The Union Home Minister has inaugurated the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS).
What is NAFIS?
NAFIS is developed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) at the Central Fingerprint Bureau (CFPB) in New Delhi.
The project is a country-wide searchable database of crime- and criminal-related fingerprints.
The web-based application functions as a central information repository by consolidating fingerprint data from all states and Union Territories.
In April this year, Madhya Pradesh became the first state in the country to identify a deceased person through NAFIS.
Utility of NAFIS
It enables law enforcement agencies to upload, trace, and retrieve data from the database in real time on a 24×7 basis.
It would help in the quick and easy disposal of cases with the help of a centralised fingerprint database.
How does it work?
NAFIS assigns a unique 10-digit National Fingerprint Number (NFN) to each person arrested for a crime.
This unique ID will be used for the person’s lifetime, and different crimes registered under different FIRs will be linked to the same NFN.
The 2020 report states that the ID’s first two digits will be that of the state code in which the person arrested for a crime is registered, followed by a sequence number.
By automating the collection, storage, and matching of fingerprints, along with digitizing the records of fingerprint data, NAFIS will provide the much-needed unique identifier for every arrested person.
It will be included in the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems) database as both are connected at the backend.
Is this the first time that such an automation project is being attempted?
Upon the recommendations of the National Police Commission in 1986, the Central Fingerprint Bureau first began to automate the fingerprint database.
It began with digitizing the existing manual records through India’s first Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFI) in 1992, called Fingerprint Analysis & Criminal Tracing System (FACTS 1.0).
The latest iteration, FACTS 5.0, which was upgraded in 2007, was considered to have “outlived its shelf life”, according to a 2018 report by the NCRB and thus needed to be replaced by NAFIS.
Since when has India relied on fingerprinting as a crime-fighting tool?
A system of fingerprinting identification first emerged in colonial India, where it was tested before it spread to Europe and beyond.
At first, it was used by British colonial officials for administrative rather than criminal purposes.
William Herschel, the chief administrator of the Hooghly district of Bengal, from the late-middle 1800s onwards, used fingerprinting to reduce fraud and forgeries.
It then aimed to ensure that the correct person was receiving government pensions, signing land transfer deeds, and mortgage bonds.
Anthropometry, the measurement of physical features of the body, was used by officials in India but was soon replaced with a system of fingerprints.
The return of nuclear weapons on the global platform. After 1998, India premised its strategy on building ‘credible minimum deterrence’. The time has come to reflect on what is ‘credible’ and redefine what ‘minimum’ might be to strengthen nuclear diplomacy.
Definition of nuclear diplomacy
Nuclear diplomacy deals with prevention of nuclear war and peacetime proliferation. It also deals with the use of threat of nuclear warfare to achieve diplomatic goals.
Theme of article
India, one of the world’s nuclear weapon powers, ought to be paying a lot more attention to the international nuclear discourse that is acquiring new dimensions and taking a fresh look at its own civilian and military nuclear programmes.
Nuclear cooperation has brought a new dimension to India’s nuclear diplomacy in the 21st India’s status as a responsible nuclear power is predicated upon the civil relationships in the nuclear domain that it has established with major powers.
Credible minimum deterrence is the principle on which India’s nuclear diplomacy is based. It underlines no first use (NFU) with an assured second strike capability and falls under minimal deterrence, as opposed to mutually assured destruction.
Why do countries proliferate nuclear weapons?
Proliferation models centred on security concerns or dilemmas dominate nuclear literature.
Nuclear weapons provide an overwhelmingly destructive force that increases a state’s relative power in comparison to its neighbours.
It provides a powerful tool in an anarchic system where superpowers dominate other nation-states sovereignty.
Hence weaponizing helps establish a deterrence to prevent war.
Why relook is needed?
Possessing nuclear weapons can confer India increased leverage to conduct foreign policy in both regional and international contexts.
There are two ways in which the possession of nuclear weapons can affect a state’s conduct of foreign policy and diplomacy.
The first involves military and strategic signalling. This includes military-oriented functions of deterrence, coercion, and brinkmanship.
The second, deals with non-military affairs.
Way forward
It should be noted that India’s quest to be a “responsible nuclear state” has given it considerable diplomatic capital in the West.
It would be unfortunate for India to squander such gain owing to the lack of carefully considered foreign policy that leverages its nuclear status for its national interest.
Conclusion
India’s civil nuclear engagements with the global community have strengthened its position in the global civil nuclear order, there is a need for the country to push for greater engagements with more key suppliers and stakeholders to fulfill its military nuclear potential and assert its status as a responsible nuclear state.
Mains question
Q. India has been a nuclear weapons state for 22 years. Has this affected India’s foreign policy in a direct manner? Express your views in context of the return of nuclear weapons on the global platform.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has launched a massive nationwide search operation in connection with anti-terror activities linked to the Popular Front of India-PFI.
What is the Popular Front of India (PFI)?
The PFI was created in 2007 through the merger of three radicalists organisations in southern India, the National Democratic Front in Kerala, the Karnataka Forum for Dignity, and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu.
A decision to bring the three outfits together was taken in November 2006 at a meeting in Kozhikode in Kerala.
The formation of the PFI was formally announced at a rally in Bengaluru during what was called the “Empower India Conference” on February 16, 2007.
Agenda of the PFI
The PFI has projected itself as an organisation that fights for the rights of minorities, Dalits, and marginalised communities.
It has frequently targeted the alleged anti-people policies of the State even as these mainstream parties have accused one another of being in cahoots with the PFI to gather the support of Muslims at the time of elections.
The PFI has itself never contested elections.
Parallel organizations to PFI
In 2009, a political outfit named Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) evolved out of the PFI, with the aim of taking up the political issues of Muslims, Dalits, and other marginalised communities.
The SDPI’s stated goal is advancement and uniform development of all the citizenry including Muslims, Dalits, Backward Classes and Adivasis and to share power fairly among all the citizens.
The PFI is a key provider of ground workers for the SDPI’s political activities.
Why is PFI under crackdown?
(1) Links to terror outfits
Many volunteers of PFI are allegedly involved in terror funding, organising training camps, and radicalising people to join proscribed organisations.
It has been involved in carrying out social and Islamic religious work among Muslims on the lines of the work done by right-wing groups.
The PFI does not maintain records of its members, and it has been difficult for law enforcement agencies to pin crimes on the organisation after making arrests.
(2) Promoting Radicalization
The outfit is hostile to the consolidation across the country and the rise of a single non-secular party as the nation’s pre-eminent political and ideological force.
The post-2014 political landscape and the self-alienation of minorities has further pushed sections of the community towards groups like the PFI.
The outfit is also said to have a large number of supporters in Gulf countries who contribute handsomely to its kitty, something which is under the scanner of investigating agencies.
(3) Hostility against state mechanism
Starting out as an organisation primarily rooted in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the PFI has spread its wings far and wide, with a presence in at least 18 states.
It has found particularly fertile ground in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Assam.
Authorities have accused the outfit of instigating and funding protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens.
(4) Barbarism in the name of religion
The PFI has had the most visible presence in Kerala, where it has been repeatedly accused of murder, rioting, intimidation, and having links with terrorist organisations.
The Kerala government affidavit said PFI activists were involved in 27 cases of MURDER, mostly of CPM and RSS cadres, and that the motives were highly communal.
The death of a 12-year-old girl in Pathanamthitta has sharpened the focus on the rising number of rabies cases and the growing population of stray dogs in Kerala
What is rabies?
The rabies virus attacks the central nervous system of the host, and in humans, it can cause a range of debilitating symptoms including states of anxiety and confusion, partial paralysis, agitation, hallucinations, and, in its final phases, a symptom called “hydrophobia,” or a fear of water.
What are rabies caused by?
Rabies is a preventable viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system of mammals, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death.
Can rabies person survive?
Once clinical signs of rabies appear, the disease is nearly always fatal, and treatment is typically supportive. Less than 20 cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been documented.
How long can a human live with rabies?
Death usually occurs 2 to 10 days after first symptoms. Survival is almost unknown once symptoms have presented, even with intensive care.
Facts on rabies
What animal has the most rabies?
