Experts in Punjab has said that System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Technique is beneficial for the soil, environment and farmers at par with the Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) technique.
What is SRI technique?
SRI was first developed in Madagascar in the 1980s and since then several countries in the world have been practising it, including India.
It promises to save 15 to 20% ground water, improves rice productivity, which is almost at a stagnant point now.
Experts said that it gives equal or more produce than the conventional rice cultivation, with less water, less seed and less chemicals.
The net effect is a substantial reduction in the investments on external inputs.
How does it take place in the field and in which soil?
First, the field is prepared by ploughing.
It should be laser levelled before transplanting for proper water management and efficiency for a good crop stand.
Then irrigation is applied in the field which is not a flooding of field like traditional methods but less than that of a well irrigated field.
Then 10-12 days old nursery (young paddy plants) along with soil particles around the root with minimum disturbance to the roots are transplanted in lines.
They are marked at a distance of 10 inches from each other with the help of a rope meter.
Benefits over DSR technique
Unlike DSR, which is suitable only for mid to heavy textured soils, SRI is suitable in all types of soil including less fertile soil as in such soil the number of seedlings can be increased to double.
Under SRI 2kg seed is required to grow a nursery for one acre against 5kg seed required in the traditional method.
Does the SRI method require continuous flooding after transplantation of nursery?
In traditional sowing from the day of transplanting till the crop turns 35-40 days fields are kept under flood-like conditions.
And then fields are filled every week till a few weeks before harvesting.
But SRI doesn’t require continuous flooding, it needs intermittent irrigation.
Indeed the plants’ roots should not be starved for oxygen through flooding.
Irrigation is given to maintain soil moisture near saturation initially, and water is added to the field when the surface soil develops hairline cracks.
What are the limitations of SRI?
If unchecked, greater weed growth will cause substantial loss of yield.
In Punjab, it is not promoted by the government except demonstration plots sown over a decade ago.
It can be sustainable if organic inputs in the soil structure are maintained.
Try this PYQ:
Q.With reference to the current trends in the cultivation of sugarcane in India, consider the following statements:
A substantial saving in seed material is made when ‘bud chip settlings are raised in a nursery and transplanted in the main field.
When direct planting of setts is done, the germination percentage is better with single-budded setts as compared to setts with many buds.
If bad weather conditions prevail when setts are directly planted, single-budded setts have better survival as compared to large setts.
Sugarcane can be cultivated using settlings prepared from tissue culture.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Author Geetanjali Shree’s translated Hindi novel, Tomb of Sand, became the first Indian language book to win the International Booker Prize.
Note: Such topics hold very little relevance for CSE prelims. However, last year experience make such topics more uncertain. Still such topics hold relevance for other exams such as CAPF and state PSCs.
What is the Booker Prize?
The Booker Prize is one of the best-known literary awards for fiction writing in English, including both novels and collections of short stories.
It was first awarded in 1969.
Every year a panel of judges decides the best work of the year, with the criteria being that it must be written in English and published in the UK and Ireland.
This panel of judges is picked from among eminent cultural historians, writers, professors, and novelists, and others from related fields.
For the Booker Prize, the winner receives £50,000.
About the book
The 2018 novel titled ‘Ret Samadhi’ was translated by Daisy Rockwell and published as ‘Tomb of Sand’ in 2021.
The prize is one of two literary awards given out annually by the Booker Prize Foundation, a charity whose stated aim is to “promote the art and value of literature for the public benefit”.
What about the International Booker Prize?
The International Booker Prize began in 2005.
A biennial prize initially, it was then awarded for a body of work available in English, including translations, with Alice Munro, Lydia Davis and Philip Roth becoming some of the early winners.
In 2015, the rules of the International prize changed to make it an annual affair.
The new rules stipulated that it will be awarded annually for a single book, written in another language and translated into English.
The £50,000 prize money is divided equally between the author and translator each year.
Why is it called the ‘Booker’?
The Booker Prize, from 1969 to 2001, was named simply after the Booker Group Limited – a British food wholesale operator that was its initial sponsor.
The Man Group, an investment management firm based in the UK, began to sponsor the prize in 2002 and it thus came to be known as The Man Booker Prize.
The Man Group ended their sponsorship in 2019.
Crankstart, an American charitable foundation, has been the sponsor after that. The prize name has changed back to the ‘Booker’ since then.
Who have been some prominent winners?
Prominent winners of the coveted prize include Margaret Atwood (‘The Testaments’), Yann Martel (‘Life of Pi’), and Julian Barnes (‘The Sense of an Ending’).
Many Indian-origin writers have won the Booker in the past, such as Arundhati Roy (‘The God of Small Things’), Salman Rushdie (‘Midnight’s Children’), Kiran Desai (‘The Inheritance of Loss’), and Aravind Adiga (‘The White Tiger’).
Shree is the first Indian to win an international prize.
A new species of old world monkey recorded from Arunachal Pradesh has been named after a strategic Sela pass at 13,700 ft above sea level.
Sela macaque (Macaca selai).
This new primate was identified and analysed by a team of experts from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the University of Calcutta.
Earlier it was called as White- Cheeked Macaque displaying white cheeks, long and thick hairs on the neck area, and a longer tail.
Their study has been published in the latest edition of Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
Phylogenetics relate to the evolutionary development and diversification of a species or group of organisms.
The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Sela macaque was geographically separated from the Arunachal macaque (Macaca munzala) of Tawang district by Sela.
This mountain pass acted as a barrier by restricting the migration of individuals of these two species for approximately two million years.
Protection status
It has NOT been yet included in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 of India.
The potential threat to all species of macaques in the landscape is due to hunting by locals for consumption and habitat degradation due to urbanization and infrastructure development.
About Sela Pass
The Sela Pass is a high-altitude mountain pass located on the border between the Tawang and West Kameng districts in Arunachal Pradesh.
It has an elevation of 4170 m and connects the Indian Buddhist town of Tawang to Dirang and Guwahati.
The pass supports scarce amounts of vegetation and is usually snow-covered to some extent throughout the year.
While Sela Pass does get heavy snowfall in winters, it is usually open throughout the year unless landslides or snow require the pass to be shut down temporarily.
The strategically-significant Sela Tunnel project is now nearing completion well before the deadline.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is all set to launch AKRUTI programme in the villages surrounding Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP).
AKRUTI Program
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is assisting unemployed youth living near the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) through AKRUTI.
AKRUTI stands for Advanced Knowledge and Rural Technology Implementation (AKRUTI) program.
Areas of water, food processing, agriculture and waste management in rural areas are covered under the AKRUTI program.
The scheme aims at empowering villages through implementing different technologies for usage.
This scheme will lead to sustainable growth of the rural sector across the country.
What is the objective?
To provide information and mechanism for implementation of BARC technologies in rural areas thereby aiming at overall rural development.
The Indian judiciary has increasingly started using technology and the change is reflected in the legal profession in general as well.
Increasing use of digital technology in the judiciary
With the digitisation of judicial records and the establishment of e-courts, significant developments had taken place in 2020.
