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  • PM calls for Prison Reforms and Repeal of Obsolete Laws

    prison

    Prime Minister has suggested prison reforms to improve jail management and recommended repealing obsolete criminal laws, at the national annual police meet.

    Issues with Prisons in India

    • Overcrowding: 149 jails in the country are overcrowded by more than 100% and that 8 are overcrowded by margins of a 500%. Overcrowding takes affects the already constrained prison resources and separation between different classes of prisoners difficult.
    • Under-trials: More than 65% of the prison population in India are under trials. The share of the prison population awaiting trial or sentencing in India is extremely high by international standards; for example, it is 11% in the UK, 20% in the US and 29% in France.
    • Lack of legal aid: Legal aid lawyers are poorly paid, and often over-burdened with cases. Further, there is no monitoring mechanism to evaluate the quality of legal aid representation in most states.
    • Miserable conditions:Prison structures in India are in dilapidated condition. Further, lack of space, poor ventilation, poor sanitation and hygiene make living conditions deplorable in Indian prisons.
    • Shortage of staff:The ratio between the prison staff and the prison population is approximately 1:7. In the absence of adequate prison staff, overcrowding of prisons leads to rampant violence and other criminal activities inside the jails.
    • Torture and Sexual abuse: Prisoners are subjected to inhuman psychological and physical torture. Sexual abuse of persons in custody is also part of the broader pattern of torture in custody.
    • Custodial deaths:In 2015, a total of 1,584 prisoners died in jails. A large proportion of the deaths in custody were from natural and easily curable causes aggravated by poor prison conditions. Further, there have been allegations of custodial deaths due to torture
    • Underpaid and unpaid labor: Labor is extracted from prisoners without paying proper wages.
    • Discrimination:According to Humans Rights Watch, a “rigid” class system exists in Indian prisons. On the other hand, socio-economically disadvantaged prisoners are deprived of basic human dignity.
    • Inadequate security measures and management: Poor security measures and prison management often leads to violence among inmates and resultant injury and in some cases death.
    • Lack of mental healthcare: In prison the problem of the overcrowding, poor sanitary facilities, lack of physical and mental activities, lack of decent health care, increase the likelihood of health problems. Further, mental health care has negligible focus in Indian prisons.
    • Colonial system:Absence of reformative approach in the Indian prison system has not only resulted in ineffective integration with society but also has failed to provide productive engagement opportunities for prisoners after their release

    SC Judgements in this regard

    • Through a number of judgements {like Maneka Gandhi case(Right to life and personal with dignity), Ramamurthy vs. State of Karnataka (on conditions of prisons) Prem Sankar Shukla vs. Delhi Administration (no handcuffing).
    • The Supreme has upheld three broad principles regarding imprisonment and custody.
    1. A person in prison does not become a non-person;
    2. A person in prison is entitled to all human rights within the limitations of imprisonment
    3. There is no justification for aggravating the suffering already inherent in the process of incarceration.

    Major legislations for prison reforms

    • The Prisons Act, 1894:It contains various provisions relating to health, employment, duties of jail officers, medical examination of prisoners, prison offenses etc.
    • Transfer of Prisoners Act, 1950– The Act deals with the transfer of a prisoner from state to another state
    • Repatriation of Prisoners Act, 2003:The act enables the transfer of foreign prisoners to the country of their origin to serve the remaining part of their sentence. It also enables the transfer of prisoners of Indian origin convicted by a foreign court to serve their sentence in India
    • Model Prison Manual 2016:It aims at bringing in basic uniformity in laws, rules and regulations governing the administration of prisons and the management of prisoners across all the states and UTs in India
    • Legal service Authority Act, 1987:According to the law, a person in custody is entitled to free legal aid.

    Committees and Recommendations

    Various Committees and Commissions have been constituted by the State Governments as well as the Government of India to study and make suggestions for improving the prison conditions and administration.

    (1) Mulla Committee, 1983

    The major recommendations of the committee included:

    • The setting up of a National Prison Commission to oversee the modernization of the prisons in India
    • Putting a ban on clubbing together juvenile offenders with the hardened criminals in prison and enacting a comprehensive and protective legislation for the security and protective care of delinquent juveniles
    • Segregation of mentally ill prisoners to a mental asylum
    • The conditions of prison should be improved by making adequate arrangements for food, clothing, sanitation and ventilation etc.
    • Lodging of under trial in jails should be reduced to bare minimum and they should be kept separate from the convicted prisoners

    (2) Krishna Iyer Committee, 1987

    • The committee mandated to study the condition of women prisoners in the country.
    • It recommended induction of more women in the police force in view of their special role in tackling women and child offenders.

