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Pak delegation in India for Indus Water Treaty talks
A five-member Pakistani delegation has arrived in India for talks over the ongoing water dispute under the Indus Water Commission between the two countries.
Why in news?
- India is building 10 hydro plant projects to cut excess water into Pakistan.
- Pakistan is expected to raise the projects being constructed by India under the Indus treaty.
What is Indus Water Treaty?
- The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank signed in Karachi in 1960.
- According to this agreement, control over the water flowing in three “eastern” rivers of India — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej was given to India
- The control over the water flowing in three “western” rivers of India — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum was given to Pakistan.
Basis of the treaty: Equitable water-sharing
- Back in time, partitioning the Indus rivers system was inevitable after the Partition of India in 1947.
- The sharing formula devised after prolonged negotiations sliced the Indus system into two halves.
- Equitable it may have seemed, but the fact remained that India conceded 80.52 percent of the aggregate water flows in the Indus system to Pakistan.
- It also gave Rs 83 crore in pounds sterling to Pakistan to help build replacement canals from the western rivers.
- Such generosity is unusual of an upper riparian.
- India conceded its upper riparian position on the western rivers for the complete rights on the eastern rivers.
- Water was critical for India’s development plans.
What were the rights accorded to India?
- The treaty allowed India to use western rivers water for limited irrigation use and unrestricted use for power generation, domestic industrial and non-consumptive uses such as navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc.
- It lays down precise regulations to build any water or hydel projects.
- India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers subject to specific criteria for design and operation.
- The pact also gives the right to Pakistan to raise objections to designs of Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers.
Significance of the treaty
- It is a treaty that is often cited as an example of the possibilities of peaceful coexistence that exist despite the troubled relationship.
- It has survived 3 crucial wars.
- It may be listed among the most successful international treaties as it has withstood the test of time.
Why has the treaty survived?
- It is for India’s generosity on Pakistan for sharing waters of its own rivers.
- India has refrained from weaponizing waters. Pakistan cannot survive without this treaty.
- About 80% of Pakistan’s agriculture depends on Indus and the riparian rivers waters.
- Backtracking on the treaty could affect India’s stand as global reliable partner who disrespects bilateral agreements.
A tacit nerve of terroristan
- Responding to state sponsor of terrorism by Pakistan, India can escalate a water war , which can kill the crippling economy of Pakistan.
- If India wants, it can either flood or drought-starve Pakistan by not obligating to this treaty.
Need for a rethink
- But PM Modi’s words equally hold relevance that “Blood and waters cannot flow together”.
- There is no reason to believe that India could start a water war with Pakistan on humanitarian grounds.
- Floods and droughts will starve ordinary Pakistanis while their politicians would still live in luxury.
Way forward
- The role of India, as a responsible upper riparian abiding by the provisions of the treaty, has been remarkable.
- However, India needs to rethink or re-negotiate this treaty.
- Just like water affects ordinary Pakistanis, so does terrorism affects Indians.
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Unicorn boom in India
Prime Minister has praised India’s startup ecosystem as he highlighted that the country has reached a landmark figure of 100 unicorns with a valuation of more than $300 billion.
What is a Unicorn Startup?
- Unicorns are privately held, venture-capital-backed startups that have reached a value of $1 billion.
- The valuation of unicorns is not expressly linked to their current financial performance.
- This is largely based on their growth potential as perceived by investors and venture capitalists who have taken part in various funding rounds.
Some of the successful Indian unicorns:
- Lenskart
- Cred
- Meesho
- PharmEasy
- Licious
- Grofers etc.
When was the term first used?
- American venture capitalist Aileen Lee is credited with coining the term in 2013.
- It was used to emphasize the rarity of the emergence of such startups.
Unicorn boost in India
- The growth of Unicorns in India has been phenomenal in the past two years.
- From 17 Unicorns in 2018 the number went up to 38 in 2020 and it’s 71 and counting in 2021.
- Many of these unicorns, which have cumulatively raised more than 9 billion dollars till date, have also seen a surge in valuations.
Features of a unicorn Start-up
To be a unicorn is no cakewalk and each unicorn today has its own story with a list of features that worked in its favour.
The few pointers that are commonly seen across all the unicorns is as under:
- Disruptive innovation: Mostly, all the unicorns have brought a disruption in the field they belong to. Uber, for example, changed the way people commuted.
- ‘Firsts’: It is seen that unicorns are mostly the starters in their industry. They change the way people do things and gradually create a necessity for themselves.
- High on tech: Another common trend across unicorns is that their business model runs on tech. Uber got their model accepted by crafting a friendly app.
- Consumer-focused: Often, theirgoal is to simplify and make things easy for consumers and be a part of their day-to-day life.
- Affordability: Keeping things affordable is another key highlight of these startups. Spotify, for example, made listening to music easier to the world.
- Privately owned: Most of the unicorns are privately owned which gets their valuation bigger when an established company invests in it.
- *Mostly software based: A recent report suggests that 87% of the unicorns’ products are software, 7% are hardware and the rest 6% are other products & services.
Entrepreneurship today is ‘survival-driven’ self-employment, formed out of necessity, as well as opportunity motivated, largely because poverty and lack of formal employment opportunities rear their ugly head in striving economies.
Reasons for sudden success
- COVID pandemic: The pandemic accelerated adoption of digital services by consumers helping start-ups and new-age ventures that typically build tech-focused businesses delivering an array of offerings to customers.
- Boost in online services: Many Indians who had traditionally been subscribers of brick-and-mortar businesses moved online and explored a host of services ranging from food delivery and edu-tech to e-grocery.
- Work-from-home culture: This added significant numbers to start-ups’ user base and expedited their business expansion plans and attracting investors.
Inherent challenges to Start-ups in India
- Financial scarcity: Availability of finance is critical for the startups and is always a problem to get sufficient amounts.
- Lack of Infrastructure: There is a lack of support mechanisms that play a significant role in the lifecycle of startups which include incubators, science and technology parks etc.
- Regulatory bottlenecks: Starting and exiting a business requires a number of permissions from government agencies. Although there is a perceptible change, it is still a challenge.
- Compliance hurdles: For example, earlier Angel tax, which stands removed no, falls under corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
- Low success rate: Several startups fail due to shifting away the focus on the fundamentals of business grows.
- Lack of an Innovative Business Model: To be successful a start-up must be innovative. Unfortunately, Indian startups are less innovative than startups elsewhere.
- Non-competitive Indian Markets: Too many startups serving too few consumers are saturating the Indian market. Most startups serve the fraction of Indians who live in urban India.
- Digital divide: The majority of Indians who live in rural areas and small towns remain untouched by most startups.
Various initiatives by the Govt.
There are numerous government initiatives to assist start-ups:
- MUDRA Scheme: Through this scheme, start-ups get loans from the banks to set up, grow and stabilize their businesses.
- SETU (Self-Employment and Talent Utilization) Fund: Government has allotted Rs 1,000 Cr in order to create opportunities for self-employment and new jobs mainly in technology-driven domains.
- E-Biz Portal: It is India’s first government-to-business portal that integrates 14 regulatory permissions and licenses at one source.
- Credit Guarantee Fund: launched by the GoI to make available collateral-free credit to the micro and small enterprise sector.
- Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS): 10,000 Rs corpus fund established in line with the Start-up India action plan under SIDBI for extending support to Start-ups.
- Tax Sops: Tax exemption on Capital gain tax, Removal of Angel tax, Tax exemption for 3 years and Tax exemption in investment above Fair Market Value.
Roadmap for the future success of start-ups
Start-ups can judiciously take cues from unicorns in understanding the ecosystem and building a business model that adds value while being sustainable.
- New-age startups should devise a customer-centric business model.
- Through proper branding and strategy, they should make sure that this value proposition reaches the end-user.
- What brings startups closer to success is the execution and customer acquisition strategy, where all the action occurs.
- Notably, technology (rather deep-technology) has played a key role in the making of pioneer business models.
Attracting venture capitalists
- VCs are actively looking for investment opportunities in early-stage startups.
- They possess the selection ability to effectively screen startups having a higher potential to succeed.
- VCs primarily look for a mindset alignment with promoters and companies where they, as investors, can add value by leveraging their industry experience, expertise, network and reputation.
Conclusion
- The current economic scenario in India is in expansion mode. Indian Startups are now spread across the length and breadth of the entire country.
- The word ‘unicorn’ has come a long way from just being a mythological creature to a regular feature in business and finance discussions.
- Innovation and economic growth depend on being able to produce excellent individuals with the right skills and attitudes to be entrepreneurial in their professional lives.