Use of technology to better utilise potential: It is imperative that the use of digital technology be discussed to better utilise its potential, particularly in terms of digitisation of court records, e-filing of cases and their virtual hearing, live streaming of court proceedings.
Background
In India, e-governance in the field of administration of justice began in the late 1990s, but it accelerated after the enactment of the Information and Technology Act, 2000.
In the year of 2006, e-courts were launched as a part of the National e-Governance Plan (NEGP).
Digitisation of case files
When he was the Chief Justice of Allahabad HC, Justice D Y Chandrachud had conceptualised and initiated the project to digitise approximately one crore case files in one year.
Saving of space and preservation of old documents: This was necessary as not only was a large space required to store so many files, it was also becoming difficult to manually preserve the decades-old documents.
Traceability: Another purpose was to ensure that these files are traceable electronically as and when required.
It has also been observed that cases are adjourned simply because affidavits filed several years ago were not restored with the record or were not traceable.
Once the documents are digitised and e-filed by counsels, at least the cases would not get adjourned by the courts on this account.
Reducing the risk of missing court records: In State of Uttar Pradesh v. Abhay Raj Singh, it was held by the Supreme Court that if court records go missing and re-construction is not possible, the courts are bound to set aside the conviction.
Saving of time: With digitisation, it will take much less time for the lower courts to transmit the records as and when called for.
The lawyers benefit because they or their staff are no longer required to visit the reporting sections or other sections of the court to know about the status of their cases.
This has been sought to be implemented by the e-Committee of the Supreme Court by issuing directions to ensure that e-filing of cases/petitions by state governments in all matters be made mandatory from January 1, 2022.
Scope for virtual hearing in certain cases
Cases related to matrimonial issues and domestic violence bounced cheques, motor accident compensation referred to mediation centres and lok adalats could be included in the list of cases fit for disposal through the virtual hearing.
The hearing of matrimonial cases through video-conferencing was approved by the Supreme Court in the matter of Krishna Veni Nagam v Harish Nagam (2017).
The direction was short-lived and a coordinate bench of the Supreme Court in the case of Santhini v Vijaya Venkatesh (2018) referred the matter for reconsideration before a larger bench.
Virtual hearings cannot be a substitute for physical court hearings in all cases.
However, in appropriate cases and certain categories of cases as identified by the court administration in consultation with the members of the Bar, virtual hearing should be made mandatory.
Live streaming of cases
In 2018, the Supreme Court allowed the live-streaming of cases of constitutional and national importance on the basis of the judgment in Swapnil Tripathi.
Step towards transparency: The livestreaming of court proceedings is a step towards ensuring transparency and openness.
While several reservations were expressed against it, the Gujarat HC in July 2021 became the first court in the country to livestream its proceedings.
Its example was followed by other HCs like Karnataka, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Patna.
Challenges
Internet connectivity issues and the need for a well-equipped space where lawyers can conduct their cases are some of the major problems requiring attention.
Political will and the support of judges and lawyers are also necessary.
Awareness and training: Judges, court staff and lawyers are not well-versed with digital technology and its benefits.
The need of the hour is for them to be made aware of these and receive adequate training.
Conclusion
Adoption of technology will bring drastic changes in the field of law and will transform the Court system.
India is facing one of the worst power crises in its History and the scariest point is that this power crisis is not something that rarely has been haunting almost every year for 10 years now!!
As a result, businesses all across the country are facing lakhs and even crores of losses due to power shortage!! and at the macro level, the economy of India itself is taking a hit!!
A layman’s analysis
When we say power crisis you might think maybe India does not have enough energy source!!
But the fun fact is that India has the 5th largest coal reserve globally with 9.5% of the entire world’s coal reserve right here in our country itself!!
We have so much coal that with the existing energy demands, these reserves can power India for 111 years!!
Also the completion of universal household electrification has been a huge achievement.
So the question is:
Inspite being one of the largest coal reserve why is India facing a power crisis?
What are the factors that cause this to happen every single year?
Power value chain in India
The first thing we need to understand is the power value chain in India and how energy actually comes from the coal mines to your laptop.
This value chain includes four major steps:
Producers who mine and refine fuels
Power generation
Electricity transmission
Electricity distribution (Discoms)
The value chain starts with the energy producers who mine and refine fuels that are used in electricity production this includes all types of energy sources like coal gas oil or even nuclear based fuels.
The fuels are then delivered to the generation facilities where the electricity generator uses the fuel to drive a generator to produce electricity and then to dispatch it to a transmission and distribution system or Discoms.
This system distributes the electricity to consumer locations through a transmission and distribution grid.
India’s dependency on Coal
As of September 2021, thermal power comprised 60% of India’s installed capacity in power generation.
Coal-based power generation, with a capacity of around 210 gigawatts (GW) of the total 396 GW, accounts for about 53% of India’s total power capacity as on March 2022.
India imports about 20% of its thermal coal requirements.
Why is there a Power Shortage?
India was recently hit by a power crisis when the daily peak power shortage rose to 10,778 MW and the energy deficit reached 5% at the national level.
Some states experienced steep deficits of up to 15%.
Consequently, discoms resorted to load-shedding, resulting in long hours of outage for many households and rationed supply for economic activities.
Depleting coal supplies at thermal power plants has resulted in this crisis.
(1) Largest share in energy basket
Coal is the most important and abundant fossil fuel in India. It accounts for 55% of the country’s energy needs.
Coal demand is driven by the rising population, expanding economy and a quest for improved quality of life.
Currently, India doesn’t have a feasible replacement of Coal Based Thermal Energy in near future.
(2) Demand for power has soared
For instance, New Delhi’s peak power demand touched 5,460 megawatts (MW) recently, the highest ever in April’s first fortnight.
This was due to severe heatwaves all across the nation.
Several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, and Maharashtra, are facing power outages.
(3) Lack of coal availability in stock
The coal stock with power generation companies (gencos) is not adequate to meet the rising demand.
Normally, a power plant must maintain 26 days of coal stock.
However, at present, several power plants are reporting critical levels of coal stock.
Data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) shows that 97 power plants out of the 173 have critical levels of coal inventory.
These have an average of 28% of the stock compared to the normal scenario.
Stress on Power plants
There has been a moderation in coal supply towards certain gencos because of the overdues or delays in the payments.
As a result, discoms/state governments will either have to absorb the cost burden with increased imported coal-based generation.
This however has to be passed on the same through tariff hikes which never happened in India.
Inspite, DISCOMS constrained to offtake power, resulting in load shedding, which has been visible in a few states recently.
Major reason: Underperformance of Coal Sector
The state power distribution companies (discoms) have also not been able to clear their dues to power generation companies.
According to the government’s PRAAPTI portal, distribution companies faced financial liability of nearly Rs 1 lakh crore.
The challenges facing the finances of the distribution companies have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crises.
The impact of the nation-wide lockdown in 2020, which shuttered commercial and industrial enterprises was severe for their finances.
