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  • What are District Development Councils (DDCs)?

    The Centre has amended the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, to facilitate the setting up of District Development Councils (DDC).

    Tap to read more about: Reorganization of J&K

    What are DDCs?

    • DDCs structure will include a DDC and a District Planning Committee (DPC).
    • The J&K administration has also amended the J&K Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996, to provide for establishment of elected District Development Councils in J&K.
    • This system effectively replaces the District Planning and Development Boards in all districts, and will prepare and approve district plans and capital expenditure.

    Composition of DDCs

    • Their key feature, however, is that the DDCs will have elected representatives from each district.
    • Their number has been specified at 14 elected members per district representing its rural areas, alongside the Members of
    • Legislative Assembly chairpersons of all Block Development Councils within the district.

    Term of reference

    • The term of the DDC will be five years, and the electoral process will allow for reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.
    • The Additional District Development Commissioner (or the Additional DC) of the district shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the District Development Council.
    • The council, as stated in the Act, will hold at least four “general meetings” in a year, one in each quarter.

    What will be the process here onward?

    • The 14 constituencies for electing representatives to the DDC will have to be delimited.
    • These constituencies will be carved out of the rural areas of the district, and elected members will subsequently elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson of the DDC from among themselves.

    Within the third tier, where do the DDCs fit in?

    • The DDCs replace the District Planning and Development Boards (DDBs) that were headed by a cabinet minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
    • For Jammu and Srinagar districts, as winter and summer capitals, the DDBs were headed by the Chief Minister.

    However, for Leh and Kargil districts, the Autonomous Hill Development Councils performed the functions designated for the DDBs.

    How will DPC work, then?

    • For every district there will be DPC comprising MPs representing the area, Members of the State Legislature representing the areas within the District etc. among others.
    • The MP will function as the chairperson of this committee.
    • The committee will “consider and guide” the formulation of development programmes for the district.
    • It would indicate priorities for various schemes and consider issues relating to the speedy development and economic uplift of the district.
    • It would function as a working group for formulation of periodic and annual plans for the district; and formulate and finalise the plan and non-plan budget for the district.

    Centre’s objective behind this new structure

    • The J&K administration in a statement said that the move to have an elected third tier of the Panchayati Raj institution marks the implementation of the entire 73rd Amendment Act in J&K.
    • The idea is that systems that had been made defunct by earlier J&K governments such as the panchayati raj system are being revived under the Centre’s rule in the state through the Lieutenant Governor’s administration.
    • In the absence of elected representatives in the UT, senior government officials argue that DDCs will effectively become representative bodies for development at the grassroots in the 20 districts of the UT.
    • They hope that this may draw some former legislators in as well.

  • [Burning Issue] 15 Years of Right to Information

    “Information is the currency of democracy.” – Thomas Jefferson

    Fifteen years have passed since the Right to Information Act, 2005 was enacted.   With this Act, India took a step forward to move away from the colonial system of arbitrary government to an era of more transparent and accountable government.

    What led to the introduction of RTI in India?

    There has been a variety of internal and external pressures on governments to adopt RTI.

    (1) Corruption and scandals

    The crisis brought into the force due to lack of transparency in the working of the government.  A series of transactions were done by the government which came under the preview of the corruption.

    (2) Modernization and the Information Society

    The expansion of the Internet into everyday life has increased the demand for more information by the public, businesses and civil society groups. Inside the government, the need to modernize record systems and the move towards e-government has created an internal constituency that is promoting the dissemination of information as a goal in itself.

    (3) International pressure

    The international community has been influential in promoting access to information. The World Bank, the IMF and others have pressed countries to adopt laws to reduce corruption and to make financial systems more accountable.

    (4) Wider recognition of Public Interest

    • Public interest is a nebulous concept, not defined in any freedom of information laws, understandably so, as it is a very subjective concept, differing from country to country, on the basis of their governmental framework, socio-economic scenario and development complexities.
    • Balancing these strategic concerns with the public interest, therefore, depends on the particular country, the genuine interest of the people accessing that information and the legitimate national interest.

    The Right to Information

    • RTI is an act of the parliament which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens’ right to information.
    • It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
    • Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply expeditiously or within 30.
    • In case of the matter involving a petitioner’s life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours.
    • The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.