    (3) National Policy on Prison Reforms and Correctional Administration, 2007

    • In 2005, the Government of India constituted a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of the Director General, the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).
    • This committee used the reports of Justice Mulla Committee Report & Justice Krishna Iyer Committee and made several additional and new recommendations.

    (4) Justice Amitava Roy Committee, 2018

    • In 2018 the Supreme Court constituted Amitava Roy Committee to look into the aspect of jail reforms across the country and make recommendations on several aspects, including overcrowding in prisons.
    • It recommended- Special fast-track courts should be set up to deal exclusively with petty offences which have been pending for more than 5 years.
    • Further, accused persons who are charged with petty offences and that granted bail, but who are unable to arrange surety should be released on a Personal Recognizance (PR) Bond.

    Steps taken

    • Modernization of Prisons scheme: The scheme for modernization of prisons was launched in 2002-03 with the objective of improving the condition of prisons, prisoners and prison personnel. Various components included the construction of new jails, repair and renovation of existing jails, improvement in sanitation and water supply etc.
    • E-Prisons Project: It aims to introduce efficiency in prison management through digitization.
    • Open Prisons: The All-India Committee on Jail Reform constituted in 1980 recommended the government to set up and develop open prisons in each state and UT similar to the Sanganer open camp in Rajasthan.

    Way Forward

    • Urgent repair: There is a dire need to address the issue of overcrowding in Indian jails. Further, sincere efforts should be made to improve living conditions which include better sanitation and hygiene, and adequate food and clothing.
    • Address health concerns: There should be an urgent focus on addressing health issues and ensuring access to medical care among prisoners. Women’s health needs, covering mental, physical, sexual and reproductive health, require particular attention.
    • Reform offenders: Efforts should be made to reform offenders in the social stratification by giving them appropriate correctional treatment.
    • Training and rehabilitation: Initiatives should be taken to impart vocational training to prisoners and ensure proper rehabilitation and social inclusion after release
    • Legal aid: The government must take initiative to improve the conditions of under-trial prisoners which can be achieved by speeding of the trial procedure, simplification of the bail procedure and providing effective legal aid
    • More open prisons: Open prison as an effective institution for the rehabilitation of offenders has been highlighted by Supreme Court as late as 1979 in the Dharambeer v State of U.P case. Open prisons should be encouraged as correctional facilities.

     

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  • Employment days under MGNREGS at a 5-year low

    mgnregs

    The average days of employment provided per household under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are at a five-year low, this financial year.

    What is the news?

    • As on January 20, the average days of employment provided per household is 42 days while it was 50 days in 2021-22, 52 days in 2020-21, 48 days in 2019-20 and 51 days in 2018-19.

    Why such unprecedented drop in employments?

    The program has been plagued by systemic problems that is disincentivising participation.

    • Choking of funds: This has led to suppression of work demand and delays in wage payments.
    • App for attendance: The introduction of unnecessary technical complexities like an app for attendance at worksites has caused more hardships for workers who will be more dissuaded going forward.
    • States dismal policies: With less than two-months for the financial year to close, there are at least nine States and union territories which have utilised less than 70% of projected person days.
    • Budgetary cuts: With low utilisation, financial outlay for the underperforming States is expected to further shrink in the upcoming financial year.

    What is MGNREGS?

    • The MGNREGS is a scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005.
    • This is labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘Right to Work’.
    • The act was first proposed in 1991 by V. Narasimha Rao.

    What is so unique about it?

    • MGNREGS is unique in not only ensuring at least 100 days of employment to the willing unskilled workers, but also in ensuring an enforceable commitment on the implementing machinery i.e., the State Governments, and providing a bargaining power to the labourers.
    • The failure of provision for employment within 15 days of the receipt of job application from a prospective household will result in the payment of unemployment allowance to the job seekers.
    • Any Indian citizen above the age of 18 years who resides in rural India can apply for the NREGA scheme. The applicant should have volunteered to do unskilled work.
    • Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid.
    • Thus, employment under MGNREGS is a legal entitlement.

    Why is MGNREGS under fire these days?

    • Not enough work: Bihar despite its levels of poverty, does not generate enough work to make a concrete difference, and on the other end of spectrum we have Kerala which is economically better but has been utilising it for asset creation.
    • No asset creation: There is a lack of tangible asset creation. The committee will study if the composition of work taken up presently under the scheme should be changed.