Revenues from historically subsidizing consumers decreased, even as supply to subsided consumers, agricultural and residential consumers, either increased or remained the same.
Indian railways owing to no reception of payment from DISCOMS stopped or reduced coal supplies.
Factors attributing to the deteriorating finances
[1] Lack of Cost-reflective Tariffs
The costs of supplying high-voltage consumers is significantly less than that of supplying to lower voltage consumers
The complexity of tariff determination is accentuated by the existence of multiplicity of categories in the tariff structures, with numerous subcategories and slabs.
There is significant variation in this between states.
[2] Distorted Cross-subsidies
Households and agricultural consumers paying less than the average cost of supply and to make up for this, tariffs for commercial and industrial consumers are higher.
In developed countries, high voltage industrial consumers have the lowest tariff reflecting lower costs.
This increases industrial competitiveness by lowering energy costs.
DISCOMs in states with poor industrialization tend to correspondingly have larger losses.
Increased domestic consumption due to expanded electrification and rise in per capita incomes and increased agricultural consumption due to increased demand for irrigation have not been matched by a similar growth in subsidizing consumers.
Consistent losses have meant that distribution companies do not have the financial capacity to invest in necessary capital expenditure, resulting in paying consumers needing to invest on their own in independent sources of power.
[3] Misaligned Political Incentives and Mismanagement
The govt could have declared the extent to which tariffs would become lower as AT&C losses were brought down.
Consumers would pay more than necessary to the extent AT&C (Aggregate Technical & Commercial) losses were higher.
De-metering of agricultural consumption has been another example.
It is considered to have encouraged ‘a culture of unaccountability in the sector, leading to theft and line losses being hidden within the agricultural category’.
There are also electricity bills waivers as populist election freebies.
[4] Lack of Regular Tariff Increase
Another major cause of the high financial losses has been that tariffs do not increase commensurate to increase in costs in many states.
Since the 1990s, revenue recovered by DISCOMs had been, on average, 30% lower than the cost incurred.
This resulted in approximately Rs 1.15 lakh crores of costs, which were not recovered through tariffs.
Due to a variety of reasons, including state government interventions or a lack of preparedness, DISCOMs do not file petitions in a timely manner.
[5] Delays/non-payment of Subsidy Amounts and Dues by States
The rapid rise in subsidized consumers and increased populist announcements of greater subsidies have meant an increase in the requirement of subsidies from the state governments.
Delays in release of subsidies, as well as underpayment of committed subsidies impact the ability of DISCOMs in managing operating costs.
Moreover, since the fraction of the cost structure meant to be covered by subsidy payments has risen.
Also, government departments often also do not release payments for outstanding dues in a timely manner.
Various policy measures
[1] 2001 Scheme for Repayment of SEB Due
The first bailout package was intended as a one-time settlement of outstanding dues till September 2001.
Based on the recommendations of the Committee constituted under Montek Singh Ahluwalia, in May 2002, the government circulated a tripartite agreement between the RBI, Central and State Governments.
States were to implement reforms such as setting up SERC, metering distribution feeders, and improving revenue realization, in exchange for which 60% of interest/surcharge on delayed payments was waived for participating states
[2] 2012 Financial Restructuring Plan (FRP)
The states were unable to turn around the fortunes of their electricity boards as required by the financial restructuring plan (FRP) finalized in September 2012.
This was because of reasons such as low tariff increases, slow progress in reducing losses, higher electricity purchase costs and crippling debt.
The scheme has been availed by Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
This is the second such bailout for the Indian distribution sector.
Some states including Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have also not converted outstanding state government loans into equity—another requisite.
[3] 2015 Ujwal DISCOMs Assurance Yojana (UDAY)
The UDAY scheme was introduced with the objective to improve the operational and financial efficiency of state DISCOMs.
The scheme allowed state governments to take over 75% of outstanding DISCOM debt over two years.
Incentives offered to participating states included access to additional/priority funding through Central Government schemes such as DDUGJY, IPDS, Power Sector Development Fund (PSDF).
This however could not alter the situation on the ground.
[4] Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan Package
This was a part of the package announced to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
It infused liquidity support of Rs 90,000 crore in the form of concessional loans from Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation.
It provided for rebates by Central Public Sector Gencos to DISCOMs; and relaxation of conditions of existing loans and relief from certain late payments and surcharges were announced.
The borrowing limits for states were also relaxed, with part of the increased borrowing linked to reforms on power distribution.
[5] Reforms-based Result-Linked Power Distribution Sector
Launched in July 2021, the RDSS is the latest of many central government grant-based programmes towards electricity distribution network investments.
It has an outlay of Rs 3 lakh crore for five years.
Half of the outlay is for better feeder and transformer metering and pre-paid smart consumer metering.
The remaining half, 60 percent of which will be funded by central government grants, will be spent on power loss reduction and strengthening networks.
RDSS stipulates universal pre-paid metering but post-paid options may be suitable in many contexts.
What are the recent reforms in Coal Sector?
Commercial mining of coal is allowed, with 50 blocks to be offered to the private sector.
Entry norms will be liberalized as it has done away with the regulation requiring power plants to use “washed” coal.
Coal blocks to be offered to private companies on revenue sharing basis in place of fixed cost.
Coal gasification/liquefaction to be incentivized through rebate in revenue share.
Coal bed methane (CBM) extraction rights to be auctioned from Coal India’s coal mines.
Averting the power crisis: A way forward
(1) Ramp-up domestic coal production
The efforts are being taken to fill the shortage of coal from domestic mines and to do so the government is working closely with coal producing companies to ramp up domestic production of coal.
(2) Reduce demand-supply mismatches
Load shading is not new to India. Rationing of power supply in rural and semi-urban areas will be the immediate solution for the power distress in industrial areas.
(3) Rationalize the coal imports
India will need to amplify its imports despite the financial cost. The gap in the coal demand after domestic production has to be filled by the imports from Indonesia and Australia.
(4) Focus on Hydro-power generation and natural gal
India has the immense potential in the Hydro-power generation and is among the most important sector for generating electricity after thermal power plants. There could be a larger role for natural gas to play, even with global prices currently surging.
(5) Increasing the share of Renewable energy
Experts advocate a mix of coal and clean sources of energy as a possible long-term solution. It’s not completely possible to transition and it’s never a good strategy to transition 100% to renewables without a backup.
Long term investment in multiple power sources aside a crisis like the current one can be averted with better planning.
(6) Increased coordination
There is need for closer coordination between Coal India Limited – the largest supplier of coal in the country and other stakeholders.
For now, the government is working with state-run enterprises to ramp up production and mining to reduce the gap between supply and demand.
(7) Decentralized power generation
The main issue is that we are dependent on large, centralized power generation.
The only way our power sector can absorb shocks better is if large power plants are augmented by decentralized generation sources at village level.
This can be a template for better resilience to future power crises.
(8) Coal stocking norms
To avoid such a crisis situation in future, the Ministry of Power has worked out a strategy which includes tweaking the coal stocking norms. If the power plants do not follow them, then there will be a penal provision.