    Governing of the RTI

    The Right to information in India is governed by two major bodies:

    1. Central Information Commission (CIC) – Chief Information commissioner who heads all the central departments and ministries- with their own public information officers (PIO)s. CICs are directly under the President of India.
    2. State Information Commissions (SIC)– State Public Information Officers or SPIOs head over all the state department and ministries. The SPIO office is directly under the corresponding State Governor.

    State and CIC are independent bodies and CIC has no jurisdiction over the SIC.

    (1) Central Information Commission

    • The Commission consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and not more than ten Information Commissioners.
    • At present (2019), the Commission has six Information Commissioners apart from the Chief Information Commissioner.
    • They are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the PM as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM.
    • The CIC/IC shall hold office for such term as prescribed by the Central Government or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They are not eligible for reappointment.

    Power and functions

    • It is the duty of the Commission to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person regarding information request under RTI, 2005.
    • The Commission can order an inquiry into any matter if there are reasonable grounds (suo-moto power).
    • While inquiring, the Commission has the powers of a civil court in respect of summoning, requiring documents etc.

    (2) State Information Commission

    • The Commission consists of a State Chief Information commissioner and ten State Information Commissioners.
    • They are appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the committee consisting of the CM as Chairperson, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and a state Cabinet Minister nominated by the CM.
    • They should be a person of eminence in public life and should not hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.
    • Terms of service are similar to that of CIC.

    Powers and functions

    • The commission submits an annual report to the state government on the implementation of the provisions of this act. The state government places this report before the state legislature.
    • The commission can order an inquiry into any matter if there are reasonable grounds. It has the power to secure compliance of its decisions from the public authority.
    • It is the duty of the commission to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person.
    • During the inquiry of a complaint, the commission may examine any record which is under the control of the public authority and no such record may be withheld from it on any grounds.
    • While inquiring, the Commission has the powers of a civil court in respect of summoning, requiring documents etc.

    Constitutional backing of the RTI

    • The Indian constitution has an impressive array of basic and inalienable rights termed as fundamental rights contained in part-III.
    • These include the right to equal protection of the laws and the right to equality before the law, the right to freedom of speech and expression also the right to life and personal liberty.
    • Since RTI, is implicit in the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, it is an implied FR.
    • These are backed by the right to constitutional remedies that is, the right to approach the supreme court and high court under Article 32 and 226 respectively in case of infringement of any of FRs.
    • The state is not only under an obligation to respect the FRs of the citizens but also equally under an obligation to ensure conditions under which the right can be exercised.
    • The objective of the right to information act is to protect these constitutional rights.

    “Efficient government can not be run, by its mystic Babus but from the enlightened participation of its populace in public affairs.“

    Benefits of RTI

    • Greater accessibility of information: A person can seek information from any public authority in the form of copies, floppy disks, sample material etc under RTI.
    • Efficient governance: RTI Act helps us in knowing the efficiency of the government functioning.RTI has become a reality consistent with the objectives of having a stable, honest, transparent and efficient government.
    • Citizen’s participation: Information under RTI can be sought easily by requesting the public officer and assistant public officer in any public authority.
    • Government obligation: Obtaining information from any public authority is obligatory for them.
    • Maintenance of public record: Under RTI Act, it is the duty of public authorities to maintain records for easy access and to publish within 120 days the name of the particular officers who should give the information and in regard to the framing of the rules, regulations etc.
    • Empowerment of Citizens: Every citizen has been empowered to be informed about anything that affects their life directly or indirectly.

    Limitations to the RTI

    (1) Not an absolute right

    • As no right can be absolute, the Right to Information has to have its limitations.
    • The RTI and Right to Privacy are, therefore, not absolute rights, both the rights, one of which falls under Article 19(l)(a) and the other under Article 21 can obviously be regulated, restricted and curtailed in the larger public interest.

     (2) Subjected to restrictions

    • The RTI, being integral part of the right to freedom of speech, is subject to restrictions that can be imposed upon that right under Article 19 (2).
    • The revelation of information in actual practice is likely to conflict with other public interests.
    • Section 8 of the RTI Act, 2005 primarily deals with the exceptions to the said conferred right.
    • The usual exemption permitting Government to withhold access to information is generally in respect of matters such as- national security, international relations etc.

