The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has destroyed 30,000 kg of seized drugs at four locations – Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Guwahati — in the virtual presence of Union Home Minister.
Destruction of Seized Narcotic Drugs
Section 52-A of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 allows probe agencies to destroy seized substances after collecting required samples.
Officials concerned must make a detailed inventory of the substance to be destroyed.
A five-member committee comprising the area SSP, director/superintendent or the representative of the area NCB, a local magistrate and two others linked to law enforcement and legal fraternity is constituted.
The substance is then destroyed in an incinerator or burnt completely leaving behind not any trace of the substance.
Exact procedure that is followed
The agency first obtains permission from a local court to dispose of the seized narcotic substances.
These substances are then taken to the designated place of destruction under a strict vigil.
The presiding officer tallies the inventory made at the storeroom with that material brought to the spot.
The entire process is videographed and photographed.
Then one by one, all the packets/gunny bags of the substance/s are put in the incinerator.
As per rules, committee members cannot leave the place until the seized drugs have been completely destroyed.
Which agency is authorized to carry out such an exercise?
Every law enforcement agency competent to seize drugs is authorized to destroy them after taking prior permission of the area magistrate.
These include state police forces, the CBI and the NCB among others.
Why destroy seized drugs?
The hazardous nature of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, their vulnerability to theft, substitution, and constraints of proper storage space are among the reasons that make agencies destroy them.
There have been instances when seized narcotics were pilfered from the storeroom.
To prevent such instances, authorities try to destroy seized drugs immediately after collecting the required samples out of the seized substances.
Over 59 lakh cases were pending in the High Courts until July 22, Law Minister said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
What else?
There are serving women judges in various courts, including 4 in the Supreme Court and 96 in the High Courts, as of July 25.
Indian Judiciary: A Backgrounder
Our Judicial system has been the nation’s moral conscience keeper.
It speaks truth to political power, upholds the rights of citizens, mediates between Centre-state conflicts, provides justice to the rich and poor alike, and on several momentous occasions, saved democracy itself.
Despite its achievements, a gap between the ideal and reality has been becoming clear over the years.
The justice delivery is slow, the appointment of judges is mired in controversy, disciplinary mechanisms scarcely work, hierarchy rather than merit is preferred, women are severely under-represented, and constitutional matters often languish in the Supreme Court for years.
As Justice Chelameswar said in his dissent in the NJAC judgment, the courts must reform, so that they can preserve.
Challenges to the judicial system
Lack of infrastructure of courts
High vacancy of judges in the district judiciary
Pendency of Cases
Ineffective planning in the functioning of the courts
Delay in the delivery of judgements
Lack of transparency in appointments and transfers.
Corruption
Undertrials serving Jail
Outdated laws ex. Section 124A IPC
What led to the underperformance of the Indian Judiciary?
The primary factors contributing to docket explosion and arrears as highlighted by the Justice Malimath Committee report are as follows:
Population explosion
Litigation explosion
Hasty and imperfect drafting of legislation
Plurality and accumulation of appeals (Multiple appeals for the same issue)
Inadequacy of judge strength
Failure to provide adequate forums of appeal against quasi-judicial orders
Lack of priority for disposal of old cases (due to the improper constitution of benches)
Recent developments:
Proposal for the creation of National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation (NJIC)
The CJI has pitched to set up a National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation (NJIC) to develop judicial infrastructure in trial courts.
He indicated a substantial gap in infrastructure and availability of basic amenities in the lower judiciary.
There is a dearth of court halls, residential accommodation, and waiting rooms for litigants in trial courts, especially in smaller towns and rural areas.
Experience shows that budgetary allocation for state judiciary often lapses since there is no independent body to supervise and execute such works.
NJIC is expected to fill this vacuum and overcome problems related to infrastructure.
Way forward
Creating NJIC: It will bring a revolutionary change in the judicial functioning provided the proposed body is given financial and executive powers to operate independently of the Union and the State governments.
Appointment reforms: There are many experts who advocate the need to appoint more judges with unquestionable transparency in such appointments.
Creating All Indian Judiciary Services: It would be a landmark move to create a pan-India Service that would result in a wide pool of qualified and committed judges entering the system.
Technology infusion: The ethical and responsible use of AI and ML for the advancement of efficiency-enhancing can be increasingly embedded in legal and judicial processes. Ex. SUPACE.
Legal education: This should be in alignment with the evolving dynamics of the law and must be propagated in trial and constitutional courts. This will improve the competence of the judicial system.
Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR): ADR mechanisms should be promoted for out-of-court settlements. Primary courts of appeal should be set up.
In a tragic accident, a MIG-21 trainer jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Rajasthan killing both the high-ranked officer pilots onboard.
What is the status of the MIG-21 jets in the IAF?
The MIG-21 was inducted into the IAF in the early 1960s and since then more than 800 variants of the supersonic fighter were inducted into service.
It remained the frontline fighter jet of the force for a long time.
During this period, there were over 400 accidents involving the jet which claimed the lives of around 200 pilots.
Nature of service
Currently, there are four MIG-21 squadrons in service consisting of the upgraded Bison variant.
IAF officials have stated that there is technical life still left in them.