To overcome the storage issue in the generation of electricity from renewable sources, the government is working on a provision for creating more storage facilities in the grid.
Conclusion
India can learn a lesson from Europe’s power crisis. While Europe has gas power plants to stand in, India doesn’t have similar options.
As we move more towards greening our power sources, we need to provision for paying for standby thermal generation to avoid a mega-crisis.
Adequate liquidity for backup reserve capacity needs to be planned and provisioned for.
Probably, the present situation is a good opportunity to rethink and fine-tune the energy policy without further delay.
Bits and pieces reforms will not work anymore, as the chain has to been broken and a complete overhaul is required.
The key to an improved criminal justice system is quality forensic labs and well-trained staff, not more legislation and harsher punishments.
About forensic science
Forensic science is the application of scientific perspectives and techniques to the legal process, including investigations and courtroom protocol.
It is the use of scientific data and procedures specifically for the legal system.
There is rigorous procedure involved, including controlled conditions, reliable data collection and the attempt to disprove hypotheses.
Methodologies like the autopsy procedures, fingerprinting, testing and matching for poisons, blood spatter analysis, matching guns to bullets fired (ballistics), voice sample matches, handwriting assessments and DNA analysis are all facets of forensic science.
Inadequate state forensic facilities
We have a woefully inadequate number of forensic science laboratories (FSL).
There are seven central forensic laboratories in India at Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh, New Delhi, Guwahati, Bhopal and Pune.
Six of these laboratories, barring Delhi, are under the control of the Directorate of Forensic Science Services (DFSS), and its mission is to render high quality and credible forensic services to the justice delivery system.
A National Forensic Sciences University was established in Gandhinagar, Gujarat in 2020.
The existing National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science in Delhi has been integrated into this new university.
There are 32 state FSLs and about 529 mobile FSL units, of which Delhi has one state FSL and six mobile units.
The DNA tests discovered in 1985 are used to identify individuals involved in alleged crimes.
In 2017, The Hindu reported that while the United Kingdom completes DNA testing on over 60,000 crimes annually, India with over 13 times the population completes such tests on less than 7,500 cases.
The average pendency at each lab is huge.
In all states, there were over 50 per cent vacancies in personnel at their facilities.
Way forward
More investment: We certainly need more investment in the establishment of FSL laboratories, the training and appointment of personnel adept at forensic methodologies and reforms within our police to establish a trained and skilled detective cadre tasked with solving complex and heinous crimes.
Quality training and accreditation: There is a desperate need for good quality training facilities, standards of accreditation and continuous education programmes for our forensic experts.
Conclusion
It is not more legislation and harsher punishments that will solve crimes, but well-trained forensic staff plying their craft in good quality laboratories that will aid our criminal justice system.
On May 19, in Union of India vs Mohit Minerals, the Supreme Court of India delivered a ruling which is likely to have an impact far wider than what the Centre might have imagined when it brought the case up on appeal.
Background
At stake was the validity of a levy imposed on importers, of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) on ocean freight paid by foreign sellers to foreign shipping lines.
The Gujarat High Court had declared the tax illegal.
The Supreme Court affirmed the ruling and held that the levy constituted double taxation — that is, that the importer, which was already paying tax on the “composite” supply of goods, could not be asked to pay an additional tax on a perceived “service” that it may have received.
Why the ruling could transform the future of fiscal federalism in India
Equal powers to legislate on GST: While delivering the judgement, the Supreme Court held that both Parliament and the State legislatures enjoy equal power to legislate on Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The Court said that the Goods and Services Tax Council’s recommendations were just that: recommendations that could never be binding on a legislative body.
Until now, governments across India have treated the GST Council’s recommendations — even where they disagreed with them — as sacrosanct, because they believed that this was indeed the law.
According to the Court, State legislatures possess the authority to deviate from any advice rendered by the GST Council and to make their own laws by asserting, in the process, their role as equal partners in India’s federal architecture.
Conflicting taxation regimes: Because of the ruling, the State governments will be free to exercise independent power to legislate on GST.
It is possible that this might lead to conflicting taxation regimes, with the idea of ‘One Nation One Tax’ rendered nugatory.
Constitutional power cannot be limited through statute: The Court’s ruling does not mean that a legislature — whether Parliament or the States’ — cannot through statutory law make the Council’s recommendations binding on executive bodies.
But a constitutional power, in the Court’s ruling, can never be limited through statute. Such curbs must flow only from the Constitution.
And in this case, in the Court’s analysis, no restrictions on legislative power can be gleaned on a meaningful reading of the Constitution.
Background of 101st constitutional Amendment
Unification of tax administration: When, in July 2017, the Union government introduced the GST regime through the 101st constitutional Amendment, it did so based on an underlying belief that tax administration across India needed unification.
To give effect to this idea, many entries in the State list of Schedule VII of the Constitution were either deleted or amended.
A power to legislate on GST was inserted through a newly introduced Article 246A.
No longer could State governments legislate on sale or purchase of goods barring a few exceptions, such as petroleum and liquor through the ordinary legislative route.
GST Council: In addition, the 101st Amendment also established, through Article 279A, a GST Council.
The Council was given the power to “make recommendations to the Union and States” on several different matters.
Implications of the judgement
The use of the word “recommendations” suggested on the one hand that its decisions would be advisory, at best.
But, at the same time, the fact that Article 279A directed the establishment of a mechanism to adjudicate disputes between governments on decisions taken by the Council suggested that those governments would, in fact, be bound by any advice rendered to them.
GST would be in jeopardy: If the former reading was to be deployed, the purpose behind the introduction of a common GST would be in jeopardy.
But the latter interpretation effectively entailed the destruction of the well-laid plans of the Constituent Assembly.
Fiscal responsibilities that had been divided with much care and attention between the Union and the States would now stand dissolved.
Federal compact
Although States had until now proceeded on a tacit belief that the GST Council’s recommendations were binding, such an approach, in Justice Chandrachud’s words, would run counter both to the express words of the Constitution and the philosophical values underlying the language deployed.
Article 246A, which was introduced by the 101st Amendment provides concomitant power both to the Union and to the State governments to legislate on GST.
It does not discriminate between the two in terms of its allocation of authority.
That allocation, according to the Court, cannot be limited by a reading of Article 279A, which establishes a GST Council, and which treats the Council’s decisions as “recommendations”.
Conclusion
GST was conceived as a product of what some described as “pooled sovereignty”. But perhaps it is only in an administrative area, animated by contestation, where we can see synergy between different sovereign units, where our nation can take a genuine turn towards a more “cooperative federalism”.
There has been a remarkable upswing in GST collections in recent months. Collections touched a record high of Rs 1.67 lakh crore in April.
GST
What are the reasons for increased collection?
1] Inflation: First, the sharp rise in inflation has played a significant role.
Notwithstanding concerns over the unevenness of the economic recovery, in nominal terms, the economy grew by 19.4 per cent in 2021-22 as per the second advance estimates.
Deflating GST collection suggests that a large part of the recent increase in collections is driven by rising prices.