- The Indian government’s policies like Make in India, Digital India, Atmanirbhar etc. shows the enthusiasm to arrest this talent.
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[pib] Param Ananta Supercomputer
Param Ananta, a state-of the art Supercomputer was commissioned at IIT Gandhinagar.
Param Ananta
- Param Ananta is capable of offering peak performance of 838 teraflops.
- It is a joint initiative of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Department of Science and Technology (DST).
- This facility is established under Phase 2 of the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
- The system is equipped with a mix of CPU nodes, GPU nodes, High Memory nodes, High throughput storage and high performance Infiniband.
- The supercomputer will rank behind C-DAC’s Param Siddhi-AI, which as of November 2021 was the 102nd most powerful supercomputer in the world — with peak performance capability of 3.3 petaflops.
What is a Supercomputer?
- A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer.
- The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) instead of million instructions per second (MIPS).
- Since 2017, there are supercomputers which can perform over a hundred quadrillion FLOPS (peta FLOPS).
- Since November 2017, all of the world’s fastest 500 supercomputers run Linux-based operating systems.
Specific features
- Param Ananta system is based on Direct Contact Liquid Cooling technology to obtain a high power usage effectiveness and thereby reducing the operational cost.
- Multiple applications from various scientific domains such as Weather and Climate, Bioinformatics, Computational Chemistry, Molecular Dynamics, Material Sciences, Computational Fluid Dynamics etc. have been installed on the system for the benefit of researchers.
- This high end computing system will be a great value addition for the research community.
Back2Basics: National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)
- NSM is a proposed plan by GoI to create a cluster of seventy supercomputers connecting various academic and research institutions across India.
- In April 2015 the government approved the NSM with a total outlay of Rs.4500 crore for a period of 7 years.
- The mission was set up to provide the country with supercomputing infrastructure to meet the increasing computational demands of academia, researchers, MSMEs, and startups by creating the capability design, manufacturing, of supercomputers indigenously in India.
- Currently there are four supercomputers from India in Top 500 list of supercomputers in the world.
Aims and objectives
- The target of the mission was set to establish a network of supercomputers ranging from a few Tera Flops (TF) to Hundreds of Tera Flops (TF) and three systems with greater than or equal to 3 Peta Flops (PF) in academic and research institutions of National importance across the country by 2022.
- This network of Supercomputers envisaging a total of 15-20 PF was approved in 2015 and was later revised to a total of 45 PF (45000 TFs), a jump of 6 times more compute power within the same cost and capable of solving large and complex computational problems.
When did India initiate its efforts to build supercomputers?
- India’s supercomputer program was initiated in the late 1980s, when the United States ceased the export of a Cray Supercomputer due to technology embargos.
- This resulted in India setting up C-DAC in 1988, which in 1991, unveiled the prototype of PARAM 800, benchmarked at 5 Gflops. This supercomputer was the second-fastest in the world at that time.
- Since June 2018, the USA’s Summit is the fastest supercomputer in the world, taking away this position from China.
- As of January 2018, Pratyush and Mihir are the fastest supercomputers in India with a maximum speed of Peta Flops.
What are the phases of the National Supercomputing Mission?
Phase I:
- In the first phase of the NSM, parts of the supercomputers are imported and assembled in India.
- A total of 6 supercomputers are to be installed in this phase.
- The first supercomputer that was assembled indigenously is called Param Shivay. It was installed in IIT (BHU) located in Varanasi.
- Similar systems, Param Shakti (IIT Kharagpur) and Param Brahma (IISER, Pune) were also later installed within the country.
- The rest will be installed at IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Studies (JNIAS).
Phase II:
- The supercomputers that are installed so far are about 60% indigenous.
- The 11 systems that are going to be installed in the next phase will have processors designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and will have a cumulative capacity of 10 petaflops.
- These new systems are to be constructed more cost-effectively than the previous ones.
- One of the 11 proposed supercomputers will be installed
- at C-DAC exclusively for small and medium enterprises so that they can train employees as well as work on supercomputers at a very low cost.
Phase III:
- The third phase aims to build fully indigenous supercomputers.
- The government had also approved a project to develop a cryogenic cooling system that rapidly dispels the heat generated by a computing chip. This will be jointly built together by IIT-Bombay and C-DAC.
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Pacific Nations reject China Security Pact
China has suffered a big diplomatic humiliation in the pacific. 10 island nations in the region rejected China’s proposed security pact.
Why in news?
- Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has returned empty-handed in a highly decorated visit to the Pacific Nations.
- The secret deal that was to be brokered got leaked in public media, caused huge embarrassment to the Chinese.
Conspicuous features of the Pact
- China has had offered to radically ramp up its activities in the South Pacific, directly challenging the influence of the US and its allies in the strategically vital region.
- The failed deal saw Beijing to:
- Train Pacific island police,
- Become involved in cybersecurity,
- Expand political ties,
- Conduct sensitive marine mapping and
- Gain greater access to natural resources on land and in the water
- As an enticement, Beijing is offering millions of dollars in financial aid, the prospect of a potentially lucrative China-Pacific islands free trade agreement and access to China’s vast market.
Why Pacific Nations rejected this lollipop?
- The offer is perceived was “disingenuous” and would “ensure Chinese influence in government” and “economic control” of key industries.
- The nations also cited a lack of regional consensus.
Pls make observations about Pacific Island Nations:
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[Burning Issue] Sex Work as a Profession
Context
- In a significant order recognising sex work as a “profession”, the Supreme Court has directed that police should neither interfere nor take criminal action against adult and consenting sex workers.
- A recent Bollywood movie is also nowadays perceived as an ode to sex workers honouring their struggle and spirit.
Sex Work in India
- It is said that sex work is the oldest profession in the world.
- In India, their presence can be dated back to ancient times with scriptures mentioning their presence.
- In later times, such women were considered the wives of a temple deity or a Devdasi, who saw their god in all their lovers.
So, where does India stand?
- Prostitution is not illegal in our country, but soliciting and public prostitution are.
- Owning a brothel is also illegal, but because places like GB Road are already in place, these laws are rarely enforced.
Legality check
- According to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), prostitution in its broader sense is not really illegal per se.
- But there are certain activities which constitute a major part of prostitution that are punishable under certain provisions of the act, which are:
- Soliciting prostitution services in public places
- Carrying out prostitution activities in hotels
- Indulging in prostitution by arranging for a sex worker
- Arrangement of a sexual act with a customer
Sex Work, not Prostitution: Making the difference
- Sex workers are adults who receive money or goods in exchange for consensual sexual services or erotic performances, either regularly or occasionally.
- The term “sex worker” recognizes that sex work is work.
- Prostitution, on the other hand, has connotations of criminality and immorality.
- Many people who sell sexual services prefer the term “sex worker” and find “prostitute” demeaning and stigmatizing, which contributes to their exclusion from health, legal, and social services.
How did the term ‘Prostitution’ materialized in India?
- In the 1800s, it is reported that the British military established and maintained brothels for its troops to use across India.
- A report by the BBC states that the girls, many in their early teens from poor, rural Indian families, were recruited and paid directly by the military, which also set their prices.
- The British have long gone, but the earned infame continues in the country at prime locations of major cities such as GB Road (New Delhi), Budhwar Peth (Pune), Kamathipura (Mumbai) etc.
- While some estimate that there are around 8,00,000 sex workers in India, the actual number could be as high as 20 lakh across the country.
Perspectives on Sex Work
Perspectives on sex workers’ rights generally fall into two categories.
(1) Feminist perspective
- It assumes that all people involved in sex work have been coerced, bribed, blackmailed or forced into the trade.
- No woman could “choose” to be in sex work, and making money from sex thus becomes synonymous with sexual exploitation.
- Following this perspective, the only approach to giving sex workers their rights is to “free” them from the flesh trade.
(2) Legal-rational (Modern) perspective
- It perceives sex work as legitimate business and expects to be treated as such.
- Viewing sex as business provides a basis for organizing to solve many of the problems associated with commercial sex work.
- They constitute an integral part of India’s informal sector economy.
Various issues faced by Sex Workers
(1) Various violence faced
- Physical violence: They are often subjected to physical force such as- being slapped, pushed, shoved, hit, being kicked, dragged, beaten up and mutilation of genitals.
- Sexual violence: Rape, gang rape, sexual harassment, being physically forced or psychologically intimidated to engage in sex or subjected to sex acts against one’s will or that one finds degrading or humiliating.
- Psychological violence: Being insulted by labelling derogatory names; being humiliated or belittled in front of other people; being confined or isolated from family or friends; being threatened with harm to oneself or someone one cares about; verbal abuse etc.