    (3) Limitations under the rules

    • Rule 4 of RTI Act puts word limit (No. of words needed in different language is different to express the same idea) as 250 words.  Word Limit, The Hidden power of Information Officer, is the cause of rejection of application.
    • Rule 16 of RTI Act 2005 stats that the proceedings pending before CIC shall abate on the death of applicant. This limitation may hide the corruption & also be misused by corrupt people which lead to murder of applicants.

    (4) Only information already available on record is accessible

    • The RTI Act provides access only to that information which existent and available in records of the public authorities.
    • Therefore, it does not cast an obligation on the public authority to collect and collate any non available information and then furnish it to the applicant who has requested for it.

    (5) Certain information may constitute contempt of court

    • Any information, the disclosure of which is expressly barred by any Court of law or tribunal or, which may constitute contempt of Court under the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, cannot be released.
    • Thus, where a matter is sub judice and no order or judgment has been passed by the court/tribunal, any disclosure of information pertaining to such matter is not permissible.

    (6) Information causes a breach of privilege

    • The Constitution of India provides some privileges to the Parliament and the State Legislature, so it is clear that such information cannot be issued by the public authority.
    • Certain information cannot be disclosed, if it would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature.
    • But, any information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which has taken place, occurred or happened 20 years before the date on which any request for information is made shall be provided.

    (7) Information relating to Intellectual Property and trade secrets

    • Any information, including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property cannot be disclosed.
    • Such disclosure would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.

    Challenges in exercising

    (1) Information explosion

    Different types of information is sought which has no public interest and sometimes can be used to misuse the law and harass the public authorities e.g. asking for desperate and voluminous information.

    (2) Popular (mis)use

    Some chauvinists file RTI to attain publicity. It is often used as a vindictive tool to harass or pressurize the already burdened public authorities.

    (3) Rising cases of non-disclosure

    Some provisions of Indian Evidence Act provide to hold the disclosure of documents.  Similar is the case with the Official Secrets Act, 1923. OSA provides that any government official can mark a document as confidential so as to prevent its publication.

    (4) Limited ambit of RTI

    While the office of the CJI is now under the RTI’s ambit, the CBI is exempt. The CBI, which is an agency that is often engaged in investigation of corruption cases, is today included in a list of exempt organisations in which most of the others are engaged in intelligence gathering.

    (5) Threats to whistleblowers

    There are rising cases of intimidation, threat and murders of RTI activists. There are no safeguards against the victimisation of the person who makes the complaint.

    (6) Legacy issue of Pendency and backlogs

    A recent study by NGO Satark Nagrik Sangathan has pointed out that more than 2.2 lakh cases are pending at the Central and States ICs. Maharashtra had the highest number of pending appeals, with over 59,000 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh (47,923) and the CIC (35,653).

    Significance of RTI

    • The RTI Act, 2005 did not create a new bureaucracy for implementing the law. Instead, it tasked and mandated officials in every office to change their attitude and duty from one of secrecy to one of sharing and openness.
    • RTI has been seen as the key to strengthening participatory democracy and ushering in people-centred governance.
    • Access to information has empowered the poor and the weaker sections of society to demand and get information about public policies and actions, thereby leading to their welfare.
    • It showed an early promise by exposing wrongdoings at high places, such as in the organisation of the Commonwealth Games, and the allocation of 2G spectrum and coal blocks.

    Way Forward

    It is well recognized that RTI is pathbreaking, but has not proved sufficient, to improve governance in its capacity due to various shortcomings.  We need to improvise a lot on various parameters as discussed under:

    Speedy disposal: The increasing backlog of cases is exacerbated by the fact that most Commissions are functioning at reduced capacity. The government must ensure the timely appointment of chiefs and members of ICs.

    Prioritization of cases: There should be a prioritization of cases dealing with information related to life and liberty. Information regarding matters like food distribution, social security, health and other priority issues should be proactively disclosed.

    Digitalization: Governments should put in place a mechanism for online filing of RTI applications and bring all authorities under one platform.