2] Higher imports: Part of the overall increase in collections can be traced to higher imports.
Higher buoyancy: Even if one is to exclude the revenue accruing from imports, the rise in GST collections has outstripped GDP growth, indicating higher buoyancy.
3] Tightening of the rules: In order to improve compliance levels, the GST Council has been tweaking the rules to tighten the system.
Returns filed have gone up, while the number of non-filers and those who delay filing have fallen.
Alongside, the administration has also taken steps to tackle the menace of fake invoices by placing restrictions on the quantum of input tax credit that can be used to pay of tax obligations.
The introduction of e-invoicing has also played a role.
Until recently, this was being implemented for firms with a turnover of more than Rs 50 crore.
From April, this process has been extended to firms above Rs 20 crore.
The incremental gains from bringing smaller firms into its ambit, while consequential, are unlikely to be of the same order.
4] Industrial activity: The higher collections in April 2022 seem to be led by increase in industrial activity. This is borne by strong growth in collections in states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Odisha which house lot of industries. Relatively tepid growth in more populous states such as Bihar (-2.47 per cent), West Bengal (7.80 per cent) and Jharkhand (4.86 per cent) shows that the GST collections was not propelled by revival in private consumption.
The real challenge lies in improving compliance levels across the entire spectrum of industries where inputs/raw materials are sourced largely from the informal sector.
5] Changing the structure of the economy: The formalisation of firms, the growing concentration of economic power in the hands of a few, imply that for the same level of output, the tax paid will be higher.
Suggestion
Increase tax rate: Around two-fifths of the taxable value (or turnover) falls under the 18 per cent slab as per research by some analysts.
This implies that simply merging the 12 per cent and the 18 per cent slab as some have been suggesting would lead to a revenue loss.
Before opting for such adjustments, the GST Council must first ascertain the potential revenue (net of cess and refunds) at varying levels of compliance, tax rates and exemptions afforded.
Now, as per some estimates presented to the 15th Finance Commission, with existing exemptions in place, the current tax regime should ideally yield revenues equivalent to 8.23 per cent of GDP.
In another scenario, even if existing exemptions are kept in place, and if a single rate of 14 per cent is levied, then collections should rise to 8.93 per cent.
Conclusion
Considering the current economic situation, now may not be an opportune moment to raise taxes. But there is no getting around it. Both the Centre and the states need to work towards this.
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.
What did the Supreme Court say?
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.
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.
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.
Sex work in India
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
Various issues faced by Sex Workers
Stigma and Marginalization: This is experienced as the major factor that prevents women in sex work from accessing their rights.
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.
Backwardness: Illiteracy, ignorance and fear of the medical establishment make it difficult for women to access healthcare.
Health hazards: Current discourse on HIV/AIDS has served to further stigmatize sex workers by labeling them as “vectors” and “carriers” of the disease.
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.
Constitutional protection
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.
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.
What will change in India if the Centre accepts 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.
Police will be required to treat all sex workers with dignity and not verbally or physically abuse them, subject them to violence, or coerce them into any sexual activity.
Where do other countries stand?
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.
Conclusion
While sex worker collectives have shown tremendous progress in asserting the rights of sex workers across India, they face an uphill battle as the country continues to foster a globalized economy.
In the globalized world, sex work will become more institutionalized, functioning through escort services, and will no longer need traditional street brothels.
Legislators needs to ensure all rights to the sex workers at par with citizens.
Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces have urged PM against exempting defense services from purview of RTI (Right to Information) Act, 2005.
Why in news?
Last year, late CDS Rawat had urged the government making a pitch for defence services to be exempted from the RTI Act.
He had stated that none of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are under its purview and defence services, being even more sensitive, should be fully exempted too.
What is RTI?
RTI is an act of the parliament which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens’ right to information.
It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply expeditiously or within 30.
In case of the matter involving a petitioner’s life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours.
The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.
Constitutional status of RTI
Since RTI, is implicit in the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, it is an implied FR.
These are backed by the right to constitutional remedies that is, the right to approach the supreme court and high court under Article 32 and 226 respectively in case of infringement of any of FRs.
Benefits of RTI
Greater accessibility of information: A person can seek information from any public authority in the form of copies, floppy disks, sample material etc under RTI.
Efficient governance: RTI Act helps us in knowing the efficiency of the government’s functioning.
Citizen’s participation: Information under RTI can be sought easily by requesting the public officer and assistant public officer in any public authority.
Government obligation: Obtaining information from any public authority is obligatory for them.
Maintenance of public record: Under RTI Act, it is the duty of public authorities to maintain records for easy access and to publish within 120 days the name of the particular officers who should give the information and in regard to the framing of the rules, regulations etc.
Empowerment of Citizens: Every citizen has been empowered to be informed about anything that affects their life directly or indirectly.
Why do Veterans want RTI?
The RTI has remained a powerful tool with the veterans and serving community to obtain information anddocuments concerning their service and pensioner issues.
RTI Act has ensured maximum transparency in official establishments dealing with such cases.
Even innocuous documents such as medical board proceedings concerning disabled soldiers and old service records of veterans are only made available through the RTI Act.
Requesting that defence services are not be placed in Schedule 2 of the RTI Act, 2005, the lobby said that adequate protection is already available in Sections 8 and 9 of the Act.
Armed forces can hold back information related to operational and security-related issues.
Necessity for RTI in armed forces
Any such move will be a blow to transparency and will lead to an exponential increase in litigation and grievances.
And any irregularities in defence procurements would also go under the carpet, besides massive discrepancies in promotions.
Already they are so opaque and have faced so many strictures by the courts.
Denying such a right of a powerful public-oriented tool to military personnel, veterans, military widows and their families would place them at a sharp disadvantage compared to citizens.
This would also result in litigation blast with affected persons approaching judicial forums for minor issues.
India aspires to emerge as the leader of green hydrogen by taking advantage of the current energy crisis across the globe.
Why in news?
Oil India Limited (OIL) has commissioned India’s first 99.99% pure green hydrogen plant in eastern Assam’s Jorhat.
Powered by a 500 KW solar plant, the green hydrogen unit has an installed capacity to produce 10 kg of hydrogen per day and scale it up to 30 kg per day.
What is Hydrogen?
Hydrogen is the lightest, simplest and most abundant member of the family of chemical elements in the universe.
It is colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic and highly combustible gaseous substance.
What is Green hydrogen?
Green hydrogen is the one produced with no harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
It is made by using clean electricity from surplus renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power, to electrolyse water.
Electrolysers use an electrochemical reaction to split water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen, emitting zero-carbon dioxide in the process.
Green hydrogen currently makes up a small percentage of the overall hydrogen, because production is expensive.
Why is India pursuing green hydrogen?
Under the Paris Agreement of 2015, India is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 33-35% from the 2005 levels.
It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change with the goal of limiting global warming to below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels.
At the 2021 CoP in Glasgow, India reiterated its commitment to move from a fossil and import-dependent economy to a net-zero economy by 2070.