There are only four squadrons of the MIG-21 aircraft.
Why use outdated aircraft?
With delays in new inductions, the IAF has been forced to continue the last four MIG-21 Bison squadrons in service.
One squadron is set to be phased out in the next few months, while the remaining three squadrons are planned to be phased out in the next three years.
This phase-out was worked out much before last week’s tragic incident.
What is the present fighter strength of the IAF?
The IAF has an authorized strength of 42 fighter squadrons.
As time passes, the drawdown is increasing as the total technical life is completed.
However, the rate of new inductions is not matching the drawdown, depleting the overall number of fighter squadrons.
Additionally, several frontline aircraft in the inventory including the Jaguars, and MIG-29s will begin phasing out by the end of the decade.
For instance, by 2027-28 the first of the MIG-29s, inducted in the late 1980s, will start going out.
New squadrons to be inducted
In the last few years, the IAF has inducted two squadrons of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and two squadrons of Rafale fighter jets procured from France which pushed the squadron strength to 32.
In January 2021, the IAF had signed a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 83 of the more advanced LCA MK-1A which it will start receiving from early 2024 onwards.
Along with that the to-be-acquired 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) will help arrest the drawdown.
A larger and even more capable LCA-MK2, as well as the fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), are under development.
However, their availability in enough numbers will take some time.
Inherent limitations to the IAF
Hardware/Technological Challenges: Technology is at the core of an air force – acquiring and assimilating it is our primary challenge. The lack of it curtails national options, impacting postures and doctrines. Denial and selective availability of technology are all enmeshed in international relations.
Maintenance Challenges: Maintenance challenges determine how long aircrafts last and their cost-effectiveness. ‘Maintainability’, which includes logistical issues, is therefore, crucial.
Relying on Upgrades: IAF is badly in need of new Fighter Aircraft to compete with new 5th generation Modern jets. At current there are old aircraft and it is mostly dependant on Super Manoeuvrable Modern Generation Fighter Jet Su 30 MKI.
Delaying of Aircraft Delivery: The current order of IAF the Rafale is expected to be completed in 2024. The LCA Tejas of HAL has now produced 21 but still it has to manufacture in more number to replace the retiring MIG 21 BISON.
Roadmap to shore up fighter strength
No easy roadmap: The IAF has acknowledged that they will not be able to achieve the desired strength for the time being and that they are doing the best they can.
Indigenous aircraft: In addition to the indigenous aircraft coming up, the IAF is confident that increasing the low availability rates of Su-30 and other fighters in service will offset some of the shortfalls in the interim.
Offsets of war: This could be potentially impacted due to the war in Ukraine even though officials have said that they are assessing the impact of the war and western sanctions.
Way forward
Air power is becoming technologically more refined with unmanned platforms, cyber-space linkages and AI advances.
The inherent trans-border nature of this military capability needs astute professional and political husbanding.
Acquiring credible aerospace power with a meaningful degree of indigenization will need a greater degree of national resolve, professional integrity and resource allocation than is the case now.
China has demonstrated the degree of suasion and intimidation that airpower can bring to bear in relation to Taiwan.
DeepMind, a company based in London and owned by Google, announced that it had predicted the three-dimensional structures of more than 200 million proteins using AlphaFold.
This is the entire protein universe known to scientists today.
What is AlphaFold?
AlphaFold is an AI-based protein structure prediction tool.
It is based on a computer system called deep neural network.
Inspired by the human brain, neural networks use a large amount of input data and provide the desired output exactly like how a human brain would.
The real work is done by the black box between the input and the output layers, called the hidden networks. AlphaFold is fed with protein sequences as input.
When protein sequences enter through one end, the predicted three-dimensional structures come out through the other.
It is like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
How does AlphaFold work?
It uses processes based on “training, learning, retraining and relearning.”
The first step uses the available structures of 1,70,000 proteins in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) to train the computer model.
Then, it uses the results of that training to learn the structural predictions of proteins not in the PDB.
Once that is done, it uses the high-accuracy predictions from the first step to retrain and relearn to gain higher accuracy of the earlier predictions.
By using this method, AlphaFold has now predicted the structures of the entire 214 million unique protein sequences deposited in the Universal Protein Resource (UniProt)
What are the implications of this development?
Proteins are the business ends of biology, meaning proteins carry out all the functions inside a living cell.
Therefore, knowing protein structure and function is essential to understanding human diseases.
Scientists predict protein structures using x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, or cryogenic electron microscopy.
These techniques are not just time-consuming, they often take years and are based mainly on trial-and-error methods.
The development of AlphaFold changes all of that.
It is a watershed movement in science and structural biology in particular.
What does this development mean for India?
Vaccine development: Understanding the accurate structures of COVID-19 virus proteins in days rather than years will accelerate vaccine and drug development against the virus.
Structural biology: From the seminal contribution of G. N. Ramachandran in understanding protein structures to the present day, India is no stranger to the field and has produced some fine structural biologists.
Back2Basics: Proteins
Protein is found throughout the body—in muscle, bone, skin, hair, and virtually every other body part or tissue.
It makes up the enzymes that power many chemical reactions and the hemoglobin that carries oxygen in your blood.
