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  • Federalism, now a partisan internal dialogue

    Against the backdrop of the ongoing tussle between the states and the Centre over the issue of GST compensation, the article analyses the evolution of federalism and power-sharing in India.

    GST and federalism

    • At the first sign of stress, the nation unified in a singular system of taxation (GST) turned into a policy of every-state-for-itself.
    • Evidence of seriously miscued revenue estimates without pragmatic tax rate, was accumulating at an alarming pace.
    • The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) recently revealed how a cess meant to remedy shortfalls in GST yields, was retained in central government revenues, in violation of all applicable norms.
    • This revelation does little to build trust between the Centre and the States at a time when the States’ facing lack of resource and the central government is advising them to borrow.
    • Some states believe that the onus of borrowing should rest with the central government.

    Higher borrowing limit for states with conditions

    • The central government sanctioned a higher borrowing limit for States through the current year.
    • In the bargain, it imposed conditionalities:
    • 1) Enforcing a singular standard for the implementation of policies across a vast and diverse country.
    • 2) Improving India’s ranking as a place for “doing business”.
    • States will have unconditional access to borrowings equivalent to half a percentage point of their gross output.
    • But, subsequently, every tranche of a quarter point will be premised on progress in implementing the “one nation, one ration card” scheme, and improvements in the “ease of doing business”.

    Federalism in India

    • Aside from the contents and definitions sections, the word “federal” occurs in only one operational article of the Indian Constitution, in reference to the apex judicial body created in colonial times.
    • When this body was transformed into the Supreme Court at the moment the Constitution came into force, the word seemingly lost all operative value.
    • The distribution of powers and responsibilities between various tiers of the governmental system, was achieved without explicit recognition of federalism as a governing principle.
    • In actual operational terms, the relationship of Centre and States followed different paradigms through various phases of politics.
    •  At the time of Independence, the distribution of powers between Centre and States was transformed into an internal discussion of the Congress.

    Evolution of power-sharing and politics

    • The “Congress system”, as the political scientist Rajni Kothari called it, was seen at one time to have sufficient internal flexibility and resilience to absorb all factional pressures.
    • The first challenge came from the cultural terrain, compelling a reluctant national leadership to accept linguistic reorganisation of States.
    • And then, as ambitions of nation-building through rapid industrialisation resulted in the possibility of a non-Congress politics.
    • The Congress lost power in a number of key States in 1967.
    • The polity moved into a new phase when politics was about “waves” at the national or state level either in favour of, or against the Congress.
    • From 1989 onwards, politics settled into another distinct phase, when outcomes at the national level were the resultant of very separate State-level results.

    Conclusion

    Though federal structure could not be free from Centre-State power struggle, that struggle should not come into the development of the nation. In this context, it is the responsibility of the Centre to address the issues facing the state amid pandemic.

  • Need for guidelines for gene-editing research in India

    The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2020 has been awarded for the discovery of CRISPR Cas9. The two scientists have pioneered the use of CRISPR  – Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) system as a gene-editing tool.

    Background of discovery of CRISPR

    • In 1987a group of Japanese researchers observed an unusual homologous DNA sequence bearing direct repeats with spacing in a eubacterial gene.
    • In subsequent years CRISPR was discovered and showed to be a bacterial adaptive immune system and to act on DNA targets.
    • A notable discovery on the use of CRISPR as a gene-editing tool was by a Lithuanian biochemist, Virginijus Šikšnys, in 2012.
    • Šikšnys showed that Cas9 could cut purified DNA in a test tube, the same discovery for which both Charpentier and Doudna were given the credit.
    • Thus, the exclusion of Siksnys from this year’s Nobel is going to raise discussions.

    Issue of gene-edited babies

    • The world was alarmed by such a mission in 2018 when Chinese scientist edited genes in human embryos using the CRISPR-Cas9 system which resulted in the birth of twin girls.
    • The incident became known as the case of the first gene-edited babies of the world.
    • Following the incident, the World Health Organization formed a panel of gene-editing experts.
    • The expert panel suggested a central registry of all human genome editing research in order to create an open and transparent database of ongoing work.

    Guidelines and regulations in India

    • In India, several rules, guidelines, and policies are notified under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 to regulate genetically modified organisms.
    • The above Act and the National Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research involving human participants, 2017, by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the Biomedical and Health Research Regulation Bill implies regulation of the gene-editing process.
    • This is especially so in the usage of its language “modification, deletion or removal of parts of heritable material”.
    • However, there is no explicit mention of the term gene editing.