India’s average annual energy import bill is more than $100 billion .
The increased consumption of fossil fuel has made the country a high CO2 emitter which accounts for nearly 7% of the global CO2 burden.
Various policy moves
In order to become energy independent by 2047, the government stressed the need to introduce green hydrogen as an alternative fuel that can make India the global hub and a major exporter of hydrogen.
The National Hydrogen Mission was launched on August 15, 2021, with a view to cutting down carbon emissions and increasing the use of renewable sources of energy.
How much green hydrogen is India producing?
India has just begun to generate green hydrogen with the objective of raising non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030.
It was on April 20, 2022 that the public sector OIL, which is headquartered in eastern Assam’s Duliajan, set up India’s first 99.99% pure green hydrogen pilot plant.
Research and development efforts are ongoing for a reduction in the cost of production, storage and the transportation of hydrogen.
What are the advantages of hydrogen as a fuel?
Hydrogen can be used to produce electricity using fuel cells.
Hydrogen, thus, can act as an energy storage device and contribute to grid stability.
The oxygen, produced as a by-product (8 kg of oxygen is produced per 1 kg of hydrogen), can also be monetised by using it for industrial and medical applications or for enriching the environment.
Limitations to Hydrogen
Despite being the most abundant element in the Universe, hydrogen does not exist on its own so needs to be extracted from water via electrolysis or separated from carbon fossil fuels.
Hydrogen fuel cells need huge investment to be developed to the point where they become a genuinely viable energy source.
This will also require the political will to invest the time and money into development in order to improve and mature the technology.
Precious metals such as platinum and iridium are typically required as catalysts in fuel cells meaning unfeasibly high cost.
There are also barriers around regulatory issues concerning the framework that defines commercial deployment models.
Storage and transportation of hydrogen is more complex than that required for fossil fuels due to its high inflammability.
Back2Basics: Colours spectrum of Hydrogen
(1) Green hydrogen
(2) Blue hydrogen
It is produced mainly from natural gas, using a process called steam reforming, which brings together natural gas and heated water in the form of steam.
The output is hydrogen – but also carbon dioxide as a by-product.
That means carbon capture and storage (CCS) is essential to trap and store this carbon.
Blue hydrogen is sometimes described as ‘low-carbon hydrogen’ as the steam reforming process doesn’t actually avoid the creation of greenhouse gases.
(3) Grey hydrogen
Currently, this is the most common form of hydrogen production.
Grey hydrogen is created from natural gas, or methane, using steam methane reformation but without capturing the greenhouse gases made in the process.
(4) Black and brown hydrogen
Any hydrogen made from fossil fuels through the process of ‘gasification’ is sometimes called black or brown hydrogen interchangeably.
They are the most environmentally damaging.
(5) Pink hydrogen
Pink hydrogen is generated through electrolysis powered by nuclear energy.
Nuclear-produced hydrogen can also be referred to as purple hydrogen or red hydrogen.
In addition, the very high temperatures from nuclear reactors could be used in other hydrogen productions by producing steam for more efficient electrolysis or fossil gas-based steam methane reforming.
Manufacturers produce them as 200mm or 300mm wafers. These are further split into lots of tiny chips.
While the larger wafers are expensive and mostly used for advanced equipment, the devices that were in high demand needed smaller diameter wafers.
But the manufacturing equipment needed to make them were in short supply even before the pandemic began.
Industry is moving in the direction of 5G and advanced communication, which requires expensive wafers.
High consumer demand for low-end products, coupled with large orders from tech firms chocked chip makers whose factories were also closed during lockdowns.
As the industry gradually tried to pull itself out of the supply crunch, and logistical complexities have exacerbated the problem.
Impact of Ukrainian War
Separately, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has strained exports of essential commodities used to make chip sets.
Moscow supplies rare materials like palladium, and Kyiv sells rare gases to make semiconductor fab lasers.
This combination is required to build chipsets that power a range of devices, from automobiles to smartphones.
Global supply chain
About a decade and half back, semiconductors barely drew attention from large companies that have now come to rely on the thumbnail-sized semiconductor piece.
During this period, firms developed a system to make chip sets.
The system was made by interconnecting several parts of the world to make a single device.
It is what we now call as the global supply chain.
How intricate is this network?
Semiconductor manufacturing involves roughly 25 countries in the direct supply chain, and 23 countries in allied functions, according to a joint study by Global Semiconductor Alliance and Accenture.
The report estimates a semiconductor-based product could cross international borders about 70 times before finally making it to the end customer.
Wafer fabrication is the most globally dispersed, with 39 countries directly involved in the supply chain and 34 involved in allied activity.
They provide services like photolithography, etching and cleaning.
Designing happens across 12 countries; product testing and manufacturing each are done across 25 countries.
COVID is the only raison d’être
Supply chain dynamics back fired due to the pandemic, and the recent geopolitical events.
When the pandemic began, carmakers stopped requesting chips from suppliers due to low demand for new vehicles.
And now, as they ramp up production to meet consumer demand, chip makers are down on supply because they have cut deals with other industries.
As the geopolitical events in Central Europe and production shutdowns in China continue to add pressure to the already complicated semiconductor supply chain.
Current affairs are an integral part of every phase of the UPSC-CSE exam. Understanding the significance of current affairs is just one part of the UPSC riddle. For solving the whole riddle, we keep presenting Samachar ManthanPlus Yearly Classes for 2023 aspirants.
Why are current affairs so important?
Up to 2020, UPSC used to ask more questions directly about current affairs.
But in 2021, trends are seen as more dynamic. The number of direct questions from current affairs was less but the current theme-based questions came in more number. Almost 40% of MCQs in Prelims were mixed with current affairs. And in the mains, approximately 50% of questions were connected with current affairs.
An irresistible reason to join ‘Samachar Manthat’ is that it’s more important to understand the analysis of news rather than to only recognize the facts for the upcoming UPSC-CSE 2023.
Why current affairs are crucial in the Interview?
In Personality Tests often your opinions are asked on various issues. Current Affairs make you aware of the surroundings and allow you to give practical answers to the problems faced by the country.
Do you know how our SM helped 2021 aspirants?
85% of 2021 GS 2 Mains Questions Are From Civilsdaily Smash Mains & Samachar Manthan Test Series!! Click Here to know
60% of 2021 GS 1 Mains Questions Are From Civilsdaily Mains Test Series!! Click Here to Know
Dilpreet Singh, AIR 237, student of Samachar Manthan
What is Samachar Manthan?
Samachar Manthan is our flagship program designed to help you develop a solid command of your newspaper reading and current affairs analyzing skills. We are also going to focus on imparting skills required to utilize current affairs. Since it builds your core, it is important for both Prelims and Mains & Interview also.