Bats
Wild animals accounted for 92.7% of reported cases of rabies in 2018. Bats were the most frequently reported rabid wildlife species (33% of all animal cases during 2018), followed by raccoons (30.3%), skunks (20.3%), and foxes (7.2%).
What is the issue?
There is a blame game over the rising rabies cases: With the rabies deaths causing panic and reports of residents killing stray dogs through poisoning and strangulation, there is a blame game over the rising canine population and rabies cases. Some legal experts blame it on conflicts in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001; others point to the flawed implementation of birth control measures.
Legal battle over the issue in the Supreme Court: Canine culling campaigners and advocates of animal rights are also engaged in a protracted legal battle over the issue in the Supreme Court. V.K. Biju, a lawyer of the Supreme Court, who brought the issue of the “stray dog menace” before the apex court, contends that the root cause is the enactment of the Rules, which according to him, were passed in contravention of the parent Act, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Existence of stray dogs has adversely affected the fundamental rights of citizens: Biju says that while the Act stands for the “destruction” of stray dogs, the rules are against the “destruction” of stray dogs, including the rabies affected ones, besides providing specific protection of stray dogs. In his submission before the Supreme Court, he argues that the existence of stray dogs has adversely affected the fundamental rights of citizens, i.e. the right to life and free movement.
The quashing of the Rules to make India free of stray dogs: In his writ petition filed before the apex court, Biju has sought orders for the strict implementation of the Act and the quashing of the Rules to make India free of stray dogs.
Animal rights campaigners are apprehensive: In the light of this, animal rights campaigners are apprehensive over the campaign to cull dogs to check rabies.
How can we prevent rabies in animals?
First, visit your veterinarian with your pet on a regular basis and keep rabies vaccinations up-to-date for all cats, ferrets, and dogs.
Second, maintain control of your pets by keeping cats and ferrets indoors and keeping dogs under direct supervision.
Third, spay or neuter your pets to help reduce the number of unwanted pets that may not be properly cared for or vaccinated regularly.
Finally, call animal control to remove all stray animals from your neighbourhood since these animals may be unvaccinated or ill.
How can we prevent rabies in humans?
Leave all wildlife alone.
Know the risk: contact with infected bats is the leading cause of rabies deaths in people followed by exposure to rabid dogs while traveling internationally.
Wash animal bites or scratches immediately with soap and water.
If you are bitten, scratched, or unsure, talk to a healthcare provider about whether you need postexposure prophylaxis. Rabies in people is 100% preventable through prompt appropriate medical care.
Vaccinate your pets to protect them and your family.
National Rabies Control Programme: This programme is being restructured as Integrated National Rabies Control Programme under ‘One Health Approach’, with a aim to provide vaccination to stray dogs and free vaccines through Government hospitals.
Way forward
Think globally, act locally. Study and adopt global ‘best-practices’ after customising them to local needs.
Apply integrated approach. Follow a holistic strategy.
Ensure efficient and effective collaboration across various government departments.
Partner with Civil Society Organisations (especially with WASH – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene – sector) for ground-level implementation and monitoring.
Mains question
Q. What is rabies? What ethical challenges are involved in culling of stray dogs? Explain the control measures for the same.
India is witnessing the spread of the Lumpy Skin Disease infection which has killed nearly 75,000 cattle in India and spread to more than 10 States and UTs.
The scale of deaths and spatial spread of the viral infection is important for the nation as India has the largest number of cattle in the world and is also the largest milk producer.
At the same time, India also hosted the World Dairy Summit 2022 after a gap of 48 years. In both these contexts, this edition of the burning issue will deal with the Indian Dairy Sector, its contribution to the nation, its challenges and the way forward.
Indian Dairy Sector: An Overview
India ranks 1st in milk production and contributes 23 % of global milk production. Milk production in the country has grown at a compound annual growth rate of about 6.2 % to reach 210 million tonnes in 2020-21 from 146.31 million tonnes in 2014-15.
The top 5 milk-producing states are: Uttar Pradesh (14.9%, 31.4 MMT), Rajasthan (14.6%, 30.7 MMT), Madhya Pradesh (8.6%, 18.0 MMT), Gujarat (7.6%, 15.9 MMT) and Andhra Pradesh (7.0%, 14.7 MMT).
Dairy is the single largest agricultural commodity contributing 5% of the national economy, witnessing 6.4% (CAGR) in the past 5 years.
Approximately 80 million people are employed in the dairy industry directly or indirectly.
Significance of the Indian dairy sector
Acts as a buffer: Milk animals act as a buffer for farmers during droughts and flood conditions. Also, milk animals are more evenly distributed among farmers than on agricultural land.
Not a seasonal occupation: Dairying is not a seasonal occupation like farming as milk and milk products can be produced throughout the year thus leading to the year generation of income.
Highly nutritious: Milk is considered a ‘Whole meal’. Dairy products are highly nutritious with high amounts of proteins and calcium, thus helping tackle malnutrition in India. For this reason, several state governments are trying to add Milk to their school’s Mid-day meal scheme.
Huge Employment Generation: the dairy sector employs around 80 million people from milk-producing farmers in rural areas to milk distributors in urban areas.
Promotes women empowerment: most of the milking work in rural areas is done by women. They also work as collectors and suppliers of milk to village milk collection centres. This, helps rural women earn some income and automatically promotes women empowerment.
Boosting other sectors: the dairy sector promotes the growth of multiple other sectors like fodder industries, organic manure manufacturing, and food processing industries like Curd, cheese, paneer manufacturing.
Challenges being faced by the sector
Low productivity of Indian dairy animals: Improving the productivity of farm animals is one of the major challenges. The average annual milk yield of Indian cattle is 1172 kg which is only about 50% of the global average.
Disease outbreaks: The Frequent outbreaks of diseases like Food and Mouth Diseases, Black Quarter infection, Influenza etc. continue to affect Livestock health and lowers productivity.
Limited success in cross-breeding: Crossbreeding of indigenous species with exotic stocks to enhance the genetic potential of different species has been successful only to a limited extent.
Supply Chain issues: which include collection, pasteurisation and transportation of milk in a safe environment. Since 60% of the dairy industry lies in informal dairy, it becomes difficult to ensure regular flow and quality of milk. That is why the adulteration of milk remains a perennial issue in India.
Unorganised Nature: The unorganised nature of the dairy farming industry has resulted in minimal penetration of technological progress within the sector. This has further led to consistently high wastage as well as a lack of standardisation in terms of quality and quantity.
Data Deficiency: Informality of the sector also leads to a lack of data regarding total milk production, wastage of milk, and financial flows in the sector which further inhibits the formalisation of the sector.
Low returns: there have been perennial complaints from milk farmers about low milk purchase prices paid to them by milk companies as compared to the final milk price in the market. This leads to the cornering of profits by companies while actual producers get poor returns.
Latest Challenge to Indian Dairy Sector- Lumpy Skin Disease
Lumpy skin disease is caused by the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), which belongs to the genus capripoxvirus, a part of the poxviridae family (smallpox and monkeypox viruses are also a part of the same family).
It is not a zoonotic virus, meaning the disease cannot spread to humans. It is a contagious vector-borne disease spread by vectors like mosquitoes, some biting flies, and ticks and usually affects host animals like cows and water buffaloes.
The disease was first observed in Zambia in 1929, subsequently spreading to most African countries extensively, followed by West Asia, South-eastern Europe, and Central Asia, and more recently spreading to South Asia and China in 2019.
There is a vaccine against viral infection. Indian scientists have developed an indigenous vaccine. The ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines (ICAR-NRCE) in collaboration with ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) has developed a vaccine against Lumpy Skin Disease called ‘Lumpi-ProVacInd’
Economic implications of Lumpy on the Dairy Sector
Milk reduction: Lumpy leads to reduced milk production as the animal becomes weak and also loses appetite due to mouth ulceration. Milk collection across Rajasthan is estimated to have been reduced by 3 to 4 lakh litres per day after the onset of lumpy skin disease.
Animal wasting: The income losses can also be due to poor growth, reduced draught power capacity and reproductive problems associated with abortions, infertility and lack of semen for artificial insemination.