At least 10,000 different proteins make you what you are and keep you that way.
Protein is made from twenty-plus basic building blocks called amino acids.
Because we don’t store amino acids, our bodies make them in two different ways: either from scratch or by modifying others.
Nine amino acids—histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine—known as the essential amino acids, must come from food.
Chemically, amino acids are organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur.
There are seven types of proteins: antibodies, contractile proteins, enzymes, hormonal proteins, structural proteins, storage proteins, and transport proteins.
The Indian rupee has been in free fall. Some commentators have pointed out that it has fallen less against the US dollar than a lot of other currencies.
Significance of foreign exchange reserves
Decline by 10 per cent: A large part of the current relative strength of the rupee vis-à-vis other currencies is due to the sale of dollars by the RBI — it has lost more than 10 per cent of its foreign reserves in the space of about nine months.
Why country needs foreign exchange: A developing economy needs foreign exchange to finance its international transactions for both the current account (goods and services) and capital account (assets) transactions.
Cost involved: The benefits of this stock are obvious, but there are also costs associated with the holding of these.
The larger the stock, the more its reassuring value.
Typically, because of their “liquid” nature, the returns on these are low.
How RBI manages the foreign exchange reserves?
How country accumulates foreign exchange reserves? A country can accumulate reserves by running current account surpluses that is, keeping its total expenditure below its gross national product, and/or by interventions in the foreign exchange markets.
India (usually) runs a current account deficit.
Its reserves are then accumulated solely through “sterilised” interventions.
When foreign entities want to invest in Indian assets (stocks and debt), the RBI gives them rupees in exchange for foreign exchange.
Mindful of the fact that this may cause a surge in inflation, the RBI then sells government bonds, sucking out the additional rupees.
The foreign exchange reserves rise, and are matched by an increase in government bonds outstanding.
How outflow of foreign financial capital affects foreign exchange reserves?
When capital inflows were taking place, the RBI accumulated foreign exchange and allowed some currency appreciation.
As long as capital flows were strong, foreign reserves kept piling up and the currency (in real terms) was strong.
Depreciation of rupee: In recent months, we have witnessed an outflow of foreign financial capital, with reserves falling and the rupee depreciating.
International capital flows tend to be pro-cyclical, that is, they move with the world economic activity.
Unlikely to increase export: A depreciation of our currency is unlikely to see our exports rise very much because the world income levels are down.
Inflation: What this depreciation will cause is imported inflation and bankruptcies.
Analysing the RBI’s role
Allowed outward remittances: The RBI threw caution to the winds and allowed outward remittances in foreign currency by Indian residents, with almost no questions asked (up to $2,50,000 annually).
The RBI could have had a much larger supply of foreign exchange had they not generously handed out foreign currency to be frittered away.
While they have not restricted outward remittances, they are trying to shore up reserves by making FCNR (B) and FRE deposits more attractive.
It is not in any individual’s interest to bail out the RBI.
The RBI has also committed to using reserves to ensure an orderly depreciation.
Futility of RBI’s intervention: If the world financial markets want a depreciated rupee, the RBI’s intervention would not be able to prevent it.
But in spite of this, the RBI, with its commitment to inflation targeting, would try to prevent a depreciation (because it causes the price of imported goods to rise).
Possible impact on the poor: Having too open a capital account policy was always fraught with risks.
When countries are confronted with a crisis, the IMF is asked to provide assistance.
But assistance from IMF would involve a “structural adjustment”, including cutting back on subsidies for the poor and vulnerable.
Conclusion
We are standing at the edge of a precipice, but, hopefully, the world will pull back in the nick of time. If not, it would be the chronicle of a death foretold.
The Centre is set to launch a large-scale campaign to encourage Indians to fly the National Fag at their homes to mark the 75th Independence Day under the Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign.
Also, August 2 marks 146th birth anniversary of Pingali Venkayya, the designer of Pingali Venkayya.
Har Ghar Tiranga
‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ is a campaign under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to encourage people to bring the Tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th year of India’s independence.
The campaign aims to have citizens hoisting our National Flag in their homes between August 13 and 15.
Why such move?
Our relationship with the flag has always been more formal and institutional than personal.
Bringing the flag home collectively as a nation in the 75th year of independence thus becomes a symbolic act of personal connection to the Tiranga.
The idea behind the initiative is to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of the people and to promote awareness about the National Flag.
Story of our National Flag
On July 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted our National Flag.
The flag that was finally chosen underwent several changes since it was originally designed by Pingali Venkayya in 1923.
Venkayya was not just the architect of the flag but also a freedom fighter.
He was known as Jhanda Venkayya as he published a book in 1916 on 30 designs for the Indian flag.
August 2 marks his 146th birth anniversary and citizens across this country will now know more of his contributions in designing the flag that we have today.
How this was made possible?
First, the Flag Code was changed to make the flag more accessible and thus give every Indian the unique opportunity to hoist the flag at their homes.
Subsequently, the government has taken various steps to ensure the supply of flags across the country.
Flags are now available in all post offices in the country.
State governments have tied up with various stakeholders for the supply of flags.
The flag will be available on the government’s e-market marketplace (GEM) portal, on e-commerce portals, and with various self-help groups (SHGs).