SAMPLE LECTURES:
Program inclusion
1. Weekly 5+ hours live video and offline lectures
2. High-quality Notes and reference material
3. Membership to Samachar Manthan Habitat club – doubts, discussion, and mentorship session.
4. Weekly Current Affairs based Mains Test (10 Questions) and Evaluation
5. Current Affairs Monthly Prelims Test package
6. Marathon Revision sessions on Habitat before Prelims and Mains
7. Frequent Google meets Sessions to check on Student’s Preparation status
Civilsdaily’s Samachar Manthan is evidently one brand that sets us apart from any other institute in this Domain.
Our Samachar Manthan Program helps you in 11 key components of your UPSC current affairs preparation:-
5-stage structure of Lecture-Notes-Testing-Review-Mentoring
Our unique five-stage methodology helps ensure maximum retention and rock-solid preparation. Each component has been meticulously crafted which is repeated every week to create a virtuous cycle.
Diversified and Comprehensive coverage
We let news develop over a week, and a team under Sajal Sir daily covers it from various sources which include newspapers (The Hindu, The Indian Express, LiveMint, etc.), magazines (Yojana, Kurukshetra, EPW, Down to Earth), important websites (PIB, PRS, govt ministries, IDSA, etc.).
UPSC is a generalist exam. It’s important to cover more issues than to cover a few, in more depth. Samachar Manthan ensures a fine balance of comprehensive news coverage and detailed discussion on the most important topics.
Videos and Notes
Carefully selected relevant news is analyzed and delivered in a weekly lecture spanning over 5+ hours. You will be getting high-quality, well-designed notes. They are detailed with proper categorization of news into the Mains and Prelims category.
Our focus is on conceptual clarity, simplicity, relevance, and making interlinkages between current affairs and the basic/static part of the syllabus.
Samachar Manthan will also help you understand how to utilize current affairs in all your Prelims and Mains papers. A part of which is done by tests.
Weekly Mains mini Test and Evaluation in an audio-visual way
Because learning is not enough, you must apply. Every week a 10-question UPSC level current affairs test follows with video and notes. The focus here is on Mains’s answer writing skills and practice.
It’s a skill that is learned, honed, and perfected gradually. And this is why it should be done regularly. Our team of subject experts evaluates your answers and provides you with feedback. Answer enhancement is one of the objectives of this exercise.
Guest lectures by in-service officers and domain specialists
Apart from comprehensive coverage of current affairs from all dimensions by our faculty, Other Senior Bureaucrats and toppers will also be joining us for various lectures and guest sessions. Their persuasive advice will dispel all doubts. Samachar Manthan is now going to be the optimum ingredient, needed for absolute growth.
Current Affairs Monthly Prelims Test package
This was feedback that we had received from our students. Now every month we provide a Current Affairs prelims test package.
All this completes a study loop and enhances your retention.
Civilsdaily Handholding and mentoring:
Our team led by Sajal sir is there to provide handholding support all through your UPSC expedition. Increased interaction with the faculty and teachers from Civilsdaily will help you align your preparation and make it more appropriate. You can reach out to Sajal sir and other teachers on Habitat.
Google meet sessions
Another important component we have added this year is Google meet sessions. These sessions will be conducted on a regular basis with the aspirants. After almost every class, we will meet our students on the premium live webinar.
Samachar Manthan 2023 -Habitat club
Habitat is where everything comes together learning, doubt clearing, notes, references, mentors, and a focussed community. You’re going to learn and discuss like never before.
How will your queries be resolved?
The moment you have a query, you post it in the group. At 11 PM, 3 AM, doesn’t matter. No need to schedule a call, or drop an email. Just drop a chat. Once our team is up, it will be resolved.
More often than not, your peers will take part in your doubt discussions adding a lot of value.
Besides doubts, what else is there on Habitat?
#DDS sessions – We have dedicated sessions every day to resolve doubts in real-time. Never keep a doubt to yourself.
An ecosystem for co-learning and active learning.
A highly motivated community to bring flexibility and consistency to your preparation.
Marathon revision sessions before Prelims and Mains
To consolidate your coverage and revision we take revision sessions on Habitat.
Checked Copy Discussion On Phone / In-person
True ease in writing comes from art and not by chance. So, your writing copies will be checked by our highly qualified & experienced teachers. And they will discuss your checked answers individually with you over the phone or in person. It will help you thrive as a writing prodigy.
The Highly experienced faculty leading this program:
Sajal Singh
Sudhanshu Mishra
Sajal sir is known to make Economics and IR as easy as a cakewalk. He scored one of the highest marks in GS in the 2017 UPSC exam. Under his guidance, more than 80 percent of students qualified for the UPSC interview 2020 Smash mains Program.
Sudhanshu sir has firsthand experience of 3 mains and two interviews of UPSC. He has served in the defense ministry for 10 years with a keen interest in regional and global geopolitics and has ample experience in various other competitiveexams as well.
sajal@civilsdaily.com
sudhanshu@civilsdaily.com
Sukanya Rana
Poornima
Our Civilsdaily Mains Program Head Mrs. Sukanya Rana earlier worked as a PO in Canara Bank. She has an experience of 4 mains and 2 interviews of UPSC. In 2019, she had scored 140 in ethics paper 4. She is part of Smash Mains as an Ethics Mentor.
Graduate from Miranda house in Geography and did MA from JNU in Geography. She is also a qualified Net JRF in Geography. So, she will comprehensively cover all the current affairs issues regarding Geography.
sukanya@civilsdaily.com
poornima@civilsdaily.com
Other Senior Bureaucrats and toppers will also be joining for various lectures and guest sessions.
Shri V.P. Singh Sir, IRPS
Virendra Pratap Singh did his B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur in 2003. He joined the services with immense experience in the Private Sector working across domains in high-profile companies like Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, and Tata Motors. He has consistently scored very high marks in interviews. His 2009 score of 213/300 was among the toppers.
Himanshu Arora
Himanshu sir has a wide experience in the field of both academics and policy-making. He has earlier taught Economics at both undergraduate and Post-Graduate levels at Delhi University. Currently, he is working at the Prime Minister’s economic advisory council. He also writes columns regularly in prestigious newspapers like The Hindu, Indian Express, and Millenium post.
SD Singh
Dr. S D Singh sir, Retd IFoS, 1988 Batch, Uttarakhand Cadre.
He is currently employed with MoEF as a senior consultant. He has 33 years of experience in forestry, environment, wildlife, and biodiversity conservation.
Talk to our mentors for a Roadmap to 2023 Attempt. Click Here
Form of Government:
Autocracy/ Absolute Monarchy – Concentration of power in one unelected hand
Democracy – government on the basis of elections
Constitutional Monarchy – head of state is king/ queen but acts on the aid and advice of elected council of ministers
Republican Govt.- head of state is elected not a monarch
Democracy
Direct -people vote on every issue, they make laws for themselves
Indirect/ Representative – people choose their representatives who make laws on their behalf
Referendum -people voting on certain important issues in representative democracies
Plebiscite – vote where people choose whether or not they want to remain in a state
In representative democracy
Written constitution – Laws can not be in violation of constitution. Constitution is supreme. Two types of laws – ordinary laws and constitutional laws
Unwritten constitution – Laws framed by parliament is supreme i.e parliament is supreme. Ordinary law and constitution law one and the same
So constitution basically limits the power of state. It has to abide by the constitution
Who will interpret the constitution – Judiciary. It can review laws and policies of govt – not violative of constitution i.e Judicial review
Legislature will frame the laws.