Impact of trade ban: Movement and trade bans after infection also put an economic strain on the whole value chain.
Steps needed to improve the Indian dairy sector
(A) Steps regarding animals:
Improving artificial insemination: to improve cow breeds and thus better milk yield per animal.
Improving animal fodder: designing animal fodder on scientific lines rather than old dry grass-based fodder.
Improving Vaccination coverage: of milch animals against several diseases to prevent the frequent disease outbreak in an animal thus maintaining a sustained and healthy supply of milk.
(B) Steps related to dairy farmers:
Ensuring more prices to farmers: as they are the actual producers of the milk. For this, rather than giving more weightage to fat percentage in milk as a determinant of milk price, more quantity and quality to taken as parameters.
Price support: to farmers to improve animal fodders, ensure vaccination and afford veterinary services on time. This ensures animal health and productivity and thus farmers’ prosperity.
More cooperatives: Forming new cooperatives of farmers to more formalization of the dairy sector and thus better milk quality and quantity in the market. It will also generate more data that can be used in further planning in the dairy sector and hence better resource mobilization.
(C) Dairy sector logistics
Improve cold storage and transportation: more refrigerated trucks must be employed for a faster and fresh delivery of dairy products.
More dairy sector-related research: should be promoted from production to logistics. Production data analysis and demand analysis should be done to cater better to the needs of the producers and consumers.
Promote more start-ups: and new private dairies in the dairy industry like Country Delight, fresh to home, big basket etc. This will help increase competition in the market and thus break the monopolies of a few big names and bring down prices.
Case Study: AMUL: ‘Unity in Strength’ based Cooperative Model
Anand Milk Union Limited or AMUL has created its name and reputation over the years delivering quality milk products to the entire country and now the world.
Amul’s story started in 1946 with inspiration from Sardar Patel, when farmers established a cooperative named ‘Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited’ (KDCMPUL) in a village called Anand.
Amul has a three-tiered structure. First, every milk producer in the village is a member of the Village Dairy Cooperative Society. These members elect their representatives. These representatives together manage District Milk Unions, which form the second tier.
These district milk unions take care of milk and milk products and their processing. They sell these products to the State Milk Federation which forms the third tier. State Milk Federation then acts as the distributor that sells or facilitates the selling of the products in the market. The revenue gets shared downwards in a similar fashion.
The dairy is in control of the villagers themselves. Farmer organizations come together under one umbrella of Amul and directly sell products to consumers through the state milk federation.
This elimination of intermediaries could ensure a good quality product at a competitive price. This provided a stable income for marginal farmers in lean seasons as well because there are no intermediaries to take the chunk.
This model has become a case study in business schools. It showed the success of cooperatives. It showed how the benefits trickle down from the market to the producer at the bottom of the pyramid. Recently, Union Cooperative minister Amit Shah commented that the Amul model can go beyond the milk and dairy sector and produce great results in other sectors also.
How are Indian startups changing the dairy sector?
Several startups are working in the dairy sector to provide solutions to several problems in this sector. Prompt Equipment is one such organisation that provides livestock management solutions. The firm teamed up with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai to design the ‘BovSmart’ wearable belt. The belt uses AI and IoT for tracking livestock breeding and delivering timely information to farmers.
Another business, Stellapps Technologies (Stellapps), offers a similar solution, which uses a wearable gadget for cattle and a mobile application to deliver recommendations to improve herd performance. According to Stellapps, using this approach, milk yield can be raised by 20% and calf health costs can be decreased by up to 50 per cent. The Stellapps technology is currently being used to track around 4.5 lakh livestock.
Stellapps, Mr. MilkMan, as well as Trinetra Wireless are three Indian start-ups among several others that are digitalising the dairy supply chain.
With start-ups entering the industry and addressing gaps in livestock management and supply chain, the situation is beginning to change, ushering in a new era of growth for the industry, rooted in digitalisation.
Government schemes related to the Dairy sector
Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund: The scheme aims to provide a subsidized loan of @6.5% to capital-stressed milk cooperatives for primarily replacing their decades-old chilling and processing plants and addition of value-added product plants.
Animal Husbandry infrastructure development fund: This scheme aims to help to increase meat processing capacity and product diversification thereby providing greater access for unorganized Dairy producers to organise the Dairy market.
National Programme for Dairy Development: The objective of the scheme is to create and strengthen dairy infrastructure for procurement, processing and marketing of milk and milk products by the State Implementing Agencies (SIAs) i.e. State Cooperative Dairy Federations/ District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana: PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana is a comprehensive package which will result in the creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet.
Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to Livestock Farmers: The Kisan Credit Card scheme aims at providing adequate and timely credit support from the banking system under a single window with flexible and simplified procedures to the animal husbandry and fisheries farmers for their working capital requirements.
Conclusion
The dairy sector in India has performed well in the past but still faces several challenges.
The need of the hour is to address these challenges holistically to usher in ‘White Revolution 2.0’ in India and achieve the target of the government of a liquid milk production capacity of 255 MMT by 2022.
Nepal is in a constitutional crisis with major organs of the state confronting each other as the Chief Justice is under undeclared house arrest and the PM openly criticizing the President.
Nepal polity in turmoil
Prime Minister who is backed by the chiefs of four major coalition partners, is at loggerheads with President.
The President might seek to rule as an extra-constitutional authority beyond the sanction and imagination of the Constitution that completed six years last week.
Genesis of the crisis: Row over Citizenship
The current crisis began after President refused to ratify Nepal’s citizenship bill, which was sent to her twice after it was passed by both Houses of Parliament over the span of a month.
The bill seeks to give citizenship by birth and by descent to an estimated 500,000 individuals.
It was also sought to provide non-voting citizenship to non-resident Nepalis living in non-SAARC countries.
Constitutional crisis in Nepal: A backgrounder
Nepal transitioned into a democracy beginning with the fall of the monarchy in 2006 and the subsequent election of the Maoist government in 2008.
The emergence of the multiparty system was followed by the adoption of a constitution on September 20, 2015.
All Nepalese citizens born before this date got naturalised citizenship.
But their children remained without citizenship as that was to be guided by a federal law which has not yet been framed.
This amendment Act was expected to pave the way to citizenship for many such stateless youth as well as their parents.
What are the issues with the Act?
Ans. Gender bias
The main criticism against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2006 is that it goes against established parameters of gender justice.
According to Article 11(2b), a person born to a father or a mother with Nepalese citizenship can get citizenship by descent.
Another article says a person who is born to a Nepalese mother (who has lived in the country) and an unidentified father will also get citizenship by descent.
But this section appears humiliating for a mother as she has to declare that her husband is unidentified for the child to be eligible for citizenship.
In case of a Nepalese father, such declarations are not required.
Why has the President refused to sign the Act?
Bhandari is the first female President of Nepal.
Her refusal to sign the Act has drawn attention to certain sections in the constitution that thrusts greater responsibility on women.
For example, Article 11 (5) says that a person who is born to a Nepalese mother and an unidentified father can be granted citizenship by descent.
Next, it says that in case the unidentified father turns out to be a foreigner, the citizenship by descent would be converted to naturalised citizenship.
Furthermore, it supports punitive action against the mother if the father is found later.
Indian connection to the issue
There is an unarticulated concern in the orthodox sections that Nepalese men, particularly from the Terai region, continue to marry women from northern India.
These people feel that Nepalese identity would be undermined.
Because of this “Beti-Roti” (Nepalese men marrying Indian women) issue, many women could not become citizens of Nepal.
They were subjected to the infamous seven-year cooling off period before they could apply for citizenship in Nepal.
As such women were stateless, children of such families were also often found to be without Nepalese citizenship.
However, the new amendments have done away with the cooling off period for these stateless women.
From mines to ports and logistics, the Adani conglomerate has been expanding across sectors, regions. This has gone hand in hand with India’s diplomatic and strategic outreach towards infrastructure diplomacy.
What is infrastructure?
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function.
Power and the source of its production such as coal and oil;
Roads and road transport;
Railways;
Communication, especially telecommunication;
Ports and airports; and.
