samaj of India.
    • Significance of the Brahmo Samaj-
      • Denounce polytheism and idol worship.
      • Discarded faith in divine avatars.
      • It denied that any scripture could enjoy the status of ultimate authority transcending human reason and conscience.
      • It criticised the caste system.
      • Took no definite stand on the doctrine of karma and transmigration of the soul.

    2. Prarthana Samaj

    • Keshab Chandra Sen helped found the Prarthana Samaj in Bombay in 1863.
    • They relied on education and persuasion rather than on confrontation with Hindu orthodoxy.
    • It’s four-point social agenda includes-
      • Disapproval of the cast system.
      • Women’s education.
      • Widow remarriage
      • Raising the age of marriage for both male and female.
    • Prominent figures include-
      • G. Ranade (1842-1901)
      • G. Bhandarkar
      • G. Chandavarkar. 

     3. Young Bengal Movement

    • Henry Vivan Derozio, who taught at the Hindu College was the leader and its inspirer.
    • During the 1820s and early 1830s, there emerged a radical intellectual trend among the youth in Bengal which came to be known as ‘Young Bengal Movement’.
    • Drawing inspiration from the French Revolution, Derozio inspired his pupils to
      • Think freely and rationally.
      • Question all authority.
      • Love, liberty and equality and freedom.
      • Oppose decadent customs and traditions.
    • The movement also supported women’s rights and education.
    • The movement, however, failed to have long term impact, reasons for which are-
      • Prevailing social conditions at that time were not ripe for the adoption of radical ideas.
      • The movement lacked any real link with the masses.

     4. Paramhansa Mandalis

    • It was founded in Maharashtra in 1849.
    • The founder of this movement believed in one god.
    • They were primarily focused on breaking the caste barriers.
    • They also advocated widow remarriage and women’s education.
    • Branches of Paramhansa Mandalis existed in Poona, Satara and other towns of Maharashtra.

     5. Satya Shodhak Samaj

    • Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873.
    • Its leadership came primarily from the backward classes-Malis, Telis, Kunbis, Saris and Dhangars.
    • Main aims of the movement were-
      • Social service.
      • Spread of education among women and lower classes.
    • Phule aimed at the complete abolition of the caste system and socio-economic equalities.
    • The movement gave a sense of identity to the deprived communities as a class against Brahmins who were seen as the exploiters.

    6.The Ramkrishna Movement

    • It was led by Ramkrishna Paramhansa.
    • The Brahmo Samaj appealed more to the intellectual elite in Bengal, while the average Bengali found more emotional satisfaction in the cult of bhakti and yoga so the movement found many followers.
    • Two objectives of the Ramakrishna movement were
      • To bring into existence a band of monks dedicated to a life of renunciation and practical spirituality.
      • In conjunction with lay disciples to carry on preaching, philanthropic and charitable works, looking upon all men, women and children, irrespective of caste, creed or colour, as veritable manifestations of the Divine.
    • The second objective was taken up by Swami Vivekananda after Ramakrishna’s death when he founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897.
    • Paramahamsa sought salvation through traditional ways of renunciation, meditation and bhakti amidst increasing westernisation and modernisation.

    7. The Servants of India Society.

    • Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915), founded the Servants of India Society in 1905 with the help of M.G. Ranade.
    • The aim of the society was-
      • to train national missionaries for the service of India;
      • to promote, by all constitutional means, the true interests of the Indian people;
      • to prepare a cadre of selfless workers who were to devote their lives to the cause of the country in a religious spirit.
    • The society chose to remain aloof from political activities and organisations like the Indian National Congress.

    8. Arya Samaj

    • Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883) founded the movement.
    • Dayananda subscribed to the Vedic notion of chaturvarna system in which a person was not born in any caste but was identified according to the occupation the person followed.
    • The Arya Samaj fixed the minimum marriageable age at twenty-five years for boys and sixteen years for girls.
    • Inter-caste marriages and widow remarriages were also encouraged. Equal status for women was the demand of the Samaj, both in letter and in spirit.