(2) Lifetime issues
- Stigma and Marginalization: Sex work is not treated as work, but as a dirty and immoral lifestyle threatening to taint the “innocent” public.
- Lack of access to justice: Their uncertain status in law result in judgments that often mark sex-workers as criminals and repeat offenders.
- Social and civil exclusion: For sex workers, the State is an instrument of violence; feared, rather than seen as protectors of rights.
- Identity crisis: Most sex workers hide their identity and origin. They are often raided from their premises and are unable to return to their residences.
- Denial of basic amenities: Due to this discrimination, women in sex work have been denied safety, proper healthcare, education and, most importantly, the right to practice the business of making money from sex.
- Risks of violence: People in sex work are not only at a higher risk for violence, but they are also less likely to get protection from the police—often the very perpetrators of this violence.
- Marginalization: Illiteracy, ignorance and fear of the medical establishment make it difficult for women to access healthcare.
(3) Human-rights abuses
Human-rights violations that should be considered in conjunction with violence against sex workers are:
- Money extortion by Police and Goons
- Denied or refused food or other basic necessities
- Refused or cheated of salary, payment or money that is due to the person
- Forced to consume drugs or alcohol
- Arbitrarily stopped, subjected to invasive body searches or detained by police
- Arbitrarily detained or incarcerated in police stations, detention centres and rehabilitation centres without due process
- Refused or denied health-care services
- Subjected to coercive health procedures such as forced STI and HIV testing, sterilization, abortions
- Deprived of sleep by force
Why is it a vicious trap?
- The stigma against a woman in sex work is not limited to the woman herself; it carries down to her children, regardless of their own professions or lifestyles.
- Children of sex workers repeatedly report discrimination, ostracization and isolation felt on account of their mothers’ work.
- Many are embarrassed by their home lives.
- This has had significant effects on their education, as the drop-out rate in this community is particularly high.
- Children abandon school for myriad reasons, ranging from exam performance to harassment by teachers and classmates.
- Undoubtedly this harassment leads to lower self-esteem and a lack of motivation in school.
Debunking myths about Sex Work
Popular media fuels the image of women as either overly sexual outcastes who threaten the very structure of Indian family life. Indian laws and policies regarding sex work are crafted from a moralistic standpoint and people involved in sex work are defined by—and treated as— their “immoral” profession.
In fact, women in sex work cannot be put into a box.
- While there are certainly victims of trafficking in sex work today, the majority of women in sex work consent to doing it.
- They have decided that making money from sex is a lucrative option for them and their families.
- But traditionalists cannot divorce sex from its sacred and religious implications. Tawaif and Devdasi system is a testimony to this.
Why sex work is not recognized/promoted in India?
- A victimless crime: Prostitution creates a setting whereby crimes against men, women, and children become a commercial enterprise. It is an assault when he/she forces a prostitute to engage in sex scenes.
- Evils of institutionalizing: Even with the decriminalization of prostitution, women and even children can still suffer from violence and physical abuse. People who are into this profession are prone to rape.
- Sexually transmitted diseases: Even if a worker is being tested every week for HIV, she will test negative for at least the first 4-6 weeks and possibly the first 12 weeks after being infected. This means that she can be a silent vector of the deadly virus.
- Encourage human trafficking: Human trafficking, especially of girl children, is rampant in our country. With poverty driving some parents to sell their kids to sexual predators is alarming and if prostitution will be legal, more children will be coerced to be sex workers.
Various policy moves
(1) Ujjwala Scheme
- The Ministry of Women and Child Development implements the Ujjawala Scheme.
- It is a comprehensive scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and re-integration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
- The protective and rehabilitative homes provide basic amenities such as food, clothing, medical care, legal aid, education for rescued children and vocational training to provide them alternate livelihood options.
(2) Protection against forceful sex work
- The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1986 is an amendment of the original act.
- As per this act, prostitutes are to be arrested if they are found soliciting their services or seducing others.
- Furthermore, call girls are prohibited from making their phone numbers public.
- They can be punished for up to 6 months along with penalties if found doing so.
(3) Constitutional safeguard
Article 23 of the Indian Constitution, amended in 2014, includes the following provisions:
- Prohibition of human trafficking and forced labour.
- Traffic in human beings and bears and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with the law.
- Nothing in this article precludes the State from imposing compulsory service for public purposes, and the State shall not discriminate solely on the basis of religion, race, caste, or class, or any combination thereof, in imposing such service.
Why they are still excluded in India?
- No documentation of socio-economic status: Stigma related to their work and identity and the migratory nature of work prevents sex workers from accessing identification documents, essential to accessing entitlements. They are yet to have Aadhaar Cards.
- Denial of formal education: Residence proof, father’s name and caste, and the ration card are some documents required for getting their children registered in schools.
- Food insecurity: The Public Distribution System (PDS), meant for people below the poverty line to access food items cheaply, needs supporting proof of sex workers being below poverty line.
- Denial of safe environment and labour protection: Sex work happens in informal settings and is an occasional form of income or a long term occupation. This includes access to benefits, legal redress for workplace grievances, adequate health and safety regulations.
Recent Supreme Court Directive: Key Takeaways
(1) Recognition to profession and personal dignity
- Sex Work is a profession whose practitioners are entitled to dignity and equal protection under law.
- Criminal law must apply equally in all cases, on the basis of ‘age’ and ‘consent’.
- It need not be gainsaid that notwithstanding the profession, every individual in this country has a right to a dignified life under Article 21 of the Constitution, the court observed.
- The order was passed after invoking special powers under Article 142 of Constitution.
(2) Cautions to Police
- It is clear that the sex worker is an adult and is participating with consent, the police must refrain from interfering or taking any criminal action.
- The Bench ordered that sex workers should not be “arrested or penalised or harassed or victimised” whenever there is a raid on any brothel.
- Since voluntary sex work is not illegal and only running the brothel is unlawful.
- Basic protection of human decency and dignity extends to sex workers and their children, the court noted.
- A child of a sex worker should not be separated from the mother merely on the ground that she is in the sex trade, the court held.
- Further, if a minor is found living in a brothel or with sex workers, it should not be presumed that the child was trafficked.
(3) Taking cognisance of sexual crimes against sex workers
- The court ordered the police to not discriminate against sex workers who lodge a criminal complaint of offence committed against them is of a sexual nature.
- Sex workers can also be victims of sexual assault should be provided every facility including immediate medico-legal care.
- The court said media should take “utmost care not to reveal the identities of sex workers, during arrest, raid and rescue operations.
What will change if the Policymakers endorse the Court’s direction?
- Sex workers will be accorded equal legal protection.
- If a sex worker reports a criminal/sexual or other type of offence, the police will take it seriously and act in accordance with the law.
- If a brothel is raided, the sex workers involved will not be arrested, penalised, harassed, or victimised.
- Any sex worker who is a victim of sexual assault will be given all of the same services as a survivor of sexual assault, including immediate medical attention.
- Provisions similar to those of Transgenders will be extended to sex workers.
Sex work in other countries
Some countries choose to outright ban the practice, while others have attempted to regulate prostitution and provide health and social benefits to sex workers.
Here are a few examples of countries where prostitution is legal:
- New Zealand: Prostitution has been legal since 2003. There are even licenced brothels operating under public health and employment laws, and they get all the social benefits.
- France: Prostitution is legal in France, though soliciting in public is still not allowed.
- Germany: Prostitution is legalised and there are proper state-run brothels. The workers are provided with health insurance, have to pay taxes, and they even receive social benefits like pensions.
- Greece: The sex workers get equal rights and have to go for health checkups as well.
- Canada: Prostitution in Canada is legal with strict regulations.
Way forward
- Decriminalization: It is a prerequisite to ensure the physical and emotional inviolability of sex workers, their right to life, right to freedom of labour, health and reproductive and sexual rights.
- Trafficking and should not be conflated with sex work: Trafficking of Adult Persons and Trafficking of Children should be dealt with under two separate laws to ensure that consenting adults are not infantilised and children are given justice.
- Rehabilitation with consent: Shut down compulsory detention or rehabilitation centres for people involved in sex work. Instead, provide sex workers with evidence-based, voluntary, community empowerment services.
- Participation in policy making: Ensure participation of sex work organisations in drafting/ amending laws, policies and programs relevant to them and in its eventual implementation process as the govt did for Transgenders.
- Policing reforms: Sensitivity to issues faced by sex workers should be made a part of training for police personnel, public prosecutors and the judiciary in partnership with community organisations of sex workers.