    Issues in implementation

    • Insufficient budgetary allocations: Increase in the nominal budget but actual budget (after adjusting inflation) decreased over the years.
    • Approved Labour Budget Constraints: The Centre through the arbitrary “Approved Labour Budget” has reduced the number of days of work and put a cap on funds through the National Electronic Fund Management System
    • Not so attractive wages rate: Currently, MGNREGS wage rates of 17 states are less than the corresponding state minimum wages.
    • Delay in wage payments: Under the MGNREGS, a worker is entitled to get his or her due wages within a fortnight of completion of work, failing which the worker is entitled to the compensation.
    • No-work situations are rising: None of the states was able to provide full 100 days employment as mentioned in the scheme.
    • Data manipulations by authorities: A recent study has found that data manipulation in the MGNREGS is leading to gross violations in its implementation.
    • Non-purposive spending and corruptions: Many works sanctioned under MGNREGS often seem to be non-purposive. Quite often, they are politically motivated hotspots to create rampant corruption.
    • Centralization weakening local governance: A real-time MIS-based implementation and a centralised payment system has further left the representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions with literally no role in implementation.

    Conclusion

    • Large scale social security programmes like MGNREGS are subjected to undergo several stumbling blocks in the times of ongoing pandemic.
    • Government and NGOs must study the impact of MGNREGS in rural areas so as to ensure that this massive anti-poverty scheme is not getting diluted from its actual path.
    • We must view MGNREGS as an opportunity and explicitly include it in a broad-based strategy to tackle any socie-economic crisis.

     

     

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  • Excavations reveal Buddhist monastery complex at Bharatpur of Bengal

    buddh

    Recent excavations at Bharatpur in West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district have revealed the presence of a Buddhist monastery.

    Bharatpur Buddhist Monastery Complex

    • The Kolkata Circle of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) started excavating the site in the second week of January and a structural complex of a monastery has now been partially exposed.
    • The site was initially excavated almost fifty years ago between 1972 and 1975 when archeologists from ASI found a Buddhist stupa at the site.

    Uniqueness of this site

    • This place hosts a large stupa along with a monastery complex and black and red ware pottery from the Chalcolithic or Copper Age.
    • In other sites across West Bengal, such as Karnasubarna in Murshidabad, Moghalamari in Paschim Medinipur and Jagjivanpur in Malda, archeologists have found only smaller votive stupas.
    • Further excavation is likely to shed more light to understand the earliest occupation of the site and its continuity till the establishment of a Buddhist monastery.

    Key findings

    • In the 1970s when the site was excavated along with the stupa, five beautiful seated sculptures of the Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra -with all five fingers of the right hand extended to touch the ground — were found.
    • These miniature sculptures, each about 30 cm in height, were most likely used for worship in the monastery.

    Back2Basics: Mudras of Buddha

    buddh

    (1) Dharmachakra Mudra

    • It is also called as the gesture of ‘Teaching of the Wheel of Dharma’ that describes one of the most important moments in the Buddha’s life as he performed the Dharmachakra mudra in his first sermon in Sarnath after he attained enlightenment.
    • It is performed with the help of both the hands which are held against the chest, the left facing inward, covering the right facing outward.

    (2) Dhyan Mudra

    • It is also known as Samadhi or Yoga Mudra.
    • It is performed with the help of two hands, which are placed on the lap and place the right hand on the left hand with stretched fingers (thumbs facing upwards and other fingers of both the hand resting on each other.)
    • This is the characteristic gesture of Buddha Shakyamuni, Dhyani Buddha Amitabh and the Medicine Buddha.

    (3) Bhumisparsa Mudra

    • This gesture is also known as ‘touching the Earth’, which represents the moment of the Buddha’s awakening as he claims the earth as the witness of his enlightenment.
    • It is performed with the help of the right hand, which is held above the right knee, reaching toward the ground with the palm inward while touching the lotus throne.

    (4) Varada Mudra

    • This mudra represents the offering, welcome, charity, giving, compassion and sincerity.
    • It is performed with the help of both the hands in which palm of right hand is facing forward and fingers extended and left hand palm placed near centre with extended fingers.

    (5) Karana Mudra

    • It signifies the warding off of evil which is performed by raising the index and the little finger, and folding the other fingers.
    • It helps in reducing sickness or negative thoughts.