    9. Sree Narayana Guru Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Movement

    • It was started by Sree Narayana Guru Swamy (1856- 1928) among the Ezhavas of Kerala.
    • Ezhavas were a backward caste of toddy-tappers and were considered to be untouchables, denied education and entry into temples.
    • The SNDP movement was an example of a regional movement born out of the conflict between the depressed classes and upper castes.
    • Sree Narayana Guru held all religions to be the same and condemned animal sacrifice besides speaking against divisiveness on the basis of caste, race or creed.
    • The movement as a whole brought transformative structural changes such as upward social mobility, a shift in the traditional distribution of power and a federation of ‘backward castes’ into a large conglomeration.

    10. Sef-Respect Movement

    • This movement was started by V. Ramaswamy Naicker, a Balija Naidu, in the mid-1920s.
    • The movement aimed at a rejection of the brahminical religion and culture which Naicker felt was the prime instrument of exploitation of the lower castes.
    • He sought to undermine the position of brahmin priests by formalising weddings without brahmin priests.

    11. Temple Entry Movement

    • K. Madhavan, a prominent social reformer and editor of Deshabhimani, took up the issue of temple entry with the Travancore administration. Nothing transpired.
    • In the meanwhile, Vaikom, in the northern part of Travancore, became a centre of agitation for temple entry.
    • In 1924, the Vaikom Satyagraha led by K.P. Kesava was launched in Kerala demanding the throwing open of Hindu temples and roads to the untouchables.
    • Gandhi undertook a tour of Kerala in support of the movement.
    • Leaders like P. Krishna Pillai and A.K. Gopalan were among the satyagrahis.
    • Finally, in 1936, the Maharaja of Travancore issued a proclamation throwing open all government-controlled temples to all Hindus.

    12. Aligarh Movement

    • A section of Muslims led by Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) was ready to allow the official patronage to stimulate a process of growth among Indian Muslims through better education and employment opportunities.
    • He wanted to reconcile Western scientific education with the teachings of the Quran which were to be interpreted in the light of contemporary rationalism and science even though he also held the Quran to be the ultimate authority.
    • He said that religion should be adaptable with time or else it would become fossilised, and that religious tenet was not immutable.
    • He advocated a critical approach and freedom of thought and not complete dependence on tradition or custom.
    • He was also a zealous educationist-founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (later, the Aligarh Muslim University) at Aligarh in 1875.
    • The Aligarh Movement emerged as a liberal, modern trend among the Muslim intelligentsia based in Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh.
    • It aimed at spreading-
      • (i) modern education among Indian Muslims without weakening their allegiance to Islam;
      • (ii) social reforms among Muslims relating to purdah, polygamy, widow remarriage, women’s education, slavery, divorce, etc.
    • The ideology of the followers of the movement was based on a liberal interpretation of the Quran and they sought to harmonise Islam with modern liberal culture.
    • They wanted to impart a distinct socio-cultural identity to Muslims on modern lines.

    13. The Deoband School (Darul Uloom)

    • The Deoband Movement was begun at the Darul Uloom,Deoband, in Saharanpur district (United Provinces) in 1866 by Mohammad Qasim Nanotavi (1832-80) and Rashid Ahmed Gangohi (1828-1905) to train religious leaders for the Muslim community.
    • The Deoband Movement was organised by the orthodox section among the Muslim ulema as a revivalist movement.
    • It has the twin objectives of propagating pure teachings of the Quran and Hadis among Muslims and keeping alive the spirit of jihad against the foreign rulers.
    • On the political front, the Deoband school welcomed the formation of the Indian National Congress and in 1888.
    • Shibli Numani, a supporter of the Deoband school, favoured the inclusion of English language and European sciences in the system of education.
    • He founded the Nadwatal Ulama and Darul Uloom in Lucknow in 1894-96. He believed in the idealism of the Congress and cooperation between the Muslims and the Hindus of India to create a state in which both could live amicably.