- Human rights protection: Strengthen National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and increase their accountability to respond to complaints or initiate suo moto action reports of violence against sex workers.
- Access to justice: Ensure Free Legal Services are available in rural areas for sex workers and offered by lawyers who have been trained in issues faced by sex workers.
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6 834409 Yaksh Chaudhary 15 7600782 C Yaswanth Kumar Reddy 28 1009473 Mantri Mourya Bharadwaj 29 7102140 Bhavishya 32 6605885 Navandar Anay Nitin 38 859480 Ravi Kumar 40 854740 Kushal Jain 42 5610120 Swathi Sree T 43 623772 Shubham Shukla 44 7808206 Anjali Shrotriya 46 5604724 Ramya C S 49 1105645 Divyansh Singh 50 8101939 Abhijit Ray 55 861023 Pratibha Dahiya 62 6206389 Tirumani Sri Pooja 67 3535597 Anand Malhotra 80 3532741 Nikhil Mahajan 88 8102300 Aman Agarwal 93 879483 Deepesh Kumari 102 4904842 Prakhar Chandrakar 111 2402341 C B Rex 114 1123523 Ajey Singh Rathore 116 879624 Shambhavi Mishra 118 323091 Melvyn Varghese 120 1134168 Tanushree Meena 133 835604 Kishlay Kushwaha 136 1041582 Arugula Sneha 141 5206982 Praveen Singh Charan 150 3539134 Navdeep Aggarwal 153 6005052 Divyansh Shukla 172 7809990 Simran Bhardwaj 204 7810159 Arjit Mahajan 205 708531 Durga Prasad Adhikary 213 3902598 Manoj Ramanath Hegde 216 4905606 Divyanjali Jaiswal 220 6314064 Garima 230 7814854 Tanmay Kale 235 6210633 Aswin Mani Deep Kakumanu 266 875941 Anuradha 267 6629429 Mandhare Soham Sunil 284 838018 Priya Rani 295 503767 Rohan Kadam 308 314783 Aruna M 325 6607403 Kajale Vaibhav 337 854608 Akash Joshi 381 885161 Manoj Kumar Yadav 395 1300555 Sisle Swapnil Mahadeo 398 6629554 Mhetre Sayali Narayan 404 1106762 Ramkrishna Saran 405 823411 Manjeet Kumar 408 511438 Mahajan Harshal Rajesh 411 840702 Amit Anand 415 859706 Sulochana Meena 446 1145452 Manish Agrawal 478 6312184 Rishabh 483 847161 Singh Prabhat Gyanendra 487 1522756 Rakesh Kumar Singh 499 4118984 Mukesh Kumar Gupta 515 849549 Karandeep 516 324774 Mohammed Siddiq Shariff 524 821045 Nidhi 573 879324 Rekha Meena 576 803598 Ravindra Kumar Meena 626 6708120 Golapkar Ashwin Rajan 629 5920417 Abhishek Vyas 644 2600288 Sparsh Verma we are still listing down our rankers.. We wish our successful students all the very best in their journey ahead while our mentors gear up to help the next batch of aspirants succeed with the same focused guidance that brought us such a grand success!
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E-governance
Context
There are several reforms and governance initiatives that have successfully steered India to its current strength.
Contribution of Digital India program
- A report carding of Digital India’s performance shows impressive progress.
- Thus far, the government has transferred more than Rs 17 lakh crore through DBT while saving Rs 2.2 lakh crore.
- Today, India has the world’s fastest-growing and most vibrant startup ecosystem with close to 70,000 registered startups and around 100 unicorns, with a unicorn coming up every week.
- GST regime: Thanks to the most significant reform in indirect taxation through the GST and tax compliance, India has registered its highest ever collections.
- Revenue increased from Rs 22 lakh crore in FY 21 to Rs 27 lakh crore in FY 22 — a whopping 22 per cent growth.
- Role in India’s response to pandemic: Digital India played a significant role in India’s response to the pandemic.
- It ensured that the government could reach people in remote parts of the country.
- Health, education and other essential services migrated swiftly to the online mode.
Use of technology for governance amid pandemic
- Digital India played a significant role in India’s response to the pandemic.
- It ensured that the government could reach people in remote parts of the country.
- Health, education and other essential services migrated swiftly to the online mode.
- It would not be an aberration to say that post-Covid, India emerged as a preeminent nation in the use of technology for governance.
Conclusion
The rapid digitalisation of the world along with a new focus on trust in the global supply chains for digital products and services presents tremendous opportunities for India and its youth. It is now up to all of us to engage in a collective “sabka prayas” to realise New India’s economic potential.
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Reservation in Public Employment: Key Events
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the TH.
Reservation in Promotion
- The jurisprudence of reservation relies on the symbiotic coexistence of constitutionally guaranteed equality of opportunity in public employment under Article 16 (1) of the Constitution of India.
- The classifications were various clauses of the same article, especially Article 16(4) and Article 16 (4 A).
- It specifically aimed to provide reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, respectively.
- These articles vested a discretion on the government to consider providing reservations for the socially and educationally backward sections of the society.
Reservation not a fundamental Right
- It is a settled law, time and again reiterated by the Supreme Court, that there is no fundamental right to reservation or promotion under Article 16(4) or Article 16(4 A) of the Constitution.
- Rather they are enabling provisions for providing reservation, if the circumstances so warrant (Mukesh Kumar and Another vs State of Uttarakhand & Ors. 2020).
- However, these pronouncements no way understate the constitutional directive under Article 46.
- Article 46 mandates that the state shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular SCs and STs.
- However such provisions resulted in the ever-evolving jurisprudence of affirmative action in public employment.
Major events
(1) Mandal storm
- Reservation in employment which was otherwise confined to SC and STs got extended to new section called the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
- This was the basis of the recommendations of the Second Backward Class Commission as constituted, headed by B.P. Mandal.
- The Mandal Commission (1980) provided for 27% reservation to OBC in central services and public sector undertakings.
- This was over and above the existing 22.5% reservation for SCs and STs, was sought to be implemented by the V.P. Singh Government in 1990.
- The same was assailed in the Supreme Court resulting in the historic Indra Sawhney Judgment.
(2) Indra Sawhney Judgment (1992)
- In the judgment, a nine-judge bench presided by CJI MH Kania upheld the constitutionality of the 27% reservation.
- But it put a ceiling of 50% unless exceptional circumstances warranting the breach, so that the constitutionally guaranteed right to equality under Article 14 would remain secured.
- While Article 16(1) is a fundamental right, Article 16(4) is an enabling provision and not an exception.
- Further, the Court directed the exclusion of creamy layer by way of horizontal division of every other backward class into creamy layer and non-creamy layer.
(3) The Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995
- In Indra Sawhney Case, the Supreme Court had held that Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India does not authorise reservation in the matter of promotions.
- However, the judgment was not to affect the promotions already made and hence only prospective in operation, it was ruled.
- By the Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995, which, Article 16(4-A), was inserted.
- It aimed to provide the State for making any provision for reservation in matters of promotion to any class or classes of posts in the services under the State.
- This was to be in favour of the SCs and the STs which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented in the services under the State.
- Later, two more amendments were brought, one to ensure consequential seniority and another to secure carry forward of unfilled vacancies of a year.
(4) M. Nagaraj (2006) Case
- A five-judge bench of Supreme Court declared the 1995 amendment as not vocative of basic structure of the Constitution.
- It laid down ceratin conditions which included the collection of quantifiable data showing backwardness of the class and inadequacy of representation of that class in public employment.
- The bench held that the creamy layer among SCs and STs is to be excluded from reservation.
(5) Jarnail Singh vs Lachhmi Narain Gupta (2018)
- It was authored by Justice Rohinton Nariman and indicates a critical turn in the jurisprudence of reservation.
- In this case, a constitution bench of Supreme Court was called on to examine wisdom of the 2006 judgment.
- This task was to examine the constitutionally recognised socio-economic backwardness of the SCs and STs which may not require any further substantiation.
- It was also contended that the requirement to identify creamy lawyer among SC and STs fell foul of Indra Sawhney decision.
- The constitution bench invalidated the requirement to collect quantifiable data in relation to SCs and STs.
- It upheld the principle of applicability of creamy lawyer in relation to SCs and STs.
(6) The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019
- The 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) other SCs, STs and backward classes for government jobs and admission in educational institutions.
- This is currently under challenge before the Supreme Court which has referred the same to a constitution bench.
- This was a critical milestone to specifically include economic backwardness without social backwardness as is traditionally seen.