For agriculture, irrigation constitutes the important infrastructure.
What is infrastructure diplomacy?
Infrastructure diplomacy is to promote infrastructure cooperation and economic ties overseas through political means and to enhance political trust between countries via collaboration in infrastructure development.
Why in news?
“Several foreign governments are now approaching us to work in their geographies and help build their infrastructure. Therefore, in 2022, we also laid the foundation to seek a broader expansion beyond India’s boundaries,” chairman and founder of the Adani group Gautam Adani,now the world’s third-richest person.
Background
Foreign presence much earlier: In fact, the Adani group had been scouting abroad much earlier. Since 2010, the Adani group has been in Australia, developing the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland.
A greenfield multi-purpose port: In 2017, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (Ltd) signed an MoU for a greenfield multi-purpose port for handling containers at Carey Island in Selangor state, about 50 km southwest of Kuala Lumpur.
What is situation now?
Company pursue international infrastructure projects aggressively: The last two years, however, have seen the company pursue international infrastructure projects aggressively. In May 2022, APSEZ made a winning bid of $1.18 billion for Israeli state-owned Haifa Port, jointly with Israeli chemicals and logistics firm Gadot.
Strategic joint investments: In August this year, APSEZ and Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group signed MoU for “strategic joint investments” in Tanzania. The new ASEZ-AD MoU will look at a bouquet of infrastructure projects besides Bagamoyo in the East African Indian Ocean nation — rail, maritime services, digital services and industrial zones.
India’s strategic objectives than has been possible so far: Is it just a coincidence that Adani’s global expansion closely shadows the Chinese footprint along its Belt and Road Initiative? Or is it that as Delhicompetes with China for influence in the neighbourhood and beyond, the Adani group’s size, resources and capacity are seen as a key element in achieving India’s strategic objectives than has been possible so far.
India’s infrastructure diplomacy: Is now becoming identified the world over with one company.
Public and private investment to bridge gaps: For the Adani group, described as India’s biggest ports and logistics company, there couldn’t be a better time. As the Quad grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the US, competes with China in the Indo-Pacific, it has committed “to catalyse infrastructure delivery” by putting more than $50 billion on the table for “assistance and investment” in the Indo-Pacific over the next five years and “drive public and private investment to bridge gaps”.
Implications of infrastructure diplomacy
Win-Win deal: Adani’s new “no-hands” model of doing business with neighbours a power plant in Jharkhand, exporting all its output to Bangladesh has been seen as a “win-win” deal.
Economic interests lie at the heart of geopolitics: The link between diplomacy and commercial interests has generated its share of debate, especially in the US, where its diplomats, intelligence agencies and military interventions abroad have actively pushed the interests of big business first the hunt for cheaper raw materials, then for markets abroad, then to shift industry where manpower was cheaper. As seen in the new age trading blocs the US-led IPEF, and the Chinese dominated RCEP economic interests lie at the heart of geopolitics.
Conclusion
At a time when global rivalries are growing sharper in the shadow of the war in Europe, and as India looks out for its own interests, pushing powerful corporates to the centre-stage of its diplomacy, whether it is to build ports, buy or sell weapons or make chips, is inevitable.
Mains question
Q. Economic interests lie at the heart of geopolitics. Analyse this statement in context of India’s active push for infrastructure diplomacy by including private conglomerates like Adani in it.
The G4 nations have said that the Intergovernmental Negotiations on UN Security Council reform are constrained by a lack of openness and transparency.
Who are the G4 Countries?
The G4 nations, comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are four countries which support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.
Their primary aim is the permanent member seats on the Security Council.
Each of these four countries have figured among the elected non-permanent members of the council since the UN’s establishment.
Their economic and political influence has grown significantly in the last decades, reaching a scope comparable to the permanent members (P5).
Deterrent in their cause
The UK and France have backed the G4’s bid for permanent seats.
All the permanent members of P5 have supported India’s bids for permanent seat.
However, China has previously implied that it is only ready to support India if it does not associate its bid with Japan.
The US has sent strong indications to Brazil that it is willing to support its membership; albeit, without a veto.
What holds them back?
There has been discontent among the present permanent members regarding the inclusion of controversial nations or countries not supported by them.
For instance, Japan’s bid is heavily opposed by China, North Korea, Russia and South Korea who think that Japan needs to make sincere reparations for war crimes committed during World War II.
Under the leadership of Italy, countries that strongly oppose the G4 countries’ bids have formed the Uniting for Consensus movement, also called as Coffee Club.
In Asia, Pakistan opposes India’s bid.
Why India deserves a permanent seat?
India has been part of UN since inception.
It has the world’s second-largest population and is the world’s largest democracy suited to represent South Asia.
It has contributed maximum peacekeepers to UN so far.
Why reform UNSC?
Non-representative nature: UNSC in current form is not representative of developing world and global needs, with primacy of policy being political tool in hands of P5, is well recognised globally.
Contention over Veto and Technical Holds:Veto power with P5 enables any one of them to prevent the adoption of any “substantive” draft Council resolution, regardless of its level of international support.
Divided institution: UNSC has become an organisation, which can pass strong resolutions against weak countries, weak resolutions against strong countries and no resolution against P5 countries.
Conclusion
There is a possibility that if UN doesn’t reform itself, it may lose relevance and alternate global and regional groupings may assume greater importance.
More global pressure from middle powers like G4 may force an expansion of UNSC as a possibility, but abolition of veto power in current set up is unlikely
Back2Basics: United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
The UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions.
It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
The Security Council consists of fifteen members. Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, and the United States—serve as the body’s five permanent members.
These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary-General.
The Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The body’s presidency rotates monthly among its members.
The International Argo Program system to observe carbon concentration in the world’s oceans is extremely inadequate to meet the growing and urgent need for information on oceanic carbon, says a report.
What is Argo?
Argo is an international program that uses profiling floats to observe temperature, salinity, currents, and, recently, bio-optical properties in the Earth’s oceans; it has been operational since the early 2000s.
The real-time data it provides is used in climate and oceanographic research.
A special research interest is to quantify the ocean heat content (OHC).
Each instrument (float) spends almost all its life below the surface.
The name Argo was chosen because the array of floats works in partnership with the Jason earth observing satellites that measure the shape of the ocean surface.
In Greek mythology Jason sailed on his ship the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece.
What are its aims?
The data that Argo collects describes the temperature and salinity of the water and some of the floats measure other properties that describe the biology/chemistry of the ocean.
The main reason for collecting these data is to help us understand the oceans’ role in earth’s climate.
For example, the changes in sea level (once the tides are averaged out) depend partly on the melting of icecaps and partly on the amount of heat stored in the oceans.
Argo’s temperature measurements allow us to calculate how much heat is stored and to monitor from year to year how the distribution of heat changes with depth and from area to area.
As ocean heat content increases, sea level rises, just like the mercury in a thermometer.
How does it work?
Each Argo float (costing between $20,000 and $150,000 depending on the individual float’s technical specification) is launched from a ship.
The float’s weight is carefully adjusted so that, as it sinks, it eventually stabilizes at a pre-set level, usually 1 km.
Ten days later, an internal battery-driven pump transfers oil between a reservoir inside the float and an external bladder.
This makes the float first descend to 2km and then return to the surface measuring ocean properties as it rises.
The data and the float position are relayed to satellites and then on to receiving stations on shore.
The float then sinks again to repeat the 10 day cycle until its batteries are exhausted.
The Central government has announced a special tourist circuit encompassing five key sites associated with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Why in news?
Activists have urged that Mahad, located in Raigad District of Maharashtra, famous for Mahad Lake Satyagraha should also be included in the proposed circuit.
Ambedkar Circuit
The five cities in the tourist circuit as announced are Mhow (his birthplace), London (where he resided and studied), Nagpur (also studied here), Delhi (where he passed away) and finally Mumbai (where he was cremated).
With a special AC train, the government is looking to trace the footsteps of Ambedkar in India by giving better connectivity to four of these spots.
The idea is to attract tourists beyond the Dalit community, who mostly visit these places as a pilgrimage.
The journey will include meals, ground transportation, and entry to the sites.