    14. Sikh Reform Movements.

    • The Sikh community could not remain untouched by the rising tide of rationalist and progressive ideas of the nineteenth century.
    • The Singh Sabha Movement was founded at Amritsar in 1873 with a two-fold objective—
      • to make available modern western education to the Sikhs, and
      • to counter the proselytising activities of Christian missionaries as well as the Brahmo Samajists, Arya Samajists and Muslim maulvis.
    • For the first objective, a network of Khalsa schools was established by the Sabha throughout Punjab.
    • In the second direction, everything that went against the Gurus’ teachings was rejected, and rites and customs considered to be consistent with Sikh doctrine were sought to be established.
    • The Akali movement (also known as Gurudwara Reform Movement) was an offshoot of the Singh Sabha Movement.
    • It aimed at liberating the Sikh gurudwaras from the control of corrupt Udasi mahants.
    • The government tried its repressive policies against the non-violent non-cooperation satyagraha launched by the Akalis in 1921 but had to bow before popular demands.
    • The government passed the Sikh Gurudwaras Act in 1922 (amended in 1925) which gave the control of gurudwaras to the Sikh masses to be administered through Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) as the apex body.
    • The Akali Movement was a regional movement but not a communal one.

    15. The Theosophical Movement

    • A group of westerners led by Madame H.P. Blavatsky and Colonel M.S. Olcott, who were inspired by Indian thought and culture, founded the Theosophical Society in New York City, the United States in 1875.
    • In 1882, they shifted their headquarters to Adyar, on the outskirts of Madras.
    • The society believed that a special relationship could be established between a person’s soul and God by contemplation, prayer, revelation, etc.
    • It accepted the Hindu beliefs in reincarnation and karma and drew inspiration from the philosophy of the Upanishads and Samkhya, yoga and Vedanta schools of thought.
    • It aimed to work for the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour.
    • It opposed child marriage and advocated the abolition of caste discrimination, uplift of outcastes, improvement in the condition of widows.
    • In India, the movement became somewhat popular with the election of Annie Besant (1847-1933) as its president.
    • She laid the foundation of the Central Hindu College in Benaras in 1898 where both Hindu religion and Western scientific subjects were taught.
    • The Theosophical Society provided a common denominator for the various sects and fulfilled the urge of educated Hindus.
    • To an average Indian, the Theosophist philosophy seemed to be vague and lacking a positive programme; to that extent, its impact was limited to a small segment of the westernised class.
    • As religious revivalists, the Theosophists did not attain much success.
    • But as a movement of westerners glorifying Indian religious and philosophical traditions, it gave much-needed self-respect to the Indians fighting British colonial rule.
    • Viewed from another angle, the Theosophists also had the effect of giving a false sense of pride to the Indians in their outdated and sometimes backwards-looking traditions and philosophy.

     

     

    Important Newspapers associated with the freedom Struggle

       

        Name of the Paper             or journal

               

    		 Year and Place  of           Publication        

    Name of the Founder          or       Editor

                   
     

         Bengal Gazette

    		 

    1780, Calcutta

    		  

    James Augustus Hicky
    India Gazette 1787, Calcutta Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was associated with it
     

         Bombay Herald           (First Paper from                   Bombay)

    		 1789, Bombay ————
         Digdarshana

    (First Bengali Monthly)

    		  

    1818, Calcutta

    		  

    ———–
          

    Bengal Gazette        (First Bengali                    Newspaper)

     

    		 1818, Calcutta Harishchandra Ray
     

        Sambad Kaumudi

        (Weekly in Bengali)

     

    		 1821 Raja Ram Mohan Roy
     

       Mirat-ul-Akbar                   (First Journal in        Persian)

    		 1822, Calcutta Raja Ram Mohan Roy
            Banga-Duta            (A weekly in four languages- English, Bengali, Persian, Hindi) 1822, Calcutta Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Dwarkanath Tagore and others.
        Bombay Times   (From 1861 onwards, The Times of India)

     

    		 1838, Bombay Foundation laid by Robert Knight                            Started by Thomas Bennett

     
          Rast Goftar            (A Gujarati fortnightly) 1851 Dadabhai Naoroji
          Hindu Patriot 1853, Calcutta Girishchandra Ghosh
     