What is the Flag Code of India?
The Flag Code of India is a set of laws, practices and conventions that apply to the display of the national flag of India.
The Code took effect from 26 January 2002 and superseded the “Flag Code-India” as it existed earlier.
It permits the unrestricted display of the tricolour, consistent with the honour and dignity of the flag.
The Flag Code of India has been divided into three parts:-
First Part: General Description of the National Flag.
Second Part: Display of the National Flag by members of public, private Organisations & educational institutions etc.
Third Part: Display of National Flag by Union or State Governments and their organisations and agencies.
Disposing of the national flag
A/c to the Flag Code, such paper flags are not to be discarded or thrown on the ground after the event.
Such flags are to be disposed of, in private, consistent with the dignity of the flag.
Do you know?: Hoisting the national flag is a fundamental right
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India V. N. Khare said that under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, citizens had the fundamental right to fly the national flag on their premises throughout the year.
However, it provided that the premises do not undermine the dignity of the national flag.
About Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act
The law, enacted on December 23, 1971, penalizes the desecration of or insult to Indian national symbols, such as the National Flag, the Constitution, the National Anthem, and the Indian map, as well as contempt of the Constitution of India.
Section 2 of the Act deals with insults to the Indian National Flag and the Constitution of India.
Do you know?
Article 51 ‘A’ contained in Part IV A i.e. Fundamental Duties asks:
To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem in clause (a).
Back2Basics: Story of our National Flag
(1) Public display for the first time
Arguably the first national flag of India is said to have been hoisted on August 7, 1906, in Kolkata at the Parsee Bagan Square (Green Park).
It comprised three horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green, with Vande Mataram written in the middle.
Believed to have been designed by freedom activists Sachindra Prasad Bose and Hemchandra Kanungo, the red stripe on the flag had symbols of the sun and a crescent moon, and the green strip had eight half-open lotuses.
(2) In Germany
In 1907, Madame Cama and her group of exiled revolutionaries hoisted an Indian flag in Germany in 1907 — this was the first Indian flag to be hoisted in a foreign land.
(3) During the Home Rule Movement
In 1917, Dr Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak adopted a new flag as part of the Home Rule Movement.
It had five alternate red and four green horizontal stripes, and seven stars in the saptarishi configuration.
A white crescent and star occupied one top corner, and the other had Union Jack.
(4) Final version by Pingali Venkayya
The design of the present-day Indian tricolour is largely attributed to Pingali Venkayya, an Indian freedom fighter.
He reportedly first met Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa during the second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), when he was posted there as part of the British Indian Army.
Years of research went into designing the national flag. In 1916, he even published a book with possible designs of Indian flags.
At the All India Congress Committee in Bezwada in 1921, Venkayya again met Gandhi and proposed a basic design of the flag, consisting of two red and green bands to symbolise the two major communities, Hindus and Muslims.
(5) During Constituent Assembly
On July 22, 1947, when members of the Constituent Assembly of India, the first item on the agenda was reportedly a motion by Pandit Nehru, about adopting a national flag for free India.
It was proposed that “the National Flag of India shall be horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (Kesari), white and dark green in equal proportion.”
The white band was to have a wheel in navy blue (the charkha being replaced by the chakra), which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka.
India’s manufacturing sector rebounded in July, with sales and output growing at the fastest pace since November. The PMI quickened last month to 56.4, from June’s 9-month low of 53.9.
Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)
PMI is an indicator of business activity — both in the manufacturing and services sectors.
It is a survey-based measure that asks the respondents about changes in their perception of some key business variables from the month before.
It is calculated separately for the manufacturing and services sectors and then a composite index is constructed.
The PMI is compiled by IHS Markit based on responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers.
How is the PMI derived?
The PMI is derived from a series of qualitative questions.
Executives from a reasonably big sample, running into hundreds of firms, are asked whether key indicators such as output, new orders, business expectations and employment were stronger than the month before and are asked to rate them.
How does one read the PMI?
A figure above 50 denotes expansion in business activity. Anything below 50 denotes contraction.
Higher the difference from this mid-point greater the expansion or contraction. The rate of expansion can also be judged by comparing the PMI with that of the previous month data.
If the figure is higher than the previous month’s then the economy is expanding at a faster rate.
If it is lower than the previous month then it is growing at a lower rate.
What are its implications for the economy?
The PMI is usually released at the start of the month, much before most of the official data on industrial output, manufacturing and GDP growth becomes available.
It is, therefore, considered a good leading indicator of economic activity.
Economists consider the manufacturing growth measured by the PMI as a good indicator of industrial output, for which official statistics are released later.
Central banks of many countries also use the index to help make decisions on interest rates.
The West Bengal cabinet has approved the creation of seven new districts in the state.
What are Districts?
India’s districts are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj.
They generally form the tier of local government immediately below that of India’s subnational states and territories.
A district is headed by a Deputy Commissioner/ Collector, who is responsible for the overall administration and the maintenance of law and order.
The district collector may belong to IAS (Indian Administrative Service).
Districts are most frequently further sub-divided into smaller administrative units, called either tehsils or talukas or mandals, depending on the region.
How are new districts carved?