    (6) Vajra Mudra

    • This gesture denotes the fiery thunderbolt that symbolises the five elements—air, water, fire, earth, and metal.
    • It is performed with the help of right fist and left forefinger, which is placed by enclosing the erect forefinger of the left hand in the right fist with the tip of the right forefinger touching (or curled around) the tip of the left forefinger.

    (7) Vitarka Mudra

    • It signifies the discussion and transmission of the teachings of the Buddha.
    • It is performed by joining the tips of the thumb and the index fingers together while keeping the other fingers straight, which is just like the Abhaya Mudra and Varada Mudra but in this mudra the thumbs touch the index fingers.

    (8) Abhaya Mudra

    • It is a gesture of fearlessness or blessing that represents the protection, peace, benevolence, and dispelling of fear.
    • It is performed with the help of right hand by raising to shoulder height with bent arm, and the face of palm will be facing outward with fingers upright whereas the left hand hanging down while standing.

    (9) Uttarabodhi Mudra

    • This denotes the supreme enlightenment through connecting oneself with divine universal energy.
    • It is performed with the help of both the hands, which are placed at the heart with the index fingers touching and pointing upwards and the remaining fingers intertwined.

    (10) Anjali Mudra

    • It is also called Namaskara Mudra or Hridayanjali Mudra that represents the gesture of greeting, prayer and adoration.
    • It is performed by pressing the palms of the hands together in which the hands are held at the heart chakra with thumbs resting lightly against the sternum.

     

    Answer this PYQ from CSP 2014 in the comment box:

    Q.Lord Buddha’s image is sometimes shown with a hand gesture called ‘Bhumisparsha Mudra’. It symbolizes-

    a) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to watch over Mara and to prevent Mara from disturbing his meditation

    b) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to witness his purity and chastity despite the temptations of Mara

    c) Buddha’s reminder to his followers that they all arise from the Earth and finally dissolve into the Earth and thus this life is transitory

    d) Both the statements ‘a’ and ‘b’ are correct in this context

     

    Post your answers here.

     

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  • Places in news: Jagannath Puri Temple

    Odisha Governor’s suggestion that foreigners and non-Hindus should be allowed to enter Puri’s famed Jagannath temple has not gone down well with traditionalists and political leaders alike.

    Why in news?

    • It has been the practice for centuries — even though there is no clearly articulated reason for it.
    • Some historians believe that multiple attacks on the Temple by foreign invaders might have led the servitors to impose restrictions on the entry of non-Hindus.
    • Others have said that this was the practice from the time the Temple was built.
    • In 1984, the servitors famously opposed the entry of Indira Gandhi inside the Temple, saying she had married a non-Hindu.

    About Jagannath Temple

    • The Jagannath Temple is an important Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Sri Krishna in Puri in Odisha.
    • The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
    • The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars.

    Its architecture

    • With its sculptural richness and fluidity of the Oriya style of temple architecture, it is one of the most magnificent monuments of India.
    • The huge temple complex covers an area of over 400,000 square feet and is surrounded by a high fortified wall.
    • This 20 feet high wall is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
    • Another wall known as kurma bedha surrounds the main temple.

    The temple has four distinct sectional structures, namely:

    1. Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls). In Rekha Deula style;
    2. Mukhashala (Frontal porch);
    3. Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
    4. Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)

  • Assam’s Charaideo Maidams nominated for UNESCO tag

    maidam

    The Centre has decided to nominate Assam’s Charaideo Maidams — the Ahom equivalent of the ancient Egyptian pyramids — for the UNESCO World Heritage Centre this year.

    Why in news?

    • The nomination has attained significance at a time when the country is celebrating the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan.

    Charaideo Maidams

    • The Charaideo maidams represents the late medieval (13th-19th century CE) mound burial tradition of the Tai Ahom community in Assam.
    • The Ahoms preferred to place the departed family members at Charaideo where the first king Sukapha was laid to rest.
    • The historical chronicles inform that wives, attendants, pet animals and huge quantity of valuables were buried with the departed kings.
    • The Charaideo Maidams enshrine the mortal remains of the members of the Ahom royalty, who used to be buried with their paraphernalia.
    • After the 18th century, the Ahom rulers adopted the Hindu method of cremation and began entombing the cremated bones and ashes in a Maidam at Charaideo.
    • Out of 386 Maidams explored so far, 90 royal burials at Charaideo are the best preserved, representative of and the most complete examples of mound burial tradition of the Ahoms.