             Bengalee

    		  

    1862, Calcutta

    		 Girishchandra Ghosh

    (Taken over by S.N. Banerjea in 1879)
        Amrit Bazar Patrika 1868, Jessore District Sisirkumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh
        Bangadarshana              (In Begali) 1873, Calcutta Bankimchandra Chatterji
     

        Indian Statesman

    (Later, The Statesman)

    		 1875, Calcutta Started by Robert Knight
     

     The Hindu (In Egnlish)

    (Started as weekly)

    		 1878, Madras G.S. Aiyar, Viraraghavachari and Subha Rao Pandit
     

       Tribune (daily)

    		 1881, Lahore Dayal Singh Majeetia
       Kesari(Marathi daily)             and    Maharatta (English            weekly) 1881, Bombay Tilak, Chiplunkar, Agarkar
    Swadeshmitran                  (A Tamil paper) Madras  

    G.S. Aiyar
     Paridasak (a weekly) 1886 Bipin Chandra Pal (publisher)
     

          Yugantar                          

    		 1906, Bengal  

    Barindra Kumar Ghosh andBhupendra Dutta

     
     

       Indian Sociologist

    		  

    London

    		  

    Shyamji Krishnavarma
     

        Bande Matram

    		  

    Paris

    		  

    Madam Bhikaji Kama
     

           Talwar

    		  

    Berlin

    		  

    Virendranath Chattopadhyay
     

          Ghadar

    		  

    Vancouver

    		  

    Ghadar Party
     

         Bombay Chronicle               (a daily)

    		  

    1913, Bombay

    		  

    Started by Pherozeshah Mehta
     

    The Hindustan Times

    		 1920, Delhi Founded by K. M. Panikkar as a part of the Akali Dal Movement
     

    Leader (in English)

    		      ———- Madan Mohan Malaviya
     

    Bahishkrit Bharat (Marathi fortnightly)

    		  

    1927

    		  

    B. R. Ambedkar
     

       Kudi Arasu (Tamil)

    		  

    1910

    		  

    E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (Periyar)
     

    Bandi Jivan

    		  

    Bengal

    		  

    Sachindranath Sanyal
     

    National Herald

    		  

    1938

    		  

    Started by Jawaharlal Nehru

     

     

     

     

  • Ruling against judicial transparency

    Context

    A recent Supreme Court verdict has barred citizens from accessing court records under the RTI Act.

    What does the judgement say?

    • No access to court records through RTI: In its recent decision, in the Chief Information Commissioner v. High Court of Gujarat case, the Supreme Court, regrettably, barred citizens from securing access to court records under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
    • Access to record through rules of High Courts: Instead, the court held that such records can be accessed only through the rules laid down by each High Court under Article 225 of the Constitution.
      • The Registry of the Supreme Court was litigating a similar case (Registrar, Supreme Court of India v. R.S. Misra) before the Delhi High Court for several years.
    • Separating the administrative and judicial side: Though the particular decision taken earlier this month does not preclude the application of the RTI Act to the administrative side of the court, it does firmly slam the door shut on accessing, under the RTI Act, the millions of court records filed on the judicial side.

    Why access to judicial records matters?

    • For holding the police accountable: A significant number of decisions taken by the courts influence our daily life. Every prosecution before a criminal court is essentially an opportunity to hold the police accountable just as every writ petition is an opportunity to hold the government accountable.
    • Opportunity to learn about commercial translations: A significant number of commercial lawsuits are opportunities to learn more about corporations and the manner in which commercial translations are executed in the country.
    • Policy decision impacted by the judiciary in PIL: In cases of public interest litigation, where the courts indulge in policymaking on the basis of the report of an amicus curiae or an expert committee set up by judges.
      • The reports of these committees are not accessible to third parties, though they may be impacted by these decisions, because they form part of the court record and are hence outside the purview of the RTI Act.
    • No question of confidentiality: There is no question of arguing for the confidentiality of these records because it is by now a well-recognised principle that all judicial proceedings must take place in open court, unless prohibited by law for reasonable purposes.