Who will implement – Executive
Two systems here
Parliamentary form – Executives/ ministers come from Parliament/ must get themselves elected within 6 months.
Presidential form – Executive is not part of legislature
System of Govt
Presidential
Parliamentary/ Cabinet form
Executive
Not part of legislature
Part of legislature
Separation of Power
Complete
Incomplete
Responsibility to legislature
Not responsible
Responsible to LokSabha
Term
Fixed term of both legislative and executive
Loksabha and cabinet can be dissolved any time
Govt and state
Both head of govt and state
Head of state, head of govt is PM, real power vests in PM
Titbits
In parliamentary form, head of government is prime minister while head of state is president (republic) or monarchy (constitutional monarchy) whereas president is both head of government as well as head of state in presidential form
Incomplete separation of power in parliamentary form; complete separation of power in presidential form
Form of Govt
Unitary – Only 1 tier of govt for the whole country. Units do not get any power directly from the constitution. There may be local bodies and provinces but parliament delegates power to them
Federal – more than 1, generally 2 tier. Units i.e states/ provinces derive power directly from the constitution
Shades of Federalism:
Federal features
Unitary features
Written constitution
Area, names, boundaries of states can be changed
Dual govt, Separate lists – union, state and concurrent
Governor
Judicial review
Integrated and unified Judiciary – Supreme court at top
Rigid constitution – when amending articles having interest of state
Emergency provisions
Bicameral legislature – RS is council of state
CAG, EC, All India services, Single citizenship, single constitution
Note:
Federal government is possible only in countries with written constitution
3rd tier of governance i.e Panchayati Raj and Municipalities is not federalism but more decentralisation and local self governance.
Various constitutional doctrines
Separation of Powers – among legislative, executive and judiciary so that no one becomes all powerful
Checks and Balances- among the three: for instance, judicial review is judicial check on executive and legislature
Doctrine of repugnancy – state law on concurrent list liable to be struck down if inconsistent with central law
Doctrine of harmonious reconstruction – Constitutional provisions interpreted not in isolation but to be construed as to harmonize with those other parts
Doctrine of pith and substance – finding out the true nature of a statute, an act or a provision created by the State is valid if the true nature of the act or the provision is about a subject that falls in the State list
Doctrine of colorable legislation- Whatever legislature can’t do directly, it can’t do indirectly It is most commonly applied wrt article 246 (3 lists)when a Legislature does not possess the power to make law upon a particular subject but nonetheless indirectly makes one
Basic Structure – Constitution has some basic structure which can not be amended even if all members of both the house vote to amend that provision (Keshvananda Bharati Case)
Judicial review – Constitutional courts to examine whether laws or policies violate the constitution
Historical background
Timeline
Regulating Act, 1773 – Governor of Bengal became Governor General of Bengal (not india) i.e Bombay and Madras presidency subordinate, Supreme court in Calcutta
Pitts Act 1784 – Board of Control for political affairs, 1st time called British Possession in India
Charter Act of 1833 – Centralization complete, Governor General of Bengal became that of India, law member introduced in the council
Charter Act 1853 – Open competition for civil services
Government of India Act 1858 – Act for good govt, abolished EIC, under direct rule of British govt/ crown now, Secretary of state post created
Act of 1861 – Recognition to portfolio system, some indians nominated to council
Act of 1892 – same story
Act of 1909/ Morley – Minto – element of election introduced, 1st Indian in executive council of viceroy, Separate Electorate
Act of 1919/ Montagu – Chelmsford – Dyarchy or dual govt in provinces – transferred and reserved subject, Bicameral legislature
GOI Act 1935 – Federation, Autonomy to provinces, 3 lists, residuary powers in viceroy
Titbits:
From 1858 under direct control of British govt. Therefore, GOI acts, before that charter act (EIC charter) and regulating act
Concurrent list was borrowed from GOI act 1935 as well as Australian constitution. Residuary power vests with centre now while it vested in viceroy in GOI act 1935
1st name is secretary of state and 2nd name is viceroy i.e Montagu and Morley are secretaries
1st Governor General (GG) of Bengal (1773)
Warren Hastings
1st GG of India (1833)
William Bentinck
Last GG and 1st Viceroy (1858)
Lord Canning
1st law member (1833)
Macaulay
1st Indian to Viceroy’s executive council
Satyendra Sinha
Features from other constitution (Only Imp things)
USA
Federalism, Bill of rights, Judicial review, due process of law
Britain
Parliamentary system, Rule of law, Bicameralism
Russia
Fundamental duties, Justice
France
Republic, liberty, equality, fraternity
Ireland
DPSP, Nomination to RS
Australia
Concurrent list, Joint sitting
Canada
Federation with strong centre, residuary powers with centre, office of governor.
The Supreme Court order of May 20, transferring the suit on the Gyanvapi Masjid dispute from the civil judge (senior division) Varanasi to the district judge casts aspersion, though unintended, on the competence of civil judges in general.
Background
The matter had reached the Supreme Court on a petition filed by the Mosque Management Committee, which challenged the civil judge’s orders.
The order permitted inspection, survey, and videography of the mosque’s complex to collect evidence about the alleged existence of idols of Hindu deities inside the mosque, which is adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
The Mosque Management Committee had filed an application before the civil judge seeking the rejection of the plaint on the ground that it was barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 prohibits individuals and groups of people from converting, in full or in part, a place of worship of any religious denomination into a place of worship of a different religious denomination, or even a different segment of the same religious denomination.
It was argued before the SC that given the said Act, the suit was liable to be rejected at the threshold as the civil judge had no jurisdiction to entertain the same, much less to pass the aforesaid interim orders.
The SC has not found any fault with the order of the civil judge, though there is also a view that it was mandatory on the part of the civil judge to have first passed an order on whether he had the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
However, it appears that in the SC’s view, this was not a serious infraction.
So, in a way, the SC has affirmed the orders of the civil judge.
The civil court had territorial and pecuniary jurisdiction to deal with the matter.
The question that arises is: Why has the Supreme Court transferred the matter to the court of the district judge?
Issues with the SC transferring the case to the district judge
The SC has seemingly declared civil judges to be not competent to decide a matter alleged to be complex.
When the Civil Procedure Code, the High Court Rules and Orders invest a civil judge with jurisdiction, why take it away merely on the plea that the matter is complex?
Unhealthy precedent: Fransfer of the case to the district judge has set an unhealthy precedent and will have a demoralising effect on the subordinate judiciary.
In the recent past, many lower-level judicial officers have passed outstanding orders in matters concerning the liberties of the citizens, which are under threat as never before.
The subordinate judiciary provides the foundation of our judicial system.
Conclusion
Supreme Court order inadvertently casts aspersions on competence of subordinate judiciary. District court should not be weighed down by SC observation.