    Reducing technicalities: The technicalities of filing an RTI application should be more simplified. The literacy rate of rural India is quite low and thus they find it quite difficult to comply with the procedural.

    Protecting whistleblowers: There is an urgent need to protect the whistle blowers who are targeted or attacked so easily. The impending bill should be passed or else an ancillary strict measure should be taken in this regard.

    Final words from ARC reports:

    The report of the second Administrative Reforms Commission entitled, “Right to Information – Master Key to Good Governance” recommends that the Official Secrets Act, 1923, should be repealed, as it is incongruous with the regime of transparency in a democratic society. This recommendation should be adhered to.

    Conclusion

    • In spite of the above-discussed deficiencies and apprehensions, the RTI has unquestionably proved to be one of the significant milestone and a major step towards ensuring the participatory and transparent development process in the country.
    • Currently, the RTI Act in India is passing through a decisive phase, much more needs to be done to facilitate its growth and development.  
    • The stricter implementation of this law not only depends on the political will but also on active civil societies.
    • Mere protest against the lack of implementation of this law alone is not sufficient, one needs to encourage this initiative taken, for the law to grow and mature.
    • A lot more needs to be done to usher in accountability in governance, including protection of whistleblowers, decentralization of power and fusion of authority with accountability at all levels.

    ——————————————————————————————-

    References

    https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/147275/11/11_%20chapter-7.pdf

    https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-concerted-attack-on-rti/article32846738.ece

    https://cic.gov.in/sites/default/files/Neeraj%20assignment-converted.pdf

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/burning-issue-rti-amendment-bill/

  • Issues related to the Office of Governor

    The article deals with the role of Governor in the state and issue of misuse of discretionary power vested in him.

    Constitutional provision related to Governor

    • Various Raj Bhavans have become embroiled in controversies over the decade.
    • This is partly because the Constitution of India does allow a certain discretion to the Governor.
    • And a discretion invariably does get abused.
    • The framers of the Constitution had rejected an elected Governor because they were unambiguously clear that political power would only be vested with elected executives.
    • Yet, they were not inclined to put in a formal Instrument of Instructions for the Governors and were content to believe that political decencies and correctness would be observed both by the Governor and the Chief Minister.

    As the distinguished constitutional expert, Nani A. Palkhivala explained it “the Constitution intended that the Governor should be the instrument to maintain the fundamental equilibrium of the people of the State and to ensure that the mandates of the Constitution are respected in the State”. 

    Misuse of ‘discretion’ by Governors

    • As an appointee of the Union Government, the Governors have been prone to act on the instructions by ruling party at the Centre.
    • Inevitably the “discretion” in choosing a Chief Minister, or requiring a Chief Minister to prove his/her majority, or dismissing a Chief Minister, dissolving the legislature, recommending President’s Rule — came to be tainted with partisan political considerations.
    • More often than not, the governor’s discretion was abused, sometimes absurdly, even whimsically.
    • In the S.R. Bommai case, the Supreme Court did try through its judgment to prevent the misuse of power.

    Conclusion

    The guidelines given in the S.R. Bommai case should be adhered to by the Governor and should avoid conflict with the elected governments in the States.

  • Still awaiting police reform

    The police have been in the news for incidents involving violence and killings. These instances points to the urgent need for the implementation of the Supreme Court directives given in the Prakash Singh case. The article deals with the issues of delay in the implementation.

    Need for immediate remedial measures

    • Police has been in the news for incidents involving police brutalities like thrashing of a Dalit Ahirwar couple by the police Madhya Pradesh, torture and killing of father-son duo in Tamil Nadu and killing of gangster in UP.
    • These incidents and several others show that we need immediate remedial measures.

    Past attempts for police reforms

    • The first serious attempt was when the National Police Commission (NPC) was set up in 1977.
    • The NPC submitted eight reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs between 1979 and 1981.
    • Seven of these reports were circulated to the States in 1983.

    Prakash Sing Case

    • No action was taken on the reports of the reports until 1996.
    • In 1996 Prakash Singh, a retired IPS officer, filed a PIL in the apex court in 1996 demanding the implementation of the NPC’s recommendations.
    • In 2006, the Supreme Court issued a slew of directives on police reform.