(7) Dr. Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil vs Chief Minister (2021)
- Despite the Indra Sawhney ruling, there have been attempts on the part of many States to breach the rule by way of expanding the reservation coverage.
- The Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act 2018, (Maratha reservation law) came under challenge before the Supreme Court.
- This case was referred to a bench of five judges to question whether the 1992 judgment needs a relook.
- Interestingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the Indra Sawhney decision, and struck down Section 4(1)(a) and Section 4(1)(b) of the Act which provided 12% reservation for Marathas in educational institutions and 13% reservation in public employment respectively.
- This judgment gave out a strong message that some State governments blatantly disregard the stipulated ceiling on electoral gains rather than any exceptional circumstances.
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Price Rise and GST
The GST regime is due for an overhaul in tax rates levied on different products because of structural anomalies and to reduce the multiple tax slabs.
What is GST?
- GST launched in India on 1 July 2017 is a comprehensive indirect tax for the entire country.
- It is charged at the time of supply and depends on the destination of consumption.
- For instance, if a good is manufactured in state A but consumed in state B, then the revenue generated through GST collection is credited to the state of consumption (state B) and not to the state of production (state A).
- GST, being a consumption-based tax, resulted in loss of revenue for manufacturing-heavy states.
What are GST Slabs?
- In India, almost 500+ services and over 1300 products fall under the 4 major GST slabs.
- There are five broad tax rates of zero, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%, plus a cess levied over and above the 28% on some ‘sin’ goods.
- The GST Council periodically revises the items under each slab rate to adjust them according to industry demands and market trends.
- The updated structure ensures that the essential items fall under lower tax brackets, while luxury products and services entail higher GST rates.
- The 28% rate is levied on demerit goods such as tobacco products, automobiles, and aerated drinks, along with an additional GST compensation cess.
Why rationalize GST slabs?
- From businesses’ viewpoint, there are just too many tax rate slabs, compounded by aberrations in the duty structure through their supply chains with some inputs are taxed more than the final product.
- These are far too many rates and do not necessarily constitute a Good and Simple Tax.
- Multiple rate changes since the introduction of the GST regime in July 2017 have brought the effective GST rate to 11.6% from the original revenue-neutral rate of 15.5%.
- Merging the 12% and 18% GST rates into any tax rate lower than 18% may result in revenue loss.
Haven’t GST revenues been hitting new records?
- Yes, they have – GST revenues have scaled fresh highs in three of the first four months of 2022, going past ₹1.67 lakh crore in April.
- But there is another key factor — the runaway pace of inflation.
- Wholesale price inflation, which captures producers’ costs, has been over 10% for over a year and peaked at 15.1% in April.
- Inflation faced by consumers on the ground has spiked to a near-eight year high of 7.8% in April.
- The rise in prices was the single most important factor for higher tax inflows along with higher imports.
Can we expect the rate reset this year?
- Any re-arrangement of GST rates will entail some products being taxed higher, with concomitant ripple effects on prices.
- The Centre and the States are not unmindful of the desperate need to rationalise the rate slabs and structure but we just need to get the timing right.
- Presently inflation is the top worry.
- With inflation, much of it imported through pricier fuels, commodities and food items, expected to hover high through the year, the GST rate reset hopes appear bleak in 2022-23.
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Monsoon sets in over Kerala
The monsoon has reached Kerala, the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
What does the “Onset of Monsoon” mean?
- The onset of the monsoon over Kerala marks the beginning of the four-month — June-September — southwest monsoon season over India.
- It brings more than 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall. This marks a significant day in India’s economic calendar.
- IMD announces it only after certain newly defined and measurable parameters, adopted in 2016, are met.
- Broadly, the IMD checks for the consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, its intensity, and wind speed.
(1) Rainfall
- The IMD declares the onset of the monsoon if at least 60% of 14 designated meteorological stations in Kerala and Lakshadweep.
- The 14 enlisted stations are: Minicoy, Amini, Thiruvananthapuram, Punalur, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Kannur, Kasaragod, and Mangaluru.
- It records at least 2.5 mm of rain for two consecutive days at any time after May 10.
- In such a situation, the onset over Kerala is declared on the second day, provided specific wind and temperature criteria are also fulfilled.
(2) Wind field
- The depth of westerlies should be up to 600 hectopascal (1 hPa is equal to 1 millibar of pressure) in the area bound by the equator to 10ºN latitude, and from longitude 55ºE to 80ºE.
- The zonal wind speed over the area bound by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-80ºE longitude should be of the order of 15-20 knots (28-37 kph) at 925 hPa.
(3) Heat
- According to IMD, the INSAT-derived Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) value (a measure of the energy emitted to space by the Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere) should be below 200 watt per sq m (wm2).
- This is measured in the box confined by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-75ºE latitude.
Is it unusual for the monsoon to hit the Kerala coast early?
- Neither early nor late onset of the monsoon is unusual.
- In 2018 and 2017, the onset over Kerala occurred on May 29 and May 30, respectively.
- In 2010, onset was realised on May 31.
- In 2020 and 2013, the monsoon was exactly on time, hitting the Kerala coast on June 1.
Does an early onset foretell a good monsoon?
- No, it does not — just as a delay does not foretell a poor monsoon.
- The onset is just an event that happens during the progress of the monsoon over the Indian subcontinent.
- A delay of a few days, or perhaps the monsoon arriving a few days early, has no bearing on the quality or amount of rainfall.
How does the monsoon spread across the country after hitting Kerala coast?
- The northward progression of the monsoon after it has hit the Kerala coast depends on a lot of local factors, including the creation of low pressure areas.
- Though this year monsoon has arrived early, it is possible that despite a late onset over Kerala, other parts of the country start getting rain on time.
- After its onset over Kerala, the monsoon spreads over the entire country by July 15.
Back2Basics:
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What is the West Nile Virus?
The Kerala health department is on alert after the death occurred due to the West Nile Virus.
West Nile Virus
- The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded RNA virus.
- According to the WHO, it is a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese Encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae.
How does it spread?
- Culex species of mosquitoes act as the principal vectors for transmission.
- It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes between and among humans and animals, including birds, which are the reservoir host of the virus.
- Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which circulate the virus in their blood for a few days.
- The virus eventually gets into the mosquito’s salivary glands.
- During later blood meals (when mosquitoes bite), the virus may be injected into humans and animals, where it can multiply and possibly cause illness.
- WNV can also spread through blood transfusion, from an infected mother to her child, or through exposure to the virus in laboratories.
- It is not known to spread by contact with infected humans or animals.
Symptoms of WNV infection
- The disease is asymptomatic in 80% of the infected people.
- The rest develop what is called the West Nile fever or severe West Nile disease.
- In these 20% cases, the symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, rash, and swollen glands.
- Severe infection can lead to encephalitis, meningitis, paralysis, and even death.
- It is estimated that approximately 1 in 150 persons infected with the West Nile Virus will develop a more severe form of the disease.
- Recovery from severe illness might take several weeks or months.
- It usually turns fatal in persons with co-morbidities and immuno-compromised persons (such as transplant patients).
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Imp: Must Read Modern History Notes for Prelims 2022
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With almost absolute power the Governor-General and viceroy played a significant role in the shaping history of the country. Following are some of these important figures and significant events and major reforms carried out by them.
Governor Generals of Bengal/India (Period)
Important events/Reforms Warren Hastings
(1773-1785)
- Regulating Act of 1773.
- First Governor-General of Bengal.
- End of the dual system of administration (1765-1772).
- Supreme Court at Calcutta.
- Wrote Introduction to the first English translation of Gita.
- Founded Madarasa Aliya at Calcutta.
Lord Cornwallis
(1786-1793)
- Separation of three branches of service: commercial, judicial and revenue.
- Permanent Land Revenue Settlement of Bengal-1793.
- Reformed, modernised and rationalised the civil service.
- Introduced the Cornwallis Code.
- Sanskrit College, Varanasi.
Lord Wellesley
(1797-1805)
- Introduction of Subsidiary Alliance System.
- Fourth Anglo-Mysore war.
- Fort William College, Calcutta.
Lord Hastings
(1813-1823)
- Anglo-Nepal War (1814-16)
- Third Anglo-Maratha War-(1817-19) and dissolution of Maratha confederacy.
- Introduction of Ryotwari System of Thomas Munro, Governor of Madras-1820.
Lord William Bentinck
(1828-1835)
- Charter Act of 1833.
- Abolition of Sati-1829.
- Resolution of 1835 and Education reforms and introduction of English as the official language.
- The annexation of Mysore-1831, Coorg, and Central Cachar-1831.