About the sites
Janma Bhoomi– Ambedkar’s birthplace in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow
Shiksha Bhoomi– the place in London where he stayed while studying in the UK
Deeksha Bhoomi– the place in Nagpur where he embraced Buddhism
Mahaparinirvan Bhoomi- the place of his demise in Delhi and
Chaitya Bhoomi- the place of his cremation in Mumbai
Back2Basics: Tourism Circuits
The government had identified 15 tourist circuits under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme in 2014-15.
Besides the Ramayana and Buddhist Circuits, others include Coastal Circuit, Desert Circuit, Eco Circuit, Heritage, North East, Himalayan, Sufi, Krishna, Rural, Tribal, and Tirthankar Circuits.
In terms of train collaboration, the Ramayana, Buddhist, and North East Circuits are already active, while Ambedkar will be fourth.
Congress party has issued a notification for the party’s presidential election hinting towards intra party election.
As per the official notification, party leaders can file nominations from 24 September to 30 September. The voting will be held on 17 October and the results will be declared on 19 October.
What are the elections?
An election is a way people can choose their representatives of their preferences in a representative democracy. Elections enable people to judge the performance of the government.
Why they are important?
Elections give people a chance to evaluate their leaders, chance to change the government.
Elections help the people in the selection of their representatives and it provides law making power directly to the people.
Elections make a fundamental contribution to democratic governance.
What is mean by Intra party elections?
It is a mechanism to choose the candidates for various posts of the political through a democratic process, it’s a mandate given by the members of the party itself.
The intra-party election is a fundamental indicator to explore the authenticity of democratization and decentralization of political parties.
Why elections are necessary within the political parties?
Internal debates: During intra party elections there would be contests between leaders. There will be debate, discussions some criticism, and differences of opinion. There should be a dialogue between the leaders, members and volunteers
Democratic culture: Political parties don’t have to be homogeneous in terms of both ideas and leadership. Political parties are aggregations of interests yet Party workers should not feel they are being ignored, that their efforts are not appreciated or not going in vain under the shadow of a leader came from the family lines.
Political career: Having these internal elections, meetings and contests of ideas is important. Internal election is a key for upward mobility. It gives better understanding of the party’s idea, culture and the work process.
High command culture: High command culture is what we are witnessing today in India and South Asia is problematic for democracy, where all political parties are centralized. The few members at the helm are controlling even the smallest decisions about what party should do. Members are not able to express freely their personal views.
Feudalism: They are family-controlled parties, and dynastic politics has become a norm. Won’t be able to name more than three or four political parties which have survived 30 years in Indian politics and are today not controlled by apolitical family.
Favoritism: where you can only rise up the ranks in the system depending on the relationship you share with the first family of that party. Irrespective of difference of opinions with the top leaders of the party, the upward mobility majorly depends on the relationship.
What is a Legal framework for election?
There is no law for intra-party elections as of now.
Seshan effect: When T.N. Seshan was at the helm of the Election Commission of India (ECI); by an executive order political parties were ordered to conduct intra party elections. And because Seshan was a much respected and feared person, political parties complied with it. Since then, elections are held periodically in every recognized party.
What Constitution says: Article 324 says free and fair elections to parliament, state assemblies, president and vice-president. It doesn’t say anything about political party or election within.
What Courts argue: The courts have made an observation that nothing in Article 324 of the Constitution, or Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 tells us that the ECI can actually regulate internal structures, organizations or elections of the party. Which is why parties, on the left or right, have not been conducting internal elections as we want them to conduct them
Worldwide practice
USA: In the U.S. election, the selection of the candidate to be the presidential nominee is done via debate, in which the contenders condemn and criticize each other.
UK: In the U.K. Democracy should be at every level, and political parties are an essential pillar of democracy. Intra party election happens to choose the leader of party.
What is state funding of election?
It is an idea where state or Government of India provides funding to political parties according to their electoral performance.
As of today, state does provide land at concessional rate, free air time on national television but today political parties do not come under RTI. Hence some suggest state funding of elections to regulate the behavior of political parties.
What is the Role of Election Commission in organizational election of political parties?
The ECI does insist on organizational elections, but only gently. They do go through the process.
Election can happen only if there are two or more candidates in the fray. Getting elected unopposed is also a valid election. It is not just within the political parties, we have
Seen it in panchayat elections and sometimes even in Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections that candidates have got elected unopposed.
How to fix the accountability of the political parties?
ECI re-interpreting the existing laws, as happened in the 1990s. ECI has to imagine its role as a regulator of these political parties and in some ways. They have to try out milder options.
Political parties are required to hold organizational elections regularly. The parties are required to inform the ECI about changes in their office-bearers.
They are required to submit a document of expenditure incurred during elections and in the non-election periods. But there is no cost attached to non-compliance.
Expert suggests state funding of election would ensure the accountability of parties as it will bring parties under ambit of RTI and voters can seek the expenditure report from parties. Election commission can also penalize party for non-compliance.
Conclusion
Election for a gram panchayat or presidential it is always a booster for democracy. Intraparty elections are beneficial for party, contesting individual and country at large, it culminates into emergence of quality leadership which in turn a boon for good governance.
Mains Question
Q. Intra party elections are essential feature of healthy democracy. Discuss the role of election commission, the courts and the political parties for the healthy functioning of intra party democracy.
Despite several observations made by the Supreme Court of India (SC) against the inefficient functioning of the CBI nothing has happened to improve the situation.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is in the news now and often.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
The Bureau of Investigation traces its origins to the Delhi Special Police Establishment, a Central Government Police force, which was set up in 1941 by the Government of India.
It then aimed to investigate bribery and corruption in transactions with the War and Supply Department of India.
It then had its headquarters in Lahore.
After the end of the war, there was a continued need for a central governmental agency to investigate bribery and corruption by central-government employees.
The DSPE acquired its popular current name, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), through a Home Ministry resolution dated in 1963.
Mandate of the CBI
The CBI is the main investigating agency of the GoI.
It is not a statutory body; it derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
Its important role is to prevent corruption and maintain integrity in administration.
It works under the supervision of the CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) in matters pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The CBI is also India’s official representative with theINTERPOL.
Cases to investigate
Cases connected to infringement of economic and fiscal laws
Crimes of a serious nature that have national and international ramifications
Coordination with the activities of the various state police forces and anti-corruption agencies.
It can also take up any case of public importance and investigate it
Maintaining crime statistics and disseminating criminal information.
Notable cases cracked by CBI
Bhanwri Devi missing case: Jat leader and former Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna, Congress MLA Malkhan Singh and Bhanwari’s husband Amarchand were all part of the conspiracy to abduct and eliminate Bhanwari. Bhanwari had threatened to expose Malkhan’s relationship with her at the Bishnoi mahapanchayat. Maderna, Malkhan, the three kidnappers and Sahiram along with Amarchand were arrested by the CBI.
Noida double murder case: In May 2008, the nation was shocked with the sensational double murders in Noida. The victims were Arushi Talwar and Hemraj Banjade. Initially, there was no clarity about the motive or the perpetrator of this ghastly crime. After a lengthy investigation which spanned close to 6 years, the CBI based on circumstantial evidence established that the parents of Aarushi Talwar, Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar were the perpetrators of this crime.
The Satyam Case: B Ramalinga Raju, the disgraced chairman of Satyam Computers Services Ltd, along with 13 individuals and entities including Chintalapati Srinivasa Raju of iLabs, made Rs 2,000 crore in illegal wealth in the Satyam scam. The CBI constituted a Multi-Disciplinary Investigation Team (MDIT) to investigate the case. The team worked hard, burnt midnight oil and achieved success in a record time of 45 days when it filed its first chargesheet against the accused for offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and falsification of accounts.
Issues with CBI
Caged parrot: The Supreme Court has criticized the CBI by calling it a “caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice”.
Political interference: It has often been used by the government of the day to cover up wrongdoing, keep coalition allies in line and political opponents at bay.
Investigation delay: It has been accused of enormous delays in concluding investigations due to political inertia.
Loss of Credibility: CBI has been criticised for its mismanagement of several cases involving prominent politicians and mishandling of several sensitive cases like Bofors scandal, Bhopal gas tragedy.