The power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing districts rests with the State governments.
This can either be done through an executive order or by passing a law in the State Assembly.
Many States prefer the executive route by simply issuing a notification in the official gazette.
How does it help?
States argue that smaller districts lead to better administration and governance.
For example, in 2016, the Assam government issued a notification to upgrade the Majuli sub-division to Majuli district for “administrative expediency”.
Does the Central government have a role to play here?
The Centre has no role to play in the alteration of districts or creation of new ones. States are free to decide.
The Home Ministry comes into the picture when a State wants to change the name of a district or a railway station.
The State government’s request is sent to other departments and agencies such as the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Intelligence Bureau, Department of Posts, Geographical Survey of India Sciences and the Railway Ministry seeking clearance.
A no-objection certificate may be issued after examining their replies.
Recently, India got Droupadi Murmu elected as her 15th President.
However, several opposition leaders negatively commented on the President’s post in India as a ‘rubber stamp’ and ‘ceremonial head’ only with no powers. This reignited the debate around the President’s powers and position in India.
This also makes the post and the process of election of President of India important for the upcoming UPSC mains 2022 examination and Preliminary examination in 2023.
About the President Post in India
Former PM Jawaharlal Nehru on the post of President of India- “President is the “Head that neither reign nor governs” but holds a position of “authority or dignity”
Why do we need a President in India?
The Constitution of India has provided for a Parliamentary form of government that has two executive heads- nominal and real executive.
Consequently, President has been made the Nominal head of the executive; the council of ministers headed by the prime minister is the real executive. The President has to exercise his powers and functions with the aid and advice of the council of ministers.
The logic behind having a nominal head is to provide continuity to the government. The Parliamentary system of government is inherently unstable and the government may go if it loses the vote of confidence. So, President acts as the head of the state during this period.
Another reason to have a President is to have a “neutral head” representing the views of all the parties. His institution is a symbol of a “nonpartisan” institution. (this is the reason we see opposition MP’s visiting President against ruling government actions and asking him to take appropriate action)
Dr. BR Ambedkar summed up the post of President in the following ways:
“The title of the functionary(President) reminds of the President of United States. But beyond the identity of titles, there is nothing in common between the two. Under Indian Constitution, the President occupies the same position as the king under the English Constitution.
Election Procedure for President of India
Electing the President
The provisions of the election of the President are laid down in Article 54 of the Constitution of India.
The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election Act 1952 led to the establishment of this Constitutional provision.
Qualifications to become the President of India
The qualification of be the President of India are given below:
He/ She must be an Indian citizen
A person must have completed the age of 35.
A person must be qualified for election as a member of the House of the People.
Must not hold a government (central or state) office of profit
A person is eligible for election as President if he/she is holding the office of President or Vice-President.
Actual course of election
The President of India is elected indirectly by an Electoral College following the system of proportional representation utilizing a single transferable vote system and secret ballots.
MPs and MLAs vote based on parity and uniformity values.
Electoral College composition-
Legislative Assemblies of the States:
According to the provision of Article 333, every state’s Legislative Assembly must consist of not less than 60 members but not more than 500 members.
Council of States:
12 members are nominated by the President of India based on skills or knowledge in literature, arts, science, and social service to act as the members of the Council of States.
In total, 238 represent act as representatives from both the States and Union Territories.
House of the People:
The composition of the House of People consists of 530 members (no exceeding) from the state territorial constituencies.
They are elected through direct election.
The President further elects 20 more members (no exceeding) from the Union Territories.
Uniformity in the scale of representation of states
To maintain the proportionality between the values of the votes, the following formula is used:
Value of vote of an MLA= total no. of the population of the particular state/ number of elected MLAs of that state divided by 1000.
Single vote system
During the Presidential election, one voter can cast only one vote.
While the MLAs vote may vary state to state, the MPs vote always remain constant.
MPs and MLAs vote balance
The number of the total value of the MPs votes must equal the total value of the MLAs to maintain the State and the Union balance.
Quotas:
The candidate reaching the winning quota or exceeding it is the winner.
The formula sued is ‘Winning quota total number of poll/ no.of seats + 1’.
Voters’ preference:
During the Presidential election, the voter casts his vote in favor of his first preferred candidate.
However, in case the first preference candidate does not touch the winning quota, the vote automatically goes to the second preference.
The first preferred candidate with the lowest vote is eliminated and the votes in his/her favor are transferred to the remaining candidates.
Why need Proportional representation?
The President of India is elected through proportional representation using the means of the single transferable vote (Article 55(3)).
It allows the independent candidates and minority parties to have the chance of representation.
It allows the practice of coalition with many voters under one government.
This system ensures that candidates who are elected don’t represent the majority of the electorate’s opinion.
Why is President indirectly elected?
If Presidents were to be elected directly, it would become very complicated.
It would, in fact, be a disaster because the public doesn’t have absolute clarity of how the President-ship runs or if the candidate fits the profile of a President.
Another reason why the direct election system isn’t favourable is that the candidate running for the President’s profile will have to campaign around the country with the aid of a political party.
And, this will result in a massive political instability.
Moreover, it would be difficult and impossible for the government to hand out election machinery (given the vast population of India).