Lord Dalhousie
(1848-1856)
- Introduction of the Doctrine of Lapse and annexations of Satara-1848, Jaitpur and Sambhalpur-1849, Udaipur-1852, Jhansi-1853, Nagpur-1854 and Awadh-1856.
- Wood’s Dispatch of 1854.
- Railway Minute of 1853.
- Telegraph and Postal reforms.
- Widow Remarriage Act-1856.
Lord Canning
(1856-1857)
- Establishment of universities at Bombay, Madras and Calcutta.
- Mutiny of 1857.
Governor-General and Viceroy of India (Period) Important events/Reforms Lord Canning (1858-1862)
- First Voiceroy of India.
- Transfer of control from East India Company to the Crown by the Government of India Act 1858
- Indian Councils Act-1861
Lord Mayo
(1869-1872)
- Opening of Rajkot College in Kathiawad and Mayo College at Ajmer for political training of Indian Princes.
- Statistical Survey of India was established.
- Department of Agriculture and Commerce was established.
- Introduction of state railways.
Lord Lytton
(1876-1880)
- The Great Famine of 1876 affecting Bombay, Madras, Mysore, Hyderabad, Central India and Punjab.
- Appointment of Famine Commission under the presidency of Richard Strachey.
- Vernacular Press Act was passed- 1878.
- The Arms Act-1878.
Lord Ripon
(1880-1884)
- Education Commission 1882 under William Hunter-1882.
- Ilbert Bill controversy.
- Repeal of Vernacular Press Act in 1882.
- The First Factory Act in 1881 to improve labour conditions.
- Government resolution on local self government-1882.
Lord Dufferin
(1884-1888)
- Establishment of Indian National Congress.
Lord Lansdowne
(1888-1894)
- The categorisation of civil services into imperial, provincial and subordinate.
- Indian Councils Act-1892
- Durand Commission (1893) was set up to define the Durand Line between India and Afghanistan.
Lord Curzon
(1899-1905)
- Police Commission (1902) was appointed under Sir Andrew Frazer.
- University Commission (1902) was appointed and Universities Act (1904) was passed.
- Department of Commerce and Industry was established.
- Calcutta Corporation Act-1899
- Partition of Bengal (1905).
Lord Minto-II
(1905-1910)
- Popularisation of anti-partition and Swadeshi Movements.
- Split in Indian National Congress at Surat in 1907.
- Indian Muslim League was established by Aga Khan (1907)
- Morley-Minto reforms or Indian Councils Act 1909.
Lord Hardinge-II
(1910-1916)
- Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911).
- Establishment of Hindu Mahasabha (1915) by Madan Mohan Malviya.
Lord Chelmsford (1916-1921)
- Home Rule League was formed by Annie Besant and Tilak (1916)
- Lucknow session of Congress (1916).
- Lucknow Pact between Congress and Muslim League (1916).
- Champaran Satyagraha (1918), and Satyagraha at Ahmadabad (1918).
- Montague’s August Declaration.
- Government of Indian Act- 1919
- Jallianwalla Bagh massacre (1919).
- Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements were launched.
- Foundation of Women’s University at Poona (1916) and Saddler’s Commission was appointed for reforms in educational policy.
- Appointment of S. P. Sinha as governor of Bihar first Indian to do so.
Lord Reading
(1921-1926)
- The Chaura-Chauri Incident-Feb5, 1922 and withdrawal of Non-Cooperation movement.
- Moplah rebellion in Kerala (1921).
- Repeal of the Press Act of 1910 and Rowlatt Act of 1919.
- Kakori train robbery (1925)
- Establishment of Swaraj Party (1922).
- The decision to hold a simultaneous examination for ICS in Delhi and London with effect from 1923.
Lord Irwin
(1926-1931)
- Simon Commission-1928
- Appointment of the Harcourt Butler Indian States Commission (1927)
- Murder of Saunders and Bomb blast in the Assembly Hall of Delhi-1929
- Lahore session of Congress 1929 and Purna Swaraj Resolution.
- Dandi March (12 March, 1929) and launch of Civil Disobedience Movement.
Lord Willingdon
(1931-1936)
- Second Round Table Conference and failure of the conference, resumption of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
- Announcement of the Communal Award (1932).
- Poona Pact (1932)
- Third Round Table Conference 1932.
- The Government of India Act, 1935.
- Establishment of All India Kisan Sabha 1936.
- Establishment of Congress Socialist Party by Acharya Narendra Dev and Jayaprakash Narayan (1934)
Lord Linlithgow
(1936-1944)
- First general elections were held and Congress attained absolute majority (1936-1937).
- Congress ministers resigned (1937) after the outbreak of WW-II
- Subhash Chandra Bose elected as the president of Congress-1938.
- Lahore Resolution by Muslim League for the demand of separate state for Muslims.
- August Offer by the viceroy-1940.
- Cripp’s Mission to India
- Passing of the Quit India Resolution by Congress-1942
Lord Wavell
(1944-1947)
- C Rajgopalachari’s CR Formula (1944) and Gandhi-Jinnah Talks failed.
- Wavell Plan and the Shimla Conference (1942)
- Cabinet Mission and Congress accepted its plan 1946
- Observance of the ‘Direct Action Day’ (16 August 1946) by the Muslim League.
- Elections to the Constituent Assembly and formation of Interim Government by the Congress (September 1946).
- Announcement of the end of British rule in India by Clement Attlee on February 20, 1946
Lord Mountbatten
(1947-48)
- June Third Plan (June 3, 1947) announced.
- Introduction of Indian Independence Bill in the House of Commons.
- Appointment of two boundary commissions under Sir Cyril Radcliff for the partition of Bengal and Punjab.
Important Acts During British India
In India, the British Government passed various laws and acts before the formulation of the constitution. The Regulating Act of 1773 was enacted as a first step to regulate the working of East India Company. However, the Indian Independence Act, 1947 finally ended the British rule in India and declared India as an independent and sovereign nation with effect from August 15, 1947.
The Regulating Act of 1773
- The Regulating Act of 1773 was enacted as a first step to regulate the working of East India Company
- The Gov of Bengal was made Gov General of Bengal. He was assisted by 4 people. This 4+1 becomes became Supreme Council of Bengal also known as the GG’s Exec Council.
- A Supreme Court was established in Bengal comprising of a chief justice and three other judges
Pitts’s India Act, 1784
- We see a shrinking of the Council from 4 members to 3 members. Hence 3+1 is the renewed GG’s Executive Council.
- Board of control was established to control the civil, military and revenue affairs of the company
- The Court of Proprietors was no more empowered to revoke or suspend the resolution of the directors approved by the Board of Control.
Charter Act of 1833
- The Governor-General of Bengal was made the Governor-General of India. The first Governor-General of India was William Bentinck.
- He was given legislative powers over entire India including the Governors of Bombay and Madras.
- The company lost the status of a commercial body and was made purely an administrative body.
- This Act. was the first law to distinguish between the executive and legislative powers of the Gov General.
- A 4th member was introduced who could only discuss and vote only on the legislative matter.
- Council of India = [(3+1) + 1(4th member also called the Law Member)]
- The first such Law Member was Macaulay. This Council of India was, to a certain extent, the Legislature. Strength of the Executive remained 3+1 .
Charter Act of 1853
- From here on, we see a gradual increase in the membership of the Council and further separation of powers.
- Access to compete in civil services for Indians.
- It brought out the separation in the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s council.
- The 4th member (Law Member)was included as a full-time Member in the GG’s Executive Council. His position was taken by 6 Members referred to as Legislative Councillors.
- Council of India = [(4+1) + 6(Legislative Councillors) + 1 Commander-in-Chief]
- 6 Councillors were,
- 1 Chief Judge of SC of Calcutta.
- 1 Judge of SC of Calcutta
- 4 members of the ICS
Government of India Act, 1858
- India was to be governed by and in the name of the crown through Viceroy, who would be the representative of the crown in India.
- The designation of Governor-General of India was changed to Viceroy. Thus, Governor-General Lord Canning became the first Viceroy of India
- Board of Control and Board of directors were abolished transferring all their powers to British Crown
- A new office ‘secretary of state was created with a 15 member council of India to assist him. Indian Councils Act, 1861
- The major focus of the act was on administration in India. It was the first step to associate Indians to legislation.
- The act provided that the viceroy should nominate some Indians as non-official members in the legislative council.
- The legislative powers of Madras and Bombay presidencies were restored.
It provided for the establishment of legislative councils for Bengal, North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP) and Punjab. - Viceroy was empowered to issue ordinances during an emergency without the concurrence of the legislative council.