Lack of Accountability: CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act, thus, lacking public accountability.
Acute shortage of personnel: A major cause of the shortfall is the government’s sheer mismanagement of CBI’s workforce.
Limited Powers: The powers and jurisdiction of members of the CBI for investigation are subject to the consent of the State Govt., thus limiting the extent of investigation by CBI.
Restricted Access: Prior approval of Central Government to conduct inquiry or investigation on the employees of the Central Government is a big obstacle in combating corruption at higher levels of bureaucracy.
Why was it called caged carrot by the Supreme Court?
Politicisation of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been a work in progress for years.
Corruption and Politically biased nature, This was highlighted in Supreme Court criticism for being a caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice.
CBI has been accused of becoming ‘handmaiden’ to the party in power; as a result high profile cases are not treated seriously.
Since CBI is run by central police officials on deputation hence chances of getting influenced by government was visible in the hope of better future postings.
Suggestions for the improvement of the functioning of the CBI under the supervision of the CVC
One, the CVC Act should be amended, providing for a five/seven member Central Vigilance Commission, which could broadly assume the role visualised for the Lokpal. The selection process of the CVC members should be more broad based to prevent favouritism or from controversial persons being appointed.
Two, the CVC should constitute an advisory committee of at least 11 members drawn from criminologists and forensic science experts. This will augment the professional input in its functioning. Further, to reduce the burden on the CVC, it should be given the power to go to any expert or professional to assist it in screening complaints.
Three, the jurisdiction of CVC, which presently covers all employees of the central government and the CPSUs, should remain unchanged. There is already an administrative arrangement to delegate the vigilance administration over class II and lower formations to the ministries/departments concerned. However, if the lower formations are involved with the class I officers in a composite case, the CVC exercises a natural jurisdiction over all of them. To make this arrangement more effective, it would be important that the CVC exercises complete control over the selection, appointment and functioning of the CVOs.
Four, the CVC should have an adequately experienced team to technically examine and assess the gravity of a complaint, which can then be assigned to the CBI for investigation or can be investigated by this team. After assessing a complaint by this broad-based CVC, there should be no need to seek prior permission from the government.
Five, in the cases assigned to it by the CVC, the CBI should be made functionally and financially independent of the controls of any government ministry/department. The professional supervision over the investigations of the CBI should rest only with the CVC.
Six, the manner of the appointment of the CBI Director should be broad based as in the case of the CVC members, whereas the other inductions/appointments in the CBI should be brought under the overarching supervision of the CVC.
Seven, to achieve better synergy between anti-corruption laws and grievance handling, the laws relating to the whistle blowers and grievance redressal should be placed within the jurisdiction of the CVC.
Eight, effective administration of anti-corruption laws at the grass roots is the key to responsible governance. The state and their anti-corruption agencies would, therefore, need to be equally insulated from the state government’s interference on similar lines.
Reforming CBI
Need for autonomy: As long as the government of the day has the power to transfer and post officials of its choice in the CBI, the investigating agency will not enjoy autonomy and will be unable to investigate cases freely.
Selection of director/ Officers: To ensure that the CBI is a robust, independent and credible investigation agency, there is an urgent need to work out a much more transparent mechanism for selection and induction of officers on deputation.
Lokpal scrutiny: The Lokpal Act already calls for a three-member committee made up of the PM, the leader of the opposition and the CJI to select the director.
Bifurcation of Cadre: CBI should be bifurcated into an Anti-Corruption Body and a National Crime Bureau.
Develop own cadre: One of the demands that have been before Supreme Court, and in line with international best practices, is for the CBI to develop its own dedicated cadre of officers.
Annual social audit should be carried out by ten reputed, knowledgeable persons with background of law, justice, public affairs and administration and the audit report should be placed before the parliament.
About Enforcement Directorate (ED)
It goes back to May 1, 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed in the Department of Economic Affairs.
It then aimed for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).
The ED today is a multi-dimensional organisation investigating economic offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, Foreign Exchange Management Act and FERA.
From where does the ED get its powers?
When proceeds of crime (property/money) are generated, the best way to save that money is by parking it somewhere, so one is not answerable to anyone in the country.
Therefore, there was a need to control and prevent the laundering of money.
The PMLA was brought in for this exact reason in 2002, but was enacted only in 2005.
The objective was to prevent parking of the money outside India and to trace out the layering and the trail of money.
So as per the Act, the ED got its power to investigate under Sections 48 (authorities under act) and 49 (appointment and powers of authorities and other officers).
At what stage does the ED step in when a crime is committed?
Whenever any offence is registered by a local police station, which has generated proceeds of crime over and above ₹1 crore, the investigating police officer forwards the details to the ED.
Alternately, if the offence comes under the knowledge of the Central agency, they can then call for the First Information Report (FIR) or the chargesheet if it has been filed directly by police officials.
This will be done to find out if any laundering has taken place.
What differentiates the probe between the local police and officers of the ED?
Case study:
If a theft has been committed in a nationalised bank, the local police station will first investigate the crime.
If it is learnt that the founder of the bank took all the money and kept it in his house, without being spent or used, then the crime is only theft and the ED won’t interfere because the amount has already been seized.
But if the amount which has been stolen is used after four years to purchase some properties, then the ill-gotten money is brought back in the market.
Or if the money is given to someone else to buy properties in different parts of the country, then there is ‘laundering’ of money.
Hence the ED will need to step in and look into the layering and attachment of properties to recover the money.
If jewellery costing ₹1 crore is stolen, police officers will investigate the theft. The ED, however, will attach assets of the accused to recover the amount of ₹1 crore.
What are the other roles and functions of the ED?
The ED carries out search (property) and seizure (money/documents) after it has decided that the money has been laundered, under Section 16 (power of survey) and Section 17 (search and seizure) of the PMLA.
On the basis of that, the authorities will decide if arrest is needed as per Section 19 (power of arrest).
Under Section 50, the ED can also directly carry out search and seizure without calling the person for questioning.
It is not necessary to summon the person first and then start with the search and seizure.
If the person is arrested, the ED gets 60 days to file the prosecutioncomplaint (chargesheet) as the punishment under PMLA doesn’t go beyond seven years.
If no one is arrested and only the property is attached, then the prosecution complaint along with attachment order is to be submitted before the adjudicating authority within 60 days.
Can the ED investigate cases of money laundering retrospectively?
If an ill-gotten property is acquired before the year 2005 (when the law was brought in) and disposed off, then there is no case under PMLA.
But if proceeds of the crime were possessed before 2005, kept in storage, and used after 2005 by buying properties, the colour of the money is still black and the person is liable to be prosecuted under PMLA.
Under Section 3 of PMLA, a person shall be guilty of money-laundering, if such person is found to have directly or indirectly attempted to indulge or knowingly assist a party involved in one or more of the following activities:
Concealment; possession; acquisition; use; or projecting as untainted property; or claiming as untainted property in any manner etc.
Allegations against ED
Huge discretions: The ED is the only Central agency in the country that does not require permission from the government to summon or prosecute politicians or government functionaries for committing economic offences like money laundering.
Used for petty crimes: PMLA is pulled into the investigation of even “ordinary” crimes and assets of genuine victims have been attached.
Actual purpose denigrated: PMLA was a comprehensive penal statute to counter the threat of money laundering, specifically stemming from the trade in narcotics.
Violations of Rights: PMLA was enacted in response to India’s global commitment to combat the menace of money laundering. Instead, rights have been “cribbed, cabined and confined”.
Functional opacity: There is also a lack of clarity about ED’s selection of cases to investigate. We often see ED raiding houses of opposition parties suddenly.
Poor rate of conviction: We have hardly read the conclusion of cases by ED. Meantime media-trial tears off the accused person’s credibility which is the most desired intent.
Under-trials and slower prosecution: ED has been focusing on keeping the accused in custody rather than actually proving the charges against them.
Challenges to ED
ED being dragged to court: The petitions against the ED had the effect of slowing down the investigations, as officers have to defend themselves in court.