    Consider the question “What is CRISPR-Cas9? How it helps in the gene-editing? What are the concerns with use of it for gene-editing?”

    Conclusion

    It is time that India came up with a specific law to ban germline editing and put out guidelines for conducting gene-editing research giving rise to modified organisms.

    Back2Basics: What is CRISPR?

    • CRISPRs: “CRISPR” stands for “clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.”
    • It is a specialized region of DNA with two distinct characteristics: the presence of nucleotide repeats and spacers.
    • Repeated sequences of nucleotides — the building blocks of DNA — are distributed throughout a CRISPR region.
    • Spacers are bits of DNA that are interspersed among these repeated sequences.
    • In the case of bacteria, the spacers are taken from viruses that previously attacked the organism.
    • They serve as a bank of memories, which enables bacteria to recognize the viruses and fight off future attacks.

  • Towards cleaner air in Delhi

    The article suggests the three-pronged strategy to deal with the emission from transportation and highlights the importance of coordination at various level to deal with the issue of pollution.

    Anti-pollution campaign in Delhi

    • With air pollution returning to pre-COVID levels, the Delhi administration has launched a major anti-pollution campaign this month.
    • The campaign is focused on cutting the deadly smoke from thermal plants and brick kilns in the National Capital Region as well as on chemical treatment of stubble burning from nearby States.

    Abating emission from transportation

    • Delhi’s long-term solution will depend importantly also on abating emissions from transportation.
    • Delhi needs a 65% reduction to meet the national standards for PM2.5.
    • Vehicles, including trucks and two-wheelers, contribute 20%-40% of the PM2.5 concentrations.
    • Tackling vehicle emissions would be one part of the agenda, as in comparable situations in Bangkok, Beijing, and Mexico City.

    Three-part action to combat emissions from transportation

    • A three-part action comprises emissions standards, public transport, and electric vehicles.

    1) Stricter enforcement of emission controls

    • Two-wheelers and three-wheelers were as important as cars and lorries in Beijing’s experience.
    • Bangkok ramped up inspection and maintenance to cut emissions.
    • The first order of business is to implement the national standards.

    2) Strengthening public transport

    • Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)  around the world show how the sizeable investment cost is more than offset by the benefits, and that financing pays off.
    • Delhi has lessons from its BRT experience in designating better BRT lanes, improving the ticketing system and synchronising with the Metro.
    • The Supreme Court’s ruling to increase Delhi’s bus fleet and align it with the Metro network must be carried out.
    • The ‘odd-even’ number plate policy can help, but the system should reduce exemptions, allow a longer implementation period, and complement it with other measures.

    3) Adoption of electric vehicle: A long term solution

    •  Subsidies and investment will be needed to ensure that EVs are used to a meaningful scale.
    • The Delhi government’s three-year policy aims to make EVs account for a quarter of the new vehicles registered in the capital by 2024.
    • EVs will gain from purchase incentives, scrappage benefits on older vehicles, loans at favourable interest and a waiver of road taxes.

    Need for coordination at various level

    • Transport solutions need to be one part of pollution abatement that includes industry and agriculture.
    • Delhi’s own actions will not work if the pollution from neighbouring States is not addressed head on.
    • Technical solutions need to be underpinned by coordination and transparency across Central, State, and local governments.
    • Public opinion matters.
    • Citizen participation and the media are vital for sharing the message on pollution and health, using data such as those from the Central Pollution Control Board.

    Conclusion

    • It is a matter of prioritising people’s health and a brighter future. Once the pandemic is over, Delhi must not stumble into yet another public health emergency. The time to act is now.

  • 13th October 2020| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    Important Announcement:  Topics to be covered on 14th October-

    GS-1 Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

    GS-4 Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity.

    Question 1)

    Australia is a major supplier of wool but not a major supplier of finished woolen garments, why? Analyse the aspects leading to such a trend. 10 marks

    Question 2)

    GST which has been hailed as the achievement in the cooperative federalism in the country has turned into a flashpoint in the Centre-State relations on the GST compensation issue. In light of this, elaborate on the issue and what would be its implications for the federalism? 10 marks

    Question 3)

    The Maximum Support Price (MSP) regime was the creation of the era of scarcity of the food grain and over-reliance on it in the time of surplus production could prove counterproductive. Comment. 10 marks

    Question 4)  

    Explain giving examples the relevance of emotional intelligence in complex and challenging environment characterized by frequent policy changes. 10 marks

    Reviews will be provided in a week. (In the order of submission- First come first serve basis). In case the answer is submitted late the review period may get extended to two weeks.