    Status of implementation of directives by Staes

    • The one directive that would hurt the most is the setting up of a State Security Commission (SSC) in each State.
    • State Security Commission would divest the political leaders of the unbridled power that they wield at present.
    • Of the States that constituted an SSC, only Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have made SSC recommendations binding on the State government.
    • Only six States provided a minimum tenure of two years to the Director General of Police (DGP).
    • Many States have not implemented a single directive of the Supreme Court.

    Way forward

    • Expecting political will to implement police reforms is difficult to come by, it is for the judiciary to step in and enforce the directives it had passed.
    • Fourteen years is too long a period for any further relaxation.
    • The Court has to ensure that its directives are not dismissed lightly.

    Consider the question “What are the issues facing police administration? What are the reasons for lack of full implementation of the directives given by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case?

    Conclusion

    A bold step towards bringing down crimes is possible only when the politicians-criminals-police nexus is strangled.

  • 19th October 2020| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    Important Announcement:  Topics to be covered on 20th October-

    GS-1 Factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries.

    GS-2 Case Studies.

    Question 1)

    Urbanization is considered as an agent of socio-economic growth. Do you think Indian Urbanization has helped in India’s socio economic growth? Discuss. 10 marks

    Question 2)

    What are the challenges facing the police administration in India? What are the reasons for the delay in the implementation of the Supreme Court guidelines given in the Prakash Sing case? 10 marks

    Question 3)

    As India contemplates atmanirbharta, we should not forget that export dynamism is essential for the rapid and sustained high economic growth. Comment. 10 marks

    Question 4)  

    A convicted mobster decides to make a charitable contribution. He offers more than $1 million to a hospital to build a children’s wing. He will make the contribution if the new pavilion is named after him. The hospital board accepts the gift, with that stipulation. Do you think the hospital was right in accepting the gift? 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

  • [pib] Buldhana Pattern of water conservation

    Maharashtra’s ‘Buldana Pattern’ of water conservation’ has won national recognition and the NITI Aayog is in the process of formulating National Policy on water conversation based on it.

    Refer this link to read more about traditional water conservations systems in India:

    https://geographyandyou.com/ten-traditional-water-conservation-methods/

    What is ‘Buldhana Pattern’?

    • It is based on the synchronization of national highway construction and water conservation.
    • It was achieved for the first time in Buldana district of drought-prone Vidarbha region, by using soil from the water bodies, nallas and rivers.
    • This consequently leads to the increase in capacity of water storage across the water-bodies in Buldana district and it came to be known as ‘Buldana Pattern’.
    • Creation of State Water Grid and adopting water Conservations works under this pattern will increase the agriculture production and bring prosperity in farmer’s economic life in Vidarbha.

  • [pib] Exercise SLINEX-20

    The Eighth Edition of annual Indian Navy (IN) – Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-20 is scheduled off Trincomalee.

    About SLINEX-20

    • SLINEX-20 aims to enhance inter-operability, improve mutual understanding and exchange best practices and procedures for multi-faceted maritime operations between both navies.
    • In addition, the exercise will also showcase the capabilities of our indigenously constructed naval ships and aircraft.
    • SLINEX series of exercise exemplifies the deep engagement between India and Sri Lanka which has strengthened mutual cooperation in the maritime domain.
    • Interaction between the SLN and IN has also grown significantly in recent years, in consonance with India’s policy of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and the vision of ‘Security and Growth for all in the Region (SAGAR)’.

  • Ladakh Fault in Indus Suture Zone (ISZ)

    A recent survey has found that a tectonic fault line that runs through Ladakh, all along the Indus river, is not inactive as was previously thought and is, in fact, moving northward.

    Tap here to read more about Himalayan orogeny:

    Indus Suture Zone (ISZ)

    • A suture zone is a linear belt of intense deformation, where distinct terranes, or tectonic units with different plate tectonic, metamorphic, and paleogeographic histories, join together.
    • The ISZ represents a belt of tectonic compression caused by the underthrusting of the Indian shield/ plate against the Tibetan mass.
    • It marks the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates.
    • The suture zone stretches from the North-Western Himalayan syntaxis bordering the Nanga Parbat to the East as far as the Namche Barwa Mountain.