Foul crying politicians: There are attempts to cover up unexplained, high-value transactions that fall within the PMLA’s ambit
Investigation of foreign transactions: Getting information on accounts and money stashed abroad to establish a trail is the biggest challenge they face.
Way forward
The fight against corruption is intimately linked with the reform of the investigations.
Therefore the adjudicating authorities must work in cooperation and ensure the highest standards of transparency and fairness.
ED has been walking a tightrope to safeguard its integrity by speeding up investigations and court procedures.
The need of the hour could be systemic fixes—and not shrill calls to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
It is unlikely that corruption can be substantially reduced without modifying the way government agencies operate.
Conclusion
It is for the nation to demand that the country’s premier investigating agencies like the CBI, income tax authorities and the ED are not used as instruments of blackmail and intimidation by the government of the day. Rather they should work with complete objectivity and in the interest of the nation.
Mains question
Q. CBI and ED was called caged carrot by the Supreme Court. Do you agree with this? What issues are being faced by these premier agencies? Suggest some dynamic solutions to overcome these issues.
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In the first part of the question, reflect on company’s practices in light of different ethical principles. Conclude the first part by mentioning how ethical practices help businesses.
In the second part, first mention the ethical dilemmas and conflict faced by Sanjay. Follow it with the different options available to Sanjay along with their merits and demerits.
Then, suggest a course of action to be pursued by Sanjay. Conclude by mentioning the need to listen to one’s voice of conscience to resolve ethical dilemma.
As there is no official reassurance that India will not skip its decadal Census, we can declare that we have a case of the missing census.
The census is a very important source of statistics on various indicators.
The ability to hold a census peacefully, and not coercively, has been the hallmark of a civilized state and state of affairs.
What is a census?
Census is nothing but a process of collecting, compiling, analyzing, evaluating, publishing and disseminating statistical data regarding the population.
It covers demographic, social and economic data and is provided as of a particular date.
What is the purpose of the census?
To collect the information for planning and formulation policies for Central and the State Governments.
The census tells us who we are and where we are going as a nation.
It helps the government decide how to distribute funds and assistance to states and localities.
The census data is widely used by National and International Agencies, scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more.
Why is the census important?
Provides most credible source of information: information on Demography (Population characteristics), Economic Activity, Literacy and Education, Housing & Household Amenities, Urbanisation, Fertility and Mortality, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Language, Religion, Migration, Disability and many other socio-cultural and demographic data.
Administration: Census is the basis for reviewing the country’s progress in the past decade, monitoring the ongoing Schemes of the Government.
Planning the future: It provides pathways for planning and resolving problems, and fixing deficiencies. Government goes through analysis over the census data and formulates policies for the future accordingly.
Detailed accounts: The best of sample surveys find it impossible to beat a census as It carries the promise of counting each and every Indian. A census is when the state connects to every individual and it will find it hard to hide or duck from the data.
Welfare schemes: Identifying the actual beneficiaries, Census is the key to creating identity and affirming it over time .Census data enable neat, inter-temporal comparability.
Censuses in India so far
Census operations started in India long back during the period of the Maurya dynasty.
It was systematized during the years 1865 to 1872, though it has been conducted uninterruptedly from the year 1881 being a trustworthy resource of information.
India has held its decadal censuses regularly from 1881 to 2011, despite diseases, world wars, Partition and other instances of turmoil only COVID-19 as an exception.
Census 2011 is the 15th National Census of the Country.
The Census established that the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is coming down at a very rapid pace and is well on its way to stabilization.
The 2011 Census also dispelled the notion of divorce rate differentials between city and rural India. The urban divorce rate (0.89%) is almost equal to the rural rate (0.82%).
Why census 2021 has been postponed indefinitely?
The Ministry of Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha in August, 2021 that the massive, decennial exercise came to a grinding halt due to the advent of Coid-19 pandemic.
What was the original timeline of the Census and how is it being delayed?
Gazette notification: The Centre’s intent to conduct Census 2021 was notified in the Gazette of India on March 28, 2019. The exercise was to have been conducted in two phases, with the housing Census from April to September 2020 and population enumeration from February 9, 2021.but it did not take place due to the spread of COVID-19.
Alternative timeline post-covid-19: In March 2021, the Home Ministry gave a Parliamentary panel a tentative alternative timeline. The fieldwork for the first phase, which would provide data on housing conditions, household amenities and assets possessed by households, is expected during 2021-22, while the fieldwork to count the population and provide data on demography, religion, Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/ST), language, literacy and education, economic activity, migration and fertility would be done in 2023-24, it said.
Said Provisional data: The Ministry added that provisional data would be released in 2023-24 before the next general elections. Usually, more detailed tables providing village-level data on specific indicators will continue to be released for several years after the key information.
Impact of delay in census 2021
Public distribution system:
The National Food Security Act, 2013, says that 75% of the rural population and 50% of the rural population are entitled to receive subsidised food grains from the government under the targeted public distribution system (PDS).
Under the 2011 Census, India’s population was about 121 crore, hence PDS covered approximately 80 crore people.
If we apply projected population of 137crore ,current delay in Census data would continue to deprive more than 10 crore people of subsidised food entitlements, with the biggest gaps in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with 2.8 crore and 1.8 crore projected exclusions respectively.
welfare schemes:
Although the Government’s intent to use SECC data but failed at budgetary allocation for the projected expansion.
Census data may not be used to calculate the beneficiaries of most schemes, but it is critical to policy planning, budgeting and administration.
A number of schemes need to use the disaggregated age and fertility indicators to assess effectiveness as demographics change over time.
Huge lag in Migration data:
From the COVID19 lockdowns it is realized that the Numbers, causes and patterns of migration, which could not be answered using outdated 2011 Census data.
The D-tables on migration from the 2011 Census were only released in 2019, so it’s outdated by the time it came out.
Apart from the One Nation, One Ration card scheme which now allows for portability of food subsidy entitlements, the migration data is actually not used too much in broader economic policy and planning.
India’s population has since increased three-fold to 1.21 billion in 2011.
Experts believe the economic status of the dominant OBC castes have improved in the past 80 years and certain castes have not benefited as much.
So, the new caste census is required to measure the economic and social well-being of all castes.
Other related information Key findings of 2011 census
Population:
India’s population grew by 17.7 per cent during 2001-11, against 21.5 per cent in the previous decade.
India’s total population stands at 1.21 billion, which is 17.7 per cent more than the last decade, and growth of females was higher than that of males.
The growth rate of females was 18.3 per cent which is higher than males — 17.1 per cent.
Among the major states, highest decadal growth in population has been recorded in Bihar (25.4 per cent) while 14 states and Union Territories have recorded population growth above 20 per cent.
Rural and urban population:
Urban proportion has gone up from 17.3 per cent in 1951 to 31.2 per cent in 2011.
Highest proportion of urban population is in NCT Delhi (97.5 per cent).
Top five states in share of urban population are Goa (62.2 per cent), Mizoram (52.1 per cent), Tamil Nadu (48.4 per cent), Kerala (47.7 per cent) and Maharashtra (45.2 per cent).
Literacy:
Literacy rate in India in 2011 has increased by 8 per cent to 73 per cent in comparison to 64.8 per cent in 2001.
Male literacy rate stands at 80.9 per cent, which is 5.6 per cent more than the previous census whereas the female literacy rate stands at 64.6 per cent, increase of 10.9 per cent than 2001.
The highest increase took place in Dadra and Nagar Haveli by 18.6 points (from 57.6 per cent to 76.2 per cent), while in Bihar by 14.8 points (from 47.0 per cent to 61.8 per cent), Tripura by 14.0 points (from 73.2 per cent to 87.2 per cent)
Density:
The density of population in the country has also increased from 325 in 2001 to 382 in 2011 in per sq km.
Among the major states, Bihar occupies the first position with a density of 1106, surpassing West Bengal which occupied the first position during 2001.
Delhi (11,320) turns out to be the most densely inhabited followed by Chandigarh (9,258), among all states and UT’s, both in 2001 and 2011 Census.
The minimum population density works out in Arunachal Pradesh (17) for both 2001 and 2011 Census.