    The overriding section of RTI act- Section 22

    • The Supreme Court’s verdict in this case hinged on Section 22 of the RTI Act which states that the RTI Act shall override any other law to the extent that the latter is inconsistent with the former.
    • The Section states: “Act to have an overriding effect — The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923), and any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act.”
    • Non-obstante clause: A clause such as Section 22 is known as non-obstante clause and is a common drafting device used by legislatures to permit certain actions regardless of what is mentioned in existing legislation.
    • Drafters aware of the possible conflict: The wording of the provision reveals that the drafters of the RTI Act were clearly aware that it may conflict with other laws and wanted to ensure that the procedure under the Act overruled the procedure in existing legislation.
      • Despite this crystal-clear wording of Section 22, the Supreme Court and, on previous occasions, the High Courts, have concluded exactly the opposite.

    Three steps to the courts reasoning 

    • No inconsistency: It concludes that there is no inconsistency between the RTI Act and the court rules.
      • This is factually incorrect because the Gujarat High Court Rules unlike the RTI Act require the submission of an affidavit stating the purpose of seeking copies of the pleadings.
      • The RTI Act requires no reasons to be provided while seeking information.
    • Issue over non-obstante clause: The court argues that “A special enactment or rule cannot be held to be overridden by a later general enactment simply because the latter opens up with a non-obstante clause unless there is a clear inconsistency between the two legislations.”
      • But that is exactly the point of an non-obstante clause.
      • The accompanying factual inaccuracy, is its conclusion that there is no inconsistency between the Gujarat High Court rules and the RTI Act.
    • Section 22 can’t be read to imply repeal of the laws: The third limb, of the court’s reasoning was its conclusion that Section 22 could not be read in a manner to imply repeal of other laws, such as the Gujarat High Court Rules.
      • The court states that if the intention was to repeal another law, the legislature would have specifically stated so in the RTI Act, as was done in Section 31 when the RTI Act repealed the previous Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
      • This reasoning is bewildering because it would render non-obstante clauses entirely useless.

    What is the issue arising out of this judgement?

    • From a citizen’s perspective, this decision is problematic for two reasons.
      • Not all High Courts allow access to all: Most High Court Rules allow only parties to a legal proceeding to access the records of a case. Some High Courts may allow third parties to access court records if they can justify their request.
      • This is entirely unlike the RTI Act, where no reasons are required to be provided thereby vastly reducing the possibility of administrative discretion.
      • Logistical difficulties: The second reason this judgment spells bad news is that unlike the RTI Act, the procedure under the Rules of most High Courts is challenging from a logistical perspective, apart from lacking in any significant safeguards.
      • An application under the RTI Act can be made by post, with the fee being deposited through a postal order.
      • The procedure is simple enough to enable most citizens to file RTI applications by themselves.
      • Not so for the procedure under the High Court Rules.
      • Most courts require the physical filing of an application: Most High Courts and the Supreme Court require the physical filing of an application with the Registry, and a hearing before a judge to determine whether records should be given.

    Conclusion

    The Supreme Court fails to understand that the judiciary’s track record of transparency is vastly inferior when compared to other arms of the state. In today’s world where every public institution is striving to become more transparent, the continued resistance from the judiciary to making itself transparent in a meaningful manner will have an eroding effect on its legitimacy.

  • 12th March 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 408]

  • Fail-safe exit for America, but a worry for India

    Context

    The recently negotiated peace deal between the United States and the Taliban is unlikely to bring peace to Afghanistan, is geopolitically disadvantageous for India, and has serious implications for our national security.

    Power dynamics of the US-Taliban deal

    • An honourable exit for India: The terms of the deal, the manner in which it was negotiated as well as the geopolitical context in which it was stitched up indicate that it was more about providing an honourable exit route for the U.S.
    • Violence after concluding the deal: Within 24 hours of the much-publicised deal, violence and major disagreements about the deal began erupting in Afghanistan.
    • Why there are the prospects of instability in Afghanistan: Given that the Taliban negotiated from a position of strength, the Trump administration from weakness and little political will, and that the Ashraf Ghani administration in Afghanistan was by and large a clueless bystander in all of this, means that the country is perhaps on the verge of yet another long-drawn-out and internecine battle.