    *In case your answer is not reviewed in a week, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*. If Parth Sir’s tag is available then tag him.

    For the philosophy of AWE and payment, check  here: Click2Join

  • Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs)

    Indian Navy is scheduled to hold another Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with the US to undertake Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOP).

    Try this question:

    Q.What do you mean by Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs)? What are its legal backings?  Discuss its significance.

    Freedom of Navigation Operations

    • FONOPs are closely linked to the concept of freedom of navigation, and in particular to the enforcement of relevant international law and customs regarding freedom of navigation.
    • Freedom of navigation has been thoroughly practised and refined, and ultimately codified and accepted as international law under UNCLOS, in a legal process that was inclusive and consent-based.
    • The drafting of UNCLOS was driven in part by states’ concerns that strong national maritime interests could lead to excessive maritime claims over coastal seas, which could threaten freedom of navigation.
    • FONOPs are outgrowths of this development of international law, based on sovereign equality and international interdependence.

    Significance of FONOPs

    • FONOPs are a method of enforcing UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and avoiding these negative outcomes by reinforcing freedom of navigation through practice.
    • It is exercised by sailing through all areas of the sea permitted under UNCLOS, and particularly those areas that states have attempted to close off to free navigation as defined under UNCLOS.

    Back2Basics: UNCLOS

    • The Law of the Sea Treaty formally known as the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982 at Montego Bay, Jamaica. It entered into force in 1994.
    • The convention establishes a comprehensive set of rules governing the oceans and to replace previous U.N. Conventions on the Law of the Sea
    • The convention defines the distance of 12 nautical miles from the baseline as Territorial Sea limit and a distance of 200 nautical miles distance as Exclusive Economic Zone limit.

  • Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP)

    Following up on India’s announcement of a $500 million package to the Maldives, the Exim Bank of India and the Maldives’s Ministry of Finance signed an agreement for $400 million in Male.

    Try this question from 2014:

    Q.Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the ‘Ten Degree Channel’?

    (a) Andaman and Nicobar

    (b) Nicobar and Sumatra

    (c) Maldives and Lakshadweep

    (d) Sumatra and Java

    Greater Male Connectivity Project

    • The GMCP consists of a number of bridges and causeways to connect Male to Villingili, Thilafushi and Gulhifahu islands that span 6.7 km.
    • It would ease much of the pressure of the main capital island of Male for commercial and residential purposes.
    • When completed, the project would render the Chinese built Sinamale Friendship bridge connecting Male to two other islands, thus far the most visible infrastructure project in the islands.
    • At present, India-assisted projects in the region include water and sewerage projects on 34 islands, reclamation project for the Addl island, a port on Gulhifalhu, airport redevelopment at Hanimadhoo, and a hospital and a cricket stadium in Hulhumale.

  • Indian Sat: Another satellite made by students

    An experimental satellite developed by three students of Karur (TN) has been selected for launch in sub-orbital space by NASA.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The term ‘IndARC’, sometimes seen in the news, is the name of:

    (a) An indigenously developed radar system inducted into Indian Defence

    (b) India’s satellite to provide services to the countries of Indian Ocean Rim

    (c) A scientific establishment set up by India in Antarctic region

    (d) India’s underwater observatory to scientifically study the Arctic region

    Indian Sat

    • The Indian Sat is made of reinforced graphene polymer. It is 3 cm in size and weighs 64 gm.
    • It has its own radio frequency communication to transmit and receive a signal from earth to outer space. The solar cells attached to the satellite generate power for it.
    • The photographic film will absorb and measure the cosmic radiation inside the rocket.
    • It would study the effect of reinforced graphene polymers in microgravity. It would be in sub-orbital space flight for a few minutes before landing in the ocean.

    What is micro-gravity?

    • The term micro-g environment is more or less synonymous with the terms weightlessness and zero-g, but with an emphasis on the fact that g-forces are never exactly zero—it is just very small.
    • On the ISS, for example, the small g-forces come from tidal effects, gravity from objects other than the Earth, such as astronauts, the spacecraft, and the Sun, and, occasionally, air resistance.

    Back2Basics: Femto-satellites

    • Femto-satellites are satellites with a mass lower than 100 grams.
    • These new categories of satellites are, by concept, low cost devices if they are based on Commercial-of-the-Shelf (COTS) components.
    • Some examples of applications are related to low-cost missions with a short time of development.