Sex ratio:
The sex ratio of population in the country in 2011 stands at 940 female against 1000 males, which is 10 per cent more than the last census when the number female per thousand male stood at 933.
The number of females per 1000 males in Haryana in 2011 stands at 879 followed by Jammu and Kashmir (889 female) and Punjab (895 females).
The other two worst-performing states in terms of skewed sex ration are Uttar Pradesh (912 females) and Bihar (918 females).
Five top performing states in terms of sex ratio were Kerala (1,084 females), Tamil Nadu (996), Andhra Pradesh (993), Chhattisgarh (991),Odisha (979).
Child population:
Child population in the age of 0 to 6 years has seen an increase of 0.4 per cent.
There has been a decline of 8 per cent in the sex ratio of 0-6 age group. In 2011, the child sex ratio (0-6) stands at 919 female against 1000 male in comparison to 927 females in 2001.
Male child (0-6) population has increased whereas female child population has decreased during 2001-11.
The worst performing states in regard to sex ration in the age group of 0 to 6 years are Haryana (834 females), Punjab (846), Jammu and Kashmir (862), Rajasthan (888) and Gujarat (890).
The best performing states are Chhattisgarh (969), Kerala (964), Assam (962), West Bengal (956) Jharkhand (948) and Karnataka (948).
SC/ST data:
According to the Census, Scheduled Castes are notified in 31 states and UTs and Scheduled Tribes in 30 states. There are altogether 1,241 individual ethnic groups notified as SC’s .The number of individual ethnic groups, notified as ST’s is 705.
There have been some changes in the list of SC’s/ST’s in states and UT’s during the last decade.
The SC population in India now stands at 201.4 million, which is 20 per cent more than the last census. The ST population stands at 104.3 million in 2011 – 23.7 per cent more than 2001.
Religious demographics:
The religious data on India Census 2011 was released by the Government of India on 25 August 2015.
Hindus are 79.8% (966.3 million), while Muslims are 14.23% (172.2 million) in India.
For the first time, a “No religion” category was added in the 2011 census. 2.87 million Were classified as people belonging to “No Religion” in India in the 2011 census. – 0.24% of India’s population of 1.21 billion.
Median marriage age:
The median age increased for men – from 22.6 (2001) to 23.5 (2011) and for women – from 18.2 (2001) to 19.2 (2011).
Conclusion
The census is vital and precious as it is a repository of complete data about the country which is gathered openly, voluntarily, and with the use of public money, making it a social good.
The new Census is likely to capture the extent of the observed movement in migration trends towards smaller two-tier towns apart from the large metropolitan centre.
It could help answer questions of what kind of healthcare and social services are most needed and where.
The Census is about many things. But, fundamentally, it is a way in which the state, by knocking at all doors, displays its desire to connect with the people who ultimately comprise the nation.
Mains Question
Q. Apart from being used to demarcate constituencies, updated decadal census data is vital to administration. How will the indefinite postponement of census impact the policy formation for the future? Critically Analyse.
The Maoist movement is on the ebb on the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha boundary, with its cadre and militia strength heavily depleted.
Who are the Maoists?
Maoism is a form of communism developed by Mao Zedong.
It is a doctrine to capture State power through a combination of armed insurgency, mass mobilization and strategic alliances.
The Maoists also use propaganda and disinformation against State institutions as other components of their insurgency doctrine.
Maoists and Maoism in India
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Marxist–Leninist–Maoist banned communist political party and militant organization in India.
It aims to overthrow the “semi-colonial and semi-feudal Indian state” through people’s war.
Confused between Maoists and Naxalities?
Usually, people confuse themselves over Maoists and Naxalities and cannot exactly trace the difference between the two terminologies.
Media seems to be confused with the terms and uses Maoists and Naxalities quite inter-changeably.
This creates confusion in the readers’ minds over the actual meaning of individual terms.
The actual difference between the terms is as follows:
The difference between Maoists struggle and the Naxalite movement is that both trace their origin to the Naxalbari uprising of 1967.
But while the Naxalite movement thrives on the original spirit of Naxalbari; the Maoist struggle is an outcome of the 1967 uprising.
Maoists work with an agenda and use weapons to achieve their aims.
Naxalism focuses on mass organisations while the Maoism relies mainly on arms.
History and evolution
Russian Revolution: Naxalism in India, like any other leftist movement around the globe draws its ideological basis from the Russian revolution.
Overthrowing Tsarist Regime: Lenin successfully fought against the Czarist Rule through a combination of peasant movement and an armed struggle.
Marxian ideology of class struggle: The prime intent was to bestow power in the hands of the exploited and marginalized and enforce societal control over governance and nation building.
Neo-Marxism: After the success of the Lenin-led revolution in Russia, the intellectual class in many countries got inspired. Prominent amongst them were Fidel Castro and Mao Zedong.
Root cause of origin in India
Corporate exploitation: Since Eastern India is rich in natural resources including forests, minerals and mines, tribal face exploitation and harassment from government and corporate bodies targeting to extract those resources.
Tribal alienation: Tribal communities have been systematically alienated from their traditional rights over natural resources after independence.
Livelihood losses: Tribal livelihood is at stake due to depletion of natural resource base.
Forceful displacement: Forceful displacement from their homeland destroys their traditional governance system.
Absence of governance: In such exploited areas, the absence of governance becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy since the delivery systems are extinguished through killings and intimidation.
Foreign provocations: Many of LWE outfits are supported by external forces inimical to India and the Maoists consider such alliances as strategic assets.
Other factors:
Oppression and HR violations by Security Forces e.g. AFSPA
Violation of Constitutional Protections under PESA and FRA
Prevalence of Acute Poverty
Impact of LWE
Romanticism without a cause: Some sections of the society, especially the younger generation, have romantic illusions about the Maoists, arising out of an incomplete understanding of their ideology of Class –Struggle.
Extreme violence: Their doctrine glorifies violence as the primary means to overwhelm the existing socio-economic and political structures.
Destruction of governance mechanism: LWEs aims at creating a vacuum at the grassroots level of the existing governance structures by killing lower-level government officials, police personnel of the local police stations and the people’s representatives of the PRIs.
Radicalization of youths: After creating a political and governance vacuum, they coerce the local population to join the movement.
Urban-Maoism: Many extremists have facilitated mass-mobilization in semi-urban and urban areas through ostensibly democratic means often led by well-educated intellectuals.
Outcomes of perpetrating LWE
The Leftist organizations skilfully use state structures and legal processes to further the Maoist agenda and weaken the enforcement regime through:
Recruitment of ‘professional revolutionaries’
Raising funds for the insurgency
Creating urban shelters for underground cadres
Providing legal assistance to arrested cadres and
Mass- mobilization by agitating over issues of relevance/ convenience
Govt initiatives for LWE-affected areas
Aspirational Districts: The MHA has been tasked with the monitoring of the Aspirational districts programme in 35 LWE affected districts.
HRD measures: Building of schools under the Eklavya model.
Road Connectivity Project for LWE affected areas (RRP-II): This aims for improving road connectivity in LWE affected States. Under this, 9279 km of roads and 392 bridges are sanctioned.
Naxal Surrender Policy: It aims to wean away misguided youth and hardcore naxalites who have strayed into the fold of the naxal movement and cannot find a way back.
National Policy Action Plan: To address Left Wing Extremism approved in 2015, has development as one of the most important component.
SAMADHAN doctrine: It encompasses the entire strategy of government from short-term policy to long-term policy formulated at different levels. SAMADHAN stands for-
S- Smart Leadership
A- Aggressive Strategy
M- Motivation and Training
A- Actionable Intelligence
D- Dashboard Based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas)
H- Harnessing Technology
A- Action plan for each Theatre
N- No access to Financing
Way forward
Indian counterinsurgency has to work with a dual objective of defeating the insurgents militarily and fully quell the insurgent impulses.
This will need institutional overhauls.
States must do more to synergize their efforts by launching coordinated operations, thereby denying Maoists any space for manoeuvrability.
On parallel grounds, it is also important to segregate the population from the insurgents both operationally and ideologically.
The conflict over the distribution of resources can be mended with economic development.
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