This will cost the government financially, and may end up affecting the economy as well.
The indirect election system is a respectable system for the First Man of India (rightly deserving).
The system/method of indirect electing of the President also allows the states to maintain neutrality and minimize hostility.
Impeachment of President of India
Article 61 provides for the Impeachment of President on the grounds of violation of the Constitution. But the Constitution does not define the phrase ‘violation of the Constitution’. It is a quasi-judicial process.
The President may be removed before the expiry of the term through impeachment for violating the Constitution of India by the Parliament of India.
The process may start in either of the two houses of the parliament.
The house initiates the process by levelling the charges against the President.
The charges are contained in a notice that has to be signed by at least one-quarter of the total members of that house.
The notice is sent up to the President and 14 days later, it is taken up for consideration.
Procedure
A resolution to impeach the President has to be passed by a two-thirds majority of the total number of members of the originating house.
It is then sent to the other house.
The other house investigates the charges that have been made. During this process, the President has the right to defend oneself through an authorised counsel.
If the second house also approves the charges made by special majority again, the President stands impeached and is deemed to have vacated their office from the date when such a resolution stands passed.
No President has faced impeachment proceedings so the above provisions have never been used.
Powers and functions of the President of India
The powers and functions of President has been divided into several categories like:
Executive Powers
Every executive action is taken in the name of President..
He makes rules for the business transaction of executive.
He appoints a number of important executive members like CAG, chairman UPSC, governors of states etc.
Legislative Powers-
He holds the powers to summons or prorogues and dissolve the Lok Sabha
Joint sittings of both houses are called by President in case of a deadlock.
He addresses the Indian Parliament at the commencement of the first session after every general election
Appointment of speaker, deputy speaker of Lok Sabha, and chairman/deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha are made by him.
12 members of the Rajya Sabha are nominated by him.
Several bills such as money bills are introduced with his prior permissions.
Financial Powers of President
He causes Union Budget to be laid before the Parliament
Contingency Fund of India is controlled by President.
Finance Commission is constituted by him every year.
Judicial Powers of President
Appointment of Chief Justice and Supreme Court/High Court Judges are made by him.
Under article 143, he can seek advice from supreme court on a matter of public importance.
Pardoning powers in India
Under the Constitution of India (Article 72), the President of India can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment. There are five different types of pardoning that are mandated by law.
Pardon: means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free. The pardoned criminal will be like a normal citizen.
Commutation: means changing the type of punishment given to the guilty into a less harsh one, for example, a death penalty commuted to a life sentence.
Reprieve: means a delay allowed in the execution of a sentence, usually a death sentence, for a guilty person to allow him some time to apply for Presidential Pardon or some other legal remedy to prove his innocence or successful rehabilitation.
Respite: means reducing the quantum or degree of the punishment to a criminal in view of some special circumstances, like pregnancy, mental condition etc.
Remission: means changing the quantum of the punishment without changing its nature, for example reducing twenty year rigorous imprisonment to ten years.
Emergency Powers of President:
On advice of PM, President declares national emergency under Article 352, President’s rule in state under article 356 and financial emergency under article 360.
Ordinance Making Power
Article 123 deals with the ordinance-making power of the President. He promulgates an ordinance on the recommendation of the union cabinet when either of the houses of the parliament is not in session.
Veto Power of the President.
Article 111 in India’s Constitution governs the Veto powers of the President. Indian President has the following veto powers-
Absolute Veto – Withholding of assent to the Bill passed by the legislature.
Suspensive Veto – Which can be overridden by the legislature with an ordinary majority.
Pocket Veto – Taking no action on the Bill passed by the legislature.
Discretionary powers of the President
Indian constitutions do not explicitly provide the President with any discretionary powers. However, he has few situational discretions under the below-mentioned situations:
Selection of the prime minister when no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha or when there is vacancy in Prime Minister’s office due to sudden death of PM.
Dismissing of the Council of Minister when it loses vote of confidence.
Dissolution of the Lok Sabha if the council of minister has lost its majority vote.
Issues related to President of India
Despite sitting at the helm of the Constitution, the Presidential office has been the regular subject of criticism in the country because of the following reasons:
Being a Titular head only
As per the mandate of Article 74 of the Constitution, the President is the Constitutional head of the Union Government and all executive actions are taken in his name.
But in actual practice, it is the Prime Minister who makes the decisions and simply informs the President who is bound to act on his advice.
Being a Political Puppet/Rubber Stamp of Council of Minister
President has been several times is termed as the rubber stamp of the government as he has to give approval to all executive decisions.
For example, in 1975, the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, readily nodded to then PM Indira Gandhi’s demand for a declaration to impose a National Emergency.
After 44th constitutional amendment act, the scope of reconsideration of a bill passed by parliament by President was reduced to just once.
BUT it does not mean that the President is merely a rubber stamp. A President with a strong constitutional morality can make a difference. Under Article 78 of the Constitution the President has a Constitutional right to seek information from the Prime Minister. For example,
Former President K. R. Narayanan exercised his referral powers two times. He sent the advice of the Cabinet for its reconsideration related to the imposition of the President’s rule in the States of U.P. and Bihar during the Gujral and Vajpayee governments respectively and saved those governments.