    Architecture details

    • Architecturally it comprises a massive underground vault with one or more chambers having domical superstructure.
    • It is covered by a heap of earthen mound and externally it appears a hemispherical mound.
    • At the top of the mound a small open pavilion chow-chali is provided.
    • An octagonal dwarf wall encloses whole maidam.

     

    Ahoms Dynasty

    • The Ahom, also known as the Tai-Ahom, are an ethnic group from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in India.
    • This ethnic group is made up of interbred descendants of the Tai people, who first came to Assam’s Brahmaputra valley in 1228, and indigenous people who later joined them.
    • Sukaphaa, the Tai group’s leader, and his 9000 supporters founded the Ahom empire (1228–1826 CE), which ruled over part of modern-day Assam’s Brahmaputra Valley until 1826.
    • Charaideo, more than 400 km east of Guwahati, was the first capital of the Ahom dynasty founded by Chao Lung Sukaphaa in 1253.
    • The current Ahom people and culture are a mix of the ancient Tai people and culture, as well as indigenous Tibeto-Burman people and cultures that they assimilated in Assam.

     

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  • What is Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and how it impacts the climate?

    lng

    The EU is weaning itself off piped Russian gas by rapidly expanding imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from US.

    What is Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG?

    • LNG is natural gas reduced to a liquid state (liquefaction) through intense cooling to around -161 degrees Celsius (-259 Fahrenheit).
    • It is constituted almost wholly of methane — a potent greenhouse gas and can be transported around the world by ship.
    • This liquid gas is 600 times smaller than the original volume and is half the weight of water.
    • After arriving at its destination, the cargo is regasified in a floating terminal and redistributed through pipelines.

    Economic feasibility of LNG

    • High cost of liquefaction: despite LNG’s export potential, the high cost of liquefaction and producing LNG has limited its market.
    • Losses: Between 10-25% of the energy of the gas is being lost during the liquefaction process.
    • Costly transport: The cooling, liquefying and transport processes, as well as the post-transport regasification procedures, also require a lot of energy.

    What’s the climate impact of LNG?

    • Emission: With LNG creating almost 10 times more emissions than piped gas by one estimate, its rapid expansion will likely compromise climate targets.
    • Risks of methane leakages: Methane loss across the supply chain risks also contributes to LNG’s high emissions.
    • Huge carbon equivalence: Meanwhile, LNG emits 14 times as much carbon as solar power when producing the equivalent amount of energy, and 50 times as much carbon as wind power.

     

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  • What are Additional Tier-1 (AT-1) Bonds?

    The Bombay High Court has quashed the write-off of Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds worth Rs 8,400 crore issued by Yes Bank Ltd, bringing relief to investors.

    What are AT1 bonds?

    • AT-1, short for Additional Tier-1 bonds, are a type of unsecured, perpetual bonds that banks issue to shore up their core capital base to meet the Basel-III norms.
    • AT-1 bonds are complex hybrid instruments, ideally meant for institutions and smart investors who can decipher their terms and assess if their higher rates compensate for their higher risks.
    • They carry a face value of ₹10 lakh per bond.
    • There are two routes through which retail folk have acquired these bonds — initial private placement offers of AT-1 bonds by banks seeking to raise money; or secondary market buys of already-traded AT-1 bonds based on recommendations from brokers.

    Why are they important?

    AT-1 bonds have several unusual features lurking in their fine print, which make them very different from plain bonds.

    • One, these bonds are perpetual and carry no maturity date. Instead, they carry call options that allow banks to redeem them after five or 10 years. But banks are not obliged to use this call option and can opt to pay only interest on these bonds for eternity.
    • Two, banks issuing AT-1 bonds can skip interest payouts for a particular year or even reduce the bonds’ face value without getting into hot water with their investors, provided their capital ratios fall below certain threshold levels. These thresholds are specified in their offer terms.
    • Three, if the RBI feels that a bank is tottering on the brink and needs a rescue, it can simply ask the bank to cancel its outstanding AT-1 bonds without consulting its investors. This is what has happened to YES Bank’s AT-1 bond-holders who are said to have invested ₹10,800 crore.

     

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  • 21st Jan 2023 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    21st Jan 2023 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 1220]

    [WpProQuiz_toplist 1220]

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  • Intra-national COP: An innovative approach of cooperation

    national

    Context

    • India revised its target to reduce the carbon intensity of its GDP to 45 percent by 2030, more ambitious than the earlier target of 34 percent. These National carbon emission targets were globally appreciated and have further strengthened its leadership position in climate action.