    Its tectonic activity

    • The Karakoram Range and the Ladakh plateau lie to the north of ISZ and originally formed a part of the European plate.
    • The zone has been neo-tectonically active for the past 78,000-58,000 years.
    • While the frontal and central parts of the Himalayas — the Shivaliks, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim — are still known to be active and moving.
    • The fault line runs all along the Indus river, from China through India and Pakistan.
    • The study was conducted in Ladakh from the north of Ladakh’s capital, Leh, to the Tso Moriri lake, a distance of 213 kilometres.

    Why the Ladakh region is more vulnerable?

    • Fault lines weaken the rock formation in the region through which it runs, making the area vulnerable to excessive erosion and landslides.
    • What makes the Ladakh region vulnerable is that unlike other areas in the Himalayas and the rest of the country, there is very little vegetation here and very few trees that can root the soil down.
    • So, in the case of a flash flood or a cloud burst, this can have a widespread impact.

  • India’s First Seaplane Project

    The first of the five seaplane services in Gujarat, connecting Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity in Kevadia in Narmada district, will be inaugurated on October 31

    India’s first seaplane

    • A seaplane is a fixed-winged aeroplane designed for taking off and landing on water. It offers the public the speed of an aeroplane with the utility of a boat.
    • The first seaplane project of the country is part of a directive of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.
    • As per the directive, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) requested state governments of Gujarat, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the administration of Andaman & Nicobar to propose potential locations for setting up water aerodromes to boost the tourism sector.

    Where will the seaplane connect?

    • In Kevadia, the proposed Terminal will be spread over 0.51 acres in the premises of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd., located in the Panchmuli lake (Dyke 3) of the Sardar Sarovar Dam at Limdi village.
    • It is approximately 90 km from Vadodara, 150 km from Surat and 200 km from Ahmedabad — with an aerial distance of 74.6km from Vadodara airport.

    What impact will it have on the environment?

    • The water aerodrome is not a listed project/activity in the Schedule to the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 and its amendments.
    • However, the activities proposed under the water aerodrome project may have a similar type of impact as that of an airport.
    • There has to be a bathymetric and hydrographic survey by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
    • During seaplane operations, there will be turbulence created in the water while takeoff and landing of seaplanes. This will lead to more operation process i.e. mixing of oxygen in the water.
    • This will have a positive impact on the aquatic ecosystem near seaplane operations increasing oxygen content and decreasing carbon content in this system.

  • Thanjavur Art Plates

    The makers of the Thanjavur Art Plate, with its roots in a craft that dates back to the Marathas of the 1800s, are banding together for its cultural and commercial rejuvenation.

    Must read:

    All time GI tags in news

    Thanjavur Art Plates

    • The Thanjavur Art Plate is an artefact which is exclusively made in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.
    • It is a circular plate made as a gift item. It is a handicraft consisting of metals such as silver, bronze, and copper embossed with figures of gods and goddesses at its centre.
    • Patronised by Maratha ruler Serfoji II (1777-1832), Thanjavur Kalai craftsmen were kept busy with orders for royal gifts, mostly decorative salvers, jewel boxes and vessels like water pots and ewers.
    • In its contemporary version, the craft has been commercially reinterpreted as ‘Thanjavur kalai thattu’ or Thanjavur Art Plate, a ceremonial platter made with silver, copper and brass layers in three stages.
    • The base is plated with alternate copper and silver panels, a bigger embossed silver motif on the central section, and the setting of globular jigna or sequins in the secondary relief.
    • It was given a Geographical Indications (GI) tag in 2007, as a proof of its long heritage.

    Back2Basics: Geographical Indications in India

    • A Geographical Indication is used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
    • Such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness which is essentially attributable to its origin in that defined geographical locality.
    • This tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.
    • Recently the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry has launched the logo and tagline for the Geographical Indications (GI) of India.
    • The first product to get a GI tag in India was the Darjeeling tea in 2004.
    • The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (GI Act) is a sui generis Act for the protection of GI in India.
    • India, as a member of the WTO, enacted the Act to comply with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
    • Geographical Indications protection is granted through the TRIPS Agreement.

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