    The changed Taliban

    • Taliban of the 1990s: When the Taliban came to power in the mid-1990s in Kabul, it had few backers in the world.
      • Nor was it seen as a useful commodity by the great powers or the states in the region, except for Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
    • United pushback from the rest of the world: The international community was almost united in offering a normative pushback against the violent outfit.
      • As a result, the Taliban was at best reluctantly tolerated until it messed up towards the end of its regime in Kabul.
    • The pressure of Northern Alliance: The Northern Alliance, supported by countries such as Russia and India, kept up its military pressure against the Taliban while it was in power.
    • How today’s Taliban is different from the past: The situation today, at least for the moment, is perhaps the exact opposite of what was the case then.
      • Lessons learned to deal with the international system: The Taliban today is also more worldly-wise and might have learned, during its exile, to deal with the international system and play the game of balance of power.
      • Not necessarily the puppet: More so, it may not necessarily be a puppet of the Pakistani deep state once it returns to power.

    International acceptance of the Taliban

    • Lending the legitimacy to Taliban: Given the war fatigue and the geopolitical stakes in Afghanistan, most of the key players in the region and otherwise have been in negotiations with the Taliban one way or another, and for one reason or another, lending the terror group certain legitimacy in the process.
    • Why countries want good relations with the Taliban: Anyone desirous of a stake in Afghanistan or does not want its domestic turmoil to spill over into their country would want to keep the Taliban in good humour.
      • Suitable withdrawal of the US: There is another reason why the Taliban has many suitors — because of the U.S. withdrawal by and large suits everyone, be it China, Pakistan, Iran, or Russia.
      • The US bigger challenge: Suddenly, the Taliban appears to have been forgiven for its sordid past and unforgivable sins because for most of these countries, the U.S. is the bigger challenge than the Taliban.

    Why India’s strategy is diplomatically flawed?

    • Only state at losing end: The only state that seems to be on the losing end, unfortunately, of this unfolding game of chess and patience in Afghanistan is India.
      • Why the earlier Taliban was anti-India? The earlier Taliban regime was anti-India, it was also because India had militarily supported the Northern Alliance that kept up the military pressure against the Taliban.
      • Today’s Taliban does not share the same animus for India.
    • Need for Change in India’s approach: India, could have rejigged its approach to the Taliban this time around. However, it put all its eggs in the Ashraf Ghani basket, even on the eve of the signing of the peace deal in Doha.
    • Not a diplomatic strategy by India: India also, for most intents and objectives, adopted a puritanical approach to the Taliban.
      • There are 2 reason India is neither reaching out to the Taliban nor exploiting the fissures within it-
      • Because it did not want to irk the elected government in Kabul and-
      • It adopts a moralistic approach to dealing with extremist groups in general — not a smart diplomatic strategy.
    • Self-defeating position: This moralistic attitude, also a diplomatically lazy one, I would say, that be it Pakistan or Afghanistan, India would only talk to the legitimate government in that country, is a self-defeating position.
      • The world is not that perfect, nor state all that uniform, created in the shape and image of the Westphalian forefather.
      • Smart statecraft, therefore, is dealing with what you have and making the best of it.

    What would be the result of India’s strategy?

    • Impact on relations with Afghanistan: India’s relations with Afghanistan will take a hit in the immediate aftermath of the deal.
      • Limited ability to influence the outcomes: With China, India’s strategic adversary, deeply involved in the geopolitics and geo-economics of the region, including in Afghanistan, India’s traditional ability to influence the region’s political and security outcomes will be severely limited.
      • This will be further exacerbated by the withdrawal of the U.S., India’s closest friend, from the region.
      • India’s relation with the other players in the region: Other regional actors in Afghanistan are also less friendly towards India than ever before: Iran feels let down by India given how the latter has behaved towards it at the behest of the Americans.
      • Relation with Russia: For Russia, India is only one of the many friends in the region — the exclusivity of Russia-India relations is a thing of the past — and Pakistan would consider targeting India a fair game.
    • Counter Strategy: Unless New Delhi carefully envisages a counter-strategy, these factors will increasingly push India into a geopolitical tough spot in the region.
      • Need to focus on the region: India should worry us that our political class is focused on domestic politics while the region is becoming ever more uncertain and evidently unfavourable to us.