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    Spirit of cooperative federalism is needed to achieve this target

    • In order to effectively address climate change, India needs to involve all of its states and Union Territories. During recent climate summits, the states and UTs have not been active participants.
    • A new approach to cooperation between states and UTs on climate action is needed, similar to the cooperation used in the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). This will lead to better results in public sector actions to tackle climate change.

    Role of states

    • Power of States and UTs: Provisions in the Constitution of India, legislations of the Parliament, executive orders, and judicial decisions enable states/UTs to have a substantial influence on matters pertaining to land, electricity, mobility, labour, pollution control, skill building, law and order, financial incentives for commercial activities, etc.
    • Role of States and UTs in Policy Implementation: States/UTs can become prime movers in the last mile through interventions in policy, regulation, and project implementation.
    • Potential of India’s Cooperative Federalism: During the ongoing winter session of Parliament, the Prime Minister of India also emphasised the potential of India’s cooperative federalism in becoming ‘a torch bearer of the world’ in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while addressing its Rajya Sabha.

    How India’s model of ‘Intranational COP’ will work?

    • Utilizing GST council model for climate action: Climate action is a unifying theme, and creating a forum similar to the Goods and Services Taxes (GST) council, which created successful engagement models during the pan-India roll-out of GST, can be helpful.
    • Facilitating cross-party dialogue: This intra-country group, Intranational COP, can offer opportunities for sharing a stage across parties in a neutral setting where outcome-oriented conversations can take place.
    • Promoting cooperative and competitive federalism for Net Zero: It can kindle the friendly spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism with each state/UT committing to bolder actions towards net zero.
    • Measuring stakeholder performance through consensus building: It can potentially introduce new evaluation parameters for measuring the performance of stakeholders based on their ability to build consensus across boundaries while keeping aside their myopic and constricted vote-bank-centered politics.
    • Learning and Leveraging Best Practices: Climate change is a new and dynamic topic for all stakeholders. It is an equaliser where no state/UT has any inherent advantageous positions. States/UTs can learn best practices from each other to implement, achieve, and measure the outcomes of their actions.

    Electricity distribution: A case of cooperation

    • Today, though a project is conceived, financed, and implemented by central agencies, site-specific mobilisation of resources requires the active cooperation of the states/UTs.
    • An important case in point can be electricity distribution, where states can exponentially augment India’s clean energy ambitions.
    • Furthermore, they can directly support municipal corporations/village panchayats in innovating customised approaches for faster and inclusive adoption of national climate goals in line with the socioeconomic and cultural sensitivities of the region.

    ‘Intranational COP’ for common but differentiated responsibilities

    • Forum for addressing Climate Change within India: It is well-established that some parts of India are economically more developed as compared to others. This translates to the fact that the relatively more prosperous regions contribute more to India’s carbon emissions. Such states are better positioned to initially invest in expensive low-carbon technologies and disseminate them to achieve economies of scale.
    • Addressing Regional Imbalances in Carbon Emissions: IndiaCOP can can unleash creative mechanisms to offset regional imbalances while respecting local cultural sensitivities.
    • Platform for States/UTs to Forge Mutual Cooperation Agreements: It can provide a platform for states/UTs to forge MOUs that complement each other’s strengths while filling up the gaps in technical/financial/people resources. For e.g., small hilly states have good hydroelectric power potential, but they may lack financial wherewithal; states like Rajasthan have good solar energy potential but currently lack sufficient trained manpower, etc.

    Way ahead

    • Intranational COP can be a dedicated flagship platform to thrash out a national consensus on India’s climate goals and the means to achieve them. For example, the Finance Commission can play a role in allocating capital based on the climate actions and needs of states.
    • The mechanisms of climate funding and allocation, led by the Finance Commission, can be debated and agreed upon on this platform. Such a consensus will enjoy double legitimacy as it is arrived at collectively by the union and state/UT governments.

    Conclusion

    • The success of India’s model of “Intra-national COP” can become a template for federal nations across the world to engage with provincial/local governments with diverse socio-political and economic challenges. It can score a big win in promoting India’s soft power, especially as it takes on the presidency of the G20.

    Mains question

    Q. During recent climate summits, the states and UTs have not been active participants. In this backdrop how India’s model of Intra-national COP will be helpful?

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  • Day 6| Daily Answer Wars| CD WarZone

    Topics for Today’s question:

    GS-3 Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.       

    Question:

    Q. Why is Public Private Partnership (PPP) required in infrastructural projects? Examine the role of PPP model in the redevelopment of Railway Stations in India. (10 Marks)

     

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