Eminent jurist Professor M. P. Jain: “The influence of the President depends on his personality. A man of character and ability can exert a potent influence on the affairs of the government with his advice, help, knowledge, and experience to arrive at decisions on matters affecting the well-being of the people”
Issue of Presidential activism
It is a situation where the President asserts his discretionary powers and does not act according to the aid and advice of the council of ministers. India has a long history of activist Presidents.
For example, Rajendra Prasad’s public criticism of government, returning of PEPSU bill in 1954. Similarly, KR Narayanan, APJ Abdul Kalam are also considered as activist Presidents.
Many times, constitutional scholars have justified Presidential activism as it has helped in preserving federalism and preventing misuse of article 356.
But from the perspective of legal experts, Presidential activism is not desirable in the parliamentary form of government. According to the author of the book “parliament in India” James Manor, the Constitution of India sanctions judicial activism but it doesn’t talks about Presidential activism. President is not an institution to hold the government accountable.
Misuse of Pardoning powers
Under the Constitution of India (Article 72), the President of India can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment.
This power is being widely abused by the President. Former President Pratibha Patil misused the power to great extent as evident form the fact that within 28 months of her Presidentship, she granted a record of 30 pardons which was equal to 90% of all pardons ever made by previous Presidents of India.
Choice of Presidential candidate:
Many a times, the appointment of Presidential candidate is to appease particular community or section of the society. Also, he is not chosen directly by the people of the India.
Use of Office of President as reward for loyalty
It is considered as office of reward for your life long allegiance to particular party or family.
Despite above criticisms, the President in India plays several crucial roles such as:
Safeguard the foundation of parliamentary democracy in India.
Involved in situation with no set precedent – appoint prime minister when no party has clear majority in lok sabha or when PM dies suddenly and there is no obvious successor.
Custodian for safety of Constitution– He is a preserver, defender and protector of the Constitution of the country.
In the words of former President of India R. Venkatraman, “the President in India is like an emergency lamp which comes to power only when the main switch is off”
Conclusion
Thus, from above we can conclude that the post of President in India can be both ceremonial as well as active depending upon the nature of the person entering the office.
All the Presidents in India by now has acted well according to their Constitutional mandates and helped protect the Constitution of India.
Last week, two 40-ft containers of wood laminate sheets crossed the Caspian Sea from Russia’s Astrakhan port, entered Iran’s Anzali port, continued their southward journey towards the Arabian Sea, entered the waters at Bandar Abbas and eventually reach Nhava Shiva port in Mumbai.
Launch of INSTC
The journey of containers signalled the launch of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200-km multi-modal transport corridor that combines road, rail and maritime routes connecting Russia and India via central Asia and Iran.
The legal framework for the INSTC is provided by a trilateral agreement signed by India, Iran and Russia at the Euro-Asian Conference on Transport in 2000.
Since then Kazakhstan, Belarus, Oman, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Syria have signed instruments of accession to become members of the INSTC.
Once fully operational, the INSTC is expected to reduce freight costs by 30% and journey time by 40% in comparison with the conventional deep sea route via the Suez Canal.
The corridor is expected to consolidate the emerging Eurasian Free Trade Area.
Significance for India
Geopolitical link: The INSTC’s launch provides missing pieces of the puzzle about India’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
India’s investment in the INSTC is exemplified by its involvement in Iran’s Chabahar port and the construction of a 500-km Chabahar-Zahedan railway line.
The India Ports Global Limited, a joint venture between the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla Port Trust, will develop the port along with Iran’s Aria Banader.
IRCON International will contribute to constructing the railway line.
A special economic zone around Chabahar will offer Indian companies the opportunity to set up a range of industries.
The INSTC, thus, provides an opportunity for the internationalisation of India’s infrastructural state, with state-run businesses taking the lead and paving the way for private companies.
Geopolitical significance for India
Access to Afghanistan and Central Asia: Once completed, this infrastructure will allow India access to Afghanistan and central Asia, a prospect strengthened by the Taliban government’s support for the project.
India can now bypass Pakistan to access Afghanistan, central Asia and beyond.
North-South transport corridor: The INSTC can shape a north-south transport corridor that can complement the east-west axis of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Non-alignment to multi-alignment: India’s founding role in both the INSTC and the Quad exemplify its departure from non-alignment to multi-alignment.
The INSTC offers a platform for India to closely collaborate with Russia, Iran and Central Asian republics.
That two of its partners are subject to Western sanctions hasn’t prevented India from collaborating with the U.S., Japan and Australia as part of the Quad to create and safeguard a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Conclusion
As a transcontinental multi-modal corridor that aims to bring Eurasia closer together, the INSTC is a laudable initiative in its own right. That it helps India consolidate its multi-alignment strategy sweetens the deal.
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In the intro, mention the increasing debt burden of the state-owned discoms.
In the body mention the factors responsible such as high losses, increased tariff due to cross subsidies, delay in clearance of dues by the state governments, inefficiencies etc. In the next part, mention the issues with the previous attempts at bailing out the ailing discoms and failures in it.
Conclude by mentioning the need for reforms in the sector affecting the economy as whole.