    Taliban and Kashmir Angle of the deal

    • Negligible physical impact but the possibility of psychological impact: While the direct physical impact of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan on Kashmir will be negligible, this will not be without serious implications for the unfolding situation in Kashmir’s restive regions.
      • Psychological impact: The most important impact is going to be psychological.
      • Interpretation of the event: Disenchanted Kashmiri youngsters, and there are a lot of them, will interpret the events in Afghanistan as follows: “If the mighty superpower USA could be defeated by the Taliban in Afghanistan with help from the Pakistan army, defeating Indian forces in Kashmir won’t be impossible after all.”
      • This enthusiasm is completely misplaced, but that is not the point.
      • That the Kashmiri youth might pick up guns drawing inspiration from the situation in Afghanistan is indeed the point.
    • Increase in Pakistan’s utility: The U.S.-Taliban deal cannot survive without Pakistan’s assistance towards ensuring its success, and the U.S. and its allies recognise that. Such recognition of Pakistan’s utility provides the country with ability, as and when it wishes to, to up the ante in Kashmir.
    • The geopolitical significance of Pok and Aksai Chin claim: India’s official statement which describes Afghanistan as a “contiguous neighbour” — meaning that India considers Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) a part of its sovereign territory — will make Pakistan and China sit up and take notice.
      • Claim making reconciliation more difficult: India also made a similar claim about Aksai Chin in the wake of its August decision on Kashmir. Erstwhile rhetorical claims on PoK and Aksai Chin have suddenly assumed a lot more geopolitical significance today making conciliatory approaches to conflict resolution ever more difficult.

    Conclusion

    Given that a new Taliban-led dispensation in Afghanistan will be far more accepted by the international community than the last time around also means increased acceptability for such regimes in general, either out of necessity or as a function of geopolitical calculations. That the Taliban mass-murdered its opponents into statehood in the 21st century and that this might provide potential inspiration to other outfits in the region and outside should indeed worry us.

     

     

     

  • Corona, crude and credit

    Context

    Amid the gathering global crisis, its time India minds its own house.

    Panic and dislocation in Global markets

    • Panic at the level of the 2008 crisis: Global markets haven’t witnessed such panic and dislocation since the global financial crisis of 2008.
      • Global equity markets have collapsed, the US’s 10-year bond is at its lowest level ever, and crude prices underwent their largest single-day fall in 30 years.
    • Interaction of three global shocks: The market mayhem is the upshot of three global shocks interacting with each other.

    What are the three global shocks?

    • Negative demand shock due to Coronavirus: A negative demand shock around the world. As the coronavirus proliferates globally, households and businesses are understandably becoming risk-averse, and the consequent “social distancing” is expected to exert significant demand destruction around the world.
    • Negative supply shock emanating from China: The widespread industrial closures in China on the back of the COVID-19 outbreak will impact imports and supply chains in other countries, and thereby constitute an adverse supply shock for the rest of the world.
      • The magnitude of the shock: The 20-point drop in manufacturing output in the February PMI and the 17 per cent contraction in Chinese exports across January and February, suggests that the shock was large and immediate.
      • Supply shock likely to fade: That said, with the virus, gradually being contained in China, this supply shock is likely to fade even as the demand shock in the rest of the world widens and deepens.
    • Positive oil supply shock: The failure of oil producers to agree on production cuts has led to a price war with production increases on the anvil.
      • Cumulatively, crude pieces are down almost 50 per cent — about $30/barrel — since January.
      • A positive supply shock, which even adjusting for the concentrated stress in the oil sector, is growth-additive for the world and particularly for India.
    • India specific shock: There is a fourth India-specific force at play. The resolution and reconstruction of YES Bank was inevitable, but, at least temporarily, it is likely to result in a “flight to quality” in India’s financial sector, with resources moving from the financial periphery to the core.
      • Banks and NBFC may face difficulty in mobilising resources: To the extent that the periphery — smaller private banks and non-bank financial companies — will find it harder to mobilise resources, financial sector risk aversion could rise again.