Indian Councils Act of 1861
- After 1861, the Council was called Imperial Legislative Council(ILC) or Indian Legislative Council(ILC). The Executive was further enhanced by 1 member.
- The Viceroy now had the power to Nominate 6 – 12 Non-Official members in the Legislature who would be holding the office for 2 years.
- ILC = [(5+1) + (Additional Members -> Minimum 6, Maximum 12)]
- The composition of Additional Members was as follows:
- 50% Nominated Official Members
- 50% Nominated Non-Official Members
- The Act thus sowed the seed for the future Legislative as an independent entity separate from the Executive Council.
Indian Councils Act of 1892
- Due to the excessive demand of the Congress, the Additional Members were increased. Additional Members -> Minimum 10, Maximum 12.
- ILC = [(5+1) + (Additional Members -> Minimum 10, Maximum 16)]
The composition of Additional Members was as follows:
- Nominated official members (those nominated by the Governor-General and were government officials)
- 5 Nominated Non-Officials (nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials)
- 4 Nominated by the Provincial Legislative Councils of Bengal Presidency, Bombay Presidency, Madras Presidency and North-Western Provinces.
- 1 Nominated by the Chamber of Commerce in Calcutta.
Indian Councils Act of 1909: The Morley-Minto reforms
- It introduced for the first time the method of election.
- The additional members of the Governor-General Council were increased from 16 to a maximum of 60.
- The composition of Additional Members was as follows:
- Nominated official members (those nominated by the Governor-General and were government officials)
- Nominated non-official members (nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials)
- Elected Members (elected by different categories of Indian people)
- It provided for the association of Indians in the executive council of the Viceroy and Governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha joined the Viceroy’s executive council as a law member.
- It introduced Separate Electorate for Muslims.
Indian Councils Act of 1919: The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms
- Central Legislature thereafter called the Indian Legislature was reconstituted on the enlarged and more representative character.
- The act set up bicameral legislatures at the centre consisting of two houses- the Council of the States (Upper House) and the Central Legislative Assembly (Lower House).
- It consisted of the Council of State consisted of 60 members of whom 34 members were elected and the Legislative Assembly consisted of about 145 members, of whom about 104 were elected and the rest nominated.
- Of the nominated members, about 26 were officials. The powers of both the Chambers of the Indian Legislature were identical except that the power to vote supply was granted only to the Legislative Assembly.
- The central and provincial subjects were demarcated and separated.
- The Provincial subjects were further divided into Transferred Subjects and Reserved Subjects, the legislative council had no say in the latter. This was known as the system of Diarchy.
- The principle of separate electorate was further extended to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
- It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to report the working of the act after ten years
The Government of India Act 1935
- It marked the next great stride in the evolution of the Legislatures.
- The Federal Legislature was to consist of two Houses, the House of Assembly called the Federal Assembly and the Council of States.
- The Federal Assembly was to consist of 375 members, 250 to represent Provinces and 125 to represent the Indian States, nominated by the Rulers.
- The representatives of the Provinces were to be elected not directly but indirectly by the Provincial Assemblies.
- The term of the Assembly was fixed as five years.
- The Council of State was to be a permanent body not subject to dissolution, but one-third of the members should retire every three years.
- It was to consist of 260 members. 104 representatives of Indian States, six to be nominated by the Governor-General, 128 to be directly elected by territorial communal constituencies and 22 to be set apart for smaller minorities, women and depressed classes.
- The two Houses had in general equal powers but demands for supply votes and financial Bills were to originate in the Assembly.
- The principle of Separate Electorate was extended to depressed classes, women and workers.
- Provided for the formation of Reserve bank of India
Indian Independence Act, 1947
- The act formalized the Lord Mountbatten Plan regarding the independence of India on June 3, 1947.
- The Act ended the British rule in India and declared India as an independent and sovereign nation with effect from August 15, 1947.
- Provided for the partition of India into two dominions of India and Pakistan
- The office of Viceroy was abolished and a Governor-General was to be appointed in each of the dominions
- The Constituent Assemblies of the two dominions were to have powers to legislate for their respective territories.
- Princely states were free to join any of the two dominions or to remain independent.
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[Sansad TV] Mudda Aapka: Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)
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Context
- India agreed to be a part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), a US-led economic grouping comprising 12 countries.
- The recent Quad meet in Tokyo initiated the path for negotiations among the ‘founding members.’
What is IPEF?
- It is a US-led framework for participating countries to solidify their relationships and engage in crucial economic and trade matters that concern the region, such as building resilient supply chains battered by the pandemic.
- It is not a free trade agreement. No market access or tariff reductions have been outlined, although experts say it can pave the way to trade deals.
Members of IPEF
- The member nations include Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
- It includes seven out of 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), all four Quad countries, and New Zealand.
- Together, these countries account for 40 per cent of the global GDP.
Four pillars of IPEF
- Trade that will include digital economy and emerging technology, labor commitments, the environment, trade facilitation, transparency and good regulatory practices, and corporate accountability, standards on cross-border data flow and data localisations;
- Supply chain resilience to develop “a first-of-its-kind supply chain agreement” that would anticipate and prevent disruptions;
- Clean energy and decarbonization that will include agreements on “high-ambition commitments” such as renewable energy targets, carbon removal purchasing commitments, energy efficiency standards, and new measures to combat methane emissions; and
- Tax and anti-corruption, with commitments to enact and enforce “effective tax, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery schemes in line with [American] values”.
How do members participate?
- Countries are free to join (or not join) initiatives under any of the stipulated pillars but are expected to adhere to all commitments once they enrol.
- Negotiations are meant to determine and list the provisions under each pillar and open the floor for countries to choose their ‘commitments’.
- The framework would be open to other countries willing to join in the future provided they are willing to adhere to the stipulated goals and other necessary obligations.
Reasons for the creation of IPEF
- US regaining lost credibility: IPEF is also seen as a means by which the US is trying to regain credibility in the region after Trump pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership TPP).
- Rising Chinese influence: Since then, there has been concern over the absence of a credible US economic and trade strategy to counter China’s economic influence in the region.
- Competing RCEP: It is also in the 14-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, of which the US is not a member (India withdrew from RCEP).
- “Pivot to Asia” strategy: US has intensified its engagement with the wider Asia-Pacific region to advance its economic and geopolitical interests.
India’s perception of IPEF
- PM Modi described the grouping as born from a collective desire to make the Indo-Pacific region an engine of global economic growth.
- India has called for common and creative solutions to tackle economic challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
What does it have to do with China?
- The US strategists believe the US lacks an economic and trade strategy to counter China’s increasing economic influence in the region since 2017.
- US companies are looking to move away from manufacturing in China.
- IPEF would therefore offer an advantage to participating countries, allowing them to bring those businesses into their territory.
- However, it officially excluded Taiwan despite its willingness and economic merit to join.
- This exhibits Washington’s geopolitical caution.
Reactions from the opponents
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized the initiative as an attempt to further economic decoupling from China.
- He argued that the initiative, and the US Indo-Pacific strategy as a whole, created divisions and incited confrontation. It is destined to be ultimately be a failure.
- Taiwan was excluded in order to appease key “fence-sitter” countries such as Indonesia whose governments feared angering China.
Issues with IPEF framework
- IPEF would neither constitute a ‘free trade agreement,’ nor a forum to discuss tariff reductions or increasing market access.
- Unlike a traditional trade agreement, the US administration will not need congressional approval to act under the IPEF. Hence its legal status is questionable.
- This also raises doubts among potential participants about their reluctance to offer significant concessions under the agreement.
- The volatility of US domestic politics has raised concerns about IPEF’s durability.
- Unlike traditional FTAs, the IPEF does not subscribe to the single undertaking principle, where all items on the agenda are negotiated simultaneously.
Given the divisive nature of American politics, it is unclear whether the IPEF will survive past the Biden administration.
Way forward
- The IPEF’s launch in Tokyo was symbolic in nature; bringing the IPEF to fruition will involve significant domestic and international challenges.
- Without ratification by Congress, the IPEF’s fortunes will remain in limbo.
- Going forward, the US and the founding partners need to develop the process and criteria by which other countries from the region will be invited to join the negotiations on the IPEF.
Conclusion
- The Quad’s plan would take several years to ultimately fructify but it is moving in the right direction.
- There is no doubt these plans will extend to the new economic alliance as many of its members are powerhouses in the technology sector.