In the body, mention the contributions of the whistleblower through the use of RTI in bringing in transparency and accountability in governance. In the next part mention the threat to the lives of whistleblowers. In the suggestion mention the need for operationalizing the Whistle Blower Protection Act of 2014, state governments must take efforts to proactive disclosure of actionable information under Section 4 of RTI act, publicity to the information asked by RTI activist if he is attacked etc.
Conclude by mentioning the need for protection of whistleblowers who help keep the democracy alive.
A parliamentary panel has reviewed Goa’s uniform civil code, and some of its members feel that there are some peculiar and outdated provisions related to matrimony in it.
What is Goa Civil Code?
The Goa Civil Code is a set of civil laws that governs all residents of the coastal State irrespective of their religion and ethnicity.
Citing various positives of the Goa Civil Code, Goa CM had urged that it could be a model for implementing the UCC across the country.
Why in news?
GCC has come under focus amid a call for the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across the country.
The UCC features prominently on the present regime’s ideological agenda, and the party had made promises on it in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019.
This had an intimidating impact on certain sections of the population whose archaic provisions of personal laws were untouched for the sake of appeasement.
Why Goa model is in news?
It was observed that a majority of the State’s people are “quite happy and content with it”.
It is a living example of peaceful implementation of UCC.
There were, however, some peculiar clauses in the law related to matrimony and division of property, which were outdated and not based on the principle of equality.
What is a Uniform Civil Code?
A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is one that would provide for one personal civil law for the entire country.
This would be applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
Basis for UCC
Article 44, one of the Directive Principles of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
These, as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable (not enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.
UCC vs. Right to Freedom of Religion
Article 25 lays down an individual’s fundamental right to religion
Article 26(b) upholds the right of each religious denomination or any section thereof to “manage its own affairs in matters of religion”
Article 29 defines the right to conserve distinctive culture
Reasonable restrictions on the Freedom of Religion
An individual’s freedom of religion under Article 25 issubject to “public order, health, morality” and other provisions relating to FRs, but a group’s freedom under Article 26 has not been subjected to other FRs.
In the Constituent Assembly, there was division on the issue of putting UCC in the fundamental rights chapter. The matter was settled by a vote.
By a 5:4 majority, the fundamental rights sub-committee headed by Sardar Patel held that the provision was outside the scope of FRs and therefore the UCC was made less important.
Minority Opinion in the Constituent Assembly
Some members sought to immunize Muslim Personal Law from state regulation.
Mohammed Ismail, who thrice tried unsuccessfully to get Muslim Personal Law exempted from Article 44, said a secular state should not interfere with the personal law of people.
B Pocker Saheb said he had received representations against a common civil code from various organizations, including Hindu organizations.
Hussain Imam questioned whether there could ever be uniformity of personal laws in a diverse country like India.
B R Ambedkar said “no government can use its provisions in a way that would force the Muslims to revolt”.
Alladi Krishnaswami, who was in favour of a UCC, conceded that it would be unwise to enact UCC ignoring strong opposition from any community.
Gender justice was never discussed in these debates.
What about Personal Laws?
Citizens belonging to different religions and denominations follow different property and matrimonial laws which are an affront to the nation’s unity.
If the framers of the Constitution had intended to have a UCC, they would have given exclusive jurisdiction to Parliament in respect of personal laws, by including this subject in the Union List.
“Personal Laws” are mentioned in the Concurrent List.
Various customary laws
All Hindus of the country are not governed by one law, nor are all Muslims or all Christians.
Muslims of Kashmir were governed by a customary law, which in many ways was at variance with Muslim Personal Law in the rest of the country and was, in fact, closer to Hindu law.
Even on registration of marriage among Muslims, laws differ from place to place.
In the Northeast, there are more than 200 tribes with their own varied customary laws.
The Constitution itself protects local customs in Nagaland. Similar protections are enjoyed by Meghalaya and Mizoram.
Even reformed Hindu law, in spite of codification, protects customary practices.
Why need UCC?
UCC would provide equal status to all citizens
It would promote gender parity in Indian society.
UCC would accommodate the aspirations of the young population who imbibe liberal ideology.
Its implementation would thus support the national integration.
Hurdles to UCC implementation
There are practical difficulties due to religious and cultural diversity in India.
The UCC is often perceived by the minorities as an encroachment of religious freedom.
It is often regarded as interference of the state in personal matters of the minorities.
Experts often argue that the time is not ripe for Indian society to embrace such UCC.
These questions need to be addressed which are being completely ignored in the present din around UCC.
Firstly, how can uniformity in personal laws are brought without disturbing the distinct essence of each and every component of the society.
Secondly, what makes us believe that practices of one community are backward and unjust?
Thirdly, has other uniformities been able to eradicate inequalities which diminish the status of our society as a whole?
Way forward
It should be the duty of the religious intelligentia to educate the community about its rights and obligations based on modern liberal interpretations.
A good environment for the UCC must be prepared by the government by explaining the contents and significance of Article 44 taking all into confidence.
Social reforms are not overnight but gradual phenomenon. They are often vulnerable to media evils such as fake news and disinformation.
Social harmony and cultural fabric of our nation must be the priority.