     Kalamsat

    • Kalamsat was a communication satellite with a life span of two months launched in 2017.
    • The nanosatellite is a 10cm cube weighing 1.2 kg.
    • It will be the first to use the rocket’s fourth stage as an orbital platform.
    • The fourth stage will be moved to higher circular orbit so as to establish an orbital platform for carrying out experiments.
    • It is named after former Indian president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and was built by an Indian high school student team, led by Rifath Sharook, an 18-year-old from the Tamil Nadu town of Pallapatti.
    • It is the world’s lightest and first-ever 3D-printed satellite.

  • [pib] Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog

    Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) has started a nationwide campaign to celebrate “Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiyan” this year on the occasion of Deepawali festival.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. Agricultural soils release nitrogen oxides into the environment.
    2. Cattle release ammonia into the environment.
    3. Poultry industry releases reactive nitrogen compounds into the environment.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 3 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA)

    • RKA has been constituted by PM for the conservation, protection and development of cows and their progeny and for giving direction to the cattle development programmes.
    • It is a high powered permanent body to formulate policy and to provide direction to the implementation of schemes related to cattle so as to give more emphasis on livelihood generation.

    Why need RKA?

    • Livestock economy sustains nearly 73 million households in rural areas.
    • Even though, the country is the largest producer of milk, the average milk yield in India is only 50% of the world average.
    • The low productivity is largely due to deterioration in genetic stock, poor nutrition and unscientific management.

  • [Burning Issue] Paytm vs Google App Store Row

    The altercation between technology giant Google and fintech major Paytm has brought the global debate around app store monopolies to India.

    • Paytm has been at odds with Google ever since the tech giant removed its apps.
    • Earlier this month, Paytm announced the launch of its Android Mini App Store to support Indian developers to take their innovative products to the masses.
    • Now this move has brought Google and Apple’s duopoly over being the only marketplaces for applications on their mobile operating systems into question.

    The Beginning of Row

    • Paytm received communication from Google that their ‘Paytm Cricket League’ feature violated Google Play Store’s policies.
    • Hence, the payments and financial services app Paytm was temporarily removed from the Google Play Store.
    • Paytm in turn, removed the cashback component of the feature in an effort to meet the Play Store policy requirements.
    • And the app was back within a few hours.
    • According to Google, the features were akin to promoting gambling. Paytm has now blamed Google for not offering a level-playing field.
    • The issue escalated after Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) asked for clarity from the Google on what is allowed on the Play Store for the fantasy sports industry.

    Surpassing Google’s monopoly: What is the Mini Apps store?

    • Mini apps are a custom-built mobile website that gives users app-like experience without having to download them, which would greatly benefit millions of citizens to save their limited data and phone memory.
    • From an infrastructure perspective, the Mini App store will enable small developers and businesses to set up low-cost, quick-to-build mini-apps which can be built using HTML and JavaScript technologies.
    • For those joining the platform, Paytm will provide a listing, distribution of these mini-apps within our app without any charges.

    The ‘Price’ of getting listed on Google Play Store

    The row has brought to the fore Google’s Play Store monopoly and its power to pull down apps that it feels violates its rules.

    • Google’s Android OS currently commands over 90 percent share of the Indian smartphone market.
    • Among the primary reasons is the market dominance of Google’s Android Operating System (OS), which comprises the Play Store.
    • There is a growing sentiment among many Indian startup founders is that Google is abusing its dominant market position to squeeze revenues out of startups and imposing hard conditions on them.
    • This is in order to avail the benefits of being listed and discoverable on the Play Store.

    The major concerns of the Indian startup community are:

    (1) Billing System:

    • Google has declared its intention to start billing apps for in app purchases, such as subscriptions, virtual coins and other special paid features.
    • This is done with objective to enforce the 30 percent commission it seeks from apps on Play Store.

    (2) Dominance

    • Google’s dominance in the Operating System (OS) market and by extension, its app store, has led to arbitrary imposition of rules or restrictions.
    • Simply put, for many startups, the cost of being outside of the Play Store’s network is too prohibitive.

    (3) Conflict of interest

    • Google being the platform for apps in India via its Play Store is also only opportunist player in the app ecosystem.
    • It is allegedly hindering others ability to acquire new customers through the “dominance” of their country’s digital ecosystem.
    • Google has a hammerlock on the Android ecosystem in India and this monopoly means companies like Paytm have to rely on Google playing fair with its rivals.

    (4) National security

    • There is a risk for Indian startups if the US does to the Indian startup ecosystem, what it did to Huawei.
    • This could be a national security issue in turn for India.

    (5) Unfair trade practices

    • Google was found guilty of abuse of dominant position and unfair trade practices by the European Commission for its strict and biased user policies.
    • It is already under investigation by the Competition Commission of India after an unidentified party complained the company was “unfairly” promoting Google Pay in India.