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(15 minutes to go-Direct Joining Link) 1-1 with youngest IPS Kamya Mishra and IAS, Abhishek Saraf | Gear your preparation in the right direction | (FREE)
Join Zoom Meeting:
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*Exceptional Tips on How to Achieve your UPSC Goal Along With Your College Degree || Learn from Youngest IPS Kamya & IAS Abhishek*
Date & Time: *May 31, 2022 @07:00 PM (Start Log in by 06:45 PM) India*
‘College is such a utopia where UPSC is dreamt’–Civilsdaily
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Like a seed that sprouts out and wants to stand high and competent but often fails due to lack of nourishment. Likewise, the endeavor of becoming a civil servant and sitting for the most prestigious exam, and serving the nation kindles a student from his / her college days but how many in reality can sail through the dreams? It has only a 0.001% success rate. The lack of right-tracked 360 guidance and proper knowledge and understanding leads to the disastrous failure of the dreams. So, dare to dream, beat all odds with this Exceptional Live Session.
Webinar Details:
Grasp the opportunity to get exceptional tips on ‘how to achieve your goal along with your college degree’. This entire webinar is free. All aspirants are wholeheartedly welcome to attend.
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Time: 7 PM to 8 PM
Strategies & Approaches, in This Free Live Webinar:
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- What is ‘Pattern Analysis’? What are the toppers’ tips to crack UPSC? Why choose IAS! All these will be the central part of this Q & A session.
- Many untold secrets in ‘Life of an IAS officer’, ‘Challenges of being a Female IPS officer’, ‘Tips for Cracking IES’, Etc. will be discussed in depth.
About the hosts:
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Civilsdaily’s 2021 Hall Of Fame Rankers
WISH YOU ALL THE VERY BEST.
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(Direct Joining Link) Q & A session: Struggling with consistency! Learn and apply powerful secret tips to stay consistent, webinar with Rahul Vadar, senior IAS mentor
*Struggling with consistency? Learn and apply powerful secret tips to stay consistent // By Rahul, Mentor, Civilsdaily*
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83901669816?pwd=ZWRLL2hwODdKZU5zVXdXOWJsbUZJQT09
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Date & Time: *May 29, 2022 @04:00 PM (Login commense @03:45 PM Onwards) India*Do not miss this opportunity to understand the nuances of UPSC preparation if you plan to appear in 2023. Rahul Sir will hold a Q&A Session where beginners and veterans can clarify their doubts.
Most of the UPSC-CSE-2021 toppers like Satyam Gandhi (AIR 10), Ria Dabi (AIR 15), Yash Jaluka (AIR 4), and Mamta Yadav (AIR 5), and Shashwat Tripurari (AIR 19) cleared the exam as fresh graduates in their very first attempt. How were they able to do it?
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If education, geographical and economic background doesn’t matter, then what does? Attitude, or precisely consistency. If you are persistent and adamant to clear UPSC- CSE and have given more than two attempts till now, then you must replace that with consistency. Because, being persistent might lead you to the door, but it’s consistency that unlocks it.
Webinar Details:
Date: 29th May 2022 (Sunday)
Time: 4 PM to 5 PM
Grasp the opportunity to get exceptional tips on ‘how to maintain consistency to achieve your goal’. This entire webinar is free. All aspirants are wholeheartedly welcome to attend.
Strategies & Approaches, in This Free Live Webinar by Rahul Sir!
- Best, authentic, minimum materials for current affairs, optional subject & Gs papers. Do’s & Don’t, How to read & revise in a consistent manner. Because consistency + being persistent are all that matter.
- If your answers should reflect the editorial standards of The Hindu, which is the best source? How will the source help you to maintain consistency?
- How toppers prioritize division of time for different subjects! How to fix time to read & get consistent in your answer writing structure, improve the content
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- How to enhance writing patterns, where to take mock regularly, how many mock tests are fit, Etc. will be discussed in this live webinar.
- The untold secret of our ‘Hall of Fame’ toppers is that they never break their consistency so that the entire syllabus is covered 100% & becoming an IAS dream is finally achieved.
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Wish You All The Best.
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What are Community Forest Rights?
The Chhattisgarh government has become the only second state in the country to recognize the Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights of a village inside a national park.
What is the news?
- The CFR rights of tribals living in a hamlet inside the Kanger Ghati National Park in Bastar district, were recognised.
- It gave the community the power to formulate rules for forest use.
Try this PYQ first:
Q.Under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, who shall be the authority to initiate the process for determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights or both?
(a) State Forest Department
(b) District Collector/Deputy Commissioner
(c) Tahsildar/Block Development Officer/Mandal Revenue Officer
(d) Gram Sabha
Post your answers here.
What is a Community Forest?
- The community forest resource area is the common forest land that has been traditionally protected and conserved for sustainable use by a particular community.
- The community uses it to access resources available within the traditional and customary boundary of the village; and for seasonal use of landscape in case of pastoralist communities.
- Each CFR area has a customary boundary with identifiable landmarks recognised by the community and its neighboring villages.
- It may include forest of any category – revenue forest, classified & unclassified forest, deemed forest, DLC land, reserve forest, protected forest, sanctuary and national parks etc.
Legal basis for Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights
- The CFR rights are acknowledged under the Section 3(1) (i) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.
- This is commonly referred to as the Forest Rights Act or the FRA.
- It aims to provide for recognition of the right to “protect, regenerate or conserve or manage” the community forest resource.
- These rights allow the community to formulate rules for forest use by itself and others and thereby discharge its responsibilities under Section 5 of the FRA.
Nature of rights included
- CFR rights, along with Community Rights (CRs) under Sections 3(1)(b) and 3(1)(c), which include: nistar rights and rights over non-timber forest products, ensure sustainable livelihoods of the community.
- ‘Nistar’ means the concession granted for removal from forest coupes (small trees) on payment at stipulated rates, specified forest produce for bonafide domestic use, but not for barter or sale.
- These rights give the authority to the Gram Sabha to adopt local traditional practices of forest conservation and management within the community forest resource boundary.
Why is the recognition of CFR rights important?
- Aimed at undoing the “historic injustice” meted out to forest-dependent communities due to curtailment of their customary rights over forests, the FRA came into force in 2008.
- It is important as it recognises the community’s right to use, manage and conserve forest resources, and to legally hold forest land that these communities have used for cultivation and residence.
- It also underlines the integral role that forest dwellers play in the sustainability of forests and in the conservation of biodiversity.
- It is of greater significance inside protected forests like national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as traditional dwellers then become a part of management of the protected forests.
How many CFR certificates have been given in Chhattisgarh?
- According to state government officials, Chhattisgarh has recognised nearly 4,000 CFR rights in the state.
- Kanger Ghati National Park is the second national park, after Simlipal in Odisha, where CFR rights have been recognised.
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Allow Surrogacy For Single Men, Mothers: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Union government on a petition challenging some provisions of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act.
Issues raised by the petition
- Currently, the laws does not allow single men to have child through surrogacy.
- Married women can only avail surrogacy services if they are unable to produce a child due to medical conditions.
- Otherwise, for women to avail of surrogacy services, they must be aged between 35 and 45 and widowed or divorced.
- Women can only offer surrogacy if they are aged between 25 and 35 and married with at least one biological child.
- The laws also require a surrogate to be genetically related to the couple who intend to have a child through this method, their petition said.
Basis of the Petition
- The personal decision of a single person about the birth of a baby through surrogacy, i.e., the right of reproductive autonomy is a facet of the right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
- Thus, the right to privacy of every citizen or person affecting a decision to bear or beget a child through surrogacy cannot be taken away.
Distinct features of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021
- Definition of surrogacy: It defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple.
- Regulation of surrogacy: It prohibits commercial surrogacy, but allows altruistic surrogacy which involves no monetary compensation to the surrogate mother other than the medical expenses and insurance.
- Purposes for which surrogacy is permitted: Surrogacy is permitted when it is: (i) for intending couples who suffer from proven infertility; (ii) altruistic; (iii) not for commercial purposes; (iv) not for producing children for sale, prostitution or other forms of exploitation; and (v) for any condition or disease specified through regulations.
- Eligibility criteria: The intending couple should have a ‘certificate of essentiality’ and a ‘certificate of eligibility’ issued by the appropriate authority ex. District Medical Board.
Eligibility criteria for surrogate mother:
- To obtain a certificate of eligibility from the appropriate authority, the surrogate mother has to be:
- A close relative of the intending couple;
- A married woman having a child of her own;
- 25 to 35 years old;
- A surrogate only once in her lifetime; and
- Possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy.
- Further, the surrogate mother cannot provide her own gametes for surrogacy.
Also read
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