    Implications for India’s macroeconomic stability

    • Significant negative impact due to export: India is a much more open economy than is widely believed with exports constituting almost 20 per cent of GDP. Therefore, the impact of the demand destruction around the world will not be trivial.
      • 40 bps decrease in the growth: If global growth is marked down by 100 basis points in 2020, which increasingly appears to be the case, we estimate that this would shave off about 40 bps from India’s growth through the export channel alone.
      • The cumulative drag to growth from exports and tourism would be a meaningful 60-70 bps.
    • Positive impact due to oil price shock: The near $30/barrel decline since January constitutes a large positive terms of trade shock for India — equivalent to about 1.3 per cent of GDP even accounting for reduced remittances from the Middle East.
      • Meaningful mitigant: If oil prices remain at this level for long, it would constitute a meaningful mitigant to India’s macro headwinds, boosting activity, dampening prices, creating fiscal space and reducing external imbalances.
    • Offsetting the negative impact of trade and tourism: Every $10 reduction in crude prices, boosts growths by about 20-25 bps.
      • Therefore, the $30 decline in crude, if it holds, should boost growth by about 60-70 bps, thereby largely offsetting the negative hit to growth from external trade and tourism.
    • Space for monetary easing: Furthermore, crude at $35-40, along with the global demand destruction is expected to generate large disinflationary forces, opening up space for monetary easing.
    • CAD would disappear: Finally, India’s current account deficit would virtually disappear, for the first time since 2003-04.

    The growth offset conditioned on coronavirus spread

    • The assumption in the offset: The above-mentioned growth offset, however, assumes that the coronavirus does not spread within India.
      • If India witnessed a rapid domestic proliferation, heightened risk aversion by economic agents could meaningfully hurt domestic demand.
    • A thought experiment on the impact on the economy: Discretionary services constitute about 35 per cent of GDP and have been growing at 8 per cent a year.
      • If that growth rate were to halve, that alone would deduct 140 bps from growth, and swamp any growth tailwinds from lower oil prices.
      • Furthermore, a “sudden stop” of demand to certain sectors may necessitate fiscal/liquidity support to ensure these don’t magnify into more disruptive credit events for the financial sector.
    • The best antidote to prolonged growth hit: The best antidote would be to aggressively contain the virus domestically, as authorities appear to be doing.
      • The experience from other countries suggests aggressive containment early in the process (isolation, quarantines, contract tracings, cancelled gatherings) reduces the growth rate of the virus from exponential to linear.
    • Macroeconomic outlook: The key to India’s macro outlook is whether the crude price decline can sustain and whether India can avoid a sharp domestic proliferation of COVID-19.

    Way forward

    • Pass the oil windfall to the public: Given current fiscal pressures, it’s tempting to advocate that the public sector appropriate much of the windfall. But with consumption under such pressure, there’s a strong case to pass this on to households.
      • A sharp cut in domestic fuel prices will boost household purchasing power and aggregate demand thereby creating contemporaneous counter-cyclical pressures.
    • Stick to the asset sale plan: While the turbulence in equity markets could understandably delay the government’s asset sale programme, it should not be allowed to derail it, given the criticality of asset sales to this year’s fiscal math.
      • Absorbing all the oil windfall through higher taxes as a substitute for asset sales would be a suboptimal mix.
    • Continue with the reforms: The salutary effects of falling crude prices — which would boost India’s macros relative to other emerging markets — should not mask the imperative to continue with reforms, particularly recognising and resolving any further financial sector stress proactively.

    Conclusion

    Global markets are witnessing their most acute volatility since 2008. All we can do is mind our own house amidst the gathering global storm.

     

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