    Making the monopolist accountable: A not-so-feasible option

    • Taking on a giant like Google in the Indian courts involves the hefty court and legal fees, and the battle will be incredibly long drawn.
    • It’s very easy to show that Google is dominant. But under the Competition Act, one has to show that what Google is doing is unfair trade practice or it’s an abuse of dominance.
    • Indian developers might have to fight a concurrent case in the US court as well which will indecisively rule in favor of the Google.

    Way forward

    • Google’s presence in India’s digital ecosystem is only set to increase with the internet giant planning to invest $10 billion in the country over the next five to seven years.
    • All of this places a heavy responsibility on Indian regulatory authorities to implement tough oversight measures to ensure Google and other players don’t steam-roll the competition in India.
    • Presently it is upto the regulators to ensure ‘app neutrality’ in India.
    • A possible viable option for startup founders are other indigenous app stores like that of Indus OS, a Samsung-backed third-party store, has over 100 million monthly active users.

    Conclusion

    • These days, there is a growing demand within the political sphere regarding data localization in India. Foreign firms are mandated to store payments information of users locally in India.
    • And India is not even that open anymore. It has also banned more than 200 Chinese apps in recent months. But with Google’s case, there can be no leap forward.
    • Policymakers need to wake up to obvious conflicts of interest in the internet domain which need to be regulated with a measure of sophistication.
    • Regulators need to stay ahead of the curve, as the country pivots decisively towards a digital economy.

    References

    https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/the-inside-story-of-how-paytm-google-fiasco-unfolded/story/417052.html

    https://www.thequint.com/explainers/explainer-paytm-mini-app-store-google-android-play-store-meity-indian-startups

    https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/controversy-over-google-and-paytm-underlines-the-challenge-policymakers-face/article32679063.ece

  • The federalism test

    The GST has been hailed as the grand bargain and the success story of the federalism. But the economic disruption caused by the pandemic has put it to test. The article deals with the issue of GST compensation.

    Compensating the loss of GST revenue: 2 options

    • In the 41st meeting of the GST Council, the Union government had presented the states with two options.
    • The Centre had estimated the states’ total loss of GST revenue at Rs 3 lakh crore, of which, Rs 65,000 crore was expected to accrue from the compensation cess.
    • Of the remaining Rs 2.35 lakh crore, the loss due to the pandemic was estimated at Rs 1.28 lakh crore.
    • The first option was to provide states a special window to borrow Rs 97,000 crore from the RBI, which was later revised to Rs 1.1 lakh crore.
    • Under this option, both the interest payments and the repayments would be made from future collections of the compensation cess.
    • In the second option, the entire shortfall of Rs 2.35 lakh crore could be borrowed from the market and the states would have to bear the interest costs, but the repayments would be adjusted against future collections of the cess.
    • 10 states have rejected both the options and have stated that it is the Centre’s responsibility to compensate the states, and therefore, it should borrow.

    Commitment of the Centre

    • The minutes of the 7th and 8th GST Council meeting show that most of the states wanted the Centre to commit on paying compensation from the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI).
    • On that demand the Union Finance Minister had stated that in case the amount in the GST compensation fund falls short of the compensation payable in any bi-monthly period, the GST Council shall decide the mode of raising additional resources including borrowing from the market which could be repaid by the collection of cess in the sixth year or further subsequent years.
    • Thus, there was a clear commitment of the Centre on the issue of compensation and the method of recouping the loss.

    Impact on the Centre-State relations

    • The payment of compensation has plunged the Union-state relationship to a new low.
    • First, not recognising the Centre’s commitment will make states wary of any future reforms involving an agreement with the Centre.
    • Second, giving selective press statements to pressurise the states into accepting one or the other option does not infuse confidence.
    • Third, there was a statement by the Union finance ministry officials that the GST Council does not have jurisdiction over-borrowing and borrowing is an individual state and Centre’s decision under Article 293 of the Constitution.
    • If so, why were the two borrowing options presented to the states in the meeting of the Council?

    Way forward

    • It is the Centre’s commitment to find the compensation mechanism and borrowing is one of the options — that must be discussed in the Council.
    • Furthermore, if the commitment of the Centre is recognised as admitted by the finance minister in the 7th GST council meeting, the Centre should take the responsibility to borrow.
    • Both interest payments and repayment of the principal liability can be met from future collections from the cess.

    Conclusion

    This issue is of immense significance for the future of Centre-state relations. But pressuring states on the basis of political strength will have adverse consequences for the country’s federal structure.

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